My Wednesday....A Walk, A Visit and My Neighbors.....

It is nippy weather in Texas but nothing like what my northern friends are having to face.

I find that after a busy day I tend to sleep late the following morning.

It was 10:00 when I got out of bed and padded my way to the coffee pots.

Louis Dean was still sawing logs - SNORING-  so I took my first cup of coffee and sat in the living room while I slowly woke up. That's when I was visiting all my blogging friends.

We had coffee and our morning routine before I fixed a breakfast for lunch - fried eggs, fried potatoes, bacon and toast.

By then it was time to get dressed and go to my dental appointment.

Now that the hard part of getting 'new teeth' dentures is over, I don't mind going to the dentist.

There's a relief in being able to say - 'Here! Fix this!'

I walked in Centennial Park after I left Dr. Joe who owns Sterling Dental in Irving.

Instead of walking the entire park - remember the crime scene tape the last time? - I walked the big loop at the front three times. I could still see the parking lot and the street so it felt safer.

Down from the parking lot and across the bridge....

and up to the street and across the other bridge.

It makes one giant loop that's even bigger than the loop I walk with Sherry at the ranch.

I did not have any cracked corn this time for the ducks but was so happy to see another couple was feeding them.

 *Note to Self! BUY some cracked corn!!*

My next stop was to see my dear friend, Reaoma.

Her daughter, Pam, had warned me that she had fallen yesterday and had to have stitches.

Bless her heart!

She fell forwards out of her wheelchair while they were taking her back from lunch.

Her wheelchair now has the foot rests on it.

I purposely arrived in time to feed her dinner.

We actually had dinner together.

The staff mentioned that she might not be able to chew the salad so I told them I would eat that.

I fed Reaoma the peas and lasagna and cake for dessert.

She ate well and drank two glasses of tea.

This all sounds simple but it is a lot of work for Reaoma.

Chewing is not easy as she doesn't have much strength.

I noticed even sucking her tea up through the straw was not nearly as easy as it was this time last year. My friend is amazing. I told her she did NOT belong on the FLOOR and she actually laughed.

The fact that Reaoma can and does laugh says everything about the kind of person she is.

She can't stand and can barely hold her head up. She can't feed herself and she can no longer speak. She can't even see you clearly. But she can laugh.

Can you see why I admire her so much?

Before I left, I told her again how much I love her and how thankful I am for her friendship.

She and Doug were a bright spot in a dark time in my life and I will never forget their kindnesses to me and my children. When my home burned in 1983 and we were away - it was Doug who bought plywood and covered the windows so looters wouldn't get in. Doug was my younger children's father figure more so than their own. Doug was kind and cared about them and paid attention to them.

I love Reaoma. Pam is an amazing daughter and facing her own health issues with a serious back surgery coming up. There are others in the family but Pam is the only daughter and we all know that it is often times the daughters who are the caregivers. And Pam is the only one.

I keep them both in my prayers.

From there I went to visit my neighbors around the corner.

Meet Jim and Tamara.

They have lived here for 16 years. 

This is the new storage building Jim built for them just recently.

I have to brag about Jim! He is the Audio Crew Chief for Clair Global.

He is in charge of setting up sound systems for music tours for everything from Billy Joel to The Rolling Stones! He's been with them for 20 years! Trans Siberian Orchestra is what he has worked on from October to January for the last 7 years.

They are an amazing couple and Tamara is a gifted gardener.

Our houses have the same floor plan and you should see their gardens and decks and walkways!

Last summer, she invited the quads over for a gardening experience and served them a huge selection of snacks all laid out on the table. Everything from watermelon slices to cookies to crackers and cheese. The kids talked about it all summer and every time we walked around the block, they wanted to go see her.

Tamara had a big bag to take to Goodwill and offered me first pick!

I picked ALL of it!!

AND she gave me a paraffin pot for my hands. She recently bought herself a new one and I was so excited to get this one! My hands need all the help they can get!

The den, living room, foyer and front porch have all been all cleared of Chritmas and cleaned.

Most of the kitchen has, too.

The utility room is clean!

And I do love all things 'clean!'

Louis Dean stewed two big chickens to make chicken and dumplings Friday morning to take to Fort Worth. Tonight I used part of one chicken and made a small batch for our supper.

It was seriously good.

For dumplings I use cans of those big buttery biscuits and just tear them off in pieces.

Mother always used canned biscuits and the ones available now are even better!

We took our bowls out to the den and watched NCIS and guess who we saw???

This could be Deanie!!!

Louis Dean was so excited and kept saying, "Look!!! Doesn't that look like our Deanie???"

I think it's cool to find our doubles.

Have you ever seen anyone who looked like you?

It's 11:56 so I am making this just under the wire of midnight!

Goodnight, Folks!!