Our Weekend and Monday! Mercy Me!!!

Time flies when you're having fun and the past few days have been packed with family and friends,

shopping, eating, visiting and more.

Summer came over Friday morning and we drove over to Fort Worth to spend a couple of days.

It wasn't one of Summer's 'good' days but we made the best of it.

She used the extra walker I have that has a seat so she could stop and rest when she needed to.

First of all - we picked Lillian up and took her to lunch at Jason's Deli - one of our favorite places.

We lingered long at the table visiting and having a good time. Lillian especially loves it when Summer comes. Her world is so small and Summer simply lights it up for her - even when she is in a lot of pain.

From there we went to McCart Thrift Store and I'm happy to say that Lillian found three things!

A very nice shawl wrap that will come in so handy when she's watching TV or just needs a little something extra over her shoulders to stay warm. She stays cold even when the heat is on.....high!

She also picked up a high quality pair of white Capri's with navy polka dots. It is out of season now but we have time to find a navy top to go with them by next spring. Finally she got a super cute top that is truly unique. I'll have to take a pic of it next time I visit.She was so excited.

Back when she was changing rooms and so upset, she gave away and threw away a whole bunch of stuff. Some she gave me and I held onto them for her thinking she might want them back and, sure enough, she did.

Speaking of moving - she did that again Friday morning.

Her roommate, Maria, is like a small child emotionally and mentally.

Well, Lillian was having to barricade herself in bed at night to prevent Maria from trying to get in bed with her after she woke up from a bad dream. One night when she couldn't make Lillian wake up - she threw a tantrum and flung everything off the bedside table by her bed smashing stuff and knocking the water glass onto the bed and making the room a complete mess.

So Lillian further barricaded herself in at night - making it difficult for Maria to get to her - but it also made it difficult for Lillian to get up to go to the bathroom. That's why she fell - twice.

She was all bruised on her shoulders, face and arms when we saw her Friday.

I had called her Thursday and she told me the administrator had come down and asked if she would like to change rooms. So now she is in just a few doors down the hall and with a lady named Alvie.

Alvie was once Mother's roommate....for a couple of days. Mother threw a tin of cookies at her and they moved her the next day. Alvie has dementia and is in bed all the time. But she speaks English and Lillian thinks she can make the best of this situation. I'm so proud of her for having such a good attitude. Billy the maintenance man had moved all her belongings down but she told him I would hang up her pictures. I took her laundry with me to Nita's and promised to come back Saturday afternoon to do just that.

We went to Nita's where she had made a delicious dinner of King Ranch Chicken Casserole, a yummy salad of celery, avocado, and tiny tomatoes from Sam's called Flavor Bombs. SO good.

I forgot to ask what kind of dressing she put on the salad but I do know she pulled the strings off the celery. I never even thought about doing that!

Summer was not doing well so she went to bed in the guest room - Nita has TWO!

She needed to medicate and rest up for Saturday.

Nita and I closed out Friday night in her back yard with a glass of wine by the chiminea.

We were all in bed by 10:00!

I love this pic of Nita!

She is as sweet as she is beautiful.

We were up by 7:30 having coffee and the sausage biscuits she had waiting for us - even though she herself never eats breakfast!

We left at 9:15 heading to Mineral Wells to meet up with other family for an outing.

Summer was still in a lot of pain but she always smiles for the camera!

This was our first destination - 

The Christmas Store at the Box Factory.

We let Summer out in front of the warehouse - this is literally a BOX factory!

Then we parked in a small lot across the street.

The owner came out and called over to us that we could park right there in front of the store.

He said, "I'm the owner and you can park right HERE!"

So we did.

I saw these two flocked LED lit trees as soon as I walked in and knew I was buying them!

They make lots and lots of boxes and they were all very inexpensive!

In addition, they had decorations, door mats, ribbons, and such - all at good prices.

Here's the owner!

He let me run the machine that will string wrap up a stack of boxes in the blink of an eye!

We had such a good time!

It's a family operation and his two daughters were his helpers.

They would take our purchases, make a stack and write down all we were buying keeping a running total of our purchases.

We had so much fun and got some great bargains AND made some good memories!

Deanie put this outing together having planned it weeks ago.

Andie, Trish, Summer, Nita, me, Cousin Pam, and Deanie!

Pam lives in Mineral Wells and it's a great place to shop and visit.

Crazy Water was just a block down the street from the Box Factory and that was our next destination.

It's a fascinating place and you can sample all the mineral water blends they have.....

hence the name Mineral Wells!

I love this sign!!

Nita and I each bought some Sparkling Crazy Water for Lillian......

she's not a big drinker and she needs to drink more water!

We all ate lunch together at Mesquite Pit and it was great!

Food AND service!!

Loved the decorations!

I guess I need to show this to Dean and Sherry!

NOT the way our chickens live down at the ranch!!

I never thought about decorating the hen houses!

And, NO! I am so NOT serious!

Sister! Sister!! SISTER!!!

Next on our agenda was The Market at 76067....

So beautifully decorated for Christmas!

Nita and I both both gourmet vinegar and olive oil.....

my choices were Blood Orange Infused Olive Oil and Coconut White Balsamic Vinegar.

There was quite a tasting spread laid out for the customers and we tried the fruit salad with a dressing of the olive oil and vinegar I bought and it was delicious. 

I think Nita bought a chocolate olive oil as well......

This is such a cool place!

I'm telling you - Mineral Wells is a great place to live, work, visit and shop!

Nita drove us back to her house and by this time Summer was not in good shape at all.

She went to bed and Nita and I went to the nursing home to hang Lillian's pictures and take her clean laundry back. By the time we were done WE were done, too!!

Now when I left home on Friday morning, Louis Dean had his phone charged but he had left the charger at the ranch. Actually he has two and he left BOTH of them there.

I told him I would be home Saturday afternoon and since Saturday was his 83rd birthday, we would cook steaks and celebrate. We communicated through emails just like we did when we were dating.

Our sweet neighbors tried to find a charger that would work for his phone but couldn't.

Louis Dean's phone is a dinosaur! Even the AT&T store didn't carry the chargers anymore.

So we sent several emails back and forth with me reminding him to clean his bathroom and take his medicine and him telling me he had stumbled getting out of bed and knocked a tray of hand painted Christmas ornaments off the dresser and two broke. He knew telling me ahead of time would be a good idea! I emailed him earlier in the afternoon but when I pulled up in the driveway and honked - he didn't come out to help us unload like I expected him to.

So I come in the front door and he greets me in the foyer with such a surprised look on his face.

He wasn't expecting me to come home until Sunday!

?????

After the initial shock - he was glad to see me.

But he was clearly NOT expecting me to come home then!

The kitchen was a wreck BUT he had just finished cleaning the bathroom and it still smelled like a hospital - according to him!

I did an hour or two of Damage Control and left the rest undone and went to bed.

Having FUN is hard WORK!

Summer was in such bad shape that she couldn't go back to Rowlett so she went to bed in the guest room.

I woke up Sunday morning to find Louis Dean asleep in the den fully dressed for church and even had his shoes on. He had had a bad night but I apparently slept right on.

Summer wasn't able to go to church but Louis Dean and I did.

I love going to church at Fellowship and I love being a part of it.

We came home and I started the process of taking fall down in earnest!

I worked right up until 5:00 when I put my church clothes back on and freshened up.

My sister synchro mom, Lynn, picked me up at 5:30 along with her friend, Sheryl, and we drove over to Fort Worth - where I seem to have hung out all weekend - for a Mercy Me concert!

It was at the new Dickies Arena.

A beautiful venue!

A packed crowd and a great concert!

My first time to see them and I know I must live under a rock but I had not heard any  of their music except for I Can Only Imagine.

That was my favorite but ALL the music was awesome as was the message.

The entire thing was all about God......and I loved it all.

It also reminded me of how amazing Fellowship Church is.

First class all the way in every way and I am so happy to be able to be there!

The Fort Worth skyline as we were leaving.

This was an experience I would not have had except for my friend Lynn inviting me.

So oftentimes we miss out on opportunities that come our way and I am so happy when friends invite me to do things.

It was midnight when I got home and , once again, I just fell into bed - but not until Louis Dean and I sat in the gazebo for an hour catching up with each other.

We really had not seen much of one another all weekend.

This brings us to Monday......

I have been hauling out fall hand over fist and Louis Dean has been stacking the tubs in the storage building. I am cleaning and setting the scene for Christmas decorating.

There was some climbing involved in getting my new red poinsettia Christmas wreathes up.

Summer is still here with us for a few days and is slowly feeling better.

She added the lights to the wreathes and she does things the right way.

We have cleaned up baskets of 'debris' and washed said debris with a good hosing down with a jet spray outside. My goal is to be all decorated for Christmas by Thanksgiving. And I am doing it in such a way that I can take down the 'Christmas' part and leave up the winter part for another month or six weeks. My surgery is January 6th and it will be nice to recover with cheerful winter decorations to look at.

I am remembering my dear friend Reaoma today.....

this is the anniversary of her death - and her new life with the Lord.

I am grateful for our friendship and for the continued friendship I have with her daughter, Pam.

Pam is home recovering from her second back surgery.

I will be going over to see her tomorrow. Last year when she had surgery I would take her to visit her mom. I guess we are both in the same situation.....her mother died November 18th and mine in January....

I will close this journal entry tonight - or I should say in the wee hours of the morning - with this thought.....