At the Movies and Redeeming Debris! Sunday Things.....

I went to bed at a decent time last night (midnight is decent - right??) and went right to sleep - for about three hours!

I finally got up at four in the morning and fluffed up a few things I had been working on in the dining room.....then I lit a candle, turned on my classical music and poured me a generous glass of my favorite wine....

and read a few chapters in this very first book I have ever read of Dean Koontz.

It's really good......

Miss Samantha is always UP and prowling around anytime anyone is active.

She has radar! I'm beginning to wonder if she ever sleeps!

Ah, yes! I suppose she thought it was a good time to take a cat nap while I was sitting still and reading.

I went back to bed as soon as I felt sleepy and slept soundly for a few more hours.

Then I was awake and getting dressed up for church.

I used to have a motto -

If you feel  down......dress UP!!

So that's what I did. After days of looking pitiful, I put on full makeup and my dressy dress.

The top was made in Italy and the dress are both Thrift Store Treasures as are the shoes and purse.

I am coming to grips with the reality of thin hair and IF I want to look nice and be somewhere ON TIME - I need to wear a wig! And so I did.

I was only slightly late to church!

I love the traditional  Fellowship Church productions of  'At the Movies' series every July!!

Today was The Sandlot and it was awesome!

So many parallels to the church and the 'beast' and being on the winning team working together!

I did a grocery run at Aldi on my way home - Louis Dean was resting this morning so I attended church by myself. He had pizza ready so I pulled up The Sandlot on my Firestick - thank you, Summer! And thank you, Amber! I am learning how to watch things and it's getting easier....or at least not as hard!

Learning new technology is a bit tricky, don't you think? For a nearly 74-year-old and 86-year-old?

I have spent the afternoon cleaning and fluffing the sewing room.

I will be getting back to my quilting soon.

After the sun went down and there was some shade on the kitchen deck, I went out to redeem some debris.

That's what Louis Dean calls my decorations and he's not really wrong.

I finished two wreaths before the light was gone.

But I did have to resort to borrowing some of his Gorilla Glue!

Who KNEW I would ever become a fan of GORILLA GLUE??

Bits and Pieces of This Week.....

 We have been home the last few days - as in no makeup - no hair - no pretty clothes.

Just grungy things.....most days not even earrings.

Louis Dean has often wished Life would slow down and that's exactly what has happened.

He's nearly all the way recovered from his pneumonia and heat exhaustion.

The labs came back Wednesday and all was perfect.

Dr. Maddox sent us a note through the patient portal - All good news!!!

The temps are still in the triple digits day after day.

Clouds came up this afternoon and there was a brief  'shower!'

Very brief!

So we water a little every morning and every night.

Not enough for many blooms but just enough that the plants don't die.

Louis Dean has enjoyed getting mail recently - he says 'Thank YOU' - and this card was from Amber.

I'm still loving my new carpet and little Miss Samantha hopped up in the chair and tucked her legs under her while I vacuumed the living room.

I had a good meal planned the other day.....the steak was marinating in the fridge....potatoes were baking....

and I made a big batch of pepper poppers.

But then we decided we weren't hungry so we just ate a baked potato for supper!

Last night we had the full menu for dinner!

I love my Facebook Memories.....

this is the very first photo of me with all four little Bells from 2012.

Can you still recognize them?

I am holding them in birth order!

Another sweet memory of Nita.....I treasure every single one of them.

This was a memory from 5 years ago.....

back before the big red roof and the front deck and the plowed garden....

Before Louis Dean brought in several loads of sandy loam soil and hours of plowing it up.

He'll not be trying keep up with such a big project now.

Maybe a much smaller garden next year.

I saw this poster on Facebook and I do believe this is true!

I do believe that Louis Dean and I have laughed together every single day of our 17 years of marriage and I am very grateful for that!

Good News Wednesday!

   Louis Dean has been feeling better every day - so much so that he's nearly feeling like his old self again!

We had an afternoon appointment with Dr. Maddox today and this is our traditional selfie taken in the waiting room. Louis Dean said he is getting tired of all these doctor visits.

Notice his flashy shirt?

I've never seen him wear it before!

I didn't even know he had this.

Dr. Maddox gave him a good report!

More blood work today but not another appointment until October.

Win! WIN!!

Today has been a good one.

 

While as much as I love Fall, decorating for it in July has never happened before.

At this rate, I will be ready for September a whole month early.

I wanted to start painting my Santa for 2022 - you know, Christmas in July?

But I decided to finish the house first and paint after that.....

but I did listen to a Josh Groban Christmas CD while I worked in the living room.

This was last night's visit from our little possum.

He lives underneath the south kitchen side deck - I know this because I saw him go back down through the hole under there. Louis Dean suspected that's where their den is and purposely did not cover it up.

Between that last sentence and this one, I went outside to look for a water hose nozzle and saw that little possum come out of its den - he saw me and flippy tailed itself right around and went back in.

They love pinto beans and water melon. It was on the menu last night and again tonight!

Monday Treasures.......

 Monday morning we drove over to Fort Worth to visit with Deanie and Charlie.... 

Lonnie was already over there!

Louis Dean waxed eloquent with his stories and talking.

He's been missing social life and talking to people since we have had so many quiet days at home lately with just me to talk to. 

We all sat together in their lovely den and talked and laughed and cried together.

Well, maybe I was the only one crying but they were so sweet about it. 

I love Deanie and Charlie's home!

There's something unique to see everywhere you look!

All four of us siblings loved the Three Stooges when we were kids.

This is a box that she cleverly framed.

The old fashioned telephone sat on a table in the hall and I picked it and put it to my ear.

I wouldn't have been surprised to have heard a dial tone.

I walked around the house admiring all her pretty things.

Deanie refinished this chest recently and it is beautiful!

She and Charlie are great at finding treasures!

This large oil painting was just $5!

What a magnificent wall of crosses!

This room used to be their office when Charlie and Deanie had Wilson Classic Plumbing Company.

I need a coffee cup like this one!

Deanie and Charlie filled this wall with Goodwill Treasures and it is beautiful!

They had a delicious lunch prepared for us!

Chicken salad and chips and dips and all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies.

And Charlie brought out my own personal box of salt!

There's three of us now.

Here's three handsome guys.

Lonnie was so sweet and spoke wise words of wisdom and comfort to me.

Deanie and Louis Dean are best buds! 

It was so good to be together.

We left around 2:30 and I decided to hit up the Goodwill in Benbrook.

Their prices are so much better than ours in Irving and they still give Senior discounts of 25% - 

except I was a day early!

No matter! The cheaper prices made it come out the same.

That soft gray dress is going to look great this fall with the right accessories. 

Perhaps the perfect scarf? Or the right jewelry....maybe a belt?

The heavy metal pumpkin was just $2.99 and is sitting near the trumpet vine arbor in the kitchen side yard. I'm in love with that pretty purse and I can't wait for a cold morning when I can slip into that warm comfy red robe. Yes, I'll have it all washed and clean and ready - but I know I'm going to have to wait a long time before I can wear it.

 

Four nice Christmas glasses......

I don't know what this is for but I like it!

Our next stop was Hobby Lobby!

All their fall things were out and on sale at 40% off......so I came home with these two pillow covers.

Plus the new sunflowers for the foyer vase.

Today has been a home day.

I slept late and it was already too hot to get out and do anything in the yard.

I brought in a few more tubs of fall debris.

It's like meeting old friends seeing all my pretty leaves and pumpkins and such.

I'm putting 'stuff'  in different places this year and changing things up a little.

Ilene - our sweet neighbor - stopped by tonight and we were so happy to get to sit and visit with her a bit. Inside the cool den and not out on the hot driveway - even though it was after the sun had gone down. Still too hot!

This came up in my Facebook Memories today - a dozen years ago.

I close tonight's journal entry with this special photo sent to me by our beloved Mad Snapper - Sandra.

Thank you!

Good night and God Bless you....