Tuesday Treasures and Other Things.....

 Tuesday was Louis Dean's appointment with his primary care doctor and he is so very thorough - and I'm grateful for that! His vitals were all good and he'd gained a pound! Back up to 199!

Dr. Maddox went over him with a fine toothed comb and ordered another round of labs to see if there was any change. You see, the tests that show some things elevated did NOT show them being so on June 30th. By by July 6th, they were. A CT scan was ordered and that should be scheduled some time next week. His kidneys are a bit of a concern as they have been for some years now since his heart attack. So we did the labs and came home. 

I'm so grateful his heart is doing so well and that's not a concern. 

He's been taking 4-5 naps every day so he came in and went to the guest room and slept most of the afternoon.

Normally Brenda and I meet up on Tuesday for some treasure hunting but I had my mind on Louis Dean and she was getting ready to go on vacation.

But I decided I needed a little pick me up so off I went - and guess who found me sitting on a chair at Texas Thrift sending a text message to someone?? Brenda!

We visited between the racks of bedding and it felt good to talk to her.

Isn't it something that simple talking can make you feel better.

Words spoken to a friend are often better than thoughts kept to oneself.

She went on her way and I went on mine but I did so with a lighter heart.

I found this beautiful heavy throw for Jesse's couch.

It will be perfect once winter comes with the fireplace glowing in front of him.

I use bowls so much....big ones I have and the white Corelle are our go to....

but I was specifically looking for something smaller.

And I found them!

Perfect for my size servings of fruit and salad and such.

Two plastic tablecloths will be going with me to the ranch this weekend.

Jesse and the boys are going with me and Louis Dean is well enough to stay home alone...

but I do have friends lined up to come over and check on him.

I bought some other things - a Chico skirt that is gorgeous - and some Christmas presents I'm tucking away. But I got distracted and stopped taking photos and just put all my treasures up where they will live for now.

Aldi was my second stop. 

I want to leave the fridge stocked for when I'm gone.

He's already told me he will be cooking chicken fried steak and gravy!

I have been mindlessly watching back to back episodes of Vera and sewing on Chandy's quilt at the same time.

Talk about mindlessly sewing!!!

This thing is HUGE and will not fit in a normal washing machine!

I have folded it up and put it away for now as I will need to take off a few rows.

Louis Dean loves a good steak and he shows to be slightly anemic so this is what I served him for dinner.

We only go outside under cloak of darkness on these super hot days.

I went out to water and our friend and neighbor, Ileen, was out walking.

She stopped and we visited for a good while.

Once again, God put a friend in front of me just when I was needing one.

I try not to 'wish days away' and stay in the moment - but lots of these moments are hot and emotional.

Wednesday was such a frustrating day!!

My friend Tina G. sent me a hug in a box and I think my entire day would have unraveled without it.

Is this not the most perfect scripture for just such a time?

I started not to write about my terrible awful day.....but as my son, Jesse, said to me this afternoon - you just have to laugh about stuff! Right - once it's OVER!!!

Okay, Louis Dean and I are making some changes in our finances and we need to close out a bank account that is out of town. But first we need to redirect the direct deposits.

I have a list of thigs to do and this was one of them but they won't do themselves!

I called yesterday and the automated voice told me they were experiencing a high volume of calls. 

My wait time was 59 minutes.

This was in the afternoon so I decided to try it again Wednesday morning while we were having coffee and doing our devotionals.

Wait time was down to 39 minutes. 

No problem.

10-12 minutes into the wait - the automated voice said we could leave our callback number and not lose our place in line. Good!

20 minutes later the call came and I answered.

I knew the representative would need to speak to Louis Dean so I told him, "I'm going to put you on speaker....." but my fat arthritic fingers hit the 'end call' button.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I kept looking at the phone mentally willing him to call me back.

He didn't.

So I went through the very same scenario again!

This time I was so very careful NOT to disconnect!

He helped through the things I need to do and as I went to the laptop, he guided me through the website to click and print the documents I needed.

Bottom line.....I could have done that in the first place in a matter of minutes instead of hours!!!

So now I have my documents all filled out and I go up to Brenda's office to fax them.

Except I left the fax number at home.

I called Louis Dean who promised he would keep his phone right beside him, and, of course, he didn't answer. So I drove back home and got the paper, went back to Brenda's office and she tried THREE time to fax it but it came back with the same error # all three times.

I was fit to be tied!!! 

We ended up finding the fax  number on the web site and it was, indeed, the correct one she had used.

My friend, Shirley, was bringing dinner over for us that evening and I was trying to get home before she arrived as I had some pasta salad and chocolate bars for her.

But I missed her!

Louis Dean did answer the door so that was good!

What a delicious meal!

Banana muffins....

fresh broccoli salad - my favorite!

I'm ashamed to say that by this time I felt mean and snarky!!

SO I went outside where it was so HOT since I was HOT, too!

I watered and worked for awhile and then came in and took a shower.

Once again, God sent me someone at just the right time.

It was Ilene's birthday and I had suggested she come over for some cheese and crackers and a glass of wine to celebrate.

We had THE best evening together!

It was too hot to sit outside and look at the moon as we had originally planned so we visited in the living room.

We did some recitations and poetry reading and visited some more.

The time flew by and I relaxed for the first time time that day and went to bed and slept like a baby.

By the way, Louis Dean did not take even ONE nap on Wednesday!

He really is doing better.

Today (Thursday) has been a quiet and uneventful day.

I took the day off from trying to accomplish anything more than routine housework and laundry.

I started sewing on a baby quilt but need more lightweight squares to finish.

I meant to order the batting for the four quilts I'm currently working on - but I forgot.

Tomorrow!

Another comfort to my heart have been the cards I've received in the mail.

It continues to shock me that Nita is gone.

I am fine one minute and sobbing the next.

Deanie and I talk every few days and that helps.

I love that we took Sibling Trips together for several years.

Oh, how my heart rejoices when I see pictures like this one.

This was our last trip together.......

Nita is never far from my mind and always in my heart.

I want to honor her memory in the way she would want me to.

Thank you for all the prayers as we grieve the loss of such a special sister.

I can't imagine how we would be coping if it were not for all the prayers being prayed for us.