A String of Busy Days.....

 Tuesday Treasures was minus Brenda this week as she was having a big adventure with Billy, so I took Louis Dean with me.

He was pretty much in a fog all that day and opted to stay in the car wile I went into Texas Thrift alone.

I didn't make a huge haul but I did find some treasures at bargain prices.

I bought a bag of fall garlands - four in all - for $4.

The two satin pumpkins were $4, as well.

I loved this mirrored bling trimmed box and put it in my bathroom to hold my favorite perfumes.

Brand new candles!!

Louis Dean was excited about lunch at Whataburger but only ate a quarter of his hamburger!

I eat more than he does on any given day!

Although he did enjoy a Dr Pepper Blackberry shake and drank the whole thing.

From there we drove through the donation line at Goodwill and unloaded several large bags.

Next stop was Aldi and, once again, Louis Dean didn't feel like going in with me.

He did good to unload the groceries but it took him awhile and then he went to bed for a few hours.

I bought this cake roll and it's really good.

I was concerned about Louis Dean but he seemed better when he got up from his nap - and then I was ready to go to bed!

He stayed up until after 3:00 in the morning puttering around and sorting through the trash and gathering things up and moving them to other places.

I could track his activities on an app so I wasn't surprised when he slept late....and when he woke up he didn't remember wandering around all night.

Wednesday we lingered out on the kitchen deck watching and listening to the birds and the bees.

It is mesmerizing to watch all the activity as the birds dive in and out of the trumpet vines.

They have shelter as well as the ponds for water and I upgraded our bird seed to better quality that seems to attract more songbirds. 

We spend about an hour outside every morning and then another hour in the evening out on the driveway. We have so many blessings right here in our neighborhood.

I've spent so much time cleaning, organizing, decorating and purging in our bedroom and my bathroom.

At last it's done!

Hard to get photos of my tiny bathroom.

I took everything off the wall and started over.

Still have some tweaking to do but I'm enjoying the new look.

I love my tiny bathroom!

There's a shower to the right of where my necklaces are hanging but a rack is hung over the shower door and holds folded towels. My grands didn't even know I had a shower in there for a long time!

Wednesday afternoon we started cleaning up and getting dressed to attend the fall band concert at the middle school. Louis Dean is using a cane these days when we go out and about.

I drove to Dallas shortly after traffic and shopped Walmart before driving on to the school.

Amber had saved us seats on the front row!!

I love how my daughter loves her father.

She chose him and he made it official....years ago.

Louis Dean is the Bell grands bono fide Granddad!

Kailey is the photographer for the year book so she was taking lots of pictures with a very professional looking camera!

Here we are!

Both sets of grandparents and our daughter, Amber, and Logan and Trystan.

It was daylight when we arrived and parked at the school.....

but dark dark when we left.

As a rule, I do not drive in the dark, but I followed Amber's tail lights until she turned off and then I was good the rest of the way home.

I can drive from my house to Amber's anytime day or night due to the good lighting and I'm so grateful I can do that!

Thursday has been Art Class day with Shirley for the last month or more.

Last week I served a special potato soup from my librarian friend, Jennifer, and this week Shirley made a homemade tomato basil soup, again from a recipe by Jennifer!

It was absolutely delicious!!! 

We both agreed it could not have been better!

I made some good garlic toast using minced garlic in oil, garlic infused olive oil, a sprinkle of garlic salt and another sprinkle of Italian seasonings and topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Dessert was a slice of the Pumpkin Cake Roll. 

Then we were off to the art table!

It has given me such joy to see how Shirley has loved painting.

She's an extremely talented artist and has an eye for color and composition.

She has always been a crafty lady since she was young and has now upped her game by doing an amazing first oil painting!

This was not an easy painting but she nailed it!

We went by a pic from Pinterest but Shirley made it her own.

This is mine and you can tell we have slightly different styles but are happy with our paintings.

Our Santas are done and we will start up our art classes in early 2026.

Shirley chose this as her second painting and I love it!

I want to paint it, too!

We had a snack bowl for Happy Hour on the driveway.

Nothing heavy......

and a glass of white zinfandel - perfect! 

Tabitha is so precious to us!

She finds beds in many different places.

Dean and Sherry are here to spend the night and it did my heart and soul so good to hear their voices and talk and laugh together. We haven't been to the ranch since July 1st and I'm so anxious to get back down there! This is the longest we have been away in years.

I close this journal entry tonight with a reality pic.

This aerosol window cleaner is now a holder for Louis Dean's tools.

It scares me how he does things.

There's no rhythm or reason as to what he does and his brain is slowly dying.

This breaks my heart and every morning when I wake up I put my hand on his head and pray for him.

I ask God for wisdom and discernment as to how I can take care of him and be a blessing.

His music room looked more like a lumber yard today.

A shelf fell down and he brought in boards and materials to make a new one.

He used a regular saw instead of a power one but then used several electric drills.

How can one feel sorrow and joy at the very same time?

I'm sorry that the husband I knew is no longer there and yet joyful that Louis Dean is still present in my life.

He loves me and I love him and we continue to have a good life together.

It's not easy to see the love of your life fade away bit by bit and I pray every day that I can be a blessing to him.

Today, tonight, this moment in time - is still the best part of my life and I would not change one thing since the day we matched on eHarmony back in April of 2005.