Finding Comfort at Home....

This has been a sad day in America.

It was good to find comfort in staying home today.

This gave me plenty of time to pause and pray often.

When the President and First Lady led in a moment of silence,

I bowed my head in the kitchen and prayed.

I have thought about finding comfort at home ever since I saw the photo my friend, Dawn, posted on Facebook. I love her house - all full of warmth and books and her beautiful and entertaining cats.

Home and comfort go hand in hand for me and I am thankful for my home.

I decided to make Louis Dean some potato and corn chowder for a late lunch today.

That's something he could eat without hurting his mouth which is still healing from 6 hours in the dentist chair last week. Since it was such a beautiful day, I took the vegetables outside to peel.

Our once beautiful elm tree is dead now.

I have lived here 51 years and the tree was big even back then.

Both of my sons climbed this tree and Jesse, Jr. nailed boards to make a stair step up the main trunk. Those boards are still there but much higher in the tree now.

Back last year a big section fell destroying the gazebo.

Louis Dean frets about the danger of a branch coming down and injuring someone - and he's especially concerned about the grandchildren. We will have to have the tree people out soon to take down anything that can fall. I'm hoping to leave the huge trunks in place. I saw where a man uses a chain saw and creates a beautiful work of art with tree trunks.

While I can't do that, I believe my blogging friend, Arlene, told me about fixing a trunk up to look like a trolls house. Or maybe we can just let the English ivy and the Asian Jasmine grow over it.

The soup turned out good!

I don't know why I am just now thinking of soup when he had the dental work done last Tuesday.

Oops!

I worked in the kitchen all day cleaning. The refrigerator was a mess and everything needed a good scrubbing. Louis Dean worked outside repairing a big pair of clippers to cut tree branches. Then he would come inside and work on cleaning up his music room.

We met back in the gazebo for a tea break and read. We finished a book about an Amish family this afternoon. Usually we read biographies and such so this was different. It would have made a good movie.

We will go back to General Schwarzkopf, Jr tomorrow.

On our next break we watched a new show I recorded.

We really like it and it may become a regular one for us to watch.

Our last break was after we had been cleaning up the mess the squirrels leave every day on our side decks. They are chewing the pecan crop up before the nuts even get a chance to ripen and fall.

Then they drop the shells on the deck and it's like trying to walk on broken glass!

He blew it all off yesterday and I did it today.

I used to like squirrels. Not anymore!

Louis Dean had a wine glass in the freezer and used it for his beer.

Reminded me of Benno's on the Beach in Galveston. When I order wine there, they serve it in a beer stein. They said they tried wineglasses but kept breaking them! I love it!

It's not midnight yet and I'm not nearly as tired as I was last night.

My feet feel much better. The problem is I have severe arthritis in both of my feet. I was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease 17 years ago and it does get worse every year. That's why I have had surgeries on both of my big toes. Now it's in the ankles and I get spasms that are like Charlie Horses.

Wearing good shoes helps. I put those pretty sandals in the Goodwill bag along with others that will only cause me grief if I wear them. I take Celebrex if I'm going to be on my feet all day.

Everyone has something and I'm grateful it's not in my neck or back. I have it in my hands as well but they don't hurt as bad as my feet do.

I remember back when I was divorced and my feet hurt so bad. Once I was lying in bed and in too much pain to be able to get to sleep. I thought, "I would marry someone if they would rub my feet!"

We think crazy things sometimes!

Still, I have a lot to be thankful for!

Louis Dean has been asleep for hours now and I am about to head outside and turn off the pretty lights on the front porch and just leave the porch light on.

Goodnight from the Chapman's!

Earlier this evening I got a phone call from Rayne.

Summer said she told her she wanted to talk to Bella (that's ME!) before she went to bed.

She told me all about her first day back at her old school and how happy everyone was to see her.

She asked about our day. I told her I had pumpkin muffins left from the reunion and had put them in the refrigerator to keep for her. 

That phone call was a real blessing to me.....a comfort.

I copied the quote on the chalkboard I have in the living room.