My husband is married to a senior citizen

I got up around 9. Chris had put a birthday card on my purse. It was a very sweet card. I realized I was now a senior citizen.
I started cleaning in the living room. I picked up all the fallen plant pieces. I swept up the dirt from the potted plants. I took empty pots outside. I washed or wiped the window sill and the various plant stands. Chris had a conference call at 11, so that is when I made and ate breakfast.
I used the vacuum to sweep the rug in the utility room and what corners I could reach.
I blended leftover carrots and tomato and chicken and pork. I cut my thumb slicing up the pork. Dad was very concerned and told Chris. I used up all the remaining broth to blend the ingredients. It made 9 cups. I put 7 cups in individual containers in the freezer. Two cups went into a jar in the fridge. I ate the little piece of pork left. I put little pieces of masking tape on the containers to mark them. When Dad got up from his nap, I showed him his lunches and explained how to take one out each day for the next day.
I went into the attic to find some wrapping paper. I wrapped and labeled a gift and put it where the Christmas tree normally goes. I packed up my stuff so Chris could start packing the car.
Dad got a call from the bank and for some reason could not return it. So Chris drove him to the bank while I cleaned up dead plant material in the den. Jennifer, our choir director in Huntsville called. And while I was talking to her, Chris called from the bank. So I hung up with her and called him back. He wanted Faye's number. I had to hang up to look it up and text it to him. I went back to cleaning and soon he and Dad were back.
When I finished, we bid Dad goodbye. Chris drove us to his parents' house. We sat in the living room talking until 6. Then we took the Prius and drove to a Mexican restaurant. Cecily and I ordered fahitas. I got the vegetable ones because they had mushrooms and cactus in addition to what came with the chicken and beef ones. We had a nice meal. Chris spoke Spanish to the waiter. Cecily dropped some napkins and I picked them up with my toes.
After we paid and packed up the leftovers, we went back to the house. I put my leftovers in plastic baggies and froze them for the trip home. I had just opened my laptop and plugged it in when I got a text from my tapping buddy. I had forgotten about our usual Thursday night session. I took my laptop to the basement for some privacy. We tapped for me and did some surrogate tapping. After an hour and a half, we concluded the session and I came upstairs. Al and Chris were watching football. I jotted notes for my blog while we talked. Then I finished up my blog so I could go to bed.
* a selfie taken at the restaurant *

Always something new to clean

I slept well and woke up about 9. I fed Dad some coconut oil, but he said he had trouble swallowing it. I made and ate my breakfast while deleting e-mail. I started doing my Wednesday exercises, but got interrupted. Dad needed two letters put in the mail box. Then I took a bath. I used the Dr. Bronner soap bar to wash my hair. I did not like how my hair felt, but it behaved a lot better.
I removed everything under the sink. A few things got thrown out, and some went to another location. I found a good scrub brush. I wiped off all the items and washed the walls and cabinet floor. After it dried, I started putting things back.
Chris bought a new socket for the livingroom lamp and got it working.
After lunch, Dad went to get the mail, and I found him talking to Al across the street. Then Dad and I took a walk. It was a beautiful day. It took us 53 minutes to walk the estimated two miles.
After we got back, Chris was listening to a group call for work. I scrubbed the steering wheel in the K car. It was quite black, but it came off pretty easily. Then I fixed Dad's pajama pants. The snap was tearing loose from the fabric. I stabilized it with Stitch Witchery. Then I searched for velcro. I found some in the larger sewing box. I cut two small pieces and trimmed off the corners. Then I stitched them to the pants, just under the snap.
While Dad was napping, I scrubbed the kitchen floor, twice and rinsed it. I had found some floor polish under the sink. But I could not read the instructions. I also scrubbed part of the utility room floor.
Dad ate his supper while I cleaned out the cereal cabinet, pitching a box of bar wrappers. I also found a shoe box lid of small cooking items. I soaked them in soapy water for a bit, then rinsed and laid them out to dry.
Dad went to choir practice. I ate some chicken. I found more sticky utensils to soak and scrub. I reorganized jars in the side cabinet. I also found three open boxes of white stuff. I threw them out. I checked my e-mail while some Christmas program came on TV.
I watched two episodes of Voyager with Chris. And then Dad came home from choir practice. Chris removed another splinter from my hand. I'll think twice before cleaning the deck again. Dad watched the news and found something to eat. I posted to my blog and hoped to go right to bed. Chris had already set up the hide-a-bed and laid down.
* Some nice fall colors for a nice fall day, courtesy of the quilt show in October. *

Cleaning walls and doors

I got up at 8:30. Dad was eating breakfast. He had the morning show on and was obsessing about getting ready for the dentist and for Kevin's visit. I made and ate breakfast. Then we made a list of groceries he needed for a casserole. Chris went to the store while Dad took a nap.
I pulled the new rug out of the bathroom. I cleaned the walls and sink items, tub and behind the toilet and the floor. When Dad got back from the dentist, I asked him about replacing two lightbulbs in the hall bath. He gave me some LED bulbs. Then the bathroom was so bright that I had to clean it again because of all the new dirt I could see.
I took a break for some lunch. Then, to get some sunshine, I moved a pile of bush clippings and fallen branches from the front yard to the back yard. Then I swept the cobwebs from around the front door and porch area. With the bowl of hot water and soap, I started scrubbing the front of the screen door. Then Dad called me in to help move items from the sink area to the dining room. After that, I finished both sides of the screen door and scrubbed both sides of the main door. And the doorjambs, continuing on to the walls nearby. I washed the closet door and moved on to the louvered doors in the hallway. Then I worked my way down the hall, including the louvered doors to the hall closet. I had enough of louvers. I washed the wall by the bathroom. What it really needed was paint for the areas that Mom's wheelchair had gouged. I scrubbed the master bedroom door, wall, and then the guest bedroom door. I had to soap it and rub it twice to get it mostly clean.
And then I was exhausted. I stretched this way and that. Kevin finished up the cleaning. We talked for a bit, and then he left. I found leftovers for supper. It was good to relax. I heated up some blended casserole for Dad. When he was done eating, he wanted to do recyclables. We had done them last week, but we were able to add 4 more boxes of plastic and cardboard!
Then I sat down to jot notes to my blog while Dad organized his pills for the week. I deleted over 100 e-mails and then started reading what was left. One was a comment on my blog, posted anonymously, but asking for a reply. Who do I reply to?
I sat with Chris and we watched a Voyager episode on Netflix. Then I finished my blog and posted it so I could go to bed.
* The new rug in the bathroom. It doesn't quite fit, but we have nothing to cut it with. *

Cleaning and raking and shopping

After I posted to my blog, Chris and I opened the couch into a bed and dressed it with sheets and a blanket. I slept well through the night. I woke up early hearing a text message come through my phone. I texted and went back to bed. I must have fallen asleep, although I don't think I did, because all of a sudden it was 9:30. The house phone rang but Dad did not answer. The dentist office left a message. The phone rang again, but he did not answer. Later the phone rang a third time. He did not answer and there was no message. However I was getting worried. Dad was still in bed with the door shut. I could not tell if he was sleeping, or...
I made and ate breakfast, and read e-mail. Chris moved the refrigerator and I started cleaning behind it. I did the walls and floor and the cabinet overhead. I also took down what was on top and dusted it off. Dad got up about noon. After taking his pills, he called the dentist to make an appt tomorrow to get an impression for new dentures. Then he collected laundry from the bathrooms and bedroom and kitchen. Chris did the washing.
I needed some fresh air, so I went outside and swept leaves off of the deck. It was a big job because it is a big deck with a long winding wheelchair ramp. Also the picnic tables were covered in fraying tarps and two-by-four remnants and decaying leaves. A great hiding place for roaches. I cleaned that up as best I could.
I took the rug out of the hall bathroom and beat it outside. It was badly stained and fraying at the edges. The floor was covered in dust from the rubber backing on the rug. I swept it up. I cleaned the bottles of Drano and the scrubber holder.
Dad and I talked about buying a new rug. Then we took measurements with a tape measure that I found under one of the tarps outside. I wrote the numbers on a piece of paper.
Chris went grocery shopping, then started supper. Dad and I went to Target to shop for a new rug. All of the bathroom rugs were too thick to allow the bathroom door to swing open. So we got a utility rug. We also saw something Faye would like, so we went to Kohl's for that. Then we came home.
While Dad got the rug out of the car, I came inside and helped Chris put the sheets back on Dad's bed. Dad gave me the new rug to unfurl and I did that while he put something away. We looked at the rug on the floor and saw that it was a good fit, except for right in front of the toilet. He said he was going to brush his teeth, so I left.
Supper was ready. Chris and I ate pork and sauerkraut, rice and corn. Unbeknowst to us, Dad took a nap. I read e-mail for a bit. Chris said it was almost time for Big Bang Theory and Lucifer. So we sat down to watch BBT. When Lucifer came on, it was a repeat episode. So I sat with Chris in the livingroom and we streamed last week's episode from Fox network. We had to restart it several times to get through it.
Then Chris started an episode of Voyager. But I had to stop watching to help Dad. He wanted to talk about deciding what to do with a sink full of dishes. So we discussed what goes in the dishwasher vs being washed by hand, and how to rinse. Chris had put the pork away but left out the rice and corn for Dad. I put away the rice and corn while Dad stacked the dishwasher. Then I handwashed the dishes we would need for tomorrow and Dad dried the bigger ones.
I sat down to write up my blog. Dad hunted for dishtowels that he thought were in the laundry but it turned out that they were not dirty so did not get washed. Then he started crushing shredded wheat for his breakfast tomorrow. Swansons had a 20% off sitewide sale today so I made another order. Then I posted to my blog, more than ready to go to bed.
* I didn't take any pics worth posting, so here is one of Dad from the restaurant on Saturday. *

Walking on a nice day

I did not sleep well last night. I thought I heard Dad walking around at intervals all night. But he said he slept for hours. He knocked on my door at 7am. I was already awake.
I was not rested. I drank water and made breakfast. I ate it while reading e-mail. I scrubbed the tub, then took a bath and got dressed for church. I put walking shoes and a water bottle and some seed crackers in a bag. Dad and I went out to the car. We headed to church with me driving. But he had forgotten his dentures. So I turned back. I sat in the car in front of the house, waiting for him to come back with dentures. And waited. And waited. Finally I had to make a pit stop, so I went to the house, but it was locked. I knocked and knocked and finally he opened the door. He'd had to make a pit stop too.
So he brought his dentures back to the car and we took off again.
We arrived at church half an hour late, joining the Sunday school class already in progress. Faye came in later, having planned for kids school, but none showed up. After class, Dad left to join the choir. Faye and I put away chairs and talked until the last minute. Then we sat in the sanctuary for the service. It went well. The interim pastor was out of town so we had a supply pastor who was a member of the church. He talked about gratitude. Slides were shown on a large monitor at the front of the room. I wondered how much that had cost.
After the service, we collected Dad and walked to the fellowship hall for snacks. I got some veggies and clementine sections. We sat at a table and talked to people I haven't seen for years. Dolly said she had just sent me a card (to the Korea address). I visited with Sandy, too, who is planning to retire from teaching at the end of the year.
After the crowd thinned out, Faye and Dad and I went to Subway for lunch. Dad brought a can of soup. I ordered a salad and gave him the lid to use as a bowl. Faye ate a sub. After eating, they greeted Hannah, who used to work there and had memorized their order.
We went back to the church. I changed my shoes and we went walking for just over an hour through the neighborhood. It was a nice day and I did not need a coat. But the sun got low in the sky. So when we left to go home, it was in my eyes.
We got to Dad's house ahead of Chris, who was coming from his parents house. I blended up some casserole and chicken for Dad. We were eating supper when Chris arrived. Chris ate the last piece of cake. Faye had stopped at Cosco so she was a little later. She came to collect her to-do list which had gotten lost in one of the shoe bags from yesterday.
After Faye left, I sat by Chris and looked at the book, the Samuel Fox Diary. Then I washed the blender and made hummus. The cumin turned out to be bad so we threw it out. But the hummus wasn't the same without it. Then I washed a bunch of dishes, including ALL of the measuring cups. Dad wanted grapes so I peeled a bunch for him. I looked through the box of fabric and patterns that Karen gave me. They were very interesting. Afterward, I had trouble getting them all back in the box.
I wrote up my blog as Dad assembled garbage for the truck tomorrow. I finished my Swansons order and submitted it. I took my evening supplements. I published my blog post, hoping we'd all go to bed soon. *
* A pretty fall tree *

My birthday party

Last night I washed the dishes before I went to bed. Dad wanted to watch to see how it was done. Then he headed in the direction of bed, but I wondered if he would make it.
I found out later that he was up every hour because he drank water before going to bed.
The next morning, I got up at 9:30. I wished I had gotten up sooner since Faye and I were going shopping.
Dad and I ate some coconut oil. I made and ate breakfast and got dressed. I called Chris to come over at 12, but then when Faye was late, I decided to tell him 1 instead. I talked to Kurt for a bit.
Faye arrived. Kurt saw her first. I told Dad I was leaving and I went out to meet her. Kurt decided to come along because he wanted a ride to the mall to meet some friends.
Faye drove us to the mall. She wanted to buy coffee for Chris but the specialty coffee shop was gone. We stopped at two places for me to get a new band for my watch, but they were out of black 10mm bands. Then we went to Payless. I had worn out the shoes she bought me years ago and we found the same ones there. I preferred them in black, but the ones in blue and taupe were on sale. And everything was 30% off regardless. The size 8's fit with socks and the 7.5's fit with footies. So I deliberated back and forth. What I really needed was a 7.5 wide but they did not have that one. But there was a similar one... In the end, she bought me four pairs of shoes and I bought two more. I also found a scarf for her to buy for Michele.
Then we went to the bookstore where she found some coffee from Guatemala for Chris. Then we drove back to Dad's house. Chris was waiting. Faye went to Food Lion to pick up the birthday cake. Chris asked Dad to let him pay for half of the upcoming bill and had to insist strongly to get Dad to agree. Chris and I and Dad got in Chris' car and went to Kabuto. We found Al, Cecily, Marie and Michele waiting. Cecily gave me three pairs of earrings for my birthday plus a card. There was also a card from Marie and one from Michele.
Faye showed up with the cake and I guess the restaurant staff took it. When William and Karen came, we were shown to two tables with grills. Somehow we decided who would sit where. There were 13 of us so we needed two tables, 8 and 5. I handed lip balms to the people who hadn't gotten one yet.

The waitress took our orders, then brought soup and salad. The table of 5 got their chef first. And he was more of a showman than our chef who arrived a few minutes later. Maybe it was because they were working back to back. Kurt said he had never been to a traditional Japanese steakhouse before. I was glad we did get some show on his account. Dad had brought a can of soup, but did not need it. He ate the soup that came with the meal. The waitress made two cloth napkins into a bib using binder clips for him. He tried the salad, but could not eat it without dentures. I got most of it. Then he tried the grilled vegetables. At one point he started choking and Chris used the Heimlich maneuver. Dad had some trouble swallowing for awhile and we all were a little worried. But with attention from Faye and Chris, he worked it out. He ate his fish with no trouble.
When we were done eating, the waitress brought the cake with four candles in it. She lit the candles and went away. Chris started the singing of Happy Birthday and I blew the candles out. I cut the carrot cake and handed out pieces to whomever wanted. William and Karen gave me a large box to unwrap. I would never have guessed it contained fabric and quilt patterns.
Cecily, Al and Marie left first. Then Michele came with us back to Dad's house.
The Reber side of the family gathered in the living room. Patrick was there, too. Faye gave me a book called the Samuel Fox Diary. It was a very large book written by our second cousin, Yvonne K. Kimmel from papers she found in a chest that was given to her by a family member. Faye then gave Christmas gifts to Chris and Michele. Then I handed out the Christmas gifts I bought in China. We had a nice time talking amongst the lot of us.
Kurt brought up the subject of ice cream. When he got some takers, he went in the kitchen to dish it out. Dad wanted his vegetables blended so I did that and brought him a cup to eat while the others ate ice cream. I also gave out a few more pieces of cake. I watered some plants. Chris and Michele went back to the Damour's place. William and Karen went home. Faye and Kevin went home.
Dad wanted some more vegetable blend. I added some coconut oil to it so he would get full and not need to eat in the middle of the night. But he continued to eat after that. He had pineapple casserole and pumpkin bread. I sat down to write notes for my blog. We discussed the itinerary for tomorrow morning, getting ready for church. We also agreed that today had gone very well and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Dad stacked the dishwasher. I put together a Swanson's order to take advantage of the black Friday weekend deals. I did not submit it in case the 1-day only sale tomorrow is better.
I was tired and wanted to go to bed. But I knew Dad would probably be up puttering around for hours. Should I stay up and hope to be of help? Or go to bed and get the rest I need to be helpful tomorrow? I took my evening supplements and downloaded the pics in my camera. I deleted most of the blurry ones. Then I picked two and posted to my blog.

Progress in the kitchen

I had trouble falling asleep, but then slept through the night, possibly from all the raking. I got up about 8:30 to get dressed.
I handed out little pots of lip balm. Cecily, Marie, Carol and Michele went to the mall in Short Pump for Christmas shopping. Jasper cried when they left. He got over it when the men came to finish the roof. Then he walked around woofing.
I sat on the couch reading e-mail and aware of the TV. There was a segment on shopping tips for Black Friday deals. There were plenty of Black Friday deals in my inbox.
I made and ate breakfast. Chris packed up my stuff and moved it to his car. Then Chris drove me to Dad's house, but the door was locked. I called Kurt, thinking he was out with Dad. But no, he was out with Patrick. So Chris knocked on the door until Dad answered it. We moved my luggage in. Chris sat down to read a book while I conversed with my Dad to see what he needed. I reminded him to ingest some coconut oil and he did. It was going very slowly, so I told Chris he could go back to his folks.
While Dad puttered around, I removed drawers in the kitchen, cleaning them and the items inside. I set like items together and pulled out the repeats and things not likely to be used. I put those in a box and it went in the attic. What was left fit better in the drawers and was more findable. I went through all the rubber bands and pulled out the best ones for him to keep.
Then he laid down for a nap and I ate lunch. I woke him up at 4:30. He finished his shopping list with much discussion. Kurt was on his way over. So I blended up chicken, veggie juice and corn casserole. I poured half in his bowl and put the other half in the fridge. He finished it just as Kurt arrived.
Kurt left his engine running. There was more discussion as Dad got ready.
We got in Kurt's car and he drove us to Wegman's grocery store. I had never been there before. It was quite a treat. They have a huge organic section. Dad brought his list but only he could read it. So we listened carefully and helped him find his items. I found some Dr. Bronner's soap that I don't mind cleaning with. When we got to the end of the list and put milk and yogurt in the cart, I ran to get the rotisserie chicken. I met Dad and Kurt at the check-out. Dad pulled out his coin purse and picked out two dollars in change. He handed that to the lady. Then he picked out some more. Finally he had me pull bills from his wallet. I had to ask Kurt for 15 cents. Then Dad showed his card and she scanned it. The total lowered by about 50 cents. So she gave some back. I gave Kurt back his change and the rest went to Dad. Then we were out, letting the guy behind us check out.
Kurt drove us home. We unloaded the groceries while Dad put away the toilet paper. Then Kurt and I dug into the chicken. Dad ate the rest of the blended chicken. We got to talking and Kurt looked up answers on the internet. Then somehow we got to Windows 10 vs Windows XP.
Kurt was showing me a program he likes called Live PD. Then Dad asked for help finding his hearing aid. But I think the part he said he dropped was in his left ear. Kurt helped him reassemble his hearing aids, then went to bed. I typed up my blog, hoping to do the same. And hoping Dad would get a nights rest.
* This is the jawbone I found yesterday. *

Thanksgiving

When I awoke, I checked my watch and it looked like 8:30. Since we were sleeping in the basement, I had to go upstairs to use the restroom. I was going to go back to bed, but Cecily started talking to me. So I stayed upstairs, being social. Others were eating, so I made my breakfast. Then Chris was collecting items for laundry, so I went down and got dressed, then put my nightgown in the wash and clothes from yesterday. I added my clothes to the laundry pile, then finished making breakfast. I asked Cecily if she needed any more aprons. She said no, but that Marie and Carol did. I asked Marie what color she would like and she said purple.
I moved my breakfast box into the den and sat with my laptop. I did a meditation. Someone found a pill in the kitchen and it was my vitamin D3. I went back to e-mail. I jotted some notes for my blog to remember the purple.
As I sat on the couch, reading e-mail and listening to audios, Rowan sat beside me. She is a BIG dog. Occasionally she would paw at me and hit the trackpad. I moved my laptop to the side of the couch. I used Skype to take a pic. Chris had to help me find where skype put it. Then I noticed my leg was falling asleep, dog-on-it.
When the others sat down to lunch, I got out my leftovers from the restaurant last night. I also ate the rest of the jicama sticks because they were drying out. And I had two banana oatmeal cookies.
I returned to my laptop for a bit, but then went outside to rake leaves. It was a nice day although a little chilly. I enjoyed the sunlight as I raked leaves away from the house and bushes. My goal was to put them where Al could pick them up with his lawn mower.
Because they were having a new roof put on, there were pieces of roofing in the leaves and grass. I found a spiral of nails in the grass and moved it to the deck where someone would find it. In the front yard, I found a tape measure that the roofing guys must have dropped. But the most interesting thing I found, was the jawbone of a ...deer(?) in the back yard by the fence. It had slash marks like a lawn mower had run over it.
As I continued to rake, Al took the cupola (formerly on the roof) over to his neighbor and they had a long talk. I showed Al the jawbone. Then the neighbor recounted how he had once found human remains while hunting. Another neighbor came over. I hung up the rake and went inside and got my camera to take a pic of the jaw bone. Then I went inside.
I hung out with the food prep crowd. The turkey smelled so good. But not all the food was ready yet. Al carved the bird and Cecily directed everything else. Then we got our plates and filled them in the kitchen and returned to the dining room. I took a pic and then we prayed.
It was a good meal. It must have been because there wasn't much talking. Then we cleared the table and put the food away so we could have pie. I declined, naturally. The others had pecan pie, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Then we cleared that away, too. Cecily and Al watched football. I listened to an audio. While it played, I played 2048 on my tablet. Chris and Michele were watching a movie on Michele's laptop in the computer room. After awhile, I went and sat with them. I got Michele to take over my game while I watched the movie.
When the movie was over, Chris turned it off. I came back to the living room to post to my blog. Chris read until I finished, and then we went to bed.

Seeing Michele

I slept in the back bedroom and had trouble falling asleep. Uncertain when I woke up, I got up at 9:20. Dad was asleep. I drank water and sat at my laptop reading e-mail. I saw the pair of socks that I gave Dad for Christmas last year sitting on the TV table. I heard a knock at the back door. Chris and Michele had arrived. I let them in. I greeted them loudly and we talked for a bit. Since Dad did not get up, I went back to wake him up. He told me he had gotten to bed at 6am. He said doing his pills did not take long last night, and that the socks were easy to find. He also said he ate something. I found it hard to believe that that accounted for being up all night.
Anyway, the three of us visited. I made myself breakfast. Michele ate yogurt and blueberries for lunch. Chris ate, too. Faye called, and later came over. We discussed what restaurant to go to on Saturday. We had picked Peking, but it did not open until dinner time, so Chris found Kabuto nearby. As negotiations progressed, I started packing up. Chris put my suitcase and laptop in the car. Finally we had to go.
With Michele in the back seat, Chris drove me to his parent's house. On the way, Michele said she liked my red purse. When I offered it to her, she said she would rather have a teal and black one.
At the Damours, I gathered clean clothes from my suitcase and took a shower. When I came out, Cecily gave me the rundown on the food for tomorrow. We discussed something else, and then it was time to go.
Michele and I rode with Chris to the restaurant called Rosa's. The others arrived sooner because Chris missed the turn and had to pull a u-ie. We found them in a small room called The Vault. Probably because the restaurant was in an old bank building. The waitress took our drink order and then we discussed the food. When she came back, we ordered. Then we had plenty of time to visit while the food was being prepared. Several of us had the tomato-bisque soup as an appetizer.
Then Michele was presented a pizza on a stand. It was a 5-cheese pizza and she immediately sprinkled it with more cheese. I got a plate of flounder with a baked potato and broccoli. Four others got the Pollo Francaise. It was breaded so I did not have any. It was all very good. After the meal, the owner came in and spoke to us for a bit. She talked about the new location and some renovations she wanted to make.
Then we put on our coats and went home. Chris stopped at the nearby gas station. I recorded it in the car book.
When we got back, I sat on the couch in the living room with Cecily. After a bit I noticed no one else was around. I found Chris and Michele watched a recorded section of the dinosaur game, learning techniques from other gamers. I went back to the living room and got out my laptop. The TV was a little distracting. Cecily had it on the food channel. When she went to bed, Al turned it off. I read e-mail until Chris arrived to read his book. I jotted some notes for my blog. I continued reading e-mail for awhile, then went to bed.

Sewing and cleaning

I got up about 9. I checked e-mail and deleted what I could. I called up the 10 episode of Christ Revealed and listened while I worked on mending. I made and ate breakfast. I staystitched the tattered neckline of an old but favored t-shirt. Then I ripped off the neckline one stitch at a time. There were a lot of stitches. I paused to listen to Dad who seemed to need to talk about the day Mom died. When he was done and had gone on to make breakfast, I went back to ripping stitches. I used the old ribbing to cut a new piece from the bottom of an old undershirt. I quartered it and pinned it to the neckline. I sewed it over and over, trying to get it on with no puckers.
Dad was preparing for Kevin to come, so I stopped to help move things out of the way. I started cleaning in the corner of the kitchen with the refrigerator. The counter top was very dirty. I had to clean all the items on it as well. Some things went away, if you know what I mean. Kevin arrived just as I got to the juicer corner. He carried out the spiders I evicted.
So I went back to the neckline on the t-shirt while Kevin watered the plants and made Dad's casserole. Dad went to tai chi which was across town.
When I finally had success with the t-shirt, Kevin and I cleaned a bin in the fridge. We cleaned between the stove and the counter, and the window sill. Then he left. I found more places to clean, including the doors to the kitchen. I also made myself a kale and sauerkraut salad. It wasn't good.
Dad came home from tai chi about 8:30. He asked for blended chicken with corn casserole and cruciferous juice. So I made that while he moved stuff off of his bed. He leaned on the counter top while eating a large bowl of it. He got distracted by a few other things, like looking for the pair o socks I sent him for Christmas. Meanwhile, I washed part of a wall in the dining room.
Dad and I went through the boxes and flattened all the ones that were not in perfect condition. After much discussion, we put them in the recycling container outside. We could not take them to the curb yet because it was raining. Dad looked up the schedule only to find that next week is his week.
I typed up my blog and hoped to go to bed. Dad stayed up to 'do' his pills for tonight and the rest of the week.
* This is the view from Dad's driveway. *

Helping out as best I can

We woke up at 9, hearing Dad, and surprised it was so late. I thought Dad got up at 6. Chris got dressed and helped me fold the blankets and sheets and fold up the couch. Then he went to his parents house.
Dad and I both had some coconut oil. I drank some water I had set out last night. I asked him what we needed to accomplish today, but he seemed unable to answer the question.
I went in the back bathroom to wash and get dressed. I examined the inside of the toilet tank since Dad was not using that one. He said it was an old toilet and the water would swirl for a long time. But everything looked ok.
I started making my breakfast. Dad asked me to help him find his cup from last night. It turned out to be in the fridge, full of sliced grapes. He had sliced them last night but then could not eat them because of his lack of dentures. So we peeled them together and he ate the peeled pieces.
I finished my breakfast and added a can of coconut milk to my fermented batch. I ate my breakfast while reading e-mail. Dad was eating, too.
I decided that I needed to be more proactive so I asked Dad about the mending. He indicated a pile, which seemed way too small. But later I got his attention and he had another pile as well. I mended until Dad was done eating.
He showed me the splint Faye gave him for his big toe. But he could not use it with his shoe. He started the car and we went to post office to mail Mom's splints back. I wasn't sure the post office would take it because the return label was so faded. But they did. Then we went to a nearby nail place to get toe spacers. The lady was Korean and was impressed with my use of the language (it is amazing how far I can get on Hello, Thank you, and Have a nice day.) She gave me two at no charge. She said I was a good daughter to my father.
We came home to take a walk. I changed into my walking shoes. Dad disappeared.
When he came back, we walked around the neighborhood. Then we went to Fresh Market for groceries. The produce didn't seem so fresh to me.
When we got back, he parked the car in his special way. I carried the groceries in. I washed the cans while Dad put produce away. Then I made a salad. Dad drank Ensure and watched the news, so I sat down and watched it too. It was on PBS so there were no annoying commercials. Then he went through today's mail. I had already pulled out one that was for me. It was the kava that I ordered from Amazon.
I read an article on niacin and psychiatric disorders. The author recommended a book called The Vitamin cure for Depression by Bo Jonsson, orthomolecular specialist. Take niacin for depression, and cashews will provide tryptophan for making seratonin.
Dad asked me to fix his old gloves. I was able to whipstitch the lining back in place but could do nothing for the big holes in the outer part. He showed me a glove that he lost the mate to. So I went searching and found another glove with no mate, plus two more pairs of gloves. That sparked more hunting, and we found more gloves. Gloves with no holes. But he intends to continue wearing the holey ones that I just fixed.
Then he picked through some little stuff on the bookcase and we threw some things out and just shoved others in another pile.
We tried the toe spacers on Dad's foot. I got the sock over it and then put his shoe on. He liked the way it felt. We talked about socks and shoes. I showed him a picture of the socks I ordered him for Christmas last year and he said he has never seen them.
Then he wanted me to blend up some chicken. But it was almost 11pm, so he said he could wait until tomorrow.
* If there was anyone that needed a chiropractor, it is this guy. *

Arriving at the family homestead

There was a loud storm last night and I could not sleep. When the wind and rain quieted for a moment, there were sounds from the highway. Finally I put on my headphones and played the Tibetan singing bowls for an hour and a half. The headphones got uncomfortable so I took them off. I dozed off and on. When I got up, it was 9am.
I opened the curtains to let the daylight in. That woke up Chris.
I pulled out my partial breakfast and added the supplements, minerals, and coconut milk. I ate breakfast while reading e-mail and listening to an audio. I read that grape seed extract, and Chinese red pine bark are for strengthening teeth, particularly dentin. Omi or Umi tea, and miso soup are good for the gut. A low Fodmap diet also helps the gut.
I took a shower and got dressed, I meditated while Chris took some of the luggage out. Then I packed up my laptop and we took the remaining boxes out to the car. It was chilly.
As soon as we got on the highway, we turned on the car CD player. We finished the CD from yesterday which finished that book. Then we started another book on CD. It made the trip seem shorter. I peeled eggs for Chris to eat and we snacked on jicama sticks.
We did run into traffic, but it was not too bad for the most part. We did get rerouted around an accident. But by 4:10 we were sitting in Dad's driveway. He wasn't there. I looked through my phone for his number but I did not have it. I called Faye but she did not answer. I called William, but he did not answer either. So I called Kurt. He gave me Dad's cell number and Chris called it. But there was no answer. Finally I texted Faye. All of a sudden there was a black and white cat splayed on the windshield watching me. I reoriented my phone to take a pic, but it crawled over the top of the car and down the back. Soon Faye called and said they were on their way back. So Chris and I listened to more of the book on CD while we waited.
When Dad and Faye arrived, Chris carried our luggage and food boxes inside. I took pics of Dad for my chiropractor to see. We all chatted for awhile, trying to work out what was happening later in the week. I found a package on the kitchen table with the quilting foot I had ordered.
Eventually Faye went home to take a nap before her shift. Chris sat in the livingroom and used his laptop. Dad and I talked in the kitchen. I talked him into eating a big spoonful of coconut oil. I ate some chicken. I put some shredded chicken in the blender for Dad and added stewed tomatoes for liquid. He put that on his shredded wheat to make it soft enough to eat. Then he got out a corn casserole. I put that in the blender with milk and he really enjoyed that. He said he was finally getting full.
There was something on his computer that he wanted Chris to take care of. But he couldn't remember the name of it. The two of them went back and forth until they determined that it was the network card or D-link. Chris went back to his laptop. I got out my laptop to check e-mail and type my blog. Dad washed his dishes in a bowl in the sink. I took my evening supplements. Dad checked his laptop to see if he should take his primadone. Apparently he takes it 2 days out of 3. Why his doctor didn't lower the dose per pill so he could take one pill a day, I don't know.
Ready for bed myself, but not certain Dad was, I posted to my blog.
* Suddenly, a cat. *

Staying overnight in Bristol

We got up late, relatively. I checked e-mail while eating breakfast, then showered, and got dressed. I packed pillows. I chose some thread for the tea cup kit but could not find kit. Later I remembered that it was in my suitcase. Chris cut up the jicama, and we put the slices in a bag. I filled six water bottles with filtered water and kava tea bags. Should a person with a cracked tooth be drinking something called kava tea? But the tea seems to have a calming effect on my jaw muscles.
Chris packed the car while I did a few last minute things, like putting my hashtag project away. It was about 11 when we got on the road. Chris had gotten a book on CD from the library. So we had entertainment all the way. I drank kava tea from two water bottles.
On the way we stopped twice to use the restrooms. At the second stop, Chris got a cheeseburger because the story mentioned them. I ate the last of the salad greens which we brought along. I also ate some seed crackers and jicama slices.
We had almost finished the last CD when we reached the hotel in Bristol. We gathered what we could carry from the car and went into the hotel to check in. In the room, I checked my e-mail while Chris played a game for an hour.
Then we walked past the next hotel to Red Lobster. We each order half a tilapia with two sides. Mine was asparagus and tomatoes with cheese. His was a potato and broccoli. The asparagus and broccoli tasted freezer burnt.
Chris paid and we walked back to the hotel. I checked my e-mail, then looked for something to watch on Netflix. But Chris didn't like my choice, so we watched the first episode of Voyager, followed by Season 2 episode 2 of Enterprise. Chris was going to watch another episode but it was after 11 EST. So he went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* I didn't take any pics today, so here is one from the quilt show last month. *

Packing is a pain

I got up before 7. But it was cold in the house and I ended up back in bed, wanted to take advantage of the daylight but also wanting more sleep. I eventually talked myself out of bed. I worked on my hashtag quilt. When I laid it out on the floor, there were too many same fabrics side-by-side. I was perplexed because I had laid all the blocks out on my sewing table before sewing the blocks in rows. So I had to unsew a few and move them around. I turned on the router and checked e-mail.
I started to make lip balm but did not have enough coconut oil. I cut blue sashing strips for the rows of blocks. Then I got dressed and went to the neighborhood Wal-Mart grocery store. In addition to organic coconut oil, I was going to get jars of pickles for the quilter's Christmas parties (since I don't like fixing food.) But they all had polysorbate 80. So I bought olives instead. I got a few other things including goat milk. It seems to set better in my stomach than cow milk. As I was checking myself out in the self-check lane, a lady came up to me and introduced herself as representing the bank on post. She offered to pay for my groceries. I told her there were others who needed that more than I did. But she insisted so I let her. Maybe she picked me because I wasn't buying much. I thanked her and took my bags out to the car and went home.
I wiped off the jars and put them away. I took the kefir from the fridge and poured it through a strainer to get the kefir grains out. I poured the goat milk into a jar and added the kefir grains, hoping the quart of goat milk would keep them busy for the next two weeks.
I put the olive oil and beeswax in the double boiler to melt. The coconut oil was solid so I put it on a heating pad to soften up so I could get it
out. I was able to make and eat breakfast waiting for it to melt. Finally I measured it out in lumps and put the glass measuring cup in the bottom of the double boiler to liquify. I poured the oil in with the others now melted. Then I got out the essential oils and vitamin E oil. I put them in the bottom of the measuring cup and poured the oils on top. Then I got out the little plastic pots and washed 25. I opened a new syringe and used it to draw liquid lip balm from the measuring cup and fill little pots. It worked fairly well once it warmed up. I filled a small jar for later and used up all the leftovers, making 35 little pots. I washed the implements and put the stuff away. I mixed up more spice blend to take on the trip.

Then I went to the massage place. I was a little early and Gabriele was still eating lunch. But I used the restroom and she got ready. I gave her a pot of lip balm and we talked for over half an hour. Then she left and I undressed. My phone rang as soon as I got under the sheet. I got up to answer it. Cecily wanted to know if I wanted a sweet potato for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes.
The therapist arrived a moment later. She started on my calves, which were really tight. It felt like there were eggs inside, tender painful eggs. She did her myofascial release technique and got most of them out. Then she massaged my arms and finally my neck and shoulders. My shoulders were tight, too, but not nearly as tender as the calves.
After the massage, I paid her and and reaffirmed that I would be gone for two weeks.
After we said good bye, I bought a bottle of lavender essential oil at the front desk. Then I drove home. It was after 4:30, but Chris wasn't home. I picked dandelion greens and made a salad. Chris came home and started laundry. I stopped eating to add a few things to the basket. Chris made his own supper and Michele called him to continue the dinosaur game.
I got out a suitcase and put underwear in it. Then I got out all the stuff I bought in China to pick gifts for everyone. I made some more hot flash spray. I packed some lip balm. I looked up the 10 day forecast for Virginia. It was cold. So I went looking for winter clothing. Chris came out to the garage with me and moved boxes around until I could find the long-sleeved shirts and heavier socks. I obsessed over outfits to pack. I threw several sets of shoes in bags.
Then I turned my attention to food and supplements. I had already done the daily morning ones, but I had to pack some for night time. Then the breakfast stuff. I combined 14 days worth of several things into one container. I put some snacks into the box as well, like nuts and dried fruit. Oh, and coconut water.
Then I looked around for diversions. I cut some strips of fleece for one project. I wanted to take the hashtag quilt, but it was too much. So I packed the tea cup project instead. By then it was 11 and I was exhausted. I posted to my blog and went to bed.

Working on tea cups

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I think I forgot to take my melatonin. Anyway, I woke up soon after 6. I put on my headphones expecting an hour to pass and woke up two hours later – having heard two tracks instead of just one. But I needed the sleep.
So I got up and drank water and listened to the 9th episode of Christ Revealed. They interviewed the archaeologist who discovered the pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the blind man. It was interesting to see how close it was to the temple. Jews went to the pool to purify before going to the temple. During the airing, I made seed crackers and then breakfast. After the episode, I looked at the pricing for the two options. For the gold option there are another two episodes and bonus materials.
I did the Day 17 meditation from Oprah. I ate a pomegranate while listening to another audio.
I made seed crackers. Then I made banana oatmeal cookies. There was too much dough to fit all the cookies on one sheet, so I made the second half one big banana oatmeal cracker. Then I cleaned the kitchen and swept the floor.
Since it was a sunny day, I got dressed and went for a walk. Then I worked on the fabric tea cup, stitching and turning. I went looking for another fabric pair in the sewing room. I pulled out boxes of scraps to review in the light of the living room window. Eventually I settled on a pair. I cut out some wedges for another tea cup. Chris came home from work. I picked some dandelion greens in the back yard and left them in the sink to soak. I had a headache so I laid down on my infra-red heating pad in the guest room. My mind kept thinking of past TV shows. I went to my laptop to look something up, but looking at the screen made my headache worse. I laid down in bed. I was cold even under the covers. I wondered if I was losing my super power.
After some rest and tapping, I went back to the sewing table. I sewed the bias rectangle that forms the teacup handle. I turned it right side out and pulled yarn through it to fill it, but even 6 strands were not enough. So I whipped-stitched it to a more narrow circumference. I washed up the greens and added some kale. I started eating it one leaf at a time, no dressing. Chris was going to play a game with Michele and it would interfere with my tapping call. So he moved my laptop into the guest room, on top of Grandma's sewing cabinet.
My tapping buddy called and we worked together for an hour and a half. Then I finished my salad. Chris was still playing with Michele, so I worked on the tea cup, quilting along the top. Finally he died and left the game. He started the next episode of Miss Marple. We sat together to watch. Then he brought my laptop back to the diningroom, and went to bed. I stayed up to take my evening supplements and to blog.
* A little something from the quilt show last month. *

Meditation Wednesday

I woke up soon after 7. I put on my headphones and listened to the Tibetan singing bowls for half an hour. Then I got up and turned on the router. I listened to more of the Christ Revealed episode, finishing the first interview, but could not finish it because they went on a tour of the church of the Holy Sepulcher and I wanted to watch that. I took a cold detox bath, then swished and exercised and boiled coffee, etc. I did two of Oprah's meditations. I tapped for annoyance at having to rush through so I could get to the dentist on time. There was only time for a quick wipe in one bathroom and to the stove. Then I got dressed and headed to the office on Whitesburg. I was a few minutes early so I flossed my teeth, even though I hadn't eaten anything. I went inside and signed the resgister. Then I sat and jotted notes for my to-do list until the hygienist called me back.
She was very nice, brought me a knee pillow and heated neck pillow. She talked to me as she cleaned my teeth. She mentioned the broken one but did not pressure me to have anything done. I asked what causes yellowing and she mentioned a few things. She said DoTerra sells an essential oil toothpaste that can help. When she was finished, she took my credit card right there chairside. She gave me a bag with a toothbrush and floss. She said she was going to give me a flyer for their no-insurance discount program, but she never did.
I drove straight home. I drank some kefir and took an Epsom salt bath, and meditated again. After a hot/cold shower, I got dressed. I picked some dandelion leaves and made a salad. Then I ate the rest of the ground beef. Chris came home from work. I watched the rest of the episode. Kind of makes me want to travel to Israel and see the holy places for myself. I made and ate breakfast. Cecily called my phone to get hold of Chris to find out what we are doing next week. I decided not to go to choir practice because I had other things to do and will miss the next two Sundays.
I laid out my hashtag blocks in a manner so that no two contiguous blocks were the same. Then I sewed them together in rows. Chris popped Miss Marple into the DVD player and we watched one episode. It was a new season and a new lead actress and we preferred the old one.
After the episode, Chris looked up some of the actors online to see what we might have remembered them from. I trimmed my rows since the joinings were inexplicably off. I laid them out for a pic, thinking a red horizontal sashing might be nice since I am out of the navy blue. Then I made a mug of hot bone broth and took my evening supplements. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* It looks better in person than in the picture. *

Things are going smoothly

After posting to my blog at 4am, I went back to bed, but had a hard time getting back to sleep. Chris' alarm went off at 5:30. I put on my headphones while he showered, dressed, and went to work. At some point, I went back to sleep.
I got up around 8. I drank water and listened to the next episode of Christ Revealed. I made and ate breakfast. Then I paused the video to go to sewing.
It was almost 10:30 until I got there. I sat with the Beverlys. Beverly C had a stack of swap squares to show me. We talked about options for sewing them together. Jane had put out a large stack of orphan blocks in all sizes. She said she would throw away whatever was left. So at the last minute my table divided them up and I had a bag to bring home. When most of the ladies had gone, we put some tables together to spray baste Beverly's quilt. I ironed the backing and Anita taped it to the tables. We spread the batting and the top, then folded them over to spray. When it was done, Anita rolled the quilt up so Beverly could take it home.
Beverly and I went for a walk afterward. It took us just over half an hour. Then she went home and I went for kimbap. I asked the lady about tumeric balls, but she said they don't sell that.
When I got home, I ate the kimbap with the last of my kimchi. Then I headed out to the chiropractor, hoping to get there at 2:30 as the receptionist suggested. Well, I was a few minutes late, and two people were ahead of me in the waiting room. But the doctor wasn't in. She said he usually arrived by 2:45 or 3. So why did they tell me 2:30? Anyway, I had a book so I began to read. The minutes ticked by. The others were put in rooms. Eventually I heard his voice. Then a woman came in saying her daughter was in the car and could not get out to come in the office. There was nothing I could do but sat a few prayers and such. Someone went out to help. It occurred to me that perhaps the doctor should attend her there in the car. When he came to get me, I suggested it. He took me into the exam room and left. I think he did help her to come in. Then he attended me. He asked questions and did adjustments. I told him about the cyst recently on my wrist and he pressed a mechanism against the site and let the spring go several times. He asked me to bring him a copy of my supplements. He wanted to see me back next week but I told him I would be gone for two weeks.
I paid at the desk and got a receipt. Then I drove home. I think the drive home was faster than the half hour drive to. I pulled into the driveway just after Chris did. We went in the house together. He told me that his supervisor refused to let him go to Korea for 4 months because his job here was too important. His supervisor also said that someone had called him as a reference for the job at Fort Belvoir.
I finished the Christ Revealed episode. Then I rushed out to pick dandelion before full darkness descended. I made a big salad and followed it with a chicken leg.
I checked e-mail until 7. Then I drove to church for a stewardship meeting. Only four of us showed up. I had a few questions and they were very patient. After the general fund report, we talked about what happened at the congregational meeting, and the need to have a more active church.
The meeting broke up at 8:10 and I drove home. Chris was playing the dinosaur game with Michele. I started the next episode of Christ Revealed. When the game was over, Chris cued up the next season of Miss Marple. But a different actress played the part, and not as well, we thought. After it was over, Chris went to bed and I typed up the events of the day so I could go to bed as well.
* Beverly and Anita are smoothing the quilt top. *

Not enough blue

I put on my headphones about 7:20 and finished an hour later. I got up and fired up the laptop and router. I drank water while listening to the sixth episode of Christ Revealed: the history, the evidence, the inspiration. The first talk was with an archaeologist who has a coin minted by Pontius Pilate in the year Jesus was crucified. He is involved in looking for more dead sea scrolls. There was also an Irish priest/archaeologist who was working on the town of Magda. And then more from a professor of Christian apologetics. All very interesting.
I made and ate breakfast. I tried Bertha's hopping foot on my embroidery machine and it fit. I tried to free-motion quilt with it, but it would not make stitches. Still, I was able to kind of see how it felt to sew around the ruler shapes. In looking for my own hopping foot (which I did not find) I came across a walking foot that I have never used. I tried it on a sample placemat and it did not work any better than what I could do with just my fingers. So I threw it in my bag. Then I got dressed.
At noon I drove to the Monday quilt group. It was a really good turnout, and at least one table was missing, so Laura moved over to give me room to set up my machine. I gave Bertha back her hopping foot and ruler set. I handed the walking foot I found to another lady who needed one a while back. Then I settled in for some stitching and chatting.
I trimmed the remaining hashtag blocks. Carolyn came over to ask me if I had every used hemp oil. Dinah gave me a box of rail fence blocks to piece together into a charity quilt. (I had volunteered last week). Then I sewed my hashtag blocks to dark blue strips that I had cut. When they were pressed and trimmed, I discovered that I only had 29 blocks. I packed up to leave but because the conversation was interesting, I did not get out until 4.
When I got home, Chris was just changing out of his suit. He had left mail on my laptop. I opened an envelop to find a $5 bill for filling out a survey. I was so hungry I immediately went to the back yard to pick dandelion. I made a salad to eat while I reviewed the latest e-mail. I also had some ground beef from yesterday. While I ate, he told me he wanted to volunteer to go to Camp Humphries for a 4 month tour as the temporary deputy garrison commander. I told him it was ok with me if that's what he wanted to do, but that I did not want to move back to Korea. So he put his name in the hat for that.
Around 6:30 I left the laptop to create the last hashtag block before we watched TV at 8. I found the pieces I needed in a pile on the guest bed. I was also going to cut more blue strips but then realized I had returned that fabric to Renegades last week.
I was still working on the missing hashtag block when Chris turned on the TV at 7. We watched Lucifer as it aired, commercials and all. So much Christmas stuff for sale and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. After Lucifer was over, he fired up the laptop attached to the TV. I made a cup of bone broth while he went to the FOX website and pulled up episodes of The Orville, a parody of Star Trek and other space shows. I can't say it was good. But there were times it was so bad that it was almost funny. After two episodes we decided that we had had enough. We went to bed.
I got up 4am to post to my blog. Sadly, it was too late for Kurt to read it before he went to work.
* Another quilt of valor from the event last Tuesday. *

A day of rest

Surprisingly, after going to bed at midnight, we got up at 7, and I felt well rested. Ok, so I put on my headphones while in bed and entrained my brain for an hour. Then I got up. I drank water while watching the next episode of Christ Revealed. Two brothers found a boat from Jesus' time.
I made and ate breakfast. Then I paused it at 9:30 to get ready for church. I took my shower and got dressed. I grabbed a set of CD's for Cecelia. Then I drove myself to church.
I practiced with the choir. I talked to Jennifer. I put the CD's in Cecelia's box. And then it was time for the service. The sermon started with a reading of a Dilbert cartoon. Then he spoke about the bridesmaids with oil lamps, and what kind of oil do we need in our lamps to be ready for Jesus? A new couple became members and were introduced to the congregation.
After the service, I talked to Jennifer again, to made sure she understood that the church might run out of money if we don't get more people or more donations. I talked to Portia for awhile, and then Barbara asked about Chris. And then I went home.
Chris was ready to go grocery shopping, so I changed my clothes and we took his car. We went to Publix as usual. On the way, we passed a little church that I meant to take a pic of but I had left my phone at home. It was originally a house, but a very tiny one. I wondered just how big a congregation it could hold.
We bought groceries and brought them home. I ate a can of organic soup. Chris put chicken legs in the oven to roast and he browned some ground beef that had been in the fridge for several days. I ate some of the ground beef. I was about to pick dandelion to go with the remainder, when I got a text from Faye asking about our itinerary for Thanksgiving week. So Chris and I discussed it and I called her. We talked for almost an hour. Then I picked the dandelion and washed it and ripped it into pieces. I added it to the ground beef, along with some sprouts from last week.
I went back to Christ Revealed. But soon the chicken was ready so I ate one leg of that. I finished the episode and read other e-mail. I did not mean to be on the laptop for so many hours, but time passed quickly and then it was 8pm and Chris was ready to watch TV. So we watched two or three episodes of Lucifer, enough to catch up on season three. Chris went to bed and I made a mug of hot bone broth and took my evening supplements. I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* Here is a pic from the Quilt of Valor event. *

HDTV

It was almost nine when we got up. I checked e-mail and then watched episode 4 of Christ Revealed. It was almost two hours long. While it played, I made and ate breakfast. When it was over, I meditated. The sun was shining, so I pulled weeds from pots in the backyard and sniffed the soil clinging to the roots. It's one way to get soil-based organisms.
Pat texted me that she wanted a particular book for the quilt guild. So I did some searching on the internet and finally ordered a used copy since the new ones were upwards of $100. I pulled stuff out of boxes in the garage looking for my quilt books. Chris was looking for some books, too, so I tried searching in CD and DVD boxes. No luck. I vacuumed the living room rug, then cleaned the filters of dust and dirt.
I started a loaf of bread for Chris. I gave a lot of thought to taking my supplements on the road. I made up a supply for the next 24 days, to carry me through our Thanksgiving trip. I ordered more, and made a list to order when we get back. I picked dandelion greens so I could make a salad. I ate it while watching the next episode of Betrayal. Chris cut up the jicama for me. I ate a slice and saved the others for later. I listened to an audio on tapping to improve your relationship.
Chris and I folded the laundry and I put mine away. Then he got the HDTV antenna from a box in the garage. In a bit we had more channels than I knew what to do with. I did an internet search to find out which one was the FOX network. Then we watched 4 episodes of Lucifer streamed from Fox. The commercials were really annoying. And then it was 11:30 and past time for bed.

He's pulling my leg

It was after 9 when we got up. I was startled to see how late it was. I deleted the first round of e-mail. I started the 3rd episode of Christ Revealed while I made and ate breakfast. I paused it to get dressed and spend a few minutes in the sunny backyard.
My tapping buddy called at noon and we tapped together for 2 hours. I picked some dandelion greens and made a salad for lunch. Then I drove to the chiropractor in Madison. Traffic on University was bumper to bumper. I signed in and then sat in the waiting room, reading a book. This guy doesn't assign appointment times. His business is all drop-in. Finally I was called into the exam room. I continued to read, but he arrived soon. He had me lay on the table and he felt my spine. He told me how healthy I was and that he wished all his patients were as much. He twisted my hips this way and that. He pulled each leg. He rubbed what felt like Icy Hot on my back and then said to come back next week. I paid at the counter and asked what brand of Kava he recommended. She wrote it down for me. We discussed when might be the least busy time to show up next week. Then I made my way through the throng of people waiting to the exit. I got in my car and nosed my way into heavy traffic. I avoided University by taking Wall-Triana down to 565 to Sparkman.
When I got home, Chris was in the kitchen roasting veggies. I put down my purse and went for a walk/run to take advantage of the last of the sun. When I got back, I sat down to check e-mail again. I had to reboot Waterfox to resume the episode of Christ Revealed. After that, I took a break from my computer to root through all the bags under the bathroom sink. I tossed a few items and saved others for Michele.
Then I ate some roasted veggies for supper. I listened to an interview as I looked into buying some kava. I finally found a place selling the kind the chiropractor recommended. But when I checked the ingredients, I was dismayed. So I continued to look for something highly rated, but without the substances I didn't want. I finally found one and heard Chris starting the DVD player.
We watched three episodes of The A-Team, I made a mug of hot bone broth to sip during the second one. Then Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog.
* I didn't take any pics today, so here is one from the Quilt of Valor event. *

The foot rules

I woke up when Chris got up. I waited until he left to put on my headphones. After the hour track was finished, I shut it off and got up. I turned on the router and my laptop. I drank a quart of water while listening to the second episode of Christ Revealed. It was very interesting. A detective who specializes in cold cases talked about how he analyzed the scriptures and became so convinced they were true that he became a Christian. Then the American dean of a college in Israel talked about how going there changed how she thought about Jesus – seeing the countryside and the Jewish customs and living the Jewish calendar. She had a somewhat different interpretation of the New Testament after living there.
I made and ate breakfast. Then I meditated with Deepak. When that was over, I watched the last episode of The Sacred Plant. They talked about the different compounds in different species of cannabis and all the healthy effects they can have. CBD helps with autoimmune diseases like arthritis, diabetes, bone marrow transplants. Neuro-protective for strokes and head trauma.
I went through the more easily-deletable e-mail. I looked up supplements I wanted to order. The chiropractor suggested cava, but I did not find it at the usual sites.
It was almost noon when I jumped up to get dressed. I grabbed something for handwork (since I never get around to using the machine on Thursdays.) I drove to Stitch-Its. For the next two hours it was social tine. I didn't get much done except to cut out a piece and pin it to another. But at that point I needed the sewing machine that I didn't bring. Oh well.
At 2:15 I went home. I picked some dandelion leaves in the back yard and made a salad with some greens from the fridge. I also had some hicama. I called Bertha to make sure I knew where her house was. Then I tried to drive over there.
I thought Airport Road was busy, so I took the parkway. But that was worse. I called from the backup to say I'd be late.
When I got to her house, her dog was happy to see me. She showed me her ruler foot and the rulers that it works with. She offered to let me take them home to try. Then we sat on her couch and conversed.
At 4:15 I said goodbye. I headed for the massage place. I was watching my 'remaining mileage' go down to 50. And then the low fuel light came on and the numbers disappeared. So I took note of the odometer and added 50 so I could continue to monitor the gas. But then I got worried wondering if it was bad to let it get so low.
I arrived exactly on time. She and I talked for a bit and then I got on the table. She gave me a full body massage, concentrating on my neck and shoulders. We talked afterward, too. I left around 6.
,I drank the water I had in the car on the way home. When I got there, I asked Chris to go with me to the gas station since it was dark. He said he would do it in the morning. So I had some vegetables and fruit for dinner. I looked up ruler feet on Amazon. I tried Bertha's quilting foot but it didn't fit my Singer or the Brother. But there was one on Amazon that might. I checked the shaft to see if it was too low to pass over a ¼ inch ruler and the Singer was but the brother was not.
I searched my bulk supplement spreadsheet for items to order from Nuts.com,
It was after 9 when we started watching TV. We saw three episodes of The A-Team. I fell asleep once during an episode. Then we went to bed.
I got up at 3am to finish my blog.
* I didn't take any pics today so here is one from the Quilt of Valor event. *

The Signing

I started my day with an episode of The Sacred Plant. I listened during a cold detox soak. Then I heated water for coffee while swishing. I drank a quart of water and exercised. I learned that Cannabis causes memory problems in the young but actually helps memory in older people. Then I listened to two of Oprah's meditations.
When the detox was over, I did some cleaning, then got dressed up for the signing.
I checked my directions to the agents office. Then I began my trip. I had no trouble finding the proper roads, but when I got to the general vicinity, I was a little lost. It was supposed to be .41 miles after the intersection, but my odometer had no decimal points. After driving the wrong way through a fast food drive-thru, I found the proper building. I went inside and was greeted warmly. But they were not yet ready to sign. So I waited while the other people involved in the closing showed up. Eventually I was taken in a room and given 8 or 9 papers to sign. I had to sign each one with the husbands name, my name and 'attorney-in-fact' and then her name and my name and 'attorney-in-fact'. My hand got tired before I finished. I guess I am out of practice in handwriting. Sewing just doesn't exercise the same muscles. I handed over the checks and asked for signed receipts. Then I went out to my car, shivering.
From the car, I called the chiropractor that my massage therapist recommended. The secretary said to come over right away but she could not tell me how to get there from where I was. I continued down the road, longer than seemed necessary, but eventually I came to University, and very close to where I needed to be. The secretary had mentioned Target, so I turned there. I drove across the parking lot and called again. Then I got out and walked according to her directions, but things seemed wrong. I found myself at an apartment complex. The social director called the place, and got better directions. I walked/ran back to my car to stay warm. I drove out of the lot and back the way I had come. I found the place after some searching.
I went inside. I was given a plastic -covered form to fill out with a wet-erase marker. Before I had completely filled it out, the chiropractor came out to get me. He took me back to his exam room and massaged my shoulders, saying they were tight. He had me lay down and he crossed my arms like a pretzel and hugged me, sort of. I talked about bruxism, so he examined the top of my spine. He adjusted the first vertebra. He asked about the health of my parents. He took me to another room to lay on a heated pillow where the adjustment had taken place. He worked with someone else, then came back to me. He said I needed more vigorous exercise. He told me to try the Whole 30 diet. He recommended adjusting 4 times to see if that solved the problem. I went up front to pay and he said to come back Friday.
Then I went home. Traffic on University was thick, but it thinned out closer to town.
Once home, I took a hot Epsom salt bath. Then I made and ate breakfast. I e-mailed Denise that I had completed the signing.
Denise called to thank me for signing the papers. She also talked about pregnancy issues. Jennifer called while I was talking to Denise, so I called her back after I hung up. I made and ate a large salad. I got ready for choir practice. On the drive there, I noted that it was dark and rainy and I had trouble seeing clearly. I stopped at the bank to get cash for tomorrow. But the ATM refused the first amount I typed in as not being a multiple of 20. So I tried $100 and it worked, but was only enough for a few days.
When I got to the church, Jennifer gave me three piece of chocolate to eat. We practiced a piece on recorders. Then she warmed up the choir. We sang through our pieces for the next several Sundays.
I came home from choir practice. To warm up, I made a mug of hot bone broth. I also put two cups of vinegar water in a glass to sip in front of the TV. We watched the last episode of Miss Marple on the DVD set from the library. Chris went to bed, and I stayed up to write my blog post.
* This is the quilt that Beverly made for her husband. *

Quilt of Valor event

I woke up while Chris was getting ready for work. I put on my headphones and cued up a track on my tablet. An hour later, I turned off the tablet because it was proceeding to the next track.
I laid in bed for a bit, then got up. I saw the recyclables by the door so I got dressed and took them to the curb. Then I turned on the router and drank water while reading e-mail. I learned that a nap as short at 6 minutes can significantly boost your brain power.
I had some coconut oil and milk kefir for breakfast.
I was wearing an over-sized t-shirt and decided to dress up a little more. So I exchanged my red t-shirt for a black, white and teal top. Then I drove to sewing and arrived right at 9:30. But the event did not start until 10. Most people were wearing red, white and blue. Maybe I should have kept the red t-shirt?
We sat in rows of chairs facing one end of the fellowship hall. The ladies who made the quilts went up one at a time to present their quilt of Valor to a veteran, usually a family member or friend. Beverly had made one for her husband Ned, who accompanied her today for the event.
Afterward, there were tables of food and people lined up to fill their plates. I abstained because it would count as one of my three meals for the day.
After the meal, I rode with Beverly to take Ned back to Adtran, where he works. He went to his office and she and I walked around the lake. It was a beautiful facility, inside and out. Then she took me back to the church.
On my way home, I stopped for kimbap. I took it home and ate it with kimchi, then started listening to an episode of Betrayal. I paused it to dress up more and go to the bank to pick up papers for Denise' closing tomorrow. The bank was on post so it did not take long. Then I went back to the episode. When I needed a break, I paused it and did one of Oprah's new meditation series. I fell asleep afterward.
As I was napping, Chris came home. I tried to go back to sleep since I was so groggy. But eventually I got up to finish the episode. Then I started another audio on the philosophy of utilitarianism that is used to justify forced vaccinations and was used to justify eugenics in the past.
I ate a banana while I listened, and afterward made a salad. I used a flashlight to locate some fresh dandelion greens in the back yard.
I looked for a piece of fabric to match a project I had started years ago, but could not find it. Maybe I gave it away last time I moved to Korea?
Christ Revealed started early, but I didn't see the e-mail announcement until almost 8. I watched the first hour. After the first interview, I paused it so I could watch TV with Chris. We watched an episode of The A-Team. Chris got ready for bed so I laid down with him until he fell asleep, then I finished the episode and wrote my blog post for the day.

Chris comes home

I woke up at 6am and put on my headphones. I was dimly aware of thunder and then heavy rain. But it was all over with when the 1 hour session ended. I got up and went into my sewing room, looking for the tea cup pattern. But it wasn't there. I put on shoes and went looking in the garage. I had to move a heavy box to get to the box with fleece and patterns in it.
I put on an interview from the adrenal summit while looking through all the pieces of the pattern. It seemed like there were several sets and some homemade pieces. But I hadn't written down what those alternate pieces were for. I tried to look up the patternmakers name online, but could not find anything on her.
I made breakfast and left it on the counter. Then I drove to the airport. Chris was waiting outside. He put his stuff in the back seat and I drove us home. We came the back way on Martin Road.
When we got back, I ate my breakfast. Then I got ready for sewing and put my gear in the car. I arrived at noon. The ladies were eating lunch. I set up my machine and started trimming the hashtag blocks. Bertha had brought a cake to celebrate November birthdays. So Dinah and I got to blow out a candle each. The group sang and I went back to my blocks. One by one the ladies left. Bertha showed me how to use my phone to set reminders. We agreed that I would come over to her house on Thursday to see her quilting foot and rulers. Then she left.
I packed up my sewing gear. Then I shut off the lights and pulled the door shut after me. I drove straight home from sewing. Chris had done the laundry and grocery shopping. He had vegetables roasting in the oven. He showed me how to change my car clock to reflect the new time. Then I drove to the post office and picked up two packages of supplements.
While he checked e-mail, I collated the recyclables for tomorrow. Denise called to ask if I could deliver some papers to the closing of their house. Then we watched the first episode of F-Troop from Netflix. We ate some of the roasted veggies and I made a large salad. Then we watched all the remaining episodes of F-Troop on the DVD. Then I snuggled with Chris until he fell asleep. Having done that, I went back to my laptop to watch the next episodes of the current summits. I stepped through them because they were so long and it got late. I took my evening supplements and hot bone broth. I also jotted notes for my blog as I listened to talks about inflammation and food allergies and autoimmune conditions.
* I didn't take any pics today, so here is one from the quilt show. *

Annual Meeting

I kept waking up in a sweat. I laid on the bed, spread-eagled, wondering if I was contributing to global warming. Finally I put on my headphones and went back to sleep. When I shut the tablet off and got up, it was 8am by my watch. I brushed my teeth and plugged in the tablet to recharge. I checked the stove clock which agreed with my watch. Then I checked the laptop. It was an hour earlier and the router wasn't up yet, so how did it know?
My seed crackers were a little soft and I needed them for lunch, so I put them in the toaster oven to crisp up. Then I drank water while checking e-mail. I watched part of an interview on vaccines with Barbara Loe Fisher.
I paused it at 9:30 to take a shower and get dressed for church. I packed my sewing gear in the back of the car for Renegades later. Then I drove to church.
When I got there, I placed a box of finger lights in the big box for Christmas shoe boxes. Then I sat in the sanctuary. Soon we were lining up for the choir warm-up. It went ok. I read my bulletin in the pew. The lady behind me talked to me until the pastor came forward to start the service.
Since it was All Saints Sunday, he spoke about remembering the past and the spirit of those who came before us. After the service, there was pizza in the kitchen for those who were staying for the congregational meeting. I stood around talking as long as I could. Dawn said she would pray to Saint Joseph for Chris to get a job. Jennifer took Dawn home. Then I went to the kitchen to see if they had the salt-free nuts that Jennifer mentioned. I had a couple of handfuls (since I forgot to bring the lunch I had crisped). Then we gathered in the sanctuary again.
We were given handouts of the slides that the president showed. We discussed ways to cut back even further than the council had already done in the proposed budget. It was still at a deficit. One man spoke harshly and it got nasty. But a vote was called for and it passed, with a resolution to revisit it in February. Then there was stage 2, not that I remember what that was.
Anyway, it was finally over. I hopped in my car and drove to the other church where Renegades were meeting. They were still sewing. I brought in my sewing gear and set up at a table. Lynette showed me the quilt design they were working on. So I got some strips and started sewing. I shared pieces with the lady at the table next to me. I got to talking and just had a great time. All too soon it was time to pack up and go home. Chris called to say he had driven Michele to the airport and he was by himself until his plane takes off tomorrow. I told him I would call when I got home.
When I got home, I called Chris and pulled the chicken out at the same time. I was so hungry that I ate and talked at the same time. He told me he has an interview on Wednesday. After the call, I finished the interview I had started before church.
I stacked and ran the dishwasher. Then I went joy-riding around the neighborhood in Chris' car, just to refresh my memory of driving stick. I watched the third episode of Betrayal, followed by episode 4 of The Sacred Plant: treating cancer with cannabis.
I made a mug of hot bone broth. I looked at some strip-pieced half square triangles that Maryanne had given me, trying to determine what I could make from them.
Then I typed up my blog and prepared for bed.
* This is Maryanne's unfinished project. *

Working on guild projects

I got up around 8, after listening to some brain wave entrainment. I drank my usual water and checked e-mail. After while, I took break to make breakfast. After breakfast,
I finished the round robin block and packed up all the round robin fabrics.
I loaded it and my sewing gear into my trunk and drove to the Bailey Cove library and parked at the dollar store because the library lot looked full. I went inside to see where the Rocket City Modern Quilt Guild was having their sew day.
In a back room, about 4 people were sewing. Tables were set up and fabric was all around. I went back to get my machine. I set up on a table by the wall. Amanda gave me a quilt to sew binding on. I ironed the binding and sewed it around the top of the quilt. She wanted it stitched to the other side as well, but I did not have matching thread. So I did the same thing to another small quilt. Then she gave me packets of small flannel quilt blocks. I sewed one set together without really looking at the outcome. When I was done, one of the pairs was switched around, making the rest of the row wrong. So I had to borrow a seam ripper to take the row off and re-do it. It wasn't big enough but she said she'd rather have two sets of squares than one big set. So I took the remaining squares and sewed them into a small quilt top.
At that point, we had about half an hour left to sew. So she found some border strips and I sewed them around one of the small tops. By then most everything was packed away. So I packed up my machine and cleaned up the threads and such. The pastor called to ask if I had thought about heading the stewardship committee and I told him that Chris told me not to.
After the call, I put my sewing gear back in my trunk. I drove home using the parkway. I hadn't done it before and wanted to try it during daylight.
When I got home, I took my sewing gear inside, wondering if I should have just left it in the trunk. I was so hungry that I ate most of the rest of the chicken while checking e-mail. I also made and ate a big salad. Then I meditated with Oprah and Deepak.
While I was looking at e-mail, I was listening to a playlist on Youtube of intros for old TV shows. Some of them were unfamiliar so I tried to look them up on Youtube, and then on Netflix. I came across a movie called For The Love of Spock. I could not help watching it, even though it took the rest of the evening.
Then I posted to my blog and started episode three of The Sacred Plant. I planned to only watch half, but it was shorter than previous episodes, so I watched the whole thing before I went to bed.
* This is my round robin block. *