We made it through Ben's funeral and all of the travel. By Saturday evening, after everything was over we were both beyond exhausted. We were even too tired to eat dinner, although we had dinner after the service at the church, and you know how those go. There was so much food, and so much left over!
When it was time for Bill's medicine that night, I told him to take it, took mine and we went to bed. It wasn't until the next morning when I got his morning meds that I discovered that he had not taken them. I assumed he heard me tell him to take them, but he said he didn't hear me. Since he doesn't think about the medicine, usually, it didn't dawn on him to take it, or ask if he had any to take.
He handled things pretty well. There were a few moments that overwhelmed him, but we made it through them. I had asked him if he wanted to start on some Xanax while we were traveling to just keep things on an even keel, but he thought he would be OK.
We got home yesterday afternoon, and in the late afternoon we found out that the man responsible had been arrested for murder and is to have a bond hearing today. We still don't know why and there is a lot of confusion about what happened. It was looking more and more like a gang initiation, but the shooter is 31 years old, so that confuses things even more.
Today we're trying to get things back to normal. Laundry is already going, something taken out for dinner, and now time to get everything unpacked and put away. I'm sure it will still take a few days for us to rest up, but the world moves on and things do need done. I also need to order Bill's meds today and buy a few groceries.
On a brighter note, yesterday was our granddaughter McKenna's 11th birthday, and granddaughter Kiyann's 8th birthday. A little happiness to offset the sadness.
So, that's it, a few very emotional days, but we were able to weather them. And speaking of weather, we have continued heat advisories so we'll just be staying inside for the most part. If you're also affected by this terrible heat, stay cool. Until Saturday...
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
I'm doing just a short post this morning, Friday, instead of Saturday. I'll do a longer one the first part of next week.
Our week has not been good. Our 21 year old grandson was murdered Monday night in South Carolina. We still don't know any details as we have not arrived yet to actually talk to anyone. We did meet with daughter Aimee and her husband Lee for dinner as they were on their way Wednesday, but there were really no details to know.
We have headed to Charleston and will get there late today. His funeral is tomorrow, Saturday. Please keep our entire family in your thoughts and prayers. Bill is doing well with this so far, but seeing his daughter Mary-Rose will be difficult for him/
I'll update this more after we get home, probably Tuesday, as we won't get home until late Monday evening.
Our week has not been good. Our 21 year old grandson was murdered Monday night in South Carolina. We still don't know any details as we have not arrived yet to actually talk to anyone. We did meet with daughter Aimee and her husband Lee for dinner as they were on their way Wednesday, but there were really no details to know.
We have headed to Charleston and will get there late today. His funeral is tomorrow, Saturday. Please keep our entire family in your thoughts and prayers. Bill is doing well with this so far, but seeing his daughter Mary-Rose will be difficult for him/
I'll update this more after we get home, probably Tuesday, as we won't get home until late Monday evening.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
What a week we've had! I came down with a little stomach bug Saturday afternoon that lasted into Sunday. It's a good thing I didn't attempt church, Bill hadn't even made it a block when I was back in the bathroom. It left as quickly as it came and Imodium and Pepto Bismol did nothing to slow things down.
Monday we started getting things ready for our trip, so we were busy all day. It was also hot again so anything we could do indoors we did.
Tuesday was laundry, Bill a haircut and packing. We had a storm come up in the late afternoon and it was a doozy. I stood at the window and watched our trees bend in half again. And again, they didn't break. But, as I was in the bedroom packing, there was a huge crack of thunder and several blue flashes and the lights went out. After the rain let up enough to see what was going on we saw that an old growth tree had taken a direct lightning hit and a huge branch broke and took down a branch on the next tree, knocking it and holding it against the power pole and lines. When we could go out we saw a line down on the side street. The intersection was almost completely impassable so our neighbor Joe started traffic control while I reported the power outage. We got the generator started, but since it doesn't run the air conditioner it got warm in the house. The storm dropped the temperature but it was so humid it was not pleasant. There was damage all over the west end of town and on the interstate a tractor trailer was blown over which brought traffic to a standstill of course. A crew from the water company finally came and pushed the tree branches out of the road but the power company didn't want anyone driving through. They were afraid that vibrations would cause the branches to fall, taking the pole with them. They put up some cones, but those did nothing to stop the traffic, so they finally put up some crime scene tape and completely roped off the intersection.
As I was cooking supper, Emily called and said that she and Bryan had been moving their utility trailer to start their generator when the trailer fell onto her foot and they were headed to the hospital. She asked me to meet them so that I could bring the girls to our house. Of course since we were leaving the next day I had nothing but eggs to feed them. I couldn't even take them to Sonic because they had no power. The result of Emily's injury...lacerations on her big and next toes, a bone chip in the big toe and a fracture in the next one. She has to wear a surgical shoe for 2 months. And, she has 2 back to back conferences to attend in Birmingham, 1 this week and 1 next week!
Bill called Johnny to tell him we were headed his way and he told us that his wedding had to be postponed. So, since his was the second one we decided to come home after Amber's instead of staying through the week-end.
The estimate for having the power fixed was midnight, and then noon the next day. A tree removal crew had to remove the limbs before anything could be done for repairs. Of course since we needed a good nights sleep, the tree crew showed up about 10 pm. We were happy to see them, although it made for noisy sleep, between the thrum of the big engines, the spotlights, and then the chain saws. They got the limbs down about 12:30, but all they did was drop them, so the street was again full of debris.
Our drive to Dalton, GA was uneventful. There was not much traffic until Chattanooga. We got there late afternoon and made arrangements to meet everyone for supper. Our hotel was next to a Cracker Barrel so we met there. I told them I wasn't driving any more that day! We had a good visit with everyone and I got a text that the power came back on about 8 pm.
The wedding the next afternoon was a different affair. The pastor informed everyone that they were just a bunch of rednecks. It was very small and didn't take long, but it served the purpose and got them married.
The wedding was overshadowed by the tragedy in Chattanooga, as our grandson was at the Marine base where the 4, now 5, were killed. And John, who was to pick Charles up, was 2 miles from there when Charles called him and told him to get out of the area. John had been running late, and if he had been on time, who knows what would have happened. One of the ones killed had been Charles' roommate, so he was really shaken up. He did cut his hand jumping over a fence, but was otherwise uninjured. John was finally able to pick him up that evening. There have been a lot of different stories and articles and opinions about this attack. Let me just say, from the mouth of our Marine who was there, all of the facts have not been released, for everyone's safety.
We headed home yesterday after rush hour and decided to come home through the country. I had seen a sign on our way there for a route I knew, so we did that. It took about 3 hours longer because we had to go through several large cities and we were pretty tired when we got home.
As we were unloading the car, Bill fell out of the front door. I think he just hit the step wrong. He fell into a rocking chair on the stoop and then into the hedge. The chair actually helped break his fall, but he couldn't right himself. I got him back up and then checked for injuries. He cut his elbow a little and has a skin tear on his arm, probably from the door. He had a scratch on his face from the boxwood leaves, but other than that, nothing else. He was a little wobbly for a few minutes, but is fine now. He just went out to his treadmill. We've both done so much sitting we both a little stiff.
We're not planning on doing much today, and maybe not even tomorrow. We'll just have to see if we feel more rested by then.
So, that's basically our week. I'm glad we got to go to the wedding, and some of the groom's family couldn't believe we came all that way just for the wedding. I hope we'll be able to go back for John's but if not, so be it! And now, I'm off to the grocery store for a few supplies. Have a good week-end. If you are in the heat advisory area as we are, stay cool! If you're not, you're lucky. Our actual temp today is 97 with a heat index 105-109. Ah, gotta love summer!
Monday we started getting things ready for our trip, so we were busy all day. It was also hot again so anything we could do indoors we did.
Tuesday was laundry, Bill a haircut and packing. We had a storm come up in the late afternoon and it was a doozy. I stood at the window and watched our trees bend in half again. And again, they didn't break. But, as I was in the bedroom packing, there was a huge crack of thunder and several blue flashes and the lights went out. After the rain let up enough to see what was going on we saw that an old growth tree had taken a direct lightning hit and a huge branch broke and took down a branch on the next tree, knocking it and holding it against the power pole and lines. When we could go out we saw a line down on the side street. The intersection was almost completely impassable so our neighbor Joe started traffic control while I reported the power outage. We got the generator started, but since it doesn't run the air conditioner it got warm in the house. The storm dropped the temperature but it was so humid it was not pleasant. There was damage all over the west end of town and on the interstate a tractor trailer was blown over which brought traffic to a standstill of course. A crew from the water company finally came and pushed the tree branches out of the road but the power company didn't want anyone driving through. They were afraid that vibrations would cause the branches to fall, taking the pole with them. They put up some cones, but those did nothing to stop the traffic, so they finally put up some crime scene tape and completely roped off the intersection.
As I was cooking supper, Emily called and said that she and Bryan had been moving their utility trailer to start their generator when the trailer fell onto her foot and they were headed to the hospital. She asked me to meet them so that I could bring the girls to our house. Of course since we were leaving the next day I had nothing but eggs to feed them. I couldn't even take them to Sonic because they had no power. The result of Emily's injury...lacerations on her big and next toes, a bone chip in the big toe and a fracture in the next one. She has to wear a surgical shoe for 2 months. And, she has 2 back to back conferences to attend in Birmingham, 1 this week and 1 next week!
Bill called Johnny to tell him we were headed his way and he told us that his wedding had to be postponed. So, since his was the second one we decided to come home after Amber's instead of staying through the week-end.
The estimate for having the power fixed was midnight, and then noon the next day. A tree removal crew had to remove the limbs before anything could be done for repairs. Of course since we needed a good nights sleep, the tree crew showed up about 10 pm. We were happy to see them, although it made for noisy sleep, between the thrum of the big engines, the spotlights, and then the chain saws. They got the limbs down about 12:30, but all they did was drop them, so the street was again full of debris.
Our drive to Dalton, GA was uneventful. There was not much traffic until Chattanooga. We got there late afternoon and made arrangements to meet everyone for supper. Our hotel was next to a Cracker Barrel so we met there. I told them I wasn't driving any more that day! We had a good visit with everyone and I got a text that the power came back on about 8 pm.
The wedding the next afternoon was a different affair. The pastor informed everyone that they were just a bunch of rednecks. It was very small and didn't take long, but it served the purpose and got them married.
The wedding was overshadowed by the tragedy in Chattanooga, as our grandson was at the Marine base where the 4, now 5, were killed. And John, who was to pick Charles up, was 2 miles from there when Charles called him and told him to get out of the area. John had been running late, and if he had been on time, who knows what would have happened. One of the ones killed had been Charles' roommate, so he was really shaken up. He did cut his hand jumping over a fence, but was otherwise uninjured. John was finally able to pick him up that evening. There have been a lot of different stories and articles and opinions about this attack. Let me just say, from the mouth of our Marine who was there, all of the facts have not been released, for everyone's safety.
We headed home yesterday after rush hour and decided to come home through the country. I had seen a sign on our way there for a route I knew, so we did that. It took about 3 hours longer because we had to go through several large cities and we were pretty tired when we got home.
As we were unloading the car, Bill fell out of the front door. I think he just hit the step wrong. He fell into a rocking chair on the stoop and then into the hedge. The chair actually helped break his fall, but he couldn't right himself. I got him back up and then checked for injuries. He cut his elbow a little and has a skin tear on his arm, probably from the door. He had a scratch on his face from the boxwood leaves, but other than that, nothing else. He was a little wobbly for a few minutes, but is fine now. He just went out to his treadmill. We've both done so much sitting we both a little stiff.
We're not planning on doing much today, and maybe not even tomorrow. We'll just have to see if we feel more rested by then.
So, that's basically our week. I'm glad we got to go to the wedding, and some of the groom's family couldn't believe we came all that way just for the wedding. I hope we'll be able to go back for John's but if not, so be it! And now, I'm off to the grocery store for a few supplies. Have a good week-end. If you are in the heat advisory area as we are, stay cool! If you're not, you're lucky. Our actual temp today is 97 with a heat index 105-109. Ah, gotta love summer!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
This has been a trying week. But, it could have been worse, so won't complain...too much!
We had a gullywasher Saturday. For those of you who haven't heard that term before, that means it rained so hard that the runoff created a river. In other words, torrential rain. And, when I walked into the kitchen to do something, I heard dripping where I shouldn't hear dripping! So, it appears that we have sprung yet another leak in the roof. We're going to have to break down and put another new roof on. We both hate to spend the money, but it would cost more in the long run if we don't do it.
Most of the neighborhood enjoyed the 4th. The firecrackers started in the morning and lasted until well after midnight. There was so much smoke hanging around that you couldn't breathe if you went out. We found lots of bottle rocket debris in our front yard and driveway. The festivities continued most of the week...until all of the firework stands sold out.
We came out of church Sunday and had a window broken in the car. I think it was just a rock kicked up by a passing car. It didn't break completely through, and we wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't looked through the car as I was walking up to it. So, $300 later we have a new rear quarter panel window. Of course, since we had to keep at least 1 window cracked for 24 hours, it rained. But, I put towels down over the seat and over the window. It was a good thing I did. The carpet got a little wet, even through 2 towels, but it could have been much worse.
Our daughter-in-law's father was put in the hospital with congestive heart failure, so they were here from Wednesday until yesterday. We took them out to eat Wednesday night and they had to go home (they live 45 minutes away) to pick up Ryan's dad's dog. They were dogsitting for him as they were out of town. So, by default, we were dogsitting until late yesterday afternoon. She's a good little dog, a long haired weinie dog. I think she may have a little terrier mixed in. She let all the neighbors know that there was a new dog in town, and they better think twice about coming into the yard. She also chased all the cars away! They went home yesterday so that Ryan could work last night. Buddy was not too happy that someone else was in "his" house and played with his toys!
Bill had leg cramps again a couple of nights this week. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to his fluids and make sure he drinks more.
We leave Wednesday for Georgia for 2 weddings, a granddaughter on Thursday and then her father on Saturday. Bill really doesn't want to go, but John really wants him there so we are going. They are going to be really informal events and we'll probably spend most of our time at our hotel instead of visiting.
That's about it, lots of things going on, but nothing very earth shattering, just life. Have a good week. There may not be a post until late Sunday or Monday. I haven't decided if I am taking the laptop or not. So, don't worry if there's nothing Saturday. I'll get you caught up at some point.
We had a gullywasher Saturday. For those of you who haven't heard that term before, that means it rained so hard that the runoff created a river. In other words, torrential rain. And, when I walked into the kitchen to do something, I heard dripping where I shouldn't hear dripping! So, it appears that we have sprung yet another leak in the roof. We're going to have to break down and put another new roof on. We both hate to spend the money, but it would cost more in the long run if we don't do it.
Most of the neighborhood enjoyed the 4th. The firecrackers started in the morning and lasted until well after midnight. There was so much smoke hanging around that you couldn't breathe if you went out. We found lots of bottle rocket debris in our front yard and driveway. The festivities continued most of the week...until all of the firework stands sold out.
We came out of church Sunday and had a window broken in the car. I think it was just a rock kicked up by a passing car. It didn't break completely through, and we wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't looked through the car as I was walking up to it. So, $300 later we have a new rear quarter panel window. Of course, since we had to keep at least 1 window cracked for 24 hours, it rained. But, I put towels down over the seat and over the window. It was a good thing I did. The carpet got a little wet, even through 2 towels, but it could have been much worse.
Our daughter-in-law's father was put in the hospital with congestive heart failure, so they were here from Wednesday until yesterday. We took them out to eat Wednesday night and they had to go home (they live 45 minutes away) to pick up Ryan's dad's dog. They were dogsitting for him as they were out of town. So, by default, we were dogsitting until late yesterday afternoon. She's a good little dog, a long haired weinie dog. I think she may have a little terrier mixed in. She let all the neighbors know that there was a new dog in town, and they better think twice about coming into the yard. She also chased all the cars away! They went home yesterday so that Ryan could work last night. Buddy was not too happy that someone else was in "his" house and played with his toys!
Bill had leg cramps again a couple of nights this week. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to his fluids and make sure he drinks more.
We leave Wednesday for Georgia for 2 weddings, a granddaughter on Thursday and then her father on Saturday. Bill really doesn't want to go, but John really wants him there so we are going. They are going to be really informal events and we'll probably spend most of our time at our hotel instead of visiting.
That's about it, lots of things going on, but nothing very earth shattering, just life. Have a good week. There may not be a post until late Sunday or Monday. I haven't decided if I am taking the laptop or not. So, don't worry if there's nothing Saturday. I'll get you caught up at some point.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
This week has seemed very long for some reason, maybe because there was nothing going on. It was just another normal week.
I was able to have lunch with my best friend Phillis. We had not seen each other for a long time. She's been staying with her mother whose health is failing. Between worrying over that and trying to work in an atmosphere that has not been a good one, she needed a break. So, we had a 2 1/2 hour lunch. The restaurant was great as they didn't try to rush us out, just let us sit and talk. It did us both good.
Bill was up a couple of nights with leg cramps again. He hadn't had any for months so I think he was dry again. He's done better with water the last couple of days so maybe he's gotten enough fluid in his blood again.
We're going to have a quiet holiday. Not planning on doing much. We may bbq, as so many will be doing, but only if we can get the new grill put together. Bill went out to do it yesterday and when I checked an hour later to see if he was ready for lunch, we was sitting with all of the parts out but nothing put together. He tried telling me that the instructions were wrong, but it's just his short-circuited brain. I told him we would both work on it today. We won't try to watch the fireworks, I don't think. It's too crowded and the mosquitos are too bad. The neighborhood will get even noisier than it usually is, and the firecrackers have already started. Fireworks aren't supposed to be shot inside the city limits, but no one pays any attention to that, including the police. So, we'll probably find one to watch on TV, probably Boston or New York.
We're getting some new neighbors. They started moving in yesterday. Hopefully they will be better than the last ones!
I hope everyone has a good holiday, whether you celebrate or not. This was always a big holiday for our family as my dad shot the town fireworks show. He would build "set pieces" (ones that are not arial) in our garage and once he took them to whatever site the town was using he would not leave them. He would start shooting announcement bombs (the kind that just boom with no pretties) at noon and continue every hour. We would take a picnic supper out so that we could eat as a family before the show started. For the most part good memories.
Until next week...
I was able to have lunch with my best friend Phillis. We had not seen each other for a long time. She's been staying with her mother whose health is failing. Between worrying over that and trying to work in an atmosphere that has not been a good one, she needed a break. So, we had a 2 1/2 hour lunch. The restaurant was great as they didn't try to rush us out, just let us sit and talk. It did us both good.
Bill was up a couple of nights with leg cramps again. He hadn't had any for months so I think he was dry again. He's done better with water the last couple of days so maybe he's gotten enough fluid in his blood again.
We're going to have a quiet holiday. Not planning on doing much. We may bbq, as so many will be doing, but only if we can get the new grill put together. Bill went out to do it yesterday and when I checked an hour later to see if he was ready for lunch, we was sitting with all of the parts out but nothing put together. He tried telling me that the instructions were wrong, but it's just his short-circuited brain. I told him we would both work on it today. We won't try to watch the fireworks, I don't think. It's too crowded and the mosquitos are too bad. The neighborhood will get even noisier than it usually is, and the firecrackers have already started. Fireworks aren't supposed to be shot inside the city limits, but no one pays any attention to that, including the police. So, we'll probably find one to watch on TV, probably Boston or New York.
We're getting some new neighbors. They started moving in yesterday. Hopefully they will be better than the last ones!
I hope everyone has a good holiday, whether you celebrate or not. This was always a big holiday for our family as my dad shot the town fireworks show. He would build "set pieces" (ones that are not arial) in our garage and once he took them to whatever site the town was using he would not leave them. He would start shooting announcement bombs (the kind that just boom with no pretties) at noon and continue every hour. We would take a picnic supper out so that we could eat as a family before the show started. For the most part good memories.
Until next week...
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