Playing Catch Up

A cyber friend ask me if I had given up on my blog. Her question made me realize that I missed writing. So I decided to play catch up. The last time I wrote on my blog was July 2010. So I will start with August.

August: As most of you know, I have a group of friends who were classmates many years ago. We call ourselves the Nixon Yayas. We stay in touch daily by e-mail and get together when we can for visiting and a good meal.
Our friend, Beverly invited us to attend the 100th Anniversary of the church she attended while growing up. Several of us went and sat together. We were surprised to see another classmate sitting behind us, Avis. None of us had seen her since high school. We visited and took pictures before we all had to leave. We made plans to have lunch together soon.

September: Several of the Yayas got together at a restaurant in San Antonio for a fun lunch.
While enjoying our time together Beverly suddenly said, "Ladies, we need to do something together. Maybe go on a trip. Why don't we go to Las Vegas?". We told her that sounded like fun. So within a couple of days Beverly had found a trip package for us and within another few days we were signed up and paid.
October: Beverly, Cathy, Penny and I met at the airport and were soon on our way to Vegas. Beverly's daughter, Kimberly, flew in from Dallas and met us there. We spent the next 2 1/2 days seeing all the sights we could possibly fit in. We ate, had a few drinks, gambled and had lots of fun and laughter.

Beverly, Penny, Cathy, MaryAnn
Too soon it was time to go home.

October -January: I was in and out of the hospital during these months. I finally felt much better when I was released from the hospital in January.

February: That brings me to some sad news. My friend, Avis, who I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, had a sudden stroke that took her life. It was so sad to loose her, but I'm so glad that we had the time to see her once again and have a nice visit.

March: The most exciting thing to happen in a long time was on March 7th. Kaitlyn, Dusty and Raven's baby was born.

I had lost my love of reading for quite a while and was determined to start enjoying a good book again.
I managed to read 4 books and really enjoyed them.
"The Book of the Dead" by Robert Richardson
"The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson
"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"Sisterchicks on the Loose" by Robin Jones Gunn

A Typical Monday?

Got up, had a quick taco and coffee at home. (yes I really didn't go to the cafe) lol
Then I left for my 10:00 appointment with my oncologist. I go to his San Antonio downtown office. I parked on the 3rd floor of the parking garage. The oncology center is in the basement of the large medical bldg. I got in the elevator and went to the basement. 

I didn't have to wait very long to see my doctor. He said the numbers from my blood work were all good and I could get chemo if I felt I was ready. I answered with a quick YES!  The chemo room was decorated with colorful seahorses, fish and waterfalls. I found out that the granddaughter of one of the chemo patients had misunderstood her grandmother when she said she was going to get chemo. The granddaughter thought she said she was going to get her Nemo.  lol. So she made all the sea designs. 

After I was through with chemo at 1:30 I got on the elevator and went up to the 3rd floor of the garage, got in my car and realized I had forgot to get my parking ticket stamped. So.... I got back in the elevator to the basement, walked alllll the way down the hall and stamped my ticket. I decided I should make a quick visit to the ladies room before leaving. So after my quick visit I went back down the hall to the elevator and to the 3rd floor. Got in my car and backed out of my parking spot. Suddenly I realized I had left my parking ticket in the ladies room. Pulled back into the parking spot, got back in the elevator to the basement. Walked alllll the way down the hall to the ladies room. The door was locked so I stood and waited and waited. Finally I knocked on the door and there was no answer. I decided the person in there had either died or accidently locked the door on her way out. So I went around the corner to tell the lady at the desk. She got her keys and we walked back to the ladies room.  She tried the door and it was open!  The lady must have escaped while I was explaining the problem. The receptionest handed me my parking ticket and smiled. :0) I walked back down the hall, got on the elevator and you know the rest. I finally escaped the parking garage a little after 2:00.

I was so hungry when I left that I did something that's not a good idea when driving a car. I went to McDonalds drive through and ordered a homestyle burger with their special sauce of course. The last time I did this I stopped on my way home at my Yaya friend Elaine's house. When I looked down to open my seatbelt I realized I had special sauce all over the front of my white blouse. We got a big laugh over that. Well, today I didn't get a drop of sauce on my top. I think it's because I wasn't wearing white. 

I'm home now and all is good in my world. (sigh)

Knitting 101 - 2nd Project & My Lilies

I went to my third class this evening. It was fun and relaxing. I finished my 2nd project and did much better than the first. I still need to be more careful. I've started on my 3rd project. It's using the knit and purl stitches but we change in the row. So that is a new learning experience.

Both sides of project #2

I knew we had rain coming today so I climbed on the John Deere and mowed down my lilies They were there when my parents bought the house 56 years ago. They bloomed twice this summer because of all the rains we got. But they were looking pretty ragged so I mowed them. We got a beautiful rain today so they will come back up quickly and look beautiful again.

This is a few weeks ago.

Knitting 101 - 1st Project

After my first knitting class I had a week to use what I had learned to make a dish cloth. All I had to do was the knit stitch. It seems so easy to me now, but I really had to work on it that first week. I am going to post a picture of my first project and please don't laugh too loud.

It was supposed to be square with no holes. lol It didn't exactly turn out that way. I think I could do a much better job on that design now.

Dr Report:
I went for chemo last Monday and was not able to get it. I have chemo in my bone marrow, so we had to skip a week. My red blood count was very low. That's why I had been so tired all week. So I got iron intravenously and a Procrit injection. On Tuesday I could tell that I had more energy and have been feeling good all this week.

Yayas and Twinkletoes

What a beautiful day! I had lunch with 6 of my Nixon Yaya friends. We met at the Dixie Grill in Seguin and visited there for 4 hours!

Ellen, Elaine, Joyce, Patsy, MaryAnn, Gail, Cathy

We had so much fun visiting. Hope to do it again soon.

Then.....I went shopping and finally bought the Twinkletoes I had been wanting. :o)

Do You Believe? In Ghosts? In Spirits?

I recently read the book, The Sweet By and By. The book was about afterlife, believers and non-believers, spirits, ghosts, spiritualists and frauds. I wasn't sure I wanted to read about all of that, but am now glad that I did. It actually turned out to be a book about love, loss, death and grief. A really good book. It made me think of 4 stories that I would like to tell. So here they are:

Story #1 - My ex-husbands Grandmother: She was very old and we knew her time was near. She was still living in her own home, with a daughter living next door who checked on her regularly. One morning she told her daughter that John had come to see her that night and they had talked. John was her husband who had passed away many years before. The next morning she told her daughter that the night before she had seen Elder outside her window, looking in. Elder was her son who had passed over several years before. A few days later grandmother passed too. It made me wonder if her loved ones were really there waiting to greet her when her time came.

Story #2 - My Dad: He passed away in 1982. In 1987 we moved into the house that he and my Mom had bought when I was 5 years old. He had died in his bed, in his room, in that house. One day I was standing at the kitchen sink which had a window above it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing outside. I quickly turned my face so I could see who was there. But they were gone. A feeling filled my body that said it was my Dad. I saw that same figure several more times in the next few months. It always put a smile on my face as I thought he was watching over me.

Story #3 - My Brother Glenn: Glenn was a great brother. I always thought he had the perfect life. He was very handsome, had a great job, a lovely wife and 2 sons. He seemed to do everything right. He ran 5 miles a day, didn't drink or smoke, didn't over eat, etc. He started feeling bad and was soon diagnosed with cancer. He didn't last long after surgery and chemo treatments. He knew his cancer was fatal, so he made all the funeral plans so his family wouldn't have to. He wanted a closed casket at his service. While I was sitting in the church, listening to the preacher, I suddenly saw Glenn. He had on his jogging suit and running shoes. He had a smile on his face and was running through the air in front of me. Later the family met at his house to visit. I told my sister-in-law what I had seen. She told me that one of Glenn's requests while planning his funeral was that he not be buried in a suit. He wanted to be wearing his running clothes. I knew then that I really had seen him.

Story #4 - Jesse's Mother: His mother died after a long fight with breast cancer. The night after her funeral Jesse stayed at her house, in her room, in her bed. In the middle of the night he woke up to see his Mom standing at the foot of the bed. She picked up the covers and placed them over Jesse, and then she was gone. He felt that she was still taking care of him.

I don't know if these were hallucinations or wishful thinking. Maybe we really saw our loved ones. I guess we'll never know till our time comes to pass over. I do know that death is not the end for us. Its the new beginning.

Summer Weather and Pictures

We are experiencing a thunder storm as I type. I did manage to check my garden just before dark. It was lightening and I was in a hurry to get back inside. I did have one zucchini squash ready to pick and that was all.

Loyce had mentioned making zucchini bread and I think I can make one loaf with the one I rescued from the garden.

My KT friend, Sandy from Iowa, posted a recipe for banana cookies and I'm dying to try them too. I sure hate to think about turning on my oven when we have predicted highs of 100F this weekend. Oh well, I think it will be worth it.

Benji rode on the float with Preston but was ready to get back on shore.

The twins can always depend on Grandpa Jesse to go swimming with them.

Playing in the Hot Tub.

T-Ball Preston was unhappy because the rolly pollys he had caught had excaped. We helped him find some more and he got happy.

Jesse and I rode the bike this past holiday weekend. It was the first time he had ridden in over a year and was over 1 1/2 years for me. I'm sure not tough any more. I'll have to ride more often to toughen up. We rode up River Rd from New Braunfels. We were among about a million other people who were enjoying the beautiful weather and the river. We stopped at the Lazy L and sat behind the store. There was a live band playing across the river and lots of people floating on tubes and inflatibles. Lots of fun!

I was in a reading mood in May:

First Family (our book club selection for May)
Baldacci, David
Very good mystery!
*******
Winter Garden
Hannah, Kristin
One of the best I've read
*********
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Larsson, Stieg
Very good
********
The Killing Floor
Child, Lee
Okay, violent
*****
Dancing Naked At The Edge of Dawn
Radish, Kris
Interesting
*******
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Evanovich, Janet
Very good
********
Something Rising
Kimmel, Haven
Not very good
***
Days of Little Texas
Nelson, R. A.
Very good
********
Chili Death
Albert, Susan Wittig
Very good
********


Dr Report
I'm back on regular chemo and doing well. I have two more weeks of treatment and then will have a two week rest. Next I'll be scheduled for a ct scan to see that the chemo is doing it's job. I been having Home Health Care since I was released from the hospital on Easter Sunday. I was discharged today. The nurse said my wound is completely healed.

Has It Been That Long?

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog! January!!!
I really don't have much news. I am really enjoying keeping up with family and friends on facebook. That's probably one reason that I have ignored this blog.

I finished reading my March bookclub book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, today. There were some really strange characters in that book. It makes me wonder if the people in Savannah, GA are like that. I don't think I really want to know. LOL

Dr Report: I had a CT scan in February and it showed that nothing has changed. My doctor says that's good news because nothing is growing or spreading. I started a new round of chemo last Monday and this time I am going once a week. I went today and saw my doctor too. He told me that he was amazed that I was doing so well and not having side-effects with my chemo. One of the main side-effects is severe diarrhea. I haven't experienced that at all. (I'm sure you all wanted that bit of info, LOL)

My doctor, (and me) always go one day at a time. He never says much about the future except that I will probably be having more chemo. Today he surprised me by saying that he's looking forward to the day that my scan shows no shadows. I told him I've been planning on that all along. He gave me a big smile. He is just such a wonderful caring doctor and I am so fortunate that I chose him. :o)

I Wanna Be A Rock Star !

I lost so much weight when I first started chemo. I went from 135 lbs to 98 lbs. I looked awful, but thought, I'm skinny enough to be a rock star! I've gained weight since I started taking Megace and today when I went for chemo I was 129 lbs. I think I'll cut down the Megace to once every 3 or 4 days as I like myself in the 120's. And I'm going to design my own "I Wanna Be a Rock Star" shirt. :o)

I had a wonderful trip to Faith and Bill's (my sister and brother-in-law) place in Sarasota a few weeks ago. We did something fun everyday and I can't wait to go back. I just hope it's nice and warm the next time I visit. The last two times I've gone to Florida I had to wear turtlenecks and jeans. That's just not right for Florida.

We had a great Christmas and New Year's. Now if I can just get myself in the mood to take down the tree..... Maybe I'll do it this week sometime. I got so many lovely Christmas cards and think I will leave them displayed for the month of January. I enjoy looking at them everyday.

My New Year's resolutions:
1. Enjoy each day and have fun with family and friends.
2. Get back to the habit of saving 10% of all incoming $$$.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2010. I'm looking forward to a great year!

Happy Thanksgiving !

Well, the day is almost over. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day. Ours was about as good as it gets. Loyce and Harold cooked the dinner. Jesse and I took a German chocolate cake and a cheese roll. We ate way too much. Then we went down the highway to Jesse's brother's house where there was more food. We watched the Cowboy game there. I'm home now and watching the Aggie and Longhorn game. Of course I'm pulling for the Aggies.

This year I am thankful for my friends and family, and my doctors and their staff.

Three Pounds ! :o)

Can you believe it? I gained 3 pounds in one week. My doctor is happy and ask if I wanted to cut back on the Megace (gives me an appetite). I told him I want to get to 125 pounds and then will cut back. I only take one little teaspoon each morning. Boy that stuff works!

I went to chemo today. They wouldn't give it to me the past two weeks because I had a temperature and the doctor wanted to take care with what was wrong with me before giving more chemo. I just feel so blessed to have such a wonderful doctor. He is so caring and nice. He comes into the chemo room and talks to the ladies that work for him and they are always laughing. They all stay busy, but have big smiles on their faces. I think they are so happy to work for such a nice guy.

That's all I have to report today. :o)

Is It Tuesday?

I'm confused. I usually have chemo on tuesdays and I went yesterday. Now that I'm going downtown, my appointments are on Monday. It will take me awhile to adjust. :o)

Dr Report: Before I see the doctor they always weigh me, take blood pressure and temp. I weighed the same, but I think I really gained, but was weighing on new scales since I was at the downtown office. I had a temp of 101.8. My regular doctor was gone for the week and he had someone taking his place. She was really concerned thinking I might be getting the flu. I told her I didn't think so. I think it's just a cold. Anyway, she said they wouldn't give me chemo but would give me the iron drip which takes 1 1/2 hours. I have to go back next Monday for the chemo. She told me to take my temp everyday and if anything changes to call. I took it this morning and all was okay. I went to Gonzales to run some errands and when I got home I took it again and had 101.5, so I tood meds and laid down for a nap. I'm hoping this will all be over in a day or two.

New hair!

I went to the doctor this morning for my iron drip and procreat. That took a couple of hours. Jesse went with me and after the doctor we went back to the wig shop. I planned to find a wig that was longer, more like I used to wear my hair. But....Jesse found a short one that he said would be perfect. I tried it on and it felt very comfortable. He thinks it's the one for me. So I bought it. I sure hope my my insurance pays for these as wigs are not cheap!

Anyway, we had a good day. After leaving the wig shop we went to New Braunfels and got there at noon. We met Harold at the steakhouse and had a delicious meal and a crazy waiter. Next Jesse and I went to the Halloween shop and got the rest of what we needed for our Halloween costumes. Tomorrow is trunk n treat and it's going to be so much fun.

Dr Report: Nothing new. Just got my iron and procreat. Didn't have to see the doctor. I can tell the iron is helping as I feel much better with a little bit of energy. :o)

Good/Bad Hair Day

I haven't decided if it's a good or bad hair day. I had got to the point that all I had left was a few long strands. So I got Jesse to shave my head last Tuesday. There's a little fuzz there now. I can feel it, but not see it.
Loyce and I went wig shopping Wednesday and I bought one. They only had 3 wigs in my color and they weren't really my style, but I bought one anyway. It looks Okay, but just not me. Madisyne said I should have hair hanging down on the sides and Preston told me I needed to do something about my new hair. LOL He got his Mom's phone and was going to take a picture of me. I had on a knit cap. He told me to take off the cap for the picture. He looked at me for awhile and told me to put the cap back on. Then he snapped his picture. :o)

Tomorrow I go to the doctor for an iron drip. I've been very low on red blood cells and have been getting iron weekly along with a Procreat injection. It's helping. I plan to go look at the wig shop again. This time I am going to look for my style and see if she can order it in my color. There was a really pretty red one there. I ask Preston if he thought I should get the red wig and he said, "No Memaw, you need to get hair like yours." I am spending most of my time wearing knit caps. Need to see what else is out there.

DR Report: I went last Tuesday for more chemo and iron. I was hoping for a break in the chemo as my last round was supposed to be 8 sessions. Last week was #9 and the oncologist and my surgeon thought I needed to stay on it. (Sigh) He did take me off the Avastin in case the surgeon plans surgery for me in the next couple of months. I will be seeing her later this week.

It's Been a Month!

I can't believe I've gone that long without writing here. Actually my life has been pretty dull, so I haven't had anything to write about.

DR Report: I've had 2 chemo treatments since my last update. My blood work has looked good except for my red cells. Last Tuesday my count had gone down from 10.6 to 8. When the count goes below 10 that's when they do something. So I got iron last Tuesday. They have to give you a test iron first to make sure you don't have a reaction to it. That went well for me, so they gave me the full iron which took another 1 1/2 hours. I was at the doctor's office from 9:30 till 5:00. Jesse was there with me too. They kept the TV on Gunsmoke and Bonanza, so he was happy.
I will get the iron two more times and the doc said if I start getting dizzy that he will set up a blood transfusion for me. I don't think I will need that. The anemia is what makes me so tired. I don't want to get out of my recliner. I did go to WalMart yesterday. My first time to go out shopping and it was fun. I bought several caps as I have lost so much hair. I don't think there's enough gone for me to shave. I'm going to wait a while and see if I keep losing it.

I bought some Megace last week as I had no appetite. I had gone down to 104 lbs. The Megace is in a little bottle (liquid) and costs over $700! That is just unbelievable to me. It does work. When I went for my last chemo I had gained 7 lbs in two weeks.

Next Tuesday I am scheduled for another CT scan and more iron. I will get the results of the scan on the following Tuesday.

Thanks to all of you for your good thoughts and prayers.

Preston, Internet Friends, Book Club and Med Stuff....

Preston was running on the gravel drive from his house to the gate and had a bad fall. Loyce had to take him to the ER. He busted his chin, cut the inside of his mouth and scratched his knee pretty bad. They glued his chin together as it wasn't bad enough for stitches. They got home around 11 pm and he was up bright and early wanting to go to school. He said he needed to tell his teacher what happened. He was probably the star in PreK today. LOL

Not much has been going on in my life. About 1 1/2 weeks ago I twisted my ankle really bad. My foot was turned in such an abnormal way that I was sure I had broke something. After sitting on the floor for a few minutes I realized I could move my foot and then could put some weight on it. So I did the things you are supposed to do - elevation, ice and rest. It was better the next morning so I saw no reason to go to another doctor. Then a day later the chemo finally caught up with me and the fatigue hit. So I've spent the past week with no energy and a faint limp. (sigh)

Yesterday some of my internet friends met at the City Market in Luling and I had planned to go but just didn't feel like getting ready and driving there. I wish I would have pushed myself to go. (another sigh)

Last night was book club night and I almost didn't go to it, but I did make myself get ready and go. We discussed Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner. I really enjoyed the book.

Dr Report: I had my 6th chemo treatment today. My blood work was great but weight wasn't. I had lost 4 lbs the time before and this time it was 6 more. So now I'm down to 106 lb. I'm going to work hard to gain some before my next treatment. I plan to start taking the Megace (appetite enhancer) again.

I know this entry sounds a little depressing, but actually life is good and I'm happy...just tired.

We've Lost a Wonderful Friend

David Allen Williams, 59, passed away August 26, 2009. David taught, coached, served as principal and retired as a hearing officer from SAISD. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Liz Williams; children, Justin S. Williams & David A. Williams, Jr.; mother, Jeannine Bryant & step-father, Leroy Bryant; sister, Sue Ann Fuschak & husband, Van and their sons, Brandon, Blake & Bryce. Visitation will be held from 5-7PM on Sunday, August 30, 2009 at Schertz Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held at 10AM on Monday, August 31, 2009 at the Schertz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at 1PM at the San Marcos City Cemetery.

Dave, also known as Chivo, was a wonderful friend. He was a big guy with a big heart. He loved his family and friends and would do anything for them. We rode many miles together on our motorcycles and made many good memories. He will be missed.

Rest in peace, Chivo. We will never forget you.

It's Dry, Dry, Dry & Hot in South Texas!!!

We are having the hottest summer on record in my part of the world. And I think it's probably the driest on record too. I'm thinking about doing the nekid turtle dance, and would for sure if I knew it would bring rain. :o) Of course I need some volunteers to dance with me.

Dr Report: I had my chemo treatment on Tuesday. Jesse was at home and offered to go with me. I told him to stay home or find something else to do as he would have to sit at the Dr office for 4 hours with me and he didn't need to do that. He insisted, so we both went to San Antonio. It didn't take me long to find out why he wanted to go. When they called me back, he asked if he could go. I said sure since they were going to weigh me and take my vitals. Then they took me to the room to wait for the doctor. Jesse marched right in and sat down. Then he told me that he knew I would be getting the CT scan report and he wanted to hear it for himself. He thinks I sugar-coat what I tell him and others about my condition. LOL I explained to him that he was welcome to stay, but that I always told him, my family and friends the exact truth. :o)
The doctor came in and said my CT scan report was great. All the spots he was watching had decreased in size. That means the chemo is doing it's job. Well, it's the chemo and lots of prayer. And Jennifer would say it's also the egg sandwiches and pickles. LOL He said my blood work looked great too. My protein levels are going down even more. That's a sure sign that the cancer is reducing. So I guess Jesse saw that I do tell the whole truth, and it made him feel better.

I am feeling much better than when I was at this point with my previous chemo treatments. I still have energy and an appetite. I still think it's from the green drink and healthier eating. I did lose 4 pounds in the last two weeks, but I'm working on putting them back on before my next treatment.

Lazy Days of Summer

There is not much going on here in South Central Texas. Most of our days have had over 100º temperatures and no rain. We are experiencing such a drought that many trees are falling over and dying. So far my trees are doing okay, but I have to water occasionally.

I bought a new printer after my old one died and I love the new one. The photos print out so perfectly! And...it's wireless, so I can send a print order from wherever I am with my laptop. I think I'll be playing with it today. :o)

Dr Report: Yesterday was chemo day. My appointment was at 9:15, so I was out of there by 1:00. My doctor said he was amazed that I'm not having the bad side effects from this new chemical in my chemo. He said most people experience severe diarrhea, but I've had no problems with it at all. My hair is thinning, but I don't think I will lose it all. Last week I got my hair cut and Pat said she could see new growth. That's a good sign. Anyway, back to my doctor....he said my blood work looks fine, just low in red blood count. But I've always been a little anemic. The numbers weren't bad enough for me to get an injection for it.

After leaving his office I drove to Seguin and shopped in several stores, and also shopped at Pat's in Nixon. I was really tired once I got home. But I was up and at 'em by 5:30 this morning.

Reunions !

Last weekend was full of reunions. The first was a pre-party at Harold's house for the class of '85. I had planned to go visit with them for an hour, but wound up staying almost 4 hours! It was so much fun getting to see all of them.

Back row: Judy, Harold, Tisha and Mark - Front row: Bunny, Curt and Missy

Sunday was the Steubing family reunion. Loyce, Madisyne, Preston and little brother, Dan, and I went to Moulton. I was disappointed because there were so few people there. It gets smaller every year as the old ones leave us. The young ones are just not as interested in getting together. I have great memories of all the reunions as I was growing up. Lots of people and wonderful homemade food!

Something new this year was Bingo. That was fun and the kids got in on it too.

We got back to Harold's house around 4 pm and the second party for the class of '85 was going strong. Lots of food and fun.

Picture courtesy of Glenda. l-r Glenda, Missy, Dee, Harold, Tisha, Judy, Paula, Curt, and Bunny Back row: Curt, Judy, Harold, Tisha, Dee and Thomas
Front row: Glenda, Missy and Paula

A Big Weekend Coming Up!

Lots of things happening this weekend! Little (or should I say younger) brother, Dan, is coming in this evening for a long weekend here. Harold is planning one or two parties for the weekend for the class of '85. And the Steubing Family Reunion is this Sunday.

I'm planning on crashing at least one of the parties, as Harold's friends are so much fun. And I need to try out his new Margarita machine. :o) I'm also looking forward to the family reunion. Most of the family I only see once a year and don't always remember who they are, but they always remember that I'm Belle's daughter. I guess there's a resemblance there. It's always fun to have Dan here. We sit around and talk, play with BJ, Harold's dog, and sometimes do some target shooting.

I hope to remember to take my camera to all events and hopefully have some good pictures to post on Monday.

Hope all of my readers are planning a fun weekend too.

Three Cups of Tea & Girl's Day/Night Out

I have to report on another awesome book, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Greg was a mountaineer and he traveled to Pakistan to climb K2, which is the mountain that all mountain climbers want to climb. While there he realized that the girls of that country were not getting an education unless they were wealthy enough to be sent to private school. He decided to start building schools there, mainly for the girls. What an inspiring story! I can't say enough good things about this book, and if I ever win the lottery you better know that I will be helping to support this man and his mission to promote peace, one school at a time.

........................

Last Thursday, my Yaya friend, Elaine, picked me up and we went to her sister, Hazel's, house. It was good to see Hazel again. We had a fun time visiting and then we headed to downtown Cuero to eat lunch and shop. We ate at a neat little deli and shared a very large piece of cake for dessert. :o)

After shopping we went back to Hazel's to relax for awhile. Then at 5pm we headed to the Cuero Opry. We had a great dinner there and then listened to some talented musicians. The band was so good and the singers were great. There were two young girls who performed and they were so talented. I had to laugh at the song, My Heart Cracked But It Did Not Break, LOL Only country music has such interesting titles and lyrics.

We got home in time to watch the movie Sling Blade. I usually go to sleep during movies, but this one kept my attention. It was starring Billy Bob Thornton and I'm a big fan of his. While watching the movie we enjoyed a glass of wine that I had bought earlier at a neat little wine shop in town. I can't believe I stayed awake!

Dr Report: Today was my chemo day. I spent 5 hours at the doctor's office. It went by quickly as there were other ladies there to talk to. I also read quite a bit in my current book, Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. This book is just as funny as the others. My doctor said my blood work looked really good. My red cells are a little low, but they always are. He said my protein level had gone down quite a bit. When you have cancer these levels go up, so going down is a great sign. Dr Raza said that no one would ever know I had cancer by looking at me as I look very healthy. I ask the doctor (who is from Pakistan) if he had heard of Greg Mortenson and he said he had read that book and was so amazed that one person can make such a difference. I am so fortunate that he is my doctor! I think he's the best in the city.

Oh yes, I gained 3 pounds this past two weeks. I was so happy to see the weight gain! Life is good.

Doing What He Loves

This is Chad at the Rodeo in Stockdale this year.

He rides almost every weekend

A BIL With Good Taste

I have a Brother-In-Law, Bill, with very good taste. He loves a good mystery and has sent me several books that I really enjoyed. He also has great taste in wine, and of course he showed very good taste in marrying my sister, Faith.

Bill and I on the beach in Sarasota, FL

I recently finished the book, Land Of Burning Heat by Judith Van Gieson, that Bill sent me. I enjoyed the book so much that I ordered the other 3 in the Claire Reynier Mystery series.

In Land Of Burning Heat, Claire Reynier is an archivist in New Mexico. Someone tells her they have discovered an old faded document that was hidden for hundreds of years under the floor of her family's adobe house. Claire thinks it might be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic who was condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City. It's a very good mystery that tells of her search for the document and a murderer.

...................

Dusty was very sick all night from working in the heat yesterday. He was so dehydrated that the ems guys had to give him a bag of fluids this morning. He's feeling better now. His cramping has eased and he is able to keep fluids on his stomach. The heat here in my part of Texas has been almost unbearable.

Dr Report: I had my second chemo treatment yesterday. My blood counts were good with the exception of my white and red blood cells. They gave me an injection for the red cells and I will go back tomorrow for the injection for my white cells. I am feeling fine but can tell that I'm beginning to lose my appetite. I will probably start taking the Megace again to beef up my appetite. I don't want to lose any weight.

Tested Faith

To new readers of my blog...you will want to read the post titled "There Are No Chance Meetings...." to see why I read the book, Tested Faith The Power of Mind Over Cancer. I finished the book a few days ago and would like to tell you about it. The author, Yvonne Williams was diagnosed with 3 different cancers and she tells of her experiences as she goes through surgeries, treatments and healing.

I really enjoyed the book. Some of my experiences are very much like Yvonne's and some completely different. Unlike the author, when I was first diagnosed I never felt any fear, depression or anger. It was just something that I knew needed to be taken care of so I could go on with my life. I think the time of diagnosis was what made a difference. When Yvonne found out she had cancer she did not know any cancer survivors and it was almost looked on as a death sentence. By the time I was diagnosed, there were many success stories out there.

What we did have in common was a wonderful upbringing in a Christian home. We were both taught to believe and have faith in God. I think that makes all the difference in the world and I thank God every day for giving me the family that I had.

In the book, Yvonne gives many Bible verses that say just the right thing. She also has many quotations that are real keepers. Even though I normally keep my books very clean and wouldn't think of writing in them, I will make an exception with this book. I plan to go back through it and high lite the Bible verses and quotations that I want to read over and over until I know them all by heart. She even wrote lines from old hymns that I have sang all my life and yet never paid attention to the words. I will listen to those words from now on.

It is a book I would recommend to anyone, not only those facing cancer. I am looking forward to reading her other book, It's All About the Shoes: Hope, Heartbreak and the Search for the Perfect Pair.

Something else I thought was interesting, since my meeting with the author was a little strange....she is from a Caribbean isle and so is my surgeon.

101 Degrees At The Park

Yesterday I went with Loyce, Madisyne and Preston to Gonzales. The twins and I stayed at the park while their Mom took care of some business. The kids had fun, but it was very hot and all the playground equipment was in the sun.

Dr Report: I had my first chemo treatment today. I took my book to read as it was supposed to take 3.5-4 hrs. They put Benadryl in my drip and it made me so sleepy that I only was able to read a few pages. After the treatment they connected me to an infusion pump to bring home for the next 46 hours. I had the pump with my last chemo, but this one is so much better. It is much smaller and lighter. I'm feeling good, but tired from being out and about all day!

Me and Chemo-sabe

Me and my Chemo-sabe are best friends again. I saw my oncologist this morning and we both think I should go back on chemo. I will have my first treatment next Tuesday. I will be on a different one this time. One chemical will be the same but the other will be changed. Basically the difference will be that I trade one side effect for another. I don't expect to have any problems at all with this new one. In fact I have a feeling that I will do much better now that I am so experienced. :o)

An update on my previous blog entry..... I told about the unlikely meeting between Yvonne Williams and myself. I must tell you that she and I have been corresponding daily and she has been such an inspiration to me. I know she's right when she says there are no chance meetings in life.

There Are No Chance Meetings In Life.

Since I've been on Facebook I've had many requests to be my friend. If I know them, I approve the friendship. If I don't know them, I click on "ignore". For over a week I have had one request that I didn't do anything with. Her photo showed a very lovely lady and said she was from MA. I looked at her photo and knew I didn't know her. It said she had found me through Friend Finder. Finally I decided to send her a message to ask her how she knew me. She quickly wrote back and said my e-mail address was in her address book. She said she was an author and gave talks around the country and that maybe we had met at one of those events. Her last sentence said. "You know, there are no chance meetings in life."

Wow, I didn't know what to think. I hadn't been to any events or met any authors in years. I decided to Google her to see what she had written. I was so surprised to see the first book listed was Tested Faith : The Power of Mind Over Cancer. A reviewer of the book states, "This book amply defines and elucidates the author's epic struggles, challenges, and renewed faith in God, family, and friends as she relentlessly fought and won the battle over cancer."

Needless to say......Yvonne L. Williams is now a Facebook friend and I am looking forward to reading her book. I'll write a review here soon.

FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter........

I have a MySpace page, but seldom go there. And I haven't done any Tweeting yet, however I do enjoy FaceBook! It's a fun way to find old friends, family and new friends, and to stay in touch with them. Some of my friends are really into the applications that FaceBook has to offer. Many of them are farmers at FarmTown. They raise animals, plant gardens and crops, visit other people's farms and sometimes help them out. It is so entertaining to hear them talk about their farms. I've been invited by 2 friends to get a farm, but don't think I have the time for it. I have a hard enough time keeping my real-life garden going, much less taking care of a cyber farm. But who knows.....I might just have to see what it's all about one of these days.

Today I took 2 "MySpace" photos. You know what they are, don't you? That's when you pose with friends and snap your own picture.

The first one I took at breakfast club this morning.

Me, Maggie & Lisa

The second one I took at an Italian Restaurant in Sutherland Springs. Yes, you read that right! Sutherland Springs is moving up in the world.

Me, Jande & Elaine

Speaking of farms......Madisyne and Preston stopped by for a visit after Vacation Bible School today. Madisyne went out to the garden and picked some tomatoes.

Preston used my old rusty pruning shears to prune the pomegranate tree.

You Are What You Eat

What is that saying supposed to mean? I always thought I was a sweet person and I've always had a sweet tooth, but I am eating healthier now and have cut white sugar out of my diet. So if I sound mean instead of sweet....there is a reason. :o)

Last year I read the book Crazy Sexy cancer Tips and enjoyed it. I took it to Orlando to my sister's, Faith's, house and we read parts of it together. Kris Carr highly recommends drinking wheat grass cocktails. Faith and I tried it at a juice bar and it tasted veeeery green! I finished the book, but decided not to follow her diet tips as I really needed to eat lots of everything so that I could gain some of my weight back. I have gained some of the weight back and have decided that now is the time to start living a healthier lifestyle. I've had 2 people recommend barley grass cocktails. They both even gave me some to try, so I now have several months supply. I have been drinking it for several days now and will report after a few months if I can tell a difference.

I've been eating organic veggies from our garden, but I'm not sure how long that will last as the squash bugs are about to take over!

Dr Report: I had an appointment with my surgeon today. She said I seem to have healed very well from my surgery in March. There was a 4 month healing period as my tissue was damaged from the radiation. I will see her again in 3 months. After we leave her examining room she always walks into the hall with me and we chat for awhile. I usually have to try to control myself because I start to get teary. I don't want her to see the tears and think that I'm sad or scared or anything bad. I have tears because I am so happy that I have such wonderful, caring doctors.

Fun in The Sun - Memorial Day

We had a fun Memorial Day celebration at Harold and Loyce's house.

Loyce & Madisyne

Harold jumping off the waterfall

Madisyne, Harold & Preston enjoying the hot tub


Preston


Justin and Dusty

Chad & friends Trevor and Phil Robb

Dr Report: I had an appointment this morning with my lung specialist. He said there are 2 nodules on my right lung and he does not recommend surgery. He spoke to my oncologist and they decided that I should make an appointment with the oncologist to discuss treatment with him. Will report more when I know more.

More Book Reports.........

It seems that all I've done lately is read. I checked my book journal and I've managed to read 10 books this month. If I keep reading like this I will start whittling down my stack of "to be read" books. I have so many books in that stack that I often forget why I chose them or who recommended them to me. It's hard to decide which one to read next.

After I read the 3 Montana Creed books I went to my bookshelf and wondered which book should I read next. I picked up Between Friends by Debbie Macomber. I checked out the reader reviews at amazon.com and was happy to see that the book had a 5 star rating there. I had read one other book by Macomber, Christmas Letters, and had written in my journal that it was a cute, quick read. I decided I would give the author another try. This was the perfect girl book for my generation. It was about friends who were both born in 1948. The story took them from birth to 2003. What made the book interesting was how it was written. The entire book was birth announcements, notes, letters, diary entries, journal entries, e-mail, etc. At first I didn't think it would hold my attention, but was I wrong! I couldn't put the book down! There were so many events, popular songs, books of the time, and other things mentioned in this book that it was like taking a walk down memory lane for me. I would recommend it to anyone born in that era.

Next I decided to read Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer. Last year the GRINS book club had read Spender's book, The Fullfillment. I found that book to be pure chick lit, boring and predictible. My friend Joy said we should read Morning Glory and see the difference in the books. There was all the difference in the world. How can one writer write such a lackluster book and then write one so good? This was a beautiful love story of two people who have had terrible childhoods and yet they find each other and build such a wonderful life together. This is another one that I recommend.

Now it's time to go back to the book shelf to see what will be next.

I'm a Book Snob & a Cowgirl

At our last GRINS book club meeting, a couple of members recommended a book series they had both read and enjoyed. They sounded good even though I don't read many cowboy stories. These were modern day cowboys and the stories take place in Montana (which I love), so I thought I would try them out.

I got all three of the series about the Montana Creeds. When I was about halfway through with the first book, Montana Creeds: Logan, and really enjoying it, I happened to notice the H on the front of the cover. I thought, "Oh no, this can't be a Harlequin Romance book!" I was much above reading such stuff. I made myself put the H in the back of my mind and kept reading. As soon as I finished that book, I quickly picked up the second in the series, Montana Creeds: Dylan and happily read it in two days. I have the third in the series, Montana Creeds: Tyler sitting here by me tempting me to forget about housework.

I can't believe that I am recommending chick-lit books, LOL, but these are really good. Maybe I should expand my reading to include some of these H books. I am going to try hard to get rid of that book snob label.

Cowgirl
Every time I walk into my bathroom I take a quick look out the window. I can see the back yard, the pasture out back and usually Chad's horse, or 2 or 3. About mid-morning I peeped out the window and noticed the small gate was open and I couldn't see his horse. I quickly called Chad at work because he sometimes takes his horse to work with him. He said his horse was supposed to be in the pasture. I quickly found him in my garden. He was enjoying the unwanted grass there and ignoring the veggie plants. I filled his bucket with horse feed and he decided that was better than the grass and followed me back into the pasture.

Another normal morning in small town Texas. :o)

And So It Goes.......

Dr Report: I saw my lung doctor this morning. He said the ct scan I had last week shows that the spot on my left lung has reduced in size, but there is something on my right lung and he's not sure what it is. So he scheduled a PET scan for in the morning. It may not be anything, but he wants to know for sure. The lady at the lab told me not to eat any carbs or sugars today, and to fast in the morning. I'm so hungry and trying to figure out what I can snack on that has 0 carbs! I think I'll go to the grocery store and start reading labels! LOL

~*~ NEVER ~*~

I will NEVER look at things in the same way again! Not after reading the book Crashing Through by Robert Kurson. What an amazing true story about Mike May. He lost his sight at age 3 because of chemical burns. He regained his sight after over 40 years of being blind. The story of his life as a blind man and all that he accomplished, and then the story of his feelings when he could see, made this one of the best books I've read. When I read his accounts of seeing simple things for the first time, I realized that most of us go through life not really seeing things. It was an eye opener.

There are fewer than twenty cases in recorded history in which someone was totally blind since early childhood and had their vision restored so many years later. Besides telling May's story, the book also tells the difference between how a baby and a grown person learns to see and recognize things. Totally amazing!

On my book journal I rate the books I read with 1-10 stars. This book got 9 stars.

My life: My Yaya friend, Elaine, and I went shopping in San Marcos today. We had a fun time finding some good bargains and eating at the Crackle Barrel.

My Life Revolves Around Books...

At least it seems that way. What book did I recently read, what am I reading now, what is our GRINS book club book of the month? It is nice to be enjoying a good book after having lost my interest in reading while I was having my chemo treatments.

I am currently reading Crashing Through by Robert Kurson. It's the true story of a man who lost his sight when he was 3 years old, due to a chemical burn. He regains his vision when he is in his 40's. I haven't got to the part where he can see again, but I've been amazed at all that he accomplished in his life while being blind. There are several parts of the book that have made me stop and reflect on what was written. A day later I try to remember what it was that I found so profound. Maybe I should have written it down.

If I wrote down each phrase that I wanted to remember in all the books that I read, what would I do with them? Would I ever go back to re-read them? Would I collect so many that it would be impossible to find the one I was looking for? I'll have to ask those questions to my friend, Laura. She takes notes when reading and writes down all the phrases that mean something to her. Hmmmm that gives me an idea....I keep a book journal in an Excel spreadsheet. I have columns for title, author, a few words describing how I liked the book, who recommended it and if it was a bookclub book. I guess I could add a page to the spreadsheet that was linked to a book and write the phrases on that page. But can you imagine how many pages I would wind up with? I'll have to think about that before I actually put it into action.

To explain what made me think of the above is something I read in this book. It said that getting lost is a terrifying prospect to most blind people. But the man in this book said that getting lost was the best part. He told people that he was very curious and getting lost was part of the process of discovering things. I could relate to that even though I'm not blind. I used to avoid driving in downtown San Antonio, partly because I had no idea where I was going and also because I was a little bit afraid. I do drive there now and it's become a joke that I get lost every time I go downtown. I love it because it's always an adventure!

Lavender ~ Birds ~ Blogs ~ Etc

Last night I finished the book, The Unlikely Lavender Queen, A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming by Jeannie Ralston. This was such an interesting story of a New York yuppie who agrees, very unhappily, to move to Austin, TX with her husband. They moved there before Austin became a cool place to live. Then she again, unhappily, follows him to Blanco, TX where they live and raise lavender. All through the book I kept thinking of my sister's friend, Karen, who owns Alamosa Wine Cellars in Texas. Last year Faith and I visited Karen's winery and enjoyed visiting, looking around and tasting wines. When we were ready to leave, Karen grabbed scissors and told us we must cut some of the lavender that she had growing along the drive to their winery. It was my first time to handle fresh lavender and was such a nice experience to end our visit. To get back to the book.......Jeannie learns to love the lavender business and her home in Blanco. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially those familiar with the Texas Hill Country.

I have been watching my new bird feeders this week and have not seen a single bird stop by to enjoy them. One day a male and a female cardinal lit on a branch about 12 feet from the sunflower seed feeder and I held my breath and willed them to go have a snack. No luck, after sitting awhile on the branch they flew away. I may have to move the feeders to another spot that the birds like better. I think I'll ask the peeps in my online discussion group. They know everything! :o)

My good friend from Arkansas has started a blog, FlossieBlossoms . Susan is so talented and creative. I know I will enjoy, and hopefully be motivated, to check out her blog each day.

Our garden is doing well. The yellow crook-neck squash has many blooms and quite a few baby squash. I'm sure that in a few days I will have more squash than I know what to do with!

Inspired By A Jaybird

While Nita and I were on our Texas Road Trip, we spent one night at Jaybird's house in Waco. I was impressed with the view from her breakfast table. She had several bird feeders in her backyard right outside the window. We sat at the table with our coffee/tea and had a front row seat to the lovely bird scene. Jaybird had a bird identification book on the table, but I don't think she needs it any more. She knows all the birds in the area. In fact she keeps track of the birds that visit her yard and logs them at an online site. This past year she had more different species of birds than any one else in Waco.

Thanks to Jaybird's inspiration I now have 2 new feeders in my yard.

Suet feeder

Sunflower Seed feeder

I haven't had any bird visitors yet. At least I haven't seen any there yet. Maybe it takes a while for them to find the feeders? I also bought a bird identification book on Ebay that should be coming in soon.

I have fed the hummingbirds for years and this year I have 3 regulars coming to enjoy the nectar. I have also provided some flowering plants for their enjoyment.

While shopping for the birds, I found this cute little toad. I never buy any cutsie things to put in with my plants, but I just had to have this one.

Going Green II

Here is a distant view of my garden. Everything is growing well, including the grass and weeds!

The row on the left is potatoes, middle is leaf lettuce and right is lots of grass with onions and garlic hidden in between. We decided it was too much to hoe and the plants seem to be doing okay under the circumstances. We may harvest the onions in 2 weeks. I haven't checked the garlic yet. There are carrots on the far end, but I think they are a total loss.

This is one of the two cherry tomato plants. They are both thriving, with lots of blooms and a few small tomatoes. I am so anxious for fresh tomatoes!


Our squash (zucchini and yellow crookneck) are growing very quickly and I'm sure we will be supplying all our friends with its produce soon.

This is one of my 2 strawberry pots. I have never had luck with anything I planted in them. Finally this year I took the advice that I got a couple of years ago and put a pvc pipe, with holes drilled in it, in the middle of the pot and then put in the soil and plants. I water it through the pipe and none of the water pours out of the cups on the side. The plants seem to be thriving.

This is Serendipity. She was named and given to me by my Yaya friend, Joyce. I'm so glad that I've kept her alive! Now I'm wondering if she might want to be repotted into something more fancy.
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My Life: Jesse and I had a fun and productive weekend. On Saturday we rode the bike to New Braunfels, up River Road, and into Sattler. We ate at an Italian Bistro that we discovered. The food and the service was very good. We will go back there. We tried to find a Cinco de Mayo shirt for me, but we didn't have much luck in that part of the country.

On Sunday afternoon we worked in the garden and then went to Harold and Loyce's to go swimming. We ate a delicious meal of grilled t-bone steaks, baked potatoes and green salad.

Monday was almost a carbon copy of Sunday....more work in the garden, swimming at the kid's house and dinner there again.

I met with the breakfast club this morning. We decided to meet early to celebrate the holiday. Dorothy was the only one dressed for the occasion as I never did find a shirt. We didn't do much different at the cafe....eat, laugh and talk....like usual.

.......and so it goes.

I Needed A Grandma Fix...

...That's a Grandma Mazar fix! Those of you who are Stephanie Plum fans will understand. I checked my book journal and my last Plum book read was Eleven On Top and that was in September 2007. I couldn't believe it had been that long. I had #12 & #13 on my TBR shelf, so I picked up Twelve Sharp and started reading. Reading about Stephanie Plum and Grandma Mazar is like hearing about old friends. Reading about Morelli & Ranger is much more exciting though. If you haven't read any of this series by Janet Evanovich, I suggest you try it.

I had breakfast this morning with Lisa and Dorothy. We sort of celebrated my birthday which was 11 days ago. Lisa said it was still April so we could still celebrate. Dorothy made a peach cobbler, so after our breakfast we had dessert with our coffee. The owner of the café and one of the waitresses sang happy birthday to me in Spanish. About 30 minutes later they came back with maracas for each of us and they sang again. We all had a good laugh.

When I got up this morning I noticed that it looked all green out my front door. I soon realized that a tree in front of my house had a large limb split and land in my driveway. At first I thought I was trapped in with my car, but I managed to drive across a small part of my yard to escape. Jesse's son said he would come chop it down and haul it off for me after school tomorrow.

The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club - the end

I finished the book and it was wonderful. Definitely recommended! In the book the lead character, Cassie, writes daily on her blog.

I also cleaned out my closet and threw away bags of stuff. Why do I keep empty boxes? They all went in the trash. I didn't get the desks cleaned off, but that will be another day.

The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club - the beginning

I usually wait till I've finished a book before giving a review. And this isn't really a review, but I just have to say how much I'm enjoying this book. It's about a 20 something year old girl who gets drunk, after a day full of disasters, and in her drunken state she books a flight to Argentina and rents a room for 6 months. So far I've read 100 pages and have had a smile on my face through most of it. I've even laughed out loud a few times. I had planned to clean out my bedroom closet and clean off the two desks in that room tomorrow. That was going to be a full day's job. I'm afraid that my book will be luring me away from the job. Oh well......I can always clean on Thursday. :o)

On a different subject, I met 3 Yaya friends, Elaine, Joyce and Cathy, in New Braunfels today for lunch. We ate and laughed and visited till almost 3:00 pm. Thankfully we weren't kicked out of the restaurant.

Dr Report: I saw my surgeon yesterday and she said I am healing well so far. Since I have tissue damaged from the radiation, the healing process will take another 2 months. She suggested that I see the lung surgeon and go ahead with that surgery first and then come back to her. I think that's a good idea and will be talking to my oncologist tomorrow to see what he thinks.

A Little Bit of Everything...

I kept thinking each day that I would post something here, but I never got it done. So I will just have a mixture of my life events this past week.

Nita and I arrived in Nixon last Saturday night, ending my leg of our Texas Tour. Nita stayed until noon on Sunday and then she left for another few days of traveling before going to her home in Sierra Vista, AZ. We had such a fun time and met so many wonderful members of our online discussion group.

I didn't do much for the next couple of days as I was ready to rest!
On Wednesday Dorothy and I had lunch together at the Tea Cup Café. Later I went to Dorothy's office to visit some more and to send off a fax.
On Thursday I had breakfast with Dorothy and Lisa. As usual we spent a couple of hours drinking coffee, talking and laughing. I then drove to Seguin to do some shopping. I needed to pick up a bottle of wine for the WOW Bunch get-together later that evening.

Did I have fun that night with the WOW Bunch!!! We were each supposed to bring a bottle of white wine. I took Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay. We tasted all the wines and tasted some a few more times, LOL. Then we rated the wines. Mine wasn't the worst, but it was the next to worst. I can't remember which one won the wurst honors, but it was as sweet as syrup and I could only take 2 little sips before pouring it out! Everyone liked my "Group Therapy" wine shirt. I decided to create a new shirt for each meeting. I knew 3 of the ladies there and met the other 2. It's a group that likes to laugh and have a fun time - my kind of people!

On Friday I decided to do some yard work. I re-potted some plants and did some more outdoors work.

On Saturday I rode with Harold, Loyce and the twins to a nursery near San Antonio. They bought more trees for their yard and more plants for landscaping around the pool. I bought some more potted plants. We got back to Nixon in time to go to a benefit BBQ for Jesse's aunt. She had a stroke less than a year ago and recovered from that only to be diagnosed with cancer. She has worked at the local bank for either 30 or 35 years and the bank owner and employees put on the benefit. When I got home I worked on my plants and then started mowing the yard. It had been over 2 years since I had mowed and I had never used our John Deere that we bought last summer. I got half the yard done and then called it a day. I picked some leaf lettuce from the garden and took it to my neighbors and visited with them for a little while.

Today I finished mowing the yard and did quite a bit of tree trimming. The yard looks very nice! I then sat on the porch swing and finished reading my book.

The Day The World Came To Town 9/11 by Jim Defede

This was a heart-warming book to read. I wasn't too excited about reading more about the 9/11 tragedy. I felt like I had seen and read all I needed to read on that subject. I am so glad that I did read this book!

As soon as it was learned that there were terrorist attacks, the US airspace was closed. Some planes on the way to the US were able to turn around, most had to land in Canada. This book tells the story of the 38 planes that had to land in Gander, Newfoundland. There were 6595 passengers and crew members in a town whose population was barely 10,000. Homer Hickam, author of October Sky said it best:

When you read this book, I predict tears in your eyes almost from the beginning, but they will not be tears of sadness or grief. They will be tears of joy and pride for the citizens of the little town of Gander, Newfoundland, who bravely stood up and said to the world, "Today we are all Americans."

I definitely recommend this book.

Texas Road Trip ~Day 5~

Saturday....Nita and I were up early and enjoyed a nice breakfast. We then got on our computers and played for a few hours until time to leave for lunch. Of course by then it had started raining cats and dogs again.

Los Cucos was easy to find and the guy up front told us that he had put our group in the room in the back. Hmmmm sounds like he knew us. LOL Gayle was already there and informed us that she had ordered a bottle of wine. Soon Becka, Marilyn and her friend, Adam, joined us.

We took this picture in honor of our friend, Kat. (long story) LOL

MaryAnn, Marilyn, Gayle, Becka, Adam, & Nita

We had a great time visiting and eating. We had to watch that waiter as he would slip around and fill our wine glasses when we weren't looking.

Nita, MaryAnn, Becka, Marilyn & Gayle

We finally broke up the party after about 4 1/2 hours of non-stop talking and laughing. We hugged, shed a few tears, said our goodbyes and were gone.

Nita and I were at Harold and Loyce's house after a few hours to help Jesse babysit the twins. We stayed there until almost 10:00 pm. It was after midnight before we finally called it a night.

Texas Road Trip ~Days 3 & 4~

Thursday morning we woke up and Jaybird had a great breakfast casserole, coffee and juice ready for us. Her table is next to a backyard window and we enjoyed watching the many birds that visit her feeders. We had such a good time at Jaybird's and hope to get to see her again.

We had to hit the road early in order to pick up Kathy and get to Vannie's before they ate without us! When we pulled into Kathy's driveway, she was opening the garage door and ready to greet us. What a fun lady! We hugged, talked, and unloaded our stuff there. Then we all hopped into Nita's car and went to Vannie's house.

Kathy, Redfeather, Vannie, Bette & Pauline

What a fun time we had there! Redfeather, Bette, & Pauline were already there. So along with Vannie and the 3 of us there were 7 total. Eva was supposed to join us there, but because of other issues she was not able to come. We sure missed her! We talked and ate and talked lots more. We also took the tour of Vannie's beautiful home and yard. Her husband came in and visited with us for awhile. Then he went out in the front yard to take pictures of us. What a nice guy! Before we knew it, it was already after 5:00 pm! I don't know where the time went.

Nita, MaryAnn, Vannie, Kathy, Pauline & Redfeather

We all hugged, and promised to meet again.

Kathy, Nita & Redfeather in Vannie's backyard

Then Nita, Kathy and I drove back to Kathy's house. We relaxed, visited and played with her cats. Kathy is so much fun and we enjoyed every minute with her. She had a great Mexican casserole and salad for dinner and we got to visit with her husband, Ernie, while we ate. He's another great guy. I'm beginning to think that KT women know how to pick the good ones! Us ladies stayed up late into the night visiting and laughing and finally called it a night. We were up early the next morning and spent a relaxing time drinking coffee, eating breakfast and talking some more. Nita and I finally had to tell Kathy goodby and be on our way to Houston.

What a drive to Houston!!!! It kept getting darker and darker and the rain came down in buckets. Thank goodness most of the other drivers on the highway were driving sensibly.

At 4:00 pm we were in Houston, driving in a downpour, and it looked like it was 9:00 pm because it was so dark. It was so good to finally get to our motel. I know Nita was exhausted from driving in such awful conditions! We unloaded our stuff, got back into the car and went to get some dinner. We are now back in the motel, relaxing and getting caught up with e-mail, etc.

We are planning a fun day tomorrow, and I will be posting about it along with pictures.