The Sunday Visits

I do love to visit people in our neighborhood on a lovely Spring Sunday evening.  (Or maybe on a Monday afternoon, or whenever.)

But, for the past two years or so, we have been going to visit Sheryl Sullivan, once a month.  There is a specific reason why we go once a month.

That is because Sheryl decorates her lovely home for every holiday or month of the year.

It is really quite spectacular.  She picks a theme, and every nook and cranny in her kitchen and family room are filled with "THINGS" using that theme.  I should have been taking pictures, but I haven't...until Sunday night.

Sheryl's them for this month was QUEEN FOR A DAY, from an old television program in the 1960s.

It's pretty dramatic and sad, but going to see Sheryl is always a very happy experience.

Here we are with crowns on our heads, and banners proclaiming we each are the queen:

Loretta Allam, Sheryl Sullivan, the creative one, Wilda Watts, Loni Hackworth.

We are standing in front of the beautifully decorated tree filled with bees, flowers, etc.

Her table decor is always just amazing and she has different dished for each theme.  Anyway, it's always fun to visit Sheryl on a Sunday night!

FIVE Little Words.....

Spoken by Dr. Wooley one year ago.

YOU HAVE A HEART MURMER.  With those five little words, A LIFE WAS SAVED.

This year, the heart murmur was worse; severe aortic stenosis.

And, a totally unexpected adventure began.

So, Allen had surgery.

We learned things we had not known; his Tidwell family has a history of heart disease, including a sister right now.  His father had bypasses and a pace maker, which we never knew about before.

He had a congenital Bicuspid valve rather than the traditional tricuspid valve.  Usually the bicuspid people live only thru their 50s and 60s.

We have received so many blessings the past month.

From Dr. Wooley to our five children who came and supported us, to friends who visited.

One of many delicious meals made by our children.  Kristi made such good, healthy food.  I can still taste the black bean burger and the rice dish.  YUM!  Jordan made this beautiful salad among other lovely dishes.  Justin made the best hamburger I've had for a very long time.  They were so helpful and amazing cooks.  

I feel like Allen's life is a miracle.

Walking around the gardens just a couple of weeks after RAH's surgery!  Incredible, really!

Allen on one of his physical therapy days.  Man, he gets dressed up to go to exercise!
But, he works hard and is doing so great.

And, I am beyond grateful.

NO WORDS!

Family Health Situation.....

Family Rescuers.....

Each of these five children came at intervals, stayed, cooked, helped, gave health advise, cooked some more, and sacrificed their own jobs and time frames to come to St George.

It wasn't convenient, it wasn't easy, it wasn't on their schedules, but each one played a part in the long, will be-drawn-out recovery process of their dad.

I cannot begin to express how much their kindnesses have meant to RAH and me.

We have been overwhelmed at their concern, their goodness, their FUN, their help, as we tried to navigate the process of having major surgery for a previously unknown condition that came as a surprise to us all.

How can we ever begin to express our love for what they have done the past two weeks?

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for these FIVE AMAZING individuals who continually inspire me with their marvelous attributes of LOVE and CONCERN.

I'm Feeling Pretty GREAT!

...as in GREAT GRANDmother again....#2

Olivia Jane Fisher - just hours old in Houston Texas - weighing in at 7/4, 19 inches long

So priceless and so precious.  So tiny, and so teachable.  So new and so perfect.

There's one proud older brother holding little sister - Olivia Jane.  Could anything be sweeter?

Buried Treasure

About a year and a half ago, RAH bought a Jeep.  Used.

He said it has been one of his favorite cars.  IT's pretty fun to take on adventures, that's for sure.

About ten days ago, RAH was going to go on a trip out in the wilderness, and he decided that he wanted to make sure he knew how to change the tire, and where the equipment was, and to see if he had what he needed.

He was with Mike Allam at his home, when he began the process of trying out the changing of a tire.

As he lifted out the jack, there was a very old wrinkled, stained paper....RAH just tossed it aside.

Mike thought it looked like a bank envelope that holds money, so he picked it up and looked in.

INSIDE WERE EIGHT 100 DOLLAR BILLS!

NOT the actual money, which was old and sort of stuck together after being underneath the tire jack for so long -
who knows how long, actually?  But, a fun surprised indeed.

Well, that was certainly a fun surprise to just find $800 in a car we bought well over a year ago.

I called the car dealership and asked for the name of the previous owner; they said they didn't give that information out.  I told the lady on the phone that we had found something VERY VALUABLE and the owner would indeed wish to have it returned.  If she would find out the owner, I would see he got his property.  She said she would check with the manager.  I never heard from her, so we decided it must be ours to keep.

RAH gave Mike a one hundred dollar bill because he rescued the money.  But later that night, Mike and Loretta came over and said it looked like counterfeit money.  Loretta had worked in a bank and it looked very suspicious to her.

RAH and Mike took the money the next day to the bank.....

IT's LEGIT!

RAH gave Mike and Loretta $200, he took $200, and he gave me $400,  I'm not sure why; I didn't do anything to deserve it, but okay, if your force me!  HA HA.

Pretty fun surprise to find buried underneath the tire jack in our new/used JEEP.

What I MISS is....

Flour in all its varieties

Cheese in all its varieties

Cottage Cheese

Pancakes with jam

Yoghurt

Toast every morning

Bagels

Pizza

A good sandwich (with Cheese, of course!)

Harmon's Specialty breads

Pretzels

Because you see...............

Giving up on unhealthy foods is hard.

AH, remembering the good old days when

WHO CARED WHAT I ATE?

Obviously not moi.

Now, I snack on nuts, popcorn, celery with peanut butter, and Carbonated water from a soda fizz stream as a gift from Dr. Rose.  Just plain old H2O with carbon dioxide to give it a kick, since I can't get kicks any more from a giant burrito!

Here's to good health, everyone, or at least to MOI!

Death of a Watch

I LOVE my Apple watch.

But, it died this week.

And, it's been a sorrowful event for me.  Sad to say.

Farewell, beloved expensive watch....