Currently

I am

Reading... Book One in the Dream Harbor series by Laurie Gilmore. I stumbled across the first two books at Walmart. So far I am loving the story and the funny characters. I will be hunting up any other books in the series.

Watching... Cities of the Underworld, a Travel Channel show about secret tunnels, catacombs, and the like under the cities of the United States. I do love the weird stuff.

Listening... to Tim's snores from the bedroom.

Loving... our granddaughter's feisty spirit. This girl is going to take the world by storm.

Thinking... about the conversations I have every Tuesday with a coworker. He is young enough to be my son and he is a gay man. On the surface we don't have a lot in common, but as we spend more time together we've begun to have these deeper conversations. It's been really interesting (and often surprising) to learn his views on things. He's far more conservative that I ever would have thought and he is truly interested in my take on politics and religion. Do I see myself leading him to Christ? No, but he does listen and ask questions so seeds are being planted.

Feeling... pretty good. The major flare up of inflammation I'd been experiencing finally passed so I'm only dealing with the aches of arthritis at the moment. Plus, life is pretty good and I am content.

Celebrating... Tim saw the doctor again yesterday about being tired and out of breath. Chest x-rays ruled out pneumonia so he is being treated for bronchitis. Hopefully, this will finally kick the bug he's been fighting for weeks.

Grateful... our grandson is doing so well with his new meds and the anxiety and behaviors that had been making life miserable are very much reduced. Him being calmer and happier has made everyone else calmer and happier. Our daughter is also doing really well on her adjusted meds and with her focus on the beading projects and jigsaw puzzles rather than dwelling on the negative things in life.

Enjoying... the little bits and pieces of spring that are starting to show through the winter weather.

Looking forward... to going to the high school's production of Grease on Saturday.

The weather... is cloudy and 39 degrees. Tomorrow we will see mid-50's!

Giggling at...

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Saturday 9: Flowers

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Miley Cyrus sings about gold as though it represents the best. Do you more often wear gold or silver?  It's very rare for me to wear yellow gold. If I am wearing jewelry it is silver, platinum or white gold. I don't think yellow gold looks good with my coloring.

 

2) She also sings the praises of buying herself flowers. Are there any cut flowers in your home right now?  No. Tim had a bouquet of roses sent to me at work the Monday before Valentine's Day and I just tossed them last night.

 

3) She tells us she's going to paint her nails cherry red. Do you handle your own mani/pedi, do you go to a salon, or do you just let your nails go natural?  I get a manicure with dipped color every three weeks or so at a salon.

4) In 2019, Miley had vocal cord surgery, and her recovery required her to go weeks without uttering a sound. Would it be difficult for you to keep your lips zipped for a week?  Maybe not for a week, but any longer and it would probably be difficult.

5) Dolly Parton is Miley's godmother, and Miley singles Dolly out as the one who taught her "how to treat people well." Tell us about someone who was a positive influence on you.  My grandmother probably influenced me more than anyone else when I was growing up. I was her only grandchild and she doted on me. I could not have asked for a better grandparent. As an adult I can look back and realize that she was not perfect, nor did she treat everyone as she did me, but she was definitely better than my parents who were flawed and damaged by their own upbringings. I've always chosen to remember the loving, generous side of my grandmother and have strived to emulate that.

6) She is a massive Elvis fan and swoons every time she watches Blue Hawaii because he professes his love for Maile, pronounced "Miley." What movie have you watched many times?  Well, probably Dirty Dancing more than any other, but While You Were Sleeping, Grease, and Hairspray are up there, too.

 

7) In 2023, when "Flowers" was released, actor Sir Michael Gambon died. Though he distinguished himself performing Shakespeare with the Royal National Theater, he is best known for playing Dumbledore in several Harry Potter movies. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character?  I've never read the books or watched the movies so I have no idea.

8) 2023 was a busy year for England's Royal Family, with the crowning of King Charles III and the publication of Prince Harry's memoir, Spare. Do you have a favorite among the Windsors?  No, I'm not really a royal watcher.

9) Random question: Do your siblings have children? If yes, are you close to them?  The only siblings I have are half-siblings. I have two brothers and a sister. Two of them have children. I only knew of any of them and met them within the last five years, so no, I'm not close to them.

Thanks to Sam @ Saturday 9 for the music and questions!

Play along here.

Currently

The weather... is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Again. We began the day with rain and a temperature of 50 degrees. Then the wind came and blew in a cold front dropping the temperature to 26 degrees as I write this. That of course changed the rain to snow. So now there is a layer of icy muck covered by 3-4 inches of snow. I'm not sure how much we may be digging out from under by morning. Yay...something to look forward to.

Reading... the Holy Bible again. I picked up a journal (at CVS of all places) called Praying Through the Bible in One Year. It's a lovely book of guided prayer and a plan to read through the Bible.

Watching... Ghosts on Paramount+. 

Listening... to the wind, the furnace, and the blower on the electric fireplace.

Loving... that our daughter has discovered a love for jigsaw puzzles and we are working on one together.

Thinking... my doctor and I are going to have to have a talk when I see him in March or April (I scheduled the appointment last year and need to check when it is). Rheumatoid arthritis runs in my family and I am really beginning to think the cause of my pain is either that or another auto-immune disease.

Feeling... happy, but not great physically. I'm in the middle of a pain flare up.

Celebrating... nothing at the moment, but we just had our big Valentine's party at work. If you're my friend on Facebook you can see photos there.

Grateful... Tim is finally nearing the end of his current project. It has been a nightmare for him and he's been frustrated, crabby, and exhausted. We are all looking forward to him working a little less in the coming weeks.

Enjoying... the extra moments of daylight we're starting to see.

Looking forward... to the whole family (minus Tim) going to see the high school's musical at the end of the month. They are doing my favorite...Grease!

Giggling at...

Goodnight! Y'all have a blessed week!

A Stolen Sunday Stealing

I saw that Country Dew over at Blue Country Magic broke an old Sunday Stealing out of the archives and decided to "steal" it from her...which makes me ask, can you steal something that's already stolen? Anyway, thanks for giving me something to post today!

From the Sunday Stealing Archives (2009)

1. What is your occupation right now?  My actual job title is "Direct Care Worker." What I do is actually a little bit teacher, a little bit companion, a little bit nurse's aide, a little bit activities director/party planner/decorator, with a twist of whatever-else-they-need-me-to-do.

2.  What color are your socks right now?  A marled brown and white.

3.  What are you listening to right now?  The Super Bowl, but it feels more like endless commercials.

4.  Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?  My husband.

5.  How old are you today?  I'm 60 years old.

6.  What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?  Football, though I don't watch much sports these days.

7.  What is your favorite drink?  Diet Coke

8.  Have you ever dyed your hair?  Up until about 3 years ago I dyed it all the time. At this point, it's mostly gray and it turns out I'm okay with that.

9.  What is your favorite food?  I'm torn between anything with shrimp in it, pizza, and Chinese food.

10.  What is the last movie you watched?  I watched Robert Downey Jr's Doolittle with my grandchildren this afternoon. We'd never seen it and really enjoyed it.

11.  Favorite day of the year?  I guess I will stick with Thanksgiving. I like that it's slower paced and just about the food and being together before the craziness of Christmas. On the whole, though, the holidays just aren't what they used to be. The kids just don't care about keeping traditions going and now that our son and his family don't come around our gatherings are pretty small compared to what I grew up with. We don't even get together with extended family because there isn't any left in the area. They are spread all over the country.

12.  How do you vent anger?  I write. Then I throw it away. That gets it out, but keeps me from saying something I'll regret later.

13.  What was your favorite toy as a child?  My bike. I spent hours out of each day riding. Back then a kid could go pretty far and parents didn't worry.

14.  What are your living arrangements?  I live in a house with my husband.

15.  What was the last thing you cried about?  I have no idea. I rarely cry. I went through a really rough stretch of life a while back. It was just one major thing after another. It felt like my life was imploding. I think I cried through those years until I just don't have any tears left to cry.

16.  Who is the friend you've had the longest?  My high school bestie who still lives in the neighborhood, too.

17.  What did you do last night?  Watched TV.

18.  What are you most afraid of?  For myself, ending up in a nursing home. In general, snakes. For others, anything happening to my grandchildren.

19.  In how many areas of your country have you lived?  Two

20.  What is your favorite flower?  Sunflowers

A Quick Update

Thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. I thought I'd give you a quick update. 

Tim saw the doctor this morning. He didn't tell me what he has, just that it isn't pneumonia and that they prescribed an antibiotic and a pill for his cough. He doesn't have them yet since he went to work right afterward and got home after the pharmacy closed. It will be tomorrow night before he ever gets any in him. Of course these days he's been falling asleep before he even gets his bedtime meds in. Anyway, if the prescribed meds don't help then they will jump to steroids.

As for my client at work...he did pretty much whatever he wanted all day, but no one (including me) got hit so I'm calling it a win!

Now I am off to bed.

Currently

It's 10:00 on Wednesday evening. I will be heading to bed soon, but I wanted to check in. It's been a while. 

I came down with a nasty cold this past Saturday and have been fighting it ever since. It's not gone, but I am doing much better. Tim, who got it and brought it home last week, has a horrible cough and body aches. His breathing is terribly raspy. On Monday I finally convinced him he needs to see a doctor and tomorrow (Thursday) was the first opening they had. They are that swamped with folks fighting various respiratory ailments. MedExpress and the ER are the same way.

Anyway, let's talk about what's currently happening.

Reading... nothing. I haven't been able to concentrate to read. I hate that aspect of being sick.

Watching... Gutfeld at the moment.

Listening to... Tim's snoring. It's awful due to his cold.

Loving... my pretty new Valentine's manicure.

Thinking... about tomorrow. Due to one staff member being off for his birthday and another being off sick, I am going to be paired up with arguably the toughest consumer we have. He is a one-on-one and while I get along with him just fine (when his regular person is present) I have never been alone with him for more than a few minutes here and there. He is unpredictable and has to be handled carefully. He's better than he's ever been, but there's a long history of violent responses and you never know what will set him off. (Last week during a retirement luncheon for a department manager, he chased down her 10 year old grandson and took him down.) I'm praying that our usual "friendship" allows him to feel calm and settled and he doesn't take it to mind to test me.

Feeling... better than I have in nearly a week.

Celebrating... we have a Super Bowl lunch/party at work on Friday. That's all I've got right now.

Grateful... the much-hyped ice storm blowing through tonight is looking to be a case of "nothing much." It hasn't started yet and it's supposed to be over and turned to rain before sunrise tomorrow. Our area is supposed to get the worst of it and that shouldn't be much. Unless, the weather folks get it wrong. Ha!

Enjoying... getting to know our new supervisor. She is young. Very young. But she seems to be nice, genuinely interested in what we have to say, and most importantly, more than competent. 

Giggling at...