Sat. & Sun. Dec. 30 & 31

From a cooler and somewhat spitting snow MO,

We have had two good days. We walked at the Y on Saturday and then took the girls for a walk outside today. My lungs cope with the Y better than outside, but I would much rather walk outside - oh, well - guess I need to make choices.

We had a few errands to do on Saturday a.m. - ending with picking up the girls about 11:00. They were freshly bathed and ready to get home for a good run in the backyard - then spent lots of time on our laps.

We slept reasonably well last night and haven't accomplished a great deal today - newspapers, put large lima beans, ham, and onions in the crockpot this a.m. We had a phone call from Jeanette Stilwell this afternoon wondering about eating out this evening - so the three families (added the Thompsons) went to the new BBQ place. Jim and I just don't see what the great excitement is about as we find the meat so-so. I have certainly tasted worse, but I can't imagine all the positives I heard about people driving to Excelsior Springs to eat there- we surely wouldn't. It might be interesting to give it a try there - just to see if it is better.

We spent a couple of hours after eating at the Stilwell's and are now home safely for the night.

I had a call from Betty Phillips this evening about the list for Mobile Meals in the morning. Someone has decided that a lot of information (like individual telephone numbers for about 55 people) needs to be added to the existing data. Had I known this, I would have puttered on it either Saturday or Sunday - then not have to do it all on Monday a.m. along with everything else that needs to be done. Also I don't think they've thought about the data that is already on the gummed label and that this will mean that some of the food requirements won't go on the label - oh, well - I'll let someone else do the correcting next week, but I will get the data on.

As you can tell, I do the computer work for Mobile Meals in the a.m. and beyond that we don't have much scheduled. With the beans getting done today, all I need to do tomorrow is to make some cornbread. I believe in keeping life easy.

Be safe.
B.

Thurs. & Fri. Dec. 28 & 29

From what has been an almost temperate day in Iowa and MO,

The past two days have been full. I enjoyed breakfast with the ladies yesterday morning. Later in the a.m. we took the girls to the kennel for a two night stay. I picked Sandy up at 11:00 and took her to the local hospital to be prepped for her colonoscopy.

Her doctor usually runs late so we took our time - and of course this time he was running on schedule. I left her and had lunch with Jim - then returned before she was out of the procedure. I stayed with her until she was released and took her home. For those of you who know Sandy, you can easily figure out that she had no plans on my staying, but of course I had "signed" her out of the hospital.

Sandy's mom came at about 4:00 and she was insistent that she could stay until John got home from work. I knew that Sandy would give her mom the business about leaving so I probably laid it on a little thick as to why someone needed to stay and that I was trusting her that she would stay, etc., etc., - and promised Corine that she would have to deal with me if she left early! Poor Corine I guess took a lot of verbalization from Sandy (of course Sandy would have done the same to me, but I'm not her mother!)

Jim and I decided not to wait until early this morning to make our trek to Ames, Iowa to meet Carolyn, but finished packing and headed towards Des Moines. We had a very nice drive to the motel that we had considered staying at either Thursday or Friday night. A Cracker Barrel was next door to the motel so we also had a good meal.

We left Des Moines about 8:30 or a little later this a.m. and did some cruising around Ames (about a 30 minute drive) before meeting Carolyn at the hotel where the various girls' basketball teams were staying. They were eating breakfast when we arrived and called Carolyn and she invited us to join them at the table. We were at the staff table and met coaches, trainers, etc. - all seemed like a very nice group.

We left the hotel about 10:00 with Carolyn and ended up at a mall on the north side of Ames - not fancy, but clean and had a good variety for a community of that size. We ended up eating at Old Chicago - and I probably had more "fat" than I've had in months - food was delightful. I had what was called a "Chicago" calazone. Afterwards, Jim and I split a piece of cheesecake and Carolyn had what was called a small chocolate chip cookie - nothing small about it.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Carolyn. She looks great, is working on getting some weight off, caught us up on family happenings, and in general the time went way too fast before we needed to get her back so she could get ready to go with the team to the scheduled game at 5:00. I hope the "oldsters" didn't bore her too much.

We had packed to stay either one night or two, but decided to head on home. We had the option of staying for their game and then getting up early this morning so as to be safely back in Chillicothe before noon so as to pick up the girls. As it turned out, we came home on 65 - many turns and twists, but still made it back to Chillicothe about 5:00. The trip on I-35 was much easier as we didn't have to keep watching for turns, but it was a daylight trip today - as opposed to a night drive on Thursday. We alternated listening to the last of the newest Michael Connelly book and listening to the MU football game on the XM radio. I guess MU didn't want the win as badly as they thought.

We hope to be able to walk on Saturday a.m., do some housework, pick up mail, pick up the girls, and then spend much of the rest of the day cuddling with the girls.

Be safe.
B.

Wed. Dec. 27

From a MO that can't decide whether to be cloudy or sunny -- but crisp either way,

Jim joined both breakfast groups this morning. After I began moving I loaded up the girls and we went to HyVee - where I enjoyed breakfast and then bought eggs and milk. Jim had a disaster with the refrigerator yesterday in that somehow a full half-gallon of milk tumbled out - of course spilling the contents of the container. I was sort of napping at the time and knew he wasn't happy, but decided to let him handle the situation. We later rolled the refrigerator out to be sure that no milk was underneath - certainly didn't need the smell of bad milk in the kitchen.

I fixed a fairly good supper for us yesteray - baked chicken breasts, stuffing (small amount), remaining butternut squash, and peas. We have enough left that supper is ready for tonight other than maybe microwaving a baked potato.

We seem to have done several errands today and then had a light lunch at Piece of Cake.

Trixie is asleep on my lap and is trying to slide off so I just stopped and pulled her up to safety. She is always delighted when she can beat Abby to my lap. I am guessing that Abby is with Jim. He has been working the past few days with both girls to try to remind them the command of "sit" - Abby caught on (or remembered) immediately, but Trixie gets too easily distracted.

We have a full day on Thursday. I will join the ladies for breakfast and then will pick Sandy Wheeler up about 11:00 to take her to the local hospital for a colonoscopy. I have a meeting at 2:00 and Jim will go to the hospital at that time to be available to take her home. (John is trying to gather some time to be able to go to Canada fishing this coming summer - and we certainly don't mind doing this.) One of us will stay with her until John is home.

You may or may not hear from me on Thursday as we are going to meet our oldest niece, Carolyn, in Ames, Iowa for lunch on Friday. She works with the sports information department at Loyola Marymount in the LA area and the women's basketball team is playing in the Iowa State Classic at Ames - therefore Carolyn is going with them. We are looking forward to the lunch and time with her as we haven't seen her for maybe three years. We may be back in town late on Friday or we may decide to stay overnight at Des Moines, then return to Chillicothe before noon on Saturday so we will be able to pick up the girls - otherwise we can't pick them up until Tuesday morning.

Be safe.
B.

Mon. & Tues. Dec. 25 & 26

From what has been a cloudy and at times sunny, crisp MO,

We have had two good days. We left here about 7:45 on Monday morning to go to the RSVP office to take care of the computer work and xeroxing for Mobile Meals. The xerox was cooperative with Jim and the computer was cooperative with me - and we were out of there by 9:15. We then delivered the needed labels for the upcoming week to the hospital - then on home.

We left here about 11:15 to head to Princeton to join Stan, Helen, and Emily for a Christmas dinner. Stan's brother and wife were also able to join the group. Helen had fixed a pork tenderloin - along with all the usual dishes - cranberry salad, broccoli/grape salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes, celery salad, hot rolls, and I know I am forgetting items as I know my plate was running over. I had fixed my infamous praline sweet potato casserole - at Helen's request - so we did quite well. We had pecan pie and cheesecake for dessert!

We were back in Chillicothe about 4:30 and ended up taking some of the remaining sweet potato casserole to Clithro and Grace Anderson (new neighbors in the duplex that was finished in September.) They had spent the day in Lawrence, KS with family members.

We have been somewhat lazy today. We walked at the Y a little after 8:00 this a.m. as I wasn't sure my lungs would handle the crisp out of doors. After cleaning up and having breakfast, we headed out with the girls for a few errands. I was heading to bed a little after 11:00 as I was quite tired. With Advil being such a negative in the news now I am hesitant to take any for my tendinitis so I do a lot of painful tossing and turning in the night as I can't quite find a comfortable position. I would hate to think that I will need to retreat to the recliner.

Jim went to see the new "Rocky" movie this afternoon while I mainly mildewed around here.

We don't have major plans for Wednesday. Jim has breakfast with both breakfast groups and then we have a few errands to do.

Be safe.
B.

Sun. Dec. 24

This was not the photo I planned on downloading so will try again. This is Abby on the concrete slab at the back of the garage.


From what started out as a frosty, crisp MO,

We have had a probably too lazy day. We slept in this a.m. - with me continuing in bed even longer. The girls finally rousted me about 9:00 and after showering, the four of us took off to do a couple of errands - post office and milk.

The day has been spent enjoying the girls, reading newspapers, watching football on tv, taking a nap, and I just finished printing off some photos of the girls.

I have the computer work for Mobile Meals in the a.m. and Jim is going with me. The RSVP office is rather isolated and the work space is in the back - so Jim is going to protect me and also run the xerox machine.

We are joining Stan, Helen, and Emily for a Christmas dinner about noon to 1:00 - depending on the glitches at RSVP.

Light snow is being predicted for tonight and in the a.m. so it will be nice if it is light - as I do love a white Christmas.

We are going to open presents and stockings this evening as Monday will be rather full.

Be safe.
B.

Sat. Dec. 23

From what has been a sunny, but crisp MO,

We have been rather lazy today. The four of us walked about 8:30 this a.m. - used the more level route and with the extra cold, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I was really tired when we returned home. After showering, we headed to McDonald's for a sandwich and then did a couple of quick errands - then retreated home.

We watched the Texas basketball game and then I joined Pat at 1:00 for lunch at Country Kitchen - then slept the rest of the afternoon.

I did put a roast in the oven this morning and need to check it to see if it is going to take some pressure cooker time - or rather it is going to be acceptable to eat.

We have no significant plans for Sunday other than walking and resting.

Be safe.
B.

Fri. Dec. 22

This has been an overcast and coolish day in MO,

When I took the girls out last night we noticed we were having a few sprinkles and that must have continued for awhile, but I'm sure there really hasn't been much of an accumulation.

We have had a lazy day. I opted to stay in bed this morning and Jim left about 8:30 to go to have breakfast with the second group. Leroy Butts had his granddaughter with him today and Jim commented that she is really sharp.

After I had showered, I loaded up the girls and we first headed to Country Kitchen for my breakfast - had a light one as I didn't know what would be ahead for the day. Afterwards, we delivered a couple of presents to the Thursday morning group that hadn't been at breakfasts recently at Country Kitchen and then I took ten chemo hats to the local American Cancer office - they had called me last evening indicating they were getting low.

Jim was home by the time I returned so we took Chuck Haney's present - actually popcorn for the family - to Kathy's as Chuck wasn't at home. I think we have all gifts delivered now.

I climbed back into bed when we returned - before noon - and didn't climb out until about 3:30 - guess I was tired. I've taken myself off of Advil with all the news on tv and in the newspapers and my right arm throbs. I guess I haven't been doing a good job of getting needed sleep the past few nights and needed to catch up.

I did xerox some old Jobson/Greene photos this a.m. and will get them ready for mailing after Christmas. We have a distant Greene relative that lives in Moberly and he had sent them to me this week. I don't remember ever seeing the photos before so I'm anxious to get copies dispersed to other family members.

We have two items on our agenda for Saturday - trip to HyVee to get needed food items for Christmas and at 11:00 to watch the Texas basketball game.

Be safe.
B.

Thurs. Dec. 21

From what turned out to be a sunny, comfortable day in MO,

We stayed up late (for us) Wednesday night watching the Texas basketball game. Needless to say, I wasn't ready to get up early this a.m.

The four of us did walk a little after 7:30. After showering, Jim took the girls and headed to McDonald's and I sort of wore something better than normal and headed to the McGinnis home for our Christmas brunch. We had a total of 14 present with catered food from Piece of Cake - Sandy had fixed some flavored butter and had the juice and coffee. When we were through eating, Mary Willis played the piano and led us in the singing of Christmas carols.

Sandy's daughter-in-law's grandfather had died on yesterday so Jarod had his family tucked away in the van by 5:00 this morning in Spencer, Iowa and arrived at the home a little after 11:00. They were to leave after lunch to go on to southwest Missouri to join Gretchen's family.

Jim and I went to El Toro for lunch today (brought home enough for our lunch on Friday) and afterwards Jim came home with the food and I headed over to the library for the monthly meeting.

Thank goodness for leftovers tonight as I really wasn't in the mood to cook.

We are going to do several errands on Friday and then call it a day.

I tried printing the photo that Kay took of the group in this blog, but didn't have any luck. I guess I need to save it to a disc and then bring it up for the blog.

Be safe.
B.

Wed. Dec. 20

From a coolish, rainy MO,

This has been a day of light rain - thank goodness the temperature was above freezing - otherwise we would have way too much snow!

Jim joined both breakfast groups this a.m. and then came home very excited that he and David were going to KC on Thursday to see a movie and then eat.

I had a hair cut at 10:00 and we went to Piece of Cake about 1:00 to eat a light lunch. We dozed this afternoon and I went to the McGinnis home about 4:30 to help set the tables for our brunch tomorrow. When I came home, Jim was really upset and reloading the backseat of the truck with puppy items - turns out that David had been volunteered for a job tomorrow (by Don) and had to cancel on the KC outing. Jim was a frustrated person.

My Thursday will be brunch at 9:30 (being catered by Piece of Cake) and then I have a library board meeting at 1:30. We are supposed to have architects there so it will probably be a longer than usual meeting. At least I have leftovers from Tuesday so supper will not be an issue.

Be safe.
B.

Tues. Dec. 19

From what has been another sunny, but crisp day in MO,

We have been busy today, but at our own pace. The girls had quite a play with Alexandria Willard last night. Alexandria did not seem phased by their high level of activity - so we ended up with getting up only once with them - and the second time it was 6:30 this a.m.

We opted to not to walk this a.m. as it was below freezing and my old lungs have difficulty sometimes. Instead we had an egg biscuit at McDonald's, needed two or three items at WalMart, and then went on to HyVee to do our major grocery shopping for the week.

We made a quick trip home so I could get things put away while Jim took the girls outside. Then we packed them up again and we headed to the Amish store just south of Jamesport. We ended up getting some honey as well as more Havarti cheese.

I took a couple of items to Sandy McGinnis as she is getting things organized for our Thursday morning brunch. When I returned, the four of us did our walk - 1.25 miles including the incline by Morningside. The girls should sleep well tonight as usually they have all day to recuperate.

I fixed a spaghetti casserole for supper as I don't plan on cooking Thursday evening - will probably fix fish on Wednesday evening.

Jim joins the two breakfast groups in the a.m. and I am getting my hair cut at 10:00 - rather than on Thursday. I will help Sandy about 4:30 to get the tables set, etc.

We have been depending on e-mails for the past several days relative to one of Jim's "French" cousins who was to have a three/four way by-pass in Pensacola on Monday a.m. He seems to have come through in good shape and asked his wife this afternoon to hunt down a banana for him. My guess is that he is in his mid 50s. Jim doesn't remember him as being heavy - so genetics must be a major factor.

Be safe.
B.

Mon. Dec. 18

From what has been a sunny, but crisp MO,

We had a good night of sleep and walked a little after 8:00 this morning - with the girls pulling us along as usual. Trixie knows where all the dogs are along the route and anticipates coming up to their living area and always seemed disappointed if they aren't available for a noisy encounter.

We basically have had a quiet day. After showering, I headed out on some errands (was a good girl and ate oatmeal this a.m.) with the first stop to pick up a shirt of Jim's at Model Cleaners - only discovered there were two more of his there - dating back to early October. I had a couple of other quick stops to make and then enjoyed being at home.

Pat picked me up a little after 3:00 this afternoon and we headed to Mooresville (a few miles west of here) to pick up some hand towels that had been machine embroidered. The lady that does them is wheelchair bound - in her early 40s - and she is quite something to be around. Pat had met her about a year ago at a flea market.

Oh, yes, for lunch (actually about 1:00) Jim and I headed to the Wabash BBQ place for lunch. I thought the sandwich was delightful, but Jim is not always a big fan of BBQ - other than what we have with Doug and Dara in the Austin area. Anyway, I will have no problems in returning. It took me awhile to convince the waitress that I would like to substitute coleslaw for french fries, but eventually got through to her.

At this point we don't have much other than errands on our list for Tuesday - okay by me. The girls have spent a lot of time on our laps today and I imagine they would take delight in another day of the same.

Be safe.
B.

Sun. Dec. 17

From an overcast, breezy, coolish MO,

We have had a full day. We left here about 9:30 this a.m. (had planned on an earlier departure, but kept forgetting things to be done) and were soon on our way to the Overland Park area of KC. We first went to Borders and found items for Judy Mathew and Debbie Willard. Then we decided to eat lunch at Red Lobster (ended up getting appetizers) and then across the street to the Metcalf Shopping Center (only a few stores are still there.) First we went to Macy's and then to the Glenwood Theater where we saw a marvelous movie.

"The Queen" was a very interesting study of the English monarchy - its relationship to the people as well as to the prime minister. I had thought it would be a Diana store, but even though of course this aspect was present, the movie had be "grabbed" very quickly.

Next we went to Sam's at 95th and I-35 - then headed home. We had a light sprinkle, but the temperature was in the upper 40s so didn't worry about freezing.

Jim and I hope to walk on Monday a.m. and then I will probably be joining Pat for a quick outing. I am sure the girls will be ready for some lap time on Monday.

Be safe.
B.

Fri. & Sat. Dec. 15 and 16

From an overcast, but almost balmy MO,

Friday was a full day. The four of us walked about 7:30 and again did the slope on the west side of Morningside. Jim is amazed at how much easier it is for him than a year ago. After cleaning up, he headed out to join the second group of old men for breakfast and I headed out with the girls for stops at McDonald's and the post office.

We didn't do too much in the a.m., but left here again about noon to go to Piece of Cake where we again enjoyed a light lunch. I was due at the DAR judging at 1:00, but had a few minutes to spare to stopped for the first time at the Principal's Office - used to be in the old Adams Middle School at Trenton. I was intrigued with all that was enticing me, but went on to the meeting site for the judging.

We really whipped through the judging today. Of course each of us had already narrowed it down to three in each grade so we first saw what numbers overlapped, checked to see why maybe we hadn't included an essay, and then chose a winner on each grade level.

I was home around 2:00 so I "encouraged" Jim to go to the Principal's Office with me and he was equally intrigued. In the small child area, a lady from Trenton knits small, fluffy caps for children and then uses the same fluffy yarn to edge gloves - makes for a darling grouping of items.

I headed to the middle school a little after 3:00 with the Mexican roll-ups that I had made and of course enjoyed my time there. I think the junior high/middle school is the only building that invites retirees to their holiday get together. The items that everyone brought were delicious as usual - and unfortunately the scales reflected this when I weighed this morning.

Jim and I left here a little after 6:00 to go to the high school to see the second half of the junior varsity and then all of the varsity football games. Jim was about to reach for his nitroglycerine when Bailey Benson hugged him when we were leaving. She had already given him a big hug when she first spotted him and then gave him two while we were leaving.

This is always a fun time to go to high school basketball games as college freshman are returning and are seem so eager to see each other. Several sat in front of us (on the "visitor" side) and it was really a fun evening to watch them (probably more fun than the basketball game.) Bailey's folks had been classmates with Doug through elementary and high school and of course Jim had worked with her for two years when the family returned to Chillicothe at the beginning of her junior high - as she was one of the pole vaulters.

We had an excellent night of sleep and walked again this morning. After cleaning up, we headed to McDonald's (we get an egg biscuit) and then on to the post office. From there we delivered gifts to the Wheeler family (Jill and her family were just arriving). The Wheelers are having Christmas this weekend as the girls (Jill and Julie) are joining their father's family next week as their paternal grandmother is quite ill. Jill's boys are growing up so fast - doesn't seem possible.

From the Wheelers we headed out to the Willard household to deliver some popcorn - there we discovered their tin said Wheelers - so the Willard tin was left with the Wheelers- but no problem as both were the same.

Susie Wright (met her in August of 1965 in Belton) called this morning. She had called yesterday while I was at the middle school. She has had an up and down year - marvelous vacation in Italy in April, father died this summer, helped other family members decide on placement of mom in a nursing care facility (sounds like she is mentally where mom was in the early 1990s), had her husband break his leg this fall - and intermingled with all of this were trips to the San Francisco area to see her younger daughter's family - and to Richmond, VA to see her older daughter's family.

We watched the NWMSU football game and they ended up on the low end of the numbers, but not by much. We have a couple of local boys that are on the team.

Jim has gone down for a nap and the girls have opted to join him. I am going to try to stay awake until after supper, but the yawns are getting heavier and heavier. We are having a taco salad for supper tonight - haven't had one in too many days.

Our plans for Sunday include going to KC to see "Queen". We will probably include a side trip to Borders and of course eat out. We probably need to go by Sam's and get more trays as Velma will be needing more come early January - and who knows what the weather will be like at that point.

Be safe.
B.

Thurs. Dec. 14

From what has been a good day in MO,

The girls slept well last night and even didn't wake us up at our usual waking up time this a.m. - therefore Jim and I awakened with the alarm clock at 6:30.

Jim always takes the garbage to the curb on Thursday a.m. (most of our neighbors put their garbage out the night before) and I began getting ready to join the ladies for breakfast. We had eight present this a.m. - Clara, Pat, Sandy, Johnna Sue, Judy Duncan, MaryW., Margaret, and yours truly. Wanda Thomas always takes care of us and she was really drooping this morning. She had bypass surgery a few weeks after Jim did and has a lot more going on in her home than we have (and returned to work sooner than she should have) and has been feeling worse and worse in the past few weeks. She admitted today that she is having a lot of swelling in her legs and will see her cardiologist on Tuesday.

Johnna Sue brought a marvelous gift bag for us today - pretzels, red and green M&Ms, and cashews with white bark dribbled over it - Jim and I opted not to have our usual sugar free angel food cake with lite fruit tonight - rather we indulged.

Jim and I took the girls to the vet's about 10:00 to leave them to get a good bath. Jim left then to go to Dr. Eden's to fish (returned empty handed about 2:00) and I settled in to begin reading the last half of the DAR essays. About 12:30, I decided to try out the new Mexican restaurant (in old Hardee's building) and at least what I had was quite comparable to El Toro. The place looked spotless and there were several people eating there.

By 2:30, Jim had returned and I was ready for a belated nap. I don't like to go down this late in the afternoon, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

Trixie (the blonde) is on my lap as I am trying to type. She weighs a couple of pounds more than Abby and I can really tell the difference.

The girls are two years old today - hard to believe time has gone so fast.

The KC and St. J newspapers carried color photos of the mountain lion that was photographed just northeast of here. I was watching Channel 5 this evening and the incident made the KC news as well.

I did walk today - about 1.5 miles including the long incline just on the west side of Morningside - so I felt I got quite a workout. Jim had walked earlier and did a less distance route, but did come up the hill on Burnam - I avoid it at all cost!

Jim joins the second group of old men for breakfast in the a.m. I meet with a DAR committee at 1:00 to choose "winners" and then will go on to the middle school for its annual Christmas get-together at 3:30. I made Mexican rollups today and will slice them in the a.m. - then take them on ice to the DAR meeting in case it runs late. There is a home basketball game tomorrow evening so I am guessing we will go.

Be safe.
B.

Wed. Dec. 13

From what has been a sunny and almost balmy MO,

Jim headed out the door about 7:15 to join the first group of old fogies for breakfast - getting me moving (at my request) so that I could head to HyVee. I wasn't sure if Pat would be there, but she hadn't arrived by the time I had finished breakfast.

When Jim returned from his second breakfast, we loaded up the girls and headed our for a couple of errands. The girls had gone with me to HyVee and they LOVE to go!!

Jim decided about noon that he would like to try the quiche at Piece of Cake and off we were again - this time sans girls. The quiche was excellent and he also fell in love with coleslaw - especially the addition of the cranberries.

Jim dozed much of the afternoon and I wrapped goodies for his Christmas stocking. It really wasn't too much fun looking for items this year as I knowingly avoided candy and other goodies that would have found their way into stockings in past years. I think he will still be happy.

I read on DAR essays 5th, 6th, 7th, and maybe 8th grades this afternoon - took about two hours. The topic was the settling of Jamestown. I hope to finish reading the essays tomorrow afternoon as we do the final selection of Friday afternoon.

We headed to Pin Oak this evening for catfish (really a digression of what Jim has been eating) and had a safe trip going and coming back. The hunting area (trap shooting) is located about 20 minutes south of here - some on Highway 65 and the rest on Route Z - we saw deer in at least two occasions going south. We took it a little more slowly coming home as of course vision was even more limited.

I join the ladies for breakfast in the a.m. and have nothing on the calendar for the rest of the day other than the essays. I thawed some ham and beans a couple of days ago so that will take care of supper along with a few muffins.

Tonight's CT carried the obituary for Jim Juckette.

Be Safe.
B.

Sun., Mon., & Tues. Dec. 10-12

From a dampish MO,

The past three days have been rather active - or at least for old folks! We enjoyed the Sunday newspapers as usual, watched football and later Texas basketball (what a thriller), and in general just relaxed. We just can't take late hours and even though we left the Ross home about 9:30 p.m. - just a little late for us.

We have walked Monday and Tuesday mornings (can't remember if we walked Sunday). We did a series of errands on Monday a.m. and then I joined five others (Mary Willis, Judy Mathew, Clara Ratliff, Jan Logan, and Sandy McGinnis -- for lunch and then went on to the Senior Center to see the marvelous array of cleaned and new toys to be distributed by the RSVP program called Joy Toys. Many, many hours are spent in the fall by a group of retired people cleaning toys to get them ready for distribution. I'm thinking that maybe over 500 children received items last year.

After our walk this a.m., again we did a couple of errands and in general have been rather lazy. Helen had called this a.m. indicating she hadn't been able to pull in the infamous blog (just too lazy on Monday to write) and that she was coming down so we ended up having lunch at Piece of Cake. Jim, the girls, and I napped this afternoon and Jim and I are now home from the wrestling meet.

The CT tonight carried a very interesting article with a photo taken by Joe Neis of a mountain lion - just in the area northeast of Chillicothe. Joe evidently takes photos that are triggered by action to determine deer in an area and was rather shocked when he developed the photo and a mountain lion appeared. I know Ruth Miller indicated in her Christmas letter last year that sightings had been made, but nothing had been substantiated.

Jim will join both breakfast groups in the a.m. while I need to putter around the house. My right arm is giving me more and more problems so I have an excuse not to do anything that causes much action with it.

Julie Smith called this evening (from Manchester, NH) as she had just read the Christmas letter that I mail. She has been quite busy and plans on retiring this coming June - 40 years in education!

Be safe.
B.

Fri. & Sat. Dec. 8 & 9

From what has been a sunny MO,

Friday was quite active for us. Jim joined the second breakfast group and I headed to HyVee to have a quick breakfast and then leave with Pat Nichols for an outing to St. Joseph. We really didn't spend a long time anywhere - Tuesday Morning, Borders, Hobby Lobby, Penney's - and then returned home. We did make a quick trip downtown to locate a glass fusing place, but they are in the process of moving to this place. We did sign up for any forthcoming classes.

Jim and I left here about 6:00 to go to the high school to watch a basketball game with Excelsior Springs. David Garrison looks good as ever and afterwards we saw Donnie Jackson with David and Katie's younger child - a darling daughter.

We slept well last night and took off on some minor errands this morning - along with the girls. I fixed some chicken to convert to a chicken salad and also cut up the Mexican roll-ups that I had made yesterday.

We dozed much of the afternoon and will soon be leaving to go to the Ross home for an evening with long time friends.

We don't have much on the agenda for Sunday other than rest, enjoying the newspapers, and spending quality time with the girls. Abby is now stretched out across my lap and has her head nestled on my left elbow - as I try to type.

Be safe.
B.

Thurs. Dec. 7

From a COLD, but sunny MO,

This has been a full day! The temp was in the low teens this a.m. with a windchill considerably lower. In spite of this, we ended up having 8 at breakfast - Pat, Sandy, Clara, Jan, Johnna Sue, Mary W., Margaret, and yours truly. The talk was fast and furious this morning - of course last week we had ice and the week before that was Thanksgiving. You would have thought we hadn't seen each other in a year!

From breakfast, I went by the mail drop at the post office and left my remaining Christmas cards and letters, on to Velma's to leave trays, checked in at home, then on to Francine's to pick up cookies, and then on to Grand River Inn to help decorate for the annual RSVP Christmas party - refreshments are primarily cookies.

When I returned home, Jim had Christmas boxes loaded and we headed to the post office - and they are now soon to be enroute.

I had awakened about 2:00 this a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep - no fault of the girls - and finally got up. I went back to bed about 5:30, but of course couldn't sleep. I went down for a nap about noon, but had a couple of phone calls so didn't get a great deal of rest.

Since then we have been by the shed and then on to the Supt. office to take my checks for the upcoming three months of health insurance - has gone up to $441 per month! I'll be joining Jim on Medicare in less than two years and that will be fantastic!

I am going with Pat Nichols to St. Joseph on Friday. Some of the ladies are gathering with Mary Willis to make cards in the morning. Jim and I are looking forward to attending the home basketball game on Friday evening. I need to make some Mexican roll-ups at some time during the day so they can "age" for going to the Ross home on Saturday evening. Sandy Ross had called several days ago about the "oldies" getting together. We start earlier and end much earlier than years ago.

Abby is asleep - draped over my left arm. Trixie is in the hallway so she can keep track of us - as well as Jim. Supper tonight will be pork chops and a large sweet potato - am not sure what the green veggie will be until I check the freezer. We have cleaned up leftovers so I am going to have to do some cooking.

Be safe.
B.

Tues. & Wed. Dec. 5 and 6

From a sunny, but coolish MO,

The past two days have been full. We left Tuesday a.m. about 8:30 for KC - couldn't locate the Chief's store at Independence (was there last year) and went on to the Overland Park area to "Land of Paws" - a fabulous store - and then we ate at WilJenny's. From there we headed to Cornith shopping area to a second "Land of Paws" as the first one had one item that we wanted, but didn't have a duplicate. We were eventually north of the river to Sam's and then to Metro North - with Jim taking a short detour of course to Roger's. It was amazing how quickly we ran into snow as we headed south in the a.m. - by the time we were at the Whiteside farm - less than 10 miles south - we were already in obvious snow and it was deeper as we went south.

All of us slept well last night and we were busy again today. Jim joined both breakfast groups while I slept in somewhat with the girls and then after showering headed to HyVee take advantage of the old geezer discount. About 10:00, we began getting lights out for the front area - shrubs and over windows. Helen showed up while we were doing this to get newspapers - plus I hadn't seen her in several days. I had a 11:30 appointment with Dr. Metry- blood pressure okay and although I hadn't lost weight - hadn't gained either which I took as success since I enjoyed our stay in Austin so much. Jim and I went to PopCorn World this afternoon to put some finishing touches on Christmas shopping. I've been addressing boxes for mailing and am finishing wrapping gifts for the last box - should have them finished and put into a mailing box before going to bed this evening. Trixie is currently on my lap. She demands her fair share of lap time every so often. She is actually easier on my lap when I'm on the computer than Abby as the latter likes to have her head on my arm - and periodically looks at me with marvelous eyes. The girls had outings to HyVee with me, Subway with Jim, and to Trenton with us - they should sleep well again tonight.

Thursday a.m. will be full for me - breakfast with the ladies, trays to Velma, cookies at Francine's, and then help decorate for the RSVP winter gathering. I am not planning on helping serve as I would like to get the packages mailed tomorrow afternoon - will surely sleep better tomorrow night.

We are having leftover sandwiches from WilJenny's for supper tonight - we managed half of the sandwich yesterday and felt stuffed. I have some potato salad from HyVee to finish off supper. Since we have already had a soy cookie today - that counts as our dessert.

Be safe.
B.

Mon. Dec. 4

From a coolish, but sunny MO,

This has been a good day - or at least so far. The girls were restless last night and I was up a couple of times with them - first time I could hear a train whistling so I suppose that is what caught their attention - am not sure about the second time. Jim began rummaging around here about 7:00 this a.m. and I gave up eventually - after getting up a couple of times to help him find something.

We headed to the Y about 8:00 to walk. I did 16 laps (one mile) while Jim did 15 laps and then spent about 10 minutes on the weight machines. He keeps saying that he will go lightly on these, but Jim doesn't know this word. I just wasn't prepared to walk outside when the temp. was in the teens.

After cleaning up, we went through the drive-thru at McDonald's for a sandwich and then did a couple of errands - then headed to Jamesport and the Amish store to get a few items. We took the girls on the in town as well as Jamesport errands - they just love to go even though they are in a large crate.

I have puttered a little more on Christmas cards and letters this afternoon and we are soon heading to the local theater to see the newest James Bond movie.

If we have a good night, we are heading to KC on Tuesday to do what I hope will be the last of Christmas shopping - and plan on eating at WilJenny's. We need to also get some divided styrofoam trays for Velma.

The St. Joseph paper this a.m. carried a brief notice of the death of Norma Harrington. She and her husband had some neat children that went through our school system. Norma has been battling cancer for a number of years. I think she was about my age.

Be safe.
B.

Sat. & Sun. Dec. 2 & 3

From what has been a cold, but sunny MO,

These two days have been on a leisurely pace for us - just what these old bones needed. I also think the girls have enjoyed having us home.

I don't know that we have accomplished much, but I do have a few stocking stuffers - still need a few more and I have made a good dent on Christmas cards and letters. I tackled cards on Saturday while watching football and have done about 2/3 of the Christmas letters today. I should sleep better tonight.

I fixed a crockpot of beans and ham on Saturday and then fixed some corn muffins to go along with it.

We have had an interesting Sunday as the electricity went off about 10:00. I had finally worked up the "courage" to use the self cleaning aspect of my oven - have never had a self cleaning one before - always had been a Barbara cleaning oven although I remember a time (before Tim and Holly) that Margaret was here from England and must have spent hours on my stove. Anyway, the electricity went on and off for about 15 minutes and then stayed off for about an hour and a half. When the outdoor temp might be in the low 20s - this does not create a happy atmosphere. The oven had been on long enough to create a lot of bad odors in the house so the girls and I retreated to the bedroom, closed the door, and I encouraged them to nap under the covers.

The oven is now clean and I also made chicken, sour cream enchiladas for supper. Abby is currently resting on my left arm as I am trying to type and Trixie must be with Jim. I had draped a kitchen handtowel over the railing in the bathroom and she was making all kinds of commotion. I checked the landing going to the basement and sure enough the kitchen hand towel was there. When something is missing we can usually find it on the landing. At least they don't put items where we would trip on them, but instead in the corner.

We have a few errands for Monday and are contemplating making a quick trip to the Amish store for some more Havariti cheese. We are thinking about making a trip to KC on Tuesday to look for some specific Christmas items as well as more divided trays for Velma.

Be safe.
B.

Thurs. & Fri. Nov. 30 & Dec. 1

From a bitterly cold, sunny MO,

We have had two days of bad weather, but we were very lucky compared to the rest of the state. We had a little bit of ice - enough for school to be called off on Thursday - and a skiff of snow on Thursday evening - between ice and snow school is out again today - but we never lost power (supposedly close to 400,000 without power in St. Louis) and some areas of MO had close to 24 inches of snow! KC was reporting this a.m. that because of accidents that eastbound I-70 in the area of Boonville had a 20 mile back-up this a.m. We had horrible traffic in Texas, but at least the temperature was comfortable.

We didn't much Wednesday and Thursday. Jim drove me to breakfast on Thursday a.m., but I was the only one that showed up. He picked me up after I had finished breakfast and we did a couple of errands. We ended up going to Applebee's for lunch and then walked the aisles of Lowe's for exercise.

The girls seem to love the cold, ice, and skiff of snow. When we put them out, they stay out longer than I would have expected.

Jim has been to breakfast with the second breakfast group this a.m. and I am moving slowly. I must get some projects started or finished today as I plan on watching a lot of football on tv on Saturday.

Be safe.
B.