Crazy week! sleepover, power outage, septic outage, suicide at bridge, concussion, traffic jams, money hungry vet, low blood sugar, old friend, and music

This is the last day of July.  Already August tomorrow. The summer is going so fast!!!!  I'll try to catch up on recent activities.

Yesterday (Monday)
I took Lauren home (still has her headache from her concussion ... read down further for that) and got Madi for her haircut.  Karla is back to work for an acupuncturist.  She just started and seems to like it.  Anyway, I stopped at Starbucks to get Madi a Peach Tea and an Almond Croissant (heated).  Then we stopped at Walmart and saw Papa there.  Next stop was Burger King. Finally we got to her hair appointment.  It was very hot out yesterday.  After her appt. I took her home so I was home early!  Too hot of a day to do much else.  I love talking with that girl though. She is interesting and funny!  Had a Costco Dog for dinner. 

Saturday
I get a call from Lauren seeing if the girls could come spend the night (her, Madi and Riley.  Of course, they are welcome anytime they want to come over.  So the parents brought them over and Leah dropped off Lauren all around 4 pm.  They had to decide what they wanted for dinner and snacks so Papa and I ran to Hadlock and left those girls on their own. So, what did they do when we left them alone? The same thing Lauren and Madi did at Christmas time.  Jokester time! Rearranged things!!!  They moved clocks, pictures, mirrors, candles, etc..and switched things all over the place. Funny girls.  They didn't think I would notice. First thing I noticed was the guilty looks on their faces.

Sunday
Papa cooked them all a big breakfast.  Lauren's head hurt and she went and laid back down in the den.  They stuck around until about 4 when Brad and Karla came *separately to get their girls.There was a 4 car collision and traffic was backed up everywhere!!!  Took them a while to get out of here.  When Papa went to take Lauren home a bit later it was still a mess and her mom just told her to stay here.  So she came back and had ribs and rice and went to bed. 

Let's keep going backwards.  Friday Lauren came over and spent the night.  We had shrimp for dinner and she had to take it easy.  Papa took the cat to the vet to catch up on shots.  The vet gave him his rabies shot and another respiratory shot but not his feline leukemia.  She said she needed to give her a test to make sure he didn't have it.  They tried the test twice and it came back inconclusive.  Which scared Papa!  Finally the vet called the factory and the tests were faulty so they had to ship the sample to the factory to test.  So I don't know if we have to pay the factory too but we'll have to pay for another office visit and the shot when they get the results.  Then the vet said his stomach felt hard and treated him for worms!  Lanny told her he's not outside often and when he is we watch him.  The vet, I guess, didn't believe him.  Our cat will only eat one flavor of canned cat food and his dry food. He won't eat snacks, he won't eat people food of any kind, and he certainly won't eat mice, moles or birds.  Worms?  Doubtful. Papa cleans his litter box 4 times a day and never sees anything.  Then the vet found a tooth that was broken. She said it will need to be pulled.  She said he was in pain (he doesn't act in pain of any kind...not even while eating). But she didn't offer pain meds either.  That's all she said about his tooth.  I called the office back to find out the cost of a tooth extraction. They sent me the estimate... over $900,00!!!!  I couldn't believe my eyes. We've been going to this vet for over 20 years when the first owners started it. They sold recently and we are not happy at all with the new vet.  Scruffy had a biopsy and we never got results.  Now we need to find a new vet. :(

Kitkat turned 6 years old on Thursday!!!!

Also on Thursday Papa went grocery shopping. I called papa while was at walmart and he wasn't feeling well. He asked if I could come get him because he was dizzy, light headed and confused. He was walking around looking for a place to sit down and feeling disoriented. So I called Amanda to go to him (she was the closest at work). On my way to Walmart I called Karla (who happened to be there) and she went and found Amanda and Papa. Amanda got him a sandwich and orange juice (he hadn't eaten yet). He was very sweaty, clammy, along with the dizziness and confusion. By the time I got there the girls had it under control and he was much better. A bit clammy still but I took him out to the car and bought him a chocolate milkshake and brought him home. He napped after we got home. It scared him and me! We're pretty sure it is his blood sugar. In the morning it runs low sometimes plus he didn't eat. It happened around 9:00. 

Now, the reason for Lauren's headaches .... she went to church camp on Monday...but only until Wednesday.

Wednesday she was competing in an outdoor game and fell and hit her head on the ground. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  Leah and Josiah followed the ambulance and Andrew was just going into work in Bellevue when his mom called.  He ran to the hospital to be with his sister. Then his mom and Aaron showed up. She had a concussion but no brain bleed or anything.  We were thankful for that. She was so upset she couldn't stay for camp and had to come home.  We are happy she is OK but this concussion has thrown her for a loop.  It has affected her memories, her headaches, the sensitivity of her eyes, etc...  Just please pray her head heals quickly. 

On Tuesday Karla started her new job. We went to Walmart and then to the hardware store to get a heavy duty hose sprayer. Our power went out at 8 a.m. and stayed out until about noon. I guess a tree fell over the lines. Madi came over and spent the night.  She came up with some games.  The main one was about naming songs and who sings them from her iPhone.  It was fun!  I did great on the Beatles.  She knew all of the Pink Floyd. It was so much fun! 
There were probably 20 state patrol at our end of the bridge. Come to find out the bridge was closed at about 3:30 in the a.m. A guy was parked waiting to take his two daughters to the airport.  A 20 year old military guy pulls up behind him and another guy is pulled up behind him. Well, the 20 year old shot at the car ahead of him 4 times. The girls were in their car seats leaned towards their doors and the dad was leaning over the passenger seat looking at his phone.  All the bullets missed them! The kid then turned around and grazed the guys elbow behind him. Next he pulled the gun on himself and died.  So awful.  I'm glad the Lord protected the others.
https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/news/man-kills-self-after-shooting-at-other-drivers-on-hood-canal-bridge



Monday was a quiet day!

Saturday our toilets and sinks backed up and we were basically shut down.  What a drag!!!!!  Papa tried to fix but to no avail. We had a plumber come but he didn't really know what he was doing ($150 later).

Sunday my old buddy, Ronnie Todd, came over and showed Lanny how to clean out the pipe coming from the house going to the septic.  It was fixed!!!  I was so happy!  It was great to visit with Ronnie about the good old days of Suquamish too!  Lots of laughs!!!

Me and Ronnie on my birthday! 

I think I am caught up.  Oh, except some other pictures I took of me stuck on the bridge. I got stopped right at the beginning. For a stinkin sailboat. 

Good bye for now!!!!

 

GREAT WEEK!

I decided to post my changes different than this post.  This is more about what's been going on.

Today I have been recovering.  I have a sunburn.  I can't believe I got it! I was trying to be in the shade as much as possible.  This picture I took when I woke up this morning.  My morning face.  My morning sunburnt face.  Lauren got burnt on her shoulders pretty bad too.

I picked up Lauren and her kiddo's she babysits for and took them down to Lion's Club Park.  They sure had fun running around playing.  And Lauren played tennis with them too.  Amanda brought them lunch from Subway. They ate it all!  After more play time we went by Dairy Queen and picked up desserts. They loved my dvd player in the van and watched Madagascar while eating their ice cream as we drove around. It was such a great day!  They are great kids! And they sure love Lauren!

Last night Lauren went to Color Wars with her Youth Group. Still not sure what it is all about but she came over and stayed the night after it. She was covered in splats on her face, in her ear, all over her clothes.  She had so much fun.  Here are my girls (one of Lauren's bff's, Leah.)

I picked up my glasses on Monday.  Madi had helped me pick them out the week before.  I don't look good in glasses or hats.  But Madi has good taste and after trying on 100 pair we found these.  I like them a lot!  Madi looked great in every pair she tried on!  She looks good in hats too.

Papa made the best ham dinner on Sunday.  He is such a good cook! Tomorrow he is making ham and bean soup with what is left. We've enjoyed omelets and sandwiches this week. 

Papa and Rich (our neighbor and his friend) weeded the circle where the plants are. Last week papa laid down black plastic over the dirt.  And this week he added bark.  It looks pretty good.  Then he took a rest and we visited and looked at his work.  We watched the water too. It looked so calm and peaceful.

This is Scruffy and his "bone"  It is pink and squeeks and is made of rubber.  He loves it.  Needs it at bed time. He is very funny about certain things.  He loves attention!!!!  Now he loves Rich.  He was over in our back yard the other day while him and papa cleaned around the trees by our fence between our houses.  Scruffy played with those men for so long!  The next day he went and barked at the fence asking Rick to come out and play with him... but Rich wasn't home.  Poor dog.  For a dog that didn't like men when we first got him...he sure does now.  And Lauren and Madi are his girls. He gets so excited when they come around!

Andrew got home from Europe safe and sound!  I always worry when he goes on these mission trips.  This time they did a VBS program in Vienna, Austria.  Here are a few pictures his friend took.  Never found any that Andrew took.  Andrew is always the tallest in these pictures.  He grew into a tall boy.  Over 6-1 I imagine.  I will have to ask him.  He started working at a coffee shop after he got home.  I think he goes to Colorado this weekend.

Then there is our cat!!!  He still rubs up against Toby's collar. Scruffy came home with this scarf around his neck when he was groomed. He doesn't like to keep it on so we took it off.  The cat adopted it and rubs on it all the time.  At first Scruffy growled. Then he gave up and let the cat have his way with it. haha!

Papa and I have decided to watch all 8 seasons of Longmire again. We couldn't find any thing else to watch in the evening.  We loved that show.

Well, best close for dinner. I think it is breakfast for dinner. Lauren is coming over after her saxophone lesson and spending the night. Hoping to stay home all weekend because the bridge traffic will be bad with the lavender fest going on in Sequim. Last year traffic was really awful. Have a great night and week!!!!

my changes!

Trying this again. My computer or my mouse has been messing up for a few weeks now.  Not sure what is going on but it irritates the life out of me.

So it has been a real good week. I am happier than I have ever been and it feels good!  It is nothing external.  My life is the same.  I am just enjoying it now and feeling grateful.  It is even more than that.  For years I have tried to please everyone. I always believed people were going to treat me the same way.  It doesn't work that way.  People are all different. We are not the same. All my life I tried to treat everyone equal.  All our kids, our grandkids I tried to treat the same.  That doesn't work either. Someone always was unhappy for one reason or another.  i know this sounds kind of cruel but it is the best thing for me.  I feel a freedom I have never had before.  Kevon told me not everyone thinks of me as much as I think they do.  So when I am having my pity parties and thinking about someone being mad at me or rude to me it's not the case. They probably aren't even thinking of me. lol! And I don't want to believe they are thinking of me and treating me bad ... because it's not true. It seemed like any thing I tried the past 61 years was wrong.  Nothing was good enough, I wasn't good enough.  I was always disappointed. People disappointed me. Surprises did.  Things did. Places did. Didn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore. I am free.  I am free to say yes or no. Free to choose my friends and people I hang out with.  Free to just be who I want to be.  Not be who everyone thinks I should be.  People aren't really thinking of me as much as I always thought.  They have other things on their mind. Important to remember. Make sense?  I've been sorting this out for a week. Still working on it. I just know I am happy finally.  Every day.

More birthdays and people coming home!!!

Almost have a week of catching up. Not too bad. I just had breakfast of an egg mcmuffin.  I am lucky papa loves to cook and he is so good at it. He is cutting down portions for us which is really good.  My doctor is changing my blood pressure meds. Taking me off one and putting me on a different one.  It is a beta blocker so it is suppose to make sure I don't have a heart attack but it also is bad for my weight.  It can make you gain and almost impossible to lose.  So I don't know what to do but try to cut back and watch what goes in. My breathing is so bad I can't walk far at all. Which makes exercising hard.  waa- waa - waaaaaa!  I got a call from Rick Rayment last night giving me a hard time about my health. I know he just loves me. And I love hearing from him and talking with him. He is my little brother.
I am watching 3 crows sitting together on the tree across the street. Now they all flew down together.  I was just sitting outside with the dog and cat. They like to eat grass.  Papa went in and so did they. They really love their papa. He is so good to our animals...making sure they have every need they could want. I miss Sandy like crazy though. Wednesday was pet picture day:

I sit here and really love my life.  Which is a vast difference than yesterday.
I was not in a friendly mood.  I pretty much told Lauren, Manda and Karla all what I thought.  Not a great idea when I am in that kind of mood. I get frustrated with how people think or treat others and myself. And at times I have to speak. Well, I don't have to but I just do. Not good.

Ok, let's go back to last week.  Friday I picked up Madi and we went to the Red Apple for her birthday.  It was really good as usual.  But after we walked out I got a real bad stomach ache.  We went to my house and watched some tv until I felt better. Then her and I went to Walmart and ordered my new glasses. We had a lot of fun trying on different frames. Madi can wear any of them and look good.  I can't.  It took a long time for me to find a pair and I am glad she was there to help me. She was very honest with me just by the expression on her face. haha!  Stopped and got her a birthday cotton candy blizzard before I took her home.

Saturday I did nothing. Lauren came home from Arizona.  I always worry about her ears but they did great on the way home.  She had an aisle seat and sat watching home videos and laughing.

Sunday the 8th was Madi's 15th birthday.  She seems older to me because her maturity level jumped so much this past year. She is also going into 10th grade! She is so bright, smart, kind, caring, pretty, and loves her family so much. She is loved so much too! I love her tons and get pretty melancholy when I think of all the wonderful memories I have with her. I started to watch her while her mom went to school and then work when she was a baby for about 5 years. They had a seafood dinner at her grandpa's.  Lauren came over here and we watched some tv for awhile and then we picked up Madi on our way back to Lauren's so we could see her on her birthday and went down to DQ and got her a blizzard! We pulled in front of the Poulsbo Middle school and they laughed a lot watching videos of me and them.
  
Monday was a do nothing day, except for papa. He had to go back to the eye doctor to check on the pressure of his eyes.  He finally learned how to put the drops in himself.  Such a big boy! haha!



Tuesday was Amanda's birthday and Jack's birthday!  Papa took Lauren to get her teeth cleaned.  And then he brought pizza home for dinner.  It was really good.

Wednesday was a pretty good day. I picked up Madi and then Lauren. Then we went to Bremerton and picked up Riley!  We went to Shari's in Silverdale for breakfast. Mine was good but they burned Madi's bacon. Lauren and Riley finished off Madi's bacon, hashbrowns and toast. lol! 

at least riley still lets me take her picture!  look at her braids she did herself!

Then we went to Kitsap Humane Society. Lot's of cute kittens!!!!  They had lots of little dogs, a couple puppies and of course some big, loud dogs.  Walking in there killed my back. Made me sad and mad. Had to sit several times and I had trouble breathing.  But the girls stayed in there for a while and they had fun. They all saw animals they would love to have brought home.  Told them at the beginning "No Pets!"  It is hard to go there.  We went to DQ and Lauren got a sundae, the rest of us got ice cream cones.  It was so hot out. Dropped Madi off downtown with her friends, then took Riley home and then Lauren. Lots of singing and laughs for the day!
Thursday was my crab day. Maybe I was just too tired. Which brings us to today.  Not doing a thing.  

Papa and I are on Season 6 with Longmire.  It only goes 6 season so we are getting kind of sad knowing it is coming to an end.  We've been watching it every night on Netflix and love it!!!!  If you haven't watched this I HIGHLY recommend it!!! Not sure what we will watch when that is over. My brother, Doug, recommended a show but I can't remember what it was.  haha! 

He called me the other night to tell me they aren't coming to see me when they come from Virginia this summer. They are only going as far as Auburn (my cousins).  Makes me sad.  For me to see him I will be going to my cousins. 

I also got an "I love you" message from my brother David on facebook. I hope to see him in a couple weeks. I am having a "Just Because Potluck" at my house. We haven't had a dinner all year so it is time.  Not sure what to make yet.  Anything could be good.

I have to post this picture of a guy holding a dog that looks so much like Toby did it is uncanny!!!!

Dylan got a new car!  2007 Mustang!!!  Pretty cool!

Andrew comes home from Vienna tomorrow!  That makes me happy. They have been having a VBS program there for a week now. I haven't heard much from him but yesterday afternoon he did a video chat with me!  It was after 11 pm his time and he was in bed so I know it was a sacrifice to call because he was tired.  I loved him.  

Another beautiful day outside. Slight breeze, blue sky and amazing.  We live in such a great area!!!! The high will be 77. Perfect.  It is Friday the 13th which is good for me.  My baby boy was born on a F the 13th and has worked out so far! lol!

Today is National French Fries Day so I have this picture of when I used to take McDonalds to the grade school for Lauren and her friends. They were my french fry girls!

Next week will be ok.  The cable guy is coming Sunday morning to get us a new box for the kitchen again! Third time.  Hope it stays fixed this time.
Lauren starts her babysitting job on Monday. Should be getting paid, get the cat updated on shots, buy bark for the yard. 

That is about all I got!  I may take a nap.  I am tired.  I hope you have a great week!  Loves and kisses!