This is me

Hack Hack Cough Cough -- this is what I'm sounding like...and I don't even want to look in a mirror to see what I look like!  I still have bronchitis, but am on some meds now that hopefully will soon have me feeling good again!

It was unexpected

Several inches of snow fell last night -- we certainly didn't expect it but the moisture is welcome.  Later this week the forecast is for temperatures in the 60's and 70's.  Colorado is funny that way.

I'm still coughing and not feeling well, but not feeling bad enough to go see the doctor.  It's been a week now, so it should be half over, I would think.  I'll be so glad to be feeling good again!!!!

They were right

The weathermen had it right this time, it's been snowing and blowing all day.  I'm thinking there must be 6 or 7 inches of snow already.  That's ok -- I have bronchitis and wouldn't be going anywhere today anyway.  If this isn't better by Monday I'll visit my doctor, but hopefully I will stop coughing soon. 

March is our snowiest month

Yes it is -- and April is almost as snowy.  Yes -- when all the rest of you are having spring, we are having snow.  Yesterday it was 69 degrees, today is supposed to be almost that nice, but tonight a snowstorm is moving in and the forecast is for 8 - 14 inches -- and we will be thankful for it because we need the moisture so badly.

I just got home this morning after a night at my daughter's house.  Her husband is on a business trip (he travels a lot in his job) and my granddaughter had an appointment for a sonogram, so I went to pick up my grandson from school and then just stayed the night.  It's easier than fighting the rush hour traffic to get home, or to drive in the dark.  Things like that never used to worry me, but now that I'm 77 and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be, I'm much less likely to drive at night.  I love watching my grandchildren play.  They have so much imagination and would rather play with each other, making up things, than to play with toys.  But that doesn't mean they don't like toys, because they certainly do and they have a very good assortment of them.

I'm fighting a cold and a cough, and I need to get busy with laundry and cleaning, so that's enough of a posting for today.

More snow

This morning I went to my once-a-month Bible study which was very, very good; I'm not teaching it now, so I can say that.  As I left at noon, it started snowing, and before long was snowing quite hard, but I grew up in South Dakota and learned to drive on snow so I took my time going home and made several shopping stops.  By the time I got home, the sun was out, but I think we got about 2 or 3 inches of very wet snow -- Thank you Lord!

It's been a busy time lately, and my schedule looks like it will be busy right up to the day we leave on our spring trip.  On Saturday I got out all my spring and summer clothes, washed and ironed them, because where we're going -- it will be spring...or maybe not...but we're heading southeast so the chances are pretty good for warm weather.  It was a big job, especially since I only got started at noon after spending the night at Tanya's house.  Bill was on a business trip, so I picked up the kids from school and took care of them till their Mommy came home from work.  I had bought a big bag of popcorn for us to enjoy that evening; unfortunately, in an unguarded moment - the popcorn disappeared into the mouth of Lucy - the 100 pound Bernese Mountain Dog.  Earlier in the day she had gotten hold of a package of chocolate chip cookies and ate all 40 of them!!!  When she was younger, she was terribly rambunctious and caused me all kinds of problems; I'd go home with bruised arms from where she would jump on me.  Now she's quieted down a little, and just loves me -- she expects to sit on my lap -- yes all 100 pounds of her!

Yesterday was such a good day.  We had such a worthwhile Sunday School class, and the Pastor's sermon was also really good.  He spent all last year on Ephesians chapter one; he's now in chapter two and yesterday he parked on verse 6.  Then in the afternoon the women's ministry sponsored an afternoon of Bunco for women, and it was so much fun!  I got to know some ladies I hadn't met before and I was very glad I had gone.  But after such a busy weekend, I was really tired this morning, but it's a good tired. 

When I got home from shopping this afternoon, I started fixing some homemade chicken noodle soup -- this is soup weather!  Paul is fighting a bad cold, so the soup will be just right for dinner.  We saw the cardiologist last week, and the decision was made to postpone his surgery for a while, which is fine with Paul.  I trust the doctor, so it's fine with me too.

The morning after --

I spent much of my life in the midwest where, after a snowstorm, the snow and ice last forever (it seems).  However, in Colordo, this is what happens the next day:

The sun is already at work and the roads will soon all be open.  There is more snow forecast for tomorrow, but that's ok, we'll take all the moisture we can get.

It's snowing --

And we're so thankful for the moisture!  We're supposed to get 8 - 10 inches  out of this storm, and every single snowflake is welcome!  I'm not sure if it classifies as a blizzard yet, but the wind is pretty strong already.  It meant we couldn't go to church this morning, and I really miss it when I can't go to Sunday School and the worship service.  I wasn't able to go last Sunday either; I was babysitting at my daughter's house for three days, and Carly was not feeling well all weekend, so we stayed pretty close to home.

This is what it looks like outside now:

And Paul has his tractor ready to go -- probably some time tomorrow -- to clear the roads.

At Tanya's house, Carly and Joey are all bundled up to go outside with Daddy:

A few days ago, a dear friend of mine passed away; she would have been 92 in May and had been in good health most of her life.  Last April she had a stroke and was in a nursing home ever since.  We were surprised how well this very active, very outgoing lady adjusted to the nursing home; after all - she hadn't been to see a doctor since 1952!  But last week she had a second stroke and she didn't survive this one.  But she often talked about how badly she wanted to go to heaven and see Jesus, so now she got her wish.  There was supposed to be a "viewing" at the funeral home this afternoon, in spite of the fact that she wanted a closed casket and was very adamant about that; well - because of the snowstorm, no one will go to view her and so her wish was granted in spite of her family.  The funeral is tomorrow.  I remember the first time I saw Evie, it was January 2000.  Paul and I were looking for a church home, so one Sunday morning we visited a church in Northglenn.  When the choir entered the stage, she led them in -- and "led" is not quite the right word; she "strutted" in and had a lot of movement with every song.  I wondered to myself "who is that strange woman" -- never imagining that she and I would become close friends.  Her husband and Paul also became close friends, but Bud died in 2001.  I have many happy memories of the times we spent together.  She was one of the four of us who always celebrated our birthdays (and any other excuse) by going to a tea house and then going shopping.  I have been feeling very sad the last few days, even though I'm happy that she's no longer suffering.  I will miss her.

I am now in the age group where my peers are having strokes, or getting Alzheimers, or dying of cancer or any of a hundred other things that happen in our "golden years".  I don't quite know how time passed so quickly and there are definitely times that I wish I was young again - but there are no "do overs", so here I am.  However -- my mind is still very sharp, I manage to stay quite active even with my arthritis, so I have much to be thankful for. 

We'll be seeing a Cardiologist this week; Paul is to have surgery but first has to have his heart evaluated to make sure it's ok to have surgery.  He has three bad heart valves, so it's a little iffy.

We're planning a trip to Nashville in a few weeks to visit Paul's younger son and his wife.  But first we'll drive to my home town for the annual "Schmeckfest", and then my cousin Goldie will join us for the trip.  Her daughter lives in Asheville, NC, so she will go on to visit her family.  She went with us last year when we went to the Outer Banks of NC, and she's a good traveling companion.

I'm working on scrapbooks this weekend.  Because we know so little of my grandchildren's lives before they were adopted, I have been documenting their lives since then in scrapbooks which eventually will belong to them.  They love to sit and look at all the pictures. 

I may have mentioned this before; but when Joey arrived here on Christmas Day of 2008, a reporter from a local TV station was at the airport, looking for a story, and did a story on Joey's arrival and it was on the evening news that day.  My stepson recorded the story, and Joey and Carly both love to watch it.  He watches it over and over!

And now -- back to my scrapbooking....