A Birthday...a Treatment, a Sandwich and Mushy.

Happy Birthday to our sweet angel, Libby, aka, Olivia Pug Princess!  She turned 10 on December 1st !

This little girl is my buddy...stalker...protector...and she has my heart, hook, line and sinker.

I can't think of my life without her... 

Larry started BCG treatments December 1st, as well.  The actual treatment took only about 15 minutes...butttt...the nurse made us stay for two hours.  She said it was so Larry's reaction to treatment could be observed.  Made perfect sense so...he got to kick back in his heated massage chair and watch a little television.  All subsequent visits, he can leave right after treatment.

I haven't gotten to work much on my quilt top lately.  Little Sloane has been out of daycare with fever because of her ears.  Momma Samantha's schedule, this week, calls for me traveling 30 minutes to their house to sit with Sloane.  We don't want any type of fever around Larry while he's receiving his treatments.  Fine by me!  Anytime spent with Soane is a spirit lifting time.  And Samantha appreciated the clean kitchen and folded laundry when she got home.  We "do" for our babies no matter how old they are. 

Finally got Sloane down for a nap...took a while! lol

Finished all 20 blocks...finally!  And no, they're not perfectly aligned.  My first quilt top...getting to know my machine...takes a while and a lot of mistakes. 

Got them all laid out on our bed...this is the back side of the blocks.  I flipped each stack and labeled them.  I did get one row sewn together before I needed to take care of Sloane.

I'll get there...

Managed to get our tree up.  I'm not through decorating it but it'll just have to wait in line...I been busy.  I received a jury summons...had to appear this past Monday...Long story short, I got picked to serve on a jury but my Angel took care of me!  The case was civil and it settled out of court!  Yeah me!  All of us potential jurors heaved a huge sigh of relief and quickly left the building! lol

This is Larry's favorite breakfast sandwich...fried egg on buttered toast with mustard.  

He would eat it every morning if I made it!  I don't... but hey, once a week is fine.  My favorite?  A Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich...lolol  I rarely make one.

We drove the 50 miles to Corsicana, Texas, to the cemetery my folks are buried in... Larry wanted to go visit the Russell Stover candy company.  We'd never been and after "visiting" with my mom and dad...we stopped in.  It was huge...and chocolate everywhere...and, I forgot to take a photo!  But, here's what we bought...Hope the kids like all the chocolate.

While in Corsicana, we wanted to eat at a place that we knew would be good and not waste our money on...lol...right.  The managers must have changed since our last visit because the food was nasty.  

This is me and Larry...Lol

A few fries...uncooked hushpuppies and cold...and don't let the look of the fish fool you.  The fish itself was mushy!  Awful...and that crust?  I seriously don't know what it was.  But it fell apart when you touched it.  The Mac & Cheese were passable but almost tasteless.  Best thing on the plate?  The okra...and only, just.  

Guess another restaurant bites the dust for us.  We have a Cotton Patch here in Waco...it also used to be good, but we haven't tried it in a long while.

I've never heard of an apple pie made with custard, but I think it might be good?  I'll let you know...click to enlarge photo and print, if you wish.

Well friends...Hope you aren't stressing about Christmas and buying loved one's, things.  It's just "stuff".  A bonus to what the Day stands for.  The Baby Jesus arrived!  How wonderful is that!  What a Gift!

So... until next time...stay safe and be well.

 

Steak and Ham...Sewing and Soup.

 

Good morning, friends...

I hope all of my American friends enjoyed a fun and peaceful Thanksgiving.  We certainly did.

Now we're heading into the Christmas season!  Doesn't seem possible it's here already.  

Remember I told you I was just going to leave our big tree out in storage because I felt it would be too heavy for Larry to deal with?  I ran out to check on my sister...was only gone for about an hour but...long enough for Larry to sneak out into the storage building and bring everything in!  It's only been barely a month since his surgeries...okay...I'll shut-up about it.  As he says in so many words, "you not the boss of me..." lol...we'll see...

We got a little tired of turkey and ham and opted for a steak for lunchtime.  It hit the spot.

Sam and Everett go to Everett's grandparent's home for holidays as well as coming here.  They usually take photos of all the kids.  These turned out so cute!  And tell me baby Sloane isn't a ham!  Lolol...she's such a good baby.

Our granddaughter Samantha's newest photo for her salon.  She's such a sweetheart...and a hard worker.  We are so very proud of her.

Great-granddaughter Sloane, playing with her cousin, Arlis.  Looks like there was a bit of a competition going on...lol 

I've now got nine blocks made...takes a while.  I sew and watch quilting or Christmas videos on the computer...a nice quiet time.  Steady as she goes...

Larry made some potato soup.  We'll have it again soon!  Geez, it was wonderful!  

I know parents that have done this...makes a bad situation, worse.  The children become resentful.

Our 13-year-old Buddy getting some warm blanket cuddles.

This is so true!  Sometimes, especially the older we are, it becomes such a challenge to push ourselves into doing even the easiest of chores.  But...If you can, Do!  I push the, "I don't 'wanna's", out the back door and, do it anyway...it's hard sometimes but, I always feel better afterwards. 

Well, I guess that's it for me this week.  I pray you all are healthy and safe, wherever you may be.  

Thanksgiving 1943...2023...USS Bulmer and a Gathering.

Good morning, friends....

Wishing all of my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

The photo above was the ship my Dad was on when this photo was taken in 1943...80 years ago...Dang!  Daddy was 22.   The USS D222, Bulmer (D stands for Destroyer).  He was a radioman.  I miss him something awful.  By war's end, he'd made Chief.

Warning:  Unusually long post today.  We celebrated our Thanksgiving Saturday the 18th instead of on the 23rd.  You don't need to worry about commenting about every little thing.  

Mom and Dad 1944

I'm so grateful I had these two in my life...

Larry has started treatment for his bladder cancer (post successful surgery).  

First thing he needs to do is getting a TB test...huh?  (the BCG is essentially the same as the TB bacterium.  If your test proves positive, they have to treat your TB before they can introduce it through BCG...yeah, I'm a bit confused, as well).    Yes...we go in this morning, (the 15th)  and they read it on Friday (17th) .  We have the kids up for an early Thanksgiving on the 18th then,  Larry will then begin his formal treatment on December 1st.  Every Friday, about an hour, for 6 weeks.  It's called BCG.  A bladder wash.  Suppose to eradicate any cells and keep them from coming back.  The Urologist said chemo wasn't necessary in this case...thank God!

Prayer would be much appreciated...

Update:  His TB test was negative!  Thank you for your prayer!

I found this recipe on YouTube...it's Orzo and chicken.  All I had in the cupboard was whole wheat...yuck!  Too heavy for me but Larry loves it so I was silent on the subject and just cooked it.  Next time I'm at the store, I'll grab the regular orzo. 

I ordered this cute little sticker from Amazon.  We need to get in the Spirit...and give the people behind us, something to talk about...lol

My roses are blooming like crazy in this wet and cooler weather!  

Oh yeah...I've done this.  You too, huh? Lol

Tip:

Stop wasting paper towels when cracking eggs into a recipe.  I'm the biggest offender...  What a mess that runny egg white makes!  I now just crack them onto a coffee cup plate then rinse it off.  No paper waste!  That stuff is getting so expensive.  I'm trying to go back to some of the old war time practices  (WW2) I remember Mom talking about, back in the day, when rationing was being observed.  There are all sorts of things we can do to save money and resources these days.   Here's a blog I know you'll enjoy.  It's Down to Earth by Rhonda Hetzel.  She lives on the East coast of Australia.  Her husband, Hanno, died in May of 2022 of brain cancer.  Once you begin reading, it's hard to stop! lol

So many tips and things to try.  Yes, times were also hard for us back in the Carter days...but not even close to what we're experiencing today!

Managed to get my skinny tree up...The big one is in the storeroom, up high and heavy!  I don't know exactly how Larry managed to get it up on the top shelf, but there it is.  It just might have to stay there as I don't think he needs to be lifting heavy things right now.  Samantha offered to get Everett and Tim to help get it down but I just nixed the idea...We'll do fine with just the smaller tree this year.

I found this photo on the internet.  See the framed peg board?  I love the idea!  I might have to run by Salvation Army to see if they have any old frames and then to Lowes for pegboard and hooks!  Floor space, in my so called sewing room, is limited...

I love this...

Getting my quilt project started.  These strips will be the top.  I'm done "practicing"...lol   

The strips are from two jelly rolls.

(example photo from internet, of a jelly roll)

You can buy all sorts of color combinations.  I wanted one that said, "Christmas".

This will be the backing and binding.

I made pie...

Here's the recipe for it.  I found it while reading a sweet friend's blog, Granny Marigold. 

It's is wonderful...Larry said it's the best cream pie he's enjoyed in a long while.

Click on the recipe to enlarge.

Oh!  Just a reminder to go check your Comment section in settings!  I checked mine and found more of your sweet comments just sitting there in the Spam folder!  I published them and deleted the spam.  That spammer Raj something or another, is a frigging pest!  All they say is, Beautiful blog...and Please read my blog...

I don't think so!  Deleted...until next time, sadly.  I know there's a way to block them but that takes more effort than I have right now, to research.

I know it's hard to read a long blog...but I'm posting photos of our get together from yesterday...I took a Five Year generational shot....Gerald (97 Larry's Dad), Larry (My Hubby 76). Crystal (daughter 50), Samantha (granddaughter 28) and our Sloane (GreatGran 15mos).  Bare with me or just say bye...it's okay.  To me, blogs are our tiny memories pieced together for future generations to read.  It's pretty well all they'll have of us.  I try to put in my "feelings" as best as I can...I think they could care less about the color of my nail polish but then again, who knows.  

 

 

 And yes, we ate off of paper plates.  First time in all my years on a formal holiday!  I must admit, it was a life saver as far as getting the kitchen cleaned up...Christmas lunch will see my Christmas dishes.

I made "real" banana pudding...no boxed pudding for us!

See what Larry made me for the toilet tanks?  I love the look!  Matches the rest of the wood in my bathroom!

After everyone had left for their journeys home, I was tidying up the bathroom when I found this beautiful note from our daughter...

I had a good cry...It's been such an emotional year...We are very close...and I really needed this...

I have no words for all the joy my family brings to me.  Nothing last forever...but I'll go down loving every minute of our times together.

Well, there it is...Another Thanksgiving in the books.  Here's to you all...my sweet blogger buddies!  I am so grateful for you!  Your stories brighten my life...open the windows, so to speak, and lets me know, I'll never be alone because I have family and you...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving (American) and I can't wait to read all of your stories!

Until then...