That may be confusing. Anyway...

Yesterday was one of those days when I simply wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. However, due to circumstances, I couldn't.

Mama and Savannah were away at Savannah's second appointment with her new Lyme doctor. (I go in May...and I am not looking forward to the blood draw that I'm going to have to have.) Thes results on that is that Savannah has a new protocol to follow. She's feeling a little blue (on top of not feeling well) because her hair is falling out again. She asked me this morning to pray that her hair would quit falling out.

Daddy was gone for a large portion of the day: first to his VA appointment (he had a blood draw)--after which he ate breakfast out and apparently had a lovely morning with a Nam vet. After lunch he took Grandpa to his CAT scan.

Our house guest left yesterday and I can't say I miss him. It's kind of nice to just be us again.

What with all that going on, I kept up with the cooking (speaking of which, I have to go start lunch here in a minute!) and the laundry. In fact, that is what I did of any use yesterday afternoon. Laundy. I watched a movie and did laundry. My brain was in no state to read and writing was out of the question (as was research), so I plopped down and watched a movie. I'll do a review of it over on Reformed Reviews, but some initial thought on it: that same story could be really, really good. 70's movies just aren't very good quality for the most part.

I made "clean out the refidgerator" soup for supper last night and was pleasantly surprised at how decent it was. 

I was "Leola!" multiple times yesterday (from Granddaddy) and I suppose I earned it because I got down-right stern with him a couple of times. He just about flipped his wheelchair over yesterday at one point (getting back into it from the pot) because he didn't reach back and grab the arms of the chair--he just plopped. He barked open the inside of one of his fingers in the process. I was unaware of it until Katherine (who had come downstairs to help) said, "Your hand is bleeding!" I doctored him up while talking to him about how he should let us know when he's bleeding all over the place. He's like a helpless kid sometimes and it's not because he has to be, but because he just doesn't care.

Alright, with that being said, I need to go check the laundry and get started on lunch. :)

Adios for now!

I have been basically without a computer the last week...ever since I accidently put mulitple trojans on my computer last Saturday (I guess it was). I have been on either Daddy or Momma's laptops over the course of the week to check e-mail and such. So...here's the past week's rundown (for those of you who like to hear my day-to-day adventures)...it's been busy enough. :)

Sunday, March 9 

The entire family got to go to church! Granddaddy was in the hospital with a skin infection, so no one had to stay home with him.

After lunch, which was a tad later than usual because we stopped at the hospital for a few minutes, I sat down to an enjoyable two hour conversation via Google Hangouts with a brother in another state. The subject: a joint film production. I landed the grand ol' spot of director! I have a large hunk of research to take care of (which will be easier now with my computer back [or my "baby" as Daddy just called it! :D] We have determined the subject of the film, but I'll save the details until I can give you a better, more succinct description then that which would ramble off my fingers at the moment.
 
Monday, March 10

A busy, busy day. :)

First, Grandpa's trip to the dentist. I don't know about you, but dentists don't scare me. Never did. I never could understand why people are afraid of them (maybe because I've never had a cavity? Not that that should be much worse than having dental surgeries--of which I've had a couple.)

I took notes on the way home to remind me of what stories I wanted to tell once I got my computer back. :)

Mama sat in the waiting room the whole time and I took care of wheeling Grandpa into the rooms and helping him transfer. He doesn't need much help, less than Granddaddy in fact--a lot less. (He actually works at it, unlike the G-Dad).

Anyway, Grandpa went to the dentist to have a root removed from his gum. The tooth had apparently broken off at the gum, so the root needed to be removed to keep it from getting infected, etc.

The doctor was probably about half way through the extraction when I kind of siddled around to where I could see, saying, "Mind if I watch?"

He didn't really seem overly pleased, but said, "So long as you don't faint."

I responded with, "I won't" and bit the laughing, but snarky comment back about having watched calves be castrated, ear-marked, and branded. I did almost drop the "I'm a country kid" line, but instead, I just grinned to myself.

Anyway, I now know a little better how my dentist removed "that tooth" [sticks tongue where there is no longer a hole--took six years for it to come in it, but it finally did] back when I was 15. It was interesting.

Because Grandpa had a issue with his partials, we were led to the other side of the building where the denturist (is that a word?) would see him. While waiting for him, I noticed Grandpa's tell-tale "I have to go" movements. I did what I know how to do, I hopped up, strode down the hall, into the waiting room, told Mum that Gradpa had to go, continued right on out, opened the door to the van, hopped in, snatched up the john, and retraced my steps. Once he went, I repeated the processes.

I have gotten to a point where such things are just every day practical actions.

Oh, yes, and Grandpa had one of two issues with his partials fixed. The second problem gets addressed in a couple of weeks. He has to get a new impression of the top one and then an addition to it for the tooth that was just removed.

I forgot to mention earlier that Daddy flew to Florida Sunday evening and therefore he couldn't go see Granddaddy in the hospital, so we dropped Savannah off there on the way to the dentist. On the way home, we picked her up. Grandpa and I stayed in the van; him napping for the most part and me doing one of my favorite things--watching people.

There was this lady that came out of the hospital, she reminded me so much of my Aunt Celinda that it wasn't even funny...

Anyway, there were two Chrysler vans parked in front of us, two different years and two different shades of blue; and as this lady came out of the hospital, she started hitting her key fob. Well, from where I was sitting I could see that the older, lighter blue van's lights were blinking. The lady walked up to the new, darker van and tried to get it to open. She tried for probably five minutes (I was wondering if I ought not get out and tell her, "Um, ma'am...I think this van is yours..."). The lighter van's lights were flashing and then all of sudden the back hatch and the side door opened. At that point, she realized her mistake and got in the correct van.

When we got home, as I put Grandpa back into the apartment, I relized that the carpet was wet (again!!) The barn/apartment was flooding with the melting snow. We immediately went to work sweeping the water out of the barn. This entailed doing some chopping of channels into the ice outside the barn where we were sweeping it under the bottom of the frame (there are some places where it doesn't go under ground). I found a hammer with a point on the back (a heavy hammer) and used that to help chop a channel through the frozen ice and river rock in the floor of the barn. Katherine was sweeping water  through that channel to the outside channel (which I went and cleared a couple of times). I ended up splashing muddy water all over myself...my shirt was soaked pretty good as were my jeans. I got dirty and loved every minute of it! Well, except when I fell on the ice (for the first time this winter). I hurt my hip at the time, but it's my knee that shows the most signs of the fall (including hurting and a loverly bruise). When I fell, I didn't even realize I had hit it!

Katherine and I had a quick photo shoot of ourselves when we came in--minus our boots. (I had on my Ariat boots and they got soaked through--besides the water seeping in the seams where they have already started coming apart a bit along the sole seam.)

Like I said, it was a busy day. :)

Tuesday, March 11

Mama left in the morning to pick Daddy up at the airport. Immediately after breakfast, I went on a barn/water recon mission and was happy to report to the other half of the crew that would have had to work on it (Katherine), that it was fine and didn't need our attention.

Granddaddy came home that afternoon and thus life began returning to normal...

I took out three buckets full of ashes that evening (to help Daddy) in my barefeet. Er, yes...kinda dumb I suppose with the ground still being frozen three or four inches under the surface and the water/mud on top being ice water...however, my feet were already dirty and didn't want to take the time to clean them off and go up stairs to get socks. I didn't get frost-bite, so no harm done, right? :D

Wednesday, March 12

You do know the expression "When it rains, it pours", right? Well, that's us.

The pump was acting up. The well is situated smack dab in the middle of the garage, so Daddy backed the car out, lifted the grating, and soon determined that the... the... what'dyacallit had gone bad (starts with a 'c'...that's all I can remember at the moment).

He went to town. When he came back, he had that part (the what'dyacall it ;P) and a new pressure tank! He explained that the what'dyacallit had croaked because the old pressure tank wasn't functioning correctly (and apparently hasn't been doing so for a while).

I helped remove the old pressure tank and install the new one. Daddy thought he had drained the old pressure tank, but it hadn't drained (not his fault), so I was very glad that went the strappage broke that we had just switched places--with him under the tank (it was suspended from the basement ceiling by tough plastic straps) and not me! I think I would have been hurt pretty bad if it had been me under there (what with breaking my tailbone on the pipage behind me and being smashed under however many pounds of water still in that tank).

I imagine it got kind of funny (if anyone had been watching) to see Daddy, with me right behind him, trotting back and forth between the house and the old garage those couple of times for pipe and tools. 

But, back to the basement...I helped by using my horse riding muscles to hold the tanks still while Daddy either removed or put on pipe. Every time Daddy used the pipe dope (I'm serious, that's what the stuff is called!) I joked about Dijon mustard--because that's what it looks like.

Once we got the tank ready, we fixed up a wooden stand of it. I helped by holding onto piece of wood. Daddy ran the power saw. I also ran out and dug out four nice enough looking bricks to place under the legs of the stand (to keep them out of the water when the basement gets wet). Bare handed, of course. By now, you're going to think I don't like to keep either my toes or fingers warm--but I have the same excuse for digging bricks out of the snow with my bare hands as I did for carrying the ashes out in my bare feet. My hands were dirty! (And no water to wash them in...)

Daddy adjusted the pressure switch a little bit after we got the water running again. My job was to turn sinks on and off during that portion of the excitment.

Thursday, March 13

I guess it must have been Wednesday morning, mid morning, when I went up stairs, opened my door and walked into my room and got hit in the face with a pretty powerful mold smell. Well, Thursday afternoon, we went hunting for the source. Daddy went into the 'attic' crawlspace and reported zero mold. I started seriously hunting in my room after that...and I found it.

The baseboard behind my vanity has not been flush against the wall since the ducting went in a couple years ago, and that my friends, is where the mold was. Along that baseboard and the plaster. I took the baseboard to the garage (I have yet to clean it) and then took baking soda and vinegar to the plaster. It's smells a whole lot better in there now!

And...as an added plus...I found my nail-clippers (which the cats had lost)! I thought I had looked back there, but I guess I didn't look hard enough.

Friday, March 14

That's today...what did I do? Oh, yeah...Daddy and I went to the chiropractor this morning! I've really been needing to go (it's been a while, November being the last time I went!) and it felt great--only now I feel like I need to go back again! (Such is the hazards of letting yourself get really out of whack before going...)

After that we went to Rual King and got chicken feed and a pair of rubber boots for me. I didn't intend on getting steel toes, but I did. Well...so long as Miss Ruth's horses don't step on me I should be fine. :) (I look forward to being able to go down and help her around her place once a week or so real soon.)

Then of course, after supper, Mama and I went and picked up my computer.

*gleefully rubs hands together*

Now I can get started on a couple of different research tracks I've been itching to follow all week!

But not tonight...

Also, it so happens that today is my Granddaddy's eighty-third birthday.

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!!

Well!!

Since last I put fingers to keyboard here on "The Adventures of a Middle Kid" quite a bit has happened...more or less. :P Would you like a quick run-down of all the happenings?

You would??

Great! Hang on to your hats! ;)

                                                                        Monday
This was a busy day. I was grouchy all day long too, which didn't help anybody--much less myself. Most particularly poor Granddaddy whom I blew up at while making supper. Yes, I lost my self-control and barked at the old man for not staying put, but instead, coming back into the kitchen after I had already taken him out once. I felt really bad about it and apologized to him once I quit shaking with irrational fury.

Anyway, the day was spent doing last minute things to get ready for the arrival of one young man by the name of Andrew. My parents and Savannah went to pick the "Man from Tomorrow" up at the airport, leaving around 3:30 (pm). Andrew is courting Savannah and has been for several months. He's from Australia so there are definitely some different things about him. He's also left-handed. ;) Not that that has anything to do with anything...but the really funny thing about that is he shares a birthday with another man we know (and love!) who is likewise left-handed. (And yes, that's some of that "Racheal's Trivia" stuff that collects in the resesses of her skull....) We fixed him up a bedroom in the living room...this isn't the first time we've had a young man crashing in our living room, so it's no big deal.

Monday evening I had a few 'things' happen with my computer that I hadn't had happen in the past...it was weird, but my thinking that it needed to go to the shop was heightened.

                                                                    Tuesday

Tuesday I turned on my computer and promptly turned it off. Daddy would eventually get ahold of a computer repair man that day...but on to more important stuff.

Of course, that "more important stuff" falls into the category of usual daily chores (on my front) at anyrate. (Hopefully I'm getting my days straight here!) This means: Laundry! (Yes, that's right...I did Andrew's laundry that day as well as two loads of Granddaddy stuff and at least one of our stuff). Dishes! Cooking! (You wouldn't believe how many onions I massacre in the making of a single meal--I LOVE them cooked.)

Naturally, I did some eavesdropping...don't ask me what the topic(s) of conversation were. I don't remember.

Mama went to town and while she was gone, Daddy and Savannah gave Andrew a "walking tour" of the place and introduced him to Grandma and Grandpa. Katherine was doing her school and during this time I sat on the piano bench and thumped my way through a hunk of my guitar repertoire. On Andy Kenway's reels I jumped down to B (or up rather) with the most ease that I think I've ever had with them. I was quite pleased. I guess I've played enough recently that my D to B jumps on the (high) E-string have improved due to the extra hand stretching and loosening.

                                                                           Wednesday

Daddy took my computer into the shop (boy, you'd think that was pretty important!) 

                                                    {break here for family worship}

Anyway, Wednesday was a lot of the same...only I did read a chapter out of God and Government, Vol. 2. I'm gaining something of a wee bit more knowledge of biblical economics. For some reason, a uncomplicated understanding of that particular subject is rather elusive to my brain. 

                                                                            Thursday

For being rather "useless" (or so I felt yesterday), I guess I really did alright.

Other than doing the usual laundry and dishes, I played my guitar (sitting in the cold room) for a while. I haven't been through that particular book (and I only got about half way when my toes got too cold to stay in there any longer) in over a year--which is understandable since it was one I sent with Katherine when our family temporarily split up!

I also read both my philosophy/theology (and economics) and my history too. I was having a ball with the history reading. I had Shelby Foote's Narrative open over here, my Long's The Civil War, Day by Day open over there, my Generals in Gray in my lap, and a book concerning WBtS's battlefieds containing maps in one hand. As I was reading about First Manassas (or the First Battle of Bull Run for my friends of Union stripe ;P), I naturally had the battlefield guide open to that particular engagement's map and Long's Day by Day open to July 21st, 1861 (which was a Sunday). I referred to Generals a couple of times to put faces to names of particular Confederate generals. Naturally, I already have facial recognition with Beauregard, Joe Johnson, and Stonewall, but I couldn't reall what Gen. Bee looked like and "who was this guy??" There are SO many generals (on both sides) that most of us have never heard of.

Other things of note: both my cats got spayed. Curio is still kind of sleeping off the drugs. Runty seems mostly back to normal. My biggest question is an incredulous "How do you expect me to keep cats from jumping up onto the furniture [bed, treadle machine, chair, vanity]?" Most particularly since their favorite napping spots are all up and not down?

I have done like I was supposed to and checked their incision sites a couple of times today. They look fine--not red or swollen. The glue on Runty's incision is mostly gone (they are stitched internally, then glued shut), but so far is still fine. Curio is still growling at me a little when I pick her up...like I said, I think she's still a little doped. (I imagine they gave her a little more 'stuff'.)

Mama did most of the cooking on Thursday.

                                                                                Friday

That's today! I started the morning with laundry (actually just flipping the wash machine on when I got up--I had a load of socks soaking overnight), letting a groggy white and black cat out of her carrier (I let Runty out last night [she slept with me most of the night--as is usual] because I couldn't stand listening to her fussing and rattling the door), drinking my coffee and reading my Bible--with said black and white cat sitting on my stomach. She doesn't usually sit in my lap for any length of time, but she curled up there and promptly went to sleep. Runty joined in the nap curled against my knee (question...why do cats pick the side between you and the edge of the bed and never the side between you and the wall??)

Speaking of coffee...by day two in our house we had "created" another black coffee drinker. :) Tuesday morning (or was it Wednesday?) Daddy was still asleep, but all the ladies and Andrew were awake, so we sat around talking--and drinking coffee. Someone offered Andrew some and he accepted and took it black since the rest of us were and decided he actually liked the stuff.

Today, I did the cooking, most of the dishes (thanks, Katie, for doing the supper dishes several times this week!), some paltry amounts of laundry, some eavesdropping (of the obvious sort :D). It got kind of funny as I was "waiting for the onions" before I could make supper this evening. Mama and Daddy had gone to town (hey, you wondered where/when I got my computer back, didn't you? ;P) and I knew she was going to buy more onions (I used the last three at lunch time--by the way, I cook with a mightly lot of onions--to quote Gen. McDowell [US], I think them "monstrous fine!" {only he was referring to a watermelon...}).

I didn't get any history reading done today though I did get through the next chapter in God and Government. Instead of reading history, I scribbled out a letter. (Okay, so I really did try to write neatly...) You who are destined to receive that letter (you know who you are) can probably read my messing handwriting by this point--afterall, you've been doing it since those long ago days when we lived but an hour (or so) apart. I also, strangely, used a pencil instead of a pen. I "always" use a pen...but I actually write neater with a pencil (besides which I can erase). But anyway...that's neither here nor there.

I am, currently, in possession of "the ear" (aka the baby monitor by which we listen to Granddaddy while he sleeps/wakes/etc.) I will gladly hand it back to Daddy when he finishes his shower. I'll pass back the hat he placed on my head with a little less enthusiasm however. Andrew got him this white "boat-hat" that says "Capitan" on it. It looks adorable on Daddy and good on me (vainity!) and I like it a lot. I also made the discovery that I can wear it over my braids cross on top of my head. Nifty...

By the way, I'd put some pictures up...but it's getting late and I haven't been able to locate Savannah's camera cord recently--and I definitely won't bug her post-10 pm for it! I'm going to sign off here and spare you all the details of the evening that had me in stitches a couple of times. I can't remember what they all were anyway...

I know my posting has started slacking off again...I just can't seem to think of ways to make the "mundane" things of daily life to be "exciting and fascinating". I mean, how many ways can you say: "I made lunch today...", "I washed several piles of dishes...", "I did Granddaddy's laundry (plus some)...", "I 'baby-sat' Granddaddy...", etc.

Anyways, I've been rather busy with this that and the other. One of the biggest and most important daily tasks that everyone takes part in (some more than others--depending on time of day, what's going on, and such like) is keeping a constant watchful eye or ear on Granddaddy. He is still out of his head a fair bit of the time--that or asleep. He fell asleep over breakfast several time...wake him up and not three minutes later, he was asleep again. It's almost funny to watch him in one of his out of his head, half-asleep moments "eating"...I guess he must be hungry. I was folding clothes earlier and I glanced over at him and I do declare, I think he was folding clothes too! That rather tickled me...

He doesn't like the buckle on his chair, so sometimes I get downright stern with him about leaving it on. I plain and simple would rather argue with him multiple times a day about it than have him hit the floor on his noggin.

Granddaddy is doing a little better than last week/earlier this week...he's picked up where he left off with the habit of going back and forth to the table (though not quite so frequently). I really work on that not bugging me.

I was pretty out of it yesterday, tired and inarticulate so I didn't do any reading. I felt like I wasted a huge chunk of time, but I guess I didn't function too badly for the way I felt--I did all of my usual "chores" (chores does not have a negative connotation to me, thus the quotations) and made lunch. Seems like I did something else too, but I can't remember what it was. Oh, yes I do! I peeled the rest of the apples! I had four grocery sacks full to do this week and I got three of them done on Wednesday. I would have done them all on Wednesday, but I ran out of crockpots.

Anyways, I wonder if I ought not go stare at the stove and figure out what's for supper...Mama just mentioned something about supper in the other room, so maybe she knows what we're supposed to be eating. Either way, I have to put something in my stomach because it's burning again.

Cheerio!

My Granddaddy is out of his head--big time--and has been so for about four days now. At first we thought it was just because he had started chewing his metoprolol again (it's a medication meant to regulate the heart; I don't quite understand why he's on it since he has a pacemaker, but anyway). The metoprolol is a time-release pill, so when he chews it, he gets the whole dose right at the same time.

Anyway, it's been one of my jobs over the past couple of days to kind of keep on top of him--making sure he doesn't try to get up (and therefore fall down), or fall out of the chair, and things like that. In fact, I'm sitting here right now with the baby moniter next to me so if there is any unusual noise I can catch it--like right now!

Right, so I'm back...he looked like he was fixing to fall out of the chair (he's currently seated in the yellow chair, not the wheelchair).

In some ways, Granddaddy is easier to deal with like this--out of his head. He doesn't go back and forth, back and forth all the time--which drives me nuts. He's not as demanding and is more patient (because he's practically asleep, I guess). On the other hand, it's hard because he is so out of it. There is something painful about watching any elderly person be as helpless as he is in this condition.

However, I was going to tell a few stories from this morning.

Mama and Daddy went to town, leaving little ol' me as the commander of the downstairs department...

(Laundry break)

As I was saying, I was in charge of downstairs as everyone else was occupied upstairs. I spent the morning keeping an eye on Granddaddy (and admittedly, the TV...I do so enjoy Ironside) and making lunch. (And you probably can't tell, but I had yet another break there in that last sentence. ;P)

Because Granddaddy is for the most part more asleep than he is awake in the state he is in, I find the best way to talk to him is to sit on the foot-stool down at his feet and tell him, "Open your eyes!" Then, he can see me even with his eyes only slit open...

I had to do this a couple of time about the safety belt on the wheelchair. Because he tips forward so dangerously when he goes to sleep, I feel it necessary to belt him in. It also slows him down if he thinks he wants to get up and go into the bathroom. I try to talk reason to him and he actually seemed to listen to me this morning, agreeing with me that he didn't want to fall out of the chair and hit his head--after that, he pretty much left the belt alone--except that is, when he needed to go to the bathroom. :)

He got pretty frustrated about the arm of the wheelchair at one point (he was swearing at that arm yesterday) and kept talking about it being "stuck"--all while he was sitting there with his eyes shut.

He also asked me if Daddy was going to be home tomorrow. I guess he must have realized vaguely that Daddy wasn't in the house.

He laughed about something at one point--what I'll never know, because he was asleep. It made me grin because he isn't necessarily the most laughing man you'll ever meet. At least he wasn't having bad-dreams like yesterday.

[Newsflash! "Come fix my feet..." "Yes-sir!" *grin* They were sliding off the footstool.]

I responded to "Son, come here" once, but for the most of the part it was "Honey" or "Darlin'" if he was actually addressing me at all. He muttered and mumbled all morning. If I suspected he was actually talking to me, I'd sneak over and lean over and look into his face. If his eyes were even slightly open, I'd answer, but if not, I wouldn't.

I spent some time this morning, in between this, that, and the other, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him back in the chair. He's been leaned over to the right ever since he hit the wall of stupor he is in and he must have a terrible cramp in his back. Right now he is actually sitting up pretty straight in the chair out there with the blanket pulled up under his chin. That's a good thing.

After lunch, I worked on getting his left leg straightened out some. He didn't like it much and I know it hurts something awful to have a big girl pushing down against a siezed up tendon, but it must be done in order to straighten his legs out. That leg in particular has a rock for a muscle up the back of it. (I've done the same things with my Grandpa and his legs--so I know exactly what I'm doing here.)

There was another story I wanted to tell...but it has by this point slipped my mind, so you'll just have to miss that one. Sorry. :) It probably wasn't all the exciting anyway.

I better go transfer the cloth chucks from the washer to the dryer now...and then I think I'll take my books into the other room so I can see him...I'm still on watch-dog duty.

See ya later!

I have to go start on supper here in a minute, so this post is going be be real short.

Mama and Savannah left after lunch for an overnight trip. They will be seeing Savannah's new Lyme doctor tomorrow morning. Anyway, that leaves me in charge of the food for this evening through tomorrow. (Well, I made lunch too, so I guess I kind of had food duty all day today. ;})

To continue, Daddy, Katherine, and I spent the afternoon getting wood stacked in the basement. Both Daddy and Katherine were pitching it down the chute and I was collecting and stacking as fast as my short legs could carry me. (I was also trying to make neat piles since they are safer--or so I think.)

After the first two boxes of wood (this are huge boxes, you could fit ten of me in them I think), they came down and helped with the stacking.

Then, the next two boxes came down and I stacked until they were done pitching down the chute, then I closed the window into the basement, still leaving quite a pile in the coal room (Daddy had told me to).  Somewhere in this time, I heard over the baby moniter, aka "The Teather" something that sound like someone falling up-stairs. Sure enough, Granddaddy had fallen out of his wheelchair. I don't know how really and I haven't asked yet.

Minutes later, I heard, "Help me! Help me!" Well, I reported through the open window that "Granddaddy is hollering for help" and went right on stacking wood. Granddaddy continued to yell until Daddy got in. I have no idea what it was he needed that time, but Daddy took care of him.

If this all sounds sufficiently boring, I'm sorry. However, I have no more time to tell tales or make apologies...the kitchen calls! (And you can bet--literly--that by 5:30 [it's roughly 5 o'clock] Granddaddy will have started the ol' back and forth routine from TV room/bedroom to dining room and back again routine.)

Bye for now! I hope I don't under or over cook the fish cakes... ;)

I've been busy today...dishes/kitchen, bathrooms, laundry...stuff of that order. (Somehow, when I spell it out, it never seems to be all that much.)

But...it's been one of "those" days. It was not the busyness of the day, though I certainly kept busy enough, nor really the low pressue system continues to bestow a new layer of snow on the ground. And I can't even say that Granddaddy was really that much of a problem, even though I just about let my steam boil over at him. I can't quite understand why he won't tell people when he has to go to the bathroom...I supose it is kind of embarrassing to have to ask your granddaughters to help you, but sometimes it seems more like he just expects you to read his mind. (I have gotten to the point where I do not do anything for him unless he asks...he needs to be doing something, so instead of jumping every time he makes those noises that mean "pay attention to me", I just pretend like I don't notice. It's not just preversity of nature either--there is a practical side to the process.)

Events have conspired to prompt another household shift (not the least being the old man has started getting out of bed and urinating on the floor at night). Daddy brought in a hospital bed (it has rails) that got acquired sometime in the past two years and got that set up in the TV room (where Granddaddy spends most of his time anyway). Mama and Daddy will be moving back into their bedroom--freeing up the living room for a guest set to arrive in three weeks (it may actually be a little less than that).

Anyway, the upheaval and the stress of life tackled me today and I ended having a good cry in the middle of the afternoon. I don't know why this particular situation has me so stressed--I have always been the kind of person that usually bounces back pretty easily, but this whole rigamarole has had me very upset multiple times. I feel often enough that I'd like to just go crawl into a hole and stay there until the storm is over. Providentially, I don't have that hole. You think maybe God is trying to teach me both patience and perseverance?

I told Mama this afternoon that I've been missing my horse...partly because I would just love to go ride and get away from everything. I am not going outside hardly at all (unless I have to) because it's so cold--and I'm a Florida girl now. (Weird how one puts down roots...more due, I really think to my Cow Cavalry research than any thing.) I look forward to spring when I can get outside and play in the dirt. I love such work.

After bawling for a little bit (I'm grateful the Lord gave us tears to ease our emotions at times), Savannah, Katherine, and I played a little music. We're all three rusty, but I'm probably the most 'in-shape' at the moment since I have played several times this past week. Anyway, that was a lot of fun and I no longer feel blue or like I would enjoy yelling at my grandfather for being a old, selfish, inconsiderate curmudgeon. (That is said without anger--it's simply calling a spade, a spade.)

Ah well, life goes on...and I bid ye farewell with a smile!

P.S. I took time over my lunch coffee to watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_7380lKDhA

I haven't anything to complain about compared to the Scottish Covenanters.

Perhaps that should be "Progress, Thoughts, and Other Stuff", but whatever...

My new study schedule is working fine and I'm enjoying it. I hope to add to it soon, but I'll get to that in a minute. Seeing as I got started on a Wednesday, here at the end of the week, I'm only through chapter 3 of God and Government, Vol. 1 by Gary DeMar. He starts you out with the foundations of the whole notion of what government is and where and how individuals get the authority to govern anything--from themselves to the body politic.

Anyway, today while going over the discussion questions at the end of the chapter, I ran into this: "Compare what is going on in our nation today with the blessings and cursings of Leviticus 26..."

I suddenly got to thinking--is this what we do, in a figurative sense, by means of abortion? If so, it shows how abortion is judgement. Daddy always asserts that abortion is judgement on our nation more that something that will bring judgement--for it is a distruction of posterity (lack of children was always historicially seen as a curse or at least something to sorrow over). Those are my meandering thoughts that gave me reason to pause and muse today.

In other news (study-wise), I am getting through about two Latin sentences a day (in the morning). The old adage, "if you don't use it, you lose it" is certainly true. However, I'm happy to say that I'm already starting to remember some of that stuff I forgot!

Of course, throughout the course of my mumbling, reading, writing, and thinking, there are those necessary interruptions to help Granddaddy with whatever it is he needs. If Daddy isn't around and he's not asleep, he does not seem to stay in the same place for more than ten minutes at a time. It drives me crazy the way he goes from the TV to the dining room table and back again. Particularly when I'm doing something and I hear "Carry me into that room..." or just "Carry me." He can actually peddle himself around with his own two feet in the wheelchair, so I'm starting to just kind of ignore him unless he asks for help. (By ignore, I mean visibly so--but even with my headphones on and music in my ears, I'm audibly-aware as well as watching him out of my peripheral vision.)

Now for the "other stuff" of the title and the elluded to addition in the first paragraph. This morning while I was doing something in the kitchen, Mama suggested that I "go ahead and start on the research for you Nathan Bedford Forrest movie." (Um, yes, y'all...in case you didn't know it, I have this dream to do movie about Gen. Forrest.) Well, I thought that was a fine idea, so this afternoon, I raided my bookshelf for anything that I thought might be useful. I created myself a second "bookshelf" out of a cardboard box to the left of my desk for my War Between the States books that I brought down as probable-helpfuls. One of them I have read before: Railroad War by Robert Dunnavant, Jr. If you have any interest in Bedford Forrest, I would recommend this book. (We actually bought it from the lady who runs a campground right on what used to be Sherman's supply line. The old rail-road is no longer there, but in it's place is a nice wide hiking/riding trail.)

I'm debating on whether to start with Sherman's memoirs (we found a copy this fall at a yard-sale, along with a bunch of other books on the WBtS) or Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. I flipped through that and it appears to only cover 1861-62.

The reason I though Sherman's book would be helpful was because he and Forrest were arch nemesis--particularly during the '63-'64 campaign. Who was it who called N.B. Forrest, "That Devil Forrest"? W. T. Sherman (of all people!) (There is a book floating around someplace with that title...but I couldn't find it on the shelf. Perhaps it is in Florida...)

Anyway, I look forward to adding history into my current study plan. Next, I have to dig my way back into my music...

That may be a slightly humorous title for a post dealing with a not so humorous situation, but it fits.

Around about ten o'clock last night, I was sitting here at my computer, closing up for the evening when I heard (and felt) a very distinct "bump". I processed it a hair slower than perhaps I should have, then got up and went around the corner and as I started to open the door into the bedroom I announced, "Granddaddy just fell out of bed!"

Daddy had just headed for the shower, so it took a minute to get him there, but I went on in and started to get Granddaddy in a sitting position. Well, I couldn't because of the contraption behind him, so I just kind of held him up off the floor while Mama came and got the "thing" from behind him. Then we got him sat up.

Shortly after that, Daddy came and they got the gait belt under him and using that like a sling, picked him up and swung him onto the bed. (I helped just a little bit during that process.)

It was soon apparent that he was bleeding all over the place. His right elbow had the skin ripped up again (it always seems to be his right elbow that gets wounded) and his right ear was busted and bleeding. That was more painful than anything I think, including the embarressement of everyone being there. Daddy patched him up, with myself acting as nurse. Once we got him in bed and bandaged up, I went and washed the blood of my hands and arms and then changed my nightgown because it had blood smeared on it front and back. Figures that it was a clean one...

This morning, Granddaddy looked kind of like someone had punched him in the eye because his ear had continued to bleed and since he sleeps on his side for the most part, it had dripped along the side of his face and around his right eye. When I first saw him, I thought he was bruised.

Anyway, after breakfast and doing the dishes, I got a pan of warm water and washed his face off. I didn't try to get the blood out of his ear (I figured that might hurt some since last night it really seemed to hurt him), but at least he no longer looks like someone slugged him in the eye.

At present, Granddaddy is sleeping peacefully in the sun at the table...I have this feeling that he is going to spend a lot of time sleeping today because he got shook up badly last night.

Hopefully, we won't have too many of these accidents.