Friends

We Had A Busy Weekend

In our family, there was so much going on this Memorial Day Weekend. First, my oldest grandson, Michael, graduated high school. We are all very proud of him for making it to this milestone in his life.

425 graduates from Alexander High School

It was a big class, including 425 graduates. The surprise to me is that there were about 30 more boys than girls graduating.

We were sitting so far back that we had to watch the big screen to be able to actually see him walk across the stage. The graduation ceremony was held at the University of West Georgia Coliseum in Carrollton, GA.

I always love the end, when they all toss their hats into the air. That is one of the most jubilant moments ever!

I love this photo. It is one of the my proud moments of my life, and so glad that he decided to participate in the ceremony and take that walk across the stage.

Then on Sunday my granddaughter, Amelia, celebrated her 5th birthday with a party. She had a My Little Pony cake, and most of the gifts she received were My Little Pony.

She blew out the candle with one huff and puff!

She has the right idea on how to eat cake: Just lick that frosting right off the spoon!

Amelia received so many gifts! Here she is opening the puppet theater that Fabgrandpa and I gave her.

Opening presents was a fun time! Here she is opening the puppet theater that we gave her.

It was also my birthday on Sunday. My sister and I got together at Amelia’s party and got out the camera. Since I am usually the one taking pictures, I don’t have many photos of ME.

It was my birthday, too, on Sunday. Here I am with my sister, Linda.

After Amelia’s party, Fabgrandpa and I met up with my oldest brother and his wife, Hank and Kay, at Red Lobster. A couple of my long time friends also came. We had a fun time. And we left before they threw us out.

That's Carol, Elaine, and me at Red Lobster. Nothing has changed about this trio in 45 years. — That’s Carol, Elaine, and me at Red Lobster. Nothing has changed about this trio in 45 years.

My brother and I posed for Fabgrandpa to take a picture, too.

My oldest brother, Hank and I at dinner on my birthday.

And here is one of all the girls: My friend Carol, my sister-in-law Kay, my friend Elaine, and me.

Girls gone wild, 40 years later. Hahahaha.

One last photo, Carol, Elaine, and me. I was so glad they all came and helped me celebrate. It was the first time in three years that I have felt like having a party for my birthday.

What did you do this weekend?

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Here we are in September Already

Karen · 4 Comments

While that is not a very good picture, I like the haircut I got today. Since we moved to our house in November, I have tried several hair salons, trying to find one I like. It had gotten to be such a dreaded chore that I let my hair go way too long this time.

The place I went to last time did a good job, but they are in Cedartown, which is a longer drive than going to Tallapoosa. They also charged me $35 for the haircut. I’m not saying that isn’t a fair price for the job they did, but since Fabgrandpa and I are both retired now, I can’t justify spending that much to get my hair cut. This hair cut looks better to me than the other one did, and it was only $15. I will be going back to them next time.

Mama is still in the Rehab Center. She is not happy to be there, but right now it is the only choice we have. She has problems standing up and walking around, and is not really able to do things she would need to do to live alone. I have been going over there twice a week to visit. It wears me out to go.

The place is 45 miles from my house, and sitting in the chair by her bed for a couple of hours after I get there is not very comfortable for me. I know I need to go, and she needs the company, so that is why I go. The next day I am always out of commission and spend the whole day in the recliner. Mama understands what my visits do to me, and so she is so appreciative that I am doing it.

Fabgrandpa and I were invited to lunch at Free Country Farm, the one just five miles away, a couple of weeks ago. We met several people at the lunch, and were treated to a presentation by the landscape architect and the owner that explained what they hope to accomplish there.

The other guests at the lunch were from the Haralson County Chamber of Commerce, the Haralson County Extension Service, and the Haralson 4-H Club, which is a part of the extension service. I have another whole post to tell you about the meeting and the mission of the farm, which is so very interesting to me. I just have not had time to sit down and sort out all the information I received there to organize it into a commentary that makes sense.

I also want to go over to the 4-H Club office and find out more about their organization. I was in 4-H when I was in elementary school way back when dirt was new, but I don’t remember much about it, and I am sure that after all this time their programs are new. Making time to go visit them in on my agenda some time in the next week.

While all these things have been going on, we met some neighbors that live about a half mile away. They are really nice people and we have some things in common. I am hopeful that we will be able to spend some time with them like going out to dinner or having a cook out. Having some fun things to look forward to is long past due.

So is a trip to Cleveland, Georgia to visit Fabgrandpa’s parents. The last few times we have gone to visit, we have had to get a motel room to spend the night, because I have not been able to get up and down the stairs to their guest bedroom. Nana told me the last time I talked to her that they got a chair lift for the stairway, so now I can get up there. We are going to try to go sometime this month, but we haven’t made the plans yet.

That’s all the news I have right now. What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

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A Little Vacation

Karen · 3 Comments

I may or may not have said here on the blog that I have decided to celebrate my birthday twice this year since I missed it last year. So, last week, Fabgrandpa and I went to Florida for a few days. We left on Thursday morning, and drove as far as Perry, Florida before we stopped for the night.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. The guy at the check in counter was very nice, and offered us a nice discount for Veterans. They give the government rate for vets, which is about $25 less than the regular room rate. We have stayed at Holiday Inn Express lots of times in our travels, and we were not disappointed in this one. The only thing wrong with it was the smell. They had sprayed some kind of floral air freshener in the hallway and it was very strong. P.U. There was also a bad smell in the room, which I jokingly told Fabgrandpa that it smelled like someone pooped under the bed. At least after you got used to it you didn’t notice it.

While we were in Perry, we went to dinner at Goodman’s Barbecue. I am accustomed to Georgia style barbecue, and this was not anywhere like what we have had in Georgia. This pork was cooked with a dry rub. While it was a good taste, it was rather dry and stringy compared to other places we have tried.

On Friday we arrived in Safety Harbor, and checked in to the Safety Harbor Motel. Although this motel was probably built in the 1950’s, it was very clean and very comfortable and in a quite neighborhood. We slept like babies there.

The room we stayed in was a kitchenette, so we could have cooked meals in our room if we had wanted to. There was a stovetop, a microwave, a refrigerator, and coffeepot. There was a sink, and complete eating, drinking, and cooking items for two people. I don’t know how much it was per night, because our good friend paid for our stay for my birthday.

We had plenty of room to store our suitcases, with a full sized closet. There was also a desk and a dresser with plenty of drawers. The TV was VERY old, but it did work and there was cable TV and free Wi-Fi access.

WE didn’t get to stay long enough, but even at that, I enjoyed every minute of our time there. Our friend, who we both love so much, was so much fun to be with. We don’t get to see her often enough! On Saturday, Polly and I went to get mani-pedis. She had never had a manicure and pedicure before, and before we were done she was talking about “next time”. I can not imagine being as old as we are and never having had a pedicure before!

After that, we drove over to St. Petersburg and walked on the pier that is going to be torn down. It was the last day it would be open, so it was very crowded with people going for the last time.

It was hot out there but the view was magnificent.

When we left the pier, we drove over to Clearwater for dinner. We went to Cooter’s, a restaurant and bar. They were celebrating their 20 year anniversary so there was a band and lots of people there. I ordered crab legs, Fabgrandpa had blackened scallops and Polly had steamed oysters on the half shell. Yummy!

Cooter;s in Clearwater — Cooter’s in Clearwater

Fabgrandpa's blackened scallops — Fabgrandpa’s blackened scallops

Polly's steamed oysters — Polly’s steamed oysters

And here is me being silly:

After dinner we went back to the motel, and I collapsed into the bed. I stayed in bed most of Sunday, trying to rest up from all the activity on Saturday. Late in the afternoon, we went to downtown Safety Harbor, just a few blocks away. We had barbecue again at Brady’s. This barbecue was sooo good! They had a mango barbecue sauce that was very tasty.

inside Brady's Backyard Barbecue — inside Brady’s Backyard Barbecue

WE walked a little bit on the sidewalk looking at shop windows, and saw this:

Fabgrandpa drove us home on Monday. I have spent all week resting and getting over our trip, and even though it wore me out and made me hurt so much, I really enjoyed it. We laughed so much my face hurt when we got home.

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Fabgrandma’s Feline Twin

Karen · 5 Comments

My doppleganger, Bella the cat. Ok, so we don’t actually look alike, but we do have something in common. Miss Bella, the cat, who belongs to my friend, Kimberly from She Scribes, can not get pet health insurance because she has preexisting conditions! This poor cat is a feline version of me! While she has not had intestinal surgery, she has had several life threatening conditions in her short two years.

I have been told by every insurance company I have contacted that they will not cover me due to my preexisting conditions of Type II diabetes, colitis, and other conditions. Bella’s existing illnesses include asthma, allergies, an enlarged heart and high blood pressure. Poor kitty!

Kimberly told me she has had Bella since she was 1 day old. She found her in a dumpster, and brought her home and fed her and took care of her. She was so tiny her entire body fit in the palm of Kimberly’s hand. The shelter didn’t think she would live because she was a runt. Her sister (who they also fostered) had to be put to sleep at 3 weeks old.

She usually has asthma attacks after she eats or has her medication. The vet says there is redness in her throat and she needs a scope test done to see if there is something deeper down. She takes thyroid medication. The vet is not 100% sure if she truly has an issue or not so she needs to have a test done on her thyroid to determine what is going on. Bella takes six pills a day, which is more than I take!

Kimberly just took Bella to the vet yesterday. The right side of her heart is enlarged. The vet also mentioned something about her blood pressure. So now she has to go to a special Cardiologist (vet) in NJ (Kim lives in NY) to give her another Echocardiogram, a Doppler, put a scope down her throat to check to see if there is anything causing a blockage, and have her thyroid tested to determine how much of a thyroid problem she has. The visit to the vet yesterday was $775, and the estimated cost of the trip to the kitty cardiologist is $1000.

Kimberly told me that there have been people who have told her to just put Bella down! That makes me really mad, because I know that Kimberly and other people who have pets think of them as members of their family. People who do not have pets just don’t understand that you don’t just put your pets down because they get sick. They are like members of the family, and you do whatever you can to make them well. I would hate to think that my family would euthanize me just because they can’t afford my medical care. Let’s join together, and help Kimberly afford to get her Bella well. If you want to make a donation, of any amount, just click on the paypal button. Bella thanks you!

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More Friends Visit

Karen · Leave a Comment

We arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon, around 4:30 p.m. Fabgrandpa got the trailer set up relatively quickly, considering I was not able to help him at all, except to stand there and let him know when the tires were on the boards. Doesn’t take much effort to do that. And, it was amazing how quickly he got it leveled up, considering he had to add 7 inches of height on one side of the trailer. Yep, on a slope for sure.

Jim and Fabgrandpa — Patty and Jim’s rig parked in our driveway

A couple of hours after we got settled in, there was a knock on the door. It turned out to be Patty and Jim Schroder, who were the volunteer camp hosts at the North Rim Campground a couple of years ago. Patty and I had emailed back and forth a couple of times about them stopping in when they were on their way from Colorado to Orland, so they were expected company.

It was soooo good to see them! They have a lot in common with us, and we spent some time hanging out with them when they were volunteering.

Alas, they were having some trouble with their truck, so they could only stay one night with us before they were on their way again, but the hugs were good, and we hope to see them again soon.

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Hiking With Friends

Karen · 8 Comments

sitting on the Cape Royal trail — That’s Fabgrandpa, Charlie, Lynda, and me.

As we have always done when company comes to visit, we took Charlie and Lynda on a tour of the canyon. We decided to hike the Cape Royal trail. Now, before you get all excited and start telling me all about how I shouldn’t be hiking yet, let me tell you: the Cape Royal Trail is a handicapped accessible trail, it’s paved and relatively flat, and only about a half mile. And, there are several benches along the way for you to take rest. As you can see from the photo above, we all took advantage of the bench.

cape royal north rim grand canyon — Gorgeous?

It was a beautiful day to be outside. The clouds were producing some thunderstorms on the South Rim, but here on the North Rim, it was gorgeous.

cape royal north rim — Fabgrandpa and I made it to the end of the trail.

cape royal viewpoint — How many times am I allowed to use the word gorgeous?

cape royal — It is a very very long way down!

The canyon is deep. It is a very very long way down there.

We started seeing the lightening and hearing the thunder from across the canyon and realized it was coming our way, so we decided to start back towards the truck.

scenic viewpoint at the north rim grand canyon — I had to take one more picture before we left.

vista encantada north rim grand canyon viewpoint — What an awesome view!

After one last stop at Vista Encantada to take a few more pictures, we headed back to the trailer. When we got home, I went to bed for the rest of the afternoon. We had a wonderful visit with our friends, and they had to leave all too soon. I wonder where we will be when we see them again?

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Out And About Today At The Grand Canyon

Karen · 4 Comments

This morning I went out to breakfast again with my friend, Gaelyn. She brought along Chuck and Geri from Phunny Pharm. I had not met them before, but they are really nice. We had a nice breakfast and conversation, and afterwards we went out on the veranda at the back of the lodge.

north rim grand canyon — What a gorgeous view!

It was a really nice, sunny day, with a great view of the Grand Canyon. The rains we have been having here clear the dust out of the air and that makes for a better view.

grand canyon north rim — Looking down into the canyon from the veranda.

I know I must have hundreds of photos of this same view, but I still need more.

Next week I will go back to work, so I have to get my visiting done now. I have to go home and try on my uniforms to make sure they will fit. I think though, that they may be a little big on me.

There are lots of places to sit on the veranda.

There are lots of chairs to relax in and just soak in the view, but most of the visitors were waiting in another location for a ranger talk to start.

chuck and gaelyn with me at the north rim — Chuck from Phunny Pharm, Gaelyn from Geogypsy Traveler, and me at the North Rim

This is Chuck from Phunny Pharm , Gaelyn from Geogypsy Traveler, and me. We really had a nice visit.

After a picture taking session on the veranda, we visited the Native American Heritage Days exhibits and talked with some of the people who were there demonstrating how to make glassware, basket weaving, and other traditional crafts. However, I did not get any photos there.

ground squirrel — This little guy kept following me around. Maybe he thought I was going to share the fruit I had left over from breakfast.

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Practicing Living A Normal Life

Karen · 20 Comments

fabgrandma at the north rim lodge — Here I am!

Well, now I have to confess my dirty little secret. Ever since my surgery, I have only showered once a week because I was afraid that my ostomy pouch would come off from getting wet, and I would have an awful leak. So, last night, I went on the Ostomy Support Group forum at Inspire.com and asked how people manage to shower with their pouch on. I love that support group, because whenever I post, I get so many responses, so fast! I got ten responses in about three hours, all with very helpful information on how to get this done.

Today was my “Practice Living A Normal Life” day–I decided that I would get up and follow my pre-surgery routine. I’m glad I did, because where it used to only take me about twenty minutes to shower, wash my hair and dry it, and get dressed, it took me about forty-five minutes this time. That is very good information to know for when I go back to work on August 15th.

bloggers at breakfast — Bloggers at breakfast

After getting all cleaned up and dressed up, I went outside, and got myself into my truck all by myself, and drove over to pick up Gaelyn from GeogypsyTraveler. We had made a date to go out to the Grand Canyon Lodge for breakfast. I was about to cry because it was my first social activity since coming home (except for walking over to a potluck a couple of weeks ago). I can not tell you how important this date was to me!

gluten free pancakes at the lodge — Gluten free pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, and cottage cheese. Yummy breakfast!

And yes, when bloggers go out to eat, they take pictures of their food. I had a great breakfast of gluten free pancakes, fried eggs, crispy bacon, and cottage cheese. I am soooo glad that the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon offers gluten free choices on their menu.

geogypsy at breakfast — Gaelyn of GeogypsyTraveler

And yes, I took pics of my friend and breakfast companion, too. She is one of my best friends in the world. We had a lovely visit, with good food. What more could a girl ask?

t-shirt I want — A very nice soft T-Shirt

After breakfast we went window shopping at the Gift Shop. I loved this T-shirt, it was 100% cotton and was soooo soft! Thinking about getting one when I start working again.

beautiful ceramic ware — Platter and pitcher

I loved this ceramic platter and pitcher too! I can just imaging that pitcher full of good ol Georgia sweet tea, and a platter full of fried catfish and hushpuppies! I think they would look fabulous sitting on my dining table as a centerpiece, too, with a bouquet of flowers in the pitcher. But, alas, I left them both in the store.

metal art at the gift shop — This was beautiful metal work

I really loved this metal work “rug”! But yikes! $950 for it. If I had been working all season, I would be buying it for my house. Yes, it is still available in the store because I left it there.

metal art rug at the north rim gift shop — Oh,my! this one is beautiful too!

And really, if I had that much money to toss out on one of these beautiful pieces of art, I wouldn’t be able to choose. This one is so beautiful, too!

After perusing the gift shop for about half an hour, we left without either of us making a purchase. But, it was fun to get out of the house and live a normal life for a couple of hours.

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