A Little View Of September

Monday, September 1 – Tuesday, September 30

Monday, September 1 – Monday, September 8

Barbara woke up very ill with an intestinal problem Sunday morning around midnight.  Not to get into great details, but she spent more time in the bathroom than she did anywhere else in the house.  This went on through Wednesday morning, so I called Dr. Bankhead’s office to see if Barbara could get an appointment today.  I was told that it would be Thursday afternoon before they could see her, so I made an appointment, but warned them that she might have to go to the emergency room if things didn’t improve soon.

As it turned out, bad things happened soon and it was obvious that Barbara was getting dehydrated.  We finally decided on Wednesday afternoon that we had to go to the emergency room at ETMC-Quitman to get some help.

We got into the emergency room, waited just a short while for triage, and then Barbara was in a little room and being hooked up to an IV to get some fluids going.

To make a long story short, the emergency room doctor decided Barbara would need to stay overnight to get the fluids stablilized and to have another doctor check her out Thursday morning.

What started out as an overnight observation period ended up being a 5-night stay and a diagnosis, of chronic Colitis before Barbara was finally cleared to come home on Monday, the 8^th.  Needless to say, she was one very happy camper when we pulled away from the hospital and headed back to Mineola late Monday afternoon.

On the good side, we can state without reservation that the care Barbara received at ETMC-Quitman was first-rate.  The entire staff gave their utmost professional and personal care while we were there.  But, as good as it was, there is no place like home!

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Tuesday, September 9

We started getting back into our home routine today.  I went to the weekly prayer meeting at Yantis FBC early this morning. Dawn was breaking as I crossed Lake Fork on the Hwy 154 bridge, so I pulled off on the far side to get these shots of a new morning in Wood County.

Across the highway was the "morning after" super moon from last night...not as spectacular as a moon rise, but still pretty.

Since I had spent Sunday afternoon working at Our Little Lot at Lake Fork, I passed on working there this morning, and came home to help out around the house.

This afternoon, David Bagwell surprised us with a visit and we got to spend an hour or so getting caught up with what was going on with their family.  We’ve known David, Lorri, and the girls for so long now, that they are just like family, and always enjoy getting together with them.

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Wednesday, September 10

Today we were both up and around.  I spent most of the day outside mowing and trimming the front and back yards and the North 40 while Barbara rediscovered her kitchen and did a bunch of cooking.  There wasn't much excitement today...just life on the home front.

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Thursday, September 11

I started the day with a dermatology appointment in Quitman...guess this is our month to support our doctors.

Several weeks ago, our friend Heidi Hays called and asked if I would put together a little program of patriotic music to commemorate the events of 9/11/2001 at the assisted living center in Lindale where she works.  I agreed, of course, and spent quite a bit of time planning a program and working up program notes, and practicing the trumpet.

Well, today was that day, so Barbara (my groupie) and I drove to Lindale a little after noon to get set up, warm up, and do the program.  It turned out that there was another gentleman, a WW II pilot, on the program, so the folks at the center really got their money’s worth today.  For my part, the challenge was good for me and I really enjoyed playing for the people there.  And, the opportunity to visit with Heidi was the icing on the cake.

Tonight was even more music as I drove to Quitman for our weekly rehearsal with the Lake Country Symphonic Band.

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Friday, September 12

I began my day with yet another doctor appointment, but this time it was just a short trip to see Dr. Bankhead and have some blood work done to see how my system was handling whatever it is I take for my bad cholesterol (my good cholesterol seems to be quite happy with the way things are going).

When I got home, Barbara was doing some enrichment activities with Jamison Durig, the son of Jeremy and Emily Durig.  Barbara and the Durigs  worked out a deal whereby they would bring Jamison to our house each Friday morning for an hour.  Of course, no one ever visits our house without seeing Taz, and we made a deal with Jamison that it he worked hard with Mrs. Barbara, he could have a ride around the neighborhood.  Jameson's brother Jeremiah also got a ride when Emily came to pick up Jamison. Jeremiah didn't seem all that impressed; so Emily decided she would check it out for herself. 

When Emily and the boys left, Barbara and I decided it was a nice day for a cycle ride, so we rode downtown and treated ourselves to lunch at one of the Chinese restaurants. Afterward, with time to kill before our next scheduled activity, we rode to the civic center and Barbara received her first lesson in driving Taz.  We've talked about doing that for a long time, and today seemed like the perfect time to do it.

Barbara did a masterful job with her first experience of handling Taz. She said she isn't ready to hit the highway yet, but I'm convinced that if an emergency occurred and she had to take the controls, she would do quite well.

Around 1:00, we went to see Leon Anderson, our Edward Jones agent, to begin closing out Mother’s estate.  It has been nearly a year and a half since Mother passed away, and it was time to close yet another chapter.  Leon, Marilyn, and Carla are good friends, but are also great professionals in their field, so we always enjoy our visits to their office.

Later this afternoon I took Taz in for the annual state inspection.  It was only 12 days overdue, and I thought I had gotten by long enough...no point in paying the city, county, or state more than I have to if I was to get caught with an expired sticker.

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Saturday, September 13

We just took our time getting around this morning.  It had been a very busy week and was going to be a busy afternoon, so we weren't in much of a hurry to do anything.

This afternoon we went out to “Our Little Lot” to do some work on Big V in preparation for a planned trip in the not-to-distant future.

In addition to working on Big V, we went through some boxes and containers to get our winter clothes and bring them home.  The storage shed at the lot has made a really good clothes closet for storing seasonal things over the years.

We also attended a called POA meeting, the first we've attended in quite a while, and later in the evening we attended a memorial service for one of the men with whom I served on the POA Board of Directors, Donnie Caldera.  Donnie was a good man and a great asset to our POA, but he had been dealing with cancer for the past couple of years, and it finally got the best of him.

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Sunday, September 14

We were really back on track with a “normal” Sunday today...morning service at Yantis FBC, came home for lunch and a nap, and then returned to church this evening (but this time on Taz, because it was a beautiful evening) for a church business meeting.

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Monday, September 15

Today was a WORK day for both of us.  Barbara spent quite a bit of time on the phone with insurance companies making sure that all beneficiary and spouse information was up-to date...a job that wasn't as easy as one might believe.  While Barbara was on the phone, I was busy in the kitchen making sausage balls, baking bread, and cleaning up my messes so she could come in behind me and make up some meals for us to freeze and take on a trip to Dallas.

Along the way, we welcomed Ladd and Logan for a few minutes.  Logan is moving back to Nebraska and we promised him some jalapeno bread if he’d come over to see us before he got away.  Logan loves the bread, so he and his dad came over and visited a bit.

When Ladd and Logan left, I broke out the lawn equipment and mowed and trimmed the yards while Barbara stayed inside to pay bills and do some basic house cleaning.

Whew!!! What a busy day!!!!

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Tuesday, September 16

I got up early this morning and went to Yantis for prayer meeting at FBC and then returned to Mineola to pack the car so we could make a trip to the Dallas area.

Heather is on an 8-day tour of colleges in the Indianapolis area and Andy was helping sponsor a senior retreat at his school, so we had the pleasure of taking care of Alexander and Abby for a couple of days.

On the way to Dallas, we stopped at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Terrell to do some shopping.  If we make the trip we are planning for next month, we’ll both need a few new clothes, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to see what was available.

Once we finished in Terrell, we drove to Mesquite and stopped at the Town East Mall for a couple of hours to do some more looking and to participate a drive to help support research for Leukemia.  The project was brought to our attention by Markay Howard Mims, one of Barbara’s former students from Lubbock whose husband has a rare form of Leukemia.  We also supported the project in honor of Elaine Fitzgerald, the mother of Savannah Salley, one of our former Odyssey of the Mind team members from Liberal.

BJ's Restaurant was hosting the drive and was giving a percentage of sales receipts to the research project, so when we were through shop-looking, we ate and then ordered some food for Alexander and Abby.

With our tummies full and food in hand for the kids, we drove to their school to pick them up. We had time to visit with Abby, since she finishes her school day earlier than Alexander does.  We are very impressed with the security around the school.  Abby had to identify us before they would release her to us.  When they asked if we were her grandparents, she first said, "Yes," but then quickly grinned and said, "No, I've never seen them before in my life!"

Alexander finally finished his drama practice and came down to the car where we loaded all his gear and whisked them away to Plano for Abby’s soccer match.  The kids go to school in downtown Dallas, so the trip back up to Plano in rush hour traffic is always interesting, to say the least.

Abby played well during her match, even though her team lost.  Alexander assisted the coach by leading the girls through their warm-up exercises (Alexander’s coach was filling in for Andy as the team coach tonight).

By the time the match was over, it was almost dark, so we rushed back to Richardson where the kids finished their homework, got themselves ready for bed, and we all called it a night.

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Wednesday, September 17

We were all up early this morning.  Heather and Andy have the kids trained very well for the early morning activities...both kids were dressed and downstairs ready for breakfast by 6:20.  

We all ate, made sure homework was done and backpacks were ready to go, and then began the trek toward U.S. 75 and downtown Dallas.  Luckily, we were in a pack of vehicles that moved pretty quickly, so we got to school in plenty of time.

After dropping off the kids, we went to an RV place to look for some things for Big V (didn’t find what we wanted), then to Firewheel Mall to look in Barnes and Noble for a campground guide (they didn't have it either, but located a copy at a store in Plano).  Then we went back to the house to rest a bit before meeting Paul and Stephanie Francis (Paul is James and Susie Francis’ son...part of our Artesia family) for a tasty and delightful lunch at Russo’s Italian Restaurant in south Richardson.  The two older boys, Wesley and Eugene were in school and daycare today, but Stephanie brought Gus along for company and entertainment.

When lunch was over and we said our goodbyes, we drove back up U.S. 75 to Plano to find Barnes and Noble and get the campground guide that we've been searching for.  By the time we were done in Plano, it was time to head back downtown to the kids’ school to wait for them to finish their day of studies.

We gathered Alexander and Abby at their school and, with the kids’ input, decided it would be best to just go out to eat and then go home for the evening, since they both had a ton of homework.  There were a couple of choices, but the kids liked the idea of going to Golden Corral, which was pretty much on the way home anyway.  To say they made the most of a buffet would be putting it lightly, as they sampled their way through most of the available menu.

And then polished the meal off with some of the dessert offerings...certainly not on the preferred training table menu, but what happens with Grams and Gramps stays with Grams and Gramps, right?!

With dinner over, we drove home and Alexander and Abby dug in with their homework and projects...another area in which Andy and Heather have taught them well.  Our job was to keep them on task (the easiest thing we had to do all day) and to check their work as necessary.

Alexander's project had to do with describing the "taste" of a word (as in "Be careful what you say, because you might have to eat your words!).  The word assigned to him was "boisterous," and he thought it might sound and taste like popcorn, so he popped some popcorn and decorated a container to display his word.  It was a very time-consuming project, but he got it done and passed our inspection.

We were all worn out and ready for bed by 10:00, but took a few minutes to all sit and relax a bit before heading for bed.

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Thursday, September 18

Alexander and Abby were up and at ‘em early this morning.  Traffic on U.S. 75 was crowded, but moving steadily, so we had the kids at school by 7:50.  

We decided we’d just go back to the house for the day...did laundry, read, and finished the August journal/blog.

We went to Panda Express for lunch take-out, returned home for reading and a nap, and then made the run back to downtown Dallas to pick the kids up and get them ready for Alexander’s soccer match this evening.  I dropped Barbara and Alexander off at the house and then Abby and I went to get a light supper so Alexander would have something to eat before playing.

It was then that I found out that Andy had gotten back from his retreat earlier than anyone expected, so we picked up some extra chicken nuggets for him and returned to the house where we had a family meal together before going back to Plano for another evening of soccer.

Everyone had a part to play in the activity.  Alexander played:

Abby was chief photographer:

Andy coached:

And Grams, Gramps, and Abby cheered and took some more photos...some of Alexander and Andy, and some of us.

With the game at halftime and well under control in favor of Alexander and Andy’s team, we decided that we’d better head for home so it wouldn’t be too late when we got back to Mineola.  We said our good-byes, turned Abby back over to Andy, and made the long drive back home, arriving exhausted, but happy to have had quality time with grand kids the past three days!

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Friday, September 19

We got back to our regular routine this morning.  Jeremy and Jeremiah brought Jamison to the house for his weekly time with Mrs. Barbara.  While I did some yard work, Barbara and Jamison worked on reading, “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,” followed by making a recipe for cookies (which were actually brownies, since we didn't have what we needed for cookies in the pantry).

While the cookies/brownies were baking, Jamison got his “Taz Reward” for being such a good student...this time a longer (and faster [but don’t tell Jeremy and Emily]) ride outside the immediate neighborhood.

This afternoon we did some basic chores around the house and then started making lists of things we would need if our hoped-for trip in Big V takes place next week.

It was nice out this evening, so we decided we'd better ride Taz while we still could.  We rode by TJ's house to see Glennis and her and give Glennis her first Taz experience.  It wasn't what you would call a "moving experience," but we did get a good photo of Glennis on Taz...something for her kids and grand kids to marvel at.

We took the long route back home...up U.S. 69 to the Golden cutoff, and then across toward Quitman and back south to Mineola.  The weather was perfect for a cycle ride and Barbara got this great shot of the sunset.

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Saturday, September 20

While Barbara stayed home to spend some time in the kitchen making up some recipes, I rode Taz out to church to work in the kitchen and then attend the monthly men’s breakfast at Yantis First Baptist Church.  In addition to a great meal (if I do say so myself), the men enjoyed quality prayer and fellowship time together, and we heard a very inspiring testimony from our guest speaker.

When the breakfast was over and everything in the kitchen was cleaned and put away. I rode to Holiday Villages to put in a few hours of work on Our Little Lot.  It was beginning to look like our dream trip in Big V might actually happen, and if it did, I wanted the lot to be in as good a shape as possible.

This afternoon and evening we did some more trip planning and started laying out clothes, just in case.

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Sunday, September 21

Today was a normal Sunday for us...driving out to Yantis for the morning church service, returning home for lunch and an afternoon nap, and then returning to Yantis this evening for a special session on missions training and reaching out to others with the good news of the Gospel.  It was a full and very positive and rewarding day!

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Monday, September 22

It’s looking more and more like our dream trip might happen, so to be prepared for it if Dr. Martinez gives Barbara clearance to travel this afternoon, we drove out to Holiday Villages to get Big V and bring her to town to be inspected.  The place where we usually do the inspection changed ownership and isn’t currently licensed to do state inspections, so we had to find a new place...not as easy as one might think, but eventually found that the Dodge dealership in Mineola does motor home inspections.  It took awhile to get the job done, but we were finally legal again.

After the inspection, I drove Big V to Brookshire’s to fuel up and then joined Barbara inside to buy provisions for the trip and then we moved the rig over to the civic center and set it up so we could start moving things in.

We spent the rest of the day cooking and baking so we could freeze some of our favorite meals to carry with us on the trip...also got some housecleaning done during the afternoon.

We drove to Quitman late this afternoon for Barbara’s follow-up appointment with Dr. Martinez.  The good doctor said that everything looked good and that we were cleared to take off on the trip that we first started talking about several years ago before we moved in with Mother to take care of her.

This evening we sorted through clothes to try to figure out what we might need for at least a month on the road.  Our closet space in Big V is adequate for such a trip, but only if we choose carefully what we will need.

Somewhere along the way this evening, we received a text from granddaughter Jaycie with some photos of her with senior friends at Monterey High School in Lubbock.

Our excitement level for the trip and the photos was building, but we were both exhausted from a very full day and had no trouble falling asleep when the time came!

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Tuesday, September 23

With the clearance for Barbara from Dr. Martinez yesterday, and a good report from my blood work, the way was paved for us to move full steam ahead with our travel plans to take Big V and the car to New England and other East Coast points to see the fall colors and visit friends and family.

I began the day by driving to Yantis for prayer meeting, and then returned to the house where we alternated hauling clothes, food, and assorted supplies to Big V, and doing some house cleaning, cooking, and baking.

We took a break at noon to go see Leslie at Naturally Nails to get our hair cut, and then spent the afternoon delivering bread and other goodies to neighbors, Addie and Jenny at Autumn Winds assisted living center, and TJ and Glennis.

Later, we made one last trip to Big V at the civic center to take the last of the supplies and close her up to be ready for travel early tomorrow morning.  Then, back to the house to tidy up, have some supper, and get a good night’s sleep before beginning a new adventure.

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"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." - Allen Saunders, American writer, author, and cartoonist

On the eve of a long-awaited adventure,

Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsy