Hello and happy Monday. How was your weekend? I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Easter Sunday and that you were able to spend time with loved ones. Half of the weekend, Saturday, was rainy and cold and Sunday was sunny and beautiful just in time for Easter get togethers.
On Saturday Mark and I had to go to Cookeville Tennessee. Cookeville is about a two hour drive for us. It did take a little longer because the weather was so bad. We went to visit my brother in law who was in the hospital there with a broken hip. It was a fairly short trip other than the long drive. We stopped at Red Lobster for lunch. I had a gift card left over from Christmas. We also had an opportunity to drive through the downtown area of Cookeville and it was just so nice. Lots of little shops and antique stores. I will definitely be going back when I have more time to spend.
While we were driving through Cookeville on Saturday we came upon this awning. I’m not sure what significance the bicycles have but it’s very interesting.
Saturday also marked the one year date of my sister Pat’s passing. She was very sick and we knew she wasn’t going to get better but it was so hard letting her go. It’s hard to believe it has been a year and yet in many ways it seems like so much longer.
My sweet sister Pat. She had the most wonderful personality and everyone loved her. She made friends everywhere she went.
Easter Sunday was fairly quiet. My nephew and his wife came to eat a late lunch with us. I bought a large spiral ham because Mark likes lots of left overs. I made sourdough bread from my bread starter. I had to make the bread on Saturday and then it rises twice and was ready for baking on Sunday. I was afraid it wouldn’t rise very well on Saturday because it was so rainy and cold but it did. You never know it can be so fickle.
Ready to bake. The bread rose nicely. Black jelly beans are one of my favorite Easter candies. And the sad thing is you can only find the black ones around Easter time. I made sure to stock up today when the Easter candy and decorations were 50% off.
When I got to work this morning a coworker’s mother had made these adorable Easter Chick Pretzels. She left some on my desk for me.
Aren’t these adorable? They were yummy too.
I didn’t finish the fabric carrots that I started. I totally ran out of time and just didn’t have the time or patience to do them in time for Easter. I put them in a project bag and will work on them again next year. At least all the fabric is cut and ready to be sewn. I may pull them out in the winter to work on them.
So into the work week we go, are you doing something fun and exciting?
Happy Monday friends. I will tell you this has been the most Mondiest Mondays of them all. I was definitely having a Homer Simpson Day today. If you missed that post you can check it out here to see what the Homer Simpson reference is about. But I will give you a hint, absolutely nothing went right. It seemed like I could do nothing right, after I got to work that is. The computers had a glitch, the WiFi was acting crazy, none of the printers worked and when I finally got one to print it was out of ink. So it was definitely a goofy kind of Homer Simpson day.
The weekend was actually quite nice. Let’s go back to Friday. I took my sister to Knoxville to get her fourth chemo treatment and to see the doctor. She had had scans done earlier in the week to see just how the treatments were doing. We were cautiously optimistic. She has been doing great and had wonderful reports on her bloodwork. We felt that things were going good but we knew the scans would tell the tale.
We waited a little while to see the doctor. He came in and asked how my sister was feeling and she said that she was feeling really good. He said that is really good because the scans show that the splenic lesion is no longer seen. And that was very good. WHAT??? I asked just what that meant and he said the cancer is gone!!! We were blown away and so happy we were giddy. He suggested she finish the round of chemo to ensure a total remission. We walked out of his office in a daze we practically stumbled down the hall. We are so thankful and feel so blessed by everyone’s prayers and concerns. So many people have been there for her during this time. It is very humbling.
Here we are waiting to get called back for the treatment to start. I you have never been to a cancer center and watched all the brave, precious people then you really don’t know how lucky you are to worry about mundane things. Nothing is that problematic. It definitely gives you a new perspective.
So after that kind of news the weekend and every day could only be great!!! Of course a crazy Homer Simpson day is had by everyone every now and then so as I tell myself, DEAL WITH IT!!!!
I took several hats and headbands to donate to the Cancer Center when we were there on Friday. They have a basket at the infusion center where people receiving chemo or other treatments can pick a hat or scarf or anything that has been donated. I think this is a wonderful thing. I am so happy to be able to donate to them. I told the lady at the desk that some of the hats might be too warm for this time of year but she said lots of people loved them because the air conditioning was so cold. I plan to make some lighter weight ones for summer.
Over the weekend I thinned my Irises. They were getting too thick and didn’t bloom much last year at all. I took out quite a few of them and now I have to find places for them. These came from the house where I grew up. My mama loved irises and had one side of the yard full of them. They’re very special because she actually started them many years ago. I have given them to several of my nieces so that we can keep them going. I may decide to take some to work to have them there as well.
Several of my orchids are blooming. This is Ophelia. I have had her for a little more than a year. This is the second time she has bloomed. I am starting an orchid journal to keep up with all of them. I now have seven and see more in my future.
A few weeks ago a friend at work made Reese’s Pie and put them in these containers. I decided to try them for myself. I was very happy with the way they turned out. I bought these small containers to put them in. There are so many uses for these containers. They are great for individual servings. If you were going on a picnic or wanted to give these out as little individual gifts they are great!!! I got all of these from Amazon. You can do cakes also. These make great individual servings for people to take home with them.
Look how cute they are with the lids and the little fork/spoons.
I rescued these two chairs from the dumpster at work. Can you believe they were being thrown away.!!!! I am going to clean them, redo the vinyl and paint them. They are very sturdy and solid. I will give you an after picture as soon as I have them finished.
Sometimes Gus is a big bully to Kitty Kitty. I worry about her but I saw her in action today when she swatted him back and made him run away. I think she can handle herself. HA!!!
Wow what a crazy weekend we had here. It all started on Friday. I took my sister to Knoxville for her chemo treatment. This was her third one so she is halfway through the treatments and doing great!!! The doctor is so happy with all of her bloodwork. While we were still at the hospital we noticed the skies turning dark and the wind really starting to blow. We knew bad weather was predicted for our area, which is about forty miles from the hospital, but we were hoping we could get back home before it started.
At about 1:30 PM I got a notice on my phone that my security camera at home had gone out. That meant the power was out. We were still at the hospital with about another thirty minutes to go before the treatment was finished. I figured the storm was probably hitting close to my house at that time. My husband was at work and of course I was so worried about the kitties. They were all inside but they get nervous. We finally left the hospital around 2:00 PM. I took my sister home. We ran into some torrential rain but we made it home safe. I took off for my house which is about another thirty minute drive.
The power was out all over town. The main road to my house was blocked because of broken power poles. I took another back road and came upon a car slowly backing up because of a downed tree. I turned around and took another back road and finally made it to my driveway. It looked like a war zone, there were lines and trees down everywhere. There was a large tree blocking our driveway. I had to park the car up the driveway and walk down to the house. I still had no electricity. When I have no electricity I also have no cell service except in one spot several hundred yards from the house. I guess that’s better than nothing. I have no water because we are on a well system. The water will run for only a few minutes after we lose power. I do have a generator but I wasn’t sure about starting it without Mark there. It is new and I had never used it.
Lots of Kitty snuggles went on this weekend. I think the kitties were glad to have my attention solely on them. It makes you think about all the things you miss by having your eyes focused on a screen. Thankfully the weather was fairly mild so it didn’t get too cold at night or early morning.
Kitty Kitty sleeping on my lap.
I did a lot of reading this weekend. Because I had no internet I wasn’t on my phone and I finished this entire book in a day and a half. It Starts With Us is the sequel to It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. I know it sounds sort of backwards but you will just have to read it. Both books are great!!!
We did not get power back until Sunday afternoon. Forty eight hours without power. I went into town on Saturday and bought ice and filled a cooler with some of our items from the refrigerator but we lost almost everything. On Saturday night we got the generator going so we could have TV and internet for awhile. Mark had to work all weekend so it was just me and the kitties. It was a very quiet weekend. I am so thankful that no trees fell on our house or on anyone. It could have been so much worse. I feel grateful this is all the damage we sustained.
When I was at the hospital with my sister we were checking out at one of the desks and setting up some appointments. I looked up and spotted this writing by St Therese. I think it is very appropriate and I looked it up after I left and copied it. It’s very fitting for whatever you may have going on in your life. I think if we truly believe we are exactly where we are meant to be then what else could there be? Very freeing!!!!!
The Bradford Pears and the cherry trees are blooming. The grass is getting greener and small shoots of flowers are starting to emerge from the ground. The weather has been so nice. Spring is definitely on the way. I know that February is a short month but my goodness it passed by so quickly. We had very mild weather and luckily no snow!!!!
I decided over the weekend to put out some Easter decorations. It’s not that I am not a fan of St Patrick’s Day but I just don’t usually decorate for it. I am on to Easter. We had a fairly slow and quiet weekend. I didn’t really cook a lot. I made a cake. I have been wanting a chocolate cake not that I need one but who ever really needs a chocolate cake?
Several years ago I made decoupaged Easter eggs with two ply napkins, plastic eggs and Mod Podge I bring them out every year. Here is the how to on making them if you are interested. Making Decoupaged Easter Eggs.
Another oldie but goodie. I made this wreath several years ago. It has held up pretty well but I may do another one this year and put this on the back door.
Several years ago I bought these huge eggs at Dollar Tree. They were in a wooden crate and I never really knew what to do with them. The crate sort of fell apart so I took them out and put them in this bowl. I love them!!! I don’t know why I never thought of doing this.
I added this picture of me below because I am curious if you are anything like this. I got up on Monday morning and went through my closet thinking to myself, I have nothing to wear. We all know this is not true but I tend to reach for the same old clothes over and over again. I decided NOT TODAY!!!! I pulled this green sweater out, and put it with these pants and added the black shoes, that I have never worn before, and some necklaces and I felt like I had made an effort. It felt great too and that feeling stayed with me all day. Sometimes I forget to make an effort. I think that can be a habit and it is one I want to change. Please excuse my messy bedroom.
I am looking forward to March. I like new beginnings, new weeks, months, years. It always seems like a fresh start.
Southern Patches 