Mother had a visit this week with Dr. Hall who is internist to us both. Mother just loves him; he is very kindly and takes time to visit with Mother and ask her what book she is reading and “Are you having any fun?” For her age, Mother is doing very well except for general weakness especially early in the mornings. I do wish that she would go to the Senior Citizens Club to play cards, make a few friends and go out to lunch with other ladies. I know she feels cooped up staying home all the time. As much as I love being home, one does hunger for companionship at times.
I have almost finished cleaning off and re-organizing the cookbook shelf in the kitchen area. I honestly don’t know how things get so jumbled except one tends to put ‘junk’ one place to get rid of it from another place and then that place needs redoing. I suppose I really must find new homes for many more of my belongings. That old saying about spending the first 40 years accumulating things and the next 40 years trying to get rid of them is true!
Friday, February 27th we had very heavy rains all afternoon and into the night. We finally received about 3 ½ inches of rain per the rain gauge in the garden. I was horrified when I looked out the window in my Studio early Saturday morning and saw that the gutters had drained all of that rain into my garden area! The whole garden space was flooded. Thankfully within a few hours all was soaked in and no longer under standing water. If we continue to get rains like that then I think I will be forced to dig up the drain pipes the gutter installation crew placed there and relocate them. I wasn’t very happy when they originally place them so close to where I garden.
Spent part of Saturday morning browning ox tails and beef shank to make homemade beef broth. I deliberately planned on making too much as I wanted to can some broth so that making soup was not a two day job. It takes several hours to make the broth and then I like to cool it overnight in the refrigerator so that I can skim off the fat. Then the second day I prepare all the vegetables and chipped up meat from the bones and finish off the soup. I love to add a handful of barley to cook in the soup as well; I just love the nutty chewy texture of barley in a soup. With crusty garlic bread and brownies for dessert we ate like kings for our supper.
Completed a layout for the Product Pizzazz class at Get It Scrapped website entitled “Don’t Give Up”.
Journaling reads: I am about 5 years old in this photo. Mother says that I was tired of having my photo taken when this grumpy face was captured. I still have this feeling at times as an adult; one of total exasperation. Things don’t always go the way I want and feelings of frustration are difficult for me not to show in my body language; with total disgust I just want to give up. It is in this moment that I remind myself that challenges come to foster growth, to spur us to be better than we think ourselves capable of and just because bad things happen. So when I feel ‘this look’ creeping onto my face, I mentally tap myself on the shoulder and shout “Don’t Give Up.” Photo made at family home Donaldson, TN circa 1955 Layout & Journaling Created February 27, 2009
Watched 4 episodes Saturday night of “West Wing” with Mother. The weatherman is forecasting snow for us tomorrow. 65 degrees yesterday and freezing tomorrow, what crazy weather!
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