For your holiday entertainment...

Catch up and house pics...

First I want to say thank you all so much for the warm welcome back! It is so nice to know that I was missed. On August 7th Dave's mother passed away, then 2 weeks later his brother also passed. Needless to say, that was a very trying time. We received friends here in our home during his mother's funeral. In this post which was July 9, we were painting, clearing out junk, moving furniture upstairs and just general cleaning, so we had just finished when we opened our home to over 60 visitors! We actually fed 60 but had many more coming by to pay their respects.

I also promised to show some after pictures when everything was done. Since the living room and stairway was the only actual "finished" areas, that's all I'm showing right now! LOL The first pics are the stairway before and after. There was carpet on the stairs and landings so we pulled that up. We started at the top landing and it came up so easily I was amazed! Nothing has been easy here in this old house! Well, it didn't let me down because when we got to the stairs the carpet had been glued down!! Here's how it looked when we finally got it all up:



We tried everything we could think of to remove that yellowed glue, even a heat gun and scraper. It was coming off but very slowly and Dave was uttering a few choice words! :) I wasn't much help because of my bad back. It was such a mess we knew we couldn't just paint over all those lumps and bumps! Then he happened to think that he had some adhesive remover in his shop and tried that. Believe it or not..that glue rolled right off. It still wasn't an easy task but much faster. There were also a gazillion carpet tacks to be pulled up! Then came the paint which we matched as close as we could to the original, and the stair treads which we had bought about a month earlier! The results:



After a couple of weeks we started moving things upstairs to reclaim some much needed space in the living room.









Our next project is to do the downstairs bedroom and take out the ugly ceiling tiles which some previous owner had put in to lower the original high ceiling. We want the high ceiling back!! Maybe in the spring!!

So, that's just the highlights of what has been going on with me. Maybe you can all forgive me for not being around for so long! :)

Little Bits of Christmas at our House

Yes, I'm still alive and well even though I've been a real slacker when it comes to blogging. Life does tend to get in the way sometimes. I'm sure most of you thought I might be "buried in junk" after my last post months ago. A lot has been happening but I'll fill you in later. I just thought a little Christmas cheer was in order for now. You can also see that we have been getting some snow this year. Have a great weekend!

Buried in junk....

Just a note to let you all know that I'm still here but very busy. I was also offline for a few days until we got our DSL moved upstairs. We finally got our stairs finished and can get our den set up. Now I have a living room with space to actually move around in! I'm in the process of moving things around as well as organizing, sorting and doing away with a lot of junk! When you have 2 pack rats in the same house it makes for lots of junk!! :) I hope to have some pictures to share with you when it's all said and done.

As for me personally, I'm doing much better. My face has cleared up and the skin cancer gone. I still have the same old face under it all...just clearer!! LOL My blood sugar is in check most of the time (if I behave and watch my diet) and my body is finally adjusting to the meds.

I hope all is well with each of you. I try to pop in during my breaks from working and see what's going on but haven't had time to leave many comments. Just know that I'm thinking about you all and missing you much. I'll be back......

Happy Birthday, Collin...

Fourteen years ago today, God sent a special little bundle of joy into my life and I've never been the same!



He was named Collin, after my mother's maiden name, and I got a new name too. I became Granny. What a pleasure this boy has been to me!! He was such a good baby..always happy and smiling..showing his big dimples. He started growing up much too fast for me.









The following two pictures of Collin were made in Mount Airy, NC, home of Andy Griffith and Floyd's Barber Shop. Does he remind you of another little red head named Opie??





It makes me really sad sometimes to look back at all Collin's pictures and see how fast he grew up, but then I see the fine and handsome young man he has become and it makes me so proud.



Happy Birthday, my precious boy! You will always be the light of my life.

I love you,
Granny

Hello again, hello..

Hello, my dear friends! It's really me this time! I can wear my glasses now and I CAN SEE!! Thank you all so very much for your concern, prayers and well-wishes. I missed all of you and it will take me a while to get around to visit each of you and catch up. One thing I've learned during this process is that you all stuck by me and didn't give up on me.

(Thank you, Brandy, for letting everybody know what was going on in my absence.) I had several skin cancers on my face that I had burned off. The one that really worried me was the one that went all across the bridge of my nose and was spreading out under my eyes. None of these were serious, just over-exposure to the sun. They burned off 4 of them but the one on my nose had to be done with medicine which did a slow burn...14 days of applying it and each day burning worse! No fun at all! After that I had to apply a steroid cream for 14 more days to help it heal. I'm glad that's over!! Here's a picture taken on day 4 of applying the medication.



It got so bad by the 14th day that I didn't want a picture!! I tried to wear my glasses on the very tip of my nose to check out your blogs but I kept forgetting and pushing them up. Then I would have to re-apply the medicine. I even tried to read without them but all the words were a big blur so I had to quit trying! :( A lot has been going on with me in the meantime so I'll have to catch you up a little at a time. We have been working on our house again and I've been taking some pictures to share with you. I hope to be back in full blog swing next week. Have a great weekend!!

hello

This is Brandy, I am blogging for Hope today. She is on the phone with me right now. She wanted everyone to know that she had some skin cancers removed and cannot wear her glasses right now. She is doing ok, she just cannot see to blog. She wants everyone to know that she misses you all and she will be back as soon as she can wear her glasses again.
Thanks Brandy

Catching up on awards....

Yes, once again I'm behind but not only on posting this time but on picking up my awards. I apologize for the delay. So without further ado....

First an award from my dear caring friend, Betty, who checks up on me if I'm MIA!! She first leaves a comment, then an email, and if she still hasn't heard from me she calls on the phone to make sure I'm okay and to let me know she is praying for me. How sweet is that? How sweet is this award?



Thank you so much, Betty, for the award and for being my friend. You are so special to me!

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Then I got a comment from Mike saying he had a special award for me on his blog. He has given me this award because he says I have been a help to him. Mike has so many health problems he is dealing with daily but he still takes time to check on me and pray for my needs. Mike, thank you so much for this award and for being the wind beneath my wings too!

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Last but not least is this special award from Brandy that made me cry! Here is what she had to say about me and the award:

Hope this is for you! You have been a rock in my life lately, you have been there for me when I have been faced with tough challenges with the kids. You have taught me so many things in the last few weeks. I know that you are in my life because of Daniel, but you know I don't talk to a lot of his family, I don't know them that well. I am glad that you are in my life and I have a great friend to talk to about important things and I want you to know that I really look up to! I know that God has put you here for a reason and I thank him for doing that to! So this is for you. I am calling it the rock award!



Some of you have wondered what connection Brandy and I have to each other. Brandy's husband, Daniel, is my great nephew and has always been very special to me. I use to babysit him when he was a little boy and he spent a lot of time at my house, growing up with my children. He has always been like a little brother to them. Here is a picture of Daniel, Brandy and their 3 sons. I have always called the boys Huey, Dewey and Louie. (Donald Duck's nephews for those of you who aren't old enough to remember the cartoon! LOL) In this case, these 3 boys are my great, great nephews!! How old does that make me feel?? :O)



Brandy and I have know each other for years now but have been developing a closer relationship in the last few months. A lot of this, believe it or not, was due to blogging!!
We have become coffee buddies too and have been trying to find time to have Bible study together. We have done a lot of our study over the phone!



Brandy, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Rock Award. I love it and I love you! Let's do coffee and Bible study soon!

Who Am I

If you haven't seen this yet please watch. This skit is done with just hands. The song Who Am I is by Casting Crowns.

Still here...

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking...well, alive anyway! I want to thank each of you dear friends who have lifted me up in prayer and thank you for each sweet comment left. It is so nice to hear that I have been missed. I really am doing a lot better this week. My body is slowly but surely adjusting to my blood sugar meds, thank the Lord! My count would be over 200 then drop suddenly after I took a pill, which caused me to get the shakes, sweats and nausea. No fun at all!! The time I've been spending on the computer has been research on diabetes and diet and I've learned a lot! The good news is, I have lost 6 pounds and still eating well!!

I especially want to thank Jo for all the emails and advice on diabetes. She has been so helpful to me and even did a post on her blog, Bits and Pieces, telling about her struggle with this disease. If you haven't already read this post, you can go here to read it. Thank you, Jo, for caring enough to help me and especially for letting me know that I'm not alone
in this. Also for letting me know that it's okay to obsess over it a little! :O)

Now on to happier things! We have had beautiful weather here this week with temps in the upper 70's. I think it might have even gone into the low 80's today! Dogwood winter is getting ready to set in so another cold snap is due. I've really been enjoying the warmth and sunshine while it's here. My flowers aren't blooming yet but my yard is blessed with wildflowers, dandelions and violets...







and even some weeds that look pretty to me!



Last year the grandkids got me a lilac bush for Mother's Day. Lilacs are my favorite! All during the drought we had last summer I watered the little bush faithfully but it kept looking so bad. Even before fall came it had lost all it's leaves and looked like a dried up twig. Dave suggested once that we just needed to pull it up...there was no hope for it...but "hope" is my middle name (pun intended! LOL), so it stayed put!! This spring we have had a lot of rain and plenty of sunshine and my little lilac bush is thriving and now getting ready to bloom! I will take pictures as soon as it does!

I'm going to try and get around to visit all of you and catch up. I know I have missed a lot so it will take me a while! Much love, Hope!

Catching up....

I know I haven't been a very good blogger lately so I'm going to try to catch up a bit starting with Easter. We actually had our Easter get together on Saturday since we have to work around everybody's schedules. Nothing about our Easter was very traditional. We had pork barbeque, baked beans, cole slaw and chocolate eclairs for dessert!! (I had a little of everything except dessert!) We usually do Easter dinner at my house but this year my daughter was our hostess. We all had a great time eating, hiding and hunting eggs and just enjoying our time together. And of course there were photo opportunities for me!

I took this picture of Claire explaining to Uncle Dave and Kian how to jump a big ditch, and trying to talk Kian into jumping!




When her powers of persuasion didn't work, she demonstrated...looks like she's flying!



Finally Kian got brave enough and jumped too. He looks like he's falling into the ditch but he actually made it across.



Then the adults hid the Easter eggs for the kids to hunt...



and the kids hid eggs for the adults to hunt:



While some of the adults were pushing and shoving trying to get to the same egg, Jenny was wandering off by herself finding one egg after another and won the egg hunt!



It was too windy for Josie to be outside so she napped while we played. She had her own purple and pink Easter basket and a personalized egg:



After her nap she posed for Granny to get some pictures:



She even smiled for me (actually she was smiling at Daddy):



Even Pamela posed for me with her new outfit, actually a hand-me-down that Josie outgrew!



Even if we weren't traditional, we had a great time making our own traditions and most importantly, making memories!

Goodbye, Ms. Fran

Most of you who follow Peggy's blog know by now that Ms. Fran passed away on Monday at 4:45 PM. Please go to Peggy's post here to read her account of Ms. Fran's gentle passing from death unto Life. I read a comment on Peggy's post left by S who referred to Ms. Fran's death as BITTERSWEET, which I find very fitting at this time.



Many months ago Peggy began to share Ms. Fran with us and we came to know and love her.
I looked forward to reading about her and seeing pictures of her sweet, smiling face. Peggy shared their good times together:



Even after she became ill and her body weakened, she still liked participating in the fun that Peggy could cook up:



Thank you, Peggy, for unselfishly letting us be there in Ms. Fran's last days.

As a tribute I would like to share one of my favorite poems with you. I hope you will take the
time to read and absorb what it says. We say "goodbye" to Ms. Fran for now but only for a while.

Gone From My Sight

By

Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck

of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,hull and spar as she was when she left my side.And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"

there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices

ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...