back in service...

I wish I had made a before and after picture of this 36+ year- old tricycle that both of my sons rode when they were little tykes. It has been retired for a lifetime in our basement. Stephanie was looking for one for Caroline and wondered if by chance we had one. I thought we did, but since Jerrell was not here, I had to wait and ask him when he got home.

He said it is somewhere in the basement which means in our house, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Jerrell went straight to the basement and looked for over thirty minutes; so I asked him if he wanted me to come down with the flashlight and help him look- and he did. Our basement is made into three rooms and the middle room being the larger room. Not only is everything stored down there, Jerrell has wood, wood and more wood stacked for the wood stove in the winter.

I held on to the rail, went down the steps and we began our search anew. First we came across the hobby horse, then the porta crib, then the large crib and finally we eyed the tricycle, but getting to it was gonna be a big problem. Jerrell got together a game plan and he headed through little openings that I just knew his now slim body could never be able to get through, but believe it or not, he got to it, took off a roll of plastic wrap for packaging that was on top of it and dug out the tricycle. It had over 30 years of dust on it, but I had a mission, which turned into a happy project.

Early the next morning before it got hot, I took it outside and had my bucket of cleaning materials and I took the hose pipe and rinsed it off and the work began. With toothbrush in hand I cleaned the spokes good and gave it a good wash down. After it dried I was not happy with the rust on the handle bars, so late in the afternoon I started. I used first a screwdriver and the round of it rubbing on the rust took a lot off, but the two kinds of sand papers worked the best and I worked til I got the rust off the handlebars. I also took that tire stuff to blacken the tires and the paint job was excellent. It shined like it had been waxed.

I was not feeling well enough to make the trip to the park with Steph and Caroline on Tuesday as we had planned so they came here in the afternoon after their outting at the park. Oh my! was Caroline thrilled when her mom went in the house and came back out with the tricycle. She got on it and to mine and Steph's surprise, she pedaled that thing pretty good. I was shocked in fact.

Yes, I took pictures, but somehow the thingy got moved over to video and I had five videos that were so large I could not even send them. Therefore, I only have one picture of Caroline on the tricycle. However, Steph did take some of her in the house with Roxy. It was so much fun to see her riding that tricycle and left a joy in my heart and mind, that I will truly never forget. At one point, we were clapping for her and she just stops riding and stands up and starts clapping with us. I thought I would die with laughter when she did that and so did Steph.

So Tuesday was a great day for me. I think life is good and I have so very much to be thankful for and it just shows how love for one another can make all the difference in the world. I try to count my BIG blessings like the hours spent on Tuesday with Caroline and Steph and also the small blessings, like having to cook supper. I am thankful I have food to prepare a meal. I never want to get to an ungrateful for everything point in my life, because it would take all joy and happiness away.

Now I ain't saying that the road don't get rough at times in one way or another, cause it does. Course my latest crisis was of my own creation. Since I have had this SUV, which is larger than any vehicle I have ever owned, I hafta admit, cause I know the garage ain't got smaller. At any rate several months back as I was backing my car out, my passenger side mirror hit the side of the garage door and left some white paint on the mirror, but I didn't tell Jerrell cause it just looked like some bird doo doo unless you got up real close. Welp a couple weeks ago I was backing out and I saw I was too close on the passenger's side again, but being me, I just knew I could easer on out so I did and the mirror fell outta the arm. I was in a hurry so I got out and hurridley tried to pop it back in. I popped it all right, I broke off two thingys that hold the mirror in.... believe it or not, but the mirror itself did not break.

Later when Jerrell got home, I had no choice but suck up and tell him what happened and asked him to try to get the mirror back in. To make a long story short, the mirror is back in, but is worthless as I cannot move it with the power button or by hand. I finally broke down and called the dealer. The entire mirror, arm and all has to be replaced to a tune of $164 just for the mirror, no idea about the labor. So I go online, find one for $49.50 and after talking with our neighbor who is a Jack of all trades said for me to order the cheaper one and he would put it on. So I ordered the mirror, with power and puddle mirrors. Our neighbor Charlie is a truck driver and was leaving out on Wednesday morning, the same day the mirror was spose to get here by UPS and it did. He will put it on when he gets back in, which was a short run and will probably be this weekend. Also I might add, I was quite impressed with the service and the mirror was an exact duplicate of the factory mirror, even to the mirror images may appear smaller than they actually are or whatever it says. I will really hafta be real careful now, cause I dare not knock another mirror off. :)

I am late getting a post done I know and ice cream time is approaching so I am going to shut up for the night. I hope all you folks have a good evening and thanks to all that have visited and commented. I love all my blogging friends!!!!!


God Bless!

thank you...

I want to thank Janet for thinking of me and for giving me this award. I think getting a "Nice Matters" award is a stretch for me, it should be a "Blog Once In A While Matters" since I am so slack in doing that. However, the thought behind the award is very important to me. I do not feel I deserve it, but I do thank you Janet and I have some folks that I want to pass this on to.

I pass this on along to Grammie , Clara , Marci , ~Kristi , Livey , Sassy , k and Jan . There are so many more but I think I have my limit.


God Bless!

from the mountains to the sea and more...

I am sharing some of my many pictures. As Grandma Claudia I think I am a real, real grandmother and what a great feeling it is. I know I have not used my camera to take pictures like I probably should. As a matter of fact, just this past week when Caroline was here, I got my camera out and started to take a picture and she had stopped coloring and had moved on to something else and that moment that I wanted to catch was gone. I just cannot think fast enough!

Steph and David took Caroline to the mountains of NC and to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, which is a highlight of the mountains for the children. I well remember taking our sons there when they were small. I got some pictures in an email from Steph this morning and also we have made plans for me to go with she and Caroline next week to Dan Nicholas Park and I am looking so forward to going. My sons both have been many times, but I have not been, so not only will I have something new to see, I will have a fun time watching Caroline see all the new things they have added and the old things too.Thank you Steph for asking me to go along!!

We are having cool temperatures here right now and I am just absolutely loving it. I talked to our son in Ohio last night and he said it was down right cold at nights there, but warm enough during the day. They are settling into their new home and are busy with hanging pictures, buying extra furniture due to the extra rooms than their prior home in Maryland. The basement has a built-in entertainment center with a big screen built in tv and surround sound so they have ordered some theater chairs, a small sofa and table to use there. The yard chairs I think are becoming a tad uncomfy. :) I am hoping to visit them next summer, no way am I going to Cleveland in the winter. We cannot go as a family because of Mrs. Bunting and Roxy. Since I love flying and Jerrell refuses to ever fly again, I am quite willing and excited about flying to Ohio next summer and spending some time with my oldest son, Silvia and our step granddaughter, Cynthia. Cynthia is so active in so many things, I will shoot for a week that she is not in a camp or something else. I was hoping she would really get into basketball as we are all big basketball fans, but her love is tennis, which ranks high for us too. She is getting private lessons from what I understand is a very good instructor, so with her given talent, I know she will do well.

Life is good. I am so thankful for all my many blessings and the top on my list is my family and friends. Without them and Roxy, my life would not be complete. I thank the Lord for all his goodness and mercies to me every day! I thank you all for being here and making my blogging all worthwhile. I hope you all have a great day!


God Bless!

good day folks...

Got lots of things on my mind today. I am winding down from a "gone by too fast" week. Must be my age, but I declare the weeks just seem to fly by for me. The week was a good one, expecially on Wednesday when I had the pleasure of a visit with Stephanie and Caroline. They had planned to come a different day, but Steph's mom was wanting her to come get her earlier if I remember correctly. At any rate when that car drives up Roxy starts a totally different bark and cry cause she knows it is CAROLINE and I just open the front door (without her leash) and she heads wide open right for Caroline. I never once worry about her going anywhere other than directly to Caroline and Steph.

After all the sugaring was over, we came in the house for a bit, but later since it is finally cooler here, we went outside so Caroline could lead Roxy. She loves to do that and she also now says Roxy instead of just Roc. She can also say Grandma Claudia pretty doggone good and will give me the crooked smile if I ask her to. I see such wonderful parenting skills in Steph, that I wish I had used when mine were Caroline's age. She and David have chosen to let her be independent and NOT have everything she wants and to be honest, when they are in a store, she looks but does not ask for anything. Of course Steph said she usually gets her something, usually a book as she loves loves books and then Caroline says 'pay' .. : ):) They just cannot come back soon enough is all I gotta say!!

I rarely give any thought to myself anymore, but I have been thinking how different I am now that I do not work and am not well. All in all I think I am a better person and have so much more patience. I am so unlike the norm that I might be odd or 'quare' as some folks say, but do I care? When I worked and for a couple years after I always and I mean always put on make up whether I was going anywhere or not. I certainly would never go out in public without it. You think I give a flying flip now. NO. As long as my legs are shaved in weather that bares my legs, why the bother to shave them since I only got a couple. I have a friend that says she doesn't shave hers so they will keep her stockings up on Sunday.

After saying all that I totally surprised myself by noticing a neighbor of mines makeup looking unusually nice when I ran upon her at the grocery store. She goes into this spill about these new beauty products she was now using. Yes. I was quite impressed so later that afternoon I go over for a beauty consulation. She brings out a basket full of goodies and explained the process and I got all excited, knowing full well that all I needed was my newly bought jar of Noxema! She kept on and I went straight the next day with each item listed in hand and bought the WHOLE nine yards! Of course for the first week, I did exactly like I was told and I still do on a hit and miss basis. BUT even at that with all the bottles of ingredients and the new makeup I honestly can tell a difference in the feel of my face and only in the looks when I muster up the energy to apply makeup and those times have been few and far between. I knew full well that it would be like most everything else I start, I never follow through on it, unless it means life or death. The moral of the story was that I was one broke woman, but pretty for a month. Uncle Sam pays me next week, thankyouUncleSam.

I hafta be honest I have given my life to nothing since April. I have watched this trial until finally it is in deliberations and I told Jerrell to smack my face IF I ever started watching another trial! Ever! I have it on the tv, on live stream on the pc and chatting in the court tv chat room, ALL at the same time. Making a situation worse, the trial is in California which is a three hour time difference so my trial day does not finish here on the east coast til 7 pm. Please tell me again that I need to get a life. My husband has forgotten me totally, as he is in the den watching tv and resting and only calls me when it is ice cream time! I enjoy our supper and ice cream time together cause that is just about the only time I have spent with him since April. I am not sure that he can handle the jolt of a verdict or not. I will let you know.

He has his mother to keep him busy. The State of NC finally pulled her license at the age of 91 due to her age and health. The biggest problem the first week, is that she cannot remember she ain't gottem, so she drove for 3 days until a watchful eye of a neighbor that Jerrell had alerted to call him if she saw her driving again called and said "she just went up the road" so Jerrell jumps in his truck so he could be there when she drove up. He hated to have to do it, but he disabled the car where it won't start. So we know she has already called Raleigh twice, like they gonna do sumpin, plus she has already forgot Jerrell made the car undrivable and although she has not said, we just know she has been to that garage a couple times trying. :) Sure we feel for her, but when she called me yesterday asking for someone's phone number and I give it to her, she turns right around and ask me whose number is that?, then I think NC did the right thing. She absolutely cannot remember nutin.

I see I have gotten carried away, but I am in such relief to be free from some worthless, time consuming stuffssssss that I feel I am about 5 months behind.

Have a great weekend ALL.


God Bless!

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