01/26/09 Ladies' Retreat

We are preparing for a winter storm today.  We’re supposed to get several inches of snow.  Wow, I just love winter (sarcasm)!!! I’m still taking meds for my face.  I went to my doctor a couple of days after I went to Urgent Care.  He gave me more meds and seems concerned. The redness is getting better but I have more wrinkles than I used to - I sure hope they go away.

Last Friday around 4 pm Wilda, a friend from church, picked me up and we went to a Ladies Retreat with several other women from my church.  There were about 9 of us – we all went to the Friday evening session and then spent the night at one of our church member’s home.  She has a fairly large house on a lake, near the retreat.  The lake house is beautiful and Judy, the owner, is one of those excellent hostesses who make everyone feel welcome.  She had prepared more food than we can eat, and hid “treasures” around the house for a treasure hunt - I found a beautiful ring and a jar of hand cream.  Three of the ladies brought violins and did some practicing, while the rest of us chatted.  At bedtime, some folks doubled-up in beds, Wilda slept on an air mattress on the floor, and I spent the night on a long couch.  It was very comfortable and I got a good night’s sleep. 

There were probably around 150 people at the retreat.  It was really well done and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  Friday evening there was one main speaker, and Saturday there were 4 more.  Each one told her own story.  One woman talked about how she learned to love her husband as she should, even while he was addicted to drugs.  One woman talked about how she made the mistake of having an affair and how it impacted her years afterwards.  Probably the most impactful speaker was a woman whose car was hit, causing the death of her two small boys.  This all sounds sad, but they were able to balance the seriousness of the past with the joy of living today. They were able to demonstrate that they had become whole again.  As the lady who lost her children said, that is not what she wants her identity to be.  

The provisions were really well done.  There was always a snack table set up with oranges, nuts, M&Ms, gumballs, popcorn and pretzels.  They provided free water bottles, tea and coffee.  For Saturday breakfast they provided big muffins, snack bars, bagels and Danish.  Saturday lunch was excellent – a huge chicken breast (lightly breaded and sautéed), fresh green beans, mixed salad, breads and rice.  

Everything was over by around 5 pm Saturday.  Wilda and I ended up staying in Bethalto at the house of Cheryl, another one of our church members.  I got a ride with her to church on Sunday.  After church on Sunday Randy and I went to another church for lunch – the local Zion Lutheran church’s annual Sausage dinner.  I cannot imagine how many hundreds of people they serve, but they have a system so you don’t have to wait too long.  We started going to that about 3 years ago because one of our best Lambert’s customers told us about it.  Since she spent so much at our restaurant, we thought we should go to one of her events.  I am so glad we did, because it is great!  I don’t normally like sauerkraut, but they serve sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans, applesauce, plus dessert, and it goes together wonderfully.

Today I’m back at work, thinking of all that great food and wishing I could take a nap…..

01/21/09

It’s gotten really cold here a few days.  We forgot to open the cabinet doors and let a stream of water run one night, and the water froze up.  But it thawed out the next morning, so no harm was done.   Randy is working on replacing the faucet in the kitchen.  The one we are using leaks.

We went out to dinner with friends on Friday evening, and later that night Randy was really sick.  He stayed in bed all day Saturday, and after that he seemed to get over it, so we wonder if it was a bit of food poisoning.  

Now I’m the one having problems.  Saturday my face started flushing bright red and the skin was rough.  Sunday it was less red but my left cheek started to swell.  Monday it was swollen quite a bit so I went to an Urgent Care facility.  They think I’m having an allergic reaction to something but don’t know what.  I’m on Benadryl and Prednisone for a few days.  And while I was waiting to get my prescription filled, my right ankle sort of popped and I couldn’t walk.  What a Monday!  So today I have a bright red face and a walking stick.    

This weekend I’m going to a Ladies Retreat with several women from my church.  It will run from Friday evening through Saturday evening. 

01/20/09 Randy's tile work

Randy took me by to see one of the condos that he and Aaron are working on.  The tile work they do is just so beautiful.  The kitchen, dining room, living room all flow together, separated by half walls but not into totally separate rooms. They all overlook the lake at the back of the condo, and they all have beautiful tile floors that blend together perfectly. The bathrooms are all tiled – showers that you simply step into. 

Randy hooked up the Wii that I got him for Christmas.  It’s a lot of fun.  We’ve played golf, tennis, bowling, and boxing.  Tennis is the hardest so far.

01/14/09

We are supposed to get some of that arctic weather in the next couple of days.  Randy and I seem to have a hard time handling it.  Hopefully we can find a way to avoid it in the future.  

I’ve been working with a new phone message system for our church.  It’s called One Call Now, and it’s a way for the pastor to send a phone message to everyone in church with just one phone call.  It seems like it will work out pretty good.  

We haven’t attached our new big-screen TV to the wall yet, but we have set it up on a small kitchen stand so we are using it now - I really like it.  We moved the small TV we had been using into the bedroom to replace an old TV there.  I suspect the old bedroom TV was old enough that it wouldn’t work after the big switch to HD, so it’s just as well that we got rid of it.  It only worked if you jiggled it just right, and sometimes it would go out in the middle of a show.  

I’m still cooking – the spaghetti and stuffed mushrooms came out pretty good, but the pork loin was dry, and I didn’t like the stuffing I used in it.  The dogs like it when I cook – they get a lot more leftovers!

01/05/09

I really enjoyed spending Christmas with Mom, Kathy and Ruth.  It’s been cold enough here that I need to warm up the car to get the frost off.  But the RV is still plenty warm.  Randy made some shelves for us.  They hang right by the driver’s seat, against the window shade.  It’s nice to be able to put up a few of our keepsakes.  

Randy is working late a lot now and I want to have dinner ready when he gets home, so I am trying my hand at cooking again.  So far I made lentil soup, ribs and sauerkraut, and stuffed green peppers.  It hasn’t all come out as good as I want, but it hasn’t been terrible.  I hope to get better.  We got all of our stuff out of storage, but that doesn’t mean we have a place for everything.  We have a few things over at Aaron and Dezina’s, and our truck and car are simply packed full.

On Sunday we went to the symphony.  It was a special presentation where they showed “The Wizard of Oz” on a huge screen over the orchestra, and the orchestra played all of the music live.  It sounded great, and Randy and I both enjoyed it a lot.  

We didn’t do much for New Years.  I stayed up till midnight watching TV, but Randy conked out early. On New Years Day we went out to dinner with Aaron and Dezina.  It was hard to find a place open - we ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant, which was really very good. And Friday our Christmas present arrived – the 32” high definition flat screen TV.  Now Randy has to find time to make something to attach it to!