Friday night

Hi, ladies -

Sam and I just got back from our new place. We took a few boxes out there and will continue to chip away at it until everything is moved. It's so much fun to think about what all I want to do out there. I'm also constantly aware that every thing I take out of a box won't have to go back in a box to move elsewhere, Lord willing. We hope this is our permanent home until we die. That's sobering but comforting at the same time. I told him the other night that we'll remember this time while we're still relatively young and healthy as we are picking up heavy boxes and furnishings and moving around with ease. One day, we'll look at one another and notice that we are moving slower through those rooms and with a degree of difficulty as we age. I pray that is so and that God lets us have a long life together. By the way, there was a big difference in the weather out there than from where we are now. It's pretty mild here...about 50...with no wind. Now, our new place is up higher in the mountains about 20 miles from here. Well, when we got out of our car, the wind was blowing hard and it was about 10 degrees cooler. I hope it stays like that during the summer months. I love it.

I think everything is ready for our trip to see the grandbabies tomorrow. I made baked beans and green beans and some sweet tea to contribute to our lunch and others will bring ham, potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and my son's mother-in-law will be bringing something called Frog Eye Salad. Have y'all heard of that? I never had before and I had some last year at a family gathering. It's got this tiny round pasta that you cook and then add fruit to it and whipped cream/sour cream dressing, I think, and serve it cold. It was very, very good.

I hope you all have a blessed weekend and I'll see you back here Sunday.

Leeann

My foot hurts

Okay, a little whining. My left foot hurts. I think I have tendonitis or something because the inside of my ankle swells a little after I've been walking or standing on it for a long time. Okay, I'm through.

It's been a lovely day off for me. I went to the phone co. and got signed up for service at our new place and the customer service rep. was none other than our new neighbor. And she and her husband are the only neighbors we can see from our place! She was very nice and friendly and when I sat down, she said that she and her co-workers had been talking about me. I guess I looked surprised and she said, "well, when you called to get information, the receptionist knew you were moving to the property next to mine and said you sounded very nice on the phone"! I thought that was very kind and I love the fact that it's a small community and everyone knows each other and looks out for each other. I know there is a down side to that, too, but Sam and I are pretty private people and we always figure if someone wants to gossip about us, they'll have to make stuff up. At any rate, I think we're going to like it out there. Oh, she also introduced to me to another woman that lives on our road and they like to walk when the weather is warm and said they would invite me to join them sometimes. They are both close to my age and it seems like we might have a lot in common.

I am gonna go put my foot up and ice it a little to see if that helps. I will get to a doctor when we get settled and see what can be done...I think I need to rest it more than I do but it's hard when a person works long hours like I do sometimes.

Have a happy Thursday, y'all!

Leeann

Weird weather

Good evening, all. I wonder how many of you have had weird weather today? It started out very warm this morning when I left for work and that in itself was strange. I'm used to bundling up on my way to work and it was downright balmy. Then as the day progressed, we had heavy rains then sunshine then heavy rains again. About quitting time, the sky turned that greenish/tornado-y color that just about makes me hyperventilate! It's been relatively calm since I've been home but we are under a tornado/thunderstorm watch for about 2 more hours. It's rare to have a tornado up in these mountains, thank goodness, but winds can be very damaging, too.

I had a pretty good day at work. As the weather warms, we get busier and busier at the vet clinic. I am seeing puppies with new eyes these days because I know we'll get another one in the near future. I have mixed emotions about this because I miss Snow Pea so very, very much and I want to give myself enough time to properly grieve for her because otherwise, I will constantly be comparing her to a new puppy and that isn't fair to that new addition to our family. I believe Sam and I will both know when it's time. For now, I deal with missing her and am so grateful that God gave her to us. Sidenote: a client called today (she actually called several times) to talk to me about her new pup. She had to have her 4 year old dog put to sleep last week because she had cancer and I know it was very hard on this woman. Well, she and her husband went to the pound and got a new pup and although she had a few questions for me, she mostly wanted to tell me how much she missed her dog. Now I know as well as the next person how losing a pet hurts and while I was so sorry for her loss, she was quite persistent in her phone calls. At one point, I commiserated with her and shared with her the loss of my little dog and she completely ignored me and just kept on talking about her deceased dog and the new puppy, etc. It hurt my feelings and it made me mad. Sigh.

Well, enough whining for one night. I hope and pray you are all safe and sound this stormy night. By the way, thank you all again for visiting me and for your kind words of encouragement and friendship. My time is very limited on here some evenings and while I intend to visit each and every one of you, it may take a few days. Please know that I look forward to getting to know you and visiting with you.

May God richly bless you,
Leeann

All I can say is Wow!

It's a real testimony to the influence of one sweet woman named Karen that she was able to persuade you lovely ladies to come visit me. She is a sweetheart and a true friend. Karen, I love you and thank you. Y'all have no idea how reading your comments has blessed me and encouraged me to keep on going. Thank you so much.

I hope everyone had a good Monday. Mine was pretty typical - the usual drama of my co-workers and the busy-ness of a new week. I work in a veterinary hospital and have been in this line of work for 20 years. I managed a practice in Texas for many years but after our move to Tennessee, I decided to slow down and rid myself of the responsibility. So I work the front desk and enjoy just greeting folks and admiring their four legged children. Someone asked me if it was terribly hard to be there the day after I lost my Snow Pea, and I replied that it really wasn't because I knew my grief was understood there better than anywhere else I could be.

We are gearing up for next weekend when we get to see our grandbabies and witness their baptism. I'm sure it will be kinda chaotic with so many family members in my son and daughter-in-law's house and truth be told, I think they are stressing about it. We won't all converge on them at one time so we can all have time with the children but not overwhelm mom and dad. Bless their hearts - they often times don't know if they're coming or going but they are doing a great job. I'm so proud of them.

I forgot to tell y'all that last week, our youngest son had a wreck. He was in a company truck and a young couple pulled out in front of him and he didn't have time to stop. The girl jumped out, went into a corner store and bought a lighter, then took off on foot. Apparently, she was high on something and may have had a warrant out for her arrest. The guy didn't have insurance and no job. He did get a ticket. My son said he didn't know how that girl could get out and walk off because he hit her side of the truck they were in. Maybe she was like a ragdoll if she was -ahem- not sober, so it didn't hurt her. I'm just so grateful our boy wasn't hurt. He did let his girl take him to the e.r. to check him out and thankfully, he was okay. Talk about scaring the mess out of me. You just never stop worrying about your children, no matter how old they are.

I pray you all have a good night's rest tonight. Thank you for coming by to see me.

Long time gone

I didn't mean to be gone so long. But you know, aside from the everyday things of life that have kept me occupied, I'm not happy with my blog. I found myself going in a direction that I didn't want to and even made a comment about changing that, but it didn't happen. I have been very discouraged because aside from one very loyal reader/friend, I get no comments. I don't have the bells and whistles on here like most of you talented ladies out there and I dearly love to visit your sites. I just wanted a forum where other women could share things with me and I haven't established that here at all. It's no one's fault but my own and I'm not sure how I want to remedy that. I may stop altogether or start another one or just work on this one. Perhaps I've given up too quickly?

Well, I will share my news with anyone that is interested. First of all, Sam and I have bought our little farm and couldn't be more excited. We've begun taking things out there and we'll be having one big box burning by the end of the move! I never want to see another moving box/roll of packing tape again. This little farm is so good for our souls. It's so quiet that it is sometimes deafening. We have stood outside in the twilight and the only sounds we heard were cows on the hill next to us chewing grass. We can see the outlines of headstones across the way on a little hill from us and at night, some of them have glowing crosses that is beautiful but creepy. I can't wait for our sons to see those...it will delight them. (boys are always boys, right?)

Next weekend, we get to see our beautiful baby granddaughters as they will be baptized. It's been too long. There has been so much flu running rampant in our area that we cancelled a trip last week to see them for fear of taking that bug to them and I would die before I made those babies sick. It will be a sweet time next weekend and an emotional one for this grandma.

I went to the eye dr. last week and learned that the constant blurriness in one of my eyes is due to a cataract. After getting over the shock of hearing that term, I learned that people as young as 40 can get them. (I'm early 50's) The dr. said that although I was young, it wasn't unheard of and having Lasik surgery would not help at this stage. I'm terribly near-sighted and was hoping he would tell me I am a good candidate. But the good news is that insurance pays for cataract surgery and I should have almost 20/20 vision in that eye when all is said and done. I still have a hard time saying "cataract"! Oh, it's a joy to get old. Seriously, I have a lot to be grateful for and wouldn't be young again for anything.

I hope you all have a blessed Sunday and will bear with me as I decide what direction to take here.

Leeann

p.s. To my friend, Karen....thank you for your faithfulness and friendship.

Roast beef Sunday

Did y'all typically have roast beef on Sundays growing up? We did and although I don't adhere to the tradition as much as my mom did, it's still a good thing and a comfort. I have a feeling my mom would have enjoyed utilizing a crock pot as much as I do but to be honest, mine never tastes as good as hers did. My mother wasn't the best cook in the world - not because she didn't do what she did well but because she wasn't adventurous at all in the kitchen. Making spaghetti once a month was quite the culinary adventure for her and we always had the same odd side dishes to go with it....cole slaw and crackers. My normal friends' moms' had salad and garlic bread with theirs but not mine. But you know what? You should try it....it works. Trust me. Anyway, my dad was a very good cook and actually liked to cook with onions, garlic, and spices, to some degree. He was a cook in the Army and went to some kind of cooking school during his time there. He was very proud of his service, as well he should be, and was particularly proud of his skill for choosing the best meat - anytime, anywhere. He often critiqued meals that he ate away from home and claimed that although the Outback had "pretty good steaks", they didn't meet his high standards. I loved my parents and their eccentricities. I miss them both terribly.

It's been a cloudy, windy, gray day here in the mountains. My kind of Sunday! I don't look forward to going to work this week but thankfully, I work part time and that suits me just fine. I can contribute to our household and still have my housewife time, which I treasure. We are so looking forward to moving to our new house soon and making it ours. This is an answer to many long years of prayer for us. We've always wanted to live in the country and now we will. God is so good. I look forward to seeing what kinds of animals we might see out there. I'm secretly hoping for a bear or two....from a distance, mind you. But then again, maybe not. Well, maybe one that I can only see through binoculars.

I hope you all sleep tight and have peaceful dreams. I'm off to get ready for my week.

Sam

Sam is my husband. He is my best friend. He loves me in the truest sense of the word. It's what he does - he loves me.

We tell everyone that we've known each other all of our lives. While that may not be technically true, we are each other's second half. What a rare gift we have been given and we know how blessed we are by God. Sam and I have our own special language, meant only for one another. He can make me laugh louder and cry harder and feel deeper and love more wholly than any other human being. He is my protector, my confidante, my joy, my heart, and my lifelong love. There is nowhere else I would rather be than with my Sam. He has wiped my tears at the passing of my daddy, my brother, and my little dog. He takes care of me when I'm sick or hurting. He washes dishes for me after supper. He feeds our little animals faithfully every night. He does everything in his power to make my life easier, sweeter, and truer. He understands me like no other human being. He never makes me feel stupid or ugly or silly. He knows just what I mean when I need to not explain myself.

Sam is very handsome and I'm so proud to be his wife. For the life of me, I don't know what he sees in me but I am grateful he sees beyond my exterior because I know he loves me inside and out. I seek his advice above all others and treasure his wisdom. He is so smart that it's scary sometimes. He is so funny and so quick witted and on occasion, has made me almost wet my pants from laughing so hard. I love him so.

Sam is the best husband, dad, and PaPa in this world. His family is blessed to have him as our head.

He makes me want to be a better woman and I love him immeasurably. I love you, Sam. Happy Valentine's Day.