Monday Might Be the Best Part of the Weekend

This was the weekend that found me doing nothing exciting.  Again.  The good news is that it wasn't me who was sick.  The bad news is that it was the hubby's turn.  He had been playing around with it all week before finally deciding to go to Med-Express Saturday morning.

It turned out I was right (imagine that) and the man should have gone days before he did.  I wish you could have heard his hacking cough on Saturday...well, maybe not.  It was pretty gross.  The doctor said it was, hands down, the worst cough he'd ever heard.

Anyway, my hubby has acute bronchitis and was probably on his way to pneumonia (no fluid in his lungs, but x-rays showed the lower lobes of both lungs as "shadowed.").  They prescribed a really strong antibiotic, cough medicine with codeine so he could sleep, pills for his cough for when he shouldn't sleep (like this week at work...and yes, he went), and an inhaler.  He still isn't feeling the best, but his cough is much, much, MUCH better.

As for me, I got to do fun things like go to Walmart to have his prescriptions filled.  The flu is hitting this area very hard right now so the whole pharmacy section is absolutely insane.  I dropped the scripts off and did a little shopping to kill time waiting for them.

I bought some grocery items we needed, a new dish pan that we definitely needed because the cheap Sterlite ones keep cracking around the rim (does Rubbermaid still make them?), a couple of long-sleeved tees, a couple of magazines and a book, and I found this on clearance sale for Colton.

I got to give it to him right away because his mommy called while I was at Walmart, so after taking Hubby his meds and getting some of them in him I went and babysat all afternoon so Mommy and Daddy could get a few hours of sleep.  It was a tough job.

He's got the cutest smiles when he's sleeping.

Belly's full, diaper's dry and Mommy's holding me...CONTENTMENT.

I don't like this game, Mommy.

No photos, please?

So, that was pretty much it for fun stuff in my weekend.  I spent the rest of the time catching up on laundry, doing some household chores, reading, playing on the computer, and taking care of the Hubs.

On the bright side, there's no school today because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday so I have today off, too, and I get to meet up with some friends for lunch.  Yay!

Happy Monday!  Here's hoping we all have a blessed week.

That's One Off the Bucket List

Good morning, all!  I am up bright and early as usual on this final Monday of summer.  By this time next Monday I will have gotten the middle and high school kiddos to school and will be on my way to vo-tech to drop kids there.

This morning I have to go to our back-to-school meeting. We'll get our route packets with the lists of stops and students, learn about any changes to policy or law, get to deal with details, and find out what our raises will be this year.  Plus, it's always nice to catch up with everyone, find out who didn't come back, and work provides the coffee, orange juice, and donuts!

We had a nice weekend.  My husband didn't work Saturday and we ran a few errands, wandered down to the neighbor's garage sale and visited for a while, went out for pizza with our daughter and her fiance and just chilled out at home in the evening since it was raining buckets most of the time by then.

Sunday was special.  My mom and I share the same birthday, which was last week, but we celebrated Mom's birthday in an unusual way this year.  We took her to ride a roller coaster.

Getting ready to go!
Doesn't John look like he's having fun?

It's a long story, but when my mom was growing up the school used to load all the kids up on buses and take them to Conneaut Lake Park for the school picnic.  At that time, the Blue Streak was the biggest, baddest roller coaster between NY and Chicago.  My grandmother forbid my mom to ride it, telling her if she ever found out she did, she would never be allowed to go to the park again.  My mom, apparently not being a normal kid, never rode it. (I totally would have ridden it, knowing my mom would probably never find out.)

Looking from the ground up at that infamous first drop.
Once the highest roller coaster drop from NY to Chicago!

Fast forward to a few years ago.  Mom was back in Conneaut Lake for a cousin's funeral and as the cousins all got to talking Mom's story of never getting to ride the Blue Streak came out. Her cousins told her they thought she was old enough to decide for herself now and should go ride it. Well, she went and bought a ticket, but the ride broke down before she got to ride and they didn't get it back up and running that day.  As Mom said, over 50 years later and her mom was still winning.

I decided that for her birthday this year I was taking her on that roller coaster and we were going to check it off her bucket list. Mom is 72 and I figured we may not get many more chances, you just never know.  The day started out rainy, which had me worried that Nana was going to win again, but as it went on and we drove north the weather cleared and we had a beautiful day.

We had a lot of fun.  Mom enjoyed the ride, but said "Once was enough" when we asked if she wanted to go again.  We both grew up going to that park and it was nice to visit again.  I figure it's been about 35 years since I was last there so it's been 40 or more years since Mom was there.  It's fallen on hard times and is looking a bit like a ghost town and is pretty shabby. That made us sad, but I guess nothing lasts forever.

Other than that, my thoughts have mostly been filled with plans for my daughter's baby shower on October 8.  So much to plan, so little time!  The baby's nursery is going to have a woodland theme so we're going with that for the shower.  I've found adorable invitations and tableware to match.  I've hired someone to make cream filled cupcakes which they will decorate in a woodland theme and display on a "tree" with....oh, let me just show you an example.

Now all I have to do is figure out the food, games, prizes.....

Have a blessed and happy week!

The Continuing Saga of the Truck

It was the continuing saga of the truck that took center stage over the weekend. Hubby needed one small metal clamp to finish putting some hose or other back in place.  Actually, he had one, but dropped it in the yard and couldn't find it. Many phone calls and trips to all the local Ford parts departments proved the only one available in the tri-state area was at a dealership over an hour away.

Guess how we spent our Saturday morning?  On the bright side, it was a nice drive and time spent with my husband, but really....all that for a $13 piece of bent wire??  Sheesh.

Finally armed with the elusive part, Hubby spent the afternoon putting everything back together.  When he was finished he turned the key and low and behold....the truck started right up and he drove it to the gas station to fill it up and then drove it around for a while.  It ran great.  He brought it back, shut it off, and then tried to start it again.  Nothing.

After many tries, he ran the computer sequence again and it gave him a couple of codes that it being Saturday night, we couldn't find out what they meant. The truck did, however, start when he tried it later and continued to start.  He's afraid to drive it, though, until we find out what the codes mean and take care of that.

*sigh*

Other than that, it was a nice weekend.  It was sunny and not too warm and the humidity took a vacation. That was very welcome.

On Sunday we got up early and drove to a huge flea market about 2 hours from here.  It's only open the first weekend of each month April through October. We'd never gone before, but had heard good things.  It was a fantastic day for a long drive and we enjoyed ourselves.  It was fun browsing through the flea market, though by the end I was beat.  Even my Asics with orthotics thrown in couldn't save my poor feet from plantar fasciitis pain.

We didn't buy a lot.  Hubby bought some kind of car wax.  I bought dog treats, a couple of magnets for the car proclaiming that my Beagle and Poodle are smarter than the president, and I got a sweet deal on a vintage Vera Bradley purse.

Other than that, we mostly just chilled at home.  Our daughter stopped by last night.  Not so much for a visit, but for some comfort....you know how it can be when you are young, pregnant and the hormones are all out of whack.  I think she was feeling better by the time she left.

So, now I'm off to make some phone calls.  I have to find a venue to have a baby shower.

I'm glad you stopped by.

Have a blessed week!

Weekend Round-up

Found my Jase Robertson
statue with a bird nest on
its head this morning.  Looks
like ol' Jase had a rough
night...worse for the birds,
I'm guessing!

There's not much to report on this rainy Tuesday. We enjoyed a quiet...well maybe quiet isn't the word (I'll get to that)...holiday weekend this year.  The kiddos weren't planning to be here, so the Boss and I made our own plans.

On Saturday I woke up to a pleasant surprise.  My hubby had decided not to go to work after all and was still here.  We spent much of the morning watching TV and snagging a little extra snooze time, but we did finally finish the first coat of polyurethane on that pine paneling in what used to be our daughter's room. The grass also managed to get mowed.  As a reward for our work, we spent the afternoon at the Arts & Heritage Festival.  Yummy food, good music, and tons of crafts...among other things.  I was good and only bought a bottle of wine and some dip mixes.

Sunday dawned cool and overcast and pretty much stayed that way.  We went up on the mountain to my stepdad's place.  He and Mom live there through the summer and fall and return to her place next to us after deer season each year. Mom whipped up ribs in the oven and then we all went out to the yard, which is actually a big field, and did some target shooting (that's why it really wasn't a quiet weekend). A nice young man from across the road heard us and came over, bringing his girlfriend and his new Henry 44 over to show us.  They stayed for a while and we all had a good time shooting everything (we had 4 guns with us, Mom and my stepdad had a pistol and a rifle out, plus the Henry). When we'd had enough target shooting the guys spent some time shooting at clays.

Yesterday, we got up late and after breakfast went to Schramm Farms & Orchards and stocked up on delicious fresh produce....cucumbers, zucchini, enormous green peppers (hello, stuffed peppers!), corn on the cob, purple cauliflower, orange cauliflower, peaches, corn on the cob, strawberries, and a new fruit that is hard to find but oh, so yummy...plouts, a plum/apricot cross. They have a bakery, too, and I indulged in a pepperoni muffin and a blackberry scone, which I just had for breakfast.  

We brought our haul home and put everything away, then it was off to the cinema to see Independence Day: Resurgence in 3-D.  It wasn't as good as the original, but it was nice to see everyone (except Will Smith) was back.  That made me glad as I have a wee thing for Bill Pullman and had heard he wasn't in this one.  It was, however, awesomely cool in 3-D and they did a nice little set up for another movie.  I hope we don't have to wait another 20 years for it to come out!

Okay, he's looking a bit old and raggedy here,
but give him a break...the aliens have been
messin' with his head for 20 years!  He does
lose the beard and spiff up toward the end.

We had planned to grill a couple of steaks when we got home, but surprise....our daughter and her fiance had come over to do laundry (last time as they are getting their own washer and dryer this week).  We stopped and picked up a couple more steaks and a few other things for dinner and we all had ate together.  We had to cook the steaks under the broiler since the rain just couldn't hold back any longer.  Oh well.  It was nice to spend a bit of time with them.

Our steaks weren't quite the Ol' 96'er from The Great Outdoors,
but they were nice-sized and tasty Delmonicos.

I have been up since 5:30 this morning because Tim called and said his truck was broke down along the interstate.  Talk about getting a sick feeling!  We just shelled out a huge amount of money to fix that truck a couple of months ago and will be feeling the pinch for a good while.  I was praying for all I was worth, I can tell you, and about an hour later Tim called and said he had tried again after he sat there and the truck started right up and ran well all the way to work and after he shut it off he started it again just to see what would happen.  It started right up.  Thank you, God!  We are guessing maybe there is some dirt in one of the filters or something.  He'll take a good look at it tonight.

This, sadly, does look a lot like the husband's truck.
And often reflects my feelings about said truck.

Bible study is canceled for tonight since our teacher has a miserable summer cold so I don't have much going on today.  I plan to use the time to read and get caught up on the work for another Bible study I go to.

Have a blessed week!