FOURTH OF JULY REFLECTIONS

It is hard to believe that it is already so close to the 4th of July. I guess time has a way of moving on especially as you get older. It seems that when you were a child time took forever to get from one holiday to the next. Now they seem to merge so quickly that I just get the dishes cleaned and put away from one, then it is time for another:)

When I was growing up, the 4TH of July was always one of the most exciting holidays of the year. We lived on the lake and before we moved there, we had a small house on the lake where we would spend most of the summer, especially weekend's and summer holidays. My aunt and uncle, Ruth and Jimmerson, spent most of the family outings with us. Daddy and Jimmerson could cook some of the best food you have ever tasted. Daddy could make great stews that he would cook on an open fire outside and stoke the fire with all kind of wood that gave the food a wonderful smoky flavor. He would also fry catfish outside in a black pot that had been around forever. I guess it had belonged to one of my grandmothers or great grandmothers. Then he would make these yummy hush puppies that just melted in you mouth. Mother and Ruth would do all the inside cooking and preparing.

Now Jimmerson had been a cook in the army during WW ll so he could cook up some tasty dishes. He had this recipe for BBQ sauce that was different from any I have ever tasted. It was not a heavy red sauce, but a transparent sauce that had a combination of oil, vinegar, lemon juice, tomato juice and lots of hot spices. I have tried over the years to find something that tasted similar, but have never been able to get the right flavors. He would throw all kind of stuff on the grill, ribs, pork chops, chicken, hamburgers hot dogs, you name it and the whole time they were cooking he would baste the meat with his special sauce. When you took you first bite the meat would just fall off the bone and you would have to grab a glass of tea because of the spiciness of the sauce, but you would just keep going back for more because it was so delicious.

All of the kids would swim and ski. We usually stayed in the water all day and would come up to the house just long enough to grab another helping of food. Mother would always tell us to wait a hour before we went back in the water. We would say yeah, yeah, yeah and off we would go again. Those were some really fun times.

As our kids were growing up we would try to make it a point of finding a nice spot to watch the fireworks display. Sometime we would go down to Turtle Point and sit on a blanket on the golf course, other times we would go over to the dam and take lawn chairs and sit on the lock. That was before 9-11, now they have the dam all barricaded off and you can't go down and enjoy the view anymore. It is always thrilling to sit and watch the firework explode in the sky. For some reason it always makes you feel exceptionally patriotic. Usually you are sitting their among people you don't know and probably wouldn't be comfortable with in any other situation, but tonight on the 4th of July, you feel relaxed and safe and happy almost as if all these strangers are family. Not too many times in the year that you get this feeling.

Sixteen years ago on the 4th of July, Daddy was in the CC unit at ECM. He had had open heart surgery and was not doing well. All the family had gathered at the hospital because we new the end was near. My brothers, sister and I went into the unit for one the our last visits with Daddy. The unit is built in a round design. The blinds were up and we had this magnificent view of the sky overlooking the river. It must have been about 9:00 o'clock and as we were standing there with Daddy, the fireworks began lighting up the sky. We had the most wonderful view of a fireworks display I had ever witnessed. I thought how ironic that the only thing separating all the festivities of a 4th of July celebration and the pain and suffering inside the CC unit was just a thin piece of clear glass.
Daddy past a little later that night. He would have considered it an appropriate send off.

FROZEN SHOULDER OUCH

I know no one really wants to hear more about my health problems, but just in case anyone else develops this condition anytime soon, take care of it quick. It may save you a lot of pain, lost sleep and frustration.

I started back in January with a slight twinge in the back of my shoulder joint. I was going to a low impact aerobic- weight training program. When I felt the pain in my shoulder and it didn't get any better after a week or two, I decided that I had probably pulled something and quit going. After a few weeks the pain was still there and getting worse so I decided I had a spur or had really torn something. So why didn't I go to the doctor immediately? Well I am always convinced that if you wait long enough things will get better on their own. Duh! After four months I convinced myself that I could tough it out until school was out and I would get my yearly physical and find out the problem then.

Well as I have said I had my physical a couple of weeks ago. My doctor seemed to think I had developed arthritis so she gave me a steroid shot. That relieved the inflammation for a couple of days. Then I decided to get an appointment with a bone doctor. He told me that I had FROZEN SHOULDER, that it would last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. WELL YE PEE! He gave me some orders to visit a therapist and a prescription for depression. Well I do get annoyed and depressed when I am in constant pain, but I think I need to handled that some other way than with depression medicine. So I got some extra strengh Tynol and began to tough it out a while longer.

Well this morning after another sleepless night I decided to call a Chiropractor. Joey is a friend of the family and he was able to get me in today. When he examined my back, he told me that my neck, shoulder and back was out of alignment. He adjusted my neck and it sounded like pop corn popping. Then he tells me that he can reset my shoulder and it will speed up the healing. Well I knew that it was going to hurt like a son of a gun when he used the words reset. But, I'm already in pain what's a little more if it will help.

Dr. Joey stands behind me and gets my arm into the adjustment position and tells me this is probably going to sting a little. He pulls my shoulder and arm back against him and I swear it sounded like a shotgun in my ears. I felt like someone had hit me with a ball bat and I broke out in a cold sweat and hung on to Dr. Joey's arm. I had to just sit there and wait until the pain went away. I knew as soon as I was able to get past the sick feeling that I was finally going to be able to move that blasted shoulder. I could raise it above my head, move it toward my back and rotate it around in a circle. This is stuff I had not been able to do in months. I know it is going to be really sore for awhile and I will have to continue to do the exercise to keep it moving and I will have to go for some follow up treatments. It is such a relief to just be able to lie on my stomach without my shoulder hurting. Maybe I will be able to get a good nights sleep for a change.

If you start having pain don't let it get out of control before you have it checked out. If I had had this taken care of sooner, I wouldn't have had to go through this much pain today, but the way I feel right now, it was worth it.

A VERY NERVE WRACKING WEEK

This has been the most nerve wracking week that I can remember in quite some time. I had my annual physical two weeks ago and as usual I worry about my blood pressure which is always a little high, ( I attribute that to white coat syndrome), and since I am a diabetic (type ll) I am always afraid that my sugar will be up when I go for my visit. My doctor is really a nice lady and makes me feel very comfortable. She is like myself in the fact that she could stand to loose a few pounds. She doesn't make you feel bad about yourself if you don't weigh 110 lbs. So I was not real concerned when I went.

When my original test results came back the doctor told me that I should probably have some more test run since I had been a diabetic for more than 10 years. OK that's fine. She scheduled me for a carotid Doppler, a leg Doppler and a heart Doppler and of course the mammogram and pap test. The first test was the carotid test. The next day when I got the results I was told that they found blockage and I would need an MRA. At this point I am beginning to get a little stressed since my Dad and my brother both had serious blockage and both later died, Dad from heart surgery and Bruce from blockage in his legs and carotid arteries. At this point you know there is nothing you can do in the next few days to change anything you have done over the past 64 years to fix the problem.

Well I didn't get a call Monday from the Dr's office or Tuesday. I knew if I didn't call them myself, they would be closed on Thursday and I didn't think I could wait until Friday to find out. I finally worked my courage up about three this afternoon and called. Mary the receptionist said "I have your files here on my desk. I have been meaning to call you". The results were all good. Apparently the carotid blockage was not anymore than any other person my age has. The leg Doppler and other test were all fine. I am still waiting to hear from the heart test, but right now I am so relieved I feel like I could jump over the house.

I have made a sincere resolve to try to eat better, exercise and keep my diabetes in line. I want to be around a few more years to watch my grand children grow.

THE PINK FLAMINGO

When we went to the Memphis Zoo back last year, I loved looking at all the exotic animals. The ones that I thought the prettiest and most graceful looking were the beautiful Pink Flamingo. They walked with such grace, with their heads bobbing in and out moving kind of like a ballerina. Long necks and legs with a slightly snooty look. Their pink color just seemed to glow in the sunlight.

I thought to myself these are some of the most elegant creatures I have ever seen. Flamingos are just perfect.

Well we drove up to Tennessee last week for one of our outings with the grand kids. We drove past a house and I just had to make John stop so I could get a picture. Out in front of the house must have been twenty five or thirty plastic Pink Flamingos, some standing, some lying on their sides and a couple that looked like someone had run over them with a lawn mower. Somehow when you try to duplicate the beauty of one of God's perfect creatures into a hot pink plastic body and wire legs it looses something in the translation. All Pink Flamingos are not created equally.

I have to say that I have my own little piece of Pink Flamingo art. I went to a haughty-taughty little Christmas party last year. Everyone brought a ten dollar gift so we could play dirty Santa. Well since I was a guest, they let me go first in picking a gift. When I opened it what could I say but "Oh my isn't this beautiful". Wrong words. I guess everyone thought I would not part with this wonderful gift so no one tried to take it from me.

I kept it in the top of the closet for a few months and almost gave it the the local thrift store, but finally decided "Well by dern, I'm going to hang this thing". So this Pink Flamingo flies proudly from a planter hook on my back porch. Other wind chimes I have had in the past have been whipped to smithereens by windstorms, but not this one. Some Pink Flamingos are tacky, but built to last.

THE YEAR OF THE FROG

This has been a year for unusual weather. It has rained more days than not since the beginning of spring. Now this is really good for the grass and the gardens and getting the water table back up to where it needs to be. But the most unusual thing to me is the fact that it seems to be raining frogs.

There have been years when I might not see but one or two frogs in the course of the summer. But this year they are as thick as the hair on a dogs back. John seems to think they are literally being sucked up into atmosphere and dropped in our area by the storms we have been having. Whatever it is we have an abundance of them.

John Pearson went out the other day and a short time later he hollered at me to come and look at what he had found. He had a bucket with nineteen little tree frogs in the bottom of it. Most of the frogs are very small and in a variety of colors. He found some that were almost red, some brown or near black and then there were the bright green ones that blended right in with the holly bush. I decided to take some pictures so the other grand kids could see them. If all the grandsons were here they could probably fill up that five gallon bucket in a short time. I hope it is just a old wives tale about, if a frog pees on you you will get warts. If it is true JP could be in big trouble.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

LUKE..

FOUR YEARS OLD ALREADY.

I FOUND A LOT OF PICTURES OF YOU

BUT THESE ARE MY FAVORITES.

HOPE YOU HAVE A FUN TRIP AND A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY.

WE LOVE YOU A BUNCH XOXOXO

I MISS YOU SO MUCH

NATCHEZ TRACE PICNIC

Yesterday we had great plans to drive down the NatcheZ Trace Parkway, stop at a few of the roadside stops and walk some of the trails then end with a picnic at Colbert Landing.

John Pearson had football practice until 10:00. I spent the morning putting together a picnic cooler for the big event. When JP got home we left and headed for the Trace. Just as we got into the car it started to literally pour down rain. But not wanting to be outdone by Mother Nature we continued on. Well as we entered the Trace the rain stopped and the skies started to clear slightly. We decided that maybe we should let the kids swim first. We got to Colbert Landing and headed down to the river. It is really a beautiful park, but for some reason it has been taken over by wild ducks. It was hard to find a spot to put down a blanket without being directly over or right next to a massive pile of duck poop.

Not to be discouraged though, I managed to find a pretty clear spot. John, JP and Emily went into the water for a swim. I decided that I would just lie on the blanket and enjoy the sun. After about 45 minutes I got up and waded in the water to cool down a bit. At that time I felt a little woozy so I told John maybe we should walk back to the picnic grounds and eat. By the time we got to the car I felt really crappy. But I thought I will be OK when we eat. We got the food out and the sat down to eat and I started getting those spots that you get just before you pass out. So while they ate I laid on the picnic table next to them and tried to keep from fainting. After they ate, I told John he would have to drive the car down to the table because I was too sick to walk back.

After I got in the car and John got the air on I started to feel much better. I think my sugar dropped so I ate a Oreo. This is the first cookie or sweet I have eaten in months. Usually my sugar just goes up I have never experienced it dropping. It was kind of scary.

As you can tell by the pictures this was not the most exciting outing the kids have ever been on. Maybe we will have better luck another day. We decided to stick close to home today. Maybe I will be back in commission by tomorrow.

MY RED HAT SOCIETY FRIENDS

Yesterday was our meeting of Red Hat. I have not been able to attend very much so I was excited to get to go yesterday. When I joined I thought I was going to be retiring from work, but decided I wasn't ready, but I try to attend whenever possible.

We met at Claunches' restaurants at Spring Park. There were about fifteen of us in all. Apparently another group had merged with our group. I don't know some of the ladies, but I'm sure I will get to know them over a period of time.

The pictures of the group was us leaving the restaurant. Everyone had not made it out to the parking lot at time. I had removed my hat and red hat cape because when I got ready to pay they told me that they didn't take debit or credit cards. Luckily John had come with me and brought the kids to play at the water pad. I had to run all the way across the park to find John to get money to pay for my meal. I took off the big jewelry, hat and cape because I didn't want people to think that I was a hooker,( You know how we get all fancied up for the meetings).

I enjoy the get togethers because it gives me a chance to socialize with other ladies my age. Our queen mother is a girl that I went to high school with. She was a cheerleader and always very popular and always dressed to the T. It never fails to amaze me when I see her coming into these public places with some of the gaudiest outfits you have ever in your life seen.

Red Hats is a great way to stay active with you friends and meet new friends. So if you are in you late fifties and above, check out a Red Hat group in you area. You will be glad you did and so will they.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW

Happy birthday Matthew:

I can't believe that you are already 8 years old. You are going to be grown before we can turn around twice.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday. You will be getting a birthday card in a day or two. You know how Mawmaw never gets them there on time.

I love you a whole bunch. Hope to see you in a few weeks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MATTHEW

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.YYYYY

LEARNING TO DRIVE AND OTHER AMAZING SIGHTS

John Pearson and Emily are staying with us during the day this summer while their mom and dad are working. Besides the fussing and fighting that goes on most of the day, we try to do things with them to make them less bored and hopefully learn something while they are here.

Yesterday we were trying to get the trailer loaded up so we could make a trip to the sale barn today. John let John Pearson attach the trailer to the Blazer. These are things that John thinks all boys should know how to do and I'm sure Johnny thinks JP is too young yet. After he got the trailer hitched up I told John to let him drive the car through the field next to us. He could hardly reach the gas peddle so I guess he needs to grow a little more before he gets too excited about driving.

We got up at 4:30 this morning and headed back down to the sale barn with a load of stuff, mostly junk. We were there about four hours and sold about $175.00 worth of pure treasures. It must have been 90 degrees today, so we wrapped it up pretty quick and came home to the nice air-conditioned house and we all just collapsed on the beds and couch for about two hours. We had to have the kids at the dentist a 2:00 pm for their six month dental appointment. This has been a day for running back and forth to town.

I did get this really neat picture of the man carrying a chicken while I was at the sale. Lots of people walked by with dogs and kids, carrying everything from water mellons to turnip greens, axes to wooden stakes, but he was the only one I saw carrying a big ol' rooster. I ask him if I could take his picture and he said OK. I hope he doesn't find it posted on my blog, but I thought it was a great picture.

Emily got a bike at the sale, so she will have something to keep her entertained for maybe five minutes. I don't remember our kids having to be constantly entertained. When they got up in the morning I fed them breakfast and sent them out to play and told them I would see them at lunch. After lunch I would send them back out to play and that I would see them at supper, but if I had to ring the bell for them they had better get their butts home in a hurry. This always seemed to work fine and our kids spent most of the time out playing. Oh well times change.

I also got this picture of JP with the idiot tan. He and Johnny went canoeing on Memorial Day and then again this past Sunday. When he pulled his pants legs up to show me his tan, I just had to get a picture. Now how in the world is he every going to get that evened out?

Here is Emily's almost new bike. And if you have read any of the rest of my blogs, I said that I had planted two tomato plants and a pepper plant, well I now have a tomato the size of a marble and two bell peppers the size of an English pea. My farming skills are improving.