Labor Day Shindig

For some reason the alarm sounded this morning at 6. I have been trying to get it to work for a week or more. I don’t know why it worked today. Tom and I went to the men’s breakfast of biscuits and gravy. We were blessed by the discussion of one of the chapters in the book, “Dying to Live”. We went to the pharmacy and learned that Tylenol is hard on the liver. Vycadin has some acetemetaphyn in it but not enough to hurt or cause addiction. I bought Evelyn some sleep aid recommended by the pharmacist. We came home in time to talk before Evelyn and Stacy took Olivia to her birthday horse lesson. While they were gone, I heated the grills and began cooking the burgers, hot dogs and bratwurst. I also decided to cook the pork loin we had bought this past week. They returned and we ate. Afterward we mostly lay around until 5. We then packed the car and left for Asheville. I stopped at Taco Bell and was blessed in that they were kind enough to give me some crushed ice for our cooler. We went to the final Shindig on the Green for the season. We had our roll up table and four chairs plus a couple of blankets for the kids. We also took wine, beer, and sodas. We bought barbecue sandwiches for supper. We had taken Beethoven, their dog which had a great time. So did Olivia who circulated playing with the other dogs that had been brought. We stayed only 2 hours and then came home. We enjoyed it (we joined in the big round dance) and hope the Georges did too. We came home and went to bed a bit early. I had napped for about 3 minutes this afternoon and was tired.

Labor Day visitors

We went to town after breakfast. Before breakfast, I had mixed our sausage and venison to use making burgers for tomorrow’s lunch with the Georges. When Evelyn got up later we worked on cleaning the deck by sweeping cobwebs and spraying the hose to wash the deck. We went to the Grocery Outlet for some supplies including buns for sandwiches tomorrow. We also picked up my shoes from the cobbler and went to the hospital. I had dressed for work before we went to town. I just had her drop me off and she went home (after I had brought a frozen yogurt to her). I had forgotten that she was not supposed to drive for 5 days and this was only the 4th. The afternoon was slow for me especially since I had forgotten to take my book. Evelyn came to get me 15 minutes late. and we paid our water bill on the way home. We had potato soup brought by our church friend and then walked to the Rogers to visit. We went to get a modicum of exercise because Stacy had called and said they wouldn’t be here until 8:30. We had a nice visit with Jim and Kathy and then another with Tom and Stacy. We are always glad when they come in light of all the things they have to bring. We remember when we had to take our girls to Geneva, Berne, and Portland to visit our parents. We didn’t take as much but didn’t own as much then either. We went to bed after the news. We pray for the couple on the Marriage Encounter weekend and those in danger from hurricane Gustov in Louisiana and Texas.

Things are healing

Evelyn slept very well last night. We got up and had breakfast, and she went back for a nap. I went out with the brush and brushed the wet car. We ate lunch and then showered. I went out and cut some of the lower branches from the river birch trees and carried them to the vacant lot. We then drove to Maggie Valley Country Club to see if I could get the $100 certificate I won replaced. They will look it up and e-mail me with the answer. It rained a little in Maggie as we drove. We came back to Waynesville to see if I could get my shoes, but the store closed at 4. Evelyn wanted to lie down again before going to usher at the HART theater. We did usher and stayed for half of the play before coming home to watch the amazing Cubs play the Phillies. They won on a grand slam home run after being behind 4-1. Evelyn has made great improvement. Praise the Lord.

Sleep;less night and day

The rain never started again after we went to bed. It was supposed to rain all day but had moved east. Evelyn slept hardly any last night. She didn’t have great pain but was uncomfortable. In addition to that, she couldn’t sleep all day. She spent much of the day in bed but couldn’t sleep. I fried some chicken breasts for lunch and burned them a bit. Evelyn made a salad. She went back to bed for a while but then got up and we went to get her nails done and my prescription filled. I also went to the ATT store and had my voice mail adjusted so that it won’t go to voicemail after 2 rings. We miss many calls because we can’t get to the phone in time. We came home and one of our friends from church brought some homemade soup and pudding to us. It was a nice Christian gesture of love, but we didn’t need it due to my cooking skills. J I went to choir alone and another choir member brought us some homemade vegetable soup. We got a new piece of music that is all in Latin. I came home to find tomatoes that our friends from Geneva had brought to us. We pray she sleeps tonight. We were blessed with more rain. When I came home from choir I left the car outside to get “washed” the natural way.

Blessed rain and recovery

Evelyn slept pretty solidly last night and didn’t waken until around 8:30. There was a wonderful rain so we weren’t going anywhere anyway. I called the church to ask some questions and then fixed her some rolled oats for her breakfast. She ate about half a bowl so we have breakfast for tomorrow morning ready. She stayed up for an hour or so and returned to bed until noon. We ate some of the second dinner from Sunday for lunch. She ate a bit of the barbecued chicken and some French fries. She kept everything down all day. She stayed up most of the afternoon, singing praises to God for the all day rain. I checked the neighbor’s gauge and found we had received 2 inches since yesterday morning. It rained the rest of the day and most of the evening so I am sure we have more. It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow too. This area certainly needs this and more especially the steady soaking rain that this is. Evelyn stayed awake most of the afternoon and evening. Our neighbor had come over to show me how to get some of the seeds out of some blackberries we have, so Evelyn made a cobbler in the evening. The Cubs were playing on TV so I just did the dishes. I also warmed up the leftover quiche for our supper. We can finally see some of the shelves in the refrigerator. A couple of women from church called offering to help but we are doing fine. It was still raining when we went to bed and no one is complaining.

blessings: surgery and rain

We were up at 6 and in the hospital by 7. Evelyn’s room was on the same floor where we volunteer. She was partially prepped there and taken to the OR at about 8:45. I went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and when I returned the pastor was there. We talked a while and then he left until 10:30 when Evelyn was to return. I stayed in the room and read. The doctor came in with good news before 10, meaning it had not taken as long as he thought. He was very kind and encouraging. Evelyn was returned around 10:30 after spending time in the recovery room. Pastor came back and read some scripture and prayed with us during the short time Evelyn was alert. After he left she began her normal bout with the anesthesia sickness. She had been given something prior to the surgery but it didn’t work. She vomited several times until I asked the nurse to call the doctor for some medication. He gave her some sort of drip, but it didn’t work very well. About 1 I drove home and had a sandwich of the two month old brisket ( I ate the last piece for supper). I went back at 2 and sat with Evelyn until 5. During the afternoon, we asked for more medication to alleviate the vomiting. The doctor ordered an injection of Inapsine or droperidol. It seemed to help but really knocked her out. About 5 Evelyn was wanting to leave so we dressed her and went home. The doctor had left a prescription for vicaden and the nurse called it in to the Wal-Mart pharmacy. We won’t do that again because it was not ready when I went to get it at 7. Evelyn spent most of the evening in bed but did get up to eat some Raman noodle soup and lay on the couch. I walked her around the house several times to keep her blood flowing but she went right back to bed. She is really sore. We received calls from Rosalind Kraus, Emily and Stan. It was very nice of them to express their support. The surprise was that the nurse who dismissed Evelyn called and volunteered to come to our house if we needed her. That was above and beyond because she had already gone home. We really appreciated that. We thanked God for His mercy in this ordeal and pray that the problem of stomach pain and gas will be corrected. We also thanked Him for the rain that came down most of the morning. We are supposed to get much more tomorrow and pray that our gracious Lord sends it.

Ready to go

We worshipped this morning and attended a meeting about the German dinner to be held October 12. We volunteered to be in charge of publicity. Another morning event was that the dedication dinner has, at last, been publicized. We have begun gathering names. We went to Maggie Valley to the Barbecue Shack for lunch. The meal was ok, but we will not likely return. The place didn’t satisfy Evelyn’s sanitary gene and they serve things on disposable plates, etc. We stopped at the Dish Barn and bought some pie plates Evelyn has wanted for some time. We came home and watched the Cubs. I was very tired and slept through about 4 innings but saw enough to know they won. They are 30 games over .500. Amazing. We went to the lake to walk and came home. I had to talk with Emily and Andrew about the writing coach schedule for his schooling. I think I understand what to do. We will talk every couple of weeks. We also talked with John and Whitney Knight and Stacy about the weekend plans. We will go to the Shindig and a baseball game. I have set 3 alarm clocks for 6 AM so we can go to the hospital tomorrow morning. Everything seems to be go. The pastor even said he would try to stop in tomorrow morning after surgery. I hope I can take care of her adequately for the next few days.

Fun in the mountains

More sleeping trouble. I was up and let Evelyn sleep more. I called a friend to see if they would go to Fines Creek with us. They couldn’t. Evelyn got up and we ate a huge bowl of fruit I had prepared for our breakfast. Then of to the lake. We went on to town to get tomatoes from the farmer’s market. We wanted some corn but they had none. We returned DVDs to the library and went to get my shoes but found the repair shop closed. We came back home and stopped at the Food Lion which had a special on Klondike bars. We bought a few other items as well. We came home for lunch of brisket we had left from the ME meeting here back in June. It was still very good. Emily and Evelyn talked for a while and she, Andrew, and I will talk tomorrow concerning my being his writing coach. I swept the hard floors and Evelyn mopped in preparation for her not being well enough to do it next week before the family comes. We got ready and went to the bluegrass festival alone. Our neighbor here has a wife that will do nothing away from home. We enjoyed the evening. It cost more to go this year but the entertainment was far superior to that of years past. We left about 9 even though the jam lasted until 11:30. We had heard the groups we were interested in.

The die is cast and scalpal sharpened

Evelyn didn’t sleep well again but I made her stay in bed for another hour.
Then up to complete the 2 Ws (watering and walking) after breakfast. We were finished shortly after 10, clean, and off to the doctor by 11:50. After completing forms for about half an hour, we were taken in to see the doctor. He was very pleasant and listened to our questions and symptoms. He moreless ruled out the stomach ulcer concerns Evelyn had and explained the risks of the surgery. He was all for doing it ASAP and scheduled her for Monday morning. We have to be at the hospital by 7 for pre-op and will be on the table around 9. (Evelyn that is). We thank God that this could be done so quickly. We pray that nothing happens to preclude the event. We then went around the corner to the hospital where we volunteered in to Outpatient section. We were to work from 12:30 to 4:30. Evelyn was required to have consultation with a nurse and have blood drawn so she left me alone on the floor. There was hardly enough for me to do for the couple of hours she was gone. She also had a serving of yogurt for lunch. She returned and I went to the cafeteria for the same. They had a delicious peanut butter semi solid yogurt. I also had a bowl of cream of potato and carrot soup. It wasn’t quite as bland as it sounds. There was hardly anything to do for one not to mention two. We decided to leave at 4:15 and came home to watch the Cubs get mauled by the Washington Nationals of all teams. The best thing was that we were able to eat roasted peanuts while we watched. We then had a piece of Quiche for supper. We had planned to go to a football game or the Fines Creek Bluegrass Festival but just ended up staying home. Perhaps we will go tomorrow night. The decision has been made concerning the dedication dinner we are in charge of. We made a sign up sheet to post in the church narthex Sunday.

at the golf crossroads.

Evelyn had been restless once again. She was up at 6 but awake before that. She was cooking the quiches for the Bible study. I watered the tomatoes, etc. and then she took me to the golf course. I had looked through my charge slips and learned that I had played enough golf there that I was close to the membership level. I wanted to talk to the owner about my paying the balance and then having a membership. He didn’t come to the course until 3 when Evelyn came to get me. He only said he would think about it. I only began playing there because they let Evelyn ride along for nothing. I don’t think we will keep playing there if he doesn’t make the deal. While she was waiting for me, a couple came in and were charged for the wife to ride along. I didn’t play well again but didn’t score too badly. Evelyn brought me home, and I decided to wait until supper to eat a meal even though I had not eaten lunch. I had taken two peaches, one for me and one for Isidro and had eaten only that. Isidro showed me 3 or 4 boxes at least 16X16X16 full of golf balls he had found. He gave me several. We watched a DVD on Rio de Janeiro Evelyn had checked out of the library. She must think we are going there on the trip to SA, but the city she is thinking of is Buenos Aires. We will go to her doctor tomorrow and then to volunteer at the hospital. I hope she gets scheduled for surgery soon. She still has stomach pain and excessive gas.

Work and play

We were up and at the lake at 9, finished by 10. We cleaned up and went off to Waynesville. We first went to the church to talk with the secretary about the dedication dinner, but she was not there. We drove on and dumped our recyclables and trash. We learned that my shoes are not ready at the repair shop and went on to the Open Door. We thought there were too many there and nearly left. In fact Evelyn did leave without me. She went to a grocery. I stayed until things were cleaned up and started for home. On the way, I decided to go to Lake Junaluska golf course and play 18. I thought I could use my rain check but would have had to pay more. I just paid the geezer rate for 18 and saved the rain check. I didn’t play well or exceptionally badly but did get hot. It took exactly 4 hours, and Evelyn was there to get me right on time. We came home and had supper. We packed the car with many of the items she will need at tomorrow’s Bible study and went to choir. We put the items into the church refrigerator and came home to watch the Cubs lose to the Reds because big guy Alfonso Soriano loafed on a fly ball that fell for a double that became the winning run. I hope the manager, Lou Pinella, chews him out royally. Off to bed after the Olympics. Bad news: it looks more and more like we will not get any rain from hurricane Fay. We really needed to get drenched. It will float Florida away but not help with the drought in the Southeast.

praying for rain

We arose a bit later this morning and went off to walk. It has been cooler and dryer for a week or so but we need rain. We watched the weather channel, hoping for hurricane Fay to send some rain into this drought area. It is still puzzling as to which way it will go. It is only moving at 9 MPH. We came home, watered the plants and ate a relatively early lunch at 11:30. Evelyn then began mixing a bunt cake for Thursday. I worked on the computer. She was very tired when she finished and went to bed to read. I checked the cake when ready. We have decided to go to Mayberry Days in latter September so I bought tickets on line and found a motel room but not in Mt. Airy. We have to stay 20 miles south. We continued working on the Bible study brunch. We cut and balled cantaloupe and I chopped peppers, pepperoni, and garlic for the quiche she will serve also. I also scheduled a payment of our credit card to get more of a reduction in the price of our January cruise. We watched the Cubs/Reds game mixed with some of the Olympics.

Sports day

Monday we were up early, and Evelyn took me to Springdale Country Club. I met Billy and Sharon Riggs for a round of golf. I bought a “membership” allowing me to play 4 rounds for $156 ($39) including a cart. Billy is an excellent golfer and has promised to give me tips and play the 4 rounds with me. The course is ranked hard and I played worse than I ever have all season. He did give me some tips. I am eager to see if I improve any while playing the other 4 rounds. Evelyn picked me up at 2:30, and we went to Asheville’s Farmer’s market. We bought another basket of peaches, some blackberries, blueberries and some boiled peanuts for me to eat since I had had no lunch. We then drove around Biltmore Village looking for one of the restaurants in our coupon book. We also went to an Ingalls grocery to get some peanuts to take to the baseball game. We left there and met Dallas and Karen at the Apollo Flame restaurant. We shared a plate of gyro meat, meat balls and chicken strips (grilled and delicious). We had more peaches than we can use before they spoil, so we sold half of them and one of the three cantalope we had bought to them. We drove to the ball game and got our envelopes (money Monday) containing a dollar bill and $2 in Tourist bucks. We had our stadium seats and had more comfortable toushes this time. The base ball game was very good right to the 9th inning. Once again I didn’t drink any beer because Evelyn gets nervous while I drive home. I also avoided the Interstate which is more dangerous at night. We got home and watched the Olympics a while. We also checked on the progress of hurricane Fay that has hit Florida. We pray that it will bring some heavy rains to our area. People here will take chances with a flood because of the severe drought conditions.

Band concert

We were blessed with Holy Communion again. We also sang but did only a fair job. We expected that because we had not rehearsed the piece enough. It was simple but had two notes to begin phrases that had no pitch reference. We came home and enjoyed the steak from Friday night. It was still delicious. We watched the Cubs game and I marked some golf balls that Billy Riggs had given me. I play golf with him tomorrow morning. The Cubs are hot and will hopefully stay that way. I popped some popcorn to take to the band concert, and we left to walk the lake. We were near the Terrace Hotel when it began to rain, not very hard and not too long. We sat on a porch in rocking chairs until it stopped. We saw lightning and heard thunder but it was in the distance. We did complete our walk but were suspicious we would get rained on in the process. We didn’t, however. We went to Taco Bell and got some change and 2 cups of ice and drove to the Maggie Valley pavilion. We took lawn chairs and sat outside to listen to the concert. We could not hear as well as when inside but enjoyed it anyway. I ate most of the popcorn and we shared a Pepsi. We drove home and Evelyn made arrangements to have some Mary Kay product delivered. She also talked with Emily a short while after talking with Noah. We finished the evening by watching some of the Olympics.

much need rain

We slept a bit later today but were off for our walk by 9. I returned a jumbo space bag to Wal-Mart because it lost air. They exchanged it and we were off to the lake. When we got to Stuart Auditorium, we went in to hear a black choir from a Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC. It was an inspiring spiritual time. We finished our walk and were home by 11:30. I borrowed a neighbor’s ladder and bent the corners of the gutter were the flag gets caught when the wind blows. I think that will correct the problem. We had a lunch of leftovers from Evelyn’s luncheon Thursday and watched the USA basketball team play. We have tried to get someone to go with us to the Shindig tonight. We received a call from Stan and Linda inquiring about Evelyn’s gall bladder. We talked a while and wished him happy birthday. I think we had their anniversary (today) on our calendar but forgot it. They will go to Tuscany sometime this month. They had a visit from Jamie, our niece from New Bedford. We have not heard from them since we visited several years ago and sent them some money. They are doing well. For some reason, I was very tired and went to bed for a nap while I watched the Olympics. While I was sleeping, a rain storm came up accompanied by thunder. We decided to stay home instead of taking a chance on driving to Asheville. We have had 2 nice rains in the past 2 days. We need more but praise God for what He has blessed us with. I didn’t know it but the Cubs were scheduled to be televised tonight; therefore we watched it. They lost a close one but had won 9 road games in a row. An old saying from baseball: you can’t win ‘em all.

moving toward surgery

We had decided to not walk today since we were going to serve at the Open Door and go dancing tonight. We began prep for tonight’s dinner with friends and then went shopping for some clothes for Evelyn and a blue shirt for me. We also went to the grocery to get items for Evelyn’s hosting of the Bible study next Thursday. We went straight to the Open Door from there where I gave the devotion before serving meals and cleaning up. Evelyn called the doctor and learned that she had an appointment with a surgeon next Friday at 11. We have a friend who is a retired nurse who had recommended a different one, but we would have had to wait longer. This is long enough. We completed our shopping at the grocery outlet and returned home. Evelyn took a nap while I put the groceries away and marked some golf balls. I also straightened up the house a bit before Evelyn got up. I began to heat the new Holland Companion grill at 5:20. It has to heat 20-30 minutes. I put steaks on at 5:50. They are to cook 10 minutes on each side. Our friends came, I turned the steaks, we had a couple of beers and some wine on our deck, and we ate. The steaks were great but really didn’t have a distinctive charcoal flavor. Using this grill is quite different. I think I will put some wood chips into the next grilling process to see how that flavors things. We went to the monthly ballroom dance and had a good time practicing our tango. We stayed until the end this time, came home and watched the Olympics. Oh, yes. The Cubs pulled out another victory in the 9th inning.

Harassing husband has healing hopes

Today was different. Evelyn had a lunch meeting with the LWML women from church at 11:30 so I took the car and went to the golf course. I was there and teeing off by 8:45. I was sort of in the lead but there were people behind me. I played 2 balls as usual but didn’t have a good start. I didn’t have a stellar day all around but not bad. My friend Isidro, the Hispanic groundskeeper, was there, and I gave him a granola bar. He gave me 8 balls he had found. Today was a day that he and the owner were cutting the weeds. It was a good day to play because I came home with 38 balls that had been lost in the past. Some had been half buried in the ground for some time. Strangely enough, not one was a marked ball that I had lost, and I have lost my share out there. I had to work on cleaning them up in the evening while watching the Cubs/Braves game. While eating supper, Evelyn got a call from the doctor saying the ultrasound showed that she had several gall stones, one around an inch in size. He will contact some surgeons who will remove her gall bladder laproscopically. I feel really blessed because I had been after her for several days to see the doctor. She will be in the hospital overnight for one or two nights. We had volunteered to organize a dedication dinner for our church addition. This may cause us to withdraw because she will be sore for 2 weeks as per the doctor. Evelyn seems to have taken the information in good spirits. I think she will be happy to be over the stomach pain she has been experiencing. We called our friends from dance class and invited them for dinner tomorrow evening before the ballroom dance. We tried doing some of the tango steps but found we didn’t remember enough of them. They can give us instruction before we go to the dance.

Cubs and salsa

We were up and at the hospital by 9. We were taken around the outpatient surgery area where we will likely serve. After our orientation we went to radiology to see if Evelyn could get her ultrasound today. Since we were wearing our volunteer outfits, they worked us in. Of course it was really the Grace of God that did it. We finished there early and went to town to pick up our layaway items at Goody’s. We had paid to lay the items away until today because today is geezer day, offering a 15% discount. At first we were told we could not have the discount on layaways. This was not what were told last week when we made the purchases. I blew my stack and attracted the attention of a woman who must have been the supervisor. She not only calmed me down but gave us a more significant discount. We left happy so we treated ourselves to a waffle at Waffle House. (We had a coupon.) We needed bread so we went to the Grocery Outlet and bought some other items including 4 NY strip steaks. We stopped off at the CVS pharmacy for some aftershave and came home for the Cubs game. We had decided to just eat peanuts (and beer for me) for lunch. As the game began, we worked on making salsa. I chopped tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cilantro, and minced garlic. Evelyn added lime juice that really helped the flavor. She took a portion out before I added one small drop of Dave’s Gourmet Ultimate Insanity, a highly concentrate of habanera peppers. The Cubs jumped all over the hapless Braves so I drove to the Lake Junaluska golf course to play. I learned that one must have sleeves in his shirt to play there. I was wearing a tank top. I returned home to watch of the finish of the Cubs game. They are certainly playing great baseball. We didn’t have much for supper and went off to choir practice at 7. We came home and watched the night portion of the day/night double header, resulting from last night’s rain out.

attempt at getting medical help

We were off to the lake late. I had stayed up too long last night and slept too long this morning. We came home, and I watered the plants. Evelyn began washing the wood work in the office/guest room and guest bathroom. She was finished with those before lunch. I had completed some forms and read the e-mail but not showered for the day. I showered and Evelyn started to continue work, but as often I had to insist she rest. She did rest but did finally agree to see the doctor. She called and was told to come over to be worked in. She saw the doctor and agreed to have an ultra sound to check her gall bladder. The excess gas, the stomach pain, the lack of sleep and other things prompted the doctor to recommend the ultrasound. They would have done it this afternoon but she had eaten within 6 hours. We wanted it done tomorrow but the lab was booked up. Therefore, we have to wait until Thursday morning early to have it done. We had supper and were all primed to watch the Cubs play the Braves but the Lord in His mercy sent rain to the Atlanta area. They need it but so do we. We pray we get some tomorrow. We watched the regular Monday programs and the Olympics before going to bed.

time in Asheville

We were on the golf course by 8:45. I had taken some recyclables on the way. It was cool and less humid than a week ago. I played better than I should have. Since I play two balls at once, it is hard to keep accurate count of the strokes. We took the Katrina DVD to the home of the dentist who had lent it to us when they came to our dinner. We were home by 1 and finished our pork chop medley. While playing golf, we received a call from the friends we were to meet at the ball game tonight. They had visitors and couldn’t go. We rested a while in the afternoon (Evelyn’s stomach acts up sometimes) and then drove to Asheville. We went to a Trader Joe’s look alike called Fresh Market. They feature many organic and other weird items at extravagant prices. We bought a few nuts but nothing else. We had a gyro sandwich and then stopped for peanuts to take to the ball game. When we got there, we weren’t allowed to take them in. Bummer. We will have to conceal them better next Monday. I say that because during the Money Monday event, our envelope had a coupon for two free tickets to tomorrow night’s game. We didn’t want to come again so soon, so I asked the ticket office if we could trade them for next Monday. They agreed. During the game I called and made arrangements for Jo Wooten to take Evelyn to the LWML lunch Thursday. She agreed and I hope to play golf with Billy Riggs that morning. We left in the 8th inning with the score tied 6-6. It is hard to know how long a baseball game will last when tied. When at home we got caught on the Olympics. I got caught more and stayed up until almost 1 to watch the gymnastic competition. The USA won the bronze medal to everyone’s surprise.

more stomach trouble

We slept especially late this morning and rushed to make it to church for the choir warm-up. We sang only adequately as choir. The song, “Just a Closer Walk” was arranged in a difficult manner. Many people said they appreciated it but I didn’t think it was that good. The message was challenging about world missions. We came home directly and heated the cabbage/pork chop mixture for dinner. I love that stuff. I was really happy that Evelyn made a big Dutch oven full. We have at least one more meal to enjoy out of it. I watched some of the Olympics for a while as Evelyn rested. Around 4 she decided she wanted to walk the lake so we did. She walked very slowly and could not make it all the around without sitting a while. Her stomach is still hurting much of the time. I hope I can get her to try for an appointment this week. Perhaps she should have some GI tests. We returned home and she went right to bed. After resting a short time, she got up. I had made some popcorn, but she was afraid to eat any although she loves it. She made a dish of ice cream for us instead. We watched some sports and went to bed. We are planning to go to Mayberry Days in Mt. Airy, NC toward the end of September. We will also go see the Tourists play baseball tomorrow night.

God is merciful

We walked the lake despite rising later than usual. We weren’t finished until 10:30. It was the first complete night’s sleep Evelyn has had all week. We returned and began the search for the coupons for golf I had lost. We searched the shed, the newspapers, the recycle paper and the car. I had searched each of these at least twice, some 3 times. Evelyn found them in the car in a place I had searched several times. We prayed together thanking God for His mercy. I honestly thought we would never find them. We came in to continue the search for the other one I have misplaced. I searched while Evelyn heated our lunch. Afterward we searched the office but still haven’t found it. We had not cleaned up after walking so we did. I then went to watch the Cubs get pummeled by the Cardinals. She fixed sandwiches, got some sodas, and left with our chairs for the Shindig on the Green in Asheville. We had been unable to find anyone to go with us, so we went alone. It is a really enjoyable picnic atmosphere. For the first time, I noticed people with wine and beer. When the family from GA comes, I hope we can make a trip there with them. People also had their dogs, so they can take Beethoven too. We always leave for home by 9, but it began to sprinkle, forcing us to leave 10 minutes early. We didn’t want to be caught in a hard rain, but little happened on the way home. We were home in time to see some of the Olympic swimming competition.

dinner with friends

We were up by 7:30, and I watered the plants and then washed the car. Evelyn worked on cleaning the baseboard in the master bedroom and bath as well as much of the hallway. We both stopped around 10:30. We had decided to go to town to shop for clothes for Evelyn but wanted to eat lunch first. I insisted Evelyn rest for half an hour and take another 30 minutes to get made up. I worked on the e-mail. Evelyn then came out and made tomato sandwiches for lunch. We drove to town and went to Belk and bought a top. We went to Goody’s and bought more clothes at great price reduction. We laid some away because we will get the senior discount on Wednesday. I deposited my annuity check from Jackson National before going to return the DVDs to the library. I went again to the country club to see if I could get a replacement for my certificates. They said they needed a document from the donor, but, when I called the doctor, I learned that he had solicited the items for himself, not through Relay for Life. I think I may have lost my certificates for good. We went on to Barber Orchard to check on Honey Crisp apples. They won’t be ready until around September 1. We came home and rested again. We both agreed that shopping wears us out more than walking 2 ½ miles around the lake. At 6 the Bollingers came and we went with them to a restaurant in Maggie Valley. We took them out to dinner as a gift for their 50th anniversary. We all enjoyed our dinners and came back here for dessert of coconut/rhubarb cake. They left after 9 and we watched some of the opening ceremony for the Olympic games.

Ready for the PGA

Evelyn took me to the golf course and went to church to lead her Bible study. The owners of the golf course are widening the road because they are building condominiums along the river. Today was blasting day and signs said that the road might be closed for an hour. While I was playing, I heard 5 blasts, 2 of them quite loud. It didn’t bother me, however. I played the best golf I have ever played. I play 2 balls and shot 94 on number 1 and 87 on number 2. I don’t expect to ever do that well again. Evelyn was blessed in her study as well and had no trouble getting back through the blasting because they were at lunch. We came home and had leftover cabbage and pork chops. It was better than the first time. Evelyn still fights stomach trouble and rested again. I went outside and cleaned my clubs and bag. I have never done that. Dirt gets into the grooves, and I took a wire brush to clean them. I don’t know what difference that makes to the game but hope it will help. We ate supper, walked over to Rogers. We had found some green peppers on the porch when we returned home earlier and suspected they had come from him. We were right. We visited with them and they gave us some other vegetables. We left and went to walk the lake. It was dark by the time we finished and came home. We finished watching the movie from last night to finish the evening.

cabbage and pork chops

We were off to the lake by 8:30 and home by 9:30. I watered some of the plants but not all. It had gently rained slightly last night. Evelyn went to work on cooking the cabbage Bollingers gave us. I had cut it in half and then in wedges. We put one half into a bag to give to Rogers. I also cut some carrots and sliced zucchini. She added two large pork chops and cooked the mixture for an hour. She also had a plan for my hair. She wanted me to color my hair, so I had bought some “Touch of Grey” last week. She helped me apply the solution (she has done it for years to herself) and seemed pleased with the results. We ate lunch and Evelyn had another sore stomach so she went to bed. I watched the Cubs beat the Astros. Man, they are hot. I pray they can keep up the offense. We then watched some of the sports shows, and I finished off the chicken salad we had made last week before going to choir. Evelyn had also made a rhubarb coconut cake that she wanted to take to share with the choir. We put on our robes for a picture for the new directory, rehearsed, and then went to the basement to enjoy the cake. We came straight home and she worked on the Bible study for a while before we watched another movie from the library. It was a British saga called “All Passion Spent”. Like many British films, it was slow moving and difficult for me to understand since they have thick accents and speak rapidly. Evelyn had not eaten anything since noon and had no more stomach problems before bedtime.

Still no rain

Tuesday we walked again. We came home and then Evelyn went to the church to have things run off for the Bible study Thursday and then went to have her nails filled. I worked on the computer checking on payments. She came home early and finished the small scrapbook she is making about the grandson camping trip. I made lunch of chicken salad sandwiches. Evelyn rested while I watched the Cubs on the computer. I then went to Rogers to use their phone to make some toll free numbers to the Shell credit card company to get the over charge removed. I also called NCL to learn how many reward points we have toward our cruise in January. We have 832 dollars to help reduce our charge. I had watered the tomatoes this morning but noticed that at least one of them had started to droop again. I used some water from the sink to water it again. We are trying to avoid putting so much water down the drain since we have a water shortage here. We just stayed in during the afternoon and Evelyn made a peach dessert that we were going to eat later in the evening but forgot. We watched a movie, “The Accidental Tourist” that won several awards some years ago. It was slow moving but good. We called Janice to see how she was recovering from the disaster at their home. She gave us a detailed account of what they are doing to reconstruct their house. She is quite distraught but will make it through. They had a good adjuster who gave them a good evaluation of their loss. They are getting new telephone numbers. We talked for about half an hour.

Asheville Tourists

Monday began with a walk. We have been sleeping better, but Evelyn’s stomach still acts up once each day. We went to Weight Watchers at 10 and found Evelyn another pound lighter. Since April she has lost 8 pounds by their scale. This is not such good news because she has not been trying to lose. We went out to breakfast but on the way stopped at the country club to see if they would replace the golf prizes I bought at the Relay for Life. They said they would call. We went to Jim’s Drive Inn and had a steak and egg sandwich for breakfast. It was on a biscuit that I liked but Evelyn didn’t. We went to the library to return a book and renew another. Then to the Open Door to tell them we wouldn’t be there next Thursday. Then to CVS for Pepsi and to K-Mart for toothpaste. All were specially priced this week. We came home but didn’t eat lunch until about 2. I watered the plants because they (especially the tomatoes) droop each day without water. Karen Norris, friends from Tango class, called and invited us to the baseball game tonight in Asheville. We went to meet them at 7 and watched the game. On one of the first few pitches, the catcher allowed the ball to go past him and hit the umpire in the hand. We assume it had been broken because he left the game and the other umpire took over calling balls and strikes. The exchange took nearly half an hour so the game was not over until 10. We stopped for a frosty at a Wendy’s on the way home. It was soft and Evelyn’s stomach could absorb it.

A picture with Pat Day

At the LLL convention we heard the moving testimony of Pat Day, one of the winningest jockeys of all time. He only weighs 100 pounds but has won the Kentucky Derby twice and many other big time races. We were blessed to hear and meet him.

bad news from the Valley

We were blessed by worship and Holy Communion today. Our choir sang “O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” during the offering. Rosalind, the organist, and her husband Herb came for dinner of rock Cornish hen, Texas Caviar, green beans, sweet potatoes and peaches, and Butterfinger ice cream. They are moving into a new house and have been painting, etc. All week so we thought we would give them a respite by providing a meal for them. They appreciated it. They left and Evelyn rested while I worked at watching the Cubs play Pittsburgh. I am amazed at how well they are playing right now and hope they continue through October. I found Bruce Waters’ number on the internet, and we called them to inquire about his parents, our dear friends from Rio Hondo. We learned that their house had lost the roof during hurricane Dolly, forcing them to move to an apartment in Harlingen. They were in the house when the roof went but escaped with some pictures. We called Don and talked with him a short while. We were encouraged with his positive spirit. They are both Christian people and their faith will sustain them. Janice will take much longer to recover than he. Our friends the Bollingers visited and brought some garden produce including rhubarb. We have been wanting some of that so we chopped and cooked it down immediately. When it cooled down some, we went to walk the lake and come to the hotel to use the wireless high speed Internet so I could publish some pictures. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the camera which must have some more in it that need to be loaded into the computer.

Pictures from Folkmoot USA 2008

This is the dance troupe from Japan.

The flag ceremony at the opening of the show. They are flags from all the countries represented. We were at the gala in Maggie Valley. This is done before each show.

This is the opening of the dance by those from Russia. A woman carries a tea set on her head, followed by male dancers pretending to train horses (not shown here).
The group from Trinidad did a limbo dance. Some girl actually went under this flaming limbo pole that was less than 14 inches off the floor.

pictures of Shindig on the Green in Asheville

Off to the theater

At last we were able to sleep later this morning: 8:30. I had made a plan to go with Jim to the flea market this morning so we picked him up. Evelyn dropped us off there and went on to the farmer’s market in Waynesville. She bought some green beans but we bought nothing except some sesame seeds and spices. Jim found some green beans there. We were home by 10. I watered the tomatoes which are doing quite well. We have had 4 small tomatoes but look for more larger ones. Not like the ones we grew in Indiana. We called and talked with Stacy about her experiences with the boys she had for several days two weeks ago. We hadn’t had much time to talk with her since they left. We had lunch and then Jennifer Austin called from Florida. She and Evelyn talked for a while and I finished the dishes from last evening and today noon. Evelyn rested while I watched the Cubs game on the computer “game day” feature. We have tried to get someone to co-host the dinner for the dedication of the addition to the church but can’t think of anyone. Evelyn wants it to be the service of the people who are here only in the summer. We wanted to invite someone for dinner tomorrow so we could plan. We thought about this most of the day. We called Bollingers and made plant to take them out for their 50th anniversary next Friday. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner and then to the theater to see “Kiss Me Kate”. It was 3 hours long but very good. The costuming is always good as Shakespeare intended. On the way we stopped at Krauses to see if they would come for dinner tomorrow at noon. They are moving to another house and will have to talk about whether they have family providing for them or not. It was not as hot today as was predicted and especially pleasant tonight.

a night out

Up early again. Evelyn ate oatmeal while I fried myself 2 eggs and ate a small portion of the venison sausage we had cooked last night. It had a good flavor but was dry as venison usually is. We were teeing off by 9 and had finished the first 9 by 10:30. It was relatively pleasant even though it got to the high 80s later in the day. I lost 3 balls and had to take penalty strokes for them. We found 10 others however. Since it seems unfair to take a stroke for a lost ball but be unable to shave one for a found ball, I decided to balance things by reducing my final score by 7 (do the math). Regardless we were finished and at home eating lunch by 12:45. Some sad news. After making the wonderful peach upside down cake yesterday, we left it on the counter in a pan with a lid. This did not deter the tiny ants that have invaded the house. We had to throw it away. Not without tears of regret. We rested in the afternoon because we were gearing up for our dinner out with the neighbors. They came for an appetizer and happiness from a bottle around 5:30. We went to a place called Jukebox Junction. We had a coupon for a buy one get one free. We both ordered pan fried trout. It was delicious but the cole slaw, although generously served, had no flavor. We decided we would probably not return because the meal took a long time to be delivered, and they used all disposable plates, cups and plastic ware. We then went to Canton, a small town near here, to attend the Materfest, a little town fund raiser. We heard a very good band called Simple Folk and even danced a little. We were home by 10. Jim and I planned to go to the flea market tomorrow morning.