Grace is still with me!

Here's my most recent photo of Grace, now over 17 years old. She's rather thin, but lately she's been eating more than Audace has! She's still as sweet as always. I really do love this lady-cat.  💕 💗 💞

Quite a gap in time!

I think I'll take this up again — keeping this blog updated, that is.

By early February, 2020, I had been receiving unsettling text messages and phone calls from and about my brother Don. I learned that he had started feeling out of breath and had difficulty walking since about May 2019, but didn't tell me anything was wrong until Christmas Eve. He was so much like our dad — quiet, not wanting to bother anyone, etc. Anyway, the news kept getting worse and worse, so on Feb 20, I went to La Quinta to see what was what.

I learned fast that everything was even worse than I had thought. He was deep into congestive heart failure, but we didn't learn how deep until the angiogram on Mar 3. His cardiologist said that he had probably been having silent coronaries for at least 20 years, and the damage was so thorough that there was nothing to "fix." The only medical help would be a heart transplant. I was crushed.

Fortunately, I had been in touch with David and Stacy, and plans were already in the works for them to move their dad to Anchorage and live with David. (Stacy doesn't live very far away.) They arrived on the day after Don's angiogram and the cardiologist came in and explained everything again. All of us were crushed, and news about a heart transplant wasn't good. Stacy said, "We just want to take our dad home." And that's what they did.

I returned home on Mar 7, and the three of them flew from Los Angeles to Anchorage on Mar 8-9 (an overnight, non-stop flight). All of us were becoming more and more aware of this pandemic, and that overnight flight meant no changing planes in Seattle. Excellent move, I thought.

Don seemed to be settling in just fine at David's. Stacy took him to his first primary-care doctor's appointment on the 11th, and he made an appointment with his new cardiologist. But he developed an infection in one leg, and over the weekend of Mar 14-15, David took him to the ER. Don was admitted so the infection could be fought, but with his kidneys shutting down and his heart pumping at less than 10%, the infection spread to his bloodstream, and he passed away during the night of Mar 18.

I'm still heartbroken.

Goodbye, 2016!

Hoping and praying for much better in 2017!

On Ancestry

I was quite appalled today while wandering through the new (but not improved) Ancestry.com, specifically my family tree on that website. I'd been hunting for more information about one set of great-grandparents and their children, and this is what I found on Carl Reussing's page:

Can you read that? Not only is the comma after California omitted, but this ~~> " ... that bares their name." Really? bares? Wouldn't you think the people at Ancestry.com would have better proofreaders than this demonstrates? Unbelievable to me. I will click on "Ignore" for this piece of ridiculousness. 

Springtime and bluebonnets!

This was my view out my car window when I was stopped at a traffic light the other day ... and it's not the only one. I get these little treats just about everywhere I drive around here, this time of year!

Getting out of drought

A couple of years ago, southeast Texas was deep into drought. Many MANY trees were lost, all over the place, including two very tall ones in my back yard. The last two years, though, have certainly taken care of that! And this year has been wetter than last year. Other parts of Texas still need lots more rain, so I keep praying for that.

Here's where to check on current drought conditions in TX, OK, NM, AZ, and parts of CA, CO, and other states. ~~> HERE

Decorating

This is about as much decorating as I do! Not much inside ... mostly outside!

Weird weather!

Very strange weather for SE Texas! There's a thin layer of frozen rain on plants, mulch, roofs, guardrails, and cars this morning, and it shows no signs of melting!

Just outside my front door.

On the roof

Front yard and roof

And all those eensy-teensy spheres of frozen rain that show up on leaves!

This cold spell (31F in my back yard right now) is supposed to last until Saturday. Brrrrrr!

Thanksgiving Day, 2013

While it was frosty and cold outside this morning (but at least not raining!), Ruse was helping me pay some of our December bills!

"We are the clay ... "

Here is my latest project to brighten up the entranceway to Wee World, the nursery ministry in our church, The Church at Creek's End. 

Finishing touches are still being applied ... a few decorations on some of the "clay jars" and the addition of children's names. 

I love doing these!

Sad day ... lost another tree

This is the fourth tree I've had to have removed since living here. Two were fairly small, having been planted in the front yard after I moved in, but the two in the back yard were part of the original forest here: one oak (about 2 years ago) and one pine (today). Breaks my heart. =(

 Signs of pine beetle infestation.

They get into the tree through these tiny holes they bore. 

More signs of pine beetles' destruction. 

The tree team got the top of the tree down first. There was no doubt that this tree was a goner. Breaks my heart. 

 Here's the topless tree ... it's still incredibly tall.

The guys on the ground were cutting up what was cut off and lowered by ropes. 

Absolutely no doubt ... it was dead. =( 

 Now there's only one oak left where there used to be two oaks and a pine. 

It's still a pretty back yard, but to lose two full grown trees in two years is heart-breaking.

Kira's baptism today

Today, Kira was baptized during the first service at church. We are all very happy for her!

 Pastor Tim is introducing Kira to the congregation.

Pastor Tim is baptizing Kira.

On Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, Ken treated Anne and me (and two kids!) to an afternoon at the ball game, watching the Astros from one of the suites. It was a beautiful day, and the big roof was open ... the first time I've watched one of these games in open air. Usually it's so hot and humid, the roof is closed and the a/c is on!

We had a wonderful time!

Odd weather for TX!!

We're on a roller-coaster of sorts ... warm and muggy and then cold and windy and dry ... sometimes rain in between! Very strange!!

 Sideways rain today!

LOTS of rain for about 45 minutes!!

More bluebonnet photos!

More ... in no particular order ...

And on my walk back to my car, I found some weedy looking plants that have cute little flowers, too!

Bluebonnets in Creekside Park

Creekside Park is a residential area in The Woodlands where there's a large open section with bluebonnets in it. I think they were cultivated, but now the area is open for people to enjoy ... have picnics, take photos, etc!!

And a couple of panoramas, just to get the feeling of the expanse of this!