Saturday, April 27, 2024

My friend Nelda's son has passed away.

Last week I could not write my blog. There were positive things going on in our family but all I could think of is my friend Nelda who has lost her son Shane.

Nelda's world has stopped, and I could not imagine the pain she was and still is going through, I am a super empathetic person, but it is just too overwhelming to imagine her pain. I don't think I am strong enough to endure that kind of loss.

I have had friends who have lost children, I have my own Mother and have seen her experience in grief after losing my sister Jill over sixteen years ago and I know how it still affects her.

Nelda's world will now have a before and after date of April 14th, 2024.

This next year is going to be extremely hard for my friend. After the funeral, most everyone will go back to their lives, but Nelda's will still be stopped, every holiday, birthday and then the anniversary of Shane's passing will be super hard. Nelda will be needing us even though she probably won't ask for us to help because she is very independent and strong.

I am going to do my best to be there for her. I will pop in and let her know that I haven't gone on and forgotten what she is going through. Life is so hard sometimes, then it is so good, and so on, we all just need to be there for each other through all the ups and downs.

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Total Eclipse of the Sun and more Fun....

Monday morning very early, Dave and I looked at the weather and decided we were going to head to a small town in Missouri in the path of totality to watch the Eclipse. It was 5-hour drive away from us, and we were loaded up and excited for the road trip. The drive was going well, I was gabbing away and keeping Hub entertained with stories I have probably told him a time or two. We were making great time and were about an hour ahead when all the sudden we started losing time, and traffic started picking up, slowly at first till we were pretty much bumper to bumper. It was then we realized we weren't the only folks who had decided to take off work and go to see this phenomenon. Well shoot! On to plan B, we had to get on our phones and look for a different city in that line of totality to head to, because we were running out of time and one much closer meant a much shorter eclipse time, but we would take what we could get. The first town could get to was Red Bud Illinois, that had about a minute total eclipse time and if we made it there in good time we would just keep heading down to a town with a longer time. We finally ended up in Chester, Illinois which is on the bluff of the Mississippi and the home of Popeye the Sailor man. Everything was crowded, all the gas stations and people were parked everywhere so we decided to go into a cemetery to park and eat lunch while waiting for the shenanigans to begin. It was a great spot too, with crows flying around it was definitely a spooky feel, once the sun was covered in full the sky looked purplish and the eclipse lasted about 3 minutes. I loved the whole thing and the next one I think we should do is on Ciara's birthday on 8/12/2045.

Speaking of Ciara, she made it home from West Virginia Monday night and has been settling back in around home. Ciara has made us some wonderful grub! Yesterday she spent many hours in the kitchen making us a homemade vegan Lasagna dinner and salad that was so wonderful we are spoilt rotten!

Chimi was just a tiny kitten when she left, and he is a big fella now and he recognized his Mama

More Fun!!! Fallout is an Awesome show we have been binge watching on Amazon prime. Fallout (TV Series 2024– ) - IMDb

This week... I am finishing up my Chick Brooder for my 15 babies arriving on Friday. I need to figure something to keep the cat out of it. I have everything else figured out for them and am ready to experience this part of being a Chicken Mom.

My 3 existing chicks are happy it is warm again and are free ranging now. I found that my girl Brownie has Scaling mites in her legs, so I had to dip all three hen's legs in cooking oil last night when they were going to bed. I know it sounds weird, why you do that is to coat the legs and smother the mites, then do it again 10 days later when their eggs hatch to smother the new mites. It is very contagious to the chickens, so I treat all of them. I will get their coup cleaned again and treated with DE and Ashes

Hub and I planted potato's out in the Garden yesterday. All of our indoor plantings are getting big. I think we should be able to plant them outside in the next couple weeks. Ciara and I are going to start some flowers from seeds to plant outside this week.

Spring is definitely here... it is beautiful outside.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

My Gma Ginny's 101st Bd

My Grandma Ginny loved me so deeply and made me feel safe in the world. Gma Ginny and Gpa Bill Thomas are the first people I have memories of from my childhood. Gma Ginny was my person for sure and made the hugest impression on me.

Virginia Mae Reeder born April 2nd, 1923, in a small town in Galt, Missouri which is a little over 200 miles from where I live now. Her father Earl Reeder died very young. Gma Ginny was raised by her Mother Hazel Mantlo, she had one brother Rex and two sisters Dorothy and Norma. They all grew up close and tight together.

Gma Ginny met Gpa Bill at a dance, and I have been told both could really cut a rug. They married in October of 1940; they lived in St Joseph Missouri. My father Ronald Thomas was born October of 1941. Gpa Bill had to go to WWII for the Navy. After the War the family lived in St Joseph and my father grew up and went into the Navy after high school. It was at that time Gma and Gpa decided to move to Arizona.

My sister and I spent many weekends with my Gma and Gpa. On a normal day you would find my Gma sitting in her Kitchen smoking her long MORE menthol cigarettes. The kitchen table was a place we gathered to chat. Gma's house would be spotlessly clean. Her laundry would be washed and hanging out on her clothesline in the back yard.

I have a ton of great memories, one of my favorites is when Gma would take us to thrift stores and we would find crazy outfits to wear and then my sister and I would go home and go out on the back porch and plan a dance show to do on roller skates with music playing on our tape cassette player. When we were all done, we would have my Gma and my Dad come sit out on the porch and watch us skate to disco music in our funny outfits. Jill and I gave them a lot of roller-skating disco shows.

Speaking of Thrift stores, Gma loved thrift stores, and when she got older and didn't drive anymore, my kids and I would take her to the thrift shops as she called them. We had a big van, and she would sit up front with me. When it was time to load her in the van or out of the van, one of my kids would pop out with a step stool and hold her hand and help her. My children loved my Gma just as much as I did, we were with her till the last day of her life, July 20th, 2005.

Interesting tidbits about Gma.

She didn't start smoking till 40 years old, she also didn't start driving till around the same age.

Gma did not like making left hand turns. She had a planned route where she could go to the thrift shops, Thomas Mall, Fry's Grocery store and the library without making one left hand turn.

Gma flicked her two bottom fake teeth and cussed, by saying "God dammit" quite a bit.... We called her GD Gma. When she was dying, she was unconscious for about 5 days and I told everyone that Gma was at Heaven's gate and God was telling her, "Now Ginny, you can't be saying GD it up here" and I think they were in negotiations about that.

Gma was awesome at Fort building. She always had cool ideas for kid forts, and I have taught that to my kids and grandkids.

Gma was a voracious reader, was up on current events, loved Basketball and adored Charles Barkley.

Gma would animal sit any animal I had that needed babysitting. I think she babysat a Rabbit and Arnold the pig one time or two.

Gma had the best laugh and she was so much fun to be around.

Gma always found alternative ways to fix stuff with things you have on hand. You would always find unusual things fixed with weird things, but it worked... I loved that about her, she always found a plan B

Love of family and children. She loved us dearly but she was also blunt at telling us stuff too. lol.

Feeding people. My Gma was a feeder, whenever you came over, she had all kinds of food for everyone to eat. She was the kindest person I have ever known, and I miss her so much. I wish she could meet my husband, Dave. She would be feeding him and talking his ear off, and he would love it.

I look forward to the day I can see her again in Heaven, I love her and miss her so very much.

Gma Ginny and I