November 30, 2025

 I have been gone awhile...

Stitching Progress

I have #4-12 finished.  I have actually started 1-3, but haven't had much stitching time lately. I am now hoping to finish mid December.

Interesting Fact

Hurricane season "25 is officially over and left us with a very unique season. I will share what I mean in the two pictures of information.

No landfalling hurricane to the United States since 2015, but even crazier is...

We haven't had one here in the Gulf...especially along the northern Gulf Coast.

Crazy, but I will take it!

Life Lately

We have spent a good portion of our evenings in November at Fall Baseball aka "Fall Ball" and then Flag Football.

The last Thursday before Thanksgiving week was Palmer's last game and Tucker had a flag football game. Tyler had to go out of town so Jeff and I helped Lindsay out. We stopped and bought them food to eat at the ballpark because they would hardly have time to go home and change before the first game.

While Lindsay walked back and forth between the 2 fields, I took Palmer and Jeff took Tucker. Palmer was so excited to get his little medal and have pizza.

Tucker had a great play which as Jeff said, if there was an ESPN for flag football for kids, Tucker would have made the highlight reel. Lindsay, Palmer, and I arrived at his field just in time to see his side going crazy and congratulating him. He came from across the field to the other side and dove to get the flag from the opposing team and then slid on out of bounds. He saved the touchdown and they won the game. He was beyond excited.

What I did notice, but thought maybe he had eaten snacks was that he didn't eat. Tucker loves food and rarely ever turns anything down especially Chik Fila because he does not get it often.

At 9:30 that night Lindsay found out why when he threw up. That was the beginning of that wing of our family having perhaps the worst stomach bug in the history of stomach bugs. It went through them and the both ends lasted for a full 48 hours and then just incredible lethargy. I began to wonder if they would even have Thanksgiving.

It was a school holiday week, but trust me none of them had a holiday. 

We did manage to NOT get it, but we have other things of concern which I will save for last.

We had to cancel family photographs, but we all were together for Thanksgiving.

Jeff ordered a craft project for the kiddos to make. Tie dye t-shirts by spraying them with paint.

They poured macaroni on and then used the paint to spray the color to them.

Even little Valerie got one made by her Mama.

Thanksgiving is always a great day. It never fails that I start to wonder if I should have decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving like everyone else in the world seems to be doing or at least social media would have you think. I really don't care what others do, but I like keeping things like I had them growing up. 

I ignored the crowd and as always when the meal is served and I sit down to rest I am glad I waited. 

I have been decorating since Friday morning. I did buy my tree on Tuesday because the best tree stand arrived, but it just sat in water until Friday.

-----

All last week I wore an Auburn shirt...

I know it sounds crazy, but the last few years have not been for the faint of heart for us Auburn folks. If you grew up in Alabama as I did, you know it is just a wee bit different. I completely set myself up for heartbreak. I thought maybe just maybe since it was a home game and at Jordan Hare (remember Coach Saban says the stadium is haunted) that just maybe we could pull off a win. 

Like I said I set myself up for disappointment. I got up every day last week and donned an Auburn shirt. I have an entire wardrobe of Auburn attire. I even slept in an Auburn shirt each night. I was giving them all the juice from afar to pull out a miracle. HA!

I got up yesterday and put on my Iron Bowl traditional orange and navy stripes, tiger socks and Auburn Sorelli. I pulled out the stops.

I said I would take the loss if we just stayed in the game until the end. Oh! I should have never voiced those words. More yardage on offense but lots of mistakes left me undone and saying I am never watching college football again. 

I will. I do hate what has happened to it lately. I have no idea what I think about the coaching hire, but it is time to get on board anyway.

So, War Eagle!

And now on to the reason for no words from me for a while.

Lindsay's sickness of course caused her surgery to be postponed. That is twice that has happened. Nothing you can do but go with it. It is now scheduled for December 9th.

The even tougher stuff. Jeff has another bladder tumor. I just could not write ---

Surgery is in the morning in Pensacola. 

The tumor is in the same location as the last one. Even though the biopsy was clear, the doctor said a cell could have remained. It is small so the surgery should be much quicker and less invasive as the last one. Thankful for those cystoscopies every 3 months.

Cherish the good moments with your family. We did get the pictures taken Friday. Haven't seen them yet, but glad we were able to get them.

Mom slid down in the shower today. She is more and more feeble daily and while her mind is good enough to get the important things done, I will say it is slipping too. She will tell a story and it is a new story made with things from at lest 3 real events. She just combines them in to a new story. It all sounds good and logical, but wow is all I can say.

I can tell you all of that wears on me. Just haven't felt like communicating. Sometimes you just need to be quiet and let God hold you which HE DOES.

One day at a time. 

Don't know when I will be back. (sounds like song lyrics- I know you oldies are humming it now)

To Christmas and the birth of our Savior,

Sandy

November 9, 2025 AD

It is predicted to be cool when I wake up in the morning and even colder (34 degrees) on Tuesday morning. My bottlebrush have still been blooming and even today when I took this picture a little bee was happily flitting around the blooms. I would prefer to keep the mild temperatures we have had, but I guess it is time.

This week kind of wore me out physically and mentally. I am much better with all the sickness thankfully. I love days when I don't have to leave the house other than to pick up little Valerie, but those don't happen very often. There are always little things to keep me hopping all around. 

I usually walk out on the deck when I get up and get dressed and then sit back down at the kitchen table for my Scripture reading. I like to walk out even in the cold and look out at the sunrise and peacefulness of the water. The sunrise has moved way over to the right at this time of year. It is always amazing to me to see it in the different seasons. While we don't have the typical seasonal things, it is the little things like the location of the sun in relation to the water that lets you know the time of year.

The setting and the time with the Lord always help start the day off on the right tone.

I didn't take too many pictures this week, but there was some fun things mixed in with the other. I left Valerie with Jeff and scooted over to Tucker's school to watch him in a Veteran's Day thing. His grade level sang patriotic songs and in between the songs some of the kids shared history. Tucker had a line for his class. He did well and I loved watching him. 

I must say walking in to the school, I couldn't help thinking of aging. My goodness, I am a grandma. I spent so many years teaching and doing little performances like his and there I was walking in white headed and wrinkled and in a completely different stage of life. Unsure of how life has moved so quickly, but I do love being his grandma.

I am still stitching away on the 12 Days of Christmas. It is taking longer than I thought. Sometimes, those little small stitches have way more stitches than you expect. I have thoroughly enjoyed it though. Each one takes about 4 days, so my goal of having it done right after Thanksgiving was a little ambitious. I will keep at it, and I am sure it will get to the person at the perfect time.

I am still reading away this year. I started Jan Karon's Beloved and had to pause to read another book. Let's first talk about Jan Karon and her fictional town of Mitford. My mom first shared them and the author of the other book I will share today. I tried reading the Mitford books before I retired and couldn't get in to them. I will tell you why ---- I spent all those years teaching reading voraciously in the summer. I think I chose books that could be read in that manner. Page turners if you will. I don't think Jan Karon's books are meant to be read like that. It wasn't until I had been retired for about 2 years that I picked them up again. No hurry---just slow methodical reading. I saw the beauty of the characters and the town and fell in love with them.  Beloved is not meant to be read quickly and I am enjoying connecting again with all her characters.

My other book that I read in a few days was Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring. I had a surprise when I realized the setting for the book was Columbus, Georgia. Long time readers know I have lived there twice in my life and have a strong connection to the town. Anywho, KK has made this one into a movie. I will say this movie is a sappy love story. The book had more depth, but both were classic Karen Kingsbury. Her movie last year held Jeff's attention. This one not so much. I warned him, but he insisted on going :) I took Mother to this one and she enjoyed it much. If you are a Karen Kingsbury fan, I absolutely say go and read the book but take your girlfriends.

Jeff's back issues have returned so a phone call will be in order in the morning. I am guessing once again, we will schedule a surgery. The severe spinal stenosis probably won't go away and couple it with the Parkinson's makes it even more troublesome. I am very sad about it. He just can't catch a break. It is sometimes overpowering and heartbreaking to think on for too long. I have learned a lot about living one day at a time over the past few years.

I have also learned a lot about focusing on the good and the blessings too. 

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Until next week,

Sandy

November 2, 2025 AD

 Sunday evening, November 2, 2025 AD

I could not wait to put this out. I love Thanksgiving! November is here and I do love November. 

I am going to start and go backwards in time with my post today. Jeff and I went to a wedding this weekend in St. Augustine. We had good friends who moved to Ponte Vedra a few years ago. One son is here and one is in Jacksonville, so the one in Jacksonville was getting married. We drove over with another couple and had a nice little weekend in a great location. We ate at Columbia Restaurant on Friday night. It was so good. It is Florida restaurant with the largest one in Tampa. Man...it was tasty. St. Augustine is always a fun trip strolling in the historic district. The wedding was there with a view of the water on a rooftop. Very pretty!

I did not take pictures on the trip other than of us all gussied up. What kind of blogger am I turning into?

We don't get this dressed up much and I am ok with that. I am not one to go around sloppy, but dressing up doesn't suit me all that much.

I got sick once more and have had another round of antibiotics and hope I am fully past all of that. I need to really work on getting my immune system in order. I am starting in the morning with a pretty regimented plan for the month of November. 

We have been going to fall ballgames on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the past few weeks. It finally turned cold this past week and I had to put on leggings under my pants and a sweater and a blanket, but I do enjoy watching the little ones play.

That first cold evening which I know is all relevant to where you live  is so shocking to the system. It seems so much colder than it actually is but when you live in a warm weather climate it can be a blast on the system. 

September and October have been very pleasant months but not fallish at all. I think the Florida fall arrived so November is giving me some vibes.

College football is not helping me at all. Being an Auburn girl has been hard for a few years now. I am so ready for a change there.

Enough of that.

Here are the kiddos in their Halloween costumes. We were in St. Augustine for that, but I will document the costume choices. 

Tucker and Palmer chose Darth Vader and the Incredible Hulk.

Miles was Spiderman and Valerie a sheep... minus the mask and ears. 

Lindsay got a promotion. I am not going to tell you her title due to privacy issues but it is a BIG DEAL. She had to be board approved which I knew would happen. She is very qualified! I was in charge of making sure 3 little boys were quiet while this all happened. They did great! The family was there to support her that night. 

Her new duties will officially start in January, but she is super busy right now getting all the details with her new job while getting ready to hire someone to replace her current position. Mama is just trying to be there to help.

Many will remember her birth with Palmer was rough and endometriosis has reared its ugly head since . She will be having a procedure on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to hopefully alleviate that. No hysterectomy on the docket but she has been told not to have children anyway, sooooo other than her age that might not have been a bad idea. We are just praying for the right thing to be done to help her. She is a tough cookie.

A bluebird landed on the deck the other day. That is very rare for this time of year. I usually only see them in early spring here. I do love my bird watching. I just happened to walk over to the window and there it was.

A little Gus who is the best cuddle.

A little Valerie in warmer clothes on that first cold day.

I have some reading to share soon and I am sincerely going to try and post once a week for the month of November.

Quote from Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey

After 65 days at sea from Plymouth (a total ofd 97 days from the first launch at Southampton), the Pilgrims caught a glimpse of their destination, the new land where God would be worshipped freely and -- in time -- where freedom would flourish. Shouting for joy and falling to their knees to pray, they celebrated by reading Psalm 100.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, 

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him; bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting, 

And His faithfulness to all generations.

The book is so good. I will need to share more about it later. 

That is it for now...Going to try and stay awake until 9:00. It seems like is midnight and only 6:25. Oh this time....I must remain positive.

Sandy