Not Having to Squint

Tuesday, I broke down and bought a flat, wide-screen HD TV! It was delivered and set up yesterday morning and I do enjoy being able to see the picture without having to squint for a change! I'm very thrilled with finally having a 47" screen but may have been happier with a 54" since our room could have easily accommodated that bigger size; however, the price swayed me to choose the smaller one. We also chose the LCD over the Plasma since most reports we read were ranking it higher (in quality and, unfortunately, price too). The DirecTV people will be here Monday afternoon to set up the HD. I understand that the programming in HD is limited right now but is increasing. People with whom I have talked really do like the HD and are saying that it's worth the extra $$ per month (I hope they are right). I researched several brands of TV's but kept coming back to the LG, the main reason being that I know the local people who sell them and they will make service calls at minimal costs. They spent a long time setting everything up yesterday (real perfectionists!) so I'm pleased. I do enjoy not having to squint more than anything else. You can adjust the ratio of the picture if you don't like the widest angle, which Hubby doesn't, so he sets it back to the original, making a much smaller picture. I, on the other hand, feel that we paid for the entire screen and plan to use it whenever I'm watching. Wow, things are complicated!

Mama Dip's: Great Southern Cooking

Today is almost over and I have gotten nothing accomplished. I have clothes to wash, groceries to put away, beds to make, etc., etc. I had to take Hubby to the Physical Therapist early this morning for his second therapy session. Afterwards, he had an appointment with his surgeon who was pleased with his progress thus far; however, he wants him to get a little more aggressive with his exercises now. I will be having to take hime to therapy every Monday morning for the next month at least. After that, perhaps he will be able to drive himself. He probably can do that now but I don't feel to good about his taking that trip alone just yet. Of course, I enjoy going with him to see what they are doing and then to enjoy lunch together at the nearby K & W Cafeteria.

We often get adventuresome though and try one of my favorite places. The last trip we made, we enjoyed a meal at Mama Dip's world-renowned restaurant in Chapel Hill. It was very good country cooking served in a homey atmosphere. I do recommend your trying Mama Dip's if you are ever in the Chapel Hill area. Whether you like country cooking or not, I suggest you give her a try, if for no other reason but to say you had lunch with the famous lady. There are always specials available such as: bread pudding, collard greens, a variety of pies, and other mouth-watering dishes. She has published 3 or more cookbooks, one of which I gave my daughter-in-law one Christmas. There is very little that I can think of that is better than good Southern cooking like my mom used to do (unfortunately, I'm not the cook she was and never will be. That's just not my thing).

Time for a Group Trip

Things have been so different since returning home and being alone after 2 weeks of being with family. I'm like our youngest grandson; I didn't want to go until I saw the last relative leave. He wasn't ready to come home I understand; he wanted more time with his uncles, aunts and cousins. (The little girl wasn't ready to leave everyone either and they both want to go camping again soon, as do we). They had a surprise awaiting them, however; Mom and Dad had bought them a pool to enjoy.

I must get my thoughts re-focused on the church trip that we are preparing to take next month. Since I'm the escort, I must get busy doing something. I have to make individual folders, prepare seating arrangements, plan for devotionals, submit final moneys, assure that everyone has trip details, continue working with officials at the tour company and with politicians in Washington, etc., etc.,etc. It seems that every time I think all the money is in and accounted for, someone new joins the group or someone drops out. We had 45 signed up to go, one dropped out making 44 then a new one joined to make it 45 once again. That includes 11 young children. I'm looking forward to a great trip even if it may keep me quite busy!

Grandparents' Beach Time with Family

We arrived back home last night at 6:00 but I didn't feel like getting on the blog; today, I haven't had time to blog but decided to make a quick attempt. Unloading the RV has taken a lot of time. I'm having to wash linens and clothes to return to the RV (we always get ready for the next trip as soon as we get back home). I usually have most clothes already washed but we were camping in a state park that only had 30 amp service which wasn't enough to run the washer/dryer. I did take time to wash everything before we moved from the military RV park, where we had 50 amp, to the state campground. We had all four of our children and their spouses at the beach house this summer! We also had 5 of our 8 grandchildren present, at least part of the time. That's the most that we have had together in a long time. I do hope that we can try to continue this into years to come. What a nice experience this was! I had heard of other families going to the beach each year for their reunions and now I know why. It really makes a great setting plus everyone can find something to do that they especially enjoy. One of our son's, his wife, and one of our grandsons enjoyed taking extended bike rides each day. Others enjoyed a speedy walk on the beach; a couple even decided to take in an 11:00 PM movie (the new Batman movie!). Our son took our young 5-year-old grandson out crabbing late one night and that was probably the highlight of his trip. The two youngest enjoyed all of the special attention they received from the older grandchildren. And...Grandparents loved it all!!!

Hubby is much improved from his shoulder surgery; however, he has a very long way to go yet. He thinks that progress is too slow and, to him, I'm sure that it is. Hopefully, it we speed it for him soon. He has to go back to the surgeon and the physical therapist on Monday. I am hopeful that he will get a good report.

Yea for Cheerios!

That's right! I'm on a Cheerios-snacking diet! My cholesterol was a little high with a total of 188 just three months ago. The bigger problem was that my "lousy" cholesterol was 103 and that was with my trying to eat better. I was so determined to get it down below 100 as my cardiologist urged me that I knew something had to be done. With my heart condition, the cardiologist said that I must get aggressive with lowering this lousy stuff. I decided to take his advice immediately. While shopping for groceries in the local Food Lion, I noticed the box of Cheerios which had printed on the front: "Lower cholesterol 4% in just 6 weeks". Well, I had more than 6 weeks to lower mine so that was my first purchase of the cereal for the purpose of becoming my "snack food". I filled a quart-size baggie and kept it by my recliner and whenever I had the desire for a snack, out would come my Cheerios baggie. I did this for 9-10 weeks I think. When I returned last week to have the panel of blood tested, I was shocked at the result. My lousy cholesterol had not only dropped 4%, it was down to a total of 73! That was a loss of 30 points in less than 3 months! I couldn't believe it! Yes, I am still snacking on my good old Cheerios and will continue to do this because, now, I have become addicted to those little round oats! From my experience, I have learned that Cheerios are not only a great snack for babies (which I thought was more for the lack of messiness) but they are great for those of us with cholesterol problems!

If you have a problem with high bad cholesterol, I recommend trying my snack for adults (I wouldn't think they could hurt anyone unless you are allergic to oats or some other ingredient). I have eaten so many boxes now of these little round oats, they taste almost as good as a doughnut! (I said "almost"). If you have questions, comment below and I will get back to you.

Adding Rubber to the Road

We decided that our little SUV that we tow needed new tires because we knew one of the four was out of round and needed truing. After taking the vehicle to our service center, we were told that all the tires were pretty much out of round. I was shown the problems since Hubby wasn't with me (I felt comfortable that I was getting the straight of it knowing that Hubby was nearby if needed). He gave me a good deal, we thought on four tires, so we opted to go with him on the purchase.

I had a couple of issues which I wanted to make sure were taken care. First, I wanted to know that, if the tires didn't solve the awful tire noise when driving, he would fix the problem. Second, I wanted to make sure that I was buying recently made new tires. After studying tires and how to purchase, I learned that some centers were selling new tires which were not new, meaning they had never been put on cars but were actually made several years ago. So, I told the man that I wanted to check them out myself before they were put on the car because the number identifying the year made was embossed on the inside of the tire where it wouldn't be seen. He showed me the tires which were actually made during the 15th week of 2008. Now, I say that was a very new tire! I left a very happy person! If you are in the market for a set of tires, I recommend that you check this out for yourself. I have heard of people getting stuck with tires that were manufactured in 1999! One should never buy a tire for new that was manufactured more than 3 to 5 years ago and I, personally, want mine to be very new. It's also a good idea to study the makes of the tires. I bought tires that came with an 85,000-mile warranty. Maybe we cannot prevent of lot of accidents but we need to at least be aware of problems which we can strive to avoid.

Water Where It's not Wanted

Today has been a bit frustrating. Hubby went to the RV to check things out and the one of the water lines burst causing water to go everywhere, in places it's not needed. We had to stop, go to Lowe's to find the broken piece, and come back to work. Together, we replaced the broken piece, filled the tanks again with water, and return the RV to the garage. We both decided that things are getting tough for us, that we are "pitiful" when it comes to doing manual work. Hubby said that our RVing day are probably getting shorter. With his bum shoulder and my weak heart, we make a handicapped team. It's bad when you have to start depending on others to help with the heavy stuff. Anyway, we were able to repair the problem, at least tentatively, and will be moving the RV out soon to prepare it for a short trip. In the meantime, I have to take the SUV that we tow out to have new tires put on it; also, I need to make a run to Wally World for various items. I'm also working on our church trip which I escort and that takes a good bit of time too. Then, there's Hubby's exercises with which I have to help. It's still great to have things to do and responsibilities to fulfill. It lets you know that you're still worth something and are still needed.

Regaining Strength

Update on Hubby: His arm is regaining some of its strength, slowly but surely. He is such a determined man! He diligently does his physical therapy at least 2 or 3 times daily. Holding him down is a major chore for anyone, believe me. He has already tried to mow the yard, at least the area close to the house. When I told him that I had planned to take care of that (grass had not grown enough at that point), his comment was, "I had to see if I could do it", and of course he could with a lot of effort and determination. He is hesitant about going to the beach next week but knows that our son-in-law will be there to help hook up the RV. I think by then he will be ready for the trip though. The grandchildren would be awfully disappointed if Papa wasn't able to make this long-ago planned trip. Keep praying that his strength will be regained and that his shoulder will continue to heal nicely.

God bless America

Recently, I've been seeing this commercial on tv which I so appreciate. Several citizens are commenting about their love for our country, a most worthy topic. The last citizen who speaks encourages everyone to fall in love with their country once again. I don't know if this commercial is running only for the holiday or if it will stay on the air; I, for one, am hoping that it continues to be aired and that many of those who are constantly belittling our country's flag, anthem, and morals will stop and think about where they would have it so good other than in America. Perhaps we should do as other countries do and invite them to leave if they don't love this land. Having lived in an underdeveloped country, I know what it's like and I do appreciate what God had done for us, all the blessings we have been given. I will forever say with all reverence and humility: God bless America, land that I love.

Show your Love

I can't believe that tomorrow is the 4th of July! I'm wondering how many people will try to travel this year and how many will choose to stay home due to fuel prices. We are choosing to say home, partly because of Hubby's surgery and also to avoid the big crowds who are actually vacationing. I went to town this afternoon, expecting to see a crowded parking lot around Radio Shack and Food Lion; however, that was not the case at all. Does that mean that everyone is out of town or that everyone is hibernating? Perhaps we will discover that truth tomorrow when the weekend rolls around.

Our lcoal schools' central office is now working on a 4-day, 10-hour schedule during the summer months. We don't have the year-round schools in our county; therefore, 12-month employees are free to work the 4 day week. This should save a lot of energy costs I believe. When I was still working, before my retirement, I encouraged this work schedule but it was not agreeable with the major supervisor. I still believe this was a good idea.

Hope you have a happy 4th. Show your love of country on this day that marks our independence.

The Need for Family & Friends

Ever since Hubby returned from his hospital stay, friends and family have been so good to us. Some have showered us with delicious food; some have sent cards; and, some have visited while making offers to help in any way. To top the week off, my brother-in-law spent some of his valuable time to mow our grass. That was great! Then, I have this wonderful friend from my childhood who brought us a wonderful dinner tonight and is now promising a dessert to carry with us on our next camping trip! I am so grateful for all the concerns that have been shown during this time. I know there are others who have been praying for a speedy recovery and for that, we are most thankful.

I still miss my little grandchildren who are on vacation. I miss their words of enlightenment on many subjects which I haven't thought about in many years! I miss their giggles, their playing, their wanting snacks. It's always such a welcome sight to see them, their mom and dad walking in. Soon they will be back though and I can listen to them tell me about their exciting trip.