Sunday, June 30, 2013

Love

     Good morning. Its Sunday, church day. My husband is awake and already has cinnamon rolls in the oven. Sometimes I don't know how I lucked out and got a good husband. I don't think I appreciate him enough. Well I do appreciate him but I just don't show it enough. I do try but how do you show your appreciation for someone that you love? I try to keep a clean enough house, I try to cook and make things that he enjoys eating, I try to tell him that I love him everyday,  I encourage him to get out of the house and do things that he likes, and I try to make sure that he has clean clothes to wear. But men generally don't care much about a clean house or clean clothes. But I guess that I should keep doing what I am doing and continue to show my love and appreciation the only ways I know how. And hope that he feels the love and can see the love in my eyes when I look at him. What more can a wife do, but love with all her heart.
     Have a good day. Enjoy the ones you love.
 
                                                           April Whitehair

Saturday, June 29, 2013

     Good morning. I am up a little later than usual. Well actually I woke up early this morning with a headache, took some headache med and my husband got up and made me a pot of coffee and back to bed I went. My headache is gone now but my head feels a little off. Drinking more coffee and hoping that it doesn't return. My husband went to play golf, he deserves a break from all he does around here, a little time to himself. Hopefully he doesn't get rained out.
     Today's plan is to work on the garden. That is if it doesn't get to hot or rain to much. The tomato plants are getting lots of yellow leaves around the bottom of the plants. Probably from getting to much rain recently. We had to stake two of the banana pepper plants, never had to stake pepper plants before. Like I said to much rain. I have also noticed some white fluffy mold under the cucumber and sunflower plants. Not much I can do for that, we just need some sun without the rain for a few days.
     Short post today. I got lots to do. Hoping to get started before it gets to hot. Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Home Sweet Home

     Good morning. Home sweet home. Yes I am finally home from vacation. I did not get a chance to post yesterday morning, it was a busy day with all the driving home. Well actually I didn't drive at all my husband did all the driving. Which I am glad about. There are a lot of crazy drivers out there. The worst thing is cell phone use while driving. Is talking on the phone or texting really that necessary of a thing that you should put your life, your family's lives and your fellow driver's lives in danger? We seen a sickening wreck on the way home yesterday. It actually happened right beside us. A woman changed lanes unexpectedly on the interstate and the old man in that lane could not miss her, though he tried. His car hit hers, hit the median wall, then rolled back across the road and hit the truck in front of us. He was just setting there with his head hanging and he was not moving, I thought he was dead. My husband and I jumped out of our car and ran to him. He came to and was notably lost and confused. All we could do was comfort him with words and tell him to sit still till help arrived. Which help came extremely quickly, there was patrol in the traffic. When we was driving away the woman who changed lanes unexpectedly was standing out side of her car talking on her cell phone, perfectly fine but with the back end of her car smashed. She didn't even go check on that man. It made us so mad because he will be the one who gets blamed for it even though he did nothing wrong. I saw it and I was saying "Wreck, Oh God, Wreck" before it even happened. We was quite shaken for the rest of our drive. I said lots of prayers for that man and us and everyone around us for the rest of the trip home.
     Our vacation was a wonderful escape for both of us. We did a lot of swimming and sunbathing. Though we got very burned it was fun. It was nice to get away and have no worries, no responsibilities. But it was over way to soon and now we are back to our real lives. There is so much to do. A lot of vacation laundry to do. A lot of unpacking. But it will all get done, sooner or later.
     I am so thankful for my sisters for helping out with Mom while we were away. I hope they had a good time with her. But I also hope they got to see some of the things I have to deal with everyday. It is not an easy job to live with and take care of someone with Alzheimer's. It is frustrating and emotionally hard to watch the daily deterioration of a loved one.  My oldest sister and her husband got to spend a couple days with her and they have offered to take her some to give us a break every once and a while. That will be so nice for us. Maybe we can get into having a date night again like we use to.
     While we were on vacation we missed so much stuff at home. Our cats, babies, the most of all. It was so good to see them again. I think I loved on them so much that it drove them crazy. But I think they miss us as well, they seemed happy to see us.
     I also missed my garden while we were gone. Everything has grown. Our bean plants are now taller than both of us. But there will be a lot of work to do in the garden in the next couple of days. A lot of weeding. And hopefully I will be frying up some fried green tomatoes soon.
     Well I better go start the day. I have lots to do. Have a good day.

                                                           April Whitehair 

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

One Year Anniversary

     Good morning. Yes I am still at the beach. Yesterday we took a break from laying in the sun and went to a movie theater. The Beach Movie Bistro. It was great we watched World War Z in 3D. It was such a good movie. The theater was really nice, you went to your seats and a waitress came by and took your order for popcorn and drinks and just about anything else. They also serve pizza, appetizers, and a lot of other foods. It was awesome. A great time with my husband. And a good break from the sun. The movie was really good and got my prepper thoughts a moving. During the movie my husband whispered to me "you keep on prepping".  I just love him.
     Last night I got one of my migraine headaches, I think from all the excitement of being on vacation and I think the 3D movie didn't help either. So we went to bed early. And was awake early again this morning. No sleeping in for us on vacation. But no headache this morning.
     Today is our one year anniversary. It is nice to be back to where we were a year ago when we got married, to celebrate our anniversary. We eloped last year. Well no one at home knew we were going to do it. But we had planed it for months. But anyways, we have made it a year and I can see us being together for years and years to come.
     I am going to go enjoy my vacation and anniversary. Have a good day.

                                                                            April Whitehair

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Beach !

     Good morning. I am still at the beach. We had such a good time yesterday. Went swimming a lot, got a little sunburned, but not to bad. We ate at our favorite pizza place, Chicho's. We talk about it all year and dream of eating their pizza and let me tell you it didn't disappoint. The sauce is a spicy sauce which is so good. We got to see the dolphins again this year. They swim in close to the beach a couple times a day and my husband tries to swim out to them every time. But just isn't quick enough. Our campsite is great, close to beach and bathhouse. The campground that we have stayed at for the past three years is First Landing State Park. It is just north of Virginia Beach. Close enough to go do all the touristy stuff but with a lot less people. The beach is private for the campers. So there isn't many on the beach which is so nice. I can walk out for a long time before the water is over my head, which is nice for kids. We woke up early this morning, around four am and decided to go get coffee and watch the sun rise. Well one thing I can say bad about Virginia Beach area is that nothing opens up till 7am. We had the hardest time finding a cup of coffee. We had to drive quite a ways to find a McDonalds that was open to get coffee. We also wanted sausage gravy and biscuts but the don't serve that at that McDonalds! Really! So we just settled for the coffee and a walk on the beach. We sat on a lifeguard stand and snuggled and watched the sun come up. We still haven't found any breakfast but there is a good looking pancake house that we will go to after it opens at 7.  Well I'm gonna go and enjoy my vacation. I miss my babies, cats, back at home. I cant wait to see them again.

                                                                  April Whitehair

Monday, June 24, 2013

We are at the beach !

     Good morning. We are at the beach!!! We left West Virginia at 3pm yesterday and got to out hotel room a little before midnight. And was walking on beach in the dark, I couldn't wait to see it. It was a long drive. It should have taken us 6 hours and 30 minutes but we were stuck in traffic for road construction on a under water tunnel for about an hour. And thanks to my husbands great driving skills we avoided a head on collision in the mountains of West Virginia. The other driver came into our lane unexpectedly, that was a bit of a scare. But the rest of the drive was good. We decided to stay at a hotel for the night since our reservation for the campsite isn't until tonight. We are staying in Bay Beach Travelodge. It in under $100 for a night. And if you know me you know I am frugal (cheap). The hotel is nice. Bed, tv, fridge, microwave, and everything you can expect from a hotel. I love to get the shampoos and soaps. We walked back down to the beach this morning and took a picture. The hotel is a very short walking distance from the beach. We will remember this place for future beach vacations. Plus a Dunkin' Donuts very close. Anyway I must go enjoy my vacation and my husband. Have a good day.

                                                                              April Whitehair

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Last day before vacation.

     Good morning. This is the last morning before we go on vacation. We are so excited. We had to do a last walk through of the garden. I hope they all grow and do ok while we are away. I also hope they get some rain while we are away so that my sisters wont have to worry about watering them. Last night I tied up some more of my tomato plant and recounted the tomatoes and I now have 13! That is more than my husband's plant. But he thinks if he would recount his he would have more. Oh well for right now I am in the lead. Yesterday we had sandwiches for lunch and we were able to put fresh, garden grown lettuce on them. I was the first thing we ate out of the garden and it tasted so good.
     I am so excited to get away. We will be camping, tent camping. We love it. We go to a state park just north of Virginia Beach. It is really nice there. This will make our third year going there. It has all the big city conveniences but with the campground feel. And just a short walk across the boardwalk to the beach. It is a private beach just for the campers that stay at the campground. We will be driving through the night, I want to see the sunrise on the beach in the morning. I think I have everything packed and ready. Mom is ready to go visit with her daughter. And my husband can barely contain his excitement. We will miss our babies, cats, so much. It is so sad to think about not seeing them for four days. I am so worried about them. I know I will cry when we leave. Yes I am a crier, I cry about everything. I hope they have a good time and be safe and are happy to see us when we return.
     As I said yesterday I probably wont post much while away. But you can be sure that there will be lots of stories and pictures when we return to our normal life. Have a good day. I bet I will.

                                                               April Whitehair 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

     Good morning. I am so tired. Coffee is not working so far this morning. I really need to be awake this morning. There is so much to do. I sadly have been to busy and forgotten about the church yard sale. Well truth be told I would think about it every morning and say I was going to go right after I got a few things done then those few things turned into a few more things and next thing I knew it was to late. I am sorry. But I think it is still gone on this morning and as soon as I get this done I am going. I hope.
     I don't think much writing is going to get done today because my husband is sitting next to me and he is even worse than my Mom when I tell her that she needs to be quiet so I can write. My husband has had to much coffee this morning and can't be quiet. He always seems to find something to say.
     So I have decided that I will not be blogging every morning while on vacation.  It is my vacation after all. I would like to maybe post a time or two sometime while I am away. I will be leaving Sunday evening and returning sometime on Thursday. So I will try to write sometime during that time. But I hope that I will be spending a lot of time laying on the beach soaking up the sun and splashing in the ocean.
     Have a good day.

                                                               April Whitehair

Friday, June 21, 2013

Just another day in my life.

     Good morning. Planning for a vacation is so much work. Not only do I have to pack for myself and my husband but I also have to pack for my Mom to go to my sisters. And get the house ready for visitors. And on and on. I can't wait to pull out of this driveway and put my whole life in the rear view window. My whole life except for my husband that is. I will be so good to just hang out with him and reconnect. But I will miss all my babies, cats, so much. I am worrying something awful about them already. I hope they get along ok with out us and I hope they are happy to see us when we return. I figure that we will have to give them lots a treats to make up for us being gone for so long. Well we are actually only going to be gone for four days. But four days to them will seem like a lifetime and to me as well.
     Garden check this morning is all good. Yesterday I weeded around the bird house gourd plants and have found more plants than I thought I had. Six in all. I moved them around, I hope by doing that it did not hurt them. They all look happy and healthy this morning. It will be interesting to see how they all progress while we are gone. I hope to return to a tomato big enough to fry. I love fried green tomatoes and can't wait to eat some fresh out of our garden. All the other plants are growing like crazy except for the baby strawberry plants, they are still so small. Maybe next year we will get some strawberries.
     Mom, I think has forgotten about her upcoming trip to her daughters. She didn't say anything about it yesterday. Which is good for me cause she was driving me crazy wanting to get dressed to go a week away from going. At least she has something to look forward to. And I hope she will relax while she is there and can enjoy herself. I think it will be good for her to get away from me and this house and do something different.
     So last night I was trying to charge my Kindle reader via usb on my laptop and it wasn't working. But it would work on my husbands laptop. So I tried to charge an old mp3 player and that didn't work either. Mind you this laptop is my baby and was a surprise Christmas gift from my husband this past Christmas. I had never tried to use any of the usb ports before. Well after a call to some far away land for tech support that ended in her telling me that she couldn't help. And a call to the laptop manufacturer company that ended in me yelling and cussing in the background. (Yes, I can and do have a potty mouth even though I try really hard not to.) Because he said the buttons he had my husband to push just erased everything on the computer. Seriously tell me you wouldn't be cussing as well. It tuned out to be that he just didn't understand the question for he was in a far away land and spoke very little English as well, like the first person. But that did not help and my poor baby laptop needs to see a 'Doctor', well needs to be sent away and get worked on. How am I suppose to live without it? I guess such problems are not actually as dire as I seem to think them as. But still! I guess I will have to decide if working usb ports are worth the loss of my laptop for a time. I am not sure, right now as I type my thoughts I think what do I need working usb ports for anyway.
     Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Thursday, June 20, 2013

     Good morning. Mom is still asleep so it is coffee for one this morning.  Garden check went well. I have many blooms on the cucumber plants but no cucumbers yet. If every bloom makes a cucumber then there will be lots. My husband noticed last night that we have pea pods! This is the first year that I have grown peas, I am so excited about getting to eat my home grown peas. I still have only three tomatoes on my plant and my husband has at least eleven. So not fair! And the green beans are climbing like crazy. I guess the string trellis I made is working just fine. Now on to the curshaw pumpkins, I had planted at least 25-50 seeds over a month ago, but where I planted them may not have been a great location. There is a lot of weeds so I cant tell if any are growing or not. So I decided about three days ago that I would start some inside to see if the seeds are good or not. Some are in wet paper towels and some are in dirt. None have started yet. The ones under paper towels look like they are plumping but no growth yet. I am afraid that they are bad seeds. These seeds are the ones that Mom had saved from years ago. Like my husband always says I need to have patience.
     Yesterday I wrote about West Virginia, my wonderful home. I think I should have wrote that today because today is West Virginia's 150th birthday. But I really have little control what I write about. I never plan what I am going to write. I just set down and type what is in my mind on that morning. I do have a list, yes I am a lister, of topics I would like to some day write about but if I don't feel it then I don't write it. Some mornings the only thing I can write is about my garden, some mornings I feel the need to write about my Mom or family or other topics. I once decided that I would get ahead of the game and write one the night before, well that turned out bad. I have never posted it and probably never will. It was just plan bad. My nighttime creativeness consists mostly of bad thoughts and evilness. Not things I want to put forth to the world. Even it those things that I had wrote about may be true it was wrote about with an evil heart. The next morning when I reread what I wrote I was a little surprised at myself. I also have been thinking about not posting at all when I am on vacation, it is a vacation after all, but my husband thinks I should. So we shall see how I am feeling and thinking when it gets here. Only 3 more days then its beach time! I have so much left to do to get ready before we leave.
     Have a good day.

                                                               April Whitehair

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Home Sweet Home West Virginia

     Good morning. Coffee time. Mom is awake already setting beside me drinking coffee. She has no idea what I am doing. I keep trying to tell her she needs to be quiet so I can think but she forgets and tells me something else. Oh well, I will try to write something anyway.
     I would like to tell you about where I live. I live in the most beautiful state in the USA. West Virginia, the mountain state. Wild and wonderful West Virginia. This is where I was born and raised and no other place could I see calling home. I have been to and seen many other states, though those close to us look similar with all the mountains and forests none have that heart touching beauty as West Virginia. If I were out of state and coming back home the welcome to West Virginia sign is like seeing a warm fire burning in a fire place on a cold winter day. I live in a valley, well to us it is a hollow. The mountains around us are only hills to us but I'm sure that flat land people would call them mountains. To some they feel stifling or strangling but to me they are hugging, loving, and protective. They provide food, beauty, and fun. The exact location of this home is the most wonderful place, to me, in the world. I have made many life decisions while sitting on the front porch steps looking out into the woods. Now days my spot is in the back yard setting on the swing looking at the creek and hill side. I can get distracted from life by the beauty of the trees and the wildness of nature. I see birds of all shapes and sizes, squirrels, chipmunks (a little less now with all my cats), the big rocks that I use to play on as a child, and trees I use to build tree houses in. I hear the steady running of water in the creek, the beautiful chirping of birds and silence. Perfect. Home sweet home. I could never find contentment in a city and I feel sorry for those that don't have these wonders of nature out there back door. I feel that I have so much more here than I could ever have anywhere else. I have been truly blessed by being born to inherit this master piece of God.
     Have a good day.

                                                                        April Whitehair

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Mom's bored. What should I do?

     Good morning. I was actually awake a while ago but my computer decided to restart and update. I hate when I am trying to do something and that happens. Oh well it gave me a chance to walk the garden with my boys, cats. Everything in the garden is doing well. I actually have a third tomato on my plant. I have been trying to figure out what to do with the lettuce I have grown. We don't eat much lettuce. Maybe a salad every now and then and lettuce on tacos. I have just been picking and eating a piece about everyday. I have been thinking of letting it go to seed to have for next year. I think my husband would rather have head lettuce, he suggested growing some of that next year. We shall see. I am planning on growing so much stuff next year. I think I will need to find more land to plant on.
     Mom is so excited to go to my sister and brother-in-law's house next week. She keeps talking about it and bringing me stuff and wanting to take it to their house. It is strange that she cant remember just about anything including my name but she can remember that she is going there. She really is excited about seeing her son-in-law, I think more than getting to spend time with her daughter, she is in love with him. I am just glad that she has something to be excited about and something to look forward to. I feel like her life is boring to her. It is very hard to be and do everything for someone. It is my job to take complete care of her but one area I know that I am lacking in is socializing/entertainment. She doesn't have many friends or family that will stop and see her or call her. We go to volleyball every Saturday night but that is about it. I have tried to get her out of the house and go shopping but she complains so much while we are gone that I don't think she is having a very good time. I try to get her to go outside and walk with her dog everyday but some days that is even difficult. She always comes up with a reason that she cant go, its to hot, its to cold, her eyes are dry, or this or that hurts. I am not sure what to do with her. She just likes to sit in her room and read or look at her stuff from the past. She doesn't even watch tv as much as she use to. I will go in every day and turn the living room tv on and find something that she use to like hoping that she will see it and want to watch it. I have been feeling increasingly bad about this. What can I do to help her have a more enjoyable life? She loved going to Bible school but that is now done for the year. I myself feel so busy with the daily things in life that I don't know what I could do to help her. It has to be sad to feel so lonely. She will cry at times because she doesn't have a husband, Dad died almost ten years ago. Most people seem to not like to be around her because she will tell the same stories over and over and is inappropriate at times. Her loneliness  just breaks my heart. The next month should be good for her with going to my sisters for a few days then getting to spend time with my other sisters while I am on vacation then there will be two family reunions also. I hope I can find other things she can do that would be enjoyable to her.
     I must go get something done today. Have a good day.

                                                         April Whitehair

Monday, June 17, 2013

Almost vacation time!

     Good morning. I am awake a little later than usual. Well actually I woke up a lot earlier but my back was killing me so I went back to sleep. I think it was from all the weeding I did in the garden yesterday evening. I finally got the rest of the bell peppers planted that I had started from seed. There are 22 bell pepper plants in total. I hope they do well. Well my sad tomato plant has two tiny tiny tomatoes on it and my husband's tomato plant has at least seven tomatoes on it. Cheers for Miracle-Gro. I still wont allow him to put any on my tomato plant I am holding out hope that mine will do just fine without it, eventually. It seems that the watermelon plants have stopped growing and the ones on the other side of the creek have had all their leaves eaten by something. I had such high hopes for these watermelon plants. The pea plants have several blooms it looks like we will have a lot of peas. And one bloom on the cucumber plants.
     This time next week we will be at the beach! I cant wait. But for this week I have a lot of cleaning to do to get this house ready for my sisters to stay and keep an eye on Mom. I have to admit that I am a little worried about leaving Mom for several days. She is so use to it being her and me all the time, I hope she will be able to relax and enjoy the time with her other daughters. With this Alzheimer's she is difficult to handle at times, maybe my sisters will be less irritated when dealing with her than I am. I think I just need a vacation to get away and recharge. Plus my husband and I need some alone time to strengthen our relationship. It is always good to do that, no matter how strong your relationship is. I feel that my marriage is a good one. We both love and respect each other and there are no serious issues. My main issue I think is that I get so stressed while dealing with Mom that I take it out on my husband. I shouldn't do that, I know. But he is my partner in life and sometimes I need his strength to strengthen myself. And sometimes I need his calmness to calm myself. And vice versa.
     I must go get started cleaning. I have a lot of packing to do also. Oh it is such hard work preparing for a vacation. Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair

Sunday, June 16, 2013

     Good morning. I am so sleepy this morning. Last night was the Bible school program and we had a good time. The kids got to show off all the crafts they made then we went outside and had a weenie roast. Everyone ate to much but it was good. All the adults get to talk and the kids get to run around and play. Its a good end to a long week.
     Update on Bob, the cat, he is doing good. It took him a couple days of rest and extra lovins from Momma and Poppy but now he is almost back to normal. He is more timid. He still wants to go outside but he does it a little more cautiously. Boy that cat worried me. I am so glad that he is ok. He is a well loved cat.
     Garden is doing good. My tomato plant had out grew the tomato cage and it was leaning. I was afraid that it would fall over and break off. So my husband had to cut the wire cage so we could remove it and we replaced it with a metal trellis, the kind for flowers. It looks good I think. I would suggest not to use the cage for your tomatoes a stake will work much better. I still have only one tiny tomato and my husband has four tomatoes, his are getting big. I have lots of blooms on my pea plants. The lettuce is ready to eat, we may eat some but I am thinking of letting some go to seed to collect for next year. The green beans are starting to run up the string trellis that I made. Sunflowers are getting so big, I cant wait to see flowers on them. The bell pepper plants that I have been babying in a flower box are ready to be planted, I will probably plant those this evening. The cucumber plants are getting big, still no cucumbers. The watermelon plants have seemed to stop growing I am not sure about them. Pumpkin and birdhouse gourd plants are getting bigger by the day. I think that is everything that is planted close to the house. I will be doing a lot of garden maintenance this week in preparation for our vacation the following week. I will be so worried about the garden, I hope it rains some here while we are gone.
   Well today is Sunday, church day. But actually I have went to church the last seven days for Bible school. It is Father's day. My daddy passed away ten years ago this year. I miss him so much. I hope to post about him sometime in the future. It will be a difficult post to write, that's why I keep putting it off. I need to get off here and get ready. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Just another day.

     Good morning. Yesterday was the last day of Bible school and tonight is the program where the kids get to show their parents all they learned and made. Then we have a weenie roast. It is always a highlight of Bible school for the kids. I remember being one of those kids. It was always fun to run around with your Bible school friends and roast weenies over an open fire, and roast marshmallows.
I am very proud of all my students for all the work they did this week. I hope something they learned will stick with them and help them in the future. I hope that the kids would get to come to Sunday school also.
     We had a lot of rain the other night and it did good for the garden. The cucumber plants have grown a lot, but no cucumbers yet. I have blooms on the pea plants. The bean plant have started running up the string trellis that I have made. I have 3 bird house gourd plants poking out of the ground, I was hoping for more, but I am happy to see those. And the lettuce is about ready to eat. My husband has 3 tomatoes on his plant and I have one very tiny one. I so cant wait for fried green tomatoes. Everything else is doing well also.
     I have a lot of cleaning around here to make up for the time I spent in Bible school this week. But it will have to wait. I have to go shopping and get ready for the program tonight. Have a good day.

                                                                      April Whitehair

Friday, June 14, 2013

Bob

     Good morning. Awake early this morning again. My cat woke me up being ornery. Well yesterday morning my cat Bob wouldn't come home when called so after getting Mom and myself ready to go to Bible school I went out to look for him. After a lot of yelling and searching I found him laying on the old house next door porch in the hay. He wouldn't get up to come to me. I worriedly yelled for my husband, he came out and picked him up. Bob cried and growled at him. After getting him inside I checked him from head to toe and noticed pain responses from his stomach and the base of his tail. He also wouldn't eat his treats, which he loves. I called the vet and the closest appointment was for the next day. I had to leave to go to Bible school, I had my Mom and my niece and nephew to get there and responsibilities there. I told my husband to call other vets in the area and see if he could find one that could see him earlier. I sadly had to leave my baby. It broke my heart. Once I got to church June, the Bible school director, told me to go home and take care of him, that they could take care of things at church. I felt so bad leaving Mom and all the kids there but I knew they would be taken care of. My husband was able to find an emergency vet to see Bob. We went as fast as we could. I am not even gone to tell you all the bad thoughts that I was thinking might have been wrong with him. After a check by the vet he found that Bob, poor baby Bob, was attacked probably by a stray cat. He had a bite mark at the base of his tail, it was bleeding and had pus. Bob had a temperature. He was given antibiotics, steroids, and fluids. And sent home to be cared for my worried Mommy and Poppy. And told to keep him inside all day till he felt better. I was able to go back to Bible school and help my class with their crafts. I am so grateful for all the help with my class yesterday while I had to be gone. After I got home my husband had to go to work so Bob and I stayed in our room and napped. Glad to say that he is up this morning and moving around much better. He still hasn't went outside and other than looking out the window he hasn't acted like he wants to go. I think he is scared. It just breaks my heart. I got him fixed when he was still little so we wouldn't have to worry about cat fights and him being out Tom catting. I had asked the Vet about this and he said no Bob was not fighting or he would have damage to his face, he was trying to get away from his attacker that is why his hind-in was hurt. That just brakes a momma's heart to hear. My poor baby, he was probably so scared. We was so scared for him. He is a well loved kitty.
     Last day of Bible school today. Lots to do this morning. Have a good day.

                                                                           April Whitehair

Thursday, June 13, 2013

June ! (The person not the month!)

     Good morning. I am so sleepy this morning. I hope this coffee kicks in soon. Today is the 4th day at Bible School. One more day after today, then there will be the program so the kids can show off their crafts to their parents. But lets just get through the last two days first. I am so enjoying Bible School. Last year and this year we have done it a little different than we had done in the past. Usually for Bible School the church would order the lesson books from what ever company( I'm not sure) but after several complaints from students and teachers that the books seemed childish and sometimes made absolutely no sense the wonderful leader of our Bible School, June, decided that she would write her own. Wow what an undertaking for her! My church is truly blessed to have her. We love you June! Last year she wrote and taught about the Bible. We, teachers and students, learned all kinds of things about the Bible that we never knew about before. It was very interesting and educational. This year she wrote lessons about the Christian Flag, the Pledge to the Bible, the Doxology, and I think today and tomorrow are about the Lords Prayer and Psalms 23. We so far have learned so much. Also another difference is that she will read and explain the lesson to all the children as a group then when we divide up and go to our own smaller groups, then we do our work books (June made those also). These lessons that she writes are wonderful. Never to long but very informative. She teaches in a way that includes all the students and some how keeps their attention. After doing the workbooks we start to work on crafts, that is always the highlight of the kids days. These crafts are mostly thought up by, you guessed it, June. She is very crafty! With her writing the lessons and planning the crafts she can make most of the crafts go along with the lessons each day. I have said it before and I will say it again how blessed we as a church are to have her. She was my Sunday school teacher, she was my Bible School teacher, and today she is my role model, cousin, and friend. She is someone who you can go to and talk about anything, and I mean anything, and she will help you through hard times, give encouragement, love, support and just be there for you no matter what. I myself have been blessed by knowing her. And I know that there are many many others like me who would say the same. No matter what I have done good or bad in my life, June has never appeared to have lost her love for me. I learned so much from her as her student in Sunday school. Those thing I have hid in my heart so that I could and did use later in my life. Thank you so much June for being you! There are not enough words to explain what you have done for all the children and adults that have been blessed to be in your life. Thank you again.
     I must go get Mom and myself ready for Bible School. Have a good day.

                                                                         April Whitehair

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Time Capsule !

      Good morning. I would like to talk about this morning where I went last night. My husband and I went to my middle school. Twenty years ago a brand new middle school was built. I was in the first 7th grade class that attended the new school. Back then the faculty decided that we should bury a time capsule. All the homeroom classes took their own special pictures and a couple banners were made, along with a VCR tape, two 8 track tapes, two magazines, a yearbook, a tee shirt, and a few notes wrote by kids and teachers were in there. The time capsule its self was a large Rubbermaid drink holder, you know the type the big orange ones with the pour spouts. It was buried and a concrete slab placed over top of it. Once it was removed from the ground and opened it became apparent that there was a lot of water damage. I thought those things were suppose to be water proof, I guess not after being buried for 20 years. Anyway some of the stuff inside was ok. A lot of the pictures were damaged. I was in two of the pictures and though one was damaged I could still see the 7th grade me. Some of the original teachers were there. Even the choir teacher, Mrs. Davis, who was old way back then, was there last night and she didn't look like she had aged a day. What a beautiful woman. Well she had placed a cassette tape in the time capsule, with all the water damage to everything else we thought that there was no way it would work. After searching for a cassette tape player, one was found and the tape was inserted. And guess what, it worked just like it was yesterday that it was made. The beautiful voice of Mrs. Davis filled the room talking about how happy she was to be in the new school and how the choir she had that year was her favorite ever. After listening to her homeroom class recording their names and what they liked, a choir came on singing 'The Rose'. I looked at my husband and said one of those voices is mine. Everyone got teary eyed. Mrs. Davis definitely cried. After the song she read, on the tape, the names of those that were singing that song, and yes my name was there. It was so great, I cant even put into words how wonderful the evening was. I was able to talk to a lot of the teachers I had back then. And reminiscing with them was so great. I was able to thank them for all they did for me back then and the things they taught me that still stays with me to today. Sadly only nine of us student from back then show up. I wish more would have came. But the ones of us that did had a wonderful time. I would like to thank those that made last night possible. It is a night I will never forget. After they get all the stuff dried out they are going to put it in a display, behind glass in the schools library, for all to see. How wonderful. I would suggest burying a time capsule to anyone. Just please use something else that might not get water damage.
     I must go get ready for the third day of bible school. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Learning Lessons from Children.

     Good morning. Up early again today. Today is the second day of Bible School! Yesterday was the first day and all I can say is wow. Let me start at the beginning. We did not get all the kids we were expecting which is sad, we were about nine short of what we were expecting. But we are glad to have those who came. My class was great. I have three kids in my class and they are wonderful. They pay attention and I can see them learn and remember, it is so great to see that after all the time I spend with my Mom who cant learn or remember anything. I also have my Mom in my class, and that is what I was wowing about. Her Alzheimer's has progressed to a point that I didn't even realize. I would say except for her ability to write, poorly, she is of the skill level of the preschool class. Please understand that I am not trying to be mean only truthful. I didn't expect her to be able to remember anything that was taught in the class and that was true. What I didn't expect was her inability to do even the basic of crafts. She cried when her coloring page wasn't as pretty as the kids, and when her yellow wasn't bright enough, or when her blue wasn't as dark as mine. It is so sad. I try to be patient and understanding. What I loved was watching the kids in my class be so helpful with her. What a blessing kids are! They showed me how to be patient, kind, and understanding. It didn't bother them to help her when she needed it. They would try to explain things to her, like why her blue was not as dark as other blues and they didn't seem irritated by it. I think I need to be a lot more like them.
     A check of the garden last night showed, I am sad to say, that my husband's tomato plant has two baby tomatoes. Why am I sad about this? Well it was kind of a race to see who's tomato plant would produce first. And I sadly lost. Not one on mine. Well and also we were experimenting on these tomato plants he used Miracle-Gro on his and I used compost and egg shells. But I still stand by my original statement, his plant may be bigger but mine will taste better! We shall see. Everything else is growing and doing good except no birdhouse gourd plants have popped through the soil yet. Slugs are still the enemy of my garden. I feel we will never fully get rid of them. Any suggestions?
     I must go get ready for Bible School. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair
    

Monday, June 10, 2013

Bible School !

     Good morning. Awake early this morning. Its Bible School! Well its the first day of Bible School. I have only been helping with Bible School for two years but it seems like for every. I went to Bible School every year when I was a kid and now I am a teacher for the same church. Even better than that is that somehow I lucked into being the teacher of the same class that my Mom use to teach, the middle class, the ones that can read and write, but not quite old enough to be in the teen class. I think I should tell you a little more about my church. Its over 100 years old. It is a one room church. They did add a closet several years ago. We still have and use an outhouse. No running water. I love it just the way it is. This was how I was raised. I don't understand why or how some churches can keep building bigger and better church buildings. If you have  all that money in the church account then you must be doing something wrong. (Just my opinion.) I am in no way in charge of the church money but I do know that every time we seem to get ahead there seems to be something that needs to be done with it. Painting, a wheelchair ramp for the front porch, fix the roof, new divider curtains, the price of gas for heat rises, same with the electric, money for Bible School, flowers for a funeral, someone in our church family has a crisis, and all the regular bill for a church like paying the Preacher, helping with church missions and the list goes on and on. How after all that and the ones I didn't list can you have lots of extra money. If you give away what you have, like Jesus, how do you have anything left? Like I said before this is just my opinion and in no way intended to be looked at as the opinion of my other fellow church members they may have their own opinion. And it is not to be looked at a me talking bad about other churches. Each has to do what they feel they need to do to please God. I will be stepping off my soap box now.
     Our Bible School is so much fun. I love to see the kids happy to learn about Jesus. Sometimes it is the only time they get to go to church, the only time they get to hear about God and Jesus. Something we say may stay with them for the rest of there lives. Something we do may just save there lives later in there life. The song Jesus Loves Me, that I learned as a small child at this church, brought me back to Jesus as an adult when I was having a hard time. This may well happen to one of the children that come today.
     God bless and have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Volleyball, Gravel, and The Raccoon!

     Good morning. Drinking my coffee and getting ready to go to church. Hoping that everyone stays asleep till I get out of the house. Mom woke us up at 3am crying, she had an accident. What a lovely thing to wake up to. I don't have much patience at 3 in the morning. Anyway she was taken care of and my wonderful husband was on mop duty since she woke him up also. Having a good husband makes all the difference in the world. I don't think I could handle things if he wasn't around.
     We got our gravel delivered yesterday. Two tons isn't much but it did half the driveway and that is what we needed to have done to start building the storage building. Which is the next project. My nephew had fun shoveling rock. We had it spread in about an hour.
     Volleyball last night was fun. We had a very large turnout. At least 37 that I can count this morning. But I am sure I have forgotten someone. Ages range from not yet 1 year old to 72. Not everyone plays, some like to sit around, talk, watch and laugh at us that play. There is always a funny fall or ball to the face, like from my sister to my face, and she was even on my team! It is always a good time. I actually scored a point for my team which never happens. I would suggest for any family to start doing something like this, it doesn't have to be volleyball, any kind of activity. Once you start you may have a couple that shows up but after a while more and more will show up and you will have a good time on your hands. Not everyone that shows up to our volleyball games are related some are family in our hearts. Teens bring their girl/boyfriends and there siblings. It is a good way to get to know them and for them to get to know us. Also it is a safe environment. They are not out driving here or there doing who knows what. Everyone comes by choice. It is always a good time.
     We have a raccoon that has decided to show up every night and eat the cat food off the front porch. He is very photogenic and not shy at all. I was worried that he might hurt Mom's dog or one of the cats if he got in a fight with them. So last night my husband set a box trap for him. It is a trap that does not hurt them, only traps them in a box. We figured we would catch a cat of two but didn't. He got the raccoon trapped and he will take him far far away and set him free. Hopefully he doesn't return. We are now thinking that he was what was knocking down Mom's bird feeder. But now I worry that he has a family and will miss them. Oh such girlish thoughts.
     I am putting up some photos of the raccoon and the gravel work. Hope you like them.
                                                                      The raccoon.
                                                               My husband and me!
 
                              My nephew hard at work. And the delivery guy and his grandson.
                                                       

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Getting the rock today!

     Good morning. Just got the call from the guy bringing the rock for the drive way and he is on his way. I am so happy to hear this. Finally we will be able to get the storage building built. My wonderful husband came home yesterday from his work trip out of town. I was so happy to see him. This house isn't a home without him. Even the cats started acting back to normal, playing and happy and all. They missed their Poppy. I must tell you that the only thing that my husband bought for any of us at home was a gift for Mom and her dog Lucky, it was a sign that says "A spoiled rotten Yorkie lives here." He is so funny. But it is true.
     I got to do the garden walk through this morning with my husband and our cats. Everything is growing and looking good. New slugs are around the watermelon plants. I don't think we will ever get rid of them.
     Mom and I had a nice visit with some of her relatives yesterday. After sitting around and talking for a while I offered to take them to Mom's twin sister's house so they could visit with her also. So we all loaded up and off we went. I think most of our visitors are more like city folk. I think they were surprised at the condition of the road. But we all made it and had a great time. Mom talked about it for the rest of the day.   
     I must go get ready for the rock to get here. Have a good day. 

                                                                     April Whitehair

                                                         

Friday, June 7, 2013

Slugs again!

     Good morning. The garden check this morning showed some surprises. First is that there are baby pumpkin plants starting to poke their heads out of the dirt. And surprise, surprise there are several slugs in the pumpkin patch again. What ever am I going to do about them slugs. My husband bought and treated the garden with slug killer, I wrote about it in a past post, and it worked for a while and now they have returned. I wish I could ask my Mom or Dad if they had problems with slugs when they had gardens here and what they used to treat them. But sadly Dad has been gone almost ten years and Mom cant remember. I will continue to be on a slug killing mission. I will post about it if I ever find anything that works.
     Just received a call from a relative of Mom's, they are coming to visit this afternoon. I love having advanced notice of company coming. So I can get the house ready and get Mom presentable for company. Boy she will be happy to see them. Hope she remembers who they are and can sit around and relive some childhood memories.
     Today my wonderful husband finally gets to come home from working out of town most of the week. I miss him so much and so does all the animals and I think my Mom misses him also. There is so much to do today. So I shall go and get busy. Have a good day.

                                                                              April Whitehair

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Just another day.

     Good morning. Coffee and rain, its getting to become normal. But at least the rain buckets are getting refilled. When my husband gets home I want to work on setting up rain barrels. Plus the gravel for the drive way will be here on Saturday. My poor husband will have a long honey do list when he gets home.
     My husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas a couple years ago and I have decided that I am going to try to relearn how to use it. There are a lot of free e-books on gardening that I want but not to sure what I am doing. Right now it is so dead that it will take a long time to get it charged. But that is today's goal, along with all the cleaning.
     I have the strangest cats they don't mind playing in the rain. They come in all wet. And I think they think they are dogs. Itsy Bitsy will fetch sticks if you toss them. But they are my babies and I love them no matter what. They miss their Poppy(my husband). I cant wait to see how the react when they see him. Mommy(me) just isn't good enough. They walk around here looking all sad, lonely, and bored. Kinda like me.
     Yesterday I took my Mom to the local thrift store. I love thrift stores. I could shop and spend all day. Mom really needed some summer shorts and we found her about five pairs. I needed some shirts that I could wear to Bible School and get paint and glue on them and not be worried about ruining them. I am having trouble finding skirts for summer. Most of the skirts I find are long and thick, winter skirts. Maybe I need to start sewing again. I wear skirts in public almost all the time. I have my own reasons that I do that. But for today I don't feel like getting into all that. Maybe I will post later on that topic.
     I must go start my day. Have a good day.

                                                                        April Whitehair

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Missing My Husband.

     Good morning. Its a strange day with my husband not being home. We did the walk through of the garden with him on the phone. I didn't sleep well without him. But I know he is just a phone call away. For those of you that didn't read my last blog post, he is out of town working. We all miss him at home. It just feels odd.
     Everything in the garden is growing. The pumpkin and gourd seeds have not sprouted yet. I am always so impatient waiting for seeds to start. Well to clarify they may have started but they are under the ground and have not poked there heads out yet.
     I seen on a local yard sale site some people are selling birdhouse gourds that they have grown, and decorated. They decorated them with burning scenes on them. They looked nice but not to colorful. I think if/when I decorate mine I will paint them somehow. But I will have lots of time to figure out what I want to do. Now if only they grow.
     I must say that my life seems so boring without my husband being home. He is such an inspiration for my writing. I do have a lot of stuff to do like cleaning and laundry so I will go try to make my day as productive as I can. I also have some crafts to prepare for Bible school next week so I shouldn't be to bored.
     Have a good day.
                                                                        
                                                                          April Whitehair

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

     Good morning. It is a sad morning in my house. My wonderful husband is getting ready to leave to work out of town for the rest of the week. I wont know what to do without him. Not only is he my best friend but he is also my strength, my greatest supporter, my shoulder to cry on, my calming factor, and my happy. I love him so much it will be a strange couple of days. But he does not need to worry about all of us at home we are as he says "halla" (raised in the hollow). We can take care of our selves. I just hope he doesn't have to much fun with all the room service and the hot tub and decide not to come home.
     It is a very cold morning for June. Everyone here woke up, got a cup of coffee and went back to bed. Even my Mom's dog is back under the blanket with her. I am sure it will warm up some so I can get outside and get to playing in the garden. The quick walk through of the garden showed a couple dead slugs since my husband used the store bought slug killer on the new areas of garden yesterday evening. Everything is growing. A couple of the green bean plants are getting tall. Those green bean plants I am most of proud of because they had all been ate on by slugs, to the point of nothing left but stems. Now with new leaves and height, they will soon be able to grow up the string grid that I made.
     Everything is planted that I wanted to plant except for some of the smaller sunflower seeds. I just had to many. Also the baby strawberry plants and baby bell peppers are still to small to plant in the ground they will have to stay in their flower boxes for a while longer.
     Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair

Monday, June 3, 2013

Prepper or Homesteader?

     Good morning. I just had a nice walk through the garden with Mom and her dog, Lucky. And both of my ornery boy cats had to run alone and tease the dog. Oh what fun. I did find some more live slugs in the new areas of the garden that had just recently been planted. I must go out and use the slug killer on them this morning. I really need to find an organic way to kill slugs. Any ideas?
    The green bean plants that were snacked on by the slugs then were treated now have new pretty leaves. I am so glad that they are still alive after all the abuse they received. We have a lot of blooms on the tomato plants. I hate to admit it but the tomato plant that my husband used Miracle-Gro on is bigger and has more blooms than the one that I used compost and egg shells on. But I have a feeling that my tomatoes will taste better. That we shall see. All the rest of the garden is doing well.
     I have recently been thinking about the differences between prepping and homesteading. Prepping is of course preparing for something, and the way I do prepping is for an event of disaster. Homesteading has a couple meanings but the one I am thinking of is living a life of self-sufficiency. So while contemplating these words and there meanings I have realized that I am a homesteader by heart. This is something I feel drawn to. If you are a homesteader you will not feel the effects of certain disasters as bad. Of course there are things that could happen that would effect you like natural disasters and looters and violence but economic collapse would cause less damage if you did not dependend on the financial system for every aspect of your happiness. So how do I begin to live the life of a homesteader? How do I change my thoughts and feelings for the things I have grown up believing are necessities? I am not sure the answers to these question. I am a thinking person, I need lots of time to process my ideas before making the first step. I am a lister. I make lists for  everything. I love to visually see my accomplishments by marking them off a list. With that being said there seems to be lots to think about and to put on a new list. The beginner homesteader list. We shall see if all the thinking leads to something. Oh and also a lot of prayer is needed before starting any new endeavor. If God and my husband are by my side I know we can do anything.
     Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Volleyball

     Good morning. I played volleyball last night, and I can say I am not sore at all this morning. That's a good thing. It was the first time of the summer. My cousins put up a volleyball net in there yard every summer and on Saturday evenings we all go play. There are several that play. I think I counted 19 in all last night. There are several teenagers that play and I think that is wonderful, they could be doing other things on a Saturday night but at least they are somewhere safe and not getting into trouble. The game is just for fun. We do keep score but that is just for bragging rights. There is always a good conversation or two and a lot of laughs. My mom will try to play and she is 72 and has Alzheimer's, mostly she stands there but she enjoys feeling like apart of the game. I feel that mom being there is teaching everyone something. Like how to be around someone with medical/memory difficulties, how to be polite and caring, how to show compassion and respect. A lot of time people and teens included will avoid or make fun of someone with differences. But I can tell you that over the years of playing volleyball with mom she has earned quite a few laughs, rightfully. And has promoted teamwork on her team because everyone on her team has to work together to cover her and help prevent her from getting hit by the ball. Last night she actually got to hit the ball once. I am so thankful that we have a great family that will accept mom for who she is, that all love to get together, and will drop everything anytime anyone would need anything. These are the best blessings, having a wonderful family, having wonderful friends that are like family, and having the ability to all get together and have a good time. Sometimes I think we all take for granted these wonderful things that a lot of people don't have. I for one am glad to be apart of this family.
     Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair

Saturday, June 1, 2013

My thought on GMO's.

     Good morning. Setting here at my kitchen table drinking my morning cup of coffee having a good conversation with my wonderful husband. Our topic of conversation is GMO's. We are of like minds on the topic. Which is always good for a husband and wife to agree on something. We both feel like GMO's are BAD. I am not educated on all that but I do know if you modify something like our food supply it will affect those that eat it. I have been noticing the yellow jacket bees are a lot larger than they use to be years before. Also I have seen recently bees that look like two different types of bees combined  into one. What is the reason for all this and why are we (Earth) loosing so many honey bees? I read somewhere that the US lost 1/3 the honey bee population in one year. What is the reason? Is it pesticides? Is it modifying there food supply? Ok I don't have all the answers . But the next question would have to be what is the effect on people?  And seriously don't say none, it been proven safe. Really! How many things have been proven safe only to find out after many people are legally experimented on that there are bad consequences. Then there comes the lawsuits. You see them everyday on tv commercials. Just wait for the lawsuit for our food supply. I would love to produce all the food my family needs to survive but that is a large undertaking. I simply don't have the land needed to do that. A community group of like minded people would be necessary. I will have to search for such a group and if I cant find one then maybe I will start one. Humm something for me to think about. The only way the larger producers of our food supply will change is if we all stand together and fight for our right to have safe food. This will be something I will be looking into.
     And on another subject my husband an I both just ate our first two strawberries of the year, fresh out of our garden. It was very sour. My husband dipped his in sugar. I love the rewards of gardening.
     Have a good day.
                                                            April Whitehair