Back to life in the fast lane – at least with grandsons!

Yes, life is slowly resuming the fast paced life of grandkids and starting the holidays.  I am not ready for the holidays.  But so goes life. Time to get ready.

Zachary has been busy with sports.  Football ended, soccer is just about to end, and basketball has started.  Soccer really ended this weekend, the regular season.  However they are playing in a tournament this weekend that starts at 8 a.m.  In the cold, cold fall weather.  I think the low Friday night is supposed to be 28 degrees. BRRRRRR for that 8 a.m. game. 

Football:

Soccer:

 

This is how the weekend is shaping up.  Three basketball games – one Friday, one, Saturday, and one Sunday.  Possibility of four soccer games – Saturday 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sunday at noon and possibly final at 3:30 p.m.  Right now the plan is for Zane to spend the night with us Friday and he and I will NOT go to the 8 a.m. game.  It will just be too cold and early.  Then we can hope the temperatures rise for other games.  Wish us luck!

Boys at Halloween – how cute.  Thomas the Tank and a vampire:

 

Kathleen put on Zane’s costume when he said enough:

Playing in the leaves:

 

Yes, I did make it to the Pirates of the Canyon Balloon Festival on Halloween weekend.  We went to the Trick or Treat gathering Saturday afternoon hoping for the lift off but it was too windy.  The boys had a good time in spite of that.  They got to go to each site and gather candy, they got something to eat, and they rode the “train”.  It was fun.

The Sunday morning flight from Palo Duro Canyon was just awesome!  A perfect morning.  I really thought I had missed it because I got up late.  I drove straight into the park and got there in time for the first balloons to be inflating for take off.  By the way, thank you, Palo Duro Canyon, for letting us into the Canyon without a fee.  Everyone needs to attend this event at least once in their life.  I have been the last 3 years, even though they did not launch last year, and love it.  Here are a few pictures.  Please visit my Webshots pages to see LOTS more.

 

I had company last week from Canada.  A friend I met on the internet years ago through our cross stitch hobby.  We went to see Ev and Wayne about 10 years ago and they finally got this far down into the states!  It was great to have them.  They are now in Phoenix then on to Palm Springs for what they call “hot hot weather”.  I do hope they got that.  While they were here it was gorgeous and fairly warm weather with a little breeze.  Today it is much cooler.  We did take them to the American Quarter Horse Museum, Cadillac Ranch, Palo Duro Canyon, and out to the Big Texan just to check it out.  We really enjoyed those trips.  Funny how you don’t visit places around home.

 

Just a few basketball pictures:

And of course, Zane.

Oh, almost forgot.  The boys went to a birthday party and they had their faces painted.  It was so cool.

Back to work.  I need to work on a spreadsheet for our investments.  I started one and quit on it so it really needs updated, for what little there is left!  See you in a few days I hope!

A very sad week

This has been a very long sad week.  My Dad, Jack Frost Hood, passed away quietly and peacefully about midnight last Monday morning.  He was 81 years and nearly 8 months.  Daddy was born in Burkburnett, Texas to Frank M. Hood and Lena E. Yeary.  He loved golf and trout fishing.  He was a great coach for the Kids Inc. football teams.  Those boys called him “Coach Hood” even until his death. 

Yes, his name was Jack Frost.  That was such a joke all of his life.  He was named after uncles, Charles “Jack” Hood and Frost Yeary.  Frost was my Great grandmother’s, Ada Maude Yeary, maiden name. Wonder if Grandmama even thought of that when she named him?  The one thing my grandmother always said about Dad was that his shoulders at birth were WIDE and he weighed ten pounds!! 

We had a wonderful funeral on Wednesday.  It was the most uplifting and fun ceremony.  My younger sister, Cynthia, had written down some the the things Daddy had told her about his children in a his last days.  She is a great writer and it was just so moving!  Molly, my youngest sister, and I were very moved by it.  As was the rest of the family I think.

He is at peace now and dancing in Heaven with my Mother.

Thanks for listening.

Changing focus

I have been a bit morose and sad lately so I thought I might change it up.  First let me tell all of you who have commented on my Dad and are sending prayers, thank you.  He is slowly slipping away and I just want peace for him now.

I have tried to do some scrapping again lately.  Hard to get into it and hope to have a digital kit for you soon.  It is nearly ready but needs embellishments and I just don’t do those well.  Not because I can’t but I just use so few!  I reserve my space for LOTS of photos.  Because as most of you know, I take LOTS of pictures.  Especially of clouds and scenery and my grandsons.  Of course, they are number one in my pictures. 

Here are a few layouts I have done lately.  I am going to go back to sharing here and do away with the scrolling slide show at the top.  I may add it to the sidebar just because I can!  Big grin!!  :))  Forgive me if I have shared any before.  I am old.

Zachary’s birthday present – yes, he liked it:

Kit is mine; fonts Fonts Verdana and Vale Shadow

It’s all about the hats of course:

Kit Boy Zone by April Mousse and Hanulienka; red paper and file tag mine; font Verdict SF

Champs (what, more orange?) from the soccer tournament this summer:

Barbara Kern Kickit Kit; font Cairo SF

Mooooo, I think that says it all:

My background, ScrapKitty overlay edge, font Tennessee SF

Painters (painting of course!):

My paper, elements from ScrappingCop, fonts Toledo SF and Trajan Pro

Last one, I promise! For now.

Playing on the Sidelines is Zane, well, playing – on the sidelines!:

kit from Fran - Little Miss Moon; fonts Bondoni MT and Digs My Hart

I am trying to work on layouts from my vacation pictures.  Boy, that is going to take some time.  But will share a few of those next time.

Night all.

This week with our Dad

Daddy is very very ill and not expected to last through the weekend.  Of course, that is God’s final decision.  However, after last week in the hospital AGAIN with pneumonia, his body is doing a fast shut down. He has had pneumonia three times in the last three months.  The last two times have been very unkind to his mind.  He knows who we are but not where he is or why he where he is.  Boy, does that make sense?  OK, you get the picture.  So after this last bout it was thought he may not be able to go to dialysis. 

He went to dialysis Monday and came home really confused and out of it.  Dad called me, or rather I called him, and he told me to come get him.  Apparently he had gone to the funeral home and could not get out.  Told me he had had a couple of drinks and now just could not find his way out.  I talked to Daddy for 30 minutes and just could not shake him from this story.  I finally had to hope that the meds would help him to relax.

Tuesday he was really pretty much out of it.  I watched him and decided to call his kidney doctor and ask his opinion on continuing dialysis.  He said that really it was doing more harm than good at this point.  Daddy just was not tolerating it.  My sisters and I along with the doctor’s advice decided to stop dialysis treatment.

Dad has also developed extreme peripheral artery disease. His legs and feet hurt all the time.  His heart is failing. Poor Dad.  He is miserable.

Hospice has been called in and they are taking care of him – and us.  He is now taking morphine to control his pain.  Of course, he seems to be sleeping a lot but that is to be expected at this stage in his health.  They are saying it is not really the morphine as it is in very small amounts.  It is the dying process.

Bless his heart.  We are praying for a peaceful end and a new beginning in God’s hands.

Thank you all for all of your wonderful prayers and thoughts at this time.

Whoa, time got away – again

I have been so lax at posting but family is taking it’s toll. Better blame it on someone besides my laziness! 

Dad is back in the hospital.  He has pneumonia again, or maybe it is still.  He has never been off the antibiotics.  Apparently Dad has 25% of his lung capacity left due to COPD and emphysema.  That 25% is full of pneumonia.  He is refusing to eat, wants to die, is being very very ugly to friends and family.  My sister sent me an article about this Sundowners Syndrome.  He is acting just like those with Alzheimer’s do but it is also said to affect dementia.  Poor Dad is seeing things and hearing voices too.  This has been a real eye opening experience for all of us.  He will probably go home from the hospital in a couple of days but the doctors say he will be right back.  Apparently they feel this is probably going to be fatal at some point.  It is very sad but at the same time, I hate seeing my Daddy like this.  He is so unhappy and just wants to be able to rest.  It is in God’s hands.

So enough moaning and groaning.  Life does go on.  Football (flag) and soccer for Zachary.  And it is DARN cold here.  We sat at games last weekend in the foggy misty windy cold like good parents and grandparents.  I am already dreading this weekend.  Forecasts are for cold and wet again.  Sigh.  But I will do it!  Of course, I may have to take Zane to the car to sit at times.  He hates the cold.

      

My sister, Molly, got me hooked on a game.  On my phone.  Playing her.  Now I am also playing my nephew, John, and a friend of Molly’s.  The game is called Words but it is really Scrabble.  It is an iPhone app. You can get it free but for 99 cents there are no adds.  I wait on pins and needles for the next play!  Sad what my life has become huh?

Ross is still diligently – and driving me crazy at it – searching for the perfect travel trailer.  Oh, we find several, but they are usually at least 300 miles plus from home.  We had decided to go this week to look at some but then of course Dad got sick.  I think it will be awhile before we can truly look and not worry the whole time we are gone.  Today we talked about going to Disney World for spring break.  Ross, Zane and I would leave a few days earlier and then Mike, Kathleen and Zachary could fly into Florida.  School you know!  And since we live at least three days travel from there, we need two weeks or all fly.  Decisions, decisions.  And money, money!  I’ll let you know of course what we decide.

The good, the bad, the ugly

That is how this week has been.  Dad was bad this week.  Mad at the world, ready to just die, made his nurses – and his family – miserable.  His dementia has accelerated after the hospital stay and he was just so confused.  He also has macular degeneration in one eye and it really took a bad turn and he cannot see.  I am going to need to see if the doctor will see him but I doubt that anything can be done now. The disease is just devastating.

Ugly?  Hmmm, depend I guess on your perspective.  The weather turned cold.  Myself, I love the cooler weather.  But some felt it was ugly.  Today it was in the 90s again.  Monday is supposed to be in the 70s.  I heard someone complaining about the changes but if you live in the Texas Panhandle, you know it changes daily especially in the fall.

The good.  Dad was much better at the end of the week.  The pastors at his church came and talked to him, a friend talked to him, the nurses talked to him.  It really helped him and he was a different man.  More back to Dad.  Oh, he is still not happy and depressed but he at least is not throwing things and being just down right mean.  Much happier really.

This weekend was nice.  The fair was in town but we did not go this year.  But Travis and Stephanie did and spent the night on Friday after going.  Saturday we got up, went to see Dad, then met Kathleen and Mike and boys at the Amarillo Zoo.  They were having a birthday party for the lions.  Four years!  The Big Texan Steakhouse and owner Bobby Lee donated three 72 oz. steaks for the three lions.  They put them in “cakes” made from boxes so the lions could find them.  It took them less than a minute to find them and not much longer to get in the box and swallow – yes, I think they swallowed them whole.  BURP!  It was a nice outing.

Had some awesome clouds move in this week and some really cold weather.  I think it was 38 degrees one morning.  But we are back to very warm today.  Hot in fact.  The forecast is for cooling down then going up all week. 

 

Oh, anyone else out there watch some of the new shows this week?  I really liked “The Good Wife” and am looking forward to the season of it.  I kind of watched a couple more but did not find one that just grabbed me like that one.  But I will check them out again. 

Next weekend Zachary has two soccer games and two football games so it should be a photographic challenge. 

And any of you hot air balloon fans, the Fiesta opens in Albuquerque next weekend for two weeks.  If you don’t have reservations, too bad.  Well, you might find something but it will be pricey.  I am leading up to our own Pirates of the Canyon the weekend of October 30, 31, and November 1.  Check it out.  This year I am going to Palo Duro Canyon, in the canyon, and taking pictures.  Bet you just can’t wait to be bombarded with more pictures of hot air balloons.

That is all I have this week.  Have a great week.

LiveJournal Tags: hot air balloons,clouds,zoo,lions,Palo Duro Canyon

Beautiful fall is here!

I think my favorite seasons are fall and winter.  Yes, I know.  Lots of you do not like winter.  I do.  Love the snow and cold.  Does not mean I want to be out in it but I just love the season.  Well, I think it is officially fall here.  Next week it is supposed to be highs in the 60s!  Yes! 

Dragging out the cropped pants now.  Less shorts.  But I will fight tooth and toenail to continue to wear sandals.  Hate shoes.  Now, does that go together – no shoes and cold?  In my house it does.  My grandmother used to tell me “You are going to catch your death!”.  Ever hear that from your parents or grandparents?  I will even traipse to the mailbox shoeless through light snow.  And get the grill going.  Country, that is me.

With fall comes soccer and football and, right at the end, basketball.  Trying to hit all those games is a interesting to say the least.  Zachary just has football this weekend.  Next weekend football and soccer.  So far their team is 2-0.  They are playing really well as a team.

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Just discovered this picture album stuff at blogger.  Cool!

Here are some of Zane playing at the games.

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Zane and I attended a program at Zachary’s school this week.  They had Pirates Day which was really a learning experience for parents and grandparents.  It was to remind parents to ask questions as their students read.  Start with the title and what do they think the book or chapter is about.  Then during reading asking what the story is about and who and such.  At the end, ask what they would do to change the ending.  Really a very cute program.  We had clues and had to go to four different spots to find the “treasure” in the end.  The “treasure” was cookies and drinks in the classroom when we got back.  Even Zane got cookies and juice.  It was great! 

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Ross and I are thinking about going to Belton Tuesday.  We found a travel trailer there at a really good price.  We will take Zane with us.  Means he will miss Mothers’ Day Out but so it goes.  Should be interesting!

Dad has not been well.  He seems very confused and has been hateful at times.  I had to really talk to him like a child Friday to calm him down.  They had him in the hospital wing to give him IV antibiotics and he was just missing all his friends and bingo and seeing anything but the inside of a room.  So they took him off the IV and changed it to oral and moved him home.  He is MUCH happier but still confused.  They say it could be the infection – pneumonia.  He is having a hard time shaking it off but I do see him getting a bit better.  Very scary to me.  Thank goodness I have Cynthia and Molly – and Ross and Kathleen.  My support team.

Ross has a birthday Saturday – 62.  He will start drawing his retirement in October we hope and then retire in January.  Maybe.  He changes his mind daily.  We have got to find insurance before that happens however.  I dread the cost.  Then he needs to find something to do or drive me crazy.  I know it!  But I do look forward to having weekends to do stuff again. It is so hard to do anything during the week and keep kids. 

Going to go read or listen to a book for a bit.  I am hooked on books on CDs.  I download them to iTunes then put them on my iPhone and off I go!  I can clean, garden, work on the computer, and still listen.  I have learned to haunt all the library branches to find books.  They all carry something different.  Love it.  I have not been to the north branch yet. It is just too far.  Maybe if I am over that way one day.  My favorites are Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and read by Lorilei King and Spenser series of Robert B. Parker and read by Joe Montegna.  The readers really make listening to books great. I got one the other day that was just awful.  The book may have been good but the reader was terrible.  I just could not listen to it. 

Back later this week.