Christmas 2005

Wow! Christmas is over and I'm back to work - where did it all go? Christmas Eve was spent putting the finishing touches on the holiday. We all went to church that night for the candlelight service. So beautiful - the church was dark, we circled the santuary, candles were lit and we sang "Silent Night" - a perfect night for Christians.

On Christmas day we attended church, our regular Sunday routine. Friends and family came over and we celebrated by opening presents, eating great Mexican food and visiting! We spent time on the telephone and computer contacting all of those who could not be with us in Galesburg. Again, the day seemed to fly by. I finally wrapped things up about 10:00 p.m. and collapsed in front of the television.

Mom and I got up early to hit the stores for the early-after-Christmas-sales. I treated myself to a new coffee pot for the office. Mom ordered new china she's had her eye on for quite some time. It'll be the Thanksgiving china. It's called "Friendly Village" by Johnson Bros. It's done in a beautiful sepia medium, perfect autumn colorings.

We watched movies last night. I stopped at Family Video and picked out two shows, "Beauty Shop" and "Bewitched" It's been a long time since I've been in a video store. I noted a person is hard-pressed to find a VHS tape, nearly everything was available only on disc.

I'm in the office this morning, enjoying a cup of fresh brewed Innkeeper's coffee, Victorian Breakfast Blend. I came in to prepare for hearing in January. This coffee is great!

Christmas in Oquawka

Today we celebrated Christmas in Oquawka with Aunt Madge, Renee, Erin and Denver. Mom, Aunt Ethel and I left Galesburg about 11:30 to head down to the big river town of Oquawka.

Aunt Madge had appetizers waiting for us - shrimp cocktail, cheese and salami with assorted crackers, veggies and chips. Yum! We visited for a couple hours, opened presents and then we had dinner. What a menu! Crab legs & breaded shrimp with augratin potatoes. Mom had a special steak because she doesn't like seafood. Aunt Madge thought of everything. We had blueberry cheesecake for dessert and it was delicious.

Denver's new little kitten, Kiki, keep us all in stitches. She's an adorable gray tabby. Aunt Madge and Denver picked her out at the Burlington Iowa flea market. Denver and Erin just dote on her. This cat is drowning in attention! I must of taken 20 pictures of her and the kids. I told Erin and Denver we would create a scrapbook of Kiki and they cheered!

We left Oquawaka about five o'clock. We dropped off Aunt Ethel, stopped by Hi-Lo to pick up the fixins for popcorn balls and headed home. As soon as I walked in the door, I knew something was wrong. It was so cold in the house. The temperature was 58. The furnace had gone out. Praise God the furnace guy from Lambasio fixed it. The electronic ignitor went out.

It's the 19th of December...

Just another day to most folks, but not me. It's the day I lost my husband, George. He died seven years ago on this day. He slipped into a coma after a surgical procedure. He was in a coma for several days. His doctors said he wouldn't come out of it. He was experiencing multi-organ failure and only drugs were keeping his blood pressure up. I told the doctors to discontinue life support and I left the hospital. I just had to get out of there and be alone. As soon as I stepped into our home, the phone was ringing and a nurse was telling me I needed to come back to the hospital. I drove as fast as I could back to the hospital. I think I already knew before I arrived at the hospital. People were stopping me in the halls telling me they were so sorry. I entered the intensive care unit and knew he was gone. He looked so peaceful. I wished I had been with him, but I never dreamed he would go so soon. My pastor was there. Reverend Dave said George probably planned it that way. He wouldn't want me to see him "go". George always did try to "shield" me from any unpleasantness. That was just his way - he was a buffer between me and the rest of the world.

The nineteenth of December will always be branded into my brain as one of the worst days of my life. Everything changed. I became a widow at age 43. I never considered I would become a widow, let alone at age 43. Too young to become a widow, but it happened. I am grateful for the 17 years I had with George Charles Andrews. Rest in peace, baby.

Deep Freeze

It is so cold here in the Midwest! The temperature was zero this morning when I left for work. My car door creaked when I opened it - just frigid here in Galesburg. Brrrr!

We've been busy getting ready for Christmas. Mom and I have our shopping finished and nearly everything is wrapped and under the tree. I mailed out Tom, Joyce and Snow's package last Thrusday. It was sent priority, so they should receive it today...

Christopher came home Friday night - good to see him. He seems to get older with each visit home. His girlfriend Joanna is coming to our home on the 28th of December. I've been told it's her birthday. I'll have to bring out the singing birthday cake plate for her! I can't wait to meet her, I've heard so much about her. Christopher says she loves getting cards from us. He says she actually displays them on her coffee table in her dorm room. That's cool!

Lynette, Patrick and Lara are expected to arrive on Saturday. Lynette's going to drop off the kids and head for Chicago to see Jason and Sarah. Patty has to work Christmas, so she'll be taking a train to Chicago to meet up with Lynette on Monday. Plans are for them to arrive in Galesburg on Tuesday with Jason and Sarah. Gosh, I hope the weather is good. Let's all pray for good weather!

December Update

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted to the blog. The holidays are whizzing past me as I type. Thanksgiving was unbelievable! - it was so wonderful to have the entire family together again. We all spent a couple minutes telling each other what we're thankful for this year. There were some tears, some laughter. God is good - Praises to Him and his son, Jesus Christ. With Him, all things are possible and we are eternally grateful for our blessings. Again, Thanksgiving was unbelievable!

What a Weekend!

I've been so busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, I haven't had time to really enjoy my other social obligations. For instance, on Thursday I had two events to attend - United Way's Wine Tasting Party at the Antique Mall - one of my most favorite fund-raising events! and my sorority's Thanksgiving dinner. The wine tasting started at 5:00 p.m., so I went there first and stayed about an hour. Then it was off to dinner with my sisters. It was all so rushed I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. The best part of the day is when Christopher came home from college - yippee! Chrissy Boy is home for the holiday!

Friday was spent cleaning and organizing for Thanksgiving. In the eveing the girls came over for open stamp night. Jerri Anne and I stamped until 12:30 a.m. I got all my projects completed. On Saturday morning I went to Julia Jackson's home to stamp with the demonstrators. Julia created such cute cards for us to copy. Love her work!

Sunday, we all went to church and then out to breakfast at the Broadview. We spent the rest of the day waiting for Tom and Joyce to arrive. They showed about 2:00 p.m. - it's so good to see them and their new dog, Snow! We talked and talked throughout the night...

Preparing for the Holidays

The holidays are just around the corner. Mom, Aunt Madge and I have been busy getting the house ready for all the guests we have coming in at Thanksgiving. Aunt Madge has nearly renovated the bathroom and it looks great! She is so talented with a hammer and drill. I took apart Mom's room and we got everything dusted, washed and organized. She whined a bit about sorting through a mountain of paperwork, but she got it done and vowed never to let it stack up again. Mom is so proud of her new room she actually gave tours!

Christopher will be home from school soon - can't wait to see him. Charly misses him too. We've been planning activities for when Tommy and Joyce are here. First of all we're going to have a birthday party for them both as at the time of their birthdays they were displaced due to Hurricane Katrina. It going to be like an open house type of affair with Mom making corn chowder, chili and corn bread. And birthday cake too!

Patty, Lynette and the kids will arrive Wednesday. We'll all be busy preparing for Thanksgiving. Mom has on the menu turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, green beans, and who knows what else! Tommy is bringing his turkey fryer so he can fry a turkey for dinner too. What fun!

I'm Back!

Wow! I've been gone quite a long time. Mom and I took off the for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What gorgeous scenery! The ocean, the dunes, our hotel, the lighthouses, the restaurants... We had such a good time. We spent 11 days in Kill Devil Hills and would love to go again and catch the stuff we missed. I found two great scrapbook stores and met some really cool scrappers. I purchased a new scrapbook covered in lighthouses, shells and inspirational quotes - love it! It'll be our vacation album for our fall roadtrip.

Dreary Tuesday

It's a quiet, dark morning in Galesburg. It looks like it could rain, however, rain is not predicted for today. I'm working at home today. We have no water at the office. Hence, no sewer service either. The City of Galesburg is putting in new storm sewers in the downtown area. Water has been shut off in different locations throughout the summer. A real inconvenience, but necessary. Many businesses were having problems with water collecting in their buildings after a storm due to the inadequate sewer system.

I'll bet some of you remember when the City put in new storm sewers on South Cedar Street. Our street was blocked off for nearly a year! They tore out the brick sidewalks and street. We had heavy equipment (picture CAT) in the front yard along with huge cement sewer pipes. It was a construction site for way too long...

Miracle Day on Jackson Boulevard

Galesburg's First Christian Church experienced a mission trip on October 1, 2005. We began preparing for this trip several months ago. In order to fund the trip, church members baked bread and sold it at the local Farmer's Market every Saturday morning. The receipe was given to us by a very generous church member, Bill Jewsbury. It's been in his family for years and it has quite a following - we had a lot of repeat business each Saturday. People just love this bread! It's made with white, wheat and rye flours along with molasses and orange peel. Yum! The loaves sold for $4.00 apiece and each contained information about our church.

On mission day, seven of us left for Chicago at 4:00a.m. on Saturday morning. We traveled about 4 hours to reach the Jackson Boulevard Christian Church. Upon arrivial, we were greeted by nearly 250 Disciples of Christ members ready to work! We registered and were assigned to teams. Before we started working, we all attended a joint worship service to celebrate the day. Reverand Larry Jackson of the Jackson Boulevard Christian Church was our host. What a wonderful congregation he has! Everyone was just terrific in making us feel welcome.

I was placed on Painting Team #4 and assigned to section 4 on the third floor of the church. The walls were already primed and ready to go. We painted several rooms, a hallway and a stairwell. My arms and shoulders ached, but it was worth it doing God's work alongside his disciples. Midday I witnessed Reverand Jackson, 2 elderly gentlemen and a young girl singing hymns accapella on the sidewalk in front of the church. What a treat! Everyone, even vehicles passing by, stop to listen. I love gospel music.

On the drive back to Galesburg, me, Sally, Val and Tina chatted about our experience. We came to the conclusion we would do it again. And we would love to go back and hear Reverand Jackson preach a sermon. Praise be to God!

Wednesday at the Office

I'm just spending the morning catching up on files, copying, etc. Seems like there is always something to do. Our hearing went very well Monday. Our client was granted disability. She was so happy. It's hard to explain, but when an administrative law judge agrees with you, validates your disability, it literally takes the world off your shoulders. It's an emotional time and our clients are very grateful for our work and expertise in the field of Social Security disability.

I went to Peoria with Diana and Heather last night. We went to Michael's with our 50% off coupons and shopped! I got new software to help me with journaling - can't wait to use it. I also bought more yarn that was on sale. Look out everyone! New scraves for Christmas! Woohoo!!! We had dinner at the Olive Garden, Heather's pick. We all had the never-ending pasta bowl and salad. Nope, we didn't have seconds, the first helping was overwhelming! I tried the five-cheese marinara sauce with farfalle pasta and it was terrific.

Tonight is open stamp night at our home. I'm not sure what to fix for a snack, any ideas?

It's Saturday Night...

And I have some time to catch everyone up on the news. I heard from Tom and Joyce a couple days ago and they are back in their apartment in Metairie. Yey! They have power, water (no one is drinking it) sewer and land phone. Tommy is already ripping out flooring, damaged furnishings, etc. The landlady has the contractors coming Tuesday. Sounds like everything is coming together, please continue to keep them in your prayers.

I've been busy working. Attorney Mike and I have a big hearing coming up Monday. I've been preparing for it night and day. Our client has become dear to us, she needs help...

I hear laundry calling my name, back to work. I'll write more later.

Found it!

I finally found my appointment book - it was mixed in with some of my scrapbooking stuff! Imagine that?

Monday Morning

It's Monday morning, need I say more? I'm at the office right now, getting ready to start seeing clients. Business has really picked up for me and Attorney Mike. This part-time job may turn into full-time very soon. Word is getting around that we do excellent work in the field of disability law.

I spent Sunday afternoon putting together a scrapbook for my friend Dodie. She wanted to make one for her daughter Mary who has three children. We made an 8x8 book featuring pictures of Mary's family at different events. It turned out pretty cute. Dodie is delighted with it. She can't wait to go to Colorado in October and show it off.

I went to a crop in Woodhull Saturday and completed 8 pages for our family album. I've just about filled this album, so I'll need to start a new one very soon. The album I have lined up is one of Creative Memories new Kalidoscope albums. I have the sage one. I think they just make the best albums on the market. And I really love their new 12x12 paper - it fits a page perfectly.

I had better get back to work or I'll get nothing done today. I'm kinda dragging my feet because I'm bummed I can't find my appointment book. I looked around at home and didn't see it, so I thought it was at the office, but it isn't. I can't imagine where I left it...

Sunday in the Midwest

It's still summer in the Midwest. We've had temperatures of 90 degrees and more. It's hot! The weather isn't predicted to break until next week. I'm ready for some crisp autumn days.

I spoke with Tommy this morning and he and Joyce are doing fine. Their home in Metairie received substantial water damage and there are no utilities in the area, so they can't stay there. They are presently staying at Chris and Patty's place in St. Charles Parish. They have power, water and phone service.

In Galesburg, First Christian Church, St. Patrick's Church, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and Corpus Christi Church are all praying for Tom, Joyce, Snow and Tweety.

Four years ago our country was struck with a man-made disaster, 9/11, that changed our lives forever. Today, we have been struck with a natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina. And again lives will be changed forever. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes, their workplaces and their churches. We have so much to be grateful for in the Midwest. We are truly blessed. I hope Tom and Joyce will come back home for some respite they desperately need.

When I made announcements today in church, I updated our congregation on our Louisiana family. We've had so many calls inquiring about their welfare. It's so good to have such wonderful friends and church family.

In our community we are expecting Hurricane Katrina evacuees. I understand a good share of them are nursing home resisdents. First Christian Church has been busy putting together welcome packages for them. I hope they can find some peace of mind in the Midwest.

Wednesday Afternoon

It's warm in the Midwest, around 87 degrees. I didn't realize it was that hot until I mowed the yard this afternoon. I was sweating bullets before I finished. Not a pretty sight. The yard looks okay, but not near as nice when my nephew Patrick mowed it. He not only mowed, he trimmed! Neither I or Christopher can get the "damn" trimmer started, so the yard is NOT getting a trim job anytime soon. I pulled a few weeds and called it a day. I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the patio drinking iced tea and reading a novel - what a life!

Labor Day Weekend

The weekend is nearly over and I am dog-tired. We spent Friday getting all of Christopher's stuff rounded up for college. We've become regular's at Wal-Mart. They know us on a first name basis now. We caravaned up to Rock Island on Saturday for move in day at the dorm. I had hoped it would be a shorter day than last year, but no dice. We didn't leave there until after 5:00 and then I had the pleasure of going home and finding all the stuff that was forgotten, like the power cord to his computer... Anyway, I delivered all his stuff Sunday before Mom and I left for Wisconsin. We went to Spring Green to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin. It was spectaular! What a view! It's built on a hill that overlooks the Wisconsin River and it's valleys. The house is magnificent, but in desperate need of restoration. The foundation is starting to crumble away, along with the rest of the house. The majority of the home is made of limestone, plaster and wood that is found locally. It is still a working school for architects. The students spend the summer in Wisconsin, and winter in Arizonia at Taliesin West. That's our next big road trip - they give tours of Taliesin West too. On Monday I did yard and housework. Need I say more?

It's Wednesday!

I'm in the office this morning doing prep work for an upcoming hearing. Attorney Mike is out, so it's really quiet. I miss the chit-chat. I had breakfast with Sandy, Heather and Richard at the Grandview on Grand Avenue. Okay food, good company.

I spoke with Tommy late yesterday afternoon. Everything is fine in Shreveport. They went ahead and booked another week as they don't know when they'll be able to go home to Metairie. Mom and I invited them to bunk at our place if it looks like they won't be able to go into the city for several weeks. Might as well take some time off in Galesburg. I heard on the news that it might take 12 weeks to restore power to their area. That's a long time.

Tonight we'll be celebrating Aunt Ethel's birthday. She'll be 72! We're going to the Taco Hideout for dinner then back to our place for cake, ice cream and presents.

The Weekend

The weekend is gone - seems it passes too quickly. I spent Friday evening stamping with the girlfriends, helping Dodie put together 50 cards. I went to breakfast with Mom, Aunt Madge and Dodie at the Friendly Cafe - it was sooo busy! Later in the day I went to Woodhull to scrap with Brooke and Marty - we worked until 11:00 p.m. I got 23 pages completed!

We went to church Sunday - good sermon from Pastor MJ. I spent the remainder of the day with my sorority. It was Beginning Day. We had lunch at "Coconuts" a restaurant in Monmouth, Illinois. It's sort of like a mini "Rainforest Cafe". The food is good, especially, the desserts - WOW!

I finally got a hold of Tommy and Joyce - they're in Shreveport, Louisiana waiting out Hurricane Katrina. All the Verizon lines were busy for hours... We've been watching all the coverage on the storm - hopefully New Orleans won't get hit that hard. Tommy said he would keep in touch and let us know how things are going.

Friday in the 'Burg

It's been kinda dreary today - rained off and on. The grass is getting tall again, I'll be mowing again Sunday. I try to keep up on it so it doesn't get too tall.

The girls came over this evening and we stamped and created cards. Dodie brought over her QVC TSV card making kit and I helped her complete all 50 cards. Next week, I'll be helping her create a scrapbook for her granddaughter. Dodie will be visiting her in September, so we don't have much time to work on it. Mom played the slots while we crafted. Later we all chipped in together and ordered pizza from Papa John's and watched Jerry Springer. What a life! ;-)

Thursday Evening

As you can see I'm still trying to work the bugs out of my page. I'll get it right sometime soon... Last night was spent celebrating Heather's 33rd birthday. We all had dinner at the Friendly Cafe. The place was rockin' and Vicki had the entire restaurant singing "Happy Birthday" to Heather! It was cool! We had cake and ice cream on South Cedar Street. Heather opened her presents - she got a pretty good haul. It was fun evening.

Tonight I'm making a pot of vegetable soup. It's cooking now. I'm going to spend a quiet evening scrapbooking and watching some "trash" TV.

Review

Ok, I just entered my first post and reviewed it. It looks pretty good. Stay tuned while I figure out how to upload a few photos. Be back soon!

Good Morning!

I can't believe I just created my first blog! This is going to be great! I'll be able to share news from Galesburg with my family in Charleston, West Virginia and Metairie, Louisiana. Hello everyone! Please check back frequently for updates.