Day One of our trip!!!

 

 Mount Vernon was our first stop! The girls are posing with George Martha & their 2 children!

 These beautiful windows show some of the adventures of George Washington.

 Cockscomb was everywhere and so pretty! I bought some seeds to plant in my yard!

 Riley and George!

 A Class picture in front of the National Archives! The Students recited the Constitution there. It made me proud to be a part of this group! It was moving to hear them.

 Our evening view of the Washington Monument! It rained very hard not long after these pics were taken! It was okay! We were prepared for it!!!

 The view from the Jefferson Memorial. Riley and a friend!

We had dinner at a pizza restaurant in Union Station...what a cool place it was! Something to see if I ever go back to DC!!!

Washington DC!!!

So many things to see !!!!

I Remember When...

I remember when I was young I would be around "old" people and they would talk about their medical stuff.  They would talk & talk & talk about their aches, pains & doctors!  I would think that they must go to the Doctor just for the fun of it and so they would have something to talk about, because they were SO old and they obviously NEVER had anything else to do!  Well, now that I am one of those old people and I have been to doctors a lot recently and have had a major operation I kind of understand why it was so much discussed...not for the reasons previously stated but, because after you have had an operation everyone asks you about it and after you have been stuck in the house for a week or so you don't have anything else to talk about!!!
Well, I am going to tell you my doctor story and you can either continue on or just shut it down right now!!!!
I went to see my (MY!!!!!) surgeon on Tuesday. Melissa came and picked me up & we went into see the doctor fairly soon after we arrived.  Dr Gonzoles is a very humorous guy!  First of all he read my chart on the laptop...no paper charts anymore I guess and he was very excited to read that the lab counted over 50 medium size stones AND that I had a hole in my gallbladder!!!! Wheeeee!!!  He removed my stitches all the while talking about his family and their tomato sauce, a show he watched about a spagetti sauce that is almost like homemade....the relationship he has with his aged mother....I told him that we have a very good italian restaurant that grows it's own veggies (including eggplant) behind the store and he was amazed that Anderson could have a good restaraunt!
THEN as he was walking out the door, he said to us "Well, I'll probably never see you again for the rest of my lift and that is a shame cause you seem like very nice people".
I had to laugh cause I have never had a doctor say anything like that before!  We chuckled all the way to the elevator!
So....that is my gallbladder story. If you want I will show you my scars!!! Collin wanted to see them and I think he was a bit disappointed! No blood or guts!

Campaign trail???!!!

Well, today was another first for me... I was the guest speaker for the Anderson Kiwanas I am not a public speaker. I think I said uhhh a lot I think I was able to make a few points. Who knows??? The lunch was tasty & I got a nice mug. So I guess it was okay!
Wednesday night I speak to the Anderson police union......

So how do I look???? Who cares!!!

When I was a kid riding the bus to school we would pass this house and many days the lady of the house would be out working in her flower beds...with her behind sticking up in the air toward the road!  I told myself to remember that when I became an adult and NEVER stand like that!  Well ya know, I have remembered this and have tried to keep my hiney out of the air!!! BUT, (pun intended!) guess what, sometimes it just isn't possible to pull the weeds with decorum!!! AND you just get to the point where you just want to get the job done & to ____ with the kids on the bus!!!!! Maybe they will learn from me like I did from that lady!!!

A fire Tour

Today after church I got to go with Les, Sheriff Tom Bosenko, & Larry Lees to Shingletown to be briefed on the Ponderosa Fire.
It was impressive. The order & organization was amazing to see. Everyone was taking their jobs very seriously & doing all in their power to get the fire to cooperate. Unfortunately it is a battle that will take some time to win. Many people have been displaced from their homes & are very anxious about what their homecoming will bring. We have a very caring community. I could see when visiting the evacuation center that there wasn't much for the kids to do... So I text my BFF Kim Faires about the situation & she posted it on facebook. Then she &another friend Jacque Starman hit the stores ,purchased &delivered some fun stuff for the kids!!! Thank you so much! Meanwhile we had a tour of some of the fire areas. It is difficult to even imagine having to evacuate but seeing some very nice homes thAt were in the direct path of the fire was very sobering. Basically the only thing that will end this battle with the fire is time
We need to pray for safety for the crews that are up there on the fire line. They are working very hard to save every home. there is a good chance it could jump Hwy 44 tonight. We saw a group of deer huddled near a house. Cattle out in large meadow like pastures. So much that could be lost. It is a very hard time for many. It is time for us to pray about it all.

REALLY!!!!! Impossible!!!! 136 points!!!

I would never have believed this was possible!!!! Or that I would have done it!!!! Used all my letters ...