Wild Things and Limes

I picked Matthew up from school today for a busy Friday! We filled up with gas, picked up a prescription for Nana, and delivered it to her. She is feeling some pain from the surgery, but perked up for Matthew's visit. Then we went to catch the early showing of the new movie "Where the Wild Things Are." It's based on a great book by Maurice Sendak, a favorite of kids for many years.

Matthew was all set with his tickets and popcorn. The movie was good, and the monsters were awesome. He especially liked the dirt clod fight, where Max chose the monsters to be either good guys or bad guys. Matthew knows Granny doesn't really allow bad guys, so this was quite entertaining for him.

After the movie, we picked up Grandpa for dinner at El Reparo, always Matthew's choice. We enjoyed chips and salsa, as well as the yummy goat cheese.

Grandpa ordered Matthew some extra limes of his own, and he got busy eating one of his favorite treats.

Here he is sporting a lime smile.

And snitching some salt from Granny's glass.

After dinner he decided on a fire ball, even though I told him it would set his mouth on fire. He worked hard to get it open....

and started to feel the burn....

needed a drink of water....

and finally deposited it in the trash. It was super hot!!!

Can you tell he has his sweatshirt on backwards??

A stop at Wal-Mart, then home to bed. Looking forward to a great day at the Purdue game tomorrow. Boiler Up!!!

Dr. T Repairs a Knee

Mom/Nana/Jere' had surgery today to repair her broken kneecap. Dr. Tannenbaum did the surgery, even though David had suggested she use another doctor since, as David remembers, Dr. T "won't let you play soccer at all." I'm not thinking she is going to be playing soccer any time soon, but we know she wasn't slowed much by her mouth being wired shut, so this probably won't slow her down either.

The surgery was to be at 4 p.m., and by this time, she was thinking a Market Fresh sandwich from Arby's was sounding pretty good. Here she is before surgery.

They are testing a new warming gown to help keep patients more comfortable. The gown has a hose attached that reminded me of those old hair dryers we used when I was a little girl. The gown inflated with warm air, and she could adjust the heat to her liking. It was pretty neat. You can see the hose that fills up the gown with air.

Nana knows everyone in the hospital, and this is Cheryl, who used to work in Continuing Care when Mamaw and Pampaw were there. She and Nana had a chance to catch up.

Of course, Nana had made a special request to have Jae Lynne in the OR with her. Dr. T said she really doesn't go in the rooms any more since she's busy running the place, but Nana got her way, and Jae was there to make sure all went smoothly. Are we surprised about that?

This is the anesthesiologist. He told her putting patients to sleep is just like flying an airplane. He must time everything perfectly. Nana really liked him, and found out they were born in the same year. I guess she would be more comfortable with a 74 year old anesthesiologist than some young whipper snapper. :)

Here is Jae Lynn wheeling her off to surgery. Now that's special service.

I didn't get a picture of Dr. Tannenbaum, but he talked to us after the surgery, and said that everything went well. He used wire to put the kneecap back together instead of screws. She has certainly been "wired" as of late. Hope this is the last of it.

She was resting this evening, still feeling a little groggy from the anesthesia. I'm sure she will get some special attention from all her friends at DCMH. "The care you want, close by." :)

Wednesdays With Matthew

I thought about making a trip to the pumpkin patch, but it's cold and rainy today so I decided to save that for another time. Matthew told me about losing his first tooth last week. He said it hurt, but that he got 2 dollars from the tooth fairy. Sounds like the tooth fairy has invested wisely if she is able to give that kind of premium! He even got to keep his tooth!

Nana had sent some Halloween books for Matthew, and he enjoyed putting the stickers in the Maisy book. He was very careful to put the correct sticker on the correct color page.





After he finished the sticker book, we read Max and Mo Go Apple Picking. Max and Mo are two hamsters living in the art room at school. When the "big ones" go apple picking, Max and Mo escape from their cage and have all kinds of fun making apple prints and sampling applesauce. There are directions for making both prints and applesauce in the back of the book. We cut an apple to see the star inside, and used the apple cutter to cut another for Matthew's snack.


Picking up Matthew was the most exciting activity of the day, but another really exciting thing happened today. FedEx delivered TICKETS to the Saints game in New Orleans!! Who Dat!!! or should I say Drew Dat!!!

Driving Aunt Barbara

I had the opportunity to pick up Barbara from the airport today. She is visiting from Vermont, and will be in Indiana for about 10 days. The new Indianapolis International Airport is quite nice, and easy to find on the west side of the city. The interstate near the airport is several lanes wide, and makes for an easy approach.



I made my way to the cell phone lot to await a call from Barbara to let me know her status. The cell phone lot at IIA is quite small. The other cell phone lot I have used is in Tampa, and it is set up like a drive in movie with rows of cars facing a huge screen which posts flights and arrivals. That way, when you see that the flight for which you are waiting has arrived, you can head over to the terminal.


In Indy, it is just a 2 minute drive to the terminal sidewalk, so they prefer that you wait until your party is ready and waiting before you head over there. This sign is right next to several handicapped parking spaces, which led me to wonder, why does a cell phone lot need handicapped spaces when no one gets out of their car??

Barbara was indeed waiting for me when I got to the terminal, and we loaded up her bags and headed for the 'burg. We had a great visit on the way, and enjoyed the chance to catch up. I delivered her safely to Grandma and Grandpa's where she was warmly welcomed. They are probably headed to the WH by now.

Friday Night Delights

Jim and I decided to TGIF at one of our favorite places, El Reparo. The restaurant first opened in Rushville while I was teaching at the elementary school there. I heard about the progress of the restaurant from one of the first graders, Piedad, whose family had moved to Rushville to start the restaurant. I also taught another family member, Aubrey, who was one of my favorites. I see her mom occasionally working at the restaurant.

We were glad when they decided to open a restaurant here in Greensburg, and it is very successful. It's busy all the time, friendly, well run, and a fun place to go.

Our favorite way to start the evening, chips and salsa! And the famous El Reparo Margaritas!

I often get the Burrito Reparo with chicken. Yum!

We talked to Jon while we were eating, and he was on his way home from Bloomington. He didn't make it in time to join us there, but asked for 3 beef soft tacos to go.

Jon has entered the world of blogging, so if you enjoy reading about sports, check it out at thestewandizzieshow.blogspot.com. Leave him a comment (something like Boiler Up would be good). You can also listen to his radio show on Thursdays from 10am-11am streaming on wiux.org.

Wednesdays With Matthew

Arlington Elementary Book Fair.

I love the Book Fair! One of my favorite parts of school! And even better to be Granny at the Book Fair. I got to school a little early, and stopped by Matthew's classroom. They were finishing their snack and getting ready to hear a story, so Mrs. D allowed Matthew to go with me to the library to visit the Book Fair. He had fun looking at all the books....


and choosing one to buy. Granny chose 4, Matthew chose 2. That's fair, don't you think?


Here he is with our sack of books. I told him to give me a big smile. :)
We had a great time in the library, and visited with Mrs. M, the librarian. He told her I was his Granny, and then filled her in on all his other grandparents, and their names.


On our way home we made a stop at Odum's Drive Thru Feed Store in Rushville to get Pee Wee some senior feed. Matthew likes to help us load and count the feed and shavings. He is checking to make sure they are stacked correctly.


After Matthew left, I headed to Zionsville to take Emma home. She came home with us after the game on Saturday to stay while Jennifer made another sheep run to Nebraska. I think Emma knew we were getting close to home, and was anxiously looking for Jennifer.

We left Emma at the house and Jennifer and I had a nice dinner together at Macaroni Grill. Love their bread with olive oil. Great to visit with Jennifer!

Book Club Monday - 1 day late

Our book club met for the second time this fall on Monday at Somethin's Perkin'. We enjoyed hot soup and good conversation as we discussed the book Here if You Need Me, by Kate Braestrup. It is the true story, really a memoir, in which the author tells of her journey from grief to faith to happiness following the death of her husband. Left with four children, she decides to pursue her late husband's dream of becoming a minister. She eventually goes to work as a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service. She tells her story with humor and honesty, and shares many tales about her work, her family, and her search for hope after tragedy.

The group gave the book a rating of 3 out of 5. This surprised be a bit, as I really liked the book. They questioned the solidity of her faith, and found some of her descriptions to be a bit too graphic. I especially liked the stories about her children, and I admired her strength and her practical approach to living life without her husband. Her courage accompanied her through the Maine woods where she found faith to face the challenges of her job and her life.

One of the passages that I particularly liked was when a woman says to Kate,

"It's so cool that the warden service has a chaplain to keep us from freaking out."

To which Kate responds,

"I'm not really here to keep you from freaking out. I'm here to be with you while you freak out," or grieve or laugh or suffer or sing. It is a ministry of presence. It is showing up with a loving heart. And it is really, really cool.

Showing up with a loving heart. Really cool indeed.