New Kitty, Songs, Death in the Family

I've gotten behind again. I wanted my next entry to be about Milo. I always write an entry all about a pet when they die. But I haven't been able to bring myself to do it this time. I would get to thinking that I need to get that done for Milo, but it's going to be hard - I know I will cry. His last few weeks were so sad and pitiful. Just thinking about it as I'm typing this is putting a lump in my throat. I do need to get that done soon though. I've done it for other pets; I need to do it for Milo, too.

 

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On March 15th, Kelly and I went to Juliet's House's adoption fair at Petsmart on Bridford Parkway. They have an adoption fair every Saturday. Mostly cats, but there are also some puppies. We wanted to adopt a kitten. We had been to the shelter a couple weeks prior, but there were only a few kittens available (in the cages, anyway; they probably keep some in the back until they're ready to be adopted or until other cats and kittens are adopted) and I didn't feel a connection with the few that were available. The one I really liked was already being adopted.

 

So, anyway, we went to the adoption fair at Petsmart. There were lots of cute cats and kittens. But this one I fell in love with as soon as I saw her from a distance. (Her foster mom had named her Petunia.) I let them know that we were interested in her and they said that we could spend time with her in one of the rooms, but that someone else was coming to look at her and one of the other cats (Desiree, I think was her name). "Petunia" was six months old and so cute! Desiree was 8 months old, but much bigger than Petunia. We also spent time with her, but I didn't feel a connection to her and she didn't seem very interested in us. lol But she may have just been nervous.

 

After spending time with both kittens (both are torties), we then waited for the couple who were coming to see Petunia and Desiree to arrive and meet both kitties so that they could decide which one they wanted. I was so nervous. I really wanted Petunia. The lady helping us was rooting for us. lol She could see how much we already loved Petunia.

 

The couple arrived and chose to meet Desiree first. After spending some time with her, they decided to adopt her without spending time with Petunia. I was so happy! (For us being able to adopt Petunia and for Desiree getting adopted.) I immediately filled out the adoption form and after a couple hours of being at Petsmart (much longer than I expected to be there), we got Petunia and brought her home.

 

Kelly and I had come up with a list of names for a new kitten a few weeks before this and Kelly started reading off the girl names on our way home. I don't remember most of the names on the list, but we narrowed it down to Valkyrie and Effie (after Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games). Petunia seemed much more like an Effie to us, so that's what we named her.

 

Effie will be 9 months old this Saturday. She seems little to us for her age (such a sweet, tiny face), but she's healthy and very playful. She loves to play fetch and is so sweet! Loki tolerates her, but she often gets on his nerves. lol The pesky little sister.

 

 

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Lydia took her first steps on March 29th. Just a few at a time for awhile, but she's doing great now and is trying to run. I know I'm biased, but she is so adorable! I love her so much.

 

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Songs purchased for my iPod since the last time I included that in a blog entry:

 

I'm Walking by Donnie McClurkin

When All God's Children Get Together by Minister Keith Pringle and The Pentecostal Community Choir

Victory by Yolanda Adams

Holy by David Jennings and Shara McKee

Famous For by Indiana Bible College

No Other Name by Indiana Bible College

Better by Tye Tribbett

More Than Enough by Gary Oliver

Your Majesty by Steve Lawrence

Revolution by Kirk Franklin & The Family

That Name by Shara McKee

Holy by UPCI Music

Heaven on Earth by Indiana Bible College

Hallelujah to Your Name by Tye Tribbett & G.A.

Bless the Lord (Son of Man) by Tye Tribbett & G.A.

Still Alive by Kirk Franklin

All Things New by Tye Tribbett

I'll Sing About Jesus by Indiana Bible College

Heaven by Michael English

I'm Not Afraid by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Alive in You by Jesus Culture

The Anthem by Planetshakers

We Are the Free by Indiana Bible College

Take Me There by Chad Erickson

What a Beautiful Name by Indiana Bible College

But God by The Pentecostals of Katy

Send the Rain by William McDowell

Resurrection Day by Indiana Bible College

The Blessing by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship

Let It Rain by Jesus Culture

Let It Rain by Anthony Evans

Let It Rain by Bishop Paul S. Morton

Excess Love Remix by J.J. Hairston

I Know a Name by Elevation Worship

Hosanna (Be Lifted Higher) by Israel Houghton

Holy Forever & Agnus Dei by The River Worship

Worthy of it All by Cece Winans

John 1 by Indiana Bible College

God's Been Good (The Church Song) by The Pentecostals of Katy

Cry Holy by Salvador

Mighty God by Clint Brown

 

Yes, Let It Rain by three different artists. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. But since getting them, I listen to the version by Jesus Culture most often.

 

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Some time between 11:30 PM, Saturday night, May 31st, and 2:00 AM Sunday morning, June 1st, Sean's father-in-law Doug passed away in his sleep.

 

Sean heard Doug's alarm going off around 3:30 AM, but it kept going. At first, Sean thought Doug overslept (he did that often), but after awhile, Sean went to check on him. He called his name a couple times, then tried to shake him awake. Doug was stiff and cold.

 

Sean called 911 and they told him to do chest compressions until EMS got there. It took them about 15 minutes to get there. (Including police and fire department. Sean said he didn't see an ambulance. He thinks it may have been the coroner's van or something.) Sean said they tried for about 30 seconds and then pronounced him dead.

Doug was 59 years old. Ashley is of course taking it very hard.

 

I can't believe he died that way. And I can't believe my son had to do what he did. He told me that the image of Doug dead and having to do chest compressions on him is always on his mind. He tries to distract himself and get it off his mind, but it's difficult. 

 

The funeral is today at 2:00. 

 

Doug left behind his mother, Fran, a sister, Kim, and his three daughters - Alyssa, Ashley, and Hannah, and five or six grandchildren. (I can't remember if Hannah has two children or three. Alyssa and her husband have two - a girl and an infant son. Ashley and Sean have Lydia.) 

 

I didn't see Doug much over the past couple years, but he seemed nice. I had done some work on his family tree for him. He thought the information I found was pretty cool.  

 

I'm dreading today. I know it's going to be so incredibly difficult for the family.

Baby Shower, Milo, Welcome Baby!, African Ancestry

Wednesday, March 6th, we found out that Ashley had a condition called cholestasis. This is uncomfortable for the mother (itching), but can be dangerous for the baby. Cholestasis can cause up to 60% of preterm deliveries, up to 33% of fetal distress, and up to 2% of babies die in the womb. So her doctor decided they would induce her at 37 weeks on March 22nd. They put her on medication to help with the cholestasis. They were also going to do ultrasounds once or twice a week and monitor the baby. Cholestasis usually goes away on its own after the baby is born.

 

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Friday, March 8th was a busy day. Milo had an ultrasound done of his liver, I ordered the cake for the baby shower (strawberry buttercream from Maxie B's), got groceries, bought gifts for Sean/Ashley/Lydia for the baby shower, and made chocolate chip cookies for the shower.

 

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Saturday, March 9th, was the baby shower. I picked up the cake from the bakery about an hour before the shower, brought it to the church, and waited for the shower to start. I had a few people helping me with decorating and food. (Rene, Kaley, Jennifer, and Kristin.) I couldn't have done it all myself. Plus, I'm not a party person, so it's not my area of expertise. They did a great job.

The shower started at 2:00. It was a lovely time of conversation, food (cake was delicious!), and gifts.

 

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Monday, March 11th, Ashley's water broke before dawn. Sean called me after 5:00 AM to tell me. Ashley called her doctor and he or she told her to go to the hospital. Ashley was 1 centimeter dilated. I told Sean it would take all day for the baby to be born. I waited for Charlie to get home from work and then we went to the hospital. We got there shortly before 6:00 PM.

They gave Ashley an epidural when she was about 3-4 centimeters dilated (I think around 4 or 5 PM). By about 6:45 PM, she was 6 centimeters dilated. She was fully dilated around 7:35-7:40 and began pushing shortly after that.

Lydia Jane was born close to 9:30 PM. 6 lbs. 5.9 oz., 20 inches long. She came out sideways and was very blue, but breathing and was crying soon after that.

Because Ashley was 35 weeks pregnant, Lydia had to go to the NICU and is still there. She had a breathing tube until the morning or afternoon after she was born. She also had a feeding tube for the first couple days and then they removed it, but they had to put it back in (through her nose this time; it was in her mouth before) the next day because she wasn't getting enough food from the bottle. She still isn't eating enough (though she has finally started gaining weight), so she still has the feeding tube.

I've been to the hospital a few times to see her and hold her. (I would go every day, if I could.) She is so sweet and so cute! She's so much smaller in person than she looks in pictures. Such a sweet, tiny face. She makes such cute noises, sometimes sticks out her tongue when she stretches (so freaking cute!), and loves to hold Sean's thumb. Right now, it looks like she has Sean's eyes, Ashley's nose, and mostly Sean's face shape, but I think she may have Ashley's jaw.

I love that little girl so much! People have asked me what I want to be called and I told them "grandma" is fine (I don't think I'm the Gigi/Nana/Meme/Nona/whatever type), but whatever she chooses to call me is also fine.

So weird being a grandma. I don't feel old enough to be a grandma. But, at 51, obviously I am. lol

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We got Milo's ultrasound results back this past Monday. Pretty much what they told us when we had an ultrasound done a few years ago. Liver is shrunken and nodular. Probably fibrosis. (I think that's what she said.) He's 13 years old, so we're not going to have a biopsy done. He's still not wanting to eat his hepatic food, but the vet said that the most important thing now is his comfort and quality of life - whatever he wants to eat and continue medications. He acts like his normal self still - loud, playful, happy, crazy, annoying. lol

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A few years ago when my aunt Wanda (my mom's oldest sister; passed away last January) had her DNA done, it showed a small amount of African - south central hunter gatherers (Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania). Last night, I was doing some things at Ancestry and went to the DNA section and then "matches". Aunt Wanda is my second closest match and I decided to click on her and check her ethnicity. (I had never thought to check hers each time there was an update.) It now says 2% Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu Peoples for her African ancestry.

So that area of Africa is where the African ancestors that are in my family tree came from. This is on my mom's mom's side of the family. To be more specific, my maternal grandma's mother's mother's mother's side of the family. (My great-grandma Lessie, great-great-grandma Nelie Britt, 3x-grandma Penelope Ivey's ancestors.) It's cool to know a little more specifically where they were from.

Loss, Birthdays, Park, and Sick Milo

On January 21st, my aunt Nelie passed away. She was 90 years old. She was my maternal grandma's youngest sibling and the last surviving of her siblings. My grandma passed away in 2003 at the age of 78. The other siblings were James (1915-1968), Horace (1917-1972), Lester (1919-1994), Pauline (1923-2004), and Ruth (1928-1997).

 

 

Aunt Nelie is the one with the doll. Behind her is her mother Lessie. Beside her is her sister Ruth. Behind Ruth is my grandma/Nelie and Ruth's sister Doris.

Aunt Nelie and her husband Richard.

 

Left to right: James, Nelie, Lester, Grandma (in the back), Pauline, Horace, and Ruth.

I hadn't seen my aunt Nelie in many years, but it was sad to lose the last of my grandma's siblings. That generation of our family is gone and now we can't talk to them about times past and things they lived through and experienced. 

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On February 1st, the baby wasn't moving as much as she normally does, so Ashley went to her doctor. He or she then told Ashley to go to the hospital. Charlie and I arrived at the hospital awhile after they did. We were there for an hour or two while they monitored the baby. Thankfully, all was fine. They said she was probably sitting on/leaning against the umbilical cord and/or playing with it.

After leaving the hospital, we went to Texas Roadhouse for supper. I got the herb crusted chicken. It was delicious.

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My birthday was February 7th. I'm 51 years old now. I was 35 when I started writing in this blog. Hard to believe. For my birthday, I made a chocolate blueberry cake. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted (not enough of a sweet blueberry flavor in it), but it was still good.

Charlie gave me money to shop with. I mostly ordered skirts. A few black denim skirts (two Lauren Ralph Lauren, one Land's End), a brown pencil skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), a green, flowy silk skirt (Calvin Klein), a green corduroy skirt (St. John's Bay), white denim skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), and a green Tahari cardigan. (My favorite color is green. :-) Red is a close second.) All for low prices off of eBay and Poshmark.

 

Kelly's birthday was February 8th. She's 24 years old now. She wanted strawberry pie instead of her usual cookies and cream ice cream cake this year. She doesn't like actual cake, except cheesecake.

 

Charlie's birthday was February 21st. He's now 55 years old. I made him one of his favorite meals - fried pork chops, macaroni and tomatoes, corn, and great northern beans. The cake he wanted this year was lemon cake (instead of yellow with chocolate frosting) - I put buttercream frosting on top.

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I had to renew my license by my birthday this year. Last time I got it renewed, I was able to do it online. This year I had to go to the DMV to renew it. I had to read the top line of some letters and get my picture taken (probably the worst picture that's ever been taken of me in my entire life). I went a day or two before my birthday and was there for about an hour or maybe a little longer. It felt even longer than that. :-/

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On my birthday, Kelly and I went to the dam at Company Mill Preserve and to Hagan-Stone Park. The temperature wasn't bad (about 51 or 52 degrees), but for some reason I was about to freeze. I wished that I had gloves with me, a thicker coat, and had worn boots instead of tennis shoes. I did finally warm up, but it took longer than I thought it would.

 

The gap in the dam wall is to the left of this picture.

Dam wall gap. Kelly took this picture for me while I stood in agony after falling. lol

 

Anyway, we went to the dam at Company Mill first. I took some pictures and short videos and then noticed a small open area in the wall to the left of the dam. I told Kelly I wanted to get up there. We found a stone wall about 3-4 feet tall and decided to climb up. There were gaps that made good footholds. Kelly got up quickly and then I tried to get up. Actually, the getting to the top wasn't hard. But I asked for Kelly's hand and when I got to the top (pretty quickly), I somehow fell and came down hard on a big, sharp, white rock that was stuck in the ground - right below my right knee. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to throw up. It took a couple minutes for the nausea to pass. The place where I hurt my leg quickly bruised and swelled up. It stuck out as far as my knee. I joked that it looked like I had two knees on my right leg.

When we decided that we were ready to move on, I said that I probably couldn't jump back down those 3-4 feet with my leg hurting like it was. So I found a very narrow, overgrown path that lead away from the lake and dam and back to the path. If only I'd seen that path before trying to climb the wall, but it was pretty well hidden.

We then got back in the car (because the walk to the next area we wanted to go to was about 2.5 miles away) and drove over to Hagan-Stone Park a few miles away and made the walk over to that side of Company Mill where the creek is. Such a pretty, peaceful spot. We saw a couple deer take off in the woods when we got to the creek. I didn't try to take a picture since I knew that with all the trees and them moving you probably wouldn't be able to see the deer in the picture.

 

 

 

It's been almost a month and my leg is still bruised and I can't put pressure on it without it hurting.

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About 2-3 weeks ago, we started having a hard time getting Milo to eat. If I added something new to his food (he's supposed to be eating prescription food for his liver - hepatic), like rice or corn, he would get excited about his food and eat most of it. But after 2 or 3 days, he would stop eating it and I'd have to find something else to add to his food. Eventually he was eating almost nothing. He had a regular appointment (yearly check up) on February 21st and I told them about him not eating. He had lost nearly a pound in those couple weeks. Nearly every test (blood, urine, feces) came back normal and his heart sounded good. The only thing that came back not so good was his liver values are elevated more than last year (he has liver disease), but not so much that he's in liver failure or so bad that he would stop eating. So we don't know why he wasn't eating.

Charlie started giving him boiled chicken tenders about a week ago and he's loved that, but I really wish he'd start eating his dog food again. Protein isn't good for his liver.

Last Saturday, he seemed kind of lethargic most of the day and hadn't had much energy in the weeks that he wasn't eating much (naturally), but he's back to full energy now - barking, running, playing.

He's supposed to have an ultrasound done this Friday so they can see his liver.

Milo turned 13 this past September. I think Jack Russell's typically live 12-15 years, so we know he probably doesn't have much time left. I'm praying he'll be with us for at least another year though. I saw my husband's eyes fill with tears a couple times when things were looking really bad for Milo. Not only am I not ready to lose Milo (not that you're ever ready to lose a pet), but I don't want Charlie to lose him. He loves Milo so much. That's his buddy.

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Other than the clothing items I bought with my birthday money, here are purchases I've made since my last blog entry.

Talbot's dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally $149. I paid $45.87 after shipping and tax.

L.L. Bean dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally around $100, I think. I paid $35.20 after shipping and tax.

New Year, Church Changes, and Family Loss

 

New Year's Eve, Kelly and I cleaned the church sanctuary. We got to the church between 6:00 and 6:30 PM and left the church around 9:00. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go to church the next morning since I'd been sick (I was feeling quite a bit better), but I was glad to get it looking nice for those who would be there. Thankfully, I was able to go. 

 

Our New Year's service was beautiful and anointed. We sang Freedom (Jesus Culture?) and Goodness of God, prayed, took communion, and Pastor preached a great message about praying for God to do things through us and not just to us or for us.

I usually get on my computer on Saturday nights. When it was getting close to midnight, Charlie asked if I wanted to watch the ball drop. So I went into the living room and watched it. Then I got back on my computer.

Real exciting New Year's Eve. ;-) :-D

 

HAPPY 2023!

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I got most of the groceries at Food Lion after church on New Year's Day. Because I'd been sick, I hadn't bought groceries since the 23rd. We were getting pretty low on some things. I got the rest of the groceries the next day at Walmart and put gas in the car. There were a few things I couldn't find at Food Lion or Walmart, so we went to Target (after leaving the closed DMV) to get those items.

I was going to pay the taxes on my car and Charlie's hauler on Monday, but the DMV was closed for the holiday. So I paid them online last night.

 

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I mentioned church a few paragraphs ago. New flooring was put in the foyer last year and new carpet in the sanctuary in 2020. Now they're putting new flooring in other parts of the building. The carpet was taken out of the classroom hallway and vinyl plank flooring will be put in. Right now it's just the cement floor. The new flooring has been put in the daycare, which is on the opposite side of the building. I wonder if that means it will also be put in the hallway on that side of the building. Right now it's the same tile that's been there since our church was built in the early 2000s.

I'll try to remember to take pictures of the classroom hallway and maybe the daycare when I go to the church to clean the sanctuary on Saturday.

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Yesterday evening, my aunt Wanda passed away. She was my mom's oldest sister. She was 76 years old.

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I last posted about new songs on my iPod in April. Here are the songs I've gotten since then.

 

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Family Reunion, A Death, Books, and Clothes

In my last entry, I wrote about Charlie being sick and a home covid test coming back positive. The test that was done at CVS came back positive the next day - Thursday, August 18th. By early the next week, he was feeling mostly better.

Kelly was sick on Saturday, August 20th - nausea, body aches, and a headache. Her symptoms were quite a bit milder the next day and she was better by that Monday.

 

Thankfully, I never felt sick.

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This past Saturday, September the 3rd, my dad's side of the family had a reunion at my cousin Christian's house in Wade, NC. (Out in the country, northeast of Fayetteville.) Of my immediate family, only my mom and I went. :-/ 

 

It was a mostly pleasant trip there and back, but as it's been for years (decades), the traffic gets bad as you get close to Spring Lake until you get on the other side of Fayetteville. (Going through Sanford used to be really bad too until they built/rerouted the highway around Sanford.) I always dread that part of the trip. It's just madness in those small cities - Spring Lake, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville. It seems like there are more people than there is road space for them to travel on. Not to mention all the young G.I.s from all over the country - mostly young males who are notorious for their bad driving. Though I imagine getting a traffic ticket may not sit well with their superiors.

 

Anyway, there was a big tent set up in my cousin's backyard with three big fans to keep us cool. It was a hot, humid day (which somehow always feels more miserable in the sandhills) and after awhile, I had to go inside the house. I was feeling lightheaded from being too hot. Something that's always been a problem for me, to the point of nearly passing out. I sat inside for a while and then went back outside and sat closer to a fan. That helped a lot. It was actually cooler in front of the fan than it was in the house. Probably because people were in and out and that probably made it harder for the house to get cool.

 

When it was time to eat, I got up to get my food, but nearly fell down because I was just too lightheaded from the heat. My mom went and got my food for me. They had fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, barbecue, collards, rolls, biscuits, sweet tea, pineapple upside down cake or pig pickin' cake (can't remember which), banana pudding, nilla wafer cake, and I don't remember what else. I only ate a chicken breast and two rolls.

 

It was nice seeing my family. I think the last time I saw them was at my uncle Mike's funeral in September 2016. I wish more could've been at the reunion. I think around 40 were there. 

 

Those who were there included my dad's siblings: Aunt Kathy, Uncle Daniel (lives in Florida), Aunt Robin (she was married to Uncle Mike), and Uncle Marty. And Uncle Marty's wife, Aunt Stella. 

 

My cousins: Shannon and her husband Scott; Michael W. and his girlfriend (don't remember her name); Jessica, her husband Scott, and their kids Elijah, Sarah, Daniellah, and Rebeccah; Christian, his wife Kim, and their daughter Emma; Michael L. and his wife (don't remember her name), and his daughter from his first marriage, Madi. My cousin Christine came by briefly, but then left to get her kids - Magen, Matthew, and Nathaniel. My mom and I left before she came back.

There were also some of my paternal grandma's family there - originally from Massachusetts, but I think they live in NC now.

I wish Charlie, Sean, Kelly, and Ashley had come with us. Charlie thought he was going to have to work, but the crane they were waiting on got stuck at the state border. (Don't know which state.) My kids just didn't want to go. My brother Del also didn't want to go.

Before my mom and I left, they took a family picture. We stood in the hot sun and I joked that the next reunion should be in a cooler month like October. Well, I say "joked", but I was serious. lol

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I took the last of the naproxen a couple days ago. My ankle hasn't been hurting as bad and I'm hoping it's getting better. I hope it's completely better by the time the weather turns cool. That's when I really like to go walking at Hagan Stone Park and hiking in the mountains. I won't be able to do that if I'm in too much pain and that would be a real bummer.

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A little old lady who used to go my church (before covid) passed away on Saturday. Her name was Mercedes and I sure did love her. Before covid, we would hug each other at church every Sunday. Sometimes I would go to her and sometimes she would come to me. I loved it when she would suddenly appear next to me when I was sitting in my seat. I'd look up and she'd have that sweet smile on her face. She would open her arms for a hug and I would stand up and hug her. Every time we hugged, I would tell her, "I love you", and she would say, "I love you too." She didn't know much English (she was from a country in South America), but she would do her best to say, "I love you too".

I looked forward to the day when covid let up enough for her to come back to church so I could see her and hug her again every Sunday. It hurts my heart that we never got to do that again. Her health went downhill and she was never able to come back. I recently posted about her on Facebook (in a post I shared for a fundraiser for her funeral and to cover other expenses for her husband) and I had tears streaming down my face as I wrote about her.

Sister Mercedes' family were all with her when she took her last breath. My heart hurts for her husband and the rest of her family. They're in my prayers and though I couldn't give much, I did give a little for the fundraiser.

The funeral is this Friday at the church.

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I finished reading Turbulent by T.L. Payne on August 27th. It was okay. I gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 at GoodReads. It's the first book in a series. I won't be reading the rest of them.

I started reading House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland on the 27th and finished it on September 3rd. Probably the weirdest book I've ever read, but really hard to put down. I had to know what in the world was going on. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 at GoodReads.

I'm now reading Harvest (Surviving the Evacuation #6) by Frank Tayell.

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Before sharing purchases I've made since my last entry, I wanted to write about how much I spend on clothes now compared to when my husband made more money. He used to be a crane mechanic, which meant traveling all over the country to repair cranes. He was usually gone for weeks or months at a time. One year he was gone for over 200 days.

When a position was offered to him in the summer of 2016 to be the manager at his job (located in a nearby city), he took it, but it meant a reduction in pay. He went from hourly pay (which often meant a lot of overtime) to a salary. He would be making about 12-13% less per year. I think he's gotten a raise or two since then, but not big raises.

I won't go into how much exactly I spent in his traveling days lol, but after doing the math, and checking with a calculator to be sure, I spend about 80% less now than I did then. He makes about 12% less, but I spend about 80% less. I looked at the average of what I spent then per week and the average of what I spend now per week. This didn't include going out to eat - which I used to do 2-3 times per week, but now only about once every few months.

So, yes, I like to shop. lol Usually making 2-4 purchases per week, depending on what the total of those purchases will be. (I try not to go over $50 total, but sometimes it's a little more.) But I don't spend anywhere close to how much I used to spend.

With that being said, here are my purchases since my last entry.

 

L.L. Bean shirt dress. Bought from someone on eBay. (This is their photo.) I paid $39.43 after shipping and tax. It was the only purchase I made the week I bought it.

 

M.S.S.P. (Max Studio) skirt. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) I paid $38.07 after shipping and tax.

 

Next brand purse. An English brand. Bought from someone on eBay. (These are their photos.) I paid $29.62 after shipping and tax.

 

Dream Pairs brand heels. Purchased from Amazon. (This is their photo.) $39.99 before shipping and tax, but I think I was able to get free shipping.

 

St. John's Bay purse. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) I paid $29.53 after shipping and tax.

 

Cabi brand vest. Purchased from someone on eBay. (This is their photo.) I paid $23.47 after tax. Shipping was free.

 

 

With fall coming, I've had a thing for plaid lately. The shirt dress I bought was not only because it's plaid, but because it's a long sleeve shirt dress and thicker material than my spring/summer shirt dresses. Before buying it, I had no fall shirt dresses. I'm hoping to find a couple more.

The toile skirt is one I used to have and got rid of several years ago because it was a little snug, but mostly because I couldn't figure out what top or shoes to wear with it. I have shoes now that will go with it and I'm hoping I can find a top since it's easier to find what I'm looking for shopping the thrift sites.

 

The reason for buying the white heels is that with my feet and ankles giving me trouble, I need lower heels and this brand is comfortable on my feet. I have these shoes in black, nude, blush, and yellow, and may buy red ones next.

 

I found the bird purse looking for plaid wool purses and fell in love with it. So cute! And a good price.

 

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I reckon that's it for now. This turned out to be a much longer entry than I thought it would be.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Renovations, Sickness, Family Stuff, Birthdays, and Books

A month and a half to two months ago, they started on a new project at church - putting in glass double doors on the left side of the foyer that will open up onto a patio. They also tore up the old tile (which had been laid on top of our original tile from back in 2003/2004) so that they could put in new flooring.

Sometime between June 22nd and 24th, they put in the new doors, but still needed to complete them. (Framing, seals, etc.)

 

To the left of where I was standing are the main doors. If you look outside these side doors, you can see where they've cleared the land for the patio. They also had a couple framing boards out there.

 

 

 

The week of July 18th, they started putting in the new flooring - hardwood. My son Sean took pictures of the progress yesterday and I saved them to my phone. They still need to sand and finish them. When I go to clean the sanctuary this Saturday, I hope that's done so I can take pictures of it to share on Facebook.

 

 

In this picture, the patio doors are to the left. The door straight ahead is where the cleaning supplies are, a fridge, electrical box things, etc.

 

 

The double doors with the papers on them lead to the prayer gallery/hallway. The doors to the left of those doors are to the sanctuary. The door on the far left is to a hallway where the bathrooms, nursery, daycare, and gym/Spanish church are, and a side door to the sanctuary.

 

 

I've shared other pictures on Facebook that I've taken of the sanctuary and foyer. Which reminds me, they pushed back the center platform in the sanctuary about a month or so ago (that platform is for the video camera) and I took pictures of that. The platform used to sit behind the second row.

I put that orange tape over and around the wiring. It's not pretty, but it stands out and will hopefully keep people from tripping. Safety is more important than beauty in cases like this. lol

 

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I started feeling sick on Tuesday, July 12th. Just a bit of a cough. I woke up that Wednesday with a worse cough, sinus pressure and headache, and a low fever. I was only fevered a couple times, the highest it got being about 99.4 on that Thursday. After about 3 or 4 days, my throat started hurting from all the coughing. After a few more days, my ribs started hurting from coughing. Really, if I hadn't been coughing so much, I wouldn't have felt nearly as bad. Also, I didn't get enough sleep for a week or more, so that added to my feeling bad. The cough and the lack of sleep was the worst part. I really didn't have any other symptoms. I still cough now and then, but it's almost completely gone now.

I was unable to get groceries until Friday, July 22nd, and then I had to deal with AF on the 23rd, so I couldn't vacuum the church that evening.

Someone on Facebook asked if I had been tested for covid. A couple months back, we got some tests in the mail, so I could've tested myself, but my symptoms weren't bad (very few of the typical covid symptoms) and I wasn't going anywhere until I felt better. I was "quarantined", if you want to call it that, from the 11th until the 22nd, so I wasn't concerned about that. Besides, I checked a medical website about the differences between a sinus infection (I'm sure that's what I had) and covid and the only thing in common that I had was the cough. And I always get a cough (and lose my voice, as I did this time also) when I have a sinus infection.

 

No high fever, no chills or body aches, no loss of taste or smell, no brain fog, no stomach issues, no trouble breathing, etc.

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My uncle Marty, my dad's youngest brother/sibling, called me a couple weeks ago and said that him and Aunt Stella are retiring and are having a party at their church in Spring Lake on October 29th. That's also Uncle Marty's birthday, so it'll be a combination retirement/birthday party. I hope we get to go. I haven't seen my family in a few years.

My aunt Robin, my dad's youngest sister, called me a few days ago and said that Uncle Daniel (their brother) wants to come up from Florida on Labor Day weekend and have a family reunion. (It'll be at Aunt Robin's house in Dunn.) They're going to have it catered so that no one has to cook. I'm looking forward to seeing my family (pretty much everyone on my dad's side should be there), but not looking forward to all the games they're planning on. Neither is Kelly. We're not game people. lol

There'll be a dinner and games on Saturday and then scavenger hunt and/or tubing down part of the Cape Fear River on Sunday. Yeah, no thanks. I plan on staying home that Sunday. Even if I could swim, I would not go tubing. I am so not the tubing type. I'd rather sit inside and talk. Maybe play board games. Maybe. Same with Kelly. Actually, if it wasn't going to be hot out (why do we always have reunions in the summer? fall would be better), I'd love to go hiking or to some pretty gardens or something.

Anyway, as I said, looking forward to seeing family. Hopefully I'll be able to go.

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Speaking of family, my cousin Shannon was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She's the oldest daughter of my dad's sister Kathleen. (Aunt Kathy's other daughters are Christine and Kimberly.) I think she said she's having surgery tomorrow. I pray all goes well. 

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Thursday, July 21st, was my daughter-in-law Ashley's 26th birthday. Sean took her to the beach the 20th through the 24th. I'm always nervous when they go out of town, but nothing bad happened and they had a good time. They stayed in New Bern (cheaper hotels than the beach towns) and went to Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium, Atlantic Beach, Cape Lookout, and Fort Macon.

I/we (haha) got her a card and three books - Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys, The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff, and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

My mom's 71st birthday was yesterday. I got her a card, but I still need to get her a gift. I never know what to get her (she always says she doesn't need or want anything), so I usually get her flowers or something she can plant in her yard, but I wanted to get her something different this year. I have no idea what.

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I'm finally getting close to the end of Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. It's the 9th book in the Outlander series. I've never taken this long to read an Outlander book. (Drums of Autumn - book 4 - took 59 days; An Echo in the Bone - book 7 - took 60 days. The rest only took me 2-3 weeks. I read book 8 in 13 days.) I started on November 24th! It's 888 pages long and I'm on page 704. Nothing much has happened in the book. :-/ At one point, I stopped reading it and read the 5th Surviving the Evacuation book. If I didn't love the characters so much and if it weren't the 9th book in what will be a 10 book series, I don't know if I would've stuck with it.

Anyway, I'm hoping to finish in the next week or two. I could read 184 pages quicker than that, but if things don't really pick up, I'm not going to be able to read it that quickly. I'm planning on going back to the Surviving the Evacuation series after I'm done with Bees.

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Purchases since my last entry:

Lauren Ralph Lauren jacket. Purchased from someone at Mercari. (This is her picture.) I paid almost $40 after shipping and tax.

Talbot's dress. Purchased from eBay (listed at ThredUp - this is their picture.) Originally $149. I paid less than $47 after tax. Shipping was free.

Banana Republic dress. Purchased from someone at Mercari. I paid $30.08 after shipping and tax.

ModCloth skirt. Purchased from someone at Mercari. I paid $33.28 after shipping and tax. 

 

 

And, yes, I need a bigger closet now. But I do try to get rid of at least one thing when I buy something new.

 

 

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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