Ms Grundy again

Recently, Jer and I were regaled for hours with stories from a former long-haul trucker. One of the things he told us about was picking up loads from underground warehouses. When I was telling my daughter about this, she said, "You mean, like black market?? Should he be talking about that??" (n.b. The in-ground warehouses are much more efficient for heating and cooling.) see: subtropolis, Kansas City MO, in a former limestone mine http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/appl5en/subtropolis.html http://www.huntmidwest.com/subtropolis/index.html

Did I mention that, coming back from Oklahoma City, in the middle of nowhere turnpike, my car made a funny noise, turned on the engine warning lights, and died? We asked the tow driver where we could rent a car. We were an hour in any direction from a rental place. Luckily, his brother offered to drive us to Tulsa. But then he drove us all the way home - 5 hours!! (He talked most of the way, too. A former long-haul trucker, he had lots of stories.) water pump - Somewhere in OK, someone may be working on that right now.

We went to my husband's uncle's 90th birthday party Saturday. He's an amazing guy. He was in WWII - and once told us about being stationed in the Aleutians and later, fighting to gain control of a beachhead in the Pacific. He was a rancher, and still ran cattle until just a few months ago. His wife passed away about 2 years ago, and he was taking care of himself and his animals all alone. He's not doing too well right now. His bones are brittle, and some of his vertebrae are fractured, and he's in quite a bit of pain. But he keeps on going. Driving to the party I got weirdly nervous vibes. We were in a new million- dollar homes-2 golf course subdivision. Her house is so perfect. Mine will never be that clean, or that organized or that  "Southern Living" decorated. But normally I am pretty comfortable with my laid- back style and my comfortable, messy home. I got to worrying about my clothing, my weight, my lack of wealth, whether I had anything to ta...

I got my nails done last Thursday. They are GORGEOUS- all strong and swirly on white, like a hot fudge sundae, but with a clear base. The chocolate is sparkly also- but you can only see that in sunlight.  They are En Vogue nails - which means they are super-shiny, last for at least 3 weeks, and never chip or flake.  But best of all, there are no odors or nasty chemicals - either putting them on or taking them off. My natural nails weakened considerably during chemo, and even though they may grow out past the end of my fingers,  they bend, split, break off, and actually get dents. So the UV gel nails are fantastic.

made these socks for my daughter-in-law during the trip to Alaska. Two pair in two weeks is really too much - made my hands hurt. But I have made two pair and started another since I have been back.

OK, I hate applique. I am also not one for elaborate, intricate designs. But I fell in love. And this is the result. I t is bound and partially quilted - needs more quilting - You may be able to see a safety pin or two. My husband says I should have taken a better picture. I is really a rectangle. He wants the quilt for his birthday. pattern by Lisa Moore of Quilts with a Twist.

Spent two weeks in Alaska to see our new micro-grandson. He was born July 2nd at one pound two ounces. He has made it through some rough times, thank God, and now weighs 2 pounds 13 ounces. He is in an excellent NICU, with super staff - but we only got to see him five times for 15 mins each in the 2 weeks. I so want to hold him, but when we got there, his mother had only got to hold him once, and our son, his dad, not even once. So that has improved greatly in the last few weeks - both of them have held him several times. He is doing well.