2019 Joy Journal

November 29, 2019 The house is straightened back up, although I still have the little box of Thanksgiving decorations to put away. The white holiday plates are put away, along with the coffee cups that belonged to Grandmother and that I used for dessert cups for the Heavenly Chocolate Mousse. The cranberry sauce dish was out and is back up again.  I forgot to kick the oven up to 350 when I took the ham out and put the vegetable casseroles in. The dressing from Neighbors wasn't all that good. But my cranberry sauce was delicious and the rolls from Fresh Market were good, and the turkey from Neighbors was ok.  Angela was happier than I have seen her in a long, long time. Maybe it was the time she spent on the phone with Beverly the day before. Maybe because Logan came to Second Saturday Supper and she feels good about that relationship. Maybe she was just enjoying Thanksgiving dinner --- I don't know, but it was fun to see. Kennedy brought Guillermo, so we got to meet ...

November 25, 2019 The wifi is giving me a hard time this morning, and I hope that isn't going to be an all-morning thing. So frustrating. Barry and I drove down to Firefly yesterday afternoon. I think he wanted to show me what was going on with his oyster baskets. We took our lists and planners and spent a few minutes at the kitchen table working with them. It wasn't quite enough for me, and i had to get back up in the middle of the night to finish it, but it was a pleasant time. We had Second Sunday Supper on Saturday so that it would be easier for Tori to be here. It turned out that, at least on this particular Saturday night, it also meant that the older grandbabies could stay and finish their game of Nines. And so, with the house mostly empty except that table full, they gathered up in the dining room and played and talked and laughed. It was like an impromptu Goodtimes, and I loved it. Barry was talking about it the next day.  We got to meet Logan, Angela's f...

April 24, 2019 Yesterday morning I got a video text from Andrew. He was on a hike, and walking a trail flanked by fields of tall stalked, yellow flowers, as far as the eye could see. He was determined to get to the top of the mountain --- and when he got to the bottom, he saw a sign about mountain lions in the area. It was a fun visit.  Brittany flies out Sunday for her first work trip!  Davis is crawling!!! Talked to Beverly for a few minutes, and to Beth for a few minutes. Chris and Tyler and Wylder were over in the evening for a few minutes, to pick up a package. 

March 13, 2018 We got Kennedy started in her new apartment yesterday. Chris came over with Wylder and helped get us loaded and unloaded. Beverly said that Kennedy seemed very happy --- talked about Barry offering her things to hang on the walls, etc.  Kennedy was taking care of Wylder, so I told Chris to set her desk up under the window, and her desk chair right in front of it. When she walked in the room and saw that, she looked back over her shoulder at me with just the happiest, most comforted smile.  Wylder smiled and hugged, and did his best to use Papa's car keys to unlock the storage compartment on the side of the SeeMore.  Annette won the Gold in her division in her Spartan race Saturday.  Barry and I went to Pensacola on Saturday to judge in their BBQ Competition. 

March 11, 2019 Second Sunday Supper was a lot of fun, and this morning is going well.  Heard from Andrew --- text --- really busy at work. Brittany called me in to the bedroom for a minute and Jon Marc jumped  up from the dining room table and said, "Wait a minute!" Brittany handed me a gift bag, saying "We went into a gift shop, and I saw this first thing, and said, 'I have to have this for Grannie." A turtle-shaped coffee cup that says "I turtilly love you!" So sweet.  She called me the other day --- said she'd started to send a text but then thought, "I haven't talked to Grannie for a while. I just want to hear her voice."  Skyler drove herself to school for the first time today, in her new car. Annette talked about taking Skyler with her to get the oil changed, and letting her be the one to have the conversation with the people there. They've opened a checking account for her, too. Angela and Tori and Kennedy hel...

February 25, 2019 Andrew: California is the most racist place I've ever been, and when you consider where I'm from, that's saying a lot. The Spanish and the Asians and the blacks don't even acknowledge each other, and don't have anything to say to each other --- that is good. I come in and say, "Hi!" to everyone. That confused them. When they need something done they come to me because they don't know which contractor to call, and that isn't even part of my job. They all bring in food, but just for their own little group. I'll bring in ten dozen doughnuts and get on the radio and tell them we've got doughnuts and they're for everybody. .... When he calls for help, he gets more than he even needs. He needed to move his equipment to another location, way on the other side of campus. He asked if a couple of people could come help him. So many people showed him, he didn't even know how many. He said he was literally just handing each ...

February 19, 2019 Kennedy is listed on Escambia Reads website now, as the Program and Marketing Assistant. She was assigned to them as part of her school work program. Now they have her more in the art department, but it looks to me like ECARE really wants to hang on to her. I went to the mall yesterday morning and had a nice walk with Bertice. I went to Publix and stocked up on the cereal that I like, and the fibre cereal that Daddy gave me, that I can't find anywhere else. They had pistachios, too, so now I finally have the ingredients for my regular breakfast concoction again.  I picked Skyler up from school on Tuesday and we got to visit a little bit. She is taking piano at school. Kennedy may be over this evening.  Noah responded to my text re: his soccer game this afternoon. Chris and Tyler and Wylder stopped by so Chris could get some of his mail. Tyler gave me a cord he found that had fallen on the ground, and asked if Mama Cat liked her ca...

February 15, 2019 Someone left some flowers on my door, but no one has said who it was. They are very pretty! Had a little text visit with Brittany. She posted about a man at their church who had passed away, and how strong the woman's faith must be, visible in her reaction. I sent her a message and told her about what Grandmother, the night of Granddad's funeral, removing her earrings and saying, "I'm going to go to sleep and thank God for all the good years that we had together."  Heard from Beverly. She is safe from the flooding that is near her. Tori and Angela called, and so we got to visit for a minute. It was fun to hear their voices.  Beverly told me that Tori had gotten a promotion, so Tor and I talked about that. She is a Technical Architect. "Someone who takes the requirements and designs what needs to happen in the code to make it work." A developer implements the design. She said now she will be doing architecture and development. S...