2019 Joy Journal

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...

November 20, 2019 Had a fun text conversation with Brittany this morning. Tori and Josh changed their relationship status yesterday to "In a relationship." Naturally, that prompted a text. She laughed, and said they had just been out to dinner and realized they hadn't ever changed it back.  Had a little text visit with Morgan last night and this morning. Heard from Shawn. He is planning on being at SSS. Barry and I had lunch at Firehouse yesterday and got to visit with Faith a little bit.  Had a good walk with Bertice yesterday. 

November 7, 2019 Just really kind of fed my soul to visit with Frank and Juli and make them laugh. Heard from Skyler. Heard from Tori. She said she had an easy, normal day.  Saw Shawn for a few minutes when he came to get his car.

November 6, 2019 And the good news is that Virginia flipped blue, and so did the governorship of Kentucky, where 45 won by 30%. There may be hope for us after all. Went to Juli's this morning to pick up my last pieces of pottery and visited for a little bit. Met Frank Voghtner who I see on Bertice's page a lot. He was teaching Juli how to do water testing.  Went to Virginia's health food store and got the maca and collegen powder to make Bertice's concoction. We'll see how that goes. Heard from Beverly. She is training today for the ultrasounds. Ordered JA's little surprises.  Got to hug Angela this morning. Got a hug from Shawn yesterday.

November 4, 2019 Had a nice long Facebook chat with Shawn this weekend. Ashlyn texting with Tyler. Andrew and Annette and Brittany and Skyler pulling together for Tyler. Angela and Kennedy came over and visited with us for a little while yesterday. Morgan and Angela took Kennedy to Bellingrath to take her graduation photos. Morgan told Angela that they have about 400 shots. ;-)  Got to have a voice visit with Beverly. They have settled in to their new park for the 30 days that they will be there --- or rather, have successfully set up the RV. They left some things, including their cable, in place at the other park, and are leaving a lot of things packed up in their car and truck. 

October 31, 2019 Heard from Shawn yesterday. And heard from Tori. She said, "Josh made some fresh pico de gallo to go with dinner and it is very yummy, so I'd say Wednesday went pretty well."  Heard from Beverly. She was tired, but packing.  Talked to Rodney when we called to wish him happy birthday. Had a little text visit with Morgan. She is excited about Halloween. 

October 30, 2019 It is a pretty morning. Mild temperature. Little breeze. Bella is on her pillow. Bentley was out here for a while, but has gone back to his bed in the house. My house is straight, lunch is ready, laundry is rolling. I'm on the verge of being done with the washing and drying part.  Shawn was here yesterday and looked good. He's going to let us know when it would be a good time for him and Ashlon to have supper with us.  Heard from Brittany this morning. She said she was sorry she hadn't responded Monday, that she'd been sick and really busy at work. It was fun that she remembered me, and I know how those days can go. Heard from Kennedy. She said that she might be coming over today. She's supposed to go graduation dress shopping with Angela because Angela and Morgan are going to take her graduation pictures.  Barry fixed the hall toilet yesterday, and said, "I think I set a world record today." When I asked about that, he said, ...

September 3, 2019 I get to have breakfast with Andrew tomorrow! Angela, when she called to tell me that she had gotten a job in Mobile and is moving back ---- I was so happy, she was so happy, she couldn't wait to tell me and she didn't want to do it by text.  Beth and Rodney have been in Chicago with Morgan, Amber, Zak, Brandon, Amber's boyfriend, and Davis. Lots of fun, lots of pictures on Facebook. Shawn is engaged.  Faith and Michael and Brooke came over yesterday to swim, and we sat at the kitchen counter for a long time and visited.  Heard from Brittany. She and Jon Marc spent Labor Day weekend with his family and had a good time. Pictures on Facebook. 

August 20, 2019 Did I tell you that I spent a couple of hours reading when I was at Firefly? Finished "Russ and Daughters." Felt good. Annette set up a Facebook group yesterday to let us know that Jon Marc is planning to propose to Brittany on September 22, and to invite us to join them at Moe's for a little celebration afterwards. Beth and Beverly both posted their congratulations.  Brittany's flower is blooming, so I sent her a picture, and we had a little text visit. Heard from Angela, even though she and Tori and Kennedy were in California. They are on their way home today. Zak sent me a text, "Do you have ingredients for back to school cookies possibly?" I told him I had most of them and asked if he was in the mood for some cookies. He said, "It is Gabby's first day back in college and I thought it would be a good way to introduce you two. :-) "  Got to visit with Tyler when I took him to his class. I asked about Shawn, and h...

June 6, 2019 Did I tell you already that Ashley Ezell said I was the most productive volunteer she'd ever worked with? I feel pretty much the opposite, so I've kind of enjoyed that. Evan and Chelsea brought Jaden and James over for supper last night. Jaden started lots of games with us (hiding in the cabinets, etc.) and James smiled a lot. We got take out from Taste of Thai and just laughed and talked and caught up a little bit. James was teething on his fist, so I gave him an Oreo. After he'd had a minute I said, "I should have asked his mommy first!" and Chelsea said, "That's all right. You're the granny. You can do whatever you want."  I got to have a nice phone visit with Annette this morning. I could hear in her voice how much she and Andrew had enjoyed her trip to California.  Heard from Tori. She said they had just finished a walk around the neighborhood, so I said that I was sending them each a star. Heard from Shawn. He said ...

May 3, 2019 Barry and Holly and I spent last night at Firefly. We left here at 7:15 last night and got back here at about the same time this morning. We walked out on the pier. We took Holly for a little walk. We took her to SeeMore and then walked around a little bit. We talked about the popcorn trees in the lowland. And then we sat in the glider swing that is near the edge of the bulkhead and watched the stars come out. As we settled in, I laughed and said, "This is what old people are supposed to be doing." He seemed unsure what to say, so I clarified, "This is what we are supposed to be doing."  Got to voice visit with Beverly yesterday. She had her first day of orientation at her new job. Heard from Kennedy. She'd taken care of getting a flat tire changed and is hoping to come over Sunday to hang out.  Heard from Amber. Had a text from Beth.  Got a lot of errands taken care of yesterday. Shawn and his friends came over to swim.

March 22, 2019 Annette sent me a good morning text message. We had a fun supper with Zak and Vivian at Quickly's last night. We got to hear about their trip. Vivian may get a shift change at WalMart, so she'll be able to be at Second Sunday Supper again. She's applied for a WalMart scholarship, and it would be really awesome if she got it.  Heard from Skyler. Heard from Andrew. Got to have a nice phone visit with Beverly. She had expected to work yesterday, but they called her and told her they don't usually schedule people on their last day, so she didn't have to work after all.  Heard from Angela. She and Tori are driving in this weekend. They're going to come over here with Kennedy and pick out some things for her new apartment. Heard from Tori. She is looking forward to being able to swim. Kennedy called to update us and sent some pictures of her new comforter, etc. She said, "Thank you for helping me feel ready. I feel so ready. I lov...

March 12, 2019 Just having a good morning. We ate leftovers for dinner last night, so there wasn't any need to run the dishwasher last night, or to unload it this morning. It didn't take long to straighten the bedroom, fold the towels, get my blanket out of the family room----all neat, ready to go and behind me. In the writing shack at 7:52. I should be able to get in a walk, and the afternoon feels doable.  Angela and Tori made it back to Tampa safely, and Kennedy made it back to Pensacola. Ange's experience at the vet didn't go well, and we couldn't get Bentley interested in marking any of the spots in the back yard. There was a lot of love and laughter surrounding the effort though --- Tori and Kennedy carrying water, trying to lure Bentley to interesting spots, Ange  doing the same while toting the plastic container to catch the sample. Surprising a cat who was hiding in the playground.  Beth came over for coffee and so I got to play with Davis a little ...

February 27, 2019 When I was taking my walk last night, I could see Chelsea from a distance, so I called out to her. Visited with her for a few minutes, and then Evan came out, and then Jaden came to the door. It was dark, so I don't think he could see me very well, but he recognized my voice and came up to me when I asked him if he wanted to give me a kiss. I got two kisses on two different runs and then he was busy playing. I haven't heard from Shawn, but Perry did call to let Barry know that Shawn and his friend Chris had played a trick on him, so it was good to hear that he seems to be doing well. Chris said that Tyler was doing his at home support work for Read Write.

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...

January 1, 2019 I did learn some things last year about keeping an online joy journal --- like putting the date on each page, so I get to start out right, anyway.  Kennedy and Shawn went out to supper with us on New Year's Eve, and Kennedy went shopping with us on New Year's Day. I made German Apple Pancakes for breakfast and Barry said it was very good. We ate lunch at Logan's near the mall we like in Spanish Fort. Barry made Black Eyed Peas. Cabbage and Corn Bread for our New Year's dinner. Shawn was with us for that.  Heard from Andrew and Beverly and Beth on New Year's Eve. 

Lots of missing days because I have been sick. I'm still sick, but I have some new medicine, so hopefully that will kick in soon. This cold weather is kicking my butt.  At any rate --- the tennis meeting went well yesterday, and everyone was very complimentary and appreciative.  Beverly and Beth worked hard to take care of Shawn when he got to California and he arrived home safely last night. He is at work with Barry now.  Got to see Tyler night before last. He was pretty excited about an ROTC event that was coming up.