~~~~~~~~~ "We are here for only a moment, wanderers and sojourners in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace." I Chron. 29:15 NLT





Friday, September 24, 2010

Fall, Books, and Grandchildren

The first day of Fall came and went. It hasn't made a huge dent in the Kansas weather, although temperatures in the 80's are better than 90's. The winds finally blew in some rain, below an inch, which was very welcome. I drove home from my daughter's farm in a heavy shower Thursday night. I managed to keep moving without incident. I'm not as used to driving in the rain at night, but since we moved thirty miles from our daughter it's necessary sometimes.

I commemorated this Fall by going to one of my favorite places in Wichita, after a doctor appointment. I could spend hours at Bookaholic just browsing. They take books and give trade-credit, selling them for half off the original price, and giving half-credit for the marked-price of books I want. The prices may not be as good as our local resale bookstore, but the local store doesn't give credit for donations anymore.

I knew what I was looking for, the Holly Clegg cookbook that Cindy mentioned in her http://realpersonproductreviews.blogspot.com/ Her honest review and the facts she shared about the book sold me. I'll for sure continue looking for it because I didn't find it at Bookaholic.

I didn't come away empty-handed, however. I found a book by Emilie Barnes, Time Began in a Garden. It's similar to another one of her many books I have, If Teacups Could Talk. These are both coffee-table quality books, but I usually have them on the night stand by my bed or wherever I want to pick them up and read for inspiration and comfort.

I found another book I've been wanting to own: Life Recovery Bible. I didn't find the Bible, but the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. This will suffice because, If I have to, I can use the complete Life Recovery Bible from our Church Library. I usually hesitate adding another Bible to my already extensive collection, but the Topics indexed, the Relections and Insights at the end of each book, all tied to the Steps of Recovery, are what I've been looking for.

Lastly, I bought a book I think I or my daughter will enjoy in planning menus and cooking activities for the children, The Pampered Chef Kids in the Kitchen. I haven't invested in a lot of Pampered Chef products, but Amy has quite a few. It's a little awkward for me to read the recipes around all their listed bold-faced products, but the recipes are tempting enough to try. If I get tired of it, I'll pass it on to the grandkids when they read enough to use it.

Enough about books.

Yesterday, I went to spend the afternoon with Amy and the kids. She spent most of the afternoon resting and napping while I entertained the three cuties and picked up in the family room. I put some toys away that more often end up cluttering than being used purposefully for play. I hope they stay locked up in the cupboard so I don't have to go through the same aggravation next time I'm there.

While I was there, the 5-year old was struggling with a lose tooth. She wanted it out so she could enjoy eating an apple and roasting ears. But the fear of the process, be it pain or a few drops of blood, was scaring her. Both parents tried to talk her into giving up this useless little tooth, that was just hanging on by a thread, but had no luck.

Later, when she and younger brother were playing a game of "puppies," she suddenly exclaimed, "Derek, you knocked my tooth out." I thought, oh, oh, for Derek. But, no, Alana was delighted that he had accomplished what no one else could. Little brothers are alright sometimes. The tooth went into the fairy's pillow where I'm sure there will be a prize in return.

A couple of days earlier she lost her other front tooth. That means that there's a big gap in her smile. Daddy said that she should be singing that old song, "All I want for Christmas," which prompted Mommy to get out a Christmas CD. Alana practically had it memorized by the time I left. I know what I'll be singing the next time I visit.

I tried uploading cropped pictures from Picasa 3, but copying the pathway refers back to the uncropped photo.

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

I envy you being close enough to your grandchildren to help out from time to time. (I visualize myself spending my time similarly if I were able to spend a day with OUR grandchildren in KS.)

We need a little of that rain you got. The sky looked like it WANTED to rain yesterday, but the winds just blew it past us.

Rich and Carolyn Dewey said...

Jan!
I've enjoyed "poking around" your blog tonight. I treasure the times with my grandchildren too!!

Hope you are doing OK!

Jacquelyn Stager said...

Hello there, and thanks for coming over to my place! I see we have a mutual friend in Rebecca, and a lot in common. Your grandchildren are adorable and I love to yak about mine too. We have four but are expecting two more in March about a week apart! I read your post about your chronic pain. While I haven't had it as bad as you, I have, in the past, dealt with it. I don't want to over trivialize your situation at all...but just to say that my doctor, who is very conservative in his treatment approaches, told me to drink a LOT of water...I could not believe how much that helped me...just this past year I have been almost pain free. I've been so bad in the past that I had to be pushed or pulled out of bed, could not get out on my own...same way with getting in and out of the car. I've also had the plantar fascitis. I invested in earth shoes and wore those for a couple months and it went away on its own. OH SO PAINFUL that is! Now I try to keep my feet and heels stretched out by sitting in a chair and "drawing" through the alphabet with my feet/toes. Maybe you've tried all these suggestions...but I do swear by the water. I saw a huge difference after only 1-2 weeks...Take care!