Rain.....rain...and more rain..........!!

Today the skies have opened up and it is pouring down rain. A welcomed thing for my very dry grass and garden.......!! It should rain for the next couple of days and then come Sunday it is supposed to be warm and sunny. I have made plans to tackle the flower beds and to cut and trim the grass while the weather is nice. My, what a mess I have going in my yard!! Never ending, but I love being outside working in the yard.

My rose bushes are blooming like crazy.....pink roses every where. Now that I have decided not to sell my house, I am making plans to plant a few more rose bushes around the yard. The pink Jasmine around my porch is beginning to green up.......I thought I had lost most of the plants due to frost, but I noticed last night there was actually new growth. Yay!! The flower beds are beginning to show signs of life and by the looks of it.......most of last year's plants have survived. I am going to get a few more flowers to fill in the bare spots until the older plants get larger. I can always transplant later.

My flight back from California was very nice. I sat by a wonderful Texas lady. She was a Pastor's wife and such a pleasure to sit next to. She and I had a wonderful conversation all the way to Austin. We talked about Texas.....our families.....and Christ. God placed this woman next to me to comfort me as I tried to process everything that is going on in my life.

For the last two days I have been working......chained to a desk doing data entry. While I am thankful I have a job...........I so wish I was able to work outside instead of inside. A friend stopped by yesterday and offered me a small job for Mother's Day weekend. Our little historic district has a home tour during the Mother's Day weekend and he has asked me to be the person greeting the tour groups as they walk through his bungalow. I am excited to be asked to do that for him. It is such a cute little house situated right in the middle of our district. Quaint. He is in the process of redoing the house from top to bottom and it has been interesting seeing all the changes he has made. I am looking forward to the home tour and being a part of all the fun.

All is well with me. Lots of things to get done this week.......hopefully I will be able to accomplish all that I intend to get done.........

Blessings to all.........

One of my favorite pictures of Gary.....

Gary Summers Catalde.......

Yesterday Gary went Home to be with the Lord.
He has a new body free of the cancer........
He is no longer suffering and is at peace.

It is those of us who he loved that are in the midst
of pain. Please pray for my children and Gary's family.

Just because I love you.........

This is just because....
....just because you're special.
....just because you are loved more than you know.
....just because you are more deserving of God's blessings than you think.
....just because you are a wonderful friend to me.
....just because you have a heart for others.
....just because you deserve to be regarded with respect.
....just because God is good and you are His.
....just because He answers our prayers.
....just because everything works together for good to those who love God.
....just because we are called according to His purposes.
....just because He loves us, He likes to bless us.
....just because we're available to Him.
....just because He likes to use us for His glory.
....just because He is worthy of our service and our worship.
....just because He is so good, holy and mighty.
....just because of who He is.
....just because He is GOD!!! and we're not.
....just because I want you to be richly blessed.
....just because this is God's perfect will. AMEN!!!

This month has brought wonderful things and some not so wonderful things to my life.

I have been helping to take care of my 98 year old neighbor, Clara, for the past month. She got out of the hospital last month and I visit her in the morning and again in the evening to check on her.....run errands.......and just be her friend. She is an amazing woman and I enjoy spending time with her. She lives alone (can you believe that??) and manages to pretty much tend for herself. Her nephew rents one of her apartments and he watches over her as well. Between Lloyd and myself we care for Clara and keep her family posted as to how she is doing. I am so glad to say that Clara is finally feeling better and getting around so much better!!

As most of you know.......Gary is still battling for his life and the updates I get from our children seem to be good one day and bad the next. God is in control and everyone in the family rests on this fact. God has done amazing things in Gary's life. As he continues to live his life he tries to care for not only himself, but his children as well. The children have told me wonderful stories of how they sit around and tell stories of days gone by. They have tears, but lots and lots of laughter as well. I am proud of my children and the way they are handling the terrible issues they are facing right now. I do wish I was there to hug and kiss on them......and honestly so that they may do the same for me!!

I carried home about 7 boxes of family photos a couple of weeks ago from my storage unit and at night I have been going through those boxes trying to sort out the thousands of photos. Overwhelming. I so want to present each one of my children photos of their lives so they can show their children pictures of themselves when they were younger. Going through the mounds of photos has been good for me......I mist up at times, but I know how pleased my children are going to be when the photos finally are mailed to them. My adult life is in those boxes, but the memories are forever in my soul.

This month has been a celebration of birthdays. My mother (13th)......my son Anthony(10th).......my daughter Summer and my daughter in law Beth....today the 24th. Happy Birthday to you all once again! Love you lots.

I have been working for a construction company this past month. I love it, but it is cutting into my gardening time. Up until now it hasn't been bad.......but the sun is out today and I so thought about how nice it would be to work in the yard. I have been busy weeding and planting......there is so much left that need to be done before the spring is over. Wonder if I could call in sick????

I have my beautiful little bungalow up for sale. Sad, but true. There is such a story that goes behind this decision.....I will fill you in later. I have had many people go through the house, but so far no one has decided to buy it. Truthfully I am soooo glad no one has decided to make me an offer. If it hasn't sold by the time my contract is up.......I just might decided to keep it.????!!

As I sit here typing this posting......I want to say so much more, but time will not allow me right now and I will post again soon. Hopefully before another month passes by.....!!

Be sure to check out Summer's......Beth's and Tony's blogs. Wonderful postings and pictures of my beautiful grandchildren.

My neighbor, Clara, who is 97 years young and an amazing woman was taken by ambulance to the Harris Hospital emergency room Friday morning. I was looking out my front window when I noticed a policeman pulling up in front of Clara's house. I quickly put my contacts in...put on some slippers and ran over to check on Clara. Moments after I walked into the house...MedStar showed up to take her to the hospital. Seems Clara woke up and was having trouble breathing.

Clara is a special neighbor to all of us. She lives alone (can you believe it)....she does have a nephew who lives in an apartment at the back of Clara's house who watches after her, but Clara insists on doing for herself. That includes making meals.....making her bed (takes her over an hour)....cleaning house and anything else she needs or wants. She recently stopped driving. Yes, she has a valid driver's license still. Scary part is she can't hear....and her reaction time is very minimum, but she was out there on the streets driving to the grocery store and to the beauty parlor up until last fall. I sighed a sigh of relief when I found out she stopped driving. She knows she shouldn't drive, but she said just knowing her license does not expire for another year makes her feel good.......actually her word was 'proud'.

Clara wears one of those medical alert buttons around her neck and she used it Friday morning when she woke up having trouble breathing.......BUT not before she:
(1.) Gave herself a sponge bath
(2.) Brushed her hair
(3.) Put some money in her wallet from her safe
(4.) Changed into her 'special going to the hospital silk pajamas'
(5.) Opened the door for the Medstar ambulance
She was blessed that she was not having serious health issues that morning...ie heart attack or stroke.

Clara was taken to probably one of the best hospitals in the state of Texas, but even in the best hospital it does take time to figure out what is happening. After test, after test....and hours upon hours later....they took her upstairs into a private room. She arrived at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning and finally went to her private room at 9:30 at NIGHT..! She was so tired, but really never complained. She did let the nurses know she was having a problem with her bladder and she was not happy about that as she was miserable. She was so cute telling all the nurses who were trying to help her in and out of bed...."I can do it myself. I don't need help!!" Miss independence!!! Strong.....determined.....and knows what she wants!!
I stayed with her all day and once she was settled in her room I left the hospital to go home. Upon leaving the hospital I could not find my car and it took me a long time to find it. All the parking structures looked the same and I was lost. Fortunately for me Clara's sister in law was driving me around looking for my car until we found it!! Yay!!

Early Saturday morning I was back at the hospital checking on Clara. She was having breakfast and looked so good. We waited for family to arrive and for the doctor to arrive. All tests were in and her heart and lungs were clear. The only thing the doctors could determine was wrong was her shoulder had been acting up and caused her not to feel 100 percent. She has a shoulder with extreme arthritis in it.....the joint is swollen with fluid and all the surrounding area is black and blue. The joint caused her heart enzymes to be higher than normal...therefore tests had to be run on her heart. There is not much the doctors can do for Clara's arthritis. Steroids and other drugs would cause Clara more discomfort and could lead to worse health issues. They did suggest she have the joint drained of the blood...but knowing Clara...that won't happen!!

I want to be just like her when I grow up.....she's a pistol and loves life!! A sweet little 'old' lady who has won the hearts of neighbors...family.....friends......and the entire staff at Harris Hospital who helped her for two days. She is a delight and I love her very much.

I have been going through withdrawals....literally!! My computer caught a virus and my computer shut itself down.....a trip to Best Buy fixed everything but my pocketbook!!! Even though I had a warranty....the cost of getting the computer fixed was closed to $2oo. Yikes!!

It has been almost a month since I have been able to "play" on the computer. No postings....no emails....no following other blogs. I have so much catching up to do!! I know I had been spending way too much time of the computer.......guess the virus worked in a good way as I have been able to take care of a few things I had pushed asided. Yay!!

This is the week leading up to a wonderful holiday........Valentine's Day. What a yummy, warm, fuzzy holiday.......love it!! You don't have to have a 'special' person in your life to celebrate this fun holiday. You just need friends and family who love you and whom you love back!!