It's Been One Year Today

Well, it's been exactly one year since I posted anything.  I'm still alive, but don't have the time to post right now.  Guess I'm on an extended blog vacay!

Hope to get back again at some point.  For now, HAVE A GREAT SPRING!

We've Started Our Garden Project!

We have lived in our current home for nearly 9 years.  For almost that long I've been trying to convince My Handyman that we should put in a garden.  Needless to say, he has not been on board with the idea at all!  He reasoned that, because of all the deer, geese, squirrels and other critters that frequent our property, it would be easier to just join a local CSA.  So that is what we have done.  And we have enjoyed being a part of Fresh Harvest, but I have still wanted a garden of our own.

For the past couple of years I've been reading all about "Square Foot Gardening", watching many shows about gardening and cooking with fresh veggies and herbs and being totally jealous of everyone who grows their own produce.  We even built a compost bin out of pallets that I got from work and we faithfully added chicken poop from our two coops, veggie scraps and dried leaves to it for 2 years, until I hurt my back and could no longer turn the compost with a pitch fork.  We took town the bins last Fall and spread the compost in the yard.

FINALLY I've convinced My Handyman that now is the time to become more self sufficient!! Or maybe he just got tired of hearing me talk about it?  He does say that I should never say that I am "just a little spoiled!"  Of course my thought was just to build wooden boxes, as suggested by Mel Bartholomew in his book, "All New Square Foot Gardening", but My Handyman does masonry for a living and he had 2 pallets of brick pavers stored on our property, so he decided they would be perfect for this project.

Here is how we spent our Sunday afternoon:

We chose our spot.  This area was the original garden spot that the previous owners used, so there were no trees to remove and there is plenty of sun.

The Spot

We discussed the plan:

My Handyman and his helper.
Notice my brand new compost tumbler on the right.

We marked the spot with string and leveled the string to determine where to begin laying our pavers.  It's a masonry thing!

The "helper" resting inside the marked off spot.

We leveled the spot and started building our raised bed.  The interior measures 3 ft. x 5 ft. and it will allow me to reach all the way to the middle from all sides.  Mel suggests 4 ft. x 4 ft. or 4 ft. x whatever length you want,  and it did start out to be 4ft. wide, but somehow, when all was said and done, it was only 3 ft. wide.  No worries, but I did seriously question the measuring skills that got us to this point.

After laying out the first couple of courses (that's masonry talk for "rows"), we used masonry adhesive instead of mortar to stick the pavers together.

And we added more courses until "we" were satisfied with the depth of the box.  My Handyman leveled the soil on the inside of the box, we placed chicken wire in the bottom to keep out moles and other underground critters, then we placed one layer of weed cloth (purchased 2 yrs. ago at season end-cheap) from end to end, extending it up the sides to help keep any weeds from sneaking through the sides.  And then another layer from side to side, also extending it up each side.  Probably a little over kill, but that's how we roll at our house.

We placed additional pavers on top of the weed cloth to keep it from blowing away until we can add the soil.

The next step will be to purchase the correct soil mixture as suggested in Mel's book.  My Handyman says we can now afford to buy exactly what I want because the raised bed structure cost us nothing.  Well, maybe not nothing, but only the sale price of the weed cloth!  The pavers were FREE!  My favorite price.  And there are plenty of pavers and more weed cloth so we can build several more.  I'm thinking a total of 4 is a nice even number.

Come back next week to see how we progress.

Thatcher Got A New Liver-March 22, 2011

Our little man and his Mom are recovering in their respective hospitals, just minutes away from each other.  We were told that both surgeries went well.  Thatcher's went so well, said Thatcher's Daddy, that the surgeons were patting themselves on the back!

We are thrilled!  God is Great.

Let the healing begin!

Read more about the good news here.

Surgery Scheduled & Internet Connectivity

Just a quick post to let you know that Thatcher's transplant is scheduled for later this month!  His Mom will have surgery first where the surgeons will remove approximately 1/3 of her liver.  Her Mom will be with her at the hospital.  The liver will then be transported to the children's hospital where Thatcher's liver will be completely removed and replaced with this portion of his Mom's liver!  Dad will be at the children's hospital with Thatcher.

It is so amazing to me that this can be done.  Scary too!  All the what ifs keep trying to sneak into my mind, but I know that God is watching over them.  So many prayers have already been answered and so many have been praying.

On another note, I live too far out in the country for "regular" cable connections for my computer.  It seems the options I have are a dish and a router through Verizon, my current cell phone provider.  Any of you have other ideas or opinions on the subject?

It's A Match

My DIL, Thatcher's Mom, has been approved to donate a portion of her liver to Thatcher!!  We have been waiting for this news for weeks and she finally got the call yesterday.  Prayers are being answered.

What does this mean for Thatcher now?

1.  Thatcher will receive approx. 1/3 of his Mom's liver, along with bile ducts,  which will allow the bile to drain properly, not poison his system, and his coloring will become more normal.

2.  Both Thatcher and his Mom will have major surgery at the same time, at different hospitals, within minutes of each other.  This is going to be hard for Mom and Dad, but she will be able to see him via a monitor, while she recovers.

3.  The possibility for rejection is GREATLY reduced.

4.  Although Thatcher is currently a very sick little boy, he doesn't have to wait for an accident to occur to receive a liver from an expired donor (baby) and the possibility of him getting MUCH SICKER is reduced..  (This part REALLY makes me happy!)

5.  Thatcher's Mom will have to quit her job, as she will have a fairly long recovery herself and then will be in hospital or near hospital for several months while Thatcher recovers.

6.  Big sister will be staying with family during the surgeries and recoveries.

7.  Daddy will be putting a lot of miles on his vehicle traveling back and forth between home and hospital(s).  But his job has generously offered to consider this paid time off for him so that he is free to do what he needs to do for his family!
Isn't that amazing in this day and time?!

Unfortunately My Handy Man and I will not be able to see much of them while this is going on because the surgery will take place a few states away.  We do, however, plan to spend some time with Big Sister when her other Grandparents will let her loose for a while and we will go to see them if/when possible.

So, as you can see there are a lot of mixed emotions going on right now.  We feel blessed that this solution is even possible, but concerned, as you can imagine, that both Thatcher and his Mom will have to undergo surgery for all of this to be possible.  The up side is that both surgeries are usually 95-98 percent successful, for both the donor and recipient and Thatcher will be able to live a pretty normal life after recovery.

What can you do?  PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!  for I believe in the power of prayer!

Update-Transplant Time Grows Near For Our Youngest Grandson

Several months ago I did a brief post of what had been going on in our lives in 2010.  It was a VERY challenging year.  With God's blessing, this year will be better!  I am asking for your prayers to make it so!

One of the items I mentioned in this post was the health of our youngest grandson, Thatcher, who was diagnosed with biliary atresia at the age of 2 months.  This is a life threatening disease of the liver, which usually results in the patient having to have a liver transplant.  I haven't done updates on his situation because everything was changing on a day to day basis.  Thatcher is now almost 7 months old and the time for transplant is here.

I am asking for your continued prayers for this little man and the wonderful young couple that are his parents.   I have known both parents since I first moved to Tennessee almost 22 yrs. ago.  My daughter and son went to school with them and I was lucky enough to marry Thatcher's Granddaddy, My Handyman, 11 yrs. ago.  They are a fine young Christian couple who are struggling to deal with everything that comes with having a very sick child, in addition to having a 2 yr. old daughter that needs their attention and whose life has been turned upside down.

Please feel free to read Thatcher's story and pass it along to your friends and fellow bloggers.  Several funds are being set up to help with the expenses and I will post that information when it is available.  In the meantime, please keep them in your prayers.

Edited to add link to Link 4 Life 5K. Proceeds will go to a fund to help with expenses for Thatcher's medical care.

There is nothing like the power of prayer!

Snow Bound Chickens

This is what the chicken coops looked like yesterday morning.  

The snow was so sticky that it didn't fall through the chicken wire on the top of the pens!  It just collected there like a canopy.  It kept most of the snow out of the pen, but it sure did weigh down the top of the pens!

The chickens still weren't real excited about being out in the weather.  Those that did come out scurried up under the coop where it was relatively dry and out of the wind.

This is the bantam coop and pen.  See how the snow was making the top of the pen sag!  I opened the chicken door at 6:30 a.m. and they still had not made an appearance when I finally left for work about 10:15.

My Handy Man was home all day and kept a good watch over them.

I'm sure they will be just as happy as we will be when SPRING finally arrives!  So they can get out and eat worms and bugs in the sunshine!

And I'll be able to get back to some of the projects on my list that include painting.  I already tried to spray paint indoors and ended up with a fine mist of paint on my floor - even though I thought I had it covered with enough paper! Thankfully it's just the sub-floor!

And remember those negotiations I was making with the man in red about Christmas time?  If all goes right, I'll be getting that new MacBook this weekend!  Keep your fingers crossed.  I CAN'T WAIT for so many reasons!

A Surprise In The Mail

The other night I called My Handy Man as I was driving home from work.  He told me a surprise had come for me via UPS.  This is what was waiting for me when I got home:

 When I opened it, look who was inside the box:

And look what she had for me:

Now I just hope I can do it justice!

Actually this is the gift I got to select as my "thank you" for working at my job for over 20 yrs.  There were lots of other items that I could have selected, but since we are remodeling our kitchen and RED is the main color we are using, and since I REALLY needed new cookware, I thought this was a great choice!

Have you used this cookware AND do you like it?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY BOY

Happy 28th Birthday to my son the Wildlife Specialist!

I'm so glad that he has found his calling.

Son, you make a Mom very proud.

So Cold Even The Chickens Won't Venture Out

The chickens wouldn't even come out of their house this morning.  It was 18 degrees.  They just peeked out and pulled their little heads back inside.  I put their water and feed inside so they didn't have to venture out into the cold to eat and drink.  

Spoiled?  

Yeah, absolutely!  

Everybody at my house is spoiled rotten, but we like it that way.

Our little lake as you come in the driveway:

Those white spots on the picture above are snow flakes that were caught in the light of the flash.

These strange little "vein" formations were under the ice and all over the lake.  We thought they looked really cool.

 Here's another one.  It looks like the shadow of a tree branch, but it is under the ice.  Not a shadow at all.

The weatherman says we had 2-3 inches this time.  It's melting off now, but it's still below freezing, so everything will turn to ice again.    There's still more snow in the forecast for this weekend on into the first of next week.

From the looks of things in the blog-o-sphere, everyone is getting snow.

Is it snowing/snowy where you are?

This Is What We Woke Up To This Morning-January 10, 2011

These were taken from our bedroom door at the front of the house.  Just prior to taking these, 4 beautiful young doe ran across the front yard.  They stopped in front of me (guess they saw me standing in the doorway), but not long enough for me to get a picture.

Can't even see the driveway, which is just beyond the tree in the foreground.  The black circles you can see in the distance are areas where the ice on the lake has melted a little and then re-froze.

 We didn't measure it, but it looks to be 4-5 inches, due to the way it's piled up around the trees.

I accidentally deleted the other 12 or so shots I took out the back and side of the house.

My Handy Man used his leaf blower to clear off the front porch and walkway to the chicken coop.  Then he drove me down the driveway, up the hill in front of the house (that was a challenge), over the interstate to get gas, coffee and donuts and back to the end of our road, where he turned the car over to me so I could make my way SLOWLY to work as he walked back to the house!  I tell ya, he is THE SWEETEST man I've ever known!  That's why I keep him around!  Well that and 'cause he IS pretty handy!

The weather man says we are expecting another couple of inches today/tonight.  I'll try not to delete those pictures before I can post them here!

Stay Warm.  I know I intend to.

The First White Christmas In The Nashville Area in 17 Years!

This was our Christmas tree this year.  The first Christmas tree we've had in this house and we've been here more than 8 years.  That's because we've been going somewhere else to celebrate every year and I'd just been decorating our fireplace mantles.  But I hope we've started a new tradition of having the family come to our house for Christmas.  So I bought this tree on Black Friday and immediately set it up.  That's my "cry baby" to the left of the tree.  A friend from where I used to work made her for me years ago.   Can you see the snow out the window to the right?

This was the first White Christmas that the Nashville Area has had in 17 years and it waited for this special year when all of my Grand babies, my Mom and my precious in-laws were at our home!  This was also the first Christmas in 17 years that my in-laws were in Tennessee.  In the past they were in Florida every year, volunteering at Big Cypress just outside of Naples.  We were so glad to have them home this year and glad that we were blessed with a beautiful snow fall.

 The picture above was taken outside of our front door and the one below from outside our back door.  It was just beautiful, as you can see.

Sadly I got a call at 5 a.m. on the 26th that my brother's wife had passed away and we left at 3 p.m. to drive to Texas.  She was in Tennessee with us on the 4th of July and started feeling sick after they returned to Texas.  She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 6-12 months.  It was a shock that she was gone so soon, but a blessing that she did not have to suffer long.  My brother is having a rough time, as you can imagine, but he is a strong person and he has a good support system of friends around him.

We are all looking forward to a much better year.  2010 was sure a doozy!

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year

Obviously I have not been posting on a regular basis this year.  I'm hoping to change that soon.  I'm in negotiations with this guy for a computer for home.  Only problem is that I live so far out in the country there is no cable.  I also can't get DSL and most other Internet services.  The market across the interstate has WiFi though, so I may start spending my weekends in their lounge so I can log on!  Guess I need to start developing a relationship with their management!  I wouldn't go hungry while there.  They have a Dunkin Donuts, a Backyard Burger and a soda fountain on site.

About the computer negotiations - I've never owned a Mac, but I'm leaning in that direction.  I know several people that own Mac Books and they seem very pleased with them.  I like the fact that they supposedly are only susceptible to a few viruses as compared to PCs.  And that they don't become obsolete as quickly as a Dell, which I've always worked on.  I love the photo program that comes with them, at least I loved it when the salesman demonstrated it to me.  I've got a whole bookcase filled with photos from my family and that of My Handyman's - we are the "family historians", that he assured me I could scan into it from the scanner that he said he would make me a great deal on!

How about it?  Any of you have/use a Mac?  Do you know of any good deals on them that I should know about?  How about photo scanner/printers?  Help me make a good investment -PLEASE!

Maybe once the negotiations are final I can get everything together and post regularly AND open an Etsy shop!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.  AND A WONDERFUL 2011!!!

This Is Our New Front Door

Installed! Isn't it beautiful?  

You can't tell from this picture, but the glass is beveled all around the edges.  When we ordered it we ordered fir, but the fir doors were back-ordered for 3 months!  So Lowe's offered us the same door in MAHOGANY FOR THE SAME PRICE! 

And it was available immediately!

So My Handyman pulled off the siding and took out the old doors (left), covered the space with plywood and put the new door in place.  I don't know how he did it by himself because, if you know anything about mahogany, IT IS HEAVY!



Getting a mahogany door instead of a fir door presented us with a new dilemma!



To paint or not to paint?

The original plan was to paint, that's why we ordered fir.

In the end, hard as it was, we decided to paint it.  I LOVE a red door and felt like a stained door, as pretty as it would be, wouldn't be enough of a contrast for me.

Looks like we're getting ready for Christmas, doesn't it?!  Won't it be pretty with a beautiful wreath!

My Handyman painted the plywood around the door to match the siding and to protect it from the weather until the replacement siding can be installed, which won't happen until the kitchen windows to the left of the door are replaced. And, as you can see, the trim was painted the same green as the trim on the rest of the house.  Kinda reminds me of the old Lincoln Logs that my brother and I played with as kids.

Don't you just love how one project ALWAYS leads to another!?!

My New Front Deck

I tried to find an actual BEFORE picture of this area, but it must be on my jump drive instead of my computer. Just picture some awkward, curved rock steps with a huge rock planter next to them, where nothing ever grew but weeds. WE (My sweet Handyman) knocked out the steps and planter and this is what it looked like before the building began. That pink string you can barely see is to help us keep everything nice and level.  Please ignore the lounge chair you see sitting out in the sun to the left.  That was my "taking a break" chair that I used while My Handyman was working on the details!

This is actually the side of our house, but we now use it as the "front door" because we closed in the front porch and eliminated the "real" front door. Besides, the driveway and garage are closer to this door and visitors can park on the drive and get to it without having to walk across the grass. Confession: We NEVER used the "real" front door anyway because you had to walk around the house, through the grass and up the porch steps to get to it.

This  (below) is the view from the drive as you approach the garage.  See that little square window to the left of the door?  It's gone now, but that was the corner of my new pantry peeking out the window.  If you are a professional building contractor, please look away!

Oh, and those red doors aren't there anymore either.  We have a new, more beautiful door now.  But that's for another post!  (Dear Gail: Is that the type of teaser you were referring to?)

Please excuse the quality of the following picture. It was taken with my phone and it was still a little dark outside.  However, this is the deck with the steps and flooring done and the support posts for the roof in place.

And here it is with the rafters and railing in place, but the roof wasn't on yet. That blue foot stool you see is for the king of the property.  Our Jack Russell Terrorist - Buster Brown.  He likes a nice soft place to rule over his territory!  It doesn't get to stay, but it's good for now.

And here, from another angle. Can you see the little added "touch" that My Handyman added to the rafters?  There on the first one?

Can you see it?

How about now?

That's My Handyman's interpretation of a fish head!  He ended up cutting all of the rafters to look like this!

Sometimes I just HAVE to let him use his "creative talents" too!

I just realized I don't have a picture with the roof on that doesn't reveal my new front door!  Guess you'll have to come back to see that one :)

A PEEK AT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE'VE BEEN DOING

For my kitchen:

For my entry:

At my front door:

For my Library/Den:

We've been busy. Come back to see what we've accomplished.

Just to Let You Know What's Up - A BIG PRAYER REQUEST

As you probably have noticed, It's been a while since I've done a decent blog post. My heart just hasn't been in it. I've thought about closing down the blog, but rethought it and just decided to wait it out and see if I can get myself back to it. Here's what's up (it's been a "challenging year").

Daddy suffered multiple strokes beginning in January and we lost him in May. He was in and out of the hospital and nursing home, but we brought him home, where he wanted to be, and he died on May 12. He was just days shy of his 82nd birthday.

I had back surgery in February to repair a compression fracture. I'm doing fine for an old woman of 54. It's hard for me not to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. Most of the time I do it anyway and just try to be careful. I pretty stubborn that way.

My Sister-In-Law was diagnosed with cancer when she and my brother returned to their home in Texas shortly after my Daddy's funeral. She's been going through chemo, chest tubes to drain fluid off of her lungs, blood clots, swollen legs, loss of her hair, draining fluid off of her abdomen multiple times, etc. My brother has been trying to take care of her and run a business. We haven't been able to be there to help, but all of her family live close by and have been doing all that they can. She has her third chemo treatment next week and then they will do surgery. Apparently she had cervical cancer and resulting treatments a few years ago that we were not aware of and the radiation caused massive scarring, so they can't tell from the outside exactly where the cancer is, but it doesn't sound good. I am concerned about my brother and can't stand the thought that we may loose my SIL sooner than later. It breaks my heart. But she is going to MD Anderson in Houston, for treatment. It has an AWESOME reputation, so she is in good hands.

On July 28th we welcomed a beautiful new grandson born to my husband's oldest son and his precious wife. I've known these "kids" since they were in Elementary school, even before my husband and I married 11 years ago on October 23rd, so even though they are not blood relatives, I love them just as much as if they were. They also have a beautiful little girl who is only 21 months old.

Several weeks ago, at the age of 9 weeks, this precious baby boy was diagnosed with Biliary Atrisia and has had the Kasai procedure that is mentioned in this article that I've linked to. He developed an infection and it has been determined that the Kasai was not successful. He has been put on the "short list" for a liver transplant. If he was a toddler he would be able to get a portion of an adult liver, but at this age he must have an infant liver. This means that another family's precious little baby will have to die before little Thatcher can get a liver. Not only are we broken hearted over Thatcher's health, but over the fact that he can only have an infant liver. As you can imagine, his Mommy and Daddy are taking this very hard, as is the entire family. My husband has broken down on multiple occasions at the thought of his only grandson being so ill with a life threatening condition.

Over the last week my husband as been wrestling with a kidney stone. Up until Tuesday he has been in terrible pain and on meds for pain and nausea. It started with virus like symptoms, last Wednesday, which I will not elaborate on here other than to say he was having severe abdominal and back pain. Since he had been laid off for a couple of months and had JUST gone back to work, he attempted to go without medication on Monday so he could work. MISTAKE. He showed up at my office looking green and in pain, so I took him for the second visit to the ER. He is not in pain now, but we think the stone has moved to his bladder, which the Dr. said would happen. Now we just wait for it to decide to pass. Selfishly I was REALLY glad it wasn't a virus because I would have caught it. However, I have been really concerned about him and neither of us has been getting much sleep. As I've said before, he also has a pacemaker/defibrillator and stress is NOT good for him. So of course I've been worried about that too.

While all of the above has been going on, we've caught my now 80 year old Mother climbing up on a ladder, trying to clean out the gutters on her two story home. We've also found out that she has climbed in her kitchen sink to reach the curtains at the window above it so that she could wash them. Then back up again to put them up. When I asked her, "what would have happened if you fell?!! We might not have found you for hours!" She simply said, "well, I didn't!"

So my daughter and her family decided that it might be a good idea to move in with Mom, both to help her out financially and to keep an eye on her. My daughter's husband is in construction, so he can fix all the little things that need to be fixed that my Daddy wasn't able to do the last 5 years of his life. They have rented their house to a teacher that my daughter works with and are in the process of moving in. We've cleaned out the attic and closets of Mom's house and had 2 weekends worth of yard sales. There is still LOTS of stuff left and it is all stored in 1/2 of Mom's garage. I took off work for a week to help with the cleaning and it was EXHAUSTING. But I did learn one BIG thing: I learned to be a pack rat from my parents! I don't think they ever threw ANYTHING away! As soon as things settle down I'm getting rid of everything I don't need except for everything related to my genealogy research and family heirlooms. And not my fabric and yarn stash - yet.

In the middle of the moving in with Mom, my daughter and her family went on a long planned trip to Disney World in Florida, for a week, and left all of their "stuff" scattered around my Mom's house. They've got A LOT OF ORGANIZING TO DO! Mom is used to having things in pretty good order and she was not happy!

I had a birthday on October 13th.

My daughter's oldest had her 5th birthday while they were at Disney - October 15th.

Mom had her 80th birthday on October 17th. We took her to lunch and spent most of the day with her. We wanted to have a big birthday party for her, but with everything else going on we just couldn't make it happen.

My 11th anniversary is October 23rd. I'm married to THE MOST WONDERFUL MAN I'VE EVER KNOWN! God truly blessed me when I found him. He spoils me rotten and loves me despite myself!

I've not put all this down to elicit pity. I'm pushing through, though weary of all the "drama" and could really use some decent sleep!! I know God is in control, not me. I do have to say that I have trouble with all of this being "God's will!" The God I know is a God of LOVE. I just think all of this "stuff" is just LIFE and that God loves us through it all and gives us the strength to deal with it all.

I'm asking you to pray for our family and keep praying. We've got some really tough stuff going on and it looks like it's gonna get tougher.

Pray for little Thatcher and for his Mommy and Daddy. They are not even 30 yet and having to deal with so much.

Pray for my SIL, Nancy and my brother, Christopher and their daughter Lauren, who has only recently graduated from college and started her first teaching job. CANCER SUCKS!!

Pray for my Mom, Chris, who is only 5 months past the loss of her husband of nearly 60 years.

Pray for my daughter, Amber and her husband, Vince and children Ava and Zoe as they adjust to their new living arrangements with my Mom.

Pray for my dear, sweet husband who is suffering, not only physically from his kidney stone, but emotionally as well, as he worries about his son and grandson and the rest of the family.

And pray too for my in-laws, Joe, who is 83, and Darlene who is 79. They are such loving people and this is all breaking their hearts as well. I love them like they were my own parents and Darlene thinks of me as the daughter she never had.

Thank you for "listening."

Cleaning Out the Attic

I am spending this week cleaning out my parent's attic, closets, storage shed, etc. and we will be having a garage/yard sale. I will post the "better" stuff for sale on-line, either on etsy, ebay or craigslist. And maybe some here if I get a chance.

So far I have a vintage wicker doll/baby stroller, an antique wall phone, some scales, lots of Madame Alexander Baby Dolls and some old bed springs and other items good for those repurposers that are near by. No pictures yet, but I will get to that if/when I can. Post a comment if you have questions. I will only have periodic computer access, but will check when I can.

Back to cleaning!

A Tribute to My Daddy - Part 1

I have gone back to work, which is currently the only place I have a computer. For this reason, I have not had sufficient time to sort through all of the pictures I want to post, so I have decided to do a series of posts in tribute to my Dad.

I am somewhat of a genealogy buff, so just in case someone out there in blogland does a search for the WEBSTER family of Robertson County, TN, I want to include information here that may help them find what they are looking for. Or, if a family member of one of the people that appear in the pictures I will be posting happens to do a search, I want them to find these as well. These pictures may not be posted in chronological order, but I will put dates on them when I know them.

I'll start with Daddy's obituary as it appeared in the Robertson County Times:

"George Dorris Webster, age 81, of Springfield, passed away Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at his home. Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 15, 2010 in the chapel of the Austin & Bell Funeral Home in Springfield at 11am with Brother Martin Babb and Christopher Webster officiating. Burial will follow in the Hillcrest Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Zach Webster, Evan Webster, Michael Dickey, Steve Webster, Steven Wilson and Josh Miller. Honorary pallbearers are Wayne Webster, Joe Webster, Johnny Link, Vince Hester, Jim Roberts and the Unity Sunday School Class of Springfield Baptist Church. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Friday, May 14, 2010 from 4-8pm. Mr. Webster was born June 4, 1928 in Robertson County, the second of four sons born to George W. and Mary Adeline Dorris Webster. He attended Mt. Pleasant School in grades 1-8 and graduated from White House High School in 1949, where he was a member of the first WHHS football team. Mr. Webster was a Veteran of the US Army serving as Staff Sergeant with the 452nd Armed Field Artillery Battalion in Munich and Neckarsulm, Germany during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1956. Mr Webster retired from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline/Tenneco in February of 1989 after 41 years of service. He was a loving husband and father, devoted to his family and was a member of the Springfield Baptist Church. In addition to his parents, Mr. Webster is preceded in death by his brother, Samuel Estes Webster. He is survived by his wife, Christine Alsobrook Webster; son, Christopher (Nancy) Webster of Huntsville, TX; daughter, Kathy (Johnny) Link of Fairview, TN; brothers, Wayne Webster of White House and Joe (Verma) Webster of Dickson; grandchildren, Riley Dickey, Talynn Dickey, Ava Hester and Zoe Hester. Memorial contributions may be made to Willowbrook Hospice or the Springfield Baptist Church Building Fund. Both may be sent in c/o Austin & Bell."

The following picture appeared in "the Line Tennessee Gas Transmission Co., February, 1958" a publication that was (is?) put out by Tennessee Gas Transmission Company/Tennessee Gas Pipeline/Tenneco, which I think is now called El Paso Corporation. Daddy is second from left, leaning back, with his elbow resting on the table/desk behind him. The caption reads, "ON THE JOB during construction were TGT's Eddie Tarver, George Webster, Jack Overton, and Tony Richter. Not pictured are Dick Knesek, plant foreman, and Wes Saunders, Engineering."

Perhaps You've Wondered Where I've Been?

I've been staying at my Mom & Dad's for the last couple of weeks. No computer access.

Daddy had a stroke in January and a worse one in March. The March stroke took out his whole left side. He'd been having a hard time getting around for the last 5 years or so because of the severe arthritis in his back and the spinal stenosis that was pinching off the nerves to the lower part of his body. Then the strokes. The trip to the hospital, rehab, the nursing home and then home. He finally got so bad that Hospice was called to help out. Taking care of an 81 year old man who can't do anything for himself is awfully hard for an 80 year old woman. It's been really tough.

Daddy died at 1:18 a.m. May 12, 2010. Mom, my daughter, a wonderful friend and I were with him. We buried him on Saturday. It's really, really, really hard.

This is my Daddy with my daughter at her wedding, June 2004.

I'm trying to put together a better tribute to him than this, but I thought you might have wondered where I've been.