Tuesday, November 12, 2013

I’m back

 

Good morning everyone ~ I hope you are all doing well. I just have a ‘bit’ of a cough every now and then, but am feeling so much better than I was.  Thank you all for your well-wishes and prayers.  I basically hibernated only going out to the grocery store one morning (3-4 blocks away), I read, watched movies on you-tube, I didn’t feel like doing anything.

Wednesday my (Mark’s) nephew, Joseph, called and said he’d be in town the next day and wanted to know if he could stop by to assess my plumbing situation and make a list of materials needed.  I told him I was getting over a cold, but he could come over.  He got here around 2 Thursday afternoon.  I showed him the water meter, the connection at the front of the house and other areas he needed to see, plus he looked under the house and could see what he wanted to do there too.  He and my brother-in-law Todd are going to be doing the replacement of water pipe under the house, replace faucets, etc. under the bathroom sink and the toilet.  And, if they can they are going to replace old copper shower pipes and connections too, since the bathroom wall is uncovered from the bedroom side.  I’ll just have to empty the big piece of furniture that is there and they will move it out of the way.

I’ve got to get the other metal shelf unit out of the bedroom and am working on taking care of that. It’s all a job that’s for sure.  They will be here Sat. the 23rd.  I’ll be taking off from work that day to ‘help’ and to ‘feed’ them.  I am so thankful that they are willing and able to do this for me.

I got the latest water bill Saturday, and it’s doubled from what it was last month, which was double from normal use, so water usage has gone from 2 a month to 8. YIKES!  I called my BIL and told him and asked if I could turn the faucet off at the inlet in front of house when I’m not here, and he said yes and also suggested I turn it off at night too, so that’s what I’ve been doing.  That should help keep the water from leaking until they can fix it.

When Joseph pulled up into the driveway, I laughed right out loud. Look at what I saw over the top of his truck. Do you see the horns over the top? Joseph has been in rodeo events since he was a boy, as is his father.  In fact, Pepe, just competed in Las Vegas and was 5th place in his event, and he’s going to be 70 in Dec.  Anyway, Joseph’s wife and two daughters also participate in rodeo events.

11-12-bull2

This is what the horns were attached too. This is pulled along the ground behind a truck or whatever, and the legs wiggle for practicing roping a calf. Joseph was bringing this back to his friend whom he had borrowed it from.

11-12-bull

Anyway, I am looking forward to the plumbing being taken care of.  Dear Mark loved working on all kinds of projects, and did a lot of building around here, but plumbing was something he hated.  He had crawled under the house a few years back and repaired the leak we had then and we were talking about how best to replace the old pipes. Alas, that was one of our projects we didn’t get to complete. I know that he is thankful that these two are stepping up to help me and take care of this problem.  I am very thankful too.

Last week during my ‘down’ time, I thought about a lot of things of course, and just rested.  I needed to step back from all that has been going on, is going on, will be going on, and just ‘be’.

Sunday afternoon I went to an early Thanksgiving dinner I had been invited too, mostly women but 4 men/husbands came too.  There were around 20, and for FlowerLady, that was a LOT of people to be around that I mostly didn’t know.  They were all friendly, kind and food was delicious! The ladies had all brought different dishes and there was plenty to eat.  After we ate, we wrote down and shared what we were thankful for.  Then one of the men had his guitar, and we sang old hymns which I enjoyed.  Then he sang a lovely song he had written for his wife, very nice.  Up until then I was doing fine, but the next song made the tears start and I couldn’t quit.  It was In the Sweet Bye and Bye, written in 1868 by Sanford F. Bennett. The refrain is what did it to me. It reminded me of the last photo I took of Mark and that he told me he’d be waiting for me on the rainbow bridge.

-------------

There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.

Refrain:

In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.

I made some new friends, enjoyed good food and came away thankful to God for all of His many blessings, and for His love and tender mercies.

Here are some flowers from Plum Cottage gardens.  It is still warm and very humid down here.

This velvety foliage is from a yellow flowering buddleia.

11-12-budlleia-leaves

Salvia coccinea

11-12-salvia2

11-12-salvia

Garlic vine

11-12-garlic-vine

11-12-garlic-vine2

11-12-garlic-vine3

Granada

11-12-granada

Sunrise

11-07-sunrise

Enjoy preparing for the upcoming holiday season, it is rapidly approaching.

Love and hugs to all of you.

FlowerLady

33 comments:

Catsngrams said...

May the Lord mend your heart and may your memories stay bright and wonderful.

Rebecca said...

So glad you're on the mend and that soon your PIPES will be, too!

The early thanksgiving dinner sounded like a lovely way to meet and enjoy new friends. (I can only imagine the emotions that "In the Sweet By and By" evoked.)

Snow on OUR ground this morning....so your flowers looked esPECially lovely to me.

Well, I'm off to run a couple of errands before picking up a few ladies to head to our no-longer-Red-Hats luncheon. Hope the sunshine melts any ice that may be lingering on the roads!

Sheri - Creative Spaces Landscaping said...

Wishing you so many wonderful things this holiday season and a lower water bill too! LOL. Glad to hear you have such a great family to help you. You are so blessed Lorraine! :)

Best wishes,
Sheri
www.pompanobeachgardening.blogspot.com

Morning's Minion said...

I think 'plumbing' is the least favorite job for our handymen. Even SIL, who is a licensed master plumber was relieved to move into a different line of work. How very very good that you have concerned family members able and willing to help with what would surely be a dreadfully expensive 'fix' if it had to be hired done.
I also find 20 people at once rather daunting--even if I know them all!
As we age what a welter of memories are stored ready to come tumbling out--sweet ones and the sorrowful ones--all part of life.

Nancy J said...

Lovely sunrise, and good news you have rested, and help is on the way for all plumbing repairs. Now you are better, please still take time to smell your roses. Tomorrow will be there to tackle any big jobs that need more than a day to finish. Greetings from Jean

crafty cat corner said...

Tom's the same where plumbing is concerned, he won't touch it. lol
Glad you're feeling better now.
Briony
x

Terra said...

The lyrics to that song are so precious and I can understand your tears. I copied and saved the lyrics. How good your relatives are pitching in to fix the plumbing, and that you went to the early Thanksgiving feast.

Karen said...

Rainey, this is good news on your health and the needed repairs to your home's plumbing. I'm glad you're doing better. I got a chuckle seeing the mechanical bull in the back of your nephew's truck. At first I thought he had a pair of horns mounted to the truck cab!

I'm glad you had a nice outing on Sunday, and I can only imagine how that song made you feel, tears of healing. Hugs to you, dear dear friend.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Lorraine, Glad you are feeling better. There's alot of colds and infections going on around here now too. So far, both George and I have missed them (thank goodness).

So glad you are getting your plumbing work done... You are smart to keep the water off when you aren't using it.

Sounds like a nice dinner even though it was sad for you...

God Bless.
Hugs,
Betsy

L. D. said...

Your sunset photo is wonderful. I am always impressed with all the blooming flowers.

Ruth Hiebert said...

I'm glad you have someone to do the plumbing work for you.I find that it is most often a song that will trigger a flood of tears for me as well.

Annie said...

I'm glad you've got people around you that can help and support. My beautiful dad is in and around my thoughts every day, and oh how I miss him.

Darcie said...

Glad you are feeling better, and that you had some time to "just be"...I think we all need that from time to time.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Glad you're feeling better.
Really need those pipes fixed. Turning off the water like you are is so smart!
We see those roping horns around here a lot but mostly just on a saw horse. That one is fancy! :-)
Sounds like your early Thanksgiving dinner was good.
Take care.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Pleased you are feeling better. It will be good to have your plumbing issues sorted, what a thoughtful and kind family you have.

Sandra said...

So wonderful to hear that you're on the mend and that you have great family around you to help you when you need it. That is just great news :)

Hope you have a restful night and continue improving.

Hugs and love,
Sandra

RockWhisperer said...

I was just about to email you and ask if you were ok, and then I saw this new post up. So glad you're feeing better and that you have someone to do those plumbing repairs. That's going to be a big job and would cost an arm and a leg if you had to hire a plumber.

I got your last email, it went to the wrong address, which I check only now and then. I sent an email to you from the correct address but I don't know whether you got it. It's the same address, just with (at) gmail.com rather than (at) att.net.

Your salvia coccinea looks like the same plant I used to have. It self-seeded for years but that first drought year did the little seedlings in and I didn't have any seed saved so I lost it. It was sure a bee magnet.

We are getting our first hard freeze this morning. All the leaves will be falling today and almost everything in the garden will either go to sleep or die. We covered the broccoli and marked some volunteer trees we wanted to move while they are dormant, yesterday, it was 40 degrees and windy. But we weren't out long and there was a pot of chili for lunch.

Hang in there, Lorraine, you're doing wonderfully well. Hugs XOXOXO

Sunray Gardens said...

Your blooms are lovely. You are very fortunate to have family to do all your plumbing for you. That is a serious amount of work to be done and would cost a lot to have done. Hope you continue to feel better.
Cher Sunray Gardens

Sally said...

The Lord does not forsake us or leave us! It sounds like He is surrounding you with His love. All I can think of is Moses arms being held up during battle because he couldn't do it himself.....The Creator of all this is loves you so much, Lorraine, that He is personally holding up your arms! God Bless.
BTW your blooms are lovely. A sight for someone who woke to snow showers yesterday!

M.K. said...

Beautiful flower photos! They look so warm, bright, summery. My husband also LOATHES doing plumbing work although he is able to do it. But he doesn't like it :) I love that hymn too. Our hope is in heaven!

Sallysmom said...

You continue to bless me with your blog posts. I am hugging you over the miles.

HolleyGarden said...

I bet your nephew got a lot of looks driving down the road with that mechanical calf tied down on the back of his truck! :) So nice that you had a great dinner and met some new friends. I used to be able to sing hymns without much thought, but now I cry through all of them, too.

gld said...

I love all the old hymns too!

How blessed you are to have your wonderful nephew to fix your plumbing problems. Good luck with that.

Our neighbor has one of those mechanical things to practice with. It always brings a smile to see it sitting in their barn lot.

Glad you got to meet lots of new people and enjoy a good early Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope the rest of your week goes well and you are soon fully recovered.

We are 'enjoying' some serious cold weather here.....18° this morning.

Balisha said...

I'm so glad that you feel better. Now you and I have to get rid of those lingering coughs.
I'm happy to hear that your plumbing problems will be taken care of.
As usual, your posies are so pretty.
Balisha

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Dearest Lorraine

As you know I've been away and am still enjoying catching up on all of your recent posts. So pleased to hear you are on the mend, and so relieved for you that the plumbing situation is about to be rectified. Things like that that hang over you like a black cloud. So this is wonderful news!
Back in another post, I saw the shawl - how beautiful! and what a bargain. Your flowers as usual are stunning!
Take good care dear lady.

organicgardendreams said...

Hi Lorraine, I am sorry to hear about your plumbing issue. That can be such a pain in the neck and make you feel quite overwhelmed, but I am very glad that you have found help to fix it.
How wonderful that you go out to meet people, even though it is sometimes hard without your beloved husband.
As always I enjoyed seeing some plant shots from your garden!
Christina

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Part of your sharing
made me cry.
So pleased you are feeling better.
Try to just be
and it is difficult
I know
very well..

June said...

Oh sweetie, I can see why that song affected you so. The words to it are beautiful and it is one of my favorites. I am so glad you were able to meet some new people.
Your nephew is so kind to help you with the plumbing. I laughed at the fake steer in his truck. My husband wants one so bad. He helps the ranchers here move their cattle from place to place and wishes his roping skills were better so he practices on a stationary fake steer, but wants one like that to be able to catch the heels better.
I hope you get all better very soon Lorraine.
hugs...

tina said...

So glad you are feeling better and going to get your plumbing leak fixed! Happy Holidays to you!

KathyB. said...

What a lot you have going on , and being sick too.

Your husband's family seem very kind and hard-working ! I had to laugh at the picture of the horns peeking over the truck. Congratulations on his win !

The early Thanksgiving sounds like it was truly a time to rejoice & remember what you're thankful for.

I hope your plumbing is working perfectly very soon and that you're also feeling well. Blessings to you .

Leslie Kimel said...

I'm so glad you're feeling better! It'll be great to get that plumbing work done. We just got a few things repaired and I feel so relieved!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Surely hope you're doing much better and am happy you're getting some help; good help is terrible to find, especially for widows or so it seems.
Love that hymn and didn't realize it was by a Bennett...found a lot of Bennett's while in Ireland and love the fact the name derives from "benediction" meaning blessing and the Bennett motto is "To serve the king"...very appropriate for me, as a Bible believing Christian.

Here I Am Carrie said...

Oh your flowers are so beautiful. The lyrics of that song really touched me as well. For different reasons. What a beautiful song. Well you are enjoying flowers and I am now covered in white snow. Rather enjoying my days inside now.