Day in Court

Goodness!  I am falling behind on my blog this week.  Blame it on Jerry and the court hearing in Kingfisher for Jerry's Mom.

Jerry ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS gets up in the morning before I do.  Usually, 5:30 or 6:00 AM.  I never get up (not to be confused with "wake up") before 7:00.  Therefore, when I have to be woken up in the morning at a certain time, I expect him to come wake me up. 

Now, let me say right off -- before I gripe about Jerry -- that I realize I need to just set the alarm and forget about Jerry, but......... 

Monday night, after DWTS, I talked to Jerry about what time we should leave for our one-hour drive to Kingfisher.  We agreed we would leave at 8:30 to allow time to stop by Mom's house and allow for any traffic issues.  I announced I was going to bed and asked him to be sure I was up in time. 

Again, another mistake of mine.  I should have told him the EXACT second I wanted him to wake me up.

I have this major "thing" in my personality that causes me not to be able to go to sleep if I know I have to get up the next morning at a different time than usual.  WHY, I don't know -- but I do.  So I went to bed, but I could not go to sleep.  I tossed and turned until sometime after 2 AM.  Jerry, on the other hand, falls asleep wherever he is.  He can be in a chair, in a car, in the bed -- anywhere.  He came to bed at his usual time, and I know because I was still awake.  I finally fell sort of asleep, but I didn't REALLY fall asleep until I noticed him get out of bed early in the morning.  THEN, I thought to myself:  I can really go to sleep now because he will wake me up in time.

At 15 minutes until 8:00, Jerry wakes me up and hands me a cup of coffee.  Now, I didn't realize what time it was at that point.  I just thought, "How sweeeeeeeeeeeeet of him", and I sat up and started sipping my coffee getting ready to go in the living room and sit in my glider and sloooowly adjust to the day and then fix my one piece of toast allowed in my DESM diet and take my vitamins. 

As I was getting out of my bed, I noticed the clock on my nightstand and the time.  I nearly hit the ceiling.  I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAD!!!  I had LESS THAN 45 minutes to do what I usually do in 90 minutes.

And I said all that to tell you that yesterday had a very bad start.  Poor Jerry.  I kept yelling at him and telling him what a terrible husband he was, and how I could NOT understand how you could live with a woman for 37 years and know NOTHING about her!!!

As Jerry is driving, I keep yelling at him; and he does what he ALWAYS does when I get mad at him.  He IGNORES me!  The MORE he ignores me, the more I yell, and I bring up every little thing he has done wrong since the day we met.  It is NOT a good system, and I don't recommend it.  

We arrived a little early at the courthouse in spite of all that.  Of course, I had thrown myself together so fast, I wasn't quite sure my shoes matched my outfit or if I even had any on!  I forgot my watch, which was probably a GOOD thing!  Jerry found our attorney, Molly, in the hallway with another client, and she jumped up and decided to suddenly remember that we were coming.  She said if we hurried we could get right into the Judge.  He is the nicest Judge.  I really like him.  The three of us walked into his office.  He was at his desk dressed in a suit.  Jerry and I sat down, as directed, in front of his desk.

He just started talking to us, and he said that he had always wanted to be an attorney from when he was very young because he had decided that attorneys know things that nobody else knows.

I responded that our preacher noticed when he was very young that there was a guy who had a very large key ring with a whole bunch of keys on it hanging from his belt.  He decided he wanted to do whatever that guy did because he must be the most important guy in the world to have all those keys.  He laughed.




He asked us to raise our right hands and swear.  We did.  Then Molly began talking and SUDDENLY realized that Jerry's Mom, Nida, wasn't there. 




DUH!!!  That is why we had to reschedule from last time.  If Mom isn't present, you have to have a court reporter -- recorder -- stenographer -- whatever they are called.

So the Judge says, "We need to move."  So Molly led Jerry and I through the secret passageway into the courtroom where several other people were gathered.  The Judge said he would tell them to "stand down".  I guess they did even though most of them were standing up.  We stood in front of the fancy Judge bench and he came in dressed in his black robe and sat down behind the desk.  Then Molly did her 60-second spiel, and that was it.  The Judge said we were now co-guardians, and we left.  Then we walked down the hall to the clerk's area, and she and Molly stamped the Judge's signature on a bunch of papers, and that was it.

Then we went to the three banks in town where Mom has accounts, and we gave them copies of the guardian papers and signed signature "cards".  Then we went to her house where Jerry finished painting a few spots, and I cleaned the house and swept out the garage.  We put the "For Sale" sign back in the yard, and then we went over to visit Mom.  She was so happy to see us.  She just lit up.  She recognized us this time.  She didn't talk a lot.  She has gotten so she can hardly form a complete sentence because she can't remember what she was going to say.  When we left, I bent over the chair she was sitting in, and I gave her a hug.  Jerry was standing next to the chair.  Mom got up from the chair and asked Jerry to give her a hug.  She about squeezed the stuffings out of him.  She KNEW who he was, and it was so touching.  I promised her we would be back for the holidays, and said I hoped Countrywood would allow us to eat with her.  She said, "Well, I will MAKE them let you eat with me!"  That was a complete sentence, lol.

I'm going to meet Phylly at Louie's by the lake for lunch.  I better get going. 

Hugs, Joy

Phylly says, "WOW!" on 4 Blood Moons

Bet you thought I was going to give you some Halloween story, didn't you?  Not by any s t r e t c h of the imagination!  I'm going to give you a Bible story called:

The Coming Four Blood Moons

It is the title of Rev. Hagee's sermon today regarding an amazing study he has done on total eclipses of the moon as being signs on God's giant billboard -- the sky.

Scripture References:  Joel 2:30-31   and   Acts 2:19-21

I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LordShall be saved.

He was having a conversation with another preacher in Scotland (I think it was), and the preacher asked him if he had ever studied the eclipses of the moon and compared them with scripture.  Hagee replied that he sure had NOT done that.  On his flight back from wherever he was, he began studying that very subject.

Back in his office, he began a google search to find if there was any information about the last eclipses.  He said he looked for several hours, and he found NOTHING.  Then he googled something about eclipses and how they relate to Israel.  What came up on his screen made him jump up off his chair!  

The date of the last three total eclipses were:  1492, 1948 and 1967  (Those are PAST, not COMING)

It was those dates that made him jump off his chair because Hagee is a scholar of everything Israel, and he immediately realized the relationship.

In 1492:  Jews were tortured by the Roman Catholic Church, murdered, burned, etc. and finally run out of Spain because they would not convert to Catholicism. 

In 1948:  This was just after the Holocaust.  Jews reunited in Israel and David Ben-Gurion announced the birth of the State of Israel.  Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes later.

In 1967:  Jerusalem was united to the State of Israel.

It is already known by NASA what the EXACT dates of the next 4 "blood moons" or total eclipses will be, and they coincide with Jewish feasts/holidays (if I understood right).  PLEASE, as I always say, go to www.jhm.org and GETV and listen to this message yourself if you are interested in all the details. 

On 4-15-14, Eclipse of the Moon coincides with Passover.

On 10-8-14, Eclipse of the Moon coincides with Sukkot.

On 3-20-15, Eclipse of the Sun coincides with Adar 29 and Nissan 1 on the Jewish calendar.

On 4-4-15, Eclipse of Moon coincides with Passover.

On 9-28-15, Eclipse of Moon coincides with Sukkot.

Mark 13:24-26

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

In the Bible, there is one story of the sun actually standing still and going forward one day (Josua 10:12-13) -- and there is another story of the sun moving backward one day (II Kings 20:9-11). 

Remember in Matthew 2:9 how the wisemen FOLLOWED a moving star until it stopped and stood still over Bethlehem?

WHAT does all this mean?

It MEANS the King of Kings is coming soon!!!  The Bible is true.  God controls the sun, moon and stars and THE SKY IS HIS BILLBOARD!  



These signs don't foretell the rapture of the church.  That could happen at any second.  Don't mix up the two events.

Phylly sent me an email right after the message, and all it said was, "WOW!"

Have a blessed Sunday!  I'm off to shower and get ready for lunch.  I hear a bowl of hot vegetable soup and a hamburger with light cheese and extra lettuce calling me from Johnnie's. 

Hugs, Joy

My Sole

So, here it is.  Yep, I made Jerry take my picture.  He is used to it now.  A year ago, he would have refused to do it.  I would have had to put the camera up on something tall -- push the 10 second delay -- run over and jump on the machine and smile.  So much better to have a cooperative husband!

 

Jerry and I like to buy the best we can afford, and from the reviews and research I did, this was it.  I don't like to buy anything I haven't actually tried out, so I was thrilled to find out that Sears sells them. 

 

Jerry, of course, wanted to come home to see if he could surf the web and find it cheaper.  He wants it to be a big secret, but I immediately told the Manager that he wanted to do that.  Suddenly, Sears was able to give me FREE delivery and set-up -- no small thing considering it is 150 miles there and 150 miles back -- and I got $85 off for putting it on my Sear's card.  Not bad.  The price was the same as the internet price except for sales tax, but with the discounts, we figure it evened out real fast.

 

 



I have another salesperson story for you, but this is a GOOD one!  I found out the Manager's name when I called yesterday.  I had the clerk I was speaking to on the phone tell the Manager that I had been waiting several days for this machine to be set up because when I was there several days ago, it was not on the floor.  Zachary was the first clerk to help me.  He told me the E95 would be set up any day.  The Manager -- a woman -- saw that it actually WAS taken out of the storeroom and it WAS put up.  She promised I could come try it out this morning.

When Jerry and I walked in at 10 am this morning, a young man and the woman Manager were on the floor working on it.  NO SMALL TASK, let me tell you.  This thing is a monster!  Look how far it sticks out into the walk way.  It is supposed to be up on the red pad.  It is over 8' long. 

I had walked on every elliptical there, and this one was, by far, superior.  I just loved it right away.  It was VERY quiet and so smooth.  It will be delivered to my upstairs "fitness" area next Friday.  It took 4 hours for this to be assembled this morning.  Hope the guys delivering it know what they are doing.  Surely, there will be at least two of them!

I have two very nice treadmills to sell now.  Anyone out there need one?  They are both "like new". 
One is a NordikTrack and one is a Smooth.  I'm going to advertise them next week if I can figure out what town I will be in.  No way am I shipping them, so someone local will have to buy them.

That was just about my whole day.  We bought some groceries, went to Olive Garden for lunch, and we came home.  Jerry is watching football, and I'm talking to you. 

Hope all is well in your world.

Hugs, Joy

Meet Laurie and My New B&W Jewelry

My husband should be home by now to take me out to dinner before every single person in Oklahoma shows up at whatever restaurant we choose to go to.  I don't really want to go, but since we actually HAVE restaurants to go to in this town, I want to take advantage of them while he is here with me.  I don't go when I'm here alone at night.

We had a WONDERFUL meal at our friends' (Robert and Deanna) house last night.  They even had my favorite wine as you will recall from my wine and cheese tasting video.  We took our guns and we had gun Show and Tell.  All of us were too tired to even think about going someplace to shoot them.

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!  I went to visit Margaret yesterday after she invited me to come see her brand new living room in her brand new house.  I met her friend, Guy (short for Guylene, I think), and I met Guy's friend, Laurie.  Guess what Laurie does??????????? 

A picture is worth 1000 words....... check it out.

Yep, she makes jewelry.

She has been doing it a lot longer than I have -- obviously -- and she sells hers.  I really like the one on her right hand with the chain and leather ties in it. 

If Laurie didn't live in Missouri, I would SO want to be friends with her!  You know how I love to learn new things.  I would soak up everything she said and follow her to every bead store! 

She gave me some tips about online shops and a show that will be coming to OKC in March, 2013.

We even have the same haircut.  Isn't she cute? 

Here is my big accomplishment for today.  I found the black and white pendant the other day at Hobby Lobby, so I made the necklace to hang it on and the bracelet and earrings to go with it.  I love any primary color and white together.  If they had these butterflies in five colors, I would have made five bracelets.  They are so cute!

 

I am still on the DESM diet, and I have actually seen the number "150" between my toes on my scale!  The only problem is, it is always a fleeting number.  It jumps to 151 and 152 and back down and back up and I'm not going to document it as "real" until it stays there for a few days.  I have lost inches off my midriff though, and that is the best part.  I want to make some pants, but I am still in the middle of that red coat.  It is 50 degrees here today, and I actually turned the heater on for the first time this year.  It made me WANT my new red coat!  Since it isn't done, I had to wear my veeeeeeeery old red coat today.

Jerry just turned on the TV which means he has left his desk.  I am going to join him.

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Hugs, Joy

Slow Internet and Elliptical Shopping

 

The internet around here is still not right.  Sometimes, it works at high speed -- like it is supposed to -- and other times it slows down to CRAWL speed.  Sandra Betzina speaks very slooooooowly and other videos just pause and never start up again.  It is SO FRUSTRATING.  AT&T is sending someone out tomorrow between 8 and noon to see if they can figure out the problem.  Maybe they'll send someone who knows what he is doing this time.  I'll just believe for a miracle and try to be positive.  I am smiling here.

I am SURE AT&T will send someone wonderful out, and he will know immediately what is causing all these problems, and fix them.  YES!  That sounds a lot better.

That happened to me years ago with my copier.  I worked at home in a bedroom office in those days, and I had a full size copier in it.  I don't remember what it did now, but it was broken.  The company I bought it from had sent out several repair techs, and none of them had any idea what was wrong.  They each suggested something different that might be the cause, and the fix was going to cost more than the machine.  The Manager even came to my house and tried to fix it, but couldn't.

One day, this darling guy named David showed up to see if he could fix the copier.  He wasn't assigned to my geographical area, but I guess they sent him since everybody else had already been there and had failed to fix the problem. 

David was a young man -- nice looking -- very friendly -- and he looked me in the eye when he talked to me and he actually LISTENED when I spoke to him.  We ended up being good friends.  Anyway, David walked in my office.  He tried to make a copy, and whatever was broken did its thing.  He said, "Let me run out to my truck."  He came back in the house with a tiny little part.  He opened up the machine -- put in the tiny little part -- and it worked perfectly!  I don't think he even charged me for whatever the part was because it was so cheap, and he just had it in his truck.  From that point on, I NEVER let anyone come fix my machine but him.  He came to our store for years until he went to work for some other company, and they transferred him far away.

So what did I do today?  I met Phylly for lunch at our favorite hang-out:  TGI Friday's.  We are "known" there, if you know what I mean.  We get special treatment, and we like that.  The only bad part about meeting Phylly for lunch is she always has to go back to work -- and she did.  I decided to go check out Ellipticals.  I am not able to walk on my very nice treadmills because they cause lower back pain.  A Chiropractor told me years ago not to walk on them, but after the pain goes away, I always try again.  The pain comes back, and I have to quit.  AARRGGHH!!!  So I decided that maybe an Elliptical -- which I have never used and didn't like at any of the spas I used to belong to -- might be the solution.

Any time I am going to invest in an expensive something, I always do internet research.  That is one really great thing about the internet.  It appears that a brand called "Sole" is suppose to be the latest and the greatest.  Sears sells them, so that is where I headed.  Zachary waited on me.  I asked him about the NordicTracks.  He said they hardly ever sell them because everyone wants the Sole after he shows them the reviews on the Ipad he carries with him.  So I tried out all the Sole's they had on the floor.  At first, I thought my legs were going to break as it was such an uncomfortable movement for me, but my legs adjusted after a while.  I got on every one they had, and I decided that the Sole probably was the most smooth and comfortable.  ONLY they are soooooooooooo big!  Bigger than a treadmill.  I don't have that much space unless I get rid of my longarm, and that isn't going to happen any time soon.  I decided to put the idea of buying an Elliptical aside for now, and I came back home.

It was very cloudy all day long, and I just couldn't get excited about doing anything after that.  My sister, Judy, called twice today, and we talked.  That was nice.  Janice emailed and said she enjoyed the blog pics from yesterday.  Hopefully, I will wake up to SUNSHINE in the morning, and will feel like sewing something.  I really am motivated by sunshine.  Cloudy days make me sleepy and lethargic.  VERY unusual for me.

It's 10:30 pm.  The wind is howling outside my window.  Think I'll crawl under the covers, and call it a day.

Hugs, Joy

The Gathering of the 4 J's

I doubt this will be of much interest to anyone other than myself, but I must document it as a MAJOR HIGHLIGHT of my life.  I cannot tell you how RARE it is for the 4 of us to get together.  I have not been to my brother's house for 7 years.  Life just seems to get in the way a lot.  Years go by without me seeing my youngest sister also; but right now we are talking on the phone a lot, and we see each other pretty often.  It is VERY nice -- it is as it should be. 

I am beginning to feel like a member of my own family again, and I am a happy girl!

I pray nothing happens to mess it all up again.

So, here is the scoop:

We all arrived about the same time at my brother's house which is 20 miles away from mine.  My brother James, and my sister, Judy, are gourmet cooks as I have told you in the past.  They both love to cook -- and they love to cook together.  I think that is really awesome.  I am uncomfortable with anyone in my kitchen cooking with me. 

Here are the cooks working together in the kitchen today.

 

James was browning chicken breasts before putting them outside on his smoker.  Judy was making a delicious concoction to put on top of the chicken breasts.  I wish now that I had paid more attention to what she was doing.  I was distracted by AT&T calling me, but we won't go there right now.   

Judy spent a lot of time chopping fruit and shredding cheese.  I thought the cheese was just for snacking on.  I didn't realize she was going to use it in the meal.  James did his thing, and Judy did hers, and they just worked together like wind-up dolls that were preprogrammed to do their tasks.  They have an amazing chemistry with each other. 

Janice, her husband Jon, and I just sat at the table talking, and James and Judy did all the cooking and the serving.  It was a wonderful treat!  Here is what the entree looked like when set before us:

It tasted even BETTER than it looked.  The part that looks like sour cream is a concoction of the cheeses Judy mixed together and melted.  There are strawberries, pears, mandarin oranges, grapes and pineapple (I think).  There is also bacon in it.  The sauteed/smoked chicken breasts are on the bottom.  They were tender and juicy and delectable.  I wouldn't even ATTEMPT to try to make this.  It would probably take me days, and I don't own a smoker, and I can't even pronounce the names of the cheeses.

There were chips and exotic dips I'd never seen before.  A wonderful lunch.  BUT, the best part was just being together.  No kids and only one spouse, and he is a preacher, so he HAD to behave.  When we get together, we try to get a picture of the 4 of us.  When I got home, I had 66 pictures on my camera.  I always take a lot because it is practically IMPOSSIBLE to get all 4 looking picturesque at the same time.

Here are a few I took:

I'm the oldest.  My sister Janice, in the cute plaid shirt that she made, is next -- then Judy -- then the baby, James.

These are my brother's children.  He and his wife have never had children, and they are both dog lovers.  The big one is Einstein and the other one is Idabell.  I would LOVE to have a dog like Einstein.  I love big, hairy dogs that look like that.  I had two dogs in my childhood -- not at the same time -- that looked like that.  They were both named Jolly.  James says Einstein thinks he is a lap dog.  Imagine?

And WHY is my foot on the table!?  It looks really bad, I know.  Let me point out that we are all done eating.  I went over to the corner to set up my tripod, and I didn't notice the blind clips (blinds had been removed) sticking out on the bottom of the door.  I ran into one of them with my toe, and I cut it pretty bad.  My brother had JUST put a bandaid on my big toe for me, and I put it up so it would quit bleeding.  The guy in the middle is Rev. Jon.

I told you there would be lots of laughter!  There was.  WHY ON EARTH don't we get together more often?  Judy promised me tonight that we will.

After lunch at James', we went over to Judy's house.  She just moved in a few months ago, but she has it looking really nice.  Not only can she cook, she is a great decorator.  Somehow the decorating genes were in hiding when Dad and Mom made me.  I would rather sew. 

I showed Janice how to use the serger -- sort of -- while we were at Judy's.

I decided not to show her how to thread it since we were all full from lunch, and I was enjoying the delicious coctail Judy made for me. 

Janice is really good at learning from reading the manual.  She can always call me if she has any problems.  PLUS, best of all, the Bernina dealership is only a mile away from her house.

Judy gave us some fabric, and Janice sewed a test sample.  She was very happy when she saw the wonderful stitch.

The AT&T saga continued after I got home, but DWTS is on, and I'm going to go watch it.  Derrick and Shawn danced to one of my very favorite songs -- the one from the Titanic movie -- and it was UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Hugs, Joy

One of Those Days

I drove 150 miles yesterday so I would be here from 8 AM to Noon for the AT&T Wireless Internet repairman to come to my house after having no internet for over a week.  I woke up at 7 AM.  Got up and brushed my teeth, combed my hair, washed my face and put on non-pajamas.  I figured if I wasn't ready to answer the door at 8 AM, the guy would show up.  Well, it is now 6:18 PM and the guy has not shown up or called. 

I did, however, call AT&Tat 11:45 AM and talked to Samantha for an hour and a half.  I had one question:  Is the repairman showing up or not?  It is almost noon and I have not heard from him or seen him.

"We apologize for that.  Could you hold."

I hold.  She comes back several minutes later to inform me that she has checked my records, and it appears that the service guy was here YESTERDAY -- on Sunday.  "Well, that is very odd", says me, "since I specifically ASKED if the guy could come on Sunday and I was told that there was no way he could".

"Yes, he was there at your house, but there wasn't any problem outside.  He left an internet note saying he spoke with you and told you he would be there between 8 AM and 8 PM today."  (Monday)

"He most CERTAINLY DID NOT talk with me", says me!

"We apologize for that.  Could you hold."

I hold again forever.  She comes back and tells me the same thing all over again.  I decided to just overlook that and inform her that I have NO SERVICE and could she please check it to see if she can fix it since she is a "service technician".

"We apologize for that.  Let me check.  Could you hold."

She returns and we go around and around and around as she puts me on hold a dozen more times and keeps apologizing.  Finally, she UNDOES everything Jerry did to connect to our store computers, and she gets it working. 

I tell her that it won't work for long.  It always works for awhile, but then it quits, and I have to reset the modem 4 to 10 times a day.  I ask her if that is normal.

"We apologize for that.  No that isn't normal."

Then is there any way you can FIX IT!!!!!  Can you make sure the repairman is coming today.

"Could you hold."

She comes back and tells me the "he was there yesterday" story again.  I am so frustrated, I want to reach through the phone and strangle Samantha, but I know if I did, all she would do is say, "We apologize for that."

I finally tell her I can't stand it anymore, and I just say "Goodbye", and I hang up.  The internet was working at that moment, and I thought by some extreme stroke of luck, it might continue to.  It did until I got on my treadmill -- the one I'm not supposed to be on because it causes back pain -- and I start to walk while watching you tube videos of jewelry-making.  Off it went, and it stayed off.  I decided that I had HAD IT with AT&T and I was going to call our old company, Cox Communications (CC) and ask if they would come out and hook us up to their service again.

I called CC and got a man.  I always cringe when I get a man because I know right off there will be communication issues.  I tell him the problem several times.  I tell him I live in Edmond, OK and ask how long it would be for someone to come out.  He wants my address.  I tell him it is Kirkland Ridge, Edmond, OK. 

"Can you repeat that?", he asks.

I tell him again it is Kirkland Ridge, Edmond, OK slowly and deliberately.

"Was that Kirkland Ridge?", he asks.

"YES!!!!", I practically scream.

"Maam, do you live ON A BRIDGE?", he says.

"I just about explode at this point, and I say, "It ISN'T A BRIDGE -- It is a RIDGE!!!"

"You live on a ridge?"

"Yes, Kirkland Ridge in Edmond."

"And what town do you live in?"

THAT WAS IT!  I said, "Never mind!"  I hung up.  I figured it wasn't going to matter WHAT company I had.  They all hire the same morons to work for them.

So now it is 6:36 PM, and I don't know if someone will show up between now and 8 PM or not.  I have a feeling they will not.  Tomorrow is "The Gathering", so I won't even try again until I get back from that tomorrow.  Obviously, the internet is working right now or I wouldn't be able to type this to you.  It could go back off any second though, so I shall quit for tonight.

I did manage to make two new bracelets and a pair of earrings today.  I will wear the earrings and matching bracelet with a knit top I made to see my siblings tomorrow.  I will take pics, and hopefully, I will be in a whole lot better mood than I am in right now.

Hugs, Joy

Sermon Notes and The Gathering

WOW!  Today's sermon by Matthew Hagee was AWESOME!  Up there with the BEST I've ever heard.  I wish it was on a gigantic loudspeaker in heaven blaring down so the entire Earth could hear the message -- everyone in their own language.  Please listen to it at www.jhm.org if you get a chance. 

I'm not sure of the exact title now, but it was something like:  WHEN THE STANDARD FALLS

The scripture reference was 1 Kings 14:21 and following.  It was the story of David's grandson and Solomon's son, Rehoboam.  It talks about how great and awesome Israel was when handed down to him after his father and grandfather had built it into its fabulousness -- a nation envied by all other nations.

To name just a few of the riches of Solomon:  The hinges in his horse stables were pure gold.

Solomon's throne was ivory covered in gold.

There were twelve lions made of gold -- six on each side of his throne -- representing the 12 tribes.

There were 200 pure gold shields suspended from the cedar beams that were lowered once a day -- each one manned by a servant -- 100 on each side -- to usher Solomon into his prayer chamber to talk with God.

And one could write for days on the riches of Solomon.  As Matthew put it, "the palace was blinged out!"

How did this all happen?  It happened because Solomon asked God for wisdom, and Solomon performed his Kingly duties by using the wisdom he acquired from God.  God didn't just rain down gold all over Israel.  It was brought to Solomon by other nations as a tribute to him. 

So what happened when Rehoboam took over.  Actually, what "happened" was that his father, Solomon, made some gigantic mistakes in his latter years over WOMEN!  Matthew described the reason for it as Solomon probably married women from other nations in order to get along with them -- the nation, not the woman -- and he married women from heathen nations that worshipped other gods.  Unlike David, Solomon was a lover.  David was a fighter.  He didn't put up with crap about other gods and being "politically right".  Solomon lowered the standards in order to have peace.

Before the story of Rehoboam, you read that God told Solomon -- because of his disobedience -- that he was going to destroy the nation of Israel and all of its glory would be lost, BUT he would not do it in Solomon's time.  It would be done in his son's time.  Rehoboam really didn't have much say about it.  But when you consider that Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite, and Ammonites worshipped some other god, the you can imagine that he was raised knowing his mother's religion as well as his father's.

The story in 1 Kings tells all the evil that happened in Rehoboam's reign INCLUDING "male cult prostitutes".  The King of Egypt came in and took EVERYTHING just like God had foretold to Solomon.

The Bible says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

We know that is true.  When our forefathers came over here on the Mayflower they prepared what is called the Mayflower Compact.  It shows clearly the faith of our fathers and what kind of nation they were building.  This nation was built on the same Godly principles as Israel. 

This is Queen Joy now (not King James):

God isn't the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.  He is Almighty GOD!  America must WAKE UP out of its apathy and ignorance and realize that we will lose EVERYTHING if we don't come back to our God.  Not everyone's God.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Almighty God.  The only true God.  We have to quit trying to appease every religion -- every non-religion -- and every kook.  If people don't like our One Nation Under God, then they can leave it. 

Churches are afraid to preach the Bible.  If churches would preach it, all these kooks and atheists would change their thinking because the Word of God is ALIVE and FULL OF POWER.  Warmed over psychological crap is not Bible, and it can't convict a soul to come to God.  Some churches even allow homosexuals to be ministers.  What a mess we have because so many have tried to be politically correct and not offend anyone.  I tell you one thing.  I'd rather offend a sinner than offend God.  SOMEONE has to speak the truth in love.

What can we do???  We can fast and pray.  We can praise God.  Praise is powerful.  Remember Paul and Silus in jail after having been beaten.  They were praising God and an earthquake shook the jail open.  Wow!  It can happen again if all christians will come together -- gather their children -- and pray and praise and do what we can do in our own little parts of this America.  Let's go back to God and take this nation with us.  

I could go on for days and days on this subject, but I'm sure I've lost most readers long ago.  Like I said, the sermon was awesome.  I encourage you to listen to it.

Gotta go.  Heading North 150 miles to our other house.  Tuesday is "The Gathering", as I call it, of the four J's -- the children of my Mother and Father.  This is a VERY rare occasion.  Only two spouses will be there, mine and my sister's from Tulsa. 

My brother, James, and my sister, Judy, are cooking for all of us at James' house.  He says he isn't telling his wife, Deana, who will be at work, because she will think she has to clean the house.  I feel sorry for James once she finds out we have been there without her knowledge.  He may be coming to live with us.  I would strangle Jerry if he did that to me!

I think James is going to deep fry a turkey. 

I'm taking my sister, Janice, a Bernina  2000DE Serger I bought for her on Ebay to add to her sewing room.  She has never used one, and I am hoping I can show her how to thread it without scaring her to death.  Not easy the first time!  I want her to enjoy sewing as much as I do.  She knows how -- that's for sure -- just hasn't had much money to spend on it over the years.

I better finish packing the car.  We are leaving late today because the internet is down at our other house.  Somone is coming between 8 and 12 tomorrow to fix it for the ZILLIONTH time!!!  I told AT&T I would give them ONE more chance to make their service actually work.  I don't think they care one way or the other.

Have a blessed Sunday and a blessed week.

Hugs, Joy

Gun Pics, Candy, Coat and Note to Mame

Jerry and I are STILL trying to get our Conceal and Carry licenses.  We had to get passport pictures before we could turn in our applications to the Police Department where we will be fingerprinted.  Someone had told me that Walgreens does passport photos.  Jerry informed me this morning that he had to go to Durant -- where there happens to be a Walgreens -- to pick up my 4-wheeler which has been in the motorcycle shop for weeks.  I decided to go along so we could stop at Walgreens and get our passport photos.  The girl that helped us was very nice.

I had written down a very short list of things I needed to buy while out in a real town.  I mentioned to Jerry on the way that we would need to go to Walmart.  WELL!  He came ALL UNGLUED (as my Mom says) and just could not understand WHY I would think he could possibly take time out of his extremely important life to go buy 4 things at Walmart.

As I was waiting for my passport pictures, I noticed a display of a bunch of cans of nuts.  The brand name -- which I had never heard of -- was "Nice".  I learned later that it was Walgreen's brand.  Weird name for a brand.  Anyhow, it dawned on my lightning fast mind that IF Walgreen's had nuts, MAYBE they had the other stuff on my list:  Sugar, Chocolates (Jerry eats every one in the house), Mascara and 0.5 lead.  I asked the nice clerk who had just taken our photos if they had those things.  She said they did.

Jerry -- who is NEVER in a hurry unless he is waiting for me -- acted like the world would end at any moment if we had to get ALL OF THAT STUFF. 

I said, "I'll run over and get my mascara.  You get the chocolates and the sugar."

"Okay", he said.

I went over to look for the mascara.  My favorite kind has evidently been quarantined from the earth because nobody ever has it.  I bought some lipstick instead.  In a few minutes, I noticed Jerry coming toward me with NOTHING in his arms. 

I said, "WHERE are the chocolates and the sugar?"

"They don't have them", he said.

"I KNOW they have them", says me.  "The girl just told us they have them."  "Follow me."

"I'll show you where the candy is", says he, "but it isn't what you want".

I follow him to the Halloween candy.  NO!  That is NOT what I want.  I don't even want to BE IN THE AISLE of the Halloween candy.  I don't even want to be in the TOWN with Halloween candy.  WHY?  Because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the tiny little bars of everything that come out at Halloween, AND I can't pass the aisle without buying Mini Almond Joys and Mini Kit Kats (is that what they are called?).  Thank goodness I didn't see the candy corn while I was there.

About that time, the clerk showed up.  I asked where the chocolates were.  She took me to them.  I asked where the sugar was.  She took me there. 

"SEE", I said to Jerry.  "All you have to do is ASK someone for help."

My husband, unlike me, thinks it is a crime to ever ask anyone for help.  He doesn't want to BOTHER them.  Good grief!  What does he think they are there for?  Does he ever think about what he does for his customers?  It is a whole lot more than telling them what aisle the sugar is in, I assure you! 

I have actually said to him:

"Can we PLAY LIKE I am one of your customers?  "I'll even give you some money."

His answer is always the same:

"I already HAVE your money!" 

Anyway, we got everything but the 0.5 lead, and we came back home where he dropped me off to work on my red coat, and he left to go to the store.  I have worked at least 5 hours today on this coat.  WHAT a job it is.  As always, I wish I had picked nicer fabric for the front of it.  With this, however, I can throw it in the washer and dryer.

I got all the innards put together today.

On the left is the part that will be against my body inside the coat.

And on the right is the INSIDE of the innards with the warm stuff that will be against the inside of the coat.

All that red thread will not show.

I also got one sleeve sewn into the coat.  It seems to be good "as is", so tomorrow, I will put the other sleeve in.  The black innards have to have their own sleeves that will go inside the red sleeves. 

WHAT a job this is, but I will be very happy when it is all done.  Clothes that FIT are wonderful to have in your closet. 

I could have made 3 blouses in the time I have spent on the coat, but I don't need blouses right now. 

I'm stuck at five pounds off this body, and until I lose some more, my blouses are okay.  The pants are too big in the waist, but it is ABOUT TIME!

I better go.  I was suppose to clean the living room today with my magic rags.  They still have to be thrown in the spin cycle, so I better get with it.

Hope you all are enjoying Fall!  I hate that it gets dark right after supper now, because my body thinks that when it gets dark, you are supposed to go to bed.

Note to Mame: 

Hello Mame!  Just saw your comment to an earlier post.  YES, I did use my SFD blueprint to make sure this coat would fit me well.  I have SFD blueprints taped to my doors in both my sewing rooms.  I always use them.  I didn't want to try to design this coat with the SFD Kits because it has too many bells and whistles, if you know what I mean.

                                                                                    Hugs, Joy

Crotches and the Red Coat

What a fun morning I had Skyping with Tina.  Like Tina said, "How often do you find someone you can talk to about crotches for 2 hours?"

Oh, my!  To the untrained reader of my blogposts -- that may appear to be a dirty sentence!  Let me correct that. 

"How often do you find someone you can talk to about SEWING crotches in pants for 2 hours?"  Yes, that reads better.

You have to be SO CAREFUL these days about how you say every little thing.

The politically correct police may come looking for me.  Actually, if they do, I doubt it will be about "crotches".

Anyway, we talked about how to get the crotch length and curve just right when making pants.  Tina has a very small waist compared to her hips which aren't at all large.  She can't buy RTW to fit, like most of us.  I encouraged her to try Sure-fit Designs.  She is going to watch some of Glenda's videos.  She was using the Palmer/Pletsch jeans pattern which Phylly and I have both tried to make.  Even with all the "helpers" in their patterns, they just don't come out right for me.  The waist on the Size 14 that Tina was using had FIVE inches of ease in it!  Good heavens.  She could use it for a tent in the backyard!  She is going to try another pattern, and then we will get back together. 

I am enjoying so much having sewing friends in all different cities.  Tina actually TEACHES sewing.  You should be giving ME advice, Tina!

After talking to Tina, I went to work on my red coat.  I got the lining sewn to the INTERlining -- the warm stuff -- and then got part of the lining sewn together.  I decided to quit while I'm ahead.  I also got one side of the black collar sewn on.  VEEEEEEEEEEEERY nice! 

Almost time to fix supper.  Pork chops tonight.  I suppose I will be serving air with mine since I ate two tuna salad sandwiches for lunch with a lot of sliced grapes inside. 

In case anyone cares, Jerry and I will be back in Edmond on Sunday.  Crazy that we can't seem to get to stay home.  We'll be there through the 30th when our next court date is for the guardianship hearing for Jerry's Mom. 

Hugs, Joy

Wednesday ALREADY!?

This week is flying past faster than I can keep up.  Election Day will be upon us in no time. 

If you don't already know, I AM a Christian, I AM a Republican, and I AM voting for Romney/Ryan. 

Just FYI.  

With the mess our country is in, I don't know how anyone in their right mind could vote otherwise. 

So what have I been doing the last few days?

Well, on Monday morning I came up into my sewing room and spent most of my time unpacking all my bags and boxes.  At some point I noticed my wonderful Ellisimo embroidery machine sitting quietly underneath its pillowcase cover-up, and I thought to myself:  "You really should embroider something before you totally forget how to!"

I had left my jewelry spread out all over my cutting table before I left town last time, so I had been reorganizing all of it.  I have two zippered bags that came inside my tool bag, and I could not remember what was in them.  Even if I did remember what was in them, I couldn't remember which bag was which.  So I embarked on this very difficult embroidery project. 

I put a label on each side of the bags.  Aren't they great?  I really love my embroidery software -- Artista -- and the Ellisimo (Baby Lock) embroidery machine.  I used them constantly while making the Route 66 quilt, but haven't done much since then.  I opened up my software and just stared at it for awhile. 

It slooooowly started to come back to me as to how it worked. 

I may put some embroidery on the next blouse I make, and that will not be until I get this red coat made.  It has been hanging on Lucy since I got back home on Sunday.

It is too big for Lucy too.  I will fix that. 

OH NO!  It just dawned on me!  I am going to have to make Lucy smaller too.  I sure don't look forward to that.  I worked SO HARD to make her be as fat as I am. 

I have a new friend out there in Internetland.  Her name is Tina.  She is using my bendy-curve tutorial to make a pair of pants and is having a problem figuring out where the hip lines up with the "bowl".  I had the same problem, but I don't remember what I did about it.  We are going to talk tomorrow so I hope I can find my bowl and my pattern and remind my brain how you do it!

I'm going to go watch Sandra Betzina ALMOST SAY a bunch of stuff.  She is putting the lining inside the pants now, and I have never done that before.  She says not to ever use Polyester for lining because it is too hot.  Sure hope my coat lining isn't polyester.  I think it is though. 

Until tomorrow, I wish you many blessings.

Hugs, Joy