Week of Sunday, May 18th, 2025 through Saturday May 24th, 2025

  

 SUNDAY:  Today at church we celebrated the FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY of Freedom Church

(originally Faith Tabernacle Church).  There were large pieces of confetti all over the floor in the sanctuary.  Glenda said that some people had been brushing them off of the seats. 

Early in the service Sharon and Wayne Dent spoke.  Sharon told the history of the church, which was very interesting.  

  

Close to the end of the service which the balloons on the ceiling were left go.  The kids loved it. 

After the service there was an INDOOR PICNIC since the weather outside was not all that accommodating.  There were hotdogs, two types of chicken, the makings for tacos and several sides.  Everything I had was very good, but many people found the Jerk Chicken to be too hot and spicy.

I sat at a table with Maggie, Andrea, Dee Mann, Marlene and Peggy and David.  Maggie, Andrea and I decided to get in line for the ice cream truck but the line was so long that we decided to get ice cream at LAKE EFFECT, but Andrea had an appointment to give blood, so it was only Maggie and I.

Neither Maggie or I could finish our ice cream so we both took it home with us.  I was exhausted from not sleeping well last night so it was not long before I fell asleep on the couch.  I relaxed for the rest of the day, watching a movie about OCTOMOM on Hoopla and then CALL THE MIDWIFE on PBS.

Marsha Schul called and asked about directions to Newfane, where she will be going next Sunday for a surprise birthday party for Robin Brown.  I encouraged her to take a "trial run" tomorrow when her daughter, Colleen, comes to help her.  

MONDAY:  Erica Joan arrived at ten thirty and started working on my front flowerbeds.  I asked her how many bags of mulch we would need and she said two or three, so I ran out and got three.  I went to Aldi's also to get a flat of the small bottles of water that I like.  I called Peg while I was there and asked for the ingredients for the soup I agreed to make for this coming Sunday.  She said she would text me the recipe and she did, but it was blurry and I could not figure out how to unblur it so I didn't get the ingredients.  Shortly after I got back, Erica came in for a cold drink and said she was planning on going to LaPorts for lunch,  I offered her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so she and I had lunch together.  I continued looking through my items in order to decide what I will keep and what I will get rid of.  Peg called and told me that her stepdaughter Katherine has changed her mind about purchasing this house.  I suggested to Peggy that she ask Mike's oldest daughter, Jennifer, if she might be interested and she said she will check into that. 

What a fiasco!  One of my US BANK credit cards stopped working so I called the company (second time calling, the first time the fellow did not seem to understand my problem).  So I called the company and eyed in the entire number on the card before I got to a human.  She was very nice, and they would give me a new card,  via mail.  OK, sounds good, but a little while later on I got an email from US BANK saying that my other card was reported lost or stolen.  Well, I never reported either card lost or stolen.  I called back and that card has been cancelled (since the first girl cancelled the wrong card.  I KNOW it was not my mistake since before cutting up the non working card, I wrote down the last four numbers which DID NOT match the last four numbers given in the email.  So, now I am waiting for two new credit cards to arrive in the mail, one on Wednesday and one a few days later.  UGH.  

In the evening, I was looking for a movie to watch.  I couldn't find anything on HOOPLA, it seems like they are offering fewer movies than they used to offer.  I decided to look on the ROKU app. and found the 1961 movie THE CHILDRENS HOUR with James Garner, Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClain.  They all look SO young.  It is a very good movie.

 TUESDAY: This morning when I opened up my email, I was informed that US BANK has cancelled another credit card of mine.  UGH.  I went to NorthWest Bank and got some cash this morning and then to Panera's for a drink and then to Freedom Church for the ladies Bible studk a nap after lunch.  When I got up, I worked on packy.  We had a full house this morning with a couple of extras:  Vicky, who has not been there in months and Rachel, who is back in town temporarily, after her mothers funeral.  They were making lunch plans eto go to THE FIELDSTONE but I decided not to go since I slept so poorly last night and really needed a nap.  First, I picked up a lunch special at Lil Caesers and took it home.  Apparently, it had been sitting for a while before my arrival, and it was not very good.  I took a nap and when I got up, I worked on packing up a box of Dad's old bottles for Megan.  I was barely done when I had to quick get ready for going to Solid Rock for spaghetti.  VIcky came here and Elaine picked us both up.  As we arrived, Peggy and David arrived and then Andrea and her two granddaugjters were walking in.  Andrea, Ella and Lucy, Vicky and Elaine and I all sat together at a table for six.  Becky was there, and I gave her a notebook (more like a ledger) that Peggy picked up at Becky's families farmhouse when the people who bought it from the estate were getting ready to tear it down.  Peg thought that it had belonged to Becky's brother Dennis, but she thinks it belonged to someone else on the opposite side of her family.

I had brought home a spaghetti dinner for Lori, she said she would pick it up after work, but she was so exhausted from working long hours that she forgot about it.  

WEDNESDAY:   In the morning I repacked the box of old bottles for Megan (she said she wanted some of her Grandpa Niethe's old bottles) and it is ready to go into storage space at Peggy's house.  Then I got ready to go to the Y and meet up with Jan.  I stopped first at PANERA and got a large iced tea.  When I got to the Y, I rean into Vicky and Louise and we chatted for a while before Jan arrived (she was late again, and this is starting to get a tiny bit irritating).  Jan and I walked for a half an hour. After leaving the Y, I went to Aldi and purchased the ingredients for the tortellini soup that I will be making for the CONNECT event this coming Sunday after church.  I decided to use a coupon and go to Arby's for lunch.  I had a couple of magazines that I picked up at the Y, so I read while eating.  I ran into Betty (I don't really know her, but I recognized her from the spaghetti dinners at Solid Rock) and I was able to ask her if there will be a spaghetti dinner in June.  There will be!  When I got home, there was ANOTHER message from Dr. Madewski's office about me scheduling an appointment so I called but was told that Martha Putnam is no longer at their office.  So, I started the process to refer myself into the endocrinologist at the new hospital.  I had to leave my name and number and they will call me back.  This could morph into a long game of phone tag.  While I was out, one of my new credit cards arrived via UPS, it was put inside the door leading to my front porch.  A new card from WELLS FARGO also arrived. I think I already cancelled that credit card account.  I texted Elaine about next months spaghetti dinner, and called Vicky to tell her.  

I put together anothg of books(ANOTHER!!!) to give to Peggy to either add to her home library OR give them to the woman who sells books to raise money for missionaries.  While gathering the books, I came across two old photo albums that my mother put together.  One was before she was married, and the other starts when Mike was a baby.  Briefly, I looked through them before adding them to the pile of stuff sitting on top of the storage unit I have been filling up of mementos, old phots and newspaper articles etc.  for Peggy and I to go through someday.................

Leslie called about seven thirty and we discussed our birthday plans.  She agreed to the high price of the hotel we have.  We were still talking when Lori drove into the drivesay.  She and I had arranged for her to come here and eat her spaghetti dinner that I picked up for her last night.  After that, we watched a few short videos about FLASH MOBS on YouTube and then we decided to find a movie on ANGEL STUDIOS.  We started watching THE CASE FOR CHRIST, but she was starting to fall asleep so I suggested that we watch it another night.  I gave her two old coke bottles, and a large red vase to take home.  I showed her the three clear glass large vases and suggested that she might take them for her grandsons and they can collect the little rubber balls like the ones I have collected over the years.  She will take them another time.  

After Lori left, I wanted to finish watching the newest episode of HANDMAIDS TALE, but my ROKU TV did not seem to be working, I could not get INTO the places I wanted to be, and there was no sound. I even tried the other TV (the one with the ZUMO box) and that was not working.  

Thursday:  In the morning, I called Pam to see if she wanted to go to the Y and walk, but she declined.  I tried to reach PriceLine to request the confirmation email that I was told I would receive on the day I made the reservation for the one night in Niagara Falls.  It was so easy to get a person the first time, but not today.  I spoke with someone at the hotel and confirmed the reservation (but not the price) and was told we have a CITY VIEW ROOM.  The rep. said he requested a FALLS VIEW ROOM, but was unable to confirm it, and we have to ask when we arrive on Tuesday the 10th of June.  I called my credit card company (TD) and when I asked for recent transactions, there was not one for the amount I was told, so I spoke with a representative and she confirmed that I paid the correct amount to PriceLine.  So, that is a relief.  I asked Jan if she wanted to go to the Y today, but then I was a busy making phone calls and doing laundry.  I finally decided to make a list of various errands I needed to run and I left around noon or a little bit later. I ran all of those errands and stopped at the Y where I walked for 12 minutes and used the recumbent bike for five minutes.  I ended by picking up a drink at Panera's and then going to Subway and using a coupon for a six inch Subway Club sandwich .  I had lunch at home (that sandwich was excellent) while listening to the Press Secretary hold a press conference.  She is very good at her job.

I laid down for my nap kind of late and fell asleep right away.  I think I slept for an hour or maybe less and when I got up, there was a voice mail from Peggy.  I called and she told me that David has found a good deal on an Alaskan cruise.  And we don't have to wait until 2026 like they were originally talking about, it would be August or September of THIS YEAR.  Probably an eleven or thirteen day cruise, leaving from San Francisco.  I told them that I am all in favor ot this idea.  We would get a suite.  I am so looking forward to hearing more about this. 

FRIDAY:  I slept fairly well last night.  When I got up I watched a couple of episodes of THE LOCATER on the Roku Channel.  Peggy called and we agreed to meet up at GYPSY KITCHEN for lunch, at noon.  Before going, I parked up a box of glass items that I will donate to the Good Will.  I got to Gypsy Kitchen early and straightened my car up on the inside.  Deb Seymore was there waiting for her friend, Debra, to meet her, so she and I talked for a while.  GYPSY KITCHEN has added tables.  Their menu was somewhat different from the last time I ate here.   bought three items, a cup of soup, a desert item which was very much like cherry crumble and I have forgotten the name of my main item, but it was round, it was pastry with vegetables in the middle and it was very good.  After that, the three of us met up at my place, I stopped at Panera's and got a free drink first.  Gail looked at my collection of Dad's bottles and took a few of them home with her, as well as a box of stuff that Peggy found upstairs that belong to her.  Then we went to the CHECKERED POPPY where Gail and Peggy share a spot where they sell items on consignment. 

They added to their display and Gail took this picture before we left. Peg brought me home and she went upstairs and worked for a while, while I took a nap.  In the evening, I got caught up on some correspondence (the old fashioned way) and I figured out how to add pictures I took on my phone to facebook and then to my flickr account and this blog.  Hooray!!!   Also, I organized my box where I keep stamps and name labels and I found out that I have way more stamps than I thought I had (both regular and postcard stamps).  

SATURDAY: In the morning, I called Elaine and asked her if she might want to come over this evening to watch the BUFFALO BELLS concert that I missed.  We agreed to six thirty and she will bring popcorn and I will provide drinks.  I got together some of Carrie's toys and called her residence to see if it would be OK if I came out to see her.  It was fine, and I arrived a little before eleven a.m.  It looked like Zoie was the only staff working, but there were only four residents there, as far as I could see.  When I got home, I had lunch and then I decided to go through the tourism materials I had stored in two boxes in the family room.  I threw away MANY, MANY brochures and booklets, etc., saving mostly maps and a few items that really interest me.  Peg came over and worked upstairs for a short while.  I took a nap and when I got up, I put away some of the stuff sitting out that I want to get rid of and heated up some chicken soup for my supper.  

Elaine arrived a little late because she was busy cleaning her pool.  I quickly found the handbells concert that I missed, but at a different church a few days later.  It was very good.   Elaine had brought apples and popcorn (I think this was her supper) to snack on.  We enjoyed our time together.