My Week

Tuesday after exercise, I mowed the yard, took my dog to the nursing home, and then went to the retreat ceremony at the Lincoln Tomb.  During the ceremony, I mingle with the crowd.  A lady next to me changed her instinctive military salute to a hand over heart.  I noticed she's a veteran.  I said "me too but not like this".  :)

About the second week of Oct,  Suttons will start on my sun room.  The construction should take about 3 weeks.  They have been surveying the site.

Thursday I helped with beer sales at the state fair on opening evening.  I usually volunteer at the booth in Ethnic Village portion of the fair because there's no loud bands like there is in the other beer tents.  There are 2 beer huts there and of course I went to the wrong one at first.  We are supposed to pour the beer into cups but the cups were not available for the first 1/2 hour so we served in bottles and cans to the thirsty crowd in the hot weather.  There were even joggers thirsty from an opening day marathon. 

Friday morning Alan dropped his dog, Hank, off at my house to sit while he caught a plane to California to visit a marine buddy.  I took a walk to see if I could handle a bigger dog on a leash with my Son walking Sophie in tow.  That went OK.  I went to the last of our Friday afternoon Soldiers Aid Society presentations at the Old State Capitol.  While there, Alan texted that his flight was cancelled and they couldn't get him out until Sunday.  Heck he was planning on returning Monday so that was called off and he picked up his dog on Saturday.  I tied Sophie to the front as usual because she likes to watch Travis. Hank got out but his recall was excellent. Better than Sophie. I left the back yard door open to him.  He likes to stare down rabbits. Oh, and Hank likes butter on the counter too. He is in need of the "leave it" command.  
http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/leave-it.html

Sean worked the new Brew Garden Friday night and there was a record rainfall.  This is just terrible. It was nice to cool off from the high heat index but I sure didn't pray for this. 
It's just insane.  Sean was working the new Brew Garden and that location didn't get the word that the it closed.  He walked home from the fair with a trash bag over his head.
 Photos of the flood at the state fair on the newspaper SJ-R:
https://storify.com/SJRbreaking/flooding-in-springfield-aug-12-2016 
Now I watch videos of the flooding in Louisiana and I am in total shock.

Here is the display I made for the Catholic War Veterans. I'm really proud of it and the creativity I came up with. The lace doily on the bottom is for our flyers.  It's a self standing plant trellis which I made a slip cover.  I have a lace table cloth and a battery candle.
Here is our post commander, Pat Noel, and our adjutant, Joan Garvert.

 Although I like the photo above, here's one with me in it too.

Sunday morning was a rush.  I drove to the fairgrounds to put up our table for veterans day at the fair about 7AM.  Then I came to 8AM Mass and was the first reader. 
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_08_14.mp3
Then back to the fair.
Sunday was pretty well attended at the fair.  I had Jamaican jerk chicken from Ethnic Village.  It was spicier than the last vendor.  I figure that would be better than the free meal offered for veterans.  I got to see the newborn pigs.  I had my cup of honey ice cream.  The veterans parade was at 5pm that I've participated in the past was short...like 5 min in length. Then I came home exhausted.
I was curious about the flooded area from Friday and the water was receded but the camping trailers still in place.  The weather was nice with enough cloud cover to keep the sun away but thin enough for a great trip to the fair.  By the end of the day though, my cell phone gave me a flash flood warning for Monday.  Monday is senior day at the fair but I passed.

Sophie on a Therapy Dog visit. (shared by their facebook site and obviously I didn't take it if I'm in the photo just to cover HIPPA authorization on their side)

 I had written a report for the Illinois State AMVETS commander as his Women's Veterans Affairs Chairman.  However, the book report for the upcoming School of Instruction was cancelled.   A little disappointing since I wrote a good report and had other She-Vets proof it.

My Week

The heat wave continues but now I see Surprise Lilies popping up in many yards including my own.  Oh and the milkweed is coming back that I tried to remove.  Oh but my friends on facebook think it's wonderful for the butterflies but I see a weed that is toxic.

There is talk about changes to our senior exercise schedule.  Our Tuesday morning core TRX session will be on Thursday after senior yoga.

Thursday I took Sophie on a double visit day:  morning to St John's Hospital and in the afternoon to Reflections.  I liked being in the air conditioned building but some of the residents said they were cold.  They were.  I held a couple hands and even felt a cold nose.  Of course, one of the couches was under a vent too.  Between these two visits I checked my email to see  our TDI newsletter that was really motivating.
http://tdi-dog.org/images/Fall_2016.pdf

The cell phone cover for my iPhone arrived.  It will be better concealed for reenacting.

Friday morning was exciting for my trap.  We had a light rain so this was a muddy trap clean up.  It took longer than the squirrel.

My neighbor later told me it was illegal to transport wildlife nor dispose this way.  Heck around to work and enforce it I figure.

I went to the Old State Capitol to help with tours and our Soldiers Aid Society's portion of History Comes Alive.  We did our little still tableau

  vivant about letters home.  I was the mother who received the letter with the bad news.  Aug 12th ends our Friday afternoon display.
In the evening I went to Lincoln's New Salem State Park to see "Cats" at the the Theater in the Park.

Here's the news article with better photos than mine.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20160729/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/160729496/0/rwd

Saturday morning was so nice that my walk with Sophie turned into a long walk ... over an hour...along the bicycle path.  I cleaned my interior of my car.  I do need to get a repair on the seat that won't fold down and it would look better if I cleaned it up before making an appointment.  It seems like the cable is detached.
I also trimmed the trees growing from my neighbor's fence that was part of her vegetable garden.  Those trees were making my mowing difficult and I would have to duck to avoid them.  I gained a cucumber in the process.
Afterward I helped with our Land of Lincoln Honor Flight Hog Roast Fund raiser from 12-7pm.  You could say I was exhausted.  I wished more would have come to that.  We did raise about $4,000.  We have leftovers.

Picture of me with the 5th grade Vacation Bible School was in our Sunday bulletin (pg 3):
https://content.parishesonline.com/bulletins/01/0164/20160807B.pdf

Looks like I have the first reading next Sunday too.  Here's an upcoming audio:
 http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_08_14.mp3
It was nice so I rode the little Yamaha to church and I was a Eucaristic Minister. 
Sunday I rode my motorcycle to the dedication of the Purple Heart memorial.
http://www.sj-r.com/videos/11B35510-C2EB-4925-81EB-E19A93FBF704/Purple-Heart-memorial-dedicated
Here's a bit of TV news media:
http://www.wandtv.com/clip/12647680/purple-heart-recipients-honored-in-springfield

and newspaper with VFW 755 posting colors (I sat under the blue awning)

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20160807/purple-heart-memorial-dedicated-at-oak-ridge

I went to the VFW post for pizza afterwards and helped unload a few chairs that were loaned for the ceremony.

Monday morning I was the new mat flooring promised in our exercise room at Powerworks.  The exercise schedule is due to change in September and I wonder if I'll be working with the Silver Sneakers 5 days a week because Wed and Thur will be double classes.  Sophie and I had a double TDI visit day at Regency Care and St John's Hospital with lunch in between.  Afterward I stopped by Petsmart for more dog food.  Then I took her to Lowes for some hardware.  She laid down on the cool floor while I made a selection then followed with her leash dragging to the cash register where she was a hit and some one too a picture.

Folks in our town are pleased to see Ryan Held represent Springfield, he and his teammates are bringing home the gold for the United States!

My son, Alan, made the Peoria news.  My son's name is mentioned in this humble article.
http://www.pjstar.com/news/20160807/one-stop-shop-lets-military-families-stock-up-on-school-supplies

With the upcoming remake of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in October on Fox, and the upcoming show at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, I updated my website.
http://webspace.webring.com/people/ec/congal/index.html
I think I found a hand off of being the MC for this event.  Now to update the PowerPoint slides that accompany the film.

My Week

I'd like to than Quinten Kovaleski for fulfilling photo request for tomb stones for findagrave.com

 

http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11568118

http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=147902699

Here I am in my new 1830s dress at the Elijah Iles House.  The dress on the right is an original found here:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8233211788557890/
    
Here's the original owner and creator, Janet.:

Wednesday I did some research for my upcoming report on Women Veterans for my report to the State AMVETS commander. Afterward,  I had my appointment on my hearing aid tune up. The lady that usually sees me was on maternity leave. My appointment had been rescheduled.  Her replacement gave me a new program.  I was told that I got my hearing aid batteries from a different source, Hearing Aid Benefits but was confused because I picked them all up at Audibel.  I thought I'd get more batteries at this appointment.  I was given a phone number to reorder.  I have only 2 batteries left (about 5 days) and I hope they last.  I didn't like this new program he gave me so I went back on Friday after a deafening tour day at the Old State Capitol. I saw someone else and I wanted my old program back.  This representative said that he didn't care for that program either and it was known as the sprinkler.  Sprinkler because the mode button goes from one to five with 3 normal.  Trouble is, I needed it to go higher and to do that I had to go down to 1 to get to 5.  So now my right side hearing aid increases and my left hearing aid decreases the volume.

Thursday I went to our vacation Bible school to receive letters for my soldier(s) in appreciation for their service.  I spoke to the kids about Soldiers Angels and I'm holding letters that they wrote for me to send. I showed them a sample box and they were putting together a box for a family member of one of the students. I voiced my approval!

I've updated my Rocky Horror website because I was notified of an upcoming event at SIUE.
http://webspace.webring.com/people/ec/congal/index.html
I think I found my exit strategy because they are incorporating the theater group.

So I was about to change into my work tennis shoes kept on the back porch and when I put my foot in the shoe, it felt soft. I dumped it out and saw this guy. I think the hierarchy of old work shoes has just bumped a new pair into its slot.

Saturday I went to a charity breakfast at Applebees hosted by the Christian Motorcycle Association.  Then I went to help Sean pick up a new vanity at Lowes.  I'm proud of him installing this himself but he said he did go back for additional parts.  He's learning the joys of home ownership well.  Most of the new sinks have a slight table like bottom with short legs exposing flooring.  Replacements will need to have a bit of flooring under them.  He said it was dirty and found a quarter.

Sunday I was the first reader at Mass.  Here's the MP3 version:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/16_07_31.mp3
The second reader, Anita, usually sits with her husband on the left side of church.  I sit on the right.  We swapped sides to mess with the congregation and both of us went up to do the readings at our respective times.  Father didn't flinch but I'm sure he knew what we did.

In the afternoon I went to Athens, IL for the Downed Rider Benefit sponsored by ABATE.  My silly door prize with our chapter president, George Hurst.

 I could have chosen the green glass but was afraid of the color change affect on the drinks.

Neighbors found a break in the weather for work outside.  One is fixing our adjoining fence, one replaced a termite infested mail box post, another is doing siding on the garage.  Well I did a little weeding in the garden.  It was just enough to see the ground.  I found my hand shovel under all that from last time I tried to weed. Now, off to an American Legion meeting.

My Week

It's been hot. I'm reminded of my childhood days when we had family meals in the basement and watched TV down there too. We bathed in the wash sink.   I think we slept down there too.
 5 Ways Homes Kept Cool Before Air-Conditioning

Tuesday morning I had my annual check up at the doctor.  My BMI is spot on where the standard is.  I needed a tetanus shot which left me sore.  That afternoon I went on a therapy dog visit.  I was told that my photo was on facebook when I my practiced in June Distant Memories with those whom I share my Sophie, TDIA.

 Laura and I were the only in period dress.  The rest of the ladies were in modern clothes assiting visitors with the drawing for the flag after it is lowered. Larry and Connie, dance callers,  were there with the 33d band. He saw my trying to do a Gay Gordon and jumped in to help me do it. So I danced on Lincoln's Grave.  The guests seemed to enjoy the added feature since the 33rd IL Band was playing as guests that evening.  The skies were threatening but the down pour held till the end of the ceremony and made for a hazardous drive home. My flag on my house was down in the driveway when I got home.  So I put it  in the bathtub.  My dress was damp and I put it in the dryer. 

That evening I performed Distant Memories at the Lincoln Tomb under threatening skies. I wore a semi sheer yellow dress instead because of the heat but that didn't matter.  

That evening was a sleepless night.  I got up at 2 AM just worrying about a lot of things.  Mostly not finishing the papers before recycle day and my iPhone not yet being activated and thinking it may have been a dud since it was not news.  I know I missed calls between Friday and Tuesday but first thing in the morning I made the call to "Straight Talk" and now active.

Chatham has been having issues with water.

Friday I helped with our Soldiers Aid Society display at the Old State Capitol.

Saturday I went to 

The Dedication

of the

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Stephenson Library

Saturday, July 23, 2016

at 3 in the afternoon

The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War

503 South Walnut Street

(corner of Walnut & Governor)

Springfield, Illinois

The news media was there:
http://newschannel20.com/news/local/grand-army-of-the-republic-celebrates-150th-anniversary

Here's a better view clipped from the video:

In the evening I went to a play at Edwards Place called "The Visitation of Mary".  It was nicely done and revolved around the family dynamics at Mary Lincoln's funeral.

Sunday I made Shepard's Pie.  It was too hot to do much of anything.

Monday I took Sophie to Regency and then for the first time to St John's Hospital.  I asked the activity representative if it went successfully and she said yes.  The man that reached out to Sophie didn't do that to other dogs that visited.  Although he didn't want her on his lap, I had to hold her so he could pet her.  Well, my arms and back get tired after a prolonged position like that and I often squat.  But, to see how she brightens up their day makes it all worthwhile.  Between the visits, I went to help our Lincoln Monument Association Director on her computer.  She gave me a salad which really helped hold me over between dog visits because I could take Sophie to her house too.


Ok, so I was curious how close this would be to my pekinese, Sophie.

My Week

Well the week is hot and humid.

Wednesday night I had a meeting with the AMVETS.  Dale wasn't award that he was selected as our post AMVET of the year because he didn't read the state paper. 

 I didn't sleep too well worrying about the following day: 8AM -3PM with Kids in the warm weather (90 degrees).    I led them from the African American Museum to the Lincoln Tomb where we gave them a tour.  Then they had games, exercise, lunch and then the kids were to make monuments for a loved one.  The kids did a great job. There's just so much you can take with screaming kids.  I came home and walked the dog and showered.  Then at 5PM, I went to the Lincoln monument Association (LMA) meeting. I told them I'd never seen their news letter from LMA because I'm on the board but not a member. They looked shocked.   I updated the address on the LMA facebook page from a Chatham address to . Facebook wants the not-for-profit proof
At 7PM I went to Catholic War Veterans meeting.  That sure was a long day.
I need a break.  

I got this pin on ebay for a Clara Barton impression.

 There it is on my chemisette (the blouse is a tie around the waist with false shoulders).  I still need to hem the skirt.  I had to remove some boning from the jacket that were jabbing me in the underarm because I'm petite in the waist.  I also removed cuff lace because it didn't look period. 

Friday was spent getting a new phone.  I went to Green Mobile and got an iPhone 5c and advised to get Straight Talk from Walmart.  I was told it would take an hour to get my phone number transferred from my Tracfone to the iPhone but after 7 hours I got on chat with Straight Talk and learned I got a bad sim card based on the scratch off number.  They sent me a new one that arrived on Monday afternoon and I'll be off voice for a few days.  I can make outgoing calls via gmail contacts but not take calls in.  Those calls show me as unlisted.  

Friday evening I went to the Mary Lincoln Coterie.   There were 7 Mary portrayers there.  They talked about their portrayal and some got so emotional about her and defended her reputation about her insanity.  What else was interesting was the difference in how they viewed Elizabeth Keckley (although letters by Mary have spelled her name ly).  Locally, Mrs Kekley has been viewed as her confidant, like talking to her hair dresser today or a chamber maid on Downton Abby.  But some of the other portrayers told a different view. She was a black business woman...an employee who is not to share gossip of her employer.  In fact Mrs Kekley's letters lost her business as a confidant and she died penniless.
Saturday I went to Peoria to dance at the Peoria Riverfront Museum with the Metamora dancers.

We are learning a new Cinderella Dance from the Regency era.

Afterward, some of us ate a Rhythm Kitchen across the street.  I had a Tandoori salad.

Sunday was very muggy so I pretty much went to church and grocery.  I asked the clerk to hurry because we could hear thunder.  She smiled. I made lunch for my son and myself.  Cole slaw was awesome.  I added fresh cilantro from my planter.

Monday I took Sophie to the groomers.  It sure feels different in the house without Sophie. She's at Bubbles of Fun.  The humidity is so high that my glasses fog up when I go out.  I'm trying to pull weeds from the tomato plants in this.  Her groomer commented on how nice she rolled over for her drying and brushing on her underside.  Ha...I give her partial grooming before every visit and she's used to it.  I did a little weeding in the garden which was badly needed and then it got hot.

In the evening I went to help with the American Legion Color Guard but when I saw there were more than enough people there, I released myself to attend the VFW meeting at the same time.  Ron came to the meeting at my request to speak about Wreaths Across America.

I almost forgot my annual medical check up because my phone calendar is down. I had a tetanus shot. My BMI is spot on standard.  I like some of these subjective questions they have for the nurse like have you been upset or depressed.  Heck yeah I've been angered by a few individuals and the news media but not medically. 

Tuesday morning I cut the grass which was growing from the rain we had earlier.  Oh and the milkweed that I pulled last week is coming back up.

My Week

Tuesday evening I was getting ready for the Lincoln Tomb and since I had my petticoat on I thought I'd try on my new "wrapper".  I loved it so much that I wore it rather than the dress I had planned.  Normally wrappers would be semi-casual but I figured that since I'm portraying a woman after the Lincoln Assassination that it would be alright.

Wednesday I had tummy problems so I skipped my exercise class but I made it to my zumba class.  I had lunch with my old co-worker and did a little shopping.  I found a pillow that might be better for Sophie's visits that is more tubular and help with laps that slope.

Thursday evening I went to The Admiral's Sea Stories by Admiral Ron Thunman at the Ilijah Iles House.  I recorded the presentation here:
https://youtu.be/T97b3rPfVVk

Friday I had a meeting at Lincoln's Tomb regarding our upcoming "Kids History Kamp" next week.  Afterward I helped at the Old State Capitol.  Then I had fish at the VFW.

Saturday I went to the Vietnam Ceremony at the DAV and changed there to go to Vandalia's Lincoln Festival.  Lincoln wasn't there.  Charlene took a picture of my water bottle.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005694438/resource/

I got home late.  On the way home I saw a fox along the road.  I then got up early for our Catholic War Veterans Memorial Mass at Christ the King Church.  I was permitted to speak on behalf of the CWV about our organization.  The Gospel was about the Good Samaritan.  Now we all know the story but what I didn't know is that he left Jerusalem, a city known as the city of peace,  on the road to Jericho, a not so peaceful place.   Usually I only pay attention to the priest and the Levite who passed by and did nothing to help the man but the Samaritan did go above and beyond to help the victim of robbers.  Samaritans, from the area sandwiched between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, were hated by Jews because they intermarried with non-Jews and did not strictly observe Mosaic law.  So knowing a little history can add impact to the story.

Then we had breakfast at the Knights of Columbus.  It was a benefit for the YMCA.
Sunday at 1:30 I went to Sheedy Shores winery with some of the members or our Powerworks Senior group.

Monday morning I took Sophie on a TDI to Regency.  There was a lady there visiting her mother and her daughter wanted to make sure her mother got a chance to have Sophie on her lap so she hunted me down within the building.  I made arrangements for Sophie's first visit to St John's hospital on July 25th.

I need to upgrade my Sloooooow tracfone.  It's not working well with hearing aids either.  I stopped by Best Buy for advice after the TDI visit since it was on the way.  I was challenged bringing Sophie in but flashed my badge. The salesman steered me toward Samsung Verizon, another pay as U go phone despite mentioning an expensive iPhone.  I guess he figured that since I had a tracfone I couldn't afford as much.  Like gee this lady came from a go phone to iPhone, might not have the funds?  I'm not looking forward to paying a lot more but what I have is pretty useless and I miss calls because of it's slow reaction.

I picked some tomatoes from my garden.  They are small considering they are the Big Boy variety but that hot dry spell caused them to burst early before plumping up.  I should weed but I get so bitten up by insects.  They think I'm delicious.

My Week

Tuesday, Sophie and I had our 100th TDI visit.  I turn in my sheets at our 150th visit to TDI.
I finished a bow on my bonnet in the morning to wear that evening at the Lincoln Tomb retreat ceremony.  I like this bow is better than the violet one that I had originally put on and replaced.  I still want to tweak it because it is off center and it has a utility tie but the bow has a permanent hook.  It's the first time I wore this yellow, fan-front, 1850s dress.

Wednesday morning I finished all the water tht was left in my rain barrel.   Now for the hose.  I filled my little kiddie pool on Thursday and took a little dip on Friday.

Thursday I cut down a milkweed that I didn't know what it was until I posted this photo on facebook and all my reenactor friends told me what it was.  They wanted me to keep it for the sake of the butterflies.  I looked it up and it says it's highly toxic for pets.  I understand that's what killed Abraham Lincoln's mother.

There were 3 of these stalks and the info said they get 3' tall.  Mine were like 7'. Well I guess I pissed off my reenactor friends on facebook by cutting them down.  I didn't say that on facebook but left it as is.  They like nature you see.
In the afternoon I went to my regular Tues and Thursday afternoon Therapy Dog visit. I'm looking for a U shaped baby pillow for those sloping laps.  My pillow helps but Sophie still rolls downhill.  I clipped this from their facebook page.  I'm trying to make a ridge in the pillow.

Friday morning I rode my motorcycle to exercise class so I could ride in an Independence Day parade for Hope School with ABATE afterward.

 I dog sat for Hank while my sons went to a Cardinals game.  Hank stayed with me and mid-way through the evening I went to Sean's house to let Moe out.  I took Sophie with me and she was snappy in his back yard.  Here they are with a fellow Veterans Center employee, David.

Cardinals won and broke a loosing streak.

Alan brought me a Eureka vacuum cleaner since my Dyson needed a part replacement that wasn't worth it.  Alan said he already had 3 vacuums anyway.  I didn't get too much sleep sitting for Hank.  He jumps on the bed.  Alan told me he came around midnight and slept behind closed doors with Hank from midnight to 5AM.  That's when I got up....5:30.  Guess who needs a nap?

Saturday evening I went to the Iles House to help prep the strawberries for the Clara Irwin Strawberry Party. I learned a unique way to core the strawberries with a straw.

I ordered Alan's birthday present since he dropped a direct hint that he needed floor mats for his Wolfburg Passat.  At least I won't be planning last minute what to get him come his birthday in a few months.

Sunday mornings rain brought a challenge to walking the dog.  Oh, don't misunderstand, we needed the rain because the ground was dry and cracked.  It was even difficult to put the metal stick reflective flags in the ground for Independence day.
I went back to my own church after a hiatus to Church of the Little Flower.  The priest at Little Flower came to my parish and when he saw me he said "welcome home".  There was coffee and donuts reception to welcome the new priest, Fr John, who had been our pastor before.

The Forth of July I spent with a memorial Mass with the Catholic War Veterans at 10AM, then a reading of the Declaration of Independence in the Chatham Square, then I helped serve strawberry shortcake at the Iles House Clara Irwin's Strawberry Party then fireworks at the Graham's front drive with ideal view.  There's a video of the program here and you can see me in the audience about 3:50 into the video:
https://www.facebook.com/paula.staabpolk/videos/1203972959621252/

You can follow the reading on this link:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html