Working with His Boys...

When Hurricane Gustav blew into the area, the high winds blew over my bouganvilla. We had put up some supports to lift it off of the ground, but they really needed to be replaced with something more sturdy. Don and the boys got busy tonight getting it put back where it used to be! Now, let's hope that it doesn't get cold enough this winter to freeze the poor plant.
Don was supposed to be the supervisor...that didn't last long. He gets me so worried doing these projects that I just have to walk away. I guess if he didn't feel up to it he wouldn't be doing it.
I love Drew's face in this picture. He provided some heavy duty muscle to the operation and was given the job of lifting the bouganvilla so Don and Douglas could slide the board underneath it for support. Anyone that is familiar with bouganvillas know that they have HUGE thorns. Drew was being very careful not to move too quickly as he knew he could be impaled by this plant at any moment.
As the sun set, the beautiful sky framed our big palm tree.

By the time they were finished, it was too dark to get a picture of the fully supported bouganvilla so I'll post an updated picture tomorrow.

Fall Has Arrived...

Fall has finally arrived in our backyard, just in time for Christmas. As you can see, the leaves have made a mess, but Hooch enjoys standing guard waiting for each leaf to drop!! Maybe we can teach him to rake!!

Well, it's Mardi Gras Time....

Don's niece Tracy e-mailed Don and said her youngest daughter, Megan, was doing a project for school and asked that we send a postcard depicting Louisiana and tell the class something about the state. I told Don we should send the class some Mardi Gras beads because when you are little, there is nothing better than brightly colored beads! Beads were not enough for him, so today we were off to Accent Annex to purchase some goodies. Each of them will get a baggie with beads, a cup, a squeaky alligator and a bright red crawfish. The teacher will get the same with the addition of a jester magnet. He loves Accent Annex which is why I had to leave him at home when I did the shopping when we rode the float. There is nothing that he can resist when we are in that store. We came home, made the baggies, and boxed it all up to be shipped to California first thing Monday morning.

He Never Wore His Hair Like This!

For the last few days I have been under the weather and spending a lot of time in bed resting. I got a little bored and saw this silly website where you could superimpose someone's face on to old yearbook pictures. So...I decided to try it and made this picture of Don to give him a laugh. When I showed it to Don he said, "Who is that"? I told him it was him and he said, "That's not me, I NEVER wore my hair like that"!!! I tell you, sometimes he just cracks me up.

And the Number Is...

Today we went to see Dr. Regenstein for Don's monthly checkup. His blood test showed his cancer count has had another significant decrease. If you remember, when he was diagnosed in June, his count was 55,000 and in September, after three months of chemotherapy, it had gone down to 3,600. Today his count was 600. I asked if it were possible for the count to get to zero and Dr. Regenstein said it would not get that low. He explained to us this chemotheraphy will not cure Don's cancer but can keep it from growing for a while. Don and I feel very fortunate that he is doing so well. I did tell Dr. Regenstein about the shakes that Don takes and he said he was a firm believer in supplemental nutrition and to keep doing exactly what we are doing.

Christmas is Coming...

The air has a definite chill to it and Christmas lights are starting to show up everywhere. We finally got some decorations on the tree, but I would like to add something with a little sparkle to complete it. I also need to decide on a new tree top. For the last several years we have had an angel on top of the tree and the kids admitted to me this year that they have ALWAYS hated that angel! So, I'll be on the lookout for something that will make everyone happy.

Don is feeling well and goes to the doctor tomorrow. We should get the results of his blood work and are praying that they are the same or better than the results we received in September.

A Day Late...

There was a baby shower this weekend for the daughter of a friend of mine from work. Susan (another friend from work) called before Thanksgiving and said she was going to be in Pensacola through Saturday but would be home in time to go to the shower on Sunday. We made plans to go together. Sunday rolled around, I got up and got dressed as Don scurried around with excitement, anticipating the fact that he would be alone while I was out. (He uses the time when I am gone to do things that drive me crazy like going in the attic and moving stuff around, cleaning the garage, and eating things that he has no business eating!!) Anyway, I called our friend Mary to get exact directions to the shower and found out the shower was SATURDAY!! Don was so disappointed when he thought I would be staying home! Not to worry, Susan was already well on her way to my house so we used the opportunity for girls' day out. We had a nice lunch, went shopping at the newly reopened Macy's and then delivered our day late shower gifts. Susan and I both enjoyed our visit and Don is hoping we do it again soon.

Don said he watched football most of the day and did a lot of resting. At one point, he was watching the first quarter of a game-the next thing he knew, it was the end of the third quarter. So, obviously he had a nice nap!