Catching Up

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 27 years since Smitty's retirement. They have been wonderful action packed years and we are trying to keep it that way. It is interesting that many of our activities are now involving "old" folks. Doris, our almost 98 year old next door neighbor sort of attached herself to us years ago when the grandchildren were little and came often. As she got older, she depended more and more on us so we have become the caregivers. She was able to manage next door by herself until last June. I had a total knee replacement and while I was in the hospital Doris fell and had to be hospitalized. Poor Smitty had two women to look after! She went to a nursing home and then to a new assisted living facility here in Lindale. She has a 3 room apartment with a screened porch and is very happy. Since she prefers men and especially my man, we have compromised by me continuing my volunteer work and Doris is Smitty's volunteer work. He visits her every day and sees to all of her needs.

On Wednesday afternoons, we sponsor a hot bingo game. There are 19 residents and we try to make sure that each one gets a bingo. (so far they don't seem to notice) Smitty is such a kidder and has a nick name for everyone. It gets pretty loud and funny because there is one sweet lady that can't hardly hear a thing. Getting prizes is also a bit of a challenge but our friends are helping out and we have some very nice ones. We call it our "Bingo Boutique" and encourage them to use the prizes for gifts. We love these dear folks and several have said that Wednesday is there favorite day.

I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen.  One of the fellows has dubbed me "The Queen of Cuisine".  I have designed and help build 3 commercial kitchens. Smitty finally decided I could do one for myself and ours is a beauty. He even let me have stainless steel work surfaces as well as the granite counters. We have had cooking classes here and do a lot of prep work for functions at the church or the clinic. I was the founding president of the Women's Alliance of the Bethesda Health Clinic. ( I am now the kitchen coordinator) We have about 250 medical personal who donate their time to treat the working uninsured. We take no government aid and function on donations and grants. It is a beautiful clinic and some have said one of the nicest in the country - there are very few. One of our popular outreaches is to entertain church groups etc. for a delicious lunch and then give them a private tour. Our ladies have donated lovely dishes, linens and silver and a group of us have fun decorating, preparing and serving. I am also asked by the church to do about 2 dinners a year when we serve about 200. Cooking is my passion and I love to entertain.

We live in a gated community of about 1500 homes with 3 lakes and 27 holes of golf. We bought our house in 1985 and have added on 3 times to accommodate all of the kids and their friends. But we no longer need 5 bedrooms, an office and all of this living area. Two years ago we put it on the market and then Doris fell so we have moved downstairs (we have a master suite up & down) and Smitty doesn't want to budge. It is a lot of work but it is on the lake and we have a ski boat that we enjoy taking our guests out on for a cruise.

Last year for my 80th birthday, the girls took me on a mystery trip. It turned out to be to Joy and Dan's new vacation home in Desert Mountain, Arizona. What a treat. All of the girls were there plus my sister, Julie and Tom, her son. We spent Thanksgiving with the family there and recently came back from a few days R & R with some friends. Dan's business is growing and they just bought The Calvary Baptist Church in downtown Ok. City. It is a landmark where Martin L. King preached when he was in town. They have great ideas for retaining the beauty while turning it into offices. Sandy is "Girl Friday" for a Dallas entrepreneur and does everything from lining up a helicopter to doing his books. David is a rep for a Boston Medical lab. Danielle is working toward her doctorate in psychology at the University of Kansas. Suzie is very busy decorating models in several states and giving speeches. She has websites under Lifestylist.com. Her Trish has 2 beautiful children and Tim just had little Matthew.

Our church is a community church right up the street. It is a very friendly conservative church with an attendance of 350 to 400 a Sunday. We sang in the choir until we started Bingo and now are too tired to practice Wed. night but we sing in a community choir of about 60. Our next "performance" is at 6:30 Easter morning for a community sunrise service sponsored by our church on a friend's nearby ranch. The church is really the heart of HideAway and we are quite involved. Sadly 2 weeks ago the sanctuary was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. They were able to save the Fellowship Hall so we will be meeting there until we rebuild. We have a wonderful new minister and after the initial shock, everyone is excited about the future. Last Sunday we met in the park and it was very inspirational. We have magnificent azaleas in all shades of pinks in front and by the back deck so I took a big bouquet and even the bees liked it. They asked me to take something this week so I am doing white azaleas and some special lavender curly iris and purple clematis.

I still steal a little time for my crafts. I just put away my beads. I have quite a collection of beads from Hawaii and all over and since beading was so in, I made necklaces for gifts and must have made over 100 bracelets. I made some on elastic for all of the ladies at the nursing home and the assisted living. Now I'm making greeting cards. Smitty is still busy doing all of the handy chores. He is amazing. But I have to watch him or he gets up on the roof to blow off all of the pine needles.

We are blessed with good health and are very thankful. Smitty still has the clot in his leg but after several years, the doctors say it is drying up and he takes his blood thinner so it hasn't slowed him down much. Now if we could just get new ears!