Shakespeare, More Convention, Poetry, CPap, etc....

I will go ahead and get the really sad news out of the way. Katarina and Brandon lost their sweet 10 year old kitten named Shakespeare a few days ago.

He was such a pretty and sweet boy and will be sorely missed by the entire family. I also have a few more pictures from  mine and Marlan's trip to the District Convention with our kids.  I am still basking in the happiness of being able to be there every day. I only missed one hour of the entire program.

I had to share this one of Katie in her new dress. What a great color on her. She was one of the volunteers who sat beside a contribution box before and after the meetings as well as during the lunch period each day. 

The first one is of me holding Hiro Friday night and the second one is me holding our sweet Vincent before leaving for the convention on Saturday morning.  Vincent is over 15 years old now so he is getting pretty feeble.  It made me happy that he still "claims" my lap every time I come to visit. When I mentioned how Hiro claims my lap when I'm at their house but will not let me hold him when he comes to visit, Douglas reminded me that in our house, Miya is the "alpha" cat and I belong to her.  I guess that makes sense. 

Now I will share a few from the Poetry Reading Party Ivy Jo had this past weekend. I have been so disappointed to not be able to make it before so I was pretty happy when Marlan said she would pick me up and take me this year.  Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that it was a "Wine and Poetry" party.

I brought two special poems to be read. I asked Dawn to read my first poem which is the one Douglas wrote the day after Page was born. It is such a sweet and special poem from his heart and highlights all of our fears during those first very scary days.

Judy read my second poem which is the one my brother-in-law wrote about my Mom several days after she died. There is a copy of it on my blog and where I got the name of my blog from.  It is called "Belma's Pearls".  Judy asked me if she could read that one since she was with us that night and stayed with us until Mama had taken her last breath.

Sherry called this one "The Three Amigos" on Facebook. I have a series of pictures I snapped real quick one after another of Sherry that are hilarious. I will only share with her though because I love her.  Oh yeah - they are "that" funny.

I brought something else pretty special home from the Poetry Party besides memories of a good time .  This lovely, plush, purple blanket that Ivy Jo gave me. I LOVE it!  Guess who else loves it? Yep - Princess Miya Chula Yum-Yum. She crawls up in my lap to sleep on it every chance she gets. She looked pretty on the brown one I have been using but I will have to admit, purple really is the color that represents her "royalty" better.  Spoiled rotten cat.

Dwight asked me if I needed anything from the Farmer's Market this past Saturday morning so I told him to pick me up some Sunflowers like the ones Jessie brought me awhile back.  They are no where close to being as big as the ones she found but I think they are pretty anyway.  I'm just glad he put forth the effort to get them for me. 

I had to go back and spend the night at the Sleep Clinic last week to be fitted with my new CPAP mask and try sleeping in it.  Dwight took a picture of me in the mask before he left but it was too blurry to keep. He really didn't want to stay overnight again so I told him to go back home and just pick me up the next morning. I felt a little funny there alone to start with but after I finally went to sleep, I actually did very well.  Now I'm waiting for an appointment to go pick up my machine and to learn how to calibrate it.  I have no idea when that will be and am just hoping they didn't give me a date/time and I forgot to write it down.  Hmm, I think I will call them tomorrow and check on it.  

A Kayak plus God's Word is Truth Convention - Roanoke, VA

Marlan and I got on the road last Thursday afternoon for a nice and easy trip North to be with our children at their District Convention. I was  just excited that it was really happening. I have had a very rough couple of months with various issues including medications but now I was heading toward a lot of people I love dearly.

I have to share a picture of Dwight's new toy - he bought a Kayak! He has never been in one before but after seeing a guy in one on TV fishing, he just knew he would love it. Well - after taking it out one time, he said he is starting to wish he had tried one out first. I have to laugh because it was really so unlike him to do this. He plans to try it again and feels he will enjoy it more once he gets used to it. I so hope one of his friends will buy one and accompany him.  My dear hubby - a "trend setter".   I truly enjoyed our trip and being able to attend all three days of the convention. We were late Saturday so I am hoping I'll be able to go to the one in Raleigh just for that part and maybe Dwight will come pick me up. Now to the convention.I love this picture of Briana, Marlan and Katie at the convention.  I can't even begin to explain how much this past weekend meant to me. I appreciate everyone who played a role in getting me there and helping me while I was there. I will just post some pictures now....

 



  I like the picture of Douglas with Jessie's Aunt Sylvia who was visiting. Jessie made a point of turning my chair around so that  people could come over to visit me during the lunch break. I was so happy to see a lot of old friends I haven't seen in a long time. I will never be able to thank Wally and Mark enough for making this possible.

This picture gives you an idea of how close I was to the stage. The drama was wonderful - as it always is. I knew several of the speakers so that made it even more special.  Marlan and I got on the road Monday afternoon and had a nice trip back home.  Of course, as soon as we finished unpacking the car, I realized I had left ALL of my hang-up clothes on the back of Page's bedroom door. Hello? Jessie took them over to Briana's this week and she was supposed to bring them down today. I just sent her a text message asking her about it but have a feeling she is asleep.  We are going to a poetry reading tomorrow afternoon and I'm really looking forward to it. Now I'm just hoping I will feel up to it. I made it to our meeting last night and hope to make it again on Sunday. I have got to get a good routine back . 

I had to share this picture Jessie took of the creek in front of her house. You could almost go swimming in that thing. It has been raining constantly here too so we know how she has been feeling.

There was another wreck that ended up plowing through Tony and Jen's front and side yard. This is what her Explorer looked like after the car tore through their place. The good news is this one didn't die like the last one that did the same thing did. He climbed out of what was left of his car and tried to hide but the police took custody of him. And yes, he was drinking and driving. Zandra called to let us know she isn't coming up Sunday as originally planned. She will more than likely be coming up the end of September at which time she is hoping to feel much better.



Weekend with family

It was so nice having my family here this past weekend. I was so sorry our Pittsburgh family couldn't make it but we have made new plans for getting together next month so it all worked out in the end. Thankfully, Tad is feeling much better and eating well now. Not sure what he would do without our dear, sweet Lori to take care of him. I know he appreciates her.

Kelly, Douglas and Jessie went to the Farmer's Market early Saturday morning and brought back all kinds of goodies. Kelly bought a ton of these cute ties. She was practicing how to tie them and plans to use them in her hair too. I think she gave Douglas a few of them -- I think. I will mention in my next post for people to look down and see the rest of the pictures I'm getting ready to add from our weekend together. Kelly arrived Thursday night and she and Dwight had her favorite Chinese food.

I like this one of Kelly and Matt. He always tries to get by when the kids are here. I'm so excited for him as he will be leaving for the International Convention in China soon.

Jessie worked on putting Page's hair in this little bun holder. It looked pretty good but her hair is so long it was a little difficult getting it all around it.

Jessie bought me these gorgeous sunflowers from the Farmer's Market. I do so love these happy flowers.

I had to share this picture of Randi's little baby boy so my kids can see it. I know the entire family are all enjoying having this little bundle with them.

Lots of up and down emotions and concerns...

I got Dwight to drive us over to Amy's yesterday so that she could wash Page's hair for me. She has a shop in her home and is able to get all the soap out of her hair better than I can. After she washed it, she put a little Wen in it and let it set for a few minutes. After she rinsed and dried it, I couldn't believe the pretty highlights in her hair. Then Page asked Amy if could braid it. It took all four of both of our hands and 4-6 strands of hair to get the single braid started. Once we got it down to three strands, Amy could finish it herself.

Notice the pretty highlights in her hair.  I love how long it is now.  Page was very happy that Jen brought her two kids over Thursday evening after they got out of camp. She had been hoping she would get to be with Boy while she was here. Jen hated he was in camp all this past week but she didn't remember that Page was going to be here because she could have brought him last week. I could have sworn I had told her awhile back but either way, they had a good time. I had mentioned to her that Whole Foods had a few bamboo and she brought me three nice pieces (the only ones they had) so I finally got some new bamboo in my large bowl.  I had finally cleaned all the stones and the bowls this past week.  It took quite a bit of bleach but it looks pretty good.

I really love bamboo and hope to find some more soon for my other bowl.  It lasts forever and is so easy to take care of. Jen was happy that Kelly was in town and made arrangements to have her bring Page out to the farm tonight for more play time and dinner.
Our big disappointment and concern was that Tadashi was taken to the ER yesterday morning in an ambulance.  He is having issues with his diabetes due to not following the correct diet and basically just not caring anymore.  Lori has had her hands full with him not eating much for this past year. He is down to 102 pounds (he is a small man anyway). After many text messages and phone calls back and forth, we all finally accepted they aren't going to make it down this weekend.  We are ALL so disappointed.  Lori told me they are definitely coming down next month so now I'm trying to work it out so that they can be at the beach with us the last weekend of the week we are going to be there for our annual vacation.  Our hope is they will be able to stay in the other side of the duplex we will be in - if not, there is a small hotel right down the street from us so hopefully it will work out. 
It was nice having Monica and Tom come over last night. She didn't realize the Kikuchi's weren't going to make it and was sad to hear about Tadashi. Monica was very upset with Dwight when she learned he wasn't cooking his famous BBQ chicken. We had already gotten some Chinese for Kelly and Dwight but she didn't want any of that.  We got her some Mexican from Las Palmas and every time she took a bite she would say, "boy, this chicken is delicious Dwight". I told her she was wasting her time if she was trying to "guilt-trip" him because that just isn't possible to do to him.  I am just happy Monica was able to be with us as long as she was since she has to work several long shifts this weekend. We told Tom to come back over for a longer visit today and we totally enjoyed having him. He has always thought a lot of both of our kids.  Even though Kelly had to work from home today, it didn't interfere with her being able to enjoy him being here too.  I know Kelly came for a visit the first week of April so that Page could be here during her Spring Break, but that was three months ago!  I'm not sure she will ever realize just how much I miss her and her brother and crave having them here as much as possible. I think my being so "cut off" from everything and everyone is taking it's toll on me lately. I seem to be getting my feelings hurt easier and on the flip side of that, getting angry about silly things for no reason.

Of course Miya was in control of the situation and continued to rule her domain in spite of the many people who were coming and going during the evening. I hope Page and Boy were able to play outside for a little bit since the bottom fell out with another summer rain not long after she went over there.  It didn't last long. Don't you love it when it rains and the sun is still shining? When I was a little girl they used to say that meant the Devil was beating one of his wives.  Go figure.  Douglas just called to say they were going to stop by the farm and pick Page and Kelly up so that Kelly can have some wine. Such a sweet brother.



I asked Patsy to take and send me a few pictures of her little piece of Paradise with her telephone today. She and Larry are going to be down there for several weeks.  They are trying to decide what to do about living there full time. That will be a big decision for them either way. 

I just have to share this picture of Jessi and Phil's sweet baby girl. I know it must be hard to live so far away from both of your families when starting your own family but thankfully, she shares everything over FB.  We are all enjoying meeting this sweet little girl. Look at that happy little face. They are having lots of company come to meet this precious one which I am sure is making them happy. 
I just had a long talk with  Zandra and am so excited! She is coming to stay with me for a week in two weeks!  She has been dealing with some health issues for awhile now and it is starting to take it's toll on her.  She needs a break so I'm happy she will be able to come be with us. 
I was just getting ready to end this blog entry when the phone ran. It was Tom! He and Monica wanted to make sure Douglas and Jessie had gotten here safely.  I told him Douglas was stopping to pick Kelly and Page up.  He thought that was so sweet and talked about what a good brother he is. What a sweet man my Monica is married to.  Makes me so happy for her. What a nice family I have.

miscellaneous = assorted, heterogeneous, kitchen-sink, mixed, patchwork, ragtag, varied

Those are only a few of the adjectives that define the word miscellaneous. Words are very interesting aren't they? My son has a great command of the written word and uses them eloquently -- at times. At other times....well, that's another story. Just kidding. I had promised Page I would try to work things out so that she could go swimming in the pool next door. I have felt bad because I haven't been able to do many things with Page on this visit. Yesterday, after my medical appointment, Deborah took me to the grocery store. It was my first time grocery shopping in almost two years and I totally enjoyed it. I had my list and bought all the things Page had asked for. Then, Katarina and Brandon brought their three babies over and we all walked next door for them to swim. Not even a few minutes after I sat down, three mosquitoes bit me all at the same time. Yep - that was it for me. I think Alton was disappointed I had to leave so quickly but to be honest, I have felt so bad this week. I really, really needed to be in my chair right away. I felt so bad that I had to leave so soon and really enjoyed seeing what little of their lovely home I got to see. Maybe I could visit with him and Patsy one day when she is home and I feel a little better. I would really like that. They didn't stay in the pool very long - about an hour maybe. When they all got home, I ordered two large pizzas and everyone was happy. I remember how hungry you get after you have been swimming.

The best part of the day was my being able to hold little Em. She is SO CUTE!!! And of course so very sweet. Katarina said she is a very good baby and I could tell. Page, Al and KK got along great and had a good time. Karen called later to let me know she would be over soon. She spent Monday night and last night with me since Dwight had gone fishing. I really enjoy having her come over to stay with me so that we can get caught up.  Things are really looking up for her after too long a period of time between jobs.  She likes her job and is moving forward with some exciting plans. Last night, Amy K. came with her and I got to visit with her for a little while.  She is such a sweet young woman.  She still seems to like where she lives now. 
I got up this morning early so that I could get a shower for my appointment with my brand new Primary Care Physician.  I made sure I had both mine and Dwight's medical records we had gotten from Dr. Manning before I left.  Page was not sleepy last night and from what she said, it was getting light outside when she finally fell asleep.  I felt really bad for her and let

her sleep as long as I could, bless her heart, but we had to get a move on.  Deborah picked her up a chicken biscuit on the way over and she ate it in the car.  I am sure she talked Deborah's ears off but I wasn't too worried about it since Deborah is a grandma too. I LOVE my new PCP.

Let me just say - I done good! I really, really like him. He is a very little man and very pleasant. He spoke very highly of Dr. Manning and expressed how much he hates what is going on with him closing his private practice.  Of course, that made me like him even more.  He doesn't look his age at all.  I also like the nurses I met - especially his nurse. He gave me a very thorough physical, sent me down the hall to get my lab work done and gave me the completed referral forms to get my mammogram and bone density tests.  They made a copy of both mine and Dwight's medical records we had gotten from Dr. Manning and he  looked at mine and was impressed with how thorough Dr. Manning's records are.  I left a message for Dr. Manning to call me and when he did, I told him how much I like my new doctor and he was very glad.  He goes to one of the other physicians with the same practice so he was happy when I got the appointment.  I really appreciate all that Deborah does for us and how she has been so helpful in taking me to my appointments and to buy groceries this week.  She has always been a good friend. 
Another piece of good news is Deborah Gail came and cleaned our nasty house today!!! Since my whole family will be here this weekend including Barbara's family, I was so relieved to have the house CLEAN! I wasn't sure she would since she has been working so hard on convention chores including making costumes for the drama.  She even had time to work on my new dress and had it with her.  She and Dwight went to the Convention in Winston Salem and said it was wonderful as always. I don't have to worry about her spoiling anything for me though - she would never do that.  I am so looking forward to going to the one in Roanoke. Am hoping it all works out that I'll be able to be there.  She told me that after the assembly and her going to Pioneer School in August, she plans to make sure I get back out in service again on a regular basis. I am so looking forward to that.

I wanted to share this picture I pulled from one of my favorite bloggers. It is a "hairy oak" in Mexico. I have never seen one of these and totally fell in love with it. I love trees anyway. While Page and I walked the driveway this evening, I noticed some gardenias on a bush in my neighbor's yard. I pulled one for me and Page and will let him know tomorrow. I LOVE the fragrance of this delightful flower.  It always make me think of Mama since it was one of her favorite flowers too.

You will have to admit, they are pretty - I just wish they lived longer.  

Another Perkinson Family Reunion.....

I am so happy I was able to make it to yet another family reunion. I mentioned to my sister that I wasn't feeling well and when two of them told me that if I didn't go, they weren't going, I knew I would have to push myself to make it. I can honestly say that I'm glad I did. Monica took tons of pictures but they are all very tiny - not sure what setting she was using on her camera. So I gave her my phone to take a few pictures and every one of them is a video! So - I'll put just a few pictures on here of our time in Wake Forest.

Page had a very good time with all her young cousins. Right before we left, I stepped outside to head toward the car and a lot of the little girls had climbed into the back of a station wagon because it kept raining on and off. They were having so much fun ....

it brought back so many of my own childhood memories of reunions from the past. Many of these little girls have never met each other before but in no time at all, they are all playing as if they grew up together. That is called "family".

This is a pretty good picture of Alan and Kay. I wish Marvin could have made it since it has been so long since I've seen them last.  I didn't think we would have a large crowd but it worked out for the best since it did rain several times.  Everyone was very comfortable and there was food left over as always.

Faye drove everyone crazy all day because she kept hiding he face every time someone tried to get a picture of her. Since we always try to get a "sisters" picture every year, we finally decided to take matters into our own hands. I have been tempted to send this picture in to our local newspaper...that might teach her a lesson. Just kidding. That isn't a very good picture of Aunt Eunice.

I enjoyed getting caught up with my cousin Charles and his wife Jane. They live in West Virginia so I was very happy they put forth the effort to come be with us.

Faye sat with us for awhile and Charles started talking about the mean tricks Faye used to play on him. Then he shared a personal story about red bugs from when he was a little boy and

he had me laughing so hard I couldn't stop. Notice how he keeps that straight face which made it worse.  Of course, Faye is laughing here too but you can't tell that because she is hiding her face!!!

We have always liked his sweet wife Jane shown here with Alice.  They met as teenagers and never skipped a beat.  He remembered the time I stayed with them and how his Daddy scared me by telling me how much he wanted me to be their little girl. He said, we were all serious though.  We really wanted you to come live with us.  Wasn't that sweet?

This is a much better picture of Aunt Eunice.  We really appreciate all the hard work Evelyn, her hubby Barry and her brother Rex do to get everything ready for this wonderful family gathering.

I wanted to share this sweet picture of Monica and John since it is so good of both of them. I think this was taken with my phone if I'm not mistaken but I'm not sure.  I don't have room to share all of the pictures she took but do want to put up a few more.

This is what I see when I know Dwight is "ready to go".  That means, he is ready to go right now! He said the food was delicious - as always - but now it was time for his nap.  He also wanted to look at some of the race.

This isn't a great picture of me but it is a really good one of the lake/pond we were beside and of Samantha. It stopped raining enough for us to get our stuff in the car and head out without getting wet.  We actually had a beautiful ride home.  Samantha said she had a lot of fun. 

Alice had left her car here so she could ride to the reunion with us.  When she found out we were leaving, Monica told her to stay longer and she would drop her off on her way home. I was happy to see Monica again.  She insisted on getting this picture of us together.  I guess you can tell how tired I am but I am still very happy that I pushed myself and went this year.  Mama would have been proud of me. 
Speaking of Mama, Alice came over on Saturday and said something to me that really shocked me. She said something about my eyes looking just like Mama's. I said what? She said yes, we all hate it when you look at us like you are mad at us because it looks just like Mama looking at us mad. I said, "Thank You! I am so flattered you would even think my eyes are like Mama's". Then at the reunion, Faye pretty much said the same thing and went so far as to say I "look like Mama". Then a cousin said how much I reminded them of Mama. I was blown away! So when Monica came over, I told her about what they had said and then she repeated what they had all said. When she put her pictures she had taken up on Facebook later so that I could share them with another cousin,

she pointed this picture out to me and said - "look at this picture and tell me you don't see Grandma in your face, expression and eyes".  I had to admit, it is one of her looks.  Oh my! I'll be honest - I didn't know how to feel at first.  I don't usually pay much attention to how I look - especially lately because I have looked SO BAD.   I do know Mama had a picture from when she was a little girl and it looked just like me so maybe they are right.  Maybe I do resemble Mama a little more than I thought.  If I do, thank you Mama.  I would LOVE to resemble you in so many ways.  I love you and miss you every single day.

Another visit to the ER and a new Superman!

It has been an interesting few days here in the little cluttered cottage. Of course, we have been thrilled to have Page with us this week.  I'm sad to say I haven't felt well at all since I started taking the new medication this week. I got very sick yesterday and ended up back in the ER. Poor Page got upset when she saw just how sick I was.  We both assured her that I was going to be okay and she calmed down. After that, she became the entertaining and social young woman she always is. Even though I still feel bad today, I let Marlan know I still wanted us to go see the new Superman movie as we had planned. Let me just say, the new Superman is a real "hottie". I have also felt bad because Page has  been wanting to go swimming next door real bad and it just hasn't worked out yet. The neighbors are out of town this weekend so hopefully Dwight will be able to take her over for a little  while next week. I read a note on Facebook that reminded me to get outside to see the Super Moon a little while ago. Page and I slipped some shoes on and slipped outside long enough to get a good view of it. It really is big and bright and it made me glad I ran across Toni's comment.

I love the shoes Kelly bought me at the same time she bought me the pretty dress I wore to the wedding last weekend. Aren't they cute? They feel good too. 

I snatched this picture from Jessie's Facebook page. She found all these little nubs of pencils when she cleaned out Page's book bag from this past school year. How in the world did she get them so short and then write with them?

I can only go so long without sharing a newer picture of Princess Miya Chula Yum-Yum. Yep, she is still gorgeous to me.  It has almost been like she knows how bad I have been feeling lately because she lays on me as much as I will let her these days. I'm going to try to get some sleep and am so hoping things will turn around a little tomorrow and I will start feeling a little better. Going to take two more Tylenol (second time today - still getting bad headache) and hopefully get some sleep. In the mean time....

A little whimsical picture of a pretty girl in a leaning tree.  Reminds me a little of a tree we are planning to have removed soon.  I did so used to love climbing trees when I was younger.  Hey, it wasn't THAT many years ago...... yeah - right!