kitties and brocolli cheese soup

Yesterday I baby sat these two cuties.

The big orange cat is Red Smith.

The little grey guy is Dodger Smalls.

He recently came to live permanantly at the David Cleland house.

He is a rescue kitty missing a notch out of his right ear.

For the day he was my shadow.

I love cats and miss having one around.

So, I have become seriously addicted to Panera broccoli cheese soup.

Since radiation ended it has been the only thing I want.

I eat it for two sometimes three meals a day.

I goes down smoothly and doesn't taste like ashes.

Trying to lessen the cost of this addiction,

I found a recipe for broccoli cheese soup.

Bubba said he would make it for me.

All good, fresh ingredients.

Here it is....

Looks delicious right?

I hated it.

Felt really, really bad about this.

As of this afternoon, 

Bubba is in negotiations with the manager at the Panera in Pooler,

 to buy it in bulk quanities.

Oh, when will I be able to eat normal food again?

These kitties were not happy that I was taking their picture.

Both were trying to bolt.

I was holding the little one with one hand

while taking this picture with the other.

happy memorial day

This is Jake from a few years ago!

Pure joy!

We are having a rainy Memorial Day weekend.

Seems as if the tropics have gone into action already.

That's okay.

Always thankful for the rain.

Our grass is lush

and there is nothing better than a rainy afternoon nap.

Update from Cathy.....

Nine weeks after radiation.

I saw my surgeon on Tuesday last.

He checked out everything in my throat, nose, ears, etc

 with a telescopic device inserted in my nose.

Yes.....this was and is cringe worthy

(every time I allow myself to think of it.)

He said everything looked good and normal.

Very thankful!

My taste is returning slowly, but most everything still seems nasty.

I still pretty much subsist on Panera broccoli-cheese soup and milk shakes.

My severely burned neck has healed completely. (outward)

My severely burned mouth not yet. (inward)

I have stopped losing weight.

An afternoon nap is a must.

Fatigue is my constant companion.

I enjoy being home, quiet.

So much of the time I don't feel like talking.

I know that I am getting better, but have a long way to go.

The trip to visit with Amanda and hers was therapeutic but...

It wore me out.

It was a start though...

A getting back to normal life,

(a little bit.)

Still thankful for the prayers.

(I know some of you are still praying.)

God is so good all of the time.

One learns a ton when down and out.

I am coping well because of His mercy and grace.

I am thankful for my people who have had so much patience with me...

who are committed to seeing me through to the end of this trial.

some things just make my heart go pitter patter

This is our grandson Harry....

the day before the last day of school.

He had to do a report on World War II.

These kids remember my Dad with much fondness.

They know he served in the Great War.

He was in Italy.

He was in the infantry.

He served with the ski troops in the Tenth Mountain Division.

Dad is kind of a legend in the eyes of his great grandsons.

Harry asked if he could borrow Papa's hat for his project.

The hat is the real thing.

An authentic piece of history.

Harry wore it proudly.

Here is a picture of my Dad wearing the same hat back in the early forties.

He is with my Mom right after they got married.

Be still my pitter pattering heart!

❤️

happy birthday bubba #74

Wanted to give a shout out to my husband Bubba on his 74th birthday.

We have been married for 48 of those years.

I think we have grown to look alike.

So thankful for this man.

He is everything to me.

Happy Birthday to you!

I love you!

Cathy

happy birthday jake #13

We just got back from south Florida.

Left last Wednesday to spend some time with Amanda and her family.

While we were there,

we celebrated some birthdays....

Bubba and Jake.

This was a big one for Jake.

He is now a teenager!!

Bubba's real birthday is not until tomorrow.

We had such a good time all together.

Jake was our first little tiny grand baby.

Just look at him now,

almost as tall as his Grammy.

Jake is finishing up sixth grade with good grades.

He still loves Spiderman the best.

His hobby is making stop-motion animation movies

of which we are very proud.

The technical details are amazing.

Of course,

Norman the cat is a big part of his life.

That's his brother Eli there in the picture.

They are best friends!

His granddaddy and I gave him a Fit Bit watch for his big day.

He was very surprised and happy.

A real nice watch for a new teenager.

Now he can see how many steps he covers in a day.

Here are the almost birthday twins!!

Happy Birthday Jake.

We love you so much!

We have watched you grow into such a wonderful young man.

We cannot wait to see how God will use you for His kingdom's work!

happy birthday #3 to walter

Yesterday Walter blew out birthday candles for the first time in his life.

This little boy, wearing his brand new helmet, was so excited.

Why are there only two candles you ask?

Well, I was distracted and missed the first shot.

In the meantime he removed a candles and licked the icing off.

We wouldn't let him reinsert the candle.

But really and truly, as my
daddy would say,

Walt is 3!

Walt likes Thomas the Train so that was the theme of his party.

His cake was delicious.

see, there really were three candles.

Walter got a new scooter,

his "Lightening McQueen" helmet,

and a whole box of new clothes.

The scooter lights up.

Walter was a little put off by the lights.

I think he is okay with them by now.

The name of this game was....

Pluck a Duck for Bucks.

Each duck had a number between one and five on its bottom.

No skill involved, only luck.

Lucy still won the top prize but All left with a hand full of cash.

Granddaddy's game has the potential for the most winnings.

The little antique bank is jammed full of all types of coins.

Everyone makes a guess.

There are two categories.

Each winner wins a prize.

Lucy and Erika walked away with ten dollars each.

When Walt opened his clothes box

he held up this shirt,

made a whoop,

and took off running around the house.

I think he liked!!

I love this three year old.

What a joy watching him make his transition

from China to America.

He loves his people, his life, his home, and his food.

Happy Birthday 

Walter Bookman Cleland!

You are a joy to behold!

this picture

So, when David and Amanda were little our family, it seemed,

was always on a road trip.

We felt that the song "On the Road Again" was written just for us.

Bubba's job saw us practically raising our kids in hotel rooms.

Our permanent house in Savannah was just a place to wash clothes

and get ready for our next trip.

We always had a big van.

We had many sixteen hour days driving and having a ball....

listening to the radio and singing along to our favorite songs.

I remember one night approaching Denver, Colorado.

It was really late, we had been driving since early morning, and it was freezing.

I would hold wet wash cloths out the window,

they would freeze,

and we would hold them to our faces to wake us up.

David and Amanda would be sprawled in the back fast asleep.

Because of this we got to see so many sights,

so much of our beautiful country.

On this trip, Daddy and Moma and Frankie and Teri were with.

We had a brown and beige passenger van.

Bubba had built a table to go in the back - back.

That way we could carry more stuff.

This table also doubled as a sleeping place.

With a pillow and a sleeping bag this was a coveted spot.

Of course we were never encumbered with seat belts.

On one of these trips Bubba decided to drive us to the top of Pikes Peak in the huge van.

Never considering the hair pin curves and thousand feet drop offs,

off we went.

When we finally made it to the top we were all shell-shocked.

It was freezing.

We were dressed for summer.

When we jumped out of the car we could not breathe because of the altitude.

We were in a highly agitated state of mind.

Teri and I grabbed the kids blankets,

Yes that is David's Heide-Han and he is hediing it.

Who knows why Moma is on the ground.

But hey....we put on the smile,

at least the grown ups did,

took a picture to prove we made it to the top,

and jumped back in the van to get back down to where there was enough air to breathe.

SO MUCH FUN!

So many great memories.

Laughter and good times abounded.

What a life we have had!!!

six weeks after

Hi friends....

I am and will continue to be eternally grateful for your prayers.

I saw my radiologist today.

He couldn't have been more pleased with my progress.

Even though my choices for eating are still very limited,

(soup and milkshakes)

my stamina is lacking,

(do a load of wash ~ sit, load the dishwasher ~ sit etc.)

my favorite thing to do is still reading,

I am getting there!

God's healing grace is on me.

His mercy and kindness sustains me.

His love comes to me through family and friends!!

Yesterday a plane crashed nearby.

A C-130 Hercules from Puerto Rico, one of Bubba's babies,

went down on Highway 21 in a most dramatic and fiery crash.

Such a very sad and traumatic event.

It was headed to the bone yard for planes out in Tucson, Arizona.

It was sixty years old.

Bubba and I have driven by this eerie place where old planes come to die.

Miles and miles of abandoned planes just sitting still never to fly again.

This crash, for me, was very scary as it is a recurring theme in my dreams.

These nightmares don't come very often,

but when I do have one it always involves a plane falling out of the sky,

or a plane trying to land on a busy road.

I couldn't look at the videos of this event.

Anyone know the meaning of this dream?

Anyway,

I am very thankful today to be this far along in my recovery.

Have I ever said how good God is all the time?

❤️u cc