Joy Has A Sad Face Today

I haven't seen my Cady Bug for a few days, at least to hug and kiss on her like I want to. Today was gonna be my day to do that because I will not be able to for a few days. Boo Hoo. Abby called today and said she had to take Cady to the doctor. I'll give you two clues why Cady had an appointment.





(1)




(2)

Yep, sweet Cady has pink eye. It's very contagious so I don't dare hug and kiss the precious thing. Today I had Brie for a few hours. I had hoped Cady and Abby could come and visit for a while. Then when Brie went back home, I'd have my Cady time. But that won't happen today. I'm sad. I miss my Cady Bug. But I did very much enjoy little Brie. She was so good today and in a very fun mood.

So, here's to my Cady. I'll squeeze you and kiss you bunches in a few days!

Thought For Today

I love my life. Yeah, that's right. My life is certainly not perfect - not by any means. I have physical struggles and I have internal struggles, none of which I'll share with anyone but Joy.

Tom and I were talking last night as we traveled from Chad & Michelle's new home. They just moved to the Powdersville area. When Tom & I were looking for a house in 1977, we looked in Powdersville. Tom & I asked, "What if we'd bought that house we liked in Powdersville?" How very different our lives would have been.

(1) We would not be attending our church where we've met almost all of our very dearest friends.

(2) Our children would have been in the Anderson school district, probably attending Wren schools. Not a bad thing at all. Wren schools are terrific!

(3) But that would mean that Chad would not have met Michelle when he was a Senior and she was a Freshman. His life would have taken a different turn.

(4) Mark probably would not have gotten a scholarship to Furman to play football. Through that Furman experience, he got his first job where he met his wife Andrea (Remember she's from Canada. Do you see God working here already?)

(5) Abby would have gone to school with Matt from elementary through high school. Weird, huh? But, hey, they may have never formed a bond of friendship, maybe they would have hung out with different groups, maybe gone to different churches, they may have not been attracted to each other during those particular years. Who knows?

(6) If any of the above had happened, I wouldn't have my two G.G.'s!

I'm glad God put us right where we are. Looking back, it was truly in God's plan for us to have this house. Only through His Grace were we able to afford this house when we were only 25 and 27 and expecting our second child very soon. I'm so thankful we were led to our church. To think that we almost didn't "try" our church b/c of something a former Georgia neighbor had said. We knew immediately that S'ville First Baptist was the place for us.

(7) I'm so very, very thankful that early in our marriage Tom & I planned on me being a stay-at-home mom. He wanted that and I wanted that. Staying at home is not a choice for some mothers and not a possibility for others. I have not and I do not think differently of moms who work. However, this was important to me. I wanted to try to be a wonderful mom just like my stay-at-home mother. We could have had many more material things if I'd gone back to work. But material things were never important to me. Just look at my favorite winter wardrobe of sweats! Comfortable but not stylish. As a matter of fact, we could have had hired labor do all this kitchen re-do if I worked HA HA. Tom probably wishes that as well.

Anyway, that's all I'm talking about today. I love being home, now, with my grandgirls. I enjoy seeing Mark pop in often and Abby's ability to come and blob around whenever she and Cady want to. I have several things I could complain about, but I do thank my dear Lord for my contentment and happiness. Tootles.

Vocabwuawy

I read with interest an article in today's newspaper about the Cliffs Communities. Chad recently began working for the Cliffs Communities as Senior Writer in the Marketing Department, but thankfully he did not write this article. Don't get me wrong; it was a good article with lots of information about the Cliffs. But when I read the sentence below, I had to fetch my Webster's Dictionary to understand. I know I don't have the largest vocabulary; I'm sure you've noticed from reading my blog. But I really don't care to use words that are 20 letters long just to impress my readers. Every day I work the crossword puzzles in the newspaper b/c I always want to learn and keep my old brain from becoming mush. But let me get back to the newspaper article. Here is the sentence:

"Should life in the Cliffs' eight Carolina communities include ennui, a member can bivouac off to Pategonia, Chile . . ."

First of all, Pategonia is spelled Patagonia.

Ennui is pronounced "on' we". It means dissatisfaction or boredom. I've actually had this word in a crossword puzzle recently. But, honestly, I didn't take the time to look it up and find out the meaning. Shame on me.

Bivouac is pronounced "biv' wok". It means (as a verb) "to encamp in the open, i.e., without shelter". Never heard of this word; don't care to in the future.

Both words are French. Can we please speak English in our newspaper articles? Let me translate the confusing sentence using the English definitions: "Should life in the Cliffs' eight Carolina communities include boredom, a member can encamp in the open without shelter off to Patagonie, Chile. . . " I don't believe that anyone who has enough money to live in a Cliffs' Community would ever consider going anywhere to camp out in the wide open because of boredom at home. But maybe that's just me. Perhaps this was a bad choice of French. This is what Joy thinks about the author of the article: Me tinks dat someone was twying to impwess dare boss wif dare vocabwuawy - dat's what me tinks.

Speaking of choice of words . . . Yesterday, Brie stayed with us. (Mark was sick and Andrea was working so Tom & I sacrificially took Brie overnight and the next day.) Tom was holding Brie and said to me, "Hand me the Bimbo for Brie to sit in." I just died laughing. Tom is trying to learn the lingo for all the baby paraphernalia (hey, a 13-letter word!) He, of course, meant to say Bumbo. I told him that he just asked for Brie to sit in a "sexually promiscuous" seat or a "dumb-blonde" seat (sorry, my fair-haired friends). I began to wonder why it's called a Bumbo. I suppose it was invented by a Brit because Brit's call the rump a bum. A Bumbo to me could be a slang for a derelict or tramp. Again, that's just me. While I'm at it, why do they call another baby item a Boppy. Cute word, but meaningless. And, as I've mentioned before, the worst is My Brest Friend. I can see a nursing mother asking her husband, "Please hand me My Brest Friend". HA

Changing subjects completely: So ya'll thought we Rucker's were finished with the kitchen. Another HA. Today I primed and painted tiny trim molding that will be nailed to the white beadboard. Tom & I primed and painted the new molding added below and above my cabinets. Then Tom decided to tackle the ceiling. Yes, we're done with the red paint, but where the red ceiling meets the white molding, it's just not perfect and Tom's a perfectionist. I say to heck with it, but Tom wants it done right. We first thought we'd just touch it up with white and red paint until it looked uniform. That idea was quickly discarded. Didn't work. My smart husband came up with the best solution: Add the same small trim molding we used on the beadboard and put it where the white ceiling molding meets the red ceiling. It will look just like part of the original molding. BRILLIANT. Of course, that means another trip to Home Depot for me, more trim mold cutting for Tom, more priming & painting for me, more nailing for Tom. But it'll be worth all the extra work. It will look as perfect as possible considering two very imperfect people performed the task. I haven't mentioned that I also need to repaint all my cabinets. I've also decided to spray paint all the exposed cabinet hinges to match my black knobs. That, of course, will mean dear Tom must take down all the cabinet doors and later he must put them back up. Plus today I primed and painted brackets to put underneath the upper cabinets. Poor Tom must get that done in his spare time. Tom gets the Husband Of The Year Award for not socking me in the eye for ever mentioning a kitchen re-do.

Enough rambling. Here are some pictures from yesterday of my G.G.'s.

Sweet little Brie

I fed Brie rice cereal. First time I've done that in 25 years! It was fun and messy!

Apparently, Brie thought I needed help with the spoon.



Happy Cady visited us along with her mom.

Papa and his two G.G.'s

My baby with her baby

Blog Number 100!

This is my 100th blog. I think that's pretty good, don't you? With some prodding by Abby, I began my blogging journey on July 23, 2008. Some would say that with my usual diarrhea of the mouth I should have hit the 100 mark by mid September. I, of course, don't want to appear to be one who lives on her computer, writing every little thought that enters my small brain. I must say, though, that I really do like to blog. Honestly, it's like I'm writing to myself about what's going on and if other people just happen to read, that's fine, too. So, here's to my 100th of many more blogs!

MLK Day was spent with Jane, Abby and Cady at the Ivester's home. Jane had the day off and we just sat around and watched Cady.

Cady on her first MLK Day

I watched with interest the inauguration of President Obama. Must say I felt sorry for him during the swearing in ceremony. Chief Justice Roberts should have used notes! He blew it. But I guess that just makes it seem more real, not staged or fake. I was completely amazed at the huge crowds that attended. WOW. If you know me, I don't even like to attend a college football game b/c of crowds so I was not jealous of those people. I thought they were nuts. I mean, where were the bathrooms? You'd have to stand in line for hours just to relieve yourself and then you'd have to take off gloves and all the other warm clothing, all the while doing this in a space no bigger than a large box. No thank you. And, by the way, did you see any indication that restroom facilities were available? Of course, they were, but I (in all my weirdness) looked very carefully when the camera spanned across the almost empty "mall" area. I didn't see anything that looked like restrooms. Must have been in the trees. I'm sorry but every time I'm away from home I'm always looking for the nearest restroom (or as my Canadian friends say "washroom"). I know where every restroom is in Greenville County! Not really, but almost. I honestly think I must need a bladder tuck. Ok, too much information, I know. Moving on . . . . .

Inauguration night was the regular Rucker family supper night. I prepared potato soup, vegetable soup and cornbread. Yummy on such a cold night. Here are some pics of Tuesday.

My very first grandchild sitting in a high chair. How Brie is growing!

I especially like the drool!


I just love Brie's wide-open eyes!


Brie and Aunt Abby in Papa's "Slanket"
(And I did turn the heat up!)


Cady all bundled up with her pink Clemson stocking hat (Thanks, Roy & Kendall)

Yesterday, Tom & I kept Cady while Matt & Abby were out for the evening. She was in such a good mood and a real delight.

She's laying on the same blanket that her mom and two uncles once played on.


So precious with her matching sweater and stocking hat.

The Finish Line Is Within Sight! ! !

The finish line is so near I think I can see it in the distance. The finish line of our kitchen remodeling, that is. Wow, it's been a long journey.

Remember Aug. 5, when my kitchen angel, Cindy, stripped wallpaper for me?

Seems odd that on that day I did not have any grandchildren. So much has happened since August 2008.

Remember beginning mid-Oct. I did not have a sink or stovetop for a couple of months.

For many years I dreamed of a white and black kitchen with accents of red. Years ago I painted my cabinets white to begin my dream. As my old appliances died, I bought white ones. Several years ago I changed out the knobs on my cabinets and bought black ones. We Rucker's don't do anything overnight. We think and plan. Or at least Tom does. I patiently wait til Tom gives me the go-ahead to begin. Finally, the big change was the black granite countertops. And the crowning glory is my very red ceiling.

Well, I documented Tom's last coat of red paint!

He let out a big hallelujah when that last coat of 7 was completed. (1 coat of primer and an astonishing 6 coats of red)

And I LOVE my kitchen


This picture didn't turn out very bright but you get the picture (pun intended)

Believe it or not, we'll still not completely finished. Tom has some tiny molding to apply around the granite backsplash. I first must prime and paint the molding. Then my job begins which is to repaint the cabinets (some just need a touchup), the doorframes, the breakfast area wainscoting and windows. THEN the job will be completed. Whew! It's been a crazy few months. And in between those 5 months, I became a grandmother twice!

Here are a couple of pictures of my G.G.'s during the last few days.

Bright-eyed Brie spent Sat. afternoon with us.

Tom rocked Cady to sleep. I asked him if she could breathe and he looked at me like I had two heads.

Shhhhh! Don't tell Tom but I already have other ideas of "minor" remodeling. My mind is just racing. Tom said recently that he's taking a year off from any future projects. Hmmmm, he must be reading my mind. I'll keep you informed if I wear him down any time soon.

Happy Birthday, Adger

Monday was my brother's 51st birthday. We celebrated last night with dinner and laughing. I always ask the birthday honoree what they'd like to be on the menu. Adger always asks for Rucker burgers, "Elberton Drug" slaw, and baked beans. Let me first explain what Elberton Drug slaw is not. It is not slaw enhanced with an illegal substance. Growing up in Elberton, there was a drug store on the square named Elberton Drug. The drug store also had a small restaurant which served the best slaw in the world. I have my own version of this slaw which Adger loves. That is what Elberton Drug slaw is. Back to our celebration . . . Everyone came except for Matt who had a procedure done that morning and he was still groggy (light down the throat - no problem found). The burgers were grand, thanks Tom. I used my new video camera to record our family singing Happy Birthday. Let's just say that Aunt Michelle covered Brie's ears so she wouldn't be frightened. (Cady was in another room with Tom so she was spared the horror.)

Adger opening cards and gifts. He's finally decided to wear reading glasses.

Back in 1958, Adger, Mom & Dad were on the front page of the Elberton Star. According to the small print, Adger was the first white baby born that year. Mind you, this was in the deep south and years before desegregation. My children could not believe that was even printed. Of course, there was no mention of who the actual first baby was. Sad, huh?

Dad was the county Sheriff. After having had two daughters, he was elated to have a son.

Here are a couple of pictures of my G.G's.

Happy go lucky Brie


Cady was so happy. Love that mouth!

The Storm Before The Calm

Ok, the red-painted ceiling mystery has been solved. The problem doesn't lie with Tom, the painter. Nor is the problem with the type of roller we used. The problem is the paint itself. Not that we bought a cheap paint or defective paint. The problem is that the less-than-intelligent employees at our local hardware store mixed the paint improperly. Not one employee but TWO different employees on two different days. I'll try to explain.

Yesterday when I went to buy my THIRD gallon of red paint, I thankfully met an employee who knew what she was doing. I asked for the exact paint and sheen that I'd bought twice previously. She said it doesn't come in the sheen I asked for. I told her (stupidly thinking that she didn't know what she was talking about) that I had already bought two gallons. She said that this color of red only comes in Satin and Semi-gloss. I, again, told her about my previous purchases. She said that the other employees had apparently ignored what the computer told them. They shouldn't have mixed the paint with the sheen I asked for. Seems when you try to get the color red mixed with the base paint, it takes a lot of color added. Something about the fact that only so much amount of red is able to be added to the base paint and for that reason only Satin and Semi-gloss sheens are able to be Quite Red. Not sure I really understand. And when I left there I thought "Great, now we're gonna really have a mess on our hands." However, I now sing the praises of that employee. Tom painted the fifth coat of paint yesterday afternoon. Almost immediately, we could see that it was drying smoothly and not patchy. What a relief!!!!! So, what that means is that I bought two gallons of red paint that was improperly mixed by two employees who ignored what the computer told them. Stupid, huh? In just a minute, I'm off to the hardware store with receipts in hand wanting my money back! I'll keep you informed, as I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat.

It is not coincidental that the first four letters of the word paint spell PAIN!

P.S. I just returned from the hardware store. It took longer for me to explain the problem than to get my money back. Hip, hip, hooray!

The Two Faces Of Rucker's

The Face of Joy Rucker.
Reason: Joy is excited because her knee if finally, and I do mean finally, feeling better! Yippee!!!!! It's the gin and raisins, baby; it's the gin and raisins. I'm a believer! Tom says it's probably just a coincidence that my knee is better. Phooey. My knee has not been any better since my surgery Sept. 22. In fact, after Christmas, it was getting worse and I began to wonder if the surgeon had left a piece of equipment in my knee. Honestly. I was getting very concerned. After taking the gin-soaked raisins for about a week, I began to see an improvement. This may sound weird to you, but yesterday I noticed that I could get up from a chair, sofa and yes even the toilet without moaning, groaning, gritting my teeth and finding something to help me with leverage. Yesterday, I was a regular woman. I got up with ease. PRAISE THE LORD. Until you have problems, you can't really be thankful for little simple things. I am now so very thankful for being able to walk w/o feeling like a 90-year-old arthritic patient. Thankful to be able to put on a pair of socks w/o wishing my arms were two feet longer to make the job easier. Thankful that I can stand and walk w/o looking around for a chair to either sit on or to prop my leg on b/c of discomfort. Thankful that my friend Billie told me about gin and raisins. (Yes, I was completely skeptical, but willing to try it. ) Thankful that I have several months before I have to wear spring/summer clothes so that I can now try to exercise my way back into my wardrobe. Thankful for a husband who has been nothing short of wonderful during the last several months all the while listening to me groan every time I got up and walked across a room. I'm baaaaaaaaack!

The Face of Tom Rucker.Reason: After one coat of primer and four coats of red on my kitchen ceiling, it looks like crap. (Sorry for my language but it could have been worse. ) Honestly, the fourth coat of paint looks worst than the third coat of paint. Because we don't have any ceiling light fixtures at present, I held up a very bright light last night for Tom to put on another coat of paint. He didn't miss anything and it looked like he had great coverage over the ceiling. This morning when Tom looked up, he was not a happy camper. Neither was I. Yet another roadblock with our kitchen remodeling. It's been a nightmare. I called Michelle's brother who is a professional painter. He said that some walls require just two coats of red paint while others may take up to 6. Eeks! Six coats of paint! We've already gone through 2 gallons of the stuff. Chuck also said to use a particular brand, nap and size of roller and try again. So today I'm off to the hardware store again. (When I enter the store, everyone knows my name. Some people think I'm an employee. Some people think I am part-owner of the store. Some people probably think I'm a stalker.) To get a perfectly red ceiling may be the end of Tom, the end of our marriage or the end of my dream for a red ceiling. One thing I do know: if we have to "take away" the red, it's all on my shoulders. Hey, anyone wanna come over next week and paint a red ceiling white?

Let There Be RED!

Tom is getting close to the completion of our kitchen re-do. The crowning glory of my new kitchen is the red ceiling. Yes, red. I've always wanted a black and white kitchen with accents of red. I saw in a magazine the exact kitchen I wanted and it had a red ceiling. To be sure that's what I really wanted, I took a trip back in the fall to the mountains of Georgia to see a friend of a friend who has a red-ceiling-kitchen. I loved it. That's all it took. If Tom & I were about to put our house on the market, I'd never do such a drastic paint job. But I figure I'm in my 50's and I'll be in this house until I'm hauled away to a nursing home so I may as well have the colors I adore in my kitchen. I spend most of my time in this room b/c I love to cook. Now it will be even more fun to cook. So, here's to a red ceiling. And, sorry Tom, that it's taking 3-4 coats of paint. Nothing about this remodeling has been easy so why should you have guessed that the ceiling would take just 1-2 coats? It'll be worth the sweat and tears.

My "Quite Red" is quite red!

On Thursday night Tom & I watched the football championship game. While I saw sitting on the sofa, I had a very sharp pain in my lower abdomen. Yuck, I probably have a bladder infection again. I've had that before several times. I felt a bit better on Friday so I convinced myself that I was fine. Friday night I started having chills and I felt terrible. So early Saturday morning I went to the Doctor's Care and the doc said I had a very significant bladder infection. So now I'm on two meds and I already feel better.

I kept Brie on Friday afternoon so Mark could attend some meetings. Here are a few pics from Friday.

I love this of Brie. It's just before her smile turned upside down. If you look closely, you'll be able to see her lip just beginning to poke out and turn down. So precious!


Cady and Abby came to visit with us. Sweet Cadence fell fast asleep on Ab's legs.

Tom & I kept Brie overnight Saturday so Mark, Andrea, Chad & Michelle could go out of town. Abby, Matt & Cady dropped by while everyone was here to get a look at the red ceiling (coat #1). Here are some pictures of Saturday.

Sweet Cady with Aunt Andrea

This is what Cady will look like with blonde hair like her Aunt Andrea.

My two G.G.'s (Cady 2 1/2 mo., Brie 5 mo.)

Pretty girls - all four of them.

Brie was styling with her pink boots and blue jeans.

Auntie Michelle and Brie

Saturday night Brie is happy.

Sunday Chad is talking with Brie before everyone goes home.

So today I went to Lowe's to get another gallon of red paint. I don't usually go to Lowe's on Sunday afternoons but Tom is anxious to finish this paint job so he can move on to the new light fixtures. I'm waiting to show pictures of the red ceiling until all the new lights are up. Suspense, suspense!

Let There Be Light!

5:00 a.m. - deafening silence. We live in the city. We always have nightlights glowing and white noise throughout the night. We immediately knew that, once again, we were without power. Don't know why, but if our city gets even the most remotely odd weather, our street loses power. You can count on it. The only period of time we did not lose power was when Mom and Dad lived with us. God was truly watching over us b/c we needed power for heat and for mom's breathing machine. But since then, we lose power fairly regularly. I could not go back to sleep this morning so I got up and lit candles.

Above my fireplace - very surreal

Soft glow of candles in my kitchen.

When I still didn't have power at 8am, I decided to do what every bored housewife does - go to Walmart! Then I called my home to see if the answering machine picked up meaning the power was back. Nope. So I sacrificed my time and spent most of the day at Abby's. What fun! Just hanging around and playing with Cady. Of course, I forgot my camera today. Oh, well. Finally, some time after lunch, my power came back on. There was also a big tree that fall on my street, blocking the neighborhood for several hours. This, however, had nothing to do with our power outage. Still don't know what that was all about.

Yesterday, I kept Brie while Andrea worked and Mark had meetings.

She was in the best mood when I brought her in from the car.

Brie, sitting in her bumbo, sucking her fingers.

Brie trying to get Cady's attention

Cady & Brie get reacquainted

Tuesday also marked the return of the Family Tuesday Night Dinner. With the kitchen remodeling (which is still not complete), I temporarily suspended this weekly gathering. Last night's crowd was slim for various reasons, but those in attendance had a great time.

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Chad with Cady

I do believe Cady was flirting with Uncle Chad

Cady's hand in mine


Love those dark eyes