Our FEMA trailer

Soooo much to write here.  My oldest daughter has spent the past year looking for love in all the wrong places.  To make a long story short, the consequences of her actions have caused her to lose custody of her child and landed her in jail for a while.  Thankfully, a family member has custody of my grandbaby and I am able to see him whenever I want to.  Daughter, however, will have quite a few hoops to jump through when she is released from jail. 

In the meantime, after long talks and discussions, my husband and I have decided to help her out once last time.  Upon her release, she will have no where to go.  Since we also don't have room for her in our home (just too many bodies), we purchased a used FEMA trailer for $2000.  The plan is to remodel it and get it set up for her to stay in rent free while she works and/or goes to school to get her life back on track. 

After she's done with it, the plan is to sell it and get our money back.  Hopefully, with some remodeling, we'll also get back what we put into it.

Will post pics later.

Pennington: Clinic Visit, Sinus Arrythmia, and PVC

So, Friday was my last workout on the treadmill for the week.  Since the fitness center was closed on Saturday, there was no workout and since I was feeling so poorly on Friday, I decided to take it easy on Saturday.  Then I wasn't allowed to exercise on Sunday or Monday due to my clinic visit. 

Saturday morning, I had a little episode.  I was laying in bed and had JUST opened my eyes.  I rolled over to get up and felt a thud in my chest quickly followed by a lightheaded/vertigo feeling.  It lasted all of maybe 2 seconds and was gone.  My first thought was, "What they Hay was THAT?"  I got up and went about my day but then was paranoid for the rest of the day trying to figure out what happened.  I also had a dull ache in my chest which was part of what led me to forgo any exercise for the day other than the normal housework stuff.

Sunday came and went without anything unusual.  I ended the day by beginning a 12 hour fast for my clinic visit the following day. 

Monday, I got up early and arrived at Pennington at 7 a.m.  Male Nurse Tance called me to follow him and he led me into a room.  There he presented me with a 28 page questionnaire and told me to answer the questions by filling in the bubbles (you remember those don't you?).  While I got started on that, he proceeded to ask me some questions about my weekend.  Then he had to take my blood pressure and do some measurements.

Measurements for 7/8/2013 are as follows (You can see previous measurements here):

BP 138/80
Right Bicep 35.2 cm
Waist 124.3 cm (the Waist and Hip measurements were taken over my clothes)
Hips 134.2 cm

They called in Dr. Ron to discuss the thud and dizziness thing.  He told me something very interesting.  He told me that my preliminary EKG (done during the preliminary exams before starting the exercise program) showed I have a sinus arrhythmia in my heart.  What the heck is that?  He briefly explained it to me but I had to come home and google it for more info.  His THEORY regarding my episode is that I had experienced a PVC or Premature Ventricular Contraction.  Again my question was "What the heck is that?" to which he explained it was bit like a water pump that had lost its prime and pumped up some air instead of water resulting in low water pressure.  That was what he theorized happened to my heart.  The UNUSUAL thing is that I FELT it.  He told me that normally, everyone experiences it as we all get older but we don't feel it or ever know it happens.  He said about 15% of the population has this Sinus Arrythmia thing so it's fairly common.  His best guess is that now that I'm exercising more than before, I am building up that heart muscle and things like this are not abnormal and really nothing to worry about but if I got concerned to be sure and make an appointment with my doctor for any further testing.

Then they fed me a granola bar for breakfast and told me to come back at lunchtime and again at dinner time for the lunch and dinner as they did before. Then they gave me an activity monitor again and told me to have a nice evening and they would see me in the fitness center on Tuesday.

Tuesday (today) they basically tried to kill me.  I went in there after having 3 days off and the first thing they did was put me on the Met Cart to see what kind of progress I'm making in the respiratory area.  Then Ryan transferred me to another treadmill and set it to going.  Incline = 3.0 degrees, Speed = 3.0 mph, Time = 1-0-0 MINUTES! I said, "Are you NUTS!?" and he said, "Well, the Met Cart says you can handle it." Ryan continues, "BUT (I like that word) we CAN tack 5 minutes onto the next 4 workouts if you like and that will cut today's time down to just over an hour.  The Met Cart shows that starting tomorrow, you can work for an hour a day until next Friday. " I nearly shouted, "Yes PLEASE!" However, after an hours worth of work, I was DONE!  I'm exhausted today!  Thank GOD I only have to work out 65 minutes tomorrow!

Pennington: Feeling discouraged

I'm confused.  I'm not sure what's going on.  Since I couldn't go to Pennington yesterday, I completed a 4 mile walk at home.  It was hot, I was sweaty, I think I may have done too much but I'm not sure how.  I'd been walking the same speed, distance, and pretty much the same incline all week before.  So, what happened?  Maybe it was the heat yesterday.  After all, I did do the walk outdoors.

Anyway, I got up this morning and went to Pennington for my stint on the treadmill and, well, it was rough.  We started out 3.0 grade and 3.0 speed but 15 minutes in and I quickly asked them to bump it down.  I was having pain in the toes on BOTH feet and even the right shin!  My minimum heart rate zone is 127 bpm but when we bumped the grade and speed down, I couldn't seem to get above 125.  I felt like I was walking and sweating for nothing. I need to get my heartrate up to at least 130 in order for me to feel like I'm accomplishing anything.  The burn in the lower legs and feet is dragging me down. 

Is there any way to do this stuff without pain? 

I realize that I am a sedentary individual and that any amount of exercise will cause me some pain since I'm not used to exercising on a daily basis.  I just don't care for all this feeling sore all the time stuff.  It's nearly enough to make me quit.

This weekend, I will get a 3 day break.  I can do some sort of exercise tomorrow so I think I'll just go swimming.  Sunday and Monday I am not allowed to exercise at all due to blood work and other tests being done.  That means that when I return on Tuesday afternoon, those 2 days off are also gonna effect my Tuesday workout.  Yikes!

If anyone has any tips, please feel free to share. 

Pennington: Week 3, Thoughts on Food, Toes, and Walking

I know I sound like I'm whining a lot (at least I THINK I sound like that).  I woke up this morning just thinking about getting over to Pennington to endure my torture, er, do my walk.  My first thought was, "Man, I'm so tired of thinking about this stuff all the time!" 

On Monday and Tuesday, we bumped up the incline to grade 2.5 at 2.8 mph. This zone feels good for me but it isn't working my heart hard enough.  I'm having some issues under my 2nd toe on the left foot.  Have you ever ran around barefoot as a kid?  Ever step on a hot match or discarded cigarette butt that was still lit?  If so, remember that initial burning pain?  That's what I'm experiencing.  It doesn't start right away, it usually *pings* at 3.25 miles into the walk when I'm nearly finished.  Then it stings and burns for a while before I take my shoes off and rub my feet.  Afterwards, I'm fine .... until the next time I hit 3.25 miles on my walk when it happens again.  Pennington's PA Ron told me today that he thought it was Morton's Neuroma and that there's not much that can be done for it.

I'm a little tired of thinking all the time about walking and healthy food but I know that it will be goo for me in the long run.

Pennington: Week 2, 2nd half

Well, I haven't written in a couple of days so I'll try to do the best I can from memory regarding what I've done during my workouts.  I had Wednesday off and didn't walk or do anything that day.  I wish I had because when I returned to the routine on Thursday, my workout was a little harder and I received a bit of a surprise.  The Met Cart that I had done on Monday showed that my heart could take a bit more work.  I fully expected a change in intensity on Tuesday and when it didn't happen, I was a bit relieved.  Well, I then I take a day off and when I got back on Thursday I'm greeted with  "Good Morning Mrs. Cynthia! Your Met Cart readings show that we can extend your time on the treadmill to 78 minutes!" Say what!?!

 

So, I used my little towel and covered up the numbers on the machine so I couldn't watch the clock.  The speed and grade were kept the same as before at 2.8 mph and 2.0 incline.  At the end of the work out, my numbers looked like this.  78 minutes on the treadmill, 2.0 incline, 2.8 mph, 3.89 miles, 384 calories burned.

 

On Friday, I got nearly through the workout, felt my second wind and decided to suggest an increase in grade to 3.0.  At first, I couldn't tell a difference.  About 25 steps later though, Uh Oh.   I also noticed that a few more steps into the increased grade, I felt a strange sensation beneath the 2nd and 3rd toes of my left foot.  It felt like a pulling ligament or something.  When I curled my toes, the feeling went away.  On the bright side, by increasing the grade it reduced my time spent on the treadmill .... only by 4 minutes but still a little reduction.  If I bump up the speed, that will also shave some more time off.

 

Before leaving the facility yesterday, I asked again about working out at home on my days off.  Before, they had told me to stick to my regular routine.  But now, my regular routine has changed to include at least 1 hour walk.  So, yesterday, they told me to go ahead and plan a walk for Saturday (today).  When I went to bed last night, I was thinking about this walk.  Where would I walk? How long should I walk?  Should I split it in half?  Should I try to just go straight down the road?  Or should I plan a trip to the state park and do the primitive hiking trail? Should I do half of my time in the morning and half in the afternoon?  Especially knowing how hot it is out there.

 

I was ecstatic to hear raindrops at 6 a.m. this morning.  At 7:00 I was out of bed and talking with the husband about going with me.  So, at 8:30, my husband and I hit the road.  He ribbed me the entire way with, "You can't walk faster than that?" etc.  As we passed my dad's driveway, I saw my step mom strolling about.  I waved at her and invited her along as well.  She gladly joined in and made my walk much more enjoyable.  Knowing that on Thursday, according to the treadmill, I had walked nearly 3.89 miles.  I had measured a distance from my house in my truck and knew where the 2 mile mark was.  So, to get to that 2 mile point and back to the house, I would have to complete a 4 mile walk. 

 

Since I walked on pavement and had nothing to check my speed, it was a little harder for me to judge my pace. Ultimately, it took me just a few minutes longer today than it would on the treadmill, but I completed a 4 mile walk before 10 a.m.  So, I'm guessing it was still a 78 minute time.  I still felt a little pulling in the left toes and walked the last 1/8 mile with those toes curled.  What in the world is that about?! 

 

The bottom line is that I made a 4 mile walk and did very little heavy huffing and puffing as I would have done a month ago.  Even the little toe pain didn't kick in until nearly the end. I am excited about my progress.  For Sunday, I will be taking off but doing swimming instead of walking. At this point, I'm looking forward to the workout on Monday.

Pennington Workouts: Week 2, Day 2 - Mental Block

So, I finished my work out yesterday but let me tell ya how it started.

Woke up, got dressed, and hit the road.  I live a good 45 - 50 minutes east of the Pennington facility.  I can make that drive in 30 minutes if traffic is cooperative.  If not, it takes much longer.  Along the drive, I have time to listen to talk radio or whatever.  I also have time to pep myself up for the workout.  I am finding though, that I'm trying to come up with excuses to NOT work out. 

Yesterday, upon arriving at Pennington, I procrastinated for a full 20 minutes before making myself get to my assigned treadmill.  Even then, the little worker there physically touched my lower back and gently pushed me toward the treadmill saying, "Just get on it!"

Once I did, I was good.  I did the warm up and walked 3 miles (according to the readout) in less than 56 minutes.  The shower afterwards felt wonderful.

At what point does this exercise thing become habit and I no longer feel this dread about it?  Thoughts?  Please hollah!

Pennington Workouts: Week 2 - Foot Issues

I started my 2nd week at Pennington today.  I think I have actually been there working out for a week and a half but they're saying I'm on week 2. 

 

Today's procedure started with a weigh in followed by the Met Cart.  If you aren't familiar with that it begins with me donning headgear and a mouthpiece with a hose attached to a computer.  The headgear is uncomfortable and the mouthpiece is drool inducing.  This site seems to accurately describe what it is I'm going through while walking the treadmill wearing the gear.   Today, I had to walk on it for 10 minutes.  The first 5 was at a draggingly slow 2 mph.  Then for the second 5 minutes it got bumped up to 2.8 mph with the 2.0 incline.

 

Following that, I hopped on the other treadmill to finish my workout for the remaining 56 minutes.  I bought new shoes on Wednesday and wore them for the first time on Friday.  While walking on Friday, I experienced a little tightness and a pop in the upper portion of my left foot.  I think I might be pronating inward a tad and just need some extra support.  I will stop off at the drug store on the way in tomorrow and pick up some Dr. Scholl's inserts to try.  There are no issues with the right foot at this point.  Just the left.

 

Today, about 10 minutes into the workout, I experienced the same sensation.  Then my mind was taken off the top part of my left foot when my calves began burning which I suspect is just due to my taking 2 days off over the weekend. 

 

This week, my workouts have been increased by one day and tomorrow there will be an increase in either time or intensity (or both).  On the bright side, however, I was told that the time on the treadmill would decrease.  I'm not sure whether or not to be happy about that.

Workout #4 and New Shoes

Workout #4 is done!! Walked longer but at same pace. Weight is still the same but also no biggie because I can feel the muscle building in the backs of my legs and muscle weighs more than fat. One issue I have today is swollen fingers after walking.  They don't really HURT but it does concern me.  I'm guessing it has to do with gravity and all the blood flow to the extremities.  But is it normal to feel like I have Mickey Mouse hands when I'm done?

 

After my walk, I went over to Fleet Feet to ask about walking shoes.  I had an experience there that I have never had before in my life!  First off, the ladies there were AWESOME! After a friendly greeting, I was asked to remove my shoes.  Since I had JUST finished my walk, I warned them of stinky feet.  They just waved their hands with, "Oh, don't worry about that.  Right after your workout is the BEST time to try on new shoes." 

 

Anyway, after removing my shoes, my feet were measured sitting down and measured again standing up. Then I was asked to walk around so they could watch me.  I sat back down and they went to the stockroom and returned with a stack of shoeboxes of various brands, sizes, and styles.  Then the process began.  I tried on the first pair of shoes on BOTH FEET (I normally do just one foot) got laced up and again was asked to walk around the store.  As I walked, they watched and asked me questions about how they felt.  Did I feel any rubbing here or there?  Did anything feel like it was poking me?  I never could get a good fit on the back of my foot with ANY of the ladies styles.  They all felt like they were too short on the back and that my foot was going to slip out of the shoe.

 

Nine pair of shoes later, we decided to try a man's shoe.  Lo and Behold, THAT worked!  The back of the shoe is a little higher and it feels like I have a good fit there.  I felt like I could go work out again right then and there! I did not realize just how flimsy my little Walmart Danskins were until I put this other shoe on my foot.

 

In the end, I did something else I have never done in my life.  I paid $120 for a pair of shoes.

 

I am SOOOOOO looking forward to my workout tomorrow!

 

Pennington: Motivation and Inspiration

Meet two more of my exercise supervisors.  These cuties are Nathan and Daniel a.k.a. Motivation and Inspiration.  We all need them!

 

I went in for my 3rd work out today and greeted Nathan with a big "There's My Motivation"!  He held his arms wide and said, "Yep that's me!". 

 

He told me that he had to do a BP check on me before we started my work out today.  It wasn't too bad.  132 over high 70's something.  It is a little unusual for me to have the top number in the 130's though.  For years it's been in the 120's, then I volunteered at Pennington and it stays in the 130's.  One of the program coordinators mentioned that I might have "white coat" syndrome which will cause it to rise a little.  I told Nathan that it was cause I got to see his cute face today.  He ducked his head and blushed saying, "Awwww". (I later learned he's only 20 and shamefully felt a bit creepy for being flirty with him!  I'm way too old for that!!!  Bad old lady!  BAD old lady!!)

 

After the BP check, I hopped on the treadmill and got started.  I was the only participant in the gym at that time and Nathan was chatty which I was glad for because it really kept my mind off all the numbers on the treadmill.  You know, the Distance, Incline, Speed, Calories burned, etc. numbers. 

 

On the wall in front of my treadmill is an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) chart. It has smiley faces on it with a scale from 6 - 20 with 6 being "no exercise, couch potato" and 20 being "Somebody better catch me, I'm about to pass out." When I'm working out, Nathan or Daniel will periodically ask me how hard I'm working.  I'm supposed to point at the chart or grunt or something to indicate where I think I am.  I'm usually at 12 - 13 which is more like a "moderately working" but not quite "labored".  I try to stay in that zone for the duration of the workout. Daniel (Inspiration) explained the chart thing to me last time saying that generally, my heart rate will be equivalent to the chart.  For example, resting heart rate is about 70 - 80ish but during my workout it'll get up to 127 - 130 which is around the 12 or 13 mark.  If I'm at 14, then my heart rate might be 140 and so on and so forth.

 

This morning, I started out feeling soreness in my hamstrings and calves due to my Father's Day craft this weekend. I spent a lot of time bent over upside down and stretching to each project station while working with the kids.  About halfway into the workout, my calves started burning bad.  The incline hadn't changed so I couldn't figure out why I was having this discomfort.  Then it dawned on me that I hadn't worked out in 2 days.  So, I'm thinking that's why I was burning like that.  It was so nice to have Nathan there to chat so he could take my mind off of it and I could finish without any issues. The soreness is still there but I predict it will dissipate next week or so.  At least I hope it does.  I can't imagine staying sore all the time for the rest of my exercising life!

 

After the workout, Nathan told me he had to take my BP again.  This time it was 142/82.  He didn't seem concerned and said it had risen a little just from the workout. 

 

I plan to go back on Wednesday donning a party hat in celebration of my birthday.  I'm also making a motivation poster to just stick on the mirror in front of my treadmill.  It'll have sayings on it like, "You gotta sweat like a pig to look like a fox!" and "Just keep walking, Just keep walking" and "Put one foot in front of the other ..." and "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!"

 

Father's Day craft

While surfing around pinterest, I was reminded of a cute little crafty thing for a gift.  My girls and their cousins wanted to give their grandpa a Father's Day gift as well as something for their daddy's.  So, I ran up to the local hardware store and bought four 80 lb bags of Easy Set concrete mix.  Next time, I'll choose 40 lbs.  I never realized how heavy 80 lbs is!  Cost:  $16

 

Then I went to Dollar Tree and got 8 roasting pans and 8 bags of the little jewel stones.

Cost:  $16

 

As I started mixing it up, I realized that I had bought entirely too much concrete mix.  I needed only ONE bag for this little project.  So, I told my dad that he gets 3 extra bags and Happy Father's Day!

   

 

 

 

Pennington Workout #2

Today, I went in at 8 a.m. for my second workout.  Five minutes into, I was finished.  Well, not really, but I sure was ready to throw in the towel and find something else to do.  I just wasn't mentally up to the task.  Thank goodness my exercise supervisors were there to keep me on track.  Nathan was wonderful in keeping my spirits up and keeping me on task.  Daniel showed up a little while later and we just had a great time cutting up and laughing while I walked.  The chatting certainly made the time go by faster whereas before, I was watching the clock and time was just D-R-A-G-G-I-N-G by.

 

I am wondering now that if the chatting might be keeping me from working out to my fullest ability.  Not saying that anything is wrong with chatting.  I LOVE to chat!  I just wonder if it's affecting my workout.  I will play with that theory in the coming sessions and see if it makes a difference. 

Pennington Volunteer

About 8 years ago I called Pennington Biomedical Research Center to see if I qualified for a study they were doing at that time.  I don't remember what the study was but I do remember that one of my qualifications to participate was that I could not have anymore children.  Well, I thought that was the end of that and hung up.

Fast forward, 2 children and an extra 60 pounds later, I saw this commercial and said to myself, "Cynthia, you've GOT to do SOMETHING!" So, I called the next morning for more information.

I haven't been keeping a log of my experience before now, so I'll try to type the following from what I remember and from previous Facebook Posts and photos.  From now on I will make updates on my blog.

April 26, 2013:  I signed up to volunteer for Pennington's E-MECHANICS study, the purpose of which is to compare the effects of physical activity and lifestyle changes on energy balance and how these changes may impact an individual's body composition. There are 3 study groups. 

• High Dose Exercise (HDE) - Participants will exercise 3 - 5 days per week at 60 - 90 minutes per session.
• Recommended Dose Exercise (RDE) - Participants will exercise 3 - 4 days per week at 30 - 45 minutes per session.
• Healthy Living Group (HL) - Participants will attended regularly scheduled classes and seminars to learn and discuss healthy lifestyles. No exercise.

I do not yet know which study group I've been assigned to as I am still in the preliminary screening stages. I will keep ya'll updated on this. It is a 6-8 month study on the effects of exercise on the body. Since I DON'T exercise, I figure a study group would be just the thing to get my butt in gear!

 

April 30, 2013:  I arrived at Pennington for an orientation session and was measure for BMI, blood pressure, weight, and height.

May 2, 2013:  I was measured again for blood pressure, weight and height.  My Lab Rat mission this week is to wear this motion monitor sensor thingy for 7 days. It will record every move I make (or don't make) in order to provide my researchers with an accurate data picture of my lack of exercise habits.

May 10, 2013:  Physical - Today's Lab Rat visit resulted in being pinched, poked, weighed, measured (height, bicep, waist, hip).  I also had an EKG done.

May 15, 2013:  Treadmill stress test:  Sorry, I don't have a photo of this one.  :(  I had to wear a helmet with hoses attached as well as several electrodes attached to my chest and torso.  I had to walk on a treadmill while periodically increasing incline and speed.  Every two minutes, the nurse would take my blood pressure while I relaxed an arm off to the side while still walking.  I also had tell her, by looking at a chart, about how hard I thought I was working.  I lasted 10 minutes at 2.8 mph, increased incline every two minutes. Finished with gasping like a guppy for air and had burning calves, but surprised myself by lasting that long!

They also took measurements on this day:

Bicep 37 cm
Waist 123 cm
Hips 127 cm (this measurement was taken with my pants pulled down but measured over the undies)

May 28, 2013:  Lab Rat update:  After a 12 hour fast, I had an appointment at 7 a.m. to lay on a bed with a plastic bubble over my head and upper body, the purpose of which is to measure a metabolic something or 'nother. I wasn't allowed to read, play Candy Crush, update FB status, read email, fidget, sleep, play with my phone, or nothing for an entire hour! I had to lay there and stare at the roof.  They did allow me to watch television but it was hard to hear through the plastic bubble and it was REALLY difficult to keep my eyes open! 

May 29, 2013:  I had to endure ANOTHER 12 hour fast, eat a granola bar at 8 a.m., blood drawn at 11am, Lunch at 12pm, more blood drawn at 1pm, and Dinner at 5:45pm provided by Pennington.  I did NOT have to eat all of it but they did want me to try and eat as I felt I could.

 

I was also given my motion monitor thingy again, this time to wear it for 2 weeks. I was given a scale to record my morning weight weight for 2 weeks also.

June 11, 2013:  I returned to Pennington for my last Dexa scan and Lab work and received my appointed study group.  A DXA, sometimes referred to as a DEXA Scan, is the most accurate test for determining an individual’s body composition, body fat, lean muscle and even bone mineral content and density.  It uses a very low dose X-Ray for clinical testing and measurement of body composition and body fat.  Though this description comes from here, it accurately explains what Pennington is doing. 

 

After my lab work and Dexa scan, I met with my study coordinator to find out which study group I had been randomized into and was excited to learn that I am a member of the High Dose Exercise group.  This means I will be working out an awful lot for the next 6 months.  I'm excited yet terrified at the same time.  I am afraid that even though they will be gradually increasing my workout intensity I will still not be able to keep up.  I already feel those feelings of defeat closing in and I'm not even started yet!

June 12, 2013: I survived workout #1!! I started out with the first 10 minutes wearing the contraption you see in the pic below.  This was to measure my respiration and CO2 output.  I had my nose pinched off and had to breathe through my mouth.  The only bad thing about the mouth piece is that it causes lots of drool.  After that little warm up, I hopped onto another treadmill and began a 45 minute walk.  I have to wear a heart monitor at all times for accurate readings and I have a "supervisor" nearby with a cart mounted computer watching everything I do.  Today, I walked at 2.6 mph on a 2.0 incline and got my heart rate up to 127 for 40 minutes.  Afterwards, my thighs felt like they'd been injected with Mexicanjumping beans!

 

Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!!!

 

Tadpole Fun

Yesterday, just before a rainstorm, my girls decided to rescue some tadpoles from a mud puddle in the drive.  Then they played in the rain for a bit.

 

Can you see all these tadpoles?

 

 

When I got home from church today, they had added some things to the tadpole "habitat".

 

 

We dug out an old aquarium and cleaned it up.

 

See how clean and shiny? 

 

Now we can see them more clearly!

 

We looked on a website to see how to take care of them.  http://www.whatdotadpoleseat.com

So we boiled 4 leaves of lettuce and chopped them up very finely.

 

And then we set them up in their new home for observation.



Little House on the Prairie Day Camp

As I was putting together my summer schedule, my girls expressed an interest in participating in a local 1850's Plantation History camp.  Participation in this camp costs a pretty penny for 40 hours of day camp.  My pocket book wouldn't allow me to spend that much money plus it is a 40 minute drive from my house - one way - so I started brainstorming.  Since we're planning to do a Little House road trip at the end of the summer, I thought maybe I could scour the internet and see what I could glean from homeschoolers and such regarding Little House activities, snacks, games, crafts, etc.

That being said, the Easy Fun School site seems to have nearly everything I need.  So I present this DIY Little House on the Prairie Day Camp which I will teach to my girls and a couple of their friends next week, 9 - 12, M-F.

We'll begin each day with a reading story:  Probably one of the excerpts from the My First Little House series or a chapter or two out of one of the larger books.

Activities:

• Timeline
• Map of Laura's travels
• Feather (for Quill pen) and Berry Ink for letter writing

Crafts:

• Nine patch doll quilt
• A rag doll like Charlotte or a Corn Husk doll
• A button string
• A braided rug
• weave a paper basket
• Soap Carving
• Tin Can luminaries

Snacks:

• Johnny Cakes
• Homemade Fruit Leather
• Jerky
• Maple or Cane Candy
• Pemmican
• Homemade bread and butter

Pioneer Games:

• Hop, Step, and Jump
• Tug of War
• Hoops and Graces
• Blind Man's Bluff
• Feather Dance
• Comical Concert
• I Spy
• The Elements
• Fly Away, Pigeon!

Edited to add some craft/activities ideas to research later:

• Ma's Chores
• Wash on Monday - Washboards and dishpans? Wash doll clothes?
• Iron on Tuesday
• Mend on Wednesday
• Churn on Thursday
• Clean on Friday
• Bake on Saturday
• Rest on Sunday
• Sunday and The Story of Grandpa's Sled and the Pig
• Going to Town
• Pebble Pockets
• Snack of Bread and butter, cheese, hard boiled eggs, cookies for the lakesdie picnic
• The Deer in the Wood
• Bread and Butter
• A Little Prairie House
• Build a cabin

No-Sew rag doll
Bead necklaces (or make our own clay or paper beads?)
Paper dolls
Cousin Ed's "Straw" Hat
Wildflower seed packet to print and color, then fill with mystery wildflower seeds
Paper sunbonnets

Tentative schedule:

9:00 – 9:15	Prayer and Intro
9:15 – 9:30	Read Story
9:30 – 10:15	Baking activity
10:15 – 10:30	Snack
10:30 – 10:45	Game
10:45 – 11:30	Arts and Crafts
11:30 - 12	Clean up

Upcoming Missions Trips

I am excited to announce that my girls and I are embarking on Missions trips this year.  There are 2 that we're definitely going on, and 1 that we WANT to go on but are not yet sure that we can. 

We are starting out our missions adventure locally with a group of ladies who minister to poverty stricken children and their families.

First of all, our church has a team that goes to New Mexico every fall.  So, that will be our first trip.

Then in July of 2014, we'll be going to Nicaraqua. 

Finally, my girls and I are planning to go to Zambia to the Kazemba Orphanage and spend a month there during the summer.

We are very excited about these opportunies and covet your prayers as we prepare. 

Pennington Orientation

April 30, 2013:  I arrived at Pennington for an orientation session and was measure for BMI, blood pressure, weight, and height.

A poem about me from a former acquaintance

 

One day a girl – she came over

I felt like I’d found a four leaf clover.

We walked through parks with streams and trees

Skipping, jumping, very at ease.

We hunt and fish at our own leisure

Scaling and skinning, gutting for pleasure.

Also, when in my turck we do ride

I sit on the passenger side.

Hither and yonder, driving she goes

Clutching and shifting, dodging potholes.

I do not mind when she comes over

She is my own personal chauffer.

Thinking of her, I get melancholy

Her voice is a song – her eyes like a puppy’s.

So bright, so brown, tranquil they’re seeming,

But then look again, and you’d swear they were scheming.

She’s a girl, a woman, a companion worth mention

A give of laughs & smiles, not tension

Now it’s time that I be proposing

The eventual cause of this closing.

Before I do – I thought I’d mention, uh,

This girl, her name, it is Cynthia

-by Kenneth Harvey

 

Wild Child - By Shelby G. Bush

a poem from my Dad to my sister; his 3rd child and daughter "Dana"

Now I take up my pen to write
This daughter of mine, "Dana", who seems to be gone every night
Now I can't remember what she looks like
I've tried to get her to come see me with all my might
She could be fat or she could be slim
I don't know, because she's always gone with a "him".

Still I'll be hoping someday soon
She'll come and help me go run a coon
Or maybe she'll take time to give me a call
This daughter of mine who's no telling how tall.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to understand
how at her age she's always chasing a man.

To My Red Haired Hussy - by Shelby G. Bush

A poem from my Dad to his 2nd wife.

Now I take up my pen to write
Something other than my usual gripe
To the most special person in my life
and that is non other than my wife.

A note in which to say
How much I appreciate her every day
All the little things she does for me
Really does open my eyes to see

And now I continue on
About the last couple years gone
How she must have really cared for this man
and how I plan to return that caring, if I can.

Now as more days come to pass
I do not plan on her to hear my sass
But instead if I use my head
Before one of us is dead
To make a joy of each day
and let actions speak instead of what I might say.

The Perfect Year by Unknown

Ring out the old, ring in the new
a midnight wish to share with you
Your lips are warm, my head is light
Were we in love before tonight?
Oh, I don't need a crowded barroom
Everything I want is here
If you're with me next year will be the perfect year

No need to hear music play
Your eyes say all there is to say
The stars can fade or they can shine
Long as your face is next to mine
I don't need a crowded barroom
Everything I need is here
If you're with me next year will be the perfect year

We don't need a crowded barroom
Everything we need is here
If you're with me next year will be the perfect year

It's New Year's Eve and hopes are high
Dance one year kiss one goodbye
Another chance another start
So many dreams to tease the heart
We don't need a crowded barroom
Everything we need is here
If you're with me next year will be the perfect year

The Friend who Just Stands By - by B.Y. Williams

When trouble comes your soul to try
Love the friend who just "stands by"
Perhaps there's nothing he can do -
The thing is strictly up to you.

For there are troubles all your own,
And paths the soul must tread alone
Times when love cannot smooth the road
Nor friendship life the heavy load.

But just to know you have a friend
Who will "stand by" until the end.
Whose sympathy through all endures
Whose warm handclasp is always yours

It helps, someway, to pull you through
Although there's nothing you can do
And so with fervent heart you cry
"God Bless the friend who just stands by".

The Baby - by George McDonald

Where did you come from baby dear?
Out of the everywhere, into the here.

Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.

What makes the light in the sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.

Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.

What makes your forehead so smooth and tight?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.

What makes your sheek like a warm white rose?
Something better than anyone knows.

Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

Where did you get that pearly ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.

Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands.

Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?
From the same box as cherub's wings.

How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew.

But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought of you, and so I am here.

Piano Lessons written by my Aunt, Irene Bennett

Written by my aunt, Irene Vinyard Bennett, as a Christmas gift to the family in December 1997.

In her accompanying letter, she wrote,

            This narrative version of the truth about our piano is my 1997 Christmas present to you.

It is fairly accurate, although I can’t remember exactly when the Osborns gave us the piano, but it was between 1953 and 1960.  Daddy built the “shack” in two weeks the summer I was 11 or 12, 1953 or ’54, and then he had the Jim Walter home built in 1960, the summer I graduated from high school and had eye surgery.  I don’t know why but I don’t remember moving the piano from one to the other house.

I don’t remember exactly when, or how I went about deciding to return the piano, except it was in 1968-69 when Phil and I first lived in Nashville.  Daddy died in November, 1969.

The Christmas timing made it a better story for the contest I first wrote it for.  Our local paper, the Augusta Chronicle, chose someone else’s work to publish on Christmas Eve, so I deleted most of the fiction and changed pretend names back to the real ones just for you, but I left the fictional Christmas reference.

PIANO LESSONS

“Whispering Hope,” the large group of post-World War II teenagers in Sunday School that day sang a cappella because the adult classes had asked the only two youth pianists, Ray Lee and Judy Osborn, to accompany them.

“That makes me SO mad,” Irene complained to her friend, Virginia Bailey.  “Why don’t the adults let them stay in here?  They don’t seem to realize that we need a pianist, too!”  A little while later, she said, “I think I’ll just teach myself to play, so we won’t have to sing without music anymore!”

 

“Oh, can you really do that?” Virginia asked.

“Watch me,” replied Irene.

Irene Vinyard lived in Hammond, a small town in southeastern Louisiana, with her parents, maternal grandmother, and five younger brothers and sisters.  Her father worked as a maintenance man for Southeastern Louisiana College on the north side of town, while Mama and Grandma cared for the children on the south side of Hammond, in their crowded, three-room home Daddy had built with salvaged lumber in 1953 during his two-week vacation.  They all affectionately called it the Tar Paper Shack because of its single-canted roof and black insulating paper-covered walls.  The paper was attached with roofing nails and shiny protective washers.  Somehow he never got around to finishing it with the siding common to the gabled-roof houses in the neighborhood.  Every Sunday they walked about two miles to the small Woodland Park Baptist Church for Bible study and worship.

At Sunday Dinner when Irene told the family about her idea, Mama frustrated her by saying, “We don’t have the money to pay for lessons, and we don’t have a piano for you to practice on.  I don’t see how you can learn to play.”

One Sunday afternoon Irene went to church early.  Discovering no one in the fellowship hall, she began with one finger to pick out the melody of a hymn on the piano.  Several years of school chorus classes had taught her to read music, and she already knew the tunes from singing in church services.  However, as soon as anyone entered the room, she stopped, self-conscious about her lack of skill.

Such a start-and-stop-and-start-and-stop method might appear to be quite ineffective.  But, week after week as she tried to play with one finger, then two fingers, improvement gradually came.

First, the soprano, then the alto, next the tenor and bass lines, individually and then together – Irene worked determinedly one afternoon on the song, “Wonderful Words of Life.”  Suddenly she clapped and shouted, “Hooray!  Hooray!!”

“What’s all the yelling?” asked Raymond Osborn, coming in the door.

“Success!”  she grinned.  “That’s the first time I’ve played a hymn all the way through with both hands.”

“Well, congratulations,” the family friend replied. “Who is your piano teacher?”

“Me!” she joked and then said, “Seriously, no one.  I’m just trying to learn on my own.”

“Keep up the good work,” he said on his way out of the room.

Not long after that exchange, Irene received a call from Mrs. Pottle, a local piano teacher and wife of the head of the music department at Southeastern College.  She said, “Irene, I would like to teach you to play the piano without charging you.  Can you come over Tuesday afternoon at four o’clock?”

“Of course,” a surprised Irene said quickly.  “Thank you!”

On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Pottle explained, “A friend of your asked me to teach you.  He thinks you have promise as a pianist, so let’s begin.”

For thirty minutes, Irene was thrilled, carefully following instructions as she played the marvelous baby grand piano in the living room of the Pottles’ large, two-story, white frame house with a wrap-around porch next to the railroad near the college campus.  Then Dr. Pottle arrived home.

“What is happening here?” he asked.

“Meet Irene, my newest student,” she replied.

“Oh, no,” he announced, “you are not taking on another student.  You have been ill and there is no way you can add something else right now.  You know what the doctor said!”

Irene sat in stunned silence until an embarrassed Mrs. Pottle reluctantly said, “He’s right, Irene.  I really want to teach you, but I can’t at this time.”

So after only one half of a piano lesson, a dejected Irene plodded home alone.

Later on a warm July evening, as the Vinyard family ate their usual beans and rice and cornbreadc supper, the phone rang.  Mama answered it and almost immediately said, “Oh, no!”  When she finished talking, she turned and said, “Raymond Osborn has had a heart attack!”

After his hospitalization, Mr. Osborn recuperated at home for several weeks.  The doctor thought the south Louisiana heat in an unair-conditioned office might be too stressful for Raymond.  On his first day at home, his wife, Emilie, called Irene.

“Dr. Aycock wants someone to be with Raymond at all times in case of an emergency.  Since I work in the mornings and Ray Lee and Judy both have other obligations, I need help.  Would you come and sit with him?”

“Of course,” Irene answered.

When Irene arrived at the Osborn home the next morning, Mrs. Osborn explained, “I need you here while I work from 8:30 until 11:30 and then I will come home to prepare lunch.  Each day my husband will rest in the living room and read or do his paperwork.  You may bring something of your own with you to do.  If there is any problem, call the emergency number for help and then call me at my work number posted next to the phone.”

“Irene,” Mr. Osborn asked, as his wife left the house, “how are your piano lessons coming along?”

“I’m improving, sir,” she replied truthfully, “but it’s hard to do when I only practice once or twice a week at church.”

“Let’s make this a useful time then,” he suggested.  “We moved the old upright our children used into the hallway under the stairs when we bought our baby grand.  Why don’t you play it every day while you are here?  I will correct you when I hear something wrong.”

Delighted, she headed for the piano stool and twirled around on it until it was the right height.  “Start with some favorite of yours,” he called from the living room.  So she tried Christmas carols, only to discover that except for “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” most were written in keys she had difficulty playing.  She decided to try an easier hymn, “The Light of the World Is Jesus.”

“No, no, no,” Mr. Osborn finally objected.  “Stop jumping around, Irene.  Start with Hymn Number One, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and work on it until you can play it all the way through without a single mistake!”

Irene groaned, but complied – day after day, three hours each morning for two weeks!  Following the same practice pattern she used at church, she could soon play several familiar hymns.  For some inexplicable reason, flats were always easier to play than sharps, so she preferred songs with those key signatures.  More importantly, she definitely developed the habit of daily practice.  So, after her “adult-sitting” job ended, she returned to her sporadic sessions at the church piano.  However, she still wasn’t ready for an audience of more than one.

Shortly before Christmas, Daddy cut a small pine tree from the nearby woods, anchored it in a pail of rocks, and all the children decorated it.  Reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books about frontier family life inspired the Vinyards to make popcorn strings and cranberry rope of their own.  Presents, however, were meager.

On Christmas Eve, a big truck backed into the front yard and five strong men piled out of it.  With Daddy’s help, they unloaded the extremely heavy piano that Irene practiced on at the Osborn home.  Maneuvering and re-maneuvering, they finally managed to squeeze it into Grandma and the girls’ ten-by-sixteen-foot bedroom along side their two full-sized beds, a cedar chifforobe, and a bookcase topped with a black rotary-dial telephone.  As they called “Merry Christmas!” and drove away, all the children were shouting, “Play something, Irene!”

Excitedly she tried, only to discover that all eighty-eight keys were stuck hard and fast.  Not a sound came from that piano!  With disappointment written all over her face, Irene cried, “What an awful Christmas present!  Why would anyone give us a piano that we can’t play?”

Daddy explained, “The roof at the Osborn house leaked and dripped water onto the piano, Irene; and no one saw it until it was too late.  Raymond thought we might be able to save it enough for you kids to enjoy anyway.”

“But, how?” they all chorused.

An experience maintenance person, Daddy thought out loud, “The presence of a steady, low heat should dry out wet wood so it doesn’t crack.  Let’s hang a light inside the piano that will burn all the time,” he proposed.

He quickly installed the bulb and then instructed them, “Every day, I want each one of you to play every key at least once.” And, that’s what six children, and sometimes Grandma, did, day after day, until the sound of each ivory-less key slowly rejoined the piano.  A trained musician would have flinched at the cacophony, but to Irene and her siblings, the old piano made mellow music.

With everyone wanting to play, the home-grown piano lessons sometimes became so enthusiastic that Daddy had to yell for peace and quiet.  Everyone, even the boys, Charles and Gary, took turns plunking away, although not all persevered to conquer the instrument.  Soon the once-wet-now-dry Christmas piano added daily tunes of joy to their lives.

Ultimately Irene reached her original goal.  Her friend, Virginia, proudly watched as she, and eventually two other sisters, play hymns on Sunday morning for the sixty-five teenagers in the Intermediate Department.  Later, on Youth Sunday, the Osborns and the Vinyards all beamed with pride as Irene played the organ and sister, Paulette, the piano.  Of course, Irene used the foot pedals only on “Flee As A Bird,” the offertory she and Paulette had worked on for hours.

Irene decided her next challenge would be to play hymns she didn’t know, so she began to sight read and then deliberately to learn new songs.  Her skills grew until she began to accompany congregational singing at the SLC Baptist Student Union chapel services and eventually she became the pianist for Sheilah Baptist Church in Tickfaw, a nearby community.

Several years later, Irene learned an even different piano lesson, when Daddy telephoned her to say, “Ray Lee, the oldest Osborn daughter, asks that we return the piano to her.”

Shocked and hurt, Irene asked angrily, “Why would anyone want to take back a Christmas present?  Especially after all these years?”

“Well, Irene,” Daddy explained, “she and her husband are into collecting antiques.  For sentimental reasons she wants to redo the old piano she and her brother and sister used growing up.  You can understand her feelings.”

“Oh, Daddy,” she groaned.  “I do understand that they all learned to play on it, but we did, too.  I love that old piano more than anyone can imagine.  What am I going to do?”

“It’s your decision,” he said.

The piano represented so many joys and accomplishments, years of fun and work to all the Vinyards, how could she give it back?  Besides, it was a beautiful piece of oak furniture that she had dreamed of refinishing herself for her own home one day.  For a person who possessed little of significance, owning that old piano filled with memories really mattered to her.

“It was a gift, after all, and no one is required to return a gift, is she?” Irene argued with herself for days.

Then on the Sunday morning before Christmas as she played carols on the church piano, she smiled, remembering how difficult those songs had been to play that first day at the Osborn home.  “What would Jesus do in this situation?” she asked herself.

When the congregation sang, “We Three Kings,” the words bearing gifts kept repeating in her mind.  Suddenly her hands faltered on the keyboard, because she realized that on her long ago Christmas Eve, Mr. Osborn had come bearing not the gift of a piano, but the gift of music.  He had given her the opportunity to learn to play ANY piano.

Tears of gratitude slid down Irene’s face as she realized she could give the gift of music, too, by returning the piano to his daughter.  The beloved old family treasure would evoke memories, memories of piano lessons and life lessons that now included the Vinyards as well as the Osborns.  The issue settled in her mind, Irene humbly sang with the other worshippers as she played, “Guide us to Thy Perfect Light.”

THE END