A Day of Rest

It's a day of rest for me. The feeling that jagged rocks were poking out at my back and piercing all the way through was not a dream, or from sleeping the wrong way. A trip to the Urgent Care Sunday morning confirmed a scattered pneumonia to go along with a bad case of bronchitis. I hesitated even going to get it checked, as I know that most things in the cold and virus family just have to run their course, but I was pretty miserable. I've only been on the medication for two days, but I am already starting to feel better.

My Cousin Tony called and walking me through the "indelicate" procedure of "hacking." Hot soup to break up the phlem, and then - force the hacking. He had me laughing on the phone so hard that I didn't need the soup or to force it! And that, says Tony, is the best thing for me to do.

Keith has contributed by passing on the hospital incentive spirometer that he used to help keep his lungs open after his last surgery. Now, it is his turn to tell me to breath a little deeper!

Jessica dug out the old vaporizer and supplied a cool mist, and ran the extra errands.

My supervisor said, "Please don't come in today." - "Or tomorrow!" The doctor told me that after two days on the antibiotics I could return to work. That would be Sunday and today, Monday. I'll take Tuesday too, and give myself the extra rest - and they will be really assured the medication is working!

My pastor called and assured me of the prayers of the church. And to remind me that that I have an article due for the monthly newsletter by the end of the week or before if possible. But no pressure....


I'm doing a few chores and then resting, reading, praying and enjoying my quiet time. The rocks still feel like that they are sticking in my back - but not all the way through to my stomach. Maybe it is time to try Cousin Tony's "Soup and Hacking" remedy!

Back to Work

Keith packed his briefcase and headed back to work this morning. Six weeks into his healing he still tires easily, but is eager to get back to work and his normal routine.

I am thankful for a day off from work. President's Day is a holiday for the city where I am currently working as a temp. I need to spend some time updating the church website, preparing for a meeting at church tonight, and cleaning/cooking for the week ahead.

Jessica is home today too, and while she will take some time to study before class tonight, she is going to run some errands with me this afternoon. We are all out of the big 50 lb bags of cracked corn that feed our deer. I don't want to see them stand at the place we feed them outside the familyroom window tonight, staring in, wondering why we haven't fed them.

Hop-a-long, the young doe we have so named because she has a leg that is broken and just dangles, has picked up speed, and is holding her own, running as fast as the others through the snow covered field. The young bucks are getting the new nubby antlers. Despite the 0 degree days and heavy snows we have had, they run through the woods, jumping and playing.

The wind is blowing and it is about 12 degrees. The sun is sparkling on the snow. I will keep my eyes open for the little red fox Keith saw last week. It's time to get busy. I give thanks for the gift of a new day, good health, Keith being well enough to return to work, and I always give thanks for you too.

love,

Aunt Betty

Happy Valentines Day!

Greetings,

I'm celebrating a beautiful sunny day! Temperatures rose to about a high of 14 today, but the wind is not bad. We had a bald eagle perching from a tall tree in our yard for a couple of days last week, on the lookout for some fast food. (Fast running mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels that come to our house to eat the corn and seed we put out.) The season finds us all healthy as we bundle up in our thick winter coats to go out. The Mississippi River is ice covered this time of the year, and there are no barge whistles drifting into the air. The bald eagles, often 200 or more, gather around the lock and dam just a little way down the river from Muscatine to take advantage of the open water fishing opportunities.

We are still corn feeding the herd of backyard deer that come trampling through the deep snow, hungry, and grateful (I think) for dinner. Come spring I will cover my budding flowers with nets to discourage them from dinning on flowers al la king! Watching them eat outside the family room window, sharing the buffet with the birds, rabbits, squirrels, and sometimes racoons, is our main entertainment!

Keith plans on returning to work on Monday, February 18th. He is still low on stamina, but gradually getting his strength back. I've been taking various temp jobs and saving money for traveling to Ohio and Eastern Kentucky come spring. Jessica is still deep in her studies - with Law and Marketing (no math!!!) this semester. She juggles work/school/church/choir and tries to have a little down time on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

A highlight for us this month was getting to sing at our local Art Museum on the evening of February 7th. We did a mother/daughter duet concert with our neighbor, Tammy Ales. Tammy plays a 12 string guitar and makes beautiful music for us to sing to. They were featuring some local musicians, and it was a real delight for us to be included in that.

Have a delightful Valentines Day! Stay warm and healthy. I send you my love,

Aunt Betty

Mary (Watson) Wooldridge

b. Feb 1860
d. 1910

Married: Robert Wooldridge: September 7, 1877, Elliott County, KY

Maude Lewis would have been close to 10 when her Grandma Mary passed. Maude carried her grandma's name, in the Maude MARY Lewis. Maude Mary was Martha (Wooldridge) Lewis's first daughter, and it must have seemed just right to give her daughter her mother's name. Robert and Mary were both born in Kentucky. Robert's dad, Samuel Wooldridge, b. abt 1805, came from Virgina. His mother, Lucy Penn Hannah was born in Kentucky in 1816.

Maude Mary Lewis Fannin

Granny Fannin at Betty (Fannin) Fyffe's wedding, August 9, 1974. Both of my grandmothers were living and able to be there!

The "Old Place"

There was still snow on the ground when we climbed up the hill through the yellow Easters to walk around the Old Place. This was the home of Martha and Enoch Lewis after the flood of 1927 washed their farm away. They camped out on this hill for a summer and fall while building this cabin from old barn timbers. I've been told about this place, but can't remember all the details. I'll try to ask my Dad when I go home this spring. The land is now owned by Minnie (Wooldridge) Adkins - and Herman Peters.

George and Mary Magdeline "Polly" Mumbower Fannin

This photo is from the Elliott County, Kentucky Gen Web.