Pat and Ruth's World, for what it's worth	Welcome to our World

Redlegsix

Name: Ruth Ann
Country: United States
Birthday: 1/8/1949
Gender: Female

Interests: Our girls, our "grand dogs and cat" church activities, spending time with friends. Sports of all kinds, especially Chiefs football and NASCAR.
Expertise: Enjoying life
Occupation: Pharmacy Clerk
Industry: Retail

Message: message me
MSN: kansas-mom@hotmail.com

Member Since: 1/6/2005

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Friday, October 10, 2008

Chattanooga Here We Come!!!

I wish that we had been able to take our time like this on trips when our girls were younger. Back then it was always rush rush rush because we were on our way to a softball tournament or just had a limited amount of time until Pat had to be back at work. Of course, most of our "vacations" involved either softball tournaments or family reunions....so there was always a specific time frame.

We spent the first night in Springfield Mo. I learned one very valuable lesson while staying there.....Always....and I do mean ALWAYS check the room out before registering at a new hotel chain!!! We decided to be thrifty and stay at an Americas Best Value Inn....we would have been happier if we had spent the extra money and stuck with Holiday Inn or La Quinta like we normally do on the road. It was a full sized bed...so we were not happy with that....we are spoiled and have a queen size at home. I had to literally CRAWL in and out of the bed because it was so close to the wall that I couldn't walk !!! Pat said his side of the bed was so soft that his feet kept falling off of the bed all night long...heheheheheh....I Guess I should have been grateful for the WALL on my side!!! We have long ago quit bringing our coffee pot with us because EVERY motel has a coffee pot.....well...not this one....I woke up at 4:00 in the morning and had to do without my caffeine shot until 6:30 when the "continental breakfast" began. The "continental breakfast" consisted of half a loaf of white bread half a loaf of whole wheat bread, a box of cheerios, a box of cornflakes, a half gallon of 2% milk and a half gallon of orange juice....oh and 8 rather unsavory looking donuts. I took my coffee and went back to the room!!! I think the most disturbing thing was that the door lock didn't work real well...they had a contraption rigged up....to loop over the door knob to "secure" the door!!! So...take advantage of our experience and be forewarned!!! At least it was clean...that was the plus to the whole experience.

Last night we stayed at Jacksonville, Tn. We had such fun on the way here!! This is "the land of cotton"...and they are harvesting right now. We stopped and took pictures of the huge cotton bales...Pat picked a piece of cotton from one of the left over plants for me....and then we stopped at a museum of cotton history to see what they had to offer. Then after we checked into our hotel, we went to The Cypress Grove Nature Park and walked through about 2.5 miles of what is basically swamp. It was beautiful and fascinating. They have a Raptor Walk with eagles, hawks, all sorts of birds of prey that cant be released back into the wild because of injuries. We really enjoyed it and it helped me get my exercise in for the day.

This morning we got up and headed to The Salem Cemetery Battlefield and the Britton Lane Battlefield Park...both small Civil War Battle sites. We also stopped at the Sheriff Buford Pussors home and museum....he is the one that was portrayed in the Walking Tall Movie.

We are spending the night in Savannah, Tn....we are in a mom and pop motel...small but clean ( but no coffee pot!!! ). Tomorrow we meet Kathy and Derek in Chattanooga and let the fun begin!!! I can hardly wait!!!

Hope you all are having a great week.

I promised Kate some pictures...I will get to those later...tonight I am going to relax....

5:22 PM - 29 views - 14 eprops - 8 comments - email it

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

It's Tuesday.....

I have been up for a while...reading Xanga subscriptions and trying to run through a list in my mind of all the things that I need to make sure are done before we leave on our trip tomorrow. I am still not sure why we are leaving so early...other than.of course that is the way we like to travel now that we are old and not on a time schedule ... heheheh.
We spent so many years racing from point A to point B that we never got to enjoy ourselves..it is so nice to slow down and be able to just stop and look at the things that interest us....and not keep looking at the miles that lay ahead of us.
I am so ready for this election to be over. I am not going to go into who I hope is sitting in The White House come January...as I have told some of my friends who hold decidedly different views that I do....neither of us are going to change our minds and it isn't worth risking our friendship to argue about things we have no control over. I sit and listen to the speeches, the debates, the ads and I have to shake my head at all of the "spin" that is going on out there. Even the guys that I agree with are doing it!!! I am surprised that we haven't all been sucked into the vortex that is caused by all of that rapid rotation!!!!!!!!

I wonder when the American People are finally going to get fed up with all of this nonsense and say ENOUGH !!!! Quit slinging mud and just give me the facts...quit trying to make yourselves look good and tell me the truth. How can the two parties take the same situation and spin it to make it look completely different from THEIR point of view??? I feel like Solomon..in all of his wisdom would have trouble making sense out of all of this. The fact that our daughters votes will cancel ours out is al little disconcerting to me...but that's ok...we will live with it.
Our busy weekend turned out really well at church. We had over 100 families come through the doors to comb through all of the goodies at the winter clothing give away. My favorite part of it was watching the children as they went through the toys and such that we had there....one of them proudly carried out the big old ugly gorilla that I had given to Pat for valentines day a few years ago. I told him that I had used that gorilla to remind me husband that I loved him..and now HE could use that gorilla to remind HIM that Jesus loves him!!! He had no idea what I was talking about....I told him we would love for him to come to Sunday School and learn all about Jesus. I told Pat when I got home that somewhere in Topeka...a man has the very same taste the we do in men's clothing...I saw him walk out of the church with his arms full of clothes...and most of them I clearly recognized as having recently hung in Pat's closet!!! Shirts....slacks...and ties...he is going to be looking pretty spiffy!!! lol
We still have a ton of clothing left....I guess we will make a donation to Salvation Army or the Homeless Shelter....someone can make good use of it.
The Flu Shot clinic was less of a success....about 25 people from church took advantage of it after church but only one lady from the neighborhood came in. I thought maybe some of them would want to avoid the long lines at the clinics but I guess Flu Shots didn't win out over watching the Chiefs get TROUNCED again on tv!!!
Pat has been making steady progress through the house. The entire upper level...the 3 bedrooms, hall and main bath are finished...scrubbed, sorted, folded, separated, painted and in some spots...re-carpeted. Now he is working on the main level...the foyer, informal and formal dining rooms and kitchen are done....when we get back from our trip....the living room is the next target!!! Of course....he said to me the other day...."Now that I am getting the house all fixed up I am not so sure that we should move".....roflmao...I KNEW that was coming...I just didn't know how long it would take!!! Of course he thought it would be ME saying that I didn't want to move.....heheheh. I just think we need to wait for the housing market to stop falling...right now we would not get nearly what I think this house is worth. Of course now is the time to BUY but we don't want to have two houses on our hands!!!
And how is YOUR week going so far???
Ruth Ann

5:42 AM - 30 views - 14 eprops - 8 comments - email it

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Another Busy Week

I feel like I need a weekend to recover from my last weekend...since I worked on Saturday and then spent most of the day on Sunday at church....but that pales in comparison to what is ahead of us this coming weekend. Getting READY for the weekend....is keeping me busy this week.
Once a year our little church ( about 50 active members) has a winter clothing give away as an outreach to our neighbors surrounding our church. We have been collecting clothing for sometime now....and stockpiling it in the Fellowship Hall. This week it was time to start sorting and getting it ready to throw open the doors. Oh my goodness...we have TONS of stuff....one of the local cleaners gave us all of the things that had never been picked up by customers...it was entire pick up truck jam crammed full!!! Of course it is mostly adult clothing...but it is really nice things that someone will be able to make good use of. And surprisingly, a lot of it didn't even have to be dry cleaned...shirts and slacks that people just must have wanted to have that nice cleaner finish to them but they can safely be washed and dried at home. So...a group of our ladies have been spending every evening up there at church ( I saw the lights on when I drove by last night...I played hooky...lol). We will be up at church all day on Saturday...greeting the people that come in to see what they can find to help their families out with.
Sunday...right after church we are having a flu shot clinic at our church. Jeff...my very favorite pharmacist in the world is going to be the one doing the injections. I help him with the flu shot clinics that he has around town each fall, at the retirement centers....so he generously offered to hold one at our church too. I will be helping people get their paperwork filled out and sort of playing "hostess" during the clinic.
We have rented one of those huge portable signs to advertise the clothing give away and the flu shot clinic...so I have no idea how many people we are going to have show up for either of them. It should be a fun weekend....exhausting...but fun.
I am sure that you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month....you will see pink pink pink EVERYWHERE!!! I click on the Breast Cancer Awareness Site Ribbon everyday to help fund mammograms but today I stumbled across a cute site that also is helping raise money for Breast Cancer Research and is a sweet way to tell someone you know that has been touched by Breast Cancer that you are thinking of them.
Go to The Celebration Chain and make personalized Celebration Doll for your friend or loved one...and Arimidex will contribute $1.00 to research...and they will send a note to your friend...telling them that they have been honored. I know it will put a smile on the faces of the friends that I have forwarded it to.
We went to St. Joseph, Mo on my day off last week to welcome a sweet little girl into the world!!! Erin, who is the youngest daughter of a dear friend of mine and her husband, Jesse had a precious little girl on Sept. 26th...Kaitlyn Sonny Marie weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz and is absolutely adorable!!! I hope to be able to spend lots of quality snuggle time with her on a regular basis!!! Now I can have an excuse to get all of those adorable little girl outfits that I have to pass up when I am shopping for Kieran....lol.
I have added a new "feature" to my wardrobe that I told Pat is just one more sign that I am aging rapidly!!! I had trouble on Saturday...when I was at work with what was obviously small capillaries in my lower leg breaking. I could feel the "ping" as they broke...it was a little scary. I now have what looks like 6 small bruises on the inside of my lower right leg ( that is the one that has been retaining fluids a little bit...as each work day progresses). I found a pair of LOVELY Ted Hose...and have been wearing them at work each day...and it really seems to be helping. No more "pings" and my legs aren't as tired at the end of the day. I called my Dr. on Monday...and the nurse called back yesterday ( I was encouraged...if it took her 2 days to get back to me he couldn't have been too concerned). She said...wear the ted hose....take a low dose aspirin a day and avoid salt!!! That last part is going to be the hardest part....I love salty food.......but of course most of it isn't in my diet...so having another reason not to eat it will help hopefully!!!
We are a week away from leaving for our long anticipated fall trip. I started getting things sorted out and organized today. We will take a nice slow leisurely trip there...take the back roads and just enjoy our trip....then we spend 5 days with our friends in Chattanooga, Tn before heading back home. We are disappointed that one of the couples that we normally vacation with each fall will not be there this year. I think Chattanooga didn't sound like their cup of tea...so they opted out of our little get together this year. We will keep in touch with them while we are there...online...and tell them about all of the fun they are missing!!!! heheheheheh ( Joy and Joe....I know you read my blog...there is STILL time to change your mind and come...we will miss you!!!)
I get to go to KC tomorrow for some quality Kieran time....Pat is going along with me...he will play golf while I play with Kieran and visit with Dionna. I can't tell you how much I love and adore that little grandbaby of mine!!!
OK....I have rambled on long enough...I hope that all is well in your corner of Xanga...and that you are having a great week!!!
Ruth Ann

8:16 AM - 37 views - 14 eprops - 9 comments - email it

Thursday, September 25, 2008

A little of this and that

We are enjoying the first week of Autumn here in the heartland. I wish that the weather could stay like this all year long....it is so nice to have the house open and the fresh breeze wafting through the windows. Pat built a fire in the fire pit, night before last and called me outside after dark to sit and talk and roast marshmallows!! (I only had two marshmallows...I was good).
Pat has been SO busy with the house....he has entirely finished the top floor...all of the rooms are painted, woodwork replaced that had been scratched up by one of the cats....he even bought a mattress and box springs for the antique bed frame that I wanted to put up in the 2nd bedroom!!! There are still a couple of things to do up there...curtains for the bedroom windows....new nightstands for that 2nd bedroom....not too much.
NOW Pat is tackling the main floor....he has started in the informal dining room.. painting right now. The only problem is....I can see a battle royal coming out of all this....because as he cleans and finishes a room he expects me to KEEP it that way!!! To put it nicely...I am not the worlds neatest housekeeper...I am more of the "relax...it's only clutter" type...and it drives him crazy!!! I think I am a lot like Kate...have to keep things out and in sight or I forget about them...only I think she is NEATER at it than I am!!! It has been a major bone of contention between Pat and myself for the last 39 years..he is a "neat freak"...in fact I am convinced he is just a teeny tiny bit "OCD" about things...and he expects ME to be just as neat as he is. Honey....it ain't gonna happen....lololol. I foresee lots of grumbling and fussing...as he points out to me that I left something out of place. Pray for us please!!!! lol
I think with this financial crisis that we are finding the country in ...that we will probably put off our plans to sell this house and downsize anytime soon. It only makes sense to wait and see if the market rebounds so that we can get a better price out of this house. Of course now would be the time to BUY a house...but we sure don't need TWO houses!!!
We had a wonderful time when we went to the Royals game with Dionna, Tom and Kieran last weekend. It was "Fan Appreciation Day" and there were over 20,000 people there....a lot bigger crowd than they had have for most games all season long. One thing that really stands out in my mind about the evening....they had obviously offered free tickets to the soldiers at Ft. Riley....before the game started about 250 soldiers...all in their fatigues were filing into the stadium and into their seats. I noticed them because all of the people in their area were standing and applauding them as they came in!!! A little while later...one of the cameramen that wanders around the stadium, taking pictures of different fans....put a wide shot of all of the soldiers up on "the jumbotron"....EVERYONE in that stadium stood up and applauded for them!!! As a soldiers wife and mother..I cannot tell you how touched I was!!! It is so heartwarming to hear the public support for our men and women in the military. I know that there are a lot of different opinions out there....for and against the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan...but I feel like we should all be supportive of our men and women who put themselves in harms way on a daily basis to protect our freedom. I am not ashamed to tell you that I cried...as everyone stood to applaud!!!
My Mother in law has been providing her own brand of excitement for the past week or so. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital with what they thought was heart trouble. She does have some fluid built up around her heart...but the real problem is her kidneys....neither of them are functioning like they should. They went in yesterday and put a stint in one kidney...I am assuming it is to improve blood flow through it. She will stay in the hospital for a couple more days...then go home to recover for a couple of weeks before she goes back in the hospital for more surgery to put stints in the other kidney. They said her kidneys were too compromised to work on both of them at once. So...all prayers appreciated....as she recovers from this first surgery and prepares for the next one. We will go to Birmingham to see her...while we are down south on our vacation next month.
And that is all the news that's fit to print from this corner of Xanga...how are things in YOUR neighborhood????
Ruth Ann

5:37 AM - 39 views - 18 eprops - 10 comments - email it

Friday, September 19, 2008

Late Breaking News!!!!!!!!! :-)

I just had to share this with you...our friend Derek...a retired police officer says this isn't all that unusual....happens all the time but who else but Topeka, Kansas would make it a front page story on their morning paper??? LOL I bet the guys Momma is SO proud!!!!!

Topekans find man passed out in living room

By Kevin Elliott

The Capital-Journal

Published Friday, September 19, 2008

A Mayetta man in an apparent stupor was arrested Thursday morning after Topeka police said he broke into a home in the 2000 block of S. Kansas and passed out inside the house.

Luke Anthony Wabaunsee, 24, was booked into the Shawnee County Jail at 9:42 a.m. in connection with criminal trespass, criminal damage to property and interference with a city officer.

Topeka police Lt. Chris Heaven said officers were called Thursday morning for a break-in at a home in the area and found the suspect passed out in the living room. Heaven said the man became combative and was tazed after officers attempted to wake the man.

Jenny Prichard said it was just after 8:30 a.m. when her husband walked to the downstairs portion of the house and noticed the broken lock on the 6-inch-thick front door.

After checking on her mother and other portions of the 7,000-square-foot home, Prichard said her husband retrieved a Pepsi from the kitchen and went to the living room. That is when William Prichard discovered the stranger passed out on the couch.

"He had his head on the pillow and was sound asleep," Prichard said.

Wabaunsee allegedly stayed asleep until police arrived.

"When he woke up, he started saying, 'I'm home! I'm home,' " Prichard said.

Topeka police said the man it was after Wabaunsee was awakened that he became combative and was tazed in the living room. Police said it is unknown why the man was in the home, but heavy intoxication is suspected.

Prichard said the man apologized several times after being taken into police custody. While she said she couldn't imagine the man actually mixed up their house with his own — it is the only one on the block — she said she it doesn't appear he attempted to take any items.

"I can't imagine he came in to steal anything," she said. "Maybe he looked at the stuff and decided he needed a nap."

6:11 AM - 64 views - 20 eprops - 13 comments - email it

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