Still Here, Although The Creeks Are Arisin'

Today I realized it has been almost two weeks since I have posted, and then I looked at my blog stats and there are all of you out there checking in: Colby, Irving, Mineral Wells, Garden City, Ft. Myers, Tulsa, Denver, St. Louis, and points I cannot quite figure out, although some of them belong to some of my high school classmates, I think.

We are still here. Every new month I think things are going to slow down, but they never do. On Oct. 2-3 we took part in a retreat our church held at Eden Seminary in town. Soon, I hope, I'll get photos of that posted on the Compton Rising Blog. These crab apples were part of the campus scene that weekend. On Sunday afternoon the 4th, we took in the annual Best of Missouri Market at the Botanical Garden. Many crafts and great food. Even some quilts! On Oct. 7 there was a church board meeting, on the 8th it rained three inches here but we got the church newsletter mailed and then I hosted members of the Prayer Shawl ministry here that night. We have been busy knitters lately as there have been 5 dedications of shawls or lap robes for ill church members or friends in as little as 4 weeks! Ava also came to stay with us that week.

On Friday, Oct. 9 I drove to Cape Girardeau for a women's retreat. Two long-time friends went with me. It was a good weekend and respite from all the busy-ness of the previous couple of weeks. We returned to St. Louis on the 10th, and I got ready to lead our Sunday School class the next morning. (I also did some last minute shopping for a baby shower.) Norm and I were also hosts for the coffee hour on the 11th, and Norm had gotten the items on my shopping list and baked cookies while I was away. We then attended a baby shower on Sunday afternoon, and visited with friends that evening. Whew!

Monday we tried to get back in the groove at our exercise class, but the teacher has upped the tempo. We had to take naps in the afternoon. Ava came back for a couple of days while Barb went to market in New York. Norm realized that a tooth that had been loose had started to hurt over the weekend, and it wasn't any better. He woke up on Tuesday with a nice lump on his gum, undoubtedly an abscess. One call to the dentist and they saw him at 1 p.m. He came home a couple of hours later with the news he had endured his first (and hopefully last) root canal. He says it is every bit as bad as advertised. He's on antibiotics for 10 days and will go back the 23rd to get his new crown. So we have put a mid-week trip to western Tennessee (more research on Emma and Jesse's families) planned for next week on hold for now until we see how that turns out. Tuesday night I went to women's circle where we stuffed toys for 5-9 year-olds into 30 stockings that will be distributed to families for Christmas. (I did some last minute shopping for that, too, on the way to the meeting!)

This week it is raining again--almost two inches more. The rivers south of here are at flood stage and the creeks are running full. On the one dry day we had, Norm managed to plant two chrysanthemums in our front wall garden. If it ever turns sunny, I'll try to get a picture of them! Ava went home tonight and tomorrow I plan to go grocery shopping while Norm is volunteering at Isaiah 58 ministries, an outreach housed at our church. Then I get my hair cut. Tomorrow night is quilt guild--but I have my block of the month ready! Friday it is supposed to quit raining, but still be 20 degrees colder than normal. I've promised a dish for a funeral dinner that afternoon. Saturday is Book Club, and maybe a quick trip to the Farmers Market.

So that's what we have been doing. The Weather Channel says next week our temperatures will be warmer (seasonal average around 68 daytime) and DRY! Although I have yet to buy Halloween candy (last year we had 218; a couple of years before we had 256!) I noticed in Kmart last night that the Christmas displays were going up. This year is winding down a lot faster than I had imagined. When I get a little more caught up I have some pictures of the retreat, and of the Best of Missouri Market to entertain you. Until then, as a certain English professor in Florida would say, please just discuss among yourselves. Comments are enabled. And thanks for checking in.