Sad week

GEORGIA LEE JONES BIASCA 

8/15/63 - 12/18/12 

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6/81

Besties before it was a word.

undated/late 80s Christmas

undated/late '80s Christmas

undated/late '80s Christmas

undated/late '80s Christmas

undated/late '80s summer

6/88? 6/89?

Beautiful bride.

12/89 Christmas

Debbie was pregnant; Georgia was too, although she didn't know it yet.

8/90

I visited Debbie after Stacey was born in June. Georgia's Matt was born mid-September.

12/90

The last Christmas we were together.

12/94

Debbie and Georgia came out to see baby Holly,

leaving their own babies at home to come and see mine.

D, G, and I spent a day up in Breckenridge.

12/94 

Right before they left to fly back home.

 Holly and I flew out to California in the spring of 1996.  We stayed one night at Georgia's, and it was so much fun for all three of us to be together with all of our kids. That was the last time we were all together.

We kept in touch by phone only after that, although there was a period of a few years when I couldn't speak to her.  When I finally called her again, she picked up like nothing had ever happened.  She was like that.  She loved to talk about the old times, and between the two of us, we could piece together many memories.

Debbie, Robyn, and I have acknowledged that we knew this phone call would come. So while not a complete surprise, still such a shock.

Georgia lost a lot of battles here.  But that's not the end of her story.  Talking to her two years ago, she told me that she believed in God, believed everything in the Bible, and that she believed Jesus came to die for her.  Because of her mobility problems, she had difficulty going to her church on her own, but I know there were times she would read her Bible at home.  I can take some comfort in knowing that she is walking easily, dancing and running even, pain free, again smiling genuinely from her heart--and she is FINALLY AT PEACE.

Oh, God, we are going to miss her . . .   ::crying again::

CRAZY day

3:00 Holly has Chinese final, an online interview with teacher but is unable to access website. Hysteria and panic.

3:01 Trevor unable to find dress blues shirt for CAP Christmas banquet. Panic and mayhem.

3:02 Robert has to leave for Charlotte to meet Jean's plane. Flees the madness at home with everything in a panic.

3:03 I leave work early (as planned). I sit in the parking lot to return a call to JMU admissions. The admissions counselor tells me that Holly needs one more credit in upper level math to be competitive.  He says that because she is homeschooled, she has the flexibility to get this done, which would not be the case if she were in public school.  He says she can begin in January and that he would only expect her to complete a majority of the work.  After all, he tells me, public school classrooms don't necessarily finish their books.  He says that if she is still interested in JMU, that we can decide what curriculum to use and let him know by mid-Jan.  Meanwhile, Holly's early admission application will be turned over to regular admission.

I took this all as a good sign.  He was very nice, and if they weren't interested, they certainly could have just denied her application.  He also told me that he appreciated the 26 page course description that I attached to her transcript, that they frequently end up contacting parents to find out more about their curriculum.  This was nice for me to hear.

4:00 On the way to Charlotte, Robert gets a call that the rental house has a leak under the kitchen sink.

4:15 I get home.  Holly was able to get through to her teacher finally and complete her interview.

4:16. I find Trevor's shirt and throw it in the laundry.

Holly and I drop Trevor off at his CAP banquet, eat dinner at Cheddar's (yum!), and wander the mall until it was time to get Trevor.

9:15 We get home.

9:16 Holly checks email and learns that she got a 95% on her Chinese final!

9:17 Holly opens an email from University of Denver congratulating her on being accepted into their class of 2017!!

ROLLer coaSTER of a day!!

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(Holly got her first acceptance last week from George Mason.  Exciting times!!)

Recipe - Pumpkin Soup

No, it does not include the cat.

I've made this several times over the past few months.  It's pretty easy, and it's healthy.  Trevor and I scarf it down (although Robert and Holly won't eat it).  I've tweaked the recipe finally to where we like it, so I'm writing it down to replicate it next time.

PUMPKIN SOUP

1 generous T. oil (1 turn of the pan)
3 T. butter
1 bay leaf
4 ribs celery, diced
2 medium yellow onions, diced
salt and pepper
4 T. flour
1-3/4 t. poultry seasoning
1/2 t. ground coriander
2 t. hot sauce, or to taste
7 c. chicken stock
2 cans cooked pumpkin puree (15 oz. cans? Whatever one pie uses.)
12 oz. can evaporated milk (I use fat free)

Garnish:
freshly grated nutmeg
craisins

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in evap milk.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

Garnish with nutmeg and craisins.

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This recipe was adapted from Rachael Ray's Pumpkin Soup Recipe.

Past week and a half

Trevor was sick, Holly caught his cold, followed by Robert.  Robert used to have a super-charged immunity to stuff like this, but that's been one downfall with a change in his meds a few years ago.  The irony is that I have not caught this cold (or most others), despite being around germ-spreading little kids three days a week.  I'm not complaining though!

Trevor ended up with a load of math homework, while Holly worked diligently to wrap things up before the end of her classes in the next two weeks. This meant a lot of late nights on the couches with computers; it was kind of nice to watch. 

Lucky seems to be going through an older time right now (it seems to come and go). Instead of sleeping a lot, he's been more watchful.  Such a sweet old guy. We've been so blessed to have him as our dog. He still thinks he's a puppy.

Lakota has stopped herding the cats but still continues to torment Pumpkin.  I don't know what the deal is; she'll sleep on the same bed as Vader and leave him alone. She was out front with Robert yesterday, saw the cat across the street, and bolted.  She FLIES. The cat jumped up a half-story retaining wall, with Lakota jumping right behind her. She finally treed the cat, springing repeatedly six feet off the ground.  LOL

We finally gave Duck Dynasty a try.  Trevor's comment was that it was just like setting up a video camera in Callaway, and after watching an episode, I had to agree. 

The start of December brought a few days of lovely summer weather. We celebrated appropriately with summer barbecue food. And I pulled my flip flops out of my summer shoe box (and wore them)!

We have been pulling out Christmas decorations slowly. Lights are up outside, and we're getting ready for Jean's visit in 10 days.

We paid Holly's dual enrollment tuition today.  $1755 for three classes in spring semester, and that's not counting books.  (falls over in a dead faint)  Virginia has one of the costliest community college systems in the country.

Holly and I shopped at the mall today, picking up a few clothing items for her, along with a Christmas present (darling shoes!).  It was nice to just wander and hang out with her for a few hours.

More from November

 Two very different pictures to add!

Another stunning sunrise.  I've said it before, but one thing I missed while living in the woods was seeing the sun rise.  We were surrounded by trees. I desperately missed THIS and am so thankful so see it again!

Someone in the family passed on this older photograph.  My grandmother was one of five girls and two(?) boys. I had the privilege of meeting all of the sisters and knowing several of these wonderful women.  I don't know when this picture was taken; they always seemed old to me, and this is how I remember them.  However, since my great-grandmother died in 1960, it was taken at least several years before I was born.

My grandmother, Florentine ("Turpy"); Genevieve ("Auntie"); their mother Rose Droppelmann Connor; Kathleen, the oldest; Virginia ("Ginger"), the youngest; and Gertie.  Gertie was the last living sister, passing at the age of 99 last year.