OCTOBER and NOVEMBER WALKER NEWSLETTER

 

Hello!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I have lots to be thankful for.

The biggest thanks this year is for the safe delivery of my great granddaughter, Ellen Joy, who was born by c-section on the 7th of this month weighing 8 lbs and 8 oz, almost two weeks early.  Miss Ellie was breech so the doctor decided to try and turn her only to discover that her heart rate was off.  When the c-section, was done, they discovered the cord wrapped around her tiny neck three times! God certainly worked everything out.  Next week, Dwight and I are going down to Nashville to see the little Miss. I can't wait.

Another thing I'm grateful for is the safe travels for Dawn and Katie during the two days of flying back from the Philippines. It's hard to wrap my head around the idea of my daughter, Dawn, being a grandmother. Meanwhile Randy- who a couple weeks ago was in the hospital on antibiotic IVs for a problem that suddenly flared up but is now doing OK- and William are holding down the fort doing all the services back in the Philippines while Dawn and Katie are over here for two weeks.

I've never been one to worry about getting older, but this year in the beginning I dreaded the thought turning 65 this month after Thanksgiving because that was how old my mother was when she died.  Also, I would now be older than Dana, who died at 64- something I never imagined happening as he was two years older than me- as well as being older than my brother, who died a year ago at 64 too.  Then lo and behold, I was told the news of Annette expecting a couple weeks before my birthday and suddenly, where the Bible talks about God turning our mourning into joy, it became a reality for me. What is more joyful than a newborn baby girl?  And to get to be with Dawn and Katie this Thanksgiving is icing on the cake. This birthday will always be a reminder of how God works miracles in our lives- even through dark times.

The last two months have been up and down physically for me again. I finished sewing the beige summer chair covers in my living room the end of Sept, harvested mint and raspberry leaves, collected flower seeds, and harvested all the green tomatoes left on the vines before the temp dropped to freezing. I also have worked on my shade gardens transplanting ferns and planting spring bulbs. Between begin down with the cold/flu for a miserable couple of weeks, along with some down days when my pain levels rose due to the cold weather, I winterized the duck and henhouses with straw and leaves, put leaves in the duck pen as well, filled buckets with sticks for kindling, mulched all my roses for winter, and cleaned out the back end of the woodshed, which was quite the project that had been needing done for a couple of years now.

I still need to winterize the beehive and my garden plots yet before it gets too cold to be working outside. For some reason work always manages to stick around.

You know me, and how my mind is always buzzing with ideas, well after Dawn and her family went back to the Philippines, Katie was on my mind. I had hoped to get her started with piano lessons when they were back here this summer, but it didn’t work out. Every week, when I’d give piano lessons to my two girls, I always thought of Katie, wishing I could sit her on my piano bench too. One evening, when I was talking to Dawn (it’s her morning) and she was telling me about Katie beginning her next school year, I got a brainstorm. Dawn doesn’t have time or the patience to give Katie piano lessons- she had someone else give piano lessons to Annette and William. Now that Katie is older, she is able to do most of her home-school work by herself.  I thought, why not somehow mail piano lessons to Katie where she could learn how to play the piano by herself too?  If Katie didn’t understand something in a lesson, Dawn could always explain or show her on their keyboard.

So, for a couple of months, I spent hours on my computer every week typing, photocopying examples, and explaining piano lessons- the way I do with my piano students in person.  Then I wrote songs to play.  I put three lessons in one envelope and sent out four batches by the end of Aug for a total of twelve lessons.  So far six piano lessons have made it to the Philippines. Say a prayer that the rest will make it too. Next, I got a notebook and plastic sheet covers for the copied hymns out of the piano course that I began with Dawn and always use. I punched holes in the first twelve piano lessons so that Katie can put in the notebook too. Originally, I was going to copy from the old piano course that I thought Dawn had given me back, but instead had ended up somewhere with their things in storage.

I told my two piano students how I was making and sending piano lessons to my granddaughter in the Philippines and asked if they (my first girl is in the second piano book and the second girl is in the first book) would be willing to let me copy some of the songs out of their piano books. They both said “yes” thrilled at the idea of copies of their piano songs going around the world.  In fact, my youngest student’s grandmother offered and copied off her granddaughter’s songs for me.  Then I took a picture of both of the girls at the piano with their piano books and put it on the first page in the notebook telling Katie about my two piano students and how they let me copy piano songs for her. I got the notebook ready with the Christmas gifts to go in the box that is to arrive in the Philippines for Dawn and her family in time for Christmas.  That way Katie can keep doing piano lessons until they come back home next summer.  Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way, and this grandma wants to make sure that Katie has the chance to learn to play the piano like her great grandma, grandma, mother, and older sister does.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving season on your end!

Dorcas

 

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER WALKER NEWSLETTER 2023

 

Hello!

Another month and a half have passed since I sent out the last newsletter.

The ground is dry and dusty from the dog days of summer as we head into autumn.  We are still picking a few green beans, peppers, and tomatoes from the garden. Not only did the crazy hard freezes from this spring kill the azalea, most of the lilacs, and wisteria blooms this year, but it also killed the young grapes beginning to form on the vines. For the first time that I can remember there are no grapes.  Thankfully, the last summer roses continue to bloom as the autumn clematis perfumes the air.

I finished drying the rest of the apples that turned into quite a chore.

We traveled to Annette's baby shower in Nashville on a stormy day.  The rain pounded down so hard it was hard to see. I was glad that Dwight was the one behind the wheel.  Twice we had to go into the other lane where the road was flooded over to get through. Then as the baby shower was coming to an end, everyone began getting alerts on their phones about a tornado heading to Nashville.  So, everyone stayed later than planned due to the bad storm.  Annette got a lot of lovely baby gifts, and we had a great time together, but it is one baby shower that I don't think anyone will forget about soon. The next day I went shopping with Dawn and Annette as she finished getting the rest of the stuff on her list for the baby.

It was hard to say good-bye to Dawn and her family not knowing how long it will be until we see them again. Dawn, Randy, William, and Katie flew out Tues from Nashville and I was quite relieved when the news came that they had safely made it to their Philippine Island Thursday morning. Thankfully, they have adjusted a lot better with the complete change in time and days going back than they did coming here. The folk were so excited to see Dawn and her family again and their church and children attendance has increased. Meanwhile, Katie has begun her school year of home-schooling.

As I said last time, I was doing great and able to do things like before my shoulder acted up when I fell the first of the year. Well don't you know it, the very week Dawn left, I fell. I was carrying two potted plants out to my back yard as we had turned the air conditioning on. I ended up tripping over some ivy that I love growing along the ground and up some of the trees that unfortunately has spread into the path. One minute I was on my feet and the next, before I could catch my balance or flip my body, I was flying through the air landing on my right shoulder and hip with the plants flying everywhere. Talk about a mess!

I ended up in the recliner again with ice packs on my hip and right shoulder, but after two days my rotator cuff muscle- that I had previously damaged- was doing OK.  I gave a huge sigh of relief.

Two weeks later, one morning, I picked green beans- like I had been doing the previous weeks- and weeded some areas really pushing myself in the heat.  Everything would have been OK, but the very next day I went grocery shopping, and it was pouring rain. In my defense, it had been three months since I was down with my right shoulder bleeding internally, so I thought I was completely out of the woods. I held my umbrella in my left hand while I loaded gallon jugs of milk, vinegar, etc. along with bags of cans with my right hand into the trunk hurrying to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. That night, my shoulder started hurting with the pain intensifying unlike when the rotator cuff muscle hurts. I immediately got ice packs, took pain meds, and settled myself back in the recliner. The next day and the next it was no better- waking up a couple of times in the night due to the pain. After eleven days my pain decreased enough where I cut back half on the pain meds, and I was able to be up and around more with my sling.  Then, wouldn’t you know it, my shoulder pain shot up again after carrying gallon jugs of water for the animals until I woke up in agony where nothing helped.

Dwight called the hemophilia clinic and he drove me down two-and-one-half hours the next day to see the hematologist. To make the trip, I propped myself on pillows, lying down in the back seat, dozing off and on from being up the night before. At the clinic, blood was taken for more tests and x-rays done to make sure that my rotator cuff wasn’t torn, my shoulder fractured, or a bone chipped. The hematologist wanted me to come back the next week, but I stayed home as my clotting time was up enough that I wouldn’t be given factor, and I was already doing everything they recommended. Dwight agreed as traveling only aggravates an internal bleed.

So went the month of August. Meanwhile, dear Dwight has filled in the slack.  He not only cooked, washed dishes, baked, cleaned, hung up wash, folded clothes, went to town, paid bills, picked up prescriptions, and braided my hair, but I had- before all this happened- bought a bushel of tomatoes, ordered beans to can, and more tomatoes. Although Dwight doesn’t even like tomato juice, he manfully chopped up what I needed and helped me make and can tomato juice twice and along with green beans. I told him he would definitely get an extra star in his crown for helping me with the tomato juice.  Dwight has though, I have to confess, become quite bossy and particular about me using my right hand even in a sling. Every time I turn around, Dwight is telling me no, I can’t do that- acting like I am some decrepit person living in a nursing home. My pastor and daughter both told me that I needed to listen to Dwight- nothing like everyone ganging up on me. Dawn was so impressed with how well her brother was turning out to be a housewife that she said instead of the “pioneer woman” line; Dwight could start a “pioneer man” brand instead.

Thankfully, to save my sanity and Dwight’s, the beginning of this month I was able to cut my pain meds in half and finally could sleep through the night. What a blessing!  I am trying to be good; I promise. I am so tired of living in the recliner and popping pills.  My fingers itch to get out in the garden and into the dirt. Meanwhile, I am able to wash dishes and cook more. I have taken walks in the woods to help regain strength and snuck out to the garden- don’t tell Dwight- to collect and save flower seeds.  I enjoy rocking in my chair on the front porch, observing, and taking care of the birds.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful son that helps and watches over me- even to the point of spying on me when I am innocently rocking on the porch enjoying the hens and ducks in the yard to make sure that I am not doing something I’m not supposed to be.  I feel like I have turned into quite the lazy person, but the year isn’t over yet.

Until next time~ Dorcas