Linda's Sunflower

Kaleb is now the proud owner of a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire. He bought it from an individual last night after work. When Kaitlin gets the neighbors truck this next weekend, we will have THREE white vehicles: the van, Kaitlin's truck and Kaleb's car! No big significance with that, just the way it worked out. This weekend has been all about shopping for cars, visiting mom, cleaning house and doing laundry. YUCK! Plus I finally got about 6 months of paperwork filed. I HATE filing - probably because I have to do it at work too. Now it's time for the Chiefs game. We'll see if they can make it two in a row. They're down 10-0 right now, but it's still early! (One can always dream!)

THIS JUST IN! THE CUBS HAVE WON THEIR DIVISION! IT'S ON TO THE PLAYOFFS! CORBY CAN REST EASY (UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS START)!

Kaleb bought a 97 Chevy Cavalier on Wednesday. We gave it back to the dealer today! We had an agreement with them to fix the air before we would buy it, and they (seemingly) fixed it. When Corby stopped by Wednesday after work, the air was working. However, when we picked the car up yesterday, it wasn't. The "check engine oil light" came on also. So today, we took it back to the dealer, so they could fix the air and find out why the oil light came on. They called us back saying they couldn't fix the air, so we could either bring back the car, or they would take $450 off the price. We opted to give back the car. So, Kaleb had the car for just a few hours, only drove it about 2 miles, and it's gone. Bye bye Cavalier! On to something different. He's already scouring the paper and Kansas.com for something else! Corby's Cubs are still leading their division. They have to either win one of their last two games, or Milwaukee has to lose at least one of their last...

I've changed my mind (as 50-year-old menopausal women often do!) and am NOT going to have a garage sale this weekend. I decided that we really don't have that much stuff left from mom's to sell, so will hold onto it until the spring. The biggest item we have is the lift recliner, and I'll probably just put an ad in the paper this weekend. The twins have both found cars, or in Kaitlin's case - a truck! She is buying our neighbor's '98 Dodge Ram truck. It IS a gas hog, but she is getting it for a good price; and since she works 1 mile from home, and school is less than 2 miles from home, she's decided she can afford the gas. She has wanted a truck for as long as I can remember. She won't be able to get it for about a week and a half, as the neighbor needs it until he goes to Texas to pick up his new truck. Kaleb found a 97 Chevy Cavalier, and once the dealer puts in a new battery and fixes the A/C, he'll buy it. Lots going on in our household right...

I spent part of the day unpacking items we are storing after clearing out mom's apartment. Getting ready for the garage sale next Saturday. Here is a clown cookie jar that a friend of mom's gave her in 1949. I know because she wrote that information on the bottom. I did some searching on the internet, and found that this cookie jar is worth $150-$200. Needless to say, I will not sell it at the garage sale. However, if any of you know someone who collects old cookie jars, let me know! In response to an earlier post, Heather put first dibs on our chimenea (sp?). Here's a picture Heather. Corby is in seventh heaven tonight! He's been a Cubs fan forever. They won today, and the Milwaukee Brewers lost, so that puts the Cubs 3 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers in the race for the division title. GO CUBS! And then those Kansas City Chiefs decided they'd win a game today too! It was a good day for sports in our house! Kaitlin is interested in a Dodge Ram truck that a neighbor ...

The twins are driving us crazy with car buying fever. We took Kaitlin to look at a 97 Chevy Cavalier today. Looked pretty decent on the outside, not too bad on the inside; but when we went for a test drive, it rattled something terrible. Not sure what the problem was, but we turned around and went right back to the car lot. Kaleb called on a 95 Ford Escort tonight, so we are going to look at it tomorrow morning. Corby hates Fords, but at least this one would be economical. Kaitlin called on another car tonight, but had to leave a message. Ugh! I hate car shopping. This is how Corby spent the early evening hours. Cinnamon would NOT stay out of his way. Everywhere he went, she followed. Guess she was lonely. This is a frame for a swing. We never got around to buying a swing for it this summer, but we're hoping to find one this fall. There is a family history story behind this swing. It was built by my "grandfather", Wilbur. See, Wilbur was not truly our grandfather - he was...

Why do vacation days just FLY by? Work days sure don't go by that fast! LOL! I've got to show you this picture of our "less than intelligent" cat. Her name is Muffin, and she's 1 year old. I had been cleaning one of my Longaberger protectors, and had it sitting on the floor. I heard noise behind me, and this is what I saw when I turned around... This is the same cat who drinks water with her paw, sits in the bathroom sink waiting for you to turn the water on, and attacks Callie (our 12 year old cat) whenever she can. Kaitlin calls her "demon kitty". That might be a bit harsh, but it's pretty darn close to her behavior! Brandon had his first college calculus test last night, and he said it was "easier than I thought it would be." We had planned on going up to Manhattan this Saturday for "Family Day", but he has to work 2-11pm, so we're not going. I took Kaitlin to look at a couple of cars for sale after she got home from school...

Okay, nothing exciting today...just some much needed R&R after taking mom to the doctor this morning. I also did a little bit of grocery shopping at Dillons - picked up a few of their bargains. Corby and I had leftover hamburgers for dinner. The twins are both working tonight. I am getting ready to do some more scrappin'... Isn't this little girl a doll? For my fellow employees, you'll recognize momma! Of course, this is Chelsy and Zoey. Zoey turned one a few months ago, and she's just a delight. She reminds me of Kaitlin a bit - because it's hard to get her to pose and smile for the camera! She's a sweetie pie tho! Today's music - some old CCR - for those of you too young to remember - Creedence Clearwater Revival. And our quote of the day comes from John F. Kennedy: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

No pictures to post today. Just a "working" day of vacation. Corby took the day off too and we CLEANED! Yuck! My least favorite thing to do! He cleaned out the garage, and packed up all the hazardous paint/chemicals/etc. to take to the Hazardous Waste Facility. Since we had to clean out mom's house pretty fast, we just loaded up all that stuff and brought it here, knowing we had stuff of our own to get rid of. He had planned on taking it today, but the HWF isn't open on Monday, so he will take it on his way home from work tomorrow. They are open until 5:30. I spent the day going thru the office area of the basement. This is my scrapbooking/cardmaking/computer playing area, and it needed a major cleaning. I had boxes of paperwork we packed up from mom's, as well as totes of photo albums, etc. to get organized. I'm about 90% done tonight. Still have some filing left to do, but otherwise I got it all cleaned, dusted and swept. I took a break this evening when Cor...

We got word on Friday that Charles, Corby's step-dad, has cancer of the esophagus and stomach. Charles has been like a dad to Corby for almost 25 years, so it's very upsetting news. After 5 days in the hospital and getting this diagnosis, Charles went home on Friday. He lives in Chandler, Oklahoma, but was at the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City. Charles is a Vietnam Vet, and proud of it! Corby went down to see him Friday (he was on vacation). There are a lot of decisions to be made about his care, but right now Charles just wanted to get home and get some rest. You know you can never rest in the hospital. This picture is of Doug, (Corby's brother), Charles, and Corby, last year right after Corby's mom, Margaret, passed away. This picture, taken the same day, is of the kids with Charles. Since my dad died when the kids were little (Brandon was 4 and the twins were just about 2) Grandpa Charles is the only grandpa they've known. Charles is one of those good 'ol guys ...

We went to the fair again on Thursday with my brother and sister-in-law, Mike & Diana. They had extra tickets to the Sawyer Brown concert that they shared with us. Ryan, Diana's son and Kaitlin went with us. We had a great time. It was a bit warm, but not too bad. Here's Kaitlin with her ice cream cone before the concert. Here's the group of us (minus me, the picture taker) heading into the fair. That's Mike, Diana, Ryan, Kaitlin and Corby. Not sure what Corby was doing, being silly I guess! And here's Sawyer Brown. Mark Miller, the lead singer, moves around so much, it's hard to get a good picture of him! They've been together 26 years. I knew it had been a long time, and they won Star Search back in 1983. Bucky Covington was their special guest. He did not open the show, but rather played 4 songs in the middle of SB's act. The band has taken Bucky under their wings, and Mark Miller produced his album. I couldn't get a decent picture of him. Cor...

I promised pictures of mom's new room at Presbyterian Manor. Here she is on her bed. She is so enjoying having her own space! She's even got a new wall clock, and a picture of Elvis! She's set now! I survived getting up early yesterday for the Eagle's "Taking It To The Streets" Campaign. Several of us manned the 21st & Amidon intersection. Our team leader, my friend Chris, told me today we raised almost $500! That's not too bad considering there were only 3 of us out there for the whole 4 hours. One person was a no show, and two folks were late. But the good thing is we raised money for United Way! Sorta makes you feel good at the end of the day! I didn't get any pictures of our morning. I was pretty much still asleep when I left home! I just put the van on auto-pilot and took off! Music of the day: Josh Groban, mellow music for the drive home from work tonight. And our quote for today is: "Attitude is the palette by which our lives are painte...

Had a great time at the fair yesterday! Brandon came down for the weekend, along with his roommate Brady. Kaitlin and Kaleb both took off work, and we all went to the fair. (Corby stayed home since we're going to the fair again this Thursday). Brandon and Kaitlin went to the concert - 3 Days Grace and Seether; while Kaleb, Brady and I wandered the fair watching people, rabbits, chickens, the petting zoo, etc. When the concert was over the kids rode a few rides - though it's way too expensive at $3-$5 per person per ride! I bought a family pack of 22 tickets for $20 and that was it for the rides! Here are Kaleb & Kaitlin on the Tilt-A-Whirl: Here's a cute little bunny rabbit: Here's a cute kangaroo from the petting zoo: We also celebrated birthday's today at my older sister's apartment. We celebrated my nephew Nick's 31st birthday and my sister Marilyn's 40-something birthday Brandon was able to enjoy the birthday celebrations with us before he headed...

Here's a BAD radiator. See BAD radiator. See OLD radiator. Say goodbye to radiator. BAD radiator. Here's a battery that was TOO big! See BIG battery. Not battery's fault. Previous owner's fault. Stupid battery purchaser. Can you tell how those two things might have caused us a long day? As mentioned in an earlier blog, Brandon's car needed a new radiator, which we could not find anywhere in Manhattan. We purchased one at Advanced Auto Parts here in Wichita (this will come into play later in the story). We got to Manhattan at approx. 10:00 yesterday morning. Brandon and I left Corby working on the radiator on the K-State "miles from the dorm & campus" parking lot. We walked to the other end of the campus where the Financial Aid office is to drop off a scholarship check from our church. By the time we got back to the dorm it was almost noon, and Brandon had to head to a 12:30 class. I went back over to the parking lot to help Corby. He had to tear apart ...

Enjoyed our day in Manhattan yesterday, but the upshot of Brandon's car trouble is that he needs a new radiator and fan. It's a good thing we drove both the van and Suburban up, as we left the Suburban for him to drive for a few days. The parts stores in Manhattan could order us a radiator, but not until Tuesday. Corby called parts stores here today and found one, so we bought it and the fan. We will be going back up to Manhattan on Wed. to fix the car. Brandon went to his orientation at Dillons while we were messing with his car. After he was done, we went to Target and bought him some work pants - he also bought some new shoes. We went back to his dorm room and hung out for a while, and then we took him to dinner at Chili's before heading home. He seems to be doing really well, has his plan for doing homework, and isn't playing too many video games - at least not until evenings after he has all his schoolwork done. His hours will vary at Dillons, and it looks like the...

This is big news - at least for mom! SHE GOT HER OWN ROOM this week! She has adjusted SO well in the Health Care Center at Presbyterian Manor; but was really wanting her own room. Her roommate passed away last week, and another lady who had a private room also passed away; so mom finally got her wish - a private room! I'll take pictures on my next visit and post them. Corby and Kaitlin went with me today for a visit, and we took her TV to her. She didn't need it in her other room because her roommate had one. She doesn't really want cable, so we had to run to Walmart and get her some "rabbit ears". She can get channels 3 and 10, but 12 is pretty fuzzy. Most of the shows she likes are on channel 3, so it should be fine. She is enjoying the CDs I took her last week, and she asked me today to bring her some more. She has become quite the "gad about" at PM, and is always off and visiting all her friends. I think this move has been SO good for her. She is suc...

This is a picture of my brother Terry (some of you know him as Jim) and his granddaughter Izzy taken at my niece Lenore's wedding last year. Terry doesn't get to see Izzy very often, as she lives with her mom and dad in California. I just think this picture is precious, and I know Terry would love to spend more time with Izzy. Here is my nephew Nick, playing with Izzy. She is a doll! And here are the proud parents of Miss Izzy - my nephew, Eric, and Heather! Doesn't Izzy look gorgeous in her flower girl dress? Yes, Cinnamon is family! Here she is showing off Brandon's K-State hat! I don't think she liked it very well! And last but not least (for tonight's pics) are Kaitlin and Kaleb showing off their driver's licenses! They had just gotten them in the mail the day we went to OKC to see Rascal Flatts, so these photos were taken in the hotel room! WATCH OUT WORLD - TEEN DRIVERS ARE ON THE LOOSE! Today's reading pleasure: this week's issue of Entertain...