FRIDAY DECEMBER 30, 2011
11:30 AM


I have been cleaning up the mess left by the plumber when they installed my new field line.  They had to remove several small trees.  I took my new chain saw and cut them in to small pieces and then burned them.  I have about 95 % of them removed and burned.  I will remove the rest of them after the plumber returns and completes the spreading of the dirt.  It has rained quiet a bit since they put in the new field line.  That makes a muddy mess, but it has helped settle the dirt around the field line.

I need to do a small roof job, but it is cloudy and the wind in blowing.  I will wait until the sun comes out and the temperature is a little higher.

Pat has just left to meet one of her relatives for lunch.  They have met several times for lunch since we moved back to Iuka.  They enjoy visiting and eating together.

I have watched parts of several bowl games over the last few days.  I will watch Mississippi State and Wake Forrest later today.  I will probably watch the entire game unless it is a blowout.

I talked to Amy last evening.  She was off yesterday.  She said that she caught up on her sleep.  She was glad for the break.  She has been very busy since Christmas.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 27, 2011
5:30 AM

We had a very good Christmas.  The family all got together at my brothers house for breakfast.  Everyone had plenty to eat and I enjoyed visiting with family members.  Mother came.  She enjoyed the visit and food.  My sister in law had scanned a lot of old family pictures and they were on a slide show on the TV.  Mother enjoyed viewing the pictures.

Amy any Matt came late Saturday night.  He had to go to work on Monday, so they had to go back home on Sunday evening.  She got a call Christmas day from one of her outside jobs, so she would have had to leave even if Matt could have stayed.  She sent me a text yesterday afternoon.  She was working on her third body at that time and had made a removal for the funeral home.  I hate that she could not spend more time with the family, but she had a good day making extra money yesterday.

Pat had lunch for some family members on Christmas day.  One of my brothers and his family, my aunt, Amy, Matt, Pat, and I all enjoyed the food and company for  a few hours.

I had a gift card from Lowes and Amy gave me another one for Christmas.  I went to Lowes yesterday and used them to buy a chain saw.  I used it a little yesterday before the rain forced me to stop.  I was removing some of the trees that had to be taken down to install the new field line.  I will finish the job over the next several days.

I enjoyed the time we had together with family members over the Christmas holidays.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 22, 2011
2:35 PM

It has been raining here all day.  It has been a good day to stay inside.  Pat has been cleaning the house today.

I have not felt good today.  I have been running a fever.  Pat told me if I did not get better that I should got to the doctor.  If I do not get better I will go.  I do not want to be sick during the Christmas season.

Amy is planning to come home on Friday night.  She is off Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  She will get to spend three days here if she does not have to go to one of her other jobs.  (she does contract work for a Memphis funeral home and a funeral home in Arkansas)  She needs to make the money, but I hope she gets to spend three days in Iuka.

I went to the coffee shop this morning.  One of the ladies that does a lot of baking brought a strawberry cake and chocolate chip cookies.  The men at the table enjoyed both.  I asked if I could bring Pat a piece of cake.  They told me that I could, but they were going to check with Pat and make sure that she got the cake.  I did give her the cake.

One of our neighbors brought us a cake today for Christmas.  I graduated with her husband and he in in my Sunday School class.  She also brought us a cake when we first moved to Iuka.

It is good to have neighbors like this couple.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21, 2011
5:18 PM

Pat and I went Christmas shopping today.  We bought items to place in Amy's stocking.   Pat bought some cloth to make her a new stocking.  We did not buy anything big, just several small items that she can use and some gag type gifts.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2011
10:30  AM

The plumber was here yesterday and installed a new field line for our septic tank.  He told me that this work would solve the problems that we were having with the old field line.  They will be back in a few days to complete the smoothing of the dirt replaced over the new line.  He said that the dirt needs be allowed to settle before they do the final leveling of the dirt. 

It has been raining here this morning.  It is not raining now, but we will have more rain before the day is over.

Last night Pat, Aunt Ginny and I drove around and look at some of the Christmas lights in Iuka.  We had a good trip and enjoyed looking at the lights.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2011
7:50 PM

I spent the day inside the house.  It was too cold for me to do anything outside.  I  watched some football and basketball games on TV.

The Christmas party was this evening at Carrington House.  Pat and I went.  When we got there all of the residents were in the lobby.  Their family members were also there.  Each family brought a covered dish and the home provided the rest of the food.  There was plenty of food. 

Kay Bain a northeast Mississippi performer sang several Christmas songs.  After her performance residents and their families ate dinner.  There were tables set up outside the rooms for the members and guest to eat.  Tommy and Carol were also there.  After we ate mother went back to bed and the staff delivered the gifts to the residents.  Mother received several nice gifts.

Everyone had a good time.  After visiting with mother and the family Pat and I came home.  I am watching Dallas and Tampa play a football game.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14, 2011
6:30 AM

The weather was very nice yesterday.  I spent about half of the day in the yard.

We are getting a TV for our bedroom.  In fact we bought a new TV yesterday.  The direct TV installer will be her today to hook it up.

It is Christmas time and we have a sewer problem.  Two years ago we had to have a lot of work done on Amy's system.  Last year we had to replace the sewer line at our home in Wynne.  Now it is another December and we have a problem in Iuka.  We had to have our septic tank pumped our last week.  The plumber will be back in the next few days to install another field line for our tank.  He told me that this will solve our problem. 

Pat went to the Red Hat club meeting yesterday.  Their entertainment was an Elvis impersonator.  She said that he did an excellent job and all of the ladies had a good time and enjoyed the show.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2011
12:20 AM

Pat and I went with the Young at Heart(old folks) group from church yesterday to Bellevue Baptist Church Christmas program.   The program was very good and was well attended.  We left Iuka at 9:00 AM.  We ate lunch at a cafeteria in Germantown.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the food.  We then went to the church for the program.  We arrived back in Iuka a little after 7:00 PM.  I enjoyed the program and trip, but it was a long day.

I have just gotten up.  I woke up this morning with a sore throat and not feeling well.  I stayed in the bed until just a few minutes ago. 

Pat went to Sunday School and Church.  When she got home she took some medicine and went to bed.  She had a terrible head ache.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2011
5:37 PM

I have spent the day in the house just about all day.  I did go to the coffee shop this morning to catch up on the latest news and views.

It snowed here from about 7 AM till about noon.  The snow did accumulate a little, but about an hour after the snow stopped there was no sign of snow.

Pat and I went to the Young at Heart group from Iuka Baptist Christmas meeting yesterday.  We met at a local cafe and had a dutch treat lunch.  After lunch on of the ladies from the church sang a number of Christmas songs.  She is very good and the group enjoyed her singing. 

Amy sent me a text of her yard this morning about 7 AM.  There was a lot of snow, but the streets were clear and she had no trouble getting to work.

We stopped on our way home from Memphis on Sunday and bought a new Christmas tree.  The tree is already wired with the lights.  I put it up and Pat has decorated the new tree.  It looks very good.  She has also put our some more decoration in and around the house.  Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas around our home.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4, 2011
7:11 PM

Pat and I went to Sunday School this morning and then went to Memphis.  We went to take Amy out to lunch for her 38th birthday.  We had a very good visit and lunch with Amy.  They were not very busy today and we were able to go to lunch as soon as we arrived. 

On the way home we stopped in Corinth and bought a Christmas tree.  We had a tree here in Iuka, but we have looked and looked for it and have not found the tree.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3, 2011
4:45 PM

I worked in the yard two days this week.  I moved and burned three piles of limbs.  I stayed in the house for a couple of days, it was raining.  Days like that I miss not having a garage.

Pat and I went to the Iuka Christmas Parade last night.  The parade was very good and was well attended.  It seemed odd not to be in the parade. Since 1998 I was in the Wynne parade every year as mayor.

I went to the monthly breakfast for men at the church this morning.  I have enjoyed going to this each month since we moved back to Iuka.

Tomorrow is Amy's birthday.  Pat and I plan to go to Memphis and take Amy out for lunch.  She will be working.  If they are busy we may have to wait for a break in the work to eat.  Most days she can go around lunch time, but there are days when there are no breaks because of the work load.