Wednesday 30th May

I have not been well the last couple of days, and last night.   I had a headache which I knew wasn't migraine because the migraine tablet did not have any effect, and anyway the headache was in the base of my skull, migraines occur at the side of my head.  So last night I took two strong prescription pain killers, perhaps I should have just taken one but the dosage was one or two.  They certainly worked in getting rid of the headache but made me feel very ill and nauseous.   So nauseous I couldn't even bear to move about, so I lie still, whimpering and dehydrating, and the cat climbs into my arms and snuggles down.   Then I start getting a pain in my chest which travels upwards, I think I am having a heart attack and I wonder if Bubbles will have to be prised from my cold, dead body, like Greyfriars Bobby.   Or is just dogs who do that, refuse to leave their dead masters?

Anyway, as the day has worn on I have gotten better. I think Bubbles, bless her heart, was concerned.  She climbed up me this morning until both front paws were on my shoulder and her face inches away from mine, and seemed to be saying "are you alright".

I rang Larry with apologies for not going to the hospital.  Pattisue had just started back a fortnight ago after all her chemotherapy, but she has got to go back tomorrow to start another round of chemo, her cancer is advancing.

I was able to go out this evening to pick up a takeout from the Golden Corrall and took this photo.

 It is popularly known as the Grand Canyon State but has other nicknames as well.  The Apache State because of the great number of Apache that lived in the territory, and fought to keep newcomers from the state for many years in the 19th century.


It has also been known as The Baby State because it was the last of the contiguous 48 states to be admitted to the union in 1912.  It wasn't until the 1950s that Alaska and Hawaii gained statehood. 




Changing the subject, I believe there is going to be a referendum in Peurto Rico in November this year to be the latest state in the union.  The island was ceded to the United States in the Spanish American War and Puerto Ricans became US citizens in 1917, but the islanders may not vote in US presidential elections.

MEMORIAL DAY

The Obamas were at the Vietnam Wall in Washington.  Vietnam has been the focus of this Memorial Day, as it is the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.  The lady between them is probably the widow or mother of a veteran.   Seeing Obama with his arm round her I thought again of how good he is at reaching out to people.

Me, I went to the usual service I go to.  An elderly (ie in her 90s) lady said to me, rather tenderly I thought, "you come here every year".  I have been for the past three years but I had no idea anyone was counting.   I saw a few people I knew.  This lady makes cool collars for the troops at the Senior Centre.  Cecil and Louise were there and I was introduced to their grandchildren.  And a couple of people from Emmanuel.

 The Service is usually held outdoors but was inside today.

 The Boy Scouts carried in the Colours.  The young lad on the left, Jackson, is from Emmanuel, he is my friend Nancy's grandson and I posted this on her Wall (if that's what it is called) on Facebook, which is the first time I have tried such a thing. 

 The guy  who gave the address I see around town from time to time; he is the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and a Methodist pastor.

I also know the guy with the pony tail, he is a professor at OBU, and I can't for the life of me understand why old men have pony tails here.   They somehow look ok on Indians and white men up to the age of 18, but on old white men they look unkempt.

The funeral home showed a video of all the veterans who have died in the past year, made up of snap shots like this.  It was very well done and I thought it was rather nice.

The end of the Service was outside when they laid a wreath and were firing off their salutes.  They look as though they are clay pigeon shooting.

 I like the way there is always food and drink at these things.  Especially as I hadn't had any breakfast.

This afternoon I went to the cemetery where Larry is which is on the road between Shawnee and Tecumseh.  It is on the main road, and as I was leaving I came down a pathway which I thought sloped down to the road, however I bumped over a kerb, which apparently is illegal.  A sheriff saw me and pulled me over.   As I obviously didn't know what I'd done wrong he let me off after looking at my driving licence, which he said was a first as he'd never seen a UK licence before.


I rang Pattisue in the afternoon and we went for a meal at the China Buffet.   She is not feeling too bad at the moment.  And Rosalyn is feeling better.

DAY OF PENTECOST

There seemed to be a lot going on in church today which I will share with you through the photos I took.  Being Pentecost we had banners and streamers and incense, the whole nine yards.  They have certainly lessened the incense though since I ran out of the church practically asphyxiated.

There was a baptism but I couldn't see it at all as it takes place at the back of the church round the font, and I was in a pew up the front.
I took a picture of the cake though.

 Tate is a girl.  I somehow assumed it was a guy.  There's just no knowing the sex of people here from their names.

 This is what happens on birthdays and anniversaries.  There is a holy huddle while those with the birthdays etc are blessed by Fr Bill.  Tiffany, whose birthday was yesterday, is in the middle of this huddle.  My friend Nancy, on the right of the picture, is Tiffany's mother in law.  Tiffany's daughter, Kate is the little girl in the red shirt in front of her grandmother.  Nancy's son Jack, is in the red shirt at the back of the huddle.  Nancy's ex-husband, Jack's father, is Chief of the Citizen Pottawatomie Tribe.

A group of ladies in the church put together wreaths and arrangements for Memorial Day tomorrow to raise funds for the church outreach.   Me though - I am going to look for a bird feeder to take to Larry's grave.  I think he would like that, he used to love watching the birds feeding. 

You will see a lot of people in the pictures are wearing red which is a Pentecost tradition, but I don't know why.  Another tradition was to release balloons into the sky over Shawnee, but that is not very good for the environment, so instead they release lady birds, but they call them 'bugs' here, and they will be beneficial for the church garden. 

This little girl is Olivia, aka 'Spangles and Bows, because of her amazing collection of hair accessories, which are different every week.  Her mother gets them from another state or I would be buying them for my precious grand daughters.

Bruce and Rosalyn have been in New Mexico, they told me when they were coming back but I'd forgotten, I did think Rosalyn would be in church this morning and was rather surprised to see the choir master playing the organ.   When I got home there was an e-mail from Bruce saying that she had been taken ill on the plane when they left Albuquerque two days ago, they left the plane at Dallas, and on medical advice hired a car and drove to the hospital in Shawnee where she was admitted and diagnosed with pneumonia and dehydration.   I went to the hospital straight away  just as she was being discharged.   She still thought she was infectious though and the nurse wheeling her out had to persuade her she wasn't, she had been having antibiotics for 48 hours.  

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

This is one of those Big Deal holiday weekends that everyone celebrates, as opposed to a Federal holiday where banks and offices close but no one is celebrating.

As I said yesterday I was out and about today.   I went first of all to the Farmer's Market as there was supposed to be more going on than usual, and there were a few more stalls, and a band

 and a stall giving away cupcakes.

After the Farmer's Market I went to Walmart.   I am very protective, or nervous, about my shiny resprayed car being scratched so I parked right at the far edge of the parking lot, where the fat people have to go.

This afternoon there was supposed to be a concert in the Veteran's Park, opposite the church, organised by a local group of Disabled Veterans commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam Conflict.  I went along at the time they said it started,  but if they had a concert it hadn't got underway when I was there, there were just speeches from the stage. 

 I didn't hang about too long, the weather is very hot at the moment and even though there is a breeze I wanted to get back to my cold house.

This evening I went to a birthday party, which was very pleasant.  All the guests - apart from family - were members of Emmanuel. I took a bottle of Elderflower Cordial from Belvoir Castle, which I'd bought from British Foods online which provoked some interest.   I do miss the soft drinks we have at home, they just have pop and soda here.


Our hosts, Jack and Tiffany, have a lovely home and garden.

 I took these pictures when I arrived.  There were a lot of people on the patio by the end of the evening.  And when it got dark there was a fire going at each end.  There were a lot of children there, and they were in the pool.

 There used to be a slope from the patio down to the garden and Jack was telling me he built the patio last year - it used to be a deck that was rotting - then he built this retaining wall round it.

I took this picture of the car - and it is the last one I'll take - to see if the windscreen still came out looking weird.
 

Friday 25 May

My day has been focused on waiting for my resprayed car to come back.  I posted this picture and stared at the windscreen, it looks a bit odd, so I went outside for a look and it is perfectly normal.

This is a big deal holiday weekend so I was getting anxious about them finishing it, I wouldn't have got it back until Tuesday if they hadn't, but they came about 5.30.   They had quoted $1500 to do it but when they came they said they would charge $1000 - £638 - so I thought that wasn't bad, and very kind of them.

Although there wasn't any rust, all the paint had come off the roof and the boot, and the rest was looking really shabby.  My friends have all got nice, shiny cars so mine was always the misfit in the car park, but now it can hold its head up.  

I haven't ventured far in it yet, just to the Golden Corrall for a takeout.   I think I will be running around tomorrow though.  

                                             

Thursday

Yesterday evening, Wednesday, Elizabeth led the last Adult Interest Group, or as more popularly known, the Adult Youth.   We discussed what we had done, what we liked, and what we would like to do when we reconvene after the summer.  I favour the more social events, going out for a meal etc.  

Everyone is talking at the moment about the film 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', and we are going to see that when it comes to Shawnee.  The guy who owns the cinema complexes and Shawnee Little Theatre is a member of Emmanuel and he said it will come to Shawnee in about three to four weeks.   Has anyone seen or heard anything about it?  It stars Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, and is about a group of English retirees in India.

 Elizabeth and her husband have a lovely house and garden and the meeting was was held on their deck, which is actually much bigger than it looks here.  It must be lovely to have family meals out there in the summer.  There were nine of us there, I thought there would be more.  That is Sharon sitting on the left of the picture, and my friend Sandra on the right.

A picture of the garden/back yard.

Elizabeth called it a P party, she got some pizzas and asked us to bring a dish beginning with P.  I took some pears mixed with Birds custard, into which I had melted dark chocolate.

Buying the tinned pears was a challenge.  I have been here four years and still can't speak American.  I asked the drug store assistant for some tinned pears.  Blank stare.  I carefully repeated and enunciated it, but I might as well have been talking Chinese.  I asked if it was my accent which was a problem, she scowled and said "probably" (they are not hot on customer service here), she handed me over to someone else who still couldn't understand me, but at least was more pleasant about it, and asked me to write it down (I thought this is worse than trying to speak French)  As I was writing a light came on, and I remembered things are canned here, they are not tinned.  So 'Voila' we were on the same page, and she got them for me.

Today, Thursday, I had to ask someone else to get the donuts.  I have been trying to ring the Body Shop to see how my car is getting on, and haven't been able to get a reply.  I hope it will be ready by tomorrow.

Meanwhile I have embarked on some gentle spring cleaning.  A guy from the Cable Company had to come on Tuesday because I was not getting a good television picture, it was leaking through the cable which he replaced.  His visit necessitated a trip up into the attic, which is a bind, because the access is in a corner of my closet,  so I had to drag out my clothes and suitcases and boxes so he could get his big ladder into the closet.   So I sorted those out before putting them all back.  I toyed with the idea of sorting the clothes into co-ordinating outfits but then decided my time would be better spent washing down the outside of the house.

Tuesday 23 May

Yesterday, Monday, the car went in for respraying.  As I was dropped off and it was driven away I thought I should have taken a before and after photo.  I am hoping it will be done by the end of the week.

I went to the Senior Centre this afternoon.  It is within walking distance but when the temperatures are way up it is a bit too hot to walk, so Kate the Centre Director picked me up.

My friend Phyllis is beginning to get about after her awful accident 7 weeks ago, when she was mowing her back yard and fell off the mower, and she called in the Centre to visit with me, as they say here.  We nattered about English things, she often talks about her childhood in the East End, she had to look after her disabled mother and five brothers which has made her a very, very nurturing person.

She has the broadest Cockney accent I have ever heard, someone listening to her this afternoon thought she was Australian. 

Care packages for the troops which will be sent tomorrow.

 Someone who loved her community service at the Senior Centre. I don't know if 'I WILL BE BACK' means she is going to re-offend, or visit.

The Community Service workers also tend the flower beds.

 The Kansas state licence plate isn't very informative, so I shall tell you that it is known as the Sunflower State because they grow there so profusely.

The notable thing about Kansas is the Sante Fe trail which brought hundreds and hundreds of wagons through Kansas in 1822, and Dodge City became the largest cattle market in the world.   The Santa Fe trail and Dodge City ring bells, I think they have something to do with Wyatt Earp and Saturday morning cinemas.

The licence plate shows part of the state flag and the 38 stars you can see represent the fact that Kansas became the 38th state in 1861.

Saturday 19th May

Yesterday, Friday was Pattisue's first day back at the hospital chaplaincy.   As her chemotherapy is over her doctors gave her the go-ahead to go back but Larry was rather concerned that it might be too much for her, she is a lot weaker than she was.  When I got there Kevin, Larry's assistant, had gone round one floor, and she was about to do the other.   I left her to it then went back to see how she was getting on.    She had gone round half the floor and was taking a rest while she did the data entry, and was going back to finish the other half.    When I rang later in the afternoon she said she was tired, and had a rest when she got home.

I was at the Senior Centre in the afternoon.  As I was at the Conference on Tuesday I changed afternoons with Louise.  

Someone rang while I was there and asked if we had any community service work.  When someone is sentenced in Britain to community service don't the courts tell them where they have to go and serve it?  Or do we give them phone numbers and leave them to find their own cushy jobs dusting and vacuuming the Senior Centre, and the like.

 Today, Saturday, I have not been out.   I have not felt very well, I did get some jobs done as I learned the other day at the Ageing Conference that it is important to keep moving throughout the day, but for most of the day I was reading on and off.  I think I have read more fiction since I have been here than in the rest of my life put together.

The other day I was out when Mark was putting in new taps and Kevin came to cut my grass, and apparently it was quite a reunion.  It really is a small world in this town.  A few years ago Kevin had bought some old houses and Mark renovated them for him to let.   I thought Mark gave me a funny look and a hug when he left.  Kevin said once that he cuts my grass because I do as much in the community as he does - which is so not true, I don't reckon I do much at all compared to others, but that's probably what he told Mark.

Wednesday/Thursday

Wednesday
I think today was the last Wednesday meal before Emmanuel half closes for the summer.  From June 1 they will revert to the summer schedule of one Sunday service at 9.30,  the choir will be on holiday and all the classes and youth activities will end until summer is officially over on Labour Day.

So instead of the meal being at Emmanuel there was a picnic at - what we would call in England - Kevin's estate, but here it is referred to as his 'back yard'.   We gathered at first in the house then took the food down to the picnic site.

 While everyone made themselves comfortable in his lovely home and garden Kevin (who is very involved with the YMCA) was attending a swimming event there.  Here Tim Sean, threading hot dogs on skewers, was loosely in charge but everyone including the children all help.


I would have liked to have taken more photographs but I feel self conscious because no one else does.

There's a garden round the house, then the woods, and the picnic site was through the woods at the bottom of the garden/back yard/estate.

grilling the hot dogs.

Clearing up.

Kevin came home and joined the party after about an hour.  He is here on the right of the guy in the red shirt.

Earlier in the evening, before they started clearing up, the trailer had bales of hay on it and children were being driven round and round.  


It was a very pleasant evening, I would have liked a picture of us all sitting in deck chairs round the fire, but as I said I get self conscious.  It was a hot evening so we were back a bit from the fire.

End of the evening.

Making our way back to our cars.

Thursday
Out early for the donuts for Kiwanis.   The speaker was from the local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.   He was saying that every veteran who has had an honourable discharge is entitled to a military presence at their funeral - with a folding of the flag ceremony which is then presented to the family, and Taps (I think we call that the Last Post), and the speaker is the person responsible in Pottawatomie County for organising them.

After Kiwanis I went home for the 'lie in' I didn't have earlier, catching up on the news with a cup of tea.  Then I was running round town on my errands, one of which was getting written confirmation from the Shawnee police that I haven't acquired a criminal record since the residence card was stolen.  I finally got that in the post to Homeland Security.  And when the replacement card comes I will keep it in a locked box in the house, not carry it around with me as I thought aliens were supposed to do.  

On the subject of aliens - or more specifically illegal aliens - a far left liberal spokesperson wants the term banned.  They are 'humans' not aliens, and they are not illegal.   It was pointed out to her by a tv anchorman that if someone comes into the country without going through the proper process, they are breaking the law, they are entering 'illegally', therefore they are 'illegal'.  I thought I was fairly liberal but I am not that ridiculous.

Tuesday 15th May

I was up and about early this morning to go to another Aging (do we spell that ageing, their spelling doesn't look right?) Conference, this one was in Norman.

I was glad I went but the Conference was very badly organised. I wanted to go to a session on Optimal Memory Performance, but it was held in a very small room and there weren't nearly enough chairs for everyone crowding into the room; the hotel were asked to bring more, but after 20 minutes they still hadn't appeared and the room was becoming more and more crowded.   So I gave up and went to something dealing with senior hunger in Oklahoma, not that it affects me, but I have a problem getting my head round the widespread poverty here - in what Americans themselves think is a 'rich' nation - so am interested in anything that might enlighten me.

After lunch I went to something on Fitness and Wellness.  It was called "Know your Numbers, Lower your Numbers".   What is 'normal' blood pressure, 'normal' cholesterol etc., I didn't know these, so that was informative.

I was late getting into the dining room and the only seat left was at a table next to my friend Sandra, we didn't know each other was going to be there, so that was a nice surprise.

When I got home I flopped out and watched episodes of documentaries of life for ex Amish.  Funnily enough when I later looked at my e-mail there was one from Fr Clark saying he had been looking at this programme and did we have anything similar to the Amish in Britain.  I don't think we do, the only rather closed society I could think of is the Plymouth Brethren, who believe - like the Amish do - that if you are not one of them you are bound for hell.


Finally, a licence plate. 

 The nickname for Missiouri is The Show Me State.   There are quite a few stories regarding its origin but the most widely known gives credit to a Missouri US Congressman who said in a speech in Philadelphia in 1899 "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfied me.  I am from Missouri.  You have got to show me".     

Last Few Days

Starting today, going back, Kevin cut my grass this afternoon and here I am telling the American (or at least the Shawnee) voting public who to vote for in the local elections next month.

 Although Jo is a Democrat she said the issues they vote on as City Commissioners are non partisan.   I'll remember to trot that out if my far-right Republican landlord doesn't like me displaying her board.   Mark needed to come out today, something seemed to be leaking into the cupboard under the sink, it was saturated;  he replaced the whole tap system, something had worn out.   Anyway, I put my little sign out when he'd gone.

 This evening Jo was addressing a meeting of her supporters.  I think I knew about 80% of the people there, Fr Clark is on the left of the photo, Louise is on the right. There were some nice snacks and it was all very pleasant and social.

Cecil and Louise.   Pattisue was there, and quite a few friends from Emmanuel.  


This morning I had to go to the City, I had an appointment with the immigration lawyer.  I'd just had one piece of paper too many from Homeland Security, regarding my replacement residence card (you may remember months ago I had my purse stolen and the card was inside) I applied for a replacement myself, I have since had my fingerprints taken twice (unsuccessfully, they're still worn out) then had a form asking for police confirmation that I don't have a criminal record (which considering the number of illegal aliens in the country with criminal records is laughable).   

I thought I had to apply to every police force in every district I've ever lived in since I was born (which I had to do originally) but the attorney said that as I have only lived in Shawnee since losing the card, I just have to go to Shawnee police station, so that's not so bad.   I have a few misgivings though about their ability to give me what I want, they're not used to immigrants in Shawnee, but Cecil said he will speak to his friend the Police Chief if I have a problem.


I'll probably do this on Wednesday, I am going to be out of town tomorrow.

On Saturday morning I went to the Farmer's Market which runs from May to October, but it was very disappointing, as it was last year.  It used to be packed with stalls, but as you can see there really weren't many at all.  I went for some home made bread,  but there wasn't any there.  I ended up driving ten miles north of town to the Harvest Creek deli for some.  I don't know why I don't buy a bread maker, it costs as much as ten loaves.

Any excuse to take a photo.  And this is my kitchen sink and shiny new taps.

 

Friday 11th May

It has been raining today, but after a few hot days in the 80s it is nice to have a cool, damp day.

Spent the morning trying to get on top of filing and paper work.  I'd overlooked my motor insurance and it is due on Monday so I telephoned to make a credit card payment.   I know I am a stupid old woman, but does anyone else struggle with life in the 21st Century?

I rang the number I am supposed to ring to make a payment, and got through to an automated service.  I went along with it for a while, tapping in my policy number etc. hoping I might soon reach a human being,  but when the robot asked for my credit card details I hung up.  I mean, who thinks it is a good idea to give credit card details to a robot?

So I rang the insurance company's local office but they are not supposed to take payments, however when I started wailing down the phone she took pity on me and said she would take the payment but I mustn't tell anyone it was her, it would be our little secret.   Next time it is due I will send off a cheque as soon as the reminder comes.


I got to the hospital later than usual, in the middle of the afternoon, and by then quite a lot of patients had been discharged, a few more were asleep, so it didn't take long to get round.

 The Iowa originated in the Great Lakes region, and then moved east into what is now Iowa and Missouri, but in 1839 the tribe ceded their lands and moved to the Ioway Reservation on the Kansas-Nebraska border. There factionalism broke out between the mixed blood and full blood Iowas. The mixed bloods wanted assimilation, while the full bloods wanted to follow their traditional way of life

In an attempt to preserve their traditions, the full blood factions of the Iowa Tribe moved into Indian Territory, Oklahoma, in 1878 and were given lands within the Sac and Fox Reservation. Today, the two are recognized as separate entities. The Northern Iowa are headquartered in White Cloud, Kansas, while the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has offices in Perkins.

The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma developed an eagle rehabilitation programme to protect injured eagles and increase community awareness of wildlife and Native American culture.  The Grey Snow Eagle House operates under two USFWS permits. The Religious-Use Permit allows the Tribe to house eagles that are non-releasable due to the nature or severity of the injuries. This permit also allows the tribe to gather naturally moulted feathers and distribute them to tribal members for use in cultural ceremonies. 

The second permit allows the Tribe to rehabilitate eagles for their eventual release. The Iowa Tribe is the first tribe in the country to be permitted through the USFWS as Eagle Rehabilitators.

I might put the Snow Eagle House on my bucket list, Perkins isn't very far away.

From the Arboretum