16-12-10 (Read 2/27/26)

Bertice. Seriously, Bertice. It was funny what I thought as I got ready to go to her house to pick up my mugs --- whether I would be like a gushy fan girl, wanting her to like me, whether or not she would like me, be friendly. I settled myself down a bit. I resolved not to expect a visit. She made us tea and we laughed and talked for an hour. She told me about herself. We clicked, some of the conversations we've had in Facebook private messages setting the stage. She mentioned politics, and not really liking talking about it, but she had, and some of the hateful comments. I told her that I had been happy to see them, and I had. She is the first friend that I have chosen for myself where I know the politics are in general alignment. Well, there was Mary, but Mary changed, and Mary lives in Ohio. At any rate, a very good part of yesterday. 

Tyler and I talked a little bit about what motivates people to be their best, about the difference between doing it for outside recognition and inner satisfaction --- the knowledge that you have something the give and the world will miss out if you don't. He tried extra hard on the assignment he had last night, and he thanked me for going over it with him. 

I got to give Angela her graduation present yesterday and she was very happy and we got to have a little quiet minute and a hug. 

I got to see Kennedy for a little minute. 

16-12-14 (Read 2/27/26)

I'm pretty excited about the present I have for Angela for graduation. It came to me while I was at C&K salon, and Amber was washing my hair --- the fairy that I'd seen earlier at Ashton Art Gallery. Except it isn't exactly a fairy. I still like it, and I think Angela will too. 

I think that just celebrating this year in its own way is making Christmas easier for me. (oops! wrong journal!)

Anyway. Had fun laughing with other women while I was at Ashland Art Gallery. 

Did I tell you that Shawn and Destiny came by? 

I got Tyler's phone reloaded. And paid him for his work. And he came to me this morning, voluntarily, for review on his math notes for his EQT today. That was fun. 

Heard back from Andrew about the Mardi Gras parade.

We have our ticket confirmation for the Black Jacket Concert. 

Beverly and I got to visit a little bit yesterday.

JA is off work ... or is at home at least...right now, which is good, since today is his birthday.

Got to see Evan for a little minute.

We're set to get Willo on Christmas Eve.

I took two walks yesterday. 

16-11-30 (Read 2/28/26)

I wrote something in Goodtimes about Christmas and spending, and I am happy with it. It makes me feel good to have written it. I don't know whether or not it will change anything --- if the young adult grandbabies will do differently and feel differently about the days ahead, but I feel good that I tried. And the words are good. 

I don't think I told you about Thanksgiving. Short of the things that are worrying me, it was an ideal day. Beverly and her girls came over around nine and started cooking. Andrew and Annette came a little bit early. Everyone relaxed and visited and nobody hurried and nobody stressed. Neither Barry nor I cooked a single thing, and the kids even cleaned up after. Beth came for a few minutes, and Chris came after a little bit. 

JA had to work all through the Iron Bowl, but Beverly and her girls (and Josh and John) came over with snacks and watched the game with us. Barry grilled some chicken wings. 

Beverly and Angela and I spent some time together last night. Beverly and I met Angela at Macaroni Grill, and we had supper and talked and then went to see if we could find a dress for Angela to wear to graduation. It was fun to hear them laughing and talking as they picked things up, and as Angela tried things on. She was full of love and appreciation. 

"Thank you so much for my beautiful dresses. I had such a fun and happy night laughing and playing w you and Mom! I think you are the most amazing person and Grannie in this whole entire world. Thank you for always being there for me, from my first day of kindergarten to my last day of college;) I love you to the moon and back! 

Well really from my first day of life;) I just love you so much and I'm so happy to have you there for all of these fun moments."

16-11-28 (Read 2/28/26)

We had Deck the Halls yesterday. Beth and Rodney left for Houston before we started, but they stopped by on their way out and visited with us for a little bit and Beverly and JA came over and got to see them for a few minutes. Beth called later in the evening to see how it went. She and Rodney got stuck in miles-long traffic jams, so got home about three hours later than they usually would have. I can't remember exactly where she was in Louisiana when she called but it wasn't nearly as far as she wanted to be. 

Beverly and Annette sat on the patio and visited. Beverly talking about Standing Rock. Morgan sitting on the swing, holding Jaden, which she did for most of the afternoon. 

Barry stayed in his rocking chair and watched a football game. Brandon sat in mine and they talked easily about the game, and bees. A little while later Zak joined them, sitting on the sofa. 

Andrew spent the afternoon in the front bedroom, rolling up the Saran wrap ball of presents The game is something he saw online and thought would be fun. He is especially looking forward to watching others play it. He's helped me find dice and the saran wrap --- it has been a fun thing for us to do together. 

JA had to work, but got home in time for supper and for birthday singing. 

John and Kim were in Huntsville, but lots of people asked where they were. 

Chris and his new girlfriend got here about 5:00. Afterwards, Tyler asked me what my first impression was. I asked him what he thought, how he felt around her. He said that she has a special freezer at Drew's that she doesn't let just anybody get into, but she lets him. 

Brittany was studying, Faith wasn't feeling well. Barry got the volleyball net up for me, and most of the younger kids played volleyball and ran around kind of like a Goodtimes. Willo and Vivian were sick, too. 

Angela asked where I wanted to put the Family Promise bags, and I told her the bed. She did that, but then came and asked if I'd like her to put them on a spot on the bedroom floor so that I wouldn't have to move them later on that night. 

Things have just shifted. There aren't as many little kids running noisily through the house, and all of the kids and older grandbabies not only can do more, but offer to do more. There's just a lot less stress and trying to get it all done for me. I showed them where the Family Promise things were, and they set up the process and got it all done. Beverly said, "Mom, it is really pretty great for you to do this." 

Tori and Josh had to leave for a little bit to go get Zoey from the vet. Annette told them she was proud of them for being prepared for the expense. 

Chelsea came with Jaden, and left him with us for a few minutes while she ran to the laundromat. She said she told Evan it felt weird to do that. I think it was the first time she left him anywhere. 

16-11-18 (Read 3/1/26)

My week has gone pretty good. Today, I am scrap-picking. A little bit of writing. A little bit of HH bookkeeping. A little bit of Wonderland. And hopefully, a little bit more writing time. 

Beth and I skyped for about twenty minutes, and that was fun. I told her to let me know on Saturday's when would be a good time to Skype each week, so we're going to try that. It made me happy to get to talk to her. 

Beverly and I rode over to Pensacola last night to see Kennedy's piece in the exhibition, and that was fun. 

Barry and I went and had lunch with Brittany, and that was fun, too. She has a new boyfriend. She is going straight into grad school. Her Coastal Engineering professor stopped her in the hall and told her that she wanted her to be her grad student. She talked about her friend who is a lesbian and how that friend wants her to be in her wedding, and how sad it made her when people gave her friend and partner looks at the fair when they would kiss each other on the cheek, etc. 

Angela's first day of volunteering at Mobile Baykeeper was yesterday and she was just all kinds of happy! 

16-11-14 (Read 3/1/26)

Saturday just evolved as one of the best days a person could ask for. The Alabama game started at 11, and Barry called to see if the Reeds wanted to come over. Tori and Josh came right about that time, and so Beverly, JA, Ange, Josh, Tori and I (and Bentley, Bella, and Zoe) gathered up to watch the game (or play Nine's at the dining room table while Barry and JA watched the game.) The weather was pretty, so we left the patio door open most of the time. Barry ordered pizza, Beverly and JA brought some snacks. After awhile Evan, Chelsa and Jaden came over. He got lots of hugs and attention and Angela got some great pictures. Beverly said, "That baby changed my day." 

There were only about half us here last night, but we got to see Kim, which doesn't happen very often, and Vivian. We were a little squisshy, maybe two seats short, but visited and had a good time. Beverly and Angela cleaned the kitchen up for me. 

Beth called in and we put on speaker to sing Happy Birthday. Rodney called and he and I had a nice visit. 

And I did the right thing. I've been smiling about it ever since. I'd been thinking on it. I thought maybe I should have some conversations first. Check with people. But then I didn't. Then I just did what I wanted to do and called Vivian aside, and told her about the money I donated to the scholarship fund when Tori and Morgan each graduated and that Angela is graduating, and that I thought that what I really wanted to do was help her, and that I didn't know if this amount of money would be any help, and her eyes filled up with tears, and she said that it would be half her tuition, and she just hugged me and hugged me and hugged me and thanked me and thanked me and thanked me. It was a very, very happy spot for me. 

Barry made the beans for dinner and just generally helped me. It made getting ready for dinner so much more fun, so much less exhausting. 

Chris and Tyler seemed to enjoy their time together, so I was happy about that. Chris has a job with a different glass company. 

Noah spent Friday with us, and that was fun. 

Barry had fun working with Kennedy and Angela in the pottery barn. They were using all kinds of tools and he brought out things they didn't even need because he was having so much fun watching them. 

16-11-03 (Read 3/1/26)

Second morning in a row where I woke up feeling like I had a manageable amount of work to do. I could get used to this!

Last night, Tyler thanked me for going over his homework with him. The math was interesting. ;-) 

Skyler replied to my text. 

Angela sent me a Facebook email. She is interested in the Mobile Baykeeper things. 

Morgan said she's looking forward to our Friday lunch. Their bayhouse has steps now. 

Brittany won't be able to make it to Second Sunday Supper, so asked about having lunch one day. I think that will be fun. 

Heard from Kennedy. She said she'd had a good day. 

Barry bought me some more pistachios when he was at Rouse's yesterday. 

I got to have a writing day yesterday ... from 8:30 - 11:15, and from 12:00 - 5:00. It was glorious! 

The weather is nice and the temperature in my writing shack is staying comfortable. 

16-11-02 (Read 3/1/26

Just a really happy day for me. When I left the office Monday, I left it clear of things that needed to be taken care of before Thursday. I did the HH Bookkeeping and Home Administrative duties yesterday, as scheduled. I kept at the laundry all day, so I can get by without worrying about it today. There are some things dry / drying that can be put away, but they can also wait till tomorrow, so my mind can really be cleared of that. I really can just spend the whole day writing without hurting anybody. That's a rare treat.

When I talked to Daddy yesterday, he told me that Andrew had written "Our phone conversations mean the world to me," on the card he'd sent. Daddy said that Andrew calls him from time to time, but he hadn't realized how much the conversations meant to him. He said that Andrew's saying so meant a lot to him. 

Annette sent a text yesterday to check on Beverly and Barry. 

Brittany helped me with Tyler's homework. :-) I posted a question in the Goodtimes group, and she answered it --- and then the next one, and gave me really good, easy to understand answers, too. 

Angela and I are counting down the days till her graduation, and got excited together yesterday that her graduation announcements had come in. 

Touched base with Beth a little. 

Did I tell you that Evan came over Sunday and visited with me for awhile? Chelsea came over yesterday with their weekly payment and I got to visit with her for a little bit and play with Jaden. 

Shawn called Tyler yesterday, and that made Tyler happy. 

Tyler said  he saw Theresa and asked her how it was not tutoring Shawn anymore. She told him it made her sad that Shawn wasn't there when he wanted to talk to him. Tyler said, "I thought that was really nice for her to say." 

16-10-27 (Read 3/5/26)

We got to have a birthday dinner with Angela. 

We're having pretty sunrises. I'm not sure why they are prettier lately than usual. Maybe we're just out there at a different time. Or sun is rising more closely to the time we're out there, what with the move towards winter. Anyway, pretty. 

We ordered Angela's graduation announcements, etc. last night. 

I'm having a quiet morning. 

16-10-25 (Read 3/5/26)

Valerie called me last night even though she was tired.

Angela sent me a Facebook message.

Brittany texted me back.

Lindsey stopped by for a visit. 

Daddy called. He liked the little book I sent him. He is able to drive short distances again, and is going to have lunch with a car friend of his. 

Beverly came over early this morning, all dressed out in her gear, to go for a practice hike. They decided to wait and do that this evening, but she sure looked cute. When I said that, she said, "Everybody needs (gets, has?) a mommy." 

When Tyler called from school today, he said, "I know it is late notice, but I was wondering if I could stay after school today to try out for honor band." I  thought it was sweet that he started with, "I know it is late notice..." 

It took me from about 8:15 to 11:00 to download AmEx, etc., and reconcile the checking account. So ... about 2 hours and 45 minutes? I also culled the Outlook emails, and I also had trouble with Quicken. Without the random problems, it would have been more like 2 hours and 15 minutes, and if I'd had the office clean and ready to go at 7:35, I would have been in pretty good shape. As it was, I got the household bookkeeping back in great shape by lunchtime, which is great. No exercise, but I may still pull that out of the bag. Rearranged the laundry and did the delicates and needs to be hung up, so that's good. It was my objective and I feel good about that. 

16-10-24 (Read 3/5/26)

Second time this morning that my phone has crashed. "Can't find your SIMS card." I'm really just going to have to go to the AT&T store. 

The temperature in the writing shack seems to be going down instead of up, and I can't find the instructions. I need to finish setting things up. I feel reasonably certain that it is here somewhere. 

We had Goodtimes, and Beth was here, so I was happy about that. Zak and Vivian came, they played a couple of hands of Stewardess with Beth and I. Lots of laughter. 

Michael and Faith made brownies. They've really got that down pat, now. 

Morgan, Angela, Kennedy, Tori, Josh, Beth and Beverly gathered in yard, along with all of their puppies. It was like a new generation of Goodtimes, only with puppies. 

Zak turned on the football game, and Barry and Brandon talked about one of the games. 

Michael, Faith, Noah and I played a round of Stewardess at the start of Goodtimes, and with the exception of Daniel, at that time, we were the only ones here. Noah said, "Some of my cousins are late." 

Chris stayed and got the go-cart running, and they had a lot of fun riding on it. Faith and Skyler talk to each other a lot about Goodtimes. 

Autumn brought Willo, and she had a lot of fun. 

16-10-19 (Read 3/5/26)

Angela made a 100 on her first speech.

16-10-19 (Read 3/5/26)

Coming to the writing shack this afternoon, even though it was out of schedule.

Kim invited me to lunch today, and so we met at Panera and she brought me a loaf of her pumpkin bread, and she treated me to lunch. We had a relaxed visit. 

Angela made a 100% on her first speech! I need to get in my FB message from Ange for the teacher's exact words.

16-10-10 (Read 3/11/26)

Angela and I get to order her graduation things today! She and I got to have a little visit Saturday. (She drove up as I was walking back from my little storage shed.) Her professor is going to get with her today on some volunteer opportunities that may gave her an idea of what she would like to do as a career, for focus on graduate studies, since her professor would really like her to do that. Angela said several times that she wants to do something that helps people. 

Brittany had a lot to do yesterday, but she came to Second Sunday Supper. 

Andrew playing with Daniel. 

Skyler made cupcakes and brought them for one of our desserts. 

Annette brought corn and got the silver ware out. 

Beverly brought some lima beans and she and Beth got the table ready. 

JA walked out a little bit after dinner started and Beverly was so happy to see him Beth thought that Rodney had shown up for her as a surprise. 

Angela liked her birthday present. (wind chimes I bought in Florida at the Fort Pierce farmer's market) and I found out that Brittany likes wind chimes. 

Kennedy made green bean casserole and spinach / artichoke dip. 

Morgan took care of the rolls. 

Annette said she got first dibs on Jaden because she didn't get to hold him last time. 

Evan, Chelsea and Jaden were here for just a few minutes. He said he felt nauseous; Chelsea needed to get some sleep before her shift, too. 

Noah gave me hugs. 

Barry got all of the towels washed, dried, folded and put away. That kinda gives me a shot at having all of the laundry done by writing day. :-) 

Chris got up and helped with the Saturday night dishes. 

Andrew carved the turkey. 

16-10-07 (Read 3/11/26)

Tyler asking if he could go on my walk with me. He went bike riding with Papa, too. He'd done well on his homework, and his Language Arts teacher was satisfied with our substitute motivator. He made a 98 on his math EQT and he was the first one in his class to see the pattern in the bell ringer. His teacher was impressed. 

Barry is talking excitedly about his hike. His backpack came in and he started packing it last night. It is giving him something fun to talk about and think about. 

Daddy and Kathi made it through Hurricane Matthew last night. The eye came close to the coastline as it moved north, but did not come in. Mark was with them, and they do not seem to have lost power. 

Andrew sent me a text to check on them and see if it was all right to call, and John called me to check on them. 

Annette is healing up from her surgery. 

I think JA is getting more time off with his new job.

Angela sent me a message, and so did Morgan. Morgan and Beth are meeting with the photographer today, and Fairhope has their application, so the date is set! 

October 6, 2016 (Read 3/12/2)

Tyler got up and off to school on time. He listens closely when I talk to him....maybe, now that I think about it, listening to me the same way that I told him I try to listen to him. We did the kitchen together last night. 

The temperature has dropped just a little, just enough to let you know that we are headed into fall, just enough to let me know it is time to take Tyler and get some long pants. 

Daddy's voice sounded strong yesterday. 

Some of the berries on the holly bush by the pool have changed color. It is striking even from a distance, even from the kitchen window. 

Beverly and JA played cards with Tyler and took him on a bicycle ride while we were gone. 

Chelsea came over yesterday and brought Jaden for a little visit. 

Angela sent me a Facebook message yesterday, and Monday. She got a reminder to order her graduation announcements, and that was fun. 

Tori said she and Josh are going to Arkansas to go camping, and she's excited about going to a new place. There's a river for Zoey to play in, so that should be fun. 

Kennedy came over a visit last night and we had a good time. She helped Papa set Cirrus XM up on his phone, which took her at least 30 minutes. He had to get logged in to his Facebook account, which was really quite a feat. When she was done she said, "Just don't ever, ever log out." 

In Brittany's internship she has been working on a project with Daphne Utilities. It went into it's test phase yesterday. Her name is on the sign and everything. See FB Joy Journal for details. 

Evan came over to check on Granddad. "How's the man?" he said, in case we hadn't told Tyler yet. 

16-09-26 (Read 3/12/26)

So, we had Goodtimes yesterday, and four of the Big Girl Cousins showed up. They were a little later than the little kids, and settled in at the dining room table, playing cards, although Morgan spent most of the time sitting there and holding Jaden. 

Willo accidentally popped Tyler's ballon, and was crying because of it. When he came in to the room, he noticed the popped pieces on the desk. Willo got up from my lap and went and told him that she had popped his balloon on an accident. He hugged her and then picked up. 

She said that she is learning a lot in school. I asked her if she could spell my name, and she said that she couldn't but that she could spell her name. 

Brittany, as she was leaving, "I needed my big girl cousins today." 

Skyler walked in with a plate of dessert that she had found on Pintrest and made herself! 

16-09-22 (Read 3/14/26)

Beverly and I went to the island and walked on the beach for a couple of hours. It didn't seem like that long. It was right after lunch, so we didn't see a lot of birds, but we did see some. We also didn't see a lot of people, and that was nice. 

I got a sweet Facebook message from Angela. "I was wondering what was going on but I know how busy the days get. I had messaged you about hummingbird and goodtimes and school and I was used to talking to you even it is just a little bit everyday. Then I started to suspect our phones were sabotaging us." 

Tyler took care of my tea kettle for me, even going ahead and moving it off the burner before it whistled. 

Mary's friend liked my letter to Lily, and said that I was incredible. 

16-09-14 (Read 3/16/26)

My Bentley man 💙💙

5 Years Ago

See Your Memories

Angela Reed

September 14, 2011 · 

My little study partner <3

16-08-31 (Can;'t see the picture. Opened 5/14/26)