Stopped by to see Nana after work. We found Nana in her room folding clothes. Good visit.

Sent from the droid.

Jayne whipped up a three-layer cake for Nana.

Sent from the droid.

Jayne and Andy joined me and 40+ folks from the K-T District in Memphis at the 2010 Key Club International Convention. We toured Graceland, The Civil Rights Museum, and even had time to squeeze a lunch in at the Rendezvous restaurant.

Visiting with Mom. She’s flanked by Jim and Andy. She’s in good spirits. Pretty even tempered. Of course, there’s the ever-present purse, crammed full of tissues and at least one change of clothes. You never know when you’ll have to leave. Gotta be ready.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

The neighborhood cat found a nice cozy spot in an empty planter to spend the rainy day.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Andy went online and designed these four weeks ago. They arrived today. Nice.

— Sent from my Palm Pre

We just finished breakfast – ham and cheese omelets, toast and blackberry jelly (no seeds!). Followed by a cup of coffee on the deck.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

The girls found the only sun hitting the floors in the house. It’s not THAT cold. They just love sitting in the sun.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

July 24, 1933 – Stinkin’ Creek. Habersham, TN.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Andy, Jason and Andy found some Funnel cakes at Dollywood.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Andy and Jason cool off with BBQ at Ms. Lilliian’s in Dollywood.

— Sent from my Palm Pre

Andy and Payton spent the day at the river with Papaw Carlton. Looks like fun!

You can only change your next action.

—

You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.

You can only change your next interaction.

—

You can’t change your entire job.

You can only change your next task.

—

You can’t change your body composition.

You can only change your next meal.

—

You can’t change your fitness level.

You can only start moving.

—

You can’t declutter your entire life.

You can only get choose to get rid of one thing, right now.

—

You can’t eliminate your entire debt.

You can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item.

—

You can’t change the past, or control the future.

You can only change what you’re doing right now.

—

You can’t change everything.

You can only change one, small thing.

And that’s all it takes.

(Via mnmlist.com.)

It’s amazing what our culture has done to us: we have been conditioned to believe that luxuries are a necessity, that we need things that most of the world doesn’t even dream of having.

Look around your home right now (or when you get home). What do you see that’s really a necessity? What could you do without?

You already know that most of the world lives with much less than what you see around you. They’d be happy with clean water, shelter, some food. Forget about Macs or big-screen TVs or plush couches or iPhones or closets overflowing with shoes and clothes.

But we also forget that only a few generations ago, our grandparents and great-grandparents also lived with much less, and were perfectly comfortable and happy. Most people had very little other than the necessities and perhaps a radio. Not that long ago, people lived without TVs, cars, microwaves, electric stoves, computers, video game consoles, air-conditioning, washers, dish washers and more. Not that long ago, shopping malls didn’t exist, and ordering from the Sears catalog was a luxury.

What we need is very little: a few changes of clothing at most, a pair of shoes, perhaps a few toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant, soap), some food, a roof over our heads.

Consider:

• The television: if you got rid of this, not only would you free up hours of your time, you’d spend less (on cable or DVDs). You’d have room for reading, exercise, spending time with others.
• All your clothes: could you wear just a few items? I do, and nobody seems to care.
• Food: instead of eating out or buying convenience food, could you pick a dozen whole foods and make a weekly menu based on it? Think: beans & rice & veggies, or whole oats with nuts & berries, or salads with nuts & beans, or fruit & nuts.
• Furniture: what is the absolute minimum you could get by with, and still live a happy life? What are your core activities (sleeping, reading, eating?), and what do you need for each?
• Gadgets: Once upon a time, you lived without them. What would life be like if you went back to that lifestyle? Would you have more distraction-free time?
• The computer: OK, sure, this seems to be a necessity these days. But is it? Sometimes I wonder if I could get by with 1-2 hours of computer time a day at my local library. I really think I could, but I haven’t taken that brave leap yet.
• The car: Many people live happily without it. It is a resource hog, uses tons of your money (and the work that goes to earn that money), contributes to global warming, is dangerous. Could you give it up someday?
• The washer/dryer: Could you hand-wash your clothes each day? It takes about 10-15 minutes.

There are other things in your home, I’m sure, that you could reconsider. Let’s keep our minds open.

(Via mnmlist.com.)

Having eaten all of his food, Kitty Kong sacks out. It’s rainy and cool outside today. It’s nice and warm inside.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Dad’s been in and out (mostly out) all day. He’s eaten some pudding and some Ensure but has slept most of the day. When he’s awake, he’s pretty lucid and his eyesight is good.

His bed is pneumatic and comes on every few minutes, blowing up a bladder here or there, moving the air under him around to help prevent bed-sores.

Everyone else has gone home for the evening so it’s me and Dad for the night. He doesn’t seem to mind.

Dad took a turn for the worse overnight. Doctors moved him to ICU this morning. The pulminologist feels that the best thing for dad is to be moved back to a larger room so we all could be with dad together. Mom and dad have been togther for 57 years. He is 81.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Looks like they get along, right? In this scene, Angel is the aggressor, placing her body as close to Sundae as she can. Funny girls.

– Sent from my Palm Pre

Andy took the wheels and trucks off an old board and tried it out on the hill behind our house. Took a few tries but eventually he was able to make it work.

– Sent from my Palm Pr?