Friday, November 28, 2008


Annette & Grandpa juicing apples after I had my cataract surgery.



Muffin and puppies home from the hospital - about 8 hours old





Just so you can see about how big the puppies are - weighed about 7 ounces at birth

Kathy has been helping me get some pictures up again. I had a lot of little problems and couldn't figure out just how to do this, so now I hope I can keep it up.

Muffin had her puppies on Tuesday, November 25th. She was in labor all day Monday, just pacing and stopping and panting and then starting over again. I felt real empathy with her. I stayed in the family room with her all that night so she wouldn't try and deliver while we were in bed asleep. Grandpa came out about 4:00 a.m. and spelled me off. She started pushing just before 5:00 a.m. and had a puppy started, and then she just quit pushing. So at 6:00 a.m. we took her to the pet hospital emergency room. I told Grandpa I thought we would probably lose the one that was partially born, but we didn't. The vet gave her oxitossin shots to keep her contractions going and she finally had 2 more. Then they had to xray her to see how many more there were because if there was any more than one more they would have to do a c-section because it was too much for her. She only had one more in there, so they gave her another shot and delivered it. So she has 3 females and 1 male.

At first Muffin didn't want to even look at the puppies, but with some urging and help laying down and nursing, she finally got the hang of it, and how she is taking very good care of them.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Jim's house with all of his children and grandchildren, Dave & Kathy & kids, Bill & Karen, Allen & Sioux and Sioux's daughter, Ashley and some assorted people who had been invited also. When we got home we could not put all of the leftovers away, so we did what we could and fixed two bunches of leftovers and took to two of our neighbors who are experiencing very bad times. They were all thrilled and we not only felt great but could now put everything away. We ate pie and turkey sandwiches for breakfast-saved lots of work.

Hope all of you had a great day and lots of good things to be grateful for.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Stuff

I haven't posted anything for awhile and am not sure I can remember what all has happened. I see it has been almost a month since I put anything here.

I had cataract surgery on the 29th of October. Annette came over from Idaho Falls to be my driver. We enjoyed having her here so much. She brought lots of apples for us to juice. While she was here we went to breakfast once and dinner twice. That tells you something about what we enjoy doing! Actually we had planned on Joe's Crab Shack because we had a gift card for there and we knew Annette wanted to go, so that was planned. Because I had to fast before the surgery, none of us ate breakfast so when we got done, we went to JB's for their breakfast bar. Then that evening we were deep into juicing apples so we just cleaned up a bit and went to the Mexican place in town. Then on Thursday night we hit Joe's Crab Shack. Annette and I also managed two trips to the mall and a visit to Sees Candy. We were busy the whole time. Grandpa got right in and helped with the apple juicing. I will try to post a picture of him and Annette working at that.

Our leaves have been steadily falling - four large trees along a very small front yard. It is a recipe for "work". We are very fortunate to have friends and ward members who stop to help us rake. One day I got 4 bags done and quit because my back hurt. The next day when I got home from the doctor's the rest of the yard had been done. Then a week or so ago we looked out our window and there were 4 people raking in the yard. Yesterday I decided I had better make a dent in the leaves and after I had been there 4 bags worth, two young sisters came from around the corner with their rakes and worked with us. Then the Elders stopped and helped also. Looking at the leaves on the trees, I figure we have at least one more yard full to do before we are finished for the year - maybe a little more.

Yesterday one of the sisters I go visiting teaching to called me about her appointment. She had the flu and didn't want us to catch it from her. I asked her if she would like a meal and she was very grateful at the thought. So I took her homemade potato soup (already in the freezer) hot biscuits, fresh homemade choc. chip cookies (cookie dough already in the refrigerator) and a container of home canned peaches. It only took me the time to stick the biscuits and cookies in the oven and thaw the soup.

Then - we went to a baby shower at Chuck E Cheese!! That's right - a baby shower held there. This was for Ashley who is Sioux's daughter. I didn't know if grandpa would go (it was for families) but when I pointed out that we would probably see Carissa and NiTasha there as well as Sioux he went. We enjoyed visiting with all of them. Ashley's baby is due on Jan. 29th. They have a little boy about 3. We ate some pizza - pepperoni which I do not like - and I got some salad which I did like.

My eye is healing well, grandpa is doing well, and Muffin is pregnant. She should have her puppies at Thanksgiving time - not great planning on our part but we don't have a say about when she comes in heat. She is moaning and groaning and having a hard time jumping onto my chair to sit on my lap. I can't think of any more news. I don't always post a comment on your blogs, but I do read and enjoy them. I will try to be better about commenting.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

clarification

Sorry about that. I forgot that some of you may not know Carissa. Carissa is Allen's youngest daughter. She used to come to church with us when she was a little girl, as did her sisters. We don't see a lot of her and welcome times when we can get together.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Wedding but no Pics

Well, we went to Carissa's wedding last Saturday and I remembered my camera, but after one picture my batteries were gone. I bought some new batteries at Paul's (lithium like the camera said) and they were the wrong size - got some at WalMart today and now I have a camera again.

We knew Carissa was getting married but didn't know the man's name or much about him. So we were pleasantly surprised when we found he was a member of the church, active, a member one of the Spanish branches in Nampa. The Branch President performed the ceremony. So we have some hopes that perhaps Carissa can remember some of her early days attending church with us and enjoy going with Carlos (Juan Carlos Silva). His mother and sister seemed very nice, the mother didn't speak English but the sister does.

Our weather is very nice now, after a few cold days, and we are enjoying it. I took grandpa to the heart doctor yesterday and to the urologist today. Then we had lunch out which is always a treat. Came home and took a walk - our days are all pretty much the same. I did finish my visiting teaching and am prepared to go to the Super Saturday R.S. is having - I'm taking a dessert - cherry cheesecake.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Short Update

I forgot to take my camera with us to Washington so have no pictures of our travels. We attended Madelyn's baptism and visited with Mark & LaNita. We drove up on Thursday, Sept. 3rd and back on Monday, Sept. 8th. We took Muffin with us - I had a friend willing to watch her, but grandpa wanted to take her. She is an adventure to travel with but it all turned out okay. Madelyn was baptised in the family swimming pool!! But water is water right? The font room was already being used at their stake center and Mark's father could not be there anytime except Friday night - hence the swimming pool. We had a wonderful meeting beforehand conducted by the Bishop. There were quite a few people there and LaNita had removed all living room furniture and put in folding chairs from the church.

When we got home we were the recipient of Jenette's willingness and sweetness. She and her girls bottled 42 quart of peaches for us. I had used my last jar and had started purchasing some cans. I can't tell you what that meant to have that done. She said the peaches would not keep until we got back from LaNita's place so we sent our bottles with her. Bless her and her girls!! Then last night the young women and their leaders came to do service. They washed the outside of every one of our windows, including the ones in the garage door. There are so many wonderful people out there and we are privileged to know lots of them.

Today I am making my mother's chili sauce recipe. It smells so good cooking. Earlier I was wondering why I was doing this, especially while I was grinding up onions. green peppers and celery. The tomatoes are all out of our garden. I also made some more granola last night so I feel like I have gotten quite a bit done the last couple of days. Hope the energy lasts.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Same old topic - Food

It seems like I always talk about the food we are eating. That's because in the summer the food is fantastic. Right now our meals consist of stuff out of the garden and my old Bunkerville favorite - homemade bread, milk and grapes. Grandpa doesn't comment on it anymore even.

We did have a doctor day today - those come quite often - almost as often as meals some weeks. I took Grandpa to the dentist - he is thinking about getting new dentures. Then I went for my cleaning appointment. Bad news was that I had a chip out of one of my fillings. Good news was that it was a fairly new filling so they will remove it and do a new one at no cost to me. More bad news was that I have several places in my teeth that are requiring a visit to a periodontist. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is the equivalent of pain & suffering. We have worked hard to avoid it, but diabetes takes its toll.

We enjoyed attending the Twin Falls Temple Dedication, last session on Sunday. Of course it came to us through the dish, but it was a wonderful meeting. It was so quiet in our chapel that we could have heard a pin drop. We had a good friend who saved us some seats up in the front section where grandpa could have his oxygen on the aisle without bothering anyone.

"Doctor Days" wear us out and we are looking forward to an early night.

Monday, August 18, 2008

FAIR FOOD & FUN

I got to go to the Western Idaho State fair on Saturday. Jim took me and we had a good time. I especially wanted to eat stuff I don't usually get to eat - like Pronto Pups, milk shakes & spiced pecans. I was sick to my stomach when I got through eating, but it was worth it. We walked through all the Expo Halls, watched a concert by an acapella group, had a massage, looked at the mules and couldn't find the draft horses, looked at the chicken and rabbits, watched the "Splash Dog" show where the dogs jump really high before they go into the water. Some of them were jumping 6' 8" to grab the "bone". The last thing we saw were the 4 wheelers. I had never watched that before and part of the time I couldn't even look - they were climbing rock walls and all kinds of stuff with their vehicles and they looked like they were going to fall over backwards. I think it has been several years since I had been to the fair and I was really glad that Jim offered to take me. We had a good weekend and today was doctor appointment day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon with shopping at WalMart in between. I did get a new vacuum cleaner and was amazed at all the dirt it picked up - don't know why though when the old vacuum hadn't been doing it. No pics of the fair - I forgot to take a camera.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

BACK HOME & BACK TO WORK

It's good to be home again even though it meant work on the garden produce right away. This isn't the way this was supposed to look but I guess I should be glad I could get some pictures on at all. Jim & Aaron rode their Harleys to the reunion - I took lots of pictures but am just posting the bikers and one shot of the "older" generation. The eight of us are what is left of the siblings in my family and their spouses. Grandpa and I were fortunate enough to be included in being housed at Kelly's house, so we didn't have to be on a bunk in a cabin. We had lots of talent displayed there and lots of memories to talk about. Kenneth went with us and that was such a blessing - I had someone to help drive and he helped with grandpa's oxygen, etc. We stayed with Bill & Karen on Saturday night and went to church there. My beans were waiting to be canned and I didn't feel like I could put it off. With tomatoes we are at the point where we can have a sliced tomato each meal - yeah!









Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Fruit of Our Labors

Hey, I managed to get the photo on by myself - after many times trying. I picked our first tomato yesterday and couldn't resist showing it off. We went to the Empty Nesters FHE last night and I took a nice fresh cucumber to our host. I have more green beans to pick this morning. I wish I had enough to bottle some, but there are not, so maybe I will just freeze them.

I am preparing to go to the reunion in Heber City. I think Grandpa has decided not to go. He has not felt very well and the heart doctor didn't think it was a good idea because of the altitude. I don't want to go without him and I don't want him to go where there will be problems - how is that for being contradictory? Kenneth will be driving with me so I won't be alone.

We continue to have very hot weather but we have purchased a timer which operates the air conditioner in the food storage unit. I have always had to go out and turn it on by hand in the late afternoon and then off when it gets cool. Now it just comes on by itself at 4:00 in the afternoon and goes off at 7:00. I don't know why we didn't do this years ago.

I'll talk to you all when I get back from the reunion.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Computer illiterate grandma gets help w/pictures

I have been wanting to post some pictures and today Kathy helped me step by step. These are pictures of things growing in my garden. They are only worth photographing because when LaNita was here before the reunion, she and her children pulled all my weeds and tall grass. Now I can bear to look at the garden and enjoy it. The first picture are my green beans. I have picked twice - but you can't see green beans growing because they hang under the leaves.

This is one of my cantaloupe plants. I planted four of them and now I have two, but last year I only had one that survived so that is progress. The one beneath here is a lemon cucumber plant. Lots of blossoms but so far there are no lemon cucumbers on it. My regular cucumbers were supposed to be a bush but have proved to be a vine instead and I have picked several of them.

I had a picture of my green peppers with the (so far) one and only green pepper growing.

We enjoyed the reunion ever so much. Now we are getting ready to go to the Earl reunion at Heber City, Utah. For me this creates anxiety because of the altitude, but grandpa is very determined to go and even the doctor's acvice is not making him stay home.

I enjoyed going back to the Temple to work this week. We were off for four weeks and they have been making many changes in the parking lot and flowers, etc. I was so tired when I came home that even the thought of eating Mexican food did not move me and I ate a bowl of bread and milk here at home. However, today when we left the doctor's office it was after 3:00 p.m. and we had not had lunch, so I asked grandpa if he would like a lunch/supper somewhere. He hates it when he has to combine two meals - he always feels very cheated, but we enjoyed the Mexican food we didn't get last night.

I have been getting quite a few things done around the house that sorely needed to be done, like cleaning out underneath the sink, organizing my pantry, deep cleaning the bathrooms and awful stuff like that. It wouldn't be so bad if everything would stay and not fall into disarray again after while. I have been diligent about playing the piano each day again and getting back onto a schedule for reading my scriptures. Muffin always likes that because she lays on my lap when I read. I'll be more diligent about writing in the future.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Home Sweet Home

I have been on the road and am glad to be home again. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. Jim & I left Wedneday when I got home from the Temple and we drove straight down to Salt Lake City. We were trying to get there before my sister, Alice, passed away. The Lord did indeed bless us - we cancelled our proposed stop in Tremonton and went without stopping to the University Hospital. We got to Alice's room in short order and were there for 45 minutes before she died. Her sons had come and with her husband gave her a blessing of release. Shortly after that they turned off all life support. I felt very blessed to be able to be there and hold her hand. It was a profoundly beautiful spiritual experience and the feeling of peace and comfort was very strong - there were lots of tears of course, but the overwhelming feeling was relief for her release from suffering. I will miss her sorely. Tammy Earl, daughter of my brother Ken and his wife LuDeen, has also passed away. Her funeral was today in Moses Lake, WA. Tammy had lap-band surgery not long ago and she ended up with an infection that spread all through her body. She was only 58 and while that may seem old to all of you young marrieds, it really is quite young to be taken. Grandpa and I will be going Monday morning back to Utah for Alice's funeral. Cherish your loved ones while you have them.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

I finished!!

Saturday I walked in a 5K here in Kune sponsored for the American Diabetes Association. I signed up for it with a burst of optimism and then as the date neared I feared I would not be able to finish but decided to go and walk as far as I could. I finished with the support of two sweet sisters who walked with me when they could easily have gone faster. I really appreciated them. I even won a door prize - they drew for several of them. I may sign up for the one associated with Kuna Days or the one in Melba next month. Stephanie's hamburger buns were wonderful and Michelle's cupcakes were every bit as good as they looked. Made me want to get something to stuff some with good stuff when I get some made here.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Never Enough Time

We have been to Utah and back - way too quick and we wish we could have stayed longer. Grandpa and I rode down with Dean and Laura. We all wanted to visit Alice and see for ourselves how she was. We took Dean's car because it got much better gas mileage than ours, but in the end it would have been worth it to us to be able to stay and visit longer. We were happy to get to visit with Kathy and Karen. Our main purpose in going was to visit Alice and her family. The first afternoon there was very disappointing because Alice could barely open her eyes and did not speak. We felt she knew we were there - she cried when we told her who we were, but when we lef for the evening we all felt she would be lucky to survive for very long. When we went on Wednesday she was quite a bit better and we felt encouraged. Yesterday I called and she was able to talk on the phone and was sitting up in a chair and laughing at things. Now today she is right back where she was, sleeping all day, not talking barely moving around.
Keep her in your prayers, please.

Tomorrow we are going to Cody's birthday party. I got him a card but figured his birthday present wants were probably way beyond what we could do so his card will have a little money in it.

We enjoy having Muffin home and to us she seems MAYBE pregnant - but she is supposed to have these alleged puppies in about 7 days or 6, so we'll see what happens. It has turned hot so now we walk early in the morning. I bought tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloup and marigolds to plant - the marigolds, of course, go in with the tomatoes to keep tomato worms away. I also bought a chocolate mint plant - it smells wonderful - like chocolate and mint. Oh, I also bought some green pepper plants. More flowers will follow next week but must get all this planted first. My columbines are blooming and I have one poppy bud coming along. Maybe I will have some pictures to post next time.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Sorry some of you weren't here!

Well we had our empty nesters family home evening last night and it went very well. I worried because I didn't have lots of room for everyone, but they don't really care - they just have a good time eating and visiting and playing games. Our dinner turned out well. I didn't have time to make rolls so bought Mrs. Rhodes texas size whole wheat rolls. They were wonderful and I have some left for us. The pulled pork was great and we had good salads and 3 wonderful desserts. We don't pick and choose - we just all eat some of everything. I put Muffin out on the rope while we ate and when I remembered her I went out and she was not on her leash. I was afraid she had run away, but she was sitting right on the step waiting to be let in where all the fun was. She came in and entertained us for awhile and one of the guys suggested that next time we just all bring our little dogs and let them entertain us all.

My sister, Alice, is very ill and in the hospital in Provo. This is her second time in there in a very short while. Don't know what's wrong with her and they are still running tests and doing what they can. I know her family is very worried. Ruth has added me to her email list for regular updates. Kathy went to see her this morning and Aunt Alice didn't know who she was - and yet it is not alzheimers or dementia that she has.

I am continuing my daily walks with Muffin. Don't know yet if she is going to have puppies. She doesn't look very pregnant and yet sometimes she does, and her habits have changed. She gets in bed with us about 6:00 in the morning and gets up when I do or shortly after. Lately she has stayed there and slept after we are both up. This morning she didn't leave the bed until almost 8:30. Living the life of Riley!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Hi

I notice from the date of my last entry that I missed the entire month of April. Well, we didn't really miss it, but I got nothing written. Grandpa is doing well and can walk around again and wear shoes to church, etc. - I mean regular shoes. He was wearing his sandals for awhile. I can't remember what we did in the month of April but I'm sure it was exciting and important and I'm sorry I missed getting it down in writing. The last week of April was repair month. We had to have the furnace repaired. Now usually I would figure it was getting warm and we wouldn't be needing it, but as you all know, the country has refused to warm up, so we had to spend for that. Then when it warmed up a little bit we could not get the mowers started and had to have both of them repaired. So Grandpa finally got the front and back lawns mowed, I spread the fertilizer on them and have set the water. The raspberry plants are planted and I have to get the water to them so I can quit watering them by hand. The gardener on TV said not to put any veggies in until May 15th and that is fine by me

We are hosting the Empty Nesters Family Home Evening on Monday night. We have a lot of fun, and much much good food. I am fixing barbecued pork tenderloin, shredded up with the barbecue and teryaki sauce in it. It is delicious and I just have to decide whether or not to make rolls or buy them. Everyone that comes will bring a salad or a dessert and we will drink ice water. So that's our dinner. We will play a game - sometimes we play pictionary, or charades, or a trivia game and once we played "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?" We talk a lot and enjoy one another's company, pay no baby sitters and have no special time we are needed at home, so there are compensations to having an empty nest.

My sister, Alice, has been ill and has had a stroke. She is not physically affected but her mind is kind of confused and her thinking is slow. The doctor assures everyone that she will be just fine with a little time. I talk to her on the phone but her voice doesn't sound the same. My sister, Wilma, is coming for another visit this summer during the month of June. We hope she does not fall and break a leg again and will do all in our power in ensure her safety.

May all of you mothers have a wonderful Mother's Day. Enjoy your families and the babies especially. They don't stay that way for very long.

Monday, March 31, 2008

A Different Kind of Tuneup

First - congratulations Melinda on getting Elizabeth Kay here safely. We enjoyed looking at her pictures and are glad that's over for you.

We have had all kinds of excitement - more than we need - during the last week. Last Thursday Grandpa didn't get a chance to finish his supper so ate very little and it wasn't enough to balance the insulin he took, so in the night he was unconscious. I woke up to go to the bathroom and soon realized that I could not rouse him. I was trying to move him because he was mostly on my side of the bed. I called 911 and the wonderful EMT's came and took care of it for us. The next day he was very tired but was doing okay. Then Saturday night when he was taking his night meds, he aspirated some milk. He spent most of the night trying to clear his lungs and had a lot of trouble breathing. So on Sunday we went to sacrament meeting and then I took him to the ER. It was the congestive heart failure again. His blood pressure was very high as well so they kept him. They put him on oxygen, give him lasix to take off the water, and bring his blood pressure down. That's his kind of tuneup now. I thought I might bring him home this morning but they weren't ready to let him go - maybe tomorrow. He is in good spirits and looks and sounds very good. If any of you care to call him tonight or in the morning his number is (208) 706-0440.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Has anyone seen my glasses?

Yesterday I had a cataract removed from my right eye. It was quick, painless, and seems to be successful. I have some drops to put in my right eye for awhile now- 3 different drops, 4 times a day. I still need the cheap drugstore stuff to read with but I drove to the post op checkup this afternoon without glasses. I just had to use sunglasses because I am still a bit sensitive to light. I was able to read the line on the eye chart that was the 20/20 line. Saturday we get Muffin back again, hopefully pregnant. We have missed her.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Five Favorite Things

How does one hold it down to five? These are not necessarily in any particular order - just as they come to mind

1. Singing in a really good choir. I will miss almost anything else to make it to choir practice and/or the performance to sing with a really good choir.

2. Chocolate - Every time I try to go without it I find myself munching on other stuff trying to make up for it, so I have learned to go for the real thing first time around.

3. A good book - reading on a rainy day with some hot chocolate and a good book is wonderful.

4. Working in the Temple. I really dread the day that they retire me. It is fulfilling in so many ways and there are so many wonderful people to work with.

5. My husband and children. The older one gets the more precious they become. I include grandchildren and great grandchildren along with my children.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Another hospital stay and all is well

Yesterday was a long one but one that we hope will turn out well. I took Grandpa to the hospital about 9:00 a.m. He had his surgical procedure at 11:a.m. and everything went well. They usually send guys home the same day with his procedure, but because he does not heal well and his heart was in question, they kept him overnight and I can pick him up about noon today. Grandpa's heart doctor said he should have a spinal instead of a general anesthetic but when they checked the clotting factors in his blood just before surgery, they said his blood was too thin and there was a risk of bleeding into the spine, so he went ahead with the general. His heart did well. A representative of Medtronic, the maker of his defibrillator, was there to stop it from working during the surgery and start it again afterwards. Jim came to the hospital and sat with me. I really appreciated that because even when you are not thinking someone may die, it is nice not to be alone. We had lunch together in the cafeteria and Jim stayed until daddy was up in his room and settled. I hung around the rest of the day. Grandpa enjoyed a phone call from Karen and a visit from Kenneth, wife and family. I came home around 9:00 p.m. which made a long day but I was so happy Grandpa was in good spirits and doing well. It is kind of quiet here at home right now because Muffin is hanging out at the breeding kennel - don't know yet how that is going but hope it takes because I would like to have her spayed and get it over with.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

You Thought You Knew All the Ways to Use Duct Tape


The other day Grandpa ripped one of the famous L-shaped tears that are so hard to mend. He wanted me to patch it and I said "No" because it was a real old pair of pants and not worth the trouble. So he turned it inside out and taped it with duct tape! He really didn't want to bend for this picture but he was a good sport.
I had a good day at the Temple today but when I got home grandpa had not had a good day with Muffin. She did not want to mind him and he had to chase her around outside, etc. He said if anyone had asked for a dog today he would have given her away.
We went to dinner last night for Grandpa's birthday. Jim, Kenneth and Aaron were there with their respective families. We had a good time and enjoyed the food. That's 3 meals out in 4 days
so I guess tonight we won't be going to the Mexican place here in town. Thank you all for your expressions of Happy Birthday .

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Missed you all at dinner

We had a great Sunday. Lots of singing. Our ward holds choir practice at our house after Sacrament meeting and then I went to the stake choir practice later in the afternoon. I love to sing in the stake choir. We are rehearsing for our stake conference on March 16th. We have a visitor from Salt Lake and are having two different sessions because we don't all fit anymore. So the choir gets to sing at both of them. Last night we went to dinner at the Golden Corral in Nampa to help celebrate Allen's birthday. All four of our sons were there - really missed the daughters - and grandkids were there too. It was wonderful to see them all and visit. Now we are going out to dinner for grandpa's birthday - going on Tuesday night but I am not sure where we will be eating. I have to let them know tomorrow. The one sure thing is that I will have shot our entertainment budget for the month - all in the first week. But it is worth it to be with family.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Finally - Some Different Activity

We finally got to do something different - we went to Idaho Falls over the weekend to visit and participate in Caleb's Mel. Priesthood ordination and office of an Elder. We had an uneventful trip over for which we were duly grateful. Always nice to have no flat tires, no snow or fog to drive through and no trouble with the car. While there we stayed in Aaron's apartment and were very grateful for his hospitality. We ate our meals with Annette & family and were also able to visit with young Aaron when he came on Sunday evening to work the next week. We had a great visit - saw Caleb's apartment - very nice and clean - that always impresses grandmas and had brownies and ice cream - that was after the ordination. In the afternoon at Annette's place we had eaten potato bar with lots of goodies and enjoyed visiting with Jared and Amanda. On our way home we stopped at Jared and Amanda's place to see their new (to them) home. It is a very nice home and is great for them. Amanda has a nice large garden spot and Jared has his pasture. Anthony has chickens, which he took great pride in showing us and was able to gather two eggs in his little egg basket. When he saw an egg he exclaimed "Oh my gosh!!" We had nice dry roads again for travelling and as always were happy to see home again. It is going to be a beautiful day and I am looking forward to walking Muffin on the green belt. And I am especially looking forward to working in the Temple tomorrow.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Just Stuff

I wish I had exciting things to post instead of what we are always doing because the usual is visits to the doctors - one kind or another. I had a laser treatment on my left eye the other day to take care of some swelling in the macula. It was a miserable treatment and I was happy I had daddy along to drive me home. They will look at it in 3 months time to see if it helped. In the meantime grandpa gets to go to the heart man tomorrow. We thought Dr. Writer was going to give clearance to Dr. Tansy to do some surgery and instead Dr. Writer wants to see daddy again to talk about perhaps another angiogram first. Other than that we are doing okay. Grandpa is putting up a new hand rail from the kitchen to the bonus room. I will post a picture of it when it is done. I am happy to have access to my treadmill again and having weather nice enough to also walk outside.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Too Much Info

With regard to the Tag - I have lived too long and have too many things to remember and to sort through. I'm probably not a great candidate for the tag game. Today I was thinking about the jobs I have had and I thought about working in the fields, topping beets and thinning apples, and being a waitress/cabin maid for the Utah Parks Company. Much more interesting than the secretarial work.

We had a storm again last night and so this morning it was not a pretty commute to the Temple. I left quite early - about 8:40 a.m. and it took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach the Temple, and it is about 16 or 17 miles! I was supposed to stop at the chiropractor but I called them and said I couldn't make it. When I got to the Temple late, there were many other people arriving late also. From Parma it took my friends 2 hours to get there.

We have another storm coming in tonight but I do not have to go anywhere except one mile to the chapel to do my visiting report on the computer. Tonight we took the phone system we bought Monday back to Office Depot and came home with another one. I hate machines that are smarter than I am and anymore that is most of them. Love you all.

Tag from Calista

5 things on my to do list today:

1. Go to the Temple to work
2. Stop at the chiropractor on the way and get my back fixed again.
3. Call Office Depot and complain about the phones I bought and want to take back
4. Call my visiting teaching list and get record of visits done so I can do my report in the computer.
5. Clean the car off so I can go today - got snow again in the night.

4 things I would do if I became a billionaire.

1. Pay off our car
2. Set up some trust funds
3. Take some cruises and tours of places all over the world
4. Work at the Temple

3 of my bad habits are:

1. Eating too much
2. Reading light material instead of good stuff
3. Driving too fast - yeah for cruise control

5 places I have lived:

1. Bunkerville
2. Meridian
3. Fairbanks
4. Rochester
5. Akron

5 jobs I have had

1. Secretary to Physical Evaluation Board, Parks AFB
2. Legal Secretary
3. City Clerk/Treasurer
4. Doing book work for veterinarian
5. Loading printed circuit boards for NCR

4 things people don't know about me

1. I think my life is pretty much an open book. Can't think of anything special .

Tagged: Karen, Kenneth, Stephanie, Michelle - maybe these have already been done - don't know

Monday, February 4, 2008

Grandpa's Ear Revealed


Here is a picture of grandpa's ear after they finished with him on Sunday. They took out all of the stitches and he had a bandage on it still but he didn't like it so took it of. You can see where they took the graft from. You can't really see how his ear looks from the front. It is kind of dished on the outside edge.
Today we had to go to two dr. appointments and one trip to Office Depot. It took most of the afternoon and so we missed going to the Empty Nester's Family Home Evening and had some leftovers at home. It seems like we have three nights of leftovers after any time that I cook something. Such is life.

Monday, January 28, 2008

So much Mexican food to be eaten - too little time


Annette is here visiting today - going to a meeting tomorrow and then on home. Whenever our kids come, we go to the Mexican place here in town to eat. This requires a little more time than lunch at home, then usually requires a nap - you know the drill. We are enjoying the visit and I am getting a new dress out of the deal.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

New Beginnings

At the first of the month our YW President asked if I would give a 10 minute talk on "Beginnings at their program on the 30th. I said yes, wrote it on the calendar and forgot about it in the hubbub of things happening with the sewer flood, etc. Then the other day I noticed something written on that day besides "work at the Temple" and lo and behold I had a talk to give. So now when I lay awake in the middle of the night, I get an ice bag for my back and lay there and think about beginnings in my life. When one is 72 years old, there are way too many beginnings to think about. I am glad I only have to talk for 10 minutes. Happy beginnings to all of you. You are all young enough that you have many before you - Enjoy!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Grandpa's ear w/squamous cell


This is a picture of grandpa's ear with a cancerous spot. It is the very small dark spot you can see inside the upper curl of the ear. The doctor noticed it, took a little piece of it and the result was the surgery grandpa had yesterday morning. It turned out to be very aggressive and much larger under the skin.
Dr. Burr was very thorough and did a fine job of repair. He grafted a piece from behind the ear and at the top of the neck so that the ear would not be too deformed. It took about 4 hours to complete and we thought we were just going to be about an hour at the most. We have an appointment tomorrow morning (Sunday) to go have the dressing changed and the wound checked. Dr. Burr told us we were to go to Sacrament meeting and then to his office. So that is what we will do. Dr. Burr also called grandpa on Friday evening to see how he was doing. He was given an rx for pain med but has not had to use it yet.

Random pics





The other picture is Jeff and Stephanie's daughter Zaylee, who decided to try out Muffin's dog kennel while they were visiting a couple weeks ago. It was too cute to pass up.

Grandma's going on-line!

I thought this might be a good way to keep in touch with my grandchildren. I always e-mail my children, and I read the blogs of my grandchildren. We don't always have a lot of news, so this will not be an everyday thing, but hopefully it will keep you all in the loop.