Wroamin'

Goodbye to a wonderful lady

2012-01-27T12:37:00.001-07:00

Last night the world lost a very special lady. At least my world did. Or I should say our world...but let me start at the beginning.

Jude Hubbell and her husband Roger met Al over 50 years ago and they have all been good friends since. I entered the picture over 30 years ago and I must say I was a nervous wreck to meet her. I had been warned by Al that Jude could be "difficult" and if she didn't like you, she didn't like you..period! I must have been okay, or a keeper as they say these days, because Jude and I hit it off right away. I will admit there were times I wanted to throttle her; argue with her (which wasn't possible I learned), or just stand up to her. She was one stubborn gal. And I loved her. She had the biggest heart of gold I have ever seen. Very opinionated---very. Some times it was her way .. only. Yet our friendship grew and deepened.

Roger and Jude moved from Seattle to Tucson in 2000. We hadn't really given Tucson, or any place a thought to retire since we were still in our RV travel mode. However, we wound up buying a house about 3 miles from them. It is always so comforting to know they were just "up the road" from us.

In the last few months Jude's health has taken a sharp decline. She has been in and out of the hospital several times. Two weeks ago she came home under Hospice. Her children, siblings and several friends have made their way to Tucson to see her and say their goodbyes. Those who couldn't make it have called. She was well loved.

Last night Jude gave up her fight and died peacefully. I thought I was prepared for this. Wrong....I wasn't. No matter how prepared you think you are, you aren't. With heavy heart, I pray for eternal life for her. We who are left behind are sad, because she is no longer here; however, we are also happy celebrating her wonderful life and the impact she had on others.
Our world is a little more empty today, a little more sad, and once again, our lives have changed. We will go on, remembering the good times with Jude and our memories we have.

Rest in Peace our wonderful friend, Jude. We love and miss you.

It's a New Year...

2012-01-19T17:19:00.001-07:00

Six days into 2012, so far so good. I peeked out from under my covers on Jan 1 just to make sure 2011 was gone for good. BAD year!

Al is feeling okay. He is weak, can't walk very far, but at this point in time I will take anything he can do as a plus. His appetite is very small, which for him is very unusual. He usually eats good at breakfast, but by dinner he really doesn't want anything to do with it. But then again, that can vary day by day. Hospice is wonderful...so caring, and not just for him, but for me as well. For the first time I feel like I really have help anytime I need it. Al took a fall one day last week that necessitated a call to my friends at the fire dept. Also called Hospice and my wonderful neighbor barb.

Jan 19
Apparently, I got side tracked and never got back to the blog I started earlier this month. Oh well, story of my life lately. I start something, get distracted, and sometimes never get back to what I started.

It has been a busy month. Our good friend Jude is very ill and as a result we have had some company. Good friends Frank and Garrett came from Seattle to see Jude...however, Jude's house was full, so they stayed with us. We had a great visit with them and Al really enjoyed it.

Last weekend son Mike and granddaughter Sarah were here from St. Louis. They only stayed for 2 nights, but we really were happy to see them. It does Al good when company comes. Now, we are waiting for granddaughter Cammie to arrive. Actually, she was suppose to come in from Seattle yesterday, but due to the snow flights and life was cancelled in Seattle. She is now due in tomorrow...but from the sounds of the news Seattle may still be frozen tomorrow. We are anxiously waiting to see her.

Nieces Sherrie and Denice from Seattle and Ephrata respectively are scheduled in at the end of the month. And yes, I have been busy washing sheets and towels. As long as I don't have to fold said sheets I am fine. I HATE FOLDING SHEETS! Always have, always will! Especially the fitted sheet, which usually winds up wadded up! And don't try to tell me to fit one corner into the other, etc. Doesn't work for me.

Weather here has been absolutely wonderful, except when we have company! Then the weather usually tries to be cold, windy, rainy. This week has been so pretty and the forecast runs 68, 70, 69, 71, etc. NICE

Al is about the same. I can see him slide downhill more everyday. His appetite is good some days and not so good others. He sleeps a lot and is always tired. At least he is home and comfortable. Hospice is wonderful. I also hired the caregiver we had from my brother to come in once a week and sit with Al while I get away for a few hours. And Hospice provides a volunteer 2 hours a week to sit with him as well, so I do get a break. And Barb also gives me a break on the weekend. Don't know how I would do this without her. She is definitely my rock.

So that is all that is happening around here for the time being. Hope this finds you all doing well and living life the way you want.

As usual, I am behind...

2011-12-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Where in the heck did the last month go???? I know I was here, but sure can't believe it is almost the end of December!

Let's see, where do I begin? Skunk problem was solved Monday after Thanksgiving...thanks to a great service I found here in Tucson called "animal experts" Yes, we had a dead skunk up in the insulation under the kitchen. Took a while to neutralize the odor, but it is gone.

We had company the first week in December...friends from Minnesota came for a few days. We hadn't seen them in a few (15) years so we had a lot of catching up to do. Sure enjoyed them.

Then good friends Kathy and Rowland were here from Seattle for a few days. They are thinking about becoming snow birds some day and wanted to check out the area ... we are hoping they will decide on Tucson. Had a great visit and always hate to see them go home!

Al came home from the Skilled Nursing Facility on Dec. 19; under Hospice care. What a great organization this is. We are using Casa de la Luz, which is the same hospice we used with my brother. They are so caring and helpful. Plus my neighbor and good friend Barb is a Nursing Supervisor there. He is doing well, even after all the company we have had for the holidays.

Friends Dick and Lano came from Yuma on Dec. 20 and what a great help and support they are to me. They left to go home this morning and Al is already asking when they are coming back.

Jenn arrived on the 22nd and grandson Danny arrived on the 23rd. So nice to have them both here for Christmas. And for the first time in 50 years I didn't cook Christmas breakfast or dinner...Jenn did it all with assistance from Danny and a few others. Nice to have a break, but it did seem odd not being in the middle of it.

Jenn left Monday to go back to Seattle, Danny leaves early (1:45 a.m.) tomorrow to go back to Washington DC. We had both Washington's represented here for Christmas. :-)

Our good friend Jude is in the hospital and not doing too well, so I try and go to see her every chance I get. Today Barb's dad Carl sat with Al...I appreciate all the help and support I have. I don't think I could do this with out it.

So here is wishing you a great 2012....Happy New Year.

The Skunk that came to Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-24T20:19:00.001-07:00

Tucson, Az
Nov. 24, 2011
Happy Birthday Denise!

Happy Stinky Thanksgiving...you might ask why "stinky". We lets start at the very beginning.

Last week a critter got under the house and died...it smelled horrible for a few days, but finally cleared out and all was well. And before you ask, there is no way I will ever crawl under this house...I know evil things must live under there! Spiders, snakes, etc.

Today I was busy cooking my favorite meal of the year...I LOVE TO COOK THANKSGIVING DINNER! It brings back so many great memories of my childhood and cooking with my mom; and of when my children were little and they would help me. Now Jenn and I have a tradition of cooking together, even if we are 1800 miles apart. She calls me and I call her to see what stage of prep she is in, or what little oops she might have had, or more than likely here lately, how many oops I have had. (like forgetting to put the turkey in the oven on time or not putting slits in the cooking bag.) ANYWAY, as I was saying about 11:00 a.m. I got a whiff of a javalina...they smell like a skunk...kinda that musky odor. Hmmm...I looked out side and didn't see any thing but the smell was getting stronger by the minute. By the time Gary and Jeannette arrived about 11:30 it was really smelling like SKUNK....pee yew! Still thinking it was probably just a herd of Javalina, Gary and I walked around the house...couldn't see any of those pesky things, but did notice where something had clawed it's way under the deck, which goes directly under the house. By this time the smell was getting very bad. Barb and her parents arrived and agreed....something stinks. Messed up the great smell of dinner cooking. GRRRR. So Carl (Barb's dad) and Gary took off all three of the access covers to under the house, got out the flashlight and looked but couldn't see anything, but wow...the smell was, well, skunky.
And of course the strongest smell was under the kitchen. This skunk wanted to eat with us! Great.

Barb, Gary and Carl went to pick Al up ... he got to come home for four hours today for dinner. Did my heart good. It was hard on me today not having him around while I was prepping and cooking. He was always my potato peeler, taster, etc. AND I realized I will probably never cook another Thanksgiving dinner in this house as it goes on the market the first of the year. Kind of melancholy....sad. But it was wonderful to have him home and I am so thankful for that. He did really well, however, he still isn't very strong.

Everyone enjoyed dinner, even with the horrible smell. Which seemed to come and go. But when we were in the kitchen doing dishes it really got powerful....but I also thought I smelled gas. I did some sniffing and did smell gas. So I called the gas company and they said to evacuate the house, do not turn on any lights, etc. and they would be right out. Thank goodness it was nice outside and we all went out and sat on the deck, still smelling skunk! How can one little critter smell so bad? But now it is smelling like a family has moved in. And of course, no pest company was open today, or even taking calls.

Gas company arrived and the first thing the guy said is SKUNK! NO KIDDING! He did a check and found a small gas leak, so my very sensitive nose is still working. That repaired, he left, but we still had the skunk. FIRST THING IN THE MORNING I AM CALLING THE PEST PEOPLE.

Al was happy to be home, but he was very tired when he went back to the care center. We sent him back with pie, so that made him happy. We all stuffed ourselves and had a lot of fun, regardless of the smell. It wasn't a perfect day, but fun one and we all enjoyed each others company. I would have loved to have my entire family here, but know that will never happen, so I take what I can get. I am just very thankful that Al was able to come home.

So here's hoping you all had a wonderful day and are happy and stuffed, just like I am. Now let the holiday madness begin.

Hey...who changed the blog format?

2011-11-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Nov. 9, 2011
Okay, since I have been gone someone (Google?) changed my blog format. Confusion I don't need.

I feel like the last few weeks I have been on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! After I posted my last blog on Oct. 16, that day, Al took a fall that landed him back in the hospital. He didn't get hurt but was so weak he couldn't stand. He spent a few days in the hospital and then was transferred to Health South Rehab where he spent 2 weeks. He gained some strength back, started walking again and getting better. Then on Nov. 1 Al was moved back to LaCanada Care Center from HealthSouth. HealthSouth said he wasn't improving enough and wasn't ready for more rehab at their level. Poor guy is so confused! And it is very frustrating for me. Just when it looks like he is doing better, he slides back down the slippery slope again.
He was welcomed back at LaCanada warmly. Even though it is a Skilled Nursing Facility, it is still a nursing home and very depressing to me. I gritted my teeth going in there. However, in the nine days he has been in there I have seen some improvement. I have no idea how long he will be there. All I know is by Dec. 9 he will be out of there...he will have used up his 100 days of medicare coverage for the year. UGH.

On a brighter note, I celebrated my birthday recently and all of our friends and family here made sure I had a great day! And all my kids checked in and I received a ton of cards...so I say thank you to you all. I needed that.

Friends Ann and Gene from Bellingham are in Tucson for a month and I have been able to connect with them. Good to see them. And Gary and Jeannette are back for the winter as well. As are a lot of the snowbirds!

Our friends Jude and Roger are celebrating their 50th anniversary on Nov. 11. Unfortunately, Jude is having some health issues so they plan on spending it very quietly, but I want to wish them a Happy 50th.

Our weather has been cold lately. Well, cold for us. It went from being 90 for days on end to 50 in the day and low 40's at night. Today it managed to get to 67...brrrr. We didn't go gradually into cold, it changed quickly.

So until next time...keep living your lives...enjoy each day. Remember to smile.

OOOOKKKKAAAAYYYYY

2011-10-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am a little behind here on my blog. I read Jenn's blog and then I start to think "I need to write on my blog"...they someone hollers for something (not saying Al would do that) and I lose my train of thought. Well, my train has been derailed for many years. Just sayin'

Al got home from rehab/skilled nursing/hospital on Sept 30. He spent a grand total of 75 days in one or the other of those facilities. He did really well when he came home, for about 3 days! Now he seems to be on the long downhill slide again. Complaining his legs/knees/back/hips hurt. He saw the back doctor a week ago and he will see him again this week, however, doctor thinks he may have to have another round of epidural shots in the back. They seemed to help him last time. Let's hope they will help this time. As his son Ric said "Dad getting up is a noisy affair!" and that is right, he groans/moans/grunts etc. I don't mind it during the day, however, at night I do get just a little testy when he does it...espeically when I am woken up from a sound sleep. Which, speaking of, I don't get very much of.

The weather is fall"ish" here. We had 3 days of real fall weather, then, summer returned with a vengance. It was 103 Friday and yesterday and suppose to be today. I am so ready for the 90 degree weather of fall...I need some "Cool" weather. 90 degree I can stand right now, 80 would be nice, but that isn't until usually November. However, you can feel fall in the air, if you sit just right, at the right light, at the right time of day/night. And it does cool down to 70's at night. And the few tree's that we have are dropping some leaves as is my Ocatillo, which is dropping it's tiny leaves all over the front deck.

I didn't mention a few blogs ago that we had to put one of our cats to sleep in August. Juanito lost his fight with kidney failure on Aug. 30. I am still crying. Jose, our other cat and Juanito's brother is stuck to me like glue. The dogs are finally accepting that Juanito isn't coming home; Jose and I are having a harder time of it. He was a great kitty...I called him my lover kitty as he loved to cuddle with me -- only me. No one else! Yes, he was definitely MY CAT.

Ric and Janet were here for a week...well, Janet was here for 5 days and Ric for a couple of days. He was on a business trip to Mesa, so Janet came a long and stayed with us. It was sure good to have her here and I truly enjoyed the visit. Wish we could see our kids more, but that would be almost impossible since they are scattered from Portland, OR/ Lancaster, CA/Seattle, Redmond WA/ and St. Louis MO! Oh well, we take what we can get and be happy with it. I think our traveling days are over...until Al recovers much more than he is now. And I just don't think that will happen. So I look at our albums and cherish the great memories we have of our travels. I am so glad we traveled when we could.

Hope this finds you all happy and living life the way you want!

Things are looking up!

2011-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, things are finally beginning to look up. Al was moved to Oro valley hospital rehab center yesterday to begin extensive therapy to strengthen him so he will be able to come home. He has been doing well at the Skilled Nursing Facility and the powers that be feel he no longer needs that level of care. Good news for us. Now I pray he can maintain the therapy level required as he has to do 3 hours a day to remain in this facility. Of course, those 3 hours are broken up to different segments during the day.

It was like old home week at rehab. The nurses, CNA's and staff all were glad to see him and see him doing so well. When he left there last July he was really in bad shape, so this made them happy. They are really a great team to work with....we have been there enough, this is Al's 5th visit there.

The weather has finally started to cool off and feel a little like Fall. Right now (10:00 a.m.) it is only 73 outside...of course that is in the shade...it is 93 in the sun. Still it is better than the 110+ we had there for a while. And the weather guesser's say the monsoons are over. So much for our rain. We had a few good storms, but we still need rain. However, once I said that, I realize we ARE living in the middle of the Sonoran Desert!!!! :-)

Son Ric, Daughter-in-law Janet and niece Sherrie just finished walking the 3 - Day, 60 Mile Susan G Komen walk for the cure in Seattle last weekend. Daughter Jenn and Granddaughter Cammie were the best walker stalkers as well. Great job; so proud of all of them for supporting such a good cause.

Not much else new to report for this time. I will keep posting to the Caring Bridge site for Al 's progress....check it out at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alfredwraspir

Until next time, hope this finds all of you happy, healthy and living life.

Doctor Visits

2011-09-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

I took Al to two doctor visits today. He saw the "ologist" brothers, neurologist and nephrologist. It is quite a chore to take him to these appointments. First I have to let the SNF know in advance (usually they like 2-3 days notice) then I have to get him into the car (a chore in itself) then put the wheel chair in the car, which I swear weights 70 lbs by itself. Drive to the docs office, retrieve the wheelchair, get Al in it; wheel him into the doc's office without taking out people, door jambs, etc. Get him into the exam room with out doing the same as above. Then repeat the process all over again to get him back in the car. I did this twice today, no wonder I am exhausted tonight.

Both the ologist has good reports. Al's neurologist was amazed at his memory test...he scored higher today than he ever has...EVER! Glad Al didn't have to take this test last Sunday...he was having a very confusing day then. Doc said that will happen, but Al seemed very alert today. Then to the nephrologist (Kidney)...he too was amazed. Al's creatinin was almost perfect! Kidneys functioning at about 50%..doc says that very rarely EVER happens. So two good reports today.

However, by the time I got him back to the SNF he was completely worn out. Definitely not ready to come home -- even Al admitted that.

Tomorrow is our 30th wedding anniversary. We won't be celebrating it by going out on the town...or even going out to dinner. Al's favorite meal is pot roast, so I will cook one and take it to him and we will have a romantic (?) dinner at the SNF. (Skilled Nursing Facility) We would both rather be on a cruise somewhere instead. But that isn't about to happen.

The weather is still, hot, hotter, hottest, and more hot. I love the heat, but even I am tired of it. I am just thankful that we aren't in Texas. I feel so bad for those poor people. The weather has just be weird all over this year. My mom used to say that when the weather got weird it was because of all the "rockets" that were sent into space...I am beginning to wonder if she wasn't right!

11 days later...

2011-08-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am really not doing a good job at this blog anymore. Guess I have a little too much on my mind.

Al is doing much better, matter-of-fact, he MAY come home this week. Of course we will either Hospice or Home Health Care and at this point in time it is unclear which one it will be. It initally started out as Hospice, but the doctor at the Care Center wants AL's primary doc to sign the order. However, because of Medicrap Al can't see his primary doc until he is discharged from the Care Center. I feel like I am in a real Catch 22 here. I have an appointment with our primary doc tomorrow and I will talk to him about the best way to handle this. If he determines that Al doesn't need Hospice, all the better; I just want to make sure Al has the best of what he needs.

I haven't been doing too much lately. It has been too hot to do too much. Was 114 one day; and of course that was the day I had multiple appointments. I have discovered the inside of my car can get to 140 degrees...at least that is what it felt like. And parking in the shade in Arizona is almost impossible (cactus do not make shade trees!)

I decided while Al was not home I would clean out our closet. I didn't think it would take me 2 weeks, but it has. Because of my back, I work a little on the closet, then I rest, and then the process repeats. So far I have been able to do this without hurting my back too much. And not it is crunch time, I HAVE to finish the closet tomorrow. Golden Goose (local thrift shop) here I come.

I also want to paint a wall in our guest room, but I don't think that will be done before Al gets home. It is too hot to do anything out side...even at 6:00 in the morning it is in the high 80's and the other night at 10:0 p.m. it was still 92. I usually don't mind the heat and much prefer it over cold, but for some reason I am having issues with heat this year. Of course, our monsoons haven't really been great this year, a lot of humidity and very little rain.

Friends Dick and Lano were here for a few days last week...with their puppy Misty. Misty is Beau's great niece and is 8 mos old. She sure is cute, but, oh boy, is she ever full of energy. Wore me out just watching her. Beau, has become an old man and will growl at her. Or maybe he is trying to teach her manners, I don't know. All I know she is so cute and I really enjoy her. Schuster just ignores her for the most part...

More when more happens. Hope all is well with everyone else.

A month later

2011-08-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Yep...I haven't posted a blog in a month. This is because it has been too depressing for me to even think about posting a blog. Instead of trying to catch up, I will just insert my posts to the Caring Bridge web site that Jenn created for AL. Just so you know, Al is still in the "skilled nursing factility" ... a fancy name for a nursing home. He is doing better...but he is still in "that place" as I call it. I get instantly depressed when I go to see him.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:26 PM, MST
Okay...here we go. Al has not improved .. and unfortunately, medicrap guidelines say if he isn't doing 3 hrs of therapy a day he must be moved. And I guess I can see why. Al has NO DESIRE to do any of the therapy. He did walk down the hall yesterday, but that can't really qualify for 3 hrs of therapy. Everytime they get him up he says he has to get back in bed he is too tired to do anything. Docs can't find any reason for this. My thought? He is just giving up. I can't convince him to do therapy so he can come home. Usually this is his motivation, but not this time. Now he is to weak to do anything. Can't get him to eat much. Yesterday he ate none of his breakfast; third of his lunch and dinner. Need I say more? When asked if he is in pain he will say no, not really. He is still taking pain meds when needed, but he doesn't seem to remember if he has had them or not. And ugly, ole, Alzheimers is kicking in big time. And depression as well. I have been told they go hand in hand. Great!

He will be moved to a Skilled Nursing Facility in the near future. It will depend on which one they can get him into. Splendito is close by and a very good facility, but usually there is a waiting list. He has been on the list before and never made it--so we will see.

I have to say I am hating all of this, but knew at some point in time this would happen.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 8:48 PM, MST

Oh my, I NEVER expected the response on this site like I have gotten. Thank you all so very much for your love and support.

Mike (Al's oldest son) arrived today and I am so glad he is here. I didn't really realize how much a burden I was carrying by my self!

Al's condition is deteriorating. When Mike and I got to the hospital today he was sleeping, the nurse told us he hasn't been really awake all day. I think Mike termed it correctly, it seems as if he is not asleep, but just "checked out". Al acknowledged that Mike was there; but couldn't stay alert enough to carry on even a minimal a conversation with him. He isn't eating much at all, He ate part of his breakfast, none of his lunch and I fed him his dinner which he ate only a small portion. Nurse said she had to feed him his breakfast and he ate two bites of his lunch before he threw it up.

They were going to move him to a skilled nursing facility tomorrow, but that has been postponed for a day or so. Also they were going to give him the epidural shots in his back tomorrow for pain, but that has been postponed as well. Instead the hospital doctor has requested Al's neurologist to come in and has also requested an MRI and other tests. All of Al's body functions seem to be okay and all the tests on all major organs have been good as well. So the doctors are as stumped as I am on why he is like he is. I pray they get to the bottom of it soon. I asked the doctor today if it was possible that Al has just given up and his response was that at this moment Al doesn't have the mental capacity to do this, however, he possibly could have made this decision a few days ago and this is the result. Hopefully we will know more tomorrow.

Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:08 PM, MST
Al's condition continues to decline. Mike and I were at the hospital most of the day. Doctors have finally found out what is causing Al to be so sleepy and confused. He is in acute renal failure and has an acute (I hate this word) Unrinary Tract Infection. I won't go into the numbers and all the clinical details of renal failure, but it is bad. They moved Al from the rehab unit to the Telementery ward today. I had to ask what the Telementery ward was; it is for critically ill patients who need to be monitored closely. They have started an IV with antibiotics to hopefully get the UTI under control and pump fluids into him to hopefully reverse some of the kidney failure. However, his kidneys have been at 20% for over a year. His Nephrologist (Kidney doc) hasn't given up yet, and says maybe Al will bounce back. His Neurologist (we saw the oligist brothers today!!) did an EEG to measure his brain wave function today and as expected it revealed the brain waves were slow, from the renal failure. Hope this makes sense to you.
Al was a little more alert today and talked a bit more. He still isn't eating much, I fed him lunch and dinner and he ate about 1/8th of both. And I can't get him to drink much water either.

Friday, July 29, 2011 9:43 PM, MST
A much better day today. Al has improved! The antibiotics have kicked in and his numbers are much better...not great, but much better. Creatinine is down to 3.2; BUN is down to 59 and white blood cells are at 12.8. So maybe we are on the road to recovery. His kidney doctor was very encouraged today of the better numbers and said he has a chance for his kidneys to perhaps go back to at least 20% function. However, Al is a long way from being out of the woods. He is eating a little bit, so that has encouraged us. Prayers are so powerful! Thank you all again. I can't say how much your prayers and messages mean to the family and I.

Al is still "out of it" for the most part. No strong pain killers for him either. However, the kidney failure will cause mental confusion. He does know people now though, so that is a step forward. He will remain in acute care for a while; then will be moved to skilled nursing facility when the time is right. He has to be much better before he can be moved.

Mike will be here until Sunday and I can't say how good it has been for me to have him here. What a great son and person he is. He has helped me through all of this with his calm, sensible way. What a blessing for me.

Saturday. July 30

Al is getting stronger every day. Praise the Lord!!! He could actually stand for a minute on his own today. That is huge progress. However, he still isn't eating very much & still on IV. His creatinine is down to 2.2 and his BUN is 44 and white cell count is 8, which is normal.

Of course today he is 4 of the 7 dwarfs---sleepy, grumpy, dopey & doc!! He is mad at me because I won't take him home or to the motel!?!? So confusion is still here, however the docs said it would be the last to leave.
Al is smiling some which does my heart good.
Mike is so good & patient with his dad. I am sad to see Mike leave tomorrow, but ever so thankful for him being here

Sunday, July 31, 2011 10:19 PM, MST

UGH! A roller coaster of emotions day for me. I took Mike to the airport this morning...I was so thankful to have him here and sad to see him go home. He was such a huge help to me and Dad.

I got back to the hospital around 1:00 p.m. Al was doing so well. His creatinine was back to normal as was all the other "numbers". His doctors came in around 2:00 p.m. and said they were going to release him to Skilled Nursing Facility!! OK...on the road to real progress and recovery. A few days ago I didn't think we would make it this far. Al is still confused; but not as bad as he has been. And the doctors said this will take a while to clear up. AND he walked up and down the hall this afternoon with the physical therapist!!!

I have seen him bounce back like this before, but I was surprised he did such a major turn around. Amazing what fluid and antibiotics can do. AND Al has lost 30 lbs in two weeks. Can't say I approve of his diet plan though. He is eating better, but didn't eat much of his dinner tonight.

So we were told that he would be going to LaCanada SNF. The one I really wanted him in was Splendido, but they had no beds. They were to transfer him in a few hours (Waiting on transportation). I headed home to feed dogs and cats, etc. While on my way home the case manager called and said Splendido just called and they had a bed and she was trying to snag the bed for Al, did we still want it? YES! A few minutes later she called and said Splendido REFUSED Al the bed....didn't know why, just said they didn't want him. REALLY??? Can they do this? Can they just pick and choose who they want??? I DON"T THINK SO....and I will be at Splendido in the morning to find out why!

So to La Canada SNF we went. By all standards it is okay; but a nursing home is a nursing home, no matter how fancy you make it sound. It was so hard to leave him there. I cried all the way home. He is in a very small room with another man who lives there permanently and will tell you that he is just waiting to die. UGH!

Al has barely enough room; he is shoved into a corner with a bed and a night stand. PERIOD. He needs a large bed and I requested one, but we will see if we get it. He isn't happy there either. It just about broke my heart to leave him there.
I can only hope he will get better quickly and get back into Rehab at the Oro Valley Hospital center.

I need a dislike button tonight.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 7:33 AM, MST

Al continues to get stronger. In Skilled Nursing they are less aggressive with the physical therapy; however, he is walking down the hall with assistance. Still not crazy about him being in Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) but it did look better in the light of day. He is still shoved into a corner of a small room; and his room mate will tell you over and over he wants to die. I did get a tour of the facility today and it is very nice and clean. I guess it is what it is.

Al was less confused yesterday, knew where he was and was more communicative. He is happy that I can bring the dogs in to see him; which I will do today. His numbers are still good and his blood sugar is excellent. He is eating; just not very much. He finally did eat a nectarine that I brought him a few days ago and asked for another one. The facility has an ice cream social everyday at 1:30-2:00 and he enjoyed that yesterday. There are plenty of activities for him to participate in if he chooses to; and I hope he does some of them, however, I have my doubts.
If you would have told any of us that saw him this time last week that he would be in a SNF in a week we would have argued with you. All of us are still amazed at the turn around (even the doctors); just shows you the power of prayer. Thank you all again for all of your prayers, love and support. Without them I doubt we would be where we are today.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 10:07 PM, MST

I could only visit with Al for an hour today....he was too busy going to different therapies! He had physical therapy; occupational therapy and group therapy. He seemed to be okay with going to all of them. And instead of having his dinner brought to his room he went to the dining room tonight for dinner. Progress!

He is still a bit confused; yesterday he asked me if I had milked the cows that morning!! Uh, yes??? Then today he wanted to know what hotel I was staying in. When I told him I was staying at home he couldn't figure out where home was. Then I figured out he didn't know he was in Tucson. After I told him we were in Tucson he understood why I was staying at home. The doctors said it would take some time for the confusion to leave; however, I think Al is doing much better than expected.
I had a chat with the social worker assigned to Al's case today. She estimated that he would be in SNF for at least 2 more weeks; then probably he would be transferred to Oro Valley Hospital Rehab for more PT/OT. All depends on how he does. I think I got him to understand the more he did for himself the quicker he would get out of the SNF and on the way to coming home.

Friday, August 5, 2011 6:53 PM, MST
Al continues to get stronger every day. Jennifer arrived yesterday & that made him happy.

We visited him today & he went to the dining room for lunch. We are taking
him dinner tonight. he is going to PT & doing well. He still remains somewhat confused but that is also getting better. Praise the Lord!,!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:21 PM, MST

I just got home from a meeting with all of Al's therapists & nurses. His progress is average; still not wanting to do the more aggressive therapies, however they say that due to his back pain that is normal. They are encouraging him to get out of his room more, he tends to just stay in his room when not at therapy. Also encouraging him to go to the dining room instead of having a tray brought to his room. I solved that problem by switching him to dining room only service. They will make him go to the dining room for meals. This way he will have to get out of his room at least 3 times a day. Having said that, I had lunch with him today & it was pretty disgusting!! The salad was good..... :-/
They estimate he will be in the nursing home at least 2-3 more weeks. I am calling his doctor to see if he can give Al the shots in his back for pain. They highly recommend it.

His attitude could use at little boost. He doesn't want to participate in anything & he is pretty grumpy. Of course I can see why...I would be as well given the circumstances!! That place depresses me. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice, clean, well run & maintained facility --- but it is still a nursing home. I see all these people that once, I assume, led active, productive lives and now are dependent, in some cases, for everything, on someone else. UGH!! So sad. They asked me today if I would be interested in volunteering there and I had to turn them down. Just couldn't do it right now. Maybe someday, but not now.

Aug 17
Tomorrow Al will go in for the epidural shots. I am praying that they will help him. He has been good about doing the therapy this week and he is getting out of bed and out of the room more, which is good. I took him to the cardiologist yesterday and that trip wore him out. I have arranged for transportation for him tomorrow from the SNF to Oro Valley Hospital where the procedure will be done. I didn't want to take a chance on me taking him and then him not being able to sit or walk after the procedure. They say that rarely happens, but with my luck I didn't want to take the chance.

Check out http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alfredwraspir for the latest and greatest on Al.

I am doing okay, trying to keep my back from doing me in. Had pilates today and feel good right now, but I know not to over do it. HAHAHA
So after reading the LONG blog, I hope my next one will be sooner and shorter.

BACK in the hospital again

2011-07-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

July 18
Al has been complaining, whining, screaming in agaony about his back. Poor guy really has been suffering. Xrays showed nothing more that arthritis. HOWEVER, yesterday morning he couldn't get out of bed and I couldn't get him out of bed! So I called 911. My favorite fire department EMT's showed up (they have been here several times in the past couple of years) and off we went to the hospital.

ER doc immediately gave him a strong dose of Dilaudid, which is morphine. Finally, AL is out of pain. Then off to have an MRI and it showed not only arthritis, but spinal stenosis AND a compression fracture at Lumbar 3!!! Holy Smokes, no wonder he was in so much pain! So, he is in the hospital awaiting the back doctor to come in and see what our options are. He is resting comfortably now and getting some sleep. AND I finally got some sleep last night as well. I will keep you posted as we go.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHome

2011-07-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Ah, it feels so good to be home. It always is fun (?) to travel but it is always good to get home. And our cats let us know that we were gone a total of 40 days! I cannot get out of their sight. And I can't get my pillow back at night either...but that's another story for another day!

We left Odessa planning on heading home; however, we got to the main road where I was to turn right and head to Tucson I looked at Al and said "Montana?" to which he said YES! So I turned left and off we went! We spent two days in Noxon, got some minor repairs done on the trailer and visited with Gordon and Denise and Charles; Lou and Chris and Mike and Louise. The weather was perfect with the exception of the 40, 000 mosquito's that thought I was a buffet!

We left Noxon on July 7 and this time we really were heading home. We decided to go to Butte, MT and catch I-15 south home. First of all, what a beautiful drive from Noxon to Butte. We followed the Clark Fork river for 3 days...just as soon as I would say, well, we haven't seen the Clark Fork, we would be crossing it! We spent one night in Deer Lodge, MT right on the banks of a very high Clark Fork River, and the rest of the mosquito's that hadn't had dinner!!!

The next day (July 8)we went through Dillon, MT and it was lunch time and of course our stomachs were sounding off. We were about ready to settle for a McDonalds (not my favorite) when we stumbled across "Sparky's Diner"...we had the best BBQ Brisket sandwich we have ever had. Spent that night in Pocatello, ID...lovely little town.

July 9 (Happy Birthday SIS) Next big hurdle was to get through Salt Lake City and all the construction around it. I-15 is a mess!!! Construction everywhere. But it was the worse right south of Salt Lake City. I found my self driving this huge beast in very narrow lanes, up against a concrete barrier. Didn't matter which of the two lanes I was in, there was a concrete barrier next to me. UGH! Nerve racking to say the least but at least we were better off than the traffic going north, we measured a 37 mile back up! No thanks! That night found us in one of our favorite KOA's, Fillmore UT. We have stayed there several times and enjoyed it each time and this time it was no different. The camp owner guided me into a nice spot; then the gentleman parked behind us came over and hooked up our water, electric and sewer while I was getting Al settled. That was so nice of him. And by that time I needed some relief.

Next morning (July 10) we are off again, planning on heading down Hwy 89 to Kanab, UT and Page, AZ. I was dreading going down the grade in Page, but figured the truck and I could do it. But then, the camp owner had said they were expecting heavy rain all along Hwy 89 that day. I decided that I would make the decision when I got to the turn off for 89. Well, let's just say, we continued on down I-15 into Las Vegas. The weather looked really mean to the east when we were to turn off. We did have a huge monsoon storm hit us near Mesquite, NV...not fun to drive in. Spent the night in a warm Las Vegas, at Sam's Town RV Park, which is basically just a large parking lot. Doesn't even have a shuttle to the casino!! But that was okay with us because we weren't interested in going.

By now, we can see the end of the trip....July 11, and we are getting closer to home. Over the new bridge over Hoover Dam, which, you don't even know you are going over, and down the road we went. Woo Hoo, we are in Arizona. Truck running great; dogs and Al sleeping off and on (mostly on) and me driving with my music on. We encountered quite a monsoon rain just out of Flagstaff, high winds and all. But I persisted and we finally stopped at another of our favorite RV parks (when you travel this route as much as we have, you tend to have favorites) Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ. They offer a shuttle to the casino, so that night I dug my heels in and said I wasn't cooking! Over to the casino we went for a good dinner.

July 12 and home around 3:00 p.m. Hot drive today and I had to slow down a bit at times, but we made it. Glad to be home safe and sound. I am very tired, but there is still a lot of work to do. Truck and trailer are parked in front of the house and I am unloading it little by little (more like when I need something!) and it may not be parked in its place for a while. It is hooked up to electric and the a/c is running so the trailer will be fine. I am going to take my kids and friends advice and unload it slowly. I am too tired to do any different.

Al's back has been bothering him and we went to see the doc the day after we got home...arthritis has set in and there really isn't much to do for him but give him a pain pill when needed. He can't sleep at night in bed, so he has found his recliner to be his new bed for now. So I get the bed, 2 dogs and 2 cats all to myself. Me thinks I should go sleep in my recliner!!!!

So for now we are home and happy to be here. More later...

Small town USA and the 4th of July

2011-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

July 4 -- Odessa, WA

Odessa, small town USA...never fails to impress me how they celebrate the 4th of July. The only "official" celebration is at noon at the town park where the Fire Department holds a BBQ. However, sometime around dusk the "unofficial" celebration begins. Fireworks to rival the best fireworks shows I have ever seen! Every time I see them it truly amazes me! It is 10:45 p.m. now and it is still going on. For at least 2 hours we are treated to amazing fireworks...some legal, some not. All the same, it is a great show.

Tomorrow we are on the road again. The truck is hooked to the trailer, trailer is pretty much packed and ready to roll. Now it is all up to me to get us home. We were going to go to Montana to visit Gordon and Denise; then to Colorado to see my cousin and brother. However, since my back is really bothering me, we are heading home. Hated to have to cut the trip short, but I just don't think it would be wise to do more driving than necessary. However, after saying that, we may make a left turn and head up to Noxon, MT for a day or two tomorrow...it will depend on how I feel at the time.

We have been busy while we were here. We got to see a lot of Al's cousins...had dinner with Neil, Bobbi and Harley one night. Too short of a visit, but at least we got to see them. Yesterday we went to see Myrna and Arley Bishoff, had a short but nice visit with them. Love them all so much. Today niece Claudia and her husband Larry; niece Denice; nephew Todd (where we have our trailer parked, our old house) and wife Vickie, and Alyssa and Austin were all together for a bbq rib dinner. Todd has learned from Al how to bbq ribs and they were great. Unfortunately, Al is having a hard time getting around, but did enjoy most of the day with everyone. We have got to visit some with Al's sister Joyce and her husband Bud, but unfortunately she has been sick part of the time we were here so it limited our time with them.

I will miss Alyssa and Austin...Alyssa is 8 and Austin is 6 and they sure are good kids. Austin is all boy and Alyssa is all girl. Alyssa has been my shadow the entire time we have been here.

We did go to Spokane last week to see sister in law, Gloria and took her to lunch; then went to Gary and Jeannettes for dinner. We also went to Ephrata last week and had lunch with Denice and took Simon (the other big black poodle who belongs to son Jerry) in to be groomed. So we have kept as busy as we want to be.

So the next time you hear from us, who knows where we will be!! On the road again, ........

Happy Birthday Lori...you are 18!

2011-06-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

And to my youngest grandchild...Lori...Happy Birthday Sweetheart...you are already 18. Once again I blinked and you grew up!

Lori, here is kiss to you...so you can wipe it off your cheek and say "ick". This was a game we played from when she was very young...at least I think it was a game, regardless, I kissed her anyway!

Lori was born in California, but she and her parents moved to Portland, OR when she was a little over a year old. She was an early bloomer...walking at just 7 mos old. And let me tell you, she hasn't let any grass grow under her feet since! And she definitely has a bit of me in her....very independent, sometimes to her parents dismay! However, after saying that, she is a very thoughtful young lady and very focused.

She knew one speed growing up and it was fast. I can remember her riding her bike as fast as her little legs would pedal...and she didn't know how to brake...just run into something, fall, get up and do it all over again. I can't tell you how many times she scared the daylights out of me.

Then she found horses. We sent her to horse camp in 2002...and the love with horses still continues today. She is an excellent rider, has competed in Rodeo's, and trains horses as well. She loves all animals and if her parents would let her she would have a gazillion animals. She has raised lambs, llamas, alpaca's, rabbits, chickens, horses, and dogs.

Lori graduated from high school this year...and she is one smart young lady. Still isn't sure what she wants to be, so far it has ranged from being a vet, to a coroner, nurse, surgeon, etc. However, she has some interest in political science as well...so only time will tell.

Whatever she decides will be her life calling, she will be very good at it. That is just the kind of person she is. Happy 18th Birthday sweetheart....we love you.

Whoa....where did the time go?

2011-06-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

Odessa, or Odessolet, Wa
Okay, so I promised myself I would blog at every stop of this trip. Hmmm..that didn't last long. The time has litterally flown by.

We are sitting in our 5th wheel in Odessa. I am still marveling at how we got here and how fast the time has gone. So lets start where I last left off...Portland.

We headed out of Portland on June 13 headed for Seattle. We had a nice, slow drive up, it must have been uneventful because I don't remember much of it! After unloading the car at Jenn's (all 3 flights of stairs) I was done for the day.

The next day, Tuesday, Al had a dentist appointment in the afternoon. In the morning Jenn took me out to her friends house in the middle of nowhere Bothell, Woodinville, Carnation, for a massage. I WAIT to get to Seattle so Jackie can give me a massage. Ah...felt soooo good.

Wednesday was busy, for lunch we drove to North Bend to meet granddaughter Cammie and her friend Lorissa for lunch. Cammie and Lorissa are living in Cle Elum now and both are working for the summer. Cammie is planning on going back to school in the fall. She looked so good and seem to be really happy. Then that night we met good friends Bill and Lorie Lince for dinner at Cafe Purple in Kirkland for dinner. This restaurant was reviewed on the TV show "The best thing I ever ate" and I knew I had to try it. And it lived up to it's reputation...I have some wonderful lobster risotto...yum. I was so stuffed, but I had to try the coffee sundae as well...burp!

Thursday rolled around and it was back to the dentist for Al for 2 hour appointment. Sheech. I went over and visited Seattle daughter in law Janet while Al was in the dentist chair. I about froze to death...brrr...I definitely have Tucson blood now. That night neice Sherrie came over and we ordered in pizza.

Friday arrived and we had lunch with long time friends Frank and Lynn Conger at the Beachhouse Cafe in Kirkland (used to be the Foghorn for those of you who would remember it). We had a good, but way to short visit with them. Then that night Ric was panhandling for the Cure near Jenn's house. Now let me explain that one...Ric walks in the 3 day, 60 mile Walk for the Cure for breast cancer. He does his "panhandling" on freeway offramps...has a sandwich board that says "$$ for boob's not Booze". This night he made over $200 in donations. Pretty good for a couple hours work. Jenn and I hopped in the convertible and took a picture of him

Yes, this is our son.

Saturday dawned gray and raining (we are in Seattle). Jenn had a function to go to that morning so Al and I just rested. That afternoon we went to good friends Rowland and Kathy's house for dinner. As always we enjoyed our visit with them, but it was just too darn short. I don't want to move back to Seattle, but I sure do miss our friends.

Sunday was Father's Day and we went to Ric and Janets for dinner. Granddaughter Ashley was there as well as Janet's parents and Al's ex wife Marilyn. We had a good visit and Al enjoyed his day.

Monday Jenn, AL and I went to our favorite place for breakfast, Lil Jon's Cafe in Bellevue. It is just down the street from where we used to live and has been there for 47 years and hasn't changed. YUM. I spent the rest of the day packing. That evening Jenn, Sherrie, Al and I went to COHO Cafe for dinner...if you are even in the area, defintely try this place.

Tuesday Al had a 3 HOUR, yes, 3 hour dentist appointment. I dropped him off and came back to Jenn's to load the car. After his appointment we headed over the mountains to Odessa. But, we did stop in Cle Elum to have an early dinner with Cammie and Lorissa and to see their place. Very nice apartment, just right for someone with young legs...it is a 3 story place as well. We arrived in Odessa around 8:00 that night and I just crashed.

Wednesday we were up and at 'em; had to take the rental car back to Spokane to turn it in. It was a Chevy Traverse and boy I really did like it. I am not much of a GM fan, but I liked this one. Nephew Todd followed us in with our truck; then we hit Costco, Walmart, etc. for supplies. We also stopped and bought a new recliner for the 5th wheel as the old one was worn out. On our way home we stopped at Todd's parents house and his dad Larry told us of a Lift recliner that was for sale in Odessa. Yes, we bought it...it is perfect for Al and it is practically new. So now I have two new recliners.

The rest of the time in Odessa has been spent cleaning the 5th wheel. It was in storage all winter and was really dirty. My back has paid for this little cleaning spree....

Today was Al's high school all school reunion. His school was so small that they have reunion's every 3 years. There was a good turn out this year, however, as expected, there were 26 who have died in the last year! OUCH! It was bittersweet for us to be there without Bob. Didn't seem right.

Weather here has been different. Usually by this time it is pretty hot, but not this year. Everything is late this year as well. Harvest will definitely late.

We will be here until next Thursday, when we head north towards Noxon, Montana.

Al has been doing pretty good. He had a heck of time with all the stairs at Jenn's, but is finally getting his legs back now. The stairs into the trailer are steep but he seems to be navigating them okay. My back is doing okay, sore some days, worse others. But it is what it is.

Hopefully I will be back on track and blog more frequently now. So until then....

Tonapah to Portland

2011-06-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 12
We had a wonderful trip from Tonopah Nevada to Central Point, OR. We decided we wanted to go through Mt Lassen National Park so we detoured after Reno to take us through the park. Very beautiful drive. However, when we turned off to go through the park the roads were closed due to SNOW! We still had a pretty drive.

We arrived at my sister's house in Central Point on Monday afternoon. We really took our time and stopped often. Two of my nieces were there for dinner that night and we had a good visit. We layed pretty low the entire time we were there. We went out to my niece Kay and her husband Mark's house on Wednesday night for dinner. They have a beautiful home in Jacksonville.

Thursday morning we headed north to Portland, well, actually Canby at our daughter Melanie's house. Her and her husband Ron just bought a new house with acreage. Very nice house and grounds. They have 4 horses, chickens, ducks, and cats and dogs....oh, and did I mention our two grandchildren Victor and Lori???? Wheee..grandchildren.

Friday Victor graduated from Clackamas Community College with an AA in General Studies. For Vic this is a real accomplishment. He really had the determination to finish this. We are so proud of him.

Yesterday we had a slow day....just rested and had a nice dinner for the grads last night. I offered to take them out, but they both opted for steak at home.

Today Lori graduates from Oregon City High School. I can't believe ALL of my grandchildren are out of high school....sheesh...how did that happen? I am so proud of all of them, they are all upstanding citizens. Two with families; the rest doing what they want with their lives. We are so blessed.

Grandpa, Vic, Lori, Gramma

Melanie,Vic, Lori, Ron

Victor and Lori

Tonopah, NV

2011-06-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

We are wroamin' again! It's been a long time since I could say that. We are heading north for a few weeks...Oregon, Washington, Montana and Colorado are in our plans.

We left yesterday morning from Tucson; made it to Kingman Arizona before I gave up...was too tired to go any further. I wonder if the wind ever stops blowing in Kingman?

On the road by 9:00 a.m. today...anxious to go over the new bridge over Hoover Dam. I was planning on stopping to take pictures. We went over it and never knew it! It is called Kingman Canyon Bridge or something like that. Darn! We also got hit by a swarm of bugs/bee's this morning...sounded like hail hitting the car. The windshield was a mess of bug splatters. I stopped as soon as I could find a gas station to clean the windshield...that was a job...what an icky mess.

We spent over 2 hours in Pahrump, NV. We now own a lot in Pahrump; part of our rental house sale in Tucson. And I must admit it is a great lot; 1 1/2 acres and is surrounded by HUGE, expensive homes. However, just like everywhere else, there is no building going on in Pahrump. So we will just hang on to the lot. It has a great view of Mt. Charleston from the front of the lot and a mountain view (I don't know which mountains they are) from the back. Pahrump reminds me a lot of Lake Havasu City, AZ, only without the lake. We both really liked it. We then went to the Pahrump Valley Winery, which we have heard so much about from Gary and Jeannette. Great wine! We wound up buying a case of it and stuffing it in an already too crowded car! We had lunch at the restaurant at the winery and it was top notch.

After lunch we decided we should probably get back on the road...boring drive from Pahrump to here..not much to see. It is cool here, weather being very unusual for this time of year. It was 74 when we arrived and it is down to 60 now. BRRRRR

Dogs and Al are doing fine riding along. It is a lot of work for me on this trip...Al can do nothing so I have to not only drive, but lug suitcases in and out and put his walker in and out of the car; walk the dogs; etc. Hope my back holds out. So far, so good. I am doing my exercises faithfully!

Tomorrow we are headed to Reno; then to Northern California and through Lassen Park to I-5. Hope to be in Medford, OR by Monday afternoon.

We are driving a rental car and it is a dream to drive. It is a Chevy Traverse and I am really liking it. Once we get to Odessa, we will turn it in (in Spokane) and pickup our truck and 5th wheel and bring it back to Arizona.

So until then next post in a few days...we are Wroamin' again and it feels good.

Happy Birthday David

2011-05-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

I did it...I am actually posting this one early...tomorrow is Grandson David's birthday...he will be 29! Holy Cow!

WHat to write about David? I first met him when he was 2 days old...he was in the hospital still, under a yellow light due to jaundice. So tiny and small! And I fell in love...hard! He was my first true grandson. He was born in Bilioxi Mississippi...I was there for 5 days and it just about broke my heart to leave him with his Mom and Dad. They were so young...but regardless, he grew.

Next thing I know the family has moved to Wichita Kansas...ah, got to see him a lot more often. He was the sweetest baby...so mellow.

I made several trips to Kansas/Missouri over the years to see him and his brother Danny. David was always so sweet and kind to me. Over the years when the boys were older, Al would fly them to Seattle for the summer, to "surprise" me. Of course the first time he did this in 1988 it was a total surprise to me. What a fun summer we had. Then the next year he did it again, but this time I knew about it, but we kept it a secret from the boys because they wanted to surprise me again.

We also took them on vacations with us and to the Lake of the Ozarks when we would be there visiting friends.

Then the next thing I know, David is graduating from high school. Once again, time slips up on me.

Now, David is a father of three of the cutest, sweetest great granddaughters a grandma could ever want. I am so proud of you and love you David....Happy Birthday.

Tell me again why I decided to do this?

2011-05-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Birthday posts sounded like such an easy job when I decided to do it this year. And it is...it's just that I can't keep up! So here we go again.

First off the list is Victor...May 12. Happy Birthday to grandson number 4. And the youngest grandson, even though he is 22! YIKES...how did THAT happen? I turned my back and all of these kids grew up! Sheeesh!

Vic is a special person. He is so fun to be around....at least when I am around him, which is very little I am sad to say. He lives in Portland, OR....I live in Tucson...of course ALL my children and grandchildren live far away from me. Darn it! Of course they way they are scattered across the USA I would have to live in several different states at the same time to be close to all of them...But back to Vic...VICTOR WARD. Ward after my dad...makes me smile.

Vic as a child was all boy...wanted to anything "BOY". He had dreams as all children do, about being a spy, spiderman, etc. He had a little "car" that he drove all over everywhere, well at least in his yard. At the time they lived in California so I would only get to see him once or twice a year. Then, in 1995 they moved to Portland Oregon...only 4 hours away. I began burning up the highway between Seattle and Portland. I loved watching Vic and his sister Lori grow .

1996
Then, as a teenager, Vic got interested in Rodeo's...not just watching them, but participating in them. And of course, he picked the most dangerous sport of all...bull riding. Needless to say, he is part of the reason my hair is gray!

Mololla Rodeo 2005

And before I knew it he was graduating from High School. WHAT??? How can that be? But, yes, he did graduate even with me claiming he was only 4!!!! HA.

And now, he is 22, and graduating from Jr. College here in a few days. We are so very proud of this young man. He has had to overcome some huge obstacles to get to where he is today. He has been diagnosed with Non Verbal Learning Disorder....but that didn't stop him. People said he couldn't finish Jr. College, but they forgot to tell him and he has defied all the odds. Yes, he has had to really struggle, but he has the determination and courage to overcome the obstacles life has put in his way. We are proud to call him our Grandson. We love you Vic...

Happy Birthdays... a little late

2011-04-20T21:46:00.001-07:00

OH MY GOODNESS. I decided the first of this year I would celebrate my families birthdays this year by doing a blog on each and every one of them. Well, I am already 2 behind.

Let me start with my sweet great grand daughter Ada JoEllen. Since she is only 2 years old, there is not much in her life to tell. She is a sweet little girl, and I love her tons. Unfortunatelty she and her mom, dad and sisters live in Kansas City so I don't get to see her much. The one time I got to see her she was only 9 months old. I REALLY NEED TO GO TO MISSOURI SOON.

Next one on my birthday list, niece Sherry. Sherry is a niece, but more like a daughter to us. She just turned 43! How did that happen? Sherry entered my life when I married Al. She is his brothers youngest daughter and has been Jennifer's Buest friend/sister/cousin/partner in crime for over 30 years. Where you would find Jenn you would find Sherry. Nothing has changed in 30 years.

She is a breast cancer survivor and is very active in the Susan Komen Breast Cancer program. Sherry works for King County and her speciality is fingerprinting. At least I think that is what it is...it used to be at least. She is a tall, pretty lady who is very special to us.

Happy Birthday Sherrie!!!!

Winter?

2011-04-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

As I check the calendar this morning it says "April 9" and we are still in Tucson. So? Well, we woke to 42 degrees and rain. By noon it was 34 and rain mixed with snow. THIS IS APRIL!!! Right now, 4:20 pm, it is 37 degrees and rain. UGH! Yesterday we had the a/c on. I am confused. So is the weather. I don't like the cold, but the rain is much, much needed.

Last Wednesday we took friends Dick and Lano to our poodle breeder and they picked up their new puppy, Misty. She is so darn cute. 13 weeks old, black, ball of fur. Both my poodles are okay with it, but not happy. Their house has been invaded; by a little pest. She won't leave Beau alone; he finally nipped at her (yes, this is my Beau) and she has learned to behave around him. Schuster, on the other hand, had enough of the little pest and swatted her with his paw...she went rolling across the floor, got up, shook herself off and decided that wasn't fun. The cats have both taken swats at her as well. She will learn. Maybe.

It's been a long 25 days

2011-04-03T21:56:00.001-07:00

Today we said our final farewell to dear friend Bob Grabow. His Celebration of Life was very moving and we were able to meet a lot of his family. Two of his step daughters were present, Kathy and Charlene. What wonderful people they are and they are just as beautiful as their mother was. Bob's nephews and niece were there as well....they took the time and made the effort to come to Tucson from Boise, Laughlin and San Diego. What a wonderful family Bob had. Sadly, all of his generation is gone now....

I have been busy helping Rob and the executor get necessary things done. I am so glad for George, the executor, he is doing a wonderful job and is a wonderful person. I am trying to keep Bob's house together; Gordon and I are sharing watering duties and I check the house a couple of times a week to make sure all is well. The house is to be sold, so that chore should be over soon.

It has been HOT here...in the high 90's last week. WAY to early for that kind of heat. It is suppose to cool down this coming week and I sure hope it does.

Dick and Lano are heading over for a few days this week. Haven't seen them since Christmas so we are anxious to see them. We are also going up to Black Canyon City to pick up their new puppy. They are getting Beau's great niece....so happy for them. We will take Beau and Schuster with us so Beau can see his mommy again. Beau is undoubtly THE BEST DOG in the world, with Schuster running a very close second. I had a yard sale last weekend and Beau "Greeted" everyone who came. I had to frisk a couple of people to make sure they didn't have Beau!!!!

Hope your month of March was good and that April is better. Until later.......

RIP our dear friend

2011-03-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

I knew this week was too quiet. No doctor appointments at all. Something had to happen...and it did.

On March 9 the world lost a great man. Our dear friend Bob Grabow died. Bob and Al have been best bud's since 1949!! High school together and have remained friends all these years. Bob was one of the reasons we settled in Tucson. He had lived here for the last 25 plus years. We had great times together the past 10 years...we traveled to Alaska together; spent many, many hours at our house, met for lunch at least once a week, etc. Our lives will never be the same and a big void has entered our life.

I got a call Wednesday evening around 7:00 p.m. from the MedicAlert company that Bob had pushed the emergency button and they had dispatched the EMT's. I called Bob and he said he was having trouble breathing and would I come over and take care of the dog and "things". Friend Gordon and I raced over to Bob's only to be met by the fire department telling us they had transported Bob to the hospital. So off to the ER we went. When we arrived we were escorted into a private "consulting" room...I knew then that the news wasn't good. The doctor came in and informed us that Bob had died from a massive heart attack. Needless to say, Gordon and I were in shock. We then had to go find Bob's son, Rob and tell him. Worse thing in the world to have to do. Hope I never have to do that again. We spent all day Thursday at Bob's house sorting through paper work and getting it ready for the executor of the trust. I sure was glad to turn that big box over to him.

So our life has changed once again. We will miss Bob tremdously, we will miss his dry humor and wit. Rest in peace our dear friend. We loved you.

Really?!?!?!?

2011-03-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

I CAN NOT BELIEVE MY EYES! I looked at our calendar this week and we have no doctor appointments...AT ALL .. for this week or next! Surely, there must be a mistake. We seem to have plenty of Physical Therapy appointments, but NO doctor appointments. I can't remember how long ago this has happened!! Woo Hoo... However, I am still on my quest to figure out all the medical bills we have and how to pay them! Yes, Medicare has done their part and our supplemental insurance has done it's very small part....at least for most of the bills. I still have a few questions on some of the bills for Medicare ( or Medicrap as it is commonly referred to in this house) and I have a lot more for the supplementary insurance. Strange things that wasn't covered that should be, etc. I think I will hire out to others to do this....just kidding.

Weather has been wonderful the past few days. In the high 70's to mid 80's most of the days. The nights are still pretty cold, but at least not freezing any more. We have had our share of wind, but then we always do. It's funny that when we have wind Gary and Jeannette where they live across town have no wind and visa versa.

We are anxiously looking for our next set of visitors. Daughter-in-law Bev and great grand daughter Natasha are due in on Mar 13 for a week. Mike will join them mid week. So excited.....

Not much else to report from this household for once. Everything is pretty calm and I like it that way. Al is doing well; my back is same and the physical therapy is helping, however, it will be a long road to better. Oh well, such is life.

To William Eugene....

2011-03-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to daughter Billie Jean, or William Eugene as Jenn calls her. Some of you may be saying "who??" Billie is our special daughter. We adopted each other many years ago...as I like to say, we found her in our family room when she was 11 and she never left us. Billie was Jennifer's best friend in school...6th grade I believe. Anyway, she was always at our house, went on vacations with us, etc. We love her like we love all of our children.

Billie 1983 Billie and Jenn 1984

I don't really have any childhood stories to tell about Billie because she didn't enter into our lives until she was 11, but I do have stories. One vacation we took to the beach/Big Sur/Carmel/Winchester Castle, etc. Billie was into squirrels that trip....I bet she took over 100 pictures of squirrels....I know I had a lot on my camera as well. Imagine my surprise when I got the film developed and there were all these pictures, this is a squirrel, this is another squirrel, etc. We had a tent camper at the time and I remember the girls giggling at night until Dad or I would tell them to be quiet, then the would just giggle quietly.

Fast forward a few years...we have been to Saudi and now back in Seattle. Lo and behold I come home from work one day and here is Billie in my family room again! She had flown up from California to see us! Imagine how happy I was.

Billie is a Lt in the LA County Sheriffs Department. However, when she was out on the streets, before her various promotions, I didn't want to hear what she did....of all of our kids, her job scared me the most. She is as smart as smart can be and it didn't take her long to go up the ranks to LT, which is fine with me. At least she is off the streets. Very proud of her.

Billie married her wonderful hubby Dan in 1998. We were privileged to be "parents of the bride", with Dad walking her down the aisle. He was so proud of her. Heck, we both were! Talk about beaming parents -- that was us!

Billie and Dan still live in the Antelope Valley and they are so good to us. She truly has a big part of my heart....such a special daughter. Happy Birthday Billie.....we love you.

Cammie is 21....I can't believe it

2011-03-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Mar 2

21 years ago we are all patiently (well some of us weren't very patient) waiting for you. I can remember the day clearly when your Dad called and said he and your mom were on the way to the hospital. GPa and I hopped in the car and drove to Northwest as well. I got to hold you when you were just minutes old...I was so excited and I knew right then you were going to be special to me. My granddaughter Cammie is 21 today.

What a delightful little baby she was...collic and all. I remember one time when your mom and dad and your sister were at our house for dinner....you were about 3 months old and all you did was cry... I must have walked a million miles that night trying to soothe you; and probably rocked you a million more miles. Never did get you to calm down, poor collicy baby.

Your were always my "me too" girl...if I was doing something you wanted to do it too. Didn't matter what we were doing , we did it together.

Then you started to grow up. You came to Odessolet to spend a couple of weeks with us each summer. Remember painting the deck??? You looked good in green! How about chasing fires, or something else just as exciting. How about going to Silverwood and drenching me in the bumper boats??? Or riding the roller coaster...my hand will never be the same. Or teaching Beau how to play catch with the b-a-l-l ....which I still have to do every day. And then the time we painted the bedroom...seems like you got to do the "me too" with the paint brush more often than the rest of the grandkids did...lucky you.

How about road trip to Tucson and flying ants???? Or running into the screen? So many memories I could go on for ever, of my lil grand daughter who has grown up to be a wonderful woman. So very proud of you Cammie Lou....love you bunches and miss you.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Where has this month gone?

2011-02-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is the end of February already! Where has this month gone? Oh yeah, to the doctor appointments! Now I remember!!!

Last Sunday Ric was here for a day. He was on a business trip to Mesa, but came down here for the day. We really enjoyed seeing him. Niece Claudia and husband Larry drove over from Casa Grande as well. Of course the weather showed off for them...cold, cloudy and tried to rain! It is suppose to do the same thing this weekend. Glad I don't work anymore and have to count on the weekends.

Speaking of cold, the last deep freeze we had here in Tucson has done in a lot of our plants in the area. All the beautiful palm trees look dead,dead, dead; the Saguro cactus aren't fairing much better. The local agriculture people are saying not to do anything with them yet; they may survive and come back, but I have my doubts. My bouganvilla; and all 4 citrus tree's we planted last spring are dead. I had them covered, but apparently that didn't do any good. DARN...and I babied them, feeding them and making sure they had enough water to survive the hot heat of summer. Oh well...at least I tried.

We met Gary and Jeannette for breakfast this morning at a place called Franks. What a dive. What a great breakfast! I think this place should be on "Diners, Drive-in's and Dives" on the cooking channel. Matter of fact, I think I will submit it. In the morning it is called Franks; in the evening it is Francisco's. Very small; seats probably 30 inside and maybe 10 outside; nothing fancy about this place, but the food is super! And inexpensive. And did I say good? One of the best kept secrets in Tucson...did I mention it was a dive? But it was clean. And good...but still a dive. Now I want a Sonoran Hot Dog! Darn, the food cycle has started. There are so make quirky places in this town to eat and most of them are so darn good. Don't need no fancy smancy places to eat when there are places like Franks, or Sunnyside Up, or El Guero Canelo. Gotta' quit talking about these places...I'm hungry.

Happy Birthday Melanie

2011-02-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Feb. 14, 1965

The night before:
Okay, I am ready...more than ready. I have been pregnant for 9 months, it seems like I have been pregnant for longer than that! My back hurts, my feet have disappeared....I am basically miserable. I am sitting in my mom's brand new chair when all of a sudden, swoosh...my water breaks. Oops...

Don is in the USMC stationed at El Toro, about a 90 minute drive from where we were living. We had planned for me to call his Sgt and say I was going to the hospital and then Don would get the night off and we would go to the movies....after all it was Valentines Day .. and yes, we were young and we were cheating the USMC system. HOWEVER, this is for real. I call the Sgt and tell him that I am in labor and heading for the hospital and that Don should go straight to the hospital. Don, on the other hand, thinks it is our "plan" and he moseys home. Once he finds out it is for real he is at the hospital!

I had a bet with my doctor that I would have a red head little girl on Valentine's Day. The doc just says, no way...you aren't due until March 8. Wantta' bet...I am not waiting around that long. In to delivery I go... I keep asking what time it is... I want to win that darn bet! Can't even remember what was at stake. At 3:42 A. M., my red headed little girl was born...on Valentine's day; weighing in at 7 lbs, 14 ozs. Good thing I didn't wait around until Mar 8!!! My beautiful baby girl was here. We named her Melanie Joan.

Melanie 9 mos

Fast forward 46 years.... they have had their ups and downs as all years do. Melanie and I have been best friends and enemies over the years, but we have always been Mother and Daughter, and I have always loved her with all my heart. (get the theme here? heart, valentine's day, etc.) When she was little she always had a heart shaped cake until she finally told me she didn't want one any more. I used to bake her red velvet cakes, but some how that changed to just chocolate cakes. She was growing up. One of the "heart" cakes

When she was born she was the first grandchild and great grandchild on both sides of the family.

Four generatation picture. L-R, my mom Louise Emery Spaid; my grandma Bertha Vassuer Emery, holding Melanie and me.

EVERYONE spoiled her. My mom and Aunt used to take her to a restaurant called Coffee Dan's once a week for lunch just to show her off!! Don's mother was always ready to baby sit, sometimes when I didn't even need for her to. She had aunts and uncles that worshiped her. Even with all the attention, she was a good baby, toddler and child. My dad and Melanie had a special relationship...she followed him everywhere and he adored her. Once when she was about 2 years old (by the way, this child was so smart...walked at 9 months, talked full sentences at 18 months old!) I was living with my parents while Don was in Viet Nam, my dad was outside working in the yard and I was in the house cleaning. I went out to see what Melanie was up to with Dad; he looked at me and said, "I don't have her, she is in the house with you"...uh, no! We both started looking for her and I finally (panicked) went across the street to the fire station to see if they had seen her. Yup, there she was having a great time with the firemen. One of the firemen was a class mate of mine and knew where she belonged and he said they were having such a good time with her they weren't ready to bring her home!!! Dennis Ford was his name and I will never forget that or him. Melanie 2 yrs old

She charmed her way into so many hearts...once again the theme.

Melanie 8th grade and her 21st birthday

Then all of a sudden she was married with children...where did the time go???? She has four children and she is a grandmother of 3 adorable little girls, Sophie, Ada and Molly...how did that happen? What happened to that wonderful little baby I held in my arms and loved so fiercely? Wooo...time flies.

So today, in preparation for her birthday tomorrow I baked a red velvet cake. Didn't do the heart thing, but it just felt like the right thing to do. Al and I will enjoy her birthday cake and wish her a very happy birthday and love her as fiercely now as I did then.

Happy Birthday Melanie...I love you.

Down again

2011-02-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

One More Time....
This morning we were getting ready to leave to meet good friends Gary and Jeannette. Al was heading out the sliding glass door; I was in the kitchen when I heard a THUD. Al took another fall! So, once again I called 911 and the wonderful Golder Ranch Fire Department came up and helped get him up. Fortunately, this time we didn't have to go to ER. WHEW! Needless to say I was a basket case. Why, I don't know, I should be used to this. At least I got my fireman fix!! :-) And we did get to meet Gary and Jeannette at Tohono Chul Tea Room for lunch. Good friend and good lunch and great weather...great combination.

Our weather has sure been mixed up. Freezing; warm, windy, calm, hot, etc. It's February in Tucson, you never know what to expect.

We have had a house guest for a few days. A friend of daughter Melanie has been staying here while he attends the Gem Show. A very nice person, Jeff Polk, and we enjoyed getting to know him.

Other than doctor appointments, physical therapy and nurse visits, not much new from here.

Here is wishing you all a Happy Valentines Day and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MELANIE.

Here and gone again

2011-01-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

Tucson, still

Jenn was here last weekend and it went by so fast I am not sure she was really here or I dreamt (is that really a word?) it. She arrived in Phoenix on Friday afternoon and after the required stop at In n Out (what?? She is my daughter-- all my daughters have this affliction) we headed to Tucson. Friday just went by in a blur.

Saturday she woke up saying she wasn't feeling up to par. The days plans were to go see the shooting memorials at Safeway and at University Hospital. We headed off around 10:00, going to the hospital first. Very moving and impressive memorial to the victims of the shooting. Incidentally, this was the day after Gabby Giffords was moved to Houston.

Memorials at University Hospital, Tucson

Saturday evening we had the usual suspects here for BBQ ribs and to visit with Jenn...18 in all. Niece Claudia and husband Larry drove over from Casa Grande; friends Jack and Suzi from Rio Rico and the local Tucson family was here. And I must say my ribs turned out very good. First time I had done them by baking them first and then BBQing them.

Sunday we were up and on our way to Tubac. Jeannette went with us and we met Suzi there. I could tell Jenn wasn't feeling up to par....she wasn't taking a gabillion pictures like she usually does. We wandered around the town and finally had to leave as it was stinkin' cold and windy. That evening Jenn was really feeling lousy, running a low grade temp as well. She went to be early. About 9:00 p.m. Al got up to go to bed and promptly fell. He got dizzy and down he went. Another call to the local fire department, which I might add is great and I have them on speed dial now! Off to the ER we go to make sure he was okay, which he was, thank goodness.

Jenn to the airport early on Monday .. I was running on 3 hours of sleep. Not good. I got home and crashed. Jenn called me on Tuesday from the back of an ambulance...she had driven herself to urgent care having difficulty breathing and they threw he in the ambulance and promptly took her to the hospital for tests. Thankfully no blood clots or pulmonary embolism; so they sent her home to rest. Still don't know the reason for shortness of breath-- they think she might have burst a blood vessel in her lung. That scared me more. She is following up with her doc. I talked to her tonight and she is feeling much better.

Congratulations are in order for Ron and Melanie-- they are first time home owners. They (well the bank) are the proud owners of a house and acreage in Canby, OR. Now the horses and family can all be in the same place!! Very happy for them.

This week has been a blur as well. I keep wondering why I don't get more done during the day, then I realized I spend 80% of it caring for AL. With his arm in a sling he really can't do much. He saw the surgeon this week and the sling has to remain for at least 3 more weeks.

I also saw the neurosurgeon for my back this week and got some good news. He doesn't feel surgery is in order for now; so I am on the Physical Therapy program and I am to walk 3 times a week and build up to a mile a walk. However, I already have been doing a mile plus, so I am just continuing to do that. Finding the time is the problem, see above.

Weather has been great here...in the low 70's during the day and in the 30's at night. Just absolutely perfect. However, rain is forecast for early next week, which will be welcomed. So glad not to have to battle the cold and all the snow!

That's all the news for now...so until next time, keep smiling.

It's been a little over a week

2011-01-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a week since the shootings in Tucson. Unless you are living under a rock, you know what I mean. We have had every news agency in the world here. For a while I couldn't drive down Oracle without seeing more than I wanted to see of the news vans. But alas, it has started to die down and now we are left with moving on. I say we as in TUCSON. As I said in my previous blog, when it happens elsewhere you mourn for that city and the people in it; however, when it happens in YOUR town it can really affect you. I didn't expect it to be as bad as it is for me. I mean, I didn't personally know any of the victims. However, THAT IS MY SAFEWAY STORE that I shop in. Kinda' hit me in the gut!

Oh, there is a Safeway closer to home. However, I LIKE the Safeway at Ina and Oracle. I LIKE that shopping center. Of all my "go to" if I can't find it, I go to that store. It has almond paste, which I can't find at any of the stores up here, I like their meat department better, and produce. Okay, it might be all in my head, but it is in MY head and I listen a lot to my head! (Sometimes the voices get a little confusing, but that is another blog all together!!) So why can't I go back to my Safeway???? It opened on Sunday. And for some unknown reason, I can't go back there. I have been to Beyond Bread, which is in the same shopping center, so why can't I go to my favorite store? I am planning on making a try for it this weekend...Jenn will be here to help (drag) me.

AND, that Safeway paid all of it's workers for the time they would have worked while the store was closed. I thought that was very commendable. Safeway as a company donated $100,000 to the victims fund. WAY TO GO SAFEWAY! We as people of Tucson have been donating as well and to other charities. Our food bank is over flowing; Red Cross has more volunteers than they ever have had. We as a city/town are trying to start down the long road to recovery. Our prayers are with the victims, and we watch an pray for Gabby's recovery. She is a very strong woman and we all pray she will recover completely. But we also pray for peace for the shooters parents. They didn't ask for this; they didn't know their adult son was this disturbed. They are victims as well and we need to have compassion for them.

On other non TUCSON TRAGEDY notes, Al had another surgery on his shoulder on 1/11. A piece of bone had dislodged and the doc went in to repair that. Poor Al has had his share of hospitals in the last few months. He was in the hospital for 2 days, then transferred to Oro Valley Hospital Rehab, which is only 5.4 miles from home. Yes, I measured the mileage. After driving the 17.7 miles to Health South for 3+ weeks this is a breeze for me. He is doing very well and the plan is to release him to come home tomorrow. In a few minutes I have to go to "training" on how to care for him....as if I haven't been doing this for the last few years? Oh well, anything to please the rehab staff.

Jenn is coming down for the weekend. I can hardly wait.............

Senseless Violence

2011-01-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

The events that have happened today with the shooting of our Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords here in Tucson shakes me to my core. So many questions come to mind, but namely why? Why would anyone resort to such a cowardice way of handling things by shooting 19 innocent people; 6 died, the rest are fighting for their lives. WHY? What purpose did this serve? What has our country came to? Outlawing guns isn't the answer. Outlawing people's demented minds perhaps? I wasn't a true supporter of Giffords, however, I wasn't against her either. She has her good and bad points as all politicians do. But to shoot her? I go back to WHY? This type of random violence makes absolutely no sense to me. I can't seem to wrap my mind around this. And you never expect it to happen here...where you live. A larger city, perhaps, but Tucson??? Still has me reeling.

Yes, I know this shopping center well. Matter-of-fact, I frequent the Safeway Store where it happened. I go to the other stores in the shopping center as well. One of my favorite places to eat is in this shopping center. I could have been there this morning...I had planned on going to get my favorite bread at Beyond Bread, but decided I didn't feel like driving this morning...it's about a 15 minute drive from our house. Holly was heading there as well....she had called Beyond Bread to give them a "go" order, only to find out they were closed, she asked why and was told there had been a shooting at the Safeway. She knows me so well that she called me to make sure I was okay and NOT at the Safeway. It is one of my regular haunts. Scary to think about what could have been. Now I am not sure I want to leave my house anytime soon. I could get real paranoid over this. I need some milk, will someone go to the store for me?

Back to my original question...WHY? I just don't understand what motivates a person do such a horrendous act of violence. What are they thinking? Is this what our country has come to? Is this going to become the "norm" for us? I certainly hope not. We all know that violence is on the increase everywhere...but there again I have to ask WHY? Have we, as adults, raised these individuals to become violent? Is it because of all the violence on TV and the movies that has warped these minds into thinking this is the normal? Are these types of people living in this type of make believe fog that makes it okay? And most importantly, what can we do as citizens to stop it? Why did an innocent 9 year old girl have to die? What was the purpose of that? Why did Judge Roll have to die? Why did four others have to die and 13 others be fighting for their lives? Just what purpose did this serve? WHY???????

42 years ago

2010-12-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

42 years ago I was ready...more than ready. At 3.43 a.m. my baby girl was born. Jennifer Joy. She came to join my older baby girl Melanie. I, all of a sudden, (okay, 9 months of sudden) was the mother of two beautiful girls. How lucky can one person be?

Jennifer, Melanie and I have been through a lot these 42 years. But this is about Jennifer. In February will be Melanie's turn down memory lane.

Jennifer was a puny little thing. She never wanted to sleep at night, making for some l-o-n-g, sleepless nights for me. When she was just 5 months old she got very sick with a virus and spent a week in the hospital...with me right beside her the entire time. We finally discovered she had an allergy to milk...all kinds. Oh I hate the soy milk formula we had to feed her, but she flourished. As a toddler she was into everything....loved to see how much mischief she could get into. At the same time she was an even tempered, happy-go-lucky baby.

Jennifer, 2 years old

5th Birthday, Minot AFB, ND

Lancaster CA10th Birthday

Fast forward to teen age years. She really never did rebel like most teenagers...and if she did, she didn't do it very well. She was so busy with church and school activities while we were in Lancaster she really didn't get into much trouble. And if she did get into trouble you can bet that Billie, Christy, Tammy, Vickie, Laura or another of her good friends would be right there beside her. However, Jenn (as she is now called) always has had a huge circle of friends. Jenn was Rifle Captain inQuartz Hill High School Marching Band. I can still see and hear her practing, and her pain when she missed. She loved to twirl that Rifle and was very good at it. And her first car....a 1974 Ford Station Wagon...huge monster. A friend of ours told her Dad if he could get it started Jennifer could HAVE it. What a beast! Her first love came at about the same time; as did the first broken heart. I think I cried as much as she did!

17th birthday, Stoneridge, WA

Rifle Captain, Quartz Hill HS, Lancaster CA

Dancing with Dad, 1985, Lancaster CA

19th Birthday, Irby WA

Then life threw us a curve and Jennifer wound up in a boarding school in Switzerland while here Dad and I were in Saudi Arabia. It just about broke my heart to let her go at age 17 to a boarding school and oh, how I missed her. She spent school breaks with us in Saudi or what ever country we were visiting. However, boarding school gave her a great advantage I think in life...she learned to be independent, make her own choices and pay the consequences for the bad choices and reap the benefits of the good choices. And gave her a great head start on college years. She was so much more mature than most college freshmen, and yes, she probably taught them a few tricks from boarding school days. She definitely was no saint!!! :-)

New Ski gear, getting ready to leave for Boarding School, The American School in Switzerland, (TASIS) Dec, 1985

TASIS, we surprised Jenn at her graduation by bringing her cousins Sherrie and Denise along with us. Check out the hair!!!

Over the years our relationship has grown from mother and daughter into mother, daughter and best friends. She has turned out to be a wonderful person, caring, giving, loving and her circle of friends knows no boundaries. She is still friends with kids from her grade school days!!

As a daughter, Jenn has always been thoughtful...well most of the time. There were times...but we won't go into that. I am very fortunate to have her in my life, and so, here is to you Jennifer Joy....Happy 42nd Birthday. Love you my baby girl.

Chowchilla, California

2010-12-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Chowchilla....someone mentioned this little town last night and it got me to thinking. This town is never far from my thoughts. No, I am not from Chowchilla, (Azusa will always have that spot in my heart) nor have I ever really lived there, but I did spend a lot of time there. However, it is a big part of my life and my girls lives as well.

Chowchilla is a small, sleepy town (or at least it was) in Central California. I had never heard of it until the mid 70's when my sister and her husband moved there from Oregon. I had to get the map out to see where it was! There wasn't a lot there when she moved there...surrounded mostly by agriculture and right on Highway 99. Back then the only reason you would have heard about this town was the Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping in 1976. There was no prison in this town then, which has boosted the size and economy of this town tremendously. It was, a sleepy, little town. One I loved. After my sister moved there my aunt and uncle also moved to Chowchilla...this town was really starting to become a part of my life.

Then in 1980 my parents moved there...a perfect place to retire. So, this small town became an intrigal part of my life as well. All things centered on this town. Al, Jenn and I would leave Lancaster, CA (where we were currently living) on a Friday after work to make the 250 mile trek to Chowchilla for the weekend with my parents and my family. Melanie would migrate there from where ever she was living to see Grandma and Grandpa. It had a hold on all of us!

In 1984 my Dad died and was buried in Chowchilla. I knew right then this town would always be in my thoughts and heart and that it would always be a big part of me. Mom lived there for a few years after Dad died, then she moved to Alta Loma, CA in January of 1988 and died in April of that year. And yes, she went right back to Chowchilla to be buried next to my dad. So, as you can see, Chowchilla has become a very big part of my life. I will always be drawn to this not-so sleepy anymore little town. It is part of the fabric of my life.

Melanie lived there for a while as well and met and married her husband in Merced, which is 15 miles north of Chowchilla. And two of my grandchildren were born in Merced, so I made a lot of trips to see them as well. Unfortunately, this was after my parents died, but again, it was almost like I HAD to be a part of this town.

My niece still lives in Chowchilla, and we make a big effort to go through Chowchilla on our travels, even it it does take us a little longer to get where we are going. I have so many fond memories of this town and what it represents to me. The little white house on 13th street that mom and dad lived in; the little grocery store on the corner; the little bakery on main street; the little taco stand, etc. So many memories........

The town has grown so much from what it was in the 80's. There is a huge Women's Prison there now, which bought in more people and boosted the town's economy. It has a lot of fast food places now, where there were NONE when my parents lived there...it even has a Starbucks now!!! And it has one thing still near and dear to my heart...my parents.

So here is to you Chowchilla....a great little town with a big string attached to my heart.

Update on Al and other stuff

2010-12-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is 18 days after "the fall" and Al is still in rehab. Instead of going to a Skilled Nursing Facility as originally planned, it was decided that he could handle going straight to a rehab facility. I was doubtful at first, and when he originally arrived at rehab I think they were doubtful as well. He HAS to do at least 3 hours of rehab a day for Medicare to pay for it and to remain in rehab. That is why we were doubtful. He was very weak and not very cooperative. Here we are almost 2 weeks later and he is doing wonderful in rehab. It took him about a week to get with the program, but he was weak and tired from the surgery and he doesn't bounce back quickly. Yesterday when I went in to see him he was sitting in his wheel chair (the only chair tall enough for him to get out of) and was in good spirits. He can walk to the bathroom and back and can get in and out of bed and chair by himself. He has also lost some weight, which is good. His blood sugar and blood pressure is running right where it should be as well. And his color is good; there for a while he looked pretty "gray" or "yellow". His projected discharge date is Dec. 24, which I am so thankful for.

In other news, well, there isn't any! My life has pretty much revolved around going to the rehab facility or coming home from. I can take the dogs into rehab and they love to go and the people there love to see them. I have signed the dogs and I up for Therapy Dog classes and we start next month. I think they will do very well. Me? Well I hope I can keep up with them!!!

Al's shoulder

2010-12-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Dec. 1 Al fell and broke his left humerus at the shoulder. He was walking down the handicap ramp we had built and his walker got away from him and down he went. He had surgery on it on Dec. 4, they put in a plate, rod and pin. He really smashed it. He is being discharged from the hospital today and will be moved to a Skilled Nursing Facility. I have no idea how long he will be there, it could be up to 3 months, but I am hoping is will be shorter. I hate to see all of this happening to him. I try to take care of him, I really do, but I am learning there are just some things I can not prevent.

I am trying to take care of myself. Everyone tells me to "Take care of you" but I really don't know what that is or how to do it some days. I have a friend whose husband recently went through a long illness and died and she said she really didn't know how to "take care of you" either. What does that look like? My daily life is wrapped up around Al and his needs. Right now that is why I am here. That is my main job. I try to do things for myself as time permits, but sometimes it just isn't possible. However, after saying that, I literally collapsed yesterday. I took the poodles in for grooming yesterday morning; then went to the hospital. I was at the hospital about 2 hours and then I started shaking, I was so cold, and weak. I came home and was running a 101 temp and was cold, but hot. I took a nap, knowing I would have to go pick up the dogs later in the day. I finally realized that I was going no where, I was afraid to drive I was so weak and shaky. Bruce and Holly to the rescue. I called them and they went and picked up the very handsome, groomed, cleaned, fluffy poodles. Whew! And all I wanted to eat was Chicken Noodle soup and hot tea. My sick food. I didn't have any soup tho. Denise to the rescue this time. I am so very thankful for all the good friends we have around us. Saturday while Al was in surgery Jude and Holly sat with me in a freezing, cold waiting room. Apparently on Saturday they don't turn on the heat in the surgery waiting room because there is usually no one there! Well, Jude found the thermostat...just as we were getting warm the doc came out and said surgery went fine. Other friends, Jack and Sue have driven from Rio Rico, 80 miles south, to come see Al. Gordon goes to see him every day, some times twice a day. Gary and Jeannette have been so supportive to me, even tho Gary won't hang my outdoor Christmas lights!!! Of course, he won't hang his own either!!! :-) Barb, our neighbor has been wonderful as well. She is a hospice nurse, and she really helped when he fell. And I can't forget to thank the Golder Ranch Fire Dept. They sent 9 big, burly, fit, firemen up here to help get Al up when he fell. I seem to be calling them way to often...but at least I get my firemen fix that way instead of stalking them in the grocery store!!!

So I am off to the hospital now. Al will be moved right after lunch today. But first, before the hospital, I am going to the chirocracker to get my back worked on. YEA!!!

Until the next up date, I hope all of you have a safe and wonderful day.

Groan...I am still full!

2010-11-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

I am still stuffed from Thanksgiving! And we are still eating leftovers...the best part of Thanksgiving dinner!!! Hope you are yours had a wonderful turkey day.

Now it is time to start thinking about Christmas. Oh, it's not like I don't think about it ALL YEAR, but now I have to DO something about it. I have a few choices: A) ignore it and go directly to January B) Start shopping C) See A. Personally, this year I favor A. Of course, I can't do that, but from where I am sitting right now, that looks like the best option. Then, I have to question why I don't enjoy the Holiday's like I used to? That brings up a whole new scenario. I think that for me, growing older and not having any of the kids around us dulls the holidays a whole lot. AND, we have no babies near us either. My mom used to say Christmas was for kids, and boy, the older I get more she was right, darn it all.

Another reason is that you start seeing ads for Christmas around Halloween time and by the time December rolls around I am already tired of it all. The commercialism of Christmas reallys gets to me. I wonder if I just didn't buy any gifts this year for any one if any one would notice? I just may try that and see what happens? OH, I know no one would probably have the guts to say to me "HEY, where is my gift?"; well, maybe a few would, but for the most part, probably no one would notice. I might just try that! Sounds better to me all of the time. Instead of buying gifts for everyone I would just donate the money to a charity. Beginning to sound better and better to me. None of our children really need/want anything that I can afford; and for the most part, our grandchildren are grown and none of them need/want anything that I can afford; our great grandchildren get so much from so many people, it almost seems foolish to try and buy them something they don't have, because as far as I can see they have everything they need/want. See A above.

AND I don't want to decorate either. Just see no point in pulling out all of those boxes, put up the tree, then in late December (like the 26th) take it all down and haul it back to the shed for 11 months and 2 weeks of storage. Makes no sense to me.

I want to go back to the real reason for the season...the birth of Jesus. FORGET the hussle and bussle of trying to buy the perfect gift for everyone. If it truly is the season of giving, then lets give to the poor, unfortunate people that NEED it; I think this year I am going to do just that. Donate to the less fortunate through our church. DONE DEAL.

This rant was brought to you by the Christmas Scrooge.

It's almost over

2010-11-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

It's almost over...all the election campaign ads. I AM SICK OF ALL OF THEM! Why can't someone run for office and not sling mud at his/her opponent? Why can't they tell us what they would do if elected instead of telling us what their opponents have done/will do? Why can't there be a law that they can only run campaign ads for 30 days before election? Nuff said. My mute button on the TV remote is about dead.

I had the opportunity to get away for a long weekend a couple of weeks ago...rest I did not get, but fun I had. I flew to Seattle, daughter-in-law Janet picked me up and took me to Jenn's house. The next day, Friday, Janet, Jenn and good friend Kathy and I took the train (Amtrak) to Leavenworth for a couple of days. Leavenworth is a little Bavarian town in the mountains. In the 70's the logging industry was drying up in this town and the townspeople were trying to keep their little town alive. Someone thought of doing the town over into a Bavarian town ... kind of like if we build it they will come; and come they have! Lots of little shops to browse; great German food. I had schnitzel and spaetzle for lunch and it was wonderful. The weather forecast wasn't too great, however, we started off Saturday morning with bright sunny skies. Around noon it started to get cloudy and by mid-afternoon the sun had disappeared and it was starting to get down right cool (well, cool for me). All four of us walked, walked and walked on Saturday and surprisingly by back held up fairly well. Usually after a couple of hours on my feet like that my back will put me out for the day.

We were up early the next morning, had to catch the train back to Seattle at 6:00 a.m., which meant the shuttle was picking us up at 5:00 am... It was pouring down rain and of course the train was late, but only by 30 minutes. There were about 30 people waiting for the train and we all managed to squeeze into two small shelters. Back to Jenn's, we were home by 9:00 a.m. Both Jenn and I were exhausted! I managed a nap that afternoon! Sherrie (niece) came over to Jenn's that evening and had a good visit. Monday morning I was back on the airplane on my way home. Thanks to Gordon and Denise for staying with Al while I was gone getting some "rest".

Things have been fairly normal here. Al is doing about the same; however, he has developed a new problem in the last few days, he is having a hard time breathing. Doc said for him to get up out of the chair and walk more so his lungs will be able to clear. That hasn't happened and no matter how much I ask him (read: nag) he refuses to do it. He says it hurts to walk, and it probably does, but if he would at least start walking just 50 feet a day he could build up to a good distance, but he refuses. Stubborn bohunk!

I have started my own walking routine. Every other day the dogs and I drive over to the new mall and walk the nice walking trail there. This trail runs for miles and miles and today we walked over 2 1/2 miles. Taking both dogs present a challenge and today I decided I would only take one dog at a time from now on. While walking today they saw a coyote and both wanted to go after it and it was all I could do to hold them back. On the days I don't do the trail I am doing our private road, which, if you have ever been here, you know is a good work out. It is .4 miles down to the road and .4 miles (feels like 40 miles) back UP the road...including the fairly steep hill. It is a good workout!

The weather has been absolutely wonderful. Cool nights, warm days, and some hot days thrown in just to remind us where we are. Friday we broke all kinds of records, it was 94 here.

I got to visit the oscopy brothers last Thursday, you know, colon and endoscopy. I don't mind the actual procedure, heck I am asleep and it is some of the best sleep I get anymore. BUT I HATE THE PREP DAYS! However, that is over for another few years...haven't gotten the results back, but the doc said it looked okay and even gave me the pictures he took. Something for my scrapbook?

Well, here it is November already. I have no idea where this year went. Christmas ads are already on TV and stores are already decorated....kinda' takes the fun out of the holidays for me!

Until next time..........

Where has the time gone?

2010-10-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Really? It's been how long since I posted a blog? 5 weeks! Let's see...what has happened in the past 5 weeks? Apparently not much.

It is still warm in the old pueblo; however, it isn't scorching hot! We have actually had the windows and doors open for a while. It is so nice to get some fresh air into the house!

Al has been doing fairly well. He still has so many issues it is hard to keep up with them. Between the diabetes, kidneys failing, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, congestive heart failure, etc...... Every week there is at least 1 if not more doctor appointments and at least 2 physical therapy appointments, so needless to say, it keeps me busy.

We had planned a trip to Missouri to see grand and great grand kids, however two days before we were to leave, Al got sick and we had to postpone. I was amazed how accommodating SW airlines was! We are hoping to go next month.

I will be taking a weekend off this coming weekend.for my rest weekend. I am going to Seattle for the weekend. A very needed break.

Well, since nothing much is happening around here, I will post this blog and hope that the coming weeks will be as uneventful as the past have been.

What is this? Do I feel Fall in the air?

2010-09-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Ahhhh, it feels a bit like Fall around here! Finally!!! Yes, Fall is in the air, albeit, it is still in the 90's during the day; it is cooling down into the 60's at night. AHHHH. Cool nights are returning. The air feels "crisp" in the morning and evening. The sun's position in the sky is different, casting different shadows on our mountains in the evening. The air just feels different, it just feels better. Gone is the humidity of the monsoons and the strange bugs that comes with the monsoons. Don't get me wrong, I prefer heat over cold, but I wasn't bargaining for the HOTTEST summer on record!!!! But we have survived it....and even enjoyed parts of it. The storms were amazing. Even the heat was bearable; until the humidity set in. Now, we can sit out on our deck in the morning and evening and enjoy our mountains. Yes, summer is over, no more triple digit temperature days...I hope.

The Santa Catalina Mountains

Al is doing much better. At least for now. He will see the Nephrologist next Tuesday and we will see where we go from there. Sure hope it isn't to dialysis; but if it is, we will deal with it.

We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary this week. We both agreed it didn't seem like 29 years...each year has brought us the ups and downs that a marriage brings; but for the most part they have been good years. Looking at 30 next year.

Now that the heat has cooled off, I am starting my walking plan back up. It was just to darn hot to walk in the heat and unless I wanted to get up at 4:00 a.m. (NOT) to walk, I wasn't walking. Denise and I are going to try and walk at least 3 times a week at the school track. Since she is recovering from hip replacement surgery and I am just, plain, out of shape, we will take it slow and build up our stamina (I am not sure that word is in my vocabulary!)

So until next time.....we are getting comfortable in Tucson again.

A month later

2010-09-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is a month after my last post. I can't seem to keep caught up these days, with anything!

After I returned home from LA Al wasn't feeling well so into the doctor we go. While in the doctor's office Al took a turn for the worse and the EMT's were called and carted him off to the ER (next door to the doc's office.) After a LONG time in ER, Al was admitted for observation. He did have a minor stroke while in the doctors office. However, the neurologist that saw him in the hospital discovered that he also had Parkinson's disease! That's a new medical problem to add to the rest of his problems. However, it is being controlled by yet another pill (he only takes 28 pills a day!) After a few days in the hospital the doc's let him come home.

We had a peaceful, albeit, hot couple of weeks at home. Had some good monsoon storms to keep us occupied.

On Aug. 23 Al had a doctor appointment for his regular follow up. The doc ran some routine blood tests while we were there. That evening the doc called me and told me to take AL back to the hospital, that he was in kidney failure. His kidneys were basically shutting down! So back to the ER we went for admission back into the hospital. The Nephrologist on call just happened to be the one we see, so we felt fortunate we didn't have to see another new doctor. He felt that Al was dehydrated...I was amazed. Al drinks tons of water a day; however, he is also on a pill for water retention and it was working overtime and dehydrated him. So for 3 days he was in the hospital with and IV drip to hydrate him. Kidneys finally kicked back in to 20%, which for Al is normal. We still arent' sure if he will have to go on dialysis yet, but at least he didn't have to have emergency dialysis. What a fun month this has been! I DON'T NEED ANOTHER ONE LIKE THIS! Al is home and feeling pretty good now, but I am watching him like a hawk, of course, sometimes that doesn't do any good either. :-)

In other news, ummm, life is pretty quiet here. The weather is beginning to cool off to the low 90's and it isn't so darn humid. We are still suppose to get a couple more monsoon rains, which are very welcoming. The desert is a beautiful green right now...so pretty to see. Of course, with the heat we have it won't take it long to turn back to brown. We even have some cactus in bloom right now; pretty orange blooms on some of the barrel cactus.

I am deep into my genealogy research again. It is something I can do from home and I really enjoy it. Of course at times I get so confused I don't know who I am! As Jennifer says, we don't have a family tree, it's more like a hedge! So true.

Until next time.......hope everyone is happy and healthy. Live each day like it is your last!

You can't go Home again!

2010-08-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a blog. I know I have been busy, but didn't realize that I hadn't blogged in over a month!!!!

Let's see....where did July go? The first part of July, good friend Denise had hip replacement surgery. Let me tell you, NOTHING slows this woman down. I called her super woman! She was walking the halls in the hospital the day of surgery and was walking up our road (nice, BIG hill) a week after surgery! And I am so proud of her. After smoking for most of her life, she quit 3 months ago. YEAH...another convert!

Melanie came down from Portland for a two week visit. We managed to cover a lot of ground while she was here, including Sedona, Grand Canyon and most of Tucson. We really had a good visit and hated to see her go back home. It's been way too long since I have had my oldest daughter here and especially for a long time. It was good for both of us.

I took her to the Phoenix airport on July 29 for her flight to Portland and I hopped a flight to Southern California. Not by choice, mind you. One of my cousins who has so bravely been fighting breast cancer for 8 years lost her fight on July 23. Her funeral was July 31 and I decided I should go. I haven't been "home" for a long time to see all the Emery cousins and I did want to pay my respects to Nancy. So I flew into Burbank, Dan picked me up and took me up to their house in Acton. Big fire going on in Palmdale; but then it seems like there is always a fire somewhere in So. Cal. this time of year. I borrowed his car and drove to my brother John's house in Glendora on Saturday....on the freeway, just before I got off to go to his house, a huge puff of smoke in the mountains above his house. Fire in Glendora Canyon! UGH! The LA County Fire Dept got that one out ASAP! Good thing as everything is tinder dry.

Emery Cousins: Patty, John, JoEllen, Linda, Cindy, Bob, Beverly

The Emery cousin reunion was after the funeral, held at Pat and Jack's in Alta Loma. Perfect weather that day and we were all there minus two. That is pretty good for us; however, most of the cousins still live in the So. Cal area. Then there are the rebels like myself who want no part of that area.

As I said in the title, you can't go home again. I have been back to Azusa/Glendora many times since I left years ago and I can't imagine myself living there again. A lot has changed ( who built houses way up in San Gabriel Canyon??? Don't they know it WILL burn?) and a lot hasn't. After leaving my brothers on Sunday afternoon I decided to just drive around and look .. something I haven't been able to do by myself in years. I know it bores Al to death when I do this, so this was my chance. Glendora has really remained a lot the same. Oh, different shops in what is now called the "Village" of Glendora (we always called it downtown!!) but basically the same. Azusa has changed a lot. Downtown (I think it is still downtown and not "Village"...) has been updated, which it really needed. My favorite restaurant, El Patio, which was the best Mexican restaurant ever, is gone. It is now a BBQ place!! Oh Mary, where are you??? You made the best enchiladas in the world. BUT, my second favorite, La Tolteca is still there, different location, but still the same. And they still make the BEST taquito's in the world. I stopped and bought a dozen and took them back to Billie and Dan's, however, only 10 made them back. I drove up San Gabriel Canyon to Morris Dam...and with the exception of the houses previously mentioned, that is pretty much the same. Of course, I drove by all the houses I lived in while growing up...and they all pretty much look the same, smaller than I remember, but the same.

I enjoyed my day of "going home", but for me home is where Al is and that is Tucson. I got home yesterday and glad to be home. It is still hot, but that is fine with me.

Seattle back to Tucson

2010-06-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Tucson, AZ currently 102 degrees

Yep, it's warm in the old pueblo. Summer has definitely set in. However, the heat doesn't seem to bother us, we are enjoying our air conditioner. Usually in the early evening, after 5:00 p.m. we go out on the deck where it is shade by that time and sit out and watch the sunset and enjoy the wonderful evening. After all, we have lived in Lancaster, CA and Saudi Arabia, so heat shouldn't be a problem for us.

My last blog left us in Seattle, so I will continue from there. We spent Memorial Day in Odessa. Al's family always has a reunion over memorial day and there were 109 relatives that attended this one. We had a good visit, but Al was worn out after it was over. The services at the cemetery were wonderful as well...however, the weather was threatening rain the entire time, it held off until the next day. One thing that did happen that amazed me was while we were at the cemetery during the services we were all singing "Amazing Grace" and the sun peeked through the heavy black clouds and sent rays on the cemetery. Kinda' spooky.

Our granddaughter Cammie spent the weekend with us as well. Sure enjoyed seeing her. She is going to school in Moses Lake, in the nursing program. She will make an excellent nurse.

Wednesday we headed to Portland to visit daughter Melanie and family. The weather continued to be ugly, but we enjoyed our visit with Melanie. Her dog, Guy, is more ball crazy than Beau....I didn't think it was possible!

After Portland we headed south to Central Point to visit with my sister Jean and family. We got to see my nieces Sue, Pam and Kay and Kay's family while we were there. FUN. On our way to POrtland we stopped in Salem and had lunch with old friends Arley and Betty...tried to get caught up in two hours...impossible!

Finally on the 16th we decided it was time to head towards Tucson. We left Central Point and headed towards Klamath Falls and Lakeview...it has been over 50 years since I was in that area. Enjoyed the drive, but my friend the wind was back. Matter of fact, I fought wind the entire trip back to Tucson. We spent the first night in Reno; didn't even drop a nickle in a slot machine!!! From Reno our next stop was Las Vegas and by the time we got there we were to tired to do any gambling! The next day we drove over Hoover Dam, probably for the last time as the new bridge will open in the future and the dam will be closed off for cars.

From there, I decided our next stop would be home. I was like an old horse going to the barn.....I wanted to be home. We arrived home around 6:30 pm and I can't tell you how good it was to be home. Dogs, cats and friends were sure all a welcomed sight!

This past week has been spent catching up on laundry, mail, etc. Next week will start the doctor routines again. Al did fairly well on this trip, however, his legs and ankles were pretty swollen by the time we got home. I put compression hose on him ( it took both of us to stuff his legs into them!) and the swelling has gone down.

One sad note, Marilyn (Al's ex-wife) husband died while we were gone. He was 93 years old and in pretty good health, but got a nasty infection and just couldn't beat it. He was a nice man and we enjoyed knowing him.

It is getting a little on the warm side here as I said before, but hopefully the monsoons will start soon and cool us off, or just make it humid, who knows!

On another note, I just love the Saguaro Cactus - here is a picture of one after bloom with crown of thorns.

Until next time, we are unWroamin' again.

BRRR--Seattle

2010-05-24T09:46:00.003-07:00

Greetings from the cold, wet Pacific Northwest!

I am such a dork! I KNOW better, but somehow when I am packing for a trip to anywhere, I pack clothes for where I am instead of where I am going! My mind will NOT let me realize that it may be cold where I am going...such as in Seattle! Needless to say, I am cold. Oh well, I pay for my stupidity.

We have had a busy month, full of company in Tucson. Mike and Bev were the first to arrive and Bev stayed an extra week so we could play and play we did. I had a great time with her there. Then Jerry arrived to pick up our truck and 5th wheel trailer. He took it back to Odessa and he will be using it for a while. While he was still in Tucson Ric and Janet arrived. It was so much fun having them there together. Jerry and Ric worked in the yard, or should I just say the outside, trimming trees and disposing of pack rat nests around the house. The little critters are becoming a real pest. Janet was sure a big help around the house as well...she seemed to be busy all of the time!

Jerry left with the truck and trailer on May 16; heading towards Odessa. We dropped Ric and Janet off at the Phoenix airport on the 18th and we kept going north. Made it to Kanab, Utah the first night. I was so tired by the time we got there I couldn't have driven another mile. But, surprise to us, most of the hotel/motels were full! Apparently Tuesday is the day that all the tourist buses arrive! We finally found a room in an older, but very clean motel. Had a wonderful dinner of Navajo Taco's that night. YUM

Next morning up early and off again. We stopped in Mt. Carmel Jct. for breakfast and ordered the senior breakfast. Holy smokes...if that was the size of the senior meal I am glad we didn't order the regular meal..it was huge! After trying to plow our way through it, we decided to take Hwy 9 through Zion national park. We have driven this route once before in the pickup, but decided we would be able to enjoy it much more in the van. It was a great drive, beautiful scenery and we both enjoyed it. We hit I-15 and I was in a driving mood, so we drove to Twin Falls, ID that night. I was tired by the time we arrived, had to fight a cross wind all day.

Up early on Thursday and off again...by this time I am settling in to the "driving" mode. Still fighting wind, but now rain has been added to the mix. We stopped in Baker City, Oregon (pretty little city) for lunch then headed up Blue Mtn pass. It was raining pretty hard and then that turned to SNOW at the top of the pass. Fortunately it wasn't sticking to the road, but it was snow! In MAY! Late MAY! Come on, give me a break. Finally ran out of the snow on the Pendleton side of the pass. And for the first time I didn't dread going down the Pendleton hill...no trailer behind me pushing me!!

We stayed in Yakima on Thursday night...wind still blowing hard. Yakima is in the middle of the Washington wine area and I was wishing we had more time to stop at a few of the vineyards. After a good nights rest we drove on into Jennifer's in the Seattle area on Friday, arriving about noon. Glad the drive was over, but I did enjoy it and so did Al.

Saturday was the reason we were here...the wedding of Jesse Brasch to Jessica Bos. Jesse is the son of good friends Rowland and Kathy and we were determined not to miss this wedding. The wedding was perfect as far as I was concerned. Very short ceremony and a long reception! We enjoyed seeing friends and family.

Yesterday we had Gary, Jeannette, Kali, Scott and little Josh over for lunch. Josh is 2 1/2 years old and we haven't seen him in over a year! Boy has he grown. Sure a cute little guy! Last night Sherrie and Margo were here for dinner...so we are getting some family and friend time in. Tonight and tomorrow we will see friends for dinner as well...always a busy, fun time while in Seattle.

We left the dogs and cats in the capable care of Gordon and Denise...but we sure do miss them. Very odd not to have them with us.

We are off to Odessa on Saturday for Memorial Day family reunion. Then on the 1st we will head to Portland to see Melanie and family, then on to Medford area to visit with my sister before we head down the California coast.

More later as we wroam!

Snake Training -- recheck

2010-04-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Tucson

First and foremost, we are proud to announce the arrival of great granddaughter #5---Molly Faye on April 21, weighting in at 7 lbs 14 oz (just the same as her grandmother weighted). Proud parents are David and Tiffany.

Tiffany with Sophie Denise (2), Ada JoEllen (1) and Molly Faye (new)

Okay, so exactly one year from the day I initially took the dogs to snake avoidance training (still boggles my mind that I really did this to begin with) I took them back for their yearly re=check. Yup, the snakes are still "leashed" and alive and rattling like crazy. Up first was Schuster, who bounded out of the car to go play with the other dogs, took about 3 steps, stopped and sniffed, and RACED back to the car...hell no, I won't go!!! GOOD BOY! Then I leash Beau and he takes off for the other dogs and thinking there might be a ball around, all of a sudden he stops, sniffs and runs back (dragging me behind him ) to the car. Yes, both of the dogs are still afraid of snakes....YES! My Mom and I did a good job! :-) For those of you who don't remember, my mom made my little brother and I so afraid of snakes when we were kids in Oregon and we still carry that fear!

This creepy snake showed up at our house earlier this month. The Fire department came and captured it so they could release it in the "wild". I found out the "wild" was right across the street in the wash! Next snake we find won't be so lucky!!!

In other un-news; we are still playing "how many doctor appointments can we squeeze into one week?" The answer is more than I care to think about. And we added a new doctor to our list, and not an "olgist" this time but and orthopedist! Al's shoulder is giving him a hard time so we went to see what that was all about. Worn rotator cuff is the culprit; doc gave him a shot in the shoulder (I didn't watch) and then sent him off to see a physical therapist. That starts next week...in the midst of all this I am still going to hand therapy. I don't know if there will be enough hours in the day to fit in all of this "therapy" AND doctor appointments. AND we are both sneezing --- hmmm, it's spring and the dreaded mesquite trees are in full bloom and so are our sinuses. ACHOOOO

Billie and Dan were here for a very short visit earlier this month. They brought all 4 of our grand dogs with them...Kiki, yellow lab, very old; Cleo, heinz 47 mix; Mocha, poodle mix and young and the newest, Bailey, poodle mix as well. Our dogs were very happy to see them...they all played. The cats on the other hand weren't so very happy!

Mike and Bev arrived next, and Mike spent last Wed to Sun here, then he had to go back to work (work???) in St. Louis. Bev is staying for an additional week and I tell you Tucson will never be the same. We have shopped and hit every quilt shop in town...I may be able to start quilting again soon. We had Al's birthday party here last Friday night and had a house full. I had planned to have it out on the deck, however, weather didn't cooperate and we wound up in the house. Speaking of weather, last week we had some very cold, January type days...then over the weekend it warmed up and today it was 94. Tomorrow (weekend coming) it is suppose to cool down and be cold again!!!! Not normal for Tucson for this time of the year.

Well, that's about all the news from this end for now. I will post a new blog when we finish the doctor rounds next week so I can tell you about what the plan is for dialysis for Al. I am sure none of this is going to be fun!

Really? A Month???

2010-04-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Has it really been a month since I posted a blog? What's wrong with me? Where have I been?

The what's wrong with me answer is "Too much on my plate and not enough time!" The Where have I been answer would be, doctors office. physical therapy, doctors office, physical therapy, repeat over and over. It seems as if I haven't had a doctors appointment, Al has; and I have been spending time at the physical therapist office trying to get my right hand to work again!

Progress has been slow with my hand it seems, or, knowing me, I am just impatient! I want my hand to work NOW!! I do have most of the use back most of the time, however, having said that I am still typing with only one finger on the right hand most of the time -- sure has slowed my typing speed WAY down. My thumb and pinky have most of the feeling back, the other three fingers are still numb most of the time, but I am working hard on getting the feeling back in them. I get so frustrated with the lack of strength in my hand and that doesn't help my disposition any either!

The news on Al isn't the best. He has seen so many doctors in the last month I have lost count, and can only say I am so glad I have a calendar that I keep up to date or we would be lost! His kidney function is way down, we are talking only 20% function. So now we are probably looking at dialysis, or so the Nephrologist says. A couple more tests are in the works for Al before we start the dialysis; and I can only say this won't be fun at all. Al isn't eating very much (which isn't AL) and really doesn't have the energy to do anything. Between the kidneys, diabetes and alzheimers, life just isn't fun for him. Plus I watch him like a hawk; sometimes too much, but I am scared not to. Plus he has trouble walking; so I am always aware of where he is, sure don't want him to fall.

A bright spot in our life is that we have had company; good friends Kathy and Rowland Brasch were here for a week. We really enjoyed them; even got out to go to Tombstone and Bisbee one day and Al enjoyed the ride. He couldn't walk very far; but enjoyed being out.

Now we are waiting for daughter Bille and son in law Dan to arrive on Monday for a short visit; then later this month son Mike and wife Bev will be here -- can't wait! Next month son Ric and wife Janet will be here, which we are looking forward to as well.

Weather here has been fairly good, had some cold, cloudy days, but I think those are over for a long while as we are now starting to heat up for the summer months. Speaking of which, we won't be going north this summer unless Al improves dramatically. So we will spend our very first FULL summer here in Tucson -- which I don't mind in the least. I keep telling myself it can't be as hot as it was when we were in Riyadh!

Friends Denise and Gordon are still here as well; and I can't say how glad we are that they are here. They are living in their 5th wheel and it is parked on our lower lot, which we had an RV pad built last year. They are really a huge help for us and do a lot to help my well being. What great friends they are!

Until next time, we hope all is well with all of you!

Visits from our Australian Cousins

2010-03-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Last weekend we have the pleasure of being visited by Al's cousin Christine and her husband Denys from Australia. They are such a fun couple and we were sorry they could only stay for two days, but we were happy to be included on their visit to the U.S. Christine is originally from Quincy, WA; but has been in Australia since she married Denys some 38 years ago. We had agreat visit; loved hearing about their family and friends.

On Saturday we drove them around Tucson; stopping to treat them to a Sonoran Hotdog; driving up to "A" mountain where they climbed up to the top of the "A"'; took them to San Xavier Mission and then out to dinner for Mexican food.

Sunday was ugly -- it rained and blew all day. We stayed home so they could get their internal clocks reset. Sunday afternoon we had Gary, Jeannette, Bruce, Holly, Gordon, Denise and Bob grabow over for dinner and to visit with the Aussies. Gary is Christines cousin and Holly is her 2nd cousin. We all enjoyed the day.

Monday bright and early (3:00a.m.) we took them to the airport where they were headed for Kansas City to visit her aunt and then on to Seattle. They have a busy 3 weeks ahead of them.

My hand is doing better -- I am doing physical therapy twice a week now. It is stilla bit numb and typing with it is hard as 3 of my 4 fingers are still numb, basically only my thumb and pinkie are of any use. PT is suppose to help this.

Weather has been beautiful the rest of this week. However, it is suppose to rain again this weekend -- we sure have had a wet winter this year, but the desert is sure green and pretty!

Our great granddaughter Natasha will have her last round of radiation tomorrow. Then she will wait a month and then go back in for more tests. She sure is a trooper -- and so is her mom and grandparents. Bev has been taking her for most of her treatments so Sarah can continue to work, Natasha goes in early and is at school only a few minutes late each day. She has gone to school throughout all of this -- amazing 10 year old.

Sonoran Hot Dog -- YUM

2010-02-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tucson
First of all, I went to the hand doctor yesterday and he took out the remaining stitch and "freed" me! I can resume normal use of the hand, as tolerated! But, I do have to go to physical theraphy for the hand, which I will start tomorrow. The hand feels really good and is healed, so perhaps I am on the way to getting my life back!!!

Today our friends from Montana, Gordon and Denise and Al and I took off on a quest to find a Sonoran Hot Dog. What is a Sonoran Hot Dog you ask? The Sonoran hot dog may take the phrase "with everything" to new heights. It starts with a hot dog wrapped in bacon. Then you begin piling on the beans, grilled onions, fresh onions, tomatoes, mayonnaise, cream sauce, mustard and jalapeno salsa. Add radishes, cucumbers, whole chilies and even mushrooms, if you want. We went to the best place in town, El Guero Canelo down in South Tucson for this delectably delicious treat. We were first amazed to find it very crowded; but more amazed by the price! $2.50 gets you a Sonoran Hot Dog with all the trimmings and a bottle of Coke--a real glass bottle too! El Guero Canelo has been dishing up dogs since 1993 and we think it is well worth the drive. However, we did discover they do have a dog stand a bit closer to us so next time we will try it.

Sonoran Hot Dog, and yes, there really is a hot dog in there!

TheWeather has been better here the last few days after having rain for a few days; but rain is predicted for the weekend again and we are having company for the weekend. Al's cousin Christine and her husband Denys from Australia will be here. We were hoping to do something fun like go to Tubac or someplace like that, but if the weather is rainy that will be a no go! Oh, I know, we will take them for a Sonoran Hot Dog!!!!

Bye bye Picc line

2010-02-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Bye bye PICC line! YES!!! I saw the infection Doc yesterday and the recent blood test showed I was greatly improved so he pulled the PICC line. I asked him if it was gonna' hurt when he pulled it (yes, I am a wimp) and he laughed and said "I already have pulled it!" Yup---there it was in his hand!! WHOOHOO! I feel 100% better already!

Holly went with me to the doctor, so afterwards we went out to lunch. We found a great Deli, "Shlomo's & Vito's" NY style deli -- yum!! Gotta take Al to this place! It's part Jewish style deli and Italian style deli and ALL GOOD.

Rain in the old pueblo today, which we need. However the PGA Accenture Match Play is going on not far from us, so I am sure they aren't enjoying the rain.

More later -- I need to let my hand rest!

ICK! ICK! ICK! WHAT A MESS!

2010-02-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday feb 16
Tucson
Another short blog. WHAT A MESS I AM IN!!! My hand was healing fine -- I was beginning to feel human again and WHAM--i got hit with a massive infection in my hand. Superbowl Sunday after watching the Saints win, my hand started to swell up---I thought it was gonna' pop!!! ANd it really started to hurt. I took two painkillers and went to bed---and even the painkillers didn't touch the pain. Monday found me in the hand doc's office begging for relief. Yup---got an infection---sent me home with antibiotics and wrapped my hand and told me to keep it above my heart at all times (take two asprin and call me in the morning routine?) Back to see him Wednesday, I am no better. He lances the incision and takes out the stitches OUCH -- ever had 4 shots in the palm of your hand that was very sore to begin with? OH MY GOSH -- I thought I was going to faint! And by this time I am the queen of pain pills - taking two every four hours, and still no relief. Anyway, to make a long story longer, he drains the incision, and has me come back early on Thursday - to which I was still no better. So,,off to the infection doc I go -- same one Al had last year and that I really liked. His words were "ICK" nasty infection. And we still don't know what type of infection it is, but staph is suspected. He decides to put me on IV antibiotics, massive doses. So last Friday I had a picc line installed ( I asked if they could put a USB port in as well, but guess technology isn't that far along) and started on massive doses of antibiotics -- home healthcare nurse trained our friend Denise how to administer the IV, twice daily.

Speaking of Denise -- her and her hubby Gordon are very good friends from Montana who are thawing out here and spending the winter parked in our RV pad we had built. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE THEM HERE -- AND WE THANK GOD EVERY DAY FOR SENDING THEM HERE. I truly don't know how we would had managed without them. She not only does my meds, but she has basically had to be cheif cook as as well.

Back to the hand -- it is much better now. Saw the infection doc yeaterday and he said if I keep doing well I can get rid of the picc line possibly by Friday, which I would be very happy to do.

Thursday
The infection is Staph -- great!! However I am doing much better and hope to get rid of the $%^&*# picc line tomorrow!!

Ow, Ow, Ow

2010-01-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tucson
After arriving home last Saturday, things have been a bit of a blur!

First of all, I am typing this with just my left hand. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand last Tuesday, All in all it is healing nicely. I removed the big bandaid on Friday and I do have a little feeling coming back into my fingers. I have discovered there are quite a few things I can do with only one hand & the left one at that! Then there are just things that absolutely cannotbe done -- don't ask.

More when I can type.

More of New Orleans

2010-01-21T18:42:00.002-07:00

Jan 19, Tuesday, New Orleans

The condo we are staying in was built in 1842….and yes, it has been modernized over the years, however, the exterior looks like 1842. We are right in the middle of the French Quarter as well. In the French Quarter you can modernize the inside of a house/townhouse/building, but you can not change the exterior. You have to maintain the old French Quarter appearance. I find it very charming.

Ron and Melanie left today, heading back to Portland. Little by little our group is dwindling down. We have two more full days in New Orleans after today. Time flies when you are having fun. We reallly enjoyed having all of our kids with us on this trip.

Ric, Janet, Jenn and Jerry are off to explore the cemetaries today. I was going to go with them, but decided to take a break today. We had lunch at Clover’s Café…a true 1950’s diner on Bourbon St. and St.Louis St. in the heart of the French Quarter. The hamburgers are cooked on a grill and covered with an old hubcap!!! Very good and worth the walk. Right now Jack and Suzi are off on a walk and Al is resting. He seems to be doing a lot of that lately.

Tonight we had dinner at the Crazy Lobster, which is at the end of the River Walk. Jerry had the “Seafood Bucket” which is what they are famous for. It contained a full lobster, shrimp, crab, mussels, corn, potatoes and was huge. He managed to eat most of it with a little help from his dad! Janet and I had red beans and rice; Jenn had jambalaya…all was very good. So I have tasted this trip beignets, hurricane, pralines, jambalaya, po boy sandwich, etouffee, gumbo, red beans and rice, and only have a muffelatta left to try. UGH…I am full!

Jan. 20, HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY GARY

Up late this morning, guess I was tired! Woke up to rain and mist and fog…eerie!

Jack, Suzi, Jenn and I took off walking this morning to Café DuMonde for yet another round of coffe au late and beignets. Then it was shopping time…through the French Market and the shops that surround them. The French Market is comparable to Pike Place Market in Seattle…a little smaller, but not all of the vendors were out today. Loved walking around in the fog and mist however. The sun came out later this afternoon. I think I will take a walk around the French Quarter this afternoon….just can’t get enough! For someone who didn’t expect to like New Orleans, I am really liking it.

After a lunch of a quarter muffalatta sandwich, which was exceptionally good and they are huge; Jenn and Suzi conned me into taking a walk with them. What they forgot to tell me is that I was going to be walking all over the French Quarter. Actually, it was fun, but I had to give them grief about it. They were doing a walking tour from a book Suzi bought today. There was really a structured tour in the book, but we didn’t discover that until the VERY END of the walk!!! We kinda’ zig-zagged all over the French Quarter. At one point we had just visited the cathedral and were standing on the corner trying to decide which place to go next and the heavens let loose and it poured. Of course, we had left our umbrella’s and poncho’s at the condo….so we found a store selling ponchos, put them on and it stopped raining!!! It figures! We didn’t let a little rain stop us….we continued our walking tour. We stopped for a cup of coffee and to let our feet rest for a while, and then we were off again. Finally, just as it was getting dark we returned to the condo. Tonight for dinner we went to Mona Lisa’s restaurant, right around the corner…excellent Italian food. Fun day….

Jan 21, THURSDAY

Our group here is dwindling rapidly here….Jenn, Janet and Ric left today…what was 12 is now down to 5!

After Jack took them to the airport, he picked us up and we went to the WWII Museum….all I can say is WOW. That was a great museum. I learned more there than I learned from the school books about WWII!

After that we set out to find a Sam’s Club (since there is no Costco anywhere around!!) for a broasted chicken. Well, it wasn’t exactly as easy as we thought! Lucy, my GPS, wouldn’t, couldn’t find a Sam’s club here …. The gps on Jacks phone said one place and the gps on my phone said another….after many wrong turns we finally found it. When we got in, they were out of broasted chickens and we had to wait 20 minutes for one…..we could have stayed lost for a bit longer I guess.

Tomorrow we are headed home…well back to Phoenix. We will stay overnight in Phoenix since I don’t like driving in the dark and especially through the desert. I talked to Denise at home and we are really having the wind and rain….winds up to 30 mph and 50-60 mph gusts…ugh.

Back to New Orleans

2010-01-18T21:07:00.046-07:00

Jan 17, Sunday New Orleans

We arrived back in New Orleans early this morning and by 10:00 a.m. we were off the ship and on our way to our condo for the week. After checking in and discovering our condo was on the second floor (I had requested a handicapped, first floor unit) it was a question as to if Al was going to be able to handle the stairs; however, he did fine. We dumped our luggage and went in search of lunch and a WalMart for supplies for the week. We will probably eat breakfast in the condo and lunch and dinner out. Way too many good restaurants in this town and way too little time!!!

After finding Walmart we decided to eat first so went back to the VooDoo BBQ for lunch. All I can say it this place is advertised as the best bbq in New Orleans and we agree.

This afternoon Jack, Suzi, Ron, Mel, Jenn all took a long walk. Al and I just rested and I got caught up with emails. For dinner all of us went to Landry’s Seafood. It was good, however, the dirty rice was way too spicy for this wimp! Sadly after dinner we said goodbye to Mike and Bev as they fly home tomorrow morning. Ric, Janet and Jerry took off to their condo; the rest of us back to ours. Nite all!

Jan 18, Monday, Happy Birthday Shirley; New Orleans

Up this morning to a beautiful day! After breakfast all of us but Al, who didn’t feel like tackling the stairs this morning, took off walking to Jackson Square to jump on a carriage ride around the French Quarter. I was really amazed about some of the facts we learned about New Orleans. Katrina did some damage to the French Quarter, but didn’t do the damage that it did other places.

Wraspirs and Waddicks on the Carriage Ride

After the carriage ride it was to Café DuMonde for beignets and café au late for a snack. Then we all scattered again. Jerry took off to just look around, Ric, Janet and Jenn walking through the French Market; Mel and Ron back to the French Quarter; Jack, Suzi and I back to the condo.

After lunch at the condo we took a private van tour of the city, Katrina devastation. I had no idea of the true devastation that Katrina did. The media didn’t exactly cover it properly or report it properly in my mind. They only covered the big items, leaving out valuable information. Did you realize that some area’s were under 15 feet or more of water? Or did you know that New Orleans has about half of the population that they did before the storm? Some of the people just walked away from their houses, never to return. New Orleans is suffering from a lack of workers, especially entry level workers. Families moved and have never came back, thus the lack of workers is really slowing down the recovery efforts. I was totallly amazed at the amount of devastation; still very obvious in places. Our tour driver lost his house, but fortunately he had flood insurance and was able to rebuild. He lived in the upper 9th ward. We toured not only that area, but the lower 9th ward as well and saw the work that Brad Pitt is spearheading in that area. We saw where the levee’s broke and the canals that carried the water into the city; where they have rebuilt the levee’s which have not been tested as of yet. Just totally amazing to me. How much or little we actually know about the damage of Katrina. What didn’t get damaged by water got damaged from the wind or fire. I have a new appreciation of the rebuilding that is going on.

Just steps left after Katrina got done

Houses that Harry Connick Jr is building

We also toured the Garden District, which pretty much escaped major damage, however, a lot of the wealthy area’s were also heavily damaged, not just the poor area’s. We toured the cemetarys as well and we plan on going back to them tomorrow. They are so interesting since most of them are above ground crypts.

Dinner tonight was at Irene’s Italian Restaurant, only 2 blocks from the condo. Al decided he could walk the two blocks, however, the blocks were very long and he was in pain by the time he got to the restaurant; after dinner Jack went and got the car to bring Al back to the condo.

Tomorrow is another day of exploring….can’t wait. I am really loving New Orleans….who knew I would?

Ron And Melanie, aboard NCL Spirit

Belize, Cozumel, Tropical storm Wraspir!

2010-01-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Jan 14, Thursday Belize

While the kids scattered to do various shore excursions, Al and I stayed on board the ship. Ron and Melanie did Al-Tun Ha ruins and Belize River tour; Jenn, Janet and Bev did Al-Tun Ha Ruins and Belize City Tour; Mike, Jerry, Ric did Jungle Trek and cave tubing; Jack and Suzi did Jungle Trek, Cave tubing and Zip Line. I did walk into the Ships’ Tourist Trap at the end of the pier, however, it was too crowded for me.

Tonight we all scattered for dinner as well. Some went to the dining room, some to the buffet, and some to the hamburger place. Fairly quiet day for me.

Jan. 15, Friday, Cozumel

All of the kids went to Tulum today, since they have never been there. Jack, Suzi, Al and I have been there, done that and decided we didn’t need to do it again. Jack went to the gym, Al stayed on the deck and read; Suzi and I walked to the Ship’s tourist trap at the end of the pier and boosted the local economy a little bit. Reminded us of being in Mexico, oh, wait, we are in Mexico…hey lady, buy from me! “Almost free”…ha!
This afternoon Suzi and I pampered ourselves with a massage and facial….ah…..much better.

We all had dinner tonight in the Shogun Asian Fusion restaurant on board. Somehow, it wasn’t as good as when we had dinner at the same place on the NCL Pearl on our Panama Canal cruise. After dinner, we all scattered again…some to the show, some to the casino, some to their rooms.
Jan. 16, Saturday, At Sea

BOOM! WHAT???? BOOM!!! We were awoke to a great tropical storm. The ship was a rockin’ pretty good last night, but this morning around 7:00 a.m. we were treated to a real storm. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain and high swells. WOO HOO! I love a good storm at sea. Jenn and I sat on the bed with the door open and watched it….rain coming down in sheets….big flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder; high waves and lots of wind. LOVED IT! The ship was literally crawling through this storm….and was sounding the fog horn every two minutes as visibility was nil. We did pass another ship in the distance during the storm…we could barely see it. The storm lasted a good hour or more and this ship is still doing a bit of rocking now.

After breakfast we had our family pictures taken .. Jack being the photographer for us. The rest of the day is free to do “what ever” And I think I will do just that…read and what ever!

Guatamala

2010-01-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Jan 13, Wednesday, Santo de Tomas, Guatamala

Still cloudy and a bit cool today as we arrive in Guatamala. Since Al has such a difficult time walking we did a town trolley tour today. Ron and Melanie went with us. The rest of the gang scattered; some doing the old fort tour; some doing the town and beach tour and yet others doing a river trip.

Our tour through the town made us glad of where we live and what we have. The average wage here is $250 month and gas is $5 plus a gallon…you do the math! No large super markets here either, you mostly do your shopping daily at the local outdoor market. We saw a lot of fresh produce that looked really good, however, our tour guide said most of the good produce is exported to WALMART! Their main export in Guatamala is sugar cane and most of it goes directly to Coca Cola; the second export is coffee and the third is banana’s, which once again goes mainly to Walmart. The other major industry here is tourisim. And yes, they LOVE the cruise ships. Poor is the only word I can use to describe what I saw today. However, the port seems to be very busy, lots of activity all day. And I had to laugh at our tour guide, Jorge, he was freezing today! He said it is the coldest it has been here in over 40 years -- it is about 65 degrees. The normal temperature for this time of year is 85+, so yes, the locals are cold.

I did contribute a few dollars to the local economy however. Right outside the cruise ship is a small shopping area….one more touristo trap! I bought a few trinkets to take home and some beautiful place mats…I love the vibrant colors.

Tonight after dinner we all scattered in different directions….some to the comedy show, some to bed, some to the casino; Suzi and I did some minor shopping on board and looked at the pictures the ship photographers take at every opportunity! I don’t know who that woman is with Al all of the time…she sure looks old!!!  Tomorrow is Belize.

Cruisin' we are...

2010-01-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Jan 8, 2010 Friday

Left Phoenix at 1:00 p.m. direct flight to a very cold, New Orleans. Or as they say it N’awlins. Picked up our rental car and after a few wrong turns, (GPS not familiar with this part of the world obviously!) we found our hotel. We are staying 2 nights before the cruise at the Hilton Gardens, Convention Center. Out our window we can see the cruise port and currently Carnival is in port.

Mike and Bev arrived earlier today; so after we dumped our luggage we promptly went in search of somewhere to eat. We found “Mothers”, best ham in N’awlins. Mike had the ham, Al and I had fried oysters and they were excellent….some of the best we have ever had. We drove through the French Quarter for a bit trying to get our bearings. After that we headed to the airport to pick up Jerry. Half of us are now here…the rest arrive tomorrow.

Jan 9 Nawlins Saturday

MY, IT IS COLD HERE! 23 degree’s this morning. Very unusual for New Orleans. The locals are just about frozen stiff!!!

After breakfast at the hotel we hopped in the car and drove around the French Quarter again and the French Market area. We stopped at Café DuMonde for bengiets and café au late….YUM. Bengiets are nothing more than fried sweet dough with lots of powdered sugar….but oh so good. We wandered around for a bit, then jumped back into the car to the garden district. The houses are amazing! We stopped at VooDoo BBQ for lunch and it was amazing. Want to go back there again.

Later today we started picking up the rest of the family/friends from the airport. Ric, Janet and Jennifer came in first; got them back to the hotel in time to turn around and go back and pick up Jack and Suzi. I promptly got lost coming back from the airport, so Jack and Suzi got an improtu tour!!! Then it was off to Mulata’s for dinner. Interesting place, very loud and all cajun food. I had the stuffed shrimp, which I didn’t really care for. The fried alligator appetizer was pretty good tho. After dinner Jenn and I took off for the airport to pick up Ron and Melanie. And, I made the same wrong turn coming back to the hotel again; but at least I could find my way back to the hotel in one shot this time. Now, all our kids are here; we are ready to cruise!

Jan 10, Sunday aboard NCL Spirit

Did I mention how cold it is here? The artic air has hit places where it isn’t suppose to be!!!
I started shuttling everyone to the ship around noon today – then Melanie and I took the rental car back to the airport and hopped a taxi back to the ship. After eveyone is on board, we all met up for lunch. Our group is 12, so getting tables together we thought was going to be hard, but so far we have managed just fine.

The weather is still cold, but sunny. We will travel down the Mississippi River for 100+ miles before getting into the Carribbean. As I said, it is cold, probably the coldest cruise we have ever been on so far, but the promise of warm weather awaits. All of us but Al went up on deck to the “Bon Voyage” party…sailing, sailing, down the muddy river!!! Dinner was in the dining room tonight, as usual very good, however, I am already tired of the food! For whatever reason, usually after a few days of a cruise I get tired of the food; but this trip I started out tired of it! Don’t ask! But I am not complaining, just stating a fact.

Jan 11, Monday, somewhere in the Carribbean
It is still a bit cool….especially when you get in the wind, but I do see a few sun breaks between the clouds this morning. The sea is calm and very relaxing, rocked me to sleep last night.

I should mention here that Jenn is sharing our room on this cruise. The room is very small, so last night it was very interesting sleeping. I don’t know if any of us got a lot of sleep!!! We all had breakfast together this morning and now everyone is off doing their thing. Al is resting, and I am about to go for a walk.

Later in the day…..I have done a lot of walking around the ship….this is one of the smaller ships in the Norwegian fleet at 882feet long and holds 2878 people, passengers and crew. It has recently been refurbished, however, it entered service in 2000.

This afternoon Al and Jerry went to the martini tasting; the rest of us gathered in the lobby and just visited. Some went to play shuffleboard, to the casino, the gym and various other activities on board today. We all met up for dinner tonight….this family is crazy when we all get together…lots of laughs.

The weather is turning a bit warmer tonight, however, the sea’s are a little rough today. I don’t mind it at all. It does make walking a bit of a challenge however and especially with Al and his cane. It takes at least two of us to help him walk when the ship is like this.

Jan 12, Tuesday, Costa Mayo Mexico
The ship arrived at 10:00 a.m. and pulled in next to the Royal Carribbean Liberty of the Sea’s….quite a bit larger ship than ours!

Al decided he didn’t think he could do the tour here, so Melanie went with me instead. Jack, Suzi, Ric, Janet, Jenn, Melanie and I did the Chocchoben Mayan tour. Good thing Al didn’t do it…lots of walking over rough ground. When I booked this tour it was described as an “easy” tour…not! Lot’s of Mayan ruins and good history. We also got to see a couple of howler monkey’s in the trees.

Costa Mayo was completely devestated by hurrican Dean in 2007 and we could see evidence of it still. The tour dock and pier have been completely rebuilt and the little “tourist trap” at the end of the pier is brand new.

Dinner tonight for some of us was in Cagney’s Steak house…good, but no one can beat a steak cooked at home!!! Al returned to the room after dinner and I went with Jack, Suzi, Mike, Ric, Janet to the show….a rock and roll revue…which was very good and very high energy. Nite all...more tomorrow.

Good Riddance!!

2009-12-31T22:58:00.000-07:00

Tucson

As I sit here I am counting down to the end of this horrible year. I have 100 minutes left of 2009 and I can't get rid of it quick enough. This has truly been a horrible year for us. Just a recap.

Jan   -- My brother Dick starts out the year in the hospital and comes home mid January and dies Jan 21.

Feb. -- Our wonderful doctor dies of a sudden heart attack. Leaves us scrambling for a new doctor.

Mar --   Al becomes sick while we are visiting friends in Lake Havasu. I get him back to Tucson as fast as I can. He winds up in the hospital with a staph infection and ultimately has to have one of his knee replacements re-done. He spends 28 days in hospital/rehab.

On a good note, we welcome Ada JoEllen into the world, great granddaughter #4.

Apr. -- Al goes back into the hospital for a couple of days as his picc line is infected. ENOUGH of the hospitals!

May -- We are prepared to leave Tucson and head back to Washington, however, we are held up because I am having some medical problems......

June -- We finally head north...Al takes a nasty fall in Idaho Falls, ID and cracks two ribs.

July -- In Alaska, we hold my brothers memorial. Then a few days later his daughter, my niece dies.

Aug --   We take a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver....and we had a good month..FINALLY!!!

Sept. -- Billie and Dan almost lose their home to the horrible brush fire that engulfs southern California.

Oct. -- Finally, a fairly quiet month. We get back to Tucson in one piece and start to breath a sigh of relief...this year is almost over. However, end of Oct. Jennifer calls and says she will have to have a hysterectomy...pre cancer cells have shown their ugly heads.

Nov. - We fly back to Seattle to help Jennifer through surgery and get her back on her feet. She is doing well.
Also in Nov. we fly to Missouri to meet great granddaughters Sophie and Ada and to visit with Grandson David and Tiffany. We spend Thanksgiving with Mike, Bev, Sarah and other two great granddaughters, Natasha and Nadia.

Dec. -- It's almost over, this year of 2009, but not before it knocks us around one more time. Natasha has a small brain tumor and is operated on for removal. She bounces back quickly, thank God, but is it really over? We won't know for sure until 2010 if she will have to have radiation or chemo.

So the drama that was 2009 is almost gone. I can only pray that 2010 will be a much better year for us.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our family and friends.......I have 62 minutes left of 2009. Not gonna answer my phone................

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tucson, 68 degrees
Ah, Christmas.....all the hustle, bustle and rush is over. Now to sit back and enoy.

This Christmas is a little different for us in that Jennifer, who usually flys to where ever we are for xmas isn't here. We are all, and when I say all, all of our kids and us, are going on a cruise next month, so Jenn elected to stay in Seattle for xmas this year. I have talked to almost all of our kids today, or texted them. '

Today I am mostly reminded of Christmas' past. I remember childhood Christmases where we opened our presents on xmas eve. We usually went to my Aunt and Uncles for dinner and Mom or Dad would always dissappear for a while after dinner. Then when we got home Santa would have been to our house. I was told we were first on his list of deliveries. I knew we didn't have much money, but we always had gifts and lots of love.

Then I remember when my children were small....the wonderment on their little faces when they would see the tree with Santa's gifts under it. Jenn shared some pictures today of her and Melanie on xmas morning and I was instantly transported back in time.

And last, but certainly not least, my prayers for our men and women that serve our country, either in the military, or as police and fire fighters....they are our hero's. I am fortunate to have our adopted daughter Billie and her husband Dan, Billie as a Lt. in the LA County Sherriff department and Dan as a fireman in Los Angeles City Fire Dept....our own personal hero's.

We are both so very thankful that our great grand daughter Natasha who had a tumor removed from her brain a week ago is doing well and home from the hospital. We are also so very thankful for our entire family, Mike, Bev, Stephen, Sarah, Natasha, Nadia; Jerry, Jennifer; Melanie, Ron, Victor, Lori; Ric, Janet, Ashley, Cammie; David, TIffany, Sophie and Ada; Billie and Dan, our wonderful children, grandchildren and great grand children...we are so blessed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Bah Humbug

2009-12-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Tucson
Boy, talk about someone being the Bah Humbug Christmas elf...that would be me. I am not in the Christmas mood and can't seem to get into the spirit. I do have some of the outside lights hung, and the Christmas cards are done and mailed (thank goodness); but for the rest of it, UGH!

Part of the problem is my great grand daughter Natasha. Natasha is Sarah's oldest child, (10) Mike and Bev's grand daughter. Last week Natasha wasn't feeling good and Sarah took her into the ER. What they found was shocking! Natasha has a mass (tumor) on one of the 4 main veins into the brain. Natasha will have surgery on Friday, Dec. 18 to remove the tumor. Please pray for her and her family. Needless to say I am worried sick.

In other news, our weather has been great...however, last week it was cold and rainy. Our friend Carolyn was here from Seattle last week for a visit and the weather did not cooperate....it was cold, rainy, windy and generally ugly while she was here. We had a good visit and hope she will come back, the weather isn't always rotten.

Our wild animal kingdom is alive and well. The other night we had 12 javalina's around our flag pole and they stole the quail block we had out to feed our birds. Drove the dogs crazy!!! Then yesterday morning I let the dogs out because they were barking and saw why they were barking...2 bobcats were walking up our road. Plus the coyotes seem to be busy singing every night. It can get very noisy around here at times!!

We have done our donation to our local food banks and Toys for Tot's and I have a few bags of clothes ready to go to the local clothing bank. Have you made your donation yet? Support your local food banks and Toys for Tots to ensure that a needy family will have a Merry Christmas.

Our Christmas wish for everyone is simple...peace, joy, happiness and good health.

Hmmm---it's been a while

2009-12-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Tucson
I thought I had posted a blog from St. Louis, but guess I didn't!

We had a fabulous time in St. Louis with Mike, Bev, Sarah, Natasha and Nadia. What a treat for me....Bev pretty much wouldn't let me do anything and I got some much needed rest. Mike took over the care of Al for the most part and Bev and I played. One day (in a horrible rain storm) we set out to find a Quilt shop in Florissant,MO. Helen's Hen House Quilt Shop...what a great place. It is in one of the many old mansions in the area. One day we went to the mall; had lunch at St. Louis Bread Company, which for everyone else is Panera Bread Co. One day all of us went to 5 Guys Hamburgers...that was good as well. But for the most part we relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Mike and Bev and their great cooking.

Nadia and Natasha

Natasha is growing up so fast....at 10 years old she is already beautiful....and nice. Nadia is a typical 2 year old, cute as can be and into everything she can think of. She really is a good baby, not fussy or cranky at all. At least when she was with us....Sarah may differ with that tho.

But it all has to end, and on Friday after turkey day we headed back to Kansas City to catch our flight to Phoenix, but not without seeing David, Tiffany, Sophie and Ada one more time.

We arrived back in Phoenix 30 minutes early (love SW Airlines!!) and got to our hotel early. We were both tired, but looking forward to a nice dinner out and then bed. Got to our car and guess what? DEAD BATTERY! Dinner was delivered pizza!!! The next morning AAA came out and installed a new battery...I knew I was on the ragged edge of needing one, just trying to eke out another few starts!!!

We met Dick and Lano in Gila Bend and picked up the dogs. Boy were we glad to see them. And they were glad to be home, however, not getting as spoiled as they were when they were with Dick and Lano.

Since we have been home we have had several doctor appointments. AL is doing fine; however, I am having trouble with carpal tunnel and will have to have surgery sometime in the near future. I am going to try and postpone it until after the cruise in January.

Now I am deep into Christmas...cards, decorations, etc. Last Sunday I baked 20 doz cookies; 10 doz went to the cookie drive for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq; 10 doz went into my freezer for future use!

Good friend of ours, Carolyn from Seattle will arrive here this Saturday for a short visit and we are both anxious to see her. That will distract me from Christmas for a while, which is fine with me. I am just not ready for the holidays.

It is cooling down nicely here....tonight in the low 30's, but during the day in the 60's. We are suppose to get rain over the weekend and part of next week, which will be fine with us as we really need the rain. I imagine Carolyn won't be to happy with it tho!!!

Jenn is doing well...had her post op appointment today and all is well. Thank goodness. She is having a hard time with no appetite and has lost 14 pounds in the last month...wish I could say the same. Oh well, such is life.

Until next time, live every day as if it was your last....life is ment to be lived.

Kansas City

2009-11-18T09:58:00.012-07:00

Nov. 18, 2007

Kansas City

After being back in Tucson for a grand total of 6 days, we hit the road, or skies again. We flew in to Kansas City yesterday. We left from Phoenix where the weather was warm, and arrived to cold, gray, wet weather. It had snowed here the night before and all I am doing is hoping it won't snow again in this state until Nov. 28....after we leave.

First priority was meeting our great granddaughters! Grandson David and Tiffany have provided us with two beautiful babies. Sophie is 18 months old and Ada is 8 months old; and of course, Grammy thinks they are the most beautiful babies in the world! We met at the restaurant where David works...and the babies were soooo good. Sophie came right to me and so did Ada. Ada wasn't too sure about Grampa for a while, but she warmed up to him.

SophieAda

Nov 18

Today we met the kids at the mall where there is a play area. Sophie loved it, a bit timid, but had a good time. She loves other kids and waves "hi" to them. She says a few words as well; mine, no, up, and does sign language for "please". Very cute. Ada boo is so darn sweet...smiles all the time and is trying so hard to walk and talk.

The past few days in Tucson have litterly flown by. I was busy from the minute we got home right up to the minute we left. Between doctor appointments for Al and Chiropractor appointments for me, that takes up plenty of time. I tell you, getting old isn't for sissies!! We had a lovely dinner with friends Roger and Jude the night we got home and got caught up on each other's lives. On Sunday niece Claudia and husband Larry drove over from Casa Grande; Gary and Jeannette; Bruce and Holly; Cortney and boyfriend Josh came over for dinner, so we got to see them for a bit. I know, people think I am nuts, but I love to have people for dinner...gives me a chance to try out new recipes that feed just more than 2!!

Nov 19

Picture day. Tiffany had made arrangements to get pictures done of all 6 of us. Sophie and Ada were good, but by the end of the session, Sophie was DONE! I agreed with her....poor baby was tired and she was DONE! We went out for a quick lunch, and by then both the babies were tired. I think we wore them out yesterday!!! So they are down for a nap; GPa is snoring in his chair in the hotel room and I am eyeing the bed.....more later, yawn.

And we are in Seattle again?

2009-11-09T11:15:00.003-07:00

Seattle

Yup, we are in the land of gray and rain again. This was a unplanned trip. Jenn had a hysterectomy last week and is doing amazing! She is up and around, sore, but day by day she is getting much, much better.

I must say I AM DONE WITH THIS YEAR! First my brother dies, then our doctor dies, then Al is in the hospital for 30 days, then my niece dies, my sister in law has surgery, now, Jenn. GOOD GRIEF! Enough all ready!

Seattle is holding true to it's reputation....rain and gray. It has rained all but one day that we have been here; and the one day it didn't rain it was gray. Oh, wait, we did see the sun for one day for awhile, but then it disappeared and we haven't seen it since. Last week we had a big storm, rain, thunder, lightning, wind, etc. Kinda' fun for a change.

And we haven't been doing much but taking care of Jenn and the house. We did get to have lunch with Ric and Janet yesterday and Rowland and Kathy were here last night for dinner. We have seen some of Jenn's friends; they are all so helpful and want to help her so I am not worried about leaving here tomorrow. Sherrie has been a big help, with us during surgery, here to support when ever we need her and I am sure when we leave she will be here to help Jenn if she needs it. I am always so glad those two have each other for support.

We head home tomorrow for 6 days, then we are off to Missouri to see kids, grandkids and great grandkids.....can hardly wait. I will finally get to meet my two youngest greats. Sophie is 18 mos and Ada is 8 mos. BABIES! Then I will get to see Natasha, 10 and Nadia 23 months as well. I will be in heaven! Tired, but happy.

More later..................

AHHHHHHHHHHH HOME

2009-10-24T22:11:00.004-07:00

Tucson
Ah, home...what a wonderful feeling. We arrived home Tuesday, around 2:30 p.m. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

Monday, Oct. 19
We are off ...headed towards Tucson. We left Acton a little after 10:00 a.m. When we were leaving the RV Park another couple had pulled their motor home onto the access road and where having trouble getting their tow lights to work...I had to maneuver and squeeze past them...not fun, but I managed to do it without damaging anything.

We had planned to drive to Quartzsite, AZ today. But to do this we had to drive through Blythe, CA. Now, let me tell you about my hate-hate relationship with Blythe. NOTHING GOOD HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME IN THIS TOWN! Years ago we were in Blythe, on our way to LA when we got the phone call that our daughter Jennifer was in the hospital in Seattle with life threatening blood clots. Then next time we went through this hell town, we were headed to Lancaster for a funeral of a good friend. We spent the night in Blythe and Al got very sick and we had to turn around and head back to Tucson. Well, Blythe held on to it's title of the most hated town....we were 20 miles west of Blythe when my cell phone rings. It's Jennifer...and she doesn't have good news. She has just gotten out of the doctors office and she has pre-cancerous cells in the uterus and has to have a hysterectomy. WTH? When? Well, she doesn't know a schedule yet, but she (and I) are pretty shook up. GRRR...I tell you it's this hell town.

So, we decide to keep going, not stop at Quartzsite and head for home. I am feeling good and not tired, so I told Al I would drive until I felt tired. Things are running smoothly, it's getting dark...hmmm...I look in the mirrors and its really dark behind me....wait, I don't think we have any running lights on the trailer. We pull into a rest area and sure enough, no damn running lights on the trailer. We had just had these fixed...or so we thought. So, we decide to head to the nearest RV Park, which happened to be eight miles down the road in Tonopah, AZ...in the middle of nowhere! However, the RV park was beautiful, apparently a snow bird retreat.

Tuesday...we are wrollin towards home. Every nerve in my body said HOME. We were all tired of travel...that includes cats and dogs. I finally pull up the hill to the house and we let the dogs out and the cats explode out of the trailer. It is the first time they have been allowed to run freely without leashes in over 5 months. All four animals explore the area to make sure no one has invaded their territory. A little bit after we arrive, Dick and Lano arrive. They had been over here to see a doctor and they had good news...no surgery for Lano.

We unload just what we need for the night and collapse in the house. IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME.

Wednesday and Jennifer calls....she had just talked to the oncologist .. he doesn't think it is a good idea to wait too long for surgery, so she is scheduled for her hysterectomy Nov. 4. WHOA...guess I had better get busy unloading the trailer so we can fly to Seattle to be with her during and after surgery. Just when I thought I was going to get to stay in one place for a little while....not.

The weather has been beautiful here...I love October in Tucson. Oh heck, I love Tucson, period.

Friday and we have no air conditioning. Hmmm...so I call the repair man and after $1000 of repairs, we have A/C. OUCH! I am pretty much finished unpacking the trailer, it is now all in the house and waiting to be put away, which may not happen right away! With Dick guiding me, I got the trailer backed in next to the house...and I am proud of myself for being able to do it in one shot.

Saturday, Dick and Lano go home and I go do some grocery shopping. Now I face the task of getting everything put away before we leave for Seattle....so for the next few days I will be busy.

Wroamin' thru California

2009-10-18T15:18:00.015-07:00

Acton, CA

Leaving Medford behind on Oct. 10, we ventured into California. Had beautiful weather driving down I-5 to Sacramento. Finally arriving in Sacramento around 4:30 p.m. --- but trying to find our RV Park proved to be a little more difficult than I anticipated -- even Lucy, our GPS was confused! After a few wrong turns and doing a U-Turn with the trailer behind (I am getting good at this) we finally found CalExp RV Park. I think RV Park is to strong of a description for it....it is in the parking lot of the fairgrounds and it is basically a parking lot with hook ups. No TV, (altho they say you can use your antenna, ours refused to work) and no WIFI (which they say they have, however, we were parked so far away from the hotspot it wouldn't recieve), but we were there and staying put for a couple of nights.

Sunday, Oct 11

Around lunchtime the next day, my stomach realized were were in In n Out Burger country! So off I went with Lucy the GPS and found an In n Out. YUM! Later that afternoon we went over to friends Kathy and Richs for a nice visit and dinner. However, they did something very odd just before we got there; they went swimming in their clothes!! Apparently, Kathy was skimming the pool for leaves, lost her footing, Rich being near she grabbed for him, and they both went in the pool!!! I am still laughing Kathy. They are great people. You know, we are so very fortunate, we have so many great friends in our lives.

Monday, Oct 12 and we are off to Chowchilla for the night. Down I-5 we go, stopping in Santa Nella for our favorite soup stop, Andersens Split Pea Soup. We have made this a stop everytime we go down I-5 in this area. Doesn't matter if it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, we stop. Once we arrived in Chowchilla we were surprised to see how this little, sleepy town has grown. My parents retired and died in this little town, and are buried here, so it is a definite stop when we are in the area. Al and I both like the town and would consider living here if it wasn't in California! Anyway, we arrived at the RV Park and when I was checking in, the clerk said she was going to block out two nights for us just in case. Just in case of what??? They were expecting a terrible storm and were forcast to get at least 5 inches. 5 inches or what??? RAIN! Oh! Right, I am in the rainless country now. We get parked and take off to put flowers on my parents graves and then over to visit a short while with my niece Joy and husband Stan. By the time we get back to the RV Park it is dark and getting a bit windy.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

About 3:30 a.m. we were being rocked by the wind and the rain was really coming down. By the time we got up that morning it was still raining...we tried to wait it out, but after a couple of hours we went ahead and hooked up the truck to the trailer, getting soaked in the process. My jeans didn't dry out all day! Down Hwy 99 we went. We finally ran out of the rain about 100 miles north of Bakersfield. About 30 miles north of Bakersfield we hit a dust storm...visability was poor, but we pushed on. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight I was thinking they were going to have to pry them off! Through Bakersfield and up the Tehachapi grade we went...wind blowing across us so hard I thought the trailer was going to topple over. Then we got into some more rain....we were one, big, wrolling, mud ball! Finally arrived in Acton around 4:00 p.m., somewhat tense, but very relieved to be here! After getting set up and a short rest, Billie and Dan arrive and take us to dinner. I was so tired I could barely eat, all I wanted was bed. It was windy here and spitting rain, but nothing like what we had been through that day.

Wed. Oct 14, up and rested we head off for Lancaster to get some needed supplies. For the most part of the day I finish up our income taxes and get them ready to mail the next day; and rest. That evening Billie, Dan, Al and went to Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant in Beverly Hills for dinner to celebrate both of our anniversaries, albeit, a few weeks late. All of us had done this years ago and decided to do it again since it was so good the last time. This time? Well, either I had it so built up in my mind how wonderful it was; or they have gone down hill a bit. It wasn't as I anticipated, good, but not fabulous. But we had a good time anyway.

The next day dawned bright and sunny and warm. Thursday is the day to mail income tax after filing an extension last April. Nothing like waiting to the very last day huh? So off to the Lancaster Post Office we go....hmmm, where did it go? Even Lucy, the GPS couldn't find it. Finally after driving around and driving by the houses we used to live in, we found it, right where we had left it! Well, actually, it had moved in the past few years, but I had forgotten it. That evening we had dinner with the only friends we have left in Antelope Valley (insert a cry here). All of our other friends have moved, or, unfortunatly died! WOW...what a revelation to us. Any way, we had a great visit with Glennie and Fred and most of the conversations started with "What ever happened to (insert name here)???" It was good to see them and we hope they will at least stay put for a while here.

Antelope Valley from Hwy 14

Glennie and Fred

Friday was work day. We have been having a problem with the truck's temperture gage, so Dan volunteered to replace the thermostat for us to see if that was the problem. Ford wanted $300+ to do the job. I bought the thermostat for $10.32 and Dan put it in for us. We spent the better part of the day at their house, I did laundry and made cabbage rolls for dinner. We also saw just how closes the Station Fire got to their house....to close for comfort if you ask me.

Billie and Dan's house...middle of the burnt area.

Saturday arrives in all its glory. We are off to see my brother in Glendora for the day. But not before I battle an army of sugar ants that have decided to invade the 5th wheel. I spent a good hour and half trying to find out where they were coming from. Off to the hardware store for some ant spray I went. I sprayed around everything that touched the ground on the trailer and sprayed the hose and cables as well. Then inside I sprayed where I saw them coming in and I cleaned everything that even hinted as food for them. GRRR...one of natures mistakes...ants! I am not sure what good they are except to be annoying.

Once we were on the wroad to my brothers we were hungry and were headed to The Hat, the best pastrami sandwich in the world awaited us. As expected, it was great. Found my brothers house as he has moved since we were here last and Lucy the GPS found it perfect. It is really a nice place and so glad they are comfortable in a larger house. Had a great visit with him and family . Then we decided to go out to dinner. Now, we were raised in the town of Azusa and all of our growing up and adult lives, when we wanted Mexican food there were only two places we went; El Patio first and second La Tolteca. Well, El Patio finally closed after 40+ years a few years ago and we thought that La Tolteca may have done the same, so we decided to go to the fall back restaurant, Carmens. Off we go, me following John. Just as we get to Carmens, we look and across the street in the old Safeway building is La Tolteca. You can't imagine how excited our stomachs were!! Yum, it was just as good as we remembered. Hope they stay that way.

Michale, John, Julie, Taryn, Steven and Christopher....family :-)

Today, Sunday, we are resting and doing a lot of nothing, except I am still fighting ants. I cannot find out where they are coming in from. I have used a can of ant spray, supposed to be replellant, but I am beginning to think they are thriving on it.

On another note, time for Grandma to brag. Our granddaughter Lori, has been nominated and accepted into the People to People Ambassador program. She will visit England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands this coming summer. We are so proud of her...she and 40 others will represent Oregon this summer. And what a great program this is and a wonderful opportunity for her. WAY TO GO LORI!

Tomorrow we will be heading to Tucson finally. We are all anxious to get home now. Even the cats are ready to have some room after being cooped up in the RV all summer. Don't get me wrong, our 5th wheel is nice and spacious, but after a few weeks, it does get a little confining.

So until next post from Tucson, hope all is well in your world.

The Wroamin' Wraspirs

Oregon Pictures

2009-10-11T11:54:00.004-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from Medford/Grants Pass that I couldn't get loaded the other night.

The road to Crate Lake. I just love this tree lined road.

Fall colors were out everywhere....this was taken in Grants Pass....

Whats left of Savage Rapids Dam.

Family....Sis Jean, Nieces Pam, Sue, Kay and Kay's husband Mark.

Portland, Medford and Grants Pass

2009-10-09T22:50:00.007-07:00

Central Point, OR

Whew, what a fun few days we have had, and busy ones too. Let me see if I can get it all recorded here.

We left Seattle on Oct. 1 as planned and got to Portland and got settled in. We had dinner at Ron and Melanie's that night and Melanie, Lori and I went to the People to People Ambassador meeting which Lori had been accepted in. It is a good program and she will have a great time this next summer. She will be visiting England, France, Belguim and The Netherlands. It will be good for her.

The next day while they all worked or went to school we vegged. Friday night we drove to Salem and had dinner with friends Arley and Betty Freauf. It was fun to get caught up with them. Saturday we met up with Ron, Melanie, Victor and Lori and had sushi for lunch, then rode MAX (the light rail) into Portland. What a great system MAX is...too bad Seattle can't come up with something like this. Sunday we went out to Eagle Creek to look at some property they are thinking about buying. It is beautiful out there. All in all we had a great visit with our kids, just too short.

We wrolled down the wroad towards Medford on Monday, but not before we had to have the break away emergency brake repaired on the trailer. I was amazed, it only took 10 minutes to repair and only cost $9.98. I am still sure they didn't charge me enough, but I didn't argue.

After getting set up at the RV park in Gold Hill, we went to my sisters in Central Point. Nieces Pam and Sue were both there as well. Had a great dinner and got some visiting in. Tuesday we went to Jacksonville and met up with my other niece Kay. Jacksonville is such a neat little town and I always enjoy going there. Wednesday sister Jean, niece Pam, Al and I went to Crater Lake. This has been on my "bucket list" for many years. Even though I was born in Grants Pass and lived there 10 years, I had never been to Crater Lake. Once, some years ago when we had our motor home we tried to go to Crater Lake, however, we had a gas leak on the motor home so we got to get out, look over the edge and we were gone! This time we spent all day there. It was breath taking. God's work is beautiful. We stopped at the lodge and had lunch and then went to the Rogue Gorge. Saw the lave tubes, and where the Rogue River actually goes under ground for a bit at the Natural Bridge. And Gordon, we even went to Trail! We had a great day....
Sister Jean, Niece Pam at Crater Lake

Thursday we did nothing but rest and run some errands. Had dinner at my niece Kay and husband Mark's house in Jacksonville. They have a lovely home there and we all had a good time just being together.

Today we drove to Grants Pass to take a trip down memory lane. I was born in Grants Pass; Jean has lived there off and on for years and niece Sue graduated from high school there. We drove the "old road" Hwy 99. On the Rogue river since 1921 has been the Savage Rapids Dam. Been there forever. As of about 10:00 a.m. today it is gone. We got there just about an hour after they had let the river flow free of the dam. Very sad to see this. The reason? "Although the dam has fish ladders, these ladders are old, do not meet current regulations, and only allow limited fish passage. Dam removal has been proposed to restore fish passage to natural conditions." GRRRRR After shedding a tear at the dam, we headed on into Grants Pass to go past old houses we once lived in -- I got to talk to the person that is living in the house I lived in here and my parents built. It has been changed considerably over the years and he was thrilled with the history of the house that I gave him. We also went by the school we went to and just did the memory thing. Then, as tradition for my sis and I, we went to Grants Pass Drug Store to have a chocolate ice cream soda. Ahhhh...heaven in a glass. YUM!

Weather has been glorious and the changing colors are magnificent. We saw so many pretty trees in the last few days and the colors have ranged from light green to yellow to orange to brilliant reds. I bet I have 100 or more pictures of trees changing color.

Our time here has ended and we are headed down the wroad tomorrow for new adventures. Next stop, Sacramento for a day or so.

I would have posted more pictures on the blog, but it was taking way too long to upload them. Sorry. I will try and post some later.

Old Friends, Weddings and Enjoying Seattle

2009-09-26T19:15:00.004-07:00

Everett, WA

Sept 26

We just returned from a beautiful wedding. Our friends Carl and Carolyn Beddingfield's daughter Tracy got married today. She was a beautiful bride; matter of fact, she is a beautiful woman. We were with Carl and Carolyn in Saudi and have remained friends all these years. It was fun to see other old friends at the wedding at well...Joyce and Rudy; Sarah and Keith and many more. We had a nice, albeit short, visit with Carolyn and Carl, as you can imagine they were pretty busy. It was nice to see them again...it has been a few years since we saw either one of them.

THEN, on Thursday night we had dinner with another set of old friends, Paula and Lew Hustead. What a great visit we had with them. They are friends from Saudi days as well. We haven't seen them in years...10 at least. I want to know why they haven't aged! They look wonderful and just as great as they always have been. We got caught up on each other's family as well. Jenn and Sherrie joined us for dinner as well. As Jenn said, they were some of our favorite people in Saudi. What a neat time for us.

Jo, Lew, Paula, Al, Jenn

We still have a busy schedule in Seattle. Tomorrow we are going to breakfast with Jenn and Sherrie; then tomorrow evening we are having dinner with Ric, Janet and Ashley. Late birthday dinner for Janet and Ashley and early birthday dinner for Ric...who will be 50 this year!!! How does this happen????? Monday are a full day of doctor visits again. We did some of that last Thursday as well...arg. Tuesday I am having lunch with old friend Ginnie and Wed is Nancy day and lunch as well. I should burst by then!!!! It is so fun seeing all of these people tho...and some I can't see due to schedule conflicts I have at least gotten to talk to on the phone.

I was just sitting here thinking that we have been living this lifestyle for 10 years now. And how things have changed! I remember having to lug my laptop to the RV park office to dial up to the internet. Then RV parks started putting phone lines at selected sites and we would always try to get on of those sites so I could hook up the internet. Then wifi started, but at first you had to be fairly close to the hot spot; now most parks have wifi available and if they don't I have my aircard and can connect just about everywhere. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years from now!!! And we are still driving the same rig....99 F350 and Alpenlite 5th wheel. They have really served us well, we have had our share of problems, but that is all part of the lifestyle. Matter-of-fact, said truck is at the Ford dealer now being fixed and we are driving a rental car. We looked at the new F350's and if we win the lottery we will buy one, but otherwise I will have to beg, borrow and steal enough money to buy one! They are absolutely beautiful and we would love to have one, but man, it's a lot of money!! OUCH! So our 99 F350 will just have to run a few more years! Unless anyone out there wants to give me a few thousand dollars; about 50 thousand of them please!

The weather here has been incredible! Sunny and clear and warm during the day and nice and cool at night. Love Seattle when the weather is like this and I have thoughts of moving back to this beautiful place; then my brain kicks in and I remember the many, many days of rain and gray. UGH!

Dogs are missing the freedom they had in Odessa....they now have to be on a leash at all times and be walked everywhere. At least I am getting some excercise! However, we found a place to play "ball" so I have managed to let them off the leash and play for a while every day. This park we are staying in is nice, however, I like the park next door better...more room. We are kinda squished in here.

So for now, we are wroamin and will be wrolling towards Portland on next Thursday.

IT'S DEUTSCHESFEST TIME

2009-09-16T14:03:00.004-07:00

Odessa
Sept 18

It's time for the annual Deutschesfest in Odessa. This little town of 1,000 will grow this weekend to over 20,000 as people from far and wide will come to participate/celebrate "Fest". This little town continues to amaze me each and every year as residents come together to make fest a success. Today our town is a busy place. For weeks preparations have been under way. Businesses have spruced up their shops; residences have cleaned and shined their places; the little booths have been set up; German music is playing on the loud speakers around town (I have so many German songs stuck in my head that they are fighting for play time!!) and a festive spirit can be felt all over town. We have participated every year by having a garage sale...and this year is no exception...a big garage sale starts on Friday and runs until Sunday or until we are sold out. Vickie and I have been busy this last couple of weeks getting ready.

Granddaughter Cammie came up over Labor Day and helped me sort/price garage sale stuff. Then last weekend I went to Jerry's and sorted "stuff" again as he had stored some stuff for us. Now I hope all the "Stuff" will go away! It is amazing how much stuff we can collect in our lives. SHEEESH!

Last Monday we went to Spokane to take our sister in law, Gloria out to lunch and a movie. I don't think she has been to the movies in a long time. We say Julia and Julie and it was very good. Al had a hard time following it; but that was because he was up and down going to the bathroom!!!! I swear he has a bladder the size of a pea!

Sept 22
Well, "fest" is over...I would say the crowds were much smaller this year, but we had a good time. The garage sale went well, and what didn't sell was taken to a local charity and donated. It is done! Weather over the weekend was weird. Friday was hot...HOT! Saturday was windy, cold, hot, windy, cold, hot, oh, did I mention windy? Never fails at Fest time and garage sale time. We anchored things down and went on with the sale.

We signed the papers on the house today, so it is officially sold. Whew, big relief for us. We are now down to two houses in Tucson and the 5th wheel...I feel good! Light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't attached to a train anymore!

We will be wrolling out of here tomorrow, heading towards Seattle for our first stop of our trip to Tucson. I got the truck washed today, trailer cleaned and packed, laundry done, assorted miscellaneous items retrieved from the house that I want to go to Tucson identified so when our niece and her husband bring the rest of our "stuff" that we couldn't part with to Tucson it will all be together. I'm pooped. Busy day, but felt very productive.

So we are
Wroamin' Wraspir's once again -- all pets included I hope.

What is it with Our kids and fire?

2009-09-04T13:00:00.008-07:00

Odessa

We arrived back in Odessa last Wednesday after being in beautiful Noxon, MT for over 2 weeks. Yes, I came back here kicking and screaming the entire way -- I have work to do here and know it has to be done, but don't want to do it. After all, it's WORK!!

Last Sunday proved to be a very interesting, stressful, worrisome, scary day for us. About noon I signed on to the computer to check the status of the Station Fire in LA. The last I had checked it was headed towards the town of Acton, CA, which is not far from where our daughter Billie and son-in-law Dan live. So, on the computer on Sunday and holy crap...the fire is heading directly at them. I called Billie and yes, the fire is on the ridge above them and yes, they are staying and not evacuating. After a few choice words to them, I really start to worry. Given, Dan is a fireman, but this fire is huge. There is an engine from Orange County at their house, along with other assistance; but, can they ward off this monster that is heading their way? I talked to Billie a few times during the day getting progress reports of where the fire is. That evening I was away from my phone for a few minutes, and when I checked, Billie had called. The fire had gone around and over them. Burned to close to their house for comfort, but they saved their house and out buildings. Unfortunately, some of their neighbors weren't as fortunate and lost everything. God definitely had a hand in saving them...and thank you to all of you who said prayers for them.

Fire on the ridge

Fire at the house

After the fire

Then, on Tuesday, our granddaughter Sarah called to tell us she had a minor fire in her apartment!! WHAT is going on with fire and my family????? Apparently the unit next to her was being worked on and where they were welding caught fire and burned through her upstairs bedroom and bathroom wall. Not a lot of damage, luckily no smoke damage so they could stay in the apartment; but scary none the less. ENOUGH!!!

I just thank God that none of them were hurt --- now stop with the fire thing.

It was windy here yesterday and the wind was rearranging all the dirt around. Oh goodie, no sense in dusting yesterday! We are parked at our house for the next three weeks. I will be sorting, tossing and going through all of our stuff that remains in the storage trailer and getting ready for a HUGE garage sale during Deutschfest (Sept. 18-20) and hope to get rid of everything. No, make that, I WILL GET RID OF EVERYTHING, either by garage sale or to the Senior Center Thrift Store!!! Todd and Vicki have been living in our house since December last year, and Vicki has the law office here in Odessa and Todd is working on a ranch. Their two children, Alyssa (6) and Austin (4) are so darn cute and so much fun. We enjoy having them around and they pop in and out of our trailer frequently. So much energy....wow, I wish I had an eighth of it. So, if you are in area during Deutschfest, stop by and take a load home with you!!!!

Speaking of work, I am helping Vicki out in her law office for a few days. Helping may be to strong of a word....since I haven't worked in over 10 years. But I am here to answer the phone and do some filing for her and little things that really take no brain power!!!! I have forgotten more than I ever knew about working!!!

Breath taking Beauty

2009-08-24T20:03:00.007-07:00

Noxon, Mt

All I can about this area is it is breath taking, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping beautiful!!! Who'd thunk I would love this area like I do?

Kootnai River near Libby, Mt

We spent last week just hanging out, doing a lot of nothing and getting some much needed rest! We made a quick trip into Sand Point on Thursday to get some groceries, and saw a moose on the way home.

Friday morning we were awaken about 4:30 a.m by a loud clap of thunder. YEA...thunder and lightning storm. I stayed awake and enjoyed it...rain and all. However, I was hoping it wouldn't start any fired and so far I haven't heard of any fires being started around here by it. I love a good thunder and lightning storm. Unfortunatelly, my animals don't. We wound up with us, 2 cats and 2 dogs in a queen size bed! Yup--it was a bit cozy!

Friday night we went to a local restaurant in downtown Noxon (population "very small") and had some excellent ribs. Met some of Gordon and Denise's friends--great bunch of people.

Saturday night we drove to Troy, Mt to a little, restaurant for some great prime rib. Now, I have to tell you about this restaurant. The little lady that runs it is 75 years old, has ran it for 40 years and mostly by herself...I mean, by herself...no help! She does the cooking, cleaning, serving, etc. This place probably seats 35-40 people and usually is standing room only. We got there at the perfect time and got right in. I think we will go back before we go home...it was that good.

Jacks Cafe...not much to look at, but great food and a great lady!

We nosed around a little in Troy and then drove to Libby. Libby is larger than Troy, but still small town. Cute town and I got some great pictures of the eagles they have all over town...eagle scupltures I should say.

Sunday we lazed around in the morning then Gordon and Denise took us to some of their friends house...what an amazing house. It was an old homestead and these people bought it and re-did it. It is absolutely beautiful. A lot of work, but well worth it.

A here is a blast from the past...anyone guess who these two are?

Noxon -- wonderful NOXON

2009-08-17T15:50:00.002-07:00

Noxon, Mt
Any way you spell it is right...backward, forwards, upside down! I love this place. So peaceful and beautiful. And boy do we need the peace and quiet for a while and just settle down.

We spent Friday in Odessa; Al had a chance to get his hair and beard trimmed; I, on the other hand, still look like a shaggy dog!!! We stayed with Jerry on Friday night. Got to play with Simon and the dogs really had a good time. We all went to Chiefs (the local cafe) for dinner and then back to rest at Jerry's. About 9:00 p.m. Al went to bed and I was relaxing when I heard "Jo, I need help"--I ran into the bedroom and Al was in horrible pain with cramps all over his body. I got him up and into the recliner. I gave him some extra potassium and had him eat a banana (anything to get extra potassium in him) and gave him some Tylenol, hoping he would relax. The cramps were getting worse and he was having a trouble breathing...so I called 911 for an ambulance. Jerry and I tried to massage the cramps, but they were all over his body. The ambulance took him to Odessa Hospital, where they dosed him with more potassium. Finally after about 4 hours the cramps subsided and we could go home. Poor Al was really in agony. This happened in June as well when we were on the way back to Odessa from Tucson. The doctors still don't know what causes it, however, I have increased his daily potassium.

I have to say that for a small town, Odessa Hospital is wonderful. They have great equipment, doctors and nurses and treat a patient so kindly. It is good to know you will get good care in a small town.

We left Saturday morning for Noxon. Stopped in Liberty Lake to have lunch with Gary and Jeannette. Just when we were getting ready to leave their house we looked to the north and big, black storm clouds were gathering. Gary and I quickly wrapped our luggage in plastic bags (it was in the back of the truck) and we took off. We didn't get a mile from their house and it started to pour. We drove in rain until we reached Hwy 95 in Couer d' Alene; then it was just off and on all the way to Noxon. Sand Point, ID had gotten a heavy rain right before we got there and it rained heavy right after we left, so we were running from the rain. When we pulled into Noxon it was just sprinkling, so Gordon, Denise and I quickly unloaded the truck and just as we finished it poured like crazy. Talk about timing.

Yesterday I unpacked; 5 suitcases, 5 boxes etc. Today I paid bills and caught up on book work, so now maybe I can relax and enjoy this beautiful spot for a while. I don't know how long we will be here, maybe another week or two. It is just too pretty to leave.

Gotta go outside and enjoy the sun and trees, river, etc. Look up Noxon, Mt...we are in the NW corner of the state.

Heading to O

2009-08-14T09:09:00.005-07:00

Redmond, WA
We arrived back in Seattle late on Monday night. The Amtrak train was absolutely wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Vancouver or back. The train was fairly new and very comfortable. Of course it was raining and getting dark when we left Vancouver, but still a great ride.

Jenn met us at the station with the dogs. Needless to say we had a great reunion with the dogs..however, Schuster won't let me out of his sight...and Beau watches us both like a hawk!

Tuesday was doctor, doctor, doctor appointments. Most of them went okay. Al's alzheimers has progressed, but I knew that. His kidney function is bad, but still at 50% so I guess we can be thankful for that. BP was good, blood glucose count bad, etc.

Tuesday night Al went to his Elk Camp meeting at a local pub and really enjoyed it. I had dinner with my traveling pals, Kathy, Janet and Jenn. Had fun getting caught up.

Wednesday was laundry day and more appointments. Whew...

Thursday was the annual Boeing HR Retiree's lunch and it was good to see old friends. However, we missed a few---Pete and Shirley; Pete and Diane we missed you! After that was yet another doctor appointment. The last of the appointments for this time.

Then we went to see an old friend who is in assisted living in Redmond. Jan is a year older than I am and has been a good friend for many years. In the last few years she has had some real memory problems, leading to her moving into assisted living a couple of years ago. I hadn't seen her in two years and I was really anxious to see her. Boy, was I in for a sad surprise. She has been moved into a locked down area of the facility and didn't know who I was; or for that matter, didn't really remember any of her old friends. So sad to see...the last time we saw her she didn't remember things, but knew who we were and others we talked about. Now she really doesn't remember anyone. The one person she remembered was her son, but as she put it "He is grown up now"; however, knew nothing about if he was married, children, where he was, etc. Dementia/Alzheimers is a cruel, cruel illness. And especially for someone so young (relatively speaking). However, I was very pleased with the facility she is in; everyone was clean, everything was spotless and it didn't smell bad like so many of the nursing homes do. At the attendants were very good. But still very sad to me to see.

Dinner last night was at an excellent Italian restaurant and we met up with good friends Bill and Lorie Lince. It has been a couple of years since we have been able to see them so it was a good visit. Sad tho, their daughter who is Jenn's age has been going through breast cancer...Lorie had gone through it a couple of years ago and now Gina is. We really feel so bad for them. Another terrible disease that should be cured by now. Another reason to contribute to Ric/Janet/Sherrie on the 3 day; 60 mile walk they are doing for breast cancer. If you wish to contribute to a good cause go to Wraspir's Saving Second Base and donate. Remember, some how, some way, breast cancer will enter your life someday.

And now, we are off to Odessa and beyond.

Vancouver still

2009-08-09T22:25:00.001-07:00

Vancouver

Okay, I need to make a correction to my last blog. The Firefighter and Police World Games is what has been in Vancouver for the past week. It is sort of a trial run for the city before the 2010 Olympics arrives. This town is stuffed with firefighters and police….I feel very safe. Billie and Dan, where are you????

Speaking of the Olympics, you can see preparations everywhere in the city for the games. A lot of streets are torn up and being repaved; a lot of buildings being built for the games and more transportation being added. I am glad I won't be here for the games. The crowd this weekend was enough.

Today we went to Granville Island….think Pike Place Market. Almost identical, but fun. It was rainy today and everyone had umbrellas but Al and I. We toughed it out!!! From the market we had luncha t the Boat House, which was excellent. Then back to Gastown so Suzi could buy some souveniers. From there we couldn't figure out what to do, so we went to Costco!!!! This Costco was interesting…it was downtown and you parked underneath (and paid for parking) but once inside it was Costco.

Tonight we went to The Keg for dinner. I laughed at the oddity of it….when we left Seattle we had dinner at The Keg the night before we left and here we are ending our trip at The Keg!!! We should have gotten a free drink or something!!!

Tomorrow we head home. We have been gone from the mutts and kitties for over 40 days…time to get home and get back into a normal routine. We are taking Amtrak to Seattle. We will be in Seattle for a few days of doctor appointments and seeing friend and kids, then head back to Odessa to switch cars and pick up the truck and then back to Noxon, MT for a week or so. It will be good to get back. I love to vacation, but I am always ready to come home … such as it is. I don't count traveling in the 5^th wheel vacation, I still have house work, dishes, beds to make, meals to prepare, etc. Just in different locations some times.

So until we hit the good ole USA again…..we are still Wroamin!

Yes, I found the laundry!!!

2009-08-08T21:59:00.001-07:00

Vancouver

Aug 8

Yesterday we spent the day exploring. Today I spent the day doing 1 load of laundry. Yup, 1 load! Took most of the day. The dryer here at the hotel took 2+ hours to dry a small load of cloths! Grrr

Jack and Suzi took the car and went to Stanley Park and walked the park. I knew Al couldn't do that and he wanted to stay at the hotel and rest. I was going to go with Jack and Suzi until I realized that Al couldn't be left alone today. Not the best of days. We did walk across the street for lunch, but even that was a struggle for him.

Tonight we went to the Cactus Club Restaurant for dinner. Very good. I had the ribs and they were tender and moist. Then our treat, Dairy Queen.

It has been cold and cloudy all day. Not the most perfect day for exploring. Our room at the hotel is immediately above the Press Box Sports Grill…and faces a main street. Needless to say, last night we didn't get much sleep until early morning. We asked to be moved, however, the hotel is full up, matter of fact, the town is full up. There is a firefighter/police convention from all over Canada here this weekend. I feel pretty safe…the hotel is full of fire fighters and police.

Tomorrow is another day.

Skagway to Vancouver

2009-08-08T12:05:00.011-07:00

I just wanted to post a picture of Hubbard Glacier on the blog. I didn't have my pictures downloaded on previous post. The glacier is pretty impressive...300 feet high and moves at a rate of about 12 feet a day. To hear it move is impressive as well...sounds like thunder. We didn't see any major ice breaking off (calving) but some ice did slide into the water.Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier up close

Aug 3, Skagway
Since we all have been here before we didn’t book any shore excursions. Jack, Sue and I went into town and walked around a bit. Had lunch at a cute little café, “Sweet Nothings”. We found a Starbucks and a quilt shop, so I was a happy camper. We took a carriage ride around town…the town is about 300 people in the winter and swells to 1,000 plus in the summer to cater to the tourist. Tourism is their only industry. Food is barged up from Bellingham, Wa once a week, so even the milk they get is 10 days old by the time they get it. I don’t think I would do well living here.
There are fires burning all over British Columbia and we are in the middle of a very smoky city. It has been hard for me to breathe at times. The smoke is very heavy today; makes it look like fog.
Dinner tonight was in the dining room again. Nothing special.

Aug 4 Icy Straight Point, AK
Still very smoky and we all are having problems from it. We elected to not go ashore today….nothing but a Tinglit Village and tourist trap. However, they do have a zip line and I think I might like to do that someday…it looks fun. Perhaps on our next cruise when I can talk Jenn, Bev, Melanie, Janet and Suzi into going with me!!!!
Tonight was formal night on the ship. The last one. For such a short cruise there have been 2 formal nights…2 too many for me. We really liked not having a formal night on NCL. Jack, Suzi and I went to the show last night, a very good Broadway Shows Review. Al wasn’t up to walking that far last night (to the front of the ship) so he elected to go back to the room. He enjoys cruising, but doesn’t partake in a lot of the activities any more. It is really hard for him to get around anymore.
Formal Night

Wed. Aug. 5 Ketchikan (ketch me if you can)
We arrived this morning at 7:30 a.m. to a beautiful day in Ketchikan. NO SMOKE! What a cute little town this is. The ship docks right downtown so there was no problem for Al to get to town. We did the Duck Tour today, we had never done one and it was fun. Jack, Suzi, Al in front of the "Duck"

Ketchikan is a town of approximately 8,000 people year round. Of course the main industry is fishing, then tourism and logging. In the summer the town grows to about 12,000 people to take care of the tourist that come on the cruise ships. The only way in to Ketchikan is by boat or plane. Speaking of planes, this is a very, very busy float plane town. We are seeing/hearing about one or two landing or taking off every five minutes. Ketchikan proper is built on an island and the airport is across the river and there is no bridge to it, so you have to take a ferry to the airport.
There were 3 other cruise ships in town today. Our tour guide said they usually have between 12-14 ships a week in town. One of the ships, the Holland American Zaandam lost a passenger in Juneau on Sunday. It was docked right next to us there. Apparently a lady from Arlington, Washington jumped overboard to commit suicide. One thing for sure, if you live through your jump to the water, you won’t survive very long in the icy water. If I remember correctly, the water temperature in Juneau was an icy 39 degrees.
Tomorrow is a sea day and then we arrive in Vancouver, BC early on Friday. We are staying in Vancouver for the weekend, leaving late afternoon on Monday. We are both anxious to get home…our puppies and kitties await!
Aug 6 At Sea
Our cruise has really been smooth water. Hardly a ripple in the sea! Amazing compared to some cruises we have been on. We cruised the inside passage today and it was foggy this morning and we couldn’t see a thing. Then this afternoon it cleared up and WOW…what beautiful scenery we were treated to. Before we got to Prince Rupert there were a few logging or fishing villages along the coast. From Prince Rupert on down the houses that are built along the coast are amazing. We also had a beautiful sunset.

We are all tired of the food on board and are looking forward to having choices tomorrow! Not that you don’t have choices on board, but they all come from the same kitchen and it is beginning to all taste the same. I will say our dining room staff have been excellent. Actually the bar staff has Al’s number…the attendant will come to the table each night to ask Al if he wants his “coffee”, which is actually a Bombay Sapphire Gin Martini, with lots of olives. Packing tonight….UGH!
Aug 7, Vancouver
We arrived at 7:00 a.m., and by 9:30 a.m. we were off the ship. It is cloudy and a little cool in Vancouver. We took a scary cab ride from the port to our hotel. Of course we couldn’t check in until after 2:00 p.m., so we stored our luggage and took another scary cab ride to Gastown to catch the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We toured the entire route today, and tomorrow we will go again (ticket is good for 2 days) and get off where ever we want. After we did the loop we stopped and had a wonderful Italian lunch at Al Polla. We watched the steam clock go off a few times as well. Then it was time to hail yet another cab for a very scary ride back to the hotel. That cab will have my fingernail imprints in its upholstery forever. I had to laugh because there were 4 of us stuffed into this Toyota Corolla, Al being in the front seat and he took up almost the ENTIRE front seat. The driver kept looking at him as if to say “Geez, you are big!”
After we got back to the hotel and discussed that we had already spent over $60 in cab fares just today and we weren’t done yet, we just might want to look into renting a car. I called around and got us a car for four days for $200; so another $20 later and one more wild cab ride, we now have a rental car. Thank goodness I brought my GPS with me! Jack and I will be drivers, and we are now free to explore. We would try and depend on the bus system, however, with Al not being able to walk very far (across the street tonight for dinner was agony for him) we knew that the bus option was out. At least this way he can see some of the sites from the car.
As I said earlier, we decided to just go across the street for Chinese food tonight…Al had a really hard time walking that far. We had to walk about a block uphill to cross this busy street we are on and he had to stop and rest twice; then after crossing the street he had to stop again. Glad we will be seeing the doctor next week.
We are all tired tonight and retired to our rooms after dinner. I took a short walk down the street to Starbucks, but decided not to get anything tonight. By the way, there are over 204 Starbucks just in Vancouver….I wonder how many are in Seattle? There is a Starbucks almost on every corner downtown and in some cases, Starbucks are directly across the street from each other. For people to lazy to cross the street????

Want to bore your self? Go to Alaska Cruise to see all our pictures!

Juneau

2009-08-02T16:26:00.002-07:00

Juneau, Alaska

We left Seward at 9:00 p.m. aboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship on Friday. Smooth sailing all night, sort of "rocked" me to sleep. Up and at it on Saturday. Jack and Suzi spent most of the morning in the gym doing gym stuff. Al and I lazed around doing lazy stuff....just my speed. Our ship went to the Hubbard Glacier yesterday afternoon.....and the captain backed this huge ship just about up on the glacier...I was humming the theme from the Titanic by the time he was done. It was an amazing site however. The glacier is about 300 feet thick right now....wow. Lpts of big ice chunks floating in the ocean as well.

Today we arrived in Juneau early this morning and was on our tour of the city and Mendenhall glacier by 9:30 this morning. For some reason, I just wasn't all the impressed with the city or the glacier. Right now we are sitting out side our room on board watching the float planes take off and land...a lot more exciting than the tour this morning. The tour guide was about as exciting as an old sock! AND, we had taken the shuttle into town (about a half a mile) and then when it was time to return to the ship, a shuttle couldn't be found. That meant that Al had to walk the half mile....which wasn't pretty! Took us about 45 minutes to get back to the ship.

Tomorrow is Skagway...I doubt if we will even get off the ship. We have all been here and have rode the train, so don't think there is anything more exciting to do in town.

I have to say that so far I am not impressed with Celebrity Cruises. The service is not as good as NCL or Princess; the food definitely lacks something,primarily taste and it is just blah! And I am not the only one who thinks that...there are a lot of people on board commenting on how disappointed they are. Celebrity is suppose to be one of the best cruise lines available (unless you want to spend BIG bucks on some of the real top end cruise lines like Silver Sea's, etc.) and yet we have found so far that it is just average. On this cruise we have barely seen our cabin attendant...and the food service is something we have never experienced. You can't touch a piece of food or serve your self...even in the buffet. You can't get yourself a glass of water, salt and pepper or anything. Now, one might say that is great service, however, I beg to differ since you have to wait in line to get water, food, salt and pepper, etc. Either the line is very cautious about the Norovirus or they are cutting expenses this way. Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.

Tomorrow is another day .... hope all is well with everyone else.

Sailing, sailing.............

2009-07-30T23:16:00.002-07:00

Anchorage
Tomorrow, at about this time, we will be sailing....yes! Our cruise leaves tomorrow night from Seward. Hmmm...Seward..poses a minor problem. Seward is flooded! They had 2.35 inches of rain in less than 24 hours and everything is flooded there. Hope we can get there tomorrow! Bruce is driving us down. Jack and Suzi got into Anchorage early on Tuesday..we had dinner with them last night. They were suppose to take the train (very scenic) to Seward today, however, the train was cancelled due to rockslides on the rails due to the rains...so they went by tour bus today.

We got back into Anchorage last afternoon. Rained on us most of the way until we got around Turnagain Arm. The news just came on and they are giving flood advisories for the Kenai Peninsula and Seward. I have to say that the river was very, very high when we left yesterday. And moving very swiftly. There has been a lot of rain up in the mountains, causing more snow melt and run off into the river.

We sent Jerry off today on a plane to Seattle and on to Spokane. We decided to ship all the fish instead of having him carry some...just too cumbersome for one person. We shipped about 80 lbs of fish...salmon. We also shipped about 40 lbs of halibut. Al and Jerry each limited out on halibut, but they were 20-30 lb fish. Once filleted they weigh about half.

So, until we next time...I AM ON VACATION...NO COOKING, CLEANING, MAKING BEDS, DOING DISHES, ETC. PAMPER ME, PLEASE!

Homer Alaska

2009-07-28T10:22:00.006-07:00

Homer
We returned to the river from Anchorage on Tuesday of last week. I helped Bruce as much as I could with things that needed to be done in regards to Janice's death, then decided he probably needed some time alone to absorb all of it.

Son-in-law Dan and friend Tim got in from LA on Monday and were already fishing the river when we got back. They did pretty good, however, the fishing has really slowed down the last few days. Son Jerry got in last Friday and the fishing has been pretty slow since then. He has caught a few however.

I have packed all the items we are taking with us from our camp trailer at the river. We have sold it; and it is bitter sweet to say goodbye to it. We have really enjoyed in over the years, however, Al can't get down to the river to fish and I am tired of paying the lot lease on it and maintenance. We sold it to a good friend of Bruce's so we will still have the option to visit it if we desire to next year.

Right now I am sitting in Homer Alaska looking out at Kachemak Bay and the mountains and glaciers beyond it. The bay is as calm as I have ever seen it...usually the wind is blowing hard. It is very cloudy and rainy today, however, when we got here yesterday it was sunny and beautiful, albeit, windy and cold. We drove around and did some site seeing yesterday afternoon. Jerry is with us and we found a great place up on the hills overlooking town for some picture taking opportunities. I am also watching a pair of bald eagles circle right now...too beautiful for words. I kept trying to get a picture of them, but all I got was a blur. Al and Jerry are out on a halibut fishing charter as I write this. I usually go along, but decided to save my back this year. This is the first time I have had a day to myself in a long time and I plan on doing some laundry first; then hit the local quilt shop and bum around Homer until the boys get back late this afternoon.

Wosnesenski Glacier as seen from Homer

Homer and the Spit

I am still at the motel we stayed at last night and I am going to take a long, HOT, shower before I check out. I may try and drain all the hot water from their tanks....if you have ever had to shower in an RV you know what I mean. When you take as shower in an RV you have to get wet, turn the water off, lather up, turn water on and rinse quickly before you run out of hot water. At least its been that way in any RV we have ever been in. Needless to say, a long, hot shower is very appealing to me right now. It has been so darn cold up here that I need something to warm these old bones up.

One thing I mentioned to AL yesterday and he agreed, we haven't seen a cat since we have been up here. NOT ONE! I am really having cat withdrawals. Plus, I miss our kitties and puppies. And I am sure that Jennifer who has the dogs and Denise who has the cats are ready for us to come claim the spoiled brats.

We will go back to Anchorage tomorrow evening. Jerry leaves on Thursday afternoon. We will leave for our cruise out of Seward on Friday, so Bruce will take us to Seward on Friday to catch the ship. Friends Jack and Suzi Waddick will be cruising with us again....I don't think we could take a cruise without them...they are too fun to have around.

So until next time, hope this finds everyone living their life to the fullest...life is to short to do otherwise.

Will this year ever end?

2009-07-19T21:55:00.003-07:00

Anchorage
Ever had one of those years that things just continue to go wrong? This is my year.

Sad day today...my niece, Janice Jo, who is Bruce's sister and Dicks daughter; died. She lived here in Anchorage and the police found her dead in her bed early this morning. still don't know the cause of death, there are plenty of speculations; however, I don't feel like going over them here. What matters is that she is finally at peace; she has had a troubled life, a lot of mental issues. Poor girl was a tortured soul. Bruce is, naturally, upset and both of us are trying to cope with all there is to do. I am just glad we are here to help him with what ever we can. Tomorrow I will go over to Janice's and start the great clean up and clean out. It is a mess, but someone has to do it and while I am here I will do what I can. Poor Bruce has really had an awful year. He is such a great person, and I am so sorry he has to go through all this.

Dan and his buddy are due in tomorrow and we will have him drive the motorhome to the river. I don't know if Al will go back with them or not. Jerry will be here late Thursday; so I may wait around for him and get some things done here. Then I will really have to get busy packing up our stuff so we can get it packed and shipped. ARG!

More tomorrow or the next day when I have my head together.

THE RIVER

2009-07-16T14:52:00.003-07:00

Kenai Penisula
The River
July 15, 2009

We arrived at our camp trailer here on Saturday. All my sibs came with us; so we brought Bruce’s motor home down for them to sleep in. Bruce drove his car down and I drove the motor home…I really like driving it, even though part of the highway is very narrow and winding. The drive from Anchorage to here is absolutely beautiful….mountains and streams and just the way you would expect Alaska to look!

We saw no critters on the way down with the exception of a dead squirrel! Our critter count is way low this year so far, unless you count mosquito’s….then there are too many to count.

After we got set up here at the Fish on Inn, my sister Jean, sister-in-law Mary and I took off for Soldotna to do some shopping. As Jennifer said, “Soldotna will never be the same!” Actually all we did was go to Fred Meyers for groceries and to the hardware store for electronic bug swatters! I am bringing a couple home with me and they took a couple home with them…they are great little gadgets and work well.

We have pretty much just lazed around since being here. I am getting some much needed down time. The fish (sockeye salmon) aren’t running strong yet; probably in a day or two they will be running good. The last escapement count was at 7,000 a day and we really don’t start fishing for them until the count is up in the 16,000 plus.

There are over 60 wildfires burning in Alaska right now and it has been very smoky at times. One fire, burning near Tustusmena Lake is about 25 miles from us and we can see the smoke clearly from it. As of last night it had consumed 15,000 acres and it is one of the smaller fires in the state.

My younger sib, John, left on Sunday to go home; yesterday my brother Bob and wife Mary and my sister Jean all left here for Anchorage and they are all on their way home today. It is really, really quiet here now and we miss all of them. It was great to be with them all again and even though it was a sad occasion, I really enjoyed being with them. We just don’t get together enough! We are spread from Colorado, Oregon, California and where ever I am, so logistically we can’t get together very often.

My cousin, Patty and her husband and two other couples have been traveling in Alaska for the last month and we had a near miss the other day. WE ALMOST SAW EACH OTHER! Sorry we had to miss them, however, they were on the Kenai when I was in Anchorage; and then they went through Anchorage and didn’t call me, so we missed each other. What they didn’t know was I was just a quarter of a mile off the main highway when they went through Anchorage…so it was a near miss. Oh well, maybe next time 

July 16, 2009

THE LAUDRAMAT
I am sitting doing what I do best up here….laundry. And you will notice the dog, GAGE in the back of the truck that I made friends with!

It is cool and cloudy today and VERY smoky. This is a picture of the smoke from the fire that I took last night. Really burning good.

The fish are starting to come in…80,000+ in the river now, so it is time to wander down (all 133 steps) to the river this afternoon. Al wants to fish and I don’t want him down there alone, so I will put a hook in the water as well. Our neighbors here limited out last night, so maybe we will get some fish today.

It is so pretty up here…it is hard to describe and pictures just don’t do it justice. You just have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate how beautiful Alaska really is. Yesterday was clear and warm, with white, puffy clouds floating by, that is, until the smoke took over!

Dan and one of his friends are due to arrive on Monday, so the fishing will be good for them. Jerry arrives on the 23rd and there should be plenty of fish in the river by then.

Our good friend in Florida, Judy Rahbar is in the hospital and that has kept me worried. She went in with terrible stomach cramps and found out she had a perforated colin! They did surgery on Monday (I think) and as of last night when I talked to her husband Randy, she was resting comfortably. Our prayers and thoughts are with her and her family as she recovers.

I miss my doggies and kitties so much. Even AL is saying he wishes the animals were here. I talked to Denise and Gordon last night and the cats are being spoiled rottener. I also talked to Jenn and the dogs are okay, Schuster is being a little pill….I figured this would happen as he is such a momma’s dog. He just won’t listen to her. Beau is Beau, if there is a ball in the area he is happy…he is happy anyway, but with a ball around he is really, happy!

Until next time we are a fishin'!!!!

Saying Goodbye to my Brother

2009-07-10T20:11:00.006-07:00

Anchorage

Today was the memorial/graveside service for my older brother, Dick, who died last January. It was a full on military service...I made it through it, but it wasn't easy. It was hard to say goodbye, however, I know he is resting in peace. About 40 people attended the service at Ft. Richardson. I was impressed by the respect we got by everyone, while in the procession from the gate to the national cemetary, led by the military police, the on coming traffic would pull over and stop out of respect for the deceased. I haven't seen that in a long time.

All of my siblings are here. The older two, Jean and Bob and wife Mary, arrived on Monday and we have had a great time catching up with each others lives and all of our kids. Then yesterday baby sib, Johnny, arrived and the real fun began. He has a great personality and is so funny...we have been laughing ever since he arrived.

Niece Janice, Nephew Bruce, Brother Bob and wife Mary, Sister Jean, my, Brother John and Al at graveside, Ft. Richardson.

On Wednesday, we headed to Whittier Alaska for the day. Al and I haven't been there, and Bob, Mary and Jean hadn't either. We had to drive through the longest tunnel in North America (2.6 miles) to get there. Until 2000 you had to take the train to Whittier, or load your car on the train. They have actually built the road on the train track. It is a single lane tunnel, one way at a time, and on a schedule. Whittier is a nice, little town, on Prince William Sound, lots of boats in the marina.

Whittier

Tunnel Entrance/Exit

After returning to Anchorage, we had dinner at one of the many good restaurants, Henry's Alaskan Restaurant.

We have spent a lot of time visiting, just enjoying each other. Tomorrow we all will go to the river. Johnny will be leaving on Sunday; Jean, Bob and Mary leave on the 15th. We will stay at the river until the end of the month.

Rest in peace, my dear brother. I miss you.

MOOOOSSSE!

2009-07-04T17:57:00.003-07:00

Anchorage, AK

HAPPY 4th OF JULY! Remember the reason for the holiday!

Greetings from the land of the midnight sun. And yes, it is still light out at midnight. Matter of fact, I haven't seen darkness yet. And last night I couldn't sleep (stupid cough) and was up most of the night and it was still light out.

We are staying at my nephew's house until the 11th when we will go to the river. Bruce has a very quaint, cute little house on the south end of Anchorage. I just love his house. Very rustic; he has lived here for 20 years and very much a bachelor place. It will be interesting when the rest of the sibs get here as this is a very small place. We have secured the downstairs bedroom as ours. Two of the other sibs and sib in law will stay in the motorhome; baby sib will sleep up stairs in the house. Very cozy. I don't think we have all been this close, ever!

We arrived on Thursday; layed low most of the day. Yesterday I did some grocery shopping and stocked up on mosquito spray. Thursday night a mosquito slept with us (we are used to cats sleeping with us and occasionally a dog, but NOT a mosquito) and the little devil must be very full as I have several bites. GRRRR As one friend put it he must be fat enough to put on the barby!!!

Bruce went down to the river last night after dinner for the weekend. Janice (niece) came over for dinner last night and we bbq'd some chicken...yum.

Today we have layed pretty low...I could get used to this. I fixed breakfast for us of Spam and eggs (quit gagging) and it was very tasty. Then after a while we decided to go out for a drive and some lunch. We were driving down a very busy, main road here in Anchorage when I noticed something to my right....a MOOSE! He was a young bull; and very calmly stepped out into traffic, bringing all traffic to a screeching halt as he meandered across the street. And me with out my camera and my phone buried in my purse! Damn! But that may mean it will be a good moose spotting season for me...as long as they don't chase me!

The cottonwood trees are shedding like crazy and I am -- achoo, achoo---reacting to them. It looks like it is snowing at times.....NOT! The weather is absolutely wonderful, in the high 60's, low 70's. A great summer so far. This time last year we had had nothing but rain.

We found Kincaid Park today as well....a very nice, large park in the middle of Anchorage. We drove around it...lots of people out. At one of the small lakes in the park a lady had 2 dogs, one being a white Schuster!!! However, this dog was a Beau in the respect that all he wanted to do was chase the ball. I MISS MY OODLES OF POODLES and my KITTIES!

Tonight we are going to meet my niece for dinner and then come home and do what we have been doing best for the last few days...relax. Fireworks here won't start until midnight or later, so we will just pretend we saw them....with our eyes closed.

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!

SWARMA...almost as good as the ones in Saudi

2009-07-01T21:56:00.005-07:00

SeaTac

We are staying at the Holiday Inn at Sea Tac airport tonight....we fly to Anchorage in the morning.

We have had a great time in Seattle for the few days we have been here. And the weather has been absolutely glorious! We got to Seattle (actually Redmond) to Jenn's late on Saturday. We left Noxon, MT around 9:00 a.m.; did a quick stop in Odessa to trade cars with Todd and then on in to Seattle. Of course, we had to make a stop in Cle Elum for pepperoni from the sausage store and a few cookies from the wonderful bakery across the street! YUM.

Up Sunday and off to meet friends of Jenn's and ours, Mike and Nancy Tangen and their brand new baby Jack. Jack is 3 weeks old...birth weight was over 9 lbs...poor Nancy! However, he is a cute as can be and I got my "holding a newborn" fix. Then it was off to Ric and Janet's for dinner and to see Ashley and Cammie. Had a good, albeit, quick visit with them.

Monday was lab day...Al and I both had lab tests at 0'dark thirty Monday morning. Our doctors office had moved, so I had the added stress of finding the new office. After that it was a trip to Costco for ribs for dinner that night. Then we met friends Frank and Lynn Conger for lunch and had another good, but short visit. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for those "Off" mosquito fan's that have been advertised. NO ONE carries them. I looked in 10 stores and yes, they had heard of them, but didn't carry them. GRRR! Dinner that night was BBQ ribs at Jenns wonderful new condo. Speaking of her condo, it is so nice and she really is happy there. It is a tri-level and we were all worried how Al would negotiate the stairs, however, he did just fine. He just took it slow. Her condo overlooks a pond, which has a %$^&* bull frog that doesn't know how to be quiet. ALL NIGHT LONG he "croaks", if that is what you want to call it. I can't quite describe the noise he/she makes!

Tuesday was "free day"...no doctor appointments! We lazed around in the morning and met Jenn and her friend Heather for lunch. Then the great mosquito fan search was on again...and still can't find any. I give up...I will just resort to deet being my body lotion again while we are in Alaska...and everyone up there is telling me it is the worst year for mosquito's. GREAT!

Dinner last night was at good friends Row and Kathy Brasch. They have a lovely home on Lake Joy and we always enjoy being out there with them. We had a good visit, never long enough, but it was good to see them.

Up this morning and to the doctors for our appointments. The doctor here was very satisfied with Al's care he had received in Tucson and was only concerned about how high his blood sugar is. So new meds for that. His blood pressure was excellent and the doc was very pleased with that.

After the appointments we headed off to a restaurant we were told had excellent swarma's. Now, those of you that were in Saudi know what a good swarma is...and we haven't had one since Saudi days. We have tried several, but nothing to compare to the taste of the street vendors in Saudi. So off to the Mediterranean Kitchen in Kirkland. OMG...real swarma's. Or as close as we have had since Saudi. The only thing missing was the cold french fry in them! And the hummus was excellent as well. YUM...we will go back to this place when we get back from Alaska. For those of you in the Seattle area that are yearning for a good swarma, this place is on 124th NE in Totem Lake, right off I-405 and directly across from the Olive Garden.

Well, that brings you up to what is going on in our lives.....hope all is well with you. Next blog from the wonderful state of Alaska. Watch out moose...here we come!

Noxon, MT..a little slice of heaven here on earth!

2009-06-26T20:49:00.012-07:00

Noxon, Montana

WHOA! I have found a new "roosting" place for summer! This place is gorgeous!

We arrived here on Wednesday a little after noon. We left Newport, WA and drove through some of the most beautiful country! I love NW Montana! We took our time and just wandered down the road. Some of the little towns are so darn cute. We stopped in Clark Fork and had lunch at "Moms" Cafe. A cute little place. When we pulled in to this RV park I told Al
"I think we are home!!" Denise and Gordon met us and helped us get set up, we are parked right next to them. Also Denise's brother is here with his motor home. And go figure, he works at Boeing and we know a lot of the same people.

We all had great steak dinner that night and sat around the campfire until way too late! I haven't done this in years--- reminded me of the times we would go to Lake Isabella in California years ago. Remember those days Ruby and Skid???

John (Denise's brother) and his girlfriend breed and show papillon dogs...how cute they are. They have six on them with them now and they are really, really cute. However, Beau and Schuster can't quite figure out just what they are!!

As I said, I have a fallen in love with this area. Yesterday Gordon and Denise took us up to their property...it is absolutely beautiful. The Clark Fork river and the Bull river run through Noxon and Al could barely contain himself...he wanted to fish so badly! We also stopped at "Toby's Bar" in Noxon...a landmark in itself. The inside was something to see. Dollar bills on the ceiling, different pictures, saying on the walls and gold dollar coins all over the bar and one wall. AMAZING. And I had to take a picture for Jennifer in there...you never know where you will find a flamingo hanging from the ceiling!

Gordon, Jo, Denise, John, Al at Toby's Bar in Noxon, Montana

Last night was spaghetti and afterwards we all sat around the campfire again. I am having a blast! We all swapped stories (lies) and finally the mosquito's and the cold drove us in.

Today was packing day. Have you ever had to pack for a 56 day trip? ARG! And throw a cruise in the middle of that. I have no idea what I have packed or if it will be right, but it will have to do. Tomorrow we will drive to Seattle for a few days stay, then fly to Alaska on July 2.

After I got done packing Gordon, Denise, Al and I drove around the area to see more of it. I am so enamoured with this area. We found some property for sale and we are thinking about it...it over looks the valley and river. I can't describe how beautiful it is.

Dinner was at "Herfords" Steak house. Very good! Friends of Gordon and Denise's joined us. Louis is a retired policeman from Chicago and his wife Chris is a retired flight attendant. We really liked them as well. I do have to tell a funny story tho...Chris had gotten up to get another pitcher of water for the table (there was 11 of us in all) and she was walking around the table filling up glasses...she was standing above me and I made the comment "I don't think I like you standing over me with a full pitcher of water"...just teasing her. Well, the next thing I know I have water running over my head! She had intended to make like she was pouring water on me, and didn't realize she was! We all had a big laugh over it...how to meet new people and impress them! They are a neat couple and we hope to see them again when we get back from Alaska. Also there were friends Mike and Louise who we had met before and really like. Great bunch of people.

Here in the RV park tonight and for the weekend are a group of Mennonite's and I have to say I am impressed with them. They care for each other and are so nice and the children are all so well behaved. Beau has had several children over playing with him. I also found him in the middle of their campsite a little later on just making himself at home! Darn dog! Schuster has received a lot of attention as well.

Motorhome....Montana style!

So until next time, watch out for pitchers of water over your head...you just may wear it!

Movin On

2009-06-23T17:42:00.003-07:00

Newport, WA

We are on the move again. After two weeks in Odessa, we are wrollin' again.

Odessa...where the only traffic light in town is attached to the Odessa Drive In! BTW, they make awesome some shakes and hamburgers! I found it funny that the town doesn't have a traffic light, just the drive in! We enjoyed out time in Odessa, however, I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been sick for a week of it! And the last week has been COLD. Our heater went out in the 5th wheel.....and we have been scrambling for blankets. BRRRR! Gotta' get the heater fixed.

Ric and Janet came over on Friday for a short visit. We had dinner at Chiefs Bar and Grill in Odessa. Claudia and Larry joined us and we had a short, but good visit with them. When Ric and Janet were leaving Jerry's on Saturday morning the saw this..........

Yup...it's a moose! I have seen it one a few years ago around Odessa as well. One never knows what you will see over here!

We are now in Newport, Wa on our way to Noxon, Mt. Friends Gordon and Denice live in Noxon now and we are heading over to see them and leave the 5th wheel while we are in Alaska. Gordon has practically been the only person do work on our trailer, and the only one we trust to do the work, so while we are gone, Gordon it going to do some repair/maintenance on it. We are also going to leave the cats in their care while we are gone. We are looking forward to seeing them.

We stopped today for lunch in Spokane with Gary and Jeannette. Jeannette and I wandered over to Penney's after lunch --- I NEEDED a new purse...no, seriously, you can ask Jeannette!! After that we headed up through Rathdrum, ID to Newport. This is a beautiful little town...first time I have ever been here. The RV park is situated above the Priest River and the view is great. It is also in the trees and the smell of the evergreens is great. We hoped to see Al's cousin who lives here, but his wife has the flu and since I just got well, we opted to see them next time around.

On to Noxon tomorrow....hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and well.

Voiceless in Odessa; The snake that wouldn't die and THE BIG CLEAN OUT

2009-06-15T11:44:00.005-07:00

Odessa
Friday we met Ron, Melanie and Lori in Moses Lake. While they were renting their Uhaul trailer I ran over to pick up Cammie and boyfriend Ryan at Job Corp. We all met back up and headed to Golden Corral for dinner. Then back to Odessa. We dropped the UHaul at the house and then I took them all to Jerry's house where they were staying.

Up Saturday morning...met for breakfast at the only cafe in town..Chiefs. Pretty good too. After breakfast we all (well, except for Al) went to the house to start the BIG CLEAN OUT! Seems I have been doing this a lot in the last few years...first my brothers house in Anchorage, then his house in Tucson and now our house here. We started in the kitchen, as Todd and Jerry had packed up most everything else and it was in the storage trailer. By noon we were done with the kitchen and got the furniture that was going out moved. After lunch we hit the storage trailer and got about 25% of it done before I gave up! I will work on the storage trailer this week.

It seems as if I lost my voice somewhere Saturday. Can't find it either...I have one heck of a case of laryngitis. I thought my allergies were acting up, however, it has turned into one heck of a cold!!! I think everyone likes it that I can't talk!

Saturday night we bbq'd ribs out at Jerry's. Everyone was already out at Jerry's when Cammie, Ryan and I headed out. Cammie was driving Todd's Explorer for me as I didn't feel like driving. About a mile out of town on the road was the biggest, longest snake I have ever seen. I told Cammie to run over it. She did...again and again and again. This damn rattle snake would not die! FINALLY it quit moving. Off to Jerry's we go with me doing a high five! Another snake gone. While we were in Jerry's house, Cammie was looking out the dining room window and lo and behold, there is another snake in the bushes below the window. Oh, Jerry....yup, another rattler, a baby this time. Jerry killed it and Ron and Lori skinned it! AARGG! ICK!!! I made Lori SCRUB her hands! ICK, pooey, icky!

Yesterday we all met up at Chiefs again for breakfast. Still good. After breakfast Melanie and family took off for home. Sure glad they were here...they really were a big help; plus I really enjoyed our visit. I need to see more of them.

A little later in the day Jerry and I took Cammie and Ryan back to Moses Lake, where they are going to school. We got back around 3:30 and we took Alyssia and Austin (Todd and Vicky's children) for ice cream as I had promised them I would. Todd is such a hard worker....Larry and Claudia should be really proud of him. He is really a nice man, and Vicky is a lovely woman. So glad to have them around. I hope they will enjoy our house.

So now today I am resting. And probably tomorrow as well. Gotta' find my voice somewhere as well. I don't like not being able to talk!!! Imagine that! Al is not liking it either as he can't hear and I can't talk...no communication at all!!! And I can't call the dogs either! Frustrating.

We have had a couple of thunder storms here and we are suppose to have more today. Fine with me. It hasn't been too hot the past few days either. Right now it is about 75 with a nice breeze.

There was a golf tournament here this weekend and the RV park was full. And boy did they party on Saturday night...complete with a band! They asked us to join them (so we wouldn't complain!) however, we declined. We did enjoy the music however. I bet there were plenty hangovers yesterday.

That's it from this end of the world for now. Someday I will find my voice again, but for now it's texting and email.

Take care all...................

A Cracked Rib

2009-06-12T12:43:00.002-07:00

Odessa
Okay, when Al took his little fall in Idaho Falls last week, he said he wasn't hurt. However, since then everytime he has to move he moans and hollers that he hurts. But Mr. "I'm not Stubborn!" said he didn't need to see the doc. Even in the ER the other night the doc didn't think it was anything but muscle strain. Uh huh.

After several nights of him moaning every time he moved in bed, I had, had it. So I called the doc here yesterday morning and amazingly enough, got him in to see her yesterday afternoon. After being xrayed and seeing the doc, I know why he hurt..he has a cracked rib! Now, there really isn't anything they can do for it, except he can't do any lifting for a month (as if he does anyway!) and no strenuous exercise (HAHAHA) for a month; basically he is to do what he has been doing for the last few months, sit and watch me work. Okay, that was uncalled for, but the truth. He has is pain killers and he is a happy camper. And I finally got some sleep last night.

There is a golf tournament here this weekend and our RV park is filling up. Of course, both dogs have had to meet everyone, and Simon was here last night and he had to meet everyone as well. Talk about social animals!

I am on my way to Moses Lake in a few minutes to pick up Cammie and boyfriend who are spending the weekend up here; along with meeting up with Melanie and family as they are also spending the weekend here to help me clean out the house. The Seattle crowd can't make it this weekend, so it will be just the 6 of us. Victor also can't make it as he has finals tomorrow. Everyone had an excuse except Melanie and I think she just couldn't come up with one fast enough!!! :-)

More after the weekend of cleaning out the house...if I am still alive.

Odessa...finally!

2009-06-10T19:05:00.002-07:00

Odessa

We arrived here about 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Didn't take long to get the trailer set up and the truck unhooked. We had a light dinner and both of us crashed!! Here is the travel log from Sunday and Monday.

BAKER CITY, OR
June 7, 2009
We arrived here last evening around 5:00 p.m.. after getting a late start out of Twin Falls. We just took our time yesterday morning and made a stop at Walmart for some supplies; so we didn’t leave Twin Falls until noon…our time. When we arrived here it was cold, cloudy and threatening rain. After getting set up I took the dogs for their exercise….ball! We were in a nice, grassy area and I looked up to see about 15 cows watching us over the fence! Schuster, of course, had to go investigate what these things that is bigger than he is.

Remember when you were a kid and you always had to visit every bathroom along the way just because? Well, I think Al has this going on with hospitals!!!!

About 9:00 p.m. Al started experiencing cramps..in his legs, hands, arms and abdomen. I gave him an extra potassium pill like the doctor had instructed me to do, hoping the cramps would go away. All they did was get worse, so at 10:30 p.m. I was out unhooking the trailer from the truck (never had to do this in the dark!!) and off we went to the local hospital Emergency Room. Al was really in severe pain by this time. Fortunately for us, the Hospital isn’t far away and we were the only ones in the ER!!! Imagine that! The nurses got him stabilized and finally around midnight the doctor comes wandering in and orders some blood tests. I am suspecting that he is low in potassium and I told the doc that, but what do I know??? Doc thinks he is low on magnesium, and wants to give him a dose to see if that will help. I asked about quinine tablets, which I was told, they can’t get as the pharmacy is closed. HUH? After the blood test results come back, yup, I was right…he is low on potassium. They give him another potassium pill and send us home (2:30 a.m.) Al is feeling somewhat better by now and by 4:00 a.m. the cramps have pretty much gone away. I will give him an extra potassium pill this morning to boost his potassium level; doc’s instructions. We finally got to sleep around 4:30 a.m. … yawn!
We are only 252 miles from Odessa, so I think we will try and make that today. At least if we have another medical emergency I will know where to go and what to do!!!!
More later…………….

Monday, June 8
Odessa
We arrived here at 5:00 p.m. The trip today was pretty uneventful, with the exception of that damn hill coming into Pendleton! 6 miles of a 6% grade…and for some reason, I always worry about that hill the entire trip and I finally relax when we are at the bottom safely. However, this trip we had worse hills and grades, but since I didn’t know about them in advance, I didn’t have to worry about them!!!!!
We found a good little restaurant in Pendleton….Roosters. Their specialty is the Chicken Noodle soup, and not being a big fan of chicken noodle soup (okay, so my mom fed me way to much of it when I was sick as a child…so I associate it with being sick)…however, this soup was outstanding. We even bought a half gallon of it and we had it for dinner tonight! Homemade noodles….it was yummy.

We are parked at the little RV park next to the golf course. We were set up and ready to relax in less than 45 minutes. However, I am still fighting with the %^&* satellite dish, so no TV tonight. Besides I am too tired to fight it tonight. Todd came over as soon as we arrived and helped me move a picnic table over to our site, then he brought over Al’s big recliner that is built up high so Al can get out of it easily and we switched chairs. Vicky and the kids came over as well. Those 2 kids are absolutely darling .. Alyssia is 6 and Austin is 4. Alyssia is so pretty and Austin is all boy!!! Cute, cute cute. Austin said to me tonight "I am living in your house!" I said, "You are?" He said "Yup, and I am staying there!!" So there!
So we are set up and will stay here for two weeks. Since Todd and Vicky are renting our house here and have moved our stuff into a storage space, I will have my work cut out for me in the next two weeks sorting through stuff and getting rid of it. Not a job I look forward to, but one that needs to be done.

Tuesday
I rested most of the day. Had a few errands to run in town, which took me twice as long as everyone stopped to say hello!!! Had lunch at the cafe and ran into a few people there, then at the Quilt Shop with Ardis a few more people came in. You know how it is in a small town! However, it kinda' felt good!

Jerry came over for dinner tonight and we figured out logistics for this weekend. Melanie and family are coming over and Cammie and boyfriend are coming from Moses Lake to help. I took a look at the storage trailer where 99% of our stuff is and decided I was not going to tackle that and let the kids help when they get here. I think Salvation Army or the Sr. Center will be very happy with me when I am done!!!

Had a nice rain this evening, didn't last too long tho. I still haven't gotten the satellite working and after a long conversation with Directv today I don't think I will try and set it up until we come back in August. We can always run over to Todds; Mandi's or Buds to watch tv. Matter of fact, Mandi will be gone for a week next week...hmmmm.

So for now, we are settled and happy to be so.

TUCSON TO IDAHO FALLS AND POINTS IN BETWEEN

2009-06-07T08:00:00.003-07:00

Kingman, AZ
Thursday June 5, 2009

We left Tucson on Wednesday a little after noon and drove to Wickenburg, AZ that day. It was hotter than heck…some places our thermometer on the truck read 125!! Once parked in Wickenburg, at the ONLY RV park we could find, our thermometer on the trailer read 130 at 6:30 p.m!! Of course it was in the direct sun, but it had to be close to that temp! IT WAS HOT! It took the AC on the 5th wheel over 5 hours to cool down to 80 degrees! We have found hell and it is in Wickenburg!

Up the next morning early and on the wroad by 8:30 a.m. We headed towards Kingman on Hwy. 93, which we will travel until Twin Falls, ID this trip. We have never traveled this wroad and decided it would be good for a change. Let me tell you….good isn’t exactly how I would describe the wroad between Wickenburg and Kingman. Up one steep hill, then down, etc. You get the picture. However, I ran over 3 snakes…that’s 3 less snakes in the world and that is a good thing!

About 30 miles north of Wickenburg we are driving along at about 65 MPH when I hear a BANG, SHHHHUUUSSH. What was that? I slowed down, and luckily we were about 200 yards from a roadside rest area…so I pulled in. We got out and looked around the truck, trailer; under the truck, trailer; under the hood, etc. (as if looking under the hood made any sense to me…okay, the engine is still there and nothing looked obviously wrong..end of inspection!) Tires are okay, nothing leaking (my first thought was “oh hell, another transmission gone” after being on our 5th transmission) – well, things don’t go BANG, SHHHUUUSSH for nothing. We couldn’t find a thing. What to do? We decided to go ahead and see what happens. I get back out on the road and hmmm…I don’t have much power. Matter of fact, going up some of the hills I was in low gear and crawling along at 5 MPH and praying we would make it to the top of the hill!! Down the hill as fast as I can go, crawl up the next hill. This went on for over 80 miles…but Black Beauty (what we call our F350) kept going. Finally reached I-40 and we are 23 miles from Kingman, and there is a Ford dealer there. At a little after noon we crawl into the Ford dealer. I was positive Black Beauty was gasping her last breath! I was already looking at the lot to see what they had. However, the mechanic took one look as said, “You have blown a turbo boot.” Okay, what is that? It is the rubber thingy that is on a long pipe that connects the thingy to the whatchmacallit to the turbo. NOT the turbo itself, thank goodness. And yes, they have the part and we can be on the wroad in about an hour. YES!

Fortunately, there is a dirt lot next to the dealership that we can drop the trailer, which we do. In Black Beauty goes to the doctor. After they pull the pipe that has the turbo boot on it, they discover that not only did we blow the lower boot, but the upper boot is gone as well. And, of course, that part they don’t have!!!! It is on order and will be in tomorrow morning.
Now, the trailer is parked in this dirt lot, the wind is blowing a hurricane and dust is everywhere. I called Good Sam Towing Service and tell them our problem. They say “no problem, we will find you a tow to the KOA in town”…shoulda’ known it wouldn’t be that easy. All I can say, is Cortney, remember Toad River??? ARG!!! FIVE hours later, after several calls between me and Good Sam, and they claim they still haven’t found a tow truck that has a 5th wheel receiver on it to tow us (this makes no sense to me…) I am fuming mad. What good are they, I mean, the y are in the business to assist Rvers and TOW them, right? Now, remember, we have NO POWER and NO WATER. We also have no water on board in our fresh water tank (oversight on my part that I will never make again). Good Sam is saying that the only tow truck they can find that can help us, is in Las Vegas, 110 miles away and they can’t get to us for another 3 hours. That makes it 9:30 p.m. CRAP! After chewing out Good Sam (and a scathing letter will be written) we tell them to forget it. We said we would find a a tow truck and file our bill for reimbursement, but oh no, we couldn’t do that either. We finally decided to just stay here (not much choice) with no power or water and go to sleep. We had 2 gallons of bottled water, which we used to flush toilet, etc. Thank goodness it wasn’t hot, it was only 80 degrees and again, the wind blowing a gale. I think I may have gotten 4-5 hours sleep all together last night and I don’t think Al, the dogs or cats got much more.

So here we are Friday morning and the parts are in and we are waiting for them to finish the repair so we can be on the wroad again. It is 73 degrees out as I write this (10:30 a.m., Friday) and the wind is blowing strong. I wonder if the wind always blows in Kingman? The people here at the Ford dealership have been wonderful help to us. They tried to get us power, but it was just too far from their receptacle to the trailer and we kept blowing the circuit breaker. As for water, this morning they brought us 5 gallons of fresh water. I bet I drank 2 gallons of it already! They have ordered their shuttle to be at our disposal, however, there is a Golden Corral and I-Hop across the street so we have walked over there for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Al has managed to walk over there and back, with the use of his cane. It is about a quarter of a mile over and back. He has done fairly well walking it, but he is very unsteady.

To amuse ourselves, Al has read and I have walked, walked and walked, thrown the ball for the dogs so many times even Beau isn’t interested! Now, you know how many times I have done that!!!!! I have done all the crossword puzzles I had with me and I have finished one book and started another. However, I am resting!!!!

Noon, Friday and we are off. All of the power on the south end of Kingman is out, so we can only hope we can find a gas station up the wroad that has power so we can get some fuel!!

Friday, June 05, 2009 9:15 PM, Caliente, Nevada

To continue our saga, we finally found fuel just outside of Kingman and off we go. WOW…the truck has power. The wind is blowing like crazy and unfortunately it isn’t pushing us along, we are fighting a head/side wind. Traffic is light as we head up 95 towards Vegas. We decided not to take 93 out of Kingman across Hoover Dam as the wait to cross the dam is 2 hours long. We go through Laughlin instead.

We flew through Las Vegas….I was concerned as we hit Vegas at 3:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and I figured traffic would be awful, however, we were through Vegas and on I-15 heading north in 30 minutes.

Traveling up Hwy 93, which is called the Great Basin Highway was a surprise for us. For one thing, we figured we would see nothing but desert and more desert. Imagine our surprise to see Joshua trees alongside the wroad for the first few miles, then beautiful meadows and a wonderful, green, lush valley!!! HUH? This is Nevada, right? We are in the little town of Caliente tonight…4800 feet elevation, it was 70 degrees when we arrived…perfect! We figured this drive would be hot, so we are very happy it was 80 degrees in Vegas and cooler as we headed up 93! We are in a nice RV park, somewhat like Odessa’s RV park, lots of green and trees. Also lots of deer! One scared the heck out of Schuster tonight while we were playing ball! I don’t think he has ever seen a deer!

We have no cell service here..one place AT&T has forgotten! I have no idea when I will find a place to post this blog either. However, this has been a very pleasant drive today, very little traffic and as I said before, beautiful scenery!!

Saturday, June 6 Twin Falls, Idaho BRRRR…it’s cold! 59 degrees.

We had a very pleasant, if not wet, drive today. We left Caliente and enjoyed the scenery along Hwy 93. However, when we left Caliente, we had the discussion of should we get fuel here or not. We had ¾ of a tank of fuel and 168 miles to Ely, NV. Should be no problem! Besides diesel was expensive in that little town! So off we go. Apparently we were on the underside of the ¾ mark, as the fuel gage dropped to ½ in about 30 miles. Al is looking at the map and saying..there is nothing until ELY. Still…we should have plenty of fuel for 130 miles. Uh Huh! We kept going – again, beautiful scenery, in the middle of nowhere! By the time we made the turn onto Hwy 50/93 we were 30 miles from Ely and the “LOW FUEL” light comes on. GREAT! We are climbing over a pass at the time…so I keep going. The “Low Fuel” light stays on and we coast into Ely … we took 37.6 gallons of fuel in a 38 gallon tank! WHEW!!!!!

The rest of the day was uneventful….pretty drive to Idaho Falls, however, it has rained on us since Ely. And we have had wind the entire trip…my shoulders are sore from holding on to the wheel to fight the wind. Black Beauty is purring along just fine, happy to be well again. The dogs and I have managed to find somewhere to play ball every night, including last night during a break in the rain! Schuster has really been stretching his legs and running full tilt! He is so pretty to watch when he runs like that. Also, Al took a fall this evening trying to connect the water hose. He is okay, but it scared me! I don't have gray hair for nothing! And I keep blaming the kids for my gray hair...anyway, a couple of men in the RV park saw him fall and rushed over to help me get him up. I gotta' figure a way that I can get him up when he falls...anyone have any ideas?

June 7, 2009, Sunday Morning

After a night of pounding rain and I slept like a baby, we are getting ready to wroll. Depending on weather, we will probably go to Pendleton today and then into Odessa on Monday. Right now it is raining and windy, so it will be a slow drive today. More when I find another internet connection!

Al, Jo and pets,
THE WROAMIN’ WRASPIRS

Wroamin'

Goodbye to a wonderful lady

It's a New Year...

As usual, I am behind...

The Skunk that came to Thanksgiving Dinner

Hey...who changed the blog format?

OOOOKKKKAAAAYYYYY

Things are looking up!

Doctor Visits

11 days later...

A month later

BACK in the hospital again

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHome

Small town USA and the 4th of July

Happy Birthday Lori...you are 18!

Whoa....where did the time go?

Tonapah to Portland

Tonopah, NV

Happy Birthday David

Tell me again why I decided to do this?

More Birthday Posts....still behind

Happy Birthdays... a little late

Winter?

It's been a long 25 days

RIP our dear friend

Really?!?!?!?

To William Eugene....

Cammie is 21....I can't believe it

Where has this month gone?

Happy Birthday Melanie

Down again

Here and gone again

It's been a little over a week

Senseless Violence

42 years ago

Chowchilla, California

Update on Al and other stuff

Al's shoulder

Groan...I am still full!

It's almost over

Where has the time gone?

What is this? Do I feel Fall in the air?

A month later

You can't go Home again!

Seattle back to Tucson

BRRR--Seattle

Snake Training -- recheck

Really? A Month???

Visits from our Australian Cousins

Sonoran Hot Dog -- YUM

Bye bye Picc line

ICK! ICK! ICK! WHAT A MESS!

Ow, Ow, Ow

More of New Orleans

Back to New Orleans

Belize, Cozumel, Tropical storm Wraspir!

Guatamala

Cruisin' we are...

Good Riddance!!

Merry Christmas

Bah Humbug

Hmmm---it's been a while

Kansas City

And we are in Seattle again?

AHHHHHHHHHHH HOME

Wroamin' thru California

Oregon Pictures

Portland, Medford and Grants Pass

Old Friends, Weddings and Enjoying Seattle

IT'S DEUTSCHESFEST TIME

What is it with Our kids and fire?

Breath taking Beauty

Noxon -- wonderful NOXON

Heading to O

Vancouver still

Yes, I found the laundry!!!

Skagway to Vancouver

Juneau

Sailing, sailing.............

Homer Alaska