After being so busy last week, this week was pretty tame. We actually slept in some Monday, after 7! Of course I woke up in a panic thinking Bill was late with his meds.

We didn't do much at all. I crocheted a poncho and hat for Kiyann and got my hair cut. Bill took a couple of walks and of course visited with Ron and Buddy.

Ron and his wife are away for the week-end so we are kind of Buddy sitting. We went over this morning and took him for a long walk and then brought him to the house for a little while. We'll probably get him for a little this afternoon too. Ron has called 3 times to check on him!

We went to Jonesboro this morning after taking Buddy back home. My ring came back so we had to pick it up. Went to a couple of other stores but didn't spend more than $5! We're such avid shoppers!

We're going to the Tennessee River Tuesday for a couple of days for our anniversary. We will be married 23 years. The last 3 years have truly been a gift from God and we treasure each day. All of the rooms in the lodge we're staying in face the water and I'm planning on sitting on the balcony and just watching the water. There are also some walking trails that we've never used because Bill has never been strong enough, so we're going to try them out. The weather is supposed to be cooler next week, only in the upper 80's instead of the upper 90's.

It has gotten more humid here this week and the allergy/sinus mess has hit lots of people. There is also a virus going around, more cold/flu than anything, so we're watching where we go and who we are around.

All for this week. Enjoy your holiday week-end!

It's a good thing Bill and I are pretty easy going and can adapt to changing situations. This has been a crazy week. Bill did make another pill mix-up that could have had major repercussions, but I think everything is smoothed out. He took his morning anti-rejection pills before he went to bed one night instead of his bedtime meds and I didn't catch it until morning when his container for the week was empty. So, he got the anti-rejection meds about 2 hours apart and then had to go 12 hours without another dose. But, those level out pretty good once they are back on schedule. I keep his morning anti-rejection meds in a separate container because he has to take them before eating. The others are in with his other meds because he takes them an hour after eating in the evening. As long as they are taken 12 hours apart the level will stay where it's supposed to. Since it's been a week now and he's not showing any ill effects, he should be ok.

Sunday morning I saw that my opal ring that I wear all the time and broken. The opal broke in half and I didn't notice it and when I touched the other half it disintegrated. So, Tuesday morning we decided to go to Jonesboro to get my new ring sized and I took that one to have a new opal put in. When we walked out to the car I noticed that someone had been in the car in the night. All of the paperwork was strewn everywhere, the screen from the DVD player was open, and all of the pockets had been emptied. Nothing was taken because we don't keep anything valuable in there except for my $600 sunglasses (prescription). We also had the wireless headsets for the DVD system in there but I keep those in a storage area under the floorboard. We didn't call the police because I had left it unlocked and nothing was taken. While on the way home from Jonesboro, a friend in the neighborhood called and told me they had been broken into, back porch and shop. So, there was quite a bit of activity going on. The police did recover the items taken while a man was loading them onto a trailer. Whether he was involved or just taking advantage of finding some stuff is unknown. We suspect who it might be, but I've made sure the car is locked. Since it's parked right in front of the front door, we're going to have the lights outside changed to motion sensor lights. I also noticed the next day that there were scratches on the back of the DVD screen so they did try to pry it off but all they would have gotten was the screen. It runs through the satellite radio system.

For you that know we've been going through some trials with my son, this was a week of breakthroughs. He spent the 1st part of the week in the town where his dad lives looking for a job. And, praise God, he starts working Friday! He's going back to the plant he was working in before. He also had an interview with another plant, but didn't know when that one would start and since he hadn't worked for awhile he thought it best to take this one back. He started looking for a place to live in that area and found a small house available. Bill and I and his dad and step-mom discussed it and decided to split the cost of his expenses until he got some money coming in. He was planning on moving the first part of the week but when he told his landlord he was moving, the man told him he had to be out by 8:30 yesterday morning! This is against all landlord/tenant laws in Arkansas. He also had the electric meter pulled yesterday morning. Ryan had not rented the other house yet, but his dad came over and we started loading his stuff, thinking that if necessary they would just take everything to his house. But, as things work, we took the first load over, the owner of the house was able to meet us, the lease was signed, the money changed hands, and he agreed to let the utilities stay in his name through the week-end.

I guess being retired and not needing to make plans through the day is what we need. At least we were all able to jump right in, and my daughter and her husband loaded their truck and trailer after they got off work to help bring the last of the things. Bill felt that he was pretty useless since he couldn't really help with any of the heavy work, but Gene (my ex-husband) and Bryan, Emily's husband didn't lift either. They left it all to Ryan and Amanda's brother Brian.We did all go out to eat, except for Gene's wife Julie and the grandson they are raising. Alec was sick so Julie stayed home with him. Gene and Bill and I were all sitting at the same table and I said that it was really weird to be having dinner with both of my husbands! But at least we all get along! Ryan has been very thankful for all the help. We're all just hoping that he was finally "seen the light" and will really work to get his life back together.

Hopefully this week will be a little calmer. It's hard to believe that August is almost over. We will be married 23 years on September 3rd. As of yet we don't have any plans. We're both kind of thinking we may make a trip to Illinois again, but who knows!

After feeling so bad last week, I've felt better this week than I have for a long time. Sunday was a day of just trying to breathe. We made it to church Sunday morning, but I didn't make it that night.

The weather finally broke late Monday afternoon with a pretty good thunderstorm (that I got caught in on the interstate) and Tuesday was a fantastic day! Had lots of energy and manage to get some things done around here. We also got the front entryway painted and caulked.

Bill also had a good week. He's starting to take the initiative with his medications. He did have a couple of mishaps with it. He took his evening meds too soon one evening (I'm going to have to mark out the suggested times) and somehow yesterday he took his bedtime med after lunch instead of his lunch medicine. Those 2 meds are not critical ones so it wasn't a big deal. He tried to take his evening ones too early again tonight, but, my all-seeing eyes caught him from across the room and from behind the couch! But, it is a step in the right direction in being more self-sufficient!

School starts Monday, although it has no real bearing on us. But, I'm sure we'll hear from the grandkids after the first day. Brianna is a Freshman, McKenna is in 4th, Kayden is in 3rd and Kiyann is a big 1st grader now. They have grown so fast!

We've also learned that we will have a new great-granddaughter in December, due Christmas Day. I think that will be #7. I'm going to have to sit down and really figure this out before long!

We will be going to visit with Bill's sister and husband after his biopsy in October. We're both getting a little itchy to go somewhere just to relax but can't decide where to go. We also want to take another train trip. We had such a good trip to New England before we went to Mayo and would like to do something like that again, but don't know which direction to go!

All for this week. Hope everyone stays happy and healthy.

I love early morning summer thundershowers! We've had a couple of mornings this week with low rumbles of thunder and soft rain. Nothing violent or severe just nice rain, although it was heavy at times today. We have been just below the flooding areas in Missouri so it could have been us overwhelmed.

Had a so-so week, at least for me. Bill had a good week and even had to be self-sufficient for a bit. As I was getting dressed Monday I leaned over to get clothes out of the dresser and pulled something in my lower back. As long as I stayed moving it was tolerable, but once I stopped it took a bit to get going again. But, I managed to get all of the laundry done. Emily and her family brought me a birthday cake Monday evening and I got over 80 birthday wishes on Facebook, calls and cards.

Thursday morning I woke up with either the latest stomach virus going around, or my sinuses were draining so much during the night that I was nauseous from that. Either way, I felt really bad and spent most of the day in bed. Bill cooked his own dinner that night, although I supervised a little bit. He's been a good cook, but hasn't done any since the transplant. His little steak looked much better than my soda crackers, but the trade off wouldn't have been worth it. Felt better yesterday and feel pretty good today. I dodged raindrops to get a few groceries and cleaned up the kitchen. That's about it for work!

Bill has had no health issues this week. When I get any kind of stomach problem I always have to really watch to make sure he doesn't get it. But, so far so good. He hasn't been real active this week and it's getting to the point he's going to be in trouble with muscles. But, nothing I say seems to get through to him!

So, a pretty normal week for us. We're having a carry-in after church tomorrow to celebrate the month's birthdays/anniversaries and I still haven't made my dessert. It won't take long to put together but I'll do it tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow morning. We were supposed to vote on a pastor last Sunday night but at the last minute he withdrew his name from consideration. It was one that I really liked, but I understand his concerns. I don't know who will have our message tomorrow.

That's all the news from here for this week. It's about time to get dinner in the oven and get that dessert made so I can watch the Cubs game tonight! Can't miss that!

We've had a very busy week! Bryan got the hot water heater finished Sunday afternoon after church. The sink in the bathroom was not draining properly so Monday we had quite a go-round with Ron. I wanted him to take the vanity top off and start over but he managed to get it working right without doing that. And now, the bathroom is finished! The curtains and wine rack I ordered for it came in Monday and I found a print at Wal-Mart and it all looks very nice if I do say so myself. Ron was disappointed that we weren't going to immediately start another project, but he took all of his "stuff" home. I went on about that enough last week so won't go into it again.

Tuesday we had to talk to our insurance agent. We are not really pleased with the outcome, but we had no other choice. Our homeowners insurance has been with Southern Farm Bureau for several years and our car insurance with another company. We had received a letter from the homeowners telling us that they were not doing business in this area any longer and our policy would not be renewed. Well, our agent sent us a note last week and said that there was a change in policy and Farm Bureau would not offer insurance unless they got ALL of the insurance. After doing a lot of checking we could not get the homeowners with comparable coverage for anywhere near what we are paying. So, our car insurance went up $200/year, but the homeowners now went down about $100/year. Part of the increase could be Bill's age, as his life insurance went up quite a bit because age.

We had Kayden and Kiyann for a couple of hours again this week while their mom went to a meeting for work. Kayden and Pa took a long ride in the car and Kiyann and I iced a cake I had made before they got here. When they ate a piece they both said it was the best cake ever!

I did learn something this week and am proud of myself. I learned how to change a light socket! The light over my stove is just a lamp socket that had a push button. I know it sounds strange, but that's how it was when we bought the house and my electrician husband did not get around to changing it before he got sick. Anyway, it had started shocking me periodically when I would turn it on/off, the last time bringing tears. So, we bought a turn switch to replace it. Bill talked me through it, because he couldn't get under the vent hood close enough to work with it (could be why he hadn't changed it before) and we managed to get it done. So far it's working and hasn't shorted anything out!

We went to Jonesboro yesterday. It's time to get my diamond ring inspected and Bill wanted to find something for my birthday. He had looked while he and Ron were out for breakfast but Ron kept steering him away from what he wanted to look at. He was checking jewelry and Ron kept trying to get him to look at the "cheap" stuff. When Bill is buying gifts, he doesn't look much at price, he looks at what he likes. So, we headed to the mall. While my rings were being cleaned I found a birthstone set I liked. You don't see Peridot much anywhere anymore. It's a lovely ring, necklace and earring set. She told Bill the price, he said we'll take it, and after a sale discount plus a military discount, I have some new jewelry. I'll have to take the ring back to have it sized. I was going to wear it on my middle finger, but it was not comfortable there, so I'll have it sized to my ring finger.

Today has been a lazy day. It was rainy this morning and cloudy most of the day. Bill did take a walk this afternoon, but I don't know why I even bothered to get dressed! I have not left the house and barely left my chair. I've cross-stitched and knitted some but, other that cooking meals and cleaning up the kitchen, I haven't done anything else.

We got our itinerary for the next biopsy in the mail today. It's been scheduled for Oct. 14th. We're going to see about visiting with Don and Shirley after the biopsy for a few days. Still need to get with them to see if they have any plans, but that's what Bill wants to do.

All for this week. Bill's cutting into what's left of the cake. Enjoy the rest of your week-end!