After the turmoil of last week, this week has been pretty tame. Nothing broke or went wrong and no problems with family or medicines.

Our youth day kind of fizzled at church. The young lady who was going to lead the singing and sing a special with her mom was under the weather. So, the pastor led the song service and I ended up doing the special. The youth did sing in the choir and they sang Happy Birthday to the pastor as it was his birthday.

We've been plagued by a pack of feral dogs in the neighborhood. I think I've written about them before. It has gone from 1 to 4 to 6. They are pretty people shy right now, but our friend Ron has been attacked when he was walking Buddy. We are so glad we didn't run into them when we were Buddy sitting! But, they are now getting pretty bold and travelling in pairs, and they are hanging around the bus stop. We're usually up early enough to be watching, and I have a big stick by the front door in case they start bothering the kids. I remember getting bit by a stray dog as a child. Do you remember that, Mom? Luckily the dog was caught and didn't have rabies. All the dogcatcher here does is show up about 10 and sets a trap and then picks the trap back up at 3. She says it can't be left overnight because it could get stolen. Even when she's been told it could be chained to a fence, by the owner, she says a dog can't be kept in it all night (and she can't be called at night) because the dog would be bitten by mosquitoes. We've watched her and the cops sit and watch the dogs. One woman in the neighborhood has called our councilman and we've been told that the police chief is over animal control so I guess the next step is to call him. As Bill and I were walking yesterday evening, one of the dogs tried to approach us. That's when I was able to pick up the big stick. It's one of the newer dogs to the pack so it may not have been aggressive, but I wasn't taking any chances!

Our weather has been lovely, into the low 60s at night and low to mid 80s in the day. It seems like, since fall officially arrived, the weather changed immediately! We've been trying to walk in the evenings before it gets dark since it has been so pleasant.

We did make a quick trip to Jonesboro to pick up my other ring. I'm very pleased with the stone. It looks almost identical to the one that was in it! I noticed on the drive over that the cotton has opened. I couldn't tell if it was going to be a good crop or not since they are just not starting to defoliate. I've been able to tell the last couple of days, by my body. Today was especially bad. I woke up with a sore throat, headache and sinuses pouring, so I know it's harvest time. I'll be lucky to have a voice tomorrow!

Bill's "symptoms" have all disappeared, except for a cough that comes and goes. I think it's being back in this area too for him, but I'm going to mention it to Stephanie when we see her. He and I have had several conversations about his inactivity lately and how Mayo is not going to be happy, so he's trying to do more and move a little faster. He's also going to start wearing pullover shirts instead of button downs. I've noticed that he's not using his left arm at all when dressing and he says it hurts when he tries to use it. That is all from not using it and I think he finally understood it today. So we're going to try the polo shirts. I did catch him using his hand exerciser this week when he thought I was out of the room!

That's about it. I'm going to meet a couple of girls from the office for lunch Tuesday after their class. I think they're still hoping I'll go back to work as they've activated me in the system again and they are trying to take some tests in my name for certification. But, that's still not going to happen.

I've made all of our hotel reservations but one for our next trip. To get the hospital rate at the hotel I have to call them directly and I didn't want to do it during prime check in time. So, it can wait another couple of days.

All for this time...I've written a book. Hope everyone has a good week!

We have had a trying week this week. Sunday was the 2nd anniversary of the LVAD implant. I don't know if that matters to anyone but me anymore, but there it is.

Monday the Thunderbird overheated while we were going to breakfast. First time in a long time Bill wanted to go out for breakfast. We managed to park it and let it cool down and then were able to drive home with no problems. Called the dealer and they said to bring it in Tuesday morning. So, Tuesday morning we took it down and dropped it off...and then went out for breakfast since we weren't able to the day before. That afternoon I was trying to print the recipe I wanted to cook for dinner and the printer wouldn't work. I kept getting a message that it was offline and nothing I tried fixed it. So, I just downloaded it to my phone and read the recipe from there.

Wednesday Bill and Ron went to Memphis to pick up a windshield and then we picked up the car that afternoon.  I practiced some music while they were gone and then heard a noise in the computer room and the printer started spitting out some of the pages I had wanted to print on Tuesday! Must have had some gremlins! As we were getting ready to go to bed, the ceiling fan in the bedroom quit. The motor was running, but the blades weren't turning. Bill didn't mind it so much since he stays so cold all the time, but I stay hot at night (darn night sweats!) so I was afraid the room would be too warm, even with the air conditioning running. But, it wasn't bad.

Thursday we bought a new ceiling fan. Haven't gotten it put up yet. Ryan was going to do it last night but after working all day, and having some business to take care of afterwards, we told him he didn't have to do it. We are managing to get along without it.

It rained all day yesterday and boy did we need it! It didn't storm, just a nice steady rain. I did meet the school bus and took the girls home as it was raining hard at that time.

Today I met the youth of the church to practice for youth day tomorrow. They are taking over the service as far as the music goes. It's going to be interesting to say the least.

Bill hasn't felt really well most of the week. I think his work last Saturday wore him out more than he thought it would. He was very stiff for most of the week and had a headache every day. He also had a drippy nose and a cough. Last night he had a low grade fever. All of these could be signs of rejection. They are also all of the symptions of the virus going around. He's been better today and seemed to sleep better last night...but I didn't. He actually told me this morning to quit worrying about him! I just told him that's my job! He hasn't had any fever today so I don't think I'll need to call Stephanie Monday but we'll have to see.

So, as you can see, we haven't had an easy week, but it could have been worse!

Another week has passed. I always thought "old people" were exaggerating when they said time goes faster the older you get, but I'm finding out they were right!

I woke up with the cold/flu crud that has been going around on Sunday morning. I managed to get dressed for church and then stayed home. I barely moved for 2 days, but by Tuesday felt much better. When I showered Tuesday morning the steam loosened everything in my chest and I coughed up some nasty stuff. But felt instantly better.

Bill went to Jonesboro with Ron Tuesday to buy some tools which gave us both some apart time.

The rest of the week was rather dull and boring, with just normal things going on.

Today I went shopping in Jonesboro with Emily and Brianna and one of her friends. Bill stayed home by himself and detailed his car. I managed to NOT call him to remind him to eat and take his meds. He DID remember to eat lunch and take his medicine, so there's hope for us yet! We're both tired now and ready for bed, but we both had a good day.

We did find out this week that we are having ANOTHER great grandchild, due in January! And, it seems like we are the first in the family to know about this one. The circumstances are not all that great, but I hope everyone will make the best of the situation and not condemn for mistakes made. And, that's enough on that subject!

Our weather has felt like fall all day today and was in the low 50's this morning. It's supposed to be about the same tomorrow. Maybe I can start thinking about fall and winter now, changing out clothes and such. It's very hard to do when it's in the 90's!

All for this week. Hope everyone has a good week ahead!

We had an absolutely wonderful time at the Tennessee River this week. Our room was on the 3rd floor and had a wonderful view of the river. We watched several boats heading in and out of the locks. Unfortunately, since 9/11 visitors can't go down to the locks to actually watch them go through. We went to bed early and slept in some. I set an alarm so that we would be sure to get up in time for meds.

We also walked the trail. It's not quite a mile around and we only walked it once around but it was a lovely walk. We could both tell within a couple of hours that we hadn't been walking much. It's a good thing we had taken care of Buddy last week-end or we wouldn't have been able to move!

Friday was Grandparents Day at McKenna's school so we went to that and then checked her out early. She was good...until her mom came home! Isn't that how it always goes with kids?! After we ate supper we picked up Kayden and Kiyann and took them to Ryan's. He was waiting for his landlord to come and check out their hot water heater. When we left at 9 he still hadn't been there. They went to the local fair this afternoon and are now at the Demolition Derby.

Monday marks a milestone for us. It's the 6th anniversary of Bill's last heart attack which is the one that set us on this journey. How far he's come! I clearly remember Dr. Shala telling me that "He's alive" after I got to Memphis and then being escorted to the conference room and meeting the chaplain, the nurse asking if there was anyone she could call for me, Em, Bryan, Ryan and Mistie coming, and then the news "He's a little better, we haven't had to shock him for about 20 minutes". I thought that was the worst day of my life...until May 3, 2013. But, as I've said before, thanks to lots of prayers from people all over the world, the skill of the drs. and Bill's will to live, he's come through it all.