Wow! Last post of the year already! It seems that this year has gone by very fast. I always heard older people say that time moves faster when you're older. I thought that was just a saying, but I think it's true!

We both woke up sick last Sunday so it was a very good thing that we cancelled our family Christmas! Bill asked me what size bat I used on him during the night. We stayed home from church and barely moved from the couch. Bill started to feel better during the course of the day, but I did not. I had even decided to go to the dr. just to see if I really had the flu instead of just a cold. When we woke up Monday morning, we both felt fine! I hadn't felt that good for a couple of weeks! Maybe just the thought of going to the dr. did the trick!

Kayden and Kiyann came over Tuesday afternoon to open presents and they had a good time. They were both happy with their gifts. Wednesday we went to Ryan's with their gifts.

We spent a quiet Christmas morning at home and then went to Emily's for dinner and gifts with them. Of course we had too much food and I have enough ham leftover to feed a small army! Bill has decided he wants to start using his computer again and spent 2 hours with it after we came home loading programs. For a first time in a long time, 2 hours was a pretty long time, especially with his short attention span.

Our best Christmas gift was that Ryan actually talked to Mistie and arranged for the kids to visit this week-end! They hadn't gone to their daddy's since before school started in August, and he barely made an effort to call them! We took them over last night. Usually Kiyann cries the entire ride and after we leave, but there was not a tear this time and she was actually in a good mood when we left!

We have no plans for the next couple of days. We're going to try to take Joe and Tina their gifts Monday when we take my car for an oil change and then Christmas will be over! I usually leave the decorations up until the first of the year, but I'm ready to take it down and get it all back into the attic.

For the last couple of years I've tried using a "word of the year" instead of making resolutions that are never kept. The first year my word was freedom and it worked well. Last year it was organize and that didn't work at all. This year I'm picking the word discipline. Bill and I have noticed that we've gotten into a bad rut of getting up, breakfast and meds, watch tv/read/knit/puzzle books, eat, watch tv/read/knit/puzzle books, eat, tv...well you get the idea. We've talked about needing to change this, but it's just talk. So, we're going to try using a written schedule, even if it says at 10 am Bill walks on the treadmill while watching The Price is Right. We haven't done anything on the next phase of the remodel, which is put the rooms that are done back in order so that the other 3 rooms can be done. So, we're going to try this and see.

We did do something that we had only done once in the last 25 years and that was get our pictures made. We had done it 13 years ago for my mother's 70th birthday and that was it. So, for Christmas, we did it. I've had the pictures in downloadable format for awhile, but as we were giving them as gifts, couldn't post them. So, now that everyone has gotten one that was getting it for Christmas, here they are.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and will have a happy, healthy, prosperous new year! See you in 2015!

Posting early again this week. It's been a busy week, and was supposed to get busier, but I think now that's not going to happen.

Emily and I had a good time shopping Saturday. I spent a whopping $15 and that was for lunch! We had to detour to her dad's to pick up the turkey fryer. It was her step-mom's birthday and she was supposed to go to lunch with her oldest son and his daughters. But, he didn't show up so she went shopping with us. We got home about 6 and I fixed Bill something to eat. We hadn't had lunch until about 2:30 so I wasn't hungry.

We went to church with Emily Sunday and watched Kayden get baptized. He said it was the first time people had clapped just for him! We had our Christmas dinner at church that evening and then I sang during the evening service. We were pretty tired by the time we got home.

I finally got some shopping done for Bill this week. Except for a few small things I think he's set. He's so hard to buy for now. Still have to get them wrapped, but at least he won't have empty boxes under the tree.

I started getting things ready for our family Christmas Sunday afternoon. Made a ranch flavored snack mix and yesterday made some fudge with Brianna. But, this morning, we decided to cancel it. Joe and Tina have to take their son Joey back to the airport in Atlanta so that he can return to his unit in California. Amanda, Ryan's wife, and her daughter Tori both have the flu. Kayden and Kiyann have the stomach virus (which we have now been exposed to) and Ryan, Bill and I all have colds. So we decided it was better for everyone not to have a get-together, at least not now. We're going to Emily's for Christmas dinner so we'll exchange gifts with them then. I told Kayden and Kiyann's mom that we would get them one day while they were on break and they could open presents. I don't know when we'll get with Ryan's and Joe's, but we'll find a day, and I told Christopher, Bryan's son, to come any time to get his gifts.

So, Bill and I have lots of snack mix, fudge and peppermint bark to eat, plus some cookies. I still want to make some more candy but we don't need it! But, it's Christmas so I probably will make it anyway!

I had noticed this week that the pageviews on here have skyrocketed all of a sudden, but they seem to be older posts except for the post a couple of weeks ago. I looked at the stats and the blog has been linked to mylvad.com, which is the website for people who have the pump that Bill had! I just hope that there will be something in the posts that will help someone.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and is able to celebrate with family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Posting early this week. I'm going shopping with my daughter tomorrow and don't know when we will be back. So, it's easier to do it today since I know some of you check this in the morning.


I didn't make it to church Sunday. It was one of those days when my body said to stop. But Bill went by himself.


Did the usual grocery shopping/errands on Monday and got the Christmas cards addressed and ready to mail. The things that I had ordered also started coming in so we were going through packages.


Bill has tried to come down with a cold. He's been stuffy and his voice is very deep. But he says he feels OK and he hasn't had any fever. There has been so much sickness in this area, colds and stomach viruses, that I told Bill we just need to hibernate and become hermits in the winter!


We did get some very bad news on Wednesday. Bill's son Joe called and said that his oldest son, a step-son he had raised from a small child, was found dead in his apartment. I think he was about 25. He was diabetic and epileptic and they think the cause of death was a sugar issue, but I don't remember now if Joe said it bottomed out or skyrocketed. Anyway, he missed an appointment Monday and when people went to his apartment to check on him they found him. And it seems like the county coroner in the county he lived in needs a lesson in tact. Tina, Joe's wife and Esteban's mother, found out by a voice mail from the coroner stating that he had the body of Esteban and needed to know where to send the body! They were not notified by any other source before this call.


Bill and I discussed it and we decided not to go to Georgia. He's going to be cremated and there is going to be a very brief viewing for his parents and brothers and close friends. I don't know if Tina's father will go or not. We both have parts of us that say we should be there for them, but other parts that say they will understand that we are not there. I don't think they expect any out of town people to be there.


Last night I got news that a classmate had passed away yesterday. She just turned 60 on the 2nd. It's unclear what the cause is there, but it was a shock to everyone, including her family.


On a good note, our grandson Kayden is being baptized Sunday! He's very excited about it. I need to let his daddy and other grandparents know so maybe they can come to see him. Note to self: send texts as soon as this is posted.


We're having dinner tonight with some good friends and we always have a good time with them.


Tomorrow is also an anniversary of sorts for us. It will be 2 years that we came home from Florida for good. At times it seems like things are still very new and fresh and other times it seems so very long ago.


So, there you have it, the synopsis of our week. I'm sure more has happened, but my mind is blank. It's my low point time of the day so I need some caffeine and chocolate. The caffeine is easy, but I don't know if there's any chocolate or not. May have to just settle for sugar! Have a good week everyone! Now to send those texts...

We've had a very busy day today! It took us a couple of days to recover from our travels and get things unpacked, washed up and put away. I've been down in my back for a few days now. I'm beginning to think it's the mattress, but I don't know. I've been stressing over Christmas some. We're doing the family Christmas the 21st and I hadn't bought the 1st gift until on our way home from Illinois. So, it could be that. But, most of the gifts have been ordered and a few more bought, so feel better about it now.


Brianna, our 15 year old granddaughter, had a winter choir concert for school on Thursday. We went and they sounded really good. Bri had a little solo that we didn't know about and I could have cried she sounded so good. I hadn't heard her really sing for a long time.


Today we had Kayden, Kiyann, McKenna and Brianna. Kiyann wanted to help us decorate the Christmas tree. The tree we had been using was one that you attached to the top of a pole and it flowed down to the floor. It was pre-lit with white lights and red "berry" lights and was very pretty. We couldn't put many ornaments on it because it was built in rounds instead of branches. Anyway, when we got it up and plugged in, the top half was out. We couldn't find which bulb it was, or if it was a fuse, so, off to Walmart we head to get a new tree. We found one that would be manageable for the 2 of us to manhandle to the attic (I think). It is pre-lit and comes in 3 pieces. So we got it up and Kiyann and McKenna decorated most of it. It looks pretty good, needs to be spread a little, but now that it's getting dark out I don't notice the gaps as much.


After they got the tree done I fixed 70 pizza rolls! Bill and I had a sandwich, but they ate all of the pizza rolls. And, after lunch we baked cookies. Of course we cheated and did the premade ones. Soon after that their moms came to get them and the house is very quiet now...for a bit. Ryan and Amanda and Tori are coming to get a day bed out of the attic and staying for dinner. I've put lasagna in the crockpot. It's an amazing recipe and Amanda asked if I would make it. It's much easier than the old fashioned way, no pre-cooking the noodles.


Bill went Christmas shopping yesterday. I have to give him a pretty specific list, so I know most of what I'm getting. But, I did put jewelry down and he knows he can get any kind of jewelry. He told me the saleslady really liked what he bought! One thing we are going to do is upgrade our phones so that will be part of our Christmas. I don't have a clue as to what I'm getting him, and he's no help when it comes to a list!


That's all for this week. It's time to start getting the Christmas cards addressed and ready to go!

We had a good visit with family and friends in Illinois for Thanksgiving. The trip was uneventful on the way to Illinois, with the exception of a trucker deciding that we wanted to share my lane. I think the sound of my tires hitting the warning strip on the shoulder woke him up a little. He had been weaving some before that, but always going to the right instead of the left. But, all is well, nothing and no-one hurt.


We were at my brother's for Thanksgiving and it's a good thing they have a big house, and not all of the family was there. But, in addition to 15 people, ranging from 2 to 83, there were 5 dogs...5 BIG dogs! All of them have very pleasant personalities, including my nephew's 2 pit bull mixes, but they wanted to play with each other and the people...in the kitchen! Bill didn't move much, in case of being knocked down.


It did snow most of the day Thanksgiving, but didn't start sticking until late afternoon, about the time to head back to Mom's! I wanted to leave in time to get there before dark, but that didn't happen. There were a couple of slick places, but the road crews were out. There was only a bare covering on the ground, but it was pretty to watch while it was happening.


Sunday Bill and I had breakfast with my best friend from high school and her husband. It was a very enjoyable meal, that would only have been better if we had all gotten our food at the same time! Cindy didn't get hers until we were almost finished eating, and it turned out that she got my meal and I got hers. There were some other friends from school there that I hadn't seen in years, but they were there before meeting with the funeral director to plan their mother's service, so I didn't visit with them.


We left earlier yesterday morning than we usually do because the weather report was calling for freezing rain. We did find some, not too far from Mom's. But, Illinois was on top of it. The roads were pretreated and the salt trucks were out in force. The trees were beautiful with the ice on them. I was really glad when the ice changed to just rain! We got home in the early afternoon, got the car unloaded, reported in that we arrived safely, got the bills paid and ordered pizza for dinner. And boy, did it feel good to sleep in my own bed last night!


Bill did pretty good on the trip. He does get overwhelmed around a lot of people which confuses him. He did do too much sitting, but with cold weather he could go out much and the house is small so there wasn't a lot of walking space. But, he did drink more water than he usually does, without me prompting him.


So, now time to concentrate on Christmas. We're supposed to have our family Christmas on the 20th, with 14 people coming, and I've bought only 1 gift! The tree is still in the attic with all of the other decorations. Kiyann, our 7 year old granddaughter, wants to help decorate the tree this year. She did 1 of their trees all by herself so wants to do more! But, if I don't get on the stick, there won't be any family Christmas this year...hmmm!


I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving however you celebrated.

It's Friday night, getting close to bedtime, and I figured I would go ahead and get this updated. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.


We have recovered from our Florida adventure. It was so cold the first part of the week that I didn't want to get out and I don't think Bill has left the house at all except to take out the trash. Just buying groceries and getting laundry done were major accomplishments. But, we've rested and are ready for our next adventure.


After our snow on Monday, with temps only in the 30's for a couple of days and the 40's the rest, it's going to be in the 60's this week-end with the possibility of thunderstorms! They always say if you don't like the weather in Arkansas, stick around it will change in about 15 minutes!


I had lunch today with the girls from the office. We wanted to get together before tax season starts for them. We had a good time, although I think our waitress really wanted us to leave the table. But, the restaurant wasn't busy and she was tipped very well, so we stayed a little longer than usual.


McKenna came over after school. She likes riding the bus to our house instead of going home. She wanted to be able to go home by herself last year but Mom thought that wasn't a good idea. This year with Brianna involved in so many extra curricular activities, they put down some rules and are letting McKenna go home alone...and she doesn't like it! Of course it could be that there's no-one there for her to talk to! She talked from the minute she walked in the door until her mom came to pick her up! We looked through catalogs to get some ideas for Christmas presents and then watched YouTube videos until the battery died in my laptop. I've noticed that it's been running hot so may be time for an upgrade!


We are going to Ryan and Amanda's for dinner tomorrow night. Ryan got 2 deer this year and he's got some meat for me. So we're going there to eat a venison roast tomorrow. I also have to make a dish to take to church Sunday for our Thanksgiving/Harvest dinner. I'm also going to make a cobbler to take to Ryan's.


It's supposed to be pouring rain Sunday so we may not make it to church. I can always have the dish picked up if we don't make it.


I also have to pack again. We're going to Illinois for Thanksgiving. I've been watching the forecast and there's a chance of freezing rain/snow mix on Monday and snow on Wednesday. Good thing I'm planning on going on Tuesday! We'll be coming home on the following Monday, if the weather allows. We have to be back Tuesday so if the weather's going to be bad, we'll leave a little earlier.


I won't update this again until after we get home. I hope everyone has a good holiday. We all have much to be thankful for, whether it be big blessings, or small ones.

We've made it home! We had a lovely visit with Bill's sister and her husband. The weather was pleasant, although Friday is was cloudy and cold and windy. But, the company was good, the food was good, and for the most part the weather.


Bill came down with some kind of little bug on Thursday. Didn't feel well and was having a "bathroom" problem. I think you can figure out what that was. We stayed in our room most of the day, only going out for some soup. I had some leftover take out for me to eat. He finally felt better that evening so we did go to his sister's. He also didn't feel well Friday, but not as bad as Thursday.


Saturday, travel day #, he felt really terrible. It was not a good day to be in a car. Not only did he not feel good, traffic from Tampa to Gainesville was nearly a parking lot at times. I had checked all of the pro football teams for the cities were passing through on Sunday, but I neglected to check colleges. And the Florida Gators were playing at home! There was a pretty bad accident that had traffic really backed up. My navigation system told me at 1 time that the delay was more than 2 hours. All of the cars with Gators tags, decals, flags, etc. were trying to maneuver in and out of traffic, which caused more back-ups. I was really glad to get past the Gainesville exits! After that, except for Bill feeling bad, and traffic remaining heavier than I thought it would, the trip was uneventful.


Bill finally ate some chicken and rice that night and was in bed by 8. My sister called to tell me that our mother was in the hospital and during that call, I started having the "bathroom" problem-out of the blue.


Yesterday, I started getting text messages before daylight to let me know that home was under a winter weather advisory until this morning. Since I had wanted to leave early anyway we were checked out of the hotel by 6 in the morning. Traffic was very light, even through Atlanta, but we both still didn't feel well, although Bill felt better than I. My medicine finally kicked in, along with some peppermint sticks from Cracker Barrel the night before, and by Birmingham we felt like eating. Shortly after getting back on the road it started raining, heavy rain. It stayed pretty steady and heavy until just before Corinth/Tupelo, MS. It still rained, but it was more of a heavy mist. It stayed that way until almost home. I kept watching the temperature drop the closer to home we got. We made it home at 2 and had the car unpacked and a pot of coffee going by 2:15! Of course the suitcases are still sitting where I put them when we came in and almost nothing has been put away!


I heated us a can of soup last night and we were in bed a little after 9. I got up a couple of times in the night and checked the weather. The snow was lovely coming down. It wasn't very windy so it wasn't blowing much, just drifting down. We got a little more than a dusting, just enough to cover the ground nicely in places.


We both seem to be feeling better this morning. We've had breakfast and medications and now I'm waiting for the sun to do its job and clear off my windshield so I can get us some groceries. It's not going to get above freezing for the next couple of days so I want to make some stew and crockpot lasagna. Of course we also need milk, butter, eggs, bread and who knows what else.


So, there you have it. Another check-up done, another family visit in the books, and now back to normal life. I've got to get on the stick and get some Christmas gifts ordered so they will be here before Christmas! And next week we're planning on going to Illinois for Thanksgiving. So much to do, so little time! Stay warm this week, it's gonna be cold just about everywhere!

We had lovely weather for travelling this past week-end. The leaves were pretty much past peak color, but they were still pretty in places. There was no rain, which was unusual and the traffic was very light, including in Jacksonville.


Bill got good reports today from the doctor. His blood work was all OK. We're still waiting on one med level, but they don't expect it to change since he's been at this level for a year now. He is a little anemic but they think that is because of the anti-rejection drugs and it's not enough to worry about. All of his other numbers (calcium, sodium, potassium, etc.) were all good. His ejection fraction has actually gone up from 63% in May to 65% today, which is fantastic!


We were going to go to the beach today but it is cold, windy and rainy. We're going to go to our favorite little pizza place to eat tonight. Tomorrow we're heading to Clearwater to the beach for a few days to visit with Don and Shirley. Then we'll head home Saturday morning.


So, there you have it, 2 1/2 years post transplant and everything's going well. I'll update again after we get home. We're really watching the weather since home is supposed to get some wintry precipitation this week-end. We do have some heavy clothes to wear home, including coats. We may be rather warm to start out on Sunday morning for the last leg, but it will be worth it when we get farther north. I hope everyone in the snowbelt stays safe and warm!

Good Morning! It's a frosty morning today, only about 35. But, my robe and slippers are warm, the house is warm, the coffee is hot, and the sun is going to be shining. I'm seeing on the weather that by the end of next week we could set record temps for the low high and there could be some....snow flurries! Thank goodness we'll be in Florida, although that cold snap is happening right before we head home!


This post is a day early this week, but since we are heading out in the morning for Mayo I wanted to get it done. I haven't decided if I'm going to take the laptop or not. I can update this from my tablet, it just isn't as easy to do. So, I guess I have less than 24 hours to make that decision.


We've had a normal week. The time change has tried to do me in again. I'm now waking up at 5:30 instead of 6:30, but I want to go to bed almost as soon as it gets dark! Bill's meds also have to be given early again. He doesn't like that much because he's sleeping longer (or at least seems to be).


I went to see Bill Clinton Sunday night with a friend from church. It was the last big push before the election. We stood on sloping concrete for 3 hours, packed almost as tight as sardines. But, there were several bigwigs there, all of whom ended up losing their campaigns! Maybe I shouldn't have been there! I'm sorry that a couple of them lost, I thought they were the much better candidate. I also think that the country is going to very disappointed with the outcome. I don't believe that anything will get done with this congress either. The president will veto many of the bills sent to him and there won't be enough votes in the senate to override it. But, that's just my thinking on it. And, that's enough on that subject!


After Bill's appointments on Monday (9:20, 10:25, 1:30, 2:00) we're going to see his sister. Of course we aren't going that same day, we'll be too pooped to drive another 4 hours or so. But, the next morning, after rush hour ends, we'll hit the road.


The update plan for this week is: I'll update Monday after all of the appointments are done. Then, unless something happens, I won't update until after we get home on Sunday the 16th. So, watch for those 2 days.


That's it for this one. I've got to get busy and get the last couple of bills paid, it's almost time for Bill's meds, my coffee cup is empty and laundry is calling my name! Stay warm!

Another month has come and gone! It doesn't seem like it should be November already! I'm sorry about the crazy formatting of last week's post. Blogger strikes again. No matter what I did it would not show up right. So far this one is behaving!

Bill doesn't feel well this morning. He said that he's hot, but he has no fever. In fact it was 95.4 and he's cold to the touch. He also says that his stomach is upset. When I questioned him more, and he has such a hard time trying to explain things at times, he said it felt like he could throw up. He's managed to take his morning meds, just now, and I hope they get into his system if he does get sick.

We've had a good week as things go. Sunday after church we went to Kayden's 10th birthday party for cupcakes and ice cream. He was thrilled that he got a phone. He's not able to use it to make calls, but he can text and use the internet.

Monday we got our flu shots and I got a pneumonia shot. We then went to vote and it was a good thing we voted early. We had discussed who was running for what office and what the other issues were. Bill had trouble with his machine, I think he was pushing too hard on the screen and it was flying through the ballot. I told him to stop and wait for the poll worker to come back and see what was going on. He made it through the ballot and he looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I asked him if he got the flashing green "vote" button and he said yes. I asked if he had pushed it and he said yes and then he said it said he had voted. The worker went over and looked at his machine and said that it had recorded his votes and that he did good. All in all it took about 30 minutes.

By Monday evening I was feeling achy and woke up Tuesday morning feeling bad. I knew it was just from the flu shot so was prepared for it. My arm also hurt from the shot, but my hip really hurt from the pneumonia shot! It rained all day Tuesday, most of it just a nice gentle rain. We were supposed to go to a choir concert for Brianna Tuesday evening, but I just didn't feel up to it.

I felt much better Wednesday and managed to get our laundry done. I need to start looking at the Florida weather forecast so I know what to pack next week-end.

Our forecast was for much colder weather so I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup and we've had it the last 2 nights. There's enough left for 1 more meal, probably for lunch today.

It was right at freezing when we got up this morning and only supposed to get into the upper 40's today. But, it's a beautiful sunny day and the house is warm. Supposed to be the same tomorrow morning, too. How Bill feels will determine if we will make it to church or not.

That's about it for the happenings in the Haven household. I've noticed something that's interesting to me, and may not be to you, but it is to me so you get to read it, too. I follow a lot of blogs and one thing that I do is randomly surf through different blogs. If you haven't done it, click on the "next blog" on the left side at the top of this blog and it will start cycling through blogs. Some will be related to this topic, but most will be just random subjects. Anyway, there are a lot of family blogs, just detailing daily life. And what I find interesting is the fact that Mormons seem to be major bloggers! I don't mean this in any derogatory way, I just find it interesting and wonder why they blog more than other religions. Or maybe I'm just not happening on many from other religions or denominations. If anyone reading this knows the answer let me know...inquiring minds want to know!

Today will probably be quiet will Bill not feeling well, so I'll sit here at the computer and get the bills paid for the month. I would do that even if he felt well since it's the 1st of the month, but not much else will go on.

I hope everyone had a good Halloween. We only had 6 kids come by and the last 2 weren't in costume and were pushing the age limit. Now I wish we had gotten some "adult" candy, meaning chocolate! Instead we are left with stuff only kids will eat. Guess there will be stuff here for the grandkids!

I'm starting to ramble so this is it!

It was a very slow, dull week compared to everything last week. But slow and dull can be good!




The gastro dr. called Wednesday and said that the pathology on the polyp removed was benign. So, he's good to go for another 5 years.




I think we're going to do something we haven't done before, mainly because of me...we're going to vote early this year. I have always been against voting early unless a person was not going to be able to vote on election day, such as being out of town. We voted by absentee ballot while we were in Florida and we had both done that before. But, because crowds bother Bill and disorients him some, we're going to vote early. Hopefully the lines won't be long. We also vote in a bad neighborhood and if we're not there during daylight hours it's not safe to go. This may seem terrible to say, but facts are facts.




We went to an awards ceremony for McKenna Thursday. She got several awards, even made the A/B Honor Roll for the first time. She also got a citizenship award, perfect attendance and a medal for scoring above average on the benchmark tests last year. We then checked her out early and brought her home, after a stop at Sonic for some ice cream. She and I then picked Brianna up after she got out and we went to their mom's office to get flu shots and back to the house, after another trip to Sonic for Bri to get some ice cream.




It's been cool this week and I finally broke down Thursday and turned the heat on. It hasn't been on continually yet, just to chase the chill away. I love fall and winter, but I'm not ready for the heat to be on!




Tomorrow is Pastor Appreciation Sunday and we're having a bbq after service. We're supposed to bring a dessert and I'm taking a pumpkin cake. I had to clean the oven this morning though before I can bake it. It was terrible and because of the broken seal on the window I was afraid to use the self clean setting.




That's about it for this week. As I said, it was a very dull week!

We made it through the week, although the end of it was tough, more for Bill than for me, but still tough.

Bill started his restricted diet for the colonoscopy Monday and it wasn't much different than the one we usually follow. I did let him splurge Wednesday night with a steak and baked potato, but both were on his approved list.

Thursday was "prep" day and after some scrambled eggs for breakfast, nothing but liquids. We left for Memphis in the afternoon and traffic was horrible. I decided to try the south leg of the bypass. Normally this would take about the same amount of time as the north leg, but not this time! We crossed the "old bridge" at 3:30, and we still hadn't made it to the hotel by 4! Not only was the traffic heavy, there was construction with cars trying to merge just driving up the shoulders where possible. We saw a little blue car just about drive up the back end of an 18-wheeler because they were in such a hurry they were cutting in and out of lanes at a pretty high speed. We finally go checked in and it was a good thing that I had brought me something to heat in the microwave because I sure didn't feel like going anywhere to eat.

I couldn't get it through Bill's head that he needed to really be drinking all day. I think he thought that because he couldn't eat that he wasn't supposed to drink either. When he started his prep kit, I didn't think he would get it down. For all of you who have had a colonoscopy, you know what I'm talking about! But he only had to drink a liter of the stuff, followed by a bottle of water. He only drank enough water to take his medicine. He was up about every hour through the night, which meant that I was awake every hour also. Friday morning's prep did not go well, he only got the 1st glass down and gagged on the 2nd one. I decided not to push it. He had said that everything that was coming out was just clear liquid so I knew he was empty. He drank enough water to take his pills and that was it.

I went down to breakfast and asked the desk clerk if we could check out at noon instead of 11 since his appointment wasn't until 1 and we were only 5 minutes away. She said it wouldn't be a problem and we could have a 1 checkout if we wanted, but noon was okay with me.

We did get checked in early at the dr. and he was called back to be prepped about 45 minutes early. I did get to go back to the holding area to answer some questions. Usually they don't let the "driver" come back until after the procedure, but since Bill can't remember as easily, he told them I could answer all the questions.

The procedure got started about 1:30 and I was brought back at 2 and he was awake, still a little groggy, but awake. The dr. came in and said the only thing he saw was a small polyp that is now gone. Nothing to worry about and he would see us in 5 years! We were on the road about 2 hours before I thought we would be. The clerk at the hotel had told me which would be the best route out of town, but since we were earlier than I thought we went the way I went the last time and it was not bad at all. Bill still wasn't hungry, just very uncomfortable from the gas. And he couldn't pass it! He cramped all the way home and into the night.

He feels fine this morning and we've already been out to breakfast since there are very few supplies here in the house. I must go grocery shopping for a few things anyway today!

When I was at breakfast yesterday, I noticed a big red and black bus parked in the back or the hotel. I didn't think too much about it, there were no markings on it that I could see. Thought it might have been a ball team of some kind. A man was checking in and I could tell from the conversation that he was registering for several people. A few minutes later a younger man came in for some coffee and I could tell that he had just woken up, so thought he was probably someone from the bus. I decided to load some things into the car while Bill was getting dressed and shaving and talked to the desk clerk again. She was very friendly and pleasant to everyone. Anyway, she was telling me that she had 69 check-ins for the day, but the one she was worried about, the group, was already done. Then she asked me if I liked country music. When I said I did, she said the group that had checked in while I was at breakfast was Diamond Rio, and they were on the same floor we were on! She said they're just normal folks and if I saw them in the hall just to say hi to them. She also said that if I wanted tickets to the concert just to let her know and she would get them for us! Unfortunately, we couldn't take her up on that.

So that's our week. But, with the good report for Bill, it was all worth it. I don't know if he would agree that it was worth it. I think if he had to go through the prep again sooner than 5 years he would refuse to do it. Maybe in 5 years time they will have a better way of doing it. At least he only had to try to drink 2 liters, broken into 2 days, than the gallon I had to drink when I had mine. I'm going to change drs. when it's time for my next one because the dr. I went to still does that prep!

Hope everyone has a good week ahead. Ours should be good, the weather is fantastic and is supposed to be all week.

It was a dark and rainy day...and it's going to last awhile longer. We have a flood watch for the next few days and they are forecasting 3-5 inches of rain. So far the bulk of it seems to have gone south of us, but the main area is supposed to get to us Monday.

Our trip to Memphis went very well. The traffic Sunday afternoon was a lot heavier than I thought it would be, but the decision to go on Sunday instead of Monday morning was a good one. The hotel was 5 minutes from the dr...in the right direction...and it was a lovely room. The staff was friendly, breakfast was good, all in all a good choice. Bill's appointment went well and his colonoscopy will be Friday afternoon. We're going down Thursday afternoon so that we don't have to make the 2 hour drive AFTER he's taken his colon prep. He starts a restricted diet on Monday, can have scrambled eggs Thursday morning and then nothing but clear liquids. He takes half of the prep Thursday night and the other half Friday morning. It's a whole lot easier than trying to drink an entire gallon of stuff at one time. The worst part of this trip for me will be leaving Memphis at rush hour. When we came home Monday I was able to take another road through town some and then get on the interstate and miss the construction. I may do that again, or take another road that will get us through downtown. I'll just have to see when the time comes.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. We finally got the paperwork for the car so we got the tag transferred. We also got the payment book and I can't set the payments up online UNLESS I open a bank account with this bank. I'm not going to do that. I've thought about going to our local bank that we have banked with for more than 20 years and see if they would refinance. I'll have to remember this for any future car purchases!

We're going to visit Bill's sister and her husband in November after our Mayo visit and we're looking forward to that. We're going to stay at the little resort at the beach where we've stayed before. It's within walking distance to the beach and restaurants. I still have to make a reservation for stopping on the way home, but I haven't decided where to stop yet. We still have a little time, maybe I'll do that today before I forget.

That's all for this week. We'll just try to stay warm and dry. The temp today is not supposed to get out of the 50s. I wish I had the makings for some soup, but I don't and I don't think I'll go out to get it! We'll have to settle for something else!

Good morning everyone! It's quite cool this morning, only in the 40s and only 68 in the house. Didn't turn the heat on...yet. But, the coffee is hot and it's a beautiful morning.

My car arrived Saturday afternoon. I tried to post a picture of it, but it kept turning sideways. Don't know just what the problem is with it. If you want to see a picture of it, you'll have to go to my Facebook page.

We've had a good week, started out fast and ended slow it seems. I finally got Bill's appointment made for his colonoscopy. We go Monday for the office visit and then they will set the appointment. The nurse thought the doctor would want to do it at the hospital instead of the office, but that decision will be made Monday, I suppose. The office is right in the middle of a huge construction project on the highway, and the time is right in the middle of rush hour, so we're going to go to Memphis tomorrow afternoon and spend the night. Hopefully the hotel I picked is not too far, and in a good area of town. We usually stay at the Hampton Inn across the street from the hospital we use, but I picked one that looks to be about 3 blocks from the clinic. Woke up this morning hoping that is 3 blocks in the right direction. There is so much crime in Memphis now that we try to avoid it as much as possible.

We also got his Mayo itinerary. His appointments are Nov. 10 and they are basically what I thought they would be, labs, echo, nurse coordinator, doctor. They have us scheduled to see Dr. Patel, and we haven't seen him since we came home in 2012. He's my favorite of the 3 doctors, but don't tell Dr. Yip or Dr. Hosenpud!

The remote to the video system in the car, and the wireless headsets for the video system were missing from the car so we took the drive to Jackson to talk to our salesman. I had tried to call several times and couldn't get him and it was starting to bother Bill, so we had a nice drive. I do like the way this one drives and rides! It was a pretty day and traffic was really light so it was enjoyable. He's tracking them down and they will be sent directly to us.

We had some severe weather Thursday night and I had to get Bill out of bed for a tornado warning. There were several tornadoes but it seemed like they formed, dropped, and went right back up. No damage in our area. Since we don't get local weather with our satellite system I was watching it online and when he said they were going back to regular programming, we went to bed. We were supposed to get heavy rain most of the night, but after the first wave went through it stopped raining. So, we were very lucky. That front is also what brought the cooler weather, only supposed to be 60. The weather has just said we could see frost in the morning!

Bill hasn't had anymore problems with cramping this week, but he's also been drinking more and has been a little more active. I've told him he really needs to be walking more or Dr. Patel will not be happy, so he's spent a little more time on the treadmill.

All for today, he just asked me if we were going out for breakfast so I guess I'd better get some clothes on and comb my hair! Have a good week!

Happy Fall! Another season has come and gone, and another month almost over. Yes, I think time does go faster when you're older.

We've had an interesting week, very busy it seems. But since the last couple of weeks have seemed very long, this was a good thing. We saw some of the grandkids Tuesday. I picked 2 up from their after school tutoring (one gets tutored and the other is a tutor) and then 2 more showed up for help with homework. He needed to look some things up on the computer. It was total chaos for a while!

Wednesday was Amanda's surgery and we did go to sit with Ryan. Bill made the decision to go. The surgery was a success and she got to go home that same day. She's a little sore yet and will be for some time. The hospital is new and in many ways it reminded me of Mayo, including not enough handicap parking, or regular parking for that matter! We had quite a hike from the car to the door and then across the lobby to the elevator. But, slowly but surely, we made it!

As we were coming home from Jonesboro Wednesday afternoon, I just happened to look down and saw smoke coming from the dash! I also realized that I was smelling something really acrid! I pulled over and we popped the hood, but couldn't get it all the way open. But no smoke was coming out there. So, I turned off the air conditioner and opened the sun roof and the back windows some and we came on home.

The car had also done something strange the week before, lost most of the electronics (air, radio, wipers, direction lights, headlights, backup camera) as we were driving down the road. When we got home (we weren't too far away) and I put it in park, everything came back on! With both of these incidents, there were no warning lights or bells.

I talked to a friend of ours who manages the service department for the local Ford/Nissan dealer and he had no clue to what it could be without running all of the diagnostics. Since it was time for an oil change we decided to go to the dealer we bought the car from and have them check it out. While we were on the way there we were talking about things starting to go wrong and it was only 4 years old and out of warranty. Anyway, we turned it over to the service department and went into the showroom and, bought a new car! I really hated to because the other one was paid for, but, this is our travelling car. For my peace of mind, we didn't need to be taking chances. When the salesman asked what I wanted I told him I wanted what I had and he found one...in Kentucky. But, no problem, because the one we had came from Iowa. We got a good trade, decent financing, and I hope a good car because I haven't seen it yet! It was supposed to be delivered to us yesterday but apparently they got back with it too late. No problem, I'm driving a 2014 off their lot now so I imagine they will want it back!

Bill has done well through all of this but he got really tired at the dealership. They were short handed in the document department so it took quite awhile to get things going. We had left home at 11, got to the dealership at 12:30-12:45, and didn't leave until almost 5. We stopped at Applebees for dinner and got home a little after 7. We were both pretty tired and slept good.

Bill did have a couple of nights with leg cramps again. But, he still won't listen to me about drinking. He didn't have any Wednesday night, but he drank lots of water that day.

All for this installment. Hopefully the car will come this morning!

Can you believe that this is post #501? And there have been almost 19,000 pageviews! When I started this, I never dreamed that this would go so long, or be seen by so many people!

This has seemed like a very long week, and not just to me. Bill and Emily both said that it was an extremely long week. I felt bad until Friday and then I felt better than I had in a long time when I woke up. Still have a cough but it's also better. Luckily Bill hasn't gotten it, although he had a headache when we went to bed last night and was sneezing, but so far so good, he feels fine today.

We went to a football game Thursday night. Ryan's little girl was being a jr. cheerleader, so we went to see her. She's just like her daddy, stood there with her arms crossed looking at her feet. There were too many people looking at her. She looked really cute in her little outfit, though.

We had some lovely cool weather this week, but summer has come back, at least for a few more days. After this week-end it's supposed to finally get cool and stay cool. I'm ready for it. I've been wanting chili, but it's too warm to eat it, even with the air conditioning still running. I did make a pot of chicken noodle soup while I was sick, but it was more for medicinal purposes than anything.

Our daughter-in-law is having gall bladder surgery Wednesday. She's been sick for over 3 weeks and keeps getting different diagnoses. She finally saw the surgeon Thursday and she told her that if she had any pain the next day to go back to the ER and have them call her. They did that and she was still sent home. But, the surgeon called and said they could schedule it for Wednesday. We don't have a time, she pre-registers Tuesday. I don't know if we will go for the surgery since we still have to take Bill into consideration. Although it will probably be safe since it's been 2 1/2 years.

Monday was another milestone for him. It was 3 years that he had the LVAD implanted. He didn't realize it and I didn't mention it to him. A lot has happened since that day!

I don't know if I've said anything before, but Bill's oldest is expecting again, a total surprise. Anyway, she called Thursday evening and it's a girl, due Feb. 6. That's the day before Ryan's birthday. She thinks she will actually be born before the end of January. We'll just have to wait and see! She has 3 grown children and a 2 year old. She also has her semi-invalid mother living with her, is an RN working nights, and is studying to become a nurse practitioner with an emphasis in midwifery. I don't know how she does it! Of course her husband is a big help with William, but he works days so it does make if hard on her.

I think I've hit the highlights for this week. I'm sure there's been more going on, but you don't need to read about everything we've done. Our lives are not that interesting! Hope everyone has a good week ahead!

Here are some pictures from our adventure. Bill has always been the photographer in the family, but now the camera frustrates him. All of the pictures we took were of the cemetery except for one of the bridges to Louisiana taken from our hotel window. I am not a good photographer. My perspective gets all out of whack. Plus, taking them from inside the car for the most part. But, they are what they are.

 

These wrought iron fences seemed to go on forever. I'm sure they are all family plots.

 As you see there are lots of different styles of monuments.

 

Another large monument.

And another...

When we drove by this one the 1st time Bill said "that one escaped, the grave was open!' so we drove back and, sure enough, the top was off of the grave liner! We didn't get out to see if there was a coffin inside, but with that off and the gate standing open...

 

 

 

The Turning Angel. This stone is featured prominently in the books set in Natchez by Greg Iles. I actually thought it would be larger than it was, and there was another one nearby that was larger. But, according to the map of the cemetery, this one is the original.

 

I was going to post the picture of the bridges but when I uploaded it, it turned sideways. If any of you like old cemeteries, you could spend days wandering through here. There was 1 section that was dedicated to confederate soldiers, but we didn't get any pictures of those.

Haven't been home a week and I'm sick! The weather changed with rain and a temperature drop. I woke up yesterday with a headache, but didn't think anything of it. Bill's cell phone had rung at 11:30 the night before, (wrong # of course), and I couldn't get back to sleep until after 1. So, I just thought the headache was from lack of sleep. But, late afternoon I realized that my throat was sore and my eyes were dry. Within an hour I felt really bad and the medicine I took seemed to make me feel worse. Still feel bad this morning and Bill even told me I looked sick! Thanks a lot, I love you too!

We did go to the new Jo-Ann's fabric store that our daughter-in-law is managing. The grand opening was this week-end. Got 6 skeins of yarn for a new project and spent less than $20! And I didn't even spend "our" money. We had gotten a couple of reward cards from ATT for changing our phone/internet service so used those.

The first part of the week was uneventful. We had McKenna for a little on Tuesday. Her parents were involved in a dinner/fund raiser and had pressed Brianna into service. They weren't sure that McKenna would be able to last through the entire thing without getting too bored so we picked her up from her after school program and took her out to eat. We then dropped her off with her parents. She talked the entire time! I actually thought she would have done fine. It's hard not to treat her like a little one since she's the baby, but she is 10 now.

Bill has had no issues since we've been home. I hope he doesn't catch this cold. I have noticed that he did no coughing while we were gone, but has started again now that we've been home. Thinking that this area is not good for either of us anymore, but the thought of moving just makes us tired! I'll keep an eye on things anyway.

We still don't have a date for his next appointment but it should be coming any time. The usually let us know 1-2 months in advance and we should be going the first part of November. We are planning on going on to Tampa to see his sister for a few days after the appointment. This appointment shouldn't have anything invasive done, just a clinic appointment and labs with an ekg and x-ray thrown in.

All for this week. Hopefully I'll feel better for the next update. And, Ms.A, I did get pictures downloaded to the computer, just haven't had the oomph to get them on here. Maybe sometime this coming week!

Our adventure has come to an end! We had a wonderful time and I could have stayed away longer, but Bill was ready to come home. He did very well on the trip, didn't get overly tired, and was game to try almost anything I suggested we do.

Our ride through the country was a good time for us to just talk as there wasn't much to see except for cotton fields. We laughed at some of the strange town names we came across, such as Dub, MS. The big advantage to this route was lighter traffic. We only got on the interstate right before Memphis, to get around the city, and in Vicksburg, MS for a very short time to get around the city.

Our hotel was right on the Mississippi River, and although we were told it had a riverview, we only got a glimpse of the river, if we stood right by the window. But, it was a nice room and easy access on and off the road.

We did a driving tour of downtown Natchez and saw some of the historic mansions. We didn't try to actually tour any of them because it was a lot of walking and stair climbing. Stairs are a challenge for Bill, so we thought that just looking at them from the car would be fine. We also drove through the City Cemetery and the National Cemetery. I would love to go back and spend a lot of time in the City Cemetery. There are some Civil War graves there, from both sides. We also saw the Turning Angel. If any of you are Greg Iles fans, he featured this monument in his book Turning Angel, and it features in most of his novels about Natchez.

We had dinner at the Magnolia Grill which is located at the "Under the Hill" site. This was where bandits hid. Lunch one day was at Mammy's Cupboard. This is a small place that is built to look like a woman and the restaurant is in her skirt. They are only open for lunch and feature soups, salads and sandwiches. They do have a daily plate lunch and the day we were there was chicken pot pie day. It was really good, and the lemon meringue pie had meringue 4" high!

We drove most of the Natchez Trace back. It is 444.0 miles long, from Natchez to Nashville. It is a lovely 2 lane road, with a 50 mph speed limit. There were some who thought that was too slow and went flying by us. There were several bicyclists and walkers on the route. My dad would have been proud of me because I spotted 2 pheasant, a deer, several wild turkey, and another critter that ran across the road. It was so fast we couldn't tell just what it was, only that it was tan. We stopped for lunch at French Camp, MS which is the current site of a Christian boarding school, mainly for troubled teens. They serve lunch, soup and sandwiches, on home baked bread and all the proceeds benefit the school.

We got off the Trace just north of Tupelo, MS. No, we didn't go see Elvis's birthplace. We had seen it before since Tupelo is only about 2 1/2 hours from home. We then drove to Pickwick Dam which is a favorite park of ours. We weren't able to get a room on the river as there was a motorcycle convention and another large banquet, so we stayed at another place. It wasn't quite as nice as it used to be, so we only spent 1 night.

I could have stayed gone longer, and wandered more, but Bill was ready to come home. For me, the journey itself is the adventure. I get that honestly from my mother, just get in the car and drive.

The bags are unpacked, Bill is out cleaning the car, and I've taken stock of the kitchen. The laundry is not sorted, except for the clean things being put up and the others in the hampers. Laundry will wait until tomorrow!

So, there you go. You've been on our adventure with us. Until next time, enjoy this nice fall weather, if you are having it, stay dry if it's raining where you are, and cool if it's still hot! Ours is very pleasant, only 59 when we got up this morning!

This has seemed like a very long week for some reason. Maybe because we didn't do a lot. Bill had no medical issues, although I felt bad all week-end. The air has been so heavy that breathing was difficult, even after just a few minutes outside.

We helped Ryan and Amanda get a new place Monday. Their old landlord didn't want to fix anything. The bathroom floor was falling in and they hadn't had any lights in the kitchen for more than a month. He would tell them he would be there on a certain day and then not show up, so they gave up on him. Their new landlady is very nice and picky about who she rents to. She also rents just on a month by month basis instead of a lease.

That was the highlight of the week! The rest was just normal stuff-laundry, groceries and trying to stay cool.

We're going to take a little vacation next week. Wednesday is our 24th anniversary. On our 10th anniversary we went to Gatlinburg, taking our time to get there. We're going to do the same thing again, this time heading to Natchez, Miss. The highway that leads out of town is a scenic roadway, The Great River Road, and we're going to take it instead of the interstate. It goes all the way to New Orleans. I don't even know how long we're going to be gone. We'll just play it by ear. We may also come home via the Natchez Trace Parkway which goes from Natchez to Nashville, but I'm not sure about that yet. We're also waiting until after Labor Day to go so may miss a lot of the traffic and holiday travelers.

I'm not going to take the computer, but I will take my tablet since it has all of Bill's medical information. We do still have to plan for that. I'm also not taking any craft work, knitting/crochet even though I have several "works in progress" that need attention. But, I don't want to spend all the free time with that. I am taking reading material and I'm hoping we can get a room right on the river for a couple of nights. Sitting on a balcony reading and watching the river seems like a good thing.

Since I'm not taking the computer I don't know if there will be a post next week or not. But, if there isn't, I will update when we get home, no matter what day it is. I hope everyone enjoys their last holiday of the summer! See you after our adventure!

I certainly hope everyone is staying cool this week. It has been horribly hot here with heat advisories. Had some heavy rain last Sunday evening but hot and humid since.

Nothing out of the ordinary this week. The highlight was going to Jonesboro Thursday to pick up my ring. As soon as I told Bill that Zales had called he had the TV turned off and his hat on! I think he wanted to get out of the house. We were only gone 2 1/2 hours, and 2 of that was driving! We're such shoppers! Did stop at Barnes and Noble but that was it!

I had a good time shopping with Em and the girls last Saturday and Bill did fine by himself. He wanted to know if I needed any help carrying things in and I told him no. I spent $150 and all I got was a 3-pack of footie socks! But, it felt good to be able to help. We let McKenna pick our lunch spot. She wanted Steak 'N Shake but we couldn't even find a parking place so she decided on Hooters. We all brought most of our food home and that's what Bill and I had for supper.

Kayden came and spent the night with us last night. We took him out to eat at Perkins and unfortunately I was sick before we even left the restaurant! I think I just ate too much too fast. But, he's a pretty self-sufficient kid and stayed at the computer. When we went to bed we just told him not to stay up too late. He fell asleep watching TV and Bill turned it way down at 2. When I got up at 7 he was just waking up. He was either on the laptop or the desktop the whole time, only stopped to eat.

Kiyann informed me that she was not spending the night but their step-sister was at their house this week-end so she wanted to play with her.

Brianna is going through a tough time with something going on at church. And, McKenna's kitten she rescued last week died yesterday while they were at school. And, Kayden and Kiyann's uncle was found murdered this morning. A young father with 2 young children. So many hard life lessons for them this week. So, lots of extra prayers for them.

As I said, nothing special happening around here, which is a good thing. We're just trying to stay cool!

Good Morning!

I meant to update this yesterday because today's going to be a busy day. But, due to sheer laziness, I didn't get it done.

Bill started running a fever last Saturday afternoon with chills. He also was a little nauseous. Got some meds in him and finally got him to eat a bowl of soup. Then he started coughing. Changed from just Tylenol for the fever to Tylenol Sinus and by Sunday afternoon he was fine. Our weather was changing again and I think that had something to do with it.

The repairman finally came Wednesday morning and got the stove door back together. Only charged us $20 for gas which is good because the first time I opened the door, the gasket came off! I did use the oven and it worked fine, it's just the idea that after only 4 years, with about 1/2 that time not being used while we were in Florida, it's falling apart. I tried to buy just a door, but they don't sell them that way. So, there's another repairman in town and I'm going to call him. If he can't fix it I guess we'll be looking at another stove.

Today I'm going shopping with Emily and the girls. There's nothing I need, but it's school shopping for them. She found she doesn't need to buy as much as she thought she did so it will be a quicker trip. We're going to a mall in Mississippi. Em's been there before and I'm mainly going to have a day out. Brianna and her friend Madison asked if their boyfriends could go too but I told them no, so Bri said we're going to be power-shopping! They've already made plans to call them when we're 20 miles out so they can meet us at Em's when we get home! Ah to be 15 and in love!

Days when I leave Bill alone are still a little nerve-wracking for me. But, since it's Saturday Ron is off and will probably come to visit and Bill can hang out with him. I'm going to make sure he takes his morning meds and we'll be home before other "critical" meds are due. There's hot dogs and peanut butter for lunch but he has money so he could go buy something to eat if he wanted to. I'll just try not to worry too much!

All for this week, I've got to get a move on! Have a good week-end. If you're sending kids off to school this week, you can breathe a sigh of relief, you made it through another summer!

Happy Saturday! It's been a little trying for us today, but more on that later!

We've had a busy week, at least it seemed like it was busy to me. We took Kayden and Kiyann to their daddy's Sunday afternoon and made it home in time for church. The surprising thing was that Amanda had gone to church that morning and they were all going back that evening! They even went Wednesday night! Maybe things are looking up for them. She also got a callback for a job and starts training tomorrow night!

Tuesday, my birthday, Bill had to have some bloodwork done and we found a lab in Jonesboro instead of using our regular dr. The lab at the dr. can only run part of the tests and the others have to be sent to another lab and take 2 weeks to get the results. The lab we found could do all of the tests and have the results the next day. So, we headed out early in the morning since they were fasting labs. Bill said that the girls was really good. I wondered at her choice of vein since she used one in his forearm instead of his elbow, but what do I know! Then we went to breakfast and the mall to get my diamond ring checked. They found some loose prongs this time so it was sent off to be fixed. Bill had just said that it really seemed like a waste of time to get it checked twice a year, but the repair won't cost anything, so it's now worth it to keep the warranty in place. Then back to Ryan's to pick the kids up and bring them home. They stayed at our house all afternoon since mom was working and Joe was doing some yard work for someone. Bill then took me out for a birthday steak!

We got the results from Stephanie on Thursday and she said all of his numbers looked good and she didn't anticipate the dr. making any changes. She was pleased and said she would see us in 3 months.

It's been horribly hot and humid since Wednesday and we've had several thundershowers, nothing severe but heavy, heavy rain, and then gets even steamier. This pattern is supposed to last into the middle of next week, but it is August!

We finally go the right part in for the oven door. I downloaded a step-by-step guide to replacing the window. So, this afternoon we decided to do it. We got the door taken apart and then then fun began. The little gasket is supposed to be like double-sided tape, and we can get it on and the window on it but as soon as we put the door back together the glass slides back down. So, after working up a tremendous sweat, and getting very frustrated I called a repairman. He won't be able to come until Tuesday, but, since I haven't been able to use it since July 4th, what's a couple more days! Of course it's (the door) now laying in pieces on the dining room table. Ah life!

That's how our week has gone. So, we're going to have a quick lunch and watch the Cubs game this afternoon. Bill said he would take me out to eat tonight since I've had such a frustrating day! Hmmm, maybe I should be frustrated more often!

Another week and another month done! This has been a very good week for us, and profitable!

Bill hasn't had any issues this week. He's been on his treadmill and is moving a little better. I have noticed that when he stands up he waits a minute before he starts to walk. I've been trying to get him to do that for a long time. He's always been one that starts to move as soon as he stands so he's finally realized that if he waits a minute his body responds better.

We made it through McKenna's birthday party. It was pretty hot, but they had a couple of canopies to sit under. Emily could have just done water balloons since they were the hit of the party. They did have fun on the slip-n-slide until it got too muddy. Kenna said the dog had fun sliding on it the next day!

Kiyann's party was Sunday evening and she was excited with all her presents. She especially liked the baby carriage we got her. She said we were just the best! Hers was a pool party and when everyone went out to swim we came home. It was really hot so we didn't want to sit out again.

I check through the medical paperwork and we had not received anything saying that our coverage had changed, so Monday morning I called Mayo Pharmacy. She said it looked like it had not been run through insurance at all. She ran it back through and everything went just fine. The total they had charge was $884 and we are getting a credit back to the card of $852, so that's not too bad. It was very easy to do and she was very apologetic. I did make sure when I ordered his meds yesterday that they ran the insurance while I was on the phone with them.

Our insurance for the house and cars was due yesterday and I had not been happy since we had to change it last year. Our homeowner's carrier told us last year, at the last minute, that to keep the homeowner's policy, we had to also had to have our auto policy with them. Since it was last minute, we had no choice, and our car insurance went way up. So, this year, even though I waited until almost the end, I started doing some shopping. We had had our auto policy with The Hartford for years and was very satisfied with their coverage but I didn't know if they insured in Arkansas. For some reason they don't want to insure here, could it be because of the New Madrid fault? Anyway, Hartford does and we got the homeowners, for $100 less than what we were paying, with better coverage, and the auto for $500 less a year! We saved almost the amount of the other policy for 6 months coverage! So Monday turned out to be a very profitable day and business got taken care of without much fuss!

Emily and Brianna are at a youth conference so we had McKenna Thursday and Friday while Bryan was working. She's no trouble now for the most part. She will be glad when Mom gets home though. She's a mommy's girl and always has been. We took her shopping to spend some of her birthday loot.

The part came in for my oven...and it was the wrong part again! We think we finally have ordered the right one this time. The parts diagram they have is not clear and they don't have a description of the part, so it's really hit and miss.

We're taking the kids to Ryan's again today. Mistie was taking them school shopping today since it's tax free week-end. Tomorrow I'm playing the piano at church while Nita takes a mini-vacation before school starts.

That's it for this week. It's going to get hot now, after July was the coolest on record. We've really liked the cooler weather and I'm not looking forward to the heat. Hope everyone has had a good week and will have a good week-end and coming week.

Another week down. This one seemed to go very fast!

Bill had another episode with his leg not wanting to work. This is not the leg affected by the stroke. But, it is the leg that had "something" go on after his LVAD implant. The drs. never did determine what happened then and he hasn't had any trouble with it since then except for now. I really think that he's just been sitting too much and it's going to sleep.

I also misspoke last week about K'zalee being our next to youngest great-grandchild. There are 2 younger than her, not 1. It's hard to keep them all straight! Brianna babysat for her most of the week and she, K'zalee not Brianna, adapted really well. She didn't cry much when Tina dropped her off, unless she was really tired, and most of the time she didn't want to go home!

It seems like we've really been running the roads. We made the trip to Millington, TN to get my ID renewed, Jackson, TN to get my car serviced, Paragould, AR to take the kids to Ryan, and a trip to Jonesboro, AR for a little shopping! I'll need another oil change before long if we keep that up!

Today is McKenna's 10th birthday party! Her birthday is tomorrow and Kiyann will be 7 tomorrow. They are both growing way too fast! I still have presents to wrap, although Kenna just wanted money this year. She's finally decided she likes shopping!

We did have an interesting afternoon Wednesday. I got a phone call, on the home phone from a lady here in town who said that she had gotten a call from our number to lower her mortgage! I know that there are apps for cell phones to clone numbers and I'm sure that's what has been done. So, I called AT&T and, although the woman was very nice, no-one had heard of this happening before! They had no suggestions except to change our number and since we've had this number for 25 years, that wasn't an option. But, she looked over all of our services and suggested some changes that would save us over $100 a month! So, yesterday a technician came and upgraded some things. So, even though my problem wasn't solved, saving money is a good thing!

And, speaking of money, I was looking at an email that monitors Bill credit and saw that one of the credit cards had a really high balance. So, I check the card and saw that there was a charge for Mayo pharmacy for $833! That's about the cost of the immuno-suppressive meds that are supposed to be paid 100% by Medicare. We haven't gotten anything that I know of from Medicare or the pharmacy telling us of any changes, so my job for today and tomorrow, between birthday parties and church, is to go through paperwork to see if we have gotten something that Bill didn't show me. Then, Monday morning make some phone calls to see what's going on.

That's it for this time! Hope everyone had a good week and will have a good week-end!

We've had a lovely cool week and all of the rain has missed us...so far! I think we're supposed to get some rain today, but all of the heavy rain yesterday was south of us. It looked like we were going to get some at times, but we were lucky.

Bill has been more forgetful the last couple of days than he has been in a long time. I've hoping that it's just a matter of being dry. He did have a little episode Sunday morning when he stood up to go to church. His right leg didn't want to hold any weight. Between me and the arm of the couch he managed to stay upright, and then the leg was fine and he hasn't had any further episodes. So, I've been trying to push more fluids again.

We've had a full week with grandkids and news of grandkids. McKenna came down with something this week that has/had everyone baffled, severe headache, fever, chills, all of a sudden. Saw the dr. and made a trip to ER. Nothing showed up on any bloodwork, and then it was gone. She spent Wednesday afternoon with us. The fever had been gone for several hours and she only had a mild headache. She has been checked for ticks, especially since she just got back from camp, but the hospital only ran the basic tests (they were sure it was a urinary tract infection) so we don't know what else might have shown up. This is a kid that never has headaches and she was in tears it was hurting so bad. So, I think the diagnosis has been migraine.

Brianna help preach Wednesday in her youth service and Emily said that she did a fantastic job. She had never seen her prepare for something like she did this, and she even surprised the pastor because she went off script a little with some scriptures. He wanted to know why there wasn't a slide for the scripture, but Emily, who was running the computer, told him she didn't have one for that scripture. But Brianna said that God told her to go there. The pastor was good though, he apparently went in the direction Brianna had started to go and they ended with a great service.

We met our next to youngest great-grandchild this week, Miss K'zalee Haven. She is Bill's son Joe's granddaughter. Joe and Tina are moving back to this area and they have guardianship of her while her daddy is in the Marines for training. He and her mother aren't married and she doesn't want her anymore. But, she walked in here like she owned the place! She's a typical 2 year old, into everything, but she wasn't shy or scared of us, especially after a long day of house hunting. They were able to find something which is good, especially since Tina's transfer starts Monday. She and the baby and her "nanny/employee for Tina" will be here while Joe closes there house and works out the notice for his job. They will be about 45 minutes from us so we'll get to see them more. Bri is going to babysit for her this week because Christy, the nanny, who is also daddy's girlfriend/former girlfriend (I'm still not sure about that relationship) will be working for a few days at a sister store.

We took Kayden and Kiyann to Ryan's last night. They neither one really wanted to go, Kiyann especially. They don't really get along with Amanda, who doesn't let them do anything, while she also, apparently doesn't do anything for them either. She's also been talking badly about Mistie in front of them. Mistie called her while we were there and talked to her about it so hopefully it got straightened out. We took them all to McDonald's and Kiyann was fine until we started to leave. They were going to go with Dad when he delivered his papers last night.

Kayden also told us that he had a great time at church camp and that he got saved! I don't know anything about if he's going to be baptized or not, but he was excited. He also was very surprised to find out that his daddy had been baptized. He said he still cusses so that's a sin! What could I do but agree with him! Maybe he'll ask his daddy about it!

A school classmate lost her husband from cancer a couple of days ago and I've been very sad. This friend was very helpful to me when Bill was so bad after the transplant and I wish there was something I could do for her. But other than prayers, and letting her know I was only a phone call away, there's not much more I can do, especially as she lives in Pennsylvania. It has made me think again about how close that came to being me and knowing how I was feeling in those days.

That's all I can think of for this week. As you can see it was a full week! But, family is what makes all the bad times worthwhile. Hope you all have a good week ahead!

It's a beautiful, but warm, sunny morning! Our weather has been very nice this week, although it has been hot and humid. But that's normal. There have been some storms around us, but we got nothing.

We've had a decent week. It doesn't seem like much was happening, but it went very fast. We spent Monday and Tuesday helping get the children ready for church camp. I thought the little one would have her nose out of joint because they were all going except for her, but all she wanted was to make "marshmallow sandwiches" (s'mores) and to be an only child so she could have mama all to herself!

I had to renew my military ID so we made the 2 hour drive to the naval station in Tennessee yesterday. It was a good day for driving and we took the long way through the country. By the time we waited for my turn and had lunch on the way home, we were gone right at 6 hours. In that time we could have been at Mom's in Illinois!

Bill has been having problems with his tummy so I've started him back on his omeprazole. He only has to take it as needed, but he can't just take 1 pill and be done, he has to take it for 7-14 days. So, we've started that again and he's done better. When he doesn't want to eat, something's wrong!

We got a letter from Mayo yesterday with a prescription for some labwork. We're to take it to our regular clinic and have them draw the blood. It has to be done on a certain day so I'll have to get it on the calendar to make sure we don't forget about it.

I've had some very strange dreams this past week. I usually don't remember dreams, but every night this week they have been pretty crazy. I don't think our routine has changed as far as food and times eaten which usually contributes to it, so I don't know what has caused it.

While Brianna was a camp, as a camper, a couple of weeks ago, she was called into full-time ministry as a missionary. She had been talking about it for a little while. She's know that she wants to be a Christian counselor for a couple of years now, but recently she's also said she wants to help people all over the world. She had talked to her youth pastor about it before, and it was confirmed to her at camp. I'm very proud of the young woman she has become!

That's all for this week. I need to get busy since the laundry is calling my name! Also need to buy a few groceries. We're on stand-by for picking the kids up when they get home from camp. Emily and Bryan have a funeral to attend. This was a young father, only 48, who had cancer. He and his wife were clients of mine. I've talked to his wife and while she knows he's better off, she admitted that she's selfish and wants him with her. I know that I would feel the same way. So, extra prayers today for Karla and the girls to make it through the day.

Happy week-end!

Happy Independence Week-end! I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing day yesterday. We didn't do much, didn't go watch the fireworks, and stayed in for the most part to avoid getting burned by the fireworks down the street. The neighborhood starting with firecrackers in the morning and didn't stop until about midnight! I dread going out this morning and looking around the yard. I'm sure it's littered with trash that the revelers neglected to pick up. Their attitude is "why should I pick it up, it's not my yard"!

This seemed like a strange week, at least to me. The headache I woke up with Saturday morning lasted until Sunday night. I saw a lot of posts online from others with this same type of headache, so I'm wondering if there wasn't something going around. Or maybe the weather. It started raining in the night Saturday and rained all night and until about 2 Sunday afternoon. And it wasn't just rain, it was hard rain.

There was a carry-in dinner at church Sunday and I had managed to make some marinated tomatoes to take, but I definitely wasn't going to make it. Bill also decided that he wasn't going out in the rain. So, Monday I took the tomatoes to Brianna. She loves these tomatoes and I knew she would enjoy them.

We didn't do a lot this week-end. The weather cooled after the rain and has been really pleasant. Bill has walked around the block instead of using his treadmill, wanting to get the fresh air instead. Of course he only walks it once, which takes about 9 minutes, instead of the steady walking on the treadmill for an hour. But, at least he was walking!

We did a little shopping in Jonesboro Friday afternoon and had lunch out. Kayden is going to church camp for the first time this week and he didn't have a Bible, so we bought one for him and Kiyann. We know Brianna has a good Bible and McKenna says she has one, so now they all do.

The one problem we've had this week is that there's a problem with my oven. The handle on the door came loose and we had to take the door apart to tighten those screws. That wasn't a difficult chore, but when the 2 parts came apart, the piece of glass in the door window fell out. It didn't break but it took forever to get it back in so that it would stay. And, the gasket around the window split and won't stay seated. We checked with Sears and they said that the oven can be used but it will lose some heat so I need to adjust for that. They will have to order the gasket. This stove is only 4 years old. My old one lasted 50 years! It was in the house when we bought it and there was a cookbook with it from the 1950's! The stove does have a smaller side oven that I can use, but most of my baking pans won't fit. It is really narrow so I'm limited as to what I can use it for. Anyway, at least it's operational!

That's all for this week, just a normal one for a couple of old folks! I hope you all have a good week ahead!

I'm going to try to get this done. I woke up with a killer headache that isn't going away. I've also apparently slept wrong the past couple of nights and have a very sore neck and shoulder. I'm just falling apart!

We had a nice visit in Illinois last week, which is why there was no post. Saw some classmates from the class of 1972, some I hadn't seen since graduation. Others for more than 15 years! We had a good time catching up. We also saw my nephew and met his girlfriend. They seem very happy together. Didn't get to see Mom and Gene much, they weren't feeling well and Gene was diagnosed with shingles, so we said we would spend more time with them on the next trip, whenever that will be.

Bill did quite well on the trip. He didn't seem to get too tired out. He really wasn't looking forward to the reunion, but he knew it was important to me, so he toughed it out. We haven't done too much since we've been home, but that's OK too.

We got some good news while we were in Illinois, Ryan finally was able to get a job. He's working at an auto repair business and really seems to like it. They're teaching him things he didn't know and he said the pay goes up as you are able to do more.
But, we got some sad news yesterday, but it was news I already suspected. Our daughter-in-law finally admitted she was not pregnant. We knew she wasn't because her due date was next week and, unfortunately, I look more pregnant than she does! I think she lost the baby in March because that's the last she talked about the baby, but I don't know why they didn't just tell us then. There's no shame in losing a pregnancy, I lost one myself.

We can tell it is summer. It's been miserably hot and supposed to be hotter this week. It's also been very humid with showers popping up. We were put under a flash flood warning the other night. Radar showed that we had received between 2 and 4 inches of rain with another 1 to 3 inches expected. Trouble was, we hadn't received a drop of rain! But, a few miles up the road in Missouri, there was a deluge!

That's about all I can think of with my head pounding like it is. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day. The celebration has already started in our neighborhood!

This will be a very short post, and mostly for my mother's benefit. We made it home from Georgia a couple of hours ago. We're both pretty tired but we've managed to unload the car. The only problem we had was a detour in Birmingham. I love it when you are directed off the interstate but not told where to go or how to get back on! The navigator in my car wanted us to, of course, turn around which was not an option. So, I finally got off and parked and looked at the atlas. Finally figured a way to go...along with about 1 million other people...in a construction zone...with lane limitations! All of the uncertainty upset Bill. If the plan changes mid-stream, he gets very nervous. Luckily I'm more laid back and patient, but it still was nerve wracking for me too.

So, now we have a few days to rest up, re-pack a suitcase, and get a haircut before heading to Illinois on Wednesday. I have a feeling it will be an early night for us tonight!

This is an early post for this week, but there are several people watching for this one, so early it is.

A couple of weeks ago I said that I would not subject Bill to any more funerals unless they couldn't be avoided. And this one couldn't be avoided. Our daughter-in-law passed away suddenly Monday morning. So, here we are in Georgia. So far it's gone well, and I found the magic bullet for him. I started giving him Xanax morning and night on Monday and it has helped. The memorial service was this afternoon and while there were tears, they were short lived and he was pretty much dry eyed during the service. It was hard for him to see his son hurting though. He's just going through the motions right now. Her sister is doing what she can for him and he has some great neighbors.

The service was a little unsettling for me because we have the same name. So to see Beth Haven on a screen with birth and death dates was a little odd. The preacher used her name a lot so it seemed like I was listening to my own funeral being preached!

We did get to see another son and his family and meet our great-granddaughter. She's, of course, a cutie. We weren't able to visit long with them as they had to head back to north Georgia today. But the last time we had seen them was when Bill was in the nursing home. He doesn't remember them being there, but they all remembered that he wasn't able to get out of bed when they were there, or use his left hand, so they were pleased to see his progress.

We are staying here until Saturday and then heading home. We are to be in Illinois next week-end and we debated on going straight there from here, but we've decided to go home for a few days first to rest up. We'll probably head to Illinois on Tuesday or Wednesday.

All for now. Next week will probably be early also as there's a reunion on Saturday. If I do this early it won't matter how tired I am by Saturday night. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there who may be reading this. For everyone else, have a great week-end.

Good Morning!

This has been a crazy week, ending with a surprise late night trip to Memphis.

The week seemed to go very fast for some reason. It seemed like I woke up Monday and turned around and it was Friday.

Our area schools finished for the year this week. They had to go longer because of all the bad weather this winter. Brianna only had to go for 2 class exams, 1 on Wednesday afternoon and one on Thursday morning. She came and hung out with us Wednesday and we dropped her off on our way to McKenna's awards ceremony. She got a couple of awards so we're proud of her. We checked her out early, picked Brianna back up and took them home.

Thursday Bri took her test and I took her home. We had bad weather forecast and after looking at radar and listening to the weathermen, Emily said to check McKenna out of school and bring both of the girls into town. It was Kenna's "fun day" and just as it was her time slot to play in the bounce house and do all the other fun things, it started raining. It was raining pretty hard when we got to Brianna and on the way home the storm hit. I had to pull to the side of the road because of the wind and sideways rain. Emily called and said they were moving everyone in to the x-ray room and told us to go back to her house but it was too late for that. A sign blew down right in front of us but my car didn't even shake! As we moved into town we started seeing power poles and tree limbs everywhere and the closer we got to the house I could tell the power was out. When we got in Bill was no where to be found, but he was outside trying to get the generator running. I had him come in until the rain slacked up and then we went out and got it going. He had forgotten that he had to switch the power from the main to the generator. This was only the 2nd time we've had to use since we had it installed, but it was nice. It didn't run the air conditioner, but it powered everything else in the house so I could cook. The power came back on about 7 so we switched over again and things were back to normal.

We had storms again yesterday afternoon, but they were not anything like the ones Thursday. Ryan and Amanda were here to pick up the kids and he cleaned a couple of gutters for us before the rain. I noticed that we had water on the floor again in the same place as last year. They had to wait for the storm to pass before they could head home. I think their area got the brunt of it yesterday while they didn't have as much as we did the day before.

Ryan did get a call that his ex-wife was at the hospital and wanted to see him before he picked up the kids so they headed up there. When he called later he said that Mistie had been a victim of domestic violence and that everything happened in front of the kids. The kids were safe at their Great-grandpa's and her husband was in jail. She is pretty banged up. She was transported to the trauma center in Memphis as a pre-caution because she has a broken eye socket, among other cuts. Her mother wanted me to ride with her and her sister-in-law so that Melissa (the sister-in-law) wouldn't have to drive home by herself late at night. So, off we go. It was decided about midnight that Mistie would be discharged and her step-brother was going home with her, but that presented a small problem. There wasn't enough car space! So, I called Emily and she and Bryan and Brianna came to pick me up. We got home about 2:15 this morning...and I'm still exhausted! I tried to go back to sleep after Bill got up, but couldn't. Ron and Buddy came over and then they left, probably to go to Ron's so I could sleep! I saw that Bill did take his meds, a little early, but he took them!

So, that's our crazy week. When you say your prayers this time, pray for Mistie and Joe and Kayden and Kiyann. We've been praying for them for a long time and it had started to pay off. Mistie told her mom that she and Joe were planning on going to church this week. She thinks that church is just a club and it's not for her. She also has to go back to the trauma center Tuesday to see the surgeon. They will have to do some surgery on her socket and prop her eye but they can't do it until the swelling is completely gone.

I think since I've written this, and I know that Bill did take his medicine, I could sleep again, so I'm off to bed.