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!