Finally some warm weather! I think maybe, just maybe, spring is finally going to arrive!

We've had a good week, it went really fast for some reason. It doesn't seem like we were any busier than usual, maybe it was the time change! Usually this time change does me in, but I've felt better and had more energy than before. I do remember that the fall time change bothered me this year which is unusual.

The time change does play havoc with Bill's med schedule. We got so used to the 7 and 7:30 times that I'm having to tell him it's too early to take them! One thing that wasn't addressed in all the training I received was how to adjust for time changes. I know how to adjust for time zones. I just decided that since it had been 7 and 7:30 that now it would be 8 and 8:30. In the fall we will go back to the other. We'll know in May when they do his labs it it's working this way.

I had some lab work done this week and the dr. said that whatever I was doing to keep it up. My cholesterol was lower than it's been for a long time and everything else was in the normal range.

Bill has been using his treadmill again. Now that the weather has eased it's easier for him to get into the apartment. We also had a granddaughter playing high school softball this week and we went to her home opener. Bill did pretty good, walked from the parking to the stadium, to the restroom (an uphill walk), back to the stadium and then back to the parking lot.

All for this week. We have had some family things going on that have added some stress, mainly to me. But, God and I have had a long talk about it and I've found a little more peace about it. For family members and close friends reading this, I'll let you know what's going on when we get a little more information.

It's a good thing Bill and I enjoy being together! We haven't been apart since last Saturday afternoon.

The weather came in Sunday morning, a little mix of rain and freezing rain, so we decided not to go to church. By noon we were getting mostly freezing rain, with a little sleet mixed in. Mid-afternoon it was all sleet and I have never seen it sleet so hard, and so long, in my life. It was still sleeting at midnight before it changed to snow. When it was all said and done, we got a glaze of ice, 6 inches of sleet and 1-2 inches of snow on top of that. Our area was totally immobilized.

Now, a week later, I think I can get out of our driveway, if I back up instead of pulling through. There have been so many cars stuck, especially on the interstate. That mess actually made the national news. People were stuck from the Missouri state line to the Tennessee state line, 16+ hours. For some reason Arkansas doesn't do anything to the roads. All of the standard excuses were used, we don't get that much snow/ice, the storm came too fast, people were told to stay home and didn't listen, etc. etc. Most of the trapped people were truck drivers and people travelling through. All of the snow removal equipment is based in the northwest corner of the state (around University of Arkansas) and this storm had been forecast for more than a week. So, most of the excuses were just that, excuses. Schools were closed all week and many businesses were also closed. The main bright spot is that we didn't lose power at all. Emily and Bryan did, but they were able to borrow a generator. They did bring us some bread and milk the other day and Bryan had to put his truck in 4 wheel drive to make the turn into the driveway!

The sun has finally come out and it's been above freezing for the past 2 days, so we're going to try to get out today some. I'm tired of being in the house!

Bill tried something new this week and we were both pretty proud of him. Instead of wearing his slip on loafers to church, he had put on his black oxfords and tied them himself! That was quite a feat for him. Too bad we didn't make it to church! I've also noticed that he's using his left arm more and it doesn't seem to hang limply like it had before. So, there seems to be some improvement there also. He's also walking a little faster and seems to be more focused when he is moving.

One thing that people seem to forget is the reason we don't go out in bad weather. But, when you have a compromised immune system to begin with, from all of the anti-rejection medications, you don't put yourself in a compromising position. The things that so many people take for granted don't apply to us anymore. And by us, it also applies to me. I can't afford to get sick with something that I may pass on.

So, all for this week on this bright sunny day. Now if the sun would just melt the ice!

It's 6:30 on a Saturday morning so why am I up? This is the time I usually wake up, but after 2 text messages back to back and a weather alert alarm at 5, I gave up when the dollhouse fell down in the toyroom! So, it will be a long day today.

We're still dealing with the wacky weather! It was cold most most of the week and going to get colder. And, yesterday we had sleet...while it was 55 degrees! Of course all of the weather men were trying to explain how that happened. I don't really care how it happened, just that it was another weather phenomenon in a year of weird weather. Today is supposed to be in the upper 50s and tomorrow is supposed to start at 50 and end up at 15, with a winter storm warning starting at noon. We're supposed to get 1/2 inch of ice from freezing rain and also sleet and snow. The high Monday is only 25 with wind. Brianna's high school softball season starts Monday afternoon, but I imagine the games will be cancelled. In any case, we are not going and she said she totally understood why.

Bill's had a good week. He walked some and ventured out by himself to the bank and Walmart. I'm still a bundle of nerves whenever he's out by himself. He was apparently a little dry this week because he was also up 2 nights with leg cramps. That's usually a sign that he needs to drink more. So, I got him some bananas in case it was low potassium and made him drink more and they have since stopped.

I made another quick trip to Jonesboro yesterday. We had been again last week to get some yarn for an afghan that is made in a class I'm taking but I didn't get enough of 1 color. I thought Walmart might have it, but they've quit carrying the brand I needed, so back to Hobby Lobby I went. I also needed to check for a new shower rod, the ones I got at Walmart  for our main bath won't stay on the wall. Every 3 weeks or so they fall down and I'm getting tired of putting them back up. So, stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond and got the type of rod I wanted in the first place and then hit Hobby Lobby and was only gone 3 hours (including 2 hours of drive time)!

We received a package for Don and Shirley (Bill's sister and husband) from Omaha Steaks Wednesday. Now all I have to buy for groceries are side items.

My plan for today is to go to the grocery store to get what few items I need. I want to put a pot of chili on tomorrow afternoon after church. I also have a feeling we will have a house full if power goes out like they think it will. So, it's time to lay in some supplies. Bill's job today is to bring in some firewood. We've been keeping the woodbox in the house full, but since it's gotten warmer we haven't had any fires for a few days. So, that's his job for today.

I was pleasantly surprised to see spring training baseball on TV this week. I've made it through another off season!

We did have a disturbing event in the neighborhood this week. A prominent businessman in town lives behind us. You wouldn't think anything special about him to see him, drives an old beat-up sports car, house is not ostentatious, just an ordinary guy. Anyway, during the night Tuesday, thieves jacked up his SUV and stole all 4 tires! My friend who called and told me about it said they were at least courteous enough to put the vehicle on cinder blocks when they were done! So, we've been leaving the outside light on all night now since MY SUV sits out all night and we splurged and got the nice chrome rims. But, on a positive note, maybe since the theft was from a prominent person in town it will be investigated more thoroughly than if it was a "normal" citizen.

So, that's our week and the news from here. Bill just opened the bedroom door and trekked to the bathroom so he's up now. Time to start the day!

If you're in the path of this storm, and most of the nation is, stay safe, warm, and dry. Until next week...

Another crazy weather week! It started out cold and windy but Tuesday and Wednesday were fantastic days. Temps reached 70 and it was sunny for the most part. But, it was not meant to last. Thursday a front came through and we had severe thunderstorms and tornados! It didn't get too bad here but the tornado was not too far from us. It's been lovely the last 2 days, temps in the 60s and sunny. It's not to last though since we are supposed to get snow on Friday and have a high of 34!

Bill has been on the treadmill some this week. He's noticed that with any effort he gets very tired. I've told him it's because of the inactivity and I think he's finally understanding it. So he's been walking more.

We've also made 2 trips to Jonesboro. The first trip was to get a ring inspected to keep the warranty active. We had also planned to shop some but I had a really bad headache so we just did the ring. It takes about an hour to get to the mall and we were gone 2 hours and 15 minutes! We went back today to do the shopping we had planned. Or, the shopping I had planned. I wanted to get a new devotional book and some yarn. We still did well today. Left about 1:15 and were home by 4:15. I had wanted to take Bill out to eat for his birthday tonight, but we didn't feel like just killing time until time to eat.

Bill's 71st birthday is tomorrow and that's 2 years longer than he probably would have lived without the LVAD and transplant. Sounds rather blunt but after Dr. Landolpho told me how many clots were inside his heart when they implanted the LVAD, he probably wouldn't have made it the rest of 2011.

He also showed an interest in his computer this week. He had found some older programs in the apartment after he did his walking and wanted to put them on his laptop. I was very surprised that they installed and can be run since they are so old. He hasn't done much with them since, but this was the first time since we came home that he showed any interest in his computer at all.

We had Brianna and McKenna for a little while after school yesterday and Kayden and Kiyann's other grandma has said she's going to bring them by tomorrow. They are spending the night with her so she said after church they'll stop by. I told here I was going to take Bill out for dinner after church so don't know if we'll miss them or not.

That's all for this week. We still take things 1 day at a time and life is good.

Sorry for not posting last night. I got interested in a movie and when it was over we just turned out the lights and went to the bedroom!

It was another week of mostly staying in. We didn't get anymore ice or snow but it was cold and dreary. I also didn't feel well. We had a carry-in at church and I just ate too much.

Wednesday we had eye appointments so we were up and out early. Mine didn't change but Bill had to get new glasses. They should be in this coming week.

Ron's wife Maria saw Bill moving the trash can to the curb Thursday morning and she told Ron she couldn't believe I made him take out the trash! I think a lot of people, myself included sometimes, think that because Bill looks rather frail, that he can't do things. But, he's supposed to do things! We've been working in the bedroom going through things were packed away while we were gone, and he'll do a little and stop. He realizes that he has no stamina. I've told him that's because he's not moving regularly like he is supposed to. So he's also made an effort to make the short walk around the house to the apartment to use the treadmill. But he also gets sidetracked out there looking at the old computer programs.

We each got some candy for valentine's day but waited until last night to go out to eat. The restaurant was still rather crowded and we went relatively early. We also brought half of it home with us so we'll have it again today. We're supposed to go out for lunch with a friend after church and Ryan and Amanda and the kids will probably come by when they bring the kids home. That's been the usual plan when they have the kids.

All for this morning. It looks like it's going to be a pretty day, even though my car is still frosted over. It's supposed to be in the 60's most of the week but it was supposed to be in the 50's this week and that didn't happen. I'm ready for warmer weather. Maybe that will give the incentive to move more. Hope everyone has a good week!

It's been a cabin fever week! The weather has been horrid and doesn't look like it's going to get much better until the latter part of the coming week.

Bill hasn't been out of the house since a week ago Friday and I've only been out a couple of times. Sunday we woke up to cold and rain so decided not to go to church. By noon it was starting a sleet/freezing rain/rain mix and that continued until the evening. Ryan, Amanda and the kids were here for awhile. I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup and baked some crusty French baguettes to go with it. We were iced in Monday with all the schools closed. The freezing rain started again Tuesday afternoon and that one was a doozy with tree limbs down and loss of power all over. I had checked the generator Sunday afternoon to make sure it would start and then got the book out Tuesday to read the instructions on switching the power over if we did lose power. Luckily we never did lose it. Emily picked the girls up early from school and managed to get home and get a pot of soup made before the power went out at their house. She kept the girls home from school Wednesday because they still didn't have power until about 2 in the afternoon.

I finally got the car mostly cleaned off Thursday and made a Walmart run for a few supplies. The roads weren't bad but the temps were terrible! It didn't get above 20 which is extremely cold for us. We didn't go anywhere yesterday and it started snowing about 9 last night and is still spitting a little. We probably have 1-2 inches. Everything is so quiet outside and pretty to look at.

I don't know how many pots of coffee we have gone through and we've almost emptied 1 of the firewood bins, but the fires have been wonderful! The house has been cold with the temps so cold so we've kept a fire going. Usually we have them at night but yesterday we had one all day.

We finally have a date for Bill's next appointment. We only have to be there 2 days as of right now but the first day is a doozy! We start with labs at 7:30 and finally see Dr. Hosenpud at 3! The 2nd day is the heart cath and echo and that's it!

We're still fighting our colds but I think we're getting a little better finally. I've had a sore inside my nose that covers an entire side (I know you really wanted to know that) and finally Monday had a fever blister appear. So maybe it is finally working out. Bill's is still a drippy nose but he feels good.

We both have eye appointments Wednesday. Hopefully the weather will have eased up. We're supposed to get more snow Monday so we'll just have to see. It won't be any trouble to cancel them and they will certainly understand.

All for this week. We're probably going to just stay hunkered down and ride it out. If you've gotten all the ice and snow, stay safe and warm. If you're already somewhere warm enjoy it, it could be worse! This is across the street from us. All that's left of the tree is the trunk, but the branch missed everything!

There's a saying here in Arkansas...if you don't like the weather, stick around, it'll change in 15 minutes. While it hasn't been quite that fast, it has been crazy. Our high of 55 last Saturday turned into frigid temperatures by the early part of the week. Until yesterday, Friday, it didn't make it to freezing. Yesterday was in the 40s, today the high was 66, and we have a winter weather advisory beginning at 6 in the morning with 1-3 inches of snow with a little sleet thrown in! It's raining now but should change over sometime tomorrow, depending on how fast the temperature drops.

Because of the weather we had a very quiet week. We just stayed in and tried to keep warm. We did have some lovely fires in the evenings and getting firewood was pretty much the highlight of our days.

We've both had our colds try to come back, but so far it's just been a few sniffles. Hopefully that will be it. I think we're both getting tired of the weather ups and downs. It has also been extremely windy, first from the north and then from the south.

We did have a couple of surprises this week. Yesterday we ran into a friend at the grocery store that we hadn't seen since we were in Florida. His daughter lives in Jacksonville and he had come to see Bill in the nursing home while he was visiting her. He didn't realize we had come home. It was good to see him and catch up some. He had just gotten off a midnight shift so he was going to go home and go to bed, but is going to come by and visit more. After we got home, I got a phone call from a former client that I hadn't talked to for several years. She wanted to know if I was still working but she may also come by to visit. She had no idea that Bill had needed the transplant since he hadn't had the last heart attack the last we saw her.

Bill has gotten back on the treadmill. He's realizing how soon he get tired when he's trying to do something and I've told him that it's because he's not moving around enough. So, back to the treadmill he went. He walked for an hour, which surprised me since he hadn't walked for so long.

So, just a normal week for us. Hopefully this weather won't turn into a major event. At first the forecasters were brushing it off, but the tune has changed this evening. They just can't agree on how much and what it will be. Whatever it turns out to be, we are as ready as we can be...food in the fridge, gas in the cars, firewood by the fireplace. We can just hunker down!

Hope everyone stays warm and healthy! If you watch football, enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow. If not, do what you do enjoy.