All it took was a restart!

The picture tonight is one I got off the camera, after all! All it took was restarting the computer! This is Fran and Don and I on the deck of our cabin in Shenandoah Crossing. Charlie took the picture. It was wonderful to have them join us here for a couple of days after the reunion! It was easier to leave the reunion, knowing we were going to be able to extend it a couple of days with them! It's always hard for me to leave. It makes it easier to know we'll have another one in 2 years, but it really helps to take someone with us when we leave!

Now, the really great surprise! We decided to stay here a couple days longer and go straight to Houston from here. All they had was a 3 bedroom/3 bath cabin, so we took it. So tomorrow we're moving to the 'castle/cabin.' This way Don will get to watch the OK/TX game Saturday. That's not the good news, though! I'm happy with it, but the good news is that Ruthie and Phil are going to drive up tomorrow to spend a couple of days and nights with us! Woo hoo! This is a wonderful surprise and I can hardly wait to see them. I thank God that they could get free to make the trip. This is turning into such a great trip!

Class of 66 at our reunion.

Tonight's picture is one someone took for me at the reunion the other night. I think it was Charlie who took it; thanks, Charlie . . . maybe it was Sam, though. Anyway, whoever, thanks! I haven't seen the numbers, yet, but I think our class had the most people there. In this picture I am on the front, left, then Dave Gibson (CA), Wanda Madaris Fulton (AL), Fran Nakabayashi Wolf (TN), and Matt Kohler (WA). In the back is Gary Whiteley (TX) and Bob Dwyer (HI). Bob Dwyer and I were there at the same time. All the others were there after we were. Wanda and Fran actually graduated at Itazuke! Gary has been to every single reunion. Fran only missed one, I think. I've never missed one since I was found, but there were 2 before I was found. The others come when they can. I feel like I went to school with all of them. Bob Dwyer is the guy who got us started house sitting in Hawaii! These reunions are so special to me; I feel like I'm really at home at every single Itazuke reunion. I sure thank God for the time we spent in Japan and for our opportunities to be in touch with each other. I think it's great that people from all over the country will come together for special moments to celebrate our friendships.

I've got pictures on my card in my camera and they won't come up on my computer. I don't know if the reader isn't working or if the card is sick. I hope when I get home I can download them with the cable. I'll keep clicking and sure hope I can save the pictures; I can't afford to stress over this! (eyes rolling)

Favorites in every way.

Tonight's picture is of a couple of my very favorite people. This is Debbie Allin Shushkewitch and her sister Dana Allin Minnis. They are two such delightful people! They came to Itazuke at just about the time that I was leaving and I never new them there. One was a year older than me and the other was a year younger. So, if we were there at the same time, our paths didn't get to cross. At this point in life, a year here and there makes no difference. They came to their first reunion when I hosted it in Branson and they've brightened my life ever since. There are no two people who are more fun! They bicker back and forth in such a comic fashion; then the next thing I know one says, "Here, Sis, come over here by me." There may be a lot of bickering, but there is never a doubt about the unconditional love between these two. It's my joy to ever be around them. I thank God for wonderful women like these two in my life. If I had never gone to a reunion I would have missed these people in my life. Dana often comments on this blog, so if you follow the comments you may feel that you know Dana. Debbie is not as confident on the computer, so she comments by email rather than on the blog. I never doubt her support, though.

Charlie and Fran left this morning, so Don and I are on our own. We had a meeting with the staff here this afternoon and it was the most interesting we've ever had. It is really beautiful here. If it doesn't rain too much tomorrow we'll go hiking. Today we saw a peacock and he's shedding his feathers, so we got one with an eye on it! I'll post a picture of it someday soon; it's really cool. I hope we'll get to see him again and I'll get a picture of him if I can. He looks a little pathetic with most of his tail feathers gone, but he's still a beauty.

Happy Birthday, Erica!

Publish Post

Tonight's picture is of Erica and, her Daddy, Davey. Erica is our oldest grandchild and she turned 20 today. We are so very proud of her.

Today it has rained all day, but we didn't care. We've been just hanging out in the cabin. Fran and Charlie and I went over to the laundry, here on site, and caught up on our laundry from the reunion weekend. It's fun to just be hanging out with great friends.

We are so blessed to have good friends and wonderful family. We thank God for these rich blessings in our lives.

Off we go!

Tonight's picture is Charlie and Fran from our reunion. They live in Nashville and they came to Shenandoah Crossing to spend a couple of days with us. It's great; we're extending the reunion! Charlie and Fran come to all the reunions, but we never seem to have enough time together, so this is a great extension!

It's late, though, so I'm headed to bed. You can tell I'm tired because I posted before I had written the blog! Sorry if you looked and it was empty!

We had a wonderful reunion and sure thank God for great times with great people. Every reunion is like coming home for me!

'Off base' at the White House!

The lighting wasn't the best for this picture, but you couldn't get a better group! We all toured the White House and then walked to the capitol for a tour there. These people are too old to be making that 30 mile walk! (It was only several blocks, but it felt like 30 miles in the heat!) I'm not going to name all these people; if there is someone there you know I hope you recognize them. Ha! Don and I are in there; can you find us?

It was so fun to make an excursion together and cut up all the way! Susan Parks Tarter (second from far right) planned the trip. She got clearance for several of us through her state senator. Terry Yamashita (tallest guy in the back, beside Don) had tickets for another 6 through his senator. Susan arranged for 2 vans that carried all of us over there. Then we came back by the Metro and the hotel shuttle. What an excursion!

I'm posting this, now, because I doubt if I can get online tonight. Tonight is the banquet, auction and dance. Woohoo!

God bless and PTL!

Big hurry!

This post has to be so quick because I'm in the lobby hurrying to get it posted before I run out of charge on my computer. Tonight's picture is for my sister's benefit. This is Gwen Rasor Wisicheck, and I don't think I spelled anything past the Gwen right, but Ruthie will know who it is. Gwen Taylor Nash will know her, too. Gwen Taylor Nash is coming tomorrow, so they will have a reunion and both will be missing Ruthie, as I do! We are having a great time at the reunion! I could never miss one of these! Gwen has breast cancer last year, so we've been comparing notes! She's doing fantastic!

I thank God for our lives, for times we shared in Japan and times to share right now! We are very blessed.

Must rush! Internet access in my room is $13 a day and no way I'm paying that! :)

The leaves are blushing.

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me on our way to the pool this afternoon. The trees around us are mostly oak, but these little dogwoods are changing their colors. You can see lots of leaves on the ground, but I think they are from last year because oak leaves turn, but hang on until the new growth pushes them off in the spring.

We are nestled in a beautiful surrounding. I was loading the car tonight and saw a deer go through the parking lot past the other side of our cabin. I was going in for another load and hollered at Don to run look out our front window for her. She was there with another doe and 3 little fawns! That was so fun. I grabbed the camera, but by the time I got out to snap the picture they got too far away to capture them. I did get two of them in a picture, but it's not very clear. It's like one of those hidden pictures; it's good for my memories, but probably not good enough to share.

We're all packed and ready to go. I'm taking a sauna sort of bath tonight; we're watching new TV shows and heading to bed to get up at 3:45 so we can leave at 4:30 in the morning. That's a tough way to start the reunion, but it'll be fun. A bunch of us are gathering at the hotel to go to a tour of the White House. It'll be fun! I thank God that many of us can go! We're not spring chickens, so many of us have health issue that keep them away. Some are still working and have other responsibilities that keep them from joining us. I'm grateful for the ones who can join us!

Basking on the porch.

This picture is of Elena and I basking on their front porch. Yesterday was such a beautiful day, so we had some good time sitting out on the porch enjoying the sunshine. God blesses sweet Elena, and me and you, too!

We left their house early this morning; I think it was 6:40? Time is tricky for me and when we change time zones I sure get confused! We had a safe trip and it took us a little over 8 hours to get here. The cabin we have is very nice. Shenandoah Crossing is a really huge place. I'm glad we're coming back next week. We can just snoop around a bit tomorrow. I'm going to re-pack, so that I have only what we need to take into the hotel ready to go to DC. We have a kitchen here, but we are eating out most of the time, I think. We have snacks like popcorn and bananas, but I don't want to have to fool with keeping food while we're in DC. When we come back next week we'll stop and get food to eat in the cabin. Tomorrow, maybe we can get some pictures. Some of the trees are just beginning to turn, so that's an interesting process for us to get to watch. God is so good to give us lots of interesting things to watch as we move across the country. It was warm today, but we hadn't been here long when it clouded up and stormed. We were inside, so it was just fun to watch.

I had a nice relaxing bath and then we watched Survivor. I love that show! I love it that we have WIFI here! We never know what to expect and dial up is such a pit; this is wonderful!

All in a day's 'work.'

Today's picture is one I took of Elena working out on one of the exercise machines here. We've played outside a bunch, too. It's been great to get to spend time with Elena and Garrett and their mom and dad. Kids grow up so quickly; these moments in time will be ours to treasure.

Tomorrow morning we leave early to go to Gordonsville, VA, which is where we'll be for a while. We'll take a weekend out to go into DC for the reunion, but we'll be staying at Gordonsville for 2 days before the reunion and 5 after it. We're looking forward to relaxing some there.

Everyone seems to be well at home. We are grateful for friends who can keep an eye on the house while we're off visiting family and more friends. God is good to provide good people everywhere. Joan tells me they cut the field north of our house from whence comes all the windmill weeds! That's a great boost to our morale, knowing that all those weeds won't blow over to us all fall. I hope we're not taken by false hope, but I'm going to cling to it! :)

Antihistamines are working!

Tonight's picture is of Garrett and Elise at lunch on Sunday. Garrett will be 14 in December and Elise will be 11. It's always fun when we can get together with some of the cousins.

Today was much better for me because the antihistamines have come to my rescue. I thank God that my body responds to them so I think I can keep the allergies under control. It was fun today to get to have Elena all day long. We played outside and did lots of reading inside. She's a smart little girl! Tonight we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant that was very, very good, too. Sweet times; we are so richly blessed.

So fun; so late!

We've had so much fun today, but I'm really running late to get the blog done. It's after midnight where we are, but my computer is running on Central Time, so I'll get it done while it's still today at home. The picture is one I took at the Golden Corral today at lunch. That's Elena, who was afraid to touch Garrett's scrape he got on his skate board wreck. Gretta is to the right and behind her is Ethan (peeking over her head) and Elise. We had so much fun with all the kids. We keep thanking God for this precious time with everyone!

We also thank God for a safe trip from Gina's to Gretta's today. I'm having trouble already with all the cats and dogs here, but I'm hoping I can take enough antihistamines to protect me. So far, it's not working, but I have hope. Last fall I came away from here with bronchitis; I sure don't want to go there, so tomorrow I've got to get a handle on this! We get to keep Elena tomorrow, so we'll spend a lot of time outside. Fun times!

Happy tree farming.

Tonight's picture is one I took of Don and Gina as we walked over their tree farm today. These are black walnut trees in the background. They have thousands of Japanese Maples in their nursery, too. It's a pretty big operation and very interesting to tour. It was also quite a hike! I'll have more pictures over the next few days.

We've had a great day touring around and playing cards with the kids. It's been a delight. We thank God for their health and their great home and farm on 56 acres. It's fun to be here and it's a great place for 3 of our grandkids to get to grow and live! The weather is perfect (they'd love to have some rain, but it's great for us to visit!)

Happy Birthday, Davey!

Tonight's picture is Davey and Bruce a couple of months ago, I think. Davey's birthday is today, so we're celebrating him, today. Bruce is 16 and this picture shows that he's not "little" Bruce, anymore! Notice the fridge behind them and the counter of their island in front of them. I think Davey is 6''2" and Bruce was 6'4" here. He's the tallest person in our family, and still growing, no doubt! (Check out the size of his hand on his dad's shoulder.) We look up to both of these guys, not only because they are tall; they are really great guys in every way.

We made it to Indiana today and got here in time to go see Ethan play a great baseball game tonight. Ethan is 7 and their team won by 20 points or more, so it was a fun game for our team. Ethan played a great game; we were sure pleased to get to see it!

We left Branson at 6:30 this morning and thought we were going to get here in plenty of time. Somewhere in Illinois we remembered that they're on Eastern Time here, so we were losing an hour! We came cruising in about 10 minutes before time to leave for the game, so it worked, but we were sweating it for a while. We thank God for a safe trip and the opportunity to spend this time with more family! Precious times and precious memories!

Packed and ready to go.

This is a picture Don took the other day when we went to the Landing down in Branson. The fountains are cool there. I'm always a sucker for fountains!

Today we gathered up everything here and we're ready to leave early in the morning. We want to get to Gina's in time to see Ethan play baseball tomorrow evening, so we're leaving early in the morning. We're ready. We are thankful for a car that's running good and pray for good weather for driving.

We took it easy around here, today. It's been a nice respite to just be here and relax a few days.

Happy Birthday, Trish!

Tonight Don took this picture when we got back from eating dinner. I brought half mine home for lunch, tomorrow. (Lots of times I forget to bring it, so I'm pleased to remember it!)

Today is our daughter, Tricia's, birthday. She was born in 1969, but I can't do the math to figure how old she is. I think she's about 25; I don't know how to explain that she has a son in college. It seems like only a few weeks ago that he was born. Time sure flies! I thank God for her in my life and all the precious family she brings to our family (husband, Robert and their 6 kids!) Trish started this blog for me when I was in Tijuana; it was such a big help to me to be able to keep everyone informed about my treatments and to have the interaction so that I knew I had lots of great support through this whole breast cancer journey. I had no clue how to blog, so I wrote something and emailed it to her and she posted it for me for the longest time. Thanks, Trish, for all you've always done for me!

Today has been a restful day. I didn't even fix supper. We went out for a change and then came home and watched the beginning of this season of Survivor and the finale of Big Brother. Those are two of our favorite shows, so it was a good TV night for us and kind of a date night.

Chilling in Branson.

This is a picture Don took of me at the fountain show down at Branson Landing today. It was really a nice day for us. We went to the Landing for a bit and shopped a little downtown. Then we just took it easy the rest of the day.

I had all of yesterday's mail to catch up on and that's done. I hope I didn't miss anything too important. It's nice to be taking it easy here. The packing for a trip is a bummer, but it's so nice once we get here. I brought leftovers, so eating has been easy and good. We love having the kitchen so we can eat like we enjoy. This is kind of a sneak preview for this winter when we will be back here without the crowds. We love it here in the winter; actually, we enjoy it here, anytime of year. It's best in the winter because it's not so busy then.

We slept until 10:20 this morning! I think I could do that every day, but Don must have been really tired from yesterday's drive! It was nice not to have any trains to catch so we could do that. We usually feel like it's late if we get up at 8, so this felt really bizarre. I liked it, though. I thank God for health to make this trip. I'm feeling really good and Don seems to be well, too. I'm coughing some from last week's bug, but it's not coming from my chest, so I'm so grateful for that. Hopefully, the cough won't last long!

Arrived in Branson

We arrived, safely, after driving all day today. It was nice to get here, get checked into our condo, have supper and then relax with TV and catching up on the computer. We have high speed here, but it's not the greatest, so I'll get this posted and get off here.

I sure thank God for a safe trip! The weather was beautiful. It's still very green. Maybe we'll see fall colors on the way home; it's too early for them here.

Ready, set, go!

Don took this picture when I sat down to do the blog and didn't have a picture to use. So, here I am on my last leg before we leave for our trip to the east tomorrow. I'm ready except for whatever I've forgotten. I guess we can do without whatever I forget. OH! I've got to go get the T-shirts from past reunions! Whew; that would be a big one to forget!

Today went well. I've felt good. I Still have a lingering cough, but it's not coming from my chest. I think I've been able to miss bronchitis this time. I'm still taking herbs to prevent it. I have all kinds of emergency stuff packed. I hate that part of packing: being ready for every possibility. I always miss something.

Joan is all set to take care of things while we're gone. It sure feels good to know everything will be fine while we're gone. We are so blessed to have good friends and neighbors who will help her if she needs any help. David was in good shape today, so we feel better about leaving when he's healthy, too. Now, we just need to get to bed early and travel safely. I'll post whenever I can along this trip, but don't be stressed if I miss a day here and there. I'll get back to it as quickly as possible if I miss sometime.

Better day.

Tonight's picture is just one Don took a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully we'll make some new pictures in the next few days. I only have old stuff to post.

Today started so much better because David felt well enough to come to the fellowship breakfast at church. It's amazing how he can bounce back from feeling so bad! I thank God that they have drugs that he responds to well! I made the gravy at the breakfast, so that was really an honor. One of our elders make the biscuits and a couple of other guys cook the meat and eggs. I'm honored that they let me participate and we think the gravy is the best part, so it's fun to get to make the best part! People say nice things and seem to enjoy it, so it's good for my ego. I didn't have computer problems today, either, so that helped to day to be much less stressful.

I'm all packed except for the last minute things. It feels good to be ready a couple of days early! I was able to get ready early because I was too sick to get out amongst people this week, but not sick enough to be still. It was good for me to get things done. The house will be ready for Joan to sit with it while we're gone. Don mowed today; if it doesn't rain the yard should hold until we get home and he can plow through it then. Joan will cut it if it gets too ragged looking, but I don't want her to have to do it, so I hope it doesn't. She's a great friend to take care of things whenever we're gone.

God, please help us.

Here's another picture from our photo session with Elena. Gretta was coaching Elena to "Smile pretty." She wasn't buying it, but Raynie wanted to help! This tickles me! I thank God for these precious girls in our lives and for the precious memories with them.

Today started out wicked when David called to say he had been sick all night so they couldn't join us for breakfast. Well, as the day wore on he got to feeling some better. I went and got Dorothy to go with me to a mutual friend's retirement reception. Then we went to the grocery store together. When we got home David was fixing himself a pizza, so that's way good. He hadn't felt like eating all day before, so when his appetite is back, it's a good thing. So I left them and came on home to find that my magicJack wasn't working. I had two messages from Ruthie and couldn't call her back. I was online for 4 HOURS attempting to get it fixed. I have had some really hairy technical wars before, but this one took the cake. I've had some training lately in real love and it sure came in handy! I finally got a girl who had me fixed in about 20 minutes. I quickly got online then, only to find out that another treasured friend has cancer. I feel like my brother looked the time he decided to get into the boxing ring and some guy just kept hitting him while he stumbled around. It seems like just when I stand up I get knocked down, again. But, God made us tough enough to take whatever is dished our way. He is there to help and make us strong. None of this is about ME; I get to be supportive and I thank God for the strength to be supportive! The best news is that I've felt much better today. I think I'm fine and I thank God for that. My friend, who has cancer will be fine. I know it; God will see to it. His wife told me and doesn't want the world to know at this point, so please just pray for Mary Jo's friend. God knows who he is. Actually, God knows that I have another friend who also needs prayers for his very serious cancer and he wants us to keep this quiet. People deal with things differently, but God works for all of us; this is all a piece of cake for Him. Let's Give Him the glory and thanks.

Kids are something!

Tonight's picture is one I made this summer when we were in Gatlinburg. We had taken Raynie's picture in Papasan's (my dad's) baby dress. So, now, we were taking pictures of Elena in it. If you have high speed click on this picture and get a close up of these girls. Together they have so much fun! Gretta was doing a great job of coaching Elena how to pose and here were Grace and Raynie getting in on the action. At the time I wasn't paying that much attention to it because it was fun. Then I just cropped the picture so that only Elena was in it. I'm so glad I saved the copy of the original, though. Looking back it reminds me of how much fun we were having. Here was Elena working with us so well to get a good picture and then Raynie and Grace climb up to clown around with her. Kids are so great! Look how Raynie is paying such close attention to what Grace is doing; if we only realized that someone is always watching us and we could be really making a difference in their lives! I sure Thank God for all our kids and grandkids; they are such an inspiration to me.

I think I'm really feeling better today. It's hard to tell because I haven't felt that bad. It's just that my head felt about the size of a basketball and today it's felt pretty regular. I'm taking Daquil, so I'm sure that helps. I wasn't confident enough to play cards tonight, though. Dorothy called and wanted us to play cards, but I'm so scared to give this to David (or anybody)! He doesn't need to catch a cootie; that's for sure and no game is worth it. So, I'll hang around the house one more night at least. I'm hoping I'll feel really good tomorrow.

Smokey Mountains.

The picture tonight is a shot I took of the pool with the mountains in the background. This is why they call them the Smokey Mountains. So much of the time it is foggy, giving it that smokey look. It must have been raining because there is nobody in the pool. We didn't have much rain while we were there, though. It was really a wonderful place, nestled in the mountains. All of us who live in Oklahoma were pretty amazed at the mountains and huge trees. We have mountains and trees, but not on THIS scale! I thank God for His awesome handiwork. How blessed we are to get to experience so much beauty all over our country.

Today it was rainy from the hurricane, but not stormy. It was just a slow rain when it did rain and sometimes it didn't even rain. It was an interesting change, and I'm grateful we didn't have enough rain to cause the flooding they were predicting.

I'm still not getting out. I don't feel good, but I don't feel all that bad. I was able to get a good start on packing for our trip, so that's good. I got some sewing done, too. I'm sure I've got something that doesn't need to be spread, so it's best for me to lay low until my head clears.

Sorry this post is so late, but I stumbled upon a movie I've been wanting to see on TV! The Client was the first of John Grisham's books that I've read and I was so tickled to get to see it. That was a real treat for me, so I watched it instead of posting earlier. Thanks for keeping up with me!

Yuck.

Tonight's picture is the bear on the porch across the street from the condo where we were staying in Gatlinburg. This is one of Tricia's pictures and they won't get bigger, so I chose one that was fairly clear of the bear. I ran out to see him, but didn't take my camera with me, so I'm sure glad Trish got these pictures and shared them with me.

Now, the yuck. I went to bed last night sneezing and with a scratchy throat. I hoped it would go away, but it was still there this morning. I don't feel as bad as I usually do when I'm coming down with something, so whatever this is I think it's pretty mild. It's definitely something that I don't want to pass to people, so I didn't go sing at the devotional at the nursing home today and I didn't go to play BUNCO tonight. I hated to miss both, but no way I want to spread this! I'm taking pills to keep it from going into bronchitis, so I hope they work, too. If I get bronchitis I'll cough for 2 or 3 months. Ugh.

So, I hung around the house and got a lot of sewing done today. That feels good. I love accomplishing something. Don't get me wrong; I don't really sew. I mostly alter things. Everything is too long for me, so I shorten things. Then when I lose weight I have to take things up to fit better. When I gain weight I let it back out, but I never plan to do that, again! I'm grateful to be able to see well enough to still sew. Threading the machine is a major deal for me, but I have a threader that helps a lot. So far, I've managed to make it 18 months since I was told I had to have my cataracts removed without having them removed. In fact they are improved to the point that they aren't bad enough to remove so I think that's pretty spectacular. I'm so grateful for so many blessings!

Great memory!

Tonight's picture is from our trip to Gatlinburg this summer. The night before Sadie and I had gone to the grocery store and we saw a bear coming out of the dumpster down the street from our condo. Then the next morning Mason had found a turtle and Trish went outside with him to get a good picture of him holding his turtle. Over his shoulder, across the street, there was a BEAR getting into the trash on the porch! The turtle story lost all it's steam! The bear was the big deal,now! After that we wouldn't let Mason go outside without an adult and none of the adults really wanted to go! We were always on the lookout for bears after that! Memories from the summer; I love it!

Today has been relaxing. I worked on some alterations this morning and then worked on the computer today, researching some information about COPD, which David has, Pulmonary Fibrosis which our friend, Imogene, has, and Interstitial Lung Disease, which a classmate has and which killed my mother. This is all very close to home for me. Chemo and radiation are two causes of Interstitial Lung Disease and I've had both, so I think I need to be very aware of these diseases (they are all related) and the available treatments. I printed some information and took it out to David and Dorothy. I love them so much; they are dear friends. I thank God for all these people in my life. Their examples of bravery and faith are good for me.

Cool dude.

Tonight's picture is one Trish or Sadie took of Gabe when we were in Gatlinburg this year. He was hiking all over that creek and they got him to stand still for a minute for this picture. Gabe is the king of adventure, so it was something to get a picture of him before he disappeared into the wilderness. He's such a cool dude; just ask his grammy and she'll tell you how cool he is! He's a sophomore this year.

Today was such a wonderful day! We've had a few cooler days and I was afraid to get hooked on them. However, I went out this afternoon and cleaned out the front flower bed and it was such a delight! I've neglected the flower beds this year because it's been so hot. I've hardly even enjoyed the flowers. I never even brought in any cut flowers. It just seemed like it wasn't worth the sweat! So, today I cut down all the dead flowers and pulled out all the weeds. I picked up a bunch of windmill weeds, but there are still gobs out there. I carried 7 STUFFED bags out to the dumpster. It felt so good to be out there working. I had sweat dripping off my nose, so my head was plenty hot, but the rest of me didn't feel like it was too hot. It was really an enjoyable task, and it feels good to have accomplished it.

I am so grateful that I can work in the yard. What a blessing! Three years ago I was 5 weeks into chemo and totally bald. I had to avoid the sun and didn't have the energy to do anything outside, anyway. It's such a blessing to feel so good!

All smiles!

This smiling bunch is a handful of cousins at our reunion last June. My sister, Ruthie's kids are on the ends: Deanna on the left and David on the right. Next to Deanna is my brother's son, John; then our Gretta and our Trish. It was really fun to have them together and I look forward to it happening again!

Today I gave haircuts to David and Dorothy. Then we kept Maria (preacher's daughter, next door), who is nine. She was sent home from school yesterday with some bug and they were having a birthday party for her little brother today, who turned 7. She felt fine, but she still had a little fever, so we were afraid she'd be contagious to all the other kids. (I hope we don't count for kids, because we sure don't want to catch any bugs!) She's a sweetheart, so she was no trouble and we were pleased to have her. She was amazed at how old our toys are! It would be interesting to hear what she tells her folks about all the old stuff here. I imagine we are older than her grandparents since her mom and dad are 32, I think. Life is interesting and I thank God for it!

Maintenance

Maintenance; that must be what's happening this week. Tonight's picture is one Don took today when he was candling my ears. We did this back in June, but they were feeling full, again, so we took the time today to do them again. It sure feels good! Toes yesterday, ears today. I guess I'm getting the head to toe maintenance deal this week.

We finished watching a set of DVDs called Real Love tonight. Man. They are really good. I highly recommend them to everyone. In life we have all ben very well trained in exchanging imitation love, but real love is the ultimate goal and what a blessing. Many of us are very happy and it's because we've stumbled upon real love. I hope I can find a way to share these DVDs with everyone I know. More likely people will see my example because it's hard to carry around 6 DVDs and get people to sit for 6 hours and watch them. I pray that my example will be better over the next 62 years than it has been over the last 62. I'm all about real love, now, although I was pretty good at exchanging imitation love, even if it was worthless. (If I've gotten your interest, you can check it out at reallove.com)

Surviving toes.

The picture tonight is one I took so you'll see how my toes have healed. Remember the chemo caused (a common side effect) my big toe nails to get infected. In fact all my fingernails and toenails did weird things. The nails kind of pulled away from my fingers and toes. I had to cut them very short to keep them from getting caught on stuff and getting pulled off. The infections under my big toenails were disgusting and difficult to cure, but two rounds of Cipro did it. All my nails came back pretty well, except the big ones. They just never did grow to my toes again. I've let them grow, but they grow in and are very painful unless I keep them cut. They look so ugly, but they don't hurt, so I give thanks. Closed toed shoes don't feel good at all, so I'm so into crocks and any flip flops that give me support. The toes are ugly, but at least my heels aren't dry and cracked like lots of heels I see in sandals and flip flops.

I'm so grateful to not have pain in my feet and toes and hands and I don't have numbness. It's a miracle to me that all that could go away after it was so bad during chemo. I give thanks that I CAN walk and that I am alive and feel good. God is great!

Power Plate for lymphedema.

Tonight's picture is another Don took of me on the Power Plate. This position is good for my lymphedema and my back. I do 2 minutes like this and 8 minutes standing. 10 minutes is a very small investment of time for the good it does me!

We went to Oklahoma City today to run some errands and we got to have lunch with Trish. Then we saw Raynie, Grace and Mason later. Sadie had volleyball practice and Gabe was off learning to skateboard. Nate is gone to OU, and Rob was at work, so we saw only half the family. It was fun to see them, though! I went without my camera, so I didn't get pictures. UGH!

We had a safe trip, though. The 'new' Venture did just fine. We thank God for the safe trip!