Happy New Year!

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me as I get his burger into a skillet for supper tonight. That's a treat for him. I think his favorite meal is a hamburger and we've found low carb tortillas that we put his burger onto, so, with mustard, lettuce, pickle and onion, he feels like he's having a hamburger sandwich and he doesn't ruin his diet. So, that's our new year's eve celebration dinner. We're easy! Tomorrow Gina and the kids are coming, so that will be a great way to start the year! I pray they travel safely!

We woke up this morning to a call from the resort telling us we were under a tornado warning and we should either come down to the first floor or tune into channel 10 to keep updated. We had thunder and hard rain, but the tornadoes went around us. I thanked God! It reminded me of last year when we were in Maui and were awakened by the tsunami alarm and the loud speaker saying we should prepare to evacuate or tune into some channel for information. We did evacuate and the tsunami never happened. Those are rude awakenings, but I rejoice that we are safe.

Yesterday, I hope I didn't concern you because I had a tough day. Tough days happen. It's life. I have to be honest on this blog, though, so I tell it like it is. Surviving breast cancer is wonderful, but as long as we live there will be tough challenges. I guess it builds character and strength. I hope so. I thank God for believing I can overcome the tough stuff and giving me life.

No sugar added rocky road ice cream. I need it!

This is the picture Don took of me yesterday when I got home from getting groceries. Gina and the kids will be here Saturday night, so I wanted noodles and spaghetti sauce and bread to feed them. Orange juice is a good start for breakfast and a red onion will keep Don happy. The great thing was I found no sugar added rocky road ice cream! I sure needed that! I've been here two weeks and couldn't find any until yesterday.

Today has been a hairy day. I keep getting difficult news from folks I love. This blog is not the place to go over any of it, but it's been hard for me. So, I will have ice cream and work my way through it. Life is not always easy, so it's comforting for me to know that God IS right here with us. I count on that. I thank Him that I don't have to know all the answers and thank Him for taking care of all the details.

Today was nice and warm, so Don and I walked over to the Tanger outlet mall and all through it. We went to all the places we thought we might find a bargain. There were bargains, but we didn't want any of them, so we didn't come lugging anything home that would have been an excess!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

The picture tonight is one I took last July when we went to Omaha for Jessie's tournament. Jessie is on the far left and her dad, Jeff, is the second from the right. The coaches were having an after that game session with the girls. Today is Jeff's birthday and the celebration tonight will be around OSU's game; hope they get a win! That will be a present for Jeff; notice his OSU orange glasses! God gave us a great trip to Omaha and saved our life when we totaled the car on the way home. We have so many blessings to count!

So, we're watching football tonight. I did a little shopping today. It was enough to make me tired after walking laps in the hall here and then doing the stairs twice. (They have an elevator, but I use it as little as possible.)

I'll get a good jacuzzi bath right quick, before the game starts. I love these baths!

God gave us another break.

This is a picture Don took of me in the kitchen in this unit. The kitchen is where I always spend a lot of time. Today I was way thirsty after shopping.

God gave us a break on the weather; it was in the 40's today and not windy, so that wasn't bad at all. I got a few Christmas bags for next year, but didn't find anything else. I'm getting better and better at ignoring the bargains. I finally learned that it's not a bargain if I don't need it.

I'm sleepy, already, so I guess the shopping on top of our walking the halls and stairs are doing a job on me. I'll have a nice jacuzzi bath and hit the hay!

Slow around here.

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me at the table, here in our unit. There isn't much happening today. I love it when it's slow and easy like this!

It's very cold outside, but we don't have snow. We walked the hall this morning for 40 minutes, then we walked down the stairs 4 floors and back. Then later they called to tell me we had mail, so I walked down all 5 floors to pick up our mail and then back. So, we're getting some exercise. It's too cold to hike, but Thursday may be a warmer day and maybe we'll go walking in the woods. I'm thinking tomorrow I may go do a little shopping. It was nice to take it easy today. Don worked on the computer all morning, so I read my book. Then this afternoon I caught up on my emails and computer stuff. It's nice to not have any projects to do around the house, like throw herbs or cleaning, etc.

I spent much of today on the phone with people we love at home. A dear friend of Don's dad's passed away yesterday. She was 94 and left her husband who will be 98 on his next birthday. What a precious couple! We thank God for their love and their example in our lives. They have been blessed, and her death to a heart attack was simple. She had fallen 3 weeks ago and hospitalized for 2 weeks and they had moved her to the nursing home last week. She lived only a week there. God was kind to bring her home with no further complications. Certainly she will be missed and remembered by lots.

Nice fireplace.

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me last night, standing beside our 'fireplace' in this unit. It's pretty novel. It actually does put out heat and it has a flame that is adjustable; it's really not a flame, but it sure looks like one. The camera doesn't do it justice, but we're enjoying it.

Today we went shopping at Wal-Mart after church and that was a dumb thing. I had on heals, which I only wear to church. So I walked a blister onto one of my feet. I'm sure glad I don't have to wear those shoes, again, anytime soon. A blister is a nasty thing, especially for someone who walks everyday. Ugh. Maybe my tennis shoes won't hit on that blister, plus I have a supply of band-aids and a cushion I can put in that shoe to raise my foot up to where the blister won't get so much traffic. I just hate it when I do really dumb things like that!

It was cold here today, and we had a few little snow flurries, but we thanked God that we didn't have to struggle through snow. If we get snow, here, they usually do a really good job of clearing the roads, but we have no experience with snow, so we lay really low if it snows. Much of the east has snow, so we pray our kids and friends who are in snow are safe!

Merry Christmas!

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me in front of the tree in the lobby. This tree is really pretty awesome. They have life sized trumpets on that tree! Flip flops; that's the wonder of being inside, since we aren't in Hawaii. :)

We had a nice quiet day. I got to sleep late and that was a treat for me. We had brunch and skipped lunch. We are going with the KISS method; that is keep it super simple. Someone else did all the decorating and we're eating simply. It works for Don's diet and food is a small issue for me, anymore.

There are very few people in this resort right now, I think. We rarely see anyone or hear anyone. This is exactly like we like it. I thank God that we can have these great getaways. We look forward to Gina and the kids coming next week for a visit and we'll enjoy hearing about all their travels and visits! I wish everyone were on Skype. We Skyped with Trish and her family today and that was fun. I Skype with Bob Clark and Judy Izumi pretty often. Dana and Terri, do you Skype?

They don't have a fitness room here, and it was cold, so we didn't want to walk over to the mall. So, we walked laps in the hall. It was great. Two years ago we were here and I walked by myself because Don wasn't into walking. It was great to have his company today!

Merry Christmas to all!

Borrowed: "A Gift for Everyone"

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me crashed on our bed in this condo. Maybe 62 is too old to be moving around like we used to do all the time? I'll be fine tomorrow! A good night's sleep is a wonderful thing!

My good friend, Travis Wiginton, writes a devotional from time to time and tonight I'm borrowing a bit of his writing. His wife, La Moyne, types them for him and sends notes, as well, so it's always so good to hear from them! I was so touched by what they sent, so I will close with it. When I grew up I was a picky eater and I left lots on the table when it came to food. I outgrew that and became greedy when it came to food, so I'm doing my best to quit eating too much. However, I think we leave so much 'on the table,' when it comes to God's blessings and that's a mistake. The things we like best about traveling and hiking is seeing all the different things that God has made. Coming through all the tough things in my life, I know that God was always holding me in His arms, but He does that ALL the time! We are so blessed!

This is what Travis wrote:

"There was a gift for each of us left under the tree of life almost 2000 years ago by Him whose birthday we are celebrating.

It was made possible:
~ by the incarnation (the real meaning of Christmas)
~ by the crucifixion (the real meaning of Good Friday)
~ by the resurrection (the real meaning of Easter).

This gift is withheld from no one.
~Some have left the packages unclaimed.
~Some have accepted the gift and carry it around....
but have failed to remove the wrappings and look inside to discover the hidden splendor.

The packages are all alike - wrapped up in Jesus Christ who is
~"the Way
~the Truth
~the Life".

In each package is written "All that the Father has is thine, take and live"!"

Love reading!

So, this is the bed in the extra bedroom; it's a great place to read, and Don caught me reading. I love reading and it's part of my plan for relaxing. These beds are very comfortable! We didn't even put on our memory foam topper, which we bring with us.

We're packed to leave in the morning. We'll settle in at the next place for a week and then we'll come back to this condo for another week. Then we'll go out to Big Cedar for a week.

We've enjoyed working out ever since we left home, but we're not sure if the Colonnade has a work out room. We'll see. If they don't then we'll walk over to the Tanger Mall for exercise; it's very close.

It's almost Christmas! We thank God for sending His son! Hope you are enjoying Christmas where you are!

"Ruthie's bed."

Actually, this is not RUTHIE's bed, but it is the bed I so wanted her to come sleep in when we were in the Arkansas boonies: Horseshoe Bend. I was really impressed with the antiques: sleigh bed, wicker chairs, etc. Well, Ruthie DID come and she also loved the furnishings, but she reminded me that antique beds weren't queen size! These are replicas, but they are very good! We did love staying there and it was even better when Ruthie and Phil came to share it with us. I'm not so into pictures without people in them, but by the time Ruthie and Phil got there we were too busy puzzling to get pictures of them in the bedroom. Besides, this is a family friendly blog. :) This place represents fun memories for us.

We booked another week at the place where we are, now. This WIFI right in the unit works really well for us. They have a fitness room within walking distance, so that works well for us, too. So, this week we leave and go another place (The Colonnade) for a week and then we'll be back here for the week after that. We're pleased with that change in the plans. We had two weeks scheduled at the Colonnade, but they are closing the first of January, so we can do our second week there in March. We were glad to be able to pick up another week here, where we find it so comfortable. I need to get a picture of their beds; they have awesome beds! We didn't even have to put our memory foam top on the bed!

I thank God for great sleep; a wonderful bed and whirlpool tubs. Hot water and good heat are also wonderful and I give thanks for them, too!

Note: I did the consultation for the permanent make up today. I'll decide and report to you!

Short on pictures!

Boo! This is a picture Don took tonight for me to send to a lady who does permanent make up, so it's me up really close. I don't want to look painted, but I mostly don't want to have to do the painting every day! So, I'm still contemplating this. Ha! I look at this picture and think I need to have some tucks taken here and there! I don't really care about those wrinkles, though. I do need some color, and I need it every day. If Gretta reads this she'll call me and come right through the phone to keep me from doing it. She doesn't read this, though, so I'm safe. I'm hoping they'll do it subtly enough that she won't even notice it. I told her I was thinking of it once and she said, "Mom! Don't you DARE do that!" She has a bracelet tattooed on her wrist and another couple of really pretty ones on her thigh or hip or something . . . I think a rose or a dragon fly? And she thinks I shouldn't have my face done? I think I can make this decision. Judy or Linda, I sure wish you were here to hold my hand, though! Ha, Judy, you talked me into going back to mascara and now I'm so hooked! Linda, you talked me into eye brows and I'm hooked on those, too. So even though neither of you are here in body, I'm taking you with me in spirit if I do it!

I thank God for the opportunity to care what I look like! I thank Him for giving me a chance to live several more years after a breast cancer diagnosis. I thank Him for letting me feel good enough to care if I look alive or not.

Today was busy. I'm doing lots of research on this permanent make up thing. It's not like placing an Avon order; this is permanent, so I've got to be sure!

Christmas is closing in on us!

Only 5 more days! Don took this picture of me last night, standing out on the screened in porch of our unit. You can see the lights on the bushes out by the little pond behind us. We think it's pretty cool. I love Christmas lights when they belong to someone else; we donated all we had to the nursing home several years ago, so we don't do lights anymore. I don't jump rope anymore. I've just outgrown some things and jumping rope and hanging Christmas lights are two of them.

I am so grateful to be alive to celebrate every single day. Christmas is a wonderful season, but Don and I have learned over the years that celebrating is good every day. We're glad to celebrate early or late, whether it's for Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries. Those are all great occasions, but we think it's most important to celebrate every day. Family reunions (any sort of reunion) have to be celebrated whenever we can arrange to be at the same place, but doing all that arranging sometimes adds a lot of stress. We make all those that we can, but in general we do our best to celebrate all the time. We have seen too many examples of lives being cut short, so we take no day lightly.

God has blessed us all so much. We thank Him every day, but I believe our thanks is best shown by the way we live and show our thanks because our vocabularies are too limited to adequately express our gratitude and His generosity.

Survivor night.

Don is enjoying football; I'm posting the blog early to be sure I don't forget to do it, tonight. tonight is the 3 hour finale of Survivor. Survivor is one TV show that I enjoy watching, so I'll be consumed with it tonight.

This picture is one Don took of me to show you this condo. The laptop is on a table sort of between the kitchen and dining area and the living room. That red chair to my left is a recliner where Don sits to watch TV. Off the living room is a nice screened in patio that looks off over a little pond. They have all the shrubs all lit up with Christmas lights, so it's very picturesque.

Today we enjoyed going to church where we have gone so many times when we stay in Branson. We saw lots of people who are familiar to us and that was a blessing to us. It is cold, but not freezing cold. I was comfortable in slacks and a blazer; some weeks will require a coat and gloves and I'll still be freezing. I thank God that the wind doesn't blow here like it does at home. This kind of cold isn't bad when it's still. Wind makes it terrible, but it feels rather nice as it is.

At church this morning, one of the mover and shaker sort of people appeared looking like I did 3 years ago: bald and pale! I went up and visited with him after church and he was all smiles and so glad to be here. He's just finished his chemo and his hair is starting to return. Oh, man! Been there and done that! Thank God for his survival and mine!

Pomelo.

I looked it up and pomelo is the correct spelling. It's a fruit that I really enjoy and I can never get it at home. For some reason they have it around here. It's native to southeast Asia, but someone must ship it into here from California or who knows where. It's like a cross between an orange and a grapefruit. It's sweet. You don't need to sugar it. You just peel off the cover and then peel the segments and eat it. It's laborious, but it's worth it. This is a picture Don took of me with my pomelo when we first checked into the last condo in the boonies of Arkansas. I brought it with me from Lake Ozark; I never saw any in those boonies! I haven't seen any here, yet, but I usually find one before we leave.

We are enjoying this condo. We worked out at the fitness room this morning and we've been relaxing all day. Don has watched lots of football today and I took a good soak in the whirlpool tub. I love it when they have those and here I am with the time to soak! God is so good to me!

I have a quiche cooking that will last me all week for breakfast. We found a kind of bread that Don can have on his low carb diet, so that's a good treat for him, too. He's doing really well. It will be 8 weeks tomorrow and he's lost 20 pounds! He's starting to look skinny, but he won't quit until he's lost another 20 pounds and everyone will think he's sick. (That's not his goal, but it's my blunt way of stating it. I see the horror on people's faces and I field their questions about his health!) The last time he lost down so low Trish said, "Dad used to always be a big guy and now he's just a tall guy." He'll quit when he gets down to 200. Then we'll stick with our lifestyle change so that we never have to diet again!

Correct Link to Ann's picture.

The link I posted first didn't work; it would if you scrolled down through a bunch of posts, but it wasn't right. I believe this one will be right. I replaced the other one, but I wanted to do it, again, because when I post some folks get it in their email and might never go back to see the correction. So, here is the correction:

http://josnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-red-shirt-day-ann.html

Celebrate a precious life.

Tonight's picture is one Don took of Ruthie and Phil and I before they left for home yesterday. We so enjoyed time with them! We took this picture because there was a shelf in their unit with all Japanese things on it! Ruthie and I spent 6 years in Japan and she met Phil there, so Japan is special to us!

We left Horseshoe Bend this morning and 'moved' to Branson. We are in a very nice condo, and settled, so we're looking forward to this week. The best thing is that we have WIFI right in the unit. That will be very convenient!

The sad thing was that when I checked my email I had a note from a good friends husband that she had passed away in her sleep on Sunday and her funeral was in Texas yesterday. If you've read the blog long, you will recall Ann Nelson sometimes posted comments. One time I put a picture of her on the blog in her red shirt because she joined me in wearing red on Fridays to support the troops. Ann's husband, Jim, went to Itazuke to school before I was there, but we met at the reunions. Then, when I did my treatments at MD Anderson, Ann was there for treatments as well. We grew closer and closer over the years and I considered her one of my best friends. She was a great encouragement to me and I thank God for the influence she had on my life. I celebrate her life and that I got to share some of it with her. I won't forget her. I hope you have people in your life that mean as much to you and that you will celebrate them, as well. I attempted to put a link to the picture I posted of Ann in her red shirt. I hope it works.

http://josnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-red-shirt-day-ann.html

Late, but finished the puzzle!

Every now and then we work a puzzle that is fun all they way, but usually, it was more like it was with this puzzle. There were many times that we threatened to take this puzzle to the dumpster. Many times there were comments like, "This puzzle is so frustrating!" Then, so many times we said, "I just don't think that piece is here." Another common comment was, "I don't think there are enough pieces here to fill in all these spaces." It felt so good to be DONE with it! I lost count of how many pieces we recovered from the floor along the way. It was a fun time, though. We got down to the last two holes that needed to be filled and I counted, "There must be 7 more pieces." Sure enough, I counted and the last pieces, that looked like they did not belong at all, were 7 pieces. We twisted them every direction until, indeed, they did fit and completed the puzzle. It's amazing how the mind works. We're looking for a piece that we know should be green and when we finally find the right one, it's brown or orange! It definitely is a lesson to me that things are not what they seem and certainly I make poor judgments, even when I am rested and paying close attention.

I apologize to anyone who missed my post yesterday! I have to have the computer over here at the rec center to post, and they close it at 8 p.m. I fixed our dinner last night and then we watched Survivor before I realized I had to be up here to post by 8. Survivor was over at 8, so I just didn't get here in time. I hoped you would all realize that I was busy having fun with Ruthie and Phil and just lost my scheduling attempt and never made it back over here.

We worked on the puzzle until a little after 11 to get it finished before Phil and Ruthie left this morning. It was sure wonderful to have them! Bless their hearts, they are easy to feed and entertain. We didn't make any attempt at entertaining; being together is all it takes to entertain all of us. Don and Phil are a couple of comedians, and Ruthie and I are an easy audience. We feed off each other's laughter, so we always have a great visit. We enjoy lots of memories from over the years with our family; Phil and Don have both been members of our family so long that we all enjoy the memories. I thank God for memories to treasure and time we can spend reliving them! I thank you faithful readers for patience with me when I miss a day of posting. I hope you feel my love coming through this blog.

They're here!

Puzzle time! Tonight's picture is one of Ruthie and I working a puzzle. You can see that it's great fun. It's so good to have them visit with us! I thank God for their health and their safe trip! It's sure a blessing to us!

They got here around lunch time and Don and Phil sat at the dining room table and solved all the country's issues until I put supper on the table. In the meantime, Ruthie and I got a good start on the puzzle. It was a great afternoon. Ruthie and I came over here to do the blog, but we're going back to the puzzle. Woo hoo! Thanks for keeping up with us. Find some time to relax; come and join us if you can!

Ruthie and Phil will be here tomorrow!

This picture Don took Saturday. This room is off the living area and has two of these wicker chairs and a table that seats 6. You can see the lake and the beach out the window behind me. I guess this place is hopping in the summer. There are hardly any people here, now, though. We're so excited that Ruthie and Phil are joining us tomorrow, though! They've had snow, so I was afraid they wouldn't get to make it. We have no snow, though, so I expect the roads will get better as they come west from Tennessee. I know that lots of Tennessee is kind of standing still right now, but I pray the roads are clear enough for them to travel safely tomorrow! I sure thank God that they are healthy enough to travel! This time last year Ruthie was so suffering with her back after her surgery, so I sure thank God for her progress!

We are enjoying relaxing here. I'm enjoying reading after we work out. It's down right cozy here. :) We've found that we are pretty hooked on the Internet, now that it's so hard to access!

ICE Platinum Rewards

This picture is one I asked Don to take to show the little smocked dress that is hanging on the wall opposite the reading area that I posted yesterday. This resort really has some interesting touches. It is decorated with antiques and the furniture is mostly antiques, too. It's pretty cool. Ruthie and Phil are thinking of joining us for a few days because we're only about 5 hours from them. I sure hope they come; I think she'll enjoy sleeping in the antique sleigh bed in the second bedroom. I'd like for them to see this place because it may be available, again, through ICE and they are close enough to come pretty easily.

Now, about ICE. International Cruise and Excursion is the company we call ICE. We have a lifetime membership with them and we can add 80 friends and family to our account at no extra charge. If you'd like to be on our account you can have access to very reasonable (some downright cheap; we got this week and last week in 2 bedroom units for $99 per week; some weeks are only $49!) resort weeks and cruises. They also have hotel rooms, but they don't look so reasonable to me. We've never done a cruise, so I don't know so much about them. I booked one once, but we canceled it because of the expense to get to the port! Anyway, if you'd like me to add your to our account, please send me an email with your mailing address and your phone number. I can add you to our account and assign a username and password to you. I'll send it with instructions of how to use it.

Donna, Rene was talking about dreaming of going to the Bahamas and I thought, she should look at these ICE cruises. I don't know a good deal when I see one, but you all have done these before, so they might work well for you. since you aren't so far from a port. Just let me know the information I need to add them to our account. We have a lot left before we fill up our 80 places!

I thank God for the opportunities we have through ICE to get away. The thing I like best is that we can share it with people. The more people who use it, the better value we feel like we are getting for our membership fee.

Cool antiques!

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me today, here in the condo. This is a reading room off of our bedroom. It's pretty amazing; it has two walk in closets that are really huge. If I had a baby I'd make one a nursery. I'm struck with the decor here. We've noticed that this place is full of antiques. It's really a lovely place . . . just way out in the boonies. I'm getting used to going to the recreation center to get in touch with the outside world. It's really a good place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. I finished a book I've been reading, and I was glad of that; it's not the best book I've every read and I'm glad to be done with it. I will donate it to their library and go home one book lighter. (I read a book one time and took it to the nearest dumpster as soon as I finished it. I kept hoping it would end right, but it didn't, so I trashed it. This one wasn't that bad; someone will enjoy it.) The last book I finished last week was great; I'm saving it for my sister. (The Street Lawyer by John Grisham.)

I even took a nap this afternoon. Relaxing is wonderful! The weather here is fine, too. It's brisk, but not too cold. Well a cold front came in a while ago and it's pretty cold and windy out there, now. God sure was good to give us diversity in our lives; I appreciate that. We went to an antique store today and I loved it. I was happy to let them keep all they had, but I did so enjoy seeing it. (Noted that I have lots of antiques at home; ha!)

Boonies of Arkansas.

We are to be thankful in all things, so I thank God for a safe trip today. The condo is novel. I don't expect we'll ever come back here, though. Once is enough.

We have WIFI at the rec center, but I live in the condo, so I'm not too happy with that and there's not even any dial up because we are so far out in the middle of nowhere. We do have onions and burgers, though, so we can eat. I even brought a pommelo (however it is spelled) from Lake Ozark, so I'm happy. There is a nice grocery store, here, too. Peace and quiet; it's great. It is on a lake and furnished in wicker and novel sort of stuff. I'll get pictures, but have to hurry because they close the rec. center in 9 minutes! Boonies!

This picture is one Don took the other night. I have on a red shirt, today! I thank God for the troops!

Moving tomorrow.

I remembered to take the camera with us when we went to work out, today, but I forgot to put the card in it. So, the pictures are in the camera, but I don't have the cord to use to get them from the camera to the laptop. Ugh. So, if those pictures are any good I'll show you next spring. This picture is one Don took last night as I was fixing dinner. This unit has been very nice and very spacious and well supplied. We won't hesitate to come here, again.

Tomorrow we leave for Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. It'll be hard to beat this place. The following week we'll go to Branson where we will be spending the rest of the winter, I think.

It's been a very relaxing week and I thank God for it! Thanks for keeping up with us.

Way relaxing.

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me relaxing in the whirlpool. I love it!

We work out every day at the 4 Seasons fitness room. This resort is a part of the 4 Seasons complex, here, and it's very nice. It's been a very nice start to our form of snow birding. I thank God for the time we get to spend escaping to special places and for our health to allow it!

We are watching Survivor tonight; one of my favorite TV shows. Then I'm ready for bed. I just got out of that soaking tub.

OOOPS! Forgot!

To my faithful readers, please pardon me for missing yesterday with a blog post! I had a wonderfully relaxing day, and I never even realized that I'd missed posting the blog until I sat down to post it today and saw that I was a day late! The picture tonight is one Don took the day we arrived here. It was nearly dark and I am standing on our porch which is right on the edge of the lake. This is a wonderful place.

I had the most wonderful and relaxing day, yesterday. Today was just like it! In the morning Don and I go over to the Four Seasons Fitness room. There is never anyone there but us, so it's like a private fitness room. The equipment is deluxe and it has a beautiful view out over the lake. Then we come back for lunch and then I enjoy reading all afternoon while Don uses the laptop. After supper I catch up on the laptop while he watches TV. Somewhere in there I take a great whirlpool bath. I love it!

I thank God for this opportunity to relax and enjoy life. I'm saddened and sobered by the death of Elizabeth Edwards. I know that she wanted to live as much as I do. She has been a courageous example and I thank God for her example.

Happy belated birthday, Joe!

Tonight's picture is one I took of Joe and Elena when we were there in September. Joe is one of my all time favorite bald guys!

Looking at this picture reminds me of warm and beautiful weather. It's been beautiful here, today, but very cold! Thankfully, the wind wasn't blowing, so that helped. I think we saw somewhere that it was 28 outside. Brrrr; we didn't go out for long!

I am enjoying some nice, quiet time. Since we only have one laptop, we share computer time. When Don watches football I get the computer. When he's on the computer, I read. It works well for us. I thank God for the opportunity to get away and spend quiet time together. This place is so spacious and nice; we're enjoying it.

Happy belated birthday, Garrett!

The picture today is one I took of Garrett in September. That was his almost 14 look. He's 14, now. Wow. It only seems like a few weeks ago that he was born. Time sure flies. He'll be driving in a couple of years! He's a good, good, kid and we're so proud of him! When he was just a toddler he used to jabber and jabber and we thought one day we'd figure out what all that jabbering was. We never did; as far as I know it was just jabbering. He sure is a good kid, though. We thank God for him; he's a delight to our family.

Today Don has been watching football all day, so I've been free to roam around and get things checked off my list, as well as rest. I got the lettuce and celery cleaned, so it's ready to use every day. I boiled eggs, so they're ready; Don eats one every day. I cooked bacon this morning, so I've got grease to fry eggs and the bacon is a good treat, too. This place smells like home, now. :)

This is a very nice condo. It is very spacious and has comfortable furniture. It's really a nice start to our winter. It has a huge whirlpool tub in the bedroom, and I plan to fully enjoy that this afternoon. Relaxing is nice. I was ready for this!

So tired; almost forgot the blog!

Tonight's picture is one Don took of me with sweet Imogene today. We stopped to see her on our way to OKC and she was still at breakfast. She's a precious lady who can't see and has trouble breathing, but she always wears that smile. It was great to see her. Lots of times when we go to see her, she's gone somewhere with her daughter, so we were glad we caught her today.

We stopped in OKC to have some blood drawn for tests so we can keep up with general stuff like cholesterol, etc. That went smoothly. Then we stopped and ate because we had to fast before the tests. Then we ran by and dropped off a Christmas package for Trish and their family. All the kids were at school, so we scurried on down the road, hoping to get here before dark. We made it just as the sun was going down. Our unit is right on the lake, but we had to come down a flight of stairs. Ugh. We had to go to the grocery store and then come home and fix dinner. I got the broccoli washed, but the lettuce and celery will have to wait until tomorrow. There is WIFI here, but it is incredibly slow. For some reason the "o" key is sticking on my laptop and it's really tiresome going back to put it in after I notice an "o" missing. I was so tired and almost in bed when I remembered I hadn't done the blog! So I'm thanking God for a safe trip and a sweet visit with Imogene and Trish. We are blessed to have great people in our lives. Oh, man. I just thought that I forgot to mention yesterday that it was Joe's and Garrett's birthday. I did talk to Joe and got cards to them. Garrett was busy, so I didn't call him. I have a hard time keeping up with everything. I talked to Gretta yesterday, too, and she said maybe she and Garrett could come spend a long weekend with us if he gets one in January or February; we can celebrate then! I've so got to go to bed! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Last of the re-bloomers!

Tonight's picture is one Don took today of me and the last of this year's re-bloomers. This year there haven't been as many, but they lasted longer than they ever have any other year. God's creations are so interesting to watch and enjoy!

I'm scurrying to get everything into the car. I'm sure glad we're traveling light. (Eyes rolling!) It's ridiculous all we take with us to go anywhere. Traveling with us is worse than traveling with a baby. I think we're ready, though. Whew. I'll post from the road as soon as I can. Enjoy the holidays! Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season . . . and everything else! Praise Him!

Rattled.

The picture tonight is Gabe and Gracie when they were here last week. Since then Gabe has had a great hunting season. He got a 10 pointer buck one day and a doe the next. I think he said the doe weighed 172 pounds? I get the details confused.

I get everything confused! When I was at Tricia's house in October I stopped at a yard sale and bought a pair of flip flops to wear around her house. When I got home I realized the pair had TWO LEFT feet! I could still scoot around in them, but I felt really dumb. This week the credit card company called to tell us they had to close our account because there was some indication that something fraudulent was happening with it. They sent new cards to us by one day UPS, so I went to cut up the old card and cut up the new one. DUH. That is so what Don has to put up with every day. Bless his big heart. I thank God for him! So rattled is putting it mildly. There's no telling what I'll forget to take with us that we really need. I'm working on getting the last things packed. It's scary when he's depending on me to get this right.

I will keep posting as we travel, but if I miss a day don't worry. Just know that it's my intention to post every day, but we could get snowed in or powered out or something that keeps me offline for a day or two. Thanks for keeping up with us!