Just another beautiful week in the Ozarks!

Unlike some family letter writers that can provide a daily narrative of interesting things they have accomplished during the week, I am lucky to remember much of anything that transpired the past seven days.  I will give it a try though.

Sandy had blood work done on Monday so she could have another infusion on Tuesday.  This time when she came home, she determined not to crash and succumb to sleeping.  Instead she went about her normal routine of writing and reading and was able to sleep that night.  Wednesday we met with her surgeon to get his evaluation on what to do next since she no longer goes to the wound healing center.  The wound still looks good, surgery is still not an option, no there is no way to repair the leaks in her colon.  But he did provide one interesting bit of information: I was concerned that the colon leak was contaminating her internal organs; not so. The body self healed itself by forming a tunnel or wall from the leaks to the external incision.  That was comforting.  So as long as she drains, she will need an ostomy bag. On Friday Home Health came for their week visit and changed her bag.  This has been the week of bags. This was the third bag in six days; they have started to leak in a different place than in the past. Makes me question my installation procedures; but the one the nurse put on is leaking in the same place also.

Every year, the hospital, in conjunction with other sponsors, hosts a health fair at the fair grounds. We were able to attend this year. They provide free blood screenings and other services to the public. Many health care providers from foot specialists to hearing screenings, from cancer support groups to pain management have booths set up to introduce the the public to their services.  A great way to find out good information and see your friends. And they checked my ears for wax; one was clear and the other was really blocked. This year they provided free chicken frajitas while they last starting at 11 am.  We were done before then, so we left and went out to breakfast/lunch instead.

I did have an appointment to get my one ear cleared of wax on Friday and will have a free hearing check next week. I also met with Jana at the law firm that prepared our trust to update our assets. We keep changing things and need to keep the trust updated. This procedure always involves a lot of teeth gnashing.

Friday evening, Katie and Nathan drove up separately for the weekend. We were able to cut some low hanging branches using the bucket of the tractor to get me high enough to cut them with the chain saw.  Then Katie was able to get some bush hogging done.  That night we had the sister missionaries over for dinner. An investigator was also invited, but had to cancel at the last minute. We always have a great time when they come.

Saturday Katie got a 60 Minute driving lesson in the Model A. She is doing pretty good.  Just need to work on overcoming the paralyzing effects caused by stalling the car at an intersection with cars behind us. Then she bush hogged the western pasture while I took the Stihl cutting blade and cut unwanted underbrush in the forested area.

Sadly the dogwood have dropped their petals and the redbuds have been overgrown with greenery. Spring is rapidly moving on. The iris's are starting to bloom and most of the seeds planted in the garden are sprouting.

We had some great counsel in sacrament meeting today about balancing our time with wants/needs and the importance of daily scripture study. Priesthood focused on taking upon us the name of Christ in all we do. Before Katie left to drive home, we took another 45 minutes to practice driving the Model A.  She did much better. Almost ready to solo!

Nathan will leave in the morning, heading to Wyoming for a summer job at the same resort he worked at last year.

Katie wanted to get some photos for her senior collection. So here are a couple pictures of her:

Cooking lesson learned this week:  When the chicken quarters are still frozen and stick out of the top of the pan, don't add water to the top of the pan. As they heat up and thaw, they slip into the pan and push the water onto the stove top. Makes for a good mess!

Easter Sunday

Major accomplishments of the week:  We survived!

I spend some more time in the garden planting and weeding on Monday.

Tuesday morning we drove to the St Louis Temple with the Powells. It was a beautiful drive highlighted by bright redbud trees and brilliant dogwood...not to mention all the green coming to life.  We arrived in time to conduct one session and then head to our hotel. We checked in and enjoyed the dinner that the Drury Inn provides.  Then leaving Sandy at the hotel, the three of us returned to do another session.  Then it was back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

After a delicious hotel breakfast, we returned to the temple to do another session.  It is always good to be in the House of the Lord, doing for others that which they are unable to do for themselves in a very spiritual setting. There is a Costco close to the temple, so of course we had to stop and stock up on needed supplies. Then onto Rolla for a late lunch at Panera Bread Co.  I do enjoy their soups and salads.  We were home before 6 pm.

Thursday morning Sandy had her weekly visit with Clifford; he keeps saying she is doing better, but he would also like to see her twice a week.  Possibly he feels his honor is at stake because he is adamant about getting her well again!  I'm with him on that count! Once home, we had lunch and headed to Branson.  We drive through Harrison, which has an Aldis, so I was able to purchase some items there to stock in the pantry. We also stopped at Menard's to get some things for the house. And then finally to Branson; no trip here is complete without a stop at Harry and Davids. Dinner was at Red Lobster, a place we have not visited in over 10 years.  Sandy had the steak and did a credible job eating most of her meal. We spent a leisure night at the motel.

And just why did we travel to Branson? Obviously chocolate is on the list, but the real reason was that Miranda and Jonathan's families were going to Silver Dollar City on Friday and we joined them for the day.  We arrived about 935 (the park opens at 10 am) only to find all the close-up handicap parking spots full.  I dropped Sandy off and went to park the car in one of the regular lots and came back to join her.  She had reserved an ECV (electronically controlled vehicle), just a fancy name for an electric wheel chair. Due to the up and down terrain at the park, she was worried we would have trouble pushing regular a wheel chair. No complaints from me.

We were able to enjoy several of the shows they have. We saw a fire dancer show. Part of the time they used illuminated LED sticks and part if the time they used real fire.  It was impressive, but loud.  Then we saw Cirqunique that had balancing stunts and aerial ballet/acrobat routine that I liked a lot. Finally we listened to six harpists who played delightful and familiar melodies.

The children all had a great time; we enjoyed funnel cakes. Most of the group went on what I thought was Thunderation, a relatively mild roller coaster ride. It wasn't until we had waited in line that I saw it was really the new Time Traveler ride, which included loops, barrel rolls and wing overs and more.  I can't tell you a lot about the ride since my eyes were closed most of the ride and I was just hanging on for dear life. 

We stayed until the park closed at 6 pm and then fought the crowds leaving. All three of us stopped at a Burger King for dinner and Sandy and I drove to Mt Vernon to spend the night with Jonathan's family. And then stayed up late visiting.

Saturday was a slow day.  I was able to assist Jonathan with some of his fence installation in their pastures. After dinner, we watched the Time Traveler, the movie that the Time Traveler ride at Silver Dollar City was patterned after

Today was Easter Sunday. We had excellent talks about the Savior's Atonement and Resurrection followed by a thought provoking Sunday School lesson on what the Atonement can do in our lives. We spend a quiet afternoon enjoying the grand children as they searched for clues as to where their Easter baskets were.  Jonathan and Kristy prepared a yummy dinner of lamb and ham prior to our departure for home.

Spring is here!!

There was no post last week; something about General Conference and life.  We were blessed to have Deborah, Ian and their children join us for Conference weekend.  The adults watched all the sessions and the children several of them. It was nice to have others to share the talks with and discuss them and to enjoy the yummy food that Deborah fixed for us.

The past two weeks have been relatively quiet ones. I worked on several minor rental home projects, spent time prepping the garden and getting several vegetables planted, mowed the lawn (twice!) and accomplishing a few chores at home.

I was able to have my annual eye exam and then get new glasses made.  As soon as I put them on, I knew something was not right, but decided to give them a couple of days.  After two and a half days, I went back to Walmart to find out what was wrong; previously I had a lengthy field of vision with the lower portion my glasses; now it was greatly reduced and much closer.  I can't go around reading books only 12 inches away!  Walmart compared previous prescriptions and discovered one difference in magnification.  So back to the eye doctor to get it resolved.  He identified me as: "one of those people", meaning because I am far sighted, those types of corrections he included in the prescription don't improve my vision.  So, I got another prescription from him and will go back to Walmart to get new lenses that work for me (at no charge either!).

Sandy had another immonotherapy session this week. She came home and slept most of the afternoon and then didn't sleep much that night. The weather was lovely several days last week and she was outside walking.  She has a chair she also sits in outside so she can spend some time in the sun, reading or combing the long hair calico cat.

It is a beautiful time of year here in the Ozarks! The brilliant color of the red bud trees, the stark white of the dogwood in the forests, the amazing bright colors of the phloxs, tulips and hyacinths in the flower beds are all amazing. And it is sad when in a few weeks they will all be gone.

Over the past couple of weeks we have been in serious negotiations with our tax consultant. I originally thought we would get a refund this year...WRONG! It seems that Sandy's financial prowess, while very beneficial in the long run, hit us big time now. It was not a pretty scene yesterday when I sat down to pay for both 2018 and estimated taxes for 2019. Sandy keeps hinting that Porto Rico has only 4% income tax if you live there-- no federal tax.

This week we have plans to attend the St Louis Temple and also spend time with family at Silver Dollar City.