Sunday 25 November 2018
Happy 19th Anniversary to Miranda and Dan on Monday!
Happy Birthday to Kristy Fox and achieving over the hill status Tuesday!
Monday was busy: I had lab work done for my upcoming physical and then went to paint the rooms at the house I have been working on. Also met with the heat and a/c man about running ducting into those rooms. That is about when Sandy called to inform me that her 97 year old mother had passed away the previous night in her home. It is always so sad to lose someone that has a strong positive influence on your life; she was a great lady!
Tuesday, after accomplishing a lot of items on the need to get done list, we loaded the car and headed off to Branson to do some shopping. Sandy was capable of doing more than she had thought; maybe spending money is good for your health. We dined at Olive Garden and she had healthy servings of their salad and salmon. We spent the night there so we could shop some more before heading to Jonathan's on Wednesday. Again, Sandy was able to walk to a variety of shops without feeling weak. We did find a lot of things on the shopping list to purchase. And she spent a lot of time at 1/2 of 1/2! She stated that it is easier to walk than just stand still. I had to make a supreme sacrifice to bypass Andy's Frozen Custard so I could connect with Miranda and Dan just west of where Jonathan lives to pick up a BioMat they had picked up for Mom (they were on their way home from the Kansas City Temple).
We spent an enjoyable evening with the Fox family, trying to get caught up on all the news and family happenings. Thursday morning Isabelle and I participated in a local 5K run. She has been doing the couch to 5K routine and had never run much further than 2 miles, so this was new territory for her. And she did amazing! I was not familiar with the course and my watch did not synch properly, so I just ran without any time reference and let my body set the pace, and we ran together. About the 2 1/4 mark, Isabelle had trouble breathing and had to slow for a short time to catch her wind. I kept on going, finishing 48th out of 277 registered runners; she was not far behind. I placed 1st in the over 70 male group (the 3rd place guy was 80); Isabelle was 3rd in her age group.
We came home to help with dinner preparations and relaxing. Jonathan and Kristy have fine dining down to a science and are great cooks; each has their own area of expertise and the older children have their own specialties they cook. They had invited another family over for the Thanksgiving feast; lots of yummy good food to enjoy. And we had wonderful fall weather as well.
Friday we were up and busy with farm chores. Actually, I spent a good portion of the day helping Jonathan attached a very bright LED light to his tractor; it took some time to mount it on the roll bar, run the wires and such. And it was cold!
Saturday we finished the tractor light and worked on a malfunctioning exterior outlet that powered the pump for their fountain. While it worked prior to the fire, there is no juice there now. I traced the wire back to the house where there was still no power. Who ever installed the exterior outlet in the beginning, placed it at ground level facing up. Even though it had a sealed box, it was still full of water. We were able to extend the wire about 18 inches above ground, install a GFI and a new weatherproof box. Now it is time to call an electrician so he can determine why there is no power.
Kristy has a 40th BD this next week and we could not pass up this opportunity to properly recognize this milestone in her life. Jonathan tried to get her out of the house so we could arrange a small family party, but she wanted to stay home and visit. So, we had to clandestinely make arrangements around her presence. The older children went shopping for the appropriate black party favors; one of them made a cake, but told her mom is was brownies. Then while Isabelle distracted her outside with the animals, we where able to make a chocolate truffle cake and hide it in the refrigerator. Then after dinner, Jonathan took her to the barn to show her the lights on the tractor, and everyone stepped up and decorated for the occasion. You will have to wait a few days for the pictures. Anyway, Kristy was greatly surprised and was most appreciative of everyone's efforts. And the cake was delicious.
Sandy stayed busy this week reading, talking, playing games with the children and other sedentary tasks and remained in good spirits the entire time.
Today we attended church and enjoyed the various meetings. They have a great ward with a lot of good people. Heard some great council on gratitude and the blessing it is to show gratitude. After a turkey sandwich, we headed home in some cold nasty weather. We arrived about 7 pm and are glad to be on our own warm and snug home.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the MO Fox family. We are truly a blessed family!
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
The Week that Was
Sunday, 18 November 2018
We awakened Monday morning to a light dusting of snow on the ground; but it didn't last long since the ground was not cold enough and the air temperature was too high. But it looked nice for a short time. Sandy's ministering sister visited her in the morning and brought her some chocolate chip cookies. Because she is trying not to eat much sugar, I am forced to eat all this type of goodies she receives. And that is not necessarily a blessing to my waistline.
Tuesday morning Sandy had lab work done prior to a later in the week scheduled infusion. In the afternoon she returned for a followup with the dermatologist about her cracked and swollen lips and itchy skin. The meds he had previously prescribed had done their job well and she is recovering well.
The elders quorum was scheduled to unload a U-Haul truck on Thursday, then on Wednesday evening and then first thing Wednesday morning, when the temperature was in the 20's. A sister was moving from Arizona and her brother, who lives locally, was there to assist the four of us and the driver to offload a 26 foot van into a 20 foot storage shed. The driver had packed the U-Haul and must have had super natural packing powers; there wasn't any extra space. And when he was done packing the storage shed, it was much the same. I was able to help until 9:30 since Sandy had a 10 am appointment with the wound healing center. They always change out her bag, which had been on several days this time. The smaller wound seems to be healed over and not draining. The larger one is healing nicely, showing good color. We asked the doctor several questions, such as: what happens to the drainage if the wound heals over? Will she always be on an ostomy bag? Turns out that Sandy is an anomaly; neither she (with 20+ years medical experience) nor the surgeon (over 30 years experience) have ever seen this type of wound before and don't know what to expect. So for now they are tracking her progress (which has been very good), ensuring the cleanliness of the wound and surrounding skin area, and seeing her every two weeks. Home health comes once a week and only changes the bags if there is a leak.
Thursday morning Sandy met with Clifford for his treatment and then right after had the infusion therapy. The latter takes up to three hours; first she sees the doctor who reviews her lab results from earlier that week, then they order the meds and the actual infusion only takes about an hour. There was good news: her red blood count was 10.1 two weeks ago. This time it was 10.9. She had a lot of energy this day; in fact at her normal bedtime she didn't feel like going to bed and stayed up another hour or more.
While she was busy doing her thing, six of us drove out to a member's home about an hour away to cut firewood. My original thought was to cut wood for this member and then anyone else in need. This brother turned down the offer of wood, but he did arrange with the owner of neighboring land that had been logged, to cut any downed timber. We found plenty of oak to cut and split. I had taken the trailer and we had it mostly loaded when someone else showed up. Turns out that while we had permission to cut the wood from the owner, he had just sold the wood to this guy to cut for firewood. Not a problem, we were just about ready to stop anyway. On the way home we dropped off a rick or two of wood at a member's house and brought the rest back to our house for future dispersal.
Friday Sandy was still feeling good. Miranda, Dan and children arrived about 6 pm; we had also invited the sister missionaries for dinner. I made Mexican chicken casserole (my first time) and it was pronounced tasty. The purpose of our gathering was to review the next day's race strategy. The White River Marathon/half marathon/5K was the next day and Miranda, Dan, one of the sisters (with mission president approval) and I were running the 5K. The non running sister needed a female companion and they found a young family that was willing to be up early to keep her company and then get her to the finish line while the other four of us headed to Cotter for the race. I especially like this race; this is the 14th year for this event (my 3rd year to participate) and proceeds go to support a community in Kenya. With about 700 runners participating in the three different running events it is a massive undertaking, but they have all sorts of volunteers that support them. Because it is a Boston Marathon qualifier, it is a chipped race and they have your race results available immediately after the race. Runners like this marathon route because it is flat! I like it because in the first mile, 3/4s of that is downhill. And they give each finisher a nice medallion. And they have food! in the building where the awards are handed out. Dan took 1st in his age group, 23rd of 150 runners. The sister missionary was 2nd in her age group and I was first in the over 70 male group (53rd of 150). I should mention, there were only two in that category.
It was in the high 30's when the race started.
Miranda is on the left and the sister missionary to the right, nearing the finish line...and just before she passed me at the finish.
Here is your fearless leader at the finish line.
The awesome foursome after the race.
The shirt the sister missionaries made for the event.
I still had about two or three rick of wood in the trailer and put my work force to work stacking it.
Today we are a little stiff and sore. And at church today, there was a family of seven from Dallas; they had come up so the Mom could participate in the marathon. When pressed, she admitted to being the 4th female to finish the marathon. Not bad for a mother of five children!
We look forward to traveling to Jonathan and Kristy's for Thanksgiving, with a brief shopping trip in Branson this week. We hope all of you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
We awakened Monday morning to a light dusting of snow on the ground; but it didn't last long since the ground was not cold enough and the air temperature was too high. But it looked nice for a short time. Sandy's ministering sister visited her in the morning and brought her some chocolate chip cookies. Because she is trying not to eat much sugar, I am forced to eat all this type of goodies she receives. And that is not necessarily a blessing to my waistline.
Tuesday morning Sandy had lab work done prior to a later in the week scheduled infusion. In the afternoon she returned for a followup with the dermatologist about her cracked and swollen lips and itchy skin. The meds he had previously prescribed had done their job well and she is recovering well.
The elders quorum was scheduled to unload a U-Haul truck on Thursday, then on Wednesday evening and then first thing Wednesday morning, when the temperature was in the 20's. A sister was moving from Arizona and her brother, who lives locally, was there to assist the four of us and the driver to offload a 26 foot van into a 20 foot storage shed. The driver had packed the U-Haul and must have had super natural packing powers; there wasn't any extra space. And when he was done packing the storage shed, it was much the same. I was able to help until 9:30 since Sandy had a 10 am appointment with the wound healing center. They always change out her bag, which had been on several days this time. The smaller wound seems to be healed over and not draining. The larger one is healing nicely, showing good color. We asked the doctor several questions, such as: what happens to the drainage if the wound heals over? Will she always be on an ostomy bag? Turns out that Sandy is an anomaly; neither she (with 20+ years medical experience) nor the surgeon (over 30 years experience) have ever seen this type of wound before and don't know what to expect. So for now they are tracking her progress (which has been very good), ensuring the cleanliness of the wound and surrounding skin area, and seeing her every two weeks. Home health comes once a week and only changes the bags if there is a leak.
Thursday morning Sandy met with Clifford for his treatment and then right after had the infusion therapy. The latter takes up to three hours; first she sees the doctor who reviews her lab results from earlier that week, then they order the meds and the actual infusion only takes about an hour. There was good news: her red blood count was 10.1 two weeks ago. This time it was 10.9. She had a lot of energy this day; in fact at her normal bedtime she didn't feel like going to bed and stayed up another hour or more.
While she was busy doing her thing, six of us drove out to a member's home about an hour away to cut firewood. My original thought was to cut wood for this member and then anyone else in need. This brother turned down the offer of wood, but he did arrange with the owner of neighboring land that had been logged, to cut any downed timber. We found plenty of oak to cut and split. I had taken the trailer and we had it mostly loaded when someone else showed up. Turns out that while we had permission to cut the wood from the owner, he had just sold the wood to this guy to cut for firewood. Not a problem, we were just about ready to stop anyway. On the way home we dropped off a rick or two of wood at a member's house and brought the rest back to our house for future dispersal.
Friday Sandy was still feeling good. Miranda, Dan and children arrived about 6 pm; we had also invited the sister missionaries for dinner. I made Mexican chicken casserole (my first time) and it was pronounced tasty. The purpose of our gathering was to review the next day's race strategy. The White River Marathon/half marathon/5K was the next day and Miranda, Dan, one of the sisters (with mission president approval) and I were running the 5K. The non running sister needed a female companion and they found a young family that was willing to be up early to keep her company and then get her to the finish line while the other four of us headed to Cotter for the race. I especially like this race; this is the 14th year for this event (my 3rd year to participate) and proceeds go to support a community in Kenya. With about 700 runners participating in the three different running events it is a massive undertaking, but they have all sorts of volunteers that support them. Because it is a Boston Marathon qualifier, it is a chipped race and they have your race results available immediately after the race. Runners like this marathon route because it is flat! I like it because in the first mile, 3/4s of that is downhill. And they give each finisher a nice medallion. And they have food! in the building where the awards are handed out. Dan took 1st in his age group, 23rd of 150 runners. The sister missionary was 2nd in her age group and I was first in the over 70 male group (53rd of 150). I should mention, there were only two in that category.
It was in the high 30's when the race started.
Dan finishing 24th overall for the 5K.
Miranda is on the left and the sister missionary to the right, nearing the finish line...and just before she passed me at the finish.
Here is your fearless leader at the finish line.
The awesome foursome after the race.
The shirt the sister missionaries made for the event.
I still had about two or three rick of wood in the trailer and put my work force to work stacking it.
Today we are a little stiff and sore. And at church today, there was a family of seven from Dallas; they had come up so the Mom could participate in the marathon. When pressed, she admitted to being the 4th female to finish the marathon. Not bad for a mother of five children!
We look forward to traveling to Jonathan and Kristy's for Thanksgiving, with a brief shopping trip in Branson this week. We hope all of you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
November News from the Ozarks
Happy 243rd Birthday to all Marines!
Thank you to all veterans for your dedicated service and sacrifice, past and present.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kristy Fox's parents, who until this past week, had a house, barn and 8 horses and were enjoying life in Paradise, CA. I am sure they have exciting adventures to share about evacuating from the area amidst the fire. The barn and house were burned to the ground. All 8 horses survived so far, but need food and water. Last minute update, Kristy just sent this link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Cowboy-volunteers-ride-to-the-rescue-of-horses-13381324.php#photo-16485085
We have been down a nostalgic road recently. It all started last Jan/Feb when we packed up the downstairs and stored those items in the garage preparatory to going on a mission. When those plans were modified, I slowly brought things back into the house, mainly items we would need. So, several totes were still in the garage until we purchased the van, and needed more room if we were to park the car in the garage (I am a firm believer that the purpose of the garage is to park your car in it!). So many of the last remaining totes were emptied and put back in their place in the downstairs. The nostalgia began when I opened one that had old VHS tapes (okay, I realize using the term 'VHS' means 'old' and it isn't necessary to state the obvious). Amongst all those tapes were all three of the 'Back to the Future' series. So we had to watch them. These had obviously been recorded off of AFRTN when we lived on Okinawa in the '90s because one of them had a 'TC-3' in the bottom right corner and the movie was occasionally interrupted with typhoon condition updates reminiscent of typhoon parties.
It was a quiet week for Sandy; only one medical appointment, and that was with Clifford. She did set a new ostomy bag replacement record this week; in fact she set two. The wound healing center nurse had installed one on Weds 31 Oct. It was still holding up the following Weds! But Sandy called home health to have them send a nurse to replace it since it is not good to keep the same bag much longer. Her favorite nurse, Wanda came to do the replacement. And this is where the second record may have been set. She used a different style bag and it leaked within hours. I did a temporary tape job that evening, and then again in the morning before another nurse came to replace that leaky bag. So far it is holding up. but one never knows how long a bag will hold up.
Monday evening was empty esters with a Thanksgiving theme, to include turkey and dressing. I made a green bean casserole. There were no left overs. Tuesday night we had the sister missionaries join us for dinner. And since my casserole of the previous night was well received, I made green beans again to go with lasagna. No, I did not make the lasagna; it was a freezer meal Miranda had made months ago and we had not gotten around to eating it yet.
I spent a couple of mornings at the rental house working on mudding and sanding the drywall we installed. I am within a couple hours of being ready to paint the walls. Then Adam's tenant moved out and left 1040 pounds of stuff behind. I know because that is how much the dump said I dropped off at their transfer station in town. I was curious why the peel and stick 12 inch floor tiles were mostly removed from the small bathroom. The previous guy had removed the water tank from the base, painted it black and then reinstalled it. He did not get it sealed properly so water was leaking on the floor and loosened the tiles. Fortunately no damage to the wood floor and I have replacement floor tiles in the garage. But, why would anyone go through the effort of painting the tank black?? By the way, I had a spare toilet to replace the partially painted one.
We drove the 60 minutes to West Plains to attend the evening session of Stake Conference Saturday evening. Something is wrong when I leave my house before 5:30 pm and it is already dark. I guess they call it daylight savings. The Sunday session was broadcast to our local building. We received some great council from members and leaders alike. The mother of 8 children shared that we need to love the Savior before we can love His children and we can learn to love anyone if we give our time to them. A ward relief society president shared how it is an exciting time to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how we need to remodel our homes so they are build on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. One of the things she said, and which I am pondering was that we are being prepared for greater things yet to come; so what am I preparing for?
Sunday President Jones asked us,as we partake of the Sacrament, to listen to one revelation of what we should do or change.. and then do it. The temple president said that the Savior understands our burdens and invites us to lay them at his feet. And that temples represent the Savior's redeeming and exalting love.
Elder Palmer, an area 70, asked: How can we be converted and then slip into inactivity? The answers:
1. maybe we were just going through the motions. If we act for the praise of men or to get blessings, it might not be enough. It needs to be because we love the Lord and want to follow Christ.
2. Sometimes we become offended. Then we are distracted and set aside things we know are true and fall prey to the adversary. The steps may include discouragement, despondent, distracted, disobedient, doubt and falling away.
3. Sometimes we take a wrong turn. Then the evil one comes and takes away light and truth. Disobedience can cause us to lose what we have, for the spirit won't dwell in unholy temples. Even if we've been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, it's not enough. The spirit can be taken from us like the talent from the unworthy servant.
True conversion involves remembering our divine identity, striving to follow the Savior through love for him, and getting rid of things that don't bring us closer to Christ. The Holy Spirit is essential for conversion. Where we focus our time matters too.
Sandy had a good week; more good days that not so good. She did get out to walk several days. She seems to be eating more and is very dedicated to what I call her medical protocol. We joined the sister missionaries visiting a part member family on Friday and spent about two hours visiting/teaching them.
Thank you to all veterans for your dedicated service and sacrifice, past and present.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kristy Fox's parents, who until this past week, had a house, barn and 8 horses and were enjoying life in Paradise, CA. I am sure they have exciting adventures to share about evacuating from the area amidst the fire. The barn and house were burned to the ground. All 8 horses survived so far, but need food and water. Last minute update, Kristy just sent this link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Cowboy-volunteers-ride-to-the-rescue-of-horses-13381324.php#photo-16485085
We have been down a nostalgic road recently. It all started last Jan/Feb when we packed up the downstairs and stored those items in the garage preparatory to going on a mission. When those plans were modified, I slowly brought things back into the house, mainly items we would need. So, several totes were still in the garage until we purchased the van, and needed more room if we were to park the car in the garage (I am a firm believer that the purpose of the garage is to park your car in it!). So many of the last remaining totes were emptied and put back in their place in the downstairs. The nostalgia began when I opened one that had old VHS tapes (okay, I realize using the term 'VHS' means 'old' and it isn't necessary to state the obvious). Amongst all those tapes were all three of the 'Back to the Future' series. So we had to watch them. These had obviously been recorded off of AFRTN when we lived on Okinawa in the '90s because one of them had a 'TC-3' in the bottom right corner and the movie was occasionally interrupted with typhoon condition updates reminiscent of typhoon parties.
It was a quiet week for Sandy; only one medical appointment, and that was with Clifford. She did set a new ostomy bag replacement record this week; in fact she set two. The wound healing center nurse had installed one on Weds 31 Oct. It was still holding up the following Weds! But Sandy called home health to have them send a nurse to replace it since it is not good to keep the same bag much longer. Her favorite nurse, Wanda came to do the replacement. And this is where the second record may have been set. She used a different style bag and it leaked within hours. I did a temporary tape job that evening, and then again in the morning before another nurse came to replace that leaky bag. So far it is holding up. but one never knows how long a bag will hold up.
Monday evening was empty esters with a Thanksgiving theme, to include turkey and dressing. I made a green bean casserole. There were no left overs. Tuesday night we had the sister missionaries join us for dinner. And since my casserole of the previous night was well received, I made green beans again to go with lasagna. No, I did not make the lasagna; it was a freezer meal Miranda had made months ago and we had not gotten around to eating it yet.
I spent a couple of mornings at the rental house working on mudding and sanding the drywall we installed. I am within a couple hours of being ready to paint the walls. Then Adam's tenant moved out and left 1040 pounds of stuff behind. I know because that is how much the dump said I dropped off at their transfer station in town. I was curious why the peel and stick 12 inch floor tiles were mostly removed from the small bathroom. The previous guy had removed the water tank from the base, painted it black and then reinstalled it. He did not get it sealed properly so water was leaking on the floor and loosened the tiles. Fortunately no damage to the wood floor and I have replacement floor tiles in the garage. But, why would anyone go through the effort of painting the tank black?? By the way, I had a spare toilet to replace the partially painted one.
We drove the 60 minutes to West Plains to attend the evening session of Stake Conference Saturday evening. Something is wrong when I leave my house before 5:30 pm and it is already dark. I guess they call it daylight savings. The Sunday session was broadcast to our local building. We received some great council from members and leaders alike. The mother of 8 children shared that we need to love the Savior before we can love His children and we can learn to love anyone if we give our time to them. A ward relief society president shared how it is an exciting time to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how we need to remodel our homes so they are build on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. One of the things she said, and which I am pondering was that we are being prepared for greater things yet to come; so what am I preparing for?
Sunday President Jones asked us,as we partake of the Sacrament, to listen to one revelation of what we should do or change.. and then do it. The temple president said that the Savior understands our burdens and invites us to lay them at his feet. And that temples represent the Savior's redeeming and exalting love.
Elder Palmer, an area 70, asked: How can we be converted and then slip into inactivity? The answers:
1. maybe we were just going through the motions. If we act for the praise of men or to get blessings, it might not be enough. It needs to be because we love the Lord and want to follow Christ.
2. Sometimes we become offended. Then we are distracted and set aside things we know are true and fall prey to the adversary. The steps may include discouragement, despondent, distracted, disobedient, doubt and falling away.
3. Sometimes we take a wrong turn. Then the evil one comes and takes away light and truth. Disobedience can cause us to lose what we have, for the spirit won't dwell in unholy temples. Even if we've been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, it's not enough. The spirit can be taken from us like the talent from the unworthy servant.
True conversion involves remembering our divine identity, striving to follow the Savior through love for him, and getting rid of things that don't bring us closer to Christ. The Holy Spirit is essential for conversion. Where we focus our time matters too.
Sandy had a good week; more good days that not so good. She did get out to walk several days. She seems to be eating more and is very dedicated to what I call her medical protocol. We joined the sister missionaries visiting a part member family on Friday and spent about two hours visiting/teaching them.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Fall has arrived!
Happy birthday to Jonathan (Wednesday)!
We were blessed to have Kristy, Miriam and David for the first couple days of the week. The two children were busy with home schooling and Kristy was able to spend time with Sandy and assist her with her needs. On Monday, I took Miriam with me to do an apartment inspection of the sister missionary's apartment. I go more for the visit with the sisters than concern for the neatness and cleanliness of their apartment (that is not a concern). We have a new sister that is straight from the MTC, but is mature and eager to do the work.
When Kristy arrived, I told her there were two projects that required her help. I called them 'getting over the inertia' projects. Longer ago than I wish to remember, I purchased a scanner for the purpose of scanning family photos and storing them digitally. Kristy was able to show me how to use the machine and get me started. In the past week I managed to copy almost 200 photos; and that is only a drop in the bucket. The other overcoming inertia project was tying the springs in the love seat. The springs are different heights; which ones go where was the problem. But Kristy noted another problem: I had run the webbing under a center support brace, and not on top. So now I need to purchase some more webbing to fix that mistake and then proceed with the spring tying.
Tuesday morning I spent taping the Midway house downstairs rooms; these chores always take longer than expected. In my absence, Kristy was able to get Sandy to her doctors appointments and stop by the cancer center and find a suitable wig (just in case). one those appointments was with the dermatologist about her swelling and cracking lips. he felt it was not a reaction to the infusion and gave her some cream to apply and they are much better That evening, Kristy prepared a delicious meal for us and the sister missionaries; Miriam made brownies - an essential item for the ice cream and chocolate sauce. Then she and her two children headed home. It was a delight having them here; they did some small and simple acts of kindness that we really appreciated.
Wednesday Sandy had her appointment with the wound healing center. Her wounds are healing nicely and she was given a good bill of health for two weeks. They also installed a new bag and as of today, it is still good, 4+ days later. This may be a new record. That night was the annual church Trunk or Treat at the church building. Because it was raining, all activities were held indoors. We had close to 200 for dinner and the activities. We have some very creative people with amazing talents of transforming themselves into interesting characters.
Thursday Sandy had her appointment with the oncologist, just prior to her next immunotherapy infusion. We waited almost an hour to see the doctor, who said that her blood work indicated kidney and liver were within norms. Because she had a 2:30 appointment with Clifford, and they were at least 30 minutes behind schedule with their infusion patients, Sandy rescheduled for the next morning. And she was able to connect with Clifford.
On Friday, she drove herself to her infusion appointment, got her treatment without any problems and was home within two hours. I was able to return to the house and work on more taping and mudding. That evening Deborah and family arrived to spend the weekend. We feel the love of family! On Saturday her children had a fun time playing in the leaves that have been falling with great gusty. In the past week, we had five consecutive days of rain for a total of 4 inches.
We had a moment of silence in honor of our mirrored shower door. The mirror was spotting and looked unsightly, so it needed replacement. But due to safety regulations, shower doors can not be made of mirror, only tempered glass. So I took the old one in to get measured; a week later they called say the glass was in, so I returned with the door. They later called to say that the glass company sent them the wrong size and it would take another week to get the glass in. And, oh by the way, they broke the mirror removing it from the frame. So we went a week with only half a shower door and had no wet floors. It took some time to get used to the different sight picture when walking into the bathroom. And now it seems strange to have two clear doors. But I will get over it...
Sandy has felt better this week and actually got out walking three days, one day in a light drizzle.
We have experienced some very beautiful fall weather, with magnificent colors; unfortunately they only last a couple of days and then the wind blows the leaves off.
These three are from our back porch:
We are on our own this week, but have plenty of food in the freezer and a warm fire in the fireplace! And I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Marines a Happy Birthday next Saturday, and a big Thank You to all the veterans on next Sunday!
We were blessed to have Kristy, Miriam and David for the first couple days of the week. The two children were busy with home schooling and Kristy was able to spend time with Sandy and assist her with her needs. On Monday, I took Miriam with me to do an apartment inspection of the sister missionary's apartment. I go more for the visit with the sisters than concern for the neatness and cleanliness of their apartment (that is not a concern). We have a new sister that is straight from the MTC, but is mature and eager to do the work.
When Kristy arrived, I told her there were two projects that required her help. I called them 'getting over the inertia' projects. Longer ago than I wish to remember, I purchased a scanner for the purpose of scanning family photos and storing them digitally. Kristy was able to show me how to use the machine and get me started. In the past week I managed to copy almost 200 photos; and that is only a drop in the bucket. The other overcoming inertia project was tying the springs in the love seat. The springs are different heights; which ones go where was the problem. But Kristy noted another problem: I had run the webbing under a center support brace, and not on top. So now I need to purchase some more webbing to fix that mistake and then proceed with the spring tying.
Tuesday morning I spent taping the Midway house downstairs rooms; these chores always take longer than expected. In my absence, Kristy was able to get Sandy to her doctors appointments and stop by the cancer center and find a suitable wig (just in case). one those appointments was with the dermatologist about her swelling and cracking lips. he felt it was not a reaction to the infusion and gave her some cream to apply and they are much better That evening, Kristy prepared a delicious meal for us and the sister missionaries; Miriam made brownies - an essential item for the ice cream and chocolate sauce. Then she and her two children headed home. It was a delight having them here; they did some small and simple acts of kindness that we really appreciated.
Wednesday Sandy had her appointment with the wound healing center. Her wounds are healing nicely and she was given a good bill of health for two weeks. They also installed a new bag and as of today, it is still good, 4+ days later. This may be a new record. That night was the annual church Trunk or Treat at the church building. Because it was raining, all activities were held indoors. We had close to 200 for dinner and the activities. We have some very creative people with amazing talents of transforming themselves into interesting characters.
Thursday Sandy had her appointment with the oncologist, just prior to her next immunotherapy infusion. We waited almost an hour to see the doctor, who said that her blood work indicated kidney and liver were within norms. Because she had a 2:30 appointment with Clifford, and they were at least 30 minutes behind schedule with their infusion patients, Sandy rescheduled for the next morning. And she was able to connect with Clifford.
On Friday, she drove herself to her infusion appointment, got her treatment without any problems and was home within two hours. I was able to return to the house and work on more taping and mudding. That evening Deborah and family arrived to spend the weekend. We feel the love of family! On Saturday her children had a fun time playing in the leaves that have been falling with great gusty. In the past week, we had five consecutive days of rain for a total of 4 inches.
We had a moment of silence in honor of our mirrored shower door. The mirror was spotting and looked unsightly, so it needed replacement. But due to safety regulations, shower doors can not be made of mirror, only tempered glass. So I took the old one in to get measured; a week later they called say the glass was in, so I returned with the door. They later called to say that the glass company sent them the wrong size and it would take another week to get the glass in. And, oh by the way, they broke the mirror removing it from the frame. So we went a week with only half a shower door and had no wet floors. It took some time to get used to the different sight picture when walking into the bathroom. And now it seems strange to have two clear doors. But I will get over it...
Sandy has felt better this week and actually got out walking three days, one day in a light drizzle.
We have experienced some very beautiful fall weather, with magnificent colors; unfortunately they only last a couple of days and then the wind blows the leaves off.
These three are from our back porch:
Friday evening we had a brief rain shower complete with hail. This is what our deck looked like:
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Where did this week go??
Sunday 29 October 2018
Did not seem like a busy week, but it passed me by quickly. Monday I had an appointment at the Toyota dealership in Harrison (50 miles west of us) to get two keys and fobs made. I found the fobs on line much cheaper than the dealership price. I found it interesting that a Toyota dealer would have a 1930 Model A Ford parked in their showroom, but they do. That night at 1030 pm Sandy woke me up from a sound sleep and said her bag was leaking. We didn't want to call the home health nurse knowing it would be over an hour before she would arrive, so I replaced her bag, solo, for the first time. Not the best time for me to do this for the first time; while the body may act like it is awake, the mind wasn't. But, the bag was replaced and all seemed good.
Tuesday we planned to go to the temple mid morning. Unfortunately, I did not do a great job installing her ostomy bag and it started leaking early in the morning. Sandy was able to connect with the on duty nurse and explained we wanted to go to St Louis and could she please come early. And she did. And we were able to get on the road about 11 am. It was a beautiful drive with so many fall colors creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. Just short of the temple, Sandy indicated that her bag was springing a leak and we needed to detour to the hotel first and do a repair job. So we did. Some paste and tape and she was good to go. We were able to enjoy an evening session at the temple and then dined at the St Louis Bread Company.
We did another morning session and then headed home arriving in time for dinner. We had a great time in the temple and an enjoyable drive home. The new to us van performed well and the change of vehicles is growing on us.
Thursday Sandy attended a luncheon at Gaston's on the White River; one of our former ward members had invited a lot of the sisters she knew to join her for lunch and 18 came to enjoy a good meal and a have a fun time visiting. I was able to work more on the Midway house installing drywall (still) for part of the day.
Friday I returned to the drywall site and am almost finished...finally. Then I can start mudding.
Sandy got a ride to West Plains for the annual Relief Society retreat. She left at 830 am and got home about 230 pm. She had a good time. Meanwhile, one of the ward families stopped by on Monday to inform us they would be at our house on Saturday to rake the leaves. And they came and cleaned up most of the leaves. Some were mulched and others put on the burn pile. Took them less than two hours. And before the next crop of leaves falls, the yard looks rather nice.
We have certainly be blessed by friends and family. We had a very tasty meal of taco soup delivered on Friday, the yard was raked on Saturday, an elderly sister insists on doing our ironing (I call her 'Iron Woman') and Kristy, with Miriam and David arrived late Saturday evening to spend a few days hanging out with us.
Kristy made a delicious enchilada dinner tonight and we shared it with a young couple from our ward. And both David and Miriam showed their youthful cunning by beating me in games of blockus.
Here are 3 generations of beautiful Fox women!
Did not seem like a busy week, but it passed me by quickly. Monday I had an appointment at the Toyota dealership in Harrison (50 miles west of us) to get two keys and fobs made. I found the fobs on line much cheaper than the dealership price. I found it interesting that a Toyota dealer would have a 1930 Model A Ford parked in their showroom, but they do. That night at 1030 pm Sandy woke me up from a sound sleep and said her bag was leaking. We didn't want to call the home health nurse knowing it would be over an hour before she would arrive, so I replaced her bag, solo, for the first time. Not the best time for me to do this for the first time; while the body may act like it is awake, the mind wasn't. But, the bag was replaced and all seemed good.
Tuesday we planned to go to the temple mid morning. Unfortunately, I did not do a great job installing her ostomy bag and it started leaking early in the morning. Sandy was able to connect with the on duty nurse and explained we wanted to go to St Louis and could she please come early. And she did. And we were able to get on the road about 11 am. It was a beautiful drive with so many fall colors creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. Just short of the temple, Sandy indicated that her bag was springing a leak and we needed to detour to the hotel first and do a repair job. So we did. Some paste and tape and she was good to go. We were able to enjoy an evening session at the temple and then dined at the St Louis Bread Company.
We did another morning session and then headed home arriving in time for dinner. We had a great time in the temple and an enjoyable drive home. The new to us van performed well and the change of vehicles is growing on us.
Thursday Sandy attended a luncheon at Gaston's on the White River; one of our former ward members had invited a lot of the sisters she knew to join her for lunch and 18 came to enjoy a good meal and a have a fun time visiting. I was able to work more on the Midway house installing drywall (still) for part of the day.
Friday I returned to the drywall site and am almost finished...finally. Then I can start mudding.
Sandy got a ride to West Plains for the annual Relief Society retreat. She left at 830 am and got home about 230 pm. She had a good time. Meanwhile, one of the ward families stopped by on Monday to inform us they would be at our house on Saturday to rake the leaves. And they came and cleaned up most of the leaves. Some were mulched and others put on the burn pile. Took them less than two hours. And before the next crop of leaves falls, the yard looks rather nice.
We have certainly be blessed by friends and family. We had a very tasty meal of taco soup delivered on Friday, the yard was raked on Saturday, an elderly sister insists on doing our ironing (I call her 'Iron Woman') and Kristy, with Miriam and David arrived late Saturday evening to spend a few days hanging out with us.
Kristy made a delicious enchilada dinner tonight and we shared it with a young couple from our ward. And both David and Miriam showed their youthful cunning by beating me in games of blockus.
Here are 3 generations of beautiful Fox women!
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Fall has arrived in the Ozarks
Sunday 21 October 2018
Our /week started with Tuesday since I don't remember anything worthwhile about Monday!
Tuesday I worked more on sheetrock and we got ready for Miranda's family. They (less Dan) arrived late Tuesday night and stayed through Saturday morning. As usual, they brought fun and laughter to the home. Ethan wanted to rake leaves into a big pile, so he and Miranda worked hard at building a large pile which then got transferred to the burn pile. Alex helped me make chocolate chip cookies one day. Miranda cleaned the house and prepared yummy meals for us. The boys had fun playing games, and of course Rachel delighted us all with her captivating smile and laugh. She has also found the lower cabinet with the storage containers and likes to pull them out and hide them.
Sandy had her weekly appointment with the wound healing center on Wednesday afternoon. The wounds seem to be healing nicely. And she is still wearing the same ostomy bag from that day without any leakage! We invited the sister missionaries to dinner and had an enjoyable visit with them.
Thursday she had her first immunotherapy at the oncologists. Took less than three hours and this time there was no reaction. She then had an appointment with her Chinese healer. She did not seemed overly tired by day's end. And we had the sister missionaries return for a second night of dinner. One of them is a runner and received permission to participate in a 5K run in November; her running companion will be Miranda, since she and Dan are running as well. The other missionary is returning home this week. Our sisters over the past year or so have been doing amazing things for the members and the community.
Friday I helped drive a group of seven from our ward to the St Louis Temple, leaving at 4:30 am and returning about 9:00 pm. We had a great time. In my absence, it rained about an inch of moisture and Deborah arrived in the evening.
Miranda left Saturday morning and things got a little quieter. It was a quiet day for all of us. I did take some time to familiarize myself with our 'new to us' van. I think we have the paperwork snafu solved so that we can get it registered this week.
We had a good Sunday with excellent sacrament meeting talks and subsequent class lessons.
This next week we hope to make a two day trip to the temple.
Our /week started with Tuesday since I don't remember anything worthwhile about Monday!
Tuesday I worked more on sheetrock and we got ready for Miranda's family. They (less Dan) arrived late Tuesday night and stayed through Saturday morning. As usual, they brought fun and laughter to the home. Ethan wanted to rake leaves into a big pile, so he and Miranda worked hard at building a large pile which then got transferred to the burn pile. Alex helped me make chocolate chip cookies one day. Miranda cleaned the house and prepared yummy meals for us. The boys had fun playing games, and of course Rachel delighted us all with her captivating smile and laugh. She has also found the lower cabinet with the storage containers and likes to pull them out and hide them.
Sandy had her weekly appointment with the wound healing center on Wednesday afternoon. The wounds seem to be healing nicely. And she is still wearing the same ostomy bag from that day without any leakage! We invited the sister missionaries to dinner and had an enjoyable visit with them.
Thursday she had her first immunotherapy at the oncologists. Took less than three hours and this time there was no reaction. She then had an appointment with her Chinese healer. She did not seemed overly tired by day's end. And we had the sister missionaries return for a second night of dinner. One of them is a runner and received permission to participate in a 5K run in November; her running companion will be Miranda, since she and Dan are running as well. The other missionary is returning home this week. Our sisters over the past year or so have been doing amazing things for the members and the community.
Friday I helped drive a group of seven from our ward to the St Louis Temple, leaving at 4:30 am and returning about 9:00 pm. We had a great time. In my absence, it rained about an inch of moisture and Deborah arrived in the evening.
Miranda left Saturday morning and things got a little quieter. It was a quiet day for all of us. I did take some time to familiarize myself with our 'new to us' van. I think we have the paperwork snafu solved so that we can get it registered this week.
We had a good Sunday with excellent sacrament meeting talks and subsequent class lessons.
This next week we hope to make a two day trip to the temple.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Where does the time go?
So, what happened this week worth sharing? With this family the answer will always be a resounding LOTS!
Monday Sandy had a followup appointment with the oncologist to see about starting an alternate immunotherapy treatment (aka drug). While there she mentioned pain in her left leg; could it be a blood clot? What happened next amazed me. The nurse called radiology for an immediate ultrasound, gave us a the magic sticker that meant we did not have to go through the normal routine of checking in at the admission's desk and sent us to radiology. Within 30 minutes we were back in the doctor's office seeing him and getting the results (I believe he left a patient to see Sandy). She did have a clot in the thigh area; he proscribe a blood thinner and sent us home. Less than three hours transpired from our initial visit to our returning home with drugs in hand! Today, she has almost no pain and just a little swelling in that leg. And she will start this new drug on Thursday; hopefully no adverse reactions this time.
In the afternoon I drove up to Branson to do some shopping and then pick Sally up at the Branson Airport. She flew in from Colorado for the week. It was such a delight to have her here for a few days. She kept Sandy company, prepared some meals and helped her with some of her daily rituals. We were sad to see her leave Saturday morning.
We are getting familiar with the various nurses associated with the in home health center; this past week, Sandy's ostomy bags have lasted from one up to five days. But the good news is that the smaller incision appears to be healed and no longer draining. This means using a smaller bag.
I worked on installing more drywall at the rent house and getting some around the house chores accomplished. One of our houses has an overgrown section, about 10 feet by 25 feet; most tenants will mow the lawn, but the shrubs tend to be neglected and this one had been severely overlooked for a couple of years. The property manager had someone bid on it and he wanted $250. I told her that was out of my limit. I spent less than an hour there on Saturday and got almost 1/2 of the job done. Does that mean I am worth $125 an hour?
Our weather turned from in the 80s one week, to highs in the 60s the next. It is quite pleasant for me. More home front news: we have official confirmation that one of the 5 four month old chicks is a rooster. He sounds a little pathetic, but is recognizable as a rooster crow.
We were finally able to conclude the purchase of a 2014 van in Dallas; now how to get it here. Kera volunteered to pick it up this weekend since she and some of her children were going to the Dallas Temple. Hard to pass up that deal. However, she may be having second thoughts; I understand that there was heavy traffic in Dallas, lots of rain water and then a two hour delay just short from home when an 18 wheeler laid down dead in the road across both lanes of northbound traffic on the I-40. Andy drove the van up in time for church today and drove our old 2007 Corolla home.
This should be another exciting week for us. Miranda and children will be here for part of the week and then Deborah is coming for the weekend.
Monday Sandy had a followup appointment with the oncologist to see about starting an alternate immunotherapy treatment (aka drug). While there she mentioned pain in her left leg; could it be a blood clot? What happened next amazed me. The nurse called radiology for an immediate ultrasound, gave us a the magic sticker that meant we did not have to go through the normal routine of checking in at the admission's desk and sent us to radiology. Within 30 minutes we were back in the doctor's office seeing him and getting the results (I believe he left a patient to see Sandy). She did have a clot in the thigh area; he proscribe a blood thinner and sent us home. Less than three hours transpired from our initial visit to our returning home with drugs in hand! Today, she has almost no pain and just a little swelling in that leg. And she will start this new drug on Thursday; hopefully no adverse reactions this time.
In the afternoon I drove up to Branson to do some shopping and then pick Sally up at the Branson Airport. She flew in from Colorado for the week. It was such a delight to have her here for a few days. She kept Sandy company, prepared some meals and helped her with some of her daily rituals. We were sad to see her leave Saturday morning.
We are getting familiar with the various nurses associated with the in home health center; this past week, Sandy's ostomy bags have lasted from one up to five days. But the good news is that the smaller incision appears to be healed and no longer draining. This means using a smaller bag.
I worked on installing more drywall at the rent house and getting some around the house chores accomplished. One of our houses has an overgrown section, about 10 feet by 25 feet; most tenants will mow the lawn, but the shrubs tend to be neglected and this one had been severely overlooked for a couple of years. The property manager had someone bid on it and he wanted $250. I told her that was out of my limit. I spent less than an hour there on Saturday and got almost 1/2 of the job done. Does that mean I am worth $125 an hour?
Our weather turned from in the 80s one week, to highs in the 60s the next. It is quite pleasant for me. More home front news: we have official confirmation that one of the 5 four month old chicks is a rooster. He sounds a little pathetic, but is recognizable as a rooster crow.
We were finally able to conclude the purchase of a 2014 van in Dallas; now how to get it here. Kera volunteered to pick it up this weekend since she and some of her children were going to the Dallas Temple. Hard to pass up that deal. However, she may be having second thoughts; I understand that there was heavy traffic in Dallas, lots of rain water and then a two hour delay just short from home when an 18 wheeler laid down dead in the road across both lanes of northbound traffic on the I-40. Andy drove the van up in time for church today and drove our old 2007 Corolla home.
This should be another exciting week for us. Miranda and children will be here for part of the week and then Deborah is coming for the weekend.
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