68 and Counting

How can I be 68 years old already? My Granny was 67 when I got married, and she was ancient! My mom only had 2 years left to live at my current age. I don’t feel that old!

It has been a great “birthday week!” Last Saturday, Ricky’s family came and spent the day. We made homemade ice cream, blew bubbles, played, visited, and I spent most of the day holding sweet Shelbi. Such a delight!

Monday was my LAST therapy session. I’m not “cured”, but I can effectively work at home to continue my recovery. My OT did a final evaluation, which showed significant improvement in every area. My grip strength had risen from 17 lbs (early in my treatment) to 36 lbs. (I can do 52 lbs with my right hand.) We think a lot of my finger stiffness and soreness is from arthritis. I guess the inflammation from everything that has happened made what arthritis I had worse. (I didn’t really notice much, if any, problems before surgery) I have sensation in all fingers now, although it is still far from normal in my index finger and thumb. (I have a lot of hypersensitivity.) My therapist did say I've progressed to the point to where I don't have to worry about seriously hurting myself. Before I couldn't have felt it if I had cut or burned myself. I'm still very careful but gaining confidence. I’m getting to where I can do most anything now…even turn a doorknob…sometimes. My fine motor skills are still pretty limited, but progress is being made!

After my therapy session, we drove to Paris to spend the night. Stephen’s family were gone on vacation, so we didn’t get to visit with them. Instead, we went to watch a movie, “Young  Washington”. There were only about 6 of us in the whole theatre, which is the way I like it! We enjoyed the movie, then stopped at DQ for a treat on our way back to our room.

The next morning we drove to Texarkana to visit with Dennis’ cousins: Jimmy & Sandy and Terry & Sandra. Sandy served us all lunch, and we had a great time catching up with all of them! 

The next leg of our journey took us to our “cabin” on Lake Catherine. It was so nice. It sat at the end of a dead-end road, overlooking the Ouachita River…so quiet and peaceful and beautiful. The weather was overcast (a little rainy) and cool…great for sitting out on our balcony. We spent Wednesday pretty much just relaxing. We did a little shopping in Hot Springs. The main place I wanted to go was a pottery place that has been owned by the same family for 80 years. I love pottery! It was a mini museum, store, and working pottery shop. I kept looking for “just the right piece” and was about to give up, when I noticed a special collection in a glass cabinet. It was all crystalline pottery. I’d never heard of or seen anything like it. It was so pretty and unique! I fell in love with a lidded vase, but it was way too expensive. Dennis insisted on buying it for my birthday. I love it!

sunset

morning mist

birthday vase

Thursday we spent the day with Warren and Linda. It was the first time we’ve had a chance to visit with them in a couple of years. We so enjoyed our time together! I love their new house. Not only is it perfectly suited for their current needs, but it is so light and pretty. That evening we met up with Ben and Laura’s family and Rebekah and Daniel’s family for dinner. It was nice to finally meet Daniel and their 2 sweet little boys. It was a great day!

Yesterday’s drive home went smoothly. We thoroughly enjoyed our little vacation, but as always, it felt good to be home. This afternoon we’re going to Ricky & Amber’s for my birthday dinner. Ricky is grilling us steaks. YUM! I’m also looking forward to some more snuggle time with Shelbi. They say that evenings are when she is most awake, so I’m hoping to actually get to see her eyes! Ha!

Take care and stay cool!

Ps 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

July Celebrations and Travels

 Happy 4th of July weekend! We are starting the weekend off by attending Stacey and DJ's wedding tomorrow. So happy for them! Stacey has been one of my girls since we moved here 21 years ago. I'm so glad go see her find such a good man. 

So far, we don't have any plans for Saturday. I do have a watermelon chilling in my fridge, so there's that! Our local fireworks display is planned for Sunday night. I am wanting to watch that. I'm really hoping they have something special planned. I LOVE fireworks!

I am now down to having therapy every other week. It sure is nice not having to drive over there so often. I'm continuing to make slow but steady progress. I saw my doctor yesterday, and he said there is nothing more he can do. He fully expects my hypersensitivity to resolve as the nerves continue to heal. That's good news! He couldn't be as reassuring as far as me getting all of the feeling and function back though. He said we'll just have to wait and see. I still have several more months of healing to do. Nerves take a LONG time to heal!

I am still regaining function. I crocheted a hot pad, sewed a curtain, and knitted a dishrag last month. I have to really pace myself, so as not to over-stimulate the nerves. But it is getting less clumsy to do hand work. I am so very thankful to return to doing the things that I enjoy. Even if I don't get full feeling and function back, I have enough to have a fairly normal life. I'm just a little slower and clumsier than I used to be. 

As most of you have heard, we have a new granddaughter, Shelbi. She is perfect! I try to make it over to snuggle with her at least once a week. She and Amber are both doing great! I have started cutting out squares and strips to make Shelbi a rag quilt. I'm hoping to start sewing a little this afternoon. I'm doing a very different style this time. alternating blocks and strips. Hope it goes well! I am a bit rusty.

Next week, we have a quick trip planned to Amarillo for Arian's wedding. This seems to be the summer for getting married! The following week, we plan a trip to Lake Catherine in Hot Springs. We want to visit with our family in Benton while there. It has been a while since we last had a good visit with Warren and Linda. We are really looking forward to the trip!

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday weekend. Stay cool!

Ps 147:2-3 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

 

Progress!

 I hope everyone is enjoying summer so far! Although the temperatures are rising, we haven't hit 100 degrees yet, and we are still having enough rain to keep things green and lush. It has been a delightful Spring!

We went to Amarillo over the Memorial Day weekend for their meeting. We really enjoyed the trip! The lessons were very good, and it was great to visit with everyone. I handled the trip fine and was able to drive about half the time. It did feel good to get home though.

I'm still going to therapy...just once a week now, instead of twice a week. I was reevaluated today, and my OT was very happy with the results. I'm showing improvements across the board. On the peg test, I was able to put all the pegs in their holes and then remove them in 36 seconds! I'm regaining sensation in my thumb and index finger, and I'm able (barely) to touch my pinkie with my thumb. My therapist wants to continue to see me weekly for the next 4 weeks, then drop to every other week for the following 4 weeks. She thinks by then, I'll be ready to continue on my own. I still think it will be months before I regain full function, but I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! Hallelujah!

I gave up on trying to knit, yet, because it irritated my hands so much. However, I tried crocheting over the weekend and was able to do a little. I'm slow and clumsy, but it is working! I'm hoping to try doing some sewing this week. I need to make the curtains for the women's restroom at church. It should be all machine sewing, so I think I'll be able to handle it. (There is no way that I could thread a regular needle right now!) It is great to be able to do more normal things again!

Baby Shelbi should be arriving this month. She is scheduled for June 26, unless she decides to come before then. We are all really looking forward to having another baby!

Enjoy the summer, stay cool and hydrated, and be safe if you travel!

Ge 8:22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."

 

Taking things a day at a time

 Therapy is still going well. My OT evaluated me Thursday, and I had made improvements across the board, except for my index finger. It is taking longer to recover than everything else. She had me do a peg test a couple of weeks ago. I first did it with my good hand, and it took 17 seconds. Then trying it with my left hand, I could only get 3 out of 12 pegs in the holes in a minute. She repeated the test Thursday, and I got 6...twice as many. Still pathetic, but an improvement none the less. She gauged the strength of my grip for the first time. My good hand did 47 pounds. My left, only 18 pounds. So I still have quite a way to go!

I am getting better at using my left hand on a daily basis. I'm trying to use it normally as much as possible. Since my index finger is still essentially dead, I am pretty clumsy. I'm constantly challenging myself, though. I've started working out with weights again, just much lighter than I do with my right hand. Last week I got some chunky knitting needles and yarn and started trying to knit some. Again, it is a clumsy endeavor, but I'm doing it. I pushed a little too hard though. My therapist warned me about that when I told her what I was doing. It was already too late...my hand had a flare-up for a couple of days (intense tingling/stinging and stiffness with swelling). So I had to give it a rest all day yesterday. It is doing quite a bit better today. She instructed me to set a timer when I knit...only 20-30 minutes at a time. I'll be sure to start doing that!

I've been getting out and about more lately. (Extended riding in the car had been irritating my hand.) I'm able to drive fine now, using my left hand. I'm also back to babysitting the littles...even had them sleep over a couple of nights. Last week, we took a quick trip to Paris to see Stephen's family and celebrate the girls' birthdays. It was so good to see them all again! It had been too long. Tonight, Sheila's family is coming over for a belated birthday dinner for Caleb. It has been quite a while since we've seen them, too. It is so nice to get back into a more normal routine!

Well, that's about it for what's been going on around here. Hope everything is going well for each of you!

Mt 15:29-30 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.

 

Way Out West (part 2)

 Day 8, Sun. - After worshipping in our room, we loaded up and headed west to Nevada. We had a room reserved about 20 miles north of Beatty. We stopped in town to stock up on groceries, then drove to our "inn". We were shocked! This nice little B&B, that had such good reviews, was a trailer house with small bedrooms to rent. The host was super sweet, but the house smelled like dogs, and the room was barely big enough for our overnight bags...much less the other things we needed. We went back to the car, did some frantic searching (there are NOT many places to stay in this area!), and finally found a room at a hotel right before entering Death Valley. I made our excuses to the lady at the "inn", and off we drove. I'll never live that one down (since I was the one who had booked the room)! The place we ended up staying was perfect for our needs, and even had a couple of restaurants that we could eat at.

view from our desert inn

another view from the inn

sand dunes in Death Valley

mountains in Death Valley

Day 9, Mon. - We got up early the next morning, ate breakfast in our room, and headed into Death Valley. It wasn't at all what either of us expected. It was very interesting, quite pretty in places, and not too hot. The temperatures in the park ranged from 77-97 degrees. We stopped for lunch in Bishop, CA, then took the Tioga Road to Yosemite. That was probably the prettiest drive on the whole trip! We saw lots of snow, and wildflowers were everywhere. They were beautiful! We drove to our cabin in Foresta, which is a private community surrounded by Yosemite National Park. Such a quiet, peaceful place to stay...and even had a washer and dryer that we could use.

Day 10-11, Tues-Wed. - We spent the next couple of days exploring Yosemite. It is a gorgeous place, but the crowds were crazy. We tried to time our outings to avoid the worst of the crowds...didn't really work. Since we had a fully equipped kitchen, we were finally able to do a little cooking to avoid eating at pricey restaurants. Everything out there is EXPENSIVE! I'm really glad that we were able to go and see the sights, but I have no desire to ever return to California.

moon over El Capitan

These guys are everywhere!

Bridal Veil Falls

Day 12, Thurs. - As we were leaving Foresta, a cinnamon colored black bear ran across the road, right in front of us. We stopped the car to watch him, and he stopped at the edge of the woods to watch us. We didn't have time to snap a picture, but it was a real thrill to see him!

Our next stop was Lindsay, CA. When we were making our travel plans, it was the closest town (not including cities, which we were trying to avoid) to the Sequoia National Park that we could find. It ended up being between an hour and an hour and a half to the park. Since we got there so early, we decided to drive up to Kings Canyon in the park. I have never in my life driven on such a curvy road! It was insane! We really enjoyed Kings Canyon though! This was Dennis' first time to see giant Sequoias. He loved it! After a light picnic supper, we retraced our steps down that snaky road back to our motel. When we were a few miles north of Lindsay, we got a really nice view of the valley below us. What a sight! There were orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. We also stopped at a fruit stand and picked up some apricots, peaches and plums for snacking on. YUM!

General Sherman

General Grant

3 Sisters

Day 13, Fri. - The next day we found a better road leading to the main section of Sequoia National Park, where General Grant is. (General Sherman was in Kings Canyon.) We walked among the giants and were amazed at their mass. I'm so glad that Dennis was finally able to see these magnificent trees! I had seen them the summer after I graduated high school, but I enjoyed them even more this time around.

Day 14, Sat. - We had seen everything we had come to see in California, so we cut our visit short by a day and headed southeast. For a state that has so many people in it, that section of the state is desolate! We were happy to reach Arizona!

Day 15, Sun. - We worshipped in our hotel room, then headed east for Holbrook, AZ...the gateway to The Petrified Forest National Park. We spent about 3-4 hours driving through and looking at the sights...even doing a little hiking to get a better look at the beautiful petrified logs. We had a late supper, then collapsed in our hotel room for the night.

historic inn

Blue Mesa

Day 16-17, Mon-Tues. - We had a hard day of driving on Monday, making it to Amarillo for the night. On the drive through New Mexico, we saw miles of blooming chola cactus. It was beautiful! I guess we hit it at just the right time, because it seemed as if every cactus was covered in pretty pink blossoms.

Just as it had happened on our way out west, we were met with storms. Amarillo must love it when we come through...we seem to bring the rains with us. Then this morning, we got up early and drove home. I have to say...seeing our house at the end of our long journey was one of my favorite sights of the trip. After 17 days, about 4000 miles, and having visited 6 national parks (and 1 state park), it feels SO good to be home! 

Way Out West: vacation 2025 (week 1)

 Day 1: After a year of planning and anticipation, we finally left home on Sunday, June 8, after lunch. Our first stop was in Amarillo. Easy, right? We thought so, too. We could see a lot of storm clouds and lightening in the distance about the time we got to Childress. Ricky called us, because he'd been watching the weather and saw tornados, high winds, and large hail on our direct route. We stopped at the DQ, had a treat, and watched the weather...weighing our options. We decided to drive south to Paducah and make a big circle south of the storm's path. Boy are we glad we did! We could see it to the north of us, but we avoided everything except a few sprinkles. When we got to our hotel for the night, we saw another vehicle that had its windshield busted out and hail pockmarks all over the driver's side of the car. I'm sure glad we managed to avoid that!

Day 2: The next day's itinerary was to drive to Albuquerque. I was having stomach problems when I got up Monday morning. We got a later start than we had planned, hoping that I would feel better before hitting the road. Didn't work. It was supposed to be a light day of traveling but ended up taking about 2 hours longer than it should have due to all of the stops we had to make. I was SO glad to get to our hotel room that afternoon. We just snacked in our room and rested up that evening.

Day 3: I felt much better Tuesday morning, so we headed out early. We saw about 6-8 hot air balloons flying over Albuquerque as we were heading out of town. What a treat! Then as we headed west on I40, we saw a beautiful full rainbow. We found a really nice roadside park several miles east of Flagstaff, so we stopped and picnicked for lunch. Then we turned north towards Page, Arizona. We visited the dam at Lake Powell and enjoyed the view, then went back to our room for an early bedtime. Dennis ended up having my stomach bug overnight but felt ok for traveling by morning. 

Day 4: Our next destination was Bryce Canyon. We stopped in Kanab, UT to try to find some compression socks. (My feet swelled after our long day of riding Tuesday.) It took a couple of tries, but we found a pair that fit, and we were off. As we were heading north, we saw a sign pointing to the Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park. Neither of us had heard of it, and we had a light day of driving, so we decided to go check it out. I'm so glad we did. We saw some pretty wildflowers and the dunes were really interesting. It made a great place for our lunch picnic!

We made it to Tropic (which is where we were staying for a couple of nights) around 3. We settled into our room, then decided to go check out Bryce Canyon. What a beautiful place! We loved it! We had supper at a restaurant just outside of the park, then went back to see Sunset Point. We also saw some mule deer and antelope in the park, as well as chipmunks and ground squirrels. It was a great day and full!

an interesting plant at Bryce Canyon

skittish chipmunk

Day 5: We got up before sunrise (which comes mighty early out here!), so we could go to Sunrise Point to watch the sun come up....us and about a hundred other people. We had to park quite a ways away, then hoof it to make it up to the point by sunrise. This old lady has a had time hoofing it uphill! But we made it just in time, and it was beautiful! Afterwards, we strategized that if we drove to the furthest point in the park and worked our way back to the front that we might avoid the crowds. It worked! When we got to Rainbow Point (elevation 9115 ft), we had the place to ourselves. We really enjoyed it! we checked out all of the viewpoints that we'd missed the day before, and revisited a couple of our favorites to see how different they looked in the morning light. Such a beautiful place!

I love how the sun makes the rocks glow!

As we were driving along some of the mountain roads that day, I heard the brakes grinding and felt a shimmy while downhill braking. When we got back to our room that evening, Dennis checked them out and discovered they were worn to the point that we REALLY needed to replace them before doing any more mountain driving. Our hostess happened by that evening and told us where to find a good auto parts store (about 30 miles away), so Dennis decided to get up early the next morning, drive up there to buy new brake pads, then come back and fix them. So we had another early bedtime.

View from our front porch in Tropic, UT

Hooded Oriole feeding next to our front porch

Day 6: Things went well for Dennis going after brake pads and repairing the brakes, and we left Tropic about 9:30 on Friday morning. It was a short drive to Zion National Park. We were just a few miles in the park when Dennis spotted a herd of desert bighorn sheep. We pulled into a turnout and walked back as far as we could to get a better look. They were coming down the mountain on the other side of the river. We were close enough to them to hear their hoofs on the rocks! It was pretty exciting! 

To get from one end of the park to the other, you have to drive through a tunnel that has been carved out of the mountain. It is 1.1 miles long! There are several windows along the way, which offered an amazing (quick) view of the scenery along the way. It was so cool...and a little scary. We wanted our first stop to be the visitor center, but there were NO parking places left. That place is crazy crowded! So we drove up to the lodge where we were staying and had lunch. We still had about 4 hours before we could check into our room, so we just hung out in the lobby and the plaza outside the lodge...with HUNDREDS of other people. Once we were able to get into our room, the crowds had subsided quite a bit, so we drove back to the visitor's center to get some useful tips from the rangers there. We saw a few mule deer on the way. Then another early bedtime for us (after sitting out on our wonderful balcony!).

view from our balcony

Day 7: We rose early again, had a hearty breakfast at the lodge restaurant, then hiked to the Lower Emerald Pool. The morning was glorious! It was in the low 40's, so a long sleeved shirt was perfect for hiking. We saw some deer along the trail and enjoyed the sights. Afterwards we drove back to where we saw the sheep the day before, and they were there again. We love seeing wildlife! My bum heel was giving me trouble after the walking we'd done, so I rested up all afternoon.

mountains in the early morning sunlight

sheep

deer on our hike

Virgin River (view on hike)

That gets us through our first week. I hope to share many more pictures and memories with you next week!

Spring Blessings

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful spring. The weather is glorious (although windy), and the wildflowers are so beautiful right now…the vibrant hues of the bluebonnets, the bright coral of the Indian paintbrushes, the gorgeous fuchsia of the horse mint, and the pale pink of the primroses. I love springtime!

Nam came for a sleepover last month during spring break. We really enjoyed his visit, as always. He is growing up so much! He is now old enough and tall enough to ride in the front seat of our vehicles. He really enjoyed riding in the front of Grandad's truck! The whole dynamic of our relationship is changing. It’s still good…just different. Our three boys are getting so close to adolescence! 

Diane came over the week after his visit and spent the night. We got up the next morning and drove to San Saba for our annual pecan purchase. It was fun having her along for the trip! We also picked up pecans for others that wanted some, so we had a LOT of pecans to bring home. (Of course, we also bought a few treats to eat on the road!) It was a nice day for driving through the countryside. The bluebonnets were just starting to bloom, but it was still a beautiful drive.

The church in Hurst had their meeting the first weekend of this month. We were able to make it over there Friday night and Saturday. We enjoyed the lessons and felllowship. After the Saturday morning assembly, everyone went to Koh and Michelle’s for lunch and more visiting. It was pretty chilly out, but we all enjoyed the food and the time spent together. It was great to catch up with so many loved ones. 

This past weekend, we drove to Paris to celebrate Stephen’s girls’ birthdays (a little early). Friday night, we met up at the park for Shepherd’s soccer practice. (He is completely healed from his appendix surgery!) We took the other kids to the playground while he practiced. It was fun. Little Rosie never slowed down or stopped smiling! That child always has such a big, sweet smile on her face. Afterwards, we went out for Mexican food to a restaurant with outdoor seating. It was such a nice evening to sit out and visit. Saturday morning, the guys and kids fished Stephen’s pond while I played with Rosie and watched. They caught a few fish and just enjoyed the beautiful day. I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with our sweet little 2 year-old. She is such a doll! 

We had quite a few visitors at Eastside yesterday. The Joiner clan had camped out at the state park over the weekend, and most of them joined our assembly. It was good to see all of them and have a bigger crowd than usual...and hear a good lesson from Andy. Later that afternoon, Sheila’s family came over for dinner to celebrate Caleb’s 20th birthday. (Can you believe that?!) As always, we really enjoyed their visit! It has been so nice to be able to see all of my grandkids within the same week. 

I am now officially drawing Social Security! There were a few hurdles to jump through to get everything lined out. Poor Dennis had to spend ALL of one day on the phone, trying to sort out a mistake that the SS administration had made on the form that he had to sign in order for me to draw off of his earnings. He finally got through to talk to a real person the first thing the next morning. So all has been sorted out, and I got my first deposit on the 2nd. That, plus having our house paid off, will really make a big difference in our monthly finances!

I’ve been working on some small projects this past month…knitting dishrags and pot holders, and sewing some quick items. I decided to make memory bears for the grandsons out of Dennis’ army dress uniform. I’ve finished one, so far. I’ll probably start on bear #2 next week. I have 4 total to make. I’ll share pictures after they are made and gifted. I also made me some PJ pants and some hanging kitchen towels for Mandy. I hope to get some towels made for Amber this week, and maybe another pair of PJ pants for me. I’m doing lightweight cotton that comes to just below the knee for cooler summer sleeping. 

PJs

one of Mandy's towels

Well, that’s what’s been going on around here. Let’s keep those who are facing serious health issues in our thoughts and prayers, as well as reaching out in other ways that we can to help. And remember to count your blessings! 

Isa 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.