Merry Christmas

December 25th Saturday - Frosty - Light covering of Snow in Pennsylvania

Lou and I along with Krista, Steve and Michelle attended church last evening before we went to our family Christmas gathering at Shawn and Maegans.

We had a wonderful church candle lite service with many aspects to our service with a skit by the children, a special presentation by our adult choir, our pastor's wife presented a special musical number. Our pastor read us the story of the Fourth Wise Man which is a favorite of mine. We celebrated communion and closed our service by singing Silent Night and we were accompanied by Bruce Smith on his guitar. We all left our church wishing each other a Merry Christmas and promising each other we would see each other on Sunday.

Our family all quickly piled in our car and made a quick trip to Shawn and Maegan's house where the rest of the family were all awaiting our arrival for our family Christmas tree. The table was laden with snacks of all size, shape and taste. By the looks of everyone's gifts I would say, everyone was very much satisfied with all of their gifts and soon it was very evident there were some very tired little girls and maybe some adults also.

Tomorrow, Lou is going to fix his famous Prime Rib and I am going to fix the items that go with it. I have been trying to fix some of the things along, so there isn't so much to do tomorrow. I am improving, but it is a very slow process.

The picture of the couple that I am showing, is a couple that we camp in the SMART group with. We met them this week for lunch and it was so good to see them. Lou and I had really missed them and found that they had also missed us and we have made plans to meet up with them in January and then more throughout the summer. Good friends are one of God's great things.

Waiting for the Christ

December 19th Sunday - Beautiful Sunny 6 degrees this AM

I have been out of the hospital one week today and this has been the most difficult week of my life.

I have told my husband and my daughters if it had not been for them I would rather have died and I can not thank Lou enough for all he has done for me. I could not have come home from the hospital if he had not been here to care for me. He had laid in bed and held me tightly so I could sleep, he has washed me, dressed me, given me my medication, fed me and most of all loved me through all of this. I won't go on about all every one has done for me, each and everyone knows the good deeds they have done and the difference it has made in my life. I had asked that no one visit me in the hospital, as I was so sick, I didn't want anyone around me and now, I don't remember my hospitalization. I know I have a wonderful flower arrangement from Lou's children, two of them brought it to me at the hospital and for a long time it was all of the Christmas decorations we had, but now we have some very special items sitting out.

On an afternoon when I was feeling a bit more like myself Lou got our some very special items that my daddy had made for our family many years ago when he and mother were just getting into ceramics and they had to share with us. As Lou unpacked them they brought tears to my eyes and many memories to mind as time goes on. The tiny ceramic Christmas tree Daddy made for my desk at the office so I could enjoy it each day while I was at work and I certainly did, while the smaller one was enjoyed by the family as it sat in our dining room at home.

The Nativity set was poured by my mother and was poured in tiny pieces and pieced together, and Krista has found what a problem child this creation this can be, after this was fired this was painted by the other grandma, Grandma Bryant, and each wise man and camel were painted to match each other. Over the years, the cows, have lost horns, sheep have lost legs, and many have been glued back in place, but once again great memories. After Michelle was born, she was given the honor of recreating the scene in the manger that her grandpa built and she has done that each year with the exception of last year, so this year Lou and I waited until she returned from college yesterday and sure enough she was ready for the task, and she remembered she didn't set it up last year but did pack it away last year. Now these are great memories.

After the last few months Lou and I have had we are certainly awaiting the Christ and a new year with healing in many ways and a year of new beginnings. Our church service today was so inspiring noting that as we await the coming of Christ, we can anticipate it in many ways and we have chosen to look for healing of our bodies, healing in our families, healing in our friends, new priories in life and a richer life with Christ. We feel that

there is a reason that the Lord has chosen to slow both of us down and we need to search that reason out and act on it. I have always professed that, now I have to act on it. Food for thought??

It's Here

December 4th - Saturday - Cold and snowy. Low 24 degrees

Lou and I were up at 5:30 am and over to Lou's house to meet Preston and Susie. Preston helped us hook up the car to our old motor home and we were off to Syracuse, NY to pick up our new motor home.

We encountered all types of weather conditions. At one point I called Camping World in Syracuse to check on their weather conditions, they reported they were just to have snow showers, so we continued on and once we reached Geneva, the snow seems to lessen and the roads were in better condition. We arrived in Syracuse at 11:00 am. We walked into Camping World and found a sign welcoming "Emerson Rice", which was a nice touch to our arrival. We were met by a representative that escorted us to the arrival area where we were given a tour of our new home, starting with the outside and ending up inside, where every detail was explained to us.

After, we had agreed everything was as we expected we were shown to the financial area, where in just a few minutes all the final details were taken care of. The men went right to the task of transferring plates, taking the hitch off of the old motor home and installing it on the new home. We had asked for a dust curtain to be installed to keep the stone damage down on our car as it is being towed, so that task was also accomplished. While the men were doing this, we were made comfortable in the waiting room.

In about an hour, the men were in touch with us to tell us they were bringing our old motor home into the garage and placing it next to the new one, so we could transfer our belongings. It wasn't long until Preston, Susie, Lou and I had an assembly line in process and the job was completed by 4:00 pm. A last minute reminder was given to Lou and we were ready to leave for home at 5:00 pm. We had not eaten since breakfast and all of us were ready for a meal, but nothing was found until we were outside of Geneva on the way home. We all agreed we couldn't remember coffee tasting so good.

We traveled home in the snow by good driving conditions. Our towed car looks like it needs a bath before it can be driven!! We arrived back to Lou's house at 9:00 pm. The pictures were took were taken quickly and we will get better ones in the daylight, but many of the family members were anxious to see them.

The next step is to get everything from our house and Lou's house into the RV and sort and put things in their proper place. It will be a chore to warm it all up and have a comfortable area to work in. Hopefully, we can accomplish this quickly and get the new RV back in the barn until we leave for the south the first of February.

Boys - Toys - Hobbies

November 29th - Monday - First Day of Deer Season - Coldest day of the month thus far.

We were up bright and early this morning, so the hunter in the family could be in the woods by day break. It didn't matter that he had spent the majority of the night coughing with little sleep and awoke coughing this AM, nope! I fixed him a hot breakfast, gave him cookies to add to his lunch that Preston was packing for him and thrust the Nitro spray into his hand with a warning to use it if he needed it and to remember he was putting extra stress on his body by going when he didn't feel well. I know ladies, you know what I am talking about, something odd happens to these men in Northern PA the Monday after Thanksgiving. I fashion it to what happens to teen-agers.....

The hat that is in the picture is one that I worked on while riding in the RV last winter. I had just finished a scarf and wanted the hat to go with it. I used double strand virgin - washable wool. This is the first hat I have knit in the round, but Susie assured me, it was a piece of cake and indeed it was until I got to the flowers. I couldn't keep the stitches on the needles while traveling, so put it away to try at a later date after we returned home. Maegan told me that Abby had learned to crochet and was getting very good at it and had made flowers for all of their family members, so I remembered my unfinished hat, so I attempted the flowers again, knowing if I couldn't work the pattern, little Abby would be glad to do them for me, well, I did figure it out and the hat is complete.

I now have a huge felted purse that I need to knit a handle for and felt that down and it will be another project complete. I need to come up with a project to do this year as we are riding along. I like to knit that way I can still help Lou watch the road and communicate with him, where some of the ladies read, I always felt that was rude, what company are you to your partner, if you are engrossed in your reading.

We spent the majority of the afternoon and evening at Lou's house on Saturday with two of his children and their spouses and two grandsons. The one son-in-law has always supplied Lou with a Hess truck each year, all of which he still has in the original boxes. This year not being an exception, he arrived with said truck and it was received with much delight. Once the batteries we added we all had to admit it was another show piece. Lou and I had seen the replica in the Macy's Parade, so knew what it was going to look like. Having his hands on it made it very special and was placed on the mantel in the family room.

Yesterday Lou and I attended church and had a special treat by having our pastor sing one of Ray Bolt's songs. He sang Feel the Nails with as much gusto as Ray himself puts into it. Lou and I had just watched the DVD of Ray's called The Concert of a Lifetime, one which I had the honor of attending. This type of music is new to Lou, but he is finding that he does enjoy some of it.

After church we hurried home to remove casseroles from the oven to take to his house, as his family was all meeting for a late Thanksgiving. Michelle came down to tell both of us goodbye as she set off on her journey back to college in Elizabethtown.

Lou also has a granddaughter by the same name that will be graduating from college with honors in mid December and we are making plans to attend that special occasion.

After a meal of all the traditional foods and some additional dishes, the dirty dishes and such were carried back to the kitchen, a variety of desserts were offered with more hot coffee and soon it was time for everyone to depart to their various homes. Lou was desperately looking for his hunting clothes, of which he could not find, so I told him I would go home and see if they were stored with Scott's clothes here and sure enough, all washed, everything together and sealed in plastic. He drove over to one of his buddies to plan strategics for todays first hunt. I thought this was a good time to clean my oven, so I spent the evening finishing that chore. I did have time to watch part of the new Hallmark movie with Sam Elliott, while I finished up knitting my mittens. Great movie.

Today I am doing the bedding and hanging it all outside again and plan on doing the rest of my shopping and will have dinner prepared for Lou and Preston when the hunters return.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 25th - Thanksgiving - Snowy and cool.

We were awakened this morning with snow on the ground. For once, the weatherman gave us the correct information.

Lou and I both felt a bit better yesterday and took a nice walk in the afternoon. Returned home to have a quick visit from Michelle, home from college for the holiday, She brought with her a lifetime neighbor friend that has been away at college. Good to catch up on the news from each of them on their new lives with the college theme.

Last evening Lou and I attended the Thanksgiving Church Service in Morris. It was a lovely service and certainly gave all of us reason to consider all of the things we have in our lives to be thankful for. Certainly a thought to keep in our minds as we travel into the upcoming Holy Holiday, so often the true meaning of Christmas gets put on the back burner.

We are very thankful for all of the family that has arrived safely to their destinations this week. We look forward to seeing all of them at the various gatherings that are scheduled throughout the coming weekend.

We pray for safety for all of the hunters that will be out in full force on Monday.

Taking Advantage of Good Weather

November 20th Saturday - Sunny 52 degrees

Today Lou and I took advantage of the good weather and got outside to finish up some jobs. He took the deck off the lawn tractor and winterized it, what a job, but tonight it is back in the barn awaiting the grass to grow and spring.

He is trying to get some strength back and be ready for deer season the Monday after Thanksgiving, so Lou is walking about two miles each morning. He told me today, that he still isn't feeling as well as he did prior to his hospitalization. He has another doctor's appointment on Monday.

This seems to be the month for sickness. I started with a chest cold the day after Lou came home from the hospital, have been on three different antibiotics, developed oral yeast infection, and another office call on Thursday, and chest x-rays that were abnormal, so more studies are scheduled for next Monday and a return visit to Dr. Nespola next week. He started me on Prednisone, Bactrim DS and "GI Gin".

Lou has been working on his friend's tractor, remember the old flywheel, well finally located one and had it shipped in and now the installation, they have worked three nights and still have more yet to do. While Lou was away last night, I got out all of the supplies that Lou and I had picked out for the wreaths at the cemetery, Krista came down and made bows for me and we have them all ready to go the their new residences for the winter months. Even had enough left to make a small wreath for Lou's back door. Will make a welcoming addition to all that will be coming and going during the holiday, as his kids use the house during hunting season along with the holidays.

On Wednesday, Lou and I were up very early and make a trip to Carlisle to pick up our drugs for the next three months. We took time to run to the PX and the Commissary and then at Sam's Club on the way back, by the time we finished dinner at Hoss', we knew we weren't going to get back in time for square dancing.

The picture of the quilt I posted was a quilt that was on display at The Country Cupboard where Lou and I stopped for breakfast on Wednesday, one of my favorite places to eat. I had my usual chip beef on biscuits. I had Lou taste it to make sure it was good, as I haven't been able to taste anything in over three weeks. He enjoyed a huge Western Omelette with

a home made biscuit.

While Lou was working on the tractor today, I got up on the roof and put

lights on the garage and decorated the front deck and put the swags up on all of the windows of the house. It certainly was a beautiful day to do it, and actually the first day, I have felt like doing anything extra.

This is the beginning of a very busy holiday season and we both want to feel well and enjoy it and our families.

Indian Summer ????

November 11th - Veteran's Day - Beautiful 60's

We here in Northern Pennsylvania have been having some wonderful weather; therefore, Lou and I decided we could finish our outside jobs that we hadn't finished.

Lou brought the snowblowers up from the barn and found that it needed much tender loving care. It was not used last winter and had been neglected the year before, so my mechanical husband, tore it apart, found one long bolt missing and from the looks of the hole where it had been housed, was very elongated, telling us it had been missing for some time.

He took the muffler off cleaned it along with the spark plug, changed the oil, changed the position of the handle that controls the direction the snow blows, as it was rubbing and had a large indentation into the brass. Once the oil was changed it was ready to try and sure enough it started and runs well. Now we are ready for snow. "not"

We went to the woods yesterday to gather green to use in our vacant plant boxes, we were able to collect five different kinds of greens and I was able to get the boxes done before having an early dinner and going off to square dancing. Last evening was a special night, as we danced an hour at the Green Home prior to going to our regular dance classes.

Last evening was very rewarding, as it was easy for all of us to see that the residents throughly enjoyed the entertainment. Even folks that were in wheel chairs, had their feet going and many of them were clapping in time to the music. The hour was over quickly and we were on to our class.

Today, I put out a few of our Christmas decorations and a couple strings of lights, taking advantage of the great weather, and after lunch we were off to Lou's house to start packing up the RV, it was much warmer outside than it was in the RV. We have a great start and will only take an hour or so to finish it up. A lot of the things will stay in the old RV and we will transfer those items when we pick up the new one. We have to remember that when we transfer, it may be snowy and will probably be cold.

Tomorrow is Lou's follow up appointment with Dr. Nespola. Lou is doing well, but does tire quickly and the minute he sits down, he is asleep, so we are sleeping in a bit in the mornings and we aren't doing anything after dinner in the evening.

Think it will be a good day to get the car washed and cleaned up again. Have to take advantage of the 60 degrees.

Frosty Morning

November 7th - Sunday - Overcast 23 degrees low

We awoke early this morning, as is Lou's habit of turning up the heat and then coming back to bed until the house warms up, he came back to bed to tell me he wanted me to see something and how glad I am, as it was a fairy wonderland outside. Jack Frost had once again turned our property into a winter wonderland.

This has been a week of a more relaxed life style, Lou has found out it is taking a little time to recover from his recent hospitalization, so we have taken this time to enjoy our life together. As our friends, Lew and Joanne told us, we have enjoyed coffee breaks more frequently.

We have been amazed at the different birds we have seen at our feeders and for some reason we have an abundance of House Finches, along with the regular birds that we see on a daily basis. Yesterday when I feed the birds, I brought a feeder closer to the kitchen window, and now can stand at the sink and watch the birds as I do my duties that surround the kitchen sink. The feeder had visitors by the time I got back into the house.

Last evening we drove to Big Flats to a dinner sponsored by the EAA, was a good time for us to renew acquaintances from the flying world. The speaker was Earl Luce, and he has recently hand built a Buttercup plane and he told his whole story of the aircraft and how he drew all of his

own plans .Built the plane and successfully flew it to Oshkosh and received an award for doing so. He now has other men building the same plane with his hand drawn plans. All in all it was an enjoyable evening.

Lou spent one whole day shelling the Kentucky Wonder beans that we grew and dried. While he was doing that I set to job of baking Ginger-Bread Boys. I put a whole in the top of each and when they finish drying I will use homespun fabric to tie them on our Christmas tree. I am planning on an old fashioned Christmas tree, we want to string cranberries, and use some other dried fruits.

Our hobby room is full of items drying and awaiting the next step.

This week promises to be a busy week, Lou has two doctor's appointments, we have square dancing and a demo at The Green Home, and we are supposed to have two very nice days and we are in hopes we can get the motor home out and get it packed up while it is warm and store everything in his house until we take delivery of the new RV. We were going to transfer everything when we pick the new one up, but think this will be more orderly and perhaps warmer.

How about that Penn State Game, pretty thrilling!!!

Almost back to normal

November 2nd Tuesday - Election Day Beautiful Sunny Day

Our morning started out very cold, we had a very cold and frosty 17 degrees when we jumped out of bed. Our pine tree in the front yard was beautifully decorated by Jack Frost with a touch of frosting on each bough.

After breakfast, I ventured outside in the sunshine, while Lou caught up on some of his e-mail and reading. I was amazed at what a beautiful day it was, no wind and the sunshine was very warming. I was able to get all of our Autumn Joy trimmed off, along with some of the other late blooming perennials trimmed, that is another job to cross off our list for fall.

We had an appointment for Estee for a follow up for her respiratory infection at 2:30 this afternoon and Dr. Suresh checked her out and found that all symptoms that he had found previously have all abated, he pronounced her healthy. We were both elated to hear the good news. No CHF and no further studies at this time.

We stopped in Whitneyville to vote and found a good turn out, so tonight we will enjoy listening to the results, hoping we all made the correct decision.

Lou is finding that Dr. Nespola was correct in telling him that he would become fatigued quickly, so after the first attempt to accomplish a lot, we are taking each day slow. This weekend, we both rested, we found that we were both tired and our own bed felt good.

Sunday, Lou sporting his new purple shirt and tie and I attended church and were happily greeted by our church family. (Have you noticed home many news casters are wearing purple?) Our church body had grouped together to put new siding on the church parsonage on the weekend and it looks so good and all were glad the job was accomplished and pleased with their task.

After church, Lou and I went out for lunch at A Heck of a Place, which is owned by friends of ours. We enjoy eating there and always see someone that we know and catch up on the news of the neighborhood. The eating place is located three miles from our home.

Lou read the two newspapers in the afternoon and I caught up on our ironing while I fixed chicken for dinner. Lou did go out to the garden and dig the beets, completing the garden for another year.

Monday I spent the day cooking and freezing beets. Lou had dug a bushel of the scarlet gems, I froze 14 pints, and made six quarts of harvard beets. I was ready to sit down Monday night after cleaning up the mess of beet juice all over the stove and such. We know they will taste good this winter when it is snowing.

We were able to get our spouting cleaned out today and some adjustments made to the spouting on the house. Glad to be able to accomplish this job when the wind wasn't blowing. Let it snow we are ready.... almost...

Tomorrow is a day of errands in town and then to recycling in the afternoon and tomorrow night is square dancing.

Homecoming 10-28-2010

October 28th Thursday PM

As you can see from the above photo, Lou is home and this is a picture of two happy folks.

Dr. Nespola released Lou at 7:00 pm. His timing was wonderful as Lou and

I had a very relaxing afternoon and both of us were served a wonderful turkey dinner with all of the trimmings and for dessert we had blueberry cobbler that had been warmed to perfection. We had just finished the evening news, once again good timing.

When Dr. Nespola talked to both of this evening he explained all of the situation out to us and he has three days of antibiotics to be taken, resume all of his current medications, no restriction on activities, work until he is tired and rest, leave for Florida or parts south on January 1st and see him next spring. He does need to visit Dr. Nespola in two weeks and of course, Dr. N knows I will report any irregularities.

Once again thank you for all of your prayers, cards, visits and phone calls. Hopefully, things, will get back to normal soon.

Update -2-

October 29th - Wednesday - BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY

It was much too nice of a day to spend in the hospital; however, I was glad to do so to be with Lou. I went to the hospital very early this am. When I arrived I found that he had lost most of his tubes and such. He still has the IV for additional antibiotics.

He was able to get himself washed this morning and to change his pajamas by himself, but by the time he was finished he was ready for a rest. He had a delightful student nurse today and they took a liking to each other and she couldn't do enough for Lou and me. After Lou got ready for the day, she made each of us a cup of coffee, so we were able to have coffee together.

Dr. Nespola came in around noon and told us that he wasn't impressed by the lab work. The numbers are not coming back to normal as quickly as he had hoped. He is awaiting the sensitivity for the urine culture to find if he is using the correct antibiotic. We should have the results of that tomorrow. He ordered physical therapy to start tomorrow, to help Lou regain his strength. Everyone that I have told that to today, questioned why he would need physical therapy. There is a formula used in the medical field and it is for every day a healthy person is in bed, it will take three days to recover. Hence, the reason for the physical therapy. I know Lou was disappointed, as he felt he would come home today. I honestly don't think Lou realizes how sick he was. So he may or may not come home tomorrow night. Dr. N won't see him until after office hours tomorrow, so that will be late.

Now tomorrow there will be more blood work to check his numbers and if they are beginning to raise and if the antibiotic treatment is the drug of choice, he will be able to come home on oral antibiotics, if not he will need to stay longer.

One of the nurses came in today while the dietitian was there and asked her to order a guest tray for me for each of Lou's meals, she told her I was the one doing the nursing and that was something they could do for me. So tonight Lou and I were able to eat our dinner together. He is in a semi-private room; however, they have avoided filling that bed to give us the room and privacy and we have both enjoyed it being a little quieter.

This is the first time I have had a family member in our local hospital since my mother died ten years and I am very impressed with all of the folks. Perhaps, it helps that I know most of them, I know we have many notes to write when Lou returns home.

Thank you again for all of the phone calls, prayers, cards and Kris the homemade cookies were wonderful with a cup of tea this evening. It was hard to save some for Lou tomorrow.

Update

October 26th - Tuesday - Sunny then heavy rain

When I arrived at the hospital this morning before 10:00, I found Lou still connected to all of the IV's and monitors; however, he was sitting in the chair. He looked tired and said he was tired. I told him patients don't usually sleep well the first night but would probably sleep better tonight.

He did have a lot of company this morning and again this afternoon. His nephew came from Harrisburg and stayed with him, while I took a respite and had lunch with my attorney friend that had flown in from Louisiana. Lou and I had planned on spending the afternoon and evening with her on Sunday, but God had other plans. Lou and his nephew have a lot in common and they both enjoyed their chat. It worked out well, as Preston and Susie had driven up from Tyrone this morning, and they had lunch with John at Preston's favorite restaurant in Wellsboro.

Dr. Nespola came in late this evening and sat down with Lou and I again. He saves us for last and that way we get to have a chat also. The ultrasound did not show any reason for the infection, which is a good thing. The reason for the UTI has not been determined. Dr. N did have some good news for us, Lou's heart is alright, no damage there from the Sepsis; therefore, they are going to remove the telemetry and he is voiding lots of urine and his potassium and calcium levels have increased, so they are going to pull the IV's.

When Lou asked Dr. N when he could go home, Dr. N gave him his favorite grin and stated a couple more days and Lou seemed to accept that answer.

I am planning on going to the hospital early tomorrow, as Dr.N is off on Wednesdays and he will make his rounds early and I will again stay until 10:00 or so.

Please continue to keep him in your prayers and thanks to all of you for your notes of encouragement and the outpouring of love.

Hospitalization

October 25th - Monday - Rainy

After a long night 8:00 am finally arrived and I was able to call Dr. Nespola and reported to him the happenings for Lou of the weekend. He asked Lou to go to the hospital to be admitted for Sepsis. My husband, being who he is didn't want to do that; however, when Dr. Nespola called back, he stated he would like Lou to go to the lab at the hospital for lab work and an UA and C&S, and go to his office. After some coaxing Lou agreed to that.

We arrived at the hospital lab and found Amanda, being the efficient MA that she is had indeed called the order down and they were waiting for Lou, they processed him through quickly, drew his blood and did the UA and we walked to Dr. N's office, we were quickly put into a room, so Lou could lay down and await the results of the lab work. Dr. Nespola soon came in and looked at Lou and said "you are a very sick gentleman", which I know took Lou by surprise, as he kept thinking it was a reaction to the flu injection that he had on Friday. "not". Dr. N gave me the lab results and I quickly looked them over as he explained to Lou what was indeed happening. He indeed does have Sepsis, which to you that are not familiar with the term, is life threatening and a very serious condition. Many death certificates has Sepsis as the cause of death and Lou dealing with death certificates on a regular basis is aware of this. Sepsis is a toxic condition resulting from the spread of bacteria or the products of bacteria from an infection someplace in the body.

Lou was indeed admitted to the hospital and immediately started on an IV antibiotic, after blood cultures were taken. He is also being given IV potassium , when I left at 10:30, he had completed one bag and the second one was hung. He is on telemetry, where they are monitoring his heart, and that has shown sinus rhythm w/ p.n.c.'s and later on showed numeral p.v.c.'s. Sepsis can affect all organs of the body. It is believed this is stemming from an UTI and he is scheduled for a kidney and bladder ultrasound in the morning and if a problem is found there a Urologist will be called in.

He has been coughing and has had an elevated temp, therefore, a chest x-ray was done and that did not show any thing to be concerned about, ie, no pneumonia. His blood pressure on admission was very low and also his pulse; however, both of those are returning to normal with additional fluid.

Dr. Nespola was in twice this evening, and again late this evening, he sat down with Lou and I and told us he expected him to make a full recovery, although it was going to take some time and he needed to be patient and not expect over night results. He does plan to do additional studies tomorrow.

Lou is in good spirits and knows that God will see us through this "bump in the road".

A special thanks to all of family members and friends and our pastor that were there to do whatever was needed. Krista even went to our house and gave Estee her medication and played with her, she was what Lou was concerned about. Just a note to let you know how much she loves Lou, when I came home this evening, she met me on the deck and as I closed the gate to the deck, she sat down at the gate and cried, looked for Lou, came to me and went back on the deck. I finally went out and picked her up and gave her his undershirt that I had brought home with me to launder and you guess it, she is in her bed, with Lou's shirt. Not dumb animals, are they? I know there will be pets in heaven. If our pets love us this much, imagine how much God loves us.

I will try to keep every one updated on the Blog but I do intend to spend the majority of my time at the hospital with Lou. That is my second home.

The Week in Review

October 24th Sunday - Cloudy 45 degrees

Another week of October has passed in a flurry of activities. We always know when we return from a SMART Muster it will be a busy week and Monday came with a bang. I was able to get the ironing and the rest of the laundry finished and made a huge pot of home made potato and ham soup for dinner along with a new recipe of Date and Walnut muffins.

That made a nice dinner before heading out to Jim and Pat's house to meet up with other square dance friends, Jerry and Joanne and we were all off in Jim's van for Troy, PA. We ended up with nine couples from our club in addition to the folks that always dance in Troy. Our dance floor was full most of the evening. It amazes me how whenever, we visit another club, I always find someone I knew from years ago and Monday night was not an exception. Lou and I were dancing in a square of our folks plus a couple from the Troy group, when all of a sudden I realized I knew the man I was dancing with. He turned out to be Wayne Strange, a gentleman that we purchased a garage kit from over thirty years ago. He and his wife remembered me, so we were able to catch up on thirty years during our breaks. This made the evening even more enjoyable.

When we returned to Jim and Pat's house they were gracious to give us a guided tour of their beautiful, spacious home. We were very impressed with their lot and their home. Pat collects dolls and has them displayed in many different places throughout their home. Jim loves wood working and despite losing his fingers to a saw, he had made some beautiful items for their home, from dressers, shelves, chairs, cupboards and cabinets. Pat quilts and sews, so with both of their talents, you can imagine their home. Jim also grows orchids, and some of them are displayed on their window sills.

Tuesday brought a decent day weather wise, so Lou was off to winterize the motor home and get the awnings dried out for storage. I was off to the grocery store and washed the car. When we pull it behind the RV it gets filthy, so it didn't get it's weekly bath prior to going, so thought this was a good time to get it cleaned up inside and out. I wanted to get it waxed, but ran out of time. Tuesday nights we try to eat on time, so we can be all finished up in the kitchen and be able to sit down in the living room and enjoy NCIS. Our very favorite television show. After that was over we enjoyed a Netflex movie. Neither of us are huge television fans, the news in the morning for Lou and again in the early evening and then it is just movies.

Wednesday and Thursday Lou and I spent the days at Broad Acres as they hosted the 55 Alive class. It had been three years since Lou had taken the class and many years for me. When we arrived, we found that our friends Lou and Joanne had also signed up and were their also. Broad Acres served us a snack in the morning with coffee and or tea and at lunch time a lovely lunch with dessert. When we finished the class on Wednesday, Lou and I made a quick trip to his house to get the RV taken to the barn for the winter, so that is taken care of. We had asked Allyn to reinforce the barn floor to ensure the new RV would be safely secured and we found that he had already accomplished that. What a pleasure to ask someone to do something for you and find it done with no reminders.

I had put a chuck roast in the crock pot before leaving for class and what a good idea, when we returned home from the cold and wind at the barn, the house smelled so good, and Lou quickly turned on the potatoes while I changed my clothes and we had dinner ready in no time. We even took time to enjoy a movie together in the evening.

Thursday I awoke with a migraine again, something that seems to be almost a daily occurrance. I took my medication and laid back down while Lou tried to think of something to help me. We did go on to our class and we finished a little early, so thought I would use that extra time to get the car waxed. That is one fall job off of our list. Lou packed up the Buick with things that needed to go back to his house and took Estee with him to accomplish a few things there. We met back here for dinner and a movie with Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies. It was wonderful, highly recommend it to any of you that haven't seen it. We had to research Mr. Duvall after the movie to see more about him. I had only seen him once before in Lonesome Dove.

Friday morning we were off to get our flu injections, something we both do faithfully each fall. We needed to pick up a couple items from the grocery and get gas for the car. Gasoline here is 289.9, seems to keep going up!!

After we got home, Lou tackled the garden pulling up the beans and picking the shell beans. He worked at that until it was time to go to his house to meet Preston. While Lou was gone I set about dinner, I baked a chicken, squash, stuffing and made an apple pie,fixed cauliflower and brussel sprouts. I knew Preston would be here for dinner and he is a diabetic and loves his veggies.

Susie called while I was fixing dinner, so had a chance to really get caught up on the family news with her, both of us have busy lives and to find a time when we can just chat is rare, so really enjoyed talking with her. They have just completed the task of putting a new roof on their house and getting ready to rebuilt their sun porch. It is great to have members of the family that are eager to share their talents when needed.

Sue and Tim are looking forward to a weekend of baby sitting with Wyatt in Philadelphia. His mommy and daddy are going to be attending the Marine Ball, which is a special night for Travis and Noell. Travis is working long hours as a recruiting officer and thankfully Noell has just started up a new Blog to keep us informed on their life. Lou and I had missed the daily or weekly contacts with them. I am in hopes I can have their Christmas presents all ready so Sue and Tim can take them with them.

Lou told me when he came home from his house, he was cold, so fixed him a hot cup of tea and turned up the heat in the house, wondering if he was having a reaction to the flu injection. After dinner, he started with chills and ended up vomiting with shaking chills. Gave him some Tylenol and he sat with Preston and I watching a new show that Preston and us like with Tom Selleck. After the show was over, Preston went back to the house and Lou continued being sick, so got him ready for bed and into bed. He complained of being sore all over, took his temp and it was also elevated, he did sleep well, and awoke in the AM thinking he was going to "set the world on fire". He knew Preston was up to tackle some jobs at the homestead and also that Sandra was coming to help, so he felt like he had to be there, I was able to talk him into waiting until afternoon when it was warmer, he was able to eat a little soup and some crackers and left for his place. He returned about 4:00 pm and looked like something the dog had hauled home. His temp was 100.2, chills, it was hard to talk him into a nap, he slept until 6:30 and had a hot shower, a little dinner, a hallmark movie on television he wanted to see, then bed. He still has a temp this morning, and he thought he would go to church and I said "no", he is back in bed and if he still has the temp tomorrow, he will see Dr. N. Thankfully, the vomiting and diarrhea have ceased, so think we are making progress.

A special thank you to Preston and Sandra for their work at the homestead. They were able to get the shrubbery trimmed and some leaves rakes up. The weather was not very cooperative for them. Preston was able to help his dad in the cemetery, as Lou was very concerned about two new graves that needed attention prior to bad weather. Thankfully, this will be the last year that this responsibility is going to be Lou's. We are trying to make several changes in our lives to allow time with this new motor home. With the expense of the new RV we want to be able to use it as much as possible, so we need to make some drastic changes and we are praying for the correct changes.

You will note the squash that we collected from the garden, we had purchased both kinds of squash from the PX in North Carolina last year and saved the seeds and planted them. They are wonderful to eat and so easy to prepare. I just do not know what their names are.

We also had good news from Camping World about our new RV, it will be shipped on the 22nd of November and should arrive in Syracuse 10 to 14 days thereafter. When speaking with Bob at Camping World, I asked him if we had to have the RV completely cleaned out, and he said "no", that will save a huge amount of work. He stated they would pull the new one right up next to the old one and we can transfer the items. Even though it will probably be cold that day, it will be much easier. Lou and Preston said it will be right during hunting season, "oh well, thems the breaks".

My girl friend from Louisiana is in town this weekend and we were supposed to take her to dinner today; however, due to Lou's condition, we opted for perhaps a luncheon and a day of looking at property, when he is feeling better.

Hopefully, this week we can finish up our fall jobs, although rain is forecasted. I do have some sewing I want to get accomplished, I purchased some square dancing dresses and they need to be shortened and it is a long way around one of those skirts.

Home Again

October 17th - Sunday - Sweetest Day Beautiful fall day

Once again we were up early and ready to fix breakfast for everyone and someone forgot to unlock the clubhouse for us, so we were very late getting around, so by the time we fixed, served, and cleaned up and got ready to leave for home it was noon.

Can you tell from the picture that Estee is ready to travel? She loved to ride on the top of the sofa and that way she can look out the window as we drive.

It was a beautiful drive home. We did not come back the same way, we or I should say Lou chose route 61 to travel home on. It was a beautiful drive, but very hilly and full of sharp curves. The trees in southern PA are beautiful, and as we got closer to home we noted that our pretty colors have left and are replaced with the dark shades from the oak.

We stopped in Williamsport for gas at 2.859 and after filling our gas tank thought we should fill our tummies. We went to Red Lobster and celebrated Sweetest Day in fashion. Today if the anniversary our first date, so this day every year has special meaning.

We arrived at Lou's house about 6:30 and we got unhooked and everything transferred from the RV to the car and by 7:30, I had everything put away and had laundry started.

I tried something different this time and I do believe this system is going to work better for us, as it is really a task to transfer everything from the RV to our car and bring to our house. I knew there had to be an easier way and think finally we have found it. It makes going away and coming back much easier on me.

Now to tackle the fall list here at home and get that accomplished while it is a bit warmer, then need to winterize the RV and take everything out to await the arrival of the new home.

A busy week ahead.

Afternoon of Crafts and Pot Luck Dinner

Saturday Afternoon Crafting

We had a nice afternoon of painting Halloween ceramics. Each of the girls picked out a couple items that they would like to do. All of them had done ceramics at different bases that they had been stationed at, so all were familiar with the task at hand.

We laughed as we tried to make the tiny details complete, as our hands are not as steady as they were many years ago when we all enjoyed this craft, and decided starting again on Halloween items was a good choice. We blended colors and came up with some interesting items that we thought our grandchildren would get a kick out of.

One of the girls does hand made cards and she shared her talents with us. All in all it was a very interesting afternoon, and we broke up that session and all hurried home to fix our dish for our pot luck dinner.

That is always a great success and we had a nice variety of foods and the conversation was lively, as these dinners are. What stories these guys tell about each other and Lou got on his story of the money names Pisquielly. I had heard the story before, but the guys all remembered it with much more detail. That gathering didn't break up until about 8:30 and then we came home quickly and gave Estee her medication and a potty break and we went to our friends, Doug and Connie and spent some time with them visiting. Lou and I are very fond of them, they are some of the first people Lou introduced me to after I met him, so they have been very special to both of us. They have been leading a caravan of RV's and had been gone for three months. What stories they have to share.

Now we just have one more breakfast to prepare and then pack up and take everything back home and then start the big pack up to get ready for the new RV.

Second day - Adamstown, PA

October 16th - Saturday, beautiful sunny day - 54 degrees

Our day started before the sun came up this morning. In fact this Blog Post will be in sections,as our day is divided into sections today.

Lou and I quickly readied ourselves for the day and took our supplies for breakfast to the clubhouse. Steve arrived earlier than us and had the coffee started; however, we blew a circuit breaker and had to work that problem out before we could finish breakfast. All worked out and breakfast was served as each member sleepily appeared at the clubhouse. Everyone seemed to enjoy the hot breakfast. We all chatted until 9:00 when we held our business meeting, electing new officers for the upcoming year and signing up as sponsors for the monthly Musters starting in April. We are all in agreement we would like to visit other places in Pennsylvania and perhaps, neighboring states, so should be an interesting upcoming year. We also decided that we are going to meet for a Holiday Luncheon in December before we all set out for the sunny south. Our National Muster will be in Oklahoma and we have several couples that will be traveling to this and that will be held in September. Thankfully, our group doesn't have to work this year, we get to enjoy.

After breakfast, I brought the leftovers and dirty pots back to the RV and scrubbed them all up for the next outing. I also needed to prepare my dish for the potluck tonight. I am making a spinach quiche. While I was doing all of this Lou and Steve made a quick trip to an appliance shop to seek equipment to repair Steve's RV radio and Lou needed to pick me up some acrylic clear spray, as are going to paint ceramics this afternoon for a special craft. Krista poured us some Halloween and Thanksgiving items that I thought the ladies would enjoy painting and taking home with them. So that is the next thing to do. You can see from the pictures it is a beautiful day here and I am in hopes I can get out and walk a bit, and take Estee out.

Lou and I took Estee to the vet on Wednesday prior to leaving for here. She has had a raspy sound and drinking excessively and I was concerned about congestive heart failure. When I called the Vet we have always seen, she did not have an opening in the Wellsboro office and suggested I see one of the new doctors in Mansfield, and we agreed. I was very impressed with this new physician, Dr. Suresh. He went all over Estee, which will be eleven years old this month. As he listened to her lungs he was shaking his head telling us "not good". At the end of his examination, he explained it could be a number of things. Our last visit to the Vet had ended with Estee being placed on Prednisone (a steriod) for an allergic reaction? This being done, our new physician could not do any lab work, as there might be false positive results, so we agreed to give her an antibiotic for two weeks along with Benedryl and then call him with her progress and if she isn't improving we will do lab work and chest x-rays to confirm the CHF. I knew I would feel badly, but I was not ready for Lou's reaction, he has become very attached to Estee and told us he couldn't bare the thoughts of not having her, so............. Thus far we haven't seen any improvement, she still loves to play ball with Lou and sit on his lap whenever his bottom hits a chair. Estee even has to go to the bathroom with him. It is surprising that the majority of our SMART people travel with dogs and most of them are large dogs, but Lou and I prefer these small no shedding dogs.