Today's happenings

This is Donna taking a break from all the work inside the closet. As you can see the closet turned out great. I am so lucky to have such great kids to help me.

This morning we went to SARC. We did not do the Aerobics but Donna made me walk around in the pool and she did a few laps of swimming and then we got in the Hot tub.

A while back my whole closet shelf which had places on it to hang clothes fell down from being overloaded. So today Donna decided she could fix it but do it different than it was . We got a closet organizer. Donna being the capable person she is, planned how she could fix it. We actually ended up making three trips to Home Depot besides a trip to Costco.

Anyway after many hours of work, the closet is finally done. George came over to help and it saved Donna some work. George and Marge are such good neighbors. While George and Donna were working on the closet, Marge, Missy and I went for a walk. It has been a busy day.

Here are some pictures of Donna's project. It turned out so well. She should be very proud of her achievement.

Wedding Reception

Saturday Donna, Laif and I went to Olympia for Heather's Reception. It was very nice. Diane and Richard were able to come too. The weather was very nice too. Here are a few pictures. It was nice to see Darrell, Richard and Diane. I don't see them often enough. Heather was very happy to see us.

Interesting Day

Have you ever had one of those days where the day should go along just as planned but did not?
Today was one of those days. Donna had a dentist appointment this morning to have a crown put on, Mountain Propane was scheduled to install the gas line for my range and dryer, The Craft Group of about 7 women were coming at 1pm, Donna planned to go to the opening of IHOP with Marge, George and me and then she had to be on the radio at 7pm. This sounded pretty routine for Donna---but then it turned out different than planned.

To begin with Donna called me from the dentist office that I had to come and get her. When she got up from the chair after getting her crown her back went out and she could hardly move. I had to drive to the dentist office to get her. Thanks to my GPS with the address I was able to find it. I think her back went out because she had moved a bunch of boxes this morning to make room for the man from the gas company to be able to work. At that point I should have known this was not going to be a good day. After I picked her up we had to go to Safeway to buy some treats for the ladies that were coming at 1pm. We didn't do any other shopping because I was the one who had to carry the bags up the stairs.

Back to the gas line installation----The service man arrived at 9:30 so Donna was able to tell him just where Laif wanted the line run before she took off for the dentist. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. The service man had arranged for a helper to install the conversion kit. It turned out that they did not have to unstack the washer and dryer and they only had to take the front off to put the conversion kit in. Everything sounds good so far---right?

Like I said the serviceman got here at 9:30 but he did not leave until 4:45. After everything was all hooked up he detected a gas leak. It seemed to be a small leak but he couldn't find it, He checked his fittings on the range and dryer and could find nothing wrong. He checked the fireplace too. Donna said if it was a small leak maybe it would be OK until he came back but he said he could not leave until he found it or he could lose his license. His gas detector went out on him so he had to call someone to come out with a detector which he said was the big gun. He finally found the leak in the attic where the pipe to Donna's fireplace ran. Apparently it should not have gone through there in the first place. The leak is in the pipe itself. Just another thing their builder did not do right. All he could do today was just turn the propane tank off. Tomorrow he will come out and give Donna an estimate on how much it will cost to put the new line in. It will not run through the attic because that would entail tearing out walls. The seviceman said gas was building up in the attic and he said it must have been about 140 degrees in the attic.

So at 1pm, all the ladies came for the Craft meeting. So we are all sitting in the house with a gas leak. We did have doors open. The gas leak must have been going on for sometime. If I hadn't bought the appliances we would not have known about it until maybe something happened. Donna called Laif and I am sure he is probably still groaning. So far I have been a lot of trouble.

Richard skyped me while the meeting was on. He was at Dan's and Heidi's. I was telling him about my day. I got to say hi to Dan and Heidi. I just so love Skype.

Debbie called me on her way home from work and I told her about my day. I said watch the Five o'clock news in case the house blows up. She is leaving for Conneticut tomorrow for work and then on the weekend will meet Kent and Erik so they can have a week's vacation in New York.

We left about 5pm to go to the opening of IHOP. Afterward George and Marge dropped Donna off at her car and then she had to go to the radio station. Tomorrow Randy is coming to work on the plumbing. I have a feeling that the boxes Donna moved this morning will have to be moved again so Randy can work on the plumbing. Pepper should be here so maybe we can get him to move them.

The good news is that today is just about over and tomorrow will be a new page in my book of life. Good or bad, everyday is a new page in our book of life. I do love life. I look forward to seeing what will happen next.

Very cool June day

I hope we have some warmer weather soon. It has been overcast all day and even in the house I have been wearing a sweater.
Of course the weather did not stop us from walking this morning. Our neighbors George and Marge and their dog Mitzi and Donna and I all went for a walk. We walked down hill and up hill and on sidewalks and on gravel. Donna said it is the walk George and Marge like to do and it is only a little over a mile. Marge calls it their Nature Walk. We went behind houses and got to see lots of scenery. George said he turned 88 in May. He did fall three times when they were out with the motorhome. He hurt one arm pretty bad. He had an x-ray and nothing is broken but it is hurting him. He is going to a specialist in July. I really did well on the walk but I will not try to walk that far without a walker.
This afternoon Donna and I got Pedicures so that helped cheer us up. Nothing else going on but just thought I would write a few lines while I had a chance.

Have been busy

My Snake Plant

I have been so busy that I have not had time to write on my blog. Friday Donna and I went to Cirque du Soleil at Mary Moore Park. We enjoyed it so much. Donna had got to tickets through her Home Schooling job. Afterward we ate at a Chinese Restaurant and then we spent the night at Debbie's. Kent and Erik were there but Debbie was on a business trip. Saturday Laif came over with a family from the Church and we met at the Temple and did a session. Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day. After we left the Temple, Laif drove around to go back to Sequim.
Monday Randy came to put one more grab bar in the shower for me. It makes it a lot easier for me.
Tuesday we had been going for the water aerobics but I needed a pair of water shoes and I also need a new bathing suit. The one I am wearing is so big. I got the water shoes at Wal-Mart for $8. What a difference it makes for walking on the cement at the pool. My feet are so tender that I feel the smallest rough spot and the shoes made it so easy to walk. I didn't find a bathing suit at Wal-Mart that I liked and we went to Penney's and they didn't have any my size there. I ordered one from the catalog and it should be here soon. We did go in the Hot tub at SARC after we shopped.
Today we did the Water Aerobics. I wore a flotation belt so I did much better. I still can't get myself
very far from the edge but I am working at it. I was much more relaxed today and even the instructor said I was doing much better. I know the exercise is helping. The water aerobics among other benefits help with balance. I can just feel that my balance is getting better. I walked quite a few feet in the parking lot by Subway and again at Safeway without hanging on to Donna or a basket and I did not feel tippy.
I probably was not getting enough exercise at Debbie's but I was pretty sure for a few days here that being with Donna my body was not going to hold out. The stairs have been the big challenge for me. When you go up and down the stairs a dozen times a day, the stairs seem to get taller each time. I did pull a muscle in my left leg going up the steps so I could hardly make it up for a couple of days. I was living on Advil and using my heating pad. Now I am doing fine and have managed to figure out that I cannot pull myself up the stairs and that I have to use my legs instead.
Enough about my problems. Marge and George Swift, Donna's neighbors, just got back home. They have been traveling around in their motorhome. They have a really large one. Donna invited them for dinner tonight. Right now Donna is getting her massage and will be back a few minutes after six and we are having dinner at seven. Everything is ready and even the table is set. I decided to take these few minutes to write on my blog.
I wanted to mention about my Snake Plant (also called Mother-in-Law tongue). I had one once before when I lived in Auburn. A Snake plant is one of the easiest indoor plants to grow. You have to work hard at it to kill it. The plant does not like a lot of water. You need to let the soil dry out between waterings. A Snake Plant is one you can really neglect. It can go weeks without watering, it will grow in dim light. The temperature should be between 68 and 80. It is not an outdoor plant and should do fine in the basement. Also it is one of the plants that purifies the air.
I can hardly wait until the 22nd. That is when the gas line will be put in. Mountain Propane will be doing it and will even do the conversion kit for us. It is going to take two men because they will have to take the dryer off the washer to put the conversion kit in the dryer. This entails taking the dryer apart and sometimes removing the drum. He said they have done a lot of them. Once the plumbing is finished, I will be set.

Making progress on my "apartment"

My "new" table and chairs My gas range

My new washer and my gas dryer

My new bed

Trying to catch up-----Friday we took Marge Otte to Applebee's to celebrate her 81st birthday. Saturday my appliances came. Monday we had dinner for the Sister Missionaries. Tuesday we were shopping again and then had Relief Society in the evening. Tuesday among other things I bought, I got a Hummingbird feeder and I was so thrilled because I saw a Hummingbird feeding out of it today.

Today we went to find a small chest of drawers for my room. We started out looking in Thrift stores but finally found one for $50 at Wal-Mart. While checking out the Thrift shops, Donna spotted the dining room table and chairs that I have on my first picture. It needs a little polishing up but I got the table and four chairs for $35.00. They had it marked $50 but he gave to us for $35. I did pay $25 for delivery but even at that it was a bargain. The table has one leaf and as you notice there are only 3 chairs. The fourth chair needs some screws so they will call in a couple of days so we can pick the chair up.

Donna is still putting my chest of drawers together so I will take a picture of that later.

Planters from Richard

Beautiful planters that Richard made for me. I bought flowers for them today. This is Pepper who is doing landscaping for Donna and Laif. He is doing fantastic work and he is such a hard worker. The new patio is just gorgeous.

I am so far behind on my blogging that it will take me a few days to cover everything. I did want to put these pictures on.

Last Wednesday Richard and Diane came over here. Richard wanted the King-size bed that was in my bedroom here because I ordered a new bed for myself. We had a nice visit. The planters Richard brought me are so nice and he made them himself. When Donna was watering my plants she said he did a really good job because they were not too tight so the water was able to seep out. They are a wonderful addition to the new patio.

I just admire all the work that Pepper has been doing. He just works so hard. He also is a DJ on the radio station here.

Today Donna and I went to Water Aerobics and then shopping. We both got a yearly pass today for the Recreation Center so I will have to be sure and go. I will have to write more later because we are leaving for Relief Society in a few minutes.