EASTER WEEKEND AND BEYOND

Orchid plant I am still caring for

Here it is past Easter and my neighbor's Orchid that I am "babysitting" is still blooming.

I so enjoyed seeing all the Easter pictures on Facebook.  All my great-grandchildren looks so adorable.

On Saturday to do something different Donna asked me if I would like to go to Auburn to see the Mall.  It used to be called the Supermall and now it is called Outlet Collection Mall.  It just poured rain when we were in Auburn.  The parking lot at the Mall was a nightmare.  I can hardly believe Auburn was that small town I once lived in.  We did enjoy the mall though.  We really didn't buy anything except a couple of little things at the Kitchen Store.  We took my car as it needed a long run.

Leif was in Las Vegas for the Mustang rally.  We stopped at the grocery store when we got back to Sequim to buy some things to make ourselves a little Easter Dinner.  When we got to Church we got an invitation to have dinner with a family from our Church that just lives down the hill from us.  They had invited the missionaries too.  We had such a nice time.

We still have the food we bought for dinner.  We were going to have it for dinner tonight but we decided to wait and use that tomorrow.  Since Donna has school tomorrow it will make it easier for Leif to cook dinner.  We did eat the dessert so I guess we might get something after Donna's meeting this afternoon for dessert. Since I bought the food I am invited to dinner too.

Mentioning Donna, she got a wasp sting last Sunday, the 13th.  It swelled up really bad.  We treated it and she got some cortisone cream to put on it too.  Now here it is 8 days later and it is still swollen some and it still bothers her so she has a hard time sleeping.  She went into the doctor this morning.  He told her that the stinger probably is still in her arm.  He told her to use Aleve and continue using the cream and that it should work it's way out. If it is not better in 10 days to come back.  I know when I was looking up about Wasp stings that it said to be sure and get the stinger out.  Donna said she didn't see one but it must have been there.

Now for some really good news!!  My new Samsung Galaxy S5 phone is working great.  Apparently all the problem I was having was just my phone not T-Mobile.  This is the greatest phone ever.  You cannot believe all the features on it.  It is just like I am carrying my computer in my pocket.
One of the features I like best is the Health Check.
  Right now I am just doing the part that does your steps for the day and the one where you check your heart rate.

Last night I got it set up for my TV and Tivo.  With my phone I can turn my TV on and watch TV live or anything that is on my Tivo.  I probably won't use it that much but it is so fun to have it on there.  Donna has her phone set up for the TV, Tivo and the Boze  sound system that she has. You can make phone calls too--how about that!

For a lot of years everyone just had phones.  We did not even have answering machines.  For several years, I was on an 8 party line.  My kids can remember that.  Sometimes if you really needed to use the phone you had to ask the people on the phone line if they could hang up so you could make a call.  My kids remember that 8 party line.  Then we got to a 4 party line, then a 2 party line and finally I was in Heaven when I finally got a line all to myself.

I love all the wonderful technology that we are living with now.  This generation of children can never imagine what is used to be like without all the instant communication and everything that goes with it.

APRIL ALREADY

Rainbow and Hummingbird feeder

Hummingbird feeder on the front porch

It has been about a month since I wrote anything.  My life is not that exciting but I thought I better put something on.  On the left is a rainbow that I was able to take a picture of.  It was raining at our house but in the downtown area there was a very pretty rainbow. It was much prettier than the picture shows.  I bought the Humming Bird feeder at Walmart that you can see in the picture with the rainbow.  There is a pair of Hummingbirds that are constantly sipping from it.

The Hummingbird feeder on the front porch is a glass feeder that I bought at the Home and Garden show that was in Sequim the first part of March.  The lady who had the booth makes a lot of different kinds of Hummingbird feeders with bottles. Donna filled it and Leif hung it up.  A Hummingbird checked it out but the next day the wind was blowing hard that all the syrup blew out.  We are going to have to figure out a way to protect if from the wind.  I suppose we could bring it downstairs because the feeder down here is a little better protected from the wind.  I really like it on the front porch because it looks so nice.




Now, I will do my complaining.  I am on T-Mobile with my cell phone (which is my only phone).  I have never had quite as good a service as Donna and Leif who have Verizon but it has been working fairly well until about two weeks ago.  Now when anyone calls the call will not go through the first time.  If they call back a second time it usually goes through.  Everyone says there is a message like out of the area or not available.  It rings and the person who is calling can hear me say hello and then the phone hangs up.  They can't even leave a message.  So for part of two days I have been talking to T-Mobile and they have been trying to solve the problem. They couldn't find anything wrong on my end.  Then they thought it might be my Simm card so they overnighted me a new Simm card and it did the same thing.  They decided it might be my phone so they were willing to send me free of charge a comparable phone but I decided I just wanted to buy the new Samsung Galaxy S 5 that just came out.  My new phone should be here Tuesday.  If that does not work I am going to be very unhappy.  T-Mobile will have to let me out of my contract and I will just go to Verizon.  I have to have phone service I can depend on because I am home alone a lot. I am so excited about the new phone I ordered.  I sure hope it solves my problem.  I don't know it any of you have had a chance to check in on that phone but it is the latest and has so many great features.  I know I don't need anything that fancy but I am so fascinated by all the new technology that is coming out all the time.
Donna ordered that same phone and hers came yesterday. There are only two colors.  She got white and I got black.  I can hardly wait for mine to come.

NOW FOR HAPPY NEWS--

I think most everyone knows that I have been dealing with bouts of Bronchitis and that I have Asthma.  My neighbor and Donna and I used to walk up our steep hill for months but when I started getting sick it was about all I could to climb the stairs
    Yesterday Donna and Marge, our neighbor, and I walked down the hill away to a jewelry open house that one of the girls from Church was having.  Of course, going back, was up hill all the way.  I had to stop a few times but I made it all the way back.  My breathing was OK but I was having trouble with my knee yesterday.  Finally Arthritis is settling in. (Oh, the joys of aging)  I was so happy I was able to make it.
     Marge and I have been walking almost everyday since they got back from Arizona.  (Our neighbors are Snow Birds).  The hill by our house is quite steep.  I used to walk it all the time with no problem.  Anyway, since Marge got back I have been trying to walk a little further every time.  Since I had that walk yesterday and made it up the hill, I thought I would see how far I could make it today.  I did make it clear to the top and around the loop at the top.  I got a little tired but my breathing was fine.  Marge and I stopped a few times. Marge was a little worried about me but I said I have to push myself even if I do get tired.
    
I am really proud of myself that I made it all the way.

I love looking at Facebook and I enjoy reading the blogs from family members.  It is so great to watch the little ones growing.