My Weekly Letter ending on 1/10/11

Monday, January 10, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

I didn’t do much last Monday afternoon.  That evening Bob and I went to Rosa’s Café for supper.  When we got home, Bonnie called and we talked for a while. 

Tuesday morning Bob got up, packed, and drove to the airport to catch a plane to Washington DC.  I got up and went to IHOP for our monthly Breakfast with the Girls.  We had a great turnout and a lot of fun.  On the way home, I stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Walmart, the bank, and the Pure Water Station.  I just piddled around at home for a couple hours then left to go to my doctor’s appointment with my Gastroenterologist.  When I stepped up onto the curb to the sidewalk at his office, I tripped and fell.  I skinned both knees through my pants.  I really hurt.  It took two hours for my appointment: one hour and 50 minutes waiting and 10 minutes with the doctor.  He put me on a new medication.  I can’t tell if it is working yet.  Later Gerin and I went to Rosa’s Café for supper.  Afterwards he went to work and I went home and watched TV for a little bit then went to bed.  I drank too much Diet Coke so I had trouble going to sleep.

When my alarm went off Wednesday morning, I rolled over and went back to sleep.  Bob called me at 8—thank goodness.  I got ready to go to the temple then picked Sharon and Marsha up.  What a day!  Since I am on a new medication and it has to be taken at noon, I set my alarm on my iPhone for each day until I get in the habit of taking it.  Since I was at the temple, I turned my iPhone on silent or vibrate.  We have ongoing training and that day I had training on how to evacuate the building if an emergency occurred.  The training got through just a few minutes before noon.  I was just fixin to go into the ordinance worker’s dressing room, when a sister came out asking if I heard the alarm.  Everyone in the dressing room had heard it and they were wondering if they should evacuate.  I walked in and immediately recognized my iPhone alarm.  I thought that if my iPhone was on silent/vibrate, that the alarm wouldn’t sound.  I was wrong.  Thank goodness I walked in there at that very moment!  Then later I was walking and my toes on my left foot started hurting.  I thought it might have been from my fall the day before.  Then even later, I took my shoe off—there was a cough drop in the toe of my shoe.  Problem fixed.  There was a couple more things, but I cannot talk about them.  We had a nice drive home.  Jim met Marsha, Sharon, and I at On the Boarder for supper.  Afterwards he took Marsha home and I took Sharon.  I went to bed soon after I got home.

Thursday I just couldn’t get out of bed.  I was so tired.  I did talk to Dorias for about an hour and a half that morning.  I finally got up and went into town.  I went to Super Save and to Walmart.  When I got home, I got two large briskets in to marinating.  Later I went back into town to the Pure Water Station and got a countertop stand, a crock, and a 5 gallon bottle of water.  We are going to start drinking bottled water.  When I got home, I watched TV until time to go to bed.  I put the two briskets in the Crock Pot to start slow cooking.

Friday morning I got up and cleaned out two of my kitchen cupboards then got 10 pounds of potatoes in to cooking for potato salad.  Bob called.  He was catching an earlier flight home from Washington DC.  Gerin helped take down the Christmas tree and I got all that stuff put away.  I then finished making the potato salad and started hot rolls.  I talked to both Bonnie and Dorias that afternoon on the phone.  Later Charles, Amber & Sadie came over followed by Robbie, Beth, Lauren, Landon, Emma, & Eden; Michael, Karen & Meagan; Steven Davis (visiting from Maryland); and finally Dan, Tonia, Seth, Katie, Madison, & Reagan.  We had a nice dinner together.  Afterwards Charles, Amber, Michael, Karen, and Steven played a new game that Michael & Karen got for Christmas.  When they were done, we all watched most of the slides that Charles had digitized.  It was fun seeing the kids when they were much younger.  Later everyone went home.  Bob and I cleaned up the kitchen and then went to bed.

Bob got up early Saturday morning and drove to SMU to teach his class.  I got up later, packed, and headed out for the Houston area.  I got to Bonnie & Jarom’s house around 2:15.  We went to eat at Pho Saigon.  Afterwards they took me to show me where Bonnie works and where Jarom works.  When we got back to their place, we downloaded all the slides to Bonnie’s computer then watched them together.  We just visited the rest of the evening—they don’t have a TV.

Sunday morning we woke up to rain.  We went to Bonnie’s ward—Nottingham Country Ward in the Katy Stake.  Stephenie went to the same ward when they lived in Katy. Bonnie was sustained as the new......  Let’s go back about two weeks.  The Bishop called Bonnie and Jarom into his office.  He visited with them a while then asked them what callings they’d had in the past and what they would like to do in this new ward.  Bonnie told him that they had been in the Primary ever since they have been married, so she really didn’t want to work in the Primary, but she would do any calling that he wanted.  The Bishop dropped it and went on with their conversation.  About 15 minutes later he turned to Jarom and asked “Would you support your wife as the new Primary President?”  Bonnie just about died, but accepted.  I know she will do a great job.  It was interesting how she picked her counselors.  Since they are new and she didn’t really know anyone, the Bishop gave her a list of people that she could choose from—if she wanted to.  Well, she didn’t know the people on the list so she looked them up on Facebook and checked them out.  After Sacrament Meeting I went to Sunday School and Relief Society.  They have a good ward.  When we got home, we ate a snack then later Bonnie & Jarom fixed a nice dinner.  That evening we just visited.  Dorias and the twins got there around 8:30 that evening. We stayed up and visited even more.  We finally went to bed.

This morning we got up and got ready to go to Stephenie’s for her surprise birthday.  Bob called me from the airport.  He was on his way to Alabama to do some consulting.   Bonnie and Jarom drove in their car, Dorias and the twins drove in their car, and I drove my car.  We stopped off at H.E.B and picked up 36 helium balloons that we’d preordered plus two fancy balloons. We got to Stephenie’s house a little after 11.  She was totally surprised.  We had made arrangements for a sitter for Spencer & Nathan and Richard & Robert.  We kept Gavin with us.  After we dropped the boys off, we went to Saltgrass Steak House for an amazing lunch. It was topped off by decadent desserts which we did not need, but were so good. Stephenie was on cloud nine.  Later Bonnie and I went to pick up Taneal, Camie, and Danielle at school.  They were surprised that we were there.  The kids had fun playing with all the helium balloons.  Dorias fixed supper so that Stephenie didn’t have to.  After supper and everything was cleaned up, Dorias and the twins left to go back to Boerne and Bonnie & Jarom left to go back to Katy.  I stayed.

What a wonderful week and especially weekend!

My Weekly Letter ending 1/3/11

Monday, January 3, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

I can’t believe that it is 2011.  Wasn’t it just Y2K?  Where has all the time gone?

Last Monday evening we stayed home at Grandma’s in South Jordan, Utah with Cookie & Alton.  We ate leftovers then started packing to go back to the Great State of Texas.

Tuesday morning Grandma fixed us a nice breakfast then Bob, Sugar, and I headed out for Laramie, WY and Cookie & Alton headed back to Huntington, Utah.  We had a nice trip to Laramie.  It was a beautiful ride with all the snow. At one point the wind was blowing so hard that we had a ground blizzard, but it didn’t last long.  When we got to Laramie, we went to see Grandpa’s tombstone. It is nice.  We then dropped by Bob’s Aunt Pauline’s home for a minute then went to his Aunt Zella and Uncle Bob’s home.  They only live about two blocks from each other.  Aunt Pauline followed us over.  We stayed about an hour visiting.  Aunt Zella made us ham sandwiches and pumpkin pie to take with us.  We made it to Limon, CO before we stopped for the night. 

Sugar did much better that night in the hotel.  We had a nice breakfast at the hotel then were on our way again Wednesday morning.  We stopped in Jacksboro, TX to see Charles and Amber.  They gave me a pair of nice warm socks and an iTunes card for Christmas.  They gave Bob a floating pen and a nice bank that counts the money in it.  While we were gone on our vacation, Charles had been digitizing our old slides.  He got three trays done—only about 13 more to do.  I am really excited to get these.  Later he will digitize all my picture albums.  We got back to Weatherford around 8:30 that night.  It was good to be home.  We met our new missionary.  He is Elder Stanworth from Delta, Utah.  He is a greeny.  He replaced Elder Burt who was transferred out.  We went through the mail and put some of our stuff away then went to bed.

Thursday was Eric & Angela’s 7^th anniversary.  That morning we got up and put more stuff away and started the laundry.  We found out that our missionaries are on foot now.  Elder Struhs lost his wallet just before we went on our trip and never found it so Elder Stanworth got permission to drive.  Last weekend when it was raining so hard, he had a fender bender in town with a Lexis.  He had only been in the mission field for three days.  Consequently, he can’t drive and they are teaching the lessons to the lady that he hit.  They will be able to drive again as soon as Elder Struhs gets a new driver’s license from Idaho.  Around noon Bob and I went into town.  We dropped off his old electric guitar to be cleaned, went by the water station to order a counter stand for a 5-gallon water jug, and then went to the theater in Hudson Oaks.  We saw “Tangled”.  It was good.  Afterwards we saw Heather Norwood with her husband and four kids.  We also ran into Greg Melven.  He officially retired from Lockheed on December 31 after nearly 34 years. He has lost over 90 pounds and is looking good.  He will be moving to Utah about mid January.  We then went to see “True Grit”.  It was also good, but we liked “Tangled” better.  From there we went looking for me an iPod Nano, but couldn’t find one so just came on home—everyone is sold out.  We decided to just use Bob’s old iPhone 3G as an iPod Nano.  It works.   I cleaned up the kitchen and finished the laundry.  I was working on my computer when Brian and Tawnya Payne came over to see us.  They were down from Lubbock, TX visiting Brian’s family for a few days.  Dr. Payne is doing his residency in pediatrics in Lubbock.  After they left, I went to bed.  The two Spanish Elders have spent the night here for the last week or so.  Not much missionary work is being done, because they have been hauling the English speaking missionaries around.

Dan woke me up New Year’s Eve morning.  Tonia was up all night—sick.  He wanted me to watch Katie and Madison while he went over to Trish’s to put a power pole in.  Don was home from the oil fields and Jack Sparks was coming over to help also.  He brought the girls over around 8.  I was NOT ready to get up!  I eventually put “How to Train Your Dragon” in for them to watch, then they watched the new “Karate Kid”.  In the meantime, Charles came over with a couple more trays of slides that he’d digitized.  I gave him the last 11 trays to take home and do.  He stayed til noon then went on home—Amber was on call at work and Sadie was with her dad.  I put “101 Dalmatians” in for the girls to watch until we stopped for lunch.  Dan came and got the girls around 2.  He stayed a while before leaving.  We had six missionaries show up just as Dan and the girls were leaving.  Everyone left around 3.  It was nice and quiet.  We thought about going to the movie again, but decided to just stay at home.  We watched TV until Bob got ready to go pick Michael, Karen and Megan up at Love Field in Dallas.  Their flights were running late.  They were supposed to get here when they actually left from Saint Louis.  I went to bed when Bob left.  You know what?  The New Year of 2011 got here just the same as if I’d stayed up.  Bob got home around 1:30am.

Trish woke me up at 7:13 to wish me a Happy New Year.  We met them at IHOP at 8:30 for breakfast.  Don was still in town so he came with Trish.  Marilyn came a little later.  The five of us had a good visit.  Afterwards we went to Walmart and then home.  The new road (B.B. Fielder) that runs along the South side of our new Church building is open.  It runs eat and west just past Hwy 51 (South Main) to just past Bethel Road.  Now we don’t have to go on the Frontage Road anymore to get to the freeway and to Lowe’s and Target and PetsMart and Best Buy.  It is much faster.  It will be interesting to see how it changes the flow of traffic around the new high school when school starts up again.  We put the groceries away then I worked on my computer.  I did the ward bulletin and made the schedule up for Relief Society and Priesthood lessons for 2011.  Later Gerin Wilde came over.  He has moved in with us until he leaves for his mission at the end of the month.  He goes to the Young Singles Branch and he works at our Walmart.  His family lives in Granbury.  He used to hang out here before Charles got married.  He is really a good kid.  That evening Bob fixed supper for Gerin and me.  Afterwards I cleaned up the kitchen and watched TV.

Boy it was hard to get up and get ready for our block of meetings at 9am yesterday.  We haven’t had the 9am schedule for five or more years.  Our meetings were good.  It was actually nice having them in the morning.  Steven Davis was there visiting.  He is coming over next Sunday for dinner—brisket, potato salad, hot rolls, etc.  When I got home, I watched TV until Bob came home.   We ate then Dan and his family came over.  They brought me an iTunes card and Bob a basket of 1940’s candy for Christmas.  They stayed for a couple hours until Reagan pooped her diaper and they needed to go home.  After they left, I stayed up and watched TV until 2 this morning.

I had a nice long talk with Stephenie on the phone this morning.  She is doing well and so are her six kids. She is such a good mommy.  After I got off the phone, Bob and I cleaned house for a while.  I miss having a housekeeper!  But Bob is helping me clean it, so I guess I can’t complain.

I’m going to close now—send this on its way—and post it to my blog.  Hope that you have a good week!

My Weekly Letter ending 12/27/2010

Monday, December 27, 2010—the last letter of 2010

Today is Dorias & Mark’s 20^th anniversary and Michael & Karen’s 8^th anniversary.

Dear Friends and Family,

We left last Monday afternoon for Utah.  We had planned on dropping some tamales off at Dan’s house, but he wasn’t there so we left them in our fridge for him to pick up later.  On the way we stopped in Mineral Wells to give Robbie and his family some tamales and then we stopped in Jacksboro to give Charles and his family some tamales.  We had a nice drive.  We noticed that they are drilling oil again due to the prices being so high.  We stopped that evening in Amarillo.  It was a little miserable that night.  Sugar had slept all day long so she wasn’t tired when we got to the hotel.  She kept us up a lot during the night.  She barked or grumbled at every little sound that she heard.

We finally got up at 6 Tuesday morning because we couldn’t sleep even though we were tired.  Sugar slept again all day Tuesday.   When we got to Albuquerque, we turned north and headed for Santa Fe.  We went to my nephew’s, Caleb, place of work and waited for him to get loose for lunch.  We took him out to lunch and had a really nice visit before taking him back to work.  From there we headed on.  It started raining later that afternoon.  We stopped in Cortez, Colorado for supper.  Right after we got back on the road, it started snowing.  It got harder and harder until the road was totally covered and it was hard to see.  The going was slow, but ok.  Before we got to Monticello, Utah, it was raining again.  We were glad to get into our hotel room.  BUT we had no service on our phones.  It is amazing how dependant we get on our phones.  I was lost.   We slept better that night.  We left the TV on so that Sugar didn’t notice all the strange noises.  She only barked a couple times.

We left Monticello Wednesday morning and headed toward the Salt Lake Valley.  It rained a lot of the time and snowed a little, but the roads were fine—just wet.  When we got to Provo, we went by to see what is left of the Provo Tabernacle. It was so sad.  We got to Grandma’s home around 3 that afternoon.  Sugar and Lucy got along very well—I was worried about how they would react to each other.  Grandma has the missionaries living with her now.  She is enjoying them just as much as I enjoy having them live with us.  That early evening the five of us (Grandma, the two missionaries, and Bob & I) went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Later one of my old missionaries, Erick Hebel, came over to visit.  He stayed quite a while and we had a good visit.  I went to bed after he left.  Since the missionaries have the whole basement, Bob & I had to sleep upstairs so I opened a window and slept really well. 

Thursday morning Bob and Grandma went to do some shopping.  I stayed with the two dogs and read.  Later Eric, Angela and their two kids, Aaron & Kaylee, came over.  They stayed all afternoon.  It was good to visit with them.  Bob’s brother, Steve, also came over.  He and Grandma went and did a little shopping.  It was a pleasant day.  Grandma’s visiting teachers and a neighbor came and brought treats and her Bishop came over for a visit.  He is a good man.  That evening we went over to a Ward Building that Steve had reserved for our family.  All of Steve’s kids and their kids and all of Diane’s kids and their kids were there.  We had a good dinner.  Afterwards the kids did a talent show.  We left to take Grandma home before the deserts were served—she was tired.  Afterwards I read on my book “Star Garden” until I went to bed.  It didn’t seem like Christmas Eve.

We got up Christmas morning and opened our gifts.  I got a new piece of luggage, a new power cord for my iPhone for in the car, and a motion activated gumball machine from Bob.  I got him a really nice iHome, a Bev Doolittle Calendar, and the new book “The Rescue” about President Monson.  Grandma gave me a flashlight and some money; Dorias & Mark gave us a Celtic Women CD; Robbie & Beth gave us a really nice picture frame and some mind teaser games; Stephenie & Evan gave us a little book of her family; Michael & Karen gave us some Christmas lights and some cookies; Eric & Angela gave us a gift card to On the Boarder; and Bonnie & Jarom gave me a pie rack and a fiber optic light.  Cookie gave me a cute little bell that looks like a little teapot.  Bob had Charles digitally copy all of Grandma’s slides for her.  He also had Charles type up and digitize some old Crawford Reunion minutes.  Grandma was really happy to get them.  We then got ready to go over to Wendy & Al’s home for Christmas breakfast.  Kerri made creamed eggs.  She said that her mom, Marjorie, used to make them every Easter and now that she is gone, they make them for Christmas breakfast and other occasions.  When we got back to Grandma’s house, I started cinnamon rolls.  Later Al, Wendy, and Kerri came over.  Al started grilling the ribeyes for us.  Grandma had baked potatoes and made hot rolls.  Just as we were fixing to eat, Steve & Diane and their two girls came over.  We ended up having enough food for everyone.  Later I went in and finished reading “Star Garden” by Nancy E. Turner.   It is the final book in the “These Is My Words” trilogy.  Very good series!

Sunday morning Bob and Grandma went to Church.  I stayed home and slept.  Sugar got sick.  I didn’t do anything all day long—I was really tired.  Cookie and Alton got there around 5 that evening.  Alton then stayed home with Grandma while Bob & I and Cookie went to Draper to have dinner with Eric’s in-laws.  We had a nice meal and visit.  They have a beautiful new house.  They still haven’t sold their BIG house in Holiday. 

This morning Bob took Grandma to do some errands.  When they got home, Cookie and I went to the distribution center, to Bed, Bath & Beyond, to Sam’s Club, and to Don Aslet’s Cleaning Center.  When we got home, Bob had taken Grandma to get a shot in her eye.  When they got home, she went to bed and Bob & Alton went into town.  Cookie and I started watching “Inception”.  Wow that is a different movie.

Well, I need to get this posted so that we can pack.  We are leaving tomorrow.

My Weekly Letter ending 12/20/2010

Monday, December 20, 2010  (Today is Seth’s 10^th birthday)

Dear Friends and Family,

I didn’t feel too well last Monday evening.  Bonnie said it was probably left over medicine in my system. 

Tuesday was a busy day.  I went to a Relief Society Presidency Meeting up at the Church.  When it was over, I drove into Fort Worth to Sam’s Club to do a little shopping.  From there I went to the Harmony Science Academy where Dan is the vice-principal and Michael is one of the high school math teachers.  I visited with Dan then took Michael home where he and Karen helped me unload the truck.  From there I went back to Weatherford.  I was aching for some Chinese food so I stopped by the Mongolian Grill and ate—by myself.  When I got home, I took a nap until Bob got home.  He changed cloths and left again.  I watched TV until I needed to go up to the Church while Bob did an interview.  While up at the Church, I made some VT changes.  When we got home from that, I started watching the finale of Biggest Looser, but the missionaries came home.  They had gone on splits with the Stephenville missionaries.  Elder Burt stayed in Stephenville and Elder Cervo who lived with us this time last year, came home.   It was good to visit with him.  After they went to bed at 10:30, I finished watching Biggest Looser.  It was late when I finally went to bed and then I had trouble going to sleep.

Morning came mighty early Wednesday.  It was temple day.  I picked up Sharon & Sherrina and Marsha.  We had a nice trip into Dallas.  It was a good day at the temple.  I was Initiatory Coordinator.  We had a pretty steady stream of patrons throughout the day.   When we got back to Weatherford, we went to dinner at Fuzzy’s Taco—a new place here in town where Polidos used to be located.  No one was home when I got home.   I watched TV until the missionaries got home.  I had a good talk with Elder Burt.  When Bob got home, he watched a little TV with me and we visited for a while then we went to bed.

We got notified Thursday morning that Charlotte Roquemore died of old age.  She was Granny Beauchamp’s sister.  I took Sugar into town to be groomed.  After dropping her off, I went to Turpin Tire to get my tires rotated, dropped something off at Jim’s office for Marsha, went to Walmart, and went and got my car washed.  Bob actually stayed home Thursday and worked on Church stuff and worked from his home office.  Robbie came over a little after 11 to take my stitches out.  I don’t think I will have much of a scar.  When he left, I went to Joe’s Pasta and Pizza for Lunch with the Girls.  We had a good turnout.  I stopped by Puppy Luv on the way home and picked Sugar up.  She looked good.  Soon after I got home, Bob and I went to Best Buy to look for Christmas presents for each other, but couldn’t find anything that we wanted or needed.  We made a quick stop at Walmart on our way home.  I then took a nap.  Charles, Amber and Sadie dropped by on their way home from their Christmas Cruise.  They had a lot of fun.  They stayed and ate supper with us.  Bob left shortly after they left to go into Fort Worth to see a member who isn’t doing too well.  Pete Carroll went with him.  I cleaned up the kitchen and then went to bed.

Friday morning I went to breakfast with Trish and Tonia at IHOP.  While there, I got a call from Cookie telling me about the Provo Tabernacle.  By the time I got home, it was all over facebook and the internet.  It is so sad about the tabernacle, but so amazing at how fast news travels.  We used to live just two blocks away from the tabernacle when we lived in Provo.  We used to have stake conference in it.  It is a major historical loss.  After I left IHOP, I went and paid our property taxes, went to the bank, and finished off at Walmart.  When I got home, Bob had received the homemade tamales that he had Jorje and Ana Torres made for us.  We tried them and they were sooooo good.  I laid down for a few minutes then Trish called me and wanted me to go to lunch with her, Marilyn, Mary Lynn, and Judy at Cracker Barrel.  I went, but didn’t eat.  Afterwards I went and got my nails done, went to the Church to open it up for someone, and then went and got my hair cut.  When I got home, Bob wasn’t home—he’d gone to Jacksboro to give Charles some stuff.  Soon after he got home, we went up to the Church for a baptism and to attend the wedding reception of Rie Stevens and Travis Holland.  They were married in the Columbia River Temple on December 4.  When we got home, I did the ward bulletin for Sunday then we went to bed.

I was so tired when I got up Saturday morning.  Bob went to Charlotte Roquemore’s funeral and I made my pink salad and a green bean casserole for the Ward Christmas Party that evening.  When that was done, I worked on Visiting Teaching.  All four missionaries came home for lunch.  We found out that Elder Burt is being transferred on Wednesday to the Denton 2^nd Ward.  We will be getting another greeny.   Later we dropped four of our packages of tamales off and then went to Trish’s house for a family birthday party for Seth. Afterwards Bob had an interview.  A little later I went up to the Church for the Ward Christmas party.  We had a nice dinner, the Primary did a short program and then Santa (Dan) came. 

Yesterday Bob had been home from his mission for 42 years!  Man time is flying.  I lazed around all morning.  It was the last Sunday that I could do it.  When we get back after Christmas, our block of meetings will start at 9am instead of 1pm.  Our Christmas Sacrament Meeting was nice.  Kelly Nance and Dan were the narrators with the congregation doing most of the singing.  The Primary sang one song and the missionaries sang another.  When I got home, I wrapped a couple packages that I’d gotten recently.  I had my iPhone on my iHome and was listening to Christmas songs on Pandora and enjoying every minute of it.  (If you understood that, then you are with the new generation.) The missionaries came home—all four.  They didn’t have a dinner appointment so Elder Collins cooked dinner for all of us while I burned CD’s for Elder Burt.  Bob didn’t get home until late.  The Spanish missionaries spent the night with us.

Bob got up at 3:30 this morning to take Michael, Karen, and Megan to Love Field to catch a flight to Indiana for Christmas.  He got home around 7 and went back to bed.  We got up an hour or so later.  I visited with the missionaries then started packing for our trip.  We have decided not to go to Laramie as the weather is too snowy up there.  We will just go to South Jordan, Utah.

Hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Weekly Letter ending 12/13/10

Monday, December 13, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Monday was a fun day.  As I mentioned last week, it was Elder Burt’s 21^st birthday plus it was P-Day so both sets of missionaries were over here all day long doing laundry, writing letters and playing pool.  I fixed a really nice dinner for all four. After they left to go to the Single’s Branch Family Home Evening, I got a birthday cake in the oven for them to have when they came home for the evening.  They really enjoyed it.  Elder Burt is sorta shy, but mischievous.  You never know how to take him.  I think he had a good birthday.

Tuesday morning I got up and went to IHOP for Breakfast with the Girls.  We had a really sparse turnout, but had fun.  Kayla Calderon came after we were all finished eating and was just sitting around visiting.  She told us about a place here in Texas that they go to every Thanksgiving (Fri-Sun) in Elm Mott called Homestead Heritage which is just about nine miles north of Waco.  The people in the community sorta live the United Order.  Her family really enjoys going.  You can go any time during the year and take classes.  Bev told us that her sister went a couple weeks ago and learned how to plow fields using mules.  Everything is hands on.  I think it would be fun to go.  Anyway, on the way home from IHOP I stopped and filled up with gas.  When I got home, Bob had gone to Fort Worth.  I put the Christmas music on and enjoyed myself.  I worked on my Visiting Teaching report—making lots of phone calls, texting, and emailing.  I wish that my supervisors would do their jobs.  All four missionaries came home for lunch.  After they left, I just wasted the afternoon away.  That evening Bob had another business dinner so I just watched TV until I went to bed.

Wednesday was temple day.  Sharon, Sherrina (Sharon’s youngest daughter), and Marsha went with me.  I was the veil coordinator for the day.  Everything went well.   Charlene Pope and Jim Norwood met us at Antonio’s for dinner.  When I got home, I watched Biggest Looser and a couple other shows before Bob got home.

We were supposed to go to Dorias’ in Boerne on Thursday morning, but Bob had to work.  He usually only puts in a few days a month at Elbit, but he’s had to go almost every day this past couple of weeks.  The money is good, but I miss the husband.  I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen in the morning then went into town to do some errands—cleaners, Walgreens, Walmart, and then by the Church to do my Visiting Teaching report.  While in town I noticed that Blockbuster has moved to College Park and an Anytime Fitness Center is going into the old Blockbuster on South Main.  Robbie got here soon after I got home.  He picked up Eden’s coat that she had left here over Thanksgiving weekend.  After he left, I did the Ward Bulletin.  Bob finally got home a little before six.  We hurried and packed, loaded up the car, went to Walgreens to pick up my prescription, and then we were on the road.  I drove as far as Lampasas then Bob drove the rest of the way.  We saw a lot of deer along the sides of the road.  We got pulled over in Johnson City for Bob driving with his high beams on.  He just got a warning.  It was almost 11:30 when we got to Boerne.  We stayed up talking to Dorias, Mark, and Matthew.  Finally I went to bed.  We were on a blow up mattress in their living room.

We couldn’t sleep in Friday morning  because of Mark going to work, Matthew and Rebecca going to Seminary and then to school, and Dorias taking the twins to kindergarten.  Later we went into town to run some errands.  We finished off at Bumdoodler’s for lunch.  Afterwards, I stayed at Dorias’ while Bob and she went to pick up Richard and Robert from school.  That evening we went to Rebecca’s choir concert.  It was pretty good.  Dorias had substituted for the choir teacher for 10 days ending this last Tuesday.  The students presented her with flowers since she had helped them so much for the concert.  Afterwards, all of Dorias’ family, plus Matthew’s girlfriend, and Bob & I went to a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio.  I ate too much—as usual.

 

Saturday morning we visited a while then Bob helped Mark take the pod off their car.  When they were done, we hit the road.  We took our time going home.  We stopped at the wildflower place between Fredericksburg and Johnson City and we stopped at the BIG rocking chair place near Santo.  I got a text from Charles.  They had just boarded the ship in Galveston for their Christmas Cruise.  This time they took Sadie with them.  When we got back to Weatherford, we went to the Pure Water Station to buy a stand for a 5 gallon water bottle, but they didn’t have the kind that we wanted.  Later we went back into town and looked at two other places, but couldn’t find them so we’ll just order one online after Christmas.  When we got home, Bob got ready and went to his monthly Bishopric Training Meeting.  I wanted to go to bed, but it was too early.  So I went in and watched TV until he got home.  We watched together for a while then we both went to bed.  Bonnie started her new job at an ER in Katy.  She is really excited about it.

Sunday was a hard day—it was worse than fasting.  I could only consume clear liquids from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday.  I know it was only mental that I felt like I was starving to death because I could at least eat Jell-O and drink broth and diet cokes until midnight last night. Why was I doing all this?  It wasn’t for a diet, but because I was preparing for a Colonoscopy for this morning.  Then at 5 Sunday evening I had to start taking these pills and drinking TONS of water.  Anyone who has ever had a colonoscopy knows what happened next.  I couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight.  Yuk, the hazards of getting old.  I did go to Church on Sunday and that helped keep my mind off of it for three hours.

We got up this morning and were at the hospital at 8:15 for an 8:30 procedure which didn’t even start until after noon.  Everything went as expected.  Don’t remember a thing which I am glad.  Bob talked to Robbie while I was under.  Landon broke his foot so Robbie was putting a cast on it.  We stopped by Walgreens on our way home.  Bob fixed me something to eat then I slept the rest of the afternoon.  While I was sleeping, Bob and the four missionaries (Collins, Romero, Burt, and Struhs) put the Christmas tree up and decorated it. I’m not putting out all my decorations because we won’t be here for Christmas.  If the weather cooperates, we will be going to Laramie, Wyoming and South Jordan, Utah.  If it doesn’t cooperate, we will just be going to South Jordan.

My Weekly Letter ending 12/6/10

Monday, December 6, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Last Monday I worked on my blog!  I’m going to try to do better.  If you want to see it, it is www.subell.blogspot.com.   When I went to check my email, I had received an email from Spencer Montgomery letting me know that Elder Dallin Briner from Meridian, Idaho who lived with us from June 24, 2009 until August 5, 2009 was killed in a car accident last Sunday, November 28.  He had only been home from his mission for about four months.  His car went off the road so he got out and tried to dig it out when another car slid off and hit him…. That evening Bob had to go to a business dinner in Fort Worth at Angelo’s.   I stayed home and ate leftovers and watched TV.  Bob got home just as I was fixin to go to bed.

Bob went to Elbit on Tuesday.  I got up and did laundry and remade beds as the sheets got done.  I also threw away all the food in the refrigerators that had sugar in them.  I just kept thinking “Would it look better on me or in the trash?”  I did polish off the last Cherry pie before throwing everything else in the trash.  Now there are no temptations.  I typed up the ward bulletin for Sunday then got ready to go into town.  In town, I went to Walmart, got gas, and then went to get my nails done.  I was sooooo overdue for that.  On the way home, I stopped at Walgreens to pick up an antibiotic for my surgery on Thursday.  When I got home, I talked to Bonnie on the phone then worked on the computer.  www.lds.org has changed and I can’t figure out how to schedule the building.  The new website is fantastic, but way over my head.  I don’t even know if I have the authority to use the scheduling parts anymore.  Bob was home from work just long enough to change cloths and leave again to go up to the Church.  I looked through my pictures and found some of Elder Briner and sent them to his parents.  I watched TV that evening.

Wednesday was temple day. I picked up Sharon and Marsha then we drove into Fort Worth and picked up Theda.  From there we went to the temple.  It was a very pleasant and busy day.  We dropped Theda back off at her car then the three of us went to Logan’s Steakhouse.  When I got home, I watched TV until time to go to bed.

Thursday morning we got up early, got ready, and drove into Fort Worth to the Center for Skin and Cosmetic Dermatology for my surgery.  It went so much easier than last time.  This time they didn’t put me under—just deadened the area with LOTS of shots.  They were able to get all the cancer in two tries.  I thought it was interesting that they let Bob stay in and observe.  He said it was really interesting watching him sew me up afterwards.  We were done by 11:30.  Bob and I stopped at Souper Salad on the way home for lunch.  When we got home, I slept the rest of the day.  That evening Bob and I watched “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Knight and Day” then he went to bed.  I had to sleep in the recliner which I did not like.  And I didn’t sleep very well.

Friday I didn’t even get dressed.  I slept most of the day while Bob went to work at Elbit.  I did get up and fix supper.  Don’t ever get the Tyson boneless Buffalo Wings—they are nasty.  That evening I worked a little on calendaring then watched TV.  I was supposed to sleep in the recliner again, but I didn’t.

Saturday morning I took the big bandage off of my incision.  The steri-strips came off with it.  The surgeon did a really good job.  It is about ¾ inches long going up and down over my right eyebrow.  I have to keep it dry for about 1 ½ more weeks until I get the stitches out.  That afternoon Bob and I cleaned the house.  He did all the floors and I did the dusting, three of the bathrooms, and the kitchen.  Later because I couldn’t get my incision wet, Bob washed my hair for me.  I crawled up on the kitchen counter and laid there while he washed it like I did when I was a little girl and my mom would wash my hair—no, I didn’t get a picture.  We then met Don & Trish and Jack & Judy at the Brazos River Catfish Café  for dinner.  When we walked in, I saw Mr. and Mrs. McWhorter.  She was Bonnie and Charles’ first grade teacher at Sam Houston Elementary here in Weatherford.  You couldn’t ask for a better teacher than she was.  She loved those kids like they were her own grandkids.  She had a rocker in her room and if one of her kids needed loves, she would sit and love them.  It was so good to talk to her.  We had a nice evening with our friends.

Sunday morning I slept in.  Then I rushed and got ready for Church.  They changed the speed limit on Bethel Road.  It is now 50mph instead of 60mph.  I don’t think it will cause any fewer accidents.  People are still going to try to pass those going slower than they want to go and the road is too windy and hilly to pass on and it has a double yellow line most of the time.   Our meetings went well.  Afterwards all four missionaries came over here to eat.  I hadn’t planned on them coming so I told them to fend for themselves.  Elder Collins was a chef before he was a missionary so he found some deer sausage and some hamburger and such.  He fixed a pretty good supper.  After they left, I watched the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional.  Bob got home shortly thereafter.  I went to bed.  I was tired—as usual.

Today is Elder Burt’s 21^st birthday.  When I got up, I went into town and got six big Ribeyes and six big baker potatoes for dinner tonight.  When I got home, I cleaned up the kitchen.  Jorge is outside cutting down my blackberry bushes and asparagus plants.  They should both do better next season.  We didn’t get any pecans this year—don’t know why.  Our persimmon tree did pretty well.  With Jorge working on our orchard, we should do better next year in the fruit department.  We did lose four trees this year—we don’t know why to that either.

Hope that you have a great week.  

Who's who

Ever since Dorias had her twins five years ago, I haven't been able to tell them apart.  Over Thanksgiving weekend, the twins had trouble telling Bonnie and Amber apart.  It was funny.  To me, it is obvious who is who with Bonnie and Amber.