On the Move Again! What's New?

Just so everyone knows what is happening...we are moving to South Towne Ranch (in Sandy, Utah) this weekend. I know...we were going to wait until Nov. ; then, Oct. 1st, but we kept going down there for lunch when we took things to storage and they asked why we didn't just move in. I said that we wanted October to be our FREE 1st month (we also get the 3rd month free and will not have to pay $450 per month 2nd person charge for at least 6 months). Ron, the manager (who just happens to be a retired Navy Sr. Chief, Submariner, etc.) said "I'm not going to charge you guys for the rest of September if you want to move in now." So we decided to just go ahead and DO IT! We will still have until the end of Oct. to get out of the apartment, so we are moving the big pieces of furniture Sat. and will do the rest a little at a time...(we're really committed to this plan now since we took our clothes down there yesterday and Don's hospital bed is being moved today). Needless to say, we are really busy (still doing physical and occupational therapy, too); I haven't even been to the fair to visit my quilt entry to see if it has a ribbon. Guess I better get off this computer so I can pack it up. Our new address is: 310 East 10600 South, #003, Sandy, UT 84070 (the cell phone numbers will be the same, don't know what will happen with the land line yet)

Fair Entry

I'm off to enter this quilted wallhanging in the Utah State Fair. It is made from the 2008 State Fair challenge fabric (white background w/black music symbols); the black fabric has subtle grayed music symbols and the black with white music symbols is a near reverse of the challenge fabric. I titled this quilt, "With a Song in My Heart"...the technique is reverse applique (design is made by placing the background fabric on top and cutting away in the shape of the design; then turning edge under and handstitching to reveal the design) this is the first time I have attempted this technique so there are some flaws that I can see, but I decided to enter it in the fair anyway (it may not be prize quality, but I like it). We are off to Cedar City today...Mom's (Grandma's) birthday is on Tuesday so we will stay and have lunch with my sister, Marilyn and the "birthday girl"; then head home to continue "thinning out" our things in anticipation of our move to a retirement community. Don has been very busy with Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy and has seen some (slow) progress with his right hand (nerve damage just take a long time to heal). Guess I'd better get busy and finish packing for our trip to Cedar. More details on our move later.

July in San Diego or How to Stretch a 2 week Vacation into a Month

Finally! We are home again and all is/are relatively well! Now to the begining of the story. Don just couldn't shake the "I need to build another cradle" syndrome and after making several attempts to get me to go along with one of his many "schemes" he finally suggested one that I thought might work...so, we flew to San Diego on June 24th (our anniversary) to spend the day celebrating with Don's brother Walt and his wife, Linda (who were married on the same day as we were, 47 years ago). The plan was that Don would stay 2 weeks and spend time working on a cradle with Walt; I planed to stay the first week and then fly to Seattle to visit Rachel and Robert and family at their new house in Enumclaw, WA and an in-person visit and look at pictures of the Thailand honeymoon with Aaron and Chrys. Don woould return to Salt Lake City from San Diego on the 8th of July and I would return from Seattle the same day, landing in SLC within 1/2 hour of one another...perfect plan until I received a call on my cellphone the morning of July 8th from Don, saying that he had fallen and was in the hospital. Don said he was pretty banged up, but that I should fly home as planned and he would catch up with me later in the week. (He didn't give me many details about the fall, but I later learned that he had fallen backwards and had hit his head on the cement in the driveway at Walter's while he was trying to pick up tools and no one was with him at the time, so he had spent about 15 minutes trying to get upand fell again before he finally made it into the house and got help.) I spent the next day tearing into the apartment with great plans to continue our downsizing while he was gone and I could plan my days without interruption...I also decided this was a good week to begin my "healthy eating" weight loss plan, so I shopped for fresh fruits and vegetables (lots of lettuce and berries, etc.). At 11 am on the 10th of July I received a call from one of the nurses at the hospital telling me that Don's MRI showed that he would need surgery on the cervical area of the spine before he would be able to travel home and that the surgery was scheduled for the next day. I had just finished washing and drying the dirty clothes that I had taken out of my suitcase, so I folded them up and put them back in the suitcase; called our good friend Sally and asked if she could take me back to the airport (she had picked me up two days before) if I could get a flight out...next I went on-line and booked a flight for 5 pm; called Nancy and asked if Callie coould stay on until I got back; called my visiting teachers and arranged for them to continue to water my plants; called Alishia (who was planning on me to take her to the airport in a few days to fly home to Florida); called the dentist to cancel Don's appointment; called the beauty shop to cancel the appointment for my haircut and perm; packed the fresh produce in bags to give to Sally and was ready for Sally at 2:30...leaving the apartment in a REAL mess. Don's surgery went well and Walt and Linda took me to the hospital everyday at 8 am and picked me up at about 7 pm every night. Those long days dealing with medical staff taught me that even when they are among the best we've encountered, every patient needs an advocate to get the very best care. Four days later Don wa transferred to the Acute Rehabilitation Center on the same "campus" as the hospital (Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, CA). WOW! If you didn't have to be in pain to get into this place it would be like an expensive spa...golf pro (private lessons); wonderful guitarist to seranade and sing-along in the evening; therapy pool; patio; spacious"gym"; wonderful food and the BEST , caring physical therapists; occupational therapists; doctor and nursing staff...even the housekeeping staff was friendly and professional...(if I ever need knee or hip surgery, this is where I will have it done!). Don couldn't have been at a better place if he had to fall away from home...his roomate and he actually had FUN and became good friends. Anyway, here are some pictures of Don and this fabulous place.

June Update and Historical Treasure

Sorry I've been so negligent with my blogging. Don and I will be going to San Diego to visit with his brother, Walter and Walt's wife, Linda. We will celebrate our wedding anniversaries together...we went to the temple to be sealed to our respective spouses on June 27th (47 years ago). Don will stay with Walt and Linda for two weeks and spend time working on a new cradle with Walter...I will spend the second week in Seattle with Rachel and family (celebrating Charlotte's 3rd birthday and their move to their new house in Enumclaw) and visiting with Aaron and Chrys. Don and I fly to San Diego on Tuesday, June 24th and will return to Salt Lake on the 8th of July. On another note, I have been researching colonial Newbury, MA looking for information on Sarah Chase (wife of Charles or Curmac Annis). I found a website www.newbury375.org (Newbury, MA is celebrating its 375th anniversary in 2010) and found a 1729 map of Newbury, West Parish with the names and house locations of all the families in that Parish...you guessed it...the Annis family homesteads were well marked (oldest sons of Sarah and Curmac, Joseph and Abraham, and grandson, John). Abraham and John are directline ancestors, and when we overlaid the current street map and Google Earth images, we were excited to learn that the original Annis family farm (1666) is now part of the Maudslay State Park and next time we visit Boston, we will look forward to walking the paths where our ancestors farmed. On still another note, we were able to visit for a few minutes, with our old friends, Stewart and Deanna Troxell...sadly, our visit was at Primary Children's Hospital where their little 3 year old grandson is undergoing treatments for cancer...we all decided that Don and I should take a trip to Phoenix this winter for a longer visit. I know there is more to tell, but it is getting late and I have to drive Don to Draper tomorrow for an evaluation by a VA doctor for his VA disability claim; then pack suitcases and prepare the apartment for our absence so I'd better get to bed and try to get some sleep. I'll try to do better next month and I'm sure to have some pictures to share.

A VERY Special Day!

This is a picture that tells about a VERY special afternoon! Today we had the opportunity to meet with Elder Jeffery Holland in his office at the Church Administration Building. Sister Jeri Avant is the editor of the Church News and is our Gospel Doctrine teacher...about 3 weeks ago Don was asked to give a sacrament meeting talk using a talk from General Conference as his topic...he chose a talk by Elder Holland and mentioned that we had "followed" Elder Holland (Seattle, Connecticut, Provo/Payson) for many years, but had never personally met him...Sister Avant decided to try to arrange a personal meeting as a surprise for Don...we spent about 30 minutes of this very busy man's time today, just remembering common friends and acquaintances and sharing bits of information about Don's conversion, family history and current circumstances. Elder Holland then went to his cabinet and presented us with a very beautiful, illustrated edition of his book "Christ and the New Covenant" in which he inscribed a personal message and signed it. We then presented him with a copy of Scott's "First Vision", for which he thanked us and Scott. Needless to say, Don was delighted and Elder Holland asked us to stay in touch with him...what a day!!

Pictures from our Seattle Trip

Charlotte with many ponytails!
Scott and Rachel
Rachel and Robert
Pamela (Aaron and Scott in background)
Grandma Knight and Scott

Charlotte
Calvin with Grandpa's hat
Charlotte and Wallace
Calvin...big blue eyes
Grandma reading to Charlotte....Charlotte provided pillows for each of us.

Aaron and Chrys' Wedding

Sorry, I haven't perfected the posting of photos...thought I coould rearrange them after I copied them to the blog, but I'm not sure how to do that, so the picutres are out of sequence.