Thanksgiving: More Gathering

Annie and Olivia

Amy and Jackson

Marilyn and Curtis

Jared and Benjamin...so sad because he couldn't go out in the snow to play football.

Billy and Olivia

to be continued...

More Thanksgiving

Billy: "The turkey button is going to pop....NOW!"

15 minutes later

WOW!! Look at all that food!
The entire Hashey crew worked hard to make this Thanksgiving such a memorable one for the entire family.

A BIG THANKS!

And then we all sat down to eat and I put the camera away.

More Catching Up

I just put some German Apple Cake into the oven upstairs in the activity room and I'm staying nearby to check on it since I haven't used this oven before...and...I may need to protect it since the BYU vs. University of Utah game will be coming on the BIG TV in the activiy room and all those hungry fans just might think that the dessert is for them. Anyway I have a little time to write so I thought I'd try to catch up. Our friends, Sally and Joe (neighbors from Rose Park) have gone to Arizona for the winter, but before they left we had some good times together (once a week). One week they came to the "Ranch" and we had lunch together; then went to the Living Planet Aquarium, just down the street...it is small compared to Marineland, etc. but it is just the right size for us and we are excited to share it with grandkids that come to visit. After the aquarium we went to the Chocolate Cottage that is right across the street from the aquarium and indulged ourselves (another great place to take our kids and grandkids when they visit). We are really enjoying our new home and are glad that the move is behind us. Don has lots of doctors appointments in Dec. (we are just getting set up with the VA and they are checking him out). We will be going to Cedar City for Thanksgiving, and then on the 3rd of Dec. we will be going to Phoenix for a week to visit our friends (Stewart and Deanna Troxell); we'll see Sally and Joe while we are there. We have booked a flight to Seattle for Jan 13th to Jan 27th and will spend one week at Evergreen Place (in Renton) and one week at The Garden Club (in Bellevue)...these are both Holiday Retirement Community Properties and since we are residents here in Sandy, we are able to stay for a week free of charge (all meals and activities included). In Dec. my Mom is coming to stay for 5 days at Christmas and as soon as she leaves Pam will be coming to stay for 5 days between Christmas and New Years. Well, the cake is done and I need to get back downstairs to Don. So I'll close for now and try not to be so long between posts.

A Belated October

Wow! It's been forever since I posted to this blog...so sorry. Our October was very busy so here's a recap to catch up. We finished moving INto South Towne Ranch early in the month, then spent the rest of the month moving OUT of our apartment. Since Don's hand has not made much improvement, I was pretty much on my own with the boxing things up and moving them to the D.I. or the storage unit so things went pretty slow. Friday is the day our lease is up so I'm spending a day or two cleaning the apartment; then the move out inspection is Friday and I'll no longer have the keys, so that will be history. Whew! We will be so glad to feel like we can spend time participating fully in the activities, etc. at "the Ranch". I have already taught one Relief Society lesson in our Branch, and I am running the little Country Store that we have for an hour every Thursday. We sell items the residents might need (or like), I buy what I think will sell at the Dollar Store and we resell them for $1.25 to cover tax and provide a little fund for something special. It's fun for me and I get to meet all the residents and get to know them better. Don is making a cart for the Country Store and is loving having a project to do with tools. I am also teaching (leading) a group every Monday after the noon meal...we are calling it Memory Time Writing and Sharing...just a time to discuss memories and write them to share with family and friends. I choose a topic for the week; then we discuss it and share our stories; then write the stories down and share those with the group the following week. This week we had fun exploring our names (who named us, why, would we like to have been able to choose a different one and why, etc.) ....it was fun and we really got to know each other better.

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.