Winter is waaay too long

The sun peaks out occasionally, but not nearly enough. We are anticipating grandson number seven in March. Hayden William is scheduled to arrive during spring break. Strategic planning. Grandma and Grandpa will have that week off. The picture above is our view of Mt. Adams from the front of the house.

Newest Grandchild

Little Sarah is a wonderful addition to our family. She looks a lot like Dylan when he was born, but she also has some of Jadyn's expressions. Her eyes are the same color as Jadyn's were when she was born. It is hard to catch her with here eyes open long enough to snap a picture. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long, Amy's smallest in weight and length. Dylan and Jadyn are so excited to have her at home, they are not going to be anxious to go to school all day and be away from her. She is doing very well and eating like a champ. Jadyn and Dylan stayed with us Thursday- Saturday nights. Sarah and Mama came home Sunday afternoon.

Had the snow tires changed to regular Saturday. For once I beat the last minute backlog. Then Monday snow in the forecast. Thankfully, it stayed mostly in the valley and didn't stick. I'm going to Portland tomorrow with Katy, Marcus and Ryder for more diabetes training. Children's blood sugar can really bounce. Hopefully, the snow will not show itself. I'm the bus driver. Having lived there before, navigating is easier. None of this makes much sense. It must be sleep deprivation catching up with me. Too many late nights.

No matter how many toys they have they always want to play with the same one at the same time. Teka is on the left. Beau is on the right. They really enjoy spending time together. The snow has finally melted off so they can run in the front yard playing catch me if you can. They love everyone.

Ryder is doing pretty well since his diagnosis of type I diabetes. Naturally he is not fond of fingersticks and shots, but he doesn't cry. Occasionally an ouch, but that's about it. He only goes to daycare on Thursdays this term so I go over to give him his shot at lunchtime. The other kids got very quiet when it was time for his shot. I kept telling him he couldn't eat until he had it. The others may have thought they had to have one before they could eat.

I am so ready for some consistent sunshine. I need to get outside to go for a walk.

Our lovely mimosa tree has been blooming for six weeks. In the daylight, the leaves spread and resembles a fern. At dusk the leaves close. The sun is finally breaking through the haze from the "microwave fire". No not in my microwave. It is south of Mosier, but the smoke has blown our direction.

New Front Porch

We try not mention bike out loud because Ryder gets so excited that he can hardly contain his enthusiasm for his bike. He loves to ride and it doesn't matter whether it is indoors or out. His bike doesn't have pedals so no chain to get tangled in. He has learned to balance and steer. He gets up speed and then coasts along.
We have a wonderful new front porch that Ben built. He arrived on Tuesday, off to Home Depot Wednesday to fetch a load of lumber and an assortment of hardware. In just four days we have a most excellent deck/porch complete with railings and solar powered post lights. He also installed a new porch light, new house numbers and doorbell button. It has been way to hot to sit and enjoy the even the evenings. Ben said he lost 2 pounds. It must have been water. It was over 100 degrees every day that he was here. We couldn't handle it for more than a few minutes. Guam prepared him to handle the unusually hot weather here. It was so nice to have him here. Vale spent a couple of days and nights here. That was an extra treat for us. We hadn't seen him for several years. He is just as sweet as ever.

Happy 4th of July

Edson barbecued steak and pork steak in the afternoon. We went back in the evening the do fireworks in the driveway. Ryder was not liking the noise or the sparks so we stayed inside with him so he could watch through the window. He was much happier playing with toys. He would venture out to see Mama, peek around the corner of the house, then say "around" which means let's go back. He is very fortunate to be able to express himself as well as he does at two. It has been so hot for the last three days that it has been hard to keep the garden watered. It is supposed to be cooling off this week. I left my camera at Amy's so I will have to post pictures next time.

Fences make good dogs

We have a whiskey barrel in the front yard for flowers, but Beau can't seem to keep out of it. He loves to dig in dirt. He nearly emptied it as soon as the ice melted a few months ago. A couple of weeks ago I planted some new flowers and added some potting soil with fertilizer in it. It lasted all of one night. I planted them in the evening. By the time I got home from work the next evening, it was emptied of the plants and half the soil. Between Beau and Teka (we are keeping her while Amy, Edson and the kids are on vacation to Disneyland), it was cleaned out and most of the plants were completely gone. I managed to salvage two, but there were dumped out again the next day. Lesson learned. I put up wire fencing around the barrel. I have watched Beau stand up on his tippy toes to see if he can figure out how to get in there. Since he couldn't he dug another hole in the yard. He also likes to dig up the hens and chickens in the flower beds. Just one every now and then. He always leaves his treasures on the door step. Perhaps he's part cat.

School is out and Jim is volunteering at the Senior Center. He goes down every weekday morning. He has even started Wii bowling down there. He won't play at home because our tv is not as big. I guess that means we will have to get a larger one with a flat screen.

Stake Conference

I am still very excited that Elder Dallin H. Oaks shook my hand twice yesterday. He arrived 45 minutes early so he could wander through the chapel and gym to shake hands with everyone. We were in the 2nd row in the gym even though I went to save Jim a seat two hours before it started. There was a really good turnout. We also shook hands with Elder Merrill of the seventy.

Spring in the gorge . . finally

It is definitely time to switch to spring pictures. The longer days are allowing more walking time after work. Sometimes we walk the neighborhood with the dogs, but my favorite is walking riverfront trial. It is so peaceful and relaxing near the water. Of course, we do share the trail with bicycles, roller bladers and dog walkers. When we take Beau, he thinks he is the biggest dog on the block. He is almost as big as Buttons now. He was supposed to be much smaller.
We finally got Jim enrolled at the Portland VA. He is going to have a consultation with their pain clinic to see if there is something else that can be done for the pain in his foot. It has been a long, exhausting year searching for something that will alleviate at least some the the pain. It puts such a damper on everything for him.
I have been knitting socks lately. They are easy to stick in my purse so I can work on them when I have to wait for appointments, etc.
Tomorrow after work, the tomatoes, tomatillos and cucumbers are going into the garden. We may need to expand our gardening this year since produce is getting more expensive. I do love home grown tomatoes. Our grape arbor is doing really well. We are going to take the fence across the backyard down and replace it before it falls down.
Now for the ten things I love.
1. Do I get to count my grandchildren as the first 8 items? Okay, I'll just lump them together.
2. My kids.
3. Gardening.
4. Miss Julia books.
5. Fat Free Strawberry ice cream.
6. Sunshine and relaxing in my adirondack chair.
7. Hour long massages (I had one Saturday. My insurance reimburses half the cost.)
8. Chocolate.
9. Sleeping in.
10. My husband and his sense of humor. He also has very kissable lips. (No I am not too old to be thinking about things like that!)
11. Shoes that don't hurt my feet.
I am thinking I may retire earlier than originally planned. Six years is sounding much better than ten. My biggest excitement lately is when the Wii told me I was no longer obese, just overweight.

And Snows and Snows . . .

The gorge is closed on both sides of the river. Marcus decided not to go to work last night because he didn't want to get stuck in Portland for Christmas. It is still snowing today. The bishop decided just to have sacrament meeting at 11:00 and only if we feel totally safe in getting out. It took me two hours of leaf blowing the snow to get the car and pathways cleared yesterday. Freddies was a madhouse yesterday. Of course Jim and I got separated in the entry foyer. I stopped to put change in the SA kettle and he was gone. It took about an hour to find him. People we know kept saying they had seen him, but I couldn't find him until he had Cheryl page me to the nutrition center. Fun times. Mark next door shoveled the sidewalk in front and the steps up to the house this morning. I though Harmony would like the view of the birdbath/barbecue. We made end up with more than two feet today. School was cancelled so I stayed home Thursday and Friday to get Jim to his appointments and to keep Mom from trying to drive with just all weather tires. After what happened to Daddy three years ago, I don't want her taking any chances. We got three boxes off to Guam last week. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of gifts arriving 6 weeks late. I still have more boxes to send, but they are not Christmas stuff. I will be baking goodies to take to work tomorrow to share with a couple of offices in our area of the building. I hope I can get there from here tomorrow. I really don't want to walk that far. Tomorrow our days start getting longer. :)

It snowed and snowed and snowed

The forecast was right on the mark. It has been snowing for 3 days and will continue through Christmas. In a brief break yesterday, I cleared the walk up to the front door. This morning it is as high as the step up to the front door. Beau liked it yesterday, but not so much at this depth. He chose the flower bed instead.

These are pictures I took this morning so you can envy our 20 degree weather and winter wonderland.

Snow in the forecast

Snow is in the forecast this week. I knew it was cold the last couple of days, but with some warm days before that. We got our roof fixed yesterday. The stove pipe is completely gone. It was really rusted. We took the dogs for a walk yesterday and it was comfortable in shirt sleeves for me. Jim had his heavy jacket, gloves, and hat to keep him warm. Later, we went for a walk with Amy and the kids on riverfront trail. By that time, it was getting pretty cold. Christmas activities are rapidly approaching. Grandma's workshop has got to get in high gear. I did get the tree up today. I like to let the grandchildren decorate it. It is so much fun to watch them enjoy each ornament.

The view from my window

I took a picture of Beau in front of the fireplace so Ryder went over and sat down in front of it. Beau couldn't be outdone, so he went back to get in on the photo op.









I wanted to share a taste of fall in the gorge in these pictures taken from by office window. Getting the right focus makes all the difference. I can't figure out how to delete the fuzzy one.

This is Beau the night before his visit to vet for surgery. He came through like a champ. He didn't even act like anything had happened until he jumped up on the couch. He and Buttons are going to the groomer together tomorrow. Another first for Beau. Since his surgery, he has not liked to be brushed like he used to.

This is our new fireplace. We like it a lot better than the big black wood stove that took up a huge part of the living room. Everything seems more open and brighter. It is also the perfect place to displace important family members.

Jim is having a rough time with the change in his medications. Today was the best day so far. We hope that in a couple of days, he will be able to get back to his regular schedule.

Beau & Teka

Beau loves to play in the pool. Teka wants to be wherever Beau is, but her legs are way shorter than his so she doesn't stay in as long as he does. We took Buttons and Beau for a walk this evening after it cooled off a bit. Compared to Guam, our temperatures in the morning are very cold now, but it gets up to the mid to high 80s in the afternoon. It is kind of strange weather for this time of the year around here. Usually as soon as school starts, it gets really hot. We didn't have very many days over 100 this summer. It rained several times in August. Jim felt well enough to go to sacrament today. He hasn't been for two weeks. Hopefully the Cymbalta is going to be helpful. He has only been taking it for four days and it is supposed to work faster than similar meds. We even went to a missionary farewell this evening.

59 and holding

Dylan has already shared the first cold of the school year before school even started. Since I don't feel very well and Jim's foot keeps him housebound for the most part, it has been a quiet evening. I did make it out to the grocery store. My new favorite snack is Nutella. Dylan got his hair cut for school so Jadyn had to keep up with him. She has a short bob that will be easier for her to take care of herself. Ryder is growing so fast. He is getting three molars at once inspite of the fact that all he has in front are his two bottom teeth. Nevertheless, all of our grandchildren have fantastic smiles.

Jim is officially a senior citizen

Today is Jim's 65th birthday. He went to the chiropractor to see if there was something he could do to alleviate some of the pain in his foot. It is really hard to imagine that is is now covered by Medicare. That means he finally has double insurance coverage again and finally able to get back some of the money he has been paying into the system all these years. Katy and Ryder came to visit and we got some cute pictures. Ryder climbed into Beau's kennel to check it out. He was able to turn around inside and come out head first so it must be plenty big enough for Beau.

Painful foot saga

After a long flight back home from Guam, Jim started having trouble with numbness and pain in his feet. The right foot is way worse than the left. His primary doctor treated him for a fungus which did improve, but the pain remained. The neurologist did a nerve conduction study that showed minimal nerve damage. He has been to the pain clinic in Hood River. They ordered an MRI and a bone scan. He has several bulging discs in the lumbar and lumbosacral area so they did an epidural steroid injection and a nerve block. What we have learned from all this is that he does not have a sympathetic nerve disorder which is a good thing, but they don't know what is causing the pain. We still maintain that is coming from the bulging discs. In order to start him on a new medicine called Cymbalta, he has had to stop taking both antidepressants to wash them out of his system. He should be able to start the new one by the end of this week. We truly hope that this gives him some relief. Fortunately he has no pain when sleeping. It has been a really rough summer and we have not done much except massage his sore foot and figure out ways to distract from the pain. Walking sometimes makes it better. Beau has been good little pal for him. Mom has also spent time at our house while I have been at work to keep Jim company. Hopefully, the solution is near. He is going to see a chiropractor again to see if he can relieve some of the pressure on the nerves in his back.

Happy Birthday Marie

It has been a long time since I have posted. I had to wish Marie a fantastic birthday.

She is my most favorite daughter-in-law and not just because she is my only daughter-in-law. She is so devoted to her family and such a wonderful mom.

Gardening

I love the mimosa tree. The blossoms are fantastic. The second picture is looking up into the tree. The hydrangea blossoms are on the same bush. They start out pink and turn purple. Beau thinks he is the chief cultivator. He prefers the bark to be on the outside of the flower bed and loves to dig it out. He is learning quickly that "outside" is his favorite area. Buttons has almost trained him to give her plenty of space. They actually took a nap on the floor together yesterday. Of course I was at work so I missed the photo op.