October Update

It is sort of Sunday here. It is actually Saturday, but we got up and dressed for church because we had to go to a midday wedding, then we had the noon meal following the wedding (they served lunch to the guests), then we came home and watched a football game on TV this afternoon.  Now, doesn't that sound like a normal Sunday to you?  It feels like it.  

Thought I would let you know Dad is doing much better. And all because Randy went to the doctor!!  His doctor thinks his problem might be acid reflux, so he passed the word along to Dad, who immediately began taking Prilosec once a day, which was Randy's prescription.  So far, so good!!  In fact, he is singing a special at church tomorrow..the pastor asked him to do "What Sin?" because of the message he will be delivering.  So, good news.  

We have enjoyed a few weeks at home, especially since the weather is cooler. It is so good to step outside and not have the heat knock you over!! But this coming weekend we will be in Dallas visiting Rick and Denise. We hope to see their kids while we are there, too. Surely they will drop by, or we will drop by.....

 I spent all day yesterday working on getting caught up on this year's scrapbook.  (I guess when Dad is sick, I can't do anything....???)  He prints up the photos that we choose to include, and then I do the "scrapping".  I am just finishing up our Cloudcroft trip with Rick & Denise.  The fun thing about scrapping is that you can so easily go through past years and see how things and people have changed.   I would never compare my books to Brenda's, or to almost any "real" scrapper, but we enjoy them, and so do Don's siblings when we take them to Louisiana with us.  And I notice almost all of the local kids look at them  when I finish a new one.

Any way.   Will update again after we spend a while in Dallas.   Love you all....... G-mom

Home...and gone again!

We've traveled more this summer than any single summer ever! Disneyland, and Pahrump, and Dallas, and Shreveport, and San Diego, and Atlanta, and Ouray, and Cloudcroft... I can't even remember...what else? but it was all fun, and we got to see all our family, which is so cool!! Just not all at the same time.
We just got home from helping Keith's church in Pahrump celebrate their 40th anniversary. It was good. Most of the former pastors were there, and lots of old members who had moved came back, plus the regular attenders. There was a meeting (in a tent) on Saturday evening, then the big celebration on Sunday morning. We drove up on Friday, and when we were eating in Kingman, our phone rang and it was Zachary, Brenda, and Emily, on their way home via Pahrump, from visiting in Dallas and picking up a car. We ate together, then drove the rest of the way to Pahrump. It was so fun, and Emily is a little doll. She entertained us all weekend!
We forgot both our cameras, so I need K& K to send some photos from their computer so I can include this in our scrapbook.
Tonight we are driving up to Payson, AZ, for a Chorale concert. Actually, the concert is not until Sunday afternoon, but after Randy and Kathie get off work, we are driving up together to spend Saturday and Sunday morning in the cool country of that area!
When we got home Wednesday, we went by the kennel and picked up Charly so she could have a few days at home with us. She was so happy. Today we have to take her back, but only until Monday morning! We are so fortunate that she loves to go there. The staff has loved her since I got her 11 years ago, and she loves them back. Our vet said she is the only "patient" he has that actually likes to come see him!!
We love you all. If we have been in your vicinity and didn't see you, we're sorry. We tried to see everyone we could!
Here's a favorite picture from Cloudcroft.

Walker Infirmary Update

We've done a lot of fun things this summer, mostly trips. And we enjoyed them all. But it was nice to get to be home for a little while. Except for one little thing. G-dad got a killer sinus infection, and has been struggling with it for a couple of months off and on. He is now finishing up his third round of antibiotics, but still doesn't seem able to sleep all night without coughing a lot, so he's been sleeping in the family room...for 2 reasons...he can sleep better sitting up some, so the recliner and sofa are good for that, and he doesn't want to keep me awake. (As if his not being in bed with me doesnt keep me up anyway. He is better now, with this most recent medicine, but it's been a rough time.)

The weather here is beginning to cool down. Oh, it still gets up around 100 degrees in the daytime, but the evenings are pleasant enough to sit out in the back yard and watch our gorgeous Phoenix sunsets. We've had a lot of "monsoon" activity in August and this first week of September, so the clouds make for nice sunsets. The pool is cooling down now, but is still nice to swim in. Charly hates to swim, but in summer, that is her exercise, so I take her in every morning and make her paddle around for about 15 minutes, then when she gets out, she runs and shakes and wallows in the grass and on her towel until she is all fuzzy and almost dry. But we will start our morning walks soon. I can't swim in water as cold as Grandad can.

We still enjoy singing with the community chorale. We practice every Tuesday night for 2 hours. Then we do concerts, mostly on Sunday afternoons or evenings, and usually at Senior Centers or RV parks, and such. In a couple of weeks we will be singing at a church up in Peyson, AZ. It's so pretty up there, with trees and stuff. This week we sing at a Salvation Army place on Sunday afternoon. Hope G-dad is able to teach Sunday morning. Last week I had to teach because of his coughing.

We love you all, and pray for you, your families, your work/school/etc. Grandmom

Back from Atlanta, and Cloudcroft... sigh

By now most of our dedicated readers probably know that I (Grandad) am mostly over my knee problem that caused us to return early from Ouray... well, that and traveling with Randy. The orthopedic doc showed me the Xrays that show I have osteo-arthritis in the left knee, and it was irritated by impact (jogging and jumping on rocks in this case). He said the news was bad and good (the old doctor joke...ha ha). The bad news: it's arthritis. The good news: it should have minimum effect on normal activities.
No jumping, running or jogging (Denise says that's good news), but walking, climbing, non-impact activities are okay.

We spent 3 days in Atlanta in the second reunion of the year. Poo and Martha were there, having missed the earlier one due to sickness. Had a good, quiet time, mostly talking and playing Mexican Train.

We got home on Thursday and left on Friday for Cloudcroft, to a cabin which Rick and Denise had rented for a week. Nice weather, with a little rain every day. Rick and I golfed and the girls drove golf carts on Monday. Probably the highest course in the U.S. at about 9200 feet. Lots of hills, but only two lakes, so I set a record for fewest balls lost during my golfing career. We did some hiking (led by Atticus, their beagle who came with them), played Mexican Train (not Atticus), ate at every restaurant in Cloudcroft (3), and watched the olympics (no way those Chinese girls are 16 years old). Everybody went home on Wednesday.

Grandmom on the cabin balcony


Atticus and friends


My entry in the "Best Bella Picture" contest. I guess you read Randy's blog announcing a $25 grand prize.

We Were Missing The Heat

No photos tonight. Sorry. We are a little preoccupied. We mentioned yesterday that GrandDad's knee was acting up. It was serious enough that we came back to Phoenix today. He will look for an Orthopedic surgeon starting tomorrow, with the expectation of arthroscopic surgery soon.

It is supposed to be 110 tomorrow. It was 74 in Ouray yesterday. What a shock. No more hot tubs for us.

Ouray Must-Do Items For Our Last Day

What a whirlwind trip. It seems we are doing something nonstop. Take this morning for instance. We had a Continental breakfast, hurried over to the laundromat and spent the morning there, then it was time for lunch. Buen Tiempo, the local Mexican food spot we always go to at least once.

It was too early to check in the hotel room, so we headed out to Yankee Boy Basin. Actually, as we mentioned in yesterday's blog, that was always the plan. We spent quite a while there, maybe 2-3 hours. We didn't work on the Walker dam, and did not even go over there.
We ended up staying at the twin falls the entire time. We have never seen that much water. It is a result of over 21 feet of snow this winter. In fact, there was still a lot of snow up there. There was evidence of a number of avalanches all over the trail.

Here is a path from one of the avalanches.

Before we left, GrandDad and Kathie and Randy hiked all around both of the falls. Randy took a bunch of pictures, but it was GrandDad who had the defining moment.
"The Hills are Alive..."

On the way back to town, we started up the trail to Imogene Pass, but made it less than a mile. It was just too rough. So, we headed back into town and passed through a nice pleasant summer rain. In keeping with our breakneck speed, we only rested an hour before going to dinner at a sandwich shop at the north end of Ouray. Yes, we did get ice cream after dinner.

GrandDad's knee is acting up a bit, so please be praying for that.

Tomorrow, we leave Ouray and head north towards Gunnison.

Over Ophir On Our Own

We have not been hurrying out in the mornings. Today we drove over Ophir pass, and for some 20 minutes, we were the only people there. It's true. Look here.
Here is a photo Randy took using his remote control that shows the four of us, standing in the empty road at Ophir.

It was amazingly quiet up there. There was much less snow than the family reunion. With only four of us there, and all seniors, no snowballs were thrown. The marmot fussed at us...as usual. We drove past the little lake below Ophir and avoided the mosqitos. We drove over to Telluride and drove up to the base of Bridal Veil Falls. It was running strongly after an exceptionally high snowfall during the winter. In fact, the small number of four-wheelers we saw may have to do with how many trails are still closed. Here is a photo taken at the base of the falls in the mist and rain.

We visited Telluride for lunch. We wanted to drive Last Dollar Road, but it started raining. So, since Keith wasn't here to help with a new song, we avoided the muddy road.

Tonight, just as we have the last two nights, we will end with a soak in the hot tub. We start in the 105 degree pool and then cool off in the 102 degree one.

Tomorrow, maybe Imogene and then Yankee Boy Basin. We are not sure if we can pass the rocks in Imogene this year, but we will try.