Beautiful day!

Today was a spectacular day!  Dave and I ate out on the balcony and I had doors and windows open all day!  Dave washed, waxed, and detailed the pickup and I did more appliqueing!  Then I watched the Cubs lose...again!  I think they're in their June Swoon in May.  It's very frustrating.

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Not a slug today!

I would say that I wasn't a slug today...I was more like a sloth!  I actually did some sewing again.  More appliqueing.  This project will take many days of work!  When my thread breaks or comes out of the needle, it takes a long time for me to re-thread the needle!  You can imagine!  I even had Dave thread it once today.

I had the patio doors open again today.  It wasn't a very sunny day so unfortunately it didn't get above 70.  Dave went out to  Bryan's for several hours and then tonight he had a board meeting.

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Memorial Day

As far back as I can remember, my family went to the cemetery to decorate graves.  It was a social time as many of our neighbors and friends were there too.  We always had fresh flowers - peonies, irises, bridal wreath and Dad brought a ton of water along with a bunch of juice cans and wire to use as stakes so the cans of water/flowers wouldn't blow or tip over.  I have very fond memories of this day.

As far as today goes, though, I was pretty much a slug!  I put two pictures into frames and uploaded more pictures onto my computer.  Plus I took a nap!  Pretty much a slug!!

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We're back!

We had a fun 5 nights and 4 days in Ottumwa and Fairfield.  We got to Ottumwa in time to eat supper with Bob, Ann, Gary, and Barb...at the Recovery Room for tenderloins!  Thursday Dave went to a funeral in the morning, came and picked me up so we could have a Canteen for lunch and then we met Bob & Ann to go decorate graves in Batavia and Libertyville.  Batavia was beautifully mowed, but no one mowed Fell.  Except one of my cousins mowed around all of the Allison graves so that was nice.  It still hadn't been mowed on Friday at 4:00!  We then went to Fairfield for supper and a FHS Varsity softball game where Allison was the DH for both games!  The Trojans won both games!Friday saw us going to Craig & Sue's for 2.5 hours and also getting our fix at Graham's. Then we headed to Fairfield to see if we could find FHS hats or sweatshirts...couldn't find a thing.  At least we both have plenty of orange and black!  Friday night was a JV doubleheader and they lost both games, but Allison hit the ball really well.  Saturday we were back in O-town for a doubleheader.  Allison played very well, but they only won the 2nd game.  It was fun, though, because this time there were 3 cousins on the field...Cam Cooksey as an umpire, Allison, and McKenna Allison.

After the games, we took off for Cantril to do some shopping.  It was PACKED to the gills with people!  We didn't eat lunch, instead we waited until we returned to Ottumwa and had another Canteen and an ice cream cone at Graham's.  Can't beat those 2 places!

Today we went to FPC (our old church) and enjoyed visiting with old friends and worshiping with them!  We even went out to lunch with the "Bunch for Lunch" group.  Then we packed up and headed home!!

We are both tired, but it was a fun them.

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Gray again

At least it wasn't raining today - just cold and gray until afternoon late.  I hope it warms up.  We're going camping in O-town starting tomorrow until Sunday afternoon.  I don't remember what kind of wifi we have down there, so in case we can't get wife this may be my last post for a while.

Dave worked on getting the camper ready while I worked here getting stuff out to pack.  I also did laundry and put the desktop computer together and arranged most efficiently.  I had to have Dave's help to hide the cords, though.

Tonight we watched the Cubs and Dancing With The Stars.  Fun finale!!  Good game too!

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Monday

Dave worked on the camper and mowed Bryan's yard today.  He was out there 9 hours.  I had a good day.  I had a massage...yay!  That's always a highlight!  Plus the sun was shining for several hours today.  It was nice enough that I opened the patio doors and let God's air in!  I also vacuumed and then I decided I was either going to stamp or sew.  Sewing won today.  I started machine appliqueing some little quilts I did a long time ago.  That was fun for a change!

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GRAY AGAIN

Thank goodness for church.  It got us outside, otherwise I would have just stayed indoors again today.  I'm starting to get a little depressed.  I need the sun to shine!

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Another gray day!

We had another cold, drizzly, rainy, gray day here.  We aren't going to be back in the 70's until Tuesday or so.  I'm not happy with this.  So I've been looking at my pictures of the warmth and beauty of Florida.  In fact I ordered 2 prints to hang up in our dining room today.  Will be glad when they get here. 

Dave ran errands while I dusted. 

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Brrrr

Holy Cow, it's cold here!  It got all the way up to 45 today!  It's actually 49 tonight.  It was gray and rainy with that cold.  I wore jeans and a coat today!  Dave and I both had doctor's appointments today.  I had an xray of my foot.  I don't have a broken bone - just arthritis.  I do, however, have a bone spur on my heel.  Then my blood work was good too!  Dave didn't have any blood work or anything, just a follow up!

For lunch we went to LJ's.  I had a BLT and Dave had a Black n'Bleu burger.  Declicious...and the best French fries ever!  Then  we picked up meds and groceries and finally got home.  Silly Dave went back out to get a haircut and to pick up a new ice maker for the fridge.  The new water valve didn't fix the leaking so now he'll install a new one.

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Lumberjack

Paul Bunyan (aka Dave) was at work this morning, cutting down the tree branch that was lodged on our balcony.  I liked it there; it was like a privacy hedge.  Unfortunately it had to go.  He and our maintenance man got busy cleaning up.  Dave has a chain saw instead of an axe, though!  We were really lucky as the tree this branch came off of is about 40+ feet high.  If the whole tree had toppled, it would have surely wiped out our balcony as well as those around us. 

I cleaned out some more drawers today.  I'm going to try to do some stamping tomorrow to see if my tremors are too bad.  I hope not because I've got lots of $$ invested in this hobby! 

My new computer arrived today.  Desktop towers are so much smaller than they used to be!   I'm excited to get that hooked up and those cords controlled again!

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Wow!

We got some  big storms today.  We've got a big tree outside our patio and a big branch came out of it, it the lady next door's windows, and ended up giving us a privacy shade!  Unfortunately, it'll have to get cut up and taken out tomorrow.  Marilyn (next door) has some shutter damage and one of her screens is torn.  We lost our flag pole, but it got returned to us this evening.  It poured with the wind!  I usually sit here by the patio doors, but I decided I didn't like the way the wind was blowing, so I got up and moved away from the windows just as the tree came flying on our balcony!  Whew!

I cleaned out some drawers today - threw away some makeup, etc.  I feel good about my productivity.  Plus, Dave took the ugly sconces off the walls in the dining room - yay!

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Grrr............

Do you know  what happens when you order a computer from Dell...from India?  Well, I'll tell you.  Even though we talked about the shipping address being Waterloo and that I haven't lived in Ottumwa for 2 years, guess where the computer went?  Yep...to Ottumwa!  So I call.  Yesterday when  I  ordered the computer, the supervisor called me and checked on the shipping address.  He asked if the shipping address was O'town and again I changed the address.  But they still shipped it to the wrong place...grrrrr.  I had one day shipping yesterday, but now it may be up to 8 days before I get it now...again, grrrr.  Patience, grasshopper!

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Monday

I've had kind of a slow day.  It was hot and muggy here today, with a strong Easterly wind.  The pollen was hard on me, so the door/windows stayed closed today with the a/c on!  I started out by calling Dell about my desktop computer.  For some reason we couldn't get it to boot when we got home.  It still doesn't!  Since it's Windows Vista and Windows no longer supports it, neither does Dell.  Now I have to call the Geek Squad or someone to get everything off my hard drive.  Then I'll ditch it.  I've got a new tower coming soon.

After lunch we both took naps.  That's it!  Nothing exciting today!

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Mother's Day

Such a fun day!  We went to church for a wonderful, uplifting sermon.  Then we were going to go to Morg's for breakfast...closed for Mother's Day.  So we chose to go toVillage Inn for lunch...big line!  Newton's...big line!  IHOP...huge line.  Decided we'd try Carlos O'Kelley's...got there just before the big crowd came!!

This afternoon Dave took a nap while I put together a puzzle.  Bryan and Erin invited us out for supper.  So we got to spend the evening with Aidan!

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Today was all about...

Blaise, my great great nephew.  He turns 3 tomorrow, but we celebrated today.  He was so excited.  When we got there, he told me it was his birthday and that he got presents and an ice cream cake.  Then he took me around and showed me the dinosaurs that were hanging up.  He told me what kind of dinosaurs they were - like a stegosaurus, a t-rex, etc.  That kid knows one dinosaur from another one!  We got him 3 dinosaurs and he loved them.  It was a beautiful day so we sat outside and just enjoyed the weather, the company, and watching Blaise! 

Since our camper was stored out at Kyle's, we picked it up today.  Dave's going to work on it tomorrow...don't know for sure what he's doing. 

We had a hummingbird visit this evening.  I had the balcony doors open and he just hovered there, seeming to look in! 

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Perfect Day

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today...about 78 with abundant sunshine.  It was perfect sitting outside eating lunch.  Too bad we don't have a hammock.  It would have been nice to take a nap outside today - before the flies get back!

Dave worked at Bryan's today and I worked on covering a cushion today.  One of our recliners is getting some age on it and I needed a cushion on the seat.  It was either that or get a new recliner...the cushion was much cheaper.

I've started reading the Harry Potter series of books.  Unfortunately now I want to see the movies.  The wizardry is so fascinating that I want to see how they handled it in the films.

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Beautiful

Another gorgeous day in the 'loo.  We even got to eat outside again today.  I had some shopping to do at Joann's so I went out on my own.  While I was out, I got my hair cut too.  I was starting to get a little shaggy.

Dave worked with some of the guys around here.  They are installing LED lights in the hallways.  Slowly!

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Rainy Day

Woke up today to fog and drizzle, which turned to rain later.  It was, therefore, a lazy day!  Really good day for a nap!

We went out to Lowe's to buy a new light for the kitchen.  Got an LED light that makes the kitchen so much brighter.  It has been really, really dark!  Dave got it installed and now we can actually see in there. 

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Beautifull Day Again

We had another 75 degree day here.  I had the patio door open this evening until about 8:00.

We went to Iowa City today for my annual appointment with my neurologist.  All was well.  He said I didn't have Parkinson's.  Yay!  We talked about medical marijuana.  I still am on the fence with this form of medicine.

Dave went out to Bryan's this afternoon - he loves going out there. 

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Productive Day

I got a lot done today, and so did Dave.  He did his shopping, including a new water valve for the ice maker.  He then got the ice maker repaired and we've got ice!!  Yay!  The ice maker was broken all last year, so this will be nice.  He got his last mess of mushrooms tonight, too!

As for me, I filed all the paperwork left over from Florida.  I filed the duplicate check copies and cleaned up the desk.  Then I vacuumed 2 rooms and moved furniture in the living room.  When Dave came back, he helped me, but I'd already moved both chairs and a table all by myself!

We didn't get to eat outside today.  It was very windy.  We went out at noon, but it was sprinkling so we came back in.  We probably only got 20 sprinkles all together but it was enough that we didn't want to eat outside. 

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Super Sunday

It was gorgeous here today.  At 6:30 tonight it was still 72 outside!  We went to church this morning where we were treated to a wonderful sermon about God's acceptance of everyone!  Also when we entered the church, there were quilts everywhere.  The quilts were blessed today, before they are given away to those who need their comfort. 

After church we went to Morg's Diner for breakfast/lunch.  Wonderful place to eat.  Someday I'm going to go there for lunch instead of just breakfast!  Even the owner remembered us and told us we usually sit at the counter.  We were lucky today.  No waiting line and we got a booth! 

This afternoon, I read and then took a nap while Dave worked on putting new lights on his truck.  He had it torn apart yesterday and got it finished today.  Then he was in a panic because he couldn't find his insurance card which came while we were in Florida.  So I found it for him and put out that fire. 

This evening we ate our supper, such as it was, outside because it was so nice!  I fried a batch of mushrooms for Dave and I had a plate of tortilla chips and cheese.  Now we're watching the Cubs get swept by the Yankees.  The Yankees are really good this year, so far anyway!

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Beautiful day

We had another beautiful day here.  It was a bit chillier than yesterday, but we were able to eat both lunch and supper out on the balcony.  I hope this nice weather continues!

Dave had a fun day.  He found 31 morel mushrooms - he was so happy.  He came home and shared them with the upstairs neighbors and has enough for 2 more meals! 

As for me, I puttered around here.  I didn't do anything special - just worked on putting things away and looking for things.  When you live in two different places, you can't remember where things are from one place to the next!!

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Beautiful here

We had a gorgeous day here.  We even ate lunch out on the balcony! 

After our 3 day excursion through wind and rain, we needed to relax!  We went to Carlos O'Kelly's last night with Bryan, Erin, and Aidan.  Aidan ate a whole child's pizza!!  I couldn't believe it.  He's still not talking, but he's going to be seeing a speech pathologist for an evaluation soon.  Hope he/she is able to help A.  He seemed really glad to see us! 

Both Dave and I slept really, really well until I woke up at 2:00ish coughing...which woke Dave too.  I took some cough syrup and slept in my chair until 6:15 when Dave got up.  Then I went back to bed for a while.  Today we went to the chiropractor so I'm hoping that will help get rid of my cough.  Other than that, we worked on getting the stuff we brought back from Florida put away.  We're about to get done!

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HOME

We're home safe and sound.  We're exhausted and going to bed early.  Will write more tomorrow night.  Thank you Lord for safe travels.

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We're Ready

Or about ready, anyway.  I've still got to put out the dryer sheets and we've got the last load of clothes in the dryer...then we're ready.  Oh, we've still got to pack the cooler.  I  sure wish I could blink us home like Jeannie did in "I Dream of Jeannie".

We were far enough along that we went to Sawgrass Lake Park this morning.  One last time to see the baby anhingas and the baby alligators.  The anhingas had really grown.  Unfortunately I didn't get my memory card out of my camera before we packed it! 

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