39 for the 33rd TIME!

How do you spell bliss? R I D G I D oscillating belt sander! (Well, at least till the next tool lust comes along!) He spotted this 'toy' at Home Depot a few weeks ago and would periodically visit it & surreptitiously stroke & drool over it thinking he would never own it! But lo & behold what comes in the mail but a gift card that almost covered the entire cost! He thanks his benefactors profusely and has already made substantial quanities of sawdust! LIFE IS GOOD!

Lunch with the girls & las flores

Lunch with the girls....ahhh what a lovely pleasure! I feel SO blessed to know & be loved by these extraordinary women. They have become one of my greatest supports these last 15 months! Yes, I could have endured it without them; but to laugh my way through this process made it not only bearable, but 'almost' fun!
(left to right: Rhonda, Maxine, me, Sally & Laurie)

Rhonda kept me giggling and we maybe even 'offended' others while visiting Mayo. (We just can't squelch our glee & I know you find that hard to believe!) I've been she & Jerry's (her hubby) guest many a night and she has chauffeured me back & forth to all of my appointments & there have many, many, many appt's. I've also become a fan of 'Survivor' & 'American Idol' thanks to them. (that's Rhonda on the left in the 'belly laughing' picture.) Maybe you remember that we bought their house here in C.G.) Have I told you we were best friends in the pre-existence? Yep, and we promised to find

each other!

Are there any appropriate words to say THANK YOU for giving you LIFE? I haven't found any as yet. I am alive & NOT on dialysis thanks to Sally! I haven't put this in print before now because I didn't want to cause any family problems. Most of her family don't even know what a precious gift she gave me. Some of them might not necessarily approve.... & I don't want her to suffer because of her generosity. Most of you already know she & Gerry and what a treasure they are to us. They ARE family; we've always known that...and now we REALLY are because I carry part of her inside of me! Again, how can you EVER show enough gratitude for something like that?! Thank you Sally & Gerry for your love and generosity & for all the past 55+ years of fun & cherished memories!

And now one more important thing! Thank you to Keira for my las flores adorning my person at our lunch. Perfectly matching my new jacket. (purchased for $11.99 at Coldwater Creek close-out on-line. SCORE!) I haven't had the nerve to wear it in my hair yet (the flower, not the jacket!).... maybe on my 80th birthday? Which is YEARS & YEARS AWAY!

BTW, for some reason how I write this on the preview site

does NOT resemble the final product. Either I don't know

what I'm doing or it's got a mind of it's own!!! Most likely the

former!

BREAKING NEWS...Dad is sick!

And It's all my fault! He caught my cold, even though I tried very hard NOT to give it to him. He even skipped church yesterday! (so you KNOW he had to be sick!) He also passed on a sub job today. He's working hard to be healthy for his longed-for ski trip! He's just like a 10 year old! (BTW, he did not know I took these pics!)

Dream, dream sweet prince....dream of white, fluffy snow & sticks strapped to

your feet. (He might even have matching gloves this year!)

Light that fireplace, he's going to be cold!

Becoming of age; 67 that is

What a FUN day it was! I drove north to what we call "the valley" around here...which translates to the Phoenix area. Specifically to my 'angel friend', Rhonda's house in Chandler. She has been by my side every step of the entire kidney adventure; allowing me to sleep in her 'spa' guest room; driving me to the hospital for the 100's of medical appts at Mayo & sat with me & waited for me, etc! Am I the most blessed person or what? To have such a friend as this as well as a most wonderful 'spirit' sister as Sally! My heart floods with joy & gratitude for these two women in my life as well as

so many other wonderful friends here that have bouyed me up with their love & caring. I'm one lucky broad!

ANYWAY.... Rhonda & I set off to see how many 'FREE' meals I could corner. I hit the jackpot! We ate an early lunch at Liberty Market: A lovely panini sandwich (see the 1-bite-missing, plastic-bagged sammy in pic next to ribs), that came with a lovely side dish of roasted yam w/dried cranberries salad and a drink! FREE! Rhonda had minestrone soup, YUMMO, and shared my plate. You know I don't eat that much, so it was perfect. THEN we went across the street to Joe's BBQ. Walked up to the takeout window, said "It's my birthday, what's free?" I got a wonderful bbq pork (pulled) sandwich, a drink, 1 side dish (cheesy potatoes) and a choc. chip cookie. Then we did some errands & made our way to Joe's Farm Grill (part of the same bbq company) They allowed me $10 toward any meal. I ordered a full rack of ribs (the pic is of 1/2 rack, dad ate the other half.) & the requisite accompaniments; the rack was $19.99. Both of these meals I got 'TO GO' so I could bring them home for us to share for the next few days! THEN, we went through the drive thru at Krispie Kreme donuts; I got a full dozen glazed for (you guessed it!) FREE! Shared them with our local missionaries & froze a couple (they're wonderful if you micro them for 10-30 seconds)

AHHHH, it was wonderful! Somehow, when food is free, it tastes so much better! I recommend you all search out the 'freebies' in your own area. Just make a few phone calls & simply ask! All they can say is no! The least you will probably get is a free dessert.

I think when I was younger, I would be reticent to 'beg' for free stuff, but no more! Age brings utter gall and no embarrassment. Old ladies get away with almost anything! tee hee! LOVE IT!

I'm Baaack!

Yes, it's been about 6 months since I've posted here. But I believe I have a few good excuses, right?

We had a very quiet Christmas this year, since I have to stay clear of people, as is my routine of late. Especially anyone under 18 years old....(they are just walking 'bubonic plagues' to me!) We put up a big tree for the first time in at least 6 years, (we had a very small one while living in the motorhome.) AND we displayed our village as well....can't remember when we last put it out. It's been fun to see again. I'm proud to say I bought that big tree for 90% off after Christmas at Dillards last year. It's nice because it is tall & narrow. And of course, not such a fire hazard!

Being so homebound has been somewhat boring, but necessary. So today, I decided to bake some bread, cinnamon rolls and a cheese/onion loaf. The 'bread-baking' aroma is filling the house with nostalgia. Being so cold here today (it's 65'), it's a perfect day to fire up the gas oven! I had planned to use 1/2 whole wheat (golden 86), BUT something has gone terribly wrong with my Magic Mill high-speed grinder! Argh! Off to the Bosch store in Phoenix for repair, I guess. I've had it since 1980; what's up with that? Shouldn't it last forever?

Dad & I are planning to go to the movies next week (early showing, after the kids go back to school, & when most people won't be there!) I have a purse full of sanitizers, wipes & my own popcorn! Any suggestions for what to see?

We wish you all a wonderful 2o1o, may it be your best year ever!

Becky's Hygienist Party & Pinning Ceremony

Is this one cute kid or what?

It was worth two layovers and plane changes to be able to witness Becky's reward for 4 1/2 years of hard work! She did & we're all so proud! Good work, Beck! So with license in hand she, her family & NOAH'S ARK will be moving to Virginia where she hopes to land a 'plum' job whilst Jeff works for the navy, on Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, right on the Atlantic! It will be some trick to take 2 dogs, 6 cats, two horses, 1 cockatiel and a Parrot across the U.S. in the back of the pickup! She MUST blog THAT adventure, for sure!!! AND thanks Tia & Keira for bucking the traffic on I-5 to see me! It was SOOO great to meet Mr. Zachary in person & get hugs from 'the girls'! Wish it could've been longer!

CANCUN CHIQUITAS AT IT AGAIN!

Okay, so we didn't go to Cancun this year (not many people are)! But since I can't travel very far these days, we set up our tent just north of Phoenix, near Paradise valley. And it WAS a week of paradise. We laid by the pool, alternating with jumping in to cool off; ate WHATEVER we wanted; read our books; gave each other facials and foot massages; had REAL massages (meaning professional); Slept as long as wanted, BUT MOSTLY WE TALKED AND TALKED AND TALKED! (sometimes till 2:30 am!) Dad wants to know what we could possibly talk that much about. We'll never tell, but mostly about our guys! Some things NEVER change. Happens to be the subject we talked about when we were teenagers too! We added Laurie Miller to our bunch this year. She nearly didn't make the cut, because rumor has it she is (shhh) younger than Rhonda....and Rhonda has ALWAYS been our 'baby girl'! But Laurie is quick on her feet and said "whatever your age is Rhonda, I'm 2 years older than you"! No dummy here!!! It is a beautiful place...seems Brother Marriott knows a thing or two about condo's and resorts! But I'll let the pictures tell the story.