Since this is the last day of the year, I guess it's time to make some New Year's Resolutions. I haven't really got any, except to do the best I can in all the activities we have. The main things at our age is to stay as well as we can, and help others whenever we can. I hereby resolve to do that. Chris (Russ) started out with a bloody nose this morning, but it didn't last long. We had our breakfast and then I read in the book Karen loaned me, and he rested in his chair, to make up for the sleep he lost last night. We decided to go out to lunch, and went to Taco Bell. I enjoyed a gordito and a drink, and we came home. I read again, and finally finished the book. We had dinner and then looked on the TV for a New Year's Eve show. We didn't find anything, so we watched "Shrek111", and the New York Symphony during the commercials. We also enjoyed the pictures Kaye sent of Logan and Maret's wedding reception.

This morning we went to Church. During Sacrament Meeting my legs and shoulders started to hurt, and when it was time to go to the other meetings, I couldn't do it. We went home, I took a tablet for pain, curled up in the recliner and went to sleep as soon as the tablet started to work. I woke up for lunch, late, but we had it. Later Karen came over and brought our dinner. It was crab cakes and I really enjoyed them and the other goodies she brought. We watched some TV, and later we had our dinner. Then I read a while, and my dear husband, who likes to be called Chris instead of his real middle name Russ, worked on the computer. We did watch the 2nd half of an English mystery show, and now it's bedtime. I'll stop here.

This morning I had my hair done, and it really improved my appearance and my inner self. While I was doing that, Russ did some shopping for supplies. We finished about the same time. At home we had lunch, and then watched a little TV, and rested. I put the washing in, and I felt glad I didn't have to do sheets on a scrub board, as I did in Detroit when we were first married. It was cloudy all day but didn't rain. The sun came out just in time for the formation of a beautiful dark red and and purple sunset. I appreciate the views we have of sunsets here, although I do miss seeing the ocean from our windows now. I'm glad Kaye and Kyle were able to get a hotel on the beach when they went to Oregon for Logan's wedding yesterday. I think our daughters enjoy the ocean as much as I do.

Danya and Matt left about 7:30 this morning. Russ and I had our breakfast, and the garage called to say our car was ready. After a little while Karen came over and drove us down to get the car. Then we drove it the new Kaiser Clinic in Oceanside, and asked the pharmacy to renew one of my prescriptions. They told us they needed permission of our doctor, so we have to wait until next week to get it. We came home, had lunch, and then just stayed home, until Al came to visit and pick up his Christmas presents from Carla and family. After he left, Carla called, and told us the wedding was over, and they had a new daughter-in-law, and Logan a new wife. Kaye called, and she said she, Kyle and Race would represent our side of the family at the reception tonight. I'm glad they can go.

This morning the man to change the filter on the reverse osmosis unit got here at 8 a.m. Danya had just started getting breakfast ready, so she put the eggs back in the refrigerator, and they went out for breakfast. As soon as the two filters were installed and the man gone, Russ and I had our breakfast. Then Danya and Matt came back with tickets to the San Diego Zoo, that Karen gave them. They left, and Karen drove along with us down to get our car fixed; the yellow warning light was on. She brought us back, and we won't get the car back until tomorrow. We spent a quiet afternoon, and then after we had finished our dinner, Danya and Matt got back. They packed up their car, including the Revere Ware we gave them. They will leave early in the morning.

This morning we went out to breakfast. Afterwards Danya and Matt drove us home and they went shopping. Later Danya went to lunch and shopping with Danya and Candace. Matt came home with us; we had lunch, and then Matt watched movies, and Russ and I had a nap. Later I made a bean casserole to take to Karen's for dinner, and then we went over there. It was a buffet again, and we enjoyed it. Karen drove us home afterwards, and then Danya and Matt came a little later. It has been a nice day for us, and we look forward to one more day with Danya. Candace and family will leave early tomorrow for home.

This morning we woke up, and Danya and Matt were already up, waiting for us by the Christmas tree. They had brought gifts for us, and put them under the tree. After we opened them, they went to Karen's for breakfast and opening presents there. About 2 p.m. we went also to Karen's for Christmas dinner. Al was there too. Karen and Mike got out their meat done in the pit barbecue, but it wasn't entirely cooked. Fortunately they could finish the process in Terry's smoker, and eventually we all had a good dinner. It was nice to visit with everybody, and we stayed until it was almost dark, and then came home. Later Danya and Matt got here and played a few games of cards. We also had nice phone visits with Kaye and Carla and their families, Kendra Gillian, and also our nephew Ladel Harris. All in all, it has been a nice Christmas.

Roy came to clean the house today. Russ watered and fertilized the gardenia plant, and I put the washing on. Thank goodness it takes mostly care of itself. Karen came over but didn't stay long. She had left Candace and family home. Danya called from Tustin about 1p.m. to say they had car trouble and called the auto club. A policeman came by, and escorted them to the garage, and they had lunch while the people tested the car. They couldn't find anything wrong, and it started, so they came on down here with no more trouble. Karen came over again to visit with us and Danya and Matt, and she brought materials for our dinner. We ate it, and then Karen left. Later Matt and Danya couldn't find a movie they hadn't seen in our collection, so they went out to El Camino Plaza to see one. We folded the laundry, and now are writing, and then we'll read a while and go to bed.

We didn't go to Church this morning. We were both still tired, and needed not to see a lot of other people and maybe pick up something else. After breakfast Karen called and said she and maybe Candace would be over, so I kinda put away things to make it look more acceptable in the house. They soon got here, and we were glad to see them both. Karen also brought our dinner for tonight, "so we wouldn't have to eat the TV dinners we had bought and put in the freezer." Of course her cooking is a lot better than anything we can buy, frozen, in a grocery store! They asked what we needed to do before Danya and Matt arrive tomorrow, and we looked at each other, and they guessed it was making up the beds, and they made them. Later Karen came back and picked up the beef that she and Mike will cook in the pit barbecue.

I woke up with a sore leg, so I took pain pills and promptly went to sleep. When I woke up, Karen was here to bring more things to store in our refrigerator (for the Christmas dinner at her house). Kaye called when she and Kyle were over the mountain on the way to Seattle. Russ got my lunch, and then we both sat down and watched another Dr. Who on the CD Kaye sent us. Then, we both went to sleep. Karen came over, while we were still asleep in the recliners, and she put more things in the refrigerator, including some things just for us. Later Kaye called again, to say they were bringing Race from Seattle and were over the mountain on the way home. Stellan will also be home. I'm glad they'll have both sons with them for Christmas. Our oldest grandchild, Danya, and her husband will arrive Mon. and stay at our house.

This morning Karen brought some meat to keep in our refrigerator for pit barbecuing for Christmas dinner. She and Candace's husband (another good cook) are going to start this Christmas eve, and have it bake all night. Neither one has done it before, but both want to do it now. Later she came back and brought a Quiche Lorraine that she had just baked. It looked so good, we didn't want for dinner to try it. But fortunately it is big enough for a quick bite in the middle of the afternoon, dinner tonight, and still two small pieces for tomorrow's lunch. I wrote all the rest of the Christmas cards today, and I'll get them in the mail tomorrow. Maybe next year it will be a form letter, like lots of people are doing now.

Our trip to see Dr. Donahoe just confirmed what we already thought; the pneumonia is slowly going away, but it will take at least two more weeks to get completely over it. And then Russ will not have all his strength back for more weeks. The next appointment is for Jan. 7. We looked at the ocean for a little while before going home. At home later while Russ rested in the recliner, I wrapped some candy boxes for mailing, and wrote a few more Christmas cards. Karen had made bonbons and filled up the boxes and plates. Two will go to friends in Fallbrook, one to Charles and Mabel, and the other to one to our house cleaner. When I think it's safe to do so, I'll make more caramels, and give little plates to the other neighbors. I just don't want to give anyone the pneumonia germs.

I actually went out of the house today, Karen came over and took me to get more Christmas cards and a few groceries. Then she will come back in the morning and take us to see Dr. Donahoe. The nurse said something about another x-ray, I guess to check on the congestion again. Also, he needs another blood test. I have written a few more cards, but I'm not done yet. I took time out to do some washing that I've been putting off all week. Next year I think I will write a group letter, like so many we get, instead of writing separately to each person or family. This takes too long to do. Russ is still doing well. At least it seems so to me; we'll of course find out in the morning. I think Donahoe is a good doctor.

Russ' fever has broken again, and I hope it stays down this time. We are still hoping to go to Karen's on Christmas day. There will be two granddaughters and husbands, a grandson and a brother-in-law as well as Karen and Terry. Carla and family and Kaye both came down in November. I wrote Christmas cards today; but I still have about 25 or 30 more to do. I'm skipping some of those we didn't hear from the last 2 or 3 Christmases. Since we have lived so many places during our long lives, there are lots of people we want to keep track of; friends from Gov. Service and friends from Church and college in each place, besides all the relatives.

Russ' fever had dropped to almost normal today. But we still didn't do anything much. Karen came over and brought some chicken soup she had made, but she didn't stay very long. She had to get back to pick up Terry at the dentist. We slept in about one and a half hours, and had a lazy day. We watch TV, went through boxes looking for warm underwear, and generally rested all day. I did make a loaf of bread, though, because we ran out and didn't want to go shopping. And in spite of being careful all day, Russ' fever came up again tonight. Thank goodness we got an appointment with Dr. Donahoe in three days. I meant to write more Christmas cards, but I never did get to it. Karen brought over a new book for me to read, but I got only 7 pages read tonight. I'll have to make myself a schedule, so I'll actually do something valuable tomorrow!

I thought I might have bad dreams last night, but it wasn't a dream; Russ coughed for hours. His fever came up again, and Karen got him an appointment at the Urgent Care at the Kaiser Clinic in San Marcos for 9:45 today. We drove there, saw a doctor who had X-rays taken, and diagnosed pneumonia. She gave him two antibiotic drugs, and said he should see Dr. Donahoe in two or three days. I'll get an appointment tomorrow. We won't be going to Charles and Mabel's house on Wednesday. There's no point to taking germs up there. They just got over bad colds. Russ has kept quiet all day, watching TV and also "Fiddler On the Roof" and napping.

I had my hair cut and set this morning. Russ insisted on driving me and picking me up later. He seemed hot when I touched him, and sure enough, when we got home and took his temperature, it was a little over 101 degrees. He has been quiet most of the day, except for a shower, and tonight he's just over 100. Karen came over and brought some soup for him and visited a while. I decided to stay home with Russ tomorrow and not go to Church. We watched some TV, and the last one was so scary that I was afraid I'd dream about it, so I left and got ready for bed. I'd seen part of it once before, I realized, so I stopped right away. Bad dreams aren't worth it.

I wrote Christmas cards this morning and helped Russ get his traffic fine ready for Terry to fax to the the court. Terry picked it up about 11:30, and I'm sure he can do it. We had lunch and listened to a Perry Mason re-run on TV. After a short rest, I went back to writing Christmas cards to people that had already sent them to us. The mailman had brought more when he came. We had our dinner and watched news on TV for a while. Then I went back to writing cards. Later I cut and wrapped most of the candy I had made the other day. Kaye sent pictures of the 1920's dress she had made and wore to the office party last night. They are nice. She is really talented at sewing.

This morning Russ' fever was gone, and he insisted on going to the store. I went along, to be company. At home again we had lunch, and I got ready and made my first batch of candy for Christmas . Karen brought over two pans of potatoes to keep warm in our oven, for the Relief Society dinner tonight. The committee had made six pans, and couldn't keep them all warm at the Church. Karen and the R.S. president baked chicken for the main meat dish and there were also salad, rolls, punch and dessert. Karen came back about 6 p.m. and picked up the potatoes, and me, and we went back to the Church for the R.S. Christmas dinner and program. It was very nice, and we all took home as favors small Nativity scenes.

The Kaiser Permanente people have just opened a clinic in Oceanside. Russ made an appointment to have his blood drawn there, instead of driving 10 miles to the Carlsbad clinic to have it done. After we did that, we went to Boney's for green groceries. We came home, and I started to put up the other Christmas things. But Russ started to run a fever, wouldn't have any lunch, and I worked sporaticaly on the Christmas decorations, and got the mantle stuff up, but not much else. We watched a couple of TV shows, and later he did have a little dinner. Then another TV show. Karen came over and brought some milk I forgot to get. Now it's bedtime, so I won't do any more Christmas things. Russ' fever is dropping a little, so I hope he will be better in the morning.

I just read Kendra Gillian's comment on my blog, and I really appreciated it. I have to admit I didn't set up my blog, my daughter Kaye did it for me. I'm glad she did, it gives me more freedom to talk to my family and friends like Kendra. My one big accomplishment today was setting up and decorating our artificial Christmas tree. We have had the same tree for over 10 years, and I think that next year we will use a small real tree, that we can plant out in the yard afterwards. I have just the spot for it. We finished watching the Laurence Olivier "Hamlet", and I think it's the very best I've seen, including the ones on stage. It was made in 1978, so it isn't new. I hope to put up our little Christmas village and other things tomorrow, to make it look really like Christmas here.

This is a day I've been dreading, whether my tooth would be crowned or pulled; thank goodness it was crowned! It was a relief to still have it when I finally got out of the dentist's office. While we were gone, Roy cleaned the house, and it was good to come home to. We still need the carpets cleaned, but I don't know when that will be. After lunch Karen came over and told us about her trip to San Francisco. She said the city looks better-kept than a few years ago. She and her two daughters stayed on the west side of town, and took a new trolley around the Marina and downtown, and they saw the improvements. She left us soon, as usual she is busy doing things for other people! Later I read a while, napped a little, and just sat and thought about Christmas, and what I would do about decorating. Tonight we watched half of "Hamlet" with Laurence Olivier.

This morning we went to all three sessions of Church. I forgot my hearing aid, so I didn't get what one of the speakers said, but I did hear most of the lessons in the last two sessions . Later at home we had lunch, and I sat down to read the paper. I napped for a little while, but finally I got through what I wanted of the paper and threw the rest away. I got ready to start writing Christmas cards, but then it was dinner time, so I stopped and did that. I never did get back to the cards. Maybe tomorrow. Karen got home safely from San Francisco, and she said she would come over tomorrow. Kaye has been busy throwing a few things away, and now she can get around the house better. We didn't talk to Carla; we will call her tomorrow. The rain there was awful, 8 people died.

This morning I had my hair done, by my regular operator. She has just returned from a trip to Australia to see her grandfather. She brought me some chocolate-covered "biscuits" that I haven't tried yet, but I 'm sure they are good. While my hair was being done, Russ bought some fresh fruit. At home later we put them into baskets with Christmas paper, and took them to two of the ladies he home teaches. The other lady has extended family with her who would eat all fruit, so we are going to get a Christmas plant for her instead. Back at home we read and listened to the New Testament for the Sunday School lesson tomorrow. We may not stay for it, but it's better to be prepared. The Relief Society and Priesthood lessons have lessons, too. These last are similar to each other. We read them, too.

Since this is Dec. 7, I am remembering where we were then, in 1941. We married on Nov. 24, and after a couple of days we went to our rental house in Sasalito, Calif. We were there only a day or two, when Russ got orders to go to Detroit for a motor school for a month. (He was a 2nd Lt. in the Army. We bought a used car, and set out across the country, as our honeymoon, in winter snow instead of California sunshine. we finally arrived in Detroit the morning of the 7th. Russ was dressed in his uniform, because he was to report that day. As we drove through the streets, looking for a place for breakfast, people kept yelling something to us. When we did stop, we heard, "Report to your Base! and then we learned what had happened at Pearl Harbor. I had two brothers, Naval officers, stationed there, and I worried about them. Later I learned they we safe; Bert had taken his ship out of the harbor on maneuvers, Elliot's ship was hit, but he was able to get it out of the harbor and still afloat. Later Russ and I were able to be together three months until he was sent overseas.

Karen called and said she would be coming over, so we had our breakfast and waited for her to arrive. She got here about 10:30 a.m. She told us about her coming trip to San Francisco, and also that Danya had told her that she and Matt would be happy to come to our house to stay the nights while they were here over Christmas. Now we are motivated to get really ready for Christmas. We stored everything in the shed, so it shouldn't be hard to locate what we need to decorate the house. It's just a matter of finding it among all those boxes. But somehow we didn't get to it today. After lunch I tried to copy my letter to Ardath Davies, but I kept slanting the words. So, Russ helped me set up a format to do it on the computer. After the letter was done, we drove with it to the post office. On the way back we drove by the spot where a camera took a picture the other day of Russ turning right on a red light, and red arrow, the police claim.

This morning we drove to the Carlsbad Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up 6 prescriptions. Today the waves were supposed to be high, because of the storm that is in Ore, and North Calif., so we stopped at Tamarack Beach, where we luckily found a parking place. There were lots of people in this lower parking lot, and from there we walked a little way along the seawall to watch the waves, and the surfers trying to get rides. Only a few made it in those big waves. I did get tired, so we left there and drove back to Oceanside, to the Burger King. We had a Whopper Jr.and a drink, and then came home. I rested and finished re-reading "Moon Called", so I will be ready for Patty Briggs' new book in January. I finished my letter to Ardath Davies on her 100th birthday. Now I'll have to copy it over tomorrow and send it.

I woke up feeling better than yesterday. I could move my body more easily. I hadn't realized how much the antibiotics had affected me. However, I kept quiet most of the day. By 3 p.m. I felt quite well, and I put a load of washing in. I rested, then put another in. And I got all but one batch washed before time to go to bed, which time is as soon as I finish this blog. After talking to Karen about it, I called Charles and Mabel, and arranged to go to their house on the 19th. Karen will do the driving. We will come back before the evening rush hours. I talked to Kendra Gillian, and she said Rob was now working for All State Insurance Co. I feel sure that's better than working on his own, as he has tried to do. James is going on his mission as soon as he turns 19, another good thing. I'm glad their family are all staying together.

It was a little warmer today, and I was glad to go out to lunch with my dear husband and daughter Karen. I have been mostly in the house getting over these series of antibiotics. We sat at Mimi's Restaurant in the enclosed patio, and I looked out over the lagoon and as far as the 5 Freeway. It was a good location for a nice lunch and visit. I really enjoyed being out. When the Bishop was here yesterday, he asked if we would be willing to have the ward's missionaries live at our house. It seems they can't afford the rent in their apartment. We have thought about it, and finally decided we couldn't do it. I wonder if we will regret it; maybe we do need someone living in the house with us. We'd rather have the room and bath available for our family to visit. In fact, we have already invited Danya and her husband to stay here at Christmas time. That will leave room at Karen's for Candace and Mike to stay.

We didn't go to Church this morning, because I didn't feel up to it. Karen called to find out why we weren't there and we told her. After a bit to eat and my tablets I sat down to read the Sunday paper, and I fell sound asleep! That's the first time I have had a nap in the morning. I nap sometimes in the afternoon, but I guess I was really tired this morning. After lunch we watched more Miss Marple movies, and tonight I read some more in Patricia Briggs last book. I will soon finish it, and I will certainly be waiting for the one being published in January. The Bishop came over to home teach us, and while he was here, Karen came over. We'll see her tomorrow, though, so she didn't stay long today.

This morning I had my hair done, and it wasn't an ordeal at all. They didn't have my appointment down in their book, so I got a new girl to do it. Next week my operator will be back from Australia. At home again, I read the paper and then we had lunch. Afterwards we watched a couple of Miss Marple mysteries. After that I started to re-read the last of Patrica Brigg's books, so I'll be caught up again on what's going on in the series. A new one comes out in January. We talked to Karen and Kaye, and they are both well. We'll call Carla tomorrow. I don't have anything else to say, so I'll close now.