Great Grandson

Exploits of November 28. He's watching his Baby Einstein movie, and his daddy juggle. Multitasking at seven months...

More planning.

Again Brittany left before we got up, but we did rush around eventually and went to the post office and sent Kaye the nightgown she left last time she was here. We called later and asked her if she would like one of the three down comforters we have, and she said yes. So, We'll do that next week. I had my hair done at 1:30, and then we went to Burger King for a fish sandwich. Chris was unable to find a player for our little tapes we have, so we will have to take our music setup with us when, and if, we go to the apartment this coming year. In the meantime we can look further for a player. At home we had a rest, and then a brief supper. Brittany got home in time to have some with us. Tonight we finished measuring furniture we forgot about the other day. Now we are ready to go to the apartment and measure the wall spaces, so we can see what we can take when we go there.

Brittany went to work before we got up this morning. She has to be there by 7:30. It was a good day for her, lots of tips. When we finally got going, I started on books again, and Chris worked on getting things organized in the computer room. Karen came over and brought us Thanksgiving TV dinners she made up from yesterday, including pie. She visited a while and then left. We had a piece of pie with lunch, had a nap, and then went back to checking out the things in the house. I measured all the furniture we will take with us to the apartment, and Karen had said she will come over there with us maybe Monday to measure the wall spaces, so we will know just what we can and can't take with us. We are sure about one thing, we will keep this house in case we want to move back. That's what some friends of ours did, and they came back in three months.

It has been a nice Thanksgiving day. We had our breakfast while we listened to the Salt Lake Mormon Choir on TV. That was a nice surprise; we didn't know it would be on. For a while Chris worked on sorting out things in the computer room, and I sorted more books. Then we were able to see, and talk, to Kaye, Caden, Kyle and Race on Brittany's computer, with a device called a "Skype". That's a great device. Caden has gained 5 grams of weight in this past week, which is a very good sign. We went to Karen and Terry's for Thanksgiving dinner. Al was there, also Terry's grandson, Tanner. It was a real traditional dinner with all the trimmings, and three kinds of pies and ice cream for dessert. Afterward we saw and talked to Danya on Karen's computer with a "Skype" on it, too. After dinner and talking to Danya, Brittany drove us home. Then she went to see Travis and family.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Today I worked a little while getting rid of old magazines and papers, and then about 11 we left to pick up prescriptions at the Oceanside Kaiser clinic. After that we drove to Carl's Jr. where we met Karen for lunch. I couldn't remember the name of the Mexican dish I wanted, and I ordered the wrong one. So, it wasn't as good a lunch as I had anticipated. However, Karen had brought us half an apple pie, and that certainly made up for a not-so-good lunch! Brittany was home today, and we spent some time trying to help her with her problems. I'm afraid we weren't any help; she just worried that we were worried. We talked to Kaye, and she and Kyle were driving to Seattle to see the baby, and she arranged that we could see Caden on Brittany's computer tomorrow morning.Tonight we watched a Miss Marple movie, and that was the end of our day.

Roy came to clean the house, so we got up early to make room for him to work. We got phone calls from all three of our daughters, wishing us a Happy 67th Anniversary. About 1 o'clock we and Brittany went out to lunch at the Soup Plantation restaurant to celebrate. We got home just as Peggy Plylor arrrived; she is my visiting teacher. After she left I sat down to watch the news on TV. A little after 5 p.m. I fell asleep and slept until 7 p.m. We had our dinner, and then I started reading Helen's story of the Christensen family. I read until I got cold, and came into the computer room to write this. Chris and I talked a little more about the move to Las Villas de Carlsbad, but we didn't do any more about getting ready for it. Tomorrow is another day.

We went to Sacrament Meeting, and then we came back home. Chris' hip doesn't sit very well for very long, especially on the pews there. But we were able to meet some friends and a new couple from the Tremonton area. At home we read the paper and rested a while. Then we went to Karen and Terry's house for hamburgers and the rest of a nice dinner. Brittany went, too, and then afterwards she drove us home again in the dark. Chris and I can drive at night, but it might be dangerous for us or other people, since we don't see so well anymore. Karen has arranged for us to meet Linda and Charles and Mabel on Dec 9 for lunch at a restaurant about half was between Oceanside and and their house in Downey. We haven't seen them for a long time, and we miss them.

I had my hair fixed, and then Chris and I went to Home Depot. We complained about the shed they sent out, and then they removed the $999 on our charge account. We went home and considered what to do. I thought it would be OK to store things in the patio room and lock the doors. But Chris thought we should investigate another shed. We'll wait a while and then decide. We had lunch and then went back to sorting out the tapes and videos we want to give away, and I also checked over the books we don't want to keep. Now there are three boxes of each to give away. At last we have started weeding things out, although we have at least three months to complete the lists of furniture and things to take to the apartment and what to store. We talked to Kaye, and Caden is still in ICU, and we are praying for him. We talked to Bianca, and she's worried and studying for exams at her Medical School. Carla says to pray for her, and we are.

It has been a rather puzzling day. One thing was regular, Jessie from Angel Care came. She washed all the clothes and changed the sheets and washed them and the towels. Then she helped me make hand lotion, cleaned the non-skid tub and shower liner, and helped me pick out and pack up the books we want to get rid of, and fixed our lunch. Brittany was here, and is having her own problems I won't enumerate here, but they worry me, too. Kaye called, and Caden is back in intensive care in the Seattle hospital. Kaye was sick yesterday, but Patty Briggs is helping to cheer her up. They went to the shooting range, where Kaye demonstrated the different types of guns, so Patty can get familiar with them, so she won't make mistakes in her books. By the way, the new one comes out in hardback in February.

A dull day.

We talked about what to store in the new shed, and what to throw away, and what take to Las Villas. Then we went to the bank and our safety deposit box and got out everything to see what was not in the Trust. The Eugene duplexes and and a lot of Series E bonds are not. Carla will check on the Eugene properties. Then we got some groceries, forgetting some, and came home. Karen came over and brought some more packing boxes, but we didn't get any filled this afternoon. We just checked through the stuff from the safety deposit box. Tonight we will watch an old episode of Sherlock Holmes and then go to bed.

We checked out our will.

I went through some books to see what we should keep, and Chris went through some old videos with the same in mind. He did better than I did. Karen came over about 11:30 and we drove to San Marcos, had lunch at Fry's, and then went to see our Lawyer about up-dating our will. He wasn't a lot of help, but his secretary was on the ball. She made copies of things we needed copies of, and was very efficient. The lawyer got me all confused, because the will said I wanted to be cremated, and I have never made up my mind about that. So, he took that part out. We came home, settled down a little, then had dinner that Brittany prepared. She is a sweet granddaughter. Tonight the High Priest group leaders came over to get acquainted.

We have done a lot of talking and planning about what to store and what to take to the apartment, but we really haven't accomplished anything. Karen came over and helped us, and we measured pieces of furniture and tried to picture them in the apartment. Carla had a good idea when we talked to her tonight. She suggested the Villas de Carlsbad probably have already measured the exact length of all the pieces of wall in the apartment, and we won't have to go measure them ourselves. I'll call in the morning and see if they do. I may have to exchange the piano for a shorter one. I'll talk to the store about that next time we have to go to the Kaiser Clinic in San Marcos; the store is close by. Brittany has gone to Bianca's place to help her celebrate her birthday.

A good Sunday.

We went to Sacrament Meeting this morning. One of the speakers, both of whom were very good, was our former Sunday School teacher, who is now on the Stake Board. It was good to see and hear him again. We sat with Karen, and after the meeting, the Bishop said he would come over in the afternoon; he is our home teacher. I was shaky, so we came home after that meeting. The Bishop came about 4 p.m. We told him about our projected move to Villas De Carlsbad, and he said we could stay in his ward; it takes only the permission of one of the Stake Presidency to approve it. And he didn't think there would be any problem with that. Brittany went to work at the golf course and then to the gym, so she didn't get back until about 7p.m. Later we watched an interview with the Obamas after their visit to the White House.

The final rites for the boy across the street were today. We saw the hearse come to the house, and lots of people gathered, and later the ceremony was over. I didn't see it, but Brittany saw the hearse drive away sometime later and the people leaving the house. This morning I had my hair done, and Chris did some shopping while I was there. We came home and had some lunch, and then we went back to Home Depot and paid for the new storage shed with a discover card instead of a check. This afternoon Brittany went down to the beach for a while, and it was hot even there. I fell asleep in one of the blue-green rockers; I didn't think I would, because it isn't a recliner. Later we saw our usual Saturday night shows. Brittany got back just as were about to have dinner. She sat with us, and ate her own special food. I'd like to cook for her, but darned if we don't have something in our food often, that she won't eat, being a vegetarian.

We did mean to go pay for the new shed, but we never did get to it. Tomorrow is another day. We spent most of the day trying to plan a move to the apartment, except for going out to lunch for a fish sandwich. We did go buy a plant and a sympathy card to take to the Lopez family . A young member of the family was killed in an auto accident; he was only 18 years. old! We took the plant and card over to the house (across the street on the corner) and sympathized with the family for a while, then came home. They had invited us to the funeral, but we didn't want to go, it would no doubt be in Spanish, and Catholic. Brittany's work at Disneyland has been postponed a week, and she's at loose ends right now. We are not very good company for her.

It has been a

We made another step today in getting ready for the apartment; we found a storage shed, similar to the one already on the south of the house, at Home Depot. It's 10ft. by 12ft. and will fit right next to the one Al bought. Tomorrow we will go back and arrange for it to be delivered and set up (included in the price of $1,000). Karen called while we were there, and she came over to Home Depot and looked at it, too. Then all three of us went to McDonald's for a drink and a nice chat. At home again we went through a couple of shelves of videos, and picked out the ones we had DVD's of, and set aside the rest to check out to see if we want to save them. There's lots of stuff to sort out.

A momentous discision.

We finally made a decision about moving to the senior place; we will move into a two-bedroom two- bath apartment and see how we like it. We will rent out this house and not try to sell it, in case we want to move back here. Maybe we will be like Mac and Marge McDonald, and come back again. We will store what furniture we don't want to take, but maybe get rid of some of it. In any case, we will store what we would need back here again. Ever since we made our deposit and got on the waiting list, we have been trying to decide what to take and what to store. There's just so much stuff! .

Two new considerations.

We didn't do much this morning, but this afternoon Karen drove us to the Vandever Kaiser Offices, where Chris had an appointment to have his eye tested again. We were afraid that his vision would be worse, and the doctor would start a series of eye injections. But, fortunately, the eye wasn't any worse and he didn't have the injection. He will have to go back Dec. 22 for another test. I was supposed to go the the Alpha Chi auction and boutique tomorrow, but I canceled out on it. I just want to go back the Las Villas de Carlsbad tomorrow; Chris made an appointment to do that, and I would rather do that, and check out details I forgot about the day we were there. Both Karen and Carla have seen the place, and they think we should move in, at least for a trial of a few months. We will keep this house, in case we want to move back.

Brittany went to work early at the golf course, and we got up up early, too, because Roy was coming to clean the house. While he was here, Mr. Lopez, the gardener from across the street and on the corner came over. He told us that his nephew, who lived there, too,was killed in an accident on Friday night. That explains all the cars parked around the house on Saturday and Sunday. We will send flowers when we learn where and when the funeral will be. Karen came over in the afternoon and brought Mitzy for a visit. She meant to leave her here while she went on some errands, but the little cat tried her best to get out the screen door to go, too. So, after a little longer visit Karen left with her, too. Brittany got home a while ago, and she was tired and disgusted with her job. But next week she will be working at Disneyland, and that will be better.

Our Sunday.

We went to one session of church and then came home. For some odd reason my balance wasn't working right. I took a pill for that, read the paper and had a little nap. I felt better. We went to Karen's for dinner. We waited half and hour for Brittany, who was coming from work on the Carlsbad Crossings golf course. She got there just after we sat down at the table. It was a nice dinner, as it always is at Karen's. We played a little with the cat and then came home. It was almost dark by the time we got here. Brittany came by the freeway and beat us home! Tonight we talked to Carla and then to Kaye. Kaye told us our great grand baby left the hospital and is staying with his parents at Ronald McDonald house close by, in Seattle, while waiting for a new heart. We all are hoping and praying it won't be a long wait.

It has been a quiet day. Jesse called and said she wouldn't be here until 11a.m. so we just slowed down a little more. After she arrived, she put some clothes in the washing machine and then helped me get a pan to soak my feet. After they soaked 20 minutes, Jesse cut my toenails. She was too careful and didn't get them short enough. I guess I'll have the regular beauty operator, who does my hair, to do it next time. At noon Jesse got our lunch, and then she finished the washing and put things away. She is a good worker, she grew up on a farm. We were talking about the Villas de Carlsbad, and she wanted to know about them. So I showed her the brochure we got Sunday. Chris also talked about building a storage garage on the south lot to keep our extra things if and when we go to the Villas. We can still come back to the house if we don't like it there.

Today we were a little more active. We went to the beach, where we met Karen for lunch. We furnished the sandwiches this time; we got a new kind of pizza sandwich, also with lettuce, tomato and pickles on it. It was quite different; I had trouble with mine when the chicken pieces kept falling out! But it was a good sandwich, and we had sodas with the sandwiches. It was a beautiful day, but the wind was blowing so hard I didn't dare go for the walk I wanted, because I was just over the earache I have had for more than a week. At home again we talked to Brittany, and she doesn't work at the Carlsbad golf course again until Sunday, so she is going to visit in the L.A. area and also go to Cal. State at Fullerton to check on her registration in January, to make sure it's all set up. She'll be back here Saturday night.

Im back again

This is the first time I've felt like writing in several days. We did have some news, on Suday after church we went to see Las Villas de Carlsbad , a retirement community. It looks like a place we could move to, if we can no longer stay in our house. But that will not be very soon. We are both in quite good condition now. And it would be a real effort to get down to the furniture that would fit into a two-bedroom apartment, to say nothing of all the other stuff we have in this house. But they do have a pool there, and water exercises three times a week. That's a big draw. But we have Brittany living with us now, and we don't want to leave until she is settled in a place of her own or a dorm at school in January. We have plenty to time to think about it.

Caden on GreatGrandad's birthday

This was a nice day. Carla drove us to the hair dressers' shop, and I had my hair washed and set and Chris had his toenails treated and trimmed. Carla picked us up, and we came home and had some lunch. Then Carla baked her dad a birthday cake. Brittany came back from working at the Carlsbad Crossing golf course, and then we went to Karen and Terry's house for the birthday dinner. Uncle Al was there, too, and we all enjoyed Chris' birthday. At home again Carla and Brittany got dressed us for a party at Travis Westermeyer's house, and they left, and we watched a little TV. Then we looked at the picture of Caden in his Halloween costume. We talked to Danya and watched her as we talked on the computer. This is something quite new to me. We also talked to Bianca and Candace and Kaye on the cell phone.