The big news of today was that Karen and Terry bought and brought over the new big TV that will hang on the wall at the apartment. It is the Toshiba we looked at the other day . I'm sure it will be perfect there. Then we can see it from the recliners, and it will be flanked by the green chairs. I tried to get some more packing done, but it was slow work. I was hoping it would be over by today, but we'll spend another two days at least. That will be interupted on Friday by the nurse from Villas de Carlsbad, by a funeral on Saturday, and my hair appointment. I'm going to buy a wig, but I will wait until we have finished moving. Karen fixed our lunch, great soup she makes, and the pumpkin bread. She helped us with the packing we did do. And she brought over some more boxes for things we will take with us. I'm feeling better tonight than I did last night; for some reason I lost my dinner then . Just tired, I guess.

This morning Bill Townsend came over and took the light from the computer room and put it up in the new shed, so we will have light out there. Also, he ran all the electric wires, so it will work. I packed a couple of boxes and separated out what to take and what to store. Then Chris and I went to Burger King for lunch, and then on to the Villas De Carlsbad. They wanted us to look at a stain in one bedroom carpet, and see if we would still move in. It would take too long to put it in new, and we'd have to postpone our move, so we will just keep it and cover up the spot. We can have guests in, since we have two bedrooms, so Race can stay here when and if he comes down, also Kaye and Carla. Karen came over and a lot of the work with packing. For some reason I have developed a cough, perhaps it's all the dust we are stirring up. Anyway, I'm taking L Licene and hot lemonade. I called Mary Lou Rector, because it's her birthday today, St. Patrick's Day. Her son and family live only about 25 miles from here, the other side of Camp Pendleton. Next time she comes down, we will get together. She still lives in Salt Lake City.

This morning we got a lot done preparatory to moving. Roy was here, and he moved the first 9 boxes to store in the new shed. Karen came over and helped pack what we want to take to the apartment. Then she and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought 2 shower curtains, and then we went to Anna's Linens and bought 2 sets of bathroom rugs. At home again we packed them to go and did a few more things. Karen went home, but will come back tomorrow. Also, Bill Townsend is coming to help with the rest of getting ready. We are trying to use up the frozen dinners, etc. that have meat in them, so Brittany will not have to handle them. I had a Marie Calendar pot pie and Chris had a Banquet dinner, peas and ice cream. I baked a pumpkin quick bread, and we each had a slice.

Chris had a bad nose bleed in the night, so he didn't feel up to going to Church. So Karen picked me up and we went. The Stake Presidency were there, and the new Bishop and his counselors, and they all gave good talks. The Ward Choir was in fine shape, too. When we got home we found Chris still in his pajamas in the recliner, resting. In a little while he got up, and we looked at our plan of the apartment, and re-arranged the furniture again! Oh well, it will all work out. We had a bite to eat, and then we started packing boxes again. We will have 9 or 10 boxes to have Roy put in the shed in the morning. And Bill Townsend is coming over again to move the drafting table to his house. I hope it works out. We talked to Kaye later, and we saw pictures of Caden she had put on our computer. And again we skyped Kaye. It's so nice to be able to see her without having to go up to Wash. or having her come down here. Race is still coming down, though, about 3 days after we've moved.

Today I meant to locate the furniture on the map Carla and Karen made, but instead I just went on deciding what to take from the linen closet and which blankets and sheets to take, and which down things. That is mostly decided now, so tomorrow we can concentrate on the placing of the furniture. We skyped with Stellan and Caden, but the baby wasn't too happy. I think he still thinks he will see Kaye and Kyle when anyone mentions Grandma and Grandpa. But he is now crawling, so that's good, and he is teething. We talked to Kaye a couple of times, but didn't skype. She is thinking about coming down when Race comes, but I think she may wait a while, and get things going on her addition to their house. We will see what happens. Race will help us get our computers hooked up in the apartment, and that will be a big help.

This morning I went around to the 9 boxes I have packed for storage, and with the occasional help from from Chris (Russ) and Brittany, I marked each box with a number and the contents of each. I also made a list to keep in my desk. After that, we had lunch, and I tried to get some more boxes ready, but I didn't do well. Then I went to get a perm. After I was done, Chris picked me up and we had our supper at Taco Bell, but came home for ice cream. We watched the news on TV. Kaye called, and we talked about Race's visit and then about Kaye's. I hope we can get mostly settled before they come. We started out with the idea of the 2-bedroom apartment, then the 1-bedroom, and now we are back to the 2. I will have to use Karen's and Carla's layouts that are to scale, to decide where everything will be. Kaye said Race will be coming down after we move to help set up the computers in the apartment. Then perhaps later, Kaye will come down for a visit. Race can stay at Karen's and drive our car, but Kaye can't stay there, she is allergic to cat hair, and Karen's kitten has the run of the house. Brittany will mostly stay here until her spring break, and will move then to Fullerton.

I just looked at the skypes of Caden, and he is really cute! I'm so glad he is doing so well. Now back to my day. This morning I missed the first alarm and didn't get up until 8:30. I had my sponge bath because the sore on my leg is still there, and then I got dressed. We had a good breakfast, cooked by my dear husband. Then we went to Boney's grocery for green groceries. Later Brittany went out and bought milk and some things she wanted, so we have a full refrigerator for the last week we are here. Birttany will go the day after we do. She won't take her things until her spring break from the U. After our lunch we had a rest and then went out to check the things in the old shed, that were sitting out in the yard. There are two trunks that are empty, and we can use for other things, and a wardrobe that Karen brought over for us to use for clothes we want to take. We'll need at least one more. .

I just re-read my yesterday's blog. Karen showed us some keyboards that will sub for the piano, and said we could just use more of our chairs instead of the sofa. I think everything will work out OK. Today I went to the AXO Alum meeting, and I enjoyed it. Everyone was nice to me, and even applauded when one member said how nice I looked! Linda, my ride to the meetings, lives in Carlsbad, and she says we can still ride together. However, she will be out of town when the next meeting is scheduled. When I got home, I rested (sound asleep, Russ said.) Then we watched two newcasts on TV, and then we had our dinner. Afterward Russ helped me get the news on the TV, since we will stop our newspaper next week. We talked to Kaye, and she has new skypes of Caden she will put on our Computer tomorrow. It's so nice to have that feature, because we aren't likely to be going to Seattle to see them. Linda, who is the nurse who said Seattle was good hospital for transplants, asked about Caden, and said it was great that they found a new heart for him in a short time.

This morning Karen came over and drove us to my Dr. appointment in Vista. It lasted only 15 minutes, so we had time to do some shopping. We looked at the new big screen TVs in three different places, and decided that a 37 or 40 inch screen is big enough to see across the living room at the apartment. We like the Toshiba (?) and it can sit on top of a bookcase we now have in our bedroom. The DVD players, etc. can be on shelves below it. That way the screen won't have to be mounted on the wall. I hope I've got that right. After doing this shopping we had lunch, and then Karen brought us back home. We brought into the bedroom the chests Carla had painted for us yesterday, and they seem to fit nicely, and they will provide more storage for our clothing. We also decided to take only one bookcase full of books and store all the rest. I will pack the others away when I get home from the Alpha Chi alumnae meeting tomorrow. This will probably be my last meeting, because I will no longer live on the way for the ride I now have.

This morning Rex helped Russ to move the bed frames closer, so we won't stub our toes getting into bed. And Carla painted the gray chests a nice brown to match the dresser. They left about 11:30 to go to Bianca's, where Rex was going to a suteur ? class with Bianca. Then they flew back to Eugene. Since then we have been puzzling about what to take to the small apartment, and getting ready to move. It was a trial to decide to take the small apartment, but we finally agreed it was best. We really enjoyed the little movies Kaye sent of Caden crawling for the first time. He was so ill before the new heart, it's amazing how he is now developing into a normal baby. I

Caden plays Guitar

Caden /Dad/Grandad

Caden Crawls

Caden's new apartment

I'm 2 days behind.

The news is that Carla and Rex arrived, and and they have been helping us decide between the two apartments. The final consensus is that we will take the one bedroom one. That is because the cost of the two bedroom is out of range, and we wouldn't have anything left to live with besides the bare expenses there. And we are wanting a little to squander once in a while. We have enjoyed our visit with family. Bianca came down, but she had to go back tonight. Today we went to church to hear Karen give a talk, but the program was changed, and instead we got a new bishop and bishopric. I was very upset that they didn't even mention Karen, and she sat there with all the bigwigs during the entire meeting. tonight we had dinner at Karen's, and then came back home for bed. I'll write again tomorrow.

We'll keep you posted on the apartment.

The woman from Villas de Carlsbad called this morning, and said the 2-bedroom apartment is available, and they were giving us first chance on renting it. So, we are going over there tomorrow and look at it. If it's in as good a location and the 1-bedroom one, we will rent that one. I hope Karen will be able to come with us to see it. Today we went to lunch with Don and Harriette Long and Lenon Bezant, our friends from Fallbrook. Harriette is 90 now, and she is bent almost double with her osteoporosis. Lenon looks better, but she is younger. I hope I can continue to stand upright. I take my pills and calcium, so I think that will do it. I won't use the walker if I can help it. We talked to Kaye, and Caden has two infected ears, so they won't be driving to the tri-cities this weekend. That's a good thing, because there's a blizzard up on the mountain, and the road is completely closed now. Kaye and Kyle will drive to Seattle when the weather is better, to see their grandchild.

New plans may be in order.

I didn't get to blog yesterday. But the High Priest Group Leader in our ward came over, and he made a list of all the things we want to get rid of. Already it's having an effect; someone is coming over tomorrow afternoon to take the bookcase with the Enclyclopaedia Britannia that's in it. Danya, Brittany and Bianca all have picked out some other things. This morning we went to see Dr. Donahoe, and he filled out the medical history that Las Villas de Carlsbad needs before we move in. Then we had lunch with Karen at Carl's Jr. in Carlsbad. Then we went to the apartment to check out the paper pieces of furniture that are to go into the one bedroom. While we were there doing that, the woman showing us around, quietly told Karen that a two-bedroom apartment may be available before we move in. So, we have to re-think that plan. We can take more than we thought! But I want to see that one before we move, it may not be in the right location, facing south. The 1-bedroom one is close to to everything, like the elevator, stairs, library, exercise room, and it's not hard to get to the diningroom and lounge and pool.

Another busy day

I had real trouble getting those support pantyhose on over my bandage. The wound has been bothering all day. I have on only some legs of a pair of old Legs pantyhose, but I still am glad to have a painkiller. Also, I'm glad I have an appointment with our own doctor on Wednesday. We had both Roy and Bill Townsend here this morning. Roy cleaned the house, and Bill emptied the older shed, so we now know what is there. It's sitting out on the ground, with a canvas cover over it, so we can keep it dry if it rains (10% chance of it). We will go over it tomorrow. The orchid was blown off its stool a while ago, and today Chris tied it up and moved it close to the house, so it will have some support. I hope it lives. We have given away the others. I packed the last box of books to store, so we can have someone put them in the new storage shed. Karen came over again and helped us sort things. Did I say that we have happy-face stickers on the furniture we intend to take to the apartment, and star stickers on that we will give away? We still have to mark the ones to store. Karen is making paper patterns of the furniture we are taking, and we'll go see if it really fits in the apartment, perhaps tomorrow.

I didn't write anything yesterday; it was late before I got to it, and I went to bed instead. Today we went to Sacrament Meeting, and afterward we found that all our friends in the Ward knew we were moving this month. They all offered to help us, and we did take up Bill Townsend's offer, because he had worked for us once before, and he doesn't have a stead job, now that building houses has dropped off. He protested taking money last time, but we insisted. He needs it. Karen came over this afternoon and helped me sort out clothes, those I would take and those to store or give away. She took some things to take to Brother Benno's second-hand shop. Brittany went to Fullerton to find a place to live after we've moved. She found two, and has to pick one. She goes back up there tomorrow for her classes. After dinner I sorted the religious books, and I'll offer some, not gifts to us, to the ward library. The rest we'll take with us to the apartment. And I have one more box of books to pack and store. We skyped with Kaye, and she sent us some of the most recent pictures of Caden she has received.He looks a little better than last time.