Monday morning went as usual. We went to breakfast, and while we were there, the cleaning lady came to clean, and we went to the coffee shop downstairs. I read the paper and Chris glanced at the headlines. He soon went up to the apartment, and we met later at the Gentle Yoga class. The main teacher is still on vacation, and the sub still hasn't yet learned the routine; she has to read the paper she puts down on the floor, and sometimes picks up, to find out what the next exercise is. This will be her last week, so we will have the regular teacher back next week, thank goodness. We didn't do much, except go to lunch, which we ate lightly, because Karen and Terry had invited us to a barbecue at 4:3o. After lunch we went for a walk just around the neighborhood. There was a strong wind blowing, so it wasn't that great. When we got back I had a rest and Chris worked at the computer until it was time to go to Karen's. I did the driving, because Chris still has trouble with his eyes, although he didn't like to have me driving. It was a good thing it wasn't far the Karen's, and we made it there and back safely. It was a nice dinner and we enjoyed the company. Karen sent a piece of the steak home with me, because I told them we didn't get steak here, I guess because many can't chew it! After we got home I called Kaye, and she still sounds sick with that darn cold. I hope she soon gets better. She was too tired to talk, so it was just a few words, she was tired having just had a shower.

This is Sunday, and after breakfast I went down to the coffee shop and read the newspaper. then I went up to the apartment and picked up my purse, and Chris and I went down to the lobby to meet Karen who was driving us to the church. A new friend here, Dorothy Stolte, came with us. One of her sons is Mormon, and all his family. She didn't tell us that at first, she just asked if she could go to church with us. Of course we said yes. It was a long Sacrament Meeting, with lots of noisy kids. When our children were young, there was a separate room, with glass in front of it, just off the chapel. The people with noisy children would take them there during the service, but they could hear and see everything going on. I thought that was a splendid idea, and I was sorry the church gave up that policy. Karen's husband refuses to go to this Church because of all the noise. He goes to the Presbyterian Church just down the street from their house, although he was baptized a Mormon. We got back here in time for lunch, and today mine stayed down. We had a rest, and then we went for a walk, just around the Villas, and then came back inside for our dinner. It was all right, but I spilt tomato sauce on the skirt of my "Le Suit" suit. It is polyester, but lined and everything, so it says "dry clean", and I will have to take it in. I did try to sponge it off, but I don't know if I did any good doing that. We'll see after it's dry cleaned.

For some reason I had a restless night, and I woke up an hour before the alarm went off. I didn't get up, though, I waited for the alarm. Then I did get up and showered. Then we went to breakfast. All went well, and I came back to the apartment, sat in my recliner and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was almost time for lunch. So we waited a little while before going to the dining room, where we both had lunch. Back at the apartment I had a coughing fit, and I lost the lunch. With that over, I just sat in the chair again, and read the paper. We have an appointment with our doctor next Tuesday, and we will see if it's just that we are getting older, or there is something else wrong. I had a light supper, and it stayed down, so I guess I am better, from whatever was wrong. We watched a "Star Trek" movie we had seen before , but it was still interesting. Then I went to see Dorothy Stolpe, who told us the other day that she would like to go to church with us. So, we arranged to go together, and Karen is going to pick us up. This lady has a son who is a member, along with all his children, and I guess she just wants to come with us and see what it's like. I hope the children aren't too noisy, and that she enjoys the service. We will stay for only the Sacrament Meeting.

We spent a rather quiet day. After breakfast we got the laundry ready and I took it down to the laundry room. There was one machine ready, and soon another was, so I got our things into them. Then we went both went to the the mild exercise class, and we had a competent leader for it. After that I went back to the laundry room and got the clothes in the dryers. Soon they were dry, and I took them back to the apartment. Chris didn't feel very well, so he rested while I was gone. After about half an hour we went to lunch. Then Karen called, and she said she would be over, about 3;3o, and we would go down to the beach. I went to get my hair done, and Chris picked up the mail and checked out the program for the rest of the day. There was nothing we wanted to do, so we stayed in the apartment until Karen called and we met her downstairs. We drove with her to the beach, with a soda pop each, and we enjoyed the beautiful day and the ocean, while she told us about her trip to Arroyo Grande, and what was going on at the house she and Terry had bought. It was being repaired and furnished, so Terry's granddaughter was going to live there over the summer, until she gets a job. She just graduated from college, and her payment for house sitting and overseeing the remodeling will be a small used car that Karen and Terry will get for her. We talked to Carla, and things are OK with them. We called Kaye, and she has a very bad cold. Kyle was there, and he told us about it, since she couldn't say much. I'm glad he has Fridays off, as well and Saturday and Sunday, so he could take care of her.

After breakfast this morning I read the paper and Chris got the news off the computer. Then we went to the advanced exercise class. The sub in this class didn't even know what the exercises were, she had to look at a paper she had, then direct the next exercise. About half way through the hour, Chris started to cough and couldn't stop. He left the room, and after some minutes I followed his to find out what was the matter. He was all right; he told me he thought one of the women must be wearing a perfume that set off the coughing spell. We just didn't go back into the room, but went back to the apartment. After a little while, it was such a nice day that we decided to go out for a walk. We took the walker, with me behind it and him holding to one of the handles, with a cane in his other hand. It worked fine. We walked down Laguna Dr. to Jefferson and back to the Villas. That was plenty of walking for both of us. After that we watched part of video we started yesterday, in the "Lord of the Rings" series, until lunch time. After lunch we came back and watched it a while longer, until my visiting teacher, Peggy Plylor came over. she stayed an hour, and told us all about their recent travels around Washington D.C. and New York, and she didn't get to her message at all. So she gave me a copy of it. We talked briefly to Kaye, and she has a cold, darn. Also we talked to Carla, and she is in Bandon, cleaning up their little apartment at the golf course, because a friend was coming to stay in it a few days. She also told me more about the beach house they have recently bought. It needs new windows, because the frames aren't functioning right. I guess they can fix that.

Today has been quieter, since we had done so much yesterday, we are resting up! We did go to all the meals, though. And I went downstairs to read the paper, since we don't subscribe to one anymore. When I got back Chris and I went to the Gentle Exercise class. The usual teacher is on vacation, and our substitute is the same girl who substituted in the pool last summer. She was very good, even more so than the usual instructor. Of course, we got more tired, but it was worth it to get good exercise. I'm still reading in Patricia Briggs' latest book to be published, and I did that in the morning and part of the afternoon. But most of our time was taken up by watching two different videos of "The Lord of the Rings". One was "The Two Towers" and the other was "The Return of the King", which we haven't finished yet. I have forgotten many details of the story, so it's fun to watch them again, after several years. We talked to Karen, and she has talked to the yard man at the house they bought in Arroyo Grande. She feels better about the yard now, but I couldn't tell if she had him cover up the pools in the front yard. I missed part of the conversation. But she did go shopping in Santa Maria, and she did see Lynn and all the children, including the new baby. She will be back in a couple of days, and we will get the details then. We talked to Kaye, and she was going to their literary group meeting tonight. I didn't get where it would be, for some reason I had trouble hearing the cell phone. And I have misplaced my cell phone, darn.

This is supposed to be the warmest day of the week, and the beach will be free of clouds by noon. So, we had the dining room prepare us sandwiches, and we took them and went to Tamarack Beach, where we can park in the handicapped section without paying the $2 it will cost the other people there. We sat and looked at the beach, water and waves and blue skies, while we ate our lunch. Then we decided to go walking, as we used to do there. We had brought the walker, and I used it and Chris held on the one side, and walked with his cane as we went along. We didn't walk as far as we used to do, but we did go about half way there. We stopped and watched the waves, and then we walked back. It was a good long walk for us. We drove back to Las Villas and came upstairs to the apartment, and we rested a while, and I read in Patricia Briggs' new book, "Silver Borne", which I think I have read some of before now. It seems that way. I'm sitting at the big computer in the extra room, and the heat just came on. It feels good. Although it has been about 67 degrees all day outside, we like it warmer in the apartment. At least I do, and Chris puts up with me on that. What should be warm, feels cool to me, I don't know why I need more heat than other people seem to do. It can't be loss of weight, because I have gained back all I lost when I had pneumonia just after we moved here, and I have gained a little more. Karen called, and she will come home on Thursday, and she is still happy about buying the house in Arroyo Grande, and that's good, I guess. She and Terry are both tired of the heavy traffic down here. And it's also close to Lynn and Jamie's children and grandchildren, and both Candace and Danya will be closer, too.

I missed writing on Sunday. I can't think of any reason, I guess we just went to sleep all afternoon, and then watched some shows on TV in the evening. But we did go to church. Karen came and picked us up, and she brought us back here after Sacrament Meeting. There is a woman here who wants to go with us next Sunday, so I'll have to remember to ask Karen if that's OK when she gets back from Arroyo Grande on Thursday. She went up there to check on the pond she doesn't like in the front yard. Now I'll get on to Monday. Today after going to breakfast, we went to our bank to deposit a refund check from the I.R.S., and then we went to Walmart in that area and walked around to see what they have done by way of remodeling and adding a bigger food section. It is a mixed-up mess, except there is one good thing they are doing, and that's not having the shelves so high. I could see over them, and that helped us to find some soap we wanted to buy. We came back here for lunch, but there was a message saying Chris needed to have blood drawn. So, I drove us down to the Kaiser Clinic in south Carlsbad, and he had it done. I also made appointments for both of us, together, to see Dr. Donahoe on June 1. We both feel we need a consultation on our conditions, and possibly some more medications to relieve some minor problems. We talked to Kaye a couple of times, today was her shot day, and she needed cheering up. Also, we had a nice surprise call from Candace, telling us they have bought a motor-home and plan to use it when they aren't busy at their jobs. She remembers trips we used to take, with both Candace and Danya, when they were young, in our various motor-homes.

Another day at the "home", as Al calls these retirement communities. We had breakfast, and then Chris went for a walk while I sat in the living room downstairs and read the paper. My ankle and foot are still swelling, so I sat with my feet up on a little settee. When he got back we went up to our apartment, and after giving Chris his eye drop, I read a while, until it was time to go to lunch. We went to the lunch, and while we were there Karen called, but didn't talk, said she would call us after lunch. We went back to the apartment, and Karen soon called and asked us if we would like to go for a ride down to the beach. Of course we said yes, and went downstairs, I mean by elevator, and met her at the door. She drove down to Tamarack Beach, and we sat there in the first handicapped space, and watched the waves. There was a sign saying Danger, no Swimming. The waves were huge, and there was an undertow, and there were only three surfers in the water. They tried to ride the waves, but they had a bad time, sometimes being thrown in the air, and sometimes just covered with the waves. They were brave souls, to be in there at all, the waves were much taller than they were. After a while Karen told us there was trouble at the new house, a pond not working right, and the man she had hired to take care of the yard wasn't doing it. Terry had come back from there, and had reported this, and the yard man had talked to her on the phone, and she told us she would fire him when she goes up there and hire someone else. When we got back to the apartment, Kaye called. She also sent an email of the new sofa and recliner she and Kyle bought for the new house. She is thrilled with the house, and can't wait to move in.

My ankle began to swell last night, and it was painful to walk. Chris gave me a Tylenol tablet, and that helped stop the pain, and I went to sleep OK. This morning I could walk, but a little more slowly than usual. We had our breakfast, and I read the paper while Chris looked at the news on TV. After that we went to the mild exercise class, and then came back to the apartment until Karen called. She had been having medical tests in San Marcos, but she invited us to go with her to the beach for lunch. We got out our sodas and ordered a sandwich from the dining room, and we met her at the front entrance at noon. She drove us along the beach to the stretch just before Tamarack street. There was a wind, so she parked along the grass strip, and we stayed in the car to eat our lunch. We had the windows facing the ocean open, so we got just a little of the breeze going by. We watched the ocean, and enjoyed our sandwiches and drinks. Afterward Karen drove us back here, and we were here just in time for me to go to my hair appointment. The operator was behind in her work, so it took me two hours to get done there. Back at the apartment we rested a bit. I had been putting a drop of medication in Chris' eye with every meal we had, and I will give him another one at bedtime. His eye seems less red and he says it doesn't hurt much anymore. And he can use it to see now. He doesn't do computer work, but he watches the TV, and also some old programs we have saved. I think by the time he is done with the five days of eye drops, his eye will be working all right.

After breakfast this morning, Chris went for an half hour walk outside, mostly around this area. After he got back, I went for a walk, hoping to get down to Jefferson St. in 15 minutes. I was about three houses from that street when the 15 minutes were up, so I went back to the apartment, in the next 15 minutes. I had to stop three times, though, because I got tired. I still have a long way to go to get my strength back up where it was a month or so before we moved here. I guess I just didn't realize what an effort it is to move at our time in life. There will be one more move when Karen and Terry move to the house she just bought in Arroyo Grande, and we follow them up there. Chris' eye seems to be improving today. It's not as red as it was yesterday. I hope what the doctor does keeps his sight for him. I'd hate to see him lose it, like Bob McDonald did ; he is legally blind now. This afternoon we did the laundry, and while it was washing, I had my fingernails painted by the athletic director here. I don't think I will try that again. I can still do a better job than she did. I was 12th in line to have it done, maybe she was just worn out. We talked to Karen and to Carla and to Kaye today, and that was about the best thing that happened. They all seem to be getting along well. Karen is already packing some things for their move, but that won't be for almost a year from now. Carla is expecting Logan and Meret to move back to Eugene soon, where Logan will finish his schooling, and I suppose Meret will work as a lawyer. Kaye is happy about their new house, and she and Kyle will be getting ready to move into it.

Things went today just as we expected. Karen picked us up at 7:20 this morning and we drive to San Diego in rush hour traffic. Fortunately she had allowed enough time to get us there just at 8:30, in time to get into see the doctor at 8:45. There were people working on the road in front of the offices, but Karen was able to get us there where we could get out and go through the parking garage, and into the building. Chris got in to see the assistant, who checked and dilated his eyes, and the doctor saw him right afterward. Dr. Dick put several different things in his eyes, that hurt, and when Chris would move his eyes from looking straight up, because each thing hurt, he told him to look straight up. So, I knew it was hurting him, and that made me feel hurt, too, out of sympathy. When the doctor was through doing this, he gave us a prescription to have filled at the pharmacy, and said he should come back every month for more treatments. We picked up the medicine at the pharmacy, and then left to drive back here. Karen dropped us off and went home, where the cat was to greet her. Terry had gone up to the house in Arroyo Grande for four days, to take some of his things and arrange them there. We had a rest, and then went to dinner. The eye was still sore from the treatments, but Chris handled it well. We sat with friends, and he talked with them and ate a good fruit salad . So, he is handling the day, and the realization that he will keep the sight in this eye for a while yet.

We had our three meals here, and we spent most of the time waiting for a phone call from Chris' eye Doctor in San Diego. Chris' one remaining good eye has been reducing his vision for over a week now, and so he called his office for an appointment. Finally, about 4:30, we finally got a call back, which said the Doctor's only time available was at 8:45 tomorrow morning, before he leaves the office, on a trip, I guess. Karen said she would drive us down there, starting at 7:20 a.m. from here. That will be during rush hour, and I hope we make it in time. We have spent the day mostly in the apartment waiting for that call, but after we got it we did go for a short walk around the buildings here. The fog had cleared, and we had some sunshine for a while. I enjoyed getting out. I'm hoping that this doctor can do something to save Chris' sight. It would be a shame if he loses sight in his right eye, as he has in the left one. I hope and pray it will be all right. Kaye called, and she told us the floors in the new house need another surface coat, and she hasn't been able to get the finisher to come back and do it. I do hope the builder will get him back to put it on. She must be happy in this new house; she has lived in that old one too long as it is.

Today we went to breakfast as usual, and then came back to the apartment. I got out the clean sheets for the maid who comes on Mondays to clean the apartment and put clean sheets on the bed. She also takes the towels, and she will bring them back clean tomorrow. It's a great deal here at Las Villas. All meals are prepared and served in the dining room. Sometimes we take things back to the apartment, if we can't finish them in dining room. So, sometimes we don't go to all three meals. We have both gained weight since we moved here. I keep thinking I will cut down on what I eat, but I don't. We have thought about missing the noon meal every day, but we haven't yet. We talked to Kaye today, and she was at the new house again. Her voice echoes in the empty house, but they are moving in slowly, a few boxes at a time, and soon they will be done. I'm so glad they will have a nice place to live from now on. We also talked to Carla, and things are going well with them. Bianca is going home for a visit at the end of the month, and that will be a nice thing for her parents, and for her, too. It would be nice if Brittany could go, too, but there has been no talk of that. Every night I go walking (with the walker) in the halls of this floor, at least two rounds, yesterday three. I think it helps me sleep. Often Chris does the same thing. I thought he would now, but instead he has the TV on in the living room. We have been going over old movies to see if they are worth keeping, and some aren't. Parts are missing on each of the old ones.

Karen called last night, and she said she would come over and pick us up at 10 a.m. today, and we would go down to the beach for half an hour, and then go to the church. I put on the dress Kaye gave me for my birthday, and my long sweater coat, and it all happened as she had said. At church I had both my hearing aids in my ears, but as Chris had told me about his, the hearing aids just magnified all the noises around me, especially all the children in the building. I couldn't hear what most of the four speakers said. Next time I will leave the hearing aids home, and get one of the hearing aids from the church library, that are connected directly with the podium, and also with the Sacrament table. They cut out almost all of the noise of the children in the audience, and you can really hear the speakers. After the Sacrament Meeting we came back here and had our lunch. Since it is Sunday, I had the pie for dessert and was really filled up. Back at the apartment I sat and read in the book "The Firm" that I started once before, and I never did quite finish. It's interesting, but I have to pay complete attention, because I would miss the real meaning if I didn't. I wouldn't finish this time, but I want to get it done, so I can put it away for good. We talked to both Kaye and Carla, and my conversation with them was almost entirely on our proposed trip up to see them sometime this summer or fall. I hope it happens.

Today is Saturday, so there are no classes we wanted to attend. After lunch we went to Stater Brothers, because it was the closest market to this place. we couldn't find what we wanted, so we drove another half mile to Walmart. They are remodeling everything, and it took a long time to find only part of the things we went for. but we finally left, with most of them. Chris did the driving, although his eyesight isn't very good now. He did well, and we got back here to Las Villas in good time. This afternoon I put on the new nail polish I bought to go with the new dress Kaye gave me for my birthday. I will wear it to church tomorrow, and I had to get rid of the bright red polish I had put on one day here. The dress is a soft mauve, or maybe some maroon in the color. Kaye says she has one just like it, and she thinks Karen has one, too; I'll have to ask her about it when we go to church in the morning. The rest of today we spent the time watching a movie, and also some TV. We should have gone out and gone walking, but neither of us thought of it. We will have to walk in the halls tonight to make up for it. I guess we were just tired after the shopping earlier. We talked to Tom and Beth Weiland, our former neighbors in Oceanside. Now they live in the mountains east of Cedar City, Utah. They were good neighbors in Oceanside, and we miss seeing them. We talked to Kaye, and she is already happy in her new house, although they don't have all the furniture moved in yet.

It has been a busy day. First of all after breakfast I took the clothes down to the laundry room on the 2nd floor and put them in to wash. Then at 9:30 we went to the mild exercise class on the same floor. Afterward we went back to put the clothes in the dryers, and this time I stayed with them. Chris came down just as they were dry, and we brought them back up to the apartment. Some are put away, but I still have some to do. By then it was time for lunch on this floor, so we went to that. There were two new waiters, and we had one of them. But they are just as able to do the job as the ones that have been here since we first came, over a year ago. After lunch I drove, as we went to the Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Chris. There were clouds along the coast as we drove down the highway, but there were enough clear spots to make the ocean a light blue instead of the gray it is when the clouds cover the sky. We were tempted to stop at Tamarack Beach, but then we came on back here. after getting the medicine. We had some phone calls to make, and also needed to try to figure out just what to do with the house in Oceanside. Karen and her real estate agent will go to see it on Monday, and Carla will call and alert the renters. That gives them an opportunity to clean up the house, but I doubt they will have cleaned up all the weeds in the yard. We will see what Karen and the agent have to say about it after they have been there. We talked briefly to Kaye, but she was busy, so it was a short visit.

This morning we didn't go to the harder exercise class. I don't think it is good for my legs, they still have the lesions on them. Instead we stayed here until it was time to meet Al, to go to Karen's house for lunch. It was a nice lunch, as always, but Terry wasn't there. I wonder if perhaps Karen planned it that way. He was at the ship in San Diego harbor today. I had forgotten that. Karen told us more about their trip to Greece. She said she expected it to be mountainous, and it was. But there were lovely green valleys in between. There were lots of monasteries, mostly up on top of hills they had to climb. When they did climb up, they were happily surprised to be able to see them. They ended up in Turkey. When we got back to Las Villas we watched two episodes of Inspector Morse on the TV, I mean after having a nap and dinner. Now it is time to go bed, so I'll stop writing early tonight.

Our Day was much different from what I expected. After breakfast we went to the mild exercise class. Then I went to the beauty shop and checked on my appointment for Friday's hair do. It is still on. And I really need it. I can't skip a week from now on, my hair is a mess now. After lunch we drove to the College shopping center and picked up Chris' new eye glasses . While we were in the neighborhood we decided to go over to our house and see what we had stored in the sheds. We were shocked to see the yard. The front was overgrown, but not weeds. But the side and back yards are a mess of weeds, growing unchecked all over the yard. we couldn't even see the fence on the west, and the east fence is almost falling down, except for a few reinforcements placed along the whole side. Karen was going to have a real estate agent check it out on Monday, but we will have to get it in better shape before she comes. Of course we will get Carla, who is in charge of renting it out, to raise the rent, so we can hire someone to clean it up. That we will have to talk to her about. Later we went out again, this time to drive to the Kaiser Pharmacy for medicine refills. The ride was along the ocean, and it was clear and beautiful. We got the meds. and got back here in time for dinner. After that we watched the news, and I left the TV on, and saw part of World War II, that I had forgotten about, the British sinking the French fleet, so the Germans couldn't use it to invade England. It was awful to see the actual movies of it all. I hope I can sleep tonight without re-living it in my dreams.

We got up when the alarm went off and went through our usual morning routine. After breakfast I read the paper, and then we both went to the Stress and Flex exercise class, much harder than the Yoga one. We left after half an hour, because we were both tired. Back at the apartment I sat in the leather recliner and went sound asleep. Karen had invited us to go to the beach with her, so we picked up a sandwich and some sodas and met her in front of the building here. We drove to Tamarack Beach and parked right down by the sand, in a handicapped parking. We gave Karen a sticker to use when we were with her in her car, so we didn't have to pay the $2 they charge for regular parking places. We had our sandwiches while we watched the blue water and white waves. Karen said she had never seen water so blue as they saw off Greece and Turkey. She was really impressed by the color, and the also the green fields, and flowers that were in bloom in the villages there. She was really quite thrilled by it all. After she brought us back here she went home to plan for their move eventually to Arroyo Grande. She is faced by having to get rid of some things, because the house they are buying up there is large, but some of the rooms are awkwardly arranged, like one has the corners cut off, so there's planning to do. She said Terry is already planning how he will set up his study, and what to take and what to get rid of. That will be our problem, too, when we go up there. But that won't be for quite a while, from what Karen tells us of their plans.

Sometimes I don't know what to write, but today was unusual, because Karen and Terry are back from their trip to Greece. She came over this afternoon and told us about some of the things they did. The one problem they had was with walking. Terry has Parkinson's disease, and his leg swelled up with the unaccustomed walking, and they couldn't always keep up with the other members of the group. This was a different company conducting the tour this time, and I guess it was a little harder to keep up. When they got to a place where they had to walk up 100 large stone steps, just to see another abbey on top of a hill, Karen and Terry just stayed at the bottom and enjoyed the view of the landscape. Later today Karen was to take Terry to see a doctor, and we haven't heard from her since. I hope the leg gets better; Terry has a lot of volunteer work that he does usually. We had our regular three meals today, and I read two chapters in the book Carla gave me. Oh yes, Karen brought me a cute little box from Patmos, with a scene of the town painted on top. It will be nice to keep special pieces of jewelry inside. After she left, I had planned to go for a walk, since the clouds had parted and the sun was out, but I went to sleep instead. Since we moved here, three of the people living here, or in the care center in back of the three buildings of Las Villas, have passed away. It's a shock, but it shouldn't be; most of the people here are older than we are. And we should expect things like this to happen here. I guess it is the same at the other senior communities, also.

It is Mother's Day, and first of all, we got a phone call from Karen, and they were back in San Diego, and just getting their car to come home. Then I opened my presents, a book and candy from Carla, and a dress from Kaye. The dress fits fine, I just have to sew up the neckline a little, before I wear it. Kaye said she has one like it, and she thinks maybe Karen has one, also. It's a great dress for travel, and still pretty. The candy from Carla is good, and I'm sure the book will be interesting to read, it's by the first counselor on the Relief Society General Board. And Chris gave me an orchid corsage, that I wore to the dinner here, and now it is on display on our dining table. We did go to Church, and stayed for only the Sacrament Meeting. I'm not sure we could last through the other two meetings and still have the energy to drive back here afterward I'm anxious to talk to Karen about their trip to Greece. I've never been there, and it is a great place for the history of life in those early times when it was the center of the civilized world. In college my major was French and my minor was History. In spite of my age, I'm still interested in both; although my understanding of things is of course getting weaker. We just saw a Sherlock Holmes Mystery, that is about the extent of my involvement nowadays. We got an Email from Kendra Gillian, and it's nice that she still remembers us. Their youngest child will start kindergarten in the fall. It's been about six years since they left here. They are finally going to be sealed in the Temple, and that's good.

There was nothing spectacular happening today. We went to breakfast, lunch, and then dinner. But the last meal was a disaster. I tried the French Onion soup, and I swallowed a peppercorn. I started coughing and couldn't stop. Finally I threatened to throw up, so I went to the rest room. There was nothing really to come up, but a lot of mucus. Then, I went back to the dining room. I had part of a bowl of jello, and then came back to the apartment with Chris. I brought with me a slice of lemon pie, and half a glass of skim milk. In about an hour and a half I ate the pie, and I'm feeling OK. Chris ate something, half a sandwich and some ice cream, after his soup. We had a big breakfast and lunch, so we aren't in need of more food. I've gained 12 pounds since we moved here 14 months ago, and Chris has gained, too, but he hasn't got on the scale to find out how much. We can both tell we have gained because of the fact that our clothes are all a little snug now, except the red outfit that I will wear tomorrow. By the way, I had red polish put on my finger nails, to match the red outfit tomorrow. We talked to Kaye today, and it was a shot day, so she was mostly resting in bed. She said it wasn't as bad as usual. And she had talked to Caden on the phone. Karen called from New York, and they will be home tomorrow! That is surely good news. We miss her; and she is always here if we need her, and she is willing to drive us places if we can't get Joe , the bus driver here, to take us.

We just talked to Kaye, and she was in the new house, and she said the refridgerater is working and she put a sandwich in it, at least I think that is what she said. But she was happy with everything and that's what is important. She talked to Stellan and Caden, and that also made her happy. We had an e-mail from Karen and she said they would start home tomorrow. I hope that darn volcano stops erupting, so they won't have to fly so far south to get around it. She has told us that they did have a good time in Greece and Turkey. It will be good, too, to have them safely back home. We went to our three meals as usual today. However, we did do something different this afternoon. We went to the bank where we have a safety deposit box, and we got a list of the bonds we have there. I'm hoping that we won't spend any of them, but keep them for our daughters. We got back in time for a get-together in the living room downstairs, in honor of one of the women living here, who was a Wasp during World War 11. She told all about the women picking up new planes at the factory and flying them to the pilots who would take them overseas. Also, they would fly the planes that had been repaired, to make sure they were safe for use in the overseas battles. She was, and is, a brave little lady.

It has been another usual day at Las Villas. We haven't gone anywhere, just for a walk around the block, that took only about 1\2 hour. We didn't go to the hard exercise class, just used the walk as our exercise for today. The meals were as usual, and we came back with cookies, which we have since eaten. We talked to Carla and she says Bianca is come home for a few days. That will be nice, because it's Mother's Day on Sunday, and I know both Carla and Rex will be happy to have her there. Karen and Terry are starting home on Saturday, so they will soon be here, probably the next day. He has a brother in New York, so they may stay there a little longer. We get e-mails once in a while, so we don't know for sure. We talked to Kaye, too. and she said they are still having trouble with the sand coming in the new house. But she has plans from stopping it. I suggested the builder could put something on the bottom of the front door to stop it. I hope that works. The washer, dryer and range are already in place, so I guess they will be moving in as soon as they can get packed up and over there. I hope it all works out for them, and they can stay there as long as they want to. Chris has talked playfully about our moving back into our house, but I really don't think we will. Living here seems to be a good idea, at least as long as Karen and Terry are in Oceanside, so near us.

This morning after breakfast, I went downstairs and read the paper. Chris took at walk, and then we met at the Gentle Yoga class. The leader was a women who didn't know the exercises, and between them she had had to refer to a paper each time. It wasn't as good as the regular woman's leadership, but we did get some useful exercise in. Back at the apartment we both had a nap, until it was lunch time. we had that, and came back to the apartment. I read in the first of the French books Kaye has sent me, of Patricia Briggs in French. I can always look up what I can't make out, in the English version. I got to only page 110, so there's a long way to go yet. We talked to Kaye, more about the sand coming in under the door of the new house. She was in a hurry to get some shopping done, so I didn't talk to her long. It seems to me that this is a problem the builder should take care of. I hope she asks him to do it. I don't think I had time to tell her that, but I will next time we talk. I went for a walk, down to Jefferson St. and back. It took me half an hour, and I was ready for a rest. We listened to the news on TV, and the oil spill in the gulf is still the main topic of it, plus the attempted bombing that was threatened in Times Square in New York. I think it's good they did find the man that was responsible for it, and that should at least put some fear into anyone who thinks of doing something like that. The other news was on the election of a new Prime Minister in Great Britain. I don't care for anyone running for public office, and not wearing a tie, along with his suit!

We had our breakfast as usual, and then we went down to the lobby and read the newspaper in front of the fire. Chris didn't feel very well, so he went back up to the apartment. I made a mistake, and I went to the exercise class. I didn't realize at first that it was the more difficult program, but I stayed and exercised for half an hour. The rest of the group stayed another half an hour. Back at the apartment Chris found out what the problem with him was; he had stopped taking one of his medications, and so he called the doctor's office. He learned that the medication was one he could take or not, but it did make him feel better. So, he is back on it, and feeling better tonight. This afternoon he felt well enough to go to the Target store, over by Karen's house. It has been remodeled and is much better- appearing. It took us a while to locate what we needed, so we got a walk around the store. I did the driving, over there and back, and it was easy since it wasn't very far from Las Villas. Later we went to dinner, and afterward we talked to Kaye. She was upset because sand was coming in the new house, under the front door, and she was afraid it would spoil the hardwood floors. Chris suggested a large cloth at the base of the door, to hold the sand out until it could be fixed by the builder. That's what we did in Denver when snow came in under the door. We also got another E-mail from Karen. She said they had left the boat to go into Bulgaria, and would start home on Saturday, only four days away. We have missed them, and we look forward to all their pictures and stories about the trip.

Things worked out quite well today. We got up early, because it's today that our house cleaner comes. The regular one still isn't back, but her substitute did well, too. The spots on the carpet have come back up again, and we'll have to do something about that soon. While the lady was here, we went downstairs and read the paper. The man who delivers one to us must be off this week. I have stopped paying for it, and that may be the reason we don't have one unless he is here. Anyway, we went to the Gentle Yoga class next, and the regular trainer wasn't there. The sub had to look at the instructions on each exercise as she went along. That cut the actual time exercising about 1/4 of what it usually is. After a short rest we went to lunch. After that we went for a walk down to Jefferson St. and back. That's 3 California blocks down, and 3 back. That's our longest walk so far. There's always a breeze here, and sometimes it's cold, so we don't go that far each time we walk. We talked to Kaye, and things are going OK with her. Karen sent an E-mail from Santorini, I. They are now on the boat and are cruising along the coast of Greece, and will end up at the end of the week, and then they will start home. I don't know if they will stop in New York again or not. That's a good place to take a break in the long trip.

We got up a few minutes before the alarm went off, and that got us up, showered, and at breakfast by 8 a.m. After that we came back to the apartment and finished getting ready for Church. We forgot the monthly offering, and I got it ready on the way to Oceanside. But I forgot to put the actual check in the envelope with the donation. Neither of us remembered it. At the church were Bishop Peterson and wife,from Fallbrook. she had told me yesterday after the funeral that they were coming over here for a family reunion, and they would come to church. I figured they would come to the 9 a.m. session, but they came to ours. It was nice to see them again. We left after the first meeting and came back to the Villas. We went to lunch, but all we ate was a banana split each. It filled us up, as it always does, when we get them the first Sunday of each month. Then later, at 4:30 we went to a real dinner to make up for it. Tonight we talked to Carla, and they had just returned from Logan and Meret's graduation, and two weddings of relatives in Utah. Logan and Meret will go to Eugene, where he will go to graduate school, and I guess Meret will look for a job. She is a lawyer now, having finished all her requirements. We talked to Kaye, and she wasn't too happy with the progress on the house, but she said maybe they would move in, and then have the builder put on the screens and an enclosure in their bathroom. She was tired, and resting when we called.

This morning we got ready to go to a short breakfast and then to the funeral of Jack Jones, in Fallbrook. My visiting teacher and her husband were kind enough to come pick us up and take us with them. I will admit I try to forget certain things every time we move, and since it was two moves ago that we left Fallbrook, I had to try to remember where we were going and how to get there. Fortunately the Plylors knew the way to the church. After the service, we met several old friends from Fallbrook, Lenon Bezzant and her two daughters, the former Bishop, Cook, and several more people. My former dentist, Floyd Packard, was one of the speakers, and I met him in the lobby, and he was cordial. After the service we took the Plylors to lunch at our favorite restaurant there, La Caseta. We enjoyed the meal, and then they drove us back to Las Villas, where we now live. I couldn't help remembering good times in Fallbrook, but I can't remember ever wanting to move back there. Life is easier here, and we have a small but more regular view of the ocean, and it's near enough to drive down to, or on our way to our doctor's office, also near here. Those are definite pluses. We talked to Kaye, and things are progressing up there. I think they may be moving into their new house soon. She didn't say anything more about Caden, so I assume he is getting along all right. He is getting tall, but still thin, we can see in the pictures she sends us on the computer. Stellan called the other day, and we actually heard Caden talk, but we couldn't understand the words.