Here I am in the Northwest. I have been living with Travis' mother-in-law for a couple of months. She is a great lady. I have really enjoyed my time with her. I will soon be moving into the house next door to Travis. On March 7 I will be going to AZ to spend a couple of weeks with Quinton's family and with John & Esther. I will get to see Larry & Lucy while I'm there also. I will leave Waldo here in the Northwest with someone.

I copied this from my daughter-in-law's blog (with a few minor changes) Just bold the items you have done. If you haven't done the item, just leave it alone. 1. Bought everyone in the pub/bar a drink 2. Climbed a mountain 3. Held a tarantula 4. Taken a morning shower with your man 5. Been in love 6. Broken someone’s heart 7. Had your heart broken 8. Done a striptease 9. Bungee jumped 10. Watched a lightning storm at sea 11. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise 12. Seen the Northern Lights 13. Gone to a huge sports game 14. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 15. Slept under the stars 16. Changed a baby’s diaper 17. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon 18. Watched a meteor shower 19. Gotten drunk on champagne 20. Given money to charity 21. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 22. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 23. Had a food fight (and guess who got to clean up the mess!) 24. Bet on a winning horse 25. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill-sometimes you're just sick of work! 26. Had a snowball fight 27. Photocopied your butt or any other intimate body part 28. Held a lamb 29. Gone skinny dipping 30. Taken an ice cold shower 31. Seen a total eclipse 32. Ridden a roller coaster-once was enough! 33. Hit a home run-I played ball a lot 34. Been arrested 35. Visited all 50 states 36. Taken care of someone who was drunk 37. Stolen a street/highway sign 38. Backpacked in Europe 39. Taken a road-trip 40. Taken a midnight walk on the beach 41. Gone sky diving 42. Milked a cow-too many to remember-every day for years 43. Alphabetized your records 44. Sung karaoke 45. Lounged around in bed all day 46. Gone scuba diving 47. Danced in the rain 48. Gone to a drive-in theater 49. Started a business 50. Gotten married 51. Been in a movie 52. Crashed a party 53. Gotten divorced 54. Been questioned by the police in a foreign country 55. Made cookies from scratch 56. Gotten a tattoo 57. Been on television (does a crowd shot count?) 58. Fallen asleep while driving 59. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything 60. Recorded music 61. Had too much to drink at a party 62. Bought a house 63. Accidentally put super glue where it it definitely did not belong 64. Been on a cruise ship 65. Spoken more than one language fluently 66. Bounced a check 67. Called or written your Congress person 68. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 69. Sang loudly by yourself in the car 70. Wrote articles for a large publication 71. Piloted an airplane 72. Helped an animal give birth 73. Been fired or laid off from a job 74. Won money on a T.V. game show 75. Broken a bone 76. Ridden a motorcycle 77. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced 78. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol 79. Ridden a horse 80. Had major surgery 81. Ridden on a train 82. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing 83. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states 84. Visited all 7 continents 85. Eaten sushi 86. Had your picture in the newspaper 87. Para sailed 88. Changed your name 89. Dyed your hair 90. Been a DJ Well, I did 45 out of 90.and some of them were just work when I was a kid. And of course, I changed some of the more 'risque' ones

Well, my townhouse is on the market. As soon as I receive the link to the pictures they took, I will put them here, or see if I can put a link on this. I am excited; but I realize it may not sell for months and months. I am trying to trust in the Lord to do what is best for me.

The realtor staged the place, so it is like l'm living in someone else's house. My bedroom is pretty much the same. I kept both my beds and my leather Lazy-Boy. Actually it's quite different than this picture. I got rid of the headboard and end tables and comfortor, turned the bed 90 degrees, and removed the curtains, shelves, and lamps. And my big TV is now in my bedroom too. So I think that will help me keep the downstairs neater and cleaner. I have never been know for my housekeeping abilities.

The office is MUCH, MUCH uncluttered than in this pic. See what I mean about my challenge with keeping things orderly?!!?

I made a chart of household duties to keep me on track. I hope it helps!

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted. Kerry said it was. I survived the tornado in Hugo on Memorial Day. It actually touched down about a mile from me. We had terrific winds, rain, and hail. The workers are out in force in our complex replacing siding, roofs, and windows. I tried to move most of my patio stuff into the garage so when they get to my place it will be out of their way. I am planning to go to Portland and Longview on Thursday, June 5. I have a real estate agent lining up houses for me to look at. Then I have to come back to MSP around the 15th for some doctor appts. and MRI's. I think this will be done soon. I am learning to deal with the pain.

It's finally Spring!! This pic is from last June, but the tree swallows are once again building their nest in one of my birdhouses. This one broke in the wind, so they are using a different one. The new one's hole is a bit smaller and it is funny to watch the chubby little birds trying to get through the hole with twigs and grass for the nest. I hope to get this old one fixed soon. I didn't post yesterday because I tried to work all day. I couldn't make it. I only survived until 1 pm then I had to have the office get someone to cover for me so I could go home and sleep for 2 1/2 hours. Yesterday evening I went to a movie with some people from church. It was "Ben Stein: Expelled." What an excellent documentary. I urge everyone to go see it.

A Little Change of Pace

For a little while, I am going to be posting some daily devotions I find helpful. One (of many) of the virtues I am lacking in is perseverance, so I won't say how long I will continue to do this. But this morning I found these two to be especially helpful. The first one is from a book called :Believing in Myself, a Daily Devotional by Earnie Larsen and Carol Hegarty. Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them. Gail Grenier Sweet. More than one person's self-esteem has been dampened because, in comparing ourselves with other providing parents, we come up short. In a consumer society, value and love are often equated with "how much," "how often," and "how expensive." Yet the deeper truth is, material things rust and are soon put aside and forgotten. What abides are the memories of being loved. These precious recollections are the ones that we tuck away in the treasure box of our minds. We hang on to the times when we were made to feel special. Consider your own memories. Which are the sweetest? Chances are they have very little to do with things unless those things were genuine symbols of true caring. It's much more likely they had to do with a special nickname, a shared secret, a time when a parent was truly there for you. Our favorite birthday or Christmas memories are rarely about the things we received, but the warmth of caring behind the giving. Gifts from my heart are more valuable than gifts from my pocket. The next selection is from the April-June 2008, issue of Portals of Prayer FAITH TO BE HEALED Acts 14:8-10 Psalms 86:8-17 Mr Smith, a driving instructor, considered two of the boys he taught. Jared was ready to learn because he understood the risks; but LeRoy, who wanted to drive so badly, saw only fun, but little of the danger. St. Paul also evaluated those he instructed. Today's reading tells us that he observed one who "had faith to be made well." This does not mean that the man expected to be healed or that his faith was stronger than others. Rather, he was ready to make godly use of healing, that he would give God the glory, not take credit himself nor make a god out of Paul. Faith does not presume that God will give us what we want. Faith is confidence that God has given what we need in Christ. Whether we are given healing and a productive life or decline into a blessed death, faith accepts God's will in all things. This is why most Christians regect "faith healing." We humbly ask for healing in prayer, confident in God's compassion. Ane while our prayer is often granted without stage lights or a crowd, it is just as often answered with "wait" or even "no." This is to train us to pray with Jesus, "Not my will, but Yours, be done." (Luke 22:42) O Lord. give us faith to be healed in body and soul, and if it is Your will, grant us health for Your service. Amen

Arizona Trip March 2008

Kyle, Lucas, Quinton, Valerie, and I went hiking in the desert near their home. It was a beautiful day, sunshine and the desert flowers were blooming. A lot of the flowers are so tiny you can't see them in this photo, but I took some close up pics of a few of them.

They are so delicate, considering the hostile and dry area in which they live. God's handiwork is amazing.

I also went to a spring training game with them. The game was between the Seattle Mariners and the AZ Diamondbacks. We sat in the grass behind center field, very enjoyable, but was a little hard on my back and neck after awhile. But I loved going. None of our party are in the pic, it is taken from where we sat.

I have to get ready to go have and MRI and an MRA done. Trying to get to the bottom of my constant headaches. Will try to post more later.