Friday is Date Day!

If we went swimming now, we’d have the whole pool to ourselves, but….

after we Don refills our water jugs….

we are headed to the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet!  Hopefully before it gets too hot. This is just one of the many buildings at this market.  I cropped this picture at the bottom because there was a man sitting on a bench with his mouth hanging open, and it just wasn’t attractive, even though I don’t know who he was.

You name it, I’m pretty sure you can find it at the Mesa Swap Meet.

How about a game of Farkle?

Bead lovers would go crazy.

And giraffes for our granddaughter, Emma!  This one would look great standing under a tree in her front yard. Notice how it is attached to a cross bar to be buried in the ground and anchored.

Carved figurines…. more giraffes.

Classic garden/patio ornaments.

Chef Doak is an “almost famous” comedy cook.  After walking and shopping all morning, we enjoyed sitting and watching him in his air conditioned area.  We got really excited when he said he was from Oklahoma and then he asked us where and when we said, “Norman,” well, this Stillwater native was on a roll, but I dished it right back to him.  We had a lot of fun with him and he did, too.

We found a GREAT deal on new luggage for our trip to Emily’s wedding next week in Seattle.  When we realized, “we have no luggage!” … the Mesa Market Place was a blessing.  When you pull your “suitcase” behind your truck everywhere you go, you just don’t need luggage, but when it’s necessary to fly, luggage is a requirement for being gone a week.

By 1:30 PM, we had perspired enough and headed back to the Q with a few other items we needed.  It would take a whole week to cover the Mesa Swap Meet, so we will be going back as it is less than two miles from our park!  That could be dangerous, but it’s great walking exercise!

For our evening meal, Don took me to a Mexican restaurant, Los Gringos Locos, in Apache Junction and it was really good.  I had the Ensalada de Julio: ample greens, grilled veggies, grilled chicken salsa for dressing mixed with just a taste of guacamole ranch. Really tasty. Sorry, no picture.

Week One… completed

I am thrilled to report that after the first week of being a Take Shape for Life participant, I have lost 7.2 pounds!!!

I can’t believe how easy it was.  I eat six meals a days!

I was never hungry or tired or grumpy or anything but satisfied with the outcome of my first week.  I couldn’t wait for my health coach to call me so I shot her a text message.  Carolyn called me almost immediately, shouting, “wooohooo!!!!”

Onward to week two!!

I Love the Laundry Room

Now that we are back in a “park” for the winter season, we're excited to meet new friends and see how God will use us here. And the laundry room is a great place to meet park residents.

This morning is laundry day and we need to get to the laundry room early because it's still hot here in the Arizona desert valley and the laundry room is not air conditioned. The billiard room next door is air conditioned. No one is in there, but it's nice and cool in there. I'm wondering about the logic here. Laundry room... people working... no AC. Billiards room.... no people in there... AC working. Hmmmm. Anyway, I digress.

Today, I'm thrilled about a divine appointment in the laundry room. Donna (not her real name) was there when we arrived washing and drying her comforters. Donna and Harry (not his real name) live in a mobile home here and have a washer and dryer in their home, but she needed to wash and dry her large comforters.

Donna and I started talking right away and when I explained what Don and I were doing here (chaplains), she pretty quickly let me know that they don't go to church. She was brought up Methodist/Unitarian and he grew up Catholic, but now they don't go and haven't been to church in years. Undaunted, I just welcomed her to come to church when we start on the 21^st of October, let her know that we were here for them and continued to chat with her. Donna was very friendly and I do believe that God allowed me to make a connection with her. He's so sweet like that.

As she told me about Harry, her husband, my heart broke. He served in the thick of battle in Vietnam and has suffered with PTSD all his life. He was also in an industrial tragedy when he was working in their home town up north. He's been on disability for years now and takes mega medications and drinks quite heavily to cope. He is unable to talk about his time in Vietnam. God only knows what he is dealing with.

Donna wants to get together with me regarding Taking Shape for Life... she wants to lose about twenty pounds. She also has a pair of FitFlops that she is going to let me wear to see if they will help my feet. She swears by them and we wear the same size. So, see, we got to know each other pretty good and I'm so excited to have met her. I even shared a fabric softener sheet with her! 

So, Prayer Partners, please pray for Donna and Harry and, Don and I, as God allows us to minister to them, love them and get to know them better.

OK! Here we go!! !! !!

I’ve taken “BEFORE” pictures.

I’ve recorded my measurements and in the morning, I will weigh.

Today, my “Take Shape For Life” meals arrived!!  I’m so excited! Got all the tops removed, so I can just reach in and pull out a meal.

With my smart phone, I took pictures of my “stash” and sent them to my Coach Carolyn in Oregon. She said that was a first for her; had never received pictures of food already in the pantry, from anyone before.

I am so ready to do this. So ready to get back where I was last year and better.

As I said before, I have taken “before” pictures and I will save them to share with you “after.”

Here we go, prayer buddies!  Hang on!

Kris update: More hope and good news!

Dearest loved ones and great friends!

A long overdue update, but one filled with more hope and more good news!!!  The attached photo shows Kris looking at us looking at her!  How neat is that?!!!  And it is such a blessing to me... to us... to be able to “visit” with her on a daily basis.  I snapped this photo as George and I were Skyping with her one evening last week, and I just had to send this out.  Isn’t technology grand?!!!!

Kris looks wonderful!  That’s all I can say.  She is so busy and so on the go, and we are ecstatic.  CORE’s caring people treat her like a person, not a patient.  I believe I mentioned before that she has a standing appointment at a salon to have her hair cut, she goes to church, she goes to the nearby gym where CORE has a working agreement to bring their folks, she gets tremendous therapy every day, and she went horseback riding one day last week.  No doubt it is a therapeutic riding program which, being an old horse lover and having had horses at one time, I fully agree with and support.  Kris was trying very hard to explain that she went horseback riding “like she used to do.”  I just praise God for all the efforts and the care at CORE!!!

But there is more!  While Skyping with Kris one evening a week or so ago, she seemed to be trying so hard to tell me something.  I asked the care person with her at the time what she had been doing that day, and the young lady said she had been in speech therapy for quite a while.  Kris was really trying to form words.  I then asked Kris if she could say “that word” I’ve so been wanting to hear and, after working a bit to form the word, she said “Mom” – not once, but twice!!!  Sitting here in the seat in front of the computer, we both just shed tears of such joy! There are moments... and then there are moments!!!

Kris’s days of being tired and a little down still do happen, but I believe they are less and less.  This past Saturday, the facility offered a trip down to San Antonio (remember she is west of Austin now) to go to the Texas Cultural Institute, a museum.  Kris went along.  Remember, Kris is still fed by PEG tube, but that isn’t stopping her one bit.  She has been bowling and goes to the movies with the group, and generally doesn’t seem to be missing any of the outings at all.  And that tells me Kris is truly becoming her own person again, truly working very, very hard to have her own life back regardless of the wheelchair, the PEG-tube, or any of her present physical limitations.  They are just a nuisance right now to be overcome, and overcome them she will!!!

As for George and I, we have so thoroughly enjoyed get-togethers and visits with the rest of our children, grandchildren, family and friends here in Pennsylvania.  And our concert tour has been so blessed.  We’ve actually been able to add two gospel concerts to our already full schedule before we return to Florida in mid October. 

The first full week of October, however, was left open... until recently!  I kept it that way for a reason and, after praying this would work out, have just booked my airline reservation to fly to Austin, Texas on October 2nd!!!  I’ll spend a wonderful week with Kris and hope to visit some of the places with her that she’s been frequenting: bowling, the gym, horseback riding, etc.  But I also want to spend a “girls day out” with her, shopping and just doing what mom and daughter love to do: hang out!  I understand the care person must always go along, but that’s okay with me.  From what I’ve seen, they’re all great gals and love Kris very much! 

As always, though, please continue to keep Kris in your prayers.  And I’d like to ask a special for prayer for our grandson, Tyler, who just left for more in-depth training with the National Guard before being sent... somewhere.  With trouble brewing in so many places in the Middle East, Kuwait seems to be just the starting point.  Pray for him, and all of our military, and please pray for this country!

“Hope is a seed God plants in our hearts to remind us there are better things ahead!” I don’t know who said that or penned it, but it is worthy of hanging on to and sharing it with others.  So... there it is!  There is “more hope and good news” ahead, dear praying friends and loved ones, and I do not doubt that for one minute.  I am reassured every day by happenings, events, prayers being answered, and God’s peace over all. 

Blessings and much, much love,

Carol and George 

[I apologize for the absence of Kris’s picture. Will add it soon. She looks great!!]

Re-connecting with friends

We had a wonderful visit with Gary and Cheryl Cyphers at their home today. We do love re-connecting with friends. We attended Bible study with them when we were in Arizona before. Hopefully, we will have dinner with them before we leave and I will get picture of them.

A view of Casa Grande Mountain as we were driving to the Cyphers’.

Look what I found! (1)

So I played with it a little. (2)

(3)

(4)

(5)Which do you like the best?

We had a late lunch at The Creative Café.  We love this place.  I had their special Strawberry & Salmon Salad. Don’t turn up your nose. It was amazing.

The murals on the wall are so happy and bright.

Don had the Philly Cheesesteak and broccoli salad which he reported was very tasty.

Our first glimpse

Today, we headed to Apache Junction to check out our “assignment” for the winter, stopping in Coolidge for brunch.

I think some of the décor is different that a couple of years ago.

There was some odd transportation on the road today.

I would call this an open-air-3-wheel CAR… that needs a roll bar.

I like this picture of a Saguaro cacti.

A couple of views of Superstition Mountain as we approach it.

We like the scenery of mountains that surround the desert valley.

At our new park, they have washers and dryers in the laundry room that are operated by computer and my credit card. Seriously? More on this later.

This is our new site beginning next Friday.  It’s very big! Don is very happy. That makes me very happy. That’s our patio on the left. Parking should not be a problem at all as the streets are wide, also.

We met the manager, Linda, her husband, Steve, and the activity director, Jerry. We met a few other people and got a tour of the facilities.  We’re excited!

Another shot of Superstition Mountain as we head back to the Q.

Catching up…

Just posted August 30th, 2012. <<<click.

Old Town, Albuquerque

We are just having the best time reconnecting with friends this summer. Tonight, we met George & Nancy Reid at the Church Street Café for dinner.  Oh, how we love this couple.

We are so blessed.

Vintage Cowgirl

I found a store.  A store in Old Town Albuquerque. The pictures will speak for themselves.

This picture is saying, “Hi, my name is Kathy Martin and I’m from Dallas, Texas. I just tried on a pair of boots and still thinking about purchasing.”We chatted with Kathy for a long time and now we’re FaceBook friends!  Just delightful.

New friends

We don’t usually stay at KOA Campgrounds, but tonight, we did… at Las Vegas, New Mexico.

They have a “café” here and as we walk there we passed through the patio area.  The kitchen is the open air building to the left.

In the office/store, I took a picture of this baby swimsuit.  It looks bigger, but I promise it’s only about six inches long.

As we were eating a couple came in and sat down at the table beside us.  It’s amazing what I can capture when the camera is at table level.

Well, of course we struck up a conversation with Doreen and Mike!  They are wonderful folks from Thousand Oaks, California.  We chatted and chatted.

We also met Debbie & Denny who are owners of this KOA and very interested in having a chaplain here.

Well, here we are at 6,521 feet altitude and still struggling with the oxygen thing.  So tomorrow, we move to Albuquerque for a few days and then on south to lower elevations.