It is the last day of 2004 and I will have to say it has been a very good year for us. I am hoping next year will be even better… I think I am starting to feel a little better but the coughing and wheezing just won’t leave… I went outside this evening for some fresh air and while I was out there I could see the cows along the fence across the highway. I wish I were closer so I could really watch them… I didn’t do much today just hosted chat and fixed supper… I got a call this morning from friend Martha and they were only a few hours from being back home from California… I am wishing for all of you a very Happy New Year… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

It has been a very warm 70 plus degrees today and very windy. It blew one of our birdfeeders down and broke it. I am glad it wasn’t our new one… I did laundry and got to see the bottom of the hamper for the first time in a long time. I ordered us some new pillows online, paid bills and worked on the checkbook. Soon we will have used all our old checks and will be able to use the new ones with our new address… The gasman came and filled our tank today it was only have empty but since he was in the neighborhood he went ahead and filled it… I watched a movie “Walking Tall” and hosted two DASN chats … I am still receiving Christmas cards… Kenny came down for a short visit… I started on the Keflex today so in a couple days I hope to feel better but know I have to be on these four times a day for ten days… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Last night I posted a picture of my family which was taken on Christmas Eve. I would like to identify everyone for you. Back row is David, Chris, Jennifer, Macey, Kerry, Erin, Kenny and Kathy. Front is Dave, Mary, Josh, Heather, Madison and Lori..
This morning I wasn’t feeling any better so Dave called to make me an appointment to see the doctor. I was able to get in this afternoon, which was surprising. I found out I have an upper respiratory infection. So after being on the antibiotics a few days I should be feeling better. She also gave me a prescription for some heavy-duty cough syrup… Resting most of the day in bed and watching movies… I had a phone call from Norma a DASN friend in Canada… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This is our family taken on Christmas Eve. 

Happy Birthday Lucy!!! Lucy is Dave’s sister in Huntington, West Virginia… This morning Dave and I left right after breakfast and went to David and Lori’s to spend the day… We got to visit with David and Lori, Chris, Jake, Trevor, Madison and Macey and Lori’s Dad and Faye and Erin also were there. We had a good visit with them and David gave us some honey and shared a bag of Black Sunflower seeds with us until he gets to the feed store. Thanks David
… On our way home we stopped at Home Depot so Dave could look at their storage buildings and then we went to Aldi’s to pick up a few groceries… I am feeling very tired tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

The chat room had been down for a few days but it is back up and running now. I was beginning to have chat withdrawal pains... Remember if you want to chat with me and others go here: http://www.alzinfo.org/chatrooms/ … It has been another beautiful day. When I talked to my cousin in Kentucky yesterday he said they were snowed in. I told him I would send him some of our warm weather to melt his snow… I have been watching the kids in the neighborhood ride their new bikes around the cul-de-sac from my windows… I did laundry,folded and hung up and all put away… I played solitaire and for the first time ever beat it twice… Tracy Mobley the author of “Young Hope” now has a blog. You can follow Tracy’s journal by going here: http://www.younghopesworld.blogspot.com/ … David called and I asked him to pick me up some sunflower seeds the next time he goes to the feed store. Judi in Iowa called. We are making arrangements to meet next week when Harry and Judi come through Oklahoma City going to their new home in Arizona… Dave and I fixed a delicious apple salad to go with out leftover ham for supper… My legs have been hurting really bad. It is all I can do to walk, it even hurts to touch them… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Alan!!! Alan is a DASN friend in New Zealand...
We had a beautiful day up to 63 degrees. Guess where Dave spent the afternoon? Yep, outside flying his plane. I wasn’t thinking today when I got in the shower that I shouldn’t get in there when Dave is outside and I almost had a bad fall. Thank goodness I didn’t because I would have been there for hours… I have been putting some of the Christmas things away. I want my house back in order and I have been moving my plants around trying to arrange them to get more sunlight. At least here I can do that. The other house we lived in was not a good house to raise indoor plants. That is another great advantage of living here and there are so many. But I do get so lonely. I never wanted my old age to be like this. I am lonely but not bored… The birds entertain me, my three dogs, and I have an aquarium with two Cichlids and I have the beautiful sunsets to watch. It was a beautiful one tonight and all these cookies to eat… I made a couple phone calls, talked to Lyn a school friend and cousin Ernie. Helen, a school friend called me… I fixed supper and Dave finished up baking the cookies that was leftover from Christmas Eve… Tonight I am going to watch Doctor Zhivago on TV … Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
Happy Birthday Carole!!! Carole is our friend in Missouri…
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
We had a nice family gathering last night. There were fourteen here and everyone had a good time. I was so happy to have everyone here to share a meal and just visit and have special time with each other. Madison kept us all laughing, she is so full of energy but by the time we had finished she was running down. Macey is growing like a weed and has personality plus. Josh and Heather were tickled with their gifts from Santa that they had opened early in the day because today they will be spending the day with their other parents… I didn’t sleep well at all last night, kept waking up and this morning I woke up feeling like I was the Grandma that the reindeer ran over. I haven’t gotten dressed all day and have spent most of the day in bed resting. We were invited to go to Barbara and Marc’s today but there was no way I was ready to be around another crowd of people and as much as I would have liked to. I just can’t handle it anymore… Dave just disappears and doesn’t tell me where he is going. I hate it when he does that. The next thing I know I hear airplanes flying over the house and I know where he is and in two or three hours he will show up again… I have noticed I am getting more birds at the feeder now. Maybe having the birdhouses out there has brought them here. I got two new birdhouses for Christmas and two birdbaths. That will keep me busy keeping the birdbaths filled and clean. I also got a large rooster for the kitchen and some beautiful butterfly towels for our guest bathroom… I was very disappointed with my Dirty Santa gift. It was an air compressor. I may not even play Dirty Santa next year. LOL I have a kitchen full of gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies and Lori brought some of Jenni’s birthday cake, plus we have Jesus’s birthday cake and a chocolate pie so I am in sugar heaven… My cough is still with me and it sounds terrible… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Larry!!! Larry is our friend in Tennessee…
I have been listening to Christmas music on the radio and thinking about all the people who will spend Christmas away from their families. I am thinking of the men and women in service and their families. Remembering the Christmas’s the boys and I spent alone while Dave was away overseas. We had friends who would always invite us over to their homes so we wouldn’t feel so alone. I am still very thankful to those friends. I still get teary eyed when I hear the song “I’ll be home for Christmas”… I am so looking forward to all our family being here tonight. We will have a nice dinner, roll, cut out and decorate Christmas cookies, a Christmas tradition that was started by me back in the 60’s. Then we will play Dirty Santa and open our Christmas gifts. My best gift will be having all my family here with me… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!! Jennifer is our granddaughter in Moore, Oklahoma…
My cough is hanging on and sounds terrible but I am feeling so much better. I did some clearing in the house, helped with supper, and played solitaire and dominoes and that is about it for today… Dave made up the sugar cookie dough for tomorrow night… The dogs don’t seem to mind going out in this very cold weather. I keep an eye out for them and let them in as soon as they finish doing their thing. It is going to be down to three tonight and seven below zero for the wind chill… Madison called and she was all excited about her Mother’s birthday party tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I woke up feeling much better this morning… It was a good thing I feel better because I was really getting behind on things like laundry and taking care of my plants. When I was watering the Amaryllis I noticed two more buds that will be in full bloom for Christmas that will make four blooms. It is just beautiful… Brrrr it is so cold today and we had a little snow. Right now it is 19 degrees and the chill factor is 3 degrees… Cindy got groomed today and she looks so pretty and she knows it, she has heard it enough… Dave and I watched a DVD “DeLovely.” It is about Cole Porter. Cole Porter is from my hometown of Peru, Indiana and he was laid to rest there also… Kenny and Kathy came down tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I am still working at feeling better. Dr. Dave has been a big help to me. He has made sure I stayed in bed and even squeezed me some fresh orange juice this morning… I slept most of the afternoon… Tomorrow will be a better day… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I haven’t felt good today, woke up coughing and wheezing. I am glad I have an inhaler and a warm bed… I spent the day in bed resting. One thing I do not want for Christmas is to be sick… Thanks to Tracy for taking over my hosting duty in chat this afternoon so I could rest… Dave took advantage of this beautiful day of 67 degrees and tilled up our garden… Kenny called and invited us to go out to eat and then to the Comedy Club and we had to turn him down… Tomorrow will be a better day… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Roger!!! Roger is our nephew in Colorado Springs, Colorado… Thanks to Margie in El Paso, Texas for visiting Mary’s Place and signing my Guest Book… Today I have been paying for my trip to Wal-Mart yesterday. I didn’t get out of bed till afternoon. I had such a cloudy head and no energy at all… I spent most of the afternoon just sitting in my recliner with Karmelita lying beside me. She is my sweetie pie… I had a phone call from friend Martha and Alfred, they are on their way to California to spend Christmas with their kids. They only left yesterday and I am missing them already. It makes it tough when you only have one friend and they leave… I cooked supper. Tonight I was asking Dave if the whole ham we bought would hold the roaster. LOL . Well he showed me the roaster would hold the ham… http://web.icq.com/shockwave/0,,4845,00.swf … Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

It has been three years ago today since my brother Everett pasted away. I sure do miss my baby brother…
Last night Dave and I watched Bridget Jones Diary… Today we had to go to the airplane hobby shop so Dave could get some airplane fuel and etc. Then we went to Lowe’s to pick up some things he needed then we went to the dreaded Wal-Mart. It was a week before Christmas and it was crowded but I needed to pick up some groceries for our Christmas Eve dinner. I handled it much better than I thought I would. We picked up a barbeque chicken for our supper. The last thing either one of wanted to do was cook… Later tonight we walked up to Kenny and Kathy’s. I visited with Kathy and Heather while Dave visited with Kenny. I watched Kathy do some embroidery on her machine and asked her to do a project for me and she did. Then we got out the seed catalog and started looking for vegetable seeds. We are already looking forward to a garden in the spring… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

The maids came and went this morning. They are in here and out in no time. I know I am bound to have a stroke some morning getting up and around before they get here. I feel so drugged in the mornings and it seems like they keep getting here earlier and earlier… Dave has been busy working in the garage building shelves and such trying to get organized for the New Year… Josh called around noon and asked if we could pick him up at school and of course we did. They were all finished at school until next year. They sure get a long Christmas break… I hosted the DASN chat and here is a link to the chat room http://www.alzinfo.org/chatrooms/ we had a great bunch of ladies there. They came from Canada, Arkansas, Virginia, and Oklahoma… I hope if you have Alzheimer’s or dementia or are caring for someone with dementia of any kind you will consider joining DASN International. http://www.dasninternational.org/ … We got two boxes from the mailman and both were things I had ordered online… I am putting up a beautiful sunset that I got to watch from my chair looking out our study windows here tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Sunset  

Thanks Dewey in North Carolina for visiting Mary’s Place and signing my guest book…
Today I am feeling stressed with all I need to do before the maids come tomorrow and our family gathering on Christmas Eve and I am feeling sad also. I have been thinking a lot about my Mother today and this will be my first Christmas without her. I miss her so much… I have kept busy today doing laundry, making out a grocery list, hosting two chats, and working to get a link up on my old web page that takes you directly to this one. I did it but it doesn’t look like I wanted it to but it works and I guess that is what counts… I received anther birthday card in the mail and the Christmas cards are still coming in. Many of them have been forwarded from our old address… I received a phone call from friend Chip. I really enjoying talking to Chip, we have so much in common and share some laughs. I am glad to hear he is enjoying his new puppy… I was finally able to add a picture here without any help. I took this picture yesterday of the Amaryllis in full bloom… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I wanted to share a picture of my Amaryllis it now has two blooms. 

I feel very happy today. I have been missing a ring and my cross pendant for months. And after searching and searching this house Dave finally found it last night. Right where he had put it… It is winter for sure here in Oklahoma… I did a couple of loads of laundry and more picking up… Josh came down and we watched a DVD “The Greatest Show On Earth” it was a gift from Alfred and Martha… I am tired so will make this short… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Trevor!!! Trevor is our grandson in Moore, Oklahoma who is six today…

When I take a day off to play as I did yesterday I get so far behind here at home and being tired to boot. I washed a load of clothes and picked up around the house,. I hosted chat and we had several there and I played some online dominoes at pogo… My Amaryllis has its first bloom already and it is so big and beautiful… Our Schwan man Robert Redford came with the order I had called in last night. I always manage to spend at least a hundred dollars. I asked him if he was related to the movie star and he laughed and said, “ I wish I were”… Martha and Alfred called and came by with our Christmas gift and I baked a Mrs. Smith’s pumpkin pie, which we shared. Martha and I watched a TV movie tonight. “A Vow To Cherish” … My aunt Florence and Lori called and Kenny and Josh came down for a short visit… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

My best friend took me shopping and we shopped all day. After we finished shopping we had a nice dinner at Nino’s… Thanks Dave for taking me shopping, I really enjoyed getting to go to the malls and just look around… The Malls weren’t crowded at all and that really surprised me. Everyone seemed to be in a happy mood. I got lots of smiles, just what I was needing… I am tired but it is a happy tired… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Last night David and Lori took me to eat at the Lido Restaurant in Oklahoma City. They serve Chinese, Vietnamese, and French food. I was going to order from the French menu but once I was there I changed my mind and ordered from the Vietnamese menu. Since Lori had tried it before and recommended it. I really like trying different food and this was very good. Now I can’t remember what I ordered, I should have taken notes. Dave didn’t want to go with us. It sort of hurt my feelings but I guess he needed some ME time… For my birthday David and Lori gave me a glass blue bird and a Amaryllis’s flower. Lori knows how I love to have something blooming in the wintertime… Kenny and Kathy got me a stainless steel canister set and Kathy had filled all the canisters with Chocolates. She knows how I like chocolates. Kathy also embroidered me some towels and a sack holder with roosters on them to go with my rooster kitchen… Martha my friend got me some rooster place mats and napkins… Dave got me a Rooster lamp. He had bought me one once before but I thought it was too expensive and took it back but I really loved that lamp and missed it. So Dave surprised me and got me another one. I will not take this one back… I did laundry, hosted chat, answered emails; fixed goulash for supper, and called Alice in Idaho, Janey in Illinois and Sis in Texas… Dave put up all my birdhouses in the back yard. Now I will be already to watch the birds when spring comes. I don’t see many birds at my feeder but when I do it is special… I did some online shopping today with Tracy in Missouri. That was fun only I spent more money than she did and she tired out before I did and left to take a nap… The temperature was in the sixties today but tomorrow is supposed to be much colder… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Today is my 65th. birthday and so far it has been wonderful. I have had several phone calls from the ones I love and Kenny, Kathy, Josh, and Heather came and gave me hugs, and gifts. Now I am waiting on David and Lori to take me out to dinner... I am so blessed... Goodnight all... Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This is my three dogs and me. The black one is Karmeletia, Cindy is the white one and Tootise is the brown and white one. 

Josh came down last night and we watched Spider Man 2. When I don’t understand something, because my mind wanders when I watch movies, I will ask Josh to explain and he always does in such a kind way. I am so lucky to have him… I slept really late this morning. Must have been tired… Today I have been doing laundry again and I am still not finished. I don’t know how two people can have so many dirty clothes but we do… I watered the houseplants and they all look healthy. I paid bills and mailed off a yearly check to the Salvation Army, this always gives me such a warm feeling to help the needy. Try it and you will see what I mean… I cooked supper by myself; it is harder and harder for me to do this by myself… Congratulations to Tracy Mobley who has sold over a thousand of her books. You can order Tracy’s book “Young Hope” by going to www.emeraldfalconpress.com Soon it will be sold at the Wal-Mart stores. Tracy was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was 38… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

We didn’t get home until late last night and I was too tired to do any journaling… We left early in the afternoon to go get a couple gifts for our Dirty Santa that we play on Christmas Eve… After we finished shopping we went to Alfred and Martha’s for a delicious Pork Roast supper. Alfred had prepared it and he did a wonderful job in doing so. We even had Pumpkin pie for dessert. After supper we went to their church for a Christmas program. “Three From Galilee” It was live and they even had live horses, camels, donkeys, and even some doves. I really enjoyed it… Today I have been tired but did do laundry and washed a few windows on the outside and inside… We have had beautiful weather up in the sixties for the past few days… I fixed supper and now I am even more tired… Good night all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Last night after supper with Kenny and Kathy and watching “Fear Factor” I asked Josh and Heather if they would like to come down and decorate my tree. They said they would and they did. We had fun decorating the tree, just the three of us. I think we did a great job too. They enjoyed seeing the Hallmark ornaments and remembering them from years before. They couldn’t believe I had ornaments dated back in the seventy’s… I didn’t buy any ornaments until the late seventy’s because I couldn’t afford them. We always just had the plain balls. But once the boys were raised I started collecting the Hallmark ornaments and really enjoyed it. I haven’t bought one since I had to give up my job in 1995…
This morning Dave went to Tinker Air Force. I decided not to go with him since I have a big day tomorrow. I thought I needed some ME time… I dusted the entire house and this is a big house. The sun was shining so I had no choice but to dust... I spent sometime outside with the dogs. It was a beautiful day and hard to believe it is December… I had supper ready by the time Dave got home. He was gone for about six hours so I got plenty of Me time.. Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Chris!!! Chris is our grandson in Oklahoma City…
Thanks to Norma in California and Dewey in North Carolina for signing my guest book at my old web site. I am happy to see that you have followed me over here… We had thunderstorms and got a good rain from them… I picked up around the house, did a load of laundry and rearranged the furniture for our Christmas tree that Dave is putting up as I write my journal. I hosted chat and it was very slow today. I guess everyone is busy doing their Christmas shopping and etc… I have had Christmas music playing all afternoon. I even heard Dave singing along with them… Kathy called and invited us up for a spaghetti supper. Yummy!!! Kathy makes the best spaghetti… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I woke up to rain this morning but later in the day the sun did come out… I turned down an invitation to Kelly, a neighbor’s jewelry party. I didn’t feel like having to make a decision on what jewelry I should buy. And I just wanted to stay home… This afternoon while hosting the DASN chat one of my cousin’s showed up in chat. What a nice surprise that was… I fixed a delicious supper and I did it all by myself. And that wasn’t easy for me. I can’t tell you how many times I had to check the degrees the oven was to be on and how many minutes to cook. I had the oven and the microwave both going at the same time. When I went to call Dave in from the garage I found him gone. He was in the back of the house flying his radio-controlled airplane. I ate by myself and when he came in he got a warmed up supper… I called Norita and Janey. Janey sounded so much stronger than she did before. She is home now and has twenty four hour care… I watched a beautiful sunset tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Lynne!!! Lynne is our friend in Iowa Park, Texas… Dave gave me my Vitamin B/12 injection this morning along with all of my other medications. I look at all those pills wondering which ones I could do with out. I guess none of them… I have done laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, and made potato soup for lunch and all that had me worn out in a hurry. Doesn’t take much to just exhaust me any more… You can still visit Mary’s Place at http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/mari5113/index.html anytime and please sign my guest book while you are there… I am going to watch the OU/ Colorado game on TV and I will be rooting for OU of course… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Thanks to Alfred and Martha in Bethany, Oklahoma for visiting Mary's Place and signing my guest book... After such a busy day yesterday I have been resting today. I repotted a couple of plants… I had a call from friend Martha and we made plans to get together next week… The Christmas cards are starting to come in and we have received our first gift from Jamie our granddaughter in Kentucky… I hosted two DASN chats and attended a DASN online board meeting and that is it for today… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I have had such a busy day. I hope I can remember everything I did. First off I went to see the eye doctor for a follow up on my eye surgery. He thought everything looked great and I now have 20/20 vision in my right eye. I don’t have to return for six weeks… Then we went to Harry’s TV for an open house which we get invited to every year. I had some great eggnog and cookies and they also gave me an aloe plant and calendar… From there we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries… Then to IHOP to eat… We got home just in time to put things away and get ready to go to a Christmas dinner/ theater. We met Kenny, Kathy, Josh and Heather there… Heather sang in the honor choir and the high school put on a great show also. We heard some great Christmas music. They have some great talent at Piedmont… I am feeling in the Christmas spirit tonight but very tired… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I am still trying to get used to my new web page. Change is hard for me but I also think it is good for me... I forgot to mention that yesterday I received a love gift from my friend Helen in Marietta, Georgia. It was a box of her homemade fudge that she sends me every year. It is delicious and I have hidden it from Dave several times but he keeps finding it, and I am trying hard not to get a sugar high LOL... I have been doing laundry and picking up around the house... Josh came down and we watched The Day After Tomorrow ... It is a very cold and windy day… If you have Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia and you would like to chat with others go here: http://www.alzinfo.org/chatrooms/ Goodnight all... Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma