Dave and I had a wonderful time camping with Alfred and Martha. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. We camped right along the lake. The fishing was great. One morning I caught seven fish before breakfast… We had a fish fry the first night we were there and they couldn’t have been any fresher. Dave did the cleaning of the fish and Alfred was the cook. The campground people were very friendly and would drive around on their golf carts and ask us if we were having fun and if we needed anything from the store. On Saturday David and Lori came by for a short visit. I highly recommend the campground; it is called Last Chance RV Camp. It is probably ninety miles from where we live… When we left the campsite we decided to go visit Jan and Wade at the KOA campground in Checotah. Alfred and Martha were really impressed with their campground. Jan took us for a tour… Checotah is where the gal who won American Idol lives and Jan and Wade know her and her family. It is also where we had our DASNI retreat last fall… Then we went by to visit our DIL Lori’s grandparents in Okemah. They were trying to put up an electric fence to keep their dog in. Dave and I were there until after dark helping them. We got home last night around 11:00 and we were both exhausted… This morning we had our financial man coming at 10:00 so we had to get up earlier than we probably would have and then Dave took me to Piedmont for a haircut… We walked to the garden and checked it out and it is looking good. We picked a mess of peas for supper…. I did laundry, fed the flowers and deadheaded them, and made our list for the Schwan lady… This evening we had thunderstorms and a nice rain… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Dave woke me up early this morning to tell me it was raining. I stayed in bed and listened to it for a while and it sounded so good. Then I went right back to sleep and slept till 11:00. I couldn’t believe the time when I did wake up… I had so much to get done today and I slept half of it away… I got both of the flowerbeds weeded and they are looking really good. Dave planted a couple more roses for me. I went up to the garden and pulled some more beets and picked some more snow peas and fixed them for supper… I did four loads of laundry and then we started loading up the motor home. We are going to take off for a few days to do some camping with Martha and Alfred and I hope we can to do some fishing. We will be meeting Alfred and Martha early in the morning at the Golden Corral and after breakfast we will be on our way to the campground so I won’t be posting a journal for a few days… Tonight we walked across the street and visited with Bob and Kim… Hope everyone has a nice and safe Memorial Day weekend… Wishing a very Happy Birthday to Lynn in Vancouver, Canada tomorrow. Lynn is a good friend and our DASNI President… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Dave!!! Dave is my husband, best friend, care partner, and so much more… I didn’t do a journal last night because Dave and I sat out on the back porch just enjoying the evening and watching the full moon. By the time we came in I was just too tired to think about doing a journal so I went straight to bed… Today has been a busy day. First we went to my appointment with Dr. Hester for a follow up on my cataract surgery and everything looks good. I have 20/20 vision without glasses now… Then we went to the pharmacy and Credit Union and then to David and Lori’s. It sure was good to see Madison and Macie again. It had been way too long since I have seen them grandbabies. Lori had fixed lunch for us. She fixed some delicious fish (bass) and the works. Lori and I walked around her beautiful garden and visited as we went. David had to leave to go to work while we were still there… We left David and Lori’s and went to the commissary and then came home… Kenny and Kathy came down … I heard the coyotes tonight for the first time… I am very tired tonight… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

We left right after lunch so we could run some errands and go to the mall where I spent way too much… We were gone most of the day and on our way home we stopped and picked up a pizza for supper… I did a couple loads of laundry… Nancy called… I am really tired and hands are achy. It feels like rain, I so hope it does. Maybe it is just wishful thinking… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This is Sunday and the day I take my Fosamax. I take it and have to sit up for thirty minutes and can’t have anything to eat or have coffee. I am starting to dread Sunday mornings because I want my coffee and breakfast soon after I awake… It is way too hot for me. It was 99 degrees and that is the third record-breaking temperature in a row… I got out this morning just long enough to deadhead the petunias and geraniums and water them… I played solitaire and hosted chat. We had people from California, Florida, United Kingdom, and Oklahoma… I washed a load of clothes and tonight after dark Dave, Kathy, and I picked snow peas by moonlight… Beverly a cousin in Wisconsin, Kenny, and Martha called… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I watched the morning news on TV this morning then I listened to my radio talk show. After that I fed the flowers and noticed the one butterfly bush is blooming. Also noticed the first bud on the Queen Elizabeth rose… I picked up around the house and did a good cleaning of the kitchen and barely got it done in time for the DASNI chat. It always does me so good to go to chat and find good friends there who understand just what I am going through… David and Lori called. Their cow with the bad foot Miss Kitty is doing fine and they have another cow who is about to have a calf… This evening Kenny asked us to go to Fire Mountain with them for dinner and we did. It was very good eating… Later they came down and Kathy and I sat out on the patio and watched Dave and Kenny fly their planes. It was a nice evening with a full moon. I love it out here. But I wish it would rain… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This is my friend Sandy in Ohio. 

Happy Birthday Sandy!!! Sandy is a DASNI friend in Ohio… Thanks to Clarence and Joann in Welcome, North Carolina for visiting Mary’s Place and signing my guest book… Kenny made me some more peanut butter fudge. No wonder I am so fluffy… It has been very hot today; in fact we broke a record, 97 degrees. I didn’t even make a trip up to the garden… This kind of weather makes me very lazy, as I don’t even want to move unless I have too… I hosted chat, made some phone calls, and answered some emails… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

I finished up the laundry this morning then Dave and I walked to the garden. It is really looking good. We came home with lettuce, onions, snow peas, and some very small potatoes. We had a nice salad for lunch and it was really fresh… While we were sitting at the table having lunch we noticed that a bluebird flew in the log cabin birdhouse. This is the first bluebird we have seen out here and it is building a nest. We now have three birdhouses that are occupied… Have I mentioned before that I love living out here. Well I really do… Kathy told me last night that she was fixing a pot of pinto beans for tonight and asked us to come up. She asked that I make the cornbread because she likes my cornbread. We invited Alfred and Martha to join us and they did…
Dave and I will be attending the early-onset Alzheimer’s Assn. Solutions Summit on June 10th, 2005 in Tulsa. If you would like to attend the summit the contact person for the early-onset programs and conference is JoAnn Webster at 918-481-7746 or email: joann.webster@alz.org . I will be hanging around the DASNI booth. If you attend please be sure and look me up… Goodnight All… Keeping the Faith In Oklahoma

Thanks to Erin in Norman, Oklahoma for visiting Mary’s Place and signing my guest book. Erin I look forward to your visit…
I almost went to bed without doing my journal tonight… I washed our bedding, even the mattress cover and hung the pillows out to air. I ordered a new mattress cover for the motor home and washed it also. Then Dave helped me make the bed and we are ready for another trip in it… Tonight I sat outside and watched the kids play croquet and when they finished Kathy came over and sat with me… Hello to Duchess in Florida who comes here and reads my journal regularly… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

The painter called and came by this morning to do some touch up painting. Soon this house will be all ours to worry about. I hope and pray nothing happens. Because our one year house warranty will be up on June 1… I have been busy today, picking up, cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry, and paying bills… David and George called and I called Lori… For the past week or so I have been having hot flushes all during the day and night… The wind was so strong today that it blew two of my potted Geraniums off the patio, the patio furniture, and a large gas grill also. All this happened while Dave was at the doctors getting a couple skin cancers removed… The Schwan lady, Ann and yes we have a new delivery person. Robert Redford got a promotion. Anyhow we have plenty of food in the house and ice cream too… I helped Dave fix a Spaghetti and meatball supper… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

It is hard to believe this month is already half gone. Soon we will have lived in our new home for a year. It just doesn’t seem possible that a year has gone by already… I have folded Saturday’s laundry and dusted. Dave did the vacuuming for me… I sent in my Schwan order and I should have never did that when I was hungry but I did. I went over $150.00 this time… Dave went to pick up the motor home this afternoon, it was in the shop for a recall on the brakes. While he was gone I made some more peanut butter cookies. Dave ate most of the ones I made yesterday so thought I would get my share while he was away. Well I did and you might say I got more than my share, now I am feeling guilty. I have these sweet cravings all the time and it is just like I have got to have something sweet and I want it now… While Dave was gone I decided to walk up and check on the garden. I had seen Kathy up there this morning pulling weeds. While I was up there I bent over to pull some weeds and when I did my legs gave out from under me. That was so scary, there I was all alone lying on the ground and wondering how in the world I would get up without calling in a crane. Well I crawled over to a post that Dave had put in yesterday for the beans to climb up on and was able to pull myself up. I best not go the garden alone again. I did have the dogs with me but little could they do… I have done a lot of talking to myself today. I need to do that so I will remember what I need to do next. Like while I am dusting I tell myself you need to call in your Schwan order and so on… I watched the final episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” tonight. I was sad to see it end as it was one show that made me laugh out loud… Goodnight All... Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This morning when I went out to check on the flower garden I noticed the Lilies were blooming, they look so pretty next to the Love Rose. Also the Montana Cactus and the Passion Vine are blooming… Very cloudy and little wind today, which Dave likes for flying his model planes. Little wind is very unusual for Piedmont… I fed the flowers, hosted chat, and made peanut butter cookies. The sun did come out about 7:00 this evening. Just in time for me to see a sunset… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This morning I was listening to the morning news on TV and they spoke of an Alzheimer’s patient walking away from a Nursing Home last night barefooted. I am hoping I hear that they found him and he is ok. I just heard they found the man in a storage room on the grounds of the Nursing Home and he is fine… It was pouring down rain last night and lots of lightening and thunder… My front windows sure look good so I got out this afternoon to do the backside of the house… Dave fixed us BLT’s for lunch and they were soo good… While I was hosting chat this afternoon I had left the back door open. All of a sudden I heard an awful racket here in the study. A hummingbird had come in and was trying to get out through the windows. Poor thing was so stressed. I went outside and got Dave and he came in and rescued the little guy by picking him up in his hand and let him go outside… I called Catherine and Margie… I did a load of laundry… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

During the night I woke up grinning from ear to ear because I heard it raining. We got about an inch and that is very helpful to our vegetable, flower garden, and lawn… Dave and I have been busy today taking advantage of being at home and getting our affairs in order… I don’t think there is a day goes by that Dave doesn’t say that he loves being retired. I like having him home too… Alfred called and said Martha is still off work. She almost had pneumonia, I hope she feels better real soon… I washed all the outside windows in front of the house and then I sat out on the back porch with a coke and let the butterflies and birds entertain me. Later Dave and I spread some cocoa mulch in both the flower beds on each side of the patio and it smells so good… Our neighbor Kim and son Zackery came over with a little puppy that they were babysitting… Later Kathy came down for a little while… It is stormy tonight and we are getting more rain… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This morning I got several more hours of ME time, as Dave had to go in for a physical. I laid in bed for most of it just watching TV then I got up and folded yesterday’s laundry and got it all put away then I washed another load and got them all put away. Then I made some potato soup for lunch… I made my daily check on the flowers outside and walked up to the garden. The peas are finally blooming so it shouldn’t be long till I will be picking peas. I saw a beet that was pretty large so I picked it and brought it home and cooked it. I love beets. I just boil them, put butter and salt on them. Just like my Mother used to fix them for me when she knew I was coming home for a visit… I waved at Josh and Heather when they got off of the bus and watched the birds at the feeder. The Red headed Woodpecker was back. The Hummingbirds have already used up all the nectar so I made some more tonight… I hosted two chats. We were discussing in the afternoon chat about what a relief it is to be given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Because before we were diagnosed we thought we were going crazy… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Dave had to take the Honda car in this morning for a six-month check up and run some more errands. I stayed home for some ME time. I washed a load of clothes… Later we went to TLC and got a couple Butterfly bushes and another Geranium. Then we went to Kohls where I got a pair of earrings… We stopped by to see Alfred and Martha to see if they would go out to eat with us but Martha wasn’t feeling well. So Dave and I went to the Cracker Barrel for dinner and the food was great but the noise was terrible. There were kids crying, people talking on their cell phones. I could hardly get out of there fast enough… When we got home we planted the new plants and got them all watered in good… Later Josh and Kenny came down for a short visit… Goodnight All… Keeping the Faith In Oklahoma

This morning I finished planting the rest of the flower seeds. I hope they all come up… Two of my test panel roses didn’t make it so I have called Jackson and Perkins to send me replacements, I should have them soon… I watered the pansies and the shrubs. The wind is so bad I think it dried them out as fast as I could water. And today was the hottest day of the year. It was 90 degrees… I fixed lunch and helped fix supper… Tonight I watched the kids play croquet and watched a bird building a nest in one of the bird houses… We have a couple green tomatoes in our garden and the potatoes are blooming… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

We had a call this morning from the repairman that they were coming to make some repairs on the house. They came and left and will finish up tomorrow… I planted some flower seeds that my cousin’s wife had given me and I have some seeds soaking that I will plant tomorrow. I pulled weeds out of the flower garden and the more I pulled the more would show up or at least that is the way it seemed. It is really looking good now… Dave was busy pulling weeds in the front yard and did some mowing. Kathy worked hard in our garden watering and pulling weeds. She also got the watermelon and cantaloupe seeds planted then she fixed a big pan of lasagna and invited us up to eat with them. It sure was some good stuff. Thanks Kathy for asking us to join you… I am extra tired tonight… Goodnight all… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

http://www.goodtimes2.com/god_created_moms.htm

Happy Mother’s Day!!! This is the second year my Mother has spent in heaven… I have had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Dave fixed me bacon, eggs, and biscuits with apple butter for breakfast and served me in bed. David and Kenny called first thing this morning. I made up some hummingbird nectar and Dave put the feeders up for me. It wasn’t too long till there was a hummingbird at one of the feeders… This afternoon David and Lori came and brought me a couple rose bushes, one is called Love and the other one is a baby antique rose. This evening Kenny, Kathy, Josh, and Heather came down and brought me a box of Godiva chocolates… Then we all went and played croquet. I was only able to play one game then they threw me out because I was so bad. LOL… I watered the flowers and checked on the garden, it could sure use a good rain… I called Aunt Flo… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

First thing I did this morning was to listen to my garden show on the radio. Then I went outside to check on the flowers and pulled some weeds… I did a load of laundry and folded them and got them all put away. For supper I fixed pinto beans, corn bread and potato cakes and invited Kenny down to eat with us. Kathy had gone to Lawton to spend the night with her Mother. Kenny surprised me with a pan of his homemade peanut butter fudge and it was yummy… This evening I saw three deer across the road… David called and I called Evelyn, Vicky, Martha, and Lyn… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Happy Birthday Vicky!!! Vicky is our friend in Illinois… Thanks to Tom in Dallas, Texas and Sandi in St Charles, Missouri for visiting Mary’s Place and signing my guest book… I had to get up early this morning to get ready for the maids… I am very sore today especially my shoulder and legs… Dave and I planted a rose that was given to me by Margie while we were on vacation. I now have several roses in bloom, also the Peony is blooming… Our financial planner Travis was here this afternoon… After supper Dave and I walked up to check on the garden. Everything is looking good. Kathy did a great job taking care of it while we were away. While we were up there we went to see Josh and had another piece of birthday cake… My phone buddy Nancy called. Also my brother called to let me know that my Aunt Althea passed away. Our sympathies go out to all of her family. Aunt Althea was my Dad’s sister. I only have one aunt left now and that is Aunt Florence in San Antonio… I have been going through emails in my spare time, only 236 more to go… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

Josh on his 16th birthday. 

Happy Birthday Josh!!! Josh is our grandson in Piedmont, Oklahoma who is sixteen today… Happy Birthday Janey!!! Janey is our friend in Plainfield, Illinois… I have felt kind of numb today. We have been unloading the motor home and straightening up around the house. I have been doing laundry all day… Tonight we went with Kenny, Kathy, Josh and Heather to celebrate Josh’s birthday. We first went out to eat at Josh’s favorite place to eat. Then we went to the bowling alley. I bowled two games. It has been several years since I bowled. We all had a great time. Then we came back to Kenny and Kathy’s and had birthday cake and ice cream. Josh really enjoyed his birthday… I am so tired tonight, may not be able to get out of bed tomorrow… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

This is our way to travel.  

Happy Belated Birthdays to Holt in North Carolina, Helen in Georgia, Marie in Florida, Norb in Illinois, Sharon in North Carolina, Diana in Florida and Mayselle in Oklahoma… We made it back home this morning after a wonderful vacation in our motor home... Starting out in Chicago we met up with some Alzheimer’s friends, which are more like family than anyone we have ever met. We took a train then a bus to go down to the Navy Pier where we were supposed to go on a boat tour and have dinner and entertainment on the boat. We got the dinner and entertainment but because of the strong winds we stayed at the dock because the coastguard had closed the harbor. I will have to say that Chicago was very windy and cold. After three days of fun with our friends we left for Westerville, Ohio where we visited Dave’s brother Howard and his family. While we were there a DASNI friend Sandy drove down with her daughter and grandsons from up by Pennsylvania to meet us. Dave and I went to the hotel where Sandy was staying and we visited there. Sandy was just like I had her pictured from our DASNI chats. Thanks Sandy for making that long trip in the snow so we could finally meet face to face… Our next stop was Huntington, West Virginia where we visited with Dave’s brother Bob and sister Lucy and their families. While we were there we visited Dave’s Mother’s and Father’s graves and put a wreath on them… Our next stop was in Louisville, Kentucky at my brother George’s. There I met up with a bunch of my cousins and had a great time. Then we went to Brandenburg, Kentucky to visit my cousin Ernie and Margie. I got to attend church with them and hear Ernie preach a Mass. That was a dream of mine that was filled. Ernie did a wonderful job… Then we went to Smithville, Tennesse to visit another one of Dave’s brother’s Richard. We got to spend some time with several members of his family… We not only had a great visit with friends and family we also saw some beautiful country. West Virginia’s dogwoods were the prettiest I have ever seen… The only complaint I have is the weather was very cold and wet. We even saw snow in Indiana and Ohio… Josh did a wonderful job of picking up our mail everyday, watering the flowers and taking care of the lawn while we were away. Thanks Josh... Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma