The Big Catch!

Today, this first day of October has been a "jewel in the Sun", for Lee and his companion fishermen.  I realized they had probably had a successful fishing trip when they returned several hours earlier than the day before when there were NO fish at all.

Lee called as soon as they arrived, and judging from the excitement in his voice, I suspected the Catch was a good one.  And a Catch it was!  There were plenty of Spanish Mackeral for the three of them. I grabbed the camera phone and proceeded to make the pictures.  These were three happy fishermen.  They caught the fish just off the coast in the ocean.  Yesterday they spent the entire day on the waterway and caught nothing.  It was good to see the success written on their faces.

Pictured above are Lee, Ted, and Dood.  Three happy fishermen!

More Later............................................................Brenda

Just my perspectives!

Once again, I have become lax in writing, as I seem to do from time to time.  We left Vale on the 16th of September and plan to be here until the 16th of October. 

There were many good reunions and family gatherings during the end of August and the first two weeks of September. There was a meeting in Charlotte with my fellow nursing- school graduates.  The other gatherings centered around birthdays.  Having a birthday celebration for a son turning 51 is not only a shock to him, but to his Mom.  He reminded me that I now have a son who is moving toward 60!  I told him I preferred to think of him as my son who is still in his very early 50's.  I suppose it is all in how one relates to age.  I once read that if none of us knew our age, how old would we be?  Interesting perspective because it allows me to choose my age according to how I feel on any given day.  Some days I am very lucky and declare that I am still forty-five, only to discover that within a few short hours (and perhaps some chores that required that age and strength), I have somehow hit "warp-speed" into the reality of my present age!

Speaking of speed, my younger brother and wife are this day in flight returning from a ten-day vacation to the Holy Land, Jerusalem.  We have been enjoying all those amazing pictures that arrived daily with lovely scenery from all their visits.  The most moving scene was one where an entire group of travelers gathered at dusk, high above the city on the top of a building or a balcony and to the accompany of a single flute, gazed out over the lights of the city of Jerusalem while singing the song, "How Great Thou Art". It must have been an amazing moment in their time there.

As I was saying, we are at the beach and have been having a wonderful time.  Lee has enjoyed several fishing trips with his friend, Ted, and some other companions here on the Island.  The catch has been fair (not the big haul like last year), but enough to enjoy the companionship of friends over the two fish fries we have had!  The fish have been so limited that we have had to curb the list of eaters to just the fishermen & wives, not the usual abundance of neighbors and others to invite over!  The guys keep going out hoping for the big catch of the Season!  Needless to say, Lee is having the vacation he anticipated.

I have enjoyed finishing reading a book I started last month, and have begun another. I have  been fortunate to have some beach-time to read, and for some beach walks.  I spent three hours yesterday working on a photo book, only to inadvertently delete!  In my frustration, I abandoned that for a while in favor of Knitting.  I soothed my burnished feelings with a trip to Wal-Mart to purchase the yarn and knitting needles.  I completed half of the scarf last night while we were watching the 5th and 6th CD's of a "Band of Brothers". 

Today began with some rain that has now changed to bright sunshine.  The temperature is a comfortable 72 degrees.  Looks like I may get that time on the beach after all!  Aaaaaah........Life is good, even if one does have a son who is now slightly 50!

More Later........................................................Brenda

Hugs from Duke!

Our trip to Duke last week was filled with reports on Lee, from Excellent, to Normal, to Great!  In fact, his reports were so good that his lovely female doctor just gave him a huge hug before she began her exam and update!  After she finished hugging Lee, she turned and hugged me too!  We all just stood there laughing and enjoying this special time together like old friends.

I suppose you could say that is indeed what we are.  This doctor was the one who had followed Lee from the beginning, before rehabilitation for the transplant and immediately after for the first year.  He had, for the past two years, been transferred to other physicians as she continued to remain with those who were new transplants before and after.  You can imagine the elation on the part of Lee and this doctor when she expressed her happiness at seeing him looking so well!  After she completed her exam and review of all the tests that were done that day, her only advice was for him to exercise more!  Two more medicines were reduced and his next visit will be the 2nd week of January, 2014.

After sharing the good news with our children, daughter Julia warned us to not get too complacent, but to continue to be on guard at all times.  She reminded us that so much of his good fortune is probably due to the fact that we have continued, during these past three years, to pay attention to our surroundings, to people, to signs of flu, and any contagious condition, and to limit our time in places that would be detrimental to Lee's new lifestyle.  It is good to have her remind us when we tend to forget and go about business as usual, or as our lives might have been before his illness and his transplant.

Still, it is so wonderful to see him much like he once was, and to reflect on the goodness of life as it is today.  I am reminded that my life, along with our children and grandchildren's lives would have been painfully empty without him these past three years.  Lee has often asked me why he was allowed to survive, when so many believed he would not.  Of course, I do not have the answer for that, but I have witnessed many happenings during the past two years that have been advantageous to others because Lee is still here!  He has been allowed to live to see his two great-grandchildren, and to continue to enjoy the rest of his family.  He has made many contributions to others by sharing his story and speaking on behalf of the organ donor foundation.  He has not wasted his time at all.  He and I both realize the sanctity of life, and we are reminded of this as Lee continues each of his prayers with:

"Thank-you, Lord, for Yet Another Day".

More Later.............................................Brenda

End of Summer Reunions!

Now that all the hustle and bustle of gardening, preserving, and beach- tripping are behind us for the Summer, the time has arrived to catch-up with family, friends and long-ago acquaintances from High School!  August and September have become the two months of the year for those activities. 

I love August!  It feels good to slow down the pace a bit, to know that the shelves, freezer and pantry are stocked for the colder weather seasons, and to read a good book without the guilt for letting a chore be delayed a while longer.  The days are beginning to get a bit shorter, reminding us to finish the day a bit earlier, and sometimes we even get a small glimpse of how those Fall mornings will feel.

In our family, it is also a time for birthdays that begin with mine, and culminate with six others before the end of September!  There will be lots of gatherings for those birthdays, not to mention the consuming of calories with a host of cakes!

Back to the reunions..................On August 10, 11 & 12, we were fortunate to have a Herman Sibling reunion.  In years past, we have from time to time, had the Herman Reunion here at the farm to include, in addition to siblings, the children , grandchildren, and those Aunts and Uncles who still survived.  This year, by request from my brother Jim (Atlanta), we just had the four siblings.  We are all now Medicare recipients ( with the exception of youngest brother, Dennis, who just filled his application to be effective Oct. 4 of this year).  Jim and wife Judy arrived Friday and spent the night.  On Saturday, we met with sister Bonnie in Lenoir, along with Dennis and wife Betsy for lunch in the Café 1841.  This was the former Bernhardt-Seagle Hardware we all remembered as a child.  We all enjoyed the memories held by this café and shared stories and laughter around the table.  Our three spouses patiently tolerated our stories remembered.  The reunion continued here on the farm as my brothers stayed for another night.  Even though many years have passed since the three of us awoke to coffee in the same house, it was in that small window of time that we rediscovered the familiarity from long ago.

This past Saturday, August 17, was Lee's 55th high-school class reunion from Hickory High.  He had been busy planning this event since January of this year.  He was the class President and has for every reunion been an active participant along with the other officers from his class.  Again, it was an amazing night to just see him actively circulating among the crowd, enjoying every minute of this gathering.  He was also the M.C. and as I took the many photos, I was filled with pride for what he is now able to accomplish!  It was a wonderful evening!

The next reunion will be for my high-school graduating class from Hudson High.  This will be on September 14th and we look forward to seeing all of my old friends again.

Aaah!  August!  No holidays, No more harvesting, No putting off that good book to read. Time to visit with family and friends, drink extra cups of coffee with the paper on foggy mornings........................Just August, Simple August!

More Later...................................Brenda

Post-Harvest 2013

I suppose you noticed that I have been away from the blog since the first week of July!  Most of my time has been spent between the upstairs and downstairs kitchens here on the farm.  In spite of an unusually wet July, Lee was fortunate to have a productive garden.  Our harvesting began as soon as we returned from our July 4th vacation!  When I say that Lee had a garden, let me explain:  Lee does not believe in planting a small garden.  He plants INDUSTRIAL!  I know how much he loves cucumber pickles, but this year he went a bit overboard!  That garden produced a bushel of white cucumbers every other day for a period of three to four weeks!  I canned twenty-four quarts, his sister canned approximately the same, our neighbors were given cucumbers, our niece also canned many quarts until I finally announced, ENOUGH!  The remaining cucumbers were picked by our brother-in-law, who in turn, shared them with his congregation at church!  We were all relieved when the cukes were gone.

As if the cucumbers were not enough to keep me busy, the green beans, corn and zucchini reached maturity during the same period.  I am fortunate to have a separate kitchen in the basement that is set-up for harvesting and canning.  So it was, or seems that I only came out of the lower level during a period of one week to either sleep or eat!

As soon as we had these tasks completed, we made another trip to the beach to spend with my children and some of my grandchildren.  We can no longer combine the two families in the same beach house because our numbers have increased and the house would need to have an additional six bedrooms!  Even though we miss having them all together, we are able to have better quality time with each group.  Each week was special to both Lee and me.

Returning from that beach trip left no time again.  The tomatoes were ready to can, and there was more corn in the garden.  Our neighbors graciously shared three gallons of already picked blueberries, so once again I was allocated to the "canning zone" of our house to resume the role of freezing and canning, and producing jams for the winter.

Actually, I am not complaining.....I am elated to see Lee returning to a part of his life before his illness.  It brings him great joy to garden, and he helps me with the chore of all of those mentioned.  We feel so blessed to see him able to resume those activities that were unimaginable three years ago!  Looking at him today is seeing a return of Lee to the person he was prior to his illness in November 2009.  He is amazing!

Speaking of Lee, he just popped his head in the back door to remind me that he will be returning with a bushel of peaches, and some more tomatoes, and by the way, the okra is ready!

Oh well.......................................................................................More Later........................

Brenda

Beach, Bad Weather, Boys!

A different week for the 4th of July, so far!  This is the fourth day for Lee and me. One of Lee's sons and his two sons arrived yesterday evening, followed by Laura, her two-year-old son, and grandson, John, 14.  Fortunately for them, the weather, although a bit cool for this time of the year, was perfect!  The wind was a bit much for a late evening beach walk, so the boys, ages 14, 15, 12 and 2 were able to pass football in the street until dark.  They seemed to enjoy the coolness of the evening while Lee, son Todd and granddaughter, Laura and I enjoyed their play from the vantage point of the front deck.  Our hopes of good weather for today vanished with the early morning storm!

We anticipate the arrival of youngest son, Doug, wife Elizabeth and two boys, Alex (10), Max (7) sometime later today.  The scheduled fireworks from the pier tonight doesn't sound very promising.  It has been our custom to load all the grand kids, the chairs and sit on the beach and enjoy the fireworks during the week of the fourth of July.  We are hoping the rain does not cancel that.  Two places we prefer not to visit today will be Wal-mart and the Movie Theatre!  That is where everyone goes when it rains on Oak Island!  Guess the cards and games will have to be played.

Seated at my lap-top, I have a good view of the outdoors.  The skies are overcast, it is windy, and there remains a coolnes(73 degrees) in the air.  We are hoping for a break in this at least for a couple of hours today. Chase just showed me the weather report for the week showing rain each day, low temp of 73,  but, with some sun on Saturday!

So, that is the forcast for the rest of the week ...................all the way up the Eastern Seaboard!   Our challenge this week is to add some different memories to our beach trip.  Perhaps we will be able to leave this vacation having learned more about each other's interests, activities at school, our grandchildren's ambitions beyond school, our children's home activities, their work, etc.  Maybe, for the first time in many years we will actually spend more time communicating and have some good conversations with each other. Sometimes time at the beach, sand and fatigue from both parents and children do not leave time for quality conversing. At any rate, we will enjoy our time together, eat plenty of good food, gain a few extra pounds, and will leave with anticipation for the fourth of July week, 2014!

Beach Time

Lee and I arrived at the beach house yesterday afternoon.  The weather was overcast with signs that rain had fallen earlier.  The temperature was very warm and humid.  In fact, the air was so heavy, you could feel the weight!

After opening and cooling the house, we began the arduous task of unloading the zuccini, tomatoes, yellow squash, cucumbers, and cabbage brought from Lee's bountiful garden.  Our burden was made lighter with the wonderful chair-escalator along the outside stair.  I would send baskets down to Lee, who, in turn, would fill them and send them to me to take inside the house.  We worked very well as a team.

I slept a little later than Lee this mornng and found him on the front deck having his third or fourth cup of coffee.  Imagine my surprise when he announced that he was going to walk to the beach, and enjoy a walk on the beach!  WOW! 

Lee has not been able to do this since summer 2009!  He became ill in November 2009 and since then has been unable to enjoy that walk to the beach and on the beach.  Last year he was only able to get to the beach by riding his golf cart to the beach and on the surf side.  Even with that, he was exhausted before returning!

So, this morning, when he announced his plan, I quickly responded that if he would wait for me to refresh my coffee, change from PJ's to shorts and top, I would love to join him!  We walked down the street, past the five or six houses along the way, crossed over Beach Drive, through the public access area, climbed the very steep dune and stood along the surf and enjoyed the view.  As we were standing there, I made Lee's picture standing beside an impressive sand castle, left behind earlier. He stood tall and competent, with the roaring surf in the background. The sunrise was splendid and I could feel the warmth as I focused my camera on his smile. A lovely lady came by and offered to take a picture of us together. It was a time of pure joy as we left the sandcastle to begin the walk back to our house.

We could not linger long, because there were "gale -force" winds blowing,  and the surf was roaring as a result of the storms yesterday.  As we left the beach, arm in arm, it was with  a renewed anticipation of our time together.  We felt stronger, healthier, and for the first time in four years, we knew this would be a wonderful beach vacation to remember!

More Later........................................Brenda

It's Summertime!

  Summertime is very special!  It is the most care-free of all the seasons.  I suppose it is the memory of my childhood with the expectations of the free and happy days at the end of the school year that continues to evoke that anticipation. Those were long ago Summer days when there were no schedules to meet............just get out of bed and spend the entire day enjoying being young, happy and looking forward to each day..  There were, of course, some small chores to be done, but most of the time, I could play with my friends, swim in the city pool, have sleep-overs with my city cousins, and of course, count on the usual Saturday morning movies. It was a time of neighborhood softball games, Popsicles, bike rides or lazy afternoons reading a good book.  There were, of course, the  occasional rainy days or storms, and that was when Mom would bring the hundreds of comic books stored in the closet to read.

I feel fortunate to have been a child during the time when parents were wise and knew it was best for children to learn play on their own.  We were not obligated to go to Summer camp, or join the local baseball or softball team, nor were we scheduled for other activities at that time. "Helicopter" parents would belong to the future generation....my parents believed in "freedom play" for the child!!  The only thing I can remember that was "mostly mandatory" was Vacation Bible School."  Everyone looked forward to that, even it it did mean we had to forfeit some of our mornings.

It was a time without the distraction of T.V., digital and high-tech.  We only had our imaginations to rely on.  One only needed to find six or eight neighborhood kids to have a game or some sort of adventure without the interference of parents. Living in the rural area of Caldwell County felt safe and secure.  All the bad happenings were "up North" or somewhere else in the world.  Mom was always at home, Dad was at work, and on Summer nights the windows were open to the coolness of the night and the doors left open with only the screen door latched.

So once again, Summer is here!  As with those long removed days,  I am anticipating the joys that it will bring.  We began our 2013 Summer with a Memorial Day week-end with some of our family members.  These days, I am still fortunate to have those grandchildren and great grandchildren to spend my Summers with.  We are looking forward to two weeks at the beach in July.  One week with Lee's children, and one week with my children.  We cherish these times and always look forward to each week.

There is more work to do during our Summer months now.  Lee loves to have a garden, and so far, his garden is beautiful with the promise of a bounty of harvested vegetables and fruits!  He is enjoying his strength and his endurance to be able to complete his work in the garden. We will spend a major part of June, July and August canning the green beans and tomatoes, freezing corn and other vegetables. If we are fortunate enough to miss a Summer storm with hail, there will be peaches and apples.  Our harvesting season will end with the wonderful muscadines, when, in additon to rewarding us with sweet nectar, will remind us of the next season......Fall. Refreshing and beautiful Fall!

I suppose in my reflections, all I am really trying to say is that life today, the memories of yesterday, and the promise of days to come are all part of the blessings of life and all it has to offer. And so it is, that we will continue to greet each season of the year with the same excitement; because we know that when it passes, there will only be the memories. So it is, that we will keep those memories joyful, tuck them away in that part of our memory to be recalled again and again.

On June 23rd. We will celebrate Lee's three-year anniversary of his new lung!  We will leave the latter part of the week for our annual July 4th vacation with the family.  Life is a celebration!  Happy Summer All!

More Later....................................Brenda

Another Changing lifestyle

Funny how we spend many of our early to middle years accepting changes in our lives when they really did not appear as "change".  Sometimes, in glancing backward I know there were constant changes, and I know there were huge changes........they just seemed like part of my life to accept at that time.  You know what I mean:  Career, Career changes, Career moves, financial acquisitions, ( home, cars, major purchases and debts)  pregnancies, babies, rearing the children........and the list goes on.  Aware, but unaware!

At this stage of my life, the changes seem more profound and significant.  The adjustments to the changes are intense and require major perseverence.  Those adjustments are not only mentally challenging, but physically challenging.  Maybe that is the difference......the physical challenge is there, and the results can  be temporary, only to return again.

By now you are wondering why this particular blog and what in the world am I trying to say!  I suppose this is the direct result of my having to adjust to the thyroid medication!  Let me explain:

After I had been on the synthroid two weeks, I began experiencing all the symptoms of overdose.  I had it all............night sweats, no tolerance to heat or cold, heart palpatations, ringing in the ears (amplified), enormous sensations of anxiety, extreme sensations of "feeling faint", nausea, etc.  Textbook picture of someone on too much synthroid.  Recognizing that, I stopped the meds, called the doctor on Monday, had labs that afternoon to check hormone level.  Could not believe the lab tests came back with level EXACTLY where it should be! 

Fortunately for me, my doctor believed my story and lowered the dose.  ( That was after I had emphasized to him that I had become a "Lizzie Bordon", and if the medication were not lowered, I would have my husband deliver me to his house and let him deal with me in that state!)  So now I am on a very low dose that I will gradually increase over the next 3 weeks until more labs.

Lee is dealing with a very bad cold, and as I write, he is en route to his family physician to make sure his lung is o.k.  We will also notify Duke and pay close attention to how this progresses.  We are both disappointed that this has happened because we were looking forward to a few days at the beach over Memorial Day with some of the family.

He also has another problem.  The biopsy that was removed two weeks ago on his face in front of his ear is squamous cell ca.  We are waiting for a call for him to have the Moe's technique for removal.  That will be done in Gastonia. 

His tendonitis in the achilles tendon is much better.  He has been faithful to wearing the brace and with the elevation of leg and exercises to strengthen the tendon, is walking without a noticeable limp.  Unfortunately he has had to cancel his PT this week because of the cold.

We continue to stay in touch with all our other transplant friends we met at Duke.  Two very close friends have both been in rejection these past few months and have had to have the RATG.  We have two other friends we recently met last month who are now @ Duke waiting to hear if he will be a candidate for a transplant.  His Pulmonary Fibrosis is progressing rapidly.  He is only 62, and she is 50. ( To us, that is young for a transplant.)  We are praying his young age and good physical fitness will move him through the procedure swiftly.  I gave his wife one of my books to read, all the while advising that she would be reading about Lee and not to think her husband would be the same.  Lee had many immediate complications!

Lately we have been blessed to be able to spend some quality time with many of our grandchildren and great grandchildren.  We had a good visit last Saturday to Radford, Va. and saw the boys play baseball.  Several weeks prior to that, we were in Charlotte for a LaCross game. Lee was able to see grandson, John's Confirmation on Sunday.  We wanted to see Lillie's dance last night, but neither of us could attend.  There are so many activities we want to attend, just can't get around to all of them.  We cherish those we do see and hope our children understand.

A long blog......................so will close for now and catch-up with you another time.

More Later.....................................Brenda

Mother's Day 2013

This Mother's Day was a bit different and yet the same this year.  The bees did not swarm, and the weather was a bit cooler even with the sunshine.  I was able to enjoy visits from Greg, Julia and three of my six grandchildren.  Things were the same though for the red roses on the white arbor in the backyard, which make sure they always bloom on Mother's Day!  They were in full bloom and everyone gathered around it in taking pictures.  As usual, our shared dog, Bella delighted in being part of the photos.  She is a mixed golden retriever, lab, who officially belongs to son, Lee Jr. next door, but has staked claim to us and the neighbor across the road.  She is a real ham and seems to always know when to appear for photos!  I will try to get my daughter to add some of the pictures for me.  Unfortunately, have not mastered that and all the pictures are on her phone!

Once again, the younger grandkids, (now teens) stayed together riding the golf cart through the meadows or as usual taking their desserts in the privacy of their domain in the downstairs rec. room.  It was good to once again remember stories of Mother's Day's past and those who are no longer here.  Most of our remembered stories brought laughter even though the sadness of those memories were momentarily pushed aside.  My children remembered special "growing up" stories, to which we each at some times feigned complete innocence.

Hard to believe we are now approaching the third year anniversary of Lee's transplant!  I believe that if you did not know his history and you could see him now, you would see him as he was before he became sick!  Isn't that amazing?!  Of course, he still has to work at staying strong, and the medications are there every day reminding both of us that the journey continues.  He never fails to begin his prayers with thanks to the Lord for Yet, Another Day.  In fact, he is so pleased with each day that in his thankfulness he describes the day and all that he appreciates in it.  He really has developed a personal relationship with God.

On my last blog, I announced my upcoming procedure of Thyroidectomy.  I had that done on May 1st. and came home the next morning.  All my pathology reports were benign and now the goiter that was growing is gone.  My thyroid gland had only a small percentage of function, so I am hoping that now the Synthroid medication will elevate my level and give me some more energy.  It is a relief not to have to continue to monitor the five other nodules that could have at anytime changed to cancer.  My only follow-up is to increase calcium intake and to take the synthroid the rest of my life.  So far am doing amazingly well except for a very weak and tired voice and the fatigue that hits every evening.  I am sure that will diminish more with each passing day.

Lee is doing very well except for two things:

1.  He continues to have many precancerous lesion on his head, face and neck due to the very strong anti-rejection drugs.  Last week 22 were burned with liquid nitrogen, and one sent for biopsy.

2.  He has been complaining of pain on weight-bearing for his left heel.  Finally saw the orthopedic doctor @ Ortho Carolina last Friday.  He now wears an ankle brace to walk, ices it down when resting, and there was some evidence of a heeling fracture on the heel bone!  He is now in a PT program for recovery and we are hoping to see good results.

How I enjoyed yesterday! I received calls from daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, my sister, Bonnie and my neice, Elle, all with wishes for a Happy Mother's Day!  We were showered with many desserts made by Cathy and Julia.......I now have another good book to read, and some lovely poems and pictures to enjoy!  We walked next door, later in the evening for another offering of dessert and ice cream, some more children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and a present of beautiful flowers to plant and enjoy.  As we were leaving, our adorable two-year-old G.grandchild, Easton, was waiting by the door.  He looked at us and said, " I leaving too!"  With that, we put him into the golfcart, along with his Mom, Laura who patiently explained to her son that he could ride home with us but must return with her.

We count our blessings of familly and the wonderful memories we make with each of them.  My wish is the same for you.

More Later........................................................Brenda

April!

I know it has been a while since I posted and I suppose the reasons are:

 1.  I did write a blog, but somehow lost it in cyberspace and could not recover!
 2.  Became so discouraged with the loss that I put blogging on hold ( it was a good write!)
 3.  At the beach over Easter, and too preoccupied with visiting to write!
 4.  Returned home after a week, and with much to do, time was a problem!
 5.  Finally, at the end of April, wanted to write before this month ended!

So, there you have it....five reasons for not blogging when you and I both know that it is mostly laziness.  There is something about writing that never ceases to amaze me.  The more I write, the more I desire to write, but once I get out of the habit a lot of time will pass and I must work at getting the written words to once again convey my thoughts.  An example is: this past sentence had to be written twice because my fingers kept hitting the wrong keys!

Anyway, to bring you up to date on what is going on in our lives:

Lee had his four month check @ Duke last Wednesday and had a wonderful report!  He will return in August for another check.  He is so amazing!  Hard to believe where he was this time three years ago when he was mostly bedridden, struggling to breathe on very high concentrations of oxygen, tethered to O2 with a fifty-foot line, and willfully struggling to acquire more feet in measurement of walking so he could return to Duke for a lung transplant!  Unbelievable!

Today he is a healthy, happy fellow.  He has been busy gardening, working the bee hives, fixing tractors and lawnmowers, and watching for the many swarms of bees that have parted their former places of habitat to land in his many orchards behind the house!  So far, he has caught eight swarms of bees!  He kept two and gave the others to neighbors and friends.

He left earlier this morning with a list of errands.  He has been the president of his high school graduating class and is actively planning their 55th class reunion in August.  I help as his private secretary, taking his notes, rewriting, typing and printing.  Yesterday I reminded him that during the day I had worn the many hats of :  Nurse, private secretary, chef, housekeeper, etc.....the list goes on.....................

We were planning to have our third reunion at the beach with our lung-transplant friends, but had to cancel and plan for a later time because of something I need to do.

I , along with my ENT surgeon, have been keeping watch over a thyroid condition for the past five years.  Unfortunately, one of the six nodules in my multinodular goiter has increased in size and now has microcalcificaion in it.  Anyway, I will be having a total thyroidectomy on Wednesday, May 1st.  This has been anticipated, but somehow I kept hoping it would just go away!  Not to be.   So, Lee is able to do a lot of things now and one of those will be to take care of me for a few days.  Of course, we have a big family and the children are always willing to step in and help.

I will try to write again, after the surgery.  Having some time on my hands for a few days should allow for more blog reports!

More Later................................................Brenda

Psalm Sunday 2013

 I thought it was Spring, but you could have fooled me because it is Winter here!  We keep getting "Wintry mix" weather reports across the bottom of the TV screen.   Not only that, but there seems to be a resurgence of the "flu"in our area.  For that reason, we decided to avoid the large crowd for the cantata presentation at our church today.  In spite of the rain and the chilly temperature, we did attend the bible study or Sunday School this morning.  As I explained to Lee earlier, we could probably safely attend the early class full of older couples (like us), because most people our age do not venture out if they are ill.  We were safe because half of the class was absent.

This afternoon we have stayed indoors and the warmth of the house is cozy despite the cold rain and wind.  Lee has been watching the "March Madness" basketball tournaments; however the last time I looked, he was fast asleep in his recliner.  Actually, he is waiting for the Carolina game later this evening, but doubt he will make it for the later game for Duke.   Anything after 10:00 is lost in this house for both of us!

We are looking forward to some days at the beach beginning Friday through Wednesday of next week.  We will be joined by our Virginia family, their two sons, and we are taking one of our teen-age grandaughters with us.  I hope the childeren will not be too disappointed, because so far, the weather does not look warm!  Maybe it will change by the week-end......sure do hope so!

Lee is doing extremely well!  He is in the process......very slow process, I might add, of reducing his prednisone from 10 mg to 5 mg.  Right now, he is down to 8 mg. and so far is doing great.  The reason we are reducing it slowly is because he tried moving down from 10 to 5, and had difficulty breathing and was extremely fatigued.  We convinced his doctor to go very slowly this time, and I believe it is working for him.  He continues to take the very strong anti-rejection meds, and we believe his success will be dependent on our being pro-active with labs and monitoring of his medication.  His doctor reinforced that line of thinking the last time we were at Duke.

We have stayed in touch with our friend whose husband died on March 9th.  She is having to adjust to all the first-time events in her daily life without her husband of 47 years.  She is fortunate to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren, extended family members,  her church and a huge support group of friends. I know she is a very strong person, and will be able to carry on independently.  Her sister has invited her to go with her to Ireland this Summer..............I encouraged her to do that when we talked.

This week begins with lots to do!  Eight guests will arrive around 6:30 tomorrow evening for a cook-out ( we are hoping the weather clears ),  and the remainder of the week, we will be getting ready for our short vacation at the beach, (also hoping the weather clears!).

Until the next blog when we return...............HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!


More Later.................................................Brenda

The Trip

On Monday, March 11, Lee and I departed around 11:00 a.m. for the trip to Brooklet, Georgia.  This is the home of our good friend who had recently expired on March 9th.  We had read his wife's e-mails the past two weeks, and after talking with her a week earlier, we knew that his recovery was probably not going to happen.  It was at that time that Lee said he wanted to go to his funeral, whenever it would be.  I agreed.  We had discussed this earlier with the two other couples who also planned to be there for his wife in the event that he did die.

And so it was, that we began the long journey to Brooklet, Georgia ( which is a very small town about 30 miles West of Savannah ).  We had made reservations to stay in a larger, neighboring town called Statesboro, Ga., which is about the size of Gastonia.  Our plans were to meet our friends from Roanoke at the hotel, located in Statesboro.  Unfortunately, our other friends from Wilmington, who had planned to go, had to cancel because of a previously scheduled surgery for the wife.

Leaving @ 11:00 gave us an estimated DOA of 5:00 that evening.  Along the way we checked with the couple traveling from Roanoke and discovered that we were approximately one hour ahead of them, and planned to be at the hotel upon their arrival.  Lee drove all the way, refusing my offers to drive.  He explained that it would take too long with my driving ( I refuse to go 80 + miles per hour ), and it would bother him more to be my passenger.  I let him drive all the way there.

The trip was uneventful, and we were looking forward to (according to our directions), exiting and with one short turn being immediate to the hotel.  Not to be!  We looked all over Statesboro for the LaQuinta Inn, and had almost decided it was not even there.  Finally after the game of "Let's just look around", I persuaded Lee to stop at a convenience store and ask a clerk for the directions.  When he returned to the car, I asked if he had the correct information, to which he angrily responded, "unfortunately, I do not speak Indian!".  In exasperation, he called the Inn, and the very kind clerk patiently guided us to our destination.

We arrived as two very "grouchy" travelers!  Tired and hungry!  Were we surprised to see our friends from Roanoke's car sitting directly in front of us in the pull-through at LaQuinta!  When we greeted them, we explained how it was that we unexpectedly toured Statesboro!

After a short rest, following the unloading and checking-in, the four of us decided to eat dinner around 6 p.m. and make it to the receiving around 7:30.  ( the receiving was to be from 5-8 )  Perhaps most of the people would have left, or the line very short at that time.  We arrived at the funeral home and were somewhat dismayed to see the sea of cars.  Once inside the building, we found they were all there for our friend.

We were in the line for over an hour waiting to speak to our friend's family; however, we were able to meet many people and learn much more about our friend.  It seems the entire towns of Brooklet and most of Statesboro had come to pay their respects.  He was spoken of with great admiration from everyone we encountered.  So many people told us of experiences that had influenced their lives in positive ways.  He was described as a working man, always ready to help others, and even though he was a man of few words, his silence spoke volumes toward helping his fellow-man. We would have expected no less.  Having known him for a short two and one-half years, we had come to respect this quiet, insightful man.  His dignity was unsurpassed.  We knew he was a person to be trusted. 

The funeral was the following day at their church in Brooklet @ 11:00 a.m.  We were honored to be named as honorary pallbearers.  Our hearts were filled with grief and saddness for losing our friend.  The pain felt by his wife was almost unbearable, and we pray daily that she will find peace during these difficult months ahead.

Even though the trip was fast and furious, and we were exhausted the next day, we are glad that we were able to pay this final tribute to our dear friend and his family.

More Later.............................................Brenda

Insomnia & daylight savings time

This will be my third attempt at writing this blog.  First, aboout two weeks ago, then last week, and now at four in the morning because I cannot sleep!

From time to time, I experience bouts of sleeplessness, but this has been an entire night.  I know it is the result of learning that our good friend who had been @ Duke the past four weeks, died yesterday afternoon.  I had prepared myself for his dying, but had not prepared myself for his excruciatingly painful ending.  I was not there, but the story related to me was very disturbing. 

I will share his story with you. 

During the first few months following his lung transplant in July 2010, a nodule found in his new lung proved to be lymphoma.  Chemotherapy was given and the nodule disappeared.  He was declared free of the cancer.  During the next year, he experienced several other unrelated crisis and miraculously pulled through each one.  We, along with all of his friends, celebrated each of these renewals with joy.  This last one, however, was one that completely destroyed his entire body.  That, apparently was the treatment he chose to have for the leukemia that had developed quickly during the past three months.

He had been given the option of a) doing nothing, and living one month, 2) going home and receiving blood transfusions and living up to one year , 3) or take the strong chemotherapy and if it worked, he could be cured.  After much deliberation with his wife and children, he chose the chemotherapy.  The odds were stacked against him as he was told two out of three do not survive the treatment.  He died three weeks after the treatment with intense pain and insurmountable suffering.

And so it was with a heavy heart, concern for his wife and family, plans to make the long trek to Georgia, that I could not fall asleep last evening.  I must be honest with acknowledging these emotions. I admit that I see the possibility of my being in a similar situation with losing Lee.  No matter how good our life is now and how well Lee is doing, I fall under the dark, heavy cloud of worry when I am forced to see it in another.

So..................here I am, alone with you and the computer, wide awake.....no sleep in site!  Unfortunately, I have a busy Sunday.....Church............a wedding shower in the afternoon.........Will stop for now, soon it will be time for coffee and breakfast................all this on the first morning of daylight savings time!

More Later..............................................Brenda

Sisterhood, Brotherhood

On Tuesday of this week, Lee and I traveled to Durham for his clinic appointment on Wednesday, Feb. 20.  We decided to leave early in order to visit our friend whom I told you about in an earlier blog.  After talking to two of our other transplant friends, we all decided to meet in Durham, have lunch with our friend's wife and hopefully get to have a short visit with him, depending on how he was doing on that day.

In preparation for this meeting, we decided to make it a reunion, of sorts, and to plan to leave some surprises for the two of them to use during those long hospital days that we all remembered so well.  After many e-mails, and a couple of phone calls, we were able to rendezvous in the hotel lobby of the Hampton's Inn.  As usual, we met with open arms, lots of hello's and hugs, having not seen each other for a period of many months.  Everyone arrived with bags of personal items, books, candy, gum, game books, a new "Sports Illustrated" for our friend (our guys knew this would be stimulating!).  We filled a large yellow basket with all the treasures, covered it in cellophane wrapping and tied it with a ribbon.  In fact, we had so many items that we had to fill two additional gift bags...one more for our friends, and the other for another transplant asquaintance, who unbeknown to us was back at Duke.

We had so much fun making the basket, that one of our girls said that we now belonged to the "Ya, Ya, Sisterhood"!  We could not leave the guys out, hence, the "Brotherhood"!  After having lunch with our friend's wife, we were delighted to learn that he had requested a particular dish from one of his favorite restaurants in Durham!  What a joy to see him sitting up in bed, munching on fried shrimp and looking at his Sports Illustrated magazine with a contented smile on his face!

The next day, Wednesday, Lee had a full day at the clinic.  His schedule began @ 7:30 a.m. with labs, breathing tests, x-ray, and then to the out-patient endoscopy area at 9:30 for a bronchoscopy @ 10:30.  He was to see the doctor at 1:00, so we did not have time for lunch since he had to wait until 1:30 until he could eat.  I did insist that he eat the peanut butter cracker I had handy, along with a large coke. (Remember one time after an early bronch. he did not get to eat, and fainted in the treatment room....followed by a 6-hour visit to the ER, when he only needed to eat!.........of course, I wanted to avoid that again!

Anyway, all reports were very good, and Lee is to stay on all meds as is and to be proactive in calling Duke if we have any questions.  He will probably return in another 4 months, just for a clinic visit.  It was a very good day!  I did make a mental note of the way he reacted to the anesthesia (fentyl, versed ) this time.  He was awake quickly and remained alert for the next several hours.  After eating a small meal around 5:00, he began to get very groggy....almost like a delayed reaction to the drugs.  I suspect that maybe he had been given something to reverse the drug and when it wore off, the drug was still there. 

Anyway, all was well after his good night's sleep, and we were able to leave Durham early yesterday morning.   We checked with our friends before leaving and were disappointed to learn that he had a bad night and his wife had to stay with him.  I am afraid our visit might have been a little too much for his debilitated condition.

Lee drove all the way, as usual, while I read in my new book on the Kindle for 2 hours.  Lee loves for me to read and not help him drive  (back-seat driving, that is).  I have to admit that I do get nervous going 75-80 miles per hour in 5 lanes of traffic!  We were back home by 12:00, and had I driven, we would have taken another hour!  A good trip to Durham.

More later................................................Brenda

Daffodils

It was during the Winter of 1994 that I married Lee and moved to the farming community of Vale, N.C., after having lived in Lenoir most of my life.  I left behind a house filled with memories of my first marriage, my husband's sudden death, and the two children we had.  I also left behind a large family that included my Mom, sister & family, and my husband's family whose homes were located in the same vicinity as mine.  I departed with good memories, but also the terrible memory of the death of my first husband at the young age of 43.  Meeting Lee provided a  wonderful, nurturing healing filled with a bounty of love shared by the two of us.

After a long courtship of six years, and with my son and daughter both married with their own homes and families, it seemed like the right decision to marry Lee and move into his farm.  Even though I was happy with this marriage, I was very homesick, and was finding it increasingly difficult to be located a one-hour drive from all whom I had known for so many years.  This included my neighbors, and my church family.  My roots were  planted deeply in the Baton community of Caldwell county.

And so it was in early March of that year, that I was still very homesick, and grieving daily for all I had left behind. In the early Spring, my new husband was working in the backyard in the area of the barn.  From my vantage point at the kitchen window I could see him walking slowly toward the house on the well-worn path.  I thought it odd that he had one hand behind his back.  I heard him open the kitchen door and felt him approach me from behind.  As I turned, he smiled, and handed me a lovely hand-picked bouquet of daffodils that he found growing behind the barn.  Any doubts I had about leaving my home and moving to his farm disappeared in that moment.

Each year, at this time, Lee has continued to appear with his hand behind his back, or in my absence, I will later discover a small mason jar on the kitchen windowsill filled with the daffodils.  His way of letting me know how much he loves me.  After our grandson John moved next door, Lee showed him the daffodil patch and taught him how to pick a bouquet for his Mom, while he picked one for me.

Now to the rest of this story:  When Lee was very sick and was hospitalized @ Baptist hospital, I returned home one week-end for some necessary items.  As I drove along the country roads, the daffodils were blooming......I began to cry because I was afraid I would never again see Lee able to bring me the beautiful daffodils.  Later that evening, I glanced out my kitchen window to see 10-year-old John coming up the path carrying a handful of daffodils.  He rang the doorbell and presented them to me with a hug....so like his Grandaddy!

Since Lee came home in November 2010, I have continued to receive those precious Spring daffodils each February or March............whenever they bloom behind the barn.

More Later......................................Brenda

My Valentine

As I write this blog, a dozen beautiful long-stemmed red roses adorn the table along with a funny valentine and a box of assorted chocolates!  How amazing that I have been granted another lovely day to celebrate this occasion with my love!
Even though I am reminded that the same Valentine's day, 2010 was during the peak of Lee's illness, we were still able to celebrate @ Forsyth hospital with the help of our son, Todd and daughter-in-law, Donna.

At that time, Lee was still struggling to breathe and to walk, and neither of us felt he was up to a celebration.  When I arrived at the hospital that afternoon, there was a vase filled with a dozen red roses, accompanied with a huge card from Lee.  The room had been rearranged by the staff with the removal of the second bed to accommodate a table that had been covered with a red tablecloth.  Todd Donna arrived with bags of food from our favorite Italian restaurant, "Macaroni Grill".

With the help of the nurses and physical therapists, lee was moved from the bed to the table where the two of us were given a candlelight dinner.  I believe the staff shed a few tears that day, along with the two of us.  I have to admit, that even as I write, my eyes are not dry.

Daughter Julia had sent a special Valentine's day booklet filled with pictures of home.  It was indeed, a lovely Valentine's day in spite of the sadness surrounding Lee's illness.

So, today, we are celebrating another year of our love and commitment to each other.  It is a very good Valentine's day.  Lee is stronger and the best he has been since the transplant.  My gratitude is boundless and my cup overflows!

I noticed the daffodils beginning to bloom along the roadways and in scattered places among the countryside.  They have a special meaning to us, a story I will share on the next blog.

More Later........................................Brenda

Concerned

This past week has been filled with correspondence from one of our close lung-transplant buddies and his wife.  We are filled with concern because he has recently been given the diagnosis of Leukemia.

When we relocated to Durham in 2010, we formed some close bonds with four other couples.  All of the spouses (husbands) spent many weeks together at the Center for Living in preparation for the transplants and many weeks following the transplants.  We, the wives, along with our husbands, became a strong support group and have managed for the past two years to get together for five or six days at our beach house for a wonderful reunion and celebration of life.  Lee and I have been planning our third reunion-celebration for May 2013, and were disturbed to learn that one of our group is seriously ill.

They are both in Durham and many tests have been done during the past week.  Unfortunately, he has a rare type of leukemia and one that is difficult to treat.  Already on immunosuppressant drugs and a host of others do not make it any easier to treat.  Currently, we are waiting to hear his prognosis and type of treatment.

I guess on the positive side, this couple has made excellent use of their time since the transplant.  They have been able to travel extensively, having just completed a trip to the Holy Land prior to Christmas 2012.  So many of the items on their "bucket list" have been completed, and for that, we are truly grateful.

I am sharing this story with you so you will understand how fragile lives are for any post lung- transplant recipient.  We are aware each day as Lee consumes his 20-30 pills, that even though they keep him out of rejection, they are weakening his kidneys.  In addition, the medications change the blood cells and their production.  One of his most potent medications, Prograef or tacrolimus, is so strong that a level must be checked periodically.  The level must be maintained in his blood between a 4-6 point deviance.  A drop or an elevation can create either rejection or kidney damage.  That is why we deligently have these blood levels checked each month and more frequently if they begin to deviate either way.

In addition, even though the medications allow Lee to lead a more normal lifestyle, he continues to struggle on a daily basis with strength issues, and more recently has begun having some periodic episodes of ligament, joint and muscle pain in various areas of his body.  Again, we are not sure if this is medication or as he says " Honey, I am just getting old!".

All in all, he does very well and I was delighted yesterday as I watched him from my vantage point at the kitchen window.  He was happily working in his orchard, pruning trees in anticipation of a bountiful Summer.  In addition, he has been attending meetings and as the once president of his high school class, is planning a reunion in late Summer.  He is a busy fellow!

Yes, the story of our friend is our concern too.  We continue to stay in touch, to pray for them and for guidance in their decisions during the remainder of this week.  I have learned that the reality of this age is that we must accept losses, and with the loss, the pain.

More Later........................................Brenda

Roller Coaster Season

Lee and I have endured many types of "roller coaster" experiences related to his illness and lung transplant, and now we can add to that, one about the weather. 

Hard to believe that yesterday topped 75 degrees, and the day before, 65 degrees.  Yesterday was not one to be enjoyed because of all the tornado watches around us.  Seems like when the weather is drastic such as last evening, I spend a lot of time on the phone checking on our families and making sure all are home and O.K.  Guess that will always be the Mom in me. When I called my daughter in Morganton, I could detect a tone of worry in her voice.  Her older daughter was in Raleigh and would be returning with a bus filled with high-school juniors and seniors.  They were to see a play and leave Raleigh around 9:00 p.m.  After her Dad called to check with the chaperones, he was reasssured that they would not leave until the storm passed.  Fortunately, they would be traveling in the opposite direction of the storm.  I have not heard from them today, but am sure all is fine.

Windy, sunshiny and cold today, but that does not stop Lee!  He has been on the go all day!  As I type this, he is busy in his workshop working on the many projects he has going. Further investigation from my kitchen window tells me he is not alone.  His buddy, Hewitt is there too.

It is so good to look out at the shop on most days of the week and see an array of trucks belonging to the many farmers in our neighborhood.  Once again, as Lee has become able to work there, his friends will stop and visit for a couple of hours.  This was a ritual that was well-established prior to his illness.  All of these farmers were accustomed to helping each other with different tasks throughout the year.  During the Spring and Fall, they would work with taking up hay.  In the Summer, the gardens would involve lots of work and again in the Fall, more hay.  The Winter months usually involved cutting trees and splitting wood.  Lee cannot be involved in those activities, so it is especially good to see them continuing to gather around him in his workshop.

There are still some farming chores that Lee can do, and these involve gardening.  He can do that as long as he is loyal to wearing his industrial mask.  Now that he is much stronger, he is working more and more independently............so wonderful to see his strength returning.

We will be returning to Duke for a one-year bronchoscopy on February 20!  Hard to believe that he has not had a bronch in a whole year!  All of 2011, he had one each month!

So...........life is good!  The Sun is shinning, the days are getting longer, and we are enjoying each day to the fullest!

More Later..............................................

Winter and Ice

First round of Wintry weather is over and surprise!  Tomorrow and Wednesday look like a small dose of Spring.  Nothing like living in the South.......lots of variety in weather.

The big Colonoscopy is past and the report was very good....even to note another one is not necessary for another 10 years!  How good is that?!  Nothing unusual to report except that the doctor agreed that I probably had a bout of diverticulitis after Thanksgiving (I do have some diverticulosis, which is not uncommon for my age).  Need to be more aware of my dietary habits.

Lee has been spending some of his time on these cold, Wintry days working in his shop behind the house.  Now that he has upgraded his heating system from a wood-burning stove ( no wood smoke now ) to an electrical heat, he feels comfortable working on those unfinished projects left behind these past few years.  One of his projects is to get his antique car up and running.  I am looking forward to another ride through the country in his 1931 A Model Roadster with the Ugga horn and the rumble seat on the back.  We have been know to ride to our neighbor's house, put the top down, put them in the rumble seat and continue on our excursion throughout the countryside.  We try to stay in the country since the speed is usually around 35 miles per hour.

He has lots of projects that are ongoing.  He is committed to all the birds in our yard and makes sure there are lots of bird houses available for their mating in the Spring.  In addition, the honeybee hives are contantly in need of cleaning and repair.  He has even taken to doing some woodworking for some other needed repairs.  The bird feeder outside the kitchen window was in such a state of disrepair that I was prepared to discard and look for a new one.  Lee surprised me before Christmas with not only a repaired bird feeder, but one with a new paint job.  Looks as good as new!

As the weather warms, he plans to work on pruning fruit trees, blueberry bushes, blackberry vines and cultivating the garden.  He has already pruned the muscadine and grape vines to ready them for full production in the late Summer.  There are so many edible foods to look forward to this Summer because of Lee!

Today he is busy with all the work that has to be done in regards to taxes.  He is gathering all the information that is necessary to take to the CPA.  Personally, I think his CPA has it made.....Lee does all the work here and the CPA just puts it on the correct forms and we sign..........

Seems today I finally broke my "writer's block".  I have been struggling with desire to write and to create something useful.  There are many mornings or times during the night when I awaken with a profound thought about something I would like to write only to fall asleep and forget it by morning.  I am going to try and get up and write if that happens again!

I finally finished the very long book "No Ordinary Time", by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Enjoyed learning all about FDR, Eleanor, Churchill, and World War II.  This book filled in a lot of blanks from my early childhood.
I would recommend this book to any and all history buffs and to all "baby boomers".  What an amazing time in our history!

More Later.................................Brenda

New Year / New Look!

Now that I have had a long rest post Holiday Bustle, thought I would try and bring you up to date on our beginnings of the new year.

We have stayed close to home because Lee has had a close relationship with his dermatologist in 2013!  Unfortunately, the strong anti-rejection medication continues to feed all his precancerous lesions on his face, head and upper torso, changing them into nasty cancerous lesions.  This, of course, requires many appointments to hopefully catch those in the pre-cancerous stages.  To date, he has had approximately fifty pre-cancerouse lesions eradicated with liquid nitrogen, and six cancers removed surgically.  We are fortunate that all could be done locally.

Duke had requested that he have another big C (colonoscopy procedure)  prior to his scheduled appointment in February.  That was done ten days ago and all reports were favorable!  My turn tomorrow! Ugh!  Lee has been persistant in my seeing the doctor, so this is just to make sure that all is o.k. (which I feel it is ).  Think maybe we have shared so much these past three years that it has come to this?!  Colonoscopies together?!   So far, have been on clear liquids (yum!) past 28 hours.....starving.  Already planning my meal tomorrow....thinking Olive Garden!  I get to drink the big guns starting @ 5:00, followed by the nuclear blast at 9:00 pm.  I remember when Lee hit that stage, he just carried all his "juice" to the bathroom, turned on the T.V. in the bedroom and disappeared from view for about 2-3 hours!  I plan to do the same.............

Oh Well, back to a better topic:  I get to have food in approximately twenty-four hours!

We have not been back to the beach since we were that for a fast week-end after Thanksgiving.  Our plans are to return in February, March, April and May.  A week at a time, hopefully.  We need to check on the property and get ready for the busy Summer months.  Lee is already talking "fishing" with his buddy, Ted.

I suppose we have had a slowing-down time since the holidays.....much needed.  We were both exhausted and I awoke Christmas morning feeling as though I had been beaten over every muscle in my body!  I ran a fever for about 24 hours and then it was gone.....lucky me.  For a while I was afraid I had the flu.  It was a close cousin!

On this day, we are enjoying some lovely 60 degree, sunny January weather.  We have been told it will change in two or three days and be very cold.  So we will enjoy the sunshine and warmth and get ready to "hunker down".  That means:  warm electric blankets and throws, good books for me and great football for Lee!  Enjoy!

More Later..................................Brenda