Crossville, Tennessee

We only had to drive a short distance from Deb’s so we didn’t leave until late afternoon and arrived at Hiawatha Manor which is near Crossville close to Lake Tansi. For some reason it didn’t remind me of Hiawatha at all. We had a nice two story townhouse. It was a cold and partly rainy week. We did spend some quality time with friends who live in Crossville whom we met 4 years ago, Tom & Hazel. It was fun to hear what they are doing, visit with them and see their house. They took us to the Homestead Museum. That area was the largest homesteading project in the U.S. in 1934. We also went to prayer meeting with them at First Baptist and to an area WMU meeting. Coleen continued her walking. The longest was about 30 minutes or so. We read and watched some of our History of England course. We went to the Cumberland County Playhouse on Friday afternoon to see On Golden Pond. We packed the van on Friday evening and left early on Saturday morning (6:30 a.m.) for South Carolina.

March to April Travel

We did spend a few nice days at the timeshare near Austin. When I went back to the physical therapist they really didn’t want me to be finished so we decided that we would do two more days of therapy during the week of March 15. I saw the surgeon on March 13 and was given clearance to do about anything except for impact sports, running or jumping. My disk is smaller than before and is not ready for any impact due to the trauma.

We went to a timeshare in east Texas near Hawkins on Friday night. We spent a great weekend and went to church in Longview. We got to see some old friends there. On Tuesday we drove back to Waco for therapy and stayed with Phil & Susan for 2 nights, leaving right after therapy on Thursday to go back to east Texas. I got a list of exercises to do on my own. These I have done but not every day. We left for Indiana on Saturday, March 21 but instead of two days we took three which was much better for me. Riding is still difficult and I really need to stop about every 1 ½ hours to stretch my back. The hardest part is I really need to recline, not walk but it is working.

We arrived in Warren at my dad’s late on Monday afternoon and spent until April 4th with him. We stopped by our storage in Anderson, visited with friends and family and met with the builder. Oh so many decisions to make. We picked the outside view and then worked on the changes we wanted inside. I was able to do some walking on many days and also tried to work on my exercises. We went to see Tommy Tune at the Honeywell Center in Wabash and listened to a couple sing show tunes in the chapel at Heritage Pointe. Bob was able to get a spot removed from his head at a dermatologist. We went to a fish fry, to Nick’s for tenderloins and on the last day to a pancake breakfast. In between I rested and sorted through paperwork.

We drove from Warren to Nashville, TN on April 4 and spent a very busy week there. Right now Deb is still job hunting so we spent each day with her. She sorted through her closets and I even got some new clothes. Deb & I also spent about 3 days doing some scrapbooking. We surprised her with a finished scrapbook for our 2006 Australia trip for her birthday.

RECOVERY

Well, I sure didn’t post more in a couple of weeks like I thought I would. I have been resting, recovering, resting, doing physical therapy and resting. I have learned a tremendous amount about my muscles and how to use them, including how to strengthen the ones that protect my back. This recovery part is a slow process and can be frustrating for me. At first I was afraid to move because the surgeon had given so many don’ts that I really didn’t know what the dos were. I have been doing therapy three times each week since February 11 and am getting much stronger. I certainly am not going to run any races for a while. My stamina is very low but I am working on that. I have been able to walk up to about ½ mile at one time but that is all and my speed is not very quick. Sitting for long periods is very difficult for me to do. But each day is a little better and I praise God for that.

We have worked on some scrapbooks, done some reading and spent time with Phil, Susan and James. Bob has cared for me and helped whenever needed. We spent two nights in Grand Prairie at the beginning of March for our annual physicals and of course found that we absolutely must begin to eat a healthier diet. That being said we have been able to pack up from Phil’s and come to a timeshare at Lake Travis, right north of Austin.

We arrived on Friday, March 6. That put us a little closer to San Antonio so that Coleen’s brother Eric and his wife Martha were able to come and visit with us on Saturday. It was great to see them again and spend a little time together. We are only spending 5 nights here and will be back in Waco for 2 nights to hopefully finish physical therapy. We really don’t know for sure until Coleen sees the surgeon on Friday. Hopefully she knows enough about the exercises that she can continue to do them on her own.

January - What a Month!!!

January has indeed been quite a month. We returned from California on Saturday the 3rd and checked into the Wyndham timeshare in San Antonio, Texas. We spent two very nice days (Sunday & Monday) and then came the changes. Coleen awoke early on Tuesday with incredible pain down her left side. We packed a few items, drove to Phil’s in Waco and then on Wednesday drove to Grand Prairie to the doctor. The short story is she had back surgery for a herniated disk on January 19. We cancelled all of our plans for the rest of the month and also for February. We have been staying with our good friends, Jo & David. They have been so gracious to open their home and allow me time to rest before surgery and recover after.

We have been to the doctor today, February 6, to have the staples out. Now I will have four to six weeks of physical therapy. We are heading to Waco to stay with Phil and Susan and will do the PT there. I am to have 3 one hour sessions per week. The doctor said I should be doing well by then and be back to walking and hiking. I can tell you that it sounds great. I thank everyone for their prayers during this time. The Lord is teaching me patience and I praise Him for healing and recovery. I will be doing reading and maybe some scrapbooking. No lifting or twisting. Bob has been incredible and is such a help. Will post more in a couple of weeks.

A DREAM COME TRUE

We have talked about going to the Rose Parade for many, many years. It finally has happened. We flew to Los Angeles on Sunday, December 28 and stayed at a hotel in Van Nuys, California which is about 30 minutes from Pasadena. We went with the Elderhostel Program and are extremely glad we did. It was a most awesome and enjoyable experience. We had speakers and learning opportunities along with seeing the parade. This is such a popular Elderhostel program that it often is filled more than six months in advance. There were more than 200 at our hotel and about 50 more at another hotel. We were divided into groups. We had 45 in our “green” group. Most of our meals were at the hotel.

We listened to the 1988 Rose Queen on the first night. She explained the process of becoming the queen and what the responsibilities were after that. The first day we had a get acquainted session with our group and a video on band selection for the parade. Then in the afternoon we went to Bandfest and saw 8 bands perform their field shows.

There are three sections of Bandfest as there are 18 bands and two that perform at every show. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed watching the bands. It was too bad that our schedule was such that we could only attend one of the sessions. That evening though we were listened to three band members from the Alhambra Unified School District Band. They were excited and talked about the work they did to practice and be in the parade.

On Tuesday we went to help decorate a float. This was a truly unusual and utterly astounding experience. There are only 6 floats that are “self-built” and we worked on one of them. All of the other floats are made by professional float building companies. We worked on the La Canada Flintridge float. Our group glued flowers and cut roses. Bob & I glued the blue delphiniums onto the name “La Canada Flintridge” that was put along the bottom of each side of the float.

There were so many flowers and seeds.

We felt very possessive as “our” float came down the street and we found that it had won the animation award. What a memorable experience.

Tuesday evening we listened to one of the Rose Parade personnel tell about their responsibilities. It was amazing to find out that there is no monetary remuneration at the Parade. The awards are given but they are just an award, no money involved. That includes the bands, floats and horse units. It is just a high honor to be there.

Wednesday we listed to Dr. Tommy Cairns tell us how the floats are judged. It is his responsibility to teach the three judges what and how to do the judging. In the afternoon we had a bus tour of Los Angeles which was our least favorite activity. We ate lunch at the farmer’s market and even toured through the oldest house in LA. We had a very nice sit down dinner for New Year’s Eve and celebrated with the east coast. Then we retired early to bed as we had to leave the next morning for the parade at 6:15.

Thursday was parade day and it was awesome. We had great seats in the bleachers. We were about and hour from the parade start which is about half way of the entire route. What was the best was there were no commercials and we could hear all of the bands.

Friday was another early morning as we went to the Post-Parade Float Viewing. This was the time to take the close-up pictures and take pictures we did. Between the two of us we have over 1,000 photos of this trip. We were able to walk up next to each of the floats. It was quite foggy so the distance photos were not a much fun as the close-up. How interesting to see each of the tiny seeds and blossoms that cover the floats.

We also were allowed inside the barricades of the float that we worked on.

The program was then over and we returned to the hotel and then flew back to Texas the next day (January 3).

December - In Short

Well, December has been quite a month and I didn’t post anything at all. We have been from Kentucky and Tennessee to Texas, Virginia, Texas, California and then back to Texas. We spent one quick night at Deb’s after leaving Kentucky and had our teeth cleaned the next morning before we left for Texas. We drove from Nashville to Arkadelphia, Arkansas and took a freshman student at Ouachita University out for dinner. It was good to see her again. Her folks were with us when we went through our overseas training in 2005 and they serve in our region. She stayed in the dorm in Chiang Mai for part of the school year.

We drove on Saturday, December 6 to Grand Prairie and spent some time with our special friends, Jo and David. We also were able to attend our “home” church and see so many of our friends. On Tuesday we flew to Richmond, Virginia to go to our debriefing at the International Learning Center. The time was very well spent. It was helpful not only to reconnect but to process the “coming home” and put it into perspective. We flew back to Grand Prairie on Saturday, getting back right on schedule and were pleased to then attend the choir Christmas Program at our church. Sunday was spent visiting. We continually thank the Lord for our church and pastor. They have been such great support while we were in Thailand.

Monday we left the Dallas area and headed south. We stopped for lunch at Phil & Susan’s. It was the first time we had seen their house in Waco. We continued on to Montgomery, Texas which is about an hour north of Houston. We spent four days just recouping, resting and repacking. Then our schedule went sort of haywire. We had planned to spend Christmas week at South Padre but because of a hurricane in July the resort that we were to stay in was still closed. So, Bob, Deb and I stayed with Phil, Susan and James for Christmas week and had a great time. We visited, played games and just hung out. The change in schedule played havoc with our already purchased flights but we managed. Deb was originally flying into Houston so we waited there for her. Her flight was cancelled so instead of flying to Houston she flew early December 20 into Dallas. Jo & David picked her up. Bob & I drove from Houston area to Phil’s and then Bob & Phil drove to Grand Prairie to pick up Deb. What fun but we did get to spend our holiday together.

On Sunday, December 28, Bob & I flew out of Austin, TX to California for an Elderhostel at the Rose Parade. Phil drove Deb to San Antonio for her flight back to Nashville. We are thankful for flexibility. We praise God for 2008 and the time we have had to spend with family and friends.

Indiana - November 17-29

We have had a very busy two weeks. We spent 12 days at Coleen’s dad’s townhouse in Warren, Indiana and he kept us busy. Monday nights are game nights and we played euchre at the main house. Tuesday morning is choir for all 3 of us. Then Bob & Dad play pool while Coleen does chimes before she plays pool until time for lunch in the employees’ cafeteria. Tuesday afternoon can be ice cream anytime from 1-3. Tuesday night we went to the first Huntington North girl’s basketball home game of the year.

Wednesday afternoon we spent about 2 hours examining and measuring a house like what ours will be. We took notes and made quite a few decisions. Bob is going to draw each room so that we can continue to make more notes. We will meet with the builder in March. On Friday we did some repacking in the van, drove to our storage unit and exchanged some of our items for others. We drove on to Fishers and stopped at Coleen’s brother’s house before going to see Once Upon A Mattress at Hamilton SE. Coleen’s niece was in the musical. Saturday night we saw Annie Jr. at the Pulse Opera House in Warren. Sunday was chapel service and in the afternoon we went to the swing choir performance at Huntington North.

It was cold all two weeks and there was some snow but not very much. I did do some walking in the mornings. We even found time to play some card games. I did some sewing to finish some Christmas presents and also altered a foam mattress for Dad. I had the urge to do some baking and made three kinds of cookies that my mother used to make. Wednesday before Thanksgiving I cooked all day. I cooked the turkey, dressing, gravy, butternut squash and creamed onions. Thanksgiving Day we did the mashed potatoes and then just warmed the rest. It worked great.

We had a great Thanksgiving Day. Family came from Ohio and Fishers. There were 15 of us and we were in a room with a kitchen in the main house. Once everyone arrived we also had ham, green beans, eggplant casserole, deviled eggs, appetizers, homemade rolls, pies and cranberry sauce to go with what I had fixed. Needless to say we did not go hungry. We divided up the leftovers afterwards to take home. It was a day to be thankful, to reminisce and to visit. God has given us so much and just to have time to spend with family is a blessing.

We left Indiana on Saturday and went to a timeshare in Cadiz, Kentucky. We have spent our time relaxing, catching up on email and organizing our scrapbooking items. We left the sewing in storage and this time will work on our scrapbooks. We stayed up late and slept in late. I haven’t set an alarm all week. We have a couple of busy weeks ahead so we wanted a time to just do some vegging-out. Thursday we will head to Debby’s for one night and then head to Texas.