30 Oct 2011, Sunday: Our breakfast omelets were sadly undersized, but that was perfectly acceptable since we had arranged for a late breakfast with Uncle Lawrence and Margaret at 10am at Schneithorst's in St. Louis and for a late lunch with stepmother Helen at 2pm. Sister Carol drove down early from Mt. Olive and rode with us. In the early evening, Ron enjoyed visiting with nephew Eric's family including Chelsea and Halloween-costumed Kyle and Erika.
29 Oct, Sat: Ahh! The luxury of sleeping late! After another great egg white veggie omelet at I-Hop, we changed hotels because the price of a room at a Hilton Garden Inn includes breakfast prepared by a chef, i.e. egg white veggie omelets for us. In contrast, most hotels do provide a hot continental breakfast with your choice of fatty, sugary foods that we cannot have - like those wonderful cellophane-wrapped, rubbery scrambled eggs with cheese - bleh! Cynthia was blessed with a peaceful, quiet afternoon while Ron drove out to Trenton to spend time playing baseball with old friend Don S. and his grandson and another couple of seven-year-old boys. Ron's scruples and better judgement were overridden by the necessity of "running" after baseballs and "throwing" the runners out at second; not optimal activities for an old fart with a bad knee and a bad shoulder. Lets' not discuss the number of errant throws.
28 Oct, Fri: We awoke this morning to the joyous celebration of Cardinal fans whose world turned brilliant red as they celebrated an incredible turn of events last night. Our lunch with the Stalcups was lovely. Ron rode with Don to pick up his grandson for a puppet show foregoing the last game of the world series for this precious time with a grandson. Cynthia visited with Ann. Tonight's World Series victory was spectacular.
27 Oct, Thursday: The glorious fall foliage through the Ozarks was so mesmerizing, so tantalizing, so tempting trying to get a good photo from a fast moving car. The photos cannot capture the kaleidescope of color. We arrived at the Corner George Inn in Maeystown, Illinois after dark and learned from Ron's friend David that the Cardinals were behind losing the sixth game of the World Series. Woe is folks in all of Missouri, especially everyone in the St. Louis area.
26 Oct, Wed: We arrived in Mena, Arkansas about three in the afternoon for a brief visit with Cynthia's genealogy Miller cousins - each one nicer than the last - and departed just in time for dinner at the Mena Cafe arriving in Clarksville, AR for an overnight at a Hampton Inn well after dark.
24 Oct, Mon: We reached Denton, TX too late last night to phone Dorothy B, but we did find her at home this morning and enthusiastically spent the day and evening visiting with her.
23 Oct, Sun: Good bye to the lake house:
22 Oct, Sat: First issues of the CD were burned, packaged and in the mail. Old tennis shoes are trashed with photos to prove it. Recycling reigns in the household. Packing and sorting boxes has consumed the day. It looks like an all night venture of packing the car for departure to Denton, TX to see Dorothy B before pushing onward and upward to CHI with stops en route to see relatives. We thought it would be good to see our precious two year old who lives with Auntie Carol in Illinois; she reads at a fifth grade level and her math skills are marvelous. Cynthia baked two loaves of bread today to use up the remainder of the flour. We have enjoyed using the bread bakery machine daily the past two or three weeks. Son Jon met us at the Yacht Club for a very pleasant dinner.
18 Oct, Tues: Answers to complex issues re: CD formatting were resolved while waiting for Cynthia in the car. Quiet the mind and the answer appears. We had a lovely lunch before the drive to M.D. Anderson.
17 Oct, Mon: Quality of life is at an all time high despite not getting as much work done. Restful sleep is wanting with Saturday's departure deadline approaching like a bullet train. Despite Cynthia's cancer and recovery issues, our happiness quotient is off the proverbial charts. Tired tonight! But the CD is about ready to roll.
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| A MacBook Air! |
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| OH JOY! A present from the Great Pumpkin (AKA Santa) |
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| Spectacular Sunrise 12 Oct 2011 - Lake Conroe, TX |
7 Oct., Fri: 3:00 AM and the two's of us were both awake preparing for the big events of the day: Over the river and through the woods to recycling center we did go. This is good news! The house overfloweth with recycling treasures one of us is very happy to see find a new home. But, first... we saw the radiologist oncologist at M.D. Anderson. While not quite so optimistic as the first visit, he said Smooch does not need radiation unless she cannot tolerate the Arimidex. We had a lovely lunch at the Rotary House at M.D. Anderson before going to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump (recycling). The day continued to be pleasant and very enjoyable even enduring a trip to the Woodlands Shopping Mall. Smooch had an ulterior motive like buying a Christmas gift in October at the Apple Store. She was not quite as successful as pulling off the surprise birthday party (the only time anyone has succeeded!). We tried out the Apple MacBook Air... very light, thin, with the potential of using Virtual Machine software to allow Windows to run on the Mac too. Somehow we walked out of that store with a package from Santa Claus that will mysteriously appear on the 25th of December, no doubt, in Atlantic Beach, NC. We shopped two Wal-Marts, a Kroger's, bought gas for 2.96 and had a marvelous dinner at the Yacht Club with her son Jon and friends, Hank and Felicia.
5 Oct, Wednesday: It is a stellar day on Lake Conroe. The sunrise is spectacular, the balmy breeze a blessing and freedom from rotator cuff pain marvelous. Donations (2) of five dollars arrived for the CD!
2 Oct.: 5:12AM - my beloved Smooch is still asleep. Mass e-mailing to Rambo correspondents sent mere minutes ago. Yesterday was very much routine: egg white veggie omelets for breakfast, 45 minutes on elliptical machine followed by minimal weight training, dinner at Caddy Shack, and to bed at 8PM. Friends will be amazed that I cook, even if nothing but omelets. Thank God that the weather is finally cooling; yesterday the high was about 80, and it was marvelous to work while lounging beside the lake listening to the water lapping on the new-found shore.
1 Oct: Here we are starting another month. Thank God for each day, and this morning Cynthia awakened very, VERY thankful that she had slept beautifully pain-free all night. Beside being thankful to awaken, I was happy to find no pain in my knee today; a couple of days of rest seems to have been extremely beneficial. Pardon me a moment whilst I venture outside to enjoy the rosy glow on the horizon, and a marvelous glow it is. Coffee is refilled, previous coffee spill has been sponged and blotted again, so onward towards the next project, a mass genealogy e-mailing announcing that The Rambo Book CD is being created for immediate distribution.
Wonderful to be back in touch with friends from my AT hike in 2008 (trail name Shakedown Cruise). Here is a photo sent to me by Rail Road King (thanks).
