Our Year - 2009

Without question, the highlight of 2009 was our cruise from Seattle through the inside passage of Alaska, accompanied by our children! What a GREAT trip, and to share it with our kids, just made it “Special”. As you can see from the picture, we were all in good form.
The year started out with us in Las Vegas. Jerry worked a part-time job for the County, we enjoyed playing in the casinos, following “The Fab”, a Beatles Tribute Band, and just enjoying the Las Vegas weather.

Early May, we headed for the State of Washington with our friends, Rick & Pam, ending up in Fall City (near Seattle) for Memorial Day. Unfortunately, that night, Jerry’s heart decided to go into A-Fib (irregular heart beat). 2 days in the hospital, heart into A-Flutter, cardiologist said “go on your cruise, have fun, we’ll take care of you when you come back”. I like that Dr.!

On May 30th, we left Seattle for a Great week’s cruise. On June 16th, cardioversion put my heart back into rhythm, and it was onto Winthrop, WA, and Silverline Resort. Winthrop is at the eastern end of the Cascade Scenic Highway, about 50 miles south of the Canadian border. We spent 2 ½ months working at Silverline (Laura in the office/store, Jerry being the “water” guy, and other maintenance. We had a good time, and some of our experiences, and trips are documented in earlier posts on this blog. Winthrop is in a beautiful part of our country!

After Labor Day, we headed south, going to Bayfield, CO (east of Durango, SW CO) to visit with friends Kay & Doug. There we visited Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, and of course, the Four Corners. What a beautiful area. End of September it was back to Las Vegas, Jerry went back to work for the County, we did the Drs bit, and settled back into the Sin City routine. In Dec., we took a 2 week trip to Pilot Knob RV Resort (just west of Yuma, AZ) to visit friends Rick & Pam, Jerry & Karen, visit our Dentist in Mexico, and party! Now we are back in Vegas, looking forward to another GREAT year.

Oh yes, the family! Our 8th Great grandchild, Levi, was born in August to granddaughter Priscilla & Craig in Aurora, CO. Daughter Cindy, Joe, granddaughter Melissa & Kajsa moved into a new house in Marion, IN in Dec. Daughter Deb, John, granddaughter Sara & Cami moved into a new house in TX, after 25 years of marriage, all in the same house! Granddaughter Paula & family moved from MI to Florida in September – gee, we just have to go east sometime. So “our” family has now left Michigan.

That’s a brief recap of our year, it sure went FAST! In 8 days, we will celebrate our 51st anniversary, still together (they said it wouldn’t last), still in LOVE. We look forward to 2010 with anticipation, wondering just what great marvels we will experience. We will keep you posted.

Room With A View!

So much Fun! Tuesday night, around midnight, I felt a little funny, slight chest pain. Checking my pulse confirmed I was in A-Fib. A ride in an ambulance to the ER, where they confirmed my diagnosis. Tests showed NO heart attack, and pain disappeared shortly.

For 6 hours, I was in a cubicle, then, since I was being admitted to the hospital, moved to a hallway area, waiting for a bed to open up. The hospital was at 132% of occupancy! Pictures below.

Ok, a waiting game. Around 3:30pm, I checked my pulse, told the nurse I was back in rhythm. A call to the monitoring station confirmed it. Thank you for my meds. Can I go home? Only after the dr releases me. Around 5:30, "Jerry, we have a room, well, a better hallway bed for you - it even has a TV". I declined. About 6:00, dr arrives, agrees I can go home, but, of course it DOES take a while for paper work, finally left at 7:00.

Two more good things, they brought me supper, and even one for Laura! It was good. While Laura was sitting with me, she finished crocheting one pot holder, and completed 3 more. Nurses saw her working on them, and bought 2 of them!

In the pictures below, in the one view is the outside door where all patients brought by ambulance come in, the brown double door in the other picture is the entrance to the hospital from the ER. All patients and employees go through these doors - Bang!, Bang!, Bang! NO sleeping!, but you sure see a lot of people.

All is fine, we leave in the morning for the Yuma area for 2 weeks!

Old Butch

I can't believe I'm posting this, but.....here it is!

John was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets,' and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs. He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced. This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells.
John's favorite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen, but this morning he noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing the roosters coming, could run for cover. To John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges. The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well. Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention.

Vote carefully next year, the bells are not always audible.--

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

For those that don’t know, we are now in Las Vegas, in fact, I worked 40 hours last week! Our trip south was enjoyable, saw some VERY interesting things. Over the next few weeks, we will post some of those that we enjoyed.

Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park. There are over 2,000 cataloged arches in the area, ranging in size from 3-foot openings (the minimum considered to be an arch) to 306 feet, base to base. Today new arches are being formed and old ones destroyed by erosion, weathering, etc., gradually changing the landscape.


Just a view that shows some of the interesting formations within the Park.





This pic includes Balanced Rock, how would you like to be under it when it comes down? Yes, we were able to stand underneath it!










These arches are known as The Windows.









This area is known as the Cove of Caves, part is called Double Arch. Wow! The beauty of the seemingly carved forms is fantastic! We hope to go back and explore more of the Park soon.

This is Delicate Arch, probably the most photographed Arch of all.

Did You Know?

Ok, I've been BAD! I promise, a new & original posting this weekend. But, in the mean time, a forward from Sister-in-law, Beckie, that I just couldn't ignore. Don't know if it's all true or not, but it's sure food for thought..................Enjoy and just try to contemplate the numbers! So What Does It All Mean?

"Cactus"
Reportedly Sony played this mind-blowing video at their executive conference this year. Quite astonishing, and thought provoking. Click on the link below...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

The 5 Pledges

At the end of his program last Friday, Glenn Beck showed the above "Pledges", and said,

"If your politician doesn't believe, support or reflect these beliefs in their actions then they aren't supporting you. More importantly, they aren't supporting, protecting or defending the Constitution."

What do you think????

Winthrop, Washington

Downtown Winthrop looks like the set from a Western movie, with false-front wooden buildings, hitching rails and boardwalks all helping to create the illusion of a 19th century frontier town. An ordinance says that your business has to look old and worn out, staying in the old West character.

Visitors enjoy rodeos, cattle drives, music festivals and loads of parties, from wine tastings to balloon rides. You can find diverse lodging from campgrounds, RV parks, cabins to luxurious resorts. Shopping includes gift shops, art galleries, a great variety of restaurants, and even an ACE Hardware.

I’ve included a few pictures, enjoy. The last picture is of Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe, which has such things as gourmet chocolates, hot dogs, and ICE CREAM! With some 50+ flavors, ½ of them are home-made, Ummmm, Good!