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BLOG DESCRIPTION:
   Shi Blogs Too: from out of the mountains where I live. I will now be keeping a journal. This is something new for me. I have no idea what I am doing, just that I am diving in. This should be an interesting journey for me. Mainly because I consider myself to be a semi-private person. I live with my fiance and our two kitties, in what I have come to recognize as a small community in a somewhat remote area. Retirement has it's own life style and livelihood. Far away from the norm.       ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Sorry for outbidding you in the [Link To Item #2113623] ...I'm not a fan of bidding wars and feel bad about it. I know this isn't the same thing as the package itself, but it's the least I could do. *^*Smile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) If you want to find out more about me...read my Author Bio ~
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| Life just keeps spinning by and I seem to be doing the opposite by slowing down more and more with every passing year. I have gained four great grandchildren over the past 6 years. Three great granddaughters and one great grandson. Not to mention the one growing inside her mama's belly to become the fourth great granddaughter in August. They have all brought me tremendous joy and inspiration filling up my life with bundles of hugs and laughter. It hasn't been all joy over the past year of 2022 and the few months leading into this 2023, however. It became a most devastating and grief stricken time in February, 2022. It was on Valentine's Day of that month that I lost my beloved son Patrick unexpectedly. He left behind an amazing daughter, with two lovely granddaughters, and his two adult sons. Of course his whole family misses him terribly. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him and think of him always. Then much to my surprise, I had to say goodbye to my oldest son Michael(my firstborn) who suffered a grave heart attack and did not recover from a ventilator on March 4th. of this year. Too much heartache and suffering for this mother to endure. I leaned upon my Lord to see me through this grief. It is with a heavy heart that I continue to survive and acknowledge the loss of three of my sons. Christopher, Michael and Patrick will live in my heart forever. My daughter Julie and my youngest son Matthew are my remaining children whom I love, cherish, and appreciate. |
| Happy Halloween everyone! Here's another trinket for your collection -   Only 50 of these. |
Going through OldWarrior's port I found this poem of his. It was and still is my favorite Old Warrior poem -
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I got a big surprise in my email today. I received this wonderful merit badge from Jellyfish-Flying Away 4 Xmas!  She was very kind to give me this special badge. ![Merit Badge in Artistic
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In absence of a trinket MB - I am sending you this one to say thanks for all the fab trinkets I have collected from you - I have enjoyed your photos and captions, and I think you have created more trinkets than anyone else on WDC!! Fabulous *^*Delight*^* *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Artistic-125.gif) It really cheered me up.  |
Another year has slipped by. Lets see the latest news is - my left foot healed good after I broke two bones in it last summer! I wore a heavy boot for walking on my foot for 3 months and it came off on Christmas Eve. So I guess that was my best Christmas gift ever.  Then in January we made our 5th. trip to Hawaii. We so deserved it after my confinement for weeks on end. We had a very nice visit in May from Ron's son Noel his wife Albina and their seven boys from Minnesota. Yes, I said SEVEN. They stayed in a rented cottage across the road from us. They helped grandpa celebrate his 74th. birthday while they were here. We really enjoyed all of them. They ranged in age 14 down to 15 months. Really good kids and smart too. They had a four day visit with us. I am going to be a great grandmother with my first biological great granddaughter due this month in just a few days! Very excited about her arriving and praying for a smooth arrival. I have been making trinkets here like crazy. I really enjoy working with the images and I don't mind spending the GPs to do it. I seems I forget more now than ever, and I find it is easier to work with images than it is to write much anymore. I spend time on Facebook also as it keeps me in touch with my kids and grandkids which is nice being as how we are so many miles apart. They still come and visit when they can and we drive down for special occasions, but most the time I take the train and ride a ferry when I go down to visit them. Noel, Albina and boys. |
| Another year later and another entry here. I guess I really don't have that much to talk about anymore. Or maybe it is just that I choose not to talk about it. I can't seem to figure that one out. I have been doing okay with my health issues. I had some ups and downs with urinary tract infections , but those have been all cleared up and I am doing fine. I have not written anything new lately but I did create a new cNote shop that I made with my own photos. On the home front, we had a two day vacation in the San Juan Islands the end of June. We stayed at a lovely cabin on Orcas Island. It was very serene and peaceful during our stay there. We made the climb up Mt. Constitution and went up into the tower for a panoramic view of the San Juans and Canada. Our summer has been fantastic, yet without the normal rainfall abnormally dry conditions in the central and eastern part of our state occurred. Wildfires sprang up everywhere from lightening strikes. We have had to deal with heavy smoke coming over the mountains and spreading across the west. Hopefully the recent rainfall has helped with some of those fires. On a lighter note, we had two granddaughters get married over the last several months. First our granddaughter Sierra in October and just recently our granddaughter Karly in July. What a blessing to be a part of their celebrations. What beautiful brides! |
| Wow! Time really does fly! I can't believe that a year has gone by since I last wrote in my blog here. I will try to catch up on some events since that time. First of all I had a good check up with my cardiologist in November of last year. He said I did not need to come back for a WHOLE year! That was good news. We had our home painted white and had the old decks torn down. Two new cedar decks were built to replace them. Those projects were started in August of last year and extended into October. It looks like a brand new place around here. We made a trip to Minnesota in November, also. We flew back to visit Ron's oldest son and his family. There are eight of them! Noel, Albina, and SIX boys! Daniel, Elijah, Marcus, Caleb, Pasha, and Maxsim. We had a wonderful visit which lasted five days. They live north of Grand Rapids and out in a wooded area by a lake. The home they live in is a log house with a loft. A big wood stove heats the home, nicely. The grandchildren were a joy to be around and quite entertaining. The oldest, Daniel, played his violin for us. Then Elijah played his cello. We shared stories and read story books to the youngest boys. Albina fixed us pheasant for dinner one day. It was very well done and tasty. Noel is a hunter and he took Ron out to hunt grouse while we were there. There is a big bear skin hanging on the living room wall, along with a deer head high up between the windows. The day after we left was open season for bucks, and Noel got his that day. We spent our nights in the Timberlake Lodge Inn in Grand Rapids. During the morning hours the boys swam in the pool at the lodge and played on the water slides. The rest of our time was spent shopping and eating out at a Chinese Buffet. Our visit came briefly to an end and it was time to say goodbye. We got hugs and kisses from each of them. The boys each made special crafts for us to take back home. It was hard to say goodbye, but we left with smiley faces and waving hands, and an invite from each to "please come back again, soon." We said we would. I turned 70 years old in November. My kids and grandkids took me out to dinner. What fun! Christmas was spent in Eastern Washington at Moses Lake. We saw plenty of snow. Spring didn't come fast enough to suit us. We booked our flight and hotel in Honolulu and we were on the beach the second week of April. Here it is almost June already. We tore out the old fireplace and replaced the electric stove insert with a pellet stove insert. Hired a contractor to sheetrock the area above the insert, and install stone around it. A picture of his progress is below. I can hardly wait for it to be done and the mantle to go up. |
| We had so much fun in Hawaii last month. The food was wonderful. I had a Mai Tai that was "out of this world!" We were both so relaxed and enjoyed our hotel and surroundings with ease. It looked like so many more people were on the beach this year, compared to previous years there. We donned our bathing suits this trip and played in the Pacific Ocean on Waikiki. It all ended to soon and I wish we could go back again, already.  |
| Life is good. I am feeling good and we planned a vacation for this month! We are going to go back to Waikiki in Honolulu. We loved it there so much, why go to any of the other islands? I have been keeping up with my cardio by walking 30 minutes every day that we can. We are so ready for this vacation! |
| I turned 69 years old on November 22, 2012. I still feel MUCH younger than that, however. My physical body may be getting older, but my mind is still somewhere in between TEEN & TWENTY! I have fallen to the health awareness ritual of a senior citizen. Or, might I say medicare patient. Which has brought me to the conclusion that getting older really does suck! In spite of my cardio rehab all summer long, and my daily walking of the big community block here taking me into the arrival of the brisk fall air, I succumbed to another mild heart attack on the first of November. That put me back into the heart lab for another stent in an artery across the front of my heart. I'm all fixed up now. I don't go back to my cardiologist until five months from now. I appreciate every waking day. I appreciate my partner even more than ever. I appreciate my kids and grandkids and dwell less on the every day problems that they incur. Life is good. I am happy. |
| It's been three months today since I had my stents put in and suffered my heart attack. I am feeling good and walking the big block here with Ron almost every day, now. No more cardiac re-hab, but walking is important for me to keep my cardio-vascular exercise up. I feel better when I walk breathing in the fresh air deeply is no problem now that I don't smoke anymore. When we can no longer walk because of the rainy weather coming in the fall I will be using our treadmill on a daily basis. But, for now nothing beats the daily walking My kids and grandkids were here to visit me the first part of the month. They brought tents and rafts for sleeping outside and rafting Baker Lake while they were here. There was THIRTEEN of us and we had a grand ole time! Ron and his friend Dave left for a 5 day motorcycle trip to Hell's Canyon in Oregon and stayed in Idaho, and eastern Washington. They left on Thursday, July 5 th. Then my three sons and families arrived the next day. They drove two vehicles up with tents, badminton set, and rafts in a carrier on top of one. then on Saturday, July 7th. my daughter and granddaughter arrived in Mount Vernon on the train. So, I had all of my children here for a wonderful visit! They spent time at Baker Lake and down at the salmon hatchery at the river. The boys & families left on Sunday afternoon. Ron came home on Monday, and my daughter and granddaughter stayed until Tuesday morning when Ron & I took them back to the train station. We took lots of pictures and made a nice memory.   ** Image ID #1819819 Unavailable ** |
| I got the report back from the echo-cardiogram and it looked good. I did have some fluid around the heart that I was told would go away on it's own. I have been attending a cardio re-hab class two days a week now, and I am beginning to feel the benefits from that. Ron even gets to use the equipment there also, because it is a small class. We are doing an aerobic workout for over 30 minutes with warm-ups beforehand and cool-downs after. It is a fun class that I will continue for at least another few months. I saw my cardiologist yesterday and my check-up was good! He is going to wait on any procedure for the remaining artery with 70% blockage, because I am doing so well. If I continue improving at this pace through out my cardio re-hab then I will go back to see him and they will do a stress test then. It is too early for that right now because the stents are so new. Oh, and Ron & I are walking around the big block here at home, again. It feels good to be able to walk without any pain in my chest. ** Image ID #1819819 Unavailable ** |
| I am very lucky to be able to say that I am still here. I had the heart catheterization as scheduled on April 24 th. My cardiologist was able to insert a stent into the right front artery of my heart. It was 95% blocked. It seems he had quite a challenge as my arteries are smaller than normal. The catheter tore the artery wall after the stent was inserted. That sent me into a heart attack! I remember the pain but I was so sedated that I did not really know what was happening. My cardiologist had to repair the tear and insert another stent over the repaired area of the artery. I was actually taken into the heart lab twice and cathererzied twice! He wanted to be sure that everything was okay. It was no cake walk, but two stents later I was able to go home the following day. One of the first things I noticed was that I could take deep breathes. That was something that I was not able to do after years of smoking. I was able to get my appetite back and my strength came back slowly after about a week. I am on the road to healing and I will begin a cardio-rehab program down in Mount Vernon next Tuesday. I was fortunate enough to be in such a wonderful hospital - PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington. The cardiologist who did the procedure on me was an international expert and I am lucky to have had him taking care of me. All of this heart stuff is new for me and it is taking sometime for me to wrap my head around it all. I have always been healthy most of my life. Especially during my senior years. Now, I am dealing with the reality of it all. I am glad that I chose to quit smoking a year and a half ago. That has helped I am sure. I am also sure that it caused most of my coronary artery disease, though. Tomorrow I go for a echocardiogram to find out if there was any damage done from the heart attack. I am hoping I am fine there. I look forward to getting back into a daily routine of exercise and we sure could use a vacation after all of this! ** Image ID #1819819 Unavailable ** |
| I am off for a Heart Cath procedure early tomorrow morning. I've had episodes of chest pain since I quit smoking 15 months ago. A Nuclear Heart Study was abnormal. There is blockage in one of the big arteries that wrap around the heart. My cardiologist thinks it is the artery on the back of my heart. They will probably insert a stent in the blockage area. I can't wait for it all to be over so that I can resume my normal exercise routine. But, I am very grateful that my doctor caught this in time before any heart-attack occurred. |
| I had to change my membership to an upgraded one instead of the Premium one I have had for the last four years here. Today I noticed that I had not gotten any email since May 15, when my membership switched over. I failed to notice the limit on the upgraded memberships email. So, if anyone emailed me after the 15th. I did not receive it. Sorry.  |
| We went to Honolulu again in the middle of April, 2011. This time we took a tour of Pearl Harbor. It was very interesting and we really enjoyed the history lesson in the movie ahead of the tour. We have had a late spring here at home and the escape to a warm tropical climate was much needed and appreciated!  |
| We lost our beloved Russian Blue cat, Bentley, in the early spring. Although, we still have our sweet five year old Beyonca, who is jet black, with fur like velvet.We missed our male kitty so much that we couldn't resist these two kittens from Petco. They are a Russian Blue mix, just 13 weeks old. Ron picked one and I picked the other from a litter of three males. He named his Ozzie and mine Ringo! Here are the latest additions to our family. Ozzie is in the foreground on the left side and Ringo is in the foreground on the right side. |
| I am discouraged with these new and complicated additions to WDC. What is the purpose in making all these changes that some may find rather discouraging? I clicked on an auction that I had posted to and the lettering there was so HUGE that I could scroll forever and still not make "heads nor tails" of it!!! I doubt that I will be keeping my membership here when my year is up. Does anyone else feel this way...or is it just little ole me?  |
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