Update

Here it is Saturday afternoon and a beautiful day outside (although a little cold).  I thought is was time to update everyone on our activities here in Moscow.

 After about a year of my complaining we went out to Joann's and I picked out the material I liked and Mom made me a new quilt.  She said, "it definitely is not the material I would have picked."  It is wide, long, and warm.

Medical Update:

• Mom had an MRI on her shoulder on Thursday.  She said it was a breeze compared to the one I had about eight years ago.  Larger, faster, not so claustrophobic, as the one I had.  She was done in 30 minutes.  She goes in on Tuesday to read the results and see what the next step is.
• I had my eyes checked this week and, yes, it is time for cataract surgery.  I am ready for it but scared to death of being on the table, total conscious, and having someone sticking things in my eye.  My left eye surgery is scheduled for the 9th and then the right eye about two weeks later.  Wish me luck.
• I went to a dermatologist about the pre-cancer spots on my arms and ears.  She burned the ones off my ears but had me get a "cream" to apply to my arms every night for three weeks.  It slowly burns things away and is supposed to look pretty rough at the end of three weeks.  The cream is a small squeeze tube and is listed for $1,300.  Yes, you are reading that right.  Our insurance covered the first $700 and then our pharmacist found a coupon on-line to cover the remaining $600.  Our cost = $0.  Nice lady.  We're getting to know her pretty well.

Other things:

• I finished our taxes and filed them this morning.  It got a little complicated with two wages, three retirements, two Social Securities, oil royalties, and a partridge in a pear tree.
• My medical switches over to Medicare tomorrow (the first day of the month you turn 65).  My church insurance becomes my "gap" insurance.  We'll see how this changes things - good or bad.
• We bought a bale of peat moss today (to fill in where the front planters have settled).  I'm getting antsy to do some yard work.  I know it's only February 28th but I'm ready.
• It's Jazz Festival this week.  Not as many kids or buses as there used to be.  It has changed some since Doc Skinner retired and Lionel Hampton died.  It actually didn't rain, snow, sleet, or hail during the festival.
• I got excited about finishing my life history so we went out and bought a new flat-bed scanner and I plan to get moving again.  It's been 10 years since I did anything.

We bought this flower arrangement at Home Depot yesterday.  At least it's spring inside the house.  Have a good week.

Cole is crawling!

This first video is one of many unsuccessful takes.  Those with weak constitutions, look away! :)

This video is a bit better.  He's been able to get around pretty well by rolling to his destinations so the only thing that has really changed is his speed.  He's going to keep me busy!

Activity idea for our next family reunion?

Road Trip!!!

Finally, the first road trip of the year.  Headed west to visit Seth, Lacey, and family.

 Bet you can't guess where this farmer went to college.

 Columbia River bridge at Vantage.  They have raised the reservoir about half way back up after repairing the dam (Wanapum).  They discovered a 150 foot long crack opening up on the back side of the dam below the water level.  They lowered the reservoir to relieve the pressure and then installed huge brackets and bolts to pull the cement back together.

 Mt. Rainier in the distance as seen from the top of Ryegrass Summit.

 Ivan's birthday party.....

 .....and the cake.

 Grandma and the gang on a hike along the pathway behind their house.

 Koper's basketball game (there is a better picture at the end of the blog).

 Weston's basketball game.

 On the door of the gym.  I like the message.

 Seth and Lacey's house (the left half).

 Mt. Rainier from a pathway just above Seth and Lacey's place.

 The boys on our hike to Snoqualmie Falls.

 Snoqualmie Falls from the lower vantage point.  There is a nice new parking lot, trail, and view point at the lower level of the falls.

Mom by a huge log at the Railroad Exhibit in Snoqualmie.

My Burger King toy on the way home.

This is a better picture of Koper at his game.

We had a great time, saw lots of cool things, visited, watched games (including Seth's at the stake center), ate, and enjoyed the great weather.

Spare Time

On cold and rainy afternoons I find that I have a "few" extra hours in the day.  So, for Christmas Santa Claus brought me a model train locomotive.  I have spent the last week painting it and then putting it together.  Lots of little parts.  I think it turned out quite nice. 

House fun

I think you all know that we bought a house just after Christmas. If not, you do now. We've enjoyed the house and having a place to put everything and it's certainly a step up from the 1/2 bedroom basement apartment we were living in. For the most part, our house was move-in ready and we've just changed or painted a few things that we wanted to, so it hasn't been too much work. We have an apartment in our basement that we plan on renting and it needed a bit more work than the rest of the house to get it in shape. Here's some pics of our renovations.

 The downstairs living room/bedroom before - complete with wood paneling and popcorn roof.

Another view of the same room

First we painted the walls a light grey with white trim 

Yesterday we got carpet and it looks like a whole new place

 Kelly did a somersault on the new carpet and certified that it's definitely soft enough

 Ceiling paint that goes on pink and dries white 

 The downstairs bathroom - not too bad 

 We had some extra paint so we painted the bathroom, changed the light fixture and added new towel bars, etc. 

 The downstairs kitchen had a fridge that had been spray painted and a small stove that was about as old as the fridge.

New fridge and a full-size stove

Note to self: when removing a florescent light fixture, don't just yank on it.

I found this lovely melted electrical receptacle in our upstairs kitchen. It came complete with a semi-melted wire.  

A family in the ward gave us a piano and Kelly wanted to see if we could get it into a back bedroom. This pic was proof to her that it wouldn't fit because she wasn't home at the time.

Just for Fun

 This cartoon was in the paper this morning.  I love it!!

 Mom thought this one was funny too!!

For those of you that have camped at Laird Park you will recognize this rock.  It's a traditional picture just like the first day of school out by the tree in the front yard.  One of my favorites.

Geneaology

My friend posted this link to our ward Facebook page. You can find who you are related to and what the connection is. It's a bit addicting and our ward has found that many of us are related. So far, the closest relative to me is a fourth cousin through the Wall line. It also shows how we are related to famous Americans, Prophets, and other historical figures. Have fun finding the connections!

https://roots-fb.cs.byu.edu/

Just an update

Kimbre and I have been busy with New Beginnings for YW.  We went with a Dr Seuss theme and immediately we knew we must be Zirker 1 & 2.  Kimbre made these amazing hats, crocheted underneath all those lovely feathers.  I only had to do the shirts, which Kevin helped make and took way less effort than hers.  The girls had fun, they had to give book reports on select Dr Seuss books and figure out how the value ties into it.  Thank you Pinterest for that one!

I whipped these boot toppers up for a teacher at school who LOVES the Seahawks.  Thank Kimbre again for teaching me the pattern.  Anyway GO Seahawks!!!  Our fingers are crossed for you!