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I am sorry that there isn’t one more book from him. I am a fan of his but don’t think I have read all of his books. It is time to read one again.

For any other Tony Hillerman fans, I just saw where he died yesterday. I think he had been in ill health for some time but was hoping he might have one more book.

Candace

This is a story of an aging train robber on a quest to reconcile the claims of love and judgment on his life and the failed writer who goes with him. This story takes place in 1915, starts out by the Mississippi River in MN and ends up in California. Leif Enger, the author is a great story teller. His first book was Peace Like A River and I liked that one also.

One of you here told us how to enlarge the font by clicking control something and I have forgotten how, Could you explain it again? Thanks.

Right, Darlyne. I have two small suitcases, one will fit under the seat the other one misses by about an inch. So the one to be checked has clothes, the other one has the really good stuff. I’m taking my own tea, too - Lipton’s just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Three books are going - all of which I’ve read before but one thing in their favor - they’ve got lots of pages! LOL One is WEB Griffin’s “The Hunters,” an espionage adventure tale; second is “Agatha Christie, An Autobiography;” and last is “Roosevelt’s Secret War,” by Joseph Persico. I’ve started that one and it is really very good, lots of research was involved in this one.

I’ll probably be filling up the smaller suitcase with yarn as I have several ‘hard finish’ things in it like the tins of tea. I am also taking the Lifeline base as Suzanne found it is workable there. We call when I get there and give them her telephone number and then, when I get back home, I call again and get back on my home number.

Today is the day to go to son Gene’s for four days and then on Friday, he’ll take me to BWI, Baltimore-Washington International airport, for the non-stop ride to Denver. I think I may like that non-stop thing.

I hope to stay in touch while I’m gone and hope you all do too -
Hugs to all,
Jo

When your daughter told you to pack for a week it reminded me of what I do when I go for a while to a relative with a washing machine. I realized I didn’t need much and packed things to amuse me like books on tape and my knitting supplies. I realized that most places have stores if you are missing something.

Anyway Jo, have a great time and good luck with your travels.

I spent yesterday taking a friend to a hospital an hour away so she could be with her daughter who had an accident on a motorcycle. The daughter and her husband are injured but will be OK after some rehab. Today my Virginia daughter and friend visited. The friend was one who spent a lot of time at our house in her teen years and it was good to connect and see that she is doing well. Tomorrow I am having a political group here making telephone calls. Life goes on. It keeps me off the streets.

It’s good that you will be there long enough to get a feel for the possibilities, Jo. Have a great time and report on what you’re finding.

Candace

Jo, have a safe and wonderful trip and visit with the family.

Joanne

I’ve got to pack for my trip. Daughter said to bring clothes for a week and then we’d do laundry. I guess that’s better than a month plus of dirty laundry when I get home. LOLOL

At any rate, that’s what I should be doing instead of playing on this miserable computer. *smile*

I’ll be checking in occasionally - daughter has a new job and will be in training evenings for 3 weeks, one week before I get there and then two weeks after that. Don’t know what kind of hours she’ll be working but I hope it isn’t on weekends. That’s the only time hubby is home (he flies to various locations to inspect things - and don’t ask me any more, I haven’t a clue).

I’m driving down to MD Monday and will leave from there on Friday next, Oct 31. I’ll be in CO from then until Dec. 8 when I fly back to MD and then drive on home. A neighbor girl will bring in my mail and my granddaughter will come over once a week to open the mail and see if anything is important. I normally don’t mess with this part - just have the mail brought in - but since I’ll be gone so long this time, somebody has to check that.

I am really looking forward to this trip - I’ve not seen this daughter since June, 2007 for her 50th b’day and then not too long then as there were mom, siblings, her kids, and friends. She has a new job, been looking for a month or more, and will be in training for that from 3 pm to 10 pm. So I’ll have a chance to keep up with whatever tv they have - hopefully many of the cable channels. And of course there will be B-O-O-K-S!

Just in case something falls through a crack, may I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving with your families and friends. And if you don’t have any of them around, an excellent restaurant dinner. Don’t stay home. Go enjoy.

Best to all of you,
Jo

I’ve never voted absentee or early. Yesterday, the first day of early voting, had longer lines shown on TV than I normally see on the actual day in my small precinct. It’s small–normally maybe a dozen people in line if I go mid-morning. The only long line was when Eisenhower ran and it was the length of the school yard. Guess I might look into the absentee ballot–would give more time to figure out the down ballot people and this year is likely to have a bigger crowd than in years.

Candace

This year was the easiest time I’ve ever had voting. Quite a while ago I received a card in the mail which was an application for an absentee ballot. I filled it out and sent it back whence it came. A couple of days later I received my absentee ballot. Filled out the ballot and took it down to the city hall and handed it to the city clerk and that was it. No waiting! No hassle! No long lines!
Huggz all,
Jerry

I voted absentee too since I’ll be in CO on Nov. 4. My g’daughter did the calling but, since they didn’t ask for the dates I’ve be leaving or gone or anything nor did she ask when the ballot would be mailed, she gave them my CO daughter’s address. Well, the ballot got mailed to CO, naturally, so daughter sent it back to me and I have voted already - about a week ago. Lord have mercy, I sure do hope this governmental mess gets straightened out. I feel sorry for whoever gets elected, truth to tell. What a quagmire. I thought raising five kids was ‘interesting,’ saints’ preserve me from this!!!!!!!!!

Well, better go put the laundry away - that may take a month or so, next time I won’t wait so long to wash clothes. I hate doing laundry. Be different if I had my own facilities but to have to carry it somewhere else is a pain in the get-along, especially since there are two doors between me and it! My MD apartment, although expensive, was wonderful.

Take care everyone. I leave on Monday the 27th for MD and then on the 31st, I’ll hop on the plane for CO. I am READY!!!!!!!!!

I voted yesterday. My daughter wanted to find out how to vote absentee and vote at the same time. She had already voted absentee and it really is too late to do it by mail now so she asked me to be the guinea pig. We had to drive to the State House in Trenton to get the ballot and then to another place to vote. It took a lot of name signing and filling out addresses etc. It would be a hassle for people who couldn’t vote Nov. 4th I hope worth it for people who couldn’t. I think next time I will vote absentee again but apply early enough to do it by mail. The polling place I vote has four precincts and sometimes long lines and confusion. Absentee will be the way to go in the future.

One of the MD drs thought I had that so I got all the necessary equipment - and the man who brought it out was very helpful and answered all sorts of questions. I found it very difficult to sleep with the thing on my face and head so I finally called and said to come get the thing. I hope Clive has better luck. I have realize that I do better if I go to bed around 10 and then read until maybe 11 or 11:30. I get up later than i like but if that’s the schedule the body likes, then who am I to argue. *smile*

I’m so glad you’ve gotten such good help - and good luck to Clive.

Jo

I sure appreciate all of you. I learn from you and appreciate the feeling of community. I think this group is the one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. We have been together a long time.

I recently read a book called The Art of Perseverance. It is by Joseph M. Marshall. He is a Native Amrican - Lakota. It is a grandfather talking to his grandson about the need to “keep on keeping on.” I think it would be a great book for young people trying to figure out what to do with their lives. The only thing is I’m not sure if you are in a ‘muddle’ you could focus on the book. I enjoyed it though.

Georgianna

Clive slept in the Mayo “sleep clinic” last night, we met with the Dr in charge this am, and found that CLive does have an apnea problem, but what we didn’t know is he has an O2 problem, we had a warning last March in FL when he had bronchitis and the urgent care Dr said that he thought there was a problem in this area, but we thought it was the cold. Anyway, on Mon, someone from Fargo is coming to Oslo with the sleep apnea tools, plus O2 which he will need only at night. The Dr asked how long he smoked and when did he quit? He quit when our oldest daughter wouldn’t let him hold our first grandchild because of his habit, Chelsea is 25, so he quit then. It seems that even when you quit, there can be problems, he mentioned COPD, and we will ask our primary Dr about lung function tests.

The Mayo Dr said that he should feel better in a couple of weeks with the sleep aids.

It will be nice to be home, although its been an interesting almost two weeks, and we did get to see half of our family plus 5 grandkids, and the help for Clive.

And nice to hear from GGOBIT while on the road. The wireless connection in motels is great and so easy compared to when I used to have to go to either the RV park’s library or laundry room.

We are listening to Robin Cook’s Markers, and it has kept us interested for many miles, 14 CDs, and we still don’t know how they catch the serial killer. We do know who she is, as readers, but they have not caught her yet. We have 4 hours left til Oslo and hope we don’t have to sit in the drive way at home to finish. Well, I do have a cd player in the house, but I know we have a busy week ahead of us. Aren’t we retired! I’m on our church council and I got an e mail that we have our Oct meeting after church on Sun. So it goes.

Jacky

I doubt that the Lebanon library would have anything like that so I’ll check it out when I get to CO in November.

I’m reading Fern Michaels’ Sisterhood series - the latest book in the series has just come out. If anyone is interested, read the first book, Weekend Warriors. Myra Rutledge, her daughter Barbara and her adopted daughter Nikki meet at a restaurant to celebrate Myra’s 60th b’day. Barbara goes back out to the car to get the camera but is killed by a hit and run driver, who is a diplomat’s son with immunity and is sent back to China. The series takes place in what they call Alphabet City aka Washington DC. This totally knocks Myra for a loop and keeps her ‘out of it’ for a couple of years. Finally, Nikki is there along with Myra live-in beau from way back and the two women are watching CNN. Myra lives for CNN hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who killed her daughter. CNN is showing an interview on the release of a hit and run driver who killed a woman’s only daughter and she shows up with a gun and kills him, on camera. Myra is jolted out of her despair and the story goes from there. Michaels tells it better than I did. It is a good series and when she got to what she thought was the end, readers wrote to her telling her to bring the ladies back. She did. And these are just as good as the first series.

Otherwise, the only really exciting and fun thing was this afternoon after school let out. I drove over to g’daughter’s and picked up the 5 yr old g’g’son, Marshall. He turned five and I said I’d take him to McDonald’s for dinner. We did that today and then we went to KMart and I found the latest Sisterhood book while Marshall found a great toy. LOL In all, the afternoon was most successful. I’ve just been back a little while from that excitement. He’s a regular little chatterbox.

Take care ladies, and stay healthy. Have you all had your flu shot yet? Mine comes up next Thursday.

Jo

Our library has a new feature. It is a Playaway. It is a small cassette, smaller than a deck of cards and all you do is plug your ear-phones into it and you can listen to the whole book. I did have to replace a battery but they may have a way to take care of that. They don’t have a lot of them yet and most of the adult ones were out but I think they will be getting more. There were quite a few for children. The only one I was mildly interested in was Body of Work by Christine Montross. This is a memoir of a medical students first semester studying anatomy and dealing with the corpse in order to learn. You can feel her angst as she deals with a corpse she has become close to. This book isn’t for everyone but I found it very interesting.

What is everyone else reading?

Jackie, you mentioned your husband having a sleep problem. My husband, Don, has narcolepsy and has probably had it his entire life. it was only diagnosed in the lae ’70’s though. Then he had a stroke in ‘93 and has had a couple of small ones since. I think he just had another one about ten days ago but gradually things are returning to normal for us. I think it is reassuring to find the test results were similar to what was done near your home. I wish you well. Georgianna

We are very pleased with every thing here at the clinic. Clive is part of a volunteer vascular study of his lower body. They did a bunch of tests and we get the results on Mon am. They want 1600 people in the test and have over a thousand so far.

The other good news is; Mayo found that our home clinic in Grand Forks has pretty much the same results as here, his prostate, kidneys, tests, ect were all quite accurate. The only thing no one thought of was his sleep problem, I suppose because he sleeps so much, which is a symptem of the problem.

I’m glad your husband did agree to see a Dr, GK, there is so much that can be done now.

Jacky

I was wrong. it was Jacky talking about Mayo Clinic and Oslo. I knew that but my brain didn’t compute at the time. Oh, well. gk

Candace I hope you have a great birthday.

How do I get from here - where I am posting - back to the posts made recently. I want to go back and look at something before I continue on.

Well, I’ll just continue anyway. I loved Colorado, too. We lived in Colorado Springs for a year.

Darlyne, I have always thought I’d like to live near a Mayo Clinic. My husband is having a bit of a problem and he doesn’t want to go to the Dr. However, today he did have an aorta doppler done today - checking the blood flow in his arteries.

We finally have a cool day but no rain. I told Don today I would like to go walk through sprinklers so I would feel like it was raining.

Take care all and be safe. Georgianna

>I’m inching—–or rushing towards another one too

Funny how that happens, isn’t it, Jacky! Every time I have occasion to think back when some incident happened and realize it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago, I can’t believe it.

Candace

We are at Mayo in Rochester, MN. Just found today that husband, Clive, has sleep apnea. His oxygen level dropped seriously over 200 times in one night’s sleep. The Dr says its accounts for his waking after many hours still tired. He’ll be fitted for a sleep mask and machine on Thur. We’ll spend the weekend with youngest daughter, before his appt on Mon. and then visit oldest daughter in Warrensburg, MO before we head back to Oslo.

I’ve been reading “Riven” by Jerry Jenkins these last three days while waiting during this checkup. He really explains the “why” of anger that can be in troubled, disturbed, teen agers. On the other side of human behavior, Mayo really does run smoothly.

And again, Happy Birthday Candace! I’m inching—–or rushing towards another one too, Jacky

I’ll bet it does, at that, Candace.

It makes hitting 85 more fun to anticipate.

Candace