Looking Forward To Las Vegas

Robyn and I are planning to go to Las Vegas for the Convention, postie.con. I will have the opportunity of meeting Ted in person. Robyn knows him and thinks he a wonderful person. Mike and I haven't figured out yet if we are going to drive or have me fly. It would be much better if we drive, it's only a 6 hour trip from Phoenix, and I don't really want to be there without Mike, although, I would be staying with my cousin. Well, I think the way the conversations are going we are going to drive and stay in a hotel room, and see Dee Anna only one day during the weekend.

I can Hear!

I was so happy last week to learn about prednisone and that it was helping me. But the last two days have offered up the greatest revelation. I found out what is causing my ears to fill up. I would take the prednisone and my ears would start to clear or they would clear, and suddenly they would be full all over again. And then the noise level would increase again.

The last two days I have found 24 foods that I am allergic too! I only knew of 9 of those previously! That is huge!

I am especially allergic to onion and tree nuts! I have been eating onion, walnuts, and almonds everyday for years! I can have peanuts because those are legumes and not from a tree. That is good because I eat peanut butter everyday also.

I'm glad to know about the other foods too. And I was especially happy to find a few foods that I can eat that I didn't think I could. Oats and some corn. Most corn is not good for me, but for some reason I was okay with corn shells for tacos. And popcorn isn't a poison food, just a nutural food. This is really huge because popcorn and tacos are some of my favorite foods. I have to eat tacos without cheese, sour cream, or refried beans though. But that's okay. It's all good. At least I can eat them. And I can eat green chilies and taco sauce that I love, so that's good too.

Prednisone

I have really been in trouble with my ears for over a month now. I was deaf before I left on our 15-day trip, and I was really deaf the whole trip.

Mike insisted that I get into the doctor and see if there was some help for me. I decided to go to a new doctor and wanted an ENT ear nose and throat doctor. They have a long fancy name but I can't ever remember it.

He put me on prednisone and said that some meniere's patients are responsive to the medication and others are not. I think I am one of those people who is responsive, because I could tell the difference almost immediately.

If I can find help for these ears it will absolutely wonderful! And the noise level in my head is anything but manageable right now. Horrific is the word! I have a freight train and a fog horn, and a fire alarm house blast, and a million crickets in there. This is really no fun!

I Wish The Weather Would Warm Up

I need the weather to warm up for just two more weeks. It will warm up a little but won't be warm enough for me.

When the weather is cold, rainy, and snowy, like it is right now, it affects my ears. I have meneire's syndrome, and I haven't been able to hear for a month. It's really a struggle to carry in a conversation.

I sent and email to our son Mike in Idaho telling him that I'd like to tell him about our 15 day trip but that I was to deaf to hear his side of the conversation. He responded with, "Okay, I'll type louder". Cutie!

We leave for Arizona in two weeks and would leave sooner if it weren't for the many doctor appointments I have. And I wouldn't have so many doctor appointments if I just got out of here.

Ironic Huh?

Getting Things Ready To Leave For The Winter

Having a winter home and a summer home is fun, but it takes a lot of work getting the home ready to leave for six months. We will be back in a few months though. This year we are flying home for Christmas. We missed Christmas last year and it wasn't any fun being without our kids and grandchildren! We also missed our annual Christmas Party with the extended family members. We will be here for that too.

We also plan to drive to Rexburg, Idaho to see our other kids and go through the new Rexburg temple. I sure hope the weather cooperates! Nothing is worse that driving in a snow storm. Well, there might be worse things come to think about it, but it wouldn't be any fun, that's for sure.

Mark Twain

One of our favorite places to visit was Hannibal Missouri to visit all the Mark Twain memorabilia. There are several homes to visit, and they have dedicated the entire town to Samuel Clemens. I even had my picture with Mark Twain. You don't believe me! Well, I have the picture to prove it, and will put it on here as soon as I locate it on the computer.

Do you know how Mark Twain got his name. I didn't either, but while we were in Hartford, Connecticut going through his home there, the guide told us the history of his name.

Back then many writers took pen names. Of course we all knew that Mark Twain was a pen name of Samuel Clemens.

When it was suggested to him to choose a name he said he had it picked out, and chose it a long time ago.

He tell in all his stories about his river days and the time he spent on River Boats. The captain or a crew member counts the - nevermind my telling the story. Here it is from the website:


He maintained that his primary pen name came from his years working on Mississippi riverboats, where two fathoms, a depth indicating "safe water" for the boat to float over, was measured on the sounding line. A fathom is a maritime unit of depth, equivalent to two yards (six feet, approximately 1.8 metres); "twain" is an archaic term for "two". The riverboatman's cry was "mark twain" or, more fully, "by the mark twain", meaning "according to the mark [on the line], [the depth is] two [fathoms]", that is, "there are 12 feet of water under the boat and it is safe to pass".

Ray And Colleen

We had a wonderful time visiting with Mike's brother and wife on our recent trip. We would love to thank them for their hospitality, the great meals they feed us, and their great company in general. They were at work everyday we were there but offered up their home to us to eat and rest. It was wonderful.

The last night we were there we got to enjoy Mike's nephew David, his wife Linda, and daughter Lizzie also. It was a wonderful seeing them. They only live an hour any from us, but we both had to go half way across the US to see each other.

That night Colleen had a fashion show and Linda, Lizzie and I inherited part of the clothes from the show. Lizzie got a shirt, Linda got two or three shirts, and I got a jacket. Great Show Colleen!