Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Loveland, CO

Today the Dane family lost our foundation. 

 Mom passed away this morning.    While we are devastated by losing her, she is no longer suffering.   Mom was a vibrant, extraordinarily woman.  She and Dad were married for 57 years during which they had many amazing adventures.  The two of them made a truly fantastic team. Meredith, Michelle, Brent and I could not have asked for a better mom.  She always loved and supported us, even when we made that hard to do.   She was Abuela to JP, Natalia, Joshua, Connor, Matthew, Coleson and Sara.  They were her magnificent seven.   She  has left a huge empty space that will never be replaced.  We are fortunate that our family is very close and we share many incredible family memories. 


For all of you who have followed her blog, Mom was always an amazing writer who showed her wit and humor. She so enjoyed writing her blog. Thank you for your friendship, love and prayers.

May 15, 2017

Monday, May 15th

Hi Everyone!

We had a very busy time since our last blog. It was a wonderful visit with Lorri, Brent and Tucker. On Thursday was Mom's 80th birthday. Jim and Peggy drove up from Santa Fe for her birthday. Also, Connor and Taylor had their last finals and high tailed it to get here for dinner.  We had a great barbecue and the best time visiting with everyone. On Friday we had a relaxing visit in the afternoon with Jim and Peggy. It was wonderful spending time with them and hearing all the stories while they reminisced.

We spent the rest of the weekend resting!

I would like to say a special THANK YOU to all who sent Mom a birthday card. She loved every card and it really brighten her spirit.

May 6, 2017

Saturday......

Lorri flew in yesterday and had a wonderful surprise for Mom. She brought Tucker with her. Mom was so surprised!!!! Tucker jumped on the bed, laid next to her and let her pet him for a long time.

Then today she got her 2nd surprise. Brent flew in last night. He and Meredith came over this morning in time for breakfast. We have had a full day of visiting, sitting out in the sun and eating good food. She was really tired by the evening but loved having all her kids with her!

Monday, May 1, 2017

Lori here hijacking Mom's blog.  

Dad, Meredith, Michelle, Brent and I have a request.  Mom turns 80 on May 11.  Sadly, she isn't doing well, but we thought that birthday cards might lift her spirits a bit, especially funny ones.   The address is 1268 Tupelo Dr. Loveland, CO 80538.

This is a difficult time for Dad. Thankfully, he has Meredith and Michelle there with him providing emotional and physical support.  Thank you for continuing to read her blog, it was something that she loved doing.

Sunday - April 23, 2017

Today is Sunday, we had to say farewell to Joshua as he is heading into the Army starting tomorrow.  Connor, Taylor and Buckeye are visiting for the weekend.  It is great to see them and I am happy that they got to see JC before he left.  Ron also made it home in time to see Joshua off.

Bill has recovered nicely from his oral surgery.  He started work on the large gate for the back fence.  I hope he will be able to finish it this week.

April 16, 2017

From sunny Loveland, CO

I forgot to mention that we are going to be great grandparents! JP and Rosy are expecting their first child. We are so excited for them!

We have really warm weather. On Thursday Bill got his upper teeth pulled and mouth prepped for having a denture. Recovery has been slower then he wanted but he is doing good.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Two weeks later....

Hi everyone.....

I know it has been a while since we have blogged. Not much has been going on. You know the old saying "same ol', same ol'". That is our motto right now.

Meredith and Dwaine are vacationing on the east coast so we have Joey and Hapa for the next couple of weeks. They love being here and Tippy loves having them here!

We had snow most of the day. Yippie skippie!!!! Tippy makes a great "snow-o-meter"!

March 17 - 20, 2017

Friday - Monday in Loveland, CO

Highlights from the last few days......

It was wonderful having Brent, Coleson, and Willie here! They left early Saturday morning. We missed them the minute they drove away.

I forgot to tell you about Willie's field trip with me to my physical therapy on Tuesday. Ty, my physical therapist also has a golden retriever. I really wanted him to meet Willie. He was very impressed with Willie and how beautiful he is.

On Saturday Michelle drove to Pueblo to watch Connor's college track meet. He did a really good job and when it was over he was able to come home with Michelle for a few days during his spring break. We love having him home!

Bill and his "work crew" started putting in a new fence last week in the back yard. This fence backs up to a main neighborhood street. They have worked a lot of hours on it and it is looking great! A guy across the street said it is going from the ugliest fence in the neighborhood to the best looking fence.

March 13 -16, 2017

Monday - Thursday in Loveland, CO

Highlights from the past few days....

It has been wonderful having Brent, Coleson, and Willie here!

Coleson hiked at Horsetooth Reservoir with Joshua,  watched movies with Matthew and stayed with Meredith, Dwaine and the dogs. He has had a great spring break!

Willie has been very busy hanging out with Max, Joey and Hapa! They are quite the pack!

It has been wonder spending time with all of them, especially Brent! He, Meredith and Michelle have had a great time with "sibling rivalry"!

Tonight Brent made "liver and onions" for me and Bill. Michelle went over to Meredith's for fondue. The boys did a "cousins" dinner together at Old Chicago. There was NO WAY Michelle was going to  suffer from the scent of liver and onions. She used a towel at her door to protect her room and covered her nose with Seahawks bandanas (claimed they were disposable and could be burned).

It has been a WONDERFUL 4 days!!!!!

March 9 -12, 2017

Thursday - Sunday, Loveland, Co

Highlights from the last my last blog......

I will skip to today! We had 3 surprise visitors from Mississippi! Brent, Coleson and Willie came for the week. Bill, Meredith and Michelle were super sneaky on keeping it a secret! Even Coleson had to be sneaky on the phone! Looking forward to sending the week with them!

March 6-8, 2017

Monday - Wednesday, Loveland, CO

Highlights from the last 3 days......

I went to therapy yesterday and Bill went to a new doctor to have a check up. He seems like a good replacement for Dr. Huneycutt.

Today Bill went and had blood work done.  He had back problems..... It is called yellow streak! Ha, ha.

Today was a resting day.

March 1 - 5, 2017

Wednesday - Sunday, Loveland, CO

Can't believe March has started! We have had a lot of wind that brought in warmer weather. Much to our dismay except Bill.

It was the same 'ol with me going to PT on Thursday and Bill went for a dentist appointment on Friday in Denver. The commute was not fun! He was in stop and creep traffic until Westminster.

This weekend Bill, Michelle and Matthew worked on installing a bigger window well.

Meredith and the pups came over for visit yesterday and today.

Loveland, CO - February 24 - 28

Bye Bye February!

Random thoughts from the last 4 days......

Bill had me do exercises from the bed. He was providing resistance with his hands and told me to push with my legs, I did and pushed him OFF the bed onto the floor!

We have enjoyed the fireplace with the colder weather. We got a little snow today.

Matthew needs to take his permit test so Monday evening we used the library's website to do a practice driver's permit test. It was fun figuring out what the answers were. Needless to say, we all need to learn the driving rules.

Matthew is studying about the Indians in school. He and I had a long discussion about my Indian dolls. Below is a picture of my Navajo Indian Doll. I don't know the history of her. She is at least as old as I am.

Today I was going to send Bill to the physical therapist to explain how challenging my weekend was. I was vetoed by Michelle and Bill, so I went kicking and screaming. I get NO sympathy around here.

February 19 - 23, 2017

Sunday - Thursday in Loveland, CO

Both Meredith and Michelle had Monday off. We went to lunch and then did some shopping.

On Tuesday was JP's 27th Birthday! Happy Birthday JP! I cannot believe that you are 27 years old! Bill drove to Denver for a dentist appt at the University of Colorado. Meredith took me to my physical therapy appt in the Mini. The wind was so strong it almost blew us over walking from the car to the PT building.

Wednesday was a rest day for us.

This morning we woke up to it snowing. YIPPEE!!!!! It only snowed an inch or two but we are happy to get that. February has been a very warm and dry month. Meredith brought over her wonderful chili for dinner. It was perfect for this cold night. We also made a fire in the fireplace. I spent the evening by the warm fire and visited with Meredith and the pups.

February 15-18, 2017

Wednesday - Saturday in Loveland, CO

We have had REALLY nice weather! It has been in the 60's and low 70's which is VERY unusual for Colorado. So if you are sick of the rain (California , Oregon & Arizona friends) come visit. Meredith blames Bill because he bought a snow blower and now we are having warm weather! Where is the snow!!!!

I have been spending some time soaking in the sun!

We are so excited for Nascar to start! Yahoo!!!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

February 12 - 14, 2017

Sunday - Tuesday from Loveland, CO

Lorri, Michelle, Connor and Meredith worked on the Oregon Ducks puzzle. Bill called it "The puzzle from way down under!" He didn't mean Australia! It was an extremely difficult puzzle. The only reason we finished it is because it was a Ducks puzzle.

Connor and Taylor went back to Grand Junction. It was great having them home for the weekend.

On Monday, Lorri, Bill and I went to University of Colorado Hospital. Bill had an interview to see if he qualified to have dental work done by the dental students. He has been assigned a student who will do all his dental work. It is much more cost effective and we are very thankful that he can get his teeth repaired there. Afterwards we dropped Lorri off at the airport and then headed home. It was great having her here for the long weekend.

Today is Valentine's day! Our Maxine calendar had a saying that instead of getting a dozen long stem roses she wanted long stemmed donuts. So this morning Michelle went and got a dozen glazed donuts and used skewers to make long stemmed donuts.

I had physical therapy today and am really tired from it. Joshua and Michelle made a wonderful dinner of pesto chicken, twice baked potatoes and broccoli. They did an amazing job! Brent would be proud of Joshua.

February 11, 2017

Loveland, CO

Yesterday Natalia came to visit.  After she and Lorri went to Fort Collins for a couple of hours, they came home to collect Michelle and I.  We went to two Habitat for Humanity Restores.   Connor and Taylor came home for the weekend, we were all happy to see them.  Pizza was on the menu followed by starting a new jig saw puzzle.

Today while Lorri went to Louisville to see Natalia, some of the crew went to a cabinet shop to pick up leftover wood scraps to use for firewood.

This afternoon Meredith, Michelle, Lorri and I were working on a jig saw puzzle that was turning out to be quite challenging.  The girls taught me a drinking game.  When one of us finished a pattern on the puzzle, we all took a drink.  I was drinking cranberry juice, the girls were drinking fortified grape juice.  (I'll let you figure that one out.)

Tonight we went to Origins to celebrate all the birthdays that took place in January and February.  Joshua was our waiter and did a fantastic job.  We all came home with happy tummies.  As soon as we got home, a fire was built and s'mores were on the menu.  A perfect way to end the day!

February 9, 2017

Loveland, CO

Against my better judgement, I went to physical therapy today.  It went OK.  I always give Bill a hard time about going, but what else is new after 56 years.

Lorri came today, let the party begin!

I want to go shopping tomorrow for brown jeans, but all three girls have vetoed that idea.

Lorri brought me a piece a stained glass that I had created many years ago.  I was very happy to see it, will put it next to the welded pieces that Jim brought me several weeks ago.

Connor comes this weekend to join in the festivities.

January 30 - February 6, 2016

One week later.....

It has been a very busy week!

My secretary "Michelle" was really sick all week. So my blog is really late.

We had Joshua's birthday on the 2nd. He is 22 years old!  He has grown into a very handsome young man. He has a good job at a restaurant and all of the lady customers will agree with me.

We also got ice and snow(very little) on the 2nd. It is what Matthew used to call "skinny snow".

On Saturday the 4th, it would have been Gran's 108th birthday.  On Sunday the 5th was Meredith and Michelle's 49th birthday. Wow they are getting old! Ha Ha!!!! We celebrated by watching the Super Bowl at Meredith and Dwaine's.

The rest of this month may be calmer because we are finished with our flurry of birthdays.  In May we will get hit hard again with a group of birthdays.

January 26 - 29, 2017

Thursday - Sunday, Loveland, CO

Happy Birthday Lori!!!! We will celebrate when you get here on February 9th.  I talked to JP today for quite a while. I hadn't talked to him in a long time. He seems to be getting along well with his job.

I have felt better than I have in quite a while, that is not saying much but any is better. It was warm today, Bill worked in the garage on a project that he is doing. He is enjoying working with wood again. He is going to the dentist tomorrow. That is a good thing because he broke more teeth tonight at dinner.

January 23 -25, 2017

Monday - Wednesday, Loveland, CO

Monday was a quiet day after the busy weekend. Late in the night we had big, fat wet snowflakes. Unfortunately it did not last long.

Tuesday I had physical therapy and we had snow on and off thru out the day. It was cold so we enjoyed a fire in the fireplace in the evening. Bill enjoyed burning the frustrating puzzle! We all cheered!

Today is was rest day. Bill started a new puzzle today. Meredith and the pups came over after work. We had lasagna for dinner. After dinner I laid down and Joey joined me on the bed. It was great having him hang out.  Michelle and I are hoping for more snow but it does not look like it will happen in the near future. Bummer!!!!!

January 21 - 22, 20017

Saturday & Sunday - Loveland, Co

Saturday we started a jigsaw puzzle. Two of my therapists have said that it would help with my coordination.  The first one was a 300 pc puzzle that we thought would be easy. Boy were we ever mistaken! All the pieces were the same shape. Bill was so frustrated that he threw the puzzle into the fireplace! We were shocked but laughed about it because it was so frustrating!

The next puzzle was 750 pieces and had a variety of shapes.  Bill says we should be finished in 2 years. Ha ha!

Jim &  Peggy came over with long time friends Gene and Shari for a late lunch. Michelle and Meredith had fixed a wonderful Sunday supper of pot roast, green beans, salad, two kinds of potatoes w/ gravy. It was really, really good. Shari had made Peggy's carrot cake. It was all so good. Michelle and I were really tired and laughed when we saw that it was only 6:30pm.

We had a great time seeing family and friends this weekend! We are really tired and heading to bed early, Goodnight!!!

January 18 - 20, 2017

Wednesday - Friday,  Loveland, Co

Wednesday and Thursday were the usual days so I will skip to today.....

Today, my brother Jim came for a visit. I was so excited. He brought a picture that my mother had painted and two pieces of sculpture that I had made. I didn't have any of my sculpture work and was extremely excited to see it. Matthew was very impressed with my welding. Jim stayed until almost 5pm, we had a good visit. I had not seen him for a while. I look forward to seeing Peggy tomorrow and having more time to visit.

January 15 - 17, 2017

Sunday- Tuesday, Loveland, CO

On Sunday we watched football, finished a puzzle and relaxed. Bill said that I stayed in bed and waited for it to snow. Connor and Taylor drove back from Texas and got home really late in the night.  Luckily they missed the ice storm.

Monday morning we woke up to snow.Yippie skippie!! Bill and Michelle helped Connor and Taylor leave early for Grand Junction. Later in the morning Bill got out the snow blower and cleared the driveway and sidewalk. He will deny it but he loves snow now because then he gets to use the snow blower. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Today is Bill's 82nd birthday! He got to celebrate by taking me to therapy. We brought home Panda Express for lunch and then took naps. That was the best part of the day!  Meredith, Dwaine and the pups came over for dinner. We had a wonderful birthday dinner with pecan pie. Bill got a lot of calls reminding him of how old he is. Kemosabe appreciates everyone kind considerations.

"Twins are having fun with the blog!" Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Joey and I rested on the futon after a busy day of celebration.

January 12- 14, 2016

Thursday - Saturday from Loveland, CO

On Thursday I went to physical therapy. Then we went to Walmart for medications. The rest of the day was resting and working on a puzzle. We have set up the card table in the piano room that has a bay window. It lets in lots of sunshine because it faces south. Perfect place to do a puzzle.

Friday was a special day. Dwaine turned 54 years old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dwaine! We went to Szechwan Palace Hibachi for dinner. It was wonderful food and a great time celebrating Dwaine's birthday! The chef was a great performer, he even flipped an egg onto the top of his hat and none of us knew where it went.

Today Dwaine, Meredith and Joey picked me up to go to Lyons. We drove through some beautiful areas of Colorado. We had lunch at "The Fork" and it was really good! By the time we got home the sky was very dark but no snow was falling. Meredith and the pups stayed a bit to visit and build a fire in the fireplace. We have a very sad son in Mississippi, the Seahawks lost.

It was a busy day and I am heading to bed early. Goodnight!

Tuesday - Wednesday, January 10-11, 2017

We have had warmer weather with a lot of wind yesterday and today. This morning ended up being the highest temperature for the day and this afternoon the temps quickly dropped. Before dinner we had snowflakes falling. Unfortunately they did not last long.

Today I went to a neurologist. He wasn't in a hurry and confirmed a lot of our questions. Michelle was right, I still belong in the funny farm and she is an example. 😀

Tonight Meredith brought over two quiches for dinner. They were really, really good!

We (Meredith, Michelle and me) are all doing a snow dance!!!! Let it snow, let it snow!

January 5 -9, 2017

Thursday - Monday, Loveland, CO

On Thursday Bill got to use his snow blower to clear 8" of snow. He had fun!

It was super cold and I stayed in the house. So did Tippy! Bill wanted to clear the sidewalk that backs to our backyard. I suggested that he just go around the block, so he did! He put the snowblower to good use and made it clear for people to walk down the street. It snowed some more on Friday and we thought because Michelle gone to CA on business she would not miss the snow, but she totally missed being here to enjoy it snowing.

During the weekend we relaxed and did puzzles with Meredith, Connor and Joshua. Michelle and Matthew got home Saturday night. Sunday we stayed indoors and watched football games.

Tuesday, January 3rd & Wednesday, January 4th

On Tuesday we woke up to about 3 inches of snow, which was just enough for Bill to try out his new snowblower.  Unfortunately, that was it for the snow yesterday.   I always say "If it isn't going to snow hard I wish it would snow a long time."  The rest of the day I just slept.

Fortunately today it has been snowing all day.  Yippee-Skippee!!! Tippy makes a good snow-o-meter with the black fur on his back.   Both Michelle and Matthew flew to CA today.  Their flight ended up being delayed because of de-icing and then they had to have a new crew since the old flight crew had met their time restrictions.  They arrived in CA about 3 hours late.  Michelle left us good lasagne for dinner tonight, however, we were all aware that she and Matthew were chowing down at In-n-Out at the same time.  Hmmm... not sure how I feel about that one!

It is suppose snow all night tonight which means the snowblower will be put to good use tomorrow, I hope I can hear it from my warm and comfy bed.

Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2 - 2017

The Broncos STOMPED the Raiders yesterday, we were all very happy!!!  Great way to start out 2017.  Broncos may not have made it into the playoffs this year but we still love them.  Because they scored 2 touchdowns we went to Arbys today for $1 Arby's roastbeef sandwiches.

Right now I am sitting by a wonderful fire in the fireplace wishing for snow.  We are suppose to get snow tomorrow, hopefully the forecasters will be correct.  We are hoping for enough snow that Bill will be able to use his new fancy snowblower.  I'm hoping that it will snow enough that I can call it a snow day for PT.

The dinner bell is ringing and since Bill won't let me miss a meal, I better go.