July 4, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

Happy Fourth of July!  I hope yours was as safe and sound as ours was.  Our fireworks display went on much longer than we had expected, and it is well past my bedtime.  I’ll write more tomorrow.

July 3, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

Meredith and Dwaine come at noon to take us for lunch.  We were going to Windsor to eat at a Hawaiian place.  We were going to eat Loco Moco.  It is a typical Hawaiian dish of rice, meat, egg, and macaroni salad layered in a dish.  (I hope I spelled the name correctly.) 

When we got to the restaurant it was closed for the holidays.  Darn! So we drove into Fort Collins to BJ’s.  I ordered Chicken Tortilla Soup, which is one of my favorites.  It was the best I have ever had…lots of chicken in a thick sauce with vegetables.  Yum, yum!

When we got home, I took a nap and watched a John Wayne movie, both at the same time, according to Bill.  When all the fun games were over, I went outside to sit with the girls.  There were dark clouds building in the south toward Denver, but we only had a few drops of rain.

By dusk we couldn’t tell if we were hearing thunder or fireworks.  Probably the latter.

July 2, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

Today was a lazy two nap day for me.  I think I was tired from all the running around we did yesterday.  Today was cool and cloudy and a good day to stay inside. 

Meredith, Dwaine, and the pups came for a visit.  Joey was first in the door.  Soon he was taking a nap by the steps.  Hapa stayed outside the whole time.  That’s where she likes to be best.  Dwaine was trying to keep track of her, but at one time she was out of sight.  After much searching, he found her under the front of the motorhome taking a nap in the shade.

Bill and I watched the NASCAR race from Daytona tonight.  It isn’t Bill’s favorite race course, but I like it.  We have driven on that track twice.  Years ago, they took “tourists” around the track for 50 cents each.  It has a couple of steep banks and the driver stopped the van at the top of one bank and we started sliding down.  It was exciting.

We took Lori, JP and Natalia several years ago. The cost was $8 each and we rode around the bottom of the track.  My, how things have changed!

July 1, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

Last night, I lost my balance and fell.  I wasn’t going to mention it until Big Mouth Bill ratted on me to Michelle this morning.  I didn’t have any duct tape handy so I couldn’t tape his “beak” shut.  I lay on the floor for awhile and got over the shock. 

I said if he would just give me a pillow and a blanket, I would stay there for the night.  He said that wouldn’t do and we should try to get me up.  I was able to rearrange my body a bit and we could get me up.  No ambulance needed!

I have some large bruises and one sore finger, but other than that, I’m OK.

I didn’t want to get up this morning, but I forced myself to.  We had several errands to get crossed of the list.  Our last stop was at the new Sprouts Farmers Marker here in Loveland.  It is my favorite place to purchase fruits and vegetables.  Now I don’t have to go to the north side of Fort Collins to shop at their store there.

After lunch and naps we went to Walmart.  Chef Bill was making meatloaf and baked potatoes for dinner and he needed to grocery shop.  Dinner was great, as usual.  Meatloaf is one of his specialties.

While we were eating, rain started to fall.  Not just a few drops like Bill likes to joke about.  It was an honest to goodness rain…1/4 inch reported on the computer.  It continued to rain off and on until bed time.  I really don't know after that because I took my hearing aids out!

June 30, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

This has been a rather unusual day for me.  I went to see Dr. Green, my heart specialists.  So there was no time for a nap before lunch. 

After lunch, M and M came by after they had been to a memorial service for Jordan, who died last week of leukemia, at age 10.  The girls told me about the service, attended by over 500 people.  They said it was a very special service, about her short life.

I went to Meredith’s for some R and R.  We watched a movie and then sat in the backyard and watch the dogs play.  The lake was calm today…not much activity.  Once again, I didn’t have a nap.  Wow!

We all went to Dairy Delight for hamburgers.  It was fun to sit outside and visit.  There were nine of us at two picnic tables.

June 29, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

While Chef Bill was cooking breakfast, I got dressed so as soon as we finished eating, we could start on our errands.

Our first stop was at the library.  I had two books to turn in and I checked out two more.  I will have to read fast because they are due about the time we plan to leave Loveland.  Things are really going to speed up between now and then.

We went to Penney’s where I bought a blue hat.  I am trying to wear a hat when I leave the house.  It will be even more important when we get back to the Yuma area. 

We made a stop at Harbor Freight, also known as Toys R For Big Boys.  Bill was looking for a certain type sander, but wasn’t able to get the kind he wanted.  That gives him an excuse to keep looking.

After lunch and resting for nearly two hours, Bill got me up.  He wanted to do some cactus planting.  Yes, you read it correctly.  Farmer Bill wanted to expand his farming experience.

It went like this…after getting all the flower pots out, two bags of soil especially for cacti, and any tools he might think he needed, including his Leatherman, which is never far away, he was ready to get to the job!  Then he looked at me and said, “What do I do now?”  Oh, dear! 

When the bad language started, I warned him that my blog would tell the true story!  Things went well after that, and three hours later, 13 plants had been repotted.  The Farmer had done an excellent job.  About that time, Michelle came to see if I wanted to watch the Evening News in her house.  Bless her little heart, she came at just the right time!  Bill was vacuuming so I happily went on my way.

At dinner, the farmer said he didn’t want to get a full time job in a nursery!  Maybe next time, he will just let me sleep!

June 28, 2016—-Loveland, Colorado

After a rather slow start to the day, I got in gear, got dressed, and we went to Costco.  Bill and I both liked the lawn chairs we got for Meredith and Michelle.  We decided we wanted to have the same kind, so we got two more at Costco.  Yuma doesn’t have a Costco, so we’ll just haul them back with us.

Bill talked to Bonnie today to get a report on Todd.  He has had several rough days, but was better today.  That’s the same kind of pattern I usually have.

After leaving Costco, we went by Sonic to get lunch.  When I finished eating, I was going for a nap.  I asked Bill to get me up between 2:00 and 2:30.  He did, but said it was so hot, I might just want to rest in front of the fan longer.  Of course, it didn’t take much time to talk me in to that plan.

Meredith and the pups came at about 5:00, so I went to the backyard to sit and enjoy their company.  We stayed out enjoying ourselves until a thunder storm rolled through.  It was more noise than anything.  Bill said he counted six drops of rain on the driveway.