Forty....something???

Okay...so the cake candles give away my age. My children surprised me with a wonderful cake and homemade cards for my birthday. I am so blessed to have such selfless kids.
My day began with coffee being delivered to our room at the Cricketwood B & B in Bend, Oregon. www.cricketwood.com. Mark and I had been over in Redmond for a tradeshow on Thursday and decided to make a mini-vacation out of the trip. We stayed at our favorite Bed & Breakfast on the outskirts of Bend surrounded by horse farms. The B&B boasts phenomenal views of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains. The inn-keepers, Tracy and Jim, know how to spoil their guests. Warm cookies each evening with your choice of beverage is only the beginning. The cooked to order breakfasts are really the Pièce de résistance! My favorite is the Creme' Brulee' French Toast. I had mine with the fresh fruit of the day, strawberries and Kiwi. We chatted with our hosts and visited with the other couple who were staying at the Inn. Paul and Barbara were from the San Francisco area, but are moving to Bend in June. I can hardly blame them, the region is just so beautiful.
Back at the room Mark gave me my birthday present. A much desired running dress! This should provide me with the incentive to continue with my running.
We packed up our item, thanked our hosts and headed for home. The weather was perfect, with blue skies and white puffy clouds laid out in front of us. We enjoyed the sweeping road through the mountains that runs along side the McKenzie River.
We arrived home at 1 p.m. Where I was greeted by my children and birthday cake! I blew out the candles and each of us, forks in hand..dug in! (It was my birthday..so no dirty dishes allowed). At 3 p.m. we decided on an early dinner and visited one of our favorite pizza places, Pegasus Pizza by the university. We had our fill of BBQ chicken and Meatlovers pizza then returned home for some outside activity, namely spreading some mulch around my Blueberry bushes and then reclining on the patio!
A craving for pie somewhere around 6 had us visiting Marie Calendar's for a slice of Double Cream Lemon Pie, which we brought home and enjoyed as we watched October Sky.
We retired early as we had all had a somewhat exhausting day, but not before Mark and I made plans to recommit to our healthy eating the next day!

Painted Hills

Mark and I spent a perfectly beautiful day exploring the Painted Hills in Central Oregon. We were reminded of the world as God's canvas. The name "Painted Hills" is certainly an appropriate one. We were treated to a day of quiet solitude, as we were able to experience the wonder without intrusions. Although the tourists were scarce, a cougar paw-print reminded us that we were definitely not alone.

Daniel's Science Fair Project

After 3 weeks of very hard work, Daniel has at last finished his Science Fair Project. He chose to make a working model of the water cycle. The 'model' is in a fish tank on our back porch. We will be bringing it to his Science class tomorrow. I will take more pictures then. This is a picture of the board that goes with the project.

Katie girl

This is the photo that was used for the actors board during the Shakespeare's class performance of "Much Ado About Nothing."

Global Warming?

When we lived in Wisconsin this was not an unusual sight.  Snow at the end of April.  Here in Eugene, Oregon however, snow is definitely not the norm this time of year.  We are expecting precipitation in the form of a 'wintry mix' all day today.  Please, those of you in California, stop laughing!

P.T. = Physical Therapy????

Or does it stand for Physical "Torture"?  My orthopedic surgeon has dubbed me..."Woman with 'frozen shoulder'."  I have very limited mobility in my left shoulder.  While there may be a small tear it is really insignificant at this time, at least until we can restore mobility to the shoulder.  

So, just how does one go about restoring mobility?  Through P.T. of course.  Picture archaic torture chambers with prisoners strung out on wooden planks being stretched in two.

Okay...it's not that bad.  The Physical Therapist was actually very kind and understanding of my pain.  She still made me do the stretches, but she was sympathetic.  She demonstrated each stretch and then observed my technique as I attempted each awkward position. (Which really weren't awkward at all for someone with full use of their shoulder) I left the office with a printout of my homework; exercises to be done at least 3 times a day, as well as 5 follow-up sessions and a prescription for chocolate chip cookies whenever I feel pain- yes, I made that up.  

And so, my road to recovery has begun.    

Oh the Joys of Growing Old

"The linear signal abnormality involving the posterior labrum is strongly suspicious for a tear."

If you can understand the above, then you are doing better than I.  They are the results of my recent MRI on my shoulder.  Okay, so let me back up and tell you all a story. 

Sometime in early January our family decided to take an impromptu trip to Sunriver and enjoy a weekend in the snow. Two days prior to our departure I was tidying up the house to prepare for our being away. 

We own one of those central vacuum systems, which in and of themselves are not a danger, unless of course you happen to be vacuuming the stairs, and  your name is Mom/Deanna.  The hose was stretched from the bottom of the stairs to the top, as I turned to go down a step my foot landed on top of the hose which promptly caused my foot to roll off of the hose and proceed down the stairs.   I extended my left arm down and behind me to catch my fall.  My legs continued to slide down the stairs as my arm stayed behind secure on the step that I had put it on.  After sliding a few steps I came to a stop and anticipated the pain.  I very slowly pulled my arm around forward wincing with each little movement. I thought I had made quite a commotion, but alas, only the dog seemed to be aware of my circumstance.  

I breathed a few, "Please God, don't let it be broken" and stood up.  So far so good.  Lots of pain, but I could still move my arm so I concluded that nothing was broke.  

Later, I relayed the story to my husband who sympathetically hugged me as he tried his best to assess the damage.  I assured him I was okay to go our trip.  

With a good dose of Aleve in my system I was able to enjoy the snow and even did some sledding.  My husband did all the lifting, and took on the task of helping me to dress myself, as I couldn't lift my arm above my waist.  

After several weeks the mobility returned to my arm, but I still found some movements very painful.  With much fuss and resentment I called my Doctor,  who upon seeing me, scolded me for a good 5 minutes for waiting so long to go in.  An X-ray at the office revealed no break.  ( I was impressed with my self-diagnosis, I knew it wasn't broken).  The next step was an MRI which was done yesterday morning.  The results..(see above) were delivered to me today by my doctor along with a referral notice to an Orthopedic surgeon.  

What???!!!!  Okay fine, so next week I get to once again venture into the belly of the MRI machine, only this time with some kind of dye injected into my arm to determine if in fact there really is a tear.  After that..who knows?  I'll keep you posted. Until then, Mark continues to take in stride the unfortunate job of having to dress his wife.

Is it Spring Yet?

Another Driver on the roads of Eugene

At last the day arrived yesterday!  Katie passed her Driver's license exam.  She made her first solo drive home from her classes yesterday. (I followed behind her in the truck, threatening to push anyone who got too close 'into the wall') Daniel was laughing hysterically.  Why is it so hard to let go?  

Our family is excited about this conference!!!

Katie's 60's Look!

Rain Rain...GO AWAY!!!!!

What is the most frustrating about living in the Northwest is that somehow the rains know when it's the weekend. We have had some glorious weather all week and now as we head into Friday night the clouds have turned dark and the rains are once again coming down! We had hoped to have a beautiful 60 degree tomorrow as it was yesterday. We had yard work planned, walls to move, dirt to dig. Now it looks as if we shall wake to very cold wet weather in the morning without much of a reprieve until Monday, just in time to go back to work. Ahhh the joy.
Daniel has been fighting very unsuccessfully against a cold all week. We have rented the move "Underdog" for tonight and hope to catch a few lines of the film between his coughing. ((((Daniel))))
Katie is primping for the dance. Tonight's dance theme is "Through the decades" Katie found a 60's looking dress and is making her hair as 'big' as possible! What a blast. We tried in vain to find white go-go boots.
I'll try to post some more pictures soon. I've got 3 rolls waiting to be developed. If only I can find the time!

Do you Bird Count?

Beginning today through Monday the 18th one can participate in the Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. www.birdcount.org.
I have followed the Bird Count somewhat in the past, but this year, armed with my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds, my F100 complete with a new 300 zoom lens, and a checklist, I am ready to add my totals to the Count! My children stand at the ready to assist in flipping through the guide and identifying the birds by their markings.

We are being treated to another day of sunshine and if the weather experts are on target we may have sunshine all weekend.

Valentine's Day

Alas..the sun shines in Eugene! Such a glorious sight. Especially when one is a fair weather runner. Although, I have learned that a little moisture will not melt my running shoes, no matter how much I try to convince my dog to the contrary. But today, I shall gladly lace up and head outdoors and reap the benefits of increased Vitamin D!

As I write I am being serenaded by our son playing Fur Elise on his piano. Our daughter is engrossed in her Advanced Mathematics lesson. Just another day in the life of a homeschooling family.

We have enjoyed an impromptu visit by my parents, who stopped by to drop off a few Valentine goodies for the kids. Mark was home for lunch as is common. On the menu today? The ever popular peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with tortilla chips and salsa on the side. Funny how even at our ages (Mark and myself) we still find a little joy in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Tonight we shall huddle on the couch for a movie night. Undoubtedly there will be a little chocolate involved. I believe we may watch 10 Angry Men. I am preparing for my role in our upcoming Easter play at church entitled "Twelve Angry Jurors". Hopefully the movie will give me some motivation.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Vacation shots

More Cambodia pics by my niece Danielle

Rene in Cambodia

My brother Rene, his wife, Kristi and their children Danielle and Rene Roy just returned from their trip to Cambodia. Every year following Christmas they go to Cambodia to work at an orphanage there. Here is my brother Rene, no doubt teaching the Cambodian children some kind of trick! LOL!

19 years and counting!

We celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary on Monday!

Mom and Dad 50th Anniversary Party

So..did we ever surprise my parents! What a blast! I really love this shot with the grandkids. They are all so grown up now!

Remembering Mark Everett

As is our tradition every year we sent balloons up to heaven today in remembrance of our son Mark Everett who would have been 13 years old today. Today Mark Everett has another relative around him to celebrate. His great Aunt Letha was buried today. Aunt Letha was a beautiful woman with a heart that loved all. I know she will be missed incredibly here on earth, but we look forward to a glorious reunion someday! Letha...give Mark Everett and Mom a huge hug from us!