Go Green

I decided I would do my part preserving the earth's resources. I have always saved aluminum cans and newspapers when we take the paper. A few months ago Tremonton City put up bins where we could recycle plastic so all my plastic has been recycyled. I saw a composter advertised on Costco so I decided I would try my hand at compost. I hate throwing away food that could be used in compost so I sent for the composter. Little did I know it would come in a 'thousand' pieces.

It really wasn't too difficult to put together as I followed the directions step by step. It is a sphere and should be quite easy to move. All I have to do is roll it to where I want it once I get compost made.

Here it is. I was quite proud of myself, because I did it by myself.

Easter Comes

We went to Virginia for Easter and had such a great time. I was going to post it all, but time just got away from me. The kids got some sidewalk chalk for Easter and while Adri, Sharma, and I were in the kitchen and Craig, his dad, LaMar, and Lloyd were in front of the TV, the kids had a ball. They were outside, unsupervised and going to town with the chalk. They made a line from one end of their block to the other end with stops of different colors inbetween. I loved to see them be able to be outside and be kids but their parents were not too pleased. This is the extent of their fun which you can see was nothing to get excited about. They were good to clean it up. In fact, I think they had as much fun cleaning as making.

Here are more pictures of Easter.

Busy in St. George

We have been busy. We got a hide-a-bed out and a futon in. At first I was disappointed with the college look of the futon, but after buying some pillows to color it up I liked it. I especially like that we have more space in that small room.

After the futon, we decided we needed a taller toilet. So Bob-the-Builder replaced it for us. To go with the new toilet we decided we needed new deck carpet, of course. So we replaced the carpet on the deck. Lloyd was just a little hesitant because he thought we would add on, but we are not going to do that. Our place is small, but it is enough for the two of us for the amount of time we spend here.

We have had teal carpet inside since we bought the place. It wasn't worn at all, but just a little out of date so we decided to order new inside carpet. After we ordered it I had second thoughts. The teal color is really quite relaxing. Here is Lloyd in his new chair (oh, I forgot that we also bought a new recliner this year--the one that was here was so uncomfortable) just relaxing, proving what I said about the teal carpet being quite a relaxing color.

Well, I chose a carpet with a fleck of red (for the couch), blue, green (for the drapes) and gold. I put it against the cupboards and it looked good. Today they brought it and laid it out. I was a little nervous about the look. It was really quite colorful. I wanted something like Kim's and Adri's with just a fleck here and there. This looks like confetti! It isn't exactly what I wanted, but it looks very nice and I like it. It must be a relaxing color, too, because here is Lloyd just relaxing again in his new recliner. Imagine that!

Andrew is One today!

Our youngest grandchild, Andrew, is one today. How time does fly. A year ago I was back in Virginia to help Adri with the kids when she came home from the hospital. This first picture is when Andrew was five days old. What a cutie Grandma thinks he is.

They came again in August and then surprised us at Christmas. Andrew, of course, had changed so much. These are Christmas pictures. The smile on his face is what he has all the time. He is such a good boy; always happy and smiley. We're going out in April to see them and I can hardly wait to mug them up a little.

Let the Sunshine In

We have made a few attempts to come to St. George and stay more than a few days, but those attempts failed. Lloyd was still having problems with his blood pressure dropping, so after two falls I said we were going home. At least at home, if he fell he wouldn't hit something, whereas in St. George the place is so small he was pretty banged up after the falls. This looks good compared to what he DID look like.

With the chemo working its way out of his system, he is getting better with each passing day, so we decided to try it again. Who wouldn't feel better with bright, sunny days.

Oops! Too much water for St. George. I'm pretty sure this is Hawaii! Not bad though. Because there is a lighthouse in the picture, Kim thought it was the Oregon Coast. I'm here to tell her lighthouse or not, it is Kauai, Hawaii. And just to prove to her that I knew my pictures, I put another one in to convince her. Sue and Ashley are on the beach in Hawaii. Notice the palm trees, Kim.

Now this is Southern Utah. I couldn't find the most recent blue skies and red hills so I went back a couple of years when Kennedy was down and we went out to Zions. She is a couple of inches taller now, and her grandpa is a few pounds lighter with no hair at all.

I have never absolutely loved to spend months in St. George because I was never busy enough. These few weeks have been different. Since not being down for so long, there is plenty to do. The carpet on the decks was absolutely rotted away. It really needed to be replaced so we contacted our repairman,

Bob the Builder. He took off all the railings and led us to a carpet layer. We chose some carpet to go with the exterior of the house and it was laid the next day. We are really pleased with how it looks. Of course, anything was better than the rotted stuff we had before.

Through a friend we found another guy who does yard work so Lloyd contacted him and he took out the little bit of grass on one side of the house. He will replace it with small rocks and that way the new carpet will still get the direct sun, but not the water, too.

Next, we ordered new carpet for the inside. I really hate to see the 'teal' carpet go (not), but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm excited for the new look.

The sun was so bright and it was so warm I decided we needed a 'color spot' so I bought some plants and put a planter together. Lloyd wondered who would water it all summer, but I let him know that it was coming home with us. I think I'll be able to keep it alive until I can put it on the deck in Tremonton.

Out with the old and in with the New

The morning before the plane left.




Well, the Sleights headed back for Virginia and we were all sad to see them go. It was so fun to have the whole family here for Christmas. The tree is down and pack away for another year and the lights are half down and just waiting for a warmer day to take down the others.


We rang in the New Year at Kim's cabin in Bear Lake. Lloyd stayed home, but I decided Bear Lake with family sounded a lot more fun than sitting in front of the TV, and it was. Surprisenly, there wasn't enough snow to sleigh ride or snowmobile so we spent the evening putting together puzzles and playing games. Our favorite puzzle was the one of "Bear Lake" and our favorite game was Bananagram. We all had to use our brains (which was especially good for me) and figure out the words we could make with the letters we were given. It was really fun.



I called it a night about 10:30 and the others turned in about 11:00. We know the new year came, but we didn't ring it in. I hope 2009 is as good to us as 2008.


Fun and games at the cabin on New Year's Day!

Best Christmas Ever

One week before Christmas our doorbell rang at 9:15 A.M. I asked Lloyd if he was going with Dick that early. On the way to the door I heard jingle bells ringing and when I opened the door we got a great surprise. There on the steps were Adri and her three kids! They had flown in from Virginia and Ashley and Kim had picked them up the night before. All the family had known they were coming and they had all kept it a secret since October.

This is ALS, the youngest.

What a fun Christmas it has been with all of us here.