Scorching the World

Tom and I were both wide awake before time for him to get up to go to work at 6:15. There is just too much on our minds and so much we need to do before we leave on our trip just 2 weeks from today! We can’t believe it really is going to happen! While he was at work, I planned out more of the itinerary for our trip – specifically what we will do in Washington D.C. Super exciting! I don’t have it all worked out, but it’s a start. I was chatting with my sisters when Tom got home from work. I love chatting with my sisters! We have so much to talk about every week. I almost wish we could check in every day, but that would be silly. Tom needed me to help him take his Comet to the local repair place. I’m sure it is the Comet’s favorite place to be. Right now it has a shimmy that needs fixed so hopefully it will sell better after that is fixed. After we got back from that, Tom was looking at Craig’s list and found a motorhome that sounded really good – much newer than ours and a littl...

We needed to return Lindy to the repair place first thing this morning. We had borrowed it for the weekend so Tom could get tires put on. They open at 8am, so we left at 7:30. They were open when we got there at 7:50, so Tom gave them some instructions and we headed to the temple. We were way early to the temple, which is fine. There are always things we can do before people come. We had 10 helpers today, which was sure nice. Super nice people! We came home and had just enough time for Tom to change clothes and have breakfast before going to his dentist appointment. That office has been very frustrating and suspicious to work with and we sure don’t plan for him to go back anymore. But this appointment was fine. He got his permanent crowns put on and was done. We spent ALL AFTERNOON working on things for the trip on the computers – clear until almost 8:30pm! There was so much to do. We hated to miss the gym today, and I sure felt yucky after not exercising, but there was so much ...

At stake conference last week some of the members of the Spanish ward pleaded with me to teach people in their ward how to play the organ. They have no organist now and have been singing a capella or with the hymns on the phone set by the microphone. So I talked with Eileen Robison who used to play for that ward on Sundays to see if she would be willing to play for them again. She said she would be happy to on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays but didn’t want to miss Relief Society in our ward because she sits in the hall with a friend and she doesn’t want to miss that. ((funny)) Anyway, she was thrilled to start playing for them again and we agreed to take turns. Today was my turn. I wanted to get to the building early because it’s been a long time since I played on that organ and knew it would take some time to remember what stops to use, etc. When we got there at 8:30, the doors were still locked. Tom wanted to ring the bell, but I insisted that I didn’t want to interrupt Bishopric or w...

We had arranged to meet Tanya at our church this morning at 8am so she could borrow our truck. They actually didn't need us to help clean today, but we had already arranged to meet Tanya there, so we did anyway. On the way to the church we dropped the Comet off where it could be seen. When we got to the church at 8am, Tanya was already there chatting with some of my friends who are always so happy to see her! So we switched keys with Tanya and she and Kaden took off and we started cleaning. Tom and I always clean the chapel. We sort of have a routine - he vacuums, and I clean the benches and hymn holders, etc. We finished before Tanya was back, so we killed a a little time in Fresno until she was ready. Then we met her at the Fresno post office and switched our cars back. We went back home to have breakfast, then Tom started working on the wheels of the motorhome. He really wanted to paint them before getting new tires on Lindy today. So I helped him wash them, scrub the...

Tom left for work and I got busy on the computer. He got home earlier today than normal, which was super nice! We got quite a bit of STUFF done before time to leave for the temple. We had a pretty good turnout for cleaning today – super nice people! I love serving with wonderful people. We got to the gym about half hour before our appointment with our trainer, so we did a good warm-up before he came to get us to start. This time our trainer really kicked our butts! He worked us hard! I only got one picture, but he had us do hard things for short times, over and over. We usually rotated through 3 exercises 3 times, huffing and puffing. By the end, I was losing my grip on the handles of pull-down poles. Good workout! He is definitely worth the $$. I don’t think we can afford to continue to have a personal trainer after we get back from vacation, but I sure would be happy to find a way. Straight from the gym, we had to go pick up the motorhome (Lindy) from where it is being repair...

Yesterday we stopped by a dentist office that takes our Medicare insurance. Tom set up an appointment for today for a “teeth cleaning”. They scheduled him for this morning. He took the Comet and went to the dentist at 10am. The plan was that he would call me when he was almost done and we would meet at the gym for our workout. I waited and waited and waited. I got so much done while I was waiting. I kept the phone on me to be sure I didn’t miss his call. He was at least 2 hours with them before he finally said to go meet him at the gym. Turned out after he left the gym he went to a tire shop to get his wheels balanced on the Comet. When he called he said they were almost done. So I went to the gym and started working out. I got a really good workout before he finally showed up – almost a full hour later! He gave me the bad news from the dentist – he has lots of cavities and needs 2 crowns and possibly one or more root canal and it will cost almost $4,000 even after our insurance....

I’m definitely seeing a pattern in our lives! It seems to be all about going to the gym and the temple! Good thing we love doing both of them! We had our first appointment with our new trainer today. Avery is a very buff guy and turned out to be a great trainer! It sure didn’t feel like he was working us hard at all but halfway through we were sweating and breathing hard. We used very light weights and low, easy exercises, but by the end I knew I had worked harder than I ever have since we started almost 3 months ago. I can’t wait for the next session with him! lift alternating arm and leg Hip lift "Sit" against the ball on the wall Ball overhead, then feet take it to the floor. That one was hardest! We signed up with a program to get food cheap once a month and today was the day so we had to be at the senior center at 11am. Tom wanted to stop at the parts store which is just a few block from there, so he had me drop him and go get the food so we wouldn’t be too late. Then ...

Tom left for work at 6:30 and I got busy on my own stuff. My favorite thing now is to listen to podcasts or watch You Tube videos while I knit. I sure can take in a lot of information and be so inspired while also accomplishing some stuff I need to do. I had a nail appointment at 7:30am but last night she changed it to 8:30, which was fine with me! Ashley is fun to talk to. She’s really good at asking the right questions to get conversation going. Usually I listen to people more than I talk, but Ashley brings out my opinions, happenings, and feelings. It’s fun to talk with her while she does my nails. Many people ask questions but don’t really listen to the answers. Somehow she remembers what I’ve said and asks about it at the next appointment. With all the clients she has, I’m amazed she can do that. I also learn a lot from her. I’ve gone to so many nail salons where they either don’t speak enough English to carry on a conversation, or they have nothing to talk about and I can’t get...

  We were awake in the night again, so we slept in to make up for it. Last night we talked about getting up at 6am so we could go work out before going to the temple, but that didn’t happen. Maybe next week. We drove separate cars so Tom could park his Comet someplace, then we went to do everything else in my car. Today was president’s day, so I hoped that would mean that lots of people were off work and they could all come to help clean. Sadly, it meant that lots of people were off work and could sleep in and stay home. We only had 1 person from our ward and 3 from the YSA ward – all adult leaders. But today was also a semi-annual deep clean by Hanford stake, so our boss said some of those people could help us and then do their assignments for him. So we had a good crew after all. We went straight to the gym from the temple and only worked out half hour so I could be home in time to chat with my sisters at 11:30am. I worked out hard and fast and felt like it was a harder w...

Stake Conference today was really good. We had to go early for one last choir rehearsal, which meant we got a good parking place. Our stake center has a very large lot, but half of it is a large dirt/grass field where they hold holiday events, sporting events, and use for Fresno State parking. It has been raining a lot so that is one big muddy field now, so people were encouraged to carpool so people wouldn’t have to park in the mud. We were glad we got a front and center parking spot. The choir numbers turned out very nice. It was fun to sing in the choir, but I think my choir days are nearing a close. Every time we sing in a choir we enjoy it, but we also feel like we probably won’t next time. But we probably will. lol The meeting was really good. They had a child speaker, a high school speaker, and a young single adult speaker. The stake president spoke, the mission president and his wife, and then our visiting authority, Elder Brown from the seventies spoke. All were really goo...

Tom woke up in the night and got up to study. He is reading Jesus the Christ when he is awake in the middle of the night. I’m way less productive if I’m awake in the middle of the night! Anyway, I woke up a little before he came back to bed, which was about 4am but couldn’t go back to sleep. I had a slight headache and one song stuck in my head that was keeping me awake. It definitely was not a lullaby! I finally got up about 5:30 to go lie on the couch. I turned on Alexa to play some music so my brain could relax and was eventually able to go to sleep. I woke up a few times needing to turn over or get warmer or cover my head or turn Alexa down, but it did feel good to finally go back to sleep. I finally got up at 7:30 AM and found Tom up, awake, dressed, and on his computer. He left to go help do a neighborhood clean-up around 9am and I worked on my computer for a while, then he went to the vineyard around noon where Jaime Hansen gave him some of the good grape plants that are b...

I don’t know what time Tom got up this morning, but I know he was already awake when it was time to go to work at 6;15. I woke up a little while before he came in the bedroom to get dressed and kiss me goodbye. My headache went away some time yesterday before or during the temple, so I slept well last night! I spent the morning getting things done on the computer and a little knitting before Tom got home. We decided to go to the gym before the temple and Tom wanted to take his Comet to park somewhere. We had good workouts that felt really good. There was some confusion about our personal trainer so we tried to get that taken care of, which almost made us late for the temple cleaning. We left the Comet in the gym parking lot. We had about 6 to help clean, and most of them know their jobs well, so they don’t need any instructions. They just grab their equipment and go to work. After cleaning, we went back to pick up the Comet on the way home. I dropped Tom off and raced him home. I...

My headache lingered through the day yesterday, so I took some Tylenol before going to bed. It took a long time to go to sleep and then I woke up about 3am when suddenly it felt like my head exploded. So I got up and took a stronger pill. It took a long time to go back to sleep but when I finally did, I slept until about 7am. Tom got up about 6am but came back to bed with me because I was still enjoying relaxing in a dark place. He fell asleep and slept until 9am! So today started very slowly! I had a dentist appointment at 4pm, and we planned to go to the gym before my appointment. I was to drop Tom off to pick up his Comet, then we would exercise, then he could go back home while I went to the dentist. But when it was time to leave to exercise, I mentioned to Tom that I still didn’t feel 100% so I was going to do a very light exercise routine this time. He said if I didn’t feel good enough, we should take the day off. So we stayed home and I got a good rest before I left for my den...

  Happy Val entine’s day! We really don’t celebrate it at all, but people kept saying that to us today. Tanya wanted to watch Monuments Men but doesn’t have Netflix, so we arranged for her to come over this morning to watch it here. It’s always nice to have her come over and spend time with us. She is an inspiration to me. And I enjoyed watching the movie again. It was just as good the 2 nd time. We got a lot done before leaving for the temple – just normal stuff. Actually we decided to go exercise on the way to the temple instead of going after. Before we left, I was hungry and had been craving a pancake, so I made one for each of us, which made us run a little late. Then Tom wanted to take the Comet to Fresno and wanted to park it in the parking lot of the stereo shop we have gone to quite a few times. Tom has become friends with them, so he took the time to ask if he could park the Comet in their parking lot right on the corner where all traffic going by would see it. They ...

 Tuesday  Today is Trina’s birthday! I really love Trina the most - as much as every one of my kids! Tom and I were wide awake at 3am today for no good reason! We stayed in bed and eventually went back to sleep, but I woke up over and over from then on. So silly! Then he got up and left for work at 6:15. It wasn't hard to get up because we both had been awake for a while and just staying warm under the covers. We turn off our heat at night because our bed is toasty warm. Lately it has been around 58 degrees in the house when we wake up but we aren't cold at all in bed. I've been listening to a thing on decluttering and I can hardly stand to sit and watch it because it makes me want to pause it and go work on something. After listening for about 20 minutes, I had to jump up and organize my wardrobe better and then one of my bathroom drawers. I can’t wait to get into a certain kitchen drawer. Good stuff that needs done regularly. So Tom got up when his alarm went off. We had ...

We set a goal to study scriptures together each morning before getting into other things, but we didn’t sleep well, so we didn’t get up in time to study before going to the temple. Tom wanted to take the comet to park on a busy street in the hopes someone will see it and offer us millions of dollars for it, so we did that on the way. We had a very small turnout this morning for the temple, but one sister brought 3 sister missionaries with her, Tanya brought Kaden, and 2 other service missionaries came, so we had enough people to get everything done. Some groups were slow (the 3 sister missionaries), and just as we were leaving Tom found something that had to be cleaned, so we left half hour later than normal. We went to the gym, checking the Comet on the way to be sure it looked ok where it was, and worked out for an hour. It feels really good to work out, but I wish I could see some results in muscles, strength, and weight loss. Tom keeps saying it will come, and I want to conti...

Tom thought about parking the Comet someplace in Fresno where people who might want to buy it would see it today, but we decided not to think about that on Sunday. Church was good – good talks and good Relief Society lesson. We grabbed a snack and a nap before going to choir. We also got dinner in the oven. I tried to set up my phone to be able to start the oven while at choir, but I couldn't get the setup to work. That would have been cool. Tanya and Kaden were already at our house when we got home from choir. Todd was sick and stayed home. We finished getting dinner ready and ate before Christian got here, but there was plenty left for him. We watched a video about the 2 nd coming and then Anne’s family videos of Christmases together that she put on You Tube. Such fun! It would be nicer to watch it with Anne so she could tell us who everyone is that we couldn’t recognize, but we got most of it and it was so fun to watch. Tom made popcorn and we chatted a while and they l...

I actually miss having Lindy here to work on. Now I have to keep cleaning my own house. Tom got the Comet all finished and ready to sell, so now we are focused on taking it to Fresno regularly to get exposure. So first thing we went to the gym to swim and Tom parked it in the parking lot there because he says that is the neighborhood where people will want to buy it. So we met at the gym. It was 44 degrees outside when we went swimming. The pool is supposed to be 82 degrees but it didn’t feel very warm, so we didn’t swim very long. Still it is a great workout. I get so winded trying to swim laps. That pool is double the size of mine, so it is a good workout, Tom also does water aerobics with me. There was another woman in the pool so we didn’t want to make too big of waves, but we got a good workout and it warmed us up a bit. The truth is swimming at the gym is a pain because I get all dressed, fix my hair and put on makeup, then swim, then have to get all dressed, dry and fix my h...