April 29, 2015. Canyon Lake, Texas. We Made It.

Yesterday I started out driving. I drove on the Natchez Trace just so Suzanne could experience riding on that old trail. And I drove on Highway 20 heading west to Texas. After 90 minutes, Ken suggested that Suzanne should take over from me as he thought I needed a break. In other words, he was not happy with my driving which I admit can be erratic. Suzanne drove for an hour, when we stopped for lunch at a very nice Mexican restaurant. During lunch, Suzanne volunteered to drive again. It took the three of us a nanosecond to all agree so Suzanne drove another couple of hours. Ken still sees double out his left eye so we don't want him driving at all and I am not at my best so we were happy to have Suzanne drive the truck. Palistine, Texas was our home for the night. We stayed at a very nice Hampton Suites. I ordered in Pizza and we three enjoyed ourselves munching in our lovely suite. This morning we had 4 hours of driving ahead of us. Suzanne again volunteered and we did not demur. I was happy to turn over the helm. She declared that she liked to drive. Truthfully, she probably did not want to drive with either Ken or me so she kept the keys, which we appreciated. The drive was delightful but the best part was eating lunch at a good old fashioned Texas barbecue joint in Taylor, Texas. The food was delicious and was the first time Suzanne dined on Texas barbecue. We ate so much we ate only apples for dinner!! The lake house is nothing like Suzanne expected. After we arrived and I took a nap, we all sat on the deck and sipped a glass of wine and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the lake. This is a place we love so are pleased to share it with Suzanne, especially since she has driven us from Mississippi to Texas, almost all by herself. Hats off to Suzanne!!

April 28, 2015. Palistine, Texas. Jet Black.

All of a sudden, I was in the pitch black. The fan stopped too and I could neither hear or see a thing. It is difficult trying to figure out what to do next as I was sitting on the toilet of a service station. When I went into the ladies room, I noted that someone was in the handicapped section so I went into the only other one. And I was quiet and did not say a word. When the lady from the handicapped spot left the ladies room, she turned off the light, and I was in the dark. Actually I was totally in the black. I could find nothing. No toilet paper. No cane. Do handle to flush. No door handle. Eventually, I could see the door to get out so I opened it so from then on I could function, especially when I found the light switch. I laughed out loud. What started out to be a routine visit to the ladies room turned into a major task. You just never know what will happen next.

April 27, 2015. Madison, Ms. Old Friends.

The voice of an friend is unmistakable. The minute you hear her voice you might as well have never been apart. You were fast friends back then and you are fast friends today. It is a wonderful thing. Since Suzanne arrived, we have been talking non stop, catching up on my health. Also Ken's health and the state of the Mississippi children. Suzanne often joined us for lunch at McDonalds with Christina and Kate when Kate was round and very young.. Kate is definitely not round now so it was fun to have Suzanne see the growth and development of Kate and Mary Frances. Of course Molly was not yet in the picture. Suzanne has kindly come to help us drive to Texas. Suzanne asked me just now how I manage in the truck for long periods of time. My answer is that I have no clue as we have not driven much but I will certainly find out tomorrow. I think that driving will be a distraction for me. The seats are comfortable so I hope all is well. My bones hurt when I sit on wooden chairs but in the truck I should be fine. It is a true act of friendship that Suzanne has come to help with our journey. I bet we will have fun too.

April 26, 2015. Madison, Ms. Moving On.

Tuesday, we drive to Texas. It seems a shame to leave our lovely new home but it will be waiting for us on our return. Today Christina, Mary Frances and Molly helped a lot. They took all the pictures I am not using into the storage room. That sounds easy but for me it was impossible. I can navigate the stairs but not when carrying heavy objects. For the three of them, it took twenty minutes. And after our lunch, they hung paintings. I gave MF bunches of small paintings and she hung them on small spaces in the breakfast room. They look great. Christina hung many paintings on the first floor and also in Wendy's Room and the Office. We are beginning to look civilized. Tomorrow, Suzanne arrives from DC. We will dine with Christina and the girls and stay at our new home. Tuesday morning we will begin the trek to Texas. It is a pleasant drive. We certainly have good company. Once again, I am fortunate to have helpful friends. Suzanne will help with the driving as Ken is still not able to drive and I am not at my best. But we will get there, bit by bit. And will enjoy it too.

April 25, 2015. Madison, Ms. Surprise.

One thing leads to another but not always to a pleasant surprise. Our movers, John Vining, was referred to me by Christina. He moved them twice and had done well, so I called him and arranged for him to pack our belongings at the condo and move it to the new house. And I needed the boxes unpacked too. He told me that his wife would do the unpacking but she could not do it until the day after as she has her own cleaning business and was busy on moving day. My ears pricked up because I needed the condo cleaned after the move so I asked to speak to his wife. Her name is Elizabeth and she was pleasant on the phone. We agreed that she would unpack, then clean the condo, which she did. During her work at the house, I asked if she had any openings to clean our house and whether she had ever checked on houses left empty? Since then, she has cleaned our house twice, and done an excellent job. She is quick and thorough and quiet. And she will check each week to be sure all is well in the house. When she came today to clean, we agreed on the price we would pay her to check on the house but just before she left, when I was giving her the key, she gave me a big surprise. Elizabeth had been calculation her time and decided that we were paying her $20. too much each month and that she would be happy with the agreed on price less $20. In all my life, I have been told that our salary was too low but I had never been told the fee was too much!! So we will pay her every month the amount she says is fair but it came as a big surprise to me. One thing did lead to a very nice surprise.

April 24, 2015. Madison, Ms. Three Weeks.

Three weeks ago yesterday we moved from our condominium into our home on Roses Bluff Drive. We are pleased with our move and with the progress at the new abode. All the interior of the house has been painted which took 18 work days. In addition, the handyman has been constantly making things function better for us. Today he installed a railing along the front walk. This week a plumber and his assistant spent two full days with us, changing taps, fixing leaks and installing high toilets. Two days this week the electrician was here, getting rid of old switches and checking the outlets. I am always interested with what people put up with. For instance, the kitchen lights only worked if the switch by the back door is turned on. But not any more. It was fixed in ten minutes. Don't tell Gloria but we hung some paintings on Wednesday, so the house looks more like our home. Without Wonderful Wendy we would still be opening boxes but between the workers and Wendy and Christina and the girls, we have made great strides. We have accomplished a lot in three weeks. We are delighted.

April 23, 2015. Madison, Ms. Exercise.

My solution to most everything that was wrong with you used to be to drink more water and get more exercise. It was a joke in the family. My background in Physical Education and Exercise Physiology led me down that path. If you did not recover from the extra water and exercise, you certainly needed to visit the doctor. Now I am taking my own advice. The medicine has left my legs weak and spongy and don't seem to be getting better on their own so I have decided to stress the system. My walker allows me to walk outside safely so starting yesterday, I am walking outside for 20 minutes morning and night. And I am drinking more water. I will go slowly as all the forced rest has left me weak but bit by bit I should be able to build up my strength. I might even start lifting light weights, but not yet. One of the side effects of this new medication is fatigue so I must be careful. The Oncologist wants me to be as active as possible but never to get tired, which is quite a trick. But here I go, ready to get my legs back. Of course it started by the medicine causing me neuropothy in my legs as well as other parts of my body. My function should return but I am betting it will return faster if the system is stressed. We will find out in 6 months whether or not I am correct. But for now, here we go with my walker. I am quite a sight.

April 22, 2015. Madison, Ms. More First Steps.

The first paintings hung in our new home went on the walls today. This house is beginning to feel like home. Jim and Eleanor hung several paintings on the main level. Also, they hung our biggest painting in Ken's office. They all look great. Today was the first time we had company. Greta Barbour and Christina opened boxes while the paintings were being hung. We ate lunch together in the dining room so it was our first set of company although they were actually a work crew. By the end of the day, our new home has no boxes to open, which is another first. I used my walker to go for a walk, which is another first. Christina came with me to be sure I could get up and down the walkways, but I navigated just fine, so I should be able to go for walks all my self. And today I begin the new medication called Ibrance which along with Letrozole will be my new oral treatments. We hope it works.

April 21, 2015. Madison, Ms. Walker.

Three friends e mailed me, urging me to use a walker. I was having difficulty finding a strong arm to lean on to walk, so these three told me that for them, using a walker made them safe and independent. But I was not convinced because I thought that my condition would get better once I was well past the IV Infusion, which had causes the difficulty with my legs. My theory seemed sound except that it was not working. My legs got worse. Even with the cane I was unstable. Clever Christina investigated walkers and suggested that we buy one to try it out. She and I decided on a fancy model complete with four wheels, brakes, a seat and a small bag. We did not tell Ken what we were doing. Today it arrived. The handyman set it up and showed it to Ken who assured Bill that this walker belonged to Ruth, not him. Today I walked all over the house to get comfortable with the equipment. Tomorrow I will venture outside. After he tried it out, Ken agreed with me that using it is safer. And he used it to transfer shoes. I used it to move some china from the breakfast room to the hutch, so in addition to being safer for me, it aleo helps me move things around the house. My three friends were smart to urge me to use a walker. I was just slow to learn their lesson. But not any more. I have seen the light!!

April 20, 2015. Madison, Ms. Glasses.

For some reason, eye glasses will be in my future. When I was old and had the surgery that put new lens in my eyes, I was able to see perfectly so I no longer needed to wear glasses. And what was even better, I bought the new fancy lens that adjusted for reading so I no longer needed even reading glasses. For the first time since I was 8 years old, I did not need to wear eye glasses. It was wonderful. But after my first treatment of chemotherapy, my eyes began to change. Some times, all was well and other times I could not see the road signs. Immediately we went to the eye doctor and he prescribed a wetting solution, which helped but only sometimes. My eyes had deteriorated so sometimes I could not read, even with my reading glasses. Today at the good doctor, my vision was 20/60 so I have ordered glasses for distance. I am no longer getting the IV Infusion but neither my legs nor my eyesight are getting better. We hope that time will heal the problems. But in the meantime, during our drive to Texas, I must be able to see properly. It took me five minutes to select my frames, which startled the young lady who kept bringing me other types to try for me. Once I was comfortable with the frame, I was ready to go. Thursday will be the day I return to the world of eye glasses. What a bother!!

April 19, 2015. Madison, Ms. Getting Ready.

This afternoon we had a work detail. Kate and Mary Frances picked up all the large pieces of art and stood them against the walls. The movers had removed the paintings from their boxes and stacked them on the floor in the center of the living room. The movers thought it was a bad idea as they felt the paintings could get damaged but the painters covered them with plastic so were protected. It was much easier for the girls to just pick the painting up and lean them against the walls than it would have been to remove the art from the boxes. In addition, Molly collected all the silver from several spots around the house and took them to the hutch where Christina put them away. It has been a long time since we saw the art so it was a pleasure seeing the paintings today. We all made suggestions as to what pieces could go where, which is not an easy task. But before we worked, we ate. Christina brought brunch from Bravo, so we sat at our new dining table and enjoyed the good food. The last thing we did was place the carpets. We had a few rugs that had been stored at Christina's, so she brought them today and we placed them around the house. We are beginning to look like a real home. Today we were getting ready to look like one.

April 18, 2015. Madison, Ms. Happy Memories.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of our Andrew. Christina and the girls, along with friend Polly, made dill pickles. It was Polly's idea. She knew that Andrew loved dill pickles and that he made his own, so last evening, they made dill pickles together and had a happy time. Andrew loved dill pickles from the time he was a tiny child. If he ran out of dill pickles, he was always careful to save the juice so for a bedtime snack he would pour pickle juice over Ritz crackers, mush them down and eat them with a spoon. He was definitely an eccentric. Making dill pickles was a tribute to the memory of Andrew. Recently, Christina has been gathering pictures telling of happy memories of Andrew. Rather than mourn, they are affirming their love. Today at our house, Mary Frances was looking through a box of pictures and found a picture she had never seen before. It was of Andrew walking with Mary Frances with fishing poles in hand on the road from the pond at the farm. Both were beaming. Mary Frances looked at the picture and said immediately to Christina that this picture should be in our box of happy memories. We all agreed and we all smiled. MF did not weep nor did she look sad. she was just pleased to see this wonderful picture which brought to her mind the happy memories of her father Andrew. They are all wisely counting their blessings rather than focusing on their loss. Fortunately, of happy memories they had many.

April 17, 2015. Madison, Ms. Next Step.

Today I begin the next step of my chemotherapy but this one is oral. I say also for good or ill because this therapy has serious side effects which might mean canceling the program. But we are going to try. There are two parts to the medicine. The first and easy one is Letrozole, which I will take every day at bedtime. Then there is Ibrance, the fancy new drug that was just fast tracked to approval in the US a few weeks ago. So far, it is not approved in Canada so I must bring my medication with me. Before beginning, blood work was done. Then you take the medicine for 14 days when another set of blood work must be done. After 21 days of taking the one pill, you take 7 days off from the Ibrance. I am supposed to take the two medicines at the same time and always with something to eat, which will be a trick because I don't eat at bed time. The main problem comes from the cells of the blood. Red cells, white cells and platelets are all decreased so infection is an issue. As I have already had trouble with anemia, I suspect I will get it with these medicines too but you never know how the body will respond. This medication is new and we hope it works. It certainly has worked for others with my same disease so I hope it will work for me. But we are on the track to find out, which is a good thing. Now here we go.

April 16, 2015. Madison, Ms. Solving and Getting.

My legs have been giving me trouble. They have felt spongy with pins and needles most of the time and some times they ache. The Oncologist says that it is a side effect of the medication I had been taking. Over the past few months I was subject to legs not keeping still at night but only for a night every now and then. But things changed. All this week I would go to sleep around 10:00 but awake after three hours. After a trip to the bathroom,I would try to get back to sleep but my legs kept me awake. They hurt and would not stay still so I stayed awake the rest of the night. I even woke Ken up to rub my legs, which he did. At 6:30 I ate breakfast and after the painters came at 7:00, I went back to sleep for a few hours. Ken suggested I call the Oncologist's assistant Nikki, which I did. After consulting Dr. S. they prescribed a medication to solve the problem. The instructions were for me to take one pill and if it did not work, take two pills. I think they meant the next night. Last night at bedtime I took one pill and slept soundly until 1:30 but could not get back to sleep so I took the second pill, which was a major mistake because when I tried to get up at 7:30 I could not walk properly. So I went back to bed and stayed there all morning. I think the good doctor meant me to take two pills at the same time. It solved my sleeping problem but the way I took the pills brought me another problem. I slept the better part of the day. Those little pills are potent. So the question must be answered as to whether or not I will take a little pill tonight? I certainly will not take one at 3:00 in the morning. I do not wish to sleep all day tomorrow.

April 15, 2015. Madison, Ns. Listening In.

Listening in the conversation when the folks talking don't know you are listening is very satisfying. It is a bit like walking down the street to see the front drapes open and the lights on during a party. You can stand and see all the pretty people and they can not see you. My Mother loved it so my Father called her Nosy Rosy and would not partake. But not me. I was provoked if the draped were closed. The nerve of them to deny us our entertainment. But listening into a conversation is even better. Yesterday I spent the whole day in our master bedroom. Fortunately we have the TV and two comfortable chairs in the little sitting room in a glass enclosed sun room and of course we have our bed and the bathroom, so we could function very well. The 6 painters forgot we were there most of the day so with the door closed and the young men working just outside the door in the living room and dining room, I was able to listen into the chatter. It was great fun. They were nice young men which we already knew. They help us at every opportunity. They give me their arm when I am walking to the truck and always ask is they could help. Their conversation was fascinating in the very ordinary nature of their talk. The discussed their children and how they were doing at school. They wished they had more children which I found interesting. They discussed Mississippi and living here. Three painters had stayed to work after they first came to help out after Katrina. The three found the people so grateful and helpful that they decided to stay and sent for their families. They discussed their parents and how well they were doing. It was obvious Ken and I were not doing so well so they compared the health of their parents and were grateful for them without criticizing us. And they discussed money. No sports were raised. These discussions took all day, in fits and starts. It was all I could do to ask a question or two but of course, then they would know I was listening into their conversation. It was splendid for me to hear them and their ordinary talk. Listening into their conversations make me feel I knew them better, which of course I do. But I won't tell a soul.

April 14, 2015. Madison, Ms. My Pedicure.

Clever Christina figured it out. I was told by the Oncologist and also in all the instructions to avoid crowds in order to not acquire infections, because during the treatments my immune system is not good. We have done a good job but that meant I did not go to get a pedicure even though cutting my own toe nails was difficult, especially when I was feeling badly. Christina heard me commenting about me cutting my own nails so she called the nail place to find out when the place is least crowded, which turns out to be when they are first open at 9:00. She made an appointment for me so this morning I was a happy camper. No one was there but me and the staff were busy and stayed well away from me. The lady doing the pedicure also massaged my legs an extra long time, which felt wonderful. The IV medicine has played havoc with my legs and they ache a lot, so the massage of my calves felt perfect. Christina's solution was excellent. Now I am happy, at least as far as my toe nails are concerned. It is interesting how often the little things in life bring pleasure. The pedicure did it for me today.

April 13, 2015. Madison, Ms. Captive.

They come at 7:00 sharp. They walk in the door and they begin to work. Fortunately, the door to our bedroom is closed so we can listen to the sounds of working while we snuggle in bed. Today they were working on the main floor, especially the dining room, stairway and living room and foyer, which meant that everything was covered up with plastic and tarps. We were captive in the master suite. Fortunately, we have a sitting room adjacent to the bedroom so we had a place to read. And we could get to the kitchen and return food to the sitting room to eat. Other than that, we were captives in our bedroom. Ken had gone down to his office first thing after breakfast but when he tried to return after lunch it was impossible. All the wood was wet with paint so he could not return down the stairs without holding the rail. We spent the afternoon reading. Tonight we watched Antiques Roadshow. Our TV is now installed in the small sitting room adjacent to our bedroom. It is a great TV room and also an excellent reading room. Fortunately we bought two comfortable chairs so we were all set to be captives in our own home. Already the main level looks better. The ceiling is done and most trim has had one coat. The walls have been prepared for their first coat. Four painters worked today. I think tomorrow will be another day of captivity although Ken will spend more time in his office. He might even have a painter bring him down some lunch, at least if I will prepare it for him. Fortunately, our bedroom is a haven from the mess of the rest of the main level. But soon the painting will all be done and I will no longer be a captive in my bedroom.

April 12, 2015. Madison, Ms. Wonderful Wendy.

She certainly lived out her name. The Thursday we moved into our new house, my niece Wendy walked through the front door. We were in a big mess. The movers were just bringing in our belongings from storage and all the boxes and furniture had already arrived from the condo. From that moment on, Wendy worked. She opened boxes and put things away. First thing she did was the kitchen. She had me sit and direct the show while she organized the drawers and cabinets. Next she put the pantry in order. When the painters had completed the master suits, she put away our clothes. What would be going into the walnut hutch she hid from the painters in the cabinets in the living room. And she took out the boxes as soon as they were empty. And she put out the trash. In her mind, she had come to be helpful to us so she did the shopping and she drove the truck. And she made all our meals. It was an astonishing example of efficiency and industry, all done in a quiet calm way. Whenever there was nothing she was doing at the time, she found something else to do that was helpful. When all the boxes were empty and gone, we turned to shopping for furniture. She helped us select and then carry everything into and out of the truck. For all these reasons, we will always call the spare bedroom "Wendy's Room". We will be forever in her debt. And we enjoyed her company too. This dire disease has allowed us to spend 10 days with our wonderful Wendy. I am grateful. We could have never done it without her presence in our life.

April 11, 2015. Madison, Ms. Breakfast.

In the five years we have lived in Mississippi, we had never eating breakfast in a restaurant. This morning, our home was full of painters working in the main floor. Everything was covered with plastic so when Wendy tried to make the necessary coffee, it was impossible. Ken, Wendy and I decided to eat breakfast at a restaurant. I had to admit that I knew no place to suggest we begin to find a breakfast place but Ken suggested several places so we headed out, with Wendy driving the truck and checking to see if the restaurants were open for breakfast. After stopping at 8 or more places and finding each one closed, we were desperate. When we came upon Applebees, we were pleased because the parking lot was half full. Wendy went in and was told that they were serving breakfast, even though the hours on the door said they open at 11:00. We ordered coffee for two and one hot tea. Wendy asked for a menu but was told they are serving only pancakes and sausage, along with the coffee. We three felt this was strange and Wendy figured out immediately that this was a fund raiser. Very soon, a platter of food arrived for Wendy but no coffee. Eventually both Ken and I were given the same dish which was three sausages and two pancakes with all the fixings. And soon the beverages arrived. Finally we asked a waitress shat was going on and sure enough, one of the Fraternities from Jackson State was having a fund raiser. The restaurant does the job for their community service. They school sells tickets so folks coming into the restaurant are supposed to have purchased tickets for $5. But we just walked in and began eating. Wendy made us honest by giving them $20. Worth every penny. Some days, you just get lucky.

April 10, 2015. Madison, Ms. Changes.

We know the treatments did it's job so we are grateful. But we are all delighted to be moving on to something else. This morning I had an appointment with Dr. Sheehan, my Oncologist. Immediately after, I was to take an infusion. Except my blood work will not allow another treatment. My platelets are too low and my red blood cells are too, so instead of a treatment, I had another blood transfusion. Before the transfusion, we three discussed my options going forward and we decided on a hormonal type therapy plus one that was just approved a few weeks ago. Wendy was with me, and as she works with Phizer, so was able to ask all the right questions. But we will begin this new oral therapy next Friday. There are different side effects from the new therapy but we hope the old ones will fade away. Dr. Sheehan wants me to get as much exercise as I am comfortably handle without getting tired. I definitely need to gain leg strength and I hope the balance will return too. The problem with a new therapy is that you get a return of what you had before. We do not want more pleural effusion so I must be monitored carefully. In a worst case, I must return to the IV treatments that were so debilitating to my body. But for now, we are ready for the next step. And we will celebrate tonight with the 7 of us when we dine on Japanese food sitting around our new dining table. I am delighted to be celebrating!!

April 9, 2015. Madison, Ms. Internet and TV.

Fortunately, we have a backup system. One week ago, we moved into our new home. Our old Internet and TV in the condo was cancelled and the new system was to be installed on the Friday. But the outside connection was faulty so could not connect. We have been without the Comcast system, which is much quicker than our MiFi. For the week, we have been using our own MiFi which is adequate but not perfect. But we are fortunate we have the back up. Of course, we have been without TV for the week, which means I was without the final Four games. Now we are in perfect order with a fast Internet and the TV that works. We are pleased. Tomorrow, Ken will begin to organize his office downstairs. His office is lovely, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the reservoir. He has a glass enclosed sitting room where he sits in his recliner chair and watches the fishermen catching fish. It is a perfect spot to sleep and to think!!

April 8, 2015. Madison, Ms. Crepes.

They were delicious. And made by Wendy. I knew she was wonderful but I did not know of her culinary expertise. For dinner tonight Wendy made crepes, stuffed with ham, asparagus and bree cheese. They were astonishingly tasty. Along with a salad, our dinner was superb. Hurrah for Wendy. This morning we again went shopping for furniture. The consignments shops here are excellent so we returned to see a dining table that Ken had admired the other day. Fortunately, the price had gone down, so we bought it, along with 8 chairs. We also bought a wicker rack for Wendy's bathroom, two leather chairs for our closet and two other chairs, one for our bathroom and one for our bedroom. So bit by bit we are filling in the spaces and now can function comfortably. We drove to an antique store in Fondren but discovered it was closed up tight. So instead we ate lunch at Babalu, a favorite restaurant of the family. We have had a busy day but it has been topped off by our wonderful dinner of crepes, all made by our own wonderful Wendy.

April 7, 2015. Madison, Ms. Activity.

Our new house is a beehive of activity. Wendy has just left for the grocery store. She is keeping us supplied with everything we need. And she does all the driving too. The yard maintenance man worked today for the first time. Ken is delighted to know that the yard looks much better after a few hours work. And of course, the painters are finishing up on the lower level and will begin to work their way upstairs. Soon the air conditioning man will appear to change the thermostats and the plumber will go down our list of repairs. We do enjoy getting everything done and done properly. Our new home is a busy place and we like it like that. Wonderful Wendy is looking after in every possible way. She prepares all our meals and cleans up the kitchen. And she runs our errands. This morning she moved the carpet in the dining room. The mover had installed it a foot too close to both the end and side of the room. I have been measuring it ever since. Wendy moved everything and placed the carpet right in the proper place, which is in the center. I believe that she may be as compulsive as me. Later this afternoon, we will return to look at a dining table and also try to find another bed side table for Wendy's room. Everything is now put away in the house so we must reach out to the community for additional furniture. We will have fun. And Wendy will drive and continue to look after us. We are being well looked after.

April 6, 2015. Madison, Ms. Finished.

This morning, Wendy and Christina completed the final task. Greta Barbour intended to help but her daughter was ill so could not come. The final job was hanging up the clothes and sorting them onto their proper rack.. Also the shoes had to be placed on the racks. Now everything is in place and we are orderly, kind of that is. The painters are now working downstairs. They hope to be finished tomorrow and start on the main level the day after. That floor will be difficult. Fortunately, the Master Bedroom is now completely done so we are all in good order there. All the paintings are in the middle of the living room. The painters will just cover them up. We have 9 boxes of paintings not yet open, to protect them from the paint. When the painting is completed, I will open the boxes and lean the pictures against the walls. Soon the paintings will be hung. We are definitely making progress, thanks to our Wonderful Wendy!!

Apri; 5, 2015. Madison, Ms. An Excursion.

Ken thought we all needed to get into the country and show Wendy a bit of Mississippi, so this morning, with Wendy driving the truck, we headed out of the house. We drove along the Natchez Trace and along the shore of the Reservoir, which does not get much more like Mississippi. The drive was lovely. We stopped for a walk to see the ducks. It was my longest walk so far. On the way home we stopped for lunch which again was very Mississippian. Folks had just come from church so were wearing church clothe while we were in jeans but the food was wonderful and ample. Soul food it was. When we got home, I slept for two hours. We all three enjoyed our excursion exploring Mississippi.

April 4, 2015. Madison, Ms. The Kitchen and Pantry.

Once again, Wendy did it all, while I sat and directed. Now it is done. The pantry looks better than the pantry will ever look again. Everything is in the proper place and nothing is crowded. The same for the kitchen. We even have empty cabinets and drawers. Now we have the difficulty of putting the dishes away from the dishwasher because no one except Wendy knows where anything goes. But everything is well organized and efficient. The painter finished in the master bedroom today so after dinner we started bringing our belongings from the boxes and putting them away. But we were weary so we quit. Tomorrow is another day. We will attack the boxes tomorrow. We will leave the clothes for Greta Barbour and Christina on Monday. It is a big job and we might defer to them. Every day we look a bit better. Next week the painters will start on the lower level and soon they will have finished Then the fun begins when we can hang pictures. We have stacks and stacks of pictures. What fun it will be.

April 3, 2015. Madison, Ms. Firsts.

Tonight is the first time we have seen the moon shining across the water. It is beautiful. In addition, the dishwasher is running, which is the first time in the new house. The washer and dryer both worked too, for the first time. This is a day of firsts. The boxes have been disappearing all day long. Wendy has been working hard, emptying boxes and putting them outside to be removed. And Elizabeth, the movers wife came to help this afternoon so at this moment, we have only 6 boxes left to open and we will leave them until the painter is finished. Our clothes are piled in the dining room, ready to move into the master bedroom closet. And the pantry will be ready tomorrow too so we will be able to move our stuff and put them away. The kitchen is in order with all our belonging put into it's correct place. Wendy put everything away with a little help from me. We have made good progress. This evening we ate our appetizer sitting outside on the patio, watching the fishermen. I feel sure it was the first of many appetizers sitting outside. It was delightful.

April 2, 2015. Ridgeland, Ms. Action.

Today is moving day. Now I have been involved in moving days before, but I have never been actually in the midst of the action. Right now, I am sitting in the action, trying to figure out what these Mississippi folks are saying to each other. Packing is being done. As the boxes are filled, they load the truck. It is efficient. Ken and I are like mice, sitting on the lower level. Our journey today is short, just around the reservoir. Soon everything upstairs will be gone and the action will continue down here. The painters started work at 7:00 this morning so progress is being made over there too. Next the truck will be unloaded into our new house. Later in the afternoon the storage belongings will arrive and be opened. Then the new house will really be a mess. But Wonderful Wendy will arrive soon, although her flight from Toronto has been delayed, thus missing her connection in Houston. Eventually Wendy will arrive along with all our stuff and bit by bit we will put things in order. But today is the day of action and Ken and I are in the middle. Ken said he is short of breath just watching them work!!.

April 1, 2015. Ridgeland, MS. Progress.

We ate our first dinner in our new home with Kate, Mary Frances, Molly and Christina. Much progress had been made. Yesterday afternoon at 4:00 we had a pleasant settlement and we came home with the keys to the new home. By 7:00 this morning, the painter was ready to start. The whole interior of the home is being painted so it is a big job. In addition, several tasks were still being completed from the contract so we had workmen at the house all day. In addition, the bed arrived and was set up. which forever after after will be called Wendy's Room.. Christina made the bed so it is ready and waiting. Of course, we have no furniture in the room, except the bed. A lawn man has been hired to maintain the yard throughout the year. On closer inspection, the house is much better than we had anticipated. We did not even see the book cases and the nooks and crannies. So we are pleased. The house was clean and ready to be painted. This afternoon, Kate brought the Escape for Wendy and they unloaded the truck, so we have three chairs only. For dinner tonight, the girls sat on the floor for dinner eating our Chinese food. Much progress has been made already but more is to come. We are pleased.