Goodbye April

It was foggy again this morning when we got out of bed. It was already 8 pm. I made breakfast and then we headed up to Vasquez Rocks County Park for a hike. We decided to check out an area of the park that we had never hiked before and we came across some really awesome views. Hiker had a great time checking out everything too. We came home and I made lunch, then Keith and I headed over to Wal-Mart and just wandered around the store checking out all of the fun stuff. Was a little cooler here today, but still got up into the 80's. Going to make some spaghetti with chili for dinner and then maybe we will settle down to a movie tonight. Cannot believe it will be May already tomorrow.

Fun Day

We had a dog walk with Jean this morning. I let Keith walk Hiker and I walked Jean's dog Charlie. Jean had Sassy and Timmy. When we got out of bed a little after 6 am, it was so foggy that I could not even see the mountain that I can usually see from my kitchen window. We let the dogs play in my yard for about 45 minutes and then Jean headed home. I made breakfast for me and Keith and then we headed over to Big Lots. I needed some blank DVDs. We left there and went up to Costco. Came home and hung out there for awhile and then went to lunch at The Alamo Rotisserie which sells Mexican food. Left there and went over to the Vallarta Market to buy some produce since I told Keith I'd make us a chef salad for dinner tonight. Came home and spent the rest of the day with Hiker.

Hot Spring Day

Slept in awhile this morning, then got up and went for a 2 mile walk. When we got back home, I made some waffles for Keith and I for breakfast. After breakfast, we took my car to get it washed. We had a 10 minute rain the other evening and it really made my car dirty. On the way home, we stopped by the Goodwill Store and looked around. When we got back to my house, Keith wanted me to cut his hair, so I did his first and then I cut mine. Made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. I told Keith that tonight I'll BBQ a couple of steaks and make us a batch of my cheesy potato casserole. We hung out at home most of the day, watching TV and playing tennis, baseball and bowling on my Wii. Got up to around 90° here today.

Busy Day

I had a heck of a night last night. I slept, but I was tossing and turning and dreaming. I remember I dreamed that I got bit by a baby rattlesnake. Don't know what that was all about, but it sure woke me up and I was breathing hard when I woke up and took me awhile to calm down and go back to sleep. Got up around 6:30 am. Jean and I headed over to the Home & Garden/Emergency Expo at the Hyatt Hotel around 9 am. Glad we got their early because it started getting very crowded and it was also very hot in the sun. We got a bunch of free stuff again. Several reusable shopping bags, two water bottles and also a bottle for hot drinks like coffee, tea or chocolate. Got a free water saving shower head, several ink pens, an emergency survival guide book. We also entered some raffles while we were there. When we left there, we went over to Wendy's and had lunch. Got home a little after 12 noon so I texted Keith to let him know I was home. When I got home and started going through my bags to see what freebies I had gotten, Hiker had her nose in all of the bags trying to see if there was anything there for her. Keith got here around 2pm and we headed over to Best Buy because I wanted to buy a new “all-in-one” printer. I was thinking about getting a laser printer, but the salesman showed me how much more cost efficient the new ink jet printers are. Bought an HP Officejet Pro 8600.

My stash of freebies

Another Warm Spring Day

Got up at 6 am because Hiker and I had a dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs. Was a nice morning. After the walk we let the dogs play in my yard for about 45 minutes then Jean had to head home to groom a couple of dogs. I did a load of laundry and cleaned my master bathroom. I usually do a load of laundry on Saturday but Jean and I are going to our city's home & garden show/emergency expo tomorrow morning and then Keith will be arriving in the afternoon for his visit with me and Hiker. I must have been tired last night. I went to bed around 9:30 and watched TV until 10:00. Fell asleep a little after 10:00 and didn't get up all night, which is odd for me. I'm usually ups at least once or twice. When my alarm went off at 6 am, I was in a deep sleep and dreaming. Don't remember what I was dreaming about once I woke up. Took Hiker for a walk around our gated community this afternoon. Was getting pretty warm...in the mid-80's.

Nice Day For A Walk

Slept in some again today. Decided I'll wait until Friday to do my housework. Keith is coming Saturday to spend a few days so I want to do a load of laundry on Friday and I can do the housework while the washer is going. After breakfast, I headed over to Wal-Mart. I was looking for a can of Comstock Lemon Pie Filling and the markets didn't have it. I was told the Super Wal-Mart might have it and sure enough they did. Left there and headed up to Kohl's. I received another free $10 gift card from them in the mail the other day so I used the card toward the purchase of two new T-shirts. They are always pushing me to get their credit card. I only shop there when they send me the free gift cards, so I don't really need their credit card. I don't know how I ever got on their mailing list for the gift cards, but I'm glad I did. I received at least 3 or 4 of the cards every year. After lunch I took Hiker over to Bridgeport Lake and we did a 2 mile walk. She loves watching the ducks and geese. There were two Canadian Geese with 2 little goslings. All four of them were at the edge of the lake when we came walking by, one of the adult geese started coming toward us with its wings up and it was hissing at us. I'm sure it thought we were a hazard to their babies and they were just protecting them. I think the goose scared Hiker a little LOL.

Here are the 2 geese with their babies (see babies at the feet of the goose on the right)

Cool And Breezy All Day

Slept in this morning. After breakfast, I headed up to Stater Brothers to do my grocery shopping, then came home and ran my weekly/monthly scans on both of my laptops. It was overcast and gray when Hiker and I got out of bed this morning. By noon the sun was out but it was breezy and hazy. Took Hiker out for an afternoon walk. Sky was hazy and the wind was blowing even more than it was earlier, but it was a nice walk because it was cool. Tomorrow I need to get up earlier than normal and get some housework done because Keith is supposed to be coming up for a visit starting Saturday. Hiker is already excited. I mentioned to her that he was coming and she ran into the bedroom he uses when he is here like she was looking for him.

Group Day

Went to my support group today. Had two new ladies. Both lost their husbands in March. Also and a “psycho” come into the meeting, but thank goodness she didn't stay long. She was looking for information on finding a one-on-one therapist, but she was very strange and very angry with the world. She was not a widow. It had to do with her having to be a caretaker for her 94 year old mother, so obviously she was in the wrong group. When some of us first came into the room, she was sitting in the seat where our leader always sits. One of the guys nicely told her that the leader always sits in that spot and so she should move to another seat. Well, she just sat there and said, “if she wants me to move when she gets here, she can tell me to move”. We were all a little shocked at her reply. We've had other people sit in Judy's chair and when we tell them, they very nicely move to another seat. Not this wacko. We were all very relieved when she left the session half-way through. Went to Round Table Pizza for lunch, so I won't need to have dinner tonight...too full. Got up into the low 90's here today. They had said that our weather was going to start cooling down, but so far it's just gotten warmer. My eye has been bothering me some today. Feels a little swollen for some reason.

Another "Summer-like" Day

Went to bed last night around 9:30 but for some reason I could not get comfortable and go to sleep. I was still awake at 1:30 but I must have finally fell asleep because at 3 minutes to 6:00, Hiker woke me whimpering and licking my face. We got up and got ready to go on our Monday dog walk with Jean and her dogs. Jean sometimes keeps dogs for people when they are on vacation or away on business. This morning she had “Lexy” along with the other dogs. Hiker kept trying to get Lexy to play when we were in my back yard, but Lexy just kept growling at Hiker. After Jean left with the dogs, I had breakfast and then went to Sam's Club. I finally got out late yesterday for a short walk with Hiker. I was getting angry with myself for being so lazy. Both of my brothers had doctor's appointments today. Ron always calls me after his appointments to tell me what his doctor said and Keith usually emails me to tell me what his doctor said. Both of them are doing good. Keith said his doctor told him that his slight anemia is going away, so that's good news. Ron said his doctor told him his heart and lungs sound good. After lunch I checked out my earthquake survival kit. I try to check it every 3 months to make sure the food I have set aside is still good and that all of my flashlights work. I also run my gas generator for a few minutes every 3 months to make sure it is working OK. After paying some bills, I went outside and raked up some leaves in the back yard. I have an evergreen shade tree out there, but when it does drop some leaves, it drops them in the spring and summer.

Sunday

Have been nothing but lazy today. Got up late, had breakfast. Went and bought my lottery tickets. Did a load of laundry and vacuumed the house, the sat on the sofa and watched “The Thorn Birds” all day on Encore. They were showing the entire mini-series in one day. Temperature got up to around 80° today. Didn't even get out and walk Hiker. I have seemed to gotten into the habit of not wanting to go for walks or hikes. That is NOT a good thing. I need to force myself to get out and exercise, but I just have not been in the mood to do so for some reason.

Felt Like Summer

Slept in a little this morning. When I finally got up, I made breakfast and then mopped my floors. Drove up to Bed Bath & Beyond to see about getting some sheets. It seems that most stores no longer carry just packages of fitted or flat sheets...you have to buy an entire set. And if you do find a store that does carry them, they don't carry Cal King. I need three plain white fitted sheets to go with some flat sheets that were once a set but their fitted sheets wore out. Guess I'll just have to eventually give in and buy a full set or two. While I was out, I also checked Target but same thing there...no individual sheets. I went over to PetSmart and got some more tartar control liquid for Hikers drinking water. They were having cat adoptions today. As I was walking to the back of the store, a charcoal gray cat watched me coming toward it and started meowing at me. It was so cute, but Hiker would have a fit if I brought a cat home. Whenever she sees one in her yard, she goes crazy. Too hot to take Hiker for a walk. Got up to almost 90° here. I ran my A/C this afternoon. I'm afraid we are going to have another very hot summer.

Warm Friday

Went for a morning dog walk with Jean. Beautiful morning and turned out to be a beautiful day as well. My right eye has been itching most of the day, but I'm assuming that it is healing from the laser treatment. I must say that even though I still have some distortion in that eye, I am very pleased with what the doctor did yesterday. For years I have been looking through something that I can only describe as looking through an old pane of glass that had colored from age. Now the colors are so vivid. I guess it's like what people have told me about when they get cataract surgery, they realize how vivid the colors become. I just hope that when I go back in about 3 months that he will do another laser treatment and it will clear up more of the distortion. Nothing on TV today except the stories about the Boston Bombers. I played ball for Hiker for awhile, but it was pretty warm outside so didn't stay out there in the sun too long. Also repainted my metal garden windmill that I bought when Ben and I first moved here. Nothing really planned for this weekend.

Long Day At Kaiser

Got up at the crack of dawn this morning so I'd be ready by the time Jean came to pick me up to drive down to Kaiser. Because we never know how the traffic will be going through the Newhall Pass, we always leave a lot earlier than you would think we need to in case there is an accident. There was a lot of traffic, but we still got to Kaiser about 40 minutes before my appointment. Gave us time to go to the bathroom. I checked in early, but they called me in 15 minutes early too, so that was good. From the photographs they took of my eye on Monday, the doctor diagnosed me with Retinal Telangiectasis. The blood vessels in my right eye “seep” and the fluid settles in front of my retina which causes my vision to distort. He decided to do a laser treatment to “zap” the fluid and “cauterize” some of the vessels so they would stop “seeping”. It took about 5 minutes. He told me he wants to see me again in July and that he will probably “zap” me again because he doesn't like to use the laser too long on a patient because it can cause other problems. The procedure improved my vision some, but I can see where he will need to do it again next time because I still have some distortion. But he did say it may take a few more treatments. After he finished, my eye was very watery and it stung a little like when you get soap in your eye. Now that I'm home it itches. After my appointment was done, we went over to Wal-Mart to waste some time because Jean's appointment was not of another hour. Once she was done, we came back over to Santa Clarita and had lunch at Stonefire Grill. Hiker was so excited when we got back to my house.

What A Beautiful Wednesday

Slept in this morning because tomorrow morning I have to get up at 5:30 am to get ready for Jean to drive me down to my retinal specialist for my follow-up with him after the photographs. Jean also has an appointment at Kaiser tomorrow, so it works out just right. My appointment is at 9 am, hers is at 11 am. We have to leave early because of the rush-hour traffic going through the Newhall Pass that time of the morning. Also works out for us because our community is shutting the main water valve off for some maintenance, so we won't be home most of the time the water will be turned off. I hate it when I cannot flush the toilet or wash my hands. I went over to Wal-Mart this morning and bought another hummingbird feeder and also bought the coolest wind spinner to hang on my patio. After lunch, Hiker rode with me in the car to take some things over to the Goodwill donation station and then we went for a 2 mile walk. Beautiful spring day.

Tuesday

Got up at 6 am to let Hiker outside to potty and it was very cloudy, but then when we got out of bed at 7 am, the sun was out and the sky was blue. Watched a little news about the bombings in Boston and then made breakfast and got ready to go to the senior center for my group. We had less people at group today. Only 4 of us went to lunch and we had problems finding somewhere to eat. We had planned to go to Stonefire Grill but when we got there, we could not find parking places and we looked inside the restaurant and it was like standing room only. So we went over to the mall where the Red Robin is and it was crowded too so it took forever to get our orders in and get our food. I usually get back home to Hiker around 2:00 pm but didn't get home today until about 2:45 pm.

Home From My Procedure

Jean and I did a dog walk early this morning. It was cold and cloudy while we were out. We let the dogs play for about a hour in my yard then Jean headed home. She was back to pick me up at 12:15 for my appointment at Kaiser. We arrived about 30 minutes before my appointment time, but I went ahead and checked in and within about 10 minutes the technician came out and took me into the exam/photo room to have me sign some waiver papers and to take some preliminary photos. He also put the dilating drops into my eyes. He said the nurse would be back from lunch soon and he had me sit in “the dark room” until she got there. She was there in about 15 minutes and called me right in. She was the one who would inject the dye and make sure I didn't pass out or anything. The technician took the photos. He photographed both eyes. Took about 10 or 12 pictures of each eye. The entire procedure only took about 20 to 30 minutes even though the letter they had sent to me said it would take 1 ½ to 2 hours. I questioned why the letter said that and I was told that it was an old letter. They used to take the photos and then have the patient wait while the doctor looked at the pictures and then the doctor would discuss the results with the patient, but they don't do that anymore because the doctors are so busy. So I go back on Thursday to see what the doctor has to say. On the way home, Jean wanted to stop by PetSmart, so we did that and then she dropped me off at my house. I turned on the TV and saw where someone set off bombs at the Boston Marathon. They were saying it was a terrorist attack. My eyes are still very dilated and it makes things “fuzzy”. Hope they clear up enough for me to watch the “Dallas” season finale tonight.

Peaceful Sunday

It was overcast and gray when Hiker and I got out of bed this morning. We went and got our Lotto tickets and then came home so I could do the laundry and the vacuuming. Hiker stays outside now when I vacuum. Tomorrow Jean will be taking me over to Kaiser in Panorama City for my Fluorescein Angiography on my right eye. My appointment is not until 1:30 pm so my eyes will be dilated all evening and all night. Hopefully when I wake up on Tuesday morning, they will be normal again so I can drive to my grief group. We did a 1.6 mile morning walk. I felt a little tired today because I had a pretty busy week last week so just vegged out the rest of the day.

Day With Friends And Family

Got up earlier than we have been lately because Jean and I were heading over to Central Park in Saugus to attend the Earth/Arbor Day event for our city. We got there about 5 minutes before it was supposed to open and there were already hundreds of people there. There were about 20 booths representing various organizations like our water district, the forestry department, the waste management people, etc. We got a lot of free stuff from each booth. My friend RuthAnne was volunteering in one of the booths, so we visiting with her for awhile. There was a booth for the Gibbon Conservation Center so Jean suggested we go up into Bouquet Canyon to the center and see the gibbon monkeys. We spent about a hour there then went to lunch at Arbys. While having lunch, Ben's sister Donna called me. She is in town because one of her grand-daughters has been sick. The baby is doing better so Donna wanted to see if it was OK if the came by to see me and Hiker. The came by in the afternoon and stayed for a few hours. We sat outside on my patio while Rich played with Hiker and we went for a walk. Always so nice to have them visit. They are my link to Ben.

My stash of freebies from the Earth/Arbor Day event

Happy Friday

Hiker and I got up earlier this morning than we have in about a month. Jean is finally able to walk again after having foot surgery and we have once again started to take our twice a week dog walks together. We walked the dogs and then came back to my house and let them have some play time in my back yard. Hiker was so excited to have her buddies back playing in her yard. This morning before we left for the walk, I put her harness on her and she kept going back and forth between the front door and me sitting on the sofa because she wanted to go. When Jean could not walk, I would take one of her dogs out each day for a walk with Hiker and then we'd spend awhile visiting at Jean's house, but Hiker wanted all of them in her yard at the same time so they could run and play together. After Jean left, I headed up to Stater Brothers to do my grocery shopping. When I got home, Hiker wanted outside and then she kept barking at me to come out and play ball with her. Took an afternoon walk. It was about 82°. Before you know it, I'll be able to start wearing my shorts and sleeveless tops.

Another Lunch With A Friend

Ben's best buddy Ed came to visit me and Hiker today. Ed and Ben met when they worked for the same company in Burbank, CA many, many years ago. Ben and I were dating back then. I met Ed about 35 years ago and he was always a very good friend to Ben. He was at the hospital many times visiting when Ben was sick. Ed treated me to lunch at Round Table Pizza. Ben and I used to meet Ed for lunch about every 2 months or so. We'd meet at different place half-way between where we live and where Ed lives. Hiker sure protects me. She was outside in the yard sunning when Ed came to the door. I let him into the house and suddenly Hiker was at the sliding door snarling and barking like crazy because she noticed a strange man in the house with her mom. I let her in and she went for him with her neck hair standing on end. She has met Ed a few other times, but it is so far between when he actually comes to the house that she wasn't sure if he was OK. After awhile, she was making up to him and playing ball with him. Beautiful day here today. Got up to around 80° with a small breeze. I love my new friends from the grief support group, but it's nice to be with friends like today and yesterday when I was with Karren and Wally, people who knew Ben. It's nice to talk about Ben with people who actually knew him because they have memories of him too.

Lunch With Friends

I was still wide awake at 1 am this morning. For some reason, I just could not get to sleep. I finally took a sleeping pill and fell asleep by 2 am. Let Hiker out at 6 am and then went back to bed. Hiker woke me up again at 8 am so I finally got up. Took Hiker out for a morning walk. It was beautiful out. Felt very much like spring. Came back home and waited for my friends Karren and Wally Meggitt to come as we were going out to lunch together. We try to get together at least 3 or 4 times a year. We had lunch at Lily's Cafe and then went back to my house so Wally could play with Hiker. They had to leave around 1:30 because they had to pick their grand-daughter up from school.

Sunny Tuesday

Hiker usually wakes me up around 6 am to go potty but either she was having trouble waking me up or she “overslept” because I suddenly woke up and it was 6:40 am and she was whimpering to go outside. For some reason I felt really “groggy” when I woke up and I had not taken anything to help me sleep last night. Went to my grief support group today. Quite a few of the “regulars” were not there today. There were only 4 of us who went to lunch. When I got home, I took Hiker for a short walk and then when we got home, I played ball with her for a little while in the back yard. It was strange...this morning it was only in the 40's and I had to turn the furnace on to get the chill off the house, but this afternoon it is sunny and about 75° with a little breeze.

Windy Day

Was a little cloudy this morning when Hiker and I got up. Just before I was heading out the door to go get gasoline and do some shopping at Sam's Club, Jean was at my door with her dogs. She said Charlie had been crying all morning like he was hurt or something and she wanted to know if he dogs could play in the backyard with Hiker for a little while so we could watch Charlie and see if he appeared to be hurt in any way. I noticed that he was “favoring” his right front paw so we didn't know if he sprained it or had stepped on something or what. We inspected it and it looked OK. After they all went back home, I headed up to Sam's Club and the wind was really starting to kick up. It was blowing me all over the road. I didn't get to pick up everything I needed at Sam's because they didn't have Eggland's Best eggs this time. That's the ONLY brand of eggs I eat so I'll have to pick some up at the grocery store, even though they will cost me more for a lesser amount. Was too windy to go out and walk today. When I was outside, I kept getting dirt in my eyes from the dust blowing up.

Pleasant Sunday

Got up at 6 am to let Hiker outside and I felt very sleeping so went back to bed. I started dreaming, so I must have went into a deep sleep. Hiker woke me up at 8 am so I got up and had some waffles for breakfast. Then I put Hiker in the car and we went to buy my Lotto tickets and then over to the Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up my blood pressure meds for the next 3 months. Came home and went outside to “secure” the patio for the winds they are saying we are going to get tonight and tomorrow. Then I put my sheets and towels in the washer and cleaned house. I put a boneless/skinless chicken breast into my crock pot to stew and I will add some egg noodles later for my dinner. I'm having a “busy” week coming up. I usually say I don't have much of a social and that I'm home most of the time, which I don't mind because I've always been a homebody. Monday I have to go to Sam's Club for some groceries and gasoline. Tuesday I have my grief group and lunch with the ladies after. Wednesday, my friends Karren and Wally are coming down from Quartz Hill and we will go to lunch. Thursday, Ben's buddy Ed is coming out from Pomona and we will go to lunch. Friday I think I have a “free” day and then Saturday, my neighbor Jean asked me if I'd like to go to our city's Earth/Arbor Day Celebration. It is being held at our Central Park. Watched the old movie “Cocoon” last night. I remember Ben and I saw that movie back in 1985 when it was made. I was only 35 back then and last night when I watched the movie, I seemed to be looking at it in a different way than I did 28 years ago. This time I identified more with those elderly people. Funny how that happens.

Hiker waiting for me to kick the ball so she could chase it

Beautiful Saturday

Didn't do much today. Did a load of laundry and after lunch Hiker and I went over to Jean's to get Timmy to take him for a walk to the park. Sat and visited Jean for awhile then came home. When we are at Jean's, her dogs always have chew sticks around the house so Hiker always grabs one and brings it home with her. She won't chew on it at Jean's because the other dogs will come up and take it away from her. Being an “only child” she doesn't understand sharing with the other dogs. She just lets them take the chews away from her without a fight because they are barking and growling when they do it and she doesn't like confrontation. Beautiful day outside.

Our Anniversary

Today was Ben's and my 33rd wedding anniversary. I say “was” instead of “would have been” because in my heart and soul, Ben and I are still married and I will be married to him until the day I die. I remember on our 30th anniversary (the last one we really got to celebrate), Ben asked me what I wanted to do that day. I told him we didn't really have to do anything special but he said “well staying married for 30 years these days is special”. He surprised me when he said that because he usually never said things like that. He was in ICU on our 31st anniversary (the last one he was alive). He was not awake much that day. I sat by his side all day holding his hand as he slept. I prefer to remember the 30th and not the 31st. It was beautiful this morning when Hiker and I got out of bed. I decided to flush out my water heater so I went out and hooked the hose up to it and went back inside while it drained. Took Hiker out for a short morning walk. The sky was so blue and the sun was so bright. There was also a nice breeze blowing. After lunch, Hiker and I went over and got Charlie (Jean's dog) and took him down to the park then went back and visited with Jean for awhile. It has gotten cloudy since we went out on our walk. Hiker picked up a dog chew over at Jean's and brought it home with us.

Thursday

Didn't get to go back to bed this morning after letting Hiker outside because I had to get up and take my Corolla over to the Toyota dealer for a recall on the car. It was very foggy this morning as I drove over to the dealer and was still overcast and chilly when the customer shuttle brought me home. They said the car should be ready around noon so I just hung out at home with Hiker until they called me. I heard that Northern California might get some rain, but SoCal probably won't. So far we are having a strange spring. It will be in the 80's one day and only in the 60's the next. Got a call from the Toyota dealer around 10:30 that my car was done, so they sent the shuttle to come and get me. Sure glad I didn't have to pay for the recall repair because it would have cost me $276.45. Had something to do with the air bags. Didn't get to see all the Y&R today because the local news broke in to tell that they had found the second of 2 lost hikers in Orange County. I'll have to try to catch the last half of Y&R on Soap.net tonight. Took Hiker for an afternoon walk. It was still a little cloudy but the sun came out and making it a little humid. I really need to stop eating so much. I am starting to get a pot belly again. I had gotten rid of it in 2005 when I lost 50 lbs and then I lost it again when I lost the 25 lbs while Ben was in the hospital and right after he died, but now, I'm eating too much again and gaining weight again.

Pretty Good Day

Got up around 7:30 am and had breakfast then headed outside to start weeding the slope on the north side of my house. I noticed the other day when I was at my kitchen sink and looking out the window that some of the weeds were about 2 feet high. I have this portion of the yard blocked off from Hiker because I'm always afraid because I can't see her if she's on that side of the house, she might try to dig out from under the gate. I let her into that side yard while I was weeding and she loved it. She was exploring a part of her yard that she had no idea existed. She was sniffing and running around so much that Sassy must have heard her from Jean's backyard because Sassy started barking at us. After lunch, Hiker and I went up to Jean's and got Sassy and took her down to the park. It was in the low 80's so when I got home, I uncovered my A/C and turned it on to make sure it is working properly. Ben always did that early in the season so in case it was not working, we could get someone out to fix it before it got unbearably hot. It appeared to be working fine. I'll have to get up early tomorrow and get my Corolla over to the Toyota dealer to have them do whatever they have to do for the recall letter I got.

Tuesdays Have Become My Favorite Day

Good support group today. A lot of interaction from the members, which is always good. For awhile, there were only about 5 of us there and we were wondering where everyone was. Our therapist was later than normal today also. But by the middle of the session, the room was full. We have 2 “new” people and one of them “shared” today. Sometimes it takes them a little while to open up to us. It is hard to show our emotional side to “strangers” until we get to know them a little better and see that they understand and will not ridicule us for crying. I think everyone of us who has come into the group felt a little embarrassed at first when we'd shed a tear of two, but eventually, we knew that we could do it without fear. After group, five of us ladies went over to Red Robin for lunch. We always have so much fun. I love listening to Jane's stories and we keep finding out more about each other that we didn't know, like the fact that Ruth loves to ride horses and has all of her life and that she is in the process of buying a horse and she is very excited about it. We found out that Linda is selling her condo and moving into the same senior complex where Jane lives and that made Jane very happy. I've made some good friends at the group. When I got home, Hiker wanted me to go out back and play ball with her, so we did that for awhile.

April Fools Day

Slept in again today. Ever since Jean has not been able to do our morning dog walks. I have really been lazy in the morning. Had breakfast then went to get my lottery tickets and head for Wal-Mart. After lunch Hiker and I went up to Jean's house and got Timmy and took him out for a walk and then sat and visited with Jean for about an hour. She should be able to start going on our dog walks again on April 15th. She has to drive me to Kaiser in Panorama City that afternoon, but we are going to try a short dog walk that morning. Was a nice sunny day here until around 12:30 and then it started getting a little cloudy. I am having a problem with Hiker digging again. She has not been digging for several months so I do not know why all of sudden she started doing it again. I put cayenne pepper where she was digging, but that didn't stop her. I tried putting some of her stool in the ground where she is digging and that didn't stop her either. I now have a piece of plywood lying where she was digging. Don't know what else to do. I received a notice of recall for my Corolla from Toyota today. They had mentioned to me last month that there was a recall but they had not received anything official yet. I called the service rep I've been going to but got his voice mail, so I left a message. Hopefully I can take it in Thursday or Friday.

Below is a link to "The Mighty Oak" which is the newsletter for our senior center that I write articles for. As I said before, I am no longer writing "A Widow's Journey" as I feel I have "said it all", but I am writing articles on other subjects. My article is on Page 5.

The Mighty Oak