April Plans

We are in Seattle now until April 1st when we will return to Atlanta, where our car is, there with our friend, an Army buddy of Ron’s from 1962! He became a pastor and we went to his church when we lived in Atlanta in 1985. He’s retired now, but we go to church with them whenever we are in town, and as he keeps our car when we fly to Seattle, etc., then we see them often! We will stay a week at the Tara III timeshare at Fairfield Plantation. Then we’ll start our way slowly across the South to TX. Ron has a military reunion in San Antonio April 29-May 1.

Joan Gets a Bad Cold so She Can’t Visit Her Father Much

Fortunately, Ron was sick with the flu like symptoms only one day. So we were in Seattle for a few more days. Joan’s dad’s birthday is March 24th so for the past 13 years, we have always been in Washington for that. This year he was 94! We stayed at the guest quarters at Whidbey Island Naval Air Base so we could have an extended visit. Unfortunately, Joan had gotten a cold! She even went to the doctor and he gave her cough syrup with codeine - said it would not help a cough much – as nothing does, he said…but would just help her to sleep, which she hadn't been able to do much. Well, it sure did! She was "out of it" for a full day plus! But at least, he verified that it was just a cold – lungs were clear.
So we couldn’t go see her mother, and up in Oak Harbor, she stayed in the room while Ron visited more with her father. She hasn’t had a cold like this since she was little – and living in Seattle then too! We wonder if the cold, wet weather is a factor…hmmmm…. and that we have had to go out in it no matter what, so she never really gets well.
She did get up to go to the birthday party, being very careful to stay away from people! Dennis said, "Why don’t you go home (that is, to Seattle)?" But someone was renting the condo back in Seattle! So we were stuck!

March 16th Ron Got Sick, Too

Last night, Ron got sick.....seems better now, but it is 6 am. and he is still sleeping - hopefully!! Fortunately, last evening, he had been at the hardware store and just dropped Joan off to see her mother. If he had passed on the flu to her mother that evening, she probably would not have been able to survive it: it is SOOOO strong!

March 13th Joan’s Dad is Not So Good

We had quite a time with Joan’s dad this weekend. We were just going to visit for the day (he is 2 hours north of Seattle in Oak Harbor) and meeting her brother there, but when we got there he was in bed with the flu. Had been sick all day so we stayed the night: he could not be left alone. We went to Walmart for toothbrushes and vitamins, since everything was in Seattle – and planned to stay in his living room, but then had to take him to the ER at 11 p.m. They got him stabilized and discharged at 3 am. but when Joan heard him wake up at 7 a.m., he also called for help as he was trying to get up to go to breakfast, no less, and was falling 1/2 out of bed. Needless to say, he did NOT go down to breakfast. We stayed the rest of the day in bed,as he was in bed, sleeping mostly, but could not be left alone. Every time we went into the hall, we saw another resident being taken to the ER – the flu was spreading so fast through the retirement center. Winnie said we would get sick for sure - the flu bug going around is so contagious! We went to Walmart and bought even more vitamins - since all of ours were e in Seattle and Joan washed her hands about every 15 minutes. Her dad was able to get up about 4 p.m. and his stepson, Dennis, said he could take over from there and so we came back to Seattle Monday night.

That Same Day: Birthday party for Faith

That evening we had our celebration for Faith’s 8th birthday (belated) and the choice of all the grandchildren is the Olive Garden – for the breadsticks! It was totally crowded at 7:20 p.m. –totally busy, an hour wait, and we got there first and called to see if the family still wanted to come, but Winnie said, “Yes, because we could still visit while waiting.” So we had a great time. Here is Faith with a Dinosaur pop-up book!

March 12th Solos and Ensembles

In the shadow of Mt Si, the Mt Si High School in Snohomish, WA hosted the middle School Solo and Ensemble Contest and we were able to go and see Natalie and Clayton play, like we used to see our boys when they were in high school in Ohio. Both Natalie and Clayton played three times: a solo, a duet with each other, and in the school’s brass quartet. Clayton has gown so tall, but also has developed muscles: carrying around that tuba all the time!

Busy in the Seatte area (as usual)

We drove to Oak Harbor to see Joan’s dad for lunch and he is doing very well, and then went back to Issaquah to hear the brass quarter practice at Andy’s house. It’s always fun to hear the kids play! Always lots of music in the house!

March 5th Back to Seattle

We arrived back in the condo, went to the storeroom to get our stuff, and Ron started working on taxes, both Joan’s mother’s, his mother’s and ours. We visited Joan’s mother in the afternoon and she is worse – very quiet now. She used to talk a lot even though it did not make sense – but now, is quiet, a bad sign. She knew we were there though, kept squeezing Joan’s hand, even though she just sits in her wheelchair, and stares, doesn’t seem to even see you but just occasionally.

We also checked on bathroom ceiling fans for Andy’s house…to finish up the project started last month….always projects to do!

March 3rd WIVC Alta Vista

We have enjoyed the week here, even though it is somewhat isolated, being up the hill. And worse, we have no view at all here of the ocean. That's what we both like best. It is also more of a walk to the beach and the store that others wrote; we walked over to the sister resort WIVC Casa de la Playa, and will want to go there next time, if there is a choice, even though it has smaller units, because it is right on the water. WIVC owners can only book there one week a year. Friends, who are walkers, came to visit and were shocked at the hill – but at least it is not as tall a hill as at WIVC Conchos Chinas!

Our unit was right next to the pool (the one with the stairs on the right in the picture), so it was just like having our own private pool as few people swam. It was also WARM this week! At last!