September 1, 2022

Dear Family and Friends,

    I must say that August was a rather busy month for me and my household. After True made up some meals for me, and left specific instructions about watering and caring for the plants during an anticipated heat wave, she left on July 19th to meet her daughter Cedar in Spokane to begin their long-anticipated hike of the last part of the Pacific Coast Trail, expecting to return around Aug 19th. I was to be on my own for a full month, which was OK with me. I kind of like being on my own once in a while, just to see how much I am progressing, and if I am fully capable of doing everything by myself. True had arranged for Linda to get ice cubes from the fridge to give the orchids and other indoor plants a drink of water twice a week. And with the extremely hot weather coming up, the outside plants had to be watered every other day, but she was unsure how it could be done. 

    That's when I spoke up and said I could move along in my mobile chair, holding the nozzle in one hand and guiding my "chariot" along with the other, and get everything watered that way. What could be easier? I was wrong! I didn't realize how difficult it would be trying to do battle with a 100 ft hose. True whips that thing around just fine, but for me, it was too heavy and hard to keep free of tangles and hanging up in the flowers themselves as I tried to navigate the corners to get to all sides of the house. What was needed were stakes at the corners to keep the hose from tangling up, going into the flower beds and possibly ruining them. As I struggled on with my difficult task, somehow word of my plight reached Melissa, our park manager. Soon a few well-placed wooden stakes appeared at the corners, and a lady named Brenda knocked at my door, offering to water everything every other day. What a blessing that was! I was so thankful for their help, however I'm always a little reluctant to ask for it myself.

    Even though Linda has her hands full working two jobs and maintaining her own home, the yard, and her pets, she still finds the time to take care of my needs outside the home, like buying medicines and supplies, doctor appointments, chauffeuring me around here and there, and helping inside the home whenever True leaves for a while. I also have my Guardian Alert button to push, just in case something should happen with no one around. I want all of you to know I am safe and doing just fine.

    It was rumored, but never confirmed, that my son Dan might be able to come from Florida for several days in August while True was away. I hoped so, but didn't count on it. When I saw on our community calendar that rummy was going to be played at the clubhouse at noon on Aug 4th, I decided to get into my little chariot and zoom down there to check it out. I was at the back door, ready to leave, when Linda met met at the door and announced that I couldn't go yet, she had something to show me, then suddenly, out popped Dan! I was of course very surprised to see him, especially so early in the month. He said he would be there until the 19th, the day True was expected to return. So that gave us two full weeks for playing some Tile Rummy and doing puzzles together. He is such a whiz at doing all kinds of puzzles. By the way, for Labor Day I've included a puzzle I hope you will enjoy, not a word search but one of scrambled letters. I made it a bit easier by giving you the first and last letters of each scrambled word.

    Now that Dan was here to help, he took over the task of preparing meals and watering the plants, which Brenda had been doing so graciously. He needed some transportation, so I called the Seables (parents of Heidi Jarvis) and asked if he could borrow their little unused car again. They were glad to do it, but there was a slight problem. They were in Utah for several weeks, and the key to that car was on Kathleen's key ring. She called, Jeff Jarvis looked around for a spare, and then at 9:00 that night, Jeff and Heidi drove two cars to my house and left in one, dropping off the key and the little car. Dan was able to put their car to good use while he was here, and left it back at the Jarvis home with a full tank of gas and the elusive key tucked away under the floor mat for the Seables when they returned home.

    Since Dan was here to take care of the plants, he felt some of them near the house needed to be trimmed and cut back. However, he mistook his own finger for one of the vines that needed to be cut, and sliced open a deep gash on the tip of his left index finger. It bled like crazy, and took several band-aids to get it under control. He also was so eager to trim back the vegetation that he cut one of the wires to the air conditioner, and since temperatures were near 100 degrees, it was essential for the unit to be in good working condition. I called Mark at Air Tech to see if they could send out someone to get the A/C working again, but he was busy and said he would send someone as soon as possible. The wire was easily fixed, but he asked me why there was blood on it? Then he saw Dan's bandaged finger. Dan was able to keep it covered and applied antibiotic ointment, and by the time he left it was much better.

    Dan likes to walk in the early morning, and would walk quite a ways down Leonard Road to Redwood Highway. Blackberries grow wild in our area, and he was excited to find large blackberry bushes within easy reach that were just begging to be picked. So he and Linda got two buckets and went berry picking one morning. They came back with purple hands, a few scratches, and their buckets loaded with sweet, luscious blackberries, and two joyful hearts exclaiming how much fun it had been. Dan immediately decided to make some jam with his berries, and went to the store for supplies; 12 mason jars, pectin, and lots of sugar. Then he went to work with a recipe in hand. He was disappointed when it turned out his "jam" didn't set, and he ended up 12 jars of blackberry syrup instead. Undaunted, he poured them all back into the pot again, added more pectin and sugar, and boiled it again. This time he was successful, much to his satisfaction and delight. Before he left, Dan mailed six of the jars to his home in Florida, and he also sent one to Carol in Utah, and gave the rest to us. It's so good, it may not last very long around here. 

    Linda decided to use her berries to make a berry crisp with a crumb topping. It would be the perfect dessert for Carol and Morris, her new husband, who were coming to visit me on the 12th and 13th. We had some homemade chicken soup for our dinner with the Whitakers, and Linda's fresh berry crisp was delicious. We were so glad to have Carol with us again, but we were also anxious to meet and get to know this man who had stolen her heart and was now the love of her life. Morris calls himself a cowboy, having wrangled horses and lived on a farm, but who later on happened to become a college professor, among other things. We found him to be quite knowledgeable about many different subjects, yet so very pleasant and congenial as we taught him how to play Tile Rummy. He was able to fit nicely into our little family group. I hope to see more of them both in the future.

    It was a nice coincidence that True arrived home on the 12th and was able to meet Morris as well. Had she come back a week later like she originally planned, she'd have missed seeing them both. We never know why things happen the way they do sometimes, unless maybe the Lord's hand is in it. She was sad circumstances prevented her from hiking the trail this year, but she was happy to have arrived home when she did. True had carefully planned this hike with Cedar for many months. She met Cedar and her boyfriend at her home in Spokane, and he drove them to the Canadian border for the beginning of their hike southward, nearly five hours away. Because it was very late, Cedar's boyfriend decided to camp with them that first night and leave in the morning. That turned out to be a blessed decision. True had been fine, but that morning she was suddenly very bad off. Her head ached so bad she felt she'd been hit by a freight train. Her body ached all over, felt cold with chills and she had a fever. Because it felt so bad, she knew it was impossible for her to start the hike and she should be home in bed, not in the wilderness. So they went back to Spokane, where True tested positive for the COVID virus. She was quarantined at Cedar's home (who'd had it previously and was immune), and slept for days at a time while her body recuperated. They were all so thankful that Cedar's friend didn't leave after driving them to the trail, but had camped with them that night.

    True stayed with Cedar for two weeks until she tested negative and could return home to regain the strength that had been drained from her body during that experience. We welcomed her with open arms and tried to help her get the rest she needed. True was gradually able to assume her usual duties around the house, so Dan slept at Linda's house until it was time for him to leave. But he and Linda came back every day to work on a new project they were doing for me.

    For a long time, it has bothered me to see holes in the carpet on the landing outside my back door, which is by now many years old. I hoped something could be done about it, as some of the carpet was starting to disintegrate. At first I thought about calling on church members to help me, but my two daughters, who had done such a wonderful job of remodeling this house, decided they would take it on. And with their brother also here to help, it should be a real 'snap'. Because she works at Home Depot, Linda was able to purchase all the carpeting and other items needed for the job. Every morning before it got hot the three of them were busy tearing out the old stuff, preparing the surface for a new covering, cutting and fitting the carpet, stapling or hammering it down, then securing the seams and edges with metal strips. This went on until they "pounded the final nail" on the day of Dan's departure. The color of the carpet matched so nicely with the house paint, I felt professionals couldn't have done any better. It is beautiful! I've included a picture so you can see for yourself. I am as pleased and proud of them as they are, and they told me "it was a challenge, but it was fun!"

    I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of interacting and enjoying the company of my three children together, even if was for just a brief time this summer. We participated in our annual River Picnic potluck, put on by the Riviera management, who supplied the fried chicken. Our contribution was corn on the cob, freshly picked from a local farm across the river from us. We enjoyed the many tasty items brought by the others. Lots of watermelon. New friends and lovely surroundings make the Riviera Mobile Park a very pleasant and enjoyable place for me to live. 

    One final thing that happened near the end of August, a pleasant surprise, was the visit of Christy Pennington from Arkansas, who grew up here along with my family. She's the same age as Linda, and has been blessed with nine children, with her youngest, Levi, now serving a mission in Washington state. Her family closely parallels the Jarvis family, also with nine children, whose next-to-youngest son Preston is just starting a mission in Honduras. I've helped many of their boys with mission funds from their "Grandma Ree", which is the moniker I'm known by many others outside my family. Christy and I have corresponded for many years, but it's been been quite some time since I'd seen her bright, smiling face. It was indeed a very special time True and I got to spend with her. Christy was in town to be with her daughter Makala, who is expecting a baby, but she will be leaving soon thereafter.

    As for myself, I am healthy and doing fine. I feel like I've grown 'fat and lazy' by not having physical therapy lately during the time we were waiting for insurance approval. The one therapist I think is really good, named Patrick, was called to jury duty, so that's not helping my motivation to do exercises at home. I do an awful lot of sitting, and not enough of putting on the leg and walking around for a while. But I try, and at least a few minutes each day helps. I tell myself to get going and do better. I send my love, and may the Lord's blessings be with all of you.  -- Marie