June 2026

 DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,                                                         June 30, 2026

Just as I was starting to right this letter a loud clap of thunder came crashing down right overhead.  It shook me a bit but I almost laughed for joy because we rarely received thunder back home in Oregon.  It always accompanied lightning which would start forest fires and was bad medicine for our area.  But here, it is almost a daily occurrence.  Dan says it is because Sebring lies at the very center of the state of Florida, both horizontally and vertically, so the clouds and temperatures collide here and cause thunder, with or without rain.  How ‘bout that!  We do, however, get some thunderstorms that are real doozies with a downpour of rain, strong winds and thunder that just doesn’t seem to quit.  So I certainly do get to enjoy plenty of thunder at my new home.  It’s one more of the new things i’m learning about living in Florida.

Another is the little bugs that exist here.  The love bug is one bug attached to another that fly around outside and only appear for certain periods of time and at certain times of the year.  Amazing, but easy to deal with.  The bug that bugs me, however, even though it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else, is one that is a teeny tiny little black dot of a creature that seems to like to use the tile floor of my bathroom as it’s gathering place with friends.  Some can crawl like an ant, some are able to fly, but most just seem to appear for no reason.  I try to remove them with my shoe or slipper, but no such luck.  So I resort to wetting my finger and picking them up by leaning forward from my wheelchair, gathering one or more and flicking them into the toilet, trash can, or sink, whichever is closest. Or into a tissue if nothing else is handy.

Various people tell me I am being unsafe and should not worry about the silly tiny bugs on the floor, but I can’t seem to just sit back and let them continue to gather waiting for an occasional floor mopping to remove them.  Besides, I am very careful in doing so.  I sit far back in the wheelchair, always keeping one hand held tightly onto the chair for support while the other hand is doing the picking-up job.  Believe me, I am very safe and have done this procedure many many times.  One drawback has developed from it however. Because my eyes are continuously being focused on the floor, I've become very round shouldered and bent over.  Since I no longer use my Buddy (prosthetic leg) I use my good leg very little now, only to transfer from my chair to another seat (car, toilet, shower) or to stand at the sink to wash my face or wash the dishes, so it doesn’t get much in the way of exercise and nothing at all strenuous, that’s for sure, not even at NuHope.  I’m not able to obtain a fully upright position needed to be measured for height.  Too bad - now that I've let myself become that ‘little old lady confined to a wheelchair.’  But I’m okay with the situation and still manage to take care of myself and my needs and those of my pretty little home without being too much of an interference to Dan and Cathy and their busy lives, I hope, especially now that they have the responsibility of her four little grandchildren (ages 3 to 10) she brought here from Utah for the summer.

I am still fascinated by the variety of trees here in this area.  Seeing all kinds of trees with their limbs covered with long hanging Spanish moss still amazes me, and observing so many different kinds of palms has been unbelievable, something you just have to see to for yourself.  But I've developed a delight in looking for two special trees as we travel along the highway.  One, because it is so symmetrical and shaped so precisely from bottom to pointed top.  The other one is very unique because I’m sure there is not another shaped like it.  It’s a regular tree but close to the top it split into two separate sections that are continuing to grow nicely on their own making it look sorta like a Y or double growth at the top of the tree.  This one can be seen for miles on Highway 27.  But there was something else along that busy highway that really caught my eye and my interest.  It was the waving of the largest and grandest American flag I've ever seen.  I remember how excited we were in Grants Pass when an extra large flag was raised there that could be seen from far away.  I don’t know the dimensions of that flag, but I think the flag waving majestically in the breeze on Highway 27 could be the double the size of that one, at 16 feet by 10 feet.  When the wind catches it and stretches it’s folds out full length it is a sight to behold and marvel at.  I watch for it to proudly make its appearance around a curve each time we travel down that way.

Independence Day (the 4th of July) is now upon us and much attention is being paid to the establishment of America as a nation on July 4th of 1776 and now celebrating its 250th birthday.  I was asked if I could celebrate by making a 250th birthday puzzle.  I was intrigued by the idea, but, oh my, what a challenge that proved to be.  I won’t burden you with all the time-consuming details, but will just say that of all the many word-search puzzles I have made over the years, this is the one that has caused me the greatest anguish and frustration and loss of sleep than any of the others.  I've traveled a terrible journey in getting this one into its final perfected form and one that I am no longer ashamed to share with others.  It is ready today! Because I was so engrossed in sticking with the 250th puzzle, I often forgot what time it was.  When I mentioned to Cathy that perhaps I needed to have a clock at my desk to help remind me, what does she do? Bring home a huge round wall clock that would rival London’s Bjg Ben I’m sure. She asked me “Where on the wall in front of your desk would you like me to put this?”  I couldn’t even answer her because I was laughing so hard!  That thing was a good 18 inches across with large easily-read numerals.  So, with hammer and nail in hand, she set about attaching it to my wall, while saying, “You should never be late again now.” Our school clocks were only about half the size of this one.  But I love it and it does do its job very well.

I am enjoying being with the group at NuHope Senior Center.  Remember how quickly and efficiently I was bandaged up when my hand was bleeding, well just the other day I was dumb enough to let my cup of hot cocoa slip out of my hand and onto my lap.  Not only was it wiped up quickly but I was also given another shirt top to replace the one I had on.  I was told to keep it because it was going to the thrift store anyway.  Then my own top was washed and hung to dry so it could be taken home in fairly good shape.  I was so pleased at the readiness of the Monday group to help me in both situations. The group that meets on Wednesday had a ‘potluck breakfast.’  It turned out beautifully - everyone was so pleased and happy that it felt like one big happy family.  I was so impressed that I told them I would go home and make up a puzzle about it, using all their names as the words to be found and would bring it to them the next week.  It was at the same time when I was struggling with the 250th, but I did go home and that very night was able to complete the puzzle for them, including a message that just seemed to fit right in.  Even I was surprised at how quickly it was able to be completed and the Wednesday folks were delighted by it.     

You may also remember how upset I am with not being able to successfully wear the bottom teeth of my new dentures.  Well, in exasperation I'd brought out my old set of dentures and was using them instead. All of a sudden the bottom part fell down onto the tile floor and broke in half!  So now I didn't have a backup any longer and was more or less forced to use the new ones even though they don't fit right and even hurt my mouth if left in for very long.  No one would even think about sealing the old teeth back together again - so I am stuck with using the new bottoms or none at all, which is not a bad idea after all.

I’d hate to end with that bad thought in mind so I’ll shift to the four Elders or missionaries now serving in the Sebring ward. I tell you that they are doing a great job, because on Sunday after church, a baptism was held that involved four new converts!  One was an 8 year old child, two were older teenagers, and the last was a little older fellow who was evidently associated with Dan because it was he who performed the baptism and confirmation on that fellow, while one of the Elders performed those sacred ordinances on the the other three participants. It was a  really meaningful experience as we were able to add four new members to the worldwide list of over 17 million church members now.  

With that pleasant feeling in my heart and yours too, I hope, I will leave you in the loving hands of the Lord and ask him to watch over and take care of you and bless you with his love and mine too.    

Marie