Surgery Again?

Hello, Everybody!



Sharon will be so glad when we can talk about things other than her health. She is very much looking forward to tomorrow. She is going to have back surgery. If you wish to see the type of surgery she is scheduled to have, just click on the link below:


http://www.elpasospinecenter.com/Pages/Axialif.html



It looks like a fascinating surgery. This is an animated surgery that explains the procedure for lay people. Maybe in her next life she can come back as an orthopedic surgeon.



Although Ellen is having her own health issues, we are taking all of this one day at a time.




Sharon's new knuckle is working just fine. Her new shoulder is working beautifully, and she can't wait for her back to stop hurting. One thing she has learned is that if your parts quit working, just replace them! You youngsters take good care of your health. Please pray for her and her doctors. Thank you.




Last weekend for Easter Sunday, we had a lovely brunch at the Lancer's Club. Then, after a short nap, we went to Scott and Margaret's home. We had a great time with all of the Negrete relatives. The age range was from two years to 79 years of age. It is really neat to have such a loving family with so many cousins. We didn't eat anything because we were still full from the Lancer's Club!



We will keep you posted on how Sharon does. Since we are both on Facebook, it seems that we don't write on our blog as we used to. We miss blogging and having our friends follow the blog, too. We may be part of the "over 60" crowd, but we like to keep up with technology!



Until next time. . . . .

Spring Break 2010 !

Hello, Everybody!


It seems like that time is just flying by, doesn't it? We thought we would use this column as a catch up since the last post.


Sharon's new knuckle is healing very nicely, and very quickly. In fact, if you didn't know, you would never think that she had surgery.


Yesterday, she had the epidural block in her back at the L5 and S1 disc sites. She is already tons better. It is amazing that doctors know right where to put that needle.


Ellen's spring break is almost over. We didn't do anything this year as far as going out of town. We were on a very relaxed schedule. Ellen got a lot of cleaning done, and Sharon got a lot of pain relieved! Hooray for good doctors! Now she is ready to focus on something else besides pain. She is anxious to get back to riding her bicycle ten miles daily. She has really missed that.


Ellen is anxious to get the spring yard work done. She is definitely ready for the growing season. It is time to plant flowers and get the fountain in the backyard flowing again.

A new elementary school is opening next week. Approximately 150 students that have been at Polk will be leaving. We hate to see the teachers and their students go, but with the move, Polk will be at 600 students. That isn't exactly small, but it is better than 750!

We are off to attend the wedding of the daughter of one of our teachers. It should be fun. It is being held at the International Museum of Art. What a nice way to spend the last Saturday of Spring Break!

Until next time. . . . .

January,February, And Now MARCH! (Gasp)

Hello, Everybody!

It seems like this year is just zipping right on by! In January, Ellen celebrated her birthday! Here is picture of her cake.

The birthday girl is about to cut the cake.

Below is a picture of the glass sculpture at the Spencer Theater in Ruidoso, New Mexico. It is truly beautiful.

We had a relaxing weekend while in Ruidoso. The main reason for the trip was to see Camelot at the Spencer Theater.

It was a great production. The touring company was staying at The Lodge At Sierra Blanca, which is where we always stay. So we were truly living in the Land of Camelot! By the way, when we checked into the hotel, the assistant manager checked us in. Upon entering the room, we couldn't help but remark that "it" had happened again. Yep, we were upgraded to a one bedroom suite! We had a beautiful view of Sierra Blanca covered in snow. We are not sure why, or how that happened, but we enjoyed it!

Yesterday was surgery day for Sharon. She, too, had a birthday already this year. Last year her birthday was a week after her shoulder replacement. Not wanting to spend another birthday just after going under the knife, it was scheduled for March 1st. The knuckle at the base of her right index finger was replaced. It is amazing what can be done these days! She was back home by 10:30! All went well.

When you look at her hand from this view, it looks like she has on a boxing glove! It will stay this way until Thursday. She goes to the doctor in the morning, and he will remove all the dressings.

It is a good thing that Sharon is ambidextrous! It is her right hand that was operated on, but she can do everything with her left hand as well.

So, 2010 has begun. We are now into March and are hoping that life remains relatively calm.

December-January! Where Has The Time Gone?

Hello, Everybody!





It just doesn't seem possible that so much time has passed since we did our last post! Sharon decided to finally look at all of the pictures from December and January, and to choose those that might be appropriate for posting.
Queen of Peace is always decorated beautifully for Christmas. Fr. Trini is the mastermind behind all the decorations.
The nativity scene is from Italy. The previous pastor, Fr. Joe, started the collection and it has been added to ever since.

The photo makes it look rather small, but the figurines are quite large.

The picture below shows what you look like after tasting the delicious wines of Star Canyon Winery right here is El Paso! We had a wonderful time there and hope to be able to go again very soon.

Scott and Steve are putting together a popcorn maker. Ellen was happy when she saw Scott get out the tool kit she had given him, probably ten or twelve years ago!

Concha is the best cook. She fixed the Christmas dinner, which is no small task. There were 25 of us!

Margaret and Scott's brother are checking out the new popcorn machine.

This is Frank Zona. He is Paula's father-in-law. We all had Christmas Day Dinner at his home. The guys cooked and cleaned. It was wonderful.

The presentation of the food was spectacular.

This was dessert. It was fruit, but it had been soaked with some type of liqueur. Yum, yum!

On Christmas Eve, the Zonas and the Pieplows gathered at the Pieplow home. Paula was in charge of the cooking. She did a fantastic job. Sharon had already cooked the brisket, and Paula added Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese, and Brie with crackers. You can also see the Six-layer Bars that Ellen made for dessert.

Here's the chef working on the horseradish sauce for the brisket.

Here we see Sharon with her daughter, Paula.

These next few pictures show the Zonas at Christmas Eve. Their daughter is Jaimi who is a college student working toward a degree in nursing.

Here we have Kristi and Jeremy Zona, and Austin Martin, who is Jaimi's significant other. These Zonas live in Phoenix.

You surely recognize Ellen with Jason.

On Martin Luther King Weekend, we headed toward Albuquerque for our annual shopping trek. We stayed at our favorite Residence Inn. The nice thing about this visit was that the hotel had recently completed their renovation. It was truly beautiful. This picture shows the redecorated lounge area. We have a story about our trip here this time.

When we arrived at the Residence Inn, the manager was there. We remembered her from last year. Her name is Bernadette. She even remembered us from last year. Before we knew it, she had upgraded our room to a two bedroom suite! What a treat! We already had a special deal, but when we checked out, we had a special surprise!! Since this is our favorite hotel chain, we accumulate points for each stay. We used our points to pay for two nights, and would split the cost of the third night. On the morning that we were going to check out, the bill was under the door. (As it always is.) When Ellen looked at it, the Balance Due was $0.00. We couldn't believe our eyes!! Not only had we been upgraded to the two bedroom suite, our third night had been comped!

We are lucky ladies, huh? Until next time. . . . . . . . . . . .

The Majestic Mountains!

Hello, Everybody!



On Friday morning, El Paso was covered with snow and ice. Schools were on a two hour delay for opening. Ellen had a doctor's appointment at 8:30 AM, and then we were going to leave for Ruidoso when she finished. Fortunately, the streets on the westside of the mountain were not iced over. The eastside and the northeast side were very treacherous. Ellen had no problem getting to the doctor's office and getting back home. However, the road we normally take out of El Paso to Ruidoso was closed from the state line to Alamogordo. We waited until 10:00 AM and drove to Las Cruces, and took Hwy 70 to Alamogordo. All was good! Ellen drove to Las Cruces, but then turned the keys over to Sharon. Since the time that Ellen did a 360 degree turn on the freeway in Lubbock, several years ago, if there is even a hint of ice, she refuses to drive, ESPECIALLY, when we are in Sharon's car!



We kept thinking the temperature would warm up a little. We were between Tularosa and Ruidoso and this is what the temperature was registering!

We were greeted by this beautiful site as we entered Ruidoso!

It is not unusual to see horse trailers on the road. On Saturday afternoon as we were driving through town, we got behind this trailer. Yes, that is really a camel being transported!! It was on its way to the church where they hold "A Walk Through Bethlehem." We will be going there Sunday evening.

The Festival of Lights Parade was Saturday evening. We thought you might like to see a few pictures. Yes, it was cold and somewhat windy! Ellen got Sharon all wrapped up!

We were all set with our chairs, blanket and hand warmers!!

The theme of the parade this year was Gingerbread Houses. We picked out a few of the best pictures, but we have many, many more!

Most of the floats were very detailed and the lights were simply spectacular.

This guy was probably 12 feet tall!

This was a Jeep that was decorated!

Wouldn't it be fun to take a sleigh ride in this?

He is hard to see, but Santa made an appearance on this one!

More lights, more fun!

Who doesn't love the story of Cinderella? This one definitely put you in Storybook Land!

There were several marching bands in the parade. The kids all had decorated themselves with lights. Some had even put lights on their instruments. We had a wonderful time making friends with those around us.

When we got back to the hotel, we had hot tortilla soup. It took several hours for our bottoms and legs to finally get warm. Thank goodness we have a fireplace in our room. It helped to get us warmed up.

We will post more pictures after our "Walk Through Bethlehem tonight."

Until next time . . . . . . . . ......

Round And About!

Hello, Everybody!

Today is Veterans' Day. Ellen had the day off from school. Wednesday is not such a bad day to have off. We work two days, are off a day, and then only have two days until the weekend! We didn't want the day to be like another Saturday. You know, grocery shopping, running errands, catching up on things around the house, etc.

In the past, we have taken summer trips where we make a complete circle in our journey. We leave home one way and come home another. When it is plotted on a map, we have encompassed several states and completed a full circle. Today we did a circle trip around El Paso.

We started on I-10 and headed East, all the way to Zaragoza and the Las Palmas Shopping Center. We went to World Market. They had their coffee, buy one pound, get one free. Who can pass up a deal like that?! After getting what we went after, and a few other things, we decided to pick up Loop 375 to return to the Westside. That took us through the Northeast side of town! But the trip over the mountain was beautiful. There was not much traffic, and it made us feel like we were out of town. Where did we end up next, you ask?

THE OUTLET MALL!! How fun to go during the day on a Wednesday! We went in several places and then decided we were hungry. We stopped at the Food Court for lunch. Customer Service is located in the Food Court. They have wheelchairs available for anyone who needs one. In order for Sharon not to get too tired from walking, we got a wheelchair for her. Off we went to investigate more places! We did a little Christmas shopping and lots of looking.

When we finished at the mall, we got back on I-10 and headed to The Texas Store. We haven't been there for awhile, and wanted to see what new things they had gotten in for the holidays.

By this time we were both tired and ready for a little rest. We headed to Ellen's home to put our feet up and relax a bit. It has been a great day. Like we said, Wednesday's aren't such a bad day to have off!

Until next time. . . . . .

Fish Tacos!?!

Hello, Everybody!

This may be a shock to you, but we are actually making another post already! Today, after church, we decided to go to Red Lobster for lunch. We were both in the mood for clam chowder, and of course, lobster pizza. We sat in the bar because we wanted to watch a little football while we ate. We ordered our drinks and the chowder and told the waitress to wait to put in the order for the pizza. We were having a great time, just chatting and watching the game. Eventually, the Manager came over to say hello. He is always very nice to us and goes out of his way to make sure everything is okay with us. Today, he asked us if we had ever had fish tacos. We told him we had heard of them, but never tasted any. He told us he made great fish tacos. The next thing he said was, "I'll send some out to you."

Oh my, were they delicious! We aren't sure they are on the menu. We think it is a recipe that he came up with. The salsa on them was perfect, and the flavors all blended together perfectly. We have been told that we should try fish tacos before, but the opportunity presented itself today.

We are so lucky to live in El Paso. The people in stores and restaurants are friendly. They remember us even when we don't go in that often. There must be something about these two old ladies that is unforgettable! (Hee, hee.)

Until next time... . . . . .

A Christmas Fair!

Hello, Everybody!

If you thought we had croaked, this is to let you know that we are still alive and kicking! We really haven't done anything too exciting until this weekend. It was time for the annual Junior League of El Paso's Christmas Fair. The theme this year was Noel a Paris. These are our admission tickets. They were given to us by a dear sweet lady from Polk who is in the Junior League. Notice that our tickets no longer say, "Adult."

The Eiffel Tower greeted us upon arrival. There were several other Towers in the Hall. We arrived at 10:00 AM. By 11:00, Ellen had to make the first trip back to the car to put our purchases in the trunk. That gave Sharon a few minutes to sit and rest until Ellen returned. Then we were at it again! By a little after noon, it was time for trip TWO to the car!

This time Sharon went along. We had packed a "picnic lunch" and we were both getting a little hungry and were more than ready to sit for a little bit. Our picnic was eaten in the car. We enjoyed watching all the people who were coming and going! After that little respite, back we went to finish up the aisles we hadn't seen.

These were just two of the Christmas trees that had been decorated. It's always fun to see all the different ideas.

This year there were over two hundred vendors! The aisles were smaller because they had to pack that many booths into the Hall; however, we were able to see all of them. Some we just walked by because we had no interest in what they were selling. Others, we spent time looking and enjoying all the beautiful items.

Christmas shopping is now in full swing! What a wonderful time of the year!!

Until next time . . . . . . . .

PS As if we hadn't done enough shopping, on the way home, we stopped at Pier One to see all of their Christmas items.

Oops, We Are Sorry!

Hello, Everybody!

We know that we have been very lax at writing for our blog. Facebook has shown us that there is a quick way to communicate with friends. Never the less, we really miss writing for our blog. We don't have a lot of news to share with you. We have been very busy at school screening the children. We have now finished our Polk School students! To be done and have them all charted by mid-October is quite a feat. We are proud of ourselves!! The last few days have been filled with seeing sick children and sending those home with high fevers. Flu season has hit early this year. Between Seasonal Flu and Swine Flu, everyone is a bit nervous. We will survive this, too!

We are looking forward to Thursday. Thursday?? Cirque Dreams is at the Plaza Theatre and we are going......thanks to some friends who could not use their tickets!! We are very excited. We shall be up a little later than usual on a "school night", but the next day is Friday! We can do this!! YES, WE CAN!

Staying in touch with our blog friends is important to us. We hope all is well with everyone. Have a good rest of your week. We will let you know how we enjoy Cirque! PROMISE!


Until next time.. . . .... .

Fun Times At The Stein's!

Hello, Everybody!



We gave up posting photos on Facebook because Sharon couldn't figure out how to add more than one at a time. Oh, well! After Scott and Margaret had such great success at the body building championships, they threw a party for relatives and friends. We had a great time, and would like to show you some of the people who were there. Here are Ellen, Paul, and Maria!


Sharon was trying to get a smile out of this one.

Mark and Ellen are clowning around.

Here they are again.

The picture below shows you that kids really never grow up.

Our award winning host and hostess.
Scott and Margaret, are happy to be able to eat something! Concha's Mexican food was outstanding!!

Below are Ellen, Daniel, and his wife, Hila. They have been in the States visiting from Israel. Teresa was happy to have her eldest son home for a few weeks!

This last picture shows Mark with his mom, Mary, and his step-mom, Ellen.

We had a wonderful time at the Steins, and these pictures by no means show all of those who were there. These were just the ones we captured on our camera.

Until next time. . .. . . .