Holiday Fun!

Hello, Everybody!

You know all those good after-Christmas sales? Well, Ellen took advantage of one at Best Buy. The other TV died sometime before Christmas. Sharon brought up an extra one she had at her house. By the way, Sharon took advantage of the sale, too! She got a new TV for her bedroom! Of course, here is Sharon doing her favorite thing. She just gets this gleam in her eyes when she knows tools are involved!! One good thing about these new devices--they are very easy to program and to put together.

Here is the "borrowed" TV that is now upstairs in one of the bedrooms. It is replacing an older one.

Isn't the new one pretty? As you can see, the next purchase will be a table to replace the entertainment center. We love the picture. What a difference the LCD makes. When we bought the televisions, we inquired about the difference between the LCD picture and the plasma picture. The salesman told us that it was just a matter of preference. The LCD picture is brighter than the more muted plasma.

Christmas morning Joe came over to open presents. He was quite surprised at his gift from Santa. He had been complaining to Nichole how awful his old camera was. We think he will be happy with this little one!

Just enjoying the day...Joe gave his mom a GPS system for the car. When we finished opening gifts, we all went for a little ride with the GPS to see if it REALLY would know where we were going. Amazingly, it did! We even tried to trick it, but we actually got instructions to make a safe U-turn when possible!

In the afternoon we all went to Margaret and Scott's home. We had a Mexican dinner that was outstanding! Their housekeeper prepared chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas, green chile chicken enchiladas, flautas, and tacos. In addition, there were all sorts of salsa and chips. Then we all brought desserts. Of course, gift opening is always a wild time! This is Alex and Daryl.

This is Joe with the newest member of the family, Benjamin Charter.
Margaret strikes a pose! Not only is she an anesthesiologist, she also competes in national bodybuilding events. (Not bad for someone whose age is somewhere between 45 and 50, huh?)

Ellen and Sharon would strike a pose, but you wouldn't want to see it!

Mark, Paul, Maria and Vanessa with Ellen

Alex and Daryl clowning around with Renie, Paul's granddaughter.

We had a wonderful time. There was much laughter, plenty of food, and lots of noise! Margaret and Scott are also so gracious to have everyone at their home. This year, Hanukkah and Christmas were celebrated at the same time.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day! Happy New Year to you all!

Until next time. . . . .

Merry Christmas 2008!

Hello, Everybody, and Merry Christmas to you all!

We thought we would take this opportunity to update our friends and family on this past week's activities. First, Sharon is much better, but she still loses her voice during the day. She continues doing breathing treatments, but she is so much better. Christmas kind of crept up on us really fast this year.

To begin with, if you will remember, Sharon had to take her laundry up to Ellen's for a very long time. Frigidaire finally declared her washing machine "unfixable," The appliance man tried really hard to repair it. (After all, it was less than six months' old.) On Friday, Daw's called to see when they could deliver a new one. They actually delivered it, and Sharon went around the house singing, "Merry Christmas to me."

We took these next couple of pictures of the flowers in our little greenhouse! We are stunned to see just how much they have grown even in the greenhouse.

On Saturday, Ellen decided that it was time to tell Sharon about her Christmas present. Off we went to Alltel to pick out new cell phones! Ellen had already been there to see what the possibilities were. She had two or three in mind, but since Sharon had to renew her plan in order to get the "deal", her present could not wait until Christmas. Below is Ellen showing it off. Sharon tried three different pictures to capture you know who with eyes open, but to no avail.

The FedEx man brought part of Sharon's Christmas present early. Her instructions were to share with Ellen, and she will.

On Christmas Eve, we decided to have a nice lunch out, and chose one of our favorite places--Thyme Matters. It was beautifully decorated, and we had a great time.

Christmas Eve Mass at Queen of Peace is always very crowded with standing room only. The only Mass they have is the Children's Mass at 6:00 p.m. We decided to go to our neighboring parish--St. Luke's. They had Mass at 7:00 p.m. We had a wonderful time. It was not crowded. The choir was good, and we saw many families that we know. One of the little Altar boys is a student at Polk. He looked so angelic. After Mass, a young woman came over with her mother. Sharon immediately recognized her as a former student. She is now a pre-school teacher in Austin. Then before we could get up the aisle, another young woman and her family stopped us to say hello. The picture below is of Sabine who is a medical student. Sabine had a wonderful singing voice when she was in third grade.

This next picture shows Sharon with another former student, Chris. He is married and has two darling children with a third one on the way. It was such a special evening to be remembered by these wonderful young people.

This Nativity Scene was in the vestibule of the Church.

After church services, we went on a tour of the neighborhood looking at the Christmas Lights. We had a great time, and before you know it, an hour and a half had passed.

We wish everyone a Blessed Christmas filled with hope and peace. We will post more pictures later as the day goes on. Right now, it is time to open a few presents.

Merry Christmas. Until next time . . . . . . . . .

Take A Deep Breath!

Hello, Everybody!



Finally, we are happy to report to you that we think Sharon is on the way to saying truthfully that she is feeling much better. Thank you to those of you who have expressed your get well wishes to her. This time, she was really taken aback because of the magnitude of this illness. It has been more of a struggle for her to breathe than anything else. In fact, we took this picture of her treatment center.


You can see that the nebulizer has become her new "best medical device." With the Xopenex, the three inhalers, and the Singulair, she has finally been able to breathe without such a struggle. We both hope that the worst is finally over.

It is beginning to look like Christmas at her home.

It is the little things here and there that help to put the festive air on the holidays.

In a previous post, we showed a picture of the undecorated tree at Sharon's. She didn't get all of the ornaments on the tree this year, but it is up and decorated with lots of help from Ellen.

This little guy sings, "We Woof You a Merry Christmas." He belongs to a friend of ours who is also a school nurse.

Here is our friend, Jenny. We have talked about her before, but she is a dear friend who is always there when we need her. She has her own real life pug at home. His name is Pugsly!

Now, before we finish this post, we must tell you that Ellen is ending the year almost the same way that she began it. We were heading home after getting our manicures on Wednesday. As usual, Ellen got her manicure first. By the time Sharon is finished, Ellen is ready to drive us home. She put Sharon in the car and fastened her seat belt. Then she proceeded to go around the back of the car. All Sharon heard was this awful thud!!! She couldn't see Ellen at all! She even tried to get out of the car with seat belt attached. (That didn't work.) Ellen had stepped on a rock and she went down. Her new glasses were ruined. Her face was bleeding. She fell on her knees. (The day before, she had had a check-up with the doctor who had done the knee replacement.) Sharon was just horrified!! We went home, checked her out, had a bowl of soup, and then headed to Lenscrafters! The frames were able to be straightened, but the lenses were all scratched. Thank goodness for one hour places! They got the new lenses cut and into the frames. New bruises seem to be surfacing, but she is healing well.

Today was the last day of school. We are looking forward to a couple of weeks of rest and relaxation! The packages are all wrapped and under our trees. We are hoping to enjoy the days without lots of rushing around. Now, if time could just slow down a little bit, we would both breathe easier, and that would be wonderful!

Until next time. . . . .

'Tis The Season!

Hello, Everybody!

Update on Sharon: We know we told you that she was feeling better in our last post; however, on Monday morning, she knew she wasn't finished with the doctor. Off she went. Would you believe that they gave her a third injection of steroids, and a third injection of anti-biotics? In addition, she had another chest X-Ray, two more breathing treatments, plus more prescriptions! Breathing has been a real struggle for her. They told her to go to the ER if she didn't get any better. She looked good, but she didn't feel good. Now, if this doesn't clear up, a lung specialist is next. We will see how she does. Through all of this, Ellen has taken very good care of her. Sharon has threatened to call the cemetery to find out how much a plot would be. That is how bad she has felt.


It is time to start the season, and here is Ellen's little guardian puppy all dressed up. We think he is cute. He sits outside the front door, ready to greet anyone who comes calling!

This year, Sharon sat on the couch and watched as Ellen put the finishing touches on her tree.

Here is a picture of Sharon's poor little tree with absolutely NO ornaments. Maybe she will feel like putting some on this weekend. Of course Ellen will most likely make her sit on the couch and open the boxes. Besides, Ellen is taller than Sharon, so she can reach higher up without the ladder.

There is something special about a Christmas program at school. The first graders did an outstanding job this year. We were afraid that Sharon could not come to see it, but she made it for the very last performance.

The little ones did a number with a pinata!

It is nice to see so many offices decorated for the season. This last picture is of the tree at a doctor's office. Every year this particular staff decorates every little possible nook.

We will probably post again after we get our homes all ready for the holidays. It seems like we are both late in getting all our decorations up. But neither of us has company coming from out of town, so our homes will be a bit more subdued this year. Once Sharon is better, we will both be a bit more jolly!

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

December Nights, December Lights !

Hi, Ya'll!

Here we are all ready for the parade. The weather has been great. During the day, the temps have been in the 50's, and then when the sun goes down, it cools off. This evening there was no wind, so even though it was cold, it was quite pleasant. You can see that we came prepared with our coats, scarves, and gloves.
It's hard to take pictures of lights, but when they are moving, it is worse! We have included some of the better ones. The Christmas tree that you can see is on top of the car!

This elderly couple was across the street from us. We thought they were cute!!

This old fire truck was made to look like a snow globe. There was a tree in the bed of the truck, and the driver was dressed like Santa!

The Mescalero Indians had a HUGE float. These two tee pees were being pulled along behind it.

We thought this one was darling. In between all of the floats were several bands and children's choirs. When the bands came by, we applauded the loudest.

This was titled, "Happy Feet!" Someone was sitting behind the igloo with a baby dressed like a little penguin!

Santa was behind the wheel and the radio was playing, "Boogie Woogie Santa." He was jiving!!

The parade lasted about an hour. Lots of people enjoyed it. It is amazing that such a little town can put together such a large and beautiful parade. It was great! When it was over, we came back to the hotel and had a bowl of chili that Ellen had made. We thought that would be the perfect meal after being out in the cold for awhile. We brought along one of our purchases from the Grand Canyon this past summer. It was the perfect end to a relaxing and joyous day.

We head home tomorrow. The next few days we will try to get our homes decorated for the holidays. We have both started, but need to complete the process. We've had a great time this weekend. Sharon is feeling much better and is grateful that the doctors said she could come on this trip. It has gotten us into the Christmas spirit!

Until next time. . . . . . .

A December Day In Ruidoso !!

Hi, Ya'll!

This morning before we left the Lodge for the day, we stopped by the Gingerbread House. It was completely finished! Here is how it looks. It is edible, but was made for a fundraiser for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. The wheels for the wagon are peppermints.

Below is "Sherry's Place."

After taking the pictures, we headed to Mid-Town. Our favorite place is Candle Power. Sally is the owner and told us that we could come watch the Electric Light Parade from her shop if we wanted. That way we could stay warm! We always look forward to visiting her shop.

We shopped at a few of our other favorite places. One of the shop owners told us about this place called, Dream Catcher. It is a rather eclectic kind of cafe/coffee house. She recommended it for lunch. We tried it and had a wonderful time.

As you can see, they have beverages other than coffee. We had a bowl of the best French Onion soup, and a half of a delicious Cubana panini. We shall return there for certain.

This last picture shows the cute little coffee bar. They also have patio dining, but it was too chilly for us to be out there.

We are probably going to stay in tonight. We want to be kind to Sharon's lungs.

Crab cakes and shrimp are on the menu. Happy Friday and Happy Weekend.

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

Prescription-- Retail Therapy !!

Hello, Everybody!

First, we must tell you that Sharon got very sick, very fast beginning last Sunday evening. On Monday, Willie the tileman was due to knock on her door at 9:00 am. Willie came and began working to put tile in Sharon's bathroom. By Tuesday morning, she knew she had to get to the doctor fast. Breathing was beginning to be very difficult. It took Willie about an hour to grout the floor tile and reseat the toilet. Sharon practically followed him out of the door, and headed straight to the Upper Valley Urgent Care Center. She was seen almost immediately. After doing a chest X-Ray showing the lungs not clear, she had a breathing treatment. Not only one breathing treatment, but three. After two injections, and three prescriptions, she was sent home. To make a long story short, she was much better by Thursday.

Now we can tell you the reason for this post title. We arrived at the Lodge in Ruidoso on Thursday afternoon. We had planned this trip months ago because it is the beginning of the Christmas festivities--the Tree Lighting, and the Parade of Lights. We were ecstatic when the doctor told Sharon we could go only if she continued treatment. We think Ellen would have been more disappointed than Sharon. This mountain town is decked out for the holidays and you can't help but get into the spirit of the season.

This picture is the front of our hotel.

A giant Christmas tree greeted us as we entered the lobby.

Of course the mantle sits in readiness all year long, just waiting to be decorated for the holidays!

Father Christmas was waiting for us at the front desk.

We went down to the local grocery store to pick up a few items for our stay. When we came back, all the lights were on outside the hotel. Ellen loved this deer so much that she had to go give him a hug!!

Sharon was ready to hop on him and go for a ride!!

This one seems to be ready to get hooked up to Santa's sleigh and take to the skies!

When we came into the lobby, the "elves" were busy putting together a gingerbread house! We had fun talking to them as they carefully put together their creation. We will be sure to get a picture of the finished creation and include it in a future post.

Sharon had a good night and is feeling better. She had to go back to the doctor yesterday morning before we left town. If he wasn't pleased with her progress, we would be staying home this weekend. About 11:00, Ellen received a text that said, "I'm free! Whee!!" We packed up the car and hit the road. It was time to "fill" the REAL prescription -- Retail Therapy!!

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