I have a Blog ready to post and can't figure out how to upload it to this site. So here is a quick recap:

We have been at Cannon Beach for the past week with Bob and Sharon Jayne. We are going to head south tomorrow to the Lincoln City area for another 5 or 6 days and then head for home. Sarah arrives on 2/8 for her visit to the UofW so we need to be there.

We have had some quite nice weather up until today, and it has turned rainy and cold. The temps in the past week have been fairly mild, and not much rain. If any, it was usually at night.
Yesterday's walk on the beach was blue sky and sunshine.

We have eaten lunch out twice, and both were very good. Mo's for clam chowder and Doogers for a seafood dinner, at lunch time, at half price for seniors. How about that?

I talk to Pat at least every other day, and he is looking forward to daughter Sandy's visit. She arrives this evening and will be in Spokane for a week.

I'll try to blog again soon. Maybe we will luck out and find WiFi tomorrow. Ciao

Now that we are poised to leave for a while, I am wondering if our friends the Ouseys are out there!!!! No blog since last Friday. Hmmmm.

We have no specific plans as to how long we will be away, but I have convinced myself that I can get to Spokane as fast on Alaska Air from anyplace in the west as I can in the car from Steilacoom. We are hoping to leave on Saturday. To be continued. Ken installed the 2004 Turbo Tax program to try and get that out of the way before we leave.

Colleen and I went to the base exchanges at Ft. Lewis and McChord today, and found so many great buys we could hardly contain ourselves. We didn't even get out of the clothing department.

I don't think we have had any rain to speak of in the last 24 hours, but we have had temps in the low 60's for the last 2 days.

Ciao

Rain, rain, rain, and more rain. That is pretty much how the forecast reads for the coming week. Perhaps we will get a chance to find out how the new sump pump in the basement works!

I whiled away the day doing some organizing in the motor home and making lists. Even if I don't get everything accomplished, I always feel like I am making progress if I make lists. We have been out so few times recently that I have forgotten what I have in it and what I don't.

Ken called Workhorse to check on the instrument cluster that we have been waiting for (one month and counting) and he was told it could be another month. Methinks we will travel without a temperature gauge for a while.

Brian and Sheila and the boys spent the long week end at McCall....skiing. And while there put an offer in on a condo. They want a place of their own to retreat to when escaping Mt. Home. It will be perfect for their winter skiing, and all other pursuits the rest of the year. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, with one bedroom and bath being in the loft area which will be the boys' domain. This will also allow them to take the dog and cat with them and not have to use the local kennel. We are excited for them.

The other exciting news is that Sarah has been accepted at the University of Washington. She is still waiting to hear from the University of Maryland. Now comes the number-crunching and scholarship work to see if UW can compete financially with Maryland (since they have a neighbor who is the golf pro at the University of Maryland and he has been tracking her application, it looks like a pretty sure bet she will be accepted there too). Would we like to have her here going to school or what?

I must go online to see if I can find some plans for an ark. Ciao

We did a 24 hour turn around in Spokane and are back home. The consultation with the radiologist was informative, but not enough for Pat to make a final decision with regard to treatment. However, that needs to happen soon. I continue to be impressed with the Washington State Veterans Home where he is staying, but I can't say the same for the Veteran's Administration Hospital where his treatment is being coordinated.

We are cautiously and tentatively making some plans for some travel and should be able to solidify some plans within the next few days. We are not positive we are ready to make a beeline for Arizona, but it is a distinct possibility. The Jaynes are spending about a month on the Oregon coast beginning next week, so we might meet up with them at some point for a few days. To be continued.

Colleen and I are going to Bellevue today; she to meet with a financial planner and me to keep her company and check out the shopping scene at Bell Square.

I have been pretty good about going to Curves these past two weeks. I can't say I can see the difference, but I know I have made the effort.

I will post as soon as we make some travel plans, if not before.

Ciao

We are back in Spokane to be a part of a consultation for Pat with a radiologist to determine if he can withstand any radiation treatment. We drove over today and enjoyed clear and dry roads, but there is more winter coming, so we will probably have to wait for a window to return home. We are staying on the north side of Spokane and there is a lot of snow piled up in the parking lots......and there is more to come along with temps down near zero!!

We managed to retire the Christmas tree and stow away the decorations before coming back to Spokane. I think this has been our longest Christmas season.

We are off to seek some dinner - there is a Mexican restaurant nearby so we won't have to drive.

Ciao,

Helen

Finally, last night we had our Christmas. Craig was here and the four of us opened gifts after dinner. Our Christmas tree seemed to know it had to last for us. We put it up about the 17th and it stll looks and smells fresh!

Ken is watching the Seahawks game which is in the 3rd quarter. Very nerve-wracking!!

We are having some differences with our cell phone provider, Sprint, so I suspect we will be looking for a new service. Our contract expires the end of January so no problem to change. Sprint is the only cell service we have ever had, so we are open to suggestions.

So I will be home until Tuesday, and if the roads are okay, I'll return to Spokane for a consultation with a radiologist to determine if Pat's heart can withstand any chemo or radiation. With a heart functioning at only 20%, I suspect the answer will be no. This should be a short trip, and I hope to return home by the week end.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I'll blog when I can.

Ciao

We continue to take each day as it comes. I spent 12/21 to 1/2 in Spokane making arrangements for a place for Pat. I encountered roadblocks at every turn, most notably the VA social workers, and called Ken on 12/28 and said I needed reinforcements. Our friends, the Schulers, arrived at SeaTac on Wednesday and the 3 of them drove directly to Spokane. We spent New Year's Eve in a hotel room.

Pat is now at the VA nursing home in Spokane. We continue to have ups and downs with doctors at the VA Hospital, but there is nothing positive to report with the prognosis.

I stayed at my brother Mike's over Christmas and he, his wife Mary, and son Joel went out of their way to include me in their holiday. Actually, it was not as difficult as it might seem since I was so preoccupied with getting Pat moved and settled that it didn't even seem like Christmas.

The weather has been very cold here in Steilacoom, and this being an old house only adds to the chill. It has been down in the 20's at night. The summit area at Snoqualmie was like a postcard when we returned to Steilacoom last Sunday. No huge buildup of snowbanks along the sides of the Interstate, but the trees all hung heavy with beautiful white fluffy snow.

May 2005 be good to you.

Ciao, Helen