The Last Few Months....

..have gone by and I think about updating and then I think, but nothing has really happened.  So here is a shot at nothing.

I had knee surgery in October.  Just a scope, but I found out that knee replacements are definitely in my future.  They want me to work with what I have until I can't stand the pain any more.  The good news is that I have more movement in my right knee than I have had in years.  One of my problems is that I can sit for hours, but I should get up and move around every hour for about 10 minutes.  I just forget until it has been 3 hours and then I am all stiff.  Getting old is highly overrated.

Mary was Dorothy for Halloween.  Of course I didn't get any pictures.  I am so bad at remembering to get out the camera.  I bought a small camera because I thought I would get it out more often.  Well it got lost at the family reunion.  So I only have the big Rebel camera of Earl's.  I have learned a few things about getting a good picture, but it is so big.  But I digress. Mary had a great time being Dorothy.  She helped me figure out how to make her costume.  That is a tradition that we have.  I have always made her costumes and she loves dressing up all year long so they are well used.

Yesterday we had Family Thanksgiving with Grandma Hymas.  One of the activities that was suggested was to make gingerbread cookies.  Mom used to make them every Christmas and we would decorate them, put them in baggies tied with a twist tie, then use the twist tie and a means to hang the cookies on the tree.  The grand kids love the gingerbread and we figured out last night that the last time we decorated cookies for Thanksgiving was years ago when we all went to my brother's house in St George.  That was before I met Earl, so it was at least 12 years ago.  Those who stayed and made cookies had a great time.  Each person cut and decorated a full tray of cookies to take home.  Mary had so much fun.  She loves creative things.

Mary is doing well at school.  She has discovered Beverly Cleary.  Specifically Ramona Quimby.  She has asked for the whole Cleary library for Christmas.  She has all the Ramona books, so I am working on the Henry Huggins and Ralph the mouse books. Reading has really clicked for her this year.  I am so happy.  I learned to love reading as a child.  For many years we did not have a TV in our home.  Reading filled the time that most kids spent watching TV.  I am really glad that Mary has learned that reading is an enjoyable way to pass the time especially since if you don't know how to read, the rest of life is more difficult.  I'm hoping that at some point, she will pick up math as well.  For right now she is content to figure out equations each time she encounters them.  It won't be that easy once she starts on multiplication.  I had a hard time with multiplication as well so I hope that she eventually gets it.  I did.  I'm still no whiz at math but I can do anything that doesn't require algebra.

Mary has joined a local swim team so she swims with the team 3 days a week.  She is in the non-competitive group for right now so she mostly is practicing strokes and working at swimming 100 yards at a time.  On the other 3 days, she goes with me and she plays in the water and swims while I walk in the water.  The physical therapist suggested that exercising in the water will really help my knees.  It really helps that Mary loves the water so I don't get a chance to rationalize any excuses for not going.

We have a dog named Ben and a cat that mostly gets called Stupid Cat.  I have discovered something the last few days about these two.  When we are around Ben tries really hard to get the cat who stays just out of his reach.  If Ben can get the cat, we usually have to take the cat away from him.  The cat doesn't usually have life threatening damage but I don't really want to have a dead cat on my hands.  When they don't know that someone is watching, they are friends.  For instance, this morning Ben was laying on the icy driveway.  The cat was rubbing up against him like cats do.  Ben was allowing it until he saw that I was watching. (at least 5 minutes).  Then he snapped at the cat.  They just make me laugh.  I'm sure that by the end of this cold winter, they might be sleeping in the same pen.

We survived the blizzard warning on Tuesday.  It was an adventure that, in the end, wasn't too bad.  It was cold and the wind blew around in circles.  The power didn't go out and I didn't have to drive it so all was good.  It has been in the single digits temperature wise but we are good.  We have some friends in the ward who ask every week if they can help me out with anything.  So Wednesday morning I called and asked if they could come shovel my driveway.  No hesitation at all.  They said "sure we can do that for you."  Now mind you, I was speaking to the teenage boys and not their parents. I have complete faith in the next generation.  There are enough of them  that are good that the world will be okay in their hands.