Going Paperless

EOY 2013 update

Our situation has not changed.  Stella is 95.  She fell and broke her leg early May 2013.  Her activity has been reduced.  We remodeled her bathroom and put in a 42 inch wide open doorway to make it easier for her to get to her new toilet.  We put in new floor covering in the bathroom and carpet in the bedroom.  We got her an electric lift-chair/recliner.  We installed a walk-in tub with jacuzzi jets and air jets.  We had natural gas run to her house and installed an on-demand water heater.  We also got her a new vanity for the bathroom.  We asked the young men in the ward to take out her old Craftmatic bed to make room for her new hospital bed.  Recently, we got her a new 11 inch thick foam mattress because she was complaining of the original hospital bed mattress.  Stella is nearly deaf but we keep her in loud earphones so she can hear television.  We have a hearing device that uses headphones when company comes.  She tires quickly and cannot see very well.  She gets around the house OK with her walker.  She only goes out when she has to see a doctor or denturist.
Joanna is still working for Minnesota Neurovascular but turns 66 in March and will start getting her Social Security check.  Joanna's health has not been good.  She has developed Atrial Fibrillation and is taking prescription medication.  Joanna has been making some awesome projects with her sewing machine.
I am just getting older.  Joanna sets up my medications.  I don't even know what I am taking.
We got a new pup.  Scooter is almost a year old.  He is a minpin.  He sleeps with me.

The big picture at the top was taken at my brother-in-law's funeral. Tommy Mulleneaux was a good man. He will be missed. We drove down from Utah for his funeral in February and then drove back again a month later for my brother-in-law Bruce Skinner's funeral. We came for a visit to Thatcher in June and decided that Joanna needed to return to Thatcher and live with her Aunt Stella. I would stay in Utah and move all our stuff to Thatcher. The night Joanna was prepared to leave Utah, her mother, Lucille Morris, died. Joanna stayed on in Thatcher living with Aunt Stella and I made three trips moving our stuff from Utah. We had to sell our beautiful townhouse in South Jordan. Since we moved back to Thatcher, Andrea and Preston have added a grandson, Drevin, and Holly and Travis have added a grandson, Oliver. We encourage Aunt Stella to do as much for herself as she wants and is capable of. We have made her as comfortable as we can. It is a special blessing to us to be able to share this part of her life. Joanna's office/sewing room is awesome and she has made many beautiful projects.

2010 CE

Joanna's mother passed the end of July. We had already decided that we would have to return to Thatcher to care for Joanna's aunt Stella. Joanna stayed on in Thatcher and I made three trips from South Jordan to Thatcher moving stuff. A yard sale was partially successful but it still took two trucks and a large trailer to move. The Utah house closed in November so we don't have that to worry about any longer. Since October we have been trimming mesquite on the west and north side of the property. I finally got a fence up around Stella's back yard. Joanna has been canning and preserving food when she's not working for the Dr.'s Nussbaum. We began volunteering every Thursday at the Thatcher Friend 2 Friend Food Bank. We were also called to serve at the Family History Center in Safford.

Winter in Minnesota

The sale of our house in South Jordan did not go thru. A pipe froze in the house we had made an offer on in Maple Grove making it unsaleable. We tried for weeks to find another house but were unsuccessful so we moved back to South Jordan. Joanna is still working for her neurosurgeons. I am still retired. During the month of December the temperature never got above freezing in Minneapolis. We departed mid-January. It is winter in Utah but much milder.

Adventures in the North Woods

It was very stressful leaving our home in Utah. PODS messed up and only delivered one unit. The boys from Helping Hands got one loaded and sealed and prepped all the furniture and put it in the garage. We spent the weekend in a hotel and early Monday morning visited PODS and the manager had another unit at our place by 10AM. The boys from Helping Hands came by in the afternoon and packed the second unit. They got a generous tip. We hooked up the rental trailer and left for Dallas. ...it was snowing.

We spent the first night in Green River. The next day was not fun when we stopped for gas in Cuba, NM, I tripped and fell. Just bruises and scrapes but felt like Hulk Hogan had body slammed me. The second night we spent in Tucumcari, NM. The next day we arrived at Holly and Travis' apartment in Dallas and had a good visit with them. After spending the night in Dallas, we drove on to Kansas City for the night. We had Thanksgiving dinner at a Golden Corral in Emporia, Kansas.



The next day we arrive in the Twin Cities. We stayed in an Extended Stay America Hotel for a little over a week. We picked up Joanna's Smart Car. The hotel had a fire at 3AM one morning and then the water was shut off most of the next day. We found another place to stay.


We found an executive condo on a month-to-month rental. Soooo much better. We actually have a stove, frig, dishwasher, washer & dryer and separate bedrooms and baths. Maggie has a leather couch to lounge on and TV with cable. The high speed internet is great. A record snowfall accompanied our move so we haven't been doing much.

The closing date for the house we had made an offer on came and went without bank approval. (Bank of America). We are searching again for a suitable place for two old people to live. On Monday we are going to see two places in Oakdale just a few blocks from the temple. Fannie Mae is giving us problems with the sale of our home in South Jordan because we make too much money and are current with all our payments. They want us to ruin our credit before they will approve the sale of the house. We hope to be in a house of our own (and the bank's) by the end of January.

Another Minneapolis Trip

Went to Minneapolis this week. The Smart Dealer picked us up at the airport and took us to Joanna's new Smart Car. Then we started looking at homes. On Friday we put in an offer on a stand-alone townhome in Maple Grove. It snowed on Saturday morning. It was cold.