Robert and Joanna's Blog

2011-12-16T02:33:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-04T17:42:00.002-07:00

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

2010-02-17T16:28:00.003-07:00

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

2009-12-27T08:55:00.007-07:00

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

2009-10-11T22:04:00.002-06:00

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.

Back in Utah

2009-09-21T22:03:00.004-06:00

We've been back a month. The house hasn't sold yet. We had a couple drive by tonight and I asked them if they would like to see the house. That's seven showings now. No offers yet. We really love it here but we must go to Minneapolis for a few years. We have a journey planned this week to go to San Diego (well...Chula Vista) to see our newest Granddaughter Lapis Elayna Layton...and her parents Ryan and Dionna, of course. Holly's school has started in Dallas. Andrea and Preston are stuck in Arizona and any rumors to the contrary are unsubstantiated. We haven't heard from Adam and Kristi so I guess all is well.

Back to the Future...

2009-07-31T09:18:00.005-06:00

Our time in Tennessee is over. We will be moving back to our home in Utah for a while. We will continue to try to sell the townhome so we can move to Minneapolis. Joanna and I will be working from home and Joanna will commute to Minneapolis when necessary to complete her next project there. We should be back in Utah before August 20th. I won't have time to update for a few weeks.

Saturday Yard Sales Franklin TN

2009-07-18T20:18:00.007-06:00

We spent a Saturday morning going to yard sales in Franklin. Joanna got a couple of shirts for granddaughters and we ended up at the Salvation Army store and bought an end table (shabbychic) which I need to glue a part on that came off.

We took a wrong turn and saw this most interesting sculpture. I made a little movie about it. We bought some peaches at a fruit stand and I made peach cobbler.

The next Saturday we went on a yard sale tour but didn't buy anything until we went to a consignment store called "Finders Keepers". We found a little sofa/love seat that was very reasonably priced. The sales lady had to check the invoice because it was a Bassett and she couldn't believe the price. Here's a picture of our Bassett on our Bassett:

Minnesota Trip

2009-06-28T20:38:00.012-06:00

We flew to the Twin Cities for our anniversary. We got to meet our Doctors Nussbaum and the staff, viz. Lisa, Char, Deborah, and more. I hooked up a Neatdesk Scanner and showed them how to use it and Joanna worked with the rest of the staff on scheduling. We took a bus tour of the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and a Mississippi Riverboat tour.

Trip to Reno

2009-06-28T19:42:00.007-06:00

In May I went on a trip out west with Maggie. We spent the first night with Allison and David Bryce. They have the cutest family. The next day's journey took us across Iowa, Nebraska and part of Wyoming. We spent the night in Laramie. The next day we got to our home in South Jordan but not without some difficulty. Somewhere along the route, a leaf spring broke on my trailer. I went right to a leaf spring fabricating shop in West Valley City and they had a new spring installed by the next day. We spent a few days in South Jordan. I went to dinner with some friends from Daybreak First Ward and had dinner one night with Peyton and Laurel.

I went on to Reno, Nevada, and spent the night with Holly and Travis. The next day we loaded up the trailer and my car and started for Dallas. We spent the night in Barstow. Holly and Travis went on to Adam and Kristy's to spend a few days and I went on to Thatcher and stayed with Stella and Lucille. I got to visit Mother in the nursing home a couple of times while I was there. Holly and Travis arrived and we loaded their bed on my VUE. Holly and Travis went on to Dallas and I followed a day or so later. I spent the night in Midland, TX, before going on to Dallas to Holly's and Travis' new apartment. The kids unloaded all their stuff and we went to Sears Outlet and I got them a washer and dryer. (they're paying me for it). After spending the night, I drove on to Nashville.

Rail Excursion

2009-06-28T19:31:00.003-06:00

We took a train ride just before Easter. It was the "Easter Bunny Train". The train was full of families with kids and there was a person in a bunny costume that walked through the train and scared all the lilttle kids and made them cry.

I was scared and started to cry too. That was one mean-looking rabbit.

The train went to a little town east of Nashville called Watertown. The townsfolk had set up an Easter Egg hunt for the kids and we walked around the little town square and ate lunch at a little restaurant.

The weather was great and we had a good time.

Trip to Arizona March 2009

2009-03-30T18:38:00.007-06:00

Joanna and I flew from Nashville to Phoenix to attend Preston and Andrea's sealing. Joanna bought Brooke's and Lacie's dresses and accessories for going to the temple and the sealing ceremony. Joanna got to dress them and tend them before the ceremony. I got to be a witness. It was very special. Preston's parents were there and their Bishop and Stake President and about 40 of their friends from their ward.

We drove to Thatcher for a day to see our Mothers.

They are both 94 years-old now. My mom is in a nursing home. She says she is happy. The broken hip and stroke have taken a toll on her health and mental state. Joanna's mom is still living behind her son Charles but is nearly blind and deaf.

We stayed a night with Joanna's Aunt Stella who

is 91 years-old and as spry and sharp as ever. She just got a new iMac and I fixed it so she could get her gmail with one click and go to the LDS indexing site with one click. I also arranged for Brian and Cindy Mattice, our tenants, to remodel the bathrooms in the big house. Brian and his father-in-law will do the labor and when finished, I will buy Cindy a new dishwasher. The place at the end of Mullins Lane really looks nice and clean.

The travel and connections were smooth and uneventful. When we got home, Joanna had a cough and sore throat. Playing with Lacie was fun but came at a cost. She gave Grandma her cold. Joanna has been miserable for a week. The weather was great. We managed to stay ahead of high winds in north-central Arizona. The only rain was when we got back to Tennessee. Maggie was glad to see us. She stayed at Crossroads Kennel while we were gone.

Children's Benefit Concert at the Ryman

2009-02-03T08:19:00.005-07:00

Joanna won a pair of tickets to the annual Children's Benefit Concert at the Ryman Auditorium at her work. We had front row balcony seats in the middle. I don't know country singers that well but I think this is Rodney Atkins. I copied this from his website...he sang the song. “Cleaning This Gun” is another real-to-life tune about that nervous time when a boy first meets his girlfriend’s father. “I lived this song,” Rodney says. “One of the first times I went courting in high school I was met by a girl’s daddy standing beside the driveway with a .357.”

A female singer in very tight clothing sang a song about being "Knocked Up".

I forget the name of the two

guys...one who sings and plays different instruments and the other plays with his microphone stand. Charlie Daniels put on a good show. "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", "Star Spangled Banner", etc. It was all very LOUD!

Reno Trip

2009-02-02T09:02:00.006-07:00

The weekend of January 23-25 we flew Southwest to Reno for our daughter Holly's wedding. Holly married Travis Thompson. They will be moving to Dallas this spring so Holly can go to graduate school at Texas Women's College. Our oldest son, Ryan and his fiance Dionna Bradford were able to come to the wedding too. Ryan and Dionna are getting married March 4 in San Diego and we will be flying out for that wedding too. This time we will take more time and stay at the Worldmark Resort Hotel Downtown.

Maggie stayed at the Crossroads Pet Hotel and Spa in Franklin.

Utah to Tennessee and Back

2008-11-01T20:18:00.006-06:00

I left October 3 for Tennessee in the Punkin' pulling a loaded 5'x5'x8' cargo trailer. I crossed Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. Maggie went with me. She is a good traveler. We were sure glad to see Joanna. I only had one incident on the way out. Somewhere in Arkansas I stopped for gas and the pump wasn't working right and failed to shut off. Quite a bit of gasoline spilled. The station operators didn't seem to care about the spill. There were people standing around smoking. So I called my On-Star and had them call the local fire department to come and wash down the dangerous gasoline spill. I left before the excitement. In addition to taking the trip to Virginia, we explored some new places with Maggie. There is a Dog Park near the county pound called "Maggie's Bark Park". We took Maggie there a couple of times. One day there were two other bassetts there. They hung out. While I am in Utah, Maggie is staying at Crossroad Doggie Day Care. It's in a veterinarian run clinic just around the corner from Joanna's work. Joanna reports that Maggie comes home "pooped". On the way back I took interstates almost all the way. The only time I got off was once in St. Louis where they are working on interchanges and the one I was supposed to take was closed and I drove about 15 miles thru the city to get back on my route. Another time was in Kansas but that was planned. At least it was better than the "short-cut" I took going out that took me thru some Arkansas back country, on dirt roads, etc. I learned that choosing "Shortest Distance" on the Magellan is not the best if you aren't familiar with the area. Gas prices started falling after I started my trip. Gas was the highest in Utah when I left ($289.9). It was cheapest in Independence, MO.

Trip to Virginia

2008-10-27T22:16:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we drove to Martinsville, Virginia, to help some friends of ours, Larry and Laura Winikur, move into their new clinic between Martinsville and Danville. Larry and his PA were trying to operate Piedmont Pain Clinic in Danville and Martinsville and decided to build a new clinic half-way between the two cities. Joanna spent a half-day training the billing staff and Laura spent the same time with the front desk ladies at the Martinsville Office. Maggie and I watched. We drove to the new clinic and Joanna worked with the ladies some more. We went to dinner at a pizza place in the same plaza. Larry and Laura then took us to their Martinsville home where we spent the night. First we watched a movie (Mr. Woodcock) in their home theater that has a seven foot-wide screen and HD projector with THX sound. Then we relaxed in their spa in the back deck. Maggie enjoyed the fenced back yard. Their house is for sale and Larry and Laura are living at their lake house in North Carolina. On Saturday we spent all day at the new clinic. I went shopping with Larry and he bought some office supplies and two card scanners for the front desk. I installed the scanners and configured them to work with AdvancedMD. I also got Laura's CMS15oo's to line up on her printer. We got back to the house about 6:30 and weren't tired (since we slept in that morning) and decided to drive back to Nashville. We got to our apartment at 3:30 am. It was a great adventure. We crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains, drove the crookedest highway and enjoyed the fall scenery.

2008-10-10T10:06:00.008-06:00

I arrived at our apartment in Brentwood about 1:30 am. Joanna waited up for me. Thursday after work, Todd and Adam from Joanna's work stopped by and helped us unload the trailer. One of our neighbors, Bobby, helped too. Most of the stuff made the trip ok. A gallon can of year's supply Tang toppled and the floor of the trailer was covered with orange powder. I'm going to lunch with Joanna and some of her friends to a sushi bar. My Magellan sent me in circles when I entered Arkansas. I traveled thru Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma,Missouri and Tennessee. There was a lot of up and down, twisting and turning and even unpaved one-lane roads ( in Arkansas). Maggie did real well on the trip and made friends everywhere we stopped.

2008-10-05T22:29:00.002-06:00

The Utah house is listed with Re/Max and is on the Wasatch Front MLS. The description, pictures and virtual tour should be on the web Monday. I bought a small cargo trailer to take some stuff back to Tennessee. I worried about spending the money and then I opened an envelope from the mortgage bank that I thought was just a bill and there was a cashier's check for $1000 refunding an overcharge of origination fees. We are truly being blessed. Joanna and I really feel that we are being guided and sustained in this move to Tennessee. I leave tomorrow on a journey of about 2000 miles, one way. Maggie will be traveling with me. I appreciate my good neighbors helping me load the trailer. The next post will be from Tennessee and I should have some pics of my trip.

Just Joined

2008-10-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

I just joined blogger.com and have already located several friends and neighbors. I will try and post weekly so our kids and family can be informed as to our location on the planet and activities. ...which will be something very new as they never have bothered in the past. We are fortunate to have made many dear friends in our travels. Proving herewith, you can pick your nose and your friends but you are stuck with your family. I will be encouraged to post some pictures also.