We were absolutely stunned when we got the news that Marva Nicholls had passed away. We had just celebrated her birthday with her on Monday, and she passed away on Friday. I will forever be grateful that we had such a good visit with her on her birthday. She was laughing, joking, and just so delightful.
On Monday, August 28, 2023, several sisters from the Pleasant View 10th Ward went to see Marva Nicholls and sing to her for her birthday. I will. be eternally grateful to Becky Cragun for putting this activity together for Marva! She was absolutely delighted. She told us that we could come back the next day with a cake and sing again! LOL
We sang Happy Birthday to Marva, then we sang 3 hymns. She was delighted. What a treasured memory this is for all of us!
Keith and I were in shock when I was going through the obituaries a few weeks after surgery and realized that Sylvia Reynolds had passed away. She died on July 22, 2023, the day after I had shoulder surgery. I was so sad that we didn't know and didn't go to the funeral.
Keith and I had stopped at John and Sylvia's house several times and kept missing him. Keith left him a voicemail message. Unfortunately, he had changed phones and we didn't have the correct number for him. We stopped by to see him a week after he had buried her. He was pretty sad, but happy for the visit. We sure do love the Reynolds and we were sad that John had lost Sylvia.
Sylvia and John are such amazing people. Sylvia will truly be missed.
During my first two weeks of recovery, Keith and I had an appointment to see his Neurologist in West Valley. We stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised when they actually had Chicken Costeletta available. It is my all time favorite. It was a little hard to eat since the dentist had just given me a retainer to wear since they knocked out my bridge during my shoulder surgery.
Such a small thing, but a happy thing...to have a meal I have been wanting since 2020 when COVID hit.
I didn't even want cheesecake after that delicious meal. It's the little things that make me happy!
Back to School for Braxton!
Back To School for Reno Kids
It is hard to believe that three are seniors, two are freshmen, and one is in 8th grade.
Skyler is in pre-school. Next year...Kindergarten!
On June 30, 2023, I retired from Weber State University. I didn't even have time to unpack my totes, when the grandkids from Reno came to stay with us for 10 days. After they went home, we had a few days to put the house back together and get caught up on the laundry.
Then, that Friday, I had oral surgery. I had two teeth pulled and two posts set for implants and a bridge. It was quite painful, and I won't be done with teeth until the November/December timeframe.
On Monday, July 17, 2023, I had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. The news wasn't good. I have several tears on my rotator cuff, labor tear and a bi-cep tear. I would need surgery right away...as in Friday of that week (21st). It was terrible news. I had no time to plan, prepare, before I was stuck in a sling for 6 weeks not able to do anything. I came home and cleaned bathrooms, canceled my dinner at the Timberline with Norm's direct reports, and several lunches I had planned. What a bummer!
I had surgery on July 21, 2023, and it was horrendous. So painful and so depressing not being able to do anything except sit in the recliner and ice my shoulder. After 3 weeks, I started physical therapy. It has been brutal to say the least. I am getting a little bit of movement after 6 weeks.
I am so grateful to our Ward who provided meals 3 times a week for 6 weeks. I cannot imagine what we would have done without them. I am grateful for the texts, and visits. I am grateful for those willing to put my hair in a ponytail so that it wouldn't get caught in the velcro on my sling and ice machine.
During my recovery time, a lot of things have happened. I also made several trips to the dentist. I had trouble with the retainer he made me, so he made me another one. The problem is that I have to take it out to eat. Bummer!
The Reno kids started back to school, Braxton started school, Sylvia Reynolds passed away and Marva Nicholls passed away. I found my new mantra and we went to Jamie's to watch the kids for 5 days while she and Dusty went to Burning Man. We had our "Maiden Voyage" in the new electric truck. What a shitshow! 15 hours to get to Reno and 16 hours to get home. I was so sore and sick of the truck, sick of charging stations and worrying about how much of a charge we had. So stressful. I don't even want to travel in the truck more than 100 miles or less.
In the meantime, my blog stopped working, so I had to create a new one. This is my new blog: Sugar Cookie Grandma Part 2. Hopefully I will get caught up on things soon so that I can post the pictures and happenings so far.
I am praying that we willl be able to enjoy our trip to Europe and that we will be able to navigate the airports and on our excursions.
