"Goodbye, Boat."
One week ago today, we took our last boat ride. It was a bitter/sweet event
for me. The "sweet" part was that selling the boat meant that the condo
was also sold, but the "bitter" part was that I so enjoyed having that boat
that it was really hard to say goodbye. We took a nice ride on a perfect
day and thanked it for the good times and for being the key in the sale
of the condo. That ended the boating chapter of my adult life. :-)
Here's Jerry in his last voyage as "captain." Below is his bald crew member.
Yep, Gramma Judy is bald again. I shaved it off myself a week or two ago.
(I pretended to be Brittney Spears.) It was falling out in hands full, so I figured
it was time. There are a few stubborn "whiskers" that are holding on, but they
will be gone soon. Meanwhile, I often get caught in a weird situation.
Depending on the fabric I have my head against, that stubble can kind
of act like velcro and I get kind of locked in! Life is such an adventure.
Bidding farewell to the condo was a totally happy event. It is the second
one from the right on the top in this photo. The manager of the condos
says we can still use the pool anytime we want, so what more could you
want?
Here's Jerry inside the condo waiting for our final walk thru. It passed, so
we closed on it last Friday a.m. What a huge relief! We didn't make any
money on the sale, but we feel blessed that it sold -- especially in this
lousy housing market!
The buyers are from Overland Park, KS. They were all ready to enjoy their first
weekend as homeowners on the Lake of Ozarks. We wish them many, many more.
After the closing, we drove to Kansas City to spend the weekend.
We did some more "area hunting" while there this weekend.
This is a lovely home, very nicely priced, in an area south of
Rob and Susan, not far from I-435. We also looked in the
Northland, specifically Gladstone. The market is not great in KC
either and prices seem to be dropping, which is to our advantage
as we have plenty of time to actually go "house hunting." This
was one with lots of potential, but a ranch is probably a smarter
way for us to go.
The inside was very "70-ish" but I love to decorate, so that was
not a problem. Because we will be heading north to Iowa fairly
often, and because our friends and family who come to visit us
will mostly be coming from that direction, the northern part of the
city is probably where we should focus --- when the time comes.
Wherever we are from Rob and Susan will be so much closer than
ever before, any distance involved there should not be a huge issue.
We have a couple who appeared out of nowhere today who seem
VERY interested in our house! I will keep you posted!
We had a great time with the kids. Rob and Susan have no kitchen.
They are in the process of totally "gutting" the one they have had
and making it all new. It was very brave of them to take on house
guests under those circumstances, but all worked out fine.
Cody, Amy, Jude and Elena drove down from Des Moines, so I got
to see four out of five of the grandkids! Awesome! I was a little puny
from chemo, so I mostly just watched from a distance. I don't dare
pick up any flu or cold bugs, but even though I couldn't get right down
on the floor to play with them, it was still wonderful to see and spend
time with them. Elena is really developing a personality, so it was
especially fun to watch her. The boys were busy playing most of
the time, and Tessa was never too far away from Elena. She is a
terrific babysitter!
Sam lost both of his front teeth about 8 months ago. He's been
patiently waiting for the replacements to appear for a very long
time. Finally, it has started to happen. You can see the one
shining example, and the other is starting to peek through as well.
He's delighted. He's lookin' good, :-)
Jude and Rob enjoyed a little "tickle time" before they had to return to
Des Moines. 
Here's Cody with his precious cargo ready to load the car.
Elena is not allowed to leave without the traditional round of
hugs and kisses.
Thursday is golf day for Jerry, so that's where he is as we speak.
He has a great time and enjoys the golf a lot. I often use this day
as a chance to enjoy a little Chinese food, which is where I think
I am headed shortly.
The chemo I am on keeps my tummy kind of stirred up, so I am
always trying to find something that sounds good to eat. I'll try
a little beef lo mien and see how that goes. The tuna casserole
this noon didn't do the trick.
I had an MRI this morning and am scheduled for a CT scan next
week. The MRI was ordered by a liver specialist. I think they are
hoping to find a surefire method to eliminate the liver tumors as soon
as this chemo helps things along. My tumor markers had climbed
to 336 and after one treatment, they dropped by 30 points. They
still have a long way to go, but at least they changed direction
and are going down instead of up!
If the chemo can shrink the big tumor and eliminate the small ones,
they will have some leeway to try some new techniques. I'm hoping
for good things.
Not much else to report. It's starting to look like fall around here.
Our town of Laurie is having a "Hillbilly Festival" this weekend,
and it is also the weekend of a 25-mile garage sale along highway
5. I think it might be a little too exciting; we are not accustomed
to so much wild and crazy stuff! :-)
I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and having a great time.
As always, thanks for your continued prayers and good wishes.
We love you all,
Judy and Jerry
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