Welcome to hell

Tuesday last I had a functional capacity assessment- with the acronym of hell. Basically I spent several hours with a physical therapist, doing tasks that imitate a work day. Instead of typing on a computer though, I was flipping wooden discs upside down, over and over as fast as I could. First the right hand, then the left. Unscrewing nuts from bolts was particularly fascinating, that had to be done for 5 minutes at a time, also over and over. Then he handed me a hand-grip with a pressure gauge on it, to check my hand strength. Over and over. After the first hour I was so tired I could barely stand, but we just kept going. Walking with 5 pound weights, then 10. My hip joints were on fire, my knee kept popping and spitting at me.

Then we went to the really fun stuff- pushing a sled with handles across the floor. It simulated pushing a grocery cart, forward, then backward. The all time favorite was the stairs... anyone that knows me understands how darn much fun that brings into my life. We finished about 1:30, I don't know, I was almost unconscious by that time. I cleverly shuffled out the door, luckily I'd brought my trusty cane. David bought me a taco at the Bell, and I fell asleep, and slept the 2 1/2 hours home. Crawled into bed, slept some more. Couldn't eat, too tired.

The good news is that when he called to check on me the next day, he said his report would give physical proof that I'm not ready to work 40 hours a week. Seeing that I was hoping I just wouldn't have to wake up on , Wednesday, I think he's right. I love to stay active and feel useful, but my active is a whole lot different than it used to be. Guess going 90 miles an hour for so long has taken it's toll, and the Lord wants me to slow down and 'smell the roses'.

Whatta Summer!

OK, it's nearly been 2 months since I've blogged here. The best part of the summer of course was Nic and Gina's wedding on August 28, it was beautiful! They are beautiful and so much in love. We spent 2 days in Manti, Utah, a quaint little town in central Utah that is off the beaten track. It has a beautiful, old, granite temple there, and that's where they were married. All of David's siblings were there, most of mine also. Gina's family was also well represented, nearly all of her aunts and uncles made the trip too. People come from Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona to be there with them, with Heather and Jared flying in from New Hampshire. We even had friends drive all the way from Canada! Joining the family's together makes the name game quite interesting- Gina's father and brother are David's, one of her aunts is Elaine, they both have aunt Debbie's, two Tom's, two Tim's, the list goes on. It was wonderful, and most of Gina's immediate family are coming down this weekend for the Open House we're having for them here. My family won't be here, because my nephew Dylan is getting married tomorrow, and they are going up there. I love our family, they are so willing to come and support each other, it's awesome!

Ok, now the hard part. My dear friend Julie Hutchin's father died the same day Nic and Gina were married. His funeral was the day before Mom Farr's memorial, that was a really, really tough weekend. Gene and Barbara Hutchins are like my 2nd parents, when we were in high school I stayed with them all the time. Even when Julie was down at ASU, I would drop in and visit them, I love them so much. Gene was 91 years old I think, and he lived life OUT LOUD! He was an amazing entrepeneur, however you spell that. He was so funny and creative, he loved to travel; he and Barbara have literally been all over the world. Barbara wrote a book about South America in the '70s, and wrote for the Prescott Courier for years. It was hard to say goodbye to him.

The week after the funerals, another friend, Larissa Castilleja, was hit and killed while riding her bicycle in Kingman. One minute here, vibrant and alive, the next she's gone, because of a hit-and-run driver. So, frankly, I've been in mourning for the past couple months, trying to say goodbye to people that were so important in my life, while also celebrating a new marriage and trying not to be too morose. It's taken a while to be able to even write about it.

Anyhow, what I've gotten out of all of this is to CELEBRATE LIFE! I want to live out loud, do the things I've always wanted to do, and not be afraid to be myself. Here's to wonderful tomorrows!

Summertime

I've been very bad about writing here this summer. Numerous reasons, but a slowpoke none the less. The weather has been busy- thunder clouds every day in the p.m., but doesn't rain every day. It's enough to knock me out for hours, but not enough to put moisture on the ground. We had a good rain Thurs-Sat, in the afternoon. My garden loves it! I've been picking cucumbers, squash, peppers and a few tomatoes. The potatoes have done really well- I planted Yukon Golds and we've had potatoes regularly for the past month. The plants have died, so now I'm trying to get the energy to put something else in that row. Too hot out!

Well, the Haines Family reunion is next week, I have the books back, they look really good! I need to get packed and ready to leave on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the relatives. I'm already starting to think about compiling a Balmes book, but I have to wait until we get the reunion, wedding and Mom Farr's memorial party over with. We are having a party to celebrate her life over Labor Day weekend.

Moving On

We are doing much better this week, thanks to all for your condolences. We moved the last of Mom Farr's things from Austin House to the garage on Saturday.

Jon, Kathy, David and I first went to Prescott, where Kathy helped me find a dress to wear to Nic and Gina's wedding. What a relief! I hate to shop anymore, if I ever enjoyed it, can't remember. Once in a while I get an urge to mall-crawl; maybe once a year or less. But it had to be done, I have to have a nice dress for the wedding. The hardest thing was not having Heather here to help me. She's become quite the fashion maven. She's even given me an approved list of people that can help me shop, and frankly, being alone is not on the list! And I wasn't allowed to find a dress at Walmart. Here in Cottonwood we have very few places to shop, so it was a relief to go to Prescott where there were more options. Kathy found something at Dillard's almost immediately, so I think I'm ready for the wedding. Fashionwise anyhow.

I can't believe how fast the end of August is steamrolling toward us, quickly we'll be driving up to Utah for the wedding! Before we do that though, we have a family reunion the end of the month, that's just a couple weeks away now, I'm not sure I'm ready for that either. It will be fun though, I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of family, playing at Lyman Lake, hopefully relaxing a little.

Sad Passing

Well, David's Mom passed away on Monday, about 1:30 in the morning. That's why I haven't posted much the past few weeks, I was over there every day. She had a couple mini-strokes in June, then shortly after I came back from Nevada she had a fall. It was downhill from there, she dropped a little more every day. She was a peace before she died, and most of the family was able to see her and talk to her. It was amazing, she had her faculties in tact- Friday morning she reminded us that her rent needed to be paid!

Life just seems to move so fast, I was looking at our wedding pictures, with David's parents standing by us. We were so young and naive! We thought we were oh so mature, criminy, we didn't have a clue. Mom and Dad looked great, they were moving toward their 60's then. Ouch, we are their age now. Where did all those years go, the many memories that have faded from view, crowded out by today, and all the events that have happened in recent times.

OK, enough of that. I finished the Haines book, it is actually at the Publishers right now. It has as many stories as I could gather, and over 200 family pictures in it. I'm pretty happy about it, but you know there will be things I've missed, and mistakes I wish I could fix. But, it's done, and I'm very happy about that!