Thurs night, Fri and Sat 4/10, 11, 12/08

After work Thursday afternoon Bruce, Jasmine and I struck out for Iowa. All was well in our world. Bruce's Aunt Beverly called to tell us to let them know when we were at the Iowa border and they would put dinner in the oven. A few minutes later she called back and told us to slow down because there was a tornado between us and them. We took note of the sky and turned the radio on. Sure enough. There was a huge storm just north and east of us - the direction we were rapidly approaching. About a minute later we saw the tornado. I was so flabbergasted that I totally forgot I had the camera in the back seat. RATS!! The tornado went out of our site while we stood at the Iowa rest area so we proceeded. This is what the sky looked like after the tornado left: We went a little farther saw more clouds and heard on the radio that a tornado had strruck near Numa which is a very short distance from the farm. Yikes. Just before we got to Numa we could see flashing lights. Soon we saw the house that had been struck by the tornado and I shot these pictures while we were waiting for the debris on the road to be cleared. Note that the people on the left side of the picture are standing on the roof from the right side of the house. The fence line across the road from the house was full of insulation and debris from the house. The cattle were wandering around as if nothing had happened. The road was opened and we went on to the farm. We were really glad to get out of the car! Bob and Beverly had fixed a delicious dinner - turkey spaghetti and baked sauerkraut. Now before you go any farther you need to know that both were DELICIOUS. I've got the recipe for the sauerkraut and I'll be making it very soon. YUM YUM. We had a great visit with Bob and Dean (her real name is Beverly but Bruce calls her Dean) and we were off to bed about 11:00. Early Friday morning we were treated to a wonderful breakfast casserole before we went to town to get the U-haul truck. We went to the assisted living center and picked up all the belonging we had left in storage there when Bruce moved his mom to the nurning home. We were back to the farm by 9:20 and began loading furniture and boxes. Oh my. I started off like a spring chicken and by the time we were finished I was moaning and whining and just acting awful. I did get my second wind (so to speak) after a heaping helping of ham and beans. At 12:30 we took off for Kansas City and this is what I saw for the next 4 hours. That is not smoke coming from the tires - it is water from all the rain. YUK! We arrived at the apartment about 4:30 and unloaded everything we had just loaded - more whining and griping. Amy came by after work and helped us move the big items. We placed all the furniture, set up the bed and started unloaded boxes. Rob and Bev Henning dropped by with a nice bottle of German wine. Oh that tasted good. Bruce and I delivered a chair to Amy's condo and then went to the RV to disconnect the water because the weatherman predicted a hard freeze. By 11:00 we were back and the apartment. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We were off to bed for our first night's sleep in the apartment. Man alive it is quiet in there. Saturday morning about 5:00 our feet hit the floor so we could go to the lake. You see, we had to get to the condo and get the countertops removed so the new ones could be installed on Friday. Here's the work in progress now: This afternoon we went to Lowe's and picked out the paint for the condo. That's after the new countertops get put in. WHAT WERE WE THINKING ANYWAY!! Sunday morning it is back to the city so we can clean the inside of the RV, organize the apartment and get ready to go to work. WORK???? WHAT WAS I THINKING ANYWAY>?.

Pictures

Today was the World's Fair at Logan Junior High in Topeka, KS. This is Michael, our youngest grandson. He studied Lithuania. This a little bit of what Michael learned. Our son Alex, our daughter-in-law Joy and Michael. This is Michael's class. You can't see anything of Michael except for his arms and the very tip of his head toward the back on the right side. ---------------------------- Here is the front door of our new apartment at 11718 S Alcan Street, Olathe, KS 66062. Jasmine REALLY likes the grass here. Amy helped us haul many loads in from the attached garage. Thanks Amy! Actually she came over to save us from killing each other last night. The euphoria had ended. Amy and Bruce enjoying dinner - note she is standing and he is kneeling on the floor since we have no furniture yet. Bruce has a place for the bikes. Melissa, celebrating her 28th birthday. Alex and our grandson James at Melissa's birthday dinner. Bruce and the birthday girl Melissa. Pie at Amy's dining room table after Texas Roadhouse. Amy's new living room and dining area. Isn't that accent color great? Amy's bedroom with the new paint. A view from above Bagnell Dam at Lake of the Ozarks. 11 of the 12 floodgates are open. A view of Atlantis - a condo complex built on an island - on LOZ. The most handsome man and most loving dog I've ever seen! A view from below Bagnell Dam. It reminded me of Niagra Falls. Spring at Sunrise Ridge Condominiums (our lake home).

Snookie, I finally got in gear and downloaded some pictures just for you girl.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Happy Birthday! A few short years ago a beautiful baby girl was born. She was absolutely the most beautiful baby I had ever seen in my life! She was mine. The first time I went to the nursery (there was no such thing as having the baby in your room in Grand Island, NE) that beautiful baby girl of mine was propped up on her arms looking around with her chest about three inches off the bed. She was one very strong baby and to this day she is one very strong young lady! The next time I went down she was all cuddled up sleeping with her thumb in her mouth and was just as content as possible. To this day, there is nothing like a good long nap to make Melissa feel happy and content! Great memories of a great daughter! I've been working my self way too hard for someone that has only four days of freedom left. A week ago today Bruce and I drove to the lake after he got off work. After a long week of apartment shopping for me and a long week of working for Bruce, we were ready for some relaxation. I hadn't been to the condo since mid-September so when I walked in it was like entering a palace. I had a whole new appreciation for the condo. Friday we went to town in search of the perfect countertops and paint. It was always our plan that when we returned to the condo (whenever that would be) we would get new counterops to replace the very ugly blue formica and we would have the whole place painted. Friday evening we enjoyed dinner with four good friends from the complex. Saturday we met with the painter and gave him an idea of what we wanted. We also got to tour the Taylors and the Andrews condos. They've been remodeling and redecorating all winter and it shows. WOW! They used the same countertop guy and he's from Olathe (where we are living now) so we were set. We had a painter and a countertop guy. You see, most people avoid laborers from the Ozarks at all cost. Fishing, hunting, sleeping, drinking and whatever is almost always more important than working! Saturday night almost everyone that was at the complex for the weekend met at the clubhouse for a Final Four party. We had a great time getting caught up with lake friends. Suddenly it was Sunday and time to head back to the city. I can't even remember what I did Monday and Tuesday, but it was a lot. Tuesday night our whole family met at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Melissa's birthday. A good time was had by all! Wednesday morning we took possession of our new apartment and I started the process of moving in. I'm REALLY tired of moving! It was fun when I was moving Amy but it is NOT fun now. Amy came over last night and we enjoyed our first "home-cooked" meal in our new apartment. Actually it was frozen food from a bag that we ate while standing at the bar because we have no furniture! The best part is the two-car attached garage. We left the cad and the VW in the garage last night and used the Envoy to haul yet another load of junk from the motor home. It's hard to believe that we had so much stuff packed in that thing. Bruce says it is no wonder we get such lousy mileage. We're carrying around an extra 10 ton stuff. I'm scabbing Internet off of someones unsecured network at the apartment complex so I'm not going to download pictures but I actually did take some! Stay tuned.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

We have an apartment!! YES!! It has two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen (including a wine refrigerator), and two car attached garage. We take possession Saturday, April 12. Now I need to work for sure. I'm busy trying to get the insurance lined up and get our address changed on all the important things. This weekend we'll go to the lake and figure out what we need to bring up here for the apartment. Next weekend we'll go to Iowa and get some of Bruce's mom's furniture so we don't have to buy new and only use it for a couple of years. As of 4/12/08 our address will be 11718 South Alcan Street, Olathe, KS 66062. Here's the website: http://www.pricebrotherskc.com/ApartmentCommunities/Property.asp?Method=PhotoGallery&Id=12 We are floor plan B2-Cheval. Things are coming together. Amy's painter is doing a very nice job. The red gumball accent walls are fantastic. This place rocks! I'm doing laundry and making lists of things to do before we move and before I go to work. I am like the Energizer Bunny when I've got things to do so the bunny is in her element now. There are plenty of things to do! More later.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Another day of apartment hunting and still no place to live! Bev and I looked at way too many places. The one we really liked today had the patio backing up to a very busy street. That's not happening. We looked at too many that were less than ordinary. At 3:00 we were both crashing because we hadn't even taken time to eat so we stopped at Mi Ranchito for some chips, salsa and a good dose of Mexican food. Yum. Bruce met us there and the three of us went and looked at the first place we had been. We were able to cross that one off the list. Our all time favorite is still the place that we thought we were getting on Tuesday. Bruce insisted that if I just asked, they would rent us the model. I allowed him to go in and do the talking and guess what, they will NOT rent us the model. HELLO BRUCE. We have an appointment at 9:00 Thursday morning to look at a larger two bedroom, two bathroom with a double car garage. After the apartment hunting we went to Amy's to help her move her bedroom furniture into place because her bedroom paint was finished. It looks great. We discovered that her bedroom is really big so there is room for her to have a chair in there for tv watching. After a few different arrangements, we settled on one that she likes a lot. We were home by 7:30 and I started working on the security investigation questionnaire for my new job. YUK. The weather man said it was going to rain on Thursday and Bruce decided I shouldn't drive MY new car in the rain so at 10:15 we left for Olathe to pick up the Envoy and drop off the Cad. I also dropped off my questionnaire so Melissa could take it to work with her. We traded cars and were home again by 11:00. Somehow we stayed busy until midnight. That is way too late for people that have to get up at 5:00. I'm starting to wonder what in the world we were thinking!!!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Today was no April's Fool! It was a day that just can't be beat. Bruce went to work as usual. At 9:30 I picked him up and we drove over to Superior Cadillac to pick up our new CTS. Of course we were there longer than expected so about 12:30 Bruce went back to work. I stayed for the "walk around" on the car and had the pleasure of driving it for the first time by myself. What fun. I drove to Olathe to Bev Henning's house. She took us both for a ride. We laughed and giggled like a couple of teenage girls. We both felt like Kate Walsh. We now know the answer to the question - When you turn on your car does it return the favor? YES it does! Bev and I looked at two different apartments. While we were looking at the second one I received five phone calls. One of them was HR making the official offer on the job. The salary was right and I'm going to work on April 14. Bev and I loved the second apartment we looked at and we called Bruce to come over for a tour. He loved it too and we decided to take it. We took Bev home and went to the Center to pick up the Envoy so Bruce could take it to Kari's house. By now it was time to run back to the RV to feed and water the dog so we could take off for Topeka for James' band concert. While we were on the road the apartment complex called and said there was a mix-up and the apartment we wanted had already been rented. RATS. I'm sure there is something equally as nice out there so tomorrow I'll go find it. We arrived in Topeka at the appointed time. James and Michael rode with us to the concert. The percussion section of the band is fantastic. James is one of the stars so we had great fun watching him perform. After the concert we got to meet James' girlfriend Ariel. Alex, Joy, Jame, Michael, Ariel, Bruce and I went to Olive Garden for dinner. We just got home and we'd better get to bed or Bruce will not get any sleep tonight. I'm sorry to say that I forgot the camera when we went to the dealership and then I forgot the camera again tonight. I've got to get better about that because I could have had some fun shots.

Monday Night, 3/31/08

Today was a BIG day!! Bruce worked and I played. About noon I picked up my friend Bev Henning and we went to lunch at the Olive Garden. I enjoyed Zuppa Toscana, salad and bread sticks -my favorite meal. After lunch we went to a car dealer and drove a couple of cars. We had great fun. About 3:00 we picked Bruce up from his work and took him for a ride in a Buick Lucerne. We liked the car but the dealership was way too proud of it so they got to keep it. I took Bev home about 5:30 and Bruce and I went to another dealership. Now remember what I said in my blog this morning - the practical side of me took over and we were going to get a "practical" car. Well here is my practical car: After Bruce left me in AZ to do his job for a month I told him that if he lived 250 years he could never repay me. Well, the pearls were a good start but this totally gets him off the hook. I am one excited woman. This car goes like the wind and is REALLY fun to drive. Bruce enjoyed the drive a little more than I did, especially the part where he could make it a manual transmission and drive it like he was 17 years old. It has a sun roof that covers the whole top of the car. The stereo is a Bose system that can't be beat. It's got a 40 gigabyte hard drive that holds upward of 20,000 songs. I be jammin'. I can hardly wait to drive it on the curvy roads at the lake. One time when we were late for church, I made it to the other side of the lake in 17 minutes. My prediction is that I can make it faster than that now. Oh yes, I have more news too. I was offered a job today - well sort of. The manager called me today and told me that he had 22 applicants but he chose me. HR is supposed to call me tomorrow and make me the formal offer. I hope they offer me a lot because I've got a hefty car payment to make!! More exciting news. We were asked to join a small group Bible study for the summer with three great couples. One of the things we missed the most during our brief retirement was our small group Bible studies. Now we are getting lined up for that too. Like I said in the beginning - this was a BIG day. I better get to bed because tomorrow morning I've got a hot new car to pick up. I've also got to go find us someplace to live since we are both going to be working for 2 years and 5 months. Oh how our life is changing.

Monday, March 31, 2008

While Bruce worked and brought home the bacon, I helped get Amy packed and get ready to move from her apartment to her new condo. By Friday evening the kitchen and bathrooms were finished and the majority of the boxes were out of the apartment and in the condo. It was fun being a part of this important step in her life. Bruce and I are both thankful we are here to help her. Here's Amy's living room prior to the move. Amy and I were picking out colors as the painter was scheduled to arrive on April 1. Our friends Rob and Bev Henning were Amy's first guests. They came by to help with the color choices. Great minds work alike. Bev and I both picked out the same color the accent walls - Red Gumball. I didn't tell her what my choice was and we were surprised that from the hundreds of color choices, we both picked the same color. Amy and Jasmine decided they needed a rest after the stressful color choosing chore was finished. Saturday morning about 8:00 I dropped Amy and Bruce at the U-Haul dealer to pick up the truck. At 8:15 her dad and 7 of her friends all rolled in to help with the move. Josh and Leah Allen were having a little "talk" about who would do what.

J.D. was tasked with disassembling the computer.

Derrick just couldn't believe J.D. was STILL packing the computer. Kari and Allison laughed about how must dust could accumulate in only three years! Bruce removed the last of the nails from the walls. Ann loved operating the Dyson vacuum. She couldn't believe it was Amy's - it isn't. By 9:38 the U-Haul was on it's way to the condo and the apartment was cleaned. J.D. and Derrick rested a minute after hauling everything into the condo. Notice Derrick can pose for a picture and text at the same time!! He learned he just can't test and talk to Kari at the same time. Allison, Kari and Amy attempt to hook up the television, dvd and vcr. Don't they look like they know what they are doing? Amy was please to find out the cable was still active so she could watch tv. Amy's step-mom Vicki made lasagna and Amy's brother Brett made brownies for the workers to enjoy. Kari, Amy, Dave (Amy's dad), Bruce and J.D. enjoy some good conversation over lunch in Amy's new dining room. Yes, Amy does know how to vacuum. She's cleaning the floor in her spare bedroom. Notice, J.D. reassembled the computer so she's ready for the cable man to get her internet hooked up. She's looking for a desk as she probably wouldn't like sitting on the floor too long. It is now 12:00 and the move is finished. Bruce has Amy all tucked in and ready for her first nap in her new home. Those young people know how to work! Bruce and I took off in search of a new car. The practical side of me prevailed and I scrapped the idea of the VW and the Volvo convertibles. It was fun walking on the wild side for a day but in the end the real me kicked in. We drove several cars but came home with our old VW. No decisions have been made but we did eliminate some more vehicles. After our car search we went back to Amy's. Melissa made us a delicious dinner. By now every bone in our body ached so we were sure glad to just sit down at the table and enjoy dinner! Sunday we went to early church and then out to Panera for lunch. When we got home we started cleaning the RV. It was so bad that there was hardly room for us to sit down. The car is now loaded and the RV is CLEAN!! We also finished up some paperwork tasks. We had a very productive Sunday. Spring came to Kansas today. It was 60 when we woke up this morning. The sky is very gray and the wind is howling. Ah yes, now I remember what it is like living in Kansas!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Today was a big day in our Amy's life. She bought a condo - all by herself. We are so proud of her. The day started out rather stressfully because the seller did not take care of the items required by the inspection and the movers made a real mess of ALL of the walls. They also ripped the window covering hardware from the walls in both bedrooms, the dining room and the living room leaving holes in the sheet rock. Amy's realtor, Bruce and I met with an HVAC man about the furnace problems from the inspection and with a painter. After many phone calls, an agreement was reached and the closing went on as scheduled. Part of the problem was that the sellers are 87 years old and they were driving "home" to Milwaukee today with no cell phone. The seller's realtor finally struck an agreement with the seller's daughter whereby she will pay for the repairs and if she doesn't pay, the seller's realtor will pay. This evening Amy, Melissa, Bruce and I enjoyed our first meal in Amy's dining room - on the floor! I made a pot of chicken and rice soup and we warmed it up in Amy's new microwave. Bruce brought us some Smirnoff Ice so we toasted Amy and her new home. After dinner Amy, Bruce and I started the moving process. Amy scrubbed both bathroom and Bruce and I worked in the kitchen. Bruce and Amy will go back to work tomorrow and I'll go to her condo and work on the kitchen some more. I sure wish I had been working out all winter because my dogs are TIRED!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Good Friday was a good day for us. Bruce worked all day and I did errands. I can't remember what I did other than shop for Easter dinner and deliver the food to Amy's kitchen where I will be cooking. I know I did something else but I can't remember for the life of me. I made a really horrible concoction for dinner last night. OH YUK!! I threw mine away but Bruce ate his. He said it's a good thing he doesn't talk about my food like I do. We went to Good Friday service and then went out to eat with our friends Sharon Pierson and Marilyn Bottrell. A good time was had by all. The second dinner was WAY better than the first. What was I thinking anyway? Today was a day of total relaxation and fun for us. This is really the first Saturday since September that we didn't have one commitment. We slept in until 9:15 this morning and it felt great. Remember all those sleepless nights I had in AZ? Well, they seem to be a thing of the past and for that I am very thankful. After breakfast we went to Olathe and picked up Bruce's shirts from the cleaners. We drove through a couple of apartment/townhome complexes but nixed those as there was no tornado shelters. From there we went to Overland Park Mitsubishi to drive a Galant. You see, when we went to the auto show, I decided there were three cars I wanted to check out: Mitsubishi Galant; Volkswagon EOS; Volvo C70. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you are going to drive all three cars in one day you had better take them in the order listed so that is what we did. Each vehicle has it's distinct advantages with the Galant being the best priced vehicle and it gets the best gas mileage. But, oh my that Volvo is a nice car. The front and the back seats are equally comfortable and it drives like a dream. Bruce likes the VW best because the convertible top is not only automatic but it has a sunroof too. For the first time since we have been married, I am going to make the decision about the car. The practical side of me is hollering very loudly. However, if I had a job and if I had a garage, the Volvo would win hands down. Moochers with no job and no income probably shouldn't drive a Volvo!! Stay tuned for the decision. Tonight I'm boiling the eggs and preparing a few things for tomorrow's Easter dinner. Bruce is doing something outside in the total darkness but I don't know what. Maybe I should go and check on him. Jasmine is barking like always. I think she wants a treat or something but who really knows. Since Wisconsin went and beat our K State Wildcats today, we'll be routing for the Badgers all the way!!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

I joined the "techie" world today. Bruce bought me a new Palm Centro phone. We've been looking at it for a long time. Now I have a combination of a phone, a computer, a Palm and an IPOD all in one. Hope I'm smart enough to figure it all out! As soon as AT&T releases Bruce's number, he will be on my Sprint plan too. He will still be using 314-800-4024. Now I can call him all I want - for FREE!! That might not be a good thing for him. Jasmine and I didn't do much of anything all day. Bruce worked hard and made money for me to spend. Isn't he nice to me!! Tonight we went to dinner with Melissa and then celebrated the institution of the Lord's Supper with our church family at Beautiful Savior. We finally had a really nice day in Kansas but we are looking forward to snow for Easter. BRRR.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

This has been a hard week for us. Thursday, March 13, we received a call that Bruce's mom was in the hospital with pneumonia caused by aspiration of some food. We gathered a few things and drove to Iowa to arrive about 8:45 p.m. She was breathing with great difficulty and was not responsive to touch or to talking. Bruce's Aunts and Uncles were there as well as Doris' pastor. Alex and Joy arrived about 11:30. The hospital staff was wonderful with Doris and with us. They were able to give her morphine as often as necessary to keep her comfortable. Bruce, Alex and Joy went to the motel about 2:30 and I stayed the night. All of my non-sleeping nights in Arizona were good practice for me as I wasn't a bit tired. I played lots of games of freecell on my computer and read lots of very comforting Bible chapters. Bruce and Alex came back after a few hours of rest and the three of us spent the morning with Doris watching her slip away. Again, the staff could not have been any better. They explained everything to us. Doris was very peaceful and appeared to be very focused on where she was going. She went to be with the Lord at 11:46 a.m. on Friday, March 14. We are certain that Doris will celebrate the best Easter ever this year! What a glorious reunion she had. Saturday, Melissa and Amy arrived in Centerville about noon. Our family was now together with the exception of James who was with his band in Florida and Michael who was with friends and his other Grandpa in Topeka. What a blessing it was to have our kids with us. We have the best kids going! The funeral was held Monday, March 17 at 3:00 p.m. at the Thomas Lange Funeral Home. Ben and Lauren made all the preparations as easy as possible for us. Pastor Carl Hein and Pastor Nancy from the Christian Church officiated at the service. Our daughter-in-law, Joy Hoover, sang How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace. What a blessing her singing was to all of us. Alex read Psalm 23 and 46 along with John 14:1-7. Carl and Nancy both offered the comforting words. In spite of our sorrow over losing Doris, we were filled with God's promises and blessings. We now have two "good" Fridays to celebrate - Friday, March 14, the day Doris was taken to her home and Good Friday. We thank God for the gift of faith he has given our family. I'm not sure how any of us would have gotten through this loss without our faith. God has been directing our life in a very clear and concise manner for the past couple of months. We had no idea why Bruce was offered a job in Kansas City. We had no idea why Bruce accepted the job in Kansas City. We had no idea why it was made so clear to us that we needed to be in Kansas City. Now we know. We needed to be with Doris on the final leg of her journey home and God brought us to her. Whether you know it or not, there is no such thing as a coincidence! Today, we met with the attorney and did some errands. We had lunch with Bruce's Uncle Bob and Aunt Beverly and came "home". We are both tired but also very much at peace. Bruce's Mom is finally happy and at peace. Thank you to all of our wonderful friends who have offered prayers on our behalf, called, sent emails, sent flowers, sent cards, came to the visitation and the funeral. You are very important to us! May God bless you the way you have blessed us. Many have asked for our address, we are currently using Melissa's address at least until we get settled, whenever that may be. Bruce & DeAnn Hoover, 12115 S. Blackbob Road, Apt 303, Olathe, KS 66062

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Not much going on in our world right now. Bruce is working and is not feeling too great. He can't decide if he has the flu or what but he knows he would rather be in bed than anyplace else right now. The hazards of working! Jasmine and I are hanging around the RV, playing on the computer and watching tv. I guess I should say that I am doing whatever Jasmine wants. Right now she is looking at the sunshine barking at me because she wants to be in the window soaking up the rays. She seems to get more demanding every day. There are a lot of things I should be doing but I'm not doing any of them yet! I did get our taxes filed and the IRS accepted the return. Now we just wait for our money to drop into the bank account. I'm also working on putting together a family reunion and have been having fun playing with different ideas and recipes. Hopefully my next blog session will be more exciting!