Back in Boise May - Sept. 2013

Being "home" has been interesting.  So good seeing friends and catching up.  Our apartment was great and so easy to care for.  House cleaning took about 15 minutes a day.  No yard, hot tub work for us.  Made us feel spoiled.  We would never buy a home again.  We love less is more and when we come back I've got to go into the storage unit and get rid of most of our stuff. 

We've had great mini trips from Boise, a week in Tahoe, Nevada.  A wonderful  7-day cruise to Alaska.  We even spent a few days in Jackpot, Nevada.  So while being home, we weren't really slowed down.

Jackpot, NV

I'm starting to pack up stuff and take down the few things I put on the walls. Didn't see a need to super decorate for a 4 month stay. We did enjoy our apartment --15 steps from pool/hot tub. So much better than trying to keep up one acre and a huge house.  We vacate our apartment September 15th.

John slowly came back to the best his health could be while we were here.  This was a long ordeal - Orlando, April to August, Boise when he started feeling good.  Right at the point of him being at his best we made the trip to Portland VA to have a bi-ventricle pacemaker put in on August 20th.  That was a scary time, but it all went perfect and besides him not being able to lift over 5 lbs., or lift his arm high for several months, he's as good as he was.  What a blessing.  We hope this will help keep his blood pressure higher and give him a little more energy.  They said this device can  possibly extend life.  Living with Cardiac Heart Failure is a delicate balancing act.  So far everything is positive.

Pre-surgery

 

John is getting truck ready to give to Robert in exchange for his car that we will sell. John can't really get out and gold pan in the back country anymore, so no point in that big truck.  He has enjoyed being able to go to his two gold and metal detecting monthly meetings while here.  He was able to volunteer in Idaho City for Kokanee Days, and for the Meridian middle school yearly Rendezvous to teach gold panning - one of his favorite things to do.

Robert has been living with us in Boise.  He has actually been with us since March when he came down to Cancun.  He has a full time job as a security guard at Boise Towne Square and has an interesting story to share almost every night.  You would not believe what happens and what people are capable of at the mall.   Robert will stay in Boise for a bit and then join us in Florida to go to school to get his A&P license.  His school will take 14 months and then he will have a great career.

When we head out on September 15th, we'll go to Reno for one night, then Pismo Beach, Solvang (to eat and eat Danish pastry and have some Anderson Split Pea Soup).  Then down to our old stomping grounds in Long Beach to visit friends.  We then go to a resort at Cathedral City for a week from which we will visit friends in the area -  Hemet, El Cajon and Idyllwild.  I used to be a camp counselor for many years in Idyllwild and can't wait to see it again, even though they just had a huge fire that luckily spared homes and cabins.  The entire small town was evacuated.  What a fire year we had out West.

My favorite pastry in the world

Danish waffle - puff pastry, butter cream and

raspberry jam - unreal

 

So that's the basic plan through September.  It will be great to get to see friends we have not seen for years and years.  It will be so good to be on the road again.  I will be writing my blog again so if you want to know what we're doing or where we are you can check in on us.

Plan:
California
Arizona
New Mexico
New Orleans
Florida

 

Back in Boise May - Sept. 2013

Being "home" has been interesting.  So good seeing friends and catching up.  Our apartment was great and so easy to care for.  House cleaning took about 15 minutes a day.  No yard, hot tub work for us.  Made us feel spoiled.  We would never buy a home again.  We love less is more and when we come back I've got to go into the storage unit and get rid of most of our stuff. 

We've had great mini trips from Boise, a week in Tahoe, Nevada.  A wonderful  7-day cruise to Alaska.  We even spent a few days in Jackpot, Nevada.  So while being home, we weren't really slowed down.

Jackpot, NV

I'm starting to pack up stuff and take down the few things I put on the walls. Didn't see a need to super decorate for a 4 month stay. We did enjoy our apartment --15 steps from pool/hot tub. So much better than trying to keep up one acre and a huge house.  We vacate our apartment September 15th.

John slowly came back to the best his health could be while we were here.  This was a long ordeal - Orlando, April to August, Boise when he started feeling good.  Right at the point of him being at his best we made the trip to Portland VA to have a bi-ventricle pacemaker put in on August 20th.  That was a scary time, but it all went perfect and besides him not being able to lift over 5 lbs., or lift his arm high for several months, he's as good as he was.  What a blessing.  We hope this will help keep his blood pressure higher and give him a little more energy.  They said this device can  possibly extend life.  Living with Cardiac Heart Failure is a delicate balancing act.  So far everything is positive.

Pre-surgery

 

John is getting truck ready to give to Robert in exchange for his car that we will sell. John can't really get out and gold pan in the back country anymore, so no point in that big truck.  He has enjoyed being able to go to his two gold and metal detecting monthly meetings while here.  He was able to volunteer in Idaho City for Kokanee Days, and for the Meridian middle school yearly Rendezvous to teach gold panning - one of his favorite things to do.

Robert has been living with us in Boise.  He has actually been with us since March when he came down to Cancun.  He has a full time job as a security guard at Boise Towne Square and has an interesting story to share almost every night.  You would not believe what happens and what people are capable of at the mall.   Robert will stay in Boise for a bit and then join us in Florida to go to school to get his A&P license.  His school will take 14 months and then he will have a great career.

When we head out on September 15th, we'll go to Reno for one night, then Pismo Beach, Solvang (to eat and eat Danish pastry and have some Anderson Split Pea Soup).  Then down to our old stomping grounds in Long Beach to visit friends.  We then go to a resort at Cathedral City for a week from which we will visit friends in the area -  Hemet, El Cajon and Idyllwild.  I used to be a camp counselor for many years in Idyllwild and can't wait to see it again, even though they just had a huge fire that luckily spared homes and cabins.  The entire small town was evacuated.  What a fire year we had out West.

My favorite pastry in the world

Danish waffle - puff pastry, butter cream and

raspberry jam - unreal

 

So that's the basic plan through September.  It will be great to get to see friends we have not seen for years and years.  It will be so good to be on the road again.  I will be writing my blog again so if you want to know what we're doing or where we are you can check in on us.

Plan:
California
Arizona
New Mexico
New Orleans
Florida