My Mom

My Confidant,
My Mentor,
My Proof Reader,
My Therapist,
The person who would never judge me,
Who always knew the right thing to say,
Who was always there to push me in the right direction,
The driving force in all things "Me"
A very close friend,
And above all, my Mom

She was all these things to me, and many more that I can't even begin to list. My Mom's love and kindness knew no bounds.

Today, there is a piece of me missing now that she isn't here. Yet still, although life is indeed different, I can feel that my Mom is very much alive in me, and in all of her friends and family with the love that she so freely gave. I feel that she lives on in all of us.

When I close my eyes, I see her. When I go to sleep, I talk to her in my dreams. When I feel stressed, I hear her telling me that she's proud of me. When I wish she could see what neat new thing Brandon's doing, I feel her in the room watching. When I feel lonely or sad, I feel her arms around me in a hug. All the things I had before, I still have each day, just in different way than they used to be.

I pray to God pretty much every morning, and since early in the year when she passed away, I asked God every day to heal her pain, to help me to be closer to Him. To live in the hearts of my family and friends so that we may all feel and share His love...and He answered. Her pain is gone, and she hurts no more.

After her soul had left for Heaven, and her body was still here with us, I was confused, I didn't understand why God would take her from me, from Brandon, from my Dad, from all of us, when she still had many years to live. We weren't ready to let her go. I still don't know why He took her when He did, and I probably won't until I join Him in heaven and can ask Him face to face.

One thing that I do know is that, without a doubt, my Mom was a gift from God. And what a gift she was. For me, for my Dad, for my Grandparents, for my Uncle, for all of us. A gift that is still with us, each and every day. There has been more than one time where I felt God act directly in my life through a specific event, but I never truly saw how he acted in my life each and every day through the love that my Mom had for me.

As much of a stretch as it is to think, Heaven may have fallen a little short on love, and needed my Mom to fill in the gap. I say this tongue in cheek, but maybe Heaven needed some help getting organized; and who better to fill that role but my Mom.

I don't know who wrote this, but I find it a fitting description of my Mom:

Her love is like an island
In life's ocean, vast and wide
A peaceful, quiet shelter
From the wind, the rain, the tide.

'Tis bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the West,
By tender Counsel on the South
And on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light
Shine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;
And thro' the changing scenes of life
I find a haven there.

While my Mom's light on this Earth has dimmed, it shines brighter than ever in Heaven, shining down on me, on Brandon, on my Dad, on all of us, waiting until God calls us home so we can be together again.

I Love You Mom,
Brian

Now that I am gone,
remember me with smiles and laughter.
And if you need to cry,
cry with our loved ones
who walk in grief beside you.
And when you need me,
put your arms around anyone
and give to them what you need to give to me.
There are so many who need so much.
I want to leave you something --
something much better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I've known
or helped in some special way.
Let me live in your heart
as well as in your mind.
You can love me most
by letting your love reach out to our loved ones,
by embracing them and living in their love.
Love does not die, people do.
So, when all that's left of me is love,
give me away as best you can.

The weather was very nice in Bishop when we left at 8 am. Here in Lotus, CA near Placerville, CA, it is pretty warm. 10 pm and it is still 80 degrees. Not complaining a bit though. Found a nice spot with trees around us. It didn't take long for Chris to take the dogs for a swim in the American River and they found a playmate at the river, a chocolate male Labrador who was very generous and shared his ball with our dogs.



MONO LAKE, CA
Mono Lake is located north of Bishop and 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California. Mono Lake is unique. Mono Lake was 60 times larger than the 66 square miles it covers today. It is naturally salty and loaded with alkalinity because it has no outlet.

The City of Los Angeles has been diverting water from the Mono Basin since 1941. That diversion has cut the lake volume in half and has doubled its alkalinity and salinity. An extended court fight has finally stopped the water diversion and Mono Lake is once again growing.

We were on the road at 6:00 am this morning headed for Bishop.

Stopped at the site of the former Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp south of Big Pine. We last visited the camp in 1997 and to our surprise there has been a great deal of work done on the site such as signage showing where buildings were and partial restoration of corner sections. Also major cleanup of weeds and debril. In 1942 the US Government ordered more than 110,000 Japanese-American people interred during WWII. Manzanar is just 1 of 10 camps established. If you'd like more information on Manzanar, check out the Internet (there are also pictures)

No visit to Bishop is complete without stopping at Erik Schat's Bakkery (yes 2 k's) for original Sheepherder Bread. Sheepherder bread was introduced to the Owens Valley during the California Gold Rush by immigrant Basque sheepherders who missed the bread of their homeland. Loaves are shaped by hand and baked in stone hearth ovens. Bread isn't the only food available at the Bakkery. There's pastries, fancy desserts, cookies, etc. People come from all over to buy bread here and it is a big tourist draw.

As you can see, there are no pictures shown. Yep, my computer played tricks on me tonight and after I downloaded the pictures, it wanted to go play "hide'n seek". Well, the pictures are hidden so well that I can't find them and they are gone from my camera stick also.

So much for our first day on the road.

Tomorrow is the day we hit the road for our long awaited "get out of Needles before it gets hot trip". My back is hurting somewhat but I'm not going to let that stop us from leaving. Can hardly wait to get to Orangevale, CA and see that grandson of ours who is now 9 months old.

Keep checking my blog as I'll do my best to provide scenic pictures and info along the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is no secret that the More family on Chris' side and then me for 36 years enjoy hunting for rocks. It appears that Brandon has inherited this interest; however, he prefers to taste the rock first before deciding if it is a "keeper"! Obviously this one didn't pass the taste test.

For all of the locals in Needles, Mohave Valley and Bullhead City, this landmark has been a part of all our lives for many years. I've lived here 36 years and every trip to Bullhead City, I look to see if she has new clothes on. Some mystery person(s)changes her clothes to fit in with major holidays and the Harley Run. One time the "cross" post was removed and people went ballistic until it was returned.

This is one of those simple things in life that makes you feel good!

I injured a muscle in my back causing horrible pain on June 3rd while doing physical therapy on a piece of equipment called a "shuttle". My regular physician recommended that I do water physical therapy so went to another facility and 4 weeks into the therapy, the muscle did the same thing again.

So today I went to a Pain Management Clinic in Henderson, Nevada and the doctor highly recommended I have a series of epidural steroid shots. Usually it is a series of 3 shots given 2 weeks apart but he feels I could get by with one or possible 2 shots......................in the meantime, his recommendation was to
use the following until I felt no pain whatsoever!

See Below:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

I was amazed how quick the cotton grows in the fields along Arizona 95.

SUMMER

This weekend is supposed to provide us with a big "heat wave", the hottest so far this summer. Even our pool water has been averaging 94 degrees.

Wishing you all a wonderful and exciting 2009 4th of July!

Since our 5th wheel awning is not very large as we have 3 slide outs, one being on the entrance side of the trailer, we purchased a stand alone canopy that can be put in front of the slide out; however, this blocks the windows. Ok, no big deal, just make the poles taller! Chris purchased material to extend the height of the canopy and the extension posts can be taken off for traveling.
It looks pretty tall but so is our 5th wheel.

One thing about it.....Big Foot won't have any problems walking under this awning.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to be more consistant posting on my blog but there isn't much happening around here. I think the heat has finally arrived and July 4th may turn out to be one of the hottest days as usual.

ICE CREAM SOCIAL AT THE MORE'S HOUSE FOR THE DOGS


YES, THEY ARE EATING REAL DOG ICE CREAM!


Chris is holding Jessie. Her back feet are on the bottom of the pool. Jessie is a very long dog with tall legs. And yes, she does like to back up to the couch and rest her butt on the couch. And she can scan the top of the dining room table in a flash as her head is much taller than the table.

It's gloomy here today and not really "hot". The dogs are kicking back and catching up on much needed rest. That is what I plan on doing afer lunch. I still can't sleep on my back so I'm still sacking out on the couch and trying to get some sleep at night. Not much fun. The back pain has totally worn me out. Hopefully I get some answers on Thursday from the spine doctor. It has been over two weeks since I hurt my back and enough is enough!

Brian, Alison and Brandon arrived in Needles around 7:00 pm on Saturday for the first leg of their two-week vacation. It was a short overnight visit but just seeing Brandon after 2+ months was a wonderful treat (and Brian and Alison too). Brandon is now crawling and waving Hi and doing some really cute antics. And he loves eating "peas".....something his
father hates as an adult.

Oh what a proud Grandma I am!

The latest saga of my body parts breaking down.

After therapy last Wednesday, did some shopping and my lower back hurt some after arriving home. Rested with ice on my back. Went to a farewell dinner for Sally & Pete that evening. Sitting & talking for 3 hrs took its toll on my lower back and by the time we arrived home spasms were pounding my back. Suffered all night so ended up at the ER on Friday. The doctor determined that a muscle on the lower back and the right side of the spine became inflamed and was very, very mad at me (as he termed it). Gave me a shot for spasms and pain and also a prescription for each and to be sure and ice down my back. The pain and spasms were so bad and I really didn't get any relief until Sunday. No sleep, impossible to get up and down. This is going to be a slow healing process. The best we can determine is therapy aggravated this area so backing off of knee therapy for awhile and will do minimal at home.

I know, I know.....I am way behind in posting on my Blog. With recovering from spine surgery and knee replacement surgery 50 days later and an unplanned 2-day stay in the hospital over Memorial Weekend due to dehydration, anemia,low blood pressure, not eating and generally felling lousy, I've been doing my best to be good and rest. The doctors said having two major surgeries so close together is way too rough on a person's body. I had no option with the knee replacement as the knee was totally deterioriated.

Started physical therapy on my knee last week and it is work and hurts. This afternoon my right lower leg swelled so will have to put in a call to the doc to see what is going on.

Here are a few pictures of Chris installing the new liner for our above ground pool.
Don't know who was happier that the chore was done, Chris or the dogs!





We liked the design with the fish, makes the pool very blue.

I had a nice, quiet Mother's Day recuperating from my knee replacement

Brian, Alison and Brandon send me a beautiful chain with pendant, which I wore when we took Corinne out for breakfast. I don't wear much jewelry but they did a wonderful job picking out the perfect length that I like.



The dogs went shopping and picked out this nice little floral arrangement for me. My little girls are very thoughtful (so is their father).

Warm Weather Is Here!

Our warm weather has arrived and the dogs are feeling the heat. Bought a small kids pool for Coco and Maars to get wet in at Corinne's. Chris installed a drain plug making it easy to drain the water.



Our pool is scheduled for a major overhaul - new liner, skimmer, change out the sand in the filter. Unfortunately we have to wait until Chris gets his stitches out from his recent carpel tunnel surgery. In the meantime, he is letting the dogs play and get wet in what water is left in the pool.





Labrador's and water go together!

Sally - You Rock!

Thanks Sally for all you do..........Chris & Anne

Knee Replacement Update

I had my first follow-up appointement after knee replacement on Monday the 4th. My orthopedic surgeon was very pleased with my progress. I requested holding off removal of the staples for one more week as my history of incision healing and staying closed isn't very successful and I just hate the thought of the incision area reopening.

He explained the current technology of knee replacements and why I have two xtra incisions/staples down the leg lower than the main incision area. He makes two incisions on the lower shin and two on the upper thigh (the upper is hidden under the skin) and attaches computerized equipment to your bones, and moves the knee around to get the perfect alignment The technology is more accurate and the surgeons praise the equipment. The lower hardware of the replacement is Titanium and the upper is Chromemolby. The chrome is harder than the titanium.

I can hardly wait for the first trip through the metal detectors - first I'll set it off for the knee hardware and then the spine.

Swollen Right Knee



After surgery - 17 staples (15 plus 2)


It has been a little hectic around the More household since I last posted in my blog.
I had right knee replacement on Wednesday, April 22nd at Western Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City, AZ. I can't say it was the most enjoyable thing to happen. About a month prior, my knee just blew out - severe swelling and so much pain. Pretty difficult even to walk with a walker. My experience at the hospital was not too pleasant. Nurses wouldn't administer pain medication until the pain was out-of-control and then I would receive the pain shots or tablets.

I could hardly wait to get home where "Nurse Chris" is taking such good care of me.He is doing quite well even though he hasn't taken "Nursing 101"yet.

Brandon is starting at an early age to learn how to work on vehicles. He is certainly neater than his Grandpa Chris! Brian was installing a "lift kit" in his Toyota.

It appears Brandon has acquired a taste for computers, just like mom and dad!