Hello at last! I'm well aware that it is nearly two months since I've added anything here, so I imagine some people have given up on me. So many times I've thought of what I'd like to write about and what pictures I'd add, but thinking it doesn't get it done, does it? I even thought of an invention - that what I think could be transferred to a computer without me typing it. Just haven't figured out how to do that though. We've been very busy doing projects at home and I've spent much less time at the computer. I've even forgot how to do this!

Vernon has been buying parts he needs for our 1966 Sunbeam Tiger sports car that has been sitting in our garage for more than twenty years. It is his retirement project. Here's a picture of him unloading an engine he purchased through e-bay. The engine hoist is doing all the work to life the engine off the crate in the back of the pickup.

We've spent three weekends cleaning out the garage to make more space for parts and get rid of old stuff, which has been good to do. First thing we do on Saturday morning is go eat a good breakfast so we'll have energy to work the rest of the day.

Another project has been clearing off the growth on our lakefront. Vernon started doing it with a weed-eater but I did most of it with some loppers to cut up the trees and branches. It was hard work but I enjoyed being outside, hearing the birds and feeling the breeze. All the large stuff is gone now but new growth is coming up from the roots that I wasn't able to get out of the ground yet. This picture was taken before I finished, so what you see in the center is gone now. To the right you can see our neighbor's growth. We can see the water better now and the ducks and birds in the water. Tonight Vernon saw a pair of Wood Ducks with their ducklings.

Did you notice the grass in the foreground doesn't look so good? Well another project has been to get our irrigation system going again after more than a year. Vernon was successful this weekend at re-establishing the connection between the lake water and the irrigation pump so now our timer will turn on the pump to water the grass twice a week.

Our Sunbeam Tiger doesn't look so good right now, but here's a picture of it. You might notice the tires are flat and resting on dollies so that we can move the car. We can easily push it , which is great since we cannot start the engine and drive it right now. I'll get a better picture one of these days but for now this gives you the idea. There is a lot of work ahead of Vernon. For now he's just buying the parts he'll need. If you remember the TV show "Get Smart," this is the sports car that guy drove.

Tomorrow, May 1, we fly to Denver, and leave all our projects behind for ten days. The plan is to drive our niece's car from there to Oregon for her. Her husband is based at Fort Carson but is in Iraq until Jan. 15, 2008. She flew to Oregon for the holidays intending to return but decided to stay with her mother when she learned she is expecting their second child. She needed her car but driving it by herself didn't seem a good idea. Vernon volunteered us to drive it for her and we'd get the benefit of exploring the country along the way. So we are excited about seeing the Oregon Trail sites in Wyoming and maybe getting into the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, depending on the weather and how much time we have. Another niece and her family live in Boise, ID, so we will spend a couple nights with them, hopefully. We are scheduled to fly back to Orlando from Portland on May 10.

And then...I return to my job at Campus Crusade for Christ on Monday, May 14. It was decided just today. I learned about a month ago that the position was open when they asked if I'd return. So the timing is working well for both them and me. I'm ready to return to that job that I enjoyed and they want me back. Hooray!

I still have packing to do for our trip but wanted to get this done first. Here's one last picture,
taken of us a few weeks ago when we weren't working around the house but were enjoying celebrating Gayle Anne's birthday.

This is our sister-in-law, Susan, niece, Morgan, and Vernon's brother Richard. Isn't this the cutest little cake you've ever seen? This past weekend we explored a part of Florida that was new to us. We drove Highway 50 all the way west to the gulf coast at Pine Island. Vernon's brother, Richard, and his family met us there to camp overnight before they proceeded farther south for their spring break. Sunday happened to be Richard's birthday and we got to celebrate together for the first time in many years. Susan chose this cake because it was small and also very cute.


Eight year old Morgan is walking the beach with Vernon.
The tide was out and it is very shallow in that area. Morgan spied a crab in the water and Vernon picked it up to look closely at it. He thinks it might be a stone crab because its back looks like a rock instead of a typical crab. Does anyone know?
















The final picture I want to share shows palm trees on the beach and the tide is so far out that you cannot see the water. I thought the clouds were interesting.

It was a two hour drive from our house to Pine Island. We stayed in a friend's RV. Now that we have been there, I think we'll return again.

Here in Florida we are enjoying springtime. This is a close-up of the azaleas in our yard. I like the color very much but can't take credit for them as they were planted by the previous owners.








One morning during my walk I noticed this blossom on the ground below a tree full of them. I picked it up and brought it home so I could take a picture of it and show Vernon. I am not certain but I believe it is from a type of Orchid tree. Other orchid trees I've seen have all white flowers and I've seen some entirely purple but this is the first one I've noticed that has both colors.

Vernon continues working full-time and his status with Lockheed is now full-time, also. I wish he was enjoying it more. His goal is to work until he reaches twenty years with Lockheed and then retire, which should be sometime in the next year.

See the balloon our neighbor Lillian brought Vernon last Sunday afternoon? Perfect for his first anniversary with one candle. I didn't get this picture until today, though. He is sitting in the recliner after I trimmed his hair.

We had a great time in Gainesville for the biopsy on Tuesday. It started Monday evening as we met Rollin and Kandi for dinner. Rollin was transplanted five days after Vernon and was scheduled for biopsy the next morning like Vernon. We hadn't seen them since the reunion in early August. They live in Miami so we were glad to be scheduled at the same time. Two other patients had biopsies with Vernon, Cookie and Dave, so we got to be with them Tuesday morning before and after the procedure. Chuck, transplanted three days after Vernon, had a doctor appointment at the hospital so we got to see him and have lunch together after the three of us visited some patients/friends on the 5th floor. We hadn't seen Chuck for two months and enjoyed time with him. We returned to the hospital for a couple more hours of visiting patients and the nurses before meeting our friends John & Lynne for a light dinner. Then we spent one more hour at the hospital visiting the night nurses in CICU. The enthusiastic and positive response Vernon receives from them is great medicine. And they appreciate the Dove chocolates he offers. We overheard one nurse telling two others that he'd really like some pretzels but when Vernon offered him some chocolate he was very happy. So it was 9:30 PM when we left Gainesville and 11:30 PM when we arrived home. We thanked the Lord for another safe trip there and back.

Wednesday we received really great news from his biopsy. This was the third biopsy in the six months since he’s been off Prednisone and all three biopsies he's had in that time were zero (no rejection). So that fact shows that the heart he received is a very good match for his body, otherwise his body would show some rejection when off Prednisone. We know he will stay on the other two steroids the rest of his life but it is wonderful that he doesn't have to take this one. We are thrilled to learn his heart is a good match, too. He will not have another biopsy for a whole year unless a problem develops.

On the home front, other good news is we were able to replace our really old washer and dryer yesterday. They were here when we moved into the house 18 years ago and a repair tag dated 5/81 was found attached to the washer. Just Friday the washer stopped agitating and spinning and Vernon said he couldn’t fix it. Though our dryer still worked, it sounded like a freight train. Saturday morning our neighbors two doors down had their washer and dryer for sale in their driveway for $100 each. They’d received newer ones so wanted to pass on what they had to someone else. I was very thankful I didn’t have to shop anywhere and could get them so quickly. Plus the price was great. I did a load last night and they worked just fine. So I have been saying, “Thank you, Lord.”

Here are our two new license tags. We selected the Stop Heart Disease ones because of the red heart center. Vernon's truck has the one with his first initial and last name. Our red car has the other one. You can probably guess the HRT is short for heart and the 246 is his transplant date 2/4/06.

Yesterday, Feb. 4, we celebrated the first anniversary of Vernon v.2.0. Yes, the transplant took place a year ago already! Here's a photo taken of us at Cheesecake Factory before we shared a piece of cheesecake. Our server knew what we were celebrating so had "Congratulations" added to the plate. We usually don't indulge in cheesecake but wanted to celebrate.

Vernon has worked two 40 hour weeks now and hopes to be able to continue. This week will be more difficult to do so because we'll be in Gainesville all day tomorrow for another heart biopsy and he leaves work early this afternoon so we can make the drive in daylight. We hope to have dinner with Rollin and Kandi tonight, who are driving from their home in Miami. Rollin's first anniversary is Friday, the 9th.

Happy New Year everyone! We enjoyed a week in Atlanta over Christmas. This photo was taken Christmas morning after breakfast and before opening gifts. I'd taken time to dress but didn't put on makeup. We were with Vernon's mother and his brother and his family. Most of the time, the seven of us were together at their cozy, new house. One afternoon we all saw the movie "Charlotte's Web" and explored a new shopping area in Atlanta called Atlantic Station. Vernon and I arrived home on Dec. 29, thankful to God for another safe trip on I-75.

Vernon's birthday is January 12 and he'll be 60! Last year we were still waiting for his heart transplant at Shands so this birthday we can celebrate him being Vernon Version 2.0. Then his first anniversary of transplant is Feb. 4. We are scheduled to return to Shands on Feb. 6 for biopsy and year check-up.

We haven't had a response to our thank you letter from our donor's family and I prayed for them again this morning. I'm sure it is very hard on them as they approach the first anniversary of their loved one's death.

Yesterday was the Labor Day Holiday and Vernon accomplished something significant. He was able to do the physical labor required to repair the right rear brakes on our car. The repair had been needed for at least two months and we’d been sharing the truck all that time. That wasn’t difficult until he returned to work a month ago. Then I had to fit my errands in before he went to work or after he got home.

The main reason he hadn’t done the work earlier is the heat and humidity we still have here. In the evening when it would be cooler, either it would be raining or he was tired. This morning, he started working about 9 AM and continued until he finished about 1 PM. He was shaded by the house half of that time and then I held an umbrella over him. It took him twice the amount of time that he expected but he’s very pleased that he accomplished the job and I’m thrilled to have my car back! So on Labor Day, he really did labor and it was no holiday.

Hello everyone! There isn't much happening here today. What was Hurricane Ernesto over Cuba has become a tropical depression over Florida and we are having light rain, which is exactly what we need. We didn't want a hurricane - that is for sure!

I've been sitting at the computer most of the day, learning to edit the eight hours of digital video I did while at Shands. Some of it is priceless, if I say so myself.