1 We're still here

Alert readers have pointed out that it's been nearly a month since the last issue of the newsletter was posted. We missed three weeks (the September 22, September 29, and October 6 issues). Blame it on our travels out of state and then my getting sick, leaving me little energy or interest in publishing.

On Thursday afternoon, September 16, Claudia and I flew to St. Louis (and then drove for two and a half hours) to visit Robert and Rachael and their three girls in Harrisburg, Illinois. We got to see their new home, a 107-year-old mansion on a quiet, tree-lined brick street, which they had just moved into a couple weeks earlier. On Sunday morning of that weekend we saw Claudia Sue (age 7) and Esther (age 6) in their branch's Primary sacrament meeting program. Rachael, who is the Primary president, organized the program. Claudia and I returned home to Utah on Monday evening, September 20. [That little trip wiped out the September 22 issue of the newsletter.]

On Friday evening, September 24, Claudia and I flew to Seattle to visit Chris, Camilla, and Sam in Everett, Washington. The Great Harvest Bakery that they have owned there for the past two and a half years is closing its doors for good on Tuesday, October 19. A combination of Everett demographics and a slow economy combined against the bakery's survival. On Sunday morning of that weekend we saw Sam (age 4) in his ward's Primary sacrament meeting program. Camilla, who is the Primary chorister, lead the children in all the songs they sang, including renditions of "I Am a Child of God" in French and Spanish. Claudia and I returned home to Utah on Monday morning, September 27. [That little trip, plus the cold that developed from burning the candle at both ends, wiped out the September 29 issue of the newsletter.]

And then, still dealing with the nasty cold, on Friday evening, October 1, my right knee became inflamed, red, and painful. It kept oozing some combination of chalky white goop and blood. After visits to two different doctors, I am still not sure if it was something like gout (which I can assure you from previous experience is very painful) or an unusual flare up of the calcium deposits I sometimes get from the scleroderma (an autoimmune disorder) that I have had for many years. The symptoms of the two alternatives are apparently pretty much similar. My best guess, based on the progression of the symptoms compared to what I've researched online, is that it's calcinosis from the scleroderma. [That little adventure, wiped out the October 6 issue of the newsletter.]

So, here we are back again. Later this morning I go to the Wound Management Center at LDS Hospital to see what's up next with my angry knee. Stay tuned. Maybe we'll have something further to report next week.