Pond Retreat

Thought I would send a picture of the pond where we sit and ponder  life. This truly is a beautiful spot that we love. Curt is doing good and has been working on his studio. He almost has it finished so this winter he can paint, do ceramics, and work on rocks etc. He is still doing Chemo every Thursday and that will be until September 29th. Then off to Huntsman in Salt Lake to see what the numbers say. We are hopeful that the cancer will be in remission. We have an opportunity to travel to Thailand in November. I earned the trip through the Exchange program that I worked for. I am not supervising any students this year but had already earned the points to take the trip.  I haven't had withdrawals yet from retiring from driving my bus.  School hasn't started yet so I haven't missed anything. School starts this Thursday (18th) so I'll see how it goes. I think it will be terrific! I can say no if I want to and it really is nice to be able to just go somewhere when I want to. Curt will be going to visit a friend the last of this month. Ron Rencher, a fellow artist will be doing a seminar over on Hwy 89 by Manard Dixon's Studio. Should be a fun time for him.  I will be in California going to my 'great' niece's wedding in San Diego and sticking my feet in the sand for my retreat by the sea.  That always re-juvinates me.

-Elaine

Good report

This is a little late but I think Matt has cleared up the problem on the blog.  On June 23rd Curt, Tishanna and I went to Salt Lake for a Dr. appointment with Dr Zangari.  Six months ago Curt's cancer number was 7.5.   Three months ago it had gone down to 5.2 and at his last visit it was .8.  Very good news as it is below one point!   Curt will stay on Chemo for another round of three months and then go back to Huntsman to see if the cancer is in remission.   We are sure hoping for that.  Curt doesn't have to take Thalidomide any more and that is what caused his feet to swell.  He seems to have more energy and is enjoying being outside more.  He has been building on to his ceramic studio where he will set up his paints. 
He has really been taking care of me the last 4 weeks as I had my shoulder operated on and really can't do anything.  Its funny because he has to put my recliner down for me and up.  I am really doing better and can do a lot of things myself now.  (he's glad)  I will start physical therapy on Thursday and I've heard that P T actually stands for Pain and Torture.  Wow I can hardly wait!
I'll wait to see if this really posts before I send more.

Fun messages

Hi folks,

I changed a couple settings to avoid future "fun" messages coming in. Unless my mom starts a legitimate pharmacy out of Russia, we should have these eliminated. Cheers!

California trip

> We left pretty early to go to Matt and Amy's house. The trip was good, no bad weather and the traffic was always going the other direction. When we got to their house no one was there. I had a key once but I think I left it here and never found it again. I called Matt and he was on his way home so we were able to get in and rest. Matt set us up watching a movie in the screening room and it was nice to just relax and watch the movie.
> Amy was with her mom and Zoe out shopping and then went to the airport to pick Doug up. When they got home they didn't even notice my car out front or my purse on the couch. We really surprised them when the movie was over.
> On Saturday Curt and I went with Matt to Home Depot to pick up some plants for the back yard. One of their neighbors came over as we were unloading the car and offered to help plant and carry everything to the back yard. Curt and Matt trimmed the Pomegranate tree and the palm trees. It was really a fun time, every one planting or trimming. Sandi and Doug were out there too. The weather was great! It was so nice to be able to go outside and not Freeze!! The back yard looks so good now.
> At five we got ready and went to the church to see Zachary and Zoe get baptised. Everything went well there. The kids were great. When we got home we started getting ready for the BBQ. Matt and Amy had invited some friends and neighbors over. Matt was grilling terrific steaks while Amy and her Mom got everything ready in the house. It was so nice to visit everyone. Only drawback? Amy and Matt both had colds, so we decided to leave a day early. We were going to stay till Monday but thought we should get out of there asap.We left the next morning when the kids went to church.
> The ride home was pretty un-eventfull, which is good. We stopped in Las Vegas and had a bite to eat then went on to Mesquite and played a little. I came out on top by $8 dollars. Yeah!
> Well, bad news was when Curt got up Monday morning his throat hurt. He did get the cold that we tried to avoid. This week has been pretty rough on him as these colds usually go into pnemonia. He will see the Dr. on Monday and try to get over this.
> The weather has been pretty good up until today, so Curt has been adding onto his studio when he felt good enough to go outside. Today the wind is really blowing hard so we have been just staying inside.
> Matt we still love you even though you gave your cold to your Dad. We will just need to be more carefull next time we travel.
> Daniel and Sarah did not get to come to California or Utah. Turns out that Kira had her spring break that week but Maelle had hers the next week. We hope to be able to see them soon too.
> Matt and family are trying to come to Utah next week to ski and go to Salt Lake to see friends up there. The snow should be good for their visit. See ya then. -Elaine

Fwd: Huntsman verses Veterans Clinics

> We went up to Salt Lake on the 9th and spent most of the day getting tests. Lab work at 10:30 A.M., bone biopsy at 11:00 A.M. Then we had to wait around until 7:40 P.M. for the total body MRI. The MRI took 2 1/2 hours to do. I just read a book in the waiting room. What a pain to wait, but Curt wasn't having any fun either. When I set up these appointments with the VA I was told that they would have all the results over to Huntsman by Friday noon. This was critical because we were seeing Dr.Zangari at 12: 30 P.M. and he would need the tests to see if Curt could go on a maintenance plan, which would be just taking Chemo pills instead of going to Cedar for an IV. We got to Ryan and Ginelle's at about 11:00 P.M. went in as quiet as possible and went to bed. I am so thankful to them for having a place that we can stay we we have to be in Salt Lake. Sure makes the trip less painful for sure!
> Well, we saw Dr. Zangari and of course the VA didn't have all the tests and the ones they did have didn't have the Multiple Myeloma markers so we actually had to wait till the next Wednesday (February 16th) for the Dr. to call us. When he did he said that Curt's numbers were still not down enough so Curt is still going to the clinic here on Tuesdays for blood work and Thursdays for infusion. Curt was pretty bummed out but we just trudge on.
> We are going to Matt's house on Friday (March 11,2011) so we can be there when Zach and Zoe are baptised. It will be good to get away from the snow and Spring mud for awhile. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone. Daniel and Sarah may head that way too because they have Spring break.

January Thaw

Well, here we are already the last of January. I have gone back to work on my bus route after a 12 week break. Just testing retirement. It was a good break. I'm glad to be back, but I did turn in my retirement paper this week and will retire at the end of this school year.
> Curt is still having chemo on Thursdays and is really doing well. He does get very tired but has been painting and going out looking for rocks lately. He will have his last chemo on Thursday February third then we will be going up to the VA and Huntsman to have tests and see the Doctor. We are hoping that the Doctor will stop the Chemo and just have him take pills. That will be much easier.
> Curt was sick part of the time since Thanksgiving with bronchitis but is really better now. The weather has been nice and it is great to get out of the house for a while. We know that winter is not over but the promise of Spring is in the air. -Elaine
>

Elaine

> We have been out to the Gap several times in the last couple of weeks. Yesterday we went out and hiked around a little. This is me (Elaine) with the lake behind me. The Little Salt Lake had water (usually dry) and ice. It looked very pretty. It was a little chilly but we always like to get out and walk. Helps our backs to walk a little every day.
> Curt is doing pretty good. He is still doing Chemo on Thursdays. We have a break coming up next week and plan on going to Matt and Amy's to be there when the twins baptised. Looking forward to that.
> Maybe California won't float away before that. They have had LOTS of Rain and we have had LOTS of snow! I just hope we have some Sun when we get there. We actually had a lot of rain last week and it melted most of the snow in town. Brian Head still has lots of snow.
> -Elaine
>

Christmas Tree 2010

> We really wanted to go out and get a real tree but every time we could go it would be snowing too hard. So we settled on my tree that I made out of safety pins, wire and lights. I made one for Tishanna and one extra. They were pretty at night with the lights on.
>
> -Elaine

Winter is here!

> Curt was out plowing the snow after our big storm. I guess winter is really here.
> We had a very nice Christmas, quiet but nice. Curt wanted to have Christmas the Norwegian way, so we fixed our Turkey dinner and all the trimmings and my cranberry torte on Christmas Eve and opened presents after dinner. It was just Curt, Tishanna and I so it was very nice. Curt and I got a new BIG screen TV and Tishanna got recording equipment and clothes.
> When Curt was little his parents would hear Santa's bells (Christmas Eve) so he and his Dad and brother would go out in the car looking for Santa. They heard bells too, but never saw him. When they got home they had JUST missed him and Santa had brought presents! They would open their presents then. (Probably a great way to do it as Mom and Dad got to sleep in the next morning)
> We did this a few times when the kids were little. Curt would take them out in the cold and look all over for Santa. They came home a little disapointed because they could hear the bells but could never see him. Then as they came home, what to their wondering eyes but toys under the tree and Mom had seen Santa and was so sorry that they had just missed him. We had some great Christmas's, some lean but non the less good. I loved having my children all there and opening presents. Dad would assign one person to bring the presents out one by one. He called him the 'Christmas Boy.' When Tishanna was old enough to bring presents to us she was called the 'Christmas Boy' too.
>
> -Elaine
>

Parowan Pond

> Yesterday Curt and I sat out at the pond and just enjoyed the view. We have had a Blue Heron visit quite a bit and he just sits on a post by the pond. The reflections were really nice so I thought I'd share. I haven't been able to get a good picture of the bird yet but I will keep trying.
> We also went out to the gap and hiked around for a while. The weather was a little cool but it was good hiking weather.
> We are getting ready for Christmas by putting lights up and decorations in the house. We will be here for the holiday. In January though we will be going to Santa Clarita for Zachary, and Zoe's baptism. They will turn eight on December 14th. Happy Birthday you two! Happy Birthday to Caleb too who will be 16 on the 27th. Congratulations from Grandma and Grandpa Paulson.
> Curt is doing pretty well. He still goes to Cedar for Chemo on Thursdays and will continue that until the end of January. We hope by then that he can just take Chemo pills and not have to have the IV's. He keeps a pretty positive attitude so that is good.
-Elaine
>

Kira and Maelle

Sarah

Getting ready to leave Daniel and Sarah's house.  Thanks for the visit.  We had a great time. Loved seeing the kids too.  They grow too fast!

-Elaine 

Tucson

> This Curt, Daniel and Kira out looking for treasures in the desert. (1 block from Daniel's house) Daniel was using his high powered earth magnets to find any metal. We had a lot of fun in Tucson. In stead of having turkey we BBQ ed steaks. We didn't get up early to cook food all day. It really was nice to have that day just to visit and play in the back yard. Curt wants turkey for Christmas though. I will also make my Cranberry Torte that everyone likes. I made it twice at Daniel's.
> We Had some sad news while we were there. Tishanna's husband died the Sunday before the holiday. She was back home tending the dogs. She left the dogs in the care of a friend and went to Salt Lake for the funeral by herself. She had been separated from him for 3 years but still held a special place in her heart for Chris. We will all miss him.
> -Elaine
>

Parowan Gap

> Saturday Curt and I went out to the Gap for a little hike. The weather was just right for hiking. Not cold and not hot. It was really nice out there. We were looking for a spot that Curt had seen on one of his painting trips and he wanted to get a picture of it. When we finally found it, it wasn't exactly what he wanted. We had a good time anyway.
>
> -Elaine
>

Caleb's Eagle Court of Honor

Today November 6, 2010 Tishanna and I went to Salt Lake to be at the court of honor when Caleb, our first grand child, received his Eagle. It was very nice to be able to go and see the family. Curt wanted to go but since we were just in Salt Lake a week ago he really didn't feel up to traveling. Geralyn and Debra, my sisters, also were there. I was glad to be able to talk to Caitlyn and Caleb and see how they have grown into beautiful young adults. Caitlyn is now 12 and Caleb will be 16 in December. Curt and I hope that they will come visit us here so we can get to know them better.

-Elaine