A Little Respect Please!

Today we flew to Harrisburg, PA!

We had to get up at 3 this morning to make our 7:30 flight. Reminded us of our getting up at 3 on Saturdays to work in the temple!

This flight was Neals "maiden voyage" with his pacemaker and it was not a pleasant experience. Neal got Mr. Natzi Frisk Man. How much can you hide in one pacemaker? And just what effect does said pacemaker have on the items sent on the conveyor belt through the scanner? Mr. Natzi Frisk Man wouldn't let anyone near Neal nor his possessions till he was quite done with Neal. Go figure. I felt so sorry for Neal. And to think this is what he will have to endure every time he flies. Just pray that they are not all like Mr. Natzi Frisk Man.
(sorry there isn't a picture of Mr. Natzi Frisk Man, I was afraid he would take my camera away from me and I would never see it again!)

Our first plane:
(Actually this is the plane that was parked next to us, but looks just like ours!)

The view from our plane!


Our second plane!


I had to laugh when we boarded and I sat down and looked out my window and saw this!


Then before landing I saw this come down!


Thankfully the flight wasn't very long because this plane was the loudest puddle jumper I've ever been on!

After landing it was a short 20 minute taxi ride to our hotel.

One thing I always look forward to on these conferences with Neal is the hotel we stay in. We've had some really nice hotels!

Well . . . .

Welcome to the Crowne Plaza in Harrisburg!

This is our room:


This is our view:


And this is our bathroom!

Yep, this is it!

The, "You can shower, shave and do your paper work without taking a step" room!


And finding a place to eat dinner was something else. Downtown Harrisburg reminds me of a cross between Nashville and Richmond. A lot of homeless right outside our hotel door and the places to eat near by are just a bunch of bars. So we ended up back in our hotel for some pot stickers and a couple of cob salads for dinner and that actually hit the spot for us!

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm complaining, I'm not. Every trip has it's story. Tomorrow I'm all set with the lap top so I can listen to some good conference talks and with some knitting to keep me company while Neal is in class. And tomorrow is always another day to see just what this part of the country is like. And that is why I come on these trips with Neal. I love seeing the personalities and characters of each little part of the country that makes up this most wonderful place we live, the Untied States!

MATERNITY WARD

We have a second batch of baby sparrows!

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY "RANDY"

Happy 1/2 birthday to the man who stole our daughter's heart:

who is the apple of his son's eye:

and has been kind enough to embrace (or put up with!) some Weatherspooness!

We're glad to have you in our family Randy!

(Sorry the gift and card will be late - all part of the Weatherspooness)

Gardenias

Since we've lived in our current house, I've been discovering all kinds of flowers. It is dangerous for me to go to a nurery because I have a tendency to come home with more flowers than I have room for in my flower beds!

One flower I fell in love with was the flower the "Mom's" wore at Alicia and Randy's wedding reception - the gardenia.

A couple of years ago Neal bought me a gardenia bush and I planted it in a pot out on our patio and this morning we woke to our first blooms!

"I got good anatomy"

Neal entered the hospital Monday morning bright and early and received his pacemaker. He said he could tell the difference in his heart as he was being wheeled from the Cath lab to his hospital room. He doesn't feel his heart beating anymore and his color and energy are better! I think he is looking better, too!

I have to admit it is still strange thinking he has a computer in his chest. If it were only the computer part that was tucked right under his collar bone, I think I could handle it. But it is the fact that he has two wires running down through the veins and screwed into the heart chambers that leave me just a little squeamish. But the comfort of knowing that his heart will now never beat below 60 over-rides what fears or uncertain feeling I might still have. Neal's doctor came in Monday night to see him and said Neal's heart rate was actually dropping into the 20's. That is not a pleasant thought. In trying to comfort me and let me know that things were going to turn out fine, Neal said, "I've got good anatomy!" I have to agree, but it sure sounded funny when he said it!

Neal was given a Boston Scientific pacemaker:

Thankfully this hospital stay didn't have any of the excitement of his last stay. Word must have gotten out to be ware of patient "Weatherspoon" around toilets! They didn't even let him near one. Instead they had him use this:

Neal came home yesterday morning and he is doing great! Now if we can only endure the heat!

Can you believe we have had three days of over 100 degree temperatures. All I can say is YUCK!

What's in a Name?

I have made it a policy to not put people on pedestals for several reasons. For one, there is only room for one person on top; and two, it is so easy to fall off. But I do, however, admire people for the good things they do and the good people they are. One of these people I highly admired I knew over 20 years ago. We had just made the move to Portland and this man was in our Stake Presidency. President Tolliver was a quiet man with a giant spirit about him. He was always so kind and compassionate. He was the kind of man you wished you could spend more time with so his goodness would rub off on you. We eventually moved but would still run into him and his sweet wife, Coral, in the temple periodically. When we moved we happened to move into the same ward as President Tolliver's daughter. A couple of years ago President Tolliver passed away and his daughter brought me a copyof his Funeral Service program. I was touched that she would think to do that for me. I read it and slipped it in a drawer in my living room. A few months ago I ran across that program and took the time to remember warm memories of this quiet man. As I was thus reminiscing, I made a wonderful discovery! I had only known him as "President" Tolliver. But as I was reading the program I discovered his first name - Wesley! My heart jumped with joy as I made this discovery. My precious little grandson shares a name with this most humble of spiritual giants! So to my dear little Wesley, you share a name not only with your great-grandfather who you are named after, you share a name with some one I admired quiet a lot in his life time. Yay for WESLEY!

A Walk With Friends

Today we had some friends pick us up and introduce us to one of their favorite places to take a quiet Saturday walk. She knows I love to take pictures and was very patient with all the stops I made to capture little treasures we found along the way!

Here's a peek throught the lense of my camera today~

Thank you Kari and Phil!