PAMMY, NICKY, RORY AND A DIET!

Sooooo,YAY!, Pam came last weekend! It was so good to see a friendly face. I have missed her so much. She and I were part of a large group of friends in Santa Monica. There were about 8 of us. We'd go out to dinner once a month and just laugh (and EAT!). I miss that, and them. It's lonely on this side of the fence. But having Pam here was just great. She arrived Friday morning, then Kristin, Ali and Rory came by for lunch. An all-girls' meal! Krissy and Ali stayed a while to visit, then left Rory with us for several hours. Pam is a definite "Baby Whisperer", and had Rory right in the palm of her hand. Of course within three seconds, Rory had Auntie Pam wrapped around her tiny little finger! They were quite a pair. I practically had to wrestle Pam to the ground to hold Rory for a while. Pam does love babies!!!!! So cute! The three of us (Pam, Rory and I) watched "Downton Abbey"- and loved it.

Saturday, Pam and I picked up her friend Sandy and went to lunch at Sweet Cakes. Yumeroo! Pam bought a bunch of cookies to bring home (oh, so sad! ;-]), and after dropping Sandy off at home, Pam and I watched the rest of "Downton Abbey" and the sweet movie "Fly Away Home". We also made posters for our grandson Nick's return from his mission (more later).

Pam had to fly home Sunday evening, but she was able to at least attend our Sacrament Meeting. Now that our church times are 1:30 - 4:30, it's a little harder to arrange things on the Sabbath. We weren't able to take Pam to the airport, but her friend Sandy offered. It was hard to say "Goodbye" to Pam. Who knows when we'll be able to get together again? . . . sigh . . .

Tuesday, however, was a BANNER DAY for the family! Elder Nick Bowler returned triumphantly from his Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Mission. Chris, Kristin, Trevor, Andrew, Ali, Rory, Denny and I were all at the airport to greet him- bearing posters and hugs!  The rest of us hung back a little while he greeted his Mom and Dad. Yes, there were tears. Nick was introduced to his adorable niece -and it was very cute! He wasn't sure how to hold a baby, and Rory wasn't sure about the itchy fabric of his suit! *** We went from the airport to Logan's Roadhouse (our family calls it "Roadkill" for some strange reason!) and had a good lunch. Denny and I left from there to get to the Temple for our Tuesday night shift, but left the Temple a little early for the Welcome Home celebration at the Bowler home.

Nick has certainly matured over these two years! He was called to be a Zone Leader early on, and had that calling to the very end. He took a very lousy Zone and turned it into the TOP Zone in the mission. His enthusiasm is terrific, and we are so thrilled with his missionary efforts!

I've been sick (blech!) and had to leave our Temple shift early on Wednesday. It has taken three days for me to feel better. But today I feel almost normal again. ;-] Good thing, too, because Rory's Blessing is this Sunday . . . can't miss that! If they had to carry me in on a gurney, I wouldn't miss THAT!  And the following Sunday is Nick's Homecoming talk. Two big things in our lives!

DISCOURAGEMENT! DISCOURAGEMENT! DISCOURAGEMENT! I finally got the desire to change my eating style, and began to eat chicken, veggies, and some fruit. No cookies, cake, candy or fun stuff!  And -you're not going to believe this!- I actually GAINED nearly a pound!  What????  I should mention that we also started up my Physical Therapy again. My therapist serves in the Temple with us on Wednesdays, and he told me that I should be able to walk much better if I picked up the exercises again. So- diet + therapy = WEIGHT GAIN! Impossible, wouldn't you say?????  . . . sigh . . .
So I took this week off (but still not many goodies), and will begin again this week.

 . . . did you notice that the word "diet" begins with the word "die"?

Signing off until next time. I don't know who is going to read this- I may be writing just to myself. If you do happen to read it, please leave me a little note. It can be on the Facebook page! I just want to see if there is anybody out there! Bye!