Still a Bit Foggy...

I made it through another week. Sunday again. Claude and I are much better but still wear out easily and still have foggy brains. We have always said that between the two of us, we have a really good brain. That is more needed now as we finish up healing from Covid. So, this week was about getting well and staying well. Most days we spent at home until we could both test negative for Covid. 

Monday, August 15th, Nissa and Todd continued their vacation with their two oldest grandmonsters, Tate and Raelyn. On Monday Raelyn got to choose where they ate. Surprise, surprise, surprise. The girl chose McDonald's. Their big tourist outing this day was the Garlyn Zoo. Nissa & Todd continued to be sure they had a swimming pool every night for the kids to enjoy. 

This day Claude and I both stayed inside and rested.

Tuesday, August 16th, this day the Tyler's continued their journey with a boat ride to and from Mackinac Island and a visit to the Butterfly House on the Island. This night they would stay at the Casino owned by Todd's tribe

Claude and I took Covid tests. We figured he would test negative and I might still be positive. Were we ever wrong. I tested negative and Claude still tested positive. 

This was good for me. I had been asked and wanted to accompany Camille Klein for her special musical number in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. I contacted Camille so we could find a time to practice. Yeah!! Normal life!!

Wednesday, August 17th, my big outing was meeting Camille at the church to practice in the morning. We couldn't practice at my home because Claude was positive. Camille has such a lovely voice. She would sing Hymn #129 Where Can I Turn for Peace. Camille and I both face major struggles and this particular hymn strikes a chord with each of us. It was very nice to get to visit with Camille, share stories and learn a little about each other. 

I finished, went home, and curled up to crochet. That was my physical limit while still building back some strength. But I was happy to be out for just a bit.

Thursday, August 18th, I received an eMail from Blake Jensen, our travel agent. Their agency posted a new tour to Australia. Blake wanted us to know that, since we had already signed up for New Zealand/Fiji, we could add on Australian and go there instead of coming home after that trip. We would save money on the tour since we would already be there in the area. Oh My!! All through caring for my parents, Claude and I said we would take a L O N G trip after we finished that care. The long trip we wanted to take was to Australia and New Zealand. We glanced through the itinerary and gave each other knowing eyes. But, it was a lot of money and a lot of time. We wouldn't make this decision rashly.

Friday, August 19th, we got up in the morning and tested for Covid. This time we both tested negative. Hallelujah!! Such great news. That meant we could go to LaGrange in the evening to watch Hayden and Bailey play in the Oldham County High School Band at the first football game of the year. 

I found this little guy enjoying our tree stump. It is a little chipmunk that lives in our back yard. Happy we left the tree stump for him. In the afternoon, we saw our first hummingbird at the birdfeeder in the front flower bed. I didn't have my cellphone and did get a picture of that critter. 

I then made a recipe I found on Facebook that piqued my curiosity. It is for Butter Pecan Fudge. I made two little pans. We kept one and the other I took to the Marx family in the evening. The neat thing about this recipe is that the pecans in the fudge have been toasted in butter. Yum!!

I spent my afternoon making a grid for the New Zealand / Fiji / Australia possibility. I sent Blake an eMail reply and assured him that combining these two trips would be our dream trip. However, we are going to the Amazon this year. Then before six months would be up we would be combining New Zealand with Australia. That is a lot of time (39 days) and a lot of money. We needed to review this before we made a final decision. We wanted to be sure we were physically able to enjoy so much time traveling at once. So, a grid to get a good study of the travel was important. 

In late afternoon, we drove to LaGrange, stopping in Frankfort for a Cook Out Burger for our dinner. It was such a pleasant evening. The temperature was great. The band played exceptionally well. The football team struggled and lost. I have pictures of the half-time score and the final score. I'm sure things will improve for them as the year progresses. At the end of the half-time performance, the band plays the school fight song and then the band members rush the fence and finish the number there. There are two pictures of the kids at the fence. One of them I have circled where Hayden and Bailey are standing. There was lots of action in the air as well as on the field this night. There was a flyover of airplanes. There were at least three of those flying sails with a tricycle like thing under them that circled over the field throughout the game. And, there was a flock of geese flying over at the end of the half-time performance. Didn't get a picture of that as I was videoing the band playing. So much action for a foggy brain to try and grasp. 

Saturday, August 20th, would be decision day for us. I printed us each the 11 page grid. I noted the dates, times and costs for each of the New Zealand / Fiji and Australia trips. Claude and I sat at the dining room table and went over all the details of exactly where and what we would see using the grid and maps. We studied how much extra we would need for side trips not include in the cost of the main trip, how much we might need for meals, additional airfare to get us to where the group would leave and return home from that location, etc. You see, the amount that is posted as the cost of the trip never, ever covers everything. One must know this when they travel and be prepared for additional cost as part of their calculations. We were careful to think about how to handle 39 days on the road not including travel to meet up with the group and return home. What would we need to do to leave our home for that long. What costs would be due and when. How would that fit into our budget. Lots of detail to think about. After going through all the income and out go, the time factor, the things we needed to do to be gone that long, we were sure we could do this. We made notes for ourselves on our girds of things we needed to check on further. When all was said and done, we felt comfortable with booking Australia. We would think about it and talk about it and then I would contact Blake on Monday. Whew!!

In the evening, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner out. We tried Dave's Blazin' BBQ. New place that once was a BBQ truck parked in the Kroger parking lot. They just decided to take the risk and set up a storefront. The food was good. I had BBQ brisket sandwich with corn pudding for my side. Claude had French dip with potato salad. We both agreed we would go back again. 

Sunday, August 21st, has been a nice Sunday. We attended church for the first time in three weeks. I told Claude we needed to get there early as someone might have taken our bench. The missionaries had an investigator with them who was, ironically, named Joseph Smith!! Nice man that was about our age and could have passed for a Utah boy with his blond hair. I accompanied Camille and she sang beautifully. I also met a new couple, the Barney's, who come from Colorado. They happened to be friends in Colorado with George Andersen that I grew up with in Louisiana. George's sister, Jani, was my best friend. George told them he had a friend in Kentucky but he wasn't sure where. Amazingly, they moved right into our ward! Nice family with three kids. Primary went really well. All teachers and workers were present again. Funny how well that works when school is back in session. 

After church we picked up lunch at Taco Bell and brought it home. Claude tried a nap. I worked on my laptop. Claude would have two meetings over Zoom in the evening. I would crochet.

Happy to be back amongst the living. Still on the tired side but that will change as we build strength. We neither lost smell or taste with Covid. We were completely spent as far as energy went. We had lots of aches and some headaches. It really was like a bad case of the flu for me.