You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Jana and John came over Thursday evening and had pizza with us. We still had Jalen and Brayden. John and Jalen really hit it off over Play Station 2. Brayden was his usual shy self but warmed up because he did love the pizza.

Jana and John are settling into their apartment. They were headed to Kansas City on Friday to meet Cindy and Danny to go to a Royals game.

Mark came on Friday to take me to my physical therapy appointment and take care of the boys while I was there. Then we went to Forest Park for lunch and for Mark to take the boys on a long boat ride. They loved it, and Brayden warmed up considerably to his Uncle Mark.

Friday was one full day. As soon as we got back from the park outing, Rose, the boys, and I went to Whole Foods to get some groceries for our lake weekend. Then off to meet Sabrina on Highway K (which was a dirt road such a short time ago and today is a metropolitan highway with stores and traffic like the middle of Chicago). Dave and Brett and Alex were waiting for us when we (Sabrina, boys, and I) arrived at the lakehouse around 8:00 pm. Brayden and Jalen slept the whole way.

We had a great weekend. Dave took the three big boys to "Harry Potter III", which was a wondrous outing for them. Jalen's excited report about the movie was to verify all the storyline Shirley has told him, and to express great shock that "they said 'bloody H' several times." Even when I pressed him, he would not say what the 'H' stood for. Brayden had a grand time with the big kids and loved all the doting attention he got.

We came home on Sunday, stopping by the Abbotts to pick up Margaret Ann who spent the night with us at the Oakland House and then made the trip with us over to Mount Carmel on Monday to return the boys to Scott. Margaret and I got back from Mount Carmel in time to call for Shirley at the airport. Shirley and I went to Applebee's for dinner Monday evening. On Sunday evening Margaret, the boys, and I went to Pasta House for dinner. Brayden and Jalen were model boys, and can that Brayden eat! He went straight from the bottle to table food and loves it. He is an eclectic eater, unlike his father and his brother.

Brayden had a grand time at the Abbotts and seemed to drop all his shyness. I guess his being around so many uncles, aunts, and cousins but also with his protective brother and Granny was very therapeutic. He stole hearts all the time he was here. Jalen is quite an artist and left a whole exhibit for our refrigerator. He also made a get-well poster for Sam which Margaret Ann took to give Sam. (See below.)

We have spent a week worrying and awaiting news about Catrina's Sam. He had a severe asthma attack, complicated by pneumonia. Thank goodness the crisis has passed and yesterday Sam got a clean bill of health from his doctor.

On Saturday I developed a worrisome new symptom--occasional double vision. It hadn't gone away by Monday, so I called my neurologist, Dr. Dooley, who had me come in Tuesday. He had a name for the condition and feels it is nothing to worry about, indeed is quite common. As a precaution and because I would have to have one next week at the Mayo Clinic anyway, he is having me get an MRI (another one) today.

Dr. Dooley also cancelled my Solumedrol treatment that was scheduled for Thursday and Friday, thinking it might interfere with testing next week at Mayo.

Everything is coming together for the trip to Scottsdale to see a specialist at the Mayo Clinic next week. The biggest headache is getting precertification/preapproval from my insurance company. Catrina, who has had to be out of work because of Sam, is back today and is on top of the problem. Thank goodness!

One of our nieces, Kaye, daughter of Bernie and Maudie, lives in Mesa, AZ, which is near Scottsdale (we think). Rose and I will try to get together with her while we are there.

Week to week, the days go at whirling speed. It is some mean, dirty trick that the older you get, the faster the time goes by. I was amazed that it had been a week since we updated this blog.

Brother Joe just called. His granddaughter and daughter, Lydia and Beth, are in St. Louis for two days as part of Lydia's gifted student program. Mother and daughter will visit St. Louis U, Washington U, and UMSL, all of which are trying to recruit Lydia even though she is not yet in high school. We are all very proud of this young woman!

Joe is busy working around the house. His dog is his best friend these days and wags his tail to beg to go along with him. Joe and Dog are in obedience school together. We don't know if they are passing or not.

Pete told us Donald, Vita, and Vita's mother had gone to Washington, D.C., for the WWII Memorial dedication over Memorial Day. The news about Bernie is that he took a fall on Sunday and is suffering from a bruised backside. Pete and Janet have tickets to see Glen Campbell in Jackpot, Nevada. [Pete calls the place 'Crackpot.' You know, like Wendover is 'Bendover'.]

Margaret saw her cardiologist yesterday and got a clean bill of health. She goes back in six months. And Rose, I don't want to forget her. She is home from Chicago and going with me today to hold my toe for the MRI.

And now the Big News from 905 Barnard College Lane. We got our new exercise equipment yesterday--a treadmill and an exercycle. Shirley has dubbed our exercise space "Slim and Bulges," which is her translation of "Curves", applied to the three of us. The equipment is still brand new. We'll report on the mileage here occasionally--unless we're too embarrassed.