Wow! What a weekend!

Our family celebrated Christy's wedding to Mike on Oct. 11 in San Diego atop a hotel on the bay. It was just wonderful. We all had loads of fun for days on end. The rehersal dinner on Friday included alot of toasts and praises for the couple.

Saturday was a blur of getting ready,of pictures, the ceremony, dinner and dance. I danced until my knee gave out. It was great. Here's just a few of the 174 pictures I took.

Marge gave me a tour of Christy & Mike's house after she took them to the airport. They went to Hawaii for 2 weeks for their honeymoon. I also saw where Ryan and Scott live. Here's pictures of their homes.

Sam brought Cody, Heather and little Sam up to Fresno to see "GG", greatgrandmother. Here's some pictures of Sammy's breakfast and him "singing" "Itsy bitsy spider".

I just have to say again how much fun I had the whole visit to San Diego. It was really good meeting Mike's family and friends. Taking lots of pictures of the wedding party and all their families and babies. Lastly I thought it was a cute picture of Chica and the cater. Can't you just hear her saying "Have you got something for me?"

Keeping Busy

September was a busy month of more home improvements and medical issues. I decided to paint the kitchen and winterize the patio. Having completed that I'm starting to remove the brick flower bed which is on the patio now and fill that space in. I'm not sure if I'll use the brick or just pour more cement. Here's the latest pictures.

On the other issue of medical problems, Mary Lou continues to struggle with leg pain secondary to lower back arthritis and stenosis. She's had two spinal injections with poor results. The leg pain cause poor sleep and appetite. She's always had a very positive outlook but this has drug on so long it's getting her down. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

On the fun side, I'm taking a photography class and am learning lots. Our last assignment was to take a picture that answers the question, "Who am I?" Here's my results. What do you think?

Another fun class I took which was without a doubt the best class I've ever taken was Laugh Yoga. It was very short, 3 weeks, but joyous. Here's a couple of class pictures.



I am really looking forward to Christy's wedding next week. I can't wait to see how much Sam has grown. I love reading Heather's blog and following the pictures of his growth. He is so cute!

Coast & Day trips

In July we took a week trip over to San Simeon and visited Cambria 2 miles to the south. We love this area as it's less crowded and there's lots of places to run the dogs. Unfortunately, it was foggy most of the time so I haven't many pictures. The dogs are running on San Simeon's beach, the next picture is Cambria's walk and the last is the coast line.

August has given me a chance to reconnect with family and friend. I had lunch with Ron Lopez, a retired rec. therapist, I used to work with and a chance to see his newest grandchild, Elias.

My sister, Kay's daughter, Denise, and her family were up at Shaver Lake so I went up for the day to visit. I met lots of really nice members of the extended family; some were from Kerman which is nearby. They went fishing and intended to have a big fish fry that night.

Later we took the RV to Pinto Lake, a regional park in Watsonville for a week. It's a cute place and only 6 miles from the beach where I could take the dogs to run everyday. We explored the area: Moss Landing and Monterey were day trips. We always eat great fresh fish at Phil's in Moss Landing which has next door the Monterey Bay Aquarium's biological lab. Their beach and the one at Pajara Dunes allow dogs to run freely. Ari caught a duck at Moss Landing...ugh. I had to laugh as MaryLou usually falls down on vacations but this time I fell off my bike in Monterey. Have a big road burn but hopefully no other problems.

Our cat, Hissy, is looking out the trailer door and Sherman is dancing in the waves at Moss Landing. MaryLou and the dogs are at Monterey's pier and I'm in a nearby park.

I'm overlaping entries but oh well.

News

It flashed on me that Larry and Donna will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Alot happened in 1983, MaryLou came to Fresno and we became friends. Mom and I went on a Caribbean cruise with a visit to George and Emma in Miami. Their grandson took us on a airboat tour which was really great.

These are pictures from their Mexican cruise last year. Our Miami trip was pre-digital cameras.

Site Problems

It's taken me months to get back into this site and I still don't know why but I'm happy to report this has been a great year.

Mary Lou has had two celebrations: 60th anniversay of her vows as a Sister of St Joseph of Carondet and her 79th birthday. She enjoyed spending time with old friends and got lots of presents.

We had some fun trips: a Hollywood and area tour, Mission Viejo & San Juan Capistrano to visit Kay & Marty, Merced to visit Toni, Moss Landing and San Simeon to play with the dogs in the ocean.

The Fielden's has 2 other big events: Carolyn graduated from college with a BS degree in psychology and Sammy had his first birthday.

I made some home improvements that's given us more year round usable outdoor space. I had a security door installed and enclosed the patio.

New Year Theme: Dwelling Place

I feel like this year was launched by one of the best Christmases I've had! Sam brought Cody, Heather, Sammy, Sarah, Lauren, Lindsey and Scott. They stayed over night and visited Mom twice before going back to San Diego. CHILDREN MAKE CHRISTMAS! Thanks.

Each year I name the year and see where it leads me as I journal through the months. Last year was "The Journey" and this year "Dwelling Places." Last year the first half included lots of travel and using the fifth wheel frequently but the second half took a different direction. Seems I spent most of the time in various doctors offices, labs, hospitals or rehab. places. For me it's leading to surgery this month and I pray will restore my strength and stamina. I really want to get back on my bike and get more exercise.

I hope to chronical the places I dwell and include pictures with my new camera. I very happy to be able to access the internet with my wireless router (thanks Sam).

Blessing to all my family and friends; I love you very much.

What's happening now!?!

As you can tell I haven't written lately. Between doctors' visits and going to the pharmacy, I've become a volunteer at Saint Agnes Medical Center (SAMC). I go twice a month for 2 hrs; my jobs are Patient Escort and Volunteer Chaplain. I really enjoy SAMC and getting to work with people in a new and REWARDING way.

My camera crashed and just today I ordered another with Scott and Sam's helpful advise. I ordered a Nikon that has more features than my old Olympus. I hope to have to pictures to share next time.

My greatest joy was having Sam, Cody, Heather, Sammy, Sarah, Lauren, Lindsey and Scott come and spend the night. They came to see Mom and let her have her first experience with Sammy. She was overjoyed! Talked about it for days. Larry, Donna, Carolina and Emily came over after everyone visited Mom. We shared food, conversation and laughter as we opened gifts and exchanges newsy gossip.

Mary Lou is much improved and unfortunately is facing another surgery; this time her left shoulder. The good news is that it's a same day experience with hopefully a quick recovery. She's looking forward to going to several operas vis simulcast from the Metropolitian in our local theater. She's wondering if she can endure Tristan and Isolde which is 5+ hours.