My Journal by Libby

Front of the House

2011-06-21T17:47:00.002-06:00

Well, I finally took pictures of the front of our

new house!

This is taken from the sidewalk.

This is a more closeup picture.

New House - Construction Phase

2011-04-24T20:34:00.012-06:00

The above date was when I uploaded the pics.

But I just posted this today May 27th.

This is the back covered patio.

And the pool.

The foyer from my bedroom.

The chandelier was brass and the walls white.

The foyer/front door from the living room.

The living room fireplace.

Everything was originally white.

The family room walls and ceiling.

Again everything was white.

We've been in the house for two weeks and we

still have workers and painters here.

I will take better pictures when it's finished.

But we absolutely LOVE this house!!!!

The O'Donnell Visit - Feb 2011

2011-03-06T16:15:00.004-07:00

Two weeks ago Steve's sister, Judy, and her

husband, Jim, came to visit.

We took them to many of our favorite food joints.

And we showed them the sites.

Me and Steve at Old Town.

Judy and Steve at Old Town.

Jim, Judy, me and Steve at the top of the Sandia Mts.

Burrrrr

Going up the Tram at sunset.

Beautiful!!!

Me, Steve, Judy and Jim in Santa Fe.

Thanksgiving - 2010

2011-01-01T20:46:00.002-07:00

I am really behind posting photos!

Craig, Jen and me at Thanksgiving.

Vegas Baby!

2010-12-22T12:21:00.017-07:00

On Oct 8th we drove to Las Vegas.

Jen and Tom flew out to spend the weekend with us.

Pam and Ken flew out from Myrtle Beach to spend

the week with us.

Steve and I went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage.

The Dolphin Habitat

The lions

Cub

Pam and Ken in stadium seats.

Ken, Pam, Steve and me.

Jen, Pam and me going to see the show "Viva Elvis."

Me at the Aria.

Pam fooling around in a gift shop.

...I couldn't be out done.

They played The Monster Mash on Freemon Street.

Me and the "Prez" at Madame Tussaud's

Acupuncture

2010-11-22T12:35:00.002-07:00

Last Tuesday I had acupuncture...for the 1st time. I've been having bad spasms in my feet/legs (worse than usual) and I'm maxed out on Baclofin. My docture suggested acupuncture.

I had 4 in each foot, 4 in each lower leg, 1 in each hand and 2 in the top of my head.

So far it hasn't helped. But I'm going again today.

Then, tomorrow, back for more Botox in my lower arms to help relax my fists.

Can we all say OUCH?

Deb's Visit

2010-09-10T20:38:00.022-06:00

On Saturday 9/4, Deb Aebersold came to visit.

It has been 1 year since I left Columbus, Oh...
and my good friend.

We went shopping, sightseeing and eating...
sometimes way too much.

I was so sad when she left that Thursday.
But I have wonderful memories and pictures!

The day she arrived, we took the world's longest
tram up the Sandia Mountains.

It was a 15 minute ride up and back.

And a long way down. Whew!

The next day Steve drove us to Santa Fe.

Copper wind chimes.

Local artwork

The following day we went to Old Town in Albuquerque.

Deb parallel parked the van on the first try!!!

It was a little windy that day.

Deb was trying to not touch the cactus.

The alter in the church in Old Town.

Shopping in Old Town.

Local venders with their homemade jewelry

spread out on blankets.

The day before she left, we took pictures of each

other in a local store, Jackalopes.

And Deb took me to a doctor's appointment where

I got botox injections in 2 parts of my left arm.

It hurts like hell but loosens the finger muscles

a little so my fingernails don't dig into my palms.

I had them in my right arm two weeks ago.

And now several weeks of therapy.

And then do it all over again in probably 6 months.

3034 Columbus St

2010-09-04T11:13:00.002-06:00

Our Grove City house sold....finally!!!
We are soooo happy!

Swimming Pool

2010-08-26T18:42:00.005-06:00

Last week my physical therapist suggested I try aqua therapy.
This both excited and scared me. I haven't been in any water
in over 6 years. But I had to try.
Here I am being wheeled down the ramp into the pool.

The pained look on my face was that I started floating...
...way too fast.

I'm trying to smile but my neck was hurting from
trying to hold it up.
And you can see how tight my hands are.

Once she got my legs to float, I did relax...a little.

And all was good with a neck pillow.

Silverton, CO

2010-08-26T17:36:00.005-06:00

While in Durango, we drove about an hour north to Silverton.
The temperature dropped from 80 to 56 degrees.
And you could still see snow in the mountains.

A saloon-style hamburger restaurant.

An antique car for Handlebars Restaurant.

Durango. CO

2010-08-20T20:13:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks ago Steve, Craig and I drove north to
Durango, CO for the weekend.

Above is the famous Strater Hotel.
We ate at a wonderful Mexican restaurant there.
We also saw a great local show there, too.

They had alot of rain just days before we got there.
So, the streams were very muddy...but beautiful.

This was a painting of a Jack Demsey fight on the
side of a building.

Jennifer's Birthday

2010-07-26T21:34:00.008-06:00

We went to a fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot.

There were four courses and we ate for 2-1/2 hrs.

It was wonderful!!! (But, Steve wouldn't get in the pictures.)

My Good Friend, Linda

2010-07-26T17:43:00.009-06:00

A few days ago I opened this card from my good friend, Linda Conway.

Now what makes this so special is that she has sent me a card every 3 or 4 weeks for the past 4 years.

These cards have brightened many dark days.

Thank you, Linda, for your love and friendship!

Craig

2010-06-10T18:00:00.006-06:00

Craig has finally moved out here. YEA!!!
This is the first time our whole family has been in the same
city since 1992.
I am soooo excited!

(2007 wedding picture)

Friends

2010-04-29T20:34:00.005-06:00

"The best memories are often made of good friends,
good food, and a little slice of time to be together."

(Thanks Rhonda for the Hallmark card)

2nd Ohio Visitors

2010-04-24T14:31:00.011-06:00

On April 16th, Rhonda and Joe Corbin flew out here to visit.
The guys golfed almost every day.
That left Rhonda and I on our own.
And what are two women to do but......shop...eat...and
go to the movies!

(We just love having family and friends visit us!)

We all drove to Santa Fe one day.
One place we visited was the Our Lady of Light Chapel.
It houses the Famous Staircase, a spiral staircase
apparently without support to the gallery above.

Here I am ringing the original bell.

This is the alter. It is so beautiful!!!

And finally someone took pictures of the front of our house.
Thanks Joe!

1st Ohio Visitors

2010-04-18T20:27:00.004-06:00

On April 3rd we had our 1st Ohio visitors - The Thompson's.
One of my wonderful aides and a very good friend, Dee, her husband, Joshua, and her two adorable kids, Ian and Christian, drove 23 hours to see us.
And we were soooo happy to see them!

Ian and Christian were making a "bunny house" at my house.

We went to the Rio Grande Zoo.

The boys sitting in a tile chair at the zoo.

And their last day here. sniff...sniff...sniff

My pet

2010-04-12T17:48:00.004-06:00

Steve said I can't take care of a puppy.
(I don't know what he means lol)
So, I bought a canary.
And his name is Elvis.

My Birthday

2010-03-17T21:06:00.003-06:00

My birthday was the beginning of the month....but I was sicker than a dog for a week. I couldn't even go out to dinner. And you all know I like to eat out.

But five days after my birthday I felt great and we left for 6 days in Las Vegas. Steve and I drove the 8 hours so we would have my van there. Jennifer and Tom opted to flew.

We went to two Lobos games and I even sat on the floor at the 2nd game. I don't even like basketball but, being right there by the cheerleaders and coaches was great.

We went to three shows - the opera Phantom (found out real quick that we're not opera fans), "O" Cirque du Soleil (we love these shows) and The Jersey Boys (this was the greatest! If you get the chance, see this show!).

We went to an outlet mall. At the Coach store I bought a bag. At the Croc store I bought red Crocs (to wear to the Lobo games) and blue Crocs. I love my Crocs!

We ate at wayyyy too many buffets.....but all agreed the one at the Rio was by far the best!

New Year's Eve

2010-02-19T00:14:00.014-07:00

New Year's Eve was celebrated with Tom, Jennifer, Daniel and his girlfriend.

Me and Steve (he's leaning around a post)

Jennifer and Tom

Jennifer and her daddy.

Christmas

2010-02-18T23:33:00.005-07:00

Our Christmas was wonderful but over way too fast. Craig was only here for 3 days. So we had to cram shopping, eating and visiting with him into those 3 days. And I didn't get any pictures when he was here. ughhhh

This is a picture of my aide, Angelica, her husband, Alejandro, and her two kids, Memo and Yureli. We were at Jennifer and Tom's house for a party.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T20:29:00.008-07:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Jennifer, Tom and.....

............Bailey.

Steve decided to deep fry a turkey for the first time.

Here is Jennifer and Steve lowering the turkey into the oil...carefully.

Here I am with my favorite son-in-law.

We had lots of food.

And a picture Jen took of us.

Our House.....the inside that is

2009-11-12T16:39:00.017-07:00

I finally took pictures of the inside of the house today.
The outside will have to wait for another day.

The entry.

The beautiful kitchen.

The breakfast nook.

The golf course is right across the street from the back of our house.

Our million dollar view - the Sandia Mountains right outside our living room window!

Our aquarium.

The dining room/living room.

Steve's bathroom.

Steve's bedroom.

The laundry room....and I can actually use the washer and dryer!

And finally, Steve's golf cart.

Sandia Mountains

2009-11-01T20:40:00.003-07:00

Steve and I drove to the top of the Sandia Mountains. There is a nice overlook that is completely handicap accessible. These are just 2 of the pictures I took. The second one is looking down at Albuquerque. It was beautiful up there!

The Zoo

2009-10-29T14:23:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, Jennifer and I met her friend, Tiffany, and her children, Jackson and Preston, at the Albuquerque Zoo. I forgot to take my camera. But we had a gentleman take a picture of all of us as we were leaving. By the way, Preston is Jen's godson. She's holding him in the picture.

My New Bedroom and Bath

2009-10-21T17:32:00.002-06:00

I finally took pictures of my bedroom and bathroom.....with the huge rollin shower. Here ya go.....

Las Vegas

2009-09-16T20:25:00.002-06:00

Last Wednesday we decided to take a mini vacation and drive to Las Vegas. So, Thursday we packed up and drove almost 9 hours. Jen and Tom drove their car, Steve and I drove my van and my aide, Anjelica, her husband and their two kids drove another car. We stayed Thurs, Fri, Sat and drove back yesterday.
We had a really great time! I think everybody needed a vacation.

We saw the aquatic show Le Reve at the Winn and the play The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. OMG! Both shows were wonderful!
As always, we ate lots of great food and played lots of slot machines. And the kids had plenty of things to do, too.

But, it was nice to get into my own bed last night.....

My State Auto Going Away Party

2009-09-10T20:45:00.009-06:00

On 8/6/2009, my friend, Deb Aebersold, organized a going away party with some of my good friends at State Auto. She also bought an "autograph book" and had dozens of other friends write heartfelt sentiments to me. A big old THANKS Deb!!!

Here are just a few of the many pictures that were taken:

The whole gang!

Deb and me

Anne, Jerri, Mary, Jeannie and Kay

Kathy Z.

Pam & Rhonda

Terry

Julie

Betty

Flowers

2009-09-06T21:06:00.005-06:00

Today, Steve and I went to Old Town...the original downtown Albuquerque. We went in a ton of gift, jewelry and painting shops. I bought two turquoise bracelets in the marketplace. That's where locals sell their jewelry. I paid $10 each. Great bargains!

When we got home, Tom stopped by with flowers for this small flower bed in the side yard. And he planted them for me. I want to take a picture of them tomorrow.

My bathroom is being grouted tomorrow. One step closer!!!

Bathroom about done

2009-09-03T18:12:00.003-06:00

It's 6:14 and the tile guy just left. Tomorrow he's going to grout the walls and floor and his part will be done. Then the plumber is going to install the shower fixtures and sink. And I'll be able to take a shower...maybe Monday!!!! It's little things like this that make me happy. More later.

Hello!

2009-09-01T16:33:00.003-06:00

We are living in the updated house and it's getting real close to being completed. Today we had workers repairing the stucco where new windows were put in my bedroom. Also, we had a company installing a new air conditioner and two men painting and dry-walling. Tomorrow, the air conditioner will be finished. YEA !!! And a man is going to lay the tile on my bathroom floor, lay another tile on my shower floor, and lay still tile on the shower walls. It will be beautiful when it's done. I can't wait to decorate my bedroom and bathroom!!!

I will be sure to take pictures and post them here.