An Epidemic has Arrived

It started in China and there are thousands that have this deadly virus.
It is now worldwide, including the USA with like 59 cases and 2 deaths.
And in Italy too - diagnosed just after we left and came home.
Hundreds?Thousands have died so far.   But the US is able to handle this so much better than other countries are.  But that doesn't make it any easier for those contaminated by it.  Even the church has closed certain missions, and closed church meetings and traveling by missionaries during this crisis.  The church even announced that they are asking all priesthood leadership that would normally travel to General Conference in April, to stay home.
Kathryn and I have both had flu and serious cold symptoms, but nothing else.  This is covered on the news nightly - more areas, more deaths.
Scary times.

A 'ONE EYE' Re-Do

Before Christmas, I had surgery done on both my eyelids, to allow more light to enter into my pupil.  But my left eye was still drooping way more than my right eye was, so it required a second surgery - or, a FREE re-do on the left side!
So Valentines Day, Kathryn drove with me to Dallas for the procedure.  This time, it was done in my doctors office with NO general anesthesia, only  local anesthesia!  Yowee!!!  I could feel almost everything!!  She had to remove all the scar tissue from the initial surgery and then raise the eye lid about 2mm.  End result will be so much better.  I am currently still  swollen from this last surgery, but I can already see such an improvement!!
This should be it for surgeries for me this year.
And YES, I DID say that outloud!!

'EGGactly My Point'

I LOVE having having chickens!!
I love raising them, feeding hem, watching over them and then collecting their eggs.  The whole process is just a rush for me. So, in that the process of having chickens is a rush for me, the losing of is the opposite: a TOTAL devastation  to me. And that is what has happened to me over the past 6 weeks.
The most we have had at any given time was 30.  We are now down to 9.  We have seen them be snatched up by hawks, we have seen them get dragged away by a coyote, and then several times, we have been left with only the signs of what once as a chicken, left behind as proof of a death.
My emotions one week are...once these chickens are all gone, we're not doing this again.
The next week, I'm wanting to go out and buy 20 more baby chickens to raise again for more eggs.
The next week, I'm like  'let's get even more for different colored eggs'...
and the last week, I'm like  'My grandkids can get their own chickens at their OWN house.'
We took steps to no longer have roosters to worry about and now our cute hens don't feel threatened or afraid to stay in the coop.
Right now, at this EGGact moment, I'm leaning towards scenario #3 - a few more wouldn't hurt anything.

Even Though....

I hate Donald Trump.  President Donald Trump.  Even though I am Republican, I did NOT vote for him, nor will I ever.  Even though he is the president, I do NOT support him.
He has already been impeached in the House.  Now it's on trial in the Senate.  This has been going on since the end of last year.
I believe he is completely immoral - a liar, - completely uneducated as to political matters and foreign policy.  I believe him to be a bully and a mean person when he is confronted with conflict and an ENTITLED billionaire who truly thinks he can do anything he wants just because of who he is and how much money he has.  I just can't stand all the bad about him.  I can't look past it for the one or two things he has done right while president.  And do I want him to win a second term??  **** no!!!!!
The saddest thing about my narrative???
Even though I feel this way about the disgusting person that he is?  He's more desirable than any Democrat out there to accomplish for our country what our country truly needs.  And since there is no-one to run against him in the Republican party, he is what we are left with as our only candidate against the Democrats.
It's almost more than I can stomach to think of him being President for another 4 years. 
Is there not a morally clean, honest and 'devoted to their country Democrat' out there???
From the list of who's running against Trump, it doesn't appear so.
So the impeachment trial goes on -

Such a Loss to So Many

This is Kobe Bryant and his daughter GiGi.
Last Sunday, after attending church together, they left in Kobe's helicopter, with 7 other people to go to a basketball game of his daughter and some other teammates and their parents.
The helicopter crashed, killing all 9 people on board.
Kobe Bryant is probably the 2nd, maybe 3rd best basketball player in the history of the NBA - behind only Michael Jordan and MAYBE Lebron James.  But they all knew each other and they all admired each other as players of the game and as fathers, husbands and good men.
Kobe retired just three years ago.  He was good.  No, he was more than good.  He was an icon.  No Lie.  It's indisputable.  He WAS, the best.
He leaves behind 3 other daughters and a wife.  The others in the crash were also family people - thy too are important people, but because of who Kobe was, most of the attention has been on his and his daughters passing.
But no matter what, it's sad. He was only 41.  Gigi was 13.  Gone way too soon.  This whole week of news has been about his passing.  The world truly is mourning.

While We Were Away...

...the hens began to lay!!  But as you can see, they are holding out on me.  They seem a little on the teeny tiny side of the spectrum!!!
I may need to have a heart to heart with them...
But it is fun to finally have them producing!!

I Can't Take Another Surprise

I came home from Italy so content and happy for the whole experience of the Christmas surprise, then the birthday surprise.  I was looking forward to life getting back to normal and especially my emotions with no more surprises.
But nope - there was one more.  The morning after we got home, I went out onto my back patio to find this.
This is my new heaven, made and delivered by Dan Newman.  He and his family are members of our ward.  He is the ward Priesthood Quorum President and Del is his counselor.  We moved into the ward just before they did and I met them one day when they were at Subway just after moving in.  I was the first person they met.  We have become friends.
Del and Dan are especially close.  They, along with Brandon Burton, are peas in a pod.  Kind of quiet, socially awkward with wives who ARE NOT.  But all three men are the kindest hardest working men you'll meet.
Dan made this for my birthday.  I was stunned.  He does this as a side business and sells them for over $600!!  But he gifted this for me and painted it in my BYU blue.
A friend suggested I throw a bunch of BYU pillows on it and my BYU blanket and call it good. So I've ordered the pillows and when they arrive, I will take another picture.
Basically - if you need me?  You'll know where to find me.