I learned a few things today.
Yesterday and the day before, I did some vacuuming. My knee hurt like Billy be Damned. Today, I did virtually nothing and it feels much better. I am a slow learner or as Dick says a slow accepterer (not a word but you KNOW what I mean.)
We had a very sedate day, watching the pre funeral and the funeral Mass for Ted Kennedy. Even his foes respected him. He spent 47 years in the Senate and never wavered from his beliefs in all those years. He never tried to hide his warts and never worried about what people thought of him if he had a mission. He believed that those who have been given much have an obligation to help those to whom little has been given. That does not mean giving up your place in society or not expecting others to help themselves. It means that help needs to be offered.
I found out that in 1954 when he was a Junior at Harvard (albiet with a rocky start) he was sent a recruiting feeler from the Green Bay Packers. WOW. He passed, deciding to go for his law degree. I am sure that most of you heard the wonderful tributes from his sons and President Obama. All three of his children had medical problems and he was a rock for them during them all. I know that he suffered himself from constant pain from his back injury, something that I can understand as my son Bart also suffers from constant back pain.
I always felt a bit of a kinship with the Kennedys. They are Irish, we are Irish, they had nine children, we had nine children, they were Roman Catholic, we are Roman Catholic. John and Jacquie Kennedy lost a baby the same year that my Tony died. Ted's humor reminds me of my Dad's humor. My he rest easy in the palm of the Lord's hand.
So, I spent most of the day watching the tributes.
I made a turkey breast and stuffing for our supper. Boy was that good. I have lots left. We will be eating turkey for quite a while and I can share.
Tomorrow is another quiet day. I am going pistol shooting with Nancy in the afternoon but the rest of the day will be spent at home.
Take care and let me know of anything exiting in your lives.
Two little quips I got in my email:
1. What part of Europe are you from. The part whose ass we saved or the part whose ass we kicked.
2. Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Love
Mary
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
It is still too chilly for August. It will, as my friend, Peggy Feider says, heat up just when the poor kids have to head back to school.
But it makes for nice morning walking. Everything is beautiful, green and blooming, after all the rain we have had. I believe some warmer temperatures might help my tomatoes to ripen. We have plenty to eat, some still from Bobbie and I was able to freeze one bag but there are lots on my plants if they just ripen.
I got a little bit of cleaning done today and one load of wash. There was SO much clutter on my desk and around it AND on the counters that I feel I accomplished a lot. Of course, the table has several piles on it now, but much of that is destined to be filed or returned and I will take care of much of that tomorrow.
I only had to leave the neighborhood once and that was quick. I picked up a prescription for myself and the fresh corn from Capelle's for our supper. Boy is it good this year. We always wonder how long it will last. I have put some of that in the freezer also.
I went downstairs and cut out the pattern for the kitty square that I am going to quilt. I actually have a bit of ambition these days. It has been a long time coming. Then when I get started, my knee hurts or I just plain wear out, but at least I did something today. Maybe tomorrow will be even better.
I have a nice quiet weekend ahead also. Tomorrow I just have to go to Mass and Sunday I am going shooting with Nancy. Sounds good to me.
Take care and enjoy your weekend. Perhaps yours will be really exciting. That is always nice too.
Love.
Mary
One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable..
But it makes for nice morning walking. Everything is beautiful, green and blooming, after all the rain we have had. I believe some warmer temperatures might help my tomatoes to ripen. We have plenty to eat, some still from Bobbie and I was able to freeze one bag but there are lots on my plants if they just ripen.
I got a little bit of cleaning done today and one load of wash. There was SO much clutter on my desk and around it AND on the counters that I feel I accomplished a lot. Of course, the table has several piles on it now, but much of that is destined to be filed or returned and I will take care of much of that tomorrow.
I only had to leave the neighborhood once and that was quick. I picked up a prescription for myself and the fresh corn from Capelle's for our supper. Boy is it good this year. We always wonder how long it will last. I have put some of that in the freezer also.
I went downstairs and cut out the pattern for the kitty square that I am going to quilt. I actually have a bit of ambition these days. It has been a long time coming. Then when I get started, my knee hurts or I just plain wear out, but at least I did something today. Maybe tomorrow will be even better.
I have a nice quiet weekend ahead also. Tomorrow I just have to go to Mass and Sunday I am going shooting with Nancy. Sounds good to me.
Take care and enjoy your weekend. Perhaps yours will be really exciting. That is always nice too.
Love.
Mary
One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable..
Thursday, August 27, 2009
It was chilly today. We have hardly had a summer. Mother said she talked to Nora today and it is HOT in Dallas.
We spent the morning getting everybody fed and cleaned up and I made a couple of important business calls. Then Dick had to be at the Plymouth Clinic at 10:30AM for his anti coagulation check. Yippee! The count was 2.7. Just right so we don't have to go back for a whole month.
We had more of that chicken for our lunch - Got a fridge full of salads and leftovers. Tomorrow we will have our usual summer corn and tomatoes for supper.
Tonight I went to choir practice for Celtic Mass at Blessed Trinity. It was good seeing my friends and singing with them again. Beth put the words that I wrote from St. Paul to the tune of The Water is Wide on paper and we will sing it at the prelude. I have a couple of credits in the worship folder, two songs and the introduction. Isn't that cool?
I actually spent about an hour this afternoon reading. I have been planning to set time aside each day to do so and hopefully this is the beginning of putting this plan in motion.
Saturday Ted Kennedy will be buried. He has, I believe, been a man of honor. He made some mistakes but stood up to them and lived them down with service. I loved the Irish expression that is being used, he grew old enough to comb gray hair. He, in his elegy to John Kennedy Jr. regretted that John did not grow to that stage of life.
Well. It is now time to sleep.
Tomorrow will be a quiet day, I hope to wax creative.
Love
Mary
We spent the morning getting everybody fed and cleaned up and I made a couple of important business calls. Then Dick had to be at the Plymouth Clinic at 10:30AM for his anti coagulation check. Yippee! The count was 2.7. Just right so we don't have to go back for a whole month.
We had more of that chicken for our lunch - Got a fridge full of salads and leftovers. Tomorrow we will have our usual summer corn and tomatoes for supper.
Tonight I went to choir practice for Celtic Mass at Blessed Trinity. It was good seeing my friends and singing with them again. Beth put the words that I wrote from St. Paul to the tune of The Water is Wide on paper and we will sing it at the prelude. I have a couple of credits in the worship folder, two songs and the introduction. Isn't that cool?
I actually spent about an hour this afternoon reading. I have been planning to set time aside each day to do so and hopefully this is the beginning of putting this plan in motion.
Saturday Ted Kennedy will be buried. He has, I believe, been a man of honor. He made some mistakes but stood up to them and lived them down with service. I loved the Irish expression that is being used, he grew old enough to comb gray hair. He, in his elegy to John Kennedy Jr. regretted that John did not grow to that stage of life.
Well. It is now time to sleep.
Tomorrow will be a quiet day, I hope to wax creative.
Love
Mary
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
It was a very pleasant day today. Not to warm, not too cool. The morning was really busy. Had the usual stuff to do just to get started.
I watched all of GMA this morning because I wanted to hear all the tributes to Senator Kennedy. I was not at all surprised at his death. When he was unable to attend his sister Eunice's funeral, I knew that there was not much time. They are a family like ours. He would have been there if there had been any way. God bless him and his family. It will be interesting to see how the next few days unfold and what happens to his place in the senate. Wow. He held that post for 47 years.
At 9AM, I went grocery shopping. I bought a rotisserie chicken for our lunch. They are so tender and good and it was on sale. We will be eating on that the rest of the week.
I did take a nap before lunch. I was so tired and had a busy afternoon ahead of me.
At 2PM, I drove out to Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group. We had a nice turnout and two speakers. One was Gary Wright who told about a swimming class for disabled swimmers at Central starting in October, the other was Dick Ruh, from A&J Vans. He is the one that I talked to about possibly making the Explorer or some other van handicap accessible for Dick. Then it turned out that the Passat was more practical and works very well. I was pleased to meet him and be able to tell him how much I appreciated his help. I did pick up some information on hand controls for cars. This could be useful if Dick ever wants to drive again.Did you know that you have to be able to use the emergency brake with the hand controls too? That reminded me of a story about my Dad. He used cars only because he HAD to. He did not like them. He came home from work one afternoon madder than a wet hen. He had to park on a hill and set the emergency brake. The only problem was that he did not know how to release it. SO. He twisted the thing like a pretzel trying to release it and finally drove home with it on. Jeff was fuming until I started laughing. I could just see Dad trying to pull the thing loose. Fortunately, Dad never drove fast enough to do any permanent damage and he learned how to release the brake for the next time.Boy was he strong.
On the way home, stopped a the Sewing Basket and picked up the first block of a Kitty Quilt. There are 8 in the set so far and the Sewing Shop will be doing one a month. I will do mine at home and use hand applique. They are adorable. I picked one called Kitt'ney Bean. They are hard to describe. This one has a kitty on a kidney shaped rug and is adorable. The kitty has a Rosie expression. Each one has a recipe. This one is Tuscan Pasta and Bean Soup. So this will be a fun project and something I can do by hand upstairs. I will cut it out tomorrow and maybe start on the had quilting of the project I have on the quilt rack. I must be feeling better because I am getting excited about things again.
Tomorrow will be pretty quiet. We just have to take Dick to the Plymouth Clinic for his anti coagulation test.
By the way, I DID tell Dick about our upcoming trip to the Fireside. He took it OK. We just have to figure out a couple of things and it will be OK as Janice has wheelchair seating for the guys so he won't have to be walking or anything. It will be fun. I have decided that I would like to go to Chicago at the end of October for an event at the Irish Center for Irish Artists. I will be selling my book along with the other CWI members who wish to feature their CDS or books. I need to start planning that soon.
Have a good Thursday.
Mary.
I watched all of GMA this morning because I wanted to hear all the tributes to Senator Kennedy. I was not at all surprised at his death. When he was unable to attend his sister Eunice's funeral, I knew that there was not much time. They are a family like ours. He would have been there if there had been any way. God bless him and his family. It will be interesting to see how the next few days unfold and what happens to his place in the senate. Wow. He held that post for 47 years.
At 9AM, I went grocery shopping. I bought a rotisserie chicken for our lunch. They are so tender and good and it was on sale. We will be eating on that the rest of the week.
I did take a nap before lunch. I was so tired and had a busy afternoon ahead of me.
At 2PM, I drove out to Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group. We had a nice turnout and two speakers. One was Gary Wright who told about a swimming class for disabled swimmers at Central starting in October, the other was Dick Ruh, from A&J Vans. He is the one that I talked to about possibly making the Explorer or some other van handicap accessible for Dick. Then it turned out that the Passat was more practical and works very well. I was pleased to meet him and be able to tell him how much I appreciated his help. I did pick up some information on hand controls for cars. This could be useful if Dick ever wants to drive again.Did you know that you have to be able to use the emergency brake with the hand controls too? That reminded me of a story about my Dad. He used cars only because he HAD to. He did not like them. He came home from work one afternoon madder than a wet hen. He had to park on a hill and set the emergency brake. The only problem was that he did not know how to release it. SO. He twisted the thing like a pretzel trying to release it and finally drove home with it on. Jeff was fuming until I started laughing. I could just see Dad trying to pull the thing loose. Fortunately, Dad never drove fast enough to do any permanent damage and he learned how to release the brake for the next time.Boy was he strong.
On the way home, stopped a the Sewing Basket and picked up the first block of a Kitty Quilt. There are 8 in the set so far and the Sewing Shop will be doing one a month. I will do mine at home and use hand applique. They are adorable. I picked one called Kitt'ney Bean. They are hard to describe. This one has a kitty on a kidney shaped rug and is adorable. The kitty has a Rosie expression. Each one has a recipe. This one is Tuscan Pasta and Bean Soup. So this will be a fun project and something I can do by hand upstairs. I will cut it out tomorrow and maybe start on the had quilting of the project I have on the quilt rack. I must be feeling better because I am getting excited about things again.
Tomorrow will be pretty quiet. We just have to take Dick to the Plymouth Clinic for his anti coagulation test.
By the way, I DID tell Dick about our upcoming trip to the Fireside. He took it OK. We just have to figure out a couple of things and it will be OK as Janice has wheelchair seating for the guys so he won't have to be walking or anything. It will be fun. I have decided that I would like to go to Chicago at the end of October for an event at the Irish Center for Irish Artists. I will be selling my book along with the other CWI members who wish to feature their CDS or books. I need to start planning that soon.
Have a good Thursday.
Mary.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Today was an exhausting day. We had to get Dick all washed and changed and inspected before 10AM. His appointment with the prosthesist was at 10:30. I got up at 6:15AM but there is so much to do just to get to breakfast every morning.
The callous that has the blister, looks much better now. It is still drying up but has not opened into an open sore. For this I am so grateful. Tim replaced the strap on the shoe on Dick's leg. We needed to shorten the strap. So far it seems to be helping keep the foot in position. We have to stop him from rolling the foot.
It went well, I think. We found out how long things should last and that they will notify us when regular inspections are needed. We can always call if there are problems that need to be addressed, but mainly, we are done. All we need to do is get Dick on his feet and walking.
I have this little problem. Three or four months ago, I bought tickets for a play at the Fireside with Lee and Janice Lemkuil, they are part of the Amputee Support Group that I go to and that Dick should be going to. At that time it seemed very reasonable that he would be walking and able to be more mobile. I still want to go. We have almost a month yet to prepare. So tomorrow I have to tell him what I did and face his discomfort. He loves the Fireside and we would be using wheelchairs. Lee is a double amputee. The seating allows for this. So wish me luck.
We had slow cooker pork chops that were just super for lunch along with colannon. Tonight we had soup. Boy are we lucky.
I spent the afternoon starting to get ready for the workshop that I am going to do for CWI on Music of the Celtic Nations and catching up on emails and things for the Celtic Mass on September 13. Thursday will be the first choir rehearsal. That will be fun. I miss choir but don't want to be committed to being away from home one night of every week. I didn't tell you this, but when I took the worship folder to Sandy with MY changes, she told me Fr. Bob's changes and he wants to give credit to me for writing the front page. I have never asked for that but think that it is nice and will be pleased to be acknowledged for it. I think it is good this year. Though other years have made me happy too. I like to share Celtic customs and beliefs with others. After the Faire, I will print it here for you all. It would be nice if you could come to the Mass and Faire. They are really fun.
Take care.
Love
Mary
The callous that has the blister, looks much better now. It is still drying up but has not opened into an open sore. For this I am so grateful. Tim replaced the strap on the shoe on Dick's leg. We needed to shorten the strap. So far it seems to be helping keep the foot in position. We have to stop him from rolling the foot.
It went well, I think. We found out how long things should last and that they will notify us when regular inspections are needed. We can always call if there are problems that need to be addressed, but mainly, we are done. All we need to do is get Dick on his feet and walking.
I have this little problem. Three or four months ago, I bought tickets for a play at the Fireside with Lee and Janice Lemkuil, they are part of the Amputee Support Group that I go to and that Dick should be going to. At that time it seemed very reasonable that he would be walking and able to be more mobile. I still want to go. We have almost a month yet to prepare. So tomorrow I have to tell him what I did and face his discomfort. He loves the Fireside and we would be using wheelchairs. Lee is a double amputee. The seating allows for this. So wish me luck.
We had slow cooker pork chops that were just super for lunch along with colannon. Tonight we had soup. Boy are we lucky.
I spent the afternoon starting to get ready for the workshop that I am going to do for CWI on Music of the Celtic Nations and catching up on emails and things for the Celtic Mass on September 13. Thursday will be the first choir rehearsal. That will be fun. I miss choir but don't want to be committed to being away from home one night of every week. I didn't tell you this, but when I took the worship folder to Sandy with MY changes, she told me Fr. Bob's changes and he wants to give credit to me for writing the front page. I have never asked for that but think that it is nice and will be pleased to be acknowledged for it. I think it is good this year. Though other years have made me happy too. I like to share Celtic customs and beliefs with others. After the Faire, I will print it here for you all. It would be nice if you could come to the Mass and Faire. They are really fun.
Take care.
Love
Mary
Monday, August 24, 2009
When I left for Bible Study, Dick was still in bed. I left him with some juice, iced tea, a pear and a scone. Pretty good service if you ask me.
We had nine people at bible study. A nice showing. Mark is an interesting study that leads us to all kinds of current problems that I am sure the early Christians faced too. We touched on the health care initiative among other things. One thing that struck me in the commentary today was the statement that the early Christians were not dealing with the Old and the New Testament or any conflicts. The New Testament didn't exist, it was BEING WRITTEN. Isn't that some thing to wrap your mind around.
Mom and I had a nice visit. I brought her some scones, brown bread, mac and cheese and a sausage and she gave me some of Jeff's corn on the cob which we had for dinner tonight. BOY was it good. She is feeling good and is going to the Senior Center tomorrow for lunch. Good for her and good for Lucy, her friend who drives them. Lucy had some health problems but is apparently back on track. Pray for Lucy. She is so sweet and refers to Mother and a couple of other older ladies as "Her Ladies".
When I got home, we had lunch and then I took a nap. Betsy called me back this afternoon. Her mother, Dorothy, had moved into Pine Haven Assisted Living and there are SO many details that have to be taken care of. Fortunately, Dorothy is not unhappy about the move. She has said that she really likes the food. At least the family knows that she is in a safe place. But Betsy is really tired. There is always more than we realize when such big transitions take place. We had hoped to have lunch or something while she was here but there is no time. So. I can be glad that we had a good telephone visit and next time will plan better.
I called Dr. Moreno about Dick's callous this morning. We are OK. I am much relieved. We need to keep checking it, BUT it was probably caused from a fold in his sock which caused irritation. I have to watch it. We have to be very careful of things that can irritate. He can start walking again. We will see Tim the prosthesis man tomorrow and he can double check the inside of the shoe. I am so relieved. I don't believe that I can go through another open sore event. I am way to tired.
So I am saved from that this time.
Take Care
Mary
I received this as an email and thought it funny.
Word is out that the Vikings got
$4,500.00 for Bret Favre
from the Federal Government.
Cash for Clunkers!
We had nine people at bible study. A nice showing. Mark is an interesting study that leads us to all kinds of current problems that I am sure the early Christians faced too. We touched on the health care initiative among other things. One thing that struck me in the commentary today was the statement that the early Christians were not dealing with the Old and the New Testament or any conflicts. The New Testament didn't exist, it was BEING WRITTEN. Isn't that some thing to wrap your mind around.
Mom and I had a nice visit. I brought her some scones, brown bread, mac and cheese and a sausage and she gave me some of Jeff's corn on the cob which we had for dinner tonight. BOY was it good. She is feeling good and is going to the Senior Center tomorrow for lunch. Good for her and good for Lucy, her friend who drives them. Lucy had some health problems but is apparently back on track. Pray for Lucy. She is so sweet and refers to Mother and a couple of other older ladies as "Her Ladies".
When I got home, we had lunch and then I took a nap. Betsy called me back this afternoon. Her mother, Dorothy, had moved into Pine Haven Assisted Living and there are SO many details that have to be taken care of. Fortunately, Dorothy is not unhappy about the move. She has said that she really likes the food. At least the family knows that she is in a safe place. But Betsy is really tired. There is always more than we realize when such big transitions take place. We had hoped to have lunch or something while she was here but there is no time. So. I can be glad that we had a good telephone visit and next time will plan better.
I called Dr. Moreno about Dick's callous this morning. We are OK. I am much relieved. We need to keep checking it, BUT it was probably caused from a fold in his sock which caused irritation. I have to watch it. We have to be very careful of things that can irritate. He can start walking again. We will see Tim the prosthesis man tomorrow and he can double check the inside of the shoe. I am so relieved. I don't believe that I can go through another open sore event. I am way to tired.
So I am saved from that this time.
Take Care
Mary
I received this as an email and thought it funny.
Word is out that the Vikings got
$4,500.00 for Bret Favre
from the Federal Government.
Cash for Clunkers!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
We got to be homebodies all day. I did go over and have a cup a tea. Jan was in the hospital for 5 days last week. They have finally determined that she had adult onset asthma. It took that long for them to get her breathing under control and determine that her heart was not at risk. We had a nice visit and I got to meet her sister who was visiting.
I spent a completely lazy day so have no exciting adventures to relate at all. I did make a mac and cheese for lunch that was quite good.
So I have something rather clever that I heard in the past two days to share with you. Dorothy Parker was kicked out of parochial school for referring to the Immaculate Conception as Spontaneous Combustion.
Dick and I BOTH loved that.
Love you and have a great week.
Mary
I spent a completely lazy day so have no exciting adventures to relate at all. I did make a mac and cheese for lunch that was quite good.
So I have something rather clever that I heard in the past two days to share with you. Dorothy Parker was kicked out of parochial school for referring to the Immaculate Conception as Spontaneous Combustion.
Dick and I BOTH loved that.
Love you and have a great week.
Mary
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