Such a great day.   Consisting, of course, of the bus trip to the Fireside to see David.  

The trip was quite pleasant.   I read both ways.   We got there at about 10:30 and got kind of set for lunch.  Bobbie and Bill and I sat with a lovely lady Alma who traveled many times with her husband Harold to the Fireside.   The lunch was really good.  They served a delicious salad with strawberries, grapes, pineapple, grapefruit and Mandarin oranges over greens with a poppy seed dressing, Chicken Vienna, Sweet Potato Souffle and fresh asparagus.   Of course, they also had their wonderful breads.   Then we had a lemon chess pie with strawberry coulis for dessert.  

I picked up my bread before lunch then after went to the gift shops to buy the CD of the show so I could get it autographed afterward.   I also found the cutest tea pot.   Now I have three.

The play was SO good.   It was lively, the music was super and the author presented the story of David in the same wonderful human way that he did the other three.    I loved it and recommend it to anyone who has the notion to see it.   It will be at the Fireside until August 21.

So that was my day.   I called Dick when we got home to tell him about the day.   He had a good day it seems too.   So until tomorrow


God love you

Mary

What a lovely day.   I know it was up in the 80s and a bit humid but not enough to be really uncomfortable.

I was able to be out and about a bit.    Dick and I even did a short stroll and roll this afternoon after his PT.

This morning, Jody came to clean at 8AM.   I did not hear from Gary about the repair of the leak though.   If I do not hear by Monday noon, I will call him.    This, I am going to have to be pushy about.   

I left shortly before 11AM to pick up batteries for Mom's hearing aids.   I had lunch with my friend Debbie at Richardson's Tea Atrium and figured it was a good time to fit in a visit with her and take her some food and the batteries.    We had a lovely visit.    She was so pleased to be able to spend time with everybody while they were home for the wedding.   Everybody has scattered to their corners of the world again.   Georgie's mother and little brother are still here for a bit .   Such a lovely family.    I think they all felt at home.    Several of them, including Georgie's little brother did not speak English, but we all managed with a bit of interpreting, hand gestures and, as I told Georgie's grandmother, muy poquito Espanol.

Mom looks good but still complains that she is weak.  

I met Debbie at noon.   We got the things she needs as president of CWI transferred to her and enjoyed a lovely lunch.   The last time I was at the Atrium, the food was pretty sparse.  They have really expanded the menu and it is really good.    I had spinach quiche and a wonderful salad with country bread.   As usual, I finished it with Dick this evening.    Richardson has moved their kitchen area to the other side of the store.   Boy could I ever go crazy in that area.   Debbie said that she is really not supposed to come in that store "unsupervised."

I stopped at Woodlake on my way over to Rocky Knoll.   There are a couple of things that they carry that no one else does.   I bought a fresh tuna steak for my Sunday supper, some Stilton cheese and some English Digestive Biscuits.   (I thought I would see how they compare to the ones I made.)

Dick was at PT when I got there.   He did some slideboarding.  (Do you know that Slideboarding is not in this program's dictionary.)  Good practice for him, just to increase mobility.  When he was done, we  did our stroll and roll, then settled down to some Rummy.    He beat the tar out of me all THREE games.    It was a massacre. 

After supper, I came home.   Boy was Roxie glad to see me.   It was a bit after 6 so not too late.   Tomorrow, I will be gone from shortly after 8 til shortly after 6PM so she will REALLY be lonely.   But will not miss any meals and I will be with her the whole evening.  I am looking forward to the Fireside.   A couple of my friends saw David and liked it.  You can't beat the meal.   I will bring back plenty of bread too and share with Mom on Monday.

So I hope you enjoy your Saturday.  Til tomorrow


God hold you in the palm of palm of His hand


Mary

The week and the month are both winding down.  Much faster than I expected.

I was able to sleep until I really was ready to get up this morning.   No appointments at all.

So I just spent the morning, after I got up, trying to clean up a bit downstairs.   I packed all the video tapes into boxes.   Dick and I will go through them later to see which ones we want to keep.   I wiped down the kitchen which seems to need it every day and shortly after 11Am went over to spend the afternoon with Dick.

I found him at his OT.  He is working really hard.

We went right from there to lunch.  I had brought mine, a rice burrito.  There is a new person at Dick's table.   Victor.  They have had a lot of admittances this week.  Lots of people got to go home too. 

Dick's PT went VERY well.   He stood two times.  Once for 3 minutes and the second for 4 minutes.   A record.     We played a few games of Yahtzee and then went for a little walk or as Dick says a Stroll and Roll.    We didn't go far because it was rather muggy but I figure out if we get out two or three times a week, at lease he is getting fresh air.  We can increase the time when it isn't so darn hot and muggy.

I have not heard from Gary so I am guessing that he will be coming to fix the leak in the family room next week.  Jody will be here in the morning though and can really vacuum that area.   I have been working on getting things clear for carpet cleaners, but now will wait until they are done with the repairs.  It will be nice to have things all clear and fresh when Dick comes home.

Tomorrow I will be having lunch with Debbie O'Grady to update her on some of the president things that one usually finds out about by accident.   Clubs are like that.   And we are still working on the details.   Much better and more structured than when I took over.

Here is my recipe for Lavender Cookies.  They are SO good. 

Lavender Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2  cup butter - softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose-flour
4 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl cream the shortening, butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.   Beat in extracts.   Combine the flour, lavender, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.Drop by rounded teaspoonsfull, 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lightly coated with nonstick spray.   Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Cool for two minutes before removing to wire racks.

4. Store in airtight containers.

Servings: 18
Yield: 18

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes


Enjoy'

God love you

Mary

A very rainy day and the temps never got over 70.  Really a nice relief after all the heat and humidity of the past couple of weeks.   ( I don't have any idea why my posting is so bold and big.   I am not unhappy about it but I wish I knew why.)


I could have slept forever this morning.   But I had to get up.   Gary Anderson called me last night and was able to come to check the leak that is affecting our family room.   He agrees that it HAS to be coming from the door that goes onto the deck from the living room.   Of Course, he can't do anything til it stops raining.   We think the damage is really done when the wind blows the water from the rain from the west and we have not had wind with this rain, so we are hoping there will be little or no more leaking.   I put a towel as a dam and it might help.


He will come on Friday if it is sunny or else next week.


Then I went grocery shopping.   Didn't need much but I am keeping the schedule as it also takes care of picking up our lottery tickets.


I left shortly after 11AM to spend the afternoon with Dick.   He was still in PT when I got there and I saw him stand twice, once for over 3 minutes.   Then we went to lunch.   It was the last lunch with Rich.   He went home this evening.   So there is hope.   We added a gentleman to our table.   His name is Ernie also, so Dick is now Ernie 1.   I brought a sandwich and an apple muffin for my lunch and joined the guys.


He had OT after lunch.  Another busy hour and Sheila had him take off and put on his prosthesis for practice.    He did great though he had to figure out how to adjust to the different height than he was used to.


At 2PM, I went down to the activity room to touch with the Amputee Support Group.   Lee and Janice Lemkuil were so good to me when I was going.   I stopped because it seems silly for me to go without Dick and, as you know, he is not a group kind of a guy.    I was able to tell them about Dick losing his right leg and also to give Lee and Janice a bottle of the Marigold wine.   I got my last marigolds from them.   They said they have lots again.   Perhaps one day next week, I can go and pick a quart or so of the blossoms and make a batch this year.

Then back up to Dick so that we could join the residents at three in the On the Rocks Saloon between Woodland Village and the nursing home section.   Rich and his wife, Beverly,  joined us.   Rich had determined that he would not leave until after the cocktail hour. 


I came home at about 5PM after walking Dick down to dinner.   


A quiet evening.   I fixed supper and then went downstairs and packed away the video tapes and cleaned the walls and the book shelf that had gotten wet
Tomorrow, the shelf will be dry enough that I can put it upright and stack the DVD's on it so that some movies are available if we want them.


So.  I am very tired and will be going to bed very soon.   Roxie will be delighted.   Tomorrow, I can come back to bed after feeding Roxie and will not have to get up until I am slept out.   Nobody coming and no morning appointments.


God love you - I do.


Mary




We all get heavier as we get older,
because there's a lot more information in our heads.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. (Quote from an email.)

An interesting Tuesday.   I was home most of the morning.   I really could have stayed in bed for a LONG time but had to get up to get the trash out, so that was that.

I went in to spend time with Dick at 11:30AM.   He was still working on his OT.   When he finished that, we went to lunch.  I didn't bring anything today so bought the lunch that Dick and his buddies had.    We had BBQ chicken, buttered spaghetti, carrots, really really good cucumber salad and a scrumptious raspberry dessert.

Tim from Wisconsin Prosthesis came today to take a first measurement on Dick's new stump   While he was there, the therapists had Dick stand between the parallel bars.   This time we rested the knee of the newest amputation on a stool so that he was able to distribute his weight better.   He stood twice, once for at least 3minutes.   Tim was able to make a couple of adjustments on the prosthesis but as Dick finally understands, the final adjustments will be made when both prosthesis are on those legs.    I heard them discussing and now know that the magic 100 days of insurance coverage will definitely be used before he can come home.

When we got back to the room, I got a call from Lenys, the board member who handles maintenance problems, in response to an email that I had put in regarding a water stain in the family room downstairs that Richard had mentioned.   It took me this long to call because I had so many other things I have been dealing with.    She and Dave, another board member, came down to check and sure enough, we found out where it is, what is causing it and I now know that it is not covered by the condo insurance.   They do not cover door or window leaks.    It was very obvious what is wrong. The water is coming in under the door from the living room to the deck.   Dave pulled out all the wet insulation.  We left it wide open to dry and I put a call into Gary, a contractor who does jobs like this and worked on the condos.     I guess I will check our condo policy to see if there is any coverage there.

Now I have had the afternoon to clear a few things up, bake some muffins and clean a couple of windows.

I will go to bed early tonight.   What a pleasure that will be.

God love you all

Mary

Mondays are pretty much back to normal again.

I had time before going to bible study to rack the current/marigold wine that I have fermenting in the basement.   I got a taste when I did the decanting and it is not bad.   It has that harsh background but the whole flavor is good and with the proper aging it should be a fun wine.

I went to bible study at 9:30AM.  There were 9 of us there today.   We are trying to determine what the Old Testament means by the fear of God.    Respect, Awe, Love.   And for some reason one of the questions referred to creation and we kind of discussed the fact that we are all still being created in some way.

From there I went to Mother's house.   Nora and Leif were there.  We had our last visit for a while, as they will be heading back to Texas tomorrow.   Nora helped me learn how to do things with my Kindle.   I will need some more advice but now have direction and it is making sense to me.    Mother is looking good but is really tired from all the company she has had in the past week.    Such a good tired for her. 

Then I went to the Final Approach Restaurant near the airport for a lunch reunion with my high school graduate friends.  Such a nice time.    There were lots of us there.   I sat with Rita Petrie Ertl and Linda and Bill Guse and across from Bill and Dan Kuhlow (cousins)   We actually had the lunch a bit early because Bill is visiting.   I recited my Cobwebs, Haiku to him and he would like to see more of my poetry.   I may have Rita starting to write as a result of our talk.

I know I posted Cobwebs and it is in one of my books which most of you have but here it is anyway.

Cobwebs


Friend from long ago
Do you ever think of me
You stroll through my mind.

From lunch I went directly to Rocky Knoll and spent the afternoon with Dick.   He was all done with therapy but stood for a minute and a half this morning and 30 seconds this afternoon.    Wow.

We played Rummy and he whipped me two out of three games.  We ate supper together and then I came home and have been just puttering all evening, except for doing a load of wash.

So.  Such a lovely day.   Oh - I almost forgot.   He and I went outside for a stroll.  Or as he said I stroll, he rolls.   We didn't go far, but it was a start.   He needs his hat and arm protection from the sun.   He loved getting the fresh air though and being mobile.

God love you

Mary

This is the stitchery that I designed and made of St. Brigid at a holy well, giving food to the poor.

Last night I just got home too late and too tired from the wedding to do the blog.    I very sensibly went to bed immediately.

It was a lovely wedding.  There was a wedding mass at St. Mary's Church in Hilbert.  This is a nice little church.  I had not been there before.   Lots of beautiful stained glass and brick.    Matt was here from Hawaii with Kauru and the children, Coleton and Alana.    Coleton and Piero (Georgina's little brother) were ring bearers.  Matt was the best man.   Alana was the flower girl.  She is only four and when her mother sent her down the aisle and she saw all those people, she headed right back.   So Matt came to her and held her hand and helped her strew the roses petals as they came.    It was adorable.

 Everybody was there it seemed and many of Georgina's relatives too several from Peru.  I met her Dad, her Mom, her little brother, her grandmother and several aunts.  The reception was at the Altona in Kiel.  A great dinner and a very loving and happy reception.   I felt I was in a Lake Wobegon community where instead of "All the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average."   All the men are strong, all the women are beautiful and all the children are indeed above average.  

We had lots of youngsters running around.   Such a joy to see the little ones up to the almost teenagers again.   And they all got along so well. 

I asked for a piece of cake to take to Dick.   Georgina wrote him a little note on the top of the container and make Shane sign his name too.   Such a dear girl.

Today, I went over to Rocky Knoll at 9AM so that I could go to Mass and help bring residents down again.   The mass was nice.   I guided Rich and his wife and daughter down and then sat with Alice, who's husband Claude, was at Plymouth Care when we were there.

Dick had his first tub bath in quite some time today.   He loved it.   They have a whirlpool and lower him in to bathe.  So glad that leg is healed enough for that. 

After Mass, I spent the time before lunch updating Dick on the wedding and everyone there. 

I brought soup and Kate's peach cobbler for Lunch.   Dick had a good meal too.   Swiss Steak and a cream puff.

We played cards after lunch.  He smacked me.   Then Bobbie and Bill came.   Bobbie was able to bring her lap top and bring up the news video about Nora and he being one of the 12 top Airmen in the Air Force this year.   Such a prideful thing.  

I came home at about 2:30PM and took a nap.   I felt that I really need to get rested up after being out late last night.

I will post a picture of my Bridget wall hanging.   Nora said that I didn't do that and I am rather proud of it.

Have a good Week.   It is supposed to be cooler and less humid for a day or two so Dick and I are going for a walk tomorrow.

God love you

Mary