Chelsea and I slept until almost 6:30AM. That is unheard of but I wish it would happen every day the I don't have to get up earlier. We had a pleasant walk. She decided to go through the park, not the long way, but along the close side. I think the weeds that she likes to eat are now at their peak and she is liking her little snacks as we go along.
We spent the day kind of getting ready for Monday when the BIG MOVE takes place. I picked up everything from off of the floor on the couch side and stacked it so that the movers will have free space to just move furniture. I also moved the stereo away from the windows as the couch will end up there. I also cleaned out the paper and envelopes from the shelves of the desk that sits in front of our desks. This also holds the printer and fax machine. We are going to replace the fax machine as the catch shelves have broken and it is will over 10 years old and kind of bulky. We really doubt that we would be able to replace the shelves or even at this point find the ink and toner cartridges.
Dick did a lot of cleaning of his desk. We still have tomorrow and part of Monday. Time Warner will be here early on Monday to move the computer jack. I figure they can help us move stuff too or at least tell us what gets plugged in.
This is the first week of the new Mass schedule and I was a little disappointed. Fr. Van Beeck was kind of nervous about getting to Elkhart on time and asked us to do without a sermon. I hope this will not be a pattern. I like his sermons and actually since our bible study does a preread and discussion, I like to hear his comments on the readings. We will certainly be shortchanged if we do not hear his sermons.
Tonight we watched a little bit of Lawrence Welk on PBS. We were watching Big Tiny Little play the piano and it reminded me of when I was very young. Nora and I both took piano lessons when we were young from Cyrilla Danks who was a friend of Mother's and the organist and choir director for St. Mary's Church. She was a good teacher and we were good students but we definitely did not have that SPARK. I know that I was a plodding "by the book" pianist. I could sight read but was not able to shine. It has been very helpful to me throughout my life however. In choir it is a great asset and did I tell you I wrote a song? Well I did. Beth Hoegger is going to help me get it into a music program on her computer. It is a very simple song but pleasant, I think.
Tomorrow, since I am now going to Mass on Saturday's will be an at home day and we can get everything ready for the moving and Time Warner people.
Have a good Sunday.
Mary
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Chelsea and I started our day with a nice brisk walk as we usually do. It was very pleasant weather for walking and the mosquitoes were not swarming.
Sarah, the physical therapist, came a bit after 8AM. She called on her way for directions being aware that Highland Avenue is in the middle of a construction mess. She helped me figure out what length we need for a ramp, now we have to start shopping around to find exactly what we want and also to determine if we can afford it.
Dick reviewed his exercises with her also.
I called the moving company that we used when we came here and they will come Monday at about 2PM to help us move the furniture from room to room. I also called Time Warner and they will send someone on Monday morning to get the hookup ready for the computer transfers.
Dick used the shower bench for the second time and with the few changes we made he is much more comfortable. Standing is just too hard.
I had lunch with my bank buddies today. It has been several weeks so I had a lot to hear about. Everybody is well and we had a good gabby lunch. Even under new ownership, they still have the grilled cheese sandwich. That makes me happy.
This evening, as instructed by Jim and Michelle, I left the house at 5PM. My friend, Nancy, could not go after all so I did not go out shooting. Instead I went to the Exchange Bank for an egg salad sandwich and a latte, then walked back up to the Art Center for the opening of the new exhibit. The main artist is a Dolores Marusarz. She was there and is charming. As charming as her paintings. If you want to see her work, her website is http://marusart.tripit.com. There were two pieces I would like to have if I had more money and more wall space. There were two artists displayed in what they call, the Alcove. Gary Zimmerman, a photographer, was one of them and I had a nice talk with him. He has two also that I would like. One is a fox kit peeking around a tree, the other a beautiful shot of the sky from inside an old silo. Hard to explain. I told him about my red winged blackbird and showed him the poem and picture in my book.
My friend Beth Hoegger played piano for the reception. She IS really good and it was a pleasure listening to her. She gets called for the Art Center occasionally.
I also saw other friends. Linda, who went to school with my sister Dolores, I think her maiden name was Sebald, Rosalie Hartman and Peter Ullrich. So I had a good time. The art would have been enough.
I did a bit of shopping after I left the opening and then came home. I WAS 10 minutes early but they let me in anyway. Our house is sparkling. Jim and Michelle worked like whirling dervishes. They cleaned the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms. Jim even got the fan blades for me. And Michelle got the fronts of all the appliances and the corners of the kitchen floor. I hope they realize what a big help this is to us and how grateful we are for them being here for us.
It rained again tonight. It started just before we left the Art Center and it just poured. The skies literally opened and the rain tumbled down. The light was just right because as we left we all saw a gorgeous full rainbow in the sky. It was still in its full glory when I arrived at Walgreens but by the time I left it had faded. Rainbows mean good luck and are the promise of God so things are looking pretty good about now.
Have a good weekend.
Love you all
Mary
Sarah, the physical therapist, came a bit after 8AM. She called on her way for directions being aware that Highland Avenue is in the middle of a construction mess. She helped me figure out what length we need for a ramp, now we have to start shopping around to find exactly what we want and also to determine if we can afford it.
Dick reviewed his exercises with her also.
I called the moving company that we used when we came here and they will come Monday at about 2PM to help us move the furniture from room to room. I also called Time Warner and they will send someone on Monday morning to get the hookup ready for the computer transfers.
Dick used the shower bench for the second time and with the few changes we made he is much more comfortable. Standing is just too hard.
I had lunch with my bank buddies today. It has been several weeks so I had a lot to hear about. Everybody is well and we had a good gabby lunch. Even under new ownership, they still have the grilled cheese sandwich. That makes me happy.
This evening, as instructed by Jim and Michelle, I left the house at 5PM. My friend, Nancy, could not go after all so I did not go out shooting. Instead I went to the Exchange Bank for an egg salad sandwich and a latte, then walked back up to the Art Center for the opening of the new exhibit. The main artist is a Dolores Marusarz. She was there and is charming. As charming as her paintings. If you want to see her work, her website is http://marusart.tripit.com. There were two pieces I would like to have if I had more money and more wall space. There were two artists displayed in what they call, the Alcove. Gary Zimmerman, a photographer, was one of them and I had a nice talk with him. He has two also that I would like. One is a fox kit peeking around a tree, the other a beautiful shot of the sky from inside an old silo. Hard to explain. I told him about my red winged blackbird and showed him the poem and picture in my book.
My friend Beth Hoegger played piano for the reception. She IS really good and it was a pleasure listening to her. She gets called for the Art Center occasionally.
I also saw other friends. Linda, who went to school with my sister Dolores, I think her maiden name was Sebald, Rosalie Hartman and Peter Ullrich. So I had a good time. The art would have been enough.
I did a bit of shopping after I left the opening and then came home. I WAS 10 minutes early but they let me in anyway. Our house is sparkling. Jim and Michelle worked like whirling dervishes. They cleaned the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms. Jim even got the fan blades for me. And Michelle got the fronts of all the appliances and the corners of the kitchen floor. I hope they realize what a big help this is to us and how grateful we are for them being here for us.
It rained again tonight. It started just before we left the Art Center and it just poured. The skies literally opened and the rain tumbled down. The light was just right because as we left we all saw a gorgeous full rainbow in the sky. It was still in its full glory when I arrived at Walgreens but by the time I left it had faded. Rainbows mean good luck and are the promise of God so things are looking pretty good about now.
Have a good weekend.
Love you all
Mary
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Today was a better day. I realized yesterday the my arm and shoulder hurt much less, at least for most of the day. I was sore again by morning but went in for PT again today. I think it is working. Becky said that the muscles seem much more relaxed, so I have hope.
I had Dick come along with me to my therapy which was at 7:30AM because he had an appointment with the orthopedic specialist Shawn Murphy for a re-x-ray of Dick's right knee. He reaffirmed that the knee is "collapsing" and the the only treatment is a knee replacement. HOWEVER, he had some hope. He said that sometimes these collapsing knees will wear smooth and flatten out and kind of heal. At least they become better and the pain is not as intense. People get along quite will with care and walkers and mild exercise. Sounds like a good hope to us. We are to continue as we are and have set up a meeting with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Lane for six weeks from now. Lets all pray and cross our fingers.
We got home at about 10:30AM. And I did not have to leave again all day. So. I caught up on wash, phone calls and some things for Dick.
I have a call in for a proper wheel chair cushion. Mary M. is concerned that Dick should have a proper cushion so that sores do not develop. Apparently this is a common problem so we want to ward it off.
Tomorrow, I am going to have Sarah, the PT, check my measurements of the steps so that I can order a wheel chair ramp so that we can get Dick out of the house without him having to step down those stairs. I am also going to call a mover, the one who moved us here, to see if they also do furniture rearranging. I measured the rooms and the big furniture and think we have it all figured out.
The only exit to our street is Highland Avenue. Highland Avenue is being rebuilt this summer. It is all torn up and blocked off. We now have to go several blocks out of the way to get out or to get back in. This will be until August. It is an adventure - sometimes we have to stop and wait for them to move the machines to let us in or out. I hope they at least smooth out the road in the process. It has been very bumpy all this time.
I remember when I lived in California. There was a road that was a main thoroughfare and ran right by Costa Mesa Community College which was a VERY busy 2 year college. Every year they would tear it up in August just before registration began at the college and finish the construction project in about February. Then the following August they would dig it up again.
Tomorrow night I will go to the opening of the new exhibit at the Plymouth Art Center. My friend Beth Hoegger, the choir director at Blessed Trinity, is playing as part of the musical entertainment. She doesn't know I am coming. That will be fun.
I guess that's all folks. The day is winding down and so am I. Chelsea is hinting that she thinks that I should be heading off to bed and I think she is right.
So. Until tomorrow. I will tell you about the art exhibit.
Mary
I had Dick come along with me to my therapy which was at 7:30AM because he had an appointment with the orthopedic specialist Shawn Murphy for a re-x-ray of Dick's right knee. He reaffirmed that the knee is "collapsing" and the the only treatment is a knee replacement. HOWEVER, he had some hope. He said that sometimes these collapsing knees will wear smooth and flatten out and kind of heal. At least they become better and the pain is not as intense. People get along quite will with care and walkers and mild exercise. Sounds like a good hope to us. We are to continue as we are and have set up a meeting with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Lane for six weeks from now. Lets all pray and cross our fingers.
We got home at about 10:30AM. And I did not have to leave again all day. So. I caught up on wash, phone calls and some things for Dick.
I have a call in for a proper wheel chair cushion. Mary M. is concerned that Dick should have a proper cushion so that sores do not develop. Apparently this is a common problem so we want to ward it off.
Tomorrow, I am going to have Sarah, the PT, check my measurements of the steps so that I can order a wheel chair ramp so that we can get Dick out of the house without him having to step down those stairs. I am also going to call a mover, the one who moved us here, to see if they also do furniture rearranging. I measured the rooms and the big furniture and think we have it all figured out.
The only exit to our street is Highland Avenue. Highland Avenue is being rebuilt this summer. It is all torn up and blocked off. We now have to go several blocks out of the way to get out or to get back in. This will be until August. It is an adventure - sometimes we have to stop and wait for them to move the machines to let us in or out. I hope they at least smooth out the road in the process. It has been very bumpy all this time.
I remember when I lived in California. There was a road that was a main thoroughfare and ran right by Costa Mesa Community College which was a VERY busy 2 year college. Every year they would tear it up in August just before registration began at the college and finish the construction project in about February. Then the following August they would dig it up again.
Tomorrow night I will go to the opening of the new exhibit at the Plymouth Art Center. My friend Beth Hoegger, the choir director at Blessed Trinity, is playing as part of the musical entertainment. She doesn't know I am coming. That will be fun.
I guess that's all folks. The day is winding down and so am I. Chelsea is hinting that she thinks that I should be heading off to bed and I think she is right.
So. Until tomorrow. I will tell you about the art exhibit.
Mary
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
If you missed me last night, I am sorry. If you did not miss me I guess I am sorry too. Sure am a sorry individual.
I had two glasses of wine before dinner last night and for some reason, I just got to feeling awful. All I could do was head for bed and stay there.
These have been busy days. Yesterday I has physical therapy in the morning. I was so sore when I got there and when I left. But today I felt better. Maybe it is doing some good. I got home in time to meet Bob Kalies, a heating servicer, who had originally installed the furnaces in these condos. There was a free check and a fix for the furnaces. He checked and fixed ours and then I let him into Jim and Michelle's and he did theirs too. He was very helpful about explaining how we can keep our furnaces working efficiently and longer.
Shortly after he left, Rachel, the nurse came and checked out Dick's wounds and just his general health. That pretty well wiped out the day. I tried to take a nap and then had that wine and fell apart.
Well, all the sleep I had really helped. This morning I did the shopping and put the groceries away and took a little nap. Then Dick got up from his nap and we tried out the new shower equipment. We got him a transfer bench for the bathtub and a clip on rail. It was much better. We have a few things to work out but it is much safer and easier. We want a handle for him to use to get up and some bath mats. Our next step will be a ramp and rearranging the furniture.
This afternoon, Mary Meschler, the occupational therapist came. She gave us some hints for making the bath easier and reviewed his exercises.
I fixed venison teriaki steaks on the grill tonight with fried rice on the side. The steaks were SO good. Dick even asked if they were from Market Day or the Pig and was impressed that they were venison.
Nora called today. It was so good hearing her voice. I was glad to be able to report that things are falling into place around here. I told her how much I had enjoyed reading Stenn's journal of his and Bing's trip to China. They will be closing on their new home next week and are all excited.
We always each give a "word" at the end of our Writer's Club in Plymouth. The words last month were floating, weddings, vacations, strawberries, asparagus and summer concerts.
I could not get them all into ONE poem but did come up with one I liked about Peggy and Brian's son Nicholas's wedding. I think I will send it to them.
The wedding was celebrated
Under the evening sky
On a summer evening.
The violin music was redundant
As the sound of the birds was melody enough.
A concert of unique beauty
Heralding the youth and love
That were joined
Under that evening sky.
Have a neat Thursday.
Mary
I had two glasses of wine before dinner last night and for some reason, I just got to feeling awful. All I could do was head for bed and stay there.
These have been busy days. Yesterday I has physical therapy in the morning. I was so sore when I got there and when I left. But today I felt better. Maybe it is doing some good. I got home in time to meet Bob Kalies, a heating servicer, who had originally installed the furnaces in these condos. There was a free check and a fix for the furnaces. He checked and fixed ours and then I let him into Jim and Michelle's and he did theirs too. He was very helpful about explaining how we can keep our furnaces working efficiently and longer.
Shortly after he left, Rachel, the nurse came and checked out Dick's wounds and just his general health. That pretty well wiped out the day. I tried to take a nap and then had that wine and fell apart.
Well, all the sleep I had really helped. This morning I did the shopping and put the groceries away and took a little nap. Then Dick got up from his nap and we tried out the new shower equipment. We got him a transfer bench for the bathtub and a clip on rail. It was much better. We have a few things to work out but it is much safer and easier. We want a handle for him to use to get up and some bath mats. Our next step will be a ramp and rearranging the furniture.
This afternoon, Mary Meschler, the occupational therapist came. She gave us some hints for making the bath easier and reviewed his exercises.
I fixed venison teriaki steaks on the grill tonight with fried rice on the side. The steaks were SO good. Dick even asked if they were from Market Day or the Pig and was impressed that they were venison.
Nora called today. It was so good hearing her voice. I was glad to be able to report that things are falling into place around here. I told her how much I had enjoyed reading Stenn's journal of his and Bing's trip to China. They will be closing on their new home next week and are all excited.
We always each give a "word" at the end of our Writer's Club in Plymouth. The words last month were floating, weddings, vacations, strawberries, asparagus and summer concerts.
I could not get them all into ONE poem but did come up with one I liked about Peggy and Brian's son Nicholas's wedding. I think I will send it to them.
The wedding was celebrated
Under the evening sky
On a summer evening.
The violin music was redundant
As the sound of the birds was melody enough.
A concert of unique beauty
Heralding the youth and love
That were joined
Under that evening sky.
Have a neat Thursday.
Mary
Monday, June 16, 2008
This was a very strange day. Chelsea got me up at 5:30AM. Not TOO bad but I lost a half an hour sleep right off the bat.
We put the new stickers on the car so I won't get ticketed for expired plates. Then I went to Bible Study. There were 7 of us there, enough for a good discussion. We decided that Jeremiah must have been very depressed when all his friends turned their backs on him when he defended the faith and that we are pretty lucky that Jesus was willing to take us on.
I stopped at Mom's and dripped off some mac and cheese and scones for her. She is having her new stove delivered this afternoon. Donna is coming over when they do to help her.
Home again after a stop at Adams Aurora to pick up a transfer bench for the shower for Dick and a grab bar for the edge of the tub to give him some more security. Deanna at Adams is SO helpful.
Then home for lunch and on to the Cream City Writers. There were six of us there today. Our Jenna had a poem published in a book that is part of a contest she entered. We are very proud of her.
I did a couple of errands then and was able to go home and check on Dick before my appointment with Dr. Ghandi. He is a specialist and I had great hopes that he could figure out why my side is hurting, but I was wrong. He is ordering a CT scan but I am not holding out much hope. This ache is probably going to be with me for a LONG time much like the arthritis pain in the neck and shoulder. Sure is discouraging.
I ran out of day before I could water all my planters. So. Tomorrow afternoon, I will do that. We have three appointments tomorrow morning, so that will take care of that.
I was thinking of my Uncle Leo Ayers the other day at his grandson's wedding. I remember when he married my Aunt Kathleen, I was just a little girl but I remember the reception and my first REAL memory of Uncle Leo. He kept asking Dad to tell us girls to call him "Uncle Leo" and, of course, we got all coy and wouldn't.
Nice memories.
Have a lovely Tuesday.
Mary
We put the new stickers on the car so I won't get ticketed for expired plates. Then I went to Bible Study. There were 7 of us there, enough for a good discussion. We decided that Jeremiah must have been very depressed when all his friends turned their backs on him when he defended the faith and that we are pretty lucky that Jesus was willing to take us on.
I stopped at Mom's and dripped off some mac and cheese and scones for her. She is having her new stove delivered this afternoon. Donna is coming over when they do to help her.
Home again after a stop at Adams Aurora to pick up a transfer bench for the shower for Dick and a grab bar for the edge of the tub to give him some more security. Deanna at Adams is SO helpful.
Then home for lunch and on to the Cream City Writers. There were six of us there today. Our Jenna had a poem published in a book that is part of a contest she entered. We are very proud of her.
I did a couple of errands then and was able to go home and check on Dick before my appointment with Dr. Ghandi. He is a specialist and I had great hopes that he could figure out why my side is hurting, but I was wrong. He is ordering a CT scan but I am not holding out much hope. This ache is probably going to be with me for a LONG time much like the arthritis pain in the neck and shoulder. Sure is discouraging.
I ran out of day before I could water all my planters. So. Tomorrow afternoon, I will do that. We have three appointments tomorrow morning, so that will take care of that.
I was thinking of my Uncle Leo Ayers the other day at his grandson's wedding. I remember when he married my Aunt Kathleen, I was just a little girl but I remember the reception and my first REAL memory of Uncle Leo. He kept asking Dad to tell us girls to call him "Uncle Leo" and, of course, we got all coy and wouldn't.
Nice memories.
Have a lovely Tuesday.
Mary
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A lovely day. Father's Day and we had a nice warm fuzzy day. Jim and Michelle, Bobbie and Bill joined Dick and Brenda and Dick and me for breakfast this morning. I went to the 8AM mass and got home at 9AM, in time to prepare a nice egg dish with sausages on the side for the non vegetarians. Jim and Michelle brought a special coffee and I had baked really great fresh cranberry scones on Saturday. It was a nice finish to an altogether special Father's Day weekend.
After breakfast the Dick and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill headed up to Green Bay to visit their mother Barbara who is back in the hospital. Pray for her. She has been having difficulty breathing and they are saying that the cancer is back. Her poor body has really gone through quite enough.
The rest of the day was quite. Chelsea is relieved. I think she is longing for the quiet days when people seldom came by our place. Here she is getting old and we are having all KINDS of people invading her space and disrupting her routine. Just when she thought she had us almost trained.
I make Wolfgang Puck's recipe for mac and cheese today. I had to make a few adjustments because (forgive me Wolfgang) I just COULDN'T see spending $50 for mushrooms for an experiment. I used portabella mushrooms, which the produce manager at the Pig said are another "woody" mushroom. It would be interesting if I could taste Wolfgang's and find out if there is a lot of difference. We liked it a lot, but Dick really likes the traditional Cheddar, (and I think Velveeta) based mac and cheeses best. I might make this again though. It WAS good.
This is turning out to be fun. As most of you know, I have been trying a new Mac and Cheese every month. This is the 5th. So far Dianne Sawyer's is our favorite, with Robin Roberts coming up a healthy second.
Tomorrow will be a busy day but I will have to take the time to water all the pots on the deck and porch. Everything is green and most of the plants are growing. I planted several tomato plants. I have never in all my 68 years done well with tomato plants. Watch - this year they all all do well and I will not be able to find homes for all my produce.
Talked to Bart today. He sounds good. He had some suggestions for us to ask the doctor about pain management for Dick's knee. He is the expert on that and I have made notes. We see Dr. Murphy on Thursday.
Love
Mary
After breakfast the Dick and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill headed up to Green Bay to visit their mother Barbara who is back in the hospital. Pray for her. She has been having difficulty breathing and they are saying that the cancer is back. Her poor body has really gone through quite enough.
The rest of the day was quite. Chelsea is relieved. I think she is longing for the quiet days when people seldom came by our place. Here she is getting old and we are having all KINDS of people invading her space and disrupting her routine. Just when she thought she had us almost trained.
I make Wolfgang Puck's recipe for mac and cheese today. I had to make a few adjustments because (forgive me Wolfgang) I just COULDN'T see spending $50 for mushrooms for an experiment. I used portabella mushrooms, which the produce manager at the Pig said are another "woody" mushroom. It would be interesting if I could taste Wolfgang's and find out if there is a lot of difference. We liked it a lot, but Dick really likes the traditional Cheddar, (and I think Velveeta) based mac and cheeses best. I might make this again though. It WAS good.
This is turning out to be fun. As most of you know, I have been trying a new Mac and Cheese every month. This is the 5th. So far Dianne Sawyer's is our favorite, with Robin Roberts coming up a healthy second.
Tomorrow will be a busy day but I will have to take the time to water all the pots on the deck and porch. Everything is green and most of the plants are growing. I planted several tomato plants. I have never in all my 68 years done well with tomato plants. Watch - this year they all all do well and I will not be able to find homes for all my produce.
Talked to Bart today. He sounds good. He had some suggestions for us to ask the doctor about pain management for Dick's knee. He is the expert on that and I have made notes. We see Dr. Murphy on Thursday.
Love
Mary
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Well, as it turned out I had to leave the neighborhood once after all. I started giving Chelsea her pills this morning and discovered that she only had enough of one of them for TODAY. That would not work well as the vet is closed on Sundays so I called right away and was able to pick them up in an hour. I also got notice that it was time to give her the heartworm pill. Guess what, we were out of them too so I picked up both.
It was really a lovely day today. It did get a bit warm, 83 or something, but there was a breeze and it has now dropped to the low 60s.
Had a nice day, I cleaned the kitchen floor and straighten out my desk and baked cranberry scones.
Jim and Michelle came over at about two oclock to make the very nicest offer. They want to come here one evening a week, probably Fridays when Michelle gets off earlier, and stay with Dick and clean for us. Their only condition is that they want me to leave for some alone time or time with friends. I admit that I cried. What a way to help both Dick and me at this time. He will have company, other than me, I will have help with the work here and get a chance to be on my own a bit. A break. This is a very special gift.
Then at four or thereabouts Dick and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill arrived. Bobbie had all the fixin's for dinner including pasta with a choice of Italian Sausage OR shrimp sauce, salad and fresh asparagus. This was preceded by antipasto. Then it was capped off by Sachertort. We enjoyed the meal and the company so much. This is to honor Dick for Fathers Day.
Now it is after 10 and I am winding down. I do want to tell you what happened to my Mother yesterday.
The night before she lost power for a while in that storm. When she got up Friday morning she noticed that the Carbon Monoxide detector was doing something. She tried her stove and found that one of the burners would not light. So she tried to light it with a match. (Naughty Naughty) Fortunately NOTHING happened so she called the Gas Company. They told her to call the Fire Department, who came right over. They about had a canary when she told them about trying to light the burner. The firemen told her to NEVER do that again with any possibility of a gas leak but they checked everything, made sure all the pilots were lit and there was no buildup of anything bad. They told her to call a repairman for the stove.
WELL, when noon rolled around, so did my brother Randy. He asked her what was going on and Mother asked him how he found out.
Here is a small town event if there ever was one. The Fire Department reported their call to the Police Department. Somebody from the Police Department was over at the middle school during the morning and told Donna, my sister in law, that the Fire Department had been over at Mother's. So Donna called Randy who came over on his lunch hour.
Anyway, Randy told Mother that she should not even think of getting that stove fixed. It is way to old. They had it at the old house and have been here for 18 years. So after work yesterday, he went to Bitter Neumann and found her a new glass top electric. She is glad to go to electric because of the safety factor and will have her new stove on Monday. The nice thing about Bitter Neumann is that they will haul the old one off too.
So she was tired even before we went to that wedding, but she had a good time anyway.
Today was nice. I feel all warm and fuzzy.
Love
Mary
It was really a lovely day today. It did get a bit warm, 83 or something, but there was a breeze and it has now dropped to the low 60s.
Had a nice day, I cleaned the kitchen floor and straighten out my desk and baked cranberry scones.
Jim and Michelle came over at about two oclock to make the very nicest offer. They want to come here one evening a week, probably Fridays when Michelle gets off earlier, and stay with Dick and clean for us. Their only condition is that they want me to leave for some alone time or time with friends. I admit that I cried. What a way to help both Dick and me at this time. He will have company, other than me, I will have help with the work here and get a chance to be on my own a bit. A break. This is a very special gift.
Then at four or thereabouts Dick and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill arrived. Bobbie had all the fixin's for dinner including pasta with a choice of Italian Sausage OR shrimp sauce, salad and fresh asparagus. This was preceded by antipasto. Then it was capped off by Sachertort. We enjoyed the meal and the company so much. This is to honor Dick for Fathers Day.
Now it is after 10 and I am winding down. I do want to tell you what happened to my Mother yesterday.
The night before she lost power for a while in that storm. When she got up Friday morning she noticed that the Carbon Monoxide detector was doing something. She tried her stove and found that one of the burners would not light. So she tried to light it with a match. (Naughty Naughty) Fortunately NOTHING happened so she called the Gas Company. They told her to call the Fire Department, who came right over. They about had a canary when she told them about trying to light the burner. The firemen told her to NEVER do that again with any possibility of a gas leak but they checked everything, made sure all the pilots were lit and there was no buildup of anything bad. They told her to call a repairman for the stove.
WELL, when noon rolled around, so did my brother Randy. He asked her what was going on and Mother asked him how he found out.
Here is a small town event if there ever was one. The Fire Department reported their call to the Police Department. Somebody from the Police Department was over at the middle school during the morning and told Donna, my sister in law, that the Fire Department had been over at Mother's. So Donna called Randy who came over on his lunch hour.
Anyway, Randy told Mother that she should not even think of getting that stove fixed. It is way to old. They had it at the old house and have been here for 18 years. So after work yesterday, he went to Bitter Neumann and found her a new glass top electric. She is glad to go to electric because of the safety factor and will have her new stove on Monday. The nice thing about Bitter Neumann is that they will haul the old one off too.
So she was tired even before we went to that wedding, but she had a good time anyway.
Today was nice. I feel all warm and fuzzy.
Love
Mary
Friday, June 13, 2008
Well, here I am, finally winding down from two of the longest days of the week. One would think that all days, since they consist of 24 hours, would be the same length but they are not.
The night before last was a difficult one, I got very little sleep and then we had to be in Sheboygan to see Dr. Moreno. Dr. Moreno was pleased with the look of the callouses. He said that the big one had shrunk a little bit and was not doing something that it is not supposed to. I guess I need to get a medical dictionary here sometime.
When we got home I took the car for servicing. As it turns out it will come under the maintenance agreement we purchased in about a thousand more miles, so they just made sure it was OK and sent me on my way. I got home in time to fix lunch and have Dick at the table when Sarah, the VNA Physical Therapist arrived. She came back today, Friday at 8AM and we reviewed everything and we have covered lower extremity exercises and the wheel chair transfer tips she. We will now have her come only once a week to monitor his progress but we can call her any time we have questions.
I had my therapy at 1:30. It hurts. I do usually feel a bit better when I leave but the pain comes back with a vengeance by morning.
Today was just as busy. As I said, Sarah came at 8AM. We then had to go to Sheboygan Memorial for Dick's procedure by Dr. Siddique. We only have one more scheduled and then Dr. Siddique thinks that we can take a break. That will be quite a relief. It has been a long haul.
We got home just in time to meet Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist. We went over the upper extremity exercises and discussed the changes we are going to make in the shower arrangements and possibly rearranging furniture to make things easier for us.
Tonight I picked Mom up at a little after 5PM to go to my cousin Brian's son Nicholas's wedding. It was out at the Osthoff. A lovely outdoor garden setting. Judge Stengel officiated. They had a violinist for music. The sun shone and the birds sang. Thank heaven, they picked today so the sun COULD shine on their union. Yesterday would have been a disaster with the storms going through here like they were.
We then joined everybody for the reception up in the hotel. The meal was absolutely wonderful. Chicken, fish, great veggies, potatoes and salad. And it was topped off with desserts of Cheescake or Carrot Cake.
I got to visit with several of Aunt Kathleen's children who came in for the occasion and met two of my Cousin Pat's triplets. He could not make this wedding but two of his girls came to celebrate the occasion.
Jim and Michelle came over and had dinner and played cards with Dick so he was not alone for such a long time. He said it was a good time. He won a game and so did Michelle.
So now you are updated on the past two days. Guess what!!! Tomorrow I do not have to go anywhere!!! And Bobbie is bringing dinner over to us too. We will be celebrating Father's Day with the three that live here in Wisconsin. Wish EVERYBODY could be here but we are so glad of any that can be here.
Here is a simple little poem I wrote last fall. At my Plymouth Writer's club, when we leave we all give a word and those who want to TRY to make a poem using all or at least most of those words. The October words were: comfort, the cold is coming, family, warmth, evening and gathering. Here was my offering.
As evening approached
We gathered in the comfort
Of a glass of evening wine
And watched the cold come in.
Have a great weekend. We are apparently looking forward to five or six clear days. A welcome relief after the storms.
Mary
The night before last was a difficult one, I got very little sleep and then we had to be in Sheboygan to see Dr. Moreno. Dr. Moreno was pleased with the look of the callouses. He said that the big one had shrunk a little bit and was not doing something that it is not supposed to. I guess I need to get a medical dictionary here sometime.
When we got home I took the car for servicing. As it turns out it will come under the maintenance agreement we purchased in about a thousand more miles, so they just made sure it was OK and sent me on my way. I got home in time to fix lunch and have Dick at the table when Sarah, the VNA Physical Therapist arrived. She came back today, Friday at 8AM and we reviewed everything and we have covered lower extremity exercises and the wheel chair transfer tips she. We will now have her come only once a week to monitor his progress but we can call her any time we have questions.
I had my therapy at 1:30. It hurts. I do usually feel a bit better when I leave but the pain comes back with a vengeance by morning.
Today was just as busy. As I said, Sarah came at 8AM. We then had to go to Sheboygan Memorial for Dick's procedure by Dr. Siddique. We only have one more scheduled and then Dr. Siddique thinks that we can take a break. That will be quite a relief. It has been a long haul.
We got home just in time to meet Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist. We went over the upper extremity exercises and discussed the changes we are going to make in the shower arrangements and possibly rearranging furniture to make things easier for us.
Tonight I picked Mom up at a little after 5PM to go to my cousin Brian's son Nicholas's wedding. It was out at the Osthoff. A lovely outdoor garden setting. Judge Stengel officiated. They had a violinist for music. The sun shone and the birds sang. Thank heaven, they picked today so the sun COULD shine on their union. Yesterday would have been a disaster with the storms going through here like they were.
We then joined everybody for the reception up in the hotel. The meal was absolutely wonderful. Chicken, fish, great veggies, potatoes and salad. And it was topped off with desserts of Cheescake or Carrot Cake.
I got to visit with several of Aunt Kathleen's children who came in for the occasion and met two of my Cousin Pat's triplets. He could not make this wedding but two of his girls came to celebrate the occasion.
Jim and Michelle came over and had dinner and played cards with Dick so he was not alone for such a long time. He said it was a good time. He won a game and so did Michelle.
So now you are updated on the past two days. Guess what!!! Tomorrow I do not have to go anywhere!!! And Bobbie is bringing dinner over to us too. We will be celebrating Father's Day with the three that live here in Wisconsin. Wish EVERYBODY could be here but we are so glad of any that can be here.
Here is a simple little poem I wrote last fall. At my Plymouth Writer's club, when we leave we all give a word and those who want to TRY to make a poem using all or at least most of those words. The October words were: comfort, the cold is coming, family, warmth, evening and gathering. Here was my offering.
As evening approached
We gathered in the comfort
Of a glass of evening wine
And watched the cold come in.
Have a great weekend. We are apparently looking forward to five or six clear days. A welcome relief after the storms.
Mary
Yesterday, Thursday, was a day much to full of medical appointments and tornado warnings. After the previous night when I got little sleep, I just got to evening and went to bed.
Anybody wondering, be assured we are OK and I will update you this evening. It will be after 9:30PM as I am taking Mother to a wedding and reception, but I will post.
In the meantime, have a good day and stay dry. WE may even start drying out late this afternoon.
Love
Mary
Anybody wondering, be assured we are OK and I will update you this evening. It will be after 9:30PM as I am taking Mother to a wedding and reception, but I will post.
In the meantime, have a good day and stay dry. WE may even start drying out late this afternoon.
Love
Mary
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
You may boast of your knowledge, and brag of your sense,
'Twill be all forgotten a hundred years hence. "
Rye Whisky". Traditional.
Today was a very quiet day overall. Because it is our grocery shopping day and Dick can't go until his knee is better, I went and got our breakfast at Mc Donalds. We like to keep our traditions going you know. Then I went shopping. That was interesting. I am going to be making June's Mac and Cheese pretty soon and am going to try Wolfgang Puck's recipe. He used truffles. SO, I asked at the Pig if they have truffles (having already checked online and KNOWING that they cost $50 per pound MINIMUM). As I suspected ----- they do not carry them but the expert in produce said that Portabella, would a a possible substitute as a mushroom with an underlying woody taste, so I am afraid that Wolfgang's recipe will have a substitution.
Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist from VNA came over this afternoon. She checked out the area available to move around with the wheelchair and gave some suggestions as to how to make more room or perhaps to change our whole HOUSE functioning. We are considering everything. I am going to do some measuring and I know that I have graph paper around here so we can do some "Paper planning."
I also did some vacuuming in the den and downstairs bedroom. That turned out to be a project in itself. The bag on the turbo was STUFFED, so I went up to get a new one and couldn't find a bag that fit. SO I pulled the canister vacuum down and THAT bag needed changing too. BUT I finally did get it done. By then I was exhausted.
We had Chili for supper tonight and the last of the blueberry cobbler. Boy was that a good blueberry cobbler. This week I picked up some raspberries. I do love spring and summer with all the good fruit. Last week I made a pineapple, watermelon, grape salad that was to DIE for.
Hope your week is doing well. Tomorrow I will take the Explorer for it's first oil change. It keeps giving me a message that I should be getting close to doing this. We now have 4000 miles on the car and for the first oil change, that should be just about right.
Have a nice Thursday.
Love
Mary
'Twill be all forgotten a hundred years hence. "
Rye Whisky". Traditional.
Today was a very quiet day overall. Because it is our grocery shopping day and Dick can't go until his knee is better, I went and got our breakfast at Mc Donalds. We like to keep our traditions going you know. Then I went shopping. That was interesting. I am going to be making June's Mac and Cheese pretty soon and am going to try Wolfgang Puck's recipe. He used truffles. SO, I asked at the Pig if they have truffles (having already checked online and KNOWING that they cost $50 per pound MINIMUM). As I suspected ----- they do not carry them but the expert in produce said that Portabella, would a a possible substitute as a mushroom with an underlying woody taste, so I am afraid that Wolfgang's recipe will have a substitution.
Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist from VNA came over this afternoon. She checked out the area available to move around with the wheelchair and gave some suggestions as to how to make more room or perhaps to change our whole HOUSE functioning. We are considering everything. I am going to do some measuring and I know that I have graph paper around here so we can do some "Paper planning."
I also did some vacuuming in the den and downstairs bedroom. That turned out to be a project in itself. The bag on the turbo was STUFFED, so I went up to get a new one and couldn't find a bag that fit. SO I pulled the canister vacuum down and THAT bag needed changing too. BUT I finally did get it done. By then I was exhausted.
We had Chili for supper tonight and the last of the blueberry cobbler. Boy was that a good blueberry cobbler. This week I picked up some raspberries. I do love spring and summer with all the good fruit. Last week I made a pineapple, watermelon, grape salad that was to DIE for.
Hope your week is doing well. Tomorrow I will take the Explorer for it's first oil change. It keeps giving me a message that I should be getting close to doing this. We now have 4000 miles on the car and for the first oil change, that should be just about right.
Have a nice Thursday.
Love
Mary
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Another long day. Chelsea woke me up at 4PM but I gave her lettuce and shut her out of the bedroom until the alarm went off at 6AM. I wanted to get up then because we had to have Dick to the Anti Coagulation Clinic by 9AM and there was a lot to do before we left.
Chelsea and I had a nice walk. We saw our lady with the cane this morning. Chelsea has been getting me up so early lately that we are not seeing any of our regulars.
His count was better this week. Still a bit low but better so we made a minor adjustment and went on our way. We go home at about 9:45AM, just in time to greet Josh from the Visiting Nurses bringing Dick his Wheel Chair. He went over everything with us and we made sure it would fit through the doors. It does. We have do do some jerry rigging to get him to his desk but it can be done and it is much more comfortable than on the walker.
After Josh left, I did some computer work and fixed lunch. Then we got Dick down for a nap and I had to head for Aurora for my Physical Therapy. This is my second session and I am doing my homework. So far, with the storms and all, I am still hurting a lot, though I do feel looser tonight and will let you know if there is any relief in the morning.
When I got home it as almost time for Dick's Physical Therapist from the Visiting Nurses to come. Sarah was wonderful. She helped us understand the wheelchair a lot, gave us some tips to help Dick get down the stairs to the garage floor AND put him through some exercises and gave him homework exercises.
She was our last appointment. It makes a long long day. Tomorrow is much better. I will shop in the morning. We decided that I will go to pick up breakfast at Mc Donalds so it will be like we are going out for our usual Wednesday breakfast. The only other appointment we have is with Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist at 1PM. We are really hoping that she can help us figure out how to make Dick's showers safer. We are concerned because of the numbness and the pain in the knee. I am so grateful for all the help we are getting. The Visiting Nurses are just wonderful.
Poor Chelsea is very confused. She has never had this many strangers come into her home before in her entire life. And she is old and "sot in her ways". She keeps looking at me like she is just asking that things go back to normal. She is very polite to the people that come. I am proud of her.
Hope you all are well. Saturday we do not have to go anywhere.
Love
Mary
Chelsea and I had a nice walk. We saw our lady with the cane this morning. Chelsea has been getting me up so early lately that we are not seeing any of our regulars.
His count was better this week. Still a bit low but better so we made a minor adjustment and went on our way. We go home at about 9:45AM, just in time to greet Josh from the Visiting Nurses bringing Dick his Wheel Chair. He went over everything with us and we made sure it would fit through the doors. It does. We have do do some jerry rigging to get him to his desk but it can be done and it is much more comfortable than on the walker.
After Josh left, I did some computer work and fixed lunch. Then we got Dick down for a nap and I had to head for Aurora for my Physical Therapy. This is my second session and I am doing my homework. So far, with the storms and all, I am still hurting a lot, though I do feel looser tonight and will let you know if there is any relief in the morning.
When I got home it as almost time for Dick's Physical Therapist from the Visiting Nurses to come. Sarah was wonderful. She helped us understand the wheelchair a lot, gave us some tips to help Dick get down the stairs to the garage floor AND put him through some exercises and gave him homework exercises.
She was our last appointment. It makes a long long day. Tomorrow is much better. I will shop in the morning. We decided that I will go to pick up breakfast at Mc Donalds so it will be like we are going out for our usual Wednesday breakfast. The only other appointment we have is with Mary Meschler, the Occupational Therapist at 1PM. We are really hoping that she can help us figure out how to make Dick's showers safer. We are concerned because of the numbness and the pain in the knee. I am so grateful for all the help we are getting. The Visiting Nurses are just wonderful.
Poor Chelsea is very confused. She has never had this many strangers come into her home before in her entire life. And she is old and "sot in her ways". She keeps looking at me like she is just asking that things go back to normal. She is very polite to the people that come. I am proud of her.
Hope you all are well. Saturday we do not have to go anywhere.
Love
Mary
Monday, June 09, 2008
The rain has stopped, at least temporarily. Good thing too, there is flooding in the county and some of the homes on June Grass and Cattail Lanes have had seepage into their basements because the grading around the homes was not done properly.
Chelsea and I had a nice walk. I did not get any mosquito bites. She decided to go through the park and back through the woods. I really had to make her run through the woods. Wasn't easy either, with all the rain, our path is almost overgrown. Saturday, if it is not raining, I am going to spray myself with insect spray and go over it to pull all the overgrowth. I had to fix it last spring too.
I went to Bible Study today. There were 7 of us there. The readings next week are nice and all fit nicely together. We are promised that if we keep the "covenant", meaning the 10 Commandments we are members of a royal priesthood. Sounds like a good deal to me. We also decided that when things are difficult, we are so happy to have Jesus to call on. How sad if people have no God to help. Where does their strength come from.
Then I stopped at Mom's. She looked lovely with a new permanent. She asked me to help her pick out something for the wedding that she I am taking her to on Friday night. It is my Cousin Brian Ayers son. We picked out a really pretty pantsuit. She will look lovely and be very comfortable in it. As we were in her bedroom next to her fishtank, I noticed baby fish. She had not seen them before and we don't know WHO the parents are. There were at least 9 of them. We do not know if they hatched or were live births. There are enough that if the big fish get hungry, some of the little things should be able to make it.
Got home and fixed lunch then tried to nap. The phone rang four times. One was the nurse who came to check Dick out at 4:30 this evening, one was a call for Celtic Women, one was they guy who is bringing the wheel chair tomorrow and the last was the therapist who is coming the give Dick physical therapy. Whew.
Suzi, Dick's niece, called tonight. She has been having some problems too. Notably, a vacation trailer she owned was destroyed in a tornado. Poor thing. That was her retreat. Hopefully something will come up that she can replace it.
Tonight Jim and Michelle and I went to present some requests and questions to the Tallgrass Condo Board. I requested a change to the bylaw that says one can only have one pet. That multiple cats, of a size, if kept inside , would be OK. It will be FOREVER, but will be brought up at the next general meeting.
Guess that is all. This has been a marathon day and tomorrow is JUST as bad. The people who are coming to help us are all just wonderful. We need to address the shower situation. Dick is just in so much pain and so unsteady that we worry.
Love
Mary
Chelsea and I had a nice walk. I did not get any mosquito bites. She decided to go through the park and back through the woods. I really had to make her run through the woods. Wasn't easy either, with all the rain, our path is almost overgrown. Saturday, if it is not raining, I am going to spray myself with insect spray and go over it to pull all the overgrowth. I had to fix it last spring too.
I went to Bible Study today. There were 7 of us there. The readings next week are nice and all fit nicely together. We are promised that if we keep the "covenant", meaning the 10 Commandments we are members of a royal priesthood. Sounds like a good deal to me. We also decided that when things are difficult, we are so happy to have Jesus to call on. How sad if people have no God to help. Where does their strength come from.
Then I stopped at Mom's. She looked lovely with a new permanent. She asked me to help her pick out something for the wedding that she I am taking her to on Friday night. It is my Cousin Brian Ayers son. We picked out a really pretty pantsuit. She will look lovely and be very comfortable in it. As we were in her bedroom next to her fishtank, I noticed baby fish. She had not seen them before and we don't know WHO the parents are. There were at least 9 of them. We do not know if they hatched or were live births. There are enough that if the big fish get hungry, some of the little things should be able to make it.
Got home and fixed lunch then tried to nap. The phone rang four times. One was the nurse who came to check Dick out at 4:30 this evening, one was a call for Celtic Women, one was they guy who is bringing the wheel chair tomorrow and the last was the therapist who is coming the give Dick physical therapy. Whew.
Suzi, Dick's niece, called tonight. She has been having some problems too. Notably, a vacation trailer she owned was destroyed in a tornado. Poor thing. That was her retreat. Hopefully something will come up that she can replace it.
Tonight Jim and Michelle and I went to present some requests and questions to the Tallgrass Condo Board. I requested a change to the bylaw that says one can only have one pet. That multiple cats, of a size, if kept inside , would be OK. It will be FOREVER, but will be brought up at the next general meeting.
Guess that is all. This has been a marathon day and tomorrow is JUST as bad. The people who are coming to help us are all just wonderful. We need to address the shower situation. Dick is just in so much pain and so unsteady that we worry.
Love
Mary
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest and actually as I had no specific deadlines it almost lived up to its name. I did stay in bed until 6AM and had a pretty good night's sleep too. Chelsea and I went for a nice walk. I made her stay out of the wooded areas because the mosquitoes are SO bad this year. As it was I got two bites before we got back home.
I went to 8AM Mass. Fr. Van Beeck talked about the shabby, motley group of men that Jesus selected for his apostles. He gave us a message for the week - Acceptance and appreciation. I need to hang on to those.
We got a call from Rachel, our assigned nurse, who told us that she was sending an associate tomorrow. She should be here between 4:30 and 6:00PM. It will be a little tight but will work. Michelle, Jim and I are going to the Tallgrass Condo Board meeting down the street at 7PM.
There has been rain and thunder all day. We lost our power at about 11AM for about an hour. Dick took a nap and I just puttered around and played some solitaire by candlelight. I did cut out some squares for quilting and baked a blueberry dessert during the afternoon.
We had fryout (in California we called it barbeque) for supper. I made brats and ribs. Also
my potato salad and pork and beans. When I fried out, I sat on the deck for quite a while. I sprayed the area with Listerine. I had read that will keep the mosquitoes away. I don't know for sure if that was the reason, but I did not get ONE bite while I was out there. So I will try that again. I also picked up some citrinella candles. We will see, because I REALLY want to spend time on that deck this summer.
Have a good week.
I intend to. We have seven health appointments between us this coming week. Sometimes I feel like I am on a merry go round.
Love
Mary
I went to 8AM Mass. Fr. Van Beeck talked about the shabby, motley group of men that Jesus selected for his apostles. He gave us a message for the week - Acceptance and appreciation. I need to hang on to those.
We got a call from Rachel, our assigned nurse, who told us that she was sending an associate tomorrow. She should be here between 4:30 and 6:00PM. It will be a little tight but will work. Michelle, Jim and I are going to the Tallgrass Condo Board meeting down the street at 7PM.
There has been rain and thunder all day. We lost our power at about 11AM for about an hour. Dick took a nap and I just puttered around and played some solitaire by candlelight. I did cut out some squares for quilting and baked a blueberry dessert during the afternoon.
We had fryout (in California we called it barbeque) for supper. I made brats and ribs. Also
my potato salad and pork and beans. When I fried out, I sat on the deck for quite a while. I sprayed the area with Listerine. I had read that will keep the mosquitoes away. I don't know for sure if that was the reason, but I did not get ONE bite while I was out there. So I will try that again. I also picked up some citrinella candles. We will see, because I REALLY want to spend time on that deck this summer.
Have a good week.
I intend to. We have seven health appointments between us this coming week. Sometimes I feel like I am on a merry go round.
Love
Mary
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Chelsea got me up WAY to early this morning but that was because it was such a strange night. I was awake off and on from about 1:30AM. My arm hurt and I just could not get sound asleep. Finally, I could hear her pacing a panting outside the door and got up at about 5:30 to take her for her walk. It was quite pleasant.
The rest of the day, she has been very subdued. I don't think she really feels too well and I think she is getting a bit senile.
There are a couple of, I think, Kildeer at the end of June Grass Lane. They used to try to lead us away from their area, but now seem to accept that we will walk right by if they stay on the lawn. Chelsea doesn't usually see them anyway.
When I got back, Dick and I both lay down to take a nap and wouldn't you know, Rachel, from the Visiting Nurses called and asked to come over to do her nurses evaluation. She checked Dick all over again, and looked at his feet. She said they looked really good which made me feel like all the work we have been doing was for something. Now if they will just heal. Both she and the Mary will be back next week to do more. We should have the wheel chair early next week too.
The rest of the day was quiet. At least I did not have to go anywhere. I was sure glad because thunder and lightening and were just rolling across the land. There is potential flooding all through the area. On the news they showed the streets full of water and warned of driving through them as rushing water can float a car away.
This reminded me of Pismo Beach. We went jeeping there as a family with the Orange County Four Wheelers in my previous life. It is was a huge area of sand dunes nest to the ocean. We always camped in a kind of traditional area near the water and then would go out from there to the favorite dune area. It is long enough ago, that I have forgotten the names we gave the challenging spots, but one of them was down the beach a long way and we crossed over an area during low tide that became a small river when the tide came. in. Careful timing was required and I do remember one trip where Big Al came last when we were a little late and his jeep started to float out to sea. We hooked a two line on it and pulled him back to shore before any damage was done. Quite a site.
Have a Blessed Sunday
Mary
The rest of the day, she has been very subdued. I don't think she really feels too well and I think she is getting a bit senile.
There are a couple of, I think, Kildeer at the end of June Grass Lane. They used to try to lead us away from their area, but now seem to accept that we will walk right by if they stay on the lawn. Chelsea doesn't usually see them anyway.
When I got back, Dick and I both lay down to take a nap and wouldn't you know, Rachel, from the Visiting Nurses called and asked to come over to do her nurses evaluation. She checked Dick all over again, and looked at his feet. She said they looked really good which made me feel like all the work we have been doing was for something. Now if they will just heal. Both she and the Mary will be back next week to do more. We should have the wheel chair early next week too.
The rest of the day was quiet. At least I did not have to go anywhere. I was sure glad because thunder and lightening and were just rolling across the land. There is potential flooding all through the area. On the news they showed the streets full of water and warned of driving through them as rushing water can float a car away.
This reminded me of Pismo Beach. We went jeeping there as a family with the Orange County Four Wheelers in my previous life. It is was a huge area of sand dunes nest to the ocean. We always camped in a kind of traditional area near the water and then would go out from there to the favorite dune area. It is long enough ago, that I have forgotten the names we gave the challenging spots, but one of them was down the beach a long way and we crossed over an area during low tide that became a small river when the tide came. in. Careful timing was required and I do remember one trip where Big Al came last when we were a little late and his jeep started to float out to sea. We hooked a two line on it and pulled him back to shore before any damage was done. Quite a site.
Have a Blessed Sunday
Mary
Friday, June 06, 2008
Another busy "Medical" day. We started out easy enough. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. We saw and heard lots of birds and saw a couple of bunnies. After NO walk yesterday because of the rain this was a real treat.
Then I mopped the kitchen floor and got ready to take Dick to the hospital. The procedure went quite well, though is it terribly painful getting him in and out of the car. Once we have him in the wheel chair it is OK until we have to get him up on the table. This procedure was on his upper left leg and is a stab phlebectomy. I call it the "worm" procedure. Basically, he removes the vein in pieces. The next procedures will be just injecting chemicals that burn out the veins. Very easy. Dr. Siddique said that because of Dick's pain we could hold off for a bit but Dick just wants it DONE.
When we got home we received a call from Mary Meschler, an occupational therapist , sent by Visiting Nurses to see what we can do to help make it easier to move Dick around and keep him safe. She worked at the library for a few years and knows Bobbie. She worked in circulation with Sue Matthews. She was so sweet and kept saying how "honored' she was to meet Dick and how much she loved Mead. Anyway, she had suggestions for us, got all her information and a release and will be back on Tuesday to do some more. I am just so relieved that there is help out there.
I bought a seat for the shower but it is not working. She suggested that we get a pivotal seat and use the bathtub which would give more space to maneuver and provide a solid base. there are handles that attach to sides of tubs too that might help him be able to get up. The trouble with the seat is that he hasn't anything to hang on to in order to get up AND it is cramped in the shower. At least we are getting input and may come up with answers.
I received a really strange mailing today. Somebody sent me a had addressed envelope with three computer printouts that documented that a James F. Kunert had died on February 12. I know of course, that our Jim is OK but is was shocking and whoever sent it did not identify themselves which makes it really creepy. A lot of the information was correct but a lot was wrong and I did not like it. We had Jim and Michelle come over after work tonight and gave it to them. They were creeped out too.
A story that came to my mind. Years ago, my ex husband worked on assembling luxary sport fishing boats to order. These were the kind of boats that , if you have to ask how much, you cannot afford it.
Anyway, Dick and his fellow workers took a boat out for a test cruise one day. It was a beautiful day and they went out for a ways and put the boat through all its paces including auto pilot.. Everything seemed just fine, until, one of they guys went down into the head to use it. When he flushed toilet, the boat did a very neat 90 degree turn and then slowly eased its way back to it's proper setting. He was kind of shook and it actually took a couple of flushes" to figure out what was going on. I thought it was a funny story and it was certainly a good thing they found it on the test cruise. Imagine what a shock this would have been to the new owner.
Love
Mary
Then I mopped the kitchen floor and got ready to take Dick to the hospital. The procedure went quite well, though is it terribly painful getting him in and out of the car. Once we have him in the wheel chair it is OK until we have to get him up on the table. This procedure was on his upper left leg and is a stab phlebectomy. I call it the "worm" procedure. Basically, he removes the vein in pieces. The next procedures will be just injecting chemicals that burn out the veins. Very easy. Dr. Siddique said that because of Dick's pain we could hold off for a bit but Dick just wants it DONE.
When we got home we received a call from Mary Meschler, an occupational therapist , sent by Visiting Nurses to see what we can do to help make it easier to move Dick around and keep him safe. She worked at the library for a few years and knows Bobbie. She worked in circulation with Sue Matthews. She was so sweet and kept saying how "honored' she was to meet Dick and how much she loved Mead. Anyway, she had suggestions for us, got all her information and a release and will be back on Tuesday to do some more. I am just so relieved that there is help out there.
I bought a seat for the shower but it is not working. She suggested that we get a pivotal seat and use the bathtub which would give more space to maneuver and provide a solid base. there are handles that attach to sides of tubs too that might help him be able to get up. The trouble with the seat is that he hasn't anything to hang on to in order to get up AND it is cramped in the shower. At least we are getting input and may come up with answers.
I received a really strange mailing today. Somebody sent me a had addressed envelope with three computer printouts that documented that a James F. Kunert had died on February 12. I know of course, that our Jim is OK but is was shocking and whoever sent it did not identify themselves which makes it really creepy. A lot of the information was correct but a lot was wrong and I did not like it. We had Jim and Michelle come over after work tonight and gave it to them. They were creeped out too.
A story that came to my mind. Years ago, my ex husband worked on assembling luxary sport fishing boats to order. These were the kind of boats that , if you have to ask how much, you cannot afford it.
Anyway, Dick and his fellow workers took a boat out for a test cruise one day. It was a beautiful day and they went out for a ways and put the boat through all its paces including auto pilot.. Everything seemed just fine, until, one of they guys went down into the head to use it. When he flushed toilet, the boat did a very neat 90 degree turn and then slowly eased its way back to it's proper setting. He was kind of shook and it actually took a couple of flushes" to figure out what was going on. I thought it was a funny story and it was certainly a good thing they found it on the test cruise. Imagine what a shock this would have been to the new owner.
Love
Mary
Thursday, June 05, 2008
We finally got our rain. I don't know how much, but it rained most of the morning. Everything got a good soaking. Chelsea and I, for the first time in a long time, were unable to take a walk. There was quite a bit of thunder too. Chelsea does not get so frightened anymore because she does not hear very well.
I had called the other day to ask Dr. Sharon to send a referral to the Visiting Nurses. Boy are they quick. We got a call from an Ellen this morning and she came at 11AM to review things with us and to fill out all the paperwork. She went through EVERYTHING. From Dick's meds to how we move him in and out of bed and around the house. She is recommending a wheelchair. I told her that I don't think it will fit into the bedroom and office but she is concerned because he cannot walk over a few feet because of the pain. She is sending a nurse and and occupational therapist to evaluate and see how they can help also. We should hear tomorrow or Monday to set those up. They do know that he has a procedure with Dr. Siddique tomorrow.
I had my first actual physical therapy for my shoulder today. That is kind of painful. She is working on relaxing the muscles and that involves pressing on them until they resist. I now have three exercises for homework.
I think Chelsea is getting a little senile. She is really nagging me and whining a lot. If I could only figure out what it is she wants.
Doggies are really funny. I remember when I got my Tara, a beautiful black lab. My ex husband came home one night a bit tipsy and said, in front of the boys, "How would you like a dog?" WELL. You know how THAT turned out. So he brought Tara home the next evening. She was a excited girl but kept coughing. I looked more closely at her and found that her choke chain was literally cutting into her neck. Apparently her previous owners had put it on her as a puppy and never checked it again. So my Ex cut it off with metal cutters. Poor baby. I think I thought about that because we had to tighten Chelsea's collar with the loss of all her hair and I need to be checking it. As a matter of fact, I think I want to put a middle hole in it so it will not be quite as tight as it is.
Tomorrow is another procedure with Dr. Siddique. We hope we are almost to the end of those.
Take care and pray for us and all the people on MY list.
Mary
I had called the other day to ask Dr. Sharon to send a referral to the Visiting Nurses. Boy are they quick. We got a call from an Ellen this morning and she came at 11AM to review things with us and to fill out all the paperwork. She went through EVERYTHING. From Dick's meds to how we move him in and out of bed and around the house. She is recommending a wheelchair. I told her that I don't think it will fit into the bedroom and office but she is concerned because he cannot walk over a few feet because of the pain. She is sending a nurse and and occupational therapist to evaluate and see how they can help also. We should hear tomorrow or Monday to set those up. They do know that he has a procedure with Dr. Siddique tomorrow.
I had my first actual physical therapy for my shoulder today. That is kind of painful. She is working on relaxing the muscles and that involves pressing on them until they resist. I now have three exercises for homework.
I think Chelsea is getting a little senile. She is really nagging me and whining a lot. If I could only figure out what it is she wants.
Doggies are really funny. I remember when I got my Tara, a beautiful black lab. My ex husband came home one night a bit tipsy and said, in front of the boys, "How would you like a dog?" WELL. You know how THAT turned out. So he brought Tara home the next evening. She was a excited girl but kept coughing. I looked more closely at her and found that her choke chain was literally cutting into her neck. Apparently her previous owners had put it on her as a puppy and never checked it again. So my Ex cut it off with metal cutters. Poor baby. I think I thought about that because we had to tighten Chelsea's collar with the loss of all her hair and I need to be checking it. As a matter of fact, I think I want to put a middle hole in it so it will not be quite as tight as it is.
Tomorrow is another procedure with Dr. Siddique. We hope we are almost to the end of those.
Take care and pray for us and all the people on MY list.
Mary
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
This was a very exciting day. You have already seen the results of some of my labors. Isn't our girl just the prettiest thing you have ever seen. She is being very persistent and kind of whiny tonight. I think she feels a little sorry for herself. But she is beautiful and when the hot weather really hits us she will be a grateful little puppy.
We stopped off at Mother's on the way home so she could see Chelsea. She said that she would not have known her. She is always amazed at out white she is.
I then went grocery shopping. I needed to be home by noon because Leslie had emailed that she was calling at 1PM. And she did.
A lot of happenings down there. Leslie was in the hospital on Monday night. She has anemia. Quite severe anemia but at least now it is being treated. They still love their house and are making improvements and making it "theirs" a bit at a time.
They will be here for a visit, Bill, Leslie and BOTH GIRLS |TOO in August. They are hoping to arrive the 1st and leave the 8th but MAY if problems arise, arrive on the 4th and leave on the 11th. Anyway it has been way too long and we are eager to see them and spend time catching up. The girls are doing well. Nora is well ensconced in her Air Force life as a Dental Technician. Her husband is working AND going to school to be an electrician. Sara is happy and her special person is moving to California and she will be going too. We can find out EVERYTHING when we are together. I can hardly wait.
I did rest this afternoon but am still glad that it is getting on to 9PM when I can take Chelsea out for her last walk of the evening and get ready for bed.
Today I was thinking of my Dad. I was his firstborn, you know. I don't know whether I told you this story. When he took Mom to the hospital, he picked up my Grandma Bowser, so he must have been pretty scared. I was a rather difficult delivery, Mom said. They had to use forceps and I was kind of blotchy and bruises up.
So they brought me out to show Dad, who had never seen a newborn baby before, and he told them that I could not possibly be his. He told me this when Randy was a baby. Randy was a beautiful baby from the very beginning. Dad DID tell me that he was glad they kept me as I improved very quickly.
Love
Mary
We stopped off at Mother's on the way home so she could see Chelsea. She said that she would not have known her. She is always amazed at out white she is.
I then went grocery shopping. I needed to be home by noon because Leslie had emailed that she was calling at 1PM. And she did.
A lot of happenings down there. Leslie was in the hospital on Monday night. She has anemia. Quite severe anemia but at least now it is being treated. They still love their house and are making improvements and making it "theirs" a bit at a time.
They will be here for a visit, Bill, Leslie and BOTH GIRLS |TOO in August. They are hoping to arrive the 1st and leave the 8th but MAY if problems arise, arrive on the 4th and leave on the 11th. Anyway it has been way too long and we are eager to see them and spend time catching up. The girls are doing well. Nora is well ensconced in her Air Force life as a Dental Technician. Her husband is working AND going to school to be an electrician. Sara is happy and her special person is moving to California and she will be going too. We can find out EVERYTHING when we are together. I can hardly wait.
I did rest this afternoon but am still glad that it is getting on to 9PM when I can take Chelsea out for her last walk of the evening and get ready for bed.
Today I was thinking of my Dad. I was his firstborn, you know. I don't know whether I told you this story. When he took Mom to the hospital, he picked up my Grandma Bowser, so he must have been pretty scared. I was a rather difficult delivery, Mom said. They had to use forceps and I was kind of blotchy and bruises up.
So they brought me out to show Dad, who had never seen a newborn baby before, and he told them that I could not possibly be his. He told me this when Randy was a baby. Randy was a beautiful baby from the very beginning. Dad DID tell me that he was glad they kept me as I improved very quickly.
Love
Mary
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Much cooler today. It was misting when Dick and I drove into Sheboygan to get his blood tested. His level is still a little low. We think it is because he is not drinking as much cranberry juice as he was as he has been thirsty for V8. We figure it is alright a little thick as he has another procedure with Dr. Siddique on Friday.
I got my haircut this afternoon. Chelsea will get hers cut in the morning. She is never happy there but seems pleased to be shorn and a little cooler in the heat of summer. We are goint to stop off at Mom's on the way back to show her how beautiful and cute Chelsea turns out.
I bought us a new blanket today too. The one we had has been with us for over 20 years and is showing a LOT of wear. I figure we deserved a new one. I think I will be able to us the denim quilt I made as a bedspread and will make some pillow shams out of the leftover denim and flannel squares I have left.
Love Mary
Thought you might enjoy this.
It's the summer of 1961 and Harold goes to pick up his date, Peggy Sue. Harold's a pretty hip guy with his own car and a duck tail hairdo. When he goes to the front door, Peggy Sue's mother answers and invites him in. "Peggy Sue's not ready yet, so why don't you have a seat?" Peggy Sue's mother asks Harold what they're planning to do. Harold replies politely that they will probably just go to the malt shop or to a drive-in movie. Peggy Sue's mother responds, "Why don't you kids go out and screw? I hear all the kids are doing it." Naturally this comes as quite a surprise to Harold and he says, "Whaaaat?" "Yeah," says Peggy Sue's mother, "We know Peggy Sue really likes to screw; why, she'd screw all night if we let her!"! Harold's eyes light up and he smiles from ear to ear. Immediately, he has revised the plans for the evening. A few minutes later, Peggy Sue comes downstairs in her little poodle skirt with her saddle shoes, and announces that she's ready to go. Almost breathless with anticipation, Harold escorts his date out the front door while Mom is saying, "Have a good evening kids," with a small wink for Harold! About 20 minutes later, a thoroughly disheveled Peggy Sue rushes back into the house, slams the door behind her and screams at her mother: "Dammit, Mom! It's the Twist! It's calledThe Twist!!!
I got my haircut this afternoon. Chelsea will get hers cut in the morning. She is never happy there but seems pleased to be shorn and a little cooler in the heat of summer. We are goint to stop off at Mom's on the way back to show her how beautiful and cute Chelsea turns out.
I bought us a new blanket today too. The one we had has been with us for over 20 years and is showing a LOT of wear. I figure we deserved a new one. I think I will be able to us the denim quilt I made as a bedspread and will make some pillow shams out of the leftover denim and flannel squares I have left.
Love Mary
Thought you might enjoy this.
It's the summer of 1961 and Harold goes to pick up his date, Peggy Sue. Harold's a pretty hip guy with his own car and a duck tail hairdo. When he goes to the front door, Peggy Sue's mother answers and invites him in. "Peggy Sue's not ready yet, so why don't you have a seat?" Peggy Sue's mother asks Harold what they're planning to do. Harold replies politely that they will probably just go to the malt shop or to a drive-in movie. Peggy Sue's mother responds, "Why don't you kids go out and screw? I hear all the kids are doing it." Naturally this comes as quite a surprise to Harold and he says, "Whaaaat?" "Yeah," says Peggy Sue's mother, "We know Peggy Sue really likes to screw; why, she'd screw all night if we let her!"! Harold's eyes light up and he smiles from ear to ear. Immediately, he has revised the plans for the evening. A few minutes later, Peggy Sue comes downstairs in her little poodle skirt with her saddle shoes, and announces that she's ready to go. Almost breathless with anticipation, Harold escorts his date out the front door while Mom is saying, "Have a good evening kids," with a small wink for Harold! About 20 minutes later, a thoroughly disheveled Peggy Sue rushes back into the house, slams the door behind her and screams at her mother: "Dammit, Mom! It's the Twist! It's calledThe Twist!!!
Monday, June 02, 2008
We got a little bit of rain tonight. I hope it is not over yet. What we got was pleasant but not enough to really do a lot of good.
Chelsea seems to be coughing a lot more again. It is almost time to renew one of her meds and I will mention it to her veterinarian when I call. She did say we can do a bit of upping the doses to help her.
This morning, Dick and I went to see a Dr. Moreno at the Sheboygan Clinic. He checked out Dicks open callouses and gave us a new medication to treat them with and some post surgical slipper shoes to wear for a while. He is not happy about the support stockings because they constrict circulation, but knows we need them for other reasons. He is ordering one of those compression thingies for his legs to help with circulation and swelling.
Then I went to Sheboygan Falls. I got to Bible Study just in time for the final prayer, then went over to visit with Mother for a bit and to find out the changes on her medications. That seems to be the story of my day. Changing Meds.
After lunch, I went for my physical therapy evaluation. I saw a Rebecca who did a very thorough look at me. I will be going twice a week to try to strengthen the muscles and nerves in my neck and shoulder and I even have homework. I haven't had homework for years.
On the way there I exchanged Dick's walker for a new one. (Did I tell you that one of the hand brakes broke on Friday. Deanne, the helper at Adams Drug Store, had never had that happen before.) Anyway we just exchanged it. It sure is a Godsend, as it helps Dick with his balance and provides him two handles that are solid on the ground to hang on to. When he is really tired, we can even roll him a short distance, sitting.
The Rhine Plymouth membership meeting was tonight. I went, it is only an hour so I am was gone too long. On the way there, I saw a hawk flying. That is not really too unusual, BUT he was carrying a mouse in his beak. I never saw that before. I guess they have to eat too but I don't know what the mouse thought about that.
They are doing a special on how Las Vegas developed on PBS. I remember years ago, my mother in law, Lily used to save all her nickels in a big jar just waiting for the change to go to Vegas and plug those nickels in the one armed bandits. One weekend, Jacquie, Doris, Lily, another roommate of Jacquie's, I think her name was Tammy, and me all drove there and just had a ball, all in one motel room and just plugging those machines. We couldn't have done too well, but we had fun and were calling Lily, "Madame Lil".
Have a nice Tuesday.
Love
Mary
Chelsea seems to be coughing a lot more again. It is almost time to renew one of her meds and I will mention it to her veterinarian when I call. She did say we can do a bit of upping the doses to help her.
This morning, Dick and I went to see a Dr. Moreno at the Sheboygan Clinic. He checked out Dicks open callouses and gave us a new medication to treat them with and some post surgical slipper shoes to wear for a while. He is not happy about the support stockings because they constrict circulation, but knows we need them for other reasons. He is ordering one of those compression thingies for his legs to help with circulation and swelling.
Then I went to Sheboygan Falls. I got to Bible Study just in time for the final prayer, then went over to visit with Mother for a bit and to find out the changes on her medications. That seems to be the story of my day. Changing Meds.
After lunch, I went for my physical therapy evaluation. I saw a Rebecca who did a very thorough look at me. I will be going twice a week to try to strengthen the muscles and nerves in my neck and shoulder and I even have homework. I haven't had homework for years.
On the way there I exchanged Dick's walker for a new one. (Did I tell you that one of the hand brakes broke on Friday. Deanne, the helper at Adams Drug Store, had never had that happen before.) Anyway we just exchanged it. It sure is a Godsend, as it helps Dick with his balance and provides him two handles that are solid on the ground to hang on to. When he is really tired, we can even roll him a short distance, sitting.
The Rhine Plymouth membership meeting was tonight. I went, it is only an hour so I am was gone too long. On the way there, I saw a hawk flying. That is not really too unusual, BUT he was carrying a mouse in his beak. I never saw that before. I guess they have to eat too but I don't know what the mouse thought about that.
They are doing a special on how Las Vegas developed on PBS. I remember years ago, my mother in law, Lily used to save all her nickels in a big jar just waiting for the change to go to Vegas and plug those nickels in the one armed bandits. One weekend, Jacquie, Doris, Lily, another roommate of Jacquie's, I think her name was Tammy, and me all drove there and just had a ball, all in one motel room and just plugging those machines. We couldn't have done too well, but we had fun and were calling Lily, "Madame Lil".
Have a nice Tuesday.
Love
Mary
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