Ready to March

Happy New Year!

Didn't we just celebrate the start of 2017?

I looked at my calendar today and saw the date was February 28.

Two months gone, just like that.... Poof!

Happy March Month!

Weekend Novelties

Although some of the things I did this past weekend were "the usual" (such as breakfast out on Saturday, church on Sunday, and doing laundry), I also did some not-so-usual things.

Lew and I visited Mom at the rehab place on Saturday and Sunday. It was good to see her.

I intended to do our taxes on Saturday afternoon. I did not. We went out and bought a new chair instead. It is for me.  :)

And our taxes? I made myself do them yesterday!

Lew's Logbook: Old School Talk

(Lew writes today. Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

Today I happened to meet a person that I knew from elementary school through high school.

We knew of each other but did not travel in the same circles and rarely, if ever, interacted with each other.

That did not stop us from talking for about 30 or 40 minutes as we reminisced about all the people we knew and some of our shared experiences. Both of us were Munjoy Hill kids.

It was a fun encounter. We probably would have chatted longer but we ran out of time.

I went home and pulled out my high school year book and took a trip back in time.

My 50th high school reunion is happening this summer. My, how time flies.

Friday Fun

Things to do instead of write a blog post:

• Watch two episodes of Frasier.
• Start the dishwasher.
• Unpack the latest box from Amazon.
• Watch Last Man Standing.
• Look for more fun stuff on Amazon.com.
• Get caught up on some reading.

It's been a long week in many ways, so I'm not feeling very creative for today's post. (Not that I'm usually creative, but let's not shatter the illusion.)

Thanks for checking in.

Best wishes for a great weekend!

Mom Update

Dad went in to see Mom today. He said she is looking better but is in a lot of pain — especially in her shoulder.

We are not sure how long she will be at rehab. Apparently a meeting is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss her case, so she'll be there until at least then.

I haven't been in to see her yet, but Lew and I are planning on going Saturday after breakfast.

It's too bad we can't take the kitties. They miss her!

Dad 346: Spouse Is the One

(Please keep my mom in your prayers! Dad explains below. ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another beautiful pre-spring day melting a lot of snow. Tomorrow should be even better.

This will be a brief blogpost on the last 24 hours.

Everyone has probably heard that one in three elderly people will fall this year. Well, Mary Lou took a tumble last night getting ready to brush her teeth before slipping into bed. Phone call 911. Of course, Glen was here as soon as the call went out.

Off to Maine Medical Center around 7:00 PM. X-rays showed a break above the left elbow and a fracture of the collarbone. Very painful. (Fortunately these breaks are on the stroke-affected side.)

I returned from Maine Med and was in bed by 4:00 AM. Was up at eight and spent the afternoon in the hospital. At 5:30 PM Spouse was transferred to New England Rehab for in-patient therapy. I'll see her tomorrow.

More details next week, soooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Friendversary

Facebook wished me a "Happy Friendversary" today. It is my eight-year Facebook Friendversary with Lew, my own husband.

Thank you, Facebook, for telling me that friendships are something special. But I am amused that my "Married to Lew" relationship status didn't tip you off.

Anyway....

Happy Friendversary, Lew!

Boxes

Because we do a fair amount of shopping online, we have packages delivered quite often to our home.

I like all sorts of deliveries, but our kitties prefer those that arrive in cardboard boxes.

The size of the box is irrelevant; if it is a box, then the kitties want to get in it. I have seen Jerry cram his rather large cat frame into incredibly tiny boxes!

We usually put the boxes in our recycle bin right away. But if it's a nice box, we'll leave it on the living room floor for a few days.

We love our kitties!

Jerry enjoying our recent box from Amazon.

Lew's Logbook: C-Rations

(Lew writes today. Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

In 1969 I spent about seven months in the jungles of Vietnam as a medic attached to an infantry unit of the 1st Infantry Division. For the first few months our diet consisted mostly of C-Rations that were manufactured in the late 1940s.

Yes, we were eating canned food that was over 20 years old.

One day this week I drove by a new restaurant that advertised Vietnamese cuisine. For some reason I thought to myself, “I wonder if they have any C-Rations that were manufactured in the 1940s.”

I made myself laugh.

"Hat Day" at Work!

The Long Week

I have been working long days to compensate for missing work this past Monday, so I really hope we don't have any more major snowstorms.

All work and no play makes Tracy tired.

But all play and no work makes Tracy feel unproductive.

I need some balance!

Smile!

Dad 345: Basketball and Strawberries

(Snow, snow, go away; come again NEVER. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another cloudy, dark day in the Northeast with rain and snow to start and last into tomorrow. We have received over three feet of snow in the last week. Hopefully this storm will be winter's last blast as we are over halfway through February. It was an easy winter up until one week ago.

 

Looking forward to school vacation next week and high school basketball on television. Watching high school basketball during school vacation week has been a tradition for many years. Even though fewer games are televised now than several years ago, I'll still watch what is offered.

 

Another Valentine's Day has passed. Deb brought us her homemade chocolate strawberries. Delicious as usual! Hope you all enjoyed the day with sweets and cards from your family as we did. Just another day.

 

Don't feel like writing any more, so....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries by Debbie.  (Photo by Lew.)

The Lost Day

It started snowing around 1:00 yesterday afternoon. I believe it stopped sometime overnight, and then it snowed on and off for the whole day today. But the snow accumulation was mostly complete by this morning.

I decided yesterday that I wasn't going to work today. At one point this morning I thought I might make it in for the afternoon. Then it didn't look like it was possible. Then I thought, "Maybe." But it never happened.

It was a nice day at home, but I felt "unaccomplished." Hence, the title of this blog post.

Tomorrow I conquer the world — or at least the projects on my desk at work.

Dad and Lew were productive today, though. Here's a photo of Lew's car sitting in the front lawn. The wind made for some interesting snow drifts!

Lew's Logbook: Super Bowl Distraction

(Lew offers some perspective in his post today. ~ Tracy)

I really enjoyed the Super Bowl. Tracy was trying to divert her attention from, what seemed to be, a Patriots big loss. She tends to get very involved in Patriots and Red Sox games. Normally I would have been more anxious but I had something on my mind.

One of my Tuesday morning breakfast buddies told us two weeks ago that he was having some chest pain when he exercises. Another of our group happened to spend his whole career operating heart lung machines at Maine Medical. He was concerned and began pressing Mr. Chest Pain to deal with this immediately.

He had some tests done on the Friday before the game and had bypass surgery the following Monday. He needed five bypasses.

So as I watched the game I was thinking and praying for my friend. Yes, I wanted the Pats to win, but it just didn’t seem that important.

Three-Day Weather Forecast

Saturday:  Snow
Sunday:  Rain/Snow
Monday:  Blizzard

I keep reminding myself that I love Spring because of Winter.

Nor'easter!

Cable is down, so no Internet. 😩

My iPhone app for blogging doesn't seem to work anymore. 😩

It's hard to use my iPhone on the actual blog website. 😩

So a short post today!

Lots and lots and lots and lots of snow here.

Thanks for checking in! 😊

Dad 344: A Super Super Bowl

(We are still celebrating here in New England. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Enjoying another beautiful day in the Northeast. Storm yesterday of about three to five inches of snow. And a lot of ice. Also supposed to get a nor'easter tomorrow with snow amounts of six inches or more.

 

Well, I had my last appointment at the eye doctor today for my first eye operation (cataracts removed). My eye tested almost 20/20 today. It was 20/25. I'm ready to do my right eye but must wait until March 7th.

 

Football season has ended with the New England Patriots winning another Super Bowl. The last 17 years with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have been super. Seven Super Bowl's with five wins. Eight straight wins of their division. The records that this team has would take much time to write. Congratulations to the Patriots team. And to think in the third quarter they were behind by 25 points (28-3). It was a team effort. Many new names!

 

Spent yesterday watching (on television) the Patriots parade in the snow and sleet. Estimated crowd of one million. Can't wait for next season.

 

That's it for now.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Roger That

A couple weeks ago I started seeing comments that Tom Brady is the GOAT.

At first I thought this was a criticism. Every time I've heard someone is "the goat" in the context of sports, it's never meant anything good.

But when I saw that Matt was referring to Brady as the GOAT, I realized something else was going on. (Matt has a man crush on Brady.)

When I looked more carefully, I saw that GOAT is often written as G.O.A.T.

Lew wondered about this, too, so he googled it:  Greatest Of All Time.

Yup, I'd say that is accurate!

Surreal

Did you watch the Super Bowl game last night?

I watched all of the first quarter.

After Atlanta went up 14-0 in the second quarter, I had to walk away.

I did some work at my desk and checked the score on my phone every so often.

I had not anticipated watching Lady Gaga's half-time show, but I ended up watching the whole thing.

When the game came back on, it was back upstairs for me.

I checked my phone a few minutes after the third quarter started and saw that it was 28-3.

So I decided to get ready for bed.

Lew was still watching the game downstairs, so I could hear what was going on.

And what do you know?  The Patriots were crawling back into the game.

With 1:57 left in the fourth quarter, I went down the stairs just far enough so I could see the living room TV.

When they got the touchdown, I went a little further down the stairs. They were a two-point conversion away from actually tying the game up.

Two-point conversion attempt: Successful!

I made it all the way down the stairs and watched the rest of the game.

Did you hear a loud "WOOHOO" after the Patriots won in overtime? That was my cheering you heard!

😊🏈

Lew's Logbook: Cat on the Dryer

(Next thing you know, she'll want the minimum wage! Enjoy Lew's post! ~ Tracy)

Yesterday I did a load of laundry. I take care of my clothes and some towels and stuff. I don’t do Tracy’s because, well if you’re married, you know why.

Anyway, I noticed that there is a little vibration noise when the dryer is running. If I put a little pressure on the top, the vibration noise stops. I thought about trying to make an adjustment to eliminate the noise but it really isn’t worth the effort.

Today Tracy was doing more laundry. I noticed that the dryer wasn’t making that noise and I saw the reason.

Marilyn has got a new job. Now I need to find Jerry something to do.

A Night Out on the Town

Lew and I went out to dinner tonight with our breakfast buddies, Dick and Carole. The restaurant we went to is near our former house, so we were in our old stomping ground.

 

On our way there, Lew commented on a store we were about to pass by. "I'm surprised they're still in business." As we got closer to said store, we saw a big sign hanging in front of it: STORE CLOSING SALE.

 

After a lovely meal, our waitress brought us our bills. She placed them in front of Dick and Lew. After she walked away, Dick and Lew pushed the bills across the table to Carole and me. We all laughed.

 

We lead exciting lives. :)

Another Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. I guess that means another six weeks of winter. Sigh....

Posting late because I put in a long day at work. Got lots done, so tomorrow won't be quite as crazy.  :)

I've been humming "I Got You Babe" as I've wandered around the house tonight. Film buffs will understand why!

Good night!

Dad 343: Pirate Eye

(The blog most go on! Enjoy Dad's post!  ~  Tracy)

Derf Here! Another nice wintry day. Started with a little snow, which all went away during the day.

Yesterday I had my left eye operated on. Removed cataracts. Put in a lens and a stent due to my glaucoma. Had a structure over it for the night.

Today I pulled off the pirate patch, and boy was it bright. Took a while to get my bearings. I put my glasses on and could still see fine through the right lens but not the left. Left eye could see well without glasses.

Then, with Lew as my driver, it was off to a checkup after dropping Tracy off at work. Debbie, who took me yesterday for my operation, came and stayed with Spouse.

Checkup went well and I had my left lens removed from glasses. Now I am trying to get used to vision.

Next week I have another checkup and on March 7th I get my right eye done. Can't wait!

Lew, since we were so close, stopped by Tony's Donuts on our way home from my checkup. We had to purchase a variety of goodies. And they were good!

GO PATS!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!