Boo! :)

👻

Happy Halloween! No costume for me this year, but I did eat lots of candy these past few days. Really healthy eating, ha ha!

Lew and I managed to stay awake until the end of the baseball game last night. Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on winning the World Series!

I've stopped to visit Mom for a few minutes every night on my way home from work. Today she told me she had to look at a big bee on the wall for a long time. I thought she meant bee, like an insect. But she meant the letter "B" which was on a piece of paper taped to her wall. (I guess it was supposed to help with her dizziness.) She was still waiting on her dinner when I left tonight. She said they were going to "make her" sit in a chair to eat. (She's been eating while sitting in her bed.) I think it's good she'll sit in a chair. That's progress.

Trick or Treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!  😋

Dad 487: Trailer, Spouse, and a Message for Winter

(Hope I can stay awake until the end of the Nationals/Astros game tonight! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Not a bad day. No rain and temperature in the 60s. The days have been rather warm up until now. Hope it continues. We'll take it.

 

Lew moved the trailer to the grass today, freeing up the area where our new shed will be. The necessary materials will be brought on Friday and the shed will be constructed starting Monday. Be happy when it's done.

 

Spouse is still in rehab up the road from home. I'm writing this prior to visiting her this afternoon. Earlier in the day she seemed to be a little less dizzy with vertigo. Still not ready to come home and get back to our routine. Be glad when she can come home. Keep your thoughts and prayers coming. We'll keep you posted.

 

Our across-the-street restaurant has closed for the season. Had our last meal from there Sunday. Ready for Spring when all the food places open up again. Please go quickly, Winter. Please.

 

Game 7 tonight!!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Reality Window (It's Better Than T.V.)

What Lew did today: Watched our new neighbor excavate and double the size of the driveway.

 

Kind of reminds me of the movie "Rear Window," with Lew as Jimmy Stewart. Fortunately Lew's observations didn't cause him to believe something more sinister was going on!

 

I wonder what Lew can watch out the window the rest of the week.... Ahhhh, the life of a retiree!

Rainy Day Sunday

Today's weather: Rain. All day.

Today's main eats: Dad, Lew, and I had our last meal from Ken's Place for this season. They'll be closed until April. (Dad and Lew both had hamburger plates. I had the grilled chicken salad.)

Mom update: Lew and I stopped to see her after church. She mentioned she's looking forward to getting up and moving her legs around, which is a good sign that she's starting to feel a little better. (That's my interpretation anyway.)

Weekend chores: I usually try to do my chores on Saturday, but yesterday we were busy with Eli's party, etc. So this afternoon I did laundry and got caught up on this past week's mail.

Speaking of Eli, his birthday was TODAY. Happy Birthday, Eli! I can't believe you are eight years old!

Something else that's hard to believe: It was 15 years ago today when the Red Sox won the World Series with a sweep of the Cardinals! How sweet it was. 😊

A Hopping Busy Bustling Day

Done today:

Breakfast out with our breakfast buddies.
Attend Eli's flag football game.
Home to watch some of Josh's football game via streaming. (Lost.)
Go to Eli's birthday party at Happy Wheels. (No, I did NOT roller skate!)
Shop at Sam's Club.
Get gas for my vehicle.
Shop at Walgreen's.
Visit Mom.
Home for dinner.
Watch the U.Maine football game on DVR. (Won.)
Finish packing our Operation Christmas Child boxes.
Write this blog post.

Still to do:

Collapse into bed!

Finally Friday

This has been a long week in many ways.

Sunday (two days from now) is our fiscal month end at work. Plus we had a preliminary routine audit this week. It went well.

The World Series started on Tuesday. I've tried to watch as much as I can, but the games go much too late for me to make it to the end. Maybe I will tonight. (But probably not.)

Most important of all has been Mom's hospitalization and her subsequent move to the rehab facility. I stopped in again tonight on my way home from work. Dad and Lew were there, too. Dad had also been in during the afternoon, during which the doctor came and worked quite a bit with Mom. I guess he asked her a lot of questions. Dad and Mom were both pleased with the doctor's visit. Sounds like some progress is being made.

Lots on our plate for tomorrow. Thanks for checking in!

Mom's Move

Mom was moved to the rehab facility down the road from us late this morning. I hadn't been able to visit her since Sunday, but now I can stop in to see her on my way home from work.

I visited with her about 40 minutes tonight. She ate her dinner while I was there. (Pot roast, green beans, potato, and jello.) She didn't clean her plate, but she had a few bites of everything. Her favorite part of the meal was the pot roast, least favorite was the potato!

She is still experiencing some dizziness, so please pray that will ease up. Hopefully the therapy she gets will be beneficial right from the start. The OT/PT staff will work hard to get her back home soon. I told Mom she will have to work hard, too.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Dad 486: Spousal Update

(Dad writes today and shares the next steps for Mom. Good news, in my opinion! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another wet and dreary morning. However, the afternoon turned to bright sun and fairly warm. Temperatures actually have been very nice up until now. I hope I can say this next month. Time will tell.

 

Visited Spouse today at Maine Medical Center. Found out that she probably is about to go to rehab tomorrow. They have a room on hold on the same road we live on. She has been there before and we are happy that this rehab facility is close to home. After thinking about it, we decided that rehab is necessary. She certainly couldn't come home while remaining in such dizzying conditions. Hopefully this will clear up rapidly. We'll see and do what is necessary to get her back home. Keep up your prayers for her.

 

Tracy will try, I'm sure, to keep you abreast of our progress with Spouse's rehab through this blog. Please stay tuned.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Medical Terms

I learned a couple new medical terms from Mom's nurse on Sunday:

Orthostatic Vitals. This is when vital signs are taken while the patient is supine then when they are standing. I think in Mom's case they also did it while she was sitting. So, in order: supine, sitting, standing. (Vocabulary word: "Supine" is lying on your back with face upward!) Mom's blood pressure dropped significantly when standing.

Nystagmus. This is the term for when eyes are quickly shifting back and forth. Mom had this on Saturday night and Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon it had let up a bit, but I guess the medical staff could still see signs of it. (I didn't notice it while visiting.)

Today's update: Dad went in again to see Mom this afternoon. Things were about the same as yesterday, although today they actually talked more! (Maybe there was some napping, too.) A hospital volunteer visited with them for quite a while, which was an enjoyable time for them.

Please keep praying! Thanks. 😌💗

Another Hospital Stay

Mom has been a patient at Maine Medical Center since Saturday. She experienced severe dizziness (which made her nauseated), so we thought it best to defer to the medical professionals.

After running the usual tests and other evaluations, my understanding is the probable cause is fluid in her inner ear.

She is doing much better but not quite ready to come home yet. Dad went in to see her this afternoon, and I guess they both napped. (That is quite the visit, ha ha!)

As always, prayers are requested. Thanks!

An Incorrect Theory

I played a game on my cell phone while watching the third game of the ALCS earlier this week. I wanted the Astros to beat the Yankees, and they did! It must have been because I was diligent in playing my game. I am not superstitious, but I am willing to do my part.

Last night was the fourth game. I couldn't stay up until the end of it, and I was concerned about letting the Astros down. But they still won.

That brings us to today... a Friday. I stayed up until the bitter end of the game, faithfully playing my game while rooting for the Astros to pull it out. It wasn't meant to be, though. They lost, 4-1. I guess I really have nothing to do with whether they win or not.

The Astros remain ahead in the best-of-seven series, 3-2. They are heading back to Houston, which will hopefully work in their favor. (Best wishes, Astros!) Perhaps I will still play my game while watching, just in case....

A Correct Forecast

My drive to work yesterday was lovely. It was a beautiful day and the foliage was at its peak. At one point I noticed something moving on the side of the road, so I slowed down. It was a deer! I came to a complete stop as it crossed the road. I waited for a moment, and I'm glad I did because another deer followed! I proceeded slowly and saw there was a third deer, but this one decided not to cross.

 

Today's drive was a little different. After a night of rain and very strong winds, the roads were messy with leaves, limbs, and debris. The trees looked sad. I had to backtrack at one point because the road was closed.

 

As predicted, the storm also caused a lot of power outages. Ours went out at 4:00 this morning and finally was restored at 5:00 this afternoon. There are still a number of outages, so we are fortunate. My workplace did not lose power at all, so it was business as usual today.

 

And now it's time to sleep... after watching a little more baseball....

Dad 485: An Errand With Lew

(Rats! I missed out on the adventure with Lew and Dad today – ha ha! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Enjoying another nice day. We've had a string of beautiful early fall days. However, tomorrow is supposed to be stormy early in the morning. Heavy rains and winds up to 60 mph. Forecasters are ready for power failures. We'll see.

 

Lew and I finally made our dump run today. Got rid of a television that weighed several hundred pounds. Also trashed an old key machine and a metal holder for hundreds of keys. Machine and key holder was in my father's store 60+ years ago. I kept it and used it to cut keys up until a few years ago. By the way, the television was heavy and cumbersome, but not several hundred pounds.

 

Now we wait for a builder in our extended family to build us a shed (10' x 16'). When this is done our trailer will become the builder's. The sooner the better.

 

Things continue moving on about the same here. Lew has found a snowplower now that our snowplow is gone. Thank goodness! I'm done.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

It's Fall, Y'all

I take back roads to work, and it really is a lovely drive this time of year. The leaves have turned into their beautiful fall colors, and the trees are still pretty full.

But tomorrow may be my last day to enjoy the foliage because Thursday is supposed to be yucky. Wind and rain are expected. The leaves are going to droop and drop....

"Fall" really is a good name for the season!

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Neither Have I

Lew and I have been watching the baseball playoffs.

 

The commentators have a habit of talking about how a certain batter hardly ever strikes out... and then that batter strikes out. Or it could be a discussion about how a fielder doesn't make errors... and, oops, he muffs an easy play.

 

The commentators don't always jinx the players, though. I especially enjoyed the comment about a pitcher who had never given up a walk-off home run (or something like that). I looked over at Lew and said, "Neither have I!"

 

For the record, I also have never struck out nor committed an error in a Major League Baseball game.

 

Play ball!

The Final Fry

We are in the midst of Columbus Day weekend, which means we start to roll up the sidewalks around here. Many of the seasonal business will close after tomorrow.

In light of this, Lew and I took a slight detour after church today.... They were yummy!

Saturday = College Football

Both nephews had football games today.

Neither played (Josh recovering from knee injury, Zack redshirting this year), but we still watched. We still cheered.

Alas, we were 0 for 2.

But come next week, we will watch and cheer again.

Let's go, Mariners! Let's go, Black Bears!

The Red Door

During the summer, the porch-side entrance of our house has only one door. This screen/storm door is what Marilyn escapes through if we hold it open for too long. At non-escape times, she sits looking out of it and dreams of going outdoors.

When the weather gets colder, an additional door is added. We call it "The Red Door" because it is red and it is a door. It is made of wood. Although it does have a window, the window is too high for Marilyn to look out of.

The Red Door is now back in service as of today. I don't have a picture of it to add to this post, so I encourage you to use your imagination!
😉😏

"Two" Many Options

I ate dinner out tonight with my friend Carmen. We had a lovely time of great food and great conversation.

 

By the time I got home, two sporting events were on TV:

1. The deciding game of the Astros/Rays division series, and
   
2. The Patriots/Giants game.
   

Both of these games are of interest to me. Which to watch? WHICH TO WATCH???

 

Fortunately, I am married to a master of the remote control. Back and forth, back and forth we go! (But I do need to get to sleep soon so I can get to work tomorrow!)

Dad 484: A Decoration Achievement

(Voice translator typed "Total pit!" instead of "Toodle Pip!" Ha ha! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another day which does resemble fall. It seems to be here. Summer is gone. Boo-hoo!

Kind of a lazy week. Not unusual for me. Lazy all the time. However, Spouse has a busy next two days. Must have shower and goes for a haircut on Friday. Will get it done. Bet on it!

It seems that Lew has a deal with an extended family member to put up a shed for storage. Hopefully will be done in the next few weeks. Our yard will seem empty, but with a new storage space and all vehicles in the garage. Nothing left outside. Even found a plow guy. Lew has been busy.

Got a couple of pumpkin holders that light up for the coming Halloween season. Nice to get goodies in the mail every now and then.

Tune in next week.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

iConfused

So, my iPhone updated overnight to the latest software version.

Usually when my phone updates, I don't really notice too much of a difference... but not this time. Oh, boy.

I'm relatively savvy when it comes to figuring stuff out, but I've had to work a little more today as I navigate the changes.

Just when I'm finally used to my phone again, there will probably be another update!

It's the Little Things

A couple weeks ago I lost a sock in the laundry. I made a half-hearted effort to find it at the time, but it did not turn up during my quick peek through all of the clothes I had already folded.

 

When I got to work this morning and started to put on a sweatshirt, guess what fell out and landed on the floor?

 

" I found my SOCK!"

 

Some co-workers were nearby and they probably thought I was a little too excited about such a thing. But I don't care....

 

I found my sock and I want the whole world to know!

Valuable Chore

I just heard Lew say, "All of my chores are done." He proceeded to list them, but he did omit mentioning the Valuable Chore (VC) he completed....

Tonight I brushed Jerry — something I should do every day, but I don't. After I'm done brushing him, Jerry inevitably has some loose hair stuck to him. Tonight was no different. That's when Lew stepped in and did the VC: Vacuum Cat!

😺🐈😸

Lew's Logbook: Eli Loses a Tooth

(Lew writes today! ~ Tracy)

I went to Eli’s flag football game today. It is semi-organized chaos but very fun to watch.

I set up my chair and settled in for the excitement.  It was hard to see because the sun was in my face, but suddenly Eli jumped in my lap and greeted me with a “Hi Grampa."  

The next thing he said was “Hey Grampa, look at this."  Below is what I saw. (I got him to pose for me later.)  

A moment to warm “the cockles of my heart."  💗💗

A Late Night

Tonight I went to a women's event at an area church. The event was from 7-10 PM. It was very nice and I'm glad I went.

But now I'm glad to be home because it is way past my bedtime!

💤😴💤

No Cavities, No Flu

This morning I used some personal time at work so I could go to the dentist. No cavities, although I do need to do a better job brushing the back of my teeth in three of the four quadrants. (The only one I have been doing okay with is the top left, which makes sense because I am right-handed.) The hygienist told me she has to get after many, many patients for this same problem. She also said that relative to others, I don't do so bad! But still, I need to do better because I want to make my hygienist proud... as well as have healthy teeth.

Then I went to the post office to purchase some stamps, after which I stopped at Walgreens for my annual flu shot. The best thing about the flu shot was the red band-aid with the Walgreens "W" on it. Even though nobody could see it on my arm, I knew it was there. (I have no picture to share with you because I've already removed it and thrown it out.) But there is something that could replace the band-aid as the best thing:  not getting the flu!

Here's to good health!
☺

Dad 483: Cakes, Boats, and Trucks

(We've had to turn the heat up, boo hoo. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Two lousy, cloudy, wet days in a row. Supposed to be a nice weekend coming. Fall temperatures are in the air. Don't mind Fall. Do not like snow season! Maybe a light snow year. We can hope.

 

Debbie dropped by today. Working Monday through Friday this week at her new job selling Bundt cakes. Seems to like her new job. The cakes are very yummy!

 

Debbie also said they have a new boat. A 34-foot ship for the ocean. My way of describing it is a "sea motorhome." Glen's motorcycle will be gone, but they will spend time on the sea. Better them than me!

 

Lew has found out more about his new truck this week. While reading about it, he found out it has a remote starter. He also found a trunk in the back. Very large! One thing I like about his truck is the back opens like a regular pickup and also swings open. Clever!

 

Stopping for today!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Happy October!

With the start of this new month comes something fun: October baseball!

 

The Red Sox are not in the playoffs this year, so watching won't be as stressful. (Although we will root against the Yankees.)

 

Play ball!