Two Last Days

Tomorrow is the last day of the calendar year 2019, but yesterday was the last day of the fiscal year at work.

Needless to say, I was busy at the office today. (Question: How come we always go ahead and say whatever we claim is "needless to say"?)

The rest of the week will be busy, but it will be broken up by the holiday on Wednesday. The name of the game at work is "focus" (and "keep going").

Speaking of games, the Patriots stunk it up yesterday. I don't think they will go far in the playoffs. But we've had a good run here in New England, that's for sure!

Lew chauffeured me to work today. (SNOW!) He may even chauffeur me tomorrow.

We are planning on going to Ellen and Paul's house for a New Year's Eve bash tomorrow night. By "bash" I mean a get-together which will probably end before 9:00PM. Gone are the days when we feel like staying up until midnight, ha ha!

I'm not sure if I will post tomorrow, so this may be the last entry for 2019. Wow! Thank you for reading Mainely Tracy!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Bowl Games

It is bowl time for college football. There are so many bowl games, I joked with Lew about how we should sponsor one.  Last night we were coming up with possible names:

The Cereal Bowl
The Fruit Bowl
The Soup Bowl
The Fish Bowl
The Salad Bowl
The Manute "Bol"
The Mixing Bowl
The Ice Cream Bowl
The Dust Bowl

And my personal favorite...
The Toilet Bowl

Date Afternoon

I used a vacation day today, so Lew and I had a "date afternoon" and went to a movie. We saw Knives Out. It was a good whodunit — my favorite kind of movie. There was nothing fancy in the way of special effects, and there were no superheroes. It was just an interesting, well-told story. Lew and I both enjoyed it.

It's back to work for me tomorrow. And then it's the weekend! I could get used to a schedule like this.... 😄

Dad 495: A Merry Christmas

(A different Christmas from last year for Dad.... Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! A beautiful Christmas day was enjoyed by all. Weather was a little cool, but the story of the birth of Christ warms us all.

 

Spouse and I went to Glen and Deb's for dinner and an exchange of Christmas gifts. The food was great and so was the company. Lew and Tracy were at the gathering, and it was a treat to have Josh and Zack home from school. In fact, Josh and Zack hoisted Spouse up and down the stairs in her wheelchair (just like Thanksgiving). Spouse loves her ride from her grandsons. Believe me!

 

Spouse and I returned home around 2:30 PM while Lew and Tracy stayed at Glen & Deb's to play a game. Lew had to make a quick trip home around cat feeding time. He usually leaves food for me to feed them, but today he thought he would be home in time for the feeding.

 

Everyone is home now and we are thankful for another wonderful Christmas day. Better than last year when I was in the hospital with sepsis. Much better!

 

To all out there, I hope you all had a wonderful, merry Christmas. Remember the reason for the season!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Christmas Eve

Lew and I just returned home from our church's Christmas Eve service. It ended with the singing of Silent Night by candlelight. (We held real candles, not the battery-operated ones.) Our pastor delivered a great message of the Gospel and why the birth of Jesus matters.... It really is Good News!

Lew and I will spend tomorrow morning with Matt, Emily, Eli, Adam, Wayne, and hopefully Sarah, Rylie, and new baby Ryker. We will then come home for a few minutes to get ready for our afternoon outing, which will be at Debbie & Glen's house. My parents will be heading down there, too. (It's a long trip... about a 30-second drive!) Josh and Zack are both home from college, so it will be fun to hang out with them for a bit.

Although it will be a busy Christmas day, we are blessed to be spending it with family..

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Marilyn's Saturday Chores

Wrapping Christmas presents.

Doing the laundry.

Lew's Logbook: Christmas Wrapping

(Lew worked hard today and he even wrote this blog post. Enjoy! ~ Tracy)


There is a gift that I have not thought about until today. It is the gift of wrapping.

Each year we have a day when I sit at the table in the back room and Tracy brings me gift after gift and I wrap them. This is not a willy-nilly process. I take time to pick out the right wrapping paper and the right ribbon (I insist on putting ribbons on Christmas presents) for the person who will be receiving the gift. I care about what the finished product looks like so I probably take too much time.

Tracy told me I wrapped 20 presents today. It took me several hours and a whole role of tape.

Of course each person that receives one of my carefully wrapped gifts will just rip off the paper and not even think about the time and care that went into the wrapping. But I will know.

Merry Christmas!

Party Time!

I met my friend Carmen for dinner last night. We talked for only three hours (!) so I didn't take the time to write a blog post when I got home. If I had written, then I would have wished a very special birthday to my great-nephew Bode! My niece Kelsey (Bode's mom) says he is now "TWO-dles!" 🕯🕯

My company Christmas party was this afternoon at a wonderful facility where we could bowl, play bocce ball, play cornhole, and eat lots of yummy food. Lew and I bowled six strings! (It took us a couple hours.) We opted to bowl ten-pin ("big ball"), but candlepin was an option as well. Here are the results of three of our strings:

2nd string. Lew broke 100 and even got a strike in final frame.
This was my worst game.

4th string. My best game. I got a strike in the 5th frame!

Final (6th) string. Lew rolled back-to-back strikes in the 10th frame!

In case you are wondering, Lew beat me in the other three strings and also in two games of cornhole!

(P.S. Every "-" represents a gutter ball! 🤣🎳🤣)

Dad 494: A Trip to Sanford

(Dad writes today. Brief? Hmmmm.... ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The snow has stopped and the driveway is melting. Supposed to be cold now for a while. December is flying by.

 

My writing today will be brief.

 

Things are moving along on the homefront. Everything seems fairly normal.

 

I had Lew drive me to Sanford on Monday so I could go to the visiting hours for Rod Shain, a long-time friend. I was his assistant coach when we went to the state basketball championship in 1967. (Lost by two points.) Rod also was an original member of the Revelaires Quartet. He was a tenor but had too much going on to remain singing with us.

 

While in Sanford, we picked up some sandwiches to bring home and eat for two days. The best "super beef" sandwiches in the world. Also saw our old friend Foto, the sandwich guy. Lew and I had a good trip, resulting in good food!

 

Well, have a Merry Christmas and I'll catch you next week.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

 

My Annual Nap

I have written about "my annual nap" before. This is the few minutes I relax while waiting for my doctor to enter the exam room for my yearly checkup.

"Annual" is how the doctor's office refers to my appointment — as in, "You are here for your 'annual' today." So I could be saying, "my ANNUAL nap."

But I am also saying this is a regular nap I get every year.... "my annual NAP."

Pretty clever phrase, if you ask me. (You probably are not asking.)

Anyway, my annual nap was today. I am happy it is over.

(P.S. It snowed this afternoon, so I was very thankful for my vehicle's remote starter!)

Tradition

Is something a tradition even if you don't manage to do it every year? I think so!

Last night our friends Bill and Stacey arrived at our house around 5:15pm.  The four of us (Bill, Stacey, Lew, and I) then drove to The Blast From the Past Too diner for a lovely evening meal.

After dinner, we came back to our house and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I was already laughing when the opening credits started playing!

This get-together is something we have done with Bill and Stacey more years than not. So we are calling it a tradition. It is one we hope to continue for many years to come.

Play Ball!*

(* Movie reference...!)

Full Moon

On my drive home from work tonight, I noticed it was a full moon. It was beautiful!

At one point during my drive, I could see it quite well if I looked in my driver's side mirror. Fortunately I remembered that I was also operating a motor vehicle. But I did glance in the mirror as many times as I could.

After typing the above, I googled "full moon" and read that this full moon is the last of the decade. Now, one could argue that the year 2020 is the last year of the decade, but we'll let it go.

I also read that the December full moon is called a "cold moon".... I wonder why! Ha ha!

🌕🌝

Dad 493: The Return of Spouse

(I am very thankful for the dictating app on my iPad! Enjoy Dad's extra-long post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! After two days of rain and temperatures reaching 50°, we started today in the 20s and with clouds. The sun did show up this afternoon, and the inch or so of snow we received last night still shows on the grass. Rain again predicted for next Monday. Better than snow – I think so!

 

Spouse is now home and we have been busy. Brought her home Thursday and took her for a haircut on Friday. Also met an in-home nurse, Charlie, on Friday.

 

Saturday and Sunday passed uneventfully as we watched a lot of football (college and pro).

 

Monday I had a general cleanup of my feet with my podiatrist. Everything went well and will go back in a few weeks while band-aiding a little toe as a precaution. All is good! Also met Spouse's occupational therapist on Monday. Her name is Beth and she will be back again on Monday.

 

Tuesday we both had a doctor's appointment with our primary care physician. It was a good session for us both. Then we met Spouse's physical therapist (Laurie) who gave Spouse a good workout. It tired her out. Good!

 

Today we got a phone call. I didn't answer it because I did not know who she was. It was a nurse, Jean, who wanted to make an appointment. I returned her call. Jean showed up and a good visit was had. Jean is replacing Charlie as Spouse's nurse after a patient exchange. All is well.

 

Also canceled an appointment made by the rehab center. Did so after talking to our PCP.

 

Just got back from the store with a few things. Brings us up-to-date.

 

Next in-home visit will be on Friday (the 13th) with Spouse's physical therapist. And then the weekend. Another week of visits will follow.

 

Sorry that Tracy has about twice as much to type today. I'll try not to do this again, Tracy. Please forgive the length of this.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Our Return to Society

After not going out all weekend, Lew and I both ventured forth today.

Lew was finally feeling well enough to go to the grocery store. He also did some other errands around the house.

I went to work. I'm still tired, but I'm feeling much better.

So another Monday is now in the books! I'm glad it was a relatively healthy one.

Recuperating

Mom's return home has been good so far. It is nice to have her back. Dad took her to her haircut yesterday, and that went well.

As for Lew and me, we are both keeping a low profile this weekend. Lew is starting to feel a little better (he thinks), and I believe I am successfully fighting off whatever is going around. We are both pretty pooped, though. Just call us "Lethargic Lew" and "Tired Tracy." That about sums it up!

She's Home!

Mom is home from her vertigo rehab. Dad picked her up this morning.

Jerry and Marilyn have both been over to visit her.

Lew and I are both under the weather (Lew much more so than I). Therefore, we are staying clear.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Mom's recuperation.

Here's to getting back to normal! 🎈🎉🐈💗

Dad 492: Ready for the Return of Spouse

(It's a winter wonderland! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Yesterday we weathered the first snowstorm of the year. Our plow guy came early and returned later to clean up the day's snowfall. I wonder how many more plow days we will have. Hopefully not double digits. We'll see! (Snowfall around 10 to 12 inches.)

 

Tomorrow is a day we have been waiting for. Spouse will return home after being hospitalized and in rehab for 54 days. I'm sure the kitties will be happy – as well as all the other household members. It has been a while. Her dizziness seems to be gone. We now must get back to our usual routine. We will keep you posted! Easy does it!

 

Spouse will get a haircut the day after returning home, two weeks after her original appointment. It will be good for her to have her hair cut. I think I'll stop here for this week.

 

One more thought: Doctor appointment on Tuesday!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

More Snow

What can I say? The big news of the day was the snowstorm. Lew drove me to work and picked me up at the end of the day.

One good thing is that we indeed do have a plow guy. He showed up this morning and came this evening, too.

Things should be back to "normal" tomorrow, so I will drive myself to work.

Then on Thursday, we will be even more "normal" because Mom is supposed to come home that day!

Snow

Started snowing late yesterday. Not too much accumulation today.

But now we're supposed to get a few inches by tomorrow morning.  (UGH!)

Lew drove me to work today, and he will do so again tomorrow.  I am so spoiled. 😊