Vacation!

Lew is now on vacation again for another week!

Kim, Joe, Kaelen, Kelsey, and Cocoa arrived in Maine today!

New blog theme: Five-second Friday. :)

The Right Idea

It is "toasty" outside today.

 

What is the ideal way to deal with it?

 

Just take a tip from the cats!

 

Jerry knows how to relax.

Is it cooler on top of the fridge, Marilyn?

Dad 264: King Me!

(I am supposed to go for a beach walk with a friend this afternoon, so I hope the rain holds off. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another beautiful sunny morning in the Northeast. The weather, however, is supposed to deteriorate throughout the rest of the day. Possible to get to around 90° today with showers or thunder showers. Hope the weather doesn't get as severe as it was in Central Maine yesterday. We can hope!

 

I had a root canal last Friday. I guess it went well. Only a little over $1,000. Now I must return to my regular dentist for either a full filling or crown. Probably a crown and another $1,000. I should have had the tooth pulled. But that would have required me to go to another dentist, an oral surgeon. Years ago my dentist did it all. Oh, this age of specialists. Certainly requires more payments! A fact!

 

The next two days will be spent going to therapy sessions and waiting for our Illinois family to arrive for a couple of weeks. Isn't anticipation great?! Sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Kitty In the Kitchen

Here's what I found late this morning in our kitchen:

Gee, I wonder how that happened?

Only one of our cats is able to jump onto the counter. I won't name her.

To do: Consider hiring a cat whisperer.

Update on 2015 Reading Challenge

Here's where things stand:

• As of this coming Thursday there will be 22 weeks left in 2015.
• I currently have 19 books to go in the challenge.
• And that, my dear readers, is an average of less than one book per week.

If you look at my challenge link (click HERE) you will see that I have already selected the possible books to complete the remaining categories.

I am about 1/3 of the way through War and Peace, have read some of the Mark Twain short stories, and am reading the Flavia de Luce novel.

I will probably finish the Flavia book within the week while I continue to plug away on the other two. But I will also start another book after Flavia.

At this rate, I should finish the challenge early!

Happy (Early) Birthday, Adam!

Adam turns two this coming Wednesday, but we celebrated tonight.

Emily made an adorable farm cake, complete with manure truck.

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Tooth Update, Etc.

Dad had his root canal this morning. The local anesthetic has since worn off so his face is back to normal. (If I wanted to be funny, I would add, "Well, as normal as it can be." But that would be unkind, wouldn't it?)

He still has to have some further work done on the tooth. (Apparently the dental professionals "divide and conquer" these days, which probably also results in larger fees for all. Imagine that.) So, additional updates to come. Perhaps Dad will share more in one of his future posts.

Mom had occupational therapy and physical therapy appointments today. I went and sat in on both sessions. There are a couple arm exercises that someone needs to help her with. ("Someone" = yours truly and/or Derf.) The O.T. said that she will probably experience some pain during these exercises. I am wondering if I should invest in a good pair of earplugs.

Smile!

Arm Update

"Great news on Mom's arm!  Some bone loss, rheumatism, and she needs to strengthen the muscles and tendons. But no fractures, no breaks, no cancer."

The above is the text message I sent to Kim at 1:16 yesterday afternoon. Dad had just gotten the phone call with this wonderful news.

So tomorrow's therapy sessions are on as scheduled. Time to whip that arm into shape!

Let's do this, Mom!

Dad 263: Arm and Tooth Repair

(I just got home from walking with my buddy Ellen; it is indeed a gorgeous day. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Enjoying the best day of the week today. At least, that is what the weather girl told us this morning. We'll take it!

 

Well, I made it through another birthday this week. I finally caught up with Spouse after eight days. We are now together in age. OLD! Thanks to all for the birthday wishes.

 

It has been a busy, not so positive, week. Due to Spouse's sore arm all therapy was canceled. She had a CAT scan yesterday. Hope to find out results later today. We'll probably cancel last two therapy sessions on Friday due to sore arm. Hope to get back at it next week. Will the arm lose its pain? Hope so.

 

While Spouse was at dentist last week, I had my dental person X-ray a tooth of mine. I thought it was a tooth with an abscess. The dentist referred me to another clinic and I hope to get it repaired Friday morning.

 

A strange week indeed! Stay tuned!

 

Sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Missing Mice

I think Lew would agree that our lives are being taken over by little toy mice.

Both of our cats like playing with these mice.

They especially enjoy pushing them under furniture.

When all the mice are gone, the cats look at us with a longing look in their eyes.  "Please find our toys!"

So Lew and/or I get a flashlight and a yardstick and fish the mice out from under most of our furniture.

We rarely find all of the mice.

But sometimes we find more than we started with....

We find mice that have been missing for a long time and are subsequently covered with mounds of dust bunnies.

Those are happy times in our household.

So next time you see a small toy mouse with either a yellow, pink, green, orange, or blue tail, please think of us.

Happy BAA!

I have decided to refer to July 20th as "BAA."  That is pronounced like what a sheep says, but it has nothing to do with sheep.

B = Birthday.  As in my father.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

A = Anniversary.  As in Debbie and Glen.  Happy Anniversary, you two!

A = Anniversary.  As in Lew and me.  (We are the second "A" because we were married four years after Debbie and Glen.)  Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!

Now that everyone knows what it means, in future years I can just say "Happy BAA" to the family and call it good.  LOL!

Smile!

A Short Quiz

Two questions. Same answer.

1)  How am I feeling today?

2)  Doc, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful.... Which dwarf is missing?

And, no, the answer is not "Hungry."  But that would have been a really good name for a dwarf.

Smile!

My Sous Chef

I made a vegetable beef stew in the slow cooker today.  Mom, Dad, Lew, and I ate it for dinner.  The leftovers are in Mom and Dad's freezer for future lunch fare.

The stew recipe I use is really easy.  The only time-consuming task is cutting up the stew beef into smaller pieces - and even that doesn't take too long.

Unless you have a sous chef like I do.

My sous chef is small and furry.

I must have taken Marilyn off of the counter over a dozen times while I was cutting the meat.  (And then I had to wash my hands, of course.)  It took me several minutes to get all of the meat in the cooker.

The next time I make stew I may have to put my sous chef in another room.  But she sure does like to "help" in the kitchen.

TBT: Wedding "Belles"

This coming Monday (July 20th) is our anniversary. Lew and I will have been married for 15 years!

The above photo was taken on the day we got married, which was on a Thursday. We are with all three of our nieces: Sarah, Kaelen, and Kelsey. The girls have all grown up since then. Lew and I have a few more gray hairs.

It looks like Lew has a halo. He doesn't. He's wearing his sunglasses on top of his head - a practice that he continues to this day.

Photo credit:  Grammy!

Dad 262: Teeth Like Brass

(The sun is out at the moment! Enjoy Dad's post!  ~  Tracy)

Derf Here! Well the rain has stopped but could come again. It is still muggy. Cancelled some Roundup spraying today due to the weather. (Another time, Zack, but not today!)  Boy, is July going by fast. Almost half over.

Spouse (a.k.a. Mary Lou) is still recovering from her stroke. She celebrated a birthday on Sunday. I now admit she is a year older than I am, but I will catch up with her on Monday. We are getting older rather quickly. I guess that's life.

Anticipating a visit in a couple weeks from our Illinois family.

Josh is busy working at the Clambake (a local seafood restaurant down the street).

Spouse and I were happy to receive a call from her cousin Ray on her birthday. Nice to hear from Ray and his wife, Pam (who is a Facebook friend). Also had a nice chat with Ray last night. Good to catch up with family!

In about one and one half hours we'll be making a trip to the dentist. Spouse has a chipped tooth of sorts. Her teeth are like brass, so this is a surprise to all. Stay tuned.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Smoothie Operator

I had been threatening to reorganize our refrigerator and today I finally did it. I didn't do the freezer section yet, but that can wait for another day.

 

Speaking of freezers, I actually (sort of) made a smoothie!!! In order to explain the significance of this, I probably need to back up a bit....

 

When Kim was here, she made some frozen cubes of rice milk so that I could make a couple smoothies for Mom. She also bought some frozen fruit and sent me smoothie directions.

 

Today's attempt at making a smoothie was anything but "smooth." The blender was not happy with just frozen items, so Lew came to my rescue and gave me some pointers. The final product came out okay. And I think I could do it all by myself next time... maybe....

 

To do: Get a job. Preferably not making smoothies.

Post-Vacation Day #1

Lew went back to work today.

I spent the day catching up on everything I fell behind on during our vacation.

And now I am tired and sweaty, although it is not as hot outside as yesterday.

The cats have the right idea. They pretty much napped all day! And when they wrestled, they did it in our air-conditioned bedroom.

During our vacation I discovered a wonderful new game for my iPad. It's called "Real Hitori" and it's very addictive. (Couldn't. Stop. Playing.)  And now that my last task for the day (this blog post) is done, I think I'll play a few more games....

Smile!

Vacation Day #10

Lew and I started the day with our standing Saturday breakfast date.

 

On our way home we went to the grocery store. Lew has been wanting to see the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, so I stopped at the Redbox kiosk to see if they had it. The movie was shaded, so it wasn't available.

 

We did our shopping.

 

After paying for our groceries, I decided to check the Redbox kiosk again on the off chance that the movie had been returned. Lew laughed at my persistence, but let's just say that we finished watching Kingsman a few minutes ago.

 

We did spend the afternoon apart. I went to a bridal shower and Lew mowed the lawn.

 

Another good day!

Vacation Day #9

Today Lew and I had the pleasure of hanging out with Pastor David's parents. They are visiting from Indianapolis.

 

We went for a walk on the beach. It was low tide so we were able to walk out on the sand bar.

 

After lunching out, we took them to Portland Head Light.

 

On the way home we stopped for ice cream.

 

It was a very good day. :)

 

 

Vacation Days #7 and #8

Lew and I had quite the day yesterday. In the morning he planted the boxwoods and dug up a big rock (don't ask); I helped my mother with her shower and some other things.

 

I then made a pasta dish to bring to dinner at some friends' house. (We had a lovely time, and my pasta actually tasted okay.)

 

Around 12:30 Emily dropped Eli and Adam off at our house while she went to an appointment. Grampa and Tia can barely keep up with the grandsons but we managed! When Emily returned, Eli asked her to draw an alien on the driveway....

 

Eli named the alien "Hamburger Roo."

 

Today Lew and I took a beach walk and went for pie & fry with Wayne. I also did (and am still doing) laundry.

 

And in case you are wondering how Jerry and Marilyn are adjusting to life together....

 

"And they called it puppy - um, kitty - love...."

Dad 261: The Patient Is Out

(Rub-a-dub-dub, two gals and a tub.... Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The day started damp after a wet night. It is now starting to clear up but it is very muggy. I can hear our old air conditioner whirring away in the bedroom. It seems to be working for another summer. Lew put it in a couple weeks ago. (Thanks!)

 

Well the sun just popped out. Very bright! How long will it last? I don't know.

 

We've had a busy week. All of Spouse's therapists that came to the home discharged her to outpatient therapy. She has been evaluated the last two days and they are now setting up her therapy schedule. We will go to outpatient therapy tomorrow for both OT and PT. On Friday Spouse has another check up at our doctor's office.

 

We now have installed the grab bar in the shower and Spouse showered today with the help of Tracy. I also had called sister Deb to be available during shower time as I had a very long list to gather at the grocery store. Everything was accomplished.

 

We seem to be making progress and I'm glad to see successes. We only wish they would come faster. Will keep trudging on. Keep up your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!

 

Enough for now, sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Vacation Day #6

I stayed up too late last night to finish reading a book, so I got up a little later than I'd planned. Lew left the house at 7:30am to go eat breakfast and play golf with his BFF. I barely remember him leaving.

 

While eating breakfast I decided to see what movies were available on HBO On Demand. I started watching Gone Girl to see what it was like and ended up watching the whole thing. Although I will never get back that 149 minutes, I did learn something from the movie: I prefer a satisfying ending to a story. (I imagine I am not alone in this.) If I'm going to spend two and a half hours watching a creepy movie, at least let it end well. I read a few things online about the book, wondering if the movie strayed from the plot. Apparently it was pretty close. I probably won't be reading the book.

 

Lew told me he stunk at golf.

Vacation Days #4 and #5

Lew and I watched the entire soccer game last night. Congratulations to the USA Women for winning the World Cup!

Lew told me that was the first soccer game that he has watched in its entirety. (He wasn't counting our nephew's peewee soccer games apparently.)  I remember going to Scarborough High School soccer games when I was in grade school. The boys were the state champions several times.

This morning we went for a lovely walk on the beach. The sand bar was quite accessible and we went pretty far out on it. We turned around in plenty of time to beat the incoming tide. There were no shark sightings, although I kept my eyes peeled for one. I'm not sure if we would even get a shark this far north, but I was taking no chances.

Lew and I split up for the early afternoon. I went with my parents to Mom's first out-patient physical therapy appointment. (Actually it was her second first appointment. She had an evaluation a couple months ago but ended up having therapists come to the house for a bit.) Lew cleaned his motorcycle and then went shopping for plants. He got some boxwoods to plant in the front yard.

Tonight we went for ice cream with our friend across the street and her two young children. Our friend said her parents (or maybe it's her in-laws) have boxwoods and that they smell like cat pee. I hope that our boxwoods won't smell like cat pee. We just replaced our living room flooring because of that smell, so I don't want it wafting into our living room from the front yard....  Stay tuned.

Time to do some reading! I love to read. It's my favorite thing to do during vacation.

Smile!

Vacation Day #3

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.

 

May God bless America!

Vacation Day #2

Ate breakfast at IHOP.

 

Went to the grocery store.

 

Lew mowed. I did some computer tasks.

 

We watched a movie: Mortdecai. Enjoyed it.

 

Relaxed. A lot. So did the kitties. Marilyn demonstrates:

 

 

Vacation Day #1

Slept in.

Ate a leisurely breakfast.

Went to the lake late morning to spend the day with Matt, Emily, Eli, Adam, and Emily's dad.

Sat on beach.
Read my book.
Ate a late afternoon meal.
Had several chats.

Got home by 7:00 and fed our hungry kitties.

Now watching the Red Sox and writing this post. (They scored eight runs in the first inning, but I see they are still trying to find a way to lose this one.  Hang on, BoSox!)

A mighty fine first day of vacation!

Dad 260: Another Graduation Day

(The cats are napping, which seems like the right thing to do on this rainy afternoon. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another cool rainy day here in the Northeast. Supposedly the only bad day of the week. The weekend is also looking good. In fact the next week looks good. I'm sure we'll enjoy.

 

We have a new addition to the household. Lew and Tracy have a new cat. Adopted from the shelter so Jerry has a new buddy. Marilyn is about one-third the size of Jerry. They seem to be settling in.

 

Lew has the rest of the week off after today and has a week's vacation next week. He's looking forward to it.

 

It is a sad day in our home today as the last of the in-home therapists comes for the final visit. This week Spouse graduates to outpatient therapy. Hope to firm this up in the next couple days. (Hopefully today.) This starts a new round of therapy as Spouse gradually gets back to some type of normalcy. Please keep this in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!

 

Josh worked one day last week and is now attending a football camp. He will be returning home and working daily (we hope) starting Friday.

 

Summer is officially here as sister Deb has arrived from her Florida home. Already had Deb stay with Spouse when I had an eye appointment. I'm sure she will be a help in the days to come.

 

Looking forward to July passing and the arrival of our Illinois family. We can dream – can't we? Done for now. Sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!