A Good Report

Mom had her first post-surgery follow-up appointment at the surgeon’s office today. Dad and Gina accompanied her.

So far, so good! She is healing nicely. They took out half of her stitches (every other one) today. The other half will come out on Wednesday.

Keep up the good work, Mom!

Dad 425: A Niece, A Recovery, and A Tire

(Summer has returned! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Not enjoying about the hottest two days of the year. Both days over 90° with a third probably to follow. Then the humidity will drop from oppressive to livable. Please come quickly – Friday!

 

Well, niece Gina from Pennsylvania is visiting for a time. She arrived yesterday and it has been a long 14 or so years since seeing her. Happy to see her!

 

Spouse is recovering from surgery but is suffering from extreme pain. We are trying to manage it, but I'm not having great success. We have a meeting with the surgeon on Friday. Hope we make it. If not we'll go next Wednesday.

 

I blew a tire while picking up Spouse from the hospital. I hit the curb. Only waited 20 minutes for AAA to change it. Was really lucky AAA was quick in coming to the hospital. We didn't have to wait! Thank goodness! Glen had a new tire put on today. So it is back to a running vehicle again.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

My Cousin Is Here!

My cousin Gina is visiting! She drove up from Pennsylvania and arrived this afternoon. Way, way too many years had gone by since we’d seen her, so we’d all been looking forward to her coming. It’s so good to have her here!

Slow But Steady

Mom is still experiencing post-surgery pain, which is to be expected. But after spending all day yesterday in the bedroom, she sat in the living room for a bit today.

A little progress every day is a good thing. Taking things slow but steady helped the tortoise win the race against the hare!

She’s Home!

Mom Update

The surgeon wanted to leave the drain in one more day, so Mom will spend at least one more night in the hospital.

Dad went in to see her for a couple hours today. I guess she didn’t remember the brief visit we had with her last night, which doesn’t surprise me. She was still coming out of her anesthesia-induced bliss!

Our cats are wondering where my mother is. (Yes, I really do know this. Cats do care.) So, hurry home, Mom! The kitties miss you!

She Did Great!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers today!

The surgeon said Mom did great during her surgery, and he thinks this will really help her a lot.

Dad, Debbie, and I got a chance to see her briefly before we came home. She looked good, especially considering what she had just gone through.

She may come home tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Below is a photo taken just after we arrived at the hospital today.

Dad 424: Tomorrow Is the Day

(Dad writes today. Thank you for your prayers! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The day started foggy, dreary, and rainy. The day is now dry and the sun is trying to win the afternoon. Lew likes the weather so well he is walking on the beach right now.

 

Not doing a whole lot today except getting ready for Spouse's surgery tomorrow. Prayers requested and welcomed.

 

Yes, tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for. We have read all the rules and directions for what must be done for preparations. We have covered all the bases and are ready.

 

I am thankful that Tracy and Deb will be accompanying us to the hospital. It is nice to have family around at a time like this.

 

I have nothing else for you this week. Tune in next week.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Happy Birthday, Lew!

A milestone birthday for Lew today... seven decades in the books!

Lew had breakfast this morning with his brother, Wayne, who made him an angel food cake. (I love Wayne's decorating job!)

Lew got another great birthday gift this evening: a surprise visit from Matt, Eli, and Adam!

Lew had a wonderful day. 😊

Lew's Logbook: Funtown

(I was at work while all this was happening. 😞 Enjoy Lew's post! ~ Tracy)

I hadn’t been to Funtown/Splashtown in at least three years. Last Friday I had an opportunity to go with my son and his family. We purchased an all-day combo pass so we could enjoy the amusement area and the water park.

Did the bumper cars, the little roller coaster (we had to negotiate to get Adam on the ride, he was just a tiny bit short), antique cars, log flume and the big roller coaster. Eli was tall enough and went on the big coaster but did not like it very much. (Dad had to talk him down a little.) The kids went on a couple of other rides and Grampa was just a spectator.  

Then we hit the water park. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and there were a lot of people (see picture) enjoying the park. 

I was good for about five hours of activity and enjoyed every minute. It was one of those days that you would like to record and play over and over again. 

Emily took this picture of Matt, Adam, me, and Eli waiting in line for the antique cars.

Ballet!

I went to the ballet tonight with my friend Ellen to see her daughter, Laura, perform.

Ellen was the head usher for tonight’s performance, so I sat next to Laura’s boyfriend. (I told Lew that I had a delightful, adorable date.)

The ballet was lovely and a very fun take on a classic story....

I Am Popular Today

My office-mates and I had a lot of people coming in our office today.

From the hallway, everyone could see a clear plastic container with red items in it.

Those red items were candy bars!

Dad had a bunch of Kit Kats (left over after the family visit) that he wanted to share, so I took them to work.

There are still a few bars left, but my co-workers made quite a dent in the stash.

Thank you, Dad, for making me a very popular gal at work today!

Dad 423: A Great Family Summer

(I just read about the kit Dad mentions below. Should be interesting. Enjoy his post!  ~  Tracy)

Derf Here! Not enjoying a damp, hot, hazy, and humid day. Supposed to hit 80 degrees today and be quite humid. Got the A.C. on in case we need it.

Also kind of a sad day for the Maine family members. Our Illinois family members are now back home and back at their routines:

Zach, Kelsey, and Bode closed on a new house yesterday. Zach starts school tomorrow and they will be moving throughout the next days. 

Joe has already had auditions for the Peoria Area Civic Chorale. Kim and Kaelen will be back to their routines today. They have Cocoa back. Don and Sandy kept Cocoa during their absence.

Boy, do our Maine homes seem empty. It was a great time with the family this summer.

I purchased an Ancestry DNA kit. Will fill out and send it today. Stay tuned. Will keep you posted.

Spouse goes in for surgery a week from tomorrow. Prayers requested!

Done for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

It Was a Good Visit!

Our Illinois family members have all returned to their homes. Joe, Kelsey, Zach, and Bode left Maine on Sunday morning. Kim and Kelsey left early this morning.

We had a really nice time while they were here. The blog suffered a bit (!), but I was in a vacation mindset myself toward the end of their visit. Who wanted to write a blog post? Not I, ha ha!

So now it is time to get back into our routine. It will take a couple days to adjust, so I will close this post with a few more photos for you to enjoy.

Mom and Dad with their three girls and sons-in-law.
(Mom is wearing a Piglet shirt and mine has Tigger on it!)

Awwwwwwww...... Love!

Bode and Great-Uncle Lew are in the midst of a serious discussion.

Happy Family Photo Night

The whole family was here this evening for dinner. There were 18 of us: Mom, Dad, Debbie, Glen, Josh, Zack, Kim, Joe, Kaelen, Kelsey, Zach (yes, I finally saw him!), Bode, Lew, Matt, Emily, Eli, Adam, and yours truly.

We started the evening by taking some pictures. Below is a four generation photo. ❤️

Dad 422: Glen, Golf, Goose

(I still haven't seen Zachariah.... Maybe tonight! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another wonderful summer day for us to enjoy. The weather has been summer-like and the grass is the greenest I have ever seen it in August. Must mow tomorrow! Will do!

 

Our Illinois family is visiting Joe's folks (George and Jackie) in Randolph (near Augusta) today. Joe's folks are seeing Bode's dad (Zachariah) for the first time this summer. Zach flew in last Saturday night and has been very busy this week. He has been boating on the Atlantic as well as Little Sebago Lake. He is meeting all of his Maine family and fits in quite well. He will be golfing tomorrow with Glen, Josh, and Zack (Zachary).

 

Today Lew went golfing with Glen and the boys; Lew and Josh played against Glen and Zack. Lew and Josh won again (two holes up and by six strokes), but Glen had the shot of the day. He drove a ball on a line and hit a goose. The goose will not be down for breakfast. Upon reporting the event to a worker, Glen got a handshake and was told he wished he had killed all the geese. I guess they are a nuisance on the course.

 

So much for today!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Zachariah Is Here!

Zach actually arrived via airplane Saturday night, so I am a few days late with this announcement. I should be excused for my oversight, though, because I have yet to lay eyes on him!

The Illinois family has been playing hard, and I have been at work the past couple days. So our schedules haven’t matched up at all. But I am convinced Zachariah is indeed here for a couple reasons:

1) Lew claims to have seen him. That should be good enough, but just in case....

2) I have seen pictures taken within the past couple days showing Zach with people I know are currently in Maine.

Zach, if I don’t see you tomorrow, I will see you at the big family shindig on Thursday!  😊

The Breakfast Bunch

Kim and Joe joined us for breakfast out this morning with our regular breakfast buddies, Dick and Carole.

We had a few people glancing in our direction by the time we finally left. Why? We were definitely the noisiest, rowdiest, most fun table in the restaurant! We laughed loud and we laughed hard.

Yes, people stared... and we didn't care.... The other tables were just jealous of the great time we were having!

Find the Kitty

Lew and I spend a lot of time looking for our cats. We need to make sure they aren’t locked in a closet — especially if we are leaving the house for any length of time. At bedtime we need to make sure they are on our side of the house; just last week Marilyn almost spent the night over with my parents.

Jerry and Marilyn have their favorite spots to hide, but sometimes they come up with new places. Marilyn’s latest one stumped us for a while!

Dad 421: The Gang's (Almost) All Here

(Hmmm.... What was I like at seven months old?! Ha ha! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! August 1st! Really! Is the summer half over? Yes it is! For the next week or so the weather is supposed to be kind of unstable. (Something like me walking around.)

 

Bode made it to Maine on July 28th. And yes, Joe and Kelsey were with him. He is the most pleasant seven-month-old child I have ever seen. We all are enjoying him. He visited Joe's parents Sunday and was a big hit. I'm sure he will be happy when his dad (Zachariah) gets here Saturday... as we all will be happy to unite father and son.

 

It was a very great moment a couple days ago as Spouse and I sat in our small apartment with our grandkids (Kaelen, Kelsey, Josh, and Zack). All we needed was Kelsey's husband, Zachariah. Maybe next week!

 

Keep praying for Spouse as we get closer to the date of her surgery. Three weeks from tomorrow is the day. We will remind you every week.

That's it for now, sooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!