He’s Home!

Dad came home from the hospital this afternoon. Lew and I arrived to pick him up at 3:00; after getting his meds and discharge instructions, we were off!

He still has to have an antibiotic for another four weeks or so.  It’s administered via IV, so a nurse came over tonight to get that started. He has a little pump in a bag that he gets to carry around.

Dad will write more in a couple days, so I will sign off for now. Only a couple hours left in 2018, and I plan to spend them reading... but will probably fall asleep instead.

Happy New Year!

News of Derf

Dad is not writing his usual Wednesday post this week because he "decided" to spend some time in the hospital. He's been at Maine Medical since Saturday evening.

He hadn't been feeling well for several days. He thought he was fighting a cold, but it turned out to be an infection — a pretty bad one.

Fortunately he went to the hospital in the nick of time and he is getting an antibiotic every eight hours (via IV). We are still not sure when he will be home, but he believes it will be in time to pen his usual Wednesday post next week. 

In the meantime Debbie and I have been tag-teaming Mom's care. (Debbie's done several sleepovers!) Lew is preparing many of Mom's meals. I've watched a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies with Mom and we did a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle together today.

Mom, Lew, and I had Christmas dinner with Debbie, Glen, Josh, and Zack yesterday. It was good to get out of the house and we had a nice family celebration, although we were missing Dad and our Illinois contingent.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I will try to post again soon!

Christmas Vacation!

Lew picked me up from work at 4:00 today and we had a lovely dinner out to start my Christmas vacation.

I now have five days off in a row and will go back to work on Thursday. (And then I'll have just two days of work, then the weekend, then one day of work, then New Year's Day, then three days of work, then the weekend, then work forever... or so it will seem.)

Last night Lew and I discussed the daily "big meals" for while I am on vacation. Counting tonight, that is six "big meals."  Here's what we decided:

1. We already ate at Pat's Pizza tonight so I could get the Friday special of Mac 'n Cheese.
2. Christmas lunch at Debbie's — on Christmas day, of course.
3. Eat at Blast from the Past Too so I can get their yummy lasagna.
4. Cheese nachos (made by Lew).
5. Spaghetti (made by (Lew).
6. Chinese food take-out.

The schedule for #3-6 will be decided as we go. I imagine my parents will get in on the last two with us — as well as Christmas at Debbie's.

As for the rest of my vacation plans:

• Breakfast tomorrow with our breakfast buddies.
• Church on Sunday.
• Christmas Eve Service on Monday.
• Christmas breakfast with Matt, Emily, Eli, and Adam (at their house).
• Reading, watching movies, and sleeping. 😊

Now, off I go to do some of my Christmas vacation reading!

Dad 441: A Great-Grandson and a Great Grandson

(I say, "Wow, Bode! Wow, Zack!" Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another fairly nice day in the Northeast. Temps at noon were about 30°. Tomorrow is supposed to be the best day of the week with temps around the mid 40s. Then a shower coming in for the next couple days. At least it will be rain and not snow!

 

Great-grandson Bode is one year old today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BODE!!!

 

Well, grandson Zack has been named an All-State lineman, first team. His team had one other All-State at running back. Zack also has been admitted to the U. of Maine engineering program. He also has a spot on the football team if he chooses Maine for his school. (Maine did well this year and made it to the final four in their division.) Congratulations, Zachary!! We are proud of you!

 

Foot doctor for me tomorrow and Spouse has a haircut. Then we relax until celebrating Christmas at Glen and Deb's if the weather is good.

 

Hard to believe Christmas will be here before my next blog post.

 

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

'Tis the Season for College Football

The U.Maine Black Bears football season ended this past Saturday, but they sure had a great year. Congratulations to them for making it to the semi-finals of the FCS playoffs. They were beaten by Eastern Washington.

Eastern Washington will play North Dakota State for the FCS championship on Saturday, January 5th — so we won't find out who ultimately wins until next year! Ha ha!

Lots of college football still to watch... lots to watch... I don't watch much during the regular season... but bowl games can be fun... so many to watch... so many to watch.

Lew's Logbook: Remember Hearing Aids

(Lew writes today about my googling skills.... Well, he sort of writes about that. 💓 ~ Tracy)

So, I have walked out of the house a couple of times and forgot to put my hearing aids in.

The worst time was when we were being picked up by friends to go see (and hear) the Nutcracker at Merrill Auditorium. Fortunately we weren’t very far down the road before I remembered and we were able to turn around without wasting too much time.

My lovely and ever-diligent wife came up with an idea to help me remember. See below. Hard to leave the house without seeing that.

Love that girl.

An Exercise in Self-Awareness

Now that I am getting along in years (!) I find that I am pretty tired by the end of the work week.

This week was a little more tiring than most, so I decided to leave the office early today.

And how did I arrive at this decision?

I figured I'd had enough when I realized I was waiting at the microwave for the printout I had just sent to the photocopier!

And if that wasn't enough, I tried to get into the wrong car in the parking lot.

Go, Black Bears!

Dad 440: Let's Go, Black Bears!

(Yes, best wishes to UMaine this weekend! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another cold day (max 31°). December has started off below normal temps and is supposed to be about the same for the next week. No snow storms predicted. Good!

 

Not much news this week, but we are looking forward to University of Maine football as they enter the final four on Saturday in Washington. Two o'clock game on Saturday on a red field. ESPN2 will carry it on TV. Go, Maine! (Zack may be there next year. Maybe UNH. Who knows?)

 

Short tonight and Tracy is on her way home, so I had better quit for the week.

 

See you next week.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

My Annual Nap

Once a year I leave work early and take a brief nap. Today was the day!

I had my annual doctor appointment.

After I am left alone in the examination room to wait for the doctor, I always have a few minutes to just recline quietly and relax.

I cherish those few minutes.

Here's to next year's nap!  😉

Try Not to Get Too Excited

It has been several days since I have posted anything on my blog, but the most interesting thing I have to tell you is the following:

There is wind on Mars.

I heard this news on the radio yesterday morning, and there are all sorts of stories about it. There are even recordings online so you can hear the wind for yourself. (All you have to do is google it.)

So that's my post for tonight. 

I lead an exciting life. 

😏

Dad 439: Remembering H.W.

(Thank you for your service, H.W. You will be missed. Enjoy Dad's post. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Had some pretty nice days recently as we look out the windows. However, as we step out it is fairly cold. Must admit all the snow (except where plowed) is about gone. Perhaps no more snow this season. Probably not! Absolutely not!

 

Spent a lot of time this past week listening to stories about George H.W. Bush. I've been impressed by his service. He seems like one of the truly serving individuals that was in it for the other people. Didn't seem to be in politics for his own gain. There aren't many like this today (if any).

 

Just a side note. Friday Spouse sees our primary care doctor. A few years back our doctor made a bamboo fishing rod for H.W. He was able to give the fishing rod to H.W. in Kennebunkport. He has a picture of him standing there with H.W. I'll be interested to chat with our doctor about his feelings this week.

 

Stay tuned.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

How to Watch Television

Our cable TV provider (Spectrum) went 100% digital on November 27. Any TV without a cable box will no longer work.

Farewell, kitchen TV!  Farewell, exercise room TV!  Farewell, guest room TV!  We do not wish to pay the cable company more money to watch TV on you.

But we didn't want to give up that easy.... A google search led us to a wonderful, inexpensive solution: the Roku Express.

Roku has a Spectrum app, and this app allows us to watch even more channels on our non-cable-box TV sets than we were able to watch before. Go figure.

Welcome back, kitchen TV!  Welcome back, exercise room TV!  Welcome back, guest room TV! You will continue to serve us well.

A Delightful Matinee

On the first day of December,

My true love took me to see....

(My friend Ellen’s daughter danced the part of Clara!)