Lew's Logbook: Christmas Lights

(After a Thanksgiving holiday bloggy-break, "Mainely Tracy" returns today with a post by Lew. Enjoy! ~ Tracy)

The last few years have been “will I, or will I not” put up the outside Christmas lights. So far it has been “I will.”

This year I did come close to just putting candles in the windows, but somehow I became inspired to get it done.

Years ago I did the white icicle thing because it was trendy to do white lights. But then I remembered that it was all about colored lights when I was a kid, so I decided to get back to my roots and the heck with trendy.

Some of you may have seen my “Lew Griswold” picture on Facebook. If you haven’t, see below.

Six hundred glorious colored lights.  😊

Dad 491: Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)

(I got to leave work at 3:00 this afternoon because of the holiday, woohoo! Dad writes today. Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Today is cloudy but not too cold. The past two days have almost been spring-like. Storms are messing up the western states and it looks like tomorrow will not be great along the Northeast. We'll see!

 

Spouse is still in rehab, but we will be taking her to Glen & Deb's for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Then she will return to rehab and come home on Thursday, December 5. That is our plan. She is getting her strength back and her dizziness is gone (or it seems that it is gone). So that is good news. Almost eight weeks away from home.

 

Hope the balloons travel in the parade tomorrow! Seems like it is questionable. Stop the winds!

 

A sixty-car accident in the state of Washington was just reported on TV. Storms are taking over!

 

Enough for now. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

No Longer Just a Remote Possibility

I recently wrote about a remote possibility, and today it became a reality! My vehicle now has a remote starter.

I haven't tried it yet, but I read about how to use it. (That's just like trying it, right?)

I will test it out when I get ready to leave work tomorrow.

I feel so grown up!

Birthday Cake

My baby sister Debbie's birthday is today! She is "something-something" years old.

I didn't see her today, but I did see her yesterday when she came up to the house. She brought Bundt cake from her workplace with her. (They make delicious Bundt cake. That's all they make, so I guess it's good that the cake is delicious.)

I don't know if the cake was intended to be her birthday cake. Zack was with her, so it may have been a celebratory cake for his birthday (which was on the 16th).

While I ate my piece of Bundt cake yesterday, I was inwardly celebrating both birthdays. I may have (ahem) had a second piece, just to make sure I was giving both birthdays their due respect.

Happy Birthday, Debbie! Did you have cake today? 😋

Feeling Blue About the Black Bears

Yes, I'm a little sad. The U.Maine football team lost its final regular season game today. They were playing away at UNH, their biggest rival.

Zack told us that U.Maine, after today's loss, will not be selected for the playoffs. (The selection show is tomorrow at 12:30.) The silver lining in not being in the playoffs: the players can go home for Thanksgiving!

The Fine Print

"When using this product, avoid contact with eyes...."
Thus reads a warning on my shampoo bottle.

It's not that this morning was the first time I ever got shampoo in my eye, but it was definitely the most painful. BY FAR, the most painful. (Left eye only.)

Lew helped me try to flush it out. I think we did a good job. But 12 hours later, my eye is still irritated a bit. Hopefully a good night's rest will help in the recovery.

Take heed of warning labels. Take heed....

😧😬

Dad 490: A Morning Meeting

(It rained a bit today, too. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another lousy, cloudy day with temperatures in the 30s. North of here the temps have been freezing the past few days and there have been several accidents on icy roads. Ready for Spring! Oh, YES!

 

Spouse had a meeting at the rehab center today to determine how we can work to get her home. The meeting went well and we seem to be on the way to success. When does she get home? Hopefully soon. We'll see. Keep your thoughts and prayers coming.

 

After morning meeting I went to the dentist for one filling. Done in about 20 minutes with no pain. Will go back next Monday for two more small repairs. I'll let you know if I have pain. Stay tuned!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

My Mom Update

Stopped to see Mom on my way home from work tonight. She was watching "Family Feud" and I watched with her for a bit.

The therapists have been jotting down what they are working on with Mom, so I read it over. Mom was especially proud of her 40-foot walk today! If I understand correctly, Dad participated in this walk by following along with the wheelchair, just in case.

I rescheduled Mom's haircut from this coming Friday to two weeks from Friday. With the progress she is making, I believe she will be home in plenty of time to keep her hair appointment. 

Please keep praying for her continued recovery. Thanks!

Not a "She" Shed....

Endings

The construction of our shed ended today. It looks great! Will post a photo at some point.

Josh's college football career ended today. His team, the Maine Maritime Mariners, did not have a great year as far as the win column is concerned, but we cheered them on until the end. It was fun to watch Josh play in the games.... #55 in the black cleats!

The ending of today's U.Maine Black Bears football game was exciting. They were behind to Rhode Island pretty much the whole game, but they pulled out a victory by scoring the winning touchdown with only 34 seconds left! Final score was 34-30. The final regular season game is next Saturday at UNH. Let's go, Black Bears! And "Happy Birthday" to Zack, my favorite Black Bear!

Visited Mom this morning (washed her hair with No Rinse Shampoo), did laundry this afternoon (while watching the nephews' football games), and just watched the CMA Awards program with Lew (we DVR'd it when it was on this past Wednesday).

And now this day has come to an end.

Good night!

A Remote Possibility

When I called Lew after I left work tonight – and note that I was calling hands-free using my vehicle's Bluetooth capabilities – I said something to him that I never thought I would say:

 

"I think I would like to get a remote starter for my car."

 

I had never seen the need for one before. At my old job I wouldn't have been able to start my car while still inside the building, so why bother? But at my current job, well... that's a different story. Being able to start my car from the warmth of my workplace would be lovely. Oh, how nice it would be to get in an already-toasty car this time of year.

 

Lew is very much in favor of the remote starter. He is already devising a plan to get it done!

Dad 489: Fun Times at the Dentist

(Dad wrote today's post on this cold November afternoon. Brrrrrr! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another beautiful day but was it ever cold. Temperature in the 20s. The sun doesn't warm us up this time of year. We hope for an early spring, and winter isn't even here yet.

 

Spouse is still in rehab for her vertigo. She is now starting to do physical activity. Don't know when she will be home. We'll keep you posted.

 

I just got back from a teeth cleaning. Will go next week for a chipped tooth. Then will have a couple cavities taken care of after the first of 2020. More to come.

 

Must go up and visit Spouse now. Stay tuned next week for more information.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Rehab Fashion

My mother's regular daily attire is a tee-shirt and scrubs (the trousers).

 

She has a plethora of colors in scrubs, and on Saturday she and I ordered three more pairs. She selected some beautiful colors: turquoise, grape, and hunter green. They arrived yesterday, I laundered them, and Dad brought them up to her today.

 

Tomorrow she plans to wear the turquoise scrubs with her Piglet tee-shirt.

 

My mom's got style!

Boss's Orders

My supervisor knew that I had been fighting a headache today. I told him I would probably be leaving early.

Around 2:00, an e-mail from him popped up in my inbox. He was encouraging me to go home and "start fresh" tomorrow. (My first thought was, "Do I really look that bad?" Ha ha!)

I got to a good stopping point and left a little after 3:00.

I did accomplish a lot today, though... the knowledge of which will help me recover from my headache.

😨😊

To Infinity and Beyond

Lew and I stopped to see Mom at the rehab facility this morning. I brought what I call "astronaut shampoo" and washed Mom's hair. She said it felt good. (The "astronaut shampoo" is No Rinse Shampoo, used by NASA.)

Dad, Lew, and I watched some college football this afternoon via streaming. Josh's team (Maine Maritime Mariners) had a tough day, but Zack's team (U. Maine Black Bears) had a good win.

Lew made a nice dinner of beans, hot dogs, and brown bread for our household. It was a meal that was yummy for the tummy.

A few loads of laundry rounded out my Saturday. Exciting!

😊

My Weather Report

It's getting cold outside.

 

STINKY!

Dad 488: Snow, Spouse, and Shed

(Snow soon? Say it isn't so! Enjoy Dad's post. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Temperatures in the 50s today. Quite sunny. Tomorrow we'll see a little showery weather. However, after the rain slows down we are expecting snow. Along the coast only less than an inch. Further inland one to three inches. A couple pockets in the mountains will get three to six inches. This tells us winter is not far behind! STINKY!! (That's Tracy's adverb... or maybe it's adjective.)

 

Spouse seems to be gaining each day. Today she said she is ready to come home. She needs a little more work before making the jump. The sooner the better for all of us.

 

The shed piece of our shed-for-trailer-swap is up. Only must put shingles on the roof and get the siding on. And also needs the barn doors. Quite a nice looking building. We are ready to fill it up and get Lew's truck in the garage. We are progressing well.

 

More next week, sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

"They Want It More"

Last night while Lew was watching Monday Night Football he yelled out to me, "Guess what they just said?"

Apparently the Giants were doing so well, one of the announcers said, "They want it more."

Lew and I get a kick out of that statement. Perhaps it is true for a specific game every now and then, but we don't think it's great sports analysis.

Even if the Giants did "want it more," it didn't make much of a difference. They lost the game!

Progress

The new shed is going up! The platform was done on Saturday (it looked like a dance floor), and the frame was pretty much completed today. It's taller than I thought it was going to be.

Mom has been sitting up on the side of her bed all on her own. She told me tonight that she wants to start walking with her hemi-walker, although she does want two of the rehab center staff with her when she does it. I'm glad she wants to start working on getting stronger so she can come home.

I am still working on eating all of the Halloween candy. We got zero trick-or-treaters (which is what we usually get), but we still had candy available just in case. I hate to see it go to waste, so I guess it will go to my waist!

A Good Football Day

No losses today for my nephews' football teams!

Josh's team, the Maine Maritime Mariners, had a bye week. 😉

Zack's team, the University of Maine Black Bears, won 47-31. (It was a fun game to watch.)

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

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Mom's B