Dad 525: Family!

(Dad writes today. Enjoy! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Summer weather is with us and has been with us for quite a while. Sunny days in the 80 to 90° range. Need a good shower.

 

Our Illinois family all arrived as scheduled. Obviously the star of the family is our great-grandson, Bode. He is 2 1/2 now. Talks a lot. (The other five that arrived are all stars in their own right.)

 

Today Kim, Bode, and Bode's mom (Kelsey) had some outdoor time with Mary Lou. To our great pleasure, Bode was allowed to visit his great-grandma. Their half-hour visit went well. I even got a chance to say hi to my bride of 60 years.

 

Glen is taking his family and the Illinois crew out in his "yacht" today around early evening. They probably are near to departure now. Have a good boat ride!

 

When will our brilliant leaders in this country finally say let's get back to normal and treat this virus as just another virus? We old people really miss visiting with our loved ones. We don't have a whole lot of time left!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Sunday Night

Well, that week went fast!

How I spent my vacation, in no particular order:

• 20th wedding anniversary!
• movies on STARZ (via free trial week)
• pie & fry
• beach walk
• Way Way Store
• reading
• sleeping in
• elliptical machine
• breakfast out with our breakfast buddies
• dinner out with Dad
• neighborhood walk
• too much eating

Tomorrow:

• back to work
• the Illinois Invasion!
• start diet

Dad 524: The Family Are Coming!

(Enjoying my vacation! Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Enjoying another run of sunny days with temps in the 90s. Today was much better – in the 70s. Tomorrow supposed to be thunder showers after a few tonight.

 

Getting ready for our Illinois family to arrive next Monday. Kelsey, Zachariah, and Bode are driving. Kim, Joe, and Kaelen are flying.

 

Still got a lot of cleaning to do. Will be busy the next few days.

 

Still seeing Spouse twice a day if she isn't moving about the halls with her friends. Not causing trouble! Will be leaving in a few minutes for our "good night" routine.

 

Must go up to see Mary Lou! Don't want to miss her.

 

Stay tuned next week to know how our visitors are doing.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Vacation!

I have this week off from work. 😊

I selected this week for a vacation because tomorrow is our 20th wedding anniversary! 💕

Tomorrow is also Dad's birthday and Debbie & Glen's anniversary (#24 for them). 🎂

What have Lew and I planned for my week off? It's a staycation, so we will take some walks around the neighborhood, eat some good food out, and watch movies every night in the comfort of our own living room. Sounds delightful!

Dad 523: Outdoor Visit II

(For those that need a refresher, "II" is the Roman numeral representation of 2. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another great summer afternoon after days of thunder showers and regular storms with clouds and sun.

 

Josh flew to Baltimore today to take his physical for working on the seas. Should be back home today ready to work. A merchant marine or perhaps a Coast Guard person. Hope all went well!

 

Received a note from great-niece Cara thanking us (Aunt Lou and Uncle Fred) for a graduation card from us. Good luck to Cara as she will attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania. That is the same school her parents (Harry and Donna) attended. Congrats to Cara!

 

Just received a call from the nursing home that Mary Lou resides in. I did have another half-hour meeting with her today at noon (outside face-to-face for the second time in five months). Got her all caught up on our plan for Illinois families arriving. Then the phone call that she had taken a fall early this afternoon. She seems to be all right and they are keeping a close watch on her at very short intervals. We don't need another fall. Not good! I will keep you posted. Will see her for "good night" through the window a little later today.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Gift Delivered!

I stopped at the center on my way home from work tonight, hoping to wave to my mother through her window.

She wasn't in her room — probably wheeling around in the hallways with her friends!

As I was peering into her window, what did I see hanging on her wall?....

The drawing of the cardinal!

So I didn't get to see Mom, but I did confirm that she got her birthday gift from me. And I am pleased that they hung the drawing up for her.

It's Mom's Birthday!

Dad, Lew, and I sang "Happy Birthday" to Mom while we stood outside her window this afternoon. We were on the phone with her, so she was able to hear us quite well.

She told me she got birthday gifts from some of the people at the center. She said she had cake, although I'm not sure if it was birthday cake.

I dropped off a gift for her on Thursday morning, but they haven't given it to her yet. They wait at least 48 hours before bringing new items to a resident. Plus, it's the weekend, so fewer staff are working. Hopefully they'll get the gift to her tomorrow.

The gift? A framed drawing of a cardinal! The drawing was done by my friend Shae. (My contribution is the frame. 😏)  I took the picture below before I added the frame. I hope Mom will enjoy it!

A Sticky Subject

Lew suggested that we buy some green stickers and some red stickers.

If one of us thinks we should get rid of a household item, then we can put a green sticker on it. If the other wants to keep the item, then a red sticker can be applied to negate the green sticker.

I "red stickered" the sticker idea because I don't want to get things sticky from the stickers.

My counter-suggestion: Let's talk about what we would like to get rid of. I asked Lew to name something. He said he didn't have an idea yet, although he keeps mentioning how many books we have around the house....

Don't touch my books!

Seriously, though, we do have way too much stuff.  Past efforts at decluttering, although initially successful, didn't stick (pun intended).

The Masks We Wear

Yesterday I went to Michael's during my lunch break. It was the first time I had gone shopping since the whole "wear a mask" thing started.  (Lew does the grocery shopping.)

I personally do not like wearing a mask. I am constantly pulling it away from my face so I can breathe better. My glasses always fog up, too.  (And, no, I am NOT putting shaving cream on my glasses, or any other substance that supposedly keeps them from fogging up. My lenses are very expensive and I don't want to compromise the coating on them.)

Despite my dislike of the mask, I wore it while I was in the store because I didn't want to get arrested. There were several children in the store, and all were wearing masks. This sight really bothered me.

I have been praying to God to heal our world of the Coronavirus. I don't want to wear a mask anymore. I want businesses to open back up (although many people have already lost their small businesses). Most of all, I want to be able to visit my mother face-to-face.

But no matter what the future brings, God is sovereign.... Believe it!  💗

Dad 522: Fill Tooth, Fill Birdfeeder

(Squirrels need to eat, too!!! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another beautiful day in a row. Just a nice summer day. We'll take more!

 

Chipped a tooth last week and had to get an appointment for a filling. Only by appointment as my dentist is not taking regular patients due to the COVID-19. Well I went in at noon today and waited outside for the previous patient to leave. They then cleaned up the room and called me in. Was able to get a filling without a needle. I always try not to take the needle. Only felt a small pain a couple times. Must now not chew for the rest of today. Trying not to.

 

Stopped to see Mary Lou today and saw three squirrels on her birdfeeder. The squirrel cap had slid down again. I filled the feeder for the third day in a row. I will try to fix it to be squirrel-proof this evening. Probably won't work!

 

Two of Spouse's friends were outside and if Spouse had gone when she should have, she would have been outside with them. It started to sprinkle. They went in and I went home!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Kitty Diet

Our cat Jerry used to be overweight so he went on a diet. He's pretty trim now, although he is still pretty impressive looking. As the vet once said, "Jerry's not fat. He's just a big cat."

As for our cat Marilyn, she was underweight when we first adopted her five years ago. (She had been a stray.) But she's filled out since we've had her. The vet told Lew that we need to watch Marilyn's food intake a little better. She's not really fat, but she is at the top of her recommended weight. We have referred to her a few times as "our little porker."

The vet gave Lew this handy visual. (I don't want my doctor to ever make a chart like this for me, ha ha!)  And, yes, Marilyn's full name is Marilyn Monroe.  😻

Two Hard Goodbyes

The most difficult thing about having pets is that we outlive them. But God gives us these precious creatures to love and care for while they are with us. (And they even love us back.)

On Father's Day we learned that Matt & Emily's cat Q would be going for her final vet visit the following day. Eli told me about it when they were here. He was very sad. We talked about how wonderful it was that he got to have Q in his life, and that, of course, he would miss her.

Then yesterday, Debbie & Glen laid their sweet dog, Sadie, to rest. They had 12 beautiful years with her. She was well loved.

I am so glad I knew Q and Sadie. They are already missed.

💔💔

Dad 521: Window Visits

(Happy July, everyone! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Turned into a very nice day today after a few rainy, showery days. We did need the rain. I mowed a brown dusty lawn Saturday. It looks a little greener today.

 

Still going to see Mary Lou every afternoon and then back early evening to tell her she is still loved and to wish her good night. It isn't very good meeting her through a closed window. We don't know sign language so our talks are not as if we know what is going on.

 

Must admit that my afternoon meetings are not very long as probably half of them find her missing from her room as she travels throughout the halls with her mask causing trouble as best she can. She is a social person and it is good that she gets about. Just waiting for the time I can sit with her and touch her. As of now my next visit day outside will be during the week of July 21. We will both be one year older at that time. So we miss the birthday hugs. (Thank you, governor, for your brilliant decisions.)

 

Spouse fell out of bed yesterday, but still was traveling around the hallways the last two days.

 

More next week!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!