Hi, Kim!

I went to visit Mom this afternoon and we had a 15-minute video chat with my sister Kim. It was a good chat, especially since Mom hadn't been feeling well this morning. I was glad to see she was doing better.

Kim told us about the cardinal that comes daily to their bird feeder. She named him Reggie. I brought up Rocky the Squirrel and our recent starting contest. I mentioned my post on this blog about it, which led to Kim telling me that I'm not doing very well writing on this blog. She checks it every day, so I need to step it up!

This is not the first time Kim and I discussed my lack of posting to the blog. In fact, I believe a previous discussion served as the fodder for a prior post on the same topic.

Faithful readers (all five or so of you), I will try to post more regularly. My fans demand it.

😍

Dad 578: Cousin Arvid

(Dad writes today.... ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another fabulous, beautiful summer day here in Southern Maine.

 

Was able to go to the viewing of a cousin yesterday. Arvid, a farmer at heart, passed away one week ago at 96 years old. A lot of our families grew up on Elm Street in Springvale; I can remember at least six homes filled with relatives within a mile on the street. Arvid was older than some of these families. He was involved in all the granges as well as the farm with his uncle Verne. They certainly supplied the area with exceptional produce (especially corn). Arvid was Acton Fair president for about 46 years until 2016. He had an exceptional life of giving back to the local area.

 

Thank you to Lew and Tracy for sharing my trip to the viewing last night.

 

Had a great report from my foot doctor today. Just a look at both feet. It is okay to get my right foot wet now. Must see him again in one week and then hopefully it will be a long time before another visit.

 

I am spending my afternoons with Mary Lou. She seems tired. Must get her up and around these days. More visits from Bode will cheer her up.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

A Plethora of E-mail

I spent most of my first day back at work going through e-mail. It's unbelievable how fast it piles up!  I think I probably dealt with a couple hundred separate e-mails by either forwarding for approval, saving attachments, sending a reply, etcetera.... My favorites were those I could ignore. (Yes, there were some.)

Tomorrow I hope to get some "real" work done — not that handling e-mail isn't "real" work. There just isn't a lot to show for it!

Vacation Finale

Today, the last Sunday in July 2021, is the final day of my vacation. The week has been restful and enjoyable. Working backwards over the past few days....

Today: Rainy weather. Lew and I went to the 8:30 am church service and now I am doing laundry and some additional "let's get caught up on things before going back to work" tasks.

Yesterday: Beautiful day! Lew and I went to visit our friends Ellen & Paul at their lakeside camp. Our friends Anne-Marie & Peter were also there. We talked, went on a boat ride, had a late-afternoon swim, and ate far too much. It was wonderful!

Friday: The big event of the day was going out to eat at the diner. Dad, Debbie, Josh, and Bode sat at one table. Kelsey, Zachariah, Lew, and I sat at another. Lew and I enjoyed the chance to chat with Kelsey and Zach.

Thursday: Kelsey, Zach, and Bode arrived! 😍

Dad 577: Awaiting Wave Three

(Dad writes today.... I enjoyed! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Not too bad a day. Yesterday afternoon we had a good thunder shower, but we didn't get one today.

Tracy's on vacation this week so this will be very short.

Spent the last few afternoons with Mary Lou. Now we await the arrival of Kelsey, Zachariah, and Bode. Hopefully we'll see them tomorrow and Great Grams will get to see Bode on Friday. She is anxious!

More next week.

(Enjoy the short report, Tracy!)

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

The Eventful July 20, 2021

Happy 83rd birthday to my father!

Happy 25th wedding anniversary to Debbie and Glen!

Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Lew and me!

Happy new hip to Joe! (His surgery went well and he was able to go home already.)

What a day! We are truly blessed.

Staring Contest

While visiting Mom this afternoon, I participated in a staring contest.

I won.

This is my opponent:

Stay OFF of the bird feeder, Rocky!!!!!

The Curious Case of the Candy Cane

Last night after Lew and I had both gone upstairs to get ready for bed, Lew asked me, "Where did this candy come from?"

I went to see what he was talking about. There was a candy cane in the upstairs hallway that had not been there when we ascended the stairs.

My initial thought was that Lew had planted it there to give me a mystery to solve, which would have been a unique way to start my vacation.  He denied it multiple times, mainly because I accused him of it multiple times.

I finally accepted the fact that one of the cats had found it and brought it to the hallway.  But where had he/she found it?

Then Lew said, "Something happened here." He was talking about his shoe rack in our closet. Some of the shoes were on the floor. (Cat!) I happened to notice the slippers I gave him for Christmas were still in the clear plastic bag they were packaged in....

Mystery solved! I had included a candy cane with the slippers. It took over six months for a cat to discover it.

(P.S. For those of you wondering why Lew hasn't worn the new slippers yet: He says his old ones are still okay, but close to being retired.... He ordered the new slippers himself, by the way!)

Vacation!

 I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation... Yes, I'm singing The Vacation Song!

A whole week off from work.  Hooray!

Dad 576: The Eventful July 20, 2021

(Lots going on next Tuesday. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another early-June-type day today. Very cloudy and damp and temperature in the 60s. Supposed to get better the next two days. Please!

 

Well, Kim got back to Illinois on Tuesday in the early afternoon. Now she must help Joe get ready for his hip replacement next week.

 

There is a lot of activity happening on July 20, 2021. The big event is my birthday (83). I will be as old as Mary Lou after eight days of being the younger of the two of us. Joe will get his hip replacement, probably the toughest of the activities. Then it is on to Glen & Debbie and Lew & Tracy. Both couples will celebrate their marriages (20-something years for both)! At one time I was the only July 20th celebrant. Now the rest of the family has taken over. I'll take a backseat to them from now on. Good luck to Joe. Our prayers are with him.

 

Visited Mary Lou the last two afternoons from 3:00 to 5:15. Lew gave me a ride up and then picked me up afterwards. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to drive again, as I hope to get my shoe on my toeless foot after last week's surgery. Will find out at my appointment tomorrow. (Did get a preview of tomorrow because my bandage fell off on Sunday. Was quick to get to the doctor on Monday to have bandage redone.)

 

Waiting for Kelsey, Zach, and Bode to arrive one week from Friday!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Wave Two

Wave Two of our summer visitor schedule ended today when Kim flew home to Illinois.  Debbie picked her up at our house at 4:15am to take her to the airport for a 6:00am flight.  (I did get up to say good-bye to her and my internal clock still hasn't recovered, ha ha!)  I received a text message from Kim at 3:05pm announcing that she was home.

Yesterday was Mom's 83rd birthday! I missed the family celebration mid-day, but I did stop in to see Mom after work. I sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she even helped me sing it. I stopped to see her again tonight after work.... Mom is always glad to see me. 💗

Saturday Summary

Dad has no toes left on his right foot. He is behaving (most of the time) after his surgery yesterday by staying off his feet as much as possible and keeping his foot elevated.

After fighting a cold this past week during which I did not visit my mother, I finally felt like it was okay to visit her today. Dad won't be going in to visit her again until Monday (her birthday!) so we did a FaceTime video chat with him. She enjoyed that.

I did make it to work all week (short week because of the Monday observance of July 4th holiday), and it was not the greatest of times. In addition to my not feeling well, it was also crazy with month-end tasks which we had only four days to do instead of the usual five. But we persevered and completed everything.

Lew and I finished watching the first season of The Chosen. We really enjoyed it. The second season isn't as easy to watch on our television, but I figured out how to mirror my iPhone to it. Modern technology is very fascinating and is wonderful if it works the way it is supposed to.

My Facebook friends are already aware that I did a fun LEGO kit last weekend. (A perfect project when confined to home due to illness.)  I had a blast building this typewriter!

Dad 575: Two Toes

(A newsy update from Dad today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another day for the AC. Hadn't needed it for the last few days.

 

Busy schedule coming up the next week or so. Explained below.

 

Tomorrow I stop my blood thinner (Eliquis) in preparation for surgery on Friday. Must report to the surgery center at 6:30 AM to remove my last two toes on my right foot. Toes number four and five (little toe) will go. More about this next week.

 

Construction crew Phil and company have cut out a section of the cellar wall to put in a door to get into the cellar. Now they are ready to put the door on. We're ready for it. They are doing a great job. We now can get into the basement from outside. Hooray! No more taking large articles up and down the stairway to the basement.

 

Still trying to visit Mary Lou every day at Pine Point Center. Don't know how I'll do after surgery, but I'll try to visit as much as possible.

 

Kim will be returning to Illinois next Tuesday to help Joe get set up for his hip replacement.

 

More next time....

 

Until then!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Still Cold

I mentioned in the intro to Dad's post last week that I had a sore throat. It lingered for a few days, and now I'm just a little stuffed up.  (How does one catch a cold in July??!)

I did make it to work today, but I am glad to have had the three-day weekend.  

I work the rest of this week and all of the next. Then I am on vacation for a week. I sure hope my cold is gone by then!

Happy Birthday, America!

God bless America, the land that I love, my home sweet home!

Dad 574: Hot and Cold

(I have a sore throat, so I came directly home after work. Dad has a cold, so something must be going around. He writes today... a Thursday Derf! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Finishing up another heat wave. Have had the AC on for four days straight. Don't know how we lived through times without AC.

 

Currently I'm at home when normally I would be visiting with Mary Lou. I try to visit her every afternoon from around 2:30 to 5:15 PM. After that time, Mary Lou goes across the hall from her room to eat her dinner, and I disappear to go home. It is not a great time leaving Mary Lou behind. I feel as though she should be with me. I wish this would work out, but it probably never will. It causes me guilt feelings.

 

Kim is visiting her mother alone this afternoon. Perhaps Tracy will stop in on her way home from work. (She often does visit her at this time.) Mary Lou has some good times doing puzzles that are boards with cut outs. She does quite well with those.

 

Joe and Kaelen arrived home yesterday after three days on the road. Joe made the trip without totally destroying his hip and back. For the next three weeks Joe will be attending meetings to prepare him for his hip replacement. We in Maine all wish you well, Joe!

 

Stay tuned for more news.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!