Dad 587: Tag-Team Visiting

(Dad is visiting Mom as I enter this post for him. Enjoy! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Fall weather is now with us and the experts are saying we'll see no temperatures above the sixties for the next few days, as well as showers off and on for a time. Fall is here. No more air conditioners. Bring it on.

Getting ready to visit Mary Lou in a while. Tracy is visiting her now as she does every day early in the afternoon. Tracy leaves when I get there. I usually stay until the arrival of Mary Lou's dinner. I wish I could get her to eat more. She does drink an Ensure every afternoon that Tracy brings with her visits. Think this gives her some sustenance.

I do take Mary Lou for a ride in her wheelchair around the building (usually inside) almost every day. This is new for us. I think she is happy to get out of her room. Will try to continue these trips. These trips, along with other games and puzzles, keep us busy during our visits.

Enough for today! More next week!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

More Puzzlin'

This was a good puzzle to do to celebrate the start of Fall.  It's called "Autumn Shoreline."  Due to the unique shape, it is one of the harder puzzles I've done.  I love the colors!

PLAY BALL!

Matt took Eli to the Yankees/Red Sox game tonight. It is Eli's first time at Fenway Park, and he was asked to start things off! He got to go on the field, dance with Wally (the Red Sox mascot), and yell "Play ball!" over the loudspeaker. He will never forget his first Major League Baseball game.

Nephew Zack's football team (University of Maine Black Bears) had an away game yesterday. They lost 41-14, but the day was still special. The game was in Illinois, so Kim,Joe, Kelsey, Zachariah, and Bode went to it. Zack wasn't expecting to play, but he actually was in for two plays! Then he got to visit with his Illinois family after the game for about half an hour before the team had to head to the airport.

Sports can be fun.

Dad 586: Fall is Here

(Dad writes today! We remembered it is Wednesday! :) ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The first day of Fall. Right now it is a little better than the reporters' views last night. We don't have as many clouds as predicted, but they are slowly arriving and the sun is gradually disappearing. Same tomorrow with rain on Friday and Saturday. Well, we are in Fall now!

 

Strange things happening in this old world today. The body of the young girl from Florida has been found, but her boyfriend has disappeared from the face of the earth. Will he be found before being a meal for an alligator?

 

The thousands of new people in the United States at the southern border are now entering into U.S. cities (many more than the group being sent home). Nothing new about this arrangement. Don't listen to the administration, but follow what is actually happening. Not a whole lot of sending these people back home. Bring them into the U.S. and rely on them to show up at a court appointment down the road. Don't forget to show up! Sure!

 

Well, I'm getting ready to go see Mary Lou for the afternoon. Tracy is with her now. We both spend time with her each day.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Mail and E-mail

I loved receiving my own mail when I was a child. My mail was mostly cards around my birthday and the occasional letter.

I don't really like getting mail now. It usually consists of bills to pay and, of course, junk.

When e-mail first came on the scene, it was really fun. What a great way to keep in touch with friends, and it's so much faster than a mailed letter.

Now I keep in touch with friends mostly via text messages or Facebook.

I no longer find e-mail fun. It is much like my regular mail... mostly junk!

Summary Saturday

Zack's college football team, the U.Maine Black Bears, pulled out a win today! In the final minutes of the game, they had to make a defensive stop and then get a couple first downs themselves to seal the victory. The final score: 31-26.  Congratulations, Black Bears!

Lew and I went to a couple football games this morning. First up was Adam's flag football game. That was followed by Eli's football game (full pads and helmets). Both teams came up short, but they were fun to watch. Eli even scored two touchdowns!

I've been going to visit Mom every day for an hour or two. Our visits have the same routine — Ensure, puzzles, Spot It, crossword puzzle clues, TV, etc. — but that's okay. We enjoy just being together.

My big discovery of the week: I have a nightgown that I don't want to remove the tag from (long story), but the tag bothers my neck a bit. For some reason, it felt fine this week. And that reason was I WAS WEARING IT INSIDE-OUT! Ha ha! I was going to fix it, but then I realized it didn't matter since I'm just wearing it to sleep in. Too bad we couldn't do this with all of our clothing.  Perhaps I could start a fashion trend. After all, I have been on the cutting edge of fashion most of my life. (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)

Dad 585: A Visit With Mary Lou

(Dad writes a day later than normal. At least we both remembered today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! I am sitting with Mary Lou in her room at the nursing home. It is 3:15 PM and we are watching a Gunsmoke episode. (It's the second half of a bank blowing up case that will eventually go "boom" by the end. I've seen it before.) Weather has cleared up quite nicely and we're enjoying the sunny afternoon.

 

As I look out at Mary Lou's birdfeeders I see that they need to be filled up before I go home today. I will do that!

 

{Interlude.}

 

Just got back to Mary Lou's room after taking her for a short trip in her wheelchair down to the main entrance. We saw Tara and June on our trip. On our way back we also saw Emily who said "hello" to Mary Lou. Then back to her room and back to bed. We now are watching Andy Griffith on television. And we wait for Mary Lou's "supper" or "dinner." We grew up with "supper."

 

I'll cut it short for Tracy today. Soooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

 

P.S. I will take care of the birdfeeders now as I leave for the evening. Supper is served!

Forgot... Times Two

Now that I'm not working, the days are feeling the same to me.

This means that I forgot today is Wednesday and that Dad was supposed to write his weekly post.

And what do you know.... He forgot, too!

We agreed that he would write tomorrow, so be sure to check back then.

😊

The 10th Day

Today marked the 10th day of my self-imposed unemployment.

I've started doing many of the things I hoped to during this break. 

Top of the list: I've been able to visit more with Mom — a very good thing.

I'm also doing a lot of reading, which is one of my favorite activities. I'm currently re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. (See my Reading List 2021 page.)

I am trying to remain productive and stay caught up on household tasks (laundry, checkbook, etc.), but I'm also taking time for some R&R.

Blessed. 💗

Emma! Jerry!

Congratulations to Emma Radacanu! She had to play in the qualifying round to even get into the U.S. Open tournament, and then she ends up winning the whole thing. Nobody had ever done that before. An amazing accomplishment. I'm looking forward to watching her play tennis for many more years since she's only 18 years old.

Jerry decided to use the TV as a scratching post this morning. We got after him for doing so, and he realized he had misbehaved. He put himself in a time-out!

Tennis, Anyone?

Lew and I don't follow tennis that closely, but we have been watching the U.S. Open and really enjoying it.  

We have been mostly interested in the women's bracket. The teenagers are exciting to watch! 

As for the men, the big story is whether Novak Djokovic will get his grand slam. I hope he does.

🎾🎾🎾🎾

Today is nephew Joshua's 23rd birthday. Happy Birthday to you, Josh!

Dad 584: Gowning Up

(It's Wednesday, so you know what that means! Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! I believe today and yesterday may be the best two days we've had in a row for many months. Beautiful temps (70+) with very low humidity. However, we have rain coming in tonight.

 

I am, once again, listening to the news while writing this. It seems that we are at a pivotal point in our country. Gavin Newsom may be recalled. I hope he is, but I don't believe he has any worries. The president is being asked to stay away from ceremonies for the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001. I'm sure that he will try for a victory lap over the Afghanistan foul-up. He should go to Afghanistan and celebrate with his "friends." They should accept him, along with his gift of an army awarded to them in the form of our war assets. A great donation to the terrorists.

 

Mary Lou continues to receive us as daily visitors. We had to miss one day (Saturday), but have been allowed in after that day. We now visit her dressed like people ready for a Moon landing. We wear gowns, masks, and shields. It makes no sense to me as we are with no other people, but we remain quiet so as not to upset the wonderful people in power.

 

Done for today!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Sunday Project

It was a comfortable day weather-wise on Sunday, so I decided to work on a project during the yard sale. 

I set up a card table in the driveway, grabbed a chair from the deck, and made this LEGO flower bouquet.

It took me a couple days to decide on a vase to use. I think this ceramic pitcher is a good choice.

I love the combination of colors!

More Puzzling

I completed two jigsaw puzzles over the past couple weeks. I enjoy doing them. And usually once I start doing one, I can't stop. I say to myself, "Just one more piece...." — which usually turns into at least another hour working on the puzzle!

I bought the carousel puzzle (used) from the library, so I wasn't sure if I would have all the pieces. I finished putting it together today while I was still in my jammies and bathrobe. And, rats, wouldn't you know I was missing a piece. But then I reached into the righthand pocket of my bathrobe. Guess what I found there? 😄

🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩

Everything Went... Almost!

Yard Sale day # 2 wasn't as successful as yesterday, although we did enjoy the social aspect of it. We got to spend another day with our friends who do the sale with us. I finally met a new neighbor whom Lew has known for a while. Then another friend of ours stopped by while he was out for a walk.

When we were ready to pack up, we set aside a few things that we didn't want to put on the side of the road for free. Then everything else went to the free pile.

By dinner time, the only thing we had to retrieve from the side of the road was our sign that says, "FREE — Please Leave Sign!"

Yard Sale Weekend

Day one of our Labor Day weekend yard sale is in the books!

We are going to set up tomorrow, too, and see if we can get rid of more. Everything must go!

I needed to unwind after the sale, so I worked on a jigsaw puzzle and ended up staying up too late. I'm getting this post done just in time for the midnight deadline! 😂

ZERO

My countdown has been completed!

We had a pizza party at work as a send off for me. That was a good time.

Yard sale tomorrow. I only have four things to put in it, so I'm glad our friends have stuff to sell. I imagine Lew and Dad also have some items.

Liftoff!

ONE!

I was hoping to title this post "ONE & WON!"

ONE for my countdown. My last day at my current job is tomorrow.

WON because nephew Zack's football team (U. Maine Black Bears) had its first game of the season tonight. But they got beat 34-24. They were playing one of the top teams, though, so their showing was still pretty good. Looking forward to watching more of their games.

GO, BLACK BEARS!

Dad 583: The "News"

(Dad writes today. And my countdown is at TWO! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another pretty good summer day. Will get a rain storm from Ida tonight and tomorrow. Must mow the lawn Friday for our weekend yard sale! Weekend should be great weather. Weather experts have told us that!

 

Getting ready to visit Mary Lou for the afternoon. Will leave in a little over one hour. I still visit with her every afternoon and I keep her birdfeeders full of delicious seeds. The birds agree! Happy eating!

 

I'm listening to the news which I find deviates from my understanding of what we have just lived through. It is sure strange that people can have such a different understanding from what really is taking place. I'm sick and tired of our leaders telling us what happened, their claims seemingly in disagreement with what I've been watching.

 

The United States leaves NOBODY behind! That is what I thought. We'll see! Sounds like there are a lot more people still left in Afghanistan. (Probably a higher number of people than we've been told.)

 

That's enough for now.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!