Dad 613: Keep On Keeping On

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another beautiful day here in the Northeast. Warming up a little from the recent weather. Temperature is now up in the 40s. Could make 50s. Keep rising, please!

 

Yesterday Lou beat me in seven games of the bubble game. Then I set up around five patterns of the car escape game for her to figure out. She was successful in all but the last one. To play: A yellow car is parked in a grid and is surrounded by other vehicles. Move the vehicles around until the yellow car is free. It is quite a fun game. Difficult, but fun! (I wrote about the car escape game last week, too. It certainly is one of our favorites.)

 

Lou seems to be enjoying our visits. Sure wish we could have her home with us, but she does need more care than we are capable of giving her. It has been over two years since she was home. Sometimes she just wants to come home, and it is not easy explaining to her why she can't come. It is difficult for her to understand. With God's help we will keep the faith. Amen!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Why I Am Up So Late

 Writing this very quick post just before midnight.

Why so late?

We got new cell phones today.  I've been figuring out a few things.

Plus I did laundry!

Manicure Monday

Mom had a manicure this afternoon. She chose the color of the polish.

She is posing with the stuffed raccoon that Bode sent her for Christmas. She loves the raccoon — she even named it after Bode.

Bode the Raccoon came home with me last night so he could have a much-needed bath. Mom was happy to get him back today.  😊

Midnight at March Madness

The Final Four is set in the NCAA tournament. The clock struck midnight for the Cinderella teams; their dance has ended.

It's exciting when underdogs win, but it's better to have a competitive Final Four. Next weekend should be fun.

I'll be rooting for Coach K. to win it all.  (Shhh... don't tell my Kansas friends!)

Homeschool Science Fair

Eli and Adam are both homeschooled, and tonight they participated in a science fair along with three other homeschoolers.

Four of the students (the boys) had been studying the solar system, so that's what their projects were about. The other student (the only girl) had been studying rocks, minerals, and fossils.

Part of Eli's project was a volcano demonstration. There is a volcano on Mars that is larger than the state of Arizona. Did you know that? I didn't!

Eli

Adam

Dad 612: And the Winner Is...?

(Enjoy Dad's post! The "parked car" is yellow. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another sunny, cool (40°) day here in the Northeast. Lousy weather with mixed results scheduled for the next few days. Please get warmer faster. Thanks!

 

I am preparing to go up for an afternoon with Lou. Hopefully our games and visit go well. I know I will not win most games, as she totally defeats me every day in the bubble game.

 

Lou has a game that challenges you to get a parked car out of a grid. The car is around a bunch of other vehicles. You set the pattern up from a diagram and then try to get the car out by moving the vehicles. I'm not too good at the escape, but I'll improve... hopefully. (Many thanks to Kaelen for sending this fun game to her grandmother!)

 

I must close now and go up to see Lou. Also, I'll try to win more than usual.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

'Tis the Season!

Ken's Place has opened for the season!

(Opening day was this past Friday, but I forgot to mention it because of all the excitement about my haircut.  Ha ha!)

When Ken's opens, it is for seven days a week... none of the "weekends only" type of schedule. I like that.

Spring is here!

Taxes Done!

I hadn't been able to finish my parents' tax return because one of the tax forms wasn't ready. Yesterday I received an e-mail from TurboTax that the tax form was finally finalized and available in their software.

I updated TurboTax on my computer, opened my parents' return, and double-checked a few items to make sure it was still coming out like I expected. Then I e-filed that puppy!

Last night I got confirmation that both the federal and state returns were accepted by the respective tax authorities.

Yippee!  I am done preparing taxes for another year.

🤓

Lew's Logbook: Breakfast Feast

(Lew returns as a guest blogger! Eli and Adam call my father "Great Fred." Enjoy! ~ Tracy) 

Zack is home from school and Josh is home between ship assignments.

Thursday night Glen, Debbie, Josh, Zack, Great Fred, Tracy, and I all went to the diner.  Usually Glen and Debbie go with Fred on Monday nights, and we go with him on Thursday nights. But since the boys were both home, we all went together on Thursday. During dinner Zack suggested that the men should go to breakfast on Saturday morning. He is going back to school on Sunday (tomorrow).

This is getting to be something of a tradition when both boys are home. The boys and Uncle Lew love breakfast!  Below is a picture of this morning's foodfest.  You can’t see from the picture, but there are 13 plates on the table and only one of them is Fred’s.  I am proud to say that every one of those plates was empty when we were done.  

What a way to start the day!

Fred, Zack, Josh, Glen, and me.

Haircut

My most recent haircut was sometime last summer. I was putting up with how long my hair was getting, but this week I finally said, "No more." So at noon today I got it cut! (I even scheduled my next appointment.)

Mom was the first person to see my new "do." She liked it!

Dad 611: MARCHing Along

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Not a great weather day but not really a bad one either. We are gradually marching towards Spring. Hope it comes quickly.

 

Still visiting Lou at the nursing home on a daily basis. On a regular day Tracy visits her mom early afternoon. She accomplishes many things. Usually gets Lou out for daily games and rides around the facility. Then I show up for the late afternoon shift. Five days a week I stay for Lou's dinner to get served. A couple days a week I leave a little before her dinner is served. On those two days I go to the diner for dinner – one night with Glen, Deb and family; the other night with Lew and Tracy. (I wonder if we will ever take Lou to the diner for dinner. I have that as a goal.) Lou seems to be handling daily moments pretty well. She is holding her own.

 

Still looking at all the Russian war news and find it nerve-racking as the world is on its way to being devastated.

 

Will now close for today. So....

 

One more thing! Will watch March madness starting this week.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Cat Food

We feed our cats dry food and canned food.

The dry food that we buy has always been in stock.

The canned food... well, we are now having to look for our 5th option! Options #1 and #2 are never in stock, so we found an alternative. The alternative (#3) was discontinued, so on we went to #4.  But I just got an e-mail that #4 is being discontinued!

😾😾

Back to the drawing board. Kitties must be fed!

Smile!

The world is a mess, but there are still some things to smile about....

Dad and I had our quarterly meeting with the nursing home today. They give us a brief status report on how Mom is doing. She's actually doing quite well!  I believe our daily visits have had a significant effect on her overall well-being. (Two years ago today was the first full day of the COVID-19 shutdown, which ended up lasting over a year. So glad that is behind us!)

Our new washer and dryer appear to be working fine. It's so nice to be able to get our laundry done without having to fight with the dryer.

Ken's Place opens for the season this Friday... a sign of Spring. Yippee!  Warmer weather, here we come.

Tom Brady un-retired!

The Bubble Game Champion!

 

Dad 610: Everything Costs More

(Dad writes today. Oh, and gas was $4.299/gallon yesterday. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another typical pre-spring day with a temperature around 36°. Winter is on its last legs. Great!

 

This will be very short today. We (Tracy and I) are visiting Lou every day. Things are going along about the same. Deb is feeding the birds outside Lou's window.

 

About the only other thing in the news is the war of Putin and the expected result of everything costing more. Inflation!

 

Done!

 

Maybe I'll have more to say in one week.

 

Until next time!

 

ToodlePip!

 

Derf!

High Efficiency

Our new washer and dryer were delivered as scheduled this morning. I spent the early afternoon reading and re-reading the documentation. Some of the most important information is only online, of course, but I was able to find it.

The washer is a top loader, high efficiency (HE), with an agitator. HE is a new phenomenon for us. When we peeked to see how much water was being used, we both were shocked (which may not be a strong enough word). Not much water at all!  We did a little more research and I guess all is well.  It's strange, though!

We were able to complete two full loads today, and I'm planning to do a couple more tomorrow morning. It sure is nice to see the laundry pile going down!

The Three-Hour Window

Our new washer and dryer are scheduled to be delivered and installed between 9:30am and 12:30pm tomorrow.

Hopefully we are closer to the 9:30am time. Our laundry baskets are overflowing.

I went online to find the user manuals for both machines and did a quick reading. I told Lew that I'm a little nervous! But we'll figure them out.

We are ready!

Weekend Words

Basketball. Dad and I watched the Maine High School State Championship games on Friday night and all day Saturday.  Five classes for both boys and girls, so that was a lot of basketball!  Fun.

Bowling. The PBA bowling season is in full swing. Lew watches a lot of the preliminary rounds for each tournament on FloBowling. We both watch the televised finals. Today was a doubles' final, and the guys we were rooting for won!

Mom.  Even with all of the sports to watch, Dad and I still made our daily trips to visit Mom at the nursing home.  She loves our visits and so do we.

Cookies.  Dad buys delicious chocolate cookies at the grocery store and I eat my fair share of them. I must stop doing this if I want to continue to fit into my clothes, ha ha!  I say to Dad, "Why did I just eat that cookie?" and then we both agree it is due to the yumminess.

Coming Soon to a Laundry Room Near Us

Last week I mentioned that our dryer has been acting up. Lew ordered a part and tried to fix the machine (I tried to help), but it didn't work. Josh even came up to offer his expertise, but the dryer was a goner.

So yesterday afternoon Lew and I took a trip to an appliance store. By the time we left the store we were the proud owners of a brand new washer and dryer. They are supposed to be delivered this coming Tuesday.

We will have two weeks of laundry to do when the machines arrive!

Dad 609: Bubble Trouble

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! March is here. Winter is not over yet but will be in a couple weeks. Above freezing today and the sun shines bright. What a day.

 

Getting ready to go up and sit with Lou for the rest of the afternoon. Might even play the bubble game. Played six games yesterday but I won only one. Seems like that is the way it usually goes. Let's face it. I'm a non-winner at games with Lou.

 

Sure will be happy to see spring arrive and the temperatures rise. Waiting for some nice sunny warm 70+ days. We are ready for the change from winter to spring. Please change quickly. Please!

 

Must leave now for my visit. Join me in prayers for this old world! We need these!!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!