Dad 635: Grocery Store Tab

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Not a bad day as summer comes to a close (almost). Do have a high state of heat. Enough to use the AC. Supposed to be a little more fall-ish starting tomorrow. Unofficially, summer ends on Labor Day. That will be here shortly.

 

Well, I did get to the grocery store today. I only have one person here (me) to feed. Mostly get fed by Lew and Tracy. Yet somehow I managed to spend $208 at the store today. I did stock up on some paper goods. It seems like everything costs more now. (Thanks, Joe!) I'll fill up my car with gas next week.

 

Just want to say I'm living in the greatest country in the world. So it is upsetting to me to watch as we go downhill towards more trouble. In my life I have never seen such stupid choices being made by my leaders. Hopefully can change this in the near future. (Speak softly, Derf!)

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Playing Catch-Up... Again

I am trying to catch up on everything I fell behind on this past week. Being sick for a few days will do that to you!

I made good progress today. 

I still have some bills to pay tomorrow morning. And after I get home from visiting Mom, I am going to do my laundry.

My life is so exciting!

😁

A Rough Weekend

Ugh. I was sick all weekend. It must have been a stomach bug of some sort, since nothing would stay down for a full day (all day Saturday into yesterday morning). It was a lovely time.

Lew bought me some jello and 7 UP, and I was finally able to keep something down. Saltines were okay soon afterward. Then grape jelly toast.

After a good night's sleep, I was ready to try some scrambled eggs this morning. They tasted delicious and, more importantly, I was able to digest them in the normal way.

I did not conquer the world today. I did manage to visit my mother for about half an hour, and I even brought her laundry home. (The washer and dryer do most of the work, so I figured I could handle it.)

I will end this uplifting post by wishing my sister Kim a very Happy Birthday!

😁😏😉

Thunder and Lightning and Rain... Oh, My!

What a lovely morning and early afternoon we had today. A friend and I went to a late lunch, and enjoyed sitting outside on the restaurant's patio.

By 4:00 PM we were experiencing a major thunderstorm. It was accompanied by a torrential downpour. I was sitting in a waiting room at the time, and all of us in the room were in various states of anxiety. We joked about how the office might have to stay open later than 5:00 so we wouldn't have to go outside.

The storm subsided within a couple hours. (And I did get wet.)

It's not too bad outside at the moment, but the forecast is for more rain late this evening. Hopefully there won't be any thunder. But if there is, you will find me hiding under the covers!

It Took Me a Mere 15 Years

What took me 15 years?

See the photo below. It is the inside of our dishwasher door, where the silverware is stored for washing.

The purple "lattice" on the right is how I ran the dishwasher for 15 years. The silverware would bunch together in the compartments. 

The other day I figured out the "lattice" can be flipped down to keep the silverware from touching each other! (That is a fork in the left-hand side.) 

It seems so obvious now, and I honestly don't know why I didn't figure this out a long time ago. Cue the eye-roll emoji.... And I'm pretty sure I can hear my sister Kim laughing all the way from Illinois!

🙄

Dad 634: Hip Woes

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Not a great summer day in the Northeast. Temperatures in the low 70s. One could say Fall is in the air. Schools will be in full force next week as the Northeast catches up with the rest of the country. Drive safely – school is in!

 

Still visiting Lou daily as Tracy and I try to be with her every afternoon. So far, so good!

 

Got up this morning with a sore hip. Trying to walk it off. No luck with that. We'll see how long this lasts as I limp around with my walker. Hope it will get better quickly.

 

Also my foot doctor will be moving his office from Scarborough to Auburn. I will see him this Thursday prior to his leaving. Just want to get one last look at my toe-less feet before moving out of town. (I am now on an as-needed basis.) Good luck, Doc!

 

That's it for today!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Food at its Best

Lew and I continue to watch as much of the Little League World Series as we can. We've watched (at least part of) every game.

We have talked about trying to go some year. It would be fun to see the kids play in person. Plus there is lots of good-looking food! Tonight they showed pizza and funnel cakes. As good as those things are, I'm sure they taste even better while watching a game.

Play Ball!

Happy Birthday, Lew!

Today is my dear husband's birthday! How is he celebrating? By relaxing in his recliner! (He played 18 holes of golf yesterday with Matt, Glen, Josh, and Zack, so a day in his recliner is what appeals to him!)

Lew's mother always made him an angel food cake for his birthday. His brother, Wayne, has been continuing the tradition. He brought the cake over to Lew yesterday. (Wayne made the frosting himself!) Delicious!

Baseball at its Best

The Little League Baseball World Series started yesterday!  These first couple days have been plagued by weather delays, but they are managing to get the games played.  Because the delays have caused TV schedule changes, Lew and I have worked hard to figure out which ESPN channel to flip to... ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews... they've all aired games.

The Series continues for several more days. I encourage you to watch these kids Play Ball!

Dad 633: Routines Return

(A short post by Dad today! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! A little rain today. More tomorrow. We need it and could use a nice slow rain for a few days. A beautiful weekend is predicted. We'll take it.

Our Illinois family members have all gone home after their visit to Maine, and we are missing them already. Not much to say as we are getting back to our regular routines. Tracy seems back to normal (almost). We will continue to visit Lou daily. Back to our routines.

That's it for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

I Venture Out

Major accomplishment: I visited Mom today! It had been almost two weeks since I'd been able to go, so it was good to see her.

She remembered who I was, but she also knew that I hadn't been in for a while. She was happy to see me, too.

We spent most of the time in her room, although we did go for a quick walk outside. It was a beautiful day, so it was nice for her to get some fresh air.

Look out, World. I'm back. 😏

She's... She's... She's ALIVE!

After fighting THE virus for a few days, I finally reached my get-out-of-the-house day yesterday.

Or so I thought.

Instead I ended up with a really bad migraine headache.  It was so bad that I ended up "tossing my cookies" for a few hours.

Fun times. Absolutely miserable.

I finally was able to rest comfortably and get a good night's sleep.

Although still feeling wiped out, I am much better today.

I hope to lead a "normal" life tomorrow!

Dad 632: Two Shots

(Dad writes today! Many thanks to him for keeping the blog going.... ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! A cloudy day with temperatures just tipping the seventies. A nice change from the very hot days preceding today. We are slowly getting through the dog-days of August. I'm sure there are more to come. Fall is getting closer. No hurry!

Our Maine homes are missing some of our summer visitors now that Zachariah, Kelsey, and Bode have gone back to Illinois. Their trip back went well, and for that we are all happy. We had a good visit with them. Already anxious for their next trip to Maine.

I received two shots this morning at Walgreeens. One shot is for shingles. The other is for many other illnesses that hopefully are now no longer "available" to me. We will see!

Must now get prepared to spend the afternoon with Lou. Lunch then out of the house! Done writing for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Things to Do While Under the Weather

I have not been feeling well for a few days, and it appears I have a few more days to get through before I can rejoin society. Hopefully this time of R&R will lead to renewed health and vigor.

Things I have done, am doing, and will do during this time:

• Read
• LEGO
• Drink lots of fluids
• Eat comfort food
• Watch Little League (Regional tournaments right now)
• Watch our country be destroyed
• Pray
• Rest

Notice that I didn't say, "Write blog posts."  Ha ha!  I imagine Dad will write his weekly post tomorrow, but no promises for the rest of the week.

Keep cool!  😎

More Sub-Cultures

Today Lew and I watched a professional break-dancing competition on TV.  Lew said he was going to try some of the moves. I told him to wait until I had the 9-1 punched in on my phone so that I would only have to dial another 1.

We also watched something called Slippery Stairs. It was just what it sounds like: people racing each other up stairs that are slippery. I would have called the sport Stupid Slippery Stairs.

There was also a sport called OmegaBall, which was a lot like soccer but more fun to watch. Three teams playing all at once with three goals. Fast action.

Also on TV today: Cornhole. This is the only one of the four sports that I could possibly try. I wouldn't be any good at it, but at least I wouldn't pull a muscle or break anything!

Dad 631: Doctor and Diner

(Dad wrote today's entry a few hours ago. I'm finally posting it! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another nice summer day. When are we going to get some rain? Hopefully soon.

Just got back from breakfast at the diner. Joe and Kim first took me to my doctor's appointment in Standish. Had a good visit and chat with Dr. Chase and Kim. Doctor's visit went well. He looked over my sugar numbers and said all was good. Only trying one sugar test a day instead of two. Send your prayers.

We are sad today because Zachariah, Kelsey, and Bode's visit came to an end. They left Maine this morning. They will be missed. Lucky to have them visit every year. Bode cried upon leaving. Chin up, Bode! Better days ahead!

Done for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Bye Bode Visit

Zach, Kelsey, and Bode head back to Illinois tomorrow morning. They came up to the house tonight to say their good-byes.

Kim and Debbie brought Bode to the nursing home this afternoon to see Mom (a.k.a. "Great Grams"). We determined that an outdoor visit would be best, so I wheeled Mom outside. The brief visit went very well, and Mom was very happy afterward.

Thank you for visiting us, Zach, Kelsey, and Bode! Praying for safe travels!

Bode, Kim ("Grandma"), and Mom ("Great Grams")

Family Gathering

Matt, Emily, Eli, and Adam came to our house tonight so they could touch base with the Illinois family.

By the end of the evening, Eli, Adam, and Bode were all playing together like they were old friends. 

There were three injuries tonight, only one of which involved blood (Eli's ankle). The other two "injuries" were to wiffle ball equipment: a broken ball and a broken bat.

Everyone had an ice cream treat from Fred's Fridge.

That is what I call a successful evening!