My mother is in the late stages of Alzheimer's.
Last night my father got a call from the nursing home. The CNA that was caring for my mother noticed an unusual rash on her. She went to the head nurse and asked her to come and check this rash out. The head nurse looked at it and felt it was probably chicken pox. The doctor was called and he was to come in to the nursing home today and check Mimi to be sure of the diagnosis.
Today Papa called the nursing home after church to see if the doctor was in and what he found. Dr. Weckman said it is definitely chicken pox. Good Grief!!!
Papa and I have been told not to visit Mimi until they call and tell us she is not contagious. He was also advised that we have both been exposed to chicken pox now and have the possibility of contracting the disease. Yuck...on two counts...no Mimi visits and a potential disease in our future.
Papa and I neither remember or know if we have ever had chicken pox.
I definitely know each of my kids had the chicken pox, one right after the other, and I was in the house for several weeks as we went through the process with each of them. During all this care I never contracted the chicken pox. I feel pretty safe about me.
But Papa...who knows what to expect. I know there is some connection in adults between chicken pox and shingles. I tried to read up on it last night but I need to go back and study it again.
My mom is far enough along in the progression of her Alzheimer's until she can't even control her hands enough to find an itchy place to scratch. We can count that up on the blessing side of this process.
So on goes the adventure...
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Can you hear me now???
That ad campaign for Verizon cell service is just apropos for our Friday.
Claude received one of 'those' mailers which he happened to open and read. You know, the kind that promise you a wonderful gift 'if' you'll just visit them about something. This one promised a free vacation if you would come in for a free hearing test.
Claude showed it to me and we both agreed we wanted the free hearing test.
I was sick several years ago in Maryland and it affected my inner ear and balance. It lasted about two weeks during which time my hearing was impaired and my balance, well, let's just say I couldn't walk anywhere without holding on to the wall. After I was well, my doctor was concerned about the effect on my hearing so he sent me for a hearing test. The diagnosis was that I lost my ability to hear the really, really, really high sounds. Since I am not a dog and can live quite well without those sounds, I was sent home and told not to worry about the hearing loss. For this reason, I felt another hearing test might be a good idea to see if there was any change.
We had the appointment scheduled for several weeks ago but the audiologist was ill and we had to change the date to get the testing done. Friday, we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Lexington for another exciting old people's kinda date.
I noted immediately that the receptionist talked very loudly like Papa. Now, Papa is nearly deaf and that is why he talks that loud. I found it interesting that the receptionist in the audiologist's office talked that loud. Hmmmm...
We filled out our paperwork which was quite fun. You are given two sheets of paper with the same questions on them. We filled out the first sheet answering for our own hearing. The second one you fill out answering for how you feel about your spouses hearing. We were not allowed to share our answers but we both chuckled at appropriate times.
Paperwork was finished and Pat took the papers back to the audiologist. (We learned later they are husband and wife.) He reviewed it and then called us back to start our visit with him.
Gotta love living at this time. He had an enormous monitor on his desk. It was as big as the TV screen in our living room. With his computer he brought up an image. Then he took out a little scope and put it in each of our ears cleaning it carefully between each ear. When the scope was in our ears we could actually see inside our ears. There are a lot of little hairs inside your ear. I didn't realize there were so many hairs. We could see that our ear drums were still translucent which is a good thing. We could also see only little bits of wax which are quite normal and the kind of thing that works itself out of your ear. Bottom line after having our ears scoped is that they were physiologically in great shape.
That accompished we were ready for the hearing test. Dr. Chapman showed us the chart he would use for each of us and how he would record our responses. There were shaded areas on the chart and if your responses fell into that shaded area there was cause for concern. The test is administered in two phases. If you pass the first phase (a series of beeps at varying decible levels) with flying colors there is no need for the second part of the test (a series of words and sentences that are muffled or have background noise making them harder to discern). Your hearing is in good shape.
Dr. Chapman took Claude first, gave him instructions, and closed him up in the sound proof booth. I felt like I was a kid and watching an early game show. I sat in one of those for my hearing test several years ago. But today I saw it from the outside. There were several games shows when we were kids and TV was just getting going that had the contestants go in a sound proof booth. Claude was the first contestant.
Outside the booth I could hear all the doctor was doing and could tell when Claude was hearing and responding. When Dr. Chapman finished the first test on Claude he was concerned. This meant Claude went to the second series of testing. After finishing that series of testing Dr. Chapman did the first phase of the testing on me. Then we followed him back to his nice office with the big TV for our results.
I still have the difficulty with the really, really, really high notes. But it doesn't seem to have changed so we are not to worry about me right now. I'm to just get my hearing checked again in the future to keep track of any increased hearing loss.
Claude on the other hand is definitely beginning to loose hearing. Dr. Chapman asked me between the phases of his testing if I had noticed him not hearing me. I told him I just thought he didn't want to listen and tuned me out. We both laughed. I think Dr. Chapman hears that a lot.
All of Claude's responses were below the line and in the shaded areas. He is definitely loosing hearing. Hearing aids were the suggestion. The big TV was now displaying models and colors. Then it displayed large costs for said hearing aids. Dr. Chapman produced several models of hearing aids so we could see them. Then he showed Claude the ones he recommends. They are little buds attached to a thin transparent plastic cord to the hearing aid. You put the bud in your ear, wrap the cord over your ear and the hearing aid fits behind the ear. You couldn't even see anything except that little thin clear cord. If you weren't looking for that, you wouldn't even see it.
What I was seeing was a look of dismay in my poor hubby's face. We went in there to be told our hearing was fine. We were going to walk out with Claude placing an order for hearing aids. My hubby needed time to absorb the shock of that diagnosis. I don't know that will happened until he gets the hearing aids and gets used to them and the increased ability to hear.
We picked the hearing aids for Claude that we both felt best about. They are top of the line and about half the size of the ones he tried on in the office. Claude will pick them up next week and get them adjusted for his hearing loss.
While he was finishing up with Dr. Chapman, Pat came and sat down by me. She is so Southern, friendly and comfortable with that friendliness. She said she wanted me to be the one she discussed this with. She pulled out a pamphelt about a free vacation. I honestly completely forgot about the vacation part of this. I truly wanted the hearing test and completely forgot the vacation. I listened and took the pamphlet. Claude and I have already picked out what we want to do and I'll take care of that next week.
We also got a free Kindle Fire with the hearing aid deal this month. We were able to get some help from our insurance company on the cost and we got a discount for being old (translated as AARP members) and Claude being in the military.
Now, we learned some things while there that we both never knew before:
Claude received one of 'those' mailers which he happened to open and read. You know, the kind that promise you a wonderful gift 'if' you'll just visit them about something. This one promised a free vacation if you would come in for a free hearing test.
Claude showed it to me and we both agreed we wanted the free hearing test.
I was sick several years ago in Maryland and it affected my inner ear and balance. It lasted about two weeks during which time my hearing was impaired and my balance, well, let's just say I couldn't walk anywhere without holding on to the wall. After I was well, my doctor was concerned about the effect on my hearing so he sent me for a hearing test. The diagnosis was that I lost my ability to hear the really, really, really high sounds. Since I am not a dog and can live quite well without those sounds, I was sent home and told not to worry about the hearing loss. For this reason, I felt another hearing test might be a good idea to see if there was any change.
We had the appointment scheduled for several weeks ago but the audiologist was ill and we had to change the date to get the testing done. Friday, we hopped in the Jeep and headed to Lexington for another exciting old people's kinda date.
I noted immediately that the receptionist talked very loudly like Papa. Now, Papa is nearly deaf and that is why he talks that loud. I found it interesting that the receptionist in the audiologist's office talked that loud. Hmmmm...
We filled out our paperwork which was quite fun. You are given two sheets of paper with the same questions on them. We filled out the first sheet answering for our own hearing. The second one you fill out answering for how you feel about your spouses hearing. We were not allowed to share our answers but we both chuckled at appropriate times.
Paperwork was finished and Pat took the papers back to the audiologist. (We learned later they are husband and wife.) He reviewed it and then called us back to start our visit with him.
Gotta love living at this time. He had an enormous monitor on his desk. It was as big as the TV screen in our living room. With his computer he brought up an image. Then he took out a little scope and put it in each of our ears cleaning it carefully between each ear. When the scope was in our ears we could actually see inside our ears. There are a lot of little hairs inside your ear. I didn't realize there were so many hairs. We could see that our ear drums were still translucent which is a good thing. We could also see only little bits of wax which are quite normal and the kind of thing that works itself out of your ear. Bottom line after having our ears scoped is that they were physiologically in great shape.
That accompished we were ready for the hearing test. Dr. Chapman showed us the chart he would use for each of us and how he would record our responses. There were shaded areas on the chart and if your responses fell into that shaded area there was cause for concern. The test is administered in two phases. If you pass the first phase (a series of beeps at varying decible levels) with flying colors there is no need for the second part of the test (a series of words and sentences that are muffled or have background noise making them harder to discern). Your hearing is in good shape.
Dr. Chapman took Claude first, gave him instructions, and closed him up in the sound proof booth. I felt like I was a kid and watching an early game show. I sat in one of those for my hearing test several years ago. But today I saw it from the outside. There were several games shows when we were kids and TV was just getting going that had the contestants go in a sound proof booth. Claude was the first contestant.
Outside the booth I could hear all the doctor was doing and could tell when Claude was hearing and responding. When Dr. Chapman finished the first test on Claude he was concerned. This meant Claude went to the second series of testing. After finishing that series of testing Dr. Chapman did the first phase of the testing on me. Then we followed him back to his nice office with the big TV for our results.
I still have the difficulty with the really, really, really high notes. But it doesn't seem to have changed so we are not to worry about me right now. I'm to just get my hearing checked again in the future to keep track of any increased hearing loss.
Claude on the other hand is definitely beginning to loose hearing. Dr. Chapman asked me between the phases of his testing if I had noticed him not hearing me. I told him I just thought he didn't want to listen and tuned me out. We both laughed. I think Dr. Chapman hears that a lot.
All of Claude's responses were below the line and in the shaded areas. He is definitely loosing hearing. Hearing aids were the suggestion. The big TV was now displaying models and colors. Then it displayed large costs for said hearing aids. Dr. Chapman produced several models of hearing aids so we could see them. Then he showed Claude the ones he recommends. They are little buds attached to a thin transparent plastic cord to the hearing aid. You put the bud in your ear, wrap the cord over your ear and the hearing aid fits behind the ear. You couldn't even see anything except that little thin clear cord. If you weren't looking for that, you wouldn't even see it.
What I was seeing was a look of dismay in my poor hubby's face. We went in there to be told our hearing was fine. We were going to walk out with Claude placing an order for hearing aids. My hubby needed time to absorb the shock of that diagnosis. I don't know that will happened until he gets the hearing aids and gets used to them and the increased ability to hear.
We picked the hearing aids for Claude that we both felt best about. They are top of the line and about half the size of the ones he tried on in the office. Claude will pick them up next week and get them adjusted for his hearing loss.
While he was finishing up with Dr. Chapman, Pat came and sat down by me. She is so Southern, friendly and comfortable with that friendliness. She said she wanted me to be the one she discussed this with. She pulled out a pamphelt about a free vacation. I honestly completely forgot about the vacation part of this. I truly wanted the hearing test and completely forgot the vacation. I listened and took the pamphlet. Claude and I have already picked out what we want to do and I'll take care of that next week.
We also got a free Kindle Fire with the hearing aid deal this month. We were able to get some help from our insurance company on the cost and we got a discount for being old (translated as AARP members) and Claude being in the military.
Now, we learned some things while there that we both never knew before:
- If you start to lose hearing the little hairs in your ear become brittle and fall out. This leads to permanent hearing loss.
- You should always wear two hearing aids. If you are only wearing one and it is picking up the sound, your brain will use that ear and leave the other ear alone. This allows the hairs in the unused ear to become brittle and fall out and you lose your hearing.
- A study released this year shows a connection between hearing loss and Alzheimer's.
- One lady put a Q-Tip in her ear to clean it out and pulled out her ear drum and the three bones in the ear. She ended up with major surgery to repair this. Yike!!!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Touring with Bonnie...
Friday, May 12th, we pointed the red Buick north to take Claude's mom, Bonnie, to see her grandkids and great-grandkids that live in Michigan. We made great time and the ride went very smoothly.
We met Jake at his apartment in Chelsea in the afternoon and headed west to Muskegon. We only had one stop and that was a deliberate one in Grand Rapids. There is a Krispy Kreme there and a purchase was in order. We arrived when the light was on. That meant hot doughnuts right off the cooking and icing line. The neat thing about this timing is they give out free samples. Now you just can't beat that for a nice treat during a long drive. Doughnuts purchased we headed on the last half hour to Muskegon.
We checked into our hotel. Katelyn came over with Paul and Aubrey with swimsuits in hand. A quick change and we were at the pool for some swim time. This began with some silly antics in the hot tub with Grampa. Aubrey is 'hear no evil', Claude is 'see no evil', Katelyn is 'speak no evil' and Paul is 'just pure evil'.
Sunday was to be Mother's Day. It seemed like a good idea to let the kids have some fun with their mom for Mother's Day. Nissa was sure she did not want to celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday. Her family was going to honor that request and surprise her with Mother's Day today (Monday). But I suggested to Claude that we take the kids over to the Dollar Tree, let them each buy five items they thought might be funny or nice for their mom, then we would buy a basket and put all the items in it.
So Saturday morning, after a swim in the hotel pool, we headed to Dollar Tree. While the kids roamed the store, I picked up a package of tissue paper for wrapping, a checkers game, two 500 piece puzzles, and two decks of cards. The kids had great fun picking out interesting things. They each picked out a snack for themselves as well.
We went to Katelyn's work, Office Max. She had a copy project she wanted done for school this summer. I picked out a Solitaire CD for Papa's computer. The last crashing of his computer lost his Solitaire game. I found some for him on the AARP website but this CD will have others that might amuse him.
Then it was back to the hotel to wrap the gifts. We set the kids on corners of one of the beds in the hotel room and I handed out the color of tissue paper they wanted for each of their gifts. Quick as a wink the gifts were wrapped and in the basket. Bonnie purchased a Happy Mother's Day balloon and a card (which everyone signed) and our surprise was ready.
Nissa and Todd were supposed to have worked Saturday. They ended up both having the day off. Yippee!! They could join us for lunch at the Pita Place. We carried our Mother's Day gift basket and surprised Nissa at the restaurant. She chose to open the gifts at their home after we had lunch.
It was fun to hear the kids tell her, "I picked out that one."
We spent some time that afternoon enjoying the musical abilities of our family. Katelyn accompanied Aubrey while Aubrey sang. Jake accompanied the girls while they sang. Jake sang and played the piano. Jake accompanied Nissa while she sang. I got it all on lots of video way too big for this Blog. But these will be treasured memories for many years to come. Jake cracked us all up when Katelyn & Aubrey got behind him to sing something from Phantom of the Opera. They were all primed and ready and Jake started play 'The Stripper'. This is one of my favorites but not one which you would sing along.
We had a little more time back at the hotel for swimming. Katelyn and I managed to get most of one of the puzzles finished. Then we all piled in cars and made a run to Golden Corral for dinner Saturday night. I believe that made Saturday night a three Tums night for me.
I went back to our hotel after dinner and retrieved the puzzle from Bonnie and Jake's room where Katelyn and I worked on it. As we moved it on the poster board (I had the presence of mind to purchase in case we had to move it), Bonnie commented that she thought we dropped one piece. We didn't see it so we continued to move the puzzle from her room to Claude and my room.
After a bit there was a quiet knock on our door. I went to open it and found one sheepish looking Jake at the door. He was holding out one puzzle piece and he said, "Honestly, I didn't keep this. It was dropped on the floor." Poor Jake. When he was a little boy and the girls and I were making a puzzle, he took a piece and kept it until the puzzle was all finished except that one piece. He really wanted to put the last puzzle piece in. Even after all these years, whenever we pull out a puzzle and Jake is around, he is immediately told not to hold on to any pieces so he can put the last piece in. He has not done that since he was a little boy but he still gets teased about it. I assured my son that Bonnie thought we dropped a piece when moving the puzzle and I was sure he didn't keep it.
Sunday we spent Mother's Day at the Tyler home. The guys grilled burgers and brats for us. Yum!!! Katelyn and Aubrey taught me to play Garbage. The first hand for me was a great one. Here are my teachers, Katelyn and Aubrey Anne, and here is me winning the first hand. I did lose the game but it was fun for the first few beginner's luck hands.
Sadie, the Tyler family pet, found this house full of new people interesting. She especially found Jake a good friend as he gave her water.
After a wonderful Mother's Day, it was time to take Jake back to Chelsea. But before we left we wanted to get a few family pictures. The first is Bonnie with her Michigan family (Jake, Bonnie, Aubrey Anne, Paul, Katelyn, Nissa and Todd).
When we got to Chelsea our first item of business was to stop for ice cream. Then we took Jake to his apartment. Then we checked into the Holiday Inn Express. Then Jake joined us at the hotel where we watched Men In Black II.
This morning we slept in and headed south toward Kentucky. We made a pit stop at Cabela's in Michigan and Chipotle in Kentucky. Then we parked that Buick and came inside our home to rest. Whew!!! It was a great trip and a nice ending to Bonnie's visit. She will fly home tomorrow afternoon.
We met Jake at his apartment in Chelsea in the afternoon and headed west to Muskegon. We only had one stop and that was a deliberate one in Grand Rapids. There is a Krispy Kreme there and a purchase was in order. We arrived when the light was on. That meant hot doughnuts right off the cooking and icing line. The neat thing about this timing is they give out free samples. Now you just can't beat that for a nice treat during a long drive. Doughnuts purchased we headed on the last half hour to Muskegon.
We checked into our hotel. Katelyn came over with Paul and Aubrey with swimsuits in hand. A quick change and we were at the pool for some swim time. This began with some silly antics in the hot tub with Grampa. Aubrey is 'hear no evil', Claude is 'see no evil', Katelyn is 'speak no evil' and Paul is 'just pure evil'.
So Saturday morning, after a swim in the hotel pool, we headed to Dollar Tree. While the kids roamed the store, I picked up a package of tissue paper for wrapping, a checkers game, two 500 piece puzzles, and two decks of cards. The kids had great fun picking out interesting things. They each picked out a snack for themselves as well.
We went to Katelyn's work, Office Max. She had a copy project she wanted done for school this summer. I picked out a Solitaire CD for Papa's computer. The last crashing of his computer lost his Solitaire game. I found some for him on the AARP website but this CD will have others that might amuse him.
Then it was back to the hotel to wrap the gifts. We set the kids on corners of one of the beds in the hotel room and I handed out the color of tissue paper they wanted for each of their gifts. Quick as a wink the gifts were wrapped and in the basket. Bonnie purchased a Happy Mother's Day balloon and a card (which everyone signed) and our surprise was ready.
Nissa and Todd were supposed to have worked Saturday. They ended up both having the day off. Yippee!! They could join us for lunch at the Pita Place. We carried our Mother's Day gift basket and surprised Nissa at the restaurant. She chose to open the gifts at their home after we had lunch.
We spent some time that afternoon enjoying the musical abilities of our family. Katelyn accompanied Aubrey while Aubrey sang. Jake accompanied the girls while they sang. Jake sang and played the piano. Jake accompanied Nissa while she sang. I got it all on lots of video way too big for this Blog. But these will be treasured memories for many years to come. Jake cracked us all up when Katelyn & Aubrey got behind him to sing something from Phantom of the Opera. They were all primed and ready and Jake started play 'The Stripper'. This is one of my favorites but not one which you would sing along.
Claude amused us by singing the theme from the television show 'The Big Bang Theory'. Katelyn also sang with him on the theme from the television show 'Monk'.
Okay, Todd has two deer heads mounted and hanging on their living room wall. This was a must picture of two deers or two dears...you decide.
I went back to our hotel after dinner and retrieved the puzzle from Bonnie and Jake's room where Katelyn and I worked on it. As we moved it on the poster board (I had the presence of mind to purchase in case we had to move it), Bonnie commented that she thought we dropped one piece. We didn't see it so we continued to move the puzzle from her room to Claude and my room.
After a bit there was a quiet knock on our door. I went to open it and found one sheepish looking Jake at the door. He was holding out one puzzle piece and he said, "Honestly, I didn't keep this. It was dropped on the floor." Poor Jake. When he was a little boy and the girls and I were making a puzzle, he took a piece and kept it until the puzzle was all finished except that one piece. He really wanted to put the last puzzle piece in. Even after all these years, whenever we pull out a puzzle and Jake is around, he is immediately told not to hold on to any pieces so he can put the last piece in. He has not done that since he was a little boy but he still gets teased about it. I assured my son that Bonnie thought we dropped a piece when moving the puzzle and I was sure he didn't keep it.
Sunday we spent Mother's Day at the Tyler home. The guys grilled burgers and brats for us. Yum!!! Katelyn and Aubrey taught me to play Garbage. The first hand for me was a great one. Here are my teachers, Katelyn and Aubrey Anne, and here is me winning the first hand. I did lose the game but it was fun for the first few beginner's luck hands.
The second is Bonnie with Claude and me.
This morning we slept in and headed south toward Kentucky. We made a pit stop at Cabela's in Michigan and Chipotle in Kentucky. Then we parked that Buick and came inside our home to rest. Whew!!! It was a great trip and a nice ending to Bonnie's visit. She will fly home tomorrow afternoon.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Graduatina...
Today, Miss Bailey Marx graduated from St. John's Pre-school. She was fortunate enough to have her Mom, Dad & Brother, two Gramma's and one Great-Gramma in attendance.
Bailey surprised me by marching into the sanctuary in her little blue cap and gown in a most sombre manner. Anyone knowing our little lady knows that she is usually bouncing with energy unbounded. Not today. It was as if she truly understood this was a big moment in her life.
Bailey sang all the songs with great enthusiasm and all the right hand motions. This girl loves her music. Then she marched down and sat on the row with her class to await the time to receive her children's Bible from Ms. Peggy, her pre-school teacher.
Bailey came back to the row we were sitting on to watch the graduation. She was glowing and so happy with her Bible. This is Claude and Bailey.
After the completion of graduation we got some family pictures. This is Bailey with her mom and Dad (Andie & Michael).
When we returned to Casa Marx, we were treated to Big R Barbeque. Yum!! Then Andie brought out special graduation cupcakes just for Bailey's big day.
Bailey opened her presents. Then we spent the afternoon in conversation and play and a little bit of napping for some. Claude, Bonnie and I needed to head for home so good-bye's were said and hugs were given and received and we were off for the return trip to Sadieville.
It was a delightful day.
I want to close with a few pictures of Hayden and Bailey. I took Bailey back to hang up her cap and gown. Hayden joined us. After we gave the cap and gown back I suggested to Hayden and Bailey that we take a few pictures and surprise Mommy with them. These were their impromptu shots and pictures I'll treasure of these little Mini's.
Bailey surprised me by marching into the sanctuary in her little blue cap and gown in a most sombre manner. Anyone knowing our little lady knows that she is usually bouncing with energy unbounded. Not today. It was as if she truly understood this was a big moment in her life.
This the Gramma Bonnie with the Marx family.
The is me and Claude with the Marx family.
In the gym the kids and their families were treated to hot dogs, chips, snow cones and pop corn. There was a magician setting up to entertain the kids. Hayden and Bailey were fascinated with him. We looked up at one point and found Bailey standing by Steve-O the Magician and being his helper.
It was a delightful day.
I want to close with a few pictures of Hayden and Bailey. I took Bailey back to hang up her cap and gown. Hayden joined us. After we gave the cap and gown back I suggested to Hayden and Bailey that we take a few pictures and surprise Mommy with them. These were their impromptu shots and pictures I'll treasure of these little Mini's.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Burp...
Catchy Blog title, don't you think???
Yesterday I made a short to-do list that I felt I could actually plow my way through in one day. One item on the list was to make some burp pads to crochet a border around while we are driving this weekend.
I had two yards of baby fabric. One yard was blue and the other was pink. I cut out as many burp pads as I could out of the fabric. I like to stitch two pieces together and turn them so the burp pad is the same on both sides and a bit thicker. I ended up with seven potential burp pads from each yard of fabric.
Now, I knew I was not going to get 14 burp pads crocheted this weekend. My should hurts too much after a while to get anywhere near that many. So I stitched together two of the blue and two of the pink, picked out crochet thread I had on hand to do each of these and put all this in a 2-gallon zip lock bag as a kit to take on the car rides.
Then the lightbulb in my head went off. Our Countryside Homemaker's Club is going to set up a craft booth at Sadieville in September this September. We are each going to provide five items to be sold at the booth. The money raised will be used for the back pack program in the elementary school near us. This program fills back packs with food for under-privileged kids to take home so they have something to each over the weekends. Hmmm...What about selling some burp pads.
I looked through some of the trim possibilities and ended up make six burp pads to be sold for this worthy cause. I was quite happy to have that ready to go.
I'm sure I'll be making other things for this cause between now and Septemer, but it sure feels good to get that done with lace, rick-rack and piping that I had on hand.
Yesterday I made a short to-do list that I felt I could actually plow my way through in one day. One item on the list was to make some burp pads to crochet a border around while we are driving this weekend.
I had two yards of baby fabric. One yard was blue and the other was pink. I cut out as many burp pads as I could out of the fabric. I like to stitch two pieces together and turn them so the burp pad is the same on both sides and a bit thicker. I ended up with seven potential burp pads from each yard of fabric.
Now, I knew I was not going to get 14 burp pads crocheted this weekend. My should hurts too much after a while to get anywhere near that many. So I stitched together two of the blue and two of the pink, picked out crochet thread I had on hand to do each of these and put all this in a 2-gallon zip lock bag as a kit to take on the car rides.
Then the lightbulb in my head went off. Our Countryside Homemaker's Club is going to set up a craft booth at Sadieville in September this September. We are each going to provide five items to be sold at the booth. The money raised will be used for the back pack program in the elementary school near us. This program fills back packs with food for under-privileged kids to take home so they have something to each over the weekends. Hmmm...What about selling some burp pads.
I looked through some of the trim possibilities and ended up make six burp pads to be sold for this worthy cause. I was quite happy to have that ready to go.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Released...
It is official as of today. I will not be seeing the physical therapist for my arm any more. I'm on my own now to try and finish the healing process.
I am, truthfully, a little concerned. The week of my last physical therapy appoint (one week ago) I was in a great deal of pain in my left arm and shoulder. I have spent the last week mostly letting my arm try to not hurt when doing nothing. My poor right arm is beginning to be tired of all this extra work load.
But this week I'm feeling less pain and trying to do my exercises again with lighter weights and stretchy bands with less resistance. So that makes me hopeful.
I understand the process the physical therapists have gone through in just getting movement first, then adding strengthening exercises. I've learned how they start with just a few times doing an exercise and then increase the number of exercises and the weights tightness of the stetchy bands. I've also learned it is easier to do some exercises while laying down or using the wall or a table. The way to make it most difficult is without any of these supports. So I believe I know the skill set needed to continue this therapy on my own.
What I really need is patience in the process. I'm guessing that is a good lesson for me to learn.
I am, truthfully, a little concerned. The week of my last physical therapy appoint (one week ago) I was in a great deal of pain in my left arm and shoulder. I have spent the last week mostly letting my arm try to not hurt when doing nothing. My poor right arm is beginning to be tired of all this extra work load.
But this week I'm feeling less pain and trying to do my exercises again with lighter weights and stretchy bands with less resistance. So that makes me hopeful.
I understand the process the physical therapists have gone through in just getting movement first, then adding strengthening exercises. I've learned how they start with just a few times doing an exercise and then increase the number of exercises and the weights tightness of the stetchy bands. I've also learned it is easier to do some exercises while laying down or using the wall or a table. The way to make it most difficult is without any of these supports. So I believe I know the skill set needed to continue this therapy on my own.
What I really need is patience in the process. I'm guessing that is a good lesson for me to learn.
We Tried...
Today was a lazy day. We slept in until we wanted to get up. Very nice!!!
Then we got our act together and headed to Frankfort. We really wanted to treat Bonnie to this:
That's right, we were headed to Rick's White Light Diner. I've Blogged about this unique dining opportunity before. We wanted to share that experience with Bonnie.
We got to Frankfort via the back roads and a lovely drive it was.
When we entered downtown Frankfort there was construction. The bridge we needed to take was completely closed down. We followed the detour signs back through town and across the other bridge and down to the street where the diner is located. We parked the car and hung Bonnie's handicapped parking sticker in the window so we could legally park there. Then we all started across the street to the diner, grateful there were not long lines.
Then we saw it...a note posted in the window. You see, the bridge that was closed is just to the right of this picture. It seems Rick must have felt the bridge closing was a good time to do some maintenance on his business. Rick's White Diner was also closed for repairs. Shoot!!!
We got back in the car and Claude pointed it to another place we like to eat in Frankfort...Jim's Seafood. We thought we had taken Bonnie there on a previous visit but she doesn't remember ever eating there. We had a window seat overlooking the Kentucky River at the dam. We dined on an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes. Yum!!! Claude and Bonnie each had fried catfish. I chose coconut shrimp with a side of fried okra. After a delicious meal, we headed outside so I could take a few photos of the Kentucky River.
I got a chuckle out of this sequence of pictures. See if you find humor it in too.
While dining in Jim's, I looked out the window and down and noticed lovely honeysuckles in bloom. I just love honeysuckles. I couldn't get a picture from that angle. While outside, I did find a clump of honeysuckle growing out of the foundation rocks for what would have been the mill or factory on which Jim's is built.
I end this Blog entry with a 'splash'...literally!!!
Then we got our act together and headed to Frankfort. We really wanted to treat Bonnie to this:
We got to Frankfort via the back roads and a lovely drive it was.
When we entered downtown Frankfort there was construction. The bridge we needed to take was completely closed down. We followed the detour signs back through town and across the other bridge and down to the street where the diner is located. We parked the car and hung Bonnie's handicapped parking sticker in the window so we could legally park there. Then we all started across the street to the diner, grateful there were not long lines.
Then we saw it...a note posted in the window. You see, the bridge that was closed is just to the right of this picture. It seems Rick must have felt the bridge closing was a good time to do some maintenance on his business. Rick's White Diner was also closed for repairs. Shoot!!!
We got back in the car and Claude pointed it to another place we like to eat in Frankfort...Jim's Seafood. We thought we had taken Bonnie there on a previous visit but she doesn't remember ever eating there. We had a window seat overlooking the Kentucky River at the dam. We dined on an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes. Yum!!! Claude and Bonnie each had fried catfish. I chose coconut shrimp with a side of fried okra. After a delicious meal, we headed outside so I could take a few photos of the Kentucky River.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Derby Day...
Ah...the Kentucky Derby. A momentous occasion each year on the first Saturday in May. We are even cautioned that we plant around that day. We can be pretty sure there will be no more frosts after Derby Day. This year we would make a family day of it at our home in Sadieville.
Bailey, who loves all things horse, packed a special princess dress to wear. She also brought her pink capris to wear under said dress. The capris are important because they have little horse heads embroidered all over them. Bailey woke up Saturday morning, realized it was Derby Day and promptly headed to her suitcase to dress appropriately...as a true 'Kentucky Girl' getting ready for the Derby. I had a big hat and Bonnie had given her some flower barrettes. With all this regalia our little lady was looking great. She is truly a 'Southern Girl' without any shoes. Love it!!
We had a super cloudy damp morning. Bailey played on the deck and I took the opportunity to wipe down half of my deck railing. Bailey helped a bit and then her attention called her to the patio below.
I finally saw the sun try to come out and suggested to Hayden that we go on to the park and play before any real rain storms came. He hurried off to clear that plan with Andie. He was very anxious to ride his bike around the park path some more. Pretty soon we were all in the cars and headed to Sadieville's park.
Bailey truly favors the teeter-totter. When she couldn't get Hayden to play, Claude drew the lucky straw to come and pump the other end of the teeter-totter. However, Bailey still cracked me up with other antics. Note the foot on the wall of the fort after she climbed up the outside of the fort and shimmed over the wall in her lovely dress. Note the need to climb between the swings instead of enjoying just one swing. Note Pa (aka Claude) allowing her to stand on the tops of his white shoes as she instructs him to walk.
Hayden was a good big brother and spent some time on the teeter-totter with his little sister. This was laced with a bit of brotherly logic and advice.
After enjoying the playground and bike path and before those ominous clouds turned into a real thunderstorm, Andie, Hayden, Bailey and I went for a quick walk up the hill behind the playground. This path has fascinated me and I've never walked it before. We didn't go too far as the grass was tall and we were not dressed for that kind of hike. But it afforded us a lovely view of the entire playground.
I was even able to find a few interesting pictures in the rocks and weeds growing on this hill.
Claude called me over to where the water was creating a small waterfall out of the rocks. We had a good bit of rain that caused this. We were delighted Bailey and Hayden played in it with sticks and didn't get dirty!!
After the park we hurried back to our home and enjoyed a bite of lunch.
Papa came out in the afternoon after feeding Mimi lunch and going for a short car ride. Papa was treated to a viewing of the slideshow of Bailey's pre-school class throughout the school year. This slideshow was made as a Mother's Day present. Then Hayden read Papa his book. The book is made up of stories written by each of the kids in his class and a picture drawn by the author of each story to represent his story. This is a hard-bound book and will be a very nice treasure of Hayden's 1st grade year.
We had fruit smooties in the afternoon. Andie and I both agreed they are a wonderful way to clean out some stuff in your fridge and freezer. Andie brought strawberries she was afraid would ripen too much while she was gone. I had half a bag of frozen raspberries. I also had a container of mixed fruit yogurt and some Tin Roof Sundae ice cream to toss in the mix. A little milk to thin all this and we had some pretty tasty smoothies.
Throughout the day the television would be on with races being held and commentary leading up to the Derby race. Claude grilled burgers and hot dogs and we ate just before the race. It was great because the sky cleared and we all sat on the deck to eat. Love eating on the deck. Some of us picked who we thought might win. None of those guesses was the winner. It was a great race and we all enjoyed watching it.
The Mini's brought a movie they really wanted to watch so they were given the big TV on which to watch it and the adults watched Seabiscuit upstairs.
We ended the day by all heading outside to look at the Super Moon.
It was a full and very nice Derby Day in Sadieville, Kentucky.
Bailey, who loves all things horse, packed a special princess dress to wear. She also brought her pink capris to wear under said dress. The capris are important because they have little horse heads embroidered all over them. Bailey woke up Saturday morning, realized it was Derby Day and promptly headed to her suitcase to dress appropriately...as a true 'Kentucky Girl' getting ready for the Derby. I had a big hat and Bonnie had given her some flower barrettes. With all this regalia our little lady was looking great. She is truly a 'Southern Girl' without any shoes. Love it!!
I finally saw the sun try to come out and suggested to Hayden that we go on to the park and play before any real rain storms came. He hurried off to clear that plan with Andie. He was very anxious to ride his bike around the park path some more. Pretty soon we were all in the cars and headed to Sadieville's park.
Bailey truly favors the teeter-totter. When she couldn't get Hayden to play, Claude drew the lucky straw to come and pump the other end of the teeter-totter. However, Bailey still cracked me up with other antics. Note the foot on the wall of the fort after she climbed up the outside of the fort and shimmed over the wall in her lovely dress. Note the need to climb between the swings instead of enjoying just one swing. Note Pa (aka Claude) allowing her to stand on the tops of his white shoes as she instructs him to walk.
Hayden also surprised all of us and even himself a bit, I believe, by going across the monkey bars all my himself. I managed to get it on tape three times and another on my cell phone. I was able to send the cell phone version to Michael. He was a happy dad to see his son working out on the monkey bars.
I was even able to find a few interesting pictures in the rocks and weeds growing on this hill.
Papa came out in the afternoon after feeding Mimi lunch and going for a short car ride. Papa was treated to a viewing of the slideshow of Bailey's pre-school class throughout the school year. This slideshow was made as a Mother's Day present. Then Hayden read Papa his book. The book is made up of stories written by each of the kids in his class and a picture drawn by the author of each story to represent his story. This is a hard-bound book and will be a very nice treasure of Hayden's 1st grade year.
Throughout the day the television would be on with races being held and commentary leading up to the Derby race. Claude grilled burgers and hot dogs and we ate just before the race. It was great because the sky cleared and we all sat on the deck to eat. Love eating on the deck. Some of us picked who we thought might win. None of those guesses was the winner. It was a great race and we all enjoyed watching it.
The Mini's brought a movie they really wanted to watch so they were given the big TV on which to watch it and the adults watched Seabiscuit upstairs.
We ended the day by all heading outside to look at the Super Moon.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Tree...
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree...
When determining if we should retire in Kentucky we made a tourist stop at Ft. Harrod in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The surprise item at the historic sight is the Osage Orange Tree. It is an enormous tree that split at some point. The split didn't kill the tree. The one half laid on the ground and took root and the other half sent out long branches that hang to the ground. Places on its branches have been rubbed smooth by years of climbing by little children. We knew, as soon as we saw it, that, if we moved to Kentucky, this was a must see for our grandmonsters.
Two of our Camp Christensen's we have taken the grandmonsters there. I found it interesting in the last few months I have heard comments from several of our grandmonsters that they would like to go back to the Osage Orange Tree. Yesterday we made that happen for Hayden and Bailey.
We took them when Hayden was about 2 years old and Bailey was an infant. Bailey remembers nothing. Hayden kept that tree memory in his brain and really wanted to climb. This interest was heightened by learning about Spiderman. Hayden needed to climb.
Andie was bringing the Mini's over to visit with us this weekend while Gramma Bonnie is visiting. We determined we would meet the Marx contingent at Ft. Harrod on Friday for lunch and a tree climb. We thought we would tour Ft. Harrod also. We picked up a KFC lunch and brought it to the park. Andie and the Mini's were there.
The thing I didn't even think to factor in was school field trips. In my visualization of the day I pictured Hayden and Bailey enjoying the tree by themselves. Now that may seem selfish but it was just me thinking about my grandmonsters. A few kids would not have been a big things but 50+ kids were definitely not in my visualization. The fun thing was it didn't make a bit of difference to Hayden and Bailey. They were quite ready to move over the branches of that tree with no other kids or 50+ kids.
We had a great afternoon. They played for two full hours in the tree. We never made it to the fort, or Lincoln's parents wedding cabin or the little cemetery. We just enjoyed the big old tree and every inch of climbable space it had to offer.
Before we left Andie made sure we replicated a picture we took when we had Hayden and Bailey there 5 years ago. Well, we are close to the same positions but we have grown a tad.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as that Osage Orange Tree.
My advice...take time to climb a tree.
A poem lovely as a tree...
When determining if we should retire in Kentucky we made a tourist stop at Ft. Harrod in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The surprise item at the historic sight is the Osage Orange Tree. It is an enormous tree that split at some point. The split didn't kill the tree. The one half laid on the ground and took root and the other half sent out long branches that hang to the ground. Places on its branches have been rubbed smooth by years of climbing by little children. We knew, as soon as we saw it, that, if we moved to Kentucky, this was a must see for our grandmonsters.
Two of our Camp Christensen's we have taken the grandmonsters there. I found it interesting in the last few months I have heard comments from several of our grandmonsters that they would like to go back to the Osage Orange Tree. Yesterday we made that happen for Hayden and Bailey.
We took them when Hayden was about 2 years old and Bailey was an infant. Bailey remembers nothing. Hayden kept that tree memory in his brain and really wanted to climb. This interest was heightened by learning about Spiderman. Hayden needed to climb.
Andie was bringing the Mini's over to visit with us this weekend while Gramma Bonnie is visiting. We determined we would meet the Marx contingent at Ft. Harrod on Friday for lunch and a tree climb. We thought we would tour Ft. Harrod also. We picked up a KFC lunch and brought it to the park. Andie and the Mini's were there.
The thing I didn't even think to factor in was school field trips. In my visualization of the day I pictured Hayden and Bailey enjoying the tree by themselves. Now that may seem selfish but it was just me thinking about my grandmonsters. A few kids would not have been a big things but 50+ kids were definitely not in my visualization. The fun thing was it didn't make a bit of difference to Hayden and Bailey. They were quite ready to move over the branches of that tree with no other kids or 50+ kids.
We had a great afternoon. They played for two full hours in the tree. We never made it to the fort, or Lincoln's parents wedding cabin or the little cemetery. We just enjoyed the big old tree and every inch of climbable space it had to offer.
A poem lovely as that Osage Orange Tree.
My advice...take time to climb a tree.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Happy Birthday to Papa...
Today my father turned 84 years old. A most auspicious occasion.
To celebrate we picked him up at the nursing home after he fed Mimi lunch and took him to Fava's for lunch.
Fava's is a wonderful little cafe/restaurant in an old storefront in Georgetown. They have been around forever. The owner is also from Louisiana. They have really good fried catfish. Papa and Mimi loved eating fried catfish while living in Louisiana. Dining on catfish seemed like a great way to celebrate 84 years of living.
By dining at 2pm we were the only patrons in Fava's. The owners family popped in and out but we basically had the place to ourselves.
Claude ordered us 'frickles'. This is a fried dill pickle. Fava's makes theirs out of dill slices like you would put on a hamburger. They have a secret batter recipe that they dip the pickle slice in and then fry it up. These delicious things are served with homemade ranch dressing to dip them in. Papa had not had them before and Bonnie had not had them like this. So it was a treat and they both totally enjoyed their first frickle experience at Fava's.
We all had way to much food on our plates. But it was a delicious meal for each of us.
We had noticed the sign that said their pies for today included 'Derby Pie'. The Kentucky Derby is coming up this Saturday and Derby Pie is a must this time of year. Bonnie had never tried it and we thought we would have it for dessert. Fortunately we decided not to order it until we saw how full we were. We ended up taking our slices of pie home to eat later.
After eating Papa opened his presents. This is him opening his Louis L'Amour book.
He was happy with his gifts, his lunch and the company. Happy 84th Birthday Papa!!
To celebrate we picked him up at the nursing home after he fed Mimi lunch and took him to Fava's for lunch.
Fava's is a wonderful little cafe/restaurant in an old storefront in Georgetown. They have been around forever. The owner is also from Louisiana. They have really good fried catfish. Papa and Mimi loved eating fried catfish while living in Louisiana. Dining on catfish seemed like a great way to celebrate 84 years of living.
By dining at 2pm we were the only patrons in Fava's. The owners family popped in and out but we basically had the place to ourselves.
Claude ordered us 'frickles'. This is a fried dill pickle. Fava's makes theirs out of dill slices like you would put on a hamburger. They have a secret batter recipe that they dip the pickle slice in and then fry it up. These delicious things are served with homemade ranch dressing to dip them in. Papa had not had them before and Bonnie had not had them like this. So it was a treat and they both totally enjoyed their first frickle experience at Fava's.
We all had way to much food on our plates. But it was a delicious meal for each of us.
We had noticed the sign that said their pies for today included 'Derby Pie'. The Kentucky Derby is coming up this Saturday and Derby Pie is a must this time of year. Bonnie had never tried it and we thought we would have it for dessert. Fortunately we decided not to order it until we saw how full we were. We ended up taking our slices of pie home to eat later.
After eating Papa opened his presents. This is him opening his Louis L'Amour book.
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