A Sweet Moment for Papa...

Saturday I went to the nursing home to visit Papa around lunch time. The weather man indicated bad weather coming in the late afternoon and I wanted to be home if and when that hit.

As I walked down the hall Papa lives in to his room, I passed Paul's room. Paul sits at the end of the table for dinner and Papa sits beside him. They tell the same stories over and over again and never tire of them. That my friends is a tender mercy. Paul's family was there and they were cutting his hair. We chatted about that and then I found Papa, told him it was about time for lunch and asked if he wanted to walk on down to the dining room with me. He agreed and we were off to the dining room.

We sat down and visited for a bit. Then Paul and his family joined us. Paul's daughter and her daughter and her daughter were there. That meant Paul's daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter were visiting him. The little one was 9 years old. 

She told me she sang Paul a song about Baby Jesus. I asked her if she would sing it again and she was very happy to do that. She took her Grandmother back to Paul's room to get the words so she didn't mess up. Her mother found the music on her cell phone. Then the little one cleared her throat and got close to Papa so he could hear her soft voice. Like a little angel she sang her song about Baby Jesus birthday as loud as she could so Papa could hear. He grinned and enjoyed it so very much. When she finished she reached over and gave him a big bear hug. He reciprocated.

I love these moments. I told this precious little one she just gave the best Christmas gift she could ever give to Papa and thanked her for doing that. It was one of those moments where a tear comes to my eyes and I felt the true Spirit of Christmas.

A Claude Christmas Poem...

Claude posted this on Facebook today. How cute is this?

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, AGAIN...

T’was the night before Christmas, again…

And all over the places

The old folks were mobile, painting smiles on their faces

The brisket was smokin out back on the deck

And Pa’s acting calm but he’s an emotional wreck…

You see the grandkids are comin, as fast as they can

And soon they will be here, “devices” in hand…

They’ll wind us all up as soon as we’re sittin

And make lots of noise and mess up Ma’s knittin…

Then the food will abound, and bring “Yum’s” all around

Here’s hoping the brisket don’t turn way too brown…

Then boxes and bags, and gifts we’ll review

Assuming that Amazon finally comes through…

Yes, tis the season of givings and goings galore

When we’ll all look forward to eating leftovers some more..

Till then at the end, the carnage we’ll view

Looking forward to January when the bills will come due

When the year is near gone, and the grandkids as well

And Ma and Pa whisper, “I think that went swell”…

Then they’ll smile and sigh, as the kids leave their sight,

And grab the packed bags and head for their flight

In someplace warm and someplace quiet

They’ll look back on December tucked in at the Hyatt…

WISHING YOU AND YOUR'S A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS 

AND A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Feeling Christmas...

Yesterday (since I am posting this in the wee small hours of the morning), while visiting with Papa, we went to the multi-purpose room to sit. I took Papa a donut for a treat and we were eating a donut each and having a soda to sip on. They announced over the PA system that they would have a little worship service with communion at 11am for anyone who chose to participate. I told Papa and we decided to stay for that and sing with them.

Glen starts these with a prayer. He works to keep it open to everyone of all faiths. He has someone who comes in to play the piano and, after the prayer, they sing songs to get everyone involved. There is a good supply of Baptist hymnals. We all take one and choose any song we want to sing as a group. This day all the songs people chose were Christmas carols. 

Then Glen had us turn to page 407 to sing Because He Lives to prepare for the passing of communion. I love this song. I have heard it before and the melody is just beautiful and lends itself to a very easy and equally beautiful harmony. It was fun to sing the harmony to this musical selection. These are the words:

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon;
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

CHORUS:
Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is with the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

CHORUS:
Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is with the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river;
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he reigns.

CHORUS:
Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is with the living just because He lives.

My mother was a good old Southern Baptist when she met my father. She was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after they were married. So I grew up with a Baptist hymnal in my home and enjoyed all the old Baptist hymns. This was not one of them but I have heard it and loved the music through more recent years.

Today it just made me feel good. I sat in that room full of people who have come to live their final days in this little nursing home. The final verse seemed so fitting for each of them and for me. I view my own mortality more directly each passing day. Caring for my parents in their final days has taught me some things and helped me to know and understand some things I probably would not have felt as strongly or understood as deeply. Each of the residents will 'cross that river' some day as will I. Each of them is fighting life's final war and some with lots of physical pain and all with emotional pain. I understand that. But the hope that comes in the knowledge that Christ does live and he died for me so that I too might live is the reason for the joy in this Christmas season of the year. So I drank in the goodness of this simple hymn from the beauty of each note to the simple message contained in its words. I shall live because He lived and died for me. Beautiful, simply beautiful.

Ugly...

Thursday, December 21st, we attended the Kentucky League of Cities Christmas lunch. It was held at Portafino's in Lexington. Very nice restaurant. Claude and I each chose vegetarian lasagna. We were served a salad first. The lasagna was really good, lighter than lasagna usually is. Tiramisu was dessert.

This year they had an Ugly Sweater Contest. Each year KLC receive lots of gifts from corporations and law offices and others they work with through the year. They collect all these gifts and give them as prizes to the employees who participate in the contest. This is a really nice thing I believe as the employees do lots of work to make their operation run smoothly. They are a happy group that seems to really enjoy working and playing together. While Robin, who is an officer, did not participate, he did dress for the occasion and was kind enough to let me take pictures of him in his attire.

These people are just really nice and so much fun. Thanks for sharing your Christmas lunch with us.

Christensen Christmas Letter 2017...

Claude writes it. I mail and eMail it. Enjoy!!

THE CHRISTENSEN FAMILY CHRONICLES

Circa 2017

Hi There.  Read and Remember as There Will Be A Test Later…

WE THE FEEBLES…

Why is it that as we age the clock seems to move faster?  Enquiring minds want to know…  It seems like the ink is just barely dry on our last update to you.  Not to mention that next month I have to do the taxes…again…  On that happy opening z,m,’salvo, we begin this year’s update.  Be not faint of heart.

Vegetable-wise (the garden, not the author) we had a fairly productive year, growing a small but tasty harvest of the world’s most expensive tomatoes and some nice herbs (the vegetable, not the neighbor).  Got some top-notch salsa out of the deal and oh yeah – Claude 1 – Deer 0.   Thanks to the green thumb of a neighbor, we had a good supply of zucchini and he perfected, perfected I tell you, his zucchini bread baking skills.  There is still a loaf in the freezer if memory serves… (I must make a note of that).

While the grass kept re-growing regardless of how often he cut it Sadieville’s First Couple had a fairly full cultural agenda.  Trips hither and yon yielded entertainment encounters to and including: Another Eagles encounter – this with the 2017 version (added Vince Gill and Deacon Frey).  They still don’t miss a beat (corny but had to be said).  Also, we went to see Ronnie Milsap on his Farewell Tour; Neil Diamond on his 50^th anniversary tour; Mama Mia (again) and Credence Clearwater (for some reason we had a particularly good time at this one).  December included a real corker to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Lexington.  We also took the grandmonsters to the Wizard of Oz and a couple of the Harry Potter Concert series performances.  Travel also ensued but I’ll cover that shortly…

He completed his term as President of Kentucky League of Cities and moved on to his new assignment as Immediate Past-President (this is akin to being a pair of brown shoes in a world full of tuxedos).  It was a busy but productive and enjoyable year.  He traveled over 9200 miles and visited 36 different Kentucky cities at least once; Testified a time or two before the Kentucky General Assembly; Traveled to Washington D.C. twice to meet with KY Congressional Leaders; and found a new favorite place (Jeckyl Island, Georgia) by way of attending a Southern Municipal League Conference.  Just recently he returned from the National League of Cities Summit in Charlotte, NC.  In an unanticipated turn of events, He was reappointed by the Governor to the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center Board and elected Chairman, so he’s got that going for him.  Oh yeah, and he did put some time and effort into that Sadieville Mayor thing.  A good and growing year all in all.

She continued her life’s work as the real heart and true domestic goddess of the family -- On point constantly as primary caregiver for her Dad, Husband, Children, Grandmonsters, and Great-Grandmonsters.  She also continued her CES work as an Institute Teacher molding young, mostly unemployed, post-pubescent minds toward their respective possibilities.  She also came on-board as a Specialist in an effort to aid her main squeeze in his new church assignment with Self-Reliance Services.  She once again shined as the chief weeder of the City Flower beds too.  Just for fun (kind of), in early February he bought her a new car, marginally as an anniversary present.  Then, again mostly for grins and giggles, she gave him a wink and a nod that led to his buying a new Jeep in late February.  Some might think that the Midnight Amethyst (dark purple) Buick Envision was the grease that allowed the Ultra-Green-Don’t- Need-To-Turn-The-Light-On-In-The-Garage-Jeep Wrangler to take up residence in Sadieville.  To that I can only say, in the finest tradition of our political leaders, “I do not recall.”

To summarize a busy 2017 domestic travel schedule we reference the aforementioned auto-buying frenzy that led to several trips north to ferry old cars to new owners who live up that way.  (The kids think they’re going to get a nice inheritance when in reality what we’re doing is just giving them old cars.)  I think we are on trip 6 at this point for the year.  Of course there were contributing factors including an additional great-grandmonster arrival, revisiting the original great grandmonster, supervising a relocation to a new house even further north, and getting next to what have to be the best gyros in the world.  We the Feebles also ventured up to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so that is now off the bucket list.  He took a quick trip to Utah to visit gramma Bonnie and attend his ?? Class Reunion (who ARE all those old people).  Our Christmas date this year saw us head down to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to lounge around, look at the lights, and eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

We must make mention of our premier travel of the year.  In late March and early April we boarded a big ol’ airplane and traveled far to the west to visit the far east – in this case China.  It was a two-week effort that gave us a chance to visit several Chinese Provinces and get a good feel for the Chinese people and their history and geography.  China is big with lots of people and is a far more rural country than we had anticipated.  We climbed the Great Wall (as best we could), said “hi” to the Terra Cotta Warriors (you really need to visit this place), rafted on the Li River, rode the bullet train, ate lots of noodles and other strange food, visited numerous palaces and temples and shrines, learned a little calligraphy, and bought some really cool stuff to bring and/or ship home.  A street artist did an unposed caricature of him at the Emperor’s Summer Palace in Beijing and declared him to be an “Invincible Dragon Master” (yes, he bought the art and accepted the title). As a capper, we met the “Cricket Man” a cagey old man who raises Fighting Crickets.  These are thoroughbred creatures similar to our race horse industry with pedigrees, rules, and value.  We were shown one supposedly worth $10,000. 

OUR OFFSPRING – AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…

Todd and Nissa are the ones with the new house.  It’s a lovely lodge-like home in a small town a little north-east of Muskegon, over the river, and through the woods.  They are doing well and still selling cars one part at a time.  Aubrey gave us Nelson, our newest great grandmonster.  What a cute little guy.  Paul is Paul and working hard at it, again, what a cute little guy.

The Marx’s are very alive and well in LaGrange.  Michael fills his days as an Insurance Analyst and keeps the peace on the soccer fields on the side.  Andie still teaches but switched over to 1^st graders this year because they are easier to catch.   Hayden is officially a teenager now and is doing well as a musician and family computer expert.  Bailey is now a “tweenager” and continues to wow us with her musical performing and energy – her teacher declared her savagely quirky – yeah, that about covers it. On the upside she did take grandpa to a movie of her choosing and a dinner of her choosing, on her “dime” for his birthday.  Little Ponies ROCK!!!! 

The Jakester  still abides in Chelsea and has a day job as a technical writer, graphic design dude, and all around good guy at a Hi-tech equipment reseller.  He gets around a bit and joined us for our trip to the R&R Hall of Fame and on some of the Muskegon runs.  He continues to write creatively on the side and is active on the “Chautauqua” (story telling) circuit winning a regional competition a while back. 

The Ropers – Are doing well in their part of the world (Grand Haven).  Raelyn, our original great grandmonster is growing like a weed and moves quickly and silently around their apartment stalking the cat.  They are both in new jobs this year, Drew works as a welder at an automotive manufacturing company and Katie now is the first face you see at a Law Firm in Muskegon. 

Yea You!  You have completed your most important task for this year and may now resume normal programming. 

BTW Merry Christmas and Happy New Year The Christensen’s !!!

Incidental Things...

Now for a long Blog post about little moments in time since the beginning of October 2017

October 1, 2017 was General Conference broadcast from Salt Lake City. We watch this in our home on BYU-TV. Papa usually watched it in his home on his TV at 100 decibels. He does not have BYU-TV in the nursing home. So on Sunday I brought him to our home to watch the Sunday morning session on our television. That was the session he wanted to see most. We set him up in the living room with a root beer, comfy pillows and the footstool to stretch himself out. Turned the volume up so he could hear. Then we went downstairs and closed the door to the basement so we could watch it at a more reasonable volume level. We are watching the conference center in Salt Lake, the organ in playing prelude, they start the meeting and during the opening prayer it finally hits me that the sound from the living room was not matching what we were watching in the basement. Upstairs I go and, sure enough, Papa is on some shopping channel. How did that happen?  I will never know. I changed his channel and he enjoyed the session of conference.

Sunday, October 15th when visiting Papa, I found they set up his old phone in his room. Yea!! Now Junie and Katelyn can call him when they want. 

Tuesday, October 17th the lady came to clean Papa's apartment. I spent days and Claude helped some getting things out of Papa's apartment and given away or stored at my home. Text messages were sent to my sisters as I went through things asking if they wanted me to save any of these things for them. Facebook postings were done with the wards Facebook pages to get rid of furniture and appliances with a little life left in them. I smashed every finger on my right hand. Caught three of them closing Papa's garage door. I just sat in my car and cried. Felt good to cry for a bit. Then I went on to teach Institute. But I had everything out and ready for cleaning ladies. One lady was there all day. Junie graciously agreed to pay for that and the carpet cleaning so I didn't have to do that part of all this move. Thank her from the bottom of my heart. 

Thursday, October 19th the carpet cleaning people came and did their good work and a little damage to make things interesting. It seems when he was doing something he needed water from outside. When he turned on the faucet outside it broke off. He had to go to the street to turn off the water to the apartment to stop the flooding. I called Ball Realty and they came to check it. It seems it was just old pipe and it broke. They repaired it and patched the wall with no complaint. Hmmm....  

Wednesday, October 25 I was at Community Based Services to apply for Papa to have Medicaid cover his nursing home costs at 8am.  

That evening the Mia Maids (young girls 14 & 15 years old) went to the nursing home to visit Papa. They took him a root beer and he loved having them there. Luella Alcorn sent me this picture. I couldn't be there because I teach Institute during that time frame. 

Also this Wednesday I received a cute picture of the Mini's from Andie. We gave her some of the storage shelving that Papa had for her basement. The Mini's were on their fall break and she tasked them with figuring out how to put it back together. They were actually working together cheerfully to get this done. Who knew!!

I have left my old Kindle with three games that I am trying to help Papa learn to play. Each helps in use his brain for strategy. My hope is it will keep in thinking a little longer. They are Solitaire (which is his favorite and he used to play on his old computer in his apartment), Free Flow which connects dots with a line that can't cross other lines, and a match three game named Ultimate Jewel. He enjoys them and they give him a change of pace in his day. 

Tuesday, October 31st I went to see a new dentist, Dr. Hollen. She is very nice and I really like her office staff. Our old dentist wouldn't accept our insurance anymore. While it was not great it did cover two cleanings a year and an annual set of X-rays. So we found another dentist and are trying her out. 

I also took Papa to see Dr. Thomas. This is his cardiologist. He would come to see him the Friday (December 8th) when Papa was in the Georgetown ER. But this was Papa's six month check-up. Papa had a heart attack in 2015 and was on a six month regular visit.

When I went to my sewing room on this day, I found Wah-Wah sitting on my cutting table. Bailey brought him for their visit over Fall Break and forgot to take him home. I took this picture and sent it to Bailey to tell her I found Wah-Wah and he was okay. I got this amazing eMail back from her saying, "Please take care of him. He must be missing me. Please bring him back to me." She does love this stuffed animal from her baby years.

This Tuesday was trick-or-treat so I donned my Halloween sweater and answered the door to give candy to the few trick-or-treaters we get in Sadieville. 

Friday morning, November 3rd I was off to be at Community Based Services to turn in a few more items they determined they needed. As I left Eagle Bend where we live, there was the most beautiful fog over the creek and the land. I stopped to take a few pictures.

Saturday, November 4th Claude and I hurried to the Stake Center in Lexington to set up for the Stake Preparedness Fair. Our booth was the Stake Self-Reliance Booth. I would man that booth with the help of Kathy Hymas. Claude would run back to Lexington to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the Quilts of Valor program. This is done by the Quilting Club through our County Extension office. Handmade quilts are given to veterans in our area. Claude was pleased to report that no one 'took a knee' when he said the Pledge of Allegiance. Here are pictures of our booth at the Preparedness Fair and the Quilts of Valor event.

I should explain about the 'take a knee' remark above. As years pass and should someone choose to read this, the phrase might not make sense. It started with a football player who decided to not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Instead he would kneel on one knee and not put his hand over his heart for the National Anthem at the beginning of the game. This has now spread to all or most of some NFL teams refusing the stand and 'taking a knee' as a protest. One team didn't even come to the field until after the National Anthem. Now, Claude and I do not dispute the right to protest when you have something you disagree with. That is a right. But we both feel strongly that just because one can do something does not mean they should so something. And, the protest should fit what you are protesting about. We also feel that the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem are sacred ground. Men have fought and died for these freedoms and the Pledge and National Anthem are symbols of that fight and commitment to our country and the people who are citizen's thereof. Claude immediately became very irritated with this form of protest. He knew it cut him deeply but he truly understood why when he awoke in the middle of the night after this all started. He woke up and had a memory of his days in the Air Force. Claude was in the Air Force during Vietnam. Claude was asked to lead the group of Airmen that did the flag ceremony for a fellow Airman who died during Vietnam war. At the end of the ceremony that American flag, which has covered the casket during the funeral service, is carefully folded. The leader of the Airmen who perform the ceremony kneels before the widow and presents the flag to her. He tells her that the American flag is given to her in thanks for the ultimate sacrifice offered by her husband and is from a grateful country. This memory solidified for Claude why his frustration was so deep as these well paid athletes were 'taking a knee' in protest. Claude had already boycotted NFL games in our home and now that would stand firm for him. I whole-heartedly agree with my hubby on this one. I truly wish these NFL players would find another format for their protest. 

On Wednesday, November the 8th, I sent Katelyn a picture of a doll house that had been Bailey's. She no longer used it and wanted it to go to Raelyn. Katelyn was very happy to get this and Claude would take it to her when he did his trip to Michigan to help Nissa and Todd move. The cute thing about all this is the Mini's have decided that, as they grow out of toys, Bailey will give the girl things to Raelyn and Hayden will give the boy things to Nelson. Love that these little cousins are miles apart in distance and years apart in age but feel that close to each other.

Sunday, November 12th, we received this interesting picture from Andie. I seems Hayden was in the basement which he affectionately calls his Man Cave. Requests had been made for his presence upstairs. He had not responded. So his dad called him and did face time with him from their kitchen to their basement to encourage him to leave the Man Cave and make his presence known in the main part of the house with the rest of the family. Such is parenting in 2017.

Monday, November 13th, Oldham County Middle School recognized and celebrated Veteran's Day. Claude went to Hayden's school for that day. They have a program and serve the Veteran's lunch and end the day with a parade from the Middle School past the Elementary School and around by the High School.

Friday November the 17th I received a call from Community Based Services again. They needed something more to approve the Medicaid for Papa. Very frustrating. This would require a trip to the bank to get copies of checks from many years ago that I no longer have and another trip to the funeral home. Papa's funeral was paid for when we paid for my mother's. Why they are questioning this when they approved all that was done with my mother is beyond me. But I did all those things before I headed to visited Papa and then headed to LaGrange to have time with the Mini's. 

Sunday, November 26th, Claude and I attended tithing settlement. This is an annual visit with our Bishop each year at the end of the year to declare we are full tithe payers. You have a nice little chat and the Bishop catches up with us. He particularly asked if I need anything as I care for Papa. This was very nice. Most people ask about Papa and his needs, which is right and good. It was nice to be asked about my needs. I declined any help but was very grateful for a Bishop who is aware and truly cares.

Tuesday, November 28th was a particularly beautiful day in Sadieville. The weather was mild, the sky was clear, and, miracle of miracles, Claude and I were both home. I didn't even go see Papa that day. We just started in on our Christmas decorations and managed to get most of it done. Had a little trouble with the tree. The outside of the house is Claude's to set up. The inside of the house is mine to set up. Everything went well with the inside and, after getting everything else in place, I started to work on our tree. I got it upstairs and put together. Next come the lights. Can you see my problem?

Yep, last year after Christmas I purchased three additional boxes of lights as mine are just getting old and wearing out. I got this far with the lights and really wasn't worried because of those three new boxes. Then I went to open them and found they were white but they twinkled. I don't do twinkling light on my tree. Claude had three extra boxes but they were all multi-colored lights and that just would not work. Soooooooo, Claude and I got to a stopping point, loaded our tired old bodies in the Jeep and headed to Georgetown. He needed something to finish the outside too. So we got ourselves a hamburger and hit Lowe's to finish purchasing the things we needed to finish our decorating. I would complete mine that night. Claude would complete his the next morning before the rain came. Yea us!! We may be old but we are tenacious.  

I tried something different with my gum drop tree. History here. My Gramma Fisch had a little plastic gum drop tree that I loved as a child. My mother gave it to me and I used it for many years. It finally broke being old plastic. I found this nice metal one to replace it. I bought one for each of my kids as well. Each year I filled it with gum drops and I was the person who at most of the gum drops. So this year I have tied hard candies and Life Saver candies with red and green yarn to my tree. Let's see how that works. If it doesn't, I can still save these candies and use them over the year. 

Each year Claude has a Christmas tradition with the male head of households in our family. He orders them each a box of Omaha steaks. Andie and Michael sent us this picture when they received their box of Omaha steaks in the mail to say thank you. I really think they should cook it first but that's just me.

About that time Claude posted this on Facebook and I still laugh when I see it. Just needed to share with those who take the time to read this far.

Thursday, November 30th Claude and I dined at Cattleman's Roadhouse before going to see Tran-Siberian Orchestra. I looked on the wall and saw this steer with a Santa hat on his head in the restaurant. I walked over and took a picture and sent it to Nissa and Todd. They have deer heads on their living room wall of deer that Todd shot. I thought this might be a nice new way to decorate them in their new home for Christmas. They got a chuckle when they received the text with this picture.

It should be noted that Claude picked me up at the nursing home and we left my car in the nursing home parking lot when we left for this date. The plan was to stop and get my car and drive it home after watching TSO. That was the plan. The reality was we pulled into the driveway of our home and opened the garage door. Claude paused and said, "Do you see something wrong with this picture?" Hmmm...yes. My car is still at the nursing home in Georgetown and we are now in Sadieville. We left it till the next day and Claude dropped me off as he went to his meetings in Lexington for Stake Conference. Goodness. 


December the 4th Claude came back to Sadieville to attend the ribbon cutting on the addition to the cell tower by AT&T of some higher speed Internet service. 

December 5th the Scott County Chamber of Commerce presented a grant to the Scott County Education and Community Foundation. Claude was there. Can you find him?

Wednesday, December 6th, one of the young men I teach in Institute brought me candy from Argentina. He just returned from serving a two year mission to Argentina. I taught him before he left for his mission. This candy is made from milk that is cooked for a very long time slowly over heat until the milk basically turns to a caramel consistency. That is where the phrase dulce de leche comes from under the name of the candy Guaymallen. Dulce means sweet which is what the milk or leche becomes when it turns to caramel after cooking. Breck gave me two of these so that Claude and I could each have one when he came home. They were very delicious. 

December 9th we got our first snow for this winter. Not a lot but enough. This little bit of snow turned our highways to sheets of ice and caused I-75 to be shut both ways between Sadieville and Georgetown. It would have been better to have been many inches of snow instead of this little bit. 

December 10th Papa received a Christmas card and letter from Mike and Ashlyn Hurst. This is Papa's grandson from Neffie, my sister. He so enjoyed receiving this letter and picture. I have them taped to his wall in the nursing home.

December 16th while driving home from Gatlinburg we drove through Egypt, Kentucky. I turned to Claude and said, "Why do you think they named it Egypt?" Claude stated without missing a beat, "Because they are in de-Nile!" Bwha-ha-ha!!

Whew, that was a lot to catch up with. Sometimes I think my life is a little boring but putting all this down makes me feel like more happens than I realize. More to come but that does it for this Blog post.

The High's and the Low's...

The saga of health for Papa and now for me continues...

All seemed to be going fairly well...until December 3, 2017. That Sunday started great. We were having Stake Conference. I was to play the organ. I did that. Claude and I had a nice lunch. Then we headed home to Sadieville. Claude would get a nap in the afternoon while I did some computer work. That evening Claude had been invited to a Christmas party in the Louisville area. I had no desire to go to this. So we determined I would go visit Papa and Claude would go to Louisville.

I drove to Zaxby's to get Papa and I each a soda and me a piece of their wonderful toast. I often treat Papa to a root beer. As I left Zaxby's to go to the nursing home, I suddenly felt very, very dizzy. I was concerned but continued onto Broadway and took out the toast to eat on my way. That was when I realized that the right half of my tongue was numb like when your gum wakes up after dental work. Now I was a bit more alarmed. When I arrived at the nursing home, I decided to get out of the my car and walk around to the passenger seat to get my purse, my craft bag and the sodas. When I started to walk I was still pretty dizzy and was leaning to the right. Then I realized my right side was not moving exactly right. I wasn't dragging my right foot but I had to concentrate to get up to walk. I quickly got the things I needed for inside and then carefully made my way to the door with great difficulty. 

I found Papa in the dining room and I sat down in a chair beside him, laid all my things on the table, gave Papa his root beer treat which he gratefully received. Then I told Papa I truly did not feel well and laid my head on the table. 

One of the nurses came by with a resident. I asked her if, when she finished with the resident, she would stop by and let me ask her a question. She cheerfully agreed. When she got back I explained what I was feeling and that I was concerned. She looked at me with the same concern and explained that was exactly how her mother felt when she had her stroke. Ugh!!! She asked if I could call someone to get me to the emergency room immediately. I explained that Claude was headed to Louisville and I wasn't sure who else to call. I pulled out my cell phone and got Claude on his phone. He was on the Interstate outside of Georgetown. I told him to turn around and come to the nursing home to take me to the emergency room. Then the ladies decided I needed to go right then and they got in motion. I quickly called Claude back and told him to come directly the the Georgetown Hospital ER. One nurse got on one side of me, a CNA on the other side with a CNA at my back and they helped me out the front door. The other nurse was there with her car and I got in it and away we went to the ER. Laney came into the ER with me and told them she was afraid I was having a stroke. A wheelchair came from who knows where and I was immediately taken to the ER. I could see Claude coming in the ER from outside the glass. So much for my quiet afternoon visit Papa.

Dr. Finley in the ER was very nice. They did an EKG and blood work. I was given a shot that helps stop the effects of a stroke or something of that nature. Claude was there and helped me give coherent answers. My blood pressure was 215 / 93. Not good folks, not good. By the time I was released from the ER my blood pressure was 180 / 88. Still not great but a lot better. I was given a prescription for a nice dose of Lisinopril to be taken daily. I was told I had a TIA or mini-stroke. Claude drove us to CVS to get that prescription filled. I sat in the car and texted the kids. They were quick with the prescription and we drove to the nursing home. I got in my car and drove myself home with Claude following behind.

We made it home safely and I took to the sofa for the rest of the evening. My plan was to skip my visit with Papa on Monday and just take a day to rest...that was the plan.

I got up Monday morning and took my new pill and sat to eat a bagel and drink water for a bit before taking my blood pressure. After I took my blood pressure I got up to get dressed. It was now about 8:30am and my cell phone rang. It was the nursing home. 

The nurse was telling me Papa had an episode. The ambulance was called and the ambulance drivers determined they were taking Papa directly to Central Baptist Hospital instead of Georgetown Hospital. It seems Papa got up in the morning and went to the bathroom. He remembers that and walking down to breakfast. He remembers sitting at the table. Then he doesn't remember anything else. The nurses tell me his head just drops and he is totally unresponsive. He turns gray. They took his blood pressure and it was 44 over something. Then they took it again and it was in the single digits. The ambulance drivers thought it might be a heart attack after their quick check. They then loaded him up and headed to Central Baptist Hospital. Papa came back to himself in the ambulance and remembers being in the ambulance headed to the hospital.

There goes my Monday. Claude and I quickly got dressed. I gathered my purse and my craft bag and we were out the door to Lexington. Claude dropped me off at the ER and he went to find a parking spot. Then he joined us in the ER. I was able to tell the doctors and nurses all of what I knew and Papa's medical history which he can remember none of. They did the EKG on him and the blood work. They took him down the hall for an MRI. The also did and EEG. They decided he should stay in the hospital. One of his very strong medications was taken away (Amiodarone) and another was cut in half (Metoprolol). They wanted to observe him to see how he reacted without these meds.

My craft bag contains my old Kindle with a Solitaire game for Papa to play. This entertained him through the long hours in the ER at Central Baptist.

Claude had a thing in Sadieville he needed to attend. He didn't want to leave. I assured him Papa was back to normal for him and in good hands. I was in a safe place if something happened again to me. He should just go back to Sadieville and do his thing and he could come and pick me up when I sent him a text. 

They checked Papa into the new part of Central Baptist with a room you could waltz in. 

They would just watch him over night. Then Tuesday they did an ultrasound of his carotid arteries and his heart. These were both done bedside. 

The result of all these things was that Papa did not have a heart attack or a seizure. They were thinking it might be syncope which just means his heart didn't get enough oxygen to the brain (low blood pressure) and he passed out. They determined he had a small stroke that showed on his MRI. Wednesday morning he was told he would definitely be released. A speech therapist checked him and he did fine. He was released Wednesday afternoon and I drove him back to the nursing home in time for us to play our music CD for the residents. 

That Wednesday morning I finally made it to my doctor before going to see Papa in Lexington. Bless his heart. He has been our family doctor for well over a year or more now (since our previous doctor retired) and I have not seen him yet. I just don't go unless I need care. Did not know I had high blood pressure. So this was the first  time he saw me. He is a very nice doctor. He asked me to get an MRI of my brain and ultra sound of my carotid arteries. Sounded like something I had just experienced with Papa. The hospital called me and we scheduled that for Wednesday, December 13th. In the meantime I was to continue taking my blood pressure each morning and taking the Lisinopril. 

Friday morning, December 8th, about 8:30am I received another phone call from the nursing home. Papa had another event. This time an ambulance was called and they took him to Georgetown Hospital's ER. Again I quickly dressed and headed to the ER. That morning my blood pressure was 204 / 97. Ugh!!

When I got to the ER, Papa was sitting in that bed just like nothing had happened. Again he only remember getting up, going to the bathroom and the to breakfast and nothing till an ambulance ride. This time they had all the medical stuff done by Central Baptist and the records of the nursing home. They also did an X-ray of his chest. They just sat him up in his bed. Brought in a big machine. Placed a big square frame for the X-ray behind him. He sat still while we all walked out in the hallway and they snapped their X-ray pictures with him sitting there. Amazing. Once they were sure Papa was back to himself the let me load him up in my car and take him back to the nursing home. He made it there in time for lunch. I left when I was sure he was okay and had answered all the nurses questions. I went directly home and curled up. I would miss the Polar Express but I needed to just catch up a bit.

We made it through the weekend. I went to Church with Claude, visited Papa in the nursing home and came home to quietly work at my computer. 

Monday morning at about 8:30am, you guessed it, another call from the nursing home. Papa had another episode. This time they just kept him there and he eventually got back to normal Papa mode. 

We have had no other episodes from Papa since that Monday, December 11th. Thank heavens!!

My blood pressure is still too high but really, can you even see why? It is staying with a high of 177 / 102 to a low of 138 / 77. But it hasn't been back to the 200's and for that I am grateful. 

The MRI and Ultra sound showed no problems. I tried to explain this to Claude with careful wording and did that fine with the text messages. But when we both got home in the evening and were just chatting about it I slipped up. When he was asking about the MRI on the brain, I told him they didn't find anything in my brain. There you have it. Fodder for many a joke in my future!!

So there you have it. I have the 'highs' and Papa has the 'lows'. So we really have all the bases covered. Now, let's calm down and have Christmas!!

Gatlinburg for a Christmas Date...

Where to go, where to go? We started a tradition for just the two of us each December. We would find somewhere really nice to go and have one evening to ourselves. This year we settled on the idea of two days and one night in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The big draw was dinner at Bubba Gump's. Shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp! I reserved a hotel room that was right in downtown Gatlinburg along the river. 

We left Friday morning and arrived about 2:30pm. We checked into our hotel and left our car in their parking lot. The rest of the day would be walking to where we wanted to go. How cool is that? If you have visited Gatlinburg, you know the streets are packed with cars any time of the year. So having free parking and being close enough to walk is just a huge bonus.

One of the first things I saw was Kaw-liga. This is a very, very old country song my father used to sing. Claude posed for me to get this picture.  

I found a couple of attractions we might want to see. One was Cars of the Stars. There is this man who loved to take cars and work on them so they would fit with other things. He parlayed this talent into a career in television and movies. A number of the cars he made to fit a television show or a movie are in this little two story museum on the Parkway through Gatlinburg close to Bubba Gump's. We both really enjoyed browsing through and seeing all these cars. Here are just a few for you to enjoy: the Batmobile from the television show with Adam West; the Flintstones car from the movie; the Beverly Hillbillies car from the television show; the truck from the movie Twister; the Ghostbuster movie car; and the Back to the Future car from the movie. There were many others from Dolly Parton's Cadillac to the Beach Boys car autographed on the hood by the Beach Boys. I liked that Bob Hope had a big old Buick. I am an old Buick Lady!! 

I found a craft center so we could visit that for something that might be truly enjoyed by me. Alas, we could not find that building. So we went ahead and dined at Bubba Gump's with the idea of walking it off after we finished.  So many shrimp. So very delicious. Worth the four hour drive for dinner!!! Bwah-ha-ha!!

Then, after dinner, we did just that. We walked and walked and walked. Just like the pioneer children. Coats buttoned up against the cold (which fortunately was not overly cold). Taking the little off street shopping areas as we saw fit. The end result was purchasing birthday presents for Bailey and a new belt for Claude that was fitted to him and holes punched while we waited. Very successful stroll. I assured Claude he could give me the belt and I would wrap it up and put it under the tree for his Christmas present. How clever is that idea?

The one thing we wanted to do that we didn't get to do was take a ride on the Trolley of Winter Lights. When I was doing research on-line before the trip, I found this Trolley ride that looked like a great way to see the Christmas lights. I tried to get tickets and ended up with the last single ticket for the night we would be in Gatlinburg. I held the ticket (it was only $5) and kept checking back until we took the trip. We walked down to where you would leave for the Trolley ride and there were no more tickets to be had. That would have been fun but didn't ruin any of the fun we had in our stroll. 

We found these pretty lights down by where the Trolley Ride would have been. These trees had lights and crystals hanging to reflect that light. It was truly gorgeous. 

One our way back down the Parkway or Main Street of Gatlinburg, we stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Yum! Then we strolled back to our hotel to warm up and enjoy a relaxing evening. 

Saturday we slept in a bit and then went to the Atrium for a pancake breakfast. There are pancake establishments all over Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. It was time to point the car north to Sadieville. We drove into Kentucky and found a back road outside of London, Kentucky that went through the Daniel Boone National Forest just for fun. 

It was a great date. May have to try that again next year. Hmmmm...