Life in This Fast Lane...

Jake, our son, made a trip to Texas. He has a friend, Heather Dunford, who is a member of the Bat Conservancy. As a member she had the opportunity to invite a plus 1 to go to Bracken Cave in Texas to watch the bats form a bat tornado as they leave the cave at night to eat bugs. Thousands of bats leaving Bracken Cave at once. Thousands I tell you. Heather asked Jake if he would like to join her. While this was not an item on Jake's bucket list, it became one. You can only go to this cave if you have a special invite. So Jake flew from Michigan and Heather flew from Florida and they met in Texas. As poor fortune would have it there was a change in the weather and the bats really don't swarm with the weather conditions they were experiencing. Not to be daunted by this, these two intrepid souls did find bats under bridges. One cannot deny the human spirit. Jake did send us two pictures of places they visited during the day time. The first is San Antonio Missions National Historic Park (not the Alamo) and the second is at Umlauf Sculpture Gardens in Austin, Texas. The sculpture is titled the Muse. Jake's sister, Nissa, correctly identified that Jake had found his Muse. Yeah Nissa. This just seemed like a wonderful trip opportunity for Jake. So happy Heather invited him and he was able to go and experience some new things.

Saturday, September 15th, Claude and I wandered back to Louisville to Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center. This time were were treated to the Music of John Williams played by the Louisville Orchestra. This was a most excellent evening for us. The orchestra started with a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and we were all standing with hands over our hearts singing right along with them. It was exhilarating. The evening just went up from that high. 

Please note the name on the first picture. I had a good chuckle out of that one. Our beloved Kentucky Center had a fire this year. Messed up their programming schedule. They are  using it again but the scaffolding is up so that, during the daytime, they can continue the repair work. 

As the program progressed, the conductor, Ben Bernhardt, shared wonderful stories about John Williams. Here are a few:

• Before playing the Theme from Jaws: About four months after the movie came out, he had friends who went to Hawaii and were learning to scuba dive. As they prepared to make their first real venture out into the waters, one of the people in their group asked how they would know if a shark was near. Their instructor simply said, "You'll know because you'll hear the music first!" 
• First joke told before "The Flight to Neverland" from Hook: Two pirates were talking. One looked at the other and said, "That is a nice pair of earrings. What did they cost?" The other pirate said, "$2." The first pirate said, "Not bad for a buccaneer!"
• Second joke told before "The Flight to Neverland" from Hook: Q-What happens when a red and a blue pirate ship collide? A-You get marooned!

I asked Kathy Alexander to play the organ for me when I was out-of-town during Bonnie's visit. Kathy said she would be happy to and asked if I would help her by playing for the Primary kids program. The Primary pianist was going to be out-of-town that Sunday. My habit on Sunday is to play for Sacrament Meeting and the go visit Papa until the meeting block is complete. Then I go back and pick up Claude. This would necessitate me staying for the 3-hour block on Sunday the 16th to practice with the kids. I arranged my life so we could do that. They were singing two songs that required a bit of practice. It was great fun to work on those two songs. I don't play the piano very much and it was good to get back in there and learn. The kids did the Primary program on Sunday, the 23rd and they were fabulous. They always are. I was really grateful for this opportunity to play the piano.

As I left the Church on Sunday the 16th, I heard a crow that sounded really close. I walked out a bit and there it was on the top of the steeple cawing away. I truly was not sure what to make of that.

Monday, September 17th through Thursday, September 20th Claude attended the Kentucky League of Cities Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. 

He was presented with a copy of the Athenian Oath for he service to Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) over the years.

One of Claude's favorite moments was helping with the Kentucky Hunger Initiative. KLC did this last year at their conference for the first time. It was a huge success and was something Claude had encouraged to happen. Because of that success, it was determined they would sponsor it again this year. It is a big ticket item as products must be purchased to prepare boxes to be distributed. I first received this picture from Claude. He simply titled it, "Finally, a job I am qualified for!" This is one of the chores Claude takes care of in our home, stocking every one of the four bathrooms with extra toilet paper. I did chuckle when I received his text.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles was there to help. I just admire this young man something fierce. He is good and honest and Claude and I believe he will go far. He worked right beside Claude to help get these boxes filled for the Hunger Initiative. It is something Ryan is passionate about.

Claude enjoyed this conference. Since he will not run for Mayor again, this was his last hurrah with KLC. They will probably invite him to the big dinner at conferences as a past president. Claude has enjoyed working with these people very much. This is one area of his life I will hate to see end. 

Before Claude left, I was having some severe pain in my stomach. I believed something might be wrong enough to go see a doctor but I wasn't sure which doctor to see or why. Claude left Monday morning and I just stayed home, didn't even go to see Papa. I knew I needed to see a doctor. I read the instructions that came with the three meds the surgeon, Dr. Pruden, gave me when I had the cancer removed from my nose. The ointment had possible symptoms just like I was having. So I called Dr. Pruden and scheduled a visit for Tuesday, September 18th. The scab that had formed over the surgery spot was falling off and it couldn't come all the way off because there was a stitch in it so I wanted him to check that anyway.

Tuesday I received a call from Dr. Pruden's office. They had two people cancel their surgery and were wanting to know if I could come in earlier. Of course. I reminded them I was driving in from Sadieville but would be on my way right then. Dr. Pruden removed my stitches from the graft on my nose and released the scab. He assured me there was no infection, talked to me about cleaning it with vinegar water, assured me I wasn't having my other symptoms because of the ointment and sent me on my way. Okay. One possibility down. 

I called Dr. Donaldson. In 2009 I had sacrocolcoplexy surgery and wondered if it might be failing. I at least wanted to be sure I could eliminate it from a possibility. Dr. Donaldson has retired and they don't even do this kind of surgery any more. We went over what I was experiencing and I was assured by their office that this was not the symptoms of a failed sacrocolcoplexy surgery. Possibility two was now eliminated.

I called Dr. Lyon and asked to be seen by him. He had a space at 10:30 on Wednesday morning. Great. I was there and explained what I was experiencing, what I had eliminated  as possibilities and gave him the list of the three meds Dr. Pruden had prescribed at the time of surgery. Dr. Lyon looked at that list and immediately said, "I know what your problem is." Hallelujah. By now I had lost 5 pounds from not eating so I wouldn't hurt. While I would really like to loose 5 more pounds, I really didn't want to do it this way. It turns out the ointment wasn't the culprit. The antibiotic capsules were. They were a drug called clindamycin. Dr. Lyon will not even prescribe it anymore. In some people it kills the bacteria that you want to kill but it also allows another bacteria to grow and that bacteria causes C Diff (clostridium difficile colitis). I am one of those people. Yep. That's me. UGH!! Dr. Lyon took blood and sent me home to get another inconvenient, not-to-be-mentioned sample. He wanted to be sure he was accurate in this diagnosis before prescribing another antibiotic to kill this bacteria. Yes, he chuckled at the irony of that as he told me what he had to do to help me heal. I love this Doctor. 

Thursday morning I took my new sample to the lab at the hospital. Then I went to see my father. I would take Papa out of the nursing home, we would get a root beer for him and a mango pineapple smoothie for me and we found a spot in Stamping Ground by Elkhorn Creek to sit and enjoy a nice moment in the fresh air. This felt good. Proof I was not well was in my going to bed at 9:15 Wednesday evening and not getting up until 7:15am Thursday morning. So I really appreciated this quiet time in a nice breeze by the creek.

I received a call from Dr. Lyon's office. Yep, I had C Diff. He had called in a prescription for me and I could pick it up that day and begin the regimen. Ten days of the most awful, bitter, disgusting tablet to be taken three times a day. I am now half way through and truly hope this does the trick. I am not a medicine taker. If I can just naturally wade through whatever ailment I have without taking medication, that is what I prefer. My poor body is just worn out with meds over the past couple of months. But I will get well and I do have good doctors. 

Friday, September 21st our second great grandmonster turned one year old. That was one really fast year. Our tradition is your favorite box of Girl Scout cookies on your birthday. Nelson requested Thin Mints (I am sure his mother, Aubrey, was sure that is what Nelson would like....wink wink.) To my delight, Aubrey posted a picture of Nelson eating his Girl Scout cookies. He really loved them. There is just nothing like a baby covered in a food they are enjoying. I love these pictures.

That day as I was returning from visiting Papa, we had a rainstorm but the sun broke through just as I was turning onto Hwy 32 at I-75 Exit 136. In front of me was a full rainbow. You could see from one end to the other. It was beautiful. 

Saturday the 22nd was Hayden's Boy Scout Spaghetti Dinner. This is their annual fundraiser. We took the Lego candy Uncle Jake bought them when were went to the Amish store in Michigan. They totally enjoyed this fun candy. It actually popped together just like Legos. Each color was a different flavor. Great fun. Thanks Uncle Jake.

After cutting Andie's hair, we were off to the Spaghetti Dinner. There is a silent auction and Claude won four different items. All for a good cause. It was a nice evening. We drove home in lots of rain.

Sunday the 23rd, I played the piano for the Primary program. When I started to leave to visit Papa, it was pouring again. During church we had two times that alarms went off with flood warnings. As I looked out that door to my car, I had a strong impression Claude should come with me. He drove and we went to the nursing home. I purchased a couple of brownies for Papa at the Spaghetti Dinner and wanted to show him the picture of Hayden in his uniform. I ran in while Claude waited in the car. I showed Papa the picture, gave him his brownies and explained about the flood warning and my impression that we needed to go home now. He understood.

Claude then drove us to our home. When we crossed the bridge the water was already over the banks. About an hour after we got home, this is what we found when we drove back down to the bridge. As this is the only entrance into and out of Eagle Bend, we were stranded. So very grateful we didn't wait to come home. Grateful for strong impressions when they are needed. 

One of our neighbors was supposed to have a bridal shower at her home at 3pm. Needless to say her husband, daughter and other guests were on the other side of the bridge and the shower did not happen Sunday. Another neighbor was coming down to drive her daughter to Frankfort to fill out paperwork for a new job she was starting. That didn't happen either. Our home is up a hill so we were never in danger of flooding. We had fuel for our generator if power went out. We had food and everything we needed to stay home for a good while. By Sunday evening late, the water receded and people could now pick which side of the bridge they wanted to stay on. There was definitely damage to the bridge. The City Commission came over Monday evening after their commission meeting to check out the damage. But the bridge held and we are very grateful for that. The flood warnings remained until this afternoon. But we experienced no more of this kind of flooding. 

This cutie is Raelyn. She our first great grandmonster. Her Daddy was at work and she really missed him. So, her Mom let her wear one of daddy's shirts to snuggle in and, of course, she had to wear one of his caps. That is just cute!

I have finished two crafts this month. I crocheted this baby afghan while we drove to and from Michigan and finished it up after we got home. And...the baby girl is here and this will be going away and now I need to make another one.

This is a Christmas present for our oldest daughter, Nissa. It is a table cloth. Done!

That's all folks!!

Visiting and Travel...

When I finished Blogging on the 26th, I knew it would be at least two weeks before I would Blog again. We would begin a round of visitors and travel and Blogging would be low on the totem pole of my To Do List. So, let's catch up on the past two weeks.

Tuesday, August 28th, Claude's mother, Bonnie would arrived for a two week visit. I always take a quick shot of Bonnie and Claude watching for her luggage to arrive. Then I pop a quick Facebook post to let everyone in Utah and family know she arrived safely and we will watch after her for the next two weeks.

Bonnie only had breakfast that morning. We waited for our evening meal till Bonnie arrived. We would stop at Beans in Dry Ridge, Kentucky and enjoy sandwiches and soup together. Beans is a fun place to get a meal. Claude always purchases a loaf of their sour dough bread to take home.

We arrived and made sure the grid was out for our next two weeks. It would stay on the kitchen counter this time. Often it is posted on the refrigerator. Many mock my making of the grid. But it helps in purchasing food so we don't over spend on things we won't eat or need, it let's us know who is arriving and departing and when. I often add activity options. This time we had some dining options Claude and I thought of before Bonnie arrived so it would be easy to pick when we wanted to go out for a meal and it had a few food possibilities for our little great granddaughter. The grid is not cast in stone. It lets everyone know what is available and in the house and we can tweek as we go. I LOVE the grid.

Wednesday the Roper family would leave Michigan and travel to Nashville, Tennessee. This is our oldest grandmonster and her hubby and daughter. Drew has a relative in Tennessee they wanted to visit and they opted to do that prior to coming to Sadieville. Wednesday Claude had an appointment with the ophthalmologist. There was a concern about the pressure in Claude's eyes and he wanted to do a quick follow-up to see if it had improved. Claude was given a prescription for additional eye drops to be used morning and night. I would go in to visit Papa in the afternoon as I usually do while Claude had this appointment. He also took Bonnie to visit Yuko-En in Georgetown while I was visiting Papa. Mostly, it was an easy day for Bonnie after her flight.

Thursday the 30th we took Bonnie for a drive in the afternoon. We accomplished a few chores along the way. One was to pick up batting for pillows Bonnie was going to finish for each of her great grandkids she would see on this visit. She had made the pillow covers, just needed to fill them and stitch them shut.

We took Bonnie to the Georgetown/Scott County Museum to see the Viet Nam War Exhibit. Claude thought she would enjoy seeing the things they displayed about him.

We drove Bonnie by The Castle that Claude and I stayed in over my birthday. Then we drove her through the little country roads through Winstar Farms. This is where Justify (the horse that won the Triple Crown this year) was raised and now resides. It is always fun to show off these amazingly beautiful horse farms.

We ended up at Wallace Station for our early dinner. This is locally owned and operated restaurant in an old building. It always has great food.

When we were driving home we went through Midway so we stopped at the bakery and purchase some sweets for the house for the next few days just before the bakery closed. It was a nice outing and we enjoyed a quiet evening waiting for the Ropers to arrive. They did but it was after midnight.

Friday we expected Shannon to arrive. This is Claude's niece. She and her new hubby live in Pennsylvania now and this would be a great opportunity for Shannon to she her Gramma. She and Bonnie are very close. Katelyn was looking forward to visiting with Shannon as well. Well, we all were looking forward to it. But, Shannon ended up not being able to come. He hubby is in a very intense residency program and trying to combine 3 years into one year. She opted to stay and support him. That is a good sign of a new marriage working well. We missed seeing Shannon but truly appreciate and understand her need to not make the trip.

Friday, Raelyn would relearn the fun of playing in great Grampa and Gramma's house. The toy closet was opened, the train was set up with a simple track, the clock in the dining room had a chair put in front so she could press the button and have music whenever she wanted. The possibilities were many. We totally enjoyed watching this little Mite use all that energy in her work, which is play.

Saturday was the first day of September. And...it was a Cross Country Meet for Bailey. We had a little time in the morning before driving to Shelbyville for the meet. Again, Raelyn showed her inner Bailey as she took up residence in our closet. Both the girls love to play in the closet. Bailey was known to set up entire tea party in there. Raelyn enjoyed a peek-a-boo game with me.

We gathered up everyone, put the car seat in my car, and headed out to Shelbyville in two cars. Parking was over-the-top full. Claude found a spot on the lawn at a corner. I ended up down the road in front of the elementary school. Bailey sent Claude a text that she saw the Jeep. Michael came walking around and found the Jeep about the time the Roper's and I walked back to the Jeep. We popped open the umbrellas and hunkered down through a brief rain shower. Andie arrived with Joyce and Hayden. Joyce is Michael's step-mother. She had come for a visit with them.

The Mini's had fun getting reacquainted with Raelyn.

And Bailey prepared to run her Cross Country.

While we found a nice spot for Bonnie to sit so she could witness a lot of the run.

Then, we were all watching and cheering our Bailey on as she made each turn of the run that we could see. The grueling part for me was the finish. They had to run UP a hill for the last bit of the race. Ugh!!

Andie got this great pictures of all of us (except her) after the run.

The Marx family invited us to their home after the run for a brief visit. This meant the Mini's would get a little Raelyn time. Otherwise, they would not have seen her during this trip. These three kids love each other and it was great fun to have time with the Marx family.

After the 90 minute drive home we were ready to unwind.

Sunday, September 2nd, I was off to play the organ for Church and then visit with Papa. Claude made breakfast for our guests and they all hung out together at the house. Sunday evening we introduced Raelyn to Hayden's pod bed. How many years since someone used this bed??? I posted the pictures in a text message to Andie and the Mini's so they would know how much Raelyn was enjoying it. Bailey said, "She can pass it down to her children." Such a generous cousin.

Monday, September 3rd, was Labor Day. I do not have one single picture of Labor Day. Goodness. What was I not thinking? Claude put as brisket in the smoker. I went in and picked Papa up at the nursing home about 10am. We had a lovely day watching pictures of our Baltic Sea Cruise on the television and eating and relaxing. It was a good day.

Tuesday the Ropers would head home. But first we gave Raelyn the fairy wings that Bailey out grown and wanted her to have. I put them on upside down...but this didn't stop Raelyn from totally enjoying them.

And the Ropers were off in the afternoon. They timed their departure so they would be in a certain place to have a certain kind of hamburger along the way home. Clever kids.

Wednesday was a rest day for Bonnie. I had a meeting with the nursing home about Papa. They are supposed to do this every 3 months. Papa has been there almost a year and this is my second meeting. I stressed my desire for him to have a bed by a window. I stressed that I asked for that when we arrived and at the previous meeting. There was almost an audible groan. But they known I am serious about that bed by a window for him. We covered his near deafness and the issue with the Stop sign on his door. I did make the point that I did not understand that, if someone was observing this exchange,  why they didn't nip it in the bud before it got to the point they said they witnessed. Glen asked if they could honor Papa at the Hall of Fame they do each year. I assured him he would like that very much. That meant I spent Wednesday evening writing up the words to go with his picture so I could get them to Glen on Thursday morning.

Thursday I visited Papa one more time in the morning. I took him two treats to eat while we would be gone. I would not visit him for the next three days.

Thursday evening we visited the Marx home one more time. Joyce was gone. Just Claude, Bonnie and I with the Marx family this time. Michael would be home briefly before going to referee a soccer game. We ordered pizza from SteveO's for dinner. Claude and I picked Bailey up after her cross country practice and then picked up the pizza. She was pretty firm in telling Andie she only wanted to be picked up by someone that doesn't reside at her home! I told Bailey that I really thought Raelyn was also going to be 'savagely quirky' like her teacher said she was. Bailey was so happy about that. The Mini's would play their band instruments for us. Then we got some family pictures.

Friday we hit the road for Michigan. Time for Bonnie to visit with that part of our family tree. We drove to Chelsea to meet Jake at his apartment at 3:30pm. I realized as we drove to Chelsea I did not bring my antibiotic ointment for my nose. It is supposed to stay covered in this stuff all the time, never get dried out. I told Claude I could use Vaseline. Claude drove us to the CVS Pharmacy in Chelsea before going to Jake's. Bonnie needed a ladies room. There was not one in CVS. Claude said he would take her to McDonald's. We drove back to McDonald's only to find it's parking lot full of heavy equipment and the dining room completely boarded up. They are remodeling. The drive-thru was open but you could not enter the building at all. Okay. Claude drove through the parking lot and out the exit and turned to go back to the gas station that was across the street from CVS. We agreed we would use the facilities and then purchase drinks for each of us for the trip from Chelsea to Muskegon. We entered the gas station and, wouldn't you know it, the men's room was closed with big crates in front of it so no one would use it. Ugh. I kept watch on the ladies room door so Claude could use it instead. That done, we had just enough time to get to Jake's by 3:30pm.

Off to Muskegon we drove. We had a major slowdown in Grand Rapids. I-96 was completely closed due to construction. Jake and I pulled out the Google Maps on our phones and directed Claude to another bridge over the Grand River, then back to I-96. Nissa and Todd were at work. They live about 30 minutes north of Muskegon in Holton. Nissa and I started texting as we got close and we agreed we would all meet at Russ's for dinner before going to their home. That was a great choice.

Saturday Todd would have to work but they found someone to cover for Nissa. Nissa was up early and off to Aubrey's to pick up Nelson for the day. We would enjoy this little nugget all morning. We did pause to make a run to the Amish store not far from the Tyler home. A lot of food purchases later, we returned to Nissa's so Nelson could get his nap. Here are a few pictures of Nelson playing.

After Nelson's nap, we were off to the Pita Place in Muskegon. All of Nissa's kids and their families would join us. One big table later we were all enjoying a wonderful meal together. 

We then drove behind Port City Automotive where Nissa and Todd work to take some family pictures. 

We took a few more minutes to play with the little ones. First we let Nelson open the birthday gifts Claude and I brought him. We will miss his birthday and Aubrey wanted him to open the gifts in front of us. This little one understands tearing paper to get into a gift.

A few pictures of playing with the great grands...

Then it was back to Holton to rest for the remainder of the evening. One picture of Nissa and Todd on their property.

Sunday morning we all met at Daniel's for breakfast. It is a restaurant close to the Tyler home. Everyone was there and it was delightful. After breakfast we said our goodbyes and pointed the Buick toward I-96 again. We would drive to Chelsea and drop Jake off at his apartment. Then we would check into the hotel and some of us would take naps. I read my Maeve Binchy novel. Jake sent me a text when he woke up and we all met at our hotel and walked across the street to Wendy's for a light dinner. Then back to our hotel to sit and visit for a bit more that evening.

Monday morning Bonnie, Claude and I ate a light breakfast at the hotel breakfast bar. Then we headed back toward Sadieville. We stopped for dinner in Florence, Kentucky at Chipotle's. Yum!!

Along the way home we passed some interesting cars. We are sure they are test cars for a model change or a new kind of car. We were fascinated with the thing coming out of the car window and going to the tire. These two were going south toward Ohio from Michigan right close to the border of those two states. In Ohio we would see one more that was just black but had the same contraption on the back wheels. 

We took Bonnie to the airport yesterday morning. It was a good visit. 

Now, Jake has flown to Texas to be the Plus 1 for a friend. They will go to Bracken caves and watch the 'bat tornado'. How cool is that? You can only go if you are a member of the Bat Conservatory. This young lady is and has asked Jake to come as her guest to observe this really unique experience. 

We are traveled out for a little bit. Great to be home. The house is very quiet with only the two of us rambling around in it. We are getting back into the real life groove again. It is always nice to get those breaks.