Since I Blogged last week on Tuesday, this should be a bit shorter... Let's see...
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Received a belated Father's Day pictures from Andie. Looks like they had a good time. Michael is a good father. Happy he is the dad to our Mini's.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
This day I had my annual mammogram. We decided to make it a family affair. Claude drove me in and left me at the hospital while he went and washed his Jeep. We did a walk, had a drive-thru lunch together, Claude shopped for groceries and also picked up some things at Lowe's. A good time was had by all.
Kathy Jones called from the nursing home. They have to do an annual survey of the residents and their families. I love this nursing home. My only real complaints are they need more staff. But, as I told Kathy, I don't think there is a medical facility out there that doesn't need more staff. She agreed. The other thing I would really like to see happen is a big picture window so the residents could see out more. These things will not happen. But they take great care of my father and I can't ask for more.
Katelyn sent this pictures of her girls. They look so very different. I also predict they will lead Drew and Katelyn on a very merry chase!!
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Hayden sent me a wonderful gift. It was a link to a YouTube clip about a turtle. This little turtle actually sneezed and it is caught on camera. When he sneezes it is strong enough his neck and head go back quickly into his shell and he peeks out a bit after. So very cute for this turtle-lovin' Gramma.
I sent a cute cartoon to Hayden and Bailey. Bailey said she got it and it was really funny.
I also received a phone call this day from the main office of Signature Health Care. They are notifying all family members that the entire Georgetown facility (residents and staff) will be tested for the corona virus on July 2nd. The results will be back to them in two days. So far this facility has stayed healthy. Please let it stay that way.
This day the news reported a change in the rule about long-term care facilities and the virus. They are beginning this Monday, June 29th, to allow activities with the residents in groups of no more than 10 people. These poor people have really been quarantined to their rooms since March 7th. They will start with this and then hopefully by July 15th they will allow visitors to come into these facilities. I hope this all works and I know they will be careful. So much has opened back up and there are some states that are now having huge spikes in the number of cases. Some are filling up all their ER beds and having to send patients to other hospitals. We are still have lots of cases but keeping the hospitalizations down. There are so many factors to look at to determine how things are really going. We are cautioned to be very careful as the numbers indicate we are right on the margin for Kentucky. So many have made wearing a mask a political thing. I remember when we visited Japan and then China, it was not at all uncommon to see them wearing a mask when they were out to ride the train or walk the crowded streets. There was no virus threat then, it was just them being careful. We seem to need to have contention about all these things. That "No one can tell me what to do." attitude is so dangerous. If a reasonable suggestion is made that will benefit others, that should be a no brainer. I will continue to wear my mask when out in public. I want so much to be well when they let us visit our loved ones in the long-term care facilities again. My head has come up with the question as to whether they will let us take them out or not. I know Papa is going to want to go for a ride or to sit by the creek in the worst way possible. I hope they will let me take him for these things. We'll see...
Friday, June 26, 2020
Jake sent me a text to let me know he mixed honey with soft butter "Mimi Style" for his toast that morning. Mimi is my mother and she passed away in July 2012. However, she left her mark in meaningful ways on our family. This is one little example. Love it!
I spent my morning weeding in our front yard. I found many picture perfect treasures while doing this task. Here are the pictures from our front yard.
Loved this Betty White meme that showed up on Facebook.
And Claude's sister, Jo, posted this thought about the virus: "Summer pools will reopen on the 4th of July. Due to continuing social distancing rules, there will be no water in lanes 1, 3 & 5."
Saturday, June 27, 2020
This day I felt very productive. I started by cleaning out two shelves in the dresser in our guest bedroom, I finished my making a PowerPoint presentation out of our China scrapbook (I have been working on this for a week), and I started emptying out a file drawer in one of the file cabinets in my sewing room. Yeah me!!
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Today I woke first. I came down to my sewing room and worked some more on emptying that file cabinet drawer. When Claude woke up we got ourselves clean-up and dressed. We read scriptures together and Claude passed the sacrament to us. We listened to two of the Darin Griffith shows that correspond to our reading for the past two weeks. Now I'm working on Blogging while Claude takes his Sunday afternoon nap. It is always the best nap of the week for him.
Today our congregation started holding in person Church services. They have divided the congregation in half and will rotate the weeks we attend based on that so there are no more than 99 people in attendance any given Sunday. No singing. No touching. Sit spaced apart. Dismiss row by row and go straight to your car. This week if your last name ended in J-Z you could attend. If you are 65 or older or at risk for any reason or have been sick in the least, you are asked not to attend. Claude and I fit the age limit as we are 69 and 70. We are going to wait until they open the next phase before attending. We both feel good about that decision for now.
Today also marks two weeks since Papa was in the ER and received stitches on his nose. That means if all healed well, they should take those stitches out today. It also means if he shows no sign of getting the virus while at the ER, he should be able to go back to his real room. I will check with the nursing home tomorrow to see if they have done that. Weekends are not the best time for these things as they usually run a lighter crew.
Last week we finally hit the open road for a quick trip to Michigan. We had the back of the Jeep and the top of the Jeep full of items that needed to make their way north. So we used this week, while I still can't visit Papa, to go north.
Monday, June 15, 2020
I spent this day at home all day. My big goal was all the laundry washed, dried, folded, ironed and put away. I managed to clean off my part of the DVR with Fixer Upper and Good Bones programs while completing my laundry tasks.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Another day spent entirely in my home. Claude had his dental cleaning appointment so he ventured out. I focused today on what I was packing and being sure I had all the things I knew that needed to be loaded in the Jeep upstairs and in the dining room. I also called the nursing home to be sure about how Papa was doing with the move to another part of the nursing home and the healing of his nose. I spoke with Laine and she agreed they would move the bird feeder from Papa's real room window to his temporary room window and I would come in on Wednesday and be sure it was full of bird seed.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
This day we both ventured in to Georgetown. We started at the nursing home. I took Papa new things to read, a treat to eat and a root beer. Then I went to fill the bird feeder. I couldn't find it. I thought I knew where his room was but I wasn't sure and walked both sides of the outside of the TCU (Temporary Care Unit) and didn't find the birdfeeder. Claude was with me and was happy to move the bird feeder if that hadn't been done. We went back to the critical care part of the nursing home and I walked around to Papa's real room window and found no bird feeder. Hmmm... Back to the front door and I asked Francisco at the desk. Laine was in her office and came out and assured me they had moved the bird feeder. Brian from Physical Therapy was there and he walked back to the outside of Papa's temporary room and Claude and drove over. The birdfeeder was indeed there. There was a big bush and the birdfeeder was by a brick wall and I didn't see it for the bush. I thanked Brian and filled the birdfeeder. Didn't see Papa in his bed through the window. So I missed getting to wave hi to him.
Claude and I went to the park for a walk. While walking a little robin chose to be appropriately social distanced from us during our walk. Even the animal kingdom is trying to be aware of Covid-19 restrictions!
We also ran some other errands in preparation for our trip. Had a bite to eat in Georgetown before heading back to Sadieville. We made sure the Jeep was loaded and ready to leave Thursday morning. We would be taking the sign for Nissa and Todd. That was just funny to watch us load the frame on the top racks of the Jeep. It is made of fence posts and we looked like we were carrying our cross. Ugh!! We also took the shoe shelf Claude made for the Ropers as well as a box full of things that Katelyn had painted for a Christmas Eve gift box for their family. We had yard and garage type tools for the Ropers home. Shoes for Paul. A cookie jar for Aubrey. And a few toys for the great grandmonsters. We did keep a spot free for our suit case!!
Thursday, June 18, 2020
We set our alarm for 8:00am but we were both awake and ready to travel earlier than that. We hit the road about 7:30am. Claude stopped at Hardee's first to get my biscuit and Mello Yello for my breakfast. He knows me well.
As we left Kentucky, I told Claude I felt prompted to buy Jake dinner. We would not see him on this trip. He was not comfortable with an in person visit yet because of the corona virus. We respect that choice on his part. So ordering him dinner seemed like a great idea. I sent Jake a text and told him about this impression and asked when he would like the pizza delivered to his door. He said 5:30pm would be great. He also let us know he received his Father's Day gift. Jake is not a father but he is a great uncle and is always included in the Father's Day gift giving. Besides, this year's gift was a big bar of soap from Buffalo Trace Distillery. This is wonderful soap and smells so very good. Jake also let me know he had tried the spam salad for lunches this week and was really enjoying them. Yippee!! I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to order this pizza.
The silliest part of the drive was in northern Ohio. We like to stop in Beaver Dam, Ohio at the Pilot station for gasoline. Somehow we missed that stop completely and realized it when Claude said we were at the mosque which is where we get off I-75 and onto Hwy 23. We were way past Beaver Dam and needing gasoline. A stop was made in Maumee for gasoline. Definitely not the least expensive gasoline in the world but we wouldn't run out of gas now for a good long while. We would stop one more time in Michigan along I-94 to get something to eat about 1:30pm. We were really fortunate in finding a Wendy's with a shade tree we could park under to eat in our car. We only used drive-thru's on the trip to stay safely in our car.
When we stopped for gasoline, I took this picture of the frame for the Tyler sign on top of the Jeep.
We went to the Ropers first to unload a lot of what was in our car. They have moved into their first home and we brought things they could use in their yard and garage that we did not need or had inherited from Papa. We visited with them briefly before heading to Holton. Raelyn wanted to help so you can see in the first picture her huge help with getting the shoe shelf in that Claude made for them. The next two pictures are Raelyn playing with toys that Bailey sent to her. Then there are three pictures of Claude and Raelyn playing with a picture box he painted for her with little sticks with letters on them that spell 'Family' that you insert in holes on the top. The last picture is Emelia who loves climbing into and out of chairs. Katelyn had not told the girls we were coming. Raelyn knew who it was as soon as she saw us and ran to give us hugs. I have not had a grandmonster hug since December 2019. Man did that hug feel good!!!
While at the Ropers, I determined I needed to have a little fun. I took this picture of the living room walls of the Roper home decorated with memorabilia from Drew's favorite sports teams. Then I sent a text to Michael to show him this lovely living room decoration. You see, Andie will not allow this on the Marx living room walls. In fact, at this point the things Michael has are not on any walls. Michael's response to my text with this picture was, "You trying to get me worked up? I have lots of stuff, let me show this to Andie and see if I can get my boy room." I love my family!!
The alarm on my phone went off while at the Ropers and I popped outside to call Cottage Inn in Chelsea to order Jake some dinner. So happy I set that alarm.
With the load on the Jeep drastically reduced, we pointed the Jeep toward Holton and the Tyler home. We would stay with them the next three nights. Todd would BBQ chicken for us for dinner. It was good to be at their home again. Claude gave them the sign. They were so happy to receive this gift from him. I took all the pictures of that with Claude's cell phone as mine was in charging.
Friday, June 19, 2020
The Tyler's left early for work. They left us a garage door opener and keys to lock the door. We got up and showered and ready for our busy day with grand and great grandmonsters. We would begin at 10am with a visit to Aubrey and Nelson. As we drove to Aubrey's new rental, I popped a text to Jake telling him Claude and I both missed our electric toothbrushes. Jake's reply: "If your arm gets tired you can just hold the brush still and shake your head and neck." This is what a college education yields!!
We arrived a Aubrey's and found Nelson looking out the front door while Tony and Aubrey unloaded the groceries they just purchased. Claude's comment about this first picture was: "This one has a certain irony to it." We took Nelson some Matchbox cars and a coloring with water book. He loved both. He also showed us his tricycle riding skills but I was beside him all the time and didn't get a picture of that. I was greatly impressed at this 2 1/2 year old's abilities with this big tricycle. Nelson loves being outside but we didn't spend time out there as it was beastly hot even at 10am in the morning. We spent a couple of hours with Aubrey. We were opting to visit each grandmonster individually to minimize the possibility of any of us spreading the corona virus. Hayden sent Nelson a pair of his old flip flops. Nelson loved wearing these and had them on most of the time. We took his socks off so he could have more success with getting them on his feet. Nelson is just a happy, sweet little boy. Full of energy and wanting to be doing something all the time. Aubrey sent us home with a quilt to mend and stools to Nelson's table to mend.
Then it was off to visit the Roper family for a few hours. We ordered ahead and picked up lunch at the Pita Place. We enjoyed the Ropers in their new home. Emelia has learned to climb the stairs just fine. The going down part...not so much. She wants to go down head first like she went up and is not having any of this turning around to go down action. The second story of this home has two bedrooms and a half bath between them. The girls have the upstairs. We went up and they playing in their teepee for a bit. This is a nice home with a huge yard and big two car garage. They will have lots of years of family fun in this home.
Katelyn sent us home with a child's rocking chair to mend an antique hand tiller for a garden. This car we came to empty was not going home empty. Oh My!!
Paul came to join us after he finished work. We left the Roper home to take Paul out for a hamburger. Katelyn had suggested a place we could get a burger with a park behind. We picked up dinner for each of us and then met Paul at the park. We spread out a sheet for us to sit under a tree and eat and talk. It was good to spend a couple of hours with Paul like this. He shared what he is doing with his church and where he would like to live if he could live anywhere. That would be Ireland. I cannot blame him for this at all. When we visited there several years ago we loved every minute of being in Ireland. Good to be with this grandmonster.
I wanted a picture of the Ropers in front of their new home. So we left Paul and went back to the Ropers to quickly get this picture. (L-R: Drew, Raelyn, Katelyn & Emelia)
Back to Holton to the Tyler home. When we got there, Todd had purchased a post hole digger and was loading his truck to drive to the front yard to locate where to put the sign Claude made. I'm just going to post the pictures of the process of digging the holes and setting the posts and then Claude and Nissa and Todd with the sign.
The sign says 'Tyler' with their house number underneath (8853). The bottom has a bear on it. Todd is Native American and he is part of the bear clan. I love that Claude added a flag pole attachment to it. During the day Friday Todd found a flag and a pole and bought the post hole diggers. It was fun to be with them as they found the right spot and put the sign in so quickly. Have to say, Claude was having a little dirt envy. If one tried to do that in our yard, one would dig down a couple of inches and hit hart clay and then limestone. How nice to dig two feet into the earth that quickly. Claude put a pattern on the wood, then used a wood burner to burn the outline of all the objects, then he painted the inside of each letter, number and object with a brown leather color of paint. When all was finished he put three layers of a clear coat over it which really brought out the pattern to the wood piece. It fits with their rustic home.
While they put the sign in place, I roamed their front yard. Well, this is the front yard by the road in front of their home. There is a line of trees with a lane to their home. The last picture below is of the lane with Nissa standing in it. In front of their home they have another front and side yard and then the back has a big deck on it that overlooks their creek. These pictures are the front yard by the road. We have been told we could build a little home there if we want. Claude has also placed dibs as being the first buyer when they get ready to sell their home. Now, I need to tell you that the first five pictures below are of the 'Princess Tree'. Raelyn named it that and she loves to roll down the little hill below this tree. We actually don't know what kind of tree it is. It really grows like a very tall bush but Todd has bungy corded the base of all the trunks so that he can mow under it more easily. Looking at it you can't see those cords and it looks like a tree with pink blossoms. It is gorgeous and we have no idea what kind of tree it is.
Inside we went so Nissa and Todd could have dinner. She fixed BLT's and Claude enjoyed one as well.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
This was a day we had just with Nissa and Todd. I love these days. Time with our kids and their spouses is harder to get when there are children involved. It is a lovely place to be with your child as an adult and you enjoy being with them and their spouse. Claude asked them what they would be doing with this Saturday if he and I hadn't come to visit. They don't often both have Saturday off together. They said they would probably start the day with a drive through the countryside. We told them that would be great. We all piled into Nissa's car and away we went for the first part of our day. Michigan is a lovely state to drive through. Lots of farms in this part so the fields were beautiful as were the wooded areas. Lots of lakes and rivers. A couple of dams to cross over. We stopped in a town to have ice cream at one of Nissa and Todd's favorite spots. This is Jones and they make their own ice cream. In the second story of this building they also make Jones soda pop. We all had lemon custard, which is the Tyler's favorite and it was delicious. We ordered in our masks and then went outside away from everyone to enjoy our ice cream. We also stopped at a meat shop for Todd to purchase some jerky from a variety of animals in a variety of flavors. And our final stop was at the Amish store to get Claude some more rubs for his grilling and me some cookies. Alas, the Molasses Crinkles were all gone. But Claude found cheese and rubs to cook with. Then we backed Nissa's car into the garage and settled in for the afternoon and evening.
I cut Nissa's hair. Claude got a nap in preparation for a day of driving us home the next day. Todd was watching Jaws. I have a hard time watching this movie so I took myself to the back deck where there was a shady spot and faced the creek and the trees. The breeze was blowing and the trees talked to me. The birds were making lovely noises and I had a most pleasant afternoon. I took these pictures from their deck. I loved how the light rests on the tree branches.
This night Todd grilled steaks for us and Nissa made mashed cauliflower (instead of mashed potatoes) and broccoli with cheese. Nissa and Todd are on the Keto diet and have each lost over 50 pounds. This is one of their Keto dinners. Yummy!!
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Today was the day to head the Jeep back to Kentucky. I asked Todd to take a picture of Nissa with Claude and me. I want to do this with each of our kids as we see them. Just because...
We had good weather going home until we reached Dayton. We went through several heavy downpours between Dayton and home. I took this picture and sent it to the kids to let them know we were about to get into something fun as we drove.
I also took drive time to post Happy Father's Day to Claude. These are the pictures I had on my phone that I used for that purpose.
Then I posted to wish Papa a Happy Father's Day with these pictures.
We made it home safely and unpacked and settled in for the evening. We did receive an eMail that we will start having sacrament meeting at Church beginning June 28th. They will split the congregation in half. Half will attend one Sunday and half the next Sunday and rotate like that until we are ready for Phase 2 of the going to church in person process. Claude and I plan on staying home. That may sound silly given our recent Michigan adventure. But we were very guarded on the Michigan trip. Lots of hand sanitizer after being out of our car or going through a drive-thru. We only stayed with family who we knew didn't have the virus. And we didn't do much hugging except for great grandmonsters and Nissa. Sitting with 99 people in a closed environment we are not quite ready for. We haven't even gone inside a restaurant to eat yet. I want to be very sure I am well so that when they open the nursing home I can get right in there to visit with Papa.
This was a great trip. Much needed for each of us.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Claude had a dental visit this day. During his cleaning they found a cavity they want to fix and that will also require a crown. They cleaned out the cavity and put a temporary crown. While he did that, I went to take Papa a bag of treats for his belated Father's Day. I found an old Improvement Era (Church magazine) from 1927. This was the year before Papa was born. I gave him that and a trip book I had finished and some food treats and a root beer. Then I went to Walmart to buy some soft food for Claude to have while he healed. We would spend the rest of Monday at home vegging out.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Today we are home all day and trying to be a bit more productive. We did enjoy breakfast on the front porch. While there I noticed my daisy is blooming.
So I have finished my Blog entry. I will now tackle our China trip scrapbook and make it into a PowerPoint. Riveting life we have carved out for ourselves today. Absolutely riveting. Oh...and we will watch for rain showers today.
