And...the Week Flew By...

This week feels like it flew by. I was out of the house Monday and not again until Friday. This is a good thing, given that positive cases for Covid-19 are on the rise. However, when one stays at home all the time, the days really do run together. Not a lot of definition between days at all.

Monday, October 19, 2020 found Claude and I trekking back to J&L Pharmacy to get his diabetic shoes. He tried this the previous Monday but was a week ahead of himself. This time he was successful. He got back in the car where I was waiting and said, "They look really therapeutic." When we got home and he showed them to me, I did not find them that therapeutic looking. However, I have learned that you validate the person's feelings. When we got home and he showed them to me, I acknowledged to my dear hubby that I didn't find them bad looking at all. They looked good and solid to me. He was able to say he did feel they looked therapeutic but not as bad as they did at first glance.

Going to Georgetown allowed us to take a walk in the park and to drop off a treat for Papa. We also went to Fazoli's to have something to eat for our big meal of the day. Alas, they have changed their menu. The salad I love and the sandwich I love are no longer on their menu. Back to spaghetti for me. I had to have spaghetti there the entire 11 months I was waiting to get my bridge implant. I was really looking forward to a sub or their nice Italian salad. I love their spaghetti and could eat my weight in their bread sticks, so I had a good meal and was happy with the meal but very sad their don't have my favorites.

While at Fazoli's, I was sitting facing the window and could see Chick-fil-A across the street and down a ways. I was amused at their employee directing traffic in the rain. Chick-fil-A has the best systems for getting drive through traffic moving around their building. It requires an employee be out directing two lines of traffic around the store and through the drive through and out onto the highway. This day was a rainy day and they had their employee directing traffic in what appeared to be a fluorescent green plastic cone. The green would definitely catch driver's attention and would make the job safer for the employee. There were enough clear places in the cone so they could see out all over the place. I will share two pictures. The first was from far away. The second was me trying to zoom in, so it is very grainy. But you will get the idea of this clever rain gear.

As we left Fazoli's to go to the grocery store, Claude noticed that the employees taking orders were wearing the same type gear only in a bright red color. 

Off to Walmart to get some groceries. Claude went in and I waited in the car. He bought a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin for me to try a new recipe. It is fall and that brings out the desire in me for gingerbread. Someone posted this recipe that sounded super easy and might help with that spice craving. Here is the recipe and the finished product. We both very much enjoyed these muffins. I could picture someone making them and putting a topping on them of brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts. We did not do that but it would definitely be something I would consider in the future. It was not super sweet either. 

While at this, I will share another interesting idea that was on Facebook. I have not tried any yet, but if they would prove as good as the spice-pumpkin muffins, I would truly enjoy these.

My grandmonster, Hayden, sent me this brain candy to ponder:

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 we finally got Claude's Covid-19 test results. I called the Friday before and they told me I was negative. We felt sure Claude was also but they never called. Sunday the lady in their office that is the nurse practitioner called and said she still had not received results and had been in contact with the lab again to ask where they were. She said she would call as soon as she found out. Tuesday was the day the lab actually confirmed and the nurse practitioner called to confirm that Claude also tested negative. This is the second time we have used this office for a Covid-19 test. Both times they got my results quickly. Claude was several more days after before we got his results. Hmmm???

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 I found a word play meme to share with Hayden.

Claude had things to do in Lexington. He stopped at Meijer's to see if they had any briskets. He needs one more for the holidays. They did not have briskets...but they did have a seasonal favorite for me. I love the short time that Thomas' makes pumpkin bagels. He also bought brown sugar and cinnamon cream cheese to go with them. Isn't he a great hubby??? I took this picture and quickly sent it to Andie, my pumpkin season loving daughter. She was happy to see it was time...again.

Thursday, October 22, 2020 was my day to get some deep cleaning done. Wednesday and Thursday were great weather days. Temperature in the 70's with a few clouds. Just great days to be outside. I was up early and in my grubbies. I was going to clean the white railing on our deck in the back and our porch in the front. This is really hard on my legs and back because of the bent position during all this work. I got them done and swept all the decks and porches. Then I clean our big bathroom and washed all the shower curtains and rugs. Claude loves standing on the rugs after they have been through the dryer. 

I spent the rest of my day finishing up Claude's Christmas present. I have gone through all of our 50 years of pictures and put every picture of the two of us in a PowerPoint. Claude has wanted this for a long time and I am sure he will be happy when he gets it on Christmas day. I now have to make the PowerPoint pretty but the pictures are all collected. Yea me!!

I also received an eMail that TransSiberian Orchestra is doing a streaming thing this December since they cannot tour due to the virus. I purchased us a ticket to watch it at home. So happy they are doing this. This has become a highlight for Claude in December. 

Claude and I decided we should invite our Mini's over for a sleepover since they are on fall break from school. We both tested negative for the virus. So it should be okay. Andie was happy with the idea, ran it past her family, they were all happy, so it was set. We would pick up the Mini's on Friday and return them Sunday. That evening late I received a text from Hayden. He had not had a haircut since March. Not even a trim. Needless to say, this young man with thick, curly hair, has one really, really full head of hair. He is happy with it. His parents want it at least trimmed up and shaped. It seems Andie threw me under the bus to do this project. Oh My!! Hayden really doesn't want it done. I tread on thin ice on this people. Very thin ice.

Friday, October 23, 2020 we were up and ready to leave the house before 10am. We stopped for our walk in Georgetown, took Papa a treat and filled his bird feeder, Claude got me a biscuit and we were on our way to pick up our Mini's. We all agreed to stop in Frankfort at Zaxby's for lunch. Then on to the house for a Harry Potter marathon through the weekend. 

Claude said to the Mini's in the car, "There is a contest this weekend." The Mini's wanted to know what the contest was. Claude told them it was to see who would worship him the most. The Mini's are growing up and it only took Bailey a few seconds before she replied, "What is the prize...bragging rights?" This gave Claude a pause for thought. He said yes. Bailey then turned to Hayden and said, "I say we go 50/50. Deal?" Hayden said, "Deal" and that was that!! Poor Pa. It could be a long weekend for him. 

Friday we watched two Harry Potter movies, "The Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets". We paused for tuna salad on croissants for dinner. The Mini's hit the places they knew would have snacks when we first went down and they carried them down to enjoy while we watched the movies. It was a good evening and we were done by 11pm. 

I received an eMail that my mail-in ballot was received!! Yea!!

Saturday, October 24, 2020 the kids slept in till noon. I woke them up then and Claude fixed breakfast. This morning before I got out of bed, I heard what sounded like water running all over the attic. Claude was out of the bedroom and I knew he wasn't running water so it gave me a bit of concern. I got out of bed and looked out our bedroom window and saw a flock of birds flying from our roof toward the creek. It must have been all those birds walking on the roof. Whew! 

We would watch the next four Harry Potter movies through this day, "Prisoner of Azkaban", "Goblet of Fire", "Order of the Phoenix" and "Half-blood Prince". This was interspersed with pizza, cottage cheese, apples, applesauce, and assorted junk foods, ending with ice cream.

Sunday, October 25, 2020 the Mini's slept until 12:30pm. I was able to get my Blog started and letters written to the missionaries and to Papa. When everyone was awake, Grampa cooked breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Then Hayden got his shower and we cut his hair!! Oh My. This picture was taken October 16th when Hayden was playing with the band at half-time at their football game. 

This picture was taken after his haircut and the hair dried naturally.

We watched the last two Harry Potter Movies "Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2". By then it was 6:20pm. I looked at the Mini's and told them they had 10 minutes to be packed and ready to get in the car to head home. They did it!! We drove to Frankfort and found Cook Out Burgers and treated them to a burger and fries for their dinner. Then off to LaGrange we sped. We arrived in LaGrange at 8:30pm. Amazing!! The Mini's were happy to be home. The parents were happy with, as Andie said, "having a chance to miss each other". Given the virus situation we have lived with since March and the closeness to home and just our immediate family that live with us around all the time, Andie's comment is powerful. 

I want to post one little picture of a great grandmonster. It is our little Nelson by the pumpkin he helped carve. This little one is a doll and very much loved. 

Well, the virus rages on. Kentucky has a positivity rate is getting higher. Sunday, which is usually the lowest number of new cases in Kentucky, was 1462 new cases. This is the highest Sunday total ever for Kentucky. This last week we also had the most Covid-19 positive tests in a week in Kentucky with 9335 positive cases. The positivity rate will be figured today, Monday. It is a rolling average over 7 days. The nursing home where Papa resides has had one false positive test for a resident. They have now had two positive tests on staff. It has been a week since the last staff tested positive. They must have 14 days with no positive cases before they can try in-person visits. I saw a chart listing all 50 states and the number of positive cases per 100,000 in that state. The numbers were from John's Hopkins and were based on a 7-day average. Kentucky was 22nd in line. Still need to be very careful about what and how we do things and spend time at home as much as we can. Winter will be very interesting. These increases come after a time of being able to do things outside, which is supposed to be safer. Winter will keep us inside more. Interesting time to be alive. I Googled the 1918 pandemic to see how long it lasted. The History Channel said it lasted two years. If that holds true for this Covid-19 virus, we are 7 1/2 months into it. We still have a ways to go...

Viewing on Land & Water...

Friday, October 16, 2020 This weekend we were out and about a bit. Our Mini's had activities we could actually go and safely watch on Friday. On Monday, I set up and appointment for my first in-person visit with Papa since March. I also set up an appointment for Claude and me to get a Covid-19 test in preparation for that visit. Claude had a ophthalmologist appointment. His morning was spent in Georgetown. I opted to stay home and get some of the mountain of work I have to do on my laptop accomplished. I went upstairs at noon to get my shower to be ready for our journey to LaGrange. Imagine my disappointment when I received a telephone call from a nurse at the nursing home. They test the staff every other week for the virus. This week, one of their staff came back with a positive test. They are okay but will not work for two weeks and then test negative a couple of times before they can come to work. This means no in-person visit with Papa this coming Tuesday. They have to follow CDC and Kentucky guidelines. That means no in-person visits unless there are two weeks with no one, resident or staff, testing positive for Covid-19. There is another nursing home in Georgetown, Dover Manor, that is quite similar in size and type of residents, that has now had 17 deaths after the virus got in there. Ugh!! So we will wait for two more weeks before we try getting in to visit Papa again.

Claude returned from Georgetown and we finished packing, as we would spend the night at the Marx home, and loading the Jeep. Then off to Georgetown again. I would take Papa a treat bag and fill that bird feeder. Those birds really like to eat!! Then on to LaGrange.

First we watched Bailey run in a cross country meet. Michael was there to make sure we knew the correct places to stand to get a picture or two. Here is our sweet Bailey running. When she finished she had really sore calves. We got her home and put ice on the one that was the worst. Bless her heart, she wanted the blanket my mother made for her. I went upstairs and got her Mimi blanket and she snuggled down for her evening in front of the television to let her legs rest.

The evening would be spent at the football field. Hayden would be playing in the band. This week they were going to play 'Dirty Laundry' which is an Eagles song that Don Henley wrote when Rupert Murdock posted news about him that was not true. I love this song. Has a great beat and every time we go to an Eagles concert that is one of the numbers I anxiously await hearing them play. When Hayden knew they were going to play it, he texted me to see if we wanted to come watch. Such a sweet invitation. Andie and Michael also got tickets so the four of us sat and watched the game and listened to the band play. The added fun to this evening was the temperature. It was to be in the low 40's. Something happened at half-time and the wind picked up and the temperature felt like it dropped 10 degrees or more. I would video each of the musical pieces during half-time. By the time I finished my hands were frozen. I was very concerned for Hayden and the other band members in the cold air. They can't put on coats or gloves. After the game, Claude and I waited and took Hayden home. When we got to the Marx home, Hayden reached out to give me a hug. Mind you he had been in the band room, in our warm Jeep and was now in their warm home. His hands were still like putting two popsicles on my face! The band played well and I loved hearing them play Dirty Laundry.

We were all so cold when we got back to the Marx home. Michael turned on the heater to help us warm up. Going from cold to warm made us all sleepy. Going to bed was not an issue for any of us.

Saturday, October 17, 2020 would be a really fun day. In 2019 we attended the Spaghetti Dinner for Hayden's Boy Scout Troop. They always have lots of fun raffle items and Claude purchased one that was a lunch cruise on the Ohio River out of Louisville. Then Covid-19 hit and all this kind of thing was shut down. Claude called them and they had opened up again. Even though it was past the expiration date for this gift certificate, they were extending all those expirations dates and were very happy to have us call and come. Claude booked us on the 12pm cruise on the Mary M. Miller steam boat for lunch. Lunch would be provided by City Barbeque. This is one of our favorite places to eat. The entertainment would be provided by Juggernaut Jug Band.

I took these pictures of the entering Louisville.

We had to park by the Galt House and walk down to the riverfront. These are pictures before the cruise. I enjoyed watching this row of Canada Geese on the Ohio River. Then they all took off together.

This picture is the view of the Belle of Louisville on the Ohio River and some of the bridges.

This is the Mary M. Miller, the boat on which we would spend the next two hours dining, listening to music, and enjoying the scenery.

Soon it was time to board and enjoy lunch provided by City Barbeque and music by the Juggernaut Jug Band.

Did you know that Jug Bands started in Louisville?? I did not know that. The Juggernaut Jug Band was started in 1965 by Roscoe, the man with the lighter hat in front, and the father of a band member on the back row on the right. The band has been in existence continuously sing 1965. Roscoe used to wear all the instruments you see on the ladder in the last picture. In 1985 he had to have back surgery. I'm guessing it was wearing all that stuff!! But, after the surgery he could not wear that anymore. This brought out his creative self and he made the ladder arrangement for all the instrument. Roscoe was honored by the City of Louisville as and International Ambassador for Louisville. The band was very happy once they were allowed to do the cruises again. The virus has really been hard for entertainers as venues have had to close and many not reopen. The other thing I learned is there is an annual Jug Band Festival in September on the waterfront in Louisville. That might be an interesting thing to take in sometime.

After the intermission for the band, Claude and I roamed the Mary Miller and took a few more pictures.

This was cruise was so much fun. Claude said, "Well, at least we got our cruise in this year!" We would highly recommend this for anyone. Families were on board, people were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. Good time was had by all. 

We went home and received a phone call from our son. Very nice to catch up with Jake.

I also wanted to include a few pictures I missed before the dates of this post. First a picture of our little tree changing colors taken October 10th. Love this little tree.

Second, our first born great grandmonster is attending pre-school. This day her class was studying orange and the kids all wore orange. Raelyn is on the left and her little sister, Emelia, is on the right.

Lastly they tasted lemons in Raelyn's pre-school class. Such a cute express on her face.

We have had a good weekend. Viewing family on land. Having lunch on the water. Today we have had a really good Sabbath day. Now Claude is calling me to have homemade chili for dinner. I must go!!

Home and Back to Being Busy...

Saturday, October 10th, was a special day. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and particularly our stake, the Lexington North Stake, has been finding ways we can do good things and still be observant of the Covid-19 restrictions. This day we were all invited to download the Billion Graves apps to our cell phones. Each ward (congregation) had a person to locate public cemeteries in their ward boundaries. Claude was that person in our ward. People who volunteered were assigned a cemetery in their area for their family to work. And, if there were multiple families, they were given specific areas of the cemetery. Then, as families, they would go to their part of the cemetery and take pictures of the headstones using the Billion Graves app. These could then be transcribed by the family taking the picture. Meaning, they would record the information on the headstone into the app. Then all that is downloaded to Billion Graves and is available for anyone searching out their ancestry. When I was a child and my parents were working their genealogies, they had to go to the cemetery and take the picture. This might involve doing that on a long trip. Now, we can research our family through this App and not have to make that long trip. Claude and I spent the first part of our day getting the t-shirts provided by the Church for each volunteer and delivering them to the volunteers in our ward. Then we went to the Sadieville cemetery and took photos of one end of it. We will go back another day and take pictures of other graves. This was a really fun activity. Many families posted pictures of their children cleaning headstones to get the best picture. A good time was had by everyone that participated. Great way to serve and enjoy the fresh air.

Sunday, October 11th was a nice day at home. Church service via Zoom, followed by our own study and worship at home. The Noe family had been out-of-town on Saturday and planned to take their Billion Graves pictures on Sunday afternoon. They needed their t-shirts and were willing to drive to Sadieville to pick them up. When they arrived their youngest, Lyla, came to the door with her friend. I had put a bag with 5 pieces of peach taffy in it. When Lyla showed up at the front door with a friend, I had to ask them to wait a minute while I quickly added another piece of peach taffy to their bag. The girls eyes lit up with the idea of peach taffy. And the Noe family was off to take the pictures with their Billion Graves app. 

Monday, October 12th, I was able to stay home and take care of business in the morning. I received a letter from the nursing home the Saturday before we left for Jekyll Island. It had a cover letter stating they were planning to open the nursing home to in-person visits with restrictions beginning Wednesday, October 14th. There were several forms that needed to be filled out and a Covid-19 test needed to be taken with results given to the nursing home. I spent Monday morning being sure all my questions were answered and all my ducks were in a row for this visit with Papa. I called the nursing home and left a message for Glen Redmon to call me back. He did and we set up Tuesday, October 20th, for me to have my first in-person visit with Papa. The nursing home will only be doing in-person visits on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. The visits will be for 20 minutes starting at 1pm. There will be a 1:00-1:20pm visit and then 10 minutes for them to clean, a visit from 1:30-1:50pm and then 10 minutes for them to clean. They will do six of these visits each of those 3 afternoons. Next I called and set up a Covid-19 test for Claude and me on Wednesday, October 14th. I filled out and signed all the paperwork. Ideally, I am set to visit with Papa on Tuesday at 1pm.

Claude and I had errands in Georgetown. We first delivered the final set of t-shirts. Then we went to the drug store for Claude to pick up his shoes. He gets a new pair of shoes each year because of his diabetes. They are ordered through J&L Pharmacy in Georgetown. Turned out he was supposed to come the next Monday. We were a week early. 

Claude bought me a soda and a biscuit. Then we went to Moss Park to take our walk. Well, Claude took his walk and I waited in the car. I was feeling a bit under the weather. But I brought things to do. While Claude walked his two laps of the park, I read and worked with my Courage workbook from Time Out for Women, sipped my soda and had a nice time to myself. Time to freshen up the groceries. We needed to get fresh veggies and milk as we finished those before our trip. Claude would do the grocery shopping and I would continue working in my Courage workbook. During these two times in the Jeep, I managed to finish about half of my workbook. Good use of that time. 

Tuesday, October 13th, Claude used his birthday present. I gave him a 45 minutes flight in one of those little airplanes. I have done this twice before and Claude very much enjoys that time in the air. We were surprised when the pilot invited me to join them. So I climbed in the back seat of this little plane, the pilot gave me headphones to cut down on the noise of the flight (I wouldn't be able to hear what he and Claude were saying, just protect my hearing) and I got my cellphone camera ready and my real camera ready to take lots of pictures. 

The pilot told me that he was going to fly us over Sadieville so we could see our home. How cool is that?!?! Our pilot was Rodrigo. He cheerfully took a picture of me and Claude by the plane in which we would fly. Claude is on the left and Rodrigo is on the right in the second picture. There was another little plane leaving right in front of us. I took pictures of it to get a frame of reference for what we were going through with our flight. We were leaving from Lexington Blue Grass Airport.

These picture are the flight between Lexington and Georgetown. There is really only about 15 miles maximum between Lexington and Georgetown. The third picture is of Keeneland Horse Race Track.

Soon we were over Georgetown. The first thing I noticed was Great Crossing High School (1st picture). This is the new high school in Scott County. The second picture is also of Georgetown. In the lower left corner you can spot a water tower. Follow the road to the next intersection to the right. On that corner is our Church building. It has parking lots of each side. The last two pictures are of the new by-pass extension in Georgetown. At one end is a traffic circle on Hwy 32. This is where the previous phase of the by-pass ended. Now they have added a traffic circle and the extension will north from it. The last picture is the other end of the new by-pass addition. It is at the intersection of Hwy 25 and Cherry Blossom. This will open soon and will be a huge blessing to the Georgetown/Scott County area.

Rodrigo was letting Claude fly the plane between Lexington and Sadieville. We would now fly north toward Sadieville. We flew over the Toyota Plant. Then further north past three communities built around lakes in the area. The first is Moon Lake subdivision, the second is Harbor Village subdivision and the last is Mallard Point subdivision. I recognized the Scott County Landfill. Then I was a little confused. I saw a sign and a gas station and thought I was looking at the Pilot Travel Plaza. But there should have been two signs because there are actually two Pilot station, one on each side of I-75. Also at this point Claude started trying to get my attention. I snapped the final picture in this set and only realized when I was home that it was the Love's Travel Plaza in Sadieville!!

Rodrigo took over the flying duties and Claude was able to really take in Eagle Bend subdivision in Sadieville, our home. For years we were the last home on Eagle Bend Drive. Now the Hunt's have built a home north of us on the hill and, before them, the Williams, built their home out in the woods. Claude and I are no longer the last home on the block but there is a green space between the Hunt home and our home. 

This first picture is a little fuzzy. But I like that it includes the old Sadieville School in the lower left corner. You can see all of Eagle Bend in the center. Our home is the last one on the right with the gravel roads leading to the Hunts and the Williams homes.

Now that you have your bearings, I will post pictures of Eagle Bend and particularly our home. See if you can find it!

Time to head back to Georgetown area on our way back to Lexington. I took these places that figure in our lives. The first picture is where Community Based Services is located. I have to go there at least annually regarding Papa's care. It is to the left of the road going down to the white warehouse. The second picture is Lowe's with the white roof in the center. A good portion of our retirement income is spent in this store. Jimmy John's in in the front part of the parking lot and is a favorite place to eat. The third picture is the intersection of Hwy 25 and Ironworks Pike. Ironworks in the highway going north in the picture. It is the highway on which the entrance to the Kentucky Horse Park is found. The Kentucky Horse Park is the next picture. 

Time to go on back to Lexington. One last look of Georgetown. You can see the 460 By-Pass on the left and on the right is I-75. The second picture is simply a pretty house surrounded by fall color. I liked the layout of the third picture. It is where Hwy 25 crosses over I-64. The loop is where I-75 joins at I-64. The fourth picture is of Spindletop. It is actually on Ironworks Pike down from the entrance to the Horse Park. It was the home of a wealthy oil person who moved to Kentucky. The home is now owned by University of Kentucky.

We are back to Lexington now. I took this picture because it looked like the little green houses you buy in the Monopoly game. Lots and lots of little houses in rows. Next is the Lexington, Kentucky skyline. The third picture is Calumet Farm in Lexington. This farm has won so many trophies with race horses that there is a room full of them at the Kentucky Horse Park. Pretty farm with white fence.

And...we landed back at Lexington Blue Grass Airport. 

This was so much fun and an absolute surprise for me. I purchased a flight for one. The pilot was kind enough to ask Claude if I might like to join them. Claude said I probably would. Then Claude sent me a text and I said yes. Unexpected delight!! I came home and took the pictures off my camera and posted them on our family Facebook page and our Eagle Bend Facebook page. So fun to share this experience.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 I had scheduled Claude and me to get a Covid-19 test in preparation for me being able to visit Papa. We were in Georgetown at 10:30am for our test. You just sit in your car, call in to the doctor's office, they come out and take medical history and then swab your nose all the way to your brain. That is it. Now we wait for the results.

I had two prescriptions to pick up, so we took care of that. Usually when we walk we go to the park in Georgetown and walk. This day I suggested to Claude that we drive to Lexington and walk in the Arboretum. I checked online and they were open, masks were required. We left Georgetown and drove to the Arboretum. Here are pictures of our lovely 2 1/2 mile walk in the park!

Claude and I were both very tired when finished but we were sure happy we did this walk. Great day for a walk. Great place to take a walk.

Thursday, October 15, 2020, I was able to spend the entire day at home. I spent my morning multi-tasking. I did ironing while catching up on the days we have been home from Jekyll Island in this Blog. This was a good way to do it as downloading pictures takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R. I also managed to get two letters written for Papa. I have so much work to do in my sewing room that the rest of this day will be spent down in the basement working away. Claude went to Frankfort today to renew his driver's license. Now he is trying to get the grass cut before the rain cloud overhead dumps on our hill. This has been a full week and more is to be done as we finish the week.