A Week of Ups and Downs...

We learned on Halloween, Saturday, October 31st, that Sean Connery died. He was a very good actor. Claude and I recently watched "The Untouchables". We enjoyed watching Sean Connery. 

I also meant to post this beautiful picture Claude found on Facebook. This is Dragon Tail Road at Deal's Gap in North Carolina. It is a favorite of motorcyclists. Claude drove it with his Goldwing. We sent it to Fred and Bevy, friends from our Goldwing days. The road has 318 curves in 11 miles. There are t-shirts for accomplishing this feat and everything. It is stunning in fall colors. 

Monday, November 2, 2020 we would make a quick trip to Georgetown. In addition to our walk and dropping off a treat bag for Papa, this time we made an exchange of Church keys. I have a key to our Church building so I can get in and practice the organ. I play for Church services. I also will take Papa in with me when I practice sometimes as he loves the music. I can crank up the volume and he can hear plainly. I will start at the beginning of the hymnbook and play a hymn. He will sit in the congregation seats and follow along in his hymn book. It is a great outing for Papa. I haven't had to use the key since March because of the virus. We have watched Church services via Zoom and, today, via Facebook. They play recorded music and we are not supposed to sing out loud as that spreads the droplets that carry the virus. I wanted to keep a key that will let me into the building to practice with this virus is under control. However, my key also opened the library. I was originally given that key when I was teaching Institute and needed to have access to the library. I exchanged the key I had with the new seminary teacher. She had a key that only let her into the building. That is really all I need so it felt great to make the change with Marissa Noe. 

Tuesday, November 3, 2020 was Election Day. My only comment here could be UGH!! and I could probably stop there. But, I will elaborate. Our current President, Donald Trump, was the candidate on the Republican ticket. He has done some good things but his mouth had been his undoing. It may work in his real estate tycoon profession but it is appalling as President. The Democrat candidate was former Vice President to Barak Obama, Joe Biden. His Vice Presidential running mate was Kamala Harris. She would be the first female VP and the first black women in a presidential office. I cared for neither ticket. However, there are very differing views of how the country should be run between the two parties. The Democrats have a very socialistic view of how the United States should be run and I am not at all for any of that. They are pro-abortion, I am not except in specific circumstances. They will come down on gun owners and I do not feel this is right either. And the list goes on and on. Claude and I opted to request our ballots on-line and have them mailed to our home. We voted and Claude dropped them off at the box at the County Clerk's office in Georgetown. We would not go to the polls to vote. Used to be all votes were counted on Election Night (Tuesday) and, while you might have to stay up into the night to learn the outcome, by Wednesday we knew who won the election. Now the ballots must be postmarked by election day and in some states later than than was acceptable. This means you must allow time for the ballot to go through the mail and then be counted. That gives you at least three days until after the election before you could finish counting ballots. Some states decided people could vote after the Tuesday date. It was ridunculous. Yes, I spelled that just how I wanted to spell it, ridunculous. There were some states in which the margin of victory was very narrow. There will be recounts and that will take time. There were reports of all kinds of irregularities. Claude heard of one state that suddenly and 110,000 ballots turn up and they were all for Biden. A little suspect there if that was correct. The end result is that Biden will win this election when it all shakes down and settles. And I am not happy about that because of great concerns of where he will want to lead our country. This meme showed upon Facebook on Thursday after Election Day and it really sums up the experience this year. 

Another cute quote I read had to do with the need for at least 270 electoral college votes to win. It said, "With all the stress eating and all the candy around, I may reach 270 before either of the candidates!"

A young mother and friend from living in Maryland now has a little son. His comment to her about this elections was so very cute. He said, "So whoever wins, what do they get? Is there like a prize or something?"

My prayer everyday is, and will always be, that we can be kind to each other through all of this. Neither party has learned that lesson yet as a party. Individual, yes, but not the parties as a whole. And each party has leaders that stir the proverbial pot and encourage contention. This will get us nowhere except to be a more divided country. I have serious concerns. But I will do my part and I will offer prayers daily for our country and those who lead it. 

There were many other things that happened on Election Day. In Oldham County there are two sisters that paint signs to go in yards that simply say, "Be Kind". I purchased one of those for Claude for Christmas last year and it has been and continues to be in our front yard. These two girls were to be on a morning television show calls Hoda and Jenna. We wanted to see it and sat in the living room to watch it. I started laundry that morning and had just switched the first load from the washer to the dryer. I folded and put that load away and started the second load as we sat to watch this show. I commented to Claude that something sounded weird in the laundry room. After watching the part of the program with the girls in it, I went to check on my laundry. My washer was not working and smelled like burned up something. I opened the lid and it was full of water and clothes. I started it and it only made a noise that was not right and it would not work. I called Claude and we determined the motor finally gave up the ghost. I emptied the water, wrung out the clothes and put them in the dryer to dry. Then Claude and I got ready and headed to Lowe's in Georgetown. There we purchased a new washer and dryer which should be delivered this Tuesday. I want to add that the first load of clothes I washed was the underwear. I usually wash that load last as it is my least favorite to fold. Something told me to wash it first this time and I followed that gentle prompting. How grateful I am. We can make do for a while with the clothes in our closets but I really didn't want to have to wash out underwear by hand. The first picture is a Roper washer. I was surprised by that name as it is the named our of first grandmonster and her hubby. The second picture is what we actually bought. I am not a fan of all the bells and whistles that we pay for on appliances and then never use. These will be perfect for me and fit the way I do laundry. We did look at two other sets but each of them would have to be ordered and would not arrive until December!! Yike.  Now all I can say is, come next Tuesday I will be doing a LOT of laundry!

The Georgetown NewsGraphic also printed this article about our Billion Graves service project. 

And, I finished a Kleenex box cover for our kitchen. The old one had a tear in it. When that happens, they are a goner. This one is all out of left over yarns and plastic canvas. Now I am working on one for my nightstand. It too has bit the dust.

Wednesday, November 4, we spent our day waiting for and then letting in the HVAC technician. We had no problems with our unit. We wanted it checked before bad weather arrives. Our only problem was the UV light that is an extra help in killing germs had a burned out bulb. The technician showed us that part and we recorded the part number. His suggestion was that we order it ourselves and install it to save a lot of money. Claude has ordered the part and he will install it. He was a very nice man. He even said Claude and I looked like we were in our last 50's. Flattery will get you everywhere! Bwha ha ha!!

Thursday, November 5, Claude spent his morning in Lexington. I spent my morning in the basement at my laptop scanning files. Each of us had a successful experience.

Katelyn sent us a copy of Raelyn's very first school picture. Oh be still my aging heart. She looks so grown up.

Friday, November 6, was Hayden Marx 16th birthday. Hayden is our grandson. Our family tradition is to get your favorite Girl Scout Cookie on your birthday. I buy them the first of the year and you get a box of your favorites on your birthday. We left Hayden's off at the Marx home when we went to the last football game. With the virus on the rise, we weren't sure about another visit. So we brought Hayden's cookies and left them with him. One Monday, I mailed a card that Claude colored with cash in it for Hayden's birthday gift. When Friday arrived and was actually Hayden's birthday, my Gramma heart was in trouble. I really felt like we should do something for him on his birthday. Claude agreed. We hatched a plan to go to the store and purchase Hostess cupcakes (which he could share with his family), popcorn and blueberry bagels. These are all foods we know to have on hand when Hayden visits. We drove the 1 1/2 hours to LaGrange. I texted Michael, Hayden's father, on the way and told him we wanted to leave a bag for Hayden on their front porch and I would text Michael so he could be sure it was picked up. Michael said we could come on in the house. Yeah!! We only stayed a few minutes. Hayden had his card he received in the mail and had not opened yet. He opened that and Bailey teased him with their cat. It was a good thing to allow to happen for this Gramma during these most weird of times. Then we drove the 1 1/2 hours home to Sadieville. One only does this type of driving when one really loves someone. Honestly!!

That night Hayden would play with the Oldham County High School Band at their football game. Andie sent these pictures of our young man.

Andie also sent these pictures from their home. Hayden is wearing his letterman's jacket. Claude purchased it for him. It is something Claude wanted to do as his grandfather. Hayden looks quite handsome in it.

Another thing we really enjoyed doing on Friday was ordering a pizza, salad and soda to be delivered to Jacob for his dinner. I have been doing this about once a month. Jake is so good about letting us do this. It is a kindness from us to him. When I start having feelings it is time, I contact Jake and we set up the time and kind of pizza he wants. Cottage Inn Pizza in Chelsea, Michigan has my name connected with Jake's address and it all goes very smoothly. It is a little thing. But it sure makes Claude and I feel good and we know it makes Jake feel good. 

This last item for Friday I am calling HOPE. Here is the picture that inspired this post.

This is my old Kindle. My first Kindle. I am on my third Kindle. This one will work fine until half the battery charge is gone and then it quits. I have kept it charged and at the ready. I always take it when I would visit Papa. He would play Solitaire or Hexes. Both games he has to use his brain to process strategy and it has helped as he loses is cognitive skills. We also listen to Music and the Spoken Word or I put a talk from General Conference on it and he will listen to that. This has been a great resource during our visits to give Papa a change of pace in his day. He can't remember to charge things. He can't remember how to turn this on or off or reset it if something goes amiss. So I have never left it at the nursing home for him. I just brought it fully charged and ready to use when needed. 

The last time I visited my father in person was Saturday, March 7th. He played his games during that visit. I brought this Kindle home and put it on my kitchen counter to charge for the Sunday visit. Sunday, March 7th, after Church, I set up my car to take Papa for a drive. When I got to the nursing home, there was a sign on the front door that no visitors were allowed because of  Covid-19. I would not be able to take Papa for that drive. I would not be allowed back inside the nursing home until things cleared up with the virus. That was eight months ago. For eight months this Kindle has remained charged and ready to perform its duty. I do occasionally unplug it and use the cable to charge my cell phone in the evening while we watch television. As I looked at it on the counter, I realized how silly that may be to some. But I want to be ready. There will come a time when I can see my father face-to-face again. At first this won't be a part of the visit. We'll have maybe 20 minutes and have to remain 6 feet apart in our masks. But that too will pass and I will see Papa in a situation where I can give him the biggest hug ever. And, if he wants to try it again, we'll have a little fun with this very old Kindle. Friday, I dropped off a treat bag for Papa and I went around to fill his bird feeder. I could hear Kathy Jones giving him the bag and telling him to look out his window. She told him his favorite person was outside. When I finished putting the birdfeeder back on the hook, I looked up to see Papa standing at his window waving to me. This time, my heart broke. I have stayed cheerful through all of this, but this time I just wanted to find a place and have a really good cry. I smiled at Papa and waved back. We blew kisses. I made a heart with my hands and then pointed to Papa. He knew what I was saying. I watched him peek in his bag of treats and then grin at me. I have had the responsibility for the last 15 years of caring for my parents in all the stages of their declines. I am doing the best I can with this by writing daily letters to Papa, taking in treat bags, filling the bird feeder and talking through the window to a father who is essentially deaf. This time, I loved being there with him and having that moment, but my heart was breaking. They have now had 3 cases of Covid-19 with the staff. Two have healed and the third is healing. There are thousands of people that Covid-19 will not touch. But for those that it does touch, it will be a difficult journey. Amazing lessons will be learned. Gratitude is felt by me at that miracle of a staff at Signature Health Care in Georgetown. They have worked so hard for eight months and have kept the virus from those who will not be able to fight it if they get it. Grateful seems like not a big enough or powerful enough word for my thanks to these people. That Kindle is a symbol of my hope for the future with this virus. I will keep it charged and ready. I will try my best to keep myself healthy. So I am ready when the time comes. And...it will come!!