Courtesy is cumbersome to those who know it not.

That is John's fortune from the Chinese Buffet by Meijer in Bloomington. Good chow (mein lol) if you are near.

Ran off to John's again to escape the annual Corn Festival. We were going to head to Decatur, John's old stomping grounds, for our favorite annual rummage sale put on by the humane society, but decided instead to spend the day in Bloomington. We had fun, thrifting and rummaging. We went to one estate sale in this nice older home that was soooo 70's. I mean the decor, wallpaper and such. It was a nice house, I loved it. Especially the pink tile in the bathroom. It was groovy. I was down in the basement, which had a rumpus (maybe rec room would be a better term?), with a bar. I was poking along through the basement, which was, of course, paneled and rambling lol, and noticed that the linoleum floor had a shuffleboard built right in! I'm sure in the day it was the talk of the neighborhood. I was still marveling on the shuffleboard when I happened upon the porn. Yes, porn. I said it out loud, kind of surprised, "PORN!?", and this other older lady (hey, she was at least 5 years older than me!), heard me and she looked at me and we were giggling. LOL   Maybe it was like this "Hey neighbor, come on over for some shuffleboard and . . . ?" I was very amused. I did not buy any porn, but I kept going back (just twice) to this weird drinking glass with signs of the zodiac on it, and x-rated couples . . . it was just so weird. I am a Gemini, by the way, and there is no way I'd be limber enough to do what those Geminis were doing. I did buy a shoebox full of memo pads though, G-rated. And a black metal table for outside. Also G-rated. I hope! I guess who really knows. Anyway, the point of this story is clean up your stuff people! Don't leave it for your kids to do. Take care of business!  People with dementia do not like clutter, and believe me, dementia is contagious! Ok Off my soapbox.

John also decided this weekend that it would interesting to decide what things have held up well over time, particularly TV shows and movies. Are they better, worse, or the same? He decided The Six Million Dollar Man has aged well, the Bionic Woman, not so well. The Incredible Shrinking Man and Poseidon Adventure and Village of the Damned also kick ass. That is my opinion. I remember that scene in the Incredible Shrinking Man with the cat looking in that doll house at the poor shrunken man! Wow. Go watch that movie people. And if there is a remake, please, please watch the old one. Always! Since John cut the cable cord we have been watching a lot of great old shows and movies. Sometimes I have to watch newer stuff too.

We also did some baking. Camping is coming up next weekend, and John has a potluck at work Monday.

I cooked up that caramel layer there.

These recipes are all from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/?ref=nav_recipes. Black and White Cookies, Salted Caramel and Walnut Slices, Cherry Coconut Bars, and, because we had leftover chocolate, and it is against the law the just leave that stuff laying around, we loaded up some Blondies with nuts and white and dark chocolate. Yum.

It hit me this week that my Dad is gone, I have a new brother now. He pretty much thinks I'm his sister, Noreen. Roller coaster emotions lately, and major sleep disturbance (for me, not for Dad LOL). He is doing very well at night, staying in bed, no more wildness, thank God! He is in a good mood too. So it could be worse. I've been blaming my red eyes on allergies. Allergies are a bitch man. Dementia is a bitch man. Some days everything is a bitch and I'm very very allergic.

Have a good weekend all.

Kay :)

Super cool old puzzle (dare I say "vintage") puzzle find from the weekend.

Super fun puzzle from the weekend treasure hunt.

Weekend at Johns

Hanging at John's house this weekend. Had some ping pong and a nice walk this a.m. at Spring Lake, a lovely park a few minutes from John's house.

Scary suspension bridge.

John on new bridge across Egg Bag Creek.

I cooked, honey lime tilapia,Crash Hot Potatoes http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/, with thyme and parmesan cheese, and some broccoli and carrots. Yummers.

John enjoyed my cooking.

I had stopped at Farm & Fleet on the way to John's house to pick up some almonds for him at a great sale price. Well, distracted by .59 Bun bars in the checkout aisle, I failed to notice that I was overcharged to the tune $2.79 per bag! Yikes. At 5 bags that adds up man. I stopped on the way home to get my refund. Anyways the pretty young girl working the service desk at Farm & Fleet explained it to me. Turns out I didn't get the sale price because the sale is on the 1 pound bags, and my bags are only 16 ounces. I said, "You know . .. there are 16 ounces in a pound."  All is well. Got my sale price and the farmer in the bib overalls behind me and I got a good chuckle.

Dad is still in a good mood, his sleep was a bit disturbed by his ears ringing. It has been terrible lately. He keeps asking Mom if her husband works nights. He asked me if I rode the bus. I asked what bus he was talking about, and turns out he wanted to know if I took the bus to high school. He is happy and smiling, so things are pretty good, just confusing.






Kay :)

Sunday

Beautiful day today. Tore down some morning glories that were looking a little peaked and cooked dinner for the fam. I didn't really plan this out John, it was quite impromptu, or surely I would have invited you over for veggie parmesan with my beloved roasted red pepper, eggplant, and garlic sauce from Trader Joe's, some fried tilapia, and a few stray zucchini and green tomatoes that didn't make it into the parm, but got fried up. And cornbread. Just cuz. Funny that the bag of cheese in fridge that I thought was an Italian blend, was really a Mexican blend. It was spectacular on the parmesan. I'm a good cook. I'm not a good dieter. Yet! I will not give up! LOL

Midge having a wash, she gets in the most ungainly positions and does not like to be photographed. Hence her disgruntled expression.

Had a great cookout last night at Mar & George's rec club, with ribeyes, twice baked taters, salad, garlic toast, cherry pie, dutch peach pie, ice cream, and lots of beer and good company.

I'm getting on the scale in the a.m. I have been avoiding it. I guess gaining a bunch of weight because your dad has dementia doesn't make much sense now, does it? Grrrrrrrrr to dementia and food issues.

Dad is in a great mood. I am Noreen today. He asked Mom where her husband is. And he asked Joe if the elevator was busy today. Yesterday he put pepper in his V-8 juice AND his coffee. LOL  I don't mean to make it sound hellish, because it is not. He is happy and smiling, he is just confused. He has a good appetite. He is doing well with his beloved jigsaw puzzles. He is staying in bed at night, and Mom is well rested, which is a big relief to me. One of my biggest fears, besides Dad having to go to the nursing home, is the fear of what could possibly happen should dementia meet up with a manic bi-polar episode. God help us all if that happens! But Mom is doing well, and please let it continue that way. Dad can't believe he and his family ended up living in Morris. He never thought they would end up here. He acknowledges that it is not bad here and he thinks he'll get used to it, but he sure misses his old farm and having everyone together there. He can't seem to forget how much he misses that farm and wants to go back there.


Have a good week all.

Kay

September 13

I love my zinnias. 

Dad's medication has been changed for the better. He is resting better at night now. He is really confused last few days, and his tinnitus has flared up again, so his ears are ringing like crazy. He has been in a good mood, no orneriness, which is nice. He is smiling a lot. He has been doing pretty good on the jigsaw puzzle, a big 300 piece one. We take a ride every night. Down to the river and to the cemetery. We talk. It is always interesting! LOL  Like deja vu all over again, and again, and again!

I planted some lettuce, radishes and onions this a.m. Just for fun. For Midge I mean. I'm sure she has dug them all up by now! LOL

Kay :)

~~we interrupt this blog for a brief...

Kay?  Kay?  Oh, that's right.  She went back to Morris and is at work today.  I still have today and tomorrow off.  I should have figured it out when I noticed how quiet it was here in Streator today.  Golly, just because she's done blogging about our vacation doesn't me it should be over for me, does it!?

Today I checked my fridge for more Farmer's Market bounty.  Having perhaps too much time on my hands, I quickly had three things going:

In the back are the nice, fresh black beans I got, simmering away with some veg.  Those are going to end up as refried beans.  Up front are eggplant slices on my grill pan.  I really should use that grill pan more...it does a nice job.  Good thing I had the doors and windows open, though, or I would have gotten to finally hear what my smoke detector alarm sounds like.  On the right are onions, garlic, peppers, zucchini getting ready to become a sort of lasagna sauce.  

A little bit of laying later and we have something very tasty:

Unfortunately I may have over-partaken.  I hear the call of my couch and pillow.  One tip for those of you farmer's market fans who have a blog: when you have an ovarian cyst removed and unexpectedly need a colostomy bag for several months and you give your brother your user-name and password to do an update for you you might want to change it at some point or who knows what could show up on your blog from time to time?

Farmer's Market Bounty

I watched some of the Ironman streaming live this a.m. Brrrrr, cold swim this a.m. I'm thinking! There was lots of excitement and energy in Madison this weekend. It was fun.

Back home now, using up the goodies from the Dane County Farmer's Market.

Fun to sit in the brisk morning watching the huge crowd, sipping a coffee, and eating our breakfast . . .

an oatmeal rhubarb breakfast bar. These are delicious!

Delish! And alas no picture, but we had fresh empanadas  too, one with potato and red pepper, one with egg and sausage, and topped with a zippy cilantro sauce. Yummers.

Missing from the photo, a pecan pie bar . . .

Supper last night. The Honey Crisp apple in this salad was the best apple I have ever tasted.

Sunday a.m. breakfast burritos. Those shitake mushrooms . . .  wow!

We are going to do something with the eggplant and zucchini for lunch.

It was a good weekend.

Kay :)

#5

Car!

Whew, I still got it!

TGIF

Hi Folks,

Dad's appointment Wednesday at Hines Veteran Hospital with the neurologist was pretty funny. Mom and I did some silent belly laughing while Dad was getting quizzed by the neurologist, a tiny tiny woman who put the accents on the wrong syllables and confused the hell out of my poor demented father. She did think "papa was very cute and he has hardly no wrinkles" and he is lucky to have us to take care of him. She told Dad that the reason most dementia patients have to go to the nursing home is because their caregivers can't get any rest AT NIGHT and told him he MUST stay IN BED. Hell. Dad doesn't even know he has dementia, and the nursing home is my biggest fear, so I kind of thought she should just shut the F*** up. She really stressed to Dad how bad alcohol is for him, and told him NO ALCOHOL (with much emphasis), which caused Dad to ask coherently and hopefully . . . "maybe just a couple?". LOLOL  Mom and I both found ourselves trying to help him with the tests, I mean the doctor was great, but she talked really really fast and had an accent and she was hard to understand, and yes we were cheating, by trying to help him remember the five things the neurologist listed multiple times, with reminders that she would want him to list the five items back:

1. Sky
2. Table
3. Watch
4. House
5. Dementia is contagious . . .

Mom was pointing at her wrist, which prompted Dad to say "time", I rolled my eyes up at the sky, and Dad gave me his "Wow do I have a really really weird daughter look.". Anyway the trip was kind of a waste of time, and Dad's dementia is advanced, and that is how it is now. We got him some sliders and coffee and some french silk pie, so he was pretty happy. I really think he enjoyed the ride, though he said at least 20 times that he hoped he would never have to drive himself up there, because he might get lost.

We are in Madison tonight, and gosh it is a zoo! Turns out there is an Ironman Triathlon this weekend.Check-in place is right by our hotel. Lots of toned, buff bodies about, so we fit right in!

We had a fun trip up, hit some thrifts, found some fun jigsaw puzzles, so to do, some to sell. We had a nice lunch at the Old Fashion (no, I didn't forget the "ed"!)Bakery/Deli, grabbed a sammy and a treat (or 2), and took them to a riverside park in Beloit. Mine was provolone, american, mortadella, turkey, ham, salami, lettuce, tomato, special sauce, on a  yummy roll. Wow, it was good! Called home and Mom had had a good night with Dad, and he was having a good day today, so it was easier to relax and have fun.

Had picnic lunch here.

Came and checked into our hotel and took a walk, and had dinner at The Old Fashioned. I know. Almost same name as the lunch place! It was good. I let John order. But I would have corrected the order if it was stuff I didn't like. Kay like beer. Beer good.

John surprised me by having a beer. He wasn't sure if he wanted a whole one, so I took a few slugs off the top. I'm very helpful to have around in those situations.

Kay like beer. Beer good.

Onion straws with some paprika dipping sauce anyone?

Friday fish fry.

Cheeseburger and the best cheese curds ever!

No thanks, we don't need a container for leftovers . . . ever! LOL

Took a walk after dinner.

 

Off to farmer's market in the a.m, it's just a couple of blocks away. I'm glad we got a spot in hotel garage because parking is going to be crazy around here!

Have a nice weekend all.

Kay :)

Labor Day

Hi Folks,

Happy Labor Day!

Thanks, John, for sending me that link to the post about 6 true stories that will restore my faith in human nature. I think it worked. Maybe.

Plus my luck has turned. That pesky broken tooth/filling didn't need to be crowned! At least I have my fingers crossed that the filling will hold. And look at this!

I won a prize. Thank you Kettle Chips! Can you ever have too many potato chips? Six bags delivered right to my door. Big fun. Keep in mind I get tickled when I get a shampoo sample (or anything really!) in the mail. I gave 1 bag of chips to Donna and 2 bags to John. Let me get my calculator . . . that saved me 2250 calories. Not that I would have eaten all those chips! Haha. That reminds me that I haven't had any yet. Be right back . . .


I might start tearing my garden down today. It's a mess. My tomato plants are brown and wilting. I have an ulterior motive. If I rip them up I can dig up some more tasty taters! I have finally been seeing some hummingbirds though. They like the morning glories. Very entertaining. Midge is very entertained as well. I put the feeder up high on a shepherd's hook wedged into the fence to keep them safe from her. She's quite the stalker.

John and I are taking a ride up to Madison on Friday. Going to putz our way up there, and then head to Farmer's Market on Saturday. Looking forward to that. Some tasty apples sound good. It will be a short week for me, as I have Wednesday off too, for a trip to the VA for a neuro consult with Dad. Turns out he was supposed to discontinue two of his meds, and start on two new ones, but one Rx didn't come through. Hopefully the pharmacy will get that squared away and we will get the new one to try soon. It's for anxiety, and he does admit to feeling "nervous" sometimes. That will get better, though, he thinks, once he gets used to living in California. The new med to help him sleep is definitely working better than the Ambien was.

I was telling John about Dad trying to hit me up for a "five" for church. He was pestering me and pestering  me and it was not a church day anyways, and finally I said "Sure, hold out your hand." and I gave him five as in a clap on his hand, not the five dollar bill he was looking for lol, and he did not appreciate my wit and walked away, muttering something about hell. LOLOL Oh lordy I was cracking up. I was telling John that story and he said "Save your cash! Give the Lord five!" LOL Yeah, I'm going to know a lot of people down there.

Dad cracked up the other day when I asked him for a rubber band. He has this awful junk basket full of stuff (crap) and I figured there had to be a rubber band in there somewhere. When I asked him what was so funny, he was laughing so hard he could barely talk. He answered, "You! Asking me for a rubber band! I haven't touched one of those or seen one in years!" I'm not sure what he thought I was asking him for (though I have my suspicions!) and I did NOT ask! LOL  Gosh it was funny. I think. He just laughed and laughed and laughed, and it is very contagious.

I was getting pretty sick of our nightly rides to Dad's favorite cemetery (he took rides out there all the time, pre-dementia even!), and down to the river, so the other night we zipped over to Seneca, then scooted across the river and came home on Dupont Road. He loved it! He remembers the names of the owners of the farms and all sorts of stuff. He used to pack up our bikes when we were kids, and take us along when he mowed his aunt's lawn there in Seneca. We used to fight over who got to lay in the big back window of the light blue Pontiac. We used to like riding our bikes over there and he remembers it too. We have some nice talks on our rides. Or is it the same talk over and over? LOL No matter, it is often quite pleasant. And if it's not I do the same thing I advocated for my friends with noisy and/or crying kids . . . roll the windows down, turn the radio up and drive faster! Just kidding. Nice change for me too, changing our route. He did voice concerns over the gas expense though. I told him I could swing it. 

Miserably hot and humid here the last couple of days. I'll be glad when the heat breaks.

Cooked for the family tonight. Honey Lime Tilapia. It was delicious and so easy. Highly recommend this one. Served it with a clearance microwave pouch of  long grain and wild brown rice and some green beans almondine. Yum. The recipe didn't include the lime zest butter on top. That was my idea.

Honey Lime Tilapia. Next time I'll make more, no leftovers darn it!
http://www.onelovelylife.com/?p=3118

Have a good week all.

Kay :)