Merry Christmas & Flashback Post

I know I know . . . it has been a long time! LOL  Dad wasn't feeling well, and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia last week, December 17th. He also had an eye infection. Scary stuff! He was in rough shape. He got transferred to rehab on Tuesday, and is still there. Doc said maybe 3-4 weeks! Holy shit! That is a long time. So no Bernie at home for Christmas. We still had a good day, at least we faked it pretty well. I made a kick ass brisket, colcannon, corn casserole and roasted cauliflower.Mom and Joe have been visiting in the mornings; Mom goes back in the afternoon, today John (Pat lol) went with her; and I go at night. Dad continues to improve. He is on oxygen, but he looks pretty good for a 95 year old!

I'm flashing back to things I thought about blogging about, but never did!

Funny Kay/Norene/Bernie conversation while Dad was in hospital (in bed, on oxygen, in a hospital gown!):

Bernie: I hope I don't have to milk tonight. Or take a shower! They won't make me take a shower on my first night here, will they?

Kay/Norene: I think you are safe Bernard. No work for you!

Bernie:  Good! I'm old and gay.

Kay/Norene: What!? (giving Bernie The Look)

Bernie: I'm old and gay.

Kay: (laughing laughing) Gay?!

Bernie:  GRAY GRAY!

lololol

Flashback to last weekend; annual cookie baking at Mar's.

Mark, Mar's twin bro and Donna's hubby. If you see him . . . RUN!

It's all about the ass . . . I mean the BASS!

The Rileys. We missed Jackson this year, he was under the weather, darn it!

Awww Mar and Kristi get prettier every year! Thanks for the cookie day again Mar!

 

Flashback to December 12, 2014, Bernie turns 95! But Bernie wasn't feeling too good . . .

Bernie feeling punk. But really, Bernie never looks that great when he is sleeping! LOLOL

Even further back . . . we had a good Thanksgiving, turkey extravaganza, and I gave Midge her Christmas present early. She's been wanting some space of her own, you know, so  . . .

Midge inside . . .

And Finn on top!

introducing the Kitty Club House? Hmm I just made that up. I need to think of something more sassy. It's outside now, so the kitties can get out of the wind should they choose!

That's it. Peace Out.

And I left Bernie a note today on his wardrobe . . it says EAT SLEEP EXERCISE - GET BETTER! We want him home!

Kathleen

Veteran's Day

What a blustery Veteran's Day! The parade was canceled yesterday because of the weather forecast. Too bad, Dad loves that celebration. He never did go to the ceremony when it was held indoors, just the outdoor ceremony on courthouse lawn. He doesn't even really know he missed it, but I do. I would have taken him for sure.

What does a girl do on her day off in the middle of the week? Took a surprise ride with Donna to Bolingbrook and had lunch at Portillo's, then came home and made the Pioneer Woman's Enchiladas for supper, with green chile rice on the side. Yikes! LOL The trip to Bolingbrook was a surprise, I certainly would have picked a different dinner lol, something lighter to be sure, but the wheels were already in motion . . .

Everybody should make enchiladas at least once, but given the ingredient list, the labor, the clean-up, the mess, the quantity, next time I'm going to Chiles! These were delicious, to be sure, and I have lots of leftovers.

Dad has recovered from his flu bug, his color is better and his appetite is picking up. Whew! So far mom is OK too. I was not successful in fighting off John's cold bug, and had a nasty cold for a few days. My Kleenex stockpile took a hit!

I moonlit, moonlighted, worked for Mar at a catering job Sunday and my knee held up very well. Perhaps I should pick up the activity a bit and quit being a baby babying it so much.

We celebrated Mom's birthday with supper out and a coconut cream pie. Dad's 95th is coming up next month.

My kitties are not liking the cold so much. I commissioned a vacation house for Midge. It is being decorated now, photos to follow. She has been wanting one, what can I say? I'm a Crazy Cat Lady.  Midge and Finn kind of hesitate at the door, waiting to see if I'm coming out, maybe to rock on the patio or pull some weeds, but they are gonna have a long wait. I feel bad shutting the door on them. I miss summer already.

TBCCP (Throwback Cute Cat Pic?)

Kay :)

November

Happy Halloween! Be on the lookout for this new alien vegetable . . . Midge was terrified! Or I suppose it could have been partly the mixer going. She is awful skittish with loud sounds.

It does look sort of predatory . . . and . . . well, you know . . .

Dad had a flu bug. Vomiting, diarrhea! Yikes. It was a rough one. Quite worrisome. Mom got quite a workout, he was in the bathroom quite often. I know that is TMI. Because I am his sister I get out of the bathroom thing (whew), cuz it's OK for your wife to be in there . . . but not your sister! Whew! LOL  But he is remarkably sturdy, and is coming out of it very well. His color looks a lot better, he was quite pale.  His appetite is still pretty absent though. At his last VA check-up he had lost 11 pounds in 6 months. Doc wants him to drink a couple Ensure or Boost every day. He's doing OK, having one a day. He still eats, just not enough, not like a Morris Mallaney! He can always handle a doughnut though . . . even if he won't finish his supper!

 I am praying Mom won't get sick, and so far, so good. Her birthday is the 7th, she'll be 77! Yikes! 

I was afraid I'd never get Bernie out of the house after work for a ride now that it is dark so early, but he went tonight and we saw a huge barge and 2 boats down at the river. He was tickled. Of course he doesn't remember it now, but I do. He was happy. I liked it too. I told Bernie it was going to be one long ass winter if we didn't get out at night once in a while! LOL  He doesn't think he wants to drive though (praise Jesus!), and he is going to give me some money for gas . . .

I went to John's this weekend. We did some freezer cooking to help mom out a little bit. Isis apparently wanted me to hurry up with this recipe business, that little scamp . . .

I was making Martha Stewart's Spicy Cheese Dip for election day at work. Election day is a county holiday every other year (woo hoo), and I'm moonlighting at the  Clerk's office tomorrow. It's fun to be around the courthouse on election day, very interesting and kind of exciting. I like it. Everybody brings in snacks and there is usually sandwiches and pizza and stuff. I made my cheese dip and a lemon cake. You should see the staff handle that election. They are like a well-oiled machine. It is so impressive to me, the organization and efficiency. Kudos to the staff at the County Clerk's Office, they bust their asses!

John's sweet kitties barely let him get out of his recliner before they claim it! They like the warmth. He throws a blanket over top of them and they snooze away! It's very amusing.   John did have the heat on this weekend . . . all the way up to 59! Woo hoo!

I don't want to leave Finn out of this post . . . it wouldn't be right.

Finn is still doing his yoga and meditation. Good boy!

I was exposed to Dad's flu bug, and while at John's he seemed to be coming down with a cold. I am sure I will successfully defend myself from these invaders!

Kathleen :)

Fall is here

Three years ago today I woke up in the hospital absent a large ovarian mass and with a colostomy! How time flies! LOL And I know I have said it before, but one more time . . . thank God for colostomy reversals! Woo hoo!

Been busy ripping up the garden beds, pulling down morning glories, washing windows, getting things ready for winter.  My friend at work, her parents are predicting a rough winter due to thick woolly worm coats! I hope they are wrong! Summer sure flew by. I did find a surprise zucchini whilst ripping up the garden though. My zucchini plants sometimes die right after I pick the first zucchini; the plants have always seemed so delicate. Well this one plant of mine, I felt bad killing it to get ready for winter! Picked it up by the roots to put it in lawn bag and there was a good size zucchini there, 12-14 inches. I'm looking forward to that summer taste one more time. I cut back the catnip, it had nearly taken over. Midge and Finn were snoozing away in the house, and 3 of the neighborhood strays (some very well-fed, fat strays in this neighborhood lol), came to call. Kind of fun. I threw some catnip cuttings over the fence in driveway for them. I think they are still coming by because every once in a while Midge urgently scratches to come in, and she rushes in and has a very fat tail, which amuses me to no end.  Nowhere for Midge to hide now, the little stinker, now that those packed beds are emptied. Just one to go, the flower bed. It still looks pretty, from a distance at least! Nice to have a little color out there still.

Pretty quiet around here. Bernie isn't too anxious to go for a ride, it has been a dark, dreary stretch here. Weather has been kind of blustery.  Bernie likes sunshine. Supposed to be back up in 70s for the weekend though, I'll get him out then. Had Dad up to the VA clinic last week for a blood draw; this week he'll get his exam. He's doing well, worries about his bowels and milking the cows mostly. And church of course! Bernie cannot miss church. I wish I had his dedication. I got him a new rosary, one with St. Patrick on it, and shamrocks etched on the beads. Dad, like most of the family, likes all things green.

The dementia clock is still a popular item! Bernie loves it. Mom loves it. Money well spent! LOL

Mom's birthday coming up in November (77) and then Dad in December (95), and they both seem to want the thermostat up way too high, so I ordered them some heated throws. If the folks don't like them, I'm sure Midge and Finn will gladly take the hand-me-downs! LOL

I do not like putting away the summer clothes and getting out my long pants and real shoes again! I guess there is no way around it. Midge and Finn love the cooler weather, have been frisky as hell. Too bad I'm such an old fart. LOL I've been fighting the urge to bake cookies, and have been making soup and stew.  That is the part of fall I like!

That's all.

Boring Kay :)

Sunday

John and I went to the Farmer's Market in Madison last weekend. Probably my favorite overnight trip. The pool at the hotel was delightfully cold, and the hot tub delightfully warm, lol, and popping from one to the other felt great. I commented to John that the breakfast at the hotel was unusual in that there was no plate of pastries or mini muffins like we usually see at the hotel breakfasts. Not that I eat much of that stuff! lol There was scrambled eggs, local sausage (wow was that good), and taters. Tasty stuff. And the city is filled with active, outdoorsy people. They are everywhere!

Rockford, on the way home, was in stark contrast to Madison! We went to an estate sale.

I would have to say the person who lived in that house was a hoarder. But it was like she was a hoarder up til like 20 years ago, then stopped. But she never got rid of anything. I've never seen so much stuff. And we were there on the fourth day of  the sale! The house was very clean and nice though, I don't want to badmouth anybody. All those dolls staring at me was rather disconcerting though, but to each his/her own! It makes me think about what I have and how much I need though, and the thought of one of these estate sales where people just go through your home and drawers and closets, well it kind of freaks me out!  I scored some 70's towels, and some lovely pillowcases, all brand new. I'm pretty sure we had some of these patterns on the farm when I was a kid. Remember that one laundry detergent that came with a towel all rolled up on it! LOL Memories! I can almost smell that detergent and feel that powdery feeling of that rolled up towel!

So pretty!

Bernie is all the time asking what day it is. You can kind of tell when Mom is tired and when Dad has been asking that question all day. So I decided to look on line and see if I could find something to help. I found lots of clocks that had the day but they abbreviated the day, and that could confuse the Bern. Then I found a dementia calendar . . .

Bernie by his new dementia calendar.

Bernie likes his new calendar!

Bernie: "Who got that for me? I love that! It's nice! Is is right?"

LOL  He does love it and it has helped a lot. Now it is kind of fun to ask Bernie what day it is! Maybe I just have a weird sense of humor!

We took a ride over to John's today for a delicious cod dinner, homemade bread, fried green tomatoes, zucchini, and shitakes. It was spectacular! Goodbye fried green tomatoes! See you next year . . . boo hoooooo.

I leave you with photos of Farmer's Market goodness . . .

I can't believe it is nearly October already! Where did the summer go?

Kay

Is it really September already!?

I started this post a couple of weeks ago, and it was so boring I just saved it as a draft  . . .  and it is still pretty boring!

School starts and it gets hot! All the more reason school should start later.

Bernie's bowels are in an uproar. He's going to the doc to get checked out Wednesday.

Did some yard work last Friday, trimmed some bushes and some growth along driveway. Had a terrible allergic reaction, eyes nearly swollen shut, face blotchy all over. I looked a fright people. Got some prednisone, had to take some benadryl and some zyrtek, and doing better now. I can't do any more yard work, woo hoo!  I'm sure there is a more definitive reason for my allergy, but I prefer to just steer clear of the yard work. Who wouldn't!? lol

BOOOOOO! This is my much improved eye area. And my second selfie! I felt kind of like the dog on Little Rascals. I had to call in sick for two days, and I got some looks the day I went back! I guess just  because it was looking better to me, it still looked pretty nasty! lol Nothing like a scarlet rash to show off my pale (deathly white) complexion! I looked like I got in a fight and lost  . . not that that would ever happen! LOL I was pretty miserable for a few days.

Now I'm back to present day, September 7, 2014 . . .

My rash is pretty much gone. There are still a couple stubborn spots. Or hell they could be age spots or zits. Who knows? I'm going to go with the rash.  Man, do I sweat after I finish a round of prednisone. That hot spell last week nearly did me in. I was sweating at the drop of a hat. Or hell it could be hot flashes I guess. I'm going to go with the prednisone thing.  I'm not good on prednisone. Temper temper temper! Is that why they call it 'roid rage?

Beautiful weather!  It's going to be in the 50's tonight! What a change from that miserable heat last week! So glad the humidity is gone.

Bernie got some medicine for his bowels. I had already been pre-warned by my friends that old people worry about their bowels (thanks Mar!), so I kind of knew it was coming. 

Bernie commented on our ride the other night, "Well well well, brother and sister sitting down at the river!" LOL  It was cute. Of course I was his sister, Norene.

I went to John's this weekend. I had fun at the Kroger mega-sale. Gosh I'm old! I did sneak out last night and get some Blue Moon Wheat Grass Ale. It was 1.2 miles to the little market round the corner by John's house. It was delicious. I'm getting all frou frou I guess. What the hell!? Miller Lite is probably missing me. Telefon is a good movie. I did not like The Possession of Michael King. We had just turned off the air and opened the windows and it was dark, and maybe there was evil lurking out there, and John kept getting startled and jumpy and he yelled  and was scaring me. It was almost bed time and I got the heebie jeebies and we had to turn it off. I do not recommend that movie! No no no! No! Telefon is a good movie, I recommend that one.  The 70's movies have really aged well. Not so much for the 2014 movies. John made the evil sound today while I was in the kitchen but I didn't fall for it! In fact he sounded like a person with allergies clearing his throat. Why that sound would scare someone in the dark I do not know!

I had to laugh at the start of one 70's movie, The Evictors, when at the beginning of the film I read that it was based on true events. That was followed up by the any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is just a coincidence language. What!? lol

Dad and I have been checking on a pheasant family on our nightly rides. The little guys were so short you couldn't seem them following their mum, you could just see the grass moving behind her. We missed them for a few rides and finally saw them again tonight and they are above the grass and beautiful! I was admiring them and Bernie says . . . "Somebody will shoot them and have a nice dinner." Sigh.

I can't tell you how many times Bernie and I have had this conversation, or some derivative thereof, during a ride, and after Bernie has admired the crops:

Bernie: "I want to come out here when they are combining . . . if I'm still around."  Bernie says this with a cute, rueful grin.
Kay/Norene: "Sure! That sounds exciting! Tell you what, if you are not alive, we'll skip it!" Chuckles from the Bern, giggles from Kay/Norene.

We have had that conversation hundreds of times!

Then the other night this is what happened:

Bernie: "Can we come out and see them combining?"
Kay/Norene: "Sure Bernie, but if you are still alive and kicking!"
Waiting for chuckles . . .
Bernie (very seriously): "That's not funny! I'm ready to go home now!"

What a hoot. I guess I'm only allowed to make my joke if Bernie opens the door with the "if I'm stll alive/around" disclaimer!

Mom and Dad go for a ride in the afternoons, and they come by work so I can wave at Dad out the window.  Well bad luck last week. Mom was about to turn the corner and some lady backed into her. No injuries, except to the car, $3080 in damages and 9 days in the shop. No fault of mom's, but what a pain in the arse. Hasn't been repaired yet, it is driveable, so it could be worse.

I leave you with my latest series, "Cats in Bags" . . .

 Kathleen :)

Reunion

It was a busy day for Bernie yesterday.  A shower, reunion, and church! I didn't take many photos, having forgotten to charge the camera. I blame my airheadedness, not age . . .

Brothers. Uncle Jim, 93, and Dad, 94. I got Dad some nonalcoholic beer and he liked it. Uncle Jim is golfing 9 holes every week.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Kay, Dad, Aunt Joan. We all missed Aunt Jean yesterday.

Dad did very well, knew a lot of the cousins by name, We had great food and weather, a spectacular day. Dad tired pretty early so we headed home so he could rest up a bit before church.

John's vegan 30 days is over tomorrow.  We had some good meals last weekend, but I wasn't really a vegan. I learned that I could NOT give up animal products and coffee at the same time, and I went to the gas station to get coffee and they had whipped cream sitting right there.

What did the cucumber say to the tomato?

You are such an ass!

Last summer concert on courthouse lawn this week. Dad loves them! Banjo Buddies got rained out last time we went, Bernie got a little wet, much to his chagrin . . . and my amusement. LOL

My sunflowers finally bloomed, and the goldfinch hurried to pluck off all the petals so they could get at the seed! LOL

Tomatoes are coming in very well, I eat a couple every day. There is zucchini too, and my self digging taters are back. I've found 3-4 in the tater bed so far. I think I need a deeper bed for my taters.

Quiet at work last week, intern is done, boss on vacation, court reporter and judge down my hallway on vacation as well. It was too quiet up there!

That's all.

Kay