Summer's end

This has been a bittersweet year for us. My father passed away on Father's Day. He lived to celebrate his 90th birthday on April 20. He had lived with us for the past 18 years, but the final year he lived at Edgewood Manor. It is an adult family home. They took wonderful care of him. Just after dad died, my favorite uncle, my mother's brother, became ill and died three weeks after dad. It is hard to lose those you love, even though I know we will all be together as family once again. I hope they are all having a good time together, freed from the limitations of their physical bodies.

On another note, we also lost Karl the peacock this summer. He just disappeared one day. We miss his afternoon visits to our patio door.

Native American Quotes, Native American Wisdom Sayings : Pearls Of Wisdom

Native American Quotes, Native American Wisdom Sayings : Pearls Of Wisdom:
"When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

Cree Prophecy"

Reminds me of what is happening in the Gulf at this time.

Emergency Room Visit

Have you been to the ER lately? We were there yesterday from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. with our dad. I read where the average ER wait time is 2.5 hours, well not here! Everyone in Eastern Pierce Co. was at the ER yesterday. Every chair in the waiting room was full. All the rooms were full, gurneys lined the hall. More and more sick people kept coming and so did ambulance after ambulance. The doctors and nurses were busy, busy, busy. One poor lady arrived by ambulance after being turned away at 3 other hospitals. Many of the people looked like they did not have a real "emergency", but probably had no insurance. There are a number of "urgent care" clinics in the area. I have been to several and the wait has not been long. However, some do not take medicaid and/or medicare. Lots of people in the ER looked medicare age (as is my dad at almost 90). Dad survived the long wait. A prescription was written and he was sent on his way. When I took him to the urologist today, the doctor was less than pleased that a urology consult had not happened at the ER. I think the ER doctor may be getting a call.

Peacock Pictures

Karl and Wild Thing enjoying another afternoon together. Sometimes they will nap side by side, separated by the slider.

The Blog Review

I just finished reading all my previous blog posts. I'm not sure if I will post to this blog another year, although it is fun to read what we have been doing. Stay tuned...

Nathan's bathroom

The shower accommodates Nathan's shower wheelchair and the pipes under the sink are covered to meet ADA standards.

More remodel photos

Master bathroom custom cabinet, shower, and jacuzzi walk-in tub.

Pictures for the remodel

Closet addition in master bedroom

Upper photo is the tankless hot water heater that runs both bathrooms.

We've got color...

Today we painted the two bedrooms and the master bath. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. The colors look very nice. This house has been mostly white for the past 12 years, so it is time for a change. We painted our bedroom blue, but it was not the color I thought it would be, so for the second coat we used the paint for the computer room and it was the right color. I wanted a darker, more bold color, not a baby blue. We'll paint the computer room the baby blue color. I am ready for this project to be finished. I think we still have at least another month before completion.

The wallboard came today

We're insulated...

Yesterday the guys came to insulate the walls. It is a green, eco-friendly type of batting and has no smell. The day before, Mike and Nathan took down the wall in Nathan's room so it now connects to the new addition.

Daffodils

It's that time of year again when the daffodils are blooming and the annual daffodil parade and festivities are happening.

Another childhood favorite

Couldn't resist this one. Nothing like the fear of gobble-uns to keep a little kid in line.

Little Orphant Annie

by James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout--
An' the Gobble-uns'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;
An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

A childhood favorite poem

I loved this poem as a child. I still remember very well having to go to bed while the sun was still shining.

Bed in Summer

by Robert Louis Stevenson
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

April is National Poetry Month

I'm sharing one of my favorite poems with you today and perhaps, I'll share a few more this month. You can find poems on this website http://www.poets.org/

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The walls are coming down and going up...

Today the interior walls from the master bathroom and closet were removed, also the fixtures from the master bath were taken out. We found a little surprise when we took out the bathtub. It was not hooked into the drain underneath the floor and water has been pouring under the house all these years, who knew? These are some pictures of the interior.

So much to do, so little time...

Monday we transferred Dad from the nursing home to an adult family home. He seems happy there and they provide 24 hour care. He is not getting around very well and needs help doing just about everything. Today a wheelchair was delivered for him, the nursing home had ordered it and it is huge. It is so wide, I don't think it will fit in our wheelchair van. I'm taking it over to the AFH and will let them deal with medicare and trying to exchange it for a smaller chair. Nothing about this is simple. The AFH is only 3 miles from our house, so I can run over almost anytime.
Larry's dad is going to the ER tomorrow. Not sure what is going on with him, but this is about the time we had him in the hospital last year.

We be sickies here

I've been sick since Friday, Nathan and Larry became sick today. It is a bad bug with disgusting symptoms and finally it becomes a cold with more disgusting symptoms. I'll be glad when it's over. I'm not sure that misery really does love company. No need to bring food, too sick to eat.

The roof is on..

Pictures of the completed roof, not a day too soon, it's raining today.

One Year in the Blogosphere

It's been one year since this blog began. Originally the plan was for the cat to write it, but he wimped out after a couple days. This blog has become a daily journal of the happenings in our family. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.