It's In The Air

 I don't know about where you live, but here at the Pines Fall is definitely in the air. However. the air quality in these parts has been hazy.  It's from the fires all the way out west.  That's a testimony of how awful and wide spread those fires are. The destruction and pictures that have come out from there take your breath away. My son, Craig, and his family live in a suburb of Portland, Oregon and have been house bound because the air quality is so horrible. But thankfully they have a home that's not devastated by the fires and we pray for them to be kept safe. Too bad all the water down south can't be dumped out west to put it all out. I'm sure the southern states would welcome that!

Eerie looking sunset here at the Pines.

Driving home the other day and it's just hazy when it's suppose to be bright blue skies.

Sunset up close and personal.  Today was the first day this week that dawned bright and Fall crisp with beautiful blue skies.  Our temps are usually up and down here until November when they pretty much remain cool to cold. Tonight we're expecting temps in the 30's so I think it's time to bring in my Boston Fern with hopes to keep it alive until next year. I'm better with outdoor plants but I'm going to give it a try. Meanwhile I'm decorated for the season with a teensy bit of Halloween thrown in. I don't usually put any Halloween until late September or October 1st but I couldn't resist just a little. Hey, it's in the air I guess!

A little greeting pumpkin for starters.

I collect these Lori Mitchell figurines and usually get one or two each year.  This came in the mail the other day and I had to leave it out...right? She may be the "Grim Reaper" but I say "cute" describes her best! (I now have 22 different little trick or treaters...time to stop? Nahhh)

I found these little stick on bats at the dollar store. Yep, I'm batty about them! 

The kitchen fireplace is ready for Fall but it will get Halloweened (I just made up that word!) in a few weeks.  The month is flying by and soon we'll be having some family visitors and will celebrate with some outdoor spooky fun....if  the weather cooperates! 

Final thoughts.  This poor tree has just about lost all it's leaves. It's been on the downhill slump for a few years now but I didn't want Jack to cut it down because it always bloomed out so nice in Spring. Until this year anyway.  I have finally realized it's time to remove it and replant a different tree.  Walking past it the other night made me stop quickly and look closer.  I don't know if you can see it but here's it's final gift I guess:

One last little blossom out of it's season. Sometimes when all seems lost or we're at the end of our rope..maybe God will be sending a little gift your way to make you stop and smile and be grateful for little surprises of life.  Or maybe just for the beauty that's in the air.

Modern Day Weddings

 Weddings are so different these days than when Jack and I tied the knot. (or noose as Jack might joke...I think he's joking?...hmm) Anyway, my son's step-daughter, Samantha, got married yesterday afternoon. Yep, on a Friday and on 9/11.  It was a really beautiful afternoon and evening. The setting was great. It was outdoors and thankfully the event Gods knew it wasn't me planning the festivities or else it would have rained, or been 95de with 95% humidity, or maybe even a tornado...just ask my son Phil about his reception here at the Pines. ( a story for another time) The ceremony was lovely and the reception fun.  What's the difference from then to now?  When we got married we were really young..21yrs old.  We were poor as church mice but my parents paid for the wedding so it was really nice.  All the gifts we received were so needed since we hadn't set up housekeeping before we were married. I so loved my avocado green crock pot! Living together before hand would not have gone over good with our folks. Especially my Dad! Jack was still in school. I just finished my schooling so I could work while he finished his. We had help from his folks to afford the first and last month rent and some furniture.  We had a budget of $25 a week for groceries.  We did OK. Plus I wasn't expecting a baby.  I'm not judging here, just stating facts. Things were different back 46 years ago.  Samantha and her sweet hubby just bought a new house. They have lived together for a while and she's a  respiratory therapist and he's a police officer. They work hard and are an awesome couple. I'm very happy for them.  I'm thinking they were smarter than us. Not struggling in the same way we did with Jack in school and living with a small income and some of the other things that many people go through in life. I'm sure Sam and Ryan will have their own unique challenges since the world today, even with all it's conveniences and opportunities, is a different place than 46 years ago. Of course we knew couples in our day who did live together first. They did have outdoor weddings. I mean, we lived through the 60's and early 70's with flower children! And of course children came "prematurely" after the wedding.  So maybe things really aren't that much different. I just wish them a wonderful, loving and long life together.  I wish them to learn through trials and how to compromise. I wish them all the happiness Jack and I have had over these years.  I won't be here in 46 years to see how it goes but I'm putting my faith in them to make it a wonderful life. And congrats on their surprise announcement at the reception. They are expecting their first child! I guess that will make us step Great Yaya and Pawpaw...time marches on.  Congrats Samantha and Ryan!

Beautiful setting.  A small wedding. This was not the original plan but thanks to Covid they had to choose a different venue.  It was a good choice!

The happy couple, Samantha and Ryan.

My son Jack and my daughter-in-law and mother of the bride, Evelyn.

My Granddaughter Summer and her fiance, Brett. They're getting married next summer.

My Granddaughter, Driana, (Summer's sister) and her fiance, Jonathan. They are getting married next summer too! When did these kiddos grow up? I must have blinked!

Good luck to all the cute couples...I hope you have as much fun and as many years as we have!

Happy Labor Day

 No problem social distancing today.  We have lovely rain this afternoon. We need it since it's been so dry and it's nice to spend a quiet day indoors enjoying the sound of the rain and the cozy feeling inside. It's one of those days to curl up in a comfy chair and read or perhaps take a nap. However, I came up into the computer room to do some cleaning and reorganizing. But then, like a dog who sees a squirrel, I got a bit distracted by the computer. I went into my email and "unsubscribed" to a lot of junk mails.  Why I have to unsubscribe to something I never subscribed to in the first place is a mystery. Oh well.  Then I had to head over and check on my blog buddies. Then I got distracted by my own blog and decided to do a quick entry for today. So I hope you're enjoying the last holiday weekend of Summer.  I took my walk this morning and noticed many folks heading out of town pulling their campers behind before the rains started. We have a state park, Mohican, not far from us and I bet it was full until today. So here's a few pics and then I will really do what I came up here to do....clean! 

I took this from the window in the computer room.  (through the window screen..sorry!) It's really a lot darker outside than this pic shows. Loving the green grass though!

My big bargain from Saturday....the "BOO" pillow.  $5 from Walmart..maybe just a tad early for Halloween?...NAH!

My son and daughter-in-law out in Oregon sent me a retirement gift. The candle holder lights up and there's bats flying around in it! So darn cute. A really nice smelling candle and pretty towels and even a gift for Arnie! Thanks guys! You know me so well!

Arnie loves his toy!

This is part of  my walk I take every morning.  So pretty. It's one of our many city park areas.

There was a group of kids that made this little structure last week. They also had a hammock strung in the trees and a little camp looking area. They were gone by Friday and I'm not sure if they were asked not to be there 

or if they just got tired of the game. Anyway, it was an industrious effort!  That's all I've got...Enjoy this week everyone!

Big Whiner!

 I'm going to sound like a big complainer in this post.  Well, at least in the beginning of the post.  Had I known how many forms I would be filling out, how much time I would be spending on the phone..on hold most of time (yes, I know my call is important to you and I love the piped in music choice)...and how slow the processes work just to leave employment behind, I would have stayed employed until I was taken out feet first.  Ok, Ok, a little dramatic there..sorry!  I have given my name, age, birth date, social security number..which I thought was a classified secret...NOT...and ditto that for Jack's info and he hasn't even retired yet...to most of America and I'm suspecting a good portion of some foreign country judging by the accents that were not easy to understand.  Plus 99.9% of human resource, insurance, investments and medicare and social security folks are working from home.  Many times the phone connections aren't great and the crying baby or barking dog are give aways.  My favorite was the one sleeping. I called twice because the first time nobody answered and the second time she was really confused like I am when I get awakened by a phone call.  I also love when I give all the info asked for and at the end of the call they repeat it back and it's all wrong..twice.  Maybe I have bad phone connections or my Ohio accent is tricky. Whatever.  My other favorite thing...then I'll move on I promise..is when I have filled out all the forms, mailed them in and await the requests to be mailed back only to get a letter thanking me for doing all that and if I would just give them a call at 800-yada, yada, yada...they will happily answer all my questions.  Wait, What??? You couldn't have told me that in the first place? Seriously?  End of rant. Thanks for listening/reading today!  So is there anything good about being retired so far?  Yes, actually.  I'm enjoying going for a morning walk every day.  I put in my ear thingies, turn on the music and enjoy getting back into a walking routine.  I'm starting out slow...2 miles a day so far..and I'll start increasing my distance next week. Hey, I'm working here with 2 fake knees so cut me some slack!  I've been able to tell workers, or friends or my hair dresser that any time works for me for appointments.  I can have family visits or trips without getting out a form and hoping there's nobody ahead of me for that time!  I'm able to work on my yard and gardens and spend time with Arnie as he recoups from  his doggy knee surgery.  I can sleep in until 6 and even later on the weekends.  So life is good so far.  I was joking that retirement has taken away my love of Fridays, 3 day weekends, and low census days. Heck, everyday is Saturday with Sunday on the end! Ha!  So no more whining for today!  Here's a few pics from last weekend when we had the kids over for lunch on Sunday.  

My Granddaughter, Driana, with her fiance, Jon.  I was happy they could make it. Driana just got her RN and is working at a hospital in Cleveland but had Sunday off.  It was fun to spend time with them.

They enjoyed meeting Temp, my neighbors horse and also seeing the Alpacas.

Hello neighbor!

It was a beautiful day and after lunch we spent time on the deck and in the yard. Jackie got a new guitar that he brought to show his brother, Phil.  Phil can play really well and I think was giving a lesson here. 

Granddaughter Rae just hanging out. 

Driana was taking her turn on my little toy! Love that bike!  But what I really love is having the kids come and eat and play! They were fun as littles and fun as big kiddos! A win-win!  One final pic that made me smile.  I love the Fall season and Halloween is a biggie fav at the Pines.  We saw this at Home Depot last week:

It was hard not to buy this guy...The big skeleton, not the guy in the mask! But I did resist....sigh. Have a good week!

OOPS We Did It Again!

I had to take a quick trip to August 31st, 2019 to see what I had posted about this special day. What's so special?  Today marks 46 years of marriage to my best friend and co-conspirator in married life!  Happy Anniversary Jack.  Yes, oops we did it again.  Managed to make it through another year.  I will say that this year has been a year of firsts.  For me it was the first time for wearing masks outside of the operating room.  For you, a first for wearing a mask anywhere and everywhere.  Firsts for living through a pandemic that changed how we worked, played, traveled, or even going to the dentist! First year since we married that my Mom hasn't wished us a Happy Anniversary. First time I have not been a working gal in ages and ages.  I know for many in this world there are first that have changed their lives permanently.  We now have friends who are widows and friends that have passed. We're getting older and we know that will become a...dare I say this.."New Normal".  Walking this morning gave me time to reflect on these past 46 years.  There were times that made wonderful memories I have stored in my heart.  Like a treasure chest of happiness. I don't want to forget the hard times though. They were the school of learning that paved the way to better decisions and the ability to give our kids advice they really didn't want or need!  I have much to be grateful for.  We have had the support of our families over the years and good friends who were a comfort and a good time, depending on the day!  So for now I'll hug my memories while I still have them in a mind that's not completely gone yet! I'll say what I always say about life. It goes fast, stop and smell the roses and don't panic...it can always be worse! But mostly I hope it will always be better:

Here's to a moment caught in time...the best first date ever!

Here's to more dances in life with you!

Here's to more adventures and cool cars!

Here's to staying in the boat of our crazy life!

Here's to our littles who grew up:

To be good men, wonderful husbands, and fabulous dads and who brought us Grandkiddos as a gift for giving us our gray hair!

Happy Anniversary! 

I Hate To Admit It

 One of the things I think I do fairly well in life is cook. I enjoy making a meal for my family and now for just Jack and I most of the time.  I do usually gather the kids and grandkiddos for a once a month meal here at the Pines.  I like to try different recipes now and again.  I have found a few that have become some of Jack's favorites that he requests for dinner or special occasions. He loves my shrimp creole and wants it for Father's Day and his birthday.  Today was one of those special days as it's his birthday.  Happy birthday Jack!  I made shrimp creole on Sunday and today I made another shrimp dish he enjoys.  I always tell him it's his birthday week and I will make his favorites all week.  So what do I hate to admit?  Well, one of his favorite cakes is Texas sheet cake.  It was a recipe from his Mom and I made it my own by changing the frosting part. I actually double the frosting and it's really almost like having fudge on top of cake. I always get requests from my coworkers when it's a carry to please bring that.  When Jack said he wanted a Texas sheet cake for his birthday I had a brilliant idea. I would make the cake into a layer cake instead of the sheet cake since the sheet cake is so big for just the two of us.  A layer cake would be a bit smaller.  Wellllllllll......it was looking like a success until the frosting part.  Then it just didn't come out like I planned!

I will say this..it tasted good...I guess you could say this cake was the bomb..literally.  Happy Birthday Babe! I'm glad I can still make you laugh!

 

A Different Type Of Patient

 Arnold..aka Arnie...had his surgery on Tuesday to fix the torn ligament on his back leg.  He did good but the Vet said it was a really bad tear and will take time to heal.  I still can't believe he did so much damage to  his leg when he fell off the car seat.  He never yelped or whimpered ever..just limped or hopped on 3 legs. Now he has a big incision and came home with the "cone of shame" as they call it.

Here he is on the way to the doggie hospital.  He loves to ride in the car but I felt bad knowing he wouldn't be too happy when he had to stay and I had to leave.  He's such a good dog but inside the clinic he kept looking at the door to leave and I felt like the bad guy!  

That cone made it impossible for him to eat.  Not sure how he ate at the vet's but we took it off for him here.  He hasn't touched the leg but if we leave him at home for any time we'll put it back on.  He's not a super active dog unless he thinks he may get some food! We're really going to try harder to get more weight off of  him which will help him walking and us having to carry him up and down stairs to get outside.  He gets his stitches out in 2 weeks and it will take a minimum of 8 weeks to recover.  I hope my back holds out picking him up and carrying him!  I thought I was free from patient care after I retired.  I didn't bank on this different kind of patient care!  Heal good little Arnie! 

Sister Love

My sister and I had a fun week together here at the Pines after her family went back to Chicago.  We shopped at our favorite places...the Parsley Pot...Grandpa's Cheesebarn..(I wanted to buy a T-shirt that said: I CUT THE CHEESE AT GRANDPA'S CHEESEBARN...But I didn't.) We had lunch at Village Pointe and found some cute things to buy there. There's a little shop downtown called: The Fig and Oak. We didn't find anything there but I had to take this photo of Midge.  

An angel? Well, maybe with a little devil mixed in! We found a little shop across the street called: Bagnabit and it took me back to the 60's with it's mix of incense, art, and other goodies.  We found a few things to add to our shopping day and had fun to boot!  We even hit the Dollar Store so we could put together a gift basket for the Dialysis unit where Midge was able to get her dialysis done here. The staff  was so nice and she wanted to say thanks. The way to a healthcare worker's heart is through the stomach so I made chocolate chip cookies and we got candy and some other things for them to enjoy. They loved it! One night we decided to head over to our little airport here in Ashland to see the sky divers.  

We have a sweet small plane airport that has skydiving classes.  Neither Midge nor I ever want to jump out of a plane but it was fun to see others do it!

Then we had this guy flying over:

He was zipping all around us.  Again, looks like fun but not my kind! On Sunday I drove Midge back to Chicago and spent the rest of the week with her to help her do a few projects.  We watched old family videos and labeled the keepers and threw out the rest. We cleaned out the garage and took lots of stuff the the Salvation Army drop off.  On Monday we even survived a tornado...I should say 2 tornadoes!  That storm took out power all over the suburbs but we were lucky that we only lost power for about 5 minutes.  The other towns near us weren't so lucky and there were tons of trees downed and the Chapel at Wheaton College lost it's steeple.  So my niece and I cleaned up the yard and deck and thankfully we had no other damage.  The only bad thing that happened was with Arnold.  I decided to take him with me so Jack wouldn't have to worry about getting home from work to get him out and Arnie loves to be in the car so it seemed like a good idea.  He was with my sister and I in her car when he slipped off the seat and somehow tore his ACL in his left back leg.  I couldn't get into a vet there so I made an appointment with our Vet on Saturday. He's scheduled for surgery on Tuesday to get it repaired.  He's not in any pain but of course he can't use that back leg.  So for now he has to take it easy and carrying him up and down the deck stairs to go out is not always fun! But he's a good guy and we'll get him better soon.  I realized I never took any photos of the storm or anything else out there. I must be slipping!  Tomorrow will be my first Monday that I don't have anything planned like family visits or trips anywhere.  It will seem weird tonight to not be thinking about the surgery schedule tomorrow, call schedule for the week, or making my lunch to take to work!  I have many projects of my own to get started on so I'm not worried about being bored.  Have a good week everyone!

It Feels Like A Vaca

It's been a week since I formally retired.  Everyone keeps asking how it feels to be retired.  Frankly, it feels like I'm on vacation.  It hasn't really sunk in that I'm done working.  My sister has been here this week and we've really enjoyed having her here.  We set up her dialysis with a unit here and all's been good so far.  My niece and her family brought her here on Sunday and they stayed for a few days before heading back home.  I'll bring Midge back on Sunday this weekend and stay with her in Chicago for a few days. Yep, feels like a vaca!  Ask me in another few weeks how it's going!  Here's some pics from this fake vacation:

My nieces kids were fascinated by my neighbor's alpaca..especially the new baby.

No fear when they met Temp the wonder horse...Connor and Ella were in love!

Yesterday Midge and I went up to see my Grandbaby Driana in her new home only a few miles from Lake Erie.  It was a fun and peaceful afternoon on the lake.

Sister love!

It was pretty windy out there and the waves were rocking! So pretty!

Of course we had to see this lovely lighthouse.  It's actually a private residence. Imagine the views and the sunrise, sunsets from here!

We found some pretty rocks and driftwood.

Lunch was a little picnic under the trees.

So yummy!  Maybe we were just hungry from all that lake air!

 Today it was Grandson Cameron's 13th birthday and we went to his home for his favorite bday dinner of pizza, wings, and an icecream cake.  

I can't believe this little squirt is 13 already! My oldest son's last teenager! It's been a fun week so far and we still have tomorrow and Saturday for some more adventures.  This is much more fun than work!