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!

The Girl Behind The Mask

In  1971 I graduated from high school with a plan.  That plan was to work as a secretary...or as they call it today...office assistant.  I took all kinds of clerical studies and would have loved to get a position at the McDonald's Headquarters in my town of Oakbrook Terrace.  It's a suburb of Chicago and Ray Kroc, the found of McDonald's,  had the head offices located there.  They even had a "Think Tank" in the building for employees to go in and meditate and perhaps think of something wonderful to help the company.  Anyway, I thought that would be a cool place to work. But to get in you needed experience and that was something I lacked.  As I was trying to find a job Mom came home from work at the hospital one day and said the operating room had a position for a nurses aide to help put surgical packs together, put up instrument sets, transport patients and other duties.  I had been a candy stripper and knew the hospital well.  I needed a job, at least for the summer, so I went in for an interview.  I don't  remember a lot about that interview but I do remember  Miss Graves asking me if I would be able to stand the sight of  blood.  I remember saying that as long as it wasn't my own I think I would be fine.  Little did I know as an 18 year old kid that I would spend the next 49 years of my life in an operating room.   I learned a lot in that summer and I went back to school and learned a lot more and then worked as a surgical technologist and have learned even more!  It was interesting, time consuming, stressful, fun, scary, and tiring!  It provided insurance for my family along with a paycheck.  But more than that it became a part of me.  A part of my identity.  I took pride in my work and in my dedication to making sure our patients were safe, that the Docs had the correct tools and equipment for the case and everything was sterile and well organized.  I worked many different shifts over the years.  Part-time, full-time, and a lot of over time! I was a wife and a mom with 4 boys to raise.  They didn't like that beeper when it would go off and I had to run.  I didn't like it when I had to miss some of their activities because of work.  Jack was always there to fill in when I wasn't there and for that I will always be grateful.  I know I complained tons over the years too!  Sorry babe!  I will never regret the decision to be a surgical tech (many folks refer to that as a "scrub nurse").  I have had the privilege of working with some fabulous nurses, doctors, technicians, and other healthcare workers.  It takes a team to raise that village!  So when, at age 67, I decided it was time to retire I really had to pray about it and make that leap with faith.  How would I leave my "identity" after so many years?  Today I took that leap.  I said farewell to my coworkers and my boss said that after 4 months I would be permitted...by law...to be able to return to work if I wanted.  I could come back PRN (that means if they needed me they could call and if I was available I could come in...all up to me with no call and no weekends).  She said I would be welcomed back.  We will see how it goes in the next 4 months I guess but for now I'm going to find out about the girl behind that mask.  It's funny that I will have to wear one when I go out now in public so it might take a little longer to redefine me!  If anyone ever watched the old TV show, M.A.S.H, you might remember the scene where Radar goes home and before he leaves he takes one last look through the operating room window.  All the activity is going on and he's not a part of it.  That's how I felt today as I left.  The difference was that the operating rooms were done for the day and all was quiet.  There's a pulse to the rooms even when empty.

Dark but always ready.

Lights, camera, action!

Magic happens behind these doors...miracles too.

Or perhaps a silly coworker making me laugh at my farewell lunch carry in yesterday!

Instruments ready to go.

All done!

Time to go.  Night all.

I Want To Do This And More This

Every week I think of what I want to do on the weekend.  Friday rolls around and I'm excited to have the next 2 days off and figure I can accomplish my list of: This, This, This, and This.  Then it's Sunday night at 9 pm and I have accomplished....this.   Yep, most of the other "Thisis" have not even made it to the starting gate.   Did I sit around and do nothing? Heck no! Jack and I did get grocery shopping done and some gardening done, some canning done, and watering done and made it to Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.  Made it to Church for the first time since Covid threw up on the world.  BTW...Church was so not "normal" that I wish I had stayed home and done church with Jack like we've been doing.   But I digress...which is probably why my to do list gets sidetracked or maybe side swiped is a better word here!  Last Sunday I had to work on call and missed my BFF's 70th birthday so I decided I would make some of her favorite things and take them over today.  So Saturday I did bake bread, make baklava, baked a blueberry pie with the last of our berries from last year, then also made some zucchini bread this morning.  I know there were various other things that got accomplished but now I'm thinking of next weekend's to do list!  We're expecting company next weekend and that will add a few items to the list.  It's a week that will be a final work week for now. I'm retiring on Friday.  I guess then I will be able to get some of the other "Thisis" done?  As long as I don't digress!  Here's a few pics of the things I done did!

Picked our first tomato of the season! It was so yummy!

It made a wonderful lunch paired with mozzarella cheese, olive oil, and fresh basil from the herb garden.

Baklava anyone? I must say it turned out great and the house sure smelled lovely too!

Blueberry pie...pass me some vanilla icecream please!

The zucchini bread turned out good too.  Hopefully all the goodies were enjoyed by my friend.  I didn't get a pic of the other bread I made.  It was a no knead bread with only 4 ingredients.  I gave her some and I kept some and tried it out for toast this morning.  Not bad if I do say so myself...which is what I just did!  That sums up this "This" post.  One final thought...looking out my dining room window I spotted this hanging from a branch on the crabapple tree:

Yikes!  Jack sprayed it 3 or 4 times before the hornets got the message they weren't wanted here.  I do have to applaud their industrious nature.  I swear, that thing had to have been made in a day.  It was right in plain sight and something that we would have noticed before yesterday.  The beauty of it masks the nasty temperament of it's inhabitants.  At least that's something that's off the list for now!

The Life Of A Blogger

I've been blogging for 12 years.  I actually signed up to blog in 2007 but didn't do anything with it until the next year...on Leap Year Day of all days.  I was encouraged to do so by my Daughter-in-law, Amy, who was also blogging at that time. We thought it would be a good way to see what was happening in our families and share photos.  But blogging soon took a backseat to Facebook and Instagram by the younger crowd.  I continued in the blog sphere though because, frankly, I didn't really "get" Facebook and how that was going to work.  (I'm better with it now!...I still don't do Instagram).  Anyway, I felt like my blog was a good way to journal and to share photos.  What I didn't realize was the fact that other folks, who didn't even know me, would want to read my pages.  Not only read them, but comment  about the content.  I didn't know about things called: "Followers".....hmmm. You visit another blog, leave a comment, and sometimes they would then sign up to follow you.  Interesting.  As time went on I had some followers and I followed others.  Simple.  Another thing I didn't realize was how following other blogs would connect me with some really cool people.  I found out about life here in the USA, and other parts of the world that I never visited in real life.  The folks I came to know in blog land I considered "Blog Buddies".   We probably would never meet in real life.  Some of my followers are family and friends that I do know but most of the ones that comment here at Whispering Pines are folks I've never met.  One such follower and blog buddy  was Rick Watson from "Life 101".   I bought one of his books and a CD that he and his wife, Jilda, put together of their music that they wrote and sang.  He kept bees, and other critters on his 12 acre farm in Alabama.  He was a southern gentleman and fun to follow.  He blogged daily.  On Wednesday he blogged quickly about the heat and his dogs and about not feeling great and heading to the Doctor on Thursday.  I was saddened to read that he passed away early Thursday morning at his home.  He was 69.  He was so loved by others who followed his writings and by his close and loving family who will be in my prayers.  I know we never met but losing a blog buddy is hard.  I've lost a few in the past. They do leave a hole that is hard to fill but life does go on and I know Rick would want us to do good deeds in our community, be kind to others, and I think continue to write about our lives.  In that vein I will tell you about a short trip Jack and took yesterday.  Jack wanted to go down to the Boy Scout Camp for the Friday night final campfire.  It was the final night of scout camp this year.  Due to Covid it was shortened by a few weeks.  So we headed down to Coshocton and had dinner with the scouts and staff that Jack has come to know after serving there for 30yrs.

The dining hall hailing the motto..For Friendship

Due to Covid the dining experience had to be separated into units with some troops eating outdoors and some indoors.  Not sure if they rotated that schedule but it was a hot week and, indoors or out, you probably were about at the same comfort level!

A few minutes to chitchat with some staff friends.

We headed down to the final campfire of the week.

Totem Poles with their symbolic meaning for the scout reservation and the scouters.

The smell of a campfire, the flicker of the fireflies, the silly songs, and words of encouragement and claps of achievement rang out in the cove.  An enjoyable evening and a nice farewell till next year.  Lots of people tell me they could never blog because they would have nothing to write about. I say we all have a story.  Whether it's a simple post about your day, animals, the weather,  or whatever you want to put out there, it's still you saying what's on your mind.  Words in writing that others may have about you when you're not here to say them.  RIP Rick.  I know I'll continue this blog until it's not fun anymore or I'm not here to do it and I'll think of you and your life that we all will miss.

Till We Meet Again

Friday we headed out to Chicago for my Mom's celebration of life gathering.  It was what she wanted and planned for many years ago.  My sister had the instructions and funds to do this and so gather we did! I think Mom would give her seal of approval when it was all ready to go.  My sister and her kids did a fabulous job of getting everything prepared ahead of time.  When everyone was there it was all hands on deck and it turned out great. We started gathering in Friday evening as all the out-of-towners arrived.

All my boys were able to make it out and it was fun to see them having a good time with cousins and other family members and having their kids doing the same with cousins.

Something about sparklers just gets the kiddos excited.  I had brought quite a few and they had a lot of fun with them.   Pizza and salad and lots of liquid refreshment was had by all!  The next morning there was a special Catholic Mass memorial service for Mom and family and friends of hers from Church came.  It was lovely and even though most of us aren't Catholic, it was enjoyed by all.  We went back to the house where my family all pitched in and had food on the tables, ready for the celebrating.

On the deck we had tables with lots of photos and things that were all about Mom's life.

I liked these shutters that my niece Katie and my sister Midge put together with photos.

The appetizers were amazing!

My niece Athina (My brother Jim's daughter) and Amy (my sister's daughter) working in the kitchen.

The tent and tables ready to go.

The yard looked inviting and the weather had actually cooled off and was very pleasant...we had a quick rain shower just as we were getting ready to eat but it ended and the rest of the day was picture perfect and not stinkin' hot and humid!

Just a few of the desserts...the food was beyond awesome...and we had tons of it.  Hey, we're Greek and we know how to feed people! My Mom was the Queen of hospitality.  Nobody ever left her home or table hungry...whether it was food or company,  she made you welcome.  Thanks for that legacy Mommo! You would have been so proud of the kids and I think us older ones who learned from you how to celebrate life.  I know this is a long picture post but since my blog is my life journal it's my "thing" to capture the Kodak moment.  Here's to everyone who came...just a few of the faces I love:

Phil, Cameron and Jackie

 Midge and Jordan bonding!

 My niece Carly (my brother Jim's other daughter) with her daughter, Lennox.

 My brother Rick and his wife Jan

 My cousins, Michele and Steve.

Of course here's my hubby Jack..and standing is Garret, my niece Betsy's husband.

Midge had these plates made for my brothers and me.  She picked a couple of Mom's Greek cookie recipes written in Mom's handwriting and had them put on plates for us.  This is mine with my favorite Greek cookie.  It was such a thoughtful and touching thing to do.

All the flowers, decor and having family and friends there was priceless.  Mom, you are loved and missed but we will do our best to carry on the traditions, family love, and enjoying life as much as you did.  We were so lucky to have you for 94yrs.  Love you...till we meet again.