Sad anniversary

 Today's date has long slipped my mind

    Some things you remember because you read about them, like Pearl Harbor or D Day, or you witnessed them, like JFK's assassination  and Armstrong's walk on the moon.

    Some dates you file and sometimes forget, like Oct. 8, 1871, the date of the Great Peshtigo Fire.  There was another fire the same day, one we all hear off every October.  That was the Great Chicago Fire.  But Peshtigo's fire killed more people than the Chicago one, and burned thousands of acres, destroying dozens of towns.  

    Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Cubs collapse in the National Leave championship series.  

    They lead the series 2-1 and were ahead in the eighth, needing only 5 outs tom make the World Series for the first time since 1945.

    But a foul ball was not caught because a fan tried to catch it.  Instead of an out, it was a foul.  The next ball was a ground ball too short, which should have been easily turned into a double play.  Instead, the shortstop drops the ball and the Cubs allow a 3-0 win to turn into an 8-3 loss. The series finale also went south, with the Cubs losing again.  

    Cubs fans would have to wait until 2016 to celebrate a championship.  I just hope they can do it again in my life time.

    Speaking of life times, we have been talking about getting a new clothes dryer because ours does not work properly.  Well, I can honestly say that is not the problem anymore.  Now it does not work at all.

    Any recommendations?  We are leaning toward Samsung, again.  But GE could be a contender.

    I visited my brother today.  There is no change in his condition.  He is still in a sleep state, although he does shake his head no from t time to time if you ask him questions.  the night nurse was in his room and commented that it was really raining, and he shocked her by saying, "Good, we needed it."

    And this morning he seemed to be able to converse slightly, but when I got there he could not.

    He is scheduled to be moved to a hospice facility on Monday.

    My nephew went back home to PA today and I drove him to the airport instead of him having  to take the bus.  

    Strange, but my brother has brought me back to my niece and nephew in ways I could not imagine.  We have shared some stories, thoughts, and love over the past few days.  

    Too bad it was under these circumstances.

Peace and Love

slow day

 Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

    This was just kind of a blah day.

    Jackie was not having a great day, so I pretty much stuck around the house.  Somedays are good, somedays are bad, some days are just a question mark.  So be it.

    I did not go to Rockford to visit my brother.  I should have, but I didn't.  I will go tomorrow.

    And we did not work with Beth like we were supposed to.

    To be honest, I was just mentally and physically tired.  A nap did not even help.

    I don't have a lot of memories about growing up.  Carl was the memory person.  He could tell me about family stuff I never knew.

    Like, I was actually the fourth child.  My mom lost her first, but I don't know anything more than that.  And Carl was the one who told me, long after my mom died.  I guess I did not know that until I was in my 60s.  That's strange, isn't it?

    I do know we were not huggers.  And thinking about it, I am not much of a hugger even today, but I am getting better.

    So many things left unsaid in our lives.  And too little time to correct that.

Peace and Love

    

comfy

My new recliner was delivered today 

    It replaces the one I had for who knows how many years.  I know we had it on Skare Court, and I think we had it a few years over there.  I sort of remember recovering from a surgery in that chair, but I don't remember which  surgery.  

    I bet it was 20 years old.

    A part broke on it years ago and I called the company that sold it.  It had a lifetime guarantee, which the company said they would honor.  Then they dropped the nugget that I would have to pay for the actual repairs, because the guarantee only covered parts.  The service call would be $150 an hour.  So, I never got it fixed.

    If I lean too far forward it tries to throw me to the floor. Plus, it just isn't comfy anymore.

    My new chair is bigger, softer, has a  power control, and even rocks, although I am not a big fan of the rocker part.

    Not only was it delivered and set up, but the old chair was hauled away.  Which is great, because I would have ended up putting it someplace in the house, even though it was not working properly.  That is how I am.

    I spent the afternoon in Rockford with my  brother and his family.  He is entering the hospice phase of hospital care.  The aim is to keep him comfortable.  

    It breaks my heart to see hm the way he is.  

   The end of life is always hard.

Peace and Love

changes

 We seem to have a lot more time on our hands

    The Cubs are done, so we don't spend so much time watching TV.

    Which is good, because I have been out of the house a lot lately.

    Today Jackie had an appointment in DeKalb.  She has these every 6 weeks or so. I see the same doctor she does.  Today  I apologized to one of the staff members there.

    The other day the phone rang and I answered it, despite it being a number I did not recognize.

    I picked it up,  said hello, and a man  asked, "Is this Terry?'  I sreplied in a snarly voice, "Who is asking?"

    Turned out to be a scheduler for the doctor.  I have an appointment coming up and it had to be changed, so he was calling to set a new date and time.

    I told him today that  I was sorry I acted rudely, but I did not recognize the number and thought it was a solicitor.  He said he gets that a lot, and we laughed about it.

    Why did I pick up?  Because I have been in contact with lots of relatives who live in different area codes and I wanted to be sure I was not missing an important call.

    After the doctor's visit, we came back to Rochelle and spent about 20 minutes driving around town looking at the hay bales.

    If you are not from Rochelle, a brief explanation.  Each October businesses, schools, organizations, or groups are given the opportunity to get a round hay bale and decorate it.  The bales are about 5 feet in diameter.

    This year bales  ran from the basic spray paint it orange and stick a  stump on it to create a pumpkin, to a three bale ( one round and two rectangular)  production showing a church before  it lost its steeple.  What surprises Jackie and me is that we don't even remember the church having a steeple!  Oh well.

    The latest on my brother is that he is most likely heading into hospice care.  Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Peace and Love

Van Winkled

 Today was just one of those days

    Julia, Emily, and Selin were going on an excursion. 

    I thought they said they  were leaving around 10.

    I heard them leave, just about the time the cuckoo cuckooed.  

    When it hit 11, I knew we had slept too late.

    11 a.m.!!!!  We stayed in bed until 11.  Asleep.!!!  Both of us!!!

    I am not around of that, in fact, I wish I was getting up a lot earlier.

    I got to thinking about things today.  

    Selin ran the Chicago Marathon, finishishing in a little over 3 hours, 17 minutes.  I read my bike about 8 miles an hour.  Which means, she ran the marathon at more than the speed that I ride my bike.  That is freaking amazing.

    We had brats and cohops tonight and Selin made a chocolate tart, which was oh so gooood.

    I watched as she made it, and realized I could do this.  I would have to work a little more carefully than I normally do, and pay attention to directions, but I could make one.  

    When she was making it, she got a dish dirty and she washed it right away!!!!   When she was done there was one bowl that was in need of washing.  

    When I make anything, I let the dishes stack up until there is not room left on the counter.  Her way is much more efficient.

    Like I said, we had chops and brats tonight.  Dan and Linda joined us, and it was a very pleasant night.

    I went to Headon's to buy the chops and brats and some salads.  I got in the van, turned around, drove almost to 38 and just felt a draft.  I checked the windows, and they were all up.  It was confusing.

    Then I noticed a red light on the dashboard, indicating my sliding door was open.  I drove from the butcher shop to 38 with my door open!  That's over 1/4 of a mile!  How could I do that???

    I can't blame it on being tired, because I had only been up 4 hours at that point.

    Anyway, it was a good day.

    My brother's condition has not changed much.  Your continued prayers are appreciated.

Peace and Love

Peace and Love

Yuck

 I am a candy freak

    I love the sweet stuff, especially chocolate in any form. 

    Sometimes I admit I have no control over myself.

    For example:  I found a bag of malted milk Easter eggs Julia had in the pantry.

    Now, I figured Easter was a few months ago and she had simply forgotten these, or lost interest.  So while she was away for 3 days I opened the bag and started munching away.

    Now, I did not eat all of them....Jackie had 2 or 3.   But there are very few left.

    Julia came home today and saw the remainders and said, "What the hell....I was saving those!"

    Seems she has cravings where she likes certain candies and malted milk Easter eggs are one of the candies she was saving  until she had a craving for them.

    Oops.  Her cravingsbetter be pretty small.

    Grace came for dog training today.  I always put some dog treats in my sweatshirt pocked to reward Beth.  We had a pretty good session today.

    When Celine and Julia got back from Chicago, we decided to order Mexican for supper. We placed the order, and I went to get it.  I stuck a last few malted eggs in my pocket for the road.

    I got to the corner, popped a couple in, and found they really tasted pretty yucky.  I reached my hand in my pocked again and pulled out the remaining......dog treats.

    I ATE DOG TREATS WITH THE MALTED EGGS!!!!

    Not a great combination.  

    But, I guess that is Karma coming at me.

    My brother is still in ICU, still dealing with some issues.  I did not visit today but hopefully will get up there Wednesday.

    Thank you all for your prayers.

Peace and love

oops

 My sleeping habits stink

    I went to bed about 12 las night, despite my pledge to go to bed by 11.  I just cant seem to hit that time.

    Like tonight.  It's 9:30 and I have a couple of things to do, including getting Jackie into bed and doing a load of laundry.

    I do like to read for 15-20 minutes before hitting the sheets, but I don't always have enough time to do that.

    Last night I could not get comfy temperature wise.  I was hot, cold, my feet were hot, my back was cold.  It was a struggle.  

    Looking back at my Facebook memories, I frequently complain about not being able to sleep.  

    The impact is.... we got up at 10 this morning.  Bt the time Jackie got up, showered, and dressed, tt was about 12:30.  That is not good.

    Beth did not even stir! But she did run like mad when I opened her kennel door.  Poor girl.  Her eating habits are all screwed up with the time issues and Julia not being here to make her food the right way.

    I went to Rockford today and spent some time with my brother.  he seems to be doing better, but is still sedated and just appears to be sleeping soundly.

    I spent time with his wife, and my nephew an niece, talking about the situation and life in general.

    Sadly, today was their anniverary, something close to 60 years.  What a terrible way to spend it.

    I was doing home and looked at my speedometer and saw I was going 60 in a 45!   So I immediacy slowed down to 50.  Cars were passing me like crazy.  t don't know at what point I noticed I had somehow changed the speedometer to show kilometers per hour, not miles.  I was doing 30.  No wonder I was passed so often.

    I have not been able to send or receive texts in the dar.  Today I could not order a coffee from my phone.  I texted Emily in Starbucks and she said that was weird, and asked if my data was turned off.

    I looked.  It was.

    Turned it back on and everything works like it should.

    I have no idea how I did that either.

Peace and Love