Dad and I in 2010

Time for another update, don't you think? In the last post, I related how Dad took a header down the basement stairs at my aunt's 80th birthday party. Well, it took a while, but Dad seems to have finally recovered. Several wonderful nurses and therapists from Sparrow Home Health Care out of Lansing, Michigan worked diligently to get Dad back into fighting shape. Due to a number of complications, they were not able to sign off until just a couple of weeks ago.

On the move

Dad and I moved out of his long-time home in late December 2009. We now live in a wonderful apartment just seven miles away, and are enjoying living on the outskirts of Lansing.

We are able to walk together most days when we go to the mailbox about a half block away by the shortest route, although we try to stretch the walk out when it is nice. Dad uses a cane whenever he is outside, but seems to enjoy the walks. We usually get in a block or two before he tires out. At eight-seven, I think he is doing pretty well.

Peace is good

We both feel at peace here, and that is very important to us. Although we don't really know what is coming up ahead, we do know that life has blessed us both.

Take care, and hope to have you visit either this blog, or the main site at http://www.eldercarecafe.net/.

Family Update - All is Well

Apparently I haven't posted since Dad's traumatic header down a flight of stairs on August 8th. He and my daughter were attending a birthday party for a long-time friend of Dad's. The party was held in their church basement. As Dad and Deb were leaving, they climbed a flight of stairs and Deb told Dad to wait and she would grab their jackets. While he was waiting, he apparently became dizzy and took a dive down about eight steps, face forward and head down, coming to a stop on the landing.

To make a long story much shorter, he spent three days in ICU and ten days at a rehab center. He has had home health care since that time, mostly due to a large wound on his leg that is slow in healing. He is diabetic and healing this wound is a major consideration. Thankfully, the wound care people are taking good care of him.

David's Visit

The second major event this fall was the visit by my other daughter, Barb, and her son David. You will see his picture in the previous post. They stayed for approximately two weeks, and were missed before they even left the driveway. Texas is a long way from Michigan, and we have no idea when we will see them again. Thank God for cell phones with the ability to send pictures and short videos. We are able to keep up to date on David's growth and his activities.

Dad's 87th Birthday
The third event this fall was Dad's birthday on October 18th. He turned eight-seven-years-old (87). What a milestone. His sister turned 92 on the same dad. We didn't do anything really special, just had a quiet day of football and special dinner, but he did receive numerous birthday cards and phone calls throughout the weekend.

If you haven't had the chance as yet, stop over at the Elder Care Cafe.net and check out what is happening. We are up to 266 posts at this time and still going strong. Lot's of changes there recently in the look of the site, but the same intent - to support caregivers and the elderly - is still of utmost priority. We celebrated our 1st birthday in early August. We had a birthday cake, balloons, and of course Beyer's sugar free pecan ice cream.

Just a quick update. Hope you get a chance to visit us somewhere on the web. We are still here although we don't post as often anymore.

Let us know what is going on in your life. We would love to hear from you and how you are doing with your care giving. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.

Frigid? Who's Frigid?

It is colder than icicles in Michigan! In fact, the icicles are probably buckling under this frigid weather. Wow! This morning my computer said it was -9 F about 6:30 a.m. Our indoor/outdoor is hovering around 4 deg.

That said, Dad and I are doing pretty good as long as we can stay indoors. We are toasty warm, there is plenty of hot chocolate with marshmallows to be had, the cookie gremlin might be inspired to make peanut butter cookies sometime today, and I heard whispers that we might enjoy a nice hot bowl of potato soup tonight for supper.

Dad got a bunch of new talking books yesterday - mostly western theme with a couple of Zane Grey for good measure. He really enjoys listening to westerns.

For the first time in weeks the sky is blue, the sun is shining, but it is still frigid. I guess we better take the good news while we can.

What is your good news today? How's the weather? What's for supper? What are you reading and/or drinking? Inquiring minds want to know!

It is Snowing in Michigan

Snow has fallen most of the morning. In fact, the snowplow just drove down our street. Although I love the changing seasons, winter is my least favorite. All the more so since I lived in Tucson for a while.

The plus side of snow is the beautiful landscape it provides. My parents and my daughters used to cross-country ski, and I used to ride snowmobiles and go ice skating, but I never really got into winter sports.

By the looks of the sky, we are in for a serious snowfall. Knowing someday I will join family members in the coastal bend of Texas, I better enjoy the view while I have the chance.

The photo above was taken January 2008 by my son-in-law, Lloyd Rodriguez. The view is from our side yard, looking toward a building on the other side of the dirt road and railroad to the south of us. Typical winter weather in Michigan.

Blogging from iGoogle

Woohoo! Nifty new tool from Blogger to make our lives easier. We seniors need all the help we can get.

It's payday, we are going to lunch because Dad got a free meal at Old Country Buffet, then grocery shopping. How can life get any better than that?

Well, actually it could. It is a cold rainy day in Michigan, so yes, it could be better. How much better, the Michigan State Spartans could win today. That would make it better.

Will it? I'll let you know tomorrow.

Signing off from iGoogle.

Fall, Food, and Football

Yesterday my aunt and uncle picked Dad up and they went to the Swiss Steak Dinner at an old country church a few miles from where I was raised. Dad brought home a huge takeout for me, bless his heart.

With fall arriving in Michigan, so do the numerous Swiss Steak, spaghetti, fish, and chicken dinners, and the pancake breakfasts we all love. We go to as many as we can, not only for the food, but to see friends and relatives. We have quite a social circuit going with either breakfast or dinner almost every weekend through the fall and winter.

Also during fall and into the winter are the football games! The Michigan State Spartans won yesterday - YEAH! And the Michigan Wolverines lost. I would yeah again, but I really was hoping Michigan would beat Illinois. We watched the second half and it was a little more exciting the fourth quarter, but still quite a big loss.

I support Michigan when they are not playing the Spartans, and would like to see Rich Rodriguez do well in his first year as the Wolverine coach.

With first year coach Rodriguez at Michigan and second year coach Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, both teams are going through a rebuilding process. It should be an interesting match up on October 25th when these two great rivals meet.

Go Green!!!!

So, it is fall in Michigan. That means there is plenty of food and football to enjoy.

Who is your favorite team? If you partake in social fundraising dinners/breakfasts, what are your favorites?