I had written a post about Living with Alzheimer's. Well I thought I would follow that up with a few more stories. The forgetfulness is progressing more rapidly. And up until a few weeks ago I thought the driving was fine. But I was talking to Kevin on the cell, my dad was driving. We had been looking over at the river to see how high it was. He flew through the three way stop about 30 MPH turning left. Needless to say, I was shocked, scared, and ready to take the keys. I ride with my dad often to keep a check on his ability to drive and that was the first time I seen a huge issue with it. He says its cause we were trying to see the river and he didn't see the stop sign. The stop sign and river are far apart. I am totally for the driver license bureau making elderly take a driving test. They do it in some states already. I was in the drivers license bureau one day while an elderly man was getting his drivers license. The tester wanted him to read line 2 - he said HUH!!!! She said read line 2 - he said HUH!!!! She screamed READ LINE 2 - he proceeded and got it wrong. So she said read line 2 again and he said HUH!!!! So you get the picture, this went on for about 10 times. Honestly I think she just gave him the license to get him out of her line. I thought he should of had to go get a hearing aide first so he could he hear an emergency siren behind him.
One day my dad was coming over for dinner and when I called to make sure he was still coming, he was shoveling the snow. SHOVELING???? When he got here I asked why he didn't use the snow blower, he said "I couldn't find it". It has been in the garage as soon as you open the door since Kevin took it home fixed. I used it once and my dad used it 3 days ago. So now does that mean he doesn't know what a snow blower is? Or doesn't recognize it? We went over two days later and it was right where it always was.
My dad has a habit of cussing me out for the least little thing, even if it doesn't have anything to do with me - or if I even know what he is talking about. The last time was because I went to the Willoughby Senior Center one evening to listen to country music. Now mind you he didn't ever want to go to music. When my mother was living, she would want to go, but he wouldn't. So we would drive up there and pick her up and take her to music and then take her home. So why now is he so interested in country music? I may never go again. He hurt me so bad over that. But how am I to know he wanted to go? I don't think to ask him to go everywhere we go. I ask him to go allot of places, sometimes he goes, sometimes he doesn't.
Four days later he came over here crying and saying he was sorry and he loved us. You know I don't remember my dad ever saying I love you. Isn't that strange? But truly I don't. Usually I just ignore his rants cause I know it is the Alzheimers eating at his brain. I wait a couple days and call and go over and we both act like nothing ever happened. I act that way cause I don't want him dwelling on it and know he can't help it even though it hurts me deeply, and he acts that way cause he don't remember it.
He was sick and needed to go to the doctor. Supposedly he called for my brother to take him. I am and have been for years the one that takes him to the doctor. So not understanding today why my brother took him so sick to the doctor and didn't find the need to let me know. I would of went over and stayed the night with him and took care of him. Instead he stayed alone, throwing up and with diarrhea. Why the lack of communication when our dad needed help and no one there for him cause I didn't know? My sister in law thinks I didn't appreciate the "help". But what I didn't appreciate is that my dad was sick enough to feel he needed to go to the doctor, but no one thought I needed to know that information. I have been my dad's caretaker since all this Alzheimers started. I have taken him to every appointment. I know my dad well. I was with him on Thursday and he was fine. My brother was at his house on Friday and he was fine and they went out to dinner. So Sunday my dad calls my brother. Well by the time his appointment was on Monday, my brother took my dad to Bob Evans BEFORE the doctors appointment for "the flu". Really if you have the flu, you are not eating at Bob Evans, you would not be able to hardly make it to the doctor. Then my dad proceeds to say he hasn't ate in 6 days. Then I go up to my dad's and on his calendar he has sick written down on Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun. Now knowing that he was fine on Thursday and Friday, you need to pay attention to him. He don't remember anything, and sometimes he is very convincing when in all reality it was made up. So did he have the flu - NO. Did he have a one day stomach virus on Sunday - possibly. But on Monday he was fine and took up an appointment that someone else could of used all because I was not called.
I had told my dad when my mother died if he wasn't able to keep the house clean he would not be able to live there. So he had made allot of effort to keep it clean. So knowing he was "sick" and supposedly the house was a mess according to him, me and Kevin go up to give it a good cleaning. Well he does keep the house clean - in the living room and dining room. But I started in the back and while everything is totally picked up and put in its place, the dust was very thick. So we cleaned really good. And have another day of the kitchen, utility room and another bathroom. Then out to the garage. But we had a good time. I put chili together and took it up there and cooked it, my dad's job was to stir it. And he watched over that like it was a baby. Then he wanted to invite the neighborhood over for dinner. One neighbor left to go to work before he could invite him, and the other friend said he had his own chili. (He is 86 and I was sure he wouldn't come for dinner). But he was proud of that chili, I think mostly cause it was part deer meat.
For some reason a few weeks ago my dad was telling everyone we were in different countries, and he hasn't seen us for days. I am not a "world traveler", nor will I ever be. One week we were in Australia, and the next week he is convinced that we were in Brazil. I see or talk to him almost every day, and yet he will be so convincing at Hardee's that they would believe him. I was at his house and I needed a tablet to work on his income taxes. He said get the one off his desk. In big print he had "VICKI HAS HEATING PAD". I did not have his heating pad, I have my own. So I ask him why he wrote that, he said I can't find it so you had to of taken it. REALLY?!?!?!?! So I showed him right where he leaves it beside his chair when he is done using it. He said "it wasn't there when I was looking for it". So I told him I had it in Australia. He was happy with that answer.
My dad sprang his foot the end of May. After it was swollen for one week (that I knew of) he decided it was bad enough to go to the doctor. So he had no idea how he sprang it. After three days at the clinic they decided he should go to the emergency room. Well they right away said it was a sprang. And they sent a social worker down. Now all of a sudden he knew he sprang it in WV mowing the side of MY HILL!?!?!?!?! Now mind you he was never behind a mower the whole time we were in WV, but he just told "story after story" in the ER, and they didn't know it wasn't true and I'm tired of saying that's not true. Cause really it didn't matter how it happened, it was way after the fact and I had come to realize we would never find out how it happened - the truth anyway. So the social worker said "you are of sound mind today". NO HE WAS NOT!!!! He just told one "story" after another. No truth there - does that make you of sound mind cause you can give an answer to a question that isn't true. He sometimes is so convincing to people saying things that he just makes up so no one knows his mind is going fast. I hear it almost everyday - I seen your dad and he was doing really good - no sign of Alzheimer's today. When you are not with him allot like I am - you think he is fine. But when you see him once a year and say to me your dad was fine when I seen him last week, I just get so upset. I shouldn't - but I do. It seems as if Kevin and I (and my mother when she was alive) are the only ones that are not in denial and know exactly how much help he needs and has no business living alone. I will continue to try to help him as much as he will let us.
Our family picture after my mother's funeral.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Bullying at an Old Age
I had read about "senior bullying" in the newspaper one day. Now I have seen it up close and personal at Hardee's from this one senior that retired from TRW. There is a group of the retirees that meet there for breakfast. Bill B. is loud, obnoxious and rude. He knows everything about everything. ALWAYS sticks his nose in other people's business and has harassed me since I moved up here. He has ran off four guys from Hardee's that will not come back to be harassed. I mean, he says the meanest things. He needs to keep his nose out of our family business. My dad has Alzheimers and if he isn't making fun of my dad, he is telling him things he has no business. And my dad not really thinking straight, this is not a good situation. Bill thinks its funny, we find it out of line. We are my dad's caretakers and we do not need some senior bully making our life any harder. What do you do? I have another elderly friend that says he is going to take this guy out with one punch, and he could do it. But why do they only think violence. But in all reality, I thought about punching him out myself. But he is a BIG guy. But what do they say, the bigger they are the harder they fall. I do not understand why the manager does not go over there and ask him to either quiet down or leave. I'm sure they can hear.
I tell the other guys just cause you are 80 years plus that does not give you the right to be mean to people. The guys say that the reason he is mean to me is that when I go in all the guys stop listening to him and talk to me. Still no excuse.
This senior bullying is as bad as bullying in the schools. When your elderly you do not need someone saying mean things and arguing with you all the time. I always go to Hardee's to make the guys laugh. Bill B. goes to call them liars and put them down. All my dad says is, "he's an ass".
I use people like this as my "check" or better yet an example of what I want to make sure I am not. I am sure everyone has a day here or there, but with a bully it is everyday and constant. One of his high school classmates said he was the same in school. How sad to think he has been a bully his whole life.
I started this post about 2 months ago, and didn't know where to go with it. Since then Bill has stopped coming to Hardees after 20 plus years and the guys are so happy. There is not one person there that isn't happy he stopped coming. I think that is sad that someone is so disliked by his fellow workers. I find it sad that he didn't know how to act in a social setting. Is he a lonely man? Did he have a hard life and that is why he this way? Did he get picked on in school? Is it now that he is a big guy and allot older that he feels the need to give back what he got his whole life? It is so hard to tell, but I will always think if I say something mean - or tell people they are lying, or put my nose in others business - AM I ACTING LIKE BILL? If the answer is yes, I hope to immediately apologize and never do it again. If you see me being a bully - please call me on it immediately!!!!!
I tell the other guys just cause you are 80 years plus that does not give you the right to be mean to people. The guys say that the reason he is mean to me is that when I go in all the guys stop listening to him and talk to me. Still no excuse.
This senior bullying is as bad as bullying in the schools. When your elderly you do not need someone saying mean things and arguing with you all the time. I always go to Hardee's to make the guys laugh. Bill B. goes to call them liars and put them down. All my dad says is, "he's an ass".
I use people like this as my "check" or better yet an example of what I want to make sure I am not. I am sure everyone has a day here or there, but with a bully it is everyday and constant. One of his high school classmates said he was the same in school. How sad to think he has been a bully his whole life.
I started this post about 2 months ago, and didn't know where to go with it. Since then Bill has stopped coming to Hardees after 20 plus years and the guys are so happy. There is not one person there that isn't happy he stopped coming. I think that is sad that someone is so disliked by his fellow workers. I find it sad that he didn't know how to act in a social setting. Is he a lonely man? Did he have a hard life and that is why he this way? Did he get picked on in school? Is it now that he is a big guy and allot older that he feels the need to give back what he got his whole life? It is so hard to tell, but I will always think if I say something mean - or tell people they are lying, or put my nose in others business - AM I ACTING LIKE BILL? If the answer is yes, I hope to immediately apologize and never do it again. If you see me being a bully - please call me on it immediately!!!!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
A New Year
Well its 2013, another year has gone by. It is cold and it is gloomy. I hate going outside this time of year. We don't venture to WV till April. We are looking for a house that is a ranch with a basement and some land so we can work on it this winter and be ready to move in the spring. I am certain it is time for my dad to move in with us so we are looking for something to accommodate us all. Even though he will be stubborn and say he isn't moving in, we need to be ready. Kevin is waiting on a new contract from CAE - they are closed for the holidays. Jeff has moved into a new apartment and was here and stayed with us over the holiday. I have actually started what I call my "Family Tree" project. Haven't seen my desk in days. But its fun to figure out everything and Kevin and I work on it together. This has been a project long in the making and I think I lost a small batch of scanned pictures when my desktop died. But I have a new scanner/printer/copier I will learn and the project will be back on track. I love looking at the old pics from the late 1800's. What is sad is they were not labeled. My mother was able to see them and identify a few before she died. But really by the time she seen them - she forgot most. By seeing this happen to this two big boxes of pictures, I have labeled every picture I own, and have started on my parents. But there are a few now - that are useless because my dad does not know who they are. Then another thing that makes me sad is I have allot of pics from my mom's side of the family but the information to go with them is hard to get, and about 3 or 4 pictures from my dad's side and I have great information from his side of the family, but no pics to do the "Family Tree" on his side.
We have decided it is time to fix the storm damage to the ceilings. Everything seems to be good with the roof and windows now, so time to proceed. Somehow this has turned into a three room project. Family room ceiling and wall. Bedroom ceiling and wall. Then the toilet decided the seal wasn't going to hold water anymore, so Kevin said as long he has to take the tank off he might as well take the whole thing out and replace the floor. YEA!!!!! I have wanted a floor for 12 years now since we moved in here. So now we come in our kitchen door and turn left, it is all a construction area. IT IS A MESS!!!!! And the old floor isn't coming up so easy.
Now I have to decide exactly what floor I want in there. Being this far into the project, painting the whole back of the house is in order I believe, but Kevin hasn't been told this yet. LOL
I am going to try and post consistently again, as I have missed it. Lately it seems as if my posts that I have started just are not flowing. Take care....
We have decided it is time to fix the storm damage to the ceilings. Everything seems to be good with the roof and windows now, so time to proceed. Somehow this has turned into a three room project. Family room ceiling and wall. Bedroom ceiling and wall. Then the toilet decided the seal wasn't going to hold water anymore, so Kevin said as long he has to take the tank off he might as well take the whole thing out and replace the floor. YEA!!!!! I have wanted a floor for 12 years now since we moved in here. So now we come in our kitchen door and turn left, it is all a construction area. IT IS A MESS!!!!! And the old floor isn't coming up so easy.
Now I have to decide exactly what floor I want in there. Being this far into the project, painting the whole back of the house is in order I believe, but Kevin hasn't been told this yet. LOL
I am going to try and post consistently again, as I have missed it. Lately it seems as if my posts that I have started just are not flowing. Take care....
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Deer Hunting
Deer hunting has probably been a part of my life since I was born. I remember ALWAYS going to WV the Sunday before Thanksgiving to be there the opening day of Deer hunting. Unlike WV, who gets off school for it, Ohio doesn't. I am sure my teachers were not impressed that I missed three days of school in a row to go deer hunting. I did go one time with my dad actually hunting. I don't get much out of walking and being quiet through the rough terrain. They used to have turkey shoots and cake walks the weekend before. I don't know if they still do. But they were fun. I had to stand on a wash tub at the turkey shoot to shoot the shot gun and the kickback was so much that I would be jerked backwards and my dad would catch me. I love to shoot guns. I would love to get my carry permit, but not sure I could pass the class. I seen last time in WV the class was $60 to get it down there. Up here in Ohio its $150. Why the huge difference?
This year with Kevin being retired, he has gotten the job of deer hunting with my dad. Since October that is all my dad would talk about, us taking him deer hunting in WV. So we plan to go down to our house for a week so he can get his deer. Knowing my dad he is always ready to come back in two days. So we figure we can be home by Wednesday.
We leave on Sunday to be ready for opening day. We get to our house and the one across the road from where we stay looks like a tornado had went through the land. We have about 10 trees that are blown down, toppled into each other. One huge mess that we were shocked to see. On the other side by my dad's cabin is yet another mess of trees broken and fallen. So we start by the cabin cleaning it up and the chain saw works great - for one evening. Bummer!!!! We burned for two evenings and still have so much more to clean up. It is just overwhelming. We had to leave the biggest mess since our chain saw wouldn't stay running. Going to take ours from here next time.
Kevin and my dad get up before day light. You know you need to be in the woods before daylight, so they say. Well I get up and see them off. I went back to bed for a few minutes, got up straightened and ate breakfast and they are back and guess what??? My dad is done deer hunting in WV. He is ready to come home and he isn't going again in WV ever. Now mind you, Kevin takes my dad in the woods and places him. Then Kevin goes to "run" the deer to him. Well this wears my dad out, he's so tired, and he's cold, and he's hungry, he's legs hurt, he's back hurts. Okay you got the picture.
So we come back to Ohio and before we get home he is talking about the first day of deer hunting in Ohio. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! But I just sit in the backseat and smile at Kevin. So Saturday we were over visiting my dad and he couldn't even find the gun he has to take hunting up here. Ohio you have to take a shot gun with a rifle barrel. (Or I think that is what they said). So we help him find the gun and then where are the shells. So Kevin finds the shells. Oh no he only has two boxes. I tell him he only needs one shell, so I think two boxes are plenty. Monday morning Kevin was to be at my dad's to take my dad and his friend hunting. The friend Carmen is 77, and my dad 80. Kevin had a few laughs with them. First off those two couldn't get their seat belts figured out. My dad was sitting in the middle of the truck and kept playing with the heater. Driving Kevin crazy. They finally arrive at the property and they tell Kevin where to go to run them a deer. Well it isn't long until my dad gets cold and goes to the truck. Then he goes back out, and they said they were staying till they got a deer. So Kevin is coming back around and sees them headed for the truck. They think he got lost cause it is taking so long to get to them. So now my dad is done hunting in Ohio, he is never going hunting in Ohio again. By the time they got back home, he asked Kevin when they are going again. Carmen said Wed and Sat is good for him.
They never went back that week, but deer hunting is coming back in up here for the weekend. Dec. 15 and 16. Now my dad is asking when are we going deer hunting. So we shall see how that goes.
My dad hasn't been feeling well. Having tests and of course one test leads to another test. I don't think he is able to go hunting, but he will drag himself out there to say he went. I am thankful that Kevin will take them, I worry about my dad being in the woods and wonder if he will find his way back to the truck without getting confused.
This year with Kevin being retired, he has gotten the job of deer hunting with my dad. Since October that is all my dad would talk about, us taking him deer hunting in WV. So we plan to go down to our house for a week so he can get his deer. Knowing my dad he is always ready to come back in two days. So we figure we can be home by Wednesday.
We leave on Sunday to be ready for opening day. We get to our house and the one across the road from where we stay looks like a tornado had went through the land. We have about 10 trees that are blown down, toppled into each other. One huge mess that we were shocked to see. On the other side by my dad's cabin is yet another mess of trees broken and fallen. So we start by the cabin cleaning it up and the chain saw works great - for one evening. Bummer!!!! We burned for two evenings and still have so much more to clean up. It is just overwhelming. We had to leave the biggest mess since our chain saw wouldn't stay running. Going to take ours from here next time.
Kevin and my dad get up before day light. You know you need to be in the woods before daylight, so they say. Well I get up and see them off. I went back to bed for a few minutes, got up straightened and ate breakfast and they are back and guess what??? My dad is done deer hunting in WV. He is ready to come home and he isn't going again in WV ever. Now mind you, Kevin takes my dad in the woods and places him. Then Kevin goes to "run" the deer to him. Well this wears my dad out, he's so tired, and he's cold, and he's hungry, he's legs hurt, he's back hurts. Okay you got the picture.
So we come back to Ohio and before we get home he is talking about the first day of deer hunting in Ohio. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! But I just sit in the backseat and smile at Kevin. So Saturday we were over visiting my dad and he couldn't even find the gun he has to take hunting up here. Ohio you have to take a shot gun with a rifle barrel. (Or I think that is what they said). So we help him find the gun and then where are the shells. So Kevin finds the shells. Oh no he only has two boxes. I tell him he only needs one shell, so I think two boxes are plenty. Monday morning Kevin was to be at my dad's to take my dad and his friend hunting. The friend Carmen is 77, and my dad 80. Kevin had a few laughs with them. First off those two couldn't get their seat belts figured out. My dad was sitting in the middle of the truck and kept playing with the heater. Driving Kevin crazy. They finally arrive at the property and they tell Kevin where to go to run them a deer. Well it isn't long until my dad gets cold and goes to the truck. Then he goes back out, and they said they were staying till they got a deer. So Kevin is coming back around and sees them headed for the truck. They think he got lost cause it is taking so long to get to them. So now my dad is done hunting in Ohio, he is never going hunting in Ohio again. By the time they got back home, he asked Kevin when they are going again. Carmen said Wed and Sat is good for him.
They never went back that week, but deer hunting is coming back in up here for the weekend. Dec. 15 and 16. Now my dad is asking when are we going deer hunting. So we shall see how that goes.
My dad hasn't been feeling well. Having tests and of course one test leads to another test. I don't think he is able to go hunting, but he will drag himself out there to say he went. I am thankful that Kevin will take them, I worry about my dad being in the woods and wonder if he will find his way back to the truck without getting confused.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Coupons = Thrifty or Cheap
I am a coupon user. Just because you use a coupon does not make you cheap. People are always making fun of me cause I use coupons to go out to eat, at the grocery store and at the mall. I by no means am cheap, I consider myself to be thrifty. Now this is not a bragging post, just trying to make a point.
First of all, I ran across this saying a while back and loved it. "We are to poor to buy junk". I always say you get what you pay for. And if I can get a little off - well I have more money for other things. But when you buy cheap junk, all you have is cheap junk. I love to shop at Dillards and Macy's during their huge clearance sales. I have $150.00 dresses that I got for $20 or $30 on sale with a coupon. If not for sales and coupons, I would have to wear Wal-Mart dresses. (Well maybe not that bad, but you get my point).
I always have a new car, we live in a nice house, we have a nice truck, we have two dumps, er I mean houses in WV. Everything we have is all ours. So I am not cheap. If I use a coupon then I have more money for other things. I want for nothing, but I want nothing. I am not a material girl.
Some people judge their wealth by how much stuff they have. I cannot stand to have clutter. And I cannot stand to have every space full of something. Every winter I purge every file, closet, drawer and cabinet in this house. I have even decided to donate some Christmas stuff this year. How much Christmas stuff does one person need. I have 7 huge totes of Christmas stuff plus wreaths and trees. My motto for decorating is: "What goes up must come down". And I don't put up Christmas till the first weekend in Dec. and it comes down Dec. 26th - every trip up the steps my arms are full of decorations. So its time to get rid of all them decorations that stay in the boxes year after year and let someone else enjoy them. My tree does stay up till New Years. My mother said its bad luck to take it down before, and she never had taken her's down before New Years Day, so that is a tradition I must follow now.
Back to couponing. I do not use a coupon just because I have it. I don't buy stuff I am not going to use just because I have a coupon. My mother was not a big couponer. Nor my dad, but I get something for him with a coupon and he is excited about it and the price. Kevin was in Texas in August for two weeks and I told my dad one day he was taking me out to dinner. He said, "Wait and let me see if I have a coupon". I about died laughing. A COUPON?!?! But you need to know my dad to know how funny that is.
You know if you don't plan along the way for your retirement, you might be working your whole life. As the country is today - you need all the help you can in saving for the future. Willpower to not need instant gratification is a good thing also. My girlfriend once told me I have allot of willpower, and I feel I do too. I think some people are ashamed to use a coupon or something. I feel that the business put out the coupon for me to use, so why not use it?
First of all, I ran across this saying a while back and loved it. "We are to poor to buy junk". I always say you get what you pay for. And if I can get a little off - well I have more money for other things. But when you buy cheap junk, all you have is cheap junk. I love to shop at Dillards and Macy's during their huge clearance sales. I have $150.00 dresses that I got for $20 or $30 on sale with a coupon. If not for sales and coupons, I would have to wear Wal-Mart dresses. (Well maybe not that bad, but you get my point).
I always have a new car, we live in a nice house, we have a nice truck, we have two dumps, er I mean houses in WV. Everything we have is all ours. So I am not cheap. If I use a coupon then I have more money for other things. I want for nothing, but I want nothing. I am not a material girl.
Some people judge their wealth by how much stuff they have. I cannot stand to have clutter. And I cannot stand to have every space full of something. Every winter I purge every file, closet, drawer and cabinet in this house. I have even decided to donate some Christmas stuff this year. How much Christmas stuff does one person need. I have 7 huge totes of Christmas stuff plus wreaths and trees. My motto for decorating is: "What goes up must come down". And I don't put up Christmas till the first weekend in Dec. and it comes down Dec. 26th - every trip up the steps my arms are full of decorations. So its time to get rid of all them decorations that stay in the boxes year after year and let someone else enjoy them. My tree does stay up till New Years. My mother said its bad luck to take it down before, and she never had taken her's down before New Years Day, so that is a tradition I must follow now.
Back to couponing. I do not use a coupon just because I have it. I don't buy stuff I am not going to use just because I have a coupon. My mother was not a big couponer. Nor my dad, but I get something for him with a coupon and he is excited about it and the price. Kevin was in Texas in August for two weeks and I told my dad one day he was taking me out to dinner. He said, "Wait and let me see if I have a coupon". I about died laughing. A COUPON?!?! But you need to know my dad to know how funny that is.
You know if you don't plan along the way for your retirement, you might be working your whole life. As the country is today - you need all the help you can in saving for the future. Willpower to not need instant gratification is a good thing also. My girlfriend once told me I have allot of willpower, and I feel I do too. I think some people are ashamed to use a coupon or something. I feel that the business put out the coupon for me to use, so why not use it?
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thankful
I have been out of the loop of my posting on the blog since the storm struck. We sometimes think, WHY ME??
During Frankenstorm, I was probably saying that at least once a day I'm sure to myself. It seems as if north Willoughby got hit the hardest and that is where we live. It just seemed a new issue arose everyday at our house. First our roof/siding/windows started leaking in the back bedroom. We had one leak, okay not bad for how much rain and wind we were having. A part of the ceiling was hanging down full of water. I got a bucket and busted the big bubble and let it all drain and then drip into the bucket. Yucky brown water. (THANKFUL IT WAS ONLY ONE LEAK) Then our electric went off at 11 pm. At 5 am I got up to see how the leak was doing. OOOPPPSSS it was now three leaks. (THANKFULL IT WAS ONLY THREE AND THE CEILING WAS STILL HANGING UP) Moved all the furniture now as one was right over the bed, but not leaking yet. Busted the other two, carpet soaked and bucket under them. Looked out front window - the big tree out front came down in all the wind. Laughing now. (BUT THANKFUL IT FELL THE OTHER DIRECTION AND NOT ON THE HOUSE). I had called my dad at 6:30 am to make sure he still had electric and he was surprised we didn't as he never lost it. (THANKFUL HE KEPT HIS ELECTRIC) So we get done cleaning up the mess and I am starting to make instant coffee. Someone is pounding on my door. My dad with Hardees Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and three cups of coffee. (THANKFUL FOR BREAKFAST) We were checking things out and now the leaks started in the family room. (THANKFUL THE RAIN AND WIND WAS SLOWING, AND NO HANGING DOWN FULL OF WATER SPOTS, JUST BROWN WATER STAINS). My dad was determined we needed his generator. So I said make sure it would hook up the same way his does at his house or else we wouldn't have the stuff to plug it into the box. They found no main shut off. So he went home with the idea that if it stayed off to long just bring our perishables to his house. So 16 hours later, we had electric and heat. Our phones and internet were messed up and they actually came out the next day too. They are still messed up and I tried to call them today - their customer service is not what it should be - but customer service is a dying art - so I don't expect anymore than I get from them. (But that is another post).
It continued to rain a good bit until the next day and it slowed to the point that we could clean up the tree. I called the roofer and him and the siding guy were here within an hour asking why I hadn't called sooner. I didn't want people in the downpour rain up on my roof when my ceiling was ruined anyway. So that got fixed the next morning. The tree went through the chipper the next day. We even found the Main shutoff for electric in an odd place to us. So we figure its all over. NOPE!!!! On Sunday I wake up at 5:15 am and our furnace is blowing cold air. So Kevin was able to fix that - we actually had a ignition module in his stash of parts. His degree in Heating and AC did not go to waste that day. (THANKFUL KEVIN WENT TO COLLEGE AND LEARNED A VERY USEFUL TRADE).
Somewhere in all this drama in Ohio I learn that our electric is off at our house in WV. We have electric heat - weather said 20's every night. For this I must say I will be thankful if my pipes didn't freeze and bust.
Even though I might of posted on my Facebook wall posts that seemed like my world was falling apart - I was THANKFUL every step of the way.
During Frankenstorm, I was probably saying that at least once a day I'm sure to myself. It seems as if north Willoughby got hit the hardest and that is where we live. It just seemed a new issue arose everyday at our house. First our roof/siding/windows started leaking in the back bedroom. We had one leak, okay not bad for how much rain and wind we were having. A part of the ceiling was hanging down full of water. I got a bucket and busted the big bubble and let it all drain and then drip into the bucket. Yucky brown water. (THANKFUL IT WAS ONLY ONE LEAK) Then our electric went off at 11 pm. At 5 am I got up to see how the leak was doing. OOOPPPSSS it was now three leaks. (THANKFULL IT WAS ONLY THREE AND THE CEILING WAS STILL HANGING UP) Moved all the furniture now as one was right over the bed, but not leaking yet. Busted the other two, carpet soaked and bucket under them. Looked out front window - the big tree out front came down in all the wind. Laughing now. (BUT THANKFUL IT FELL THE OTHER DIRECTION AND NOT ON THE HOUSE). I had called my dad at 6:30 am to make sure he still had electric and he was surprised we didn't as he never lost it. (THANKFUL HE KEPT HIS ELECTRIC) So we get done cleaning up the mess and I am starting to make instant coffee. Someone is pounding on my door. My dad with Hardees Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and three cups of coffee. (THANKFUL FOR BREAKFAST) We were checking things out and now the leaks started in the family room. (THANKFUL THE RAIN AND WIND WAS SLOWING, AND NO HANGING DOWN FULL OF WATER SPOTS, JUST BROWN WATER STAINS). My dad was determined we needed his generator. So I said make sure it would hook up the same way his does at his house or else we wouldn't have the stuff to plug it into the box. They found no main shut off. So he went home with the idea that if it stayed off to long just bring our perishables to his house. So 16 hours later, we had electric and heat. Our phones and internet were messed up and they actually came out the next day too. They are still messed up and I tried to call them today - their customer service is not what it should be - but customer service is a dying art - so I don't expect anymore than I get from them. (But that is another post).
It continued to rain a good bit until the next day and it slowed to the point that we could clean up the tree. I called the roofer and him and the siding guy were here within an hour asking why I hadn't called sooner. I didn't want people in the downpour rain up on my roof when my ceiling was ruined anyway. So that got fixed the next morning. The tree went through the chipper the next day. We even found the Main shutoff for electric in an odd place to us. So we figure its all over. NOPE!!!! On Sunday I wake up at 5:15 am and our furnace is blowing cold air. So Kevin was able to fix that - we actually had a ignition module in his stash of parts. His degree in Heating and AC did not go to waste that day. (THANKFUL KEVIN WENT TO COLLEGE AND LEARNED A VERY USEFUL TRADE).
Somewhere in all this drama in Ohio I learn that our electric is off at our house in WV. We have electric heat - weather said 20's every night. For this I must say I will be thankful if my pipes didn't freeze and bust.
Even though I might of posted on my Facebook wall posts that seemed like my world was falling apart - I was THANKFUL every step of the way.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friends
My niece said to me a few years back - I have 100 best friends. I thought REALLY???? 100 Besties???? Then I wondered if I even had 100 friends, counting best friends. LOL We have buds, peeps, neighbors, sistas, co-workers, classmates, acquaintances, buddies, and many others. Some pull double duty. A friend is "a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard". Okay I do have over 100 friends. Maybe even some I consider my friend and they have no idea I feel that way.
I got a surprise phone call from one of my best buds also a best friend, John, in Missouri last night that reminded me of how many people have touched my life and continue to touch it. I moved to Ohio 12 years ago and was hanging with my dad at Hardee's and one of the guys said they just met me but could talk to me like we've known each other our whole life. If you know me, you know I am a good listener. If you don't really know me, you think I talk allot. He called me gifted - and to this day my husband still does. LOL My mother always said, me and my dad have never met a stranger.
Being a military spouse, so many people come and go in your life. My best friend, Mary, I met when my daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy - her daughter had Spina Bifida. We instantly became friends and since 1977 we have been best friends. I've gotten to see her about 4 or 5 times since I left IL, but not nearly enough. We talk on the phone and are trying to make plans to see each other again. There are many more best friends that I still keep in contact with from our military days. The military is a really special "family".
John I've known since the middle 80's. One time on my birthday, Kevin had to go to college (he was taking weekend classes to get his Master's Degree). So John took me to a Bison Ranch and they had a buffet of all bison and tours, but they had no running water. I guess this must of been an issue for me as John always laughs cause I made him stop and let me wash my hands on the way home.
Since Facebook has came into my life - I keep up with allot of friends and family. I do, however, cringe when I read something on Facebook that should of been told in person first to certain people. I have met a girl, Rae, playing my game. We instantly bonded, never met in person, but have allot in common, and we now feel like we are "chosen" sisters. Amazing how that happens, and you are touched by such a sweet person that you never met. She lives not to far from where I moved here from. So maybe when we go back to visit someday we will finally meet.
I got a surprise phone call from one of my best buds also a best friend, John, in Missouri last night that reminded me of how many people have touched my life and continue to touch it. I moved to Ohio 12 years ago and was hanging with my dad at Hardee's and one of the guys said they just met me but could talk to me like we've known each other our whole life. If you know me, you know I am a good listener. If you don't really know me, you think I talk allot. He called me gifted - and to this day my husband still does. LOL My mother always said, me and my dad have never met a stranger.
Being a military spouse, so many people come and go in your life. My best friend, Mary, I met when my daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy - her daughter had Spina Bifida. We instantly became friends and since 1977 we have been best friends. I've gotten to see her about 4 or 5 times since I left IL, but not nearly enough. We talk on the phone and are trying to make plans to see each other again. There are many more best friends that I still keep in contact with from our military days. The military is a really special "family".
John I've known since the middle 80's. One time on my birthday, Kevin had to go to college (he was taking weekend classes to get his Master's Degree). So John took me to a Bison Ranch and they had a buffet of all bison and tours, but they had no running water. I guess this must of been an issue for me as John always laughs cause I made him stop and let me wash my hands on the way home.
Since Facebook has came into my life - I keep up with allot of friends and family. I do, however, cringe when I read something on Facebook that should of been told in person first to certain people. I have met a girl, Rae, playing my game. We instantly bonded, never met in person, but have allot in common, and we now feel like we are "chosen" sisters. Amazing how that happens, and you are touched by such a sweet person that you never met. She lives not to far from where I moved here from. So maybe when we go back to visit someday we will finally meet.
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