Halloween

Halloween is filled with traditions and funny stories and just plain fun. One of our traditions is, every Halloween we have tuna noodle caserole for dinner. That started as an easy meal when you had 6 kids to get into costume. Hubby tells me about a Halloween when the neighborhood kids TP'd his tree. He was so proud that his daughter, Amy, was so popular to get that kind of attention. His neighbor watched him try to get the paper out of the tree and kept saying "God damn kids." Costumes have always been fun. When my Down Syndrome brother came down with leukemia he wanted a Halloween party and so we obliged. That first year he went as Ruth Bussey from laugh in and kept hitting everyone with his purse. One year my 6 ft 2 in brother came as a pink elephant. This year we just got the picture of my son-in-law and there is no trouble telling who he is supposed to be.

One Strong Lady

Mom came through the surgery with flying colors. Last night I saw her right after surgery and she was still sleeping with tubes all over the place. This morning I went to see her and the breathing tubes were removed, she was sitting in a chair but very tired and we stayed a very short time. About 5 PM I called the nurse to see how she was and the nurse said she was doing fine did I want to talk to her. I was surprised and said was she able to do that? The nurse put her on the phone and she talked for about 15 minutes wondering who had called and about other things. I was almost giddy with relief.

Mom

Last Wednesday Mom had a heart attack. It was probably her second one. The first one, a week ago, she took an aspirin and laid down until it went away. The second one was much worse and she pulled the cord in her apartment for help. At the hospital they did a heart catheterization and found a 100% blockage at one artery and 2 others were 90% blocked. The cardiologist recommended triple bypass and the surgeon has agreed that it is a viable option. She is 92 years old and the risk is very high. Mom is a very spunky, alert woman, very capable of knowing what she wants in life. She said, " I am not afraid of dying, but I want to live." The doctor said that if we treated her with medicine and no surgery she would be having repeated attacks and episodes that would have her in an out of the hospital and she could no longer live independently. She said that is not the way she wants to live. I guess, what I want, is to keep her as long as possible but not in pain.
When my Dad died, it was hard. I loved him a lot but he had lost much of his mental abilities and was so miserable because he was incontinent and confused, that it was easier to accept losing him. At one of the later visits to him in the nursing home, he was sitting on the edge of the bed in a diaper and not understanding what was happening to his body and his life and all I could do was sit beside him and hug him. He said to me, "Peggy, you will never know how much you mean to me." It was the greatest gift he could ever give to me.
But Mom is alive. While we sat and visited with her yesterday she was sharp and funny. Mary and Martha were there with me. Mary was working on a crossword puzzle(she said it was a committee project) and Mom was startling us with the words she knew(like sheep were ovine and I forget what an eagle nest was but Mom knew. Martha had her computer and was going over her ancestry program. Mom was telling us stories about great aunts and uncles we had never met. Then I sent the girls away to get me a diet Coke so Mom and I could be alone and talk. I love her so much.
I hope you don't mind but I had to write some of this down.

A Trip to Ohio

Over the weekend Hubby and I went to the Bob Evan's Farm Festival in southeast Ohio. It was great. Admission was dirt cheap and they had free pony rides, hay rides and contests for kids. They had equine drill teams, tractor square dancing, cloggers and log rolling. They had at least a hundred little booths selling country wares, blue grass bands and a quilt show. After that we went to Wright Patterson Air Force base to their museum. They had an exhibit of the "Air Force One" planes. The Planes for Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and even the one which took Kennedy to Dallas and brought his body back. It was a fun weekend and the weather was perfect. I got a little bit of a sunburn in October!

A Really Busy Day

I started the day with my water aerobics class. While I was at class the landscaper came and talked to Hubby about the final plans for the back yard. Then my three great niece and nephews came for us to babysit. They are unbelievably cute. The oldest is three and the baby, 9 months old, crawls and is trying very hard to stand and walk. Then I had to do the calendar for the Master gardener website and move the plants that will be impacted by the landscaper. We had Spanish class tonight and had to pack for our trip tomorrow. Oh! and I decided to rip out the two rows I have done on Martha's quilt. I bought a low loft batting and I don't like it. I decided it was better to rip out the two rows I have done rather than continue with 13 more rows.

Another Quilt on the Frame

I have Martha's quilt on the frame. It is a flannel Twin sized quilt. Flannel is new to me so far its is very soft to work on. I really wonder how it will wear. Anybody have a flannel quilt? I have the frame in front of the TV set. I wish I could put it in front of Hubby's computer. Maybe then I would get some of that painting done.

The Big Apple Supreme

Today after church, Hubby and I went to the International House of Pancakes for breakfast. We both ordered the big apple supreme which is baked in the oven with apples and sugar on top and has a scoop of cinnamon ice cream on it. It was wonderful, probably wasted a whole week of water aerobics. The restaurant is always packed with a long line that curls around itself like a cinnamon bun. Everyone knows the line is always like that and is very good natured about it. We haven't been there in at least 10 years. The food is great and it is an experience.

Cleaning up "The Blogs I like"

I have too many blogs that I refer to that aren not active any more. Zeek and I (my steo daughter)hasn't been updated in over a year. It is because she has discovered facebook. Shazam in the Kitchen hasn't been updated since February. She (my daughter)has started her first year teaching and has also discovered Facebook. Hubby's It's my Story and I'm stuck with it should be given a little more time along with his Frenetic Felines. Super G's Potpouri has just started to show sign's of life