Having fun

Yes, I am so happy to report that there are less visits to doctors and more fun outings. James is doing great. 

There are definite signs of fall now ... meaning: it is not so very hot any more. We can take short walks in the neighborhood and hoping that our circles around the blocks will get larger and larger. 

Ha-ha, because it is not so very hot any more there is also no excuse for not deadheading the flowers and pulling some weeds. The gereniums in this planter have done well the whole summer, probably because they are in the shade most of the time.

And I have a new toy! I got the idea a little late though. I love baking and especially those individuell Zwetschgenkuchen. Unfortunately those Italien plums (or prune plums) or only available for a short while and when it seems to be the hottest time of the year. It doesn't seem right to heat up the house baking and turning on the A/C.

And there was an ECW meeting on the calendar for Saturday September 12 and the "church ladies" were happy to come to our house. Sarah was showing us how to make "flower frogs" with clay which you bake in the oven. Another good reason to do the baking not in the house.

I did a lot of research about which "countertop oven" I wanted and finally settled on Ninja Prestige Smart XL Air Fryer & Countertop Oven. 

No more "Zwetschgen" but I used some peaches with the same recipe and this too was a success.

"Our" ALDI had these Nashville hot dogs. Quite spicy and we had to try them. Delicious but found they would have been easier done my usual way. On the other hand, a pork tenderloin was incredible easy and perfectly cooked in my new kitchen gadget.

Ha-ha, we do like visitors. When this toad hoped passed me into the sunroom when I just opened the glass door to the patio, I felt like hopping to the side too. He/she was very fast. I could gently put it outside though.

September 14 was such a splendid day that we enjoyed a little outing and landed in Ashland. It was a Monday and several restaurants were closed. Need to remember these things.

Next day we had another hopping visitor. James came in from the back yard with our rain gage. By golly, it is quite tall but "Freddy" somehow managed to jump in.

We could not just gently pure him/her out but had to offer this way out.

Little while later we saw him/her there. Can you see it? Really, risking to be stepped on?

And very recently I was intrigued when somehow somewhere I had heard or read that the late Queen Elizabeth's favorite cocktail was one made with Dubonnet Aperitif. I had googled and found that one of our Total Wine stores was supposed to have it. But when we drove there especially to buy it they confessed that they actually didn't and could not get it for a while. 

Daughter Sarah had called on her way home from work and when we chatted I told her. I must have sounded very disappointed because later that evening I got a text from her "delivery soon". I was wondering what was going on. It was brought to our door because she had found that it was available at Wegmans and took matters into her hands to surprise us. 

The Queen had good taste! 2 parts Dubonnet, 1 part Gordon's Gin and some ice cubes. I substituted the half lemon wheel with a wedge of a mandarin. 

Thank you, Sarah, for the lovely surprise. Martha and Jerry thank you too. They enjoyed it too when they came to play cards the next day.

It’s time

 …. for an update!

I ended the last blog with the wonderful news that James was discharged from the hospital on August 3rd. Since then he got steadily better. We were very busy with doctors' appointments, his therapy to get strong and walking again and of course it needed sorting out about the arm. We were told that the nerve in his arm might need up to a year but I am happy to report that it has already gotten steadily better too. Yes, we are very happy and thankful.

Since he can use his arm/hand again to eat (for a while eating was a real challenge) we even ventured out to a restaurant for lunch. Here waiting at Potros on August 11 for our food. Even the weather cooperated because we could sit outside. 

And finally some fun. Sarah came on a Saturday to teach me how to make "flower frogs". She had experimented with air-dry clay and clay for baking. 

This what "flower frogs" are used for: to find some flowers in your garden and easily arrange them in a rescued jar.

Ah, its the time for "Zwetschgen" ... Italien plums ... prune plums. I love baking these !!!

August the 17 we got a surprise. Hornets were building a nest right in front of of one of the sunroom windows. We didn't know what to do about it. I called a pest control person and he told me they were bald-faced hornets which are highly aggressive, can sting repeatedly causing intense pain. 

This we know for a fact because the local grandsons with parents visited and Caleb went on the back porch just a minute and was immidiately stand several times which caused a big commotion. 

The first person I had called told me it would be close to $500 to take care of it which gave me a shock. But the next day I was lucky, found somebody by chance who does a lot of work in the neighborhood (reasonable) and took care of it immidiately. Unfortunately the hornets use something very glue and very sticky. You can't clean it off very nicely.

August 20 (a Thursday) we had all 3 with us. For this day and the next they had 4 orders for their business of cleaning trash cans in our neighborhood. Colin wanted to stay with Papa while I took Caleb and Owen to the 2 houses of the day. We had lunch at Jjs which they liked very much.

Next day we only had Caleb since the twins had some sports team commitment. He is a great worker, gets to it, is very thorough and gets done. The results are usually very happy customers and a great tip. He asked me to take a "before photo" because it was very yucky.

"Omi, time for the after photo!"

Afterwards he asked to play Five-crowns with us.

At 2 pm he was gone because his father had picked him up and we could go for a walk. 

Love it when we see something special while walking. 

The following week our "local" grandsons started school too. Nashville is always earlier. Sarah sent this photo of the twins.

Ha-ha, and I am ending this blog with this photo. I was making "stuffed peppers" and could not resist to take a photo of this. Doesn't it look pretty? I had also yellow and orange peppers and the whole dish was very delicious. James loved it, several days in a row (ha-ha). 

PS: I can't believe how long this blog had been sitting with all the photos and almost finished. But so much was happening all the time. We surely can't complain that nothing ever happens.

More Hospital

Finally busted out! And here is the rest of that story.

Sunday July 19 - Helen and William arrived  having driven the 600+ miles in 2 days this time with a quick visit to have a look at a university on the way. Helen teaches virtually and of course has to juggle her schedule because she does not have vacation.

William had finished his summer employment that week. On Thursday 7/16 he did his part when all the interns in this program through the Vanderbilt University gave a presentation. We are so proud of him.

They came to see Papa and of course wanted to help but I also wanted William to have as much “cousin time” as possible at least in their first week of their visit. 

Sarah and Wade made that possible too. He helped his cousins with their bin-cleaning business when they needed to be driven to those places. He is 16 and has his driver license!

William also wanted to have time with Papa. They had fun playing cards in Papa's hospital room and I could leave to take care of something which needed attention. 

By now James was on the 4th floor in the In-house Rehab and every evening we would get a schedule for the next day. He had 3 or 3 1/2 hours of 3 different kinds of therapy every day. I could see how quickly he got better in some areas. 

Helen spoiled her father with chocolate. 

In the beginning I was not allowed to move James at all. He really needed a hair cut though. It makes him feel better. On Saturday 7/25, when not much was going on in the hospital, an OT was very happy to go outside with us to take care of it. It was a lot of fun for all three of us. 

Sarah had a birthday that week but so much was going on that it was celebrated a few days later. We wanted to have a bit of family time all together so I asked whether we could use the big room where James and I had to go once for a group meeting. 

It was ok to sing to Sarah and have some birthday cookie. In the hospital ... of course no candles.

I could not resist to share the next couple of photos. On Monday 27th I had to run home for something and look who was visiting our front yard. It was fun to watch for a fleeting moment.

This week Sarah and her family were gone to the beach with Wade's family. Helen (and some days also William) were sleeping in their house to take care of the animals (2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 lizards and 1 fish). They also love animals but they had to get used to especially Coopers temperament. 

While in the hospital James got visited by 4 different service dogs. 

Three weeks in the hospital. Comming and going at all different hours of the day. For several days we also had heavy downpours. Depending on the hour the parking lot was full or almost empty. Going home I always had to think where my car might be parked. Sometimes I needed some extra steps to find it which was probably good for me. Sometimes the sky was extra pretty.

On Friday the 31st Helen and William had to drive back home again. So the Thursday was my last chance to spoil him a little. It is tradition that we have an all-you-can-eat lunch at Sushi Masa. He is smiling! We both liked it.

Afterwards we went to the Science Museum. That too is tradition when William is visiting. Unfortunately this time only one time. We have a membership so at some previous visits we would go several days in a row. Special this time was an exhibition called "Survival of the Slowest" or "slow but steady"

I kept the stickers from that visit on my car dashboard. You know how much we love our family and of course we are missing those we can't see very often.

Good news is of course that they got home safely. 

Sunday James had his last therapy lessons. I am so proud of him. 

The only thing really hampering his progress is his left arm. After the "minimal invasive procedure" they did in the hospital in the first week he could not use his left arm. Something happened to a nerve during his placement. We are happy though that it steadily got better. Steadily but of course to slow for us.

Friday Helen and William gone. Sunday Sarah and Family are back. She came with the boys to visit Papa and show their beach findings. 

While she stayed with the twins to keep Papa company, I took Caleb to our house. He wanted to clean our trash can and the recycling can. He did an amazing job. And he did it so happily.

This was all three boys' summer job. Recently they celebrated their 100s bin. And it seems to continue past the summer vacation time. They have already more requests.

Monday August 3 - THE BIG DAY!

James got discharged. 

(This photo was taken especially for my niece Maren)

We are happy. And now a week later we are even happier. 

The discharge meeting with the doctor made us quite scared for the first night. And that is all I say about it. We were able to set up an appointment with wonderful urologist Dr Rollins for which we had to drive a bit out of the way. We went home on cloud 9.

Again, prayers have been heard. We have to give it some time and all will be good again. 

We are grateful to many caring people and OUR LORD!