With the uptick

With the uptick in Covid-19 infections and deaths we are backing off and instead of doing more mingling, we are falling back on doing less. With two of our sons waiting for test results, not of them, but those that may have been too close to others who have it, we can see where this may not be getting better but getting worse. It seems as though it would not be a smart move to let our guard down now. It is so easy to get complacent. Just sayin'

Maisie

A few days ago we stopped by Marv and Judi's farm at Yale and found out they have a new colt. Maisie is a mere two months old.

Jerry McEnaney passed

It is sad to say that our Trophy Garden friend Jerry passed from Covid-19. For all of you who can say you have not been or affected very little by Covid-19 you are lucky and you never know when that might change. Take care.

Expectations = Disappointments

"Life's disappointments all center around expectations."-Barbara Brooker

Don't get your panties in a wad. It was just a thought I had that was worthy of writing down. I am not disappointed nor do I have expectations. I do my best to go with the flow and live in the moment and the older I get the more successful I am in doing just that!

On a more frivolous note, Butch and I have been binge-watching "Alone". There is one season on Netflix but there are 7 seasons on Amazon Prime. It is on the History Channel too, I see.

The Netflix one was very exciting! Alone. With zero human contact and limited means, hardcore survivalists embark on an intense mission to stay alive in the Arctic.

This is the one that prompted me to search for more.

As a general update, the two of us are doing well. Butch is going to physical therapy 3 days a week and has successfully given up the canes, playing some golf with a cart, getting the mowing done regularly, feeding the birds, and is walking less and less looking like a cartoon character.

I have a couple of projects going and will relate them to you once they are farther along.

We wear masks when out in public and we go out in public rarely. Grocery store and Costco and that is about it. We social distance as much as possible and wash our hands more than we have in our entire lives I do believe.

We received word yesterday that Pool playing friends Bev and Jerry are seriously ill with Covid-19 along with 6 other members of their family. Jerry is in Mayo, Rochester MN in ICU and not doing well. Bev is at home with it. They are very much in our thoughts right now.

Bev is in front, far-left and has her hand on my arm and Jerry is in back far-right.

 

A Word of Advice.

Several years ago Butch and I got a Shingles vaccine. Darn pricy but we sure did not want to get shingles. Move forward about 5 to 10 years and they decide that vaccine was not adequate and we needed to get a series of two vaccines at least two months apart. And again we did not want to get Shingles. We have seen quite a few friends and acquaintances suffer from Shingles and it certainly appeared that we should avoid it if at all possible. So last fall when we got our "before we go to Texas" medical exam we got the first of the two shots. September of 2019.  They told us there had to be a two-month space of time before we could get the second one so I asked if it could wait till we came back to Iowa in the Spring. No problem! And then a broken leg and Covid-19 happened. We tried to get it done when we first came back and were told they were not giving vaccines of any kind at that time. 

So as it would happen we got it on July 3rd. My advice is to never get a vaccine and particularly that one the day before a holiday. The first one last September was painful and created a large red patch on the arm that hurt like the devil for several days but in the scheme of things, it was not that big a deal. Now Butch did fine with the second one too but for me, it was a very different story. It hurt like the devil and I had the big red patch but then I suffered everything they listed as a reaction possibility, aches throughout my entire body, fatigue, fever, and nausea. So I spent the entire day sleeping, hurting, and popping Tylenol. Not fun!

Today is about 50% better. At least I am not shivering and aching with fever. Today I am still tired and feel like I am recovering but still far from normal. I hope for a better day tomorrow.

Till next time...

Thinking of Butch?

My friend Liz called to tell me that every time she takes a shower she thinks of Butch. We sure got a chuckle out of that thought! But as you might expect it was a safety issue. Since Butch's great fall last March we have implemented some safety features. The mats below now cover both the shower floor in the MoHo and the one in the house. They are very durable and can be thrown in the washer every week or so.

Bathtub mat. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XC7DVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In addition to that, my friend Mickey shared with me some safety hand grips that she had purchased for her shower. I had purchased some in the past that had not worked for me but these are truly amazing! And very inexpensive if you have access to a Menards store.

https://www.menards.com/main/bath/bathroom-safety/ez-grip-white-suction-grab-bar/177/p-1444427969030.htm

So if you too are thinking of Butch while you are in the shower look at how you can make your shower safer.

Speaking of safety we just received word that a couple we know who also winter in Trophy Gardens are having to deal with being positive for Covid-19.

Missouri Kids

The Missouri kids have their RV here sitting beside ours. It is a strange year and summer and the usual camping excursions that have in the past been a part of their life are not happening this year so they leave it here and use our backyard as their campsite.

They were here this weekend. And for those who wonder how that works with Covid rules, it is a modified carefulness. It helps that they are sleeping in the RV, having most meals there and off doing other activities like walking, bike riding, swimming etc. Is it as safe as it could be? No. But they abide by the same rules we do when they are out and about so we are taking the chance. No hugs are happening.

The kids, Leo and Elise playing with Mickey's dog Bailey.

Keri brought us one of her prize-winning strawberry pies. It was a huge hit. That girl knows how to put a pie together and please the palate!

Good Grief!!!

Here it is Monday already and I haven't posted since last Wednesday. The time flies even when we aren't doing much. Perhaps the biggest news is that Butch has set aside his canes. Both of them. It has been about a week now that he hasn't used either of them. He still has a bit of a wobble in his walk but working on getting that out of his system as well. I am guessing by Fall it will be hard to tell he had suffered a broken femur in March.

I have a few projects I am working on. 

Last Spring, as we were awaiting the okay for Butch to drive I ran across a feature about having screens on the inside of the motorhome windshield as opposed to the outside. You can see out but people cannot see in. They can tell if you have lights on but cannot see details. The outside screens we have used for years require a ladder to install and Butch's 79-year-old self does not need to be anywhere near a ladder. He isn't completely convinced of that yet but I am. So I ordered some of these screens that install from the inside and we finally installed them this past week. Easy, Peasy install! I wish we had them sooner.

They sent me some referral coupons for us so if you are interested, let me know and we can get one to you. I ordered ours from Amazon. 

We paid $137 for ours. I do not know why these are now so much higher. 

Maybe if you contact them you could do some dickering.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X6HSR5C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My front flower bed needs some updating so that is in my summer plans.  I want to put some new underlayment in and renew the rock placement while preserving my perennials. What this means is, it is a "Barb" project and not a "Butch" one and he is oh so happy about that. He would not know a perennial from a box of sox.

Another project I am working on is preserving stories for our Grands, Great-Grands, and beyond. It comes about because of this book I found. Now here again I ordered a used one from Amazon and it only cost me $5 and it came from a Goodwill store somewhere. Kansas City, if I remember correctly. I just wanted the questions inside the book with no intention of using it as a journal. I am using the Google Drives document along with the voice feature. I also use Grammarly, a correction program that is very useful and something I have used for years. My plan is to tell the story and not worry about grammar until I am finished and then go back and fine-tune it. 

So you can see that we are not standing still, nor are we bored.

In addition to this, we still have several books going. Our travel one right now is The Murmur of Bees

I just finished a Fanny Flagg book.

The one I am trying to read now is dragging me down a bit so I may give up on it.  I give a book 50 pages and if it hasn't grabbed me by then I move on to another. I usually like historical novels but the jury is still out on this one.

Eye appointment (Butch)

Butch's eye appointment was yesterday and he got good news. His eyes are perfect. He might want you to think the rest of him is too but perhaps a second opinion should be in place first.

So we made our way to Ames and the Wolfe Eye clinic and followed up his appointment with another visit to Hickory Park. They do the distancing and masks as well as I have seen anywhere. They have the old fashioned high-backed booths that many places had in our youth so you are in your own tiny room once you are seated. Hickory Park is our favorite eating place in Ames and there are oodles and scads of people who feel the same as we do.  We came directly home afterward. We have never been big shoppers anyway but now it is even more so. Also, we live in a tiny house so nowadays we have to discard something before we can buy another thing.

Butch is doing PT (physical therapy) 3 times a week and improving steadily. He is forgetting where he last put his cane more often. I have been calling him Stumpy because I got to the point where I could tell where he was by sound. He thinks he can be back to walking the golf course sans cane in two weeks' time.

I am thinking that is a bit too ambitious but if I say "no" you can bet he will make it happen. Stay tuned.

Still taking photos on occasion...

Funny?

We are staying home mostly yet feeling guilty for not connecting with our friends, yet knowing it is not the best of ideas to connect with our friends at least in person. Got all that?  So we feel somewhat between a rock and a hard spot.

We do not feel bad about being alone with ourselves and our thoughts, in fact, we are quite comfortable with it. Last night we watched "Win the Wilderness" on Netflix. It is about couples competing to win a home in the wilderness from a couple who have lived and built this home in the middle of Alaska and have reached the point where they know they cannot do it anymore. Interesting and thought-provoking on many levels. Our age alone puts us way past going to the wilderness to live and we are more than a little aware of it.

This pandemic and all the tentacles from it have made life far different from what it was a year ago at this time. I do not expect it to go back to what it was for more reasons than we can even list.  I see as much good to come from it as bad. So many people needed to come up short and analyze where they are and where they want to be. It made the whole world slow down and take a closer look. Too fast and too frantic has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to life for far too long.

So please do not take it personally if you do not see us or hear from us. We are doing our best to stay healthy and we hope you are doing the same. There will be another end to this we just don't know when it will be evident.

Mostly Mundane

We have been deeply involved in mundane activities. Such as yesterday we went to see the plastic surgeon who stands in as our dermatologist and had some "spots" attended to. We hope they do not amount to anything but since they have amounted to something in the past we cannot assume without checking. This trip I have three biopsy locations and two freeze spots and Butch has one biopsy location. So now we wait to not get a call from Dr. Poag's office. If we do not get a call we know the spots didn't amount to anything. We should know by next Wednesday.

And this is news from Hidalgo County Texas where we reside in the winter months. It seems they have had a big uptick in Covid cases and wearing a mask has fallen out of favor. So they are appealing to local businesses to get the ball rolling once again on the wearing of masks.

Along this same vein, my Grand-nephew Devon went to visit a friend whose father had been exposed to Covid but had tested negative. The next day after Devon's visit the person who had tested negative became sick and has Covid. So now Devon is on 14 days of isolation.

This Covid business is far from over and in fact, may be just starting to get a foothold in our area.

Remain vigilant.

We just returned from the grocery store. Not everyone is wearing a mask and some who do, do not have them on properly. They need to be over your nose as well as your mouth. There were two elderly women by the door who were enjoying a nice long visit. Neither had masks on. It may need to get worse before it gets better right here in Iowa too.

Squirrel Wars Part 2

Well, so far so good. The ball is now on the clothesline and the birds are loving it. They are spending much more time on it and the squirrels so far do not have a clue. We really have not seen much of them.

Butch is back at physical therapy and they pointed out to him how much weaker that leg is and that he is naturally overcompensating for that.  So that is what they will be working on.

This morning I decided to work on our compost pile. It is something I have been thinking of for a while. I do not have any before pictures but this is a big improvement. Need some composted soil? Let's talk!

This was after I had removed a wheelbarrow full of soil. Good, rich, composted soil!

Since last post...

We have had a busy week, what with all the appointments and all. But now we can breathe a bit easier. Our health is fine on all counts. Butch has a PT appointment tomorrow and I am sure they will whip him into shape in no time. I am not a pro by any means but I think it is all a matter of confidence now and that is perhaps the hardest thing to regain.

Gary brought their RV here to get it ready for the camping season and then he returned home to celebrate their anniversary. It was happenstance that Gary and Susan were married on Butch's birthday but it certainly has made it easy to remember all these years. So Gary and Susan returned on Friday with Elise and Leo to do some "camping" in our backyard.

  

Down by the riverside-Elise and Leo

We have enjoyed playing Left, Right, Center with the kiddos. And cribbage in one form or another with Gary and Susan

Squirrel Wars: Butch has been losing the war with the squirrels so we decided to take down the way that worked last year and try a different angle-moving the ball feeder to the clothesline. The birds like it. And the squirrels haven't found it yet. 

This was the old way.

And then ...

It was Butch's 79th birthday on June 9th. Leo and Keri treated us at the local Mexican restaurant and it was very good as always. It was a nice way to celebrate and catch up on family happenings. 

My eye exam was the day before and it went well. He told me my eyes were healthy and since losing my sight has always been the worst sense to loose in my mind that was reassuring news. We celebrated at Hickory Park, a well known and highly touted restaurant in Ames Iowa.

Wednesday was the day for me to get my driver's license renewed. I have been in arrears since May 6th because in Iowa you have 60 days after your birthday to get it renewed and due to Covid-19 and Butch's broken leg I was unable to get it done. It would not have helped to come back sooner as the Courthouse was closed anyway. Now it is being done by appointment and by how much in arrears you happen to be, Butch was told to get an extension on his. He will not be behind until August 9th so he can wait. So he has his extension.

And today my main appointment was my haircut. It had been one month and two days since Liz had given me my last Texas haircut. I miss that girl!! She is a good one. I also like my Marcia haircuts in Iowa.

Keri and I took our bikes and made our way to the bridge just to see it.

This afternoon we had a very bad news phone call. Bill Brooker called to tell us their son Mark Brooker was killed in a biking accident in Houston Texas. Mark was Bill and Jo's youngest son and had turned 52 just yesterday. That threw us for a loop. Every time I think of Mark I see him smiling.

So on that sad news I will close for today.

The days are zipping by

We have a busy week of appointments lined up. Eye exams, annual doctor visits, haircuts, driver license renewals, and perhaps one that has momentarily slipped my mind. And yes, we are social distancing and wearing masks as best we can throughout these endeavors.

Butch is getting along famously with his indoor cane and his outdoor cane, forgetting them more frequently than ever. We hope to get him back on his physical therapy soon and then it should progress even more. I am thinking by fall you might not be able to tell he has been majorly repaired from his broken femur. He is playing golf but so far he is using a golf cart. I am sure he will be back to walking the course, if not this summer, surely by next.

Gary had a near mishap with his RV on the way here from Missouri last Thursday. Luckily the guys were able to get parts and get it repaired. Here they are getting things put back together.

Pictured from left are Rich, Jason, Butch, and Gary

Gary replacing the wheel hub

Gary is here and when he isn't busy working on his RV or playing golf with his dad and brothers we have been having hot games of CrossCribb. I was fairly certain Gary would like the game. We were introduced to it last winter playing with Dave and Liz. 

 

• An exciting game of Strategy, Luck, and Double Cross!
• Lots of fun for the entire family.
• Objective: Mark 31 points by building higher total cribbage scoring hands before your opponents.
• Recommended for Ages 8+. 2-6 Players.

Gary is here

Our son Gary likes to bring his RV to our place in the Spring to get it ready for the season. We have two RV sites in our backyard with full hook-ups including Wifi. We did this intentionally when we bought this place because we have many RV friends and had hoped they would stop in their travels to see us and that has indeed happened.

We also had a storm last night with lots of lightning, rain and a little hail. Thank God it didn't last too long. There are a few branches down in the backyard. I haven't seen any damage from the hail yet. I think it was small stuff.

I had made meatloaf for us last night for supper and Gary mentioned that he likes to order meatloaf now and then when he eats out. I really like this particular recipe. It is nothing fancy and does remind me of my mom's recipe. The one she never wrote down.

Mom's Meatloaf Recipe

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour + standing

MAKES: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 3/4 cup 2% milk

• 2/3 cup finely crushed saltines

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

• Dash pepper

• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)

• 
  

• 1 cup ketchup

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Add beef; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into an 8x4-in. loaf in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve sugar; remove 1/2 cup for sauce. Spread remaining mixture over meatloaf.

3. Bake 60-65 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce. Yield: 6 servings.

Originally published as Mom's Meat Loaf in Taste of Home June/July 1997, p35

Costco here we come and there we go

Butch and I went to Costco in DesMoines yesterday. We were curious as to how it would compare to South Texas. Not as well I am sorry to say. Yes, masks are required at both and a lady told the woman at the entrance that she had forgotten her mask and they provided one for her. That was all good. But it was crowded in there. Too crowded for comfort in my opinion. And the checkout area was not run well at all! In Texas, they had monitors making sure everyone knew what was expected and assisting them with compliance as in distancing and getting your items lined up and ready. In DesMoines, it was far more chaotic. If you had wanted a product that was up close to the checkout area you might as well forget it. And if you planned to wait it out until it cleared out a bit you would have been waiting a long time. If we head that way again and we probably will sometime, I think I would try a different time of day. We were there about noon and left close to two.

This morning I decided to spruce up the front area a bit so I bought a few geraniums and petunias at Bomgaars. Not many really because I do not want to spend all my time watering them trying to save my investment. It turned hot the minute June arrived so I had worked up quite a sweat by the time I got them situated in their new homes.

Butch went to the golf course. It seems he played well and it is probably as good for him as therapy will be. We have appointments lined up to get the therapy going again. We tried to get our second Shingles shot but they are not doing any vaccines yet. They said to check again in a few weeks. 

My drivers license had expired but the courthouse is still closed. I did get an appointment for June 11th though. Butch's has not expired yet but will soon and they said to go online and request an extension. So we did. Lots of details to get taken care of.

Finally! Getting things done.

Yesterday was a momentous day. It didn't rain! I did several hours worth of outdoor work and Butch went to the golf course. Yes, that is a good thing. In fact, I began to worry about him because it was windy and I knew he would not have stayed out there that long by himself with that kind of wind. Well as it happened Jason joined him on the course. Butch had a cart and Jason walked so it was easy to maintain distance. 

Butch said as long as he took it easy and didn't press his luck it felt okay to play. He was tired when he came home but not so tired that he needed a nap.

And then Jason came into town to help me with a few things I couldn't or didn't want to handle on my own. We both had masks on and maintained our distance here too. One of the things I wanted help with was the "Bat House". I have an outdoor wall hanging of a sun/moon and it has hung beside the breezeway door for several years but last year a bat took up residence and we could tell because of the droppings underneath. Since it was at eye-level for us and right beside the door we took it down and hoped the bat would forget about it. I put it back when we returned and lo and behold it didn't take long for the bat to take up residence again. I do not mind having a bat on the property because they eat bugs but not that near the house so I had Jason move it to the shed. I am guessing our bat will find it soon enough.                                The new "Bat House" location

T

The old bat house location was above the cactus on the left. You can see the screw that it hung upon.

I have a cactus that Gary gave me for Mother's day several years ago. I think it was 2007 or 2008. It has been repotted several times and there are all kinds of babies. It is now too heavy for me to lift and I certainly did not want Butch lifting it so that was on my list for whoever showed up first. It was Jason and he picked it up and took it to its assigned place and he looked easy doing it. I bring it in each fall and have it watered a few times throughout the winter. It seems to work out for me and the cactus but I am assuming it won't always be that way and decisions will have to be made for its future at some point. 

Jason then helped Butch get his mower blades off so Butch could sharpen them so all in all, it was a very productive day for us.

Low Carb recipe website

I found a new website that I am enjoying immensely. Maybe you will too. Her recipes are tried and true and that is always a good thing. Today I will be making Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake.

All Day I Dream About Food.

https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ 

Grandsons of Leo and Keri

These are Leo and Keri's grandsons Jorgan, Brady and Beckett and someone, I know not who, bought these T-shirts for the boys and for those of us who know their Grandpa the shirts are quite appropriate.