Jo Brooker has passed

                                                             Jo Brooker

My sister-in-law, Jo Brooker, passed last night after a nasty cancer battle. Jo's husband, Bill Brooker is Butch's older brother. It has been a long time since we lost a member of the main branches of the family tree. Bill and Jo's son Mark passed a few years back, which was a heavy blow too.

Jo was a strong woman and had a firm grasp on the many aspects of her life, and all of those aspects prospered. She was a supportive wife and mother, a businesswoman, a dog lover, an artist and so much more. Wherever Jo was there was order and dependability. The adjustment to life without her guiding hand will be a challenge.

Choices

In my long-lived life, I have discovered that you can take photos, play games, make sure everyone is settled and happy or you can live each moment to the fullest as it presents itself and concern yourself with none of the above. We had a very good time over the weekend. Enjoyed every minute of it and did not take one photo. I always feel a bit guilty when I don't take photos because it is something I always seemed to do.

We had a very good time with the great grands, Little Leo and Elise. It is always a rare occasion when they are here. We played Golf, the card game as a highlight.

Things have been hopping around here. We are back to one pool table in the pool hall having gifted Myrla's pool table to her best friend of over 30 years. It frees up space in the pool hall, better for people-type gatherings, such as trivia and next week's Zimmerle reunion. The Zimmerle's were my mother's peeps and as youngsters, we knew our cousins from Sunday dinners at Grandma Z's house in Herndon, a tiny little town south of Jefferson about 13 miles. Some of these cousins I have not visited with for over 30 years! I am very much looking forward to it. I plan to really knuckle down and take photos!

These are photos I did manage to take in the last week or so:

The Brooker Pool Hall

The Brooker house and yes the square footage is about the same in each structure.

Chives.

The bike trail where Keri and I walk

Craig Cunningham after getting the pool table loaded. The base with the 4 legs in the air made for an interesting photo.

The Kids

 One of the benefits of having your offspring retire is that we see more of them. To be honest I didn't think of that. The Missouri kids are here for the weekend and it looks to be a busy one. The weekend will include various activities; golf, pool, card games, crafts, and trail walks. Gary is famous for cramming as much into every day as he possibly can. That is not a trait he got from me. None of us see any slowing down in him.

We have been to both Jefferson cemeteries to pay respects to those who have gone before. Turning 80, and losing all of my immediate family members, two of them in the past year has made them more present in my mind. Not in a mournful way but the fondest memories of each of them.

And now for something completely different. Gary needed to do some cleaning on his RV. And Jerilynn needed to clean her RV windows. Both of them lacked the "cleaner" product to do the job. So I shared with them my cleaner recipe that I have used for years on virtually every surface in my multiple homes. 

All Purpose Cleaner

1 C. Alcohol, 1 C. Water, 1 C. White Vinegar, and 3 or 4 drops of Dawn soap. I have more than one spray bottle of this in all of my "homes".

Oh The Things You'll Forget

Today's Bird Pics

House Finch

Nut hatch

One-legged Robin

 

Spring Lake

 Pete and Jerilynn have boats (small ones) that they take out to Spring Lake and race around in the water. 

Spring Lake holds special memories for me because as a child our family went to the lake almost every evening in the summer. That was before AC. So today when Butch suggested we go out to the lake I gladly said "yes". I grabbed my camera because I can always find a good picture out there.

Butch and Eldon Cunningham

Next Tuesday

 Our neighbor across the street was a tractor collector. He passed away last winter. Before his death, he had set a date, May 23rd, to sell his tractors. He has over a 100 I swear. His yard is full of them getting ready for the sale. I took a picture from our place that only shows a portion of them. The auction will be online as well as on-site. It should be a very busy place next Tuesday.

If anyone is interested I am sure if you googled "Tractor sale, Jefferson Iowa, Kenny Pederson" you will find lots of info with pictures.

Costco Run

 A run to Costco is a much bigger deal for us in Iowa. Yesterday we went to the Ankeny Costco for the second time. We used to go to the West Des Moines one, which is a couple of miles closer. Our route would take us to Wendover Road, which I always called Bendover Road. After we traveled a ways it turned into Old Alice Road and since Urbandale is expanding to the west, they have many different construction projects in process.  The Ankeny Costco is a couple of miles further but for now, it is much easier to get to.

While shopping in Costco, Butch usually goes off by himself to explore. I saw him coming toward me with a shoe box in hand. They were not a style he would usually consider BUT they were $5.00! Yup, that is right. $5.00.

Butch's feet have been on our minds lately. He had an appointment with a podiatrist and we were thinking he might have a toenail removed. That didn't happen! Doc started cutting his toenails and I was getting amused watching the cuttings pinging around the room. His feet looked much improved! Butch cannot reach his feet anymore so now we have regular scheduled appointments with the podiatrist. The nail he was most concerned with has a fungus situation so Doc told him to use Vicks vapor rub on it on a regular basis and it would straighten itself out. We were both relieved to have the situation resolved.

Haircut on the 16th

I got a haircut on the 16th and it has been 6 weeks without one. I do not feel fit for public viewing. I decided to take some before shots for comparison.

So here are the results of the cut. The haircut looks great but the old lady under it looks way too old.

Mr. Gary Brooker retires.

Mr. Gary Brooker ( far right) and 3 of his co workers retire from teaching. I sure hope Gary enjoys retirement as much as we have!

A Talk with Gary

 Gary called yesterday (Mothers Day) and we talked of many things. Gary will be retiring in a few days. He said people keep asking him what he plans to do and he does not know how to answer. I suggested he say, "Anything I want!" Our conversation took me back to when Butch and I retired twenty years ago in October. We did have a plan of sorts and that was to live in an RV and wander around and that is indeed what we did. But the truth of it is, it does not matter where you are located with your body. It is where you are located in your head. Much of what we did then still holds true today. We like to get some work in every day and mix it with a thing or two we consider fun, like going for a walk, reading a book, playing some pool, or perhaps working in a nap. I will admit there is some adjustment to completely changing your daily routine. Whatever we did, it always had a positive twist to it. I often say these are absolutely the best years and it could not be more true.

And now to get on with my retirement. I think I will start the laundry. I have about 3 loads. I plan to make some egg salad so getting the eggs boiled and peeled is on the agenda. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to clean up the breezeway.  That will give me a sense of accomplishment and we will see where it goes from there. And birdwatching! I think I will get in some birdwatching!

Funny little things we do...

 Butch is rather traditional in his choice of clothing and what he chooses seems to concern him far more than it does me. The other day he was looking at his pile of shorts and shirts, many of which he had not worn for some time. So he decided to flip the piles over and wear what was on the bottom. I applaud his idea.

He tried to throw these shorts away a couple of years ago and I said, "No". 

We haven't been doing much these days. We do have our own little happy hour every day at 4:00 and we play pool. We only have each other as partners for the most part. We did play with Pete and Jerilynn the other day. I sure hope we didn't scare them off. I do plan to start trivia soon. 

I had an allergic reaction to fluconazole a couple of weeks ago and that did slow me down a bit. I was on prednisone for 5 days and that was okay but getting off that stuff is a whole different thing. Ain't gonna let that happen again! I am starting to feel normal. I like normal.

The more "senior" we get the more "senior" we behave. 

All Get Along?

 This morning there are dozens of things I should be doing but what I was doing was sorting pictures, deleting duplicates, and other unwanted pics. I ran across this one and loved the theme. It was taken in our backyard about a year ago while sitting at my computer.

Here we have a squirrel, a rabbit, and two BlueJays sharing space and a meal.

Settling

 Settling in doesn't seem too noteworthy. So then a writer's block comes upon me and I sometimes can't get past it. So if I start on something that carries no interest for you, walk on by.

My sister Myrla spends much more time in my head than I thought would happen. She was loaded with friends and they really stepped up for her and us! Myrla was a storyteller in the best meaning of the word. She found the funny in every situation. Her last year on this earth was difficult for her and her friends. Being the dedicated smoker that she was it was difficult to visit with her in her home. Last fall, before we left for Texas, she was confined in the hospital for a few days. We went to see her because of the fact the hospital room would be smoke-free. In true Myrla fashion, she was covered with nicotine patches sitting Indian style in the bed. Now that was a funny sight. I had notified others of her friends and family she would be there and they also took advantage. We didn't know it would be a last visit although it was on the agenda and we did know that. For the first time, I found out that she was a dedicated Harry Potter fan. She watched the series on tape over and over again.  We had a long discussion about Harry Potter and she knew her stuff. She would have been a trivia ace on that subject. It is never easy to guess where someone's strength of knowledge might be or what subject they land on.

Butch has been playing some golf and we have returned to our pattern of going to the pool hall every day and playing some pool. We have some new plans for the pool hall as we are giving Myrlas pool table to her best friend. We have no need for two and it will give us more room to entertain whenever the emphasis is not on pool. We have RV renters (Pete and Jerilynn) in our back yard and they like to play cards and games so we have also been doing that when doctors' appointments don't interfere.  I haven't started trivia yet but plan to when the one pool table finds its new home.

Here is my latest Bird pic. I am quite fond of this one. 

 We had a large flock of Blue Jays this morning. They work together and seem to have a system. This bird was a guard bird.

Hazel -Last season at Trophy

 Last season we had a homing pigeon try to make Trophy it's home. She was named Hazel by Dot and a few others. She would hang out around one certain fan's home and wait for breakfast every morning around 8.

Hazel was a beauty and a faithful visitor.

We do not know what happened to Hazel but we suspicion not everyone was a fan.

Hobbies

 I am sitting in my favorite spot, looking out of my favorite window, and seeing many things to take a picture of.

And here are some bird pics I shot this morning.

Blue Jay

Next Spring

 We say this every year, "Next year we won't come back till May!" And even so, today's high is predicted to be in the '50s. 55 to be exact with the overnight tonight 38. Maybe we should make it mid-May!

We have lots of outdoor stuff we would like to get done. It is too cold to be in the pool hall unless we run the heater.

No worries. There is plenty of other things to be thankful for but this cold weather stuff is vexing.

We have some doctor appointments this week and that always eats up time. We intended to add some eye exams to our "doctor duties" last winter and did not get it done so today I made appointments for eye exams for the two of us next November with Thurman Eye Associates.

It is always good to get details taken care of.

Iowa Brownies

Pics of the day.

 Leo gifted Marlene and Bernard with this photo of their three children. It is a great gift! The Kelley kids from left to right are Danial, Dwight, and Diane. This was a black-and-white photo and Leo got it enhanced. Great Idea Leo!

The Kelleys have a perfect space to gather and talk. L to R- Butch, Blaze, Bernard, and Laura.

Keri's Key Lime Pie quickly disappeared. It was delish!

Reconnecting

We are successfully reconnecting with our up north life in many ways. Butch is busy getting the old garage, the one that is too small to accommodate a modern car, into a shop. He is enjoying the process even though it is a cool 50 degrees out there today.

I haven't started trivia yet but it isn't too far off. I have about 3 areas to clean up in the yard. My goal is to invent it so it isn't too much of a burden to keep looking spiffy. We sneak in a few games of pool in between projects.

Yesterday we went to Marlene and Bernards's home in northern Iowa and delivered her pecan bits. Jason and Laura went with us and we had a super fun day. Diane and Blaze were there due to a funeral they had attended. But all of us enjoyed a top-notch dinner and then we played Pegs and Jokers. It was so good to see them all again. Lots of reminiscing took place.