Ninety Speed Bump

  It’s past my bedtime.     Got busy with my blogs, forgot to take my meds on time and now I must add on a later bedtime tonight.     I think Pat has gone off for a quick nap and Jon has long since tucked himself in upstairs.     I had to wake him once when we lost the TV monitor.     Not a good thing.     The darn thing showed up….under our noses. Usually I am in bed by midnight and sleep to about noon.  I am following my circadian rhythm in my retiring years.  It serves me well and is O.K. with my caregivers. They have adjusted to the routine. I always have a good full breakfast after my morning chores are done. Then they guide me, sometimes I guide them, through the day. It’s really not too bad. Keeping this mind and body alert is the real challenge. And that is my responsibility!  Mostly I am able to do this. But there are times when I can’t seem to cross that line...

Lists, lists, lists.   I live by them.   Write down, check off, then do it all again.   I have lists everywhere.   This is not a new habit, I have always done this.   It is a learning style which has now   encompassed my whole existence.  Learning a task always meant scribbling it down, maybe more than once. This in some way inscribed the     information onto a bit of brain matter and then was easily recalled when needed.   How we learn! And yet we are all so different. I studied and used these studies while teaching student nurses, a captive audience to explore with and teach to. They were glad to learn their best style of learning and went along without complaint. Students are so great and I miss them being a part of my life. They carry a bit of your teaching with them into the future… your teaching legacy! We can have all kinds of lists. Frivolous or serious. I keep both and forget the former until I need...

  Every night at 7 p.m., Pat and I switch to our favorite station to watch "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy."     A fun and educational time we both enjoy.     How can those folks know and retain so much?     Sometimes, but not often, we shout out a correct answer.   But, most of the time we shout   out and have to say, "Oops."     No other game shows   draw our attention like these two.     Oldies, but goodies.   And, thanks to Merv Griffin, who developed both of them many years ago.   They are   still   stimulating even the nineties cohort.     Jon and I favor different TV shows and series which keep us on the edge of our seats through dinner and an evening together when he is my caregiver over the weekend.  Ozark, Mindfinders, Jack Ryan, Terror.  We have several more... or are waiting for a new season or start of a new series to draw us to a channel. Of co...

It's not quite time yet, but Christmas is coming and sooner than you   think.     Must pull out my cards and begin addressing.   This year, I will cut back a little.   Also my penmanship leaves a   lot to be desired.   That will limit how much I write daily, exhaustion being a side product of the     writing effort.   One never thinks of these kind of problems when things are going well.   Then it happens!     I meandered through life without a clue.   I guess   I was blissfully unaware of the writing-on-the-wall.     So, to all of you, I guess I would say enjoy life, savor it all, be loving to friends and family (even some who don’t deserve it, but probably need it most of all). Forget your  blemishes, subdue your biases… relax, meditate. It takes guts sometimes. Christmas is coming and we should be reminded of the true meaning of this special time... God Bless! ...

I have two “chaplains":  Pat, my caregiver, is a daily testament to God’s love.   Perry, who comes often for a nice visit, is an   assistant pastor of my home church, Faith Baptist Church, and brings   his cheerful and serene personality to further boost me and touch on my spiritual life.   They don’t lecture me, but quietly instill bits of God’s will   into my life.   Do I need this?   Yes.   Do I always accept what we   discuss?   No.     Sometimes I am a doubting Thomas.   I have explored,   over a lifetime, a number of “religious” groups and their basic beliefs.   It has been an educational   as well as a spiritual journey. In these waning years, I finally find things coming together in a more manageable way. My chaplains are blessing me with each  visit.      (I can’t get away from Pat!... She is always here, and I  like it that way!) --Veggie

  What a big help it is to have Walmart grocery pickup. If you haven’t tried this, do!  Freedom at last to not have to trek through a busy store, spending your own valuable time scanning shelves, checking produce, waiting in line at checkout. Thanks to Walmart, you can send in your order (ie, email), schedule a pickup time at your convenience, and arrive to have the order delivered to your car, put in the trunk, and NO TIP!  Get in line and check this newer service out. Other businesses are getting ready to do the same thing. Keep watching for other announcements. Whew, enjoy the breathing time. By the way, I haven’t had any problems with the orders, delivery, or  purchases since using this service. Kudus to Walmart!   --Veegee

  Last night not a good one.   It happens!   Thought I had a UTI with temperature.   Thermometers didn’t work.   It happens!   Legs were aching something awful...   Night full of “catnaps."     That, too happens!     Jon had fitful night also, checking on me frequently.   This a.m. things are better.   Tylenol has worked its magic Am up and hoping for a better night coming. Coloring a bit and checking email, etc.  We all have these days... or nights sometimes. Tomorrow will be better… like sunshine after a rainy day!  Know Pat, my faithful caregiver, will be happy she survived this day with me! --Veegee

Hide the i-pad and cell phone. I have had a few hours of ordering goodies from some of my favorite places.  Stonewall Kitchen, New Braunfels Smokehouse, Wolfermans, Robt. Rothchild, and of course, Amazon. It’s a dangerous thing to have these devices on hand.  But what fun and what a way to polish one's ego as we order the things we so enjoy. I found Karo pancake syrup (formerly Karo waffle syrup) and Green label B’rer Rabbit molasses on Amazon. YaHooooo Amazon. Two Favorites from my earlier lifetime.   There  are many wonderful tastes from Yoders, a Mennonite store up the road!  With Yoders, I  have to depend on Jon or Pat to pick up an order. They also have an appetite for those delish BBQs with equally delish coleslaw on homemade buns.  Can it get any better?    Top all this off with the homemade vanilla ice cream that Jon and Pat make………. Oh My! ...

I make lists every day of things I want to accomplish.     Do all Hospice patients do that?     Somehow my genetic makeup (I think) spurs me on… and I check and recheck these “chores” daily, scratching off what I actually finish.     Some things   stay   on the list for days, a few for weeks. If I need help with projects, they may stay unchecked for awhile. Jon and Pat don’t  like [   to hear me say, "Lets do this project today." The word "project" causes a few wrinkled brows and a noteworthy change in their demeanour.  Do I imagine this? No! Though I try to soften the task as best I can. As I sit in my appointed chair like a Queen Bee telling them what  to do, it’s a little like being in a dictatorship! I would rather be  doing these things myself.  But, the old legs won’t cooperate. They are saying, “No, No. Don’t fall." Fallin...

Sweet potato pie….yum.     Save the pumpkins for decoration and enjoy the naturally sweet, tender and tasty sweet potatoes (not yams) with those fall spices we associate with     Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.    I love smelling the aroma as the pies cook and savor every bite I take.   Yams have not the same texture or taste so be cautious as you buy this delightful tuber.     Baked with brown sugar and butter, sweet potatoes hit the spot.   French-fried sweet potato chunks are on most restaurant menus these days for those who  prefer something a little different.  How many of you remember Morrison’s Cafeteria?  They had the best of the best sweet potato pie. It had a shiny glaze on top, giving it a little sweet crust enjoyed by all who dared to partake.  Also… don’t forget mincemeat pie… a stable for Thanksgiving and also tasty.  So… Happy Thanksgiving.  Goodb...

  …and to the Christmas panel.     Had taken a little reprieve from handwork quilting, now I mean to get busy.   Times a’wasting.   Have begun, that’s the main thing.   Taking that first step on a new project can be daunting.     Also, today finished a chapter in a book Pat brought me from the new Bible Museum in D.C., which is quite interesting. Wish I could take the tour. What work they have done. Not only as a “religious effort,” but as educational, informative and general knowledge producing material. I strongly encourage going to the Bible Museum and learning about our heritage. Pat took advantage of this and came back excited and full of interesting info.  Go… learn… share.                     -- Veegee

I use these words cautiously since I am on the cuspid, just dipping my toe into the “knitty gritty’ of such things. I am not a whiz kid or an elucidated 94 year old in this. A long shot from it!  Let's say you learn as much as you can in a day and then turn out the “light” till the next day.  Along the way, add a few salty words to your vocabulary and prepare for a bumpy road.   My last grocery order with Walmart was somewhat of a fiasco, but I WILL try again. I need to get a handle on this problem. Failure is not a word I like to hear… but it can be a gigantic, tremendous learning tool.   March on... Keep those fingers nimble on the Android.  (Did I use that word right?)   -- Veegee   

Between December of 2017 and June of 2018, I spent   all my time between hospitals and rehab units.   Seven months away from home.   Sometimes O.K. care, sometimes not.   Mostly the latter.   Leading up to this disability was a pacemaker insertion, three stents and then an aortic valve replacement. Then a full-blown infection, which meant the long time in the hospital interspersed with bits of rehab.   A long and trying period . Thanks to my family who helped so much, and kept my spirits up most of the time.   Finally on June 22, 2018, I landed on my own doorstep. Thank goodness. I was overjoyed to be home again… Mind you I am still weak as a kitten most of the time, can’t really negotiate much activity except coloring and quilting, but that’s O.K.   I’m home.   Pat and Jon are the wind beneath my arms and the power plant for my legs. They are really appreciated. Pushing on! Pushing on toward new adventures. -- Veegee

Today I retired to the space allotted for sewing and quilting.   Christmas is coming and I need to finish a few projects.   Don’t overlook   panels as you’re thumbing through fabrics for your next project.   And I hope you are someone who enjoys sewing.   It can occupy many quiet times, and there are tons of panels displaying almost any kind of work you want to embellish with your quilting stitches.   And… if your stitches have become larger and perhaps spaced not quite as accurately as you’d like.   Forget it!!   The recipients of these gifts will LOVE what you have done. The effort and the love “embroidered” just for them will be appreciated.   One of my favorite quilts is one I found on a table full of hand work many years ago. The pattern is called Dutch Britches, the stitches are very large, uneven and of differing colors.   I knew immediately that some “frail elder” was still plying her trade using her tested craft as bes...

I recently finished reading Past-President Jimmy Carter’s book, “Reflections at Ninety.” What a fun read! We are the same age, and it was refreshing to recognize so much of what he says about growing up in Georgia. It was the same in Virginia where I spent my childhood… and I’m sure it was the same in most Southern   rural communities. I chuckled aloud once in a while as I read about his experiences in Plains, Georgia, and how they mimicked mine in the little town of Fredericksburg. Pick up a copy of this book and enjoy. Matters not your political persuasion, or whether if you liked him as a president. The book is easy to read and paints a great picture of a rural country boy growing up in Georgia, USA.   For my other reading selections, I like history. An   hour or two each day satisfies my addiction to books… but if I can  spend more time I will. After all, I am captive in this bedroom where the   walls are covered with family pictures and...

Have you been to the doctors office lately? Well most of the ninety-plus-group seem to be there frequently these days. My advice, if you have not already learned this, is to take a book with you to ease the pain of the almost guaranteed WAIT Syndrome. And what a pain it is. I don’t know what happened to screw up appointment times, but I can guess. In order to see more patients, and get more medicare receipts, several patients are scheduled at the SAME time. Ouch… a sure way to mess up a schedule if there ever was one.   So, go prepared, put on your leisure suit, read your book or magazine (not the hundred-year-old-ones you see in the office) and relax. Mind you, I love my doctors and I’ll wait a reasonable time, then... Well, YOU decide what YOUR time is worth! -- VeeGee

Have you gotten involved with adult coloring books yet? If not, it’s a great way to relax, to get your creative juices flowing, and give the brain a little workout! There are a variety of books (all levels) and tons of coloring pens/pencils/brushes to choose from. I love it! Don’t be shy. This is not just for kids anymore. Scan your shelves for your favorite subjects and let your imagination soar. A giraffe can be purple… a landscape can reflect all the colors YOU want. If you can visualize it, you can do it! No holds barred. Enjoy! Soar! Vee G ee VeeGee stands by a tractor during a visit to Highlands, N.C.