Still Around

 Three months again of waiting or avoiding starts with a new loveseat, ottoman and cuddle chair from Becker's in Fowler purchased the end of July and delivered Friday August 6th the same day Granger brought the dumpster to begin the big clean out. The garage attic was cleared and everywhere else 45 years of saving that had accumulated for one week of dumping and filling the bin. I mounted the TV on the bedroom wall had a new kitchen faucet put in with a new board under the sink over the next week before we dropped Gramma at Addie's as we went to Valpo for the weekend with the grandchildren. But we had to have Covid tests as we found out Jim and Betty had Covid and we had seen them the week before and Jim was hospitalized.  The end of August I went to TCI at Sparrow as heart palpitations were detected at my Wellness exam and would need a 24 hour monitor and an echocardiogram in September. The doctor upped one of my blood pressure meds but overall everything turned out good. Mark has been seeing Gramma about every other weekend and it has been good for her to see her baby boy. She has also begun PT with Melissa and OT with Monique since September 21st which we asked for from her doctor and was much needed and will go on for a few more visits. Gloria was here for a few weeks and her and Petra got to visit with Gramma twice with Mark taking her to the park and to Petra's. On September 29th my oldest nephew Jamie died of cancer after going through chemo less than a year after being diagnosed at stage 4. He was buried in Zeeland on his birth date October 4. Linda has moved back to Lansing and is living with Jim and Betty and working at a dental office right on Coolidge Rd. Lukas began working at Accidental Fund in the mail room August the 30th so Jane and I take turns going to the YMCA with her going Tuesdays and Thursdays and I go Fridays. The grandchildren were up last weekend, October 15 and 16, as the Autumn has been very mild with cold weather just starting this weekend. The Covid stats due to the Delta variant are 243 million cases and 4.94 million deaths worldwide, 45.4 million cases and 736,000 deaths in the U S with 1,24 million cases in Michigan and 23,300 deaths. 90% of the new cases are unvaccinated people who in general have refused to get vaccinated in the name of freedom who also are anti-maskers. Where we are headed as a country is very tenuous and the leadership in this country caught up in extremist politics is leaving a void we all will pay for economically and socially. MSU football is 7-0 playing U of M next weekend what a surprise. Thank you, GOD!

Complacent

    Life goes on and time flies so recording takes a very back seat. With Biden as president life is less urgent with politics and calm makes my life easier so I've become complacent. Jane returned to the Y the end of April with me and we go twice a week now. Gramma had her birthday with Mark taking her to lunch and Andrew and Robin stopping by but nothing from the rest other than Petra taking her to a Seniors Picnic at Cristo Rey June 16th. Mark also took Gramma to dinner on his birthday the 26th of June while we were getting 5" of rain that weekend ending our drought. We had our family vacation in Grand Haven May 20-27 at Antony's Place again with Gramma staying at Addie's Acres her cousin's nursing home. On the 21st we picked Phil and Stef up at GR Airport and Jon and family came at 7 that night.  We were all at the beach Saturday and it warmed up enough for the boys to swim. Jon left on Sunday at 6 and the week went fast and on Wednesday we were able to swim again at the beach as Phil and Stef flew out at 6. On Friday the 28th Dan's Fence replaced the broken fence in the back and the gate. In June I had the garage door fixed so it would move up and down even though we hoped to replace the doors but found out they were too low and not up to code to replace.  I took care of my brother a couple of times in June while Betty had dental work done as he needs to be with someone at all times. Dementia is sad as we see with my brother and mother-in-law but life goes on with God's help. On June 13th we went to Londa's daughter Jada's open house and at the family reunion on July 10th they gave Gramma a super nice blanket with pictures of family.  The reunion had fewer people but went well as Petra did not show up even though she had messaged us during the week she would help with mother, for show, her excuse she told Elidia was she was having a colonoscopy on Monday and we also did not answer her back if we were going. We had problems with our internet after the rains and spent 2 weeks trying to get Xfinity to get up it and our new HD tv service up and running, very poor customer service overall. I got my teeth cleaned this week, eye appointment and visiting nurse exam to cover health for me. I've been to 3 concerts at Sharp Park this summer by myself but it is good to get back out for some fun. Gramma had dental and foot appointments and Lukas had to replace all the brakes, hubs and calipers on the Malibu this week for $2000. A long update due to complacency on my part as a negligent fool. Lord forgive me my many mistakes and I am sorry to all I've hurt in the process.

Earth Day Planned Obsolecence

   Jane and I have gotten both covid-19 shots at Meijer's in March and Lukas and Simon have got their first shots in April. I am going to the Y twice a week and Jane will be going in May. On March the 18th it was very windy and the tree behind the garage blew down taking out the fence and fort. On Saturday the 27th some guys who knew Luke's friend cut up and took most of the tree for free. Jon, Sharon and the boys got here on Friday for Silas' birthday so they got to see the tree disappear. Sunday was Jon's birthday and we had dinner before they left around 2:30 and he fixed the hallway bathroom's toilet for my birthday present. I had to replace a tire on the Equinox and Roto-Router had to clean roots from the outside drain that week. The insurance company cut us a $2,400 check for damages. We went to visit the boys in Valpo the weekend of April 16th as Elidia and Jim watched Gramma for us and all went well. Other than 2 falls Gramma has been doing well and had 2 doctor appointments that showed her to be in good health. The country overall is doing better with over 2 million getting their vaccine shots and Derek Chauvin behind bars being found guilty on all 3 counts in the George Floyd murder. Worldwide there are 145 million cases, 3.1 million deaths, U.S. 32.6 million cases and 584,000 deaths, 810,000 cases with 17,140 deaths so we will continue with our masks in public and social distancing and pray for God's protection. 70 years are now on my calendar and life is what each day brings as I willing accept my role on Earth. The weather has been mild all spring and the end of winter with above average temperatures and only 2 days with an inch of precipitation and everything is green. 

Winter of 20-21, Waiting Longer

   December was mild with little snow. We sold Simon's car for $200 salvage towed away on a flatbed. Jon and Sharon came for Christmas here on the 20th-22nd and we had a great visit as they stayed at the Quality Inn and there was room for all of us with Gramma spending a part of Monday with Elidia while we exchanged presents. The boys loved being at Pa Pa's and Gi Gi's as Paul had never been here and for Silas being 3 years. We got a new LG washer and dryer on the 28th and had Brad hook up the new electrical for us and are very happy with them. The New Year came in silently and until the 6th of January hope was rekindled. But trump would not go quietly into that goodnight and rallied his troops to take over the Capitol and congress during the Electoral College vote causing the most disgraceful transition of government in the history of the USA. Gramma had many appointments with the podiatrist, dentist, hearing aid and Sparrow for ultrasound on her left foot for concern about circulation. Biden became our 46th president without trump's terrorist's disruptions as the National Guard was deployed in D.C. and still having some presence there. I started going back to Silver Sneakers at the YMCA on the 20th, 2 days a week. We have had 3 snows of 7",4", and 8" to make up for early winter's calmness. From February 5th until the 20th the high temperature stayed in the lower 20's or less with many single digit lows allowing for that snow on the ground to stay at 19". Gramma has got both of her Covid-19 shots and Jane her first as the world total of cases going to 112.5 million with 2.5 million deaths while in the USA 28.3 million cases and 503,055 deaths, and in Michigan 583,000 cases and 15,400 deaths. Jane and I both got teeth cleanings at Rashid's and the cats shots and nail trimmings at Miller's Animal Clinic. Life has been so much peacefuller since trump exiled himself to Florida and Biden has actually shown what a president should be! Trump also was impeached for the second time but the Senate with 9 Republicans voting for impeachment did not finish the job.  May our country be forgiven for trump's sins against humanity!

Home for Thanksgiving

   We were going to Valpo for Thanksgiving but due to the Covid-19 and the CDC's guidelines we stayed home and zoomed with the boys. Andrew was over and we had a 22 pound turkey and carrot cake and all were well fed. There have been 60,900,000 cases worldwide with 1,430,000 deaths while the US has had 13,000,000 cases and 268,000 deaths and Michigan 325,000 cases with 8,800 deaths so we are taking this seriously here.   I was able to take Silver Sneakers classes for 4 weeks until the Governor shut down group classes again. We were limited to 11 in a class and the first 2 weeks there were only 5 or 8 people there and Gary was  the only instructor. We had a 8 day stretch of warm days that allowed me to organize the garage so we can put the car in on the side where the door works this winter. I took bikes to Delta Recycle along with other recyclables. On November 5th I took my brother Jim by the house on Everett Drive and then we went to Grand River Park and walked along the river through the area by the railroad tracks about a mile and to the old neighborhood which he really enjoyed. Gramma had appointments with Sparrow Senior Health, Dr. Rodiguez and Elite Dental keeping Jane busy but better now than when it gets cold. Lukas began working at Celink by the airport the beginning of November and has liked the job. The election left us in doubt for days as to who would be the winner with all the mail in votes that had to be counted and the president thinking because he was ahead the night of the election that he had won but NOT! Trump still has not conceded and has lost most of his lawsuits on the results and has hunkered down at the White House pouting and doing little but golfing away his inner tears. It looks like Biden has beaten trump by the same Electoral College numbers as he had in 2016's election. Pray for positive change and a brighter future for our nation with politicians working together for US like they were elected to do!

Waited Long Enough

   September has come and passed. Summer ended and autumn has set in with shorter days. Gramma had a tooth pulled and teeth cleaned along with a good check up from Sparrow Senior Health. Her doctor agreed to take her off Xanax that she was put on for the anxiety created by Petra and Gloria. Lisa and Elidia have come over to visit and agree how much better Gramma is doing despite Petra's false reporting. On the 9th we had our vacation in Grand Haven. This year we stayed at Antony's House which was much bigger being on 2 levels and stayed until the 17th. Everyone was there for a time with Phillip and Stephanie coming on the 10th being picked up in Grand Rapids. Stephanie left on the 13th but Jon and Sharon were there from the 11th through the 13th so everyone had some time together. Phillip flew out on the 16th but not after losing his wedding ring in Lake Michigan. Fortunately he called Ringfinders and with the metal detector and Simon staying in the area where it was lost. Phil lost it as he tried to catch a football but they were able to find it in about 20 minutes. Simon though found out he had left his cell phone in his shorts and lost it also but was able to retrieve his info from the cloud when he got his new phone. The weather and the smoke in the sky from the wildfires out west gave us hazy sunshine that also kept the temperatures down and it being after Labor Day not as much to do especially with the covid restrictions. Uncle Andy stayed with Gramma at our house and they survived the 8 days. I replaced the garbage disposal and the bathroom fan in the week after vacation. I had new tires put on the Malibu and the oil changed. On the 30th we had our zoom meeting with Eaton County on Gramma's guardianship and Shine Advocacy was given approval from us and Petra to takeover. We visited Uncle Angelo and Aunt Lenny at their house and had dinner with Gramma and he also brought over a cherry pie. Finally we're into October and Gramma had her hearing aids fixed at Accuquest and had her toe nails and callus removed by Podiatry Plus. Trump has the covid virus and had 3 treatments and hospital stay after his embarrassing debate debacle. We all voted by absentee ballot and pray that our country will survive the election! World wide there are now 36,353,000 cases and 1,059,000 deaths, in the U.S. there are 7,600,000 cases and 212,500 deaths while in Michigan there are 132,000 cases and 6,900 deaths. So much has been put off while struggling with the new life we are learning. God help US please! 

 

Summer in Strange Times

    Gramma has been living with us since the 20th of July when Andrew picked her up at Petra's after she called because she was being mistreated by them. There has been a person assigned as her guardian through protective services and we hope to met with her soon to get Gramma the services she needs. On August 3rd I started getting the Eucharist for Gramma from church on Sundays. Lisa and her boys came over for dinner that night and visited with Gramma as has Elidia twice.  I had my wellness check up with Dr. Huhn on August 4th and everything looked good. On the 12th of August I helped pass out chrome books at Elmwood from 10 to 1. We went to Valpo the weekend of the 14th and Andrew took care of Gramma here at our house. Silas is going to school and has completed a week and a half now in Kouts.  On Monday the 17th while Jane and I were on a walk and I got bit by a pitbull boxer at Betty Shaheen's on Mar Moor Drive. I went to Urgent Care and am healing well but not happy about the experience as because if the neighbor hadn't seen what happened things would have been much more complex. We are in another streak of 88+ heat days creating true dog days of summer. Covid-19 deaths are at 176,000 in the U.S. with 5.7 million cases, Michigan has 6,400 deaths and  97,000 cases while schools here including colleges, are starting mostly online  with sports being cancelled on all levels and for football with the NBA playoffs being played under a bubble at Disney World Complex in Florida. MLB is a 60 game season with games being cancelled for different teams due to positive tests for different teams that will have to be made up as double headers that are 7 innings and then the playoffs. Hockey is playing their playoff games and we'll see what the future holds. Last week Biden and the Democrats had their virtual convention and the Republicans will do theirs this week with Trump-mania. GOD bless the USA and save US from damnation and give US redemption!