12 Oakdale

Out to visit Mary, who says she is doing well. Ryan is still in a hotel somewhere in the Mideast. I’ve brought my sketching and paint supplies, a scarf I’m remaking, and our computer so I can update the Bloom and Grow PowerPoint.  The week’s project, in my mind, is to get all of the school supplies currently in piles on the living room floor stored so they are accessible. I always forget to take a ”before” photo. Mary had made great progress by sorting things into piles. So many markers, so many crayons. Just way too much for what shelves are available. Long term: items not used will be moved on. Short term: get things into the upstairs storage room with distribution TBD.  Well, finding the mouse and her nest certainly helped our decisions to throw stuff away. After 6 days of plodding away, going through the garage moved to the top of list. A full van of items donated, and a full garbage can thrown away. Thank goodness I looked in the cubby with the stuff from Ryan’s old car. ...

I guess we are officially old: we went to Grant’s new doctor, and he walked out with 3 more appointments. Are doctors’ visits our new social time? (Yes, I know we are old; this was just an awaking.) The original reason for the visit was to get refills for the 6 medicines he takes. In the course of the interview, Dr. Mehta decided Grant’s shortness of breath was likely cardio not pulmonary, so he wants that looked into. Grant is to return to him in a month with all the information needed. First up was to make an appointment with his cardiologist who, it turns out is on medical leave, return unknown. Yes, her APRN was an acceptable sub. 7:00 AM appointment next Wednesday, on the other side of Orlando. The bone density test easily scheduled and fairly nearby. Blood work at Quest, check. Then the cardio person added an X-ray which might be done at the same time as the bone scan.  On the other hand, we have been healthy enough to keep busy. Two weeks ago, a family and friend filled trip...

After trying every single time one was offered, I finally nabbed a reservation at Michael Heizer’s land art work City. Sunrise, July 21, which means we will meet our transportation at 3:45 AM. Ouch. At least it will be cool. I immediately made flight, car rental, and motel bookings for a 2 day trip. We are crazy. This weekend, Patten took Brightline up, bringing 2 mangos (first crop ever) from his tree. He made us daiquiris to celebrate Father’s Day and Grant’s 83rd birthday. Stephanie joined us for lunch on Sunday, bringing a delicious chocolate cake.  Clara painted flowers on my rain barrel, and I channeled Dad, creating a stand for it from wood I already had and painting it with the purple paint left from our back door. Only expense was $8 for white spray paint, which Clara covered with brown, and the $20 tip I gave Rodrigo for installing the rain chain ($150 from Wayfair). In 2022, he had replaced the lanai gutter so it came out through the screen (Terry from Integrity Screens ...

Our 2 missions: get bikes so Mary and kids can ride to the pool where they will swim, swim, swim, and get Bella able to ride a bike. We also helped Mary hang her wall panels. First up, a visit to Omega Bike Shop where Edith gamely talked bikes to us while the kids interrupted, and Bella was only interested in having a bike with a basket. We rolled out with 2 new-to-them for less than $500. Bella’s is a 21” with hand brakes. Probably a stretch. Grant and I bought the crystal-cover bell for bling.  Mary’s is a 26” mountain bike that had been donated to the shop. She needed a tag-a-long for Remi, if not used, then shipped overnight new. Lots were listed on the local swap shop.  But timeout to drive to LA to see the La Brea Tarpits and the new David Greffen addition to LACMA. A quick glance at the pits without going inside that museum, then lunch at Franny’s inside the Museum of Motion Pictures just up the block.  The reviewers of the new art museum loved or...

I have 7 layers on and am still cold here at Bryce Canyon National Park, but it is worth it. This morning we got up at 3:45 and saw the Milky Way at Sunrise Point. 22°. We were the only people there. Just as we got out of the car, I saw a meteorite. We walked out to the overlook and sat for a while on the bench. Then, throughly frozen, we drove to Farpoint to see the sunrise. Thank goodness for the heated seats and steering wheel in the Jeep Compass we rented. And thank goodness I made Grant buy a park sweatshirt since then he could give me his red windbreaker. Even with tights under my pants and 2 pairs of socks, my legs and feet are cold. Yes, we could have packed bulky warm clothes but we are only here overnight to see the dark skies. We started our trip flying into Salt Lake City 4 days ago to see new granddaughter Hazel Maeve and to attend the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival. 2 birds… Hazel is absolutely darling. I know, I know, a doting grandmother would say that, but she is. And s...

The first day of our seventh year at 12 Oakdale Street. I hope this will be similar to the previous ones, with no surprises. At our age, surprises are rarely good. I will keep on shedding stuff, being optimistic about how much I will accomplish. I also continue shedding weight, since some crept back, definitely no surprise. Baking and eating sourdough bread has consequences. Will this year be when I get rid of all the grass paths? Sure, why not? Could happen. The freeze gave me an opportunity to rethink some of the plantings I’ve done. I will continue adding to my hedgerows on the north and especially south property lines. Since the lychee died back, I’m moving more bananas along the canal. Eventually that 2-story house will be built across from us. Grant is slowing down, although he is still doing his 2 mile, somewhat daily walks. I use a lot of my energy being patient (that’s definitely ironic). Sometimes I’m successful, often I’m not. A growth edge it would behoove me to work on. Bi...

I counted the time: at  40 minutes/4-row pattern and with 97 repeats, it took me about 65 hours to knit Hazel’s blanket. It certainly seemed longer, but mostly because I did it in 4-8 rows at a time. My hands and shoulders just are too old for marathon knitting sessions anymore. One can only take so much ibuprofen. To have continuity of color,  I efficiently used the blue, white and taupe yarn left from Teddy’s blanket and added “rhubarb” in the same baby-weight washable wool. One could say an homage in red, white, and blue to our country’s 250th birthday this year. That is, if one were not absolutely livid about our dear leader’s ineptness and his ridiculous war. Maybe we the people will wise up. The waffle pattern, Baby Fern Lake from Berroco, was an easy 1, 2 repeat, but I had to watch every stitch so I didn’t miscount. Very different from the stockinette stitch of Teddy’s, the Easy Striped Baby Blanket by Dabbles & Baubles. That one I could read or watch tv while I kni...

Kicked off with a group bus trip by Windermere Garden Club to Art in Bloom at the Orlando Museum of Art. An annual fundraiser, local floral designers interpreted pieces of art in flowers. Some seemed to take it literally, others more relaxed. Lovely day, lunch (chicken salad either on mixed greens or a croissant), then bus trip home. Of course a bag of snacks on the bus to tide us over. Then 2 days of Spring Fever in the Garden, Bloom and Grow Garden Society’s major fundraiser: $140k this year. I got up at 4:00 AM Saturday to be at my zone leader post by 5:30. This year, an easy zone with only 6 vendors, 1 of which didn’t show and 1 was 8 Waves, an after school group that only had a tent and 2 tables for their information. Co-zone leader Lavina and I were done by 8:30, which meant we could scout the show before the crowds. We headed to Andy’s space where she bought a duck (old outboard motor cover) and a rooster (garden rakes). I loved his owl with feathers made of table knives, but ...

We were supposed to be meeting Mary and family in Raleigh this week. Ryan would take his anesthesiology board exam, we would celebrate Mary’s birthday, we would visit Trish. Three birds; 1 stone. Until our dear leader started his war. Ryan was tapped, as they say, February 24th to fly out with other Navy medical personal to set up a field hospital god knows where. Back in a month, or 7, or whenever. To add excitement, before he left, they called us: Mary is due mid-October. That explains the extra level of emotion. I have spent much of the last month on video calls with Mary and pouring over the war news. If there will be no boots on the ground, why, and where, are we setting up field hospitals? Plus I’ve wasted my time emailing my senators. I am so far behind on what I am supposed to be doing. Bottom line, I opted to stay home this week, sending Grant on a solo trip to see his sister. Just his getting on the plane was worrisome, because our TSA agents are not being paid because our in...

It is 25° at our house. I fear for our bananas, but have done all I can do with watering. Now time will tell if they survived. No trimming for a month to see any green shoots. I am in California, visiting Mary for a week. Grant is home, managing plants. He moved the potted ones deemed cold-intolerant into the garage and put sheets over my bat plant. The vegetable beds are on their own. All of the native plants should be fine.  This our third round of cold weather, but the previous 2 only got down to the mid-30’s. This is the coldest winter we have had since we’ve moved to Windermere. I wore the sweater I made years ago from yarn  Betsy brought me back from their scouting trip to Australia in 1985. Grant is also caring for the turtles. Yes, plural. A couple of weeks ago, we got Robert, a 21yo box turtle from Matt, whose wife died 5 years ago. Matt decided time to re-home Robert and put a Free notice in our Nextdoor app. I fell for it. Robert is more red than William, so I don’t...

Sunday, we met Kristina, Bryan and kids at Bonnet Springs Park for our annual Christmas visit. An easy drive for us from Orlando and those in Tampa and Plant City. Too far for Patten this year since he has joined the hurt back club. We chatted while the kids played.  With Kyle’s parents with dogs Rio and Vader in town, Stephanie was hosting Christmas dinner. Because of Aiden’s schedule, the main celebration was to be Christmas Eve, with our having a smaller, lighter meal the next day. Exact details TDB. That got changed when his mom flew out last minute Monday to visit her mother who was not well, so he and his dog Minnie were added back into the mix. Much anxiety. Patten was going to be alone on Christmas, however his back was killing him, so the thought of his driving up was not appealing. Perhaps Grant and I should bail on the Orlando crew and go south to cook. Much hemming and hawing. As things fell out, we floundered back to the original schedule. Patten toughed it out, drivin...

The chronology: Spaulding, Molly and Teddy flew in the Friday before Thanksgiving for a week at the timeshare her dad owns. Along with Steph and her family, they joined us for dinner: chicken noodle soup and pasta e fagiliol with sourdough  bread. The next 2 days, they had tickets to Disney. That worked out because we were booked for LAWD on Saturday. I made the cranberry tiramisu on Sunday. We pressed our electric camping cooler into serviced to have room in the refrigerator. Mary, Ryan, Bella, and Remi arrived on the red eye Monday morning. Everyone came for waffles mid morning. Swimming in our cold pool, chasing poor Gracie with the laser, cousin bonding. We took hotdogs to the timeshare to grill for dinner.  Tuesday, Steph got us all tickets to Universal. She even borrowed the Senior VP of Entertainment’s gold pass so Grant and I had free valet parking. It also got 6 people into the Express Pass lane on each ride. Exceptionally valuable for the Velociraptor roller coaster....

76 and amazed how well I feel. Still fraying around the edges, but my core is holding. So where am I, where am I going? Not waxing philosophically.  Too much to do, both short term (pumpkin pies to bake today plus I want to work in the yard, and I’d really like to paint, but that’s not possible with grandchildren around, which I wouldn’t trade for a second) and long term (although we are slowing down, I still want to spend a month or more in Europe, especially France and Italy. And Spain. And England, plus we really should drive around our Southwest.) As ever, I am shedding stuff but not as far along as I’d like. More and more, things mean less and less to me. For example, Windermere Garden Club is fundraising by collecting broken gold and silver jewelry to be traded in for cash. I am going to donate single earrings whose mate is irretrievably lost. I’d hoped to have them made into something. Now I know what it is: a donation. The pictures and other nostalgia still loom, and the sc...