I've been roaming the house, unable to sleep since 3:45 am, so it must be time to write in the blog again. I've had a Facebook page since November but didn't really do much with it until February when Melissa also got on Facebook. Mostly I use it to see photos posted by family and friends, and perhaps that sort of contact made me not feel the need to blog so much.
I've recently had quite a few nights of having trouble sleeping again. I'm guessing it's because I'm in the midst of an anniversary of sorts. It's now 2 years since we realized something was wrong with Ed and started the rounds of doctoring and testing. I also have had too much time to think because I haven't been working, and the memories come so easily. The good memories come, too, but both kinds still bring tears.
I was very disappointed to learn just days before I was supposed to start on the January SAT essays that Pearson was not assigning me to them. There were far fewer students taking the test than last year (another effect of the lousy economy), and on test day the weather was awful in many parts of the country, so people didn't show up to take the test. As a result, not that many scorers were needed. I have often wondered when my being at the top of their pay scale would affect whether or not I'd be hired for a project, and I think that was part of the reason. About 2 weeks later Pearson offered me a different scoring project, the Standards of Learning test given to 11th graders, and I decided to accept. Instead of working only 12 days straight at a time on the SATs, this is a month-long project. I do the training next week, then will work March 24 to April 23. The compensation for this project is structured differently, so I don't know if I'll be making the same kind of money as the SATs. The prospect of working every day for a month made me think I'd want a break at some point, so I will be going to Iowa April 2-7. I should still have no problem getting in the minimum required weekly hours. Then in May and June, I hope to be assigned again to the SATs since the numbers of test-takers should be higher then, meaning more scorers will be needed again.
Meanwhile, I ended up having to research and get estimates on replacing the heat pump. It was making really loud, annoying noises in February that even woke me up at night, then it seemed like the outside fan would run for hours when it shouldn't be running at all because the gas furnace takes over heating when the temperature outside drops to a certain point. Last Thursday I finally called in the HVAC guy, but there was nothing to fix. The compressor was shot. So after getting several estimates, I decided which company and which heat pump to go with. The new one should be installed next week.
Next decisions to be made are how to get the hairline crack in one of the sunroom windows fixed and who to get here to figure out why there was a really bad leak in the sunroom when the snow and ice were melting off the roof in February. The sunroom seems to have taken the worst hit from the bad winter we had. There was also a day with 60-mile-an-hour winds in February, and this time a tree in the front yard was affected. A small fir tree is now leaning a bit towards my neighbor's yard, yet its roots weren't pulled from the ground. I can't push it upright--it just doesn't budge. I've asked grandson Robby, who works for a landscape company, to come take a look and maybe figure out how to straighten it back up or determine if it needs to be cut down, but he hasn't stopped by yet. So that will be yet another decision to make. I already have one tree stump that needs to be out of the ground in back and another small ornamental tree in the front that I think is dying. Could be a big landscape bill coming up this spring
Starting March 1, I was ready to leave for Iowa at a moment's notice. Will was sick, so I stayed partially packed in case Melissa couldn't make arrangements for someone to be home with him on her Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday work days. Actually, we were supposed to meet up near Cincinnati the night and morning of March 4-5. Melissa, Mark, Will, Mark's parents, brother, and sister were to make a driving trip to Knoxville, TN, for a family wedding. I made hotel arrangements in Harrison, OH, which would have been their overnight stop, so we could have breakfast and spend a couple of hours together. However, Will was diagnosed with RSV and Melissa and Mark had to cancel their trip. He was a pretty sick boy at the start of the 10 days or so till it ran its course, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. He didn't require hospitalization, not even nebulizer treatments like the other kids at his daycare (guess we know where he picked it up). He was back at the sitter's this week, so I never did have to make the trip to help out.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Christmas 2008 and the New Year
This is what happens when a person is sleeping better at night--I'm not prowling the house at 3 a.m. looking for something to do, so I haven't written in the blog lately. I'm not sure why I'm sleeping better. I still wake up during the night, but I'm able to go back to sleep quickly.
Rob (Judi's son) and Colleen's wedding on December 6 was very nice though the snow had some guests leaving the reception early because the roads were getting slick. Ed's family doesn't dance. Son-in-law Tom and I do like to dance, however, and so does granddaughter Sadie, so the three of us got out on the floor a few times.
My travels to Iowa on Christmas Day were a mess. First, there was no flight crew in Columbus even though American's flight to Chicago was sitting there ready for us to board. Luckily, I had scheduled 3 hours between my flights at O'Hare. The crew finally showed up a few minutes after our scheduled departure, acting as though they weren't the least bit late. We finally left Columbus, then sat on the tarmac at O'Hare for an hour until a gate opened. My guess is American was understaffed everywhere--probably people calling in "sick" instead of working on Christmas. My flight to Cedar Rapids was delayed because of more confusion. A flight to Cincinnati was sitting at our gate 3 hours after that flight was supposed to have left, again without a crew, then was switched to be my flight, then was switched again and again and again until finally, at a different gate with a different plane and about an hour late, we took off. Mark's parents waited Christmas dinner for me, so Melissa picked me up and took me straight there. It was a nice evening after all.
We had our Christmas gift opening Friday morning and pretty much just enjoyed Will and relaxing for the next few days. Will was not into opening gifts; he mostly liked to stand on the boxes. He really wasn't attracted to his new toys except for the one that I got him, a little table with all kinds of moving parts that create music. Then somehow I managed to get a stomach bug that Melissa and Mark and Will had had 3 weeks before. I was so sick that I could not fly back on December 31. I re-scheduled for January 2 and just did not eat much of anything so that I was less likely to throw up on the plane. Luckily, getting back went smoothly.
When I got home, I still had to finish wrapping the Giesman clan gifts. I finished at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (January 3), loaded the car, and drove to Becky's for the 3 p.m. gathering. Everyone was there, and we were enjoying talking and eating the good food Becky had prepared when great-granddaughter Payton asked me as she jumped up and down if we could open the gifts. A long time ago Ed set the precedent for how the gift-opening goes. He passed out a gift to each person and everyone had to wait for all to have a gift in hand, then everyone opened at the same time. And that's what we still do, though Tom did the honors of passing out the gifts with help from the younger kids. I had hoped this Christmas would be the one where everyone would be willing to gather in this house, but Becky thought there were a few who still simply can't handle being here. That is so disheartening to me. Maybe next year. Meanwhile, I got a chuckle out of grandson Tommy, who recently turned 21, who was hoping I would host this year because he knew he could have a beer here!
I did get to have a gathering here on January 10--at least my Hearts group likes to come to this house! My friend Abbi is also Slovak, so we decided to have a holubky party. We each made our family's recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls, both of which were very good. I had told the group about the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville, PA, America's oldest brewery, and they have all been on the lookout to buy me some Yuengling beer. However, it's not sold in Ohio, so I brought some back when I visited my Mom at Thanksgiving. The party was also a Yuengling tasting and a wine tasting thanks to friend Cheryl who supplied 6 different kinds of wines and a Jimmy beer tasting thanks to another friend's homemade beer. Everyone brought appetizers and side dishes, so it was quite a feast.
Watching the inauguration yesterday, several times I thought that Ed should be here witnessing this bit of history. Every major event, whether it's a family thing or otherwise, makes me think it's just not right that he is gone. Wonder if I'll ever get to the point to be able to say, as he used to, "It is what it is."
Rob (Judi's son) and Colleen's wedding on December 6 was very nice though the snow had some guests leaving the reception early because the roads were getting slick. Ed's family doesn't dance. Son-in-law Tom and I do like to dance, however, and so does granddaughter Sadie, so the three of us got out on the floor a few times.
My travels to Iowa on Christmas Day were a mess. First, there was no flight crew in Columbus even though American's flight to Chicago was sitting there ready for us to board. Luckily, I had scheduled 3 hours between my flights at O'Hare. The crew finally showed up a few minutes after our scheduled departure, acting as though they weren't the least bit late. We finally left Columbus, then sat on the tarmac at O'Hare for an hour until a gate opened. My guess is American was understaffed everywhere--probably people calling in "sick" instead of working on Christmas. My flight to Cedar Rapids was delayed because of more confusion. A flight to Cincinnati was sitting at our gate 3 hours after that flight was supposed to have left, again without a crew, then was switched to be my flight, then was switched again and again and again until finally, at a different gate with a different plane and about an hour late, we took off. Mark's parents waited Christmas dinner for me, so Melissa picked me up and took me straight there. It was a nice evening after all.
We had our Christmas gift opening Friday morning and pretty much just enjoyed Will and relaxing for the next few days. Will was not into opening gifts; he mostly liked to stand on the boxes. He really wasn't attracted to his new toys except for the one that I got him, a little table with all kinds of moving parts that create music. Then somehow I managed to get a stomach bug that Melissa and Mark and Will had had 3 weeks before. I was so sick that I could not fly back on December 31. I re-scheduled for January 2 and just did not eat much of anything so that I was less likely to throw up on the plane. Luckily, getting back went smoothly.
When I got home, I still had to finish wrapping the Giesman clan gifts. I finished at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (January 3), loaded the car, and drove to Becky's for the 3 p.m. gathering. Everyone was there, and we were enjoying talking and eating the good food Becky had prepared when great-granddaughter Payton asked me as she jumped up and down if we could open the gifts. A long time ago Ed set the precedent for how the gift-opening goes. He passed out a gift to each person and everyone had to wait for all to have a gift in hand, then everyone opened at the same time. And that's what we still do, though Tom did the honors of passing out the gifts with help from the younger kids. I had hoped this Christmas would be the one where everyone would be willing to gather in this house, but Becky thought there were a few who still simply can't handle being here. That is so disheartening to me. Maybe next year. Meanwhile, I got a chuckle out of grandson Tommy, who recently turned 21, who was hoping I would host this year because he knew he could have a beer here!
I did get to have a gathering here on January 10--at least my Hearts group likes to come to this house! My friend Abbi is also Slovak, so we decided to have a holubky party. We each made our family's recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls, both of which were very good. I had told the group about the Yuengling brewery in Pottsville, PA, America's oldest brewery, and they have all been on the lookout to buy me some Yuengling beer. However, it's not sold in Ohio, so I brought some back when I visited my Mom at Thanksgiving. The party was also a Yuengling tasting and a wine tasting thanks to friend Cheryl who supplied 6 different kinds of wines and a Jimmy beer tasting thanks to another friend's homemade beer. Everyone brought appetizers and side dishes, so it was quite a feast.
Watching the inauguration yesterday, several times I thought that Ed should be here witnessing this bit of history. Every major event, whether it's a family thing or otherwise, makes me think it's just not right that he is gone. Wonder if I'll ever get to the point to be able to say, as he used to, "It is what it is."
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Another holiday season
It has been a while since I've written in this blog though I've thought of doing it several times in the past month. I made two trips during November, one flying to Iowa (Thursday to Tuesday, Nov. 13-18) and one driving to Virginia for Thanksgiving (Wednesday to Sunday, Nov. 26-30). Melissa asked me to come take care of Will while she moved her office from one building to another on Friday, a day she normally does not work. We also did some Christmas shopping, and I cooked a lot as usual when I'm there--the perfect opportunity to teach Will a new word, "hot," which he initially pronounced as "hock." So cute! I spent Thanksgiving with my mother and sister and her family. I guess this has become the routine for Thanksgiving since I went last year as well, and Ed and I went the two years previous to that. Melissa and Mark were there, too, in 2006. That year, on the day after Thanksgiving I took a picture of Ed doing the dishes at my mother's sink and Mark with drying towel in hand. Ed had that big smile of his on his face. That's the Thanksgiving memory that most sticks in my mind.
November 25 was the first anniversary of the death of Ed's brother, Bob. The days leading up to it and the actual date were emotional for me. The memory of how I heard that news kept replaying in my head. It was Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I had just finished filling the gas tank in Springfield, VA, ready to start my drive back after my Thanksgiving visit to my Mom's and Marie's. My cell phone rang; it was Sherry calling to tell me Bob was in his final hours. I had so wanted to see him one last time before Thanksgiving, but he did not want me to come. His daughter Pat told me later that he did not want me to see him looking, as she put it, like a Nazi death camp survivor. Still, I remember sitting at that gas station, crying, thinking I would drive straight to Cincinnati instead of home. But then I thought I should honor Bob's wishes and stay away. He died the next night.
I know the holidays are supposed to be a joyful time, but this year again I am having difficulty dealing with all the merry goings-on. Today I am going to put up minimal outside decorations for Christmas--the PEACE sign we always displayed, some red bows on the lantern lights, a wreath on the door, just like last year. I'll put single candles in the windows. This is all so understated compared with how Ed and I used to decorate for Christmas, but I just don't have the motivation to do more than some simple decorations indoors and out. My sister tried to talk me into putting up the tree this year. I think if I knew someone would be visiting me during the holidays, I would be motivated to put it up. But to the best of my knowledge, I'll not have any visitors again this year. Instead I'll be the visitor, flying to Iowa on Christmas Day and returning New Year's Eve, then gathering at Becky's with the Giesman clan on Jan. 3. I wanted to host the gathering this year, but Becky thinks it would be better not to have it here because it's still too hard for some of the family to be in this house. I know for a few of them it's actually a comfort to come here, but I don't want to risk someone not attending. It was too important to Ed to have his family together especially around the holidays.
This Saturday, Dec. 6, Ed's grandson Robby is getting married. It sounds like he and Colleen are having a traditional wedding, and I've heard hints that Ohio State colors will be part of the mix with Colleen's bridal gown featuring some dashes of red and with silver being an accent color for the bridal party, pretty close to scarlet and gray. As far as I know, almost all the family is planning to be at the wedding and reception. Melissa, Mark, and Will are not coming nor is Jeremy (from St. Louis); beyond that I'll know when I get there. This will make two granddaughters-in-law added to the family this year since Josh and Honesty were married in June.
I had a nice pat on the back from Pearson. After a few days of scoring the November SAT essays, I was re-assigned to what they call "resolution scoring." That means I was the person to decide what the score was to be for any essays where the two original scorers had given overall scores more than one point apart (on a scale of 1 to 6). I didn't even know this function existed outside of Pearson headquarters until I was re-assigned. The scores given are never revealed, but I found it interesting to read these essays and wonder what scores the two original scorers had determined, especially when the "right" score seemed so obvious to me. Guess I have maintained my position as one of Pearson's top scorers. I'll be working on essays again Dec. 11 to 21.
November 25 was the first anniversary of the death of Ed's brother, Bob. The days leading up to it and the actual date were emotional for me. The memory of how I heard that news kept replaying in my head. It was Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I had just finished filling the gas tank in Springfield, VA, ready to start my drive back after my Thanksgiving visit to my Mom's and Marie's. My cell phone rang; it was Sherry calling to tell me Bob was in his final hours. I had so wanted to see him one last time before Thanksgiving, but he did not want me to come. His daughter Pat told me later that he did not want me to see him looking, as she put it, like a Nazi death camp survivor. Still, I remember sitting at that gas station, crying, thinking I would drive straight to Cincinnati instead of home. But then I thought I should honor Bob's wishes and stay away. He died the next night.
I know the holidays are supposed to be a joyful time, but this year again I am having difficulty dealing with all the merry goings-on. Today I am going to put up minimal outside decorations for Christmas--the PEACE sign we always displayed, some red bows on the lantern lights, a wreath on the door, just like last year. I'll put single candles in the windows. This is all so understated compared with how Ed and I used to decorate for Christmas, but I just don't have the motivation to do more than some simple decorations indoors and out. My sister tried to talk me into putting up the tree this year. I think if I knew someone would be visiting me during the holidays, I would be motivated to put it up. But to the best of my knowledge, I'll not have any visitors again this year. Instead I'll be the visitor, flying to Iowa on Christmas Day and returning New Year's Eve, then gathering at Becky's with the Giesman clan on Jan. 3. I wanted to host the gathering this year, but Becky thinks it would be better not to have it here because it's still too hard for some of the family to be in this house. I know for a few of them it's actually a comfort to come here, but I don't want to risk someone not attending. It was too important to Ed to have his family together especially around the holidays.
This Saturday, Dec. 6, Ed's grandson Robby is getting married. It sounds like he and Colleen are having a traditional wedding, and I've heard hints that Ohio State colors will be part of the mix with Colleen's bridal gown featuring some dashes of red and with silver being an accent color for the bridal party, pretty close to scarlet and gray. As far as I know, almost all the family is planning to be at the wedding and reception. Melissa, Mark, and Will are not coming nor is Jeremy (from St. Louis); beyond that I'll know when I get there. This will make two granddaughters-in-law added to the family this year since Josh and Honesty were married in June.
I had a nice pat on the back from Pearson. After a few days of scoring the November SAT essays, I was re-assigned to what they call "resolution scoring." That means I was the person to decide what the score was to be for any essays where the two original scorers had given overall scores more than one point apart (on a scale of 1 to 6). I didn't even know this function existed outside of Pearson headquarters until I was re-assigned. The scores given are never revealed, but I found it interesting to read these essays and wonder what scores the two original scorers had determined, especially when the "right" score seemed so obvious to me. Guess I have maintained my position as one of Pearson's top scorers. I'll be working on essays again Dec. 11 to 21.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Will's first birthday
I made a driving trip to Iowa for Will's first birthday. I left on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and returned on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The driving went smoothly and I didn't mind the 9 hours in the car, taking only 2 rest breaks and a brief meal break going both directions. That XM satellite radio makes a good companion on the long drive.
Will's big party was on Saturday, Sept. 27. Since I had spent Thursday and Friday cleaning and helping Melissa get things ready for the party which wouldn't start until 4 pm, I had Saturday morning free. I started the day by going to Iowa City to see Janet and Dave Hixenbaugh, our across-the-street neighbors and good friends from Lakewood/Norwalk, along with Dave's brother Greg, who were tailgating before the U of I football game. Because it was Iowa's homecoming, I anticipated driving there in heavy traffic, having to search for parking, and having to walk miles to their tailgate spot. But none of that turned out to be true. My timing must have been just right because I got to Iowa City in 20 minutes, which would be normal time, and drove straight onto campus and into a parking space just a couple of blocks from their tailgate site.
It was so good to see old friends and get caught up on the news and other friends from Norwalk, though I missed seeing Tom and Paula Greteman there--they would normally be at the game but gave their tickets to their daughter Kelli and her husband. So hugs with Kelli had to substitute. When Ed and I talked about where to live once he retired, I always wanted to go back to Iowa, back to the friends that were like family to us. He appreciated that idea but had a stronger pull. Obviously, when it actually came time to make the decision, real family and Ohio won out. But the question was inevitable and it came from Dave: Are you going to sell your house and move back to Iowa? You have no idea how often I ponder that question. With the way the housing market and the economy are, it's just a bad time to be trying to sell a house. But what holds me here even more is that I feel like I would be leaving Ed if I left here, the last place we were together, and I can't bring myself to do that. So I have a rational answer to that question and an emotional one that some people may find silly, but that's the way it is.
Once Jan and Dave headed into the football stadium, I headed to the Coral Ridge Mall thinking I might find a Maid-Rite in the food court there. The famous Maid-Rite "loose meat" sandwich is another craving I've had, especially once I satisfied my craving for a good pork tenderloin for lunch on Thursday. However, there was no Maid-Rite, so I had a quick bite then headed back to Melissa and Mark's.
Some family and close friends had already arrived, so Will's party actually got an early start. At 4 pm, it was in full swing with 30+ people there. Melissa said if everybody had come who was invited, there would have been 42 people total. Since many of their circle of friends have kids, they celebrate the kids' birthdays as another reason to get together. It was a beautiful, mild, sunny day, so the kids could play outside--and that includes the "big kids" who played a bean-bag-toss game. Mark handled the grilling, Melissa played hostess, and I alternated between monitoring kids outside and monitoring the food spread in the kitchen. Will received lots of toys as gifts, which Melissa predicted would happen.
At cake time, M & M stripped Will to his diaper, sat him in his high chair, and let him go at his piece of birthday cake with both hands. It didn't take long for him to be covered in frosting. Unfortunately, once he swallowed his first bite of cake, he began to break out in hives. The previous weekend, Melissa gave him homemade waffles, made with eggs, of course, and he handled them just fine, so she and Mark thought the doctor's prediction that Will would outgrow his egg allergy by age 1 came true. She found a cake mix with no milk in it but that did require eggs, and that's what she had me bake. At the first sign of the hives, they gave Will Benadryl and it worked within minutes. It's amazing to see how quickly the hives cover his body and how quickly the medicine reverses that. After a quick clean-up in the tub, Will was into his PJs and back in party mode. People left around 8 pm--had to get their own kids to bed.
On Sunday, Will's actual birthday, Mark's parents Jim and Marna, his brother and sister Matt and Michelle, Melissa's Dad Jim and Peggy, M & M & Will and I met for lunch at Panera. Afterwards, we went to see Jim and Marna's new house which is being built in a new neighborhood not far from M & M's. Then we went back and Will opened his presents from all of us. I got him a snugglepuff, which is a snuggly, soft Penn State football attached to a security blanket embroidered with "Penn State University" at the hemline--he had to get something Penn State! Another gift was a bright red sippy cup with his name on it in bold letter shapes and bright colors, along with a shirt that has a sheriff's star on it and reads "I'm in charge." I also got him a hardwood puzzle that teaches shapes and colors; each piece has an easy-to-grasp handle which he took to immediately, even though at one point he tried to use the grip as a pacifier. I added money to his college fund, too. He received many other nice gifts from everyone.
Will was just delightful the entire time I was there. Melissa had been showing him my picture days ahead and telling him that Grammy was coming, and within seconds of seeing me on Wednesday, he was reaching for me. So all in all it was a pleasant time. Having my own car to drive gave me freedom to do things on my own and I took advantage of that. On one of my trips to pick up party things, I saw a little of the area of Cedar Rapids that was flooded. I could tell that some progress had been made in the clean-up--in fact, the Courthouse downtown was finally re-opened on Monday--but there is still so much destruction to see.
Starting on Thursday of this week I will be back to working on SAT essays. Beyond that I have nothing planned though Melissa wants me to fly to Iowa on Christmas Day for my Christmas visit. Ed's grandson Rob will be getting married Dec. 6. On Sept. 20 I attended the celebration of the marriage of grandson Josh and his wife Honesty (they eloped June 26). Daughter Sherry in St. Louis (Josh's mother) had hip replacement surgery Sept. 22 and seems to have come through that fine though she has weeks of recovery time. Instigated by Cheryl, my friend from the Hearts group (Hearts being the friends from the support group I attended), I've been going to wine-tastings pretty much every Friday evening, expanding my horizons beyond my favorite beers and whatever-wine-is-on-sale. This is in addition to our regular Hearts gathering for supper together every Wednesday. As I told Jan and Dave, I'm very grateful to have my Hearts group of friends, but I so miss everybody from our circle of friends back in Iowa and I very much miss the neighborhood closeness we had in Lakewood.
Will's big party was on Saturday, Sept. 27. Since I had spent Thursday and Friday cleaning and helping Melissa get things ready for the party which wouldn't start until 4 pm, I had Saturday morning free. I started the day by going to Iowa City to see Janet and Dave Hixenbaugh, our across-the-street neighbors and good friends from Lakewood/Norwalk, along with Dave's brother Greg, who were tailgating before the U of I football game. Because it was Iowa's homecoming, I anticipated driving there in heavy traffic, having to search for parking, and having to walk miles to their tailgate spot. But none of that turned out to be true. My timing must have been just right because I got to Iowa City in 20 minutes, which would be normal time, and drove straight onto campus and into a parking space just a couple of blocks from their tailgate site.
It was so good to see old friends and get caught up on the news and other friends from Norwalk, though I missed seeing Tom and Paula Greteman there--they would normally be at the game but gave their tickets to their daughter Kelli and her husband. So hugs with Kelli had to substitute. When Ed and I talked about where to live once he retired, I always wanted to go back to Iowa, back to the friends that were like family to us. He appreciated that idea but had a stronger pull. Obviously, when it actually came time to make the decision, real family and Ohio won out. But the question was inevitable and it came from Dave: Are you going to sell your house and move back to Iowa? You have no idea how often I ponder that question. With the way the housing market and the economy are, it's just a bad time to be trying to sell a house. But what holds me here even more is that I feel like I would be leaving Ed if I left here, the last place we were together, and I can't bring myself to do that. So I have a rational answer to that question and an emotional one that some people may find silly, but that's the way it is.
Once Jan and Dave headed into the football stadium, I headed to the Coral Ridge Mall thinking I might find a Maid-Rite in the food court there. The famous Maid-Rite "loose meat" sandwich is another craving I've had, especially once I satisfied my craving for a good pork tenderloin for lunch on Thursday. However, there was no Maid-Rite, so I had a quick bite then headed back to Melissa and Mark's.
Some family and close friends had already arrived, so Will's party actually got an early start. At 4 pm, it was in full swing with 30+ people there. Melissa said if everybody had come who was invited, there would have been 42 people total. Since many of their circle of friends have kids, they celebrate the kids' birthdays as another reason to get together. It was a beautiful, mild, sunny day, so the kids could play outside--and that includes the "big kids" who played a bean-bag-toss game. Mark handled the grilling, Melissa played hostess, and I alternated between monitoring kids outside and monitoring the food spread in the kitchen. Will received lots of toys as gifts, which Melissa predicted would happen.
At cake time, M & M stripped Will to his diaper, sat him in his high chair, and let him go at his piece of birthday cake with both hands. It didn't take long for him to be covered in frosting. Unfortunately, once he swallowed his first bite of cake, he began to break out in hives. The previous weekend, Melissa gave him homemade waffles, made with eggs, of course, and he handled them just fine, so she and Mark thought the doctor's prediction that Will would outgrow his egg allergy by age 1 came true. She found a cake mix with no milk in it but that did require eggs, and that's what she had me bake. At the first sign of the hives, they gave Will Benadryl and it worked within minutes. It's amazing to see how quickly the hives cover his body and how quickly the medicine reverses that. After a quick clean-up in the tub, Will was into his PJs and back in party mode. People left around 8 pm--had to get their own kids to bed.
On Sunday, Will's actual birthday, Mark's parents Jim and Marna, his brother and sister Matt and Michelle, Melissa's Dad Jim and Peggy, M & M & Will and I met for lunch at Panera. Afterwards, we went to see Jim and Marna's new house which is being built in a new neighborhood not far from M & M's. Then we went back and Will opened his presents from all of us. I got him a snugglepuff, which is a snuggly, soft Penn State football attached to a security blanket embroidered with "Penn State University" at the hemline--he had to get something Penn State! Another gift was a bright red sippy cup with his name on it in bold letter shapes and bright colors, along with a shirt that has a sheriff's star on it and reads "I'm in charge." I also got him a hardwood puzzle that teaches shapes and colors; each piece has an easy-to-grasp handle which he took to immediately, even though at one point he tried to use the grip as a pacifier. I added money to his college fund, too. He received many other nice gifts from everyone.
Will was just delightful the entire time I was there. Melissa had been showing him my picture days ahead and telling him that Grammy was coming, and within seconds of seeing me on Wednesday, he was reaching for me. So all in all it was a pleasant time. Having my own car to drive gave me freedom to do things on my own and I took advantage of that. On one of my trips to pick up party things, I saw a little of the area of Cedar Rapids that was flooded. I could tell that some progress had been made in the clean-up--in fact, the Courthouse downtown was finally re-opened on Monday--but there is still so much destruction to see.
Starting on Thursday of this week I will be back to working on SAT essays. Beyond that I have nothing planned though Melissa wants me to fly to Iowa on Christmas Day for my Christmas visit. Ed's grandson Rob will be getting married Dec. 6. On Sept. 20 I attended the celebration of the marriage of grandson Josh and his wife Honesty (they eloped June 26). Daughter Sherry in St. Louis (Josh's mother) had hip replacement surgery Sept. 22 and seems to have come through that fine though she has weeks of recovery time. Instigated by Cheryl, my friend from the Hearts group (Hearts being the friends from the support group I attended), I've been going to wine-tastings pretty much every Friday evening, expanding my horizons beyond my favorite beers and whatever-wine-is-on-sale. This is in addition to our regular Hearts gathering for supper together every Wednesday. As I told Jan and Dave, I'm very grateful to have my Hearts group of friends, but I so miss everybody from our circle of friends back in Iowa and I very much miss the neighborhood closeness we had in Lakewood.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The remains of Hurricane Ike
The Governor of Ohio declared a state of emergency for the entire state on Sunday, Sept. 14. Two million people in Ohio were without power, and I was one of them. Today, Tuesday, Sept. 16, the number without power is under 500,000. Predictions are that it could take until Sunday for all power to be restored. Schools were closed yesterday and again today, either because the buildings don't have power or because roadways are still littered with tree limbs and downed power lines.
On Sunday starting around noon, winds that came from a mix of what used to be Hurricane Ike and the jet stream caused high wind warnings to be issued for Ohio. From noon until about 7:30 pm, there were steady winds of 30 to 40 mph, gusts of 75 mph, and then steady very high winds. By 3 pm, I lost power as well as a large limb from a beautiful 20-foot tall Bradford pear tree in my back yard. By 3:15, a bunch of my neighbors, who all heard the crack, were gathered in my back yard trying to help me figure out what to do about the tree. My back yard neighbor Todd, who helped me before when a small tree went down, got his chain saw and was starting to cut away the broken limb so that the wind wasn't pushing it against the main trunk when, suddenly, another third of the tree cracked and fell. Luckily, it fell away from where Todd was standing. He looked at me and we both said, "This tree has to go." He cut through the main trunk so that the rest of the tree fell into the yard away from the house and away from the power lines and phone lines at the back of the property. Then we started hearing more and more cracks in the area. I have the privilege of being the first in my neighborhood to have lost a tree on Sunday, but many more came down in the next hours.
On Monday, Todd and his friends showed up with a rented wood chipper and a truck from one of their businesses and more chain saws. First they took care of all his downed limbs and two gorgeous very tall pine trees that came down in his yard; then they cleared away all my limbs. And then they went off to help other people they knew. A "thank you" and "God bless you" (and chipping in--no pun intended--on the cost of the rented equipment) just isn't enough to show my gratitude.
While we were dragging my tree limbs to Todd's yard where the chipper was sitting, my neighbor Ann Morgan came out onto her deck and yelled "It's on!" It was 11:20 am. Having heard reports that it could take up to a week to restore all power, we were grateful to be among the first to get it back. All my frozen food was still frozen solid, and the refrigerator food still felt cool, so I fared well in that area. However, we had a little scare about 11:30 when we started smelling something burning outside. A small branch in one of the large trees bordering Todd's and Morgans' property line was smoking. The nearby power line must have ignited it when the surge went through as the power came on. Bill Morgan called the fire department, who said they didn't know when they could get here to check it out, so we were to just keep an eye on it and call 9-1-1 if flames appeared. One of the guys predicted that once it burned through, the branch would fall and all would be OK, and that's exactly what happened. Two fire department personnel did show up about 4 pm, and they asked me to keep an eye on it even though it appeared all was fine. I haven't smelled or seen any further problem.
I had been trying to call Debbie and Tom both Sunday and Monday to see if they had power and finally reached Tom at work Monday morning. After I got power back, we made arrangements for Debbie to bring their freezer food over. They are not among the lucky to get power back early. David called me Sunday night to check on me and confirm that he did not have power. Becky called me Monday morning to check on me; her power was restored at about 4:30 am Monday. I don't know the status of Judi or Eddie.
A lesson from this: If you have a land line, keep at least one corded phone available. As long as there is phone service, a corded phone will work but the cordless ones don't. I'm glad that I still have a separate land line and not service that is bundled in with my cable and internet (which I have been thinking about doing), and that I had 2 corded phones sitting in the basement. Although my WOWWAY cable service apparently was OK, Time Warner cable service was lost, so people who had bundled phone service with that company had no phones at all. My cell phone service went in and out until today, when it seems to be consistently operating. After this experience, I've removed those corded phones from my garage sale stack!
I checked the cemetery this morning and saw limbs everywhere; many of the huge trees there have broken limbs or split trunks. A few of the flags around the Veterans Memorial have disappeared. Surprisingly, the silk flowers and flag in the vase at Ed's grave were all intact.
One common comment in my neighborhood is that this damage and lack of power is nothing compared with the loss of life and suffering of the people of Texas and the Gulf Coast area because of Hurricane Ike.
On Sunday starting around noon, winds that came from a mix of what used to be Hurricane Ike and the jet stream caused high wind warnings to be issued for Ohio. From noon until about 7:30 pm, there were steady winds of 30 to 40 mph, gusts of 75 mph, and then steady very high winds. By 3 pm, I lost power as well as a large limb from a beautiful 20-foot tall Bradford pear tree in my back yard. By 3:15, a bunch of my neighbors, who all heard the crack, were gathered in my back yard trying to help me figure out what to do about the tree. My back yard neighbor Todd, who helped me before when a small tree went down, got his chain saw and was starting to cut away the broken limb so that the wind wasn't pushing it against the main trunk when, suddenly, another third of the tree cracked and fell. Luckily, it fell away from where Todd was standing. He looked at me and we both said, "This tree has to go." He cut through the main trunk so that the rest of the tree fell into the yard away from the house and away from the power lines and phone lines at the back of the property. Then we started hearing more and more cracks in the area. I have the privilege of being the first in my neighborhood to have lost a tree on Sunday, but many more came down in the next hours.
On Monday, Todd and his friends showed up with a rented wood chipper and a truck from one of their businesses and more chain saws. First they took care of all his downed limbs and two gorgeous very tall pine trees that came down in his yard; then they cleared away all my limbs. And then they went off to help other people they knew. A "thank you" and "God bless you" (and chipping in--no pun intended--on the cost of the rented equipment) just isn't enough to show my gratitude.
While we were dragging my tree limbs to Todd's yard where the chipper was sitting, my neighbor Ann Morgan came out onto her deck and yelled "It's on!" It was 11:20 am. Having heard reports that it could take up to a week to restore all power, we were grateful to be among the first to get it back. All my frozen food was still frozen solid, and the refrigerator food still felt cool, so I fared well in that area. However, we had a little scare about 11:30 when we started smelling something burning outside. A small branch in one of the large trees bordering Todd's and Morgans' property line was smoking. The nearby power line must have ignited it when the surge went through as the power came on. Bill Morgan called the fire department, who said they didn't know when they could get here to check it out, so we were to just keep an eye on it and call 9-1-1 if flames appeared. One of the guys predicted that once it burned through, the branch would fall and all would be OK, and that's exactly what happened. Two fire department personnel did show up about 4 pm, and they asked me to keep an eye on it even though it appeared all was fine. I haven't smelled or seen any further problem.
I had been trying to call Debbie and Tom both Sunday and Monday to see if they had power and finally reached Tom at work Monday morning. After I got power back, we made arrangements for Debbie to bring their freezer food over. They are not among the lucky to get power back early. David called me Sunday night to check on me and confirm that he did not have power. Becky called me Monday morning to check on me; her power was restored at about 4:30 am Monday. I don't know the status of Judi or Eddie.
A lesson from this: If you have a land line, keep at least one corded phone available. As long as there is phone service, a corded phone will work but the cordless ones don't. I'm glad that I still have a separate land line and not service that is bundled in with my cable and internet (which I have been thinking about doing), and that I had 2 corded phones sitting in the basement. Although my WOWWAY cable service apparently was OK, Time Warner cable service was lost, so people who had bundled phone service with that company had no phones at all. My cell phone service went in and out until today, when it seems to be consistently operating. After this experience, I've removed those corded phones from my garage sale stack!
I checked the cemetery this morning and saw limbs everywhere; many of the huge trees there have broken limbs or split trunks. A few of the flags around the Veterans Memorial have disappeared. Surprisingly, the silk flowers and flag in the vase at Ed's grave were all intact.
One common comment in my neighborhood is that this damage and lack of power is nothing compared with the loss of life and suffering of the people of Texas and the Gulf Coast area because of Hurricane Ike.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Our 22nd Anniversary August 9
I've been telling myself all week that I would write in the blog on our anniversary, but not being able to get back to sleep since I awoke at 4 a.m. has me at the keyboard trying to comfort myself. Ed and I would be celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary tomorrow. We knew each other for 5 years before we got married. He always told me that he knew very early on that we belonged together, but because of our age difference, he wanted me to be absolutely sure. When we had those talks, neither one of us ever thought he would be gone so soon. His parents lived to age 79. His dad had had a heart attack in middle age and his mom had heart problems as well, so we thought their circumstances were a predictor and that's why Ed saw a cardiologist every year. I suppose some would say that 20 years of married life (almost 21 years, just short of that by 2 months) is a long time, but I can't stop thinking that we weren't done yet. We still had so many plans, so many things he wanted us to do together.
Despite learning in my support group that significant days can bring back the intense grief, I didn't prepare myself for it to happen. I had a diversion last week, going to Melissa and Mark's from Wednesday to Sunday. I painted their kitchen, foyer, and hallway; we rode through the flood-devastated areas that are still a long way from recovering; we shopped; I enjoyed Will, of course. Even getting back home I found diversions by going to a downsizing workshop with a few friends, going to the weekly supper gathering, and helping a friend unpack at her new place. But each night for probably the last two weeks--even at Melissa's--I have awakened feeling just so sad and alone. Then I can't get back to sleep, which means I'm tired during the day and fall asleep in the afternoon, which then makes it difficult to get to sleep at bedtime. It's a vicious cycle. My friends have joked that we should set up some instant messaging alert so that when we are prowling the house at 3 a.m., we can signal that we're up and needing to talk. So I know I'm not the only one going through this.
I'm sure I'll get through tomorrow--and even get through today--because I have to and because I've gotten through every other down day. I also recognize that I mainly write in this blog when I'm feeling really down. So I should say that I do smile and laugh with my friends and enjoy my visits with family; I even laugh out loud at funny things on TV. Right now, thinking about our anniversary and missing Ed so much that it hurts just isn't one of those times when I can smile.
Despite learning in my support group that significant days can bring back the intense grief, I didn't prepare myself for it to happen. I had a diversion last week, going to Melissa and Mark's from Wednesday to Sunday. I painted their kitchen, foyer, and hallway; we rode through the flood-devastated areas that are still a long way from recovering; we shopped; I enjoyed Will, of course. Even getting back home I found diversions by going to a downsizing workshop with a few friends, going to the weekly supper gathering, and helping a friend unpack at her new place. But each night for probably the last two weeks--even at Melissa's--I have awakened feeling just so sad and alone. Then I can't get back to sleep, which means I'm tired during the day and fall asleep in the afternoon, which then makes it difficult to get to sleep at bedtime. It's a vicious cycle. My friends have joked that we should set up some instant messaging alert so that when we are prowling the house at 3 a.m., we can signal that we're up and needing to talk. So I know I'm not the only one going through this.
I'm sure I'll get through tomorrow--and even get through today--because I have to and because I've gotten through every other down day. I also recognize that I mainly write in this blog when I'm feeling really down. So I should say that I do smile and laugh with my friends and enjoy my visits with family; I even laugh out loud at funny things on TV. Right now, thinking about our anniversary and missing Ed so much that it hurts just isn't one of those times when I can smile.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Ed's birthday again
Today is Ed's birthday. I just heard some firecrackers go off in the neighborhood, and I am reminded that he used to claim any fireworks shot off on July 3 were a celebration of his birthday, not Independence Day.
Mass this morning at our church was for Ed and I attended, of course, since I arranged for the Mass intention. I took a dozen red roses to the cemetery afterwards. Things have been pretty quiet through the rest of my day today. I opted not to go to tonight's big Columbus fireworks display "Red, White, and Boom." Although I appreciated being there last year with Debbie and Tom and family, I just didn't have the desire to go this year. Watching them on TV will be good enough.
I guess I don't have much to say tonight. I miss Ed terribly, not just on his birthday but every day.
Mass this morning at our church was for Ed and I attended, of course, since I arranged for the Mass intention. I took a dozen red roses to the cemetery afterwards. Things have been pretty quiet through the rest of my day today. I opted not to go to tonight's big Columbus fireworks display "Red, White, and Boom." Although I appreciated being there last year with Debbie and Tom and family, I just didn't have the desire to go this year. Watching them on TV will be good enough.
I guess I don't have much to say tonight. I miss Ed terribly, not just on his birthday but every day.
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