Last Week of October 2024

Monday 10/28/24: Took Ford to his Parkinson exercises. Back home I made pumpkin centerpieces (see separate post).

I cook a favorite linguini, chicken Florentine (with mushrooms).

Tuesday: Tuesday morning went well. Alyzabeth got up early and took her shower, had breakfast and then off to school. She has a government test today. Tonight, she has Laurie to help her study for her calculus test that is on Thursday. Ford and I got ready to go to his physical therapy at 9:30 and since he forgot to take his morning pills we drove back home at 10:30. We had leftovers for lunch and then drove to our noon haircut appointment with Steve. Steve has been sick with a type of Gastro ulcer, having a hard time finding foods that he can eat that agree with his system, must be lactose free, gluten and free not spicy not fried etc. I did take him my first and only finished pumpkin vase with flowers. After our hair appointment, we stopped at Publix to buy mixed nuts for happy hour today which is what Ford wanted. My hair was wet so I lay down for about an hour to dry it. Alyzabeth stayed after school volunteering as a Spanish tutor. I browned the beef stew meat for Irish beef stew in our slow cooker. It is a beautiful day a little cooler only in the 70s with clouds and a few stray showers.

Last night I listened to the Rick Steves webinar on Edinburgh Scotland. It was a refresher to help us plan our trip to Ireland, Scotland, and England, hopefully in June 2025.

We enjoyed our time at the River House with Hugh, Maureen and daughter, Erin plus Karrie. I brought corn dip again and mixed nuts. We talked a lot about the past times in Connecticut, past holiday traditions, etc. It was a cloudy day and a big rainstorm had just passed so several people had left the River House. We still enjoyed our time sitting inside the house and stay until 6 PM.

Once home, we enjoyed the Irish beef stew I made in the crockpot with fresh bread and butter. 

The next World Series baseball game is on tonight and the Yankees have to win in order to stave off the Dodgers (Yankees won).

Wednesday 30th:

Another typical Wednesday morning Alyzabeth got up Ford made her breakfast. I actually slept until my alarm went off at 5:55 AM. Once up Ginger had her walk which Alyzabeth is doing first thing in the morning now and we saw her off to school. I was committed and going through some storage tubs in our bedroom that had a lot of personal stuff letters from the 80s and 90s and I want to make piecrust to put in the freezer to be ready for Thanksgiving pies. Ford and I then went out to Sweet Sensations for lunch and enjoyed outlaw chicken salad, and a BLT and we brought home pasta salad for Alyzabeth school lunches. Once home, I helped Ford on Ancestry.com. We are researching his Irish ancestors and hoping to find the town and area so we can plan our trip to Ireland next year.  The time will go by quickly and we need to find out what tours or how we want to book our flights, and if we want to just do it all on our own. Back to going through the tubs, the first one took me several hours. Of course I had the TV running in the background which distracted me, but I did find some great letters from Terri, from Deb Gum, from EE and from Ford’s mom, his dad and Joy so we are going through those and deciding what to keep and what to pitch. The second tub was all genealogy papers so I kept it was a later date.

Thursday 31st: Halloween Day! Not too busy day, drove to Ford's Parkinson exercises.

Dinner was leftover Irish Beef Stew, and I made another apple crisp (with vanilla ice cream). 

We stood outside on our driveway with candy, ready for the kids - one family stopped by with three kids. We sat on driveway chatting with Nancy and hearing about her recent trip to Africa.

Friday 11/01/24: We drove to our Trustwell appointment, yearly to review our investments. They answered all our questions, always helpful.

AA met with SOS Dr. Jones's PA Andrew, pre-op appointment at 3:20 pm. All good, hopefully this is the last one!

Saturday: We slept in, me until 6:30 a.m.; AA got us at 7:50. Nice getting a little extra sleep.

AA and I drove to Target to buy dog food and some toys for the Ian toy drive (plus we sent four toys from Amazon directly to the Bailey's). See separate post.

Green Cove Springs 150th Year Celebration, we decided not to go (hard to walk around, will be after dark) - we went to the River House, usual friends, usual conversation - the Florida/Georgia game was in town - Georgia won. Florida actually was playing well until the quarterback was injured in the 2nd quarter.

Sunday: 11/03/24 Time to FALL back one hour. I am not looking forward to the earlier sunsets.

We decided not to drive to UCF to see Liv in her first play (it was rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton).

I woke up a little after 5 a.m. Starting my day early! Did two loads of laundry, worked on this blog and thinking about my trip to Missouri and then to Maine - Ford and Alyzabeth would normally be fine but Ford's legs are swelling again, so need to call a doctor tomorrow.

I made a new pancake recipe Ford found - using a sheet pan - the pancake did not get brown, so if I make again (probably not - only advantage is everyone can eat at the same time) - would put under broiler briefly.

I went to church, took a pumpkin floral arrangement to P. Faith (left in the kitchen, asked Cathy R. to give to her). 

I chatted with Melissa, she was with Terri helping Hilary reduce her storage unit from two to one. I went to Salinas Nails and had a pedicure (took off the blue and put back on my usual color).

Ford and I drove to Spring Park Coffee for a lemonade and iced tea, AA did not want to come. A few rain sprinkles, plus walking Ginger and panzanella for dinner (AA ate the leftover apple crisp too). With the time change, at 6:30 p.m., felt like 9 p.m.!! Watched the Jaguars lose - by 5 points, exciting game after the halftime.

11/02/2024 Safe Animal Shelter Donation

AA and I drove to Target to buy dog food and some toys for the Ian toy drive. We walked over to Petco and bought a new leash for Ginger. The Safe Animal Shelter opened at noon, we arrived at 12:25 and had help unloading 20 bags of dry pet food - about 380 lbs.

Thank you to family and friends for the money and dog food! This is her 7th tear donating (skipped year 2022) - Five years at the Safe Shelter and her first two years donating was at the Clay County Animal Control Center. 
Photos at Target, loading in the back of the Subaru:

Previously collected dog food in our living room:

Delivering at the shelter:

From Facebook:

Safe Animal Shelter: Alyzabeth Morgan asked for donations for the shelter for her 18th birthday!!!! We can't thank you enough, hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!

Pumpkin Centerpiece - FIUMC

Loved the price of these small pumpkins from the FIUMC - only $3.00 each. I spend $12 on three bunches of flowers at Publix. I put one together, I am no florist designer so am hoping the next few are a little better!
I used a Styrofoam cup (cut down to size, so did not show), filled with water. Using glass florist beads or a few stones or a florist frog or a foam block may help with the arranging of the flowers.

The clear up I intended to use was too big for this pumpkin.

I cut a few stray sprigs from our yard and two long stems of rosemary as fillers.

I put tissue paper collar around the cup, to hide the edge of the cut pumpkin and foam cup; really needs a wide ribbon and bow.

Photo from the web; saw several with fake dried Fall leaves, very nice:

I have made these in the past, and hopefully make a few more to give away, pumpkins are a nice decoration up to Thanksgiving. 

Update: I gave this first one to Steve, our hair appointment on Tuesday; he has been sick for a few weeks, so hope it cheered him up!

Monday, October 21st

Monday 10/21/24: We slept pretty good, the alarm going off at 5:55 a.m. is not a thrill! AA was off to school, cool morning, low at 60 degrees! I stripped our bed, two loads of laundry, plus dishes. Off to a good start. Drove to Ford's Parkinson exercises.

Still worrying about Ford's cuts on his legs. He fell this past Saturday evening and scrapped his left forearm. More blood. Thankfully, he just banged his ankle, no more new wounds on his legs. He bought two new jeans so will cover up his legs while in Missouri.

Publix for groceries, made meatballs for spaghetti dinner tonight.

CCAI Heritage Tour webinar at 8:00 p.m.

And I painted my toes blue:

Tuesday: Early voting begins! Vote BLUE! 

Donna came and cleaned our home. AA was off school due to testing that Seniors are not a part of (PSAT/SAT). Drove Ford to his PT (I walked a little, chatted with Mom - she and Terri are attending Eric Redmond's graveside service in Sabbatus) and AA went to get gas, study at the library then to meet friends at Spring Park Coffee Shop - Siyan's 18th birthday!

The early voting line was very long, so hopefully will go tomorrow.

We ate lunch at Tijuana Flats, delivered a get-well card (with Publix gift card) to Steve Hayes, he's been having gastro issues (he texted his thanks). We shopped at Fresh Market - rotisserie chicken for dinner. Dinner was baked potato, roasted whole carrots and the chicken. River House Happy Hour - I made crostini with goat cheese, strawberries and balsamic drizzle. It was good, and very simple using the prepared crostini from Fresh Market. We all enjoyed watching Jeopardy, lots of good answers and laughs. AA is sometimes cuddly on the couch with Ginger, both my sweet puppies! We get our hugs in the evening!

Wednesday: We had a slow morning, Ford had a nap, I addressed some emails, made Jello gelatin, did dishes. We drove to see Larry's restored Yamaha 1972 motorcycle at Garage Zero (Ross, France Ave, Jacksonville). The bike would not start, blew a fuse, which was an original, but still need to find out why it blew. Also, Ford insisted that it had an electric start, and they said no. After several tries at telling them about the electric start, they did find it (no button on right handlebar as usual; the button is on the left lower side. So we left the bike there and will pay for the electric start circuit to be repaired/restored. They stated that their employee did eight leather treatments on the seat - we did not think it could be saved but it looks and feels amazing now!

Old/original gas tank - new one was only one available in USA! Had to be custom painted with same Yamaha paint number, looks different due to original is 52 years old; also could not find same year Yamaha gas tank logo/sign - he found one on a later model - lettering not same color. His only option was to us a sticker and said a big no to that! We don't mind.

New gas tank:

Look good, certainly not perfect or new. All chrome is original with all pits and aging, they buffed it as much as they could.

Busy place, nice people, knowledgeable, happy to talk about Larry's bike.

We ate lunch at Pinegrove Deli, always delicious - Ford ordered the Hoss burger (comes with fried onion rings on it - next time he will order the regular cheeseburger) and I had the chicken salad on sourdough bread, no soda machine so either tea of lemonade or buy bottled/canned soda. We brought half our sandwiches home.

We met up with AA after school, and we all Voted! Sunny outside and no signs to say we voted for a selfie.

Alyzabeth picked up her Senior yard sign!

I sent an email to Dr. Patrick Jones as AA said she thinks she did something to a knee ligament - so asking if she needs to see him.

Dinner was blackened salmon, Publix cole slaw and sautéed broccolini with sliced onions. AA worked on Government, Spanish and English homework. I found out that an Episcopal priest, friend of Teri Calinao was stabbed in St. Augustine by a woman on a bike. Random act of violence, downtown while he, Matt Marino was having his morning coffee! Leaa knew of it, so sad.

Thursday: We had a fitful night of sleeping, Ford slept for over three hours while I was still up watching TV (bad me!), then on and off each hour after that. After sending AA off (she braided her hair!), Ford did the dishes, took a short nap and then usual routine for getting ready to head out the door. Ford prepared for his colonoscopy on Friday. Only clear liquids, popsicles, 7Up soda and gelatin Jello. He did his Parkinson exercises and I chatted with Mom while walking. We went to the Spring Park Coffee shop for lemonade and a Capaccino before making my 11:00 am. lawyer appointment with Marie. I signed all the papers to close Larry's probate. Next to mail the heir's checks (which I did on Friday).

Our haircuts with Steve didn't happen as he had a doctor's appointment. 

Judy is here, next door at Bill's. We gave them one of our ponderosas lemons, talked about professionally cleaning our driveways, and Bill is adding grass - replacing a mulched bed.

I sat on our bed, relaxing, filled out the seven checks for LB's heirs, almost done! Ford began his preparations, drinking the solution every 15 minutes.

I sent a Facebook message asking for toys in memory of Ian, will give to his family near his birthday, 11/04/2006.

Friday: Ford's colonoscopy day! See separate post.

I made a hotel reservation for our drive to Missouri on November 7th. AA came home from school, we ate our Sonny's lunch together and she worked on a very long Government assignment.

Saturday 10/26/24: I was up by 6:00 a.m.; sent Ford back to bed, and he did nap until 8:30! AA and I had breakfast, chatted at the table, fed Ginger, went through her closet looking for clothes to donate - she volunteered for the NHS Drop off table at the FI Library until 2 p.m.

I chatted with Terri, talked about genealogy - she needs some help from Carolyn, about Robin's family (Kim's brother).

I did some meal planning for next week and went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for Katie‘s corn dip which I took to the River House today. Ford and I had tomato soup with elbow macaroni in it, an old favorite of mine. He also had some leftover fried chicken with it.  Alyzabeth and I threw a ball for Ginger on the side yard which she loves to chase after. We don’t do it very often because she is off leash and we have to be careful that nobody else is around as she will either bark at them or run up to them thinking they are her next best friend. 

We went to the RH, Kathy wasn't well so visited with Hugh, Maureen (they brought a half tray shrimp cocktail) and Karrie (she brought dried chickpeas and olives). Hugh gave us some more tools - electric corded circular skill saw, Dremel kit and a jigsaw, plus some items for the generator (Leaa and Jesse took/have). Leaa said they will take them since Justin doesn't need them.

Leaa and I were in communication to live stream Dylan's dance at about 8:45 p.m. Somehow there was a glitch and we missed it. 

Sunday: We slept in, even though went to bed late (about 1 am), did get some sleep. I got ready for church, then was driving straight to BJ's to meet Carolyn.

Church was a Halloween party for the kids, lots of costumes!

After shopping with Carolyn, she drove straight home. At home we had lunch of Five Guys burgers (I picked up take-out) and watched the Jaguars lose to the Green Bay Packers. 

I made pasta broccoli salad (boiled bowtie pasta, cooked bacon, cut red onion, red grapes and sunflower seeds with mayo-based dressing). Makes a lot so when I was walking Ginger, asked Judy and Bill if they would like some; they took a small portion as they are leaving tomorrow for Cape Canaveral/Daytona Beach for the week. 

I decided to buy pumpkins at the FIUMC patch and then stopped at Publix. 

I will make flower centerpieces with all the pumpkins and maybe give a few away.

I did the dishes, cleaning up my mess and we decided to watch the KC Chiefs game against Nevada (Minshew was the quarterback) - Talons was closing at 6 pm so went to Barley and Pie - and they could not find it even though they have the NFL package! We had a beer and watched three NFL games we were not interested in! Back home, we all enjoyed the corn dip for dinner; AA still working on her Georgetown essays. 

More football in the evening, and soon it was nighttime!

Colonoscopy Day!

Our morning started out a bit slow, Ford finished drinking his solution for his colonoscopy the prior night at 11 p.m. Sleeping was scarce as he was up and down several times, which I think we expected. He was running/trying to get to the bathroom and had a few accidents in the bed. I stripped the bed twice and then in the morning did a few loads of wash. The bed pad I got for both of us, one for each side of our bed worked great (an idea from Sandy May - Parkinson Care givers group). The pad itself is washable and did fine in the wash. We left for his appointment at 9:30 and he was checked in by 10 a.m. His actual procedure was scheduled for 11 a.m. and was taken back for preparation about 11:40. Once in pre-op, Ford did fine getting ready, in the bed, getting hooked up, having a warm blanket and basically laying there waiting while the nurses monitored him. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist wanted a document on his latest Cardiologist report ensuring that his heart was fine so while waiting for the papers to be faxed from Dr. Al-Saghir's office, Ford had an anxiety attack, feeling claustrophobic due to the bed and the side railings, he definitely wanted out. After watching him for 10- or 15-minutes struggle to breathe (and me helpless, trying not to cry), I got the nurse and the anesthesiologist did administer some type of drug or medicine to help him with his anxiety. I would like to know what the drugs were so that we can add to the list of drugs (they agreed with him and they worked. Once he was wheeled to the operating room, it went by very quickly. I only walked out to the truck, got a cup of coffee in the office, and by that time, he was finished. Dr. Madok reported in saying everything was fine. He had no problems everything was cleared good. The nursing staff was wonderful.

I drove to Sonny's for lunch - pulled pork sandwiches, ribs for AA. 

Back at home, Ford ate the BBQ lunch and napped throughout the afternoon and evening. He wanted to watch Game 1 of the World Series; he slept through most of it (Dodgers won with a Grand Slam in the 10th inning). 

I got takeout from Panda Wok for dinner (CR220, Middleburg): Ford had vegetable lo-mein, AA had beef peppers, I liked my chicken hibachi with rice/vegetables. The night was okay, we did get some sleep, hourly as Ford was up and down. So happy this day is over!

Monday 10/14/2024

Monday 14th: No school. The FIHS football game was moved to today (due to Hurricane Milton) but AA did not want to attend (FIHS won). And sister Melissa's birthday - she's 59! She stated that she does not like celebrating her birthday - also she acknowledged my half birthday on Facebook. Yesterday, Sunday, Terri drove to camp, they went to the dump, picked up the heavier summer lake toys and then had Italian sandwiches together - Melissa opened our cards. She did spend time with Chloe (apple picking) and lunch with Andrew and Britney on Saturday.

Ford and I went to his Parkinson exercises; I walked and chatted with Mom, she is feeling poorly, so many things going on between her lungs, legs which makes her walking difficult for very long.

Ford and I then picked up his prescription and new HVAC filters (20x20x1) at Walmart; then to Publix for groceries. We ate Publix sandwiches for lunch. 

Rainwater since Hurricane Helene:

AA submitted her application to Georgetown - last one (she still needs to submit some essays). She was notified that Penny submitted her recommendation. Ford made fresh bread, came out a little dense, but delicious.

It was a beautiful day (cooler weather coming in next three days!) so we went to the River House, sat at the bar (which we never do) and chatted with Kelly, Bob and Bill. Dinner was bruschetta - always good - this time with Carolyn's fresh basil and Terri's home-grown garlic. 

Tuesday 15th: AA got off to school, and Ford went back to bed as he said he did not sleep well. Ford somehow scrapped his right leg in the garage, all the cuts on his legs look ugly, hopefully heal up so that I don't need to get him to his PCP.

Physical therapy on Kingsley. We had brunch at Metro Diner. We made Ford's Shepard Pie (hamburger and mashed potatoes). AA volunteered after school NHS tutoring. River House Happy Hour - took our hotdog cooker so Michelle can use it tomorrow (Wednesday) for two RH members 80th birthdays: Jack Wagner and Tom Maughan.

Wednesday 16th: No appointments today! River House for Jack Wagner's 8th birthday party (and Tom Mauhan's too).

After getting Alyzabeth off to school, I started some laundry, washing our bedspread and other clothes, cleaned our white board (manual weekly calendar).

Also, wrote out our Halloween cards, which include AA’s senior pictures and thank you notes for her birthday gifts. I walked Ginger and did usual puttering around the house which includes the dishes, reading, emails etc. we ate lunch at home. Ford made grilled cheese sandwiches with his homemade bread. I totally clean the whiteboard and rewrote all our future appointments on it. I hadn’t done that in quite a while. Alyzabeth came home and ate a leftover grilled cheese sandwich.

It is definitely cooler weather so we headed to the River House to help celebrate Jack Wagner‘s 80th birthday and Tom Mauhan's birthday. We brought our hotdog cooker and Michelle had hotdogs and other food to celebrate. I went to Winn-Dixie and bought some fried chicken and a fruit tray to add to the party food. We sat inside as the wind and the air temperature was very brisk. It was a very nice gathering including Scott Anderson, in a tutu as the birthday angel and also Paul Witt stopped to say hi, Noah’s Uncle. 

Once home Alyzabeth didn’t eat much dinner, she didn’t care for the hotdog or the fried chicken we brought home.  After walking Ginger, we all definitely had our evening slump and it was a quiet evening while Alyzabeth did her homework. She was contacted by a Georgetown alumni in St. Augustine and will have her in person interview this Saturday morning.

Thursday: Another cool morning, love the "fall-ish" weather. After cleaning up, we went to Ford's pre-op appointment at Borland-Groover, his colonoscopy is scheduled for Friday the 25th. Lunch was at Time Out Deli. 

Ginger had her annual physical along with her poop/fecal check.

I posted about wearing leggings for first time, and the LSL shirts Melissa sends to me - weather was a bit cool.

We went back to the RH to pick up our hotdog cooker, drank a glass of red wine, watched the Blue Angels practice up the river.

Our lemons are ripening:

We ate leftover Shepard's pie for dinner. AA met with tutor Laureen and soon it was bedtime!

Friday: We ran errands, Walmart prescriptions, Publix for groceries, deposited AA's new Social Security check.

We were going to Dylan's first dance at DA, but with her HOCO directly afterwards, Leaa suggested we wait for the next performance.

I baked apple crisp, very yummy and AA bought some vanilla ice cream to go on top.

Saturday 19th: Alyzabeth went to her Georgetown interview.

We didn’t sleep in much as we got up at 6:30 as Alyzabeth had her Georgetown interview with an alumnus, Denise Mensh in Saint Augustine at 9:15 AM at the coffee shop KurraBurra. We allowed extra time so arrived in the parking lot at 8:45 AM. 

After Alyzabeth texted the alumni, she left to go to her interview and we drove to the Starbucks, which was at the north end of the strip mall. Leaa and Alivia joined us at 9:25 in the morning and we visited until I got the text to go pick up Alyzabeth. AA said the lady’s daughter attends SAHS. We did chat back at Starbucks for a while learned about Dylan‘s homecoming dance the night before, and her new boyfriend who plays the tuba.  Liv was home for a weekend as she said it’s the only one she can come home for a while so spending the day with her mom Leaa. 

AA got ready for her HOCO dance. See separate post. Orange Park Town Festival was Saturday and Sunday - we did not attend.

Sunday 20th:  I went to church, served communion. I chatted with Hilary on the phone - she was at the car show with Terri, Melissa, Andrew, Britney and Chloe! 

We fixed pork tacos for lunch and I did laundry, more Halloween cards, updating this blog, etc. Ford and I drove to the local Nissen dealer to look at the Kicks car; and then to Subaru Crosstrek. Both are contenders for AA's next car (Larry's Subaru Forester has required lots of work, may trade in and try something else for AA).

We didn't have much for dinner, salsa, guacamole and chips; Ford grilled a cheese and pepperoni sandwich. Watched football, thank goodness the Jaguars won in London against the Patriots! An easy night, proud of AA's Spanish drawing, homework bases on the book they are reading.

Good night!