Then and Now

The picture on top was taken around the year 2000, where Nick would have been 10. 18 years later...
we tried to 're-enact' the first photo. That meant Nick had to crouch down a bit! (He's much taller than me in reality!)

Xmas Eve pt3

Katherine kept calling the little Santa "topo gigio," referencing the movie "The Santa Clause."

Finally got the four of them together for a picture!

Christmas Even '18, pt 2

Atticus has been with us 1 year today! 

He's quite a handful.

I gave Mike a set of different maple syrups.

One of Jamie's gifts was a Jurassic Park lunchbox. He was a fan as a kid and I thought this would bring back memories.

Christmas Eve

Katherine and Megan

Jamie

Katherine 

Julie

Jimmy Glover and Michael

Megan and Nick

Enjoying our traditional scungilli dinner.

More Tree Dec Pix

The Kids Decorate OurTree

Michael and Katherine came by to help decorate the tree. Actually, they did  most of the decorating and I just hung and ornament or two. Mike did a lot of earlier work in that he had to cut branches so the trunk would fit in our new stand. (We had to buy one because the one we've been using for years cracked!)

Michael

Mike and Katherine

Clare and Mike

Dinner with Friends

Patty got reservations for us at the Milleridge Inn. It is pretty much a Christmas miracle because this place is really, really hard to book.

It was so pretty, all decorated for Christmas. There were even carolers in Dickensian costume!

Me and Patty. We also walked around outside where there are shops. I got a cute bear shelf-sitter. Most of the things are too expensive.

More pictures to come!

Atticus attacks the candy dish

Atticus practically snorted the ribbon candy I put on the table. I guess because catnip and mint are closely related?

Good thing nobody eats ribbon candy, anyway.

We choose our tree

Michael and Katherine came with Mike and me to get our tree. Katherine's new boyfriend, Jeff, came too. He seemed more relaxed this time than when I first met him. He's got a sense of humor to match my daughter's. I hope he is finally 'the one.' We'll see.

I usually am happy with one of the first trees we look at, but Mike is more of a compare-and-contrast type. So we go over a few but usually end up with our 2nd or 3rd choice.

Katherine and Jeff

Michael and Jeff

I should go over past "get tree" posts and compare how much we have changed over the years!

More Things I Forgot

Jamie turned 32 years old on November 1st. (I didn't forget the birthday, just to post it.) Mike made him a nice scungilli dinner, which is one of Jamie's favorite foods.

On another day, James was lamenting that a copy of "Watership Down" cost him $20. I gave him a twenty and said that now it was a birthday gift. Jamie remembers me reading WD to him and to Nick when they were little. It was around the time after his accident, so he would have been about 8 when he first heard it. I would sit on the floor while the boys were in their bunkbeds and read. Didn't matter that it's not a children's book; I think they just liked the sound of my voice.

Hmmm, what else? My damn knee is acting up again so I start PT again on Tuesday. PT was really helping but unfortunately I'm not at 100%. So annoying, especially since I have so much to do.

Started decorating the house and gathering materials for cookie baking. I have to look over the gifts I have bought and see what I have for whom.

We will be doing a sit-down dinner on Christmas Eve rather than our big party. We stopped a year ago because it was just getting to be too much.

I'm sure there are other things to write about but I just can't think of any at the moment.

Katherine is 34

Katherine had requested beef stroganoff for her birthday, which was November 9th. But she wanted to invite 5 people and it's just too much for me these days. She agreed to the alternative: Chinese buffet.

But our favorite place was closed down!

Happily, there is another place. A little farther away, but very enjoyable. The only real glitch was the fact we were having torrential rain. Still, everyone showed up and we all had a good time.

Just Atticus

Just pictures of my silly cat.

Today is Halloween. We met John and Noreen for lunch then we went to Bob's Discount Furniture and ordered a chair for me. I am glad to be getting it because it is hard for me to get in and out of my old chair. I have had knee problems--saw the knee doctor last week and started PT today. My PT guy (Brett) says he believes this is a muscular problem and should be easy to fix.I hope he is right--I don't want to face another surgery!

Mike is handling most of the Trick-or-Treaters because going up and down stairs is hard for me. 

I forgot a few things

I thought I'd written about some lately  news but I guess I didn't.

Michael turned 36 on October 11th. We went to dinner at Catfish Annie's, our favorite seafood restaurant, and I also made him Western Hospitality Casserole (by request) on Saturday. Megan joined us for the home dinner.

The other big news is that Katherine's friends, Theresa and Rob, got married. It was a beautiful reception and Theresa looked so pretty. Katherine was her maid of honor.

I will blog more pics as I move them from my phone.

Atlantic City

Mike and I joined John and Noreen for a trip to our favorite vacation place. Atlantic City in October is interesting, as there are few or no kids around (all in school) and you don't have to wait too long to get on favorite machines.

I was on a pretty good winning streak on Thursday. I even won a mini jackpot. Just $10 but it was fun. I actually came home with money in  my wallet, which rarely happens.

We had a room with an ocean view:

Me, trying to take a selfie with the ocean behind me.

The sunrise was beautiful.

The only bad thing is that my snoring was keeping Mike awake. I took the cover off the bed and camped out in the bathroom. I wish I could fix this problem.

We were supposed to come home Saturday Morning, but I threw the idea at Mike to just go home Friday evening. We don't do much when we go home in the morning, anyway. And I thought we both needed to be in our own house. We sometimes sleep separately just to get some real shut-eye.

It was just a quick trip, but one we enjoyed and really needed. Mike is almost 100% better but his recent health problems took a toll on him.

As for me, tomorrow I see my primary to make sure my BP meds are working. Then later in the afternoon, I see my knee doctor because now my right knee is hurting. God, I hope I don't need surgery.

Oh, and Julie has another damned ear infection. We drop her off at the vet at 9 a.m. tomorrow. It will be a day of 3 different doctors.

Mike

Although the prostate/bladder problem is pretty much under control, Mike's back still hurts. We keep trying things but nothing really makes it go away. Unfortunately, I think this is one of those things that will resolve itself whenever it feels like it, and all we can do is wait.

Mike's Health Issues

Mike pulled one of his lat muscles about 2 weeks ago. It wouldn't get better, so he went to a clinic and got some muscle relaxers. Then he realized he was having to 'go' more frequently than usual, so he looked up the side effects of the meds.

Turns out it isn't recommended if you have an enlarged prostate, which he has. So he stopped taking it, but then he was unable to go at all this whole weekend.

I have never seen him in such pain. We finally went to the ER. Katherine drove us in my care so we could walk in while she parked.

When Mike was in the exam room, I realized he had a 'pot belly,' something he doesn't usually have! It was actually his bladder that was so full. They used a catheter to drain it, and found he had roughly 3x the urine in his bladder than normal. Just having that done made such a difference. He came home with the catheter attached and a bag taped to his leg.

He was able to see a urologist today, who took out the catheter. He's on antibiotics because he has a UTI, too.

Mike's back is starting to feel better, and now that the bladder problem is resolved he should be on the mend. He's got some other meds, too. All I know is, I felt so bad being unable to do anything for him.

BTW, the emergency room is so much nicer than when I used to go there. The waiting room has comfortable chairs with a water station for drinks. Each patient is actually taken to a room rather than one of those curtained-off areas, so it is very private. Katherine told me she also had no trouble parking. Used to be you'd have to circle around a few times until someone left!

Just glad the weekend is over and Mike is feeling better.

At the Pond

There is a nice park not far from where we live, with a big man made 'lake' in the middle. Mike discovered last year that it was full of turtles! He brought me there but there was so much algae all you could see was their little noses poking up through the surface for air.

Not this year, though. Got to see them myself. They are pretty big, too, maybe 8 inches to 12 inches long. A little boy was throwing cracker crumbs to them. Next time, I'll have to bring something for them. The turtles were swimming to the crackers like they had radar!

My Mom, Before She Was "Mom"

My cousin sent this picture to my sister. We aren't sure of the date but pretty certain it is before sh got married, which would put it in her early 20s. I love the luxurious hair (she set it almost every day until shortly before she passed) and the 1940s bathing suit!

Could she ever have imagined there was 70 years of life ahead?

Attie, post op

He's doing fine, but a little loopy. He HATES the collar.

Later: he got it off 3 times and it is a bear to put back on again, so we are just letting him go without it. He isn't licking at his stitches so I guess this is okay.

Next day: Seems back 100% but licking stitches so I decided to give him his pain meds. Now he is sleeping on the couch.

Pet News

We had Julie and Atticus to the vet last week to update their rabies shots. Attie got his but Julie couldn't because of an ear infection. I have been putting medicine in her ears. We go back today and hopefully they will be able to give Julie her rabies shot.

Atticus got into the neighbor's yard again and it was a production to get him out. It is beastly hot here and I just can't stay outside keeping an eye on him, so he's stuck indoors for a while. Attie is NOT happy and yowls at the backdoor enough to break your heart.

He's going in at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow to be neutered. Poor thing, it is lucky he doesn't know what's going to happen to him.

I hope they don't shave too much of his beautiful tail.

Happiest News

Michael and Megan are engaged! He proposed to her while we were on a trip to Atlantic City.

He presented it in a silver rose box (on a stem!) after a ride on the big Ferris wheel. One o'clock in the morning, so of course I slept through the message he sent out. Megan says he even got on one knee. Who would have thought my oldest boy would be such a romantic?

My daughter and Me

Taken at her friend Theresa's Bridal shower in early June: