Spring Snows

Speaking of the weather, ours has been a little odd this last week. Several times we have had snow in the lowlands. Both my mom (in Lacey) and Jozi (in Centralia) had the white stuff cover their ground and stick. It melted fairly quickly though as it really is getting too warm for this.

I personally saw it snow 2 or 3 times in the last week. On Friday it was snowing hard as I left my doctor's office. I started to whip out my camera to take a picture of it snowing on the blooming cherry trees but then I realized I had left the camera at the office. No worries, though, I'm not the only one who had this idea. Kim of Seattle Daily Photo took a beautiful photograph of the snow and spring blossoms in Seattle. To see her photo click here and scroll down a little.

I love watching it snow, especially at this time of year when it is sure not to stick or cause grave traffic troubles. But many people had the reaction that they've had it with winter and are ready for spring to come. How about you? Did you get any snow?

Under the Weather

I managed to come down with "the crud" this week. On Monday I felt some twinges like I was getting a sore throat. By Tuesday afternoon my throat was hurting pretty badly. On Wednesday it had progressed to a full on cold with sneezing and coughing.

Thursday I not only had to stay home from work but I even missed my volunteer responsibilities with Debt Clinic. You know I'm sick when I miss Debt Clinic! Fortunately another clinic assistant stepped in for the evening. It's a good thing I didn't try to do it myself - by that evening I was wheezing. I have asthma and whenever I get a cold there's a risk that it will go to my lungs. Sleeping became difficult between the wheezing and coughing.

On Friday I finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with asthmatic bronchitis. I still have the sore throat and my doctor found fluid in my ears. She gave me some antibiotics in case it got worse over the weekend and of course inhalers for the wheezing and something for the cough.

I'm feeling better now, almost having the wheezing under control. My cough doesn't sound quite so scary and I can sleep through the night. I think I'm going to be well enough to have the dentist clean my teeth tomorrow. Darn!

Our Easter

We had a really great Easter and I hope you all did too. This was despite a drenching of rain that threatened to soak us to the bone!

We arrived in Olympia about 9:30 and picked up Mom to take her to church. Her church is in a temporary facility while they build a new church and this was the first time we had been to this location. Mom hasn't been to church in quite a while because of her previous injuries. We had to make sure she was strong enough to walk from the car into the building without her walker and wouldn't get too tired from sitting through a service. She is finally strong enough and will probably be attending regularly again after this week.

Everyone at Mom's church was happy to see her. She got lots of big hugs from many people who had missed her. It was a good sermon and the pastor really seemed to enjoy giving it. (This is a pentecostal church and expression of joy is probably more liberal than in some other denominations.) Mom is too hard of hearing to actually hear the words of the sermon but she can tell when someone is having a good time. Because the pastor and everyone else was enjoying the sermon, so did Mom! She told me later in the day that she was happy to see that her friends at church hadn't forgotten her. Of course they hadn't!

After church we returned to Mom's house where we met my sister Jozi and nephew Charlie. Jozi knows Mom loves little squirrels so she brought her a squirrel figurine for Easter. Mom went crazy for it. In fact she positively squealed! She kept saying over and over again "Ohhh, it's so cute!!" Then she started telling Jozi all about how much she will love Cabela's when we go and that the squirrel reminds her of some of the animals they have there.


Jozi and I recently got new "used" computers and I promised to help get hers set up. Jozi brought her peripherals (keyboard, mouse, etc.) so I could do that. After we transferred her computer gear to my car we all went off to the Chinese buffet for our holiday meal. Yes, it's a bit untraditional but we enjoy it and the most important thing is to spend time together.

One reason I love going to the Chinese buffet is to watch Mom fill her plate twice with lots of good food and eat it all down. Walter once said we could easily get her back to her pre-illness weight by taking her to the buffet every day. Well sure that's a great idea, but you know who else would gain weight at the same time?? Those of us who don't need to! I think we will stick to a couple times a month at the buffet. :)

After our buffet meal we went to Fred Meyer to pick up a few things then returned to Mom's house for some visiting. José and Melissa were going to meet us there but it took longer than we expected before we got home and we missed them. They left a lovely Easter card and a cute Easter bunny figurine from Melissa on Mom's porch. Mom loved them both and now she had two new decorations for her home. We had to call Melissa to thank her.

We had a great time, and more importantly Mom had a great time. Mom has had a hard time with holidays ever since my Dad passed away, and this is the first holiday where she has actually enjoyed herself. She told me with a big smile that "we had a good Easter even though it rained" and "It was just great to be with everybody!" This morning when I spoke to her she told me again how much she enjoyed it. This is the same woman who ever since Dad passed away would say at every holiday "I don't really want to celebrate any more - he's gone." That turnaround is a flat out miracle.

Charlie took this picture of Jozi, Mom, Walter and me. I always feel like I tower over Jozi and Mom (probably because they are the only people I know shorter than me) but you can see that "towering" is a relative word. In fact, it probably applies only to Walter here.

Mom Doing Well / Happy Easter to All

I am pleased to report that my mother's health has taken a turn for the better these last couple of months. She had two falls in January but her injuries (cut leg and sore bones) have healed well and she is feeling a bit stronger each day.

Even her eating has improved. Here are a couple of examples.

Mom receives Meals on Wheels at her home three days a week. We started that back in late November. I had hopes it would help with her eating because sometimes she just doesn't know what to fix. When we first started the meals she wasn't too excited about the idea. I think it reminded her that she was frail and this was like "medicine" for her. But as time passed she started to look forward to seeing the volunteers who brought her meals. And then she started looking forward to what they might bring her.

I would say these meals are like the size of a small to medium frozen dinner. Not huge really, but a good variety of foods and nutritious. Some of them she likes, some she doesn't care as much for. At first she was eating only some of the meals saving the rest for later because "it was too much." Then I noticed she was eating pretty much whatever they brought her. Last time I saw her eat one of those meals (a week or so ago) she also got some frozen chicken pieces out of her freezer and heated them in the microwave because the meal they provided "wasn't enough." Yay!!

When we go to Olympia once a week to help out Mom we are busy running errands and don't really fix meals at home so we frequently take advantage of fast food drive-thru. Wendy's is a favorite because they have some healthy options for sides - not just fries. Mom likes their chicken nuggets and because it was hard to get her to finish a meal I got in the habit of getting her a kids meal. It's a smaller portion but with the side (usually fruit) she gets a nice meal. About 3 weeks ago Mom was looking at the menu board while we went through the drive-thru. She told me after we got home that "next time you can get me the full meal of 10 pieces!" Oh! So next time I did just that, and not only did she consume it all, she went to her fridge and added her own fruit to it since the "adult" meal didn't come with it.

At her last doctor appointment Mom was up to 95 pounds. Coming back from about 81-1/2 pounds at one point in November, that is like a miracle to me.

Tomorrow morning we are taking Mom to church, then going out to a buffet with Mom and with my sister Jozi. Mom had such a good time at Cabela's a few weeks ago that she asked to go there again after the buffet. We were all looking forward to it. But today I checked online and found that Cabela's isn't open on Easter so we'll have to do that another time soon. This will just leave more time for visiting with José and Melissa who are coming over in the afternoon.

What are your plans for Easter? I hope you have a great day spent with your family and loved ones. Happy Easter!!

José and Melissa Visiting Mom

My nephew José recently returned to the Lacey/Olympia area. He and his girlfriend Melissa visit Mom every Sunday. Last week they came over on Monday while Walter and I were there too. José was picking up some tools Mom had been saving for him. These are tools that used to belong to my dad. We had a good visit and of course I took some pictures.

Here is a photo of José with Dad's footlocker after hoisting it into the back of the truck. I believe this was Dad's old Army footlocker that he repainted. Some of the tools are inside.
Grandma and grandson:


José and Melissa:

Mom with Melissa and José:


Aunt Carmelita gets in on the act:

Mom at Cabela's

Mom has been feeling pretty well lately. Well enough that I decided she had the stamina for a trip to Cabela's. When Mom was younger she used to love hunting and fishing. I knew she would love Cabela's and all the animals on display there.

She wasted no time walking right up to the "mountain" full of animals and checking them out.

Here she is viewing a new exhibit with prairie dogs.

Wow, there were LOTS of prairie dogs!

This little guy made us laugh.

After seeing the animals we enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant upstairs.

Mom said she really enjoyed her trip to Cabela's. It's a short drive from Mom's house so we will have to visit there again sometime.

I Am Behind

Hi folks. It's been quiet here once again due to my busy schedule. What's been going on? Mom is doing well but work has kept me too occupied to post. Last Monday we took Mom to Cabela's - that was a hoot. I will upload pictures as soon as I get a chance.