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August 30, 2004
August 28, 2004
What's the latest?
Here is an update of what is going on here. More or less. If I leave holes, please ask questions.
1. Gramma is going to have back surgery September 23 on her back. They are going to release her to come home after only 3 days, but she needs 6 weeks to recuperate. This makes a challenging situation, as you can see. The issue is Grampa, of course. He can't be left alone and to put him in a nursing home for two months would be quite expensive. Uncle Gene will ge arriving shortly before the surgery, so that will help. The nurse at the VA suggested that Grampa could have about two weeks at Brecksville, which would see Gramma through the actual surgery. I hope Gramma uses this option. Say some prayers that her surgery is successful
2. Daddy will be starting school on Monday. Exciting! a little scary, but exciting. A little stressful, but exciting.
3. Well, what is happening in my life? Well, I still have a job. This is a good thing. Lakeland is going through some changes, and the Women's Center is caught up in the Malstrom. So we don't know what is going to be tomorrow. One day we are Outreach, now we are Access, though we are not sure what the difference is, or who we are providing Access to. Last week we were to earn at least 50% of our expenses, now we are not expected to make income and are 'out of the class business.' So what are we supposed to do? Good questions. I suppose when they figure it out (they, being those upstream from us, who have no real idea of what we actually do), they will tell us and we will adjust the way we talk about what we do to fit what they expect us to do. I don't suspect tht we will really change what we do.
4. I've been working on a quilted jacket made with several different fabrics, including some fabric that Mensch brought back from The Gambia. This is a larger project then I have taken on before and sort of exciting -- and scary. Do you see a pattern here?
5. What else? Mark and Mara have returned, though not to Mentor. Unfortunately, the reason is that Gus, Mark's father has had a heart attack. I don't know his condition, but will post what I know when I do.
6. Mendon is off to school. Oh, that's right, you know that. But it has ramifications here too; not all the action is where he is. Only it really is. Lord, we are boring people . . .
My love to you all
August 26, 2004
Well, I think it may have worked
I think the problem is that I have dial-up. (no big surprise there, right Nae?) Of course, I'm not quite sure which of the pictures I put up, so there may be more. This is kind of exciting, if it works!
Mercy is a good mother and totally besotted with Little Aria, who is as cute and sweet as they come. And she likes me! I like that part too. Here's another one . . .
Okay, this is what you get instead . . .
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, support@luxsci.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Sorry. I'll try again another night.
August 25, 2004
Mercy's shower
I'm going to try to post some pictures of the shower. Wish me luck!
Well, okay, I won't. But if someone would care to share with me the technique, maybe, just maybe, you will be rewarded with photos. Here is what I tried to do. I clicked on upload file, located the picture file I wanted to post and then got stuck. Nothing else I did seemed to make a difference.
Shhhh. . . Don't tell anyone!
Today is Rae's birthday! Shhh. . . don't tell her I told you so.
August 22, 2004
Back to Basics
Well, it is back to just me and Daddy. Well, he's not my Daddy, and depending if you are one of my children or not, he may or may not be your Daddy either. It is all very confusing, but shows how we tend to define ourselves ond others by roles rather than who we really are, which is a whole different subject.
The point is that Mendon is now at Miami and we are at home alone, so to speak. And, I sort of hate to say this, but it feels really good. When Mendon first went to Louhelen last year and then to The Gambia, there was an adjustment period, but this time we seem to have slipped right into the groove.
We had a nice visit with Ann and Rich Grove (is he Grove, or is only Ann Grove?) and feast at their house Friday night. Then on Saturday morning Ann had to go to work and Rich went somewhere else and Amina, Whitney, Eli and Rhonda came over and visited for a while. It was so good to see them. They have left the house and are putting it on the market. It will cost them a bundle because they will have to pay back the government for all their "help". Such help a body could do without! Anyway, Whitney is working full time and thinking of becoming a nurse. Amina is almost finished-- one quarter and one course that is only offered in the Spring. Rhonda has moved to Indiana to stay with her mother, who was recently widowed. And Elijah is cute as can be and all boy- go, go, go! His hair as started to come in, very blond and curly in the back, but the bangs are straight. He has these deep brown eyes and looks so intently from them. Amina was not feeling her usual energetic self, but was doing remarkable well for having spent Thursday night in the ER and being diagnosed with viral menegitis. (She's fine, really, just sore and tired.)
Anyway, yesterday I finally finished Lefthand of Darkness. I think I am too old to read Ursula K. LaGuin. I really couldn't quite get into it. I'm sure there was a commentary there on brotherhood, tolerance, equality or something, but it was just too much to wade through. I want to read words I know, not learn a new language that will only be used in this short span of time and space. Too much like work.
Mara, you asked about how the visit with Kristen's mum went. Well, if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't. I don't want to step outside my comfort zone. And I was. You know what happens when I feel socially uncomfortable -- I go all formal, falling back on my upbringing. Well, that makes me look like a pompous ass and does nothing to make others feel comfortable. I just hope that our paths keep crossing so that I can finally feel comfortable and relax and let me be me. Not something I trust. Anybody know where I can get a personality transplant?
August 15, 2004
Meet the Parents
Here it is, 9:15 on a Sunday morning. All is pretty quiet here. Daddy is putzing in the kitchen, Mendon is sleeping and I am on the computer. I am faced with a moral dilemma.
Today, later this afternoon, we are going to go over to Kristen’s house to meet her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. No stress there! But that isn’t the dilemma. The dilemma is what to bring.
When Linda (Kristen’s mother) called to extend the invitation, I asked what I should bring. (Not my first instinct, but isn’t this how Gramma raised me? I mean, did I get the Midwestern thing wrong? So far, so good?) Linda’s response was that I could bring some dessert.
Okay, first dilemma. I am still trying to lose a little more weight and so desserts have become, well, dangerous and forbidden territory. So, I thought maybe I could compromise (I know, that spells disaster right there.) First I thought maybe a good melon would make a nice dessert. Kristen advised me that her mother was likely to incorporate melon in the meal and wouldn’t see that as a dessert. Okay, so I went to Cooking Light and found what sounded like a good recipe, except that it used low-fat, no sugar instant pudding, low-fat brownie mix made with egg whites and several containers of Cool-Whip. You get the picture. Not what I think of as food. Then I tried a more recent issue and found Meringue Raspberry sorbet sandwiches. Right up my alley. Great stuff.
But Mensch wants me to make Schmeeze. Now we all love Schmeeze. But there are several problems with Schmeeze.
One. It is a heart attack in a spoon, therefore Daddy objects to it (and with good reason!).
Two. One bowl will cost a dress size. ‘Nuf said.
Three. It is made with raw eggs. Not even remotely cooked.
Both Linda and the Mark, her boyfriend, are health professionals and object to raw eggs in food. (I bet they both use Miracle Whip!) Now, I could make Schmeeze and just not tell them what is in it, but that feels like the wrong way to start what could be a long-term relationship. Plus, how would I feel if someone used alcohol in a dish, assuming that I couldn’t tell and would never know and what I didn’t know wouldn’t hurt me? I would be pretty upset, that’s how I would feel.
So, what to do? I wish I had posted this blog last weekend so I could have gotten some feedback in enough time to do something about it.
And the Schmeeze? It calls for Super fine sugar. You can make your own in the blender, but it is easier to buy it. Well, not really. I had to try 4 stores before I found it. It seems that no one carries it anymore. So I have all the ingredients. . .
Of course, I suspect that all this agony has nothing to do with the dessert.
August 8, 2004
Family Reunion
Well, today was the famed Baloun Family reunion. It was Thom and Barbara's turn to host.
We ended up having it at their house, which was a very good thing. We had plenty of room for socializing and all the comforts of home -- their home. They installed a very nice pool earlier this summer. I really think that neither Grampa nor Aunt Marcy could have managed if we had been at the park. Neither came off the deck around the pool. Poor Grampa went inside and slept most of the day. We had to wake him up to take him home and he was so disoriented. When we got home, he was all dizzy and lost his lunch. Poor thing. I felt so bad for him. We did manage to take a group photo, though neither Grampa (asleep in the chair) nor Cousin Johnny (had to go to work) were in it. I will post as soon as a) Dave and Candy send it to me and b) I figure out how to do it. (This is everyone's hint to send me tips. Mara told me once, but I couldn't get it to work. The photo took too long to load -- like hours?)
Not too many of the next generation (yours) were able to make it. Mendon brought Kristen -- brave girl. Nadine and John's 3 kids were all there and of course, Scotty's two and Thom's two, but that was it. Neither of Dave and Candy's and no sign of any of Karen's crew.
Uncle Gene called and we passed around the phone. It looks like maybe he won't be coming with the girls after all, though he might come alone. It has been a real bureaucratic nightmare (worthy of the French?!) getting them visas to visit. And, frankly, with Gramma and Grampa in their current conditions, it just isn't the wise thing to do.
Now, this brings me to a totally different place and subject. End of life. If any of you have any issues with me that you want clear up before I die, this is the time to do it. No, I am not planning on dying soon, but I would rather get these things out of the way now while I have energy to deal with them and can devote the necessary attention. Same goes for any issues between you guys (yes, in Dornbrook lingo that include females).
I think there was something else, but I have forgotten. I guess I do need to tell you that Gramma is going to have back surgery. We are not quite sure what this is going to mean or who it will play out. We are looking at how to care for Grampa while Gramma is recovering. I will keep you posted.