leder legends

Arie went to the hospital. Oh, what a ride that was!!!  ...and it's not over yet. August 24- a bowel resection because the colon polyps were much worse than before. It was done laprascopically. Three small incisions. Life seemed good! Unfortunately, his bowel function was not good. September 1- back to surgery. ..infection had set in.  The result was not so pretty. A ostomy bag and a large open incision for drainage!  Life was not so good and he was angry.. ..he did get over it. The bowel function took seemingly forever.   There was dancing when it finally worked on Wednesday. September 9- a guy can't get a break. Ready and happy to going home!!! Surgery to reinforce the wound. It did look somewhat prettier after that. September 11- finally home. It's now December 10.  Three months of  living with a new reality. Bathrooms and ostomy supplies are very important. December 15th is the date for the TAKE-DOWN!!! ...

Tante Tini is old.   Next week she will celebrate her 91st birthday. She had a bad fall and very bad care last year and has been bedridden since then. Her mind is good but the processing is slow. Plus there is a significant  hearing loss that she has to deal with that is exacerbated when the batteries in her hearing aides need changing.  Her short term memory is also going.  Life is difficult yet she does not complain.  Last year we thought she was going to die. She was suffering. Her sister suggested that she should just let the Lord take her home.  Tini replied "maybe after my birthday" !  She wanted to celebrate 90 and she did. Last week one of her oldest friends passed away after falling and getting pneumonia.  I think it shocked Tini. She now wants the Lord to take her home. She is old. She is old, immobile,  very hard of hearing,  and totally dependant on others for her wellbeing. Life sucks and yet, she makes the best ...

I am on a plane going from Grand Rapids to Phoenix.  I decided ro write this JUST for MYSELF so that I would have a record of the very very busy month I have had. Please don't read this and think I am wanting sympathy or praise. Better yet don't read it at all. I have a rental that we refurbished 3  yrs ago.  It's a lovely old 2 story home. One drawback is that the stairs between up and down are extremely steep. They would never pass code today but they were grandfathered in. I was happy to find renters 3 years ago, even though they had 2 dogs and we're in a hurry to move in.  They taught me well. They moved in before we were completely done.  I wouldn't recommend that now. I really liked the couple...very nice dog lovers and gardeners.  Who wouldn't love a gardener, right? During the three years they had few complaints and the ones they had we addressed quickly. So now they have moved out...4 weeks ago today. They were desperate to get their deposit...

First family photo

Asher turns one! August 24 Aria enters 1st grade. August 28 First day of 4th grade for Ava. Sept 5 Storman heads to preschool.  He's a Teddy Bear. Sept 5 First child for Andy and Sarah! June Elizabeth Resseguie.                8 lbs 14 oz  August 12 Time flies!!

I got to spend an hour and a half with this special guy this morning.

Probably going to post a lot of these lol.

Jetlag Is it worse east to west or worse west to east?? No matter.  It still happens. Went to bed at 8:00 pm last night (2:00 am european time) and got up at 4:30 am (10:30 am )...that's a good 8 hours of sleep. It's 11:15...time for my morning nap lol

Grandchild number 5 Her name is June Elizabeth She weighed a hefty 8 lbs 14 oz. She is, of course, adorable.

Back home...ahhh The flowers are still blooming, the grass needs cutting, the laundry is calling, the papers we canceled had been delivered, the fridge is still empty but boy did it feel good to sleep in our own bed!! Ahhh!

It's 5:48 AM. The phone rings...it's too early.  The arrival of a very quiet and sleepy grandson.  No interest in food,  toys ...dad got me up way too early. A bottle and then back to bed with his dinosaur.  3 wails of protest and it's been quiet for 45 minutes...so far. Perhaps I should start packing.  We leave at 4:30 this afternoon and the empty suitcase awaits.

Joan and I celebrated with Rose at Gravity last night. Cal paid for the first round of drinks so we had some really cool (and a bit pricey) cocktails...I'm not sure he'll pay me! Rose had a bloody mary with a beer chaser.  It was decorated with an olive and some cheese.  Joan had a blood- orange cocktail and I had a cosmo. Good stuff! Rose and I pigged out on double cheese burgers and Joan had a pizza. We also enjoyed a baklava cheesecake! Pizza...she almost ate it all!! Double cheeseburger and chips! Baklava cheesecake...good but different. Cheers! On the Sunday night before, we celebrated on her deck with shrimp, cheese fondue and birthday cake I hear she had a steak dinner the next evening!   Then one more event with a few friends who also have July bdays... Talk about a very celebrated birthday!!

Renting out an apartment is time consuming.  I'm hoping that the new tenants will stay as long as this last one.   The yard looks good and the basement has been cleaned out but a fter two years, the apartment really needs a painting and a good cleaning.  The windows needs washing and some screens need repairing.  I have the fourth showing tonight.  I'm not sure I have found the right tenant yet.   The new tenant has to live beneath Jxx who makes no excuses for his noise because according to him, everyone else is probably more at fault than he is.  He also claims the walls are paper thin and if he can hear the conversations of the tenants below as if they are in the same room then they can put up with his noise.  Then he says he is losing his hearing and so has the right to have his TV turned way up...and it's unreasonable to use headphones (even blue-tooth ones). He seems to feel he has the right to dictate to who...

Nathania had a baby shower for the new baby R.  Good games, great food, lots of fun.

So a month on the road is behind me.  I've been back an entire week and one day. The yard is ablaze with color --after all it is July and that's when the day lilies bloom. Lots of varieties and lots of buds!

I took the redeye from Anchorage...painful. The yard survived...it just needs some TLC It's nap time

...and I'm off  6:00 AM tomorrow morning A flight to Ft Worth and the beginning of a LONG road trip. Sarah has to get to Anchorage with the car, their stuff (at least what will fit in the car) and the dog. She is 6 months pregnant so Nathania and I are driving with her and the stuff.  Nathania will leave us in Seattle and Sarah and I will head up into BC etc.  It should be a fabulous (albeit very long) road trip. I wonder what the yard will look like when I get back??? Shudder...

Memorial day Memorial day was memorable...but just for me.  I was bone tired at 6:00 PM and was fortunate to be able to take a short nap before R and C came over to sit on the deck and relax.  It was only yesterday and I am having a lot of trouble remembering exactly what I did.  That I can't remember is more upsetting than doing all that work.  I know for certain that I was up by 7:00 I ran to Lowes to get a cheap roller cover and paintbrush and then proceeded to put a second coat of paint on the deck. It is looking pretty good. I went to visit a lady from church-we get together every Monday at 10:30. Even though it was a holiday, I felt I needed to stop by (45 min) because I am leaving on Friday for Ft Worth.  I'll be back July 2. We had a nice visit. Then the heavy work started. I weeded, planted, transplanted, watered and watered (because the promise of rain did not materialize).  I put away all the garden tools and pails, pots and buckets. Genera...

A few more blooms in the yard before I start showing the July day lilies. Columbine,  baptisia, meadow sweet and the first peony.