On Tuesday, 12/1, I wrapped some Christmas presents in the afternoon after visiting with Dad in the morning. On Wednesday, 12/2, I was joined at the rehabilitation center with my brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Mary. After our visit, we went by the cabin for a short time and then Rick and I and Bill and Mary drove east on State Road 40 to have lunch at the Blackwater Inn on the Saint Johns River. You can learn more about this location at their website www.blackwaterinn.com
We said our goodbyes after lunch and they continued on to the Daytona Beach area to see our niece, Melissa and her son, Michael, and then go to choir practice at the church they attended when they lived in the area. On Thursday, 12/3, Rick and I went in to town after I returned from visiting with Dad to buy a tabletop Christmas tree and some other decorations for the cabin.
On Friday, 12/4, I visited with Dad in the morning. It has become our habit to work on one crossword puzzle each morning. I dropped off a Christmas package for him on my way back to the cabin to be mailed to a friend’s grandson, Wesley.
After that, Rick and I drove to Ormond Beach to spend the night with his mother and brother. She had asked me last week to take her Christmas shopping for her “boys” the next time I was there. On Saturday, 12/5, it didn’t take long for her to pick up the gifts she wanted. Then Rick and I went to the store to buy a Keurig Coffee maker with the gift card that she gave him for his birthday. In the afternoon we watched conference championship football games on TV while a pork roast gave the house a wonderful smell as it cooked in the crockpot. We returned to the cabin in the early evening in time to watch the ACC Championship game where the #1 Clemson Tigers beat the North Carolina Tarheels.
We slept late on Sunday, 12/6. Rick drove me in to the rehab center and then went to do a little “stocking stuffer” shopping. We ate lunch on the way back to the cabin and then watched pro ball in the afternoon. I visited with Dad on Monday morning, 12/7, and was disappointed to learn that the center’s dietitian has put him back on the feeding tube for 20 hours per day. This decision was based upon the fact that he continues to lose weight. He now weighs 136 pounds. Although he can safely eat and drink anything he wants, he just doesn’t have any desire to eat.
Rick and I returned to Palmetto in the afternoon and joined Kellie at Vanessa’s Christmas concert at Manatee High School that evening. After the concert, Kellie went home while Rick and I took Vanessa out to eat a late supper at O’Bricks in Bradenton. On Tuesday, 12/8, Rick went to see the doctor for a general check-up and I went to the dentist. We met Bill at Ruth at the Blu Mangrove Restaurant for lunch. When we told Bill that we were going to buy a couple of toys to donate to the Toys for Tots collection at the yacht club tonight, he asked Rick to buy a couple for him to donate as well. We took the 4 toys with us to the Bradenton Yacht Club’s Power Fleet dinner meeting where we received a raffle ticket for each donation. At the end of the evening, Bill’s ticket won a bottle of red wine in thanks for the donation to Toys for Tots. On Wednesday, 12/9, I paid a few of Dad’s medical bills that I had brought with me. We met Bill and Ruth for supper at the Riverside Café where we gave them the bottle that they won.
I left Rick at the boat on Thursday, 12/10, and drove to Ocala to the Rehabilitation Center to spend the afternoon with Dad. Then, I stopped by the grocery store on the way to the cabin to pick up some pineapple juice for him. (One of the few things that we have found that he likes.) The evening was spent going over more of Dad’s bills, playing a few games on the computer and updating the diary that I use for the blog. I visited with Dad on Friday, 12/11, morning before driving back to Palmetto. We met Bill and Ruth for supper at the Riverside Café.
I slept late on Saturday, 12/12, Rick and I ran some errands in the afternoon and then went to the Bradenton Yacht Club to meet Ken and Jackie and their daughters and sons-in-law for a scrumptious buffet dinner and to watch the annual lighted boat parade. I have included just one picture. There were 17 boats in this year’s parade.
One of Jackie’s daughters won a raffle of 4 tickets to a football game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando next Saturday. After church on Sunday, 12/13, we met Bill and Ruth at the tiki bar of the Reef and Grille restaurant to have a bite to eat and watch the Buccaneers play the Saints. Unfortunately, the Bucs lost to the Saints by one touchdown’s score. We had some delicious chicken wings from the Blu Mangrove for supper.
Monday morning, 12/14, Rick and I drove to the Ocala Health Rehabilitation Center, where Rick dropped me off just before noon. While Dad and I were visiting, an old family friend and neighbor, Carol Martin, stopped by the cabin to see Rick. When he told her that he was trying to find a place to fix the brakes on Dad’s truck, she suggested Taylor’s garage. After she left, Rick went looking for this garage out in the forest on County Road 314 about 7 miles south of State Road 40 (the main highway between Ormond Beach and Ocala.) Mr. Taylor said that he could go to work on the truck right away if Rick brought it in the next day. Rick drove the 20 miles back into the rehab center from the cabin later in the afternoon to pick me up and we stopped for an early supper at Sonny’s Barbeque on the way back out into the forest. On Tuesday, 12/15, we had a brief visit from Laura Swartz (another neighbor) before dropping off Dad’s truck at Taylor’s garage and continuing on to the Rehab Center. I was surprised to find that Nick and Linda Krupa were early visitors to Dad this morning. Dad raced motorcycles for many years and Nick raced in many of the same events. They also were members of the same motorcycle club in Daytona Beach as well. Dad recognized Nick and Linda but he was very confused about many of the things going on around him. He seemed much better yesterday. I brought in two Christmas cards that had come in the mail. One was from Tim, Janine and Tara Langford. It had a beautiful picture of Tara (their daughter) with snow in her hair. When they came to visit Dad on the day after Thanksgiving, they told us that she was in Russia teaching thanks to a Fulbright scholarship. It looked like the picture was taken in Russia. He also received a “newsy” card from a fellow who worked many years for the telephone company (as did Dad). Ken Estabrook and his wife Barbara included many pictures of themselves with their family members and riding through the mountains on their motorcycle.
I left when Dad went into physical therapy around 10:30 and we returned to Palmetto. We visited with JP and Emma for a short time in the afternoon. He ran in a 50K ultra marathon over the weekend. He did well, running 31.5miles in 5 and half hours. I called one of Dad’s old telephone company friends, Bob Wimmer, to give him a report on Dad’s progress. I spoke to Dad’s friend, Beverly, on Wednesday, 12/16, morning. She told me that her daughter had told her that Wesley called the rehab center to thank Dad for the Christmas present that he sent but it didn’t seem like Dad recognized them. Rick and I have decided to declare Wednesday’s as “Us” days. We will try to do something different or special on this day of the week. This Wednesday, 12/17, Rick surprised me by taking me up to St. Petersburg Beach for lunch at the Wharf Restaurant in Pass-a-grille.
The specific tests are made to determine carrier status and thus can say that we are cialis 40 mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/12/02/mr-chokepear-keeps-merry-christmas/ dealing with a genetic etiology polyneuropathy.
The Wharf Pass-A-Grille
2001 Pass-A-Grille Way
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
(727) 367-9469
Their website, http://wharfrestaurant.org says, “Come by Boat, Car or Trolley!”
This is not a fancy place by any stretch of the imagination, but what a pleasant lunch we had sitting on the outside porch overlooking the intracoastal waterway that runs between the small town of Pass-a-grille and an island called Vina del Mar. The area holds many pleasant memories for us. We lived on Vina del Mar for about a year in 1983/84 after moving from Tallahasee to the St. Petersburg area. Rick was working for the cable company at the St. Pete office and I was working as a construction secretary for the company building the public safety complex in Bradenton for the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners. After lunch, we drove over the bridge onto the island and by the house that we rented all those years ago. The landlady never would do anything to repair it when we lived there and it looks like she has continued that policy through the years- ugh! But, the weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 80s and we really enjoyed our afternoon together.
We were back on the road Thursday, 12/17, morning driving to the Ocala Forest to pick up Dad’s truck with new brakes and calipers on both the front and back ends. I followed Rick back to the cabin and then went in to visit with Dad. Among other things, Rick spent a little time watching the squirrels and their antics on the “squirligig” that he built in a tree near the front porch.
You will probably have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the details of this contraption. Years ago, Dad built a more refined version of this. Rick took a small part of a 2×4 and nailed it to the tree. Then he bolted a 3 or 4 foot board to that. The bolt allows the wood to swing all the way around. He attached pieces of wire to the each end. He buys dried corn from the local feed store, drills a whole in each ear and then bolts them on. The squirrel goes from the tree down to the balanced board then makes his way to the end of the board (which causes it to tilt down). Then the squirrel reaches as far as he can to get to the ear of corn to eat. It gets pretty funny when two squirrel are on it at the same time, often causing it to “helicopter” and slinging the squirrels through the air with a safe landing on the ground. Dad named the original “Squirligig” after a back-yard merry-go-round that my brother and I played on in the late 50s. It was called a whirligig. I found a picture of one on the internet.
As you pushed with your feet and pulled with your hands, the entire seating arrangement went around in circles. That is what Dad related his “Spinning Squirrel Feeder” to. Rick drove back in to Ocala to join me in a meeting with the Rehabilitation Center Staff later that afternoon. They went over all of the medications that Dad is taking and told us of some specific health problems. The gentlemen who is over all of the therapists said that Dad is close to being independent, but his fall risk remains above normal. He climbs stairs well and has completely recovered his ability to swallow. He just doesn’t have much interest in eating. He has been losing weight so is on a 2700 calorie per day diet. Dad never did eat a lot, so I cannot imagine that he will ever consume that many calories. They have started weaning him again from the continuous feeding in the hopes that he will regain some appetite. If he doesn’t eat a meal, then he will receive liquid food through the feeding tube manually. After the first of the year he will no longer receive physical and occupational therapy but will continue with speech therapy three times a week. The social services director said that she would make arrangements for the medical equipment that we would need should we decide to bring him home at the end of January. That would include a hospital bed (he must be propped up at a 45 degree angle because of the feeding tube), a walker and a wheel chair. If he returns home to live, he will need nursing care 24/7. They gave me a list of local agencies to contact regarding hiring. I told them that Dad does not feel as though he is ready to go home yet. I want to hold off on making a final decision in that regard until after he sees a cardiologist on January 29th. After December 30th, his room and board will cost $230/day plus the cost of doctors, therapy, meds and liquid food. I stopped at Dad’s bank on the way in to the rehab center on Friday, 12/19, morning. The officer in the bank with which I have been working needed to make a copy of Dad’s trust document and also needed a copy of Mom’s death certificate. (Mom died in 2003.)
Rick and I returned to Palmetto on Friday afternoon. We invited Ken and Jackie to join us at the marina’s twice-a-month cocktail and appetizers party on the dock. We had received an e-mail from the harbormaster’s office telling us that they would also be announcing winners of the first annual boat decorating contest. Much to our surprise and delight, we were awarded the 3rd place prize. It is a beautiful sculpture made by one of the guys who works in the marina.
It is called an ant casting and is made by pouring melted aluminum down into an ant hill. The metal hardens and then the fellow digs it out of the ground. The one we won is powder-coated red and reminds us of some of the coral that we used to see in the Bahamas. On Saturday, 12/21, Rick shopped for something he needed to do a repair on the boat. After church on Sunday, 12/20, we did some more shopping and then joined Bill and Ruth and Faz for supper at Carmen’s Italian Cafe, 515 27th St E, Bradenton, FL 34208 (just off of Manatee Avenue East, aka SR64) www.carmensitaliancafe.com before going to the Sarasota Airport to pick up Ruth’s brother, Ron. Amazingly, the flight got in early, so we found him standing on the curb waiting for us. Then, it was time for a nightcap at Cork’s Cigar Bar in downtown Bradenton. Cork’s Cigar Bar is located at 424 12th St W, Bradenton, Florida. You can learn more about it by going to their website at www.corkscigarbar.com On Monday, 12/21, Rick went to some of the boat surplus places in the area to see if he could find a new/used windshield wiper for the boat while I stayed on the boat to clean, cook, and compute. Tuesday morning, 12/22, I finished my Christmas shopping and then in the afternoon, I finished wrapping everything. On Wednesday, 12/23, Rick and I separated all of the packages and put them into bags to take to JP’s house, Rick’s Mom’s house, and to Dad. We loaded up all the gifts for JP’s house and went to pick up Vanessa just before noon. Then, we went to the grocery store to pick up the last of the things we needed for our “family Christmas Eve” dinner as well as ingredients to make cookies. In the afternoon, Vanessa and I made sugar cookies and decorated them along with chocolate chip cookies (for her Dad) and after we took her home, I made some peanut butter cookies to round out our assortment. We met Bill and Ruth at the River Reef and Grille for supper Wednesday night. On Christmas Eve, Thursday, 12/24, Rick and I spent a quiet morning preparing to go over to JP’s house. We had told Kellie that we would buy a Honey Ham for tonight’s dinner. Rick picked it up at 7 a.m. In the afternoon, at JP’s house, I warmed up the ham, made a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and a Caprese salad. Kellie’s Mom, Judy, brought Hawaiian roles along with four homemade pies (maple pecan, lemon meringue, sweet potato, and chocolate cream). All of the food was good and we enjoyed watching them exchange their Christmas gifts after supper. We spent the night at the house so that we could be up early when the girls woke up for Christmas morning surprises.
Friday, 12/25. Merry Christmas to all. We had a wonderful Christmas morning exchanging gifts and stocking stuffers with JP, Kellie, Vanessa and Emma. JP and Kellie surprised Rick with a new bicycle. Then Rick and I drove over to his mother’s home in Ormond Beach along with Vanessa where we exchanged gifts with Mom, Edward, and our nephew Mat.
On Saturday, 12/26, Rick, Vanessa and I drove from Ormond Beach over to the Ocala National Forest. I left them at the cabin while I went in to the rehab center to visit with Dad. We all visited with Dad out on the patio on Sunday, 12/27, before driving back to Palmetto where there was another round of gift opening by JP, Kellie and Emma of the presents sent over from Rick’s mother, aka “Grandma Apple”. Then, Rick and I went to the Reef and Grille for some lunch and to watch the second half of the Buccaneers football game. We slept on our boat tonight. On Monday, 12/28, I left Rick at JP’s while I drove back to Ocala, stopping in to see Dad at the rehab center for a few hours before going out into the forest to the cabin. On Tuesday, 12/29, I talked to Rick. He said that when he tried to warm up the engines on the boat this morning, one of the engines would not start. So, he was waiting for a new battery to be delivered from Northside Auto in Palmetto. He said that the wind was down and he hoped to move the boat to the Yacht Club this afternoon after the new battery was installed. I did paperwork concerning Dad in the afternoon, then drove over to Ormond Beach to have supper with Mom and Edward. Rick sent an e-mail letting me know that he was now at the yacht club on the boat. I saw Dad for a while on Wednesday morning, 12/30. He was eating cottage cheese and fruit when I left to drive back to Palmetto. I got stuck in a traffic jam on the interstate and what should have been a two-hour drive took five hours. We ate supper in the club. We ate lunch in the club on Thursday, 12/31. As we left to walk back to the boat, we saw our friends, Steve and Joy Fredrick, with their entire family out by the pool. Their grandkids had all been swimming (the temperature was in the 80’s). They told us that all of their company was leaving on Saturday morning and invited us over for supper Saturday night. They will be flying back to Antiqua in a week to re-board their sailboat, Ocean Angel, and continue on their grand adventure. At 7:00 p.m. the Bradenton Yacht Club’s New Year’s Eve festivities began with cocktails and appetizers. We sat at a table for 10, including us, Bill and Ruth Baker, Ken and Jackie Sosville, John and Bonnie Manny and Ray and Elaine Barr. We have cruised many times with all of these folks. The dinners were delicious and we started drinking Moet Champagne pretty early finishing off at midnight with a toast to the New Year. We also managed to get a few dances in between the eating a drinking.
