June 1 through 10:
Tuesday, 6/1, was my 69th birthday. Most days I don’t feel that old. When I had shoulder surgery scheduled for March 23rd, I didn’t think I would be able to drive again until now. So, I cancelled all of both mine and Dad’s appointments and rescheduled them beginning today. We started the day going to Dad’s primary care physician for his annual physical. I did no volunteering today. The evening ended with me joining JP, Kellie and Emma for a birthday cupcake (since I’m working very hard to restrict my sugar intake).
On Wednesday, 6/2, I had a haircut appointment and did some shopping in the morning and went to church in the evening. My 7-year old granddaughter, Emma, came over about 9:30 Thursday, 6/3, and I invited her to join me on a shopping trip. I had received a coupon from Beall’s Department Store for $5 off in honor of my birthday which was burning a hole in my pocket! I bought a new outfit, including a purse and shoes and Emma got a new pair of shoes, too. Then we decided to eat lunch at the Bob Evans which was on the perimeter of the shopping center. After that we continued our shopping at Lowe’s where I got some batteries and water (hurricane supplies) and some flowers to plant in front of my house to brighten it up a bit.
While I was out, I was excited to receive a text from Rick’s Aunt Tillie filling me in on what she and Jimmie have been up to. I replied telling her that I was going to Compass Cay next month and would be sure to send them some pictures when we get back. They lived on Andros Island, in the Bahamas, for many years and visited us while we were at Compass.
Pictured above are Uncle Jimmie, Aunt Tillie, Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott, me and Rick in 2015. Tillie and Mary are two of Rick’s Dad’s much younger sisters. In fact, everyone in the picture went to high school together except for me. I went to the same school, Seabreeze High in Daytona Beach, Florida, but I went a few years after them. Tillie and Jimmie now live in Bradenton on their sailboat. Friday, as usual, I volunteered at the food bank and ate out afterward with Julie and Jane. The Bradenton Yacht Club has a memorial service every year to remember those members who have passed. They were unable to have it last year because of the Covid19 pandemic. On Saturday, 6/5, they honored 34 members who have passed in the last two years. Since my friend, Jackie Sosville, was not able to attend, I went to honor her husband, Ken who passed away last June. It was a very nice memorial and very well attended. I attended the funeral of our good friend, Bill Baker, in the morning, Sunday, 6/6. This was held in the chapel of the funeral home with only family and very close friends.
The service was followed by an open-invitation memorial service at the Bradenton Yacht Club in the afternoon. I believe every past commodore of the club who was in town attended the service in their white uniforms along with many other friends of the family. Both the main dining room and the adjacent dining room were full to capacity. He was well-loved and will be missed by many. The family has created a scholarship fund in his name at the Manatee Technical Institute to help students who want to become mechanics.
Emma stayed with me for a few hours in the morning on Monday, 6/7,while her Dad went to the doctor for a checkup on his broken rib. We went for a long walk while he was gone and then made reservations for the two of us to go to Zoo Tampa in Lowrey Park on Thursday. Tuesday, 6/8, was a busy day for me. I went to the dentist and dropped off some papers at our insurance before going to the North River Care Pregnancy Center to volunteer. My friend, Jane, had invited me to lunch for a post-birthday celebration which we enjoyed at the local Popi’s Too restaurant. Next, I attended a meeting at Palm View First Baptist Church with our Senior Adult Pastor, George Heiland, to help plan the programs for the rest of the year for the monthly meetings of the “Senior Saints”. After the meeting, I did my data-input volunteering in the office before returning home after 4:00. Soon after, I started typing up notes of the meeting this afternoon to share with the four others who attended. On Wednesday, 6/9, I hung out with Emma all morning then had a quiet afternoon until I went to church and choir practice. Emma and I spent the day at the Zoo Tampa at Lowrey Park on Thursday, 6/10. She spent a great deal of that time on the rides and the children’s water park and said her favorite ride was the Roaring Springs. Since I don’t post pictures of her, I have copied this picture of the ride from the zoo’s website.
As you can imagine, we got soaked! And, we rode it three times throughout this very hot, but fun, day.
June 11 through 20:
Back to regular routine:
- Sunday school and church
- Tuesday volunteer at the North River Care Pregnancy Center and then do some data entry at the church in the afternoon.
- Wednesday evening church followed by choir practice.
- Work at the church’s food bank on Friday afternoon and have supper with some of the other volunteers afterward.
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Most every day during this period was overcast with some rain showers – but not enough to recover from the drought we are in. And, being overcast didn’t really help with the heat because we had excessive humidity.
On Friday, 6/18, I went for a 6-month check-up with my oncologist in the morning. She says I have only one more 6-month check-up and then they will be yearly.
Sunday, 6/20, was Father’s Day. One of the young ladies in the church put up a balloon display for father’s day for people to use as a background for pictures.
June 21 through 30:
Monday, June 21st was not only the first full day of summer, but it was also Emma’s first day of a week-long “farm camp”. When I went to the pharmacy this afternoon, the car’s outside temperature indicated that it was 95 degrees. When Emma got home this afternoon, she told me about all of the animals that she got to see, pet and work with. One of the things that she did was use a milk machine on a nanny goat and then transfer the milk into a bottle to use to feed some baby goats. She said they ate just like a baby!
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I stuck to my normal routine. Emma told me that she got to fingerpaint a horse and got bit on the finger by a goat today at farm camp.
On Thursday, June 24th, Dad and I joined others from church for the first “covered dish supper” since the beginning of the pandemic more than a year ago. It was pouring rain, so we had a smaller than expected group of 13.
We enjoyed deviled eggs, ham, lasagna and garlic bread, chicken salad, fruit salad and broccoli casserole along with Baklava and Black Forrest Cake.
Everything was really yummy.
We stuck to our normal activities for the rest of the month – until Wednesday, June 30th, which was Dad’s 91st birthday. Of course, he got calls, cafds and messages from family and friends throughout the day. JP, Kellie, and Emma took Dad (and me) to a local restaurant, Woody’s River Roo, to celebrate his birthday in the evening. Dad and I both ordered grouper bites which were very tasty. I brought the cake (from Publix) to the restaurant which we ate after the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to him. A fun time was had by all.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at