February 1 through Saturday, February 14:

On Thursday, 2/3, Emma got braces.  The next day, Friday, 2/4, was first day of the 2022 Winter Olympics.  The Olympic torch was placed into the middle of this unusual, snowflake-shaped Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Kellie joined me doing volunteer work at the church’s food bank that afternoon.

Saturday morning Emma and I made a carrot cake and a chocolate cake.  The carrot cake was donated to a fundraiser for the youth at the church to help raise funds to help pay for attendance at summer camp.  The chocolate cake was for Emma to take home.

There were about 35 people in attendance for the Chili Cook Off and Cake Auction.  Among one of the popular cakes was a dirt cake which is some kind of concoction of vanilla pudding and crushed Oreo cookies made to look like dirt in which (artificial) flowers are planted and is actually presented in a plastic pot.  The Youth picked three winners and the dirt cake made by Julie Cole was one of them.  The winner of the “bible themed” cake was made by Christine Beavers and looked like Noah’s Ark.

About $1,300 was raised at this event for the youth.

Dad woke up on Sunday, 2/6, saying that he had moved wrong during the night and thrown his hip out, so just Emma and I went to church.  Dad was feeling better when we got home and we all spent a quiet afternoon (which included a couple-hour nap for me.)

On Monday, 2/7, days after the United States reached its latest, grim milestone of 900,000 COVID-19 deaths, driven in part by the omicron variant, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. rang its bourdon bell in memory of the lives lost.

Thursday, 2/10, would have been Rick’s mother’s birthday.  Lovingly referred to as “Grandma Apple” by the family, she died on October 5, 2016, at the of 91.

Sunday, 2/13 was Super Bowl Sunday.  After attending Sunday school and church, Dad, Emma and I picked up Vanessa (Emma’s older sister) to give her a ride to work in Lakewood Ranch.  She needs a new alternator in her car.  So, we got home around 2:00 and then Dad and I watched the Super Bowl starting at 6:30. The game went back and forth until the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the last minute of play.

Dad lost a tooth last Thursday and told me that his teeth had really been bothering him and he wanted me to schedule him an appointment with the dentist.  On Monday, 2/14, I took Dad to the dentist.  After three different sets of pictures and an exam, the doctor recommended that Dad have all of his teeth extracted and get dentures.  Dad had already told me that was what he was hoping the dentist would say, so we agreed.  We will return in three weeks for the extraction and at that time, he will be fitted with an “interim” set of dentures.  The doctor called them “training wheels”.  The permanent dentures will be placed four to six months after that, when his mouth has completely healed.  In the afternoon, JP and Emma (son and granddaughter) came over to give me some lovely Valentine’s Day flowers and a couple of very sweet cards.

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Tuesday, 2/15 through Monday, February 28

When I got my release from the orthopedic surgeon last month, I specifically asked if it would be OK for me to get a deep-tissue massage and the answer was yes.   I had one on Tuesday, 2/15, at North River Body Therapies in Palmetto.  They have recommended that I get a massage every couple of weeks to try to break up some of the scar tissue which is limiting the full use of my left shoulder.  On Thursday, 2/17, the Palm View First Baptist Church’s Senior Saints billed their February meeting as Dessert with the Dunneman’s.

We had about 20 in attendance and Dad and I were treated to not only an outstanding concert by this talented couple, but also with lots of delicious sweets.

On Saturday, 2/19, about 65 ladies were at the church’s Women’s Ministry “Gal Pal” luncheon. Emma and I attended as guests of Teri Passmore who coordinates our food bank.  After the luncheon, we stopped at Walmart where we bought a new dress, jacket and shoes for Emma which she wore to church the next day.  Dad didn’t go to Sunday school and church that morning, so after church, 2/20, Emma and I had lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s before coming home for a quiet afternoon.

I had a 3-month checkup scheduled on Monday, 2/21, just before noon.  The doctor was concerned about the level of iron in my blood, but otherwise happy with my current health.  I left the doctor’s office and headed to my friend, Jackie Sosville’s house where I found out that she has a contract pending on the sale of her house.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at Olive Garden before she headed to Myakka City to babysit her great-granddaughter, Emma.

On, Wednesday, 2/23, I took the necessary information to complete my and Dad’s income tax returns to our CPA, Jim Gay.  They told me that the paperwork should be completed in about three weeks.

Thursday, 2/24, was a long day.  First, I attended a morning meeting about some of the software that the church uses.  (They are considering a change that would change some of the work I do in the office.)  Then, I went to the North River Care Pregnancy Center helping them to put old (paper) records into a new computer program until it was time for me to attend the board meeting there and then go home (way past dark.)

Friday, 2/25 – I had my annual mammogram before working at the church’s food bank and on Saturday, 2/26, Emma and I resumed our Saturday morning walks in our February 80 degree weather.  We were gone for 45 minutes, walking to one of the small parks in the neighborhood where she played on the monkey bars for a few minutes while I rested on a bench.

On Sunday, 2/27, Jackie Sosville and I attended a polo match hosted by our financial advisor, Evan Guido and his firm, AKSALA Financial Advisors.