A Letter That Was Never Opened

This post is one I never thought I would be writing. Last night I was going through a box of old photos and "stuff " that was moldy smelling. I doubted that there would be anything I could use for my blogs.
Then I found a sealed letter from my now 101 year old Uncle Leslie to my mother.
It was postmarked March 16, 1942. No return address, no street address. Just her name Mrs. Ray A. Johnson, Nashua, Iowa. The stamp cost three cents. It was from Red Bank, New Jersey.
It was so old I didn't want to open it. I told my husband. "This letter to mom was never opened." He told me to open it. I opened it with my mother's very old, at least ninety years old very long finger nail file.
The paper, of course, was yellow with age and it felt almost like soft cloth when I opened it. It was one of the most almost chilling experiences I have ever had.
It was hand written of course, and written in extraordinary penmanship. They taught that in school then, you know.
I scanned the letter, but I am going to print it for you so that you can understand what he is saying.
Dear Sis, Ray, and Kids:
I received your letter and Mother's yesterday. They are quite welcome, thank you. I haven't written or received one before until yesterday. This week, sometimes I don't know what to writye or I"m afraid I"ll do too much repeating. I go over to the Service Club now and then and get some free stationary/ Your (sp) only supposed to take two sheets of paper and one envelope, but you know how it is, they seem to stick together. (ha) I still have a few sheets left of this. Of course, I still have some at home, that Mom will send when I get out. The buzzer just sounded for lights out, so I had to much my table, (footlocker) in front of the door where the fire escape light shines in. There is a loud specker system in each barracks. Its connected with the Orderly room where are (sp) company commander is. You see there are (sp) four barracks in each company. Who ever has charge of the commanders office has something that looks like a radio he talks into. He can speak to each barracks seperately or all together. Its just like talking over a telephone. When something doesn't go just right here we get a bawling out thru that speaker. Its on the first floor, but I can here it plain up here. I was to Red Bank this afternoon and spent a little time at the U.S.O. Club. Its a place for soldiers to spend their spare time. They have ping pong, billiards, pianos of which one is a player and dance floor, eating counter, bowling alley. I played some billiards. Its fun when it don't cost anything.
A group picture was taken of each barracks the other day by a commercial photographer. I've heard us fellows will have a chance to buy one of them.I had my picture taken, but haven't had time to go and get them. The photo shop is at the main (He stops and writes "over) down and to the right of the page.
Before I continue this very young man was fresh off the farm in Iowa and had always lived with my grandpa and grandma. I have a feeling they were fit to be tied.
(The back side says):
post which is about half a mile. I have to miss chow or there closed up. It seems everything closes early except the eating counters. We've been getting pretty good meals lately. I guess something broke loose because the chow was junk when I came. Some woman makes up the menus for all the mess halls. Every company has a mess hall of its own. Each has that same kind of chow. I like the bread and butter. The bread tastes and looks like home made. It comes in fresh every day. It sure costs Uncle Sam a lot to feed us. I've heard rumors that us buck privates might get $42.00 a month sometime in the near future. Some of these Catholic fellas would spend there week-ends more than ever drinking whiskey. These fellas go to church regular. One of them went to 6 A.M. Mass this morning. We didn't have revielle this morning so I laid abed until 7:30. I even skipped breakfast. I made up for it at noon. We had roast chicken, chicken soup, salad, ice cream. etc. Pretty good meal. There wasn't many for supper because quite a few fellas had week end passes! Each barracks takes there turns at weekends. Our comes next week. Any fella can get a local pass every weekend, but he has to be in at  11.00 P.M. that nite.

I've been going to switchboard school this past week and have one more of it. We have to be able to operate about five different kinds. I believe you would like to work these, Ray.You fool around with keys and cords. Us linemen aren't suppose to operate one all the time, only in an emergency. We have speed tests in setting them up and folding them up.
                                                             Write Soon
P.S. Tell Ray to be careful to not fill up on that jelly. We get jam.
How's the Ford taking it?

I typed his letter exactly as he wrote it. He was twenty-five years old.
That letter was written in March of 1942, my five year old sister was killed in a freak snow sledding accident in December of 1942 and my grandfather Johnson died just two months later in February of 1943.

My Mother Loved Her Grandchildren

My mother not only loved her grandchildren, she loved her family to be with her on holidays. She loved to bake. She loved trying new things. She just loved!
This picture wasn't dated or labeled on the back, but gauging the ages of my kids and my sister's little girl I would think about 1975 or so.
I can remember distinctly mom telling me that she was going to try decorating a cake for Easter.
If you knew my mom, she loved to entertain also. I have posted about her in the fifties entertaining her "club" ladies.
I am using one of her "club" tablecloths at Marie's house now.
This picture shows that she is using her Noritake China that her family kept adding to throughout the years. My sister, Rosie, gave Mom and Dad a few place settings for their 25th Wedding anniversary. After that, when I could afford it, I would give a piece to the set for Christmas. My sister would too.
On top of the china you will see one of her tea cup and saucer sets. Why,  I would dearly love to ask her. Maybe she didn't have enough coffee cups and saucers yet. Beside the china was her relish tray. I still have that. I love it because it turns very easily on a pedestal.
To the left of the glasses you can sees a partial image of a cookie jar. It was a Monk. I have no idea who gave that to her, but it always had cookies in it for our visits.

See that cup with the white handle and the stripes? That cup was used constantly at mom's house; first come first serve.
Of course, her bill holder had to get in the picture. She hated clutter, but dust could gather. Oh, how I loved her.
The bunny cake and the jelly beans are sitting on mom and dad's stereo. On the floor to the left you can just see the edges of 33 RPM records that are coming back in popularity.
The dishes that hold the candy are gone now. She may have given them to my sister or they broke along the way.
This is a picture of how my mother loved.

You Are Only As Old As You Feel Unless You Have Loose Eyelashes!

I was greeted by my husband this morning with, "how is your pink eye this morning?" Oh, if only I would have had a rolling pin handy to chase him down with. Last night both eyes hurt and were red. I had told him I had caught pink eye so many times when I had run a day care center when my kids were young. I was sure I had caught it again. Bacteria runs wild no matter where you spend your time. However, I am so careful, rubber gloves Lysol spray, hand disinfectant, blah blah.
This morning my eye was still very irritated and bloodshot. I have used eye wash by the gallon. I knew what the trouble was, but hated to say it out loud. I'm getting old! My doggone eyelashes are falling out and scratching my eyeballs.
Yes you see when you rub your eyes when you are tired, or your eyes itch or for any reason your eyelashes may let loose. They seem to do that frequently lately.
I have been using eye drops made by the companies that advertise saying that they take the red out. Well, that's all well and good if your eyes are tired, not scratched to pieces by eyelashes that are tired and fall into your eyes.
So like my brother says, our language has changed. Used to be nouns have become verbs. You Google things (verb) to find the answer to all of your questions. This was the answer I did not want to see this morning given to me by my old friend Google (noun).
"Another factor affecting eyelash growth as we age is the common fact that skin starts to get a little dryer, which can cause eyelashes to lose the ability to retain moisture. Dry eyelashes lead to damaged eyelashes, but this is all part of the aging process, so there is really no need to be alarmed."
Good morning, folks. I am not alarmed to be losing my eyelashes. Google says, no problem. I am just getting old.
That is true you know. I am a great grandmother, a grandmother, and a mother.  When I find an eye wash that takes the hurt away instead of the "red away" I will be just fine with getting older.
See you soon.

Little Actually Needs To Be Said

I am sitting here this morning drinking my coffee and thinking about today's post.
I have been taking care of my deaf mother-in-law for almost four months now. In the beginning she talked and talked and talked!
Marie loved to tell stories and I wrote them down as fast as I could.
She no longer talks unless she is angry, then she can shout, but one word only. Once in a great while she will say something out loud, but seldom does she do that. We use a dry erase board for our conversations.
Yesterday she told me a story about one of her grandchildren with her fingers.
Yes, with her fingers. I told her that I had put a picture on the computer with her carrying wood. And the story started.....
I messaged the granddaughter and she verified everything that Marie had said with her fingers. I got to thinking about conversations at our house that are silent or one to five word sentences.
Some sentences are one word: Hey! Stop! Supper! You get the drift of that. More is said with one or two words than the one word. Supper can mean, "supper is ready, we are having home made soup. Are you hungry yet, do you want to eat in the kitchen or the living room? " See no need for all those extra words.
 They get the job done with little effort.
Then there are sentences that little ones used to say, eat!, out! up!, NO!
Now days at our house I live in relative silence. I am used to silence so the television drives me crazy. I constantly ask Fran to turn it down. His hearing isn't as good as it used to be. If he turns it down he can't hear it very well.
So you folks are getting stories because the computer is in another room far away from the television.
Here are bits of conversation from last night at our house:
Supper's done.
Time to eat.
It's good.
What's on tonight?
Then we got unexpected company! He had to talk for at least five minutes and it was difficult let me tell you. I have the ability to snicker to myself. It was such fun.
At nine o'clock I said, "I'm going to bed." He said, "Goodnight."
You just can't hardly get a good argument going with conversation like that.
However, to end this conversation with a very happy note the last words that were spoken were two word sentences, "Love you." from both of us.
Can't beat that conversation with a stick.

Pajama Day At Marie's House Today

I told Fran this morning that I was going to wear pajamas to his mom's house.

He said, "that's fine, you have clothes down there and a shower."

Little did he know I had no intention on changing my clothes.

I have not been sleeping all that well lately. I have no idea why. I just wake up at about three or four in the morning ready to start my day. About the time Marie is finished with her breakfast then I start to wilt like the proverbial last rose of summer.

This morning I just thought, why get dressed. We weren't expecting any company and if someone came without calling they would get what they get.

My plan in place I dressed Marie in clean PJ's and we were ready for our day.

No one called and wanted to video chat, no one came to the door, and no one came to see if I had a name tag on  or what we were wearing.

We were comfortable. It just seemed like when I jigged, she jogged and our day went so smoothly.

I just had a thought. Should nursing homes implement pajama day? Would that be so very wrong" Would the state inspectors care? It really presents an atmosphere that is laid back and easy going.  Just think how much money the CNA's and nurses would save. They could just take a shower at home, put on comfy pajamas and go to work. Just a note: I have seen many people shopping at Walmart with their pajamas on,

I know because I may have bought a pair or two there myself.

I didn't care if I got dirty, she didn't worry about getting me dirty. We were cool beans! One of Marie's nieces's laughed one day when I said that. She said, "I haven't heard that in years!"

There is probably a State Reg about dress code, or company dress code, but this dress code sure worked well for us today. Now if I could just get her to not throw things on the floor when she is done looking at them. No I don't want any rules. I will just keep having Fran pick up her thrown away papers and magazines. 

What a great day.

I bet my favorite cartoon character, Maxine would probably have something to say about our dress code today.
I love Maxine.

Scars Not Wrinkles

I lost a lot of weight three times in my lifetime. That is just too much for old skin to tolerate. It's not so bad when you're young, but the older you get that old skin loses it's ability to bounce back.
Wrinkles seemed to happen only to me and not to my mother or my sister.
At one point my best friend and I started calling our skin crepe paper skin. Funny tiny looking little wrinkles, noticeable, but not really bothersome.
Then all of a sudden just a very few years ago boom; major wrinkles on my old flabby arms. I don't consider myself vain, but the sleeves on my shirts seemed to get longer each year.
Once again I found myself looking at them today and just shaking my head. Then I saw "the scar."  The scar I'm referring to was caused by several operations to repair a broken arm cause by a car accident almost forty years ago.
Then there is  the scar where I had a cyst removed when I was eighteen, then the scars from broken glass from the same accident. All those scars on my left arm tell a story of a woman not only with a broken arm, but a never ending fear of riding in a car. I know that's silly, but it is what it is.
Then there is a scar for the bone transplant to repair said arm that is on my hip. The scar for an appendectomy that happened when I had a four and two year at home. That shows how family pulls together to help while mom recovers. My mom and sister, and my husband's family all helped.
You could also see a scar on my face if not for a very talented plastic surgeon whom removed a deadly cancer that had been on its way to my brain to end my life in about six weeks he estimated.
You would see a scar on my leg from a glass yes a glass shampoo bottle that shattered in the shower sixty years ago.
More scars all over my arms, face and back from skin cancer removal by another plastic surgeon.
I have scars from a broken heart, they are there from losing loved ones along the way. Wonderful memories of those people have healed them over, but they remain just the same.
And...I also have a scar on my left thumb  caused by my brother when he stabbed me with a #2 pencil because I just irritated him a little. I also have a U shaped scar on my right hand fourth finger I got in second grade when I accidentally  slammed my desk top on my hand.
So it's like the old Tex Ritter song called the "Deck of Cards." The soldier in the song used the cards like a Bible when he was on the front lines. My story can be told by my scars, not my wrinkles.
Interesting life I've led and seem to continue adding wrinkles. Hopefully there won't be any more scars.
See you soon!

1992 Mom's 80th birthday!

My Mom Would Be Proud

My kids used to call a casserole I made that never hit the oven, I might add, poor food. I have no idea why, because they would ask for it. I was only too happy to oblige. It was a quick fix for after work and before homework or television time.
Today I asked him if Poor Food was okay for supper. He hesitated then said, "Oh yeah that stuff you throw in with hamburger." I nodded and grinned.
As most moms or dads know when you are in a hurry, hamburger is a good base for most anything.
My poor food consists of nothing but browned hamburger and onions, a can of cream of mushroom soup and a bunch of cooked macaroni and a can or two of corn or frozen corn which my son likes the best.
Fran called me on the walkie talkie and asked if I would bring a can of cream of mushroom soup home with me from his mom's. No cream of mushroom soup to be had. So I made it like my mom used to make it. She made her own gravy, think of that?
I said, "No problem, I will make my own gravy." Then I chuckled and said, My mom would be proud of me." She had no store to run to and I doubt if they had canned mushroom soup in the forties. They may have, but that was a moot point, because she would have made her own without giving it a thought. That's just what you did.
I just chuckled while I was making it, thinking this is how I make sausage gravy, what is the big deal?
Anyway it was good, but we did miss the mushroom taste. Tomorrow I will take some with me for Marie. She will like it because I will add Beef Gravy from the jar that she likes.
The Next Morning:
My mom would not be proud of me! I used too much flour. It is not something I want to say I made last night! It would probably take a half gallon of milk to thin this mess. Marie is very fussy about her food being "wet" enough because of her swallowing difficulty. This gray looking glob will not cut it.
Fran needs to go to town today and can get some cream of mushroom soup while he is there. Maybe he should stop at the deli also.

They Left The Logsplitter Running!

When you get a retired step-dad and a stepson on his day off you never know what will happen in our neighborhood.
Last week I should have known something was afoot when Fran got the log splitter and the boat out of the storage unit. It was a nice day, but early for him to empty out the storage unit. Little did I know what he was planning.
Mike, my son, had the day off to use some of his vacation days and Fran was going to take advantage of that to have some company and some fun.
Fran told me that he was going to help Mike split some big logs that needed done. The logsplitter needed a gas change because it had been sitting all winter and probably a new spark plug. He came down here to his mom's and said that all was well and it was running just fine. He was going to have it all ready for Mike when he came home from work that day.
The next day they told me that they had their day planned and that they were going to have those logs all split and get the yard cleaned up.
When I got home from Marie's I heard the splitter running and was pleased that Spring had arrived at the Lizotte neighborhood and that work was being done.
That afternoon rather late, Fran came in the back door which is rare in itself carrying a beer and chuckling. Red flag!!
He said that he wasn't hungry and that a bowl of cereal would be just fine. What?? Fran seldom has cereal for supper if ever. There was more chuckling. My man was a bit inebriated.
I asked him if they got the wood all split and he answered with another chuckle and told me that they left the splitter running while they went next door to the neighbors and had a beer or two. The reason why? They wanted me to think that they were working. It worked. The whole thing is though, is that they can't pull that again because now I'm on to them!
What fun they had. I'm so glad that my son and my husband are good friends.
The next day Mike came in to visit and I told him that Fran had spilled the beans. Oh he laughed and laughed. He thought that they had gotten away with it. Fran spilled the beans!
Hopefully it will be a fun filled time for them this spring and summer. Love my guys!

Mom supervising her son and husband!

Before Multiple Sclerosis

Before M.S. literally grabbed me around my throat, the amount of medicine I bought at the grocery store was about one bottle of Excedrin a year. I had a high stress job the last part of my career and I would get some stress headaches and low back pain a lot. Thinking it was job and age related I thought little of it.
Throughout the years living with M.S. were years of  a variety of medicines. Some left me with side effects of various degrees. Some I thought were making me dizzy, only to find out the medicine was not making me dizzy, but the progression of the disease.
My medicine change this last few months has given me a new lease on life and of course, has enabled me to care for my husband's elderly mother.
My family and Fran's family were concerned about us caring for her because we are no spring chicks ourselves.
We plunged ahead knowing that at some point depending on the severity of her aging process, I may not be able to do the physical part of her personal cares.
The reason being not only my age, but her ability to follow directions and her physical ability to not be able to even if she did understand me.
Things got very difficult, then they got better, then they were at the point I told Fran about one more week then we were going to have to put her in a skilled care facility.
Then like the tough woman she is she rallied, because she started eating and drinking. Her personal cares were so much easier. She would chuckle and started talking aloud at times. She would even tell me a story now and then that she wanted me to add to her blog. She understood that her family as well as the public would be reading them. In 2009 she gave me permission to publish them.
Today was a day I thought I was going to have to "give up the ghost" as my mother used to say.
She stiff leg and stiff armed me and would not bend or turn this morning. She has done this many times, but I know how to deal with the sling for the lift, her clothing with no problem. Then it happened; pain. The pain was not excruciating, but it was a definite warning. I stopped and walked around a bit. It was better so Fran and I got her up for breakfast and all was well, but it wasn't.
This evening I was not able to feel me left leg. I knew that this called for a medicine I hadn't taken for years. I had renewed the scrip not long ago for a situation like today.
When I got home I told Fran I was going to take a muscle relaxer and I was going to lay down and let it do its work. He remembered the old days. I saw the look of concern, but I assured him that it would be fine. I also said, "Go to the deli and get me some fried chicken, please, but if I'm asleep when you get home just let me sleep."
I had not taken this medicine for a long time and I had forgotten its side effects. It relaxes all muscles just like it says including swallow muscles which M.S. had weakened already. I kept myself awake because thinking of the "old days" I would choke on my own saliva. Muscle relaxers peak at two hours. It did not peak for three hours. Then I slowly felt like myself. My pain was gone completely and I could swallow.
I reminded Fran of how I used to lay on the couch and watch the world go by. I can remember having Texas family visit for Marie's birthday. They were wonderful and took over the cooking and related duties I just couldn't do.
The reason I am writing this post is not for you to feel sorry for me or that we should put her in a facility. The reason is to explain just one little muscle strain could in fact, cause a real problem with folks becoming dependent on them.
I used to dance and drink and sing with the best of them. I used to have a drink too many on the weekends, but I was never happy with the feeling of not being in control too much liquor had on me. I think the same with medicine.
This is an awfully long story to get to my point. I am so afraid of the dependence that so many people have on opiates and the deaths that occur because of it. Could it in fact start with a simple muscle relaxant?
I think that this medicine is very important for the comfort of people like myself who after a three hour nap feel great again. But how can we keep not only our young people safe, but injured and older folks as well.
Well the other day I said that I sometimes like to stir the pot and talk about serious things. but mostly just folksy fun things that happen in my life.
Thanks for listening.

When Old Friends Visit Around My Kitchen Table

When you walk through the door at Lu's Place you will notice that I talk about most anything. You will hear stories about the really old days, you will hear stories about my activities now compared to the days thirty years ago.
You might even hear stories that make you laugh!
Today I thought about not writing a post because I had nothing to talk about. My husband always laughs when I say something like that. I wonder why.
Well I began to think about the early seventies. I was a young mom and wife of my middle twenties.
In the seventies my husband and I lived in a small community of about two thousand more or less.
My late husband grew up there and had great memories of being a youngster and living with his eleven brothers and sisters. Yes, he had a very large family.
In the seventies I was a stay at home mom with two children about two and four. It seemed like the ideal life. We had no money, we had a huge house and we had lots of friends and family that were such fun they were our friends too.
In those days, we got up early, fixed breakfast for our families, got our husbands off to work and then the rest of the day was ours.
The most fun part of those days for me was the coffee clutch.
The "coffee" gatherings were mostly in the afternoon. My kids were the youngest and not in school yet. So...my kids took a nap!
One day there were about four of us in my kitchen gossiping, laughing, talking about each other terrible like best friends do.
I always liked a centerpiece on my table. This particular day I had a bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the table.
As one friend was peeling an orange she said, "I just really don't like oranges." Well the chatter stopped and we all just stared at her while she was peeling this orange, wondering what she was going to do with it.
We started looking at each other, smirking, and could hardly stand not laughing out loud. She just ignored us and ate that orange! Oh we teased her and teased her. Such fun we had. She is one of the characters of my life that I haven't seen for forty-five years that I would love to have just one more coffee clutch with.

Time Travel To The Past Not The Future

Me At 7 months 1944

Time travel is usually presented towards the future, not the past. Today while Marie and I were watching Little House On The Prairie they were celebrating Founders Day in Walnut Grove.

They had no cell phones, they had picnics on the ground most generally sitting on quilts that the ladies had made.

The kids had 3 legged races, spinning the wagon rim, and of course, the fastest runner race.

The women baked pies to see whose was the tastiest, the men actually had axe contests to see who could chop a large log about twelve inches around, in two pieces the fastest.

Marie enjoys watching these old shows even though she can't hear and her vision is poor. The whole time we were watching I thought about last week when our telephone and internet was out of service. I was a bear to live with.

In Laura Ingalls Wilder days they didn't miss what they had never had.

There was always a lesson to be learned in this series. Today's show, as you could expect was sportsmanship and the lack thereof, in some cases.

Nellie usually cheated, and Mr. Ingalls always showed respect for the older weaker folks.

I thought about my grandmother that stayed home from my mother and father's wedding because her precious chicks were going to hatch. I still to this day can't understand that, but meat was a precious commodity which was eaten in the winter time because of my grandmother's ability to preserve and can.

When I was a child the Laura Ingalls Wilder books were brand new and I read them so fast my mother was concerned that my comprehension could not be good enough to remember the stories. She was not realizing that at such a young age of ten I was living vicariously through Mrs. Wilder's books.

 We would go to the library on Saturdays and I would check out at least seven books to read until the next week. I was always through with them before the next Saturday.

My mother realized that my imagination would be my companion for my whole life. At this point of almost seventy-four years I am doing what my mother always wanted me to do; writing children's stories for the very young child. I still can think like a child and love seeing them laugh and learn.

I love visiting with you and hope that you follow my blogs and enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.

See you soon.

My sister, Rosie holding me and my grandmother, Lulu Banister

November 2017: The New Chapter

Well, in November the day before Thanksgiving, Marie was admitted to the Nursing Home here in Stockton.
She had not fractured her knee, but it was in a brace as well as her wrist. In other words, she was a mess!
She said it wasn't the first time she had been away from home for Thanksgiving, in fact it was the third time. Once before in the Nursing Home and once in the hospital many years before.
While Marie was rehabbing, Fran and I went to work on her home. She had formerly kicked people out of her house from bath aides to Meals On Wheels, to housekeepers. She informed Fran more than once she was not dead yet!!
So he took doors off for easier entrance, we bought new devices that were smaller and easier to maneuver, and we rented a hospital bed.
Fran painted, I had my housekeeper help me clean cupboards and scrub walls and dishes etc.
When Marie came home, it was not finished, but much better. At that time Fran and I decided for sure that I was the one to take care of her mother.
I want to point out that not only because of her advanced age, but also because she is deaf and blind in one eye and poor vision in the other she needed full time care during the day.
I had been in long term care positions from A-Z, but had never done the actual care, even though I did teach some CNA classes for their certification. You have to realize that was over 30 years ago. I am almost 74 now and taking care of a 102 year old disabled woman who has very definite opinions on what should and should not happen in her home.
Therapy was discontinued after three weeks due to her not being able to stand on her feet. Many falls occurred to the risk of not only Marie, but to Fran and myself as well.
Knowing some of the Medicare laws and not knowing the newer Medicare laws that had been changed in those 30 years I plowed through a bunch of red tape and secured no hospital bed because she had no diagnosis to tell the Red Tape People (Marie's words.) Just old age. I did however, get a Hoyer Lift which enabled her to go to the living room and eat her meals and sit in her chair and watch television.
Without the lift she would have been not only housebound, but also bed bound.
Along the way, she became non-verbal. She now whispers, moves her lips, or shouts at me when I make her angry! I know, I don't understand either, but that's the way it is.
At a point about three weeks ago she wanted no food or fluids. It looked to us as the beginning of the end. Then going without water hurt her and I explained it was going to get worse. She is now eating two acceptable meals a day and drinking about a litre of water and other fluids a day. Her meals are tiny and are not big enough to gain back the weight that she has lost.
I am able to now go to my home across the road at night because she does not need assist at night time.
So, what to do with my time, hmmm. I know I will open up my blogs again and start a new one. I am having so much fun "talking." I love to talk and Marie doesn't talk and my husband tends to zone in on his television and computer games and he does spend several hours here at Marie's house.
She had no internet!!! She does now and that makes everybody happy. Like the old saying goes, "When Mama ain't happy nobody is happy" The same holds true with when " Mama is happy most everybody else is happy."
I have lots of things to look forward to this year. I can't wait to tell you all about them.
See you tomorrow!

Gwen

I would like to take a minute to thank one of my new followers.
Her name is Gwen and she is a lovely lady.
 A while back I was on a mission to find where my grandfather was buried. I searched and I searched. She had the answer for me within hours. I am so grateful to her even though it wasn't the news I wanted, at least I found out where his final resting place is.
Gwen Doreen Kubberness seems always willing to help if she can.
 Thanks again, Gwen, my brother and I now know where he is, but your information left us with volumes of questions for our now deceased parents. It is what it is.

November 2017

The first part of November Fran and I visited about my improved health. It had been a long time since I had fallen. I wasn't using my cane anymore and I felt great. He and I were going out to eat and going shopping together. The big day was when I walked Walmart just using a shopping cart for a crutch.
I had not walked a Walmart store for years and years. I had always used a power chair, much to the chagrin of other shoppers, or Fran pushed me in a wheelchair with an attached basket.
We discussed two reasons for my improved health, one being the medicine change and the other I was in remission. Both options were wonderful. The remission option I had gone through before and remission gave me false hope that I would always feel good. Medicine change was the option I was hoping for.
One day I went to my mother-in-law's house and she told me that she wanted to go to the doctor. I, of course, asked her what was wrong. She said she had hurt her wrist maneuvering her wheelchair into her bedroom.  I called my husband and the doctor. The doctor had an opening that afternoon and Fran inspected her floor and spotted a dip in the floor which made pulling herself in her wheelchair difficult.
I took Marie into her bedroom to help her change her clothes and sat down on her bed beside her and she laid her head on my shoulder and said, "I can't do it anymore." Tears choked me, but in a matter of fact voice I told her that she had three options; she could move in with us again, she could go to the nursing home to live, or I could take care of her in her home. Of course, the last option was the best for her and for Fran and I.
I told Marie that I would take care of her like she was my own mama. She softly smiled and said, "I'm not fussy, but I would like you to cook for me." That day was the beginning of the rest of my life as I knew it at that point. Marie was 102 years old and little did she know it, but she was going to fall in about two weeks time and in fact, go to the nursing home for rehab for her wrenched knee.
 She was knitting me a pair of slippers for Christmas the day that she fell. She wanted to stay up late that evening and needed the light on behind her chair. She turned wrong and fell over her wheelchair and that was that. She pulled the pin on her life line locket, the ambulance came and she decided she wanted to go to the emergency room to make sure her knee was not fractured. Her knee was not fractured, but her 102 year old muscles and tendons didn't stretch like they used to and the doctor decided she needed physical therapy to help her achieve the goal of going home again. That was the day before Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow I will tell you what Marie, Fran and I accomplished in the next two weeks.

Wet hair on a cold winter's morning at Marie's house.

October 2017: Where Did I Leave My Cane?

Fran and I love going to sales. Any kind of sales, yard sales, garage sales, estate sales. This includes flea markets inside and outside. I have a cane in each vehicle and 2 in the house; one on each end since we live in a mobile home.

One day in September when Fran's niece and her family was here I lost my cane. Everyone was looking all over for it because I needed it! The weekend was Labor Day and Stockton had a town yard sale day with sale after sale going on. Who knew where in the world I had left it. I figured someone had sold it on their sale. Someone found it and I was so relieved.

As time went by on into October, Fran found himself back tracking our steps looking for my cane. One day he found it at a flea market out of town and they had put it back hoping I would be back for it. They are open only 3 days a week so it took several weeks to find it. After that day, Fran and I talked and decided if I kept forgetting my cane, I probably didn't need it. I now keep it in the vehicles for "just in case" days. In case of rough ground especially. You folks that have never been dependent on a cane have no idea how freeing it is to be able to peruse narrow aisles of flea markets and not have to be reliant on a cane to help you maneuver them.

We live in a small town of 1800 people and a lot of the people in town know us by name. Fran has been singing at the Walnut Festival for years until just the last few, and of course, he sang  karaoke at the Viking Club for years before I met him. My point being is that generally when we walk into stores in town they call us by name or always smile and ask how we are doing today. I love small towns.

Getting back to flea markets. I have one flea market that knows me by name because I can even call her on the phone and ask if she has this or that. The this or that is generally something put of the ordinary for our fifth wheel, my teapot collection, or for Marie's house.

One day I asked her if she had a ceramic paper towel holder; she said she did. I couldn't believe it. I wanted it for the fifth wheel because it would be heavy for the counter and I didn't want holes drilled in the wall for a wall mount one. I love it and it is just what I wanted.

The camper is generally stocked with special purchases from flea markets.

Tomorrow I will tell you what happened in November 2017. The start of my new life. See you then.

                                                 

This little cartoon lady is no longer me!!

                                                

September 2017

In September, the Missouri RX program was discontinued. That was a state program that was a 50% discount on prescriptions. My seizure medicine went from affordable to not affordable. Having a grand mall seizure is an experience that people never want to have after having just one. I have had several. In my case the seizure aftermath lingered for days; forgetfulness, foggy brain feeling, just a horrible thing to have to go through.
Well, what to do? I called my insurance company and told them what was happening in Missouri and the importance of me having a medicine that I could afford and did they have something. I asked the nurse for three medicines that I could research and that's when Google and I became really good friends.
I did my research and then called my doctor. He and I agreed on a new medicine and guess what? It cost $5.00 a month. It has no side effects and I feel better than I have in years.
My 55th class reunion was in September of last year and we went to Iowa to see my old friends that I hadn't seen in forty years. I had seen some of them individually, but as a group it had actually been forty five years. Oh my, did we have a lot to talk about!
I had only been taking the new medicine for about two weeks and was still having some trouble walking, but I could tell something good was going on.
When I was in high school I had three really good friends, Joan, Pam, and Sharon. Sharon lives a long ways away and couldn't come, but Joan and Pam and I got to visit a lot.

Class of 1962 that attended 55 years since graduation!

I knew almost everyone, but one lady had me stumped and of course, she enjoyed it immensely. We talked and talked and finally I remembered her. Oh my gosh, fifty five years is a long time.
I also visited the cemetery and decorated graves of my mother and father, and sister and grandparents and a lot of walking on rough ground.
I got to see my brother and his wife and her mother and once again I just talked their ears off!
Keith took my husband and I on a tour of Cherokee. The last time I was there was for my mother's funeral and hadn't been back since. Things, (buildings and people and streets and stores and everything was so different than what I remembered. Especially a well known land mark, Pilot Rock. It looked so small!

Fran and I at the dinner held for us at Spring Lake

Francis and I went to Aurelia to visit my mother's brother who was soon to celebrate his 101st birthday. My mother so wanted to live to be 100, but she did live a long life of 90 years.

Well that was just one weekend and there is just so much more I have to say! I hope you join me for my chatter, I do so love to tell stories.

Me, Pam and Joan

My brother Keith and his wife Linda

The New Chapter Of My Life

After three years of not posting to Lu's Place, I realized that I had been using Facebook to tell my stories about my crazy fun life. I love to keep in touch with my family and friends on Facebook, but I really miss blogging and my blog friends, whom I'm sure think that I have croaked. I am getting up there you know.

I downloaded my Cherokee posts that I thought people wanted, but evidently they didn't. (no comments) So I am back!

I have a 102 year old mother-in-law that I am now taking care of in her own home. I can't believe I am doing this because I have M.S. Due to a medicine change I have turned the corner and am now able to walk without a cane, I don't fall, and I am able to care for this dear sweet lady. This is Marie Lizotte laughing and enjoying her company that helped her celebrate her one hundredth birthday. I write a blog about her and have shared many posts about her and her family and her extended family. I invite you to read about this amazing lady at mrszotte.blogspot.com  

I have discovered something as I have renewed my blogging on Marie's blog that people are very hesitant to be followers and make comments. I think this is that since cell phones are the device that many people use to read about her, and not big computers. Ahem, you cannot see the followers button unless you continue to scroll and see a tiny little statement that says "view web version". When you tap on that, sakes alive it shows the followers, the page views, the archived posts all kinds of things that you can be part of. I would just love it if you would be part of my life again, because I just love to talk!! 

The picture you see of me is when I used to go to the beauty shop! Can't go any more because Marie can't be left alone, but she doesn't care if my roots show.

I will be talking to you soon if the good Lord is willing and like my dad used to say and the creek don't rise.

Oh, by the way, things have changed in the last three years now you can print and save and email my posts. Let's have fun and maybe even stir the pot a bit.