Zoom Friends

 

From the top left to right: Larry (Claymont, DE), me (Rehoboth Beach, DE), Stuart (Boca Raton, Florida), (bottom row left to right), Pat (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) and Glenn (Chatsworth, California)

Good evening folks! 

Usually I compose my daily blog post in the morning. However, today I was busy with FaceTime and Zoom calls with my friends. 

This morning was my usual Sunday Zoom call with Stuart and Larry, two of my old classmates (grade school) whom I have known over seventy years. God we're old. My friend Pat also joins in our regularly scheduled Sunday Zoom calls. I've only known Pat since 2013 but Pat has met both Stuart and Larry in person. We all get along just fine and we have no trouble yakking just about anything on our weekly Zoom calls. Today was no exception.

Stuart lives in Florida and Larry lives in northern Delaware about ninety miles from me. And of course Pat lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

This morning my new friend Glenn (Miller, not the bandleader) joined us. Glenn lives in Los Angeles, California. I've never met Glenn in person but I've know of him for about twelve years and met him this past January, over FaceTime. Glenn's late partner Michael used to follow my blog.  I met Glenn over FaceTime when I responded to his letter informing me of his Michael's passing last December. It was pure serendipity when I received and read Glenn's letter, January 14th, the day Bill was airlifted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. When I got home from work at the hotel the evening (11:30 PM), I was distraught. I thought I had lost Bill. And there was this letter from Glenn, whom I had never had contact with before, I only knew he was Michael's partner, informing me of Michael's passing. I was beside myself with grief over the abrupt loss of Bill, afraid I would never see him again and I didn't have a chance to even say "goodbye", I called Glenn. He answered his phone. I asked him if he could do FaceTime (I prefer to see who I'm taking to, I hate to talk on the phone). He said he could and thus began a great friendship. The following months we consoled each other and became fast friends. Someday, if we ever get out of this COVID nightmare, perhaps Glenn and I will meet in person, in Palm Springs of course where he is planning to move.

I have other Zoom friends. Both of my brothers, one in Pennsylvania and the other in South Carolina. Also a former boss and good friend of mine who lives near Pittsburgh, PA. Not all of my friends are on Zoom though, some I just can't convince to use this modern technology. They prefer to use the old fashion phone where you can't see their facial expressions and that interaction which means so much. I accede to their wishes, they prefer not to use Zoom. Another longtime friend, Don who lives in Philadelphia, we have trouble connecting on Zoom. We finally got the video image up but can't seem to get the audio. We're still working on that, would love to include Don on our multiple Zoom calls. And of course last but not least there is Dr. Spo of Phoenix, Arizona. Once in a great while we can connect with him on Zoom, which is a rare pleasure as is he, but he's pretty busy and not as accessible as my other friends on Zoom on short notice. 

Even though we're all old and have our challenges these days, especially in the Age of COVID, isn't Zoom a wonderful thing? What a great way to stay in touch with friends. To enjoy each other's company. To tease and laugh just as if we were together in person but without the risk of giving each other a life threatening disease like COVID. And think of all the money we save by not traveling but instead interact with each other in the comfort of our own homes. But someday, if this COVID nightmare ever ends we'll get back on our planes, trains and cars and see each other in person. Give each other hugs and kisses and continue to enjoy life as we did this morning. 

Sometimes life is wonderful in spite of all the hardships we have these days. And today was one of those days. 

Thank you Larry, Stuart, Pat and Glenn for a wonderful Sunday. See you all next week!

A Better Day

Our driveway, freshly shoveled for the second time this year, yesterday morning just as the sun was rising over our neighborhood. We're not in Palm Springs/Kansas!

 

Thank goodness today was better than yesterday!

I finally got my iPhone upgrade problems solved. Now I just have to wait for the new return box to arrive (next week between the 12th and 14th, ironically both days that I found Bill unconscious after his strokes last year on these same dates) for the new return box for my old iPhone. Wow, that was a long sentence. 

The sun was out today in all its brilliance with the dazzling white snow covered landscape here at Casa Tipton-Kelly. The temperatures didn't give above freezing so it looks like the snow will be around for at least a couple more days. Reminds me of when we lived in Pennsylvania. We usually got our first heavy snow late November or early December and it would hang around until early March. Dirty, snow covered frozen banks in supermarket parking lots. I hated that. In fact I hate snow, living in it. Nice to look at on TV or in the movies but I can do without it in really life, thank you.

COVID infections are raging here in southern Delaware where I live. As far as I know neither I nor Bill has COVID but we could. I have all the symptoms. How do I know? I asked Bill's hospice nurse who does have COVID what her symptoms were. By the way, she couldn't make her weekly house visit yesterday, we did the visit via TeleHealth on FaceTime on her personal phone. I asked her what her symptoms were and she told me it "was like a mild cold. Achy body, coughing, slight temperature, runny nose. I have all those "symptoms". In fact I have them pretty much all the time. But I'm not going to get another COVID test. There is a pop-op testing sight near hear but I saw in the local newspaper where folks were waiting in line for an hour or more in the cold to get their test. Then if I did get a test and it came out positive what would I do? Isolate myself? I'm already living in an isolated state. I did make a change though, the one time I go out is to the local supermarket. I'm back to wearing my mask. This time it's a real mask, N-95, not one of those face art masks. Actually it's easier to breath in an N-95 mask. Tight fit. I can see where it would be hard for the COVID virus to get in my facial orifices.

So here I am on a quiet Saturday night, sitting at my computer typing this blog entry (all my blog entries are this fresh), about to wrap up this daily posting and make myself some dinner. "Taco bake a la Ron" tonight!

Today Was One of THOSE DAYS

Just put Bill to "bed" (he sleeps in a recliner). Make the picture bigger and you can see a ceramic blonde Pomeranian which represents his favorite friend "T" who died many years ago. She keeps him company and is waiting for him in Heaven for a long awaited reunion when Bill dies. Of course I don't believe in such a thing, I think when we die (and we all do die), that there is nothing. Oblivion but it is nice to dream isn't it?

 Ah yes, today was one of THOSE days. 

I began with trying to update my new iPhone 13 Pro Max. To make a long story short I never received my new iPhone back in December. I've been so caught up in caring for Bill that I let weeks slip by by not checking my e-mails until I realized I never received my new iPhone so I couldn't send back my old iPhone. Right before Christmas I notified them of my dilemma and they sent me a replacement iPhone. Therein began my problems. 

Already I'm not making this a "long story, short." I'll try again. I had to make phone calls this morning to get back on the iPhone eligibility list. Then I had to enter all my new passwords in my new iPhone. That alone is a chore to challenge Sisyphus. 

Then I realized I didn't have a SIM card in my new iPhone. In the past the new upgraded iPhone came with a SIM card. I called Apple Support and got a woman with an accent reading from a script. Oh no.

I tried, I really tried to understand her. Almost always when I call Apple Support I get an American whose primary language is English. Not this time. Like I said, I tried but it was useless. I thank her for her time and hung up, intending to call again. I did make another call and this time I got "Phil" who was in Texas. He was great. An anti-vaxer, but hey, no one's perfect. We discussed while he tried to straighten out my situation (which he did.) The only reason we got into that discussion was that I explained to him that Bill hospice nurse couldn't come in today because she has COVID. I was going to say that she is an anti-vaxer but before I did, I asked him if he was vaccinated. He was helping me with my problem and I didn't want to antagonize him. Good thing I asked.  We discussed while he was waiting for the changes to go through. I understand his concerns or at least I tried to. In my old age I think I'm finally making progress in trying to be more understanding of other people's positions although I'll never understand why the majority of Republicans don't think Biden legitimacy won the presidential election but instead think the Criminal Trump, the Traitor Trump, the Great Liar Trump did indeed win the election. That folks is something I will never understand, how many people Trump and his coward Republican enablers continue to bamboozle them with their lies and scam them out of their hard earned money. But I digress.

I just about have all my new iPhone upgrade problems resolved (all those passwords I have to put in my new iPhone, I have too damn man apps on my iPhone) and then it snowed again last night. Yep, I had to shovel the driveway again. Not as much snow as earlier in the week but snow nonetheless. I hate the snow. Pretty to look at but not to live in. Maybe when I was a kid and went sledding but not now as a wise old man who knows I could easily have a heart attack shoveling that f--king snow or fall and tear my quadricep leg muscle, which I actually did five years ago. That leg still isn't right. 

Bill's hospice nurse was scheduled to visit in person today but couldn't of course because she's in lockdown because of her COVID infection. She did a TeleHealth visit instead. She asked the usual question of the protocol she has to follow. Then she asked if there were any problems. I told her Bill couldn't swallow his prostate caplet pills. I told her I was opening them up and putting the powder on his nightly dessert. "NO! NO! NO!" she says. She said opening the pillow destroys the effectiveness of the pill. She said she would send a few pills over that she thought were smaller. When I got up from my afternoon nap I saw on my new iPhone 13 Pro Max that someone was at our front door via my Ring Doorbell app. I checked the video and sure enough, it was a person who delivered the small bag with the pills. Bill opened the door to receive the pills.

I rounded the corner from my bedroom to out kitchen at 5:15 PM, fifteen minutes late for preparing Bill's daily dinner which is a bowl of oatmeal (he has the same thing for breakfast, only thing he can swallow). I told him I was going to check the mail. He said it wasn't necessary because our neighbor "Bob" already brought it over. I told him that "No, that was guy who delivered pills for him." Bill didn't believe me. I tried to explain to him I saw the Ring Doorbell video on my iPhone 13 Pro Max. He didn't understand. Bill's cognitive ability is significantly deteriorating, not getting any better. I made the mistake of insisting (I just got up from my nap, remember?) that "No, it was the guy who delivered the pills." Bill said "Well call Bob and ask him!" I did and of course Bob said he didn't deliver our mail. By the way, why would Bob EVEN deliver our mail? But be that as it may, I finally got through to Bill. Then he was confused. He said "I asked him his name and he said 'Bob'". Why he would have to ask our neighbor his name I don't know, Bill knows Bob well enough that he doesn't have to ask him his name. I told Bill "Maybe his name was 'Bob', lots of people named 'Bob'. Then to top everything else off, those pills were the same size as the other pills that Bill had trouble swallowing. So another dead end of a problem.

Then our multi-colored Christmas lights that I strung around our sun room/living room isn't coming on automatically. Bill has some kind of Rube Goldberg contraption that turns on the lights when it gets dark and they go off when it gets light in the morning. It's not working. It stopped working last week. I've been turning on the lights manually since then. I don't mind. It's actually easier for me but Bill is insisting of "fixing it." He can't "fix it" because he's legally blind. With his macular degeneration he cannot see detail. But he insists. If he dies before I do (and that's a valid question these days), I'm going to have a licensed electrician in here to bring everything up to code but that's a chore for another day. Had to do the same thing when we moved from our house in Pennsylvania. So anyway, he wanted to "check" again to make sure the lights came on automatically. Of course they didn't and thank God he acquiesced and let me turn them on manually, which as I said before I don't mind. But Bill is very stubborn. He wold never survive in a nursing home. They would have him so drugged up, he would be in a head hanging stupor like my late friend Bob McCamley was the last time I visited him in his last residence, a "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" nursing home in Lewes. I don't want Bill to end up like that. 

On top of everything else, this morning I get a call from my longtime friend Lar. He has ALS and we frequently talk on FaceTime in the morning. He's alone most days (his wife is in a rehab facility and his daughter, who lives with him is working during the day). Other than his four times a week health care visitors, he's alone all day. I couldn't' talk to him this morning nor could I talk to him yesterday morning. I feel guilty about that but I only have so many hours in the day and being a full-time caregiver plus taking care of this household pretty much takes up all my waking hours. Maybe tomorrow Lar.

Then there is the icing on the cake. After it snowed again last night, I shoveled all the snow off our driveway and took out our trash. They never came by today to pick it up. 

Oh, and one more thing. I called to arrange to have "Justin" come by and install a driveway indicator to let us know when someone comes up our driveway. Bill used to have an indicator but it stopped working months ago and of course he can't get it working now because of his eyesight and cognitive disability and of course I can't get it working. I'm a good cook (going to make a taco bake as soon as I finish this LONG posting) but I'm not an electrician, that's for sure. Are you kidding me? I woud electrocute myself if I attempted anything like that. So I call to arrange to have Justin, who installed our Ring Doorbell and a range extender for our WiFi (have to have that looked at too because it's not working all the time) come out. He can't because he also is quarantined with COVID. I'm telling you folks, COVID is going to get all of us yet. And to think in previous years I would be preparing for my annual trip with Pat to Palm Springs. What a carefree life I used to have. Perhaps some day it will come back but right now it's looking pretty bleak. 

So that was my day folks. How was yours?

Things Other People Have On Their Bucket List I Have Zero Interest

 Today I was so busy updating my new iPhone that I don't have time for a proper, interesting, thoughtful and erudite blog posting. I will write about my iPhone upgrade travails in a future post but for your amusement today I have this back up blog posting. 

As you can see I do intend to post daily this year. Today is almost over (it is 10:30 PM EST time now) so I still have time. 

Last night I was discussing with Pat my not political correct list of things ARE NOT ON MY BUCKET LIST. 

1. Climb El Capitan (or any mountain)
2. Do the CN Tower Toronto Edge Walk
3. Skydiving
4. Swim With The Sharks
5. Attending a Justin Bieber Concert (or Mariah Carey)
6. Hunting - Big Game Safari - Killing Wildlife
7. Going on a Carnival Cruise or any other cruise
8. Bungee Jumping
9. Attend a bullfight/run with the bulls
10. Get a tattoo/body piercing
11. Visit a vineyard (Tuscany or Napa Valley)
12. Attend a Donald Trump Rally
13. Polar Bear Plunge In Icy Cold Water
14. Attend a Broadway Show ("Hamilton")
15. Attend a amateur poetry reading
16. Race Car Driving
17. White Water Rafting
18. Skiing (snow and water)
19. Ride a bucking horse/wrestle a bull in a rodeo
20. Run a marathon (I can't run, body is not capable)
21. Ride a submarine (too claustrophobic) 
22. Ride a rocket into space (too claustrophobic)
23. Live/retire in Florida (too humid and too red)
24. Vote Republican (this from a former longtime register Republican). 

I'm sure there are many more things I could list. These are the ones that first came to my mind. 

"Running with the bulls?" That's like asking "How would you like to be gored in your groin with a sharp bull horn?" No Thanks!

If given a choice between running with the bulls and attending a Broadway show like "Hamilton!", I would choose "Hamilton!, painful as that might be. At the end of that play they would probably have to also carry me out on a stretcher because my mind would be so numbed by boredom, I would probably be in a catatonic state. A least I wouldn't have a bull horn in my groin. Close call though.

A List!

 Hey folks, a list! 

We all love lists. I got this one off my Twitter account.

Check it out. Give yourself 1 point for each thing you HAVE'NT done.

I got a score of NINE (guess which ones). What did you get?

Two of the nine I haven't done are still on my Bucket List. The other seven? NO WAY!

2,6,7,8,9,10,11,14,17

Walloped!

 

Yesterday at 4 PM when the snow ended. The sun came out creating a beautiful sunset

We're snowed in here folks! 

Yesterday's snowstorm made up for last year when we didn't get any snow. 

Here in the Milton/Lewes/Rehoboth Beach area we got from six to twelve inches of snow. That's enough to throw us in a panic.

Watching "Morning Joe" this morning, they reported on the thousands of cars stuck overnight on I-95 outside of Washington D.C. in the snow. Washington is considered the "South", and they panic if only  two inches is forecast.

I remember when I was stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland (right outside D.C.) and we were informed what the emergency snow routes were. I remember asking a fellow soldier "Didn't they just forecast two to four inches of snow?" I thought I heard wrong. I'm from southeastern Pennsylvania. While not Minnesota or even Tornonto Canada, two to four inches of snow was nothing. Just a slight inconvenience and yet at Ft. Meade, they're acting like it's Snowmageddon. Many of my fellow soldiers were from other parts of the country like Nebraska, Iowa and Maine. They also got a kick out of how the authorities at Ft. Meade always panicked at a forecast of any snow. But we did get a fair amount of snow here yesterday.

Bill wants to go outside and shovel. Of course that's impossible, he can hardly stand on his own two feet here in the house. "NO WAY!" I told him. He's so used to being the Man of the House and shoveling snow. When we lived in Pennsylvania on our almost seven acres of wooded paradise, he would get out the snow blower and clear a Pee Path for our Pomeranians and then clean off the snow from our five hundred hard driveway that wound up through the woods. Those days are long gone.

A bright sun is out this morning. I don't know how much snow will melt because the temperature is only twenty-one degrees. We don't have to go anywhere, I have enough food to last us for a month. Of course I might be a little low on milk, half and half and egg nog (all for Bill's daily two serving of oatmeal) but for feeding moi, I have a freezer chest stuffed. Good time to make some space in that freezer chest. Who knows what goodies are at the bottom? Oh, so that's what happened to that Royal Farms Spicy Chicken. I know I have twelve biscuits from Royal Farms that I froze. Also some taco bake casserole. I'll miss going out today and getting the chicken Parm special at Touch of Italy. That's been providing my sustenance for the past few weeks. Tuesdays is half price special. I can get five meals out of their delicious chicken Parm shaped like a pizza and taken out in a pizza box. I just cut a slice and put on my favorite pasta sauce (Rao's) along with some sliced of French baugette bread and preceded by a simple iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad with a garden vingarette dressing. I'm good to go.

As for our snow covered driveway. Maybe somebody will take pity on the two old men who live here and clean it for us. If not, I'll keep my ear perked up to listen for one of those Mexican crews that go through neighborhoods offering to clean the snow from driveways of old folks like us for a fee. Bill isn't shoveling NOTHING.  I have the snow shovel up in our garden shed a long ways away from the house. He can hardly make it upstairs in the morning for his breakfast and day let along go the whole length of our back yard to the garden shed, trudging through a food of ice covered snow.

Thinking about all those folks stuck on I-95 outside D.C. now and hoping they can get home soon.

Stay inside folks, warm safe and comfortable in your home.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

 

Bill checking our the radar weather map showing snow this morning. Bill can see colors and that's about it.

Woke up to a light rain this morning that quickly turned to snow. 

First snow of the year!

Maybe this snow will get rid of the army worms grubs that did such devastation on our lawn last year. By the way, that lawn is slowly recovering but it did take quite a blow.

The snow is accumulating now. Thank goodness we don't have to go anywhere. I took our Snow Armageddon Run to the store yesterday. Stocked up on milk (and almond milk for me) and other "vitals" because you just never know, we may be snowed in for two weeks. Honest to God folks, when was the last time we had a major Winter Storm Watch and we were snowed in for even three days? The last I can remember was 1954 (I think) when I was a young brash lad of only twelve years old. We lived in downtown Downingtown, second floor apartment at 120 Washington Avenue. We actually lost power for a few days (first and only time). School was closed and I read the MacKinlay Kantor book "Andersonville" about the Confederate prisoner of war camp , Andersonville prison, during the American Civil War. 

I don't recall ever being snowed in ever since but God knows we always make that Milk Run to the store "just in case."

A light rain last night and yes, water is still seeping in our basement wall. I have old towels there to sop it up which I'm drying now. I will be so glad when I get THAT fixed. Of course the guy I hired to do it probably will be further delayed because of the snow. Patience Ron, patience.

Today I'm gong to try and get caught up on some loose ends. One being to call DdirecTV to disconnect the satellite box to Bill's bedroom TV. He can't see it anyway so why continue paying $7.00 a month?

Also, I haven't ordered my personalized photo calendars. Every year it seems I slip further and further behind in ordering those calendars. First I have to chose the photos, usually of moi. Maybe I'll do something different this year, I'm tired of seeing my old face. Probably like a lot of other people, tired of seeing my old face that is. I used to be somewhat nice looking. I've really gone downhill in looks the past few years since my prostate cancer and kidney stones and now full time caregiver. That will age anyone. Oh well, I had a good run. Now I'm on my last run, the Sliding Board Out Of Life.

I have to transfer information from my old iPhone to my new iPhone today. I've been putting that off long enough. I'm in this annual iPhone upgrade program. I like getting a new iPhone every year but I dread the transfer of information. I'm always afraid I'm going to screw something up and LOSE EVERYTHING. Never turns out that way but still. My mind is slipping, I can tell. 

Time now to update my online Scrabble games with Pat. He just texted me that he got up. I usually have those games (eight of them) ready for him when he gets up but today I took some time out to relax and look at the Ohio State Bank ("Best Damn Band In The Land") videos of their ramp entrances and pregame show at the Rose Bowl this year. Being a former marching band member myself, I always find it relaxing to watch a really good marching band. I need these moments as a respite. Blogging isn't my only way of dealing with daily life stress.

By the way, one of my New Year's resolutions is to blog every day. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions but this year (since I don't have that many years left) I'm making that a major goal. Of course much I write about is nonsense and would never win any awards for creative and interesting writing but this is my life folks. Humble as it may be . And I do enjoy writing about it. I often imagine someone five hundred years from now coming across the remnants of my blog posts and saying "WTF?"

Have a great day everyone!