Mowing Grass

 Yesterday my adjoining neighbor and I had our grass mowed together. I love the way Jose puts the professional baseball field "lines" in his finished job.

When Bill and I first moved to Delaware and Casa Tipton-Kelly's almost one acre oasis of paradise, Bill did all the mowing including our neighbor's property. We purchased one of this big monster zero degree John Deere EZturn riding mower. Bill loved to mow the grass.

Bill mowed the grass for years, once a week in season. I had it easy. Then came a time when he could no longer mow our neighbor's lawn and eventually even mow our own lawn. I learned how to use the John Deere riding mower. I too grew to love mowing our lawn. 

Then a few years ago I found I could no longer tolerate the oppressive heat and humidity of summer and mow the grass at the same time. That's when I asked Jose (who has been mowing my neighbors lawn since Bill stopped mowing it) to mow my lawn. 

Jose is an excellent landscaper/mower/gardner. No one mows and trims lawns better than Jose. I was afraid I would lose him this year because of the ICE terror campaign against Mexican and Hispanic lawn care folks. We have a lot of them here in southern coastal Delaware. In fact Georgetown his heavily populated with a Hispanic demographic from Mexico and other Central and South American countries. Thankfully Jose is still here but he's not traveling back to his home in Mexico like he used to do in the off season. I asked him once if he was documented but he only told me he's been here over thirty years. Not a direct answer so make of that what you will. 

Last year for the first time I started to use Jose on a regular basis. I couldn't afford to use his services weekly like my neighbor does but I could do every other week. He only charges $60 per mow, which is a great bargain, but still, $60 a week is more than my reduced budget can bear. I'm not working parting anymore nor do I have Bill's Social Security income to help with household expenses. 

I still like mowing my lawn but I cannot do it in the oppressive heat and humidity of summer. I just can't. Now I'm seriously considering having Jose mow my lawn full-time. He does such a great job, especially the trimming, which I don't/can't do and he does it much faster than I do. Maybe I have to take a look at my finances again. But I know one thing, I love the convenience of having someone mow my lawn and I love the way it looks after Jose is done. Those professional baseball field "lines." By the way, my neighbor has a much better view from his back deck of our adjoining lawns than I do. How did that happen?

Thursday Thoughts

 Good morning folks! 

I've been so busy that I missed my weekly Wednesday meme. So I developed a new meme called "Thursday Thoughts." 

Here goes!

What's My Latest Change?

My vintage iMac computer finally has been put out to pasture. It was no longer compatible with You Tube. I couldn't have that so I had to switch to my new iMac computer that I bought last year but have only used to do my Turbo Tax tax return for last year. 

What's On My Mind?

The delivery of my new refrigerator. Yes Virginia, my twenty year old GE Profile side by side refrigerator could no longer keep my food cold so a new refrigerator was in order. Delivery was supposed to be yesterday but there was a delay. The delivery from the manufacture didn't make it in time to be loaded onto the truck the previous night for deliver yesterday. This after I had cleaned out my garage and refrigerator waiting for my delivery. The best laid plans of men and mice or something like that. Now delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. In the meantime I have my little downstairs refrigerator that was only for Bill's ice cream and my prebiotic sodas is stuffed with what was in my old refrigerator. Still more to take out of my old refrigerator. Good time to clean out even though it still hurts to thought out food even if some of it is over three years old.

Who's Been Here?

My new Computer Guy. With all the changes of my computers it was time to call in professional help. I've been using this one company for the past several years.  They're good but this time they outdid theirselves. They send over a young man who was fabulous! Friendly, knowledgeable and willing to share information about what he's doing. And best of all he was so patient with me, old man that I am who frequently gets confused these days. Of course it also helped that he was also gay, which I discovered after he referred to his eighty-four year old partner (he's thirty-five). He probably shared this information with me when I told him how old I was and all I wanted was my computer and peripheral machines to work. I told him my whole life is my home office and my computers and my blogging, You Tube, FaceTime and Zoom calls. I just want everything to work so I can have a stress free day. I don't need any more aggravation this time of my life. He understood and then proceeded to show me by how much he helped me. He's coming back tomorrow by the way because my new printer (which, of course, isn't compatible with my new computer). Everything is vintage in this house, including me!

Where Am I Going?

To the thrift store today of course. I'm a day late.

Who Deserves A Slap In Their Face?

All the sycophants in the Trump administration who continue to enable this absurdity that is our president. Every day I wake up convinced I just had a bad dream and then have to come to the realization that we are a global embarrassment. When is this going to end? When is it going to end?

What's My Latest Order From Amazon?

I ordered a garden memorial stone of Bill for a garden out front of my house. Bill had built a beautiful white picket fence out there that the Comcast decreed had to be removed so they could have access to their equipment. That garden is thriving but was missing something. This memorial plaque is the perfect answer. 

Who Deserves a Fist Bump?

The weather. Finally! After a brutal summer of heat and humidity finally some normal weather. I can now get outside and do more work but my physical limitations are still in effect. I did so much yesterday that I almost collapsed last night before I could get into bed. Yes, I continue to push myself to my limit. That limit is arriving sooner these days. 

Regular followers of my blog will notice that I changed my "World of Wednesdays" a bit to suit my personal lifestyle. I no longer have the "What I'm Reading" header. I read one book at a time and only when I go to bed. It can take me at least a month to read a book. So there goes that category as other categories in my weekly update. 

Oh, here's my latest 

What I've Been Eating

I'm back to sauerkraut and pork. So easy to make in my Crock Pot with onion, apples and caraway seeds. I have this delicious concoction with fresh corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Delicious!

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to the thrift store!

Neighbor's House Demolished

Hey guys, tired of looking at that old blog post of me and Pat? I am!

Just so busy around here at Casa Tipton-Kelly during these halcyon days of summer of 2023 that I'm having a difficult time updating my blog posts on a timely basis. My apologies possums! 

One day last week whilst I was doing my morning walk around the development where Bill and I live, I came upon the completion of the tear down of my neighbor Harvey's house. If you'll remember several months ago he had a horrible fire which destroyed his whole house. Harvey lost everything. He, his daughter and two guests were able to get out uninjured though due to the alert their neighbors gave them. "GET OUT! YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE."  Harvey was barefoot and in his shorts (underwear). The fire was caused by a faulty charging mechanism on his electric golf cart. That fire exploded propane gas tanks he had stored in his garage. 

Harvey's house before the fire

Harvey's house was the only other house of the fifty-seven house in our development that had this stone facing. The original owners, Christine and Lorraine,  chose that stone facing. Lorraine complained that there "wasn't enough color" in the stone. Well, that's not a problem now. 

Last week I talked to Harvey, who I encountered while his house was being demolished. He gave me two pieces of advice:

1. Make sure you have enough insurance (he did, his house will cost $630,000 to replace. But he told me he's demolishing what was left of his old house "our of his own pocket.")

2. Take a video or pictures of everything you have in your house just in case your house is destroyed. By the way, our greatest danger here in southern coastal Delaware is a hurricane. We haven't had "the big one" in over one hundred years. I hope I'm long gone before and when that happens, which with the increasing weird weather we're having because of global warming. 

I checked my insurance and I have enough to cover the replacement of our house although as you know, something things are irreplaceable. And God knows I have a LOT of things. We won't go there now. I'm not Pat. 

Thinking about what Harvey is going through now makes my head swim. I just can't imagine losing everything but like they always say, you still have your life. President Biden was in Hawaii yesterday surveying the damage from their recent wildfires. Again, I just can't imagine being in something like that, a wildfire sweeping away your whole life in minutes. 

Situations like this often remind me how lucky Bill and I are.  All I wish now is to life out our remaining days in peace and pain free comfort. The pain free (for me) is going to be a challenge (my arthritis) but Bill is pain free. He just gets tired a lot but otherwise we're doing well here folks. 

Have a great day everyone!

Family Updates

 

Me and my little brother John 1947

As some of my regular blog followers may have noticed, I haven't posted in a while. 

I just recently posted the notice of the passing of my youngest brother (77) who has been battling a series of medical issues for the past three years. Sadly that battle ended yesterday with his passing.

I had plans to go to his funeral in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. 

I actually had two plans. One was to place Bill in the local hospice respite center for three or four days while I traveled to Greenville for a few days to attend my brother's services. The other was for Pat (my friend in Canada) to come down and stay with Bill and perform minimal care for him while I am gone.

Bill had initially agreed to either one of these plans but last week, when my brother's death was imminent, Bill backed out. He didn't want me to leave. No way, no how. He wouldn't go to the hospice respite center (hotel like accommodations available to me every six months for my respite which I have yet to take advantage of). Or Pat's generous offer to make the trip from Canada to take care of Bill. No way, no how. That's Bill. 

I don't know that I can blame Bill entirely for being selfish. He is used to getting things his way. He throws a big enough tantrum he usually gets his way. Sometimes. Not today when he was looking for a rope to hold up his pants. I instead that he wear a belt. Bill's cognitive issues are getting worse but I won't get into that now. Other than to say he's driving me crazy at night. He's either too hot or too cold. Even now that's he's off of blood thinners, he still complains about the temperature. Lately it's not even making sense so I guess it's a further decline of his cognitive health. 

Bill's getting weaker, albeit slower. Nothing dramatic like you see in the movies. Just a gradual weakness. He's exhausted after his every third day morning shower. Even when we have to change his Depends daily he's exhausted. He's frustrated by his blindness. I'm having a hard time understanding him, most of his speech is slurred. He doesn't realize it. He tries, bless his heart, he tries. Thank goodness he can still walk and go to the bathroom by himself (thank you Jesus) but I can see the day when that goes by the wayside.

I have to tell you folks I'm getting dragged under. What with Putin and Russia invading Ukraine and causing all that senseless death and destruction (for what?) and the constant Fifth Column here of brainwashed Republicans who are convinced Biden lost the election.  Somedays I just want to not wake up. 

But after seeing courage of so many every day Ukrainians fight for their country makes me realize my situation is small potatoes. I actually have it pretty good. So what that I haven't been to a restaurant in over two years? So what that I haven't been anywhere in over two years? I have my Zoom friends and FaceTime friends although I think one has gone by the wayside because I'm not paying enough attention to him. That's too bad but I have enough on my hands right here and now.

And perhaps the worst insult of all I can't even get Facebook's online Scrabble game to load. That was one source of relaxation I had during the day and evening. What IS their problem?

The good news is that my springtime daffodils are up! All that bended knee of the fall is paying off now. And I don't have Russian bombs dropping on me when I take a few minutes each day to walk around Casa Tipton-Kelly to enjoy their cheerful reminder of rebirth. 

Some of this year's daffodil crop

How I Pass My Time These Days

Now that I'm not working my part-time job at the hotel, what you may ask do I do with my spare time? Not that I have a lot of spare time but I am able to secure some Ron Time when Bill goes to bed which is usually around 7 PM at night. These days he does stay in bed all night and is waiting for me in the morning when I go down to his basement bedroom and prepare him for the day. 

Usually in the evenings like this I play online Scrabble with Pat while my TV is on in background (wallpaper), almost always on MSNBC (Joy, Chris, Rachel and Lawrence). Sometimes I update my blog like I'm doing now. I also take care of business like tonight I ordered spring bulbs from Breck's to arrive in the fall. I'm always enthused in the spring to order bulbs but when they arrive in the fall, I am so tired from yard work and ready to take my winter break, I have to force myself to plant those bulbs. But when spring rolls around, like this year, I'm glad I made the effort. Thus hundreds of my bulbs will be shipped to Casa Tipton-Kelly for their forever home this fall.

On the weekends, in this the COVID area, I FaceTime with my friends Pat, Glen, Don, Larry and Stuart, all of whom are located across the country from Delaware, California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Canada. Lately I've been Zooming my friends, although I'm still having trouble arranging those Zoom calls. I recorded our Zoom call yesterday.  I was going to post it to this blog but decided not to because it is twenty minutes long and perhaps the other participants would not want me to do so. By the way, any of my blog readers want to Zoom call, let me know and we'll give it a try. I usually add Pat to the mix. Nice way to meet people personally. Let me know.

The other thing I do on the weekends is attend the Tipton Cinema which is my home movie theater in my bedroom. I have an older 60 inch Samsung flat screen TV and I play my Netflix rented DVDs on a CD player (only get 489 pixels) but I do get surround sound and I don't have to share my movie theater with someone talking and I can pause my movie anything to take a bathroom break or a refreshment call. I LOVE my home theater. Last night I watched "Before Night Falls". A biopic about a gay Cuban poet during the Castro regime. Movie wasn't great but I'm including a clip that shows the wide ranging talents of Johnny Depp.  Yes, he is "Bon Bon", the glamours drag queen of the Cuban prison. Damn he's good. I didn't know who "Bon Bon" was until I read the credit to the movie. Johnny had all the moves down didn't he? I love watching actors who have talent like that. By the way, can you imagine Brad Pitt as "Bon Bon"? I can't.  Which reminds me, I have to watch "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" again.

I need the diversion.

Driving Bill

After yesterday's political rant posting about Kavanaugh being confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, I am providing a palate cleanser.  

I don't like to posts political rants to my blog but I just had to get my disappointment and frustration out of my system.I had to fight off the urge to post today about those two phonies Senators Flake and Collins but I will spare the readers of my blog. Instead I'm going to post about something that is good.

Almost every day I take Bill out for a ride. Bill still has his driver's license but he doesn't feel comfortable driving now at his age.  For the past year or so I do all the driving for us. In an emergency Bill could still drive, but he prefers me to drive. And I don't mind driving. 

For the first thirty years of our domesticity Bill did all the driving. I had a driver's license but I didn't drive.  I didn't get my own car and drive until we moved out of Philadelphia to the suburb town of Downingtown, PA in 1980.  Then I only drove to work, the grocery store and garden centers.  

Gradually I increased my range of driving to visit my good friend Bob McCamley in Georgetown, Delaware.  I never have driven in a city, like Philadelphia and I never will. That's why I pay a neighbor to taxi me to the Philadelphia airport and my friend Don McKenzie's co-op for me and Pat's twice a year visit to Philadelphia.

Since moving to Delaware in 2007 I gradually took over most of the driving. About eight years ago Bill gave up his Jeep Cherokee and we used my car all the time.  Bill occasionally drove but I did most of the driving. Now I do all the driving.

Every day I try to take Bill out for a ride.  Usually it's too the local Food Lion for food shopping.  About every two weeks we make the twenty mile trip to Millsboro to B.J.s Wholesale store. That's always a special trip that Bill looks forward too.  The other two places that we make occasional visits to are Lowe's and Walmart.

Yesterday I took Bill to Walmart to get a new pair of house slippers.  When I take Bill out he almost always greets older ladies with a "Good morning!"  He often compliments the ladies. In the one photo you'll see woman with a white dress. Bill approached her and complimented her on her dress. She said "Oh thank you!"  

Lady in white dress at checkout counter is who Bill complimented on her dress - Bill usually leaves a trail of either smiling old ladies or old ladies who look at him like he's weird (check out the lady in the black slacks and white top)

After complimenting that lady Bill saw this other woman in black.  He didn't know it but this is a woman I work with at the hotel.  Her name is Helen.  As Bill approached her to compliment her I told Bill that I work with her.  I don't think Bill heard me, he's very hard of hearing.  

I am so thankful that I have these opportunities to take Bill out for "his ride."  Bill so looks forward to these outings.  

When I first met Bill on that rainy Saturday night in July of 1964 at the Westbury Bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; I didn't know that  one day fifty-four years later I would be his caregiver. That I would be the caregiver of a 90 year old man.  If anyone would have told me that was my future, I probably would have turned right around and left that bar and gone into the dark rainy night.  But this is the way my life has evolved.  And I am glad.  This is good.  My life is good. Our life is good.