Nice Weekend

Good afternoon everyone. Well mom and dad had a nice weekend. Danna and Kevin were down on Friday night & left Saturday afternoon, but not before they did quite a bit of work around the house. Kevin was busy trimming branches on the trees. Mom was quite impressed with how much better it looked. Plus she worked hard & had it all burned yesterday. I will say it did look very good, it is amazing what a few branches trimmed out of the trees would improve the look that much. Mom enjoyed the weather and spent lots of time outside.

Yesterday dad was pretty tired out. He slept most of the time I was there. We did manage to get him up for a few bites of lunch and for mom to shave him. He was feeling pretty weak, so I helped him sit up while mom shaved his whiskers. She was hoping to wash his hair too, but he said no, it was time to lay back down. While dad was resting, mom went over to Tabor. She needed to get some stuff at school and get some groceries for her classes this week. After she got back, we decided to see how the paint I got at Home Depot was going to work out on the old step stool. I got some oops paint for $5, almost a full gallon, quite a bargain. Mom was hoping for more of a blue, but the gray really does look nice. It was looking much better after just one coat. In no time we won't remember it used to be a nasty olive green color. After that mom decided that I should be heading home, so off I went. Not much else interesting happened last night. Dad didn't eat much for supper either and since not much was on tv, they headed to bed early and he only was up once last night.

This morning mom said he was just eating breakfast when I called about 11:00. The nurse had been there and his vitals were good, but he is just tired. He was able to sit up today and told me good morning when I called. Mom said that Lois Aistrope was coming 1st today and then Barb and Leonard Wilkens. She said that today she was doing her pie demo at school. She made the crust last night and had all the ingredients ready for the filling. She was hoping it would work out ok today in class. I told her I was sure it would be wonderful. It is almost time to call her again to see how it went... I will let you all know tomorrow.

Thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Beautiful Friday.

Happy Birthday Brenda Scott!

Well when I talked to mom this morning she was enjoying the great day. She was sitting outside and having her coffee. A couple minutes later, Tom Polluck, who was getting beans out of the grain bin, came up to chat and then Uncle Cliff stopped by as well. Today is Brenda's birthday so
he had to head out to take her to lunch. I let them chat and called her back. She said that Aunt Kathy had called as well, to see if mom needed anything in Shenandoah. She couldn't think of anything. I got the carpet sample for the chair yesterday and will be headed back to home depot to see if I can find a suitable paint for the old step stool to get a face lift.

Yesterday afternoon I had a nice trip back to Randolph, had to stop in Tabor a James' Grocery and saw a couple people I knew. They mostly just look at me like I am a complete stranger, so that was a change. Mom and I grilled some salmon and tilapia for supper. She was pleased with my selection and had some for leftovers today. She also made her chocolate muffins. Danna found these great muffins at Bakers, and mom liked having them with her coffee. But you can't always get them, because they are popular. So I found a mix that is pretty close, so now mom has muffins for the weekend.

Dad was pretty tired out, but did watch some of the TV shows that were on last night. He said "oh that silly show again". Every show was silly and he wasn't finding much humor in any of them last night. He preferred to sleep. He ate a few bites of supper, but it wasn't going
down too well, so he laid down. Mom said that he didn't eat much breakfast today and she was hoping she could get him to eat lunch and take his pills before she left.

This afternoon Paul Barker was the first visitor and then Stan and Shirley Schaaf will be coming over. Danna and Kevin are planning on heading down tonight and they have a couple little projects to do in the morning for mom, before they head back to Omaha. I will be going down
on Sunday, but haven't heard if anyone else is visiting. Mom said we will talk more about the blood mobile this weekend and how we are going to swing that.

Hope you all have a good weekend and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Tumble

Well somehow last night dad took a tumble out of bed and mom was not quite quick enough to catch him. He is fine. He said "I was reaching for the lawn chair" --- so it was kind of a restless night, because he was confused. He was pretty worn out this morning when I called and was
sleeping soundly.

Mom is feeling and sounding much better today. Not having to go to school yesterday really helped her rest up. Yesterday afternoon Pastor John did come for his visit and they had communion. He told Pastor John he wasn't going to eat dinner and he did, so that was good. Dad didn't eat his lunch, but did eat well last night and even had some ice cream
before bed.

I am off today, because I worked on Sunday, so I am heading down to Randolph to hang out with mom and dad tonight. Mom is working on sanding a chair and refinishing it, so I am going to Home Depot to check out paint samples for it and take those down. Then once she decides on
a paint, I will have a few more things to get. Then the projects will begin. When Kevin and Danna come down they are going to really talk about making the back porch into a sun porch and the new shelves and lighting. It should be a pretty quick makeover, since they already have
all the nice new windows in the porch. A few cosmetic changes, cleaning and some new storage and it should be about done... I am looking forward to the finished product!

Today's visitors are Colleen Alley and Jill from hospice. Mom had given the birds more food and water this morning, but decided not to run into the bank. Dad was just a bit to restless for that. But she thought she may have time on her way to school.

Short message today. Not many visitors and since mom was a bit under the weather, she was taking it easy. I am sure the stories about her students making pies will begin soon. Thanks for checking on Dad and have a great day!

Nic

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Today is Jennifer's Birthday (Andy's wife)... so hope you have a wonderful day!

Well, mom is not feeling very well. She has a sore throat and is stuffed up. So if anyone calls you may not recognize her voice. The hospice nurse Karen, is still sick today, so she didn't come for her visit. Mom is wearing a mask around dad, just in case. She said that when Danna called last night she didn't recognize her voice. It was pretty bad. She said that it was fine and then she went in to ask dad if he was ready for dinner and thought, wow, what happened to my voice.
Dad had kind of a restless night. He was up at 11:30, 12:30 and 4:30. Mom was able to get back to sleep after each stirring and slept till about 8. They got up then and had breakfast. Dad didn't want to take his pills today. He took 2 of the stool softeners and said that the 3rd was just too big to take, so he spit it out. Then decided to lay back down. Mom didn't figure that it would hurt him much, and he could always take it later.

They have an in-service at school today, so no afternoon classes. That means mom is home today, which is good. Hopefully she will feel much better tomorrow. Pastor John didn't get to come yesterday, he was stuck in Denver from his trip. But he is coming today. So that will be nice to have someone stop in today.

Yesterday afternoon when I called mom said it is just gorgeous outside. She had been sanding on the chair and was going to have her coffee on the porch again. We talked about the Blood Mobile. The FCCLA girls always do the food, so we talked about how mom was going to swing it this year. Mom said that Melissa probably has a plan. I said I would be happy to make cookies or come down, so that will be something to figure out in the next week.

The kids are going to start on their pie unit today. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law managed to get mom 20 new pie plates from the Goodwill, so that all the kids would be able to make their own crust. Should be another interesting unit! : )

Hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Good Night

Well mom was sitting on the porch this morning, when I called, drinking her coffee. She said that the wind had died down & the sun was coming down on her black pants, warming her up nicely. Dad slept all night till about 7. She slept well too. They got up around 8 and had breakfast and dad took his pills and then took his 1st nap. Mom was going to go wake him to shave him and then he could rest again before lunch. Last night she said was pretty uneventful. She paused the show she was watching when she was talking on the phone, so didn't get to bed till late, but that was ok. Mom said that Kristy Hoffman Reagan was on the news last night. Marian, her mom, was the 1st visitor on Friday. Dad and Kristy's dad did business together at the bank. She is an RD at Children's Hospital, and was on the news last night, so they both got to see her.

Aunt Kathy called this morning to chat. She had a spot on her hand removed and biopsied. It was cancerous, but they were pretty sure they got it. She has to go back for follow up in 6 months. That Scott skin is very prone to that.... our thoughts and prayers are with you Aunt Kathy. She also found out that Great Aunt Peggy moved to a new room in Risen Sun. She apparently was in the hospital and when she got back went to the rehab area, and now requiring more care. One of Aunt Kathy's kids parents told her "your Aunt Peg must not be feeling well because she stopped dying her hair." Anyone who knows Aunt Peg would agree... I can't imagine her without red hair. Hope she is on the mend soon and feels like getting her hair done, too. She is in our thoughts and prayers as well.

Today Mark and Benita Fichter are coming and then Jill from hospice. Pastor John is also coming today too, from hospice. He has been in California visiting his father. I hope they were not in the area that got nasty weather. Mom and Dad are looking forward to his visit.
I think that is about all today... not much new to report. Hope you all have a great day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Busy weekend

Well mom and dad had lots of visitors this weekend! But first I will go back to Friday afternoon.
Marian came early, so mom could go to the bank to get the FCCLA money counted. They took in $311 selling cookies, without expenses taken out yet, not bad. I was correct about the afternoon visitors, it was Stan and Shirley Schaaf. Also Ed and Marv came out from the bank to chat with dad. Mom was going to have her coffee on the porch and watch the sunset. Danna came down on Friday night to stay with mom and dad. Dad was up quite a bit Danna said, but she did get some sleep. Mom came down once and told him it was time to sleep and he did lay down then.

Saturday Danna stayed till after I got there and we had lunch. Mom had gone to Shen to the chiropractor, get groceries and such. Mom got the Johnny Carson commemorative People magazine, so Danna had a good time looking at that & telling us about parts of it. After Danna left, mom went up to walk, while dad & I watched basketball. We watched ISU beat Kansas, dad kind of napped through parts of it, but I kept him updated when he stirred. Mom and I watched the tape from the remodeling on the house they have done over the years. She was wondering about the windows in the dining room. But after we saw that, we kept watching. It is amazing all the changes they have made to the house. Plus there are still more to come. We talked about making the back porch her sun porch again. I suggested that she build in some shelving on the north side under the windows for storage. We went out and looked at it and thought it would work out. Perhaps a tall cabinet for brooms and shovels and shorter cabinets for gardening stuff and her recycling.

Saturday night Danna and I both went to Lincoln to a surprise 30th birthday party for our cousin, Lex. She had no idea, and that makes it so much fun. Her husband Sean did an excellent job of planning, way to go Sean! I called mom after we got back to town and she said that Andy and the kids were going to come on Sunday. They couldn't come on Saturday because Ali was not feeling well. So the visitors on Sunday were adding up.

Sunday Aunt Donna, Uncle Terry and Kathryn came up from Excelsoir Springs, Missouri. Kathryn must have been on Spring Break. Plus Aunt Bev and Dave came over from Sharpsburg, so they had a full house. I had to work, but the house was buzzing when I called. The kids had a good time. Ali and mom made smores, plus Zac loved the french doors. Apparently he and Ali were playing hide and seek behind the doors. : ) Fun at Grandpa and Grandma's house! Andy told mom the kids slept almost the whole way home, they were worn out! Mom also said that after they left, dad said "well I think the kids had a good time", mom agreed.

Mom called about 8:30 to say they were headed to bed. She was not feeling the best, kind of catching a cold and dad had gagged a bit with supper, so they were just going to sleep. I told her that sounded good and that I hoped she felt better in the morning.

She did, when I called today she sounded so much better. Still sounded a bit stuffy, but not bad. Karen the hospice nurse was there and she was wearing a mask, because she was feeling a bit of a cold coming on as well. Dad's vitals were still pretty good and his sore is still healing nicely. Mom doesn't have school today, because of President's Day, so no planned visitors today. She did get up about 7 and made coffee and got up about 8 to start the day. She needed to bundle up and feed the birds and refill the bird bath, but that was about the only thing on the schedule for today. She was hoping to rest up.

Well think that about does it... thanks for checking on dad!

Nic

Sitting on the porch

Well, when I called this morning the nurse Kelly was there, because Karen the regular hospice nurse had to go to a funeral for her mother-in-law. Our thought are with her and her family. So I told mom I would just call back.When I called back, mom was sitting on the porch, drinking her coffee. That was such a good change that they made to the house when they added the porch. I remember lots of times I would call & they would be sitting on the porch just enjoying the day/night. The porch also provides mom lots of space for her holiday decorations. But back to today.... Mom said that Kelly said that dad's vitals were good and his pressure sore was getting better, it is granulating nicely. So making dad sleep with pillows under one side or the other is paying off. Dad slept pretty well last night, he was up about 2 and 5 but went right back to sleep.

Today Marian Hoffman is coming to stay with dad, but I don't remember who the 2nd visitor is... so I will have to post that on Monday. I think it is Stan and Shirley Schaaf, but I can't remember for sure.Yesterday afternoon Glen Norton, dad cousin, stopped by as well. His wife, Donna was not feeling well so she didn't come, but that it was nice that he came over. They live outside of Lenox, so it was quite a drive, but at least he had sunshine to make the trip go quicker.Dad told mom that when Jill, from hospice, gave him his bath, he nearly froze to death. So it took him a while to warm up and didn't want to eat much for dinner. He was kind of gagging, but mom did get him to eat some bread before he took his night pills.

Mom did get the pictures sent to Andy of the cakes. The pictures will be small because she puts them in a word document, but you can at least see all their hard work. Yesterday they made an angel food and shortened cake from scratch. She brought them home from school to bake them, because she didn't want to stay late at school. Yesterday afternoon mom was sitting on the back porch drinking her coffee and thinking about how to turn it into a sun porch. That is a project for later this year. She has a list of things to do 1st. The most important is her shop. She is going to convert the area where the chicken house was to her wood shop. The building is coming down, but she will still use the existing concrete, plus adding a little more area to it. Kevin is going to help with the planning of both projects. So I am sure we will have a few work weekends at mom's house this year to get her all fixed up! Which will be fine with me! I am anxious to see how the projects turn out. Andy and the kids are coming from KC this weekend, if the weather cooperates. Danna is headed down tonight and I will also be going down tomorrow. I have to work on Sunday, but Aunt Donna, Uncle Terry and Kathryn are coming up on Sunday. So this weekend the house will be filled with people! Mom said she cleaned the kitchen and only had one thing left to clean, the bathroom. I am sure that she got that done before she left for school. Well think that is about it. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Thanks for checking on dad!

Nic

: )

Mom's cakes

Here is a Word document with pictures of the cakes mom's students made.

-Andy

Mom's class's cakes.doc

Bright Sunshine!

Well this morning mom commented about how bright the sun was shining. It always makes the day start off better when the sun is shining!

Yesterday the visitors were Uncle Cliff and Bill and Alena Fichter. Bill and Alena had just gotten home from Seattle. They said they had a good trip, they didn't get home till about 1am, so thanks for coming when you had just gotten home! Mom said something about Bill only getting peanuts on the plane, and he only had 20, or something like that, I was on speaker and she was cutting out a bit.... But that way dad can hear both sides of the conversation, instead of just mom talking to me!

Mom did get to sit on the porch and drink her coffee, yesterday. She said they had a pretty good day at school. They didn't get to have their 7th hour meal because the person in charge was gone. But they had a good conversation about what they are going to do next year after they graduate. Only one of her seniors in that class has applied to college. She was surprised by that and told them that if they were going to do it, they better get busy!

Last night dad was getting cold. Which usually means that he will get sick, but surprisingly he did not. Mom had a good time watching "Lost", we talked about it and found the different things that we got out of it. Amazing how you can watch the same show and pick up on different pieces. Next week should be a good one too, I can't wait.

Last night we got a snow blower. A guy that Kirk works with was selling his. It is a good one, that would have been well out of our price range, but since it is used, it was just about right. Mom told dad, and he said "good". I said since we now have a snow blower, we probably won't get any more snow this year. : ) Which would be ok with me!

I don't believe that the last couple days blogs are getting posted, because Andy's kids have been sick and he has not been working, so I apologize for that. I am without my email too, at home, Kirk got a new computer, so he is changing everything. The old pc becomes the new server and the new pc gets all the stuff from the old pc, plus some new stuff... and so we have been without email at home since Tuesday! It is driving him crazy. But the story with that is that I don't have Andy's email address at home with me at work, so cannot send it anywhere else....

This morning mom said that dad slept pretty good. He woke up about 4 to go to the bathroom and went right back to sleep, but she couldn't get back to sleep right away. So she let dad sleep in a bit today and was running behind. She put me on speaker phone again since she was shaving dad when I called. The next tasks were to brush his teeth and wash his hair. Since he was sitting up I could hear him pretty well when he talked to me. He sounded good, but tired.

Mom also said that the lights were on all night at the new neighbor's, the Davis'. It is hard to tell during the day because the sun shines on the windows, but when she was up at 4, she saw the lights. So, don't know if that was intentional or not, but perhaps they are getting closer to moving in.

Today Colleen Alley and Jill from hospice are the visitors today. She had to change Friday's schedule because Paul has something else going on. I can't remember what for sure... something to do with a family member and a Dr. visit, I think. Sorry.

Well that about sums it up for today. Hope you are all having a good day and thanks for checking on dad!

Nic
: )

Speaker phone...

Well when I called this morning Karen, the hospice nurse was there. They were just getting ready to change dad's dressing, so mom put me on speaker phone. It is a two person job, one person to hold dad up and one to change the dressing on the wound. It was kind of hard to hear all the conversation and couldn't hear dad at all, but it was nice to chat with mom all the same.

Dad had a pretty good night, mom said that he woke up about 5 to use the restroom and then went right back to sleep and then didn't wake up till 8:15. Mom got up around 7 to make coffee and went back to bed. She said the sun was shining bright when dad woke up at 8:15 and she enjoyed her coffee. Dad did eat his oatmeal pretty well this morning, too. Karen said he looked pretty good and was very alert today. I thought that was good too....

Last night mom didn't get to go to the parent's night game. I got a hold of Sandy, but they weren't able to come and I couldn't figure out anyone else to come by. Mom was fine she said and had papers to grade. I had volleyball last night so talked to her before and after our games. She is trying to figure out more stuff about the farm. Some of it is just a mystery. We will get it all figured out eventually. : ) Also found out that Jennifer's, Andy's wife, grandfather is ill in Minnesota. But hopefully the tests will go well and he will be back on the mend soon. Andy is still hoping to make it up this weekend and Danna and I are trying to find time to come down as well to see the kids.

On my afternoon call yesterday, mom said she was tired. It was just a gloomy day, but it had been a good day at school. They had their last foreign foods meal and it was very good. They also had the cake demonstration and she put a giraffe on the cake and showed the kids how to make roses. Plus mom talked to Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jamison about adult education classes for March. They got the article written for the paper, so they can start having them in March. So it was a pretty good day!

Mark and Benita Fichter were the 1st visitors and then Jill, not Jan, was there from hospice. Last week when Kim and Jill were there they washed the sheets for dad's bed. Mom said that Jill did more laundry yesterday as well. She also wrote a nice note in dad's notebook about what happened during her visit.

I think that about sums it up. Thanks for checking on dad.
Nic

Wishing for Spring

Well, I am sure wishing that the weather could just be nice like it was yesterday until it is springtime. Sometimes it just isn't fun living in the Midwest when it is nice one day and cold and wet the next! Oh well, it will be spring before we know it.

Well, mom and dad had a pretty good Valentine's Day. Dad ate his soup at supper pretty and was up for quite a while last night. I talked to him for quite a while. I can't always understand him on the phone, he was on a roll last night talking about something. I caught bits and pieces of it, but it was quite a conversation, so I didn't care. I was just happy to hear his voice. He ended our conversation with, "well, I think I will sleep now, here is your mom". Mom said he had been telling her the same thing, but he didn't rest for too long before he was back up. Later when Danna called she was telling him about the flowers and balloon she got from Kevin that talked. Apparently he was quite interested in it and wanted her to bring it down so he could see it, right then. Mom and Danna got quite a chuckle out of it. He was very animated last night. He then got upset with mom for talking on the phone. He said he was trying to get her attention and she just kept talking and talking and talking. (Which may be true, we all call and keep her on the phone most of the night, but she is always very attentive to whatever dad needs!) He was just full of opinions last night.

This morning mom said that dad slept pretty well and was up for breakfast about 7:30. Which was good since today was the day for him to get cleaned up. She washed his hair, shaved his whiskers and brushed his teeth, too. She said he was sleeping pretty good after all that and was still napping when I called. Before rested both Grandma Scott and Aunt Kathy called. Dad talked to each of them, which was good. Mom was hoping that Aunt Kathy could come down tonight so she could go to the boys basketball game. Tonight is Parent's Night, so she may call Glen and Sandy Howard to see if they could come over. Mom said, it is hard to believe that basketball season is almost over, they missed the whole thing. They usually hardly miss a game.

Mom was also doing a few things for school when I called this morning. She had baked some rye bread that one of the students started yesterday for his foreign foods unit. She did redo her grade sheet for grading the cakes the kids decorated. Plus she was going to have to make more frosting for the cake demo today, because Mrs. Wood called and they used most of the other she made in the 1st hour class. Mom also said that Apria came by this morning to get the C-pap machine that dad hadn't used in a while. They got a bill for it and thought it was pretty worthless to pay for it, since he wasn't using it....

I wanted to thank Verlee for the post yesterday. You are very kind. I told mom that you posted a comment and she said that was nice. She said that we have met, just as I had thought, in Harlan, before you moved, it was a long time ago, though! : ) Have fun with the wedding plans! Congratulations to your daughter as well!

Thanks to everyone for checking on dad. We really do appreciate it! Hope you all have a great day!

Nic

Happy Valentine's Day

Busy day here, so the entry is late in coming in, sorry!

Well Friday afternoon mom said that all the cakes were done, she has pictures of all of them, I will try to get them from her & post them. Just as a fun thing to look at after you read the days happenings. Mom also brought dad home a chocolate chip cookie from the FCCLA girls. She said they sold every cookie they made! I would say that was a success! I think they were making some more today too!

They had a pretty good Friday night. Danna dropped Kevin off while her & Sue went to the visitation for a friend from high school's grandmother. They watched a movie, but I don't remember which one. Then once the girls got back, Sue cut dad's hair. So it was a good trip all around.

Saturday I went down so that mom could go get her hair done. Dad's hair cut looked great. Sue did a wonderful job! : ) Thanks Sue! Plus mom was looking quite fabulous too, once her hair was done Saturday afternoon. Dad & I watched a college basketball game while he ate lunch. He was up about an hour before he decided it was time to rest. So he missed the good Missouri game, but we did watch a pretty good game between Pitt and Notre Dame. I did manage to run mom's Rainbow. Every time I use it, I want one more, oh well, someday! Once mom got back we looked at the new garden book I got in the mail. It was very cool, it had proposed landscaping and the layout for each type. We talked about many possibilities for the farm and for my house. I am anxious to do some planting around the yard. I only have a few ideas, so looking at all the magazines helps. Mom has lots of ideas, too, so that is good!

Saturday night mom and dad watched a movie and dad stayed up for the whole thing. They watched "Never been kissed", I told mom that was a good Valentine and she agreed! Then on Sunday they had a lazy afternoon until Danna and Kevin stopped by, and then Aunt Kathy came too. Mom and Kevin made up a new stand for her bird bath that Aunt Donna gave her. It was on the porch, but she was afraid that the birds just couldn't see it. So they made a new stand so it can be in the front yard, in a visible area. I hope that she gets a few birds bathing in it soon! : )
When I called this morning the nurse was there and they were ready to change dad's dressing on his pressure sore, so she couldn't talk very long. She said that they had a good night and that dad was up once to use the bathroom and then she woke up and saw the sun shining, so she knew it was time to get up! Dad woke up a bit later, after mom had made her 1st cup of coffee.

That about sums it up. Happy Valentine's Day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

A better day

Well mom thought that dad had a better day yesterday and that he looked better. But he was still very sleepy. He didn't want to eat much lunch, but he did drink some broth. He was sleeping again yesterday afternoon when I called. Mom said that Kim with hospice is actually from the Omaha office and so she had a trainee with her today to take over for Desi, who hurt her back. I think that her name was Pam. I will find that out for sure later. The 1st visitor was Colleen Alley, she thought that another person was coming too, but she didn't make it...

Mom had a full day at school. The FCCLA kids were making cookies to sell for FCCLA week and had used all but 2 1/2 bags of chocolate chips, I bought them 10 bags. They had used all but 9 of the 30 Crisco sticks and all of the brown sugar. So Melissa was headed to Shen and was going to pick up more supplies for today. They apparently didn't get all cleaned up, because mom had to clean up after she got there. She said that was odd.

The class that is decorating is doing pretty well. They are supposed to be done today, but mom was skeptical about a couple of them. They are still going to have the cake decorating demo on Monday. When they were cleaning up found out there was no hot water, apparently the hot water heater got turned off, so Skeet relit it. Mom was happy to get hot water again, so she could stop boiling it to do dishes.

Marv and Ed also stopped out yesterday afternoon. Last Thursday when I was headed back to town I saw a cop by Gregory's. Apparently he got Ed on his way to work. That stinks for him. But I was glad that the people in front of me slowed down. : ) They were telling mom and dad about the progress on the new edition in the bank. They are moving the safe and safety deposit boxes this week. They are getting a big crane or something from Glenwood to do that. Plus they are painting the walls, too.

This morning when I called, Karen the hospice nurse answered. Mom had run into the bank and post office. I said that was good, mom has been needing to get to the bank. When I called back she said that Jay was gone, so didn't get everything done she wanted to... but she was glad to get some of the little things done.

They slept in again this morning and mom was sleeping hard when she heard knocking about 7:11, dad had slid down to the end of the bed and was knocking on the entertainment center to wake mom up. She was in a deep sleep! : ) So they had breakfast and watched the birds. She said he was up for about an hour. Aunt Kathy called this morning when dad was up, so she got to say hi to him today and I think is going to come down on Sunday afternoon. After that he was ready to nap. Mom was trying to wake him up for dinner when I called. Paul had just pulled in, so it was nearing time for her to leave for school. Stan and Shirley Schaaf and are the later visitors today.

Marylin and Ann came out this morning from the bank to say hello and check on mom and dad. Mom was pleased to have a visitor or two this morning.

Danna is stopping by tonight. On Wednesday, I think, there was a car accident around Shen and one of Danna's classmates grandmothers was killed. Danna and Sue Stouder are going to head to the visitation tonight, and drop Kevin off in Randolph to hang out with mom and dad. Then after they get back, Sue is going to cut dad's hair. Which will save her a trip later this week.
I am headed down on Saturday this week. Danna has to work and mom has a hair appointment with Sue. So I am going to stay with dad and help mom out with a few things at home. It will be strange not to go on Sunday, but Andy is thinking about coming up for a while on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to Jo for you comments on the blog. It is nice to hear reassurance from someone who doesn't even know us all, from someone who has gone through this. : )

Well, I think I will close for now and get back to work. Hope everyone has a good weekend and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Honesty

Well Kirk and I had a good visit last night. We watched "Lost". Dad got up and had a few bites of supper, then wanted to rest. He was very aware last night. When we came in, he put his hand out to shake Kirk's hand. They don't normally hug, but shake good-bye or hello... so that was nice. Kirk did load a program on her computer so she can do her grades at home, too. I looked at mom's new yard magazines she got in the mail. We are making bigs plans for this spring ans summer, hopefully we get some of them done. Dad slept most of the time we were there, but did wake up when we were heading out. I told him I would see him Saturday, he asked what day it was, I said Wednesday, he seemed to ponder it and then said ok.

Yesterday afternoon there was one extra visitor, John, the hospice minister. Mom and dad really like him. When he got there, mom was still gone, so he talked to Uncle Cliff. Dad did recognized his voice when he came in, mom said that she asked him this morning if he remember his visit, he said "shaved head John". (Because he does shave his head) The minister stayed a while and chatted with mom. They talked about lots of things, including if mom and dad had talked about the funeral. Mom said yes, and they talked about things for it and what was still undecided. This lead mom to ask dad some questions last night after we left, since he was up. They worked out a few more things and then dad said, we can talk about that in the morning. So that was that. Mom said she was glad to get his opinions, and was glad to get a few more things in order.

This morning she also said that Danna was going to check with Sue about coming down to give dad a haircut. He really needs one. She is hoping she will come down on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It is nice to have a friend of the family that cuts your hair in times like this! : )
Mom said dad slept all night. He stirred about 5 and had to go to the bathroom, but went right back to sleep. She did get him up about 9 for breakfast. Then shaved him, brushed his teeth, washed his hair and cleaned up in general. He said "what's next" after all of that and mom said "lets take some pills", he said ok. After that he was ready to sleep again and was still sleeping when I talked to her about 11.

She said she was working on her grade sheets, something didn't save right from when Kirk fixed it last night, but she was getting it done. She was also going to write up more stuff for Mrs. Wood, her sub for the mornings, for the next units. They are still decorating cakes today, I will have her send me the pictures after they are done and have Kirk post them for you all to see. It is kind of neat!

This afternoon Colleen Alley and Kim from hospice are staying with dad.
I did want you all to know that dad is sleeping more and eating less. I think that probably means that his time is drawing nearer. As those are more signs. I could be wrong and he could rebound, but I wanted to be honest with all of you who do read this. The most asked question I get about dad is "how is he doing", it is so hard to answer. Since I started writing the messages I have tried to figure out how to answer it, and it is impossible. So what we say is "he is hanging in there" and he is, he is really strong. I wish there was a better way to answer it yet, but I don't think there is.

Thanks for taking time to check on dad.

Nic

More snow

Well it did snow most of the afternoon yesterday. Dad did sit up and watch it snow for a while, but slept most of the afternoon. Mom was enjoying the birds outside when I talked to her about 4:30, there were a male & female cardinal at the feeder. Plus she could see one of the owls in the trees. Danna has named the two owls, there is a female, (we think) Amber, and the male, Sparky. Mom couldn't tell which one was out last night... but enjoyed seeing it none the less.

Mom said that her kids are doing a pretty good job decorating their cakes. They didn't all clean up very well, so lost some points on that... but she has to bake more cakes! They are going to have someone come on Monday to demo a few things, like taking a picture and painting it on the cake, so mom is going to bake cakes for her to use.

When I called after volleyball she said dad was again not feeling too well. He had an upset stomach and didn't want to eat supper.

Mom said he was still not feeling well this morning and didn't want breakfast either. Mom did get him to take his pain pills and he was resting when I called this morning. Mom had cleaned off the car & scooped the sidewalks. Aunt Bev called and she enjoyed her coffee on the porch while talking to her. The nurse Karen had called to make sure she could get in, mom assured her that the plow had been down the road. She was going to be there about 12:00. Uncle Cliff was coming to stay with dad this afternoon.

Mom has a tax appointment and is going to get groceries in Shen. Oh and get her drivers license renewed in Sidney, her two month window is almost up! All because there is no school this afternoon at FM. Yeah for mom!

Kirk and I are going down tonight to see them. Kirk is going to install a program on her computer so she can do her grades at home. Plus then we can watch "Lost" together. It has become a favorite. Kirk watches because I do, but at least it is interesting! : ) They are finally having a new one on tonight. This will save mom and I some time on the phone tonight, we can just discuss it while we are watching it! : )

I think that is about it. Hope you all are well and thanks for checking on dad!

Nic

Early riser

Well, last night dad was not feeling too well. He didn't want to eat supper, but did get some extra attention, since Danna and Kevin were there. I called a couple times and once mom was giving him a back massage. Someone sent mom a hand held back massager. It is really cool, but it didn't have any return address or a note in it... so whoever that was, thanks. Not much else to report from the night...

Today dad was up early. He woke up about 06:15 and since he didn't eat much last night, mom asked if he was ready for breakfast. He thought that would be fine, so she made oatmeal and he ate the whole bowl. After that he did lay back down, but didn't really get much more sleep. He was just kind of restless. Mom decided about 7:30 to read some funny stories out of a book someone gave her. It is about silly things little kids do. When she would laugh, he would smile, so she read them and decided if they weren't funny she would laugh anyway, just to see him smile. He did lay down again after that for a bit, but still not wanting to sleep. So then mom decided she would shave him and wash his hair. So he is all ready for visitors today. Plus Kim, from hospice will come and clean him up some more this afternoon. But 1st Benita and Mark Fichter are the coming over to stay with dad.

After that mom said that Aunt Kathy called and while we were one the phone Lois Aistrope called. So she was keeping busy, beside cleaning up around the house. She decided that it was time for more coffee and her chocolate muffin and would call Lois back. Tomorrow afternoon mom has her appointment with the Tax man, Kurt, in Shenandoah. So she will see how much more information she needs to find before he can do the taxes. She has been preparing for a while, hope it goes well!

I wanted to thank those of you who do post comments on dad's blog. I know many more of you are reading, which is great! We really do appreciate the support! And just want to try to tell you how things are going. Thanks again for checking on dad.

Nic

Snow...

Well mom and dad got about 1/2" to 1" of snow last night. In Omaha we got more, luckily in the southern part of town we didn't get too much.... here is the recap of the weekend.

Friday night Danna went to stay, so mom could sleep upstairs again. She also thought that her electric blanket was on the blink, so Danna brought her a new one. Mom said it was so nice to be warm upstairs! She was very thankful for the new blanket. Saturday Danna stayed so mom could go get groceries for school for the week. Mom also baked more cakes. She thought she would just make all 18 cakes that were needed for her 9 students. (she did get them done on Sunday!) Mom got a few phone calls on Saturday from Aunt Betty, Andy and me... I am sure she talked to other people too, but I know those for sure. It was a pretty quiet day.

Yesterday dad was tired. He slept most of the time I was there. When he woke up he told mom he was just depressed and worn out. He just wanted to sleep all day. He did eat some lunch and ice cream while watching golf. We also convinced him to let mom shave and wash his hair. After that, Mom went over to the school to take all the cakes over and l stayed there with him. It was pretty quiet. He did watch tv for a while, but was more interested in sleeping. Mom did watch part of the super bowl. I talked to her a couple times during it, she was busy putting information about the farm expenses for taxes. She thinks she has enough for the accountant to start, then he can tell her what else she needs. Dad always took care of most of that, so she is slowly learning about it now.

This morning when I called mom said they kind of slept in today. They didn't get up and around till about 9 and when I called at almost 11, the nurse, Karen was there. Mom said she would tell me his vitals later. She also said that Virginia the social worker from hospice was coming, too. This afternoons visitors are the minister from town, Jack, and then I think, Leonard and Barb Wilkens. I could be wrong. She told me last night and I was watching the super bowl and didn't write it down.

So not much happening of interest, but thought I would let you know about the weekend.

Thanks for checking on dad,

Nic

Happy Birthday Paul

Today is Paul Barkers birthday. He is one of dad's teaching friends from when he was a teacher and coach at Villisca High School, in Villisca, Iowa. He is dad's guest today and we are very thankful that he decided that he would still come over on his birthday! I spoke to him earlier and said it was much colder the year he was born. I am sure his parents told him stories about how cold it was! : ) So thanks for your help and Happy Birthday Paul!

Another note about yesterday too, the early afternoon visitor Colleen Alley brought flowers. She said "I thought you could use some sunshine." How nice, she didn't even know mom or dad, but she goes to church with Debbie Wake in Tabor and wanted to help. The amount of support just amazes me sometimes. So thanks for the flowers and I cannot wait to see them!

Last night dad was up a lot during the night, so he was sleeping today. The nurse Karen was there as well and worked dad over pretty good, so that always makes him tired too. Mom also said that Paul was the only person coming today. Stan and Shirley Schaaf were both feeling a bit under the weather, so they were not able to come. So mom is just going to come home early. She is making cakes for her foods classes cake decorating unit. She is going to have the class make some, but each student gets to frost and decorate a 2 layer cake. Since she heads home right away after school, it is hard to get cakes done 8th hour and get them put away, so she is doing it at home. She did get 3 done last night and was 3 this morning. Only 11 more to make!

Yesterday afternoon mom got a new wildflower magazine in the mail. I saw it in my Mary Engelbriet magazine and thought it was right up her alley. So I ordered it for her and she was very excited that it came. She has big plans now for her wildflower patch. : ) I may even have to order some seeds. She was able to enjoy the nice weather yesterday outside on the porch, drinking coffee and looking at her magazine.

Danna is headed down tonight to visit after work. I am not sure if Kevin is going or not, he did help mom with some things on Tuesday night. They were able to get all the Christmas decorations that were outside put away.

Not much else to report. Hope you all have a great weekend. Thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

I don't know how mom does it.

Seriously, I don't. Last night I stayed with mom and dad overnight to give mom some much needed rest upstairs. This way she doesn't have to worry about dad at all during the night. Well that is in theory. Dad actually slept pretty well. He only woke up once to go to the bathroom, but had a hard time sleeping after that. But until that time I was listening to all the noises from the oxygen machine and everything, it was hard! I wasn't really sure what I was listening for. But once you hear him stirring, you know. Needless to say, I am a bit tired today. But we had a good night.

When dad woke back up about 7:15, I was having breakfast and when I walked into the room, he was calling for "Carol", he was shocked and said, "oh Hi Nic, where's mom?" I told him she was upstairs and asked if he was going to nap some more or if he was ready for oatmeal. He said "oatmeal, I guess" Since I had to leave for work, I had to go wake mom up... But they had a good morning.

Last night I had dinner with mom and dad, then made some chocolate chip cookies. Dad enjoyed one and even told Kirk, while I was on the phone with him, that they were good. :-) That of course made me smile. We watched some tv and mom called her sister Donna, because the flowers from yesterday were from her. They are very pretty and smell great! I am sure mom will look forward to planting the bulbs outside as well, later! Andy and his clan were all sick yesterday with the flu! Yuck. So we didn't get any phone calls to the house till he called just after 10, then Danna called too... so it was a quiet night.

Today Colleen Alley was coming for the early afternoon and then Kim, from hospice was the late afternoon spot. Mom did get to enjoy her coffee and muffin on the porch today, she was very excited that it was so nice out today. I am too, and hope to walk outside later today...

Hope you are all having a great day and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic

Slept well.

Another good night for dad. I didn't get to talk to mom much last night. I had volleyball and we played late. I talked to her before I went and she called to tell me they were going to bed about 10:15 when we were done. But since Danna and Kevin were there last night, I am sure they had a good night.

Dad woke up twice last night, but went right back to sleep. Last night he was thinking he was going to a college baseball game. Mom asked him if he wanted to rest before he went and he said yes, so he went right back to sleep. : )

This morning dad was pretty tired still. I am sure he is still catching up from when he was sick on Monday night. He did have breakfast and mom got him cleaned up, had him shaved and washed his hair again... he was all ready for the nurse to come. They are going to change the bandage on his pressure sore again today. It has been getting better, since mom is very good about not letting him stay on his back, he is always propped up with at least one pillow, laying to the side a bit.

Bobby Benton brought over some flowers today, some azaleas and some tulips. Mom could not read the card for sure, so I will update you on who they are from tomorrow.... Dad was pretty sleepy this morning when Bobby was there, but did manage to say HI and Thank you. Mom was ready to enjoy her 2nd cup of coffee, hoping that she would get to relax before the nurse got there. Karen, the nurse will be back today. Then Jane and Randall Smith are coming to stay with dad today. I am headed down after work tonight to stay with mom, so she can get some sleep again. : ) Kirk is in Portland for work. He left yesterday and will be back tomorrow. He gets to conduct a training session at a district meeting. What fun! So I thought it was a good time to go stay with mom and dad! Hopefully we have a good night, I will let you know tomorrow!
Thanks for checking on dad. Hope you all have a great day!

Nic

Long Night

Well last night dad was not feeling very well. He got sick two of the three times I called. I was thinking I was bad luck! He had a pretty good day, but the night went sour in a hurry. He was trying to eat dinner about 7:30 and got sick. That was the end of call #1 last night. Then I called back, I think around 8:30 or 9:00 and he was sick again. I did manage one more call without him getting sick, thankfully... Mom said it was going to be a long night and it was....

This morning was better, he had breakfast and was sleeping when I called. Mom was watching the Jane Paulie show and they were talking about true age. She was excited because coffee and chocolate were both supposed to help keep you young, (along with exercise and drinking one alcoholic beverage everyday)... I thought that sounded good too! : ) She was ready to go out to burn the trash and then have her chocolate muffin and drink her coffee. All in the name of staying young, I am sure!

Yesterday afternoon dad had a couple extra visitors. Marv and Ed came out from the Bank. The new hospice nurse was also there yesterday and called last night, I think, her name is Karen. She will be back tomorrow to check on dad again. Today Mark and Benita Fichter are coming out for the early afternoon and then Desi must still be too sick to come, so Kim is coming down until mom gets home from school. Danna and Kevin are going back tonight, to give some night-time relief.

Not too much else to report today... hope you are all well and thanks for checking on dad.

Nic