Category Archives: Brian

Jul19

Blending

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Sometimes the days just seems to run together. The last few weeks have been very tense with Bri dealing with his dad. I know he is worrying about him every waking moment and he’s stressed out enough about his job. Now tonight he was getting set to go over there (48 mile round trip) because his dad still can’t climb the 8 steps to the second floor. He had gone through all the Ensure that they brought up a few days ago. I would so get him a 24 pack at a warehouse! So I rushed to make a yummy broccoli pasta dish (I tossed tuna in too) and the heavens opened up. I was glad when his dad called and said to stay put. Bri would have risked flooded roads to carry up a few cans of drink to his dad! Bri needs to call an agency to get needed help for his dad. The one my uncle uses is good, but the lady only comes a few hours a week to clean, etc. I think Mr. C. needs someone there every other day. He is also getting a hospital bed for the den where he only has to climb 3-4 stairs. During these ‘twilight years’, the older generation needs to think what they are doing to their family. I worry about Bri burning the candle at both ends. My ‘step’ cousin took care of her sick husband for many years and he passed away. Didn’t she get diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer last summer and was gone by this January. Her husband was much older, yet she only outlived him 2 years. Like Dana*Reeve, wife of Christopher*Reeve got lung cancer within a few years of his passing and died herself. You wonder if they ignored symptoms as they were so worried about their husbands. At least Bri has been tested for many things. He still has smelling and tasting issues-it could be from stress. I am so happy when he does taste something!
I’m trying to downsize around here. Books, books everywhere! I don’t know what to do with them all. I am most definitely having a yard sale within the next few months, that’s if everything is okay with the family. I am also in some Art Trading Card swaps weekly which helps my nerves and lets me use the right side of my brain. Tomorrow, I am getting my hair done-it really needs it-just call me Cruella!
I’ll keep you posted on things.

Jul2

Memoirs of a great evening with two legends

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A collage of the memorabilia I saved from the Troubadour concert I went to a few weeks ago with my friend Lorin. The program, the ticket and the excellent review from the Philly Inquirer.
Having a rough week here. Brian is over at his dad’s spending the night. I had to get mad at him to make him see that an 87 yr old who just got out of the hospital needs someone there the first night (after 5 days). Bri’s dad was ‘diagnosed’ with Crohn’s Disease, yet given no special diet to follow. He is weak on his feet and could hardly get up the stairs. What’s going to happen tomorrow night and the next night? This may be a wake up call for both of them.
Here’s Sean and his Pop-pop last July…
Sean and Pop pop C.
I’m also depressed as the procedure I had seems not to have worked. They say after 3 months you should know and although I seemed to have skipped a month, I am almost like I was three months ago. I had the worst headache most of the day to go along with it. Bummer. I’m taking it one month at a time now.

Apr19

Washington in the spring

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Washington DC, pt 2
We had a whirlwind of a trip to Washington, DC from April 14-16th (the 14th was our 26th anniversary). Sean has been attending the AAG (geography) meetings now for two years. Last year, while still a senior at PSU, he went to Las Vegas, but with a handful of pals. This year he asked us to go along as it was a driving trip and since we haven’t been down for over 10 yrs, we agreed as it probably would be fun!
The trip down was faster than coming home. We had to stop for a quick lunch (why Mc*Ds?) and then we headed to where the conference was so Sean could register. It was a nice Marr*iott with funky garage parking. It only took Sean a few minutes to register and we hopped back in the car to find out it was $17 to park in the garage from get this, 0-2 hours. What a rip off! We should have gone to where we were staying, took the shuttle to Union Station, and then the metro to the Marr*iott. That’s what Sean ended up doing a few times the next day anyway.
We stayed in a fairly new Holiday*Inn Express, but we had to take the above mode of transportation to get around. And they charged $14 a day to park there. Wednesday night we did get a free pasta dinner at the HIE-it was a catered one. Not bad for free. We headed to Union Station that evening to look around and see where the metro was. It’s a fabulous place with restaurants in every corner of the main area and shops in the other areas. I ended up buying a neat t-shirt with some of the founding fathers in silhouettes wearing ipods.
Thursday was the busiest day and I don’t know how I did the walking I did after being sick and laid up a bit. Sean went to the conference and Bri and me headed to Smithsonian/mall area. We decided to venture to the American History museum (my favorite) and saw Julia Child’s kitchen (fairly new and shown in the movie Julia and Julie) and Michelle Obama’s Inaugural gown. She’s really tall! Her jewelry and Jimmy*Choo shoes were also next to the dress. We also say Carol Burnett’s ‘Gone With the Wind’ curtain dress-so funny! I have photos of all the above.
After the American History, I wanted to see the Holocaust museum, which was down and across the street. That was fairly crowded with groups of kids. We saw the German/Hitler propaganda exhibit (definitely brain washing). We also saw an exhibit about a German boy named Daniel who was a Jew who went from living in a nice home to a concentration camp-very moving.
When we caught up with Sean, I was starting to get very fatigued. We took the metro to where Ford’s Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe are (10th St). We did get inside the Hard Rock (4th one we have visited now), but could not get in the theater as it was the anniversary of Lincoln’s death and there was about 200 people waiting to get inside. We went in a few touristy shops and I got my mom a glass prism with ‘holograms’ of the sights (she loved it). When we got to Union Station, we decided to get our anniversary dinner there at a place called ‘America’. Sean parted ways as he had a reception to attend and got his free dinner at the hotel. He also met up with a friend who lives in Virginia now. The dinner was great (I had salmon and Brian had steak). The waiter even brought us a sliver of fudge cake with my key lime pie because he knew it had been our anniversary. Very nice.
The last day was equally as hectic! We checked out early and went to the National Arboretum. You know I had to see that place. It had some lovely areas, especially the bonsai. It was approaching 80, so a bit warm. They have a serious carpenter bee problem and the males were swarming all over the place! After we walked around there, Sean wanted to see the Jefferson Memorial. The GPS was leading us in the right direction, but we couldn’t figure out where to park. We finally did and had quite a walk to the Memorial. Sean was impressed and was glad we found it. We then decided to go to Arlington Cemetery to view just the Kennedy graves. We had trouble with the GPS again. We went there with no lunch, just some snack foods to hold us over. It’s a hilly place and I was tired when we got up to the Kennedys. The guys decided to see the Tomb of the Unknowns and I found a bench and waited…and waited. It was windy and both me and the lady next to me sneezed. I caught up to the guys heading down another path to the visitor center and used the ladies’ room. When I came out of the bathroom, I got the worst tickling feeling in my throat and started to cough and wheeze for about 45 seconds to a minute. That’s all I needed was to pass out at a cemetery! I figured I had exercise induced ‘asthma like’ symptoms. But I had just sneezed and maybe that brought something up enough to constrict my lungs for a minute. No inhaler. Very scary! It hasn’t happened since. Knock wood.
We left Washington then and got stuck in the Friday traffic heading out of town. We ended up not eating a square meal until close to 6 when we stopped in a small Maryland town. We got home about 7:30 that night. Glad to be home! I like seeing different things, but I’m definitely a country girl through and through.
Washington 2010

Apr7

A little raking

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I felt a bit better and wanted to get some fresh air, though it was in the high 80s. Bri had cleaned out the pond for me a few days ago and since I was in the shade, I thought ‘why not’ do a little raking? Unfortunately my pond was the watery grave for two frogs, one rather large and the other a bit smaller. If I remember correctly, one or both enjoyed ‘croaking’ very loudly in the late summer and we could hear them almost every night if the window was open. I image the 4 feet of snow on top of the pond did them in. Poor things. I am ready for some new occupants now. I got the pump running after Bri got the motor part clogged. I have a few things left to do-weeding and edging, but I was glad to rake it out. I retrieved my gazing ball from the basement and Bri found the solar lights and arranged them nicely around the pond. I love the sound of running water, especially at night, it’s very soothing.
My little pond
I felt so good after eating my roast beef hoagie (sub) that I started to rake a few other places after dinner, a yucca bed near the road and my herb bed around back. My back started to complain, so I gave up for the night.
I am coughing a bit, but the nurse on the news (yep, they have a registered nurse/reporter) said today was the worse day of the year so far for allergies. I did take my allergy medicine. I guess I am using the inhaler correctly-only 3 times so far. I really think my allergies are what are driving me batty at times. Same with the guys. Bri’s been having a rough time on the Predn*isone which he is taking to try and help him get his sense of taste and smell back. He can smell and taste some things, but on the large part, he says he isn’t tasting his food and I notice he is trying to make up for it by eating crunchy or salty foods. The med is giving him a huge appetite. Only trouble with that, I need to do one of those $250+ food orders as I haven’t shopped like that for a while.
I go for a follow-up for the procedure I had on Friday. Got the explanation of benefits from the insurance and what they are allowed to allow is ridiculous. We were quoted a price for the procedure beforehand and had to give them some money that morning. Now it looks like it will be more than twice that according to the e. of benefits. They are allowed to say they used $14k in supplies! It’s ok according to the insurance lady. I was there for 2 hours and they gave me a threadbare nightgown and footies. You call them on this stuff and no one gives you a straight answer. This is so ridiculous. Wish us luck with this bill!

Mar31

Under the weather again

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Would you believe I started coming down with something Sunday night after our glorious day at Longwood? I got a tickle in my throat that lasted all Monday. By Tuesday I was (and am still) feverish with congestion and a sometimes hacking cough. If I am still hacking later today, I will try Muci*nex. I asked people about it on Face*book and many recommended it. Sean passed on his bug again. That’s what happens when you haven’t been around people for months and then are thrust into the germy public. I only cooked Monday and then we’ve had terrible take out meals-Bri can’t seem to pick out the right pizza or salad. I need to go to the grocery store as my freezer is almost empty of meat. Hope I can get my Easter dinner by at least Friday.
Bri had his MRI, got the CD, but not sure if he has to drop it off at ENT office. He was home yesterday as he wasn’t quite up to par.
One of these days we will all be healthy again ; )

Mar4

Mugglies need to take a hike

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Over the last few weeks, the three of us have been suffering from a wicked virus going around. First you just feel blah and maybe your appetite isn’t that great (me). Then your sinuses open up like a faucet (Sean and me). Then if you are really into it, you get secondary issues-Sean-annoying cough and me-tummy issues and another tongue ulcer (had one on October-checked my blog). Brian’s had a lesser cold/virus but he is stuffed up,  coughing a little and feels crummy.

On Tuesday I took my first drive to my mom’s in about a month! I got my hair done first before I spent some time with mom. The snow is still around, but the grass is peeking out in a few select spots where the sun is hitting. The ice dams in the gutters are slowly melting off and draining.  Some of my ‘forgotten’ (meaning I forgot to store them for the winter) garden decorations are ruined-they were crushed by the weight of the snow. I’m wondering if my forsythia will need a drastic trimming back as they are almost bent in half by the snow. The hedges along the front of the house are trying to spring back to life.  I see a big yard clean up in my future.

So mom is doing pretty good. Wish she was a little heavier. We went to the Goodwill so I could drop off some things and we went in and hit ‘$2 Tuesday’.  I have to be really selective, which isn’t hard when there is a lot of junk to loo through. I did find a Dorothy of Oz paperdoll set, a framed hardinger heart piece with beads (only $1), a cute recipe book with Christmas goodies (lots that I make) a little tweety bird type Easter ceramic popping out of it’s shell, and a candle holder that goes with a collection that I have. I think I spent about $11.

Mom took me out to Charlie Brown’s restaurant. I was having tummy issues at her house, but did eat okay at the restaurant. They have an excellent salad bar with everything you can imagine! Mom got sirloin and I got shrimp and lobster tempura. With my mouth, I needed soft food though the salad was rough to eat. The shrimp was cooked fine, but the lobster’s tempura was a bit undercooked. Since it’s a steakhouse, I want to try that sometime.

Today Sean and I went to  a produce place, Trader Joe’s and Target for much needed food items-not much meat though. We basically needed a TJ fix. It was nice he used his day off to take me places. My van is getting it’s brakes checked out as they are grinding a bit. If it’s going to be a big job, my brother will do it. He knows the guy where we dropped it off.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. I need to be crafty again! So many things to think about lately-put me in a creative slump. Hope to get to the Philly Flower show either Saturday or Sunday, but I am going to lunch with some friends first, so they are more important to me. Mom and my brother went Wednesday, though she didn’t rave about it. For me, there is always the orchid show at Longwood Gardens in a few weeks. Much cheaper and closer-and free (well almost).

Dec9

A little decorating underway

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Feather tree in family room, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Wow-I haven’t blogged since last Friday?!
Well I’ve busy! My brother moved on Saturday-in the rain and then snow. We were asked to finish cleaning out one bedroom. Bri and Sean moved an entertainment center, an end table and the top of a hutch (yep in a small bedroom) while I gathered up what was left. I wiped down the windowsills, helped mom clean the floors and moved what wasn’t too heavy. My brother wasn’t finally all moved in until Sunday night. He brought a Dalmation and a tuxedo kitty with him. Now there are 3 pets in the house. Mom’s been cooking a bit again too. The kitty went missing for a day and he was under a bed in a room next to my mom’s. They have a lot to go through and some appliances need fixing too.
Sean and I have been shopping too. I do most of my shopping online, but go to the nearby store to pick out clothes for my niece and nephew. I got some great prices! Also got myself two pairs of corduroys for $8.40 each and they fit perfectly!
We went to Delaware yesterday for the boring gifts-lol. Today the oven got fixed. We are questioning why they stuck $20 to the bill when they were getting like $144 for the labor. They guy was here 10 minutes. Same place that I had bank issues with as the tech ran my debit card through 3 times. Today I wrote a check! Hope we get that back.
I’m cleaning up the area for the tree that we will put up on Friday. The little feather tree is the same on I have put in our family room for a few years. Hope to make at least one ornament to add. I have one I started last year. I know stitchers who have enough ornaments for a big tree! I am decorating the fireplace mantel with my grandfather Alan’s manger set. I think it’s at least 60 years old. On the other side is my collection of nutcrackers. I just added a new small one to the collection. A few of the older ones needed a little gluing! Brian’s late mom gave most of them to us. I’ll be doing more decorating tomorrow-stay tuned!
And good luck to Sean on his interview tomorrow. It may be an internship, but let’s hope it pays.

Nov19

My life at 50

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That’s right, 50 yrs ago, yours truly floated into the world in a rather fast labor and delivery-one hour to be exact. Yours truly was the loudest baby in the nursery too. My mom said she heard me over the other babies and got up to comfort me and was ushered back to bed. I was welcomed home by my older brother David, age 5. Three months later, my mom got pregnant again and was also coping with a troubled marriage. My father was to leave us all in 1972 (by that time there were 4 kids, Ken came along in 1967) to go back to his home state of Oregon where he would pass on alone in Feb. ’08.
Though I’ve had a rough childhood, I think we still had many blessings and I’ve tried to hold on to family traditions with my own son. Mom always outdid herself on birthdays, Halloween and Christmas and we had so much fun. I don’t remember wearing a store bought costume. In fact one year, she cut up her wedding dress for a 1st grader. It felt a bit odd wearing it, but I’m sure I felt pretty special. My birthday was usually shared with my year younger brother Don. We had the best one when we were about 6 and 7 when we had a house full of neighbors and cousins. Christmases were special, down to the overstuffed stockings that would always hang on the stair railing. One year my mom and grandmom(she was my second mom) sold some evergreen trees that my late grandfather had planted to have money for gifts.
Here’s me as a newborn babe-with my mouth open:

I turned out to be a stay at home (mostly, I’ve had a few jobs) wife and mom, though I went to college to be an Early Childhood Education teacher and came very close to doing so. I have been an aide to many children over the years. I think I would love to do art projects with little ones now. Sean always enjoyed doing projects from making paper to painting wooden plaques.
I think I’ve been a good wife, sister, aunt and mom. I’ve been there for people. I look forward to this part of my life when I hope, things will get easier soon. It’s hard to believe only 10 yrs ago I had a son entering his teens and now he’s a young man. He’s been my best gift ever. And he was almost my birthday gift back in 1986.
And lastly, thanks to Brian for being there for me through thick and thin. He’s been a great husband and best friend. I hope when we are 80, we have scooters to toot around Longwood Gardens on.