Dad 6

Thur.  What a wonderful day.  Top left picture dad is adding the final touches to his stew.  The top right and bottom left is the crew that came to tape dad.  They are going to make two tapes one of his time that he was in the service which will go to the archives in Washington D.C at The Library of Congress. The other is of his life which will be handed down from generation to generation.  Dad did great and was able to stay in his chair for nearly two hours.  The man that did the interviews was a volunteer for Hospice.  He was able to relate to dad because he too was in the military.  The worker for Hospice who did the taping and will do the editing was also wonderful.  We can't say enough for the people at Hospice.  The other person in the picture is the social worker who got everything arranged.

Fri. We had another A/C Co. give us a bid on a new A/C.  We have been praying what God's will is.  We will make a decision on Monday.   The bottom middle picture above is a sunset we took pictures of at the pool. Bottom right is the sun rise out dad's living room window.

Sat. I went to exercise class.  I'm glad I don't hurt any more.  Linda and I went for a long walk and as we passed the fire pit they were having a monthly get together.  They made a smore's for us.  Just before we left I made one for dad.

Sun.  I was able to go to church in the morning and Linda went Sun. night.

Mon.  We were able to get a sitter and the two of us went to our follow-up Dr. appt.  We are both in fine health.  Linda has a follow-up next year and mine is in Jan. We had another great sunrise this morning.

Tues and Wed.  We found that dad's car insurance ended and we had to make choices.  We put the car in our name and got insurance from our policy.  Then on Wed. we found we had to have our drivers license with his address to get homestead ex. So we were both able to get our drivers license, voters cards and the three vehicle addresses changed.  Luckily it was only a 3 dollar extra for dad's car which we did the day before.  Linda went to church and dad and I watched the world series after a bible study.

Dad's 5

Thur.  Linda was able to go be with Mike at his swearing in as the new Vice President of IMSA (International Municipal Signal Association) over Certification and Training. When Linda got back we washed both cars and went for a swim(see picture below).  I was able to go to a in-depth bible study at church.  When I got home what a surprise, Jennifer, Mackenzie, and Katie were here.  We had a wonderful evening with dad who was also surprised and thrilled to see them.

Fri.  I am starting an exercise class on Sat. and Tues.  The leader gave me a private lesson to show me the moves we would be making so he would not have to stop class to show me the right way.  He is two doors down form us.  When i got back up stairs all the grandkids were coming  out our door.  I knew that Tammy, Hope, Brendan, and Bryce were coming but I did not know that Shannon, LiliMarie, Diego, and Xander were coming!!!! Heather was also coming today here so dad had his four granddaughters and eight great-grand children.  Kenn came after his day at work.  We were missing Chris which had their house closing today and Al which is doing his final weekend with his class before graduation on Thur.  Mike came over in the afternoon and he too was surprised to see the family. WOW is all i can say!Top left picture below when Mike got here, next 2 top pictures us playing games, Middle left watching a movie, middle everyone that came so far, right five of the kids getting ready for bed, bottom left Hope, LiliMarie, and Diego making breakfast for us in bed!, middle Linda and I having breakfast in bed, and right the group having breakfast.

Sat. Today was picture day everyone had a individual picture with dad and we also had many group pictures(see picture below).  Also we went swimming and some went to the beach and saw the sunset before coming home. Kenn took Bryce home because he has a ball game on Sunday.

Sun.  Jennifer, Mackenzie, and Katie left early in the morning to go home.  Shannon had me out for breakfast at Skidder's(bottom right picture above) just the 2 of us. About noon the rest of the folks left for their homes. Linda went to church.  We were happy when they called and told us they got home safely.

Mon.  Linda had her mammogram, got a hair cut and went shopping.  Dad had his chest drained and a bath.  While I got my hair cut and went shopping.  God is still keeping his pain minimal.  We are so happy we are able to take care of dad.   God has blessed us with this time.  We had dinner and watched a movie.

Tues.  Linda woke up early with getting dad pictures for his interview on Thur.  Top right, we put up a table in the kitchen.   Went thru several of his pictures when he was in the army, childhood and life after the army.  Bottom right Linda and I taped the pictures on three boards. Left picture he is looking at what we did.  Middle picture dad is looking at some stuff during his stay in the service.  We were happy to get this done and spent the rest of the day cleaning and watching a movie.

Wed.  We went for a walk after breakfast and took time to sit by the pool and talk.  The A/C manager came and gave us three bids on different A/C.  We had a sitter come and watch dad while we went to church.

Dad's 4

Thur. Hurricane Mathew arrived.  Tam, Kenn, Hope, Brendan, and Bryce came for a couple days while there schools were closed. Dad's AC is acting up. A person came out and told us we needed a new unit.  Top left we were watching the TV.  Top right we went for a walk and ended up playing shuffle board.  The bottom three pictures the kids made coffee cake.

Fri.  We had our coffee cake in the morning and for lunch the kids made there own pizza's.  After dinner Hope made me a b-day cake and they put up a b-day sign.  Not only did the cake look good it was delicious.

The social worker for Hospice came over and presented dad with two awards.  One for serving in WWII and the other for being a map maker for General Patton.  She also gave him a star from an American flag that flew and got to the point that it was torn. The bottom middle picture she is telling dad that they are going to make a video of him when he was in the war.  It will be placed in Washing D.C. Archives at the Library of Congress.  He is also going to make a video of himself for the family.  

The AC was to be in by noon and they did not get here till 11:15.  By 5 it was in the mid 80's and dad was having a hard time breathing.  The air was not turned on till 7:15.  Top left the space the old outside unit was. Middle top the old inside AC unit. Bottom left the mildewed unit coming out. Middle bottom the dirt grill of the AC unit.  Bottom right the duc work in the celling.

Sat.  The AC unit ran every 10 min. for bout 10 min.  We were told a person would be out to put a air handler on top of the unit to force the hot air outside. which they were suppose to have done on friday and now it is affecting to other units!  After 8 at night we told them not to come.

Sun. By 8:30am a new air handler cover was put on top of the A/C and new wires used for the thermostat.

Mon.  When Hospice came to care for dad the doorbell did not work.  It happened when they put the wires on the Thermostat.

Tues.  My 66 b-day.  Mike came in the morning for cake and coffee. We had birthday for me and Mikes promotion for him.(Top pictures) The manger of the A/C company came and we went over the A/C and will get back with us in 24 to 48  hours.  We had Skidder's hamburgers, cole slaw, and fries for lunch. (bottom left).  We got out dad's picture tub and started to go through it(bottom right).  For dinner we had fried chicken, baked beans, coleslaw and potato salad.  We watched a movie and went to bed.

Wed. Linda got her blood work done and I had a MRI and ultra sound on my neck. Dad got a shower then we had dinner.  Linda went to church and dad and I did a bible study.  We watched a movie and went to bed.

Dad's 3

Thur. to Wed.  We are getting settled in and enjoying the time we are having with dad.  I am able to see how great a nurse and her knowledge of things are.  The Hospice care is wonderful.  Everyone has a great concern for dad and his well being.  We are able to get out in the afternoons for a swim. We still have some care for the car and the rig.

Sat.  The windshield came in on the rig.  We were told they would come to the rig to replace it.  We cancelled the insurance while we are storing it.  They told us they needed to replace the windshield in there shop.  The owner had a tag he will use while I brought it to them.  They would come and escort us.  After I got there we found out I was to high and wide to fit into their shop.  The  pictures below are the team that worked on the rig.  They had to take apart a lot more of the rig than I thought they would.  They got the job done seven hours after I got there.  It was to take two hours.  While they worked on the rig I was able to get the rest of it washed.  I had to do it in the sun which was very hot and made the rig hot to touch.  On the way back to the storage area it rained and the bottom is now dirty again. When I got home I was exhausted.  The hot sun toke it all out of me.

Sun.  Linda went to church in the morning and I went to a pot luck dinner and church in the evening.

Tues   Linda went to see our new family Dr which she really liked.  Hospice had a person that sat with dad while the two of us went out.  Dad has been wanting us to go out to dinner for our ann. (top left, as we were leaving) We were able to go to a restaurant on St. Pete Beach called Rumfish Grill(top two right pictures [the fish tank, folks are able to swim in it twice a day]).  They had a summer special for Appetizers; Tuna Poke (with miso dressing-wakame-sesame oil) and Spiced Blue Crab Bisque (with sherry-thyme-cream)(bottom left). For dinner we both had Hoisin Glazed Salmon (with sesame vegetable-coconut jasmine rice-house kimchee).  For dessert Classic Florida Key Lime Pie and Chocolate Cheese Cake(bottom two right). The food was soon good.   We did not finish dinner or dessert so we have lunch for the three of us on Wed. It felt so nice to get to go somewhere together for the fist time in 6 weeks!  We felt like teenagers going on a date!!

Wed. I went to our new family Dr. I to like him very much. Took dad with us for a swim. We only could stay 10 min but it was worth it.