Just briefly..

Hi...won't be long today. Heading for Laurette and Rick's and Nathan's of course. Birthday Dinner for me!! Yippee!! anyway, Mom and Dad backed out. Mom is "coughing too much";doesn't feel very well. But you know this isn't new....they have changed their minds quite often in last few years for lots of different reasons. I think Mom becomes overwhelmed with having to be somewhere else besides home. Here's betting you that the only reason they made the Christmas outings is because Mike and Bonnie were here and they didn't want to curtail them.....I am quite disappointed. Wanted to spend time with them on my 63rd!!!! Just wanted to share. Talk later....I"ll pick up a lot of love from Nathan for us all.....love, Toni

Info on Let's Dish

Hi...just made a "fake" order on Let's Dish...there is one in Alexandria and one in Ashburn that delivers...I'd have to check out if they deliver to Arlington. I think they do. ($25 delivery fee) but did get a coupon for that much in my e-mail..maybe you received one also, Steve? anyway, 4 meals (serving size 6) to be split (so 3 portions per frozen package)....:

4-Meal Package Edit Menu Selections Lemon Herb Chicken with Parmesan Green Beans (1) Shrimp Creole (1) Steak and Mushroom Sandwiches with Melted Swiss (1) Pork Tenderloins with a Peach Chutney (1)
1
$100.00
Preparation Fee
1
$15.00
Delivery Fee
1
$25.00
Tax:Total:
$2.88 $142.88
Special Instructions: split

Just a sampling, though has mostly chicken and the preparations vary...from having to bake or fry...Steve, you know who they look when delivered, right? Anyway...guess one couldn't make all that food for $142 very easily. Give me your thoughts. Thanks.

The Talking Frog...

Got you curious, huh? Received my 3 new books today...the one I am now just skimming through is "Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of our Elders"...so far looks great..lots of words and will take some concentration...may buy a copy for each of you if I really like it...anyway, a tiny paragraph about loss...the author says: "I think about a joke among the old here in Nebraska. A man finds a frog who says that if she is kissed, she'll turn into a beautiful princess. Instead of kissing the frog, the man puts her in his pocket. The frog croaks, 'Don't you want to kiss me and have a beautiful princess?' The man says, 'Frankly, at my age, I'd rather have a talking frog.'"
Again, looks like a very touching book...talk to you later. Enjoy!!!

Technical problem?

Hi...am having difficulty commenting on Steve's Blog....not sure if it's the program or me.....will keep checking it out...thanks for the blog, Steve-o......glad you had a great Inauguration celebration....will be interesting to see how all this excitement and spirit unfold....Tonight Steve and I discussed an idea that Celeste and he had discussed....the use of "Let's Dish" for possible meals for Mom and Dad....I have another one or two sources that I've used....only thing Steve and I discovered is that a lot of this type of food delivery service has CHICKEN (lots of ) on their menus....another reason for Dad to say no....ha...we'll see, I'll do some checking....can put the site links on the Blog for all to look at???? I may send them a delivery of staples from Safeway or Peapod....Dad had said no to that, but I'll see what I could pick out that he may like or want...time to get up and do the dishes....ugh! love to all, toni

Great Day!!

Hey...Yes We Can!!!! It is great to feel the spirit that our new president has brought to all of us.
We went to a great Inaugural party & have a friend who was wearing a big button that read, "I'm a Red Hot Republican". It was his dads from running for the Delaware legislator in the late sixties. People were giving him a little bit of flack, but guess what, he voted for Obama!!!
Hope we can all get together or on the same page & try to come up with some ideas as to how to approach Mom & Dad about getting ready for a change that is here in their lives. Celeste is talking about coming here in March for a week. Toni & I & Celeste should have a conference call with John, Mike & Jo Ann. Ciao for Now........Steve

Another day......

hi all. glad to have heard from you Celeste. I will leave all these posts on for a couple more days, then will delete them...I don't think I can archive them....just don't want the page to appear too burdensome. Still trying to learn about the best way to make this useful....Dad sounded better this evening. Coughing less. Talked about his stress about Mom and their finances. Offered him to help again. He just says, "I don't know!" Mom sounded better too. I asked them about going to Laurette and Rick's for a birthday dinner gathering for me....he wouldn't commit. Asked them about my coming to get them for SuperBowl...spend a few days here....he declined. Is talking about wanting to go to Philadelphia. Will follow up with them on that....Bye for now...back later...Toni

One more thing!

sorry...just want to say that if you all like this, I will arrange so you can also add posts of your own...not just comments on my posts....let me know........

Good Inaugaration Day....

Hi all. Added a few resource sites tonight. Know that there are driving questions. I have ordered Elizabeth Dugan's book....



Have watched the busy Inaugaration Day....many feelings about it, but in the end, proud to be an American. I pray, President and Mrs. Obama are able to accomplish all that they want and what is now, so very expected of them. Talked with Mom and Dad today. They are OK...Mom is coughing a bit more; Dad a bit less. I reminded them again, to keep in touch with their doctors....to eat....to rest....etc. Dad says he has "plenty" food....we also spoke again about the possibility that the warm (very warm, I'm sure) air in their house may be too dry. Dad said he bought a humidifier that stopped working almost immediately when he plugged it in....(I wonder if he set it up correctly??) He said he does have the yellow room's window open a bit at night. and can "tell the difference!"



So...time to move on....haven't heard any comments back yet for this site. Let me know. Love, Toni

Just trying this out.

Trying a few things...like fonts,color, adding photos, etc. Getting ready to watch the inaugaration events tomorrow. hope all are well. Mike's e-mails are bouncing back to me. He did say he is having computer (server) troubles. I will call him to share any or all of this info here. I usually talk with Mom and Dad every day. Usually once a week I'm asking them what they may need, doctors' appts, results, worries, etc. Sometimes they tell me, sometimes they don't.....mostly, brush me off...suggestions about help, reaching out to others.....but basically I do believe that they are still able to make decisions...not that we (or I) necessarily agree with their decisions.....sometimes I think their state of mind (happy, sad, discouraged, tired, depressed) influence their decisions. Today Dad just seemed like he wanted to talk...talked about the show for Obama yesterday. He actually sounded as if he enjoyed it. We discussed some political issues, etc. He seemed slightly more open minded than usual. He only got off the phone because someone came to door....i'll call him tomorrow to see who visited. That's about it for now. Good-night and happy Inaugaration Day to all. Love, Toni

So far, I think this is set up???

hi again. sent a copy for all to see. check it out, I hope...just talk as much as you want. I'll try to include resources too....we will work this out, I know. I hope Mom and Dad don't let it get to a difficult crisis...love you

First entry..not sure how this works!

Hi all. Will try this out...ok? lets see if we can do this together...

good conversation with Dad today. Cough is less. He said both he and Mom slept well last night. And she did make Dad breakfast, though after she forgot momentarily and had to be reminded.

Then, she realized she was having difficulty with a financial issue and became sad...got upset, Dad said. When I spoke with him, she was sleeping.

In any case, Dad sounded like he really just wanted to talk about watching the Obama celebration yesterday. He liked it! And said, mayby Obama would be OK????

Let's see what happens if I post this....Toni