September 1, 2021

 Dear Loved Ones, 

    Well, here we are again at the start of a new month. August was filled with many many days of extremely hot weather, even breaking some long-standing records, but was also kind enough to throw in a few pleasant days once in a while just to keep us from melting away. Then, as usual, there were reports of fires in various areas, but, luckily, nothing but smoke has drifted into our little valley, so far. 

    What really bugged us, though, was that right in the worse part of the heat wave, our air conditioner decided it had had enough, running 24 hours a day, and quit on us! In calling our regular repairman, the message on his machine said “ Sorry, I’m too overloaded now, so am not accepting any more calls.” We knew it would be the same for anyone else, so we didn’t even try. However, when our manager heard of our predicament, she brought a substitute air conditioner and a large fan to help get us through. And yes, we did survive! We were certainly glad when our regular fellow was again available to service our equipment. 

    After having had the wonderful visit of my sister Carol and niece Sandy from Utah the month before, in the early part of August we were able to enjoy the long-awaited visit from my son Dan and his new wife Cathy. We had met Cathy only briefly before, so were anxious to get to know her better. We found her to be full of fun, especially when playing our “family game” Tile Rummy. She’s very loving and freely expresses her love for each of us, and for Dan. He seems to delight in the affection and attention she gives him, which is good, because on the 28th of Aug. their marriage of just one year was sealed in the Draper, Utah Temple, and they will now be husband and wife throughout all eternity, as long as they remain faithful and do everything possible to live worthy of that blessing. 

    Although we were not able to attend that momentous occasion, they were surrounded by numerous members of Cathy’s family, because they scheduled their temple sealing ceremony on the same weekend as her family reunion. 

    Luckily, we were also able to have a short, one-day visit from True’s daughter Cedar and her daughter Makayla (my grand daughter and great grand), who stopped by on their way from the San Diego area to their new home in Spokane, Washington. They will be just a few miles from her brother Clint and his wife Lindsey, who live just over the line into Idaho, and recently informed us they are expecting their first child in February. That was welcome news because there is not much posterity on that side of the family. I’m thinking that if I get some more yarn, start soon, and have better luck than last time, maybe I can have a fairly decent blanket to give to this new great-grandbaby. Maybe? 

    Other good news is that my sister Carol and niece Sandy are planning to come for another few days this month, which is great! Sandy’s sister Diana (my other niece) and her new husband Sam are also planning a visit here in October So, we will finally get to meet him too. Great things to look forward to. 

    But now, back to what happened in August…It seems it was mostly full of doctor appointments for check-ups of my eyes, resulting in new glasses, my ears for new hearing aids, and my mouth for realignrnent of my dentures. Oh my! All the joys of growing older, huh? But, there was also a new person to see named Joey, a therapist, who began working with me in the use of my prosthesis. The training and exercises I receive are quite strenuous and painful to my stump / thigh, which now has to support my whole body weight at times. Most of these same exercises I am expected to do at home, between sessions, so I’m trying my best to comply. 

    Because I am a woman and because of the size, weight, and bulkiness of the new leg, I found that I have had to make a change in the way I dress. I can no longer wear tight-fitting temple garment bottoms, nor regular pants with tops, either. They just don’t fit! I did talk to my bishop about it, though. He said I shouldn’t worry, because as long as I continue to wear the garment tops, the Lord is aware of my current situation, so it's quite all right to wear something else. So, now I’m wearing house-dresses all the time, and little nicer ones to church, although we are, again, not having services at the church building because the Delta variant is so prevalent in our area. The four hospitals in the Rogue Valley area: one in Grants Pass, two in Medford and one in Ashland, are all full and overflowing with virus patients, and have many deaths occurring each day. It is so bad they have called in the National Guard to help out. True, Linda, and I have had our vaccine shots, but still wear a mask, like our Governor has ordered, whenever we leave our home. Because of modern technology (Zoom) we are able to view our own Ward services and sing songs right along with them, like always. Great! 

    Something else I have enjoyed doing during the time when it has been really nice weather outside, is to zoom around the neighborhood on the electric chair that was so generously given to me by a complete stranger recently. And, believe it or not, I’ve not run into anything nor anybody yet! I started attending exercise class again when it restarted, riding the electric chair up to the clubhouse, but that only lasted a couple of weeks. Everything is canceled again, and the clubhouse closed with the latest wave of the virus. 

    Because of the prolonged length of time when we had such extreme heat, True was very concerned about keeping our plants and flowers alive, so made sure they were watered each day. Those that are house plants get a few ice cubes that melt slowly and thus provide moisture for a longer period than just plain water. Then when she agreed to go help Cedar pack for her move to Spokane, she made sure that the church sisters who came to fix meals for me during her time away also watered everything, which they diligently did. So everything was alive and doing well when True returned a week later. We have had many tasty things from our garden thus far, and expect to receive a lot more of its goodies. 

    True has always been strong, fit as a fiddle, and able to handle whatever was needed with, seemingly, not too much effort on her part. That’s why, towards the end of August, when she came limping into the house, obviously in terrible pain, I was shocked! She said she had done a timed sprint down to the river without a warm up, and had evidently torn a ligament in her left knee. 

    Still being new to this area, she doesn’t have a doctor, and absolutely refused to go near the COVID-filled hospital, so her medical consult was on the computer. Since that knee was so painful that she could hardly bear to put any weight on it, I suggested she use the walker with a seat. She did for a while, but felt it was too awkward and more bother than it was worth in our small space and put it aside. She's continued to do things like fixing meals and taking care of me. Even though I said I didn’t need her, she insisted that’s why she's here, and was going to do it anyway. Sound familiar? 

    True has often told me I should be more willing to let other people help me, even though I knew I could do it by myself, so perhaps now is the time for her to take the same advice, especially when it comes to working outdoors. She has been resting it and doing physical therapy here at home, and is now feeling better and making good progress. 

    Well, on that good note, I’ll say “Adios” for now, being grateful for the connections I have had during the month, and hoping to receive news from others too.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Aug / Sep 2024

Nov / Dec 2024

July / August 2024