Replaced at Sister’s House…WHAT Are We Going to Do????

Home in Holiday / Tarpon Springs area, FL

  

Skruffy:  “WAIT JUST A MINUTE!  What are those BIRDS doing in OUR backyard?”

Bubba: “Now look Skruffy, this isn’t the first time that MONSTERS have been in Uncle Arny’s backyard.  Besides, I am surprised YOU can even see them the way YOUR eyes are going downhill.”

“Well, at least my snoring wouldn’t scare them out of the backyard…heck, I can hear your snoring all the way at the condo…and you are probably miles away.”

“Look Skruff, last year we shared the backyard with two or three monster Geese.  I am SURE Uncle Arny will let me stay again…as for you, well, that I just can’t guarantee…you know, Uncle Arny LOVES me, he only TOLLERATES you.”

“But Aunt Sandy picks me up and rubs my tummy…she NEVER rubs your tummy.”

“Maybe because NO ONE rubs my tummy…I don’t like that.  Anyway, don’t panic, I am POSITIVE we will be able to stay at Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy’s house again this year.  Now, let’s plan our attack on these Turkeys…First thing, we need to call our cousins, you remember them don’t you?”

You mean the one that jumps a mile high, and the other one that looks like a Pharaoh?

Yes, our good ole pals, Parker and Charley …

Monday we celebrated our 8th anniversary.  We celebrated by…

No, not get in a fight…we went to our favorite Greek Restaurant…Mama Maria’s

This is Marcia’s brother Mike, taken while we sat drinking coffee before church a few years ago.  Mike was the Police Chief of Tarpon Springs before he retired awhile back.  Anyway, we got a call on Friday that he was in the hospital…fainted on his bed was the first prognosis.  By Sunday they felt pretty sure he had a mild heart attack…by Monday they said he had high blockage in three arteries.  Problem is that the hospital he is in does not do bypass surgery, so off to Clearwater he went today.  They say his case is “Urgent” but not a “Emergency”, and the Clearwater Hospital was busy over the weekend.  Tomorrow they will start testing his lungs, full blood work, etc. etc. in preparation of having his surgery.  We HOPE his surgery will be Thursday or Friday…but it might be next week since he really seems to be doing very well.  I am sure he would love to get out of that hospital bed…

Here that same day is Bob and Nancy sitting with Mike.  Nancy has been having problems too, and is in a Care Center, which is where they put people who need medical attention, but not hospitalization. 

We also got notification that my oldest Aunt, Vera, up in the Kansas City area, is in the hospital too.  Some days she is back to herself, other days she is very lethargic.  Wasn’t a stroke, but something just is not right.  Above is Vera with my cousin Cassie…taken I think last summer (stole off of Cassie’s Facebook page).

Winter is tough on the elderly.  Mom and Dad always seem to catch a cough each winter which lasts for a few weeks.  Saw where a fellow Rotarian passed away a few weeks ago in Arkansas, and another acquaintance is very sick. 

Luckily, Marcia and I have not been sick for a number of years now.  Oh there are days where we don’t feel our best…but overall we have been healthy.  Marcia completed her last yearly doctor’s appointments, and all is well.  I see my doctor in April while we are going through Arkansas, but overall I feel fine.  We sure hope you are staying away from the sick bug…if not, our thoughts and prayers go out to you too.

Mom’s Having Another Birthday

At my sister’s house in Citrus Heights

Mom actually has her birthday on Wednesday…but we got together for Liver and Onions on Sunday to celebrate, since Sandy and Patti still work, making weekends much better for these events.

The table is set, and time to sit down.  What is that over there by dad you might wonder?

Now that’s my kind of Liver and Onions!  You see…dad and I don’t do Liver, so Arny cooks us up some Ribeye Steaks…that big thick one, that was mine, and it was SO GOOD!

There is the Liver and Onions…along with potatoes and yams (had to open the foil to see which one you got), salad, and Marcia and I had whipped cauliflower that Marcia does so well, and which is on our diet. 

Here are the others…that is the back of Marcia’s head, next to her is Patti, then Sandy, then Euleda (Arny’s mom who is 95), Arny, and Patti’s daughter Ashley.  You can see the Liver is nearly gone!

I missed a picture of the cake…but I did get a picture of Marcia and my low carb dessert.  That is a Atkins Brownie (2 net carbs) with Atkins Chocolate Covered Almonds (1 net carb since we shared a bag) and Halo Ice Cream (4 net carbs).  Mom’s cake was Lemon Bundt Cake, with Icing….about a zillion carbs.  On Wednesday, Marcia and I will be taking mom and dad out to breakfast, and that evening dad will take mom out to dinner using Lyft.

    

Patti brought her dogs over for the birthday celebration too.  That is Parker up in the air, Charlie is next to Skruffy…Bubba was inside, so I tossed in this picture I took just before his haircut the other day.

 

So there were four things we came out to California especially for this year….dad’s 90th, mom’s 88th, their 70th anniversary, and my son’s wedding.  Essentially, two of these are done, two more to go…what a year!

    

   

Spring is definitely here in Northern California.  Good rain has brightened up all the lawns and flowers, the critters are out, and this year these two ducks have shown up nearly every day we have been here.  Got to watch out when the dogs go outside, that male Mallard has a bum leg and is just a bit slow getting into the air…but so far, no incidents.

Next Monday Marcia and I are going on a 25 day trip…which I will blog about next time…along with showing our newest change to the inside of the motorhome, which is currently a work in progress….

Day After Fools Day Birthday Party

Mom and dad were the first to arrive, and mom got a hold of one of Arny’s beers, and just about didn’t give it back to him.  (Her and dad are non-drinkers)

      

By 3:15, everyone had arrived.  Hoovering over pictures will tell you who everyone is (left to right).  Ten adults, no kids, four dogs…

Patti and her two dogs, Parker (on lap) and Charlie.  They were from the same litter, and she has had them for around six years now.  Donna lives in Patti’s house, and helps take care of them.  All four dogs get along real well.

Last year Michael graduated with his Masters from U.C. Berkeley.  When I graduated with my Masters Degree in Library and Information Sciences, my mom and dad gave me dad’s grandfathers Railroad Pocket Watch.  I forgot to bring it out to Michael last year, but this year I remembered, and I gave it to him today.

Read this May 2012 blog post for the history about the watch, and read this May 2015 blog about Michael’s graduation.  Told Michael that he needed to be sure to have someone who he could hand it down to some day too (hint, hint).

We had New York Steaks, Chicken for non red meat eaters, baked potatoes, salad, bread, etc.   It as “so good”, and everyone went away stuffed.  Sandy’s short cake with strawberries and blackberries really topped it off.  Arny did all the cooking on his two barbecues, and he really out did himself, again.  YUMMY!

After dinner, and after Patti and Donna took off, it was time to sit around and let things settle a bit.

   

Well, we thought there would be entertainment…Santa, Elvis…the Duke.  But alas, I guess that was just an April Fools thought.  Dad had a wonderful birthday celebration regardless.  Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Jumping Party

Saturday night a few blocks away they had a LOUD party.  Asked Arny why the police did not put an end to it…he said that many of the people in attendance were police, which explains much.  So we decided to have a “jumping party” of our own Sunday, and as you can see, little Parker jumps the highest, hands down…or is that “Paws down”?

Actually is was sister Patty’s birthday…we are now the same age for a few months. And before you all start feeling “bad” for my mom, once I popped out at 11 lbs, 11 ozs, there was no chance of her having any more natural children.  As the fourth child, the RH factor hit me real hard, which hit her real hard…especially when she had to leave the hospital without me.  Sandy was adopted when she was seven, and Patty, Sandy’s biological sister, was unofficially adopted as an adult.  Anyway, today was Patty’s day, and we had a wonderful dinner.  Above is her “non-birthday-cake”, which is a marshmallow, cool-whip, pimento cheese and fruit mixture.  Sandy and Patty went up to Reno Saturday to celebrate, and Sandy normally makes this dish.  Today, I made it, put it in this cake-sized dish, and spelled out “Happy B-Day” wish some fancier marshmallows.  It was a surprise which we all enjoyed…that dish is normally saved for special days like this, and Patty had no idea it was going to be on the menu.



Donna made her eggs, Arny barbecued some Tri-Tip and Corn on the Cobb, and for desert we had Ice Cream with fresh berries.  Patty brought her two dogs, and her daughter Ashley, who came late, brought her dog Leo, so poor Skruffy was totally outnumbered by the four other “leg lifters”…but she did not seem to mind, she can out bark them all.

Not much o a sunset tonight, never did get all red like a good sunset gets.  Oh well…the night was still young.

Because tonight was the Big Super Moon, officially called “lunar perigee”, it is the largest moon of the year.  Here in the Valle we still had haze when it first came up.

Sure makes a good picture.

Our Memorial Day Celebration

My brother-in-law Arny sure knows how to barbeque!  More on that later….

The day starts out much like any other day….dogs wake up, wake us up, but with it being a holiday, they had to wait an hour for their “Uncle Arny” treats they get every morning.  It’s a bit hard to let them out, then get them back in with this little “mouth” (above) shooting off her mouth….but she did pretty well this morning, and Sandy and Arny got a well deserved extra hour of sleep.

When the drapes at the door are open, it is the clue to let the dogs out.  Weekday mornings, with Sandy headed to work before 6 am, the drapes are open very early…today it was around 8:00, and the dogs were out the motorhome door a few seconds later.  Moments later Uncle Arny opens the door with a cheerful “Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning!”, Bubba dances, Skruffy barks, and the ritual begins.

   

Lay out the treats at the table, break them up, give them each a piece, a pat on the head, personalize dog talk, until the treats are all eaten.

Ok, it really isn’t Bubba using the toilet, but it is a fine entrance into our next, unpleasant segment.  This morning, of all days, we had a problem with our Vacuflush Toilet System. 

For who knows what reason, this motorhome has a Vacuflush Toilet System, one found on boats, similar to one I saw on Amtrak once.  We think it is because the drop from the toilet to the Black tank is not good enough for gravity to take care of.  Regardless, today ours backed up.  It ended up being an easy fix by activating the vacuum switch causing a build up of vacuum pressure, enough to unclog the clog.  Thanks for Arny in helping me diagnose the problem, and showing me how to activate the vacuum switch (upper left in diagram above that I found on the Internet.)  We will get a small plunger which research has shown helps too as long as you are careful...but this switch will be first, plunger if building the pressure more does not work.  Never fun to work on toilets so early in the day…but for that fact, neither is it fun in the middle of the day, end of the day, and certainly not during the middle of the night.

It wasn’t long before the family had gathered, the ribs were cooking, and it was time to eat.  Ribs, Marcia’s Baked Beans, Donna’s Deviled Eggs, Coleslaw, Bean Salad…yum, another great barbeque.  Three types of Ribs, dry rub, marinade, and with rub and BBQ sauce...all Arny's secret recipes. 

   

Dad prays over the food and a special Memorial Day prayer.

Sister’s Sandy and Patty dig in first…but it is really them getting mom and dad’s plates for them.

   

Dinner is over before we knew it….the ice cream cake is gone too.  In the picture on the left, with her back to the camera wearing a dark blue shirt is my other sister Donna, with Marcia to her right, mom, dad and Patty fill out the circle.  Picture to the right is Arny and Sandy, of course, Arny is doing what he does best….petting the dog.  That is one of Patty’s dogs.  I was having a hard time getting a picture of the four dogs all together, so Arny got up and said, “Hold on, I know how to fix that!”

So around the circle, left to right….Parker, his brother Charlie…both coming from a shelter, and they are real brothers.  Then Skruffy, and finally Bubba.

The dogs enjoyed their visit, chasing squirrels, birds, sniffing this, sniffing that, showing off who can roll in the grass the best.  (Bubba won if you count the amount of junk one gets on their fur.)   It was a fun, relaxing day for dogs and humans.  Had it not been a bit of plugged up start, and just a little on the hot side at times as it neared 4 pm, it was just a wonderful day.  And each one of us knew that today was brought to us through the great sacrifice by others…..