05 19 - Ray and his Boot

I have started harassing Ray to get out of his recliner in the den and get outside to get some fresh air.  It is a lot of hassle to get him and the knee walker down the steps, but we made it.  Now, when I am watering the flowers or mowing the grass, he sits on the porch or on a lawn chair in the back yard.  The fresh air is good for him.  He is also smart enough to not say one single word about how I am mowing the yard or picking up stuff or cleaning up the patio or the porch.  Wise man.

05 18 - Flowers for the Porch

When we ran errands yesterday, plants were cheap at Walmart so I got some for the front porch.  Begonias grow well in the shade, but there might not be too much hope for the petunias in the hanging baskets due to too much shade in the front yard.  A particularly unflattering picture of me, but it happens when you are retired and working in the yard.  The porch sure looks better.

05 17 - BBQ at Lake Quivera

My bell group, Heartland Ringers, had our end-of-year barbeque at Lake Quivera at our director's dock.  That is Marilyn, aka LQ RingLeader, waving in the middle.  That is Ray's foot on the left propped on his knee walker.  It was a gorgeous evening and fun.

05 16 - Tea, anyone?

We like to brew our ice tea.  Here are many of the things required - Brita pitcher to filter the water, electric tea kettle to boil the water in about one minute, china teapot to steep the tea, double-sided (Seaboard Foods) glass to drink the tea.  Also, in the teapot is a tea infuser which is a fancy term for a fancy tea strainer thing that holds the loose tea.  The teapot has blueberries on it and we got it in Maine on our fall foilage cruise in October 2009. John loves brewed tea and he thinks that we are going to give the teapot to him because he house sits while we cruise.  Hah!  (not unless we find a teapot somewhere that we like better).  Oh.  And that is Ray's coffee mug in the back right (like I would drink out of a mug with a picture of Sally Dumb Butt on it!)

05 15 - My Pharmacy

This is a picture of my pharmacy at CVS.  We are on a first-name basis with Jim, (in the middle of the picture) who is one of the long-time pharmacists.  It seems like I have been here twice a week, since Ray broke his heel, picking up something.  I am pretty sure that you are not supposed to take pictures in a retail store, but this is where I am spending a lot of time (and money).

05 14 - I want this quilt

I love this quilt.  It is called Strippy Spools and is basically made out of strips of scraps.  It is hanging in my favorite quilt store, Prairie Point.  I have always wanted to make a quilt from the spools pattern.  I am going to make it - someday.  Oh yes, another project, looking for a weekend.  What I need to do is figure out a place in my house to be able to hang quilts.  Hmm.  Oh well, it is a pretty quilt, and it is nice to dream of making it.

05 13 - Mother's Day Flowers

My flowers are coming up!  along with some grass and plenty of volunteer elm and maple tree seedlings.  Since I am home this year to actually water, I got a couple of packages of seeds and threw them out and hoped for the best.  On Mother's Day, I get to do what I want, not what I need to do.  I usually plant flowers even though it is pretty late.  Today, I weeded the flowers since they were already planted.

05 09 - Water Tractor

We have worked really hard to get the grass to grow in our yard.  We have too big and too many trees to have nice grass, but I am not going to sacrifice my trees just for the grass.  Watering the grass used to be a pain in the neck because you continually had to move the sprinkler.  A few years ago, I finally broke down and bought the John Deere watering tractor from Lowe’s.  You set the thing over the garden hose, turn on the water, and it drives slowly across the yard.  You can even make it turn (gentle) corners by how you lay out the hose.  It is so wonderful that I got a second one for the back yard so that I would not have to keep dragging the tractor and 100 ft. garden hose from the back to the front to the back to the front…

05 08 - My first trip to Aldi's

Today was my first trip to Aldi's.  Aldi's is the cheapest grocery store ever because it is no frills.  You have to put a quarter in the lock to get a shopping cart.  After you bring the cart back and hook it back up, you get your quarter back.  If I see someone about to return their cart, I just give them a quarter and take their cart.  It keeps the parking lot uncluttered and they do not have to pay someone to fetch shopping carts.  Also, you bag your own groceries and you better bring your own bags or boxes or you have to buy them.  Milk is $2 a gallon vs. $3.50 at the regular store.  Aldi's does not have a very big selection, but it is definitely worth the stop.

05 07 - Fountains at the K

John and I went to the ballgame tonight.  When the stadium was remodeled two years ago, it was a big deal about keeping the fountains because it is a legacy from Mrs. K, Muriel Kaufman.  This is during the 7th inning stretch.  The baseball stadium is called 'The K' because it is really named Kaufman stadium after the first owner, Ewing and Muriel Kaufman.

05 06 - John's new bike

John splurged and bought himself a new bike for his birthday.  After looking at every bike store in the metro, he decided on a Trek bike from the Bike Source at 95th & Nall.  Here he is, giving it the final test drive in the parking lot.  I had to take him to the store and he rode it home, about two miles.

05 04 - What's on TV?

Ray has watched a ton of shows on TV, history channel, animal planet, and movies.  He paused this movie when I came to visit.  Look at the time elapsed and amount remaining on the times.  Look at the numbers again.  He has watch 2143 and has 21430 remaining.  Pure coincidence, like the bill at the grocery store coming out to an even number.  (The movie is, “The Help”.)

05 03 - Ray's new friend, Mr. Morphine

Today’s post is a picture of Ray’s new best friend, Mr. Morphine and his pump.  He had surgery this morning where the doctor put 9 or 10 screws and a plate in his left heel.  There is no pain like a bone pain especially when you have drilled holes into your heel bone to insert the screws.  Right now, Ray is in an inpatient room with the morphine drip.

05 02 - Mobile in the Lobby

This is a huge mobile hanging over a staircase at the edge of the lobby of Shawnee Mission Medical Center.  It is called Trinity, I think, and supposed to represent peace, health, and life.  It is actually much bigger and more abstract that this picture can portray.  I walked by it every time that I went to see Ray.

05 01 - Our Castle has a new Throne

I know, you are thinking that this is the lamest post that I have done yet because what is so monumental about a new toilet?  Ray is confined to the den level of the house, which used to have a working toilet (and sink) in the laundry room.  When the only working toilet on that level breaks, let me tell you that it is the most important thing in your life to get it replaced.  Did you know that on the Home Depot website, if you search on ‘toilet’ you get over 1000 hits?  Did you know that toilets range in price from $88 - $1000+ ?  Of course, it broke on Saturday afternoon, but we had it replaced by Monday afternoon.  (He had to crawl up two short flights of stairs to the upstairs bathrooms.  Remember, he cannot walk.)