Books
During our two week vacation I read a wonderful book. How delightful to sit with my legs up, facing the ocean, and read an exciting story! It was one of the many books waiting in my Kindle Library. Back home again, I have been reading as well, not non-stop, but when I had a few moments during the day. What I’m reading now are more self help books, preparing us for any calamities that may show up as we get older. Interesting, but not what I look forward to in the near future.
My retirement from book promotion came just in time, because I need many hours for all the every-day tasks. Because of balance problems Mike can’t do much or carry anything, and PT and OT people (I value them as personal trainers) come to the house to work with him. We are also making weekly trips to the wound Healing Clinic in Raleigh, because of a leg wound (he kicked himself by accident) that keeps on draining. The visiting nurse made me aware one day of disposable underpads to keep the sheets clean. I had to laugh out loud and looked through my acting files of the eighties. This is what I found:
I did a Print Job once for Disposable Underpads the first time they came on the market! “Full Time Joy for the Part Time Nurse” it said. Pigeon toed in fluffy slippers, a baby doll under a gown with pink flowers, voilà my job for the day. I forgot what I earned with it; it was not a commercial for which I got residuals each time its showed, but hey, even print jobs were not easy to get and I was mighty proud!
So, even though I know about disposable Underpads, I still use a towel under Mike’s ankle. It will only be temporary.
In our senior community we have Doctors Making House Calls: every imaginable doctor comes for regular visits to check us out. A very safe feeling, but we are only in our eighties and compared to other Residents in their nineties we remain healthier than most. Still, we get book recommendations from some of them. From a Cardiologist: Younger Next Year (about mandatory exercise and diet to keep healthy); a Physical Therapist: The Bathroom Key (about the fact that male and female incontinence can be cured or prevented by exercise); a Doctor we met on one of our cruises: The Pursuit of Happiness with Alzheimers (among other things: Joyful experiential Stimulation of the Brain or Sex to get the brain blood flowing). Now that book I read first (because I remember the author), followed by the Younger Next Year (because that seems a worthwhile endeavor and I love exercise), and I am currently in the Bathroom Key.
I must say that I am learning from every book so far: situations, health problems and solutions are important to remember should they happen to us. So I feel I need to read those books since they are highly recommended by healthcare professionals. But I can’t wait to read Deceit, Disappearance and Death on Hilton Head Island that I just got on my Kindle. That’s where we had our July reunion. And it is a true story, published in 2018. They are still looking for the killer! And then there is the Science Fiction series “The Future of Humanity” written by Harvey Stanbrough, starting with The Ark, a space ship with about 200 selected people taking off in search of another planet to start a new life. All these books and more are waiting!
Exercise
When I was at the Club today, and the Yoga class appeared cancelled, I talked to the fitness trainer. She will put together an exercise program for me, including weights, and I will start working out again. For starters, I worked on three of the machines and it was such a great feeling! I will be starting low, taking home 5 lb weights, and my yoga mat stands at the ready.
A Pizza Party and a Thai Party
We had two wonderful evenings at our cottage with friends we invited from two other cottages and from the main building. It is a great way to make friends, get away from the often boring, tasteless fare from the dining room, and it is like a Pot Luck: DoorDash gets Thai Food, Papa Murphy’s bakes the pizzas, friends bring desserts and wine. A lovely way to spend an evening!
May your days be peaceful and happy!
Until next time,
Ronny