All’s well that ends well

At the urgent request of our daughter to please get our Covid shots, I went online, found a Walgreens, and made reservations for the following morning, Sunday, 11:45 and 12:00, thinking there would not be much traffic on Sundays. I drove the car out of the garage, got Mike with his walker out of the house, locked up, put the walker in the trunk of the car, locked the front door, and got inside myself. Walgreens… let’s see how long it would take us. To my shock I discovered that the Walgreens I had made appointments with was not in Apex at all, but in Raleigh, more than twelve miles away. Well, we could still make it, and I started the car. Except it did not start. Nothing worked. It did not detect a Ford key, while I had it in my hand. I thought it was the oil change that was due on Thursday morning.

We were lucky our doors opened and we could get out. Except I could not get Mike’s walker out of the back – the hatch did not open. I went inside and got my little walker, which I had bought in June for my torn meniscus. With that, Mike could get inside and I called AAA. An hour later a AAA technician told me the battery was dead. He started it up again and I let the engine run for half an hour in the driveway. What a disaster! No Covid shots yet. However, the best part was that we did not have to drive for half an hour to Walgreens in Raleigh.

Monday morning I had an appointment with the knee surgeon. He sent me to yet another surgeon a week later, who would do an ultrasound to determine the location of the baker’s cyst (yes, it is still there!) and then would drain some fluids from the back of the knee as well as the front. So I am not done yet. The good thing is that most days I can walk 5000 steps again with no pain in my knee. My goal is still for the knee to be as good as new by Christmas!

When I sat at the AAA office this morning for the oil change and battery check, which lasted more than an hour, I had time to read a book, currently The Boys in the Boat. The movie is coming out on December 25, and I hope to go see it with any of the family members that want to take me there!

Time out!

On Wednesday morning, Lani went to day care, where she met another little dog to play with; that was new to her, and it’s good for her to socialize. Because my manicurist opened the salon half an hour early just for me, I could have a manicure and a pedicure while the caregiver was still at home for Mike. My two friends at Waltonwood invited me for lunch next Tuesday, so I have plenty of good times to be thankful for.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny 

Changes

They say that a person’s face changes every five years. I thought about that when I looked in the mirror the other day and saw: wrinkles! The new make up I am using is lovely in several aspects, but it does not erase age-related wrinkles. Hm. Well, everybody goes through the same changes, I thought, so those wrinkles are not disastrous. I felt even better about it after I saw recent pictures of movie stars, like Sarah Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Dame Judy Dench. People who do not resort to facials are all aging in a similar fashion. So I decided to take a headshot when I’m 85 (almost!) and when I’m 90. I will line up other headshots of 80, 75 and 70 and see how much my face has changed every five years. Kind of fun, if there is nothing you can do about it anyway. That’s how it is!

Coffee

We have had a Black and Decker coffee maker forever. Of course not the same one, but I replaced them after they broke down with the same model. Every night, I put in water and coffee and the next morning all I need to do is push the button and it’s on. I never programmed it because we got up at different times. Last week, when I pushed the button, nothing happened. There was coffee in the carafe, but it was cold: brewed perhaps last night? Did I accidentally switch it on when I went to bed? Getting forgetful? Oh dear. But when the same thing happened two days later, I thought I’m not that stupid! It turned itself on in the night. And since its clock had not run well either, I decided it was time for a new one. I went online to Amazon, ordered the same Black and Decker, which arrived  the same day, so I could get it ready  for coffee in the morning.

We also have a Keurig coffee maker, and on the same day I decided it probably needed descaling. So I went to work, following the instructions in the manual, vinegar and water, water, water, and then I put in a new filter as well. Ready for my first cup in the morning! Except when I took that first cup, the creamer was curdled. I  got up to check its expiration date. And getting up I spilled half my coffee! Paper towels etc. to clean up, and then I smelled vinegar! There was still a trace of vinegar in the water. And so it took a while before I finally got my coffee. But now we are all set with two clean coffee makers. If anyone can tell me their favorite brand for the Keurig machine, please let me know.

Doggie Day Care

I found a wonderful day care home for Lani, four minutes from here. Today is her second day there. She does not like to be in the large yard by herself, because, believe it or not, she is scared to death by any flying insect. She loved to be inside, the lady is wonderful and her two kids get back from school at four o’clock, so Lani had time to play with them last week. The day care day is for when the gardeners come with their loud machines and Lani can’t stop barking. Last week, here was only one, and now, close to noon, I have not heard any! However, it is a wonderful opportunity for the future. If I ever have to leave for a longer period of time, even overnight, Lani is welcome at her day care home. That is a wonderful feeling, to be covered on all bases.

Getting to know my town

After a year, it is about time, but then I didn’t get out very often. Many businesses are very close, within five miles. I found safe ways (right turns only if possible :-)) to go to the pharmacy, the podiatrist, the gas station, the AAA, the dog groomer, the UPS store, Target for ice cream, the post office, the Hallmark Store, Walmart, the hair dresser, the nail salon, and that’s about it. There is a lot of traffic on the main street, but avoidable when you know where you are going.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

 Ah yes,

A time to sit still and reflect on everything and absolutely nothing. Peace and quiet, light and darkness, a time to meditate for a while. I can’t afford it yet, but after I have finished some of my projects, I will create that time in my day. Right now, I am taking  time for daily exercises to promote knee health and back strength, together with some yoga poses. And it works, early in the morning, thanks to the  caregivers I have during the week.

Time out this week came as a wonderful break. Two of my friends from Waltonwood, where we used to live, invited me for breakfast yesterday. It was so enjoyable to see them again and to have pancakes with blueberries and coffee in a Cary coffeeshop and talk. Afterwards I made a stop at Trader Joe’s, always for fresh flowers and groceries, and I made it home before the caregiver left for the day.

Wednesday ruckus

Wednesday is gardener day. They come around for about two hours with mowers and blowers and make a lot of noise. Lani goes crazy and can’t stop barking, and Mike goes crazy and can’t stop yelling. I attended a zoom meeting with the dog training company I subscribe to, and they sent an article on how to stop your dog from barking at noise, at strangers passing the window and ringing the bell. Train her with special treats and the word “quiet”. Well, I got special treats, freeze-dried raw chicken breast, and went to work at her first barking session. Lani devoured the treats, which I started to throw on the floor after she almost bit in my fingers. She loved the treats, but got right back to her barking, then back again to the treats. The result was that she did not eat breakfast or dinner. I still have the treats in a jar close to me, but I don’t go to her when she barks, I call “quiet ” and throw her a treat when she comes.

I decided to send her to a day care place and found a very nice lady with a large fenced yard, living in the next neighborhood, willing to take her on “gardener day”. Lani and I met with her and I hope this will be an arrangement for a while that we both like. I found her through a company named Rover, through which I also found our dog walker. Monica still walks Lani in the early mornings for half an hour, and I have taken over the evening walks. I love being outside again and my knee is doing well.

Next for me are another blood draw and doctor’s visit for my six month checkup. I need more protein and eat fewer bananas; not hard to do with links to Amazon protein foods that our daughter-in-law sent me. Can’t wait to try some. It is not easy to get on a “safe, healthy diet” since I don’t cook dinner anymore but am depending on restaurants and our local chef. Mike is lucky in that he can eat anything and does not gain weight. I must admit that he does not like snacks; except for an occasional stroopwafel and the krupuk (shrimp snacks) that I serve when I cook nasi goreng occasionally. I can’t resist that, especially because there are no Indonesian restaurants anywhere in this area.

At this time I looked at the clock and decided it was time to go to the kitchen, so Time out!

Until next time,

Ronny

Exciting news from the next generations

While not many exciting things are happening in our lives at 86 and 84 years old, we are enjoying the
adventures of the second and third generation, near and far. Our oldest grandson, in California will be
rowing the Head of the Charles again in Boston with his team next weekend. He was invited six years ago,
while still in High School, and this may be his final year, with the Varsity from SBSU, in a boat of four.
The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest 3-day rowing competition held annually in October, in Boston,
Massachusetts, attracting 400,000 spectators, 11,000 competitors and 2400 volunteers.

His sister was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York with her high school choir earlier this spring. She is touring colleges for a selection in 2025.

Another grandson, here in Apex, took his Dad up for a two hour flight in a single engine airplane. And that while he is only 18 years old! He graduated high school early, in January, and got his Private Pilot’s license five months later. He has been flying many hours with an instructor and is close to getting his next license: Instrument Flying. We saw a video of one of the training sessions, where he flew in dense fog, when suddenly the runway came into view and he landed the plane carefully. Amazing!

What a day!

From 6:00 a.m., when I got up, until just now, my day has been filled with calls and texts to doctors and  pharmacies, to schedule appointments, correct medication doses and refills. The Physical Therapist came for Mike, and I got nothing else done. On a day like this I opt for Chick-Fil-A with a kale salad for dinner with a frosted lemonade, nothing to thaw or cook, just take out of the bag and serve.

After a 6 hour night plus a 2 hour nap, I am now only able to serve ice cream. Then start the going-to-bed routine  at 8:30 to make it before the garden lights go out at 10:00. Ah! what joy to live in our own home in this wonderfully quiet neighborhood and be totally independent!

All is well with my soul.

And that’s a wrap!

Until soon,

Ronny

Walmart

When we lived in Prescott, Arizona, I used to shop at Walmart a lot. They had everything and I knew my
way around. I bought a pair of beautiful sunglasses there once, that were indestructible. I had them for
years. So when, some twenty years later in North Carolina, the frame broke after putting it in my purse too
many times, the best thing I knew to do was find a Walmart in Apex and see if I could find a nice pair of
glasses to replace the broken ones. I could not believe that there, on the rack, were two identical pairs of
sunglasses, just like the one that broke. For many years, I would have bought both pairs – just in case:
a remainder of the war, when there was never enough of anything. But this time, I resisted the temptation,
trusting there would always be another pair of sunglasses at Walmart.

Pumpkins

Last week, going to Trader Joe’s in Cary, I walked into large containers of pumpkins! They looked so inviting that I could not resist the temptation (there are many temptations in my life!) and I bought two large ones,
one of them a gift for the neighbors, and three small ones to decorate the coffee table with.

When the kids were little, we would carve the pumpkins. Now, I decided to draw a face on the big one in the front porch. That was fun. And to complete a nice entrance, Stephanie brought us a lovely fall wreath.
She makes those in her home and ships them all over the country. I have several that she made for different occasions during the year. If you are interested in seeing her beautiful collections, this is her website: http://www.welcomewreath.com.

We have a glass storm door in the front, and I don’t want to obscure any light coming in by a wreath. So our wreaths are hanging on the side wall.

Heating

Overnight, the wonderful, balmy temperatures dropped down to the forties. An early morning call to the heating company resulted in a technician coming around 10:00 am. He checked the furnace and reset the thermostat, so that we now have comforting heat all around. The days are still sunny, but down to the sixties. Tomorrow morning there is “Coffee at the Club”, a monthly opportunity to meet people in the neighborhood.

And that’s a wrap!

Until soon,

Ronny 

Sweltering heat no more!

The air conditioning was fixed, but it will not be needed for long: A full day of rain caused by Ophelia, the storm that blew right onto the North Carolinas, brought cooler temperatures. And September 23 was the first day of Fall!

Meniscal tear update

Last Monday, after eight weeks of physical therapy with a great guy, my non-surgeon took 25cc of yellow fluid out of my knee and injected some pain reliever. The next day I was on Cloud Nine: no pain in my knee at any time. I was delighted that I could walk Lani at night, half a mile, and I walked her again on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning was the first time that I had to put on a jacket and a scarf. From now on I hope to be able to walk her again in the evenings. In the mornings Mike needs me and I can’t just leave him in bed for too long. We are early risers, I get up at 6 a.m. and Mike at 7.

Dinners

Last week we had some delicious dinners from several restaurants: Turkish Tzatziki Chicken and a Vietnamese spicy lemongrass dish with tofu. Both so delicious that I have ordered them twice in two weeks. Tofu, in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese dinners is a delicious, healthy alternative to chicken, and we try to limit eating a lot of red meat.

Flu shots and Covid tests  

We both got our flu shots at the pharmacy last week. The Pharmacist came out to the car to give Mike his shot, so Mike wouldn’t have to come in. The new Covid shots will be available in October, and we are on the list. Then, we also heard that 4 new do-it-at-home Covid tests are available free of charge. We have a box full of free Covid tests in the closet, but I heard for the first time that they have an expiration date, that expiration dates have been extended, and that there is a list of extended test expiration dates you can check. So that is another project: check all the tests we already have and see when their expiration dates really expire! They say that it is now clear that every year, together with our flu shot, we should also expect to get a Covid shot. If you get them at the same time, do them at different arms, is what my doctor advised.

I also heard that it is better to get your annual flu shots always in the same arm. Why? Because they then go to the same lymph nodes each time and you will build up better immunity that way.  And so we strive to go into fall and winter healthy, and always happy and thankful for the blessings we receive daily.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

A Makeover

A good friend has a business in makeup and asked if I was interested in a Makeover. Well, of course, any time! She wanted me to take a selfie of my face without any makeup in natural light and send it to her. I’m sure that everyone has taken many selfies, but this was my first one. Ha! It is surely not a picture to put on my website! Since my acting days are over, I have never used stage makeup anymore, but rather like the natural look with a little less makeup. So I was very curious how the Seint beauty products would give me a natural, but more beautiful look. The session with my friend was fun, the products I ordered are on their way, and in a few days I will proudly be able to wear my Hawaiian name Makalani again. Perhaps then I will take another selfie to show you the results 🙂

Back to the basics

Since I twisted my knee and tore the meniscus last June, I have not had much exercise, and I miss it. So I just set up a daily schedule for myself to get into the swing of things again: a goal that must be attainable. PT three mornings a week, dog walks two evenings a week, and two times a session of exercises for core and back on my yoga mat. Starting today: I’m looking forward to it. I did sign up  for a month of chair yoga on the computer, but found out that’s not for me. I prefer to go down on the mat.

Blackout: sweltering heat!

Two days ago, we had a short blackout, which threw off the computer. I got that started again, but I am afraid it disabled the thermostat. Two nights ago, it felt very warm, and indeed, it was 74 degrees when I got up instead of 60. Yet it showed that the cool air was running according to schedule. Well, 74 is ok as a daytime temperature, so I did not think about any possible problem. But at night, it was 77, then 78, and so I turned on the ceiling fan in order to be able to sleep. At 1:15 a.m., when I woke up, I shut the whole system down and opened the sliding door to the patio, because Alexa told me that it was 72 outside, and it was 79 inside. Today, Tuesday afternoon, it went up to 81 (27 C for my Dutch readers). When I found out that none of the fuses was off, I called an HVAC company and they promised they would come out today. But the day is almost over!

Coffee hour at the Club

We were lucky that today, the second Tuesday of the month, we could go to the coffee hour at the Club and be in a cool room with neighbors to talk to and delicious treats to eat with our coffee. Tomorrow morning, after PT, I will go to the pool again. It’s a funny thought: the pool water is right now 82 degrees, and it feels wonderfully cool. The house is up to 82 degrees as well, but it is stifling.

Dog training

Because Lani’s daily barking at everybody that comes by the window, and at every delivery, and at the gardeners on Wednesday was finally working on our nerves, and talking to her did not help a bit, I went on Amazon and found an NPS dog training device that has rave reviews. It came the same day. After charging and watching the training video, I have great expectations about the results.

Dinner’s coming

My Chef can be here any minute with dinner: a shrimp cacciatore for Mike and chicken cacciatore for me; with vegetables and desserts. Aren’t we lucky to have a Chef just around the corner in the next street, who cooks dinner for our neighborhood twice a week? We are truly counting our blessings!

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

Labor Day Weekend

It was a hard labor week: days without caregivers, a visit to the dermatologist in Cary, always a hassle. But there were many positives: the clock repair man came to the house to do the bi-annual clock maintenance, the dermatologist prescribed a new medication for Mike, and the new physical therapist visited twice.

The weekend was memorable! I made time for myself and read and finished a great book. Because I was pain free one whole day, I had so much energy that I made nasi goreng for dinner one night and nasi with saté ajam and green beens another night! Our friend’s grandson came over and – although he said he had never done this before – he took all the weeds out of the border, so it looks beautiful. Perhaps he will get other job offers now: the neighbor across the lawn was also interested.

A Dentist’s visit

Not the same as a visit to the dentist! This dentist came to the house and gave Mike a professional cleaning plus x-rays while he sat in his own comfortable recliner.  He mentioned that he also visits people in Waltonwood and other retirement places. We knew about that, but in those days we still had a dentist in town and moving around was not as difficult for Mike. Four years can make a great difference when you are 85!

Two evenings I took Lani out for a half mile walk, and it went reasonably well. Our dog walker was out of town and her sister took over in the mornings. I am less and less thinking about that knee, and moving around without pain is wonderful. From now on, I will appreciate every day that I can walk on both legs; I will not take it for granted as before. You think you are invincible, but slowly but surely, when you are in your eighties, body parts wear out. It happened to me. Just my knee though, the rest is still in optima forma. 🙂

At the end of the month the pool will be closed. So yesterday, I put on my suit and UV protective long sleeve shirt and went to the pool down the street to do some water exercises. No swimming yet. The water temperature was 85.5 degrees, just wonderful. Three other residents joined me after fifteen minutes, nice to get to know them.

Trying to save my Cat Palm

It was beautiful when I got it, but I put it in the wrong place and gave it the wrong fertilizer. Poor thing. One by one the fronds turned brown. After I had moved it too my office, the wonderful sunny room, and it got some morning sun, new fronds sprouted out. And today, before it got too hot outside (98 degrees) I repotted it and cut off all the old stuff. It does not look good yet, but where there is life, there is hope, and I will try to get it nice and green again.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time, stay well.

Ronny

An impromptu dessert birthday party

Mike’s 86th birthday started with a lot of surprises. When I opened the front door, there was a box with six fresh donuts. Ten minutes later, somebody brought two bouquets of flowers, a delicious cheesecake dessert for two, an apple pie, a chocolate bar and a small balloon. Dennis and Stephanie brought us a delicious lunch from Chick-fil-A, and the next-door neighbor brought a container of frozen custard.

My thoughts: Let’s share, let’s have a party! I made three phone calls, and five guests appeared at 7 o’clock on our doorstep. The apple pie was delicious with the frozen custard on top, and we also had chocolate oatmeal cookies, and chocolate Oreo cookie balls, leftover in the freezer from the time our grandson made them during his visit.

An hour and 45 minutes later the guests had left, there was very little to clean up in the kitchen, and we sat and reflected for a while on a wonderful evening.

Physical Therapy

It’s going well! I have a great therapist, five minutes from the house, who does special strengthening exercises with me for left knee and hip. On Monday, I will see the surgeon again and hopefully, when he sees my improvement, he will prescribe more physical therapy and forget about surgery. Ultimately, my goal is to walk again without pain, and not just around the house, but three miles a day with the dog.

Because Mike would also benefit from physical therapy, but it is difficult for him to go places, I looked for outpatient therapy services. Online, I found a company by the name of LUNA, that does just that. I called them yesterday, and already today a very sweet therapist came for an evaluation. She will come back twice a week. The company also gets in touch with Mike’s Primary Care Provider and they will bill Medicare. If I had known it was this easy, I would have started looking  earlier.

Lani

The day before Mike’s birthday, Lani turned five. It is amazing to watch her mature and change her likes and dislikes. When we still lived in Cary, she slept in the sunroom, separated from the living room by a half wall, and closed off for the night by a 24″ high little gate. She never attempted to jump the gate, although she could jump on the loveseat and in our laps. One night, she did not want to sleep there anymore. when I tried to force her, she almost bit me. I bought her a little basket that fit under my vanity in the bedroom. She loved it. For almost two years. Then, just around the day she turned five, she jumped on our bed. Try as we might, she would jump off and right back on when the lights were off. And that’s how it stayed for two weeks now. She sleeps at the foot end of our bed on top of the bedspread between our (moving) legs, until the birds start singing in the living room: that is our alarm, singing birds: time to get up, 6 a.m. Our dog walker Monica will stay on until my meniscus has healed enough that I can walk any distance with Lani. It’s been two months since the injury, and going well.

Labor Day

Everyone is excited with the long weekend, the end of summer and start of fall. Some of the plants in the patio border are blooming again, and I desperately need someone to do some weeding for me as long as I can’t squat down yet. Perhaps the neighbor’s grandson will be interested in earning a little money. Where has the time gone that my sister Paula and I were happy picking up snails for 1 cent a piece? We got buckets full of them, at least once a week. That was after the war, in our yard in Surabaya. A few years before that, during the last war year in the Halmahera camp, we ate them, if we could find any before our neighbors did.

Anyway, I’m wishing you a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Stay safe if you are traveling!

Until next time,

Ronny

Presentation Preparation 

Checking information in my books to talk about on August 14, I came across this book review of Anguished, the only book that has nothing to do with WWII in the Pacific. Did you read it?

Book Review on 11/22/2020 by Steve Daws, Cary NC

I read Anguished in one sitting.  The suspense overwhelmed me.  Here is a lovely story about a devoted daughter, living in America, and sorting out how to be engaged with her aging mother who was a resident of a senior living home in the Netherlands.  For more about the author and her mother’s life relationship and sheer survival,  one must read Herman de Jong’s Rising from the Shadow of the Sun depicting this family’s horrendous experience stranded in Java when the Japanese invaded during WWII.  Her mother was quite the hero and thanks to her wise, sometimes risky decisions, she kept her two daughters alive somehow, against great odds… The author is pure as pure can be, her intentions to be part of her mother’s final months.  But the plot thickens when another family member sabotages the author.  I am glad to report a happy ending, but I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

In these modern times, families are often scattered geographically.  In this case, scattered across two continents.  The reader may well relate to the struggles many families  dealing with distance, imperfect technology, aging parents and other relatives, and maintaining relationships.  These are emotional struggles, full of complexity, expense, time, travel, and  not to mention managing relationships with siblings who may or may not concur one’s belief systems about what is best for our aging parents.   This author has demonstrated throughout her life, depicted in her books,  persistence, courage, wisdom, and striving to do the right thing.

August 14: Power Point Presentation in Orchard Villas

I captured the full attention of my audience, mostly neighbors and friends, for the hour long presentation. It felt so good to share information about my early years in the concentration camps and historical events, including the Bersiap, that nobody had heard of before. It was one of my best presentations. The two books that I donated to the Club’s library were checked out before we had cleaned up.

Kona Village restored!

This was the resort on the west coast of the Big Island that was our favorite destination for celebrations when we lived in Onomea on the east coast. We stayed in several “hales” over the years, and payed “kama’aina” rates, special low rates for people who lived there. How we enjoyed that place! So many memories! It was destroyed by an underwater earthquake nearby, and just now reopened, with many new amenities: only affordable by the rich and famous. I hope you will read the article, and any reviews you can find, to agree with us that it

Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort

And with these two gorgeous pictures, I say: Until next time!

Ronny