The greatest Thanksgiving gift ever!

Two days ago I was backing out of a parking spot in the crowded parking lot of Harris Teeter grocery store when my beeper beeped louder and louder. I looked left and right and over my shoulder and was sure I was far enough from the car next to me and there was nobody passing behind me. Then I felt a bump. A soft one, but definitely a bump. I scooted back into the parking place and got out of my car. Across the lane a huge black Porsche SUV was driving back into its slot and a young woman got out. “Are you all right?” she asked. “I am,” I said, “but I was looking for damage at my car. My beeper went off but I did not see anything.”
“My beeper did not even beep, I just felt something.”
We looked at my car, then at her car, and neither one of us had any visible damage. Then she opened her arms wide and hugged me while she was saying, “This is the best Thanksgiving present ever!” We looked at each other and started laughing and went back to our subsequent cars.
“Are you going first?”
“No, you go first.”
And I drove home with a smile on my face and a very thankful feeling for indeed, having received the best Thanksgiving gift ever.

A new creature in our menagerie!
Yesterday, on our walk to the Club for breakfast, I saw her curled up on the sidewalk. “Oh, look, a snake!” I said, and I got my cell phone out to take a picture. I could get really close to her and actually thought she was dead – or dying. Afraid someone would step on her, I put one of the orange cones the gardeners had left next to her. She did not move. When we went for dinner, she had moved closer to the edge of the sidewalk, so I moved the cone with her. The next morning, she was still there; amazing, because the night temperatures had dropped to freezing. So after breakfast I told Mike I would go back and save her. She was so beautiful, and so small, about 8″ when she unfurled and moved when I prodded her gently. I did it a couple more times, with two sticks, until I had her into the grass and thought from there she would find her way home. That night, a neighbor, looking at my picture, diagnosed her with horror as a Copperhead Snake. And look, in the picture you can clearly see the copper color of her head. “Look, she is ready to strike,” he said. “No, I was talking to her and she raised her head to listen,” I said. I had never seen one or heard of one and I found on Google that Copperheads get two to three feet long. They strike and bite, and babies get born equipped with teeth and venom, but their venom is not fatal to humans. Good to know. This one was just a baby, like I thought. I just hope that she will move away before she will be big enough to do harm. Because this was a closeup of about 2″ away, she looks like a large snake, doesn’t she? We have seen some amazing creatures in our back yard. Two small deer, a hawk who once killed a bird at dawn close to our bedroom window, a red fox who ran by, a large turtle, no doubt on her way to find water, geese and goslings, large and small frogs, guppies in the stream, and a great variety of birds. What a lovely place to live; in a city, yet surrounded by nature.

The Thanksgiving Weekend

It has been a wonderful, rainy, very long weekend. I did not have to go out except to Trader Joe’s to get some poinsettias. It was Black Friday, but that was not noticeable in Trader Joe’s parking lot, nor in the store itself. Our cottage is smaller than our home in Prescott, which we decorated with about ten poinsettias every year, but I found a nice place for two of the large ones and three of the small ones in our living room and sunroom here. Then I set out to get the Christmas tree out of the garage. I put it together in the same place as last year, on the glass table next to the loveseat. I had already spent time to puppy-proof bunches of wires by wrapping them in ten feet of black wire cover. I hope we can teach Lani that the whole corner is taboo, so she won’t pull down the Christmas tree. And, D day has been set! Next Wednesday I will work with the trainer to see what he has taught Lani, and then I will take her home. We are all set! Or at least, I hope so.

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time,

Ronny

Thanksgiving at Waltonwood

Last night, the Club organized a Thanksgiving dinner for Residents, their families and friends. They started the buffet half an hour early to accommodate everyone in a timely manner, but alas, the line was long, and even though they had set up a special table for nine for us in the Café, we had to go through the line to get our food. It was not too bad, because Dennis and Luke arrived much later after Luke’s basketball tryout. Dinner was hot and delicious, and we all had a good time. Next week we will be on our own as the family has other plans.

OLLI

Yesterday I received an invitation to give my Presentation for OLLI (Osher Lifetime Learning Institute) at NC State University. That is wonderful news, because the audience will be over 50 years old and seniors are usually interested in WWII subjects. I spoke three times for OLLI at Yavapai College in Prescott during the 15 years we lived there; the last time in the new MultiMedia room for almost 100 people. My presentation had improved over the years, so I felt good about sharing my story. NCSU is now scheduling for May through June, and they will soon let me know time and date. And the best thing of all: I get 90 minutes to present and answer questions, and that is much better than the 15 minutes I usually get at a Rotary or Lyons meeting.

Saying goodbye

What do you say when someone who is dying holds your hand and whispers “You are the best friend I’ve had in my whole life.” In her whole life? I had only known her a few  months. My thoughts went back to the beginning of our short friendship. She was a small grey haired woman, completely hunched over her walker, crippled by severe scoliosis. Someone I had easily overlooked. One day, I believe it was last August, it was raining and I decided to walk inside the main building around all the four floors. Everybody has a small shelf outside the front door of their apartment which they decorate with all kinds of personal things. I stopped at a shelf that had a basket with rocks and next to it a couple of geodes; two halves, showing their glittering purple inside, and one huge one, still closed. How interesting. I have collected rocks over the years, coral and quartz, and ones with interesting shapes, like triangles and circles and trapezoids, and I had just decided I should give some away to create room for other things. Ha! I had found someone who would appreciate getting a few of my rocks! In the Directory I looked up who lived in the apartment with the basket of rocks, and found her one day in the hallway. “I noticed your rock collection,” I said. “I collect rocks too. Would you like to have a rock from Hawai’i?” She nodded, and the next day I chose my most beautiful triangular white rock and went up to her apartment, where I added it to her shelf. I always thought of it as the Trinity and loved it a lot. A few days later she tracked me down in the breakfast room and said, “I really like your rock. Thank you. Would you like to have a geode? I can ask my daughter to get you one from the stream on her property.” Geodes hold a secret inside and always intrigued me; so I said, yes please, and a week later she handed me a small geode, wrapped in a paper towel. I took my treasure home and added it to my collection. One day, when I know how, I will cut it open or rather have someone cut it open, to see the inside. But you know, I was really planning to give away some of my rocks. Instead, I received one in return. So I asked her if she would like another one, a coral rock. She did not really know what it would look like, but accepted it for her basket. And then followed a piece of quartz from her grandson’s yard for me and another one. Then she went to the hospital and I put a Get Well card on her shelf, with large, bright sunflowers. She came back and life went on. I decided to give her three of the miniature sand dollars I had found on the beach in Hawai’i. She had never seen such little ones and loved them. She went to the hospital again and came back two days later. I met her at dinner and then she said, “They took me to the hospital to drain the fluids that had built up in my body. I feel a lot better. But I am not going back again. I have colon cancer but they can’t operate, and so I am on my last legs. I know it and I am all right with it.”

At brunch on Sunday, I heard someone say that Lillian was very ill. I did not realize that her time on earth would be that short. I wrote her a letter to say goodbye and put it on her shelf. The next morning I met her daughter who came down to the breakfast room to get some orange juice and fruit. I had seen her before, and helped her get the things she needed. She told me the family had been there for four days and nights and they would not leave her alone any more.

I’ll make a long story short. I took a long stemmed, orange rose up to the apartment and was invited in. Lillian lay in a hospital bed in the living room and gave me a big smile when I took her hand. And then she said, “You are the best friend I’ve had in my whole life.”
“Each time I will look at the rocks you gave me, my friend, I will think of you, so a part of you will always be with me,” was the only thing I knew to say. “I love you, Lillian.”

I went back to see her one more time today to bring some Aquaphor for her dry lips; she was unconscious, and looking at her I knew her time was near.

She has given me a precious gift: the knowledge that, through little kindnesses, you can become someone’s best friend of their whole life. You can make a world of difference for someone by sharing a little bit of love.

I’m wishing you all a Lovely Thanksgiving.

Life is a treasure.

Until next time,

Ronny

 

 

 

 

Autumn

A tapestry of brown and yellow and red and orange covered my path this morning and my feet made a rustling sound on the trail. Squirrels dashed away, making a similar sound, and birds flew back and forth amidst the trees. It was cold, around 40 degrees, but I was dressed warmly in my sister’s brown suede jacket, a brown velour cap, and a thick, colorful scarf matching the tapestry at my feet. On my way home I figured out with the help of my fitbit that I had walked only 3 miles in one hour, that was 20 minutes per mile! And this was not a casual Sunday afternoon stroll, no it was my power walk on Sunday morning! Fifteen years ago, in Prescott, Arizona, I did 4 miles in one hour, 15 minutes per mile. So, I figured, in 15 years I slowed down one mile per hour. If I continue like this, I will only be able to walk 2 miles per hour when I am 95, with a likely rest of ten minutes on a bench somewhere along the route! Heavens, I hope I will not slow down that fast! Let’s see if our new puppy will keep me up to speed. Although, come to think of her, I wonder how fast her little feet have to go to keep up with me. Sigh. I guess I will have to get used to losing speed in the next fifteen years. That will not be all that bad though. I often cut corners going through the house at my regular pace. I injured my right leg on a corner of the bed and created a permanent scar. And recently I ran into the living room wall on my way to the bedroom and injured an arm and a shoulder – the “good shoulder” this time. So I will try to go through daily life a bit slower. But I will never run out of steam!

Hospitals

After brunch today I checked out the location of Wake Med Hospital. It’s only three minutes away, and I have passed it many times, but they told me to look for the main entrance with the flags and I had never seen any flags. We will go there tomorrow for a pre-op and Wednesday morning for Mike’s routine colonoscopy. It’s been three years, and we decided to do the followup now, instead of in January. This is why. The trainer offered to keep training Lani for two more weeks, so that we could have a quiet Thanksgiving. Do we realize what we are in for? He will continue to train Lani and only charge $10 per day for boarding. “Yes!” said Mike. “Okay,” said I. We have been accumulating several necessary things over the last month. A crate and crate pad, food and a container, toys, chews, a leash, bowls, and a carrier to transport her in the car, tied to the seat belt. I can’t wait!  The trainer asked how to pronounce her name. I think he had called her Lany. I sounded it out for him and he said, “Oh, more like an O.” Hm, that sounds not right, I thought on my way home and when I got home I sent him a text that it sounded like the movie La La Land. Hope he gets it.

Talking about hospitals: many people from here go there and come back, or go there and go to Rehab and then come back, or they do not come back at all. I am learning new words for until now unknown diseases – at least to me. I never heard of sepsis. Well, for those of you who are as ignorant as I was, sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. Donny got sepsis in the hospital recently and died of it. Then Roy, who was gone for over a month, appeared to have contracted MRSA. What on earth is MRSA? Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. It’s tougher to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus — or staph — because it’s resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.  Roy is home again, but on Hospice care, because they had to remove his pacemaker.

It is unbelievable to me how many people have a pacemaker. Just recently I learned that a pacemaker is not only to regulate the heart beats. It also increases the strength of the heart; it comes with two or more electrodes and it saves lives! Many people have had a knee replacement or two, or a hip replacement, or a plethora of other ailments. How blessed I feel that I only had one shoulder surgery. Not even a complete replacement, just a corrective surgery. I am thankful for great eyes, without a need for glasses, for great hearing, without a need for hearing aids, for strong teeth without bridges or implants and for feet that can still walk a mile in twenty minutes! Yesterday I went to see my podiatrist, who showed me in an X-ray that one of my big toes has arthritis! Well, I can live with that. Regardless, it’s great to be me at almost eighty!

I’m planning a special surprise for the family on my birthday. I’ve thought of an escape to a hotel on a sunlit beach with warm ocean waters, but there is no such thing close by. I’ve thought about a long weekend in a cabin the mountains, but it will be a long drive and colder than in Cary. I’ve thought about a helicopter flight over North Carolina; but why do we have family close by if we don’t include them? And then I knew it: that’s what I would like to do! I am working on the invitation, and closer to the date: December 26, I will tell you my plan.

It’s a Wonderful World!

Until next time,

Ronny

 

Halloween!

A place like ours is not a likely place to visit for trick-or-treaters. But we had a Halloween Social this afternoon at the Club and many people dressed up for the occasion. We knew that from last year, and so I decided to get my Dutch Girl costume out of the closet and wear that. It is a beautiful, authentic Dutch costume from the province of Zeeland, that my aunt in Domburg made for me the year before we emigrated to the United States. She herself wore her costume every day, even in the Assisted Living where she moved when she became old. We settled in Pasadena, California, and over the years had many parties with the Dutch Club. I had fun wearing my costume and playing Dutch songs on my baby accordion that we had bought in an antique shop in Lake Arrowhead. I could play piano, but the buttons on the other side were new to me. So when I played the Dutch songs, the beginning cords usually came out fine, but later I sometimes skipped some notes. However, the audience was so enthralled that they loudly sang the familiar songs without noticing I did not always play the right notes.

Yesterday, I got my costume out of the closet and thought I could put it on just like that. Yeah right! It was pure vanity to think that my figure is the same as it was 47 years ago! The closure hooks were rusted into the material and I found no hooks in either one of my sewing baskets! I managed to move one rusty hook, take out the only two seams in the front of the jacket that could be taken out, so my bosom had the space it now needed, and the skirt and apron were tight, but with Mike’s help I got everything on.

The costume consists of a long black skirt with a shiny design and a black and white striped long “apron”, covering the entire skirt. All made from heavy material. At the right side of the black skirt is a slit through which I could reach the large linen bag that was strapped with a ribbon around my waist. It is to keep money, keys and the like in your “pocket” so you won’t need a purse. You need to lift the whole apron in order to get your hand into the pocket, and so it is a safe place to keep necessary valuables.

The bodice consists of a black “jak”, a fitted jacket with a three hook closure in the front and a very low neckline in the front and back. In the front I wore a “beukje”, a colorful insert in two parts, that goes over the shoulder to a plain back panel with a 4″ layer of lace on top. The beukje gets strapped to the back panel with a ribbon on the left and right through loops and around the body to keep it in place. It then gets pinned, yes, with small pins, to the jacket in front and back of the shoulder, while the pins are hidden by an inch of fine pleats along the nekline. In the low back neckline of the “jak” a wide strip of lace peeps out.

And then the headdress! The first layer is a small blue cap, peeping out in the front. Over that a small white lace cap, and then on top a beautiful lace construction, pouffed out over the shoulders and hanging down across the back. On both sides of my head are the gold “curls”, coming out of the hat and going around the back of the head to stay in place. Other jewelry is the quadruple strand of red jets, with a gold lock, not in the center, but on the side in the front. In one picture you see me at home and in the other I put on my grandmother’s small gold rimmed round glasses and walked with a borrowed cane, bent over – just for fun at the party. The compliments I received : You look ten years older! That was the purpose exactly. On my facebook page I wrote: In a retirement place like mine, you don’t get scared at Halloween, you get old!

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time!

Ronny

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino! Casino!

                  

Last Friday we had brunch and no dinner in order for the staff to get the Club ready for Casino Night to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. In about three hours they created a miracle. At a table at the entrance Daisy was handing out free chips to play with and selling various raffle tickets. 50/50 raffle tickets and tickets for prizes. The prizes were displayed on a table in the Players Club: a large TV, various baskets with games, Christmas things, beers, wines, four garden chairs, tickets to the Symphony and much more.

Black and red drapes were put up at the entrance to the dining room, and underneath stood a table with a plethora of pupus: sliced cheeses, sausage, salami, crackers, and across from it a chef’s warming table with Oysters Rockefeller. Now those are absolutely not my taste, but a glass of Cabernet poured by our charming new physical fitness trainer hit the spot. In the center of the cheese table, elevated, stood a lovely ice sculpture of a dolphin. Inside the dining room stood a Blackjack table on either side and a large Craps table at the far end, backing up to the fireplace was surrounded by many people.

The doors to the Assisted Living were and remained open, and walking down the hall sipping my wine I noticed another ice sculpture, a large swan, surrounded by similar delectable finger foods. A Craps table still had no players, for there were not many people yet, and I found the same quiet atmosphere downstairs in the Theatre, where two Blackjack callers were waiting for customers. There was also a Roulette I was told later, which I didn’t see because I went back upstairs, where people had started streaming in. There were many people and friends and relatives from outside, and visitors and residents were decked out with masks, feather boa’s, sequined jackets and twenties style dresses. The atmosphere was warm and festive. I went back to the entrance to buy raffle tickets and then back to the Players Room to select the prizes I wanted to win. All prizes went to other people, however, as we heard when the numbers were read, starting at 7:00 p.m.

It was a wonderful, lively and fun event. Because of the many “normal” people from the outside, I mean people without canes or walkers or wheelchairs, it felt like being back in the real world again and that was great.

Sometimes I feel surrounded by too much misery. Take Donny. Two days ago, on our way out after dinner, we met Donny’s son and daughter at the front desk. We said hello and then Paul said, “Did you know that Donny died?”
“No! We did not know that. When did he die?”
“On Monday. He had some issues and went to the hospital twice, and on Sunday we took him again and he got sepsis and passed away. He was reading your book, Ronny, in the last week before he died.”
What a shock. Donny was a very nice 84 year old man in an electric wheelchair, whose son always accompanied him at Friday afternoon’s happy hour and sometimes for dinner afterwards. How sudden his passing happened; we couldn’t say goodbye. And that is something to remember in life. If you want to say something to somebody, something nice or important or loving, do it now! For you may never pass this way again.

Tomorrow afternoon we will be among “very abnormal” people at the Halloween party; last year many came disguised, and we have great plans. But that story will have to wait a week!

It’s a Wonderful World!

Until next time,

Ronny

The Calendar showed four weeks of “open days” as we call it. No doctors’ appointments, no other obligations of any kind either, promising a wonderful time for walks and reading and writing and getting ready for our little puppy, who left the brothers and sisters of her litter and went to the trainer last Thursday. But before we knew it, things happened and free time fleeted.

Last Friday I picked up our antique Spanish clock and hung it on the wall. It did not run. When I  manoeuvred it to get it to hang more straight, crash! It fell down. Thank goodness it did not fall on the floor. A wooden box, it would certainly have been damaged beyond repair. No, it was saved by my right shoulder. The same shoulder that I had surgery on last April! What luck! It was quite a loud crash; my shoulder has a titanium screw in it, and I wondered for a second if that caused the loud sound. But then there are flesh and bones in between, so I imagine the sound was caused by things inside the clock crashing. The blue spot on my shoulder will disappear in a few days.

Back on the wall, the pendulum then hit the wood on one side. The clockmaker, whom I told only that the clock didn’t work, gave me the choice to come back to his store to have him check it out or have him come to my house for $125. That choice was easy! And today, the clock is finally hanging in its proper place on the wall after more than ten months. It is ticking and chiming every half hour and keeping proper time! We are delighted.

Stars and Stripes 

On the freeway today, a rock crashed against my windshield and a little star appeared in the glass. Oh shoot! Now what? I never had that happen before. On the way home the star suddenly sent out a line to the left and one to the right: the window started cracking. Back home, Mike called the insurance and a glass repair shop, and before we knew it we had an appointment to have the window replaced, the day after tomorrow. Plans for tomorrow were already made: I will take the car in for service; that will take a few hours, so I can sit and read and sip Keurig coffee.

Printer problems

After lunch today I climbed in the phone with HP and then with Spectrum, our WiFi server. We have had problems for months, not being able to print from the Mac or to air-print from the iPad without first manually disabling the WiFi! Crazy!  But now we have a brand new HP printer and it still does not work properly. Talking to the techs took a good two hours, but finally all tablets were synched with the Mac and it worked. The question is, will it still work tomorrow? We’ll see. Tomorrow is another day. Remember who said that? Let me know!

What a joy that I did not have to prepare dinner but we could just walk to the Club in the already lower temperature of a sunny fall afternoon to enjoy a delicious dinner and chocolate pecan pie for dessert!

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time,

Ronny

 

 

Houseguests are a great way to get out and see what’s out there! Mike’s sister and her husband came to stay with us for four days. It was wonderful. They took three weeks to travel down the coast from New York and are driving back up through the Blue Ridge Mountains after their stay in Cary. We have a second bedroom that serves as my office with desk, computer and printer, and we have a daybed for guests. To pull out the trundle however, is not only a major task (for us), but it leaves just a narrow path to the computer and virtually no room for suitcases. So after two experiences with houseguests, the first one with our daughter and granddaughter, leaving the trundle in the down position, and the second one with our two adult guests, with the trundle up, the two twins being the total size of a King, we decided that from now on we will welcome one guest at a time to stay with us. But for two guests there is a great solution: at the Club they have a studio we can rent. It’s on the third floor and has a kitchenette with fridge, microwave and a stovetop, a sitting/bedroom and a spacious shower. It is fully stocked. The bathroom is stocked with towels, soap, shampoo and toilet paper, and so it is perfect for two guests. It gives them the experience of retirement living; we had breakfast and brunch together in the dining room and tea and coffee are always available in the Café.

On Sunday we attended a concert in a historic building in Durham by the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle of which Dennis is a member. It was a beautiful concert, titled A Toast to Women, and it was a delight to hear and watch Dennis on trumpet. Afterwards we had supper at Dennis’ house with the other four members of the family.

On Monday I took them to the South-Point Shopping Mall, the largest mall and farthest away, where I had no difficulty getting all my 10,000 steps in, and then some! On Tuesday we enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, which I had not seen yet either. That is definitely a place for us to go back to.

Doggie Days

I went to see our puppy again before she will go to her trainer. She is beginning to look like a dog and weighs 4.5 lbs. When I put her on the floor to watch her move, she immediately ran the full length of the barn so fast that I did not catch up until she was ready to dart out the door. I almost fell over my own feet and had to grab the door jamb with one hand for stability while reaching for the puppy with the other. I will need a permanent leash for this little one, I thought. And we have a name for her: Lani. A Hawaiian name, it means Heaven, heavenly, royalty.

My next trip was to Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, where I selected parts of a black metal fence, 30″ tall, to go around the area behind the house so we can let her out quickly to go potty when we are not ready yet to take her. Dennis et al will pick up the fence in his truck and put it in the ground when he can find the time in his busy schedule. Three grandsons come in handy! We will end the day with a festive dinner. Dinner out, that is, because I ain’t cooking anymore!

Dining room Hostess seating

At 4:30 p.m. sharp, residents used to race into the dining room with their canes and walkers to get a seat at their favorite table with their favorite people. Then there were not enough waiters to take their orders and the kitchen could not keep up either. So everyone complained about all that and it would take all but two hours to get finished with our dinner. Recently, our table, the four of us from Arizona, suggested to Management to have us seated by a hostess, like they do in restaurants. We started the new program last week. People for the first seating are all still queuing up in a big mass in the hallway, but nobody gets seated until they have all people for a table of 7 or a table of 4 together, and listed with the hostess. She then lets them in, table by table, overseeing the waiters who are taking orders; when they are done, another table gets seated. Another new thing that got implemented two weeks ago is an electronic tablet, on which the waiters text the orders of a table directly to the kitchen. As soon as the orders are filled, kitchen waiters bring out the plates and the waiters take over again and serve the dinners. It sounded kind of complicated at first, and hard to understand for the many older people here, but it is already starting to flow, and we have finished dinner by 6 p.m. or even sooner three nights already. That gives us a nice long evening.

Events, Lectures, Bingo and Bridge

Many activities are scheduled at the Club every week, but being on the outside, in our cozy cottage, we have not participated in many of those; we still have so many other interests of our own. This Friday there will be an art show of fellow residents we will be going to. Several of the residents are painters, we have one woodworker, quilters, and more.

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time,

Ronny

 

 

 

Visitors from the Netherlands

are the cause that I haven’t had time for my blog this week. We’ve had a varied program for four days and it was delightful. So, until next time:

It’s a Wonderful World!

Ronny

Wildlife in our back yard

Last Friday morning at dawn, the sun was not even up yet, I picked up my coffee cup to take it to the kitchen. Looking out to our back yard I saw, in a flash, a red fox running by our patio. How beautiful! I had never seen a fox but recognized it instantly. He was running towards the creek, parallel to the Divide, as I call it, a bushy tail straight out back. “Was it not a cat?” asked Mike, “or a dog?” Definitely not. It was a red fox! I am thrilled that, coming from Prescott Arizona, where we frequently saw javelinas and deer, and off and on a bobcat down below our deck in the back yard, we again have wildlife to watch. Other than the fox last week, I once saw two small deer drinking down below by the stream; frogs, some large, some very small, are jumping with a splash into the water of the creek or of the pond close by when I am on my early morning walk before breakfast. I have seen Larry flying by in a flash and heard the death screams of a little bird that he had caught in its sleep in the tree by our bedroom window. Larry is the neighborhood hawk, given his name by the former handyman who used to live in the cottage across the way when this retirement building with the cottages was being built eight years ago. Then there are the squirrels, mostly across the street, where the neighbor has bird feeders on two poles. Birds are everywhere, red, yellow, very small hummingbirds and more. It is unimaginable that all these creatures can exist in a corner of land surrounded by parkways and freeways. Most of this wildlife can only be seen very early in the  morning or at dusk. Very logical, because this has been a very long, hot summer with temperatures in the nineties. I myself have joined them, walking in the mornings after coffee, watching the sunrise during my campus rounds or evenings after dinner when the sun is setting behind the trees. It is cooler then, but always humid, which makes my hair curl, which makes me smile!

When I was a young teenager, my long hair was as straight as you can imagine. Living in Surabaya, in the tropics, I used to wear it in a pony tail. One day, aching for beautiful curls, I went to a hair dresser with my mom and got a permanent-wave. That’s what it was called, a permanent-wave, creating the image of beautiful, long lasting wavy hair. When I was done, it was a disaster. I have very fine hair, and the chemicals had created a bunch of kinky strands. To make matters worse, when we came home, my dad started laughing and called my pony tail a bunch of carrot tops! I cried hot tears. Mamma tried to save the situation and set out to wash my hair with shampoo right away to get the chemicals out, but the damage was done, and I had to let the “waves” grow out. And now, in my golden years, I live in a place where my hair has lovely, natural waves without any effort on my part. I do think back to my carrot tops pony tail every time someone says, “we are bright eyed and busy tailed” and the person who said that before every hula performance was my Prescott hula teacher Kumu Kehau. If you want to read more about her, you can click on this link or find it in the right margin of my website page under Memberships:  Halau Hula Napuaokalei’ilima  . I danced with her for eight years. Now this is story telling: how I got from a red fox in Cary, North Carolina via a pony tail in Surabaya, Indonesia to Hula dancing in Prescott, Arizona.

Strengthening my core

After many weeks of PT, first for my neck, then after shoulder surgery for my right shoulder, I had totally neglected my core, my abs and obliques. But since all those body parts are functioning pain free by now, with only slight sensitivity with stretches, I felt the need to do Pilates exercises again. I have taken years of Pilates and years of Yoga in my previous life as we say here. I like Pilates best, but always add some favorite yoga poses. On the premises we have a young veteran, who leads well attended chair exercises every morning except weekends, and brain exercises, and one-on-ones with anyone who needs extra attention for balance and the likes. He wrote down a set of five abs strengthening exercises for me to do three times a week and another set of five also three times a week. Last week I got out my Pilates mat, rolled it out on the living room floor and started my routine. Each day it takes at least a half hour, and when I add a few Yoga poses it becomes longer, but I love it. It does mean that I can only walk a half mile in the morning, but hey, it stays dark till about 6:30 a.m. anyway, and we have to go to breakfast at the Club at 8:00. So I walk a little shorter but make it up later in the day: my goal is 4.5 miles every day. Just imagine the luxury of having a personal trainer free of charge, right here on campus!

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time,

Ronny

Puppies

If you have ever seen a litter of puppies at 4 weeks old and you have to choose one, you will know how difficult it is to make the right choice. They are all so very cute! I drove to the breeder last Saturday morning. Mike was not feeling well, and the grandkids had other activities so I went by myself. On the way out I took the 64 East instead of West, discovered it right away, but it cost me fifteen minutes. Navigation wants to send me via the I-40, like last time, but that route is half an hour longer. So I had looked at the maps and AAA gave me a TripTik. Do you remember TripTiks? We used those all the time in the sixties and seventies before there was navigation in cars. I felt pretty good about the TripTik, until I had to look at it (no passenger to do it for me). It was kind of scary to look at it while driving at 60 mph but anyway, I made it to the kennel.

Three of the eight females were black, so we had a choice of three; but at 4 weeks old, one of them appeared to have grey streaks over her eyes and two grey legs. They called it a Phantom black.
I sat on an upside down bucket in a small fenced area and observed two four week old black minis, one smooth haired with a pink collar and one curly haired with orange. They did not really know what they were doing there away from all the others (the litter counted twelve!) and aimlessly wandered around. Toys did not get their attention until Pinky gave a little shove to a bunch of knotted ropes. Orange took a few steps back – she appeared more timid. The choice was difficult, but I ultimately opted for Pinky, the smooth haired one. And later, after Mike had seen pictures and heard my observations, he agreed. So I will add some pictures of our new little bundle of joy: we are calling her Lani, the Hawaiian word for heaven, heavenly, but also majesty. Her current weight, at 4 weeks, is 2.5 lbs. She was probably born before Orange, who was 100 g lighter.

Thinking I could just use the TripTik in reverse to get home, appeared to be a mistake. Somehow I got terribly lost. I first asked a woman who was pulling weeds somewhere across the road; hers sounded like an easy way, but was not. I kept driving on the same roads in opposite directions. A gas station attendant would surely know! But he was from India, had never heard of Cary and when I said Raleigh he pointed me to the I-40. No way. Then back to my car navigation twice, and finally I recognized where I had come from. I stopped the car by the side of the road in the shade of an enormous oak tree and ate my cheese sandwich and grapes. The total time I lost was 45 minutes! But finally I made it home. After talking to Mike I took a quick nap before dinner and was good as new again.

 

It’s a Wonderful Life!

Until next time,

Ronny