Seasons come and go!

Time for blogging again.  The summer came and went,  what summer, you ask? did you do anything this summer of 2009?  Not the best summer weather, only few really warm hot days, kind of a bummer.  But always a busy one, where days fly by, and you wonder where it went, and you're looking @ fall, and know that will soon be over.  and you ask, where did that go?
A wrap-up of summer  then:

  My annual physical showed no surprises, all is well, no new symptoms of heart disease, acc. to my cardiologist.  I met several times with fellow nurses who are retired for coffee, and caught up with all their lives, spent one day with Terri and Ruth, for lunch and shopping spree in St. Cloud, visiting a new place "The Depot", which has some very neat stuff in it.  Reminds me of the Cracker Barrels store.  Celebrated Alaina's birthday @ Games Lake, @ a pavillion, and let the little ones swim.  I remember it was a beautiful evening. Earl worked thru the summer @ Walmart, and was glad to leave it behind in August. He had his 65th birthday this year, and so sorry to say, but there was no celebration done. The 26th of July, our 17th grandchild was born to Danielle and Shawn.  Liam Sidney Gort was 7lbs. 8ozs, and 19 3/4" long. We visited them right before our trip to Baltimore, on their back porch, among the grape vines, and apple trees.  What a precious baby boy.  Our trip to Baltimore followed that week, for Earl's ship re-union.  We met up with our navy friends from previous reunions, and took the train into the harbor, and Lexington Market, and had the best crabcake sandwiches made.  Then we arrived @ Julie and Greg's to celebrate all the girls birthdays @ a park, near their home.  Many family and friends were there.  It was hot, but thankfully, we had some shade and breezes to make it bearable.  We spent one day with my sister Ellen, and another, with Sandie, swam, played volleyball in the pool, and admired her new kitchen.  The week flew by.  Speaking of kitchens, we have been working on ours, a little at a time, as time and money have been available.  I'm so proud of having a husband who can do so many things around the house, and we have done all the work so far ourselves.
Here's some photos of our summer:

May Flowers

After working my 12 hr. weekend, attending staff meetings, getting a low need on call, we tackled things around the house. First, Earl took up the carpet on the up stairs and hall, which has been there for 25+ yrs., and then we laid new carpet down. What a nice change. Then, I painted the hall a lighter green, and the trim, white. I like it so much more. Then, Earl knocked out the wall connecting the kitchen to the front closet, to make room for fitting the refrig. in the corner. We will make another wall to enclose a smaller front closet. Meanwhile, plaster dust is everywhere. No vacuuming will take it all up, so now I need to wash every surface down. I also painted the bottom cupboard doors, and hope to finish that this week.
I got to care for Sawyer on Thursday. He wasn't happy about mom going to work, but rode quietly to my house that morning. We visited my neighbor, Terri, for a short while, and he ate oreo cookies, and tea. Then, we came home, and he helped me make chocolate chip cookies, and of course, we had to sample them to be sure they were OK. and they were mmm-mmm good. I bagged up a bunch of them for Alaina, Jon, and family to take home. Then, we had waffles with strawberries for lunch.
Then, after working on the house all day, we met Lorrie @ Burger King, and hitched a ride with her to watch the Willmar's Grand March for the prom, and see Allison. The sun was out but the wind was a little cool. Allison didn't show up til way later in the march, but it was worth the wait.
We later found them, and got to speak with them for a few minutes among the chaos of prom goers, and parents, and friends. then, Earl and I went out to eat as we hadn't had any supper, and were starving. We met other prom gazers @ Culvers, and some friends from church.
Saturday, it was back to more demolition, then finally, breaking for crab cakes, cole slaw, and fries.
Sunday, we attended church, and first communion. I was the cantor, and we stayed after for cake and coffee. It was a beautiful warm day in the 60's. Earl had to work, and I put all my flowers outside to get used to the weather. Took a short walk with the dogs, napped, and rested. All in all, a great day!

Winter to Spring?

So, where did the time go? Since January's last blog, Winter has ended, and Spring has arrived in Minnesota. That doesn't mean it's no longer cold...it still is cool @ night, the furnace still kicks on, I still wear a coat, the wind still bites, but the sun definitely feels warmer, the tulips are pushing up, the cottonwood and maple trees are budding, and the birds wake me up with their chirping. Even the grass has turned green. We even were teased with one day of 90 degrees, definitely not cool. But I'm still waiting for more constant warmth, where I can turn off the heat, put on capris or shorts, and start planting flowers. At least it's not snowing here, as in Colorado, or up north, but I long for more warmth and sunshine.
So what's been happening? Well, we started tackling the kitchen re-model. So far, I've painted the upper cupboards an antique white with black handles, which sets them off quite well. We've moved the refrig to the opposite wall, and took the upper cupboards over the countertop out. I've collected paint samples for the walls, looked at tile for the backsplash, countertop colors and material, flooring, and planning islands, and recessed spaces for the refrig. Any further progress has been delayed, as Earl was out of work for 4 months. But luckily in April, two jobs came about. First, Walmart called, and he was hired as an assembler of bikes, grills, and such, and Rice Hospital called, and hired him as a patient safety sitter, a casual position. So he decided to keep them both. He started at Walmart the beginning of April, and is being oriented to Rice the end of April. I was surprised he gets close to 30 hrs. of work each week @ Walmart, and he likes the job as he can work at his own pace, and stays in the back away from everyone.
Before he started we were going the the YMCA almost everyday. He misses that. I have been going just 2-3 times a week now, playing pickleball with one of the staff who's teaching me the game. It is a combination of tennis, ping pong, and badmitton, using a wooden paddle, and hitting a wiffle ball over a tennis net. It's fun, and really gives me a good workout. I've also been meeting with the retired nurses from Rice once a month. I'm the only one not retired, but they've included me, and we visit different places for coffee.
I joined an area faith choir for the Chrism Mass we had @ Our Lady of the Lakes in Spicer. Only had one practice beforehand, but we pulled it off with all new music and it sounded great.
In between times of working, I've had to attend several nurse education courses, attend church meetings, gather clothing and such for the Epilepsy Fund pickup.
After helping Earl give out communion, and support to his Hospice patient, we attended his funeral in February. Getting to know the family, and give them support was very rewarding, and the family really appreciated all Earl and I did for them. Now, hospice wants me to join them as a volunteer, so Earl and I can be a team. I wasn't able to take the course in April, but am considering it for October.
Our Easter this year was spent in Evergreen, Colorado, visiting Chris and family. It was a long day trip(14 hrs), but thankfully, we had good weather, and no problems. Jonnie and Mac came along too. I can't say enough how great a kid he was...a wonderful traveler, and Mac loved having him next to him. Colorado is beautiful, but pictures don't show the beauty. Chris lives in the foothills past Denver, 20,000 ft elevation. Not kidding, I felt the difference in air...I was lightheaded, short of breath if I walked outside at all. I felt weird! Easter is always very special to me, esp. the Vigil Mass. We attended a church down the way from them, decorated as you might visual a typical Rocky Mtn. place with stone and wood beams. It was a very meaningful service. And on Easter Sunday, we all attended the Johnson's church with breakfast first, and then their service. We sat facing the most beautiful view I have ever seen. there was a huge window from floor to ceiling with the mountains in the background. There was a live band playing, scripture readings, communion(which we didn't participate in), and a wonderful homily by their young pastor. Chris fixed a great dinner of ham, potatoes, corn, and rolls. then we watched movies all day, including Marley and Me, and bawled our eyes out, as it rained, sleeted, and snowed, then rained again. the next day, it was beautiful, in the 60's, so we all went to the Denver Zoo. It's a really nice one, where you can get close to the animals, is open and not too crowded. Then, we headed back home the next day, for our 15 hr drive, as we lost an hour heading back.
Our last event has been Alaina's band concert, combined with the Jr and Sr High. What a great idea, to hear the progression of talent as the years go by, with practice and application of their instruments. Both of us enjoyed it immensely. I just have to remember to bring more treats for Sawyer, as I only had 3 candies for him to eat, and keep him occupied.
This week, Earl took up the carpet on the upstairs and hallway. We bought new carpet for the stairs, still deciding about the hall. I painted the hallway, and am tackling the woodwork. The plumber is coming Wednesday to fix the tub leak,and install new fixtures for the tub and sink. Gosh, there's alway so much to do to get this house updated. But we'll keep working on it slow but surely.

Wrapping up 2008

The busy, anticipated season of Christmas has ended, and with it, 2008.
I must say, it was one of the most enjoyable Christmases we've had as a
family. Our "French" theme was embraced by all the family. It began
with our greetings @ the door of "Joyeux Noel"as the family arrived @
our home. Then, the surprise costumes, worn by Danielle, and Lorrie.
It was perfect!
As the presents piled up under the tree, and the family chatted away, I prepared the first course of our French Dinner...french onion soup. After toasting the french bread, I spooned the hot soup over it, and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top(well, not everything has to be french). We decided to serve everyone, so with my helpers, each one got a bowl of soup. It was a hit by all.
Then with my kitchen help, we made the Strawberry spinach salad with
poppyseed dressing, and served that next. That was followed by the main
course of spiral ham, and Aligot(creamy mashed potatoes with creme fraisse,
and french bread. Oh, I almost forgot, we planted a bean in the potatoes, and whoever found it, would be king or queen for the day. Little Nevie found it, so a crown was made for her.
We decided to break from eating, and gathered on the porch to hear Grandpa Earl tell us about our French ancesty, from Aumale, France to the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, and then to Norfolk, Va.
then we opened gifts,with Nevie getting to open hers first, many homemade, all clever with a french ideas. But the tear-jerker was
Mitch's gift to Jonnie-a homemade book about all the things they
have done together over the years, "Remember When..." But the
biggest surprise was my book of photos, given by the Gort family
and on the last page was a picture of Aidan and Nevie holding something up. It turned out to be
a positive pregnancy strip. Baby # 3 is on it's way in July. We are all so happy for them.
After all that excitement, the children gathered around the dining room table, and crafted their own puppets. This was followed by a puppet show directed by Auntie Chris.
We were supposed to have the fourth course of fruit and cheese, but we decided to skip that one, and go right for the fifth and final course--desserts. Lorrie made two beautiful yule logs, and Sharyn brought banana creme pie, and pumpkin cheesecake.
I also had a french card game we could play called Mille Bourne, but we had a relaxing end by sitting and talking with each other. It all was just perfect.
That's how I will remember the year ending as New Year's eve brought me down as one sick puppy, catching the stomach flu that was going thru the Johnson family the week before. I sure didn't feel like chips and dips, let alone, drinks to hail in the New Year.

Thanksgiving Prayer

Thank you, God, for a hundred things-
for the flower that blooms, for the bird that sings,
for the sun that shines,
and the rain that drops,
for ice cream and raisins and lollipops.

Thank you, God, for the gift of time-
For the clocks that tick, and the bells that chime,
for days gone by,
and future cheers,
For seasons, and moments, for hours and years.

Thanks for the people who give life pizzazz-
for folks who play sports, those who act and play jazz,
for friends and for families,
For folks of all races,
for hands that give help and for bright smiling faces.

Thanks for the planet you give as our home-
For the sky with its clouds, for the oceans white foam,
For the creatures and critters,
The lakes, falls and fountains,
For hills and for valley, for canyons and mountains.

Thank you, God, for the gift of your Son-
For the love Jesus shared, for the battle He won
Over death, for the promise
That He would be near
To lead and to guide and to hold us so dear.

Thank you, God, for a hundred things-
For autumn and pumpkins, for dragonfly wings
For Thanksgiving dinners,
For seasides and shore,
For a hundred things, and a thousand things more.

My brothers are facing major changes in their lives. I thank you, God for giving me the chance to speak with them, laugh, and joke with them, and reassure them that their lives will be better when these crisis are behind them. My oldest bro has had a mild heart attack. He refused to stay in the hospital when they wanted to do further tests, even a possible cardiac catherization. He is worried about the costs, the time off work, the procedure itself.
My youngest bro is having major surgery on Tuesday-bypass surgery to correct all his clogged vessels. This is only 2 years after having 7 stents put in. Both need to totally change their life styles-no smoking, being the #1 change. I'm praying for them both. Their lives are precious to me, and I love them both. That's three of us having heart problems this year.

Despite the bad news, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving for me. Earl and I spent time, helping our community, being able to provide a meal to our neighbors, celebrating the day with Mass and Eucharist, enjoying a meal with Earl's brother, and wife, bringing communion to a hospice patient, and fixing a dinner for our daughters, and grandchildren. Life can change so quickly. I am ever grateful for each moment I am given. May God bless us all with his grace and peace.

My Week in October.

I've been so behind on blogging, and reading everyone else's, but decided to try to do my week of my life. I'm not to sure I can do a daily one. So here goes....
I'll start with last Sunday, working, as I traded with a co-worker, who needed the Sunday before off. She, luckily, got an on-call, as we had a quiet weekend. That all changed during the week, and the following weekend. The full moon hit! So up @ 5:15 am, and was assigned the postpartum...three moms, and three newborns. One had a prolapsed cord with an emergency C/S, another, visiting from out of town, had premature breaking of her bag of waters,and was breech, so she had a C/S, and the third one, pushed for 3hrs. and baby stayed wedged in there, so she was a C/S.
And me, I was moving like I had a C/S, as the day before, my back went out on me. But I managed to make it for most of the day, then told them I had to go sick because of my back. Relaxing @ home with a warm pack to my back was heaven. It gave me the few hours I needed to face the rest of the week.


Monday, I forced myself to go exercising. I work out Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week through Cardiac rehab. I felt bad that I turned Lorrie down when she asked me to babysit Sawyer, but I was facing four more days of working, and my back was a mess. I barely could get out of the car, but as I moved more, my back loosened up, and I was able to walk gingerly on the treadmill for 20", and lift some weights. It did help my back.
I worked in ICN that evening after rushing home to see Earl, and eat lunch, and shower. The little girl that was in there was about 37wks. along, with some respiratory, and feeding difficulties. Her mom had no prenatal care, and was adopting her out. She had a C/S for fetal distress, and she didn't want to see her, or care for her. It was a sad situation. She had two other children, 2 boys, but told us she couldn't care for another child, even tho she had really wanted a girl. So there she was, in a isolette, alone, but not without attention, that's for sure. One of the nurses named her, another, got a girly girl outfit for her. She was rocked, tube-fed at first, then bottled, talked to, and listened to music playing. Later, she was joined by a newborn boy who was a little shocky @ birth, with his umb. cord wrapped all around him, and he also had a irregular heart rhythm, skipping beats on occasion. But then, his heart rate began to beat regularly, so the Dr. left orders that if he stayed stable, he could be transferred to the regular nursery @ midnight. Well, little girl decided she wasn't getting enough attention, started alarming, and when I listened to her heartbeat, she was having premature beats. I worked an extra 45"at the end of my shift, finishing my notes after notifying the Dr., ordering an EKG, and labs on her. Forget my aching back!
Tuesday morning, I was awakened @ 6:30am, to go with Earl up to St. Cloud for an exam of his ears, and hearing test. He was fitted for new hearing aids, and will pick them up sometime in November. We went out to IHOP for breakfast after that, and had the special: fruit crepes, and strawberry french toast.
Got home, got ready for work, and was assigned as labor nurse, but since we had no one in labor @ the time, I took care of two post C/S moms. The first mom checked out fine @ 4pm-no pain, no bleeding, stable vital signs. The 2nd mom I had on Sunday, and she was doing well with her baby. By 5 pm, my 1st mom decided to bleed profusely when she sat up, and after massaging her uterus repeatedly, and removing a few clots, she stopped bleeding. Her bed and pad was saturated with blood. After cleaning her up, I checked her often, and thankfully no more of that occurred. But then I find out, there's a labor patient coming in for a cytotic induction. After many phone calls, someone came to take my moms, and I admitted the labor pt. She didn't deliver before I left, and I jokingly told her, have that baby before I return tomorrow.
I stumbled into bed @ 1:30pm after being up 21.5 hrs.

It's Wednesday! I slept til8:45 am, got the dogs out of their kennels, and let them outside. They always make a mad dash out the door, like they've been trapped inside forever. I managed to make some coffee, and breakfast, got the newspaper, and sat down to read my daily Mass readings of scripture, and reflections. This centers me for the day. God is #1 with me, and I try to start my day thinking of Him, and thanking Him for this day. I find myself humming a song I heard the night before on the radio on K-Love, a christian music station. It gives very positive messages thruout the day, and very uplifting songs. Then I eat breakfast, and read the paper. Then I get dressed, and take the dogs for a walk to get the mail, after throwing in a load of clothes to be washed. Then I leave for work. I have to be there by 12:15pm for a mandatory inservice about setting up for a emergency C/S. A staff meeting follows that, and then I am working 3-11pm. As I walk on the floor, I see my mom from the night before, walking the halls, still pregnant, I say to her, haven't you had that baby yet? She says to me, I was waiting for you. Did I tell you this is her 8th child? I am assigned a mom who had twins, who are in ICN, for high bilirubin, and are jaundiced, under lites, and having feeding difficulties. I took care of all three of them. The mom was discharged after supper, but remained in her room, rooming in with the twins til bedtime, and then they went to the ICN overnight. It was a busy night, going back and forth, from mom's room to the icn to gavage feed the babies after trying to bottle, and putting them back under lites, after checking the bilirubin levels. There was also two more babies in ICN, the little adoptive girl, and the boy I had admitted earlier, with the same problems as earlier.
I was again in bed after 1 am.

Thursday-I am off work for one day! I did some wash, vacuumed the floors, and tried to do some of my bible study lesson from the week before. I have class today @ 1:00pm. Needless to say I didn't get it all done. I skipped the walk with the dogs, to their chagrin, fixed lunch quickly for Earl and I, and sped to Willmar for our bible study for two hrs. I really am enjoying this class, gathering in group discussion after watching a video, and sometimes discuss our answers to the questions, but mostly talking about how it applies to our life today, and what is happening to each of us. It's great to be open to others about how you feel about things, and your religion.
After that, Earl and I head to the store to get something for supper, and provide a snack for out Area social concerns meeting, which is being hosted by us @ St. Patrick's. We opted for pizza for supper, and halloween cupcakes for snacks.
Our meeting started @ 7:00pm, and lasted til 9:00pm. Earl then took off to bed, as he had to get up @ 4:00am for work. I stayed up to watch CSI which I taped, then headed for bed.

Friday-Breakfast, reading, folding clothes, walking dogs, getting mail, exercising, getting an on call for 10", then being called and told I had to come to work. So I rushed home, eat something, showered, and sped back to Willmar to work. Again, I was the labor nurse. Two moms being induced. One, 18, moving slowly, but handling labor well, with a doula present. The other, having #6, but not having active labor. Meeting her husband, who told me he stopped @ Caribou coffee, and ordered his wife a Chai Tea, but when he mentioned that his wife was in labor, they gave him the tea free. I asked if he knew Earl, and he said yes, he goes there every day. Then we laughed...he said, what a small world, here you are taking care of my wife, and I met your husband this morning. It is a small world. Sorry to say, I sent her home undelivered that night.
Saturday-nice sunny day, so with Earl's help, we raked, raked, and raked for three hrs. the whole front yard, and make two trips to the dump.
Mahlee and Mac loved the leaves, too, rolling in them. This is what it looked like today, Sunday, after the blast of wind, and snow showers came. Did I say we raked, and raked, and raked?

Summer Endings

As I reflect the happenings of the past two weeks, I am acutely aware of the workings of the Spirit within Earl and myself. Three years ago, Earl volunteered to help with the Grief Camp for Kids, and last year talked me into helping, too. This is a one day "camp" for 1st to 6th grade children who have experienced a loss of a loved one-mother, father, grandma, sibling, friend, etc... It is a way for them to express their grief, and help them understand, and deal with the grief they experience. I was reluctant to go last year, not sure what I could do to help, and what it involved. I came away from that day with much joy, and understanding of how important it is to have something like this for children. I saw how it changed their grief from complete sadness, to ways of expressing that sadness, and honoring the memory of their loved one. I was assigned two little boys who had lost their baby brother, who was a stillborn. Through stories, a movie, workbook, and memory box, they were able to express their sorrow and loss, along with all the other children. So this year, I willingly volunteered to help again.
When the two little boys came back again this year, they ran over to me and greeted me with smiles. Unfortunately, I assigned another child, so I directed them to their new volunteer. This time, I had a 6 yr. old girl, who had lost her grandmother to cancer @ a young age of 48. She started the day very quiet and shy, but by the end, she blossomed with talk about her grandma, and how much she loved her. I feel this is such a special program, and so happy to be a part of it. At the end of the day, we release balloons in the air with the person's name attached that they want to remember. It is a wonderful feeling of release.


Then, last friday, Dad finished his last day at the coffee shop. He was really bummed out about it, as he really enjoyed seeing the people @ the hospital, both workers, and visitors. But the bottom line was profits, and the hospital had to cut programs and things that were not keeping the hospital in the black. But as he prepared for his last day, he opened the readings for day from the scriptures, and guess what they were:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens....
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance....
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
As these verses point out so eloquently, life is full of ups and downs. We all go through times when we feel like we're on top of the world, but we also face times of challenge and tragedy. How do we cope with the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job?
Ironically, the key to weathering the storms of life is often found within, and our connection to God can grow stronger, and deepen our faith. But if you are still searching, it can be a doorway that opens our hearts to His mercy and grace. But I think that the most important reason why tragedies can be blessings, is that we can encourage others facing difficulties with the same strength we have received from God.
I am so proud to be Earl's wife, and so glad he is in mine. I have seen the changes he has gone through, and though he doesn't realize the impact he had made on others in his work, I have listened to the expressions from many who came in contact with him.
He was bombarded with gifts, and cards, tears, hugs, photos, and sayings. What a wonderful accolade for his three years there, let alone getting "Employee of the Year" last year. He will be missed by many, and what more can anyone ask for, for a job well done.
But life goes on, and he will start anew with Caribou Coffee in a couple of weeks as a shift
supervisor, getting the hours he wanted, and weekends off.