A CHRISTMAS BLOG

Sorry folks but I just don't have it in me to write Christmas cards this year. Instead I will bore you with all the family up dates on my blog so you can choose to read this or not.
 I know when those "Christmas Letters" arrive there is a sense of obligation to read them.  After all, the person sending them took the time to gather thoughts and pictures, compile it into a lovely printed page, took time to fold the letters and place them in a Christmas card, addressed the envelopes and paid the USPS to deliver them to your home. I, on the other hand am sitting in the car dealer waiting for my car to be serviced so you are under no obligation I to read this.

2014. . .  Can't believe we are 14 years into this century and still all here to talk about it. I often reflect on the hype at the turn of the century and yet we are all chugging along just as we have in years past. And chugging we are !  Gerry is the poster boy for that. Last January his lung cancer was in remission and we thought he had beat this nasty disease. Then he had a PET scan during the summer that showed the lung cancer was back big time. This put him at a stage 4 cancer level which really knocked the wind out of our sails. We took it in stride but I think both of us were more shaken up by this than we realized at the time. Ger went into the hospital for 5 days for a lung biopsy (he had some complications with the recovery) and is now back on a different chemo regime which includes infusion every 3 weeks and a daily cancer pill. His system tolerates the chemo extremely well and he is responding very well. His side issues of bladder problems seem to have all evened out so he is usually feeling pretty good.  Lots of fatigue and occasional balance problems keep him staying close to home. He is in good spirits and we are always laughing at something he does or fails to do.
I'm taking good care of the old boy and myself. Occasional adventures with friends and weekly sessions with a fantastic therapist keep me going. Grand kids are at the top of my list for staying young at heart and happy.
Kent and family are in Pompano, only about a half hour south of us. The twins are now 9 months old and are hysterical. They are moving around and Grey seems determined to walk while her brother, Wynn seems quite content to just sit and watch her.  What a joy to see these two little ones growing up before our eyes. Big brother Smith is fantastic with them and a huge help for mom and dad. Kent and Kristen are so sleep deprived it's a wonder they can function but both of them are doing a wonderful job of parenting. Two months ago Kristen was out in Texas for a weekend for her sisters wedding. Grey got to go to Aunt Bries wedding but the boys stayed home. A few weeks ago Kent was in San Francisco D.J ing at a club who invited him out to play. A great boost to his ego and a nice break from teaching and parenting. The twins are in day care, Kristen drops them off each morning. Smith is attending pre K at Kent's school so the two of them travel together and bring the twins home with them at the end of the school day. It's hectic and crazy, I don't know how they do it.
Keri and family are doing wonderfully up in Maryland.  Steve's business is exploding! He is an amazing business man, husband and dad. The family is enjoying Keri being a stay at home mom. She is always on the go with helping in Finn's pre school, being class mom for Kaelin's first grade and taking on Kaelin's Daisy Girl Scout troop. There are endless stories of their adventures which they share daily thanks to face time!  There is nothing better than picking up the phone to hears the squeals of delight from Kaelin and Finn. God bless technology !
Kyle and his family are enjoying life in Atlanta. They really seem to be enjoying their big new house which Ger and I finally got to see in May. It was the only trip Ger and I have taken in a long while but well worth the drive. The house is amazing with lots of room for Abby and all her Build a Bears and American girl dolls, Roman and all his video games and the two Guinea pigs.  The kids are doing well in school, both playing basket ball and Abby still involved in Girl Scouts. Bridget is still enjoying working part time and Kyle's travel is limited to the U.S. Both of them are very happy with
their jobs and life back in Atlanta.

And that's it for 2014. We trust God will continue to bless us with the joy of family and friends. The rest is just part of life and we'll take it day by day. Best wishes to all. Health, Happiness and Peace for the holidays and the New Year.
Love, Cath & Ger      

P.S.  As of today, December 19, Ger is in a rehab facility hoping to get stronger before he comes home. This past Sunday I had to call the paramedics to take G to the hospital ER because of extreme weakness and some confusion. They pumped him with bags of fluids but also found that he had an infection some where in his body. He was admitted to the hospital for 5 days of intravenous antibiotics. (At one point he was receiving 5 different antibiotics.) Yesterday he was released to a rehab facility where he will be for a "few" days until he can manage to walk on his own. The place is beautiful so we are "pretending" we are on a cruise ship enjoying 2 meals a day together while he works on regaining his strength. The facility is 10 minutes from home so I can run back and forth with ease.

Bridget, Abby, Kyle & Roman

Wynn, Grandpa & Grey

Kent, Kristen, Grey, Wynn & Smith

Grey & Kristen

Halloween Super Hero twins

My Man Smith

Diva Grey

My little man Finn

Princess Kaelin on her 6th birthday

Silly Sister Kaelin dresses up her brother Finn

Smith on his 4th birthday

Keri & Steve on their 10th anniversary

Roman & "Lady Gaga"

Abby

Kaelin, Keri & Finn

NEW GAME SHOW IDEA

Here I am at 4:30 in the morning coughing my brains out so I can't sleep so I gave up to wander the house.  This is the time of the night when my creative juices are running rampant but I can't DO anything because Husband is sleeping. I decided I'd get up and wrap some Christmas gifts that have to be delivered to the church tonight and that was when the epithany slapped me up side my head!

A GAME SHOW FOR MEN TITLED . . .     "WRAP IT !"    . . .
A man would be selected from the audience to come up on stage. There he would stand behind a table on which were placed a scissor, an empty tape dispenser, a roll of tape still in its packaging and a roll of wrapping paper. He man would start out with the $100 gift. Given an allotted amount of time he would be required to load the tape dispenser, cut the paper to the correct size and then wrap an item. Being the lowest prize amount the item to be wrapped would be fairly simple, such as a shoe box, a box of cereal or some other item with four straight sides. The challenge at this level is of course the TAPE DISPENSER. I have yet to meet a man who could place a new roll of tape into the dispenser without the assistance of a woman. (I know you're out there guys, I just haven't seen it yet. I'm just going by the man I live with so I'm just saying.)
If the contestant completes the challenge in the given amount of time the challenge gets harder. The next item might be a book. It is still fairly easy but there are those 3 sides that aren't really flat. BIG PROBLEM!  Once the book has been conquered the items to be wrapped get increasingly more difficult. Like footballs, roller skates, ping pong paddle, a mug and the most dreaded item of all, a big stuffed teddy bear!
If we really wanted to make it insanely difficult we could switch out the regular wrapping paper with
Foil paper, or cellophane or even the dreaded tissue paper.
I would pay to watch this !
Having it going on in real life at my dining room table is quite another story. God love H but he has got to be THE WORLDS WORST GIFT WRAPPER. He tries so hard but there are more scraps of paper left over after he wraps something because he keeps "trimming" the paper. So much so that he "trims" his paper so much he has to then cut a new piece because the "trimmed" one no longer fits. H wrapped two (2) things for me today in the time it took me to make dinner, put in a load of wash and empty the dishwasher. One was a remote controlled car IN A BOX, the other was a book. He was totally exhausted by this but so very happy he was "helping". And a help he was! He would not have won any prizes on that game show but he did save me the two minutes that it would have taken me to wrap those gifts and he felt good.
On the serious side, there isn't too much H can help with these days. Not that he was ever a winner in that department but he would try. Now a days H is pretty much limited to bringing in the mail. Around here that is HUGE because by the time the mail arrives I am usually up to my elbows in something and looking a mess. Rather than frightening the neighbors by me going out H takes his daily meander down the driveway with an occasional chat with a passing neighbor. He does MUCH better with all that than with gift wrapping.

MY DOIN' DAYS ARE DONE !

Doing takes effort and I am pretty low on that these days. Doing used to be good but then I got old and I don't want to do anything, or anyone for that matter. (Well, if Hugh Jackman were available . . .)
Nah, probably not even then. Ironically it is all this "doing" that has got me so worn out.
There's DOING LAUNDRY, DOING THE SHOPPING, DOING THE HOUSE CLEANING, DOING THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, ETC !  You get the picture.
That simple little phrase "to do" is so loaded with levels and levels of action that are exhausting. Let's take , "I'm going to DO the laundry".  Simple, right?  NOT !  We begin with the gathering of the laundry, which, technically should be a mans job since men were created to be the hunters and when it comes to "gathering " laundry it is in fact a HUNT. Because even though there is the very efficient, dual laundry container ON WHEELS sitting in the closet the laundry never is in it. So simple, thought I, when I bought this container. Two sections, one for whites, one for colors. But then I bought H some underwear in colors. Problem! Will they go in the hot water/white section or in the warm water/color section?  Rather than attempt to process this H chooses to just leave his underwear AROUND. So now we enter the HUNT phase. Most can be found near the laundry container but there could also be some socks under the bed, or in the bathroom or on rare occasions on the floor of the den next to Husbands recliner. Once the hunt for underwear is over the hunt for anything else begins. Towels could be anywhere, pool towels especially have a wanderlust and are often found in the oddest places. Kitchen towels are more home bodies and tend to hang out some where on the counter tops or at least close to them. Husbands handkerchiefs have a life of their own and have been know to travel great distances, turning up in the pool or even a shoe. Gathering laundry can be exhausting and we have several more steps to go.
The actual washing of the clothes is a piece of cake. Stuff it in the washer, add detergent, turn the water on, close the lid and pray the washer will last for at least one more load. As it spins its final rinse and walks across the floor of the laundry room because the load was off balance I now discover there is still "old" laundry in the dryer. That has to come out so the new wet stuff can go in but don't forget to clean the filter on the dryer because the last load had a fleece blanket in it and I now have enough lint to stuff a queen size mattress. Old stuff out, new stuff in and now it's time to sort, fold, iron. I HATE THIS PART ! Sorting laundry is one of the most boring jobs in the world. Pull it out, shake it out, fold it, put it away! UGH !  I never get away with it being that simple. As I walk into the closet to put something in there I see that there are shirts hanging off the shelf, thrown there to be put away another time? I pull them down and realize they need ironing so now I have to drag out the ironing board and iron to stand there pressing the shirts which once I am just about done I realize they have a stain on them and were not needing to be hung up but rather were in need of washing !
This is the point when I put my bathing suit on and go out to sit by the pool and day dream about doing . . .  NOTHING !

"STUFFIES" FOR GROWN - UPS

Have you seen the TV commercials for "Stuffies" ?  They play often on Fox News channel which says something to me but I'm not exactly sure what that message is.  "Stuffies" are large stuffed things, (animals), that have all sorts of pockets and pouches in which your child can stuff their pajamas, blanket, pillow, younger siblings, last nights dinner and the family dog or cat.
Kids are natural "STUFFERS" as any parent who has ever said, "Clean your room", knows. Kids do NOT put things away, they stuff them out of sight. Thus the evolution of "Stuffies". Instead of under the bed or in the pillow case kids now have an official and accepted place to put their stuff.

I WANT A STUFFIE !     I'm thinking I could be on to something here. Picture a LARGE flesh colored stuffie in the shape of a BUTT !  Picture where the opening is on this particular model and then picture stuffing all your S--- into said stuffie when you have guests coming on short notice or are just in a mood to remove the clutter.  Better yet, picture the stuffie that comes with little rag dolls that represent the various members of your family and when one of those family members pisses you off you have a large fist shaped stick that you can use to stuff the doll into the butt! Over and over again !
Or how about a stuffie in the shape of a toilet and you can just stuff anything you are angry with into that toilet stuffie with the handy plunger shaped stick. For a few dollars more this model could be created with an automatic "FLUSH" sound to make the experience even more satisfying.
Say you have some anger issues here that need addressing. You might want the deluxe incinerator stuffie that belches smoke and flames as you stuff all your egg shaped "anger pods" into it. Just write down on a piece of paper whatever it is that is making you nuts, place it inside the pod and ram it into that inferno until your anger subsides.

I think I feel better just envisioning this. The idea is not patented so I'm sure it will be on the market in the near future.

MY OCD THANKSGIVING

Let me start out by saying this Thanksgiving was one of the best ! Family was here, fun was had and there were lots of laughs and great food.  Grand pa was feeling fantastic enjoying the company and attention of Abby and Roman.
Grand ma had a WONDERFUL time even though my OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER kicked up a notch. It seems I have always been Obsessive, as in keeping my room "organized". I'm not saying clean, I'm just saying "organized".  There is a HUGE difference.  It may be a mess but it is MY mess and I can find everything I need.  The compulsive side shows up in my need to do it all my self ! As husband has said for 45 years, I HAVE to be in charge and I HAVE to be right, and I AM bossy. I never gave a name to all this but OCD does seem to fit the picture.
SO . . .  bring in some super efficient and capable young adults in the form of oldest son Kyle and his wonderful wife Bridget, put them in MY KITCHEN and grand ma goes into shock. It took all my will power to just sit back and LET THEM DO !  Dinner was fabulous ! I DID NOTHING !  I sat and watched the parade for the first time in 41 years, I snuggled with Abby, crawled on the floor with Wynn and Grey, chatted with Kristen and Kent, laughed and played with Roman and Smith and just had the most fun ever !  All the while telling myself "LEAVE THE 'KIDS' (Kyle and Bridget) ALONE.  Just because they didn't do the mashed potatoes MY way, the potatoes were fabulous.  The turkey was yummy and there wasn't a TON of left overs that I would have ended up throwing out 3 months from now.  There was the PERFECT amount left over. My hands itched at wanting to be in the kitchen cooking but I FOUGHT IT AND WON !!!
I guess I really do have an obsessive/compulsive disorder after all because it really WAS an internal battle to LET GO !  Go figure someone else can do as good as. IF NOT BETTER than me !! This  may be the beginning of a wonderful discovery.

THANKS KYLE AND BRIDGET FOR ALL YOU DID !!!!!!

I LOVE MY CLEANING LADIES

Angels come in all sizes and shapes, even in the form of a cleaning lady. Thank you Isabelle and Ingy for making my life so much easier and for forcing me to pick up the clutter every two weeks before you arrive. If it wasn't for you my house would be piled high with plastic beer cups, (even though we never drink beer any more but they work great for water too.), odd lone socks strewn everywhere, news papers piled high, and STUFF !  The clutter has a life of its own and if it wasn't for the cleaning ladies the clutter would soon take over the house. I still have some of the Halloween decorations around with no interest in packing them up except that I will need the room for the Christmas decorations.
Today the cleaning ladies arrived while I was out so they not only got to clean my house but they got to keep watch over Ger while I was out. The ladies chased Ger from room to room, but did not realize that was happening. I called Ger twice while I was out and he was in a different room each time I called. He didn't want to be in the way of the ladies so he was trying to find a place where he was out of the way. How come he never does that for me? He never c ares if he is right in the middle of what I'm doing !  But in spite of this the ladies did a fantastic job of cleaning. They even clean the INSIDE of my microwave and toaster oven. I think they may have cleaned my oven but that would take a stick of dynamite and a jack hammer.
The ladies are good and I am thankful I can afford this luxury. I wonder if they put up Christmas lights?

THE POWER OF BATS

Once again I have to make a case for DIVINE INTERVENTION. You will never convince me that GOD does not have a hand in my life. Even if it comes through THE BAT MEN !

Yes, the bats are back and H is in a tizzy. Cancer and all the man is more upset over the fact that there are bats in our belfry, so to speak, than the fact that he can't walk ten steps without falling over.
Several visitors have mentioned that they can hear the bats when sitting on our lanai. Others can smell them, yuck. And still others see them hiding behind the rain gutters. I have failed at all three of these but trusting our friends and family I called THE BAT MEN. This is a company called DPS. They capture and dispose of wildlife that decides to take up residence in places that are not wild. Usually they deal in skunks, opossum, raccoons and fox but they also take care of bats. If you remember from my previous postings about the bat population residing on my house you might recall that bats are a protected species and can not be captured. They have to be evicted and allowed to find a new residence on their own. I purchased two bat houses and called DPS. Mike arrived all happy to see us again. He remembered us from his last visit about a year ago and was very glad to see Ger still alive and kicking. Mike informed us we had a huge colony of bats so he would return later in the week with his partner in crime.
This is where it gets interesting . . .
Mike and Tony arrived one morning to set up the bat evacuation but since Mike loves to talk we first sat down to chat for a while. Ger was still sleeping so the conversation started with Ger's health. Tony knew all about us, having been brought up to speed by Mike. Naturally the conversation came around to religion and thoughts and beliefs about God's intervention with death and dying. Tony told his life story of being a catholic as a child but finding a wonderful church in Florida that has become his and his wife's home. He is a "minister" in his church and Mike is one of the parishioners. These two men are so spiritual and filled with love and support for Ger and I that it can only be explained by knowing the Lord had something to do with bringing these guys into our lives at this time. Two hours later the guys got working on the bats.
Tony and Mike showed up this morning to check the evacuation site and took time to have a prayer circle with me. As Tony prayed for Ger and I , I couldn't help but thank God for all his support during this time. Just when I think I can't do this any more something like this happenes and I am renewed and refreshed.
And to top it all off we went to the oncologist today and she said the Cancer was receding a bit so the chemo is working again.
Thank God !  And thank the bats too !