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Went to visit Mother this morning. We had a good visit. It was time for her 2006 financial update, so I had a spreadsheet all prepared. (Are you buying this?) Anyway, I put her mind to rest by pointing out that she has enough resources to stay at Concord Place for 15 more years, or her 112th birthday, whichever comes first. She's still commenting on how much she dislikes the food - there's really nothing to be done about that.

Dick was working at the Agency - he was super busy. He phoned 21 different people concerning their prescription coverage (Medicare Part D for Difficult). While he was doing that, 24 more calls came in to the front desk. The Agency is being swamped with phone calls from unhappy elders who are finding that their prescriptions are not covered. I'm afraid it's going to take the insurance companies/government quite a while to get everything up and running, and in the meantime, people are left with no help because their discount cards are defunct as of Jan. 1, and some insurances cut off then as well. It's a horrible situation.

After visiting Mom, I dropped in on Dick and convinced him to go out to lunch with me. We agreed to meet in an hour at the Hard Luck Cafe. (Appropriate name for a MMAP volunteer's restaurant!) I went downtown for an hour and we had a great lunch.

Just after arriving home, I got a call from Betsy at Concord Place. Mother had fallen in the bathroom, hit her head, broke her glasses, and cut her eye lid and eyebrow area. She's fine - I went right back up there - a nurse came from Bortz and said Mom didn't need stitches or anything. Mom refused to call the Doctor - she feels OK - just a little shaken.

I took the broken eyeglass frame to the Cedar Run Eye Center, and they were not busy, so Mom has new glasses already. Same lenses in a pretty new frame. She thought it was magic that she could get new glasses so quickly! Betty still works at the Eye Center, and she always asks about Lue's kids, so I told her about Barb. I think Betty's going to write Barb a note.

Filled up the Explorer - almost need to take out a second mortgage to fill 'er up these days. Went through the car wash, and to Jiffy Lube. The car looks terrific.

UPDATED @ 4 MINUTES AFTER MIDNIGHT:
Concord called at 9:15 p.m. to say that Mother had fallen again. The official opinion of the staff was to call 911 and go to Munson ER to get an XRay. I said I would meet them up there. Dick and I beat the ambulance to the hospital by about 15 minutes. Mother looks like a prizefighter after 15 rounds. The cuts around her eye are still bleeding, she has a cut on the side of her nose also (from the broken frames). She has bitten the tip of her tongue, and her tongue is bruised.

The XRay was negative - nothing is broken. She was given a tetanus shot. She stood with assistance to see if she could bear weight, and then she was discharged back to Concord. It was two hours and forty five minutes from start to finish. She claims to feel fine - "A little wobbly" but no pain. I'm sure she'll be very sore in the morning.

I'm a Quilter?

This afternoon we watched State lose to Wisconsin by 19 points. It's so hard to believe that either Wisconsin is that good or that State is that bad!

I've started working on the GenFest 2005 family quilt - it's really quite a joke, because I'm the furthest thing from a seamstress that you can imagine! I'm going to give it the old college try. I hate to think of ruining any of those quilt squares - some of them are really beautiful, and some people paid to have their squares embroidered, so I certainly don't want to damage any of those. Keep your fingers crossed.

I THINK I can sew it together OK, but I'm not so sure about the backing and the quilting part. Although I could do the quilting if I "stitch in the ditch" - I've seen it done on TV. (shrug) I'm not sure. Right now I'm just hoping that I don't ruin the quilt top. The top is 8 squares by 8 squares - so it's 64 squares altogether. (9 inch squares) We do have 3 or 4 blank squares.

Squeaker

Michigan Basketball has entered the Big Ten Season. (shudder) They lost to Illinois this week, and today at Crisler they just barely beat Purdue. Well at least is was a W. We enjoyed watching the game and were really happy at the outcome.

Even though the team did well in the pre-conference season, I still have low expectations for the Big Ten season. So I was especially happy. They've had a rough time for the past few years. The basketball scandal was deadly for our BB program. The students seem very supportive, and that's probably a big help for the team. Go Blue.

This from mgoblue.com:

Daniel Horton scored a game-high 24 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 2:39 left in the contest, to lead the Michigan men's basketball team to a 68-65 triumph over Purdue on Saturday, Jan. 7, in Crisler Arena. Horton tallied 16 points in the second half as the Wolverines (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) overcame a five-point halftime deficit in their conference home opener. Graham Brown added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, Sims had eight rebounds and three blocks, and Ron Coleman chipped in with eight points.

Let's Do Lunch

Tim and Susie were geo-caching in the area this morning, so we invited them to stop in for lunch. They can find 14,000 caches before noon on any day!

It was great fun having them here - we had a lot to catch up on...Christmas, elderly mothers, digital cameras, mannequins, etc. We always have a lot of teaching memories to relate to each other too. And need I mention all of the geo-caching memories and info. Such fun.

Dick went out with them in the late afternoon to do some caching by flashlight - I think they found three.

Update

Results of the ultrasound: The World's Best Doctor says that the thyroid nodules are there - that it's common - that it's a benign condition - that my thyroid function test was normal - and we'll do it again in 1 year to see if anything has changed. I did some research on the internet and it seems that anyone who lives to be 69 has thyroid nodules, so that's that. I'm still wondering why I have such a sore neck and swollen glands for the past 4.5 months. But I can't complain - I feel the Doc has done everything - MRI plus ultrasound - Cheesh!

The World's Best Dentist even got into the act by X-Raying my lower jaw to see if my lurking wisdom tooth was acting up - but everything looks normal there too. I think I must be becoming like Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, with all of her imaginary flutterings.

Missed lunch today with Mary, Shirley, and Shirley. Next time for sure!

Cookie

At our wedding in 1957, Bobbie was my maid of honor, and Cookie and Claire were my bridesmaids. The four of us were inseparable at Martha Cook Building at the U of M. We lived there from 1955-1957. I met Bobbie my very first day at the U of M - we met at the SRA Building waiting for the bus to take us to Freshman Rendezvous for a weekend of fun before moving into Betsy Barbour. That was September, 1953.

Bobbie was from Mason, and now lives in Arlington, VA. Claire was from Huntington Woods, and now lives in Naples, FL. Cookie was from Flint, and now lives in Houston, TX.

Cookie (Carol Cook) married Tom Boberg, a grad student in chemical engineering (which was shortened in the lingo to "chem engine"). He had done his undergraduate work in the East at William and Mary and MIT. Back in those days, computer print-outs were on the attached printer paper. I remember visiting them once when Tom had the entire house covered with these endless sheets of computer paper covered with his chem engine project. I've only seen Carol and Tom three times in the past 40 years, but we have always kept in touch. They visited Basswood Bend about ten years ago.

I got an email from Bobbie today saying that Tom died suddenly the day after Christmas. He had been in perfect health, no heart problems or anything - we figure that it must have been an aneurysm or something. Carol says she doesn't need to know the cause of death. She's just satisfied that he had a relatively long, healthy, happy life. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.

I found Tom's obituary in the Houston Chronicle on line:

THOMAS COX BOBERG, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 30, 1933 passed away on Monday, December 26, 2005.

He received a bachelor's degree in physics from William & Mary where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As a Tau Beta Pi scholar, he received BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And he earned a Ph.D. in Chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.

During his 33 years with Exxon, he was one of the leaders of the effort to develop practical and economic thermal recovery processes. His research in 1961 led to Exxon's first test of cyclic steam stimulation, and in 1966, he was awarded a patent on this now widely used process. He was considered a leading worldwide authority on thermal recovery technology and is recognized for his book, Thermal Methods of Oil Recovery. He was a member of Sigma Xi, the scientific Research Society. In 1991 he was awarded the Society of Petroleum Engineers Lester C. Uren Award, which honors distinguished achievement in petroleum engineering technology made by a member before the age of 45.

Tom was a faithful member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church serving on numerous committees and as Elder for several years. A devoted choir member, he sang with the Sanctuary Choir for 37 years. His music ministry extended to The Kings Men barbershop chorus, which he sang with for many years. He was a gifted musician whose singing and piano music was enjoyed by everyone and loved most by his family. He is predeceased by his mother, also a musician, Esther Cox Boberg and his father, Colonel Roy H. Boberg. He is survived by his wife, Carol Jean Boberg, his daughter Leslie Caren Boberg, his daughter Lynne Ann Boberg Sutter and husband Herman J. Sutter, and his three dear granddaughters, Lucia, Isabel, and Sophia. A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 30, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, memorial may be made to Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.

New Year's Rockin' Chair Eve

Jana called from DTW this morning - she stayed at a Days Inn last night with a voucher from NWA, and she was at the airport when she called. She was booked in first class on a 9 a.m. flight to D.C. We haven't heard anything else from her, so we're assuming that she's home.

We each did our own end-of-the-year errands - mine was grocery shopping. We are both tired for some reason - maybe a combo of having Jana for a week and staying up too late watching Michigan lose the Alamo Bowl.

We had champagne and hors d'oeuvres early, and went to bed early too. Happy New Year. Slow down my rocking chair.

Bye Bye Jana

Our wonderful week is drawing to a close - Jana leaves tonight. Dick worked at the Visitor Center this morning.

Right after Dick left, we got a call from Florida - talked to Laurie for a bit, and then we talked to Dylan for 2 hours! We did a tag team thing - Jana would talk while I showered, I would talk while Jana packed, etc. Dylan was especially interested in demonstrating his new keyboard to me. It's amazing, and he obviously is entranced by it. He and Jana talked a lot about the Spiderman game she gave him. Since Christmas, he has already completed Tak and Tak2, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Jana and I packed school supplies for the classroom in Iraq, and then she logged on to Pogo.com with a guest pass, and we played Qwerty together. How much fun is that? We loved it.

Dick was stranded at the VC - nobody came to relieve him. So he shut the place down, turned out the lights, and came home. I went to have the ultrasound of my neck. Now that's the kind of test I like - no pain, no strain, no undressing.

Jana's plane was supposed to leave at 7 p.m., and we were at the airport early. It was delayed until 7:30, and then 8:00 - which meant that she would miss her connecting flight to D.C. After a talk with the ticket agent she got a promise of a room in Detroit and a flight out of Detroit tomorrow morning. I think she finally boarded her plane at 9 p.m.

What a Team

Dick and Jana went out geo-caching and I stayed home to vegetate and rusticate. The team of Basswood Bend and Bassdaught found 4 caches and had a marvelous time.

Memoirs of a Grandma

Jana and I went to visit Mother today - we had a perfectly splendid visit. We were discussing the Geib Family Tree when Mother began to reminisce about her childhood. It was just charming.

My favorite was a story about the funeral of her Grandmother Cadet Perry Rice. All of the children in the family (cousins) were seated on the stairway during the funeral, and they got the giggles for some unknown reason. Mother still feels really sorry about the whole thing - I'll bet her mother was fit to be tied! Cadet died in 1922, so Mother would have been 13 or 14 at the time.

Another memory was of the privy at the Geib family farm in Gaines Township. The privy was out in back and down a little hill, and it was completely surrounded by lilac bushes. Mother remembers how nice it was in the springtime when the lilacs were blooming. She says that she remembers the floor plan of that farmhouse. I asked her how many bedrooms it had and she said, "Oh, there were a raft of bedrooms."
Evidently the whole upstairs was bedrooms, but I still don't know how many.

Well, it was Alamo Bowl night tonight. The best part of the whole evening was the homemade pea soup made with the Christmas hambone. The game wasn't so bad except for the last 8 minutes. Bah Humbug. This from mgoblue.com:

The Michigan football team saw its fourth-quarter lead slip away and lost a 32-28 decision to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 28, in San Antonio. Quarterback Chad Henne was a factor in all four Wolverine scores, throwing touchdown passes to Tyler Ecker, Mike Massey and Mario Manningham, then scoring a rushing TD to put U-M up 28-17 with 11:40 left in the game. However, Nebraska scored on back-to-back possessions to lead 32-28 and withstood Michigan's lengthy series of laterals on the game's final play.

Memoirs of a Geisha

We've all read the book. It was one of the best books I've ever read. Laurie and Jana think so too. So of course Jana and I had to go see this movie. What a beautiful movie it was.

There were a couple of things we were disappointed in - for instance, in the book much was made of the kimonos - their value, beauty, and wonderful fabrics. The movie really never even came close to displaying or educating about the kimonos. Also, some of the most enjoyable parts of the book were the young girls at the geisha school learning movement, music, manners, etc. There was only one scene from the school days and it was fleeting. Another thing I didn't like was that it seemed always to be raining! This poor child was running around the city drenched to the bone most of the time. Also, the relationship between the child and the grandmotherly housekeeper person was non-existent. So now it sounds as though I didn't like the movie!

But I did! - It's a beautiful film - well cast, appealing, and interesting. I enjoyed the new "romantic" angle of the story. And I don't care if the lead actress is Chinese (Ziyi Zhang), I thought she was perfect for the role of Sayuri. She's very intense and beautiful, and simpatico. Ken Watanabe made a perfect Chairman - charismatic and yet remote.

This morning Jana and I went to the Munson Urgent Care at MCHC to have the lump on her neck evaluated. The advice was to see a surgeon in D.C. and have it removed. We had a great lunch at the Mall - China Wok.

Dr. Burke called to say that the MRI shows moderate arthritis in my cervical spine, which is pretty much what I expected. But then he added that the MRI shows nodules on the thyroid gland, and I'm scheduled to have an ultrasound on Friday. I did some research on the internet and it seems that everybody my age has nodules on the thyroid, so I'm not at all concerned. Thank you Dr. Burke.

Geo-Jana

Off to the Muncie Lakes area to find some geocaches. We only found three caches, but we had a lot of fun. My favorite was the one on the inside back of the outhouse door (no kidding). Dick found one by himself - the hill was too steep. And one of them we all searched and searched for, and couldn't find until Dick found it totally by accident. I love it when that happens!

In the afternoon we went to visit Uncle Fritz and Aunt Ruth to explain the Medicare Part D Drug Benefit thingy. Dick and Fritz decided which plans to sign up for, and Dick will enroll them via the computer. It's a relief for them to have that decided.

Christmas Day

Jana went to bed early last night, and so we were all up and ready for opening gifts before 9 a.m.
The most interesting (odd, unusual, unexpected) gift was a mannequin for Dick from all of the kids. This mannequin is taller than I am. It's soft and bendable, so it can sit. We bent it into a sitting position, dressed it in the clothes provided, put a hat on it, sat it in the recliner, gave it a book to hold, and named it Basswood Bessie. Last summer, Dick had casually mentioned that he thought it would be fun to put a mannequin on the swing at the riverside deck to startle passing canoers and kayakers. Be careful what you wish for! Now I'm startled everytime I go into the living room!

His other best gift was a new computer - a Dell with a flat screen monitor. After the holidays we're going to have a nice person come here and hook us all up so our two computers are still networked.

We got so many wonderful gifts that it's hard to pick just a few to mention. I especially loved the Gillespie family pictures in the beautiful case. I got a new digital camera and a printer dock that works! I feel like I'm back in business at last. It's a great feeling. Tom gave me a nano iPod - now I've entered the 21st century for sure - it is a marvel. Jana gave me stacks of great books, and there were so many other terrific things - warm socks, hand warmers and gloves from Dick - he knows how cold I get! It was a memorable Christmas.

In another non-traditional (for us) move, we had ham for dinner. It was an easy prep and an easy clean-up.

We talked to Florida - Dylan got a marvelous keyboard that makes hundreds of different noises besides being a piano. He's really been enjoying it. He also seems to like the nerf ball shooter game really well.

We all went to Mother's for a Christmas Day visit. She enjoyed hearing about the mannequin and our other gifts. She's still glowing from the shrimp and the champagne on Christmas Eve.

Jana and I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia. We enjoyed it so much. As always, my favorite is Lucy. I liked Mr. Tumnus too, but the Snow Queen was not a favorite of mine - until the battle scene - then she seemed to come alive and be a little more effective. Edmond was well cast - he could assume both the dark side and the good side easily - nice job. It's a beautiful movie, and it brought back such good memories of reading those books.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve

Jana's plane was supposed to land at 10 a.m., but it was delayed for some weird alirline reason. She landed finally at around 1:30 p.m. Hooray!
We had a nice Christmas with Mother - took her gifts, some shrimp and champagne and did a non-traditional (for us) Christmas on Christmas Eve at Concord Place. It was a huge success!
Ho ho ho - Santa comes tonight.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Holy Moly - have you ever had an MRI? I did a little research on the internet beforehand so I would know what it involved. It mentioned that most patients comment on either the noise or the claustrophobia. Luckily, I don't have a problem with claustrophobia - buy hey! When they say noise, they mean NOISE !! Oh My God! You lay on your back for 25 minutes with your arms over your head, and it sounds like they're hitting the side of the thing with a bouncing wrecking ball...followed by a jackhammer...followed by other strange loudnesses. And then the whole series of sound effects is repeated four or five times. It was certainly a new experience -the technician said that the machine used to be even noisier. I simply cannot imagine how it could be any noisier. They put headphones on you and you get to pick the radio station - but it's useless, because you can't hear it 95% of the time anyway. The MRI was of the cervical spine to see if they can tell what's causing my continuous sore neck. I think it's probably arthritis of some sort, and I'm thinking I'll just have to live with a permanent sore neck. Should find out Monday or Tuesday.

Went to visit Mom - we had a nice visit.

Out to dinner tonight at Big Boy (WooWoo) - we met Mr. and Mrs. ABX Guy, Trashcan & CacheHound for dessert. Dick picked up the 2 beautiful new geocoins designed by ABX Guy and executed by Rusty in honor of the Traverse City Winter Convergence V. We're so happy to have them. Ray said that he's selling one on ebay and it's up to $51 with 22 people watching.

Barbie

First we went to Fifth/Third to straighten out the SS numbers on an account.

Then we slogged through Meijer, buying things for Jana's stocking and some extra grocery items. Meijer always seems to me to be an enormous undertaking. I think you should take walkie talkies, pack a lunch, and wear hiking boots to negotiate it. It's too huge, too crowded, and the parking lot is too full. OK, sure, it's Christmas time, but Meijer can manage to be unmanageable at any time of the year, day or night. Can you tell it's not my favorite place?

Off to Uncle Fritz's to deliver some Medicare Part D papers so Dick can recommend benefit plans for them. I hadn't been there before, and we couldn't figure out where to park. Dick waited by the front entrance in the car, and I went hiking down the corridor to find 206. It's amazing how far away it was from the front door. Maybe you're supposed to park in the rear or something.

Then we dropped in on Barb to see how she is faring. It was good to see her looking good, tired but still almost perky, and really willing to talk about her experiences, hopes, and dreams. She has a strong social network, which is a big aid to healing and recovery, so the experts say. We talked about all of it, and she has a great attitude. She's had some good results and seems upbeat. Adam dropped in while we were there - it's good to see him. There were 4 phone calls for Barb while we were there - it's that strong social network I was talking about! Go Barb.

Concord Christmas

This time, Dick wrote the blog for me - I can't do any better than this! We've been in stitches ever since we got home!
This is Dick's report:

Today was the eagerly awaited Concord Place Christmas Party scheduled
from 12:30 to 2:30. On the phone this morning, Marian told Nancy that
Julius (102 and counting) came from his room across the hall to
visit and vent. He told Marian that he was not planning on attending
because: they were going to have meatballs and he hates the meatballs;
the room is too crowded and he doesn't like crowds; the room is too
bright and the light hurts his eyes; and after visiting his wife in the
nursing home (on the "other side"), he was cold - her room is too cold.

Betsy, the director, insisted that he attend because there was to be a
special guest just for him. The guest turned out to be Ann -
an entertainer who knew him from the old days at the Traverse City Country Club.
She wanted to play the piano for him. We were the first folks down in the
community room and wound up at the table next to the piano. Joining us
at the table were Thelma and her niece (who was banging her head against
the wall of the elevator after the last party. She says that her aunt
drives her nuts.)

When Julius arrived, Ann went over and greeted him and he was very happy
to see her. She told him that she was going to play for him and came
back to the piano. As she began to play the Tennessee Waltz, she told us
that it was always his favorite and the one he always requested. As she
played, Julius seemed to be keeping time to the music. Everyone was
looking at him and asking his neighbor, "Can Julius hear OK?" to which
the response was "Oh sure, he's really enjoying it."
When she finished, everyone applauded and Julius was asked if he had a
request.
He said, "I'd like to hear The Tennessee Waltz."
Ann said, "What did he say?"
Julius said, "What did she say?"
Marian said, "What did he say?"
Nancy and I were close to dying.

When everyone had arrived (eight of the ten residents attended) the
luncheon was served buffet style. The menu was; Salad, rolls, cheesy
hashbrowns, baked beans, meatballs, (I sampled one, Julius is right, they
are bad) ham, cheese ball and ritz crackers, cake and assorted cookies.

After the meal, Ann played numerous Christmas carols and many oldies and
many of the folks sang along. When she played polkas, Julius got into a
groove and propelled his wheelchair around the room in an animated dance. He
was singing along to one of the tunes in what sounded like a foreign
tongue. One of the folks at his table asked, "What language is that?" He
stopped and replied, "I don't know."

This was the fifth or sixth Concord Place party that we have attended
including Marian's 97th birthday, and it is the first time that she has
been interested in staying more than 30 or 40 minutes. This time we
stayed for the full two hours and when we left there were only two other
residents still there. One of them was Julius.

Happy Birthday Dylan

Dylan called this morning at 8 a.m. to thank us for his birthday gifts. We gave him the Dread Pirate Game and some Christmas "crackers" that you pull and there are prizes inside. He especially enjoyed receiving the playstation games from Uncle Tom and Auntie Jana.
His party is going to be from 1-3 at the Hammock Creek Clubhouse, with special friends coming over afterwards for dinner (Kyle, Connor, Lainie et al). He sounded like he was prepared to have a great day.

Dear Old Dad

My father Tharel Thurman Kanitz was born on December 16, 1907 in Douglas County, Illinois. He died November 24, 1999 at the age of 91, just a couple of weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. Today would have been his 98th birthday, had he lived. Mother has outlived him by almost six years so far.

Tomorrow is Dylan's 8th birthday. Dylan was born on December 17th, 1997, the day after Dad turned 90 years old. If he had been born on Dad's birthday, Laurie would have named him Dylan Thurman in honor of Dad. Dylan was really smart to wait an extra day, and to become Dylan Patrick!

Family Day at Concord Place

The day begins with an appointment to see Dr. Burke (the world's best doctor). He listened agreeably to my list of complaints (he's such a good listener), and came up with two immediate solutions and one wait and see. I'm going for an MRI next Tuesday and I have one new temporary prescription. Thanks Dr. Burke. Even if I don't feel so well when I enter his office, I always feel a lot better when I leave.

Jim came up this morning to have lunch with Mother and to exchange Christmas gifts. We met at Mother's and exchanged the gifts. Ho Ho Ho! It was good to see him and we all had a good time talking about the grandchildren. He has me outnumbered two to one. Somehow, our family managed to get the cutest, most intelligent, and funniest grandchildren. We're so lucky! Mother seemed to be holding up well. Jim looks great.