Grandma Enjoys the Fireworks

Here's some pictures I took on Fourth of July. We're standing in front of my mother's house in Columbus, Ohio, watching some fireworks being set off a few blocks away:

Obviously these were taken July 4th, but I forgot to publish them!

Losing weight

I gained back every pound of the weight I lose two years ago, and I'm ready to start trying again. I signed up for a new program called "Food Lover's Online." You eat what you want, just in moderation. I didn't really feel like going through the whole WW thing again, at least this time around. I'm willing to give this a try for the 3 free weeks' trial period.

We are having sirloin steak, corn on the cob and tomatoes for dinner. I picked up the vegetables at the farmstand. Also got some cherries and pluots I've worked into my snacks. They want you to eat something every 2.5 hours and tell whether your choices fit in the fat-burning category.

I was happy to see I guessed my current weight correctly at 180 pounds. Honestly, I thought it was closer to 200. Glad I'm not that far gone! I hope to lose 30 pounds although 20 would make me happy. Damn, so would ten.

I'm supposed to take a selfie of my 'before' self but they can kiss my toe on that one.

Sunday

Michael and Katherine came over today for ribs, coleslaw and macaroni salad. It's always nice when they are here for dinner. Of course, they watched Breaking Bad. Katherine is way behind the rest of us--Mike and I have one more episode in Season Five, then we can start the final season.

Later, Katherine came back to see the baby raccoons. She took a great picture:

That's a peanut he/she is holding. Wish I could tell if they are boys or girls! Well, at least Katherine finally got to meet them. Pretty soon, they will be big and off to start their own families. Which is probably a good thing because buying all these peanuts is getting expensive.

Oh, one other thing--we had a bunny in our yard today! My backyard seems to be becoming Wildlife Central!

Little Visitors

I've been waiting for my raccoons to visit with babies and was not disappointed last night! At first, I thought there were just two. They ran away when I opened the door to give them peanuts, but then came back. And I counted three!
But in the end, there were FOUR adorable, roly-poly babies! Here is a picture of Mama with two of her offspring:

They were so much fun to watch, almost like puppies. They were full of mischief, getting into everything. After a while, they weren't afraid of me and even came up to the door. I think animals know when someone is not going to hurt them.
Melody, my cat, wasn't too happy, and sat there growling at them through the door glass.

Ceiling, Pt. II

We continued work on the downstairs ceiling today. I helped Mike, Jamie and Nick by picking up pieces of metal framing (whatever it's called!) and carrying long pieces of molding out to the garage for storage. It was a lot of work (mostly for the guys)  but like Mike said, if we can get a little done at a time it's an accomplishment. Mike says he's going to have professionals do the actual new ceiling because he hates working with sheet rock (again, whatever it's called!). I'm glad he says that because I don't want to see him frustrated. Hiring someone who knows what he's doing is smarter and faster--and probably cheaper in the long run!

Poor Rocky slept through most of it, until Jamie had to move his cage. Then he was probably wondering what the heck was going on!

Pics of the men, hard at work:

It should be noted that the nitwits who put up this ceiling 21+ years ago used nails instead of screws, making the task of removing it that much harder!

Doctor news and last night in Columbus

We took Mom to her doctor's appointment on Friday the 11th. She had been very nervous about it, but it was an easy procedure in the long run. The news was good and set her mind at ease. The doctor, who was very nice, said she was in great shape for a 91-year-old!

On the way home, we had chili at Wendy's. Later that day we went to see Aunt Mary again. She was now in a real chair, not a wheel chair. I hope she is progressing steadily towards being back in her own apartment again!

After that, we went to a Bob Evans restaurant. I had a turkey dinner that I have to say was very, very good. Mom had pot roast and Mike got a hamburger, as usual. I had him take this picture of my mom and me:

All-in-all, a very nice visit, although I'm glad to be in my own home again. We might try to go again in the fall. If I could get someone to pick me up at the airport, I'd fly there. Mom no longer drives, although she wishes she could!

Mom Clowns Around

Grandma McNally really loves clowns, and has a whole room in her house dedicated to them! (Well, there's a TV in there, too, and a pretty red leather couch!)

My brother Bill made these painted wood blocks for her a few years ago:

She keeps many of the small ones on this old desk:

I gave her the baby clown doll sitting in the upper left corner, the one with orange hair. That was before I was married so it's more than 30 years old. I'm not sure how old the oldest clown is! Next time I'm in Ohio, I'll have to think about asking her!

Ohio, continued

When we are here, we like to do things that Mom can't (or shouldn't) do. Mike got out the hedge trimmers and neatened up all the foliage in front of the house.

When we went to visit Aunt Mary (our third time there), she was up in a wheelchair and seemed much better. She says she has no pain, thank God.

Some of my pictures are on my camera, so I will load them into this blog next week when I'm home. (I can't wait to go home. A week away is too long, IMHO, even though I'm enjoying my visit here.)

Ohio

Mike and I have been in Ohio for almost a week now. We traveled from New York last Wednesday. As always, we left very early--around 2:30 am this year. It's just us two, so there's no negotiating anything with the kids. We were pretty much able to get out the door within half an hour. Of course, the suitcases were packed and loaded the previous night.
We were very lucky traffic-wise and had no trouble along the way. With a stop for breakfast, plus some rest stops, we made it to Columbus in about 11 hours.
Here's a summary of the last few days. Pictures will come later when I have my own computer at home:
Wednesday: Arrival. Ribs for dinner, yum!
Thursday: our annual trip to my mom's favorite restaurant, Der Dutchmann. I always enjoy the Buffet and Salad bar. Mom always gets the Broasted Chicken.
We shopped at the gift shop, then at some Amish grocery stores. One has a little thrift store attached to it, and I found very cute red-and-white check fabric for only $2.50 a yard. We also hit a bigger thrift shop and found some goodies there.
Later, we went to visit my Aunt Mary. She broke her pelvic bone and was a bit 'out of it.' She is in a nursing home as she heals. She is 93, and my mother is 91.
Friday: Fourth of July! We were invited to a little gathering at my mom's friend's house. Cathy Crosby has been very good to my mother ever since she came to Ohio about 23 years ago (Mom, that is). I wasn't too happy about going because I don't like parties, but I enjoyed myself. IT was interesting to talk to a Chinese woman, a doctor, who lived through Mao and other bad things (including only being able to have one child). She had some fascinating stories to tell!
Friday night, there were fireworks a few blocks from Mom's house. Mike walked over there to get a better look, but Mom and I watched from her driveway. Not a perfect view, but some of the fireworks exploded over the tree line so we enjoyed that.
I think we visited Aunt Mary again on Saturday, and she seemed a bit better--much more alert. She and Mom told us fun things about their childhoods. Their grandfather owned a store and every week they got to pick out one piece of candy. I never knew my great-grandfather, Luther Patterson,owned a store!
We had burgers for dinner. Mike had 'introduced' my mom to Bubba Burgers at the reunion last year and she was happy that her store actually carries them.
Sunday, I went shopping while Mike worked out. I've been doing a lot of shopping on this trip. I've also been doing some crocheting and some cross stitch. I actually finished two little stuffed animals I've been working on for a long time. Mom thought they were cute.
Monday, more shopping, this time with Mom. We hit Hobby Lobby, a store I don't have in New York. Probably spent too much there. Oh, I forgot--I had found a really cute Patriotic rooster at Michael's on Sunday. Mom said they'd been trying to find one for Cathy, so I said she could have it. She's been very good to my mother, as I said. But we actually found another one on Monday so Mom bought that for me.
On one of the nights, Mike spotted a baby rabbit in the driveway. I went outside and it was still there. I thought about picking it up if I could catch it, but decided just to lead it out of the garage (it ran inside) and towards the raspberry bracken that surrounds my mother's backyard fence. I miss my  animals! I've been in touch with Nick and he says they're doing fine.
We went to visit Aunt Mary again. I'm happy to say she was awake and alert, and even sitting up in a wheelchair. She says they want her to eat peanuts, so we will be bringing her a can of those. Plus I got her some sliced apples and some "Jif-to-go," because she said she likes apples and peanut butter. She needs to gain weight.
Today was a relaxing day, right down to leftovers for dinner. I helped Mom with some paperwork for a medical procedure she's having Friday. We are staying longer than usual (10 days as opposed to a week) so we can take her to the doctor. We'll be leaving Saturday. I'm having a nice visit but am only truly happy in my own home. I only wish my dog Shadow was still there to greet me.
This is too long so I'm stopping now.