Work - not all bad :)

Okay - pardon a bit of self back-patting, if you don't mind. Hope not too many people other than my kids read this! ;)

Tomorrow we are having a party. a HUGE Party, with a capital "P". It is the centennial birthday celebration of our center - or main - building, which had its start as Washington Elementary School. We have people living at Washington Oakes who went to school there, taught there, and had one who was instrumental in turning it into what it is today. So there's a Party. The CEO of all of Leisure Care (according to the internet, 29 properties - and counting) will be there, as will the mayor of Everett. It's a REALLY big deal. They sent out a thousand hand-made invitations. Everybody who gets a paycheck from Washington Oakes has something to do with the preparation for this Party. Tuesday night, it occurred to me that we might need extra brochures. So I made up 12, plus those that were already done, so we had 20. Today the Marketing Dept. decided we needed 50. I started putting them together. Then the Front Desk (FD) Supv. asked Marketing where the info is for the Father's Day Gala. They are supposed to go out tomorrow (Friday), and we had yet to see one piece of paper for that. The gal who used to put those together has gone on to greener pastures after 7+ years there. The 2 marketing reps are up to their eyeballs with The Party, so they wanted their co-worker to make up the flyer. Only she's not too comfy on the computer. Pretty soon they brought it down for me to do, and she was going to do the brochures. Only she ended up doing something else. So . . . I put together all the brochures (they are fairly elaborate with 17 separate sheets of paper, plus the closure and 2 business cards tucked into little slits that don't open easily, all without popping the glued edge open), plus making up a flyer for the first time. Got approval from the chef, the GM, the marketing dept., ran 550 copies. Showed 80-yr. old Japanese co-worker how to fold them so we could put the mailing label on as a seal, no envelope. Hopefully they won't end up upside down, crooked, etc. like he did last time. Nurse called FD to see if we smelled something burning. (No.) No more than 10 seconds later, the emergency cord was pulled, setting off a cacophony of bells and whistles, claiming a fire in apt. 236, north building, east wing. ALL staff runs when an emergency cord is pulled. Except FD, who stays put to be Command Central. Called Fire Dept. Chaos reigned. Residents call to find out what's going on. Are we evacuating? (Not at this time.) One problematic staff member who won't SHUT UP tried to involve the FD supv. in a discourse about what was happening, why, where, when, etc. Thing is, at a time like this, it's basic info, do as told, get off the phone. Anyway, I digress. Turned out there were no flames. They think a resident put something in the microwave, and possibly mis-set it for too long (like 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds), and fell asleep. Woke up by the smoke alarm going off, and smoke so thick she could hardly breathe. Anyway, remember The Party? Can you imagine what all has been going on for 3 weeks to get ready for this? New paint. Cleaned carpets, 5 yards of bark distributed in the flower beds. Power washing the outside. Tile cleaners to clean grout. Scrubbing tile floors with a scrub brush. Replacing tile in bathrooms. On and on it goes. It's just a good thing the fire was in the north building and not the central, main building. Oh - did I mention that yesterday the south building had one of their 2 hot water tanks blow? Leaks from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor. Today, water turned off all day to replace both HUGE tanks. Good grief. Can anything more go wrong???

Anyway, I did the brochures and invitations on top of all the other things I normally do, plus a bunch of stuff I didn't mention. I worked over about 20 minutes is all. It was a good day - felt really good about all that I got accomplished. On top of that, I got some kudos from the kitchen staff last week for handling the life enhancement class in a way they appreciated - and wished the regular teacher would handle them.

It feels good to know I'm where I'm supposed to be! PTL And thanks for listening :)

WOE IS ME...

WOE IS ME… ALAS AND ALACK, I AM UNDONE!!! (Mom said I was to make this dramatic). Pestilence, plague, sack cloth and ashes; and… and… oh well - my garbage disposal died.

Now listen - that may not be a big deal to some of you who are mechanical inclined or not befuddled by electrical do-dadery. But that’s not my lot in life. The last time I was under the sink, trying to tighten the ring on the soap dispenser that is part of the sink, I almost got stuck!! No kidding…pipes, drains, cords, water lines, hoses, disposal… there just isn’t that much room under there; not for a king sized old boy like me. I couldn’t even get a hold of the soap dispenser ring. So when it came to changing the disposal I just admitted defeat. I went to Home Depot, bought one, scheduled some one to come out and install it and took it home.

That was last Friday – black Friday. They said they would be out next Friday, a week later - for a princely sum. Like they say, you never realize just how dependant you are on something until you don’t have it. Every time I stuffed something down the disposal, the non-working disposal, I had to dig it out and walk it over to the garage. Oh, that reminds me – I have to take the garbage out tonight; please don’t let me forget. Anyway I didn’t think Mom would like that stuff sitting down there until the garbage disposal changing man came out.

So… imagine my surprise when Gabe called me up asking where I keep the plumber’s putty… right, like I keep plumber’s putty on hand. If it can’t be repaired with scotch tape, duct tape or Gorilla Glue, I’m out of luck. When I got home Gabe and the old disposal out and the new one completely installed. HALLELUJAH! What a sweet deal!!!!!! I got to call up the disposal changing person cancel the appointment. The crazy thing is so quite I had to throw a carrot down there to made sure it was working…eerie.

Thanks a lot Gabe; I really appreciate what you did - it is really neat to have that taken care of (see how handy he is)!

So Refreshing!

After 2 very long days at work, I don't have to go in until 1PM today. So, no alarm! Woke up about 7, thinking "plant! plant! plant!" So I donned work clothes and out I went. The air was heavy with moisture, but I was undaunted! Monday at Wal-Mart, my first stop was in the plants, of course. And since then, this was my first opportunity to plant. By the time I'd finished - 2 hours later - it was definitely showering. I was pretty wet, but boy, did I feel good! :) The summer before last was my first year with the new yard. I went a little crazy with pots (which had been incorporated into the plan by the landscape designer, at my request). But last year was the first year I was working so many more hours, so the pots kind of fell by the wayside. I chastized myself for spending so much on pots the year before, and then not filling them last summer. Well, I've been working at WaO for over a year now, and my body has acclimated. I've really enjoyed potting up this year, in spite of the wet weather. I don't have so many fancy plants, but went with a lot of cheaper ones, which gives more color for the money. I will add a few trailers to existing pots yet, to flesh them out a bit more. And I'd like one hanging pot of begonias. My three favorites - impatiens, fuschia, and begonia - I usually hang along the back side of the house in front of the kitchen window and patio doors. One of each, and I can be happy. So, that's my story for today. Oh - one more thing, but Dad said he'd do that tonight. Check back later!

So Tired!

Well, my co-worker, the GM's dad who works most evening shifts, is in Japan this week. So I'm covering his shift, as well as doing my normal thing. It will be a 43.5-hour week for me. Not being too smart, and feeling a desperate need to take advantage of the incredible weather we had last weekend, I worked my tail off in the yard on Saturday, plus a bit on Sunday night - had some bulbs needed planting. Then added Costco and Top Foods to the list on Sunday as well. Of course I went to church too! Monday morning I hit Wal-Mart for my major grocery shopping. That appears to have given a long week a rough start! But tomorrow (Wednesday) I don't have to show up at work until 1PM, so I'll not be setting the alarm. And I just hope to get a little time in the AM to plant some of the flowers I bought at Wal-Mart - if it's not raining again! Dad's working 58 hours a week for some months, now. I don't get much overtime - they really don't like to pay overtime here! - but it all goes into the travel fund. Getting anxious to see those grandkids (and their parents ;) But it makes for tired old bodies!
Anyway, that's all I've got for today. No - one more thing. Anyone who wants to can pray that I'll get some control back on the diet. I just have not been good! :( Thanks.

New post...

Well… it’s been a week or so since the last blog, and not much has really happened. We went to Top Foods and saw a cat on the conveyer belt. As we stood in line we heard the checker holding up a cat, showing it to his co-workers and really making over it. Pat said she saw the cat on the conveyer belt of the checkout counter. I really didn’t what him handling my groceries, so we moved to the next line. The clerk was still making over the cat as the shoppers stacked up in line.

Pat has been hard at it, working in the yard. Planting, weeding, raking, cleaning up and planning.; planning on what to buy next, where to put it. I helped her when I got home from work by holding open the garbage bad so she could put in the weeds she pulled earlier. I had previously filled the yard waste container with grass. She got to use what is probably her most favorite tool, the telescoping rake. She just loves that crazy thing. Not only does the handle telescope in and out, or up and down, she can adjust the width of the span of the tines. They can be set for a full span like any rake, or reduced to span only a few inches. Normally helping her is not dangerous. But while I was holding the bag open for her, she kept swinging around with the rake at port arms and whacking me across the face. I had to stay alert!!

Saturday was a gorgeous day so we fired up the barbie for the first time this year… hamburgers. The next day we followed it up with my personal favorite, HOT DOGS. Yum-yum!! Pat is so thoughtful- she bought two kinds of dogs, reduced fat and reduced sodium (Dr. told me to cut down on salt). Unfortunately, the buns were too big for the dogs. So since I had to use two dogs per bun, I split the difference and had one reduced fat dog and one reduced sodium dog. Of course there were lots and lots of onions. Yum-yummy!

I’m growing my beard back… a good beard can hide a multitude of past sins.

What an evening...

And what a neat thing it was… tonight I had dinner with my wife Pat. You see, on Mondays and Tuesdays she works evenings so on those days we don’t see much of each other. So I decided to go to her work place tonight and join her for dinner. I have dined with her at work twice before and really enjoyed it. They have wonderful food! But it’s not just the good food; there is another reason why I love eating with her in the dining room.

It has happened each time I’ve eaten there and I was sure it would happen again. We were seated in the dining room, got our food… and I just waited for it to happen. For a while nothing happened and I began to wonder… would it? I noticed a few people looking at us, and I wondered… finally it happened. One of the residents arose, came over to us and asked if I was her husband. Pat introduced us and the lady began to tell me what a wonderful person Pat is and the terrific job she is doing. She wasn’t the only one. Later on another resident did the same and finally a third one. The last one was emphatic about how Pat added to the beauty of the place and how she helped make it such a pleasant place to live.

I know what a beautiful person and blessing she is, but I am so thankful others see it also and take the time to share. I really, really get a kick out of it!!!!

Toilets

Aaarrrggghhh. I fear I'm making myself indispensible at work. When I found a job after the church secretary job, I sure didn't expect to be plunging toilets! :( But that's what I had to do tonight. You know, it seems that when people get . . . "older", they forget how to use the toilet. Or perhaps I should say they forget exactly how to care for a toilet. We have more overflows here. For a few residents who have a recurring issue in this area, they are installing "power flush" toilets. You want to stand back when you flush or it just might suck anything too close down! I made sure I emptied my pockets before bending over it! Okay. Enough on that subject. Usually I can call one of the health and wellness gals, but, no luck in that area tonight. I was it. Aarrgghhhhh.

Mother's Day

Saturday Pat and I went with Gabe and his family to Smokey Point Church for the dedication of their children. It was very cool and Pastor Bryce had a real neat prayer for Emma and Noah! It was a real privilege to be a part of it; thanks guys!! Although, it was kind of weird for me to be in church Saturday night, without it being an extra service of our own. The service was warm, friendly and very good. The Pastor was actually preaching along the line of what our pastor is presently preaching... who we are in Christ. Actually, it was a nice way to prepare for our own worship time on Sunday.

For Mother's Day I offered to make Pat a steak dinner and provide her with new books and peaceful, quite place to read them it. But she wanted something different... a day at Molbak's. Molbak's is an up scale yuppie type nursery in Woodenville which not only sales plants and flowers, but furniture, yard art, inside/outside decorations and anything else they can convince you belongs in this category. Mom wanted to go because they expanded their "snack bar" to include soups, sandwiches, salads. lattes, quiche and the like. The line was very long, but the eating area has a big ol' huge fountain in the middle of it and tons on tropical plants all around. Pat enjoyed every bit of it. Even the standing in line... even when she found out they didn't have what we came for. Oh well, she had many other places in mind for us to go to get flowers, and we did. It was very pleasant and relaxing to be able to spend the time with her.

I realize that Aaron and Courtney were separated literally by the world, but I hope everyone else had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

Love ya all,
Dad

Ouch!

This looks nastier than it is. Yesterday at one point, I looked down and saw this. I have NO IDEA when I got it, or where. Absolutely blank. It doesn't really hurt. I can feel it every once in a while, if I'm thinking about it. It looks like it should hurt! ;)

Not much to say

Hi all

Well, I haven't been blogging because I have nothing to say. What I've had to say, I've said on my kids' blogs, and other than that, life goes on. I don't see much point in blogging just to take up space!

The video thing at church is coming along quite nicely. I've pretty much got the normal stuff down, with not too much thinking through the steps. I'm hoping that in a couple more weeks, I'll be able to relax enough at church to sing along with the congregation! I had no idea just how much goes into putting the whole service on the screen.

Oh - I got a raise at work! Yippee! Just 55 cents an hour, but it's better than having that much taken away from me! So I'm not complaining. ;) April 23 was my 1st anniversary there, hence the raise.

I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow. Lots on my plate: yardwork (if it's not raining, of course), meet with Kaydee, a pedicure for Mother's Day (yea!) and a house to clean because in 5 weeks or so, I'm having that houseful of company and I have a lot of catching up to do. Well, the list could go on and on, but now I'm posting just to be taking up space. Sorry. Y'all have a good weekend.