The Sun is Out to Warm the Earth

The sun is out to warm the earth-Spring arrives with Joy and mirth.....
That is the opening line to some one act play that I was crew on as a senior in high school.
Don't remember what play and I don't remember any other lines in it, but it is one of my favorite spring lines.
It really is not sunny out today- cloudy and raining off and on, with thunderstorms expected later. I like the rain and I love the thunderstorms (As long as we are not getting sucked up into a tornado or anything like that!) Spring in Wisconsin means plenty or stormy, scary weather. We used to hide in the basement regularly. Now, I can't get Larry down there, so if they say we should seek shelter, we head for the hallway in the center of the house. We have been pretty lucky the last couple of years and have not had too much really severe weather in our neck of the woods.
Speaking of tornadoes.....
In the late 1970 until 1993, we had a country band called The Kinfolk. We started with Martha, my older sister and her husband Frank and myself. 3 guitars and lots of harmonies. Then Frank bought an autoharp and wanted me to learn how to play base guitar. I took some lessons, but did not like it at all, so, then we talked our younger brother John into learning how to play base. He was a natural and also has a great voice, so we added more harmonies. We stared getting jobs around the area bars,as a show band. We dressed in matching outfits with fringe and rhinestones-. Mushy (Martha) either made the stuff from scratch or we bought things that we decorated with flashy trims. As we got more and more jobs people were wanting us to add a drummer so that we were more danceable. After much discussion, we asked Tom, another younger brother if he wanted to learn drums and be in the band. He said "Sure", so Frank signed him up for lessons at the music store where he was working ( we never made any money playing in the band because Frank was always talking us into buying the newest, bestest stuff from the store that he was working at) and on New Year's Eve, 4 months later, we played our first job with Tom as the drummer. He did pretty well, and only changed the beat a couple of times which not only screwed us up, but you should have seen the people on the dance floor!
So, we are fairly popular and play at all the best places (just joking- but, we did play as much as we wanted to!) and one spring, we played at a couple of bars in Fillmore, just north of West Bend. The bar we were at that night was Fillmore Junction and we had a pretty good crowd who were having a really good time. Many of the patrons at the bar were also the volunteer firemen of the town and all of a sudden, their beepers started to make those annoying sounds, and then the storm sirens started to sound. OK...what should we do? The one guy says- don't worry about it- there was a tornado spotted but it isn't near here- everything is cool.
Fine- so, we start another song and get everyone stomping and hollering- you can see the trees whipping around outside- but, they said we are fine- we are singing and all of a sudden....WOOOOF!...the entire drop ceiling got sucked down and crashed all over everyone, including us! You have never seen any one move so fast in your life! In high heals yet! I was ripping the cord out of the end of my guitar and high hurdling the monitors and debris in front of the stage and flying down the steps to the cellar before the dust had even pouffed up from the ceiling hitting the ground. Apparently, the tornado, shifted a bit and passed within a mile of Fillmore and the vacuum action pulled the ceiling down. We waited about 1/2 hour in the basement and then went up and did a land speed record pack up to get the heck out of there. There was no power, so we had to work by candle light. On the ride home, there were trees sheered off and laying like toothpicks, road signs twisted like curly cues- branches stuck into tree trunks like daggers- barns down, roofs all over. It was pretty freaky and I was really glad that we had all driven up together in the van so I didn't have to drive home alone through all that stuff.
That's the closest I ever got to being in a tornado and that was close enough for me! But...I still really like a good thunderstorm!

What Do You Think?

Last week we took in the stool sample and it came back positive, according to the Dr. who was covering for Larry's primary who was off all last week. He called at 9:00 pm-I think that I wrote about this at the time- anyhow, he said he would get in touch with Dr. Letzer of infectious diseases and have him get in touch with us.
Finally, yesterday, a girl from his office called and took all the info and then went and talked to him and called me back. He isn't worried-as long as the symptoms are not uncomfortable and worrying us. Pretty much what I thought he would say.

But now, the last few days, Larry as been exhibiting cold symptoms-runny nose, chest congestion, coughing, sneezing. With you and me, this is nothing to even really think about.You just get cold pills, orange juice and any other way you can think of to make yourself comfortable and ride it out. With Larry, I have to really pay attention and worry about-do I take him to the Doctor or not? He has way too much going on medically- and he always has fluid in his right lung, so we always have to be aware of that and prevent it from backing up more and becoming pneumonia.
He is still in bed and I am putting off getting him out of bed because then I have to evaluate whether or not we are going to the doctor's office and more than likely to the hospital from there. He sounds pretty good when he is laying there-no wheezing or rattling. That's good. So, if he has no fever and isn't coughing that is also good.
I always feel like a mother with her first baby- you worry about little stuff and don't want to run to the Doctor every time he isn't feeling right, but then again....What if I don't take him and it turns out that he was really sick?
When Katie had her boys, Sam was always doing something-he always has been a real daredevil and this started when he was born. I can't tell you the number of times he rolled his go-cart, wiped out his bike, jumped from something. The point is- he was always coming in with bruises and scrapes and owies.
So, we are in Door County and he rolls the go-cart and comes in holding his are. A. there is no "Doctor" up there- there is a clinic (finally) that has a nurse practitioner. B. Katie had no insurance. We look at each other....we look at the arm....no bone sticking out (which is always a tell-tale that it must be handled immediately , don't you think?) That is good. No swelling or bruising, he could move his fingers. I say- Let's ice it and see what happens. That day and the next, Sam was still really favoring his arm, so Katie finally took him to the clinic- You guessed it-BROKEN wrist- and Sam to this day has never let us forget that we let him languish for 2 days with a broken wrist- It was more of a crack than a break and I say, that if he wasn't always going hell bent for leather , he would not have rolled the go-cart and hurt his arm.
But, the point is, you can not run your kid in for every single bruise or scrape- and the same would be true for Larry. Although, I am leaning towards calling the Doc.
I'll keep you posted.

Fast Pitch Season

Well, Mickey's fast pitch season has stared. Almost all the games this week were postponed because of weather!
I went on Monday, because they played here in Germantown. Normally, I would have walked up to the park-it is only about 1/2 mile away, but it was about 40 degrees and the wind was whistling at about 25 mile an hour with the gusts!
So, I get there just as John and Deb pull up and we go over and sit on the bleachers. It was so cold!!! Everyone was wrapped in blankets and mittens with winter coats and hats! I felt so bad for all of the players because it is really hard to stay sharp when it is that cold. Slinger wound up loosing -in the 6th inning Germantown walked in 2 runs and Slinger never caught up again. Mickey struck out 2 times and walked once. When it is nicer, I will take more pictures of the girls playing ball.
Then Tuesdays
's game was cancelled because of the driving rain. Wednesday was cancelled because it was freezing again and Thursdays game was called because it was raining and cold! Well, at least Larry and I will have make-up games to go to. And eventually it has to warm up. Right?
My friend Sharon just called and they are off on errand running- trying to get the house ready for when Millie gets to come home this week. They are going to replace the toilet with a high one so Millie has an easier time going to the bathroom. I told her to check at Hobo before they go and buy one at full price at a regular store. That is where I got ours and saved quite a bit of money. But, you never know what they are going to have in stock because it is one of those clearance places for building supplies.
It is very cold and rainy again- with a chance for snow...... you know what I am thinking. But, I am going to Menomonee Falls tonight to see "The Pajama Game" put on by the Patio Players. We always enjoy their plays and buy season tickets to see the 3 that they put on every year. We also go to see plays at the Schauer Center in Hartford. In fact, we just saw "Men in Plaid" a couple of weeks ago. Larry is not so into plays or movies in that setting. He likes concerts- and I have taken him to a few of those- but plays...not so much.
We even took him to the Comedy club a few years ago. That was not a success. It was a family outing and we had quite a crew along. He did not think the guys were funny and was offended by a lot of the material and swearing. I do admit, the guy was pretty off base-taking about retards and handicap people. My brother Dave and his wife Deb were along for that outing and they have a daughter who has numerous mental and physical handicaps and Deb works at a group home. So, they were not too amused either. And, to top off the night, a brawl broke out between several groups of people who had too much to drink and the comic had insulted over and over. They were trying to get to the comic and maybe do bodily damage to him. When we left, the cops were arriving. You win some...you loose some.
You just never know. And besides, we all had fun being together and it has provided many great stories when we are telling tall tales at parties.

Happy Birthday to Claire!

Well, another cold, gray day....spring. Way better than snow, but....once the snow melts and you have a couple of nice days, you just get impatient to have nice weather all the time! And I don't think that it is too much to ask, to have a little nice weather every few days. Sigh....
I went to the Falls and met Katie and Colleen and Claire at the new J.C. Penny's store. It is Claire's birthday- we won't say how old- just old enough to know better! We had fun looking at all of the ugly clothes. There was not much in the whole store that I would have even considered buying. Most of the stuff looked like junk left over from my closet in the early 1970- late 1960s. It didn't look good then (As you well know when you go back and look at pictures of yourself that you thought were so cool then!) and it sure looks gacky now. And to put it on a 51 year old woman who is 25 lbs over weight-NO!
Colleen has been a good friend of ours for many, many years. I bar tended at her wedding and became fast friends with Tom and 'Leen. Tom had a heart attack about 8 years ago and passed away. Colleen was a mess for quite awhile, but is doing much better the last few years. Her main thing is -she has a hard time making decisions. She and Tom had remodeled before he died and were going to start getting new furniture, etc. So, she still wants to redo all the furniture, rugs, etc... she just can't quite make up her mind.
About 3 years ago, we talked her into painting. We painted her down stairs a creamy yellow and a light terra cotta. It is very nice. She also FINALLY got a wood floor installed with the floor heating system under it so, it keeps the room really nice and toasty without being too hot and dry. And Katie talked her into 2 areas rugs. THAT is as far as she has gotten. But, today, they stopped at Ashley Furniture and she ALMOST bought a couch and lounger. And she DID buy wall stuff and 2 lamps, so, we feel that that is at least some progress. At this rate, she could have her living room done in about 12 or 14 years. No rush.
I had to get back home to get Larry lunch, but they went to Chili's for lunch. I had a quick iced tea before I had to skeedaddle.
I talked to Biz before and she said that she is coming up in the beginning of May and we are going to paint my bedroom (I have had the paint since October, just no time to paint) and hopefully finish the ceiling in her guest room.When Biz comes up, usually, we get many projects done. And that is a good thing!
I don't know if I mentioned Millie... She is my friend Sharon's Mom(I walk with Sharon) and last week, she broke her hip. Well, she is now in rehab at Linden Grove for a week to 10 days. I love Millie! She is a hoot and at 85 still going strong. This hip thing will only slow her down for the 8 weeks of the recovery. After that, I am sure that Sharon and Tom (Her brother) will have their hands full trying to keep her from over doing! She still wants to do her spring cleaning! My spring cleaning usually consists of-taking down to curtains and airing them out, washing inside windows and wiping up the hard wood floors with a good wood conditioner (you have to after all that salt that gets dragged in all winter). That is pretty much it.
I know people who change out all their curtains and couch coverings, blankets and comforters, their china, throw rugs and other accessories for the various seasons. Way too much work for me, but they can certainly have at it!
To each their own, I always say.
But anyhow, Happy birthday Claire and Mary and Dave F. Here's looking at 'cha all!

Hot Dog! Spring is Springing!

Hot dog! It is finally getting nice! It is warmer feeling-even if the temps aren't really where they should be and the sun is out!
I was going to go work in the yard, raking up winter crud (Where does all that crud come from, anyhow?) but I stood up to fast before and now my back hurts- I didn't throw it out, but definitely threw something out of whack! So, no raking today. It is going to be really hard not to....My hands are itching to get to the rakes and clean up some of the gravel that got pushed onto the lawn...and the twigs and branches that came down...and the dead, matted grass that is all gunky looking. Maybe after lunch?
We went to Peggy's funeral on Wednesday. For being dead and in a casket she looked pretty good- relatively speaking. Joe looked OK too at his funeral, so obviously they got a different make-up person at the funeral home. Jen had a bag piper at both funerals and he was very good. Gave out lots of cards afterwards.
This time, the Derse family flew in. Well 5 of them and it was really fun to see them and talk to them. Their Dad was Peggy's brother and in the early 1970's , the whole family (9 kids) would come to Wisconsin to visit Peggy and Joe. Then, they would bring the kids out to our lake cottage-over on Big Cedar Lake- and drop most of the kids off (between the 2 families, we ranged from late teens to about 6 years old) and the adults would go do what ever they wanted, while we water skied, swam, ran, played, fished, talked, laughed. We had a blast! And always looked forward to seeing them!
Mushy and Jim sang a couple of songs at Peggy's funeral. She is just getting over a cough/cold and did a pretty good job considering. They play in a blue grass band called "Big Cedar". (Someday, I will write about the country band that we had-"The Kinfolk")
Larry really enjoyed talking to everyone again, so that was great for him. The picture above is Brother Andy(As a Union Soldier and Mary Derse at Magic Mountain sometime in the mid 1970s.
We also went to see the infectious disease Dr. on April 1. He was pleased that Larry is doing so well and prescribed an oral suspension medication that is used to lower cholesterol 2 times a day. He says that they have found that it also binds up left over c-diff spores and isn't as hard on you as those hard core anti-biotics. He has been feeling so much better-overall- in the last week or so. But, last night we had a oh-oh run for the bathroom that didn't quite make it to the toilet. I really don't think it is the c-diff, every loose stool he has from now on just can't be c-diff! But I will really be paying attention.
Well, I am off to dig out rakes and the hoses and turn on the outside faucet! YAY!