New Name for blog and me!

I decided it is time to change the name of my blog in case it ever becomes hugely popular so I don't get sued by Michael Jackson's estate for using the name of a Beatles' song as the name for my blog. So, Molly's Musings it will be. Yes, deep thoughts to follow...one of these days!

My other new name hasn't been chosen yet, though a few have been mentioned...Grandma, Grama, Grammie, G'ma, Nana. Oh dear, the choices are endless. The reason is precious. Clare Amelia Fye was born on October 31, 2012 to my daughter Kate Konen and her guy, Alan Fye.

As is the right of every new grandma, I can safely say that she is the most adorable baby I've seen in a little over 22 years which is when her Uncle Scott was born. I am a little partial, though.

Her name does have a history, though Kate didn't know she picked not only one, but two, names from her Grammie Lorraine's side of the family. Clare's middle name, Amelia, is also Grammie Lorraine's middle name and a big smile showed up on the old gal's face when I told her. My mom had a cousin named Clara, which was also Mom's sister Dorothy's middle name. Clare is a good choice - short and sweet like her mama's name.

So, dear little Clare, welcome to the world and enjoy being spoiled by family and friends. This grandma gig is awesome!

Little Green Bucket

To give you an idea of the mess my head is in about the sorting of 55 years of stuff at my Mom's house after her move to assisted living, I have this story to share.

This week began the quest of emptying Mom's house. On Monday, Carol, my sister-in-law, and I began the daunting task of emptying kitchen cupboards and trying to figure out what to sell, give away and throw away. One of the items pulled from a cupboard was a small minty green bucket. I didn't remember it so it was of no significance to me. The bucket ended up plunked on top of a sack of dish towels and rags. I figured I'd deal with it later and probably donate it to charity.

As the week rolled on, more and more items were moved about the kitchen as Carol carefully washed and sorted glassware, cups and dishes. My daughter Kate emptied lower cupboards of pans and bowls which ended up on the floor near the sack with the bucket on top which was being ignored in the process. She also emptied the hutch of Mom's good china along with another set of beautiful dishes that belonged to my Aunt Ceil who passed away several years ago.

After a much needed break from the chaos for a couple of days, Carol and I returned to Mom's house today to see what other treasures we could find. After she left I decided to crate up the good dishes to bring to my house. This was quite momentous in my mind because it was the end of an era for me. The end of holiday dinners at home. Now it is my turn to be caretaker of these beautiful items that made my mom and aunt so happy and that made special occasions more festive and exciting by using the "good china."

When the dishes were loaded in my car, I decided to sit for a few minutes and deal with my emotions by looking at an old scrapbook of photos of happier times with my parents and family. As I thumbed through the pages of fading photos and smiled at seeing my dad and mom when they were in their prime, I got a little melancholy. Then I turned the page and saw a group of photos from a summer afternoon in 1974 when a few of Mom's sisters were visiting our house. They'd been laughing, talking and having a few cocktails and were being quite silly. I had a camera. In one photo, Mom was dancing and I noticed she had a bucket on her head. Wait a minute! That bucket is the one on top of the sack over by the refrigerator! Then I looked at another photo. In that one, my Aunt Anne was dancing with the bucket on her head while my Aunt Dorothy were being silly right along with her.

I sat and cried. Not for a long time, just enough to let a little emotion out from years memories flooding back into my mind over the past few days. Then I went over and picked up the bucket and got my camera and took a picture of myself with the bucket on my head standing in the same spot in my Mom's kitchen where she'd danced and laughed so many years ago. I then loaded up my things and closed up the house for another day, taking the little green bucket home with me to put in MY china cabinet along with my mom's and my aunt's dishes. That plastic bucket had now become just as special to me as Lenox china.

Now you know why the process of cleaning out my mom's house has been and will continue to be one of the most bittersweet times of my life.

Molly

A Week's Vacation

I decided to take a week's vacation and start purging at Mom's house and mine. Since we both tend to keep every last rubber band and paper sack we've ever received, this will be no easy task. I definitely didn't lick my clutterbug skills off the grass. Mom's sisters were guilty, too. You just never know when you may need that do-hicky or whatchamacallit and as soon as you throw it out, you'll wish you had it. Yep, this is going to be VERY hard for me.

I heard a great suggestion on a decorating show a while back - take photos of the items you are having a hard time parting with, then it will be easier to part with the item because you can look at the photo any time to jog your memory. That is a great idea, especially with digital cameras. I don't think I'll take photos of the Mood Glo candles from the late 1960s before I toss them in the trash, but I bet there will be plenty of things I pull out of those closets that will bring back a memory and possibly a tear to my eye.

I'll post some of the photos if they're noteworthy enough to share.

Thursday, July 1 will be Mom's birthday number 96. She's excited for the day and has talked about it for weeks. Tomorrow, June 28, will be the first anniversary of her stroke. I won't bring it up to her. No need to dwell on it. She's one lucky lady to be in as good of shape as she is in, but she doesn't realize it because she can't be at home. Her left arm totally recovered, but her left leg still gives out on her. She needs to concentrate on one thing at a time these days, too - no more multi-tasking for Lorraine. That's how she fell in February. She was trying to fix her lunch and walk at the same time.

Summer has finally arrived in our area. Thanks to my darling children, my flowerbed by the front door is prettier than it has been for several years. It looks like a little English garden. I purchased two more deciduous azaleas the other day to replace some old evergreens the kids pulled out. I have my orders to help keep the weeds out and I'm doing my best. At night several solar lights come on and I enjoy them while I'm sitting here at the computer way past my bedtime playing Free Cell and checking Facebook when I should be studying HTML. My priorities are so screwed up.

I'm not sure what we'll do with Mom's house yet, but chances are it will go up for sale soon. I will be so sad to see it go - it was my Dad's little castle. Life goes on and it is time to move on. I know I can't really take care of it like it needs to be taken care of. It needs to be a home again. Right now it is house - a house with a whole bunch of stuff in it!

Our kids adorable dogs have decided that I now need to be out of bed at 5:00 a.m. to let them out every day. Duke growls in the doorway and Daisy comes over to the bed and nudges my arm with her snoot - sometimes flipping my elbow up. She's also taught Duke this procedure. We can't leave them out all night because they bark at every little noise - especially howling coyotes. I suppose lack of sleep on my part is better than upsetting our neighbors, one of whom is Bob's mom. She needs her sleep!

I must go put my camera's battery in the charger so it is ready to go. I'll take a picture of Mom's linen closet before I tear into it. She was a master organizer and really good at cramming countless items onto one shelf.

Here's to seizing the day tomorrow - and filling several trash bags! Wish me luck!!!

Molly

Holy crap - where did the last six months go?

Yea, that's a good title for a blog post when CHRISTMAS was the last time I wrote in this thing. Yup - blog slacker - that's me! And this is such good therapy, too! I could use some of that right now. Let's see - what's gone on these past six months.

• In February, Mom fell and was in the hospital a few weeks. Then in March she moved to Juniper Meadows and that is a whole post in itself.
• My mom's younger sister passed away. Mom is the last of the Hart girls. I miss them all and knew I'd have to live life without them someday. I have some awesome memories of being spoiled by all six of them. Telling Mom of Aunt Dorothy's passing was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. 
• I agreed to be superintendent of the Tole and Decorative Painting Dept. at the Nez Perce County Fair. I was told superintendents won't be able to enter exhibits this year. This may be a good thing.
• I got a letter from the Fair (see previous bullet) stating that superintendents WILL be allowed to enter exhibits. Okay - it is June and I have one project sort of started. The Fair is in September - this does not bode well.
• Another huge loss - Bob's dad passed away the end of April as a result of dementia - we lost him long before he physically left us. I was happy to help with his memorial service and to honor his life, which has given us such a good life.
• Out of sadness comes good things - had a wonderful time visiting with lots of Konen relatives this spring. I also had some great visits with Bob's mom as we adjusted to the changes in our lives that we had no control over.
• Gained weight - again (sigh). Curse those Dutch Brother's blended mochas and those frappuccinos that Starbucks had on sale a while back. My Wii Fit probably thinks I'm in a coma by now. It's been a long time since I've used it - the batteries in the balance board are surely dead from lack of use.
• I have become more addicted to NCIS reruns. Maybe if I create a Mii for the Wii Fit that looks like Dinozzo I would do some exercising. There's a thought.

Okay - I think we're up to speed now. As for June, it feels more like April. The rains are relentless and everything is so GREEN. The wheat is gorgeous, thick and tall. Of course, there's now rust to deal with from all the moisture. Fortunately there is a spray for it. Harvest looks to be a good one - now if only the prices were up. The two never seem to coincide.

Bob and I have sent our darling daughter Kate to San Diego to see the sights, her aunt and cousins for her 22nd birthday gift. She arrived there today. We're so excited for her and look forward to hearing all about the trip when she returns on her birthday next Tuesday. She has two memory cards for her camera to fill - what fun she'll have doing so.

Scott got his diesel certificate from LCSC - great job!

My 35th high school class reunion is in July. How can this be? The years are a blur.

Okay - the rain is here again. And NCIS is on. This has been fun and fairly painless. I'll post again soon.

Molly

Christmas Evening 2009

Merry Christmas evening to all. It is quiet in the house. Bob and Scott went off to bed and I'm getting in one last dose of Christmas carols - not wanting to let go of the holiday just yet. It seems that the Christmas cheer ends so abruptly each year. It must be all the months of preparation it takes these days to get ready. Then boom - it's over. When I was a kid we didn't even start to decorate until around December 15. Now I feel guilty if I don't get the tree up the day after Thanksgiving!

This year we have a real tree which is such a treat. The last real tree we put up was for Kate's first Christmas in 1988. Here is a picture of this year's tree. It was tough to decorate because it is so full and the branches aren't very strong so the heavy ornaments wouldn't work at all. Of course, the ornaments my friend Carol beads for me are the highlight of the tree decorations. Many of the other ornaments have special meaning for me so it is a trip down memory lane each year when I get out the decorations. Then there's the multitude of purple decorations I've accumulated recently - my family says enough is enough. The tree is a little crooked and is starting to lose needles. It may look like Charlie Brown's tree by New Year's Day. It served its purpose, though, to keep the cats away. They didn't like it at all. I had the artificial tree up first and they knocked it over twice before I even started decorating it, so we decided to try a real one - success!

Kate made me a lighted snowman this year out of safety pins and beads. It is a cutie. I don't know if it would photograph well so no picture.

Christmas Eve was spent at my mom's house - a treat for all of us. She is so thrilled to be back home and has thrived since returning there mid-November. We had a simple supper of Costco chicken soup and beef stew made by Gelene, Bob's mom. She and Orvelle, Bob's dad, were with us for dinner, too. Bob's dad is getting more quiet and confused, but he seemed to enjoy himself. Kate and Scott spent most of the evening teasing their Grammie Lorraine. Grandma Gelene didn't know what to think of that. She shook her head at them several times. They know they can get away with it with Grammie Lorraine.

Mom's Christmas treat was a new stuffed Dopey that I bought in Seattle in October. She laughed and laughed after she pulled him out of the gift bag. She took him to bed with her last night. He's her new best buddy. When she has a tough night and doesn't sleep well, I call her "Dopey" the next day. She even has a Dopey sweatshirt that I bought her several years ago.

Today I baked a nummy Costco prime rib roast that was pre-seasoned. It was so tender it melted in our mouths. I took some down to Mom this afternoon. I finally baked some cookies this evening. I found a recipe for wicked good vanilla bean sugar cookies. I've never used the real vanilla beans before - Costco had them so Bob and I bought a package. Then I made my favorite chocolate cookies with the new decadent cocoa powder that I ordered from Amazon.com. I got the idea from my aunt in Canada who said she'd used some for baking. That's probably why I'm up late writing this - a caffeine buzz from the cookies.

Now I have two days before returning to work to do some organizing around here if I can stay motivated in spite of the NCIS marathon tomorrow on USA. With the new year coming soon, I get inspired to start cleaning. I'm sure the feeling will go away soon though and I'll be back in my old rut. The same with the prospect of dieting - the chocolate cookies will take care of that.

I've had about enough of those Christmas carols and it is getting late. One of my resolutions is to write here more often. Now that things have settled back into a pleasant routine for Mom, I have a little more time. This year could have ended much differently, so I am feeling so blessed that she has recovered so well from her stroke. She gets frustrated with that left leg still, but not enough to do her exercises every day like she should. There's nothing wrong with her stubborn streak.

Have a wonderful weekend enjoying your presents and families. I plan to use either my new Starbucks or Dutch Brothers gift card tomorrow - or both.

One last Merry Christmas greeting to you and to all a goodnight.

Molly

Change in Destination

After touring another assisted living facility Saturday, Mom and I have decided she'll move there next week when she's done at St. Joe's Transition Unit.

The facility is called Serenity Place and is about 2 blocks from Mom's house. We watched it being built last spring by the same construction company that built our house over 20 years ago. The place is small - only 16 rooms. They have a great room with a TV and fireplace - and a kitchen that is viewable by the residents. Mom will enjoy that. Her room is small and furnished. We will take in her recliner and TV. She is anxious to go there and start taking care of herself a little to get her strength back. They took her off the oxygen today, so she's definitely on the mend.

My buddies from Seattle will be here for a few days this week. Maybe we can see how bad we all are at Beatles Rock Band. Scott wants to disappear, but I told him he'll have to teach us how to play it.

It is supposed to freeze tonight. I am so not ready for cold weather. Summer is a bit of a blur with taking care of Mom. It has been quite a year. I need to go dig out my Halloween decorations. Of course, they aren't really necessary with the "natural" cobwebs I have hanging around the corners in this place. It is spooky enough around here. I want to scream every time I walk in the front door!

Watching "Dancing With the Stars" is much more fun than housework. I'd better go see how the stars are doing this week.

Stay warm!

Molly

Autumn is in the air

I'm not ready for these cool nights yet! When I was walking to my car after visiting Mom at the hospital tonight I was wishing I had my jacket. I haven't turned on the furnace yet, but it's getting close.

Mom continues to make gradual improvement. She needs to build up her stamina. She has to stop and rest when the physical therapist takes her for a walk up and down the hall each day. Tonight she did better at eating her dinner. I feel better when she at least makes an effort. Last night she fussed and fussed about how terrible it was and didn't eat much. Of course, tonight's dinner was a chicken caesar salad so I knew there was a good chance she'd like it and she did.

We found out from the hospital social worker that Mom has an additional week of medicare benefits so she'll stay at the hospital transition unit for a few more days. I get a reprieve until next week to get her moved to Juniper Meadows. Since I'm still recovering from Fair weekend, I'm happy to have a few more days to decide what will go up there from her house - and how much. We don't want to take too many things in case she does get to go back to her house in a few months. Then again, I always over pack so why should this time be any different?

My co-worker and I rearranged our office today. It looks like we have more room in our tiny office. It was time for a change. I made it for about two years without rearranging - a record for me.

So it's "Dancing with the Stars" time again. Mom enjoys the show, so I remind her when it is on. I'm glad she'll have it to watch since baseball season is winding down. I'm having a tough time with them constantly saying that Donny Osmond is one of the "older" contestants. Okay, I'm a year older than him and I remember when he was a little kid on the Andy Williams Show. Oh dear, I feel like an antique! I know my kids will agree.

A new NCIS was on tonight, too. Life is good. Well, except for the new Macy's commercial that plays "Come Together." I could sort of handle the Target "Hello Goodbye (by)" thing, but this is just scary.

Have a happy Wednesday - it is almost October. We'll be wading through the Christmas items to find the Halloween stuff at the stores - wait - we already are!

Molly