The Ghost of Christmas Past FFF

 

In Sept of 2005, my dad had to move into a nursing home, suffering from advanced Parkinson's Disease and Dementia. He passed away July of 2006. During the year he was there, I spent many hours with him and all the staff and residents around him.

I fell in love with the home and the people. I retired Sept 26 of 2006 and went straight to the home and volunteered myself for 3 mornings a week, 9 to 12.

Christmas of 2006, above, I became Sandra Clause for the home until 2015.

My job was talking  to and loving the residents and also the official photographer for all events.

this included parties and dances and off-site visits to zoos and museums and parks.

I would take photos of the residents, make them into movies on CD's and then on a large screen TV we would all watch them over and over.

In 2007, new to the job of making CD movies, the Administrator said the families wanted copies of all the movies I made. I had no clue how to copy the movies.

Admin said go to room 401, Rich lives there and he will tell you how and might even copy them for you.

That visit to his room changed my life forever.

When I stepped in his room, there he sat, just like this. a twisted body, no movement except in his left arm and his head and of course his MOUTH which matched mine. 

We became Best Friends in that one visit. He not only copied all the movies for me but taught me how to do it and became my Photoshop Professor.  We spent hours and hours together.

It was a total shock to me that he could use a roller ball with only one hand and whip through his computer faster than the speed of light.

He brought laughter and joy to my life and to everyone who lived and worked in the home.

Nothing made him sad. this man who was picked up like a baby each morning and placed in his chair and lifted into bed at night. The aids that took care of him did it for LOVE not money.

Together Rich and I became Team Joy to the residents.

Every trip we took, every party we had, he and I were there together making people laugh.

That year, he invited me to meet him at the SPCA CANINE Festival, and we never missed going until the day he died. 

He left this earth Nov 8th, 2015, and remains in my heart still.

If you have a moment, scroll quickly through this link of my Life with Rich.

Rich could not hold a fork or spoon. He could feed himself at a special table, the height of his mouth. 

We laughed ourselves silly the first time I tried to put the harness on his hand that allowed a fork or spoon to be used to stab or rake food off the plate into his mouth.

I had in on backwards, not once but twice.

When we went out to eat, I fed him like a baby. Nothing bothered him, he laughed and talked and ate and made all the others at the table happy.

He had suffered from his disease his whole life, yet never complained, or whined, he was the most positive person I have ever known.

Christmas is the time of year I miss him most, because he loved Sandra Clause and she loved him.

Rich Rodgers LIFE in a wheelchair. As you scroll, be sure to click Older Post because the oldest are the best... you can see his life in photos, no need to read.

On this the day before the new Year of 2022, I wish all of you

a Year of the same Joy that Rich spread his entire life.

Happy New year from Sandra Clause and Rich of Christmas Past

Joining Yam on Final Friday Fiction, using a True Story

Tasteful Tuesday Easy Gluten Free Drop biscuits

 

For years I made Mayo Drop Biscuits, using Self-rising white flour, whole milk and Mayo. Just those 3 ingredients.  

I am now gluten, soy and lactose free and searching for a bread or biscuit that tastes good and fits my need. 

My favorite so far, keeps well in freezer, or fridge. 

The first time I baked them, I melted 4 squares of the above cheese in a small pan, and when it was sizzling, scooped it out and put the cheese on a biscuit, then tried Egg, cheese on a biscuit. 

I intedn to bake with shredded cheese in the mix before baking. This is a recipe I can play with.

My first attempt and of course I had picked up Almond flour by mistake instead of All purpose Gluten free. I lacked 1/2 cup of all purpose so added 1/2 cup of almond. Worked Well. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups gluten-free flour blend

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup of mayonnaise (gluten-free)     (I use Hellmans Organic Vegan Mayo)

1 cup almond milk      ( I used Lactaid milk)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 

In a large bowl whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then add mayonnaise and almond milk. Mix together until combined. 

Scoop up the dough with a large spoon and use a spatula to help scrape it off the spoon and onto a parchment-lined baking pan. Leave an inch or two between the biscuits. This recipe makes around 11 biscuits.

I found this recipe on Mamashire.com 

The 2nd Knee Replacement

 

Looks painful, right? 

Bob's right knee replacement this past August went really well for him, I was a wreck. This left knee went much better for me, but Bob did not do well.  Above is NORMAL, so the ugly bruise is not part of his problems. Surgery was successful and the knee is fine or will be in a few weeks. 

"Cliff Notes"

6 days before surgery, Cardiologist added RX

Within 12 hours, he had horrible hiccups

24 hours confused, dizzy, lethargic, lack of desire to move, no appetite, stopped eating.

All listed as normal, except for hiccups.

symptoms worse the day he came home.

together using hindsight, we figured out why and I called Doctor and told him we were

stopping the RX.

We did and the side effects were gone in 24 hours, he never had hiccups after we stopped the pill.

His problem now, due to mix-up by doctor office he has had NO therapy and will not until Thursday.

This past August, by the 6th day, which is today he was walking without walker and now he can barely walk. He had 3 hours of therapy in first 6 days in August.

  you have my permission to skip my bloviating version below. 

The surgery was quick and successful and as it should be with no glitches. The problem started on Dec 14th, when his Cardiologist gave him a new pill to take at night.

The next day, he started with horrible hiccups, they woke him up at night. He said this new pill makes me feel confused and dizzy. I checked side effects and confusion and dizzy was in the long list. He decided to keep taking it and see if it adjusted.

6 days after starting the new meds, he went in surgery feeling tired, no desire to do anything, loss of appetite and hiccups.

After surgery he came home and got worse, compared to recovery 4 months ago, he was much worse, could not walk well even with walker. 

On Wed we sat and with HINDSIGHT figured out the way he was feeling had started 1 week before the day he started the med.

I typed in Google Search Hiccups and Losartin..  the first 3 things that came up said Males over 60 sometimes get hiccups. his shook the bed at night enough that they woke me up.

I called the office and said, please give the Dr. a message that we are stopping the losartin because of these symptoms.  15 minutes later he called and said I have never heard of hiccups as a side effect.

I REFRAINDED from asking him did he have access to Google Search and said, We have stopped the meds, we will wait a week and if he still has the symptoms we will call for an appt.

I did not give him his 5 pm and since then he has not had hiccups once, it took 3 days for the other side effects to go away and today on Christmas Day he ate the first normal breakfast since the day he started the meds...   Christmas day he went outside, walked with walker, and is reviving quickly.

THE OTHER PROBLEM... the Dr Assistant Forgot To Schedule Us for Therapy at their facility. My first clue was the call from the hospital home health nurse wanting to set up times to come to our home.

I said no we do not want anyone coming in our house 3 times weekly, we are doing in facility. She put me on hold, called the facility and came back and said she doesn't answer, I left a message, This was at 3:30 Monday, the day of surgery. No Call,. I called left THREE messages, and by Wed was LIVID. 

NO CALL BACK. I started by calling every dept in the building and telling my story. The last person I talked to I said just forget the therapy. I know what to do, we will do it ourselves and hung up the phone.

15 minutes later the Dr Assistant called and all she said was, I hear you want to come here, we have 3 spaces available next week, I will give you the time and you pick the 2 you want.

I was no upset over her forgetting or missing it, but the fact i had no call back after 5 messages.

Now he is a week behind in therapy except for what I AM MAKING him do. He starts Tuesday with visit for evaluation on what needs to be done and actual therapy on thursday, 11 days of no therapy.

Shaker Santas Sunday Selfies

 

My Santa Shakers have proudly sat out every Christmas since 1985 when I found them in an Antique Store.

Last of the Christmas Nook Photos

Bob is doing really well, I will post a few words, HA HA, tomorrow.

The Star on the Tree

 

I had no tiny topper for the tiny tree,

Oh, where or where could a tiny star be?

The shelves at Wal-Mar were completely bare.

Nothing a star or a topper to be found there.

My brain was a whirl,

My thoughts they did swirl.

Aha, I shouted, I have an IDEA!

My Earring would be perfect if I placed it right here.

It's Christmas Even and the perfect star you can see,

The tree has a star that is beautiful, the Star was free.

This is a reminder that the STAR of Bethlehem, is also free to you and me

We wish you Christmas Peace and Joy and much happiness in the coming year.

.

Quest For Bread part 2

 

I made these Gluten free drop biscuits, and they taste ok but are made with heavy whipping cream, and if I eat one a day I can eat it, the cream is on the OK to eat list but  I must be careful. The heavy whip cream I bought is not pure cream. It has milk. Milk has lactaid.

Recipe HERE I found a zillion to think about HERE

One super easy that I am going to try next. 

A new fly in the ointment appeared the day after I did the swallow test. Heartburn. I have not had heartburn for more than 15 years, I take Omnezeprol daily and never have an issue.

I believe it was caused by the barium foods I ate for the Swallow Test.

I researched and found a list of teas that help digestion.

Ginger is at the top of heartburn; Chamomile is good also.

I forced myself to drink a cup of each after dinner to help with heartburn while sleeping. Ginger is just plain Yucky, and Chamomile taste like rotted rose petals that Beau peed on...

 NOTE! I am a coffee drinker, cut down to 2 per day. 

To make the teas more drinkable, I put one of each in the cup and put Carmel Sweet Drops in it and drink it down, because it does help. A bit of Lactaid Milk in the teas helps the taste. One week of this and I still hate it. But I hate heartburn worse. But wait, there is MORE

Thank you to Ginny from Let Your Light Shine, Ginger Gum is the winner. It works Well. I had to order it from Amazon, could not find locally. 

The good news is this post has been sitting in drafts since Nov 23rd and the heartburn IS NO MORE. YAY... The doctor changed my RX to pantoprazole, and it works great. I take it before my evening meal and GONE is he heartburn...  

Alva, isn't she lovely?

 

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. Swedish Proverb

I asked my trainer at the YMCA if I should start shadow boxing.

He answered "knock yourself out"

Alva, Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she wonderful?

Isn't she precious?

Are you singing yet?

I take my joy where I find it.

Alvas vines were getting to long, she had to be moved to another spot. She loves it on the shelf in the kitchen. In the sun she was losing leaves, now she is happy.  I only use my own photos to frame and hang on the walls. 

Ready, Set and almost Go for Monday 2nd knee

 

This photo is from Bob and the Bandits, posted in 2018. That link tells of the police chase bob got caught up in about 20 years ago.

Monday at 12:30 we walked in the hospital for Bob's pre opt testing, getting ready for  his left knee replacement, scheduled for Monday the 20th.

If you look just above the 2 police cars above, that is where we were parked for bob's PreOp appt. 

  Today we are Thankful that We dodged the bullet on a near crash. This may sound like a final Friday Fiction Story, but it is true.

Not sure how they got a google earth shot of the parking lot empty, but there it is. 

When we drove in the lot at 12:30 there was ONE spot left to park, that is the red blob to your left.  

the red dots above are US when we came out at 2 pm, the red dots show us walking towards our car. 

Two nurses stood staring and said are you parked over there? she was pointing at several police cars, about 30 nurses and security guards and we could see the roof of our car. She said someone hit 7 or 8 cars over there. The police are here.

we walked close enough to see the disaster, fearing the worst, since they were all standing around our car.  

The 5 red X's you see and the 3 across from it, were all the cars that were smashed. Every parking spot had a car, the smashed cars looked like some giant was playing a game of pool and broke the cars and they went every which a way. 

A nurse stood sobbing loudly and screaming about her car. Her car was one of the 5 red X and all those cars were totaled. A pile of smashed cars. Debris from those cars was on the ground by our rear bumper. I can't tell you the relief we felt that our car was unharmed. Also sadness for those who lost their cars.

We waited about 15 minutes, afraid to disturb the police. I finally ask a security guard to ask the police if we could leave since we had not one scratch on our car. Count us Thankful.

The Police said yes, we could leave, and I had to back out and around the debris with 50 people watching, including the police officers. 

I was shaking in my boots sandals thinking, Please Lord don't let me hit a car or a person...or a POLICE Person

We are so thankful no harm was done and so sad for the 8 people who lost their vehicles. We have no clue how it happened. but since the car that did it was apprehended and there were several police cars there, we figure it was yet another police chase that ended badly. 

UPDATE! we left the hospital with the story above... and then Wed news reported the man was drunk, arrested and charged with 11 DUI charges. 

He hit 11 cars not just the 8 we saw around us. How drunk do you have to be to hit 11 cars? The car he was in was very old and I am betting there was no insurance on it, which means the 11 cars will have no one to pay for the damage but their own insurance.

Evidently parking lot crashes are common because this is what I found when I googled images of parking lot crashes....  HERE

It All Started with A New Tree 6

 

Rushing to the closet, I dragged out the 20-year-old poinsettia candle ring and dropped it on the table and sat not a candle but my old oil lamp in it. 

Done, now there is something in every corner of the room.

Do you see Alva on the shelf? 

She is Thriving there, the perfect spot.

It all started with a new Tree 5

This is the Dog Tree, it needs attention. 

Stripped and Redone, I don't want to.

The Dog tree came pre-lit MANY years ago. 

3 dogs in the house and it went down to many times, think barking 60-pound dogs at the window.

I went to Dollar Tree and bought all tacky unbreakable plastic and paper ornaments.

it looked good in the dark, for years!

Last year the lights died. To cut them off, I would have to remove all the cheap stuff and I chose to take wired fairy lights and wrap it like a tree mummy with the lights on the outside of the ornaments.

Are you picking up the fact I hate decorating?

For now, the wrapped tree resides on the kitchen counter.

The bottom looks pretty if you can't see the top.

Cheap, unbreakable, fits in a bag, on a shelf and back out with nothing to do but plug it in.

Now it resides on the kitchen counter.

 

I backed off and thought Linda and Ginny and Annie and Ann would all agree the kitchen was to plain with nothing but a tiny tree.

I grabbed the berries that were in the vase on the kitchen table and plunked it in the bottle that Philomena's Daughter lived in until I tossed her in the trash.

As I staggered to my chair, totally stressed from all these decisions, I realized

the kitchen table had an empty vase.

OY VEY

I rushed to the closet and...........................

Thank You Tigger and F for blog fodder

My Mother Collected Frogs, seen in Prior POST. She loved all things frog.

Above is Tigger, from Tiggers Wee blog and  This is the comment from Tigger and F that gave me the idea for this post.

Tigger has left a new comment on your post "The Answer to Which leggin do I LOVE":

Oh. Sloths in PJs? Who thinks up these designs? Or does someone just go "I know - flamingoes" " oh bother done that, how about giraffes?" "No that's been done too" "I bet no one has done sloths!" "What'll we do next year?

 How about a cane toad; that'll be popular."
We do like your flamingoes tho. And F is also scathing about stripes and checks that don't match up. So you haven't got that on your own.

 I laughed long and loud at the comment about my leggins and it made me Remember my mother who had the Ultimate Collection of Frogs. 

Taking the comment How about a cane toad, to heart, as MADsnapper always does, I searched for Santa Frogs. I had a blast and hope you will too.

These Funny Santa Frogs were found on Ebay and all are for sale if you are interested. The one above is on a set of tea towels, what could be better at a Christmas Tea than frogs playing horns.

Tigger, I found no leggins with Santa Frogs, so feel free to start getting them ready for sale next year.

Two of my favorite ornaments. I would buy the bottom one for mother but have no way to get it to Heaven.

Go HERE for the time of your life and 87 Santa Frogs. You will be surprised at what they come on,

What candy does a frog like?  Lollihops

What drink does a toad love? Diet Croak

The Answer to Which leggin do I LOVE

Nov 2019

 This is the answer to the question on a prior post, Which Leggins do I love the most and which do I like the least.  

Most loved is # 1, the flamingo purchased in November 2020, in the midst of Pandemic Lock down.

Cecilia, Linda and Monica picked Flamingo as my favorite !

I love flamingo Santa, Candy Canes, Sloth Santa in that order.

Please do not click on photo and make larger to see better. UGH

Most despised was bought in Dec 2019, and here you can see why.

Yes, that is my well-known photo bombers, Bob and Big Boy. 

Yamini, Myra, Ginny, Ann , Rose and Beatrice 

all picked the HO HO stripes.

Rose even gave the Reason. My OCD doesn't like them because they don't MATCH!

also

I Never No Never wear stripes going round and round!

Why did I buy them? I did not try them ON first.

The Stripes do not match up

Stripes make legs look fatter

Stripes make point out the fact my legs are crooked

MY OFFICIAL and Oh so Ugly Walkin Leggin 

and have been approved by Beau

He could care less what I wear and I try not to think all the traffic flowing past us

Ginny, Myra, Ann, Beatrice guessed most hated

Linda guessed Most Favorite

Tigger the cats in pjs are Sloths.

HO HO HO, let me know, let me know

 

What is this? 

Let me know if you know!

Now do you know?

Let me know, let me know, let me know

Before you scroll down get your answer ready. What is this? Why is she showing this to me?

SCROLL DOWN

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For the Answer!

The answer is, it's my Christmas Leggins

Ho Ho Ho, Let me Know.

1, 2, 3, 4 all in a row.

left to right,

what a sight.

One I do not like at all. the other three I really like.

I walk the dog in the one I despise

because at early am, there are not many prying eyes. 

Three of them, I love to wear

Can you pull the answers out of the air?

Tell me which one you think I hate,

Before it becomes way too late.

Is the unloved, 1, 2, 3 or 4?

Now tell me the one I LOVE MORE.

Glamper Camper Christmas

 

You may know, photos are my hobby,

It is no shock I noticed the tree in the doctor's lobby.

there were snowmen and tiny campers and some kind of sign,

Should I walk closer with cell? Yes, I said in my mind.

As I got closer, the sign said I did it, I rang the bell. 

The tree had 3, I thought oh Well

I will find the answer on my cell.

The answer I did find

And it blew my mind.

Cancer patients ring the bell, when completing radiation,

these tiny signs meant all three patients

had hung the sign when they rung the bell.

I said a prayer that they would all do well.

It was joy to see the tiny campers,

probably decorated by Christmas Glampers.

They glittered and shined

causing happiness in my mind.

Blog Fodder, it's everywhere if you are The MADsnapper!