Lunch with a Hummingbird . . .

South Park neighbor

P&D’s Pop and I usually have lunch on the back porch and today a male Hummingbird joined us! Yesterday I talked P&D’s Pop into putting a feeder on a place mat on the table across from where he usually sits and sure enough a couple of Hummingbirds found it but we were not sitting outside at the table. I knew it was only a matter of time before we would be out there and one of them would be brave enough to fly in for lunch! That really was exciting - both Grampa and I just froze while the bird was deciding if it was going to land; we only relaxed after it had finished its drink. It came back about four times! That was very cool.

I picked up my brand new hearing aids and charger yesterday. I’m hoping these work well, no glitches, because I like them. Tiffany asked if she could connect them to my iPad for me. She had never done that before so I acquiesced. She was mentoring a grad student today and they were both pleased as punch to be able to connect to the iPad. I must admit that it is pretty cool to listen to music, podcasts and Audible through my hearing aids. I should be getting an iPod in the mail today that will work the same way.

Kiddo started High School today. It’s so hard to believe that he’s so grown up; that has to mean that Grampa and I are also pretty darned grown up! We feel great and have no medical complaints. I expect it to remain that way! Our new medical insurance, Anthem Blue Cross, called today because I did some big time complaining on an email survey they sent me after I had called to ask some questions about the charges we’re getting for Out Of Network. Sunshine, yes, that’s her name, spoke with me at length and said she’s pretty sure they are not supposed to be charging us Out Of Network prices because we have no choice about which doctors we choose to go to. Everyone in our Parish is actually out of network! She will be calling me back by Friday to let me know if she is correct. That would be wonderful. I don’t want to pay the bills we’re getting unless I’m certain we owe them. Sunshine agreed!

We went to South Park today and I was surprised to get a few decent photos of a Great Egret and a Juvenile Little Blue Heron. I played with my camera almost all day!

Quote:  Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.   ____Moore

Jumping rope is not child’s play . . .

I will have to speed up my camera if I want to stop the action! (Too much of a hassle!)

Wow, I’m trying to find exercises I like for in the house. It’s too muggy for me outside. I do my stretches inside and now that I’ve found the basketball gym at North Park I can walk inside. Youngest big Kiddo is trying to help me find a small device that is not a phone so I can listen to podcasts or audible books while I walk. I don’t get bored walking outside but walking in the gym is kinda tough without some sort of distraction. I spent a good part of my hour  Friday making my brain speak in French! That was tough because I really need to talk out loud and when you use the facilities at PARDS you are only allowed to have silent devices so you don’t disturb others. There were only two other people walking with me and only for a short time but I really found it hard to dig out my French without talking out loud! I tried to describe P&D’s Pop and my beginnings when we started out moving to Moosup after living in Norwich and then East Hartford. The words did not come easily! So I think a small listening device will be perfect for me if youngest Kiddo can find something that’ll work. I did find a YouTube workout for my first jumping lesson and it was pretty good. They certainly don’t urge you to do too much - you never want to jump more than five minutes says the young woman! Not a problem - this older woman did a few jumps properly and called it quits! I do believe I’ll keep working at it but I’m afraid to go over board so I’ll just keep it simple!

Quote:  The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to earth.   ___Saadi

Not what I wanted to happen . . .

House Finches

What in tarnation! I’ve had my hearing aids since October and the rechargeable batteries and the charger are giving me fits for a second time. Oticon seemed to think that they had corrected all of the ‘minor’ problems but that is not the case. Mine are acting up and I’m sick of it. I spoke with Tiffany, we’re almost best friends by this time, and explained what was going on. She called Oticon and they are sending me a complete new set of hearing aids with a new charger. Tiffany told them that I wanted to get my money back on the special charger and batteries which seem to be causing all of the problems; I’d just use regular batteries because when the hearing aids work they really are very good! They want me to try a whole brand new set up first but they agreed to reimburse me for the special charging unit if this doesn’t work out. So that’s a plus. I’m wearing them now with plain batteries and they are fine.

Went target practicing at Bass Pro today and the goggles I bought to go over my glasses to protect my eyelids worked fine except - both sets of glasses fog up! I did shoot better and seem to be able use the sights better than I had been. After we got home P&D’s Pop drilled 18 holes in the protective chemical goggles we had bought so hopefully they won’t keep fogging up on me! Life ain’t easy when you’re 65!

Our  new Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board health insurance has been a bit of a pain so far but they did pay for my membership at the great health facility at North Park here in Denham Springs. There is an Olympic sized pool, oodles of work out contraptions, exercise classes and my favorite, an air conditioned basketball court where I can walk to my heart’s content. I walked an hour today and it felt good. I must admit I splurged when I got home and ate a Dixie cup of vanilla ice cream and four Piroulines! Heck I may have to walk again tonight!

Quote:  Want of decency is want of sense.   ____Roscommon

Extremely disappointed . . .

Shelbie - Pastel by Karen Gileau St. Jean

It was a seemingly good comfortable beginning of the day at South Park; we were there at 7 and there was even a slight breeze while the sun stayed behind some clouds so the walking was peppy and not draggy. As I walked and P&D’s Pop flew his latest model I heard sirens; charging through the park came a small lead fire truck and then a big one. I was looking for smoke but they just kept coming to where I was walking so of course I got out of the way. They stopped at the furthest pavilion where it seems a young guy had collapsed from an overdose. I think he had come to the park after he had already taken the drugs because I remember seeing him pull up to the pavilion rather fast and hurry out of the small green older truck without a shirt and grab a sweatshirt from the back of the truck and put it on. He was a thin looking young man with longish dark hair and whiskers. I didn’t think anything of it except I was surprised to see someone put on a sweatshirt! Soon after the ambulance and police arrived. Damnation - it brings me to tears to feel that in someway I was a part of the scene just by being there. It ruins my faith in humanity every time I come in close contact with evil and it is evil. The devil is stronger than ever and I want him to stay away from my bailiwick; I like my blinders.

Speaking of blinders I was also fortunate at the park because I was able to watch a couple saddle up their three year olds, a Palomino and a Red Roan, and put them through their paces. I rarely get to see horses at the park so that was a treat. The riders told me that they generally ride in the evening because it’s cooler. I’m glad I got to see them today.

Tomorrow morning should be interesting as my friend’s little girl will be staying with us for a few hours while her Mom gets ready for the new school year at the Early Learning Center. I think I may try to figure out how to get the Wii working! I haven’t used it for a few years!

Quote:  The best lightening rod for your own protection is your own spine.  __Emerson

Lots of ordinary stuff but it still ‘Wows me' . . .

There are days where I just can’t seem to get moving except if I kick myself in the buttski! That’s pretty hard to do but I do it because I know it's what I need! We’ve been going to the park almost every morning and the walking is tough because of the humidity so I don’t even carry my camera with me. The walking is really good for body and soul but I wish the water I lose sweating my way around the track and my very own walking trail would show up as pounds lost! It doesn’t but I will still keep pushing through. It’s not painful but it is so damned uncomfortable; I won’t quit because physically I feel really fine. It’s almost scary to feel so well. I really feel like the 65 I’ve spoken of before. Heck, it must be the prunes and blueberries I eat every day!

I needed some nice greeting cards and I was able to talk P&D’s Pop into a ride to Barnes&Noble in Baton Rouge with a trip to La Madeleine for a second breakfast before hitting up the bookstore. I like their card selection better than the one at Walmart or Whole Foods. I’m getting picky in my dotage. I usually read every evening from at least 9 to 11 but lately I’ve been almost falling asleep in my chair by 10:10 or so. I finally quit fighting it and go to bed only to wake up wide eyed and bushy tailed by 6am. It works out okay though because I can get my walking in before the sun gets too high in the sky.

Went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie at Théâtre Baton Rouge with P&D’s Pop and although I know theatre is not his cup of tea he was very good! I think that I may keep a list of their productions on hand and when I need to get to a théâtre to keep my sanity I’ll just hope I can grab a single last minute ticket and drive to Baton Rouge for a matinée.  I realize how much I miss Angie and all of the plays we attended at Providence Performing Arts. It’s been ten years and sometimes it feels like it was yesterday that she died and left me on my own to make new friendships. There are new people and old people in my life but there will never be another Agnès. There is a special place in our hearts and souls where we keep contact with our loved ones who have ventured to God’s heaven - thank God we knew and loved these kind, generous and at times cantankerous members of our families and our friends. 

I received an interesting email from one of my second cousins asking me to write up what I remember of my father’s brothers and sisters. I’m not a writer by any stretch of the imagination but I think I’ll give it a try; rather than email her my thoughts I may just use this crazy blog to see if I can help her out. She will also write what she remembers of them. I believe Marie is about 8 years younger than I so we should be able to come up with a few stories about our Caron Aunts and Uncles. Not sure how to go about this but I’ll kinda figure it out as I go!

Quote:  The greatest works are done by the ones. -The hundreds do not often do much - the companies never; it is the units - the single individuals, that are the power and the might. -Individual effort is, after all, the grand thing.   ___Spurgeon

Rearranging . . .

Gibbs Gardens

Sometimes ya just gotta rearrange your thinking to make life a bit smoother. At Mass Sunday our young seminarian mentioned how the Lord never said it was going to be easy to get to heaven. And there seems to be proof of that when you look around and see the chaos but if you slowly think about it you can make your own life sweeter, more comfortable, kindly and warm if you choose to enjoy the  mundane. I was rather down to start this day as I threw out emails and checked in on Facebook. There was nothing of significance that popped up. I wasn’t even tempted to like what most of my friends had posted or even what I had posted! It dawned on me that perhaps I should just go about my day and relax, appreciate every moment for what it is, a moment alive on this planet Earth where I can choose to not do “chores” but rather take deep breaths and go about my daily routines with tranquility and acceptance. So off I went in my spiffy, recently cleaned 2012 Hyundai to the Neighborhood Walmart to pick up some celery for tonight’s tuna salad, that P&D’s Pop will make later on today, some dry goods and a book of stamps. I was going to go to the self checkout but one of the ladies who was in customer service offered to get the stamps for me and also check me out. She was pleasant and sweet. I loved it. I felt like giving her a hug because I believe she is undergoing chemotherapy and she was as warm and alive as could be in spite of it. Then at the CVS I was able to use my 25% off coupon on the very expensive eye drops I use at least twice a day - saved $11 because the cashier explained that I could use it on two packages since it wasn’t on sale! Then I decided I needed a very large CC’s Mocha Decafe; the folks at the drive through were on target and made me smile with their service. So there you go, an excellent beginning to this 85 degrees cool Monday!

When we were at the park today P&D’s Pop had a mishap with the electric plane. The grass was too high and it caught the lines so he crashed. He’s in the process of fixing it now as we will need that plane to fly well in Florida. UPS just dropped off the return box for the 3G Heart Monitor. Yay! One less box in the house. Gotta finally get to today’s paper and see if I can keep my composure or if I will have to skip most sections!

Quote:  The most amiable people are those who least wound the self-love of others.  __La Bruyere

Quote: By a happy contradiction, no system of philosophy gives such a base view of human nature as that which is founded on self-love.  So sure is self-love to degrade whatever it touches.  ____Hare

And I thought I was prepared . . .

The Trail of Tears - Gibbs Gardens - Ball Ground, Georgia

I remember Ma saying, “ You know what 'thought' did? Peed in his pants.” Well I didn’t do that but something that could have been much worse! We’ve been going to Bass Pro almost every Wednesday to target practice and this past Wednesday was no exception. We always have eye and ear protection. The ejected shell casings from my Browning 22 often go flying so I generally wear long pants, high neckline and sneakers so I don’t get upset when one hits me; they’re hot and they burn! Well this time one of the shells flew above me and dropped directly down inside of my glasses. It hit my right eyelid and by the time I managed to grab my glasses with my left hand, bend my head to let the casing fall to the floor it had already burned my lid pretty good. I’m lucky it didn’t do more damage but it certainly let me know that I wasn’t wearing the right kind of eye protection! I’ll be picking up a pair of safety googles with an extension above the eyes. Wow, that was scarier after I got home and iced it. It didn’t look like much but the next day it looked awful and worse still the day after that! It’s really hard to act fast and safely when you’ve got a loaded pistol in your hand and your ear protection is holding your glasses extra tightly to your head! Oh well. I’m fine just added another scar to this beat up 65 year old body! Yes, 65, the heart surgery in 2015 made me feel 10 years younger!

Was hoping to give our son the portrait my friend Karen did of his Connecticut puppy, Shelbie, but he was out catching fish with his wife so we went to the park here in town for a good walk while the sun was hiding behind the clouds and then stopped at Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream. That felt very refreshing today. We’ve got company coming Thursday. Shelbie’s younger sister, Daytona will be with us for about five or six days while her folks go a visiting the northern grandkids. We always like to keep Daytona even though she favors P&D’s Pop over me! Still when he’s not available she looks to me for company! 

Our next flying contest will be in Glen St. Mary, Florida in September. With a beautiful name like that I expect the ride along the Gulf Coast will be tantalizing. I may need to stop often to look around!Tomorrow I will see Dr. Thompson who set me up with the heart monitor to make sure all is working as advertised! I think it is working just fine now that Medtronic has sent me the 4G device! Yay!

Quote:  Let those who would affect singularity with success first determine to be very virtuous, and they will be sure to be very singular.   _____Colton

Hot Fudge Sunday . . . I really needed that . . .

Untouched photo from Ball Ground, Georgia

Yes I really, really did. It’s been a little disconcerting between last week and today. A week ago we drove to the VA Hospital in New Orleans to see a new doctor about getting P&D’s Pop some cholesterol medicine that wouldn’t bother his stomach like all of the others do. We did really well getting there and returning after the doctor visit which also went well. He’ll start his new stuff today. We both get nervous when we have to drive into any city in Louisiana but New Orleans is the worse aggravation as of this time! The next day P&D’s Pop brought me to Lane Medical Center in Zachary to have the small heart monitor device inserted on what’s left of my chest! That also went well but I get pooped out just from the shear aggravation of all of this hardware inside of me! It worked fine at the hospital but it wouldn’t work when we got home so I ended up speaking with Medtronic about fixing the problem. Without going into the lengthy details let’s just say that the 3G Monitor they gave me would only work with the bedroom shade open half way during the night. My room is facing the road and the connection was spotty. Of course they have a brand new 4G model which they didn’t give me. That came in today. Yay! I set it up myself and it works! They’ll be sending me a mailer so I can return the 3G. Thursday we kept three year old Lucy for the morning so her Mom could help her Grandmother take care of her Uncle who was hospitalized and her Grandfather who is at home but very sick. Then on Friday we left for Canton, Georgia to take part in a Control Line Flying Contest. It was close to an 11 hour drive because of the accidents and traffic in Montgomery, Alabama and the super congested loop around Atlanta. I was fit to be hog tied if I didn’t get outside to walk off all of that sitting time so we ate at the Out Back and then found the park where the contest was to be held. That was the best part of the day. The park was beautiful with great trails for easy walking but that did not help me to sleep Friday night. Saturday morning came very slowly and I was dragging but the day at the contest went well. P&D’s Pop got First Place in Warbirds Stunt and I managed to walk myself into a good night’s sleep. Sunday was a short day of flying. Early in the morning I walked about 3 1/2 miles at the park and in the afternoon we went to  Ball Ground, Georgia to walk another 2 miles or so at Gibbs Gardens which comprises 300 acres of outstanding gardens for all seasons and Mr. Gibbs’ Manor House. After dinner we fell asleep around 7:30 so we could get up at 3:00am Eastern Standard Time and make our way home. It worked out well. We slept like logs once we were home!

But , bien sûr, life loves to throw you some curves. Chase Bank was supposed to get a new credit card to us before we left on our trip because it pays better than our present card. Of course it didn’t come on time. I had left a note on the door asking UPS not to leave any packages. And bien sûr they left the new credit cards under the mat with another package of investment stuff. We didn’t even look under the mat until we returned from breakfast today and noticed that the mat felt a little weird! There were all of our papers! Naturally I needed to speak with someone to make sure all of our points from the cards we will be closing show up on the new card. That was a disaster in the making and I will not explain it here. Let’s just say businesses do not like dealing with customers on the phone; they want to text you! Ha! Phooey! They dealt with me in person, on the phone. It only took three different people to get the job done!

I just came back from a splurge. I had to return a poster I had had framed at Michael’s because the color of one of the mats was wrong. After that I stopped to get a Hot Fudge Sunday with coffee ice cream and walnuts. I didn’t dare ask for wet nuts because I thought I might get run out of the child friendly business! Feeling much better now that I’ve had my treat. It was better than a Margarita! I can’t believe I just wrote that!

Quote:  The heart that is soonest awake to the flowers, is always the first to be  touched with the thorns.   ___Moore