Thanks for the "I Love Your Blog" Award!

Thanks, Ann, Chica and Pumuckl, for this nice award!

Also heartwarming awards have rules, so here they come:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

Here's the blogs I love reading that I will pass on this award to:

1) Monique Renae at Blogging More
I like this one because she shares her personal experiences in such a fun way. She has a wonderful sense of humor.

2) Humane Blogging Tips This blog has been very helpful to me concerning blogging and I've learned a lot from it.

3) Life With Kim
This is a popular personal blog that I always enjoy reading because it is about simple everyday things, similar to my personal blog but without all the pictures.

4) Adventures from a Future Crazy Cat Lady I like this one because of all the cat information it gives.

5) Memories of Our Pets
I found this one through link referral and although it's relatively new, My Moe Cat is included and I plan to add my dad's cats shortly. It's a nice memorial site for pets and is free!

6) 2+2=9 I enjoy reading this one because it's so informative. It's written by two moms who between them have nine children, all ages and there is just a ton of good ideas and suggestions about raising kids of all ages on here.

7) Live Life 365 This is one written by a man (most I find are written by women), which is both humorous and interesting. I really enjoy reading this one because it's like talking to a friend. He misses his hair and wrote a song about it! How funny is that!!

My Wedding Day

photo by Mike Solomon 8/30/97 at the Brooklyn Christian & Missionary Alliance Church
Eleven years ago, I married Gerard. Both my mom and dad were happy I found a good man. My mom's health was beginning to fail and she didn't get out much, but she was able to make it to my wedding. Knowing how my dad hated to dress up, I told him that it was okay with me if he didn't want to wear a tuxedo. Dad was relieved at this and looked very nice in his suit. That morning we loaded up the car and when we were ready to go, dad couldn't find his keys. I said he could just use mine because we were already later than mom and I wanted to be, but he insisted he needed to find his. It was kind of funny and it didn't take him too long to find them. He just forgot which pocket he put them in!

Attention Entrecard Users!

There is now a place where you can find blogs by Christians. See that "Christian Carders" button right under my Entrecard Blog on the sidebar? Just click on it and it will take you to Quiver Full Family where you can find out how to join and see the list of Christians at Entrecard. Pretty cool, huh? It's a nice, easy way for us to support one another by visiting their blogs. Not all of us have "spiritual" blogs so aren't in that particular category. What a great way to make more Christian friends!

Poop Bags From The Cleveland PLAIN DEALER

Having as many as 6 cats in his house at one time and as few as 3 during his old age, my dad had a lot of litter boxes to clean out. Because he wasn't very steady on his feet when he was in his later 80s, he didn't take the poop out every day, but did clean the litter boxes each day putting the droppings into the long plastic bags that the newspaper came in. These he placed in a can and it worked good! Each week he would collect them to take them out for the garbage pickup.

Blackie, Timi, Striper


Sweet Thing, Sylvester, Softie

Even Junk Mail Has a Purpose

Harry was very much the pack rat. He saved everything, even junk mail! Yes, he found a use for it too. I don't remember him saving it when we were young although he may have and I just did know it. When he got to be a senior citizen, he got some of those big clips from the office supply store and tore his junk mail in thirds or halves depending on the size and used the back as scratch paper. He would clip a pile together and have a nice little scratch pad. (No wonder he ran out of time in his day doing all these necessary things!) I thought it was pretty smart of him actually since he used it for writing down what he ate every day. Little did I realize how many he had until after he died and I was cleaning out his house. When I opened up the back room closet, he had a whole big supply hanging on the door!

Giraffe Note Holder Craft (Writer's Workshop)

Harry used to help me with craft ideas for Vacation Bible School and Hobby Club at church. The giraffe note holder is one that I even use at work. It just has a square block of wood on the bottom for a stand, a dowel inserted into the middle of it and a block of wood with a clothespin connected to the top. Harry cut out all the parts and the children just painted it. Later, Harry cut out a whole body that looked like a giraffe and used a piece of brown yarn for a tail. It makes a great holder for a paper I'm typing from at the computer.

This is a Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: to share a craft idea.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Harry's To Do List

When my dad got into his late 80s and was put on more medication, it got to be a bit overwhelming for him. Of course, he was supposed to take the different medications near the same time every day (which didn't happen). I made the following "To Do" list for him so he could have a set schedule to stick to which he tried to follow, but would fall asleep during the day and then get behind.

DAILY SCHEDULE (rev. 1/11/07)

MORNING (4:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.):
1. Change shirt or pants on days you wake up way early (before 4:30 a.m.)
[THIS HE CROSSED OFF BECAUSE IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG--He slept in his clothes to save him time. ]
2. Levothyroxine take on empty stomach every day first thing with lots of water (about 30 minutes before breakfast)
3. Wash up (if hungry, do after breakfast)
4. Test blood sugar (Insulin if over 150)
5. Eat Breakfast & Metformin
6. Chew Centrum while putting lotion on legs-could do after lunch if running late—very important!!!!!!
7. Plain Dealer & mail-can get later if running late
[HE COULD HAVE JUST LET ME BRING IT IN WHEN I CAME BY BEFORE WORK, BUT HE SELDOM DID]
8. Feed outdoor cats.

LUNCH TIME (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
8. Test blood sugar (Insulin if over 150)
9. Eat Lunch & Iron slow release pill
10. visit cats upstairs (only if strong enough)--if running late or tired, skip cats
11. Free time (read mail, do whatever)

SUPPER TIME (4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.)
11. Test blood sugar (Insulin if over 150)
12. If over 99 take Metformin
13. eat Supper

BED TIME (9:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.)

As you can see he really didn't have much time to do anything. He found this frustrating and so often would have days where he didn't accomplish much. Everything he did took very long. Although I added the times for him, he pretty much ignored them. Sometimes he wouldn't get to bed until 11:00 p.m. Often supper time and bed time ran together. Once he got off Toprol, he didn't fall asleep as much during the day. That made him drowsy all the time.

See Organizing Tip of Week 9--To Do List.

George Carlin on Aging

This was in an email. I think it's so good about aging that I want to share it with you. My dad died at age 89 and was active to his dying day.

George Carlin passed away at age 71 on June 22nd 2008 his advice on age is priceless George Carlin on age. (Absolutely Brilliant).

George Carlin's Views on Aging Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five!

That's the key You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could b e 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life .. . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more a bout the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

Thanks for the Award, Kim!

I was very surprised when I received a comment on this blog from Kim over at Life's Like That telling me that she was passing me this wonderful award. So thank you Kim for this wonderful award.

I tried to pick the blogs that my dad would really like so naturally, the cat ones immediately came to my mind. Here they are:

1. The Gang
2. Grr, Midnight and Cocoa
3. Crews' Views
4. Daisy, the Curly Cat
5. House Panthers
6. Jazmin Personified
7. Angus Mhor

According to the custom the award may be passed on to up to seven blogs. The rules for the Brillante Weblog Award are as follows:

l. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.
2. Add a link to the person who you received the award from.
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
4. Then add their links to your blog.
5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on to in the comments section of their blog.

I hope you enjoy your awards ladies. I really do enjoy.

Harry's Top Six Problems Related to Diabetes

My dad was diagnosed with diabetes very early in his life when he went for his army physical. He never mentioned it to anyone because he never noticed any symptoms and didn't have any problems. He ate pie, cookies and even ice cream for breakfast some days! It wasn't until he was into his 70s when he started taking medication to control it. He was only on insulin the last year of his life.

At that point here are the top six issues he encountered:

1. Kidney trouble. This I'd say was the most inconvenient. His kidneys became weak and he didn't get much warning to get to the bathroom. Although he wore incontinence pads, he quit going to church and like going anywhere for long. He wanted to be close to a bathroom. I'm amazed he was able to go to his doctor appointments without a problem because we always spent several hours waiting there. Often, Gerard and I would invite him to come to the zoo with us because we thought the fresh air would do him good and I knew he liked animals so. I told him we could push him around in one of the wheelchairs they have for rental at the zoo and we wouldn't stay long. We'd just do one area and leave but he didn't want to chance it. He never was adventurous, always on the cautious side but it would have been a nice outing. I wish we could have convinced him to come.

2. Finding a finger to give enough blood. I was so proud of dad for being able to give himself his insulin shots. It took him a long time to fuss with it because of his poor eyesight and arthritic fingers, but he was determined to manage on his own! He didn't want anyone coming in to help him and certainly didn't want to go into assisted living. He did manage on his own, but it was very difficult for him. Some days he couldn't get enough blood for his sugar test out of the finger he poked and would have to poke another one.

3. Seeing where his veins were so he didn't poke it. His other problem with giving himself the insulin shots was not to hit a vein. He couldn't always tell exactly where they were but God must have been helping him because he always managed to do it all right.

4. Eating the same time each day. This seems easy enough, but not if you fall asleep during the day for various lengths of time. While dad was on Toprol it would make him very drowsy and he couldn't help falling asleep for extended periods during the day. Sometimes he'd sleep until 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and even later on occasion. Then he'd be having supper late into the evening those days. Timers or alarm clocks wouldn't work to wake him up because he wouldn't hear them. He always was a sound sleeper and with his hearing loss, he just had to pay attention to the clock to know what time it was. The Mornings were the same way. He generally would get up anywhere between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. so his breakfast time also varied. He'd try to stay on schedule, but if he didn't, his attitude was oh well.

5. Special big clompy shoes. He also had to wear special shoes that were very clunky to keep his feet well protected. I found some at a special store nearby that he was just thrilled with!

6. Very weak legs, poor balance. Near the end of his life, Harry's legs became very weak. Usually, he would move them around a little first to get the circulation going before he tried to stand up. Some days, he even quit using his walker and just pushed himself around in a wheelchair. That's when I knew his legs were really bad.

For a related article on how to enjoy hiking with diabetes, see:
Hiking With Diabetes at Outdoor Recreation Activities.blogspot.com

Creative Writing Tips

If you'd like to become a writer, here is a site that can help you.

Find Creative Writing Tips / Creative Writing Help / Creative Writing Blog / Writing Tips and Help / Writing Help Blog at Cute Writing.

Grants Gallery Review

In viewing blogs today, I found another review of my book! It always makes me feel good when I read nice reviews about it, especially from people I don't know. Check it out at Savannah's blog, Grants Gallery. Thanks, Savannah!