VTB: Visiting the Blog

I started blogging for two reasons: to communicate better with my friends and family and because I needed the creative outlet. I stopped because I got out of the habit. I have been feeling the need to blog again. At this point it is not a lifelong commitment or even a 2010 New Year's resolution, but here I am.

It doesn't seem possible that Mom has been in Port Orange for 8 months. This was definitely a good decision. Mom had the second surgery on her wrist, removing all the hardware that was originally put there and she has regained as much use as possible. Adjusting to apartment life was made much more difficult by a troubled upstairs neighbor who has now been evicted. Of course, Mom easily made friends at First Baptist and is now teaching a Sunday School class. She has continued to travel, making numerous trips to Vero and Palm Beach Gardens. Her big trip this year was a Christmastime trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown. On the same trip she spent time with friends and family. Perhaps our biggest "adventure" has taken place since she has been home. Mom had not been feeling like herself since she returned from her Christmas trip. She had a dry cough and no energy. Believing that she simply needed a course of strong antibiotics, she made an appointment with her general practitioner. He discovered she had an irregular heartbeat, sent her to the ER for a work up and warned her to be prepared to be admitted. Monitors revealed that her heart rate was 130 (normal is 70-80) She was treated with medication and, at first, did not respond. After a a second medication which did lower her heart rate, she was discharged. Fortunately, she also left with an appointment with a cardiologist for the next day. That was Monday, December 21. At 2:30 AM on Tuesday, December 22, Mom called to say that she was worse and felt she needed to call 911 and go to the ER. I offered to drive her - the hospital is basically "across the street" from her apartment complex. I am still debating that decision. She was in the ER for about 7 hours and they contacted her cardiologist at 4AM. he saw her in ICU at about 8AM and because the meds still were not doing the job. she was scheduled to move to Halifax Main campus for a test that checked for clots and then shocks the heart back to a normal rhythm. She got her ambulance ride but did not have to have the test. The meds finally did their job and her heart converted back to a normal rhythm. She was discharged by mid afternoon. I spent the night with her that night. She has gradually regained her "perkiness."

Which One Did She Choose?

DeDe heard back from the realtor for the Villagio that there was a three bedroom, two bath condo available. Although much like apartment living,this choice provded a maintenance free lifestyle. DeDe would have to do some downsizing and rent a storage unit while waiting for a garage to become available on the property.

Choice number two is the house on Crown Lane. DeDe would have her hands full caring for the house and yard this size but the rent was reasonable, the location perfect, and she could move right in with storage space to spare.

The lovely townhouse in Indigo Lakes was the newest and cleanest option but it was also the most expensive and the farthest from her daughter. Any adventure very far from home would involve high traffic roads.

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!

DeDe chose the Villagio Condominium. Let the moving begin!

Two More Choices for Consideration

We contacted a realtor only to learn he had nothing available in our "neighborhood of choice." He did, however, offer us a Port Orange alternative. The three bedroom, two bath house on a corner lot had a formal living room, dining room, family room, porch and a two car garage. I could never get over the feeling that the house and yard were too big but the rent was reasonable, the neighorhood attractive and the location close my house, the post office, the bank, Walmart and PUBLIX. It seemed like the scale was tipping heavily on the "pro" side when weighed against the cons.

Wednesday morning at work Kathy Smith mentioned that a "For Rent" sign had gone up in her neighborhood. These are adorable 2 car garage town homes with lawn maintenance included. This particular address had bedrooms and 2 baths, a glassed in airconditioned porch, an eat in kichen

Armadillo Research

Ben helped me write this: Ben's family has an armadillo in their yard and they are angry. The family brought in a armadillo trapper. Mommy let Ben come home from school and watch the armadillo trapper. Ben checks the traps every morning and every night. Last night there was a squirrel in one of the traps so Ben and Gwen let it out. We studied the armadillo and learned these fun facts: Nine banded armadillos live in Florida, three banded armadillos live in Brazil. Three banded armadillos are the only ones that can roll themselves into a ball. Armadillos like to swim, and they are very good at it. They have a strong dog paddle, and can even go quite a distance underwater, walking along the bottom of streams and ponds. They can hold their breath for four to six minutes at a time. When they need to cross larger bodies of water, they swim across. Because their heavy shell makes it hard for them to float, they gulp air into their intestines to make them more buoyant. Armadillos get run over by cars so often that they have earned the nickname of "Texas Speed bumps." Three reasons. First, armadillos will eat roadkill. Animals that eat roadkill often become roadkill themselves, because they are on the road more often than other animals are. Second, armadillos are nocturnal. It is hard to see animals by the side of the road at night, so it is harder for motorists to avoid hitting them. Third, armadillos jump up in the air when they feel threatened. This often works to startle a predator, but against an automobile it doesn’t work; they just end up jumping right into the front or underside of the car, with disastrous results.

https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/facts.html

I thought this was fun to investigate with Ben and is an amazing example of God's handiwork.

Prospects in Port Orange

Finally, a property under consideration in Port Orange! Villagio on the Lakes is located in the center of Port Orange with easy access to shopping, banks, and restaurants. The condo is inside a gated community with screened porch, heated pool, and party room. DeDe's daughter is about three minutes away. After seeing a three bedroom with the realtor, DeDe was hopeful she would not have to downsize as much as she had first thought. However, it is unlikely that a three bedroom is available on the first floor. A two bedroom condo combined with a garage/storage unit would also provide the space DeDe needs. The tough part of this selection is waiting to find out which units will be vacated by Embry Riddle students.

Not in the Running

The second possibility that caught DeDe's eye is a delightful peachy pink house on the river. She even tested the the circular driveway making sure that she could pull back into Beach Street traffic with ease. Again, the drawback on this house is the distance, it is even further north than the apartment. DeDe wrote down the information off the sign outside and called the realtor. She would have to wait for the realtor to get in touch with the homeowner.

Meanwhile, the realtor suggested another address as a possibility. This residence, a house, was in DeDe's old Ormond Beach stomping ground and only a stone's throw from her good friend, Judy. But the distance from her daughter is another story. This was the northern most address. Truthfully, 11 Brookside Dr was never really in the running . The yard was natural and leafy.

House Hunters on DeDeTV

Today we will feature a vivacious senior who is relocating to be closer to family. DeAda Ann Francey, who we all know as "DeDe" made a quick trip up the east coast of Florida to see her daughter's latest home improvements, visit friends, and check out possibilities for relocating to the city of Daytona Beach. DeDe is no stranger to the Daytona Beach area, having lived there with her husband and 4 young children for 5 years. She lives an active lifestyle, busy with church activities and entertaining. Her new residence can be either an apartment or a home. Two bedrooms are a must, a third bedroom or a garage would be desirable.

The prospecting trip to Daytona was made without a plan but not without a prayer. DeDe headed straight to Ormond Beach to see her dear friend, Judy Dick. On the way, she spotted two riverfront possibilities.

The first potential residence is an upstairs apartment over a riverside home. DeDe loves the idea of drinking her morning coffee while watching the sun rise over the river. The house has its own dock across the street. The apartment is very spacious, two bedrooms, two baths. It has a large living/dining area which will allow DeDe to continue to entertain. This is obviously an older home. One of the bathrooms has mint green tile on the floor and walls. The kitchen cabinets have slats, painted silver. The landlady is friendly and welcoming, leaving us to explore on our own. DeDe is concerned about finding a place for her orchids and discovers a large backyard complete with a well stocked koi pond and an orchid shed. Perhaps the landlady is a kindred spirit. The rent is very reasonable. While the idea of this spacious waterfront property is inviting, there is an overwhelming negative to consider. The entrance is through the garage and up a steep set of outside stairs. It is unattractive and and a little hazardous to maneuver. The other consideration is the distance between Ormond and Port Orange where DeDe's daughter lives. The Ormond apartment is almost the the Granada Bridge, easily in vew from the apartment dock.

The apartment is the entire second floor of the house. All the upstairs windows!

The dock (pictured above) The open garage door and the apartment entrance beside it (pictured below.)

This view (below) is from across the street and shows the apartments second floor entrance door. The garage roof is accessible but covered with loose rocky gravel.

This is more of the view across the river. Can you imagine the sunrise?

There is a small riverside park just yards from the apartment. This picture also shows how close the apartment is to the Granada Bridge.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Showers of blessing

The ladies of FBC do know how to give a delightful baby shower. This one was no exception. it was at 2 pm on Sunday, January 31, for Jennifer and expected baby, Ellie Kate. The ladies brought scrumptious desserts. I mean they out did themselves. There were a few savory items; a Greek cheeseball and Mexican Bean dip. A fresh fruit platter, coffee, coffee punch, and an adorable cake rounded out the menu. Oh, don't you love the diaper cake? They're easy to make!

When all the gifts were open, Dianne introduced Jennifer's mother in law and her step grandmother. She went on to say that although her mother and father could not there (they are deceased) she wanted to give Ellie Kate something from them. Dianne presented Jennifer with baby dresses that were made for Dianne and her sister Joann. She also had several baby outfits that she herself had made for Jennifer. Finally, Diane presented Jennifer with a cradle lovingly crafted for her by her grandfather. Happy expectant grandparents had it refinished and Dianne made all the bedding.

We always have a devotional at our showers. Today, five different women read prayer letters written to Ellie Kate. The letters were directed at different times in her life; her first year, preschool, grade school, college and college graduation.

Dinner Conversation, or maybe, not...

Five year old "Ben" chose a drumstick kids meal for supper. He was uncharacteristically excited about the real live chicken drumsticks included with the meal. So was Rocky, waiting, expectantly, under the table. Then Ben dropped a chicken bone. Almost instantly, Rocky, generally more persistent than Rambo, was at the doggy door with the chicken bone in his mouth. Since he responds to loud sharp commands, I was able to stop him by shrieking “ROCKY STOP” at the top of my lungs. Risking life and limb, I tried to remove the bone from between Rocky’s clenched teeth. His teeth were so tightly clamped that I snapped the bone in two. With three gross gulping sounds and no possibility of tasting the meat, the large end of the chicken bone went down Rocky’s throat, complete with jagged edge. Ben provided some unintentional comic relief waving his second drumstick and saying, “It’s alright, I have another one.” (Did he think I wanted the drumstick back so he could eat it?) I called Ben’s mom so tell her what happened and to find out what I should do. She called her vet and then called me back. I was to feed Rocky as much as he would eat. I gave him the rest of the broccoli off my plate and then let him lick Ben’s plate clean. After that he ate three bowls of dog food.

The next morning, Mom took Rocky to the vet for x-rays. He said “whoever fed him did an excellent job” He could barely see the bone. Now it was just a matter of waiting and watching. Because the parents were traveling for a few days , that fell to me. I was to report Rocky’s progress to the vet on Monday. Fortunately, Rocky seemed totally unaffected. This was a great relief.

I did think about what I could have done differently that night. Ben drops food. The dogs wait under the table expectantly. This happens all the time. What was different about that night was that the food was hazardous to the dogs. Next time Ben has a meal that is dangerous, I will put the puppies in mom’s office. It’s now two weeks later and Rocky is just fine. Whew!

Level 5 Racing at the Rolex 24

Note: This post is the best example of all I have to learn about the mechanics of blogging. I am sure there is an easier way. Adding pictures is easy. Typing text is a breeze. Placing pictures and text together in the same post, uh, not so much. Sorry that the comments are nowhere near the right pictures. Got some learnin' to do!


Having lived in Daytona Beach for the past 26 years, one would think I'd be a racing fan. Truth is, until the Hyatt's (Nascar employees and good friends)took me to inside the Rolex 24 last year, the closest I had been to a race is to drive on International Speedway Blvd. Holly Hyatt's access behind the scenes allowed me find my brother Terry with his previous team, Crawford Racing.

I am just learning more about what Terry does for the team but it is exciting to see pictures of him at work. Level 5 Racing not only finished the Rolex 24, but they finished 9th in their class (Daytona Prototype) and 19th overall.

The race was run in honor of Eddie Cademartori, the 27 year old lead technician lost to the team in December 2008, after a fatal assault in Madison, Wisconsin.

The man in the background of this picture is driver and team owner, Scott Tucker.

Christopher Bouchet, another of the team's three drivers, actually won the Rolex 24 in 1995.

My one experience with the race helped me understand why the spectators keep coming back. The cars are impressive and the pace is exciting.

While tourists and locals alike enjoy the beautiful daytime weather, the night time hours of the race have their own beauty

These last six pictures are of Terry at work. There can only be four of the crew over the pit wall at any one time. If you are counting, that doesn't include the driver helper and the guy in the back holding the fire extinguisher. It also does not include the race official that seems to be sauntering by. The rest of the crew is pressed against the pit wall anxious to help in any way they can. (I wonder when and where you practice pit stops?) Terry refuels the car. In the pictures from the front of the car, you can only see a leg or a little bit of helmet. The pictures taken from the back of the car show Terry hard at work. He is fully covered in a fire suit, so you'll have to take my word for it.

There's a Doberman on the Duvet!

On January 1, 2009, I started a three day stay with Lexie and, uh, Schnitzer...or something like that. Lexie and I are old friends. I have always been drawn to large, short-haired dogs. Lexie has one ear that refuses to stand up no matter how alert or happy she is. It's very endearing.

Lexie likes to sit right next to you and put her head on your lap. I let her but she kept swiping my arm with her paw. Kind of like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeyXq6VY3dg

A Working Week

Back before Thanksgiving, I made the commitment to take two days of vacation (December 29 & 30) to provide daytime childcare for 1 year old "E." Both his parents work and the grandparents who normally provide his childcare were traveling to see other grandchildren. I arrived both days at 8:30 AM to find a happy, busy boy on the verge of walking. (He actually took nine steps in the evening between my two days.) He was absolutlely delightful, so easy to play with, feed, and put down for his scheduled naps. I ALMOST felt guilty getting paid.

What do babysitters/pet sitters get paid these days? I struggle with pricing.

So, I'm scheduled to babysit New Year's Eve for my regular family when they come up a proposal: We're having a party and we don't want anyone to not come because they can't get a baysitter. Would you provide childcare for the party? Each family will pay you individually. We are encouraging everyone to find their own childcare but if you are willing the children can come here. You will have at least one child (ours) but possibly as many as NINE.

I ended up with six children; youngest, 4 - oldest, 9. The girls played in the guest bedroom and the boys played in Ben's bedroom. I sat in the hall between the two, with one eye watching the girls and the other eye watching the boys. I am sure I resembled on of those roly-eyed lizards. I brought crafts for the kids to do but that really didn't catch on. Everyone played well together and there was not even an occasion for me to threaten a time-out.

At 10 PM, the parents took over and the children were asked to lay down in their room. I was invited to join the grown up party. At midnight we all (kids, too) banged pots and pans together on the front porch.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Christmas Week

I've gotten things a little out of order but suffice it to say that I stuffed an activity in to every corner of Christmas. December 19 was the Senior Adult Joy Fellowship and it was very well attended. December 20 was the party at the Riviera and December 21 was another of my favorite Christmas parties: the Bryson's open house. They host this lovely party so graciously that it just makes you feel like family. There's always good food, including a coffee bar, dessert table and kid friendly snacks

My boss was now gone on vacation and I tried to concentrate on getting the masses of clutter and paperwork out of my office. (Doesn't everybody have a bottle of chocolate syrup on their desk?) We had a candlelight service on Christmas Eve and we provide nursery for birth to three years old. My car was already packed so that I could head to my sister's house immediately after the service. Although we talk on the phone almost every day, it was very good to see her. She made lasagna for our Christmas dinner and I contributed salad and bread. We arrived at Mom's house around 10 AM on Christmas Day, expecting that Mom would not let us in the door before she put us to work on projects that she could not accomplish with her arm broken. It was fun to come to her rescue. I have no pictures of Christmas Day. We returned to Carol's late Christmas night and after a good night's rest, Dennis gave me the gift of new brake pads and an oil change - just what I always wanted. I returned to Daytona later that evening because I had an overnight babysitting job the following day. "Ben" and I were scheduled to fight some bad aliens beginning at 12 noon on the 27th. In between the intergalactic encounters we managed to go to the public library and get a pizza from Little Caesars.

My Favorite Christmas Parties

For the past, hmmm, six(?) years it has been a part of my Christmas season to help Arlene with the food for her open house for FBC preschool workers and staff. Everything is made from scratch. At first we studied Southern Living books and magazines to find unique yet simple recipes but we have settled on 7 or 8 favorites through the years. Preparation of the menu begins with a trip to Walmart. Good thing I enjoy food shopping!

Next, I organize ingredients and make a list for another trip to Walmart, besides the last minute runs to Publix(peppermint ice cream and coffee ice cream) and Gaff's Meat Market (ham loaf).
Three years ago (or was that last year?) I made my first pumpkin rolls. We forgot they were in the refrigerator so they were not served They've been a big hit ever since.

Punch

Peppermint Eggnog Punch(with gingerale) and the famous Coffee Punch. Yummy!

Stuffed Mushrooms (a personal favorite) These are an easy do-ahead and then they can bake at the last minute.

Mini Quiche We've always had a (made from scratch) mini quiche on the menu. We've made crust with everything from layered biscuits to circles cut from sour dough bread. Last year I found a crustless recipe but it was a little bland. This year, crustless and tasty! Hot Cheese Dip Baked for two hours, inside a hollowed round of white mountain bread this cheesy beef dip with chilies is irresistible! And in the crockpot, Ham Balls. Oven baked in a sweetened tomato sauce, we can do these ahead and keep them in the crockpot. I'm missing a few items like cranberry horseradish sauce over cream cheese and mini ham and swiss sandwiches but we'll save those for another post. Arlene expertly covered the sweets by making the best peanut butter balls as well as assorted cookies and bars.

And what is a party, after all without friends to help you consume all the goodies. It was, again, a lovely party and a very special part of my Christmas.