Christmas in July

Since I got cute little dollies for Christmas

or had two babies at Christmastime,

I can't remember being so excited about anything

as getting our yard covered with grass.

We've been a year without grass

since it got poisoned with dandelion and tree killer.

The dandelions and trees came back with a vengeance

but not the grass.

I want to go out and roll in it and lounge

and keel over if I could. 

Oh, it is wonderful; wonderful to me.

Christmas in July.

T The truck carrying the sod.

Someone left a card on the door.
A week or so later, DeRay called them.
They came in 20 minutes
with four men ready to work.
DeRay thought they were Mexicans;
he told them he didn't know Spanish.
They were from Guatemala
and spoke Mayan.

 

WARNING

 Swimming Makes You Fat

How do I know?

This is the swimming suit I was wearing the last time I went swimming before everything closed down because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. I didn't get in the pool for 15 months and this is how my swimming suit fit when I tried it on, proving that swimming makes one fat. 

While not swimming makes one slimmer and I got to try out a new suit I couldn't fit in before.

Convinced?

How to Outwit a Pandemic

During the more-than-a-year shutdown

because of the Covid-19 Pandemic,

Brent planned acceptable and safe excursions

to the bird refuges:

Farmington Bay, Layton, and Bear River.

During February when the eagles were migrating,

we went out almost everyday, 

never feeling disappointed.

It wasn't just the pandemic that kept us homebound.

DeRay had falls that landed him in Emergency twice,

once for three weeks

including rehab.

Then Amy had a series of emergency room visits,

including major surgery, infections, stints--

anything that could go wrong went wrong--

culminating in a blood clot on her lungs.

Yes, Pulmonary Thrombosis.

She missed the last 4-5 months of the school year.

Brent moved downstairs to be available

for middle-of-the night Emergency visits.

(His wife, Jan, back in Missouri, had her

share of Emergency room visits too.

She and their three adult kids are all troopers.)

When PARC started Zoom classes,

Ed enjoyed them so much 

he didn't want to miss a single one:

Cooking, sign language,

many others including the usual

talent shows, show and tell,

book club.

Then we could only have excursions on weekends.

We fed ducks at the Farmington pond,

walked around the Bountiful ponds,

walked the Lagoon Trail and the Buffalo trails,

went to Antelope Island, Saltair;

and walked the hollow close to home

where we enjoyed Forrest Bathing.

Brent would scout out trails we didn't know existed

on his midnight bike rides.

My favorite, as it turned out, 

is part of the Buffalo Trail.

Our walkers rolled smoothly on

the well-groomed trail/

The gentle breeze was refreshing;

the waves on the picturesque lake mesmerizing;

the everlasting view expanding,

and the red sunset brilliant.

Thank you, Brent,

for an enchanting evening.

Ed putting our walkers in his Hyundai SUV

Brent's photos

Amy generally goes with us,

but this particular day she had hiked

and used up all her energy.

  t

Double Whammy

 As the original neighborhood is growing older

several have had hip or knee replacements. 

I had a complicated full hip replacement

the day before Thanksgiving 2020,

ending up in ICU

receiving three blood transfusions 

and a rod in my left femur also.

The doctor truly performed a miracle.

He didn't do at all what he planned to do,

which was repair the fractured pelvic bone. 

I was slow to wake up

but when I did, he said I responded to everything. 

"I don't remember."

"No, and you never will."

The pain was gone.

I was so grateful.

A different orthopedic surgeon

did a full left-knee replacement

on April 8, 2021.

The recovery was much more difficult

but I was forewarned

and had excellent care and support.

Through both surgeries plus the

cement and radiation in my back

to relieve the pressure from the fractured vertebrae.

I have not missed a cancer treatment.

Yes, some neighbors have had hip and knee replacement,

even back surgery.

Some people have all that plus infusions

for metastatic breast cancer.

I'm one of the some.