Now the quiet

Prunedale, CA

Yesterday was my Dad's memorial service,

but let me backtrack a bit..

It was a busy week, as you can well imagine.

We had a lot of last minute preparations that had to be taken care of.

Thursday I got a haircut, my mom went for a pedicure,

and George was picked up at the airport.

Friday, my cousin Kalene came from Morro Bay,

and my son Austin flew in from Denver.

I haven't seen him since last September!

My aunt, uncle, and cousins and their kids

drove up from Bakersfield as well, 

but didn't get in until late, so we didn't see them until Saturday.

Yesterday we all got ready and drove to the church for the 11 am service.

It was very lovely, and we couldn't believe the amount of people that were there.

I had written a small tribute to my Dad, but my cousin Kalene read it for me,

and shared some great thoughts about him as well.

My son Adam read a great piece called 'the Dash',

and also shared some words about his grandpa.

Not too many dry eyes in the house :-)

Afterwards, we had a catered luncheon which was great!

A friend from the church decorated with centerpieces she made.

Since my Dad worked for a wine grape broker,

the theme was wine.. :-)

We had a tribute DVD made which was playing,

with some great pictures of him.

It was nice to see my two sons together again too!

Afterwards, all my family came up to the house.

There was plenty of food leftover,

so we sat around and talked and laughed,

and sometimes cried.

It was great to have everyone together again!

This morning I took Austin to the airport to head back to Denver.

I hated to see him go, I miss him so much!

When we got home we met my cousin Kelly, her husband Gary,

and my aunt Judy and uncle Don

at Dona Esthers Mexican restaurant in San Juan Bautista for brunch.

Kelly and Gary have a Redwood fifth wheel,

so we took a ride to look at it.

It's really nice, I should have taken a picture of it :-)

Tomorrow George and I are meeting them at the golf course

for breakfast, then watching them play.

We'll see if we hit a ball or two!

In heaven with Jesus

Prunedale, CA

My Dad raised his hand and took Jesus' to walk to heaven yesterday morning.

He had been slowly slipping downhill in the last two weeks.

Wednesday Hospice nurses brought out a hospital bed and oxygen.

We decided to put the bed out in the dining room where he could be surrounded by

visitors, and be able to look outside at his bird feeders.

He got a lot of visitors in his last days.

My aunt Judy and cousins Korie and Kelly came up

from Bakersfield to see him.

 I'm glad they were able to visit, and he was able to acknowledge them too.

We were comforted by a couple visions my Dad had in the last week.
He kept seeing a boat coming, which he acknowledged had Jesus aboard.
He also told me he was 'meandering' down a path. I asked him if he saw a garden....
he nodded :-)

We've made all the arrangements for a memorial service
which will be on Saturday, August 30th at 11 am.
It will be a celebration of his life!

My cousin is here to help!

Prunedale, CA

My Mom and I have been making more preparations here in California.

We have gone to the funeral home and made those arrangements.

My Dad's wish is to be cremated,

so we picked out a great wooden box with a cross on it.

We laughed as we looked at some of the gaudy urns they have nowadays.

My Dad would gag at the sight..lol.

We were happy to have my cousin come up from Morro Bay to help for a few days.

She loves her Uncle Ted.

She's a CNA, so she's been a great help!

My Mom decided that we will do a tribute CD,

so last night my cousin, Kalene, and I helped her pour through lots of pictures.

We had such a great time doing that, and remembering times gone by.

We even found a few of me as a young lass,

one which I used on Facebook for 'throwback Thursday'.

Oh gad, to be that young and thin again :-)

No, my hair was never red, it just looks that way in the picture!

Of course, we had to have a glass of wine or two..

Today, Kalene stayed at home so Mom and I could go

take a look at a great independent living facility

called Villa Serra.

She thinks it'll be time to transition into that kind of living space,

so we're preparing for that.

In the meantime, George is slaving away in South Carolina.

He rented a Rug Doctor and shampooed the carpet in Harvey.

We both had our drug tests for Amazon.

George is starting his planning for the trip to Kentucky

in a few weeks or so.

I'll be contacting Amazon to let them know I probably won't 

be able to make it there in September, but perhaps get a later start.

We'll see.

Been enjoying reading all of your adventures.

Seems there are a lot of RVers out there having health, ill family members, or RV problems.

Know that you are all in our prayers.

Hospice

Prunedale, CA

On Wednesday my Mom and I took my Dad to

see his oncologist for a checkup.

She hadn't seen him for awhile, as she was

out herself due to a family medical emergency.

She was quite shocked at how he had gone downhill :-(

On her advice, we decided not to schedule any more radiation.

She also said it was time for home Hospice services.

A hospice nurse came to the house yesterday.

What a wonderful, caring service this is.

They filled out a lot of paperwork,

assessed his well being and pain levels,

and let us know what all they will do.

They really take all the worry of final days of your loved ones

off of the caregivers.

The primary goal now is to keep his pain levels

as low as possible.

My parents have always treated themselves

to monthly pedicures.

Of course this month's was impossible for my Dad.

So, the wonderful lady that does theirs,

came to the house to pamper my Dad a bit.

He slept through the whole thing,

but she massaged his hands, feet, legs, and head.

I think I saw him smile in his sleep.

We're happy that he will hopefully be kept comfortable here at home.

George is winding his last few weeks in Modoc, SC.

It's been raining a lot so the gatehouse hasn't opened

on the weekends.

He's been helping in other ways though.

We're still unsure if I'm going to be able to get back to work at Amazon.

George will be able to get there on his own,

 and we've heard that only one worker needs to work to get the site paid for.

So for now, that's looking like the plan.

My cousin is coming next week from Morro Bay to visit and help out a bit.

It will be nice to see her, as we make some more preparations.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

A little caregiver outing

Prunedale, CA

My Dad has been feeling a little better these past couple days.

Of course he's still in pain, so we take care of that with meds.

He doesn't seem as 'foggy' as he has been lately.

My Mom and I were going to take him out yesterday for a change of scenery,

but he wasn't up to it, and encouraged us to go out to lunch.

We made sure he was okay with pain meds, 

and sitting nicely in his recliner,

and took a drive over to Moss Landing.

Mom really likes the Sea Harvest,

a good seafood restaurant right on the harbor.

They have the best salmon bisque!

There are quite a few sea lions nearby that love to entertain..

We also saw quite a few kayakers,

and big boats going out of the harbor.

It was great to get out, if even for a couple hours.

My Dad was feeling well enough to go to church today.

It really perked him up to see everyone,

and be able to listen to the sermon and hymns.

Looks like another week of doctor appointments :-)

Lots of doctors!

Prunedale, CA

Since I've been here in California, 

I'm able to be cook, maid, nurse, and chauffeur.

It's tiring work taking care of my ailing father,

but I know my mother appreciates it.

Last week I was able to accompany my father

on a trip to the radiologist,

where he had been getting radiation treatments to his brain.

I got lots of questions answered,

including finding out why he's having shoulder pain.

The doctor finally ordered a CT scan of that area,

where they found another tumor :-(

He'll start radiation treatments next week,

which will help with pain management.

My mother is having her own issues with A-Fib,

so there was a day where she had to have

a cardioversion done to get her back into sinus rhythm.

We're starting to get known by the valet service at the

hospital parking lot :-)

I've had lunch with my son, Adam.
He lives right next to the hospital,
so that makes it convenient!

George and I heard from Amazon,
and got our start date of September 9th!
Hopefully if things go well here in California, I can return to SC
at the end of the month, and head to Kentucky!