Wetland Walking

A visit to the Bloomingtonauts invariably involves interesting walks.

 There is a near-by park

 where our knowledgeable guide

 introduces us to the disappearing Lake Jackson.

There are birds and frogs and turtles and alligators 

and the morning is full of songs and calls.

 Another morning we walk through a swamp

 where trees grow straight out of the water

 and from our elevated walkway we can spot sleeping bears...

and panthers and wolves and foxes,

 and even more exotic characters.

 When it rains, we find a wet walk inside

at the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory.

Here one can plunge a hand into a tank and touch weird life forms

although some are marked "Do Not Touch".

 The Bloomingtonauts have given us a view of a fantastically

different ecosystem from our Indiana home.

Somehow the spring turtles in the water retention pond at the retirement home 

aren't quite as exciting as they used to be.

Easter with the Mysterious Miss M.

On Easter we visited the mysterious Miss M. and her people.

Miss M. lurked, well camouflaged, while we chatted. 

Then the activity became colorful and interesting.

Miss M. was full of curiosity.

She kept a careful eye on the proceedings

and discovered, on Easter morning, the results.

"Okay," says Miss M. "I see you've forgotten something.

Where's MY basket?"

New in the New Year

"Ring out the old, ring in the new..."

 Not many of us actually get a really new start to the year.

At the end of last year the Working Man's office home was sold.

 So we all went out to help him look for a new one.

 We liked this large empty space, full of possibilities

 and with great views of downtown.

However, shortly after we looked at that space, another one became available.

 It was in the very building that his company's very first office was located!

We liked the idea of coming full circle.

 The space was already divided into offices.

 The view included the courthouse square --

and the excellent coffeehouse across the street.

 The Man gets to start the year in a new space, with a clean desk.

We'll toast to that!

Granddad in Winter

Granddad was not too sure about Christmas.

It's hard for him to keep track of the months.

He  did have a few clues that it was a holiday.

(You know he loves hats any time.)

He had company,

and he always loves having company.

He amused the folks in his dining hall on New Year's Eve.

The horn was loud enough that even the hearing-challenged heard it.

But the next day, having dinner with his family all around the table, he had to head out for the ER.

He was in the hospital for seven days.

He doesn't remember this at all.

 It was worrying enough to bring far-flung family together to visit him.

He left the hospital to return to the nursing home in palliative care.

Declining, on oxygen, not eating, feeble...

we all sat and worried around his bed.

Yesterday I went to the nursing home as usual.

The nurse could hardly wait to tell me what Granddad had done.

I expected to hear that he'd maybe sat up in his wheelchair.

Well, yes, he did that.

And more.

He'd gone off with a group of nursing home residents to have lunch at the Golden Corral.

What?!

"I filled my belly," says the man who has been refusing food for three weeks.

That Granddad!  

Just like him to go from death's door to a steak dinner.

As his favorite hat says:

"I'm 95.

I'm allowed."

Still singin' that song

You know, the one that wails:  "oh, oh what I want to know -oh - where does the time go?????"

Wasn't it just December?

Didn't Mimi and I just go out looking for inspiration for decorations?

 Weren't we just yesterday thinking about getting ready for Christmas?

 Surely a whole month hasn't gone by since the Christmas concert?

 And the cards - are they really all sent?

 The decorations all taken down now...

 the last of the goodies gone?

 Christmas eve was surely just a day or so ago --

 and Christmas morning?

Not very long ago.

 The company?

How the time flew when they were here!

All safely back home already -

 the mystery mansion game completed,

 the special Christmas plates put away -

how did this happen?

What I want to know is:

Where did the time go?????

June Catch-up (including one hot dog)

Oh June was a full month and I didn't take nearly enough pictures and I didn't keep up the blog. 

Now I am inspired by the Bloomingtonauts (who did take lots of pictures!) to do a little catching up.

Our themes for June:  company and performance!

Granddad was delighted to have company on the front porch of Garden Villa, where he is now staying.

He was so happy that folks came such a long way just to see him!

Then the Bloomingtonauts arrived to begin several weeks of activity,

in which we managed to get in lots of typical Bloomington sights--

the Farmer's Market

the B-Line trail

Lake Griffy

and our old house, now completely redone.

Wow!  You should see inside!

Check out the article about it in Bloom Magazine.

(Scroll down, it's the "50's Ranch Reinvented near Bryan Park" )

We had celebrations --

Father's Day

and Midsummer.

There was storytelling

(we taught a two week course together)

and singing --

Granddad is even singing along, "Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts..."

In fact he is still telling us about the evening when the Bloomingtonaut played and sang songs that he actually knew!

And we got to hear the Bloomingtonaut's original songs performed on stage at Max's Place.

Okay, July, come on - can you top all this?