November 1-15, 2021

Another one of my favorite months of the year(birthday month!).  And not only my birthday, but Scott and sister in law Sheila Bozyk too! November starts off with All Saints Day as well as Dia De Los Muertos and quickly moves to Veterans Day. It's officially Fall, but our leaves have slowly been changing and still clinging to the trees. So I have not been doing much raking or bagging. Tom and I managed to get in one more grass cutting, mainly to mulch up some leaves. But the frost rolled in, so no more lawn work! I also did not pull up the last of my summer flowers or pepper plants, so they are now cemented in the ground. I still need to do a bit more trimming of bushes, but I will save it for a warmer weekend. We finally had to turn on the fireplace since the temperatures really dropped at the beginning of the month. And Tom signed us up for a bug spraying service. He finally got tired of fighting all the slab ants that move into our front door threshold and come in the back door off our deck. We get the house sprayed inside and out-safe for pets and kids. And no more bugs in the house! (Almost).

I celebrated my Birthday this month with Tom, Allison and Gabe at a Mexican Restaurant that I have been wanting to check out-Uncle Julios. Mainly because for dessert they have a Chocolate Pinata! The restaurant is located in our local mall. It took over part of the Sears store and was surprisingly small and absolutely packed with humans. They even have a big take out section with shelving by the front door which was loaded with To Go bags. Too bad the weather wasn't nicer because their outdoor patio looked wonderful. But we sat inside in a booth-place was a bit loud. I was just amazed at the huge tables of families-lots of kids and 20 people at least at multiple tables. We all enjoyed fajitas(Tom was disappointed they did not seem to have burritos on the menu). I treated myself to an apple cranberry margarita and the chocolate pinata was the hit of the evening. They bring a huge Death Star chocolate ball to the table hanging on a rack over a cutting board decorated with chocolate swirls and whipped cream and a few small bowls of melted chocolate. Then they hand you a club and you give it a little whack in the center and boom! Out shoots fruit-pineapple and strawberries as well as little baby churros. I am afraid Gabe got hit with a strawberry-unfortunately he was sitting in the line of fire. Allison posted my pinata video on Facebook. After we were sufficiently stuffed, I thought it would be fun to stop into the other half of the Sears store which is now a Dave and Busters gaming rip off entertainment center. That also was packed with families. Reminded us of an adult Chucky Cheese. Lots of kids running around. You have to stand in line to buy tokens to play the different games. They did not have as many games set up as Dave and Busters and all were packed with players. We figured we would probably end up standing around all night waiting for the 1 game we wanted to play. We decided to spend an hour bowling and got in line to buy tickets. Surprisingly even though most of the lanes looked open, they were all reserved, so we left. They did chase us down at the door to tell us they had an opening on the wait list! No thanks. Looks like the world has gotten back to pre COVID times. So we ended our evening with drinks back at our house. I opened my gifts from Tom before dinner-I am now the proud owner of a Hershey Bears Hockey Jersey! Tom also picked me up a smart watch that tells me my blood pressure. Very good for work! Allison purchased a Girl Scout ceramic cabin to add to my Christmas village-crazy story-her good friend Jen won it in a raffle and sold it to Allison. Perfect gift for me! Allison also got me an inflatable flotation device and waterproof fanny pack for when we get back to kayaking! Scott sent me a huge "I Love Lucifer" shirt that is so long it will make a great nightshirt! He knew I binge watched all the "Lucifer" series on Netflix(supposed to be the devil who ran away from Hell to Los Angeles on a vacation and ended up staying).  I started watching the show on tv in 2017 and then it disappeared. Like everything else, it ended up on a streaming service. I even got Tom watching to the end-all 6 seasons! I have Scott to thank for that gift too since he purchased Net Flix to watch some shows up at school. 

Tom and I are also enjoying football season. Both college level and NFL. Mostly I think we are enjoying watching games with our friends, having some snacks, drinks and a bit of dessert a few times during the week. Sometimes just the guys get together(Monday night I need to catch Dancing With the Stars and The Good Doctor!). I am boycotting "The Bachelorette" since they kicked off the host and producer, Chris Harrison over a racial issue with one of the contestants last season.  Still have a few shows to catch up on with Net Flix(Tiger King 2). 

However, I don't have too much time to watch shows. My work schedule keeps fluctuating as far as how busy I am. I still have to go in 5-6 days a week, but the number of patients keeps going up and down, depending on any COVID cases. Thankfully COVID patients have been admitted on a very limited basis or none at all. And the number of staff with COVID has dropped.  I don't mind not having to work long hours, but standing on my feet all day and moving patients around continues to wear on my hip. I did need to take a little bit of time off to take Cookie to the vet at the beginning of the month. I found a huge lump in all that fur under her neck. I worried about the worst-possible lymphoma. Especially since she had the strange elevated white blood cell count this summer. Fortunately it was not her lymph nodes, but a strange infection that the vet and I could not figure out the source. Maybe something bit her or she got scratched on something that became infected? I took her to see a part time vet who I really liked. Too bad the vet is just helping out at the practice since they are down several vets and very busy. She was very good and very personable. So many people bought pets during COVID times when they were stuck at home and are filling the clinic. Anyhow, Cookie took a week of antibiotics and looks very good, especially with her new haircut(and pushing 13). 

I also treated myself to a new haircut and highlights. Getting ready for Christmas photos! I plan on scheduling a family photo session again at JCPenney this year when Scott comes home for Thanksgiving break. Although the family all preferred our impromptu photo shoot last year at the neighbors with the dog. The same neighbors even had Tom and I over to help celebrate my birthday with a German Chocolate cake and snacks, plus they bought me a beautiful green malachite and copper necklace, earrings and bracelet set from a local art show. 

Besides taking time off for Cookie, I also had to take time off work to meet with Mom's broker. Our previous broker left for Morgan Stanley and now I am working with his understudy from Merrill Lynch. The understudy is OK, but very 'green'. I liked my previous broker so much I followed him with my 401Ks to Morgan Stanley to let him manage my funds.  I figured it was too big a hassle to move Mom's investments, so she will stay where she is. Last year the government put a hold on Minimum Distribution Withdrawals from IRAs for those over 65, but it is that time of year again to move Mom's investments around. Just glad she is very comfortable with her funds, especially since the cost of the facility and Mom's care went up. She is needing a bit more daily assistance, and the cost of care especially during COVID increased. I actually had an in-person meeting in the ML office, but I had to wear a mask through the hallways. When we were in the board room I was able to take off my mask. I also noticed their guest soda in the fridge in the lobby had gone flat. Guess there have not been very many actual customers visiting over the last year and a half. We decided it was time to shed Mom's Lincoln Annuity since it peaked-just waiting on the paperwork to go through and will have to get some notarized signatures and then all of her finances will be under ML and Bank of America. So much easier to manage. 

 I've also been doing some closet and storage room cleaning when I get a chance. A school teacher in the neighborhood was looking for items for kids to use in the classroom for their lessons-building supplies, small plastic animals and people. I managed to bag up quite a few ziplock baggies with various animals, like Littlest Pet Shop creatures and people/small dolls, along with some odds and ends building supplies from Scott's younger days. And I had a brand new math teaching program with manipulatives that my mom gave me (in case one of the kids went into teaching). The neighborhood teacher was very excited to get all the new/used goodies for her kids in her classroom. And I was glad they had a new home! Making room in my basement storage closet for my arts and craft supplies. I have also been busy lining up some projects around the house for when I am home recuperating from my upcoming hip surgery in December. I want to scan all our Bozyk family photos into the computer and type up my mom's daily journals. I love reading through her old notes since she really cannot communicate anymore verbally. Lately I have only had time to stop in and drop off supplies and clean clothing. We are not allowed to visit in public areas in her building and she is usually sitting in the dining /activity room. And I really only have time to drop off and pick up or straighten a bit in her room. I have brought her home a few times, but it is getting harder for her to move in and out of our house, especially with the several steps through our front door and into the living room. It is going to be enough of a challenge for me when I get my hip done. I plan on sleeping downstairs on the 1st level with mom's old twin bed set up. I have been busy gathering my rehab equipment(just need to order a potty chair to place over our toilet for increased seat height.). So glad I am an OT. 

Tom has been especially busy at work. After he fully returned to the office he decided his current position in the Space program was not busy enough. So he transferred to another Department and now he has more work than he can handle. He also finished up his school semester with a Zoom presentation of his thesis in front of a school board consisting of several professors. He had been waiting for his paper to be reviewed and edited and he ended up revamping the entire thing when they were done. He cut it down from 500 pages originally to about 170 and cut down his research from three to one thesis ideas. The good thing is he passed the oral presentation(which apparently the University board is not used to seeing on the first try). Now he has to wait for the next semester to sign up and continue with the process of sending out surveys concerning his data. Still trying to keep on track for finishing up his PhD next year! 

We're hoping to have 2 graduates next year. Scott keeps working very hard this semester, finishing up his midterms after returning from Fall Break and his Disney trip.  But he had to set aside time to meet with his counselor to sign up for classes already for next semester. He has to finish a computer programming class and has one more Manufacturing class, but he also has a Senior project planning class which helps the students get prepared for their final semester. He had to get permission from his counselor to sign up for that one. The only difficulty he is having now is figuring out what electives he wants and if he can actually minor in something else. He is just waiting to meet with counselors from other departments since he has to have permission to sign up(they let the freshman sign up first for minors). Seems like you never get a break when it comes to scheduling college classes!