September 16-Sept 30th, 2021

We have come to the end of September and the beginning of Fall.  The temperatures have continued to stay warm and just recently dropped, especially in the evening which has allowed Tom to finally turn off the air conditioner and open the windows! 

We also said goodbye to Mom Seitz with funeral services held in Venice, Florida on Sept 20th. Tom and I were able to travel to Sarasota on Saturday, Sept 18th via Southwest airlines. Allison planned on joining us, but Tom thought it would be too much of a struggle for her to take time off work, pay for airfare and hotel. She also had a busy weekend scheduled and offered to watch Cookie for us and our house while we were gone. Turns out she most certainly could have joined us at no great limitation especially on the financial side of things, but we were very pleased to have her drive us to the airport and pick us up, as well as taking care of Cookie and the house while we were gone for a few days. I was able to take a few days off work with bereavement benefits. Tom did not think Northrop provided that benefit anymore, but they do. Scott definitely could not join us with his extremely busy school schedule. 

So Tom and I met Dad Seitz at the Sarasota airport Saturday morning after a very pleasant and quick flight down. We stopped into Costco on the way to his place in Venice to pick up some supplies and have lunch. We did a drive by on the old Bozyk homestead in Nokomis and then spent the afternoon waiting for the rest of the family to arrive at Dad's place and relaxing on the front porch(and quickly working on a puzzle Dad had started for us!). That evening we had a wonderful meal provided by the neighbors in Dad's Senior Community. Afterwards, we were met by Tom's brother Mark, his wife Linda and their son Eric along with a few of Tom's cousins on the Seitz side of the family-Julie and Jane. Their brother Paul arrived on Sunday. So we spent the evening watching football and catching up. We were all staying with Dad at his place, and he was able to utilize a rental unit in the community for the two sisters. Nice to all be together since we got to spend more time visiting. 

On Sunday morning we headed to church for mass and then home for lunch. The cousins decided to take a walk through downtown Venice and do some window shopping since most stores were closed for the day. It is still considered "off season" in Florida. They also stopped by the Veteran's cemetery where Mom S will be laid to rest as it really is a remarkable place. Since it is a military cemetery, it has quite a few monuments as well as historical markers depicting the progression of the many wars the US has been involved in with photos and stories. I also dropped into the Venice cemetery to pay my respects to my side of the family, including Dad Bozyk who has been gone now for 6 years. Afterwards I took Eric to the Nokomis beach with me for a wonderful walk on the sand while we collected seashells, and then a quick dip in the warm ocean waters. So relaxing! Just couldn't find any shark teeth this time. We then headed back home since we needed to get cleaned up as the whole family joined together with dinner at Carrabas. A very enjoyable meal and visit with the family. Tom's sister Susan and her husband John also joined us. It was wonderful catching up with everyone and afterwards we shared a birthday cake in honor of Jane's upcoming special day. 

On Monday we all met at church in the morning for Mom's service. It was very special as the priest was able to make the ceremony very personal for our family and for Bonnie Seitz. Tom, Mark and Eric all had a part in the readings during the mass, and Linda and I carried up the Eucharistic gifts. Prior to the service, Mark gave a very touching and tender eulogy for his mom. After the service, we met back at Dad's place for a cook out lunch and were joined by a few of his neighbor friends. The meal was terrific and we were back on the road to the Veteran's Cemetery in Sarasota where both Mom and Dad S will be laid to rest. We had a scheduled time for a prayer service in the cemetery with the Deacon from the church, but he did not show up and the church secretary did not know where he might be. We waited about 30 mins and then left with the representative from the cemetery showing us the location of the headstone and plot for the burial. 

The girls did not make the graveside service as they had already headed to the airport. We each went our separate ways, with Tom and I having dinner with Susan and John at a local seafood restaurant and stopping by their house for a quick visit. We also dropped off a flower arrangement to the facility where Mom had been cared for these several years. Mark, Linda and Eric had dinner out and stopped into visit the new baseball stadium near Venice, CoolToday Park, home of the Atlanta Braves training camp. Dad S I think was just happy to have a little quiet time after a very busy, emotional day. We all came together at night to visit, catch up with more football(crazy Ravens game) and then call it a day since Mark, Linda and Eric had an early flight the next morning. Tom and I had a late afternoon flight on Tuesday, so I was able to get in a water exercise workout in Dad's large community pool. The water temp was perfect during the day, and I only had to share the pool with one other resident. I had hoped to catch the community pool class, but it is held MWF. Tuesday was chair aerobics and I really wanted some swim time. Afterwards it was time to dress, pack, have lunch and head to the airport. Another lovely (and fun flight since our flight attendant had lots of puns and silly stories/jokes to keep us entertained on Southwest). I was also happy to finish watching "Cruella" on Tom's phone through Southwest wifi and start "NomadLand". I need to see the end of this one. (2020 film about a woman who loses her home during the recession and lives in her van, traveling the western portion of the US and working odd jobs at Amazon, the local campgrounds, even Wall Drug before they all close for the season. Made it tough to try to watch my movie and listen to the funny flight attendant as we descended into BWI airport!

So the flights were very quick and pleasant, even with masks. Allison was able to pick us up at the curb after we grabbed our suitcases and drive us home. We are grateful for her for watching the house and taking care of Cookie. She even joined me at the nail salon the week before we left for a much needed mani-pedi. Also nice to have time to sit and catch up with each other. Allison also stayed busy while we were gone attending a family birthday party at Gabe's parents house and an engagement party for friends. Her social calendar stays very busy!

And even though our family visit in Florida was for a sad event with Mom Seitz's passing, it was wonderful to spend time with family and even just to get away for a few days from our crazy schedules. Dad Seitz did an incredible job hosting all of us at his place, and Susan Seitz did an amazing job scheduling the service. She even passed out some of Mom S's favorite treats after the service-chocolate truffles! And she  made up her own prayer cards with a packet of wildflower seeds attached-can't wait to put them in my garden next spring.  

It was nice to have a short work week after returning home. Although it seems quite a few of our staff also needed time off for funerals. One of my coworkers older brother died suddenly and our SW lost her aunt and a family friend all in the same week. Although thank goodness none of it from COVID at least. Even my older brothers lost a very close high school friend due to a stroke. Definitely reminds you to make the most of every day with the ones you love. 

And back in Baltimore I was trying to organize moving a hospital bed into Mom Bozyk's apartment. The nurses reported it has been getting more difficult for mom to get out of bed at night to get to the bathroom with her bad knee. So instead they'd like to change her in bed and keep her head and feet elevated too. But since there are so many more restrictions with COVID, they won't allow the equipment vendors to come into the building and maintenance has to set up the bed. But they don't work on the weekends. And Tom and I needed to move Mom's current twin bed and headboard out of her room, but not until she had a replacement bed. What a scheduling nightmare. Plus the equipment company did not tell me that I had to pay the copay first before they would deliver it. They don't send a bill and you have to pay over the phone or give them a check when they drop it off-COD. Tom and I managed to pick up Mom's headboard over the weekend. It was good to see her and I brought her a Fall coloring book that I picked up in Florida. While Tom disassembled the headboard and hung a few pictures in her apt, I sat with mom while she colored in the main dining room since we stopped in after dinner. He also had time to reset her tv channels and the telephone. We discovered she had a power outage in her bedroom which they fixed when the hospital bed was delivered. So Tom and I brought the headboard home and picked up Mom's mattress and frame that maintenance took apart on Monday night which they left at the back loading dock after they set up the hospital bed. Then I dropped off some more supplies and put away some of Mom's summer clothes and hung up her fall long sleeved shirts. I will have to stop into her storage and pick up more of her fall and Halloween decorations. I also brought her a new rollator since the old one was really starting to wear out. 

I used it to bring in a whole bunch of birthday surprises for Mom who celebrated her 86th birthday on Sept 19th! Since we were in Florida that day, I spent some time with Mom on Friday night before we left on Saturday morning. I brought in a chocolate cake for mom in the evening after work and some cupcakes for the staff, a big balloon and flower arrangement plus some new shirts and sweaters, body spray, jewelry and of course, chocolates! Mom seemed more interested in eating the chocolate cake rather than opening her gifts! She pointed right at the cake-I got the message! And the staff said she has not been eating as much-she definitely has lost some weight, but she can afford it. But she has not lost the love for everything chocolate! She had no problem finishing her cake on her own. 

October is just around the corner when everything seems to speed up, especially with all the holidays. I am still working on getting my hip surgery scheduled as they are booked up through November. Just waiting for their surgery schedule to open up for December or maybe January 2022. 

 

Sept 1-Sept 15, 2021

  Official end of summer came with Labor Day weekend. We did not have any plans to travel this year. We actually received some very sad news on the first Saturday of the month. Tom's mother Bonnie Seitz passed away after struggling with Alzheimer's dementia for about 5 years. Although very sad, at least she no longer had to suffer with such a terrible disease. Tom and I plan to travel to Florida for her funeral later in the month. 

Meanwhile, I am still unable to visit inside the Assisted Living Facility with my mom. They keep having 1 or 2 cases of COVID in the building-either from an outside medical person coming in to provide treatments/hospice care or from the residents themselves. Some actually have been vaccinated, or seem to have picked up something when they were hospitalized. Don't really know for sure, but one thing is for certain, if there is a positive case the whole building gets shut down for at least 2 weeks. Staff are trying to at least get clearance from the Dept of Health to allow the residents to come out of their rooms to the main dining/activity room. I know Mom B has a hard time remaining in her room. Fortunately the weather was nice enough that I was able to get a 20 min porch visit with her. Can't wait to visit inside the building again-especially since her birthday is coming up on the 19th. I have been busy picking up some gifts for her-some new shirts and sweaters. And she loves body spray, jewelry and of course, chocolate!

I would have enjoyed a 3 day Holiday weekend over Labor Day, or even extra pay for working, but my contract company does not provide paid holidays. So for me it was just like every other day, except all the managers were off at work. Tom and Allison enjoyed a 4 day weekend since they had their usual Friday off. Scott also enjoyed a little 3 day break. He officially started classes on Weds, Sept 1. Looks like Western had some bumps getting up and running again. The students were having difficulty hooking up to the WiFi in the dorms. The school decided to do away with the cable. And Scott thought they did not turn on the hot water in his bathroom. Turns out being on the top floor, last room requires a bit more time for the hot water to travel but eventually he was able to take a shower! One thing that was definitely hot were the dorm rooms! They are older buildings with no air conditioning. Just lots of fans. Scott has been running his non stop-makes it tougher to sleep at night, but I am sure Michigan weather will not fail him and will soon turn cold enough! He did discover however that the engineering dorms installed new washer/dryers and no more quarters! Scott reports laundry is now free! I am sure somewhere we are paying for the service! For now he has settled down into quite an intense schedule with 4 classes and 4 labs with his longest day on Thursday running non stop from 1pm to 10pm-3 hr labs all in a row. But at least they are in person classes! So far. Fingers crossed. 

I did manage to squeeze in some fun activities over the Labor Day Weekend. Allison and I visited the Maryland State Fair. Looks like everyone has been missing the fair. The parking lots were overflowing-we had to park in a lot outside the grounds and walk a bit, but it gave us the chance to stop and watch a horse race. Good thing Allison and I did not bet on it because out of 4 horses running we came in 3rd and 4th on our picks! Guess we needed Grandpa Seitz there to help us out. We did enjoy roaming around the pens checking out the cows, sheep, goats and skipped the pigs. They had a chicken hatching area-always fun to mess with the baby chicks. And we love to check out the 4H projects and entries for best produce, photos, drawings, arts and crafts and sewing projects. Plus the buildings are air conditioned-it was plenty hot outside. We also had a chance to sit and watch some draft horse maneuvers-one incredible team of horses-all black and exactly in sync. Reminded Allison of a military parade. You could almost hear the theme to Darth Vader playing in the background! Naturally they won every event. 

On Sunday, Allison headed to the Renaissance festival with her D and D group and boyfriend Gabe. They mostly sat at the bars enjoying the entertainment while munching on their favorite treats along with some favorite drinks! Plus they took some time out to try their hand at archery and axe throwing. Meanwhile, Tom and I decided to host our friends Beth and Barry for a prime rib dinner. We hadn't had them over in quite awhile and we owed them a dinner for all the times they watched Cookie for us. Plus we wanted to hear all about their trip out to LA in August to visit their son who was completing a computer engineering internship near USC. We had given them a few ideas of things to do besides the usual tourist attractions in So Cal, like Disney and Universal Studios. Turns out many places were still closed due to COVID. But it sounds like they had a great visit anyway. 

And since Allison spent her Labor Day weekend at the RenCen Fair she joined me there the following weekend on Sunday. I ended up having to work the Saturday before and did not want to go to the fair late in the afternoon(it gets very crowded and usually very hot). I love looking through all the shops at the fair, besides enjoying the silly entertainment. Plus cheering on the knights at the joust. And eating my favorite fair foods like chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick! Allison and I usually dress the part and this year I bought a fox tail for my walking stick. We had a wonderful day together-so glad it was back! We headed home in time to pick up some chinese food for dinner before Allison went over to her friends for an evening of D and D. I tried to see if I could finally get a dip in her community pool when we returned but they had already shut it down for the season. Maybe next year?  

We also passed the 20th anniversary of Sept 11. I listened to all the televised memorials while I was at work that day. I'd still like to get up to New York to see the memorial or stop into the Shanksville, PA memorial which we pass on our way to Michigan. 

And finally I got over to the medical clinic for a yearly check up and blood test for my upcoming planned hip surgery. I also asked for an assessment of antibodies for COVID in my blood work. Plus while I was there they managed to get a flu shot into my arm. Seems a bit early, but I would rather get it over with now since there is a discussion about the COVID booster shot 9 months after your last injection. That would get me to the end of September, and I really don't want both vaccinations at the same time. 

Now we are looking into traveling to Florida for Tom's mother's funeral in the coming weeks. 

 

August 16-August 31, 2021

  As we come to the end of the "summer break" we headed to Michigan to drop off Scott at Western Michigan University. He spent the week before prepping for his move back to the door. This year he has a single room with it's own bathroom. He is so happy to have his own space, although it is the very last room on the top floor. So lots more stairs(or longer wait for the elevator). 

  He had to work at Home Depot right up to the night before we headed out on the road. I left him my van during the day so he could load it with big ticket items along with his Jeep. And Tom and Scott got his Jeep road ready with an oil change as well as air conditioner and tire check. Plus Scott managed to squeeze in a visit with his high school friend Matt. Scott actually is still considered an employee of Home Depot and could even work up in Kalamazoo if he wanted, but we think he is going to be rather busy with his class schedule. 

  In order to return to Western, students either have to show proof of vaccination or get regular testing. Scott tried to send a copy of his vaccination card, but apparently that was not proof enough. He had to download his vaccination form from Kaiser, our medical provider and email it to the health care center. I also had to do the same for my job. Maryland nursing homes made it mandatory to have all employees vaccinated or be tested every week. Even though I have the vaccine, I still have to get tested every week, and we are still wearing medical masks and continue with use of face shields(those are worse since they fog up). Scott will have to wear a mask in class and in the public buildings on campus. He can take it off in the dining hall while he is eating. Looks like some schools that have started back already are dealing with Covid outbreaks and quarantines. 

  At my mom's facility, they keep getting 1 or 2 people testing positive for Covid, even those that have been vaccinated. So the building is placed on quarantine and keeps getting extended for 2 week time periods. Which means no in person visits or traveling outside the building. So I have not been able to see my mom for weeks. My facility has not had any positive cases in the building, so we have been opening out doors with visiting hours and also continue with visits outside on our porch. Although the temperatures have been very hot. And the rules based on CDC guidelines and Maryland Dept of Health are rather confusing depending on whether you are vaccinated or not. Overall it just seems to make things more complicated. Hoping to be able to see Mom Bozyk again in September!

  Tom however was able to fly down to Florida to visit with his mother in the nursing home over a long weekend. She has struggled with dementia for several years and is currently on hospice. Since she had been declining, Tom wanted to visit while he still could see her and also had time to visit with his Dad and Sister and Brother in law. I would have loved to have joined him, but I was working crazy long hours. Our facility has been steadily bringing in patients with many discharging back to the hospital multiple times with ongoing medical issues. Apparently our local hospitals are busy with COVID patients and a lot less staff to handle patients. And so many people have put off going to the doctor over the last year and a half during the COVID outbreak that they are discovering they have more than 1 problem to treat. So all these admissions and discharges mean more paperwork for me as well as the staff trying to catch up with their vacations. So I was the only OT working along with two assistants. Turns out we were all off on the Friday we drove Scott up to school. Thankfully the two assistants were able to help out a bit in the morning, but I really don't like to go into work "for a few hours". It usually means I end up working longer and have a difficult time getting out of the building! So instead I put in a 12 hr day the night before. And wouldn't you know we finally got some extra help the week before from an Assistant that the contract company sent but she only lasted 2 days before informing us that she had been exposed to COVID from her boyfriend so she couldn't come into our building anymore, even though she tested negative. So we continue to work weekends which makes for a 5-6 day work week. 

  Again, all this extra exertion and being on my feet 8-12 hrs a day has worn out my hip! I finally had my dentist appointment and got clearance from my dentist for surgery in the next 6 months. Now I have to finish watching a video on the hip replacement surgery and get my bloodwork done before they will schedule me. I already sat through the anesthesia video. Kaiser medical group is very thorough. I wanted to check my Covid antibodies with my blood test so I am waiting for approval from my doctor to add that to the mix. And on top of all of this, I received a summons for jury duty in downtown Baltimore starting Oct 1st with instructions that I should plan on an 8 week service for a trial. Not so sure I am going to make that appointment with upcoming surgery planned! Plus I would love to see work pay for that! They only cover 2 days of Jury duty and after that you would be expected to come into work for any time that you are not covering jury duty. The last time I was called up a for a major court case was when I was pregnant with Allison and I was summoned for Jury Duty in California for the OJ Simpson case! Looks like I have interesting timing!

Since I was at home without Tom, I took our neighbors Dan and Gloria out to dinner that Friday night near my old workplace in Sykesville.  The two had never been to the town and they enjoyed my introduction to Becks Bar and Grill. The place was packed, even outdoor seating had a 40 min wait so we opted on the 20 min wait indoors. A bit loud but they enjoyed the food and drinks and would love to return to try out some of the other eateries, shops and the distillery in town. I was just sorry the restaurant had to stop serving their signature crab cakes due to lack of crab meat. The industry did not have enough people coming back to work at the fisheries and waterfront so no one to catch and pick crabs so the crab meat that is available is incredibly expensive. So I opted for a soft shelled crab sandwich-just as tasty. On Saturday morning I had to work, but I took advantage of my early afternoon to catch up with a previous co worker and celebrate her birthday with lunch at Outback. Afterwards she stopped into our house and we sat on the back deck and chatted while sipping wine. We have not spent too much time outside this summer since it has either been too hot or raining. My chair cushions and deck carpet have not had time to dry out all summer!

  So we headed out on Friday August 27th in two separate vehicles. Tom and Scott left early but really did not have anything they could do when they arrived. They used to get Scott his parking pass or pick up books since so many offices are closed on the weekend. But now everything is online, so Scott just had to repurchase another year's parking pass which is virtual-no stickers for the car. The campus police just check license plates that are registered. Not the very best system. And Scott usually buys his books online, but really needs to wait until the classes start, or whenever he hears from his profs via email. So they wandered around the closing mall in Battle Creek. Tom got us reservations outside of Kalamazoo since the hotel prices were jacked up closer to school. Battle Creek is about 30 mins from Western. And it's next to the best Sweetwater Mills donut shop(more variety!). Allison and I arrived around dinner, and Scott and Tom picked up Erbelli's pizza-very tasty. We only had 1 rather large rainstorm in Pennsylvania that Allison had to drive through on the way there. We left after Allison drove over to our house and we dropped Cookie off at Dan and Gloria's house this time. Scott was not scheduled to move in until Sunday officially. I called and spoke to the Housing Director and for a small fee, they allowed us to move into the dorms at 5pm Saturday evening. All the freshmen get first dibs on moving into the dorms since they attend an extensive orientation program. It is just too hard to schedule work off for all of us or try to drive back home on Sunday after moving into the dorm. So we had time to kill on Saturday. We decided to revisit the Battle Creek Binder Park zoo. We toured last spring on the way back from picking up Scott from school, but it was so cold, most of the animals were not on display. This time it was quite hot and we all packed bottles of water. We were pleasantly surprised with the actual size of the zoo since it was mostly closed down when we last visited. There was a whole Africa section that we missed last time, so it was quite the hike around the trails. And Allison and I even got to feed the giraffes! Plus I love that we get  half price zoo admission with my Baltimore zoo pass. 

  After our zoo hike we headed over near campus to try out a bar/restaurant that I have been interested in trying since Scott started school. Latitude 42. I also downloaded an app that you mark off with a code after visiting 8 different breweries in the area and you can earn free stuff like sunglasses and tshirts. I got $2 off my beer at Lat 42. We all decided the food was ok, a bit dry but tasty. And we had plenty left over for Scott's mini fridge. We also still had time to stop into Meijer's for some quick shopping. I was disappointed in their Western paraphernalia. Usually they have a huge display with lots of clothes, jewelry and tailgating items. Not this year. And Meijer's reorganized their store a bit like Target making it a bit harder to find things and less selection too. Probably more from COVID. But we picked up a few things for Scott's room that he forgot to pack(cleaning supplies, plastic drawer set for his bathroom since he doesn't have a counter top). Just a sink, toilet and shower. The basics. I also noted that Vernors changed their recipe and now sell Zero Sugar Vernors. And the price was a bit high at almost $2 for a 2liter bottle. I decided to just get a few bottles to try out the new taste. We still had extra time so we stopped into Costco too. We usually bring back some treats for our friends who are watching Cookie. This time we dropped Cookie off to Dan and Gloria's house early Friday morning. They are missing their dog who passed away last year so they were happy to keep her for a few nights. I managed to find some Traverse City potato chips and Tom usually loves to shop at the alcohol bins for something special for Dan at the Michigan Costco since our big box stores and grocery stores in Maryland don't carry liquor. 

  Finally we headed over to the dorms and the dorm guards let us in. We unloaded both cars while Scott checked in and got his room key and a wheeled bin. Tom and Scott loaded the carts and moved into Scott's room while I guarded the stuff at the sidewalk and Allison moved the cars to free parking spaces. We started setting up Scott's room-he had a futon to reassemble, but it was just too hot in the rooms. So we unloaded a few containers and decided to stop in on Sunday morning when it was cooler to finish. We were pretty tired and very hot(wish the school had passed out water bottles). Mostly we had to dodge the RA's who kept trying to get Scott down to the freshman orientation in the lobby. We had eaten lunch a bit late so we stopped into a small diner in downtown Battle Creek for coney dogs. The place was very family friendly-a bit disorganized and lots of kids and elderly(walkers and wheelchairs). But the food was good and not very expensive and the wait staff were very friendly. And downtown Battle Creek looked interesting. This was the first time any of us had actually seen it. I just wish they still ha

d the Kellogg Cereal factory tours. They ended them back in the late 1980s. And our family never went when we were kids. We ended our evening watching the new Hugh Jackman movie "Reminiscence" on cable which I have to say was stupid. 

  On Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast and coffee at Biggby(Michigan coffee shop) and then picked up our very fresh donuts at Sweetwater Mills(yeah pumpkin donuts!). We stopped into Scott's dorm room so Tom could help loft the bed and reassemble Scott's futon while Allison and I hung some clothes and unpacked a few more boxes. Scott had all day to set up his computer system, make his bed and organize all his decorations as we headed out on the road. Still very hot so Scott was moving a bit slow. We were chasing a large tstorm on the way home and finally ran into it in Pennsylvania about an hour out of Breezewood. Probably a good thing we stopped in Toledo to the Libby glass store and ate lunch at Tony Packos(more coney dogs!) The storm made it hard to see the road and all the large trucks made it hard to maneuver, but we finally made it home. Dan and Gloria had dropped Cookie back off at our house since it turns out their daughter dropped off her dog for the week while she traveled to the beach with her boyfriend. Cookie was happy to see us and have some company for the night!

Allison helped unload my van and headed back to her apt. It will be a bit quiet around the house again with both kids gone!