Journal - Coming Home

So on Wednesday morning, we were in no particular hurry to get up and go anywhere. Checkout time was 11am so there was no need to rush. I can’t even remember what time I got up yesterday morning. It might have been around 8 or so; Joni was already up of course.
We went downstairs to the little café area off the main lobby where they have a continental breakfast every morning.. I wasn’t really in the mood for much. I was a little worried about the car ride. By this time I had gotten to where I could walk around unaided, but I was afraid a long ride in the car would make me sick. I had had some very minor bouts with what I guess you would call motion sickness since the bandage had come off on Tuesday. Nothing serious, just a few stomach flip-flops now and then.
Anyway, I was hoping for a couple of sweet rolls or something, but they didn’t have any that morning. There was sausage and scrambled eggs, but I definitely didn’t want that in my stomach. There was bread for toast, and some muffins, but none of that really appealed to me either. I finally decided on a waffle. They had a batter dispenser where you could squirt out some waffle batter into a cup. There were two waffle irons hot and ready to go, so you just had to pour in the batter and close the lid. Once you flipped the thing over, the timer started. After about 40 seconds, out came a nearly perfect waffle. That really hit the spot. I ended up eating a couple of sausages with it after all because I just can’t resist sausages. I only ate two though so I thought it would be all right.
After that, we went back upstairs and packed up our things and were ready to go. The lady at the counter that morning had evidently noticed me, first with a cane, then with a bandage, then with neither. She said, “You take it easy now, a little healing each day.” We leftthe the hotel and stopped to fill up the gas tank, then we were off. We merged onto I-80 at a few minutes after 10am. I enjoyed watching the GPS unit and helping Joni navigate.
I was enjoying looking at everything, but I was still very tired. Once we were on the highway and cruising, I put my headphones on and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, we were coming up on York, the main stopping place between Lincoln and Kearney. We stopped at Wendy’s again to eat, same place we stopped in on our way to Omaha. After we ate, I got up from our table and walked to the restroom. All by myself. That felt very strange, and very good. I don’t know if I’ve talked much about public restrooms, but let’s just say I always avoided them whenever I could.
From York, it’s only about an hour’s drive to the Gibbon exit, and I was getting very anxious to get home and see where Ihad been living for the last two anda half years. I was anxious to see Sassie too, I had been feeling pretty guilty about leaving her for three days.
The rest of the drive went by pretty quickly, then we were pulling off the interstate. I have spent alittle more than half my life in oraround Gibbon, but never spent much time south of I-80, so the drive from there was especially interesting. I enjoyed seeing corn fields.
And then we were home. Things did not look the way I had always pictured them outside our house. Seeing exactly where the trees were, and our little shed, and the propane tank, and Joni’s country fence was fascinating. Inside the house was even better. I don’t know why, but I had always imagined our house as kind of a dumpy little place, but when I saw it for the first time, I liked it. Liked it quite a lot actually. It was just so strange seeing all those familiar things, things I had never seen before.
I spent the rest of the afternoon just walkingfrom room to room, looking at everything. I went outside a couple of times to walk around andlook. It’s kind of pretty outhere.
When you’re blind, distances are often hard to judge. Even inside a house. I would look around and think things like “I didn’t know there was so much space between the couch and the wall”, or “I thought the back porch was bigger than this.” I knew the layout of the house, but nothing looked quite like I expected.
And it was great to see my dog again. She kept looking at me all the time. Maybe she always did, but it was kind of strange. When I first went blind, I used to trip over her a lot. She likes to lay down right in the middle of the walkways of the house. After a while she adjusted, and learned to move out of the way when I came walking along. After we had been home a while yesterday, I started testing her. I would walk up to her, and instead of moving she would just lay there and look at me. I don’t knowhow, but she seemed to understand.
I suppose I could go on for along time about all that, but I guess you get the idea. Maybe I’ll be able to put it into words better later on.
Wednesday night I was very tired again of course, and we got to bed at our usual time. It was so good to be home, and especially good to be climbing into my own bed.
And that, at last, brings me to the present time. I have an appointment with Dr. Feilmeier today at 3pm in Kearney. If everything is to his satisfaction, then I’ll just be seeing him once a month, each time he comes to Kearney. I’m looking forward to seeing a little bit of Kearney today. Being the nearest town of any size to my hometown of Gibbon, I was very familiar with Kearney. But I know a lot has changed there, and I’m looking forward to seeing it for myself. That reminds me, I need to go see Gibbon too, and Mom’s new house, and the new school, and the empty lot where the old school was, and Mom’s store, and gosh, there’s just so much to see. Stay tuned!

Journal - April Wrap-up

Well, April is gone already, along with the first quarter of the year. Where does the time go? I spent the last half of April working hard on my blog and trying to figure out all that affiliate stuff, but there actually were some other things going on. So it's time to catch up.

On the Monday before last, that was the 19th I think, Joni had a minor car accident. She hit a bad spot in the gravel road not far from the house and ended up in the ditch. It was a pretty big ditch though, and the impact was hard enough to set off the airbags. She and Adam both got whacked in the face pretty good. No serious injuries, praise God.

The damage to the truck was minor too. We took it to Brad’s house in Axtell the following Thursday for him to look at. He's a mechanic. He discovered that the radiator was cracked and had to be replaced. Also the front parking lamp assemblies were broken. I called the salvage yard for the parts and Brad did the work the following Tuesday. I think I’m off by a week, I know he didn’t work on it this last Tuesday. The accident must have been on the 12th.

Anyway, the day we went to the junk yard to pick up the parts, we took our aluminum cans that we’ve been saving ever since we moved here last April. We had 84 pounds, 42 dollars worth. I gave Adam twenty since he did all the crushing, and we spent the rest at Subway after Brad finished the work. We ended up going to Walmart after he was done so I could get a tire looked at. It was almost flat when we got to Brad’s, but it turned out to be fine. Since we had the car in anyway, I had them rotate the tires and change the oil, and we went to Subway while they were working on it. They have a Subway in Walmart so that worked out well.

What else? Last Saturday, the 24th, Brenna had a violin recital at a church in Kearney. We rode up with Mom since she wanted to go too. Brenna is becoming quite the violinist! It was a long program, there were about 25 students and each played a solo, but I enjoyed hearing her play. I hope she’ll stick with the violin. Music can add so much to life.

It has occurred to me that April is full of anniversaries. Let me see:
April 5, Dad’s birthday. He would have been 65 this year.
April 8, Brenna’s birthday. She became a teenager!
April 14, the 98th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.
April 18, eighteen months since I quit smoking. A year and a half ties my record, let’s see if I can beat it this time.
April 20, the 11th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.
April 26, a double anniversary! One year since we moved to Nebraska, and it would have been Astri’s 6th birthday.

So I think that’s it for April. One month closer to football season!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Memories - Grandma Gladys

When I was a child, I had the good fortune to have not only my four grandparents, but also two great-grandparents nearby. Grandma Gladys was actually Great-Grandma Gladys, but we always just called her Grandma Gladys. She was Dad’s grandma, the mother of Grandpa Meril Dean. As with Grandpa Howard, who I have written about previously, Grandma Gladys died when I was still pretty young, so I didn't know her as well as I would have liked. There are a few things I remember, though.
The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of Grandma Gladys is her sugar cookies. She made the most wonderful sugar cookies I have ever eaten. She made them really big and they were always kind of flaky and crumbly and oh so delicious. I asked Brad and Bobbi what they remembered most about Grandma Gladys and they both mentioned the sugar cookies right away.
And not just cookies, it seemed like everything Grandma made was especially good. I remember her apple butter very clearly too. I loved her apple butter so much that she used to give me my own little jar. I also remember kolaches, round pastries with a dollop of pie filling in the center.
I have one memory that stands out very clearly in my mind. Bobbi and I had just gotten new winter coats. I think we were just on our way home from the store and we stopped at Grandma's house, which was on the way. It was still late summer and quite warm out, as I recall, but we had new coats and just couldn’t wait to wear them, also we wanted to show them off to Grandma. So we walked into her house wearing winter coats and short pants. Grandma said something like, "You're wearing coats and have your bare butts sticking out.” That was just deliciously funny to me and Bobbi, I think Mom even got a chuckle out of that. I don’t know why that scene stands out to me, probably because of the bare butt thing. You know how kids are.
The other things I remember about Grandma Gladys are jus fragments. She wouldn’t let you sit too close to the tv, and she always called the couch a davenport. That word always sounded so strange and exotic to me as a child. Grandma used to let us drink coffee which made us feel very grown-up. Of course it was really just a cup of milk with barely enough coffee in it to turn it brown. If you were feeling poorly, Grandma would press her lips to your forehead to see if you had a fever. That was always nice, Mom had to use a thermometer for some reason. Crazy new-fangled things anyway.
And the peacocks. There were two or three peacocks roaming freely around Grandma’s yard. I have no idea where they came from, they're hardly native to Nebraska, and I have no idea where they went after she died. They just kind of disappeared. It was always a special treat to pick up a peacock feather whenever they lost one.
Bobbi reminded me of the cracker barrel that always sat on Grandma’s counter. It was just a plastic container that said “cracker barrel” on the side and had a white lid. It always had crackers in it and was never empty. Bobbi also mentioned something that I never really thought of before. She said Grandma always wore dresses. I never thought much about it, but I think that’s right, Grandma never wore pants.
Brad actually surprised me a little when I asked him about Grandma Gladys, but I should have known. Brad is the oldest of us four kids, seven years older than me, and naturally would have the clearest memories. Where I was only eleven when Grandma died, Brad would have been eighteen. Here's what Brad had to say:
“Boy, I loved going over to grandma's house. I even rode my bike over there sometimes just to hang out. It seemed like she was always cooking. It didn't matter when you went over, it seemed like she always had her apron on in the kitchen. Of course, everybody remembers her sugar cookies. I remember she used to give me coffee to dunk them in but that's all I did. I couldn't drink it. I always hated the taste of coffee, even with milk. She taught me how to play pitch. I loved going over with dad in the mornings after irrigating when everybody was there. It seemed like everybody came over after the morning chores. Dad, Grandpa MD, Tom Mercer, Craig Nutter, all sitting around, drinking coffee and eating cookies or coffee cake. Those were the good ole' days.”
Those are pretty neat memories and I kind of envy Brad for them. I had forgotten about the card playing, the Brandt’s were always card players. You could always find a few decks in the coffee table drawer.
Gladys Opal Brogan was born on July 13, 1893 in Surprise, Nebraska. She married Grandpa, Albert Henry Brandt, on August 6, 1920, and she died on March 10, 1982 in Kearney , Nebraska. She was a very sweet old lady and I wish I could remember her better. We never truly appreciate the wonderful things we have in this life until they are gone. I am so thankful for the few items I have to remember her by: her oil lamp, which always had red oil in it, the painted mirror that always hung over her kitchen sink, and one of her wooden spoons that looks like it got a lot of use. In her own small way, she played a part in raising me up into the person I am today. I hope she will be remembered by many more generations of our family.

Psalms 103:17-18 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalms 79:13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Journal - Number 50

Okay, just a few quick notes to catch up on what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been experimenting with my screen reader a little bit, lately. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with surfing the internet and typing documents, so I decided to challenge myself a little and try some spreadsheets. I’ve always really enjoyed usihng spreadsheets, as any tru obsessive/compulsive would, and used them a lot in my work. Over the years I got pretty good with them and I was kind of missing that. So that’s what I’ve been experimenting with. I made a large database to catalog my audio books. So far, so good. I enjoyed the work, plus now I can find any audio book I want, instead of just listening to whatever is on top.

I called Serotek on Monday of last week, that’s the company that developed my screen reader, System Access To Go. I told them how I had purchased the voice package for my account but it didn't work. After looking up my account and confirming that I had, indeed, paid the forty dollars, the guy told me their system had screwed something up and they would have it fixed by the end of the day. I tried to log in again less than an hour later and they had already fixed it. . I was a little peeved at them over the whole thing, but felt a little better after getting such good customer service. I wish all companies were like that. Don’t they understand that it’s those little touches that will keep their customers happy and loyal?

Last Tuesday we had a little excitement. It seems that the local television station in Kearney recently fired one of its employees. Tuesday, the young man walked into the Wells Fargo bank in Kearney with a gun. I don’t know if anyone really knows what his intentions were, but he ended up holding some hostages for about three hours before finally giving himself up. No one was hurt, praise God. This was a twenty two year old, just a kid. I can only imagine what must have gone wrong in his life to make him do something like that. We used to see stories like that on the news all the time in Dallas, but it’s something of a rarity here. The kid is from Minden which is where we live, although we are several miles outside of town.

Well, this is my 50th post. When I started this blog back in September, I really didn’t know if I would be able to keep it going. I never would have guessed that I had so much to say. Fifty isn’t really a lot, in the grand scheme of things, but I’m pleased. I think it's a great start. So, to celebrate my 50th post, I decided to have a little fun with the number fifty.

In America: There ar fifty states in our union. The fifty dollar bill features the face of Ulysses S Grant, and the fifty cent piece shows the silhouette of John F Kennedy.

In popular culture: There is a song by Paul Simon called “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” There is a movie called “50 First Dates” starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, one of my favorites. The television show “Hawaii 5 oh” was thus named because Hawaii was the fiftieth state admitted to the union.

In the year 1950: a new house cost about $8,450, a gallon of gas cost eighteen cents, and a loaf of bread cost twelve cents. Popular movies included “Sunset Blvd" and "Cinderella”, and popular musical acts were Fats Domino and Nat King Cole.

Okay, that wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be, haha. Seriously, if you’ve read all fifty of my posts, thank you and get a life. If you’ve joined me more recently, I hope you’ll stick around for the next fifty, and get a life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Journal - Audio Books and Football

Hi there everyone! I don’t have anything really important to talk about today. I do have a few minor things that I wanted to put down in the record, though.

I haven’t heard anything back from BCBS on the insurance. I’m not feeling too bad about that, though. Over Christmas I was feeling down and just wanted to get it all taken care of as quickly as possible. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm willing to wait again. I'm still not completely sure if this is the path God wants me to take, anyway. Joni filled out the application for me and mailed it in, and that’s really all I can do. Now I sit back and see whereGod leads me.

On a more exciting note, I have new audio books to listen to! Since Joni and I went to Minden and got our Nebraska I D’s, I was finally able to get a library card for the Kearney library. We went there last Wednesday to do that, and I took a look at their selection of audio books on CD. From what Joni says, and from what I could feelwith my own hands, they have a much larger selection than our library back in Carrollton. So for the last week, I’ve been enjoying searching through their catalog online. Their search engine is kind of tricky, not because I’m blind, but because it’s not organized very well, but I’m gradually getting the hang of it. I can find audio books online and put them on hold, then when they are ready to pick up, they send me an email and Joni can stop and pick them up on her weekly shopping trip. I haven’t had a new book to listen to for about a year so I’m pretty excited about hearing some new books and reviewing them for my other blog, “Reviews From the Deep.” In addition to the CD audio books, they also have audio books that you can download directly to your computer. Those are much more handy and the search engine for those is easier to use, but the selection is not quite as good. Between the two formats, though, I’ll have lots and lots of new books to listen to.

Okay, let’s talk football. I’ve never been a fan of basketball or baseball, but I love football. That means I spend the whole year anticipating the upcoming football season. This year was a little hard for me, however. The games aren’t as much fun to listen to, as they are to watch. I did get some enjoyment from listening to the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ games on the radio, those guys know how to do it, but the TV announcers are just no good. I never noticed before how little the commentators talk about what is actually happening on the field. All that aside, I have been enjoying the playoffs. Since I didn’t pay that much attention during the season, I was surprised to see the New York Jets as a wildcard team, and even more surprised to see them beat the Chargers. They have to play the Colts next, though, and I don’t think they’ll do it. Also, it was interesting to see all three teams that Brett Favre played for in the playoffs this year; the Green Bay Packers, who lost their wildcard game; the Jets who are still alive; and, of course, the Vikings who I think will beat the Saints and play against the Colts in the superbowl. I like Peyton Manning and Brett Favre equally, so I don’t really know who I will route for in the superbowl. Should be a good game though.

Last Sunday, Mom stopped by and brought food. Yay, I love food! She brought her famous German chocolate caramel bars, and her even more famous ham balls. Oh, and she brought Aunt LeeDel’s bread. Every Christmas, Aunt LeeDel makes banana bread, cherry bread, and pumpkin bread. She didn’t get to come for Christmas this year because of all the snow we had, and apparently it was even worse up in Sioux Falls, where she lives, so she mailed the bread to Mom, and Mom delivered it to everyone. The ham balls are gone already, the brownies are close, and the bread is about half gone. You’d think we never eat around here!

I’m still getting on the exercise bike, but not regularly. I’m trying to do better about that and this week I’ve done pretty good; every day so far. I downloaded some new karaoke music to play my sax with, but I haven’t realy been playing very much. I miss the Christmas music. Also I’ve been busy with audio books.

Well, that’s what’s been going on. Oh! I almost forgot, Bobbi's husband, Mike, had hip-replacement surgery last week. We visited him in the hospital last Thursday, the same day we went to the library. He’s home now and recovering so remember to pray for Mike!

See ya next time!

1 Samuel 12:23-24 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.