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Showing posts from 2015

Nothing to say

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Five weeks had elapsed between the Maui and Holiday posts.  I was getting some inquiring e-mails. I didn't get distracted, sick or injured and hadn't died. It's not that there's a huge following, but I am usually more regular in posting at least once or twice a month.  Blogging is a 'feast or famine' endeavor and it's just that nothing new happened.  When I started this four years ago, I said if I already talked about it, or the post was not based on a real event, or had no humor value, I wouldn't blog about it.*  I will say however, the graphics have gotten better in four years.  If there's nothing to say, SHUTUP Certainly, there is progression with ataxia.  But, it is fairly slow and constant. This blog was never meant to be informative.  It's not a sitcom during the off–season.  Do I have writer's block?  Perhaps.  Maybe I've run out of things to say.  Maybe my sense of humor is hiding somewhere.  Nah,  I'm just sporadic.

Sharing the holidays

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As I approached the first post-retirement Christmas, I vowed not to go into it channeling last year's Holiday Dictator.* It's not as if I usually did everything and Earl did nothing . It's just that I had never shared in the decision-making. I'm not a "My Way or the Highway" kind of person.  But during Christmas, I have to admit to being a "My Way is the Best Way" kind of person.  Outdoor Décor Earl started by getting the Christmas ornaments out of the attic.  That area used to be somewhat organized. Then we remodeled our house and the Tenison family moved in while their house was being built.**  The attic was where we threw everything that didn't have a home and now it was a death trap.  Fortunately, Earl (new to the 'Elf Club') , only bumped his head a couple of times and managed not to kill himself while extricating the holiday paraphernalia***.  He moved on to hang the big ornaments all along the driveway and put up

Thelma Goes Hawaiian

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Thelma & Louise This trip to Maui was our first since exchanging the walker for the wheelchairs. Our trip to Sequim, Washington showed us that Thelma, a transport chair with a small footprint, can get through pre–code doorways*.  Our condominium in Maui is upstairs, all on one level once inside, has code doorways, but carpeting throughout.  That makes 'feet–only' navigation challenging. Thelma's brakes are low and in back. Louise's brakes are high and in front.  Still, her conventional rear wheels allow me to use two means of propulsion (arms and legs) **.  Almost a month without Louise's comfort and maneuverability gave me pause, but in the end, we left her behind. Bedside, poolside, lanaiside It turned out to be a very good call. The bad news is that I now require more assistance to go up and down stairs.  The good news is that I have more assistance.  That was another humiliation bullet to bite and get over. Thelma folds up compactly to

I Need To Get Out More

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I was so proud of myself. With the help of Skeeter, I was on top of the modifications in my neighborhood and maintained a level of outdoor activity*.  So when Earl suggested that I join him and our friend on a Saturday morning walk in downtown Portland (my old stomping grounds) ,  I enthusiastically accepted.  Holy crap!  Times they are a–changing.  While I was staying up with suburban Lake Oswego, the Portland downtown had undergone significant growth in the last year.  I knew the metropolitan area was experiencing a population increase, but the development took me by surprise and made it seem much more urban, dense, and (gulp) less affordable. Warehouses to apartments From the early 90s, a group of us ran in the downtown area on a regular basis.  The group had dwindled down for both geographical and physical reasons.  One couple relocated, walking was preferable to some, and I was now on a scooter instead of my feet.  But, we were still moving somehow, somewhere—just verbal

Parties 'R' Us

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As she was putting away an inordinate amount of party supplies, Sandie commented "You two entertain a lot."   It's not that Earl and I have lots of parties.  But people in the Pacific Northwest tend to schedule events during the driest months (July, August, September) . We're most likely to have good outdoor weather, use our deck, and pool. I have to confess to being the local 'Party Supply Central'.  Before the onset of my ataxia, I was a travel stuff addict.  Now that I'm more locally focused, I acquire party stuff.  Fortunately, my family and friends know to check with me before buying anything . Thanks to inheriting my mother's military wife entertaining supply legacy and my own addiction, chances are good that I have large quantities of it. Earl and I also preserve marital harmony with lots of pre–party planning. He tolerates my lists and I tolerate his detailed menus.  Our goal is to see our friends, have a good time, and not kil

The Flower Quest

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Obtaining flowers isn't usually much of a problem here.  I see them when scooting on my garden route*.  Earl has developed a green thumb and is cultivating some on his own.  Friends and neighbors are a good supply.  I have developed a reputation in that I never met a flower I didn't like.  Bottom line:  Flowers make me happy and I always have places for arrangements**.  But, when Earl suggested that we go to the Dahlia Festival in nearby Canby, we had decisions to make.  Nothing is simple these days.  Did I really want to go?  1.  Was this event worth the effort?  Answer: Yes 2.  What's the best vehicle***?  Answer:  Skeeter would allow me more unassisted mobility. 3.  Would my bladder last 3 hours?  Answer:  Probably Portland and surrounds, like many cities, holds one celebration or another for its flowers. From June through August, there's the Rose Festival, the Tulip festival, the Iris Festival.  They tend to be ADA compliant, accommodating, and welcome p

They built it; they came

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Future Street of Dreams pre-2014 Skeeter and I have been watching the construction of the Street of Dreams  (SOD) for nearly a year*.  It became a regular scoot route and I was able to document the transition with my trusty iPhone.  I'm guessing the SOD organizers consider 'the hood' residents to be major pains, but they needed to deal with us.  All in all, we were pretty reasonable and they were fairly responsive to our concerns. The streets were terrible when construction began.  As the property morphed into the Highlands of Lake Oswego , we got better paved streets, improved street signs, and more sidewalk.  It's actually easier for me and Skeeter to ride along the road, even though there wasn't room for a wider street.  Current hood residents are getting used to sharing the road with a lady on a motorized scooter.  When the new homeowners move in, bringing more traffic, Skeeter and I will orient them by haunting the Highlands. Highlands of Lake Osweg

The Granddog visit

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In July, Jason, Elizabeth, Zoe and Lexi vacationed in Great Britain and Earl and I became the designated dog sitters for three weeks.  We consider Porter to be our grand puppy. We looked forward to his visits.  It had been almost two years since our nephew and niece's dog, Prince, provided the first 'canine fix'.  We knew this wasn't going to be equitable, but we did want to be a functional threesome. When Earl and I had Prince for a week, we learned the limits of my dog parenting abilities*.  During our week with the girls in April**, we found Porter to be a typical laid back golden retriever and fairly low maintenance with regard to care.  He had adjusted quickly to my walker, but we wondered how he would cope with the new wheelchair.  Smart dog that he is, he moved out of my way when necessary and seemed to sense that, seated, I was less at risk for falling.  Porter was more inclined to come over for a scratch than before.  I could brush him, but as usual, mo

The Right Vehicle for the Task

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The Olympic National Park–Washington state Our May road trip proved most places are accessible given the right conveyance.  In addition to Skeeter, we now have wheelchairs to consider.  Since the girls* joined us, there is a new decision to make everytime we go somewhere–local and otherwise.  Do we take lightweight, small footprint Thelma or maneuverable, but wider Louise?  For this 4 hour trip up to the Olympic Peninsula (after the May trip, they all seem short**), w e elected to take Thelma (and Skeeter, of course) for several reasons.  Everything is a trade-off, but it turned out to be a good call.  Our friends, Mark and Leilani, live on a family farm that dates back to the late 1800s. The doors are original and the doorways narrow.  I needed the occasional push over a threshold, but otherwise, navigation was accomplished efficiently with my feet.   However, neither Thelma nor Skeeter could handle the outdoor terrain.  For that, I needed a bigger boat (too obscure a re

New Wheels: The 'girls'

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The evaluation No, not those kind of girls.  As I said, the road trip convinced us that it was time to give up the walker and move to a wheelchair*.  Earl and I knew it was coming, and had, in fact, been talking and researching since the beginning of the year.  When we got back from our trip, I scheduled an evaluation with a Physical Therapist who was employed by our healthcare provider.  She and a 'mobility specialist' (whatever that is) , assessed and measured me in every possible dimension.  Talk about humiliation bullet!  But they wanted to customize the wheelchair and that was our goal as well.  I got over that issue quickly.  The report generated by the evaluation documented every option, but painted a very bleak view of my progression.  Some things are best to move past.  Anyway, they indicated that it would be awhile until my chair was built and delivered (4–6 weeks). Wanting to keep our children informed, we told them what we were planning. The next day, be

New Wheels: The car

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Since I was no longer driving*, we had decided to go with one automobile.  In May, Earl sold his BMW, partially because we were now a one car family and partially to get an automatic transmission.  After years of driving fun cars, it was his turn to bite the humiliation bullet.  While we waited for the new vehicle to arrive, we hung on to the Prius. The old car Actually, letting go of the Prius was even harder (for me) than selling the Beemer.  We had bought it in 2008 from our son when he got his corporate vehicle.  It had been my car and taken me through my final driving career.  It had hauled both the old and new motorized scooters and the walker, never complaining (spare me comments about over–personification**). Eight years old and it still only had 45,000 miles on the odometer.  Maybe I was the legendary 'owned by a little old lady...blah, blah, blah'.  In June, we sold it to our nephew for his daughter, so the Prius was owned by three generations of Schumans.  H