Today was a good day for Ritzy and I. We left Appleton around 9 this morning and drove to Milwaukee for an afternoon Brewer game. They have a fairly new stadium (Miller Park). This was my first ever MLB game to attend. I was excited and The only thing that could have made the day better would be a win for Ritzy's Brewers.
Oh my gosh, it took 1 hour to go about 2 miles getting out of there. There were only 41,000 people trying to do the same, so it was going to take a while. We stopped at a resturaunt in Appleton to eat before coming back to the house. Finally got "home" at 8:30pm. Made for a full day.
It was HOT at the game, but we survived ;-)
We are going to just "chill" the rest of the evening........
Tomorrow evening Ritzy's brother and sister are coming over to clear out the house. It will belong to a new owner as of the 30th of June. It's sad to see the home go to someome else after Ritzy's parents owning it for the last 30 or so years.
I better save some for later, with that...Ritzywife is out.......

Well. Ritzy and I arrived in Appleton yesterday. We had a good drive up here. Weather was good, only a shower to deal with. I thought we were coming to cooler weather but I am thinking it followed us up here. It is only 10 degrees cooler here than in Oklahoma. (I guess that is cooler, haha!)
Was seeing that back home we are already under heat alerts and advisories. Geez it is only the 2nd day of summer. I guess we are in for a hot one this summer......
Ritzy's mom and dad are doing fine. We saw them yesterday when we arrived. His brother called yesterday morning and invited us to lunch when we arrived. Was good to eat with them. Enjoyed good food and visiting. After eating we drove up to see mom and dad. Ritzy's sister and hubby were there visiting also. A little while later, the brother who we had lunch with arrived. There were quite a few of us in that little space of Mom's. We had a good visit tho.
The daughter called and wished her dad a Happy Father's Day. Didn't hear from the son, but from what I hear that is a "guy thing".....He usually gets his dad a gift and say "here ya go",....I called my dad at 7:00 yesterday morning and wished him a good day and to let him know I love him. I don't think you ever get too old to tell your parents how much you appreciate and love them ;-)
This week Ritzy and I will leave the house around noon to visit mom and dad then return around 3 or so. Then the rest of the time we will just be "chillin'" ;-)
This will be our last stay in Ritzy's parents home because as of the last of this month it will belong to a new owner.
Well, I guess I better save some for later, and with that Ritzywife is out...

Today is their 51st anniversary. I remember all too well last year at this time. We (my sisters & brother) were trying to pull off a surprise 50th Anniversary Party. Well, what can I say.....we did it, thank goodness. No thank you for that kind of stress again ;-)
It was kind of funny, this afternoon Dad had Ritzy, a brother-in-law and a nephew working on a grain bin to hold his oats that will be combined in the near future. I asked Mom what her and Dad were going to do to celebrate and she just pointed to dad and the guys working and said I guess...nothing. So....she, "sissy" and I go to town to get gas for her lawn mower and when we get back she starts mowing. This was around 4pm. What she didn't know (as I found out later from Ritzy) was that Dad told the guys they were gonna quit working at 4:30pm. Dad and I were sitting in the shade and I asked him what he had planned for mom and he said "nothing I guess, she is mowing"......was kind of funny, hahaha!!!!
Earlier, Dad gave "bubba" a small level to play with and I was showing him how to use it. I told him to holler at papaw and say these words "Hey, papaw I have been looking at this level and it told me something about you - you wanna know what it said....you are a half-a-bubble off.......Dad just let out a chuckle. I told bubba I better be quiet before I get him in trouble ;-)
Ritzy and I came home and I finished making cushions for my patio chairs. Then we went to Claremore to get supper at Taco Bueno. Its been a couple of years since we had food from there. We got our food then went to Sonic and got our drinks. Neither one of us got cleaned up to go so we just ate in the truck.
Anyways it was a pretty good day.
With that Ritzywife is out for now.........

It's hard to beleive June is already here. Dad's birthday was yesterday. He is 72 years young. The weather here in Oklahoma has finally gotten decent. Warm days and cool nights, what more could ya ask for???
We better enjoy it while it lasts. We had a weiner roast Friday night. The son, daughter, neice, her husband and 3 kids were all here for a good time. Then, after working outside all day Saturday we decided it was too nice to go inside to eat so we cooked hamburgers outside and had our supper out on the patio. I love cooking and eating outside. In a few weeks it will be getting too hot to do that. The mosquitos aren't too bad now, so we are enjoying the time outside while we can.
In a couple of weeks Ritzy and I will be heading back to Wisconsin for a short stay. It sounds like his parents are doing as well as can be expected. This will be our last time staying in their home. It has been sold and the sale closes at the end of June.
We will be busy each day going to visit Mom & Dad, but that is why we are going. We are also going to Milwaukee to catch a Brewer's game.
I have been thinking this morning about all the things going on right now, Ritzy's parents, my neice and the brain tumor & her pregnancy, my brother-in-law (her dad) who is recovering from Lyme Disease, etc.....I still have so many things to be thankful for. Ritzy has been home from deployment for 7 months, our kids are doing fine, my parents are doing fine, Ritzy is OUT of the military for good...... We can decide to let things get us down or be thankful for what we have. I choose the latter, even tho I have my moments when I am concerned about what is going on.
That great-nephew has a baseball game at Chelsea tonight and I think Ritzy and I are going to watch him play. Those 7-8 year olds are so fun to watch. Poor Ritzy will probably have to eat a sandwich so we can make it to the game, but heck- it's better than nothin'!!!!!!! It won't be too bad tho cause it will be a BLT and I love those, the only thing that would make it better is if the tomatoes were coming out of our garden. That's ok tho cause we will have our own soon enough!!!!
The garden is looking really good. I can hardly wait to start eating from it. Geez, I am making myself hungry with all this talk about garden produce ;-)
And with that Ritzywife is out..............

That's right, the first holiday of the summer is upon us. A lot of people will be heading out to their area lakes for a leisurely weekend. Some will have a backyard barbeque. Others will just enjoy the long weekend at home.
But.......we must NOT forget why we observe Memorial Day. It is to remember those heroes, past and present who have given the ultimate sacrifice for serving their country. Don't forget about their families!!!!
Please take some time this weekend to say a prayer for the families left behind and for our soldiers (and their families) who are now serving. And to thank God that we have this country (even with all it's faults) to call ours. There is still no better place to be on this earth than in: The United States of America
I think about last year at this time. Ritzy was in Iraq and I was thinking that the time for him to come home would NEVER get here. As we all know it did and he has been home since last October. It's funny, I think about times of the year and where I was last year compared to this year. Makes me sad in some ways and very happy and proud in others. Can't explain it. You would have to be a military family to understand.
Our family always gathers on Memorial Day at Mom & Dad's for a cookout. Way too much food, but it sure is good. We always bless the food and say a prayer for the reason we are meeting.
I hope everyone has a safe holiday. With that Ritzywife is out.........

That pretty much says it. How do you deal with what life hands you?????? I have been thinking about this a lot the past week or so. First, after Dad's surgery and seeing how he was dealing with that. On Saturday before we left, we visited him in the hospital and he was finally realizing we had been there all week and he could not believe we were having to go. He had been on pain medication and did not know what was going on most of the time. He was upset that we were having to leave and it was hard to see him that way.
We said our good-byes and told him that we would be back in June.
Then......a few hours into our trip back home I get a phone call informing me that my neice (the mother of Bubba and Sissy and their 5 month old sister and....expecting again in October) had to go to the hospital that mornng because of problems she had been having the past month with headaches, nausea, seizures. There she found out she has some kind of brain tumor. She was then taken to a Tulsa hospital .
I was shocked!!!!
That is all I have been able to think about since.
Because she is pregnant, they are limited on the tests they can run. They are doing everything they can to let the baby survive right now. As of now she is still in the hospital. They are controlling the seizures with medication. If they can get her calcium controlled they will let her come home, but next thursday she is supposed to have surgery on her parathyroid.
At some time in the near future, whether it be after the safe delivery of her baby or the unfortunate termination of that little one, she will be facing brain surgery. It all depends on the next MRI to see if that thing is growing or if her symptoms return. Only taking one day at a time now and praying A LOT!!!!!
Bubba and Sissy know something is not quite right and they miss their mamma. She wants to be home with her "babies". I hope she gets to leave the hospital today. Her hubby is about to go nuts too, he is ready to stop having to sleep on that little couch in the room. I told him to just crawl up there in the bed with his wife and get a good night's sleep.
So, after we returned from Wisconsin where we made trips to the hospital and nursing home twice a day , I have made trips to the hospital to see that neice. I can't quite get back into my "routine" at home.
Looking for some sort of "normal" to return to my life. It has all changed since Ritzy returned from his deployment last October.
With that Ritzywife is out!

Here we are 3 days after Ritzy's Dad's surgery (other leg amputated), and he is doing fair. He was running a fever last night and this morning. Could not eat anything....Wants to sleep all the time. Geez he is 80 years old, ya know.... this has to be hard on his body.
He was hoping to be moved back to the nursing home today or tomorrow, but that is out because of the fever and no appettite.
We went to see him this evening and he didn't even know we were there. The nurses said he was confused most of the day. The strong pain meds could be causing the confusion and so much sleep.
This is so hard on Ritzy. We go to visit his mom in a town about 11 miles away. They are at the same Nursing Home/Assisted Living Location, but they don't get to see each other every day. I have wondered how I would ever survive that if I were in her shoes. She has only a couple of "good" hours during the day so we try to go when she is feeling good. It sure is hard watching your parents get old.
Ritzy and I are in the "Sandwich Generation" right now---just raised our kids and now have to start watching our parents. That's ok tho, cause we love them and would not have it any other way.....
We are supposed to leave Saturday for Oklahoma, unless complications arise with Dad. We will be coming back up here in June, which is our scheduled trip anyways.
It is so odd to be staying at Mom & Dad's home without them. All their belongings have either been sold or given away. Ritzy and I brought enough household necessities to get by on and we have made it pretty good.
If the house doesn't sell by June we will be staying in it again. I will probably just leave the stuff packed and have it ready to bring in June.
The weather has been wonderful this past week, only 1 rainy day. Next week it is supposed to cool off up here, that's ok cause I am headed South.......Hopefully Oklahoma is going to "dry up" soon, hahahaha!!!!!
That's about all I have for now.
Ritzywife out............