Jan Curran Events

Wednesday in Ventura

Seeing that my kids add new material to their blogs  every day, I thought I'd jot a few lines on here today... won't be as interesting as Tod with his book news and fucktards ( his word, not mine) at todgoldberg.typepad.com or Lee at leegoldberg.typepad.com with movie news and sights from Berlin, or the girls at visualchronicles.com.... Gosh,my kids are all over the place and getting to see them is almost impossible.

Daughters Karen and Linda jet off tonight for New York City and a convention, where  ,to quote son Tod, they will promote their new art book and stalk Rosie O' Donnell who will also be there.

Son Lee is still in Berlin, loving every moment of his gig there, filming and working on his movie. He called me yesterday and that was just a terrific surprise and chat. Loved it. Miss him a lot.

Son Tod is doing a reading in LA next week and then prepares to take off for Vermont with his wife, the beautiful Wendy, where both will spend two weeks in intensive study and writing working on their masters degrees. I'll try for some visit to the desert this summer so I can see them.. Miss them a lot, too.

I will see some family this week. On Sunday I'm driving to son Lee's house, will spend the day with his wife, Val, and my grand daughter Maddie. A chance to see them before they jet off to Berlin, too, and grab some stuff out of my storage at their house.

You should read..

My cousin Mike Barer has some good blog stuff about Walla Walla on his site now. Go take a look at mvbarer.blogspot.com.

He writes about the changes in downtown Walla Walla and it was all interesting to me since I haven't been " home" in a few years and often toy with the idea of moving back to Walla Walla.  All that holds me back is that it is so far away from my kids -- but on the other hand, don't see them that often, anyway... Just a thought to put in my "maybe box" for after my next scan. 

I'd love to live in Walla Walla -- so many pals there, it isn't far from Seattle -- might be a nice life change.  Have to weigh it carefully. With my medical history I need to be near great medical centers and care and that is one area that Walla Walla lacks. If I got a cancer scare again it would mean getting to Seattle for treatment and care -- kinda a tough situation -- and then I really would miss my kids.  As one of my friends wrote to me we are in that awkward time of not knowing where to live or how -- it ain't so easy to be single and alone and have that concern about where to live and I know that living in this old folks home is temporary.  Well, like Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about it on some tomorrow.

The Dentist...

Did you think there would be a blog entry without a dental update? Wrong.

Yesterday I had a three hour appointment. Good gracious, I was beat after that. Not sure, even, what the dentist did. Some work on a post that will hold the new teeth, some grinding of this and that, some impressions. I have another appointment on June 14 which cuts it close before I go to Walla Walla - but the dentist is hopeful the lab will have my new teeth back by then, the new crowns can also go on, etc.  Keep good thoughts on that for me.

Fall in Ventura...

One of my buddies here at " the home" fell and was on his floor for 24 hours. The reason no one went to check on why he wasn't in the dining room or seen in the building is he often goes out for meals, doesn't tell us prior -- so no one worried when he didn't show up for three meals.

His kids came to visit in the evening and found him on the floor of his closet. Not hurt in the sense no bones were broken, but dehydrated and pretty bruised. He's been in the hospital but will be back here soon.

It's the big 'What If?' isn't it? All single people harbor that fear , that what if they fell and no one knew.

Last night at dinner a new resident told me she moved in here after falling and breaking her back.. Was on her floor for two days before anyone knew. Now, that surely is enough to scare me enough to go on living in a group setting.

The View...

Okay, I watched it yesterday. Think they are going to lose me as a faithful viewer -- it seems boring and slow without Rosie.

I don't like Joy any more, either.  Think still that she set up the big fight, and I have never thought she was funny. She tries too hard, the lines don't seem to flow as freely as Rosie's did.  I get the idea she comes to the set with her one liners written out.

Time to roll..

I've got physical therapy today - still going for the sprained shoulder I got during radiation treatments --- When does the day come when I get on this blog and don't have medical woes to write about? 

I'm off and running -- or rather walking with a brisk move.

See you next time.

Jan

Sleeping In Seattle...

Sleeping In Seattle...

That would have been me from the 15th until the 22nd of May.

How was it there? Ah, wonderful. We had days of heavy rain and then days of beautiful sunshine and warm weather, but that isn't what was wonderful... what was wonderful was the time I was able to spend with my mother.

I'm sure there are cousins and friends who are upset I didn't call or go visit, but my main goal and reason to be there was to spend as much time as I could with Mom and rest myself.  I'm still in the "after radiation fatigue" set. Every time Mom went down for a nap, I rested ,too. Worked out fine!

Since, mom  sleeps off and on around the clock, I surely wasn't going to go out and miss a chance to be with her. So why didn't I invite people over? Simple. Mom gets so tired.

When she has company, it both excites and tires her. If you have a relative in their 90's I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. And, taking her out is such a big deal and one she doesn't enjoy . My brother tells me he can never get her to go out, and I surely believe that.

Aside from going out on her birthday we never left her condo, except to sit outside on the deck and watch boats on Lake Washington.

Her 95th birthday?  Mom got lots of cards from nieces and nephews, cousins, grand children, calls all day long -- she was on a real high. She kept saying, " 95 is old, isn't it?" but as the card my son Lee sent from Berlin said, " 95 is the new 50!"

The actual party time  started out bad but turned out terrific. We, the caregiver and I, got mom, her walker and her wheelchair down to the parking garage and in to the car only to discover the car had a dead battery. A call to my brother brought my niece over in short order to get us and take us to my brother's home for the birthday party... and that was the terrific part. Mom had a ball, heck, we all did.

Want to see a few shots from then? Hang on...

Here is Mom surrounded by some family members. That cake was one of two we had! Just click on the photo to get a full page view.

Here I am with my two brothers. That's Stan, the party host, on the left, and Burl on the right. We three always have a great time together and the birthday party was no exception. And Mom loves it when we three tease each other, so she laughed a lot.

I hated to leave Seattle, and Mom, but with dental appointments this week, I had no choice. Mom cried when I left and begged me to stay longer. Boy, that made it tough to leave. It's always the same --- I think I weep all the way to the airport.

My darling daughter Karen ( visualchronicles.com) picked me up at the airport in Burbank which turned out not to be such a snap since my flight was hours late and then we had the hour long drive to Ventura  -- so I didn't get back here until midnight.

I'm beat now, mentally planning my next trip up to Seattle and more time with Mom. Maybe in August -- I did promise her I would be back this summer and I know how much it means to her, and to me.

What's new here, at the old folks' home where I live? Not much. The folks are mostly fine and I was glad to see them all, but not glad to see the bad food in the dining room again. One of my friends fell and is in the hospital  -- that seems to be an ongoing downside to living somewhere like this. Someone is always falling or having some heart problem or other emergency. Causes a lot of worry and I do worry about these people I have learned to love.

My teeth? Go back to the dentist on Wednesday ( two more days) and none too soon since one of my temporary crowns is loose. That's more info than you need, isn't it? Another month and I should have all the long lasting teeth to call my own.

Next up? A trip , a short few days, in Walla Walla in late June for a mini class reunion. Really looking forward to that as I haven't been to Walla Walla, my hometown, in a couple of years. I'm going to stay at a good friend's home so that way I can crash and take a nap when I have to and she won't care if I'm wearing a wig all the time or not!

I'll write long before then and - oh, did you watch THE VIEW the day of the big fight? I thought Joy Behar started that all off, but no one seems to mention that. I felt she set up both Rosie and Elisabeth for a fight and then off they went ---. Too bad, all of it. I only watched THE VIEW cuz I thought Rosie brought such life to the show and think now it will go down the drain  without her.

The weather here? Foggy and chilly. Actually, it was warmer in Seattle than it is in Ventura County -- and ain't that a surprise?

The book? Plugging along. I had someone tell me today they feel it is me making fun of older people.. well, if that is the case, then I am making fun of myself cus I surely am one of the senior set in the USA now!

Time to wrap this up. Hope you're having a relaxing Memorial Day holiday.

Jan

Off and flying...

Off and flying today...

In a few hours I will be airborne and on my way to see my Mommy! I talked to her on Mother's Day and although she was confused on what day it was and if it was really Mother's Day or not, she was totally aware that I'm on my way to spend some days with her so that was good.

Yeah, I had a great mother's day.  We went to daughter Linda's, pigged out on all her good food and had a fun call from son Lee ( leegoldberg.com) in Berlin.

My suitcase is not only packed , it's standing in my entry hall ,along with my lap top ,ready to roll.  I'm hoping to get some work done on my book while in Seattle, so dragging along the lap top. The days of me writing in longhand are long gone.

Will see if I can upload a few photos from Mother's Day.. hang on.

If that went, it is my grand daughter Maddie, daughter in law Val and daughter Linda taken in Linda's living room.

Let's try for another.

Here's my daughter Karen testing some of the lunch goodies. Just click on the photo if you want a larger view.

Now let's try for a shot of the grand kids together.

That's Emily, Karen's daughter on the left. She's 12. And that's Maddie, son Lee's daughter on the right.

Grandson Brent wasn't there cus he had a musical rehearsal that wasn't called off for the holiday.

Okay, that's a wrap -- need to get some breakfast, tidy up in here a bit and head out for the northwest and my Mom's.

Hope your Mother's Day was as much fun as mine.

Jan

Fire drills...

Danger time...

If you've had on the news, then I don't need to tell you that there are fires in LA, raging almost out of control.

Here ,in Ventura, we have the same worry, what with the winds and dry ground.  We've had no rain, we have a mini heat wave, and the threat of fires.

We had a fire drill in our building the other day. Nothing major, just the fire department making sure all the alarms work. But, it was enough of a drill to make us all aware of the fact that fires could come this direction.

Actually, I live in the flat lands, so if there were fires in Ventura, it would be the hills above me. Newspaper is full of warnings.

We're having a heat wave..

According to the news  we broke records here the other day with temperatures in Ventura area hitting close to 90. Everyone was complaining of the heat -- but not me.  After living in Palm Springs and seeing and feeling it hit 126 last summer, 90 feels cool to me.  And, we always have a breeze off the ocean, so really pleasant.

Medical news:

I've started physical therapy for a stiff shoulder and back. Only gone twice now, but it's mostly a lot of stretching and then it seems to hurt more, but guess they know what they are doing.

Still smiling with my fake teeth, but go back to the dentist tomorrow for impressions and hopefully on my way to the final crowns and bridges. Been a long haul with another crown and root canal last week.

Tripping Out...

Hey, I'm going to Seattle on the 15th. Counting the days until I go. My Mom turns 95 on the 17 so we will have cake and ice cream, but mostly it is going to be a nice long visit - 8 days- of our being together. Mom can hardly wait and I know how she feels.

Besides the good time together, I'm looking forward to good meals. Here, the food budget must be about five bucks per person. The food is low quality and poorly cooked -- but I know in Seattle Mom's caregivers make really good meals and high quality, too.

I'm working on gaining weight, so the week in Seattle ought to help with that!

Thanks are in order time...

Thank you for all your birthday wishes. I had a super day. The kids took me to a posh beach side resort for lunch and then yummy cake at an outdoor site.  Was super and thankfully the candles on the cake were only 39 and not my true age!

I had a lot of greetings from my inn-mates here where I live, too,  so all in all it was a happy day.

Every day is Mother's Day...

But, this coming Sunday we will converge at daughter Linda's ( visualchronicles.com) for a Mother's Day party. 

It's about an hour drive from here to where Linda lives, but she tells me it is a pretty drive, so looking forward to it and to being with my girls and grand kids for an afternoon.  The guys? Son Lee, leegoldberg. com, is in Berlin again and Tod, todgoldberg.com, is too far away in La Quinta to join us, so guess we just have to eat their portions of the goodies Linda is baking!

I hope you're looking forward to fun gatherings, too.

Jan

Young today, old tomorrow...

May day, May day...

Today is the first of May and I'm a relatively young woman, well, as compared to some of the residents where  I live. But, come tomorrow, and I'll be a year older and inching up to their ages. Depressing as all get out, but I'm getting out and will have a fun day.

Anytime I get to see my kids is a fun day, and tomorrow I will see three of the four. Lee won't be here cuz if you read his blog, leegoldberg. com, then you know he is back in Berlin filming a movie -- but the other kids will be here and we're going to a beach side resort with a great restaurant for lunch and for them to tease me about how old I am.

I just had a nice chat with my Mom in Seattle who teased me that we won't mention how old I am to anybody!  She is counting the days until I get there and it will be here very soon as I depart on the 15th or a week long visit with her and to celebrate her birthday which is a number we do give out. She'll be 95!

My trip up is a birthday gift to me, an early one, so I could make my flight reservations, so have known for more than a week that this trip was coming up.

What else is new?

I'm starting physical therapy next week for "frozen shoulder" which I developed during radiation therapy  -- and will also go back to the dentist for impressions so that in early June I can finally get the teeth that will outlast my car.

That's it for now. Will write more later this week, if I can get my elderly fingers to work a keyboard.

Jan