Thursday, August 27, 2015

Easy Peasy Wednesday, The 10th Letter.....AND a Fire ALARM!

Normally we have Quad Wednesdays at our house. This was our second week of 'vacation' where we spent our time catching up on things around the house.
Next week we will be back to our normal activities with renewed strength and enthusiasm!

Louis Dean put all my fall storage tubs away today while I did Susie Homemaker activities.
We paused for a late lunch together and, after visiting my friend at Art and Sand , I set a pretty TRAY instead of a pretty TABLE for lunch!


I made an abundance of the Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad last night so we enjoyed it again today!


Louis Dean and I like to eat lunch and watch our all time favorite TV program - The Closer!
Yes, I know it's reruns now but we still love it!


I baked up this super good, super quick batch of muffins to add to a meal I was taking in to a friend this evening. I saved ONE mini muffin for me and ONE for Louis Dean!
After packing four for my friend I had a few left over so I took them to Reaoma. She was my next door neighbor for 17 years and is now in an assisted living apartment.
Every time we get together the one thing we always do is LAUGH!!!
The last time I took her to the movies - a Tuesday tradition at the Starplex where the movies are only $0.50 all day! - something happened that made us LAUGH until we were CRYING and we ALWAYS joke about it every single time we are together!!
Well, this evening I arrived as she was finishing her dinner in the dining room. We visited at the table with her friends for a few minutes and then the attendant came to escort Reaoma back to her apartment. I lingered a bit to chat a little more with another lady and as I was walking back to Reaoma's place, I noticed a resident who seemed to be lost. I asked her if I could help and she told me she thought she lived down the hall and that she needed to go out the back entrance to get to her apartment. Since I wanted to help, I walked with her and INNOCENTLY opened the exit when I set off the LOUDEST fire alarm ever!! Oh, dear!!! The other residents came to their doors to see WHO did this terrible thing!!! The lost lady looked at me with a mischievous smile and said, "I was afraid that was going to happen!" I was so embarrassed!!! The kind nurse came down and turned the alarm off. She showed the lost lady her room and then as we were walking up the hall together, I asked her about the door to the courtyard we were just passing. If I opened THAT door - would the alarm go off? She said only the doors that have a key pad by them would set off an alarm. As I looked down to the door at the end of the hall, (the one I had opened earlier!) I didn't SEE a key pad! She said, "Oh, I'm sorry! It's hidden behind that ficus tree! By the time I got back to Reaoma's room, I was hot and sweating! As I sat there with her cooling off, she said, "When I heard the alarm sounding, I wondered if that was YOU!"
Yup!!! I always make an impression every where I go!
Now I know which doors NOT open next time I visit!!

And now for the 10th letter! Only 5 more to go.....

This one is dated March 15, 1941 Harlingen, Texas and postmarked at 7 PM.


                                                                                                          
Dear Leila & Katin,
          Lately our letters have passed each other and we find we each owe letters. Both your letters came the first of last week. I'm always glad to hear from you. I'm sorry I'm such a poor correspondent - but I am - always have been - always will be. You remember how Uncle Matt used to write - "Weather cool today kill hogs - cotton crop a failure - plowed east part of farm last week - etc." - I'm very much like Uncle Matt when it comes to letter writing. Poor Uncle Newt - I wasn't at all surprised at what he did - marrying his nurse. That's like him. I was trying to remember if Uncle Bob is dead. Seems like I have the idea back in my head. Is he?
           Hope you can get the Neuberger house. It is cool looking and a nice looking house. I think you will enjoy the roses over there, if she doesn't move them. I remember she had some lovely ones. Did all of yours grow? Or can you tell yet? You could plant zinnias and marigolds in boxes and transplant them after you move. I haven't looked on the calendar to see when Easter comes. Noticed in the paper where continued cold prevails over most of the state. But I believe the papers state that we are to have an early spring. We would be glad about August to have some of this wintery weather I'm sure. Hope you are both feeling well by now - and don't have spring fever too badly.
I noticed in the Valley paper that Mrs. Sam Hammer from Palestine was a visitor to the Garden Club Convention which was held here this week. It was well attended. I believe the paper said between three and four hundred delegates were here. The Garden Clubs are perking up all over the country. That's one club I would enjoy. Flowers are so nice and kind. I'm sure the japonica and dogwood is about ready to bloom there now. I notice in teh Palestine Herald there are great preparations being made for the dogwood trails. And  I always feel like the bridal wreath should be included. I haven't found out yet if there is bridal wreath here. Hope there is. 
Well my writing spirit is departing. Love for both of you. Tell Tiger "hello."
                                                                                                   Eva


10 comments:

  1. Oh my..this reminds me of visting my sweet father-in-law in assisted living....poor darlings! I know how much your former neighbor must treasure your visits! I have so loved reading the letters. People seemed more refined and gentle back then! Hugs to y'all Linda!

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  2. I had to laugh at your setting off the alarm Linda! Once when I was in nursing school and we were doing clinical at the private psychiatric hospital, I thought one of the patients there was a nurse because she was so knowledgable.!! I was just following her instructions without a care in the world when our instructor finally showed up and told me the nice lady was a patient.lol Glad you and LD are taking some time off. Enjoy it!!

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  3. to funny about the alarm... and it is so good to go visit people who live in assisted living, even though they have plenty for them to do, outside visits are the best and muffins. oh my.... we love those muffins to.... your lunch looks wonderful.

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  4. HaHa...thanks for my morning chuckle. Haven't we all had such experiences. HaHa. When our daughter had our first grandchild 30 years ago, her husband snuck me in a back door of the hospital to see Michel and the baby....thank goodness an alarm didn't go off..but we did get a scolding from the nurse. HaHa.. Have a great day.

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  5. Linda, I had to laugh about that alarm...my daughter works at the nursing home and some people have tried to slip out... I do think they should be able to go into a courtyard that is not open to leaving the grounds. Glad you could visit your friend. You and LD are such good cooks and can always wipe up a fast meal. Hope you are both getting your rest and gaining your strength back. Blessings, Love you both, xoxo,Susie

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  6. Thank you for the kind remarks on my blog. Your salad looks delicious! Setting off the alarm sounds like something I would do!

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  7. I was once guardian of a woman who wore an ankle bracelet to keep her from escaping but she kept telling me how nice it was to go outside & sit in the swing. When I asked how she managed to get through the door without touching off the alarm she pointed to the ankle bracelet she was wearing & said "I slip this thing off & lay it on the table by the door before I open the door to go out!"

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  8. Oooh! I feel your pain Linda. When I was a student nurse I burnt some toast I was making for a patient and set the fire alarm off. A fire alarm in a huge city centre hospital is a big deal. I was utterly mortified. X

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  9. Well we do know why they have alarms on those doors. =D I have experienced a few of these kinds of things and it certainly can be embarrassing.

    Well your days have slowed down to a comfortable pace and that must feel very food. You have been so busy for quite a while.

    The first paragraph of the letter had me chuckling as she wonders whether her uncle has died and then flat out asks "did he?" Ha! It's a challenge to keep track of all the relatives.

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  10. OMG I can just see the look on your face when that alarm went off. That's funny but I guess they don't want their residents wandering off and getting lost. I don't know if i'd been scared or too embarrassed to be scared. LOL I love that the little lady goes "I was afraid that might happen" So you gonna help any more lost ladies. I'm sure the alarm made things interesting that day for everyone.

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