July 2, 2026 – Philosophizing

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Jerrie Cate

Yes, that’s a real word. I didn’t think so when I typed it so I had to look it up even though my handy spell checker thought it was OK. Please don’t ask me why I chose to use it because I have no idea. It just jumped into my head and I had to get rid of it. So, now you have it.

Lately, I’ve been having déjà vu moments about my life with Diane and I find it very comforting because the memories of Diane were clear and bright for me, brought to life by simply cooking a familiar meal. Yesterday was the most profound event.

I had pork chops so I dug around in one of the kitchen drawers and found one of the recipes we collected during our “Hello Fresh” days. That was one of the things I relate to Diane’s final days. I was the cook and she was the cleanup crew. Her choice. I should have done the cleanup, too, but she wouldn’t let me

So, I cooked one special meal every day and served it to her in her recline. It didn’t occur to me until recently that she was training me to be self sufficient, preparing me for life without her. I was an okay cook before working with Hello Fresh but that program taught me many things about making simple meals way better than normal.

We never talked about what life would be like if one or the other of us passed away, like what would the survivor do to move on. When the subject came up it was restricted to who would go first. She was very adamant that it would be her, not me. I never took it serious, though, because life has a way of throwing curve balls so anything was possible. I could easily go first because I wasn’t careful and hurt myself frequently making trips to the emergency room routine. I’m sure she was convinced that I might cut my arm off one day while using my table saw. I never did, of course, but more than once I came very close to losing a couple of fingers. Little things like that worried her, I know, because I was never concerned about myself as much as she was.

About those pork chops … the first menu card I found was for honey-butter pork chops, which sounded very good to me. While gathering the things I needed, my mind drifted back just a little bit and I could easily envision Diane sitting in her chair, watching the news while waiting for her dinner. The TV was on, and my view from the kitchen had a partial view of her as I went about my tasks. Much of my work was done at the stove with her at my back so I knew she was watching me. The smells of cooking familiar food made it easy to have a silent conversation with her, just like old times. I even let the rice boil over like normal, and really mess up the stove, just like old times. I even managed to dump an entire dinner plate on the floor as I worked on cutting my pork chop into bite-sized pieces. It just flipped right off the counter and made a mess of rice and meat.

I quickly reclaimed the meat and left the rice for Max. Then I realized that this was all planned because I made twice as much rice as normal so there was plenty remaining to fill the plate.

Max did a great job cleaning up the spilled rice. Diane would have been proud.

Having her near has never been difficult for me since she left. I can almost see her next to me everywhere I go. Walking Max around the block I can feel her beside me as we automatically take each other by the hand and move quietly down the sidewalk. I miss that, and I can still feel her fingers entwined with mine . . .

Now you know where my mind goes when I’m left alone.

Random Things With Photos

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Jerrie Cate

Hi. Happy International Blow Up Your Neighborhood Day (IBUYND). I know, I’m late but that’s pretty much what I am for anything I do, and you know what? It’s OK to be late. I’m sure that’s true. Especially for me because most people probably are amazed that I get things done. For them it’s a surprise that causes some folks to remark, “Hey! Jerrie’s still sucking air! Who knew?”

Like normal, I have no agenda for this post so I’m just going to pick some photos at random and see if I can remember what caused me to take them. It might be interesting for all of us.

As many of you know, I’m the cook in the house and Diane does the cleanup. I’m totally OK with that, in case you might be wondering. One of the main reasons for liking this arrangement is because while preparing a meal I can nibble on things. I mostly nibble vegetables. If I was the cleanup crew, I couldn’t do that because my hands would be dirty the entire time. That wouldn’t bother me, actually, but it would bother Diane. A lot.

So, I made some hotdogs and cooked up some corn I found in the fridge.

There’s potato salad on my plate, too. Diane and I collaborated on the salad. She doesn’t eat corn so I was forced to eat all of those. I didn’t take a photo of Diane’s hotdogs because she puts ketchup on hers and that makes my stomach crinkle up. I’m sure it’s illegal to put ketchup on hotdogs in a bun. It’s OK to do so when the hotddogs are cut up in a bowl of baked beans.

Here’s Diane’s sandwich from a different day. I think it’s a ham and swiss on rye sandwich. I had one, too, but it wasn’t worth a picture.

Here’s Max giving Mom a little help with her filing.

Here’s Mom trying to ignore Daniel & Jennifer’s new kitten, Anakin. He’s a very mellow kitten which is good for the boys.

This is Lydia trying to ignore everyone so she doesn’t lose count.

Here’s Max trying to get over his fear of the sprinkler.

I found this pair of socks in my dresser, so I wore them the other day.

After I tossed them in the hamper, I found another pair just like them in the drawer. Pretty awesome that I have two pair of them, right?

That’s it.

Day 103 – Thursday – Laundry Day

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Jerrie Cate

Yup, all the clothes are dirty again. She didn’t know it, but I’ve been running around the Bone Yard for the past 3 days without underwear. I didn’t realize how much denim chaffs.

I don’t normally lie so blatantly, but that’s a big one. Old denim doesn’t chaff at all.

Helping with the laundry is something I always do willingly. That’s a tradeoff because I’m totally not allowed to actually do laundry unsupervised. There once was a sweater Diane really liked …. need I say more?

As directed, I put designated stuff into designated washers and put washed clothes into designated dryers. When clothes are dry, I help fold them.

In the morning, I called brother Jack to wish him a Happy Birthday. I try to do this every year but think I didn’t get it done last year. He’s much older than me so it’s OK. It was good to talk with him. During our talk he mentioned that Roberta lives somewhere down here and said he’d see if he could find her phone number and/or address. Our guess was that she’s in Green Valley. Not long after that visit, he sent me a text with a phone number. When I took Max on his afternoon walk, I called the number and had the pleasure of reuniting with my long-lost cousin. We had a nice long visit, remembering some of the many things we did together as children. It will be great to look her in the eye and say Hi. May be toss in a hug or two.

I’ve kinda kept track of her over the years through contact with other family members but was never in position to make contact until now. Plans are in the works. She’s only 36 miles away.

Our conversation carried on until it got dark, and it ended while Max and I sat next to the laundromat. We’re only 4-5 RV’s away from there but it’s still a little unsettling to be that far away with no flashlight knowing the coyotes are patrolling the area. I know it’s not likely we’ll be attacked, but you just never know. They might be hiding just around the corner. With Max on guard, I doubt if there’s any danger, but I can pretend. It keeps my sphincters in shape.

That’s it!

Just for fun, here are a couple of school photos that do not relate to this post at all except they are related to us in the form of Grandchildren.

First is Siah. He’s 3.