Tag Archives: Family

Letters to Diane – 18

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Hi there.

Today is Tuesday and, yes, I’ve taken my pills. Well, actually I’ve only taken half of them. I’ll down the remainder later this afternoon. If I remember.

It’s raining cats and dogs here because an atmospheric river is passing over us. Has been for a couple of days. Here’s what it’s doing to the back yard.

Yup. It’s running pretty hard, making the trip to the Columbia River a quick one. I suspect getting to Astoria quickly is possible, too.

Max and I made our morning trip around the block a while ago. He kind of dictates our route by making it known to me which direction he wants to go. For instance, we’ll be walking down the sidewalk and he’ll see something on the other side of the street that insterests him. He stops, steps off the curb, and looks up at me with his little puppy-dog eyes waiting to see if I’m getting the message. While doing this, he does not pull on the leash, he just stands there waiting to see what I’m going to do.

Before committing to his wishes, we have a little discussion about why it’s necessary for us to make sure there no cars coming because I don’t want a flat dog. He seems to understand but I insist that he looks at me the entire time I’m explaining this to him.

Then we go. On the other side of the street is a large bush that he knows is a place where many dogs before him have left their messages. Sometimes it takes 10-15 minutes to decipher she was there before him. After leaving his response he turns with excitement and heads for the next bush. Turns out he knows all the dogs in the neighborhood so it takes a while to catch up on their activities.

Here’s something new:

The deer showed up and Jeff put them together. It had to be done outside because they are all coated with glitter. The little deer in front were put together in the house so there was litter everywhere. It’s been cleaned up, but it was a mess. Now all six of them live in the front yard. As soon as the photos show up in the ‘cloud’ I’ll show you. I suppose you could just fly by and look yourself, but I’ll send you photos anyway.

Hey! It showed up:

The annual Christmas parade has turned into quite an event last Saturday. This is the one where the group travel around the town accepting food gifts to help the food bank. The parade started on our street just this side of Meadow Park and eventually cruised by Daniel and Jennie’s home. I was invited to join them for the festivities on Matzen Street where many friends and family were gathered.

That’s Jennie holding Jasper back so he won’t get run over. Like all St. Helens’ parades, candy is thrown to the masses and the kids clean the street up. The only candy I got was a piece of bubble gum Lydia left on her chair. I chewed it gleefully.

I still haven’t solved the garage door opener problem. I finally gave up a couple days ago and just unplugged it. If it doesn’t magically resurrect its self when I plug it back in, I will have to give up a little of my masculine nature and call the buiilder for help. It’s very frustrating.

Terri is still sending me messages of encouragement and reminding me to take my pills. It’s nice to know people care.

I think this is enough for today. I miss you terribly even though I see you everywhere. I love you.

Letters to Diane – 15

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Hi,

Today was beautiful. Sunny and bright, not a cloud in the sky. It’s a huge change from the rain we’ve been having. The only evidence I could see that the rain happened is how hard the creek is running. It’s up at least 2 feet now.

I went to church because I thought it was time. I’ve missed weeing all those people. Thankfully, no one was sitting in our seats. It’s been a few Sundays since I’ve been, so I was concerned.

After service, I joined everyone in the basement for treats. They are doing it differently by just putting everything on the tables then going around with a coffee pot. I would have rather had water, but it didn’t appear to be an option, so I took coffee, black. It wasn’t bad, but I only had one cup. It was my first cup because I didn’t have time for anything at home before leaving for church. Max was a priority so I walked him around the block and he was appropriately happy about that.

After visiting with Chuck and Larry for a while I returned home and made myself a tuna sandwich using the mixture I’d made a few days ago. It passed the sniff test and it tasted ok so I figured it would be alright. It was.

About halfway through the sandwich, Daniel called Lydia and suggested we all go to El Tapatio for lunch. Sounded pretty good to me, so I gobbled down the sandwich, drank my milk, and we buzzed on over.

I had an authentic Mexican burrito with beans and rice, Jasper had quesadilla, Dan had a sampler plate, Siah got a pizza, Lydia had something I couldn’t identify, and Jennie had an enchilada. You’ll be happy know that I ate all of mine, like normal. It was filling enough that I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have to eat again today. Jared planned to visit later and offered to cook for us which I was all in for. But, Lyd and I ate so much lunch there wasn’t going to be any need for supper.

Since neither of us were hungry, he made a trip to Victorio’s for a burrito, Lydia had some stuff he had in his cooler, and I ate the popcorn Lydia brought home from the movie she went to last night.

Speaking of the movie, she didn’t get home until almost midnight. Max and I stayed up until she was safely home then we went to bed. I fell asleep without having to read my book. That doesn’t happen often but then, I don’t normally stay up until midnight. Maybe I should practice.

Oh ya. I took the steri strips off the new scar on my right cheek. It looks gnarly but nothing leaked out so I wasn’t too concerned that I’d stain my pillowcase. It didn’t and I didn’t so all is good. I won’t have to wash sheets and remake the bed.

Now I’m going to go get in it, right after I take Max outside one more time.

Love you

Letters to Diane – 14

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It’s been a busy here at the Creek House the last few days. Since the remaining members of the family don’t think I should wear your clothes, they convinced me to donate them to people who can. So, it was first brought to the living room where someone stacked them on the sofas in a way that would not interfere with my view of the television. Lydia’s view was not impaired, either.

Jennie was the driver for making this move because I was perfectly OK with just leaving all the clothes scattered throughout the house, but there was a need to make room in Lydia’s closet for her things. I don’t know how long she will be living here but that doesn’t matter, either. I’m just Mister Mellow and I’m Ok with whatever my supervisors decide. I say that believing that you will also approve.

Yesterday we had family visitors remove a majority of the items from the kitchen counter and the dining room table. Both horizontal surfaces were covered with stuff removed from your bathroom closet. Most of it was girly stuff, as you know, but there were a few items I was able to call my own. In addition to the Pepto Bismal I think there was some body wash that I could use. Thank you for that.

Now I’m hunkered down in my chair waiting for the Oregon vs. Washington football game. It’s going to be a doozy. You probably already know that and I so miss you sitting next to me for the game. I’ll let you know who won tomorrow.

The creek is really running hard with all the rain we’ve been having. It’s strong enough to take Max all the way to Astoria if I were to turn him loose. He would love to go wading, but I don’t think I can run, or swim well enough to get him back if he decided to take a dip. So, he doesn’t get to go outside unless he’s wearing his walking gear. He’s well aware of this rule and doesn’t try to get past me when I open the slider to let him out back.

I’ve taken him out a few times off leash and he runs next door like normal, but he comes right back. When Lydia was moving her “things” into the house it was mostly at night, so I left the doors open and he stuck with us going in and out. He got so trust-worthy that we kinda forgot him a couple of times when we all went into the house without him. It took a bit of time for me to realize he was missing. When I did, I went to the patio door and whistled a couple of times, and he came running home right away. Every time. You can imagine how happy that made Jerrie.

I’ve fiddled around on this, and resting, all day and here it is dark outside. I just got back from taking Max on his afternoon walk. I’m really happy with all those fuzzy coats you got me because it’s getting cold outside. A few of the football games today were played in the snow. watching a bit of one of those made outside feel colder. Oregon won, by the way, in case you wondered.

Tonight Jerrie, who lives up the hill, is having a Friendsgiving party at the house. I thought that was pretty neat. Just like we do every year with the Winnebago group.

For Max’s morning walk today, I drove him downtown so we could walk around in the new construction area by the river. He thought that was great. A whole bunch of new stuff to sniff.

I must stop now. My fingers are tired and I bet you’re just tired of reading all this drivel.

I love you and miss you.

Letters to Diane – 12

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Hello, My Love.

It’s Monday already. It got here so fast that I’ll have to burrow into my brain to discover what happened to Sunday.

Sunday was Thanksgiving with Dan and Jen. I really knew that. Didn’t have to look it up, or anything. I just remembered. In attendance were: Dan, Jen, Cedric, Jeran, Lydia, Austin, Jesse, Linda, Jasper, Siah, Me, Brandy, Carolyn, and Sanchez. I think that got everyone. If not, someone will correct me, maybe.

For the meal, Lydia mashed up some white sweet potatoes that I got her then she added an abundance of cayenne pepper to surprise everyone. They were actually very good and the crowd ate all but a couple bites. I made deviled eggs using the recipe I found in the notes on your phone.

Jeff cooked the turkey using Jennie’s roaster and it was great. I was handed a big fork and knife when we arrived and directed to whittle some pieces off the bones. I did, and it was a respectable job. There was a lot of ham, too, by Jennie.

Overall, it was a great meal and no one went away hungry.

In case you’re wondering who Austin and Jesse are, I’ll tell you. They are Jeran’s roomies in Keizer. We met Jesse before when Jeran graduated from Corban. He’s a minister now. Smiles all the time. Both are just nice guys and a nice addition to the family.

Jennie took Carolyn and me home before the festivities ended because I was experiencing my normal afternoon depression. I’m not sure it’s depression, just incredibly tired, usually cured with a nap.

Later, when Lydia and Jennie showed up, they got to work cleaning out the closet in Lydia’s room because she has “things” she needs to remove from Autumn’s house. As you may recall, the closet in that room was full of your colored-coded shirts, blouses, and coats. Lots and lots of them. They also took out the boxes and containers of shoes and other “things” that were on the floor. Now it’s piled up on the living room couches. We all agreed that you would not approve but, you know what? That’s what happens when you leave early. In the end, however, you will be pleased with the plan to remove it from the living room.

I was looking for a photo to share but getting something recent is difficult. So, here’s one from last month in front of Bethany.

Love you.

Letters to Diane – 10

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Hi, my Love,

Yesterday is a little blurry because I apparently didn’t do anything to make it worthy of a place in my memory. Perhaps something will pop up in my mind if I just type aimlessly. Let me get going with today’s activity.

Jennie had a meeting with her team from school this afternoon so I got to keep Siah for a while. We got along great because we watched a couple of really silly movies.

After a while, Autumn dropped Jasper off and things went fine. By the time Jennie got here they were both tired and hungry so it didn’t take long for them to get upset.

Jennie ordered McDonald’s for them to take care of the hungry part, but as time moved on the lack of naps got the best of them. Neither of them could sit still long enough to properly eat their dinner and neither of them wanted to listen to Mom. So, I injected myself into the fray. That didn’t please them, but they kinda listened to me. If you were watching us, I’m guessing you are proud of the way I kept my cool. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.

I finally made it to Thursday coffee with the guys at the Kozy. Larry and Chuck were there and we had a good visit. Since I’ve missed so many, I bought the drinks. I also ate breakfast. You should be happy about that. I had one sausage patty, one egg, and one piece of toast. White, non-nutritional toast, of course. That was my second breakfast because I had a bowl of cheerios before leaving the house.

After I got home from the Kozy I took Max for an extra long walk. He appreciated it, I know.

Now it’s 2030, Lydia is safely home, and Jennie got the littles home to bed. All is well.

Love you.

Letters to Diane – 9

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Hi,

There’s a lot of stuff going on that’s getting my head in a spin. Some of it’s legal and some of it’s common sense. Mainly, I registered your Death Certificate with the tax people so we can remove your name from the house deeds. All I have to do, now, is figure out how to complete the deeds.

An interesting point is that Don’s Rental is where one must get blank deeds and you have to know which kind you need. They can’t provide any legal guidance because they have no legal authority to do so. So, for $11.95 you get a blank form that they cannot help you fill out. I’ll bet Jennie can help with that. Whoever helps, we’ll get it done so that when it’s my turn to follow you no one will have no problem with the courts for the transfer of the property to our children.

I did very little yesterday (Monday) because it was Bunco night. For the past umpteen years I’ve kept Special Mondays, like Bunco Night, clear so I can watch movies. Or watch a ball game. Or sleep.

I guess that’s a weak claim because I do that pretty much what I do every day. So, like you did once a month, Lydia went to Shirley’s house for bunco last night. I have no memory of what I watched last night. I just remember that I went to bed at a reasonable hour because I had an appointment with my dermatologist today at 0820. That early time meant I had to leave home about 0720.

I talked this need over with Lydia, who considers 3-4 hours of sleep a good night, to see if she would like to go with. Always up for a challenge, she agreed, and we decided we would take her car, and she would drive. That worked for me just right. I think she agreed to all of that because she loves me. I’m grateful for that.

Having that extra hour for travel allowed us to get to the office in plenty of time. After checking in, it was only a matter of minutes before I was led to a room where the surgery would take place. I made myself comfortable and took off all my clothes to await the doctor and her knife.

The look on everyone’s face made me regret my decision to disrobe because the surgery was on my cheek so disrobing was entirely unnecessary. So, I got dressed and sat in the chair to wait.

Halley was the doctor’s assistant and I was a little displeased that she didn’t point out that I could keep my clothes on. Thank goodness I wore underwear today. Then she stabbed me in the cheek with a tiny needle and rendered the desired spot on my check dead to the world.

Not long after that, the doctor showed up and wielded her knife in a professional manner to excise a nifty oval where a huge wart used to live. It was gone already because it was taken to run a biopsy prior to scheduling today’s surgery.

It’s a big hole, but she sewed it up.

In a couple of years you won’t even know this happened.

Now I’m going to stop this before things get out of hand. Good Night, my Love. See you in my dreams.

Jerrie

Letters to Diane – 4

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It’s Sunday morning. The house is unusually quiet but it’s a welcome peacefulness The busy day we had yesterday was one of the hardest days of our lives, but we endured.

First, the simple act of waking up was tough knowing what the rest of the day held i store for us. You’re gone from us, but you are still very much alive within us. That was made evident by the people who showed up for your service yesterday. I don’t think anyone counted them. It wasn’t necessary. The church was full of people who love you and that was good.

There were very few people that I didn’t recognize but they filled in my memory gaps as they passed out of the church. Your Bunco Babes were there, as well as the PT Cruisers, and the Old Winnowbago Guys. I can’t categorize all the groups who were there right now, but the final view I had was a large group of folks who love you. The affiliation wasn’t as important as their presence.

After Pastor Ingrid got the service going our brave daughter made her way to the lectern and shared her memories of you. She was very brave and has assumed the matriarchal duties of our family with style. She really good at it. I know you already know this, but it still has to be said.

After Jennie, I found myself standing at the lectern, totally unprepared for the reason I was there. I had a couple pages of notes, but they just didn’t seem adequate enough for me to share my feelings about you. So, being true to myself, and you, I just winged it. Unless someone was recording my efforts those words are lost because I have no idea what I said. I rest comfortably, however, in the belief that let everyone know how important you are to me and pretty much everyone who’s heart you touched.

No matter where I go, I see and I feel the comfort of your touch beside me. As we walk, it’s so easy to feel our hands find each other and clasp together like we’ve done so many times before.

From the serious side of things, my mind wanders off to inappropriate areas where I asked Lydia if it’s too soon to start dating again. When I said that I was amazed about how wide she can open her eyes before realizing I was kidding, something I do a lot. It’s a defense mechanism and it changes the atmosphere very quickly.

As I continue to walk aimlessly through the remainder of my life I will be on alert for your touch.

I Love You.

Friday – Biopsy Reveal

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Finally! It’s Friday and Jennie took Diane to see her doctor to find out what she’s facing. This is where you should hear a drum roll, right? Well, that didn’t happen.

They got to the doctor in plenty of time but the biopsy wasn’t there, yet. So close to an answer but there wasn’t one.

But, the doctor began working on a solution to Diane’s headache issue and a new one that just popped up yesterday: she has numbness in her lower left jaw. The doctor found suspicious bumps on Diane’s forehead so ordered up an MRI with the hope it could be done today, like right away, then he left for a meeting with another doctor about something. While he was gone the biopsy appeared and the MRI was scheduled for next Monday.

When the doctor returned, he read the biopsy report and relayed that there’s more to come on that bit of news. He did, however, let our girls know that what he saw was not all bad news. Considering all the negative info we’ve received to this point, that was actually good news.

Then they came back home.

Crafty Jennifer got on her phone and started dissecting the info she found in the report provided so far. She explained it to me and Jeff but it was tricky territory with a lot of big confusing words that only she could understand. It was still mostly confusing when she switched the big words with normal ones.

I’ll do my best to share what I think I understand with the understanding that I’ve got a lot to learn about cancer and the language and terms used to describe it. OK?

The purpose of the biopsy was to discover the point of origin. As best as Jennie could tell, it looks like they were unable to determine the specific origin so gave it an acronym name. Digging further, Jennie went on to cancer defined in that manner is very rare and could have laid dormant in her body for decades before waking up. This bit of knowledge swiveled our heads back to 1977 when cancer visited Diane the first time. That one was believed to have been completely eradicated when they pretty much removed all her girl parts. Maybe they didn’t.

So now, we wait some more until Diane’s doctor receives all the info about what’s going on. During that waiting period she’ll have her MRI and the Doc will analyze it.

The really sad part about all this waiting is that she’s suffering a great deal of pain and can hardly eat anything without severe nausea. The battle continues with no defined plan about how to win.

So, if you pray, please add Diane to your list. We can use all the help we can get.

If you have a notion, send her a few words of encouragement by responding to this post. She reads it.

Thanks.

Friday – October 10, 2025

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There’s a little turmoil regarding Diane’s visit to Good Sam. Today was the day she was supposed to see her primary care, Dr. Ly, and I think she did, but she changed her annual visit from today to next week. I suspect that’s so he can address the results of her liver biopsy scheduled for next Tuesday.

Before I get too deep into this narrative I need to tell you that what I share is strictly here-say because I don’t spend a lot of time in the room with Diane. That’s not because I don’t want to be there, but because I actually have things to take care of at home. That’s mainly Max oriented.

Speaking of Max … he’s really depressed that Diane isn’t home every day. That’s not normal. He likes ‘normal’.

Jennie took some things to her Mom early this morning and has been with her all day. She’s totally involved with what’s happening with her Mom so if you want the real story, talk to her. She called a while ago to let me know that she wouldn’t be coming home this afternoon as planned (yesterday) because of decisions/suggestions made by the physical therapist(s) she visited. Mainly, she is not to be left alone, ever, and she needs a hospital bed that doesn’t lay flat. This is because of the cancer intrusion into her spine and pelvis. Being alone is a danger because if she falls, something’s going to break.

Normally you’d think Good Old Jerrie could serve that purpose, but because I fall on my face once in a while, I’m not a good candidate to address her needs. I understand.

So, they are keeping her in the hospital until arrangements can be made for her home care team to be identified. Our lives have been changed with the introduction of cancer into our lives.

That brings another thought to my mind. Diane has already had, and beat, cancer about 50 years ago when she had cervical, and uterine cancer. She beat cancer then and has no doubt about beating it again this time.

Your prayers will help. Let’s work to get her home and Max out of his slump. He’s so sad.

I stripped the bed and washed the sheets in anticipation of Diane’s homecoming today before Jennie called to let me know that’s not gonna happen. Max was listening and got really upset.

Because of Max’s exuberant nature, Diane needs to gather all her strength to deal with his welcome home mode. Should be exciting.

Not so normal after all . . .

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8 – number of days remaining until the liver biopsy.

Today is October 4th, so May The Fourth Be With You, My last post, on September 27th, was a little bit optimistic regarding Diane’s energy level, but playing the “Waiting Game” has proven to be a real downer. Her energy levels quickly evaporated while doing the laundry and it’s evident that I need to take the reins regarding that. All she will have to do is “point” and “direct”. One would think I could follow simple rules, right? Well, doing laundry is way more complicated than picking some random dial settings and adding soap to the machine. Consequently, my job shifted from washing to drying and folding. I’m pretty good at that. All I have to do is remember to check the drying once in a while;

Now, about the waiting part . . .

Frankly, it sucks, big time. Diane said the scheduler told her he needed to carve out a 5-hour slot for the procedure. The first one available was on October 14. The reason for the 5 hours is unclear to me but is apparently needed in the event Diane hemorrhages if she moves too much after the procedure. That’s all I know. Then, there’s something about the need for her to set aside some of her extra blood in case that happens,

It’s entirely possible that I know nothing about that which I report. Yeah, that’s more likely to be true. So, let’s presume that I know nothing. I suspect the majority of those who read this already have that presumption. That’s OK. I even encourage that.

Today was a milestone of note for Diane. She ate an entire hamburger! Honest. she also ate some french fries. If she can repeat that fairly often, she will improve quickly and work on beating some odds. That doesn’t surprise me at all because she’s already said, “We’ll beat this!”. We’re working on that.