My Week

Boy, I really need to get some new envelopes. They are all sealed and I have to pry and tear to get them opened. What must my soldiers think when they get a letter that appears resealed?

Tuesday I had two therapy dog visits at 2 nearby assisted living homes:  Villas of Hollybrook and Reflections assisted living.   I made a mistake on the Villas and got confused of our appointment by 1/2 hour.  You see, I had zumba gold at 10:30 to 11:15 thinking my appointment with the Villas was at 11:30 but it was at 11.  Opps.  I wasn't sure if I could make it to Reflections because Ken the handyman fixed my bathroom vanity's bottom that had been water damaged.  I'd been waiting for him for about 2 1/2 weeks but he was busy too.  Fortunately he was done in time for me to take Sophie to Reflections at 2PM.  Sophie did so well and I was proud of her.  One lady sang to Sophie a "Bessie the heifer the queen of all the cows" Song.   Somehow the name, Sophie, made her think of Bessie.


I had a very receptive crowd at the South Side Christian Church for my presentation of Belle Reynolds at their luncheon.  I was rewarded with a stuffed baked potato lunch.  I offered them to ask questions but warned of my hearing problem and I'd have to be up close.  Afterward I changed so I could look for a shelf for under my newly fixed bathroom sink.  I went to Lowes, Menards and Ace Hardware and didn't see anything without excess construction.  I looked online after checking my mail when I got home and had a flyer from Bed Bath and Beyond.   They sure did. 
I put 2 coats of white paint on my bathroom vanity floor before nightfall.

Then I went to a planning meeting for Lana's benefit.  

Thursday morning after yoga, I took Sophie to the Villas of Hollybrook.   In the afternoon we visited at Reflections and the manager and I finally met.  He made a copy of my...err...Sophie's ID card.  This time the singing lady sang "you put the lime in the coconut" song to Sophie.
I came home and fixed chicken and rice.  In the evening I had practice for the Murder Mystery Dinner.

Friday evening I went to the Railsplitters Ball in Lincoln, IL.

 Below with Larry Peetz.

 Below with Larry Hackman:

Other photos can be found here: http://www.newheraldnews.com/19916/s/railsplitting-festival-weekend

It poured hard on my way home.  So bad that I had to slow to 40 MPH on the interstate.  Many that chose to keep on driving in the storm had emergency flashers like myself.  When I got home, the roads were dry.  I walked my dog under stars while seeing thunderstorms to the north.

Saturday I went to the State of Illinois Amvets School of Instruction.  I won a door prize in the afternoon break out session ~ a car care gift pack. After the meeting portion of the day was over, there was a break before the picnic.  I knew parking would be a little tight at AMVETS HQ and that most would catch a shuttle bus from the hotel to the headquarters where the picnic was held.  I came home and let Sophie out and came back on my little motorcycle to save space.

I had the chance to pay my $12 dues for the AMVETS Riders while there.

I watched a movie on EWTN about Padre Pio but you can also watch this online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOdHZiuKq68

Sunday I prepared lunch for Sean and myself.  I made Italian sausage and red beans and rice.  Sean asked me if I could hear my TV and after having him repeat the question, I nodded yes.  Then he asked me if I could hear that the TV sound was in Spanish.  I said no it's English, see the sub-titles in the closed caption?  As I got close to the TV, I heard Spanish.  I must have messed with something when I found the closed caption menu.

Monday morning I got up early to drop Sophie off at "Bubbles of Fun".  After dropping her off I went to my exercise group and came home to wait for a call when she was done.  It felt weird coming through my door and not having her there to greet me.  She smelled nice.  I made her next appointment for Nov 2d.

Tuesday morning I had a 10:30 free hearing appointment with Audible.  She tested then showed me sample hearing aids that were adjusted via wifi from her computer.  It made a difference.  Not the aids are about $5K.  I do have an appointment with an audiologist on Oct 9th and she said that she would only release the results to another audiologist.  TRICARE doesn't cover this.  Yes, I did file a claim but that could take forever.   I have a 3:30 meet at Sam's Club who also does free tests.   I do not have a membership there so I met with Mary who does have a membership.  At least Sam's will provide a copy of the results to me.

Since a elderly man busted in on my 3:30 appointment for an apparent adjustment that was supposed to last 10 minutes, I didn't get tested until about an hour later.   I didn't leave Sam's till 5:30 making it tight for my rehearsal at Auburn Cemetery. I have to thank Mary for letting me in Sams with her membership.  She was a nurse and had conducted these hearing tests before she retired.  I couldn't have asked a better person to accompany me on this test.  She knew what was going on without upstaging Mike doing the test.

I asked a lot of questions including one about being able to stand on your head or do "down dog". with hearing aids.  I asked the difference between and audiologist and ENT specialist.   Then there could be a need for an MRI to see if the bones in the ear are a medical condition because of the sudden loss of hearing.  I'm down about 60% loss.

The rehearsal in Auburn went well and I was the only one that didn't read from a paper script.   This is amazing since I am trying to memorize 2 scripts for the next 2 weeks.  I don't know how real actors can do it.  There were a lot of mosquitoes there so I'll have to remember to bring spray.  There was also the scent of a skunk near the rural cemetery.  Ewww!  By Saturday, we should have a brighter moon, just shy of a full moon.