Perscriptions and Lilac

 I met with Dr. John Rudersdorf who comes out from Bryan to the Seward Specialty Clinic on a monthly schedule. He is the Doctor that prescribed my sleep study late last year that led to my uses of the Bi-Pap. While I have become more accustomed to its use during the past month or so, I still have shortness of breath and respiratory problems. He suggested a Fluticasone Propionate Nasal Spray may be of some help. After his writing a prescription for it, I showed him the list of things that Brother Don uses, and he picked up on this Bevespi Aerosphere and wrote a prescription for it as well.  We picked up both products from Mueri Drug, and I have done the priming process according to instructions. I am to take "2 Puffs" twice a day from the Bevespi and only 1 from the Flutticasone twice per day.  There are warnings on both products to not expect any immediate results but they should show up after a couple weeks. I will give it the old college try and hope for the best. Carolyn brought up a couple bouquets of Lilac for us yesterday and people walking past our door, stopped to "get a whiff" of the ones at our entry.  Ben and Carolyn were both back this afternoon, and Carolyn was back later with a bouquet for one of our friends.

Kiwanis and Old Friends

A representative from the Lincoln area Food Bank presented a beautiful plaque to Club President, Jerry Meyer in recognition of what the Kiwanis Club of Seward has done with the "Back Pack" program. We also had a great program from people with local connections who have lived in South Korea. Both ladies told of the friendliness of the people and their being treated like "family" by the natives. The country is about the size of Indiana but they are a very creative, nature loving people  to support a large population. We were pleased with a visit from Don and Irene Reeb this afternoon. Don was one of 7 Concordia College boys that were housed in our upstairs back in the late '50's.

A Clear Sunny Day

This sign has been posted on the Brookdale entrances during the past week or so. Word is that the quarantine in the Assisted Living section will be lifted in the near future. While we have had some folks confined to their units here in the Independent Living area, we have not been subject to the quarantine. However, the sign on our front door has certainly limited visitors. We and a few others gathered in the Dining Room for a scheduled Church Service this afternoon but the sign apparently kept the Rev. Robert from showing up. No one present volunteered to lead any discussion so we just went back to our rooms. This has been a tragic day of vehicle accidents on Interstate 80 in Seward and eastern York counties. While details are still not available, it appears that there were 3 separate accidents with 5 people killed. Their doesn't seem to be any connection between the 3 since they were separated by distance and time. A week ago we had a fatal accident on I-80 in Seward County in a Dust Storm but today was a beautiful clear day.

Derby Day

We continue to need rain but all we get are threats. A few sprinkles drove us in after taking this picture a few minutes ago. The Bradford Pears are at their peak bloom stage and several are located on the Brookdale property. We have had a pretty "low key" day but reflected upon the time we went to the Kentucky Derby and the number of times we went to the Berkshire-Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha.  Both were held today and we watched "Justify" win the Derby after their downpour of rain. The betting odds favored Justify at post time with his having 3 wins on his record. He is the first horse since 1882 to win the Derby without racing as a 2-year old.This was the 144th running of the Derby and it was the 101 that we attended.

 We had a couple Mint Julip glassses as souviners of our being there and also one from the 100th running and at one time put them on eBay with a high price. They didn't sell. I have no idea what may have happened to them at the Auction. I suspect they were included in a box of "Merchandise" bought by Tommy (#15), who would have put them on eBay.  Like many things, we are adjusting to seeing pictures of our memories of many of the things we accumulated over the years.

Cocktail Hour

Our "Cocktail Hour" at Brookdale followed   a Cinco de Mayo theme with Margareta's, Doritos, Olives, Hot sauce, etc with appropriate music. It was a welcomed break from my setting at the computer scanning some of our written annual narratives of activities that were not available from any other source. Some were even retrieved from the Toshiba Auxiliary drive that Jon bought for me a couple computers ago. This is part of the process of storing information that may be of interest to future generations. I didn't get a blog page written last night. We participated in the monthly Seward Magazine Club meeting at the Civic Center that included several most interesting reports and a great program. 

Life History

This  is the last of over 150 similar picture collages that I have made during the last 25 years and scanned during the past couple months. These collages along with a page of captions for each sheet, were put on a DVD today. This represents one phase of a project of getting family history and pictures on a medium that will enable them to be passed on to future generations. I understand that a Flash Drive may be a more appropriate storage item than the DVDs but the final "product" is sometimes a way. I have already written and printed 21 Chapters of my Autobiography which goes to December 31, 1991. From then on I have written a "Narrative" for each year. These too have been printed and are in binders with the collages and captions. The Chapters and Narratives add up to over 800 typed, single spaced pages. While they include some stories of my employment days, I also have written "My Career in SCS".  It contains 10 Chapters from 3/25/1948 to 6/28/1980 and consists of over 200,000 words. I have put it on a DVD and shared at least part of it with fellow USDA Soil Conservation Service employees. (Now called NRCS, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 We have certainly appreciated all the pictures and information that have been passed on to us. Regardless of its value to others, I can't think of anything to be  working on  that I would enjoy more than this stuff. It along with my daily blog, writing in my Journal  and normal activity, keeps me busy. We are limiting our involvement in Brookdale activities because of the Flu.

May Baskets

We were pleasantly surprised this afternoon when Elaine answered a knock on the door and these 4 little guys came in with May Baskets. I had gotten up from the computer and the little boy, very proudly, brought one to me. We didn't know the folks but understand they lost a relative recently that lived here for some time. These folks went up and down the halls with baskets for everyone. It brought back a memory of Mother helping Vivian and I make little paper baskets, pick flowers, and take them to neighbor ladies when we were little kids living in town.  A little note on the basket says, "Made with Love, the Luebbe and Janda Kids". We really appreciate all the "Acts of Kindness" that come our way as do everyone living here at Brookdale.