Meston Family Reunion

The 2009 Meston Family Reunion is now history! What a great time it was and I am sure all who attended from the youngest to Louise who is 88 will remember it. It started on Saturday with several people arriving to unload their belongings to their respective cabins. It would have been a difficult task even if it had not been raining but of course it was raining and everyone managed to get pretty well soaked while getting all of their stuff unloaded.

One highlight was the AUCTION and it was a big success. There was a lot of "stuff" laid out on tables from toys to antiques. The kids stuff was really attracting a lot of attention so we knew there was going to be some spirited bidding from the kids ages 3 to 6. It was fun to watch them go from tentatively raising their hands to jumping up and down wildly when they wanted to bid. Bill did an outstanding job of auctioneering and Joe kept track of everything as the clerk. The participants bid eagerly and there were some spirited exchanges but in the end a good time was had and much money generated for the family fund.

Another highlight was the water balloon toss(which became a water balloon fight). This evening also included a spirited squirt gun fight with Jennifer, Alyssa and all of the kids. Everyone got soaked but had a good time. Another big hit was Kids Kraft Day where each child helped create a mural that was saved for the next reunion. Other highlights included family trips to the Cincinnati Zoo, Kings Island, the Water Park, Metamora, horseback riding and some of the local antique stores.

Everyone enjoyed the evening meals, often on the picnic tables under the trees. They were followed by campfires that included many memories and tall tales. The little ones were introduced to roasting marshmallows at the campfire. Each event created lasting memories for all of us.

You can view the fun and memories by going to this web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/dewwoodp/MestonFamilyReunion?authkey=Gv1sRgCISN08bPw-DQswE#. If your browser does not allow you to click on the link to view the pictures you can copy and paste it into the address bar of your browser.

Powers Church Service

Last Sunday evening was the first Powers Church meeting of the year. The weather cooperated for a beautiful evening which made it very enjoyable. As most of you know the services are the fourth Sunday evening of June, July and August at 7:00PM and are open to anyone that has an interest in the Church. We had a great turnout for our first meeting, maybe because of the weather, the speaker, the entertainment or just because people enjoy the services. Whatever the reason it was a wonderful service.

The Reverend Dave Tilly from the Montpelier First Presbyterian Church was the speaker for evening. Dave has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Church and we welcome him back anytime. He is very interested in the history of the area and the Church and tied his message around some letters written by some of the Powers brothers to their mother back in New York.

The entertainment for the evening was a string duo by a couple of ladies from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Kristen Westover and Gena Taylor. The above photo is Kristen and Anna Ross who performed last year. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of this years performance. The duo this year was a violin and a chello which made for a great program. The ladies played three excellent selections which were enjoyed by all present. At the conclusion of their performance they were given a standing ovation from the crowd which shows how much everyone enjoyed the show.

This photo is one of the interior of the Church looking toward the pulpit. It does not show the work that has been completed by Bob Cross, the restoration expert who has been working on the wallpaper. He has restored three of the walls. Currently he is duplicating the existing wallpaper on the front wall by using a system of stencilling. The first layer is complete as of last summer and really makes a difference in the appearance. The remaining work will be completed as funds allow.

This last photo is from last years Christmas Service. Behind the podium you can see the stencil work that Bob has completed thus far. We are planning another Christmas Service this year on November 29th that will include reading the Christmas Story and singing Christmas Carols. That completes our news for this week, the next blog will chronicle the Meston Family Reunion.

Father's Day & Retirement Party

We had a wonderful weekend with all of the kids home to visit and the grandkids as well. The kids decided to host a retirement and Father's Day party for Marcia and I this past weekend. It was all their idea and they even provided the meal and entertainment for the evening. Everyone started showing up Saturday afternoon from their various homes. There were a couple of problems as Matt and Alyssa both had flat tires on their way home but everbody made it without further delay. The weather even cooperated and we got some sunshine instead of rain for the whole time the kids were home.

The first evening started out with the kids all fixing a fiesta meal with the various things they had brought with them. We had a delicous meal and lots of good fun as we enjoyed the food. I took lots of pictures with Alyssa's help and I will include a link to a web album after this paragraph. After dinner we adjourned to the campfire ring where we had a nice fire and lots of time to just enjoy the evening. The mosquitoes even cooperated and pretty much left us alone. The kids also brought some entertainment in the form of a pinata which will show up in the pictures. After Cole finally brought the pinata down we just sat around the campfire making smores and when it started to get a little bit dark there were lots of sparklers and various other fireworks. Following is the link to the web album, just copy and paste this link into your browser address line and it will take you directly to the album site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dewwoodp/FathersDayVisit?authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8ne32s9W1pwE&feat=directlink

The pictures are in no particular order so you can just browse through them at your own pace.

Rehab

Rehabilitation continues as I move from stretching and flexibility exercises to more strengthening exercises. This week saw me start the leg squats although I was lying on my back pushing horizontally not vertically. I also started on a stationary bicycle which is not really strength but is a totally different type of movement with the legs and knees.

The biggest step probably was abandoning the walker in favor of a cane. That gives me a lot more freedom of movement and seems to be working out well. Last night we went to Chris Crowl's graduation party and I was able to get around ok. We got to see several of our cousins from the Fulton side of the family which was nice. They had a very big turnout and looked the party was going to continue long after we departed. Chris seems like a very nice young man with his feet planted pretty firmly on the ground.

When we got home last night I decided to see if I could get up the steps into the camper and it went well. We were able to spend a little time in the camper trying to get the TV to work on the new digital channels. We are only able to get a couple of stations where the camper is setting. It seems like the new digital signals are weaker than the old analog ones. We cannot get as many different channels now as we did before they switched over totally. Then of course while we were there Marcia had to do a little cleaning, big surprise huh?

The next big milestone in the recovery came this morning when I got on the tractor and mowed with the bush hog for a couple of hours. That was nice to be able to get out and get around our property to see how things are coming along. This may not have been a good year for the farmers as far as getting their crops planted but it has been an excellent year for the trees. They have grown unbelieveably already this season and will probably add quite a bit more growth before fall. It is nice to be able to get out among them again. That is about all I have for this edition, sorry about the no pictures thing but I have not been able to get many photos while trying to manuever a walker or cane. Looking forward to a big weekend coming up as all of the kids(and grandkids) will be home for the weekend. That may provide an opportunity for some photos. Till then I hope everyone has a good week.

Retired

This year has brought a lot of changes to the Powers Family the biggest perhaps is Marcia's retirement. We had lots of conversations about this and could we afford it etc etc. Well the school corporation came up with a buyout that made it possible for Marcia to retire which made both of us very happy. The High School had a little retirement party for her and another lady that is also retiring on Thursday morning which was the last day for the teachers. I have included a few photos the first one is when Marcia was talking about her family of friends at school and how she will miss the interaction with her coworkers. It got a little emotional but not too bad.

There is an interesting story about how I was able to attend the party. Karen Sanders had called me a little over a week ago to ask if I would like to attend the party. Well at that time I did not feel like I would be able to get out and go to the party and I was a little loopy on some of the pain medicine that they give you so I said no I guess I better not try it. Then Thursday morning after Marcia had left for school Karen Sanders and Karen Huber called again and said "are you sure you don't want to come" and I decided if I could get out and go to rehab I should be able to get to Marcia's retirement so I said "yes I would like to come". Well they got the ball rolling and said in about fifteen minutes someone would be out to pick me up. Ok that is great but most of my clothes are upstairs where I cannot get to them so what am I going to wear. Luckily Marcia had brought down a couple of outfits the night before and one looked like it would be ok for me to wear to this rather casual event. So by the time I got ready a car pulled in and Howard, the custodian and Paula one of his helpers came to the door and away we went in Paula's car. They took me right up to the front of the building and helped me walk in to the media center where the shindig was going on. It was a breakfast and people were just milling about talking so they just took me right to Marcia's table and I sat down. Shortly after that Marcia came by and said "what are you doing here?" Well that is how I got to go to the party and I was very glad that I did go cause I was pretty proud of my Marcia.

The above photo is another one of Marcia telling everyone goodbye. The bottom one is her reaction to a comment from one of the attendees. They did a nice little program for her with the Tiger fan club giving us a pair of tickets to a Detroit Tigers game in August. Several of her friends got up and made little speeches and presentations and some gifts were given. It was a very nice day.

Now it is time for the next chapter in our lives. I asked Marcia last night what her new title should be and without hesitation she said "I am head of grounds and maintainence." So I guess she has made the transition fairly easily. As a matter of fact she has already started her new position, she is out mowing lawn right now.

Knees

Knees, what an interesting topic.  As most of you know I have been gone from the blog for a while because of you guessed it my knees.  Now I know these are not the prettiest photos you have ever seen but they do represent what I have been doing for the last three weeks.  The first photo is the "before." They really look like they could use some help, right?

Then we went to Parkview North's Orthopedic Hospital where Dr. Pritchard cut, hacked, sawed, drilled, pounded and glued some parts into my knees to hopefully make them better.  This photo is "during" this was back in my room after the surgery and maybe was just a little bit posed.  They kept the legs wrapped with drain tubes in them for the first two or three days.  They did something that I thought was interesting, they collected the drainage from the incisions and gave it back to me as a transfusion.  I had never thought about that before but I guess it makes sense and is probably a lot safer than getting a transfusion from the blood bank.

After four days in Parkview with help from Jennifer and Alyssa giving Mom a hand, they moved me to Cameron Hospital's Swing Bed Program.  I definitely was not ready to go home yet but everyone at Cameron made me feel right at home and they continued my rehab right there at the hospital which kept me on track.  The rehab is ... well it hurts.  I guess they have to make it hurt to get any benefit from it.  It must be working because I can almost walk without my walker now and we have achieved a couple more milestones.  I have wheels, yep the other day I got on the lawn mower and went for a ride through the trees.  That went so well I decided the next day it was time to go for a ride in the truck, it went pretty well until I got back and Marcia gave me a talking to.  

The bottom photo is the "now".  That is how the incisions look today.  They are healing well although there is still puffiness and probably will be for several weeks.  The stretching and strenghtening of all of the muscles, tendons and ligaments continue to cause the puffiness.  They had to stretch everything out to accomodate the fact that my legs are now longer than they were as they put all of the pieces back in that had worn away.

Well that is about all I have on the knees.  I hope to be out and about in a few more days.

Mother's Day

This one is pretty self explanatory. It is Mom with her three boys. We all took Mom out to one of her old haunts for breakfast today. We went to Timbers where Mom & Dad used to go quite often. We even got some of the locals involved when I asked a guy at the next table to take our picture. He was very obliging. Kind of looks like we maybe could have skipped the food part but heck what is the fun in that.
We took Mom back to her apartment and I got a few more pictures. This one is Mom in her chair. She was telling us about all of the goings on at Cameron Woods. One of Don's old classmates(Cliff Ryan) was in town and staying there, we met his wife on the way out. We had a very nice breakfast and all of our wives enjoyed getting to sleep in so it was appreciated all around.

These two are of guess who?  Marcia went to Sell's for her Mother's Day flowers and could not wait to get some in the ground.  Does she look like she is having a nice Mother's Day?

This is going to be a short post as I have to finish getting everything ready for the big day which is coming up way too soon.  I probably won't be posting for a few weeks until I can manage to get around and use the computer.  Wish me well with the new knees.