Pecan Grove (www.pecan-grove.net) Pecan Grove and Senior Residence

2013 is off to a good start at PG.  Most of the 11 residents are doing well.  Esther Potts is in the hospital again with congestive heart failure.  She went in thinking she had had a heart attack, but that wasn’t the case.  As soon as they drained the fluid off she felt better and wanted to come home.  They’re keeping her for a few days to adjust her medications.  I had one of the best visits I’ve had with her in her room in ICU yesterday morning.  She felt bad she’d miss Roger’s birthday Saturday (she remembered it was Roger’s birthday, I didn’t!).  She talked about her memories of and appreciation for Evelyn Kuck, wishing she could be at Evelyn’s funeral in Clarksville Ohio, also on Saturday.  Her memory was so much clearer than normal… we’re wondering if the oxygen they were giving her might have made the difference?  Maybe it would help my memory?

We had more staff changes in January.  Cindy Erickson, who was the longest term employee, decided to leave.  Her upbeat, joking and caring presence is certainly missed.  PG is a much quieter place!  The first picture below is of Cindy with her husband Bob, and Bob’s sister Muriel who is in the work in Washington.  Samuel Valdez’s niece, Breseida (Brisy) Valdez (20), has joined us, replacing Cindy.  Brisy was raised in the US, so is able to help Conchita and Samuel with English.  The picture below is of Brisy with her parents, Noe and Magdalena.  The order is Noe, Brisy, Magdalena, Conchita and Samuel.

Barbara and Frances had birthdays in January.  In the picture below Frances is with Dale and Patty Maki.  Patty is Frances’s daughter.

Our daughter, Karla Furrow, comes to PG once a week and does exercises with the residents.  Here they are stretching yellow elastic bands.  The twins are sitting at Karla’s feet.  Joyce and Emma visited for a few days.  Joyce’s mom Betty Lawrence is one of our residents.

The first picture below shows our other daughter, Karin Kelleher, with her husband Patrick, and Karla’s twins.  Karin is the assistant manager at PG.  The second photo is of a local Chinese friend, LiPing, who comes sometimes and cooks wonderful Chinese food for us.  She’s also holding Karla’s twins.

Burning the burn pile safely can be a challenge, especially with all the dry weather we’ve had.  We’re now using one of the sprayers to spray water around the pile as it burns.  We’re getting more than deer at our deer feeder!  These small wild hogs are cute.  The big ones are not cute!  This motion sensitive camera has taken a lot of pictures of them, almost all late at night.  So far we haven’t been able to kill any.  We’ve also got pictures of coons, crows, a bob cat, and a lot of deer.

Ken

 

 

It’s hard to believe 2012 is finished!  We have much to be thankful for, and look forward to 2013!  The residents did well in December.  Esther recovered her strength, and now walks with Bea down to the “river” every evening again.  (It’s a 7 acre lake but Esther, who is nearly blind, insists it’s a river.)   Jean was sick some… had a flu shot and then thought she had the flu.  It turned out to be gall stones.  She’s still somewhat weak, but is feeling much better.

Naomi “died” again at bible study.  I believe this is the 4th time, though it has been several months since the last time. They noticed she was passing out so Samuel and dad loaded her on a walker and as they walked her back the hall to her room she passed all the way out.  They lifted her into her bed and that woke her up.  She looked up at Samuel and said, “Samuel, have you hung up my calendar yet like I asked you to?”.  Fortunately (for Samuel) he had!  The first time this happened (see the middle of the January 2012 blog posting), we had her taken (by ambulance) to the hospital.  Now she warns us repeatedly, DO NOT take me to the hospital… let me die!  Destiny asked her what we should do if she fell and broke her arm… she said, “let it be broke – no hospital!”  It’s interesting, because when she came back from the hospital in January she talked a lot about how wonderful the hospital was.  She said she was in a room “filled with equipment” (it was actually the emergency room).  “There was so much equipment in that room, it must have cost a thousand dollars!”

Here’s a picture of the current 11 residents, from left to right, Naomi, Doris, Bea, Teresa, Jean, Roger, Esther, Frances, Barbara, Betty and Mary Jane.

We had lots of visitors in December… didn’t get pictures of all of them.  Here are Randy and Esther Wyatt with Esther Potts.  Mark, Julia, Elisa and Jeffery Hilligoss visited Barbara.

Ron, Pam and Russ Lacock visited their daughter Sara who is in this field.  Here they’re shown with dad and mom, Kathy, Betty, Samuel and Conchita in Samuel and Conchita’s house.  The second picture is of Sara with Sharon.

Kenny’s girl friend, Salena Thorburn and her dad Jim Thorburn are shown with Kenny.   Travis, Jamie and Aliyah Bolt visited.  Travis works for Cormorant Engineering here on the farm.

John Wilbur visited with his brother Dan and family who live about 50 miles from PG.  The first picture shows them with the residents.  The second shows John with Esther Potts.

Dennis and Jen Benjamin visited with Don, Jenny, Ava and Jaina Waldo.  Don works with me, sometimes at PG.  A gecko latched onto Dennis’s finger (they don’t really bite, have no teeth!)

Jack and Mae Nelson, and Dan and Elaine Parsons (and 3 kids) were here to visit.  Jack helped with the building of PG.  Dan is my sister-in-law, Ann Newman’s brother.  Their daughter, Danelle and Ann are starting a business together in Houston.

David and Lois Evans from PA were here while visiting Howard and Mary Ann Colson (who live about 20 miles from PG).  Jeff and Julie Evans, and Julie’s son David Accola visited from Minnesota.

Virginia had foot surgery and has been working with her knee on a rolling support.  Her birthday was in December and she has had some of her family in to help out when working at PG.   The pictures below are of her birthday, and then with her sister Mary Jane Barr and her daughter and family Jenny, Juan, Ethan and Eleana Salazar

Juan cleaning and Ethan playing the piano with Teresa.

Samuel and Conchita have 2 new puppies, Milley and Pilley,  Here’s Samuel, Conchita, the Salazars and the dogs.  The second picture is of the dogs and the kids.

 

Mom’s 81st birthday was today (Dec 31st).  Here’s she’s shown with dad, and then with Joyce and Emma who are visiting for a few days.

We have plenty of pecans to sell.  Don and Jenny Waldo and our 3 kids have all helped man booths at farmers markets locally, selling pecans.  Here’s a picture of Kathy at a booth in The Woodlands.  At this rate, we’ll be at a lot more farmers markets!

We’ve had a deer feeder running at the back side of the orchard, with a motion sensitive camera near by.  There are lots of deer, mainly does, at least 1 small buck and raccoon!  Here are a few pictures.

Finally, the requisite picture of the twins… as snow angels.  We’re currently in Minneapolis visiting Kathy’s family.  Also, a picture of the twins with our good friends, Lee and Sharon (Wahlin) Clark.

Ken

We’ve had beautiful weather in November!  The many changes that began in October continued.  Evelyn Wilson left to be near her family in Missouri, and Mary Jane Pike came to be our newest (and youngest) resident.  The first picture below is of Audrey and Amos Purcell, and Tom Davis with Evelyn just as they were leaving to take her back to Missouri.  The second is of the four who brought Mary Jane with Mary Jane.  In the picture they are Alice Christopher, Waverly Pierson, Carolyn Porter, Mary Jane Pike and Sandra Wilson.

 

Mary Jane is in better physical shape than the other residents… and some of the rest of us!  When she first arrived she suggested to Destiny (who played basketball in school) that we needed to start a PG basket ball team!  Then she looked around the great room at the residents and their walkers, and said “maybe not”!    She’s constantly looking for something to do, so each trash can gets emptied multiple times per day.  She enjoys finding sticks and dried plants in the woods and making dried arrangements in flower pots.  She and Roger are a big help when we clean pecans.  We’re glad she has settled in well and seems to enjoy being with us.

Esther Potts (97 years old) spent a week in the hospital in November with congestive heart failure.  They drained the fluid off and changed her medications.  She was weak when she first came home, but has been gaining strength and seems like her old self again now.  We all admire her spirit!

There were changes in the staff also.  Kathleen Stancliff moved back to Arkansas.  A  Mexican couple from south Houston joined the staff, Samuel and Conchita Valdez.  Samuel is taking the place Brandon Chandler left at the end of October and Conchita is taking Kathleen’s place.  The first picture below shows Kathleen with Conchita.  The second shows Cindy Erickson with Conchita and Samuel.

While showing pictures of our staff I’ll include a picture of Destiny Minor who was part-time but now works almost full-time, with Virginia McKnight.  The second picture is of Waverly Pierson with our daughter Karin Kelleher.  So in summary, our full-time (and nearly full-time) staff are Cindy, Virginia, Destiny, Conchita, Samuel and Karin.  Volunteer part-time help includes Kathy, Leona, Jack and Ken.

Visitors in November included Jeanette Ford and Martha Houston who were with us for a week.  Esther keeps trying to convince Jeanette that she needs to move into PG, but Jeanette isn’t ready for that move yet.  The first picture shows Martha and Jeanette.  The second shows them with the residents: Naomi, Martha, Esther, Jeanette and Barbara.

Steve and Wynesta Dale from the left coast (California) visited.  Wynesta is a niece of one of our residents, Frances McPherson, and a good friend of ours for many years.  The first picture shows Frances, Wynesta and Steve.  Ralph and Louise Hartsuiker visited on their way to the valley.  In the second picture they’re shown with Jean Hagemiere.

Our son-in-law, Brendan Furrow’s (father of the twins), sister and family visited from Ohio.  The first picture below is of Karena and Doug Hager with their kids Aubrey and Andan, and the twins, Maren and Maven.  Bea’s sister Bobby and her son Chris brought Bea back from a two week visit with them.

Two sets of couples, the Myers from Indiana, the Klopfensteins and Chappells from New Hampshire visited on the same day, not knowing the others were coming – and they were related!  The first picture below is of Faye and John Myers, Norma and Ivan Klofenstein, and Genny and Ralph Myers.  The second is of Kent and Sharon Chappell.

Linda Ronhaar visited and led a sing with some of the residents, Martha and Jeanette.  Betty Lawrence had her 87th birthday.  She fell recently and is currently on the mend.

A group of home schooled kids (including Wesley Leighton) were working on a project to invent something to help the elderly.  They came and made a presentation to our residents of their device.  The first picture shows the kids with the residents.  The second shows the device, which helps folks who have had strokes turn a door knob.

We have LOTS of dead trees to take down after last year’s drought.  Kenny, Samuel and I felled a tree that was close to and leaning toward the driveway.  I was driving the tractor, and hoping that the rope was longer than the tree was tall!

Two (more) pictures of the twins, one with Doris (behind them) and one with Jack (great grandfather).

Kathy and I spent a week in Aberdeen Scotland in November.  For those of you familiar with Aberdeen, here’s one picture of the Kitty Fulton, Cyril & Harriet Bell, Bob Kerr, Alan Beggs, Kathy, Alex and Betty Main.

The fountain and a small buck.

 

Ken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are lots of changes happening at PG.  Barry Barkley brought Roger Cleveland to be the 11th resident.  Roger is 93 and is in very good health.  We’re glad to have him with us.  The first picture shows Barry and Roger.  The second shows the current residents.  In the front row from left to right, Naomi Nicolson, Barbara Hillagoss, Frances McPherson, Evelyn Wilson, Bea Jecmenek and Esther Potts.  The back row, Ken and Kathy Newman, Doris Crawford, Betty Lawrence, Jean Hagemeier, Roger Cleveland, Teresa Goff, Leona and Jack Newman.

All of the residents have done well in October.  Evelyn Wilson fell in her room and broke her collar bone (note the sling in the picture above), but she regained her strength quickly.  She has been in contact with her relatives in Missouri and they are arranging for her to move to an assisted living center near them, so she will be leaving us in early November.

All 11 residents were able to attend the convention at Georgetown.  Here are a few pictures taken at Georgetown.  We’re thankful for the use of golf carts!

Union meeting at our place on first Sunday with pot luck afterward is something the residents look forward to:

As was explained in last months posting, Ronda and Mike Rosamond and Brandon and Tamara Chandler (and kids and dogs) are moving back to Arkansas.  Here’s a group picture of them before they left (without the dogs).  The second picture is of Betty taking a walk with one of the dogs that they took.

Naomi turned 84 in October.  The picture below shows her with Joyce.   The second picture shows the 4 full time staff members goofing off – Cindy Erickson, Ronda Rosamond, Virginia McKnight and Kathleen Stancliff.  Kathleen has also decided to move back to Arkansas at the end of November, so our search for staff continues.

We were glad to have lots of visitors in October.  The first picture shows Anna Ross helping Roger, Leona, Kenny and Salena with the pecan cleaning process.  The second shows her grandson David and Nicole Ross and son Greyson.

Dale and Patty Maki brought Ken Johnson to visit.  Peggy Musgrove and Nancy Lyons visited their old companions.

Dub and Cindy Johnson visited from New York.  These pictures show them visiting with the residents.

Anita Forsberg (and old friend of ours) was a visitor at our conventions, and came for a visit after Mountain Peak.  Here’s she’s shown with Sharon Wahlin who is in our field again this year with Sara Lacock.  The second picture is of our fountain with a rainbow around it.

Finally, the twins at their first convention at Mountain Peak (held by Kathy and Leona), and at home practicing their new “sitting up” trick.

Ken