Sue and her summer companions

Jalen, Brayden, Brandon, and Tristian

Scott driving the boat

Mad dog and Goldman working

Lake Weekend

We're all praying for Janet. We know it's hard on her and her family. Pete called Saturday with his weekly call and had closed up their house in Idaho Falls and is staying with Kelly in Boise to be nearer to Janet. I'm the first one up this morning though Beth has already left. It's been a great week but still no rain. Rose says there hasn't been enough to clear the dust off her rain gauge. The fish in the picture weighed 26 pounds. Doug told me Dan caught most of them but Doug had to clean and cook them. Alex and Brittany left Saturday but they should have stayed for the fish fry. Scott and four boys arrived Friday night after I had gone to bed. Each of his boys bought a friend - Jalen brought Brandon and Brayden brought Tristan. Scott does have today off but it's a long drive back to Louisville. Brayden tried skiing on the trainer skis but was sure it was the 'worst boat driver trainer'' - that being Scott - he had ever seen and it was Scott's fault he couldn't get up. The other kids were sore from being pulled behind the boat on the tube.

Janet in Boise

Pete's wife Janet transferred Friday from Idaho Falls to:

Southwest Idaho Advanced Care Hospital
6651 West Franklin Road
Boise, ID  83709

208 685-2360

Doug and Dan's catfish

Friday night, Doug and Dan caught 3 catfish that were all over 8 or 9 pounds

Alex and Brittany

News about Janet

Brother Pete called this morning to say that Janet is being transferred from the hospital in Idaho Falls to a rehab facility in Boise.  Janet and their daughter Nancy are flying there, and Pete is making the four-hour drive.  The nearest places with facilities adequate for Janet's needs are in Salt Lake City and Boise.  The family chose Boise because Pete and Janet's son Kelly lives there.

We'll post more information, including an address, when we get it from Pete.

Maxim for the Day

"BLESSED ARE THE FLEXIBLE FOR THEY WON'T GET BENT OUT OF SHAPE."

If you are a reader here, you know Sue has been away most of the summer at her lake house with various people visiting and Mark Goldman as her caregiver.  I (Rose) failed to open some very important mail so that her Medicare Prescription coverage lapsed on July 1 for failure to pay.  Given the expensive medications Sue has to take, my mistake was a big one.  Over a ten-day period Sue and I probably talked with a dozen people at WellCare, her prescription provider, at Medicare, and at our local Schnuck's Pharmacy.  After a frantic couple of weeks and having to pay big bucks for some pills, the coverage was reinstated this week--retroactively, so Sue will get the money she paid for meds this month refunded.

The people we talked with were unfailingly kind, understood our situation, and were extremely helpful.   Our communication difficulties with WellCare, Schnucks Pharmacy, and Medicare were compounded because of the laws precluding discussion with anyone other than the patient.  To comply with those laws, the WellCare representatives would get both Sue (at the lake) and me (in St. Louis) on a conference call to make sure they did not violate any confidentiality about Sue's medical records.

The whole mess made Sue and me extremely aware of how intricate and difficult navigating the complex Medicare prescription plan is.  Even without my recent error, I have often had the thought that one unintended effect of the prescription drug plan (with its intricate rules, the doughnut hole, the enrollment period every year, and all the provider plans) is to drive seniors bonkers.  [Perhaps a cover for those "death panels" the GOP is forever talking about.]  Obviously there were no seniors involved in planning the thing, only young people with great computer skills.

Mike Lynch, daughter Maddie and her friend Emma

BIG Brisket

My guests arrived Friday and Alex brought his friend, Jake. Brad couldn't come. Alex will be going to MU next month and both young men were very polite and helpful. They spent lots of time riding the wave runner and in the water. That's probably the most the wave runner has been run this season. Goldman cooked the brisket for dinner Friday night and we had some of it for the lunch Saturday. Margaret and family had to leave yesterday but had sandwiches from the leftovers before that left. Goldman made hash with brisket and potatoes last night and we still have enough for me, him, and Mad Dog tonight. Sabrina and Margaret had him give them his recipe. He makes it the way his great grandmother made it and she was from the old country [Russia]. Joe arrived Saturday and we had a nice visit. He couldn't stay for supper but we did capture him in these pictures. He did bring us a bag of homegrown tomatoes which we had with the stromboli Goldman made for our dinner. Margaret brought some home grown zucchini from Stef's garden and fried it to go with dinner Saturday night.

Bebe and Sue

Joe, Margaret, and Sue

Bebe, Mad dog, Sue, and Goldman

Alex, Margaret, Bebe, Joe, and Sue

The coffee machine

This is Goldman here reporting on the saga of our coffee machine here at the lake house. Last weekend Aunt Margaret joined the long list of people (myself included) who could not find the proper place to pour the water in the coffee machine. When she and Bebe (aka Sabrina) arrived here Friday afternoon she was curious to see how it worked. We figured that we would give our resident engineer Bebe a crack at at it and after studying the machine and exploring all logical options, she too gave up.

On the attack

Maddog poised for the kill.

Mark Goldman

Sabrina says he has a heart of gold.

Aunt Janet

I have happenings to post from the weekend but wanted to get this post in before pictures and the recent events here at the lake. Pete called Saturday morning and told me it was okay to let people know that Janet is in the hospital and has been there since June 27. He said she smiles and manages to keep her spirits up. I'm sure that it takes a lot of courage and determination. For those of you who would like to send her a card, the mailing address is 3688 Cobblestone Lane, Idaho Falls, ID 83404-7923 The email address is pjfelin@hotmail.com

Company

Mad Dog, Goldman, and I are ready for company this afternoon. Sabrina, her son Alex. his friend Brad, and Margaret will be here later today. Goldman already has a brisket in the oven. Sabrina's husband and other son, Brett, are in Louisville so Brett can participate in a basketball tournament this weekend. Scott and Brayden are going to see his game. Brother Joe is coming to have lunch with us tomorrow. Goldman is going to cook so we won't get to use Pete's credit card. We'll post some pictures of the group when everyone arrives. The rain we had this week didn't last long and didn't get get things very wet. It's still HOT in Missouri. Sabrina is bringing my new glasses. Since I still need them after cataract surgery, I had the prescription put in my old frames and Rose picked them up for me and dropped them off with Sabrina at work yesterday. I hope the prescription is right.

Lizzie and Sam, Margaret's Grandchildren

Lizzie, daughter of Catrina and Robbie

On the occasion of her eighth grade dance

Lizzie who will be a high school freshman

On the occasion of her eighth grade dance

Sabrina and Connor

I stopped in at Hussman this afternoon to take some things to Sabrina who will take them to the Lake tomorrow for Sue.  Sabrina (daughter of Margaret and the late Norman) showed me around.  Connor was working at his desk and came with us to Sabrina's office where we tried to call his sister Erica.  Erica didn't answer.  Connor and Erica are Margaret's grandchildren, first and third offspring of Randy and Linn.  Both Connor and Erica have summer internship jobs at Hussman.  Both will be returning to school next month.

RAIN

It's RAINING this morning! It may not be enough to soak things but I had to come in from setting outside o get wet. I hope Rose's rain gauge measures it. Mike and the girls have to leave this morning but both girls caught a fish last night. Mike baited their hooks and took their whoppers off the hooks. He didn't clean them. There wasn't enough for a 'mess'. Goldman took everyone's blood pressure and checked the results with his computer and gave us the statistics for each one of us compared to our readings. He may take up some photography again today because we need pictures posted again of our guests. I hope I have mentioned in previous posts what a good cook he is too, More news later.

Monitor

Goldman did a great job reporting on the float trip and posting pictures. He took up photography when Rose gave us the camera but now he has taken up a new hobby. When I went to my primary care physician last week she thought we could cut back on my blood pressure medication but need to check it frequently. I bought a monitor as we were leaving town. He has researched the indications, questioning his own results, taking his blood pressure often and finally felt confident enough to take mine. He emailed the results to Rose and says he will do so daily. He hasn't taken a single picture!! Mike Lynch and his daughter Maddie and a friend and Mad Dog will be here after while.

Float Trip

This is Goldman reporting on this years float trip. Rachel Lynch has organized the annual float trip for the past 23 years. This years participants included Mike Lynch, Chris "Maddog" Lynch, Scott Spreitler, Beth Fontana, Ding and Shelly Spreitler, Scott Kaenter and his girlfriend Jennifer Ashby, Dan Cullinane, Doug Hollensbe, Chris Groves,and me. We camped at the Bass River Resort in Steelville, MO and floated the Courtois River. We began arriving and setting up camp in the late afternoon and early evening. it started to get cloudy just before dark and I reassured the rest of the campers that we would not see any rain. Luckily we had the awning of Kaenter's camper to provide cover during the 45 minute downpour we endured. Once the rain slowed to a drizzle we erected the portable car port that Doug brought and we did not see another drop of rain the rest of the weekend. On Saturday morning we started the day with breakfast quesidilas that Scott and Beth made for everyone. Without a doubt it was the best float trip breakfast ever and we were ready to hit the river. When we were younger we used to float 12 or 15 miles but now we only go 6 miles. Of course back in the old days we also used to camp in rowdy section of the camp ground where there were no quiet hours. Now we camp in the area where you have to be quiet after 11. Anyway the drought caused the water level to be way down on the river and we spent a lot of time dragging our canoes but we all still had fun. Doug and Dan caught some fish and Scott, Beth, and Groves managed to tip their canoe. After the float Ding and Dan won the wiffle ball trophy from Lynch and me, ending our 8 year title reign. We spent the rest of the day and evening playing cornhole, eating another great meal, sitting around the camp fire and generally having a great time. Soon enough it was Sunday morning and it was time to take down the tents and pack up. Groves owns the smallest tent in the world ( he almost fits in it if he lays diagonally) so he was ready to go first. We are looking forward to Rachel's 24th annual float trip next summer.

BACK AT THE LAKE AGAIN

Goldman and I are back at the lake after a short trip to St. Louis. I rode back Sunday with Margaret and the girls to St. peters. Rose picked me up at Margaret's so I could have supper and visit with Shirley's nephew, wife, and Charlie, their one-month old baby. We talked to Pete Saturday with our weekly chat. Margaret called Mary Pauline and chatted with her a bit. I called Sandi and told her we need some news from the FeLLins. She told me Anna would like to be a contributor to the blog. We need her email address so we can tell her how simple it is and how appreciative everyone would be. John and Jana are going to send pictures of Brother Bob and of Bobby and we'll post them when we get them.

Chris whose birthday was July 13

HAPPYBIRTHDAY!!!!

Margaret, Amanda, Charlotte, Sue

Margaret, Rose, Sue

Lake and Float

It's Saturday morning and Margaret and I are up while both the young women are still sleeping. They'll have to leave early tomorrow and Brother Joe can't join today so we're going to attempt a get tother at another time. The girls and Margaret and I had dinner at 'Ruthie D's', a local restaurant. The girls swam and rode the wave runner. They got our neighbor, Lisa Sacco, to assist them. Lisa had to call Doug for further instructions on getting the wave runner off the lift. The guys are all on a float trip this weekend. I'll post more pictures later.

Siblings Visit

The previous picture was the group who was here for the Fourth of July which was for only two days and no fireworks because of the drought. As we say in Missouri 'A Good Time was had by All'. I went back to ST. Louis with Scott and the boys. They still had a long ride to get to Louisville. I had doctors appointments Monday and Goldman and I came back yesterday. Mad Dog joined us for dinner. On Monday evening at home, I had dinner with Chris and Shelly. I talked to Rose this afternoon and she has a guitar lesson tonight. She did do some practicing while I was home. [I still can't make paragraphs] The younger crowd are all going on a float trip this weekend on the Courtois River so I've given Goldman the weekend off so he can float. I've finally convinced Margaret it's time to come see me. Her granddaughter, Amanda, and a friend will join us. Brother Joe thinks he can come up Sunday and join us. I ask him to bring any or all of his family, too. I love company. We'll get some more use out of this camera me and the boys gave Rose and Goldman has figured out how to post them.

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

PHOTOGRAPHS AND FAMILY

Sue and her sons gave me a beautiful Sony digital camera for my birthday a couple of years ago.  I used it until I got my iPhone4 which has a very fine digital camera built into it.  Sue and Goldman took the Sony camera to the lake where they are capturing lots of photos.  Our next agenda is to have them learn how to post photos directly to the blog.  Now they e-mail photos to me for me to post.

The recent photos of our cousin Elaine, her husband Bill, and Brother Joe were taken with the Sony.  Elaine is the daughter of Kent and Paula Madden.  Kent was our mother's younger brother.  We have many wonderful memories of visiting their family when they lived in Fair Grove, MO, and later when they lived in Manhattan, KS.  Elaine has two brother, Kenneth and Kelly, both of whom live in southern Missouri.  Elaine and Bill live in Eljay, Georgia, and were visiting in Missouri over the Fourth of July holiday.  They have a son and a daughter and two grandchildren.

Scott

Brayden and Scott

Jalen

Hollensbee Family at the Lake July 6, 2012

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Chris Lynch (AKA Maddog) and the Neighbor's Dog

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A Younger Mark Goldman

Visit with Elaine and Bill

This time the blog may be posted before the pictures. Elaine, her husband Bill and brother Joe came to see me at the lake for lunch and pictures. Goldman was the chef and photographer. Since he took the pictures, there were none of him. I hadn't seen Elaine in over 20 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do. They have to go back to Georgia tomorrow so couldn't stay very long. Pete, he says his GPS is like yours - you can turn it off.

Sue with our Cousin Elaine (Raymond) and with Brother Joe

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Sue with House Guests: Cousin Elaine (Raymond) and her husband, Bill, and Brother Joe

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4th of July

It's the Fourth of July and the summer is going fast. Since Rose bought her rain gauge, it hasn't been needed. We did have a short shower yesterday but it didn't last very long or get things very wet. I've ben meaning to ask Rose if she's practicing her guitar. Her 'picking' finger kept getting sore before I left. Elaine and her husband are coming for lunch tomorrow. Margaret can't come. She's visiting with Catrina and family 'down in the valley'. Joe will be here for sure. We don't know if there will be any fire works because of the drought. It's time for breakfast.

Maddog during a five-minute rain at the lake

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Boarding

Ticketing

Goodbyes

Waiting for Flight to Louisville

Coming Week

Now that Girls Weekend is over, it's just me, Goldman and Mad Dog. We're going to watch the Cardinal game tonight and don't have anything planned for tomorrow. Fireworks may be banned because of the dry weather. It's dry and HOT. Pete said it was 51 in Idaho Saturday morning but I think it got to about twice that here. Shelle made some delicious brownies and I stayed inside and kept cool and ate brownies most of Saturday. The shelves and pictures look really good since Rachel worked most the day with some assistance on them. She knew most of my family by the time she was finished. Margaret was in the hospital for a couple days last week She had a fall and hurt her head and had a bad head ache after the fall. I think she got home Friday. Elaine Madden Raymond and her husband are coming for lunch Thursday. Joe is coming, too and maybe his granddaughter. I'm trying to get Margaret to come. Catrina and her kids might bring her. They would like the lake and the pool.

Living Room at Lake. Sue and Suz at Lake. Rachel Lynch working on Photos at Lake

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Laurie Stallings at the Lake on Girls' Weekend

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Shirley and Brayden enroute to St. Louis

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