Time to Say Goodbye

On Friday, January 27, 2012, my dad, Herb Guenther, left this life for a better place at the age of 99 - free from  physical ailments, pain, and weariness.  He was loved, cared for, and earned the respect of everyone he came in contact with.  He taught courage through example, forgiveness through compassion, and never, ever complained.  He kept his wit and humor intact, thanks especially to my son, Tom, who has been an exemplary model of a modern-day caregiver.  He made new friends from Hospice and Home Care aides, and kept in touch with old friends.  He will be sorely missed by all - particularly by his four-legged friends, Biggie, Six, and Leo who never left his side and protected him from all strangers.

Turning 99- Highly Recommended

What a wild, wild day!  Celebrated my 99th birthday on Saturday, January 7 - a few days early, but who's counting days?

 I asked for red, white, and blue balloons...so that's what I got!

along with a "Party in Progress" sign...

 Barbara's friend, Judy Mouhot Brown, is an artist...living in Florida.  She paints AMAZING pictures of animals and the flora and fauna of Florida.  A few years ago, Barbara asked her to paint a portrait of my two Golden Retrievers, Duke and Duchess...and she did!  For my birthday this year, Judy painted a picture of a 1928 Model A and sent it to me in California.

 I was pretty happy with the painting ...

and with the nice card from Judy and Ray.

Barbara got a frame for the painting and now it's hanging in my room...I see it every day!

 I got the "seat of honor"...comfortable chair, electric throw, right near the fireplace, and the guests began arriving.  Here are the Bayly's...Dave, Kathy, Lauren, Drew, Kevin and Drew's girlfriend Giovanna and Kevin's fiancee, Lauren came and brought all kinds of "Happy Birthday" gear...hats, noisemakers, signs...even a birthday hat with candles!

They even donned the hats to help me celebrate!

Herb came from Arizona and look who else showed up?  Bruce Horan...my Godchild!  (My God, child!)

 Of course, Tom and Monica came, as well as my great-granddaughter, Brittany.

Another great-grandson, Carl, also came, along with Ray and Siobhan.

And look who else came...Kerry and another great grandson, (the newest one) Caleb, and Brenda...all the way from North Carolina!

Here's Tom introducing Caleb to Mr. Big.

The food was catered by my grandson, Brandon Guenther and his wife, Shona.  They even brought some fresh oysters for me!  By the way, if you're ever in the Valley Ford area in California, be sure to stop at the Valley Ford Hotel and eat in Brandon and Shona's restaurant...Oyster Rockefeller's...not to be missed.  Had it on my "Bucket List"!

 How about some mini-shrimp cocktails with crispy onions on top?

 Or maybe a choice of cheeses and nuts?

Or Tarragon  and Green Olive deviled eggs?

Here's Herb and Dave Bayly with the Jalapeno biscuits and oysters...right next to the lamb sliders!  Here's the menu that Brandon and Shona put together...UNBELIEVABLE! (And SO DELICIOUS!

Boomp's 99th Birthday Extravaganza

Sonoma County Cheese Plate with Balsamic Onions, Candied Pecans and Honey

Tarragon and Green Olive Deviled Eggs

Tomales Bay Oysters with Lemon-Honey-Jalapeno Mignonette

Miniature Red Chile Pork Tostadas with Cabbage, Black Beans and Queso Fresco

Miniature Dungeness Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade, Fried Capers

Gulf Shrimp Cocktail with Crispy Fried Onions

New England Style Clam Chowder Soup Sips with Snipped Chives

Cowgirl Creamery Wagon Wheel Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Bourbon-Cherry Compote and Micro Arugula

Carolina Style Pulled Sonoma Lamb Sliders with Apple-Fennel Slaw

Then it was time for the cake...Barbara ordered an ice-cream cake from the Coldstone Creamery...yellow cake with cake batter flavored ice-cream, topped with a white cream frosting edged with chocolate flakes.  Rather than risk the 99 candles, I celebrated with Roman Numerals!  (Much easier to blow out!)

Brandon served the cake, ably assisted by Carl...an aspiring chef!

 By the time the night was over, I had quite a collection of cards, signs, and presents!

 Even my nurse and social worker from Hospice  brought me some "Baby Bailey's".

 Our resident graphic designer, Brittany, took pictures of me from over the years and put them together into a "fortune teller".  She added a color to the back and she and Barbara made them into favors for everyone at the party...filled with dark chocolate M and M's!

By the time the night ended, I rode my "Chair of Chee"r from the first floor to the second floor and was asleep in minutes!  That's enough partying to last for a while!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

 Christmas Morning Brunch...all ready and waiting for me...

 Carl had gone to see the new Chipmunk movie so he brought Alvin over so that I could meet Alvin.

 Thanks to Ray, Tom, and DJ, I had a smooth trip downstairs on my special chair...

 And went right into the dining room for brunch...L to R...DJ, Britt, Siobhan, Carl, Ray, Monica, Tom and me!

 Barbara made sure I got my home-made eggnog with "everything" in it...rum, brandy, bourbon...and even a touch of eggnog!

 Mr. Big was in charge of keeping the crumbs under control...

Then it was time to open presents...read Christmas cards...and have some more eggnog!

 And now I hear I'm celebrating ANOTHER BIRTHDAY next week!  Looking forward to seeing everyone in 2012!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Only a few more days...and Christmas will be here.

There are reindeer in the entry hall...

and poinsettias and orchids in the family room...

And my tree in MY room...with cards from Kyle and Kerry...

And a present from Don and Brenda...

Even my breakfast tray looks like Christmas...

Carl wanted me to get in the Christmas spirit so he made a Santa Pizza!

The finished pizza looked "good enough to eat"...but I'm slowing down on the food intake and sticking with a "soft" diet and lots of liquids...including Ensure, milkshakes, eggnog and, of course, my nightly Bailey's!  

Now we're just waiting for the family to arrive...DJ comes in from New Jersey on Wednesday, Dec. 21st and Brittany comes back from her East Coast visit on Dec. 21st.  Then the whole clan will gather at Barbara's for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

And It's December...

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone...and I was thankful for a lot of things...

I don't get out much now but Barbara brought in a basket of fall leaves...I forgot how autumn leaves feel, look and smell so it was a treat to run my hands through them ...and then watch the cat enjoy them!

I knew it was Thanksgiving, but didn't know who all was coming for dinner.  Dede surprised me by flying in and arriving at 3:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.  She helped Barbara (and Carl) with the fresh apple pie and was gone on Friday morning...even before I woke up.  But it was good to see her again.

We had dinner in the Dining Room...my old "stomping grounds".  Looks a bit different now...

Carl had Ray stop on the mountain road to "save" some newts from becoming road kill.  Doesn't everybody carry a reptile tank in their car..."just in case..."?  The cats were very interested in the newt so the newt became part of the centerpiece on the table so that the cats wouldn't have him/her for a "snack"!

I had the whole "Thanksgiving Dinner" number---turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry relish, rolls, baked squash...and for dessert, a bit of Red Velvet Cake (baked by Monica) and some home-made Apple Crumb pie with vanilla ice cream.

Carl and Ray had the traditional "Turkey Pizza" - something they are SURE the Pilgrims would have eaten had they only known about it!

Following dinner, everyone went to the Family Room for after dinner drinks and, of course, the traditional Chocolate Turkeys!

After dinner, it was time to return to my "sanctuary" on the second floor.  Thanks to Ray, the lift was working and it sure made it easier on me!

 Here I am with Brandon...enjoying a pre-dinner drink while being protected by Biggie and Six.

Brandon came down for another visit...between Ray, Tom and Brandon, I see all of them almost every week!  Brandon brought food...(of course!) as well as some white wine, red wine, port wine, and, of course, Bailey's!

Here I am, enjoying my Bailey's in bed!

Kathy and Dave are also "regulars" and it's always good to see them...they drove down just for a quick visit and promised to come back again when Lauren is home.

Well, it's almost Christmas...and of course, I have a tree in my room.  I do enjoy seeing the lights and listening to the Chrisrmas music with earphones.


The next photo is not for the faint of heart...it's just a reality when you can't move around much and your skin gets very, very thin.

  My back has been a bit sore lately...those darn pressure sores are back with a vengeance, despite a Tempurpedic mattress and an adjustable bed.

Barbara got a egg crate mattress pad to go on top of the Tempurpedic mattress and I have an egg crate cushion on the back of my recliner.  Hopefully, between the egg crate and Barbara helping me change positions every two hours during the night, healing will happen because it's not very "pretty" now...I don't really like waking up every two hours all night long (and I don't think Barbara does, either!) but that's where we are now.  I have to look at it this way...there's no way Santa can "sneak in" without Barbara or me knowing about it!