Retirement Home Shopping

Yes, it's that time of life for us. Perhaps a bit early because of our situation, but it is time. My husband and I have decided that we need to move out of our 3,000 square foot house into a smaller place and a place where he can get some of the help he needs to be more active. Since he cannot drive (he is legally blind), he depends on me and friends to get him around. Because of this, we are looking into independent living communities. 


Our first stop was the Methodist Manor in Tulsa, Beautiful place, but out of our price range. You have to have more than $200K just to walk in the door! That one was out without looking! 

Next stop was Silver Arrow in Broken Arrow. This is a beautiful campus. The dining facilities is the star attraction as far as I could see. They have chefs on staff and serve five(?) course meals. I'm not sure how many courses, but it was a lot and it took a lot of time. The food was delicious, but I can't see myself spending two hours a day sitting around a lunch table. If you have nothing else to do, that would be excellent. But, I still work. So, that one is out for us. The cottage had lots of room which was a plus. No shuttle service, which is something we need. So another reason this one wouldn't work for us. Beautiful, though. 

Our next stop was Country Club of Woodlyn Hills where we met with T.R. Jones. As soon as we began walking around the campus, we could see ourselves living here. It's older and has been around for 25 years, so it's mature. The campus is cozy. The staff has been around for several years. Not a lot of turnover in staff or residents. You can sense that they have system and it works. There are two choices in living options: the cottages and the apartments. They provide all meals except Sunday dinner, transportation to bank or Dr., all utilities, once a week housekeeping and linen laundry, and if you need it, they provide help with medication monitoring, bathing, and other daily living activities. The price is on par with other independent living communities as well, but there is no buy in. You have a month to month lease. In addition, if you need more care than they can give, you will have to move to a different location, such as University Village, which is owned by the same company. 

We also considered a new facility that is just moving into the Tulsa area, Tapestry of Woodlyn Hills. This facility is an "in-between" facility - in between an apartment and an independent living facility. When completed, it will have a pool, outdoor walking trail, dog park, an exercise room, a library, craft room, movie theater, and a pool hall. They are planning to have activities for the residents, and you can reserve a room for private parties. They do not offer dining. The cost is about half to two-thirds of the cost of independent living, depending on your options. 

We put a deposit down on Country Club of Woodlyn Hills as this is the one that best meets our present needs. There is a waiting list, so while we wait, we will continue to see what else is out there. But I'm pretty sure this is where we will end up. 

Day Trip

Last week, my husband Bill, Oreo, and I went on a day trip to Shiloam Springs, Arkansas. I wanted to visit the scrapbook store there called, Creative Corner on Broadway. We had a wonderful time!

On the way there, we stopped at Natural Falls State Park. What a beautiful park! There are all kinds of walking trails there from easy ones for strollers to the all-terrain trail of Dripping Springs that take you back to the falls.

The trails to the falls were nice, sometimes with boarded bridges:

At the end of this trail, it leads down several hundred feet to a waterfall:

It was cool and beautiful here. From there, we took an even more rustic trail around to a "lake" and back. In some places, the trail was climbing rocks! In addition, there were several steep climbs, not an easy trail. 

BRING WATER! I decided to do the trail a 2nd time and left Bill at the top. On my way down, I got dehydrated and almost passed out. Lucky for me, a nice couple came by and gave me some of their water! 

After our hike, we stopped for lunch (and met the couple who rescued me!). Then we went to the scrapbook store. The owner there was extremely helpful. I told her I wanted to make a mini album for a friend's baby. I picked out some super hero paper and she patiently explained what I needed and how to do it. If you live near this store, you must visit. She is a gem! 

I thought I'd add a photo of my finished product so you could see the results:

All in all, it was a fun day! 

Did I tell you that I got a dog?

I've always been a cat person. Since the time I got married in 1970 until now, we've always had cats. (I did have one dog, but it was when I had little babies and I honestly don't remember "having" a dog.) We always had a pair of cats, at a minimum. Sometimes, we had three!

Two years ago, my husband's cat died. We discussed it and decided that after mine died, we would quit having pets so that we could do some traveling. Unfortunately, my daughter wasn't in on the conversation, and before you know it, she brought over a small baby kitten for my husband. He couldn't say no.

Eventually, my cat died. I decided that since Bill has a young cat, I might as well get one too. So, I went out and bought a cat from the local pet shop. He was just plain mean! He didn't like me and I have trouble liking him. I finally got mad and decided to go out and get a 3rd cat just for me.

I made the rounds to the various pet shelters and shops and decided that the one I saw at the first place was the one I wanted. But, when I got back to the shelter, there was this cage full of the most adorable puppies I have ever seen. I had to have one!

I brought home Oreo. She is a Shitzhu-Jack Russell mix and what a joy! I am now a converted dog lover! She is my pride and joy. I've had here over a year now, and I can't imagine life without her.

One of my best days yet!

Today was a special day for me. I've been ill with the flu and had to find a substitute for my classes.  How excited it was to turn to my own daughter, Shelly, who has a Master's Degree in English, to take over my classes!

So, she did what she does best - she taught them a bit about Shakespeare. Next, she had them act out a portion of Star Wars in Shakespearean English. Finally, she had them write Get Well notes for me using what they learned. How much fun I had reading these notes! Here's two samples (some of them were pages long!):

"Hello thither, Mrs. Downes, I hearth thou hath fallen ill. Thou not weepeth, Maddam, for we be not shrewd in your absence. Thy daughter hath best us to learn greatly. Hark, we hath, and fain too. Cowish we hath obeyed thy spawn beautifully. I hopeth thou lurch over your illness and thou returneth soon. Alex"

"Harken unto me thither instructor. Word through the grapevine is that thou hast been bent by a cowish disease. Fie! To this abomination! Castest it out and returneth post haste. Joshiah"

Shelly had to give me a Shakespeare dictionary so I could interpret the letters. I sure am proud today of both my daughter for taking on all six of my classes and doing such a good job, and also of my students for being the best students in the state of Oklahoma!