Visiting Iowa and My Father

In late February, I visited my father in Iowa. Unless you've experienced the upper midwest in winter, you have not experienced cold. One morning it was a minus six degrees, another was a minus two. Yuk!

My father has alzheimers, and one of the effects is that he has problems remembering. He constantly tells you the same thing, because he doesn't remember telling it. Or he'll ask the same question constantly, because he doesn't remember the answer. It can be a challenge responding afresh to the same conversation.

We had to sell his car, because he is no longer able to drive. That was a challenge, since he didn't want to stop driving. As he told me, 'getting old is no fun.'

Ryerss Museum & Library

My Better Half and I toured the Ryerss Museum & Library this weekend. Ryerss donated his 1859 Victorian summer home to the people of Philadelphia, along with most of its furniture and a lot of collectibles. Isn't the house beautiful:


Here's an 18th century granfather clock that graced their dining room:

Finally, they collected Asian art. Here is one example:


It was a fun place to visit.

The Nook

For Christmas, I gave my better half a Nook, the ebook reader from Barnes and Noble. I thought it the better choice than the Kindle, which was the only other ebook reader that had a wireless connection.

My better half has certainly used it, and often takes it to breakfast if the newspaper hasn't arrived before he leaves -- a common occurrence at our house. BTW, he can download newspapers such as the New York Times for seventy-five cents, a much better buy than the two dollar cost of a paper version.

More Snow!

Philly received 28 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday, shutting the city down for the weekend. The new snow looked pretty: