Tuesday, June 30

Today, as I worked at the zoo, the mood was somber. The loss of our director was not only unexpected but also a blow to the zoo community. Mr. Swanagan was such a passionate leader who told us at each meeting that we needed to "touch the heart to teach the mind". Our hearts go out to his family at this difficult time. Because the weather was so nice today, we decided to go to the zoo for the afternoon. Both sets of grandparents, along with Trish took Luke for a most enjoyable visit to the #1 zoo in America. We all had a great time!

Monday, June 29

Yesterday, the memorial for Gary went very smoothly. It was so nice to see so many of his friends there to celebrate and remember his remarkable life. Many thanks go out to the special people who made the service so special. The music was wonderful and Gary was such a lover of music among other things. The speakers all did a fantastic job of giving everyone a sense of who Gary was. I loved all the spots during the service when people laughed. That is what I remember most about Gary, how he made us laugh. During the planning of the memorial, I had tried without success to find someone who knew Gary as a scout leader. Well, God dropped one right in our lap yesterday. One of the guests got up to speak about Gary as his troop leader. Icing on the cake!! My wish was that when everyone left yesterday, they would feel as if they had one last visit with Gary.

Friday, June 26

Well, it's been a busy week with therapy, and appointments with the attorney and another with the funeral director to firm up plans for Gary's memorial that will be held on Sunday. Meanwhile back at the ranch there is mowing to do and Clay is helping to get the weed eating done and we are staining the deck. He has been a life-saver for me. Just knowing I don't have to do everything by myself is a big relief. My nephew, Daniel came over last night and delivered my new steps for the swimming pool. He did a great job building them. I stained them tonight and they look very good. He even built a hand rail so they should be a lot safer for the little ones and the older swimmers too. Tomorrow Trish and Luke are flying in and I can hardly wait to see how big Luke has gotten since we saw him last. Mr. Bichler had a really great day today. He helped me finish the bathroom upstairs, he walked outside to see the tree that came down in our yard and he went swimming and played volleyball with me using the beach ball. Seems he is getting more energy. Let's hope the trend continues! Have a wonderful week end!!

Monday, June 22

Still keeping busy around the house. My lawn boy power washed the deck today and we plan to stain it tomorrow. Hope it goes ok. This evening we had a special dinner date at the Der Dutchman. We met with some of Mr. Bichler's therapists from Dodd Hall. It was a great time and we were surprised to see one of his Dr's as well. His OT couldn't make it at the last minute which was disappointing but it just gives us an excuse to meet again. There was a time that I would never have believed that we would be going out to dinner ever again so it was so special for us to share this evening with some of the people that made it possible. I thank God for the many extraordinary therapists and Dr's that have helped Mr. Bichler to the point he is today. What a blessing to have had these people placed in our lives!!

Sunday, June 22

Hope all the dads out there had a wonderful day doing something they enjoy and just relaxing being waited on hand and foot. So what is so different about today and every other day? Just kidding. Myself, I just brought a pizza home after church (it was special, had all the fixin's on it instead of just pepperoni!) and we went to the dairy queen for a hot fudge sundae in the afternoon. This morning was a great birding day and I was a little late getting to church because of it. The Baltimore oriole babies fledged or left the nest today. It was so fascinating to watch as the parents looked after them as they ventured out on their own. One of the fledglings seemed a little more adventurous while the one in my photo stayed just above the nest as if it were a safety net. I also saw a green heron at the edge of the creek. As I write this my little chipping sparrow is picking around the bird feeder with the mourning dove. Nothing relaxes me more than watching the birds.

Friday, June 19

How about all that lightening this morning? Yesterday Mr. Bichler was thrilled to find out his 1/2 mile marathon was cancelled. Instead they planned a pizza party for next week and went to Giant Eagle to buy their supplies. Today, since it was raining, we went to Lowe's to buy some things I needed to put the sink in upstairs. Not sure how good my plumbing skills are, but I guess I will find out. We also had lunch at O'Charley's with a gift card I found from several years ago. Then I test drove a Subaru Forester. It was actually pretty nice, even though I still like my Trailblazer best. But with 125,000 miles I think I better start looking. I really put a lot of miles on over these past 5 months.

Wednesday, June 17

This morning Mr. Bichler and Mr. Boyd headed over to Cedarville College around 9 a.m. They watched the girls play several games on their last day of camp. I think Mr. B had a great day but he was extremely worn out by the time he got home. Actually both he and Mr. Boyd fell asleep while they were waiting on me to get home. Must have been some thrilling games!!

Tuesday, June 16

Today was a busy day but very productive. I worked in the Bear Kitchen from 7-9 am and then stopped to check out the new ducks in our aviary. We have another ruddy duck and a beautiful red-head duck. I'm not sure the wood duck is too happy now that he has to share his pond but he will get over it. We also had our carpets cleaned. We had an appointment this afternoon and we adverted a crisis at my parents house. We topped off the afternoon by having dinner at Henry's with Mom and Dad after we fixed their plumbing problem with a little help from Daniel and Adam. Tomorrow I have to work at the Elam Center but Mr. Bichler and Mr. Boyd are going to ride down to Cedarville College to see the middle school girls at basketball camp.

Monday, June 15

Hello, I am back. It was a very hectic week and I was feeling a little over whelmed. I think things are falling into place with lots of prayer and the help of some great people who have volunteered to help with Gary's memorial. There will be no snakes, crawly things or square dancing but I still Gary would approve. The star of this blog, Mr. Bichler has been discharged from physical therapy. Either he has done really good or they just decided to give up. Either way, he is well on his way. He is taking part in what he calls "a marathon", that he told me was 5 miles. I learned today it is actually a half mile. He was supposed to be collecting pledges but so far I think the only sponsors he has are his therapists. The money goes to help defray costs of activities for their Brain Injury Therapy Group. I think he actually likes his group therapy and for the first time he seems excited about what they have been planning. He is not, however, overly excited about walking the "marathon"! On Saturday, Mrs. Omen and I rode up to Celina for Miss Fox's bridal shower. It was a beautiful day and a really nice shower at an Italian restaurant over looking Grand Lake St. Mary's. At one time we saw no less than 10 Great blue herons sitting on the spillway.

Monday, June 8

Today was the end of year luncheon for W. J. school employees, past and present. It is always so good to see those that we haven't seen in a long while. I swear, Mrs. Mohr looks younger each year. We only had two retire this year. Bonnie Seedle from the cafeteria and Jackie Haworth from the middle school and we wish both only the best in their retirement. After lunch Mr. B and I had a meeting with the funeral director in London. After several hours we had signed the appropriate paperwork and began planning for the Memorial service. We have secured the West Jefferson High School auditeria for Sunday, June 28 at 3 p.m. I hope if you knew Gary that you will join us in this celebration of his life.

* Pictures: Sara and Gary fishing in the bay at the Outer Banks, N.C. '85 and Trish and Gary getting ready to sail Lake Erie. '81

Sunday, June 7

It saddens me to write today's post. This afternoon our good friend, Gary Jainshig, passed away in his room at the Madison House. Several weeks ago he had been hospitalized with an infection and he never fully recovered. We will be meeting with the funeral director tomorrow and at this time we think there will be a memorial to celebrate Gary's life instead of a funeral. If Gary were planning this he would probably insist on going to the Red Brick and we would all drink a toast to living life to it's fullest! We are so grateful to Gary for allowing us to consider him family. We have so many wonderful memories of holidays and vacations that he made more special just by being there. I pray there are lots of well stocked lakes in heaven!!

Friday, June 5

Today was the awards assembly at the middle school. Mr. Bichler and I had been invited to attend to present several of the awards. I was quite nervous about going back and trying to talk in front of the student body as I was sure it would be pretty emotional. When we arrived we talked with some of our friends before the assembly began. The student body was very respectful during the program. For the science award, Mrs. Kitchen asked Mr. B (seconds before going up) if he would say a little something about Mr. Jainshig for whom the award is named. Now, I was very nervous for Mr. Bichler as he hadn't prepared to talk about this award. When he walked to the podium the entire student body immediately stood with a loud ovation and many tears. It was a very heart felt welcome back. Needless to say, Mr. B did fine during both presentations. A lot better than I did. It was great to go back and see everyone. Even if it was only for several hours. *Pictures: 1-Abby A. (Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award) 2- M.S. students giving Mr. B a standing ovation 3- Kelsie S. (Carol Bichler Award-Female Athlete of the Year)

Wednesday, June 3

Yesterday, I spent some time at the zoo preparing the aviary diet and then working in the aviary talking with the visitors. Back home I fired up the push mower and did some trim work and pruned some trees. Today, we had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Hay in London. Everything looks good and Mr. Bichler is feeling really good and got a clean bill of health after the brief hospital stay. His Thursday therapy has been changed and instead of individual therapy in the morning he has a group therapy session from 1:15-4:00. Last week it included a scavenger hunt using public transportation. He is hoping that this week does not include quite as much walking.

Monday, June 1

It's hard to believe it is June already and school is almost over for the year. Although Mr. Bichler spent most of last week in the hospital, today it was back to therapy. He is feeling so much better and gets stronger each day. While Mr. B was at therapy I had my car in for an oil change and brake check. Of course I needed new brake pads, rotors and they also found a broken strut. So much work in fact, that I have to go back to get everything finished. I did get the mulching finished up around the house and the pool is looking pretty good. Next job, trimming with the weed-eater and push mower. I did take time to walk tonight so I could see the hawk chick, boy has he grown since I saw him last. I'd also like to report that the male oriole is finally pulling his weight by fiercely guarding the nest while his mate incubates their eggs.

*If you click on the pictures it makes it easier to see the hawk & oriole.