Marie's trip to Scotland

Marie and John went to Scotland to see Aunt Ina and visited the houses where both our grandmothers lived.  This is where Granny McHowat lived-24 Cumroch Road.  I can still remember staying there when we visited

View of the Campsie Fells from Granny's back garden.  Still looks the same

77 Westergreens Avenue-where Granny Findlay lived when we were small.  We didn't stay here very often and I don't remember it as well

Glad Marie got to go there and visit the ancestral homes and reconnect with some of our many cousins

October trip to MBG

Ben and I met Arline at MBG but there wasn't much to see this time.  As you can see, it was a really nice day

We did find these azaleas flowering in the English garden

and these, but I've no idea what they are......

It was Ghouls in the Garden, so there were loads of kids in costumes and lots of decorations

Ben's latest injury

Ben was doing kids' night out at the gym on the 13th and he called me right before I went to bed to tell me that he rolled his ankle jumping off the ramp chasing the kids.  I went to pick him up and his ankle was HUGE!!!!!  Luckily, I got him in to the Urgent Care center 5 minutes before they closed.  They took some Xrays and said they thought it wasn't broken, just a bad sprain, but now he has a walking boot and crutches.

After a week, it was still swollen, so I asked one of my friends at SLU if someone could take a look at it.  Of course, as soon as I did this, he started to get a bit better.

He still wasn't putting any weight on it before we went to the doctor, but as soon as they confirmed that it wasn't broken, he took the car out and went walking.  Ever since then he's been walking on his foot without the boot on as if nothing ever happened.  Honestly, I think he just needed an orthopedic surgeon to tell him he was OK!!!!

We're off probation!!!!!

SLU is fully compliant with all LCME standards, the accrediting body announced at its regular quarterly meeting this week.
“Learning that our School of Medicine had been placed on probation just after I arrived in early 2017 was disappointing,” said Kevin Behrns, M.D., Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of SLU School of Medicine. “However, SLU took immediate, decisive action to turn a painful moment into an opportunity to
improve and now is a stronger and better medical school.”
SLU resolved all issues that led to its probation within 19 months, ahead of the LCME’s 24-month deadline.
A steering committee chaired by an alumnus and comprised of senior administrators and medical students guided the remediation effort. They were joined by about 80 faculty, staff, students, alumni and professional colleagues who collaborated in workgroups and on committees to explore innovative ways to move SLU School of Medicine forward.
“Although we remained accredited, having our status restored as quickly as possible was a top priority,” Behrns said. “We also were determined to improve our medical education program for students and residents above and beyond what the LCME required.”
Saint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D. praised the many members of the School of Medicine family who worked together to address the LCME’s concerns.
“I am grateful for the hard work of many faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the University who remained committed to our success,” Pestello said.
“I also thank Dr. Behrns for his leadership, steadfast determination and focus on resolving this most important issue at the medical school. Our School of Medicine is better than ever.”
Previously, the LCME identified issues with documentation, missed opportunities for self-directed learning, curricular management issues and a lack of central oversight. The issues were not related to patient care or to SLU’s physician practice, and the School of Medicine remained accredited.
In response, SLU School of Medicine conducted a top-to-bottom review to address areas of non- compliance and identified new educational approaches for medical students and residents.
SLU’s medical school created a strategic plan to serve as a roadmap to guide its improvement efforts. It hired and engaged people in new positions, revamped its curriculum and administrative processes, and enhanced technology for self-directed learning. In addition, the medical school has put into place a continuous improvement plan to ensure the school remains on target and attains its goals.
“We were driven by a shared commitment to exceed expectations in improving our medical school,” Behrns said. “I am so grateful to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and outside peers, who came together to help us reach our goal and grow stronger from a challenging experience.”
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level.
Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: infectious disease, liver disease, cancer, heart/lung disease, and aging and brain disorders.

Ben and his car

Ben has my old CRV and he absolutely loves it.  He's probably washed it more times than I ever did!!!!

It drives him crazy when I take pictures of him, he refuses to look at me

Of course, he has to get Maggie in on everything, so he had her clean the inside while he cleaned the outside!!!!

September trip to MBG

They have a corpse flower that is ready to bloom. Thankfully, it wasn't blooming yet. I've smelled enough of them to know I don't really need to smell another one!!!!

They had an exhibit of plants related to the corpse flower in the Linnean House

It was a beautiful day and I got some nice shots of the sun shining through the trees

We even made it over to the Japanese garden and I got a picture of Arline's tree

Nice picture of the sun shining through the trees

Water lilies are still flowering

Bedroom re-do

We had the bedrooms done over the Summer.  We started with Maggie's room.  We had the carpet taken up and hardwood floors put down.  It is so much better now.

Maggie's room is really beautiful.  I still need to do some finishing touches, but they probably won't get done until the weather gets worse and I run out of things to do!!!!

We put Ben's old bed frame in the spare room.  It's a small room, but easily fits this bed without any furniture in there

We did Ben's room while he was in England, it was a great opportunity while he didn't need somewhere to sleep!!!!

He still has that crocodile sleeping with him every night!!!!