I've been remiss

Sorry about that, but last week was a bad week, physically. for me. I had a flare up from fibromyalgia, and now it's getting to be like it used to be with migraines -- the least little twinge and I think I'm down for the count, which is fear and fear is causing a lot of my difficulties, I realize.

Like Friday, I was fine, went to the store, hobbled home (yes, hobbled -- forgot my cane) and was fine. We were having a weekend guest, so I had to get ready for that. I did very little. I changed the sheets and washed the pillow cases -- all of them -- that are on the day bed, and that room was as ready as it was going to be. You see, that's my office, so you can imagine. I made a path in the center so our guest would have room to walk around a little. I then cleaned the guest bath. Fortunately, my bi-weekly cleaner had done a good job on the tub and shower, so I let that go. And on Friday night I was fine.

On Saturday we celebrated Ellie's 2nd birthday with a party and a great cake from Servati's. It was one of the best bakery cakes I've tasted in ages. Cyndi just didn't have time, nor did she feel up to baking a cake. After all, Jack's only a week old. Ellie received several gifts from mom and dad, one being a doll house. It's a really nice doll house, not too much unlike the one I had as a child and saved for my girls, and then when we moved I suppose I threw it away. I don't know what happened to it. But my dollhouse was made of wood and metal. Ellie's is all plastic made to look like wood and metal. She absolutely loved it and who cares what else she got (a dolly diaper bag, a dolly car seat -- she loves Jack's and wants to sleep in it!) all she played with was the doll house. We left as she was going down for her nap. It was a great party.

We got home shortly before our guest arrived. I was hurting really bad. So, I made lunch and he arrived just in time for lunch, and after I cleaned up for that, I went to bed and left him in the hands of Alan, whom he came to see anyway. I figured it was back and I was not happy. But, when I got up and made spaghetti sauce/gravy with sausage, I was a little better. I just put two links of Italian mild sausage in the pan for flavor, and we ate the sausage with gravy on buns for dinner.

Today is Sunday and I feel okay. My knees hurt all night, so I didn't really sleep well. But I'm moving today -- not normally, but at least I'm moving and I don't have that burning, muscle aching, bone throbbing pain I get when I'm in fibro flare up.

So God has given me another good day. I have so many pictures that I took yesterday of our lasted blessing from Him -- Jack. He slept the whole time, through all the noise in the arms of Grinnie, Sr. That's his great grandmother, Vivian Kuhlman. What a sweet lady. Unfortunately she will probably not remember much of the party today or tomorrow or after that. But she seems to be enjoying herself yesterday.

Only a few more weeks and our home will be occupied by our house sitters and we'll be on our way to the Caribbean. I thank God each year that he provides someone who wants to house sit and I don't have to pay them to do it. It gives me a sense of security when we're away.

Well, I'm off to do something else now -- like the Sunday NYT crossword -- yeah, right!

ttfn

Cold, but pretty

Well, the cold front went through and our two days of absolutely gorgeous weather are over. While it's a beautiful day (no clouds or rain or snow), it is cold. I can bear that, I guess, but it (cold weather) doesn't do good things to my knees.

I'm getting things together so that I can go over to Cyndi's and have the boys make small albums of Jack for their mother for when she comes home from the hospital. I'm also putting together a small album for Jill, the other grandmother. She doesn't have the capability to do the pictures, so I'm doing it for her, and she can share it with Vivian Kuhlman, her mother, the kids great grandmother. VK is the sweetest lady. And what a testimony! Another story for another day.

So that's what I'm tied up with right now. I'm about to go use my new crock pot -- my first use of a crock pot in my entire life -- and put on spaghetti sauce with meat. I hope it does what I want it to do and that I didn't waste my money on it.

I'm off for a while, but praise the Lord my body is functioning pretty well today, and that is after a long day yesterday of walking, walking, walking. I did great, I think.

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Yes, it is. Wow! The temperature is just the way I like it. Low 70s. I have all the windows open and I spent the whole morning on the porch, much of the time stewing over how dirty it is. The cleaning of it will be a project tomorrow for Tamara. I'll be glad to have part of spring house cleaning finished. It's a big room, 200 square feet.

I talked to Alan today and he said I could get a new bed headboard and foot board, and, of course, a new mattress. We really need a new one. I'm for a wide, high mattress. I think he'll go along with that because it sure does make getting out of bed more easy. Getting into bed? Not so much, but the one benefit outweighs the other.

Alan and I went out again today. He wanted to get his watch fixed and get batteries for his dead watches. I had a couple of those as well, so he went into the jewelry store with 6 watches that needed batteries. I waited in the car and read about 20 pages in the book I'm reading now.

Then we went over to Jersey Mikes and got subs for supper. They're in the fridge waiting for us to get hungry.

After that we went to Graeters and got ice-cream cones. Cost? $6 and change. A far cry from the 10-cent, then 25 cent cones I used to get in Runnemede. I wonder what cone costs now down at Joe's. I wonder if Joe's is still there?

We're home now and we had a good conversational visit with each other. It's hard to get Alan to talk about anything, most of the time. Right now, he's into the NCAA playoffs and I have to listen to him describe each game. I'm not really interested, but I try not to let me eyes glaze over as he recounts each game.

So, that's it. No cooking tonight! And cleaning and personal shopping tomorrow, so I've got to get a list ready.

Gotta run and get the first load out of the drier and put another load in.

ttfn

Monday

It always amazes me when I can stand up and not feel any pain in my knees. Pain is a constant with me. So, "Why," you ask was there no pain today? I don't know but after an evening (Sunday) and overnight of severe sciatic pain, and not taking anything to relieve it, because I didn't want to start any steroidal treatment, I was looking forward to a really bad day. But it didn't happen. I stood up this a.m. and there was no pain. I can't explain it. And all day today I've been surprised every time I get up from a chair to find that I can walk easily. Amazing!

Alan had an eye appointment today. He had the last remaining stitches removed (in his eye) and was bummed because he wasn't given an eye exam so he could get his final pair of glasses. Apparently, he has to wait for four weeks (a month) for the cornea to finally rest without the stitches so they can get an accurate reading. So, he has to wait AGAIN to get his eyes well enough so he can drive. I really don't think fixing the eyes is going to improve his driving any. His reflexes are so slow in any given situation that he can't react to any emergency or near emergency. So, I pray he doesn't mind my continually driving him places. It give me something to do and we usually go out to eat either prior to or immediately after his appointments. I like that!

Tomorrow we will be going to Lowe's to get some hardware supplies. I'm going to just look. We have a couple of other stops to go to as well, and so we will have a little "date" tomorrow.

Cyndi's baby has been put off until Wednesday. I'm sure she told me Monday, but apparently I misunderstood. She's going to be induced on Wednesday unless the Lord intervenes before then.

Well, that's it for this day. I'm going to bed now. Psyching myself up for doing laundry and running errands tomorrow.

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Saturdays, blah!

I'm really beginning to dislike Saturdays like I used to. Not because it's the only day in the week in which I have to clean and do laundry, as it was during my working years, but because, oh, I don't know why.

It just seems that it's gotten to be a do-nothing-day. This is how my day went:

Got up around 8:30

Got something to drink with my pills

Went downstairs and got the NYT so I could do the crossword puzzle. Yes, we're still getting it, and the pile is almost to the ceiling of unread NYTs. Doesn't anything ever get thrown away around here?

Worked and worked and worked the NYT crossword puzzle, but didn't figure it out at all.

Went into my office and started up the computer.

I scanned a few pictures in today. I found that I can actually scan a whole album page and then just cut and snip and save only the part of the page I'm interested in. Today, I saved the picture at the top -- my brother in his favorite toy of all time, the fire engine.

Around 1:30 I realized I hadn't fed Alan all day, so I got up and got him something.

Then I came back to my computer and scanned a few more pictures.

My back started to hurt so I layed down and almost fell asleep.

Then I decided in order to stay awake, I needed to finish the book I was reading.

About 5:30 I realized I had better get something on for dinner.

At 5:45 Alan needed me to tell him what I spent money on in 2008 (like I can't even remember what I spent this morning, and he expects I will remember back on January 16, 2008, I spent $49.41 at the Dollar Tree and remember what I bought? Didn't happen.

At 6:30 I excused myself from Alan's presence and got the food out of the over before it burned.

At 6:45 we sat down to dinner.

At 7:15 I went back into our bedroom and laid down and watched TV, nothing mind stimulating that's for sure, mostly HGTV.

At 10:00 I decided enough was enough and came back to my computer. Which is where I am now.

So now I'm finishing today's diary entry with this: I love that picture of my brother Mark. Was he three or four? I'm not sure. He rode that thing up and down the street (on the sidewalk) for hours the day he got that. That's our house in the background. Such a tiny house with 4 children and 2 adults, and only 1 bathroom, but we survived and never new that people had more than one bathroom, except for Aunt Annie, who we thought was the richest of us all.

Health today is on the rise, still stumbling a bit, but not so much as yesterday, Yeah. Praise the Lord for that blessing.

ttfh

Um....

The fat lady is getting thinner. So far our "diet" has netted us 10 pounds each weight loss. What are we doing? Just eating less, much less. I monitor Alan's intake very closely, and he's being very good about not sneaking any candy or snacks, other than the fruit I allow him to eat.

Do I feel better? Not so much. But my slacks nearly fell down yesterday and I suppose that should make me feel really good, if not embarrassed.

I decided that when we travel later this spring that I will wear mostly dresses. So, I bought four dresses -- all the same design, just different colors. I know they fit well and look as well as they can on a dumpy person such as I.

I really am getting excited about the next trip, but I also am guarded about whether we will actually go. And this time, it will be me that cancels, not Alan. He's doing so well lately. At least he doesn't complain and let me know he's not doing well, so I assume he's okay. I just plain hurt and the flare-ups seem to be getting more frequent and more painful, or I'm just tired of the pain, I don't know. I try not to think about it, and try to find things to do that don't require movement, like reading in bed, working on the computer -- I only use my fingers, resting my arms on the desk -- so that's pretty sedentary.

Granted I have several DAILY exertions that have to be done or I'd go nuts -- like making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, cooking dinner, making Alan's lunch, doing laundry. I try to do as little as I can when I'm in pain mode, which seems to give me a few days of clear sailing in between events. The angst is that I never know when I'm going to be "good" so I can't plan anything. Do you know what that's like for a person who is organized and needs to have things go according to plan? My mind doesn't handle that well.

Well, for the good news -- Cyndi is going to have her baby by Monday or it will be induced, even though it's early. She's starting to dilate and the doctor is concerned that because her labors are so short she might not make it this time (she? doctor or Cyndi?). I would hate for Cyndi to have to be induced because it hurts much more (if that's possible) than regular labor. Cyndi will get an epi as soon as she gets to the hospital, and I guess that's where there might not be time. Last time the epi barely took effect before Ellie was born. And when Jonah was born, Becky and I went down to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee because we thought there would be time, and when we came back upstairs Jonah was almost born -- we almost missed it.

Not going to the hospital for the birth this time, which is fine with Cyndi. I thing she wants it to be just her and Shandon this time. Not a problem for me. I'll see Jack shortly after he arrives.

ttfn

Driver's license

Well today I went and got my driver's license renewed. The price doubled since the last time I did that -- it was $21.00. The picture is really good, too. I don't mind the process of getting a new license. In Kentucky you don't have to get a vision test or take any other kind of test. You just walk in, give them your old license and twenty-one bucks, and they take your picture, and in a minute you have a new laminated license which will be renewed in 2013.

At the same time I was getting my license renewed, Alan was registering the two cars. The taxes on the two vehicles are horrendous in Kentucky. To register the two cars we had to pay to the state of Kentucky -- or is it commonwealth? -- $465. Isn't that awful?

In KY they value your car according to the Blue Book, then they tax it accordingly. It's always a shock when we have to pay up each year.

I'm really enjoying the LIGHT at NIGHT. We had a neat storm yesterday -- all rain, little thunder. But the rain was like a bucket was poured over our little community. I couldn't even see the clubhouse. It only lasted a few minutes, but boy did it rain!

So tonight, I'll enjoy the light until around 7:30 p.m. I don't mind the lack of light in the morning because I'm usually in bed, although lately for some reason I've been getting up early -- like at 7:00 a.m. I don't know why that is. But I don't mind getting up in the dark, and I don't know why that is either.

I'm rambling, dear diary/journal, and I'm going to stop writing now. Well, in a minute. I must add that my little brother called me on Saturday and it was so nice to talk to him again. I really need to remind myself to call him more often. I keep in touch with his children via Facebook, but he's not computer literate, so the only contact I can have with him is by telephone. Same with my other brother. What's up with that? Both brothers couldn't care less about learning how to operate a computer, get e-mail, or use the Web. Oh, well. I guess they are just too old to learn new tricks.

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I can't believe it's been a whole week

For all you followers of this BLOG (all 1 of you) I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up on my daily journal as I go through life. I am now 66 years old. That means I'm well into social security living. And medicare is a bust. You HAVE to be part of that program. And you HAVE to pay them back $90 per month so you can get the benefits. Go figure. And what do I gain from this $90 a month? Well, if I am ever hospitalized I get full/free hospitalization for the time spent in the hospital. Yippee! I don't get meds benefits, at least I haven't figured out how to do that, and no one at Medicare seems to want to tell me how to do that. And Medicare pays a whopping $1.69 for every office visit I have with my GP, or any other medical doctor. Dentists? Forget that. Eye doctors? Forget that. Tests? I don't know yet. I haven't had the opportunity to see how that side of Medicare works.

Enough of dissing medicare. You young people out there, be glad it will be really broke by the time you're eligible. It's not worth a dime, even though I put more than one dime into the system through mandatory payroll deduction. Like social security. I get about one-half of what my sister gets and it seems to me I've worked all my life. But apparently I didn't earn enough during all those working years to get a higher check each month. Alan doesn't even qualify for SS because he was in the government employees plan, which is one of the things BO is going to cut in his effort to save money. If you're young, check into seeing if you can opt out of the program. It's not worth all you're putting into it, and you could have more to spend on things you really want. Plus with the new BO health-care program you won't need Medicare anyway!

And then there's our stocks and bonds. I don't even want to talk about that. I just notice that when BO doesn't say anything to the press or hold a press event the DOW goes up (as is the case today), but if he opens his mouth during the day in the press room, or in a photo-op event, the down tanks. Please Mr. BO, please, please, please keep your mouth shut for the next 500 to 600 days so my stocks and bonds can recover. Thank you.

Physically I've had good and bad, and the bad have been really bad. It seems the bad are getting worse all the time. But the good are getting better. And I live for the better/good days. When the days are good I get things done and I don't feel like a burden to my husband or anyone else. I don't like the feeling of being a burden. And I dislike immensely not being able to even walk to the bathroom without going ouch very loudly.

And I've noticed that the world is getting light earlier, and the light is staying light later each day. I love it. More light. The dark days are over for another season.

So, dear diary, I'm having a middle to bad day, but I'm glad I have this day to praise my Lord, because in praising Him, I feel better in my head. He is my healer, I know that. And He is my life and my light and my salvation. Glory to His Name!

ttfn