Let's see. I don't think I've updated since my dear granddaughters, Rose and Rachel, spent a couple of days with me. That was an exciting time. And I truly enjoyed having them with me. Rose is so special and sweet. And Rachel is the cutest kiddo. She smiles all the time. I do have to rein her in a bit sometimes, though. Rose expressed an interest in learning how to cook, so I hope to have her come stay with me for a few days later this summer and I'll teach her how to cook some easy dishes that she can wow her family with.
Then there were the daily doctor's and/or physical therapy sessions. That will continue through this week at least. I have an appointment with my doctor this a.m. Nothing special. Just my usual two-month visit to get my knee meds updated.
This weekend Becky and her family came by and stayed over night. My dear SIL, Quinn, spent a greater part of the weekend changing out our faucets in our main bathroom. When the faucets were put in our fairly new home, apparently, the wrong size wrench was used, stripping the threads on the valves, and the faucets have been leaking off and on for the past 10 years. Finally decided to just get new ones. Brushed nickel. Very snazzy. My personal assistant is going to love them.
Of course, we spent a portion of our time together in the pool, and it was perfect pool weather. Hot on the outside, warm water. We went down at night (when it wasn't to hot to just sit by the pool) and in the morning, when it also wasn't too hot to sit by the pool. On the first evening we were down there it rained, but we couldn't find any clouds producing the rain. Nice rainbow as well. It was weird.
I made a hulking big roast beef -- because Dan, Beck's son, one of my 7 grandsons, loves beef in any way, shape, or form. So he ate and ate and ate the beef. And still there was some left over for them to take home. I love cooking for Dan because he so appreciates anything I make. I do try to make things he likes, which I guess helps out in the appreciation department.
We talked about him going to the Friends of Israel conference at Winona Lake in late July. His mom and dad and are going to discuss it and we'll see. I think he would really enjoy it.
On Saturday morning my church had its annual ladies' tea. And once again it was a wonderful event. Can't wait until they get the pictures on-line. This year, Becky joined Cyndi and me. That was so nice. Two of my three daughters at the tea. Great message as well. Thanks, Vicki Burris, for sharing. As usual, the food was A-plus. And the weather, while it got really hot in the afternoon, was not hot at all during the tea time since there was a pleasant breeze (can we say blowing away the napkins and programs breeze?) . There were over 125 ladies in attendance, and the men of the church served us. It was so pleasant (again this year).
Sunday, our air conditioner went out -- it went out in the early morning hours. I knew it had died because there was hot air coming out of our vents. And if it hadn't been for an afternoon shower, it would have been much hotter in our house than it actually reached. Thank the Lord for rain. It did get hot, and we only have one fan. Alan went down to the pool to cool off and even suggested we go to a hotel until we can get someone to come fix it. We're supposed to get rain again this morning, and radar shows another line of storms heading this way, so I can't open the windows. Alan wouldn't remember or think about shutting them, and I'll be gone most of the morning.
This week is supposed to be cooler -- highs in the 70s -- so hopefully we'll get the A/C fixed before the next round of hot weather comes through (at the end of the week).
Long report today, but lots on our plates. The summer is already speeding by. And with the summer speeding by, so are the hours of daylight. I can already sense the lack of sunlight, even though the weather reports are only minimizing daylight hours by about one minute per day.
I love the late night light and the early morning light. I wish we had the long sunlight hours year round.
Miss a phone call from my sister on Sunday. I guess she was busy since my son has descended on her and Jim for another week. Praying that he finds a job down in NC.
ttfn
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Recoup
It's been a very busy several days. I was so blessed to have Rose and Rachel (Phil's girls) stay with me for a couple of days. I was exhausted, and so were they!
We did so much. First was the hair cuts. And while they were getting their hair cuts we watched a "tornado watch/warning" type storm race through our area. When we arrived at the shop the weather was sunny, but then it clouded up really fast, and the clouds were upside down and green, which usually signals tornado. I kept an eye on the sky while Rose was getting her hair cut. Drat! I forgot my camera. So, once again, no pictures. Just have to say, though, that both girls looks so cute after their cuts.
Then we went to lunch at Applebee's. It was freezing cold in there, and finally when we were getting ready to leave, they turned the air conditioner up a little bit. The girls loved eating at something other than McD's and they both had worn really cute dresses (at my request) for our day out.
Then we went to see Toy Story 3. What a good movie. I loved it. The girls loved it. Alan slept through most of it. How anyone could sleep through that movie is beyond me, but sleep (and snore) he did!
After that we came back home and went swimming. The girls loved swimming in the pool. By that time all the storms were out of the way, and they had the pool all to themselves. They just loved it. Rose is quite a good swimmer. Rachel tries.
Then we had dinner -- grilled chesse (since the girls really had a dinner at Applebee's) and for dessert Bob Evan's strawberry cheese pie. That pie is so good, I could eat a whole one in one sitting. At least I think I could. I've never tried. All I know is when I eat a slice I want another one.
Off to bed, almost. Pajama party time! We watched Enchanted Ella, which neither girl had seen before, and they enjoyed that. THEN it was bedtime, and both girls were soon asleep as was their grandmother.
waking up to clouds, we were a little bummed. But it cleared up around 10:30 and we went down to the pool for a couple of hours. Then we went to McD's for lunch, while pop-pop had his physical therapy. The therapist told me that his muscle strength is twice what it was when he started. This is a good thing. As long as medicare pays for it, he will continue getting the therapy, which he doesn't seem to be motivated to do on his own at home. And this nagging wife refuses to nag him to do his exercises. I don't need that stress, nor do I need for him to hate me for reminding him 10 times a day to do his exercises.
I took the girls home after the exercise session, and after we spent a couple of hours at Dollar Tree. They always enjoy having some spending money in that store.
I think they were happy to get home to their mom. Dad is in North Carolina this week, learning more computer stuff, and hopefully finding a job.
I slept until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Can you believe that? That's how worn out I was!
ttfn
We did so much. First was the hair cuts. And while they were getting their hair cuts we watched a "tornado watch/warning" type storm race through our area. When we arrived at the shop the weather was sunny, but then it clouded up really fast, and the clouds were upside down and green, which usually signals tornado. I kept an eye on the sky while Rose was getting her hair cut. Drat! I forgot my camera. So, once again, no pictures. Just have to say, though, that both girls looks so cute after their cuts.
Then we went to lunch at Applebee's. It was freezing cold in there, and finally when we were getting ready to leave, they turned the air conditioner up a little bit. The girls loved eating at something other than McD's and they both had worn really cute dresses (at my request) for our day out.
Then we went to see Toy Story 3. What a good movie. I loved it. The girls loved it. Alan slept through most of it. How anyone could sleep through that movie is beyond me, but sleep (and snore) he did!
After that we came back home and went swimming. The girls loved swimming in the pool. By that time all the storms were out of the way, and they had the pool all to themselves. They just loved it. Rose is quite a good swimmer. Rachel tries.
Then we had dinner -- grilled chesse (since the girls really had a dinner at Applebee's) and for dessert Bob Evan's strawberry cheese pie. That pie is so good, I could eat a whole one in one sitting. At least I think I could. I've never tried. All I know is when I eat a slice I want another one.
Off to bed, almost. Pajama party time! We watched Enchanted Ella, which neither girl had seen before, and they enjoyed that. THEN it was bedtime, and both girls were soon asleep as was their grandmother.
waking up to clouds, we were a little bummed. But it cleared up around 10:30 and we went down to the pool for a couple of hours. Then we went to McD's for lunch, while pop-pop had his physical therapy. The therapist told me that his muscle strength is twice what it was when he started. This is a good thing. As long as medicare pays for it, he will continue getting the therapy, which he doesn't seem to be motivated to do on his own at home. And this nagging wife refuses to nag him to do his exercises. I don't need that stress, nor do I need for him to hate me for reminding him 10 times a day to do his exercises.
I took the girls home after the exercise session, and after we spent a couple of hours at Dollar Tree. They always enjoy having some spending money in that store.
I think they were happy to get home to their mom. Dad is in North Carolina this week, learning more computer stuff, and hopefully finding a job.
I slept until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Can you believe that? That's how worn out I was!
ttfn
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Doctors, etc.
I know, I haven't done much reporting lately. Busyness. We have been to either a specialist's office, or in physical therapy every day for the last two weeks, and everyday again next week. At least we know what is NOT wrong with Alan.
Regarding the urologist: His prostate is enlarged and he is now taking medicine for that. As a result he is only getting up once a night instead of four or five times. This is good. Also, he is currently doing a 24-hour urine test. Not fun for him. We don't know how his blood work came out for this doctor. We assume if there was a problem, they'd call us, since he doesn't see this doctor again until mid-September.
Regarding the neurologist: This doctor is the same doctor he had at Christ Hospital back in 2007 -- his last really bad collapsing episode. She is very thorough, and spent two hours just asking questions and doing some testing in her office. The big tests are next Friday at the clinic. Alan liked her and I liked her. She seems to think that his weakness problems are related to his chemotherapy which can attack the body as long after the chemo as 15 to 20 years. She doesn't think his brain is causing the problem.
Regarding the oncologist: Dr. Cody didn't mind at all that we have cut out Alan's Intron D shots. He said that if he was reacting to the shots (rubbery legs, inability to walk) like we monitored for a few weeks, then we were correct to stop the shots. He's been getting these shots for 9 years, and that's about the longest Dr. Cody has anyone on Interferon (life does end for some people) and he said we'll see what happens next. He'll do more testing in the next year to monitor Alan's bone marrow which means a bone marrow biopsy in the near future. Yuck. Poor Alan. They are so painful.
And, I pulled the scooter over on me yesterday. I took a driveway at an angle instead of straight on -- my own stupid fault -- and the scooter tipped over on top of me, pinning me under it. Fortunately, I was on a well-traveled road in our community and several people (four nurses) stopped to help. First to get the scooter off my legs. But I was so shaken I couldn't get the strength to get to a position to get myself up, so we call 911 and the EMTs lifted me back up. Once I was up, I was able to move and continue my trip home (from the pool). I'm very, very sore today, barely able to move, but no bones are broken. I'm road burned pretty bad on my elbows, knees, and thighs. So what's new? I have a constant feeling of road burn from the fibromyalgia anyway. I didn't even realize I was so bloodied up because I have that feeling all the time. Today the road burns are accompanied by bruises.
So, we're so happy with Alan's doctor's appointment results and looking forward to his strength getting better as it has been. At least I've noticed his ability to walk better. Less shuffling, more walking. Now we have to work on stamina.
ttfn
Regarding the urologist: His prostate is enlarged and he is now taking medicine for that. As a result he is only getting up once a night instead of four or five times. This is good. Also, he is currently doing a 24-hour urine test. Not fun for him. We don't know how his blood work came out for this doctor. We assume if there was a problem, they'd call us, since he doesn't see this doctor again until mid-September.
Regarding the neurologist: This doctor is the same doctor he had at Christ Hospital back in 2007 -- his last really bad collapsing episode. She is very thorough, and spent two hours just asking questions and doing some testing in her office. The big tests are next Friday at the clinic. Alan liked her and I liked her. She seems to think that his weakness problems are related to his chemotherapy which can attack the body as long after the chemo as 15 to 20 years. She doesn't think his brain is causing the problem.
Regarding the oncologist: Dr. Cody didn't mind at all that we have cut out Alan's Intron D shots. He said that if he was reacting to the shots (rubbery legs, inability to walk) like we monitored for a few weeks, then we were correct to stop the shots. He's been getting these shots for 9 years, and that's about the longest Dr. Cody has anyone on Interferon (life does end for some people) and he said we'll see what happens next. He'll do more testing in the next year to monitor Alan's bone marrow which means a bone marrow biopsy in the near future. Yuck. Poor Alan. They are so painful.
And, I pulled the scooter over on me yesterday. I took a driveway at an angle instead of straight on -- my own stupid fault -- and the scooter tipped over on top of me, pinning me under it. Fortunately, I was on a well-traveled road in our community and several people (four nurses) stopped to help. First to get the scooter off my legs. But I was so shaken I couldn't get the strength to get to a position to get myself up, so we call 911 and the EMTs lifted me back up. Once I was up, I was able to move and continue my trip home (from the pool). I'm very, very sore today, barely able to move, but no bones are broken. I'm road burned pretty bad on my elbows, knees, and thighs. So what's new? I have a constant feeling of road burn from the fibromyalgia anyway. I didn't even realize I was so bloodied up because I have that feeling all the time. Today the road burns are accompanied by bruises.
So, we're so happy with Alan's doctor's appointment results and looking forward to his strength getting better as it has been. At least I've noticed his ability to walk better. Less shuffling, more walking. Now we have to work on stamina.
ttfn
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Medicare?
I know that some people think Medicare is the end-all program for seniors. NOT!
Take for instance scooters. You can buy a big expensive scooter with all the bells and whistles and medicare will cover all (about $2,500) but 20 percent of the bill which my secondary will cover. So, a free scooter. BUT...
It can't be an "outdoor" scooter (even though all the scooters CAN be used outdoors). It has to be a chair scooter. It can't be a stand-up scooter (which cost around $900 with a seat attachment) even though you can use it indoors. I don't get it.
We really want to get a stand-up scooter (with seat), but Medicare doesn't even recognize that as a need for people who can't walk. Walking, by the way, requires different muscles and abilities than just standing up.
A power chair is our second choice, which Medicare will cover, but really isn't very useful out of doors.
In other words, if the chair isn't made to keep you housebound, you're on your own.
And this $250 "gift" to seniors? Forget it. First of all it's taxable income. If they would just keep the COLAs coming on social security, instead of cutting off all COLAs for the next three years, and if they hadn't raised what we have to pay Medicare each month to keep our hospital benefits (a raise of about $30 per month from last year), we elders would be much happier and the gov't would benefit more from the taxes we have to pay on the taxes they collected from us to award us our SS and Medicare benefits.
I'm ticked, oh yeah, I'm ticked!
ttfn
Take for instance scooters. You can buy a big expensive scooter with all the bells and whistles and medicare will cover all (about $2,500) but 20 percent of the bill which my secondary will cover. So, a free scooter. BUT...
It can't be an "outdoor" scooter (even though all the scooters CAN be used outdoors). It has to be a chair scooter. It can't be a stand-up scooter (which cost around $900 with a seat attachment) even though you can use it indoors. I don't get it.
We really want to get a stand-up scooter (with seat), but Medicare doesn't even recognize that as a need for people who can't walk. Walking, by the way, requires different muscles and abilities than just standing up.
A power chair is our second choice, which Medicare will cover, but really isn't very useful out of doors.
In other words, if the chair isn't made to keep you housebound, you're on your own.
And this $250 "gift" to seniors? Forget it. First of all it's taxable income. If they would just keep the COLAs coming on social security, instead of cutting off all COLAs for the next three years, and if they hadn't raised what we have to pay Medicare each month to keep our hospital benefits (a raise of about $30 per month from last year), we elders would be much happier and the gov't would benefit more from the taxes we have to pay on the taxes they collected from us to award us our SS and Medicare benefits.
I'm ticked, oh yeah, I'm ticked!
ttfn
Friday, June 4, 2010
Hot, hot, hot!
Yes, it's hot! So early in the season. It's not yet summer, but it certainly feels like it. Even the pool water is warm already. That doesn't usually occur until mid-July. In fact, the pool was warm on the 30th of May when we our opening day party. That's truly a first, at least for our community.
I've been enjoying the porch during the mornings, listening to the birds tweeting. And I've been determined to get down to the pool everyday, but I still haven't done it. Too many errands and too much of life's busyness to fit that pleasure into my day. By evening, when the pool is really at its best, I'm too wiped to go down there. Plus, we don't eat dinner until somewhere between 7 and 8, and by the time I finish the dishes, it's too late.
Speaking of which (dishes), I still haven't put yesterday's dishwasher load away and put last night's dishes into the dishwasher. Guess I'd best get that done post haste.
So, it's ttfn, while I go get those dishes into the dishwasher.
ttfn
I've been enjoying the porch during the mornings, listening to the birds tweeting. And I've been determined to get down to the pool everyday, but I still haven't done it. Too many errands and too much of life's busyness to fit that pleasure into my day. By evening, when the pool is really at its best, I'm too wiped to go down there. Plus, we don't eat dinner until somewhere between 7 and 8, and by the time I finish the dishes, it's too late.
Speaking of which (dishes), I still haven't put yesterday's dishwasher load away and put last night's dishes into the dishwasher. Guess I'd best get that done post haste.
So, it's ttfn, while I go get those dishes into the dishwasher.
ttfn
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Alan's Kindle
Well, Alan's Kindle arrives today. I know this because the tracking notice tells me it will arrive today, and I won't have to hand my Kindle over to him or feel guilty because I want to read when he wants to read.
He's been reading Bishop Ussher's Annals of the World. He's about 1/3 through this large book. We have the hardbound copy, and it's really large and heavy. I think that's what decided him that the Kindle was a great thing to own. It's certainly easier to hold the gadget than to hold the heavy book. He probably would not have read the book if he had to hold it because of its heaviness.
I have already loaded his Kindle with Josephus' church history, Josebius' world history, and several of the free writings of Winston Churchill. Actually, I transferred them from my Kindle to his Kindle.
I know you're all wondering how I could do this. It's all done in cyberspace, and I was told by the Kindle folks that I could transfer his faves before the Kindle gets to our house, and it will be pre-loaded for him to pick up and enjoy.
I think, though, I'll need to give him some tutoring on the ins and outs of Kindling. Searching for new books drains the battery really fast. However, if you turn off the wireless connection, you still have all your books, but the battery lasts a lot longer. I don't understand why, but that's the way it is.
He also needs to know that at the beginning of each month the new freebies come out -- not that he's be interested in best-selling fiction. There are, however, quite often, spiritual books available in the free section. I always download them, and I've transferred several to his Kindle already. I have enjoyed Philip Yancey's books -- the free ones.
So, I'm sitting here waiting for the man in brown to deliver Alan's father's day gift -- even though he's not my father, he did father my children, so I feel like I need to give him a gift to thank him for the gifts he gave me -- my three children and 13 grandchildren. They are my pride and joy. All of them.
ttfn
He's been reading Bishop Ussher's Annals of the World. He's about 1/3 through this large book. We have the hardbound copy, and it's really large and heavy. I think that's what decided him that the Kindle was a great thing to own. It's certainly easier to hold the gadget than to hold the heavy book. He probably would not have read the book if he had to hold it because of its heaviness.
I have already loaded his Kindle with Josephus' church history, Josebius' world history, and several of the free writings of Winston Churchill. Actually, I transferred them from my Kindle to his Kindle.
I know you're all wondering how I could do this. It's all done in cyberspace, and I was told by the Kindle folks that I could transfer his faves before the Kindle gets to our house, and it will be pre-loaded for him to pick up and enjoy.
I think, though, I'll need to give him some tutoring on the ins and outs of Kindling. Searching for new books drains the battery really fast. However, if you turn off the wireless connection, you still have all your books, but the battery lasts a lot longer. I don't understand why, but that's the way it is.
He also needs to know that at the beginning of each month the new freebies come out -- not that he's be interested in best-selling fiction. There are, however, quite often, spiritual books available in the free section. I always download them, and I've transferred several to his Kindle already. I have enjoyed Philip Yancey's books -- the free ones.
So, I'm sitting here waiting for the man in brown to deliver Alan's father's day gift -- even though he's not my father, he did father my children, so I feel like I need to give him a gift to thank him for the gifts he gave me -- my three children and 13 grandchildren. They are my pride and joy. All of them.
ttfn
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