Massages

As you all know I'm "elderly". Old people fall a lot, it seems to me -- at least from personal experience. Alan and I seem to be down on our knees a lot -- and I don't mean that because we're praying. If I'm on my knees, it's a mistake. I can't get up from my knees, and my knees can stand the pressure of kneeling on them at all.

So after the fall I took last Saturday, I've been hobbling. Well, today, I had a leg massage. Wow! I need to do this more often. I need to find my own "personal massager" like I have a personal shopper -- or rather, had a personal shopper. So, I'm looking. Alan also had his legs massaged and it seemed to help him walk much better. Have I stepped into something here? (Pun intended)

Alan also had an upper back/shoulder massage as well. We paid for this luxury in 10-minute increments. The cost: $1 per minute. Well worth it.


The laughter index item for the day, though, is watching me exit the pool. Yes, I went swimming today as well. I was in the pool for one hour, doing aerobics the whole time. Getting out of the pool was a hoot though. I almost asked my pool ladies to give me a push from behind, but we finally figured out that if I grabbed hold of a towel while they held onto the other end I could leverage myself up that final step. I wouldn't have had any trouble except the handle on the pool was so slippery that I couldn't get a grip on it. I crawled up the bottom three steps, and then could crawl up the last one -- it was too steep, so we (the ladies and I) devised the towel trick.

I'm glad no one was taking pictures.

ttfn

You know you're getting old when...

(1) You grunt and groan out of habit.

It seems I've taken up one of my father's habits -- I grunt and groan a lot. I've noticed this about myself and am trying to limit my daily quota of grunts and groans to two or three per hour, rather than two or three per minute. I'm told I even grunt and groan in my sleep.

Well, duh! I dream I'm in pain and I'm grunting and groaning, and I wake up, and darned if I'm not suffering the pain I just dreamed I was grunting about.

(2) You take showers and still don't feel clean.

I don't know why this is, but lately, I scrub and I scrub and I wash and I wash and I still feel like I need a shower -- in other words, I stink. So, what am I to do -- sit in the tub all day? I don't think so. Perfume and deodorant only makes it worse. Even putting sachets in my underwear drawer and in my closets doesn't help.

(3) You can't remember where you put your glasses and you're wearing them! That happens a lot to both me and Alan.

(4) You read a book and then can't remember what you read, or you read the same paragraph 16 times before you either finally give up on it or you decide to move on and maybe, just maybe you'll get the gist of what the author is saying. This happens a lot, also.

(5) You think you've forgotten something and you haven't -- it just that you forget things so often that you're certain that you must have forgotten something because it's become a habit -- forgetting that is.

That's just a few ways you know you're getting when...

mtf

Hello, again.

Have you all enjoyed my peaceful picture? Good.

We had a wonderful time in Huntington, WV with friends of ours who moved there from Cincinnati several years ago. Only one day, but we talked enough to last for at least six months.

I learned a lot from Robert -- he's a PhD pharmacist -- about how my meds are interacting with each other (or not) and how to keep myself on a more pain-free level. I just have to check with my doctor about the suggestions. Then we went to my sister's and had a wonderful time with her, as well.

Alan spent yesterday at the Mayberry RFD museum -- it's a four-story affair and he wore himself out, but he was certainly happy and enjoyed himself immensely.

Today, as we were leaving my sister's I fell UP the steps into the apartment where we were staying. I fell up the top step then fell down all three steps. I really hurt my knee badly AGAIN. Same knee. So, I'm warming it up, then cooling it down. Lots of bruises.

I need to practice going up and down steps again. Going up is a major difficulty for me, but it's because I don't have the strength and I think I can get that strength if I work at it. So, I'll be doing that daily for a while.

Well, folks, I'll check in later. Right now, I'm going to bed.

So...ttfn

Enjoy the view.

I'm leaving home for a few days. So, I'm posting a nice, relaxing picture that you all can look at while I'm gone. I'll report back when I get back. TTFN.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Today was one of those days that you wish you could redo. I did nothing, but I did a lot.

I started a round of Prednezone several days ago, and after two days of non-stop energy, it caught up with me, and while I got a lot done today, I didn't get anything done -- at least not in my mind.

About the two days of non-stop energy. I noticed a couple of days ago that I was typing extraordinarily fast -- and then I realized it was because of the steroids -- they do give you a pop. But I hate the bad effects I have to go through to get to the good effect -- a pain-free week or two. At least hopefully, it will result in relative painless days to come.

Anyway, I did accomplish quite a bit (for me) today. I went to Hancocks and got some more wool for hats for the boys -- I finished the scarves, and now I'm making snow caps for the boys. (that's my grandsons). Well, the knee popped out while I was there (at Hancock's), and while it hurt, and I could hear it going pop, pop, pop, it didn't hurt as much as usual, but I decided to stiff leg walk to keep the popping to a minimum.

Then I trudged to UDF -- for those of you not from around here -- that's United Dairy Farmer's. And got a few groceries -- namely a new kind of ice cream -- Lemon Merange Pie. I'm eating it now. It actually has pieces of pie crust in it, and it's pretty good. Not as good as my friend's -- Anita -- lemon merange pie -- but pretty good. And my spell check isn't giving me a spelling for merange, so you're stuck with the way I've spelled it, which I know is wrong, but I can't remember how to spell it correctly.

I really don't' think there is any flavor of ice cream as good as vanilla and orange sherbert mixed together -- they call it dreamcycle and that's just what it tastes like.

Back to my day. So, I got the groceries. Got home, stuffed a load of wash in the washer, knitted six rows on a blanket I'm working on, and then got very sleepy. Somewhere in there I made Alan's lunch.

By the time I finally was able to get myself awake, it was dinner time, and since we didn't eat dinner last night because Alan wasn't feeling well, I just heated up what I had made last night -- roast pork with potatoes and carrots. It was okay, but tonight was my night to not feel like eating dinner. And while I did, in fact, eat some dinner, it tasted, blah.

Somewhere in that time frame I switched out the laundry from the washer to the dryer and put another load in the washer. So after dinner, I folded what was in the dryer and put what was in the washer into the dryer.

See? I'm trying to make it sound like I did a lot today, but I really didn't do much.

I heard from a friend of mine from college, and wrote back a long e-mail to her which took me about an hour to compose.

So that's my day. I'm getting ready to get back into bed again. I need to get this room cleared out before next week. It's really getting to me. I just hate when the piles pile up and I don't get them whittled down. I've got to give up something, either reading (no way), scrap booking (no, no way), or knitting (not in the near future), or getting junk mail (ain't gonna happen). So you see where I am with all this.

It's a dilemma that will be a dilemma until I leave this earth. It's a matter or priorities, I suppose.

mtf

Finally == there is light

Well, I went to Cyndi's and there was no electricity when I got there.

Fair Mare greeted me and kept close the entire time I was there. Ellie slept, even though Cyndi had told me she has a cold or something that is causing her to sniffle.

I had told Cyndi that when they got back from gym class I wouldn't need Tori, but Alan "lost" a contact lens this morning and I couldn't find it and he couldn't find it, and he thought that maybe Tori with her younger eyes would be able to find it if I brought her home with me after Cyndi's. Well, that worked out, and yes, Tori found the lens right away. She also took a shower while she was here. Hot water not being available at her house.

I also noticed something -- a little thing, really. When the electricity is off no matter how many times you flick the switch in a bathroom with no windows, you won't get any light into that room. I had used the lavatory shortly after I got to Cyndi's, but since I was alone, I didn't bother to shut the door, so the light from the hall was enough. Well, I used it again before I left her house, and since there were several children around I shut the door. It was dark, but there was just enough light coming through at the bottom of the door so I was able to do what I had to do without making a mess, if you get my drift.

When Tori and I were driving to my home from Cyndi's to find Alan's lens we noticed an out-of-state electric crew working on the next street over from their street and Tori was so excited. I told her because they were working on this street didn't mean her street was the next to be fixed, and to pray that they were next on the list. And when I took her back to her home the road to was blocked because -- ta da -- they were working on her street, right by the driveway to her house. We were so excited. Praise God!

And another blessing today -- the meat market was finally open and I was able to get some meat -- we've been eating eggs and/or tuna, and I'm tired to both. So, I got my weekly stash for the freezer.



One thing I must add: I have to say Cyndi's home was immaculate -- as clean as it could be without a vacuum cleaner for the carpet -- when I got there today. There was nothing out of place. And that with some minor in-home construction that they had started before the storm, no laundry getting done, and five children with toys, is saying a lot.

I guess there is just so much you can do without all the "things" we have come to depend on to keep our lives going, like TV, computers, telephones, etc. Good job, Cyndi. I was very proud of you, and I know you were in a bad situation, but God put something in you (a desire to make your home clean and wonderful for your family no matter what) and your house spoke peace to me even though you were living in the ravages of a bad storm. I do love you and as I told Tori today, when I first saw you in the hospital there was a special bond and love that I didn't feel with your sister or brother -- from the beginning you were special to me and always have been.

Now, Phil and Becky, don't get upset. I have loved you two dearly since I first laid eyes on each of you as well, but with Cyndi it was just different. Phil you were my first, so desired for so long and to finally have my first baby, WOW! Becky, you were the first Hahn girl in forever, and I had finally done something right, and God blessed me with you, and you have always been a blessing to me, and even though you lose your joy from time to time, you give me joy every time I see you or talk to you.

I love all you grown-up children, and am so thankful to our Father who gave me and your dad such special lives to bring up and train. What an awesome responsibility, and what an awesome result.

Still without electricity

My poor daughter, Cyndi and her family, is still without electricity. I'm supposed to go over tomorrow for my weekly visit and help-her-out day, and she has warned me to bring something to do because there's no TV (which I never use at her house anyway), and there's no radio (which I used once). I told her, I always bring something to do, I just don't always do it.

Last week I laid down on her "down" filled couch and promptly fell asleep. What a comfortable sofa. I want one!

It was only for a few minutes, the dog woke me. They have the nicest dog. "Fair Mare" -- is that how it's spelled -- he's named after a character in Lord of the Rings a series of movies I've never seen, nor have I read the books. Maybe some day I will, but I'm just not interested.

Anyway, Fair Mare waked me. Now Fair Mare doesn't like everyone who comes in their house. In fact most people are barked at and he ignores them after they come. Me? He seems to really like me. He comes when I call him. He loves to be petted. He loves to lick my legs (yuck), and he is generally a nice-tempered dog. He doesn't like Alan, though, and that really bothers Alan because he really, really loves dogs, all dogs. He wants a dog. I don't want another dog. But I digress.

So after the dog woke me -- I figure I got about 5 minutes based on the movement my watch's minute hand made from the time I laid down and the dog woke me -- I started working my logic puzzles.

I had taken a book to read, a logic puzzle book, a Sudoku book, knitting -- two projects --, and my shopping list to work on because my granddaughter and I were going shopping after the children returned from their weekly home-school gym class at the local sports center.

So tomorrow, I do this again, while Ellie sleeps. That's what I do, I sit and listen for Ellie and am there in case there's a problem with her while the rest of the family is gone. But when they get home I get to spend some precious time with three of my precious grandchildren.

I'm so glad God has given me grandchildren. My one regret -- the old body doesn't work well and I can't do the fun things I envisioned doing with them before they were born. But God knows my heart and I hope the children do as well. I do what I can with them, wishing I could do more.

I think that's because I don't think I did enough with my own children. I was not a TV mom. I think I was a mom like my own mother. Now, that's not so bad, is it!


ttfn