Last Day of 6th Month of Year 2012

It is 105 degrees outside right now. Dwight went to the mailbox earlier and was dripping

sweat off his face when he came right back inside. Hope these temperatures don't last too long. Marlan came over for a nice visit with us today. She worked 14 hours yesterday! She also had to take a phone call from the office while here. She said they have been slammed lately. I wonder if the heat index has anything to do it? This little boy has the right idea doesn't he? There are tons of pictures on the news links of others trying to cool off including some walking in public fountains. I do think it is harder here because of our high humidity.  I just want people to be safe and not overdo it. I woke very early and took my meds hoping to get back to sleep quickly since I've been having a problem with that lately. Not only did I get back to sleep, I slept until 10AM!

Have felt pretty good. I did my first session of stretching exercises and am proud to say I did very well. I'm supposed to work up to three times a day and feel like I will be able to do that. How do you like the professional diagrams they gave me to work with? LOL I also worked on my neck some more to keep the fluid down. I was going to walk but Dwight and Marlan said it is just too hot.  So tomorrow we will be enter the second half of this year. Thinking positive thoughts.

Chatty Patty...

I've been a Chatty Patty today haven't I? Of course my day started very early and I've been pretty busy. I got a little perturbed earlier and went for a good walk in the yard. Smoking Hot outside...even now. Just printed out some more spread sheets for my medications. Much smaller list now so that is good. I let Douglas and Jessie know I am not coming up there for their convention. I haven't heard back but I'm sure they were relieved. I am still working on some plans to get as much of it as I can. I need to call Jennifer and see if she wants to come over to see a CO's wife she grew quite fond of when she was studying. Call me Jennifer and let me know. I'm thinking Paul and his family will be heading home tomorrow. Hope they made some great memories in one of our favorite places and will be very careful on the highway. I wonder if Patsy and her hubby made it to the coast? I haven't heard from her so am thinking she is back where she wants to be. They have some more painting and small things to do and I know she will be glad when it is done. I just got my PJ's on and am feeling pretty tired. I think Marlan and her hubby are coming over tomorrow. Can't wait to see her. I let her know I'm not going up when she will be there. Now that I've decided, I know it was the right thing to do. Can't do everything -- especially if you can't drive. Nite loved ones...

CT Scan - done and done

So I got very little sleep last night and have only had one 20 minute nap today. Color me tired and in pain. We arrived right on time for my 7:30AM CT Scan and I was blown away once again. The Radiology department is just as pretty as the rest of the Center. I had removed my earrings and all I had to do was remove my bra. Went into a small but pretty room with one machine in it and after I was situated, the scan took no time at all. I had to hold my left arm above my head at a strange angle which tells me loud and clear how much I need to do my therapy.

This is not what the room looked like at all. It is just an example of the machine. Once I was helped onto the slide with soft sheets, pillow for head and under my knees, I looked up into what looked like a large cottage type window sit into the ceiling. Of course it wasn't a real window but it looked real with a blue sky and white clouds and tree tops with different colored leaves - some green for summer and others colored for autumn. So peaceful to look up and see that. The room was pretty empty except for the machine and the clean wood looking floor and beautiful colors on the walls. My technician wore dark pants and shirt with the Duke Logo and you could tell he loves what he does. I have been so fortunate to have great people working with me for the most part. My appointment with Dr. Ready wasn't until 9:30AM so we had a bit of a wait. He came in after he got the first result and said at first look, he didn't see anything but would have to wait for the complete report. He said he felt he would have it Monday and would call if there was anything to report. Good news so far. He asked me about my therapy and I told him I had quit for now because of how bad they messed me up and set me back. He stressed to me that he wants me to do the therapy at home in spite of the pain because I really need it. I have been trying and hope I will get better. If I don't, I'll just have to suck up and go back. The bad thing is they are so over-booked, you might have to wait two weeks between appointments. He wanted to know when I was going to see Dr. Scher (Surgeon) next and I told him next week. SO I hugged and thanked him, ran into Jennifer on my way out and hugged and wished her a happy vacation and told her about my chair, went downstairs and guess what? They had not taken our car to the garage so all we had to do was get in it and drive away. Wow. Douglas called - wanted to know how I like my chair. I told him it worked good last night. I have a feeling all chairs are going to bother my boney butt for awhile. I couldn't sit in the examination chair until it was actually time for him to look at me. He was on his way home and couldn't wait to just relax.  He didn't say anything about the assembly so I'll just wait and see what happens.

Last Friday of the Sixth Month of the Year 2012...

My zero gravity chair is in the house! The chair arrived yesterday afternoon and Dwight put it up right away. After sitting in it for a period of time, he declared it as - okay. Ya gotta love a man of few words.

Check out Miya - she was so curious. I love the one where she looks back at me as if saying - "Mama, what is it and why is Daddy sitting in it"? Dwight put it in the car and we took it to my meeting last night. A brother met us at the back door, brought it in and set it up for me. It is a way too heavy for me to carry but that is what makes it sturdy. They set me up in the back of the auditorium right in the middle.  As a matter of fact, since they have moved the chairs in a way to prolong the life of the carpet, we now have a wide center aisle and yep - I was sitting against the wall/window right at the end of the center aisle. Every brother who had a part looked right into my eyes. But what a wonderful treat to be at the meeting! I arrived early enough to see many of friends. One of the first people to come over and talk to me was our CO! He had been to see me on Wednesday and was excited the chair had come and I was able to make it. His wife was about the third person to make it over to greet me. What a lovely young couple! Their picture was in the local paper explaining what they do with the congregations. It was a wonderful witness. This will be their last time with us; they were filling in for our assigned CO. He said they will be at our convention so hopefully I'll see them there. This

isn't a good picture but it will give Page an idea of how the red top she bought me looked last night. I wore it with the black skirt Patsy had given me. I'm glad I took my wrap - it was nice and cool in the KH. I even tried to sing along with the congregation. I sounded like a scratchy record but it was so nice to try. Debbie put a chair beside me and came back to keep me company. She is such a wonderful friend and sister. Her daughter Kim and family brought me home and I told them how much I appreciate her Mom but that I worried she was going to wear herself out taking care of so many others. She worries about the same thing but we both know it is what makes her who she is.  Debbie loved the home made pimento cheese Dwight got her when he went up to Roxboro and got himself some. Any-who - I've been awake for close to an hour and need to get some clothes on. We are due at Duke at 7:30 for my CAT Scan and following appointment with my Oncologist. The temps today and through the weekend are supposed to be in the 100's.

Get the idea? Thought this was so cute and definitely appropriate. Guess I had better get up and get some clothes on. Stay cool.....

Summertime and the living is easy.....

Etta James was a lovely woman who wore her hair blonde as much as she did brunette. She was 73 when she died of leukemia and still very attractive.

This was a lovely picture of her when she was younger. I love the "Summertime" song above and 'At Last' which was played at Faye's daughter's wedding. We are definitely in summertime these days.  Dwight said it is supposed to be "smoking hot" this weekend. Sadly, the nice breeze has become a thing of the past for awhile. I did get to walk around the yard this afternoon several times.  Dwight watered the flowers on the deck before he went over to Boyd's to eat fish. I took a few pictures of the flowers and am happy to have so much pretty color to look at everyday.

I also snapped a picture of our neighborhood "watch dog" next door - Rex. He was too far away so I'll have to try again. I would love to meet him one day up close and personal. He really is a good watch dog. His owners are going out of town this week and his "Auntie" will be coming to take care of him. I also snapped a shot of the vine we had growing in our Azalea last year and thought we had gotten rid of.  Evidently not since it is growing again and recently started climbing up the front of the house. It is actually pretty.  I am not sure what Dwight plans to do about it.  I guess we could start calling our place

the "ivy" covered cottage. Just kidding - or am I?  I also snapped a picture of my 3 plus year old hosta which looks pretty good this year.

We just let it die back every winter to nothing and then every spring so far, I try to pull the dead pine needles out of the pot and this is what it does. I love it myself. Bought it from a guy out on Cheek Road. I used to call on a lady on Fletcher's Chapel and she is the one who told me how to keep it. She has tons of them in pots in the front of her house and all she does is move them under the pines beside her yard. I don't even do that - especially since it is close to our little tree in front of the house. And I snapped a picture of the vines that climb a tree out back. I love the flower and have no idea what plant it is from.

Hopefully you can see the pretty orange blooms on the vine. I might ask Debbie - I'm sure she knows what it is. So I will close this late night post with a picture of Michael watching the sun set at the coast. I hope he is having a wonderful time. I am so looking forward to seeing them next month.  Lori asked me about hotels and were they in good neighborhoods. I know the one they have stayed in the last few years is in a pretty decent neighborhood. I don't really know about any other ones. I totally enjoyed my visit from the CO, Lucy, another brother and his son who was so cute. We had a lively conversations that was so encouraging. I told him I was hoping to get to the pioneer meeting this afternoon. I fell asleep and had no time to make it so I text messaged Lucy to tell him how sorry I was. He said a lovely prayer before he left and thanked Dwight for taking such good care of me. Marlan called and is hoping to come over for a bit tomorrow. I also got to see Patsy today - she has been one busy little bee lately. They will be going back down to the beach cottage Friday for several more weeks. They still have some painting to do. I do believe I'm going to have to move my next pain medication up about 30 minutes. It is getting very painful and I think it is because I did some of my therapy/stretching. Oh man....Happy Hump Day everyone.... Wanted to share the last picture Paul sent me of their son watching the sun set over the ocean.  A sight I have seen many times and yet I never tire of it.  Beautiful shot isn't it? This one reminds me a little of the one Marlan took and gave me not too long ago.

Summer memories.....

As a rule, summer is a difficult season for me unless I'm at the coast or sitting in an air conditioned home/car. Even then, if there is no ocean breeze, I'm not happy. Today is a perfect summer day. I walked on the deck awhile ago and there is a delicious breeze. The sun is bright in our Carolina Blue sky with big puffy white clouds. I've been a busy person most of the day - catching up on emails, doing Dwight's invoices, had visitors from two separate car groups, email and phone call from neighbor, ordered a padded zero gravity chair ($$$), had a phone conversation with Wally about their convention and how we could work things out for me to be there some of the time, looked up some information on the computer for Carolyn G., watching nervously as she walked across my uber busy road to catch the bus using her walker, called the company Dwight is going to return the suction pump I was using to (woo hoo-so glad I don't have to use that anymore) and made a decision with one of my pioneer sisters about how to handle this week's meetings with the CO. Whew. I am hoping Debbie will have time to take up a few of my dresses she pinned up when she and Ruby cleaned my house yesterday. I gave her a few blouses I had bought new and only wore about twice. She had one of them on today and it looked great with her coloring. The good thing is the three little dresses I purchased last summer don't look too bad. She has to take them up under the arm but they are made to fall from the shoulder loosely. A dear sister in our KH had a beautiful baby girl this week. When I look at this picture on the left I think - man she is going to be as tall as her Mom, Dad and older sister. Then I look at this picture on the right and she looks so little. Hello little Isabella Rose. Three people that I now know with the middle name Rose - my sister, Briana's little girl and now Izzy. She joins her older sister in making a beautiful family of four. Paul and his lovely family are spending the week on the Outer Banks. This will be their son's first trip to the ocean. He sent me a picture of the place they rented and it looks very nice. If I had known ahead of time, we could have worked it out that Dwight was down there visiting GG while they were there. He sent me another picture of Michael in the surf commenting on how he seems to love the ocean and how he didn't get it from him. I told Paul that his Dad loved the water too. One of my earliest memories of him is when he took a running leap in the cold lake water in Chicago. I also told him how his Dad would dive head first into the surf. I think Paul was a little surprised since evidently has never seen his Dad swim. The water at Nags Head can be quite dangerous with the tides. Hopefully Michael is being careful. Such a fearless young man he is. I guess we have been spoiled by living close enough to drive down to the coast in a few hours. I think I was five or six years old the first time I saw the ocean. My parents packed us up in a big old black car and drove down during the night. They had boxes and stuff in the back floor board and I slept on blankets that were laying across them.  My sisters Alice and Faye were in the back seat and my baby sister Amy was asleep in the front with Mama and Daddy. Hmm - I must have been six because I think Barbara was already married.  When I woke up, Faye kicked me and told me to move so she could lay down too.  Bad Faye!  The next time we went it was to the Outer Banks and again we got up and drove during the night. Daddy had rented a house that was supposed to be right across the road from and facing the beach. The key was supposed to be inside the screen door. When we got there and drove up, it was a tiny, ugly, green, cinder block house about three houses back from the beach road facing the other way.  The screen door was hanging off it's hinges. My Daddy was not happy! No body in the car was happy! I think my sisters and Mama groaned. He didn't even get out of the car. He stopped and got us all some snacks to eat and we were sitting outside the realty office when it opened. I don't know what he said but when he came out, he had the key to a nice big beach house right on the ocean and I had the feeling he didn't have to pay more for it. It was nicer than this one and we thought we were in paradise. My oldest sister Barbara caught a ride down and joined us for a long weekend. She was divorced and I think she was still working as an airline attendant. Mama had picture that was taken of her on the beach this trip with her long hair blowing back, wearing a white halter and short shorts. I wonder where that picture is? Another thing I remember about this trip is playing with a little boy who was staying next door and my younger sister on the really big sand dunes behind the house going to the beach. I think my Mom really enjoyed being in a big, pretty house right on the beach but she did NOT enjoy having a grown daughter taking her two teenage daughters and keeping them out too late. She held her breath until she heard them come home hoping fiercely Daddy didn't wake up. When I was a teenager, we went to Atlantic Beach for a week with another family two years in a row. Those were both great trips and Patsy went with us on the last one. That was also the trip when Mama came down to the amusement park and the guy who ran the Ferris Wheel let us ride free for a long time right before the park closed. She always had more fun than any of us when it came to rides. Another memory of those trips is getting too much sun and not being able to sleep until Mama would come in and rub our backs with Jergen's lotion. We all slept on our belly's at night. Ouch! Alice and I didn't burn as bad as my sister Faye did. One time Daddy had me and Faye ride home in the car with Mr. Perry and Faye's nose was peeling.  She got mad and climbed over the car seat, took my barrette our of my long hair and scraped my nose; trying to make it peel.  Bad Faye!  Oh - and I was always amazed at finding sand in the strangest places a week later. Good summer memories......

Reuniting with family...

Or as we call it here in the South - Family Reunion Time! I knew we would not have the huge turnout we had last year but it was still nice to see everyone who was there. We had to get new instructions because of a big detour. The bridge we went over to reach the cabin is out so I sent everyone whose email address I had the new directions. I didn't know whether or not I would be able to go for sure until around Thursday. We finally got my pain down somewhat and that added to Katrina bringing her zero gravity chair over for me to use made me know I could go for a short period of time. Only three of Mom's siblings weren't represented by at least one or two family members so that was good. Alice came over early to ride with us and took this picture of me so Kelly could see the outfit she bought me. See the little blurry spot in the middle of the picture? Yeah - that's what all of them look like.  I really hope Monica's camera got some good shots because every one of mine were horrible. Evidently there was a smear on the lens and it didn't show up until I downloaded them to the computer. Since it wasn't very crowded, the inside of the building stayed pretty cool. Monica brought a bowl with what was left of butter beans and corn over to the table so she could drink the juice and get every little bit out and I laughed and told her my cousin Edith made them. I knew they would taste just like Mama's since she learned from her Mama - Aunt Vallie. She and her husband represented Aunt Vallie's family. We are the first cousins who were there. I'm not sure how Alan didn't get in this picture. He must have been outside. He and his lovely wife Kay represented Aunt Margie who was two years older than Mama. He looks so much like his beautiful Mom - I wish you could see his gorgeous blue eyes which are the one thing he didn't get from her. All of Mama's siblings are brown eyed just like all of us girls. Aunt Margie and her three boys are part of my earliest memories. We used to go visit them quite often. When Aunt Margie started dating, my Granddaddy wouldn't let her go out alone with a boy so my Mama - who was only 13 - had to go too. One time, Aunt Margie's date brought a boy for my Mom. He had on old convertible and they had to sit in the rumble seat. When he tried to kiss Mama, she jumped over into the seat between Aunt Margie and her date. Don't get me wrong, Mama could be a real flirt some time - or as we say in the South, she was "coy" and "charming". :) She drew the line at touching or kissing. She would say that was when it got downright ookey - one of her favorite words.  I thought this was a great picture of Faye, Alice and Amy. Yeah - I did us all a huge favor and cut myself out. When we got ready to go down there, I had just had a shower and decided to let my hair dry naturally which made it look kind of flat I guess. It has gotten really thin on top and very white in some places so in some of my pictures, it looks like there are bald spots. I hate to see myself in pictures since I've been sick. At times I wonder if my eyes will ever look normal again or if I'll ever be able to really smile. It is very hard to smile when your mouth and lips are so, so dry. Amy looks great in this picture doesn't she? I'm so proud of her lately. Hope she will continue in the positive way she seems to be going these days. So even though there weren't many of us there today, I was still so happy to be with those who could make it. Joy and I had a nice talk about Dwayne when I first got there. We both teared up and cried a little but she said she really is doing okay. She said everyone was being very helpful to her and making sure she gets out to get her hair done and to go to eat every once in awhile. I know she misses him terribly. They were so in love their entire marriage. When Dwayne's younger brother Rex, came over, it made me have to stop for a minute. He doesn't look exactly like Dwayne but has enough of his general coloring and looks to make me stop for a second when I saw him.  He has the Rheumatoid Arthritis his Mom has suffered with for so many years.  I didn't get a picture of Aunt Eunice but I'm hoping Monica did.  I'll put better ones up if I get them. I did learn that even leaning back in that chair, I finally reached my limit and when I had to go, I knew I had to go right then.  Once I was in the car leaning back further with the air on, I felt a little better.  I'm not going to be able to get a cheaper version of the chair.  It started making my behind sore and wasn't conducive to sleeping at all.  More research is required I guess.  So another fourth Sunday in June has come and almost gone.  Until next year, I  know Mama and Dwayne would be proud. We all miss them both.

Working on a new attitude....

Eileen has been at the coast for a long time. She is supposed to be home this weekend because her daughter is coming down for the weekend. I think she will be going back down sometime next week so I hope I will get to see her. I think they have finished all but a little in putting a pretty new "face" on their perfect little cottage. I LOVE the colors they picked. It looks so fresh and new. She does have such good taste. I haven't been outside to walk in two days. BigD said it is just too hot. I want this post to be positive to make up for all the negative chit chat of the previous ones. I definitely need a new attitude I had some visitors today and that is always nice. Monee and Eddie came over for a nice chat. They both look great as always. Dawn and her hubby were going to mow the grass for her Dad who lives down the street. They couldn't get his lawn mower started and wanted to borrow my jumper cables. We had a nice visit and could have talked for hours but her hubby was getting just a little impatient. :-) She looks great. Page called and talked to Daddy for awhile and then chatted with me.  I told her about Dawn and how good she looks.  Oh - on another positive for Judee's sake - BigD returned the library books today that she brought me!!! Woo Hoo! Thank you Judee. OK - BigD just walked in, took one look at me and said -let's do the meds a few minutes early. Okay...works for me!!!! Back to a positive note. Katarina brought their zero gravity chair over for me to use tomorrow. I hope it works and if it does, I'm definitely getting one.  She said she is enjoying her pioneering this month. :-) Gail and hubby are at the convention in Winston-Salem this weekend. I know they are enjoying it. He works so hard at our conventions and usually goes to an earlier one somewhere else. I talked with Roseanne about whether we were going to try and go to the one with our kids and she said she is but can't go until Friday night because she has to work and has to come back on Sunday night for the same reason. That means we would miss Friday's program which is okay because we can get it at ours the next month but I'm not sure how it would work out for me coming home on Sunday night after being at the program all day. No matter how I look at it, I'm thinking my going will create a hardship for everyone else so maybe the selfless thing for me to do would be to suck up and just get to my own in August. Color me very, very sad (or BLUE).  I also haven't even asked my kids how they feel about me coming up to go with them. I'm thinking that it will be selfish of me to add to their stress. SO - maybe the most loving thing I can do would be to just wait another month and try to make it to the one in August. : ( My sweet hubby just told me he might could help me get up there if I really want to go. He suggested someone meeting him halfway on Thursday to "hand me off" and pick me back up on Monday. That way he could go fishing. I still don't know how that would work. The brother from the Governing Body who will be a special guest speaker this year is someone who used to be our Circuit Overseer. I would love to see them and hear one of his wonderful discourses again.  I love this picture of Miya with her Daddy on the sofa. She would cuddle with him a lot more if he would let her.  I'm so looking forward to our semi-annual visit from our Circuit Overseer and his lovely wife next week. I snatched this picture from FB. This will be our second visit from them. They are doing something completely different this year regarding lunch. Instead of them rushing back to the hall and then to some one's home for lunch and then rushing back to the hall for service; they plan to eat their lunch at the Kingdom Hall every day. Anyone who wants to can bring their own lunch and eat at the hall with them.  How loving is that?  I haven't heard any other details but I think this is a great idea. Those who pioneer and/or go out full days almost always bring their lunch to the hall to eat. It will also prevent someone from missing service one morning to prepare their lunch.

Winding down..........and confession

How sad is it that I'm just sitting here waiting until I can take more pain medication? I can't help but wonder if coming off the patch has made it harder to control with just the oxy. Or could it really just be what went on yesterday with all the stretching and exercises. Either way - it sucks. I want to be asleep and stay asleep for longer than an hour. So I'm going to sit here and do some deep breathing while I type and try to wind down so when the meds start working, I'll go to sleep. My confession is - my memory is still not great. I have to go back and try to figure stuff our from previous posts sometimes. The good thing is once I read it, I usually do remember it - or at least most of it. I guess I am experiencing in a limited way what my beautiful sister-in-law has been experiencing for a few years now. For example, last Friday I wrote about Dwight going fishing and my dear friend Geral staying with me. It turns out, Geral stayed both Monday and Tuesday night. We had so much fun getting caught up. On Tuesday, I uploaded all her pictures from her big trip to India and made a little collage of a few of them.This was actually a dream she got to fulfill - seeing the Taj Mahal. The bottom left picture in the collage is showing how it was so hot, the heel of her tennis shoe melted off. The little pink thing above it is a public bathroom. Uh - yeah - she said it was about as much fun as it looked. I love the picture taken from a window and the one showing the reflection in her sun glasses.  There were so many more but there isn't enough room. Dwight came home on Tuesday and she stayed over that night also.  They had fun getting caught up and eating dinner together. I hated to see her go but she told Dwight to go fishing anytime he wants to and she will come stay with me.  I sent her home with tons of clothes for her yard sale and any that Sheila might want. I also sent Sheila my bathing suit that looks like a dress over it. Sheila said she really likes it. Dwight told me he is very pleased with where GG is.  I made a collage that gives you an idea. He sent me the top right picture when he got ready to cross the bridge and the one of GG in a white shirt was from when they had lunch together.  We have been taking long ways home from appointments to try and build up the length of time I can ride in a car so I can go with him down to see her sooner than later. The other pictures are ones taken by her son on his cell phone the first week she was there. It is a very nice place and she seems to be adjusting. She is quite healthy but was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago.  As much as everyone hated it had come to this - everyone can breathe easier knowing she is safe. Dwight said she walked him to death.  She has been walking regularly for years and doesn't know what pace yourself means.  Okay - time for my medication so I will sign off and stop rambling on and on. Dwight has been snoring for several hours now.

Pain, exhaustion and encouraging visitors....

Yesterday was a busy day - had my first appointment with Jennifer in the morning. We had to wait over an hour because they were so busy. The really good thing about her is you are never made to feel like she is rushing you out just because she is already running behind. If anything, I was rushing her because I felt so bad. I had taken the paper to her with the obituary of a patient of theirs. It turned out, I recognized him from my freshman and sophomore year of high school. He died from cancer and the obituary mentioned both she and my oncologist with gratitude for everything they did for him. When I gave it to her, she teared up pretty bad but was very grateful to me for sharing it with her.  As I recall, he was always a nice guy. His brother was a wonderful athlete and even handsomer than he was. She was happy to hear that I am now off my blood pressure medicine and had cut back on another one. She told me I wouldn't start feeling better from being off the Fentanly patch for about 10 more days. Evidently it builds up in your system.  I can't wait to see if it the change is significant. Now I'm cutting another pill in half and will be working on getting off that one over the next few weeks. I had a few episodes and we were both exhausted when we got home. We both fell asleep and thank goodness Dwight's phone rang and woke us up in time to make it to my afternoon therapy appointment. Wow - it was a pretty intense session. They had me doing stretches that are all but impossible. We were there for almost two hours. Today I have really been paying for it. I can hardly make it four hours between my pain medication. It was so bad earlier that I got a little emotional at one point. I was down so I called Kelly to chat with  her and then got kinda weepy after I hung up because I had let her know I felt bad. I try not to do that too much. I told Dwight that I had a little private pity party and then made myself snap out of  it. About that time Sandy called to say they were on their way over after picking up their lunch. We had arranged for her to come today and bring her bible study with her. Her study and I have a few things in common from when I first started studying and even now. I was excited on many levels to see them. It has been too long since I've seen Sandy. (picture top left) She looks great - her hair is shorter than this picture and is very flattering. She is studying with her Mom's sister - Tani.(picture lower right) I can't remember the last time I saw her but she is doing so well. She loves what she is learning and we talked about having an older sister who had tried to talk to us about things for years before we studied. Also the fact her husband isn't interested now - and how to communicate without coming across as preachy. It is always good to see Judy. (picture lower left) She is very happy about Tani studying and loving what she is learning. Everyone talked openly and freely. You sure can tell they are all three related can't you? Sandy asked me again to please get Kelly's phone number to her. She just wants to get caught up. I can't believe I still haven't done that. I explained that I have to get her permission to give her number to anyone but I totally keep forgetting to mention it. I called and left a message to call me but I'm not sure she got it since it was her work number. Will try to remember to call her later. Sandy has aided so many people to accurate knowledge, dedication and baptism. I'm very proud of her. I hope they will come back again. It was very encouraging to me. I had to take my pain meds as soon as they left and have been trying to finish studying for the meeting tonight. I so hope I'll be able to stay for the entire meeting. Alice is going to ride with us to Wake Forest on Sunday. Hopefully there will be enough people to make it nice. I'm just not up to putting the work into it that I did last year. Amy sent an email letting everyone know she was bringing enough food for Dwight. She sounded pretty good.  So - it is 6:16pm and I'm not due pain meds until 7:00 at the earliest and am exhausted to the nth degree.  Will have to be a little late for the meeting but still planning to be there.  Thank you Judy, Tani and Sandy for your encouraging visit.  Next time I'll try to do what Dwight told me to do this time and let other people have their turn. :)

Pedicure.......

I am so happy I got to the meeting today. I studied my WT yesterday and had everything set up so I could get there.I took a picture of the outfit I wore today. Thank you Patsy - everything fit very well. My plan was to stay for the whole meeting. Sadly, I learned the hard way that will not be possible unless I purchase the zero gravity chair. After sitting upright for about an hour, I am in bad shape. Kim came over to speak to me when I first got there. I was glad because I wanted to ask her if she would cut my toenails and polish them like she did for Geri. She said she would be happy to do it after the meeting. Color me happy. Then she and Drea came over and sat with me. She noticed right away when I started having a little distress. I went to the bathroom thinking I would just go ahead and get through an episode and that would be it. Nope - didn't work. I finally gave up and she offered to bring me home. I think I waited too long because I really had to lean back as soon as I could. I wish I had gotten a picture of her dress and shoes - so pretty. She came over after the meeting and brought all her "stuff" to give me a "real" pedicure. While she was here, Drea came over to visit while she finished up. I told Drea today about knowing her Dad and his first wife many years ago. I also told her how sweet her Dad had always been and she agreed. She got his height and her sister is very short like their Mom. Drea said she was glad she got her Dad's height. One funny thing - Dwight had to pull my tank top over my head to get it off. Reminded me of the day Kelly and I were trying clothes on in the living room and she had to pull my top over my head every time I tried one on. It was another beautiful day with some coolness in the air in spite of the hot sun. Hope it will stay like this awhile longer. Dread the really hot weather we usually get. Page called me from her new cell phone. I sent her a text message and she was happy to learn how to do that too. She is growing up too fast. Lori called again - they are definitely coming one weekend in July. We are looking forward to seeing them. Faye called to see if I plan to go to the family reunion next Sunday. She said Sidney told her he didn't want to go. Alice told her that Monica and hubby would take her down. Faye was worried because she doesn't want to go if some of the rest of us don't. I assured her that I was going for a short period of time. I think Douglas, Jessie and Kelly plan to go too but I'm not sure.

Oops - just lost another day.....

I' I have lost more time. For some reason I thought today was Saturday. It could be a lot worse. I got an email from Faye asking me about directions to the family reunion this year. I responded with a
copy to my cousin Evelyn telling her that she will have to give us all the address since my GPS was stolen when my car was broken into. It will be so hard not having Dwayne with us. He and his siblings were always making sure everything was set up and going right. Last year we had it in a new place and because of their hard work, it went very well. We talked one time about how our Mom's would be disappointed in us if we didn't continue this tradition with our families. I can't remember my Mom missing any of the family reunions she went to.  I love the picture of Dwayne and his beloved Joy. The one in the yellow shirt shows the brown eyes most of us got from our Perkinson side.  He got his height from his beautiful, sweet Mom. The one with me in the middle shows Evelyn beside me.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Aunt Eunice and her family.  When Dwayne and I found out we both had been diagnosed with cancer, it was a shock.  Sadly, cancer is a word that is all too familiar to dear Evelyn.  It was such a shock with Dwayne - he has always been a healthy person and when his rib broke when he bent over on the lawnmower to pick up a stick, it led to the diagnoses. He was in Stage 4 and  didn't respond well to treatments.  After I found out about him, I called and we spoke briefly.  I look back and try to remember more about it. I was in such a bad place myself at the time, I doubt I will ever recall everything. When I let myself think about it, I have to move my mind away pretty quick.  I am looking into getting one of the zero gravity chairs I've heard about. I think it would come in handy at the meetings and would allow me somewhere to sleep if we went out of town.  I've looked on-line and found I can get one much cheaper than I first thought. I do want a good one though. If it works like I hope, I will be able to sit comfortably for longer periods of time. I'm thinking positive now. If this chair works out, I'll be able to take it to the reunion.  I would also take it down East when we go to visit GG.  And maybe take it to the convention so I can sit for longer periods of time.  We'll see.  Dwight really wants to go fishing next week. After today, I realized he "needs" to go fishing in a big way. He asked me to look at some of his invoices and then got quite agitated about how he wanted to communicate with a customer. It took me awhile but I think I have it all worked out so he can go. Deb will spend Monday night with me but is going down East Tuesday. JudyC can't help because her hubby is having a colonoscopy. Yikes. Whew - Geral is going to spend the night with me Tuesday and take me to my early morning appointment at Duke on Wednesday. I'm glad I thought about her because I've really been missing her lately. I love this picture of her with out beloved Jeri. Hopefully Dwight will be home in time to take me to the afternoon appointment but if not, she said she would. "Problem solved!" I cancelled the therapy appointment on Thursday. I'm going to try to leave Thursdays open so I can feel like going to the meeting that night. I also cancelled it because I want to be home when Sandy brings her study over. I'm really looking forward to sitting in on this particular study with her Aunt. Dwight is eating his prime rib, fries and nice salad from Outback. He said it is real good. He is very excited about going fishing and I'm very happy it worked out.I will close this with a picture Patsy sent me from her "cottage by the sea". They are painting it this beautiful blue. The trim she picked out is going to look fabulous!!! They are getting closer and closer to when they will move down for good. I know she is getting so excited! Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight. I haven't been as active today but plan to rectify that tomorrow. "Buenas noches"

Acupuncture and Lymphoma Oncologist...

Interesting day I guess. I did learn a valuable lesson today - don't schedule any afternoon appointments on Thursdays. Especially if you have morning ones also. We started this morning with my Acupuncture. My pain has been pretty significant again lately. When I described it - she became very proactive and took a long time to work on the scar tissue behind my scar.

Dwight came in to get a few pictures when she finished. That is hard for him because he really hates needles of all kinds. I need to schedule an appointment for next week and then she will be going on vacation. We talked about my doing one more therapy session with the physical therapists and then just continue doing it myself. I noticed today that the fluid seems to be trapped right under my ear. It was very painful this afternoon. We came home for an hour and then went to my second appointment with my Lymphoma Oncologist. My numbers still looked good. Even better - my blood pressure was great!  I let them know I would be getting a Cat Scan on the 29th.  I am grateful that nothing has changed significantly in this area. By the time we got home, my pain was at an all time high so Dwight rushed to the drug store to get me some liquid Tylenol.  Thank goodness I can take that between my Oxy. I went to sleep and slept through the first part of the meeting.   That was disappointing since I was all prepared to go tonight.  Dwight felt like I needed the sleep more. I wore one of my new outfits Kelly ordered for me from JJill today.  Thankfully, I have no appointments for tomorrow. Kelly called and we had a nice long chat about something going on at work.  She wanted my advice on a Human Resource subject.  We brainstormed a bit and she worked through how she was going to handle things.  Such a smart young woman.  I told her that her Dad talked to Matt about building a ladder to use when we are down at the coast in August.  We can put the ladder in the water when we want to swim, take it out and store it under the sink on the dock when we don't need it and put it in the shed when we leave.  Maybe they will do it while they are down this weekend. Debbie and Ruby cleaned my house yesterday. So nice of them. They even visited for a little bit before they had to go home and get ready for a study.  Dwight bought some fresh corn today and had a feast for dinner. He had left-over grilled pork chops and potato soup from last night with the corn and butter. He said he hurt himself with the corn. I do love the first corn of the season. I am so ready to start eating again. I'm sure I will gain some of the weight I've lost back.  Miya is sound asleep on my legs, Dwight is snoring up a storm on the couch and I'm wide awake.  The pain is coming back so I'm waiting to take some pain med before I try to sleep again. Jessie told me there is a chance Doug's work schedule may change for the better starting next month.  At this point, he has been having to work some Saturdays which makes it hard to plan things for the weekend.  Hopefully starting next month, he will not have to work any Saturdays which will make it easier for them to come visit on the weekends.  Missing all my babies....

Come See, Come Saw.....

I've heard this phrase most of my life and decided to see where it came from. After typing come see, come saw in a google search I found - “Comme ci, comme ca” (pronounced “kohm see, kohm sah”) is a French phrase meaning, literally, “like this, like that.” That which is “comme si, comme sa” is barely adequate, better than nothing but not by much. To use the phrase properly one would extend their palm just above their waist and tilt it from side to side while saying “comme si, comme sa.”  At least I've always used it properly. I'm sad to say that is basically how I've been feeling since Friday night. Kelly went to Target last week and picked up a few tops and slacks for me to try on and see what my size is now. Then a package came right before she went home and it was some clothes she had ordered for me from J Jill. She returned the ones that were too big and washed the ones she liked on me and hung them up to dry before she left. She had ordered two dresses in tall and I had to explain why they were too long. I'm no longer tall! Then she went into my closet and got started pulling things out that no longer fit and putting them into a big bag for later. At one point, we were standing in the living room in our underpants and bras trying things on. Yeah - the biggest mirror in the house is in the living room. Dwight came home just in time to catch us in the middle of getting dressed again. That turned out to be my work-out that day. I could get tops over my head but had to have help getting them back off. I had to laugh as I thought about how many times I've pulled clothes over my children's heads. I was feeling so positive since Kelly had gotten me walking again but sadly, had another setback. At one point, I was afraid I had a virus of some kind and maybe I did. After thinking about it though I believe I may have caused it. After having my blood pressure checked throughout the week, I sent the results to my doctor who was pleased also. He wanted me to have it checked several more times but thinks I can stay off the medication. I asked him about another medication and he stressed that he didn't want me to change anything else too soon. In trying to figure out why I was feeling so bad, I think I know what has happened. I was already coming off one of the two narcotic drugs I've been on, then I started coming off the BP med and THEN - I decided to cut one of my pills I normally take back a little. I should have waited to cut that one back but it had been almost a week so I decided to suck up and let it ride. I will try to be more careful in the future.

Kelly was so relaxed when she went home and one reason is she had already taken Friday off. Her visit with us was pretty relaxing for her. She took an art class after she got home and sent me a picture of the results. I love it. I also love how relaxed her voice is these days. Yesterday was busy - I had Acupuncture at 11:00am, we stopped at Costco (I stayed in the car) to pick up Kleenex (I go through tons of those), papers towels and Ensure. Then Dwight drove me out to see Marlan for a few minutes. I also got to see her daughter Briana and beautiful granddaughters. I'm sitting in her rocking chair that I laid claim to many years ago when we first became friends. Briana keeps saying it is hers but I know it will be mine. Just kidding. Marlan and I both love comfortable rocking chairs. I have a picture of me in it holding her youngest son when he was a baby. She sat in the other rocking chair beside me and I started laughing as I thought about how we must look sitting there holding hands and rocking away. Dwight snapped a picture with his phone. I look forward to that time we will both be healthy again, sitting on a porch somewhere - maybe at Doug's house in the mountain or at the coast somewhere rocking and talking with a nice glass of KJ. I hope Kelly recognizes the top and pants she bought me. After we left Marlan's, we stopped by Judy's for her to check my BP. It was still good! She was outside with her youngest daughter's babies - they were swimming in a little pool. I see pictures of them all the time on FB but hardly get to see them up close and personal. Judy explained that Charli didn't have a bathing suit at her house so she was swimming in shorts. I instantly had a flashback memory I shared with Judy. My mother used to make me bloomer shorts out of chicken feed sack material. She also made me a dress one time. They put the feed in very nice fabric so women could use it to make their children clothes. In the summer time, I lived in little bloomer shorts and that's all. Our house was up the hill beside a little country store. My Mom sent me to the store to pick something up for her one day and as I was walking closer to the store, all of a sudden I realized I didn't have a top on. It had never bothered me before but I think I was five and all of a sudden, I felt embarrassed. I ran back to the house and got a shirt before I would go back. Judy laughed and said she had the very same experience when she was little. Always ran around with nothing on but shorts and then one day she realized she didn't have a shirt on. Simpler, innocent times. After we left Judy's we got to my dental appointment right on time. She could only be so thorough and noted that my mouth being so dry has made the plaque a lot worse. They want me back in four months - couldn't do x-rays because I can't get my mouth open far enough. It was good to see Wayne though. They have new colors for their scrubs - bright blue. They work so hard to make their patients feel comfortable. Wayne only works on Mondays and Wednesdays and I know the day is coming when he will probably retire. I'll be so sad when that happens. I've tried one of the new Ensure Clear drinks. I like the Blueberry/Pomegranate one. I also tried the Strawberry Shake for a change and it was nice too.  I also noticed I had another little bleed during my Acupuncture.  I have noticed a little difference in my mouth.  Still dry but every so often, it feels little like I'm making a tiny bit of spit.  I hope so.  I looking forward to eating again but know my body might take a little bit of time getting used to it.  Did not sleep well last night at all.  It took awhile getting my pain back under control since I went so long without it yesterday.  Dwight told me to take a nap today but I'm going to try and stay awake hoping I'll sleep better.  Waiting to call Marlan to see how her PET Scan went this morning.  I told her everything I could remember about mine.  Hope she gets answers and a plan being put in motion very soon.  Just got a text message from Patsy - she is back at the coast.  I'll miss her but am very happy for her.  They are going to paint this week. Can't wait to see what color she is going with.  I think that is everything.  Hopefully - I'm caught up on news for awhile. And again - if I've repeated myself about some things - just ignore it and keep on rocking.  Ciao!