Nephew, drawers, beautiful eyes....

It seems like every day for the past few days has started out kind of cloudy but then the sun would break forth followed by a shower in the evening. Today started out gray and cloudy followed by a nice gentle but steady rain. I can't say the sun is out but the sky is much brighter right now. It seems we have had a lot of these gentle rains lately which is great for the flowers, lawns and beautiful trees. I had a surprise visit from Wayne, Jr. today. He looks so good! It was raining pretty steady when he came by with both arms full.

He used the drawer on the left as a pattern for the new drawer he built on the right. He wanted to be sure he got it over here before Page comes home in a few weeks. Mama had tagged her antique chifferobe for me when she died. I already had the white iron bed we slept in as children. It is now Page2's bed.  I didn't have anywhere to put the chifferobe so I gave it to Page who loves it also.  Mama kept hanging clothes in the long side, wash cloths and hand towels in the top mirrowed space and towels in the other drawers.  Page had shelves built into the long side and has kept it with her every place she has lived.

This picture was taken in another apartment she lived in before she downsized to the one she is in now. I think he did a great job. She will paint the drawer and chifferobe. I can't wait to see it when she finishes it.  Mama would be happy to know we still love and use the things she loved.

I almost didn't put this picture in. I wanted to get a picture of him but he insisted on getting one of both of us. It is quite blurry but I told him I was going to put in on my blog. He asked me to send a link so he can keep up with what's going on. I hope he doesn't get too bored reading it. I snatched these next two pictures from FaceBook. The one below is a doll Shel saw in WalMart that was almost scary because it looks so much like her little girl - Aila.  Big brown eyes and perfect little mouth.  The second picture below is little Aila - see the resemblance?

Shel posted this one so it would be easier to see the resemblance. SO CUTE!!!!

The other twin is a little boy who looks a lot like his older brother. We are all having so much fun looking at the daily pictures and videos of these two precious little ones. She was 40 years old when she conceived and delivered. As I mentioned before, she also has an almost 16 year old daughter and 8 or 9 year old son. Dear sweet Keith came by after work and gave my neck the best massage ever. I love this young man...

A good day....

I can honestly say today was a good day.  I decided I was going to the meeting even though my morning was kinda rough.  I called Vera to tell her and she fixed the chair on the back row beside the wall for me.  BigD dropped me off and I got there in time for the prayer.  Keith sat beside me for a little bit and about half way through the WT study, I knew I had to go.  Keith and Lin walked me outside and I called BigD to pick me up.  I got outside just in time to have an "episode" that had ended by the time BigD got there. I'll have to admit - I was EXHAUSTED but happy I made it. After I rested a bit, I visited my deck to check on the flowers.

These two looked really good. We have been having rain almost every evening so they are well watered.

BigD joined me and we walked in the back yard for a few minutes. We planted this little rose busy the year we moved in here back in June of 1975. The small magnolia tree above it started growing as just a little twig when the people across the road took a back hoe to their huge magnolia tree in the front yard. Seeds and pieces of that tree blew all over the place and this one took hold.

See the honeysuckle and the small wisteria tree? They are in a natural area out back. Now that Rie and Brian have moved, I guess we will just let this part stay wild. He had tried clearing it out but nature has a way of surviving. Too much poison oak in there for me.

Page sent me this picture of Page2 via telephone with the caption "Sweet, brilliant and beautiful. How did we get so fortunate?" I have to agree with her. Vera and her hubby visited me yesterday and I gave her hubby a small picture of Page2. Several years ago she was with me for a few weeks. When Vera's hubby and another elder were in the back seat with her, she chatted with them about all kinds of things. She mentioned a science project she did and they both wanted me to send them the pictures of it.

I snatched this picture from Sher's FB - evidently, Miya had taken her chair and according to Sher, made matters worse by sticking her tongue out at her. LOL That's my girl.  BigD has been so good about making sure she gets her heart medication every night.

Overdose .... of TV that is

I have become so used to being in the room with the TV on 24/7 too long.  I will know when I need to stop sleeping in the living room.  It will be when I can't get to sleep because of the TV.  BigD has always wanted to leave the TV on in our bedroom all night and it drove me nuts.  Just could not go to sleep with it on. I know the reason it doesn't keep me awake now is all the medication I've been taking.  As soon as I get  completely off the drugs, I'm sure it will drive me nuts again.

I went on FB today and found this picture Dee had sent me. My Mama. I'm sure this was taken at one of our family reunions in Wake Forest.  I remember this dress but I mostly remember her smile and laughter.  She always had a joke to tell you.  Sometimes they were a little....hmmmm.....trying to find the right word....! Let me just say she heard most of them at work.  She worked the night shift at Liggett and Myers until she retired.  She loved telling BigD the ones that would make his face turn red.  All of our friends who used to spend time with us in our home loved Mama too. She survived raising five women who all had different personalities.  She and Daddy got married young and were together 47 years.  When he died, she told me she had lost her Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, and baby girl and that she had never hurt as much as she did when he died.  I know I have written about Mama on here before.  She is in my heart and I think of her every day.

Rescue, Acupuncture, Surgeon, GG, Kurt.......

I received a picture via telephone from Rie today. I am so happy when I hear from her or see a picture on FB she has posted. I still miss her so much but feel good that she likes where she is now.

She sent it with the following message: "Look at what we rescued in service today! I have never been this close to a baby deer. We were way out in the country today - it felt like unassigned territory. Love Rie". I know how much she loves all animals so I can only imagine how excited she was to help this little one. I scheduled my appointment to receive acupuncture for next week.

I don't think my insurance will cover it and it is very expensive but both my nurse practitioner and surgeon think I should do it. I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said they have had a lot of success in stimulating the salivary glands so I'm really hoping it works. He examined my throat real good but had a problem because of all the "gunk" (his word) down there. So after using a tiny suction tube he was able to see that it still hasn't completely healed which is the reason for some of the pain. He was glad to see I was going to see a Physical Therapist for my neck next week. He thinks it will help get the lymph fluid out of my neck area which causes that pain. The thrush is still running rampart in my mouth and that is getting real old.

I don't think you would like to look at a picture of the actual thrush I've had on my tongue for about 6 weeks now. lol Deb stopped by today and we talked more about GG and the plans for her.  GG will stay another week in Florida with Tony and his wife Andy while they try to get things ready. Andy is a Geriatric Physician and is going to help explain where they are taking her.  We are all feeling a lot of sadness but I can tell her children are trying to do everything for her in the right way.  BigD and I want to support them any way we can. I can only imagine how hard this is for  them.  They are all planning to be there and Deb said she may even spend a night or more with her to start with.  I so hope this works out so everyone  will know she is safe.  We are going to miss her - she has been stopping by every day since I've been sick.

We had a short but sweet visit from Kurt today.  He took the day off and drove down to go to a concert with his lifelong friend. They are going to see a band they both have loved for a long time - Archers of  Loaf. The band got their start at the Cats Cradle in Chapel Hill. He will spend the night with Kev but stop back by on his way home tomorrow evening.  I hope they have fun.

One step forward, two steps back

That pretty much sums how I feel here on a Thursday night or should I say Friday morning as the clock just read 12:01AM. I will change the time. Had a very busy day. The hospital called to ask if I would change my appointment time from 4pm to 1pm and I said sure. Dr. Scher and Kitty took very good care of me. He puts the scope in my nose better than anyone can so I was relieved there were no residents in sight today. After the appointment, we made our way back to the Main Lobby. BigD told them to bring our car (valet parking) and he ran two building away to pick up a prescription for the patches. They are reducing the amount of meds again. Dr. Scher said my throat was red, raw and full of "gunk". He had to suction just to examine it. I had decided go to the meeting tonight but after walking all over the hospital I was whipped, whipped, whipped. My eyes are crossing so I'll sign off for now and hopefully will remember what I wanted to say....or Not.

Was it too much to hope for?

If you look back a few months, you will see a picture of my hand and a comment about how excited I've been that my fingernails have looked good and been strong for the first time in my life. I was having to file them down every 5-7 days because they would get too long. Then one of the thumb nails split right at the bottom so I had to trim it and it looked funny. Then I noticed my pointer fingers were having a similar problem. First it was a tiny little place right where the white started. I was careful hoping it would grow without tearing more. Then the other one did the very same thing but it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to grow it out.

I realized I needed to cut them both and just let them grow back. I had also noticed my cuticles were doing well also and I didn't have to keep pushing and sometimes clipping them. After I cut the two nails, it was obvious I needed to cut them all so they wouldn't look so ridiculous.

So cut them I did. As I was cutting and filing them, I noticed my cuticles aren't looking too good. What the heck??? I wondered why they were getting so long and strong and never could figure it out. Was it one of the medications I'm taking? Was it the Ensure I drink every day? If so - why are they reverting back? I haven't stopped taking anything. Any ideas out there? I'm going to miss my pretty nails. Was it too much to hope for that they would be nice, strong and easy to maintain?

Monday all day long...

I slept pretty good last night and woke feeling a little better which is good - considering how long it was between the pain meds. The only downside to that is it takes longer to bring the pain back under control. I worked on my neck myself as much as I could and then BigD agreed work on it for a few minutes. It really does help for awhile. Judy brought me a book several weeks ago and I finally just picked it up and read it this afternoon. I finished it a few minutes ago. It is the first time I've read anything like this in a long time. I wish it didn't have the "salty" language AND it wasn't as funny as the earlier ones were.   

I called my local library yesterday and had my name put on the waiting list for Margaret Maron's latest book. She told me they have Janet's #18 on the shelves too so I may see if someone will take me over to pick them up. I spoke to Roseanne today for a few minutes. She sounded good which made me feel better. Hopefully Bri will be able to take this time to recover and be as good as new in a few months.  I told Roseanne that I have decided to adopt one of her "coping" phrases for myself - "it is what it is". I guess that pretty much sums things up - right? We both laughed. I sent a text message to Pam and Deb asking if they got home from Florida alright. Heard some disturbing news about a friend tonight. Can't talk about it but can't stop thinking about it either.  Hope it isn't as bad as it might be - putting it on the back shelf for now. Talked to Leah and Page tonight.  They both sounded good.  I especially love hearing Page sound so rested and relaxed. I miss all my babies!