Pot Bellied Stove / Water Cooler

sannferris

Good Morning. A strange new normal...has happened six out of the last eight mornings. John gets up several times throughout the early-mid morning and then goes back to bed. Same routine, "what was that noise"? I either didn't hear anything or I'm able to tell him what's going on that sounds different. "Poor animals", especially because it's raining and miserable outside.
"What day is it"? I tell him. "How'd it get to be Tuesday"? Because yesterday was Monday. "I don't why I ask, what difference does it make"? I don't know!

John just went back to bed again, don't know how long that will last, sometimes he'll go back to sleep to another couple hours and sometimes he's back up again in about 20 minutes.

Yesterday's appointment was lots of paperwork. I had to read through pages of consent form and initial each page and sign and date the last page. Set up the post-op appointment for Friday, March 24th, and also have one with my oncologist on Monday, March 27th.
While I was there, at the huge hospital complex, I walked around to find exactly where to go next Tuesday for the surgery. Since I need to check in at 5:30 am, I didn't want to have to wonder if I knew where I was going with a time crunch that early in the morning. I found a way through the buildings from the parking garage, so if it's raining, we can stay inside and dry the whole way. If it's not raining, there's a straight shot from the garage to the correct building, but it's all outside and uncovered. When John and I were there years ago to have the port put in for chemo, we got soaked since I didn't know my way around at that point and we walked straight across from the parking garage to the big tower.

I need to go back and browse through the comments to refresh my memory of things I wanted to say. I should have taken some notes.

Debora, I do remember that you forgot to add your 5 letter word over at the game. I was going to make up a word for you, but didn't. ha ha ha

sannferris

John's up again, so I probably won't be back until maybe tomorrow.

arobed53

Ralph had a good day in Kansas City. He and friend went to 4 different bookstores and found a number of books - most on the clearance shelves. My friend and I had a nice time - toured the pregnancy crisis center and ate Chinese and another friend joined. Good food at a good price. I had the sweet and sour shrimp. Got home and went to Good News Club. It went fine but the one teaching had a problem with her eyes (had a hard time reading). It got better but she has appointments to check things out now. Got home and Alan called to see if I could keep Ava while they went to parent teacher conferences with the others so did that and Ralph got home about 10 minutes after she left. A fun day.

Wednesday Arlene and I went to the Historical Library and went through the box of Echoes. It didn't take that long to do but another step in the process. We went and checked out a street we wondered where it went, stopped at a thrift store and then went and ate at Billy Simms BBQ. It was really good. We both got the brisket and baked beans. I had the afternoon at home and then went to church in the evening.

Today I've been at home except when I took the recycling in. Ralph went in to Aven's preschool for grandparents day, ate at McDonalds with her and then went to a bookstore and a God will store and found books. We spend a lot of time with books I guess. In about an hour, we and Alan's kids will head for the REA annual meeting. I'll let you know how that goes.

Sheryl, sorry you're getting more rain so you're stuck inside. Send the rain here. Smart to figure out where you are going in the hospital. Thanks for letting me know about the 5 letter game omission.

We had a few cold days and now it has warmed back up again - 70 and breezy right now.

sannferris

Good Morning. Yesterday was the one sunny, warm day all this week and I spent it sitting in another doctor's office. I looked out the windows in the waiting room at the beautiful weather, dreaming of all the outdoor stuff I could be getting done if I were home, but I was stuck inside. Oh well, there will be other days. Supposed to start raining again today by 9 am and continue through tomorrow. Sunday is forecast to be dry and nice, which will be great for when Norma arrives, but the outside chores will not get done before she gets here.

The radiation oncologist will not commit one way or the other, to any radiation, until after the surgery and he can see if it's necessary. That's what I had expected, but the other doctor wanted me to see him right away and get his opinion. I'll see him again 3 weeks after surgery and we'll go from there. If I do need radiation, it wouldn't start until at least another 3 weeks after that because I'd need to heal more first.
While at that office, I got the schedule for my blood thinners. I stopped the warfarin (pills) two days ago and will start the shots tomorrow morning, morning and evening, up until Monday morning. After surgery, start taking the pills again, plus the shots again starting Wednesday night, Thursday morning and evening and Friday morning. I go in for a blood test on Friday and will determine what to do next depending on what my numbers are.

I got more shopping done on my way home and I believe that I have everything necessary for having meals planned for the next 2 weeks. Of course, since Mom is not coming with Norma, we may go out to dinner a few times as well. I had told Mom that if she came, she would not have to go out for any reason. I know John would rather eat at home also, so we rarely go out to dinner anymore, but with Norma here, it will be a real treat.

I never did go back to read all the posts to remember what I wanted to comment about, so I'm letting that go. We'll start from here.

Debora, glad that Ralph found such great deal on books. That project sounds like it keeps Ralph busy and is ongoing so he has a purpose. Nice ministry to send books to people who would otherwise not have access to them.

Marcie, what will you do with all the bedroom space? Will you refurnish it with a new bedroom set? I'm afraid that if I had more space, I'd just have more clutter. I have a friend who has a beautiful home and every time I see it, every room is like a magazine. Picture perfect with all the detailed furnishings. A sitting area in the bedroom with throw pillows on the chairs. I don't know where they live, because it's just too neat there. (The husband's garage is meticulously neat also). Eerie!

I heard from Tammy and she got a new job, here's part of her email:

Well for my good news I just started a new job on 3/6/17, I am working as a Quality Assurance Assistant to the manager. The company I'm working for is a Homeopathy Pharmaceutical manufacturer, the name is OHM PHARMA, Inc. here in Mineral Wells just 12 minutes from my house. I had to do a lot of reading about homeopathic medicine and all of the governing regulations that cover it. Then I had to read all of their Standard Operating Procedures, now I'm in the process of creating a Quality Manual for the company and will be continuing to work on bringing the Quality System into compliance.

I'm no longer riding my motorcycle, but I haven't been able to sell it yet either. I still need to get my garden up to par so that I can get my veg's planted. I'm not really sure what I'm going to plant, except I know I will be doing yellow squash but that's it so far.


I don't know the reason for her not riding anymore, I hope she didn't have an accident or a scare that put her off it. I know our friend, the other John, keeps talking about it being time for him to stop riding. Just getting older and reflexes are not as good and wants to stop before an accident happens.

I guess that's it for now.

arobed53

Well, the annual meeting evening went well. The food was good, Julie helped us get the 4 kids through the line. They all cleaned their plates so they could have dessert and then we took them to the Kids Korner. We stayed through the evening, picked up our thank-you gifts, checked the kids out and went home. Ava was limping - she'll take some time to adjust to being without the cast and was acting like it hurt so she just crawled around while playing and then we carried her to the car. It was about 10 when I got to their house so I hurried them to bed and they were asleep by the time their parents got home about 10:45. They don't have a TV and I had the card with the wifi password in the car so just walked around their basement while I waited. Got a few more steps in for the day.
Friday morning we went to town. I had a short list but still it was almost 12 when we got home. While went and gathered eggs, I unloaded the car and heated up the rest of our leftovers for dinner. In the afternoon I got the stuff from town put away and picked up the house (again). We finished the taco soup for an early supper and headed it to see "Singing In The Rain". The kids did a really good job. I didn't realize Thomas had one of the main parts. It was a fun evening but a late evening.
Today I did the food stuff I needed to do for tomorrow. I cut up carrots, cut up two pineapples, sliced two onions and made an eclair cake. I got the third table up and got the chairs around where they needed to go. 4 was the wedding of 2 kids - well adults since they are 34 who both grew up in our church . Beautiful wedding and delicious reception meal. We had fun visiting with those at our table and were still home by about 6:30. So have just spent the evening relaxing. All the kids come tomorrow - fun time.

Sheryl, I didn't realize you give yourself shots. You've got everything lined up in sounds like and exciting that it's almost time for Norma to come. Meals lined up for two weeks - wow. Great planning. Praying the surgery goes well. I know when Norma's there, you'll want to spend the time with her but hope you pop in to let us know how it goes.
Yes, the book project does keep Ralph busy. I hold my breath sometimes when I think of how much the shipping will be but it's always worked out before.
Thanks for sharing about Tammy and her new job. It's keeping her busy.

Well, it's about time to head for bed here. Good night.

isyvanek

Hi All, it has been warm this week in the 80's. It is supposed to rain on Tuesday and cool back down to the 70's for a week or so. I love the 70's so I'm very happy. I had a really fun day today. Dan and I got out early to a hazardous waste event and disposed of all our fluorescent tubes. It went very smoothly. Then we went to Trader Joe's, and Sprouts and to a beauty supply to buy my hair color. At 12:30 I met several gals I worked with about 20 years ago at the Red Robin restaurant. We had a really nice lunch then one of my old friends and I strolled around the mall and shopped at JC Penney. It was really nice to see and spend time with everyone. We'll have to do that again soon.

Debra, what is Wheatstate Manor? Nice that Ralph had a good time in Kansas City and you got to spend some good time with the wife and friend and had some good Chinese for dinner. How was REA? (what is REA)!

Sheryl, you must be really excited to see Norma. Very wise to walk around the hospital and get familiar with everything so you don't have that added stress and won't have to get wet. Wow, the friend with the super neat house does sound very eerie! Kinda "stepford wives". Remember that movie? Thanks for sharing how Tammy is doing. I've been praying for you and John and the surgery, etc. I know it is all going to go really well! Is John still keeping up with the "new normal"?

Marcie, hope your having a great weekend!

Well, have a wonderful week ladies!

sannferris

Good Morning, Oh Yes! I am very excited to have Norma here. And, John is too, even though he forgets and asks if my Mom is coming, that freaked him out, so when I say No, he's all excited that it's just Norma. He loves when Norma or Nancy comes, but is hesitant about any other visitors. We pick Norma up today at 1:30 from Portland Airport. She's extremely excited too, when she called Friday during her morning break, she was excited to count down to 2 days, Yesterday, she called while packing her suitcase, asking how many sweaters and jackets should she bring. Can hardly wait to get away, although, I know that she would much rather come to a sunny warm spot, but our chilly rain will have to do this time. She's always cold, so I told her to plan on layering with sweaters. If she needs a warm winter jacket, we have extras, she doesn't need to bring a heavy coat. We'll have a wonderful time together.

I have not gotten everything crossed off my list before she arrives, so windows and floors can wait. I also wanted to clean the oven and that did not happen yet either. Either it will wait til I heal and can manage it, or Norma will have something to do...Ha, some vacation! Come 1200 miles to do housework. She said that it's different when it's not your own home, but I think housework is housework, YUCK!

I'm planning on having someone to play rummikub with, since John can't manage any games anymore, I haven't played since the last time Norma visited.

The shots are temporary. I had to stop the Coumadin (pills) 5 days before surgery, but they still want some blood thinners so I don't get another blood clot. The shots are faster acting and leave the body quicker, so I do it until Monday morning, and then, even though I'll be back on the pills Wednesday, I continue the shots until Friday so the Coumadin has a chance to get back into my system. I gave myself the shots for 2 weeks, back in 2014, when I first got the blood clots in my leg, and it's not bad at all. Sounds much worse than it is. The needles are so small and sharp that I don't even feel it go in, just a slight sting as I push the plunger and the meds to in. After Friday, I'll be done with that.

Not knowing exactly how I'll be feeling after surgery, but since I'll be limited in physical activity, I'll probably be on the computer more during the day and keep you guys updated. Strange thing hit me this morning. I made a fresh pot of coffee and when I went to pour into my mug, the pot seemed extremely heavy. Wow, if it's more than 5 pounds, I'm not suppose to lift it. Will I need someone to serve me coffee in the morning???? ha ha ha

I'm back, John went back to bed. Next time he gets up, I'll talk him into taking a shower. He needs to smell fresh to go pick up Norma.
Yes, my new normal is still hanging around, I don't like it much, but that's the way it is. I do my best not to let John get me as depressed as he is. I wish I could wave a wand and have him look on the bright side of things. I wish I could do that for my Mom too, the two of them are acting so much alike, but when I use the other as an example to each of them, they each recognize it's rotten behavior but don't reflect it onto themselves and change.

I put a list of meals on the refrigerator, some I have prepared ahead of time and some are store bought in the freezer (Cornish hens and Safeway lasagna) and of course, some Blue Apron meals. I changed the (3) 2-person meals per week to the (2) family meals per week. The family meals feed four, so if the three of us have a meal, there should be one serving left for my breakfast the next morning. Neither Norma nor John eat breakfast, but are ready to eat a big lunch about 1 pm. I need my breakfast. I also have a rewards ($10.00 off) for Kitchen Table Café and a Groupon for a restaurant up the road about 6 miles off of Interstate 5, $20.00 value (I paid 9.00 for it), so we can go out a couple times and John won't have a fit when the bill comes. I still cringe when he fusses over menu prices, but continues to spend a lot of money on tools that he will never, ever use.

Isabella, yes, I thought of the "Stepford Wives" also, but Marilyn is so down to earth in every other aspect, she's not robotic. A truly great friend and apparently takes great pride in her home and family. She has never worked outside the home and many years ago, when we first met, I mistakenly asked, "Do you work?" She gave me a look that pierced right through me and said "Yes, I have a husband, 2 sons and a home". I was set straight!!!!!! Her husband and John are close friends, so Marilyn and I have grown to love each other very much. She's a wonderful person.

I better close for now, I still have a couple loads of laundry to do and some dishes to wash. Everything else will wait.

sannferris

Good Morning. Sorry I didn't make it over here yesterday...had a great day with John and Norma. Norma arrived safely Sunday afternoon and we had a nice dinner and evening, visiting. Yesterday, I did more laundry and cut John's hair and beard and got him in the shower, so EVERYTHING is clean now. Norma cut my hair and it's perfect. Short and easy to handle, but not too short that I have to wait a week for a little growth for it to look the way I like it. When I go to Great Clips, I have them cut a lot more off, but it looks it's best a week or two after my visit there.

Anyway, Norma is in the shower and we are headed to the hospital within the hour. Check in at 6 am and surgery is scheduled for 8 am. Norma will stay until after I'm in recovery and back to a room. Once she has a "report" of how it all went, she'll come home to John and be here with him for the night. They are so funny, they already have their dinner planned together...Sloppy Joe's. I told John that I want him to come with Norma tomorrow to pick me up and bring me home. Another good excuse to get him out of the house, but he won't have to be at the hospital too long, not like if he went today and waited through the surgery. He'll be better staying at home today.

I'll check back as soon as I can, depending on how I feel tomorrow when I get home, at least I can pop in and tell you I'm home. Hopefully, I'll chat more Thursday.

sannferris

Good Evening, I'm still awake, usually I'm in bed and off to dreamland by this time, but I guess I'm still all hyped up.

Norma and I arrived at the hospital Tuesday morning at 5:50 am to check in for the surgery at 8:15 am.

Surgery started closer to 8:40 am and Norma went out to the waiting area and a café right downstairs. Both surgeons had Norma’s cell phone number and she received a phone call from the oncology surgeon at 9:25 to tell her that the mass was removed and I was doing well. The plastic surgeon called her later that the reconstruction all went well and I was in recovery at 10:30 am. I got back to my room by noon and Norma stayed until 4:00 pm. She went home to be with John and fixed Sloppy Joes for dinner. They are so funny, they had planned out their Tuesday night meal on Sunday.

I’m feeling well today, remarkably well. I slept quite a bit yesterday. I know Norma was with me throughout the afternoon, but I kept dozing off. I also know that they brought me dinner and I said that I wanted to sit in a chair to eat, but fell asleep several times during that ordeal. I finally ate some cold dinner and maybe got a little more than half of it eaten before I gave up and went back to bed. I was awake each and every hour throughout last night, the nurses asked me how my pain was and each time I was able to say “I have no pain”.

I woke up at 4:30 am and stayed awake the rest of the day. My room had one full wall of full length window, so I saw the sun rise and it was beautiful. Saw the surgeon at 8 am and then had breakfast…STAYED AWAKE FOR THAT…IT WAS DELICIOUS! Took a shower and got bandages changed and was ready to be released by 11 am. Norma and John came to pick me up and we got home in time for lunch.

I have always been told that Day 3 and 4 are harder than Day 1 and 2 after a procedure, so I’ll see how things go tomorrow. I am taking pain meds. I have a post-op appointment Friday with the Plastic Surgeon and expect that at least one of the drains will be removed. Another post-op appointment on Monday with my Oncology Surgeon and then we’ll go from there.

I thank you all so much for all your thoughts and prayers. I feel God’s Hand touching me with Healing Force.

sannferris

Good Morning. Even after staying up very late, for me anyway, I went to bed after 10 pm, I still woke up at my usual 5:30 am and am still feeling very good. I wasn't sure how I'd feel in my own bed, did not think I could move around in my usual positions, with these drains hanging from my sides and all. But, I slept well, so thankful for that. Today, no plans, will be a stay at home day. Taking pain meds every 4 hours just to make sure I stay comfortable. I filled the Rx's, might as well use them. I am itchy already though, driving me crazy.

John was smart yesterday, instead of trying to get hay out to the hay racks to the llamas in the mud, he put hay in a wheel barrow and left it on the concrete in front of the barn and opened a gate and had the llamas come to the hay. Sometimes, even through the dementia, he thinks clearer than I do.

I'll get back to more emails, there are a lot of people to update. I am so blessed to have so much support and prayer.

sannferris

Good Morning. A rougher night last night, some pain and took a pill at 2:45 am. Now I'm pain-free, but drowsy. Norma will drive me to the doctor's appointment this morning and we'll stop at the store on our way home. John will not be going with us to this appointment, but he might go with us to Monday's. More news after my appointment.

mygnsac

Hi everyone!

Sheryl, I'm so happy to hear the operation went well. I sure hope you are pain-free and feeling better soon!!!

Well, the door guys are done. We have new doors throughout the house. They also installed the door in my bedroom leading to the spare room. Pretty neat. I've been purging stuff out of that spare bedroom like crazy. Dad and I and going to load it all up and take it to Good Will tomorrow or Sunday. I've also been bringing stuff in to work and leaving it on the "Free-Table". Mostly things like stuffed animals and pictures. We have tons of holiday decorations in their that I also plan to get rid of. Just taking it a little at a time.

We've had pretty mild weather this week, but woke up to rain and wind this morning. It's just a drizzly-drazzly kind of a day.

The Grille at work is having their usual Friday salmon salad special, so am having that for lunch. Not the best, but edible.

I didn't realize I hadn't been here so long! I got all caught up on all of your posts!!

Back to work. Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

arobed53

How's everyone doing? This week has sped by. All the kids were here for dinner last Sunday and we had a good time - did hamburgers and hot dogs with an eclair cake for dessert. My baked beans turned out the best I think they ever have. I enjoyed not having anywhere to go in the evening.
Monday afternoon we went to town. Ralph went to Barnes and Noble to use a gift card and I went to Lori's to help fold laundry and help in the garage. Lori told me Dairy Queen was giving away free ice cream cones so we went and got one. Sat down at a table outside with a mom and two kids. I asked if it was okay to sit with them. She then said do I know you? Are you Lori's mom? Which I am - it was someone who used to work with Lori and when she heard my voice she was pretty sure.
This week is spring break but three of us who help with Good News Club went in that afternoon and cleaned the building we use. We did more work upstairs since we know the couple that are getting married there tomorrow. Lots of dead flies. Lifted up one blind and the window sill was full of them. Yuck.
Wednesday it was work on the Echoes. Now we're going through ones people have given me since I did the laminating to see if there are any we are missing. The evening was church. The Youth Group got in late from work project so Thomas got dropped off at our house (I didn't wait up) so he was sleeping downstairs when I got up. Ralph took him home late morning. I went with my sister to her diabetes appointment - she's doing well and we stopped at Walmart.
This morning DH and I went for our usual errand day and have been home the rest of the day. My printer has not been working right - would not pull a piece of paper through. So Ralph took it to the farm and blew all the dust out and now it's working. Yay. I had a life story I needed to print off so he could help me edit to put in the Echoes. The man attended out church many years ago so it's more the older ones that know him so we have it down from a 2 1/2 pages to around one.
When home I've kept up with the usual stuff and tried to do some things but have been slow going. We got a little bit of rain tonight - could use a lot more. Tomorrow morning I'll straighten the house. Then in the afternoon we have a wedding to attend and then plan to go to a fundraiser for a guy who needs a kidney transplant. And then it will be time to start a new week. Found out the mother of the bride (who is a brittle diabetic) was found comatose this afternoon so they took her to the hospital via ambulance. Haven't heard an update yet but am hoping she is okay and all can go on with the wedding.

The man we did the lifestory of was 93 so lived a good long life. He outlived his wife and all his children - the last one died last summer in a gyro crash - but it was a brain bleed that killed him not the crash. But the following paragraph from his lifestory really hit me - 3 children and almost all passed away 10 year span.

"As parents. Herman and Bert's courage and faith in the Lord's goodness was sorely tested when in early June, 1968, Paul died at age 15 in an accident on his minibike/scooter – his homebuilt pride and joy! Then in October, 1971, Janet, at age 21, lost her life in an auto accident in Goshen, Indiana. New year's eve, 1978, Jim also had a bad car accident, leaving him in a coma for over 2 weeks until brain surgery allowed him to awaken and eventually make a full recovery to take over the family farm."
Makes me very thankful for having all my children doing fine.

Exciting thing happening this evening. It's raining - a nice one - hope it goes all night - I'll put up with the mud. It will be corn planting time in about 3 weeks so moisture is very needed.

Isabella, glad it was fun to take the light out to the hazardous waste. Everything else you did really did sound fun. You pack a lot into your weekends.
Wheat State Manor is the nursing home in the nearby town. It's owned by 8 of the local churches and so it's easy to have the 4-H club help some too. REA stands for Rural Electric Cooperative. It was a fun evening. The kids all ate well and they had fun playing. I forgot how long it all lasts. It was 10 before we got the kids home so I hurried them to bed. And Ava's leg was bothering her. She crawled around while playing and our son-in-law was nice enough to carry her out to the car and I carried her into the house.

Sheryl, so glad the surgery went well and you are doing quite well. Now I understand about the shots. Cool that Norma and John have a good time together and that he knows who the she is. And you are doing a good job of listening to your body. Smart to stay on top of the pain. Praying it all continues to go well. I'm sure your time with Norma is going way too fast.

Marcie, cool that the door guys are all done. I pictured them knocking out the whole wall. So, now are there two doors into the room. Yay on all the sorting and stuff you are getting done. No reason to hurry and overwhelm yourself. Be fun to hear how you use the room when it's ready for you. Nice to share some at work.

sannferris

Good Late Night/Wee Early Hours of the Morning. I went to bed at 8 pm, but woke up shortly after midnight and am still awake, so, decided to make the best of it and come over here. I am counting my blessings...still feel great considering I had major surgery. God's Healing is Amazing. This morning, er, Friday morning, yes, Friday...yesterday morning, Norma drove me to the post-op appt. to the plastic surgeon. He took a quick look at his work and said all is well and he'd send in a nurse to remove both drains. Yay...Freeedom!!! It just feels better, plus, I can now take my showers by myself and not worry where those drains are and not to tug on them too hard. That nurse had magic hands, when she pulled the right one, I didn't feel a thing. The left one was felt, but not really very painful. I'm still wearing the compression bra, so lots of pressure, but worse than any pain is the itching. Oh, The Itching!!!! Whaaaaaaaa


My main post surgery concern right now is a bowel movement. I am very regular and had a good one Monday, day before surgery, but have not had one since. Sorry if this is TMI. They prescribed laxatives to counteract the pain killers, but so far, the pills are not helping. I just drank an 8 ounce glass of water with double dose of Miralax in it. I trust that tomorrow, ALL will come out in the end. Sorry again, TMI.

Marcie, I'm like Debora, I thought they were knocking down an entire wall to enlarge your bedroom. If they just installed a door between the rooms, now, I'm picturing your bedroom with this huge, ENORMOUS, walk-in closet. How nice.

Tomorrow, oops, I mean later on today, (this is difficult to keep my days straight), Norma and I are going to make Kata. It's an Armenian bread/coffee cake. At times, we eat it with cheese for a meal, or can just have it with coffee as a treat. A yeast dough with sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts rolled up and cut in a jelly-roll like form. Yummy stuff, I haven't made it in a very long time, would not fit into a NutriMirror frame of mind, too much white flour, Crisco shortening, white sugar, etc. Not healthy in the least, but what a fantastic treat. We'll start the morning by making the dough and will have hours to do something else while the dough rises. Later in the afternoon, we'll put it together, but then it needs to rise again before baking. We'll probably get it all done by nightfall, by the time all the cookie sheets make it into and out of the oven. An All-Day affair, but we'll have fun. It will bring back memories because our family joke is that Dad would come through the kitchen wanting a "taste", and Mom would only give him the dry "ends" because all the good middle parts would be for company. When Norma and I make it, our "ends" are still packed full of the filling and nice and big and delicious. When Dad would come to our homes, he used to say that we don't make it right, our "ends" tasted "funny", not dry.

My Aunt Esther is doing better and better. Soon, she'll need to be moved from rehab. Their big decision now is whether to have in-home care or have her moved to another facility. Apparently, she still needs enough help that she just can't come home and be on her own.

On our way home from the appointments today, (oops, I mean Friday) Norma and I stopped at Fred Meyer and she bought me a garlic press and got herself a zester. I've been raving about my gadgets and she about hers, so we decided that we each needed to have what the other one has also. We made a Blue Apron meal and used the garlic press already, wow, what a time saver when you have to mince garlic. She packed her zester to take home with her. My meal planning has turned out well, I have a list on the refrigerator door and we're marking off the meals as we eat them. I think that Monday, we'll talk John into going with us and stop at Kitchen Table Café after my appointment.

Ha! I discovered another new dilemma. Monday, after I gave John a haircut and beard trim, he got in the shower, but I let him alone. Can't do that anymore, when I kissed him goodbye Tuesday morning to go to the hospital, he still stunk. He did get into the shower, but I don't think he shampooed. His hair smells bad. I guess I have to really watch each step of the process to ensure that he gets clean. Old food in his beard is super gross. I had no idea that this would be a problem. Once again, I'll turn this into a romantic event and get in the shower with him...I'll make sure he's clean and I can get him to scrub my back, oh how good that will feel. Win, Win. One thing I want to be sure is that my home doesn't turn into a stinky old people's home.

I'm drowsy now, so I'll head back to bed and see how that goes.

arobed53

So happy - we got rain all night - a nice one - nice puddles to muddles through. I probably will wait till Monday to take out the trash.

Sheryl, getting that BM going again is important. So not TMI to me. Have fun making your kata. It sounds delicious and a lot of work. Fun to buy new gadgets. Glad the meal plan is working so well. Hope John will go with you Monday. Get romance anyway you can. Great at turning a "problem" into a plus.

sannferris

Hi everybody, just want you to know that I'm back on schedule.
I was sure you were on pins and needles about how I am doing...I mean, com'on, how can you function in your day if you are wondering about my poop. The Miralax did a good job.

We got the yeast dough made by 9 am, let it rise, knocked it down once already at noon and it's rising a second time. After lunch, which is linguini in TJ's marinara sauce and asparagus, we'll start putting the kata together and lay them out on cookie sheets and let them rise again before baking.

I received a bouquet of flowers from some cousins yesterday while I was on the phone with my Mom. I told Mom that I'd take a picture of it to send to her. So, this morning, I'm rummaging through my purse, searching for my camera as I'm telling Norma and John about my Miralax episode and as I pulled out the camera they both said, "Are you planning on taking a photo of IT ?!?!?!?!" No, I'm not quite that crass. I don't need that kind of detailed documentation.

mygnsac

Gladd to hear about the update Sherell, poop and all!!

arobed53

Thanks for the chuckle Sheryl.

With the rain, the day was much cooler. So my coat was welcomed. The wedding was very nice. A lot of decorating had been done in the place - built steps to the stage, set up a backdrop and the basement was set up well. The minister was the bride's uncle so his talk was very interesting. The flower girls were very cute. Refreshements were fruit, veggies, sandwiches and cheese, summer sausage and crackers. I didn't overdo but also didn't turn down the chocolate cupcake when they served them. Yum. From the wedding we went to the fundraiser and ate chili and a homemade cinnamon roll (not too large). We did get anything in the silent auction and watched the live auction but didn't bid on anything. On the way home - fortunately not completely dark, all at once our headlights quit. It's a problem our car has but they don't have the fix for it yet. Ralph could have brights but holding it and after a few minutes, they started working again. We'll probably just drive that car in the daylight right not till we can get it fixed.

Found out Alan's family won't be here for dinner so more leftovers for me (and Ralph). Then in the evening we are going to a meal to celebrate one of Ralph's cousin's 85th birthday so it will be a full day.

sannferris

Good Morning. Yesterday was another beautiful day, combination of sunny times then overcast and then back to sun breaks, but no rain. Norma helped John put out another full bale of hay on the concrete. That should last the llamas through today for sure and maybe tomorrow too. I'll see how much is left out there tomorrow morning. John can rake up what's been strewn about and put it in a nice pile for them. It bothers John when it gets rained on, but they are eating it anyway, so I don't think it's a big deal.

We were completely finished with the kata by 6 pm. It takes all day because the dough has to rise so many times. Over the years, Norma has asked me why her dough doesn't rise as much as mine does, now we know, she doesn't give it enough time. Also, she has her ingredients too hot at the first and I think she kills her yeast before she really gets started. I use a candy thermometer to make sure everything is between 100-110 degrees like it says on the yeast package, she was winging it and when she felt the warmth of the water and melted Crisco, she said hers is always much hotter. I think she will buy a thermometer for the next baking. I'll post photos of the steps we took. Last night, I ate several of them and they sat heavy in my gut...I haven't eaten that much sugar and shortening in a very long time.

I have to depend on John or Norma to bring in firewood and I'm getting antsy, I want to go out there right now to replenish what we burned yesterday, but I know I can't left anything that heavy, so I'll be patient and wait. I could bring in one log at a time and make many trips to the house, in fact, I'm suppose to do a lot of walking, so I may just to that, walk back and forth about 20 times with one log at a time.

That's about it for now.

isyvanek

Hi all, Had such a nice day yesterday. Went to a little essential oils meeting at the house of an old friend from the children's ministry. We shared info for about an hour and a half and made a natural cleaner. Then my friend Jami and I went and got pampered with pedicures. I had a flower painted on my big toes too. I feel very feminine when I look at my feet. Then we had a quick lunch and went to her house and colored our hair. Now we're beautified! Dan and I watched an old Hitchcock movie called Rear Window with James Stewart and Grace Kelly - what a great movie!

Sheryl, sorry it took me so look to check in on you. SO very happy to hear that things went so well and that your recovery is going so well!! I loved playing rummikub. We still have our game but have not played in a very long time. Have you had a chance to play yet? I had to laugh when you mentioned Marilyn's reaction when you asked her if she worked. I made that mistake with a stay at home mom once too and from then on I learned to ask " do you work outside the home?" Great thinking on John's part to put the wheelbarrow on the cement and let the llamas come to it. That way it stays drier too. The Kata sounds like a wonderful fun (and tasty) experience for you and Norma. Too funny that your dad said you guys didn't make it right because the ends weren't dry like your mom used to give him. Sounds like all the meal planning went great and is really paying off. The "poop issue" was not TMI. That stuff is really important at our age and especially after surgery. Glad it was resolved fairly quickly. I got a real chuckle about when you were looking for the camera and talking about it and John and Norma asked if you were going to take a picture of it. Too funny!! Did you walk and bring in one log at a time? Look forward to hearing how your post op visit with the oncologist goes tomorrow. I will continue to keep you all in my prayers and am so thankful to our gracious God for healing and protecting you. I know He will continue to do so.

Debra, I also heard about the free ice cream at Dairy Queen but didn't even think about attempting it here. It would have probably been a line out the door. Glad you finally got some rain. Is it enough to plant the corn?

Marcie, I like the others thought you were thinking of knocking down the wall. Putting in a door was a great simple idea. A very large walk-in closet like Sheryl suggested also sounds like a great idea!

Well, I am very behind in my cooking because Dan and I went and looked at some new cars so he could give Jami his opinion on them. I am going to make stuffed peppers (stuffed with ground turkey, rice, celery, onions, and jalapeno jack cheese).

Have a great week my friends!