Chat

connierandel

My 8in fire is from 2021 and my 10in is from 2020. I rarely start the 10. I also have a Lenovo tablet that has all of my music on it. It is an 11.5 inch. I occasionally use it for other things because I love the way it works, but it is too large to just play with. I have a keyboard and mouse with it, and it has a windows screen, so it works a lot like a laptop.

Restfinder

My first laptop was a Lenovo and I really liked it. I am loving my Acer. I have had it for almost four years and have yet to have a problem with it. I use a large monitor and keyboard attached to the laptop, the little screen was just too hard to see and I couldn't get two documents on it without them overlapping. I also have an AVG app that keeps my drivers up to date and I think that's helped a lot. A lot of the problems I had with my Dell tower had to do with out of date drivers. I think my kindles are all from 2020 because we got Mom's newest ones just before she got sick.

One week until my CT scan on my lungs. I'm anxious to find out what they see. The doctor I saw last month for pneumonia looked at the last CT scan and said she didn't like how my lymph nodes looked. Lymph nodes can swell where there is an infection and you'd think they'd know that, so it must be something different, and that may be why I'm having trouble catching my breath. Well, no point in guessing, we'll find out next week! Thank you for your prayers.

Love y'all.

connierandel

Bill and I went to visit mom today. I love that he can get out without major problems. We had a good visit. It is such a difference with this house. I'm so glad that I listened to what God told me about moving. This is such a cute little place and it has felt like home since the move. Bill has really enjoyed being able to see out the windows from his chair, and get outside to sit in nice weather without any issues. He hadn't been able to do that in at least 2 years.

I will be keeping you and your CT scan in my prayers.

Restfinder

I am so happy for you, Connie. Praise the Lord!

Thanks for your prayers. I have no idea what to expect. I think it will "all's well", but then they didn't like how it looked... God knows and that's all I need to know right now.

connierandel

Keep Angela, Bill's oldest daughter, in your prayers. She wrenched her back and went to Urgent Care. When she got there, her BP was so high it was in stroke range. They sent her home to take meds and come back in 2 hours. It had come down some, but not really enough. They badly bruised her arm with the BP monitor, though. Says her arm hurts worse than her back.

cmsienk

Praying for Angela, Connie.

This job is winding down. We drive home tomorrow. (One of my colleagues asked if he could drive with me as he and his wife only have electric vehicles and he was concerned about having to stop to charge on the way as this was a 6 1/2 hour drive.) It wasn't a bad drive in; I'm just hoping for no rain on the way back. I don't like to drive in the rain.

Restfinder

It looks like the storm isn't going to take a westerly line, but stay NE which means we will get hit with more than just light rain - we're ready! Hope you have a safe trip home, Cindy.

Praying for Angela, Connie! I can't believe she was in stroke range and they sent her home. Why not just give her the meds she needs while she's there and monitor her? Eek!

My right side felt so good for about a week, but last night it started hurting again. The mold free coffee I am drinking now is doing great for my allergies which, so far, are much better. My knee and hand inflammation is doing better too.

I watched a video on lipedema and one of the things she mentioned that was super painful for us is having our blood pressure taken. My regular NP's nurse is very careful to not take the cuff too high, she stops when she can't hear my blood running through the veins. So much better. We bruise easily too. When you mentioned those two things it made me think of lipedema. Does Angela have a pear shape, heavier on the bottom than on the top? or is she disproportionate in her upper body compared to her lower body. There are five types of lipedema you can have, five areas it hits differently on different people. In the video she was saying there are a lot of women out there who have no idea they have it because it's not a recognized disease by the AMA and many doctors won't diagnose it because insurance won't cover it, or the doctor simply sees it as an obesity problem rather than a disease.

Miss you Carole!
Love y'all.

connierandel

The doctors told Angela that she bruised because the higher the BP, the tighter the cuff gets. She wound up in the ER yesterday with BP 234/122. She didn't feel bad at all, but they took it very seriously and ran a bunch of tests (all good), got her on IV meds and got it down out of danger range and assured it wasn't climbing back up again before sending her home with new meds. She's doing well today with BP still a tad high, but MUCH healthier range.

Restfinder

Oh, praise the Lord, I'm so glad she went to the ER and that her BP is at least in a more manageable range. God is so very good! That cuff had to be horribly tight with those numbers!

Wade and I are both doing better today. I've been able to drop one of my allergy pills, the night time one since drinking the mold-free coffee. I'm hoping I will do even better as I get bad carbs out of my diet. I've decided to do one of my diuretics every other day since it has HCTZ in it and that can raise your insulin resistance, which causes us not to lose weight, it can also have negative effects on lipedema. Hopefully I won't have much swelling.

Well, I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

connierandel

Kim - what is happening with the storm in your area? Been thinking of you.

Restfinder

Thank you, y'all have been in my heart as well since it went up the middle of the country! I'm concerned about Carole since she is in Eastern TN! If you are out there, Carole, please let us know how you are doing!

We were fine. A little bit of wind and rain, but we only got a couple of the tailing edges of the storm. Much of the mountain area of NC, western side is devastated. I haven't seen much on TV about Hickory, where we lived before, but I've heard it was hit too, although not as severely as other areas. Praise the Lord we were spared. We were watching a YouTube video on some of the areas and one town was completely wiped out, not even debris left behind! Parts of Hwy 40 are completely gone. Prayers for those who are suffering right now.

connierandel

I was worried about Carole, too! Pepper Basham (author) is right in the middle of a mess, I guess. She has sporadic cell coverage, but no water or power. The roads are basically gone, but they were lucky enough to be able to get far enough to get water. Flushing the toilet seems to be an issue - getting enough water. She said they are counting the 1.6 gallon flushes. I am hoping that they found creek or river water to use and aren't having to pay for drinking water to use. She said they were very lucky that they had a full tank of gas in their car. They were cooking on their grill.

cmsienk

Yes, Kim. I hope you're staying high and dry. Praying that it didn't hit hard in your area.

Restfinder

We didn't get as much from this storm as we got from the storm the week before! We did fine. I sent a note to Carole and she and Beth and Daniel are all fine. She said she was going to try and get on soon. She's been without electricity or communication for a couple of days. Praise the Lord. It's hard to believe that they suffered so much from a hurricane that far inland. That's usually where we run to when there is a hurricane on the coast! There's another storm out there heading in the same direction as well! God knows!

I have my CT scan tomorrow. It's a rough breathing day today as well as pain on the right side. I couldn't cross my leg yesterday the pain in my inner thigh was so bad. Now my hip is aching and I'm having to be careful about how I move that leg. Thank you for your prayers y'all.

connierandel

Praying, Kim. Let us know when you hear something about the MRI.

I'm glad you got ahold of Carole. I was a bit worried. I watched a video today about the vast need for helicopters. Evidently that is the main way that they can find a lot of the people in the mountains, and the government is not helping. There are a few military helicopters from what I have heard, but they can't do anything until they get orders, so they are grounded. The helicopters that are going in with supplies and extracting people are doing it on their own dime. I can't verify, but it sounds pretty true. I would share the video link, but the language on it was horrible!

cmsienk

Praying your CT scan goes well today, Kim.

On another note, did you hear that FEMA is running out of money? They do not have enough to cover the rest of hurricane season. That's because they were using their money on other things... Praying that people here who need the help are able to get it.

Restfinder

Thank you for your prayers. I called my doctor's office this morning to see if the results were in. They are sitting in my chart but the doctor hasn't looked at them yet. I may not know anything until Monday! I've left it in the Lord's hands.

I was watching a little bit of Glenn Beck this morning and he had gone to NC and was in a helicopter taking people out of different areas. While they were driving somewhere he saw a FEMA truck behind a deserted building and the people from the truck were sitting around a card table. They had just gotten there and they were going to take the names of people who had needs and get it to Washington so they could get a check out to them. How they are going to do that when people can't get to them and when their banks and post offices and mailboxes and homes no longer exist - well, guess they hadn't thought of that. There was one other FEMA truck there, setting up showers for the workers, not the people in trouble, but for the workers trying to help them. They had helicopters going in and out of the Hickory Municipal Airport (right down the street from Mom's old house) and they were the regular people who brought their helicopters to help those in need. They'd pick up a load of food and goods and go find where folks had left X's on an open space and leave stuff with them or take out those who wanted to leave. It is going to take billions of dollars to just handle the infrastructure, let alone the homes that will need to be rebuilt. Hundreds of lives lost and probably a hundred more lost in the debris who they haven't even found! And, the government is nowhere in site, or doing useless things that aren't helping anyone! How on earth can Kamala be that close to Trump in the polls!?! I was watching one of the guys YouTube videos of his flying in to help people and I got to thinking that those people have no idea what the area around them looks like. They don't have phones or TV's to have seen any of it, just their neighborhood. They know that roads are washed away, but they haven't seen that whole towns have disappeared! Ach, so sad.

I hope that y'all have blessed weekend. Love you!

pianolady831

I am so sorry to have been absent again! I've been missing you all and will try to check in more often. Kim, I even missed our shared birthday. That week was busy and wonderful, mainly thanks to Beth, and then the recent storm had me without power for several days. We were blessed to have no damage at our home, and the power outage was from a tree falling in someone's yard further down the street. With all the destruction, it took the power company a long time to get to us.

Johnson City is in a valley surrounded by mountains, and devasting damage was done to two communities close to us who sit almost at the foot of a mountain. Power lines down, bridges out, 3 out of 4 cell towers down, flooding, no drinking water, houses floating down the river, etc. Interstate 26 has a bridge out close to the NC line, so a 1-hour drive between Asheville and JC becomes much longer, depending on the route taken. Our preacher said this morning that churches have been the first to begin helping people in need, cleaning up, bringing supplies, etc. It will be a long journey to reach some semblance of normalcy.

Last week we had a short worship and prayer service because a lot of our members couldn't leave their homes. Today was more normal and it was so good to be together. I play on the first Sunday each month and also accompany a small volunteer men's choir. Several of our members are college or seminary professors, many with great voices and can read music. They mainly sing a couple of hymns that they can quickly rehearses before the service. They sang Holy, Holy, Holy this morning and I thought it was especially moving. Connie, I hope you've been getting to play some.

I hope you've all had a good weekend. It's good to be here with you.

Restfinder

So good to "see" you, Carole. I actually missed our birthday too. Wade had Covid and I had another bout (possibly) of pneumonia. The doctor wasn't sure if she heard decreased air on my right side, but I went through the antibiotics like I had it, just in case. I still haven't heard news from my CT scan last Wednesday. Hoping she'll get to it today. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! I'm so glad that it missed you. I've heard of three authors now that were on the edge of it and having had some minor damage from it. It's amazing the help that has come from all over the country and church buildings opening their doors as distribution centers. The government seems to be hindering more than helping. I saw a story of a husband and wife who were stranded in their house right on the edge of the river (it was high enough it wasn't swept away, but they had no driveway and had no way to get out. They were on their last bit of water and food. They had set up stones that spelled SOS and would go out and wave their arms whenever they heard a helicopter, but it was three days before one stopped. He was able to get the wife out, but said he would be back for the husband. When he got the wife back the sheriff was there and quite angry with him, telling him that if he brought the husband back he would go to jail, accusing him of not following protocols (which he actually did). He went back to pick up his son, who he had to leave with the husband, and told the man he would be arrested if he brought him back, but folks know he's there and will come and get him. He decided to try to walk out to somewhere where he could get help, and just down the mountain was another helicopter. They knew who he was and were able to help him. One hour later they were asking the first helicopter guy to come back, they needed his help! Crazy! Oh, people are getting $750, not as a gift, but a loan - they have to pay it back, from what I understand. Most people can't get in touch with the government to find out how they can get the help, which in most situations is no help at all. Kamala said that they were going to give 100,000+ to help NC and 127,000,000 to help the Lebanese refugees! ARGHHH! Wade keeps reminding me that this is by design, not because they just don't care. Axelrod said something this weekend about the wealthier dems being able to figure out how to get out to vote, while the rural folks basically wouldn't be able to find a way. The Trump hicks are too stupid to figure out how to vote is what it boiled down to. Oh dear, I better get off of my soap box.

Still no word on my CT scan, but if I haven't heard by 11 this morning, I'm going to call again and see what is going on. I think it will show nothing, that's how things go with me. I have a problem, but nothing is wrong! Same happened with my heart rate being too high - they couldn't find anything wrong so they gave me a diagnosis that no other doctor has ever heard of. At least the meds they give me helps. Hopefully they can give me something that will help. It's been better this morning than over the weekend though, so I do praise the Lord for that.

I love y'all.

pianolady831

So often multiple tests don't show anything, which is a mixed blessing, as you know. Something is obviously going on, yet you're relieved when tests come back negative. Praying you get CT results soon, Kim.

I get so upset at the whole political thing that I've quit watching the news for the most part. It's like... I know how I'm going to vote and that's all I can do. The rest is in God's hands. I do scan through article headings, though, and I clicked on last Saturday to read the Axelrod piece that you mentioned. I was so mad! Hopefully it will make rural NC voters even more determined to "figure out" how to vote. Wade is probably right, that all this is by God's design.

I'm doing pretty good overall - thanks to family, church community and friends - but "special" days are still awkward. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on this day last October. Lots of treasured memories keep popping into my mind today. Love you all.

Restfinder

Happy Anniversary! It's good to have all those special memories. I think often of all the times Mom and I just laughed together - one of us would get tickled at something and then both of us were off on a laughing fit. We loved to watch Hallmark movies together too - the old ones, not the new ones that turned Woke! Good stuff!

I'm so happy that you have friends and family near-by to help you! That is a special gift also.

Still no word. I am going to give them until 1 pm and then I will call again, that gives them all morning to let her know and for her to look them over! I hope that they are willing to look deeper and don't just tell me that the CT is clear, have a nice day! I think if they do that I will find a new medical practice to go to!

I hope that y'all keep doing well. Love you

Restfinder

I heard from my dr's office on the CT scan. What they saw last October is no longer there, although the symptoms I have right now are similar to those. They say I do have resolving pneumonia (so it appears I did have pneumonia this time), which can take 1-2 months to clear, which is where I am right now. They also found a cyst on my pancreas, which, after my own research, I found that they are fairly common and mostly benign. They want to do an MRI to get a closer look. Praise the Lord for the answers and His hand on me and I go through these steps.

pianolady831

I always pray for you, Kim, but specifically now about yesterday's results. I haven't heard of resolving pneumonia, but it makes sense that a period of time is necessary for it to completely clear. Let us know when your MRI gets scheduled.

Being close to Beth is a huge blessing of living here in JC. She loved Dwight and has also hard a hard time through all this. She was especially thinking of me yesterday on our anniversary, and dropped by in the late afternoon with this beautiful flower arrangement. Here's her touching note: "Thanks for a wonderful family and so many good years with you and Dad. I will always see this day as a reminder of how good we had it and still do because of you." It doesn't get any better than that!

pianolady831

Kim, I just listened to DeSantis make a great speech about all that Florida is doing in preparation for this new hurricane. I wondered if there's a chance it will cross Florida and possibly impact the NC coastal area where you live. Praying it doesn't.

Tuesday is our family night and I'm looking forward to Beth and Daniel's visit. Been cooking a beef roast all day - also fried okra (actually baked in the oven), turnip greens and potatoes. We should be able to eat off this for a few days.

connierandel

I'm sorry I have been so absent.

Carole - it is so good to see you! I know your anniversary was hard, but so glad that Beth was able to celebrate a bit with you. And, I'm on the way over for dinner!

Kim - PTL for the good report. Keep us informed of your upcoming MRI.

Uggg. The politics right now are atrocious! I just pray that people will look beyond the candidates and research where the parties stand on what is important to us and our nation. I know that I am voting "against" more than I am voting "for" at this point!

And Carole, since I now have someone that can watch Bill on Sunday mornings, I am back to playing for closing. I always am prepared in case I have to substitute last minute for the service, but that is extremely rare.

pianolady831

Connie, you and I share a love for worship music and I rejoice with you in getting to play anytime you can. I'm helping to plan a hymn singing night in January that I think everyone will enjoy. I'll get out of my comfort zone and play a couple of piano solos, but it's mainly just about people singing. And we'll take up a love offering toward retiring the building debt. Can you tell I'm excited?

I really wish people would look past personalities and, like you said, examine each party's response on the serious issues we are facing. I'm voting strictly on the issues.

And as for dinner, your chair awaits, Connie!

Restfinder

I'm with y'all on voting for personalities rather than platforms. Neither person has a great personal record, but one of them has proven that he will do all he can to help this country - no guarantee that he won't do a 180 when in office, but right now he is saying the right things and hoping against hope he will be able to give us some relief.

What a beautiful bouquet and note. I like the color of that dark red one in the back. I had some lilies that color when we lived in Hickory. Dad loved his greens, and when I tried them - you should see the face I'm making right now when I just remember it! LOL!

My MRI is scheduled for the 18th of this month. I need to get up before 6AM if I want to have something to eat before the procedure! EEEK! I have my mammogram today. First in four years! Hopefully it will be clear. I have a bone density test scheduled in Nov and will see my eye doctor for a six month visit to check my eyes, I've had high pressure for three years so she wants to check the nerves and make sure they stay looking good. Phew! This is what happens when you get insurance after not having it for awhile! LOL!

Have an awesome evening!

connierandel

Carole - a lot of my real worship takes place at the piano. I went for a time not playing at all, after being the organist for years. I realized that I didn't know a lot of the words to songs that we sang often...I just played. I also realized that I didn't know how to worship in church without a keyboard in front of me. At that time it was a blessing that we had an amazing organist that starting coming (without letting anyone know he played). I gladly turned my responsibilities to him as soon as he felt that he had found a new church home. I was working too often on Sundays at that point, and just substituting on piano and organ and singing with worship team was good.

Restfinder

Phew, trying to get all my insurances paid up - eek. Praise be to God, we're able to cover it for the year. Next year is another thing! Mom's gift keeps giving!

I think I have the resolving pneumonia figured out. The first pneumonia took two rounds of antibiotics because people my age don't heal as quickly as young folk. The second pneumonia I had 2 weeks of antibiotics. This time I had just one round of antibiotics because we weren't positive it was pneumonia - well, it was and I really needed that second round so this has become slow resolving pneumonia; which, I believe, means there is still pneumonia in my lungs and it is slowly going away on my own immune system. Then I have to deal with the junk left behind in my lungs from the pneumonia, so this isn't going to go away any time soon unless the Lord chooses otherwise. I'll go through whatever He purposes for me to go through because it is always for my good and for His glory!

Wow, did things cool down! Our high today is 69. My overheating is mostly gone, but I am sitting here in short sleeves and feeling a little bit warm! Ugh! It's probably around 75 in the house.

I hope you ladies and a good rest of your week. You are always in my prayers. Love you

connierandel

Angela (Bill's oldest) was back in the emergency room last night. She looked like she was sunburned, but hadn't been in the sun, her heart rate was extremely high, her arms felt like rubber, her BP and sugar were both high. They quickly did an EKG and eliminated heart issues, got her on a IV with meds to lower the heart rate, lower BP and then gave her insulin for her diabetes. They said that she was allergic to Metformin and that was the main problem. They said that she needed off of it immediately and to go to her primary care physician with orders from them. One of her BP meds along with the metformin were leaching her potassium as well, so she got 2 huge potassium pills. Hopefully her primary care got her meds lined out to eliminate these issues! She said that she is getting tired of these weekly ER visits.

The weather here has been beautiful. We have turned off the air conditioning and have just used the ceiling fan and a small tower fan to move some air.

I am still waiting to hear from some of my Florida friends and some authors that I follow. One friend has a seasonal mobile home and was in Illinois during the storm, but she lost part of her roof and a large piece of siding. A missionary friend that I worked with on a mission trip that I took lost a chunk of his roof and some siding, but they had evacuated to a friend's house more inland, so they are fine. I have a cousin that just had some palm fronds in the yard and another friend didn't have anything except a couple limbs in the yard. Angela Hunt, author, had a lot of trees and limbs down on her property. She has a small creek that became a raging river and had a lot of flooding on her property. Last night there was water coming up to the floor boards in the house and they were sleeping under the kitchen table because that was the least likely to be wet. It looks like a mess, but it doesn't look like the damage is severe to the house or guest house, just a mess.