Saturday, July 27, 2013

We made it home from Florida on Wednesday after all. The weather was fine until 50 miles from home and then heavy rain, combined with road construction. We were really glad to be home and extremely tired! The bathroom was only 3/4 done, and still isn't done. I was told that 5 days is NOT enough time to redo everything! I don't see it myself, but, it is what it is!

Thursday was spent buying some groceries and getting resettled in, as much as can be. I'm tired of everything being upset in the house. Things are everywhere except where they belong. I want my house back! I know our handyman wants to go straight to another room but that's not going to happen. I told Bill the other night that the last 2 1/2 years have been very stressful for me and I don't want the added stress of constant turmoil and upheaval for the remodeling. I don't care if it takes another 3 years doing 1 room a year! He also doesn't understand how the last 2 years have affected me. He did admit that he "slept" through a lot of it. Yes, it was all about him, and now that he is better and able to fend more for himself, it's going to be some about me and what I need. Didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but, boy I feel better!

We had Kayden and Kiyann Friday. Mistie and Joe were both working and her babysitter quit. These kids are no trouble and we enjoyed having them. We've never spent as much time with them as we have Brianna and McKenna because they lived farther away and Ryan worked odd hours so we weren't sure when to visit or call. Anyway, we had a great time although they ate us out of house and home! After they left I started to get ready for McKenna's birthday party and discovered we had no hot water. I had done laundry and cleaned up the kitchen, but there still should have been hot water. I checked the water heater and it was not heating at all. So, we turned the gas off and headed to the party. We only stayed about an hour. It was at the bowling alley and there was a lot of turmoil with the kids running around. Lots of confusion confuses Bill more now.

Today we were off to Lowe's to buy a new hot water heater and they told us they didn't install gas heaters. So, we didn't buy it but went to another store in town where we had bought the old one-15 years ago. They didn't have any in stock, and they said they didn't install them either. They did install the old one, so I was very confused. I talked to Emily late this afternoon and she said Bryan could install it, so off to Lowe's we went. As we were waiting for them to get the heater from the top rack, I read a sign that said "Have Lowe's Install Your Gas Water Heater"! And on the box there was a picture of the Lowe's logo and "Lowe's Installation Guaranteed"! Anyway, we got it here and while the old one was draining it was off to Pizza Hut to get dinner for everyone. Got the old one out and the new one in, with some help from Joe next door, but Bryan can't get one line sealed. So, since it was getting late, we told him it would be OK to wait until tomorrow, that we could heat water to clean up with for church. Joe said we could shower at his house in the morning and Emily said she and the girls had to be at their early church service if we wanted to go to their house to shower. But, we'll be OK. I just have to remember to not use the hot water tap in the kitchen or there will be a mess in the pantry!

So, our homecoming has been eventful to say the least. Maybe by the middle of the week the bathroom will be finished and I can get my house back!

Hope all of you have had a good week-end so far. Until next week...be blessed.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sorry for no post yesterday but I didn't get to stay for this biopsy. Dr. Hosenpud did it and he doesn't use the echo, he uses x-rays. So, I couldn't stay in the room. But, everything went well and we were finished in 2 hours.

We headed home this morning and had a great day for driving...until we got 15 miles from our hotel. Then the heavens opened. While I was taking the luggage cart back down to the lobby (we are on the 3rd floor), Tina called and gave Bill the results of the biopsy. He was again at status 0 which is no rejection at all. His Prograf (anti-rejection med) level is on the lower side of acceptable, and his blood count was a little low, but there are no changes to the meds. We go back in 3 months.

We've had some excitement here already this afternoon and evening. There have been severe thunderstorm warnings, a storm watch and we've lost power. Remember, we are on the 3rd floor, but at least if we have to use the stairs it's easier going down than up! Maybe it won't happen again. The weather report tomorrow has severe weather all along our route. We've already decided that if it gets bad we will just stop somewhere and wait it out. I have all of our medications with us, so it won't matter if we don't get home tomorrow.

We were able to visit with our friends Faith and Abner and had great time. They are really good company. We also heard about our friend Michael. He still has not gotten his heart, but he and Margaret finally got married. There is now a problem with his LVAD drive line. Depending on what the problem is it can either push him to the top of the list or get him taken off altogether. So, we're hoping he'll get bumped. He has a rarer blood type so his wait has been longer.

All for tonight. I'll let you know when we get home.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

We've made it to Jacksonville! We took an alternate route yesterday. The traffic is Memphis has been horrible and there is major construction just before the city, so we went north to Dyersburg and then down to Corinth MS and over into Alabama north of Birmingham. We had to leave an hour earlier than usual and we got to our hotel at the same time we normally would have, so I don't know if the extra hour of driving was worth it to miss some traffic. We forgot to bring Bill a jacket (after all it is late July and we were in south Alabama) so stopped at Walmart before we ate dinner. All we could find was a quilted flannel shirt, but it was only $5 and it was cold in the restaurant! I have also decided that the drivers in Alabama have got to be the worst drivers in the world! And, if any of you reading this are from Alabama, sorry, but it's true!

Today's drive was supposed to be a little easier but it started raining as soon as we crossed into Florida. Before we made it to Tallahassee we had to pull to the side of the road it was raining so hard. I could see a dark shape in front of me but couldn't tell how far. So, it was better to sit for 15 minutes than keep going. We stopped again at a rest stop just up the road, but that was mainly for a potty break. Now it's my fault it rained so hard. It had been raining, but not bad, and I needed to stop. So I said God, please make it quit raining so we can stop at a rest area. The rain slowed up and a sign for a rest area appeared, but this rest area is way off the highway, so I told Bill I didn't want to stop at that one. As soon as we passed by...that's when the rains really came down! So, I had to apologize to God for not taking what He offered the first time! We got wet at the rest area when we did stop, but it wasn't the deluge it had been.

We are planning on seeing our friends Faith and Abner tomorrow afternoon. We didn't get to see them the last trip.

This has been a sad week for us. A dear friend lost his wife this week. He's going to be totally lost without her. They didn't have any children and his nephew doesn't live close. He had taken care of her for a couple of years now, so don't know what he's going to do. Then last night another friend lost his battle with cancer. He was a young man and had fought hard for about 5 years.

McKenna got home from camp yesterday and after a shower and some food (Emily said she was starving) she fell asleep about 7:15 last night! She sent me a text this morning that she was still hungry!

We're going to head out to our favorite pizza place here for some supper and then hit the grocery store for some breakfast items. We're staying in an Extended Stay with kitchenette again so we don't have to eat every meal out. The breakfast they offer in the lobby leaves a lot to be desired, so we'll pick up something for here.

I will update this again after the biopsy and then again when we get the results. Hope everyone is enjoying the week-end.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Early post this week, and I know most of you still keeping up with us won't see it until the normal time. But, with getting ready to travel, and a little bit of news already this week, I just figured I would go ahead and get it done.

We are leaving Friday for Bill's biopsy on Monday. The reservations have been made, laundry is done so the suitcases can be packed. I'm going to do that today so that I don't mess up my manicure tomorrow!

Bill is now wanting to try to use his computer again. When we were doing the 1st phase of the remodel, Bill kept track of everything on the computer. He kept spreadsheets on everything done, including tracking Ron's hours and pay. I printed out a form for Ron to use to track his hours while we are gone and now, Bill wants to enter them into the computer. So, I found the spreadsheet and pulled it up and we got the info entered. Bill was very frustrated because he can't remember how to do any of that. We had to get him a new keyboard and he was able to get it connected and running by himself last night! That's a major breakthrough. We were looking at the spreadsheet and for some reason the formulas for the cells that figure amounts are not there. Now, when I took spreadsheets in college I barely passed the course, (and failed the final...guess I shouldn't have walked out in the middle of it). Somewhere, probably packed into a box somewhere we have an Office for Dummies book that would probably help. So, I'll probably look for it today. But, at least he's wanting to start sitting at the computer. We'll get him a new email address set up before long if he keeps it up.

I know it's been frustrating for him to look at things and know that he used to do or use it. He's seen some electrical drawings and other things that he had written for work and doesn't have a clue to what they mean. I don't know if that will ever come back completely if at all. He's now talking about seeing Dr. Salguerio the psychiatrist he had seen for depression. They had told him that it wouldn't be a problem working him back in. We're going to wait until we get back from Florida and see how he's doing then.

So, that's the news for now. I'll update this again Saturday after we get settled at our hotel in Florida. Enjoy your week!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Phase 2 has begun...no, it's not any new medical procedure, it's our re-modeling project. We've had to rethink some things and I don' know if I'm going to like it, but, there's no way around it. Since Bill can't be around paint fumes and drywall dust this phase is going to have be done more while we're not here, and I hope that Ron, our painter, will pay attention to his instructions and do what we, or should I say, I want. We're starting with the main bathroom and we've also scaled back the project. We were going to have a walk-in tub, or just a shower installed instead of a bathtub and we've changed our minds on that. Part of it is because of Bill's circumstances. The main part is me...I don't have the desire to re-do it all. So, paint, new flooring, new toilet and vanity and hardware and we're done. Ron has this week to get as much prep work done as possible and then the 5 days that we are gone. We bought everything yesterday and the big pieces will be delivered tomorrow morning. He got all the wallpaper off the walls yesterday, and already we're finding that it's going to be a long week. Things were just put anywhere when he got started, instead of asking if I had something to put things in. So, this morning Bill can't find his shave cream, I couldn't find the cup dispenser to take my medicine (I did find the medicine) and who knows what else we'll have to search for! OK, done venting!

Nothing spectacular happened this week. It's been rather dull. This week will be different, packing, making reservations, getting ready to leave Friday. I did get a haircut and it feels wonderful! Haven't gone this short in a long time! I'm going to get a little pampering this week and get a manicure and pedicure before we go. Aahh...the little things that make us happy!

All for this week...have a great Sunday!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Update for the 1st week in July

I tried to update this last night and Blogger ate it. It kept telling me I was leaving something blank. It's also told me the same thing this morning. I've put a title on this one as you can see. I hope I don't have to title all of them!

Our week was interesting. Tuesday I took Ryan, his girlfriend Amanda, and his kids Kayden and Kiyann, to Jonesboro. Some of you know that he has had a drinking problem and lost his drivers license for 2 years. Anyway, he has fulfilled all of the requirements of the suspension. He had to return his interlock device to the shop that installed it and then take that receipt to Driver Control. After doing all of that, he was able to reinstate his license so he's now legal again. It's a good thing we got it done, he hit a sobriety checkpoint on the 4th!

Our holiday was also eventful. Bill and Ron went to Ron's family cemetery to take care of some trees he had planted. Bill went along to babysit Buddy Dog in case there were other people there and he couldn't just run. They were the only ones there and Buddy hit the jackpot on his roaming...a tiny little puppy! She's probably about 4-5 weeks old. There were no other dogs in the area so they brought her home. After some milk and a flea bath, we started trying to find her a home. She's now at home with Ryan and they've named her Monkey. She's a Rotweiler mix of some kind, but she's so small that I'm not sure.

Friday was a normal day, laundry in the morning and waiting for Bill's meds to be delivered. Just as we were having lunch Emily called and said that McKenna's glasses had broken and wanted to know if we would meet her at Walmart. Her doctor was closed and we were hoping Walmart would put the lenses in a new frame. Just as we were getting ready to pull out, my brother and his wife pulled up! This was a total surprise. I knew they were on vacation this week and they had been to St. Louis and Eureka Springs Arkansas and decided that since they pretty much had to cross the state to get home, they would come by here. So, we all piled into my car and headed to Walmart. Luckily they had a frame that would fit her lense so the child can see again. Larry treated everyone to pizza and then came back to the house for a short visit before hitting the road again.

The weather has been much cooler this week and Bill's been walking around the block. It takes him about 30 minutes, unless he sees someone to talk to! That's a shorter time that he's supposed to walk, but at least he's doing it without me nagging him to walk!

I've made both of us calendars since it seems like we neither one can remember things anymore. His is basically birthdays and anniversaries. Mine has all of the appointments and med information. Maybe that will help us, not that I'm forgetting to give/order/fill meds.

All for now. I've got cinnamon rolls in the oven and they should be just about done. I noticed that this will be post #430 and we're closing in on 15,000 pageviews. It still amazes me that so many are still following our journey, including people I don't know. But, it has meant something to them to keep reading! Happy Sunday!