As they used to say on "American Bandstand", "the hits just keep on coming". But I'm ready for things to settle down a little.
We were sitting here Saturday afternoon, Bill watching a movie and me taking an online knitting class, when we heard some pounding feet and a shout of "Get down on the ground now!". We both jumped up and looked out the front door and...there was a police take-down at my front steps...in between the steps and my car, which is about 3 feet! There were 3 cops handcuffing a young black kid who was carrying a remote for a TV! Our neighborhood burglar had struck again! Bill noticed that the back door of my car was slightly open (I had just gone out to get something out of it and hadn't relocked it since I was going to put the item back). A few minutes after they carted him off, one of the cops was back, looking under the car, so we asked him what he was looking for. He told us that the kid was supposed to be armed but they didn't find a weapon. We told him about the car door and gave him permission to search the car. He looked all through it and under it and behind and under the hedges but didn't find anything. (We found out this morning that they found it in a yard about 1/2 a block away. The cop told us that he had chased the kid for 2 blocks before catching him at our house. We're hoping this is one of the ones who broke in here and maybe we'll get some of the stuff back.
Sunday we took a drive into West Tennessee and just drove around, then stopped and ate lunch. We were gone about 4 hours and it was a nice day for a drive. We started getting storms Sunday night and lost power for about 3 1/2 hours. But, we fired up the generator and were fine. The only thing it doesn't run is the air conditioner and after I had to shut the front door the house got rather stuffy. At first estimate it wouldn't be restored until noon the next day. Evidently the substation got hit by lightning and 3/4 of the town was dark. But, it was on before midnight.
The neighbors behaved themselves all week-end. In fact, we haven't seen or heard them much all week. The kids were noisy this morning and with school out now, it will probably be a little noisier. But kids playing and yelling is different than adults yelling and fighting.
We didn't do anything special on Memorial Day, just stayed in. It was rainy at times so it was a good thing we didn't have plans. I had a nice steak that I threw on the Foreman grill for dinner, so we "barbecued", just in the house.
My daughter and a group of ladies from her church left yesterday for a mission trip to Colombia, South America. Their travel agent did not tell them that the time of their first flight changed and they missed it by 3 minutes. You would think that Delta could have held the flight for 3 minutes, especially for a group of 12, but no such luck. So, they spent the night in Memphis and flew out this morning. In fact, they have now been in the air for 9 minutes. They have a very long layover in Atlanta and won't get to Bogota until about 9 this evening and then they have a 3 hour road trip to their destination. It will be a very long day for them, but they are all so excited to be going.
School is now out so our alarm clock won't be here. One of the buses comes at 6:45 and that is usually what wakes us in he morning.
Since the week returned to a more normal state by the end of the week, hopefully we'll settle down now. I'm tired of excitement.
That's all I can think of for this week. I did tell Bill that if he hadn't had the transplant, this would be the summer for another heart attack. He had the first one in June of 1991, #s 2 and 3 in June of 1999, and the big one in September of 2007. Since it has been 8 years since he last one, this would be the year if the pattern was to continue. Of course all of the drs. have said that he wouldn't have lived much longer if he hadn't had the LVAD implant. But, let's not dwell on those thoughts. He's alive and well!
I hope everyone has a good week-end and, if you would, say a little prayer for the women on the mission trip.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
We've had an eventful week. Nothing earth shattering, nothing life threatening, just eventful for us. It started off Saturday night. The neighbors were at it again. From what I could hear, and this was with no doors or windows open and the air conditioner running, the baby daddy took off with the baby, and the baby mama wanted the baby back. This time there were 4 police cars. Since they were getting things under control we tried going back to bed when all of a sudden a deep male voice yelled, telling someone to shut up. The nosy person that I am had to get up and look out again, just in time to see the baby mama being handcuffed and put in the back of the car. I will say that this was done gently and professionally, so it can't be said there was any brutality on the part of the police.
We stayed home from church Sunday again. I know, I know, Mom, but this was weather related. Pouring rain. The weather cleared in the afternoon and warmed up enough to need to turn the air back on. I've been turning it off in the mornings and opening the door, not only to let light in but some fresh air. I was on the phone with our former daughter-in-law when I turned it on, and after getting off the phone some time later realized that it wasn't any cooler in the house than when I turned it on. We went out to look and the fan wasn't turning, and the top of the unit was hot. So, opened a couple of windows and made sure the ceiling fan was on in the bedroom. I also put the furnace blower on fan to circulate the air and we were actually quite comfortable. This unit was installed in 2006 and it had never been serviced, so we were hoping it was just in need of coolant. I called the people who installed it and they got here about 3. A capacitor had gone out and it needed a good cleaning, but the coolant was good. It didn't cost a lot, and now it blows nice cold air, but it's gotten really cool so we haven't needed it!
Wednesday was a pretty rainy day and our friend Ron came by and told us that Buddy had run off during their morning walk. He wanted us just to keep an eye out for him. Bill walked around the block looking for him and then we drove a pretty big area to see if we could see him. A few minutes after we got home we both heard a sound and there was Buddy, soaking wet, whining at the front door to come in! He came in and I got a towel to dry him off. He was filthy! My towel immediately went from bright yellow to black! But he was so happy to see us and be dried off. He ate 2 bags of treats and drank a bowl of water. We made a call and let Ron know that we had him. Buddy finally realized that Ron was not here and it starting pacing and whining for him. He finally settled down on the hearth rug in front of the buffet in the foyer, watching the front door. When Ron came in I don't know who was happier, Ron or Buddy!
Thursday I thought we were going to have to turn the heat on. It didn't even make it to 60 and it was supposed to be in the 70s. I had to pull sweats back out and put socks on for the first time in a couple of weeks. But, we managed to get through and it warmed up some yesterday.
Yesterday we went to Jonesboro to get some locks for the computers. They are all equipped with a lock slot. We aren't going to make it quite as easy for them to walk off with them again. I also ordered a new suitcase and portable DVD player. As soon as those come in I can send the receipts to the insurance company. We should get about $500 more than what they have already paid. I told Bill if it had only been 100-200 we wouldn't claim it, but the $500 is worth it.
Our town has had a tough time this week. A 17-year old student was murdered Monday night, by a classmate who had just graduated Friday night. This was on the heels of another murder last week. We have just about the highest murder rate, per capita, in the state. There are only about 15,000 people who live here. There have been a couple of demonstrations, all peaceful, to stop the violence. This was black on black crime, as was the other one. There have been a couple of black on white murders within the last couple of years, with whites both being the victims in this. I'm not saying this to be racist by any means. But, when the majority of your population is black, the majority of your crimes will be committed by blacks. This latest murder has sparked the community. Several groups, both religious and secular, are in the planning stages to see what the community can do. The sad thing is that the city leadership doesn't seem to want to address the problem with the community. The violence you see in the news seems far away...until it happens in your backyard. I can only pray that the demonstrations we had and will have today will continue to be peaceful. If you are a praying person, pray for our little town, for healing and that we can come up with something to counteract the violence, without resorting to more violence.
That's been our week. We have no plans for the holiday week-end. I remember going to the cemetery with my grandmother early in the morning for the military tribute. We enjoyed gathering the brass after the 21 gun salute. Grandma was the "keeper of the graves", putting out flowers, etc. My mother has taken on that role now. I haven't seen anything here for any kind of ceremony. Whatever your plans...have a good holiday week-end!
We stayed home from church Sunday again. I know, I know, Mom, but this was weather related. Pouring rain. The weather cleared in the afternoon and warmed up enough to need to turn the air back on. I've been turning it off in the mornings and opening the door, not only to let light in but some fresh air. I was on the phone with our former daughter-in-law when I turned it on, and after getting off the phone some time later realized that it wasn't any cooler in the house than when I turned it on. We went out to look and the fan wasn't turning, and the top of the unit was hot. So, opened a couple of windows and made sure the ceiling fan was on in the bedroom. I also put the furnace blower on fan to circulate the air and we were actually quite comfortable. This unit was installed in 2006 and it had never been serviced, so we were hoping it was just in need of coolant. I called the people who installed it and they got here about 3. A capacitor had gone out and it needed a good cleaning, but the coolant was good. It didn't cost a lot, and now it blows nice cold air, but it's gotten really cool so we haven't needed it!
Wednesday was a pretty rainy day and our friend Ron came by and told us that Buddy had run off during their morning walk. He wanted us just to keep an eye out for him. Bill walked around the block looking for him and then we drove a pretty big area to see if we could see him. A few minutes after we got home we both heard a sound and there was Buddy, soaking wet, whining at the front door to come in! He came in and I got a towel to dry him off. He was filthy! My towel immediately went from bright yellow to black! But he was so happy to see us and be dried off. He ate 2 bags of treats and drank a bowl of water. We made a call and let Ron know that we had him. Buddy finally realized that Ron was not here and it starting pacing and whining for him. He finally settled down on the hearth rug in front of the buffet in the foyer, watching the front door. When Ron came in I don't know who was happier, Ron or Buddy!
Thursday I thought we were going to have to turn the heat on. It didn't even make it to 60 and it was supposed to be in the 70s. I had to pull sweats back out and put socks on for the first time in a couple of weeks. But, we managed to get through and it warmed up some yesterday.
Yesterday we went to Jonesboro to get some locks for the computers. They are all equipped with a lock slot. We aren't going to make it quite as easy for them to walk off with them again. I also ordered a new suitcase and portable DVD player. As soon as those come in I can send the receipts to the insurance company. We should get about $500 more than what they have already paid. I told Bill if it had only been 100-200 we wouldn't claim it, but the $500 is worth it.
Our town has had a tough time this week. A 17-year old student was murdered Monday night, by a classmate who had just graduated Friday night. This was on the heels of another murder last week. We have just about the highest murder rate, per capita, in the state. There are only about 15,000 people who live here. There have been a couple of demonstrations, all peaceful, to stop the violence. This was black on black crime, as was the other one. There have been a couple of black on white murders within the last couple of years, with whites both being the victims in this. I'm not saying this to be racist by any means. But, when the majority of your population is black, the majority of your crimes will be committed by blacks. This latest murder has sparked the community. Several groups, both religious and secular, are in the planning stages to see what the community can do. The sad thing is that the city leadership doesn't seem to want to address the problem with the community. The violence you see in the news seems far away...until it happens in your backyard. I can only pray that the demonstrations we had and will have today will continue to be peaceful. If you are a praying person, pray for our little town, for healing and that we can come up with something to counteract the violence, without resorting to more violence.
That's been our week. We have no plans for the holiday week-end. I remember going to the cemetery with my grandmother early in the morning for the military tribute. We enjoyed gathering the brass after the 21 gun salute. Grandma was the "keeper of the graves", putting out flowers, etc. My mother has taken on that role now. I haven't seen anything here for any kind of ceremony. Whatever your plans...have a good holiday week-end!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
We woke up to the sound of rain dripping this morning, and we are really getting a soaking. It apparently had been raining for quite awhile, judging by the amount of standing water across the street. The forecast called for showers this afternoon, so it just shows they don't know everything! So far the rain has just been heavy at times, but nothing severe, not even any thunder or lightning. It will be a good day for reading or knitting, along with laundry!
We replaced the computers last Saturday and I've spent most of the week getting them going. I did Bill's first so that I would be able to concentrate on the others. I don't like Windows 8.1! It's very confusing since the start menu is now all tabs. It took me forever to find the shutdown button, which is on a little sidebar and only comes up when you move your mouse to the edge of the screen! I forget what the sidebar is called, it has some "cutesy" name.
I got a very nice surprise for Mother's Day. Bill took me out for breakfast and, in addition to Emily and Ryan telling me Happy Mother's Day, I got calls from 2 of Bill's kids! This was the first time in 25 years! I was really surprised! Now, if they will all just remember to call Bill for Father's Day!
We've gotten more back to normal now since the break-in. There has been nothing solved, but I didn't expect it to be. That's just the way our town works. I checked the police reports and since our break-in there have been 2 others on our block and 2 others down the street. One good thing that may come out of this is that all of the neighbors are on watch now. Some even stop people they don't know if they see something out of the ordinary. Of course that could be extremely dangerous.
Last Saturday night there were 5 police cars at the neighbor's house. I broke down and called the landlord Monday morning. For those of you who know me personally, you know I don't like confrontations of any kind and tend to just let things go. I didn't get very far. He did inform me that he was not going to evict them with no place for them to go and that we should just continue to call the police. I don't know who is calling the police, but it hasn't been us. Wednesday the women started talking to each outside again. The only problem was...they were a block apart! So they were just yelling back and forth. Other neighbors were outside and Joe, who lives on the other side of us was outside and witnessed it all. So, while he was running errands he stopped in and saw the landlord. He was basically told the same thing I was, and he told him (the landlord) the same thing I did...we have a quiet neighborhood and we'd like to keep it like that. But, at least there are 2 complaints on file with him now.
Bill's on a special diet for a few days. We have to collect stool smears and mail them back to Mayo and he has to be on a special diet 3 days prior. It's not anything drastic, just no red meat, a few fruits and veggies are not allowed, and only moderate intake of other raw fruits and veggies. So, we're eating a lot of chicken. He can also have fish, but since I don't like fish, I don't cook it. But, if we go out I'll suggest he have it.
That's about it for this week. Hopefully since we're getting back to normal, we'll both be able to settle some and relax. We've both been hypervigilant now and since we have done what can be done to make it safer her, with the exception of turning it into an armed fortress complete with video cameras, we're going to live our lives again.
All for this week. The rain has let up for the time being and I'm sure the washer has finished, so I'd better get off here and get busy. Have a nice week-end!
We replaced the computers last Saturday and I've spent most of the week getting them going. I did Bill's first so that I would be able to concentrate on the others. I don't like Windows 8.1! It's very confusing since the start menu is now all tabs. It took me forever to find the shutdown button, which is on a little sidebar and only comes up when you move your mouse to the edge of the screen! I forget what the sidebar is called, it has some "cutesy" name.
I got a very nice surprise for Mother's Day. Bill took me out for breakfast and, in addition to Emily and Ryan telling me Happy Mother's Day, I got calls from 2 of Bill's kids! This was the first time in 25 years! I was really surprised! Now, if they will all just remember to call Bill for Father's Day!
We've gotten more back to normal now since the break-in. There has been nothing solved, but I didn't expect it to be. That's just the way our town works. I checked the police reports and since our break-in there have been 2 others on our block and 2 others down the street. One good thing that may come out of this is that all of the neighbors are on watch now. Some even stop people they don't know if they see something out of the ordinary. Of course that could be extremely dangerous.
Last Saturday night there were 5 police cars at the neighbor's house. I broke down and called the landlord Monday morning. For those of you who know me personally, you know I don't like confrontations of any kind and tend to just let things go. I didn't get very far. He did inform me that he was not going to evict them with no place for them to go and that we should just continue to call the police. I don't know who is calling the police, but it hasn't been us. Wednesday the women started talking to each outside again. The only problem was...they were a block apart! So they were just yelling back and forth. Other neighbors were outside and Joe, who lives on the other side of us was outside and witnessed it all. So, while he was running errands he stopped in and saw the landlord. He was basically told the same thing I was, and he told him (the landlord) the same thing I did...we have a quiet neighborhood and we'd like to keep it like that. But, at least there are 2 complaints on file with him now.
Bill's on a special diet for a few days. We have to collect stool smears and mail them back to Mayo and he has to be on a special diet 3 days prior. It's not anything drastic, just no red meat, a few fruits and veggies are not allowed, and only moderate intake of other raw fruits and veggies. So, we're eating a lot of chicken. He can also have fish, but since I don't like fish, I don't cook it. But, if we go out I'll suggest he have it.
That's about it for this week. Hopefully since we're getting back to normal, we'll both be able to settle some and relax. We've both been hypervigilant now and since we have done what can be done to make it safer her, with the exception of turning it into an armed fortress complete with video cameras, we're going to live our lives again.
All for this week. The rain has let up for the time being and I'm sure the washer has finished, so I'd better get off here and get busy. Have a nice week-end!
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Six states, five days, almost 1500 miles, I'm pooped! This was the first time we made such a quick turn around, and I don't think we will do it again! We usually take a day after we arrive to rest up, and while we don't take a day after all the appointments, I don't think we will do it this way again! Bill had 11 appointments on Tuesday, starting at 6:45. They probably would have been broken into 2 days if it wasn't for the golf tournament this week-end. I would not have been able to extend our hotel reservations, so they were able to cram them all into 1 day.
Everything went very well and the drs. were very pleased with him. We hadn't seen Dr. Hosenpud since his first annual visit and he almost couldn't believe the way he looked. He does have an abdominal hernia, but they weren't concerned with it as it doesn't bother him. The dermatologist also found the beginnings of a small cyst on his back, but she said it wasn't anything to worry about unless it really started to grow or got painful. Other than those 2 things, all of his labs were good, his white count has gone back to normal, and there were no signs of infection or cancers. All in all a good visit. We do still have to do some stool tests here and sent back (not as bad as it sounds) and then we are done until 3 month labs in August.
We are going to start replacing things this week-end. I ordered Bill a camera Thursday after we got home. Nothing would do but we order it that night. Hopefully I only paid for it once since I was so tired. But, he wasn't turning loose of the idea. That's another side affect of the stroke. Once he gets an idea in his mind, it's the only topic of conversation until it is resolved to his satisfaction. Sometimes I get really short with him, mainly when I'm really tired like I was yesterday with something, but most of the time I try to remember that he can't help it.
So, we've replaced the TV and now the camera. We're going to get computers today. I've done some research and I think I've found what we want, at least what I want. I really don't know if we should replace Bill's laptop since he doesn't seem to have much desire to us one anymore, but maybe it will also give him some incentive. I know that I will have to set his up before I can even start on mine because I'll be interrupted too much to concentrate. Sounds harsh, but it's just a fact.
I finally forced myself to go through my jewelry. I was so afraid that the pearl and diamond earrings that my mother gave me for my 50th birthday would be gone. I was very relieved to find them in a plastic pouch with the worry stone my friend gave me while we were in Florida. The only thing I haven't found is my college class ring. I had taken it off that morning to wear a different one to church. Of course, since everything was destroyed it could have been knocked off the table and is under the bed, or under something that I haven't looked under yet. But, that seems to be the only thing missing.
There you have it, another week down. It's getting really dark out and I'm hearing some thunder now. A lovely rainy day...just what I need. But, maybe my headache will finally go away when the front gets through. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially my own, who I know will read this at some point today. I love you and will try to call tomorrow afternoon!
Everything went very well and the drs. were very pleased with him. We hadn't seen Dr. Hosenpud since his first annual visit and he almost couldn't believe the way he looked. He does have an abdominal hernia, but they weren't concerned with it as it doesn't bother him. The dermatologist also found the beginnings of a small cyst on his back, but she said it wasn't anything to worry about unless it really started to grow or got painful. Other than those 2 things, all of his labs were good, his white count has gone back to normal, and there were no signs of infection or cancers. All in all a good visit. We do still have to do some stool tests here and sent back (not as bad as it sounds) and then we are done until 3 month labs in August.
We are going to start replacing things this week-end. I ordered Bill a camera Thursday after we got home. Nothing would do but we order it that night. Hopefully I only paid for it once since I was so tired. But, he wasn't turning loose of the idea. That's another side affect of the stroke. Once he gets an idea in his mind, it's the only topic of conversation until it is resolved to his satisfaction. Sometimes I get really short with him, mainly when I'm really tired like I was yesterday with something, but most of the time I try to remember that he can't help it.
So, we've replaced the TV and now the camera. We're going to get computers today. I've done some research and I think I've found what we want, at least what I want. I really don't know if we should replace Bill's laptop since he doesn't seem to have much desire to us one anymore, but maybe it will also give him some incentive. I know that I will have to set his up before I can even start on mine because I'll be interrupted too much to concentrate. Sounds harsh, but it's just a fact.
I finally forced myself to go through my jewelry. I was so afraid that the pearl and diamond earrings that my mother gave me for my 50th birthday would be gone. I was very relieved to find them in a plastic pouch with the worry stone my friend gave me while we were in Florida. The only thing I haven't found is my college class ring. I had taken it off that morning to wear a different one to church. Of course, since everything was destroyed it could have been knocked off the table and is under the bed, or under something that I haven't looked under yet. But, that seems to be the only thing missing.
There you have it, another week down. It's getting really dark out and I'm hearing some thunder now. A lovely rainy day...just what I need. But, maybe my headache will finally go away when the front gets through. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially my own, who I know will read this at some point today. I love you and will try to call tomorrow afternoon!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Happy May!
This has been a very traumatic week for us. Healthwise it has been good, but things have gone on that made it a hard week. But...first the good.
Bill saw the hematologist Tuesday and he saw even fewer of the cells that had shown up before. He's really thinking more now that he had an infection and that it has resolved itself. He's only going to check him every 3-4 months now. When I called Stephanie to see if she wanted me to fax her the lab report or just bring them she thought that I was going to tell her something bad!
If you remember from last week's post, our Saturday was a full one with a baby shower and then a BBQ, gospel singing and preaching service for a mini-revival at church. The shower was huge! Little Hallie Hope will not need much more except lots of love from her family. The BBQ was a success with so much food left over that we were able to eat again on Sunday, the music was fantastic and a great speaker. He was one of those that isn't pompous, but just talks, and the subject was something I needed to hear. He also preached Sunday morning and we were able to meet his wife. She has lots of health problems and usually doesn't travel with him, so we were glad she chose to come.
And now for the bad...when I unlocked the house after church I saw that we had been broken into. "They" had broken the glass out of the back security door and then reached in and unlocked it. It was the 1 time that Bill hadn't locked the deadbolt, which can only be locked/unlocked with a key. They then kicked in the wooden storm door and the door leading into the kitchen. They took my desktop computer, both laptop computers, our TV, a portable DVD player, Bill's digital camera and about $60 in change. There's probably more missing because they packed one of our suitcases with loot. But, the reason we don't yet know what all is missing is because they completely trashed the house...things pulled out of every closet, every drawer open, things and paperwork just thrown everywhere! We discovered that they did not take the 2 tablets or the 2 nooks, although I thought they had taken one of those, and when I went to get breakfast Monday morning my box of Poptarts was empty. We've also since discovered that they took a box of snack crackers and an almost full package of my unmentionables! Why anyone would want to steal "granny panties" is beyond me, but I guess Mother's Day is coming! It looks like most, if not all, of my jewelry is still here, but I haven't had the heart to go through it all yet.
The easiest thing during all of this was dealing with insurance. I filled out the claim online and the adjuster called at 10:30 Wednesday morning. I gave him the list of items with dates and approximate prices and by 4:45 he called back with some figures for us. It was more than we had thought it would be and he even said that we would probably get more once we replace things and send the receipts. He was able to do a direct deposit and the money was in the bank yesterday morning! So, if any of you are members of AARP and looking for insurance, check out Hartford. The homeowner policy we have was double the value of the old policy for about half of what we were paying, and we saved almost 6 months of premiums on the car insurance, with better coverage! OK, that's the public service announcement.
Bill was more upset about the change being missing because most of it was in the talking bank I got him for Christmas. I tried to tell him that the bank was not expensive and I would get him another one. It was just one of those gifts that show up around Christmas to get when you don't know what else to get. But, as I was cleaning up in the bedroom, I found the jar under some pillows and the top was in his clothes hamper! I'm more upset about my laptop computer. That has all of the tax information for the FAMILY on it, plus medical forms. I also collect knitting and crocheting patterns and some of them came from sites that are no longer active, or I just plain don't even remember all of them! I think we have all of the family pictures because they were on CDs or our external hard drives, which they did not take. I'm hoping they just wiped them and didn't really look at what there was.
There were a couple of little blessings with this, and I've said throughout Bill's difficult recovery that every trial can be turned into a blessing. Bill has an antique double-barrelled rifle (yes rifle, not shotgun) that was either his father's or his step-father's). They did not find it, and we didn't either. But, Bryan remembered where it was and has now taken it to his gun storage locker. My sister had given me a silver dollar minted the year I was born for my 50th birthday, and even though they had gone through the drawer it was in, they missed it! My mother had given me a Bible for Christmas one year that my step-father had given her for Christmas. Because it's not a full-size book, I kept it in my computer case and of course they took the case. But, I had moved it to the briefcase that Mayo pharmacy sent us instead. So, a few little victories.
All of this has made us a little fearful of leaving tomorrow for Bill's checkup, but we've done what we could. The security door has been repaired, and we replaced the glass with plexi-glass. We've bought an alarm system and it was installed and activated yesterday. I also broke down and purchased some drapes for the living room. I don't like heavy curtains and have always just had sheers up. So, I'm compromising with some drapes and sheers so that I can leave the drapes open some. The only thing we've replaced so far is the TV and that was another fiasco. We've been pricing the other things, but decided to wait until we get back to buy them.
Buying the TV itself was not a problem, but it is a little wider than the one we had, so we also had to buy a new stand for it. We did some looking and they are so expensive! I didn't want to pay more for it than we did for the TV! We got one from Walmart and spent 6 hours putting it together. It was 3/4s done and when we turned it over for the next step...it collapsed! Because we were so stressed as it was I said I wasn't going to try it again. We were going to take it back, but we couldn't put it back in the box. I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning it, so we gave it to Mistie. Hopefully they could put it together. We were going to use the cedar chest as a stand until we found something else and then I remembered we had an old dresser we weren't using. I had planned on moving it into the living room and putting it in front of the window to store my yarn, but it is making a wonderful stand for the TV. It's the same finish as the tables and looks perfect! I need to get new hardware for it and it will be done. I think we paid about $25 for it from a junk store a long time ago.
We were going to take the Thunderbird to Florida and leave my car in the driveway so that people would think we were home, but decided we would be more comfortable in mine. We've done about all we can to make the house more secure and I'm not going to let these punks (and we think it's the teenagers who live in the house with the kids who broke the tree) make me live in fear. I just refuse to not leave my home when I want. Yes, right now I get a little twinge when we both go somewhere together, but we haven't gone through everything we have with Bill to not be able to enjoy life! We have so many friends and neighbors who have said they will keep watch that make us so grateful for good neighbors (well, most of the neighbors)!
I've found that it's hard to do something like this on my tablet, so don't look for an update while we are in Florida, and we will be home before time for the next one. At least they didn't take Bill's desktop. I don't like the way he has it set up and I'm itching to change it to what's easiest for me, but I'm holding myself back
This is the longest post in a long time! Oh for normal again! Until next Saturday, enjoy this nice weather (at least it's nice here)!
This has been a very traumatic week for us. Healthwise it has been good, but things have gone on that made it a hard week. But...first the good.
Bill saw the hematologist Tuesday and he saw even fewer of the cells that had shown up before. He's really thinking more now that he had an infection and that it has resolved itself. He's only going to check him every 3-4 months now. When I called Stephanie to see if she wanted me to fax her the lab report or just bring them she thought that I was going to tell her something bad!
If you remember from last week's post, our Saturday was a full one with a baby shower and then a BBQ, gospel singing and preaching service for a mini-revival at church. The shower was huge! Little Hallie Hope will not need much more except lots of love from her family. The BBQ was a success with so much food left over that we were able to eat again on Sunday, the music was fantastic and a great speaker. He was one of those that isn't pompous, but just talks, and the subject was something I needed to hear. He also preached Sunday morning and we were able to meet his wife. She has lots of health problems and usually doesn't travel with him, so we were glad she chose to come.
And now for the bad...when I unlocked the house after church I saw that we had been broken into. "They" had broken the glass out of the back security door and then reached in and unlocked it. It was the 1 time that Bill hadn't locked the deadbolt, which can only be locked/unlocked with a key. They then kicked in the wooden storm door and the door leading into the kitchen. They took my desktop computer, both laptop computers, our TV, a portable DVD player, Bill's digital camera and about $60 in change. There's probably more missing because they packed one of our suitcases with loot. But, the reason we don't yet know what all is missing is because they completely trashed the house...things pulled out of every closet, every drawer open, things and paperwork just thrown everywhere! We discovered that they did not take the 2 tablets or the 2 nooks, although I thought they had taken one of those, and when I went to get breakfast Monday morning my box of Poptarts was empty. We've also since discovered that they took a box of snack crackers and an almost full package of my unmentionables! Why anyone would want to steal "granny panties" is beyond me, but I guess Mother's Day is coming! It looks like most, if not all, of my jewelry is still here, but I haven't had the heart to go through it all yet.
The easiest thing during all of this was dealing with insurance. I filled out the claim online and the adjuster called at 10:30 Wednesday morning. I gave him the list of items with dates and approximate prices and by 4:45 he called back with some figures for us. It was more than we had thought it would be and he even said that we would probably get more once we replace things and send the receipts. He was able to do a direct deposit and the money was in the bank yesterday morning! So, if any of you are members of AARP and looking for insurance, check out Hartford. The homeowner policy we have was double the value of the old policy for about half of what we were paying, and we saved almost 6 months of premiums on the car insurance, with better coverage! OK, that's the public service announcement.
Bill was more upset about the change being missing because most of it was in the talking bank I got him for Christmas. I tried to tell him that the bank was not expensive and I would get him another one. It was just one of those gifts that show up around Christmas to get when you don't know what else to get. But, as I was cleaning up in the bedroom, I found the jar under some pillows and the top was in his clothes hamper! I'm more upset about my laptop computer. That has all of the tax information for the FAMILY on it, plus medical forms. I also collect knitting and crocheting patterns and some of them came from sites that are no longer active, or I just plain don't even remember all of them! I think we have all of the family pictures because they were on CDs or our external hard drives, which they did not take. I'm hoping they just wiped them and didn't really look at what there was.
There were a couple of little blessings with this, and I've said throughout Bill's difficult recovery that every trial can be turned into a blessing. Bill has an antique double-barrelled rifle (yes rifle, not shotgun) that was either his father's or his step-father's). They did not find it, and we didn't either. But, Bryan remembered where it was and has now taken it to his gun storage locker. My sister had given me a silver dollar minted the year I was born for my 50th birthday, and even though they had gone through the drawer it was in, they missed it! My mother had given me a Bible for Christmas one year that my step-father had given her for Christmas. Because it's not a full-size book, I kept it in my computer case and of course they took the case. But, I had moved it to the briefcase that Mayo pharmacy sent us instead. So, a few little victories.
All of this has made us a little fearful of leaving tomorrow for Bill's checkup, but we've done what we could. The security door has been repaired, and we replaced the glass with plexi-glass. We've bought an alarm system and it was installed and activated yesterday. I also broke down and purchased some drapes for the living room. I don't like heavy curtains and have always just had sheers up. So, I'm compromising with some drapes and sheers so that I can leave the drapes open some. The only thing we've replaced so far is the TV and that was another fiasco. We've been pricing the other things, but decided to wait until we get back to buy them.
Buying the TV itself was not a problem, but it is a little wider than the one we had, so we also had to buy a new stand for it. We did some looking and they are so expensive! I didn't want to pay more for it than we did for the TV! We got one from Walmart and spent 6 hours putting it together. It was 3/4s done and when we turned it over for the next step...it collapsed! Because we were so stressed as it was I said I wasn't going to try it again. We were going to take it back, but we couldn't put it back in the box. I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning it, so we gave it to Mistie. Hopefully they could put it together. We were going to use the cedar chest as a stand until we found something else and then I remembered we had an old dresser we weren't using. I had planned on moving it into the living room and putting it in front of the window to store my yarn, but it is making a wonderful stand for the TV. It's the same finish as the tables and looks perfect! I need to get new hardware for it and it will be done. I think we paid about $25 for it from a junk store a long time ago.
We were going to take the Thunderbird to Florida and leave my car in the driveway so that people would think we were home, but decided we would be more comfortable in mine. We've done about all we can to make the house more secure and I'm not going to let these punks (and we think it's the teenagers who live in the house with the kids who broke the tree) make me live in fear. I just refuse to not leave my home when I want. Yes, right now I get a little twinge when we both go somewhere together, but we haven't gone through everything we have with Bill to not be able to enjoy life! We have so many friends and neighbors who have said they will keep watch that make us so grateful for good neighbors (well, most of the neighbors)!
I've found that it's hard to do something like this on my tablet, so don't look for an update while we are in Florida, and we will be home before time for the next one. At least they didn't take Bill's desktop. I don't like the way he has it set up and I'm itching to change it to what's easiest for me, but I'm holding myself back
This is the longest post in a long time! Oh for normal again! Until next Saturday, enjoy this nice weather (at least it's nice here)!
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