Saturday, March 29, 2014

Another week has passed already! We both agreed last night that this week has gone by awfully fast.

I've been down with a cold all week. When we went to church last Sunday I thought it was warmer than it was so didn't wear a heavy coat. When we came out the wind had come up and it was downright cold! And, Monday morning woke up with a cold. I'm still not feeling well, but the medicine helps some.

Bill has had a good week. He's spent quite a bit of time on the treadmill. I think the warmer weather has helped. He's also taking some initiative again with his meds, taking them without me reminding him. Now, if he would just take them on schedule instead of too early, but, one step at a time.

Our family problems are resolving themselves. One was resolved as best it could be, the other was not, but it was not our final decision. I only hope and pray that, with time, things will turn around.

Our schools have been on spring break this last week, and we did miss the school buses. They will start again Monday and things will get back to normal. Even though we only have grandkids in school, it seems to throw things off when they are out.

I've been feeling the need to go somewhere for a few days, but the choices I've come up with haven't been appealing. I haven't said anything to Bill about it but I'm ready to get out.

We got a new itinerary from Mayo this week and noticed they had now scheduled an Opthomology appointment into our already full 1st day. Instead of starting at 7:30, we would now be starting at 6 am! But, I called Stephanie and told her he had just had his eyes checked and everything was fine so she cancelled it and put us back to our original schedule. Sometimes I think they just fill in the time slots and don't take into consideration that we have to eat at some point between all of the appointments. I'll have to remember to bring some crackers and granola bars!

I can't think of anything else for this time. Hopefully you all will have a good week ahead!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Spring is here, spring is here! Also my allergies. I've had all the usual allergy symptoms this week, and spring just arrived Thursday!

We've had a pretty good week. It started badly Saturday when Bill lost his college class ring. It has been too big since the transplant and we had just checked on getting it sized on Friday. We found we would have to send it back to the company and I printed out the form for it Friday evening. He noticed the ring wasn't on his finger Saturday afternoon. We had been to the grocery store and he had reached for a couple of things so we went back there and checked those shelves but no luck. We did leave our phone number but I doubt if we hear anything. I dug through trash bags and we've looked everywhere we can think of here in the house. I told Bill we would just get him another one, but found out that this company doesn't have a contract with his college anymore. So, we're having to find another one for him.

He did quite a bit of walking this week on the treadmill. It's easier for him to do it when it's not so cold getting to the apartment to do it. He also did his usual chores of vacuuming and making the bed.

We went to West Memphis to eat tonight with his daughter Aimee and her husband Lee and youngest daughter Danyelle. They had been to Georgia to see Aimee's mom in the hospital and were on their way back to Oklahoma. They had wanted us to meet them last Saturday for breakfast on their way through but we were supposed to be getting Kayden and Kiyann for the day at the time we would be meeting them. At the last minute their step-dad got the day off so they stayed home with them. But, we had a good visit with them this evening. We got home a little after 8:30. They were going on home but they weren't sure if they were driving straight through or not. It was still another 6-7 hours for them. But, Lee said if they got tired they would stop somewhere.

The kids here are on Spring Break this coming week. We'll probably oversleep since it seems like the school buses are what wake us up in the mornings! Ah, the retired life!

We're still dealing with some family problems, on both sides of the family now. We shall see in the next few days what will happen.

All for this week. Be blessed!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Finally some warm weather! I think maybe, just maybe, spring is finally going to arrive!

We've had a good week, it went really fast for some reason. It doesn't seem like we were any busier than usual, maybe it was the time change! Usually this time change does me in, but I've felt better and had more energy than before. I do remember that the fall time change bothered me this year which is unusual.

The time change does play havoc with Bill's med schedule. We got so used to the 7 and 7:30 times that I'm having to tell him it's too early to take them! One thing that wasn't addressed in all the training I received was how to adjust for time changes. I know how to adjust for time zones. I just decided that since it had been 7 and 7:30 that now it would be 8 and 8:30. In the fall we will go back to the other. We'll know in May when they do his labs it it's working this way.

I had some lab work done this week and the dr. said that whatever I was doing to keep it up. My cholesterol was lower than it's been for a long time and everything else was in the normal range.

Bill has been using his treadmill again. Now that the weather has eased it's easier for him to get into the apartment. We also had a granddaughter playing high school softball this week and we went to her home opener. Bill did pretty good, walked from the parking to the stadium, to the restroom (an uphill walk), back to the stadium and then back to the parking lot.

All for this week. We have had some family things going on that have added some stress, mainly to me. But, God and I have had a long talk about it and I've found a little more peace about it. For family members and close friends reading this, I'll let you know what's going on when we get a little more information.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

It's a good thing Bill and I enjoy being together! We haven't been apart since last Saturday afternoon.

The weather came in Sunday morning, a little mix of rain and freezing rain, so we decided not to go to church. By noon we were getting mostly freezing rain, with a little sleet mixed in. Mid-afternoon it was all sleet and I have never seen it sleet so hard, and so long, in my life. It was still sleeting at midnight before it changed to snow. When it was all said and done, we got a glaze of ice, 6 inches of sleet and 1-2 inches of snow on top of that. Our area was totally immobilized.

Now, a week later, I think I can get out of our driveway, if I back up instead of pulling through. There have been so many cars stuck, especially on the interstate. That mess actually made the national news. People were stuck from the Missouri state line to the Tennessee state line, 16+ hours. For some reason Arkansas doesn't do anything to the roads. All of the standard excuses were used, we don't get that much snow/ice, the storm came too fast, people were told to stay home and didn't listen, etc. etc. Most of the trapped people were truck drivers and people travelling through. All of the snow removal equipment is based in the northwest corner of the state (around University of Arkansas) and this storm had been forecast for more than a week. So, most of the excuses were just that, excuses. Schools were closed all week and many businesses were also closed. The main bright spot is that we didn't lose power at all. Emily and Bryan did, but they were able to borrow a generator. They did bring us some bread and milk the other day and Bryan had to put his truck in 4 wheel drive to make the turn into the driveway!

The sun has finally come out and it's been above freezing for the past 2 days, so we're going to try to get out today some. I'm tired of being in the house!

Bill tried something new this week and we were both pretty proud of him. Instead of wearing his slip on loafers to church, he had put on his black oxfords and tied them himself! That was quite a feat for him. Too bad we didn't make it to church! I've also noticed that he's using his left arm more and it doesn't seem to hang limply like it had before. So, there seems to be some improvement there also. He's also walking a little faster and seems to be more focused when he is moving.

One thing that people seem to forget is the reason we don't go out in bad weather. But, when you have a compromised immune system to begin with, from all of the anti-rejection medications, you don't put yourself in a compromising position. The things that so many people take for granted don't apply to us anymore. And by us, it also applies to me. I can't afford to get sick with something that I may pass on.

So, all for this week on this bright sunny day. Now if the sun would just melt the ice!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

It's 6:30 on a Saturday morning so why am I up? This is the time I usually wake up, but after 2 text messages back to back and a weather alert alarm at 5, I gave up when the dollhouse fell down in the toyroom! So, it will be a long day today.

We're still dealing with the wacky weather! It was cold most most of the week and going to get colder. And, yesterday we had sleet...while it was 55 degrees! Of course all of the weather men were trying to explain how that happened. I don't really care how it happened, just that it was another weather phenomenon in a year of weird weather. Today is supposed to be in the upper 50s and tomorrow is supposed to start at 50 and end up at 15, with a winter storm warning starting at noon. We're supposed to get 1/2 inch of ice from freezing rain and also sleet and snow. The high Monday is only 25 with wind. Brianna's high school softball season starts Monday afternoon, but I imagine the games will be cancelled. In any case, we are not going and she said she totally understood why.

Bill's had a good week. He walked some and ventured out by himself to the bank and Walmart. I'm still a bundle of nerves whenever he's out by himself. He was apparently a little dry this week because he was also up 2 nights with leg cramps. That's usually a sign that he needs to drink more. So, I got him some bananas in case it was low potassium and made him drink more and they have since stopped.

I made another quick trip to Jonesboro yesterday. We had been again last week to get some yarn for an afghan that is made in a class I'm taking but I didn't get enough of 1 color. I thought Walmart might have it, but they've quit carrying the brand I needed, so back to Hobby Lobby I went. I also needed to check for a new shower rod, the ones I got at Walmart  for our main bath won't stay on the wall. Every 3 weeks or so they fall down and I'm getting tired of putting them back up. So, stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond and got the type of rod I wanted in the first place and then hit Hobby Lobby and was only gone 3 hours (including 2 hours of drive time)!

We received a package for Don and Shirley (Bill's sister and husband) from Omaha Steaks Wednesday. Now all I have to buy for groceries are side items.

My plan for today is to go to the grocery store to get what few items I need. I want to put a pot of chili on tomorrow afternoon after church. I also have a feeling we will have a house full if power goes out like they think it will. So, it's time to lay in some supplies. Bill's job today is to bring in some firewood. We've been keeping the woodbox in the house full, but since it's gotten warmer we haven't had any fires for a few days. So, that's his job for today.

I was pleasantly surprised to see spring training baseball on TV this week. I've made it through another off season!

We did have a disturbing event in the neighborhood this week. A prominent businessman in town lives behind us. You wouldn't think anything special about him to see him, drives an old beat-up sports car, house is not ostentatious, just an ordinary guy. Anyway, during the night Tuesday, thieves jacked up his SUV and stole all 4 tires! My friend who called and told me about it said they were at least courteous enough to put the vehicle on cinder blocks when they were done! So, we've been leaving the outside light on all night now since MY SUV sits out all night and we splurged and got the nice chrome rims. But, on a positive note, maybe since the theft was from a prominent person in town it will be investigated more thoroughly than if it was a "normal" citizen.

So, that's our week and the news from here. Bill just opened the bedroom door and trekked to the bathroom so he's up now. Time to start the day!

If you're in the path of this storm, and most of the nation is, stay safe, warm, and dry. Until next week...