Posting early again this week, not because of being busy like last week, but because I'm bored! Does that tell you how things are going?

We had a nice Christmas with the family Christmas Eve, although it wasn't without some drama. But, apologies have been made and accepted and we've moved on. Feelings got hurt and lessons were learned, but all now is good.

Our own Christmas was very quiet. We didn't have a traditional dinner since we had just had it the day before. I made lasagna and garlic bread and that was it. We had some munchies to snack on throughout the day and evening.

Our week has been uneventful. We made a trip to Jonesboro to return a gift and look for a replacement. We weren't successful finding the replacement, but it was a nice day, traffic was light and the stores weren't even too busy.

We have no big plans for tomorrow night. Bill had seen some sandwiches made on TV last week and said they looked good, so I'm going to fix those for us, with maybe some other appetizers. We'll probably watch the ball drop in New York (happens at 11 our time), and then go to bed. If we get to sleep fast we can sleep for about 45 minutes before the gunfire starts. That's the big thing here, firing guns into the air. It's really crazy and it's illegal, but they do it anyway. We'll just stay inside and hopefully safe.

I'm ready to take all of the Christmas decorations down. Usually I wait until the 1st, and while it isn't too far away, I've been ready to do it for most of the week. I have enjoyed sitting in the dark with just the tree lights on in the early morning and late at night, but I want everything else put away. At the same time I dread doing it and getting everything packed away again.

That's about it. No medical issues or crises. The 26th it was a year from Bill being hospitalized with pneumonia. It took a lot out of him and he's really never recovered from it, but it also led to the emphysema/COPD diagnosis, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

I hope the coming year brings nothing but good things to everyone who reads this! Happy New Year!

Posting a day early this week since I will be super busy tomorrow!

Our week has gone well, and fast. We're both still coughing some, Bill more than me. It's still hard to tell if it is this cold, or his emphysema, or any number of other things to watch for. But, no other symptoms or signs of anything, so I'll just keep monitoring.

He's about to drive me crazy with his oxygen tubing. He has nearly 50 feet, which is the maximum you can have. I don't know why unless it is because the force of the "push" lessens the farther it has to go. Anyway, instead of just letting the tubing follow him, he rolls it up like a lasso. Then we end up with 50 feet to trip over in the bedroom! Or, he'll roll it up and stick it under the handle on the concentrator and then can't figure out why he can't go anywhere! He also puts it underneath his pajama top, which then shortens it. Ah well, gotta love him!

We did have some pretty wild weather over the week-end. The high Saturday was 75 and we ended up with thunderstorm and tornado warnings. When the front went through, we had a 54 degree temperature drop! Sunday it didn't get out of the 20s, and we didn't get out of the house except to feed the cats. It has gradually warmed through the week and by Christmas could be back near 70 again.

Brianna's surgery went well and her therapy is also going well. She's had 2 therapy sessions, and at the second one she went from 45 degree bend to 70 degrees, and this just 3 days post-op! She told her mother that it "hurt like hell" but she did it anyway.

I've been watching the cats and it seems we have 4 permanent ones now, 3 tortoiseshell and a black one. Usually the black one is the first one out to eat after I come back in the house. I watched them the other day and 2 of the tortoiseshell ones were waiting for their turn. Both tried to sneak a bite and the black one head-butted one and swatted the other one. I think I'm going to name that one Bossypants! The original cat, the one with no tail, I've name Lizzie since the first time we saw her she was eating a live lizard. I haven't come up with anything for the other 2 yet. But, last night 3 of them were out to eat, 2 waiting patiently and Big Daddy showed up. This is yet another tortoiseshell, but he is big! And he just strolled in and pushed the others out of the way! 

We were rudely awakened at 5:30 this morning with the house alarm going off. At least we know we will wake up to it. I was up a second before the security company called. She stayed on the phone with me while I went out to check the garage and apartment doors. Everything is fine, the sensor for the garage had fallen off. Time to replace the adhesive on the back! That will really get your heart racing! Bill went back to bed, but I've stayed up, and I was sleeping so good! Oh well, I've had my quiet time this morning.

Tomorrow is our family Christmas at Ryan's. I'm going to be cooking all morning and then we have to figure out how to get everything into the car, without forgetting Bill and his oxygen. We're supposed to take Kayden and Kiyann with us, but there isn't going to be any room, so Emily is taking them and then we will bring them home since we won't be bringing as much stuff back with us. I only have 2 gifts left to wrap and all the stocking stuffers have been bought...I think.

We have a beautiful red sunrise this morning. I know that red signifies rain, and it is supposed to start raining tonight, with more tomorrow night in to Christmas Day. Not supposed to rain all day so maybe it won't be so bad.

I guess we are officially "shut-ins". We got a fruit basket from church yesterday. Almost every Christmas card we got from a church member said they wished we would start coming again. Most of them have/had been told that we probably won't since Bill finds it so hard to concentrate and to follow along in his Bible. He also remembers that it was at the Christmas dinner last year that he got so sick and ended up in the hospital. And that really scared him, I think. They are having service at 3 Sunday so we will have to see if he wants to go, but I probably know the answer.

I think this is it for this week, and this is the longest post in quite a while. I hope everyone has a good Christmas. My side of the family will be gathering at my sister's tomorrow night. I don't know what Bill's side is doing. Shirley will be tied up all day tomorrow and tomorrow night with church services probably. We're breaking with tradition and having lasagna for dinner. I told Bill I wasn't cooking a big dinner, after a big dinner at Ryan's. 

Merry Christmas!

I think we're going to blow away today! It's very warm and windy, already in the upper 60s. We're supposed to get some severe weather late this afternoon and then have a 40-50 degree temperature drop. I think our low tonight is supposed to be about 15 with a high temperature tomorrow in the low/mid 20s. The rain is supposed to change to sleet and snow late tonight but no accumulation. 

We're had a basic week. We're both feeling better, not coughing as much. We haven't gone out much to be with people. We did meet Bill's daughter Aimee and her husband for breakfast Wednesday. They had been to Virginia for a family funeral and their way home comes within an hour of us. They try to time things that we can meet for a meal. So, we were up and out early, had a good visit, and saw some other friends at the restaurant.

Except for some small things Christmas shopping is done. There are some back-ordered things that should be in any time, but everything else is done, wrapped and under the tree.

Our granddaughter Brianna is having surgery Monday to repair her ACL in her knee. We're just hoping she'll be off crutches by graduation since she's a senior this year. So, if you think of it, about 9:30 Monday morning, say a little prayer or think good thoughts. We would appreciate it.

That's about it for this week. I hope everyone stays safe this week-end. The weather all over the country is crazy for the next few days, so stay aware for your area!

Brrr! Winter arrived this week, and according to our weather people it's going to get colder. Although to some of you reading this, lows in the lower 20s and highs in the mid 30s isn't cold. We've actually laughed at the weather people in Memphis when they are talking about the "frigid" temperatures. Since both of us grew up in the north (me in Illinois and Bill in New Hampshire/Massachusetts), we know what frigid is, and this is not frigid! It felt really good to me to breathe in the cold air yesterday, but didn't feel as good standing at the gas station in the wind pumping gas! Oh well, taking the good with the bad!

We're still dealing with these darn colds. We'll have a day with no coughing or snotty noses, and then the next we're both hacking and blowing and sniffing and nothing seems to work to alleviate it. But, we both feel good, no fever, or anything other than the stuffy heads and coughs. And with Bill, it's hard to tell the difference with a cold cough and his emphysema cough. We walk a fine line every day with it!

Almost all of the Christmas gifts have come in and about half of them are wrapped. That's my project for today. All of the cards are addressed and ready to go to the post office. One gift has to be sent off and that needs to be taken in to be packaged.

I found out yesterday that a classmate passed away. She had a disease that caused her brain to shrink. I don't remember what it is called, but it's debilitating. She has spent the past several years in a nursing home. It's sad to lose someone at any time, but seems more so at this time of year. Bill's former brother-in-law also passed away this week. We just pray for the families that are left.

That's about it for this week. I need to brave the cold and go out and feed the cats. They are tucked waaay back under the house to get out of the wind. I feel sorry for them, but I know they won't get into a kennel outside the house so I'm not even going to try. I still don't know how many are under there, at least 2. I think some of the ones that are coming to eat live across the street and just come for the free buffet! Stay warm if you need to!

This week seemed to go very, very fast. I don't know why because we both didn't feel well and didn't do a whole lot, at least at the beginning of the week.

We're still fighting the colds, although I feel much better. It was 2 weeks yesterday, and Wednesday afternoon I realized that I didn't just feel better, I felt good! Of course Thursday is when Bill started to feel really bad. I've already warned him that we are not waiting like last year to visit the dr. But, I think the few days in the hospital with pneumonia scared him. He's not complaining about his oxygen and I think he's decided there is life after oxygen!

We pulled all the Christmas decorations out yesterday and while I was unpacking boxes, Bill was dismantling the mantle and dusting! He then helped pack the pictures and candle/scentsy burners and what-nots and carry the boxes back to the spare bedroom. We both got the tree up and the mantle decorated, but he let me decorate the tree while he supervised! We also tried to start his car, but that didn't work. We charged the battery and everything worked...except it wouldn't start. It's like it isn't getting any gas, and there is gas in it. So, we'll get Bryan here sometime and see if he'll bring his brother-in-law Grady to look at it. We also had to check out the plumbing in the bathroom in the apartment. The toilet needs new innards. We're also going to see if Bryan will do that. Bill was never a good plumber, even before he got sick. If he plumbed, it was going to leak! He also started the generator and let it run for a bit. So we are ready for winter in that respect.

I was so tired and sore from moving all the boxes of decorations around that we both went to bed at 9 last night, and didn't wake up until the alarm for Bill's meds went off! My back is much better this morning and I've got the 3rd load of laundry in the washer, load #2 in the dryer and load #1 already folded and put away.

I've got most of our Christmas shopping done, just waiting for most of it to come in. Ryan and Amanda are hosting the family Christmas this year. This is the first time for them and I'm excited just to not have to do it here. Bill isn't too enthused about going, but I'm making him. He's gotten so he uses his health problems to avoid going places. I understand that, especially being in crowds of people with colds. But, some things he just needs to do. We'll have extra oxygen and I can even take some surgical masks in case we need to.

Guess that's all for this week. The dryer should be buzzing before long and then it will be time for lunch. Where has the day gone!

Blogger strikes again! They have changed the way I see things when I click on my account and I don't like it! This shouldn't affect the way you view this blog, though. They have made the page secure now, but you don't have to change the way you get to here. Just a little frustration for me, more keystrokes to get to what I want.

OK, enough of that! We've had a good, busy week. I did not go to the dr. for my cold. I have gotten better, just have a lingering cough now, but the aches and headache/sore throat are mainly gone. Energy is still low so I do things in spurts, work awhile, rest awhile.

Bill started sniffling yesterday and I could tell he was stuffy. But, this morning he seems to be better. We don't have anything planned for the next few days so if he gets sick, we can just stay in.

We had a good Thanksgiving. McKenna came Wednesday night and stayed until yesterday evening. She's still a little young to go Black Friday shopping with the rest of her family. She also didn't want to "deal with all that mess" with dinner with the other side of the family. We enjoyed her and she helped cook. We were all tired by the time she was picked up and she was ready to go home.

I don't do the Black Friday stuff, but I did order a couple of things yesterday and got good deals on them. I'm planning on doing more online ordering today. I had already ordered some things and got one shipment yesterday with more coming this week. Emily picked up a gift for Ryan for me so I guess I need to be thinking about getting the house decorated. I'm actually ready to do it and I never like doing it this early!

That's all for now. I hope everyone had a good holiday and that the shoppers were successful. See you next week!

All good things must come to an end. After a summer of relatively good health sickness has struck our house.

We got our flu shots on Monday and had no ill effects from them. Our arms didn't even get sore. Tuesday morning we headed to Oklahoma to take our wood splitter to Mary Rose and Jack. It was a really quick trip, but we had a good time seeing William and Petra. We hadn't seen them since William was 2 and Petra was about 2 months. He is now 4 and in pre-k and Petra will be 2 in January. They were both a lot of fun.

Bill did well with them for the most part. Not being used to little ones it was a little overwhelming for him at times, and tiring. When we got back to our hotel Wednesday night, about 7 he was asleep by 8.

We came home Thursday and it was a 2 hands on the wheel day, very windy out of the south, and since we were heading east most of the time, my arms were tired. But, both of our travel days were good with light traffic.

But, I woke up yesterday morning at 5:30 with a very sore throat and felt progressively worse throughout the day. I slept on the couch last night so hopefully Bill won't get whatever it is. I have a fever blister, sores in both ears, the sore throat, pounding head and now starting to cough. I don't think I've had any fever but it's hard to tell since it hasn't been over 97.4. I usually don't run low, so it's hard to tell. I've been taking the standard OTC meds and if I'm not better by Monday I'll go to the dr. 

Bill is trying his best to take care of me, but there's not much he can do except get me drinks. He did help me fix supper last night...soup and grilled cheese for him, just soup for me.

It's a good thing we had no plans for Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll feel better Monday, at least enough to get us a small turkey breast and a few of the fixings. But if not, it may be a "whatever we can find in the freezer" holiday. I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. Just remember it's not just a day for food football, but a day to be thankful for the what you have, no matter how much or little it may be.

Grrr! I was 3/4 of the way through a post and it all went away! And even though it saves periodically during the process...you can't access it! Or at least I can't see where you can access it. So now, I have to try to remember what I wrote!

This week seems like it has gone very fast, and we haven't done much of anything. We voted early and didn't have much of a wait. I think next time for a major election Bill will vote absentee. Arkansas has a strange law that limits you to 5 minutes at a voting station (we don't have booths anymore). This was a pretty long, wordy ballot this time. Plus, older people who aren't comfortable with technology are uncomfortable to begin with. So, I think we will do the absentee thing at least for Bill. That way he can take his time.

I have spent the better of 3 hours over the last couple of days removing anything political from my Facebook feed. It doesn't matter who posts it, conservative or liberal, I'm automatically deleting it. I'm not deleting/unfriending the people posting it, because they are entitled to their opinion, but I don't have to read it. And that's enough said about that.

Bill has been walking just about every day this week. He doesn't use his oxygen to walk to his mancave, which is the attached apartment to our garage for those that may be new visitors here, but he does use it while he's walking. His cough is worse some days, but others he doesn't cough at all. It makes it hard to tell if it is just the emphysema cough, or a cold, or a rejection problem. So, ever vigilant. His nose has been drippy for the last few days and this morning his voice is deeper, so he is congested some. He also had an upset tummy last night. I think it was a combination of sinus drainage and not taking his omeprazole. We are trying to wean him off of those since they can cause problems after prolonged use. I can tell a difference when he doesn't take them. He doesn't sleep as well and he seems to have indigestion through the night. I had tried every other day this week, but will go back to daily.

It has finally gotten cold enough to turn the heat on. It's supposed to frost tonight so we'll just stay in. It's harder to breathe cold air for people with compromised lung capacity and it is advised to stay in, so that's what we will do.

I saw our friend Ron at Walmart this week. We hadn't seen him or Buddy all summer, which is really unusual since we saw them once a week. He told me that he feels sorry for Bill since he needs the oxygen all the time now. He remembers how he was before the transplant and stroke. And, anyone who knew him before can really tell a difference. But, as I told Ron, he's alive and he gets around and still does as much as he can. He also told me that Buddy got hit and killed a couple of weeks ago. He's still very upset about it. I had to break that to Bill since he loved that dog, but he took it well. I still haven't put away his basket of toys. I'll probably do that while Bill is out walking. It's in a corner now and can't really be seen, so he doesn't think about it much anyway.

Our cat has brought some others in! I have seen an adult black one that is gorgeous, very stately with an extremely long tail. Yesterday I watched a younger black one come over from the house across the street and later saw it sunning on the fence that encloses the air conditioner. There was also another tortoise shell one (this one had a tail and the first one doesn't) eating. As far as I know they all live under our house. It will be our luck that we will have babies before long. They still run when they see us, but Miss Kitty will watch me talk to her. She won't come out until I open the door to come in, but she doesn't hide completely. When they multiply again I'll have to call animal control to trap them. I can do 1 or 2 but not a lot of them.

We're going to make a very quick trip to Oklahoma in the next few days. We are giving Jack (son-in-law) our wood splitter. We have to coordinate around work schedules for them, and they aren't able to come here to get it right now. Mary works week-ends and William is in pre-k, so we're going to take it. We also have seen the baby since she was about 2 months old and she'll be 2 in January. We're both tired of travelling so it will be a quick trip.

I think this is it for now. Hopefully I get it posted before it goes away again. Have a great week-end!

This trip seems to have had a little bit of everything! We had no problems getting to Jacksonville for the Celebration of Life tribute. We did not go to the Friday evening ceremony, by the time it started I was wearing out. We found a new little diner for dinner and the food was fantastic and enough to feed 2 people. Bill had a huge open face roast beef sandwich and ate every bit of it, even after saying he wouldn't be able to eat it all. I think he left a couple of bites of mashed potatoes. I had some pretty good ribs and of course ate all of them.

The ceremony on Saturday was very nice and we saw some people we knew from before. But, at lunch, which was catered by a bbq place that has really good food, my esophagus decided to do it's little spasm thing 3 bites in. This time I couldn't get it stop and we ended up leaving before the closing ceremony and butterfly release. I coughed and gagged stuff up (I know TMI) for 2 hours before it finally stopped. When it does this it seems like the food doesn't make it passed the base of my throat. So when I say I gag stuff up, it's not like vomit, it's actual bits of food that have just been laying around in my throat. For that matter, it's anything that I take in, including iced tea and diet coke. Usually the carbonation will help with moving some air, but not this time. I did some research on this and it basically said to avoid what triggers it, but since I don't know what is going to trigger it that's hard to do. It also said to suck on a peppermint candy so I did that and by the time it was dissolved, the spasms had stopped. The peppermint is a natural smooth muscle relaxer. I was able to eat that evening although I took it easy with scrambled eggs and my throat was pretty sore for a few days, but all seems well now.

It took forever to get to Bill's sister's house in Clearwater. There was a traffic jam outside Orlando so we let the navigator take over and got off the highway. We ended up going through downtown Tampa, but I knew the road we were on would take us to our hotel at the beach.

When I called our oxygen supplier to get some replacement tanks, I was told we were supposed to give 2 weeks notice. We were not told that, we were told to just call our regular number and they would set it up for us. We did get some replacements and we free to sightsee, but our brother-in-law is not in good health right now and none of us really felt like doing a lot. Of course Bill still can't do a lot of walking as he does get tired easily and now so does Don. But, we enjoyed just visiting with them.

The trip back to Jacksonville was pretty uneventful. I got off the interstate at St. Augustine and we came in the coast road. We could see piles of debris from Hurricane Matthew and there were still piles of sand on both sides of the road, whether that was from beach erosion or piled there for people to fill sandbags, I don't know. We also noticed that some homes had been marked and we've wondered what that meant. They are still cutting out downed trees and foliage and the cleanup is going to take quite a while yet. We have not gone to the beach here, I don't think Bill wants to see his pier missing the last 1/3.

All of his appointments were today and he got good reports. All of his labs were good, and even though they were a little dismayed about the oxygen, they didn't try to tell him that exercise would help him get off it. Yes, exercise will strengthen the lungs, but emphysema has destroyed some lung tissue, so he will always have diminished capacity now.

So, that's been our 2 weeks. We are ready to get home and plan on leaving pretty early in the morning. But, I know I won't get to bed early since the 6th game of the World Series is tonight and it can be won tonight. I hope it isn't because that will mean that the Cubs have lost, but I have to watch it. 

I don't think I will update this again this week, but will have another update on the 11th. Happy November everyone!

We haven't had a real good week, or at least I haven't. The changing of the seasons cold got me the first part of the week. Felt really miserable Monday, but it's been off and on the rest of the week, feeling good one day and not so hot the next. I think it's been a combination of the weather changing plus smoke all around from the fields being burned.

I noticed Tuesday night that my right calf was very tender just below and to the side of my left knee. It didn't feel feverish, but I could tell it was swollen. It still hurt Wednesday so I got in to the the nurse practitioner. She said she could feel good pulses everywhere along the leg, but was concerned that my foot was cold...until she felt the other one. It was freezing in the waiting room and I had worn sandals. Since there is a family history of blood clots, plus being overweight and a mostly sedentary lifestyle, she sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound of the vein. She also told me to then go home and put my leg up with heat on it. The technician said she didn't see any clots, just that it looked like a varicose vein. I followed Connie's instructions and sat with my leg up with heat, but that seemed to make it hurt more. When the nurse called the next day she said that there were no clots, but there was no plan of action. So I guess I'll just watch it and try to move some more and sit differently. I do tend to sit with my legs curled most of the time, and I know that I shouldn't, but it is what it is.

I haven't slept well most of the week. Part of it was because of the baseball play-offs, with one game going until 2 am. I think it's more stress than anything since I've been worried about my leg, getting ready to go to Florida and just general worries.

Bill's cough has gotten worse, or so it seems to me. He's also been stuffy and then runny so it may be the same thing I've had. He's been doing better with keeping his O2 on when he's moving around and I can tell there's a difference in his cognition. He seems to be more aware of things. 

I've got to figure out all of the logistics with the oxygen again for traveling. I know I can have some delivered while we are there but it's for all of the down time we will have at Bill's sister's house. We could take the small concentrator to her house from the hotel, but her house is very cluttered and I don't know that we could find a place to put it and plug it in. I could also have one of those delivered to her house, too. Something else to work on before we leave Thursday. I also need to find a rolling tote that opens at the top to carry a couple of the small tanks while we are at Mayo. I looked here in town and couldn't find anything so will probably have to make a trip to Jonesboro in the next few days. Need to start making my list.

We tried an automatic feeder for the cat this week and Thursday night I think we fed every nocturnal animal around. We were afraid that the cat was gone or dead since she didn't come out when I took her some wet food. It stayed in her dish all day, but when I checked about dark it was gone. I went out with some dry food and she finally came to the opening of the crawl space, and then came out after I went in to eat, so she's OK. She didn't look injured anywhere. So now we have to figure out something about getting her fed while we're gone, but I think we have a plan for that.

We do leave Thursday for Florida and will be in Jacksonville for the week-end, then to Clearwater for a week to visit family and then back to Jacksonville for Bill's check-up and then back home. We'll be gone a full 2 weeks this time, the longest in a quite a while. I was hoping that early voting would start before we leave but it doesn't start until the 24th. But, we'll be back in time to vote. I just don't want to have to stand in line on election day.

I guess this is it for this week. I'm not sure when I'll get this updated while we're gone. I'll try to keep on the same schedule of sometime Saturday, so don't worry if it's not updated until later in the day or evening. Until next time...

 

We have a cat! Well, we kind of have a cat. When my sister was here we went out the backdoor to sit on the patio and there was a tortoise shell cat sunning on the wood box. As we came out, she ran under the house and then sat there looking at us. The next day when we went out, she was "hunting" and we watched as she caught and devoured a lizard, completely! She's not skin and bones so she's been eating. My sister put out a left over piece of pizza and some parmesan bread bites that night and the next morning there was only crust left, and that was gone later in the day. I've been feeding it here and there and she's getting better at not running away, but we are not going to try to tame her. She can stay an outside cat that just gets fed and watered. She's had something wrong with her tail, whether she was in a fight, or it was diseased, but it has steadily falling off. Thursday night more had come off and I could see that the end was raw, but last night it was black, whether it was covered with fleas or dirt I couldn't tell. 

The cat was really the highlight of the week. Bill did do some walking this week, more than he had been doing. I'm starting to get a little concerned about his memory. He's always had trouble with word recall since the stroke, but now he's forgetting what things are. He asked what carrots were on the veggie tray the other night and I told him to take his pills and he picked up an inhaler and asked if that was what I meant. I'm going to say something to Stephanie when we go to Mayo. Before the transplant he was on Aricept and Namenda, even though the Dr. said that he didn't have any signs of Alzheimers or dementia. They were finding that using them enhanced the regular memory of older patients. Dr. Yip took him off of those after testing with Mayo psych also showed no signs, so I don't know if he will want him back on them. They may also interact with his transplant meds, so I don't know.

Harvest is going right along, but with that comes the dreaded field burning. This is the only place I've seen where the fields are burnt off after harvest. Not only does it affect people with breathing problems, but it affects driving by obscuring visibility. There was a fatality last year just shortly after we had driven through the same area. Farmers say they can't afford the extra fuel or wages it would take to plow the stubble under. There have been attempts to get the practice outlawed but nothing yet. They are supposed to have a tank of water at the site and be on-site themselves, but that usually doesn't happen. They are also not supposed to burn when the wind speed is above a certain mph, but that usually doesn't happen either. So, we're trying to stay in when we see smoke in the area.

We've checked in with our friends in Jacksonville and they have all made it through the storm. I saw this morning that Bill's beloved pier has been damaged and I think the hotel we have stayed in on the beach was flooded. Our family members are all located on the gulf side of the state and they were not affected except by a little rain.

It's gotten cooler today, was in the 40s last night. I've got a crockpot full of ham and corn chowder going. It's a new recipe and looked and sounded really good. I've also got laundry going. And now I have to work on getting my printer re-installed. The windows 10 update this week knocked it out and even though the system can find it, it won't install it. So, that's on my agenda today. Or maybe not. I don't need the cowl pattern I was trying to print that bad...or do I?!? See you next week!

It's cotton-picking time! Last week-end when we went to Hardy with my sister, we saw several fields that were already defoliated and ready for picking. Yesterday we drove up to see Ryan and some of those fields were picked and others that still had foliage on them were now ready for picking. I could smell the defoliant even in the car and it wasn't long before I could feel my throat closing up. So, I won't spend much time outdoors for a couple of weeks.

We had such a good visit with my sister. She's heading to Niagra Falls tomorrow with her sister-in-law. She said they've never traveled this far together before and may be home Tuesday! I don't think that will happen, though, and they will have a good time.

We haven't done much this week. Bill did use his treadmill a couple of times. He's really going to have to get back into it before we go to his check-up, although I think they will be able to tell that he has deteriorated some. I don't think he has ever fully recovered from when he had pneumonia. He's not complaining as much about using oxygen 24/7, so we'll see what happens when we travel.

Our weather has been lovely, only in the 70s for most of the week. It's supposed to get a little warmer this coming week, but the 90s are gone!

That's really about it. Today is laundry and maybe getting a few groceries. But, I do have some things in the freezer that I can get creative with so who knows, groceries may wait! 

Happy October!

Sorry for no post yesterday. There is nothing wrong, we were just very busy.

Our week started out with a bang, the dishwasher overflowed through the washer drain so we had a flooded laundry/computer room again. I called Roto Rooter but they couldn't get here until Tuesday. So, sopped up water again, although this was much worse than just from the laundry because it also washed out debris from the garbage disposal as I had been cleaning out the refrigerator. It took the technician a little longer than he thought it would but he got it running free. Then, it was washing up the towels again and getting it all cleaned up again. I had to wash the towels twice and use a laundry boost to get the smell out but it got done.

I've also had a secret that pertained to this week...my sister came to visit Thursday! We didn't tell anyone she was coming so that we could have just sister time, with Bill of course. She actually came to have me do her taxes. She's a partner in a business that always files an extension for the business taxes so it makes her taxes late, too. We haven't even done the taxes yet! We've just visited, and yesterday we went to Hardy, Arkansas to go to the antique and craft stores. It was also a good trial for Bill and his little tanks. It's also a little hilly and of course walking in and out of the shops. We had lunch in a little diner and then started out. Bill sat on the benches outside most of the time, but it was really hot again so he couldn't stay out long. We all got pretty tired and headed home and got in about 5, just in time to order pizza and just sit again.

Bill did fine and we had to change his tank while we were there, but we managed just fine.

Today is going to be for taxes and a little insurance research and more visiting. She's leaving tomorrow, she thinks. She says as long as she gets home in time to go to work Weds. afternoon, but I think now she's leaning toward tomorrow.

It's supposed to cool down tomorrow and I am really ready. The temperature on the bank in Hardy said that it was 100 yesterday afternoon, and Hardy is in the foothills of the ozarks. It's been just as hot here in the flatlands. But, tomorrow the high is only supposed to be 79 and a little rainy...nice fall weather.

So, that's why this is late, our week was adventurous but nice with family around. Until next time, and it should be on time!

This week has been trying at times. If you remember, I've told you about the problem with our washer drain. We've not gotten anyone to look at it, I just stop the washer while it's draining. Since it only does it when the wash cycle is over, I just have to look at the time when I start it, and about 20 minutes later, give or take a minute, it's time. Well, I decided to wash a couple of our little throws that were looking a little dingy. After I got them started, I got a box of paperwork to look through to shred and...you guessed it, I missed the time by 5 minutes. There was water everywhere! So, mopped and sopped and then had to wash a load of towels. We still haven't gotten anyone to look at it yet, but it's going to have to happen.

I noticed on Thursday that Bill was getting very winded, or so it seemed, whenever he walked. We are also still dealing with these colds and he's coughing more than usual and it sounds productive but I don't think he's actually coughing anything up enough to get it out, or if he is, he's just swallowing it. Anyway, he had walked through the house looking for me and was breathing very hard when he sat down, so I checked his O2 sat and it was 86. It did come up to 90 but didn't go any further. So, got him back on the O2 and that's when the battle really started. He says he's doing fine without it and he doesn't notice that he sounds like a freight train without it. It could also all be due to the cold restricting him, but I don't think so. I'm thinking that the emphysema is progressing faster than we thought it would.

He will sit with it on with no problem, but he takes it off to walk to the bathroom or kitchen, which defeats the purpose! I showed him how far he could go with it on (it's 47 feet of tubing), so he's pretty independent with it. He can go into the computer/laundry room to his chair, he can get coffee and put it in the microwave if necessary and use the toaster. Of course he can go to the bathroom with no problem. But, he's still fighting me every step of the way! Not only do we have the concentrator, and an extra one in his mancave to use while he's on the treadmill, we have 6 small ones to use when we are out and about and 2 4 ft. tanks that have a wheeled cart. I told him we could put one of those tanks, with a separate length of tubing in the kitchen so he could take the trash out. He can also use a small tank in his backpack to take the trash to the curb on pick-up day. Yes, it's inconvenient but it's doable. So, we shall see what happens in the coming week. 

We haven't gotten the paper itinerary yet, but Mayo called this week with his appointment schedule and it will work perfectly with what we were planning. So, I have all of our hotels booked and, including the visit with his sister, we will be gone exactly 2 weeks.

Well, better get started with my chores. I'm going to put the laundry room back together since I know that everything has dried out by now. It's almost time to start changing out clothes. We are both so ready for fall. It's supposed to be in the 90s all next week again, and has been this week. It's also been more humid again. It did rain most of the night after we went to bed and a little this morning. It looks like it could rain again and it is supposed to rain at different points throughout the day. But, I have no real plans to go anywhere so it can rain all it wants.

Hope everyone has had a good week and will have a good one ahead. We're planning another little day trip next week-end so that will be something to look forward to. Have a good week-end!

The day is getting away from me. I guess because we slept later this morning, although by sleeping in standards, we still got up pretty early. But it was later for me than usual.

We both gave in and let the cold that's going around get the best of us. I caught it Tuesday and felt horrible until Thursday. I still don't feel great, but much better than I did. Emily told me it lasts about 8 days before feeling really good so I'm about halfway there. Bill started getting "snotty" Thursday and felt bad yesterday. He feels and looks better today so maybe because of his daily antibiotic he didn't get a full dose.

We received some very sad news Wednesday. Our transplant friend Paul passed away Wednesday morning after a short but painful battle with lung cancer that moved to several other organs. He was a sweetheart of a man and will be missed by a lot of people. As one member of the support group said, he was truly grateful every day for his heart and the extra time he was given.

Our weather is supposed to start cooling down this coming week and we've been told that the lows will start in the 50s and drop to the 40s by later in the week. I don't know if I'm ready to turn the heat on yet, but I am ready for the 90s to be gone.

We went to Applebees for our anniversary dinner Saturday night. We like their 2 for $20 and 2 for $25 menu. And for those who don't frequent them much, you can get 1 meal from the $20 and 1 from the $25 for $22.50. Isn't that fun to know? We really don't care about the cost that much, we just like the food and they do a good steak.

Those are the highlights of our week. We're finally getting the hedges trimmed today. The young man gave us a quote of $30 for 7 bushes/hedges and I told him that was way too low. He said he hates giving estimates and he's always too low. So, until next week...have a good one!

Another normal week. I don't even really know what to put here. We had no problems with health, although Bill is coughing more lately and doesn't seem to want to do anything. He's done this before so I'm not sure what's going on. The weather has changed and a lot of people around have head colds. But, his cough is just his normal cough and all of his vital signs are good, so it's puzzling.

We did make an impromptu trip to Dyersburg, TN to JoAnn Fabrics. We were gone exactly 2 hours and it's a 45 minute trip each way. We went for one specific thing and it was in stock. Since the drive is through the country, and a lot of our trips are through the country even when it's not by choice, we, or at least I, noticed that farmers have started harvesting the corn. That means that defoliating the cotton will begin soon and I will want to hibernate.

We've heard from our Florida friends and family and they have all weathered the storm. Most had mainly rain. I've seen that our South Carolina ones have been online, so they must be OK too.

I felt the big Oklahoma earthquake this morning. By the time the wave got here, it just felt like I was laying in a hammock gently swaying instead of my bed that shouldn't be moving. I didn't hear any rattling of glassware or anything and Bill felt nothing at all. And, our OK people are fine.

Looking at our calendar for September, there is nothing on it except for today. It is our 26th anniversary, and Bill's daughter Aimee and husband Lee's anniversary, and I think for them it is #10. We're probably going out to eat tonight, although I told Bill even if we ordered pizza that would be OK too since our first "date" was pizza. One of the effects of the stroke is that Bill doesn't have much concept of time. He asked me how many years this would be and when I told him he just said "Damn, has it been that long?"! I don't know if he was meaning that's a long time or it doesn't seem like it's been that long, and I don't think I want to find out! I'll just take it as time flies when you're having fun!

All for now. For those of you who watch college football, enjoy the games today. As for us, we'll stick to watching baseball!

We've slowly gotten back to normal, whatever normal is. All of our cold symptoms have gone away and Bill is back to exercising, at least every couple of days. We had a drier week than last week with only some pop-up showers this week.

We did have McKenna one day this week. She fell Wednesday night and landed on her left wrist. There was an EMT at the church and he checked her out and said that he didn't think it was broken. I picked her up from school, she only lasted 30 minutes, and took her to the dr. for xrays. He didn't think it was broken and couldn't see anything on the xray but wanted her splinted for a few days. Since she's left-handed she couldn't write so she didn't go back to school. He did give her some pain pills and after she took one she slept for 3 1/2 hours, so she wasn't going to take any more of those if she needed to be awake.

Today is Kayden's first pee wee football game. He's so excited! It was 2 1/2 hours away so there was no way we were going to try to go. I think our days of watching the grandkids do things are in the past. It's sad in a way, but we have to do what is best for us.

We did go to Jonesboro Monday afternoon and got my ring inspected and made a stop at Hobby Lobby for some yarn, as if I really needed any more. But this was for a special project. I was hoping it could be done in blue since I have most of the shades needed, but no, it was purple! I have so many projects going now that I'm going to set up a schedule for working on all of them together. That may not work, just have to see. We stopped at Sonic on the way home for a milkshake since it was too early for dinner out and then we didn't eat anything at all that night.

Today's already been a busy one, laundry more than half done, and talked to my sister and my daughter. When the laundry is done I'm going to finish my shawl project that I had ordered. I had to order more yarn and got it all done except for the edging at the neckline last night. I don't like the way the instructions say to pick up the stitches, so I took it out and will do it a different way that will look better.

That's it for the week. The dryer just buzzed again so that means the sheets are done so back to work for me. Have a good week!
 

It's been a busy, but productive morning! Breakfast cooked and eaten, 1 load of laundry put away, another in the dryer, 1 in the washer and 1 more waiting, and a pot of chili in the crockpot...and it's not even noon!

We haven't had a good week. Bill started showing all the symptoms of the cold that is making the rounds. So far OTC meds have kept it back and he says he's feeling better, but Thursday was pretty rough for him. He hasn't run any fever, but his appetite was off, he was coughing more and he didn't argue when I told him he needed to keep his O2 on all day. I also told him if he hadn't felt better by yesterday he was going to the dr. We were not going to chance pneumonia again, especially since we know for sure that his lung capacity is diminished. But, not only did he say he felt better, he looked better and his appetite is back. He's out on his treadmill now since it's in between the rain showers and the sun is actually shining a bit.

We have had rain all week, hence the chili. It's not cold, in fact it's very warm and humid. But the gray days along with the rain has put me in the mood for soup of some kind. As I told Mistie last night, I'll just crank the air down and get it really cold in the house!

My thumb has healed nicely. When I looked at it Sunday I thought that it could have used a couple of steri-strips. I don't think it needed stitches, just a couple of strips. But, it has closed and doesn't hurt. Ahh, the wonders of neosporin!

School started for our area this week. Grandma's taxi ran for a few days and may have a few more runs to make. Although Brianna does have her license, she can't drive alone until December. Just one of the quirky laws here. Whenever she has something after school, she misses the bus and if the weather is bad, she can't walk to Em's office, or my house. But, I told Bill, it's only until December and I don't mind.

We are probably going to Jonesboro Monday to get my ring inspected before the month is out. It's supposed to be nice Monday and Tuesday before rain moves back in the end of the week. I also want to look at some yarn. I'm actually trying to find projects to use the yarn I have on hand and I found an afghan pattern to make for someone. I have all the colors I need for it except for one and she loved the pattern...but wants it in a different color and of course I don't have the colors she wants! At least Bill doesn't kick about it.

That's about it for this week, I think. If you're where it's raining, stay dry. I have a friend affected by the flooding in LA. She posted on facebook last night that she was finally able to go back to her house and there had been 52 1/2 inches of water inside. She said there just were no words to describe it. There are no words of sympathy that would make a difference to her either. I saw a statistic that said one parish and 105,000 people affected and there were only 135,000 residents. Kinda puts it into perspective.

 

 

 

Have you ever thought about how much you use your thumbs? I really didn't until last night after I sliced mine open on a soup can lid. After we finally got it to stop bleeding and got a bandage on it that would stay (mainly because it had stopped bleeding), I'm finding I can't do much! Of course it's my right thumb and I'm right handed. But, normal things in the bathroom, dressing/undressing and typing. Needless to say the dishes didn't get washed last night. Hopefully today Bill can help me get the dishwasher unloaded/loaded. And while I can knit, I can't purl and there is 1 purled row in the pattern repeat in the project I'm working on now.

Other than the excitement of blood everywhere last night, we've had a pretty normal week. The nurse came Monday and just had some follow-up questions to ask. He was a really nice man. I don't know how often he will follow up or if this will just be a one time visit.

Bill had a few days of violent sneezing and nasal drainage that nothing much would help. It started out of the blue. I gave him Benadryl and that didn't touch the drainage. I could tell it was really bothering him in the evening so I gave him some Tylenol Cold and Sinus and that worked a little better but not much. Finally settled on a generic chlor-tab and that worked for 12 hours instead of 4. He did wear his oxygen some that afternoon since it seemed like he was having trouble breathing and I know that O2 dries out the nasal passage, so maybe that helped the most because he slept well each night. He had no sneezing or drainage yesterday, and the weather was changing, but it has started some again this morning.

That's about it for this week. Nothing unusual going on. Hopefully we'll get some rain today. The state is supposed to inundated with water this week-end, but our area is supposed to be in the drier part. It is so dry now my trees are dropping leaves like crazy. I still think we are living a real life "Under the Dome" here. Everywhere else gets rain, we get thunder and 10 raindrops and that's it.

I noticed this morning that there was a spike in readership overnight by about 200! That's a pretty big jump. I also have a new follower. I hope that whoever you are that you've learned something you were needing to know and thanks for following along with our journey!

Until next time...

We've had another busy, busy week. It slowed down in the last couple of days, but 2 days we were out of the house before 7:30.

Tuesday was Bill's visit with his pulmonologist and it had mixed results. His PFT (pulmonary function test) was improved over the one done in January. That's not surprising since he was still recovering from pneumonia then. But, whenever he exerts himself his O2 level is dropping into the low 80s, which is dangerously low. That also explains the trouble he had walking while we were at the wedding, not just the humidity and hills. So, we're back to oxygen during the day...if necessary. Dr. Burbeck said that if he is just puttering through the house, and his level is 94 or above, he doesn't need it. But, if he's doing any walking outside the house, such as at Walmart and especially on his treadmill, he needs to be using it. Of course he still needs it at night too. Bill was not happy about this and I finally told him that he may as well just stop taking his meds and die then if he wasn't going to try to do everything to help make his life better. After a couple of hours he decided that it wouldn't be too bad, and this was before the new equipment came.

A new company is supplying everything, and it is much better than the old one. They brought a small concentrator (bigger than the one we bought but smaller than the homefill one we had before). They also brought 2 medium size tanks and a six pack of small tanks. They told us that they would check with us every 1-2 weeks and see what we need replaced and they would replace the inner filters in the concentrator every 6 months. They also said that we can call the company and let them know if we are going to be out of town, where we will be and when and they will have equipment waiting for us! I don't know if we will take advantage of that since we have the small concentrator, but we may for the convenience of getting replacement tanks while travelling. After 30 days we can swap all of the tanks for a portable concentrator that runs on batteries or AC/DC, but our O2 man, Billy, said what the ads don't tell you is that the battery life is very short and that they aren't as lightweight as advertised. So, something to think about for a month.

We took the small concentrator to Bill's mancave and set it up next to his treadmill. Of course we made sure that the tubing wouldn't get caught in the machine. And, he's using it while he's out there. He also didn't argue about taking a small tank yesterday when we went out for breakfast and then to walmart. He only used it at walmart and did fine.

This company also has a nurse affiliated with it and he's coming Monday to do some kind of test. It may be a PFT and I can always give him a copy of the one done Tuesday.

Wednesday we had to have his quarterly labs done, so we were out the door early to be there when they opened. We then went to breakfast and were going to get my ring inspected to keep the warranty valid. But, we would have had to wait almost an hour for the store to open and then drive the hour home, so we decided we would do that another day. Just as long as it's done sometime this month.

Thursday was a down day, after the early mornings. I've found that I don't mind getting up early, but I don't like getting dressed that early, especially without much coffee!

Yesterday was my birthday and Bill took me out for breakfast and dinner. The most work I did was making coffee in the morning, popping a frozen pizza in the oven for lunch and filling our weekly medicine containers. Bill bought me a new book and I had ordered a knitting kit that I had been eyeing for quite some time. It came in yesterday and the yarn is lovely and nice to work with and the pattern is working up pretty fast.

Stephanie called yesterday with his lab results and they were all good. His kidney level was better than it had been in May and Dr. Hosenpud is not ordering any med changes. She did ask if he had seen the dermatologist and I had totally forgotten that we were supposed to make an appointment to see one! So, that's something to do next week, get that appointment made.

Bill's already out walking on the treadmill. I think he's trying to get it done before it gets too hot. Our heat index yesterday was 116 and it just took your breath away to go out. It's not supposed to be as hot today and there's a decent chance of rain this afternoon, then it's supposed to cool down some.

I think that's it for this week. Other than the nurse coming Monday and getting the derm appointment we have nothing scheduled so we'll be back to as normal as it ever gets in this house! Have a good week!

What a week we have had! Our trip to the Ozarks for my nephew's wedding was fun. They were married in Thorne Crown Chapel in Eureka Springs, AR. It is second only to Las Vegas for destination weddings in the US. It is a glass and metal structure in the woods and has won several architectural awards. The wedding was at 6 pm and the light coming through the windows was just beautiful. Find it online and check it out for yourselves.

Bill did not do well with all of the walking, lots of hills, even in the hotel area to get from our room to the pool or restaurant. So, we didn't do a whole lot. We did drive through the historic loop and saw all of the little shops, but since that area is also very hilly we didn't do any shopping.

We did enjoy visiting with a cousin that we hadn't seen for 10 years, and that was at my brother's wedding, and it had been 8 years before that at my daughter's wedding. So we did do some catching up.

We took the backroads through the country both ways and the weather was good. McKenna just kept saying how beautiful everything was. Both of the girls had a good time and Brianna even got her daddy out on the dance floor at the reception. The DJ announced that it was McKenna's birthday and everyone sang happy birthday to her and there was a cupcake with a candle for her.

Yesterday was a dreary, rainy day and I woke up with a raging sinus headache that wouldn't go away. We took Kiyann out for breakfast for her birthday and then shopping. She cleaned up on Monster High dolls and they were all on clearance.

My headache is better today, just tries to come back a little every once in a while. We've already been to Walmart to buy groceries and have them put away. I need to fill our medicine containers sometime today but not going to do much else yet. Laundry can wait until tomorrow.

That's about it for this week. Bill has an appointment in Memphis with the pulmonologist Tuesday but nothing else going on that I know of.

This has seemed like an extremely long week. I guess it's because we are going on a mini-vacation to a wedding this week and we're really excited about it.

It's been so hot this week that we neither one have done anything much outside the house. It's been just about too hot for Bill to even walk to the apartment to use the treadmill. Not only were the heat indexes 105-115, the actual temperature was 98-100. We still have a heat advisory through tomorrow night.

The wedding is in the Ozarks and it's not going to be much cooler there than here so it's made wardrobe choices hard. We decided on a long sleeve dress shirt for Bill and forego the sport coat. The attire is "dressy casual" so it will have to do. He gets so cool in air conditioning, hence the long sleeves. Of course he's supposed to wear long sleeves all the time due to his meds, but that doesn't happen.

It will be fun to see some family members that we haven't seen for about 10 years, and that time was also for a family wedding. But, that's better than another cousin that I only see a funerals!

Brianna went to Dance Camp for her dance team at school. The team would have been known as a pompom squad back in the day. They did very well and Bri and 2 other girls have made the All American Team and will get to dance at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis! She's really excited and has already started to raise money. The cost is about $1000 for 3 days in Memphis, a rodeo, parade, game and a uniform. If family members want to go for the entire experience, the cost per person is $800. Since we only live an hour from Memphis, I told Em to just buy tickets to the game! I don't think we will go and I hope there will be a DVD we can buy. Although, there will be so many girls from across the country, we probably wouldn't be able to pick Brianna out anyway, whether we were there or not!

We took McKenna out for breakfast for her birthday this week. Her birthday is the day of the wedding, so we celebrated a little early. Kiyann's birthday is the same day and we told her we would take her out for breakfast when we came home. She wouldn't say OK until she made sure that we would take Kayden out for his in October. Those 2 have always been very close and take care of each other.

I had to get my drivers license renewed this week. It didn't expire until my birthday next month, but the Revenue Office is always really busy the first part of the month and  they weren't really busy this week. I was in and out in 8 minutes! Just told the girls I was still old and fat!

We didn't watch any of the convention this week, and I doubt that we watch any of the one next week. And that's all I'm going to say about politics!

My washer is just about ready to shut off so it's time to get back to work. Enjoy your week-end and week. Stay cool!

Another week in the books!

We did a little local shopping for Bill for "wedding attire", but didn't have any luck. One big drawback to where we live. We have a mens store, but the prices are too high. Our Penneys store carries only casual clothes, unless you want khaki, and khaki, and khaki. He already has enough khaki, we were looking for grey dress pants! 

We've both been working on colds this week, Bill more than me, and he felt really lousy the first part of the week. Mine is just a stuffier than usual nose and a sore ear, which has since calmed down. Bill's cough also has gotten better.

I dropped a full can of bug spray on my foot Wednesday night. Oh my the pain! It hurt for even the sheet to touch it for quite a while. I was surprised the next morning that there is just one little mark at the base of a toe, all the toes work, there is no major bruising or swelling. My first thought was that I had broken something and now I would have to find different shoes to wear to the wedding! Of course if I don't get a pedicure soon, I'll need to where knee-high boots!

Brianna got her driver's license this week. She still has to drive with a parent for 6 months, even though she is already 17. But, the rules are the rules. She's not very happy about it and neither is her mother since she still has to chauffer her around!

We went to Ryan's yesterday to help him get a new tire for his truck. We met him at the repair center and they were very slow. We visited with him for almost 2 hours and sat out a major storm and then headed to Jonesoro for dinner. He lives in between Blytheville and Jonesboro, just a bit to the north. We finally used the gift card to Red Lobster that we had received. We got there pretty early for a Friday night, or so we though, and we still had a 20 minute wait for a table. That seemed really odd because there were several empty tables so maybe it was a staffing issue. Anyway we had a good dinner and Bill brought about half of his home. I'll probably eat the extra cheese biscuits!

We don't have any big plans for the week-end. It looks like it is clouding up again. We're into the summer of the pop-up rain showers. Hopefully there won't be any storms like yesterday. The rain was heavy enough to have several flash flood warning issued.

All for this morning, Bill is probably getting hungry, so better get into the kitchen and feed him. Have a good week-end!    

We survived our July 4th celebrations with a minimum of fuss. We did not cook-out, but had our steaks anyway and they were quite tasty if I do say so myself. The neighborhood was basically quiet compared to other years. The neighbors fired enough fireworks that we were able to watch from inside the house. It's also noisy for a few days after, but not this year, only a couple of firecrackers.

The rest of the week was routine. We were forecast severe storms and McKenna spent most of the day with us. She was home alone since Brianna was babysitting and since they live in the country Em asked if we would bring her into town. The storms did not materialize but we had a nice afternoon with her.

My nephew is getting married toward the end of the month and this week I started looking through clothes. I know what I'm wearing, I've known for months. But, Bill needed to try on his suit so we did that yesterday. His sport coat fits well, but not the trousers. We had planned on shopping this week-end, but decided to go next week instead.

It's dreary and cloudy today, but cooler than it has been. Our heat index yesterday was 108 again. Even though it's cooler it's very humid, so still is hard to breathe. We had a doozy of a storm come through in the middle of the night. It was actually the wee hours of the morning. It was one of those where the lightning and thunder arrive at the same time, shaking the windows and bed. And getting jarred awake at 3:30 gives a little kick to the heart rate! It was very ironic because when the storm was winding down I got 2 weather alerts on my phone with a storm warning! It doesn't look like there was any damage. I don't think the wind was much of a factor, just lightning and heavy rain. But, we needed it and now I don't have to water today! We're finally getting some grass back and the lawn is looking more like normal.

So, that's been our week, just normal every day stuff. Hope you've had a good week, too.

It finally happened this week! We finally got some rain. Monday afternoon it rained really hard for about 20 minutes and then slowly for quite a while after that. We also got another little shower Tuesday afternoon. The temperature dropped 10 degrees Monday and felt very nice.

Because of the rain, and the watering we did, our grass is finally starting to come back some. Maybe by the end of summer! Anyway, it doesn't look nearly as bad as it did a couple of months ago.

It's been another of those weeks where not much happened. The highlight, other than the rain, was that I had to buy a set of tires for my Journey. I had one that was very low and while we were putting some air in I notice a huge screw head. It was one of the ones with a hex head. We were able to get it plugged, but the type of tire I have is on national back-order with no expected available date. I didn't want to put an odd tire on, so, a new set of tires! After all, it's only money! And, I wanted to be sure about the tires since we have a couple of trips coming up.

Bill is out walking on his treadmill this morning. We have a chance of rain for this afternoon and the entire week-end. The best chance of rain is for Monday afternoon/evening. It's a good thing we weren't planning on going to the fireworks display! We haven't gone for the past several years, too many people, too many mosquitos. So, we'll watch one of the big city displays on TV. I have a couple of steaks for us to grill but that can be done any day.

That's about it. There have been a couple of tragic events in town over the last couple of weeks, but I'm not going into detail about it. It's just been a very sad time here.

All for now. Need to check my spaghetti sauce and, as usual, yarn is calling my name. I got some lovely yarns yesterday, but I'm having trouble finding just the right patterns. So, swatching is on the agenda today to see what will work. Be safe celebrating our country today!

Oh how I wish this weather would break! We've had 2 days of lovely thunder...and about 10 raindrops! Yet the other end of town has gotten decent rainfall. We have virtually no rain chances in the 10 day forecast although a front is supposed to come through Monday. It's been so beastly hot and for the past couple of days, and just issued for today, is a heat advisory.

We've been watering the lawn early in the morning and late in the evening, but so far there is no sign that the fertilizer is going to work. I even told them not to mow last week. Some places do need cut, while most of it doesn't. Hopefully by the time they come next week we'll have some improvement.

I've had a headache for most of the week, due to the weather I'm sure. Bill also hasn't had much energy and has only walked a couple of days. The air conditioner went out in the apartment. But, it was in the house when we bought it and we've been here almost 19 years. Bryan went with us to get a new one and we got one of the newer ones that sit on the floor and vent through the window instead of fitting in the window. We got that one for 2 reasons, there have been a lot of thefts of window units lately, so it won't be stolen, and since the central unit for the house isn't hooked into the generator system, if the power goes out we can always bring it into the house and at least cool the bedroom if necessary.

We received a "save the date" card for the Jacksonville Transplant Alliance's annual tribute to transplants. They have this event in October and it has never been at a convenient time to coincide with Bill's check-up. This year it is the 21 & 22. We've decided that we are going to go to it this year and then go on to Clearwater to visit with Bill's sister and then go back to Jacksonville for Bill's check-up. We don't have a firm date for that yet, but since they do it around the transplant date it should be from Nov 1-3 or so. We have our reservations for the first part of the trip but we can't make the others until we know for sure how long we would need the room. We're staying longer in Clearwater than we usually do, and doing it this way, we're hoping I won't get so tired driving. It seems like the drive from Clearwater to home is grueling even though we still break it into 2 days.

We finally got the hedges trimmed and gutters cleaned yesterday. Our former daughter-in-law's husband came with our grandson Kayden and they got it all done in a couple of hours. It's so nice to be able to see out the bathroom window again without looking through the jungle. I was starting to feel like the little guy from the Laugh-In show who would peek through the bushes!

All for this week.Try to stay cool!

According to the calendar, it's not officially summer yet. Someone should tell Mother Nature! It's been oppressively hot all week. Our heat index Thursday was 111 and the actual temperature was 98. Guess who hasn't left the house much!

We've continued our closet cleaning this week, but haven't gotten as much done as I wanted. The weather, on top of farmers burning wheat fields, has played havoc with my allergies. Even though the humidity is up, we haven't had any measurable rain, so all the dust and smoke just hangs around. I woke up Thursday morning with a headache that lasted all day. I finally went to bed at 9 and slept nearly 10 hours. Felt fantastic yesterday and woke up with the headache again this morning. It's not as bad but I have no "oomph" to get anything done. 

Bill has walked just about every day this week. It's a good thing the little 30 year old air conditioner works in his lair. But, he said just walking to and from since he has to go outside just about does him in.

We didn't go to Red Lobster last week-end as planned. By the time came I was too tired to drive the hour to Jonesboro. But we did go out to a local restaurant that we hadn't been to for awhile so that was nice. We both brought home enough to have lunch the next day.

I've been notified that there is a map update available for the navigation system for my car but I'm having a horrible time trying to get it downloaded. The plug-in I need isn't compatible with the Firefox browser and since Windows 10 did away with Internet Explorer...so, I thought that I could use Bill's desktop since it still has either Windows XP or Vista, I can't remember which. But, the monitor won't come on. It keeps telling us that there isn't any signal and to check the video cable, but it's fine. Then I decided that since I hadn't upgraded his laptop, I could use it. But, he hadn't used it for a year so it had to charge overnight before I could boot it. I worked on it some yesterday and then decided that I was getting too impatient with it. So, I'm going to try to stay calm and do it today. I have the plug-in downloaded and the information downloaded from the car onto the thumb drive, so maybe it will go smoothly today. Who knows!

I don't know if I said anything about our lawn service killing our lawn this spring. They "treated" it to kill the weeds and it killed everything! They still came by and cut the little patches that were growing, but mostly we have dirt. The owner of the business came by the other day and I asked it we were ever going to have grass again. He said that now that it has gotten hot he'll be able to fertilize it and that next week, right before we would get a shower, he would come and fertilize and then the grass should take off. Well, they came yesterday afternoon and spread some white pellets all over, but left us no instructions on what to do with it. We also aren't forecast to have any rain all next week! So, I don't know if we need to water it or just leave it. This is the first time we have ever had any problems with this service, including all the time we were in Florida. They continued to mow each week and emailed our invoice so that we could pay online. But, this year has been different. This was also the first time they treated it for anything.

I need to find someone to come and do some "honey-dos". Our friend Ron was going to trim the hedges a month ago but if was raining the day he wanted to do it and we haven't seen him since, even for a visit with Buddy. So, there is probably 12" of new growth on top of a couple of them and they look horrible. We also need the gutters cleaned and some outside painting done. So, I'm looking for someone who won't charge us a mint, but will do a decent job. The man across the street has a young black man do his yard and he trimmed all of his hedges last week and they look really nice so I'm waiting for him to come back to ask how much he would charge.

I can't think of anything more from this week. It was just a basic normal week again. To all the fathers out there, Happy Father's Day tomorrow. I hope you all get pampered!

Time flies when you're having fun! We haven't had fun, but this week has gone really fast!

We started cleaning out closets this week, or should I say a closet, since we've been in the same one all week. But, we didn't just clean it out, we've gone through the boxes and sorted and separated and shredded. I'm beginning to think we should be on an episode of Hoarders!

Other than that, nothing much happened. My mother had surgery Wednesday and everything went fine with. My sister has been staying with her and told me she's going back home today, so everything seems to be fine, as far as the recovery goes.

Emily saw her dr. and gets to go back to work next week, Brianna got her learner's permit, and Amanda found she has a pretty bad stomach infection and was put on more medication.
Bill's cough has eased up so it must have been the weather more than anything else. It's been hot and dry this week, complete with air quality warnings, so we've stayed in as much as possible.

As a reward for all of our hard work this week, we're having a date night. My brother and sister-in-law had sent us a gift card for Red Lobster, so we're heading to Jonesboro this afternoon for dinner. Those of you who know me know that I don't do seafood, but Red Lobster does a great steak.

This computer is acting up something awful today, and since this is all that I can think of, I'll sign off for the week. Have a great one!