There's not a lot to tell about this past week. Our little ice storm hadn't even melted and we got another storm Monday night. This one was all snow and boy, did the forecasters get it wrong! It didn't matter which station you listened to, our area was only supposed to get a dusting to 1 1/2 inches. It started snowing just after dark and when all was said and done by daybreak Tuesday, we had about 4 inches. I was up to the bathroom about midnight and it was snowing so hard it was almost a white out. And it was little tiny flakes, the ones that mean business! 

I was surprised that AT&T kept our appointment to see what was happening with out internet. It was the wire that goes from the box to the house. I felt sorry for the guy as he had to do most of the work outside and it was very cold! But, it is fixed and it is working wonderfully. The speed is even better!

Since we were basically snowed in we didn't have much excitement. Christopher and Brianna came by on her birthday and brought us a few things from the store. I was really surprised when she asked, without prompting! We didn't need much, more bread, dry cat food and Diet Coke. I was dreading having to clean the car off. But the snow was very powdery so there wouldn't have been a lot of heavy scraping.

By Thursday it was starting to melt and I did venture out to Dollar General to get a few things, and yesterday went to Walmart. It got warm enough those days that the snow is really melting. The worst area now is the back patio. From all the dripping it is solid ice. I'm glad we have a fence around the air conditioner that I can hold on to when I feed the cats.

Joe came over a couple of times, once to bring me some ham and white beans Barb had made. I dearly love them and Bill doesn't eat them. They were so good! He also called and asked if our trash was ready to go to the curb. He had dug his can out and said that he would come and get ours. We had to use a hammer to break the ice all over the top to get it open to put the last of the trash in.

Because of the weather we didn't get to do much. Bill hardly left the couch again. One thing I've noticed is that he's getting really hot in the night and stripping out of his pajamas. I don't know what's causing that, unless it just because he's sleeping with his head almost completely under the blankets. I need to do some research on that.

When I filled our medicine containers I realized that he was going to be out of one of his anti-rejection meds. So, Thursday morning I called to re-order them and found that Kim had not put the prescription in! I had talked to her about it the end of December. I told the pharmacy that he would only have 1/2 a dose on Wednesday morning. They were faxing a request to Mayo right then. I then called Stephanie and left her a message that there was a problem and Kate called back and said she had talked to Stephanie and they were working on it. I told her to watch for the request and that he was going to run out. So, I'm going to be on pins and needles until Tuesday or Wednesday. It if comes Tuesday, wonderful, all is good. If it doesn't come until Wednesday, he'll get the 1/2 dose and I'll make it up in the evening. If it doesn't come Wednesday, I'll be back on the phone with Mayo. This is the first time this has happened and it's mainly because of the dr. in Memphis changing the dosage, and then shorting the amount by 30 pills. He wrote it for 3 a day for 30 days, but only 60 pills instead of 90.

That's it for this week. It's supposed to be in the 50s today and 60s tomorrow with rain coming in Sunday night into Monday morning. I told Bill now that I've had snow it can all melt and spring can come. Don't think it will happen, but I can hope! See you next week!

We've been having internet problems and I don't know how long it will stay on today, so decided to get this updated.

We had a nice little ice storm last night/this morning. We were supposed to get a little ice and then 1-3 inches of snow. But, we got just the ice. There may have been a little snow mixed in when the ice stopped but I don't think so. I have seen a few flakes float around, but not many. All the schools are closed, city offices are closed along with Emily's office, a restaurant and the newspaper. We were prepared for it and don't have to leave the house. There's a pot of vegetable beef soup in the crockpot and a fresh pot of coffee made.

We had a quiet week, with nothing at all happening. It was foggy and misty every day, although it finally got warm before the storm. It was 64 yesterday and today it is 24. Brianna came and ate lunch and supper with us Wednesday and then again last night as she was killing some time before choir practice. 

Bill is still getting very winded when walking at times, mainly at night when he's walking to the bedroom. It doesn't seem to bother him walking to the kitchen, though. We do have his appointment with Dr. Burbeck in February so maybe she'll have some answers. He's also sleeping a lot more, not getting up until 8:30 or 9. This is the man who turned me into a morning person, usually up and dressed and shaved by 7 at the latest. Now he may get dressed before he leaves the bedroom, but not always. And he only shaves every 4 days or so. For those of you who know him, you know that it is really out of character. I think the shaving is due to getting short of breath since he does have to do some without his oxygen, and he stands to do all of it. He is using his electric razor more. 

So, that's what our week has been. We've just stayed dry and not trying to stay warm. It feels colder in the house today than it did when it was only 10 with the sub-zero wind chills. But, sweaters and throws and coffee are keeping us comfortable.

I hope everyone in the path of this storm stays safe. See you next week!

Good Morning everybody! I wish the cat would let me sleep past 5! I know, I know, I could put her out of the bedroom and shut the door all the way, but then she just sits in the hallway and meows. And with the hardwood floors and a narrow hall, it echoes and gets really loud. So, up by 5:30 and then she's back snoozing after her breakfast by 6!

We didn't even make it to the "fake" ball drop at 11! We were both tired so we were in bed by 9:30. I woke up once and it felt like I had been sleeping for a long time. My thought was that everyone stayed civilized a nd there was no gunfire. But, it wasn't even midnight yet! And no, they were not civilized. The gunfire started and one guy reloaded 3 times! His clip only held 7 rounds! Another one held 9 and he reloaded once. That one was very loud and the cat jumped and ran to the end of the bed and I couldn't get her to come back to me. There was another burst a little farther away, and I don't care what anyone says, it was automatic. You can't fire 30 rounds as quickly as these were fired by pulling the trigger each time. But, we had no broken windows or holes in the house as far as I could tell.

It's been bitterly cold all week, although not as cold as in some places. But, bitter cold for us. Windchills have been below 0 and some days we struggled to make 20. It's supposed to be in the 40s tomorrow with rain and the rain could start as a wintry mix depending on when it actually starts. Needless to say, we barely left the house.

We did go to Ryan and Amanda's yesterday. Ryan called and wanted us to come up. He's still not found a job and they are getting desperate about money. He has re-applied for his old job back. He said it won't be on nights so he will lose the shift differential, but it's more than he's making now! Hopefully they won't take long to make a decision.

Bill seems to be getting weaker and weaker. I think most of it is because he's not moving so that when he does stand  and move his blood pressure drops. He's also not drinking enough which of course is nothing new. He keeps talking about walking on his treadmill again. I told him yesterday that he would be too worn out just walking to the apartment to get on the treadmill! I've tried to get him to just walk in the house. Our house has an open floor plan, yet it's not a "great room" design. But you can make a circuit through. He is limited by the length of his oxygen tubing, but I told him to walk one direction and then walk back and go the other way as far as he can and to do that a few times. But, so far, he just sits. I think yesterday he finally go up and dressed about 9 and he didn't leave the couch until we left for Ryan's about 12:45.

And speaking of the apartment, when I took the trash around to the curb Wednesday night, I noticed a pile of something on the bricks by the apartment door. It was 3 pairs of khaki pants, 2 long, 1 short, in different sizes! There was also a dark green sock and a white sock in the yard. What makes it so strange, is that they were neatly folded, except for the socks. The only thing I can figure, since there was nothing wrong with the pants, is that someone moving or going to the laundry lost them and then someone found them and thought that the apartment door was the back door to the house. When no-one answered the knock, they folded them neatly and put them on the bricks. I had Joe come out and check everything out with me that night because I knew he would come armed...and he did. But, everything was fine, all locked up. The garage and apartment doors are connected to the alarm system, so we would know if they had been opened, and no windows were broken. It's still just a mystery!

We have no plans for the coming week, and nothing scheduled until our eye appointments in February. We should see Dr. Burbeck in February, but we don't have an appointment set with her yet. I'll probably need to check on that this week.

That's it, the first week of the new year is in the books already. Stay warm and dry!

Winter is here! The only thing we are missing is snow. It's been extremely cold and is going to get colder. Monday morning the windchills are supposed to be 0 to -10. No matter where you live...that's cold!

Our Christmas was very quiet and we both didn't feel well. I managed to get our little dinner cooked and we both barely ate anything. So most of the ham went in the freezer, which is OK. There is so much sickness going on now.

Because we didn't feel well, we cancelled our family Christmas yesterday. Emily was sick, too, and Kayden and Kiyann have been exposed to the flu. Mistie and Joe both have it. The kids did get their flu shots so that may help even though it's not very effective this year. We have given out the gifts/gift cards/checks in spurts. The only ones left are the ones for Kayden and Kiyann and Mistie said that maybe by Monday they will be well enough to come and get them.

We finally started feeling better Wednesday. I think we have both just been worn out from everything. Since the middle of September when both of us had a sinus infection, one or both have been sick. Throw in 2 hospital stays for Bill and then a quick trip to Mayo and it's not surprising that we are drained. 

Bill has not left the house since before Christmas. It's just too risky for him. Yet, it's not good to stay cooped up in here either. But, he won't wear a mask unless totally forced to. I've only been out to the store when necessary. Of course I am out every day to feed the cats so I do get some fresh air. And now that it's cold, it feels great to take a deep breath of it! Emily recorded their church service and sent it to me. It was a short candlelight service with carols and a short sermon, but very nice. 

When we cancelled the family Christmas, I went ahead and took the tree down and got everything except the wreath on the door packed away. This is the first time that I have ever taken the tree down before the first of the year. That's usually something I do on New Year's Day while watching the parades. But this year, again I think due to being tired, I just wanted it gone. It's not in the attic but maybe when Kayden comes over we can get it up there. He said he would help get it up and down for us now that he's not a little kid anymore (he's 13)! The cat is very happy that the tree is gone. Her perch is back in the front window and she can look out on the world. She just didn't like it in the dining room!

We have no plans for New Year's Eve, but then we usually don't have any. We can watch the ball drop in New York at 11 our time so we usually do that and then are able to sleep for an hour until the gunfire starts at midnight. This is the only place I have lived that this is done. Don't people realize that even though they are firing the gun into the air, the bullet has to come down somewhere? Hopefully it won't last too long.

So, that's been our Christmas week. Hopefully our new year will bring renewed strength and better health for us. Even though it may seem like we have a hard life, we are happy just having each other. Yes, we could wish that things are different, but they aren't, so we just make the best of it. I wish everyone joy, happiness, and health. See you next year!

Good Morning! It's 6:49 and it is still pitch black out. We've had heavy rain yesterday and through the night with flash watches and warnings. It don't think it is raining right now but can't really tell.

The house is quiet except for the sound of Bill's oxygen concentrator. He and the cat are both still asleep, although I will have to wake Bill shortly for his morning meds.

We had an uneventful trip home from Florida. Even though we didn't have to, we got up early and headed out the 2nd day and got home about 1. Stopped at the store on the way home and got some lunch fixin's.

We haven't done much since we've been home. Bill hasn't felt really well. His shoulder is still bothering him. The dr. called in a gel to use and said to apply heat. She didn't want him in the office, so much flu here. Two of the employees have tested positive for it within the last 2 weeks. Since the flu shot is not protecting from this strain, and I don't know if the one for older folks does, we are just staying in. But, the gel is working and he's not complaining about it as much. We've only had to use the gel in the morning the past 2 days which is an improvement and he hasn't used the heating pad at all the last 2 days.

I also haven't felt real well. I think mine is more just being tired. I've had a couple of little tummy upsets, but nothing major. I do know that something is going around. Mistie was bringing me a gift I had gotten through a friend of hers and she said she wasn't staying because she wasn't feeling well. A friend of Kayden's had been over to spend the night and ended up going home because he was throwing up. I told her to just put it by the door and ring the doorbell! I just don't want to take any chances! I may put a sign on the door that colds and sniffles are not welcome and if you have them, come back another day!

We are having our family Christmas on the 29th. Ryan and Amanda will be in town on that day for some business so that's when we will have it. She said they should be done around 10:30 or 11, so we are having brunch instead of dinner or supper. It's not much this year, the only present we have is for the baby. The rest are getting gift cards and checks. I'm still not in the spirit. We did get the tree up and the "Jesus people" as Kenna calls them out and up, but that's it. I have enjoyed sitting with just the tree lights on, but I'm also ready to take it down. The cat has been good with it. She gets under it and pops her head up through the branches, but she has not tried to climb it or play with the branches. She just wants her window back!

That's all for this week. It's hard to believe that the year is almost over already! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas with family and friends!

Here it is, the long awaited post check-up post. We also had an interesting week before heading south. But, first things first...the check-up.

Bill got a good report. From his heart standpoint he's good. His blood pressure was good but it dropped on standing. So Stephanie just said to stand for a minute before trying to walk. She said that his echo from Memphis looked good also. We didn't get to see Dr. Hosenpud so we saw his assistant Ginny. We hadn't seen her for a couple of years. She said that as far as she was concerned he could start using his treadmill again, but only for 10 minutes at a time. I will probably go out with him the first few times just to keep an eye on him. Other than that they were pleased. They did want to make sure we were seeing a lung dr. for the COPD and we are. They didn't have the results of the lab work so I don't know if they will make any med changes or not. If they do Stephanie will call tomorrow. So, that's it as far as his check-up went. For those of you who are only interested in that, you can stop reading now. Otherwise keep going!

Tuesday our furnace went out. It's about 10 years old so should have had a lot of life left in it yet. I called Emily and she called a guy from their church and he came that night. A motor was frozen from corrosion and he was able to get it working. He didn't know how long it would last, and of course last week was the coldest weather we were to have for the year. He was able to get the part ordered and in on Wednesday but got hung up on another job and didn't get it fixed until Thursday. He said there is one more little part that could cause a problem and if it did he would come out and swap it out for no charge.

We were really watching the weather for the snow that was falling in Alabama. There was a lot of snow on the ground starting just north of Birmingham and ending just before Montgomery...just the route we were travelling. But, the roads were good, wet in some areas but clear. Traffic was pretty light and we didn't have any problems.

We did well with the new oxygen concentrator. He used it in the car, and when we stopped for breaks or lunch, he just used a small tank. It worked really well. So, from that aspect, it's been a good investment.

Last night we decided we wanted a light supper so decided to go to Bob Evans across the street for soup and a sandwich. But, it has closed down! So, we decided to go to Denny's instead and it was closed! It's open today so maybe they were closed for an employee Christmas party. Anyway, after driving around looking for a homestyle restaurant we ended up a TGI Friday's. It took 15 minutes for our waiter to come and take our drink order and another 10 minutes before he came back with only Bill's coffee to take our order. I had to go out to the car to get a small oxygen tank for Bill as his batteries were getting low and I hadn't brought the back-up batteries because I didn't expect us to be gone more than 2 hours. We left the hotel a little before 6 and we finally got our food about 7:45, but they brought the wrong soup and didn't bring any silverware. I did finally get my drink. We finally got some utensils and I had finished my salad and was helping Bill eat his chicken when we were told that they were out of broccoli cheese soup! We told him to forget it, I had gotten enough to eat anyway. Because it took so long Bill's meds were late and we were both pretty exhausted by the time we got back to the room.

Bill did have a rough morning. He has hurt his right arm and shoulder somehow. We think it is just muscular and Ginny did say that his muscles feel tight, but he was having a hard time with his concentrator and breathing. So, we decided to use a wheelchair at Mayo. A lovely woman offered to help us maneuver everything to the lab as she was going there too. I was figuring out how to change things around while he was getting his blood drawn and there was a nice man across from us that figured an easier way and off we went. We just parked where his next appointments were and we knew we had a 2 hour wait, but I could plug in his concentrator. I got us some lunch and we just stayed there until it was time to check-in. Stephanie was really booked today and she was actually coming out and getting her patients herself instead of having an aide do it. But, Bill walked in to the clinic area and then he attempted to walk out when we were done. We had to stop several times and I finally switched him to a small tank. It was hurting his arm to pull the other one. He is having a hard time walking. It could be that he's still recovering from the pneumonia, but it could also be that his lungs are deteriorating more. He's sees Dr. Burbeck in February and we'll see what she says.

I'm planning on leaving super early to get out of rush hour traffic. Tomorrow is the hard drive (longest) but it won't be too bad, I hope. I don't know if I will update this or not Saturday. I don't anticipate anything happening except for travelling for 2 days and then doing laundry and getting the cat home from Brianna's. But, check in just to see.

So there you have it. We have found that there are still good people in the world that offer to help others who need it. And, while it goes against my independent nature, I accepted the help. Now if the car would just load itself in the morning!

December already! It seems like this year has flown by!

We had a pretty quiet week, compared to the last few. We've mostly stayed in with only a few short trips just to get Bill out of the house some.

I finally went back to the eye dr. Wednesday and all is well, just watch for any other signs of a problem. I don't even see the floater in that eye anymore, although the one in the left is still around. 

Bill has been coughing a lot this week. I don't think it is anything new starting but the remnants of the pneumonia and the emphysema. I told him yesterday that I could do 2 things. He's still taking Musinex twice daily and we could possibly stop that. But, that's keeping that pneumonia area broken up. Or, I could give him some cough medicine to suppress the cough, but I think that is the absolute wrong thing to do. I'm pretty sure that it is just fall allergies from everything I'm hearing and seeing. He was also complaining of having a "full" ear for a couple of days. I did increase his Zyrtek to twice a day and he hasn't complained anymore so maybe that has helped. It is supposed to finally get cold by the end of the week, so maybe that will help. Of course the front arrives Friday and we leave Saturday for Florida!

McKenna came for school Thursday. She hasn't been back here for school since Bill went to the hospital and has been doing well on her own. But, their internet was down and instead of waiting until evening to be able to work she came here. They have their standardized tests next week. I don't know if she will need to come here or not. I read through the log-in information this morning and they are going to be monitored more closely than before so if she gets kicked out she should be able to just wait 30 minutes instead of having to contact her instructor to have it reset.

We're finally going to take Kayden out for his birthday breakfast this morning, which is one reason for getting this update done early. Now I won't forget about doing it! He wants to go to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, which is one of our favorites. Usually they just pick to go to Perkins since it is the main breakfast place in town, but he said he wanted to try this one.

I also may try to get some of the Christmas stuff out today. Kayden had said that he would help get things out of the attic, but it never did get into the attic last year. I just put it in the back bedroom. But, he'll be able to put it into the attic this year. I keep forgetting that he is a strong young man now and not just a little boy anymore!

I hear Bill coughing again so he may be getting up. It's time for his meds and he will need to get moving to be ready when Kayden says he's ready. I don't think I will update this until Monday night, the 11th after Bill's appointments. But, if something happens this week that needs noted, I'll post it. If you don't check back in before the 11th, you'll be able to catch up then. 

Better get moving, have a good week!