What a great day.....................

We have jumped from April weather in the 50's and 60's, to July weather near 89.  Last night, before I went to bed, I flipped on the thermostat to "Cool" to cool it down inside. Something just didn't feel right.  It was 82 inside and I knew it would take a while to get everything cooled off so the thermostat would click off--I had it set for 74, and went to bed.

I woke up at 4:00am and the A/C fan was still running.  I checked the inside temperature--77 degrees.  So in nearly 5 hours, it had only cooled down 5 degrees.

At 8:00, I jumped on the phone and called my electricity company, that I have my Appliance Service Plan through.  They would send a guy out by noon!  YAY!  I was hoping it wouldn't be a Freon leak or the condenser had died.

Then I heard a racket, looked out and there was a Stump Remover company pulling in the yard between Tammie's house and mine.  Seven years ago, there was a 30 feet tall Willow Tree between our two houses.  It made me a bit nervous because I know how Willows, when they get old, can split right down the trunk, putting part of the tree on her roof and part on mine.

She's a lot like Dar and had kept after her husband to cut it down.  She was having panic attacks every time we got a 10mph wind. He talked to me and we agreed to split the cost to get that tree down.  It cost $800.00, which is ridiculous.  Shortly before he was going to pay me half, because I had paid for the whole thing at the time, she kicked him out and filed for divorce.  So, of course, he needed money to find a place to rent.  Over the next year, he paid me in bits and pieces and I never did get the full half.

Anyway, when they took down the tree, we wanted the stump removed.  That thing was huge!  and I mean YUGE!!!  They wanted $400.00 to take out the stump.  That was not going to happen.

So this morning, here is a guy, with a remote controlled machine with a big saw on the front.  I had never seen a machine so fancy.  I saw Tammie in the yard so I scooted over.  "Ohmigosh!  You are finally getting rid of that thing.  "I am going to put in a pond with a fountain," she said.

This girl!  She owes the IRS back taxes, she owes the hospital and she is in arrears on her mortgage, but the minute she gets a bit of change............)

"It's not costing four hundred, is it?"

"No.  He's only charging me a hundred."

"What?"

So when he was finished, I asked him if he had time to remove the smallish stump from where I had the Mulberry tree removed.  

"Sure," he said.  He reminded me of my only nephew Adam, at a younger age.

"How much?" I asked

"I'll do it for nothing.  I'll just get it out."

"Oh no," I said, "I gotta pay you something.  
After all, I had a price on the removal three years ago and it was $150.00.

"How about, hm-mm, forty or fifty?"

"Fifty is good,"I said.

He not only removed that stump, he filled in the hole.  Usually they leave you with a huge mound of dirt.

"I don't have fifty dollars," I said.  "I couldn't find a ten.  All I've got is these three twenties."

He broke out in the biggest, red-faced grin.  I expected him to start kicking the toe of his shoe in the dirt and say, "Aw shucks!"
=========================
The A/C repair guy arrived at noon-thirty, checked out the unit to find that the Freon pressure is still at the top end (this unit is 20 years old) and that it needed a new capacitor, which had died because it was old.  Just for kicks, he put brand new fuses in the fuse box.  He praised me for keeping the unit so nice and clean and I told him, that although most people around here don't cover their units in winter, I always make sure the screens around the sides are clean, no leaves in the unit and then, cover it for winter.

Like the doc always tells me, "Well, just keep doing what you're doing." he says.

The "normal" charge would have been around $175.00, my cost = zero.  I pay $29.95 monthly for my all appliance service plan and since I have had three service calls already this year, I'd say that plan has paid for itself and more.
========================

After my Soap, I attacked the porch.

Skritch marks from the squirrel claws, on two railings

Badly worn steps, that I sanded

 Done and done.

I almost fell off the steps because I had been bending over to paint the porch floor and got a bit dizzy.  That's why that chair is there, to sit in and get my bearings.

Now, I can clean up my porch pots and get some seeds and annuals planted and rest easy for the rest of the summer.

Am I too harsh?

I was sitting and thinking last night.  About Dar.  I've known her 6 years.  I thought and thought and tried to remember.  I think the only time she has ever asked how I was doing, was the week after Fred died.

I was in my recliner and had snoozed off.  I heard the door open and there she was.  I didn't know her very well at the time, but she stepped inside and said, "I was just checking to see if you are all right."  I said, "I'm fine.  Just taking a little nap."  and she left.

Not at any time, when she comes through my door, does she ever ask about me or my family or anybody.  It is always, all about her.  Her whole world revolves only around her and her needs, her pain, her---whatever.  That's all she thinks about.  

The first words out of her mouth when she walks in are, "I need to talk.  I need you to calm me down."
===============

Yesterday she was going on and on about the treatments and therapies she CAN'T take, because they take her back to a time when she was abused.  So, I asked, "Did your husbands (4) ever beat up on you?  Did they ever try to kill you?  Were your parents abusive to you?"

"No.  But there was emotional abuse."

"My Dear," I said, "both of my husbands beat me.  My second one tried to kill me twice.  My father slapped me around and called me "stupid" from the time I was five.  Now, if I can get over all that, I don't see why you can't."

"It's just different with me," she said.  
Oh, of course it is because you are such a rare and unusual person., with such intricate maladies.

"I've been given black eyes and had my nose broken, yet I don't get hysterical when someone puts their hand up by my face.  I was rear ended, push into the oncoming lane of traffic and front ended, and then T-boned by another car.  I don't have PTSD about driving. "
I guess I get so mad at her that I tell my story to try and best her and show her she isn't any worse off?

"Well, you're just lucky."

"No, I'm not.  I sought help to get over it.  I put it in the back of my mind and tried not to think about it.  You keep all those thoughts active in your mind all the time.  You have trust issues and control issues."

"Yes."

"Well, why don't I?  I've been through the same or worse than you.  I accept the reality of it all, know I can't do one thing to control or change what happened, but can change my thinking by the way I react to it.  I choose to let go and let God and move forward."

"I don't know," she said.  "I can't.  I guess I am just unique in my way of thinking.  They told me at physical therapy that I am a special case. They've never seen anything like me before."

Oh Sister--you aren't unique, or special.  You are selfish, self centered, over dramatic and paranoid.  Go help someone else, volunteer, think of someone else for awhile and the pain will lessen.

"All of these people are trying to help you and yet, you won't do half of what they want to try."

"Nothing seems to help."

"It's going to take a long time, Kiddo."

"I just want the pain to go away."

"Of course.  A lot of that has to do with your mind--your thinking."

"I had a doctor tell me that, a few months ago.  He's nuts!  The pain is very real!  Why would anyone in their right mind keep the pain active in their mind?"
My question exactly.

"I just want it to go away so I can go back to work."

"What?"

"I want to go back to work."

"Okay..now let's think about that.  You've told me that you have to take your Dad with you, or he gets nervous being alone.  How are you going to be away from home for eight hours?  What is he going to do all alone?"

"Well..."

"You're seventy-five years old.  You don't need the money.  You can't stand for more than ten minutes, they won't let you sit at your job.  You certainly can't stock shelves with your bad right arm..."

"But, I need the social interaction."

"Get a volunteer job then."

"I had thought I would try and volunteer at the hospital, in the nursery, rocking newborns."

"That would be great!  Just one thing.  The hospitals here don't have delivery or nurseries.  That means you would have to drive thirty miles to St. Joes--expressway driving.  You can barely drive to Brighton to physical therapy, four miles away, without getting a panic attack."

"I never thought of that."

"You and your Dad could go to the Senior Center once a week.  You would both meet new people.  He'd be the hit of the place at ninety-six and as active as he is."

"Hm-mm....I don't know."

"Well, get involved in church again.  You said you liked that new church you were going to last year.  Start going again and get involved in what is going on there.  Take your Dad."

"He's an Agnostic.  He wouldn't want to go."

"Maybe, if he tried it, he might enjoy being around all the people.  No one is going to drag him down the aisle to the altar."

She laughed.  "They'd suffer if they tried."  

"I'm just trying to think of things that YOU could do...for YOURSELF...to take your mind off the pain and make YOU feel better."

"If I felt better, Dad and I could take a few trips.  I know how to drive up to my brother's.  We could go to Indianapolis and visit the grand kids. I know how to get there."

"That would be great!  I just hate to see every minute of every hour of every day...your whole mind, body and soul are consumed with the constant thinking about your pain.  I'd hate to see you make a career out of being the victim."
==============
That was our 90 minute conversation, while she sat and had her muscles stimulated.  HAH!

Am I too harsh with some of my words to her?

What is going on?

The strangest thing!  

I got ready to paint the white part of my porch--railings, stair risers, etc.  I had paint spattered jeans, t-shirt and canvas shoes I used 3 years ago when I first did the whole porch.  I washed them and put them in a bag on the top shelf of my bedroom closet.

I got them down, and started to dress.  I could not button my jeans.  The T-shirt felt tight in the chest.  I said right out loud, "What is going on?"

I weigh the same as I did 3 years ago.  The clothes are tight.  They weren't tight 3 years ago.  Is this another one of those "body shifts" that have no rhyme or reason?  Why would my boobs get bigger?
At least the shoes still fit!  

I got all the white painting done and was going to start on the gray porch deck and steps and just then, "you know who" came over.  She got a new TENS device and today at physical therapy they put the pads on for her and hooked her up, but she couldn't get it to work.  One of the little plug-ins had come undone.  I got it plugged in and she turned it on.  

She asked if she could stay awhile, while she was getting the muscle stimulation, because she was afraid that, #1.  she might get an electrical shock.  #2.  it might be set too high and she wouldn't know how to turn off the machine.  ARGGH!!

I assured her that the device ran on batteries and there was no way she could be electrocuted, and that she had control of the device on how high to move the stimulation and to hit the "Off" button if she didn't like it.

Her highest number is 20.  She sat it on 2 and thought that was too much, so she clicked it down to 1. 

I set mine on at least 10.  She didn't like the way it felt like it was 'grabbing' her muscles.  I told her it was supposed to feel that way--thus stimulating the muscles to get the inflammation outta there.

An hour and a half passed.  Now it's five o'clock and not a good time to start painting my porch steps or deck.  So------maybe tomorrow I can get that done?  If it doesn't rain and I have to wait for the wood to dry out.

ARGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good to know................

Judith, you do not have the ε4 variant we tested.

Your risk for Alzheimer's disease 

0 variants detected

in the APOE gene

From my 23 and Me DNA medical report.  Cool!

===========================================================

Karen's husband Mark and four of the kids went to the Grand Canyon for a two week adventure.  They went down in the Canyon and then they hiked up and down, from rim to rim to rim.

Marcus and Maddie were teamed up and as they were halfway to a rim it started raining.  They were dressed in the shorts and t-shirts, but as they climbed higher, the rain got heavier and colder and then it started snowing.  Susanna was waiting for them in her tent on the rim edge.

Marcus and Maddie were so cold they knew they had to find shelter until the storm passed.  Luckily, they found a wooden latrine and sat for an hour--no heat, no lights, no nothing.  Their clothes wouldn't dry out and they knew, the only way they could survive was to go back down to get to warmer air, below the snow/rain line.  

11 hours later, they met up with their Dad and brother Stephen, who had come looking for them.  Susanna had waited 7 hours in her tent for them and got worried, so she packed up and made her trek through the snow/rain to the bottom of the canyon.

Marcus and Maddie were in such bad shape that Dad had a moment of, "Oh my God.  What do we do now."  He, Marcus and Stephen are all Eagle Scouts so they know survival skills.  They finally found a spot to set up camp and got the heaters and lights going inside the tents with blankets and food.

Thankfully,  Marcus and Maddie flew home Friday and Mark and Stephen arrived this morning.  Susanna flew back to Portland, Oregon on Saturday.

I am very thankful this Mother's Day that all of my grand children are alive--although Maddie is sick and on the edge of pneumonia!
===================
Saturday, Pammie and Karen came over.  Karen wanted to take us out to lunch.  I suggested she stop and get Subways for us so we could sit in the living room while we ate, and be able to chatter away without noisy people around us.  Gosh--we giggled and laughed and talked about long ago, "remember when" memories.  Then we went outside and they dug two holes and planted the 100 year old Hosta's I had picked up at The Farm on Thursday. We had an absolutely grand, goofy time!
==============
I went over to Dar's Saturday evening to wish her a Happy Birthday.  She has started with a new doctor--her 10th.  She still refuses to do her meditation or any bio-feedback for the pain, because she's "scared".  I don't know what this doctor can do for her.  Very sad case!
=============
Today felt kind of strange.  So many Mother's Day wishes on Face Book that I felt nauseous!  I knew that the grand kids would be gathering at Karen's during the day, but I wasn't invited didn't drive over.  With all the kids and her hubs back home safely, I felt it was her day to shine, without me hanging around on the fringes.  My oldest grand daughter Helene, e-mailed me a photo of her and the baby.  I had sent her a Happy 1st Mother's Day card and she loved it.

I had thought to start painting the porch today, but it never got above 61 and the breeze felt cold to me.  Besides, I don't like to do physical chores on a Sunday.  I spent 5 hours on the genealogy I am working on.  Back 21 generations, so you know, that takes a lot of time, printing, scanning, filling in the family sheets and writing the stories in the book.  I'm about half way done.
================
Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny and warmer, so I will paint the porch.  Got to get a couple of coats on it, so it might take two days.  THEN--it may just be warm enough to plant.  I don't think we will get any more frosts.

I hung the Baltimore Oriole feeder and Humming bird feeder.  Within an hour, the Oriole swooped in.  Still haven't seen a Hummer, but Sister says they have them, so mine should be coming in any day now.

Friday--again?

The time goes so fast.  It seems like Friday was just a couple of days ago, and here it is again!

I have much to do today.

I would tell you what I did Wednesday, but I can't remember.  I think it probably entailed starting on a new genealogy--yes, that was it.

Thursday, I drove on up north 30 miles to have lunch with the K-12 school gal pals.  I ordered Nachos and when it came, it was so large, they served it on a round pizza pan!  Needless to say, I had left overs!

Then out to The Farm to visit 'Lil Sis.  Her hubs dug up two of our great grand mother's Hostas, which grow along the front of the porch of the home they live in.  The Hostas were planted in the 1920's, so I will let you figure out how old they are.  We also have Peony plants that have grown that long and Lily of the Valley and Iris.  Amazing how long a plant can live, isn't it?

On my way home, I stopped at the Cemetery, just to check in on my ancestor's and Fred.  My sister had already filled the urns.  Beautiful bright Pink flowers that showed up from the road and every part of that cemetery.  Our big family plot (actually 2 plots) really looked nice.  

I moved the little cement angel dog, that sits on Fred's marker, over to the other side.  Every month, I move it to the other side because I don't want the rain that collects under it, to darken the marker.

 I noticed a dirty bird had stopped by and left his "mark" on my marker, so I spit on a Kleenex and cleaned it off.

Everybody is there.
Great Great Grand Parents: Peter and Anne
Great Grand Parents:  Charles and Sophia
Grand Parents: Roy and Helene
Parents:  Charles and Dorathy
Great Uncle: Ray

and still room for four more which will be: my sister and her hubs, my son Mark and daughter Pam.
Can you even imagine the reunion on the day of Rapture? 
============================
I have to go to the Food Bank this morning and then get to work on cleaning up and maybe painting my porch.  Pam and Karen are coming tomorrow to plant the Hostas for me and perhaps lay down the mulch.

Oh--now I remember what I did Wednesday.  I went to Lowe's and bought paint for the porch, new step treads, sand paper, brush and roller.

It is Tuesday----------------

For awhile today, I thought it was Wednesday.

Got the latest genealogy book put together and bound today at the Print Shop.  109 pages long and it turned out really nice.  It took awhile to find anything on one side of the family, but then when I did?  BAM!  A bit of stories and histories of the ancestor's.  The book is ready to mail tomorrow, promised delivery on Friday, so my client can give it to her Mom on Mother's Day.  That was my goal!!!
====================
I keep wanting to go outside and plant something.  It was 32 degrees with frost last night and this morning.  I cannot believe this nonsense!!  Usually we can plant on Mother's Day around here, but I am thinking I will wait until next weekend.  Where I used to live--just 20 miles north, we had to wait until Memorial Day weekend to plant.

In the meantime, tomorrow I am hauling all my pots and porch paraphernalia out of the shed.  Get it all cleaned up and have the pots put in place.  I also need to paint my porch railings and steps.  So I may have to go to Lowe's tomorrow to get some sand paper and white deck paint.  I have the gray left from last year.  I think I am probably going to have to use a bit of sandpaper on the railings.  The squirrels run up and down the railings all winter long, with their sharp little claws.  My fault as I put the feeder out on one of the railings and feed them all winter.
====================
Dar came over tonight, just as Jeopardy was starting.  She went back to the psycho-therapy place today, refused hypnosis, so they gave her a meditation thing.  She sticks her fingers in her ears, hums, centers the hum on the middle of her forehead and then visualizes it going down the center of her body, bringing relaxation against the pain as it moves.   

There is one problem.  she can't do it because she can't put her fingers in her ears and close out all sound.  If she can't hear extraneous noise, someone could sneak up on her without her knowing it.

I told her to go in her bedroom, close her door, sit with her back firmly against the head board of her bed.  Then she would know that no one could sneak up behind her.

"But, I have to close my eyes to do the meditation and someone could sneak into my bedroom and I'd never know it until it was too late to defend myself."

OY VEY!!!!! 

Feeling great--at least today.

The sun woke me at 7:15 and the cats nosed me until I got up at 7:30.  I felt great and remembered that I had salmon patties last night for supper. LOL

I had lots to do today and I did it all in fine order.  I needed to go into Brighton and with all the Main Street construction going on, I decided to go in the back way.  I came out on the side street by the Meijer grocery store, got my groceries--I had my list, up to the gas station and then remembered how hard it was to get on the main street if I went out the front drive.

So I went out the back way, down two blocks, then up to a traffic light and when it turned green, made a left turn on to the main drag.  Up another two blocks to Michael's on my right, got my floss and instead of going further up to take a small side road out of that mall, I doubled back to the light I came in on.

Turned right and right on homeward bound.  I stopped at the Print Shop (right turn) to get two pedigrees printed out and then home.  Unloaded all the groceries and put them away.

The only mis-step I had was when I got home, I pulled into my driveway, then remembered all the groceries in the trunk, so backed out and up a bit and backed in to make the trunk nearer the porch.

I had kind of mapped out my trip in my mind with mostly right turns involved and everything was as smooth as silk.  

I feel good about all of it.  Oh, by the way, I had roast beef and a baked potato for supper tonight.  HAH!

Scary!

I am starting to notice something--scary.

My short term memory is getting bad.

When I first wake up in the morning, I am a bit confused as to what day it is.  If you asked me right then, "What did you have for supper last night?", I wouldn't be able to tell you.  

Sometimes, while falling asleep at night, I think of something I want to do the next day, but the next day---I have to really think hard and for a long time on, what it is I wanted to do, and even then I can't recall.

Last Thursday night, instead of being in my computer room the last place I am before I go to bed, I was watching TV and got up and went to bed.  Friday morning when I came in here, my computer was still on and my night time pills were still in the little box.  Thankfully, I have my table lamp in here on a timer, or it would have still been on.

To top it all off, last month I forgot to pay a bill.

I have some bills I pay by check and some I pay on-line out of my checking account.  Along about April 28th, I was reconciling my checking account balance and was $40.00 less than what the bank was showing.  I went check by check against my bank statement.  I couldn't figure it out.  On the list I print out of what is due, when it is due, I had lined out that bill, so I knew I had paid it.

Later that day, I got an e-mail from the company saying my account was overdue.  I quickly got into that account and realized at once what I had done.

I had put in the information, what I was to pay, the day I wanted to pay, but had forgotten to click on the "submit" button.

EGAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes I even forget how to spell a word and have to Google it to get the correct spelling.
-----------------------
I have no problems remembering birthdays or appointments.  I have no problems when doing my genealogies.  I keep things on schedule and in good order, but the other things......................

Now I worry what I may have forgotten something that is really important.  

I have always been very organized and kept everything in my mind without needing to make lists.  Now, I have to write everything down!

It's creeping me out!  Do I need to see a neurologist and get a memory test?

The weather doesn't help.................

.........my mood.

I have always been very aware of the weather.  My Daddy taught me a lot about what kind of weather was coming.  No TV's back then with their predictions and forecasts.  Daddy could tell by the way the clouds moved, how the wind felt and how the animals acted.  

I distinctly remember a summer day when I was about ten years old.  I was playing outside, enjoying the sunshine and Daddy came walking toward the barn--he was walking fast.

"You get all the chickens in the coop and haul your rabbit cages into the barn.  I gotta get the cows up from the pasture."

"Why, Daddy?"

"See those clouds?" he pointed west, out in the country, you can see the sky from a long ways off.  "There's a lot of wind in those clouds.  We've got a bad storm brewing."

Well of course, I did as I was told.  Took me nearly half an hour.  Have you ever herded chickens?

I loaded my rabbits, in their cages, into my wagon and hauled them over to the barn and dragged them inside.  Just then I heard Daddy getting the cows in their stanchions.

As we stepped out to head to the house, I could hear the wind roaring in those clouds and fat drops of rain pelting down.

Mother already had all the windows in the house closed as Daddy and I ran up into the back porch.  A glass enclosed porch.

We stood in the kitchen, looking out the window that faced west.  All of a sudden, Mother turned and Daddy grabbed my arm and we ran down into the basement.  Michigan Cellar is what it was--stone walls and dirt floor.  We could hear sounds of glass breaking, loud thunder and the wind roaring overhead.

When things calmed down a bit, we climbed up the wobbly wooden steps and looked around.  Everything looked okay until we walked into the kitchen.  Our big Willow tree that I loved to climb in, was split in half and it was smoldering.  It had been hit by lightning.  

We had twin pine trees in the front yard, where two rope swings hung from the lower boughs--one pine tree was laying on it's side.  "There's hail out there six inches deep," Mother said.

Then Daddy walked out into the porch-room to go outside to check for damage.  "Dorathy, come here," he yelled.  Every west facing window in that room was shattered and rain was pouring in.

He stepped outside and stood on the cement step, I heard him moan.  There sat our almost new car, at the end of the path that divided our lawn.  It was covered in pock marks from the hail damage.
======================
Being in tune with the weather, the last four days of steady rain and temperatures in the 40's, with nary a glimpse of the sun, everything has made me moody.   I shouldn't complain.  When I see the news photos of the floods down south, I can't even imagine what those people are going through.  There is water to the roof-lines of their homes!  How do you ever recover from something like that?
==================

It's the 6th of May!!  Mother Nature, bring us some warmth, okay?

The sun is out today and my mood is better.  Still only a "high" in the 50's and freezing temps every night.  The furnace still comes on from time to time.

I just saw a guy walk by in tank top and shorts, walking his dog.  I ran to my indoor/outdoor weather station to see the outside temperature.  48 degrees!  By the way the guy is dressed, I thought it might be in the 60's.  Nope!
=========================
I DID walk up to Merle and Pearl's yesterday afternoon.  I didn't know it, but this is the second time in a week that they had to call the ambulance people for help.  She fell last week.

I asked her how and why she fell.  Did she get dizzy?  Did she black out?  Wasn't she using her walker?

No, she wasn't dizzy.  She didn't black out.  Yes she was using her walker, but she has no strength in her legs and they collapse and even using the walker, she just goes down.  She is so heavy that Merle can't get her up, so he has to call the ambulance people.  

Two summers ago, when Merle was so sick and weak and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, Pearl seemed to keep herself going.  She walked out to get the mail every day.  She'd walk down here to visit.  She worked in her small flower garden.  She cleaned house and did it all--grocery shopping, driving her car.

The minute Merle was diagnosed with Parkinson's and responded (like a miracle) to the drugs they put him on.........it was like Pearl just sat down and gave up.  She has always said that she wants to die first because Merle could get along better, by himself, than she could, if he went first.  

It almost seems to me that she has decided to just give up, sit in her chair and wait for her last breath.  WHICH IS STUPID, because she has NO health problems!!  Her heart is strong.  She doesn't have high blood pressure or cholesterol, no breathing problems.  She takes two pills a day--for pain.  That's it!

She could easily live another ten years, but of course, she won't.  

She doesn't move because her legs hurt.  Her legs hurt because she doesn't move.  Her muscles are wasting away.  AND SHE WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, and good or bad weather---her attitude still makes my mood sad!!!

Are there days................

.......when you get ticked off, for no particular reason?

Early this morning--well 8:30, I looked out and noticed an ambulance parked in front of Pearl and Merle's house.  They weren't there very long and brought no one out on a stretcher and were soon gone.  I called to find out and Merle said that when Pearl tried to get out of her chair, she slipped down so her shoulders were low on the back and her bottom was hanging over the edge of the seat and she couldn't get up.  Merle couldn't lift her, so he called for help.

By 9:15 Dar was rattling my still locked front door and wanted to know what was going on with the ambulance.  I told her what had happened and she scoffed.

"How could Pearl allow herself to get in such bad shape she can't even get out of her chair?!"

"I don't know.  It's very sad."

"Sad?  It's stupid!  She needs to get into physical therapy!"

Then she jumped into her "it's all about me" thingie and went on to tell me she is going back to the Psycho Therapist next Tuesday so he can work with her on bio-feedback and other methods to rid her of her (imaginary) pain.

"Are you going to have hypnosis?  He said it would help."

"Oh no!  I can't be hypnotized.  I can't allow that control to be taken away from me."

"Control is not taken away from you.  You aren't unconscious!  You are just in a relaxed state--kind of like when you are sitting in your chair dozing, but you still hear the TV.  You can stand up at any time you want."

"No!  That scares me."

"That's very sad.  You talk about Pearl not helping herself and you are doing the same thing."

=====================

I'm ticked off at both of these women.  They complain and moan and groan and yet...won't do a thing to help themselves.

Then, there's Jackie, directly across the street from me.  Nearly 80 years old, went in Tuesday for shoulder surgery, at 10:00, and home by 2:00.  No hospital stay.  No going to the rehab place for a few days.  Came home, with a pain pump and her grand daughter to stay a few days.  What a woman!!!

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On Face Book this morning, there were 3 links friends had "shared".  All three of the links were either from a "satire" or "fake" news company source.  They just go along sharing these links without even considering if the "news" is true and thus, stirring up even more (usually political) anger from their friends that comment.  I hate it when people start arguing with each other in the comments area.  Argue with the person who posted the link, not with their friends that comment!

==========================

I am also ticked at President Trump.  I just wish he would do The Job and quit with the Twitter.  He talks too much and a lot of what he says is down right stupid!!

When he was rambling about how Andrew Jackson could have talked it out and stopped the Civil War and why was that war fought anyway.  I just wanted to scream!!!  Good Grief!  Did he not have any history lessons in those schools he went too?  Andrew Jackson died 15 years before the Civil War started.  He has a bust of Andrew Jackson in the Oval office.  He is one of his heroes.  If so, shouldn't he know the history of the man's life?  

I had to live through 8 years of Dumb and Dumber and now...4 years of  Bozo the Yellow-Haired Clown?

There are a lot of qualified Presidential candidates out there.  Why aren't they nominated?

======================

Then I just read a quotation on a friend's blog.  "Keep busy in your pursuit of all, in these last years.  Do not expect much from others.  Take responsibility for your own happiness, without depending on anyone else."  

This is painfully true to me and reminds me, I haven't heard anything from my kids or my sister since Easter.

================

Ever have one of these kinds of days?

I think I'll walk up to Pearl's and talk for awhile.

I'm Okay!

I'm fine--really--just no time to post because I am putting the finishing touches on the latest genealogy and I want it done, mailed and arrival BEFORE Mother's Day!

Rainy and cold here for about 4 days in a row.  That's good as it gives me an excuse to stay inside, away from others, and work!!!!!!!!!!

I just found out today that it is possible for one to stay in their comfy, jammies until noon and only have a teeny bit of guilt about not being dressed.

May Day

I have always loved May Day.

May Day, with sun and warmth and spring-like smells of new life.  All the Maple trees are that vibrant chartreuse green and the lawns?  Oh my!  The Red Bud trees are deliciously pink as are the Magnolia bushes and that neon yellow of the Forsythia.  Tulips and Daffodils give color to the green growth of future blooming perennials of Lilies and Iris, Peonies and Shasta Daisies.  The Lilacs are starting out, from the top of the bushes downward and already their scent is noticed.  Lovely.

It's all there, in my garden, if you look real hard through the downpour that has been going on for 3 days straight--if you step out on the porch, bundled up in your winter jacket, because it's 48 degrees.

Not exactly the May Day I prefer!!
==============================
Darlene came over Saturday night.  Her brother and his wife had taken Dad to a movie.

It was exactly one year from her minor accident.  Nine different doctors and specialists.  Six months of physical therapy, twice a week.  Another round of MRI's and CAT scans.  There is nothing out of place on any of those scans.  A bit of inflammation near her tail bone--that's it.  Yet she claims to be in severe pain all the time.

Friday she had an appointment, 50 miles away, with a renowned (for the area) Psycho Therapist that deals with pain.  Her appointment was 3 hours long.

She had to fill out a questionnaire of 150 questions--repeated in different formats to see if she gave the same answer each time.  A memory test, in which she scored quite low.  Some sort of brain scan, with wires attached to her head, in which she was asked questions.  When the technician was putting the wires on her head, she had her arm in front of Dar's eyes and Dar jumped up and ran over to the corner of the small room.

#1--she cannot stand for anyone to get that close to her face.  #2--she had the feeling the technician was trying to strap her in the chair and was going to give her shock treatments through the electrodes.  So, they allowed her to stand by the door, that was opened a bit, while they did the test--so she wouldn't feel confined and could run out the door if she needed to,.

Then the doctor came in and talked to her for over an hour.  

She had to recount the accident, or what she could remember about it and she became quite anxious and near hysteria.  Doc thinks she has PTSD.  The accident was a minor rear-ender with only a small repairable dent in her back bumper and no front-end damage to the other car.

The doc flat out told her, she has magnified the accident into an "unreal" major incident.  That her mind has locked into it and the pain she is feeling?  Purely in her mind, feelings, emotions.

He can help her with the (imagined) pain, through talk therapy and hypnosis.

She claims she cannot be hypnotized and so there is no reason for her to go back to him!
She will not allow herself to be hypnotized because she is afraid of what will happen while she is "out".  I tried to explain the whole process to her and that she wouldn't be "out", but............

When she left, I walked out with her as far as my mail box, we were talking all the way, and I talked to her as she walked the few steps to her house.  She walked right along, as straight and flexible as can be.  I did that on purpose, to see if my talking could distract her from the pain she usually displays when she walks.

Well, we've known for years that Dar is a mental mess.  I've seen her weird actions so many times.  Now, she has even given up reading her Bible and praying, which was such a great part of her life.  She said, "It doesn't make any sense to me anymore.  God has left me and I don't know how to find Him again."

I told her, "This is the time when you should be praying more.  You are trying to control everything again and you know--you can't do that.  God hasn't left you...you have allowed your mind to be so filled with all this junk--imaginations, fears, jumbled thoughts...there isn't any room for God."

That doesn't sound very kind, but Dar reacts better to straight, sometimes hard talk.

"I know.  You're right." she said.
===========================

AND--I best get too it! 

WHEW!!

I've been absorbed with the latest genealogy I am doing.  So absorbed that I had no desire to write a post and, there's nothing else going on here.

I got stuck!  I had no problems finding all I needed for the father's side of the family, but when I started the mother's side?  Three generations up and could not find the parents.  Nowhere could I find that guy's parents.  Not a birth record.  Not a census listing his parents.  Not a marriage or death record that listed them.

I perused State records, not listed in Ancestry.com, but just in Internet State records.  Nothing.
I Googled his name.  Nothing.  I spent hours searching.  Uncharged hours because I didn't feel it was fair to charge my client for the hours I spent searching for something I KNEW HAD to be there and I just couldn't find!  That was Thursday.

I took a break and got my hair cut.  I had been trying to get an appointment with the new stylist I have at Fantastic Sam's.  They don't DO pre-appointments.  You call the day you want and see if your stylist has an opening.  (I hate that!)  So Thursday, I had to run into Brighton and figured, as long as I was in town, I'd just drop in and see.  I was at the point where I'd take ANYONE to get the long hair off my neck!  Well, I walked in and asked and it just happened that the stylist was sitting in her chair with no customer.  

YAY!  I was outta there in 30 minutes.  I don't really like it there.  Not much personal interaction.  I had known my last hair stylist for 14 years.  She had done my daughter's and grand daughter's hair and that's how I found her.  She knew most everything about me and me, her.  Then she died and they set me up with another one in that salon, and we got pretty well acquainted.  Then she decided to get her own salon, many miles out of town and three round-abouts to get to her.

Karen recommended this stylist as her friend goes there and the stylist DOES know how to cut short hair.  But....it's kind of like a drive-thru oil change place.  You go in, you get your hair washed and cut and out you go.  When she was done with the cut, she whipped off the cape around me and headed off to turn her ticket into the cashier.  By the time I got to the cashier, the stylist was gone.

Bada Boom, Bada Bing.  No "Hi how are you?".  No,, "Thanks, have a nice day." In you go and out you go.  I did get a decent cut this time, after she finally relented to cut it shorter in back.  She "thinks" (I guess) that I want fringes hanging down the back of my neck.  When she was done, I asked for a mirror so I could see the back and then asked her to cut it much shorter.  "Shape it in from the sides to that natural point I have on the back of my neck.  I don't want to look in a mirror and see any hair hanging down behind my ears."  She did!  I don't think she likes it that way, but it was perfect!

It only costs $17.00, which is half what I used to pay, so--------in and out we go and no chit chat!
=======================
Friday morning I got right back into the genealogy.  I was searching again--places I had already been, thinking I had missed something.  Then--all of a sudden, a message came up on the monitor that asked if I wanted to link into another search program.  It is not connected to Ancestry.com, but can be linked (like Ancestry) into the program I use to collect, sort, record and store all my information.  

What the heck, right?  Why not.  I opened an account, it's free, when it came up, I put in the name and--Oh My Gosh--there he was and his parents and his parents and on and on back 11 generations!!!

YOWZA!!!  What a gold mine!

So that's how I spent Friday--and that's why I didn't post on here. 

Onward and upward I go.  Printing out information, scanning records, inputting the info into my Family Tree Maker.  I also ordered two brand new inkjet cartridges and a box of the special paper I use because.....I am going to be writing and putting the book together sometime next week!

YAY!!!

Life is Humming Along

It was 81 degrees today and a bit sticky and I am probably the only one in Michigan complaining about it.  I have a fine tuned preference for 68-75 degrees and humidity around 40%.  When the humidity gets real high, it makes me physically sick.  I had a bad heat stroke when I was 15 and ever since then............  I took the cover off the air conditioning unit this afternoon--just in case, but I guess it is going to cool down a bit the rest of the week.

I spent all morning on the genealogy.  I wanted to get a hair cut, but my stylist at Fantastic Sam's was all booked up.  At that place, you cannot make an appointment ahead of time.  You have to call the morning you want your cut and get a spot in the schedule.  I called at 10:04 and was told the stylist I wanted was booked up until 7:00pm.

Now, I ask you, if I called 4 minutes after they opened, how many calls came in before that to fill up my stylist's schedule?  I "think" they are allowing people to call the day before, but they sure won't let me do it.

So, I will try tomorrow and if she is "booked" I will just ask for someone who knows how to cut short hair.  My hair is long and thick and hot right now.
===========
At 7:00, I walked up to visit Pearl and Merle, but couldn't find them home, so I walked across the street to visit Dar and her Dad.  Her Dad now sits out in front of the house, in a chair, in the sun, with his shirt off.  Now to see a 95 year old man shirtless can be a bit staggering.  I don't know why he doesn't sit in the sun in the back yard, but.............................

Dar showed me her new Smart Phone--some kind of fancy thing I will tell you.  You can talk to it and tell it where you want to go and the GPS will talk back as you drive along.  Talk about distraction!

Then she told me how many On Demand movies they watch on TV--those cost $4.99 to watch and they watch 2 a day.

Then she started telling me about the new sneakers she got.

" I was told to get a good support shoe  Now, you know I don't like to spend money (oh really?), so Dad and I walked around the store for about 3 hours, talking about it.  Then I decided......................."

Just then Dad threw his hands up in the air and said, "Just show her the damn shoes!"

I just about chocked on my laughter and said, "We gotta hear the story first, Mickey." he rolled his eyes.

She went and got them and took them out of the box.  They are slip-ons.  Sketchers.  I don't see as how they are very good in the support department, but.........................................
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I got my January cross stitch project--finally--mounted on the foam core.  I could not find a frame narrow enough or long enough.  So I just put a nice heavy backing on it and glued a hanger on the back.

Up above the back door it went.  It just fits that 6" space.

Good Day

Another day of windows and doors open to let in the 72 degree air.  My gosh.  I love this time of year!!  

All of my windows have blinds.  I hate the top of the blinds contraption to show.  Therefore, I am obsessed with Valances.  I was sitting in the bathroom looking at my back door last weekend and I thought to myself, "It has no character.  Just a back door, with a window and blinds.

So, when I went to Walmart yesterday, I bought a tension rod = $2.37, screwed it out to the correct width and put one of the valances I took out of the den and put on it.

I love it!!  Dressed it up a bit.  Considering the fact I rarely use that door, I don't think it will ever get in my way.

The garden around the Lilac bushes that Karen edged for me.

Hostas coming up in there too.

The view out my kitchen window by my table.

I have another surprise for tomorrow.  A cross stitch I was working on that is now blocked and stretched on foam core.