A Nice Day

I have to keep putting this photo up at the top of my blog because...it is so beautiful and I am waiting for my Grape Hyacinth, Tulips and Daffodils to bloom!  67 and sunny today.

This reminds me of our blogging friend Balisha.  She died four weeks now and still her blog is left open by her husband, Joe and still, her blogging friends are leaving comments.  I think we are all thinking of her because this time of year, she would be posting photos of her gardens and the plans for what she wanted to plant.  What a testimony to such a wonderful lady, that even after a month, her friends are still thinking of her and missing her.
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So, this morning I had to go back to my primary guy to see how his "experiment" worked.  He lowered my new BP med to half--trying to raise my low pulse rate.  Well, it did that--I got up to 53 beats per minute.  However, my BP also went up--every day--until yesterday it was 196/68 and this morning, 192/66.  I took a full BP tab this morning, not wanting to risk having a stroke before I got to his office to tell him, "You are nutz!"  "Our experiment didn't work."  He put me on Lasik to see if that will do any good AND back on 40 MEQ's of Potassium to counteract the water pill.

GEEZ OH PETE!!!  You know how I hate running to the doc's all the time!  I gotta go back next Tuesday and have more blood drawn!  Today, he also asked when I was going to have a Colonoscopy.

"Never," I replied.

"Why not?  You need to get one to check and make sure you don't have polyps."

"I've never had one and I'm not going to start now.  I am over seventy-five and "they" say you don't need one after that age...AND...if I get colon cancer, I wouldn't go throuigh the treatments anyway...so......."

He just shook his head, perturbed at me.

Apparently my new insurance company wants me to do all the preventative stuff, because he quizzed me on mammograms (last August), bone density (last August) eye exam (in a few weeks) cardiologist visit plus an echo cardiogram and EKG (last week) and colonoscopy.

He asked if I still smoked and I told him, "I use pipe tobacco now.  It is milder, has less chemicals."

"How long did you smoke cigarettes, how many and what kind?"

"Ultra lights, usually half a pack a day, for 55 years."

"Do you cough, have chest pain or shortness of breath?"

"No.  Never."

"When did you last have a chest x-ray?"

"Last week.  Isn't it there in a report?"

"Ah-hh, yes, here it is.  Completely clear and normal.  There are no nodules, no scars, no shadows.  You're heart isn't enlarged either.  Doesn't look like you've ever smoked."

"I never inhaled."

"Hm-mm.  Are you going to quit?"

"No.  Well...maybe, but not today."

"Didn't you quit a couple of years ago?"

"Yes.  For six months."

"Why did you start again?"

"Because I wanted too."

"Hm-mm."

"Do you drink alcohol?"

"No.  Never."

"Maybe you should.  Wine is suppose to be good for you."

"I heard the latest report that said it wasn't."

"Yes--I did too.  Well, all things in moderation."

"Including smoking."
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When I got home, my BP was "down" to 184/62.  I had stuff I wanted to do outside, but I was scared to lift or work hard with the upper number that high.  Two weeks ago, my BP was 126/62--now with changing meds, "they" have me all messed up again.  I HATE MEDICAL PROBLEMS!!!   All this doctoring makes me feel mentally as old as I am physically, HAH!

I did get my Hummingbird feeders up and filled as I see on the migration chart that the little Darlings are in Southern Michigan and I am only about 50 miles from the Michigan/Ohio border.  I also got my two chairs and little table out of the shed and ready to wash them tomorrow.

Karen called and invited me out to supper.  Tonight she took me to a Mexican place.  We had a delightful waiter.  Lyle and he was so overtly gay and sweet, especially to the Madre, that we had a good time.  We spent most of our time talking about Karen's trip to Guatemala.

"Mom...you just can't believe how they live.  The house we built, is exactly four inches from the houses on either side.  There is trash everywhere.  It smelled horrible all the time.  Most of them have no electricity, and a lot of them share a public latrine.  You just cannot imagine.  Dust everywhere.  At the end of the day, you have dirt and dust in your hair, inside your clothes and shoes.  It is so hot and sticky.  Some days, if the power was out, which it was a lot, people had no water, because the well pumps are run on electricity.  We complain if our Internet or electricity goes out for a couple of hours.  Everyone should have to go to one of these countries and stay for a week.  We are the luckiest people to live here in the United States."

 We take so much for granted don't we?  It's really only by a quirk of fate that we were born and live here.  I know I am thankful for that.

Monday Thoughts

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I don't know quite how to describe something I went through.  While I was in the hospital.  After they did the cardioversion on me--as I was waking up from the Propofol.

They gave me the injection and I felt the heaviness in my forehead and said, "Here I go," and went out.  What seemed like a few minutes later--I was waking up, I guess.

I heard the nurse say, "What's so happy?"  and I asked, "What?"

She said, "You just said OH, quite loudly and I looked and you were smiling.  What's up?"

I didn't tell her because it was so fresh and new I didn't know what to say.

Just a second before I heard her, I saw Jesus.  He was walking away and he turned and looked right at me and smiled the biggest grin ever.  I was so surprised I took in a sharp breath and said, "Oh!" and I tried to catch up with Him.  I felt such peace and I wanted to walk with him.  I was so happy to see Him.

He didn't look like any picture I have ever seen of Him, but I knew instantly who He was.    He looked something like this image I Googled and finally found, except other people were with him and he was grinning at me.

I don't know what to make of all of this.  No doubt a reaction from the drug.  When I go to bed at night, I can see this image so clear.  Was He looking back at me and walking away because I was once again well and not going with Him?  I have no idea.  All I know is that feeling of peace and happiness and His great big grin have stayed in my memory since.

I don't believe in visions and spirits visiting us and any of that, so I have to assume that this "visitation" was just a reaction to waking up from the Propofol, however, I have had that drug many times and never had an experience like this.

I wonder...was it real?  
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I have been threatening to (since January) and today I did--mopped the kitchen and hall/utility room floor.  I love it all shiny in the sunlight.

Last year, when I walked, I'd walk down to Fred's Heart tree and back=400 steps.  This evening I decided I needed to start walking again, so off I went toward the Heart Tree.  I got there and just kept on walking--to the corner and back.  Equaled 800 steps.  I can walk better now than I have in years--although it has taken 3 years since my hip surgery to finally get back to being able to walk with no discomfort.  

Sometimes, when I go to Wal-Mart, I count my steps from the front of the store to where I begin filling my cart--usually the back of the store, and I noticed that I could walk 200 steps quite easily.  I thought it might be harder here, with no cart to hang on to, but--I feel real proud of myself and I think next walk, I can make it down to the lake and back.
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Hardly any comments on my blog anymore.  I guess I write too much?  Or what I write is boring?

Perfect Weather--66 degrees

I am lusting after this Oriole feeder.  On Sale (?) for $44.00!  Can you even imagine paying that much for a bird feeder?  All my feeders are copper, so this one caught my eye.

I guess my home made one will have to do.  I put it up yesterday, with jelly and a half an orange on the bush next to it.

John stopped by yesterday at 1:00 and unloaded the 90# of bird seed out of my car trunk and into my metal garbage can/bird seed container.  I tried to help him carry the bags, but he insisted he do it all by himself and handed the dog's leash for me to hold while he worked.  He put 1/3 of the sunflower seeds in the can and then 1/3 of the regular seed and bent over and fixed it with his hands.  Then repeated until all the seed was in the can.  I thought I'd stir and mix it up with a shovel, but he has paws as large as shovels and did a great job.  I never even thought of doing it that way.  Hm-mm.  I wonder if he has done this before or if he is just a smart enough man to know how to do something properly?  I filled up my feeders, sprayed them a bit with the Hot Sauce to keep the squirrels away and we are good to go.

Merle came down today and took down the frame-work and the insulation on my back door.  I have so much light coming into that hallway now--I am a happy person!

I vacuumed, dusted, rearranged the tables in my living room, cleaned the windows inside and decided to put up the summer sheers today--while I watched the Master's Golf Tournament.

Out with the heavy drapes and valances and cafe curtain

 In with the sheers and no cafe curtain on the bottom.

Do you think the tasseled valance is a bit too much?  Looks like a French Whorehouse?

I have no cafe curtain on the bottom half of the window so at night, any and all could look in.  They can't see me however, as my recliner is tucked back in the corner.  I just like wide open windows to catch every ray of light and bring it into my environment.  It doesn't get dark enough to put on inside lights until quite late, so---most neighbor's would be inside and not looking. Yes--I have blinds on every window, but I rarely lower them.  LOL 

Speaking of the Master's Tournament--what a great winner.  21 years old and set all kinds of records.  I hope he keeps going great in his career  AND  he is a lot nicer than Tiger.  At least if he hits a bad tee shot, he doesn't swear for all to hear like Tiger used too!
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A new week.  I will be outside over-doing!!

Feeling Better

Jean--the Guatemala mission is not like Habitat for Humanity, but the woman they are building the home for does help where she can--like making Mexican meals for them.  A lot of laying cement blocks and construction like that, so mostly the guys do the heavy work.  It is just a one room, with one window structure--I think no bigger than a two car garage.  Karen and Mark had to buy all the supplies to build the structure = $2,000.00, plus pay for their plane tickets down there.  We all chipped in something to help buy the supplies.  Even I managed $50.00. :-)

They were not allowed to take anything too glamorous with them, as gifts for the family.  They are not allowed to say anything like, "I wish you could come visit us," or talk too much about how we live here.  They are there to help the people, not make them more aware of their poor standard of living.  Madeleine did call beforehand and ask Karen if she could bring a lined tablet and two pencils for a young girl she knows.  The girl uses paper bags or any paper she can find and sews them together to form a tablet.  She is a copious writer and writes down all the English words she hears and then the Spanish word next to them.  Karen said she thought she could afford a $1.00 tablet and a couple pencils.  Karen said when Maddie gave the girl the tablet, you would have thought they had given her the most wonderful gift she ever had--and it very well might have been.

This is a MISSION trip-to help others, but it gave them an opportunity to be with Maddie this time.  It really is no different than what they do around here with feeding the homeless, or cleaning up the old tires dumped in the vacant lots in Detroit and building community gardens in Detroit.  Pammie constantly crochets blankets and hats for the homeless in Detroit and I make baby afghans for a place up the road that gives supplies to unwed mothers.  I used to sponsor a little girl on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma.  Jennifer buys dolls and makes doll clothes for the Old Newsboys distribution in Detroit.  My sister Susan knits lap prayer blankets for the elderly. My Mother used to sew dresses and clothes for the poor kids at our school back in the '50's and '60's, so I guess it is a family thing.   A kind of WWJD sort of thing?

Karen posted this on Face Book this morning.

"Guatemala house is complete & dedicated to Blanca & her son. The goodbyes were difficult & tear filled! Madeleine stays for another 3 months to continue God's work. Thank you to all who supported us with donations of prayers & money. May God bless you! "

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A kind of normal calendar month:

My calendar for this month:

I visited the Chiropractor this afternoon--he used the "rachet" thingie, also got a good session with the "thumper", and the "muscle stimulator" (TENS pads) and a nice rotation of my neck.  I feel great.  My shoulder bone doesn't hurt tonight and I can turn my head in all directions without any pain and no crunching!

Dar came over for an hour and we actually had a nice conversation!!!  She told me about her visit to the doctor on Monday and asked about my visit to him on Tuesday.  It was really quite normal.  Hm-mm.

This weekend weather prediction is sunny and in the sixties.  You know I will be outside--raking up a few leaves, filling up my bird seed can and feeders and getting my Baltimore Oriole feeder in place.

This house is a complete mess also and I wanted to start on my spring cleaning and rearranging.  Gotta get my heavy winter drapes off my windows and my summer sheers up!!

Guatemala Trip Winding Down

Susanna and Madeleine

                Maddie, Susanna and Dad

The one-room homes in Guatemala usually don't have cooking stoves.  The women cook over a fire-pit in the middle of the floor and all the smoke stays inside the home.  Not good.  

The kids built a ventilated stove for this single mother and her son.

No doubt, she will be the envy of the entire town. 

I like to think that maybe my
contribution to their project
paid for this stove. :-)
Karen and Mark have sponsored a boy (Francisco, standing by Karen) for the last 10 years.  When they got to Guatemala, they realized he lived only a couple hours away from where they were working.  Yesterday, they drove over to meet him and his family and bought them all a Coke.  The family does not speak any Spanish dialect that the interpreter understood, but after a soda and a game of throwing a Frisbee around, they seemed to have a good time.  Love has no language barriers!

Just a personal note here--in my opinion, I think it would have been wise for Karen to present the Momma with a life-time supply of birth control pills!!!!!  Nine people in a one room dwelling?

Aren't they adorable? 
My little brown-eyed girl having fun with the other little brown-eyed kids.
I think they like her!






Mark playing some sort of Frisbee baseball with the kids

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Doctor's appointment with my primary guy this morning.  He walks in the room, "Hi Babe!"  (??)

"Hi Doc."

"I was just thinking about you this morning.  You were my first patient when I started this practice."

"Yeah.  How long now.  Seven years?"

"I think eight or nine."

"Time goes fast doesn't it?"

and then I once again complained about my low pulse rate--I have been complaining about it for over a year and he said to lower my one BP med and come back next Tuesday.  Then I happened to mention that I worried about my Potassium being low and so he decided I needed a blood draw.

When will I learn to just shut up?

So, Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy comes in and tried to find a spot on my inner arm that didn't have a hole in it from the IV's, and then my blood didn't want to flow out very fast, so it took forever!  Come to find out, she graduated with and knows my grandson Stephen.  She is sweet and I think he needs to get to know her better.  :-)

Then, on to the dermatologist this afternoon--no big deal, right?  AHA, he finds some sort of spot on the back of my right calf and I have another needle stuck in me to numb the area and it hurt like heck.  He had to take a small slice to send off for a biopsy!!  Never had a thing like that ever before.  To make the visit there worthwhile, he DID freeze a couple of age spots on my face so I will look better.  BUT, I have to go back in a month!

GEEZ LOUISE!  I wanted to get all these doctor appointments taken care of the first part of this year and now...I have to go back for repeat visits.  

I'm almost afraid to go to the ophthalmologist, he will probably tell me I gotta have cataract surgery!!!

Tomorrow the Chiropractor--hope he doesn't have some sort of needle injection in mind!!
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Saw this:

Sprayed with this:

He came back--took one taste, jumped off the feeder and hasn't been back.  AHA!!

Gray--Sprinkley Day--Again!

I woke up at 8:15 feeling wonderful!!!  Not one tiny little palpitation in my throat all day.  I wasn't a bit tired-

Until...........

A two hour shopping trip to the Wal-Mart.  By the time my cart was full and heavy and I was moving toward the check-out lane, I remembered I had forgotten the CLR to clean my humidifier and shower head.  The CLR is located in the back of the store.

I felt like I was scuffing my feet along and my knees and legs were so shaky!!  Then, I had to load up the car, drive home and unload the car---8 trips to the car, up the porch steps, inside, back out and...repeat.  Lordy!!!  I collapsed into my recliner and so wanted to just kick back and catch a nap,  but...................had to get the stuff all put away.

I did stop and get 90# of bird seed--which still resides in the trunk of my car.

Then, I had to get all the trash together, get it into the garbage pail and out to the curb.  I pulled the garbage pail up close to the door and came back in to empty the den, bathroom, living room and kitchen waste baskets.  I toted it all out to the porch and...............the garbage can was sitting down by the street.  Apparently Merle came and took it out.  Thanks for nothing!!!!

Out to get the can and haul it back up on the porch, fill it up and haul it back out again.  GEEZ!!


10:00 and I am going to bed!  Tomorrow is another busy day. 

Tired.

Gray--sprinkley--bah humbug sort of day!

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In January, I determined that I would call and make all the appointments I needed and get everything taken care of before Spring.

AHA--March 21st was a few weeks ago and the only things I got done were my yearly check-up and my new crown.

Then the whole thing last week.  So this morning, with great determination and fore thought, I got the phone numbers and the phone and...I go to my primary guy Thursday morning at 11:30 and the dermatologist at 2:40.  On Friday, I go to the Chiropractor.  I get to the Ophthalmologist in two weeks and the dentist  for cleaning, on April 30th.

So May 1st may  will find me all caught up with my medical needs and ready to get outside and start working in the yard.

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I had a hard time getting to sleep last night and finally at 1:00, I remembered, I had forgotten to take my 5 mg of Melatonin.  While in hospital, they encouraged me to take it every night.  "So many people have trouble sleeping," the nurse said, "and it's so simple.  Melatonin is a natural hormone we tend to lose as we age.  It regulates our Circadian clock.  If they would just take it every night, no one would need any prescription sleep aids with all the side effects."  I was actually surprised they were so "into it", as most medical people pooh-pooh the whole vitamin/supplement thing.

So--I got up, popped that little pill and was soon asleep.  The fur kids were a bit disturbed by my getting out of bed, but they were soon nestled back up against my back and sleeping too.

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I got up around 9:00, fed the kids and came in here.  As I looked up and out the window, I saw this guy (or girl, how can you tell?) looking right in the window at me.  It reminded me of a childhood nursery rhyme.

 
" A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon my window sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said,
"Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepyhead?"

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 I felt so "draggy" this morning--kind of dizzy and foggy headed.

"They" told me I didn't have to take my Potassium capsules anymore because they took me off the water pill and one other HBP med (Amlodipine) I was on.  My heart rate is low again--in the mid-40's.  I take two HBP meds in the morning and one at supper.  I decided, you know how I like to diagnose myself, that I would take the new HBP med in the morning, the other one at noon and then at supper.  My reasoning, it will keep the meds more continuous and even.

Then I decided that just because "they" took me off the water pill, perhaps I should still take some Potassium daily--seeings as how I have tended to have low Potassium for the last 15 years!!  I hate bananas and you know I don't eat right, so.....I Googled how many MEQ's are in one banana.

AHA--10 MEQ's in one banana.  My Potassium capsules are exactly 10 MEQ's per.  So...I took one and a couple hours later, started to feel much less foggy headed.  To me, there is no difference between eating one banana a day or taking the equivalent.

<that's my story and I'm sticking to it>

You know--I will either cure or kill myself one of these days.  HAH

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I trucked on up to the Food Bank--I didn't go at all in March because...my appointment would have been for the end of month and they run out of stuff by then.  They had a good quantity of meat and fresh veggies today.  I am allotted 60#, and usually can only manage 25#, but today did a bit better at 35#.  They used to insist that I wasn't getting all that I should and I kept insisting that I was taking only what I needed and would use.  So...now they leave me alone.  

I know people (Dar) who would go in there and "stock-up" on canned goods--cases and cases at a time.  I don't need to do that (and neither did she).  I go every month and get what I need.  Why stock-up and take it away from other needy families when you can go every month?  But then, you know Dar.  When she worked at the Salvation Army--anything that came in the back door and looked good to her, went out into the trunk of her car and NEVER reached the selling floor.  To me, that is not only theft, but it is completely immoral!!!

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Got home, unloaded and watched my Soap and then off to the beautifying place.  These are the before and after pictures.

I also got those big caterpillars that crawl across my face, above my eyes, plucked out and trimmed up.  Now--if I could just afford an eye-lid lift and a nose job, I'd be in business.

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My friend (neighbor from where I used to live) called this afternoon, just after I got in the house.  As we talked, I could hear my smoke alarm, just outside this computer room, beeping.

Now--why would it do that.  It is not battery operated, instead hooked up to the electrical system so it never runs out of power.

I walked out and stood under it and distinctly heard it beep a weak little beep.  So I ripped that sucker off the wall and took it into the kitchen to wash it off.

Then, I heard the one over by the back door beep.  

What the What?

I had to go potty, so I went into the bathroom and heard it beep again--only quite loud this time.  I walked into the bedroom and---lo and behold--not the smoke alarms at all, but the dang, old carbon monoxide alarm, that sits near my heat register, going off.  It DOES run on batteries and apparently they were tired!!!

How strange, to be standing in the doorway of my computer and living room, 30 feet away from the carbon monoxide alarm in my bedroom and hear it so clear and think it was the smoke alarm above my head.  Just the way sounds echo down the hallway of this place.

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I haven't purchased any groceries in a month so tomorrow is the day! A long trip spent walking the aisles of the Wal-Mart.  I have been out of stuff for weeks, but either didn't have time to get up to the store, or no money until my SS came in on the 3rd.  

I also need to stop at the Tractor Supply place and have someone load 2-40# bags of birdseed for me.  I am not going to ask Merle to unload it for me this time.

Remember John, the nice man around the corner who cleared the snow off my drive all winter?  Well, he walks  his old dog Maisey by here everyday and sometimes comes up to my porch.  Maisey likes me and won't go home unless he lets her come for a visit.  He was by the other day and told me if I ever needed help or had an emergency, to call him.

I told him that I don't like to ask for help and he said, "What is it with women?  Nowadays, women are so independent.  I have dated two ladies and they just never wanted me to do a thing for them."

"Because, John, we have tried really hard to become this way.  We don't have husbands anymore and have had to learn how to take care of ourselves.  We don't want to become a burden on anyone...AND we don't want to ask any man for help and then have them take advantage of us or feel we owe them something."

He laughed.  "Well, I wouldn't feel that way.  So call me...if you need too."

I should have gotten his phone number!!  Well, when I get the heavy bags of seed home, I will wait until I see him walk by and run out and ask for help.

BUT...HE BETTER NOT GET ANY IDEAS!!!