Color me miserable

I know I've used this photo before. I am in agony. Each cough brings SO.MUCH.PAIN. My sides ache so bad and my head hurts when I take a coughing fit. And it is one of those gut-wrenching, rib-clutching, horse coughs. I am surprised I have not ripped out my vocal chords.

When I feel a cough coming on I groan and I want to cry. Attempting to stifle the cough only makes it that much worse and twice as painful as the body reacts violently to the attempt.

My breathing whistles and rattles. My daughter wants me to go to the doctor, now. She went.  That is when the doctor sent her over thinking she may have pneumonia.  She went and they told her it was not pneumonia and that  they could do nothing for her. She had to ride it out.

I can still walk around and do things. Although I quickly run out of breath and have to sit down. I find myself not being able to catch my breath. I get restless sitting in my TV chair all day. It drives me nuts.

There will be no dinner today. I am far too sick to place myself in any body's house in this condition and I have not been grocery shopping in ages. We have been surviving on hot dogs, mac & cheese and take out pizza. The two "kids" I live with could care less about ham and potatoes and deviled eggs and any other Easter dinner treat you can think of.

Me? Oats and scrambled eggs. And Popsicles. And Gatorade. I don't like Gatorade. I went back to plain water.

I have sinus pain and pressure on top of the cough and my lower back hurts along with my back where the lungs reside. I don't want the "P" word and I don't mean pneumonia. A guy at work had pleurisy last week. I remember this ailment all too well. I have had it so many times I know the symptoms and I don't feel them yet.

Well, it is off to find the acetaminophen for what good it does. Do you purchase name-brand or generic over the counter medication? I seem to have a mental issue where I feel the generic does not work as well. It irks me because of the monetary issue involved with buying name brand products.

Is there a doctor in the family?

As most of you know sister 1956 has been staying with me on and off since January. She does travel back to our home town so she can help watch her granddaughter and then she stays with my brother if she needs to.

She is a heavy smoker and of course being in the middle of a life crisis her immune system is run down. She has had one of the worst coughing bouts for over two weeks. It seriously sounds like she is going to cough up a lung. It is brutal.

My Sister-in-law (married to brother 1953) is in the hospital currently for some medical issues that I may talk about in another post. His son became a doctor last summer. He was visiting also - he works at two different hospitals and this one happened to be one of them. We all settled into the small hospital room and we chatted about things. Listened to each other tell stories - you know - regular family visits.

Sister 1956 left for a while, not sure if she went to the bathroom or just needed to walk around (it was much too far to walk to have a smoke). I was telling my brother about my sister and her cough. I was trying to get her into stat care to get medicine, but she didn't have money. She recently signed up for Obamacare but her doctor visit ended up being $182 and she is to pay $92 out of pocket. She was a bit dismayed about that. We may look for another doctor.

We were not paying much attention to my nephew as he was on his cell phone texting or reading etc...When my sister came back in we chatted some more.

My nephew sat up, asked my sister a couple of questions about her cough and proceeded to phone her in a prescription. His half sister is a Pharmacist in my town. (His sister is a mortician. Not a practicing one but she graduated from the school).

Lickety split. Just like that. My sister had her medicine. A z-pak, cough medicine and a steroid.  She has no regular doctor. She recently started a new one in my town so she could continue her high blood pressure medicine. I did remind my nephew about her high blood pressure. Before this she was getting prescriptions at a free clinic and it was a hit and miss episode as she is not well known for keeping up with taking care of herself. Letting her prescription run out etc...

She has the family curse. Take care of everybody else and some strangers before even thinking about ourselves. Hopefully now she will get well and nip this horrible cough in the bud.

Did I mention that my daughter has a severe case of strep throat and laryngitis? Yeah. She said the doctor is probably going to say they need to come out on Thursday. Wha..?

Mama needs to sit down.

Owie

I have an owie. I think my ear pain started Tuesday night. I can't recall. The ear swelled completely shut making it hard to hear. It was very sensitive to the touch and the pain was radiating to my teeth and to my throat.

I went to the doctor yesterday and she almost sent me to the ER. She did not want the infection to travel to my brain. I said no because I thought they would lance the ear or something. She said "No" it was just to give me antibiotics with an IV - quicker.

She let me go with a strong anti-biotic, prednisone and ear drops. I was in so much pain. At the pharmacy I had to wait for one hour for them to fill the prescription. The pharmacist was concerned since I was allergic to penicillin; he remarked that this anti-biotic was a distant, distant cousin of that medication.

I explained to him that my "allergic reaction" to penicillin way back in 1979 was because I was ignorant of the fact that you don't take old medication. It was over six months old and sitting in our medicine cabinet. I broke out in hives and my face swelled up like I had the mumps. Since then I have had to tell every doctor that I am allergic to penicillin. Sigh.

He suggested that I have Benadryl handy just in case. I purchased a box. What a salesman!

I went home with my heating pad, meds and Advil. I was finally feeling much better by the evening.

Two hours after my pharmacy visit, I received a call from the pharmacist. He wanted to make certain that I was okay. He phrased it "I wanted to make sure you were still with us."  That made me laugh. I told him I was fine and he said he was just checking up on me. I thanked him. I told my daughter's boyfriend I was going to marry my pharmacist. LOL!

I am still in pain and swelled up. My daughter is putting the drops in for me. I found it funny that one of my meds said to take twice a day and the other said take every 12 hours. Uh....isn't that the same thing? Anyway, if the Advil works it's magic I will go into work. I have no plans this week-end and I can wrap up in my heating pad and blankets all day Saturday/Sunday.

A.S.S.

Al$0 $a!t $ubstitue.  From here on out, known as ASS. I purchased a box of six in December for my nephew for Christmas. Well, I was going to keep a couple. I ordered online from here. 

They replied in an e-mail stating it would take 4 - 6 weeks to deliver. Ah, well. Not in time for Christmas but no big deal. I kind of forgot in January. I sent an e-mail in February. Waited two weeks. I called them and left a voice message. No return call.

Two days later I called again. The lady looked up my order and said they would ship it next Friday. I waited two weeks. Nothing.

I called again and left a voice message. I will call every day if I have to. WTF?!

My daughter saw the doctor last week. She has hypertension. At 21 years old. Crap! I have always had low blood pressure or very good BP. I used salt periodically but in the past five years or so I have craved it so much. I buried the salt deep into the back of the cupboard. She never adds salt to anything. She does however, eat too many frozen entreés and pizzas. And fast food. She refuses to cook. (I buried the salt so I would stop).

Food tastes SO bland. The reading material the doctor (or rather - nurse practitioner) gave her said - no salt substitutes. She is okay with that, but I wouldn't mind the opportunity if I only HAD the chance to try it.

I will go to the store and get another substitute for myself - but good gawd! ASS is on my shit list.

Hey, and what about the new terminology:  "She got salty with me."  When did "salty" become the euphemism for cranky or bitchy or nasty?  LOL! 

I am about ready to get really salty with ASS. I will make it my goal for the year. To harass the hell out of this company until I get my product. I am rather certain it is a little too late to go to my credit card and have it removed. It was billed to me in December after all. I don't know what the time limit is. It is more the principle of the thing, now. You want salty? I'll give you salty.

So, there I was in the grocery store yesterday reading labels. Sodium, sodium, sodium. Picking the cereal with the lowest sodium. Surprising. Ketchup and mustard - not as bad as we thought. I have always purchased my tuna in water - and I can still rinse it before adding it.

My daughter loves tuna noodle casserole. It is the cheese that is going to cause problems. I could not find any low-sodium cheese. I will keep looking at other grocery stores and specialty stores. I will mix half and half so we don't have a totally tasteless casserole. We also love nachos. The three ingredients that she likes are the cheese, nacho chips and the beef. I always purchase 96% lean ground beef, but it is the taco mix that may have the sodium. The cheese will also - but I am not certain we can even eat the nachos with a low sodium baked nacho chip. We can try. Or limit ourselves.

Stopping the canned vegetables. I only buy peas and green beans canned. I know you can buy low sodium but - no thanks. I am thinking baked beans will be a thing of the past for us. I'll go with the frozen vegetables. Or fresh, of course. Produce is lousy this time of year. And the prices just keep going up, up, up. Iceberg (head) lettuce was $2.00 each. Good grief. Head lettuce isn't the only thing hit hard. All greens are affected because of the weather this year.

I used to love grocery shopping. Now it is UGH.

Shoes

When you do a lot of walking, shoes are important. I suppose if you do a lot of standing and running, too. Nurses have special shoes or they wear a good pair of tennis shoes. My foot doctor told me to wear New Balance (the higher the number the better). They get too hot and they do not look good if I have to dress up and give a presentation or go to a meeting. The highest I find is 610 at my local shoe store. Where I purchase my SAS taupe huggies. I can get away with wearing these to meetings and they are cool. Ugly shoes but they let me walk without pain. Or, very little pain. Not like before with the plantar fasciitis. I do get some burning from the friction, I will start using baby powder to help remedy that.

I think I just found out why I cannot find a higher number of New Balance. The 800 series runs over $100. Well, that is about the same that I pay for my SAS. If it stops the pain, it is worth every penny. And, so far - the SAS sandals stop that horrible heel pain. I seem to be able to walk almost forever. Now, I need to find something for my aching back when I walk too much. I did find out that if I pushed myself (like I had to in Key West) the back pain finally dissipated. YAY!

The above photo was taken while I was sitting in Key West at Mallory Square waiting for the sun set. You remember, where the cruise ship had to wait over an hour for the girl to arrive? Most folks tell me that a ship won't wait very long. When the doors are closed that is it, they said. This one waited, however.

I can see by the little emblem on the side of the shoe, that it must be the real deal. I have purchased knock-off crocs but not the real thing. I may have to give the real ones a try to see if they help my feet during long standing episodes or when I do a lot of walking. Do you have a certain type of shoe that you swear by? Have you had episodes of plantar fasciitis or heel spurs? If so, have you had a shot in the heel? I heard that hurts a lot. Maybe foot surgery?

Yes, doctor... I know exactly when it happened

Picture it. The future. Circa 2020. The doctor sits there in his little white coat. Scribbling on a notepad with an old number 2 pencil. Computers all crashed in the great and massive magnetic explosion of 2017. The human race has had to convert back to paper and pencil. It was not an easy task. Some are still adjusting.

He clears his throat. "Peruby" he says gently, as if he is picking up a delicate glass figurine and examining it. "When did your troubles begin?"

I hung my head to fight back the tears that were stinging the backs of my eyes. I took a ragged breath and lifted my trembling chin. I began weakly, "I can remember it as if it were last week" I sputtered. "It was Thanksgiving week 2011." I sighed. Just saying the time out loud brought a shudder to my body.

"It began the week-end before, really. When nature blesses you with one of those beautiful fall, sunny days and the air is crisp and clean. You are fooled into believing that you are 20 again and can rake leaves for a full hour without tiring and you are smug and happy with the pile you have created."

The doctor seemed to smile as if he could relate to what I was saying. Did he ever try to push his aging body past its' physical limits?  I paused to catch my breath.

" I was scheduled for minor surgery that Monday at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m." 

I fell into the trap that so many insurance-strapped Americans fall into. We arrive on time like good little sheep soldiers only to sit and wait wearing a paper-thin hospital gown for hours until we actually go into the operating room. We have time to wonder what all the other Americans of the world are having for breakfast and if they are enjoying their morning coffee (because we have had to skip ours). And we are starting to enter that wonderful world of caffeine withdrawal.

I lay there listening to all the other patients telling complete strangers facts about their lives that I can only imagine they never even tell their closest relative. What brings people to do this? Is it their fear and nervousness? Have nurses heard it all? Do they tune us out? Some are gracious enough to share their own stories when one of ours conjures up a memory. I am not sure if it was from experience or if I am the type of person who clams up when they are afraid nervous, but I said very little.

The doctor waited patiently.

"I had a cyst removed from my finger but all I could think about was the nagging pain in my shoulder. It may have been from raking leaves." I laughed a little. "I have a leaf blower, but being female and not having much upper body strength, I find it hard to hold that monster up while trying to herd the leaves into a pile."  I did not add the fact that I was a total disaster with the blower and managed to scatter the leaves in such a way that Mother Nature herself was impressed.

Should I tell him the hard part? Should I tell him everything? I oscillated back and forth. Yes, no? Tell him, tell him. No, don't -it will sound like you are trying to get pity. I despise pity.

Laying on that cot, I was feeling very exposed and vulnerable "Excuse me nurse? Can you tell me again WHY I have to remove my underwear when I am only having a cyst removed on my finger?"  Seriously?!

I have come to the conclusion that it is their goal, nay - their duty - to bring you to your weakest and most dependent state. They must need that control over you. Heaven forbid you feel confident.

I looked at the doctor hard. I drew a deep breath. I thought to myself 'okay, here goes.'

"There are many things that can cause a person - even one as strong as myself to plunge into despair. I found all of them that week."

"The nurses hit me with a low blow." There must have been seven of them. You know how they write their name on the dry erase board so that you can see who the nurse is? I swear there were seven names up there. Barb, Lisa, Sherry, Dawn, Brenda, Angie and Jennifer. Okay, I made all those names up but one.

The doctor gave me a quizzical look. "A low blow?" he asked.

"Yes!" I said defiantly. "They crossed the line!" Well, as far as I am concerned they crossed the line.

Now, don't get me wrong and do not feel sorry for me. I would hate that. I have an enormous amount of family (all of you who have been reading this blog know this).

He raised his eyebrows, prompting me to continue.

"I made certain how this procedure was going to go back when I saw the doctor in his office. He said I would get a 'local' and did not need to have anybody drive me  home. He also said that I could eat breakfast, etc... But that was all quashed with the pre-registration phone calls from the torturous nurses who forbid me to eat and almost chastised me for not arranging to have somebody drive me home!"

I was getting an 'effin local for chrissakes!

I took a deep breath.

"If those 'effin nurses said it ONE time they said it a hundred, and each frickin' nurse had to say it out loud for everyone to hear each and every time I told them I was there alone. By myself."

Each and every one of those seven nurses replied back to me, "YOU HAVE NO ONE?"

What. the  fuck.?????!!!!!

Why don't  you just shout it from the rooftops that I am some kind of freak of nature? Bitches from hell!

Again, I am not after pity. I am after humor. I was tired from lack of sleep. I was facing the unknown. I did not know how much pain I was going to have to endure. I was in a low phase of vulnerability. No sleep, no coffee, no food, not knowing, dreading the procedure. Yes, I was a tad bit touchy.

I had talked to my daughter but she worked that day and I could not imagine her going with me at 5:30 a.m. to arrive at the hospital at 6:30, so I had decided to drive myself. Easy thing to do when you are clear minded, your tummy is full and the decision is made prior to your long sleepless night. Heh.

Was this seriously the first time these clueless nurses had come across somebody that was alone? Give me a break.

I had to laugh when the doctor came in to mark my finger. He did not ask any "personal" questions. He could care less how I was getting home. Finally, somebody who understands my serious need to be independent.

I came through the procedure just fine, as I knew I would. I was allowed to drive home asap because I was not drugged. To make you feel even weaker, they insist you take a wheel chair to the door. Ah, yes. Nothing chills the bones more than them dragging you off a cot of warm blankets and giving you a brisk roll down the long corridors of a hospital in a flying wheelchair.

To be continued.....

In pain

The Hibiscus syriacus has caused me immense pain the last 24 hours.

I awoke yesterday starting out just fine. Walked the dogs, drank some coffee, read some blogs, hopped in the shower. Well, I don't hop anymore - it's more like slide or glide in. I was almost done when I reached up to rinse off my razor in the shower and "slam" I was hit with a twinge in my right shoulder blade.

I immediately stopped what I was doing and waited for the twinge to subside. It did not. It got much, much worse. I manged to get out of the shower and drape a towel over my hair and get my robe on.

I was still hoping that this "twinge" would go away. With each step it became more evident that I had a problem. A debilitating problem. I began to curse under my breath.

I tried to continue, but had to wake my daughter up to comb my hair. By the time she was done I could barely walk. She helped me to the t.v. chair (laying flat was not an option) and began stacking pillows up around me. I had already taken the ibuprofen.

I could not get comfortable. Every breath caused a stabbing sensation in my right lung. She surmised that I had a collapsed lung. I pooh-poohed that suggestion and just hoped it was not a fast case of pleurisy. I have manged to keep that ailment away for some years now.

Warning: Movie spoiler alert! Skip next two paragraphs.

I called the doctor at 7:30, they could get me in at 11 a.m. To pass the time I asked my daughter to put in the movie "Avatar". Since the drug store was out of rented copies, I just bought one. I have heard so many good things about it. I fell asleep during the movie. If you have not seen it, I will tell you this. If you have seen "Fern Gully", "Spirit", "Surrogates" and any movie out there that has depicted how the white man literally bulldozed the native Americans - roll them into one movie and you have "Avatar."

Fern Gully carries the message of how the white man wants to destroy the habitat and does not care about the people or critters who live there. Spirit is a narrated story of a free spirit (parts of Avatar are narrated the same way). Surrogates gives us the scenario where a human goes to sleep and his brain is transported into another creature and he/she walks around feeling and experiencing life as that other creature. Please forgive me if I say I didn't care for the movie.

This movie is long. It helped to pass the time until my appointment. One good thing. At least I had my shower over with. I manged to get dressed (after a double dose of ibuprofen) and my daughter drove me to the doctor's office.

She (the doctor) examined me and determined it was my right rhomboid muscle. There is more to the injury than just the shower. I have decided to begin chopping up (or down) my hibiscus syriacus that has appeared to be taking over the back side of my garage and (if I don't get a grip on it soon) will begin to take over the back side of my house.

The previous evening I went through a frenzy of chopping these dastardly bushes down. I had my clippers and I was seriously angry (or frustrated). Two things contributed to the anger/frustration. It was raining that day. My boxer would not do his "business". The sissy marshmallow would not leave the back porch unless I pushed him off. If I waited on the porch he just hung his head low and stood in the rain giving me those sad eyes.

So, I grabbed the clippers and in the pouring rain began chopping bushes. This at least made him walk around a little bit. He was still being stubborn.

Warning! Movie spoiler alert. Skip the next three paragraphs.

Now, the second thing that made me angry (more frustrated). The movie "The Lovely Bones". Oh my. My daughter and her friend wanted to see it because they had read the book in school. It is the story of a 13-year-old girl who gets raped and murdered by a man that lives in her neighborhood. Through the movie the girl is caught between worlds. In the between world she narrates certain events. She tells of all the young girls this serial killer has raped and murdered throughout his life. In her "between world" all the little girls come together and meet - they are all sweet and happy to see one another. But it hit home. This one man was responsible for almost a dozen lives lost.

Therein lies the anger and frustration. I could not watch the rape scene so I went outside. (My daughter paused the movie to wait until I returned - uh gee, thanks.) Anyway, they didn't show much - it is rated PG-13.

The killer looked very familiar and I finally guessed what actor he was. The girl was just fantastic. I had seen her in "The Atonement". All this with the help of imdb.com. My favorite movie site.

So, the clipping of the bushes (while angry) probably is the real culprit to my rhomboid muscle strain. That and possibly sitting at my computer desk for long periods of time.

I got some muscle relaxers. Blech! I hate those things. They give me a headache that will not respond to ibuprofen and made me feel very restless. I slept about an hour after taking one, and it did take care of the pain, but overall - I'll just stick with ibuprofen.

So today begins my second day off from work. I cannot drive a car. I cannot turn my head. I was supposed to meet my manger at some of my schools yesterday so the fiber optics company could scope out where and how they were going to set up their fiber connection. Drat. This is why I cursed under my breath. My manager didn't know where the wiring closets were. I'm sure they found their way but darn it all! I really needed to be there.

I can get comfortable in my t.v. chair with a heating pad and about 3 large pillows, 1 travel pillow and my neck pillow. I cannot live without my U-shaped neck pillow.

Now, I have been at the computer too long and it is starting to hurt. Ciao - until next time.

Jingle all the way!

My Grand Nephew performing at the mall with his pre-school classmates.
He is the one in gray.

Ah, just a note before I start my herculean day. My nephew arrived with a ton of gifts we hid in a back bedroom (pups). He is so organized this year. All wrapped and in lovely store totes. He and my daughter put up a 3 foot live tree. My daughter bought it at the nursery who only had 2 little trees left. We put the LED lights on it and they shine bright blue through my blue curtains. Really quite magical.

I called my eye doctor's office about my dogs chewing my glasses. After a couple of banters back and forth the receptionist said "Oh, you only need temple covers, come on in any time." I did. They covered the ends, tightened the frames, cleaned the lens(es) and I am back in business. Like having new glasses. For 2 dollars! 2 dollars! I didn't know anything (involving a doctor's office) could cost 2 dollars.

Now, I am off to make more cranberry-nut bread, a couple batches of cookies and wrap, wrap, wrap.

Oh, and for Christmas I wish all of you a family (or close friend) who is a techno-geek. I cannot describe how much I am learning from my nephew. When we go shopping (Lowe's, Staples, etc...) he explains so much to me. He told me all about how light fixtures work (picking up a new electrical cable because the dogs chewed mine), he explained all the possible flooring I could choose from (carpet in living room is ruined and must be pulled up), and he knows all about cameras (what CMOS and CCD) are, and he showed me how he can download entire movies in less than 10 minutes. He downloaded "Four Christmases" and a bootleg copy of "Old Dogs". He deleted them, we didn't watch them. He was just showing me how he could do it using something I had not heard of (NZB). It isn't free. He downloads TV shows that he cannot watch here in the USA. All British broadcasts. He is a big fan of British TV. Sigh. Amazing.

Making more memories

Warther's Museum 2009

On Saturday I met family and we toured the beautifully decorated trees at Warther's museum. A couple of the family had not been before and they were just as entranced by his carvings and work as they were by the trees. The trees did not disappoint.

I fell in love with a beautifully lit blue one. Head to toe in blue lights, tinsel, garland and balls. It had not been sold yet. $750. Sorry. My budget doesn't even come close to allowing such a luxury and besides, can you imagine what my pets would do to such a beautifully decorated tree? Oh, the horror!

We all went out to eat at Texas Road House and again were not disappointed. Then we did a little shopping at the nearby mall. My heel spur is really acting up. I am getting shooting pains down into the inside of the heel. Not the middle. More toward the inside of the heel.

I took it easy on Sunday. Even though it was rather nice outside and I could have cleaned out the garage or patio, I stayed inside. My daughter's boyfriend is still mowing my grass for me and he did that yesterday. I got to clean the bathroom drain out. Lovely. Little Chong was very curious as to what I was doing. He was the only one. He kept coming into the bathroom and there I was sitting on the floor and working under the sink. It was as if he was asking me "Did you fall down? Do you need help?" It was comical. Until I realized that my wooden spoon was missing. I use the spoon's handle wrapped in paper towels to clean the drain out. Yep. He stole it and it was chewed up beyond rescue. Cheech threw up later and I finally got all the wooden splinter pieces picked up off the living room carpet. Thieving little devils, they are!

My office was scheduled to work only Monday and Tuesday of this week so I took vacation days. I have a follow up doctor's appointment this morning and then I will go to the grocery store and buy the items that can be stored for four days before the feast.

I will go again on Wednesday to get the fresher items. I am fixing all the meal for me and my crew probably on Friday and will be going to the family feast on Thursday. For that get together I am making my usual cheese ball and tray. I am taking a vegetable tray with dip, some olives and pickles and maybe devilled eggs. I asked my daughter's boyfriend to ask his mom if she had time would she make me some homemade noodles for Thursday. I hope she only says yes if she has the time. She also works full time. My family are not noodle eaters but I thought the other day, 'we never have noodles' and I figured I might take a batch. We'll see how they go over.

For the movie department we watched "My Sister's Keeper". It was good. I am not a fan of C Diaz. I do like the way she looked worn and haggard in the movie - it fit her role. I got a little confused as they tossed the viewer back and forth in time. I did not see much chemistry between C Diaz and J Patric and I swear I saw him pull back from her kiss in disgust at the beach scene. I almost watched the movie again (fast forwarding to that part) to see if it was my imagination or not, but didn't really care. I am beginning to warm up a bit to A Baldwin. He played his part well, I thought. And J Cusak was great as the judge. My daughter just could not believe that A Baldwin in this movie was the husband in Beetle Juice. I got a chuckle out of that.

We also watched "Next Day Air." Skip this one! The two chuckles we got in the entire movie did not make up for the foul language and blood scenes. This is NOT comedy. The only ones worth watching were M Def and Y Deliz. M Def didn't have more than a dozen words in the movie and that is where we did our chuckling.

On the "old movie" chart I watched "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte." So many times you hear old movies mentioned but have you ever really watched them? I caught this one the other morning at about six a.m. In the old time movie fashion, it was quite good.

Dressage

No, I know that (dressage) isn't the correct term for this class of horse show, I was referring to the gentleman at the lead. He was quite the looker, most of the others were dressed in Western flash, you know rhinestones and neon silk shirts. If I remember correctly, this duo (trio?) pulled a second place in this event.

The fair (and it's greasy food) is a distant memory. I am catching up on my sleep (one night I think I slept nine hours - almost a record for me). My feet are still hurting. As soon as I get paid this Friday I am off to buy new shoes for work, play and walking. They have to tie on the top is what the doctor says. Wear a shoe that does not let the foot separate from the shoe bottom when you walk (flip flops are horrible!). I despise flip flops. In a couple of weeks I will take my new shoes and have the doctor slip the insert into them and cut it to fit my shoe I will wear the most. I guess that would be my work shoe.

After that is taken care of I have a few more medical procedures. I am hoping that the main one does not require a hospital stay. It is just minor and will hopefully make my life easier. I keep telling folks by Halloween I should be feeling much better. Maybe I'll even be able to do more yard work by then. I hated letting that go this summer. When I have the pups outside, I'll pull weeds and trim some around my Hosta. My moon flowers are doing so well in front of the patio, I am going to keep the big set of them there and let them take over as much as they want. The smell in the air at night is heavenly. It covers up what the pups are doing. Ha Ha!

The pups had their second set of boosters yesterday. They are 8 and 8.5 lbs, now. (When we first took them in mid-July they were 2.25 and 2.50 lbs). They are getting taller, leaner and can run like little rockets. We may have over-watered them.

Work is going well. Schools are starting back up and techs are anxious to get their networks started out on the right foot. The filter is a big part of that and I am busy making up "how to" documentation. I really enjoy doing that. Step by step instructions with pictures.

I talked to an old friend this evening. I've not seen her since the spring. She has 14 cats, only 2 inside. She thinks some dog is getting the baby kittens. I could not let that happen. For starters I'd be getting a slew of them fixed. The ones I couldn't get fixed, I'd be taking to a shelter. But, she was raised different out in the country.

Her grandson started 4th grade today and she had to tell me all about it. Her older granddaughter is out west and is in dire straits. Seems she is pregnant with her boyfriend's baby. He happens to be married and is staying with his wife. She (my friend's granddaughter) was staying with his sisters, but they kicked her out. Now she is staying with one of her boyfriend's buddies. Yikes. My friend is so angry and upset with her. She won't listen to reason.

On the movie front, we watched "Identity" last week. It was a thriller. Remember "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie? Or it's other name "Ten Little Indians"? It kind of reminds you of that story. It has John Cusak so it was great in my book.

A long August

My niece in San Diego last month

I had the family reunion on the 2nd of this month. Since then this month has not been much fun for me. I have had five doctor appointments, with two more to go this month. I have had two car appointments (my car and my daughter's car), I have had jury duty twice, two college scheduling sessions, and have one dentist appointment and one veterinarian appointment yet this month.

In July, I had four doctor appointments, and two veterinarian appointments.

In September (so far) I am looking at five doctor appointments (one a mammogram, yay!) and a dentist appointment for my daughter.

But, today was the worst. I had a cystoscopy. If you ever had one of these, you would remember it. It is much more painful for men, I suppose. Still, it hurt like the dickens. I am still having pity pains.

I am not seriously ill. Not in any way. One is a procedure I am finally dealing with, the other is my foot and the others are routine. Everything is just falling in this 60 day time span.

Sprinkle in a migraine about once a month and I am very chummy with pain these days. My foot is currently soaking in Epsom salts. The water has long gone cold. Chong tried to drink out of it, I stopped him. Silly pup.

And, they threw in a tetanus shot for good measure! It is swelled up and as sore as a bad bruise. Scientology and their belief of keeping doctors and medicines out of their life might be looking pretty good to me right now. (Just kidding!)