Buh-Bye!

Be Back Soon!
Time to go see the babies!

An OMEN????

Edited to add: There will be no possessions repossessed while I am away! The website is back up! Bills are paid.
I hope not! Today is the day that I was going to pay all the bills before leaving tomorrow on a little road trip. All my bill paying is done online. Logged in to "processing error"! Called them only to find out the system is DOWN! Oh NO! What do I do? Write a check and mail it by snail mail???? So archaic! If it isn't working by later on tonight, I guess that's exactly what I will do!! I'm so spoiled!!!

Daayum!

ROOT CANAL: $610.00!!!!!!

No Bugs!

Last year in May, a truck pulled up into my yard and started spraying around the foundation. I guess the builder had contracted with them to do that. They told me that for $150 they would come back in a year. Well, today they came back, looked around inside and outside, didn't spray anything, didn't see any signs of bugs, got another $150 and will be back in a year unless I need them before. WTH!

Remembering with thanks....

Bounce back????

Today was the first day that I went anywhere except to the dentist office. I had just a few errands to run....all right here in town. I am totally exhausted. Just a few days of inactivity does a number on my old body these days. I still have some risidual pain, but aspirins seem to do the trick on it. I really don't like taking those pain pills.....unlike my younger days when I would take one for NO reason!!! :)

Day ONE!

Construction started big time on the new road behind my house. Yesterday morning this was a field full of mice. I'm glad to see the road begin and the mice gone somewhere else. I know it's their home, so I don't want to hear from any tree huggers. Leave me alone. I don't care!The top picture shows my house.

Bluebird Taj Mahal

If my bluebirds don't come back for this, then they are just too dumb to belong in my yard. My cousin's husband made this for me and put it in the yard for me. It cannot be near a fence or a bush because predators smell the eggs or the babies and do everything in their power to get at them. The main predators are raccoons and black snakes. The stove pipe around the pole will prevent a snake from getting them and the screen around the hole (bluebird front porch) is long enough that even a raccoon's long arm could not reach the babies even if he were able to get up the pole. There is a door on the side that I can open to see about the babies and clean out the old nest. How cool is this!!!

What a difference a day makes!

Edited to add: I burned the cabbage and have since had to take a pain pill!!

I feel so much better today and have very little pain. I don't want to get overly optimistic because it sets me up for disappointment when the pain returns. I am even cooking lunch today. I met a man at church Sunday who lives down the road from me and I commented on his beautiful garden. Today he brought me a bucket full of squash, so I am cooking squash, cabbage, new potatoes and cornbread. There goes the five pounds I lost since my mouth has been hurting!!!

Construction has begun on the street behind my house. I saw the surveyors out yesterday and at 7 this morning, I heard the big earth moving machines. It will be interesting to watch. I have two friends who will be building behind me, so I am anxious, along with them, to get started on their homes.

More misery for me!

My excellent record of feeling really good for so long has been shattered. Today I had to go back to the dentist due to a most uncomfortable night that involved ice packs and pain pills. He took the packing out to make sure the pressure had not built up inside again. It drained a little, but not enough to warrant that much pain. I am trying to give the antibiotic long enough to clear up the infection, but the chance still remains that the tooth right next door will have to have a root canal as well. My pain should be much less by now, but the infection was raging, so it may take a while. Now I'm worried about this getting in the way of my upcoming road trip to Hilton Head. I sure hope not! Where is dental insurance when it's needed??? Not in my name!!

ouch...AGAIN!

I was able to see my dentist this morning. I have an abscessed tooth...maybe even two teeth next to each other are affected. He did the first session of a root canal. Unfortunately, my mouth still hurts just as bad as it did before I went. He prescribed me some oxycodone, which doesn't seem to be helping much. This is all new to me as I have never had a root canal. I don't like it!!! I have already called to see if it should be still hurting as bad as it does. They said yes, it could because of all the disturbing that was done down in the root canal. If it doesn't calm down by tomorrow, I am to go back in. It is only temporarily closed now and pressure could build up again, but he said it wasn't draining much when he closed it up after cleaning it out and putting in antibiotic. Everyone is different, so anything could happen.

I was supposed to get a perm at 1:00 today. That didn't happen because I just couldn't. At that time the anesthetic was just dying off and I was just DYING!!!

Recap

Due to the abundance of drugs I am on, I couldn't manage to do much but lie around until 1:00. My mom told me that my friend was bringing Dad a truck load of compost, so I managed to shower and go by Wal Mart to get a few things for Mom and go on to their house. Tonight we went out for catfish. I did manage to eat even though my mouth still hurts bad. I took a pain pill before I went. Now I am home waiting for my cousin from Virginia to bring me a real bluebird house on a pole that critters can't get in and eat the babies. She and her husband drove their truck from Virginia because last month when they were here, they bought a boat. Now they have to pull it with their truck back to Virginia rather than pay $5,000 to have it delivered. Since they were in their truck, they brought me a beautiful, high class Taj Mahal for my bluebirds. Now I hope my birds will come back. They left when I took down their house. Can't say as I blame them, but I couldn't stand to watch more babies hatch only to have something eat them!!! I'm just SOFT that way.

OUCH!

Something is going on in my mouth that hurts like hell. I had no cavities when I went to the dentist a couple of months ago, so I don't know what's going on. For four days, I have been taking aspirins for pain, but last night the aspirins were not working. I looked around the cabinets and found vicodin. I don't like to take that, but I cut one in two and took it. It helped, but it didn't last. Sometime during the night I had to take the other half. I'm trying to hold out until Monday to call my new dentist.

Wonderful, glorious days!

The past few days have been absolutely perfect. Right now the temp is 71 degrees. That's just unheard of for this time of year here. It's so, so pleasant to be outside, which is where I love to be these days. My flowers are all blooming and my caladiums are coming up. Each day is a new surprise that I look forward to. Today I went to the garden and got a bunch of cucumbers and potatoes. My brother had already picked all the squash, but there will be more in a few days. I even pulled a few carrots. I only have about seven plants, but they each have a carrot under them. My brother loves beets, so he picked some beets for Mom to pickle for him. Life is good. God is good!

Eat...eat...eat!

That about covers my last two days! Yesterday I got about half of the yard done before I was DONE! It was very hot and steamy, so I had to go in the cool to save myself and rest before going to get Mom and Dad and taking them to my brother's lake house for a fish fry. Needless to say, I was full like a tick when I got home last night.

Today has been totally wasted and it is such a pretty day. The weather is cool and dry after storms last night and I have totally blown off the whole day inside. Before 11:00 today I had cooked cornbread, REAL chicken strips, new potatoes, and squash. I had also eaten it before 11:00. Then I took a little nap until 2 and went back and ate again! Yes, I am a glutton! I should not be wasting this perfect day when I still have yard work to do, but my excuse is that tomorrow is supposed to be even cooler, so I can do it then!!! Yeah, that works!

For me....it just doesn't get any better!

After working in the garden this morning, I gathered some vegetables for my mom and me. Not many things are ready for harvest yet, but I just finished eating new potatoes, cabbage, squash, cucumbers, and hot buttered cornbread, all of which were growing this morning....well, except the cornbread! I brought those babies home and after a short rest, I cooked it all up. At 4:30 in the afternoon, I have already had dinner. My guess is I'll eat again before I go to bed. That's just how I roll!!!

My duties are done...

I went to get Mom to take her to the cemetery event. Usually, it's just her and me. Today my dad came with us and my brother met us there. They haven't been in years. My brother and I found out where we will be buried....NICE! I don't even care! It is a beautiful place there and well cared for. My brother and I put flowers on our grandparents' and great grandparents' graves.

I had planned to go to the garden and get me a cabbage and some potatoes, but I was too tired and not dressed for the garden....besides that.....IT IS HOT! Tomorrow I will go to Mom's church and Monday I will go work in the garden. Two days in advance is about all I can muster!!

Mom Time!

I have been focused on Mom for a couple of days. Yesterday after I got some groceries for her, I went to her house to get her heart monitor and return it to the doctor in Shreveport. When she removed it, she found that one of the leads was disconnected so she may have worn it 24 hours for nothing. Today I was trying to find something for Mother's Day. Finally ended up with some pretty plants. Right now I am cooking a cake to take to the cemetery dinner on the grounds tomorrow that they have twice a year. Mom always wants to go, but I have to take her. She will make some cornbread chicken dressing, but I told her not to make anything else. I will fill in the blanks. She always thinks she has to take several dishes, but I am trying to get her out of that mode. Dad took us all out to dinner tonight. Ummmm.....boiled shrimp!

Mommy and Me

I took Mom to the cardiologist today. She is now on a 24 hour heart monitor and she had some meds increased due to her heart rate being higher than her doc likes. Tomorrow I will go get the monitor from her at 3:10 P.M. and return it to the doctor's office.

My brother had a glucose tolerance test today and he is now diagnosed with diabetes. I really hate that because he is already so limited in his food choices because of an allergy to gluten. Gluten is in EVERYTHING! That's my mom, my brother and me all diagnosed adult onset diabetics. Genetics hard at work there!!

My sister-in-law had blood work yesterday and she has 269 cholesterol and because of a liver disease, she cannot take anything to lower it! We are a mess!

It's the heat, Stupid!

My stamina and endurance have vacated the body. I was only able to mow the front yard today without any weeding or blowing. My shirt was soaked, and I could not continue. Last week I did everything in the yard in the same day without a problem, so I'm blaming it on the heat. I need to wait until the sun sets, but tonight I have a dinner meeting to help plan a golf tournament for the Mardi Gras Krewe that I joined. I've never even played in a golf tournament, but I am willing to learn and help out with whatever I can.

Brilliant observation...

I finally figured out that if I go work in the garden in the morning, it zaps me for the rest of the day. I spent about 3 hours working in the garden today running the tiller and I was completely sweated down and too tired to even stand in a shower to clean up. I still have not cleaned myself up! I just threw on some dry clothes and fell on my bed exhausted. Before I came home, I checked on my cucumbers and found two big enough to eat. I will be eating those babies before the sun sets!! I also dug a few potatoes and gave them to Mom. They need to grow a little more, but there will be lots of them.

Elvis has left the building!!!

This is my brother's 63 corvette sting ray, which he fully restored. It is awesome !


Actually, I LEFT THE BUILDING! Elvis pretty much sucked! Today was yet another event to benefit St. Jude Hospital....Cruising for a Cure....a car show. The "entertainment" was Elvis. I went to the show and sat in the hot sun (with sunscreen....YES) with my brother and his restored 63 Corvette Sting Ray. I really enjoyed seeing all the cars and I looked forward to and waited hours until 2 P.M. to see Elvis. I should have left much earlier!!!

Happy birthday to my dad!

Dad turned 85 today, but he spent the afternoon in the doctor's office. Both he and Mom had appointments and the doc was more concerned about Mom than Dad. Her left arm has been hurting just like it did before her heart attack. The doc wanted her to go to the cardiologist tomorrow, but there was no appointment available. Her doc made an appointment with the cardiologist for Wednesday. I didn't even know her arm was hurting now or that it hurt before her heart attack. Duh! I think she thinks she tells me stuff, but she really hasn't! Either that or I just don't listen! Could be either!!!

Much needed R & R day

After yesterday's exhaustion, I had nothing planned for today and enjoyed it immensely. I am still in my lounging clothes. The only thing I have done is some cooking. I made some potato salad trying to use up my potatoes because soon I will have fresh, new potatoes from the garden. When those are abundant, I will not eat a potato from a store. They just don't measure up to fresh out of the garden. I also cooked some crawfish cornbread, but I substituted ground beef for the crawfish. It's my "go to" dish when I need to take something somewhere. I use crawfish when I am taking it to someone, but they are too expensive for me just to eat at home. It's really quite tasty even with the ground beef substitution.

Southern Fried Hollywood!

Once again our downtown is shut down for filming yet another movie. This one stars Martin Lawrence. One of these days, I am going to go down and watch what goes on, but, so far, I just haven't had time. The streets were closed yesterday and today. We have a quaint Main Street paved with brick and Hollywood just loves our town. They made some new store fronts...one is a general store and another is a butcher shop. We have neither of those downtown. It's way cool!

Dog Tired!

I spent 3 hours this morning making sure my yard was perfectly manicured...every blade of grass trimmed, every edge sharp and clean, and every morsel blown off the sidewalk and driveway. Then the backyard got a good dose of some spray on weed killer that also is supposed to green up everything in 24 hours....yes, I believe all the hype they print on the labels. I'm a sucker....OK! I went in to rest for one hour before heading to Mom and Dad's to see what needed to be done there. Dad had already tilled the garden and he was gone fishing with my brother, so I planted about 30 caladiums that I had left over from my own yard in Mom's yard. I spent a good two hours working there. Then my brother and Dad came home. Within minutes, my brother and sister- in- law were over on two riding lawnmowers mowing Mom and Dad's yard. We are a working machine! I realized when I left that I had not eaten anything all day, so I stopped by the local general store and got a fresh ham and cheese sandwich....I even opted for a regular cherry coke instead of a diet one! I figured I had earned that treat!!