My sister-in-law took Dad to the surgeon who inserted his port for his chemo. Tomorrow he will go in the hospital for an outpatient procedure to remove it. That makes him happy. Because he is so thin and bony, the port sticks out and everything rubs it, which is why it is infected now. We haven't been to our favorite catfish restaurant in at least a month, so If he feels ok, tomorrow night will be the night for that. I can't go because I am just a social butterfly. Some of us are going to the Aaron Neville Christmas show tomorrow night and to dinner. Saturday I will be going to an open house Christmas party at another friend's house. My, my,my.....such a busy social calendar!!!:) Personally, I could keep my butt at home in the recliner and be perfectly happy!
I went in for my usual 3 month check up and blood work, which, as a diabetic, is necessary. I just happened to ask doc about a little spot on my wrist and he busted out with his "freeze it off" machine and zapped it....And while he was at it, he zapped one on the side of my face as well! I wasn't prepared for that. It hurt at the time, but now neither of them hurts, so I'm all good.
Every day, while my brother is on vacation, I am going to his house and feeding his 9 lab puppies at 4:30. Someone else feeds them at two other times during the day. They are so cute...little black puppies everywhere. I have to switch them to a clean pen and wash out the dirty pen for their next switch in the morning.
I have NEVER filled up on crab legs. It's just too much work, but last night I did! Boomtown Casino has awesome crablegs on their buffet on Friday nights and they are really good and big. The Krewe Christmas party was last night and I opted out and spent the day running errands in Shreveport. On my way home, I stopped in at the buffet and ate NOTHING but crablegs, one roll and some banana pudding. Excellent choice. Normally, I would eat some crabs and fill up on other stuff, but this time I filled up on crabs and warm drawn butter! YUM! 
Last night I did my familial duty and went as a guest of my 92 year old aunt to her assisted living home's Christmas Candlelight Dinner. This is my third year in a row to attend this event, but I must say last night the food was good. The previous two years, it was so bad that I had to come home and eat. It made me feel even more sorry for those people who have to eat it every day. I very often cook up some fried white perch and take some to my aunt and in the summer, I take her fresh tomatoes and watermelon and whatever else is in season. She isn't much of an eater, but she does like my fried fish.
Saturday is our open house for all the neighborhood homes. The house is all decorated, so today I focused on the outside before it rains again and turns cold again. I mowed all the leaves and used the leaf vacuum to get them out of the flower beds. Then it was to the attic to drag out a few outside decorations and see if I had any Christmas cards. I didn't. Sometimes after the season, I buy Christmas cards on sale for the next season. Apparently, last year I didn't do that. I wish I had because now I have to go to Shreveport and search for the perfect Christmas card. Mine always must have a snowman on them. I'm obsessed with snowmen.
Tonight was our last night of yoga. It has been so much fun...mostly the trip over to Bossier Community College and the trip back. We have so many laughs. We will miss going to yoga every Tuesday night even though we have a liberal, whacked out, goofball of a yogi. After all, that's what is expected from the "yoga types". I guess that's making a broad generalization. But....really now....think about it! Tonight in the middle of my class, my phone indicated very loudly that I had a text message. I got up and looked at it and it said, "We have a baby. 9lbs 15 ounces.".....After that, all I could think of was poor Angela.....that's one big boy!!!
I sucked it up this morning and went to Mom's to pick up pecans. The wind is brutal and combined with the 40's temp, I found out I'm not as tough as I thought. Soooo....after a bucket full of pecans I went back inside and got Mom to take her to shop for a new recliner. She found one she likes that is easy for her to get out of and bought it. It's being delivered to her this afternoon. Mission accomplished. Now I'm off to take a nap before I have to go work on the Mardi Gras float in a cold building tonight.
I used to be fairly astute at figuring out computer things and making them work, but lately I have just been eating dust. Yesterday I bought a new printer because mine was 5 years old and Office Depot had an excellent promotion going. If I brought in my old printer, I would get $40 off any printer over $100. That's not a bad deal. I got it all set up, including the fax (although I haven't tried it yet to see if it works) hooked to my desktop through USB. I thought I would have to call in someone to get my wireless laptop to recognize the new printer and print wirelessly to it. I went on Wiki and got some instructions and damn....it works. I was doing a happy dance!
As I was leaving the parking lot of the restaurant where we ate lunch today, my cell phone rang. It was my sister-in-law telling me my mom was bad off and I probably needed to see about her. While my brother had taken my dad fishing, Mom was home alone picking out pecans. She was so involved that she failed to eat and she had a major LOW blood sugar. When Dad got home, he called my brother and told him something was wrong with Mom. Brother went immediately and her blood sugar was 36. He started forcing sugary things in her to bring it back, but he couldn't get it up higher than 56, which is still too low. He is Captain of the volunteer fire department and he had a fire call. He called me to get down there and watch Mom. I did and when I got there, her sugar was up to 122 and she was OK. Low blood sugars are very dangerous and can cause one to pass out, which I guess she almost did. She would have gone into a coma if Dad hadn't gotten back when he did. When sugars go that low, the individual gets very muddled and can't think enough to figure out that they need to eat. She was very confused about what had happened, but she is OK now! One time my dad found her lying in the floor in the middle of the night. He called my brother and brother called an ambulance. The EMT's keep little tubes of cake icing for just such emergencies. That way they can force sugar into the mouth when the patient is fighting them while they are trying to make the patient eat. What can I say! Every day is a surprise! I am thankful for every day!
Three years ago we had a bumper crop of pecans, got them all cracked by machine, and Mom picked them all out and put them in the freezer. The supply is getting low, but this year we are getting some pecans. Yesterday I took 40 pounds and got them cracked, took them to Mom this morning, and now she is happily picking out pecans for all of us to enjoy. I didn't even tell her I spent $40 buying some recently that are already picked out.
What Your Home Says About You |
 You come across as very intellectual. People take your wisdom seriously. You have amazing hygiene, and it shows. You are sparkling clean! You are a very domestic person. You enjoy decorating, cooking, and making things homey. You are a very nurturing person. You find meaning in taking care of others. You feel settled in your life. You have enough time to focus on little details. You are a very self sufficient person. You can get along well without much help. Your friends see you as courageous, dynamic, and bright. |
And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Today I went to Mom and Dad's and worked in their yard picking up pecans and mowing under the pecan trees so we can find the pecans when they fall. Dad came out while I was working and told me he felt so much better..better than he has felt in a long time. It was so nice to hear because he never says he feels better. A cold front is supposed to come through today with big winds, so I wanted to pick up pecans and clear out under the trees because when the wind blows, lots more will fall. Dad came out to get me while I was outside and told me Mom had fallen and she couldn't get up. Again I am thankful because she has fallen many times and has never been really hurt. No broken bones....YET! He and I were able to get her up without having to call my brother. Having him feel better makes me feel better!In between cooking, cleaning, and washing today, I got a whole bunch of scrapbooking done...at least 8 pages. I never left the house and never took off my flannels and t-shirt. Now I am feeling much better about getting it finished in time to make it arrive by December 26th in South Carolina. It's going to happen!
Not being clever, but being stupid! Since 1986 I have carried an American Express card in my wallet, but I never use it. This week I got a new card from them so instead of activating it, I decided to cancel it. All I could remember is that I get charged $29 once a year and I just pay it and go on. Well, after I cancelled the card, I remembered that my credit card protection coverage is charged to that card every year. That's the freakin' $29!! What a dork! It was easier to get the card re-activated than to use another company to protect my cards....except that now they will have to issue a new card that will have a different number. Sometimes I wonder if I am not having glimpses of Alzheimer's!!!
As much as I hate slugs, I have been nothing above sluggish today due to the fact that, for some unknown reason, I could not sleep last night. I finally went to the mailbox a few minutes ago, but other than that I haven't been outside my house. In fact, I have slept the day away. I hate when that happens!!
I needed some comfort food today, so I went to Wal Mart and got some fresh squash and cabbage. Cook that up in a little bacon grease and chicken stock, serve it up with real homemade (yesterday) baked macaroni and cheese and comfort ensues. Unfortunately, I didn't have any cornbread....didn't know I was out of cornbread mix until I was ready to mix it up. That won't happen again! There is something to be said for comfort food. It really works. Now I think I'll take a nap!
Today was a better day with Dad. He didn't complain so much about everything especially since the doc told him his CT scan and blood work were all fine. We get a nice 6 week break from doctors and I say "we" because that's exactly what I mean. He had me call my brother from the doctor's parking lot to tell him that he wanted to go fishing this afternoon. I hope they are gone fishing now. I came home and took a nap!!
Last night he had an episode of high fever that scared the hospital staff. They even asked him if he wanted them to call his family. They were afraid it was curtains for him. His fever spiked and was 102.9 when they checked it. It made him not know what was happening and lose control of his body. They called the doctor and he ordered a CT scan at 10 last night to scan his brain and see if he had a stroke. It was negative. After his fever broke and he got over his chill, he went to sleep and woke up feeling good this morning. He has had no more fever all day. I have been gone to yoga tonight, so I don't know what the doc had to say after his evening visit. Yoga was something that I really needed to do tonight and I feel good now. Dad sent me home about 3 this afternoon, but my poor mom stayed there all day.
My day started early at Wal Mart getting some groceries for Mom. As I was taking them to her, I got a call that they were on the way to the doctor's office because Dad was still having fever and chills...since Saturday for no apparent reason. Doc still could not find a reason, so we spent all day waiting for the call that the hospital was ready for him. At 5 P.M. we got him settled in a room. Holy Crap! I do not understand why people are so incompetent. They stuck him 3 times trying to get an IV in for a CT scan....and left the damn rubber cord around his other arm until he complained about it hurting to Mom. She had to take it off....MORONS!
This morning when I went to see Mom and Dad, he said he was feeling better. Brother has been taking him fishing and they have been catching fish, so he was more cheerful than usual. They made plans to go fishing this afternoon and then we were going to our favorite restaurant to eat some catfish and onion rings. Shortly after I got home, Mom called and said we couldn't go. Dad had 102 fever and was freezing. Oh, no! I really hate for him to get sick. He was doing so well. CRAP! I told her to monitor him and if we needed to, we would go to the ER. His oncologist really does not want him to get sick and he has not had his flu shot yet. The plans are to get it on Thursday. I hope we are not too late with that!
