Today I have been moving rather slowly and feeling the effects of being on my hands and knees digging in the dirt yesterday. There is no other way to plant little plants without just getting on the ground with them...at least, at my age there isn't. Then I think to myself..."You moron..your 87 year old dad who has lung cancer was on the ground planting his 9 little tomato plants...just STFU"! Of course, I was only whining to myself...thank goodness I had the good sense to keep it to myself!
Lab results showed no abnormalities that would cause any fever, but I got an antibiotic anyway because I still had fever at night until last night. Doc has no clue what is causing it. The last night I had fever, it was not as bad and last night I had none. Who knows!!!
The blood sugar mystery is still a mystery as well. My HbA1C numbers went up another 2 points. This number was 7.4 which equals an average blood sugar of 160 over the last 3 months. National Diabetes Association wants it to stay under 7.0. Doc said I am his first patient that the Januvia did not improve blood sugars. Mine got worse, so he is trying Actos now. We will see how that works. I just don't want to take insulin shots yet!!!
We have had rain for a good 24 hours now and we are all grateful for it. Drought has been the norm here ever since I moved here, so we are very glad to have this slow, cold rain. Now maybe my potatoes and corn will come up next week when it warms back up.
Strange things happening with me. For the last two days about the middle of the afternoon, I have gotten a fever that causes bad aches and chills. All I can do is take aspirins, which don't help much. Sometime during the night my fever breaks and I wake up all wet with sweat. What's up with that? I had a regularly scheduled appointment with my GP today for all the 3 month labs. He did a nose swab and checked for flu, but it was negative. We'll see what happens today. He wants to know if it goes above 101.
Holy CRAP! There goes my rain gutters I was going to put on the front of the house. I don't know why because we don't get enough rain to warrant them. The dentist got my rain gutters yesterday with a grand total of $700 for a crown. When it does rain, my front door becomes useless because the pitch of the roof causes the rain to dump right at the front door. No one can come in without getting soaked. It's a design flaw, but fixable with some gutters.
On Thursday, while eating an animal cracker, I broke a tooth. A big chunk of tooth and filling fell out and, as in most places in the USA, my dentist doesn't work on Friday. I guess I still have a little luck because it is a back tooth and it doesn't hurt. Couldn't get an appointment until Wednesday! It certainly is my luck that I got a refund deposited in my checking account from the IRS the same day. It never fails that when I get a little chunk of change, something happens requiring large sums of money. I'm sure this tooth thing will require a crown....not cheap! 
The same day I finally gave in and bought a new gallon of $35 touch up paint because I could not find what was left here after they painted the interior. I knew I had used it before, but I could not find it. Yes, of course, I found it yesterday in the attic. Yes, the paint is non-refundable.
Today, I got my farming clothes on and went to Dad's to work in the garden. Of course, I could not start the tiller. Brother came and started it with one pull!!! GRRR! I got everything tilled and looking good and planted 3 rows of corn. My poor daddy just can't do anything. He could not even push the little planting gizmo down the prepared row because he couldn't see the row. His eyesight just continues to deteriorate and there is not a thing that can be done for his particular type of macular degeneration. It's so sad to see him that way.
Everyone knows I am totally anal about my yard. I don't like even one leaf in the yard or the flower beds. I removed every last leaf last week and then we had big winds which brought more leaves from somebody else's yard. So today I took on the task yet again. I even mowed the dead grass. I'm apparently not crazy because my neighbor across the street was on his lawn mower, too. Of course, he has a huge yard and 2 riding lawn mowers. My next door neighbor, however, stopped by and told me I WAS crazy! Easy for her to say since she hires someone to do her yard!
Tomorrow I will be at Dad's all day. My friend from high school is bringing him a truck load of compost for the garden and she has built him some raised beds that she intends to fix for him. Mom is cooking and we are working in the garden. My back still hurts, but I can't dwell on that. I work 5 minutes and rest 10, but I get it done!!
These new cheerios are scrumptious....but, then again, it doesn't take much to make me happy!
Created by Train Horns
People with dogs say the dogs can hear it, but I can't. Don't have teenagers or dogs here, so who knows if there is any sound at all!!!
Since the name of our krewe is Krewe des Ambassadeurs, we exercised our duties yesterday as ambassadors of goodwill. We dressed in our decorated jackets and visited two nursing homes and an assisted living home. The residents really enjoyed our parading through the halls and giving them beads. It made me feel good to do it even though nursing homes are very depressing. Why does God keep some of those people alive? I know there is a reason, but some of them are so pitiful and have no idea of anything around them.
I'll be saying the same thing next weekend, but for a much different reason..First, I had to admit to myself that I was a dumbass! I took the whole box of samples of Januvia the doc gave me and then took the prescription to get it filled. Apparently, I threw the damn pills away after I picked them up. They are nowhere to be found at this house. Monday I will go to the doc's office and admit that I am a dumbass to them as well and ask for another box of samples. If I ask for a refill at the drugstore I can get them, but insurance will not pay for my stupidity.
I spent all day at Mom and Dad's working in the garden and the yard. I planted 3 rows of potatoes and one row of onions. Then, I spent the rest of the day working in the yard. I enjoy doing it, but I don't know when to quit. I worked right through lunch and now I am totally beat down. Old age is not for sissies!
When I got home, a neighbor friend brought me a little heart shaped cake that she had made. Yes, I ate half of it for lunch!
I took the Januvia samples my doc gave me for 3 weeks before I saw any difference at all. Apparently, it takes that long to manifest itself. It never said that in any of the research I did on it. The last few days I have really pushed it to the limits eating things that I knew had made my blood glucose soar to over 200. Now, I can't get it to go that high no matter how much or what I eat. That makes me happy because it is when BG goes high that damage is done to internal organs.
I guess I have lost my mind since I retired. I thought I lost it before then, but maybe not. Several of my friends and I conned the Northwest Technical College here in our town to teach a class in Excel for us. Last night was our first night. It's like being back in college.....but without tests and grades! Several times I tried to use Excel for some project and ended up frustrated and using something else.
Tonight we went to the Chamber of Commerce banquet and did our civic duty. Tomorrow my mom has to be at the hospital at 9 for some tests. My brother will bring her to the hospital in my town and I will take her home. After that, I am free for the week....nothing else on my calendar!
Just an FYI! Did you know that if you hold down the control key and use the roller on your mouse that it makes the print on whatever you are reading larger or smaller...depending on which way you roll it!!??? Way cool!
One of the items I bought a chance on for $5.00 at the St. Jude auction was a year's membership at The Grove golf course, which is about 7 miles north of me. I have sort of stopped playing golf because I got spoiled in Texas when I lived across the street from the country club where I was a member. I guess I will have to play some this year since I have a membership now. It would be a shame to waste it. I don't even know what its value is.
Last year at the local St. Jude auction, I won a $750 video camera on a $5 ticket. Naturally, this year I have bought $325 worth of chances for all kinds of good things. Except for the $100 chance on a car, all the others are $5 or $10. I could possibly win a nordic track, a year's golf membership, John Deere mower, golf cart, utility cart, generator, touch screen computer, camera, 4 wheeler......lots of excellent stuff has been donated for this cause. I'm hoping for more good luck this year. I don't mind spending money on this because St. Jude is my favorite charity. Last year we raised more than 3/4 of a million dollars. That's unheard of for a town this size.
I took Dad back to the oncologist today after having a 6 week break. His lung x-ray is still showing nothing new...no reason to get a CT scan. Doc is very happy and really feels like he did some good with Dad's treatment. He really did. Dad calls it a miracle. We don't have to go back for 7 weeks.
Once again the Mardi Gras Ball was a huge success. We had 425 folks RSVP to come and I think they all came. Today, after going to see about Mom and Dad, I came home and cooked cabbage, squash and cornbread. Good stuff. It's a good thing I like it since the Januvia isn't working to keep my blood glucose in check. I'm going to keep taking it until my samples run out and see if it eventually kicks in, but so far, I'm not impressed.
I hate taking medicine, but today I got yet another one added. My doc added Januvia to the metformin that I already take 4 of every day. He did give me some samples to try and if they help to rein in my blood sugar, then he will prescribe a med that is a combination of these two in one pill. I hope it works well because taking less pills would make me happy..
Lately, I have been frustrated with my reading. First, I failed at finishing The Shack. It was just too "out there" and I lost interest about half way through. Still haven't finished. Maybe someday....
Next, I was intrigued with all the hoopla over the Twilight books, so I bought the first one. Read about 2/3rds of it, but just haven't picked it up to finish it. Once again, it was just too "out there" with the vampire thing.
Now, I am reading Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity. Now, this one I will probably finish. I like true books.
Where the hell is Al Gore when we need him? I'm guessing he's hiding under his desk in denial. Global warming is such a farce....totally fabricated by some morons who just believe whatever the left tells them. History shows that the Earth's temperature varies naturally. Right now, I'll bet it would be hard to find anyone in the US who isn't experiencing record breaking cold temps right now. Tomorrow, we get ours. I would be happy with some snow, but there is no moisture in the atmosphere. I went to the grocery store for Mom today, so she can just stay inside for the next few days.
Monday, I worked in Mom and Dad's yard all day mulching leaves. It was a beautiful day and down below all those leaves was pretty green grass. It will die now, but it was pretty.
