Sunday, December 09, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Happy? Thanksgivings
Well, Thursday came and went as did Black Friday.
Last year our entire family decided getting something close to the plague would be a good idea for the holiday. Mom even wound up in the hospital before it was all over. This year we thought it would be a good idea to not repeat that. However, Phyllis came down with pneumonia and I wound up with a severe cold. So we both stayed away from the family so as not to contaminate them.
Today, I am feeling a bit more human, and actually got up this morning and put the turkey breast I had bought for the feast on to cook. With the small bunch of diners at Mom's on Thursday, I got out of cooking it on then. They were quite content to dine on the ham that Deb brought. And I got the treatment because a big plate was brought home for me to eat. Not feeling good, but still holiday food is great, no matter the circumstances.
Phyllis and James both stayed home and Jamelah also took them goodies.
Jamelah had made her pumpkin cheesecake and bourbon sweet potatoes, so no one suffered from a lack of great food.
Hope you had a great holiday. Today, I'm thinking the worse is over and should be able to get back into the swing by the time work comes around on Monday. I had planned to work yesterday, but, ho hum, thought it wise to stay in. Yeah, sometimes you have to get sick to just stop for a bit.
So, here we are just aroud the corner from Christmas.
I'm not sure how it got here so fast, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.
No matter. Happy Holiday Season. Hope it is the best ever.
Last year our entire family decided getting something close to the plague would be a good idea for the holiday. Mom even wound up in the hospital before it was all over. This year we thought it would be a good idea to not repeat that. However, Phyllis came down with pneumonia and I wound up with a severe cold. So we both stayed away from the family so as not to contaminate them.
Today, I am feeling a bit more human, and actually got up this morning and put the turkey breast I had bought for the feast on to cook. With the small bunch of diners at Mom's on Thursday, I got out of cooking it on then. They were quite content to dine on the ham that Deb brought. And I got the treatment because a big plate was brought home for me to eat. Not feeling good, but still holiday food is great, no matter the circumstances.
Phyllis and James both stayed home and Jamelah also took them goodies.
Jamelah had made her pumpkin cheesecake and bourbon sweet potatoes, so no one suffered from a lack of great food.
Hope you had a great holiday. Today, I'm thinking the worse is over and should be able to get back into the swing by the time work comes around on Monday. I had planned to work yesterday, but, ho hum, thought it wise to stay in. Yeah, sometimes you have to get sick to just stop for a bit.
So, here we are just aroud the corner from Christmas.
I'm not sure how it got here so fast, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.
No matter. Happy Holiday Season. Hope it is the best ever.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
It Was a Happy Birthday!
Well, yesterday I arrived at my 66th birthday. I think I was a little surprised. I celebrated by taking back a job with the Assessing Department at the City (currently part-time) while still retaining (for now) my part time job as a church secretary!
WHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
I couldn't help but smile at myself since I am "retired" yet, between the 2 jobs now working full time again. I guess I'm off my nut or something. I was really surprised to be happily headed back to my old office and desk (I retired 2 years ago) and although I seemed to be blundering through a fog at first, I soon found myself feeling at ease and recalling which keys to push to get the necessary results from the assessing software. I should feel at home with that stuff, I certainly used it long enough.
My daughter took me out for supper and we had a great time hanging out and enjoying the ambience of the steak house. It was great fun. We got back home a little after 9pm and after a few routine tasks I hit my recliner and turned on the TV. I woke up with a start at 10, realizing I was worn out. I did the bed time stuff and trundled off to bed. Altoether pleased with myself and feeling like a kid again, back to working full time. Is not that weird.
Anyway, Go Me! And Happy Birthday and all that jazz!
WHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
I couldn't help but smile at myself since I am "retired" yet, between the 2 jobs now working full time again. I guess I'm off my nut or something. I was really surprised to be happily headed back to my old office and desk (I retired 2 years ago) and although I seemed to be blundering through a fog at first, I soon found myself feeling at ease and recalling which keys to push to get the necessary results from the assessing software. I should feel at home with that stuff, I certainly used it long enough.
My daughter took me out for supper and we had a great time hanging out and enjoying the ambience of the steak house. It was great fun. We got back home a little after 9pm and after a few routine tasks I hit my recliner and turned on the TV. I woke up with a start at 10, realizing I was worn out. I did the bed time stuff and trundled off to bed. Altoether pleased with myself and feeling like a kid again, back to working full time. Is not that weird.
Anyway, Go Me! And Happy Birthday and all that jazz!
Monday, September 03, 2007
Happy Labor Day!
Well here it is, Labor Day again. I'm not sure where the time went, but wherever it chose to vacation, it has definitely flown.
Jamelah finished here summer course in Arabic at U of M with high marks. She has since found a program that begins there next June. After completion (1 yr) she will have her masters and a elementary teacher's certification. With 3 more hours of class (which she can do next summer) she will also have her certification to teach English as a 2nd language. She is excited. Now the job hunt begins.
She decided that since she would be hanging out around the house with not much to do, she'd paint her room. So we bought paint and she got busy. There was plenty of grief along the way but the room is mostly finished with just a few touch-ups needed. Her Grannie offered to purchase new carpet for her freshly painted room, so before she could move back in, we had to get carpet laid. This meant she got to sleep some more on her mattress lying on the living room floor.
By the time the carpet guys arrived, Jamelah I had already taken Jamelah to the doctor due to muscle spasms in her back. She was a mess. He put her on muscle relaxers and pain killers and she gave up the floor as a sleeping place and moved into my recliner. It only took a couple days of that fun and she was wishing she could just die and get it over. She began showing some improvement on Thursday. The carpet was in; her uncle came and helped het her furniture moved back into her room. She was finally able to sleep in a bed. Friday we were off to the chiropracter's office and he helped realign her which helped more. But still, the only place she could sit was in the recliner, so she moved from chair to bed and back to the chair agian with only short walks around the house between.
That put the job search on hold and everything else. We spent one week watching nearly every movie we own and renting a few more. But yesterday she was much improved and able to get around a bit more. I think she finally feels like she will not be drawn over sideways and her hips out of alignment forever.
So here we are! Ready to celebrate Labor Day. I have some laundry to do. Hopefully, Jamelah can get a bit of her "other" stuff moved from the piles it sits in about the house and we can get back to normal.
Jamelah finished here summer course in Arabic at U of M with high marks. She has since found a program that begins there next June. After completion (1 yr) she will have her masters and a elementary teacher's certification. With 3 more hours of class (which she can do next summer) she will also have her certification to teach English as a 2nd language. She is excited. Now the job hunt begins.
She decided that since she would be hanging out around the house with not much to do, she'd paint her room. So we bought paint and she got busy. There was plenty of grief along the way but the room is mostly finished with just a few touch-ups needed. Her Grannie offered to purchase new carpet for her freshly painted room, so before she could move back in, we had to get carpet laid. This meant she got to sleep some more on her mattress lying on the living room floor.
By the time the carpet guys arrived, Jamelah I had already taken Jamelah to the doctor due to muscle spasms in her back. She was a mess. He put her on muscle relaxers and pain killers and she gave up the floor as a sleeping place and moved into my recliner. It only took a couple days of that fun and she was wishing she could just die and get it over. She began showing some improvement on Thursday. The carpet was in; her uncle came and helped het her furniture moved back into her room. She was finally able to sleep in a bed. Friday we were off to the chiropracter's office and he helped realign her which helped more. But still, the only place she could sit was in the recliner, so she moved from chair to bed and back to the chair agian with only short walks around the house between.
That put the job search on hold and everything else. We spent one week watching nearly every movie we own and renting a few more. But yesterday she was much improved and able to get around a bit more. I think she finally feels like she will not be drawn over sideways and her hips out of alignment forever.
So here we are! Ready to celebrate Labor Day. I have some laundry to do. Hopefully, Jamelah can get a bit of her "other" stuff moved from the piles it sits in about the house and we can get back to normal.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Storm
Last night the National Weather Service interrupted our fine TV viewing and directed us to channel 11 where we were informed that we were directly in the path of a very severe thrunderstorm. They even told us the exact minute we could expect it to hit! What they didn't tell us was at that very moment, right over our heads a tiny cell had formed and in five minutes would wreak all kinds of havoc.
My first thought was "they sure were wrong about the time that thing was hitting." But, when I rechecked the weather, I found the "real" storm was still coming: what had just hit us was a very tiny red dot on the doppler radar screen and it was moving on easterly. In its short visit it split a tree limb from the giant oak in front of our neighbor's house and left it still attached and precariously dangling all the way down into the street. Drivers seem to think this limb would not fall on them and just kept going around it.
I called Public Safety and they said they would have the Street Department up to take care of it. Then the Natinal Weather Service went beserk again and, whamo! the real storm hit. Our power blinked on and off. The transformer on the pole in front of the house buzzed and hummed and made me nervous. The lights would dim and brighten. The winds were horrid. The rain hitting the street in front of the house seemed to come from one direction and then from another. The lightening and thunder were fierce. Then as quickly as it arrived it was over.
Our lights were still on. I was amazed. We have lost power twice this summer in much smaller weather disturbances. But, even so, we lost our cable. We plunked a DVD into the player and ingnored the calamaty.
We had expected the limb next door to be removed by morning, but to my surprise it was still dangling. Police tape stretched from the light pole to a tree across the street entirely closing off the end of my drive. A traffic barricade had been placed in the middle of the road. I throught by careful manipulation, I'd still be able to back out of my drive, get around the barricade and make it into work. I was right. However, I felt just a little bit like I was being naughty and should get arrested, or something.
I was surprised to see many trees down. At the post office I learned that the southern half of our town had no electricity. The business loop from 94 was also without power. No McDonalds for hungry travellers this morning. I began to wonder if the church had power (the church where I work as secretary lies just north of the I-94 exit) into town. Happily, when I arrived I found all well at the church and everything working splendidly.
A few people have dropped by the office with chatter about the storm and about what happened to them. A small group was meeting last night, but although the electirical system crackled and popped, they said they never lost any power. That was a real blessing.
Hopefully, by the time I get home this afternoon, the tree will have been removed and I will have easy access to the drive again. However the last person to drop in said they still had no power to the gas stations, grocery store and fast food franchises on the main drag. I guess this Friday night I'll have to make my own pizza.
My first thought was "they sure were wrong about the time that thing was hitting." But, when I rechecked the weather, I found the "real" storm was still coming: what had just hit us was a very tiny red dot on the doppler radar screen and it was moving on easterly. In its short visit it split a tree limb from the giant oak in front of our neighbor's house and left it still attached and precariously dangling all the way down into the street. Drivers seem to think this limb would not fall on them and just kept going around it.
I called Public Safety and they said they would have the Street Department up to take care of it. Then the Natinal Weather Service went beserk again and, whamo! the real storm hit. Our power blinked on and off. The transformer on the pole in front of the house buzzed and hummed and made me nervous. The lights would dim and brighten. The winds were horrid. The rain hitting the street in front of the house seemed to come from one direction and then from another. The lightening and thunder were fierce. Then as quickly as it arrived it was over.
Our lights were still on. I was amazed. We have lost power twice this summer in much smaller weather disturbances. But, even so, we lost our cable. We plunked a DVD into the player and ingnored the calamaty.
We had expected the limb next door to be removed by morning, but to my surprise it was still dangling. Police tape stretched from the light pole to a tree across the street entirely closing off the end of my drive. A traffic barricade had been placed in the middle of the road. I throught by careful manipulation, I'd still be able to back out of my drive, get around the barricade and make it into work. I was right. However, I felt just a little bit like I was being naughty and should get arrested, or something.
I was surprised to see many trees down. At the post office I learned that the southern half of our town had no electricity. The business loop from 94 was also without power. No McDonalds for hungry travellers this morning. I began to wonder if the church had power (the church where I work as secretary lies just north of the I-94 exit) into town. Happily, when I arrived I found all well at the church and everything working splendidly.
A few people have dropped by the office with chatter about the storm and about what happened to them. A small group was meeting last night, but although the electirical system crackled and popped, they said they never lost any power. That was a real blessing.
Hopefully, by the time I get home this afternoon, the tree will have been removed and I will have easy access to the drive again. However the last person to drop in said they still had no power to the gas stations, grocery store and fast food franchises on the main drag. I guess this Friday night I'll have to make my own pizza.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Service Provider
Aha! Has language changed so much that in the last few years the meanings of words are totally reversed from what they used to mean. "Service Provider" you'd think would be a company providing you a service you were willing to pay for. But, since becoming a cell phone user I have learned that a "Service Provider" is actually a company you pay way too much money, who in turn provides you with a brain aneurysm every month when the bill arrives. I bet if I really wanted an aneurysm, I could manage one nicely without paying Sprint for it.
My bill came today. My brain is still muddled from the 1 hour ++++ I spent on the phone using obscenities when I was sure no one was there and adversely hoping they were taping my entire tirade so they'd be sure to know how pissed off I was and how often I repeated "I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people.
In all fairness, perhaps I went into the cell phone "contract" with a negative attitude. Anyway, I hope it is only this experience that makes me wonder if I'm not turning into a conspiracy theorist. I really don't want to find myself an aging bitter old hag who trusts no one and believes in nothing, but I having serious doubts about myself in this respect and about my future. Now, before I joined the program, I asked a few people about their service provider was and one phrase I heard more than once was "billing horror stories". It seemed that no matter which company you might choose you would wind up in war with them once you became a customer.
Now, I have had a reliable Track phone for a few years. It is prepaid and worked just fine for my usage. Every few months I'd add minutes while rolling over the unused ones. I averaged paying about $10-15 a month. Not bad. I rarely turned the thing on and only used it when it was "necessary". My daughter also had a prepaid phone account with Virgin. She, however, used her phone a lot and it had begun to wear out. She knew she needed to replace it and approached me regarding getting another phone. Well, my phone was definitely "not cool" and it didn't text message nor have a camera or cool games, you know, the stuff that made having a cell phone really "neat".
So, the weekend before Jamelah moved off to Ann Arbor we stopped in at a Sprint store (it was a Saturday and the store in our community was closed) in Jackson. The phones were neat. I got a pink metallic Katana and Jamelah picked out a blue razor. We paid the $198 to get us going and walked out of the place grinning. We had a family plan with unlimited, no roaming, fees and free nights and weekends. Plus for $20 extra we added the family plan for unlimited text messaging. We were now super cool chicks.
Two weeks later I received my first bill. Uh-huh! I hadn't had the phone long enough to recharge it and I had my first bill which was exactly $50 more than it was supposed to be. I had my first long distance, "on hold" forever experience. We finally got everything straightened out, I thought, and the guy was just taking care of the final details when the phone went dead. I thought it was no biggie, until yesterday when I got my second bill.
This time the bill was exactly$130 more than the amount I was guaranteed would be my monthly total. Seriously, $75.00 charged for overages. I could not figure that out. We had 500 minutes to use between the 2 of us and at the end of the month still had time left over. What was this overage business? Furthermore, the adjustments they were going to make, weren't adjusted and they had added an additional fee for activating my phone. What... I had already paid for the activation of the service.
Well, I was justifiably angry. You bet. So the ordeal began. I won't go into all the nitty-gritty. I actually don't want to do a blow-by-blow account. I'd probably curl up into a ball again and start babbling and crying in frustration. I tried really hard to remain calm while on the phone, keep a quiet voice and not call anyone names. Now it was easy not to call the young lady on the phone bad names. She was actually a sweetheart. I think, no matter how much she is being paid, it isn't enough. I wouldn't take her job on a bet.
We eventually reached an understanding. A few adjustments were made to my bill (I hope), some costs erased (or so she said, but I'll wait for the next one to arrive) and see just exactly what charges are made. Needless to say, I have decided that cell phone companies are simply the latest "conn" game going with their programs that their employees can't wade through, their salespeople can't stay on top of and the poor customer can't survive without going into shock regularly. I empathize with the employees while wondering why with the speed of technology they are unable to keep up with their own stuff and make the customer feel valued instead of used and abused.
Whatever, what I really want right now, is my track phone back with its prepaid minutes, handy in my purse for me to pull out and use at my convenience. That is what a cell phone is for. This other stuff, might be good for the kiddies but I really think it may cause people my age's brain to explode.
AN ADDENDUM: After 3 phone calls, many tears and much persuasion, I happfily announce that I have finally made peace with Sprint. My last bill was exactly what I had calculated it to be and there were no new surprises and no new hidden charges. I'm not sure why this is so difficult and why it had to be such a hassle. I'm just glad that for now the war has ended. Now, excuse me. I have a lot of talking to do on my cell phone. I have all kinds of minutes to use up!
My bill came today. My brain is still muddled from the 1 hour ++++ I spent on the phone using obscenities when I was sure no one was there and adversely hoping they were taping my entire tirade so they'd be sure to know how pissed off I was and how often I repeated "I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people.
In all fairness, perhaps I went into the cell phone "contract" with a negative attitude. Anyway, I hope it is only this experience that makes me wonder if I'm not turning into a conspiracy theorist. I really don't want to find myself an aging bitter old hag who trusts no one and believes in nothing, but I having serious doubts about myself in this respect and about my future. Now, before I joined the program, I asked a few people about their service provider was and one phrase I heard more than once was "billing horror stories". It seemed that no matter which company you might choose you would wind up in war with them once you became a customer.
Now, I have had a reliable Track phone for a few years. It is prepaid and worked just fine for my usage. Every few months I'd add minutes while rolling over the unused ones. I averaged paying about $10-15 a month. Not bad. I rarely turned the thing on and only used it when it was "necessary". My daughter also had a prepaid phone account with Virgin. She, however, used her phone a lot and it had begun to wear out. She knew she needed to replace it and approached me regarding getting another phone. Well, my phone was definitely "not cool" and it didn't text message nor have a camera or cool games, you know, the stuff that made having a cell phone really "neat".
So, the weekend before Jamelah moved off to Ann Arbor we stopped in at a Sprint store (it was a Saturday and the store in our community was closed) in Jackson. The phones were neat. I got a pink metallic Katana and Jamelah picked out a blue razor. We paid the $198 to get us going and walked out of the place grinning. We had a family plan with unlimited, no roaming, fees and free nights and weekends. Plus for $20 extra we added the family plan for unlimited text messaging. We were now super cool chicks.
Two weeks later I received my first bill. Uh-huh! I hadn't had the phone long enough to recharge it and I had my first bill which was exactly $50 more than it was supposed to be. I had my first long distance, "on hold" forever experience. We finally got everything straightened out, I thought, and the guy was just taking care of the final details when the phone went dead. I thought it was no biggie, until yesterday when I got my second bill.
This time the bill was exactly$130 more than the amount I was guaranteed would be my monthly total. Seriously, $75.00 charged for overages. I could not figure that out. We had 500 minutes to use between the 2 of us and at the end of the month still had time left over. What was this overage business? Furthermore, the adjustments they were going to make, weren't adjusted and they had added an additional fee for activating my phone. What... I had already paid for the activation of the service.
Well, I was justifiably angry. You bet. So the ordeal began. I won't go into all the nitty-gritty. I actually don't want to do a blow-by-blow account. I'd probably curl up into a ball again and start babbling and crying in frustration. I tried really hard to remain calm while on the phone, keep a quiet voice and not call anyone names. Now it was easy not to call the young lady on the phone bad names. She was actually a sweetheart. I think, no matter how much she is being paid, it isn't enough. I wouldn't take her job on a bet.
We eventually reached an understanding. A few adjustments were made to my bill (I hope), some costs erased (or so she said, but I'll wait for the next one to arrive) and see just exactly what charges are made. Needless to say, I have decided that cell phone companies are simply the latest "conn" game going with their programs that their employees can't wade through, their salespeople can't stay on top of and the poor customer can't survive without going into shock regularly. I empathize with the employees while wondering why with the speed of technology they are unable to keep up with their own stuff and make the customer feel valued instead of used and abused.
Whatever, what I really want right now, is my track phone back with its prepaid minutes, handy in my purse for me to pull out and use at my convenience. That is what a cell phone is for. This other stuff, might be good for the kiddies but I really think it may cause people my age's brain to explode.
AN ADDENDUM: After 3 phone calls, many tears and much persuasion, I happfily announce that I have finally made peace with Sprint. My last bill was exactly what I had calculated it to be and there were no new surprises and no new hidden charges. I'm not sure why this is so difficult and why it had to be such a hassle. I'm just glad that for now the war has ended. Now, excuse me. I have a lot of talking to do on my cell phone. I have all kinds of minutes to use up!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Identifying with the boweavil
That's right, the boweevil.
You know the one, don't you?
The one from the song... remember
"looking for a home
trying to find a home"
Yeah, that one!
No, not me. At least not right now. I'm not looking for a home, but I'm looking for a temporary home for my Mom.
She's doing great, although this whole experience has not been a fun event for her. She has been in the hospital over a week and still not allowed to eat. I mean really eat. And for most of the days the only thing she has been allowed to put in her mouth is ice chips. Drat. Can you imagine. Mom has always been tiny, but we may have to start hunting for her among the blankets.
Things were going good for a while and they had introduced her to a liquid diet at the end of last week, but things seemed not to be going through. So they took away her jello and broth and put her back on the ice chips, just as a precaution, in case they would have to take some type action. After 2 days of tests they have given her the jello back again, so hopefully, that means they will not have to take do intrusive treatment.
That means we are back on schedule. They have been expecting to release her from the hospital tomorrow or Friday. I'm guessing later since she will have to be eating solids and handling them before they send her out. But, she will not be able to go home. So we have been looking for a respit care facility for her to stay for a couple weeks until she can get her legs back under her and get around a bit. ...then home to where we can take care of her.
I've made a few calls and the Social Services employee at the hospital has been working on finding a care facility for Mom. We have a couple spots available and now she just has to choose one. The one is here in Albion, although she has always been adamant that she would never go there. Ownership and care in this facility has changed a lot over the years and she may actually opt to spend a couple weeks here. The other place open is in Jackson which would be a bit of a commute and difficult for her friends to visit. In the meantime they will keep her on a list for a place in Marshall, which was her first choice.
We will see how it all works out.
In the meantime, I just can't get that humming sound out of my head..............
uhhhmmmmmmmmmm.... looking for a home, trying to find a home.....uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
come on, hum with me.
addendum
well, all that humming paid off. Social Services just called to let us know that a spot became available at Tendercare in Marshall. This was the place she had wanted to go but they did not have any space. So, looks like we've found a home. Last word is Mom will be released tomorrow or Friday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
You know the one, don't you?
The one from the song... remember
"looking for a home
trying to find a home"
Yeah, that one!
No, not me. At least not right now. I'm not looking for a home, but I'm looking for a temporary home for my Mom.
She's doing great, although this whole experience has not been a fun event for her. She has been in the hospital over a week and still not allowed to eat. I mean really eat. And for most of the days the only thing she has been allowed to put in her mouth is ice chips. Drat. Can you imagine. Mom has always been tiny, but we may have to start hunting for her among the blankets.
Things were going good for a while and they had introduced her to a liquid diet at the end of last week, but things seemed not to be going through. So they took away her jello and broth and put her back on the ice chips, just as a precaution, in case they would have to take some type action. After 2 days of tests they have given her the jello back again, so hopefully, that means they will not have to take do intrusive treatment.
That means we are back on schedule. They have been expecting to release her from the hospital tomorrow or Friday. I'm guessing later since she will have to be eating solids and handling them before they send her out. But, she will not be able to go home. So we have been looking for a respit care facility for her to stay for a couple weeks until she can get her legs back under her and get around a bit. ...then home to where we can take care of her.
I've made a few calls and the Social Services employee at the hospital has been working on finding a care facility for Mom. We have a couple spots available and now she just has to choose one. The one is here in Albion, although she has always been adamant that she would never go there. Ownership and care in this facility has changed a lot over the years and she may actually opt to spend a couple weeks here. The other place open is in Jackson which would be a bit of a commute and difficult for her friends to visit. In the meantime they will keep her on a list for a place in Marshall, which was her first choice.
We will see how it all works out.
In the meantime, I just can't get that humming sound out of my head..............
uhhhmmmmmmmmmm.... looking for a home, trying to find a home.....uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
come on, hum with me.
addendum
well, all that humming paid off. Social Services just called to let us know that a spot became available at Tendercare in Marshall. This was the place she had wanted to go but they did not have any space. So, looks like we've found a home. Last word is Mom will be released tomorrow or Friday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Painting a bleak picture
Mom fell. My daughter found her when she dropped by to take her to the clinic for her weekly blood work. Mom said her "legs just gave out". She was calling Jamelah when she fell but the call was incompleted. The phone remained on the counter and she could not reach it.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
Friday, May 25, 2007
The Beginning
Many years ago I was looking for something fun to do with my daughter for her birthday. By now, I don't remember what year that was. A co-worker recommended I take her to Ann Arbor to a very special delicatessen for lunch and spend some time hanging out at Kerrytown Mall (not the typical, but a very special place all housed in one old style building). So, we did.
Ann Arbor, despite it's size and the fact that it houses a campus community of many thousand students right in the middle of it, has a unique small town ambiance about it. It is a fun place to hang out with lots of interesting shops to wander around in. It was the beginning of something we'd do once in a while just for the fun of it and because sometimes you just need to go to Zingermans.
My daughter loved Ann Arbor. It was a town where she always wanted to live. Well, finally, she has rented a spot in Ann Arbor and next Friday, June 1, her lease begins and she will be moving in. She is excited and scared to death all at the same time.
Jamelah has signed up to take a 10 week course in Arabic (1 year of the language crammed into 10 short weeks). When she began considering that she might take the class we had a really good feel about it. This seemed to be a good direction for her to take her life. So, she applied, got accepted and began figuring out a budget that would get fees paid and expenses for the period she would be there. Once the plan began to take shape she resigned her job. This made it really final, but there was no need to hang onto a position, that only provided a small income, but did not provide any hope for the future. Sometimes it was a bit intimidating, but always we felt an assurance that this was a step that God wanted her to take and that He would provide for her as she walked out in faith.
I will be babysitting Sweet Pea since she couldn't find a sublet where she could take her "baby" with her. Ann Arbor is a short 45 minute drive from home and I'm sure she will be coming home to see us and do fun stuff like laundry.
It seems strange to think that "my baby" will be leaving home. Her only time away was the semester she spent in Venice. Somehow, I think this is the beginning of her life adventure. Looking for that something she can pour herself into. I am praying and hoping for doors and opportunities to open for her. It is the beginning. Or maybe, the beginning was that Saturday years ago when we spent the day hanging out in Ann Arbor and eating at Zingermans.
Ann Arbor, despite it's size and the fact that it houses a campus community of many thousand students right in the middle of it, has a unique small town ambiance about it. It is a fun place to hang out with lots of interesting shops to wander around in. It was the beginning of something we'd do once in a while just for the fun of it and because sometimes you just need to go to Zingermans.
My daughter loved Ann Arbor. It was a town where she always wanted to live. Well, finally, she has rented a spot in Ann Arbor and next Friday, June 1, her lease begins and she will be moving in. She is excited and scared to death all at the same time.
Jamelah has signed up to take a 10 week course in Arabic (1 year of the language crammed into 10 short weeks). When she began considering that she might take the class we had a really good feel about it. This seemed to be a good direction for her to take her life. So, she applied, got accepted and began figuring out a budget that would get fees paid and expenses for the period she would be there. Once the plan began to take shape she resigned her job. This made it really final, but there was no need to hang onto a position, that only provided a small income, but did not provide any hope for the future. Sometimes it was a bit intimidating, but always we felt an assurance that this was a step that God wanted her to take and that He would provide for her as she walked out in faith.
I will be babysitting Sweet Pea since she couldn't find a sublet where she could take her "baby" with her. Ann Arbor is a short 45 minute drive from home and I'm sure she will be coming home to see us and do fun stuff like laundry.
It seems strange to think that "my baby" will be leaving home. Her only time away was the semester she spent in Venice. Somehow, I think this is the beginning of her life adventure. Looking for that something she can pour herself into. I am praying and hoping for doors and opportunities to open for her. It is the beginning. Or maybe, the beginning was that Saturday years ago when we spent the day hanging out in Ann Arbor and eating at Zingermans.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Those Little New Hope Critters
I have mentioned that I work part time as a church secretary. I rather like the job, but some weeks, Pastor will be attending a conference or whatever and it gets really "quiet" around here.
I was having one of THOSE quiet weeks, when I started getting a creepy sensation along my neck. You know the feeling, the hairs stand up and you have cold chills. I knew I wasn't alone anymore. Now, I'm not psychic or anything. I had proof I wasn't alone. That proof was the constant patter of tiny feet in the ceiling tiles just over my head.
"Oh Crap!' I thought. It must be a mouse up there. Our church is located in a rural setting (just outside city limits) and mice peering out around things is not uncommon. They don't usually come into my office, though, unless we're beginning to be over run by them. One gentleman in our church is an exterminator and a couple years ago he began providing the church with his services after a winter where the church was over run with mice. I haven't seen one since that winter nor any tell tale signs that they are lurking about.
So... anyway, there is a mouse running around in the ceiling tiles over my head. I backed my chair up and peered at the ceiling over my desk trying to see where a weak point might be, just in case, the critter should drop through and fall on top of my head. After a thorough inspection of the ceiling I decide that the mouse is not going o fall on top of me and decide to get back to work. I'm quite successful at it for a while, but every once in a while that pitter/patter sound still gave me the creeps.
Then the sounds went from "pitter/patter" to "What the heck." Now and then there would be a loud kerplunk, followed by a thunk/thunk sound, then skittering noises and then...
and then...
I decided, WAIT! This can't be a mouse. It's making too much noise. It must be a squirrel. Another scenario with which I am familiar since my home at one time was frequently invaded by squirrels. However, they seldom got beyond the attic part of the house, so although I heard them, I never saw them. We had a huge walnut tree that shadowed the rear of the house and our back porch. In the fall you'd swear the squirrels were using those walnuts for bowling balls as you could hear the nuts rolling down over the roof. Finally, 2 years ago we cut that tree down. I love trees. But that one really made a mess and one year a fallen walnut even broke my daughter's windshield. So, I haven't missed that tree. But, it did give me experience w/the sound squirrels make, but I digress. Back to the church!
So, OK, then. Not a mouse. Probably a squirrel. It is spring. Nesting time for all God's creatures and I decided the louder noises were just the little buggers moving the furniture into a more comfortable arrangement. Not happy about that, but figured as long as they don't come through the ceiling it will wait until the next day when Pastor will be back.
My 4 hrs up... I went home leaving the nesting squirrels to their own devices until the next day. I decided to email pastor and let him know we had been invaded just in case he dropped by the church before morning. I tried to be cute and told him that the sounds over my head sounded like they were dragging around dead bodies, so just in case I didn't show up the next day, he'd want to investigate the tiles over the office of the church and see if you could find me tied up there.
Next morning I got to work on time, peeking carefully around my door, wondering if anything is going to run at me. Nothing did. So I entered, dropped my stuff on the desk, rounded it and bent over to turn on my computer. "Swoosh" over my head. I stood up thinking, OH. MY. GOD. THAT. HAS. TO. BE. A. BAT.
I'm not going to get all carried away here, but bats give me the heebee-jeebies. I stood up and found myself eye level with a lovely little sparrow which had lit on the top shelf of my work station. Swoosh! Off it flew. Into pastor's office.
I followed in into Pastor's office and it was clearly distraught, flying at the windows trying to get out. I tried to open the outside door to his office but it has a deadbolt lock and there wasn't a key around. So, then I tried opening the windows. I finally got them open, then ran for the door between our offices and slammed it. I was hoping the bird would find its way out. I stood listening as the poor creature flew around in there bumping into things.
I went back to my office and email pastor (since he enters his office through the outside door) to watch out for something flying at his head. Then I decided I'd better try to get some work done. That's when I noticed the noise in his office had stopped.
I carefully opened the door and peeped in, then walked and looked everywhere but couldn't see the bird. I listened and heard the familiar chirping sound but it was not coming from just outside the opened window. I quickly shut windows so the little guy couldn't get back in and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
A few minutes later Pastor arrived ready to do whatever needed to be done to get the bird out of our office. I told him all was well and the creature had left.
Then I asked him why the creatures only showed up when he was out of town. "Well," he said, "You know what they say; when the boss is away the creatures play!"
Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right!
I was having one of THOSE quiet weeks, when I started getting a creepy sensation along my neck. You know the feeling, the hairs stand up and you have cold chills. I knew I wasn't alone anymore. Now, I'm not psychic or anything. I had proof I wasn't alone. That proof was the constant patter of tiny feet in the ceiling tiles just over my head.
"Oh Crap!' I thought. It must be a mouse up there. Our church is located in a rural setting (just outside city limits) and mice peering out around things is not uncommon. They don't usually come into my office, though, unless we're beginning to be over run by them. One gentleman in our church is an exterminator and a couple years ago he began providing the church with his services after a winter where the church was over run with mice. I haven't seen one since that winter nor any tell tale signs that they are lurking about.
So... anyway, there is a mouse running around in the ceiling tiles over my head. I backed my chair up and peered at the ceiling over my desk trying to see where a weak point might be, just in case, the critter should drop through and fall on top of my head. After a thorough inspection of the ceiling I decide that the mouse is not going o fall on top of me and decide to get back to work. I'm quite successful at it for a while, but every once in a while that pitter/patter sound still gave me the creeps.
Then the sounds went from "pitter/patter" to "What the heck." Now and then there would be a loud kerplunk, followed by a thunk/thunk sound, then skittering noises and then...
and then...
I decided, WAIT! This can't be a mouse. It's making too much noise. It must be a squirrel. Another scenario with which I am familiar since my home at one time was frequently invaded by squirrels. However, they seldom got beyond the attic part of the house, so although I heard them, I never saw them. We had a huge walnut tree that shadowed the rear of the house and our back porch. In the fall you'd swear the squirrels were using those walnuts for bowling balls as you could hear the nuts rolling down over the roof. Finally, 2 years ago we cut that tree down. I love trees. But that one really made a mess and one year a fallen walnut even broke my daughter's windshield. So, I haven't missed that tree. But, it did give me experience w/the sound squirrels make, but I digress. Back to the church!
So, OK, then. Not a mouse. Probably a squirrel. It is spring. Nesting time for all God's creatures and I decided the louder noises were just the little buggers moving the furniture into a more comfortable arrangement. Not happy about that, but figured as long as they don't come through the ceiling it will wait until the next day when Pastor will be back.
My 4 hrs up... I went home leaving the nesting squirrels to their own devices until the next day. I decided to email pastor and let him know we had been invaded just in case he dropped by the church before morning. I tried to be cute and told him that the sounds over my head sounded like they were dragging around dead bodies, so just in case I didn't show up the next day, he'd want to investigate the tiles over the office of the church and see if you could find me tied up there.
Next morning I got to work on time, peeking carefully around my door, wondering if anything is going to run at me. Nothing did. So I entered, dropped my stuff on the desk, rounded it and bent over to turn on my computer. "Swoosh" over my head. I stood up thinking, OH. MY. GOD. THAT. HAS. TO. BE. A. BAT.
I'm not going to get all carried away here, but bats give me the heebee-jeebies. I stood up and found myself eye level with a lovely little sparrow which had lit on the top shelf of my work station. Swoosh! Off it flew. Into pastor's office.
I followed in into Pastor's office and it was clearly distraught, flying at the windows trying to get out. I tried to open the outside door to his office but it has a deadbolt lock and there wasn't a key around. So, then I tried opening the windows. I finally got them open, then ran for the door between our offices and slammed it. I was hoping the bird would find its way out. I stood listening as the poor creature flew around in there bumping into things.
I went back to my office and email pastor (since he enters his office through the outside door) to watch out for something flying at his head. Then I decided I'd better try to get some work done. That's when I noticed the noise in his office had stopped.
I carefully opened the door and peeped in, then walked and looked everywhere but couldn't see the bird. I listened and heard the familiar chirping sound but it was not coming from just outside the opened window. I quickly shut windows so the little guy couldn't get back in and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
A few minutes later Pastor arrived ready to do whatever needed to be done to get the bird out of our office. I told him all was well and the creature had left.
Then I asked him why the creatures only showed up when he was out of town. "Well," he said, "You know what they say; when the boss is away the creatures play!"
Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right!
Friday, March 09, 2007
Wait! Does My Job Description Cover This?
A wintry mess, mistakenly called "wintry mix" by the weatherman dropped sleet which quickly turned the roads to ice then nicely turned into a white wonderland of snow on top of the slick. I was sure I'd not get into work that morning, but luckily I was able to extract the car from the 4in of snow over ice and make it in.
As I turned into the church drive, I saw our youth pastor's car had slid off the side of the drive and was just sitting there. Poor kid, I thought. It's not like that hasn't happened to me a time or two. It just goes with driving a car in the winter in Michigan.
I crept around the circular drive and parked, hearing my name being called, as I opened the car door. I looked around for the source of my name. I'm old enough now to know it wasn't God hailing me from the heavens. Pastor and James (our youth pastor) were coming towards me with a plan.
"Drive your car back up to where James's car is and park off to the side" pastor instructed me. "Then you steer his car and James and I are going to push it out."
I'm game, I thought. So, I crawled back in and crept my car back up the slicky drive and parked "out of the way". Just so you know. The "wintry mix" is still coming down. And it is more ice than snow and more rain than ice... and it is awful. I crawl out of my car, now totally soaked through, which is OK, because I've just got hit by a laughing fit. Pastor and James are standing in knee deep snow in front of James's car patiently waiting for me, and I'm doubled over... laughing my head off.
"As soon as I get back to the office, I'm checking my job description to see if this is covered in it!" I gasp out through laughter, not sure if the wet on my cheeks is tears from laughing so hard or the freezing rain. Pastor informs me that it is covered and actually, I should be pushing and he should be steering, but he's not going to make me do that on this particular morning.
So, I gather my wits and get on with the job at hand. I start up the car,
the guys push...
and we go through the routine twice.
No luck.
The tires are just over the blacktopped surface and keep digging themselves deeper into the soft earth.
Pastor stretches face first down on the wet drive so he can get a better look under the car. I look at my spiritual leader and understand why I am willing to follow this man. God bless him. He rises to his feet and announces that the business is futile. We will have to call a tow truck. So, we all head back inside. I offer the guys a ride in my car to get them out of the weather but they both refuse. What would be the point at this time.
I head for the lady's room and have a look at my drowned head and wonder why I don't keep a comb. With paper towels I get myself as dry as possible and try to arrange my hair the best I can. It turns into some type spiked hairdo... and I decide that it's cool that way. I wish I had the courage to wear it like that all the time. What fun.
And what a fun way to start a day's work. The rest of the day was pretty ordinary from there on out.
As I turned into the church drive, I saw our youth pastor's car had slid off the side of the drive and was just sitting there. Poor kid, I thought. It's not like that hasn't happened to me a time or two. It just goes with driving a car in the winter in Michigan.
I crept around the circular drive and parked, hearing my name being called, as I opened the car door. I looked around for the source of my name. I'm old enough now to know it wasn't God hailing me from the heavens. Pastor and James (our youth pastor) were coming towards me with a plan.
"Drive your car back up to where James's car is and park off to the side" pastor instructed me. "Then you steer his car and James and I are going to push it out."
I'm game, I thought. So, I crawled back in and crept my car back up the slicky drive and parked "out of the way". Just so you know. The "wintry mix" is still coming down. And it is more ice than snow and more rain than ice... and it is awful. I crawl out of my car, now totally soaked through, which is OK, because I've just got hit by a laughing fit. Pastor and James are standing in knee deep snow in front of James's car patiently waiting for me, and I'm doubled over... laughing my head off.
"As soon as I get back to the office, I'm checking my job description to see if this is covered in it!" I gasp out through laughter, not sure if the wet on my cheeks is tears from laughing so hard or the freezing rain. Pastor informs me that it is covered and actually, I should be pushing and he should be steering, but he's not going to make me do that on this particular morning.
So, I gather my wits and get on with the job at hand. I start up the car,
the guys push...
and we go through the routine twice.
No luck.
The tires are just over the blacktopped surface and keep digging themselves deeper into the soft earth.
Pastor stretches face first down on the wet drive so he can get a better look under the car. I look at my spiritual leader and understand why I am willing to follow this man. God bless him. He rises to his feet and announces that the business is futile. We will have to call a tow truck. So, we all head back inside. I offer the guys a ride in my car to get them out of the weather but they both refuse. What would be the point at this time.
I head for the lady's room and have a look at my drowned head and wonder why I don't keep a comb. With paper towels I get myself as dry as possible and try to arrange my hair the best I can. It turns into some type spiked hairdo... and I decide that it's cool that way. I wish I had the courage to wear it like that all the time. What fun.
And what a fun way to start a day's work. The rest of the day was pretty ordinary from there on out.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What! Jury Duty!!!! Not Again.
5 times. Honestly. I have been called for jury duty five times. The last time, about 3 years ago, I figured my jury duty days would not come around again. Once you hit retirement age they let you say "no". Well, I got the papers, again! and read them... and they have raised the age to 70 where you can say "no" and guess what. This is one of those things you can't "just say no" to. They threaten you with arrest, officers beating your door down and jail time for contempt, if you don't show up on your appointed days.
Now, most of the people I know have NEVER been called to do jury duty. Believe me, I ask people this question. That's right. And 2 times before this one, I wasn't the only juror there questioning why they were repeatedly called. When asked for a show of hands as to how many had been called more than once, at least 1/3 of the room raised their hands. Then, the jury boss went into this long explanation how names are selected randomly. What I want to know is how I get to be random so often and many people don't get to be random once. Does this seem fair to you? Bah!
I know I should feel honored to have an opportunity to do my "civic duty" but I just don't anymore. And I probably shouldn't complain, I have been through this process enough to know how to answer the questions to make sure I am not one of the selected few. They do pay us, sort of. $12.50 per 1/2 day and reimburse us for gas at 10 cents a mile. Hey, I could call this my second job, right! Especially with that kind of money to be made. Oh, give me a break. I'm too old for this stuff.
I really hate the inconveninece of having to crawl out of bed early, drive 26 miles in whatever kind of weather is hitting us that day, and then sit around and drink bad coffee and wish I was some where else. I have learned to take a book and a bottle of water (although, new letter says we aren't alowed to bring beverages with us).
I know it will be fun. I can't wait. Oh Drat! Why didn't they send a letter to one of those people who thought sitting on a jury would be interesting. Everyone needs to learn it really isn't.
Oh.... welll.... I wish I could say I felt better after getting that off my chest, but honestly. I don't.
Now, most of the people I know have NEVER been called to do jury duty. Believe me, I ask people this question. That's right. And 2 times before this one, I wasn't the only juror there questioning why they were repeatedly called. When asked for a show of hands as to how many had been called more than once, at least 1/3 of the room raised their hands. Then, the jury boss went into this long explanation how names are selected randomly. What I want to know is how I get to be random so often and many people don't get to be random once. Does this seem fair to you? Bah!
I know I should feel honored to have an opportunity to do my "civic duty" but I just don't anymore. And I probably shouldn't complain, I have been through this process enough to know how to answer the questions to make sure I am not one of the selected few. They do pay us, sort of. $12.50 per 1/2 day and reimburse us for gas at 10 cents a mile. Hey, I could call this my second job, right! Especially with that kind of money to be made. Oh, give me a break. I'm too old for this stuff.
I really hate the inconveninece of having to crawl out of bed early, drive 26 miles in whatever kind of weather is hitting us that day, and then sit around and drink bad coffee and wish I was some where else. I have learned to take a book and a bottle of water (although, new letter says we aren't alowed to bring beverages with us).
I know it will be fun. I can't wait. Oh Drat! Why didn't they send a letter to one of those people who thought sitting on a jury would be interesting. Everyone needs to learn it really isn't.
Oh.... welll.... I wish I could say I felt better after getting that off my chest, but honestly. I don't.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Mom Update
Winter was such a good thing this year, then all of a sudden, for no reason, it got really mean. Our temperatures have dropped to subarctic and we are freezing up here. But, life goes on, and I comfort myself with words that it can't last long. Spring is just around the corner. But, just for the record, it has already lasted too long. And even though the temperature is climbing all the way up to a high today of 17, maybe, well, that just isn't good enough. I want to see some ice melting, dad gum it.
Even if freezing, we still have to keep on with the routine, so yesterday was Mom's doctor day. She had appointments with her oncologist, Dr. Shen, and her primary care physician, Dr. Byrens. She had blood work done last week and x-rays made, so we were ready to hear how things were going.
Dr. Shen was first and he is a talker. Although Mom's platelet count is dropping (92,000) and is considered "abnormal" is is still fine. The test they run to determine the size of her tumor, shows that it is shrinking. A good thing, having gone from a 10 at the time of surgery down to an "8". I'm not sure what those numbers mean, but Dr. Shen seemed very happy with the report. Mom seems to have recovered from her pneumonia and is feeling better than she has in a long time. She returns to Dr. Shen on the 6th of March.
Dr. Byrens also was pleased with the way Mom is doing. He was very encouraging and said since she was doing so well, she would not need to return for 6 months. This puts her new appointment into August. SHe was quite tickled about this, mentioning that she would be almost 93 before she went back to see him again.
She wondered why no one was saying much about surgery anymore, but Dr. Shen had said they would review that in the spring. So for now, all is well and Mom is doing great and we are hoping to continue getting these good reports.
Even if freezing, we still have to keep on with the routine, so yesterday was Mom's doctor day. She had appointments with her oncologist, Dr. Shen, and her primary care physician, Dr. Byrens. She had blood work done last week and x-rays made, so we were ready to hear how things were going.
Dr. Shen was first and he is a talker. Although Mom's platelet count is dropping (92,000) and is considered "abnormal" is is still fine. The test they run to determine the size of her tumor, shows that it is shrinking. A good thing, having gone from a 10 at the time of surgery down to an "8". I'm not sure what those numbers mean, but Dr. Shen seemed very happy with the report. Mom seems to have recovered from her pneumonia and is feeling better than she has in a long time. She returns to Dr. Shen on the 6th of March.
Dr. Byrens also was pleased with the way Mom is doing. He was very encouraging and said since she was doing so well, she would not need to return for 6 months. This puts her new appointment into August. SHe was quite tickled about this, mentioning that she would be almost 93 before she went back to see him again.
She wondered why no one was saying much about surgery anymore, but Dr. Shen had said they would review that in the spring. So for now, all is well and Mom is doing great and we are hoping to continue getting these good reports.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Fun In The Snow
We were warned we might get some of the lake effect snow here in central Michigan, although we wouldn't get it like those west of us. When I got up it was snowing which was no surprise. When I took Sweet Pea out for a walk, it was not snowing...it was blizzarding. The snow was falling so thick and heavy, I was glad I was not out on a road somewhere trying to get to some place else.
We talked it over and decided we'd probably stay in for the day. By breakfast time, although the snow had slowed, we had a good six inches on the ground. Since my shoulder surgery, I can't manage a snow shovel so that meant Jamelah would have to do the heavy work. It was left to me to go outside and clean off the cars. The snow was light and airy and moving it was easy. Jamelah took Sweet Pea out to play in the snow before she began shoveling. I had one car cleared off when I saw a guy with a blade on the front of his truck plowing out the neighbors drive. I figured it was a good idea to have him come over and plow us out. He said "sure" and we got the cars moved and in 10 minutes he had all of Jamelah's work done.
Nothing left to do but celebrate. Jamelah went out to play catch with Sweet Pea (she loves catching snow balls, go figure) and I ran in to get my camera. I had a feeling there would be some fun pictures to take. I was right about that. Now it looks as one point that the dog is trying to eat Jamelah's head, but I assure you that no people were harmed in the making of this slide show. It could have happened, sure, but it didn't.
I had to go to the store and had told Mom to let me know what she needed and I'd pick up her things. She called back later and said for me not to stop. She didn't want anything from the store and she DID NOT want me to drive into her driveway. Her neighbors had shoveled it clean and she wanted to keep it that way. Well, OK then.
That's just so you'll know that Mom is doing fine. We went to visit the neurologist last Wednesday and his diagnosis regarding the "heaviness" in her leg was that she has neuropathy. He also wanted to get a scan of her lower back and we will have that done tomorrow, but won't get the report back until later this month. Aside from that, Mom is feeling better than she has in a long time and is enjoying her independence more. She likes being able to do for herself.
So all is well on this wintry day in Michigan. Enjoy the slide show as you watch Sweet Pea eat Jamelah's head (although, not really). Click on fun below for show. Because the slideshow moves quickly it is good to set the speed at the slowest possible speed to see clearly, well, at least on my computer, it may be different on yours.
fun
We talked it over and decided we'd probably stay in for the day. By breakfast time, although the snow had slowed, we had a good six inches on the ground. Since my shoulder surgery, I can't manage a snow shovel so that meant Jamelah would have to do the heavy work. It was left to me to go outside and clean off the cars. The snow was light and airy and moving it was easy. Jamelah took Sweet Pea out to play in the snow before she began shoveling. I had one car cleared off when I saw a guy with a blade on the front of his truck plowing out the neighbors drive. I figured it was a good idea to have him come over and plow us out. He said "sure" and we got the cars moved and in 10 minutes he had all of Jamelah's work done.
Nothing left to do but celebrate. Jamelah went out to play catch with Sweet Pea (she loves catching snow balls, go figure) and I ran in to get my camera. I had a feeling there would be some fun pictures to take. I was right about that. Now it looks as one point that the dog is trying to eat Jamelah's head, but I assure you that no people were harmed in the making of this slide show. It could have happened, sure, but it didn't.
I had to go to the store and had told Mom to let me know what she needed and I'd pick up her things. She called back later and said for me not to stop. She didn't want anything from the store and she DID NOT want me to drive into her driveway. Her neighbors had shoveled it clean and she wanted to keep it that way. Well, OK then.
That's just so you'll know that Mom is doing fine. We went to visit the neurologist last Wednesday and his diagnosis regarding the "heaviness" in her leg was that she has neuropathy. He also wanted to get a scan of her lower back and we will have that done tomorrow, but won't get the report back until later this month. Aside from that, Mom is feeling better than she has in a long time and is enjoying her independence more. She likes being able to do for herself.
So all is well on this wintry day in Michigan. Enjoy the slide show as you watch Sweet Pea eat Jamelah's head (although, not really). Click on fun below for show. Because the slideshow moves quickly it is good to set the speed at the slowest possible speed to see clearly, well, at least on my computer, it may be different on yours.
fun
Monday, January 22, 2007
5 Things You Didn't Know About Me (a meme)
I love reading these things but am bad about doing them... but since Caryn tagged me, I'll do my thing. So here goes...
Five Things You Didn't Know About Me (I think)
1. I love to design and make clothes. When "the kid" was small, I did this a lot. My greatest creation was the flower girl dress she wore to my neice's wedding. At that time we just didn't buy stuff new. But since I was "gifted" I could pretty much look at something, find a pattern with similar basic lines, and tailor make clothes for my daughter. She had really neat outfits when she was growing up. I made costumes for her school plays, her prom dress, and usually a new outfit in the fall for her birthday. She had a thing back then and thought she should always get a new red dress for her birthday. Anyway, here is the flower girl dress.
We still have it.
2. Caryn mentioned the bridges thing. And along with that, I'm rather squeamish when it comes to heights, too. I rather die on parking ramps if I'm past the 2nd level. There is something flip/floppy that starts happening inside my internal organs, and then I start getting light headed. I guess the technical term for this is "panic attacks". Well, whatever! It sure is uncomfortable. Now, I handle heights better when I have solid ground under me (like on top of mountains); but tall buildings, and those stupid glass elevators. Whoever came up with that idea anyway? I even have trouble with motion sickness in theatres when they are doing that swoopy scene thing from up high, I have to close my eyes. Isn't that the silliest thing?
3. My age. I mean that's something about me not every one knows, because most people think I'm younger than I look. Yeah, the deal is to list 5 things you DON'T know about me. IT doesn't say I have to tell you what my age really is, now does it?
4. I have a bachellor's degree. That's right I do. I attended college and graduated with a BA degree in theology. Because I am not the preacherly type most people are rather surprised by this. I worked most of my life in an office setting. However right out of college I taught Theology and English at a small Indian Bible school in Phoenix, Arizona. I stopped teaching when I married at the "old maid" age of 28. After my husband died I did not go back to teaching but instead worked in the "real" world and have stayed there.
5. I still love to teach. I just don't have the opportunity to do so right now. But teaching is my most favorite thing to do. I taught in church settings until recently and now am the church secretary. But, I would like very much to have an opportunity to teach Biblical truths again. My special interest is digging into theological concepts. Yeah, that's fun. Really it is. Enjoy setting around the table and just talking about these truths that are so vital to me. You see, I really do believe that God is real, that He likes me a lot and enjoys hanging out with me.
Five Things You Didn't Know About Me (I think)
1. I love to design and make clothes. When "the kid" was small, I did this a lot. My greatest creation was the flower girl dress she wore to my neice's wedding. At that time we just didn't buy stuff new. But since I was "gifted" I could pretty much look at something, find a pattern with similar basic lines, and tailor make clothes for my daughter. She had really neat outfits when she was growing up. I made costumes for her school plays, her prom dress, and usually a new outfit in the fall for her birthday. She had a thing back then and thought she should always get a new red dress for her birthday. Anyway, here is the flower girl dress.
We still have it.
2. Caryn mentioned the bridges thing. And along with that, I'm rather squeamish when it comes to heights, too. I rather die on parking ramps if I'm past the 2nd level. There is something flip/floppy that starts happening inside my internal organs, and then I start getting light headed. I guess the technical term for this is "panic attacks". Well, whatever! It sure is uncomfortable. Now, I handle heights better when I have solid ground under me (like on top of mountains); but tall buildings, and those stupid glass elevators. Whoever came up with that idea anyway? I even have trouble with motion sickness in theatres when they are doing that swoopy scene thing from up high, I have to close my eyes. Isn't that the silliest thing?
3. My age. I mean that's something about me not every one knows, because most people think I'm younger than I look. Yeah, the deal is to list 5 things you DON'T know about me. IT doesn't say I have to tell you what my age really is, now does it?
4. I have a bachellor's degree. That's right I do. I attended college and graduated with a BA degree in theology. Because I am not the preacherly type most people are rather surprised by this. I worked most of my life in an office setting. However right out of college I taught Theology and English at a small Indian Bible school in Phoenix, Arizona. I stopped teaching when I married at the "old maid" age of 28. After my husband died I did not go back to teaching but instead worked in the "real" world and have stayed there.
5. I still love to teach. I just don't have the opportunity to do so right now. But teaching is my most favorite thing to do. I taught in church settings until recently and now am the church secretary. But, I would like very much to have an opportunity to teach Biblical truths again. My special interest is digging into theological concepts. Yeah, that's fun. Really it is. Enjoy setting around the table and just talking about these truths that are so vital to me. You see, I really do believe that God is real, that He likes me a lot and enjoys hanging out with me.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Ice Storm
Well, the weatherman told us it was going to be awful. Imagine my surprise when I awakened on Monday morning and realized it wasn't horrible at all. I was NOT iced in, so without further ado, I had no choice but to head off to work. I arrived in good form... ready to tackle the day's chores. But alas, despite the clear roads, the ice had knocked out the power and I had no phones and no heat, so put my coat on, and sadly (ahem) headed back home.
I did note on my way there and back that several large trees were down on the route, but things didn't seem awful or anything. I got home and we decided on ice storm days you watch Pride & Predjudice, so we began. We were really getting into it when our lights went out. Then back on. Then out. then back on. out. on. out. on
OUT! OUT! OUT! No! This can't be any fun. I called my Mom. Her lights were also out.
My daughter decided to start a big pot of soup, since we couldn't do anything else and it would help keep the house warm. (We, have gas cooking which is a blessing in power outages). So, we pulled out our crocheting and went to work and chatted and decided it was not so bad, anyway. After an hour I called Mom again and asked her to come over to our house. She has an electric cook stove and I thought she must be getting cold. She decided to just stay snuggled under a blanket, sure the power would be back on soon.
Well, after a couple more hours, we were beginning to wonder just when the power would be back on. I called Mom again, but she was determined to wait it out. We decided to call the power company for one of those automated messages so we would at least have an idea as to how long we would be waiting in the dark. The message said the power would be back on by January 16th at 11:59 pm. HOLD ON! That would be the next day! I called Mom and told her to pack her little bag. She now had no choice. She would have to abandon the cold comfort of home and head to our house. This time she relented.
I returned home from picking up Mom to find the house feeling warm and cozy with the warm light of our "way too many" uncounted candles. They twinkled from every flat surface. The soup was done and the aroma made us unwilling to wait; and why should we. IT was already supper time. We settled around the table with out soup bowls and hot garlic bread and ate by candlelight and Mom told us stories of the good old days. It felt like this really was a good old day and we just enjoyed ourselves.
After clearing away the table we began wondering what we could do all evening to keep ourselves entertained and settled for scrabble or more stories. When all of a sudden... ON... the lights came back on. then off. Then on... then ON! And this time they stayed on. I managed to convince Mom to sit a while until her house would have a chance to warm back up... so we watched the weather channel to learn how "not so bad" we had it when so many were worse off then we were. We were glad we would not be 2 days without lights.
I took Mom home and came back to see the Golden Globe dress splendor. And, as usual the gowns were awesome; the jewelry outstanding. It's always fun to see the glamor. But it wasn't nearly as glamorous as the scenery the next day. The ice storm turned everything magical and Tuesday dawned sunshine bright turning everything into crystalized splendor. Not even the camera could catch the prisms of color dancing from electrical wires and chain link fences. It is totally awesome. Here are some pictures. We spent the afternoon trying to catch forever the day and wound up in our favorite place along the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Enjoy.
Winter Ice Storm, 2007
If you want to see the pictures in more detail, simply click on the link "Winter ice storm 2007" above and it will take you to the full album.
I did note on my way there and back that several large trees were down on the route, but things didn't seem awful or anything. I got home and we decided on ice storm days you watch Pride & Predjudice, so we began. We were really getting into it when our lights went out. Then back on. Then out. then back on. out. on. out. on
OUT! OUT! OUT! No! This can't be any fun. I called my Mom. Her lights were also out.
My daughter decided to start a big pot of soup, since we couldn't do anything else and it would help keep the house warm. (We, have gas cooking which is a blessing in power outages). So, we pulled out our crocheting and went to work and chatted and decided it was not so bad, anyway. After an hour I called Mom again and asked her to come over to our house. She has an electric cook stove and I thought she must be getting cold. She decided to just stay snuggled under a blanket, sure the power would be back on soon.
Well, after a couple more hours, we were beginning to wonder just when the power would be back on. I called Mom again, but she was determined to wait it out. We decided to call the power company for one of those automated messages so we would at least have an idea as to how long we would be waiting in the dark. The message said the power would be back on by January 16th at 11:59 pm. HOLD ON! That would be the next day! I called Mom and told her to pack her little bag. She now had no choice. She would have to abandon the cold comfort of home and head to our house. This time she relented.
I returned home from picking up Mom to find the house feeling warm and cozy with the warm light of our "way too many" uncounted candles. They twinkled from every flat surface. The soup was done and the aroma made us unwilling to wait; and why should we. IT was already supper time. We settled around the table with out soup bowls and hot garlic bread and ate by candlelight and Mom told us stories of the good old days. It felt like this really was a good old day and we just enjoyed ourselves.
After clearing away the table we began wondering what we could do all evening to keep ourselves entertained and settled for scrabble or more stories. When all of a sudden... ON... the lights came back on. then off. Then on... then ON! And this time they stayed on. I managed to convince Mom to sit a while until her house would have a chance to warm back up... so we watched the weather channel to learn how "not so bad" we had it when so many were worse off then we were. We were glad we would not be 2 days without lights.
I took Mom home and came back to see the Golden Globe dress splendor. And, as usual the gowns were awesome; the jewelry outstanding. It's always fun to see the glamor. But it wasn't nearly as glamorous as the scenery the next day. The ice storm turned everything magical and Tuesday dawned sunshine bright turning everything into crystalized splendor. Not even the camera could catch the prisms of color dancing from electrical wires and chain link fences. It is totally awesome. Here are some pictures. We spent the afternoon trying to catch forever the day and wound up in our favorite place along the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Enjoy.
Winter Ice Storm, 2007
If you want to see the pictures in more detail, simply click on the link "Winter ice storm 2007" above and it will take you to the full album.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Mid Winter Ramblings
Well, there's not much to report, but "not much to report" is a good thing.
We had Mom's checkup with the oncologist, Dr. Shen, this past week. He shared that her blood count (hemaglobin) was at 14 (very good) her platelets were at 99 (dropping still), and her bone scan shows that the cancer is still inactive.
She has complained with heaviness in her legs and stated that they seemed better. Dr. Shen said this is a side effect of the predazone and since she is not off the drug she will probably continue to improve.
The doctor stated that much of her symptoms are simply signs that her body is wearing out and are not cancer related. She will need to accept that she must be cautious and take things easier from here on out and not plan to plant a full flower garden in her yard every year.
But spring is down the road and Mom does love her flowers. Hopefully we can help her get a least some of her planting done so she can still be proud of her yard. I'm not much good, except for encouragement purposes, but Jamelah has inherited the love of growing things from her grandmother and does a lot to help her out.
In the meantime, all seems well here. Well, mostly! We have not had winter hit yet this season but the weathermen tell us it is on its way and will be arriving this weekend. I have come to realize that I just don't like living in this cold climate and this year to understand how much I really destest that beautiful white stuff called snow. Yeah, I'll change my mind the first beautiful snow covered day we have, but I won't change it for long.
Altogether, all is well here. Hope it is the same with you where ever you are.
We had Mom's checkup with the oncologist, Dr. Shen, this past week. He shared that her blood count (hemaglobin) was at 14 (very good) her platelets were at 99 (dropping still), and her bone scan shows that the cancer is still inactive.
She has complained with heaviness in her legs and stated that they seemed better. Dr. Shen said this is a side effect of the predazone and since she is not off the drug she will probably continue to improve.
The doctor stated that much of her symptoms are simply signs that her body is wearing out and are not cancer related. She will need to accept that she must be cautious and take things easier from here on out and not plan to plant a full flower garden in her yard every year.
But spring is down the road and Mom does love her flowers. Hopefully we can help her get a least some of her planting done so she can still be proud of her yard. I'm not much good, except for encouragement purposes, but Jamelah has inherited the love of growing things from her grandmother and does a lot to help her out.
In the meantime, all seems well here. Well, mostly! We have not had winter hit yet this season but the weathermen tell us it is on its way and will be arriving this weekend. I have come to realize that I just don't like living in this cold climate and this year to understand how much I really destest that beautiful white stuff called snow. Yeah, I'll change my mind the first beautiful snow covered day we have, but I won't change it for long.
Altogether, all is well here. Hope it is the same with you where ever you are.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year and all that Jazz! Yeahhhh!
Well, here we are all the way up to 2007. Makes me remember my youth when I picked 40 as the age to die. Those "old people" were so sad and boring! Well If I had bit the dust at 40 I would have been gone 25 years already.
I have learned a bit about aging. For one thing, I have never felt that I was older than 35. I guess that is why I didn't die at 40. Just never arrived at that ripe old age. For another thing, I am totally amazed at how old people my age are when I see them. I go home stare at myself in the mirrow. I guess the doctor inserted rose colored lenses at the time I had to have both eyes "done" because of cataracts. I still don't think I'm as old as any of the people my age. Of course, the arthritic pain when I have to get up makes me think sometimes that I am actually 90.
Anyway, this isn't a growing old theme. This is Happy New Year talk. Here's how our evening celebration went.
The kid was on antibiotics which means we didn't buy our usual bottle of wine to toast in the end of the old and the beginning of the New. But, we determined to have a good time, whatever!
We saw in the year with a game of Scrabble. By some slight miracle I won by just a couple points. The miracle being that the kid got stuck with the Q and could never unload it. And it didn't hurt that despite the fact that with my 7 tiles allowed on my stick, 13 of them were usually vowels. I never could spell much more then 7 point words, even if I were on triple point squares. Until I got a D which fit in just the right spot, joining together two words and getting me triple word points to boot; gifting me up with 54 points for just one play. If not for that miracle... I would have been completely embarrassed when the final score was tallied.
When we put away the Scrabble tiles we watched Little Miss Sunshine. You don't need a New Year's Eve drink to enjoy this movie. I laughed so hard I came close to losing my breath a couple times and definitely had tears streaming down my cheeks. I think it just reminded me of some road trips I had taken in my youth, and I totally felt the pain and the love of the characters in the movie. If you haven't seen it. You should. Got to become a classic and a movie that I will pick up to watch over again and again.
Then Dick Clark counted down slowly to 2007. The neighbors began shooting off fireworks and guns. Sweet Pea got a little agitated and had to bark at the noise, but I choose to believe she was just wishing us a Happy New Year too. Altogether it was a fun night.
Hope the same for you. Hope you had a grand time last night and that the year ahead will be filled with more laughter than tears.
Happy New Year!
I have learned a bit about aging. For one thing, I have never felt that I was older than 35. I guess that is why I didn't die at 40. Just never arrived at that ripe old age. For another thing, I am totally amazed at how old people my age are when I see them. I go home stare at myself in the mirrow. I guess the doctor inserted rose colored lenses at the time I had to have both eyes "done" because of cataracts. I still don't think I'm as old as any of the people my age. Of course, the arthritic pain when I have to get up makes me think sometimes that I am actually 90.
Anyway, this isn't a growing old theme. This is Happy New Year talk. Here's how our evening celebration went.
The kid was on antibiotics which means we didn't buy our usual bottle of wine to toast in the end of the old and the beginning of the New. But, we determined to have a good time, whatever!
We saw in the year with a game of Scrabble. By some slight miracle I won by just a couple points. The miracle being that the kid got stuck with the Q and could never unload it. And it didn't hurt that despite the fact that with my 7 tiles allowed on my stick, 13 of them were usually vowels. I never could spell much more then 7 point words, even if I were on triple point squares. Until I got a D which fit in just the right spot, joining together two words and getting me triple word points to boot; gifting me up with 54 points for just one play. If not for that miracle... I would have been completely embarrassed when the final score was tallied.
When we put away the Scrabble tiles we watched Little Miss Sunshine. You don't need a New Year's Eve drink to enjoy this movie. I laughed so hard I came close to losing my breath a couple times and definitely had tears streaming down my cheeks. I think it just reminded me of some road trips I had taken in my youth, and I totally felt the pain and the love of the characters in the movie. If you haven't seen it. You should. Got to become a classic and a movie that I will pick up to watch over again and again.
Then Dick Clark counted down slowly to 2007. The neighbors began shooting off fireworks and guns. Sweet Pea got a little agitated and had to bark at the noise, but I choose to believe she was just wishing us a Happy New Year too. Altogether it was a fun night.
Hope the same for you. Hope you had a grand time last night and that the year ahead will be filled with more laughter than tears.
Happy New Year!
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