A Rose by Any Other Name

Today I tackled cleaning my computer/dumpster room. It gets really bad around a holiday when there is just so much to do and important stuff just gets put in there to be filed another day. Well, that day was today and will be tomorrow. It is shocking how much we have to take care of. My papers, his papers, his folks' papers, some papers for our kids and on and on it goes. I got rid of a lot of clothes and shoes I love but can't wear any longer because of the tendonitis in my foot. Oh well, I hope they are loved in their new homes.

My cousin is coming over tomorrow and after thinking maybe I'd cook something I decided maybe we would pop out for some Mexican food. It will still be coolish tomorrow and I need an enchilada fix. She, my cousin, was all up for that..so great minds do think alike. We are going to pore over seeds and decide where we are going to plant them. NW-1, I saved a few of the "naked ladies" for her. We planted them in some empty gallon containers for her until I got them over to her house. They have been put away during the cold weather and will go home with her tomorrow.

I'm starting to long for a trip to Brenham to The Antique Rose Emporium. I read somewhere yesterday that roses should be spectacular this year since we've had such cold weather, but some comments on the web seem to indicate the place has become very run down. How sad. The antique roses were pest resistant, hardy as all get out, and no problems with leaf spot. They had been found around old homesteads and churches that had been gone for ages. They were cultivated from the shrubs and have been in great favor for a long time. I'm truly disappointed if it is the case the nursery has fallen onto hard times. Maybe we can just visit the Blue Bell ice cream factory. Or even better get some Blue Bell ice cream here and buy a bunch of my new favorite rose-Knock Out Roses-a small shrub with vibrant red roses that bloom from spring through summer until fall. I just love them. They are also very strong roses that have few problems.

But mainly we are going to start some seeds for planting in the garden later in the spring. However, chives, onions, greens, and lettuce can be planted now outside. They are cool weather plants and love cooler temps. Maybe not quite as cool as it has been lately. I have an egg carton that held 18 XLarge eggs I'm going to try to start some seedlings in.

I think I have some seed pods from the butterfly bushes to give her and there are lots of pepper seeds and lots of purple cone flowers, also known by the name of Echinacea purpurea. I have both white and pink to trade with her. I may try some Shasta Daisies this year. We are getting our garden back from so many years of neglect when I was working. Hubby is good to mow, but doesn't get it about the whole flower business part of gardening. Pedro has been such a help to us this past year.

Cold Rainy Weather is On The Way

We got out and did too much too soon. Tuesday was a busy day with my visit to the rheumatologist and then we ran errands....too many errands. Last night I couldn't sleep well and tossed and turned until I came to the family room and turned on the tv. I was out like a light after that.

We thought the bad weather would get us on Thursday, but it is looking like it will be farther north now. I'll pray for you who live in Oklahoma. It looks like it will be getting bad up there. We will get a lot of rain, but not so much snow. I loves me some snow in the wintertime.....and I'm not satisfied with the snowfall yet.

The in laws visited each other today. She was very happy to see him and I guess he to visit with her, but everyone was ok about leaving to return to their separate rooms. She fell again today, but the staff said no injuries and that she got up too quick and didn't have her walker.

Tomorrow we will go to the food stores to get us enough food to get us through the rain/possible ice-snow event. It is a tradition for Texans and others in the South so I've been told lately.

I got a subscription to Southern Living for Christmas and I had forgotten how much I really liked that little magazine. There is an article this month that describes how to buy sheets. Since all the new thread count sheets came about I've been sort of lost. Percale is the word I couldn't remember and that makes all the difference. Anyway they have lots of delicious looking recipes, and how to grow clematis. I've always wanted to try that plant and if I can grow it in a large pot with a cool wrought iron tripod thingy, that would work.

My cousin, Pyewacketcat, is going to come over Sunday so we can play with our saved seeds and plan our flower gardens. I can't remember if I gave her a bunch of seeds from the pink daisies last year or not. It would be a good time to cook something fun, too.

Stay warm and dry, if you can.

Out on The Town

I'm going to my knitting group tonight for the first time in a month. So far today I've felt pretty well. I'm such a gad about. I actually did finish up some projects, but haven't started anything new....so I'll be the one trying to figure out a new project....hopefully nothing as horrifying as
Felix just saw.


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This LOL Cat just cracked me up. Hope it gets you laffin, too.

And to show you I can think on a more serious level. This page about Free Speech is a good one to check out. I'm not happy with the punch in the gut the Supreme Court dealt us the other day.

Kate over at Shambles Manor had this on her blog today.

You Are a Zebra

You are unique and flexible. There's no denying your individuality. And while you are very original, you're also good at blending in. You strike a fine balance. You are a fast thinker and you move with agility. You don't hesitate when action is required. You put the needs of your clan or group first. You are attentive to your family and friends.

What African Animal Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

Getting Well

I finally went to the doctor's office yesterday to try to find out why I've had a cold for a month. He prescribed a Medrol dosepak, erythromicin, codeine cough syrup, otc mucinex and if I'm not a whole lot better, meaning well, in two weeks he is sending me to an ENT or allergist. I felt so much better today...the medrol will do that for you. My sinuses have been so stuffy and all, it has been a miserable January.

The cleaning ladies came today and I stayed upstairs away from the dust. There is only one bedroom and bath upstairs and it is rarely used. It was alreay clean so the cleaners didn't have to come up. I fell asleep and woke feeling much better. Last night I was restless and woke about every hour.

I'm reading a book called The Help a novel by Kathryn Stockett. So far, and I haven't gotten too far into it, the book is very good. It is set in 1960's Mississippi and is the story of three women who come together to make a statement. I'd heard about it last summer or sometime before Christmas and it had wonderful reviews. I'm ready for something a little deeper than some of the women detectives or lawyers. Those type of books are good for fun, but this book has a really good feel to it. It sounds so true to the way the characters talk and the way women were back then. I guess it would have been my mother's generation for the older women. I know I've seen some of her in the characters. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so maybe I'll have a chance to read more of it. There is another book called Girl With The Dragon Tatoo by Steig Larrson. Oh joy it is on sale for $9.00. I've seen it at Costco so may pick it up there. Another book I can hardly wait to read is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. My husband gave that book to me for Christmas this year.

I've gotten some good books from from Amazon. For Christmas I made a list of books and cds I'd like to have and put them on my wish list, kindly provided by Amazon. I told the kids about it and sent them a note saying it was there and was only a suggestion and not a list to be filled. It gave them ideas about what I was into now and made their life easier. Made mine great, too. We did the $20 per person this year for Christmas and it is here to stay. We can spend it all on one item or get 2o $1 items or, well, you get how it goes. If you are a good shopper you can get a lot of items for not much money. It made shopping for them fun and good, also, good that there was no weeping and wailing when the credit card bills came in. They are all doing well finacially, but it was a good thing to stay within a budget. It was different with our grandson. He got a lot of fun things he loved and there was no dollar limit on him.

The tv is on while I'm writing this and it is "How Things Are Done". They are making a tuba and I had NO idea they were so very complicated to make,and had so many parts. There is a lot I don't know.

Happy Weekend and prayers for the people living in Haiti. What a tragedy.

Happy Cat

I can't see the followers widget for those who so graciously added me to a blog they read. Can you all see it under the fish thingy? In the meantime here is an LOL cat that is happy.


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Life is beginning to get stable again. The in laws are doing pretty well for a change. I'm sure something horrendous will come up this weekend. We will see. I may be going to my doc for some Prozac before long if everything doesn't settle down.

Not really...just a passing thought.

NW-1,

This is how I feel about that. *grin*. It isn't a joking thing, but sometimes we have to laugh a bit.

*time passes* I've been up to mischief again. I guess that dang flower thing was right alrighty.

Just found this on the Friends of Irony pages they are getting it right

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But this one just totally cracked me up.

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There may be more of these this week. Mwa Haha

Starting to Feel Like Jack Bauer...sort of

This morning the assisted living people called to tell my husband they had sent his dad to the hospital. I had the phone unplugged, because I'm sleeping in the front bedroom...the cold and all, so I didn't hear the phone at all. He was in the shower and didn't hear it either. Instead of leaving a message they just called the ambulance and sent him off. The ambulance called the destination hospital to tell them what they had and they diverted them to another hospital where there was a neurologist on staff. A ton of drama and he has an eye infection and possibly a stress related rash on his neck...they didn't really know about that. I'm sort of speechless. This all started at 7:30AM and he has now (left at 3ish) gone to pick up his mother at the other hospital, because the assited living that costs a FORTUNE/month doesn't have a transfer car except on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm ready to tell them to wait until Tuesday or Thursday to send our folks to the hospital, and that the outpatient clinic would be fine....or even their doctor's office would be really nice.

My husband is furious with them. The administrator had acted sort of like a horse's rear about the loaner bed they let my mil use until we could bring a twin one up there. It has been over a week now since my son and husband took the bed and all the twin bed linens up there and the loaner bed is still in the room, exactly like they left it. Hubby will be having a chat with him next week.

Finally Things Are Looking Up a Bit

FINALLY my hubby was able to talk to the doctor..one of three who care for the hospital patients. I don't know what has happened at our hospitals, but I don't like it that much. Anyway, what she said is when my mil came into the hospital her coumadin level was extremely high. It is supposed to be 2.4ish and hers was 9. That means her blood was VERY VERY thin. It had pooled in her feet, with one being more swollen than the other. We had thought about that, but thought both would have been equally swollen. Her primary doc had put her on coumadin after she had a blood clot in her leg about a year and a half ago. She also had a bit of a sinus infection...that was what the cat scan of her head was about. When they examined her, one side of her head was tender where the sinuses are located.

Today she has discovered the phone. She has only called twice so far today. We requested she not have a phone in her room at the memory care place. That is what they call where she lives now. She was driving us insane calling all the time before she left home. We had the phone over there turned off today. We need to get over there and empty the fridge. That is going to be a rough thing to do to start clearing out the house, but they will never be able to go back to live there alone.

I guess my mil will be dismissed sometime today. My husband is going to get the transfer bus they have at the memory care place to pick her up. I told him if she gets in my car she won't get out.

Anyway that is the the saga of my mil. We got away yesterday afternoon for a bit to go to the movies. Half price day there on Wednesday. We saw Avatar. I'd wanted to see it, but, I especially wanted to see it after the Pope nearly had a fit when he saw the movie. It is probably banned. Spokesmen said it was drawing people away from the church and into nature worship. Whatever. If something is banned I will break my neck to see it or read it. So many books have been banned for no good reason. There is not that much to them. I'm just taking it for granted pornography is banned, and that is something I think should be banned, and you know what I do know it when I see it. Wasn't that the criteria for determining porn.

My very sweet husband picked up "Julie and Julia" for me today when he went to the grocery store. I've wanted to see the movie since it came out at the movies, but we had our hands so full with his mother and dad we never were able to get away during that time.

The cold from the bad place is finally turning the corner on getting better. I'm not well, but better today. When we went to the movie yesterday I took a bag of cough drops and tried not to share a cough with anyone. That was successful. There weren't too many people in the theater on a Wednesday afternoon. Avatar is a movie best seen on the big screen in the 3-D version with the cool glasses that aren't like the old cardboard ones. It isn't the very best deep thinking movie I've ever seen, but it was a pleasant movie for a cloudy cool afternoon.



Also, today is delurking day. Many times people read our blogs and don't comment whether good or not...I prefer good..btw. So, delurk yourselves and post a little note if you are out there. Sometimes I think there aren't so many people reading my stuff. I saw this on Fever just now and decided to see if anyone is out there I don't know about.

No news today

There is no news about my mil, except they xrayed her sinuses and that wasn't it. Her foot is still swollen and her toes sort of blackish and she still hurts and the doctors can't find out what is wrong. She is not diabetic, either. My husband went to visit this afternoon hoping to catch the doctor, but alas it didn't happen. I do not understand this freaky hospital. It is a major hospital and has a great reputation. He has left a message with their primary physician about what all is going on, but they didn't return his call.

Hubby stopped by to see his dad and the aide had put him to bed just before. They talked for a bit and he asked her why she wasn't using the Chux he had bought so that if there was an accident during the night all of the sheets and bedding didn't have to be washed. She was unaware they were in the bathroom.

Bless his heart he got three things accomplished today and that made it a really good day for him. He found out how to get an address change for his parents for the IRS. There were two others but I can't remember right now.

The cold lingers on in my head and chest. I didn't get much done today.

This is all I've got right now...

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Sometimes we just have to laugh to make it better.

It Looks Like 2010 May Be Worse Than 2009...I'm Just Guessing Here

I'm still hacking and coughing and in general miserable, but hope it will end soon. The cold department is making up for last year when I didn't have a cold.

My poor mil had to be sent to the hospital today. Her feet have been swelling and the assisted living place where she is told us about it, but they keep her busy all the time in the day room working on crafts and stuff. I'm sure she loves that crap. She never was interested in doing anything like that. So, with being in the day room doing something she no doubt hates she can't go to her room to lie down and put her feet up. The room is smallish so her recliner wouldn't fit even if we could get it away from my fil who has taken quite a shine to it. And yet the home tells us we need to do something about it.

Back to the hospital, they were concerned her foot might be broken. They were going to xray it. She is anemic and they don't know why. They admitted her to the hospital and this evening a doctor called to ask my husband a lot of questions. One being that they needed permission to give her a transfusion of packed red cells...for the anemia. The doctor went over her meds with my husband and concluded the anti anxiety meds she is now taking was the root of the problem. I'm not a doctor or nurse or any sort of professional, but I'll bet it isn't the Zanax to help her not go insane in that place that is at the heart of all this anemia, etc.

I don't understand why the hospital couldn't have gotten the medication information faxed over to the hospital from the assisted living place that charges a freakin' fortune for 3 hots and a cot, that we provide. Not the meals, but her bed..yes we had to provide it and all bedding and towels, etc.. I'm not very happy with this whole assisted living situation. Truly I don't understand what they do. There should have been someone assisting my mil to bathe and get dressed in the morning. Someone should have noticed the bruises on her arm and the swelling in her feet and the sort of black color her toes were turning. It makes me furious that they care so little. Maybe enough to let the state know about what is going on there. I'd be more credible if I'd spent more time with her, but I've had a cold for nearly two weeks out of the 4 weeks they have been there. We can't go by there if we have a cold. I'd really hate to X out one of the elderly with my cold. The service we have been using to check her coumadin levels had come by to to check on her and that was way out of whack, too, and I'm guessing here, but I'm thinking it wasn't caused by Zanax, either. We have been involved with Integracare since my mil had a blood clot in her leg about 18 months ago or so and has been taking coumadin. They have been very careful and attentive to both my father in law and mother in law, in opposition to the place where they are now. We had to move my husband's parents from their home to somewhere else because it was very hazardous for them to be living on their own at the ages of 91 and 92. I guess it is pretty hazardous to be in this assisted living place, too.

I cared for my dad 13 years while he was in a nursing home after he had a stroke until he died. So I'm not a novice at these places. I guess the difference between the places was that he had to have skilled nursing and this place is far from being like that. He had some hard times, but was flexible enough to manage to stay on the good side of everyone, and then we would move him if it seemed things weren't just right. All the nurses loved him. I never saw a bruise on him that I didn't know about. The place is required by law to notify a family member when something happens. Being the one to notify passed between me and my half sister when one or the other of us couldn't take it any longer. He could be a handful at times.

My husband is nearly well from "the cold" and I think it would be wise if he spent a good bit of time visiting down there to see how they treat them and making unannounced visits, too. Bless her heart she can't remember anything for 2 minutes to be able to tell one of us if anyone was being unkind to her. The same goes for my fil. There will be a reckoning when I'm feeling better and am no longer contagious. I want to know why the person charged with caring for her did not notify anyone of how bad her foot was getting or how she got the bruises on her arm and why her coumadin levels weren't being checked for starters.

I called my daughter this afternoon when all this was going on and she had just been notified one of her employees had died last night. She was my daughter's age and my daughter was very upset by this woman's death.

It hasn't been a good day today...and it is now Sunday in Texas.

Jack Frost Is On His Way

There is hope that I might live, but it could be all the excitement about the COLDEST WEATHER in 13 years. We have been binding stuff up with newspapers, pipe coverings, and mulch everywhere we had enough to put it on plants. I remember the year we lost everything but huge trees. We had to replace shrubs, grass, and stuff I would have never thought would die in a freeze. Anyway we are in for about 72 hours of below freezing weather along with most of the United States. I was just outside to take some pictures of the flower beds. We put Christmas lights under the sheets to try to get that extra degree of warmth and in so doing it is beautiful.

The round objects with light coming through are pots from when I bought plants this spring and summer. I think they look pretty darn cool.

This is a closer look at them.

I think this one below is three twin sheets and two full size sheets, but could be more. I just kept coming up with them today. The Carolina Jessamine didn't get anything but mulch. I hope it makes it. It is one of the first things to bloom in the spring.

It is a good thing I have nearly every sheet we have ever owned in the 45 years we have been married, so I can cover up my plants when it gets really cold. In the spring they go on the tomatoes when a late cold snap comes up. Some of them are still used on beds. There are some that were on my girls' twin beds when they were little. They fit the sofa just right for when I need a place to recover and watch tv that is close to the kitchen....well, you know. A comfort spot.

The temp is still warmish at 48F, but the Polar Express is just around the bend. It sort of looked foggy outside, too. We have a whole new look in the house, too. All the blinds are closed and the curtains and drapes drawn to keep out more of the cold wind. My breakfast room is sort of cozier right now.

My fil has an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. He has fallen twice this week and it is just Wednesday. He has gained 5 pounds this week, too and it has to be fluid. They will probably restart his Lasix. My husband got the transfer van from the assisted living place to take him and he will meet them at the office. If we do get freezing rain tonight they can get him there more safely. A bus must be safer than my car. I can't go up there at all because of my personal crummy cold. Hubby called his aunt in Maryland today so she could talk with her brother. I'm thinking that didn't go too well. My fil has trouble hearing and can't remember anything for two minutes. Some of their other long time friends are starting to call. I guess we will have to get her phone number book and let them know where and how they are doing. Probably going by the Christmas cards would be the best way to know who is interested.

Oh yes, while laying around watching tv or sleeping I've had time to think about the M&M issue. I've taken a couple of pictures to help ya'll in identifying red and green M&Ms.

RED and GREEN M&Ms above in cut glass container

This was the container that was sort of visible in the picture nobody could see it, though. Probably you were so dazzled by the green tomatoes turning red that it distracted you. For real that is the first time I've picked green tomatoes and they have ripened in the house at this time of the year. Something to put in that part of my brain that keeps track of weird things. It is almost full, but is ok.

I moved them to this one the other day. That container just makes me happy to look at it. His little arms wave when you open the top to get M&Ms.

Stay warm all of you who are in the path of this or other extremely cold weather. Bundle up when you go out, bring in pets and plants in pots, and drive carefully. Oh mercy..I sound like a mother. Oh yes...make sure you have milk, bread and TP. I'm sure all the shelves at the local Kroger have been swept clean by anxious Texans who are sure they will starve or freeze to death in this cold spell.

And thanks to all of you who have left well wishes in the comments of the previous post. My guess is I'll feel better in about another week...or so. I've had that H1N1 flu vaccine and the regular flu vaccine and I've not had any high fever. It is just a crummy cold and on top of that TCU lost the playoff game the other night. They just weren't playing well and the other team was. Oh well...there is always next year.

I heard this yesterday, but felt so bad I didn't have the energy to post it. There is data now that suggests people who quit smoking are 70% more likely to develop diabetes in the six years following quitting than non smokers. God really does have a sense of humor. BTW-I quit 2 years 9 months ago. Don't have diabetes yet, but have gained weight.

Here is the link:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jAAtog0RepEa5C51C7g7AJg-25tw

Sharing

My dear husband has shared his cold with me, so I'll be mia for a while. Gosh..I had no idea he felt this bad. Back to sleep for me. Stay well.

Thinking of plans for spring and winter gardens

I'm starting to look forward to spring and when I found this on my cousin's blog I couldn't resist. Seems like I've done this before, but I can't remember right now.

What kind of flower are you?

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

You Are a Snapdragon
"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Now, winter, is the time for planning and getting the last of the pansies, violas, and cabbages into the ground for winter color. We got sidetracked this year with all of my husband's parents problems. And then Christmas was upon us before we knew it. One of the magazines I take has some ideas about starting vegetables in the greenhouse.

This year when the first really cold frost came I got all of our green tomatoes off the plants. I figured we would have a bunch of fried green tomatoes and that would be that. As they stayed out on the counter top they slowly began to ripen and we have had tomatoes that were grown in our garden for over a month now. There were only a few that had to be thrown away from getting too cold. It is time to plant greens, turnips, and some other winter plants or here for more specific information for your winter garden.

Our carrots were actually pretty good. We planted them in the spring and harvested in the fall. They were much larger in the fall than earlier in the year.



The container with little red and green things are M&Ms...the tomatoes are bigger. The M&Ms are in a little bowl on the right. I think there might have been another picture that showed it better.

So, while the north winds blow and the snow falls you can still plan the spring garden flowers and vegetables or plant some cold hardy veg in the garden.

Thoughts on The Past Decade by Some 9 Year Old Kids

The decade according to 9-year-olds from allison louie-garcia on Vimeo.

How do you think when your entire memory has been just the last decade. I saw this today and thought it would be interesting to share. Happy New Year!!