More of the story of Sick Ole Amber and Her Daughter's Encounter

Oh Lord...I don't even know where to start. It has been so long since I've posted my blog has spider webs. The past week has been full of appointments with various doctors and labs....and sleep studies. And to top it all off with a bright red cherry....I have a bright red rash that my new primary doesn't know what the hell it is. He did get me an appointment with a dermatologist for next Tuesday, but that is a long time when your body from your knees to the top of your head itch like MAD. He told me to take Zyrtec and Claritin....I thought to myself...yeah right. So I took that junk and then some benadryl and then some aloe with lidocaine in it and rubbed all over lightly and some spray Rhulihist and spray Benedryl with more of it and then a pain pill and a trank, courtesy of Dr. Elderly. I'm sure I took some other stuff. If I die it will be nobody's fault except mine. And I didn't, so, basically I'm still hanging in, but my attitude has become sort of rank lately. I was just getting ready to post about my daughter's encounter with the flash flood in Texas when I saw an email from one of my "friends". Man....my email has dropped off significantly. Just goes to show ya how much those "Love You" emails are worth. HA! I've told you I'd been back to the hospital for another round of pneumonia which my new primary described as "there was only a small amount of fluid in your lungs, so it was barely pneumonia." What a Dick. I get pretty upset about ANY fluid in my lungs. The night I went to the hospital the first time I think I cracked a tooth, if not there is something very serious going on in that area, too. Well, being unable to make an appt with my dentist I waited until the first of this week to make an appointment. I had thought it was a safe time for that...but the rash came and I will have to cancel in the morning, since we don't know if it is an allergy rash or some foreign country rash...like Ebola. I'm sure Dr. Dentist would happily see me when I'm not all spotty. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed another time. Upside of this is that I use the water pick and floss after every meal. Diligently!

Oh yeah...Dr. Primary told me I no longer have diabetes after talking to me for three minutes. I just looked at him and asked how did he know that. He started off on some bs rabbit trail so I told him I still use the Lantus and humalog. Those are the injectable meds. Oh, he said. In that case just use the Lantus at night. I just left the old guy doc, because he just wanted to give me pain pills and tranks everytime I came in. I guess, so I'd go away and leave him alone, and I actually wanted to feel well. I'd stayed with him for 37 years and it wasn't for the drugs, either. He really was a great diagnostician....he's so old he'd seen everything in the medical world. Now this one wants to go one on one with me instead of treating me with tlc. He just doesn't know. God forgive me but the first night I was in the ER back in April when they gave me the evil Morphine, I think I cursed out a church pastor. He was asking me to pray with him and I figured I had enough to pray about for myself and he could just pray for himself and I told him so and to "Get Thee hence and the hell out of my room!" At some point he broke into tears. I was stunned by that from someone like him. I couldn't help myself much less him! I haven't seen him since which is unusual because all the new doctors have offices at that hospital. I've run into a lot of people there when going to appointments...even a lady in my knitting group. My husband said it was the ER...I can't figure why my husband allowed him to badger me that night or allow him in my room. He said he thought he was another doctor. I wonder how long it would have taken him to figure out he was a psycho? I may just post this...except I was going another way with my life story. Changed my mind.


ps-I have sleep apnea, too and they put aside a darlin' little blue mask for me. It is to die for. Hell, won't I be a beauty? The first night of the testing I certainly was. I scared myself when I had to get unhitched to go to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My hair was standing up all over my head from the gunk they use to hold the leads to you. The guy had warned me about how hard it is to get the mess off and to get some Goo Gone to get it out of my hair. Hubby went to get some and after reading the WARNINGS it didn't seem like a good choice at all. I found some stuff they had given me at the hospital for a "dry" bath. I figured what the heck...and gave it a whirl. It all came out with no hassle. I can hardly wait to see the pulmonologist on the 21st to get my lovely mask, at least I hope he is the one who has it. After the second night in the sleep lab I was ready to cut and run and did as soon as I could get out of there.

Now to the post I'd meant to write this morning about my oldest daughter. Her fiancee decided going to the wilderness to camp would be about the funnest thing he could think of to spend time with my Her, aka The Princess. She has been a great sport about camping in the past even though she loathes it, but figured if there was a/c in the RV it was sort of ok and there was usually a river close by to swim in. So, reluctantly she agreed to go with him and a bunch of people they know to camp on the Guadalupe River, near Greune, Tx. (prounounced-Green). Very early in the morning Rman woke The Princess and said " tiWe gotta go!!" He is sort of like Tommy Lee Jones or Viggo Mortenson when it comes to man talk. He was serious and she knew it. She didn't think she had shoes with her and only flip flops. He had cut the barb wire between them and a hill with some bolt cutters he had with him. He must have been a boy scout before he was a Marine. Who else would take bolt cutters with them on a camping trip. He told her to hang on tight when they got out and she did. She told me the current was unbelievable, and trying to keep on those flip flops was a real challenge. She had charge of some children of some of their friends and was keeping them rounded up. She said it was surreal walking through a river with Lord knows what in it, climbing the hill in flip flops with kids all around her, lightning crashing on all sides and rain like crazy. Rman had gone back to help others get out safely. There were some people in a tree, but they opted to stay where they were. Wise decision. He did get some others out and one couple were staying on the river pre wedding day. She had her wedding dress, rings, and passport with her in anticipation of a wonderful wedding to remember. It will be remembered alright. All of the wedding stuff was lost. However, the next day a box was found in an upside down trailer and her wedding dress was in the box. Princess told me the box was muddy as all get out, but the dress was spotless white. The rings and passport haven't been recovered that I am aware of. She was very sensitive on the ring issue, because a couple of weeks ago hers went missing while she was cooking. She had put them on the windowsill and then they were gone. Rman only said one word and then he was ok. I told her to get a chain and wear it around her neck like Frodo. A few weeks later TP was hunting sea glass with her maid's daughter when Marti came out with TP's cell. She told her someone was ringing her....the ring was on top of the phone. There was great joy and happiness in that household that night! They have too much time on their hands for sure.

Back to the flood. Rman and TP's RV and truck were the last ones to not get damage. All the ones parked behind them were flooded and they will have to pay for the rented rvs. Worst news ever, except for the family of the gentleman who drowned. I suggested possibly their homeowners or car insurance might pay. We will see.

TP was so upset when I talked to her the next day I could hardly understand her. Actually she was still incoherent from fear and shock I thought she had a bottle of booze and laying in the back seat holding it like a baby. I'm surprised she could speak at all. They were staying with one of Rman's cousins until they could help the other friends get their stuff sorted out. Earlier that day I'd seen the awful pictures of the flood on the news and said..."My daughter was down there camping this past weekend!" I'd forgotten they had planned to stay until Wednesday or Thursday. I just figured out a way for us to save about $50,000. We aren't going to buy an RV for sure. That is also a way to know you are a native Texan, when you have a cousin to who will shelter you at anytime and anywhere. Cousins are very good things to have. God saving your loved ones is even better.

This is turning into an epic saga, but here we go again

For those of you who are still with me and my husband and his parent's endless saga it just keeps on getting better and better. aie aie aie I told someone yesterday that it had been too quiet from that part of Fort Worth, like when the kids get too quiet. Most of you will know what that means.

And so it was born out that while we rested for a day one of them took all the pills out of the medicine thing...the one with Sunday through Saturday AM and PM for both of them and sorted them into piles of the same color and put them in the box separated into colors. My husband, I'm sure after nearly having a stroke on his part, sort of got on them a little about it all. He came home all freaked out and called the attorney to get the power of attorney over their health care, so we will be able to put them into an assisted living facility...there went the boat he wanted.

I had noticed the virus scan I use was on the brink of going kerplunk on us so I had to get out pretty early to buy a new one. While I was gone my husband talked to his parents' doc's aide and got some information. Tonight the nurse who was sent out to check on my fil's health called to say he is in very poor condition. DUH...we have been begging for something for him. She also counseled my husband to call adult protective services to be on record that we are doing all we can given our limitations with what we can do. We have hired the lady to come in and clean and be a companion to them, my mil has the home health aide who helps her, and now there will be another nurse to help him get a bath and such. I told my husband to maybe talk with the attorney about that before rattling their cage. One never knows when they might throw us in the clink for not doing more. My husband is an only child...so am I, but I have three half sibs, and someone told me if a person is close enough to give you a kidney they are full kin. And ya know...he is right.

My husband told me his dad doesn't have any sores or anything wrong with his skin. I don't go there with my fil...eww, I don't mind helping my mil, but not my husband's dad. The lady who helps my mil get a bath started the water running for him to bathe, but after a while he came out saying he didn't feel well and just wanted to go back to bed. I think, and so does my hubby, that he may be afraid he will fall. There is a shower seat and there are hand rails around the tub, but it may just scare him too much. My husband isn't into talking much and getting people to open up to him. That may be a life skill he has to learn in a big hurry. He will wish he had when his dad is gone, because his father is a really neat guy. His mother, too, just not quite so much. I was glad to have had the time with my father for the 13 years I helped out with him at the nursing home. We developed a good relationship and it wasn't too late. We shared and told the secrets we had never told each other, but it was ok...none were great big.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I felt well enough to get out and plant the last of the plants I'd bought recently and they look really nice. I love getting a great deal on a plant that will come back. I'll try to get some pictures up very soon. I just haven't had time to get time to fool with them. I love sweet potato vine but it will go when it gets cold...long time yet though. It covers a lot of sins and protects some of the plants I got in the wrong places...too much sun.

Oh yes....to top off everything today after going to Arlington to get the antivirus software, I was tooling down the interstate on my way home in my car with my tres cool cd up loud and me singing along and I heard the most God awful noise. I nearly had a runaway thinking the car was going to blow up or something. I pulled over to the shoulder, turned on the hazard lights and started to call my husband to come help me. That is when I remembered that my daughter had changed the ring tone on my cell phone...I heard it that time for sure! It was my sister calling to tell me my sister in law's father had just died. I think maybe I should have forwarded on more of those "If you love Jesus..." emails cuz this just ain't no fun.

And to be a total bundle of joy and sunshine even Garrison Keillor had a mild stroke today. I would so hate it if he couldn't do the "Prairie Home Companion" radio show. I was thinking about that the other day when I watched the movie again. My husband and I have listened to that wonderful show presented by Powdermilk Biscuits for practically since it started...in fits and bursts, but it is like coming home to family when we remember to turn the radio on while I'm cooking Saturday dinner.

PS-Dooce is going to be on The Bonnie Hunt show tomorrow, Thursday, to show one of those Kardashian girls how to change a diaper. That should be so freakin' funny. *rolling my eyes* Sometime just drop by her blog. She is a character. I have my tivo set up...because Lord knows what the 'morrow will bring.

I'm up

Yesterday I felt terrible when it was time to get up and all day for that matter. It was probably the deadly boring meeting I'd attended the night before and when I left I saw they had propped open the door of the church allowing every pollen spore in the area inside. I was wondering why my nose was so stopped up during the meeting. Yesterday was lunch with the girls day, too but had to call to tell them I wouldn't be there.

Spent the day resting and surfing the net looking for somewhere we wanted to stay in Port Aransas. It is time for our yearly trip to the coast. Hopefully we will miss the hurricanes that have been so prolific this year. Our trip will be at the end of the month, so we should be ok and we will only be gone about a week. Unlike Melli's three week extravaganza. *so totally envious of her about that* Not that much to do in Port A and I get all the fishing I like done in a day or so. I'm taking a book and some knitting with me while hubby gets his fill of fishing. There is a bird sanctuary down there, I think. I'm pretty sure there is more than fishing. However, it will be a treat to go down to the shrimp boats to get our dinner when they come in. That is a real photo op...the shrimp boats, the gulls, the ocean....yes...taking the camera for sure.

Also, earlier I'd noticed and email from P. Allen Smith and thought it was just the regular newsletter, but it was an invitation to the Garden Home that will be open for view by the public on September 27th and 28th. The days we will be going to Port A. and it is too far to go up to Arkansas and then drive to the Texas coast. So, sorry P. Allen, but we'll have to pass this time. We have been watching the building of the garden home and the surrounding gardens for a long time on tv. It is really something and the gardens are fabulous.

Since I didn't feel like posting yesterday here is an extra post today and if you need a good laugh, try reading through these children's science exam answers

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? (brilliant, love this!)
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs .

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? ( e.g., abdomen)
A: The body is consisted into three parts -- the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels A, E, I, O, and U.

Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarian Section."
A: The Caesarian Section is a district in Rome

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Eduardo on the way

Talked to my daughter a while ago and they are getting ready for the tropical storm, Eduardo that will be coming in late tonight. She lives near Galveston, so they are right in the path of the storm. He was at home putting patio furniture away and she was at her office trying to send faxes about being closed. IMed my friend in Galveston and she is stocking up on beer and ice and icing down the beer. I love her attitude about all this!

This may be a storm that doesn't cause a lot of damage and may bring us some relief from the horrid heat up here in north central Texas. We've had 16 straight days of over 100 degree heat and we are all worn out with it.

My cat has even come in from outside. She likes to sleep in the shade on the patio. I sometimes think it is like a heating pad for her little elderly kitty bones. I'm sure she has arthritis, too. She has even started sleeping in her little kitty bed that has the catnip package inside the bed. When she first got it she soooo loooved it. She bit it and rolled in it and loved it. Then she didn't love it so much and it got put away, and we thought she just didn't like it anymore. Then this summer she started sleeping on all the patio furniture...and I mean all the patio furniture while she was shedding. At that point we put her little bed outside under the patio cover and rejuvenated the catnip secret place. Now she loves it again...mostly. I have to go now and blow the cat hair out of the computer and roller it off me. I just had a kitty love attack while I was writing this. pffttt

The visitor

The other day our grandson came for a visit while his mother went shopping. He wanted to watch a documentary about "Star Wars", his favorite movie ever. He was totally absorbed in show and even enlightened me on some of the finer points of the saga. He also wanted to watch "The Mummy" with Brenden Frasier, and I'm thinking that might be another one he likes. Hubby was talking about taking him to the IMAX to see "Journey to The Center of the Earth". I think that would be great fun.



After a while we went outside and he reluctantly let me take a picture of his lack of teeth...which was sort of shocking to me. He lost one a pretty long while ago then another about a month ago...then he started losing them fairly rapidly. He is a sweet little snaggletooth, though. He usually smiles like a professional model, but that day not so much.



He checked out all the swim gear his mom had brought for him, but after we sat with our feet in the pool he decided it was too cool for him to swim that day. The pool water is 81 right now and the air temp was about 102 , so there was a big difference when you just stick your feet in. It is best to just jump in and get wet all at once. It works out better that way, but he didn't want to swim even after considerable discussion.We finally decided to go to the Dollar Tree to look for something to do. He has "no toys" here. There is a huge basket of them, but he wanted to get out of the house for a bit. After much consideration he chose a basketball game that was surprisingly difficult. I think the little ones are harder. Anyway, we were getting better with each turn and narrowing in on the range and how hard to press the lever, when my husband came through and asked if he could try. We said of course and he nailed the first one and left! TJ looked at me and said, "Your dad is really good!" I looked at him with a startled look and we both laughed like a couple of goons.

We got better and better at the little game and it took about 30 to 45 minutes to play a game...at least it took us that long. He packed it up carefully and took it home with him.

I think he decided we didn't have much money because our pool isn't heated...at least that is what he reckoned it was, since it was so cold that day.

A few words to the wise...or in my case advice from real life stupidity

Never ever use your shoulder/chest area as a fulcrum when using loppers to cut a largish branch. (A fulcrum is the support or point of support (pivot) on which a lever turns in raising or moving something around.) It results in a lot of pain in your shoulder and chest which has its own fulcrum business to tend to, and you won't sleep very much until you get to the doctor.

Just some advice gained in a very painful way while trimming a shrub the other day. Probably serves me right for working on Sunday, except I never consider gardening work. Today is Thursday, if this thing posts properly, and as of Wednesday night I'm feeling better...and I did find my favorite rocks that are my "sculpture". I have reclaimed that part of our garden.

Tonight, while we were waiting for So You Think You Can Dance to come on and tivo to a point where I don't have to mess with commercials *gasp* do you think they might have thought of that and make me watch hours of commercials or other weird stuff like in that movie...A Clockwork Orange? Will I wind up like he did, all crazy and stuff...I'm just saying...it could happen.

Anyway in the waiting period we watched some 3o minute shows and one was P. Allen Smith, who I think is on PBS. He had some women on that show, which was all about him and his new home, who had made some of the most fabulous embroidered pillows. They were AWESOME...I just got off Amazon from ordering some books and transfers. I think these women don't do transfers, but I need to get started again somewhere....and it might as well be a tea towel or something. However, these transfers are Jacobean, so probably not a lot of cutesy things. I'm going to have to watch that show again to see who they were exactly. They used a fern leaf design for one largish throw pillow. Now that would be a nice gift for one of my children. The others are barbarians who drink out of jelly glasses. One made me mad today.

The xeriscape garden is coming along well. Hubby is so happy I hurt myself just when it was time to start digging. I did go out and tell him how wonderful it looked, but wouldn't it look just so much better if that plant that looked exactly like the stones was in a pot. And that way it it actually did get REALLY cold this winter it would be saved in the greenhouse that would utilize the plastic windbreak I used to use in the winter to knock the harsh wind off me when I went out on the patio for smoking purposes. Those days are long gone and that plastic is just going to waste out in the shed and there is a fire pit thing (like anyone in Texas needs a fire pit except on those days it is below 0) that could heat the greenhouse when it gets cold. Which seems like never right now. It is still 90F at 11:20pm here. However, I may sleep with one eye open tonight. You never know.

I'm always looking for a way to save money and to be ever so green. These days it is just the thing to do. My cousin posted the other day about going to one of our favorite shops to get some more yard goodies and holy smokes they had the Christmas stuff out. I could have told her, it happened to me at Garden Ridge BEFORE July 4th. I guess those "sluggards" who thought they'd wait until the pool warmed up a bit or they had some vacation time and thought they'd throw a party were outta luck on that. There was not a garden gnome or light to be had sometime in June, I'm guessing. They were marking stuff down in June. I just thought I had a bit more time to pick up some extra stuff. I guess summer is over.

The working shed idea is going to have to wait a bit to become anything other than a shed for our gardening tools. There is just a lot for hubby to think about right now. One is that his mom does not have to go back for another MRI. There is some down time right there. I suggested it would be a good idea to check with her doctor's office and all, since she really wants to go to Houston to see the kid who lives there. The nurse told him it would be about 6 months, for real, for the clot area to heal. However, if we thought we could get her there with frequent stops and getting her in and out of the car and moving around then it would be okay. We are going to start this business of getting out some with going to get her hair done. Where I go there is just a tiny little ramp that I don't think will give her any problems with the walker. I talked with my hairdresser the last time I was in and she thought it would help her feel a lot better. It will probably help her feel a lot better to get out of the house where she has been homebound for months, it seems, with the clot. Her hip is really bad, but the only help for that is surgery and she is 89...will be 90 at the end of August and she doesn't think it would be a good idea to jump off into something like that.

That is another thing....a party for her. It will have to be probably at her house, because it is difficult for her to get down the front steps. We'll see. If it is at her house, then I'll have to go over and clean for a LONG time. They won't have someone come in to clean. Last year we had my father in law's 90th here and it was still cool enough to be outside. It was a lovely party and they did enjoy it a lot...but I do think they were expecting to maybe have a surprise party. We just couldn't pull that off. We did have a 65th wedding anniversary party for them at their church a few years back. That was a great time....we weren't thinking and got icing in the anniversary colors and everyone had burgundy teeth. Oh well, live and learn. The kid in Houston will be coming up for the birthday parties. Mine is on the 24th and hers in on the 28th, so we will have them together with hers the main attraction since kids will be traveling to get here.

Hope this thing posts in the morning at 8:30am. It didn't and if you don't hear from me for a few days, my shoulder is very stiff today. I did too much yesterday.