Tuesday AM

It's been a whirlwind. 
Steve and I went to Myrtle Beach the day before Bill's surgery, arriving in the late evening.  We wanted to get to bed early, so that we could get to the hospital on time the net morning.
Surgery went well.  The day after surgery, the Masonic Clowns came to see Bill in full performance make-up and dress.  They were a true hit, in the hallways, elevators, cafeteria, and with Bill.
He sat up in bed, talked with his old friends and family, and ate some applesauce and pudding.  He took great pleasure in Steve being with him.  Alex was there with McKinley, her boyfriend, and a good time was had by all.
The next morning (Saturday), we got a call from the hospital that Bill was throwing up, feverish, and had an infection.  We went to the hospital early, and found him intubated, his eyes glazed, and with poor responses.  The nurses told us that he had pneumonia from aspirating vomit.  It was a bad day, which started many more. 
They had moved him into ICU, and when we got to the hospital, we had to gown, glove, and mask before we could go into his cubicle.  Steve began to ask some tough questions of the nurses, and found out that Bill also had MRSA.  This is a (usually) hospital-caused infection which is very resistant to antibiotics and penicillin.  It is highly contagious, which made the precautions necessary.
He was in a much worse state, and could not talk for all the tubes in his mouth and nose.  He tried to communicate, and Steve finally got a pad and pen for him to write with.  He kept putting one letter over the other, and no one could make anything of what he wrote.  I finally leaned over him closely, and watched the letters as he formed them.  He was writing 'Kitty', which is the name of his older sister, and is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Rochester, New York.  I asked him if he wanted us to call Aunt Kitty, and he nodded 'Yes'.
I went into the next room, which is a conference room, and called the Convent where Aunt Kitty lives, and told her of Bill's condition, and his wish that she come.  She said that she would.
Steve made all the reservations, and he and I went to the air port to pick her up the next evening.
It was so good to see her, and we took her straight to the hospital to see Bill.  He was glad to see her, though he was very low.  She was concerned when she saw his condition, of course.  We didn't stay long, as she was tired from her trip.  She's 84, and has slowed down a bit, though she is still vigorous.
The next few days were a blur of activity, with Steve taking us ladies back and forth to the hospital. I got in just a little thrift store shopping, but did not buy much.
I drove back home on Friday, though Lilly Houser, my cousin, was staying with our house, and feeding the animals for us.  She also cleaned.  And BOY, did she clean!
Everything looked so nice when I got home around 10:00 Friday night.  She is a really clean-living woman, and she's a little hyper, and her efforts showed.
She stayed the night with me, and we got a little gossip in before we went to bed.  I didn't sleep well, as I was still 'keyed up' from my travel.
She had begun a massive overhaul of my sewing room upstairs, which was so badly needed.  I could hardly recognize the place.  Since then, she and I have re-arranged my 'sewing circle' of machines, and thrown away seven sewing machines and four sewing machine cabinets.  I sent a SUV load of clothes to a local thrift store, and we've thrown away about four bags of stuff that was un-salvageable.
She and her grandson, Nick, had folded my fabric and put it on shelves till we can get better shelving put up on the walls in the corner where my machines used to be.
She is a whirlwind.
We had lunch at the Down Home yesterday, and Lynn Duncan came in.  She is the wife of John
Duncan, our Congressman.  She and I have known each other for many years, and it was good to see her.  We sat together, and during our conversation, she asked me if I knew of someone that might clean for her in their Bean Station home.  I recommended Lily to her, and she showed some interest.  She told me she would call me if she made a decision.  It would be good for both of them.
Bill has showed no improvement, and it looks like I will be going back to the beach some time soon.  Steve has been staying there, working from 'home', and trying to be of some help to his mother.
When I go back, I'm supposed to take Margaret Peck with me.  She's such a big help.
I'm tired of writing, and I've got to get off here and get my day going.  More later.

March 18, 2015 AM

Steve is still sleeping, so I'm going to try to catch up a little on my blog.
I love the house when it is so quite like this in the morning.  It's a good time to pray, think, and mull over ideas that come to me.
Lilly Houser, my cousin, is staying with the house this week-end so that Steve and I can go to Myrtle Beach to be with his parents.  Bill, Steve's father, is having to get a colostomy on Friday.  It's a result of his colo-rectal cancer, and his doctors are taking this step to try to prevent a recurrence. He's been a real trooper, but I can tell his patience is wearing down a bit.  Our family has had quite a time with illness.
I caught another raccoon in my live trap last week.  It made all kinds of valiant effort to escape, but two bullets from my .22 dispatched him.
Steve came home two days early, so that he wouldn't have to drive so much at one time.  He cleaned some outside yesterday, as I have another of my 'sleeping migraines', and was in bed all day.
Lawrence and Mary (brother and sister) had come for dinner on Sunday, and I slept almost all the time they were with me.  Thank God, Mary was driving.  We went to Lisa's Barbeque, and I was so glad to see all her remodeling work.  It's a vast improvement, and gives her lots more floor space.  Her food is really great, and her prices are reasonable, too.  We barely beat the after-church crowd.  Both Lawrence and Mary were amused and some concerned with me being so sleepy.  It just happens.
Jane Palmer wrote me an e-mail to tell me that she is now reading my blog again, and loves it.  She's a real sweet lady, and I look forward to seeing her again while we're at the beach this week end.  We always have such good times.  She doesn't drive any more, so she and I sometimes steal away together to make a run to Goodwill or some re-sale shop.  She is not a junk-a-holic like myself, so she's just mostly along for the trip, and to get me around.  I get so lost in Myrtle Beach.
There's a shop that Margaret Peck and I went to the last time we were there, and I'd love to remember where it is.  They had a lot of great stuff, and their prices were pretty good on trinkets and such.  I got a really effective long-handled dip net there for lifting leaves out of the swimming pool.  Steve and Bill were with me, so maybe one of them can remember where this shop is.
My new peacock is fitting in real well with the 'ladies', so I'm really hoping for some fertile eggs this spring.  I want to raise more peafowl to keep.  I always enjoyed my birds so much.  I want to get more geese, too. 
I took the Cadillac to Doyal's in Rutledge to get the brakes fixed, new wiper blades put on, and all belts and fluids checked for our trip.  While I was out, I got to see Kim, who runs a little re-sale shop in Rutledge.  She's been really sick with cancer, but has made a great recovery, and is finally back at work part time.  She's still pretty weak and can't eat well, but we are all so glad to see her back in the saddle.  She sold me a lovely full-length fur coat, and I got a few pieces of fabric.  Some of the fabric I will use for making caftans and some flowing tops.  I just want something flowing, loose, and a little exotic for spring and summer.  I'll probably do some beading and put some fringe on some of the tops I'll be making, as I sure do love to 'bling' my things.
I talked with Darrell McFalls about a refrigerator he has, and I may be getting an up-grade for Creekside.  Lawrence and Mary were truly impressed with the new look in the kitchen there.  It's been a lot of work, but we're finally seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel.
I'd love to see the old house finished, and being her glamorous self again.  She's quite a pile.
I like for people to smile when they look at my houses, and Creekside has come a long way from her humble beginnings with us.
More later.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

I caught a raccoon in my live trap last night.  They have about taken over this place, and I've declared war on them, opossums, skunks, and all other varmits that think my farm is a food bar.
It has dug a trench around the cage, by reaching through the wire and trying to get out.  There is a muddy mess out there, but there will soon be one less coon to trouble me and my farm animals.
I slept all day yesterday again.  These sleep spells are coming closer together, and lasting longer.  They worry me.
Steve left the house only long enough to get the mail, and to trim some low branches on the Granny Smith Apple tree in the back yard.
Things have gotten run down since I've been so poorly the last few years, and it will take a lot of work to ever get caught up with all the maintenance and repairs that are needed.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

I had a bad night last night, with hardly any sleep.  I worked in the living room on some birdhouses and some shelves I'm painting to put in a guest bathroom.
The shelves are pretty small, but there's hardly any storage in the smaller guest baths, and the additional storage space will be nice.  They were black, so I've had to give them 4 coats of paint. I don't know why I didn't just start with Kilz, and get it over with.  They've nice and smooth now, and I'm going to put a coat of wax on them before I use them, so they won't get sticky in a moist setting.
I slept almost all day yesterday.  I think there's a problem with my blood sugar that's causing all the sleepiness.
Steve said he went out and 're-arranged' some things in my Hobby Hut, and I'm just wondering what all he's ruined and thrown away.  He worked outside almost all day yesterday.  It is nicer weather now.  I'm really glad to see all the snow and ice gone.  I hate being cooped up in the house all the time.
Ada Davis' son, Doug, brought me a peacock for my two hens.  They took right to each other.  While we were up at the pens, I noticed that there is a lot of repairs needed.  As soon as spring is here, and I can get outside some, I'm going to have some work to do up there.
I used to love being up there and seeing all my birds.  I'm going to get one of my incubators cleaned out and ready for hatching eggs, and I'm going to try hatching some peafowl and geese.  I get lots of eggs, but the varmits get so many of them.  Steve chased three skunks off the back porch last night, and I chased another one off after I got up around three o'clock.  They're running the place ragged.
I hope I can stay awake today, as there's so much I need to do.
It's now 'Day-light Saving Time', which I think is ridiculous.  I don't know why they don't just leave things alone that are not broken.
It looks like it's going to be a really nice day.  The sun is shining nicely on the Daniel property across 11W.

March 1, 2015

I can't sleep, so I'll post.
My sleep schedule has been messed up my whole life, but it's gotten much worse.  I want to sleep like a cat, often, light, and in odd places.
I can't seem to stay awake in the daytime, but I can't sleep at night.
We worked at Creekside most of the afternoon.  Lily Houser came to help me.  She had forgotten her medicine, so we had to go back to her house to get it, and we brought Nick, her grandson, back with us.  He works really well.  We carried in enough stove wood to last a week or so.  I took them to a late lunch at Down Home, and they were serving barbequed pork for the special.  It is always really good.
I ate light, as I'm on schedule for a colonoscopy on Monday morning, and I'm on clear liquids for tomorrow.  I also have to take all these lovely laxatives, which will make for an interesting day tomorrow.
We found out yesterday that Bill, Steve's dad, will have to have some surgery later this month, to remove the dead tissue from his chemo and radiation therapy, and will then have a colposcopy bag.  He's dreading the very thought of it all.  It's supposed to be temporary and reversible, but he's not liking the thought of it.
Margaret Peck is still in Myrtle Beach with them, and is being a great help.  She has such a good spirit.
It was sunny today, and not too cold, which was a relief from all the snow and cold we've been having.  I'm so tired of the ice on the roads and sidewalks.  I'm ready for spring, which will be in 20 days.
I want more geese for our place, so I'm going to put the geese up in a pen for the spring season.  They hide their nests out, and I hardly ever get any babies, as possums and raccoons get the eggs.  I have so many empty chicken pens that are no longer used, I'm going to put them where I can keep an eye on them, and gather their eggs.  I may even fire up one of my incubators, and hatch the eggs myself.  I'll get more eggs that way.
They have to have water to breed in, but I have a pond in one of my pens, which I had used for Wood Ducks, and I believe it will serve pretty well.
I love to watch fowl interact, and I miss having so many birds.
My sheep have two babies, but I still don't know if they're male or female.
I need to get some sleep, as I plan to clean house tomorrow, between trips to the bathroom, of course.  I've let it go for far too long, and it's a mess, even though Mary Douglas cleans for me, and does such a good job.

Feb. 24, 2015 AM

I have ben to bed twice during this last night, but did not sleep a wink either time, so got up and did other things. 
I hate these nights, but some medical official somewhere decided that women should not take more than 5mgs. of Ambien a night, so Dr. Duck won't give me any more than that. And I have to go to his office and have a pill count every so often to see if I'm overdosing.  Now, there's a thought.
I needed to go over to Jefferson Memorial Hospital today to pre-register for my lovely colonoscopy nest week, but it snowed about 3-5 inches last night.  I know, because I watched it all night long.
My nerves are frayed, my eyes burn like coals, my legs hurt, and I'm condemned to spend another (at least) two days in this house.
The first person that steps on my toes this morning gets the white slapped off their face.
I was supposed to have the trailer ready for the new tenant by the 28th, but I can't get off this bluff to get anything done.
I've got to call her and tell her that I just can't have it ready.  If she can't understand, she'll just have to look around for something else with two bedrooms, one bath, a covered front porch, gas heat, appliances, a roof-over, and extra insulation for $100.00 a month.
Steve and I got out for a while yesterday, but slid badly getting back home.  Our own driveway was worse than the bluff.  I thought we'd take the fence out a couple of times.
He's been feeding the birds.  We'd noticed them coming onto the back porch and getting cat food, and we were afraid the cats might think they were food, so we've been putting them some cracked corn out by the fence where we feed our geese and sheep.
We have quite a few cardinals, and they're so RED!
I just gave up on Steve getting up by himself, and I've put biscuits in the oven, tea's on, and there's thawed blackberries from last summer ready for breakfast.  I woke him, but I don't know if he'll get up or go back to sleep.

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2014

I had another almost sleepless night.  It started snowing about 2:30-3:00, and we have about 4-5 inches now.  The flakes are big, lazy, and persistent.  I'm really tired of winter.  It makes me hurt all over.  I have really bad arthritis in my toes (from hammer toe), and the cold hurts them so much.  I also still have neuropathy from the chemo, and anything cols hurts my hands and feet so much that I have to wear two pair of socks to bed.  When I get up and start walking on our concrete slab floors, it's like walking on broken glass.  I'm longing for summer.
Steve is still in bed, and I want to go back.
I'll write more later, when I can see things in a more positive light.