Monday, July 11, 2011, PM

I suppose I should give an update on my medical condition to those who are followers.
My surgery went like a breeze this morning.  Steve managed to get me there a half-hour late, but my doctor was patiently waiting for me in the hallway outside the surgical unit.  He greeted me nicely when he saw me, and I chided him for not letting me know that he's married to Jenifer Little, who is a prominant Republican woman in Grainger County.  He liked that I had found him out.  I think he has a pretty good sense of humor, and he has a really likable bedside manner.
The same nurses took care of me who had done my pre-admittance work-up, and I liked that.  Lakeway is a rather small hospital, but they're definately well-supplied and well-staffed.  I was truely impressed with them. 
My surgery only took about 45 minutes, and I had excellent care and service.
It's a fairly new hospital, and still squeeky clean.  There was a nursing student there who I had met when she had a garage sale, and she recognised me and asked about the things I had bought from her.  I guess I had made an impression on her.
We stopped at Creekside on the way home, and they were all surprised to see me looking so alert and composed, but I felt fairly good, and my mouth was still numb from the locals I'd had.
I'm pretty swollen now, and I'm pretty sore, but my throat feels so much clearer without those nodules in there.
The food which Barbara had cooked and sent along to keep Steve and me fed is much appreciated, and Steve made the joke that I'd have to think of something else to have taken out the next time he's home, so we can get more good cooking.
She made my favorite dish, which is chicken and ham cooked together in a gravy, and is soft to eat, and incredibly delicious.  She sent along enough food to feed a camp meeting, and it's all looking good and makes my appetite keen.
Steve had insisted that I lay about pretty much all of today, and I've enjoyed being inside out of the oppresive heat and humidity.  I sat up and painted a little on some crafts, but it tired me, so I didn't mind laying down a little more.
The house at Creekside is coming along so well.  I'm so pleased with the wonder gang I've got there, and Penny and Kerry are managing things so well.  She works like about 10 men, and she learns so fast.  If I'm able tomorrow, I want her to go with me to find another window for the dining room to put in the north-east wall where one had been a long time ago.  There had not been one there for many years, but it looked like there should be one there, so I'm going to try to find something that works.  She's a way better driver than I am, and she makes shopping so easy.  She carries everything to the truck, or pulls the truck to the door to make loading so easy.  She has a good memory for things we need, too, and my memory is terrible about such things.
Steve and I are both still battling sinus problems, with runny noses, bleary eyes, and congestion, and nothing seems to help it.  I've had it for several weeks, so I know it's not a traditional cold or the flu.
Mary told me today that she's going out to Seattle to help take care of Jack, our oldest living brother, until he dies.  He's been given only a few months, and is suffering quite a bit.  His care has got beyond Marti, his wife, so Mary felt like she should go and help there.  I mailed her some medication for her high blood pressure, because she doesn't have insurance, and can't get it.  I also sent along all the cash I had in the house, to help with her expenses.
Jack was almost grown when I was born, and I didn't spend much time with him while we were growing up, and he located in the Seattle area when he was discharged from the Navy, so we were never really close.  But he IS my brother, and he is an awfully nice fellow, so I hate to see him suffer so, and it hurts to know that he will soon be gone.
My mother was so proud of him, and I think he was her favorite of all her children.
Out little house cat, Sweety, is so much company, and loves me way more than Steve, which he knows is almost inevitable.  She spends so much more time with me.
I'm tired, and I want to lay down again.