Monday, December 24, 2012

I've been asleep for the last two days.  The 'sleeping migraines' are coming more often and lasting longer.
I must be getting in shape for 'the Big Sleep'.
Steve is angry with me for not being able to keep up with him, but if I get up I throw up.  He doesn't like that, either,
Stumpy stays in bed with me , and her comfort is good for me.
I've done very little in preparation for Christmas, except to put up a tree and do the yard nativity set at Creekside.  I think Steve hates Christmas.  He grumbles about having to do anything for decorations, he doesn't like the music, and he doesn't like to shop for presents.  He never seems happy with the things I get him, and he never gets anyone else anything.  He's just an old Scrooge.
This will probably be my last Christmas, and it's depressing for me.  Steve will probably just throw away all my decorations after I'm gone.  My blow mold set alone is worth thousands of dollars, but he won't want to fool with it.
A lot of tradition will be gone.
But I'm here now.
For a while.

Monday, December 17, 2012

I've had another of those 'sleeping migraines' for the last two days, and been in bed almost all the time.
The insurance company that provides us with our medications says I don't need Nuvigil, and if I don't take it, I'm so sleepy that I can't function.  I talked with one of their nurses, a very pleasant lady named Yolanda, and she was convinced that I need it, and she's going to see if she can get it for me.
We talked for almost two hours.  She's a really sweet lady, and lives in a Craftsman House.  She subscribes to The Old House Journal, and uses the information she gains there for her projects on her house.  She, like me, cruises salvage yards for vintage pieces.  She has a contractor who is dependable, and I envy her that.
There are good people everywhere, if we look for the good in others.
Judy, my favorite niece, graduated with her Master's of Science in Nursing yesterday.  I'm so proud of her.  I so wanted to go to the ceromony, but I was sleeping all day.  She sent me a picture of her in her cap and gown.  I told Steve that I want it printed on good paper, so I can frame it.  She's one of the best nurses I've ever known, and, aparently, others find her skills worthy, as her school has already given her a teaching position.  She will be training nurses from RN (graduate) and BSN (Bachelor's of Science in Nursing) to the Master's Degree status.  She's been a Med Flight nurse for a few years now, and they have to be really sharp.
One of my nurses at Thompson's confided to me recently that she's 'burned out' with her position, and wants to move into another branch of nursing.  That's at Thompson's in Morristown, and one of the classes Judy will be teaching is at Walter's State Community College in Morristown.  I'm going to try to get Della to check out classes with Judy.  They've met, as Della was the nurse who first interviewed me for chemotherapy, and Judy was with Steve and me.  Judy remembers her, and Della will surely remember Judy.  Perhaps I can get them together.  Della is a wonderful nurse, and Thompson's often sends her to some satelite position, as she can 'bounce' to other locations with ease.
Janie had to carry on without me in getting the fellows to work on Saturday.
Her grand daughter's man is working some for us, and I've got to really liking him.  He's dedicated, and Janie put the fear of God in him.  She told him that if he disappointed me, she'd fire him herself.
Dena LaTulip's son, Colton, is also working for us, but he's not as inspired, though he works pretty hard when Steve is there to push them.
The plastic-covered cold frame barn is now down.  It had some damage from high winds, and it looked so bedraggled and gave so little shelter that we decided to take it down, which greatly reduced our dry storage.
Steve gave me the go-ahead to start a real garage there at Creekside, and I hope to get something under way before the spring rush.
Janie and I saw Cherokee last week, and she would hardly speak to us, except to whine about how sick her mother is.  She's been really sick for a long time, and they've called in hospice now.
Shawn is out of jail now, and he's staying with Tina, Janie's daughter.  They rent a trailer from Adrian Kamer, an old friend of mine, and he is really pleased with all the work Tina has done to improve things there.  She's a good housekeeper, and Shawn is really handy with the building trades, so there has been a good improvement to Adrian's place.  Shawn is a nice fellow, and I'm glad that he and Tina have each other.
My front bridge (teeth) came loose on one side last week, but Dr. Fouch and his staff were out of the office, and I just had to be VERY careful.  I hope they can work me in to see if repairs can be made sometime today.  I have had, in the past, the terrible experience of having all four of the front teeth to come out....in a restaurant.  At that time, one of the 'anchor' teeth had broken off at the gum line, and we had to go with a 6-tooth replacement.  If it came out, I'd look like I didn't have a tooth in my mouth.  HORRORS!
Janie and I took Barbara and the Queen Mother their Christmas gifts on Friday, and I took a blow mold nativity set to give Barbara.  We set it up in her front yard, but she didn't have a long extension cord, so it hasn't been lit.  We will take a cord and light it for her today. 
That is one of the secret projects I had been working on for the last week.  I bought it at the Rutledge Goodwill, and it was in pretty bad shape, so I repaired it and gave it a pretty good coat of paint, using mostly nail polish, so it would be nice and shiney, and the paint would last longer in the weather.  It's not a huge set, but Barbara's other one had melted in her house fire a couple of years ago, and she missed it. She lives right on 11W, so all the world that passes by will see her witness.
I looked around while we were there, and I saw quite a few little projects that could make her home more energy-efficient and better for her and Elizabeth.  Janie and I will have to go down there some day and put in a 'work day' for her.
I have been keeping a close watch on the Rutledge Topix forum.  A man has announced that he will be running for sherrif, and I like what he says.  There's a lot of talk about him, and a lot of it is not based on fact.  He has sent me and a friend of mine a huge file of his work and many awards from his long carrer in law enforcement, and I'm very favorably impressed with him.  I jump to his defense every time someone says something negative about his work.  I have a friend, Oak Tree, who has also researched his background and had extensive phone contact with him, and we both have thrown our support to him.  The election is not for two years, but it will take a lot of effort to defeat the 'good 'ol boy' system around here, which needs to go so badly.  The present sherrif has quite a few lawsuits against his department, and several more looming.  Grainger County just can't afford him anymore.
I'd say that the Renfro family will sue the pants off him for the way he treated Ruth and Sue.
He's been an expensive learning experience.
A good friend and neighbor, Muriel (Merle) Daniel, is very low.  She's been sick for years, and has had the prayers and love of our community poured out to her.  I talked with Creed, her husband, last week, and he cried when talking with me about her.  He's a very successful lawyer here in Rutledge, and his son, Dirk, is coming right along in his father's foot steps.  They're neighbors on both ends of town, the seniors living across the highway from Clairemont, and Dirk and Lori living across from Creekside.  I've known them most of my adult life.
Shannon said that she saw my post about Lucy Ferguson Smith last week.  She attested to the fact that Ferguson was a great instructor and a fine lady in all her conduct.  She lived a good, long life, and was helpful in starting the carreers of many young people.  I was gifted to know her.
I think Dorothy Myers Reynolds is not doing so well, either.  Someone told me they saw her, and that she looked pretty bad.  I can't imagine her not looking well and pretty.  I've always thought her to be a beautiful lady with a great deal of poise and grace.  She must be pretty low if she's letting her appearance slide.  Her yard is kept nicely, so I guess she's pushing Ted and keeping him busy.
Our neighbor lady at Creekside, Sandra Jones, often walks over to say hello and to remind me that they are keeping me in their prayers at New Blackwell.  She's a very quite lady, and rarely has company, but she's warmed up to me somewhat.  She's really nice, and keeps her yard and house as neat as a pen.  She's got everything decorated for Christmas, and it looks so nice.  She works hard to keep things the was they should be kept.
I often wonder how Betty Pike does with her yard and house.  She's getting a few years on her now, and Pa Pike is not around anymore to keep things up for her.  She's a work horse, and will give all her efforts as long as she's around.  She has such a nice house and yard, and keeps it so clean.
Stumpy has forgotten her litter training, and has taken to leaving little surprises all over the house.  I don't know what the problem is, but she's going to have to quit that.  We had another cat some years ago that we could not litter train.  We finally had to make him an outside cat.  I'd really like to keep Stumpy in the house, as she is so affectionate with me, and is such good company.  She's really small, and I'm afraid that the other cats might pick on her if she was outside.
Steve is up now, so my computer time is over for this morning.















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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Yesterday was pretty bad for me.
I had another of those 'sleeping migraines', when I couldn't do anything but sleep.
I was supposed to go for chemotherapy, but every time I sat up or stood up, I threw up.
I had wanted to get chemo through with before Christmas, but it's not going to happen now.
Maybe New Years.
Times are getting pretty bad all over for almost everyone I know.  People are coming to me for jobs and financial help all the time.  I wish I had a formula that would solve all the problems people have, but I don't.
This country, as we once knew it, is over.
I got up early this morning.
I'm working on some projects that I'd like to get finished soon.  I always have projects going of some type, but the sickness and the exaustion of the chemo limits me so much.  I can't even concentrate on what I'm doing most of the time.
I was talking to Glenda Lakins Monday about the cancer woes.  Her husband, 'Puddles', died of colo-rectal cancer five years ago.  She teared up while talking to me.  He had so many of the same problems with his chemo that I'm having.  He was on the Grainger County Commission, and I think might have been a member of several other county bodies.  He was a small man, but big in his ways.
She now works at the Down Home, but had worked at Breedings Restaurant in Blaine for many years.  Breedings is now gone, and there is a Weigel's going to be built there.  They are bringing beer to the City of Blaine.
I saw in the KInoxville Obits that Lucy Ferguson Smith had died.  She was one of my instructors at Joseph's School of Cosmetology on Gay Street in Knoxville many years ago.  All the students loved her.  She had won many awards and accolades in her long hair design history.  After I left Joseph's, I often saw her and her husband at Heath's Cafe on Schofield Avenue, and we would sit together and talk some about all our shared interests and history.
Dorothy Myers Reynolds, who did my hair for many years, also went to Joseph's.  He trained many very good cosmetologists.  He had been the president of The American Hairdresser's and Cosmetologist's Association for many years.  He developed the 'cold wave' concept in home permanents.  Before that time, permanents were given in salons, and the patron had to sit under a large bonnet contraption that had long leads to heated curlers to make the hair wavy.  As could be predicted, lots of accidental disasters occured, and Joseph's concept of the cold wave was welcomed.
I still have my hairdresser's kit from those long-ago days.  I don't get rid of much.  Consequently, I have too much junk.
Joy Cox commented once to me that I still had everything I had ever owned.  She was being nice.
Neuropathy is being a real problem for me.  My hands feel like I've put a coat of paint on them.  They feel like they've gone to sleep on the skin, but the muscles feel like I've put them into a fire ant's nest.
I can't control them very well anymore, and when I play the piano or type, I feel so clumsy.
I was playing the other day, and I came across Rock of Ages.  Marge, Steve's mother, had asked me to play that for her once, sometime long ago.  She cried when I played it.  That's an old memory now.
There was a high wind night before last, and it blew over all my blow mold nativity up at Creekside.  I told Steve that the yard was full of wize men who had got falling-down drunk.  That wouldn't be wize, though.  Even my little make-shift barn blew over.  We were there working late, and we heard all the thumping as they were tossed about all over the yard.
Sister Valentine called me one morning, and we talked for over an hour and a half.  We needed to catch up on everything and everyone. She loves her new sunroom she had built on the back of her house.  Steve told me to get the phone number of her contractor and get him to build me a new back porch at Creekside.  The one there is very small compared to the one at Clairemont, and I'd love to have more storage space.  We may be able to salvage some of the old lumber from the one that's there, but I have lots of lumber to use if we can't. 
It's cold this morning.  We had a heavy frost when I got up.  It almost looked like snow.
There was a fire on Joppa Mountain last week, and it burned for several days.  I haven't heard how much forest was lost, but I'd say there was a pretty good amount.  It's hard to get to some of those areas, as it's really steep, with gullies and wet-weather springs.  The roads up there are all winding and crooked, so I don't know how the traffic got by with the smoke and fire trucks in the road.
Steve is cooking bacon for breakfast, and it smells so good.
He's a real help to me.
Barbara is still fat.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I've been very sick and sleeping for two days.
I don't know why I have these sleeping days, as I've always had trouble sleeping.
I can't stay awake for long when these spells come on me.
I don't know if it's related to the chemo or the cancer, but I hate feeling so useless.
My hands feel like they're asleep all the time, and they hurt like I've put them into a fire ant's nest.
I'm beginning to feel like death would be some kind of release.
I'm trying to not be so much trouble to Steve, but I know he must be awfully concerned, as he's never seen me like this.
My hair is still coming out, and I look terrible.  I feel like I should become some kind of recluse.
I can't eat most of the time, and I'm losing weight again.
I couldn't make it to the chemo clinic this week, and I'm so glad to have to pass on it for another week.  I don't feel any better about it, though.
I'm trying to decorate for Christmas, and make things look better.  Steve put some lights on the outside of Clairemont and down the driveway, but they don't match, and look kinda sad.
Janie and the man who is working for us sometime are going to get the lights on the overhang of Creekside tomorrow I think.  It's far more public, and will look nice for Christmas.
I've already put some decorations in the windows of Creekside, and it looks festive already.
I so wish we could get that project finished. I've tired of it.
Nothing makes me feel good anymore.  I've been too sick for too long.
I'm going back to bed.