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.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Feb. 20, 2015 Early AM
Another night without sleep. Dr. Duck has tried to put me on Ambien 5mg, and I've been on 10 for 25 years. The result is that I'm not sleeping at night, but feel groggy and sleepy all the time, and fall asleep wherever I am for a short cat nap, which does me little good. Also, I've slept alone for the majority of my adult life, so when Steve is home (which he is now), I don't sleep as well. I feel so edgy and irritable that I could slap the white off anyone's face who wishes me a good morning.
I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishslosher. I no longer call that mechanical monster a dish washer, because it just sloshes dirty water all over the dishes, with the result of getting glasses out of it that are actually dirtier than when they were put in. Steve has told me for three years that I just don't know how to load it, but he gets the same result. My Maytag dishwasher worked just fine when I loaded it. Steve would stubborn himself to death over anything.
It's bitter cold here, below zero during the night. The furnace has run more in the last week that I've ever heard it run, and we're burning the gas logs, which are unvented, and give off a lot of heat. I've wanted a wood stove at
Clairemont for several years, but Steve says we can't have one. He reminds me more of Jesse Chambers every day.
Almost all the businesses in Rutledge and Grainger County are closed. Bull's Restaurant was opened for a short while yesterday, but closed and went home. The Down Home has been closed for three days. East Tennessee Market has been opened for only minimal hours, and of course, Hardee's, Family Dollar, and The Dollar General opened for only a while each day. Everything else was closed. Even the courts and county offices were closed, and I don't know when they will re-open, as we have a winter storm warning as I write this.
Our fish ponds and the swimming pool are frozen solid, though the fish ponds are in-ground. It doesn't seem to bother the fish. They do fine as soon as the water begins to thaw out a little.
I had so much productive work planned for today, but I'm just going to go back to bed. It sounds like an idea which will promote domestic bliss.
I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishslosher. I no longer call that mechanical monster a dish washer, because it just sloshes dirty water all over the dishes, with the result of getting glasses out of it that are actually dirtier than when they were put in. Steve has told me for three years that I just don't know how to load it, but he gets the same result. My Maytag dishwasher worked just fine when I loaded it. Steve would stubborn himself to death over anything.
It's bitter cold here, below zero during the night. The furnace has run more in the last week that I've ever heard it run, and we're burning the gas logs, which are unvented, and give off a lot of heat. I've wanted a wood stove at
Clairemont for several years, but Steve says we can't have one. He reminds me more of Jesse Chambers every day.
Almost all the businesses in Rutledge and Grainger County are closed. Bull's Restaurant was opened for a short while yesterday, but closed and went home. The Down Home has been closed for three days. East Tennessee Market has been opened for only minimal hours, and of course, Hardee's, Family Dollar, and The Dollar General opened for only a while each day. Everything else was closed. Even the courts and county offices were closed, and I don't know when they will re-open, as we have a winter storm warning as I write this.
Our fish ponds and the swimming pool are frozen solid, though the fish ponds are in-ground. It doesn't seem to bother the fish. They do fine as soon as the water begins to thaw out a little.
I had so much productive work planned for today, but I'm just going to go back to bed. It sounds like an idea which will promote domestic bliss.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015
Well, soon after the last, another post.
There is just so much to cover.
I don't think I talked yesterday about Marge's illness. She has congestive heart failure, and it has taken it's toll on her. She has always been heavy (since I've known her), and has always demanded a lot from her body. She does a LOT of lawn work (even still, on a walker), does all her decorating (inside and out), sews, creates, does upholstery, shops for her and Bill, and does lots of other things that I can't even think of. But she's now 79, and all this activity through the years has begun to tell on her body. She's still pretty capable, but is failing somewhat.
We got the news of heart failure in November, and made a dash to Myrtle Beach. She was in Grand Strand Intensive Care Unit for a couple of weeks, and it didn't look like she would make it. But her determination gave her the will to overcome once more. She was there, then to a private room, then to a nursing and rehab unit. She had gotten on the phone and arranged to be in a facility that's almost in their front door, which made it so nice, as Bill doesn't drive at night, and as little as he can in daytime. But he wanted to be with her all the way. The staff there were really nice, but not as attentive as I would have liked, and some of them were not very knowledgeable of their field.
I tried to talk to the director one day, and she just rolled her eyes back in her head, and told me to talk with a nurse. They didn't seem much more knowledgeable. We went down for Thanksgiving, and Marge got to come home for the day. She was delighted.
Margaret Peck was there, and we all cooked a huge meal and had a good day together.
Steve and I brought Margaret back to E. Tn with us, as she had some work to be done on her car, and wanted to be at home for a while.
Robert and his family came to Myrtle Beach for Christmas, so we stayed home, and went down again for Marge's birthday, which was Jan. 3rd. We kept our visit a secret until we got there, and, on Marge's birthday, we went down the hall, and Steve knocked on their bedroom door, and called out, "Get out of that bed and start enjoying your birthday".
Marge cried with joy to see us, and it made the trip more worth it.
She's still not well, but the old girl has a lot of life left in her.
We came back the next day, and have not been back since.
Their house needs some little odd jobs done, and Steve and I are hoping that we can take some tools and go back down in March.
I don't know how my own health will be in March, as I'm to have a colonoscopy and some other light procedures done on the 2nd.
Dr. Corcoron, my oncologist, is really concerned about my numbers. She says there's so bad they make HER chest hurt.
One of my chemo nurses, Sheila Dalton, has divorced, but I predict that another man will grab her up pretty soon. She's got a very outgoing spirit, she's smart, and she has a good job. She kept there house after the divorce, which, I think, is on some property her parents either sold of left her when they died. Her special needs brother lives in the old family home, which is just across the road. Sheila takes care of him, does her job, takes care of her own place, and still has the energy to be fun.
Speaking of nurses, my niece, Judy Lawson, now has her Master's in Nursing, and is going for her Practioner's Licence. I'm so proud of her. She's now over the helicopter flight service for Anderson County, Tn., and still has the time to go to school, teach school, and take care of her farm in Clinton.
Opal Portwood, her grandmother on her father's side of the family, lived on that farm for many years, but had to be moved into a nursing home recently. She looks thin in the pictures I've been shown, and she's 94, so I don't think she will last much longer. She's been a life-long friend to me, and she used to love to sing as I played the piano for her. It's hard to see my old friends going.
We had lost another old friend recently. Dr. Bob Whittle, our neighbor on Thorngrove Pike in Knox County, died from kidney cancer. He was a really good man, having given many hours to charity medical works all his life, and having a full medical practice for most of that time. They had a lovely Colonial mansion on a high hill, and called it Highmount. He and Jo had divorced several years ago.
I found out recently that one of my nieces is divorcing. Becky, Cecil's third daughter, and her husband, Jeff Elliott, just couldn't seem to work things out, according to Cecil.
Judy hadn't told me of this, and I chastised her for keeping things from me.
She and Steve have mounted a campaign to get me to sell my little trailer, but I've resisted so far. I wouldn't get much for it, and it's a source of pride to me that I can own it. I may have it rented the last of this month, to a former neighbor. She seems like a nice lady over the phone, and she has a nice brother who built my screened porch at Creekside. He's a big ol' gruff fellow, but has a heart of gold. She wants to sign a two-year lease, and I'm hoping that the small rental income will stay Steve and Judy from making me sell. I'm just charging her $100.00 a month, but that will be something coming in rather than going out.
Steve has gone to
Creekside to feed the fire, and that's why I have some time for writing.
I don't have many farm animals anymore, so my mornings re not se hectic as they once were. I only have two peafowl hens, some geese, and 6 Barbados sheep. Well, there's eight of them now, as my ewe had twin lambs a couple of weeks ago. I hope they make it in this cold weather, as it was zero this morning when Steve checked the weather. They should be alright, as they cling closely to their mother. I don't know yet if they're male or female, as they're shy of people, and I haven't been outside enough to see them pee.
We're still grazing Mike Well's horses for him. They love Steve, as he takes them treats, and he feeds them. I'm not a horse person.
We need to get some cattle again, or we'll lose all our farm deductions.
Perhaps in the spring.
There is just so much to cover.
I don't think I talked yesterday about Marge's illness. She has congestive heart failure, and it has taken it's toll on her. She has always been heavy (since I've known her), and has always demanded a lot from her body. She does a LOT of lawn work (even still, on a walker), does all her decorating (inside and out), sews, creates, does upholstery, shops for her and Bill, and does lots of other things that I can't even think of. But she's now 79, and all this activity through the years has begun to tell on her body. She's still pretty capable, but is failing somewhat.
We got the news of heart failure in November, and made a dash to Myrtle Beach. She was in Grand Strand Intensive Care Unit for a couple of weeks, and it didn't look like she would make it. But her determination gave her the will to overcome once more. She was there, then to a private room, then to a nursing and rehab unit. She had gotten on the phone and arranged to be in a facility that's almost in their front door, which made it so nice, as Bill doesn't drive at night, and as little as he can in daytime. But he wanted to be with her all the way. The staff there were really nice, but not as attentive as I would have liked, and some of them were not very knowledgeable of their field.
I tried to talk to the director one day, and she just rolled her eyes back in her head, and told me to talk with a nurse. They didn't seem much more knowledgeable. We went down for Thanksgiving, and Marge got to come home for the day. She was delighted.
Margaret Peck was there, and we all cooked a huge meal and had a good day together.
Steve and I brought Margaret back to E. Tn with us, as she had some work to be done on her car, and wanted to be at home for a while.
Robert and his family came to Myrtle Beach for Christmas, so we stayed home, and went down again for Marge's birthday, which was Jan. 3rd. We kept our visit a secret until we got there, and, on Marge's birthday, we went down the hall, and Steve knocked on their bedroom door, and called out, "Get out of that bed and start enjoying your birthday".
Marge cried with joy to see us, and it made the trip more worth it.
She's still not well, but the old girl has a lot of life left in her.
We came back the next day, and have not been back since.
Their house needs some little odd jobs done, and Steve and I are hoping that we can take some tools and go back down in March.
I don't know how my own health will be in March, as I'm to have a colonoscopy and some other light procedures done on the 2nd.
Dr. Corcoron, my oncologist, is really concerned about my numbers. She says there's so bad they make HER chest hurt.
One of my chemo nurses, Sheila Dalton, has divorced, but I predict that another man will grab her up pretty soon. She's got a very outgoing spirit, she's smart, and she has a good job. She kept there house after the divorce, which, I think, is on some property her parents either sold of left her when they died. Her special needs brother lives in the old family home, which is just across the road. Sheila takes care of him, does her job, takes care of her own place, and still has the energy to be fun.
Speaking of nurses, my niece, Judy Lawson, now has her Master's in Nursing, and is going for her Practioner's Licence. I'm so proud of her. She's now over the helicopter flight service for Anderson County, Tn., and still has the time to go to school, teach school, and take care of her farm in Clinton.
Opal Portwood, her grandmother on her father's side of the family, lived on that farm for many years, but had to be moved into a nursing home recently. She looks thin in the pictures I've been shown, and she's 94, so I don't think she will last much longer. She's been a life-long friend to me, and she used to love to sing as I played the piano for her. It's hard to see my old friends going.
We had lost another old friend recently. Dr. Bob Whittle, our neighbor on Thorngrove Pike in Knox County, died from kidney cancer. He was a really good man, having given many hours to charity medical works all his life, and having a full medical practice for most of that time. They had a lovely Colonial mansion on a high hill, and called it Highmount. He and Jo had divorced several years ago.
I found out recently that one of my nieces is divorcing. Becky, Cecil's third daughter, and her husband, Jeff Elliott, just couldn't seem to work things out, according to Cecil.
Judy hadn't told me of this, and I chastised her for keeping things from me.
She and Steve have mounted a campaign to get me to sell my little trailer, but I've resisted so far. I wouldn't get much for it, and it's a source of pride to me that I can own it. I may have it rented the last of this month, to a former neighbor. She seems like a nice lady over the phone, and she has a nice brother who built my screened porch at Creekside. He's a big ol' gruff fellow, but has a heart of gold. She wants to sign a two-year lease, and I'm hoping that the small rental income will stay Steve and Judy from making me sell. I'm just charging her $100.00 a month, but that will be something coming in rather than going out.
Steve has gone to
Creekside to feed the fire, and that's why I have some time for writing.
I don't have many farm animals anymore, so my mornings re not se hectic as they once were. I only have two peafowl hens, some geese, and 6 Barbados sheep. Well, there's eight of them now, as my ewe had twin lambs a couple of weeks ago. I hope they make it in this cold weather, as it was zero this morning when Steve checked the weather. They should be alright, as they cling closely to their mother. I don't know yet if they're male or female, as they're shy of people, and I haven't been outside enough to see them pee.
We're still grazing Mike Well's horses for him. They love Steve, as he takes them treats, and he feeds them. I'm not a horse person.
We need to get some cattle again, or we'll lose all our farm deductions.
Perhaps in the spring.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Steve and I both had bad nights, so I just got up and decided to try to catch up on some of this info. Bill, Steve's dad, Jane Palmer, and some lady in our community who I don't even know have asked me to continue, so I will try.
So much has happened.
I don't know if I mentioned that Brother Charles Valentine died. Sister Valentine is alone now, but doing really well. She has a little dog now, and it is nervous, and barks all the time. It won't let anyone near her.
She also got a loan against her house, and built this lovely sun room on the back of her house, behind her kitchen and family room. I don't know why she thought she would need or use the room, but she loves it, and uses it all the time. Some brothers from her church built it for her. I took her to a friend of mine in the building supply trade, and saved her a lot on her windows. I haven't even been over to see her room, but it looked nice when it was being built.
Lynn McNanus, Steve's sister, died back last summer. She had suffered and fought cancer for a year and a half, and was worn out. She no longer looked like the beautiful, vivacious, lovely lady she had been. She had a 'nuclear tan' from all the radiation she had been through, and had lost her hair. It had begun to come back, but was only about an inch long, and was dark. She had worn her hair a bit long, and kept it a lovely blonde. She was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever known, and I lost a precious friend, as well as the perfect sister-in-law. We had never spoken a cross word in 31 years of knowing each other. I miss her so much.
Her husband, Jim, was a real trooper during all her illness, and spoke at her funeral service. It must have been a true strain on him, as he fell coming down off the platform in the church. It was so hot in the church. They had set the thermostat for week-day temps, and it registered 82 during the service. I was wearing a long black dress, black hose, and a lovely black hat. I sweltered throughout the service.
Allen Altman, Lynn's first husband, was there with his new bride. She's pretty, and seems nice, but would be a huge step down from Lynn.
Alex, Lynn's daughter, spoke at the funeral, also. She's become such a sweet young lady, and looks amazingly like Lynn. She has such social grace and bearing.
Robert, Steve's brother, was there, from his station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he works for the U.S. Government. His wife and children couldn't come, as the children are in school. He's got really fat.
Steve had bought a lovely suit for the funeral, which I altered for him. He looked so handsome. He was a wreck during the proceedings, and I tried to be strong for him. I wanted to throw something (or somebody) through a wall, but I was needed, and nurses live to be needed.
Aunt Kitty, our family nun, was there from Rochester, N.Y. She is a tower of strength, but was a bit out of place among all of Jim and Lynn's Harley-riding friends in their leather outfits. I sat with her in the dining room of the home, and we talked quietly together. Many of Lynn's friends had never met Aunt Kitty, and their behavior was a bit loud for her quiet, introspective ways. She entered the convent at 18, and is now 84. She said that this would be her last trip away from the convent, as the confusion and noise of the world so got on her nerves. I told her I hoped that she would come and visit Steve and me before she went to be with the Lord. She said she would like that.
Year before last, I had three heart attacks. One on Steve's birthday, March 22, another in July, and another in October. My chest is wired like a Sony, with so much metal I'd set off alarms in an airport. I suspect that a few of the stints have either clogged or collapsed, as I'm always tired, which is unlike me. I often sleep all day, and sometimes two or three days at a time. It's a heavy, hard sleep, and I feel drugged and hung-over when I wake up afterwards.
Last year, I had to have spinal surgery. One of the disks in my neck had deteriorated and had to be taken out and replace with a cadaver bone. I told my doctor that I knew I was in bad shape when dead people's bones were better than mine. They wanted to do three more, but I got in a little 'trouble' in the OR, and they had to close and get me out quickly. My consistently high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar told on me. I was wrapped up like a mummy from my chest to my chin when I awoke, but the nurses and my handsome young doctor took really good care of me. I was at Park West, and it is a really nice hospital, though far from home.
My old friend, Janie Pressley, kicked me to the curb last year. I had let her daughter, Tina, move into our mobile home rent free, and Janie had promised to pay the lights (which I had left in my name, to save Tina a $350.00 deposit), the water, and the lot rent. After Tina moved in, she applied to HUDD for rental assistance. They would pay all but $66.00 a month of her rent. I told them that the water and utilities were in my name, and could stay there, as Janie was to pay them.
To qualify the mobile home for the program, I had to have two locking doors put in the bedrooms, a vent fan put in the bath, and smoke alarms put in two places. I had to hire a contractor to do all this, which cost me $700.00.
After the first month's rent was paid to me, Tina called me and demanded a $100.00 kick-back of the rent. She never offered to pay her $66.00.
Then, one day we went to the water company to see if Janie had paid the bill, and we found out that Tina had marched in and verbally assaulted the lady in charge, and told them that I was supposed to pay the bill, and that if they cut off her water, she would sue them.
We then checked around, and learned that she had done the same thing with the electric company. She had also called Holston Gas Company, and told them that I had authorized her to buy all the propane gas she wanted, and that I would pay for it. NOT!
Then, when I checked with the local attorney who owns the mobile home park, his secretary told me that she had been verbally abusing her over the phone for over a week because the lawn tender had not mowed the grass often enough. It had been raining for two weeks. We had the wettest fall I remember in East Tennessee. I know this man, and I know that he is not very motivated, but it had been really wet. There was no reason to verbally assault a secretary in a lawyer's office. I have known this fine Christian lady for many years, and I was so embarrassed when she told me of this.
She told me that if I would agree, she would stay after hours, type up an eviction notice, and get Dirk (the lawyer) to sign it in the morning. She was fed up with Little Miss Tina.
I thought about it over night, and the next morning, I went back to Dirk's office and told her to go ahead.
When she got the notice to move, she called Janie, and, predictably, Janie went into attack mode. She called me, and raged for about half an hour, calling me a stingy, cruel, mean old woman, who would die alone and without a friend in the world. She told me that Tina was not used to doing business like other people were, and that I had taken advantage of her. She also said that she could never be my friend again, because now she knew what kind of person I was. She admitted that I had been really good to her, and given her a lot of things, paid her well (without reporting her income), and been really nice to her, but that now she had discovered just how mean a person I am.
Tina was supposed to be out by November the 9th, but, instead, moved her pregnant daughter and her boy-friend into the trailer with her, and parked up there until the 1st of December. I allowed this, because I'm such a mean, greedy, old white woman.
They left the place a wreck, and moved away with the heat blaring away and windows open. I guess they showed that mean, old, greedy white woman.
Well, one monkey don't stop no show!
Life goes on.
It came a winter storm yesterday, and we have a winter wonderland this morning. It snowed about one inch, then came a freezing rain over it, making things really slick. Steve and I went out yesterday afternoon, but were glad to get back home. We had to go up to Creekside to feed the fire, as it is going to get REALLY cold, and we don't want pipes to freeze.
All the public places were closed early yesterday. The schools were out. Dirk Daniel was having to baby-sit his two girls, and, when I called his office on some business, Kendle answered the phone. She's four, and thinks her Auntie Claire is the most fun person in the whole world. We had a nice chat until Dirk took the phone. I just love doing business in a small Southern town.
When we stopped by the Family Dollar Store to get some melting compound for the road to Clairemont, the sheriff, James Harville, came in, and he and I had a chance for a short visit. He's a really nice man, and is dedicated to his job. He had a busy time of it, yesterday. I had to cut our conversation short, and remind him that he had many other people who would need him in this weather. He asked if he could call on my at Creekside at another time. I assured him of my help in any situation.
At Creekside, we have added a lovely screen porch on the west end of the house, making a LOT more fair-weather living space. It measures 10X38, and Steve put lovely lights out there, making it really useable late at night. I plan to string LED lights all over the ceiling to give a party flavor to the lights. I hope to have many friends there in fair weather, and to spend much good time there. I painted the floor a very bright blue, and I'm furnishing the space with rattan and white wicker. Everyone says it is such a lovely place, and it will keep the house much cooler in the summer. Right now, it's a nice place to store firewood. We have a lot stacked under it, and two large racks of it inside it, to keep it dry and easily accessible to the door and the wood stove.
That wood stove has paid for itself many times over. I bought it at a yard sale, and got it for a really good price. It can keep the house in the 80's if we want, and makes it much nicer to work there.
My cousin, Bill Kroepil, came from Michigan last summer and installed the tile on the kitchen floor. I designed a lovely pattern, with earth tones and several styles of tile. He did a masterful job.
Steve and I decided that, since we didn't need anything else, we would buy each other kitchen cabinets for Christmas, our anniversary, and New Year's. We spent a small fortune, and went to a lot of work, but the kitchen is looking great. As usual, Steve got to within just a few pieces of trim around the counter tops, and quit. He decided to insulate the basement, so without the trim in place, I can't put the tile on the counter tops.
If he goes back out into the field to work, I'm just as likely to go ahead and put tile on anyway. I'd like to see some things finished before I die.
I've chosen a green tile between celery and mint, with white to checker-board, and one 4X4 high border to be a back-splash. It looks really nice when it's laid out, but I think it would look nicer if it were installed. The cabinets are a maple-glazed color, and we got the extra-height wall cabinets, because there's a ten-foot ceiling. They soar. I'm going to put another snow-house village on top of them, just like I now have at Clairemont. I'm thinking of using the slightly over-sized ones that I have, as there's a little more room there. They look so friendly and warm in a otherwise dark kitchen, and I enjoy having my tea with my 'friends' who live there.
A dear friend of the family stopped by on her way to Steve's parent's house a few weeks ago, and raved over the cabinets. She loved the kitchen, but said that we needed to finish things, as we would be old and in wheel chairs, rolling around with our hammers, trying to get the house finished.
Steve's parents are having some health issues, and that's why Margaret is there with them. Lynn did so much for them while she could, but she is now gone, and there is a need for help. Margaret Peck is the answer. She is a tiny, sweet, funny little English woman, and is a bundle of energy. She is single, and willing to leave her home in Etawah, Tn., to be there to be of any help she can be. She and Marge are old, established friends, and they love to chatter and gossip, and have many mutual interests. They raised their children together, and have so much history.
Our family is so lucky to have someone like Margaret to help in a time of need.
There is some good news, however, from Myrtle Beach. Bill graduated from his program of chemotherapy and radiation. He will now await tests to see if more treatment (and what kind), will be needed. He lost a lot of weight during his ordeal, but he really needed to. Marge had gotten a little weary of Bill having no energy or will to do much to help her, and the hope is now that he will feel enough better to do more. He had just about given up driving, and Marge doesn't drive, so Margaret Peck being there, to drive and help with transport to doctor visits, is a true God-send.
We now have only two outdoor cats, Dolly and Darky. Dolly is getting quite old, and I don't know how much longer she will be with us. We have a heated cat house for them, and they really enjoy it.
We have four in the house. There's Gizzy, Buddy, and the twins, Queenie and Coonie. Coonie is, by far, the most beautiful, with very long, incredibly soft hair. Queenie is soft, but his hair is not so long, and his color is not as pretty as Coonie's. Buddy is an orphan who wandered into the yard at Creekside one day last summer. He hid in stacks of building materials for two days before I could lure him to me with chicken I bought at the Down Home. Once I caught him, he was mine. He was so tine, but we brought him to Clairemont, and he's never been outside again. He's the most loving, sweet kitty, and a true momma's-boy. Gizzy is an adoptee from the former manager of the Goodwill in Jefferson City. She was retiring to travel with her husband, and she could no longer keep the cats she had, so we got Gizzy. He's a bit old and tired, but very loving. This is his retirement home.
Wings, a restaurant in the old Shine's building, burned to the ground last week. It was a rather large building, but poorly arranged for a restaurant. The owners plan to re-build.
A few days ago, the old car wash across 11W from Creekside, caught fire from a poorly insulated stove pipe. I and a friend, Cherokee, noticed foul smoke, and, a few minutes later, flames coming up out of the chimney. We called 911, but we didn't know the home phone of the man who owns the building. Someone must have called him, though, because he came right away. The fire was put out quickly, but he said that, if I had not been at Creekside to call 911, the building might have been a total loss. He has already began repairs. There are two brothers who run the business, and they give true value for the money. They work like Trogans in all kinds of weather, no matter how hot or cold. They are good neighbors, and I'm glad to have been of some small help to them.
Dwight Bull, the owner of Bull's Restaurant, died of a heart attack a couple of months ago. His family are now running the restaurant, but they are closed on Sunday and Monday. I don't know of their plans for any future, as rumor has it that the place is for sale.
A lot of businesses are having problems, it seems. I can't even get Creekside finished, so I don't know if it will ever be a business. I do need to get rid of a lot of things, though, and that's a good reason to push for a finish line.
I don't know if I've covered everything, and I'm sure I haven't, but I hope to make a practice of posting more often. I need to keep Jane Palmer and Bill Welch up on all the latest.
Oh, yeah, Hap Palmer, Jane's husband, is building a HUGE, really nice fish pond in their back yard. He asked me to design and construct him a filter for his pump, so he can have a nice, clean waterfall. They have built a lovely sun/family room on the back of their house, and the pond will be right outside it. It's going to be nice, and a lovely area for visiting and sharing Hap's hobby with his friends, children, and grandchildren. He's a really nice fellow, and I'm glad to see him have things he wants to enjoy in his older years. I'm flattered that he asked me for help, and I'm working on a design that will make him happy. After all, he's Hap.
More later.
So much has happened.
I don't know if I mentioned that Brother Charles Valentine died. Sister Valentine is alone now, but doing really well. She has a little dog now, and it is nervous, and barks all the time. It won't let anyone near her.
She also got a loan against her house, and built this lovely sun room on the back of her house, behind her kitchen and family room. I don't know why she thought she would need or use the room, but she loves it, and uses it all the time. Some brothers from her church built it for her. I took her to a friend of mine in the building supply trade, and saved her a lot on her windows. I haven't even been over to see her room, but it looked nice when it was being built.
Lynn McNanus, Steve's sister, died back last summer. She had suffered and fought cancer for a year and a half, and was worn out. She no longer looked like the beautiful, vivacious, lovely lady she had been. She had a 'nuclear tan' from all the radiation she had been through, and had lost her hair. It had begun to come back, but was only about an inch long, and was dark. She had worn her hair a bit long, and kept it a lovely blonde. She was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever known, and I lost a precious friend, as well as the perfect sister-in-law. We had never spoken a cross word in 31 years of knowing each other. I miss her so much.
Her husband, Jim, was a real trooper during all her illness, and spoke at her funeral service. It must have been a true strain on him, as he fell coming down off the platform in the church. It was so hot in the church. They had set the thermostat for week-day temps, and it registered 82 during the service. I was wearing a long black dress, black hose, and a lovely black hat. I sweltered throughout the service.
Allen Altman, Lynn's first husband, was there with his new bride. She's pretty, and seems nice, but would be a huge step down from Lynn.
Alex, Lynn's daughter, spoke at the funeral, also. She's become such a sweet young lady, and looks amazingly like Lynn. She has such social grace and bearing.
Robert, Steve's brother, was there, from his station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he works for the U.S. Government. His wife and children couldn't come, as the children are in school. He's got really fat.
Steve had bought a lovely suit for the funeral, which I altered for him. He looked so handsome. He was a wreck during the proceedings, and I tried to be strong for him. I wanted to throw something (or somebody) through a wall, but I was needed, and nurses live to be needed.
Aunt Kitty, our family nun, was there from Rochester, N.Y. She is a tower of strength, but was a bit out of place among all of Jim and Lynn's Harley-riding friends in their leather outfits. I sat with her in the dining room of the home, and we talked quietly together. Many of Lynn's friends had never met Aunt Kitty, and their behavior was a bit loud for her quiet, introspective ways. She entered the convent at 18, and is now 84. She said that this would be her last trip away from the convent, as the confusion and noise of the world so got on her nerves. I told her I hoped that she would come and visit Steve and me before she went to be with the Lord. She said she would like that.
Year before last, I had three heart attacks. One on Steve's birthday, March 22, another in July, and another in October. My chest is wired like a Sony, with so much metal I'd set off alarms in an airport. I suspect that a few of the stints have either clogged or collapsed, as I'm always tired, which is unlike me. I often sleep all day, and sometimes two or three days at a time. It's a heavy, hard sleep, and I feel drugged and hung-over when I wake up afterwards.
Last year, I had to have spinal surgery. One of the disks in my neck had deteriorated and had to be taken out and replace with a cadaver bone. I told my doctor that I knew I was in bad shape when dead people's bones were better than mine. They wanted to do three more, but I got in a little 'trouble' in the OR, and they had to close and get me out quickly. My consistently high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar told on me. I was wrapped up like a mummy from my chest to my chin when I awoke, but the nurses and my handsome young doctor took really good care of me. I was at Park West, and it is a really nice hospital, though far from home.
My old friend, Janie Pressley, kicked me to the curb last year. I had let her daughter, Tina, move into our mobile home rent free, and Janie had promised to pay the lights (which I had left in my name, to save Tina a $350.00 deposit), the water, and the lot rent. After Tina moved in, she applied to HUDD for rental assistance. They would pay all but $66.00 a month of her rent. I told them that the water and utilities were in my name, and could stay there, as Janie was to pay them.
To qualify the mobile home for the program, I had to have two locking doors put in the bedrooms, a vent fan put in the bath, and smoke alarms put in two places. I had to hire a contractor to do all this, which cost me $700.00.
After the first month's rent was paid to me, Tina called me and demanded a $100.00 kick-back of the rent. She never offered to pay her $66.00.
Then, one day we went to the water company to see if Janie had paid the bill, and we found out that Tina had marched in and verbally assaulted the lady in charge, and told them that I was supposed to pay the bill, and that if they cut off her water, she would sue them.
We then checked around, and learned that she had done the same thing with the electric company. She had also called Holston Gas Company, and told them that I had authorized her to buy all the propane gas she wanted, and that I would pay for it. NOT!
Then, when I checked with the local attorney who owns the mobile home park, his secretary told me that she had been verbally abusing her over the phone for over a week because the lawn tender had not mowed the grass often enough. It had been raining for two weeks. We had the wettest fall I remember in East Tennessee. I know this man, and I know that he is not very motivated, but it had been really wet. There was no reason to verbally assault a secretary in a lawyer's office. I have known this fine Christian lady for many years, and I was so embarrassed when she told me of this.
She told me that if I would agree, she would stay after hours, type up an eviction notice, and get Dirk (the lawyer) to sign it in the morning. She was fed up with Little Miss Tina.
I thought about it over night, and the next morning, I went back to Dirk's office and told her to go ahead.
When she got the notice to move, she called Janie, and, predictably, Janie went into attack mode. She called me, and raged for about half an hour, calling me a stingy, cruel, mean old woman, who would die alone and without a friend in the world. She told me that Tina was not used to doing business like other people were, and that I had taken advantage of her. She also said that she could never be my friend again, because now she knew what kind of person I was. She admitted that I had been really good to her, and given her a lot of things, paid her well (without reporting her income), and been really nice to her, but that now she had discovered just how mean a person I am.
Tina was supposed to be out by November the 9th, but, instead, moved her pregnant daughter and her boy-friend into the trailer with her, and parked up there until the 1st of December. I allowed this, because I'm such a mean, greedy, old white woman.
They left the place a wreck, and moved away with the heat blaring away and windows open. I guess they showed that mean, old, greedy white woman.
Well, one monkey don't stop no show!
Life goes on.
It came a winter storm yesterday, and we have a winter wonderland this morning. It snowed about one inch, then came a freezing rain over it, making things really slick. Steve and I went out yesterday afternoon, but were glad to get back home. We had to go up to Creekside to feed the fire, as it is going to get REALLY cold, and we don't want pipes to freeze.
All the public places were closed early yesterday. The schools were out. Dirk Daniel was having to baby-sit his two girls, and, when I called his office on some business, Kendle answered the phone. She's four, and thinks her Auntie Claire is the most fun person in the whole world. We had a nice chat until Dirk took the phone. I just love doing business in a small Southern town.
When we stopped by the Family Dollar Store to get some melting compound for the road to Clairemont, the sheriff, James Harville, came in, and he and I had a chance for a short visit. He's a really nice man, and is dedicated to his job. He had a busy time of it, yesterday. I had to cut our conversation short, and remind him that he had many other people who would need him in this weather. He asked if he could call on my at Creekside at another time. I assured him of my help in any situation.
At Creekside, we have added a lovely screen porch on the west end of the house, making a LOT more fair-weather living space. It measures 10X38, and Steve put lovely lights out there, making it really useable late at night. I plan to string LED lights all over the ceiling to give a party flavor to the lights. I hope to have many friends there in fair weather, and to spend much good time there. I painted the floor a very bright blue, and I'm furnishing the space with rattan and white wicker. Everyone says it is such a lovely place, and it will keep the house much cooler in the summer. Right now, it's a nice place to store firewood. We have a lot stacked under it, and two large racks of it inside it, to keep it dry and easily accessible to the door and the wood stove.
That wood stove has paid for itself many times over. I bought it at a yard sale, and got it for a really good price. It can keep the house in the 80's if we want, and makes it much nicer to work there.
My cousin, Bill Kroepil, came from Michigan last summer and installed the tile on the kitchen floor. I designed a lovely pattern, with earth tones and several styles of tile. He did a masterful job.
Steve and I decided that, since we didn't need anything else, we would buy each other kitchen cabinets for Christmas, our anniversary, and New Year's. We spent a small fortune, and went to a lot of work, but the kitchen is looking great. As usual, Steve got to within just a few pieces of trim around the counter tops, and quit. He decided to insulate the basement, so without the trim in place, I can't put the tile on the counter tops.
If he goes back out into the field to work, I'm just as likely to go ahead and put tile on anyway. I'd like to see some things finished before I die.
I've chosen a green tile between celery and mint, with white to checker-board, and one 4X4 high border to be a back-splash. It looks really nice when it's laid out, but I think it would look nicer if it were installed. The cabinets are a maple-glazed color, and we got the extra-height wall cabinets, because there's a ten-foot ceiling. They soar. I'm going to put another snow-house village on top of them, just like I now have at Clairemont. I'm thinking of using the slightly over-sized ones that I have, as there's a little more room there. They look so friendly and warm in a otherwise dark kitchen, and I enjoy having my tea with my 'friends' who live there.
A dear friend of the family stopped by on her way to Steve's parent's house a few weeks ago, and raved over the cabinets. She loved the kitchen, but said that we needed to finish things, as we would be old and in wheel chairs, rolling around with our hammers, trying to get the house finished.
Steve's parents are having some health issues, and that's why Margaret is there with them. Lynn did so much for them while she could, but she is now gone, and there is a need for help. Margaret Peck is the answer. She is a tiny, sweet, funny little English woman, and is a bundle of energy. She is single, and willing to leave her home in Etawah, Tn., to be there to be of any help she can be. She and Marge are old, established friends, and they love to chatter and gossip, and have many mutual interests. They raised their children together, and have so much history.
Our family is so lucky to have someone like Margaret to help in a time of need.
There is some good news, however, from Myrtle Beach. Bill graduated from his program of chemotherapy and radiation. He will now await tests to see if more treatment (and what kind), will be needed. He lost a lot of weight during his ordeal, but he really needed to. Marge had gotten a little weary of Bill having no energy or will to do much to help her, and the hope is now that he will feel enough better to do more. He had just about given up driving, and Marge doesn't drive, so Margaret Peck being there, to drive and help with transport to doctor visits, is a true God-send.
We now have only two outdoor cats, Dolly and Darky. Dolly is getting quite old, and I don't know how much longer she will be with us. We have a heated cat house for them, and they really enjoy it.
We have four in the house. There's Gizzy, Buddy, and the twins, Queenie and Coonie. Coonie is, by far, the most beautiful, with very long, incredibly soft hair. Queenie is soft, but his hair is not so long, and his color is not as pretty as Coonie's. Buddy is an orphan who wandered into the yard at Creekside one day last summer. He hid in stacks of building materials for two days before I could lure him to me with chicken I bought at the Down Home. Once I caught him, he was mine. He was so tine, but we brought him to Clairemont, and he's never been outside again. He's the most loving, sweet kitty, and a true momma's-boy. Gizzy is an adoptee from the former manager of the Goodwill in Jefferson City. She was retiring to travel with her husband, and she could no longer keep the cats she had, so we got Gizzy. He's a bit old and tired, but very loving. This is his retirement home.
Wings, a restaurant in the old Shine's building, burned to the ground last week. It was a rather large building, but poorly arranged for a restaurant. The owners plan to re-build.
A few days ago, the old car wash across 11W from Creekside, caught fire from a poorly insulated stove pipe. I and a friend, Cherokee, noticed foul smoke, and, a few minutes later, flames coming up out of the chimney. We called 911, but we didn't know the home phone of the man who owns the building. Someone must have called him, though, because he came right away. The fire was put out quickly, but he said that, if I had not been at Creekside to call 911, the building might have been a total loss. He has already began repairs. There are two brothers who run the business, and they give true value for the money. They work like Trogans in all kinds of weather, no matter how hot or cold. They are good neighbors, and I'm glad to have been of some small help to them.
Dwight Bull, the owner of Bull's Restaurant, died of a heart attack a couple of months ago. His family are now running the restaurant, but they are closed on Sunday and Monday. I don't know of their plans for any future, as rumor has it that the place is for sale.
A lot of businesses are having problems, it seems. I can't even get Creekside finished, so I don't know if it will ever be a business. I do need to get rid of a lot of things, though, and that's a good reason to push for a finish line.
I don't know if I've covered everything, and I'm sure I haven't, but I hope to make a practice of posting more often. I need to keep Jane Palmer and Bill Welch up on all the latest.
Oh, yeah, Hap Palmer, Jane's husband, is building a HUGE, really nice fish pond in their back yard. He asked me to design and construct him a filter for his pump, so he can have a nice, clean waterfall. They have built a lovely sun/family room on the back of their house, and the pond will be right outside it. It's going to be nice, and a lovely area for visiting and sharing Hap's hobby with his friends, children, and grandchildren. He's a really nice fellow, and I'm glad to see him have things he wants to enjoy in his older years. I'm flattered that he asked me for help, and I'm working on a design that will make him happy. After all, he's Hap.
More later.
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