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.
No comments:
Post a Comment