Peaceful week

 

A blog I follow , Escape wth Dollycas into a Good Book, recaps her week including outside activities, so I thought I might give it a try so that you all would know what was going on besides reading.

MONDAY - Headed off to the lab to get some blood work done before a doctor's appt. later this week.  Home to any easy day of reading.

TUESDAY - Another Mah Jongg day - morning at the Country Club with 4 other ladies, evening a home with regular ladies. Winnings 20¢

WEDNESDAY -  Easy day with .reading and evening at the Country Club teaching 4 ladies how to play Mah Jongg.  We a re adding Mah Jongg to the Ladies Game night starting in June - Yeah!

THURSDAY - Off to Frederick to see an old friend and get a haircut.  Evening Ladies at the Country Club got to together for BUNCO Charity night.  One of the players had to cancel so my sweet hubbie filled in and was a winner with the other ladies.  We raised $400 for the Kevin Miller Family Fund - a family in our neighborhood (wife 3 children) that lost their husband/father at the age of 43.

FRIDAY -  Off to The doctor's office - test results were a big improvement and lost 11 LBS!  Worked on spreading the news about the summer Ladies' events at the Country Club. Easy reading day the rest of the time.

SATURDAY - Morning dawned on our 39th wedding anniversary. Tim and I went to the grocery store and then after putting everything away, we went off to our friends home for a brunch in honor of their son's graduation from high school.  We had a great time visiting, the last to leave.  Home around 4PM for afternoon naps and then out to dinner.

On our anniversary I always want to acknowledge how very fortunate I am by the blessing of the wonderful man who shares my life.  His kind heart and generous spirit is frequently directed at me but also his friends and family.  He may not be the most romantic but I'll take his sweet disposition any day.

SUNDAY - Slept in, caught up on some of my taped TV programs, watched baseball, read.


Hope everyone had a great week!

Weekly Rewind

 

A blog I follow , Escape wth Dollycas into a Good Book, recaps her week including outside activities, so I thought I might give it a try so that you all would know what was going on besides reading.

MONDAY - Was  a book oriented day.  First I caught up on my reviews, I had 3 that I needed to write and get posted from last week.  Then I finished HEAT RISES the third book in the Nikki Heat/Richard Castle series.   I also did a few loads of laundry and talked to my Mom a few times.  I'm still trying to figure out he issues with my Outlook email. I can receive the messages fine, but none of my replies or new messages go any where - they just sit in my outbox.  Boo hiss.

TUESDAY - This seemed to be my day for games!  I had Mah Jongg scheduled at the Country Club and managed to win $6.55 - I think that's my best ever session, but then I went to my friend's house that night and played again and won another $2.65.  Nice....

WEDNESDAY -  Grocery shopping started the day and then reading.  I managed to catch a short nap, and then headed off to the Country Club where I was teaching a beginning class in Mah Jongg.  I met 1 lovely lady who I hope will continue to join the MCC Lilies in their other events.

THURSDAY - A quiet day, I spent fixing my e-mail (YEAH), and listening to Game of Thrones. BUNCO scheduled for this evening was rescheduled for next week.

FRIDAY -  Start of a weekend trip - I went off to get my hair done then, when I got home Tim packed up the car, picked up Mary-ellen, John, and Ellen (2 SIL and BIL - Tim's siblings) and we hit the road for Pittsburgh. We reached Tim's cousin's house with a cooler filled with 4 dozen steamed blue crabs.   They were gone before we left to settle in at the hotel.

SATURDAY - Morning was the reason for the trip - a memorial service for Tim's cousin Joe who had passed away  during the winter.  Tim's aunt was in Florida so they postponed the funeral until she came north.  At the luncheon afterward, we sat with cousin Tammy's son Alex who was a very charming young man.  The people who had come to the service were a few more than expected, so we volunteered to sit at the "kids" table -off in a different spot than the rest.  Much more quiet and it gave us a chance to talk and tell stories.  Then later in the evening dinner at cousin Greg's where there was an old-fashioned Irish Wake.

SUNDAY - We headed home arriving about 4PM to unpack and rest.

 

A blog I follow , Escape wth Dollycas into a Good Book, recaps her week including outside activities, so I thought I might give it a try so that you all would know what was going on besides reading.

MONDAY - The Country Club that my husband and belong to is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year and since he's President and I'm head of the Social Committee there are lots of items on our agenda for this.  Monday I spent researching (reading numerous past newsletters) past events in the history of the Club. I still have more to go through.  I sent an e-mail out to the Ladies Social group reminding them about our charity fundraising event later in the week ad tried to nag the media coordinator about sending out the notices for our newest event - Social Golf.  No luck on that.  I also finished listening to the audio version of Night Watch by Linda Fairstein. I really enjoy this series and look forward to the new one due out later this year.

TUESDAY -  I played hookie from responsibilities and went to spend time with my lady friends at the Country Club.  Six of us gathered to play Mah Jongg, eat, and imbibe with a few delicate Mimosas.  Most of the group is just learning (I'm the trainer), so we can't get as many games in as more experienced groups but we have a great time getting together anyway.  After lunch, I came home, grabbed a quick nap, and tried again to read Fountainhead.  A second nap ensued.  For dinner, we headed back to the Country Club for the 60's Rollback prices on drinks and dinner.  One of my favorites (liver and onions) was on the menu, YUM - I know most people don't like it and I don't get it often but at $2.99 it was a steal! The tab was less than $10 without the drinks.  Can't wait to see what 70's rollbacks are!

I'm continuing Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman for a group read on LibraryThing.  This one I am greatly enjoying.

WEDNESDAY -  Believe it or not I just read and played games on the internet.

THURSDAY -  I caught up on my book reviews, e-mail, and notices to be posted at the Country Club for events that I am involved in. In the evening, my sister-in-law, Mary-ellen and I went to the club for our monthly ladies charity event and a game of Bunco.  Dinner and a good time.  Back in time to see the end of the ball game and catch up on some threads at LT.

FRIDAY -  First, I kissed my hubby off to his weekend with the boys.  Then I went to get my hair done, stopped at the library to return 3 books, and then stopped at the grocery store to purchase some comfort food to keep me happy while 

SATURDAY -  Easy day, just finishing Fountainhead for Book club, watching a doubleheader for the Orioles vs. Dodgers, and start audio while I play some games.  Mac & cheese for dinner - yum!

SUNDAY -  A quiet day of reading and baseball. My sweetie returned from his boys weekend.

Falling Mondays

Obviously Monday is not my smart day. 
6 months ago took a fall, on MONDAY. 
This morning another fall - MONDAY. 

This time I was really, really stupid. I drove up to the car wash, told the gentleman what I wanted (there are different options) handed him my credit card, and he said - Fine we'll take it from here. I opened the car door, started to get out and the car started to roll away from me - throwing me onto the concrete - smack onto my good knee. OUCH! I had forgotten to take it out of gear but the man jumped in and put on the brake before it could roll over me! However, I have a really pretty bruise starting to appear!
I think I'll stay in on Monday's from now on.

Little ones together

Here's a a shot of four of my grandchildren at Easter.

From Left to right:

Miller Patrick  2 mos.

Stella Reese 18 mos.

Molly Kate 2½ yrs old.

Olivia Bryn  2 weeks

Height challenge at bedtime

Before I left for SC I went to the orthopedic Dr. because my left knee has been killing me and he inform me that I might have a small tear in my meniscus(sp?) and that if it was still bothering me when I got home, we could try a cortisone shot.  Well, it still hurts like h.... on and off (more on than off) which causes me to adjust how I'm sitting/standing/walking which then affects my back.  Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

The timeshare where we are staying  at Hilton Head is lovely, however, it has one shortfall - no footrest so I've been trying to find the right number of pillows to prop up my legs to support the knee.  If that's not enough, this place has those overstuffed mattresses and the bed is so high that I need a footstool to get into bed.  The first night we had no footstool, and Tim just laid there laughing while I tried to dive into the bed, missing about 4 times, sliding off to the floor.  We finally devised a stool of sofa cushions so that I could get into bed, by which time I was completely exhausted just getting there.  Tim thought it was hilarious, I, however, did not.

Why do places like this never think about short people?  If my Mom had been able to come, there's no way she could have gotten into the beds here without a stool. Granted the mattresses are very comfortable once you get on them, but getting on them is a bit tricky for a height-challenged person. Needless to say when they called checking on how everything was, I informed them that they needed to think about things like this.

PC woes

On February 1st I started having problems with my laptop which I use everyday to communicate with the outside world and for some of my hobbies.  I thought the problem was from sitting out in the car  with the cold weather, but apparently not.

I took it to the PC doctor on Sunday the 3rd and on the 4th he called with the bad news.  He can't get the data from my hard drive (150+ audiobooks and all my photos) without sending it off to a specialist. They told me at the store it could take up to 3 weeks before my baby is well and can come home to me. It could also cost up to $1,500 to recover the data. 

In the meantime, I've been trying  to recreate my working file for my reading reviews and book selection. My old PC that I am using now, is much slower, smaller screen, and on an old Operating System. I feel like I'm back in the dark ages already. :-(

For all my friends out there, learn my lesson - BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP!

TODAY, Well, the verdict is in on my PC and the news is not good.

The hard drive failed and to recover my pictures and data files it will be $1,300 and 4-8 weeks.  That's just the data files. However, if they can't recover what I want/need,  I can refuse the files and it will only cost me $250.

The pictures are what I  really want so I told them to go ahead with the recovery but now I have to get a new PC because this one won't be back and functioning anytime soon (no software programs until I can find the keys from 3½ years - do you think that's going to happen? That's the kind of info I stored on my PC.), my backup is lacking some of the programs that I need for the projects that I use for my other activities and I'm not sure I want to trust the sick one again when it eventually returns.  I think I need to sell some of my stock to pay for this expenditure unless I can find a good deal out there.

WHAT A BUMMER!!   

I guess it could be worse, I could be without a PC completely, right?
Well, I think I'll go try to lose myself in a book.  Maybe I'll feel better then.

I don't know where to start.

Last Saturday (after Tim headed off to Florida for 5 days) my left knee started to hurt/ache.  I tried all kinds of things, ice/heat/elevation/massage - one day it was better, another no, so I made an appointment with the regular doctor for Thursday but by Wednesday I could barely walk.  So when I went to the back doctor on Wednesday, he asked me how I was doing and I told him that my knee was killing me, and he replied "I can't help you there."  We talked and decided that a set of regular steroid shots might reactivate the rhizotomy loss (I still fell that I'm about 45% improved from before the rhizotomy) so we scheduled them for March 1st.  He only does that procedure on Fridays - This coming Friday (2/8) I'm getting ready to leave for Hilton Head with my Mom, 2/15 I'll be coming back from HH, 2/22 I already have 2 other DR appts. scheduled so 3/1 was the first opening.
On Thursday morning when I was headed to the doctor for my knee (of course it felt better because I had the doctor's  appointment )  he said that it could be several things but to try increasing my arthritis medication first before heading off to the orthopedic doctor. Friday it was horrible again and today a little better.  I'm beginning to think that I should just give it up and live on drugs.  No I won't.
Worse than the pain in my knee is my computer is not working (I'm on my backup) so I can't access any of the things I regularly use. Thank God the Internet is not computer specific.  LT withdraw along with knee and back pain would be unimaginable!

But good news - little (?) Miller Patrick made his appearance on January 21st weighing at 8 lbs. 7 ozs.!  I'll get to see him in a week!

Those of you who follow my reading blog (Cheli's Shelves) know that I read a number of books each year.  Usually they are for some challenge or other but I've never really defined them outside of the separate challenges.  SO when I made a list, these are the top ten that came out.

My Top Ten 2013 reading goals:

  1. Read 105 books from my shelf  (35 ea audio, e-book, ARD)
  2. Read at least 45,000 pages
  3. Read at least 6 books in 13 categories selected for 2013
  4. Read books to bring at least 10 series up-to-date
  5. Read the first 2 Fire and Ice series books
  6. Read at least 4 CLASSICS
  7. Read a book over 500 pages long
  8. Read the Sharon Kay Penman series (that should take care of #6)
  9. Read my first graphic novel
10. Read at least 5 books borrowed from Tina (I've borrowed them, now I need to read them and get them back to her)

My other big goal for 2013 is to try to reduce the number of new books coming to my possession this year.  In 2012 I acquired over 150 books.
This year I'd like to keep it under 100.

So wish me luck!

Sandy's coming

Weather forecasters say that we are in the strike zone for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy.  So all that has been on the news is telling people to get prepared for possible power outages.

Well, Tim and I hit the grocery store on Monday and really stocked up since we figured we’d be too busy with other things before Thanksgiving, so the freezers full, including a few extra baggies of ice, the Fridge is stocked, we have two cases of water, two cases of soda, two huge packages of TT, bread, PB, Tuna, as well as a full tank of gas for the grill, and batteries and candles coming out our whazoo. And of course, there’s always the bar and wine cellar if we need something to drink.   I’ve charged both Nooks, my MP3,cellphone, and my laptop. I’ve even located the portable TV that I gave Tim for Tailgates. Flashlights check, blankets check.

We had already stored outdoor furniture and the trees were trimmed a few months ago.  (our power lines are underground so we rarely lose power (knock on wood)) but we do have several friends and family who lose power at the whiff of a storm (including Tim’s sister, Mary-ellen) so reservations have been coming in for those who most likely will lose their power.  If they do the Fridge and freezer will get more items and luckily, gas cook top will still work or we can use the tailgate grill.

So I think we’ll be fine, if anyone needs a port in storm, rooms are filling up fast, but we have plenty of sofas, recliners, and floor space.  All are welcome.

Stay safe all and just enjoy the thrill of life!

Fall/injury update

I went to see my regular doctor today on the instructions from the ER. He was very emphatic about how lucky I was with the few injuries that I came away with and that they were more serious.  (I am now sporting a black eye.) Evidently my Mom was right all these years, I do have a hard head.  But Doc said that I could have easily fractured my skull, shoulder, hip or leg as well as an arm, wrist or hand trying to break my fall. He also  said that the muscle pull could take months to heal - GREAT! - but at least my back didn't get any worse, no better either, however the bush did a number on my back with scrapes and lacerations.

All in all I thank the good Lord for a very talented Guardian angel.  She/he do a great job keeping me safe.  Now if they could just make all the aches and pains go away, I'd give them an A+!

Never be without a book

Well, many months ago, I swore to myself that I would never go out anywhere without having a book with me.  Even if I didn't think I'd have time to read, it would be better to have the book and not have time, than have time and not have a book.

Today I'm really glad I stuck to my vow.  While at a friend's house, I went out to my car to get something and when returning, I tripped on the steps and fell, hitting my head against the brick wall, my knee against the concrete  step and fell into a deep flowerbed on the side cleverly trapping myself in a position where I couldn't get up.  Fortunately, my friends heard me call for help, and stayed with me while we waited for the Emergency squad to come and extricate me from my predicament.  The EMTs  and my hubbie (by phone) thought I should go get checked out at the hospital (head injuries are nothing to play around with). So off I went in the ambulance.  Once I got there and was registered, I was left waiting for service - Thank God I had my MP3 with the audiobook I was reading ([Destiny of the Republic]) - I had just downloaded it this morning.  Well, 4 hours later, after being shot (tetanus), x-rayed (knee), and scanned (head), I was released with an ice bag and instructions to see my doctor and  4 chapters read.  No concussion, no internal bleeding, only a few bruises, a big bump, a headache and a severe feeling of being really stupid.  I do think this has screwed up my back again big time.

Then I got home and the answering machine was blinking away. Believe it or not, somehow my Mom knew something was wrong – she left 3 messages on my
answering machine worried that something was not right  – can you believe that?
I assured her that I was sore but would be fine.  I hope I  didn't lie to her.

So, my reading friends, learn a lesson from me - NEVER go anywhere without a book, you never know when you will be sitting in the emergency room with time to read on your hands.  As I say,  it's better to have a book and not have time to read it, than to have time on your hands and not have a book to read.

I'm not drowning

I'm getting more exercise now that my back is feeling better.

This week I started the Fall session of classes at the Municipal pool - Water Aerobics on Wednesdays and Deep Water Walking on Thursdays. I was really pooped when I got home from the pool today. The instructor for the DWW and I had a talk because some the exercises that she was haven't the "swimmers" do were not ones that my back agreed with. So when I go to DWW next week I will take my MP3 and its waterproof case and I'll just listen to my book while I walk and walk and do a little jogging in the water.

If this works out, I may try dry land next.

She's been doing what?!?

Okay, it's a little over a month since the rhizotomy and I am feeling tremendously better. Most days I am nearly pain-free (praise the Lord), and it amazes me how good I feel.

But what really startles me is all that I have been able to do so far:

1. First, I picked up Molly, Bryan, and little Molly Kate (almost 2) at the airport and I was able to hold Molly Kate in my arms without pain. I'm glad I could do this because there's another on the way!

2. I can walk the grocery store now instead of riding the motorized cart.

3. The Library is again one of my favorite places to just WALK around and browse.

4. Laundry - I can stand and fold and hang everything on my own with no breaks.

5. I am again enjoying my beautiful kitchen and devising interesting new recipes with which to treat my husband who had been doing alot of the cooking.

6. Ladies Social Golf - I putted on 3 holes.

But the biggie for me this week is ....are you ready for this....

I CLEANED THE OVEN! Granted it is a self-clean device but you do have steps to prepare it for the cycle and then you have to wipe out the residue.

I did it all by myself!

Well, that's all so far, we're keeping our fingers crossed that progress continues and saying prayers that anyone in pain sees relief soon.

medical update

Well, it's been two weeks since my rhizotomy and I actually can see and feel improvement, YEAH!

Today, I really pressed it to see how far I had come and I was able to wander around the library without any discomfort and do some grocery shopping with minimal pain. I think we are on the right track at last!

I almost feel like a child that has to find her way back to the right path. At least Tim's there with me.

Pain progress/ home front news

I thought it was time for an update on the home front.

It's been nearly two weeks since the rhizotomy and I do see improvement. My pain levels are greatly reduced (2-4 rather than 7-9) and I am able to work in the kitchen longer, fold laundry, and even take the steps easier than before the procedure. Now I just need to work on my stamina because my back still gets tired and achy but not painful.

As for home, the window replacement men were here yesterday and replaced 11 windows in less than 8 hours without messing with the trim work. I was amazed at how they did this. The new windows are so pretty and clear - now I can set to work on some other decorating revisions in the near future.

We're headed off the OC for a few days next week, so everybody stay cool!

New Pain procedure

Well, the steroid shots that I had back in March have worn off and so I back on the pain treadmill again. Off I went back to the doctor and so this morning, we met at the hospital to have more steroid shots and Rhizotomy on six nerve sites. I'm very sore and the doctor says it will be up to two weeks before I know whether they worked on not. I really hope so after what I went through. First the technician and anesthesiologist both had trouble starting an IV, so my BP went up and they had to keep asking me how I felt while the doctor was driving in the 18 needles. If they had just left me alone, I wouldn't have been concentrating on what was happening and made it through a bit easier.

I also had to worry about the time. Tim was scheduled to play golf at 2:30PM at Avenel and the procedure (20 minutes max) was scheduled for 11:45AM. The doctor was late and then the IV issues, we just managed to get out in time for Tim to make to the golf course. Whew, I never would have heard the end of it if he had missed his golf game! Just kidding.

Now just time to rest and read.

5AM - up and not sleeping, why?

5AM - up and not sleeping, why? not insomnia, I know how that feels, this is pain.

I have tried to find a position where every part of my body is comfortable and I can relax enough to go to sleep. Tonight/this morning this is not happening. I have lived with back pain for most of my life ever since a car accident in 1977, yes no typo 1977. I've been to all types of doctors, physical therapy, drugs, and I thought I'd finally found a level of pain that I could live with - but tonight the rest of my body revolted. It wasn't pain in my back that kept me awake, it was all the other aches and pains put together. My knee ached, I'd find a position where it was comfortable and my calf cramped. I eased them and my shoulders got shooting pains, resolve that and I literally got a pain in the neck. Then I started all over. Finally, I just gave up. No use laying there - came down to my massage chair in hopes of drifting off with the massager running on high.

National Clock and Watch Museum

Yesterday, Tim and I took a drive up to Columbia, PA where I had arranged to meet my LibraryThing friend Linda and her husband for lunch. We had been corresponding/messaging on LT for over a year commiserating on our similar aches and pains and now that we were both doing better (knock on wood) we decided it was time to meet in real life.

So we had a lovely day to take a drive and visit. After lunch, we went to peruse the National Watch and Clock museum. It was absolutely amazing. Clocks for every shape and size were there to be seen and heard. tic tic tic, bong, bong bong.... There was even a library for horological research, one of the largest for the study of time in the world.

Here's a slide show of the pictures which include the 19th century Engle clock which was touted as the 8th wonder of the world in its day. If you get a chance to see it, it's well worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtDu3I_2toc

just an update

Last week, I went golfing with Tim, no I didn't play, I just went along for the ride. Fortunately, the weather got a bit wet so we had to quit and go inside. I was a bit sore the next day and worried that I had screwed up my back again with all the bumps, but after a few days of rest, I'm still able to walk and stand pretty much pain free. I thought I was going to have to go back to the doctor but (crossed fingers) so far so good.

Yesterday I started a new set of water aerobics classes. The water was a bit chilly so you really wanted to keep moving and the instructor definitely put us through our paces. When I got home, I was pooped. I'm grateful that I don't have anything on the agenda today other than getting my nails done. I think my heating pad, recliner and I are all going to get reacquainted today.