I’m Still Standing…

Just when I thought I had rejoined the world of blogging–working in the garden plus new health issues caused me to take another hiatus.  I’m happy to say, the garden is now history and, once again, I’m feeling better–or at least I was before I began trying to write this post.  It seems WordPress has changed [more than a few things] during my absence, but I digress…

When Ed planted our garden, this year, I began to pray for God to bless us with a bountiful harvest so we could share it with others.  I’m here to tell you, God hears and answers prayers!  God blessed and we shared our veggies!  I remember one day, in particular, when Ed brought me one-too-many buckets of squash, I stopped him at the door.  I refused to let him bring them into my already crowded kitchen!  The veggie table was full, as was the refrigerator!  Fortunately, just down the road, others were more than happy to take those squash off Ed’s hands. We shared our veggies with family, friends, and with people we didn’t even know.

The vegetable table was always filled with something!

I don’t know why, but my health always seems to pick the worst possible times to go wonky.  About the time we were finishing up with canning green beans, (just before Memorial Day) I began to have an earache.  That stupid earache plagued me the entire summer!  After four trips to three different medical specialists, taking two different rounds of antibiotics, using two different kinds of ear drops, six weeks worth of Sudafed and Flonaise, and a whole lot of miserable days later, I’m finally feeling better!  I haven’t had an earache in three whole days.

In other news, Ed finally began to clean out his parents’ house back in May, with the help of our daughter. (It’s about time, his mom has been deceased for nearly seven years.)  Our daughter listed the furniture on Facebook and it sold quickly. Only Ed’s old piano, a swivel chair, and six kitchen chairs remain, along with all of the dishes in the kitchen cabinets…  Dishes are “my thing” and I’m not looking forward to going through those cabinets!  I’ll want to bring most of them home with me, and I have no more room!  To solve the dilemma of what to do with “stuff” we can’t bare to part with, we’ve ordered a storage house…  Is anybody else out there guilty of hanging onto “stuff”?

Saying “goodbye” to my old friend “Classy” after 19 years

Speaking of “stuff” we can’t bare to part with, I finally gave Ed permission (for the third time) to sell “Classy”, my 2001 black PT Cruiser.  That car was my all-time favorite vehicle, and I’d had it since March of 2001!  (I wanted that car so bad I actually went to the dealership, alone, to talk with a salesperson about buying it.)  I thought I wanted to keep “Classy” forever, but things change, and reality eventually sets in. We’d had “Classy” up for sale a couple of times during the past year or so, but had always ended up removing the “for sale” sign after a few days.  Somehow, it never felt right to sell her.  I began to pray about this, and God answered my prayer again.  Shortly after Ed put the sign on the car, for the third time, a woman came by ready to buy the car!  Not only was she ready to buy it, she seemed as passionate about the car as I had always been.  We sold the car to her, and I’ve had absolute peace about the sale. In fact, the other day, we saw her driving the car in town and I didn’t even feel bad!

In addition to dealing with a garden, relentless earaches, cleaning out a house, and selling a beloved car, Ed and I have also been trying to survive this era of Covid 19 and all of the craziness that is accompanying it!  Like many, we’ve been mostly housebound for the past four and a half months.

For us, shopping consists of using Wal-mart pickup service or an occasional trip to the neighborhood dollar store for milk or bread. Once or twice we’ve put on our masks and actually shopped for ourselves someplace other than Wal-mart.  It felt so liberating!  Of course, we’ve had to make a few doctor visits during this time, too, which were a bit unusual. (wearing masks, waiting in the car until called, etc.)

Our church closed in March, along with all of the others.  We learned how to enjoy Sunday School using Zoom, and Sunday services via Facebook.  Once our church reopened, after several weeks, we attended services a couple of times.  We discovered we didn’t really feel comfortable attending services with the virus still making the rounds, so we’ve continued watching from home.  We were glad we made that choice when the virus began to hit some of our area churches–ours included!  When will this virus ever end?

Something else I’m ready to see end is the nonsense we’ve been witnessing on the news over the past few weeks… I do believe our country has gone mad!  When did wearing a mask become such a controversial thing? When did it become “acceptable” to deface or destroy public property?  When did only certain lives matter?  These are definitely deeply disturbing times we’re living in…and on that note I’ll end this post!  I hope to write again, soon.

 

Friday Fragments…

They say “no news is good news”, but that’s not always true.  Sometimes “no news” means the writer just hasn’t felt like blogging.  This blogger falls into that category. It’s been nine days since I last posted, and I hate to get too far behind.  I’m attempting to do a little catching up, today.

Last week was very hot, and very dry!  I felt like a prisoner in my own home, all week.  With the exception of feeding the chickens twice a day, picking up the eggs once a day, and watering my flowers, I stayed inside.  Thankfully, this week has been somewhat better.

Ed and I did venture out in the heat, last Wednesday, to take our van back to the car dealership.  We  needed to let them install an [over-flow] drain hose that apparently got omitted when the van was built. This factory over-sight caused  massive fume build up [inside the car], every time Ed over-filled the gas tank.  We spent three and a half hours waiting for the repair, but even that was much better than the guy sitting next to us who spent  about seven and a half hours waiting to have two bulbs changed and an a/c switch ordered.  That’s ridiculous!

Then, on Thursday, of last week, we had a surprise visit from the pastor of the church we’ve been attending [for the past four months].  He came to bring us some sad news–that he would be resigning as pastor of the church on Sunday.  We were very sad to hear this news– not just because we like the pastor, and many folks at the church, but mainly because of the reason behind his resignation.

We knew, for a while, there have been some problems within the church, but, the church leadership (deacons) recently made a decision that the pastor couldn’t, in good conscience, support.  (They basically got together and reversed a decision they’d made, earlier, at the advice of the pastor.)  This reverse decision was made at the recent deacon’s meeting, so we didn’t know anything about it.  Ultimately, what all this means is we’re now without a church home–again.  We can’t, in good conscience, stay at a church that condones sin, and that’s what this decision amounts to.  Sigh.  My heart aches.  It aches for the pastor and his wife, it aches for us, it aches for our son (who has also left the church), and it aches for the church, itself, which is headed down a very destructive path.

It was a somewhat stressful weekend, following the pastor’s visit, but we had the opportunity to go and spend some time with our youngest grandson, Evan, on Saturday evening. His parents went out for the evening, so “E” and “Mimi” got to babysit.  I think we all had a good time, I know we sure did!  We kept Evan at his house, which meant it was almost 1 a.m. when we got back to our own home.  On the way home, I made the comment to Ed, that it had been a l-o-n-g time since we’d been out until 1 a.m. Ha!

I’m not ashamed to tell you that I cried off and on all day Sunday.  It felt like we’d had a death in our family.  I couldn’t help but wonder what else is going to happen to us, this summer?  Ed went to church, one last time, as a show of support for the pastor, while he resigned.  I just couldn’t bring myself to go.  I prefer to keep the happy memories, of the Sunday before, as my last ones of that church.

On Monday morning, I still felt “blue”, so I asked Ed to take me to my “happy place” on St. Simon’s Island.  We threw our chairs in the van, and headed out on a road trip.  I’m so glad we went!  I could feel my tension melt away as I breathed in the salt air, and felt the sea breeze on my face.  I came home feeling much better.

We had a nice surprise, on Tuesday, when Brad (our youngest son), and grandson, Evan, came over for an evening visit.  Brad said Evan had asked to see us, so they came over to visit with us while Jennifer worked late.  They also ate supper with us.

The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful.  Just the usual things have been going on–Ed mowing some grass, while I’ve been doing a little bit of housework–and I do mean a little.  I’ve been doing some painting on a statue for the yard, and we “dusted” the chickens for mites one evening.  That was an adventure, since chickens don’t appreciated being disturbed after they’ve gone to bed for the night 🙂

We have no real plans for this weekend.  As far as church plans go, for now, we plan to go and visit the assisted living facility where our son brings a message every Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, the folks there won’t mind if we visit and worship with them. Perhaps we can all be a blessing to each other.

 

A Few More Friday Fragments…

I’m writing this while I wait for my ‘canned’ tomatoes to finish processing.  When the tomatoes are finished, there is a bucket of peas on the floor waiting to be shelled, but who cares?  Let’s blog a bit!

I’m happy to say I’m feeling better than I was the last time I blogged.  Ed and I have had a prosperous week, have canned many vegetables,  but we’ve also taken some time to rest and relax.  (No beach trip, yet, but we’ve enjoyed our front porch a day or two, late in the afternoons.)  Yesterday, we even had a picnic under the carport, while we waited for tomatoes to can in the pressure cooker.

To say the weather has been hot, here, would be an understatement!  It’s almost unbearable, and we still have July and August to go.  What a summer we’re having!  We missed the extremely cold winter that was predicted for 2016, but our summer is more than making up for it.

It’s been so hot, we’ve been running two fans for our outside animals.  One fan is located in the chicken coop, the other is located on the front porch.  Most of our animals are smart enough to take advantage of the extra breeze, even if the breeze does get a little warm by the end of the day!  We always run fans in the summer, but not until July or August, usually.

Gardening is coming to a steady close.  I estimate we’ll be finished within the next two weeks, at the most.  This summer heat is quickly rushing things along.  Ed runs the sprinkler, daily, just to keep the remaining plants from drying up in the extreme heat.  He gets his daily exercise from running back and forth moving the sprinkler every 45 minutes!

I’m not sure what Ed and I will do for ‘excitement’, once the garden is finished, but I’m hoping we’ll make up for some lost time on St. Simon’s Island!  The other day, we took a quick ‘road trip’, on some roads we’d never traveled (going from one Tractor Supply Store to another), and we both really enjoyed the new scenery.  I wouldn’t mind just taking a couple of day trips, somewhere, just to see something different!

Our youngest son, Brad, and his family have finally moved and settled into their new home.  A couple of weeks ago, Ed helped them paint and move a few things, while I played with Evan, so Jennifer could get a few things done.  We haven’t been back since they ‘officially’ got everything moved and settled, but we’ll be visiting, this weekend for a family get together.

Speaking of Brad and Jennifer, they will celebrate their wedding anniversary tomorrow. Originally, they’d talked about getting married on mine and Ed’s anniversary, but couldn’t because the reception hall wasn’t available that day.  So, they settled for exactly one week later, which is always easy for us to remember. Happy anniversary, a little early, you guys!  May you have, at least, as many happy years as Ed and I’ve had (so far)!

I heard this old song, today, and it immediately made me think of each one of our grown children, and the times they are now living through with their families!  All have, or soon will, celebrate anniversaries of 5, 10, and 15 years.  These are busy times, sometimes tough times,  trying to raise family times, often with little time for romance...”but, it’s just another day in paradise” and the years they pass so quickly!

I had to laugh, at the part of this video concerning the washing machine!  Until recently, our oldest son, Brett, and his wife, have been living their own nightmare story concerning a washing machine 🙂

When Brad and Jennifer recently bought their new home, a really nice washer/dryer set came with the house, so they ended up with two sets. The couple, knowing “the washing machine story” of Brett and Christina, mercifully, and generously, donated their extra set to them!  No more “dancing machine” at Brett’s house!  And this washer actually fits in the laundry room space, correctly!  God is so good!

 

Friday Fragments…

It’s a little late to be posting Friday’s Fragments, but I’m going to do it anyway.  I’m desperately trying to get back into the habit of blogging on a more regular basis. It’s hard to find time.

We’re only two days away from the two-week anniversary of Ed’s heart attack.  I’m hoping and praying every day that goes by Ed will become stronger and healthier.  He seems to be getting better each day.  Thank God he’s only recovering from a heart attack/stent, and not open heart surgery!  I often find myself thinking, what if….  I’m so thankful he survived!

I finally got the Halloween decorations packed away, and the Thanksgiving decorations put out.  I’m so thankful I didn’t go “all out” for Halloween, this year.  It’s almost as if I knew something was going to happen, before it actually did.

I’m tired of 80 degree weather in November!  Where oh where is fall?  Some of our trees are putting on new leaves, and the grass will need mowing again, soon, if things don’t change!

Today, I purchased the turkey for Thanksgiving.  I bought a 19 pound turkey!  If anyone had told me, twenty years ago, that it would take a 19 pound turkey to feed our family, I would have laughed!

Ed and I finally made our way to the ‘tag office’, and purchased a tag for our new vehicle.  Because we put this vehicle in both of our names, with mine listed first, the tag will be due in my birthday month.  The other two vehicles will be due in Ed’s birthday month. Talk about being confusing…

Ed and I have been eating “healthy” for nine days.  So far, we’ve eaten three bags of ‘ready-to-eat’ salad, a carton of grape tomatoes, one cucumber, and a head of lettuce!  Salad is still good, but not as good as it was nine days ago.  Thankfully, grilled chicken is still quite tasty 🙂  For the record, 1% milk looks (and tastes) like 99% water and 1% milk!

As if Ed and I haven’t had enough things to deal with, this year, we now have added one more thing to the list!  During Monday’s checkup, I mentioned to my primary care physician that I  have developed a ‘scaly patch’ on the bridge of my nose.  I wondered if my glasses had caused it, but wasn’t sure.  He checked it out, and has referred me to a dermatologist to rule out skin cancer!  The reason I became suspicious, in the first place, is because our daughter was recently diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on her nose.  She currently awaiting an appointment for Mohl surgery to remove the rest of the cancerous cells, to be immediately followed by plastic surgery on her nose.  (And in case you’re wondering, no, we’re not sun worshipers.  Just unlucky, I guess.) No matter what, I will never forget 2015, as long as I live!

On a more pleasant note, tomorrow, we will be attending the birthday party of our youngest grandchild, Evan.  Here’s a picture of Evan, taken on his actual birthday:

 Evan actually turned two on October 30, but his party is being held tomorrow.  Time has passed so quickly!  There’s no way he should be two already!!!  Evan’s a busy little fellow, so I’m sure he’ll enjoy his birthday party tomorrow.

That’s about it for this edition of Friday Fragments. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!  Go out and make it a good one.

 

 

 

A Few Friday Fragments…

I’m sitting here watching Ed and our little grandson, Chase playing with a wrestling ring and some old wrestling figures.  It reminds me of years gone by… It’s the same wrestling ring and men, but a much older Ed playing with a grandson instead of his sons.  Where has the time gone?

The week passed quickly.  You’d think these days would drag by since I’m not able to do much, but time is still flying. I managed to stay busy by watching tv, napping, doing laundry, and doing any chore that only requires me to be on my feet for less than ten minutes. (any longer than that brings on an attack of sciatica)

The days are down to minus ten and counting until my back surgery, on  September 14.  The doctor’s office called me, this week, to give me a list of “dos and don’ts” regarding the days prior surgery.  It was a long list, and the call lasted almost a half an hour! Really, I think the only thing they didn’t instruct me on was how to wear  my hair on the day of the surgery 🙂  I think the strangest instruction I received was “no fishing for a month after surgery.” (Like I’m going to feel like going fishing after back surgery!)  They explained the reason for this instruction has to do with all of the bacteria that has polluted our rivers, lakes, and beaches.  Apparently, there have been patients who have contracted nasty infections, following surgery, by being exposed to these kinds of bacteria.  Who knew?

God never ceases to amaze me, especially in times of trouble.  Our oldest son gave us a set of The Bible on dvd’s back in July.  Ed and I have listened to it, faithfully, every morning, and have made our way through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  This week, we started listening to Acts, but God hasn’t opened my ears to hear His message for me in Acts, so far .  So, I decided to watch some devotions on television, this week.  It turned out that those devotions were exactly what I needed to hear, at this particular time in my life!  I heard His message.  God is good!

Yesterday, Ed and I visited the hospital where he used to work, before they laid him off, back in January.  Since it’s closest to where we live, I went there to have my pre-op testing performed. (Nothing like feeding the hand that bit you! Ha!)  It was nice to see Ed’s former co-workers again, but most of the hospital looked pretty much deserted.  Judging from what I saw, business hasn’t picked up since the new management company took over in January.  Ed mentioned that the salaries of all of the employees[combined], who were laid off, probably just about pays the monthly cost of the management firm…  So, I wonder how that’s working out.  Anyway, I’m thankful the hospital is still there, it saved us from having to drive twenty more miles to the next one.

The first part of this week, our weather was fall-like.  Unfortunately, summer-like weather has returned.  I guess that’s a good thing for those who have Labor Day activities planned, though.  We have no plans, other than putting some fall decorations outside.  I’ll let Ed do the ‘leg work’ and I’ll supervise 🙂  That’s become our new way of life, lately… (Yesterday, Ed told his former co-workers that he’s gone from having six [women] telling him what to do, to only having one [woman] telling him what to do.)  On that note, I’m outta’ here!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday weekend.  I’ll visit and post, again, as I am able.

 

This-N-That On Friday…

This week has absolutely flown by…but then they all do, these days!  As I mentioned once before, I’m constantly reminded how fast time goes by, when I’m constantly having to refill my weekly “medication minder” (pill box).  It’s scary!

The feeling of fall was in the air, just a little, this morning!  It felt so good to feel a slight coolness in the air, especially after Wednesday’s ridiculous temperatures. (mid 90’s with heat index of 107)  It’s a little breezy outside, which should keep the temperatures down a bit today.

I’m continuing to take walks, twice a day.  Ed always joins me in the mornings, and sometimes in the evenings, as well.  On some days our granddaughter, Madison, joins us, too.  It was sweet, this morning, when I noticed three sets of footprints in the dirt, from our walk, last evening.

Ed and I had a special mid-week treat, this week, when we took our daughter and granddaughter to St. Simon’s Island with us.  Imagine our surprise when my daughter and I realized we had dressed alike, without knowing what the other was wearing!  (sort of like when we picked out the same mailboxes and posts)

great minds must think alike…

This time, we actually went down to the sand and surf, instead of taking shelter under our favorite tree.  It wasn’t long before we realized we’d made a mistake, but we wanted Madison to have the opportunity to play in the sand and sea.

Even though we had umbrellas, it was so hot we could only tolerate the heat/sun for an hour and a half! (Granddaughter, Madison, was the first to ask to leave.)  Let me tell you, we were all happy to get to the shade and breeze of those oak trees!  We ate lunch beside the water, (Southern Soul Bar-b-que) and spent the rest of the day in our usual spot, under the oak trees.

I had another special ‘mid-week’ treat of my own, too.  On the day we went to St. Simon’s Island, I experienced a “pain-free” day!  Even with all of the riding and sitting on the beach, I experienced absolutely no back pain!  This gives me some hope that there may be some light at the end of this tunnel I’ve been in for so long…  I hope so.  I’ve had some pain, since Wednesday, but it’s tolerable.

Most of the seeds I planted (for a fall garden) have sprouted.  The lettuce plants seem to be lagging behind, but the cabbage plants are growing by leaps and bounds.  It’s been less than two weeks since they were planted.  I don’t know why, but cabbage plants always start out tall and skinny (and fall over)…

Fall garden 2015

We have no plans for the weekend, but that’s okay.  I know most of our grandchildren have parties to attend, so their parents will be busy with those things. Ed and I may take a day trip, somewhere, just to get out of the house again.

We haven’t seen our son, Brad, and his family in almost three weeks.  We don’t see them any more, now, than we did before they moved back to town, which is sort of sad.  They haven’t sold their house, so their weekend time has to be divided between two places, for now.  Their new jobs require more of their time, as well.  Perhaps it won’t always be this way.

Ed bought himself a pair of headphones for the television, this week.  That’s the best money he’s spent in quite a while!   Now we can watch television without having to turn the volume up so loud that it rattles the pictures on the walls–and he can actually hear what the people are talking about!  I figure if I can’t convince him to get hearing aids, headphones are the next best thing:)  On that note, I’ll just say–

Have a nice weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

A Few Friday Fragments…

It’s been a while since I wrote a fragmented post.  I’ve been trying to be a little more creative, lately, but it’s the end of the week, and my brain feels dead.  I feel the need to indulge in a few fragments today.

It’s been a week since our daughter-in-law, Jennifer, had to have a kidney stone removed.  Ouch!  As of yet, I haven’t experienced having a kidney stone , but I’m told it’s definitely no picnic.  Many women say that kidney stones are worse than childbirth.  If this is the case, I’d just as soon avoid the kidney stone experience!

I guess you could say that summer is ‘officially over’ here in our neck of the woods.  The students, here and in most surrounding towns, went back to school on Tuesday.  It seems awfully early and too hot to be going back to school.  I especially hate to think of the students sitting inside of those hot buses at 2:30 in the afternoon, but nobody asked my opinion.

Our oldest two grandchildren will be home-schooled, this year.  (It will be the 3rd year for Madison, the 1st year for Caden)  This means they’ll have at least another week, or so, of summer vacation. In fact, they spent the first day of regular school, this week, at a nearby water park!  If you ask me, that beats sitting in a stuffy old class room any day of the week.

photo borrowed from DIL’s Facebook page

I’m continuing with the home PT exercises for my back.  So far, so good.  Some days are a little better than others, but, so far, my back pain has been fairly minimal, this week.  I hope and pray it stays that way!  Occasionally, my neck tries to flare up, too, and I take things a little easier on those days.  (I have a bulging disc in my neck, as well.)  By the end of August, I should know, for sure, if the exercises are working.

In addition to the exercises, I’m now walking ( about 1/2 mile each time) twice a day. I’ve made a promise to myself (and to God) to get out and walk as long as I am physically able.  I will never take the ability to walk for granted again.

Ed finally mowed down the last of our garden, this week.  This included the last of my zinnias, sunflowers, old corn stalks, and lots of weeds.  We only have sweet potatoes left, and, sadly, they have grown up in grass, so you can’t really see them.  We’ll find out, in a couple of months, if excess grass affects the growth of sweet potatoes. I’ll miss my zinnias and sunflowers…

The chickens need something ‘green’ in their diets, so I planted some cabbage, collard, and lettuce seeds [in trays], this week.  After they sprout, and the plants are big enough, Ed will transplant them out in the garden for me.  There will be no more  planting for this girl!  My back simply won’t tolerate that much bending over, or even sitting on the Grasshopper gardening stool.

Ed and I spent some time with our three oldest “grands”, this week.  I would say “we babysat”, but there’s not much ‘babysitting’ involved anymore. They’re all getting so big, so fast.  I brought out the old wrestling men and wrestling ring that belonged to our sons, when they were small, and both things were a big hit with the “grands”. Watching the boys (and Madison) play brought back so many memories…  This could have been Brett and Brad twenty-something years ago!

Well, it’s starting out to be a rainy, gloomy Friday, in our area,  and I have a dentist appointment after lunch.  What a way to kick off the weekend!  Things should only get better after that, right?  I hope so!

Happy Friday!

 

 

Friday Fragments…

It’s been a fairly uneventful week here in my neck of the woods, but, these days, I consider ‘uneventful’ a good thing!  I’m trying to get back into the habit of blogging more regularly, so here goes…

Ed and I are officially finished with the gardening season of 2015, and it feels SO good!  We canned the last of our tomatoes on Wednesday.  I was bummed when one of our pints of tomatoes didn’t seal, but that happens sometimes.  In all of our canning experiences, that was only our third mishap–and we’ve canned many jars of fruits and vegetables during the past three years.

Ed’s already mowed down almost all of the old garden plants.  Only my zinnias, some old corn stalks, a few peanuts, and some watermelons remain.  We plan to try some of Ed’s ‘home-grown’ boiled peanuts, this weekend!

Ed had a doctor’s appointment, on Tuesday, for his three month’s checkup.  We use the same primary care physician, and while Ed was seeing the doctor, he happened to ask Ed about me and my back problems.  Ed explained that I had been unable to get in to see a specialist, yet.  He went on to explain how the Prednisone I’d been prescribed on my last visit had helped my sciatica, until it eventually wore off.  The doctor then sent me a prescription for another round of Prednisone, to get me through until I can see a neurologist, on July 21.  God bless him!

We’re in the midst of another heat wave.  The rain has left us, and our temperatures are reaching back into the high nineties, again.  Hello, summer!  By 9 o’clock, each day, it’s already hot, but not as hot as it is by 3 o’clock!!!  I’m keeping a high velocity fan blowing in the chickens’ pen, in an effort to keep them as comfortable as possible.  Happy chickens lay more eggs!  Ours must be pretty content because our current egg count, since January, is 988 eggs from nine hens!

Our daughter and her husband FINALLY got their a/c repaired, yesterday.  They’d been relying on a smaller window unit for over a week and a half, since their a/c drain tray  to the central unit had developed a leak and flooded their ceiling.  Did I mention the entire family had been sleeping in the living room for a week and a half, as well?

Last Friday, Ed and I were in a Wal-mart Neighborhood Market when we saw somebody we hadn’t seen in almost two years.  Does anybody remember me blogging about Alex, the little baby boy our daughter used to keep?  Alex who was deaf, but got cochlear implants during the two years our daughter was keeping him?  Alex, whose mother got cancer and died this past March, at the age of 30?  Well, Ed and I saw Alex, who happened to be shopping with his grandparents!  He’s grown taller, but he still looks the same.  Believe it or not, little Alex turned 4 in February. That little fellow sure has been through a lot in just four short years, but, as usual, he was wearing his smile.

There’s a birthday celebration in the family, this weekend.  Our youngest, Brad, will turn 30 tomorrow.  How in the world did that happen?  If all goes well, the family will be gathering this evening to help him celebrate.  Because mamas like to look back and remember ‘the good ole’ days’, I’m re-sharing the birthday video I made for Brad on his 28th birthday.

Happy birthday, son. Just like the words of the song say, “You make your mother proud.”  I love you!

Friday Fragments…

It’s been another eventful week, but, lately, they always are.  I’m so ready to have some ‘normal’, uneventful weeks again. Our garden continues to grow, in spite of the fact that we’ve only received 1/8 of an inch of rainfall in over a month.  Ed gets lots of exercise moving the water sprinkler around in the garden.  Since our garden is so big, we can’t water everything, so we have to settle for watering the plants that are suffering the most.  It’s gut-wrenching watering some and not all.  We’re concentrating on our tomatoes, beans, and peas, at the moment.

I finally gave in and went to see the doctor about my back, on Monday.  He gave me a prescription for prednisone, which seems to be helping with the left leg numbness some.  I had an MRI done, on Tuesday, and the ‘official’ report says I have one herniated disc, and one bulging disc.  I’ll be seeing a specialist as soon as I get a referral.

Speaking of the MRI and a referral… I got a call, yesterday morning, from my gynecologist’s office.  Somehow, the report from my MRI had gotten sent to their office!  What’s up with that?  The PA told me what the report said, then told me I’d need to see a neurologist or an orthopedic surgeon.  (She offered to do a referral.)  I figured I’d wait and let my primary care physician do the referring, but I haven’t heard from him yet.

We went to the hospital where Ed used to work to have my MRI done.  It was good to see everybody again, and everyone seemed happy to see Ed again.  It’s already been almost 5 months since he last worked there!  The hospital seemed quiet and empty compared to the days when Ed first went to work there, eight years ago.  They’re operating with a lot less staff, these days. Only time will tell if the hospital can remain open.

In other news, our oldest son and his wife bought a new car last weekend, and they drove almost 800 miles (round trip) to buy it!  Of course, that trip was nothing compared to the trip they made when purchasing the car our son once found on eBay.  They rode a bus all the way from Georgia to Louisiana to buy that one!  Our son kept his “eBay car” for many years, but decided to trade it in for the new car they just bought.  He’d had it for so long, seeing it go was like losing a member of the family.

Our youngest son, and his wife will both be starting new jobs on Monday.  They’ll also be trying to pack up and get ready to move out of their house by July 1.  I’ll bet they’ll be glad to have some normal, uneventful weeks again, too. That’s about it for this week’s fragments.  I’ll be linking mine up at Half-past Kissin’ Time.  Have a nice weekend, everyone.  

A Few Friday Fragments…

It’s the end of another exhausting week, and time to share little bits and pieces of it through Friday Fragments.  Thanks to Mrs. Fours @ Half-Past Kissin’ Time for hosting, and giving us “Fragmented People” a place to link up!  Here we go.

While it hasn’t been a great week, it’s been one of the best weeks Ed and I have had in quite a while.  Perhaps we’re just becoming accustomed to things going wrong!  We’ve certainly had lots of practice with that.  Medicare Part B refusing to pay Ed’s first claim, this week?  No problem.  We’re used to such things.

The temperatures here have been brutal, this week.  The highs have been into the 90’s every day.  Ed has braved the heat each day, as he attempts to put new underpinning around our house.  It’s what you do when the workmen you call for estimates don’t bother to call you back!  He  has one side almost finished.  A quote comes to mind, “That which does not kill you, will make you stronger.”  I hope this home improvement project only makes Ed stronger.

I’m now entering the seventh week since my attack of sciatica.  Each week seems to get a little better.  My back hasn’t hurt in several days, nor has my leg.  Now, if only the numbness in my left leg would disappear. It comes and goes, but at least I can walk without much discomfort now.  It’s amazing the things we take for granted, until we suddenly can’t do them!

My daughter and I spent the better part of Thursday morning peeling and chopping onions.  She’d been given a 50 pound bag of Sweet Vidalia Onions!  We peeled and chopped most of them, bagged them, and put them into our freezers.  They come in very handy for cooking.  If you haven’t tried sweet onions, you’re missing a treat.  Some folks eat them like apples…but I’m not one of them!  My hands may be smelling like onions for quite a while.

I mentioned, on Wednesday, about our experiences with the “Broody Hen”(she wanted to sit on the eggs and hatch chicks, but we didn’t want her to.) We gave her a cold water bath, one day, then put her in solitary confinement the following day. (With a fan blowing on her to keep her cool, because cooling a broody hen off is supposed to break the broody cycle.)  I’m happy to report that “Broody Hen” is now back with her sister hens–and she isn’t spending all day on the nest!  I guess the treatment worked!

After our garden nearly drowned in April, we’re running ourselves ragged trying to keep it watered in May.  Ed moves the sprinkler several times a day.  We haven’t had any rain in quite a while, and it’s very dry–everywhere except under our house!  We’re still fighting the problem of high humidity under there.  Go figure!

Even with the  hot, dry, weather, we’ve been able to enjoy fresh vegetables from our garden, daily.  We’ve enjoyed fresh carrots, squash, peas, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers, so far.  Hopefully, we can add green beans and new potatoes to the list, soon.

We got a call from our youngest son, who lives in another town, this week.  It was good news!  He and his wife have had their house up for sale for three weeks, and have been going crazy with all of the “showings”.  They had sixteen showings within sixteen days!  On Tuesday, a couple finally made them an offer!  Brad and Jennifer countered their offer, and the couple accepted.  Their house is now under contract.  I’m so happy for them–and us!  They plan to move back here as soon as their house is sold.

School is out for the summer, here.  Thursday was the last day of public school.  The class of 2015 will graduate tonight.  Several of the graduating students are near and dear to my heart, and have been since they were in first grade, when I was working as a paraprofessional.  I volunteered to tutor one little girl, the summer after she finished up first grade, because she was having some difficulty with reading.  I knew she could be successful with a little extra work, so I offered to help.  Chasiti came to my house each week, that summer, and we sat at my kitchen table and practiced reading skills.  I’m proud to be able to say, Chasiti is going to be an honor graduate tonight!

That’s about it for this week’s edition of Friday Fragments.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.  We don’t have any elaborate plans, just some good food and family fun, at home.  It’s hard to beat that–unless it’s a trip to a beach somewhere!