A Birthday, A Root Canal, And A Cancelled Trip…

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve blogged here.  In fact, it’s been so long, the site actually made me sign in with my username and password!  But here I am, and the title of this post could easily sum up the past three weeks of my life!

Yes, I had another birthday.  My sixty-fourth, to be exact.  Way back in the days when I listened to the old Beatles song, When I’m Sixty-Four, I didn’t think much about ever being sixty-four, but here I am.  How did that happen?!

Although I hadn’t felt well for several days prior to my “sixty-fourth”, I actually felt pretty good on my birthday.  Early that morning, Ed and I threw our lawn chairs in the back of the van and headed for St. Simon’s Island!  All I really wanted was to spend the day lounging in the shade of my favorite oak tree, while enjoying the view.  God blessed me by giving me a “good day” and Ed made sure I got my birthday wish!

my birthday view

The day was as close to perfect as it could be.  A gentle breeze blew, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and there were no annoying people around.  In fact, there were very few people around at all!  When we got home, that evening, I even found a freshly baked pound cake waiting on my kitchen counter–courtesy of my daughter-in-law, Jennifer.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Two weeks after my birthday, I celebrated again with family.  Yes, I said, two weeks after.  That’s how long it took our family to coordinate schedules to celebrate mine and daughter-in-law, Jennifer’s, birthdays. (Her birthday is two days before mine, so we celebrate together) 

 

We celebrated our birthdays at the new home of our oldest son.  (This was their first ‘official’ get-together since moving in.)  We all celebrated with bar-b-que spare ribs and all the trimmings, plus cake/ice cream, and lots of gifts.  It was a nice evening, and we all had a big laugh when Jennifer opened one of her gifts–a witches broom!  Being the good sport she is, she immediately hopped on it and galloped around the room 🙂  (There’s a story behind this gift, but I won’t take time to explain today.)

Just a week after my official birthday, and a week before the family celebration, I experienced my first root canal.  Happy sixty-fourth to me!

 

I’d been dealing with this ‘bothersome’ tooth, since my last checkup, six months ago.  I’d mentioned this tooth to my dentist during that visit, but he suggested we leave it alone for as long as possible. When I went back for my regular cleaning,  x-rays finally showed trouble was brewing, and the dentist said it was time for a root canal.  Fun times!  The procedure was not fun, but wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d thought it would be.  In fact, the most painful part was paying the bill!!!

You see, way back in June, on a whim, I signed [Ed and me] up to take a bus trip to Key West during the first week of November.  If you’ve read my blog, you’ll know that visiting Key West is on my bucket list.  In fact, it’s the only thing on my bucket list!

 

So, I’ve faithfully saved money for the past three months, in anticipation of our upcoming trip.  Little did I know I was saving up for a root canal, instead!!!  I was actually planning to mail the large final payment for the trip on the day I found out I had to have the root canal and crown.  Cost of the root canal and crown?  The same price as the trip to Key West!  Long story made short, I tearfully cancelled our trip, three days later.

Yes, I could have put the root canal or the trip on our credit card, or even taken the money out of our savings, but I didn’t feel like either of those things was the right thing to do, at this time, because six birthdays are coming, plus Christmas, and yearly taxes will soon be due, as well.  Also, for some unknown reason, I’d already been having second thoughts about this trip, so I took the ‘unplanned expense’ as a ‘sign’ that maybe I should just cancel.

Perhaps there will be another travel opportunity sometime in the future.  Who knows?  In the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming of Key West–while wearing a new crown on a very old tooth!  Year sixty-four has certainly started out with a bang!

 

Marching Into The Hodgepodge…

 It’s time, once again, for the Wednesday Hodgepodge.  You know the drill.  Our hostess, Joyce, supplies the questions, and we supply the answers.  Then we link up at Joyce’s place and visit each other’s blogs.  It’s always fun to see what questions Joyce has for us, and to see how others answer them.  Thanks for all you do, Joyce!

Now I present to you, The Hodgepodge:

1. ‘In like a lion, out like a lamb’…does the first part of this saying describing March weather ring true  where you live?

Actually, the weather has been wonderful on the second and third days of March!  The mornings have been cloudy and cool, but, by lunch, the sun has come out and temperatures have been above 70 degrees 🙂  Unfortunately, according to the weather man, all of that is about to change.  Old man winter isn’t finished with us yet!

2. March 4th is National Grammar Day. What common grammatical error bothers you the most?

I think misspelled words bother me the most, but choosing the wrong word for a sentence bothers me, too–like using ‘their’ when it should be ‘they’re’.

3. William Arthur Ward says- ‘The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.’ Which one are you?

I’m somewhere between the pessimist and the optimist, but I probably tend to lean a little more toward the pessimistic side.  I protect myself from disappointment by expecting the worst outcome, then being pleasantly surprised when it doesn’t happen.  Yes, I know that sounds kind of crazy…but it works for me.

4. What’s something you need to ‘march forth and conquer’ this month?

Ed and I really need to ‘march forth and conquer’ cleaning out his parents’ house.  The house is sitting there, pretty much like it was when Ed’s mom passed away 18 months ago.  We’ve cleaned out most of the drawers and cabinets, but all of the furniture and personal stuff  that family didn’t want is still there.  The thought of getting rid of their stuff is still painful, so we both keep procrastinating.  Meanwhile, ‘Trouble’, the cat, still lives there, and looks forward to her daily visit from ‘the man with the can’.

5. An ongoing debate around here…do you dust first, then vacuum or vacuum first, then dust? Of the two routine household chores, which do you dislike the least? How’s that for wording?

 It depends on what room I’m cleaning.  When I clean the bedroom, I always dust first, then vacuum.  When I clean the living room, I vacuum, then dust.  I know, it makes no sense, but that’s how I do things.  I dislike vacuuming more than dusting, because I hate picking up and shaking all of the throw rugs.

6. According to thrilllist.com, the ten most photographed sites in the U.S.A. are-Cinderella’s Castle in Orlando, Southernmost House in Key West Florida, The Space Needle in Seattle, The Site of the Boston Massacre in Boston, The Bellagio Lake/fountains in Las Vegas, The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Coit Tower in San Fransisco, The Art Institute of Chicago, Niagara Falls, and snagging the number one spot-The Guggenheim Museum in New York City. 

How many on this list have you photographed? Which on the list would you most like to visit and photograph?

I’ve only had the opportunity to photograph one of the sites on this list–Cinderella’s Castle in Orlando. I’ll spare you my unimpressive Polaroid picture from the 70’s.  (You’re welcome.)  I think I would most like to visit, and photograph, Niagara Falls–but not using a Polaroid camera!

7. Fifty years ago Monday (March 2, 1965) The Sound of Music premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in NYC. Have you seen the film? Do you own a copy? On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love it (or not)? Ten=best movie ever. If you’re a fan, what’s your favorite scene or song from the movie?

Sorry, I’m not a fan of the film.  I’ve seen parts of it, but it didn’t keep my interest.  I’ll give it a 2.  I do like the song My Favorite Things though.

Random:

At the risk of wearing this subject out, I have to share my latest dental saga.

On Monday, I went back to the dentist to have my permanent crown put on.  Because this tooth has been so sensitive, over the past month, the dentist ended up giving me four shots before he successfully (and painlessly) got the crown fitted.  I left his office feeling weak in the knees, then felt lousy the rest of the day, and the following day, as well.  Perhaps a little too much Novocain?

However, once the numbness finally left me, the crown felt great.  My mouth, however, was sore from so many shots. Then, on Monday night, when I flossed in between the crown and the tooth next to it, a tiny piece of white, hard matter came rolling out.  I panicked, assuming it might be a piece of broken tooth!  Ed looked, but couldn’t see anything wrong, so maybe it was just a piece of left-over cement from the crown– I hope!

Hopefully, my dental woes have ended, after five visits to the dentist, several restless nights, seven shots, and several hundred dollars less in our bank account.  I’m ready to put the whole thing behind me–until the next time 😦

~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, Ed and I are getting the rare opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with our youngest grandson, Evan, today!  His parents will be in town, attending a funeral, so we’ll have Evan all to ourselves for a while 🙂  It’s been two and one-half weeks since we’ve seen this little fellow, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of new tricks he’s learned since his last visit 🙂

P.S.  About the time I hit publish, our phone rang.  It was our son, Brad, telling us that Evan has come down with the stomach virus!  So, we won’t be baby sitting, today, after all…  So much for the best laid plans:(

 Future NASCAR Driver?

A Few Friday Fragments…

Week five of retirement has been a wet and cold one!  Of course, after watching the evening news, I’ve realized it’s not really cold here, compared to most places.  Still, for us, it’s been cold enough to keep us indoors.  All of that is due to change tomorrow, thank goodness!  Temps are supposed to reach 72, by Sunday.  I’ll believe it when I see it.

We met with an insurance agent, on Monday, to purchase future healthcare coverage, for after the insurance, from Ed’s previous job, runs out.  Between the two of us, the process took about two hours, so that took care of a big portion of the day!  Ed got one kind of policy, while I got another.  After all of that, Ed’s previous employer now says, “We could have covered you through the end of May.” (If this is true, why did they first state the end of March on the form?)  Grrr….  Speaking of Ed’s previous employer, why is it they had no problem disabling our ‘Flex Pay’ medical expense card, but are having so much trouble discontinuing taking the payments for it out of Ed’s check?!

Ed had to go and have blood work done, this week.  He’s always had his blood drawn at the hospital where he used to work, so he went back there, on Wednesday, to have it done.  As usual, anytime he goes back to the hospital, his blood pressure goes up.  Things are still crazy there, and dealing with them makes us crazy, too!

I took down all of the Valentine’s Day decorations, yesterday, and put out the St. Patrick’s Day decorations.  My St. Patrick’s Day decorations are my least favorite decorations, since I’m not a fan of green (except for money, of course!).  It’s sort of fruitless to decorate a green tree with green decorations anyway.  In just over three weeks, it will be time to decorate for Easter!  This year is passing quickly.

You know, I’ve had nothing but trouble with the temporary crown I had put on three weeks ago.  Well, last night, while eating a piece of Valentine’s Day candy (my first and only piece!), the crown actually came off!  Fortunately, I realized it was off before I actually swallowed it.  Hopefully, I’ll be going back to the dentist today!  (If not, it will be a long weekend!)  This will be visit #4, since receiving this crown!  I’m hoping and praying the permanent one works better than the temporary one has!  Of course, the problems in my life are small, compared to the problems of some people in my life, so I shouldn’t complain.

Speaking of the problems of people in my life, I’d like to end this edition of Friday Fragments by asking for your prayers.  Not for me, but for some people who are very close to me.  My sister-in-law ( my brother’s wife) is going through some tough times, at the moment.  Her mom is currently under the care of Hospice, and is living out her final days.  As if that’s not enough to deal with, my brother and his wife are dealing with other serious family problems [concerning their oldest grandson], as well.  Please pray for God’s strength and guidance for them, as they travel the road that lies ahead.

I’m linking today’s fragments up over @ Half-Past Kissin’ Time.  Thanks for hosting, Mrs. Fours!

Stay warm, and enjoy your weekend!  God willing, I’ll see you back here, on Monday.

 

 

 

 

Friday Fragments…

Today marks the end of week #3 since Ed lost his job  and went into retirement.  It’s been the most difficult week, so far, at least for me.  I chalk this up to the fact that I haven’t been feeling well all week.  Nothing else has really changed.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had a temporary crown put on a tooth, on Monday.  I’ve had a lot of discomfort, since then, and will be returning to the dentist again, today.  The problem is not the dentist, it’s my teeth and how they fit together, which isn’t normal.  Hopefully, “the third time will be the charm”, and the dentist can get my crown down a little lower today.  My gums are already feeling much better.

This week also marks the second week I’ve been reducing my HRT (hormone replacement therapy).  I’ve been gradually working toward stopping HRT, for over a year, by going down to a lower dosage, last January.  I recently began the process of skipping one capsule every third day, another step in weaning off hormone therapy slowly. No hot flashes, so far, but I can tell a change in my mood.  I’m hoping my mood will change, for the better, once my mouth doesn’t hurt anymore!

It rained again this week, and we discovered Ed wasn’t successful in fixing the leak in our roof.  He got on top of the house again, yesterday, and added more silicone.  I’m hoping “the third time will be the charm” for the roof, as well as my tooth. When Ed built our house, several years ago, he put a tin roof on it.  It’s been nothing but a problem for the past two years!  If money wasn’t an object, I’d have that tin replaced with shingles, in a heartbeat.

Ed and I are still working on getting our business affairs transitioned, in the wake of his involuntary retirement.  He was finally able to get the final date that our insurance coverage will end, so we can move forward with shopping for new insurance coverage.  For the first time in our lives, we’ll have separate health insurance policies, because Ed’s on Medicare.

Ed and I took a trip to town, yesterday, to have our prescriptions filled and to stop by the grocery store.  We ran into a former co-worker of Ed’s, and he told us that three people, at the hospital, had gotten their jobs back, this week. The management company discovered they’d “cut too deep”, so they had to back-track and re-hire some personnel. Hearing this has me wondering about this management company…

The big project for this week, for Ed, turned out to be re-doing our grapevines.  We have several vines, and Ed hasn’t had much time to properly take care of any of them.  He started with the two vines closest to our house, this week.  He took down the old strands of wire the vines were running on, and replaced that with new fence wire.  It will take a year or two for the vines to recover, and get properly trained, but the vines should grow much better and yield more grapes, in the end.

My projects for the week consisted of starting a new book and painting some Valentine’s Day sun catchers.  I wasn’t thrilled with the way the sun catchers turned out, but, at least, the book is good.  I’m reading American Sniper.  I wanted to see the movie, but figured the book would be much better.

That’s about it for this edition of Friday Fragments, and I’ll be linking up with Mrs. Fours @ Half-Past Kissin’ Time. Enjoy your weekend!

 

‘Snow Kidding’, It’s Another Wednesday Hodgepodge…

I know some folks are still dealing with snow, but here in the sunny south, we’re just dealing with the cold.  Our highs are running around 50, with lows around 30, but that still feels like winter to us!

I’m spending most of my time inside, where it’s warm, so it’s nice to have the distraction of “The Hodgepodge”.  I’m so grateful to our hostess, Joyce, for continuing to give us all this soft place to land on Wednesdays…

1. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve, or keep your emotions tucked in tight?

I always wear my heart on my sleeve, no secrets here.  You can usually tell what I’m thinking or feeling, just by the look on my face. Sometimes this gets me into trouble.

2. How did you meet your closest friend?

I met my closest friend, Diane, way back in 1970, when she began dating Ed’s closest friend, Herman.  We used to spend the night with each other, during her final year high school.  Diane graduated from high school in 1970, two years ahead of me, married Herman that summer, then moved to Okinawa after Herman and Ed were deployed there. Diane and I have continued to keep in touch over the forty-five years that we’ve been friends, and our husbands remain friends, as well.

Interesting note here:  When Diane first began dating Herman, her parents didn’t like him and forbid her from seeing him.  So, for a short time, Ed pretended to be dating Diane.  He’d go pick Diane up, pass her off to Herman, somewhere down the road, then come to my house.  Herman would take Diane home, at the end of their date, since her parents were in bed by then.  Sometimes we do crazy things, when we’re young and foolish!

3.  Pink lemonade, grilled salmon, cotton candy, pink grapefruit, a strawberry milkshake, or raspberry sorbet…of the pink foods listed, which one is your favorite? Least favorite? Which one have you most recently consumed?

Of the pink foods listed, cotton candy would be my favorite!  My least favorite would be pink grapefruit.  I detest grapefruit!  As for which one I most recently consumed, I don’t remember because it’s been quite a while since I had either, but it was either cotton candy or pink lemonade.

4. When were you last ‘tickled pink’ over something? Explain.

I was very surprised and ‘tickled pink’, one day last week, when our DIL, Jennifer, and grandson, Evan, came driving up!  They were on their way to see Jennifer’s aunt, but decided to stop by for a brief visit!  I love those kinds of mid-week surprises!  I was ‘tickled pink’ all over again, when Jennifer, Evan, and Brad came back for a longer visit, on Sunday!  They ate Sunday dinner with  us, then stayed and watched most of the Superbowl game before going back home late Sunday night.

5. Are you a fan of television talk shows? Daytime, nighttime, or both? What’s your favorite?

I used to be a fan of television talk shows, but, these days, not so much.  I’ve probably watched a lot more daytime talk shows than nighttime ones. Phil Donahue and Oprah used to be my favorites, but, these days, I don’t have a favorite.

6. When was the last time you wanted to ask a question, but felt too foolish to do so?

I’m not sure, but it could have been Monday, while I was getting my first temporary crown put on at the dentist office.

7. My favorite television show right now is Stalker.  

I love the cast, and this show always keeps me sitting on the edge of my seat!  Occasionally, I’ll jump and scream, too!

Random:

Well, week 3 of Ed’s retirement has not started off good.

I had the misfortune of having another tooth break, the day after Ed lost his job.  This meant another trip to the dentist, where he told me he’d try to patch it, but, ideally, I needed a crown.  This tooth has already been “patched”, within the last couple of years, so I decided to “bite the bullet” and get my first crown, to the tune of $850 because I was told I’d eventually end up losing this tooth, otherwise.  Fortunately, for now, we still have our dental insurance, which will help with the cost.

My dental appointment to get a temporary crown put on was on Monday.  I had the temporary crown put on, and my mouth felt awful!  I went back yesterday, and had the crown shaved down some, but it still feels a little high.  I’m wondering if I’ll ever chew normally again.  I have another appointment, to get my teeth cleaned, on Friday, so I’ll talk to the dentist about it then.

Meanwhile, Ed’s in the process of trying to ‘re-do’ our two grapevines.  We’re going to try having them ‘run’ on regular fence wire, instead of two single strands of wire, like in the past.  After taking down the original two strands of wire, Ed discovered our old roll of fence wire is no longer any good.  (Rust had eaten it up.)  The cost of a new roll of fence wire?  $159, plus gas for the 50 mile round trip to AgriSupply!  Gotta’ love life’s little unexpected expenses 😦