This morning I was feeling pretty good so I did a load of dishes, picked up the rugs in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, shook them out, swept the floors, mopped the floors, swept the stairs going upstairs and the basement, and then vacuumed the carpets downstairs.
I even managed to do four loads of laundry, I just finished putting the laundry away and I am starting to feel a little tired. It would have taken me several days to get all that done before I had that cortisone shot the other day.
My cold has gotten better, I am still not really healthy, but much better than I have been for the last two weeks. Well, I had a busy day so I think that I will call it good and post this.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Day Two After Cortisone Shot
This morning when I got up I was able to move without the pain that I have almost become accustom to for the last year and a half. I still have some pain but nothing like what I have been experiencing before the shot.
After breakfast I looked outside and it was much cloudier than it has been the last few days so I decided that I would put down some fertilizer on the lawn. This turned out to be a much larger task than I had originally planned.
After bringing the spreader and the fertilizer to the front yard I realized that there was still some winter debris over by the hedge on the east side of the lawn; so I got out my rake and raked the front lawn. After I finished raking I realized that I probably should mow the lawn, so I got out my mower and mowed the front lawn.
Now that I had the lawn raked and mowed I could put the fertilizer down which I did. After finishing the front lawn I moved everything to the back yard. First I mowed the lawn and then put down the fertilizer. I did not need to rake as I had picked up and raked it a couple days ago.
Then I went back out front with my rake and hoe so that I could clear out the drainage trench that I have from in front of the kitchen windows down along the hedge to get the water away from the sidewalk. Moles had dug up some of the soil last fall and I had not felt well enough to to do it before now.
While I was doing that a couple of guys stopped by and wanted to know if I had any metal that they could have, I let them take some of the pipes and the old tub from the downstairs bathroom a few months before and they seemed like they were okay so I let them take my old gutters that I replace a couple years ago.
I would have let them have it last time but I had forgotten it as it was in the back and the pipes and tub were in the side yard on the other side of the driveway. After they left I went into the house, cleaned up and then made myself some lunch.
Right now I have a load of towels in the washer and I had planned on doing a couple loads of clothes but Kathleen has not gone back upstairs to add her clothes to the laundry bags so I may wait until tomorrow to do them.
I am surprised at how little I hurt after all that I did today. It probably would have taken me three of four days to do what I did today before I had that cortisone shot, so maybe there is hope for me yet.
Well it is getting close to dinner time so I think that I will publish this and call it a day.
After breakfast I looked outside and it was much cloudier than it has been the last few days so I decided that I would put down some fertilizer on the lawn. This turned out to be a much larger task than I had originally planned.
After bringing the spreader and the fertilizer to the front yard I realized that there was still some winter debris over by the hedge on the east side of the lawn; so I got out my rake and raked the front lawn. After I finished raking I realized that I probably should mow the lawn, so I got out my mower and mowed the front lawn.
Now that I had the lawn raked and mowed I could put the fertilizer down which I did. After finishing the front lawn I moved everything to the back yard. First I mowed the lawn and then put down the fertilizer. I did not need to rake as I had picked up and raked it a couple days ago.
Then I went back out front with my rake and hoe so that I could clear out the drainage trench that I have from in front of the kitchen windows down along the hedge to get the water away from the sidewalk. Moles had dug up some of the soil last fall and I had not felt well enough to to do it before now.
While I was doing that a couple of guys stopped by and wanted to know if I had any metal that they could have, I let them take some of the pipes and the old tub from the downstairs bathroom a few months before and they seemed like they were okay so I let them take my old gutters that I replace a couple years ago.
I would have let them have it last time but I had forgotten it as it was in the back and the pipes and tub were in the side yard on the other side of the driveway. After they left I went into the house, cleaned up and then made myself some lunch.
Right now I have a load of towels in the washer and I had planned on doing a couple loads of clothes but Kathleen has not gone back upstairs to add her clothes to the laundry bags so I may wait until tomorrow to do them.
I am surprised at how little I hurt after all that I did today. It probably would have taken me three of four days to do what I did today before I had that cortisone shot, so maybe there is hope for me yet.
Well it is getting close to dinner time so I think that I will publish this and call it a day.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Day After Cortisone
I was able to sleep on my left side comfortably last night for the first time in over a year so that cortisone shot must have really done its job. I did get up earlier than I had planned as I started coughing and did not want to keep Kathleen up.
So after eating breakfast and reading the paper I loaded up the dishwasher and started it up. I was such a nice day that I decided to go for a walk and was able to walk the three quarter mile around the block with out my hip really hurting me. Toward the end I felt like it was going to start hurting any moment but it never did so that was a relief for me.
When I got back the mail had come so I got it but there was not much of anything there; as I was putting the junk mail into the box that I put the recycling in I though that it would be a good opportunity to see if I could clean up the laundry room.
I got rid of a lot of the bags of plastic bags and bags of rags and was able to move some of the other thing to under the clothes hooks. I also got rid of the box that our lap top came in and also the box that our battery back up for Kathleen's computer.
So now everything is cleared away for the new back door and we can even get into the cabinets next to the washer and dryer. My goal for the next few weeks is to try and go through one room at a time and sort and throw out so that we can reclaim our house back again.
I noticed that the used towels were starting to pile up so I loaded up the washer and did a load of towels. I finally made myself some lunch around 1530; I reheated up some split pea soup from the other night and had the other half of the burger from Burgerville from yesterdays lunch.
After eating I emptied the dishwasher and then put my lunch dishes into the dishwasher. The towels were finished in the washer so I loaded them into the dryer and turned it on.
After I while I heard the dryer go off so I took the towels out, folded and put them away. Then I decided that I would sit and rest for a while and watch the local news. It got to be around 1830 and I asked Kathleen if she was going to do anything for dinner or if she wanted me to do something, she said that she would like for me to do something.
Upon opening the refrigerator I discovered some left-over meatloaf, some left-over rice so I fixed the rice with some cheese on top for Kathleen and and heated up some meatloaf and split pea soup for myself.
I kind of feel like I have had more energy today and I can only think that since my hip was not hurting and sapping my energy that allowed me to get more done. Well, I am tired so I think that I will call it a night.
So after eating breakfast and reading the paper I loaded up the dishwasher and started it up. I was such a nice day that I decided to go for a walk and was able to walk the three quarter mile around the block with out my hip really hurting me. Toward the end I felt like it was going to start hurting any moment but it never did so that was a relief for me.
When I got back the mail had come so I got it but there was not much of anything there; as I was putting the junk mail into the box that I put the recycling in I though that it would be a good opportunity to see if I could clean up the laundry room.
I got rid of a lot of the bags of plastic bags and bags of rags and was able to move some of the other thing to under the clothes hooks. I also got rid of the box that our lap top came in and also the box that our battery back up for Kathleen's computer.
So now everything is cleared away for the new back door and we can even get into the cabinets next to the washer and dryer. My goal for the next few weeks is to try and go through one room at a time and sort and throw out so that we can reclaim our house back again.
I noticed that the used towels were starting to pile up so I loaded up the washer and did a load of towels. I finally made myself some lunch around 1530; I reheated up some split pea soup from the other night and had the other half of the burger from Burgerville from yesterdays lunch.
After eating I emptied the dishwasher and then put my lunch dishes into the dishwasher. The towels were finished in the washer so I loaded them into the dryer and turned it on.
After I while I heard the dryer go off so I took the towels out, folded and put them away. Then I decided that I would sit and rest for a while and watch the local news. It got to be around 1830 and I asked Kathleen if she was going to do anything for dinner or if she wanted me to do something, she said that she would like for me to do something.
Upon opening the refrigerator I discovered some left-over meatloaf, some left-over rice so I fixed the rice with some cheese on top for Kathleen and and heated up some meatloaf and split pea soup for myself.
I kind of feel like I have had more energy today and I can only think that since my hip was not hurting and sapping my energy that allowed me to get more done. Well, I am tired so I think that I will call it a night.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Today was Doctor Visit Day!
This morning I had my visit with the Arthritis and bone doctor at 1100 so I did not get much of anything done this morning. My head cold or whatever it is that I have was a little better this morning and I felt pretty good over all.
When I got to the doctor's office, I had to fill out the usual forms even though I had already filled out the ones that they had sent me. The receptionist was also the nurse so you can see that it was a pretty small office. The doctor has only had this practice for a year or so so I think that he is cutting out extra staff until he establishes the practice.
The doctor poke and prodded trying to find all the areas that hurt and finally said that a lot of my pain was from bursitis, which is more painful than just arthritis so he gave me a Cortisone shot in my hip.
He then wrote me out a couple referrals for physical therapy; one for my hands and the other for my back and hips. He also sent me for a series of x-rays.
They took about eight of my back and hips and six of my hands so it will be interesting to see what turns up in them. He also signed a temporary disable parking permit for my for six months to see how the physical therapy does and then reevaluate the situation.
I stopped by the physical therapy office but it was lunch time so we just left and I will call tomorrow for an appointment there. So after having my x-rays we went to the DMV office to get the tag for my car.
By the time we got out of the DMV it was 1330 and we were both getting hungry, Denny's was having free Grand Slam breakfasts until 1400 but when we got there there was a line of about fifty people so I decided that we would go to Burgerville.
They were having their Hazel nut shake as the shake of the month so we had that along with bacon/pepper jack cheese burger and Yukon fries; Yukon fries are the best!
By the time we got home it was almost 1500 and we both were really worn out, so I did not call the physical therapy offices as my voice was going out again. It seems like that has been happening around 1500 for the last few days.
Well, I am still pretty tired and I think that I am going to call it a day and go to bed.
When I got to the doctor's office, I had to fill out the usual forms even though I had already filled out the ones that they had sent me. The receptionist was also the nurse so you can see that it was a pretty small office. The doctor has only had this practice for a year or so so I think that he is cutting out extra staff until he establishes the practice.
The doctor poke and prodded trying to find all the areas that hurt and finally said that a lot of my pain was from bursitis, which is more painful than just arthritis so he gave me a Cortisone shot in my hip.
He then wrote me out a couple referrals for physical therapy; one for my hands and the other for my back and hips. He also sent me for a series of x-rays.
They took about eight of my back and hips and six of my hands so it will be interesting to see what turns up in them. He also signed a temporary disable parking permit for my for six months to see how the physical therapy does and then reevaluate the situation.
I stopped by the physical therapy office but it was lunch time so we just left and I will call tomorrow for an appointment there. So after having my x-rays we went to the DMV office to get the tag for my car.
By the time we got out of the DMV it was 1330 and we were both getting hungry, Denny's was having free Grand Slam breakfasts until 1400 but when we got there there was a line of about fifty people so I decided that we would go to Burgerville.
They were having their Hazel nut shake as the shake of the month so we had that along with bacon/pepper jack cheese burger and Yukon fries; Yukon fries are the best!
By the time we got home it was almost 1500 and we both were really worn out, so I did not call the physical therapy offices as my voice was going out again. It seems like that has been happening around 1500 for the last few days.
Well, I am still pretty tired and I think that I am going to call it a day and go to bed.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Home on a Monday Night
Well I still have my head cold or whatever it is that I have and Kathleen came down with the same thing a couple days ago. I have had mind for just about a week now and I am really ready to have it go away.
It is not that I am really sick, it is just that my nose and throat have a lot of mucus and at night my nose gets plugged up and then when I get up everything starts to drain and I cough to get it up and after a while my throat get sore. So for the last three or four days I have pretty much lost my voice.
I have been putting Vick's VaporRub on three or four time a day and before I go to bed; so I smell rather medicinal most of the time.
So since we were both not feeling well we did not go to our small group tonight. I thought that I might be able to make it tonight, but by 1530 I knew that I would not as my throat and ear were really hurting.
The temperature got up to the mid fifties today and so I went outside a little after 1000 and I finally made it back into the house around 1530. I felt pretty good while I was outside, or maybe I was just so glad to be outside that I did not notice I was feeling bad.
I got quite a lot done; I picked up all the left over lumber from putting the new back door in and also picked up the lumber under the fir trees from the bathroom remodel. I pulled all the nails out of the boards and then re-stacked the larger pieces and then put the small pieces into one of my old garbage cans. One of our neighbors has been picking it up so maybe this will allow him to take more at one time.
Tomorrow I see my arthritis and bone care doctor; this is my first visit so I am not sure what to expect. I am hoping that he will prescribe some water physical therapy for me so that I will be able to exercise and not hurt my joints. I would also like to be able to get some relief from the pain without the help of drugs.
Well, I am kind of tired, but it is a good tired from working outside for over five hours; so I think that I will call it a day and sit down and relax before going to bed.
It is not that I am really sick, it is just that my nose and throat have a lot of mucus and at night my nose gets plugged up and then when I get up everything starts to drain and I cough to get it up and after a while my throat get sore. So for the last three or four days I have pretty much lost my voice.
I have been putting Vick's VaporRub on three or four time a day and before I go to bed; so I smell rather medicinal most of the time.
So since we were both not feeling well we did not go to our small group tonight. I thought that I might be able to make it tonight, but by 1530 I knew that I would not as my throat and ear were really hurting.
The temperature got up to the mid fifties today and so I went outside a little after 1000 and I finally made it back into the house around 1530. I felt pretty good while I was outside, or maybe I was just so glad to be outside that I did not notice I was feeling bad.
I got quite a lot done; I picked up all the left over lumber from putting the new back door in and also picked up the lumber under the fir trees from the bathroom remodel. I pulled all the nails out of the boards and then re-stacked the larger pieces and then put the small pieces into one of my old garbage cans. One of our neighbors has been picking it up so maybe this will allow him to take more at one time.
Tomorrow I see my arthritis and bone care doctor; this is my first visit so I am not sure what to expect. I am hoping that he will prescribe some water physical therapy for me so that I will be able to exercise and not hurt my joints. I would also like to be able to get some relief from the pain without the help of drugs.
Well, I am kind of tired, but it is a good tired from working outside for over five hours; so I think that I will call it a day and sit down and relax before going to bed.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Chuck Wagon Pizza
Chuck Wagon Pizza
Here is an easy pizza to make, and should be a hit with the whole family.
Ingredients:
1-3 pounds (4 medium) potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 package (10 ounces)prepared, refrigerated pizza dough or Boboli
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup of your favorite prepared barbecue sauce, (divided in 1/4 and 3/4 measuring cups)
1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place potatoes in a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart microwave-safe dish.
Cover with plastic wrap, venting one corner.
Microwave on HIGH 8 to 10 minutes until just tender; set aside.
Coat 12-inch round pizza pan with vegetable cooking spray; press dough evenly into pan (If using Boboli follow directions on package.); prick all over with fork.
Bake for 10 minutes; set aside.
Meanwhile, in large nonstick skillet over medium heat saute beef until browned; drain fat.
Mix in 3/4 cup barbecue sauce.
To assemble pizza, spread beef mixture over crust; top evenly with potatoes and bell pepper.
Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes until hot throughout and cheese is melted.
Cut into 8 wedges.
This should serve four people
Preparation time ten minutes
Cooking time thirty minutes
Here is an easy pizza to make, and should be a hit with the whole family.
Ingredients:
1-3 pounds (4 medium) potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 package (10 ounces)prepared, refrigerated pizza dough or Boboli
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup of your favorite prepared barbecue sauce, (divided in 1/4 and 3/4 measuring cups)
1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place potatoes in a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart microwave-safe dish.
Cover with plastic wrap, venting one corner.
Microwave on HIGH 8 to 10 minutes until just tender; set aside.
Coat 12-inch round pizza pan with vegetable cooking spray; press dough evenly into pan (If using Boboli follow directions on package.); prick all over with fork.
Bake for 10 minutes; set aside.
Meanwhile, in large nonstick skillet over medium heat saute beef until browned; drain fat.
Mix in 3/4 cup barbecue sauce.
To assemble pizza, spread beef mixture over crust; top evenly with potatoes and bell pepper.
Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes until hot throughout and cheese is melted.
Cut into 8 wedges.
This should serve four people
Preparation time ten minutes
Cooking time thirty minutes
Friday, January 30, 2009
End of the Week
I have been fighting a cough and sore throat for the last several day and yesterday it finally got the best of me. I felt bad all day and by 1600 I could not take it any longer so I went to bed and slept until Kathleen woke me up a little after 1900.
I felt a little better this morning when I woke up but my throat was still pretty thick feeling from all the mucus. I had to spend a lot of time outside today as we were replacing our back door and unfortunately it was foggy early and cool and damp feeling all day long.
I put on one of my old flannel shirts and my Jeep vest to help keep my chest and maybe even my throat a little warmer. I still had on my shorts because I was not cold I just did not want to take a chance on getting a chill.
We had a half window it there before and now we have a full length window with built in blinds that fit between the two sheets of glass. It really makes for a clean look and seems to work really well.
The door is so well insulated that we may not need a storm door, but we will see how warm it keeps the mud room over the next week or so. We may just get one of those retracting screens if we do not need the storm door.
I would have taken a picture except that by the time we finished everything it was dark out.
Well, I got interrupted of about twenty-five minutes, one of my friends wanted some technical advice on hooking up his new TV to the converter box that I gave him.
Well, that is about it for today, I am pretty worn out as I did not get a rest time today, maybe tomorrow will be better.
I felt a little better this morning when I woke up but my throat was still pretty thick feeling from all the mucus. I had to spend a lot of time outside today as we were replacing our back door and unfortunately it was foggy early and cool and damp feeling all day long.
I put on one of my old flannel shirts and my Jeep vest to help keep my chest and maybe even my throat a little warmer. I still had on my shorts because I was not cold I just did not want to take a chance on getting a chill.
We had a half window it there before and now we have a full length window with built in blinds that fit between the two sheets of glass. It really makes for a clean look and seems to work really well.
The door is so well insulated that we may not need a storm door, but we will see how warm it keeps the mud room over the next week or so. We may just get one of those retracting screens if we do not need the storm door.
I would have taken a picture except that by the time we finished everything it was dark out.
Well, I got interrupted of about twenty-five minutes, one of my friends wanted some technical advice on hooking up his new TV to the converter box that I gave him.
Well, that is about it for today, I am pretty worn out as I did not get a rest time today, maybe tomorrow will be better.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Snow Early
When I woke up this morning it was clear out and after an hour or so when the sun started to come up I could see that it had started to snow a little and by 0800 it really had started coming down.
Kathleen came downstairs about 0800 and she made herself a couple of egg yokes and she fixed me the egg whites from this morning and also a couple from last Saturday. She also made some hash brown and while we were eating the whole front lawn was covered as was the street.
Stan got here a little after 0900 and had to go home to pick up a tarp and poles so that he could set up his saws and keep them dry. So when he got back I helped him set up the tarp and then after he got started working Kathleen and I took a walk around the block.
This first one is of Kathleen and myself; of course I had to bend at the knees quite a bit so that we all could fit in the picture.
The second one is a close up of yours truly in my American Buffalo Collection Stetson.
The last one is of full shot of me; notice the nice compression socks that I have to wear. It took me a while before I would wear them outside without long pants or jeans on but I was always so hot that I decided that even if it was not a fashionable look I would go for the comfortable look.
Tomorrow Stan thinks that he will be able to put the new stairs in place; he has been making the staircase level and has added cleats to the old riser so that the new stairway will be level and hopefully much quieter.
Well I have been rather tired lately and that is one of the reasons I have not blogged much. We also have been away from home during the afternoons and evenings so by the time we got home I was out of energy.
Saturday the Oregon Roushes celebrated a belated Christmas and December adult birthdays; Sunday Kathleen and I attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at church and again by the time we got home I was worn out. Then last night we had our small group and did not get home until after 2130 and mentally I was spent!
Kathleen came downstairs about 0800 and she made herself a couple of egg yokes and she fixed me the egg whites from this morning and also a couple from last Saturday. She also made some hash brown and while we were eating the whole front lawn was covered as was the street.
Stan got here a little after 0900 and had to go home to pick up a tarp and poles so that he could set up his saws and keep them dry. So when he got back I helped him set up the tarp and then after he got started working Kathleen and I took a walk around the block.
This first one is of Kathleen and myself; of course I had to bend at the knees quite a bit so that we all could fit in the picture.
The second one is a close up of yours truly in my American Buffalo Collection Stetson.
The last one is of full shot of me; notice the nice compression socks that I have to wear. It took me a while before I would wear them outside without long pants or jeans on but I was always so hot that I decided that even if it was not a fashionable look I would go for the comfortable look.
Tomorrow Stan thinks that he will be able to put the new stairs in place; he has been making the staircase level and has added cleats to the old riser so that the new stairway will be level and hopefully much quieter.
Well I have been rather tired lately and that is one of the reasons I have not blogged much. We also have been away from home during the afternoons and evenings so by the time we got home I was out of energy.
Saturday the Oregon Roushes celebrated a belated Christmas and December adult birthdays; Sunday Kathleen and I attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at church and again by the time we got home I was worn out. Then last night we had our small group and did not get home until after 2130 and mentally I was spent!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
So Goes the Best Laid Plans!
Well, I had planned on doing a better job of blogging but stuff happens. We have been having strong winds for the last several days with gusts over seventy miles an hour and Sunday we lost our internet service. This meant that not only did we not have internet or cable TV service but also our telephone service was out. For that reason I was not able to blog on Sunday to do my weekend wrap up.
Then yesterday we had a lot of catching up to do and last night we had our small group and by the time we got home I was too tired to do it justice so I just went to bed.
To kind of catch-up a little, the downstairs bathroom is just about complete. We just need to seal the grout, put the light over the mirror, put the light switch and outlet covers on and hang the toilet paper holder on the vanity. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like today.
This is the vanity with the sink, faucets, and mirror above.
This is of the back of the tub with the double towel bar to the right; notice the two grab bars: one to get in and out with and the other oval one to help catch someone if they slip.
This is of the front of the tub with the faucet and the shower. The faucet allows one to keep the temperature the same and turn the water pressure from off to full force. The shower has a removable wand that showers and the water from the regular shower head continues to work along with the hand held wand for rinsing off.
In this photo is the new toilet, it is a Toto just like the one upstairs only this one is even more water conservative and like the one upstairs the flush last as long as one holds the handle down, so we will need a little practice to find out how long to hold the handle down, but the one upstairs does not require much water to completely flush.
The seat is a slow closing one so that one can just let it go and it slowly closes...no more toilet seats crashing down!!!
Then yesterday we had a lot of catching up to do and last night we had our small group and by the time we got home I was too tired to do it justice so I just went to bed.
To kind of catch-up a little, the downstairs bathroom is just about complete. We just need to seal the grout, put the light over the mirror, put the light switch and outlet covers on and hang the toilet paper holder on the vanity. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like today.
This is the vanity with the sink, faucets, and mirror above.
This is of the back of the tub with the double towel bar to the right; notice the two grab bars: one to get in and out with and the other oval one to help catch someone if they slip.
This is of the front of the tub with the faucet and the shower. The faucet allows one to keep the temperature the same and turn the water pressure from off to full force. The shower has a removable wand that showers and the water from the regular shower head continues to work along with the hand held wand for rinsing off.
In this photo is the new toilet, it is a Toto just like the one upstairs only this one is even more water conservative and like the one upstairs the flush last as long as one holds the handle down, so we will need a little practice to find out how long to hold the handle down, but the one upstairs does not require much water to completely flush.
The seat is a slow closing one so that one can just let it go and it slowly closes...no more toilet seats crashing down!!!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Catching Up Again
Well, I thought that I would try and do my blog this morning rather than wait until I was too tired to think straight.
Yesterday morning I had an appointment with the Urologist who did my cancer surgery, I have been seeing him ever since my surgery every three months and so when I got there I had my blood drawn and left a sample in a cup then went back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor.
While sitting there my arm did not feel quite right so I looked down and noticed that my shirt was turning red; I had a five inch long and two inch wide soaked area that was soaked and so I took my shirt off and Kathleen went to the receptionist window and told them about it.
After a while someone came out cleaned off my arm, which was also bloody and redressed the area where they had draw the blood earlier. This time she used a cloth tape, put it on tighter and told me to keep pressure on it, so I did.
Anyway, my PSA was about the same as it was three months ago, almost none existence, so I set up an appointment for three months from now and after that if the PSA stays down I should be able to have visits every six months.
That will be nice as I am having more doctor appointments for the arthritis than I had and it will be nice not to have to spend more time in a doctor's office than anywhere else.
After finishing up at the doctor's we stopped at the credit union so that I could deposit a refund check and take some money out and then we went next door to the AT&T store so that I could buy another one hundred dollars worth of minutes for my cell phone.
I still had time left from when I bought it two years ago, but I have to buy a hundred dollars worth every year to be able to roll over those minutes, so I have been trying to use my phone more and having Kathleen use it rather than hers so that I can work the minutes down.
Kathleen goes through hers in less than a year, so if she can use my phone once in a while especially if we are out together it will keep her minutes and use up mine.
After we finished there we went to the DMV as Kathleen needed to get a new handicapped parking permit and she wanted me to pick up an application so that I could get one as well.
I have been reluctant in getting one as I have not wanted to think of myself as handicapped, but my hip has been bothering me enough that I decided to go ahead and try to get one. I still would like to not have to use it unless I really need it, but if I need it it will be nice to have.
After that we went to Red Lobster for some lunch; Kathleen had two kind of shrimp, fried and scampy. I had some crab stuffed cod and we both had a bowl of clam chowder. It was late for the lunch crowd so service was quick and we did not feel like we had to rush to free up a table.
When we finished eating we went to the Troutdale Outlet Mall to pick up a couple items and then we went to Lowe's to pick up some items to finish off our downstairs bathroom.
I took my can inside and used it and my hip did not bother me nearly as much as it did last Saturday at Home Depot, so I may have to start using it more when I go out. We did not finish up at Lowe's until after 1900 and by the time we got home it was 1930.
We had the SUV just about full from all the shopping that we did and it took a while to unload it so when Kathleen asked what to do for dinner I suggested reheating the pasta that was left over from the night before.
After dinner and cleaning up I was too tired to think about blogging so I just sat around the kitchen table with Kathleen and we watched CSI and than I went to bed.
Yesterday morning I had an appointment with the Urologist who did my cancer surgery, I have been seeing him ever since my surgery every three months and so when I got there I had my blood drawn and left a sample in a cup then went back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor.
While sitting there my arm did not feel quite right so I looked down and noticed that my shirt was turning red; I had a five inch long and two inch wide soaked area that was soaked and so I took my shirt off and Kathleen went to the receptionist window and told them about it.
After a while someone came out cleaned off my arm, which was also bloody and redressed the area where they had draw the blood earlier. This time she used a cloth tape, put it on tighter and told me to keep pressure on it, so I did.
Anyway, my PSA was about the same as it was three months ago, almost none existence, so I set up an appointment for three months from now and after that if the PSA stays down I should be able to have visits every six months.
That will be nice as I am having more doctor appointments for the arthritis than I had and it will be nice not to have to spend more time in a doctor's office than anywhere else.
After finishing up at the doctor's we stopped at the credit union so that I could deposit a refund check and take some money out and then we went next door to the AT&T store so that I could buy another one hundred dollars worth of minutes for my cell phone.
I still had time left from when I bought it two years ago, but I have to buy a hundred dollars worth every year to be able to roll over those minutes, so I have been trying to use my phone more and having Kathleen use it rather than hers so that I can work the minutes down.
Kathleen goes through hers in less than a year, so if she can use my phone once in a while especially if we are out together it will keep her minutes and use up mine.
After we finished there we went to the DMV as Kathleen needed to get a new handicapped parking permit and she wanted me to pick up an application so that I could get one as well.
I have been reluctant in getting one as I have not wanted to think of myself as handicapped, but my hip has been bothering me enough that I decided to go ahead and try to get one. I still would like to not have to use it unless I really need it, but if I need it it will be nice to have.
After that we went to Red Lobster for some lunch; Kathleen had two kind of shrimp, fried and scampy. I had some crab stuffed cod and we both had a bowl of clam chowder. It was late for the lunch crowd so service was quick and we did not feel like we had to rush to free up a table.
When we finished eating we went to the Troutdale Outlet Mall to pick up a couple items and then we went to Lowe's to pick up some items to finish off our downstairs bathroom.
I took my can inside and used it and my hip did not bother me nearly as much as it did last Saturday at Home Depot, so I may have to start using it more when I go out. We did not finish up at Lowe's until after 1900 and by the time we got home it was 1930.
We had the SUV just about full from all the shopping that we did and it took a while to unload it so when Kathleen asked what to do for dinner I suggested reheating the pasta that was left over from the night before.
After dinner and cleaning up I was too tired to think about blogging so I just sat around the kitchen table with Kathleen and we watched CSI and than I went to bed.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
He's Back
Well, after about five days of some kind of allergy I am starting to feel somewhat human again. I would wake up in the morning and my eyes were just about glued shut and my nose was plugged up with dried blood and I could hardly breathe. Then once I was up I would develop a really nasty headache and my eyes would start to itch and water; then my nose would start to run and that would irritate my nose again and it would start bleeding and on and on and round and round we would go.
Well so much for all the pleasantries, yesterday was really nice out so I went outside and pruned the roses that I had not pruned in November because they still had buds on them and if we had not had the freeze and snow for a couple weeks they would have bloomed.
Once I had the roses pruned I started on my lace leaf Japanese Maple taking out all the dead wood and then reshaping it a little as it has started to get wider than I wanted it to be. By the time I finished with that I was getting tired but even though I was tired I still felt better than I had in a week or so.
I got a pretty good nights sleep especially when one considers that Monday morning I awoke at 0200, I did the same thing yesterday morning except I was able to get back to sleep again yesterday and Monday I could not.
Stan has finished the tile, and all that needs to be done to it is seal it. So since I have another doctors appointment tomorrow, it will be my third this month, we are having Stan not come tomorrow so the Kathleen and I can do some running around.
Today I made and appointment with a Rheumatologist to see about my joint pain. I am tired of trying to take drugs just to be able to function. My biggest problem with the drugs is that they also make me so groggy that I can hardly function and unless I take a lot more than I am suppose to I still have a lot of pain.
Well this is all I have energy for tonight, I am hoping that I will be feeling better and able to sit at my computer and write something on a little more regular basis again.
Well so much for all the pleasantries, yesterday was really nice out so I went outside and pruned the roses that I had not pruned in November because they still had buds on them and if we had not had the freeze and snow for a couple weeks they would have bloomed.
Once I had the roses pruned I started on my lace leaf Japanese Maple taking out all the dead wood and then reshaping it a little as it has started to get wider than I wanted it to be. By the time I finished with that I was getting tired but even though I was tired I still felt better than I had in a week or so.
I got a pretty good nights sleep especially when one considers that Monday morning I awoke at 0200, I did the same thing yesterday morning except I was able to get back to sleep again yesterday and Monday I could not.
Stan has finished the tile, and all that needs to be done to it is seal it. So since I have another doctors appointment tomorrow, it will be my third this month, we are having Stan not come tomorrow so the Kathleen and I can do some running around.
Today I made and appointment with a Rheumatologist to see about my joint pain. I am tired of trying to take drugs just to be able to function. My biggest problem with the drugs is that they also make me so groggy that I can hardly function and unless I take a lot more than I am suppose to I still have a lot of pain.
Well this is all I have energy for tonight, I am hoping that I will be feeling better and able to sit at my computer and write something on a little more regular basis again.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Almost Like a Day Off!
Well, I slept in until almost 0800 this morning; I did not need to get up early as Stan was not coming back until Monday so that the tile will have a chance to set up. I also did not have any other place that I needed to go, so I had a very relaxing morning.
Kathleen came downstairs before I had a chance to make myself breakfast and asked if I felt like French toast, and I said sure. So we had some French toast with some heavy bread that Kathleen picked up at Harvest Mill Breadmakers and was called "Mountain Jazz". It had Wheat, rye, rice bran,flax seed, honey, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, so it was pretty healthy.
Then after breakfast I put the dishes into the dishwasher and then went outside and raked the front lawn. It was rather windy the other day and a lot more fir branches and cones had fallen again.
I was going to sweep off the driveway but I realized that I was getting tired and probably should quit before I got too tired. So I went into the house and read the mail and the paper, since I had not read it earlier.
By the time I got finished it was time for my lunch so I made myself a turkey sandwich on dark rye with some mozzarella cheese on top and then toasted it in the toaster oven. I also finished the rest of the lentil soup from last night.
Then after waiting a while I decided that I would try and take a walk, I had thought about doing that earlier, but wound up raking the lawn instead. I also decided that I was going to try walk slower than I normally did to see if that might help me walk further without the hip pain.
I managed to walk around our long block and felt relatively good by the time I got back. My hip was a little sore, but that could be from not walking much lately.
Well that is about it for today, a rather uneventful day, but I think that I needed it. With that I think I will go ahead and publish this and say good day!
Kathleen came downstairs before I had a chance to make myself breakfast and asked if I felt like French toast, and I said sure. So we had some French toast with some heavy bread that Kathleen picked up at Harvest Mill Breadmakers and was called "Mountain Jazz". It had Wheat, rye, rice bran,flax seed, honey, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, so it was pretty healthy.
Then after breakfast I put the dishes into the dishwasher and then went outside and raked the front lawn. It was rather windy the other day and a lot more fir branches and cones had fallen again.
I was going to sweep off the driveway but I realized that I was getting tired and probably should quit before I got too tired. So I went into the house and read the mail and the paper, since I had not read it earlier.
By the time I got finished it was time for my lunch so I made myself a turkey sandwich on dark rye with some mozzarella cheese on top and then toasted it in the toaster oven. I also finished the rest of the lentil soup from last night.
Then after waiting a while I decided that I would try and take a walk, I had thought about doing that earlier, but wound up raking the lawn instead. I also decided that I was going to try walk slower than I normally did to see if that might help me walk further without the hip pain.
I managed to walk around our long block and felt relatively good by the time I got back. My hip was a little sore, but that could be from not walking much lately.
Well that is about it for today, a rather uneventful day, but I think that I needed it. With that I think I will go ahead and publish this and say good day!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Doctor Visits Day Two
This morning I needed to get up and have my breakfast early as I had an 0820 dentist appointment to have my chipped tooth repaired. So I got up a little earlier than I might have liked and by the time I got everything done it was time to leave for the dentist office.
I went there expecting to have a temporary crown put on and a cast made for the final crown but when the dentist examined the tooth she said that the tooth was in such good shape that she did not know if she wanted to grind off so much good tooth to put a crown on and than she gave me two other options. One was a tooth inlay which was as expensive as a crown and the second was to just rebuild the tooth for a couple hundred dollars.
She said that the rebuild would probably last ten years or so and that since it was about five times cheaper than the other two options I could have it replace several times and still be cheaper than the others.
So I wound up having my tooth rebuilt today, and I did not get out of the dentist office until after 1100. After two and a half hours in the chair I was ready to go home and rest as my jaw was starting to ache. So when I got home I took several pain pills and waited for my jaw to start feeling better.
Kathleen had her dentist appointment shortly after I got back so she took off and when she left I made myself some lunch and read the mail. She was gone for quite a while and when she did come back she said that she also needed to have a crown and a couple fillings.
So it looks like it is going to be an expensive month or so for the dentist visits. That is the one thing that I did not receive in my retirement package from Boeing, and while everything else is really good there was no dental coverage available as a retiree. While I was working there I had really good coverage, and I miss that.
After a while I got really sleepy so I went upstairs and took a nap; I woke up when Kathleen came in and I guess was trying to wake me up. I was still pretty groggy, but awake just enough that I could not get back to sleep, so I got up and by now the pain was a lot worse than when I had first taken the pain pills, so I took a few more and while it is now sore again is is not as bad as it was earlier.
I think it is from having to have my mouth open so wide and so long while the dentist worked on my molar although some of it I am sure is from the actual work done on the tooth itself.
Anyway, when I got up and went downstairs Stan had finished the tile and left; he will not be back until Monday to do the grouting of the floor and walls. So here is a picture of all the tile in place to give you an idea of what it will look like, minus the grout.
For dinner tonight Kathleen heated up some pre-cooked lentils fro Trader Joe's and added some ham, onion and potato and then made a soup out of it. It was really good and soft enough that it did not bother my jaw or tooth.
Well, I think that I need to publish this as I am starting to get really tired again and that would just allow me to ramble on endlessly.
I went there expecting to have a temporary crown put on and a cast made for the final crown but when the dentist examined the tooth she said that the tooth was in such good shape that she did not know if she wanted to grind off so much good tooth to put a crown on and than she gave me two other options. One was a tooth inlay which was as expensive as a crown and the second was to just rebuild the tooth for a couple hundred dollars.
She said that the rebuild would probably last ten years or so and that since it was about five times cheaper than the other two options I could have it replace several times and still be cheaper than the others.
So I wound up having my tooth rebuilt today, and I did not get out of the dentist office until after 1100. After two and a half hours in the chair I was ready to go home and rest as my jaw was starting to ache. So when I got home I took several pain pills and waited for my jaw to start feeling better.
Kathleen had her dentist appointment shortly after I got back so she took off and when she left I made myself some lunch and read the mail. She was gone for quite a while and when she did come back she said that she also needed to have a crown and a couple fillings.
So it looks like it is going to be an expensive month or so for the dentist visits. That is the one thing that I did not receive in my retirement package from Boeing, and while everything else is really good there was no dental coverage available as a retiree. While I was working there I had really good coverage, and I miss that.
After a while I got really sleepy so I went upstairs and took a nap; I woke up when Kathleen came in and I guess was trying to wake me up. I was still pretty groggy, but awake just enough that I could not get back to sleep, so I got up and by now the pain was a lot worse than when I had first taken the pain pills, so I took a few more and while it is now sore again is is not as bad as it was earlier.
I think it is from having to have my mouth open so wide and so long while the dentist worked on my molar although some of it I am sure is from the actual work done on the tooth itself.
Anyway, when I got up and went downstairs Stan had finished the tile and left; he will not be back until Monday to do the grouting of the floor and walls. So here is a picture of all the tile in place to give you an idea of what it will look like, minus the grout.
For dinner tonight Kathleen heated up some pre-cooked lentils fro Trader Joe's and added some ham, onion and potato and then made a soup out of it. It was really good and soft enough that it did not bother my jaw or tooth.
Well, I think that I need to publish this as I am starting to get really tired again and that would just allow me to ramble on endlessly.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
The Start of Doctor Visits
I had a pretty good night sleep last night, of course taking Night Quill before going to bed last night helped I am sure. This morning I felt pretty good when I awoke; yesterday my eyes felt like I had just come out of a sand storm and my eyes collected most of the sand.
I had an eye appointment this morning at 0950 but I left early so that I would have time to look at the frames before my eyes were dilated so much that I would not be able to see very well. By the time I had picked out my frames it was time for my appointment, so that worked out pretty well.
They not only checked my eyes for vision, which was pretty much the same as it had been but also for cataract and glaucoma. He said that my eyes show no sign of glaucoma and only a slight sign of cataract, less than normal for someone my age, so all that is good.
He did prescribe a little stronger reading lens for my bifocals, but he said that was just to make reading a little easier. We spent a good deal of time talking about the medical system here and how it is good in many aspects but very large and cumbersome in other aspects. He is a young Japanese and I chose him a couple of years after my old doctor retired because I thought that he was fresh out of school and probably more familiar with some of the new advancements and techniques.
Shortly after I got home I helped Kathleen make the bed as she had stripped it and washed the sheets. Then I went downstairs and tried this weeks sample chicken noodle soup that I am testing for one of the major soup makers.
Then Kathleen left to meat with the lady from church around 1330 and after I finished eating I read the mail. Stan just about finished the tiling, he put the glass tile on today and tomorrow he will put on the topper, then he will wait a day or so before he starts grouting.
He is going to grout the floor and the walls at the same time, as it is easier and they both can be drying at the same time. After that we will need to seal the grout and after that we will be able to put the toilet in. That should just about finish the downstairs remodel project.
I think that all we will have to do after putting in the toilet is find a mirror for over the sink, install the light for over the mirror and then buy and install the knobs for the draws and doors of the vanity and cabinet.
Stan left around 1700 tonight as he wanted to stop off at Joe's and look at a new pair of binoculars that they had on sale. So after he left I took a couple photos of the tile, so here they are:
Tomorrow I will try to take one that is a little closer up that will show the white tile, the green glass tile and the topper better. The tile on the long wall is two tiles high and it follows all around the room until it gets to the vertical section that outlines where the mirror will go.
I had an eye appointment this morning at 0950 but I left early so that I would have time to look at the frames before my eyes were dilated so much that I would not be able to see very well. By the time I had picked out my frames it was time for my appointment, so that worked out pretty well.
They not only checked my eyes for vision, which was pretty much the same as it had been but also for cataract and glaucoma. He said that my eyes show no sign of glaucoma and only a slight sign of cataract, less than normal for someone my age, so all that is good.
He did prescribe a little stronger reading lens for my bifocals, but he said that was just to make reading a little easier. We spent a good deal of time talking about the medical system here and how it is good in many aspects but very large and cumbersome in other aspects. He is a young Japanese and I chose him a couple of years after my old doctor retired because I thought that he was fresh out of school and probably more familiar with some of the new advancements and techniques.
Shortly after I got home I helped Kathleen make the bed as she had stripped it and washed the sheets. Then I went downstairs and tried this weeks sample chicken noodle soup that I am testing for one of the major soup makers.
Then Kathleen left to meat with the lady from church around 1330 and after I finished eating I read the mail. Stan just about finished the tiling, he put the glass tile on today and tomorrow he will put on the topper, then he will wait a day or so before he starts grouting.
He is going to grout the floor and the walls at the same time, as it is easier and they both can be drying at the same time. After that we will need to seal the grout and after that we will be able to put the toilet in. That should just about finish the downstairs remodel project.
I think that all we will have to do after putting in the toilet is find a mirror for over the sink, install the light for over the mirror and then buy and install the knobs for the draws and doors of the vanity and cabinet.
Stan left around 1700 tonight as he wanted to stop off at Joe's and look at a new pair of binoculars that they had on sale. So after he left I took a couple photos of the tile, so here they are:
Tomorrow I will try to take one that is a little closer up that will show the white tile, the green glass tile and the topper better. The tile on the long wall is two tiles high and it follows all around the room until it gets to the vertical section that outlines where the mirror will go.
Monday, January 05, 2009
More Work on the Tile
This morning I woke up pretty refreshed, something that I have not felt lately. Kathleen got up before I had a chance to make myself breakfast and so she made egg yokes for herself and one egg yoke and her egg whites for me. She also made some hash brown potatoes.
After breakfast, I loaded up the dishwasher and Kathleen turned it on when she finished putting things in it.
Our plumber arrived about this time and hooked up the show/bath fixtures and also the sink fixtures. When Stan arrived he cemented the sink to the vanity top and then cemented the slab to the top and the sink. So now we have water to the bathtub and sink but we really should not use it until the tile is grouted and sealed.
Pat, our plumber finished around noon and after he left Stan started working on the tile again. Here are a couple pictures of the tile, the shower/bath fixtures and the sink fixture.
Well, tonight is our small group and so I need to eat and then head out so I am just going to publish this and call it good for tonight.
After breakfast, I loaded up the dishwasher and Kathleen turned it on when she finished putting things in it.
Our plumber arrived about this time and hooked up the show/bath fixtures and also the sink fixtures. When Stan arrived he cemented the sink to the vanity top and then cemented the slab to the top and the sink. So now we have water to the bathtub and sink but we really should not use it until the tile is grouted and sealed.
Pat, our plumber finished around noon and after he left Stan started working on the tile again. Here are a couple pictures of the tile, the shower/bath fixtures and the sink fixture.
Well, tonight is our small group and so I need to eat and then head out so I am just going to publish this and call it good for tonight.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
More Snow
Well, before all the snow had a chance to disappear it started snowing again tonight. I think we got about an inch already and it is suppose to continue until early this morning.
This morning I woke up as to Kathleen's alarm going off and I was still pretty groggy but I got up as I had slept for nine hours already. I felt like my brain was still in a fog so I decided that I would not try and make it to church this morning. It was also cold and my thumb joints were really bothering me.
I did gather up the towels and washed, dried, folded and then put them away. So after reheating yesterday's buckwheat pancakes I unloaded the dishwasher and then went into the living room and read the paper.
After that I gathered up the kitchen rugs and shook them out, swept the kitchen floor and then mopped it. While it was drying the rugs were being washed and I also vacuumed the rest of the downstairs.
This afternoon Kathleen took a white Cyclamen over to our neighbor. She bought a couple the other day and we have one on our kitchen table. Our old one is outside in the flower pot just off the front porch.
It had been blooming until the first snow storm three weeks ago and the snow is off it now and the blooms of gone but it is still green.
While she was there I changed out the upstairs bathroom door knob and put the one that was on the bathroom on our bedroom door. We still need to buy a few more doorknobs for the upstairs and another one for the downstairs bathroom.
The one I put on the upstairs bathroom was the lever kind as apposed to the knob kind and we are planning on putting the same kind on the downstairs bathroom when it is finished. That way we can tell people that the bathroom is the one with the lever as it will be different from all the rest.
Well that is about it for today, I am feeling better or at least somewhat awake. I have gotten over nine hours sleep the last two nights so I guess that is making up somewhat for the three or four hours sleep I was getting the previous five days.
This morning I woke up as to Kathleen's alarm going off and I was still pretty groggy but I got up as I had slept for nine hours already. I felt like my brain was still in a fog so I decided that I would not try and make it to church this morning. It was also cold and my thumb joints were really bothering me.
I did gather up the towels and washed, dried, folded and then put them away. So after reheating yesterday's buckwheat pancakes I unloaded the dishwasher and then went into the living room and read the paper.
After that I gathered up the kitchen rugs and shook them out, swept the kitchen floor and then mopped it. While it was drying the rugs were being washed and I also vacuumed the rest of the downstairs.
This afternoon Kathleen took a white Cyclamen over to our neighbor. She bought a couple the other day and we have one on our kitchen table. Our old one is outside in the flower pot just off the front porch.
It had been blooming until the first snow storm three weeks ago and the snow is off it now and the blooms of gone but it is still green.
While she was there I changed out the upstairs bathroom door knob and put the one that was on the bathroom on our bedroom door. We still need to buy a few more doorknobs for the upstairs and another one for the downstairs bathroom.
The one I put on the upstairs bathroom was the lever kind as apposed to the knob kind and we are planning on putting the same kind on the downstairs bathroom when it is finished. That way we can tell people that the bathroom is the one with the lever as it will be different from all the rest.
Well that is about it for today, I am feeling better or at least somewhat awake. I have gotten over nine hours sleep the last two nights so I guess that is making up somewhat for the three or four hours sleep I was getting the previous five days.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Welcome Another New Year.
Well, I still have not figured out how to get more than three or four hours sleep a night. I think for the last four nights I have only gotten fifteen or sixteen hours sleep total.
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like I had brain fog, kind of a dull headache and no matter what I took for it I could not shake it. Needless to say I did not get much done yesterday.
Then I woke up around 0230 this morning and could not get back to sleep until around 0400 and then only for another hour; so I wound up getting up at 0530.
Then this morning as I was eating my oatmeal and I felt something hard in it so when I fished it out of my mouth I discovered what looked to be part of a tooth. I did not feel any pain and did not think anything of it, but I went into the bathroom and checked it out.
I did not see anything in my bottom teeth so I went downstairs and asked Kathleen to see if she could see anything and she said that she did. After a while I could feel it with my tongue, so I called my dentist, but they were not open today. They had an emergency number but since it was not hurting I decided to leave a message to try and get an appointment for Monday.
After a while it developed a very dull tooth ache feeling, nothing too bad just really annoying. So I kept taking Tylenol every few hours.
Early this morning Aaron and the girls came over after their dentist visits for cleanings and waited for Tami to finish with her cleaning appointment. Kathleen gave each of the girls a start from one of the house plants that she had up in her sewing room and the girls planted them in a couple little pots that I brought in from the potting bench in the garage.
Stan came while Aaron and the girls were here and started ding the tiling; he got here just before noon as he had a power outage and was trying to get his generator started.
Well, it is after 2100 and I am going to try and get some sleep tonight.
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like I had brain fog, kind of a dull headache and no matter what I took for it I could not shake it. Needless to say I did not get much done yesterday.
Then I woke up around 0230 this morning and could not get back to sleep until around 0400 and then only for another hour; so I wound up getting up at 0530.
Then this morning as I was eating my oatmeal and I felt something hard in it so when I fished it out of my mouth I discovered what looked to be part of a tooth. I did not feel any pain and did not think anything of it, but I went into the bathroom and checked it out.
I did not see anything in my bottom teeth so I went downstairs and asked Kathleen to see if she could see anything and she said that she did. After a while I could feel it with my tongue, so I called my dentist, but they were not open today. They had an emergency number but since it was not hurting I decided to leave a message to try and get an appointment for Monday.
After a while it developed a very dull tooth ache feeling, nothing too bad just really annoying. So I kept taking Tylenol every few hours.
Early this morning Aaron and the girls came over after their dentist visits for cleanings and waited for Tami to finish with her cleaning appointment. Kathleen gave each of the girls a start from one of the house plants that she had up in her sewing room and the girls planted them in a couple little pots that I brought in from the potting bench in the garage.
Stan came while Aaron and the girls were here and started ding the tiling; he got here just before noon as he had a power outage and was trying to get his generator started.
Well, it is after 2100 and I am going to try and get some sleep tonight.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Getting Back on Track
I woke up felling better than I have in the last several days, the day after Christmas to be more precise. I really wore myself out Christmas day shoveling snow and digging out the previous three or four days. It probably was not as much as what I did on Christmas day as it was a combination of what I had done the days preceding Christmas.
In my efforts to get the driveway shoveled out I think that I probably did too much each day and it just caught up with me on Christmas. As a consequence I pretty much vegetated since then.
Stan had called this morning and said that our marble vanity top for the downstairs bathroom was ready to pick up. So I went down and finished paying for it this morning and then stopped off at Fred Meyer to pick up more of my pain medication as I had run out.
Stan arrived here around 1400 with the top and sink; we had to leave the sink with the stone company so that they would be able to cut the hole the right size. So I took the sink in the house and then helped Stan bring the top in and put it on the vanity.
He is coming back tomorrow to do some work, he has not been here in about three weeks or so so it will be good to get started on that project again. He had a few small jobs that he needed to finish and we thought that would give Kathleen an opportunity to pick out the tile that she wanted for the walls, but due to Christmas and the snow it did not get done.
So maybe this week she will get out this week and next week we can really start getting back on track with the remodel project; I miss not having a bathroom downstairs.
Here is a picture of what the top looks like on the vanity.
We will still need to mount the sink to the plywood base and then add the faucet to the top but once the top is mounted we will be able to start the wall tiling.
In my efforts to get the driveway shoveled out I think that I probably did too much each day and it just caught up with me on Christmas. As a consequence I pretty much vegetated since then.
Stan had called this morning and said that our marble vanity top for the downstairs bathroom was ready to pick up. So I went down and finished paying for it this morning and then stopped off at Fred Meyer to pick up more of my pain medication as I had run out.
Stan arrived here around 1400 with the top and sink; we had to leave the sink with the stone company so that they would be able to cut the hole the right size. So I took the sink in the house and then helped Stan bring the top in and put it on the vanity.
He is coming back tomorrow to do some work, he has not been here in about three weeks or so so it will be good to get started on that project again. He had a few small jobs that he needed to finish and we thought that would give Kathleen an opportunity to pick out the tile that she wanted for the walls, but due to Christmas and the snow it did not get done.
So maybe this week she will get out this week and next week we can really start getting back on track with the remodel project; I miss not having a bathroom downstairs.
Here is a picture of what the top looks like on the vanity.
We will still need to mount the sink to the plywood base and then add the faucet to the top but once the top is mounted we will be able to start the wall tiling.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bob's Thoughts on Christmas Eve 2008
“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Well, this year our house is really quiet and I do not even hear the mouse stirring. It is kind of a different Christmas for us this year; between my health not being what it once was and the weather for the last week and a half we have not gotten ready for Christmas in our “traditional” sense.
This is the first Christmas Eve that I can remember in a very long time where we were not rushing around wrapping presents and then rushing to one of the children’s houses for our "traditional" Christmas Eve "Christmas" dinner and present opening celebration.
It has for many years seemed like everyone was just glad to get it all over with and no one really enjoyed being together and celebrating the "reason for the season". This year for various reasons it did not work out to do it and I am hoping that perhaps we can start a new "tradition”; one that is a lot less chaotic; one where everyone is not rushing to of from several places to one where we can just sit around and enjoy each other and contemplate what a gift we have received and how we are using it.
Hopefully it will be a time that the grandchildren will be able to look back on and remember good times and not being rushed from one place to another just so their parents will have been "good children" and spent time with their parents or other relatives.
The older I get the more I value quality over quantity; I would much rather spend less time as long as it was quality time than spend a lot of time, with no quality. I would rather see my children and grandchildren enjoying themselves because they are having a good time rather than being too exhausted from all the seasonal running around that it is a struggle just to stay awake!
With four children and at least that many in-laws and their families our children have been having to split their time with everyone just so that no one get their feeling hurt or because it has been the family "tradition" to do such and such on such and such a day. There is nothing wrong with "tradition", but sometimes we need to break with "tradition" and start a new "tradition" one that has meaning for us today.
I know as a child we would always go to Christmas Eve service and then come home and open presents. Christmas day we would open our presents from "Santa" and then we would always go to my Mother's parent’s house or her brother's house for Christmas day. That worked well for us and since Kathleen's family did something similar so that is what we did with our family.
I still look back on my Christmases growing up with fond memories and I would like to give that gift to my children and grandchildren. I can still see my parents faces as they watched each of us open our presents from them Christmas Eve and then watch the twinkle in their eyes as they again watched us Christmas morning as we got our "special" presents.
I cannot remember my folks opening any presents, and maybe they did not have any as they always gave us much more than we deserved or than they could afford, but that is what being a parent is all about…making those sacrifices for ones children.
We did not live close enough to my parents or any of my relatives to celebrate Christmas with them and so our children were not pulled by having to visit several relatives and we could enjoy Christmas as a family.
Now with four married children and all but Chucky having their families in the area Christmas has become much more complicated, at least for our children as their spouses and their families all had their own "traditions" that they wished to continue; not that any of that is good or bad it is just facts.
Over the last few years as I have watched the grandchildren open, their presents, it has become somewhat of a, "okay let's get this over with" kind of feeling. They would open presents and not know who gave it to them, then want their next present and the adults would kind of open their presents and with one eye try and keep track of who had given what to their children.
Then came the clean up time and half the time some of the small pieces would get mixed in with the wrapping paper and we would have to go through it to find everything.
Then there was the home where we celebrated, with all the grandchildren opening up presents and everyone eating, whose ever home it was seemed to get trashed and everyone was always too tired or had to rush off to the next celebration to help clean up and get everything back in order.
I would like to suggest putting some sanity back into Christmas and make it less complicated on everyone. I do not have a plan that I think we need to adhere to but I think we as a family can come up with something much better than what we have been doing. I would like to make Christmas memorable not only for us, but our children and grandchildren as well.
This year looks like a good time to start as the weather and several other things have made it impossible to have our "traditional" Christmas Eve celebration.
With all the birthdays and Thanksgiving, November and December are really hectic months and it is easy to make Christmas, just another "birthday" kind of celebration, but it is really much more and I for one would like to give it a little more special place in our lives and in our hearts.
Let's see what we can come up with that will allow us to celebrate the "reason for the season" and do it at a time when we are not exhausted from a dozen other birthday/Christmas parties, Christmas programs and running around doing the "traditional" Christmas things.
I do not want to be a Scrooge and ruin everyone’s Christmas, I just want to help you enjoy your future Christmases more. With that said, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
Well, this year our house is really quiet and I do not even hear the mouse stirring. It is kind of a different Christmas for us this year; between my health not being what it once was and the weather for the last week and a half we have not gotten ready for Christmas in our “traditional” sense.
This is the first Christmas Eve that I can remember in a very long time where we were not rushing around wrapping presents and then rushing to one of the children’s houses for our "traditional" Christmas Eve "Christmas" dinner and present opening celebration.
It has for many years seemed like everyone was just glad to get it all over with and no one really enjoyed being together and celebrating the "reason for the season". This year for various reasons it did not work out to do it and I am hoping that perhaps we can start a new "tradition”; one that is a lot less chaotic; one where everyone is not rushing to of from several places to one where we can just sit around and enjoy each other and contemplate what a gift we have received and how we are using it.
Hopefully it will be a time that the grandchildren will be able to look back on and remember good times and not being rushed from one place to another just so their parents will have been "good children" and spent time with their parents or other relatives.
The older I get the more I value quality over quantity; I would much rather spend less time as long as it was quality time than spend a lot of time, with no quality. I would rather see my children and grandchildren enjoying themselves because they are having a good time rather than being too exhausted from all the seasonal running around that it is a struggle just to stay awake!
With four children and at least that many in-laws and their families our children have been having to split their time with everyone just so that no one get their feeling hurt or because it has been the family "tradition" to do such and such on such and such a day. There is nothing wrong with "tradition", but sometimes we need to break with "tradition" and start a new "tradition" one that has meaning for us today.
I know as a child we would always go to Christmas Eve service and then come home and open presents. Christmas day we would open our presents from "Santa" and then we would always go to my Mother's parent’s house or her brother's house for Christmas day. That worked well for us and since Kathleen's family did something similar so that is what we did with our family.
I still look back on my Christmases growing up with fond memories and I would like to give that gift to my children and grandchildren. I can still see my parents faces as they watched each of us open our presents from them Christmas Eve and then watch the twinkle in their eyes as they again watched us Christmas morning as we got our "special" presents.
I cannot remember my folks opening any presents, and maybe they did not have any as they always gave us much more than we deserved or than they could afford, but that is what being a parent is all about…making those sacrifices for ones children.
We did not live close enough to my parents or any of my relatives to celebrate Christmas with them and so our children were not pulled by having to visit several relatives and we could enjoy Christmas as a family.
Now with four married children and all but Chucky having their families in the area Christmas has become much more complicated, at least for our children as their spouses and their families all had their own "traditions" that they wished to continue; not that any of that is good or bad it is just facts.
Over the last few years as I have watched the grandchildren open, their presents, it has become somewhat of a, "okay let's get this over with" kind of feeling. They would open presents and not know who gave it to them, then want their next present and the adults would kind of open their presents and with one eye try and keep track of who had given what to their children.
Then came the clean up time and half the time some of the small pieces would get mixed in with the wrapping paper and we would have to go through it to find everything.
Then there was the home where we celebrated, with all the grandchildren opening up presents and everyone eating, whose ever home it was seemed to get trashed and everyone was always too tired or had to rush off to the next celebration to help clean up and get everything back in order.
I would like to suggest putting some sanity back into Christmas and make it less complicated on everyone. I do not have a plan that I think we need to adhere to but I think we as a family can come up with something much better than what we have been doing. I would like to make Christmas memorable not only for us, but our children and grandchildren as well.
This year looks like a good time to start as the weather and several other things have made it impossible to have our "traditional" Christmas Eve celebration.
With all the birthdays and Thanksgiving, November and December are really hectic months and it is easy to make Christmas, just another "birthday" kind of celebration, but it is really much more and I for one would like to give it a little more special place in our lives and in our hearts.
Let's see what we can come up with that will allow us to celebrate the "reason for the season" and do it at a time when we are not exhausted from a dozen other birthday/Christmas parties, Christmas programs and running around doing the "traditional" Christmas things.
I do not want to be a Scrooge and ruin everyone’s Christmas, I just want to help you enjoy your future Christmases more. With that said, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Artic Express Day Nine
I was not as sore as I thought that I would be this morning when I got up; that is until I started moving around and that is when I realized that my arms were really sore. I had expected my back to be the problem as it was starting to get sore yesterday and I had put some ointment on my back yesterday afternoon.
So this morning as soon as I got downstairs I put some ointment on my arms, it also helps me breath; so I guess that is a secondary benefit. When I went out to check on the paper, third day with no paper, I noticed that the icicles were starting to drip and then freezing on the steps up to the front porch so I knocked down the ones that were directly over the steps to hinder the dripping.
Then after breakfast I put on my boots and went outside to take out the kitchen compost. Today when I tried turning the barrel I went slowly and when it started to slip I stopped. I figured that the outside of the barrel was coated in ice so I might be best to just wait until everything thawed out and then turn it a few extra times.
After I took care of the kitchen compost I decided to do some more shoveling. I shoveled off the back steps to the basement, and from the front sidewalk to the middle of the road and then scrapped the ice off the steps so that they would not be so dangerous.
Since I was too lazy to put on my long pants I was getting several strange looks from the folks passing by and even the mail lady made a commented. I am not sure if it was the snow or my legs that were the whitest, but it was a close call. I am not sure where my tan went but it sure went, my legs were relatively tan from being outside all summer.
It has taken me two days to do half of the driveway and it use to only take a few hours for me to do the whole driveway, but I just do not have the energy to do that much any more.
Right now both my arms are really sore; not just in one spot but the whole arm. I am glad that I am already on pain medication, as I am not sure what it would be like without it.
After eating lunch I took a little nap in my chair in the living room and did not feel any better when I got back up; well I could keep my eyes open but that is about the only improvement.
I did take a photograph of some of the icicles on the front porch, the largest one is two and a half feet long, I just finished measuring it.
Well it has snowed off and on a little today but it really has not added to the snow accumulation. The weather folks are saying that more snow is on its way, anywhere from a dusting to several inches, so it looks like it will be a while before we loose the snow.
The only really nice thing about all the snow right now is that we have not lost our power...so far!
I cannot think of anything else that might happen today so I think that I will go ahead and publish this.
So this morning as soon as I got downstairs I put some ointment on my arms, it also helps me breath; so I guess that is a secondary benefit. When I went out to check on the paper, third day with no paper, I noticed that the icicles were starting to drip and then freezing on the steps up to the front porch so I knocked down the ones that were directly over the steps to hinder the dripping.
Then after breakfast I put on my boots and went outside to take out the kitchen compost. Today when I tried turning the barrel I went slowly and when it started to slip I stopped. I figured that the outside of the barrel was coated in ice so I might be best to just wait until everything thawed out and then turn it a few extra times.
After I took care of the kitchen compost I decided to do some more shoveling. I shoveled off the back steps to the basement, and from the front sidewalk to the middle of the road and then scrapped the ice off the steps so that they would not be so dangerous.
Since I was too lazy to put on my long pants I was getting several strange looks from the folks passing by and even the mail lady made a commented. I am not sure if it was the snow or my legs that were the whitest, but it was a close call. I am not sure where my tan went but it sure went, my legs were relatively tan from being outside all summer.
It has taken me two days to do half of the driveway and it use to only take a few hours for me to do the whole driveway, but I just do not have the energy to do that much any more.
Right now both my arms are really sore; not just in one spot but the whole arm. I am glad that I am already on pain medication, as I am not sure what it would be like without it.
After eating lunch I took a little nap in my chair in the living room and did not feel any better when I got back up; well I could keep my eyes open but that is about the only improvement.
I did take a photograph of some of the icicles on the front porch, the largest one is two and a half feet long, I just finished measuring it.
Well it has snowed off and on a little today but it really has not added to the snow accumulation. The weather folks are saying that more snow is on its way, anywhere from a dusting to several inches, so it looks like it will be a while before we loose the snow.
The only really nice thing about all the snow right now is that we have not lost our power...so far!
I cannot think of anything else that might happen today so I think that I will go ahead and publish this.
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