Nostalgia, DVDs, old movies, television, OTR, fandom, good news and bad, picks, pans, cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of.
The box is lovely, made by a Pennsylvania Amish craftsperson. I fell in love with the beautiful knot and hoped the box I ordered had a similar knot. Instead, they gave me the sample box. We had a wonderful time on our Pennsylvania vacation in 2009, so it's sort of a memory inside a memory. The mug was his favorite for the last few years. He had his tea in it every morning as he made breakfast. It…
My last post sounded hopeful. And indeed sometimes it was hopeful. At the beginning of February, James was transferred to a different room, almost plush, at Emory Decatur. The surgeon and the attending doctor said his wound was in good shape for what it was, and wanted to get him up and moving as soon as possible. In fact, they said it was essential that he get on his feet as soon as possible.…
I've been blogging much longer than I've ever been on social media, but those little dribs and drabs of posts are so much easier when you've been busy with other things, whether health chores and household duties and just wanting to write, so I was hoping I could make a resolution that I would write at least once a week in this blog and keep up with it, not just dump three to five posts at a time…
Oliver, as tiny as he was, left a big gap in the household. Even as late as Thanksgiving, I was still having nightmares about him. One day, checking out Pet Supplies Plus next to the DaVita Bellemeade facility, I heard a familiar sound. Having gone into the store once before, I thought they only sold dog and cat supplies, but when I walked to the very rear, there, up over my head, were two small…
James had dialysis two days in a row this week. Since Christmas fell on a Wednesday this year, and they obviously didn't want to take the dialysis patients away from their own celebrations, they scheduled James for Monday and Tuesday dialysis. Monday went fine. I bought last minute foods at Kroger and made gravy with boneless pork ribs for Christmas Eve dinner. James watched Landman and Battlebots…
Sigh. James' restless legs have done it again. Now he's torn a hole through the dark blue sheets. So I had to go to Walmart on Monday to buy new sheets because I needed a bottom sheet, and had to change the bed again , although I just changed it yesterday. Plus Walmart's "hotel quality" sheets aren't as good as when I bought the first two sets a couple of years ago: they now have a satin quality…
We had fun with friends this week; yes, these days it's such a rarity that I have to headline it. On Saturday we went to Hair Day, although we were the only ones there except for John Campbell. So we had some quality time with Ron and John while Sherii clipped hair. The house seems so large and echoing without Lin there. It must be so hard for Ron, still cherishing the house they shared but living…
Well, it was a bad week for medical solutions for James. Dr. Connally was very firm that she wanted James to undergo some kind of aquatherapy, so on Tuesday we went to the place where he would have the therapy. This turned out to be a swanky retirement home that included a fancy dining hall with white tablecloths, flowers on the table, and Muzak; a little coffee shop type place, meeting rooms, a…
Tucker did have the ultrasound to make sure he had nothing nasty going on inside him on Monday. He passed with flying colors. Next day and on Wednesday James had doctors' appointments, podiatry on Tuesday and cardiologist on Wednesday. We had a dinner invitation for Thanksgiving Day, but it was across town and we would have to drive home in the dark. Instead we spent Thanksgiving on our own; we…
After two meltdowns on my part, and Tucker finally being so fed up with me that he started growling and snarling at me, he slowly started to get better. On Tuesday he voluntarily ate small bits of meat. I had gone to Kroger and gotten cheap pre-made hamburgers out of the managers' special bin. I cooked the hamburger and fed it to him in quarters. First he ate the burgers alone, then with rice,…
There was no warning. It began fine: I had bought James a new duffle bag for our anniversary to take to dialysis (the old bag was falling apart). It has a separate compartment intended for gym shoes or a wet towel/swimsuit, and we have put his blanket in there. He doesn't really needed it, because now that he's on dialysis, he's not cold all the time. There's a compartment for his sugar-free…
We saw our first Christmas lights Monday night, November 4! I love Christmas decorations, guys! But, too early! Tried to avoid election coverage on Tuesday by watching a movie, but after the film curiosity got the better of us and we stayed up until midnight watching the returns. I will admit I am not happy, although I disliked both candidates. When your new "leader" nominates an anti-vaxxer to…
James has finally seen the spinal doctor at Emory! Not that it did him much good. The appointment was wayyyyy over at the old Executive Park complex which used to be a rabbit warren of little buildings, many of them rented by CDC. I had attended meetings and classes at Executive Park; the plus of going there was that it was near a plaza that was filled with restaurants, including a Chinese place…
James finally had an appointment with the pain clinic, even if it was just a video visit. After looking at James' spinal scans, Dr. Connally thinks he needs outpatient treatment on his back immediately, something called "an injection of 'cement'"? He has a fracture in one of his lower lumbar vertebrae that is probably pinching one or more nerves, causing the terrible pain and the interference in…
This week's high even had a disappointing low. On Sunday we went to the Apple Festival and, while it was nice to walk the fairgrounds, it was very tiring and I was suffering from lack of sleep, and feeling very woozy and out of it. We made a short stop at Panorama Orchards for the necessities of life: fresh Granny Smith apples, blackberry spread, the tea sold in little wooden crates (but they quit…
I never have been an Apple fangirl, don't want an iPhone, but have been having serious envy of people using iPads for art. We have styluses for our Android tablets, but they have none of the fine control that the iPads do with their corresponding "pencils." I've been wandering by a 6th generation iPad at MicroCenter; it was only $139, which seemed a good "beginner's price" for something you're not…
Well, what to do about the faucet problem. Despite the fact that I was washing dishes in the bathroom and filling pitchers of water there, James used the kitchen faucet a couple of times and it didn't explode. However, it did need to be fixed. So while scrolling the internet, I found a company called "Steve's Handy," a handyman service. Steve had all five stars from people who used him. So I…
I look forward to October every year. It's my favorite month except for December, although the leaves here don't really turn until November, but there's such a possibility in October...that it might be cooler , that it might be colorful , that we can make all the wonderful things coming up like the book sale and the Apple Festival. It started out on a bad note Tuesday. We'd had a nice day: went to…
...that we may have to break it into parts. Might as well get the nastiness out of the way first. Hurricane Helene was in the news a lot starting September 24. Supposedly this monster was due to gather a lot of strength and not lose it after it crossed the Florida/Georgia line. I immediately began gathering every small power supply we had in the house just in case we lost power for more than an…
It was another doctory week, but not overwhelmingly so, like the "day of three doctors' appointments." James had dialysis the usual three days, on Tuesday we went to see Dr. Mobley and on Thursday James had an MRI on his back, ordered by Dr. Mobley, to see what's going on with his back. Friday before dialysis we had a visit with James' cardiologist and had enough time to stop at the Perimeter…
James had his fistula surgery this week, on the 10th. The week itself did not start auspiciously; James Earl Jones died. "The Voice," and the talented man attached to it, is gone. End of an era indeed. Monday evening we stuffed James with food at about 11:45, then valiantly tried to get 3 1/2 hours sleep. If was mostly fruitless, and we could have waited and gotten up at four anyway, as the…
FOR TODAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 Outside my window... ...there are clouds; it was raining earlier. The trees are still heavy with green leaves, but there are signs of fall...tulip tree leaves turning yellow...rusting muscadine vines...leaves scattered on the sidewalk...spider webs in the trees... I am thinking... ...that I should finish putting up the fall decorations, but it's so much nicer to sit…
Emotionally, it's been a bummer of a week. The saddest part was finding out a friend had died. I met Rose Marie Badgett on my first trip to a convention with friends rather than with my mother. There were six of us sharing a room: Rosie (from Kentucky), Alice and Maggi from Georgia, Mary from Massachusetts, and Gail and I from Rhode Island. We had a wilder weekend than we expected than at a Star…
As the kids today say, I "did a thing." I was deathly in fear of doing this "thing" because it involved leaving James alone for the day. Make no mistake, he is much stronger and fitter than he was when he got out of the hospital at the end of June. But he still doesn't feel stable enough on his feet, mostly due to his back and knee pain, to go back to a cane or even back to where he was months ago…
Went to Kroger this afternoon as has become my habit since James started dialysis to find the dairy cases completely rearranged and my favorite flavor of yogurt nowhere to be seen, and no more space for it on the shelf. First it's disappeared from Publix and now it's gone from Kroger. After I came home, I checked Chobani's website to see that they still do make the flavor, then called Publix…