Currently

On a Monday evening in October... it's a cool 47 degrees and the forecast says we're going down to 38 degrees before the sun rises tomorrow and warms us back up to 63 degrees for a high. Fall is finally here!

Oliver (Ollie) Twist, my bathtub dwelling kitty, still spends a good bit of time in said tub, but he's getting braver. Tonight he is sitting with me, purring loudly, and making it difficult to type. I think he wants to tell you all "hello." He's such a gentle, lovey boy. I'm glad he's coming out. I just wish we hadn't had to say goodbye to Daisy for it to happen.

Feeling... incredibly blessed as the images from the areas devastated by Hurricane Helene continue to flood the news and social media. I saw an article yesterday that showed a list someone had come up with ranking the states by the likelyhood of a natural disaster. My state of Pennsylvania came in smack in the middle of the pack. The safest state (as far as the likelyhood of a natural disaster) is Vermont. All the states along the Gulf coast are at the bottom of the list as the unsafest places to live in terms of natural disasters.

Celebrating... all those who are making sacrifices to go to the areas in Helene's path bring truckloads of supplies, hope, and muscle for the hard jobs that need doing.

The Weekend... was busy. Saturday was my employer's annual bingo fundraiser. It's our second biggest fundraiser. I took the gentleman I do companion work with and my mom and daughter went, too. My daughter won $75 on a bingo and Mike, the man I work with, won $100 on a bingo and a gift basket of fall decor and wine.

Saturday evening Tim and I, along with our daughter's family, went out to dinner. Sunday we had the grandkids all day and had a ball with them. 

Work... is a bit of a Murphy's Law kind of deal right now. Every department continues to be short-handed and it will only get worse as lots of people have scheduled vacations and time off during the next couple of months. I did not get offered the supervisor position. They decided they want someone from outside with a degree in social work (not really sure what benefit that will be in what we do, but there you go). I don't mind. I really don't think I'd want the job. Too many headaches and duties for not much more pay.

Excited... (kind of) about going to the dentist tomorrow. Back at the beginning of the year I lost 2 crowns. Both took some of the tooth with them. There isn't enough tooth under either of them to put new crowns on. My dentist is an expert at dental implants and pushes them. I told him I didn't think my insurance would cover it (few do) and asked about a partial plate. He wasn't thrilled but told the girl to run the insurance and let me know. 

Well, the months dragged on and I heard nothing. They finally called...to tell me implants were not covered and the cost would be $4000/tooth. I said that would not be happening and asked what the insurance said about the partial. I was told they didn't get an answer (I'm guessing that wasn't submitted) but she'd get right on it. A couple more months went by and they finally called to say what my cost for the two extractions and the partial would be. I let them know I was fine with the cost and we scheduled an appointment to have my mouth scanned so the partial could be created. A month later and I'm finally going to get what's left of the two broken teeth removed and my partial. So, I'm not looking forward to the dental work, but I am looking forward to not having gaping holes in the side of my smile...chewing will be easier, too.

Laughing at...

Currently

Reading... I'm not. I've been in a slump for a couple of weeks. I picked up a new Christmas paperback today so hopefully I'll start that this week.

Listening... to more Doo Wop music than I care to. The gentleman I do companion work with is hyper-focused on it and an online radio station that plays it. I don't hate Doo Wop, but he never wants to listen to anything else and he listens at make your ears bleed volume.

Watching... still Hallmark movies for the most part, but I'm looking forward to watching the vice presidential debate on Tuesday.

Loving... that Oliver, my bathtub dwelling kitty, is slowly figuring out that Daisy is no longer in the house and therefore not a danger. He is coming out into the rest of the house more and more, though he still remains timid of anyone other than me.

Thinking... I really need to get off my duff and get my fall decorations out before it's time to put them away. I've never been this late getting to it before.

Feeling... m'eh. It's a really gray, dreary day that does nothing to inspire. Plus, we went to a huge fall festival with friends yesterday and we walked and walked and WALKED. I don't feel too bad, but Tim, who had just had his first cardio therapy session Friday (it kicked his butt) and then did yesterday, is hurting a good bit today and just lying on the sofa.

Celebrating... nothing much here at home. Oct. 2 is our son's birthday, but since nothing has changed there... At work the big bingo fundraiser is this coming Saturday so there's excitement about it. Also, we have a huge Halloween party/talent show every year and it falls on my department to decorate, plan and execute it all. The consumers are already into the Halloween spirit and I'm kind of fueling it with themed crafts, movies, and such.

Grateful... we had a good day with our friends at the festival yesterday. They've been asking us to go for probably 20 years, but Tim was always working. It was very nice in spite of being chilly and wet. Lots of good food, plenty of crafts and other vendors. I bought two big bags full of stuff and a new noodle board for the stove. I also got a big, snuggly Hocus Pocus sweatshirt for myself. But the biggest thing...we were physically able to do it. We were hurting a lot by the end, but we did it. Tim admitted he was worried if I'd be able to walk that much before we went. Our friends were in the same boat...actually the wife was in way worse shape than the rest of us. I was worried about her.

It was rainy, chilly, and windy when we first got to the 
festival. These cute little piggies were trying to keep warm
by snuggling up to their Highland cow buddy.

Enjoying... all my favorite fall flavors, the return of savory dishes, the smells, and yes, even that it's getting dark earlier.

When fall rolls around, the Eat'n Park Smile
cookies become monster smiles. The kiddos
enjoy Frankenstein cookies after dinner.

Making me laugh...

Currently

I am...

Reading... Nothing. There just hasn't been time in the last week or so. Or maybe it's more accurate and honest to say that 9 times out of 10 when I sit down in the evenings, I fall asleep.

Watching... A lot of Hallmark and Great American Family. Tim and I did find a couple of older comedies to watch on Prime over the weekend. One was a Tim Allen film I'd never heard of. Yes, I stayed awake through those, but I wasn't just sitting there. I did other things as I watched like folded laundry.

Loving... The new attitude Tim has had since his heart cath. I know he is feeling better and it shows. He is not a terrible grump any longer. He said the men at work have told him the same thing.

Thinking... About my Daisy. She hadn't been eating like normal for a little while, but I thought she was being picky because she never said "no" to people food and when I'd try something new she'd eat it a time or two before turning up her nose. It turns out her liver was failing. She went across the Rainbow Bridge today. I wasn't able to take another day off work so my daughter had to take her. I feel guilty about that, but I didn't want her to suffer just so I could be there.

Feeling... Tired and sad.

Celebrating... My favorite time of the year...the Ber months...Fall.

Grateful... Tim is doing so well and doing all he's supposed to be doing, that my daughter was able to stand in for me at the vet's, and for my son-in-law who dug the hole in our rock-hard yard (no rain).

Enjoying... My favorite time of year. I love the colors, the sights, the sounds, the tastes, and the smells.

A quote I want to share... It's actually a prayer a friend shared with me on Facebook and I found it very comforting.

Lord, you have embraced a good friend and loving companion.

While we mourn what we have lost, we do celebrate what we had...

and in saying goodbye, we renew our pledge to love and care

for any creature you entrust to us for its time of life.

Thank you, Lord, for the joy this loved one gave us and for making it

possible for us to have made this friend's life a good one.

Saturday 9: Minute by Minute

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) It's easier to keep track of the minutes if your timepiece has a second hand. As you answer these questions, are you wearing a watch or can you see a clock that has a second hand?  No and no. I think I have a watch or two around here somewhere, but I haven't worn a watch since I stopped driving a school bus. Like so many, I use my phone for that, too. We don't have any clocks in the house with hands at all. Do they even teach kids how to tell time with an analog clock these days?

2) In this song, Michael McDonald admits he knows his girl has lied to him. Do you suspect any one of your friends/family has fibbed to you recently?  Mmm...maybe Tim in telling us what the doctors have said or what they allow him to do. He is a terrible patient.

3) McDonald's big break came in 1973 when he joined Steely Dan's touring band. What do you consider your first professional success?  I don't really think I have one. Until now I've never really had what I considered a profession...just a series of jobs. I am looking at the possibility of being named the supervisor of my department in the next week or two. I guess that would be a success if it happens.

4) In 1975 he joined The Doobie Brothers. He was originally supposed to be a temporary replacement for Tom Johnston, but he ended up working with the band uninterrupted for seven years. Tell us about something that's happened to you that turned out better than you anticipated.  That would be years ago when I volunteered in youth ministry. I got involved in that very reluctantly, but my years doing that were some of the best times of my life.

5) In 1986 he guest starred on an episode of The Young and The Restless. Have you ever been hooked on a daytime drama?  Back in the day I never missed an episode of Days of Our Lives. Bo and Hope, Patch and Kayla...swoon!

6) Michael and wife Amy raised their family near Nashville, where they had their own pond and a garden they lovingly tended. Do you enjoy yard work?  I used to. I haven't really been able to do much of it the last few years thanks to arthritis pain.

7) In 1979, when "Minute by Minute" was popular, movie star John Wayne died. In 2004, the US Postal Service honored him with a stamp. What was in the last envelope you stamped and dropped in a mailbox?  I have no idea. We get lots of mail, but I rarely send anything out.

8) In 1979, the most popular new car was the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Ads promised drivers the Cutlass could make it easy to get in and out of tight parking spots. Are you good at parallel parking?  You'd think I would be after driving a school bus all those years, but you'd be wrong. I could parallel park a bus with ease, but I'm not so good with my personal vehicle.

9) Random question: Did you know your great-grandparents?  I knew two of my great-grandmothers on my mom's side. Not well, though, as one passed when I was 5 and the other when I was 7.

Thanks to Crazy Sam for the music and questions!

Play along here.

It's Been a Week

So...Tim is home. He didn't get here until dinner time yesterday. If you are a friend on Facebook you've probably seen my post about what a rough day Monday was. Tim's heart catheterization went well and one stent was placed in the "widow maker," the artery on the back side of the heart. However, everything went downhill once he was back in his room. A headache began and rapidly increased until he was in very bad shape. His nurse "coded" him and medical staff poured into his room and Megan and I were taken to the waiting room.

After an hour or so someone came for us and took us back to the room. They'd run all manner of tests and did CT scans of his head and chest (he was having trouble breathing, too). All the tests came back clear. Everyone's best guess is that he had a bad reaction to the fentanyl they gave him during the procedure. Still, it resulted in him having to stay overnight because the headache lingered. They did finally get him some relief and he got some sleep and felt better on Tuesday. It took all day for him to be released because someone from every team that had dealt with him had to talk to him and sign off. He also had to see a neurologist about the headaches (just in case) and a nutritionist.

Tim felt great when he got home, but after a couple of hours the headache returned. It was a bad headache, but not as bad as the one on Monday. He decided around 8:00 that I should text his boss and tell him he was not going to work today. Good choice. No headache today and he allowed himself the day to just rest and nap on the sofa. He is going to work tomorrow barring anything unforeseen happening in the night.

On the way home from the hospital Tim got a call from the dermatologist about the biopsy they did on a spot on his nose a month ago. It's cancer. It goes all the way through the tissue to the inside of his nose. He goes Nov. 7 for a 4-hour operation to cut out all the cancer. They will, hopefully, do the skin graft at the same time.

Tim's sister, the one who was in the accident a month or so ago, has been doing well since the surgery to reconstruct her pelvis with plates and screws. We heard yesterday that her incision had split open and she'd been taken to the ER. They finally did surgery on her today. The doctor cleaned the wound...no infection that he could tell, but he did send it off to lab. He said there were a lot of blood clots, though. Anyway, they closed up the would and she has a wound vac. She feels a lot better the pressure and pain she'd complained of is gone.

 Our daughter found out our grandson's A1C number is high. The doctor moved his next appointment up to Friday. His bloodwork also said in the liver function session that there was high alkalinity. The report said the high end of normal is 104 and his number was 190. Our daughter, of course, Googled it and panicked. There are a LOT of not so great things that can cause that. The doctor told her that a lot of times when kids get blood work and they give you the normal range, they give the adult numbers. He said it might be as simple as that or that he's going through a growth spurt. 

Through it all I've had to be the voice of calm and reason, of sanity. I've had to be the strong one for everyone else. It's a good thing my strength and my peace do not come from anything or anyone on this earth. I give the Lord all the credit and all the prayers of all the people I had praying. I felt those prayers. Thank you.

But still... it's been a week. And it's only Wednesday.

Currently

I am...

Reading: Arkangel by James Rollins. Thrills and fast-paced action at it's finest. Rollins' tales never give you a moment to slow down.

Listening to: I found a live YouTube station that plays classic rock.

Watching: There's been a Psych marathon on Hallmark Mystery today.

Loving: the cooler weather that's moved in.

Thinking: about Tim's heart catheterization next Monday. It's kind of hard to think of much else. He has to be there at 6:00 a.m. so I decided today to rent a hotel room for us and our daughter. We'll go down to Pittsburgh Sunday evening and won't have to get up in the middle of the night to get there on time.

Feeling: pretty good. I found a turmeric capsule at Sam's on Saturday that I'm taking twice a day. One capsule in the morning and one at night is putting nearly 4x the turmeric in my system as the chews I had been taking. I can definitely feel the arthritis now, but the inflammation is not there.

Celebrating: our grandchildren having a great first week of school.

Grateful for: our daughter and son-in-law's help closing the pool and our daughter coming over this morning and helping me start organizing the kitchen storage.

Enjoying: pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!

Weather: clear and 58 degrees this evening.

A quote I want to share: 

August Happiness Challenge, Day 31

I made it to the end of the challenge! I knew this month would be busy so I nearly didn't commit to the challenge. I did pretty well, too. I doubled up a couple of times, but I think I only missed one day completely.

Anyway, this final day has been a happy day. 

Tim and I began by going to get blood work done first thing this morning. I had to fast for mine. He didn't, but he skipped breakfast anyway so we could eat together afterward. From breakfast we went on to Sam's Club where we went to kill some time. We picked up a few items we use and found a cool Army play set for our grandson that we'll put away for his birthday or Christmas (both are in Dec.). Then it was on to the pool store for everything we need to winterize the pool and close it up.

When we got home our grandson came to stay with us while his parents and sister went to a big craft show at the fairgrounds. He finally got me to watch Disney's Avatar. I've resisted all these years thinking it wasn't something I'd like at all, so I was surprised by how much I did like it. It was very good and I've promised to watch the next one with him soon. Tim took a nap while our grandson was here. That little bit of running around we did wiped him out. I am praying next week's procedure will help him feel better than he has in a long, long time.

We're just relaxing now. Him with an action movie and me with the computer and then some reading. It's a good time to hunker down. It's hot, gray, still, and close outside. We are under a severe storm watch until later this evening. We need the rain, but I could live without a bad storm.

Anyway, it's a good day. A happy day.