Currently....Life

It's been a good day in spite of the fact that my leg has been especially painful. I still managed to go to work and I managed to drive my one-on-one to a social group for those with special needs at the Laurel Highlands YMCA. My guy is autistic and not fond of change, groups, following a program, etc., but he did great! It was a first for me, too...a drum circle.

The grandchildren went back to school today. They had a good day. I hope they have a good year and thrive. The bus was late bringing them home, as they so often are the first few days of every new school year, so my granddaughter and I just made it to our appointment for mani-pedis. I had owed her a trip to the nail salon since her birthday at the end of July when she told me she wanted us to get our nails done together. She is now sporting sparkly purple nails on her fingers and toes and is tickled pink. We capped off the evening with her favorite tacos.

Now, to get to Currently.

The weather... has taken turn toward autumn. Today's high temperature was 74. Tonight we will drop to the low 50's and tomorrow the temperature will only reach 69 or 70. Tomorrow night we will hit the 40's! The temperature is supposed to stay under 80 all week. I love it!

I'm reading... another book pulled from the pile I've brought home from used book sales. It's called A Highlander Walked Into a Bar.

I'm watching... nothing of any consequence. I finished the last few episodes of Warehouse 13 yesterday and haven't found anything that catches my attention yet. Right now Finding Bigfoot is blathering on from Animal Planet.

I'm listening... to the sound of the fall peepers and the drone of the cicadas. With the AC off I can actually hear them.

I'm loving... all the fresh, yummy produce grown locally that's available now.

I'm thinking... about the blind man I help take care of. I think I shared last week that he's been diagnosed with throat cancer. Tomorrow he goes for a PET scan to see if it has spread elsewhere and Friday he will finally see an oncologist. I am afraid after talking to the man who is in charge of his services that one day in the not so distant future his care will be out of our hands and he will have to go to an assisted living facility or even a nursing home. That makes me sad, but is also a relief. I'm already called on to do more than I probably should be doing...like his meds. I worry about him, but do not want to be pressed to handle medical stuff through his treatment.

I'm feeling... tired. The pain in my leg wakes me up nightly.

I'm celebrating... a successful day of selling our crafted items this past Saturday. It didn't reach the level of sales we did during the opening day of the baseball/softball season, but it was respectable and we did fairly constant business while those around us did not.

I'm enjoying... the cooler temperatures.

I'm grateful... to my coworkers who are protective of me because of my leg and help me out as much as they can.

I'm giggling...

Sunday Stealing: Rise and Shine!

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week we once again turn to husband-and-wife bloggers, Jeff and Charli, who are getting our week started with a meme inspired by one they stole from Jennine.

Morning Meme

1) What do you typically have for breakfast? An asiago cheese bagel with butter and pizzeria seasoning or a muffin. I'd like to have an egg or two, but I don't usually have time.

2) What was your favorite breakfast cereal when you were a kid? Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries.... though to be honest, once the milk was added I didn't really like the little yellow squares. They got soggy and slimey right away. Now that I'm all grown up they have the nerve to make a version called Oops! All Berries. In the number two spot was Freakies, another weird yellow cereal that got all slimey, but I loved the Freak characters.

3) Orange juice, tomato juice or cranberry juice? I find cranberry juice too bitter unless you add some other fruit to it. Plain tomato juice is not for me, though I will drink a V8 now and then. That leaves OJ as the clear winner. I don't drink it often, preferring something with caffeine (diet Coke) these days.

4) What time is your alarm clock set for? 5:15 or as I call it... the butt crack of dawn or ugh o'clock.

5) Do you have any tips for preventing stress and making the morning go more smoothly?  Not really, I am usually making a mad dash by the time I have to leave for work.

Currently & the Happiness Challenge

I'm feeling relaxed and ready for Monday after having a 3-day birthday weekend. We didn't do anything super exciting on Friday, my actual birthday. We'd wanted to go to the big flea market in Rodgers, OH, but between my bum leg and the temperatures reaching the low 90's...we decided to skip it. Instead we spent the day together, doing this and that, having lunch with my mom (who has the same birthday) and stepdad, swimming with the grandchildren, and going out for dinner with our daughter's family.

Tim worked both Saturday and Sunday so it was no big deal that I went grocery shopping for the blind man I take care of and prepped a few meals for him on Saturday morning. It took a while as I really have to put some thought into it these days. He was already on a low salt, low sugar diet due to heart problems and diabetes. This past week he was diagnosed with throat cancer and for now has to be on a diet of soft and chopped foods.

Saturday afternoon I watched our grandchildren and took them swimming. Our son-in-law's grandmother passed away that morning and the kids were close to her so they needed to get away from the sadness and do something fun. It gave the rest of the family a break, too.

Today I picked up a grocery order at Walmart, did some laundry, watched TV, and my daughter and I spent the afternoon making things for this coming Saturday's craft show. I also signed us up for another in October and one in November.

Anyway, on to Currently!

The weather... is a humid 74 degrees.

I'm reading... I just finished Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope and haven't decided what to read next.

I'm watching... I've been binging Warehouse 13. I'm nearly done. Only a few more episodes to go.

I'm listening... to a lot more country music again.

I'm thinking... about what to teach this Wednesday at work and about getting everything ready for Saturday's craft show (actually, we'll be selling our stuff at the opening day of the midget football season).

I'm celebrating... now that my birthday is over, nothing for a while.

I'm grateful... that everything went smoothly with that troublesome client I have to be a one-on-one with when my co-worker goes away. That's encouraging since he's going away for another whole week in September.

I'm happy today because my leg hasn't been too bad and life is just good. I'm blessed and I know it.

I'm giggling... 

Saturday 9: Shout (1985)

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

This month we're going to recall Summer Songs. These will all be records that topped the charts during August.

1) Number 1 on the charts in August 40 years ago, the lyrics to "Shout" encourage us to "let it all out." When is the last time you raised your voice?  My leg was hurting so much Thursday evening that I'm sure I raised my voice a few times when I tried to stand up.

2) This week's featured artists, Tears for Fears, were a duo -- Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith -- who met as teenagers in Bath, the largest city in Somerset, England. Bath has been named one of The Great Spa Towns of Europe. Popular spa treatments include massages, facials, body scrubs and wraps, mineral baths, manicures and pedicures. If you could treat yourself to a spa treatment today, which would you choose?  I'm in need of a manicure, but the mineral bath (if it's warm) would likely win out due to my stupid leg.

3) When they first met, one of the things Roland and Curt bonded over was that they were both raised by single mothers. Who was your best friend during your teen years? What did you two bond over?  Dana was my best friend all through our teens. We bonded over our love of sports and a shared goofiness. 

4) Curt's wife, Frances Pennington, has had a long career in marketing, beginning in the record business and transitioning to fashion. Which industry do you think you'd enjoy more -- music or fashion?  I'm not sure I'd enjoy either, but there's a better chance it would be music than fashion. At my age I'm more about comfort than fashion.

5) Roland married his childhood sweetheart, Caroline Johnston. They were together for 35 years, until her death. Do you know whatever became of your childhood sweetheart?  I never really had a childhood sweetheart. I had a few crushes, but that was it until my teens.

Let's look at the summer of 1985.

6) That summer, Chicago teenager Balu Natarajan won the National Spelling Bee. Are you a good speller?  Most of the time.

7) Tinker Bell took her first nightly flight at Walt Disney World in Florida. Do you recall which Disney movie introduced us to Tinker Bell?  Peter Pan

8) Derek Hough was a baby in the summer of 1985. In 2007 he became a regular on Dancing with the Stars, acclaimed for his ballroom dancing. Are you good on the dance floor?  I was back in the 80s. At the moment I'm lucky I can walk, let alone dance.

9) In 1985, Michael J. Fox became the first actor to have the #1 movie at the box office and the #1 TV show in the ratings. The movie was Back to the Future and the TV show was Family Ties. Have you seen the movie? Were you a fan of the show?  I've seen the movie and I did like the show back in the day. I recently watched an episode of it and didn't think it stood the test of time.

August Happiness Challenge - Day 8

Today my heating pad made me happy. Y'all know the trouble and pain I've been having with my leg. Last night I took the elderly blind man I take care of to his Lion's Club dinner meeting. By the time the meeting was over it was all I could do to stand up from my chair and walk out of the country club. The pain was excruciating.

I called off work today in the hope that rest would help. I even skipped the ibuprofen and took the meloxicam. It really wasn't getting any better. Then I thought I'd try my heating pad. I don't know why....everyone has always advised me to ice my leg.

Heat is my new best friend! I kept the heat on for a couple of hours and my leg felt a lot better. Not healed or anything miraculous like that, but better. Better enough that at 4:00 I was able to head to my client's home and prep his meals for the weekend (fortunately I had done the shopping yesterday before going to dinner). 

I hope this new discovery will help me manage until next month. My PCP referred me to an orthopedic doctor and the first available appointment was September 8.

I wonder what work would say if I bring my heating pad with me?

Happiness Challenge - Day 6

Every day on my way to and from work I pass a small field, someone's long, sloping front yard, really. This year whoever lives there planted the entire space with sunflowers. The flowers bloomed in the past week. So now I get to see their little faces tipped up to the sun every morning...a whole sea of them. It makes me smile every time I see them. It makes other people happy, too. I've seen several people pulled over to photograph the scene.

Happiness Challenge - Day 5

Today my co-worker's kindness made me happy. He cares deeply about our clients...co-workers, usually not so much. We've gotten to know each other better over the past few months and while he can be cold, even callous, to others...he's been helping me out a LOT as I deal with my leg pain. I appreciate it so much.

*And no, there is no danger of romantic entanglement. One, I'm old enough to be his mother, and two, he is married. To a man.