It was a quiet day for me. My tooth hurt so badly that I knew better than to go out into the woods. Especially with temperatures starting out at only 10 degrees. So I called Shane and let them know that I couldn't come. Am I ever glad that I didn't. The pain was really bad most of the morning. I called Dr. Tim at 8:30 and he ordered some antibiotics for me. After I took them and two Ibuprofen the pain finally subsided enough that I was able to lie down and actually sleep for a couple of hours.
He also ordered a prescription of Tylenol with codeine which I can take when I go to bed tonight. The pain was pretty mild most of the afternoon but is coming back again. I am hoping that a good night's sleep and some more penicillin will knock it out of me.

I made the Christmas fudge today. I can store it in a cool dry place. I still have to make buckeyes before sending the packages out of state. I like to get them out that first week in December so must get moving.

Jim and Michelle picked up my Share order for me this morning so I wouldn't have to go out any more than necessary. Bobbie came by this afternoon after stopping in to see her Dad. She brought him a nice lavender scented potpourri for his room. Sometimes things get a bit heavy in that place. I had told her I was about out of soap too and she brought a few bars for me. I love her soaps. They keep me from turning into a snake. And they smell SO good.

I went to church at 4PM then stopped off to see Dick and wheel him down to the dining room for his supper. I came right home then and am settling down for a long night's sleep. As soon as I can take my next antibiotic I will take a pain pill and hunker down.

Jeff called from Mother's. They had a pretty good day. Jeff did not see anything, but Shane saw eight. He got a shot off at one of them, the only one close enough, but missed. However, he chased it over past Cory and Cory got it. Randy also got a nice doe. I will be picking up some liver on Monday. Bobbie and I will have to plan an evening for a liver dinner. Shane is talking like he would like to try it so maybe we will invite him too. The guys are planning on going hunting again on Thanksgiving Day and if my ear is healed I will go out then, just for those few hours. Jim said that this might be dangerous, the last time I did that, I ended up in the emergency room.

Have a nice Sunday. I am going to rest again except for going over to the Center at about noon and having lunch with Dick.

Mary

Well, today has been quite a day.

Started off with my tooth still hurting and worse that the days before. I called the dentist and left a message.

Went over to the Center at 8:30 because Tim from the Wisconsin Prosthetics was going to be there early. He was already there when I got to the Center, but was working with another patient. We got to see him very shortly, about 9AM. I watched him measure and make a plastic cast for the prosthesis. Just about then Dr. Tim, the dentist called and I could go right in.

He checked me over between a busy schedule and found that there was a crack in the hurting tooth. So. He put a filling in the tooth. I got back to the Center at about 10:30AM and Dick was just finishing his therapy. We went upstairs and I rested until it was time for lunch. Then I came home to take care of Chelsea and eat. Then slowly throughout the afternoon, the numbness started wearing off. The cookie ladies came around at about 2PM and I found out that heat makes the tooth hurt. Coffee told me.

I fixed teriaki steak and fried rice for supper and brought it over to have a meal with Dick. They were serving Sloppy Joes and potato salad, so he opted for that.

However, the tooth is getting worse. I hope it is because of all the eating and activity. Soon, I will brush with Sensidyne toothpaste, take some Tylenol and go to bed. If it is still hurting in the morning, I will not be able to go out hunting for sure. It is supposed to be about 10 degrees and that is no place to be with a sore tooth. I do have Dr. Tim's number and will call if it is still hurting in the morning.

Kind of a weird day overall. I'll update you tomorrow night. Hope I will be able to tell you that I went hunting.

Love

Mary

Here we are on a COLD Thursday in November. One week from today is Thanksgiving. Where is the year going?

I drove back and forth from the Center several times. I had to do a load of shorts for Dick and fix my lunch and my supper and walk the dog.

A good thing happened today. We went to the Plymouth Clinic to see Dr. Fehrman, the orthopedic surgeon. He looked at the stump and proclaimed that Dick does not have to come back any more unless something happens to the other leg. He is aware of the problems and is hoping along with us that the hyperbaric procedures or the stem cell salve do some healing. When and if they do, we will need to be constantly on alert for any slight wounds and keep him healthy. It is a scary situation. His diabetes along with the edema and poor circulation is awful. But after all this time and work we cannot give up now.

Another special thing happened today. Tim, the owner and operator of Custom Care and Transport, told me that if it would work, he would come and pick Dick up from the Center on Thanksgiving and bring him home and back. He would do this pro gratis. There are beautiful people in this world. I discussed it with Dick and he says no. The main problem is not getting him into the house, but being able to use the facilities. We are not that far along with his therapy as yet. I will call Tim and thank him. He will then be able to spend the whole day with his family.

Tomorrow I will have news of the next step in prosthesis fitting. Tim from the Wisconsin Prosthesis will be there to, we believe, do a first cast for the first temporary prosthesis. This is exciting.

Saturday is opening day for Deer Hunting. It is going to be cold cold cold. But not wet. So I will have to really bundle up. Perhaps this will be my year.

When I was living in California, we would go out to Chiriaca Summit every year for Thanksgiving with a lot of other people in our Jeep club. I always fixed our turkey dinner on the Sunday before the holiday. Then I would pack portions of EVERYTHING for our little family to eat on Thanksgiving day out on the desert. The Jeep club celebrated on Saturday with the pig roast that I have mentioned before. I am going to have to test the scanner that is a part of our new printer and send you a picture of the pig on the spit and the camp. It was a fun time of life.

Bottle of wine, Fruit of the vine.
When you going to let me get sober
Leave me alone
Let me go home
Let me go back and start over.

We sang around the campfire at night. This was one of the songs. However, we were drinking Apricot Brandy and I liked it straight up with a cup of hot coffee on the side. Sweet and bitter. Great taste sensation.

Love

Mary

Not a great day. I have a toothache.

Chelsea woke me up at about 5AM. I did my usual, let her out, gave her a treat and then went back to bed. However, I couldn't sleep because my tooth was achy and I was thinking too much.

After breakfast and shower, I got to the Center at 8:45AM so that we could be ready for Tim from the Custom Transport to pick us up for Dick's appointment with Dr. Sharon. He found no major problems with Dick's general health. A bit of tweaking on the meds and he wants him weighed twice a week as there has been a big weight loss and I am sure he wants to monitor. The loss will be useful when he stands on the prosthesis but too much is not a good thing either.

We got back at about 10AM and I called the dentist back. (I had left a message before I left home but nobody had called.) I think I had mentioned that I was supposed to go in next Monday to have a cap replaced on an old root canal. But this pain is getting worse. Dr. Tim was very kind. He says there is no infection (which I was worried about.) He said that the blackness of the enamel, which I had noticed is just from the old silver filling. The pain is from thin enamel and gum tenderness around the tooth that is NEXT to the one that feels like it is hurting. I now have a tube of MI Paste Plus which is supposed to recoat and replace that enamel. He said it may take a week but that I need to apply it every night and during the day, if I can. No water for about an hour after application. The night one is the most important.

I went back to the Center after the dentist appointment and took a nap. It was very beneficial, but I am still tired.

I brought the rest of that Mexican Chicken that we had on Monday night for our supper. I have JUST enough left for a lunch. I had made a half casserole.

So that was our day. Tomorrow we go to see Dr. Fehrman. I am sure he will be pleased with the say Dick's leg is healing. Wish we could say the same for the right one.

One of twelve rules to live by that a friend sent to me.

"Make the most of your circumstances. Noone has everything and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears."

Sometimes it is quite a trick but we can do it.

Love

Mary

It was very cold this morning. The snow was mainly gone, so Chelsea was not as happy rolling in the grass and when I took her for her walk, her poor little paws started to hurt from the cold. There were slippery spots too, so we did not go far.

I put a loaf of bread in the bread machine before I left for the Center. I also made SURE that I did not have to go to court about my accident/ticket. I am scheduled for December 3 at 10:AM. The nurse changed the dressing on the wound on Dick's right foot while I was there this morning so I got to see it. I can't tell if there is any improvement but it looks no worse. I went down for part of his physical therapy. Lori had him transfer from the chair to the mat not using the board. It worked but we need to have him use less foot and more upper body.

I left at 11:30 because I had to pick up some things at Walgreens and eat lunch. Mom's prescription was ready and they had a few bargains too. Now I have to figure out the best time to swing over to Sheboygan Falls and give Mom the pills.

I ate some of my leftover chicken and veggies for lunch. I also had a slice of bread fresh from the bread machine.

When I got back to the Center, I was exhausted so I took a nap. At 3:30PM I drove over to Lee and Janice Lemkuil's home. Lee is a recent double amputee and they are members of an Amputee Support Group. Janice had invited me over to see the things that they have done to make their home "Lee" safe and friendly. I got some very good ideas. Some of the things that they have done won't work but others will be very helpful. I am also going to go to the Support Group meetings. Lee offered to come and talk to Dick. Dick said Maybe after the appointment on December 2.
I think it would be helpful to him but only if he is receptive.

I zipped home and fed and took care of Chelsea then went back again to the Center to have supper with Dick. They were serving Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast ( Shit on a Shingle). Dick and I both like it and wanted to see if it tasted as good as we remembered as we have not had it in years. It Did!!

Now I am home, it is almost 9PM and Chelsea is pestering me to take her out again and then go to bed.

I think I will.

Take care

Mary

P. S. The big St. John Raffle is over. I did not get a big call and haven't heard from any of you so I guess we are out of luck on that one.

Love

Mary

It snowed this afternoon. For the first time, some of the snow stayed on the ground. At least for a little while. The roads are slippery. I think Chelsea is forcing herself to be "good" so that she can roll around in it.

I made the Mexican Chicken Casserole that we all like so well and took it over to the Center so Dick and I could eat supper together. That was nice.

This morning started with Bible Study. There were 8 of us there. We had a lively discussion on who are the "least of my brethren". We are supposed to pay attention to that. I would imagine that those of us who have so much will be more accountable. We also had quite a discussion on what is "enough". It makes no sense to be paying CEOs, Star Athletes and/or some other celebrities the amounts they are paid. I feel this especially about the CEO's who are frankly robbing from the bottom line of the profits. Their answer when a company is having trouble is to lay off workers. Heck, they could "lay off" one of themselves. I wonder how they will be able to face God.

Everyone is praying for Dick anyway. We need all of that.

I had a nice visit with Mother, then stopped at Walmart on the way home to renew my cell phone, pick up wrapping paper and bows AND buy a new purse. My strap broke. I am one of those people who just find a purse and stick with it. I do not change for an outfit or for the season. Fortunately I found one almost the exact same style as the one I had and it was only $10. Isn't that great.

The Plymouth Writer's Club met at 1:00PM. There were 8 of us there, including my new friend Peggy. She writes from the heart and very well. We had a nice meeting. Fortunately, I had a couple of things done. I don't have to read anything but feel like I failed a class or something when I don't.

The rest of the evening was for me and Dick. I brought Chelsea over to see him when I had to go home to pick up his shorts. He looked good today but I thought his voice sounded weak. I should be able to spend a good chunk of tomorrow with him and can watch him do his therapy. That gives me an idea too.

He sees Dr. Sharon, his primary physician on Wednesday.

A friend sent me a video of a portion of Ellen Degenerus's show. She was talking to an 88 year old lady from Austin Texas, who is a real hoot. Her name is Gladys Hardy and she said, "Listen Honey, I love Jesus but I drink a little."


Sounds like a good philosophy to me.

Have a good Tuesday.

Think of me.

Mary

Today was a day for me to be huddled in my cave. It worked too. The only time I left was to go and shoot pistol with Nancy this afternoon. When we got to the club there was one truck parked in the lot. It was Doc (Don) Blake. He had come to the club to watch the Packer game. It seems that Judy, his wife, was giving a jewelry party and he just wanted to get out of the house. Nancy and I were glad to see him. After we shot, we visited with him for a bit before heading on home.

When I got home, I loaded Chelsea up in the car and we went over to see Dick for a hug. I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a Milwaukee Sentinal. It will give him something to read AND a TV guide for the week.

By the way, my scores were not TOO bad today. Nancy and I want to keep practicing so that we will be ready for the winter league that starts in January.

I took two naps today and am still tired. I plan on being IN bed at 9PM and hope to get a really good night's sleep. This is a really busy week and I need to be prepared.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Bible Study and then over to Mom's. I talked to her tonight. She is fine but felt a bit weak today and did not go to Mass, so I will pick up a bulletin for her from church.

I called Bret AND Bart and Barb today. Bart and Barb are a bit under the weather but doing OK and Bret is fine. He spent the weekend at the River, thank heavens. Now that he is back, he is in no danger from the fire but having sneezing fits from all the ash and the Santa Ana Winds that are blowing.

The only thing I did today was to go through and clean my coat closet/cookbook shelves. That gave me a good feeling.

Nora called today. It was so good to talk to her. She keeps track through this blog. The blog is a good thing. Today I got a message from someone, who just happened to read the blog. He or she said that they knew someone who had gone through hyperbaric procedures and that it worked wonders. That is certainly encouraging in this time of such uncertainty and concern.

Hope your week goes well. Keep us in mind. Tomorrow, my friend Kate's husband has a minor surgery. Pray for them too.

Love

Mary

I got the following in an email. It is just too cute so I thought I would brighten your day.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS


This is a true story, proving how fascinating the mind of a six year old is. They think so logically.

A teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first little pig was trying to gather the building materials for his home.

She read: 'and so the little pig went up to the man with the wheelb arrow full of straw and said: 'Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?'

The teacher paused then asked the class: 'And what do you think the man said?'

One little boy raised his hand and said very matter-of-factly. 'I think the man would have said: 'Well, I'll be damned! A talking pig!'

The teacher had to leave the room.