Saturday, June 13, 2009

I got up at 6AM as usual. Chelsea and I had a pretty good walk before my knee started hurting. Dick had not slept well at all, so after all the morning things (which seem to get more complicated every day) he went back to bed. He slept until I woke him up shortly after noon so we could have lunch.

He did only walked once today because we are keeping an eye on a red spot on the graft on his foot and want to keep things kind of quiet until the therapist and/or the doctor give their opinion on it. I think it is ok. It feels firm and is not in any way open but it is reddish and it seems a bit shiny. We will check it again in the morning and have him walk again then.

I made a fruit salad and an apple crisp today. I used Splenda Brown sugar for the apple crisp so it is an OK dessert for Dick.

I also cleaned the bathrooms today.

The only time I left the neighborhood was to go to Mass at 4PM. It was a nice Mass. I visited with a couple of people that I know. It is nice to feel part of the community. I was able to give communion again. I always feel good about that.

Chelsea has a small seizure this afternoon, nothing like that last one but a seizure none the less. She is always so confused.

So that is Saturday. We heard from Jim and Michelle with a new phone number and a blog entry a couple of days ago. They seem to be doing fine.

I need to go to bed now so Good Night and Sweet Dreams.

Mary

Friday, June 12, 2009

 



Roxie and Jillian - Bonding - Kind of
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Chelsea slept until 4AM this morning. I got up finally at 6AM. We had another short walk as I stopped as soon as my knee stopped working. I did tell you that Dr. Murthy has scheduled an MRI for Wednesday, just to be sure that there is not tear or anything. If not I guess we will try a cortisone shot. I know that really helped when I had the problem with my sternum tear.


I finally was able to connect with Heidi, the VNA who was working with Mother. We arranged to meet at Mom's at 10:30AM. I think we have things under control now. As the VNA had actually released Mother and Heidi has been working with her questions just because she is a nice gal, we got the problems solved. 1. Heidi called Dr. Hancock and has them ordering the equipment (bags and appliances and adhesive) for six months. We have the numbers of the items and will be getting them from Aurora on Superior the old Fesslers. That is where Dick gets his knee sox when he needs them so we know Barb, the liaison there quite well. 2. She did not know why VNA had told Mom to make an appointment with Dr. Hancock. But Mother indicated that she would really like to see him anyway because she has questions so Jeff will take her on Monday to see him. I made a list for her to take with her of her questions and will make sure that Jeff takes it with them. It is so easy to forget things when one is actually with the doctor. 3. Everything is working just as Heidi expected it too.

Mom has been released from VNA and from now on will call Dr. Hancock with questions. We would really like to get someone in there in the mornings when she gets up. Mother is resistant to that so we need to try to make her comfortable with the idea.

I got home in time to fix Dick's lunch and the then to the Dairy Queen for lunch with the Bank Ladies. We had a nice visit. Everybody is fine but I am not the only one who is having leg trouble. Ceil is also having trouble with ehr legs.

Then home again.

I got the kitchen cleaned, the garage floor washed down and the downstairs bathroom cleaned today. Pretty good. It will be a quiet weekend so maybe I can get some stuff done just for me. Especially on Sunday.

We had leftovers for dinner, Red beans and rice, cauliflower and hot dogs. Really good. Now tomorrow I will have to start from scratch as the leftovers are all eaten up.

My friend Janet Bieschke stopped by this afternoon with her granddaughter Jillian. Janet was picking up something for CWI. Jillian is two and adorable. She was fascinated by Roxie and Chelsea and the stuffed animals also. Roxie and Chelsea were kind of fascinated by her too. They have not seen little people in at least three years. Jillian is a sweet child so they interacted very well.

I went out on the deck for about a half an hour this evening to read. It was wonderful. The deck is above the mosquitoes, but I sprayed with Listerine just to be sure. This is the first day that it was warm enough to do this. Hope there are a lot of days like this to come.

Have a lovely weekend. We intend to.

Love

Marymom

Thursday, June 11, 2009

What a strange morning. Chelsea slept until almost 5AM. Dick and I were almost afraid to get out of bed. With all the coughing Chelsea has been doing we don't know exactly how we will find her. But she finally came to get me to take her out. Guess What, I did NOT shower today. I wasn't going anywhere anyway so I just got dressed and took Chelsea for a walk. We couldn't go far because my knee started hurting really quickly.

I vacuumed the rugs this morning and swept the second half of the garage this afternoon. I still have to wash the concrete in the garage but at least I have made some headway. Dick walked twice today for three minutes each time. We are going to try to increase it to three times tomorrow.

We went for a little drive in the country about lunch time and got our lunch at Culvers. By the time Dick was ready, it was after 12. We wanted to go to Chesters but at that time on the last day of school, there is no way that we wanted to wait that long to eat there. We drove out towards and through Rhine Center, then worked our way back on Highway M. Just admiring the fields and the farms and the scenery. It was the first time that Dick wanted to go out so I was pleased.

It is kind of warm in the house tonight so I opened windows and doors to freshen it up in here. The trouble is that if I open the front door both kitties run there so I can't leave it open too long. We don't want the wrong people to see two kitties.

They have done the prep work on Tallgrass for the paving. The paving will be done late next week, weather permitting. Hopefully that will shut up the dissidents in the complex. The ad hoc committee has been very effective if you ask me.

Guess that is all for now.

I did a bunch of Celtic Women work today too. I am almost all caught up on paperwork.

Take care

Mary


Headline in paper:

Ten Commandments, Supreme Court says some are OK some are not.

As the caption said. Didn't know we had a choice.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Well, another Wednesday gone and one more therapy under out belts. Dick had therapy at 11AM this morning. Diane, a therapist who has worked with him before, helped us today. She had him walk twice in the parallel bars and then for a couple of sessions using a walker.

We, I looked too, checked his foot after each walk. We noticed some redness on the graft area but it seems to fade with resting and shows no sign of breaking down so we are just going to go slow and keep observing it. No therapy until next Thursday. We found out that Jaren, who was supposed to work with him tomorrow, broke his wrist, arm and possibly shoulder. It is OK because now Dick just needs to practice and can do so here.

So until next Tuesday, we will be doing walking exercises and I will be checking the foot.

I went grocery shopping and too the bank this morning and then after therapy we stopped at Walgreens for Mom's meds and a few other things.

We had hot dogs, beans and salad for lunch. I had purchased Johnsonville Butcher shop hot dogs in casings and they are really good.

Bobbie got here shortly after lunch and we worked on wine. We had to put both her elderberry/rhubarb and our White Zinfindal into the secondary fermenters (the jugs). Now we wait. In 10 to 12 days, I will be adding the rest of the additives to the White Zin and we just have to wait for Bobbie's wines to settle out. Probably about 30 days will be right for the first racking. Then racking every several weeks until clear. Patience. As they say, No wine before its time.

Roxie and Oscar always come downstairs when we are in the wine cellar to check things out. This is brand new territory, you know. The door to the downstairs is usually closed and when I go down to quilt, the wine room is always closed. So WOW. They are fascinated. Roxie always complains a lot. She would really like to get up on shelves and work benches but we discourage that.

Poor little Chelsea won't come down with me any more. The stairs frighten her. I believe that the cataracts in her eyes are impairing her vision so that she cannot see depth. So she patiently waits at the top of the stairs, usually sleeping, these days.

My knee started hurting earlier in our walk this morning. I just don't know what to do to fix it. I left a message for Dr. Murthy to contact me now that I am done with the series of Celebrex that he gave me.

Tomorrow we do not have to go anywhere. I intend to do some cleaning and computer catch up and Dick said that perhaps it would be nice to just go for a ride in the country. We haven't done that in years. I think I would like that. I hope Dr. Murthy calls early.

Til tomorrow

Mary

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord,
if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time just like I am."

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Well, this morning I was at least able to read the clock correctly and got up at about 6:15AM. I was able to walk as far as yesterday before my knee started hurting. But it still hurts. I guess I will have to call Dr. Murthy in the morning to find out what to do next.

We had to be at the first therapy session at 11:15AM. That was exciting for us. Dick did very well. Dale was his therapist today. Lori, the therapist that has been working with us for all those months in Plymouth Care, is on maternity leave. We will be having whoever is available for the next six weeks, perhaps until he is done with therapy. We don't know how long it will take. Dale said that he must walk at home and build up his time. We are now at 3 minutes each time with rest in between. We will have one more session this week. We were supposed to have two but Jaren, Dick's first therapist at Aurora those many moons ago, was in an accident an will not be able to be there on Thursday. Pray for Jaren. He is a nice man and has a family. Let us hope that it is not serious.

We ate a quick lunch then zipped over to Sheboygan to see Tim. He is pleased with the way things are going with the prosthesis and will see us again next week on Tuesday in therapy at Plymouth Care. The next step with him is a leg that looks pretty normal.

When we got home, Dick used the walker a couple of times. It is harder than he thought it would be. Good thing there is no deadline. He will keep practicing, and tomorrow, I will bring our walker to the Center. That takes a little different skill.

We are listening to Yo Yo Ma at Lincoln Center. It is a very pleasant concert with a group he formed called The Silk Road Ensemble. It is very oriental. Covering Korea, China and others. I find it interesting but beyond my understanding on much of it. I suppose that thest artists would feel the same way about Irish traditional music. I am no expert on that but have learned much and it is in my ethnic soul. I can listen to that for hours. I need to prepare a mini lesson on Celtic music for the Sheboygan CWI group. I want to share what I learned from my correspondence class through UWM. I am excited to have two CDs of Cornish music and hope that Mary Schultz was able to find some Galatian music for me. I only have one Galatian song that I am aware of. Oh well, we share what we have.

Hope you have a good Wednesday. I will be shopping and then taking Dick to therapy.

Love

Mary

Monday, June 08, 2009

A totally strange beginning to the day. Chelsea got me up at her usual 4AM or so. It was pouring so she made quick work of her outing. Then I got back to sleep. When I woke up I thought it was 6:30AM so I got up again and fed the kitties. In their room I glanced at the clock and to my surprise, it was only 5:30AM. By this time I was wide awake and there was no sense in going back to bed, so I went right into the shower and proceeded with the morning.

I went to Sheboygan Falls shortly after 9 for bible study and my visit with Mother. Bible study was interesting. We got off onto a discussion of this new program that the Diocese has come up with called Faith in our Future, which is supposed to insure education funds for our future by establishing an endowment and several other contingencies for our parish. 40% of the funds stay with the diocese, the rest comes back to the parish. Our discussions covered the expensive marketing that they have done (who is paying for that) how broad is the education to be, (will it cover clerics to help take up the slack that the over stretched priests are now unable to handle.) and how much of the funds will be used to make up the difference caused because of the massive settlements caused by the sex scandals. I think I will ask my friend Marlene, one of the people on the committee some of these questions.

Mother is doing fine. She has been having trouble getting the VNA nurse to call her back with answers to questions. I told her that if she had not heard by this afternoon, I would call. They DID call back and are resolving her questions and promised to be back to her by Wednesday with the answers.

I got home in time to fix Dick's lunch, then drove over to Kate's house. We went out for lunch and a visit, Our schedules have been such the past few weeks that we have not had a time to just visit. It was nice and we covered a lot of ground. Her poor Riley cat is very subdued. It told you that he has a very badly injured front leg. It is all bound up and will be for at least a week or two more. Riley is getting discouraged. I brought him a little of the catnip. Kate said that he seemed to like that.

We had Chicken Vegetable Pasta salad for supper. It was really good. Then there was a meeting of the Ad Hoc committee for the condos. It went well. They have started the prep work on the biggest problem, the paving of the road and will do the paving next week, so our committee is doing well. We covered the rest of the problems and I believe that our work is actually all done.

Since I have been up since 5:30AM I am really tired tonight and am looking forward to that wonderful bed.

I am still reading Dinah Federer's book Chasing Normal. She has a wonderful paragraph in her chapter on loneliness. "A disability isn't something to be fixed. It's a new way of life for everyone to adjust to. Just take it slowly. There may be some awkward moments. That's okay. Take it slowly and trust that you'll find your way." It's a really helpful book and I would be glad to share it with anyone who is interested.

Take it easy. Tomorrow Dick starts therapy. Yippee!! On his feet again.

Love
Mary

Sunday, June 07, 2009

I am very tired tonight. Not for the amount of work I did. But just because it is Sunday, a day of rest as we all know.

I went to Mass at 9:30AM. St. John's is now on it's summer schedule so I really have a choice of Masses. I really like early Sunday Morning and 9:30 ain't bad but 4PM on Saturday is OK.

Saw a lot of friends and visited a bit after Mass. Mary Schroeder was there. I saw her at lunch with the bank ladies on Friday. She had not been there for several months and then here she was at Mass this morning with her husband Dave.

I got home an Dick was sleeping so I just relaxed and prepared dinner. We had ham, red beans and rice and cauliflower. Nummy, nummy. After lunch, I took a nap. Bill and Bobbie came over a bit later and Bill fixed the light switch in our bedroom. It had "died". We were unable to turn the light or the fan on in that room and that is not a good thing. Bill fixed it. I don't know what we would do without him. We are so grateful for them. Not for what they can do but for who they are. Bobbie and I are having so much fun with the wine. We tested what is in process and she is coming back Wednesday when both the elderberry/rhubarb and the White Zin will be ready to put into secondary fermenters by then. They are close, but not quite ready.

Now, we are watching the Tony's. We are Broadway "lovers". We learn a lot at the
Tony's and always wish that we could be there, meaning New York, to see the plays. I will be so glad when Dick is better and we can again go on the tours to see the touring companies when they come around.

A busy week is coming up. Yea. Therapy is starting up on Tuesday. We brought the walker into the living room today. We hope that Dick can start using it soon. He gets up easily nowdays but feels a wobbly. Therapy will help that and build up endurance. Tomorrow is my day. Bible Study, lunch with a friend and then a meeting in the evening with the condo ad hoc committee. WE are just about read to get the road paved which is really the biggest of the problems. Of couse those with minor problems are going to immediately say "But what about me?" Whimper Whimper.

Some people do not know how to roll with the punches or to do anything for themselves.

Guess that is all for now.

Take care.

Love

Mary