Today was a rather lucky day.   I beat Dick at Rummy today for the first time in about a week AND I saw a line of wild turkey hens crossing the road on my way home from shooting at Rhine tonight.  

I left for Rocky Knoll at 9:30AM so that I would be there when Tim from Wisconsin Prosthesis got there at 10AM.   Tim was on time.    He checked the final left prosthesis and declared it done.   Then Corrie, Tim and I helped Dick get up and walk so that Tim could check the right prosthesis that is still in the shrinking stages.    He made some adjustments that we feel will help Dick distribute his weight better and place his feet more correctly.   Now - Practice - Practice - Practice.

After lunch and playing cards for a while, I headed for Sheboygan.   I left at about 1:30PM.   I stopped at Glander Drug to pick up something for Mom, then went to the Memorial Mall to spend my 16 dollars in credit from Hallmark.   I got some nice paper plates and matching napkins and the neatest plaque for Halloween.

I picked up some feathers and small rickrack at Hobby Lobby, then went to The Clinic for my appointment with Dr. Holmes.   My rib pain has shifted some but when I told him how it was feeling, he said that this is what he was hoping would happen.    The nerve that was injured is slowly healing and I need to continue with my exercises to keep up the healing.   I was relieved because this is such a slow thing to be healing anyway.

I finished earlier than I thought I would so I stopped at Woodlake on my way to Rhine and picked up some choriso, Revolution Earl Grey with Lavender and a couple of bottles of wine.  

My last stop WAS Rhine where I finished the last two targets for pistol league and visited a bit with the guys.   I showed them (especially Doc) the pictures of me with the corn snakes draped around my neck in Dublin.

Home for the night,  after making my apologies to Roxie for being late, I fixed supper and now am settling down for the night.  

Have a great weekend.   This is the weekend of our Samhain dinner.   Prelude to Halloween.  Looks like we will have a pretty nice group there.

Til tomorrow then.   Love and God love you all.

Mary

Hello everybody.    I got up this morning and the heat had not come on for the daytime warmup.    At first I thought perhaps I had the time of the change wrong, but that was not it.   

SO I called Steger, the place that had installed the thermostat, and talked to the guy who did the installation.  He went over the settings with me and then suddenly a light went on in his head and he told me to go downstairs and see if he had flipped  the furnace switch on when he was done.     Oops,  he had not.   I flipped the switch and it warmed up in nothing flat.

I went to Rocky Knoll at 11:AM.   Dick was already in therapy.    Today he did the strengthening, then we practiced standing in the bars and getting those hips to do their share of supporting his body.   His knees are not as straight as they should be as he needs to do some of that shifting.

Then we had lunch and played some cards.    I came home before two PM and took a nap.   I was so tired and am still very tired so will go to bed early.   Tomorrow is a very busy day.

God love you

Mary

A rather quiet day.   I slept until almost 8:30AM, except of course for feeding a pestering kitty.  I almost have my desk cleared off and am almost caught up on the immediate chores that have to be done.

I went over to Rocky Knoll at 11:00AM so that I could be in on Dick's therapy.   Before lunch he just did stretching exercises, then after lunch, he practiced getting up out of the chair to the bed and back and then from the chair to  the bathroom and back.    Quite a lot for one day but we are going to have to push it even harder eventually if he is going to get home.

I came home at about 3PM.   Cut out some pieces for a Christmas quilting project, did some wash, had an early supper and then went to Mead Library via Sy Regan's house so that he could go.    I wanted to go to Karl Elder's Poets Corner anyway but sometimes I get lazy when I get home of an afternoon.   Knowing that Sy needs a ride gives me that little push I need.   I am starting to feel very comfortable with the other poets there.

I get home between 8 and 8:30 from this Poets Corner so I now ready for bed.    I will finish sipping my tea and head there immediately.

God love you all

Mary

Another day on the run.   I started off by going to fill the gas tank and pick up groceries and taking out the trash.

Then I drove to Wisconsin Prosthesis in Green Bay and retrieved Dick's left prosthesis.    It looks good.   I got to Rocky Knoll shortly after 11AM.

We had lunch and then rolled down to therapy so that Dick could get on his feet again.   It was a bit difficult.   He is having some pain.  It seems to be in different spots in both feet and legs.

But he did stand and do some walking.

I had to leave at 1:45 for an informational session on  the changes to United Health Care for next year.   Mother, Dick and I will all be automatically renewed.   I just wanted to be sure what, the changes were.

Then I drove over to John Michael Kohler Art Center for the Meeting on the Irish Family day that I am helping with in January.    We had a lively meeting, decided a lot of things.   Assigned each other duties and will meet again at the end of January for more tightening up.   It should be really wonderful.

I got home at 5:45PM and fixed myself pizza with wine for my dinner.   I am going to watch Dancing with the Stars at 8PM and then hit the heay.   Tomorrow I can sleep as late as I want to.  

God love you

Mary

Well,  after a thunder and lightening storm that sped through last night, today was sunny, clear and beautiful.   One of those days that we remember why we live in Wisconsin.

I left at 6:30AM for Green Bay to take Dick's left prosthesis for completion.   My friend, Mary Steger, rode with me.   Isn't that great.   I had not been there before and we were leaving in the dark, so I was glad of a companion.  She is somewhat familiar with the Green Bay area also.     There was an accident just shy of the turnoff to Sheboygan Falls on 23, so we had to take a detour but still got up to Wisconsin Prosthesis at 8AM.   The man there asked what time I would be back tomorrow night and I told him that I would have to come Wednesday because I have appointments Tuesday afternoon.    He said that he can have it ready for me tomorrow by 10AM so I will go back up tomorrow to pick it up.   What a guy.    Dick will only be one full day without it.

We got back to Sheboygan Falls and stopped at the Mac Donalds there.   Mary called Bob to pick her up there  so I could get to bible study on time.    I bought us breakfast anyway.   I had not eaten and was starved.

Bible Study was great.   We only had 5 of us there but it got pretty lively.    We are still on Psalm 49 and learning a lot.    We will finish the Psalm 1 portion of this Little Rock Study in a couple of weeks.   Good thing we sent for the Psalm 2 workbooks.

Mom and I had a great visit.   We did not have much "business" so could really visit today.    I did have to set up her pill box.   She is such a pleasure to spend time with.

I got to Rocky Knoll just before noon, and caught Dick as he was finishing therapy.   SO I was able to tell him and Corrie, that I will be able to pick up his prosthesis tomorrow morning and have it there for tomorrow's therapy.   The minimum possible days without standing.    We have to keep working at that.   I say WE when it is really him, but it seems like we.

I came home about three and rested for  a while.   Shortly after 4PM, Neil from Steger Heating came to check the furnace.   He determined that the problem is the thermostat, so he replaced it.   I now have it set where the temperature should just maintain.

Now I am finishing up a couple of things for tomorrow's meetings, will watch Dancing With The Stars and get ready for bed.

Tomorrow is even busier than today so pray that my Guardian Angel keeps up.

God love you

Mary

Lots of weird adventures to relate.  I am watching the Packer game as I do this.   We have to hang on to the ball for two minutes or score again to seal this game up. 

So.  The adventures.

Last night, as I let the house get a bit cold because I opened up the doors  to air things out, I turned on the furnace. 

We have the temperature limit set, so I did not give it another thought.   Until - I woke up at about 11PM and I was sweating.   It took a while to wake up enough to realize that I had better go to look at the thermostat.  I staggered to the hall and Faith and Begorra it was 92 degrees in this house.    I checked and everything looked like it was set correctly.   The temperature that had been preset was 73.  But it was 92.   So I opened windows and doors, turned the thermostat to air conditioning and turned on all the fans.   In about an hour and a half, I was finally able to sleep.   Poor Roxie came in the bedroom and laid under the fan.   She will never figure that one out.

By the way, the Packers just won.  They beat Minnesota 33/17.   Yippee.   That's seven in a row.

Now, I will tell you the tale of the mouse.   No pun intended.    I got to Rock Knoll at 9AM and went to Mass, helping bring some of the residents down, as usual.   A lovely Mass and I met a couple of the new residents.

I arrived back in Dick's room shortly before 11AM.   He was a bit sleepy and I was reading when I saw a mouse climbing over this CPAP and the edge of the bed.    Dick said that he knew there was one around and I ran for help.    They came right down with towels and whatever else they could think of.   Dick and I got out of the room and waited.    AH, you should have heard all the banging and furniture moving and chatter going on in there until someone said,  "There it is!" and there it was,  OUT of Dick's room and along the baseboard of the hallway.   It had travelled through the walls.  So the hunt continued.   By then maintenance had joined the chase.  Up and down the hall the valiant hunters ran.   Finally it ran into one of the other rooms and Joseph from maintenance managed to scoop it into a waste basket and covered it with a towel.

At this point, Dick said that he thought it had bitten him this morning.  Then I got VERY nervous.  It turns out that he woke up feeling something and batted at it around his arm and also around his knee.   He thinks it bit him but he was so sleepy it was difficult to be sure.   He could possible been feeling little claws too.   Anyway, he told the morning nurse.   The message about the mouse was passed on, but not the fact that Dick thought he was bitten by it.  That bothers me a bit.

Terry, the nurse, called a Veterinarian and a Doctor who both concurred that mice are not rabies carriers.  The doctor said to just watch the offending area to be sure there is no sign of infection.  Bobbie and Bill came to visit while Dick and I were playing rummy as the cleaning crew cleaned his room from top to bottom and inside out.  We could have moved to another room but I can't see that a mouse wouldn't be there too.   And he is probably in the cleanest room in the facility right now. 

We had a nice visit with Bobbie and Bill.   Told Bobbie what the doctors said about mice not rabies carriers and she mentioned that they do however harbor the hantavirus.   Very reassuring.   We agreed that it takes a LOT of dry dusty mouse poop to really spread the disease, if the mouse has it to begin with.

So was your last 24 hours as exciting as ours?

Tomorrow I have to get up very early as I have to be in Green Bay by 8 Am to drop off Dick's right prosthesis for finishing. 

 So good night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.

God love you

Mary

The hallway was full of spectators and Joseph took it to a deep empty trash can.

At this