Tuesday, April 26, 2016 -
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Tuesday was a very strange day. Ron came home from work! It was weird, let me tell you. He had words with a supervisor who likes to let his power go to his head every now and then, and Ron had had enough. It seems as though other guys up there get to go home when things aren't going their way, so it's Ron's turn. As you all know - this is not like Ron. He puts up with a lot of shit and just does his job. For him to do something like this, it's some serious stuff!
Anyway, he came in and woke me up to tell me that he was home and would be out in the garage getting some work done. I did the stupid dozey-wakey sleep after that, wondering about all the repercussions from this, but since I couldn't do anything about it, I let myself doze, but the thoughts were still there. I finally woke up about the time I usually do, and I let myself be awake and did my tableting and reading as usual. When I got up, I went out to the garage to talk to Ron and to let him know that I was up now, and to let me know what he wanted to do about lunch and when.
He eventually came in and we decided to go over to the FeedMill in Felicity for lunch. We know that we're going to have salad for supper, so why not? A little celebration because he is home on a weekday is okay every once in a while....
I go to my TOPS meeting that night and am pleased to find that I have lost 1.2 pounds even though I have not paid that much attention to my eating over this past week. With the news I've been receiving, I just didn't really care. Plus, we had gone out to eat lunch that day. So - the loss was very good news.
When I got home, Ron had the salad stuff all ready for us to make our big ol' salads, which we did. I'm so glad that I thought to buy our salad stuff while I was out on Monday - we really needed to start eating like this, we really did. Both of us. We only needed that little oomph to do it.
We ate our supper while watching NCIS and NCIS:NO, which were both reruns. Ugh!
Wednesday was supposed to be my Happy Homemaker Day now, but when I got up, my back was killing me, so I ended up not doing anything all day. Nothing. I was pretty miserable all day, and I put my cream on my back twice during the day (and again before I went to bed) but because of the rain - both before it started and when it did finally start - it never relented. So the day was pretty much a loss all-around.
And, oh, boy, did it rain. And rain. And rain. It was awful! It had rained last night, too, and caused flooding in places, and here it was raining again. Terrible, terrible day.
On Thursday, I have a neurologist appointment. It was canceled from April 5th, and I've been wanting to talk to him, so I am glad it's finally here. Luckily, on the reminder call yesterday, I found out that I have to go down to the Anderson office instead of the Batavia office that I prefer. Ai yi yi! That's a bit difference of a drive! So I get my lazy ass up and leave an hour before my appointment so I'll get there on time, which I did.
The appointment went well. We talked about my headache situation - how it was all winter long while closed up in the house (worse) and all - and about my medicine situation - we're leaving it the same for now - and about my new medical situation - he said concentrate on this and let the headache be for now, we have them under control - and we were both satisfied with the office visit.
After that, I went over to Eastgate to meet my friends Bert and Teresa for lunch. Yes, both of them! A Bert and Teresa Day! Yay! Well, our times ended up a little messed up, so I went over to Meijer and did a bit of retail therapy - I found me two shirts on clearance for $4.00 each! - and strawberries in those big packages at 3/$5.00. WhooHoo! Score!
Then it was on to lunch. With Bert and her great-niece Nancy, who is 9 weeks old (BABY!), Teresa, her sister Sandi, and her great-niece Addie, who is 4, so it ended up being way more than a Bert, Teresa, and Rita Day. We had a great time, and I'm sure they were glad to see us leave a little after 5:00.
Needless to say, Ron beat me home. We had a nice quiet evening here at home, with our big excitement being doing our weigh-in on the Wii. We had forgotten last week, and - surprise! - we both gained this week. Double and triple ugh! I don't understand it - how can I have lost on Tuesday night, eat salad for three nights, and then gain umpzillion pounds tonight? But....there it is. Hopefully it was where the balance board was sitting on the floor and it'll be gone next week. We shall see. I'm glad the TOPS number is the one that really counts!
Happy Homemaker Day tomorrow - before heading out to my shopping and all. I really do need to do something around here this week, rain or no. And I think it will be rain. Yes, my back tells me so.
Oh - and a bit of great news! I will get our mortgage caught up tomorrow. My plan has worked! I will just have to keep at it - stay on budget - to keep us caught up now. Everything is as caught up as it can be. Just all those old bills from 2013, from when I lost my job, are still hanging over us. If only Social Security would come on and do something....
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Monday, April 25, 2016
A week!
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 -
Monday, April 25, 2016
I can't believe it's been a whole week since I've written, and I apologize. My only excuse is that my head was imploding, exploding, and spinning with the news from last Monday and I just plodded through the week.
Tuesday was my Happy Homemaker Day.
My TOPS meeting wasn't really a meeting this week, either. We went down to the library in Amelia to listen to local herbalist Rita Helkenfeld (I think I spelled that right), who talked, gave recipes, and made stuff for us all (the whole audience, not just us) to sample. It was very interesting! We were going to weigh in afterward, but it didn't get over until time for the library to close, so we didn't get a chance to.
I don't remember much about Wednesday or Thursday, so not much must have happened. I do remember that I didn't go get Ron's check on Thursday. I just stayed home and he did what he does. I have been walking out to meet him unless it's raining, so I've been getting walks in, too.
On Friday, I had my grocery shopping to do, as well as other errands to run, as usual. I was getting things ready to go when I get a text from Josh - "are you out and about?" I ask him why, is he available to go to lunch with me today? (Usually, I have just missed his lunch and he's already eaten...) He responds in the positive (Yay!) and we set up a time to meet. So I get going, to do my errands in Bethel - my first stop was the bank to do the Altar Society deposit, then our bank to make our deposit, the post office, and so on and so forth. Then it was on down to Amelia, where I just went ahead to the Mexican restaurant (Don Rigo) to meet Josh before doing any of those errands because of traffic and other problems that caused my errands to take too long.
We had a wonderful lunch, and had a good talk, too. But all good things must come to an end, and those errands were nagging at my brain, so eventually he went back to work and I did my errands and finally got back home around 5.
I made a Shepherd's Pie for supper - for some reason, that just sounded good - and it was in the oven cooking when Ron and Corgan got home around 6 and our weekend started. Friday night is not much, because Ron is always tired on Fridays, but we have a peaceful evening, even though Corgan complained that I woudlnt' let him make his Ramen noodles. Mean ol' Granny!
Nothing much was planned for Saturday. Ron was working out in the garage, and mowing, weedeating, things like that, and Corgan was supposed to be helping him, but you know how 11 year old boys help. Yep. Like that.
Once I got up, I just stayed in the house. Around 1, I went out to talk to them - give them my two cents worth, I said - about lunch and the rest of the day and we made our plans. Eventually Ron (finally) got things cleaned up enough that we went uptown to Gold Star to have lunch. The guys even rode the motorcycle, it was so nice! Then it was back home for the rest of the day. We got to have Corgan again - his parents were running away for the night after his mom got off work - so we were taking advantage of it! I called and asked Bert if she wanted to come over, so maybe we could teach Corgan some different card games, which would be easier with four people instead of just the three of us. She agreed, but it would be later before she got here. We played cards - poker - for the rest of the night, and we all had great fun! Finally, though, Ron had to go to bed. And, then, I was the next one to go...
Sunday was a little different, too. Corgan went to church with us, but he sat there (not participating), either reading or playing on his tablet (on mute), which was fine with us - at least he was with us. Off to lunch afterward, we decided to go to Georgetown which isn't really a big surprise. Ron and Corgan got lunch (chicken livers), while I got the big breakfast that we like so much.
As we were sitting there, a little boy, maybe 3, with the family at the table in the center of the place, started coughing and throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. Poor little tyke! He had just eaten a big breakfast, too, for a little dude. Oh, he was miserable. Shaking and couldn't move....awful. Mom handled it real well, though, and Dad helped pack up the rest of the family's food and they left pretty quickly. Soon after that, the waitress told us that our bill had been taken care of by that family. WHAT? That was so kind of them - and they sure didn't have to do that! They were certainly in enough distress as it was, and to think of the other people sitting around them (the restaurant was pretty full, as you can imagine) was something else. I don't think we were the only ones, I really don't. That was SO kind of them.
We a nice quiet afternoon, yes, even with Corgan. Bert got up soon after we got back, and Jean came up to pick Corgan up so we all just hung out. We all went out into the back yard and sat in the shade of the umbrella at the picnic table, and then Bert cut my hair. No more Shaggy!
Then they all packed up their whatevers and took off for 'home,' wherever home is.
Ron and I collapsed into our recliners! Nice weekend, but so glad it's over - we're old!
Monday - Boob Squish Day! WhooHoo! It's been way too long since I've had this done, so it's about damn time, but I am not thrilled that it needs to be done. Ladies, I'm sure you know what I mean. Men - you have NO idea.
Bert has decided that she didn't want to get up and go over with me (I think it's just too early for her), so when I'm done, I meet Teresa for lunch at O'Charley's in Eastgate. I'm so glad that Teresa decided to come out today! We sat there and enjoyed our lunch and each other's company until after 3, but, finally, we had to go our separate ways. It was a very pleasant time!
This weekend was rather amazing to me - Josh got my lunch on Friday. The pay-it-forward on Sunday. Teresa sneaked and got my lunch today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I am a happy chickie!
Monday, April 25, 2016
I can't believe it's been a whole week since I've written, and I apologize. My only excuse is that my head was imploding, exploding, and spinning with the news from last Monday and I just plodded through the week.
Tuesday was my Happy Homemaker Day.
My TOPS meeting wasn't really a meeting this week, either. We went down to the library in Amelia to listen to local herbalist Rita Helkenfeld (I think I spelled that right), who talked, gave recipes, and made stuff for us all (the whole audience, not just us) to sample. It was very interesting! We were going to weigh in afterward, but it didn't get over until time for the library to close, so we didn't get a chance to.
I don't remember much about Wednesday or Thursday, so not much must have happened. I do remember that I didn't go get Ron's check on Thursday. I just stayed home and he did what he does. I have been walking out to meet him unless it's raining, so I've been getting walks in, too.
On Friday, I had my grocery shopping to do, as well as other errands to run, as usual. I was getting things ready to go when I get a text from Josh - "are you out and about?" I ask him why, is he available to go to lunch with me today? (Usually, I have just missed his lunch and he's already eaten...) He responds in the positive (Yay!) and we set up a time to meet. So I get going, to do my errands in Bethel - my first stop was the bank to do the Altar Society deposit, then our bank to make our deposit, the post office, and so on and so forth. Then it was on down to Amelia, where I just went ahead to the Mexican restaurant (Don Rigo) to meet Josh before doing any of those errands because of traffic and other problems that caused my errands to take too long.
We had a wonderful lunch, and had a good talk, too. But all good things must come to an end, and those errands were nagging at my brain, so eventually he went back to work and I did my errands and finally got back home around 5.
I made a Shepherd's Pie for supper - for some reason, that just sounded good - and it was in the oven cooking when Ron and Corgan got home around 6 and our weekend started. Friday night is not much, because Ron is always tired on Fridays, but we have a peaceful evening, even though Corgan complained that I woudlnt' let him make his Ramen noodles. Mean ol' Granny!
Nothing much was planned for Saturday. Ron was working out in the garage, and mowing, weedeating, things like that, and Corgan was supposed to be helping him, but you know how 11 year old boys help. Yep. Like that.
Once I got up, I just stayed in the house. Around 1, I went out to talk to them - give them my two cents worth, I said - about lunch and the rest of the day and we made our plans. Eventually Ron (finally) got things cleaned up enough that we went uptown to Gold Star to have lunch. The guys even rode the motorcycle, it was so nice! Then it was back home for the rest of the day. We got to have Corgan again - his parents were running away for the night after his mom got off work - so we were taking advantage of it! I called and asked Bert if she wanted to come over, so maybe we could teach Corgan some different card games, which would be easier with four people instead of just the three of us. She agreed, but it would be later before she got here. We played cards - poker - for the rest of the night, and we all had great fun! Finally, though, Ron had to go to bed. And, then, I was the next one to go...
Sunday was a little different, too. Corgan went to church with us, but he sat there (not participating), either reading or playing on his tablet (on mute), which was fine with us - at least he was with us. Off to lunch afterward, we decided to go to Georgetown which isn't really a big surprise. Ron and Corgan got lunch (chicken livers), while I got the big breakfast that we like so much.
As we were sitting there, a little boy, maybe 3, with the family at the table in the center of the place, started coughing and throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. Poor little tyke! He had just eaten a big breakfast, too, for a little dude. Oh, he was miserable. Shaking and couldn't move....awful. Mom handled it real well, though, and Dad helped pack up the rest of the family's food and they left pretty quickly. Soon after that, the waitress told us that our bill had been taken care of by that family. WHAT? That was so kind of them - and they sure didn't have to do that! They were certainly in enough distress as it was, and to think of the other people sitting around them (the restaurant was pretty full, as you can imagine) was something else. I don't think we were the only ones, I really don't. That was SO kind of them.
We a nice quiet afternoon, yes, even with Corgan. Bert got up soon after we got back, and Jean came up to pick Corgan up so we all just hung out. We all went out into the back yard and sat in the shade of the umbrella at the picnic table, and then Bert cut my hair. No more Shaggy!
Then they all packed up their whatevers and took off for 'home,' wherever home is.
Ron and I collapsed into our recliners! Nice weekend, but so glad it's over - we're old!
Monday - Boob Squish Day! WhooHoo! It's been way too long since I've had this done, so it's about damn time, but I am not thrilled that it needs to be done. Ladies, I'm sure you know what I mean. Men - you have NO idea.
Bert has decided that she didn't want to get up and go over with me (I think it's just too early for her), so when I'm done, I meet Teresa for lunch at O'Charley's in Eastgate. I'm so glad that Teresa decided to come out today! We sat there and enjoyed our lunch and each other's company until after 3, but, finally, we had to go our separate ways. It was a very pleasant time!
This weekend was rather amazing to me - Josh got my lunch on Friday. The pay-it-forward on Sunday. Teresa sneaked and got my lunch today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I am a happy chickie!
Monday, April 18, 2016
The End Begins....with the second-best worst news ever...
Monday, April 18, 2016
I went to the hematologist this morning. My friend Bert went with me, because I thought a second set of ears and eyes - and a brain - might come up with questions that I couldn't.
The appointment started with me filling out a million papers, even though I had filled out the ones that they had sent me in the mail. But they hadn't sent anything that had to do with "privacy" issues, so I had to fill all those out. Sigh. (Still a good reason to hate going to a different doctor!)
Then it was back to the back so the nurses could get my vitals. My BP was good for a change - 124/78 - and when she entered my weight, she questioned me about what it used to be. It felt to admit that, yes, it used to be 50+ pounds more than what it is now! She was impressed, too, and that made me feel good - but, of course, she was a stick woman. She also poked my finger with a vicious little machine so that they could check my white blood count and lymphocytes quickly and see if they have changed. Damn, did that hurt!
The result did come quickly and nothing has changed much, so that's good and bad.
Back to the exam room for the actual visit, and here we go...
He asks questions, answers questions, pokes and prods, and does all the things doctors do. We have a good discussion about things, because you know I have done some research on the things Doc and I talked about a couple of weeks ago, and then he finally breaks the news to me.
Although he could not give me an official diagnosis today, he thinks that I most probably have CLL - Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. I am asymptomatic, which is a big part in leading him to think this. He will do more blood tests to confirm, so I have to come back in two weeks. So the narrowing down and/or ruling out begins...they draw three vials of blood before I leave.
It is MOST important to focus on the first word - chronic - instead of the last word - leukemia. This is the type of leukemia that they can do nothing for. As long as you, the patient, are asymptomatic, there is nothing to do. When the symptoms start showing up, that's when other things (like treatment) can, and have to, start happening. They can only keep an eye on it, and you. Three cheers for the vampires, right? Ugh.
But - this diagnosis is the second-best diagnosis I could have received today. The best would have been Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but evidently that was not to be. But for it not to be any worse than that was the best news of all, because anything worse than CLL would have been devastating - totally devastating!
When we left the doctor's office, Bert and I went to lunch. We went to Longhorn and I had one of my almost-perfect salads. Man, was it ever good! I was very rude to Bert and spent a lot of time texting to family and friends, because I had promised them all to tell them my news as soon as I knew anything. She said she didn't mind, she understood, but I still felt bad. But that was the quickest way to tell the most people, so that was what I did.
We finally left to come home, and I had no sooner stepped in the door when I got a text from Ron, so I changed my shoes and took off walking. Jiminy Christmas, was it hot!
We got back home, and that was it for the day. I got on the pute and he plopped in his chair.
Old geezes unite!
I went to the hematologist this morning. My friend Bert went with me, because I thought a second set of ears and eyes - and a brain - might come up with questions that I couldn't.
The appointment started with me filling out a million papers, even though I had filled out the ones that they had sent me in the mail. But they hadn't sent anything that had to do with "privacy" issues, so I had to fill all those out. Sigh. (Still a good reason to hate going to a different doctor!)
Then it was back to the back so the nurses could get my vitals. My BP was good for a change - 124/78 - and when she entered my weight, she questioned me about what it used to be. It felt to admit that, yes, it used to be 50+ pounds more than what it is now! She was impressed, too, and that made me feel good - but, of course, she was a stick woman. She also poked my finger with a vicious little machine so that they could check my white blood count and lymphocytes quickly and see if they have changed. Damn, did that hurt!
The result did come quickly and nothing has changed much, so that's good and bad.
Back to the exam room for the actual visit, and here we go...
He asks questions, answers questions, pokes and prods, and does all the things doctors do. We have a good discussion about things, because you know I have done some research on the things Doc and I talked about a couple of weeks ago, and then he finally breaks the news to me.
Although he could not give me an official diagnosis today, he thinks that I most probably have CLL - Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. I am asymptomatic, which is a big part in leading him to think this. He will do more blood tests to confirm, so I have to come back in two weeks. So the narrowing down and/or ruling out begins...they draw three vials of blood before I leave.
It is MOST important to focus on the first word - chronic - instead of the last word - leukemia. This is the type of leukemia that they can do nothing for. As long as you, the patient, are asymptomatic, there is nothing to do. When the symptoms start showing up, that's when other things (like treatment) can, and have to, start happening. They can only keep an eye on it, and you. Three cheers for the vampires, right? Ugh.
But - this diagnosis is the second-best diagnosis I could have received today. The best would have been Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but evidently that was not to be. But for it not to be any worse than that was the best news of all, because anything worse than CLL would have been devastating - totally devastating!
When we left the doctor's office, Bert and I went to lunch. We went to Longhorn and I had one of my almost-perfect salads. Man, was it ever good! I was very rude to Bert and spent a lot of time texting to family and friends, because I had promised them all to tell them my news as soon as I knew anything. She said she didn't mind, she understood, but I still felt bad. But that was the quickest way to tell the most people, so that was what I did.
We finally left to come home, and I had no sooner stepped in the door when I got a text from Ron, so I changed my shoes and took off walking. Jiminy Christmas, was it hot!
We got back home, and that was it for the day. I got on the pute and he plopped in his chair.
Old geezes unite!
A Most Wonderful Weekend!!
Friday, April 15, 2016 -
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Friday was another Happy Homemaker Day this week. After all the errand-running yesterday, I got to stay at home today and work on our big rearranging project. I moved stuff and moved stuff and then moved stuff some more. It was exhausting work! I did take many breaks, but I got it done - at least, I thought I did. When Ron got home, he found more that I had overlooked, so we moved that, too. Then we had to go into the other room and get things straightened up in there, too, because it was a disaster area in there.
But the living room looks very nice now, even if different. I can't wait to show it off to the family on Sunday, then I can post my pictures and show it off to everyone else!
On Saturday morning, I managed to get my lazy ass up to get up to church at 8:30am for the seminar/retreat that I wanted to go to. I made it by the skin of my teeth, and I wasn't even the last person to come in! I felt good about that - I love it when I'm not late, or the last one! The bad news was that the priest who was to give the seminar hurt his leg/knee (most probably his ACL) and could not stand, and had to cancel at the last minute. So....we started with Mass, then went to the Center for our breakfast, which was scheduled to start the event, but then we just had an impromptu question and answer session instead of what was scheduled. Then we got to leave at 11am instead of 3pm, so my friend Donna and I went up to Frisch's for a bite of lunch, since the lunch part of our day went the way of the dodo bird. We had a nice visit, since it was just the two of us, and it was very enjoyable. When I got home, Ron was confused and I had to explain to him all about the day and then I went in the house and played on the pute while he continued working outside.
He came in around 3:30, as we had planned, to take his shower and all, so we could go out for our big Date Night before places got too crowded for a Saturday night. I let Ron choose where we're going, and he finally chose Logan's Steakhouse over in Eastgate. We were going to Meijer, anyway, to see if they had water (we are water snobs), so - that worked for us.
We got seated right away, and we had delicious meals - Ron had ribs with a salad and a baked potato, and I had a country fried steak meal with mashed potatoes and a salad - and we just delighted in being out (which means Ron gorged on peanuts!) just us two.
Sunday - church and lunch! - yeah, right. Not this week.
First of all, the family is coming up, so we are going right home after church so that I can get lunch (dinner) started - that was the plan. But, as always, Change of Plans! As we were coming home, as we were moving in traffic at a red light in town, traffic suddenly stopped but Ron didn't. A little WHACK on the bumper of the vehicle in front of us, and damned if she didn't want to file a police report - even though her vehicle (an Odyssey) maybe had a dent in the bumper, and you know what my front end looks like. So, WE call the police (I don't know why she didn't) and sit there and sit there and sit there and deal with all that. Of course, Ron ends up with a ticket for assured clear distance, as we knew he would, so - for once! - he is going to cost us some money instead of me!
I am texting Josh this whole time, letting him know what was happening, and I could finally let him know that they could leave and head for our house. Finally!
We got home (I wanted to see their faces when they walked in and saw our 'rearranging.') and I started cooking, and when they pulled in, we watched their reactions. They didn't disappoint. Nothing. Sigh. Jean finally said something about it - one sentence - and that was that. Okay, that's over with, let's get on with food! And that's how things go in our family....
We had a very pleasant day. It was a beautiful day, and we had the doors and windows open, as well as fans blowing because it got hot with the stove and oven cooking, so the house was tolerable. It was too hot to eat outside because there was no shade in the back yard yet, so we stayed inside.
I made my little shrimp dish, buttered noodles, and asparagus. They had brought all the makings for salad, and we stuffed ourselves silly, as usual.
Then we cleared the table off and played poker. Chelle won and won and won. Josh, Ron, and I didn't win a single game of poker - it was all Chelle and Corgan! (Well, Ron may have won one...)
When we got tired of playing poker, we played Pass the Ace, aka Screw Your Neighbor. We play as many hands as there are dealers (everyone deals once), so we played five times. Chelle won THREE of these games, too!! We told her to stop and buy a lottery ticket on the way home!
After that, we did go outside and made a fire in the fire pit. We knew it was close to 80 degrees outside, and still daylight, but - a fire! in April! - roasted marshmallows and cheese weenies? Who could resist? Not us! So that's what we did.
It was a beautiful evening, and we had a wonderful time just enjoying the outdoors and the grilled/roasted food.
They finally had to leave to get home in time to prepare for school and work tomorrow. It was kinda sad to see the day end, but every one does.
Tomorrow - Monday - is my visit to the hematologist. Ai yi yi!
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Friday was another Happy Homemaker Day this week. After all the errand-running yesterday, I got to stay at home today and work on our big rearranging project. I moved stuff and moved stuff and then moved stuff some more. It was exhausting work! I did take many breaks, but I got it done - at least, I thought I did. When Ron got home, he found more that I had overlooked, so we moved that, too. Then we had to go into the other room and get things straightened up in there, too, because it was a disaster area in there.
But the living room looks very nice now, even if different. I can't wait to show it off to the family on Sunday, then I can post my pictures and show it off to everyone else!
On Saturday morning, I managed to get my lazy ass up to get up to church at 8:30am for the seminar/retreat that I wanted to go to. I made it by the skin of my teeth, and I wasn't even the last person to come in! I felt good about that - I love it when I'm not late, or the last one! The bad news was that the priest who was to give the seminar hurt his leg/knee (most probably his ACL) and could not stand, and had to cancel at the last minute. So....we started with Mass, then went to the Center for our breakfast, which was scheduled to start the event, but then we just had an impromptu question and answer session instead of what was scheduled. Then we got to leave at 11am instead of 3pm, so my friend Donna and I went up to Frisch's for a bite of lunch, since the lunch part of our day went the way of the dodo bird. We had a nice visit, since it was just the two of us, and it was very enjoyable. When I got home, Ron was confused and I had to explain to him all about the day and then I went in the house and played on the pute while he continued working outside.
He came in around 3:30, as we had planned, to take his shower and all, so we could go out for our big Date Night before places got too crowded for a Saturday night. I let Ron choose where we're going, and he finally chose Logan's Steakhouse over in Eastgate. We were going to Meijer, anyway, to see if they had water (we are water snobs), so - that worked for us.
We got seated right away, and we had delicious meals - Ron had ribs with a salad and a baked potato, and I had a country fried steak meal with mashed potatoes and a salad - and we just delighted in being out (which means Ron gorged on peanuts!) just us two.
Sunday - church and lunch! - yeah, right. Not this week.
First of all, the family is coming up, so we are going right home after church so that I can get lunch (dinner) started - that was the plan. But, as always, Change of Plans! As we were coming home, as we were moving in traffic at a red light in town, traffic suddenly stopped but Ron didn't. A little WHACK on the bumper of the vehicle in front of us, and damned if she didn't want to file a police report - even though her vehicle (an Odyssey) maybe had a dent in the bumper, and you know what my front end looks like. So, WE call the police (I don't know why she didn't) and sit there and sit there and sit there and deal with all that. Of course, Ron ends up with a ticket for assured clear distance, as we knew he would, so - for once! - he is going to cost us some money instead of me!
I am texting Josh this whole time, letting him know what was happening, and I could finally let him know that they could leave and head for our house. Finally!
We got home (I wanted to see their faces when they walked in and saw our 'rearranging.') and I started cooking, and when they pulled in, we watched their reactions. They didn't disappoint. Nothing. Sigh. Jean finally said something about it - one sentence - and that was that. Okay, that's over with, let's get on with food! And that's how things go in our family....
We had a very pleasant day. It was a beautiful day, and we had the doors and windows open, as well as fans blowing because it got hot with the stove and oven cooking, so the house was tolerable. It was too hot to eat outside because there was no shade in the back yard yet, so we stayed inside.
I made my little shrimp dish, buttered noodles, and asparagus. They had brought all the makings for salad, and we stuffed ourselves silly, as usual.
Then we cleared the table off and played poker. Chelle won and won and won. Josh, Ron, and I didn't win a single game of poker - it was all Chelle and Corgan! (Well, Ron may have won one...)
When we got tired of playing poker, we played Pass the Ace, aka Screw Your Neighbor. We play as many hands as there are dealers (everyone deals once), so we played five times. Chelle won THREE of these games, too!! We told her to stop and buy a lottery ticket on the way home!
After that, we did go outside and made a fire in the fire pit. We knew it was close to 80 degrees outside, and still daylight, but - a fire! in April! - roasted marshmallows and cheese weenies? Who could resist? Not us! So that's what we did.
It was a beautiful evening, and we had a wonderful time just enjoying the outdoors and the grilled/roasted food.
They finally had to leave to get home in time to prepare for school and work tomorrow. It was kinda sad to see the day end, but every one does.
Tomorrow - Monday - is my visit to the hematologist. Ai yi yi!
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Oh, this week was long...and then Thursday turned into Friday!
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 -
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Tuesday was my 'escape' day this week. I got to go up to Rumpke to their silly health fair. It didn't start until noon, which was good because that's the time I usually get up, anyway. Ron and I talked so that we could be there at the same time - you all know how he looooves paperwork - so I didn't get up there until 2. Even though I don't eat my lunch until 2:30 or 3:00 most days, just knowing I wasn't going to get to eat my lunch until this was over made me hungry so much sooner - isn't that strange how that works? Anyway, I met Ron up there and we got this done and over with.
According to them, both his and my numbers were terrible!! His blood pressure reading (although the second one was much more acceptable), his weight, his height, his BMI - all so much higher than the readings we get here at home! My weight was dead-on, but the other numbers - my blood sugar, my height, my BMI - were awful. I really hate these health fair things - we go to the doctor to keep track of these things!!! We know that they are not where they should be, and we keep an eye on them. We don't need these quasi-quacks to tell us once a year that they suck! And how the hell can they make us lose an inch/inch and a half every freaking year?? Pretty soon everyone will be no taller than kindergartners!
Anyway, after we were done, Ron went back to work (probably with higher blood pressure!) and I went on up to Country Inn there in Georgetown to get a bite to eat - I was really hungry by then, and upset on top of it, so I was stress hungry. I was going to get the big breakfast that I like, but once there, I decided not to. I got the BLT double decker sandwich with onion rings. I'm not really sure if that was better for me or not, but damn it tasted good!
Then it was home to do some exercises on the Wii and a walk out to meet Ron when he texted, hoping to work some of it off in time for my TOPS meeting.
It worked to a certain degree - I had a slight gain this week, only one measly little pound. I'll take it!!
Wednesday was my Happy Homemaker Day. Even though I did some of the work on Monday, I spent so much of Monday sleeping that I really did the bulk of what housework I do today. My back was not feeling very good today, either - it was very stiff for some reason. I thought that was weird because finally, finally!, it is not windy today. The sun is shining and it is kinda warm. But...there it is.
When I walked out to meet Ron, he got out of the truck to walk back to the house himself! I drove the truck and he got a little bit of a walk in - how about that!?
As we were sitting there watching TV, he started telling me about how he had been thinking of a way to rearrange the living room. Move this here, put that there, and all this...my head was spinning! Ron was saying this? My Ron? He was really into it, too! So we talked about this for a while and decided to start on it tomorrow night.
Thursday started out as another regular day. I woke up and was lying in bed doing my normal tableting and reading when Ron called me to let me know that he had his paycheck. The downside was that he was on his way to Hillsboro and didn't know when or if he was going to be able to "do the banking" and did I want to come up and get his check and do all that for him? Well, who can resist that? Not me! After I got all my games caught up on the tablet, I got myself ready and headed up to Georgetown once again (2 times this week - wow!). After I got his check - I won't tell all our secrets - I went to the savings account bank, to Save-A-Lot, and then to Country Inn for something to eat. Today I had a country fried steak breakfast - something a little different for me.
Then I took those groceries home and got them put away. I got on the pute and looked at our checking account, then got my shopping list off the fridge and took off again. I only had to go to Walmart because we don't call in our prescriptions until Thursday evenings, so that stop was out. But I didn't want to go down the road again tomorrow, not when I was doing my Friday errands today, so I had to let something go. We can always pick the prescriptions up later. I got the grocery shopping done, getting everything on my list and staying within my budget - oh, I felt so good about that! - and got myself back home, got everything carried in and put away and got started on having things ready (meaning cleaning things off and moving what I could) before Ron texted me.
Of course, he texted while I was right in the middle of something so I had to text back "not walking" and when he got there, he complained that he was ready to do like we did yesterday and for him to get a walk in, too. Oh, well....
We got started right in on doing this rearranging, thanks to all the cleaning off that I had done. He just had to move the big heavy things, and I got to start putting things back up. Wheeeeeee! We still have a long way to go - guess what I'm doing tomorrow? It's not normal Happy Homemaker crap, that's for sure! But it will be a Happy Homemaker Day again....a-gain. Yay. My favorite...NOT.
Oh, and guess what else happened today?? I BEAT Josh at Scrabble!!! I BEAT him!!
Do you know how rare that is!!?? That is something to mark on the calendar! I can hold my head up proudly for a little while...until the next game, anyway.
A different weekend is coming up for us, too. No Corgan this weekend - he gets to go to a school/band thing on Saturday morning, then the band is going to King's Island when that is over!
I am going to a seminar/retreat at church on Saturday morning, so Ron will be left to his own devices, then he and I will have a "date night" on Saturday evening.
After church on Sunday, the family is coming up to spend the day at our house. I'll be making lunch for us all (instead of us going out to eat, as we usually do) and then we'll see what happens after the meal.
Corgan was wanting to come up this weekend, but with something already on his calendar, this was the best compromise. He is having Grandpa withdrawal, I think.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Tuesday was my 'escape' day this week. I got to go up to Rumpke to their silly health fair. It didn't start until noon, which was good because that's the time I usually get up, anyway. Ron and I talked so that we could be there at the same time - you all know how he looooves paperwork - so I didn't get up there until 2. Even though I don't eat my lunch until 2:30 or 3:00 most days, just knowing I wasn't going to get to eat my lunch until this was over made me hungry so much sooner - isn't that strange how that works? Anyway, I met Ron up there and we got this done and over with.
According to them, both his and my numbers were terrible!! His blood pressure reading (although the second one was much more acceptable), his weight, his height, his BMI - all so much higher than the readings we get here at home! My weight was dead-on, but the other numbers - my blood sugar, my height, my BMI - were awful. I really hate these health fair things - we go to the doctor to keep track of these things!!! We know that they are not where they should be, and we keep an eye on them. We don't need these quasi-quacks to tell us once a year that they suck! And how the hell can they make us lose an inch/inch and a half every freaking year?? Pretty soon everyone will be no taller than kindergartners!
Anyway, after we were done, Ron went back to work (probably with higher blood pressure!) and I went on up to Country Inn there in Georgetown to get a bite to eat - I was really hungry by then, and upset on top of it, so I was stress hungry. I was going to get the big breakfast that I like, but once there, I decided not to. I got the BLT double decker sandwich with onion rings. I'm not really sure if that was better for me or not, but damn it tasted good!
Then it was home to do some exercises on the Wii and a walk out to meet Ron when he texted, hoping to work some of it off in time for my TOPS meeting.
It worked to a certain degree - I had a slight gain this week, only one measly little pound. I'll take it!!
Wednesday was my Happy Homemaker Day. Even though I did some of the work on Monday, I spent so much of Monday sleeping that I really did the bulk of what housework I do today. My back was not feeling very good today, either - it was very stiff for some reason. I thought that was weird because finally, finally!, it is not windy today. The sun is shining and it is kinda warm. But...there it is.
When I walked out to meet Ron, he got out of the truck to walk back to the house himself! I drove the truck and he got a little bit of a walk in - how about that!?
As we were sitting there watching TV, he started telling me about how he had been thinking of a way to rearrange the living room. Move this here, put that there, and all this...my head was spinning! Ron was saying this? My Ron? He was really into it, too! So we talked about this for a while and decided to start on it tomorrow night.
Thursday started out as another regular day. I woke up and was lying in bed doing my normal tableting and reading when Ron called me to let me know that he had his paycheck. The downside was that he was on his way to Hillsboro and didn't know when or if he was going to be able to "do the banking" and did I want to come up and get his check and do all that for him? Well, who can resist that? Not me! After I got all my games caught up on the tablet, I got myself ready and headed up to Georgetown once again (2 times this week - wow!). After I got his check - I won't tell all our secrets - I went to the savings account bank, to Save-A-Lot, and then to Country Inn for something to eat. Today I had a country fried steak breakfast - something a little different for me.
Then I took those groceries home and got them put away. I got on the pute and looked at our checking account, then got my shopping list off the fridge and took off again. I only had to go to Walmart because we don't call in our prescriptions until Thursday evenings, so that stop was out. But I didn't want to go down the road again tomorrow, not when I was doing my Friday errands today, so I had to let something go. We can always pick the prescriptions up later. I got the grocery shopping done, getting everything on my list and staying within my budget - oh, I felt so good about that! - and got myself back home, got everything carried in and put away and got started on having things ready (meaning cleaning things off and moving what I could) before Ron texted me.
Of course, he texted while I was right in the middle of something so I had to text back "not walking" and when he got there, he complained that he was ready to do like we did yesterday and for him to get a walk in, too. Oh, well....
We got started right in on doing this rearranging, thanks to all the cleaning off that I had done. He just had to move the big heavy things, and I got to start putting things back up. Wheeeeeee! We still have a long way to go - guess what I'm doing tomorrow? It's not normal Happy Homemaker crap, that's for sure! But it will be a Happy Homemaker Day again....a-gain. Yay. My favorite...NOT.
Oh, and guess what else happened today?? I BEAT Josh at Scrabble!!! I BEAT him!!
Do you know how rare that is!!?? That is something to mark on the calendar! I can hold my head up proudly for a little while...until the next game, anyway.
A different weekend is coming up for us, too. No Corgan this weekend - he gets to go to a school/band thing on Saturday morning, then the band is going to King's Island when that is over!
I am going to a seminar/retreat at church on Saturday morning, so Ron will be left to his own devices, then he and I will have a "date night" on Saturday evening.
After church on Sunday, the family is coming up to spend the day at our house. I'll be making lunch for us all (instead of us going out to eat, as we usually do) and then we'll see what happens after the meal.
Corgan was wanting to come up this weekend, but with something already on his calendar, this was the best compromise. He is having Grandpa withdrawal, I think.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Cool, lazy days hopefully lead to sunny days
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Sunday. Church and lunch. Should be good, right? And those parts were!
But then we had to take that lawnmower battery back to Walmart so he could get the correct one - that's when the day went downhill fast.
We went in at the Lawn and Garden part of Walmart, since that's where lawnmowers and things are sold - but, no, they said returns have to be done up at the Service Desk. So, up to the Service Desk we go after picking up the correct battery. After standing there - you know their lines! - we finally get our turn, only to hear that anything to do with a battery has to be done back in Automotive. I told them that L&G had sent us up here, and they need to let their people know the correct information, we went back to Automotive. The guy who waited on us there had NO idea how to do a return or an exchange! He pages for help, no problem. A few minutes later, he pages again. He is waiting on other customers while waiting for this help to arrive. Finally he pages for help a third time. Still nothing, so he places a phone call to another station for some help. After waiting a few more minutes, he makes another phone call. And we wait, watching as he and another fellow wait on more customers. The other guy finally calls someone for some help, and finally FINALLY someone shows up and helps him - yes, helps that other guy. After five calls for help for us, and this guy calls once, he gets help first! Then he walked over to us, saying, "and we have a return over here?" Ooooooooh!
He punches up the buttons (and only half-asses listens to what we say) and then says, "you're good to go." Ron asks him, "What about my core charge?" since we had brought an old battery to turn in for that. He started to go into his rigmarole about how to receive the core charge back, and Ron interrupted him, tapping the old battery sitting on the counter and letting him know that we aren't stupid. He tried hard not to sigh, I will give him that, but he started punching buttons and squinting at the receipt again, and finally gave Ron his money and receipt and didn't say another kind word, just looked at him. We got the hell out of there - a 15-minute transaction had already taken us well over an hour!
Getting home, we took a nap. That great lunch at the Barn and the stress of Walmart was just too much for us! When we woke up, we played mini-golf and Ron beat the living crap outta me on all three levels. I couldn't do anything right in the game - it was awful!
I made cheese weenies for supper, and Ron topped his with what was left of his cabbage.
That was our night.
Monday was my Happy Homemaker Day. I didn't do any laundry, but I sure had a boatload of dishes sitting there waiting for me! It took a while, but I finally got them all done. After that, I sat in my recliner and I actually dozed off...dozed off! When I woke, I got myself some lunch - chicken salad and walnuts - then I let myself doze off again. What the hell is up with this?
When Ron texted, I told him that I wasn't walking - mostly because it's been raining, raining, raining all day - but also because I just didn't think I could get up and get going, either. I was asleep when he came in (again!) and he woke me up touching my face to see if I had a fever. We sat there watching TV for a bit, both of us dozing, and then he decided to go find some food.
He made us some omelets - he made mine with cheese, his with chili powder, hot sauce, and who knows what else, probably garlic - and we ate, then dozed again. Jiminy Christmas! I can't believe how much I am sleeping today! When I woke up at nearly 9, I was actually hungry and had chicken noodle soup while playing on the pute.
I do think I hear the bed calling me, though, and I have to get up tomorrow and go up to Rumpke for their little health fair. We don't want an extra $20 a week coming out of Ron's check, so we'll definitely be doing this! Fun, fun...NOT. I go to doctors for this kind of shit.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Sunday. Church and lunch. Should be good, right? And those parts were!
But then we had to take that lawnmower battery back to Walmart so he could get the correct one - that's when the day went downhill fast.
We went in at the Lawn and Garden part of Walmart, since that's where lawnmowers and things are sold - but, no, they said returns have to be done up at the Service Desk. So, up to the Service Desk we go after picking up the correct battery. After standing there - you know their lines! - we finally get our turn, only to hear that anything to do with a battery has to be done back in Automotive. I told them that L&G had sent us up here, and they need to let their people know the correct information, we went back to Automotive. The guy who waited on us there had NO idea how to do a return or an exchange! He pages for help, no problem. A few minutes later, he pages again. He is waiting on other customers while waiting for this help to arrive. Finally he pages for help a third time. Still nothing, so he places a phone call to another station for some help. After waiting a few more minutes, he makes another phone call. And we wait, watching as he and another fellow wait on more customers. The other guy finally calls someone for some help, and finally FINALLY someone shows up and helps him - yes, helps that other guy. After five calls for help for us, and this guy calls once, he gets help first! Then he walked over to us, saying, "and we have a return over here?" Ooooooooh!
He punches up the buttons (and only half-asses listens to what we say) and then says, "you're good to go." Ron asks him, "What about my core charge?" since we had brought an old battery to turn in for that. He started to go into his rigmarole about how to receive the core charge back, and Ron interrupted him, tapping the old battery sitting on the counter and letting him know that we aren't stupid. He tried hard not to sigh, I will give him that, but he started punching buttons and squinting at the receipt again, and finally gave Ron his money and receipt and didn't say another kind word, just looked at him. We got the hell out of there - a 15-minute transaction had already taken us well over an hour!
Getting home, we took a nap. That great lunch at the Barn and the stress of Walmart was just too much for us! When we woke up, we played mini-golf and Ron beat the living crap outta me on all three levels. I couldn't do anything right in the game - it was awful!
I made cheese weenies for supper, and Ron topped his with what was left of his cabbage.
That was our night.
Monday was my Happy Homemaker Day. I didn't do any laundry, but I sure had a boatload of dishes sitting there waiting for me! It took a while, but I finally got them all done. After that, I sat in my recliner and I actually dozed off...dozed off! When I woke, I got myself some lunch - chicken salad and walnuts - then I let myself doze off again. What the hell is up with this?
When Ron texted, I told him that I wasn't walking - mostly because it's been raining, raining, raining all day - but also because I just didn't think I could get up and get going, either. I was asleep when he came in (again!) and he woke me up touching my face to see if I had a fever. We sat there watching TV for a bit, both of us dozing, and then he decided to go find some food.
He made us some omelets - he made mine with cheese, his with chili powder, hot sauce, and who knows what else, probably garlic - and we ate, then dozed again. Jiminy Christmas! I can't believe how much I am sleeping today! When I woke up at nearly 9, I was actually hungry and had chicken noodle soup while playing on the pute.
I do think I hear the bed calling me, though, and I have to get up tomorrow and go up to Rumpke for their little health fair. We don't want an extra $20 a week coming out of Ron's check, so we'll definitely be doing this! Fun, fun...NOT. I go to doctors for this kind of shit.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
I can't believe it....
Tuesday, April 5, 2016 -
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Tuesday was a very good day - I had lunch with Ruth, Jean, and Veronica up at Country Inn in Mt. Orab, and we gabbed and gabbed for a couple of hours! It was so relaxing and so needed.
When I got home, I felt energized and made the decision to get on the Wii and do some exercises/training. It's been eight months since my friend (the one who came over here and did these exercises with me) has passed away, and I just finally said, "It's time." I only did three of the exercises, which only took about 20 minutes, but, by golly, I did it! I cried a little, yes, but I did it.
When I went to my TOPS meeting, I was a little discouraged to find out that I had gained about half a pound - .6 to be exact - but then I reasoned that Easter had done its damage, and if that's all it had for me, I will proudly take it!
Ron made supper while I was gone, and we enjoyed a real supper for a change. He made chicken, mac & cheese, and corn. It was excellent!
But, yes, I was over on my calories for the day when I put my food into MFP.
On Wednesday, I had another meeting to go in the evening, and I had reports to print up to take, and my printer is out of ink (again - already!), so I type up the reports and email them to myself, then went up to the library and used a computer to retrieve them. I got them printed and made copies, then went to Gold Star for my lunch. While there, I let them know that we would be there on Saturday, and that we would be at least 12 people this time - and that's the people I knew were coming. So I felt justified in going there for lunch today - it wasn't just a "just because" thing this time!
I went up to the Altar Society meeting that night, and there were two other women there. TWO! I don't know what we can do to make the women of the church realize that we few women are getting older and that things are getting a little desperate. But, it is what it is and we'll cross that bridge later.
I had chicken noodle soup for my supper when I got home.
Thursday was my Happy Homemaker Day - laundry, dishes, all that fun stuff - and even a little extra because Chip is coming in on Friday on his way back home after his training in Mississippi. He'll stay the night Friday night, then we'll have Gold Star on Saturday for lunch with family and friends (whoever shows up), and then he'll hit the road to be home by dark. A lot of traveling over a couple of days...I'm glad it's not me!
Bert has also decided to spend the night Friday night so that she'll be able to see (and visit with) Chip this time around. She didn't get to see him when he stopped on his way to Mississippi, and she wanted to see him this time. She figured if she was here, she couldn't miss him!
So, anyway, I bustled around all day, getting this and that done around here. I had two sausage, egg, and cheese croissants for my lunch - I was hungry! - and just kept going and going. When Ron texted me, I decided not to walk because of the wind, and by the time he got home, it was pouring rain, too, so that ended up being a good decision. I'm glad I can still make those every now and then!
One of the things I did while bustling around (once I thought of it) was to make a pot of chili for our supper. It was such a cold and blustery day, a one-pot meal like that sure sounded good! And it sure tasted good, too, once it got to be suppertime. Ron was glad I had something ready because he was chilled through and through.
Friday was an exciting day - I got the new windshield in my BengalMobile! I had to stay here all day and wait for them to (finally) show up, but like any technicians, that always seems to take forever. Once they got here, it only took them about 40-45 minutes to do the job. I took plenty of pictures, of course, and it was cold but fun watching them get the job done. It sure hurt paying them the $200. but it didn't hurt as bad as the insurance possibly totalling and/or taking my car! I just don't trust the insurance any more, and I know that's me.
Bert had come over before they got here, and she was here watching with me, asking questions too, just talking with the technicians and all that. They probably thought we were a couple of crazy women!
After they had left, we went in the house and made ourselves comfortable (read: put on comfy clothing) and then Bert got a phone call - how she heard her cell phone, I don't know! - from her sister. Her mom had slid out of her chair and is lying on the floor! Oh, no! We quickly - very quickly!! - put decent stuff back on and leave to go over to Bert's house, where we meet her sister. Between those two and their neighbor, her mom is gotten up and into her chair. She was a little dizzy when she first got up, but then she got back to her normal self. We could tell by her responses to us. Bert's sister decided to stay with mom so that Bert didn't have to change her plans, which we appreciated.
We got back home just before Ron got home from work. I had been talking to Chip via text, also, and he was getting closer but kept getting stuck in "parking lots" on the freeways and highways (first on I75 where that rockslide/landslide was at the KY/TN border, then on I275 for reasons unknown, and again on 125, which was just Friday night traffic) and thought he was never gonna get here. That 10-hour drive was getting longer and longer. He was ready to be here!
Finally, though, he let us know how close he was and we left to go meet him up at Frisch's. As you know if you're from the Cincinnati are, once you leave the area, when you come back you go to certain places. In our family, these places are Frisch's and Gold Star. So, we are doing Frisch's tonight for Chip for supper and Gold Star tomorrow for lunch. Then we all got back home and the night was pretty much over....Chip showered and went to bed, Ron and I played mini-golf (I beat his ass!), then he went to bed, too. Bert and I stayed up for a while talking, but then we went to bed around midnight because we all had to get up in the morning.
Saturday was our Chilifest day with family and friends.
We got up to Gold Star - we thought early - to find out that some of the family were already there! Ai yi yi! Our cousin Veronica and her family (her dad Ken, her husband Oscar, her daughter Erin, and her granddaughter Naomi) were there, as well as my sister Ruth and her family (her daughter Tammy and her grandchildren Hailey and Warren). My son Josh and his 'family' (my sister Jean and his son Corgan) pulled in right after us, and, of course, Bert was right behind us, too. With me, Ron, and Chip, that made 16 of us! That was pretty cool!
Then, as we were eating, my brother K.O. and his wife Beth came in, too - so that made us 18! That was totally awesome! And, if you were counting, there were 5 of the 8 siblings there, which was pretty amazing in and of itself. Of the three that weren't there, two live out-of-state, so I think that was pretty damn great. Of course we took pictures to commemorate the occasion.
After eating, we just visited and played with the kids for a bit, but finally Chip had to hit the road - he did want to get home by dark and it's a seven hour drive - and other families had other plans, too. It was bittersweet, but I'm so glad it happened.
Ron and I went on down to Amelia to get our grocery shopping done. We visited the Wals - Walgreens and Walmart - as well as Kroger (for his tonic water) and got all that done, then came home and got everything in the house and put away.
Then Ron decided that it was concert time! We have DVDs of different groups, which he usually watches when I'm not home, but today we watched Foreigner and the Eagles and jammed our little hearts out.
We had cheese weenies for our supper, and that was our big exciting night.
I got on the pute and put up the pictures from our Chilifest and from my new windshield. Now I've got my blog caught up, too.
My back hurts and I'm sure I hear my bed calling me.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Tuesday was a very good day - I had lunch with Ruth, Jean, and Veronica up at Country Inn in Mt. Orab, and we gabbed and gabbed for a couple of hours! It was so relaxing and so needed.
When I got home, I felt energized and made the decision to get on the Wii and do some exercises/training. It's been eight months since my friend (the one who came over here and did these exercises with me) has passed away, and I just finally said, "It's time." I only did three of the exercises, which only took about 20 minutes, but, by golly, I did it! I cried a little, yes, but I did it.
When I went to my TOPS meeting, I was a little discouraged to find out that I had gained about half a pound - .6 to be exact - but then I reasoned that Easter had done its damage, and if that's all it had for me, I will proudly take it!
Ron made supper while I was gone, and we enjoyed a real supper for a change. He made chicken, mac & cheese, and corn. It was excellent!
But, yes, I was over on my calories for the day when I put my food into MFP.
On Wednesday, I had another meeting to go in the evening, and I had reports to print up to take, and my printer is out of ink (again - already!), so I type up the reports and email them to myself, then went up to the library and used a computer to retrieve them. I got them printed and made copies, then went to Gold Star for my lunch. While there, I let them know that we would be there on Saturday, and that we would be at least 12 people this time - and that's the people I knew were coming. So I felt justified in going there for lunch today - it wasn't just a "just because" thing this time!
I went up to the Altar Society meeting that night, and there were two other women there. TWO! I don't know what we can do to make the women of the church realize that we few women are getting older and that things are getting a little desperate. But, it is what it is and we'll cross that bridge later.
I had chicken noodle soup for my supper when I got home.
Thursday was my Happy Homemaker Day - laundry, dishes, all that fun stuff - and even a little extra because Chip is coming in on Friday on his way back home after his training in Mississippi. He'll stay the night Friday night, then we'll have Gold Star on Saturday for lunch with family and friends (whoever shows up), and then he'll hit the road to be home by dark. A lot of traveling over a couple of days...I'm glad it's not me!
Bert has also decided to spend the night Friday night so that she'll be able to see (and visit with) Chip this time around. She didn't get to see him when he stopped on his way to Mississippi, and she wanted to see him this time. She figured if she was here, she couldn't miss him!
So, anyway, I bustled around all day, getting this and that done around here. I had two sausage, egg, and cheese croissants for my lunch - I was hungry! - and just kept going and going. When Ron texted me, I decided not to walk because of the wind, and by the time he got home, it was pouring rain, too, so that ended up being a good decision. I'm glad I can still make those every now and then!
One of the things I did while bustling around (once I thought of it) was to make a pot of chili for our supper. It was such a cold and blustery day, a one-pot meal like that sure sounded good! And it sure tasted good, too, once it got to be suppertime. Ron was glad I had something ready because he was chilled through and through.
Friday was an exciting day - I got the new windshield in my BengalMobile! I had to stay here all day and wait for them to (finally) show up, but like any technicians, that always seems to take forever. Once they got here, it only took them about 40-45 minutes to do the job. I took plenty of pictures, of course, and it was cold but fun watching them get the job done. It sure hurt paying them the $200. but it didn't hurt as bad as the insurance possibly totalling and/or taking my car! I just don't trust the insurance any more, and I know that's me.
Bert had come over before they got here, and she was here watching with me, asking questions too, just talking with the technicians and all that. They probably thought we were a couple of crazy women!
After they had left, we went in the house and made ourselves comfortable (read: put on comfy clothing) and then Bert got a phone call - how she heard her cell phone, I don't know! - from her sister. Her mom had slid out of her chair and is lying on the floor! Oh, no! We quickly - very quickly!! - put decent stuff back on and leave to go over to Bert's house, where we meet her sister. Between those two and their neighbor, her mom is gotten up and into her chair. She was a little dizzy when she first got up, but then she got back to her normal self. We could tell by her responses to us. Bert's sister decided to stay with mom so that Bert didn't have to change her plans, which we appreciated.
We got back home just before Ron got home from work. I had been talking to Chip via text, also, and he was getting closer but kept getting stuck in "parking lots" on the freeways and highways (first on I75 where that rockslide/landslide was at the KY/TN border, then on I275 for reasons unknown, and again on 125, which was just Friday night traffic) and thought he was never gonna get here. That 10-hour drive was getting longer and longer. He was ready to be here!
Finally, though, he let us know how close he was and we left to go meet him up at Frisch's. As you know if you're from the Cincinnati are, once you leave the area, when you come back you go to certain places. In our family, these places are Frisch's and Gold Star. So, we are doing Frisch's tonight for Chip for supper and Gold Star tomorrow for lunch. Then we all got back home and the night was pretty much over....Chip showered and went to bed, Ron and I played mini-golf (I beat his ass!), then he went to bed, too. Bert and I stayed up for a while talking, but then we went to bed around midnight because we all had to get up in the morning.
Saturday was our Chilifest day with family and friends.
We got up to Gold Star - we thought early - to find out that some of the family were already there! Ai yi yi! Our cousin Veronica and her family (her dad Ken, her husband Oscar, her daughter Erin, and her granddaughter Naomi) were there, as well as my sister Ruth and her family (her daughter Tammy and her grandchildren Hailey and Warren). My son Josh and his 'family' (my sister Jean and his son Corgan) pulled in right after us, and, of course, Bert was right behind us, too. With me, Ron, and Chip, that made 16 of us! That was pretty cool!
Then, as we were eating, my brother K.O. and his wife Beth came in, too - so that made us 18! That was totally awesome! And, if you were counting, there were 5 of the 8 siblings there, which was pretty amazing in and of itself. Of the three that weren't there, two live out-of-state, so I think that was pretty damn great. Of course we took pictures to commemorate the occasion.
After eating, we just visited and played with the kids for a bit, but finally Chip had to hit the road - he did want to get home by dark and it's a seven hour drive - and other families had other plans, too. It was bittersweet, but I'm so glad it happened.
Ron and I went on down to Amelia to get our grocery shopping done. We visited the Wals - Walgreens and Walmart - as well as Kroger (for his tonic water) and got all that done, then came home and got everything in the house and put away.
Then Ron decided that it was concert time! We have DVDs of different groups, which he usually watches when I'm not home, but today we watched Foreigner and the Eagles and jammed our little hearts out.
We had cheese weenies for our supper, and that was our big exciting night.
I got on the pute and put up the pictures from our Chilifest and from my new windshield. Now I've got my blog caught up, too.
My back hurts and I'm sure I hear my bed calling me.
Monday, April 4, 2016
A windy weekend blows by...
Friday, April 1, 2016 -
Monday, April 4, 2016
Friday morning, Bert called me as she was leaving her house. I offered to meet her uptown instead of her driving all the way out here, and she accepted that offer, so I drove uptown and parked in the town parking lot, got over into her car and off we went.
We got to where she was going, and she did her thing there as I waited, taking turns reading, tableting, and pacing (those chairs were hard!). She finally got done, and we went to lunch at Mama's Grill there in Williamsburg. I got a BLTE double decker sandwich and fries, while she got a breakfast sampler, and we had a very nice time enjoying our food and gabbing. Gabbing and gabbing some more, too! We ended up being there until around 4:30, when we had to leave because we each had other errands to run before going home. Bert took me back to my car, where she went to do her errands, and I went to do mine. I finally got home around 5:45, and she told me later that she got home around 6:30.
Ron got home just a little while after I did, and we had supper at different times. I ended up just having chicken noodle soup, because I had such a big lunch that I wasn't really hungry for a long time, but knew that I had to eat again before going to bed or I could have a sugar low - and I don't like them during the night.
We did play mini-golf on the Wii, and he totally kicked my ass on the easy and medium levels, but I beat him on the hard level. I redeemed myself!
It was a nice quiet evening here at home watching dead guys - Ron through his eyelids - after that.
Saturday was pretty much a normal weekend day. Windier than anything - windy, windy, windy! I don't think the windmill stopped all day long! Ron worked outside - in the garage, on the lawnmowers and then mowing - but he had to keep coming in the house to get warm. Finally, around 1:00, I went down the road to do my grocery shopping, even though I knew we'd probably be going down that way 'tomorrow' but I was bored, so I went. I stopped at Walgreen's first, to get the prescriptions (as always), then I went on down to Don Rigo to have a bite of lunch. I haven't been there for a while, probably for all of Lent, so it sounded pretty good, and it was! Then it was back to Walmart to do the grocery shopping - and I stayed well within my budget this week. Yay, me!
After that, I went down to New Richmond to visit the grand reopening of the River Village Shoppe after they moved into their new place. They have so much more space now - and everything is bright and airy and looks very nice. Then I headed home, going up Bethel-New Richmond Road, and, boy, was I enjoying all the colors of the trees and flowers and all during that drive through the country. As I was coming across Swings Corner Road, something came CRASH WHACK down and hit my car. Just that fast, and now my windshield is cracked to hell and back!! I quickly stopped, backed up a little, and got out to see if I could find what had hit me - a tree limb? a branch? (yeah, same thing...) a bird blown off-kilter in this wind? - but I didn't see anything. I hadn't been out of the car but a second or two when there was another huge crash and a branch - a huge branch - came down across the road - Across. The. Road - up ahead of where of "the hit" had taken place. If I hadn't stopped, that's just where I might have been!! Seriously!! (Maybe the hit was my guardian angel?)
I was still looking around when a car went around me, probably cussing me sitting in the road with my flashers on - when they had to hit their brakes quickly because of the huge branch across the road just ahead. Two dudes got out and made fast work of moving the branch, even though it wasn't easy, and they jumped back in their car and left, not even looking back at me. I muttered a 'thanks' to them and got in my car to go on home because Ron wasn't answering his phone, anyway. I'm so glad no one came the other way because they wouldn't have seen that branch because of a hill and curve and that would have been BAD. Maybe I was supposed to be those two dudes' guardian angel...
Anyway, I got home and Ron came out (he had called while I was on my way) to help carry in the groceries and then he checked out the windshield and all (if you know him, you know how he is...).
After that, it was time to park my ass in my recliner and don't move the rest of the night! My nerves were shot, let me tell you.
I am so tired of costing us money! SO tired of it...but what can I do about it? Whatever happens, happens and I have little to nothing to say about it. Blah.
Sunday. Church and lunch. A normal day! I can handle this. We drive Ron's truck for a change (teehee) and go up to Georgetown for our meal, even though he complained it would be like coming home from work. We both had the big breakfast that we like. We were going to stop and visit Harry and Donna on our way home, but they already had visitors, so we didn't stop.
We came on home, changed our clothes, went outside and played pick up sticks. After the wind of these last couple of days, there were plenty of sticks down, as well as bigger branches all over the yard! We busted the smaller of them into kindling into a wastewheeler to use when we can finally start having fires in the fire pit, and Ron dragged the larger branches over to cut up with a chainsaw to have as large logs. When we were done with that, we came in and played mini-golf and Ron totally beat my ass - on all three levels. I don't know why I even bothered to play - it was that awful! But, I'll beat his ass that bad some day, I swear I will!
Monday is just a Happy Homemaker Day - catching up the dishes and laundry, as always. I thought about mopping the kitchen floor, but never got around to it. I did get my checkbook balanced again, too, which made me feel good (after that last fiasco...). I had bacon for lunch - it just sounded good. I walked out to meet Ron, and, once again, the wind was blowing and it was a chilly wind - much colder than I expected - and I was glad when he finally showed up. I was thinking to myself that I am consistently getting to our half mile mark, or damn close, and that is something to be pretty proud of. Especially on the days when he texts earlier than I expect and I'm not even dressed yet!
We got back home, and that was about it for the night.
Ron had one of his frozen Chinese things for his supper, and eventually I had a chicken noodle soup with a snack bag of cheese popcorn (Ron brings these home - when they refill the machine at Rumpke, they leave the "dead" bags on the table for the guys) and 3 slices of cheese. Putting this food into MFP, I am still 700 or so calories short for the day. What can I do - I ate plenty!
Tomorrow, I'll make up for it. My sisters, my cousin and I are meeting for lunch - don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall?
Monday, April 4, 2016
Friday morning, Bert called me as she was leaving her house. I offered to meet her uptown instead of her driving all the way out here, and she accepted that offer, so I drove uptown and parked in the town parking lot, got over into her car and off we went.
We got to where she was going, and she did her thing there as I waited, taking turns reading, tableting, and pacing (those chairs were hard!). She finally got done, and we went to lunch at Mama's Grill there in Williamsburg. I got a BLTE double decker sandwich and fries, while she got a breakfast sampler, and we had a very nice time enjoying our food and gabbing. Gabbing and gabbing some more, too! We ended up being there until around 4:30, when we had to leave because we each had other errands to run before going home. Bert took me back to my car, where she went to do her errands, and I went to do mine. I finally got home around 5:45, and she told me later that she got home around 6:30.
Ron got home just a little while after I did, and we had supper at different times. I ended up just having chicken noodle soup, because I had such a big lunch that I wasn't really hungry for a long time, but knew that I had to eat again before going to bed or I could have a sugar low - and I don't like them during the night.
We did play mini-golf on the Wii, and he totally kicked my ass on the easy and medium levels, but I beat him on the hard level. I redeemed myself!
It was a nice quiet evening here at home watching dead guys - Ron through his eyelids - after that.
Saturday was pretty much a normal weekend day. Windier than anything - windy, windy, windy! I don't think the windmill stopped all day long! Ron worked outside - in the garage, on the lawnmowers and then mowing - but he had to keep coming in the house to get warm. Finally, around 1:00, I went down the road to do my grocery shopping, even though I knew we'd probably be going down that way 'tomorrow' but I was bored, so I went. I stopped at Walgreen's first, to get the prescriptions (as always), then I went on down to Don Rigo to have a bite of lunch. I haven't been there for a while, probably for all of Lent, so it sounded pretty good, and it was! Then it was back to Walmart to do the grocery shopping - and I stayed well within my budget this week. Yay, me!
After that, I went down to New Richmond to visit the grand reopening of the River Village Shoppe after they moved into their new place. They have so much more space now - and everything is bright and airy and looks very nice. Then I headed home, going up Bethel-New Richmond Road, and, boy, was I enjoying all the colors of the trees and flowers and all during that drive through the country. As I was coming across Swings Corner Road, something came CRASH WHACK down and hit my car. Just that fast, and now my windshield is cracked to hell and back!! I quickly stopped, backed up a little, and got out to see if I could find what had hit me - a tree limb? a branch? (yeah, same thing...) a bird blown off-kilter in this wind? - but I didn't see anything. I hadn't been out of the car but a second or two when there was another huge crash and a branch - a huge branch - came down across the road - Across. The. Road - up ahead of where of "the hit" had taken place. If I hadn't stopped, that's just where I might have been!! Seriously!! (Maybe the hit was my guardian angel?)
I was still looking around when a car went around me, probably cussing me sitting in the road with my flashers on - when they had to hit their brakes quickly because of the huge branch across the road just ahead. Two dudes got out and made fast work of moving the branch, even though it wasn't easy, and they jumped back in their car and left, not even looking back at me. I muttered a 'thanks' to them and got in my car to go on home because Ron wasn't answering his phone, anyway. I'm so glad no one came the other way because they wouldn't have seen that branch because of a hill and curve and that would have been BAD. Maybe I was supposed to be those two dudes' guardian angel...
Anyway, I got home and Ron came out (he had called while I was on my way) to help carry in the groceries and then he checked out the windshield and all (if you know him, you know how he is...).
After that, it was time to park my ass in my recliner and don't move the rest of the night! My nerves were shot, let me tell you.
I am so tired of costing us money! SO tired of it...but what can I do about it? Whatever happens, happens and I have little to nothing to say about it. Blah.
Sunday. Church and lunch. A normal day! I can handle this. We drive Ron's truck for a change (teehee) and go up to Georgetown for our meal, even though he complained it would be like coming home from work. We both had the big breakfast that we like. We were going to stop and visit Harry and Donna on our way home, but they already had visitors, so we didn't stop.
We came on home, changed our clothes, went outside and played pick up sticks. After the wind of these last couple of days, there were plenty of sticks down, as well as bigger branches all over the yard! We busted the smaller of them into kindling into a wastewheeler to use when we can finally start having fires in the fire pit, and Ron dragged the larger branches over to cut up with a chainsaw to have as large logs. When we were done with that, we came in and played mini-golf and Ron totally beat my ass - on all three levels. I don't know why I even bothered to play - it was that awful! But, I'll beat his ass that bad some day, I swear I will!
Monday is just a Happy Homemaker Day - catching up the dishes and laundry, as always. I thought about mopping the kitchen floor, but never got around to it. I did get my checkbook balanced again, too, which made me feel good (after that last fiasco...). I had bacon for lunch - it just sounded good. I walked out to meet Ron, and, once again, the wind was blowing and it was a chilly wind - much colder than I expected - and I was glad when he finally showed up. I was thinking to myself that I am consistently getting to our half mile mark, or damn close, and that is something to be pretty proud of. Especially on the days when he texts earlier than I expect and I'm not even dressed yet!
We got back home, and that was about it for the night.
Ron had one of his frozen Chinese things for his supper, and eventually I had a chicken noodle soup with a snack bag of cheese popcorn (Ron brings these home - when they refill the machine at Rumpke, they leave the "dead" bags on the table for the guys) and 3 slices of cheese. Putting this food into MFP, I am still 700 or so calories short for the day. What can I do - I ate plenty!
Tomorrow, I'll make up for it. My sisters, my cousin and I are meeting for lunch - don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall?
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