Three good things

I have three good things to tell you about. 

Today I decided to move to Florida.  It won't be right away.  But I am hoping for about a year from now.  I spoke to my daughter (Arlene, in Florida) and she agreed that it was a good thing for me.  I just need to do some planning and saving.  So today I decided to pick up my learning Spanish again.  I had three years of Spanish in high school.  I actually found at the library a copy of the book we used in class.  I also found another book that came with two cd's.  I am looking for someone that I can converse with in Spanish.  That should prove interesting. 

Second, I went to see the doctor about my scopes.  He had only positive things to say.  All the tests that he ran were benign.  I had a list of questions and he answered most of them except for the kidney one and he told me to go back to my regular doctor for that. He believes the low hemoglobin is due to a couple of ulcers he found but with proper medication he said those are healing so he increased my medication and said they would be healed in a couple of weeks...or maybe four.  But it is nothing to worry about.  
So maybe tomorrow I will call the surgeon to get rescheduled.  I am not as gung-ho about the surgery as I once was.  I actually liken it to a balloon that is so pretty when you first blow it up...then you let the air out and blow it up again and it doesn't look as nice.  In the morning I am going to try to take a walk and I know that it will convince me to have the surgery.  I know this sounds silly, but that's how I work things out in my mind.  

The third thing is, I found the spider!  He was dangling in the bathroom...before he was in the hallway.  I sprayed him first and then I took my flip-flop and squished him and threw him in the toilet.  I will sleep better tonight.  I just hope he had no friends or relatives visiting.

It was cooler here today and just a really nice day.  It felt good to visit the library and sit in the shade reading while I waited for time for the doctor's appointment.  I hope you all had an equally nice day.

Waiting is over

Hi friends, 

I haven't heard from Terry....last night my ears were ringing.  When I was young my mom told me that someone was thinking or talking about you if your ears were ringing.  So my brother and I would start naming names until the ringing stopped and that would determine the person.  Sometimes we found it to be true and other times not so true.  Last night it stopped on Terry.  Maybe she has decided to remain distant.  It's okay....I, at least, offered a hand. If I hear from her I  will let you know.  Hopefully she is well again.

This afternoon I got a call from my doctor's office from one of the doctor's assistants.  He said that I now have surgery clearance.  I was so surprised.  I asked him how that happened since I haven't had any more blood tests.  And he said that the doctor believes that I had a bleeding ulcer that healed itself and I am all right for surgery.  ???  When I called my daughter she was equally baffled.  Then she told me what happened to my grandson's father.  He is around 35 years old and a diabetic.  Type A I think.  So his doctor required him to have an eye exam.  He had two younger sons so his mother took him to the eye doctor and dropped him off and took the kids to her closing appointment (she is a realtor).  They dilated his eyes and he is waiting and starts feeling funny.  Like he is going to be sick.  He calls for someone and they come and have him walk to the wastebasket and he passes out, falls on the floor, breaks his nose which bleeds excessively because he takes blood thinners, and skins up his face.  Finally they bring him around and he has cotton stuffed in his nose and they decide he should go to his regular doctors.  They get a wheel chair and wheel him out to the reception desk.  Then they allow him to get up and walk three blocks to his doctor's!  How stupid is that.  He couldn't see clearly,  he was weak and told them he needed to eat and they told him he could get something from his family doctor.  He could have wondered out into the street or fallen again outside.  Thankfully, he made it and is now home.  So I have begun to have no faith in doctors.

I guess I will get the real story tomorrow when I visit with the doctor who performed my scopes...you know I will ask about the ulcers that mysteriously healed themselves in two weeks.
Oh...you know maybe it was a miracle.

Does anyone know how to get rid of spiders when you can't see them?  Lately I have had several bites...I thought they were mosquito bites but they swell up and itch for several day...then they seep.  Well, the other night I saw a spider dangling down from the ceiling.  I tried to get him but he got away and I couldn't find him.  This morning when I woke..I had two new bites on my arm which are quite itchy and swollen.  I need to find that spider.  Any ideas?

Waiting....

This is my grandson Tristen.....he is angry because his mom keeps taking pictures...but his expression mirrors my feelings at my doctors.  I guess I have to be patient and wait for them to be able to see me...to have the results of my tests...but all I have been getting is the run around.  I just need to take a deep breath and calm myself...maybe it is a good thing not to see them right now.  My whole summer has just been a waste..as they say the best laid plans etc.

Today I decided to try to reconnect with an old friend.  We had a falling out about two years ago.  I have missed her.  So I have been going through my "stuff" and found a couple of books that she would love and also have decided that she would like my jewelry making supplies...so I bagged the stuff up and headed to her house...I didn't call first because when I called her number I just get a generic message...and when I got there I noticed the yard hadn't been mowed...so unlike her.  Her dog was barking in his pen...but all the shades on the windows were drawn and the place looked abandoned.     So I knocked...then noticed a little note pad on the inside door...there was a message there from July 6...saying that she has been very ill and to just leave a message.  So I did with my new phone number...now the bag still sits in my car.  I hope she is okay.  I hope she calls me.  Please say a prayer for her.  Her name is Terry.

This week is our county fair.  I wish I could go.  I have missed so much this summer...just recently the Ann Arbor Art Fair...now perhaps the county fair too.  I guess I am just in a funk...do you ever get in a funk?

I am so happy for William and Kate and their new arrival.  I have always loved the royals...sometimes I think it would be nice to have a royal family in our country....but hey, I guess being part English I will just appreciate the English royals as my own.  Just this week I pulled my pictures of my trip to England and relived my memories of that time.  I guess that is why we take pictures...to remember. 

My grand daughter has been sick for 5 days.  They finally took her to the doctor's and she has acid re-flux   I never knew that young people got that.  I guess she is on a bland diet.  Can you imagine a teenager being on a bland diet?  And for how long?  She will visit me on Friday so I will find out the details.  

Have a nice evening.

Here are a couple of pictures that you might find amusing...taken while still at my daughter's house/pet sitting

and Sambi says...leave me alone Sophie...

let's battle this out....

please let me outside NOW!

and why you might ask?

this dog won't let my tail alone!!

I made it through the house/pet sitting and came home and prepared for my two scopes....still waiting for the results...and surgery has been postponed until further notice.

Many people have been talking postcards.  I have one on my refrigerator....here it is...(excuse the glare)

My daughter (the one in Florida) sent me this a couple of winter's ago....she was rubbing in the wonderful Florida sunshine during the winter....I kept it as a reminder and a goal that someday I could switch sides.

Have a nice evening...

July 10, 2013

I went to the doctor's again yesterday.  I was scheduled to actually see her nurse practitioner but was soon switched over to the other side of the office and had to see the doctor.  I guess I had questions that the nurse couldn't or wouldn't answer.  Like, was I still going to be approved for surgery.  Like, what was happening with my kidneys and why wasn't I told.  

Of course, I remained cool, calm and collected.  It is better that way.  The doctor would not approve me for surgery.  And yes, there is problems with my hemoglobin and kidneys that need to be cleared up.  I think she waited until she got the cardiologist's report before she made that decision.  So now I have to have a gastroscopy and and a colonoscopy to see where I am losing blood...I don't think I am but obviously they do.  So next Tuesday that is on my agenda.  Today I had an echo-cardiogram ..by the time they are finished they will know me inside and out!

After I went to the doctor's I stopped by my apartment and actually had to lay down for a while.  I was exhausted.  I was out like a light.  
I know it wasn't for long because I was watching a recording of Joel Osteen and it was still on when I woke.  Maybe twenty minutes.  But when I looked out my balcony door the scene had changed....a big storm had started.  I thought about just waiting a couple hours before heading back to my daughter's but then I thought that maybe it would get worse...so I headed out right away.  

On the way back the weather seemed to clear up but there sure was a lot of water on the road.  At one point almost all the road was covered and luckily the car ahead of me saw it and slowed and we were able to drive around it on the other side of the road.  

So I reach my daughter's house and this is what I saw....

 

this gazebo was set up just before 
my daughter left on vacation...they were
so proud of it and it looked quite cute sitting there with four chairs and a table with a potted plant on it.  She also had hung the Chinese lanterns that we bought at the Christmas tree shop.  Of course, I hated to call them and ruin their vacation...especially since this was their last day...but I thought it better than for them to come home to a nasty surprise.
The gazebo had been staked down but with all the rain we have been having the stakes didn't or couldn't grip the soil good enough.  She asked me to just put the chairs in the garage and they would do the rest when they get home tomorrow night.  

I will be glad to get back home.  It has been nice getting away from the apartment...but having pets..is a great responsibility...especially a puppy.  

Well the sun is back out now...maybe I will sit on the deck for a while.  Have a great afternoon!

Housesitting

This morning I packed up my car and headed out to my oldest daughter's.  They have left on vacation and I am house/pet sitting.  

Here are the pets...
   the black cat is Isis....the puppy loves to tease her.

she didn't want her picture taken!

This is the puppy...Sophia

Some of you might remember Sambi...he use to be my cat...now my daughter's.

and a tank of fish....

it was raining...and raining...

the patio is wet....I will enjoy it on a better day.

Remember my tomato plant....the first tomato fell off the kids saved it for me....I enjoyed it at lunch.

My excitement of the day.  The one thing my daughter told me was to be careful that Sophia didn't get outside without her lease.  Well, I had let Sambi out and wanted him in and while I was calling him, guess who dashed out the door.  I chased and chased and finally got a hold of Sambi and Sophia came over and I reached for her and missed...so I tried again and slipped on the wet grass but caught her all the same.  I am thankful that nothing broke.  I brought her inside and put her in the cage for 15 minutes...until I gave in to her whining.  I hope it never happens again.  I must be more careful!

It should prove to be an exciting week.  Tuesday I will be visiting my doctor again and hope to make a decision about the upcoming surgery on my knee.  I am almost ready just to postpone it.  

Anyway have a nice evening.

Updating

Yesterday I visited my cardiologist.  I expected a stress test but he didn't think it was necessary at this time.  As we were talking he shocked me by saying that he doesn't think I should have surgery until I get my other issues straightened out.  I told him that I had already talked to the surgeon's office about my iron problem and they didn't have a problem with it....then he said something strange..."did they address the issue with your kidneys?"

"My kidneys?"  I asked disbelievingly.  It turns out that my kidneys aren't functioning properly.  So now I have an appointment back with my regular doctor's office to get to the root of my kidney and iron problem.  I can't believe that no one told me about my kidney problem!  Could it have something to do with my iron deficiency?  Then he ordered a thyroid test and an echo cardiogram to be done...
I hope I'm not falling apart.

Last night I still went to my Joint 201 class held at the hospital where I am getting surgery.  The nurse answered a lot of questions and we were able to see our future rooms.  One lady was having surgery tomorrow..which is today....which surprises me because they said their unit was closed until after the holiday.  I guess the doctors need a vacation/holiday too. 

After our class my daughter took me shopping at The Christmas Tree Shop.  Have you been to one?  I didn't even want to go in because by this time I was tired.  I thought it only had Christmas things and wasn't in the mood for that.  Instead....it had a lot of neat things.  I got a fish that lights up, a personal chip-n-dip plate, and two Chinese lanterns.  (I didn't even see one Christmas item.) My daughter treated me so it was cost free.  
Here is a picture of my treats....

   

I will be putting the fish and lanterns on my balcony (probably after surgery).  The chip plate I might use tonight!

If I don't make it on tomorrow I wish everyone a happy 4th of July!!