Out Of My Slump

 

Finally have gotten out of my depressive slump.  For a while there I didn’t feel like cleaning or anything.  Yesterday I did a complete 190 and cleaned my butt off.  I must say it felt pretty good to get it all done.

 I also had a 100 gallon propane tank installed yesterday.  They were here bright and early to get the job done.  It saved us quite a bit last year, so are hoping for the same result this year.  The only thing that upset me about yesterday and the tank, was that it only has 44 gallons in it, and I paid for 96.  They assure me they will be here on Monday with the rest, but I am not going to hold my breath.  I do have the papers saying it only had 44 gallon when installed though, so we will see what develops.

Thursday I had to get up at 4:00 a.m.  again.  My brother had to be at the Clinic in Carmel, In. no later than 6:30.  He had his other test, and I am glad, now that it is over with, that he did.  They did find a lot of colitis, and his Doctor thinks it may be causing his bleeding, therefore getting many more transfusions than he should be.  I hope they are right and can finally do something about it.  He is eating better, and has started putting weight back on.

After leaving Carmel, we stopped and had some breakfast  on Rockville road.  It was a Greek restaurant that we stopped at, but the breakfast was pure American.  The man that owns it is a Greek, and he is a very sweet man.  I have met him a couple of times, but his name escapes me.

 

Yesterday afternoon I finally had my carpets cleaned, and to say I am upset about the way they look, is putting it very mildly.  The reason I had them cleaned is because there was a couple of spots on them.  I usually keep up with it, but for some reason they got away from me, anyway, this is why I hired them, and the spots are still there.  The same with my couch.  I had it cleaned also, and the same with it.  I can’t tell they did anything to it at all.  Needless to say, I will never use this company again.  I am posting a picture of their truck, but will not give you their name.  I don’t think you can see it, and I don’t like bad mouthing anyone.

We have had a big change in our weather.  It started out with severe winds and rain a few days ago, and I guess that’s what brought our cooler weather in.  It struggled Thursday to reach the 50’s, and yesterday and today is only in the 60’s.  Been getting pretty darn chilly at night.  Last night it was down in the low 30’s, so we will be having a hard freeze any day now.

 We were invited to a big Weiner Roast tonight at my cousin, Charlotte’s house, but I told her I just really wanted some time to chill.  We started the day with breakfast out, then we had to hit a Lowes to get some tube insulation for our waterline, to keep it from freezing.  When it gets really cold, we also let the water drip.  In just a few days we will be adding our temporary underpinning.  It’s not pretty, but it sure helps the floor stay warmer.

Later in the morning we hit another produce stand.  This one was having a big Harvest Festival for the kids.  I don’t know what all they were doing, but we saw lots of kids running around.  We bought some fresh tomatoes and got the heck out of there.

Is anyone else having trouble leaving comments?  I have to try at least 4 times on some sites just to leave a comment.  On others it goes through the first time.  I am still getting complaints about people not being able to sign up to follow me too.  If anyone knows why this is happening, or what to do about it, please let me know.  Thanks in advance.

 

Want to welcome my newest follower, Mac.  I hope you enjoy the ride. I have been reading his blog for a few weeks and really like his quick wit.  If you get a chance, check it out. 

As you can see, our Park is really starting to clear out.  Back behind us, and to our side there are still a lot of RV’s, but usually the whole place is full.

Nothing earth shattering has been happening around here, just a lot of trips to the hospital, grocery, and that kind of boring thing.  So, I will catch you all later…. :)

It’s Too Darn Early!!

I had to get up at four a.m. this morning.  Had to have my brother in the hospital at 6:30.  Of course, he didn’t go in for his procedure till 8:15, but that doesn’t matter.  As long as they don’t miss sleep or have to wait on anybody.  Damn, I am getting sick of dealing with these people.  What he had was an upper GI endoscopy.  What they found were esophageal mucosal changes consistent with long-segment Barrett’s esophagus.  He explained to us that this condition often turns in to cancer.  So, he took a biopsy and will get back to us on that.  He also is going to schedule him for another colonoscopy in a week or so.  He has probably had 25 of these.  Can anyone say “Lab Rat”???

When we finished up with that we had to head over to another building to get to the bone marrow unit to have his count checked.  That was a good surprise.  His count came back at 9.2.  We have no idea why it stayed so high this time, but we are not complaining.

Saturday evening I got a call from our Niece, Jo Lynn.  She is one of my oldest brother, Joe’s daughters.  She lives in a small town close to Indy called Westfield.  We made plans for her to come and see Uncle Boone in the evening.  I have a couple of pictures I will share with you.



She is such a sweet girl and her and her Hubby said they would come back again and we would have a little get together with food, drink and maybe some cards.

Friday my brother wanted to take me and Donnie out to Plainfield, Indiana to a KFC buffet.   For some reason that is his favorite one, so we went.  I must admit the food was very good.  While out there we drove in to the old part of Plainfield.  There are some beautiful old homes out there, but they were working on the roads, so the traffic wasn’t any fun.  We drove out of town a little ways to turn around and that’s when I spied Gilley’s Antique and Craft Mall.  You know I had to go back, so I called my cousin Charlotte, but she had other plans, but when I called my cousin, Bessie, she said sure she would go.

So, Sunday we took off for Gilley’s.  I took a lot of pictures, but won’t inundate you with as many as I did from the Conservatory.  This place was a lot bigger than I thought it was, or that it looked from the outside, so we were probably in there for a good couple of hours.  It was fun and we got a lot of talking about the family done.  Her youngest daughter, Linda is adopting a little boy that she has fostered for a long time, and had run in to a couple of snags, but think they have it all worked out now.  I hope so, cause they sure love that little fellow.






I just got off the phone with my Dear sister-in-law, Wilma, Don’s oldest sister.  She has just found out she has Breast Cancer.  She assures us that it is a tiny little spot and that it is the slow growing kind.  She will go in for surgery, which they are calling minor, early in the morning.  She is such a sweetheart.  Please keep her in your prayers.  I am going to add a picture of Don and his siblings since I couldn’t find it the day I had most of our family on here.


In this picture we had all met up in Kentucky for a meal at Cracker Barrel.   Dennis and Lois still live in Indiana, and Wilma lives in California, so we don’t often all land in the same place.  This was a special day for us, and one of our fondest memories.

Want to welcome all my new followers.  First my Dear friend Judie from Alabama.  She is such a sweetheart and battling cancer also.  We have a lot in common and have become very close through my blog.  Welcome aboard dear friend.

Next I want to welcome Froggi, Kyotesue, and Rod And Connie.  I am trying to get caught up with all of these fine bloggers, and am so glad to welcome you all aboard.  Hope you enjoy the ride.

I also want to thank Rick for another great tribute to Bruce and Margie, and also a great idea.  I have also placed their picture on my blog.  If you click on their picture, you can read all about these wonderful people, and how they were needlessly struck down in California.  It will take me a long time to get over not being able to read Margie’s blog.

Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens

 

I know I should be ashamed, but I am not.  Cleaning has just not been one of my priorities in the last few weeks.  We are not living in a pig sty or anything, but when I have some time away from the hospital, I just don’t want to be stuck here.  You can still walk through without tripping on anything, and you can still see out the windows.  I will get back into the groove pretty soon, but right now it is last on my list.

 

When we were here last year I found a really good Mexican Bakery, so this morning I drug Donnie over there to get some good pastries and bread.  I didn’t have to drag very hard.  I would show you a picture of what we bought, but they didn’t last long enough for that.  I won’t be going over there much.  It’s hell on your diet.

 

We also stopped by the Propane Company this morning to see about getting a large tank for this winter, but they were closed, so will have to go back on Tuesday.

 

Want to welcome my new follower, CeiPui.  I have been reading her site for a while and like it a lot.  Check it out if you get a chance.  Thanks for following and hope you enjoy the ride.

 

We also took a trip over to Garfield Park where the Conservatory is.  I love this place.  My cousin, Charlotte and I went before Christmas last year to see it all decked out, so I wanted to see it this time of the year.  They have several different displays throughout the year, so I am going to try to see some more of them this year.  I took lots of pictures and will let them tell the story.  I know some of you won’t like all the plant life, but a lot will.  Please enjoy and stay safe.

 

Comments

 

Thanks to all of you for all the very helpful comments on my question about templates.  I finally, after some one on the comments mentioned Rick, remembered his tip page that I downloaded and have for just this reason.  If I’m not having a blonde moment then it seems like I’m having a senior moment and lately they have all been running together.  After reading all of your comments and re-reading Rick’s tips, I did go in and play with it a little bit, and as most of you said, it is pretty easy to read and doesn’t look bad the way it is.  I would like to change with the seasons, but that is asking too much I guess of blog spot.  Anyway, thanks so much for all of your comments.  I do appreciate each and every one of them. :)

 

Thank you for all the prayers for my brother.  I did take him yesterday for his appointment with the Specialist.  He has decided my brother his bleeding internally and is going to run an upper GI test on Monday.  This in no way would help his disease, there is no cure for it, but it may keep him from having so many transfusions. I have to have him at the hospital at 6:30 am for the test, and then we leave there to go to the Bone Marrow unit for a blood count.  We got to the hospital yesterday at 8:30am and I got home last night at 7:30.  We have been having some really long, tiring days, and I am sure there will be lots more to come.

 

Welcome to my new follower Ali.  Here is her site: Ali’s Page.  I haven’t had time to read all of her blog yet, but what I have read I really enjoyed.  Thanks for joining Ali, and I hope you enjoy the ride.

 

I received this video from a friend in Florida this morning and I thought some of you might enjoy it.  I love any kind of Classical music, so found this beautifully done.  Take a look, I think you will like it too.  http://www.wimp.com/dubaifountain/

 

Going to make this a short post and try to get something done.  Stay safe… :)

Changing Templates

 

I want to change my template, you know the background on my blog, but I am afraid I will lose everything on my site.  I would also like to know how to change the width and so forth.  I wish it would cover the whole page instead of being so narrow.  Can anyone help me with that?

 

I can’t go any farther in this post without saying how sorry I was to read of the tragic death of Bruce and Margie.  Such a senseless waste of two wonderful people.  Margie was one of the first to welcome me aboard when I switched to blog spot, and she always left me very uplifting comments.  My heart and prayers go out to Stephanie and their whole family.

 

Our life has kind of been upside down for the last few days.  Thursday I took my brother to the hospital like always and we were surprised to learn that his count was still at 8.3, so he didn’t need any blood.   So, Monday I was going after him to take him down again to be checked and when I reached him I found out that his back had started hurting him late in the evening, on Sunday,  and then his stomach.  He was experiencing terrible cramps all night and then started having dry heaves.  I wanted to take him right to the emergency room, but he wouldn’t have that.  He wanted to go right to the bone marrow unit where he gets his transfusions.  He was in so much pain, I felt sure they would give him something for it right away, but he sat there from 8:30 am till after noon with no relief.  I finally got pissed and said if they didn’t give him something soon, I would take him elsewhere.  That got the ball rolling and in about an hour he was feeling much better.

 

They had also not gotten his transfusion started till afternoon, so we were stuck there till after 3:00.  The Doctor had  ordered that he be admitted at 10:30am and it was 5:30 pm before he was in a room.  He was so worn out.  I have never had this kind of experience at this hospital and hope we don’t again.

 

They were going to run all kinds of tests on him, but decided yesterday they wouldn’t.  He has already been put through the ringer and there isn’t any test they could think of that he hasn’t already had.  So, I took him home and we will go see another Doctor on Thursday.  A hectic week so far.  They took him off of several pills he has been taking, and they think they could have been causing some of his pains.

 

I did hear from a Dear friend this week.  Her name his Judie and she hails from Alabama.  She has been a reader on my blog for a long time. She has been trying to join my site as a follower, but keeps having trouble.  This is the second complaint I have had about this.  I don’t know what to do about it, so maybe it is just one of those little glitches that happen now and then.  Judie is such a sweet person.  She is also having a lot of health problems, but never fails to ask about, and pray for my brother.  I am adding a picture of her and her Hubby.  Thanks for the prayers Judie..

Since I will be tied up at the hospital and then the Doctors office tomorrow, I got every thing done today that I could.   I did laundry, went to the grocery, went to Camping World and picked up our fan motor, and this afternoon we went back over to the produce stand for some more of the very good yellow apples.  Don is not a big fan of apples, unless they are stewed, but he does like the yellow ones, so I get them when possible.  I took a few pictures at the stand and will share them with you.

 

 

 

I just noticed I put 2 watermarks on these pictures, and here I thought I was doing so good with them.  Oh well, guess it doesn’t hurt anything.

 

I have a tenderloin that I am going to stick in the over for supper, and there should be plenty of leftovers for Donnie to eat again tomorrow while I am gone.  Going to get off of here and get this posted.  I will talk to you again in a few days.  Stay safe.

Nashville, Indiana

Yesterday was another hospital day, but turned out to be a short one because Uncle Boone didn’t need blood again.  It’s really getting hard to tell when he does need it.  But we will except these small gifts and be thankful for them.

Since we had some time on our hands, Donnie and I went over to Camping World to get a new motor for the fan in our furnace.  We had a new one put in last year, but it has made a horrible noise ever since they replaced it.  Donnie watched him last year, so will do this one on his own.  The difference being it cost us $400.00 last time, and only $72.00 this go around.  Quite the difference wouldn’t you say?

Another one of our sisters, Dotty called yesterday to  talk about Uncle Boone and everything else going on in our family.  I wish they were closer, but they are clear down in Paducah, Kentucky, which is about 6 or 7 hours from here.  She says her new grandson, Kipton, is doing just fine.  Glad to hear that cause his Mommy had lots of problems while carrying him.

Uncle Boone, Charlotte, Donnie and myself all drove down to Brown County this morning.  We went to a small little place called Nashville, Indiana.  It has all kinds of little shops and touristy things to do.  Since Uncle Boone couldn’t walk around, Charlotte and I just visited a few shops and then returned to the truck and drove around the county some more.

Charlotte knew of this quaint little place called, Story, Indiana, so we drove out there and back.  It was a beautiful drive, but I will let my pictures tell the rest of the story.

Some of the pretty mums we saw today.


Out side some of the many shops in this small town.


Beautiful gourds everywhere we looked.


Inside one of the shops.  I loved the copper-wire trees.


Of course you have to by the obligatory shirts. These are made from hemp, so if worse comes to worse, we can cut them up and smoke them… :)


Inside another shop.

Quilts, beautiful quilts everywhere.


This is the tiny place called Story, Indiana.


This is a picture of some of my daughter’s creations, as requested.

That’s it for today.  It was a fun day, but a tiring one.  We did see a few pretty leaves, but since I drive, I couldn’t get any pictures of them.  Hope you enjoy what I did post.  Thanks to Rick and Sue for all your help with the collages.  I think I have it now.  Catch you all later…  :)

Geocaching

 

My baby sister, Jean and her husband took off early Friday.  I had let my laundry and stuff really pile up, so I started right in on that and also gave the RV a good cleaning.  These days it seems like I have to make myself do these types of things.  I had just got off to a good start and the electric went off.  Last year that only happened one time, and that was because a car had hit a light pole and took the lines down.  I had a pot of chili on cooking, the dryer running, so you can imagine how hot it got in here.  It did come back on in about an hour, so all is well again.  It had been cool here in Indy, but because I made chili, it got hotter than hell.  We still enjoyed it though.

 

The Colt’s did win their game Sunday, playing the Chief’s, but it was a very well matched game.  The Chief’s really have a good team this year, and I think they are going to do very well.

 

We had another surprise on Saturday.  My daughter and her husband came up late Saturday evening, which really surprised me.  She had a craft show all day Saturday(she makes jewelry and sells it at special shows), so couldn’t imagine them coming up after that, but they are young and healthy.  She was born on her Uncle Boone’s Birthdate and he is also her God Father, so they have stayed very close.

 

This is a picture of them from a year ago.  The next picture was taken Sunday.  I hope it shows up alright.  You can tell in the picture just how much weight he has lost. This one is a phone picture so not very large.

 

 

 

I love being able to change my header picture, but could some one out there tell me how to either change the position of my site name, or change the color so it will show up better?

 

I would also love to learn how to do collages, like so many of you are doing, but every time I try it,  all the pictures in the file I am wanting them from, jump into the collage.  Do you have to put the pictures, you want in the collage, in a special or separate file, or how do you do this?    Is there anyplace to go to read up on all of this?  I would appreciate any suggestions you may have.

 

The header picture is from Desoto Park near Hot Springs Ark.  The back side is a very large water falls, but the lake was very low and not any water was falling over, but I liked this shot anyway.

 

We stopped at a produce stand here in Indy yesterday and picked up some peaches, apples, plums, tomatoes, and lots of conversation.  The guy that runs it was a big talker and we thought for a while we weren’t going to get out of there.  He was very nice, but not sure we will go back.  The produce was not that great, but I do realize that it is late in the season.

 

Want to welcome my new follower, Dardrian.  He has several blogs, so check him out if you get a chance.

 

We were able to get out and do some geocaching yesterday.  We found 5 caches, but had a million dollar day.  It really relieved a lot of pent-up pressure I have been feeling, and the fresh air was divine.  I slept long and hard last night.  The next few pictures are all from our geocaching yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point in my blogging  I have decided to only post if we are doing something that I think will be interesting to you.  Otherwise my time will be spent with doing for my brother, and keeping our lives as smooth as possible.  I will read favorite blogs as often as I can.  Thanks for all your support and help changing to this new site.  I love it, and I will be back, just not near as often.  Stay safe and I will catch you later….