Memorial Day Weekend

What’s going on around here? Friday May 28th -- Monday May 31st

(Memorial Day Weekend)

Just for fun: Best laid Plans
Friday my calendar said I was meeting Carl in the morning and we were going to Boeing Field near the Flight Museum to go for a ride in a WWII B-17 bomber. Then we were to come back to my side of town and Carl was going to drop me off at a restaurant to meet up with a group (5 women) for a book club meeting at noon. The plan then was for me to walk the 2 1/2 miles home, for exercise. Then Bill and I were going to meet up with some friends for dinner and a visit.

This is how the day really went: Carl came over and it was pouring down rain. We called the scheduler of the B-17 and they had scrubbed the flight for the day, so we went out to breakfast. I had the meat lover’s omelet and Carl asked them to call 911 when they delivered my food. What I did really was divide that meal into thirds and put 2/3 in a to go box and had two more meals off of it. When he dropped me off at the house it was about 9:30. I laid down and didn’t wake up until my ‘backup’ alarm went off at 11:45. I combed my hair and went back to the same restaurant for lunch and the book club meeting. The first woman who showed up beside me was the person who had emailed that she wasn’t going to make it, so we changed to a larger table because the group just went from 4 to 5. When the third woman arrived she had just received a call from the other two. One of them was having pain in her chest and rapid heart rate and the other was taking her to the emergency room. (So now our table for 6 only had 3 people at it.) Good friends that we are….. We ordered lunch and then went to the emergency after that. If they think you are having a heart attack they do a couple of tests and then repeat them in two hours to see what has changed. The good news is she was not having a heart attack and we discussed the book a bit while we were with her. Our friend does have some problems but we are hoping they are not to severe and that she will be make to her old self soon. She and I had a good discussion about facing our mortality. I admit it has been on my mind a lot lately. Remember Bill and I were to meet friends for dinner at 5:30. We left the house at 4:50 for what is usually a 20 minute drive. Turns out there were so many people leaving Seattle to go east of the mountains looking for sunshine on the memorial day weekend that the traffic was horrible and then there was an accident near the mountain pass and it caused a 14 mile back-up. The usual 20 minute drive took almost an hour. I am glad our friends were patient.

Saturday: Carl was at the house at 7:15 and it was raining again. This time the scheduler said to come on over at about 9am so of course, we did. We waited around, got coffee and donuts (I can’t even remember the last time I ate a donut) and bought some stuff at the museum gift shop. At about 10:30 it was looking unchanged and Carl and I started talking about just asking for a refund and scrubbing the whole plan. Then at 11am the ‘officials’ came out and said: it’s a go and started the preflight on the plane. Who would have thought? You will see from the photos that the weather was minimal, but all I cared about was that the pilots could see to take off and land, for me this flight was about the plane and being in this plane, view was nice but not essential for me at all. I took a ‘million’ photos (80) and if anyone is interested in more than I put up just ask me and I will give you the full tour of Carl’s and my photos together. It was a great thing to do and think about on Memorial Day weekend. Just thinking that the men flying those planes were so young and vulnerable and dedicated to freedom, it is all pretty amazing.

Healing Process: What can I say: I am more tired than usual, I sleep a lot and get less done each day than I think I will do. I feel my mortality and I am amazingly touched by the people who reach out and care and often overly sensitive to the people who don’t bother. This healing thing is both physical and emotional. Hopefully when I get past this I will be a better friend and support to others who walk this path.

Sorting and Organizing was really Home Maintenance: Sunday we repaired and rebuilt one flower bed alongside ‘Bill’s playhouse’. I’m sorry I didn’t take a ‘before’ photo but the after shows what we did. This area did not have bricks before and there was a slope here. We have several bird feeders around and lots and lots of birds come to visit us. So this slopping area was a constant problem, the birds would peck around in the area and push all the bark off the black plastic that I put down to kill the weeds. Then all we had was ugly black plastic and bark pushed all over the patio. We are hoping this barrier of brick and ground cover will keep the dirt back, the birds can peck around all they want and all will be well with the world. I might add we did the entire project in the rain, including Bill mowing our grass and a friend’s grass, her lawn mower was broken and this was a ‘window of opportunity’. The weather report says we are going to have more steady rain for days to come.

What's Cooking?

Friday: date night
Saturday: leftovers from last night
Sunday: chicken chili, cilantro cole slaw, avocado salad
Monday: Steak & Salmon, Spinach Salad w/ peanut dressing and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: family dinner; Greek chicken, Greek gyro meat, Lemon & Spinach Rice, Greek salad, Greek Green Beans.
Wednesday: Turkey Enchilada casserole and Mexican rice
Thursday: Bill’s night out
Friday:  date night
What's on my needles: I am working like crazy on the Sasha skirt and I bought the tank top that I think I will wear with it. It is a Land’s end top in the same shade of grey as the third ruffle. I now have a goal. We have friends getting married on July 10 and I am hoping to have the skirt finished and wear it to their wedding. I have a lot of knitting yet to do.

And I started something new: I started a bib for baby Buckspan…. I found some cute patterns on Ravelry and went off and bought some new yarn….. I know…. not from the stash….. but I wanted solid colors and most of what might have worked from the stash was variegated, so what can I say.

What's off my needles: the lipstick vest is finished and sewed together and blocked, now I need to do the crochet finish work and put the buttons on. It is going to be a beautiful and functional vest for a long time, I hope.

Have I seen any good movies lately? We watched ‘Old Dogs’ and ‘The Ultimate Gift’ this weekend. They were both okay. Old Dogs made me laugh and the Ultimate Gift made me think. There were 12 gifts, I think that lead to the ultimate gift (a big load of money) but by the time he inherited the $$$ he was a different person. Actually in my state of mind it was a really good movie looking at what is really valuable in life. I give it a thumbs up and worth putting in the Netflix queue.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 28th Monday – Well the Bill called Chy from El Paso hospital wanting her to come just as soon as she can get there. Lovie called me after dinner she had a letter from Son and he was O.K. don’t see why he doesn’t write to us. Hilly, Lovie and Nancy came by tonite and brought a melon, but it wasn’t good. They ate supper with us. The chipper and I took a buggy ride and met Hilly and Lovie coming in at the fork in the road. Lovie got out and took the Chipper. Lovie said Margie had her baby, a little 8 lb. girl. Now Donnie has a baby sister to play with. Well I have had the stomach ache some but will be O.K.


May 29th Tuesday – Chy packed her things today and will be leaving tomorrow. Elsie, Lovie, Nancy and I will go as far as Eastland and she will take the train from there and get into El Paso at 8pm. Sure hate to see her and the Chipper go but still I am happy for they are going to Bill. I was going but Lovie promised if Bill doesn’t get to come by the end of the month we will go to see him. The Bowden’s all came to tell Chy and Chipper goodbye. Hilly and Lovie came by and ate supper. I have some more turkeys hatching tomorrow. Nancy was a sweet girl today as she always is, She washed her hair, I got my things ready to go with Chy but Lovie talked me out of going, that we would go later.


May 30th Wednesday – We took Chy to Eastland today to catch the train from there to El Paso. The Chipper was so sweet all the way over there and Nancy cried so hard when we told them goodbye. We had a pretty nice time going over there, Elsie, Lovie, Nancy and I all went along. Elsie was so tired when we all got back to San Saba. Lovie, Nancy and I got in here about 9:30. Chy was to get into El Paso at 8:30.


May 31st Thursday – Well the stuff got here today to Chy from Bill, sent while he was in Germany and the box was busted into and had been tied together with a wool string. The things in it were a sight to the world more fine silver than I ever saw in my life. I am repacking the stuff in a paste board box to send it on to New Mexico for I know Chy wants to see it. I called Hilly and Lovie and Nancy to come see it, guess the Bowden’s heard me (note: they were on a party line) for while Hilly, Lovie and Nancy, Dad and I were looking at the things here came Mr and Mrs. Bowden but we skittered around and got the things hid before they got in the house, the old nosey Jackasses. Chy had a letter from her mother and a card from the war department saying her husband had been sent to the U.S.A.

Wednesday May 25 – May 27th

What’s going on around here? Wednesday May 25 – May 27th


All is going pretty well at our house; I worked Tuesday and Wednesday and had a great time with all my patients, as usual. One of the couples that we spend Friday nights with is leaving town on vacation and so I called and asked if they wanted to join us for Family dinner since I am assuming their fridge would be as empty as mine before we leave town. Family dinner is usually different from 'normal cooking' for most people. For one it is mostly vegetables and lots of them and different kinds, hence the mashed cauliflower, stir-fried Brussels sprouts and green beans and a big salad, but no one went home hungry.

Healing Process: It is going. I am still quite tired. Tuesday night I was in bed and asleep by 8:45 and didn't wake up until after 6 this morning. I have had a stiff neck and a bad headache that has nothing to do with anything except it is annoying. Bill suggests it is from the extra physical activity of the home improvement project last weekend. I did do two coats of paint under the bathroom sinks.

Just for Fun: I am so looking forward to Friday Morning. Carl, my first husband and good friend, and I are going for a ride in the ‘Flying Fortress’ a WWII B-17. It will be about a 30 minute flight, when in the air you get to walk around the Bomber, sit as a bombardier, stand as a waist gunner and monitor activity like the flight engineer might have. Check it out at: http://www.b17.org/ Of course they sell memorabilia so I looked for knitting bags, no but they did have a messenger bag – not the same. No tape measures, my favorite thing to collect, since I usually keep one in every project bag. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a tape measure with a photo of the B-17 on it? I could get a charm for my charm bracelet but it has so many charms on it now that I hardly ever wear it. So I think I will just take some photos and add them to my blog and call that my memory.

What's up at the dental office? That staff is so much fun, one day we ordered pizza delivery and the next day Dr V got a subway sandwich platter for us to eat during a staff meeting. You know I always like a party. We are changing our ‘standard of care/ advice’ and recommending fluoride treatments for all adult patients. Some insurance pays for it and others don’t but in both the offices I work in they want to at least offer the best care we know to offer. My new favorite line is: we used to say fluoride was only for children to age 16 or so, now we think fluoride is only good for people with teeth – that don’t want cavities.

What's Cooking?
Thursday: Bill’s night out
Friday: date night
Saturday:       Memorial Day Holiday Weekend
Sunday:         looks like 50’s and showers
Monday:   would love to get in a hike or some kayaking, but most likely rest.

What I am reading: I am in the process of finishing Sara Palin's book this week. I wanted to have it fresh in my mind for 'book club' on Friday. You know I am beginning to think reading biographies more is a good thing. I was so impressed when I read Barack Obama’s ‘Audacity of Hope’, it was such a different story than I got from the media and the same is true for this book. I ‘read’ both of these by audio and they were both read by the authors, so hearing each of these stories in first person voice gave them a little more credibility. I am glad I read both of these books.

Counting my Blessings:

My long time friend Rachel: sent me the most beautiful greeting this week. She is a scrap booker extraordinaire. I originally dedicated this blog to her because of our ‘pen pal’ relationship for 25 years. Getting a letter from Rachel was like getting a work of art from her heart. Over the years we have cried together, laughed together, prayed together all in written form and I loved it. When a letter from Rachel came I knew to brew a cup of tea and get comfortable because it would be 6 to 9 handwritten pages of good stuff, and I tried to answer in kind. I wanted my blog to be something like my letters to Rachel.

Megan, the newest angel, in my life. I met Megan this year when she interned in one of the dental offices I work in. She is the artist that created my logo, the happy tooth chef that is knitting on a stack of books. I should have thought to have that happy tooth sitting in a kayak, or maybe not. Megan has finished the dental assisting program that she was in and is still looking for a job, but she is eager and wants to be busy. One day on Facebook she mentioned that she was doing yard work at her grandmother’s. I wrote back and said yard work, do you do yard work? Here are a couple of photos of the amazing results.  There is absolutely no way I could have done this.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 25th, Friday – Well Kathleen, Chy and the Chipper got home O.K. and Bill called from New York, We all cried for joy he is going to call Chy tomorrow, God bless him. The dear good God in heaven is watching over him. Kitten says Son is sure blue. I really think he will get to come home pretty soon. Lovie and Hilly came by to see the sweet Chipper and brought my turkey. Dad will have the oats combined tomorrow, I worked today.


May 26th, Saturday – Well Hilly and Lovie came by for Dad and Chy, Nancy and I took care of Chipper and boy we had fun. She is so sweet. Dad went after his pick-up. It cost $33 and he had $20 worth of work done on it last week. Chy talked to Bill and he is coming to a hospital somewhere, he won’t know until tomorrow. Dad had his oats combined cost $16. No letter from the Son. Lovie called Kathleen to tell her that Bill was in N.Y. and Marge was to call Elsie. I fixed dinner for Mr. Gay, Clarence Light, Frank and Dad. Also ironed. Nancy helped me, she is so sweet, Chipper wanted to help too. Chy went to town in Lovie’s car, she and Dad and Chy talked to Bill from San Saba Drug store.


May 27th Sunday – Well Elsie, Tom, Tom A, Lovie, Nancy were all here today. Jymmie wanted to come, but she had to attend the Baccalaureate sermon for the seniors, sure missed her. Margie went to the Hospital this morning sure hope she does O.K. and that she has a girl. Mr. Bowden was thrown off his horse this evening. We went down to see them tonight. Chy and Chipper didn’t go as Chipper had to go to bed. She was so sweet today. Elsie and Lovie sure did love her, and she just loved them right back. Sure hope we hear from her daddy Bill tomorrow and that he is sent to a hospital here close. Hope we hear from Son, and the girls. Elsie said Albert was coming in pretty soon, sure hope he does. Nancy went over to Floras to see Doris Lee, and Doris Lee came over here to see Nancy.

Friday May 21 – Monday May 24, 2010

What’s going on around here? Friday May 21 – Monday May 24, 2010

Healing Process: I think things are going well. I can put my shoes on, bending down, without any pain, which is big progress. I walked almost 5 miles today, that is good also.

Sorting and Organizing: turned into remodeling since Bill was out of town. So funny, I talked to my cousin Jan in California and he asked about my sweetie. I said he had been out of town for a few days. Then Jan said, so what did you remodel? I laughed out loud and said what makes you think I am up to something? Jan said: I know your ‘MO’. How funny is that? As it turns out I picked the back bathroom. A small project on the scale of projects and Amanda, my niece, had volunteered to help. In the end it was a big success.

What's Cooking?
Monday: Lentil Soup
Tuesday: family dinner: crock pot turkey meatloaf, crock pot ranch potatoes, mashed cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and pancetta, southern green beans, Italian salad and of course the chocolate basket.
Wednesday: Salmon, steamed aspargus and sweet potatoes
Thursday: Bill’s night out
Friday: date night

What's on my needles: I am still madly working on ruffle #2 and I have a goal. We have friends getting married in July and I think I will wear this skirt to the wedding. I need to find a top that will work with it, but I am so loving working on this skirt.

Have I seen any good movies lately: We watched ‘Old Dog’s’ last night, I laughed a lot but there were some dry spots too. I am glad it was a Netflix.

Thought for the Day: Matthew 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me, the righteous will answer him…… I just want to thank those of you who have blessed me in so many ways the past weeks. I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me. Thank you. I am really glad I made it through this crisis and am looking forward to the future.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 21, Monday – Well I am blue tonight as Chy had two letters from the Bill Boy and he said he wouldn’t get to come home. I can hardly take it. Kitten called from Llano and she wanted Chy to come and stay with her a while and she said Son might get to come home. I am so happy to even think about him getting to come home. Cecil bought the little place over here. Frank says he can do as he pleases now. Hilly and Lovie came by and brought our groceries. No letters from the girls. Doris came by and Dad bought a bond. The Chipper is so sweet. Nancy and Chy are on a diet, hope it works. Mrs. Smith sent me 5 tomato plants. Mack Jr. went after Velma today but Mary is doing OK so far. Mr. B borrowed my vaccinating needle.


May 22, Tuesday – Well Chy had two letters from the Bill Boy and the box of things; the rich table cloth and rabbit fur coat a gold horseshoe, said he might get to come home but that he had given up hope poor kid. The Chipper and I took a walk this evening. I had 10 more baby turks to hatch, Mr. and Mrs. B brought me some tomato plants, Lovie and Hilly came by with the ice, and brought us some beans, cantaloupes and tomatoes. Chy had a letter from her mother, said they might come for her around the first. Lord I hate for Chy and Chipper to leave. I don’t want to think about them not being here, the sweet Little Chipper. We had a letter from Emma, said she found her slip in her purse, ha.ha. The Brownies are innocent this time.


May 23, Wednesday – Well Chy had another letter from Bill, he still doesn’t know whether he will get to come home or not. Dad went to town took off 3 old turkey hens, brought $18.50. He left the pickup there to be worked on. Kathleen came out and got Chy and Ann. Sure miss them. Ann quarreled all day today, I don’t think she feels well. Chy had to rock her last night about 1:30. We were invited to a fish fry down to the Damon Houston old place, Mrs. Gay sure wanted us to come but had no way, Nancy went to Cherokee and spent the day playing with Billy Louise, she went with her Dad and Mom tonite.


May 24th, Thursday – Well Elsie came today and I went back to the store and stayed with she and Lovie this evening, Elsie had to leave at 2 o’clock. A call came in at 8 o’clock this morning for Chy and I told them to call her at Llano the last I knew they had not reached her, so I called Lovie and told her to send a card to her. I sure wanted to go and tell her but I had no way. I bought a rug at Miss Melissa’s, gave $3.10 for it. Mrs. Burke was going to see Dorothy as she was taking a treatment for her womb. Hilly and Lovie did a good trade today. Nancy won’t stay with me the little scamp.

May 18 – 20, 2010

What’s going on around here? May 18 – 20, 2010


Healing Process: I saw my surgeon today, Thursday. He wants to do a colonoscopy in June, the 7th to be exact. This time he will go in from the bottom and look at the surgery site and then go in through the ostomy and look at everything from that direction. Then depending on healing, we will shoot for the reversal surgery towards the end of July and that is the plan for now. I will still be working with the internist and the endocrinologist on other matters including drug changes but that is the plan for surgery and right now I am okay with it.

Just for fun: Friday Amanda, one of the nieces, has taken off work to play with me. Every year Bill goes out of town for a few days and I always take that time to do a little ‘while-you-were-out home improvement project. One year I redid the whole living room including things like: paint, changing the mantle and hearth, window seals, window trimmings, artwork, throw pillows and lamp shades. In other years I have done things like: repaint most of the inside of the house, redoing the guest bedroom, changing the whole back porch area including doing a lot of jack-hammering on the back porch and planting moss in all the cracks. Last year I went to knitting classes for the week in Portland but I was coming up empty this year. I was just too tired and slow to think about it, but Amanda decided I could not give up the opportunity to do something that I have wanted to do, so she quizzed me a little bit and we decided to take on the back bathroom with just a few little changes. The thing is we might have to learn to use Bill’s miter saw to do part of the project. So I will have before and after photos for you on the next update, if I still have all my fingers……

What's up at the dental office? I am so glad to be working. I love seeing my co-workers and I love the patients and I love the art’s and craft’s of the job. The patient this week that made me smile was a 78 year old man. He was moving slow and careful and used a full size walking stick to get around. He has had heart surgery in the past and takes meds for heart problems now. All that to tell you why I did not expect the answer I got to my question:

I said: Well Mr. P what have you been up to lately?
He said: I have been prospecting for gold and silver.
Then I ask: did you do panning for gold up by Index (an area near hear where they do find gold)
He said: That too, but I just got back from Kenya where I found gold, diamonds, silver and copper.
Dr V got in on the conversation and asks: did you find enough to pay for your trip?
He said: Maybe

Next he wants to go to Saskatchewan because he has heard it is a great place to look for diamonds. This was just a funny reminder for me not to prejudge anything. I was thinking he wasn’t very mobile and didn’t do much getting around. I was wrong and all of us at the office got a big smile from his story.  P.S.  I asked him to bring me a souvinerer from his next trip.

What's on my needles: I started the second ruffle on my Sasha skirt last night and didn’t go to bed till after 12:30. To start a ruffle, I had to pick up over 200 stitches, then knit one row around, then do an increase row where I added over 100 stitches, then start the pattern. This lace pattern is only a 2 row repeat pattern but I wanted to get enough done to start seeing the pattern of the lace, and that was about 6 rows. I just couldn’t quit and put it away until I had it going well, so 12:30 it was.

What podcasts I am listening to: Wednesday (5-19) was a dark, stormy and rainy night and so the television ‘sucked’. That is another story and I will tell the whole thing sometime, but not today. Today I will say, we don’t have cable or satellite, we have and HD antenna and when the wind blows or it rains the TV freezes or the picture on the screen pixilates (turns to cubes and freezes) or we may just loose reception all together. Last night was one of those nights. So I listened to a couple of podcast from Overlake Christian Church, Garden Fork.TV, a teacher named Greg Laurie, The Knitmore girls and The Savvy Girls (both are great knitting podcasts). A couple of these turned out to be video casts which was new to me but fun. So I am open to suggestions in this area also. The next book to read on my table is ‘The Orchid Thief’. Someone told me to read it because I like orchids a lot and would learn about orchids in the story. I’m sure I will start it soon.

Counting my Blessings: I heard something I liked this week. Love at first sight is nothing special but when you have looked and lived with each other for 30 years or more and love each other, That is a Miracle. I liked that and I am counting my blessings for the wonderful, supportive, encouraging, funny husband that I have.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 18, Friday – Well Dad is still ploughing, got our first mess of Irish potatoes on Wednesday the 16th, they were good. Marked my 33 little turks this morning. Hope we get a letter from all the children. Hilly and Lovie brought a big watermelon by for Chy and we all ate it. It was sure good. Nancy came by to spend the nite with us. Hill, Love went to a big 42 party at the school house tonite. Lovie told me that we were all invited to Mrs. Houston’s for dinner on Sunday.


May19, Saturday – Well all went to Cherokee but Chipper and I. Chy went to help Lovie in the store. Dad had to go after feed and ice. Nancy went along to sell candy. Chy had 3 letters from Bill and he said he guessed he would be sent home. Please God, don’t let him be crippled for life, but let him limp enough he won’t be sent to the Pacific. Had 9 more little turks to hatch today. Tonight the kids got in and Hilly couldn’t eat any supper, he is pretty well done in. Me and Chipper had a good time. She is so sweet, she got a little bad and wouldn’t let me put her down, the sweet little rascal. Dad ploughed his maize out here in the 4 acre patch. I made me a dress this evening, I sure needed it.

May 20, Sunday – We had the mutton roast that Mrs. Gay sent us and it was good. Hilly, Lovie, and Nancy got here about 2:30. I had washed the dishes. Mr. and Mrs. Bowden came this evening for a while. Cecil brought the vaccine back this morning. I am pretty happy to think that God is good enough to let Bill come home, do hope we hear pretty soon just how and where he is, and if he is really going to get to come home. Sure hope I hear how Son is and where he is. Nancy is here tonite, guess she will stay a while with us. Lovie said the Post Office at San Saba was robbed last nite or Friday nite. The Chipper is feeling mighty good today. She is so sweet, and smart. We think she is the sweetest baby in the whole world.

Wow, I must be better

What’s going on around here? Friday May 14 – Monday May 17, 2010

Just for Fun:   On Sunday we celebrated our grandaughter's first communion.  It was a wonderful day with family and friends. She is almost 8 and so grown up.   The dress she wore has been worn by her mom and all her aunts for their first communion.  She was beautiful.  We also celebrated a belated birthday for her brother and he enjoyed his time in the limelight also.  

Healing Process: I am feeling better all the time. My ‘guts’ don’t hurt so much like when I ate I could feel the food moving through different areas. I am still sore from a couple of the holes from surgery but they are getting better. My skin is sore and red from the adhesive for my ostomy system. Today I was home all day and I just took it all off and went without and let my skin rest but at the end of the day it is still red and irritated. Bummer. I am monitoring my blood sugar numbers and the only thing that seems to help is not eating and also having a drink of alcohol. A diabetic friend said there is the good and bad of alcohol, the good is it relaxes you and lowers your numbers. Well, low and behold, diet 7-up and a little vodka and my numbers improved by 40 to 60 points.

Sorting and Organizing: For the last few days I have just been reevaluating my life and the ‘busy ness’ schedule. I am not committing to anything that seems stressful, or that I might have to push myself to complete. I am going to try to update this blog on Mondays and Thursdays, so if you check on Tuesdays and Fridays you might get the current info.

What's Cooking? A whole lot the last few days. Saturday Bill and I went to Costco for a meat run and then we restocked the freezer. I am so glad I have a freezer. Number one, I keep all the nuts we eat in the freezer to keep them from getting old. I always have pecans, cashews, almonds, pine nuts, peanuts, and pistachios in the freezer. I also keep dry things like flour and cornmeal and breadcrumbs in the freezer just to keep them fresh and away from bugs. I also have one shelf that pretty much has bags of frozen lemon juice on it, delicious Meyer lemon juice from my Aunt Jeanne’s tree in California. We use so much lemon juice it is amazing.

Since I have not cooked much at all the last month we were getting pretty low on stuff to pull out and eat. So Bill fired up the barbeque and in the end we had cook a big piece of salmon, 4 rib eye steaks, a lime and cilantro marinated flank steak, a pile of sesame ginger chicken and an equal amount of chicken marinated in a chardonnay basil vinaigrette, some of that I put my family barbeque sauce on before I froze it. Then today I made 12 pounds of a turkey meat (loaf) mixture and froze that in zip-lock bags and also 3 pounds of turkey taco meat. We ate tacos for dinner and I still have some for a taco salad lunch tomorrow and I put 4 bags of taco meat in the freezer. I know that sounds crazy but I find it is not that much more work to do a lot at once, then the rest of the time there is very little work involved at all. Once I have this meat (loaf) mixture made I use it for so many other recipes: meatballs, shepherd’s pie, Moroccan Patties, sloppy joe’s, spaghetti, and really good meatloaf. I just pull bags out of the freezer depending on if it is just Bill and I or if we are having company join us.

Sunday: Chris & Anne’s for family gathering (It was delicious and fun)
Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: no family dinner, everyone is busy
Wednesday: sesame chicken and stir-fry veggies
Thursday: Bill and I are both out different directions
Friday: Amanda & I are working on a secret home improvement project
Saturday: I work today so, something easy, maybe take out Thai

What's on my needles: I am still working on the Sasha skirt but last night I had a real case of cast off fever and just had to get the first ruffle off the needles. I was listening to the book “The Lace Reader” and binding off the ruffle. I don’t know which I finished first but I finished them both within minutes of each other and I was in bed by midnight. Since I had a three hour nap in the afternoon midnight was not that bad.


What I am reading: here is a link that discusses ‘The Lace Reader’ if you are curious. I wanted to read it because I thought I might learn something about making lace and there was a little about that. It is based in Salem, Massachusetts but I didn’t really get a feel for the area. It did talk about the history of the area and the tolerance for all religions

http://www.litlovers.com/guide_lace_reader.html


Have I seen any good movies lately: Bill and I watched ‘Office Space’ last night. It had been on the table for quite a while and I wanted to send it back. Not the best movie I have ever seen but it passed the time and since we weren’t interested in anything on television it passed the time. I have been listening to a lot of podcasts and so a lot of the time now I just listen to something like that and forget television.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: for a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 15, Tuesday – Well the Hilly paid Bob off and is now the owner of a store and Lovie says they have a gold mine. Hilly, Lovie and Nancy came by this morning before I got up to bring my grapefruit and oranges by that I called the store yesterday evening to bring by. Doris came for Dad to help her with the windmill but Mr. Gay had to take some of the pieces in to get them fixed. Hilly, Lovie, Nancy all came by tonight going to the 8th grade graduation exercises. Chy went with them. I kept the Ann but she was a sleep so I didn’t get to love her any. Gee we have a cold spell tonite. It rained some last nite, but not enough to do much good. Chy had a letter from Bill, and I had my Mother’s day wire from him so sweet of him. Hope and pray that he isn’t sent to the Pacific. Maybe his foot won’t let him go. I made the Chipper two little sun dresses this eve.


May 16, Wednesday – Well we had a letter from the Gordie and Emma. Chy had a letter from her mother. Dad, Chy and Chipper and I all went to Cherokee this evening and I sent to the Colonial Poultry farms for 50 baby pullets. Chy talked to her mother, cost her $6.81. We traded with the Hilly and Lovie this evening, they were doing a good business. Tonite we had a good supper, the Chy is a wonderful little cook, gee we will sure miss she and little Ann. Little Ann almost got an egg out of a crate this evening, she was sitting in her little ‘?.’ I love her so much.


May 17, Thursday - Well we had a letter from the Bill, written May 6th and he is doing fine, so he said. Lovie and Hilly and Nancy all came by tonite to see the Chipper. I don’t think the Chipper feels well. Cecil and Charlie Mc, worked Mrs. Yates cattle, wonder how she likes them. The Chipper and I took a long walk and she enjoyed it so much, and she was glad to see Lovie and Nancy. She is so precious. I love her so. Dad is ploughing his corn.

Just a note: I, CeLinda, talked to my mom (Emma) today and she thinks she was in Colorado with Aunt Gordie during this time.   That is why they had written letters but were too far away to come for Mother's day. 

Mother's Day week

What’s going on around here?
Gracie the crazy cat:  If you have been to our house you know we have a crazy cat.  Actually she is very smart,  but she usually does not like to be touched.  She always comes to greet guests,  she stands on the back of the love seat near the front door and she talks and stretches her neck out to greet you.  She wants to smell you.  The 'proper' way to greet her is to hold out your hand and let her sniff you.   Sometimes she will then tuck her head under your hand and ask you to pet her a bit,  usually just on the head.  Her 'talking' can get a bit rude if she doesn't like where you are touching her or anything else for that matter.   So the two following photos, taken this week are a totally shock for me.   Neither of these two guests realize they were taking their life in their hands as the scooped up Gracie and Gracie didn't mind at all being attended to by either one of them. 

Healing Process: I picked up my glucose monitor on Monday afternoon and the blood sugar numbers are not so good, so far. I will be checking a few times a day for a couple of weeks and then my internist will reevaluate the situation. Now I am getting a little depressed. I need to pay much more attention to myself than I would like. There is the usual grooming, and getting enough rest, then there is the time it takes to change my ‘bag’, and if I have to take off the part that adheres to my body and shower and replace that it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. Now I am checking my blood sugar one half hour before I eat and then one hour after I eat. The only time the numbers are good is when I wake up in the morning and have not eaten for hours. So that makes me think I am going to have to give up eating and I don’t like that option at all. Oh and I need to walk for exercise and I am trying to walk about an hour a day, usual split up over two or three walks during the day.

What's up at the dental office? I did work this week and it went much better than last week. I ended up calling the nieces and cancelling ‘family dinner’ on the way home from work Tuesday night. I was really tired and I was sore and hurting. I might be developing and allergy to the adhesive on this ‘system’ my skin was hurting so much that when I got home I took everything off and showered and then just put some plastic wrap over my tummy very loosely and left it all open for a couple of hours. The plastic wrap was just to catch any surprises. That whole area was red and itchy so I also took some Benadryl and a couple of Advil and then I lay on the couch until it was time to go to bed. Wednesday I woke up feeling better and I worked all day and even felt pretty good at the end of the day. So I guess it really is one day at a time. One of my patients this week has colon cancer and all ready has an ostomy of some kind, he has just finished his rounds of chemo therapy and next week goes to San Diego for surgery. The surgeon in San Diego is the only doctor on the west coast that does this new procedure, he called it debulking. Later in the day I had a diabetic patient who has an insulin pump so we talked a bit about her situation. She reminded me of all the other problems with diabetes, like she goes to the podiatrist every 3 months just to make sure her feet are fine.

What's Cooking?

Sunday: Tamara & the girls brought fabulous Kung Pao Chicken and fruit salad for a very fabulous Mother's Day lunch.    Later in the day we met Bill's sister and Mom and the rest of the family for dinner at an Italian place in Everett.  It was a very nice day.

Monday: more delicious Kung Pao Chicken
Tuesday: family dinner – was going to be, but got cancelled: chicken sausage, spinach & cheese ravioli, stir-fry cabbage and veggies, brussel sprouts and bacon, garlic mashed potatoes, zucchini casserole.
Wednesday: homemade 'lean cusine's' from the freezer

Thursday: Bill’s night out and I had invited two friends over for dinner ages ago,  long before I got sick.   I decided absolutely not to cancel so to make it easy I cheated a little and did Greek Take out: Greek chicken and gyro meat, and pita bread with tizitki, then I made lemon-spinach rice, the zucchini casserole from Tuesdays menu and a big Greek salad
Friday: date night – we are meeting friends at the Crab Cracker for a happy hour dinner and looking forward to catching up with them.
Saturday: I am working Saturday from 2-5 so

What's on my needles: I picked up the stitches for the first ruffle on the Sasha skirt and have started knitting the lace ruffle. I love this project. I need to sew together the ‘lipstick vest’ but it is chilling out right now.

What I am reading: I am still reading ‘The Lace Reader’s guide’ a compelling story about a family of women in Salem who can read the future in patterns of lace and also have guarded a history of secrets. It is written from different perspectives and that has kept the story interesting.

I am also becoming a huge podcast fan, mostly knitting podcast and a couple of Christian ones that I like. I am always open to suggestions if someone finds something interesting.

Have I seen any good movies lately: We watched ‘Pirate Radio’ this week and it was a good movie based on a true story. I did get a little sleepy and Bill had to remind me how it ended.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945

May 10, Thursday – Well Dad and Chy and Ann went to town today. Chy took Ann to Dr Felts and he said she had a little cold. Dad left his pickup to be fixed as it is wasting lub. I sent off 4 turkey hens and my gobbler. Lovie went in to bring Chy, Dad and Ann back from town. Chy had two letters from the Bill Boy and they had operated on his foot.



May 11, Friday – Well Lovie and Hilly worked in the store this evening. I had a long letter from Gordie, Nancy has gone home with Francis Ann. Ann has been so cross today, I guess the medicine Dr Felts gave her makes her cross. She is so good that is sure puts a pain in my heart to see her feel bad, will be glad when she gets well. I worship her. Gordie says Emma is working now for a wool association. Hilly and Lovie came by wanting us to go to church. I will go tomorrow night for I want my sons to come back. If I don’t go to church and try and live right they might not come back. So I must pray and live right. Lovie is good, she lives right. I worried today.


May 12, Saturday – Well Dad walked to Cherokee and caught a ride to San Saba to get his pickup which he left up there to have it worked on. It cost $20.00 for the work he had done on it. Lovie and I went to Mrs. Gays this evening to iron. Mrs Gay had gone to town and I had to go along with Lovie. I had a letter from Bill and he said his foot is doing alright. Hilly and Lovie came by going to Cherokee to take stock of the grocery store at Bob’s which they will take over on Monday. I got another Mother’s Day gift, a pair of everyday shoes, Lovie gave them to me, with my beautiful blanket Em and Gordie gave me I am fixed up. The Ann girl feels much better today and I am so glad. Mr Bryant called and said he had our B batteries but we didn’t need them and Mr Herbert R wanted them. Nancy is spending the weekend with Francis Ann Gray.


May 13, Sunday – Mother’s Day and it has been a good one. The girls were all here. Tom Alan came with Jymie and Elsie. Kathleen and Mary Ann came and Kitten brought me Mary Anns picture a big one in a frame for my Mother’s Day gift and I am so proud of it. Mary Ann is a honey and our Ann is so very sweet, her cold is better. Elsie brought me a lovely pair of Sunday shoes and a big potted flower. I enjoyed the day so much. Lovie came after dinner. The Gays came tonite and Ann strutted her stuff. Gee, but she is sweet. I sure missed the Sons and the Gordie and Emma today and I missed Nancy and Gordon. And I hope Nancy had a good time with Francis Ann. Dad went after Hillys hogs this morn,


May 14, Monday – Well the Lovie and Hilly went to work today in the store. I sure hope she can hold up. Ann feels mighty today. Chy had four letters from the Bill, and one from Emma and she is going to get somebody if we don’t send her white slip, but I haven’t found it yet. Bill is doing fine. Dad help Mr Gay fix his wind mill, then went and fixed on Doris’ mill. Doris and Gladys Ann came just at dark wanting to borrow the blue net ball dress that Chy gave to Nancy so we let her have it. It sure looked nice on her. We vaccinated the little turks this evening I cut Ann two little sun dresses out this evening.

Cinco de Mayo

What’s going on around here?
Healing Process: Well I am not ‘miss perky’ but I do have more energy than the first of the week, but mostly I am resting, not sleeping but knitting. Then I do some walking something and then more sitting. It’s okay though I am feeling better. My ‘guts’ are still sore and I feel food moving through every section after I eat, I think that is totally weird.

Sorting and Organizing: My closet was my Wednesday-Thursday project. A lot of my clothes don’t feel as comfortable on since my surgery. If they are too tight or too clingy I am sensitive to my new ‘lumps and bumps’. I have discovered I am more comfortable in elastic waist and tunic type tops for now. Over the past few days I have pretty much tried on everything in my closet. If I didn’t like it, it went in the ‘donate’ bag, if I thought it might work, but not this year it went in a plastic box for the attic to be reevaluated next spring, after the reversal surgery. Now when I reach in my closet for something to wear, it should work. It was getting a bit depressing to try on 3 or 4 or 5 outfits each time I was getting ready to go somewhere.

Just for fun: Thursday is the end of the week for most dentist offices and this week on Thursday I had two staff parties to go to, one at lunch and one after work, both celebrating Cinco de Mayo. I had my first margarita since before I got my cold and then got sick. It was delicious and so worth it, but not on the regular diet program for a while. I was able to eat yummy stuff both places and easily stay away from dairy and wheat, both places were buffets and you built your own, so no cheese, sour cream or ranch. The good news is guacamole is okay and good so that replaced the other stuff, no problem and as luck would have it; corn chips and corn tortillas are gluten free. So I made good choices. (It is also my grandson's birthday,  so Happy Birthday Luke!)

What's up at the dental office?
One of the reasons I love my job is the people and I had some interesting patients recently. One was a young woman who just finished her degree in accounting this month and has been accepted to start nursing school in September. We think she will make a great administrative nurse with that skill set. Another woman will be starting her junior year in college @ the University of New Orleans this September. She wants to be a TV or movie producer when she graduates, but guess what she does for ‘fun’. She is a fire entertainer. She doesn’t do the fire breathing thing yet but spins the batons and tosses and catches them. She told me what to look up on utube and I have lost the sheet of paper I wrote it on. I also had a high school sophomore who is really into photography. Just after her 16th birthday the Seattle newspaper picked one of her photographs to be a ‘pic of the weekend’, which is very cool and receives recognition beyond just having your photo published. Then the end of the day Tuesday I finally saw the patient that we had rescheduled from the day I ended up in the emergency room, before surgery. This person was a new patient to our practice and I really didn’t want to start on the wrong foot. The front desk women had said they were a bit grumpy, about everything, and especially about being rescheduled. Turns out this person was a nurse, so I said; I am very sorry I was sick and we had to reschedule your appointment. I had to have emergency surgery that day, with just a minimum more explaining she was very sweet and kind and understanding. I like it when that happens.

What's Cooking?
Sunday: we went out for Mexican with M&C after dance performance
Monday: leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday: family dinner: sundried tomato hummus and crackers, jalapeno stuffed shrimp, and panko breaded shrimp, fried jalapeno slices, green salad, steamed asparagus, Spinach and artichoke lasagna, Spinach ravioli, fresh: strawberries, pineapple, watermelon and of course the chocolate basket. (There was very little cooking involved, mostly it came from the freezer.)
Wednesday: Roast chicken (from Costco) and green salad
Thursday: Bill’s night out and I 'Cinco de Mayoed' all day
Friday: date night will be here at the house and Ledo one of my favorite dogs is coming to visit. The parents will have: salmon cakes and panko shrimp, a great salad (because a friend is bringing it) oven roasted veggies and fresh fruit and the chocolate basket for dessert.
Saturday: leftovers and cleaning out the fridge
Sunday: Happy Mother's Day to all.   My goddaughter and her family are bringing lunch and then we are meeting Bill’s family up north (not a long drive) for an early dinner. I think I see Monday’s dinner of leftovers in there somewhere. I just have not had much desire or energy for cooking yet.

What's on my needles: I did start a new scarf. It is another of the sabori ruffle scarves. To start the scarf you make an extremely long i-cord then you pick up stitches down the i-cord with a boucle yarn and knit back, then you knit about 20 rows with a ‘silk straw’ yarn, (it is silk and feels like straw but softens up a lot when you wash it.) and finish with the boucle yarn on the outer edge. Then you do the same thing on the other side of the i-cord. This is a totally mindless project, just the knit stitch for the whole thing. What makes it beautiful is the colors of yarn and the ruffles it makes. When you finish all the knitting you wash it in extremely hot water and the center i-cord shrinks and the other yarns do not shrink so they make the ruffles. I never knew how important it is to have a ‘go-to’ mindless project. I need to keep my hands happy even when I am very tired or very down.

What's off my needles: Because I have been ‘laying’ around so much I had some big success in this area this week. I got the ‘lipstick vest’ off the needles and also the ‘Sasha skirt’. Now I need to do the finishing on the vest which means sewing the pieces together and then crocheting around all the edges to make it look pretty and I have 3 fabulous buttons to put on it. The skirt has a lot more work, 3 ruffles to be exact but I am excited about the progress and so I am looking forward to getting started on them.

What I am reading: I started ‘The Lace Reader’ by Brunonia Barry this week. It is a story of mothers and daughters and sisters; of how we seek — and find — answers in unexpected places; of the dangers of fundamentalism. As the lace reader searches for the meaning within the delicate pattern, so these characters struggle to make sense of their lives. All this unfolds in contemporary Salem, where, as a cop named Rafferty tells his boss, ‘Witchcraft isn’t even a crime. In this town it’s a profit center.’ I am just getting into it and all ready there are unusual and unexpected twists.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945 : for a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can. diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.

May 3, Thursday – Well the Lovie came. She and I ran up to Cherokee, I exchanged Chys scissors that got mixed up with Perry’s. No letter from the Bill hope we get one before the week is out. My but we have a cold snap. Guess it will frost tonite. I got my order this eve, got Anns swing she sure likes it. She is so sweet and I could eat her all up. Little Chy is so worried about Bill, but I believe old Bill will come out all right, he just must, for he has a big life ahead of him. Please God, take care of him for he wants to come home so bad. Hope we hear soon how he is. Lovie sent the Bill a bucket of pecans one day this week.


May 4, Friday – No letters today from the Bill. Maybe we will hear soon. Dad and Chy and Ann went to town. Chy had Ann’s picture and herself made. She also sent the Bill a cablegram. Dad fixed up the P.T.A. war bond. I don’t even think it was smart of him to buy it for I do without everything “old cuss” wants to be big on the other fellow’s money. All the money we had this past winter was my $600 of turkey money. He sold our wool today for 42 a pound. Lovie came by going to Llano to take Nancy and Francis Ann and she met Chy between here and Cherokee and Chy went with her. Ann came on with Dad big as anybody. I sent my money back to Sears for my baby chicks for June delivery. Ann brought me the prettiest heart shaped pin with Mother on it from San Saba.


May 5, Saturday – No letters from the boys today but we did get a letter from Elsie. Vaccinated the turks, got 10 baby chicks. We all went to an ice cream supper at the Gays, met her son-in-law. On April 28 Mussolini was killed. We ate dinner with Lovie today and she had a good one too. She fixed dinner for Jr, Cecil’s dad as dad helped gather the sheep. Dad kept the Chipper tonite. The war is about over in Europe. Will be so thankful our boys get to come home I pray. I set a hen on 15 white eggs. I hope they hatch. Sure missed Nancy today hope she has a good time at Llano with Mrs. Gray and Francis Ann. Dad’s old pickup starter locked this evening and he can’t fix it.


May 6, Sunday – Well don’t know anything. Only the Chipper is the sweetest baby in the world. Hilly and Lovie came for dinner after church, didn’t have much. Hilly fixed the pickup starter. Hilly and Lovie went up to meet the bus to get Nancy and Francis Ann as they rode it from Llano. Nancy said she saw Kathleen and had dinner with her. Kathleen talked like Son might get to come home. Nancy stuck a nail in her foot while in Llano. The Bowden’s came this evening. The boy is quite a boy. Sure hope we hear from Bill tomorrow. Had 2 more old chicken hens to hatch about 17 little turks. The Chipper is so sweet I could eat her. Will be a sad day when Chy and Chipper goes back to New Mexico. Wish they could stay on with us, but Chy feels like her mother needs her.


May 7, Monday – Well it has come over the radio at 8:30 that old Germany has surrendered, thank the good God, in heaven, and that most of our boys will be sent home. Well thank the Lord. Chy had 3 letters from Bill written the 25th, 26th and 27th. He was wounded in the foot but was doing very well. Had been moved from 2 hospitals to a 3rd one somewhere in France and thought he might be sent somewhere else. I called Elsie and told her. Gee I got the loveliest Mother’s Day gift from the Gordie and Em, a lovely wool blanket. I have always wanted one, sure proud of it. Have another turkey hen hatching. Dad and Chy ran up to Cherokee. Chy shopped for me. Ann and I had a good time but she got hungry and I didn’t know it was feeding time. She is so precious. I love her so much. Hilly and Lovie were to come by to go to Church but they never did.


May 8, Tuesday – Victory was proclaimed today in Europe. Well old Germany has really surrendered to Russia and to the Allies, and Chy had a V letter from Bill written the day after he was wounded and he says he is not hurt bad but I wish he had been hurt bad enough to be sent home if he had to suffer and be wounded and when he gets well he will be sent into battle in the Islands, but I am going to pray that he will get to come home for we need him so, for Dad and I are not able to work much anymore. I had a sweet letter from Gordie and Em is working. Lovie came today and she and Chy sewed. I cut out a dress for she and Nancy. I had 16 little turks to hatch today. It is raining some tonite. Dad wants to go to town tomorrow and get his pickup fixed. Bill’s heifer had her calf yesterday a pretty ball faced heifer calf. I took my turks a bug hunting today. Ann has a cold, bless her sweet heart, she is so sweet.

May 9, Wednesday – Another day has passed by and we are enjoying Chy and Ann so very much. Will just kill me when they go back to New Mexico. Dad and Ann are romping on the living room floor right now. Lovie came this eve and she helped me wash, then we sewed a little on her dress but I was pretty tired. I have 165 little turkeys and I am working too hard taking care of them. Dad didn’t go to town today he is ploughing his corn.

Riding the High

What’s going on around here?

If you are reading this blog, I would love some feedback from time to time. I don’t really have any way of seeing who is really reading it. Just a quick email or comment would encourage me. Thanks .

Riding the High: As it turns out; all that feeling fabulous last week has come to a crashing end. I was feeling so euphoric, and energetic because of the massive steroids I was getting while in the hospital. Those are out of my system now, I am taking 15 mg prednisone and that is lower than I have been in years. I think this is going to be a bit like other drugs withdrawal process. I went to work this Tuesday and just getting ready for work seemed to take longer. Then at 11am I knew I was never going to make two days in a row, so I asked them to get someone else for tomorrow. What a good choice!!! I did make it through the day and also really enjoyed family dinner with the nieces and Ryan, Becky’s boyfriend, but I was asleep before 9:30pm and did not wake up on Wednesday until 10:30 when Bill called me. That is all I did on Wednesday, sleep and my walking, and I walked a lot, but it was a slow pace for sure.


Healing Process: Saw a new endocrinologist (Dr Endo) on Monday. He is young and smart and excited to have me as a patient. He has been doing his homework. He came to see me two times in the hospital; he spent 45 minutes or so each time. He asked lots of questions and started formulating a plan with my internist about what to do with me. It seems the years of steroid use have been costly, to my system. Of course I would have been dead without them, but if I want to live a lot longer I am going to need to make some big changes, number one being the reduction of my daily prednisone dosage. I have been on 20 mg a day for several years, actually about 4 or 5, it was when I got pneumonia and didn’t know it. After that each time I would try to lower my dosage I would have symptoms, like no energy, getting every cold and sinus infection that came along, and more gastrointestinal problems that were all very hard to deal with and my ‘Dr Internist’ and I agreed to ‘manage the meds, as needed’. She says now she didn’t like it but it was better than me being sick so much and so often. I was gaining weight and especially in my stomach. My grandson once said; grandma you have a very fat tummy. Then he quickly added, I like your tummy, as he patted it. Lucky he said that part or I might have smacked him, not really but I did not like my fat tummy at all. Dr Endo’s goal is to eventually get me to 7.5 mg prednisone by making other changes; he says this will be a very slow and not always easy or pleasant process. If this week is any indication of what is to come it is going to be dang hard.

The other thing is that the stress of the perforated colon, the meds needed to take care of the toxins and the surgery has stress out the rest of my body a lot. All the time I was in the hospital they were monitoring my blood sugar levels and I had to have insulin. Now I am not taking insulin and the blood test numbers are a bit confusing to the Dr’s. So for now, I am trying to cut back significantly on carbohydrates like; rice, pasta, potatoes and breads. Also I am trying to stay away from sugars and much fruit to help control the blood sugar. This weekend, I will pick up a glucose monitor and start checking my blood sugar 3 times a day to see what is really going on so the Dr’s can make even more informed decisions.

Dr Endo and I also discussed the fact that I have had loose bowels since I can remember. I just assumed that was part of the Addison’s disease. I know with Addison’s your body is just trying to get rid of water all the time however it can, sweating is another thing that is a problem for me. I have fans everywhere and just a little moving air makes that problem so much more bearable. So he laughs and says have you ever thought you might be lactose intolerant? (Well NO – I LOVE cheese.) Then he says starting now, no dairy. Funny that would come up as I had had a long chat with my nephew that is becoming the best personal trainer and had been at a weekend seminar on diet and nutrition and he was suggesting I read about it and think about it, as it might be a good choice for me. So there it is two times in two days something I never wanted to hear was coming up. What I told my ‘Dr Endo’ was that if when I had the reversal surgery I went back to the loose bowels all the time, I might not want to go back. So if I really feel that way and changing my diet might help, how dumb am I, I am going to try to make good choices. (That’s what my daughter-in-law is always saying.) My nephew also mentioned he learned that foods in the legumes family and nightshades family are not good for people with autoimmune diseases, but I just can’t go there yet. I have to do this one step at a time, and I am not giving up tomatoes and peppers (salsa) the week of cinco de mayo. I want to make good choices but I just am not ready to make that choice.  In the next blood draw he is also going to check for a sensitivity to gluten.  All this is stuff I really did want to avoid but it seems to keep coming up.  

With all that stuff discussed do you see what I can eat right now? Lean meats, and veggies is pretty much it. I found almond cheese (a better choice than soy cheese because that is too close to wheat,) almond milk in plain and vanilla, some kind of nondairy sour cream and cream cheese and also coconut milk, turns out coconut is really good for your ‘guts’ with lots of healing properties and it is just fine in my coffee.


Just for fun: Last Sunday afternoon Bill and I went to a performance in Everett w/ friends. The performing group was called Archedream for Humankind. It is a multi-disciplinary mask theatre. It was awesome and I want to make masks with the kids in my world now. It was all glow-in-the-dark with black lights focusing on the stage. There are videos on utube if you’re curious and want to look it up.


What's up at the dental office?
There is lots of science out there now about Xylitol, but in the dentist office it significantly reduces cavities, basic cavities in children and the more complex problems in adults where you can get decay around crowns and shorten the life of the crown. In children the science is saying that using it two times a day cuts way back on the incidence of ear infections as well. It is still very difficult to find these products in the stores. Trident and Orbit sell chewing gums and mints with Xylitol but they are pretend amounts not enough for the 'benefits' of the product. So I was online Tuesday looking up products that we might start carrying in the office for our patients. drjohns.com I ordered some hard candy, chocolate caramels and vanilla sweetener to try before we decide what we want to have for patients at the office.


Sorry, no Granny's diary edition today.  I am behind on transcribing and too tired to push myself.  Later, for sure.

May Day

What’s going on around here?



Healing Process: All is well, I am way more tired in my body than in my brain. My ‘guts’ are still very sore. I am sore around all the laparoscopic ‘holes,’ the drain hole and my other new hole. If I take just one 200mg Advil it seems to keep all the soreness at bay and I move around easier. If I forget, I notice I am a bit whiny and grumpy which I don’t like about myself. So I am doing that 2 to 3 times a day.


What I am sorting? When I have time and am so inclined, which is quite often, I clean sort and organize stuff around the house. I have two different things bugging me right now. One is all the articles and recipes that I have torn out of the magazines I have been reading. Today I divided them into piles like: health, projects, recipes and travel. Some of it was easy to take care of and put in a useful place but the recipes pile is huge and will take more time before I feel like I have managed it properly. The other is a similar problem, knitting patterns. The pile I need to organize and put away is getting of sizable proportion. The good news is I have made a huge dent in the magazine pile.

Just for fun: Leaving notes for Bill: My dear sweet husband. When we were dating, 29 years ago we did lots of talking. One of the things he said to me was that he was not a mind reader and that it was just unfair if I expected him to be or to become a mind reader. He wanted me to communicate clearly and he said it was my responsibility to get his attention and tell him what I wanted. He said that sometimes he might be a little ‘thick’ and that I might have to ‘hit him on the head with a brick to get his attention.’ So over the years, we have never yet run out of things to say to each other and in our own ways we try to communicate with each other as best we can. Growing up my dad would bring my mom coffee in bed in the mornings and I just assumed that was a ‘husband thing’ but my husband wasn’t doing it. On vacations with our ‘Friday night’ friends, Bob was bringing his wife coffee in bed and I was jealous so I mentioned this to Bill and the next morning Bill brought me coffee in bed. Yea! I loved it, so spoiled, such a luxury. When we got home it was all forgotten and the truth is at home the routine is that the routine is different every day. So I worked out this system, to communicate to Bill and he is so wonderful, he really does want to make me happy and show his love for me in ways that make me feel loved. I just thought I would share it with you.

What's Cooking?

Saturday: stopped @ Trader Joes for Greek Salad and added roasted chicken to it.

after dinner I did decide to 'play in the kitchen.'   Can you guess from the photos what I made?  

That's right,  my wild birds get gormet, home cooked bird suet,  with the exception of the bird seed and even it has no shells the stuff is all perfect for human consumption.  Maybe a little high fat.  

What's on my needles:  Here is a photo of the new red vest.   The colorway is called 'lipstick'.  I started it the afternoon of April 29 and I have knitted past the armhole bindoff and am on my way up to the shoulders on the back.

Counting my Blessings:
For the ‘younger’ women in my world who say things like: the new person who did your eyebrows did a much better job than the person who was doing it. Your face is so much more open and wow it made a lot of difference. (Who would have thought, I hardly notice my eyebrows and I wear bangs, I didn’t think anyone could really see them anyway.)


Thought for the day: Something you may or may not know about me. I believe that Jesus was not just a man that lived on this earth at a particular point in time and history. I really do believe that there is a God and he is ‘the son’ part of that God. I also believe that the Holy Spirit is part of that God and that the Holy Spirit is active and working in this world today, along with ‘the son’ and ‘the father.’ I grew up in Texas and I grew up hearing this and believing this. Kind of like Santa, but somewhere along the line I learned that Santa wasn’t real at least not in the way I had originally learned about him. Well that is where I am with God. A lot of what I learned as a child is not what I think and believe now but nothing I have experienced has disproved Him to me. I know lots of my friends and family are on different paths in their spiritual walk/awareness and as I understand God, everyone has freewill and free choice about their beliefs. I am absolutely not about rules in this walk, but there is a verse in the book of Galatians that says: the only thing that matters is faith working through love. (5:6b NET) When you know me on a more personal level I just want you to know that I try to live and act in love, as I, a simple human can. There is lots of teaching about love out there and I am often reading, studying, listening to and thinking about that part of my life. Just an aside: I am a functioning OCD, obsessively organized and I read, think about and look for books and articles that tell me what I can sort, organize, and clean better. So it is with love. Because it is part of me I may be sticking some of that stuff in my blog from time to time.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945    Grannies Diary (Bobbie Ann Maxwell): for a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.




May 1, Tuesday – Well Dad had his 45 head of sheep sheered this morning. Elsie has come for Chy. Tom A went back to school this morning after his 3 day expelling. Lovie and Elsie came today. Chy and Chip went home with Elsie, sure hated for them to go, but I must not try to keep them with me for that would be impossible. Had a sweet letter from the Gordie and Emma. The Gays came tonite. Mr. Gay came for the mutton that he didn’t send with his others, he sent his bull and Brahma steer and 25 sheep to Fort Worth. I cut Lovie’s pretty dress out that Chy gave her. Lovie cut Nancy’s dress out, the one Chy gave her. The news came over the radio that old Hitler had died. Sure hope he is dead, the old demon.


May 2, Wednesday – Well Chy had a message that Bill was slightly wounded. I pray God, that he will be alright. Elsie and Chy, the Chipper came home. Chy’s mother sent the message to Chy long distance, called here about 10:30 asking for a Clarice Maxwell, and I said no such person here and they meant Clyrene. I still feel like a fool, Lovie came in crying and I knew the message was about Bill. Please God, let him be alright. E had a letter from the Gordie and Em. I sent them a letter and told them that Bill had been wounded. Also sent Bill a letter. Dad and I marked the turkeys, they sure bled. Only got two chicks out of 23 eggs. Mr and Mrs Bowden came tonite. They all ways come when we are in trouble, bless their kind souls, Elsie brought some medicine for my foot. The place I dropped lye on the 4th of April, Bill was wounded the 22 of April. I called Elsie today.