Getting better every day

So, what has been happening around here for the last week?  Well, last Monday Dan had fasting labs.  Tuesday we went over to Lake City to a new produce market we were told about and then a quick stop at WalMart to pick up a few groceries. Wednesday I volunteered at the shop.  Thursday was Dan's doctor's appointment here in the Village.  It went very well and while his potassium level is on the high end of normal all his other blood work was good.  He will have another blood draw in four weeks to make sure he is staying at a healthy level.

Thursday afternoon we headed up to Sam's in Valdosta to pick up a few things for the cook out on the 4th and went by Hobby Lobby to get a shelf for the back porch.  There was this spot on the porch that "needed" a little something.  We also stopped for gas since it costs about forty cents cheaper in Georgia.

Friday I did laundry before working a little in the back yard.  I also worked in my head on how to arrange the new shelves on the back porch.

Saturday was a quiet day at home just doing little things until Dan decided he wanted to go down to Roy's Restruarnt in Steinhatchee.  We invited our friends Bud and Joyce to go with us and we left here around 3 in the afternoon for the hour drive down to the coast.  We had an awesome lunch and enjoyed watching all the  boats coming in from a day on the gulf 

 Dan's Seafood paltter

Part of the steady stream of boats

I had a video that showed all the boats, but I can't get it to download - but there was a steady stream for the entire hour we were there and looked like there would be a few more hours of boats coming in.

More Doctors

Well, April has started out with more doctor's appointments.  However, let's start at the beginning.

On Saturday, April 1st, I took over paying Mom's bills.  This is no April Fool's joke and it was a long time in coming.  She has been complaining about having difficulty writing her checks for some time now.  So, when I went over on Saturday I suggested that she go to the bank and let the girl there that mom likes pay her bills for her.  Well, the more we talked the more she didn't like having to go down to the bank every time a bill came in the mail.  So, finally I told her that I could pay her bills on line.  She seemed surprised, but agreed and she gave me all her "stuff".  I keep her informed of what bill has come in and how much it was and what her balance is.  I do a little sheet for her so she has everything in writing.  Now, it's only been a couple of weeks, but so far, it's working out well.  I have a key to her mailbox and I check it everyday when we get out mail.  If there is a bill I take it - but leave all her other mail.  We shall see how things progress.  Oh,  if she goes to town on the bus or buys anything she just puts it on her credit card - then I'll pay it when the bill comes in.  As I said, so far, it's been easy peasy!  Let's hope it stays that way.

Monday the third Dan and I worked in the front yard.  We had bought plants and mulch over the weekend and I wanted to get everything in the ground on Monday since we were suppose to have rain Monday night.  We worked all day, but being the bad blogger I am, I didn't take any before pictures.  But I do have some after pictures.

Everything was looking so much better.  There was still a few things that I wanted to do, but the front looked so much more inviting.

I even moved the plants that had been in the front out under the large Camilla tree that is in the front yard.  With our small garden flag and a couple of rocks and some pine straw as ground cover - things were looking up.

A couple of new plants for the front "porch".

Monday night Dan had a sleep study over in Lake City.  Of course, I stayed home with the puppy.  Well, let me tell you, the bottom dropped out Monday night.  We had a terrific thunderstorm - first one of the season - and had five and three-quarters of an inches of rain.

My nice pretty flower beds looked like this Tuesday morning.

So, while the plants loved the rain, the mulch went to the street!

So, after Dan got home and recovered from not a very good nights rest we headed into Live Oak to Lowe's  where we preceded to pick up some landscaping timbers and more mulch.  Oh, I might have picked up a few more plants that were on the clearance rack (I just can't seem to resist plants priced at $.50).

Anyway, we came home and got everything unloaded - but not much work was done on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning I volunteered at the shop.  We were actually a little busy and it did make the morning go quicker.  While I was dusting (which I do every Wednesday morning when I first get there) I saw that an artist kit in the kids section was opened.  When I looked at it there were several colored pencils and crayons missing.  I had to pull the kit and put in the office with a note to the manager.  I just don't understand why someone would steal from a non-profit organization that is only trying to help the residents.  Now, it was probably a kid, but the parent should have been watching.  Anyway, when I got home Dan had arranged all the landscaping timber - but he needed some dirt to get them level before he staked them down.  So, we went searching for dirt in the golf cart with the gorilla cart tied on the back.  We were able to find what he needed and he came home and finished up while I put out more mulch.  We even bought some solar powered lights for the bed.  I don't have any night pictures but this is what the bed looks like today.

All nice and straight

With the solar lights.

One of the hanging baskets

(gotta love those fifty cent plants)

One of the spider plants that I thought we lost in the last freeze.

Also have one of our hummingbird feeders out front.

This fern is another plant that I really thought we had lost.  We had this plant when we lived in Lake Placid on Loquat.  We brought a few ferns up with us, but really had not been taking care of them.  They were lying next to the house all last year while the renovation was going on.  I found this one and hung it up under the big Camilla bush in the back yard this winter, but really have not paid any attention to it.  Well, it is a survivor.  It is really coming out now that we are watering it and giving it some plant food.

The petunia in the background is another fifty cents plant - I bought two plants, brought them home and put them in an extra hanging basket I had in the garage.  They are doing great!

The Easter garden flag.

The front of the house from the driveway.

My April "wreath".

Wednesday night we went to our friends for dinner.  There were four couples - Neil and Carol, Dan and Kathryn, us, and the hosts Bud and Joyce.  It was a fun evening and a delicious meal!

Thursday was the Executive Committee Meeting.

Friday was Dan's cardiologist appointment.  I really think he was dreading going to this appointment since the last time we were there the doctor put it to him straight - he didn't sugar coat things.  Anyway, Dan has lost almost 15 pounds and has had all the tests the doctor wanted him to have.  While everything wasn't perfect with his visit things were better.  The doctor liked the amount of weight he had lost (he still has about 30 more to go) and the results of his tests were not bad.  His heart efficiency is about the same as it was the last time he had the stress test (about five years ago), but it isn't where the doctor would like to see it.  His stent is working fine.  The doctor did change up his medicine to see if we can have some better results - he said he wanted to get his blood pressure to around 110/60 instead of his normal 150/90.

Also, Dan does have sleep apena but he will NOT consent to the C-PAC machine.  The doctor is pretty sure that with the weight loss and exercise the sleep apena will go away.  Right now, we are trying elevating his upper body since he does not have the problem when "napping" in his recliner.  I have ordered a wedge for him to use and we will see how that works.

Well, the doctor ordered his medicine and after a little mix up at the pharmacy he started taking it Friday night.  Sunday I took his blood pressure and it was 113/60 and has been between 110/60 to the high of 115/63.  Dan says he can feel the difference and he says he feels better.  

Before we left Lake City we went by the new Hobby Lobby store that has just been open for about a week.  It was a really nice store and I picked up a couple of things for the house and for the girls Easter baskets that I would be mailing.

We had planned on going down to Lakeland from the doctor's office to see the girls play in their first soccer game, but we had to have some duct work done in the attic and it was suppose to be cool on Saturday morning.  So, instead of seeing my girls play, we had the A/C man here replacing about 20 feet of duct work, taping and mudding seams, and hanging the "new" duct work that was put in over the new family room.  The other A/C guy had left the duct work lying on the ceiling instead of strapping it to the rafters.  The new guy did all that on Saturday.  So, we should not have any more issues!  We can really tell the difference in the output of air - so that should help with the electric bill this summer.

Sunday I finally got the house and porch clean!  It was something that just kept being pushed to the back of the burner when other things came up.

I have never shown you pictures of the back patio area after we got all the dirt spread and some of the mulch down.  We still have a lot of work to do in the back but it looks so much better than it did and we sure enjoy using this area now.

Some of the plants

(The plant on the left is another 50 cent plant - give it a couple of weeks and see if it will come back)

This was a hollow log Dan found back in the woods that he brought home and we cut it different sizes and planted some plants in them.

Our other hummingbird feeder.

I also wanted to share some pictures of the back porch.

I have shared some on Facebook and I think on the blog, but only from one prespective.  I thought I'd do a better job and show you the whole porch.

sitting area

Dining

I love our little $5.00 pillow from WalMart.

I saw similar ones at Lowes for $30

I'm still looking for coffee mugs for this area.  We want to host some "Coffee On the Back Porch" soon for the neighbors.

My little bit of Easter decorations.

Which brings us to this week.

Yesterday I took mom to Gainesville for her doctors appointment.  It did not go well again.  She just seems to be angry with the world and nothing pleases her.  She is having some real problems being civil to anyone.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  I do have an appointment for her with another doctor in June - I guess I'll have to wait and see what that one says.

After I got home from Gainesville, Dan and I walked to the end of the cul-de-sac and back.  Then I power walked around the block.  (We are just getting Dan into this exercise thing -so it's baby steps). 

Today, I went to yoga and Dan went to the pool.  We was able to swim and exercise some without putting pressure on his knees.  We plan on walking three days a week and then going to yoga/pool two days a week and both of us going to the pool on Saturday (when we are home).  If we can continue to watch our diet and then add in the exercise, we should be able to lose the weight the doctor wants.  (BTW, I've lost another .8 pounds)

Well, that catches you up with all that has been going on so far this month.  The next couple of weeks don't look as busy right now, but who knows what they will fill up with.

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures.

Oops! I did it again!!!

Oh my intentions are good, but I just can't seem

to make myself walk in the office and sit down at this computer.

I don't know if it's because my office is a little on the chilly side

or if I'm just a little down that nothing is 

happening on the house yet.

I know, I keep saying that things are suppose to start - 

and we keep being told that they are - and

then NOTHING!

Well, let's see if I can get you caught up on the last couple 

of weeks.

The last time I wrote I told you that Dan had been

sick and that he had a doctor's appointment.

Well, turns out he had a cold

(or, as we call it, the man flu).

Anyway - he is all better and his cough

is almost all gone.

On Thursday, the 7th of January, Jessie Lee

had dental surgery.  She had been having some issues

before Christmas and had been on pain killers and antibiotics

since December.  So, it was time to have the surgery.

She had five teeth removed - but she is doing fine.

We took her in that morning and picked her up about 6

that afternoon.  She has gotten spoiled on the soft food

instead of her regular dry food so we are trying to transition her

back to her dry stuff - but so far, she is not having anything to do with that.

Of course, Dan is still giving her the soft stuff twice a day - but

maybe it will be a good way to start the process of stopping

her from "free feeding".

On that Friday I had my follow up appointment with the gynecologist in Gainesville.  I went down by myself, as Dan didn't want to leave Jessie all day.  It was fine and I was able to do a little shopping (looking).  He called in my prescriptions to a pharmacy that mixes them especially for me - that's great except the insurance company doesn't pay (and this stuff is not cheap) - plus I had to make another trip down to Gainesville on Tuesday the 12th to pick up the medicine.  I'm not completely sold on this yet, but I will give it a couple of months and see if it really does what the doctor says it will do.  If not - back to the patch for me.

I took mom with me on the 12th and we went to the mastectomy bra store and had her fitted - they had to order her bras and will not be in until the 22nd.  Which means I see another trip to Gainesville to pick those up - then, I have to have more blood work done the first week of February before my follow up with the gyno on the 12th of February.  Seems like doctors appointments will never end!  (This doesn't count the bone density test on the 29th)  I ready to scream ENOUGH!!!!!

(Oh, and mom had her follow ups with her surgeon, oncologist, and her bone density test on the 22nd of February.

 Whew!!!!

Okay, enough with the doctors!

A couple of things have happened around here!'

Last week we had six pine trees removed from the yard.

Three in the back yard that were leaning some toward the house.  We didn't want to build the new family room addition and then have a pine tree fall on the house.  We also had three in the front yard - one where the new drive way will go in and two that were diseased.

They would go up to the top of the tree in a 

bucket truck and start taking the

tree down.

One section at a time.

Then another truck would come in and pick

up the pieces.

While another man would get

everything in a pile.

And finally take the last of the trunk

down.

When they left there was no debris anywhere.

Now, they do need to come back, either later

this week or next, to do the stump grinding.

The stump grinder was not working - but as long

as it's done before the house construction is

finished I'm good.

The contractor also came by with the plumber, electrician, and 

dry wall guy to look at the plans and the layout of the

house.  We have been told that the drawing for the

new trusses has been sent to the engineer and when they

are approved the building permits can be drawn.

We are also waiting to meet with the general contractor and

the contractor supervisor - hopefully the end of this week.

Once that is done we should be ready to start.

Dan and I have been moving boxes out of my office area over to the storage room.  We have also rented another storage unit as we have to move EVERYTHING out of the house.  I don't think we will need another big unit, but Dan thinks we will.  Anyway, after the meeting mentioned above takes place I'll be packing up the kitchen and the rest of the house getting ready for   all the furniture to be

put away for awhile and we will be moving into the

camper.

We have had some of the coldest weather so far this winter this week - it was 29 degrees here this morning - and I have told Dan that they will want us to move into the camper when it is freezing.

We shall see!

That pretty much catches you up on the stuff going on around here.

As you can see - not much.

I might be going to Lake Placid to take care of the girls next week (or bring them here).  Lorelai has been sick and I might need to go down.

Guess I'll know later this week.

She had x-rays done this morning and we are waiting for the results.

I'll close for now -

Doctors, doctors, and more doctors

Well, it seems like all my time lately has been going to

different doctors.

On October 30th mom had her surgery down in Gainesville.  Since we had to be there so early in the morning we decided to go down the night before and spend the night.  So glad we did - Friday morning there was a dense fog advisory out and the visibility was less that 1/4 of a mile.  I would have been a nervous wreck driving those back roads, before dawn, with that kind of visibility.  We were at the hospital/Women's Center at 6:45 for her 7:00 check-in.  They took her back to pre-op by 7 - did all they had to do - then she went down for a nuclear test on her lymph nodes which took about an hour.  Then it was back to pre-op to wait for her turn.  She went back to surgery right around noon.  It was close to three hours before the surgeon came to me to let me know the surgery went well.  Plan was to release her from recovery to go home - around 5.

Well, at 6 the recovery team came for me and let me know that mom was having an issue with her respiration and would sometimes "forget to take a breath". They said that they would not release her until her respiration was above 85.  At 7:30 her respiration was still low and I told them that I was not comfortable with the idea of my driving two hours home, after dark, by myself with her.  The roads between Gainesville and Dowling Park are deserted and if I had a problem there would be no where to go for help.  The recovery room team called her doctor and he gave permission for her to be admitted for one night.  So, at 10 o'clock she was finally taken to a room and I left the hospital to find a room for the night.

Silly me, I thought that I wouldn't have any issue with finding a room for the night since the University of Florida was playing an away game - WRONG!  There was a music festival going on in town and hotels were booked solid.  After going to three different hotels one young lady at the desk called around and finally was able to locate a room for me (a premium room, but at that point I didn't care) and I made it to my room around midnight.

Back to the hospital by 9 in the morning and had mom in the car and on our way home before 10:30.  She has done amazingly well - no pain medication what so ever (other than Tylenol on Saturday) and she is up and doing things around the house.  I go down and check and empty her drains, make sure she is eating, and visit a few times a day - but she wants to be on her own.  

We have been back down to Gainesville twice to have her drains checked and have some staples removed.  The doctor told us yesterday that he would probably remove one drain next Monday along with half the remaining staples and the the last drain and staples the following Monday.  He gave us information for a shop that sells post mastectomy prosthetics and bras and we will go there after her appointment next week.  She should be ready for a bra by then.

Dan and I both had doctors appointments here in the Village last week - all is well but we have been referred all over the place.  Dan has to see the cardiologist in Lake City the day before Thanksgiving and I see a gynecologist  in Gainesville in December as well as getting a mammo done in December and a bone density test in Lake City in January.  Hopefully, once all that is done we will be through with doctors for a little while at least.

We have jumped through a couple of hoops here with the bank.  Finally have all the paperwork and plans from the contractor turned in to the bank, signed the loan application - have had a quote for the homeowners insurance done, and today we had the initial appraisal done.  We are hoping to close the middle of December and get the renovations started in January.  At least, that is the hope right now.

Other than that - things have been quiet around here.

What has been going on??

WOW!

Has it really been almost three weeks since I posted the last time?

So much has been going on - from keeping the 

little ones to working on stuff here

at the house.

Plus, Dan has hurt his knee and his back.

He has been going to the chiropractor every couple of days

(he is there now) and his back is better but

he is still having issues with his knee.

He also went to get his eyes checked yesterday and

found out that he has to have cataract surgery - 

to say that he is not a happy camper is a

major understatement! (I go to have my

eyes checked in July- I'm pretty sure that

I am going to need new glasses since it's been almost 10 years
since I had my eyes checked - YIKES!!!.)

Now, that all our medical issues have been

discussed let's talk about things better things.

Dan really worked hard on the pergola

before he hurt his back.

All the lattice is screwed down and ready for the
baby to play again outside
(now, if the rain storms would allow her
to go outside and it wasn't so
very hot!)

This picture was taken while he was working on the

plantings and the step.   As you can see

he didn't have everything painted

yet, but it is done now.

You can also see the garage sale find that

we picked up for Lorelai.

The playhouse does have a roof - we

had just painted it -

(we are going to paint the entire

house and make it really cute)

and it wasn't dry yet when I

took this picture.

Then Lorelai decided to help "P" with the

new steps.

She LOVES the broom!

Now, the steps are finished and some of the landscaping
is done.  We still have a few things to plant and
we have to mulch everything.  However, Dan wants to
finish some stuff up on the side of the open
porch before we finish this up.
Hopefully it will be done 
SOON!!!

On May 28th we went to Animal Kingdom!

Loved it!!!

All these pictures were taken with my
phone, so the quality isn't the best
but I think you can see
how much we enjoyed ourselves. 

We went early in the morning so we were on the
first safari tour and saw lots of animals.
We rode a couple of other rides -
the river rapids ride and went to a show -
we were going to do the Mt. Everest roller coaster but after
Dan getting a little stomach upset after riding
Space Mountain we decided that we
would by pass it this time.
We have decided that Animal Kingdom
is our new "favorite" park, but
Dan also decided that he is
done until the weather cools off some.

The next week we took off from the parks and decided
to go peach picking instead.

In about 10 minutes (or less) we had picked
this entire box of peaches.
These peaches are not huge but they were really, really
sweet!

The next week saw us with the sweet ones again before
leaving for the weekend.
Where did I go?
Well, to Disney World of course!
See, this past Saturday was this sweet one's second
birthday and we were going to spend it
at Disney World.

Melissa and Justin found a condo off "campus" for a reasonable
price that had three bedrooms, two baths, and a loft.
Why did we need so much room?
Well, Melissa's sister, Aunt "Tul" came in from
Nashville, and the kids dad came in from Georgia - not counting their half sister from Lakeland.

I went over and picked up Justin and the two girls Thursday afternoon and drove up to Avon Park to Melissa's office to pick her up.  Then is was off to Disney.  After checking into the condo and getting the cars unpacked we headed to the park for our first adventure.
We went to Hollywood Studios for the Disney Junior live show where
Lorelai and Ada saw all the characters from the Mickey Mouse Show, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Jake.  The two girls were enthralled and I don't think Ada blinked during the entire show.
Melissa and Justin were able to ride the Tower of Terror while I watched the girls (I don't do rides like that!) and then we went to the fireworks and laser show.  While it was not exactly what we thought it was going to be the girls really enjoyed it!

Friday we took the girls to Animal Kingdom.
Lorelai was so excited to see all the animals, especially
the giraffe and the elephants.  We did several other activities, like riding the dinosaurs, and "meeting" Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy.
Aunt "Tul" also arrived from Nashville to spend 
the rest of the weekend with us.

Playing with stickers while sitting in "Tul's" lap.

Saturday was actually Lorelai's birthday and we attended a character breakfast at one of the resorts.  Minnie, Goofy, and Donald (Lorelai's current favorite character) walked around and "posed" with the birthday people.
This picture was taken in the lobby as we were waiting to be seated.

I do have other pictures of the breakfast - but they are not on this
computer - I'll explain that later and hopefully will post some of 
those at a later date.

Justin's parents, youngest sister, Melissa's half sister, and her dad were also at the breakfast along with Aunt Tul, Melissa, Justin, me and the kids.  The
food was EXCELLENT - much better than I thought it would be since it was a breakfast buffet.  Everything I had was very good - and while the price was high (isn't everything at Disney?) it was a very good meal.

After breakfast some of us headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a very long day.  The kids had such a great time and were so good.

Meeting Goofy and Donald:

Getting a bite to eat:

Ada decided to take a nap and suck her thumb
(Aunt "Tul" forgot her pacifier) while
we watched the show in front of the 
castle.

Oh, I just had to buy her that little hat - didn't want her
head to get sunburned.

And of course we HAD to ride the one ride my
dad (who helped build Disney World in 1970 - 1971)
refused to go on because he had listened to the song
over and over, and over again on his 18 hour shifts during
the final weeks of construction.

It's A Small World

I really don't have any pictures of Lorelai on this ride
since she was sitting in the seat in front of us - but
she would point out all the different things.
She really seemed to enjoy the ride.

Ada was pretty happy for the first part of the ride,
but then she decided she had had enough and
cried and fussed for the second half.
She was NOT a happy baby.
(I'm sure my dad was laughing in heaven!)

Sunday we spent some time around the pool before
the kids dad and Emily left to go home.
I packed up and headed back home around 3:30
leaving the kids and Crystal in Orlando.
Crystal flew out Sunday night and the
kids enjoyed one final night of
"vacation" with no one there but their family.
They headed back home on Monday.

Monday I thought I would be able to sit back and get a little time to recoup from the weekend, but that was not to be.
Dan and I went out for breakfast then headed into Sebring to the grocery store to pick up a few things for Lorelai - you know things like milk, fruit, and the staple around here of Mac and Cheese.
My mom came over when we got back home - she wanted me to check something for her on my computer.  I had just gotten on the website when I hear a bang and my computer goes off immediately.
Figured that was not a good thing and I was right.
It could have been worse but the power converter had blown up.
To make a long story somewhat short we went back into Sebring to get a new one.  However, after much discussion, we decided that I would get a new computer and Dan would take my old laptop.  They only had one in the store - the floor model - and we got an additional 10% off the price (which was on sale).  The biggest problem was it had to be reformatted which meant we couldn't pick it up until the next day.  So, since it was after 5 by the time we finished everything we stopped at Chili's for dinner.  Oh, and in case you are wondering, we did get a power converter (at WalMart) and I have transferred all my pictures from the old laptop to a external hard drive.
That is why I didn't have the birthday pictures on the blog today - I had already downloaded the pictures and I haven't put anything on this one yet.

Well, this has turned into a small book - so I think I will close for now.
I hope to be able to post once a week from now on.

Have a great week and I'll leave you with one more picture.

Here is "P" taking a nap with three of his girls.
Lorelai, Jessie, and Samantha.

Talk to you soon!

Hugs!!!