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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Squeezing in a Little Fun

It's kinda like being in the working world again.  The commute, the responsibility and the rewards.  The best part about working for family is getting to see them so often!  I think the kids believe that we're a regular fixture now.  No more "PomPom and Poppy!!!"  It's just "hi, PomPom".  Either way, it's great!  The worst part is the 80 mile commute and the gas prices!  Yikes.

We are now working 3 days a week - MWF - just so I can get extra things done, like the windows, moving furniture to get underneath, and packing.  It's hard work, and my sciatica doesn't like it one bit.  Fortunately, I recuperate enough on my days off to do it all over again! 

I've been researching some pain relief other than drugs.  Turmeric (or curcumin - the ingredient that makes the root yellow) apparently has a lot of positive effects on many ailments.  More and more Doctors are looking into this root, a member of the ginger family, for the medicinal benefits.  Of course, I will check with my doctor to see if this is worth taking, as she believes in natural cures to an extent. 

Gary saw the gastroenterologist yesterday, and we scheduled an endoscopy to see what's down there that could be causing the difficulty in swallowing.  That's next week.  Today was PUVA and Physical Therapy for his shoulder.  Happily the PT prescribed playing golf - well, chipping for right now - as therapy.  He's getting out his golf clubs right now.

Tomorrow Gary will see another important doctor - an electron radiologist - that will hopefully be able to relieve some of the discomfort around his eyes.  He will be on his own, as I will be "at work".  I can't wait to hear the results. 

Last Friday we scooted over to Universal for a fun day just by ourselves.  We rode what we wanted to and didn't ride what we didn't want to. 

Dr. Doom's Fearfall - awesome!


At Margaritaville - yummy!

It was a relaxing day, with lots of Canadians visiting as spring breaks begin up there.  I remember those days!  When I lived in Canada for 15 years, I began looking forward to that spring break around September.  We always went to Florida for fun and sun (and WARMTH!).  I promised myself that I would live in Florida someday.  And dreams come true!  But in this life, we get to follow the sun where ever it is, which is so much more exciting! 

Still have no idea where we will be or when, but we really want to get up to Raleigh before we head out west to see more family and friends.  One of these days...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

New Jobs for Us

Just to catch you all up on our boring lives:  Gary was taken off Targretin - his lipid levels were too high and we didn't want to incorporate a cardiologist into our clan.  Five doctors is enough, thank you very much.

So now we are going to try electron beam radiology when the new Dr. sets up an appointment.  He will continue the PUVA until further notice.  That's twice a week, and the Physical Therapist is once a week.  There is one more Doctor we are looking forward to seeing - a gastroenterologist.  We believe (and so do other doctors) that because of Gary's full body radiation two years ago now he has developed a condition called dysphagia.  This is an obstruction or spasm of the oesophagus which makes it very difficult for him to swallow.  Of course this interferes with one of his favorite sports - eating - so this is a doctor he is looking forward to seeing next week.  Onward...

After we cleaned off all the little fingerprints from every conceivable surface of Bella, we ran out to get some real food back in our cupboards.  However, when we did cook, the kids loved their food on a stick.




It was time to start the taxes and pay bills.  We will be looking forward to our refund doncha know.

We had a family birthday party for our 11 year old grand, Lance, who wanted turkey for dinner.  We got that in the oven around 5:30, cooked all the sides on the stove and finally ate around 9.  I love turkey and of course with all the melatonin the kids ate, they fell asleep practically at the table. 

I was getting a cold, which Gary will undoubtedly share with me, so we cleaned up and headed home.  Saturday I felt a little worse, but not too bad.  Gary got the sore throat warning, but also discovered a Harbor Freight Tools store nearby.  We thought we might get a jack there (since we couldn't find one at the flea market) to put under our steps.  But Bob, our next door neighbor said he thought it was just loose on one side.  We'll have to investigate how to fix that. 

I worked on Lance's 'base' for his school Wax Museum Day.  He is going to be a trophy of Jackie Robinson.  A baseball outfit will be sprayed gold, and his face and hands will have gold makeup, and he will stand on this for an hour!

That took a few hours of fun to complete. 

Then we tackled a few jobs around the homestead.  Gary put new grommets in our outdoor carpet for the tie-downs.  I completed restringing my bedroom shade and rehung it.  Gary fixed the stove burner that somehow (probably when cleaning) became detached and wouldn't light. 

And we added another panel to our fridge.  The problem was the strip casing was too long to slide up.  It hit our ceiling - even when we removed our air vent cover adding a couple more inches.

Taking off the door was not an option as there was a screw that was unaccessible.  We determined these panels needed to be put on before the fridge was installed.  The only thing anyone could do was to cut the strip as low as possible, remove both pieces and the handle, slide in the black panel and reassemble the strips and handle.   I got to saw the strip in half and it worked like a dream!  The last panel will need a corner cut from it to fit around the water dispenser.  We will need a very thin blade and a drill bit for the corner. 



I love tackling these jobs.  As long as they are solvable, it makes us feel more and more confident, and it's fun!. 

Oh, yeah, our jobs.  Daughter Michelle thinks they might need to move, and she was not satisfied with her present cleaning ladies.  She asked if I would like to clean their home twice a week for six hours a day.  Then, because of some fixit issues, asked Gary if he would be up to fixing a few things around the house.  We both said yes, so now I am a cleaning lady and Gary is a handyman!  We are also helping sort, donate and pack up stuff so they can start showing the house in a few weeks.  Hey, it's income.

Of course, I'd rather be in Texas doing another job, but we may get there one of these days.  I haven't given up hope yet. 

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Back to Normal

Mommy and Daddy came home from their trip to California at midnight on Thursday, so the kids are back to their routine.  Even though they are happy to be with Mom and Dad, they really had fun with their grandparents.  You know the old adage:  "Spoil them rotten and send them home"?  Well, of course that is just what we did!

Wednesday we took Graham to Universal Studios so that he could do anything he wanted.  We found out that he was a little timid without his bigger brothers and sisters to try new things, but he had a ball on the 'just his size' rides.  I will share some pictures:


trying on Harry Potter's glasses
crossing the rope bridge
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Dr. Seuss Carousel
Six hours later, we left tired but content.  Of course, he slept the hour home, getting his second wind, and finally fell asleep again at 10:30.  Then it was lights out for all of us.

Now it's time to get started on taxes and those nasties called bills.  It doesn't matter where we go, they seem to find us anyway. 

Monday, February 6, 2012

Busy with the Grands

Sorry there haven't been many posts.  We are really busy with the grandchildren while their parents are on a trip to California for a week.  Thursday, when they arrive back home, we will be able to take a breath and report on what's new.

However, we do have an update on the 'PILL'.  Gary got his prescription for Targretin on Friday, and asked CVS to fill it.  They would call him on Monday to let him know it was in.  Monday it is, and at 4:30, Gary could wait no longer and called them.  After checking on his presecription, they called back to tell him that it was discontinued!  They will call his Doctor tomorrow morning to find out what to do.   Interesting...  what's next?

We'll keep you posted.....