A funny old time

We are in the dog days of summer here.  As we age we don't cope very well in the heat.  My husband always loved the sun and heat but now he stays indoors most of the time, as do I.

There is a festival going on in town but we are not going because of the heat.  Will be happy when it cools down a bit.

I had my birthday at the beginning of the month and I got a wind spinner for the back garden.  I wanted a good solid one and it is lovely but it needs quite a lot of wind to make it work.  I tried to upload a video of it working but to no avail. Here is a photo instead.

We have had a couple of bad storms the last couple of days so we got to see it in action.  One storm last night hit quite badly less than a mile away from us.  People who witnessed said it was like a tornado with debris flying around.  I am sure glad it didn't make it here. and pray no one was hurt or incurred a lot of damage.  I know trees were uprooted.

Got a good report from my kidney doctor this week.  Everything is stable, actually, slightly improved.  I still have chronic kidney disease, because, once the damage is done it is irreversible but it is not getting worse which is such a blessing.

My husband is getting a heart pacemaker fitted later this month, we knew eventually he would need one and that time has come.  I think he will feel better afterwards as they set a minimum heart beat.  For a long while his has been too slow unless he is in afib.  I think when it slows down it sets off the afib, but I am not a doctor lol.  But I hope I am right and the afib episodes become less frequent.

So, as I said, funny old times but life continues to be good and we are grateful we have made it this far.

Hope everything is good in your worlds.........

I finally made something!

 My blog, originally, was about the things I make.  Over the years I have slowed down and the last year has been taken up with moving, health issues and surgery. Making things ground to a halt!

At the beginning of March I started on making Mrs Claus to go with the Santa I made several years ago.  Well, yesterday, I finally got her finished.  There was no rush on this as it is only mid July, and I knew I wouldn't be able to work on her post surgery for a couple of months. But here she is in all her glory:-

Her skin color is a bit too pink but when I went to buy the yarn (wool) it was all they had.  Not too happy with the nose either but I did exactly what the pattern said.  I do not like going back and redoing things so this is how she stays.

Woops, now it is past coffee time!

Oh, and well done England so yes, we were still smiling after the match.

Hope everything is going well in your lives.....

All is good with the shoulder!

 I went for my 3 month check up and xrays this past week and all is good!  The surgeon said everything looked great.  My range of movement is excellent and I have to keep working on strengthening my arm.  He said it takes about 6 months for the muscles to fully repair so keep on with the exercises.  Once my current stint of physio is done in two weeks I just need to keep working on the strength myself he said.

Other than that not much else happening although we are following the world cup closely and look forward to the two games today.  Come on England!!!

Chat GPT, I call him Chas, generated this picture for me of us watching the game this afternoon.  I hope our faces are just as happy looking when it is over!

My Obsessiveness

 I am, and always have been prone to being obsessive.  

My latest one is I want an embroidery machine.

Now, sewing machines have always been my passion , since I was about 7 years old. I had to downsize from 7 to 3 when we moved house last year due to space limitations.

I kept my treadle machine, (because if the world goes to pot and we lose power, I will still be able to sew), my old Japanese Standard electric one, (because it is in my sewing cabinet and will probably outlast any modern machine), and my Brother SQ9285 which I bought from a thrift store for $35.

The treadle and the Standard have sentimental value because I worked hard to restore them and get them nicely cleaned up and working.

The SQ9285 is a very basic embroidery machine in as much as it has about 150 different stitches programmed into it and can do simple characters. It can be programmed for up to 35 characters at once so I tried doing my name. It came out quite well.  But,  like I said, it is pretty basic, but fun to play with.  So I am going to take the time to learn this machine properly, because, in all honesty, what would I do with a fancy embroidery machine, other than play with it and maybe put a few motives on a few clothes.

Also, several years ago I bought a set of many different sewing feet and I want to try using some of them.  Plenty to keep me occupied without spending any money!

For any English or European readers I pray that the heatwave abates soon.  I know the houses are not really equipped to deal with such heat, unlike here in the US and Canada where almost every home has air conditioning or at least ceiling fans.

Be safe my friends.......

Plodding on with life

Life is settling down again.  Still getting physio therapy for my arm but it is getting more range of motion and strength so that is good.

We are expecting my stepson tomorrow for a few days, he is flying in to spend Father's Day with my husband.  Looking forward to that.

We got a new ceiling fan and light installed in our living room.  Every other room had one.  It is so much more pleasant now to sit and watch TV and hopefully it will pay for itself over time with lower air conditioning costs.  This is Maggie earlier today enjoying it's benefits.

We also got a new fridge freezer.  This one has the fridge on the top.  The other one is still OK and we have moved it into the sunroom for overflow.  The new one is so much better for me though as I don't have to bend to get things out.

We got a good deal on it in the Memorial Day sale at Home Depot.  I am never sure if these things are a con or not but in this case it was genuinely $450 off, as the current price is now back up.  And added to that we got another $150 off for spending more than $1,500.  Prices on new appliances have sky rocketed in the last year or so but I don't think they will go back down anytime soon.  This is the first brand new fridge freezer I have had in nearly 40 years as usually there was one in any property we purchased. I hope it will be as reliable as some of the older ones we have had.  It is very well designed inside and holds a lot more than the old one.

I think that completes all the changes we planned to make to this house.

I have some new health issues.  I am now on a low dosage of thyroid medication as tests indicated that I have under active thyroid.  My diabetes meds have been upped too.  Not sure why as my A1C was 6.5 and I didn't think that was so bad.  Having to get a CT scan of my back too.  X-rays raised some concerns so they want a better look.

Weather has been reasonable for this time of year so no complaints there although we did have a tornado scare last week and we had to retreat to an inner room.  The sirens were going off to warn people.  Lots of rain too so far this year, which is a good thing as we had been in a bit of a drought last year.

Hope life is treating everyone well.....

I am ready!!!

 Wednesday is the last day of wearing the sling and I am sooooo ready for it to come off for good.

This will be me on Thursday!

Hope all is good in your worlds.....

Lesson learned today

 Trying to set up my sewing machine and sew with it is not easy with a sling!

But I did manage to repair my husband's favorite squishy pillow using it!

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Do you remember that game?  Where the hippo's neck extends to catch the marbles?  Well, that's like my left arm now.  It keeps stretching forward out of the sling to do things it probably shouldn't be doing lol.

I have another three weeks wearing it and I will persevere, I will, but oh my it is so frustrating!  Like now, I am using both hands to type.  Hungry Hippo just can't be contained sometimes!

Not being able to drive is also very frustrating.  But, again, I will adhere and not drive until the sling comes off.  

I am doing all the exercises I am allowed right now so when the real physio therapy starts in another 3 weeks I will have a head start.

My daughter's knee replacement recovery is also going well, like me, she is a little impatient, but we keep reminding each other that it is little baby steps at first and not full blown marathons.

The weather here has been amazing.  Finally, a proper Spring with nice temperatures.  We are loving it.

Hope all is good in your worlds.........

2 week post op was all good

 It's been two weeks now.  Pain is much reduced but arm has to stay in the sling for another 4 weeks.  They took off the outer dressing today which looked like duct tape. There is still a white strip left but the doc said it will be gone in about 2 weeks.

I have one more exercise to do now several times a day.  I can let the arm hang down by my side for a few minutes at a time.

Dressing is difficult one armed and so is typing.  I need help with showering but I can do an awful lot one handed I am finding.

Not being able to drive has been a pain, not to mention costly, having to get a ride service has stretched the budget.

We did find a handyman though for some small jobs we needed doing, that was a blessing and now we have someone to call when we need other jobs doing.

Husband has been an amazing help for which I am grateful.

Not much else happening, but that is a good thing.

Appetite came back today so we ordered Pizza delivery which was delicious.

Surgery done and I am home

 It went well the doctor said. I have to keep my arm in an immobilizing sling for six weeks. Feeling pretty rough. Will update when I feel better.

Been down with the flu!

 I have had a bout of something yukky, I hope I am on the road to recovery.  I did clear post op testing so the surgery is set for the 17th. I didn't know I was sick when I went for post op thingy, I thought it was my allergies, but it got a lot worse.

This was me this morning lol.  Apologies for the profanity but it is so apt!

First meals on wheels came this morning.  Haven't tried it yet but it looks pretty darned good.  I forgot when I asked for them to start today that it was Easter weekend and I have a ham also, barely touched.  I foresee a lot of the ham being frozen in the next day or so.

It will come in useful when I am in the sling for 6 weeks.

Our new aide started today.  Not sure if she will work out, she seems to just want to sit around and chat.  We need help, not company.  We have each other for that.  She didn't volunteer to do anything.  Had to be asked all the time.  She sat while I worked!  Something wrong with that picture.  

Maybe she will get better.

Hope all is good in your worlds.......

Trying to get prepared for post surgery!

 The days are flying by and I am trying to get things organised for when I come home from the hospital.  I have been in touch with our local Meals on Wheels and they can deliver meals for us starting as soon as next week.  There is a weekly charge of $28 for 5 meals a week, so $56 for the two of us.  They deliver daily. To me that sounds like absolute bliss.  They deliver daily and there is always a dessert included.  The meals are diabetic friendly the lady told me.  BUT!, there's that word again lol.  My husband is a picky eater.  So I might just order them starting next week for myself to try them out and my husband can see if he would be interested in getting them too.  $224 a month I think is reasonable considering the price of food these days and the convenience will be wonderful.

I will just make things for him for a week for lunch and I am hoping he will like what they do and will want them also.  When I have one arm out of use for 6 weeks in a sling I will not be doing any cooking so he will have to make his own or eat the meals on wheels dinners.  I am taking bets on what he decides lol.

I have numbers for alternative means of transport so our trips for doctors and hospital visits should not be a problem.

We had a bit of a set back with yet another 2 trips to the ER for my husband.  He had another abscess come up, this time on his chest and it was very close to where his loop recorder is implanted under his skin and attached to his heart.  The VA nurse told me to take him straight to the ER.  Another 12 hour stint in the ER but they gave him intravenous antibiotics and sent us home with a prescription for a course of antibiotics for him to take for 10 days.  It hasn't healed up yet. The other trip was for his back which left him in excruciating pain. They managed to help the pain with very strong painkillers, anti-inflammatory shots and lidocaine patches.  He is now getting physical therapy at home to try and strengthen his back muscles.

His aide also told us she was quitting and moving to Montana.  That is sad, she has been a great help to him and to me.  Hoping her replacement will be as good.

I have also arranged for a mowing company to come and mow the grass every two weeks.

Next week we have appointments Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. After the abscess thing his electro physiologist wants to see him on Monday. I think they want to see if he has to have the loop recorder removed and also fit a pacemaker.  He also has to have  CT scan for his pulmonologist. I have CT scan and pre-op stuff on Tuesday and Wednesday he sees his pulmonologist.  He had nodules show up in his lungs last scan and she wants to see if they are stable.

A busy few weeks ahead for sure.

Hope all is good in your worlds.......

The date is set for surgery!

 Well, I made the decision to go ahead and get the surgery after meeting with the surgeon,  He said the arthritis is very severe and I have foreign bodies floating around in there too.  So, mid April, I get it done.

It is the opposite of knee surgery as you have to keep your arm in a sling for 6 weeks and do no exercise or put any weight or pressure at all on it.  After 6 weeks the physio begins.

I am hoping for good long term benefits as short term it will be very painful and inconvenient.  

In the 'making things' category, I have been knitting.  I am making Mrs Claus to go with the Santa I knitted a couple of years ago.  I can't do much at a time because it hurts my left arm to knit but Christmas is a long way away so I have plenty of time.  I just finished the legs, body and head which is knitted in one piece.

The front and back yards (gardens, for my English readers) are springing into life.  Lots of bulbs popping up.  The lilac tree out front is budding. I can't wait to see it in full flower.  I love lilac.

Might have to get a lawn service this year as riding the mower might be too hard on my arm until it heals and gets back to full strength.

Have to research ready made meal deliveries and local transport options as I won't be able to drive for a few weeks.  We already get groceries delivered.  My husband now has an aide come in 3 times a week so she will be able to help with the chores and some food prep.

We like to watch F1 racing and this year it is on Apple TV so we have subscribed to it until F1 ends at the end of the year.  Meanwhile we watched a great 7 part series on it over the weekend called Hijack with Idris Elba.  It was brilliant, very tense and exciting.  Plus Apple TV does not have adverts so that is a big bonus.  Apparently there is a second series too. Yay!

Hope everyone is doing OK.....

My shredding station

A post on another blog prompted this post.

My husband and I were talking about changes in our lives this morning and how we missed our old property, the land and the isolation.

But, things can't go on for ever without change. we know that. We were no longer able to keep up the work on the land or the house and we needed to be closer to medical facilities to reduce the amount of driving I had to do. Plus we needed a home all on one level.  We have all that now and our new home is quite delightful.

What attracted us in particular to this house was the sun room addition.  It was very professionally done and was made to look like a part of the house and not just an afterthought tacked on.  It has nine windows. We spent a lot of time in there when we first moved in because it was the most organised room in the house.  We needed at least one space that wasn't filled with boxes and stuff to put away.  We also set up our computers in there until we got our own studio/offices sorted out to use.

We now have our rooms all sorted.  My husband uses his as his studio where he writes and produces his ebooks and audio books and mine is where I have my computer desk, my craft desk and sewing machine cabinet plus my supplies/materials etc.  Alas, there was no room for a shredding station.  

In the old place we just used to burn our old paperwork on the burn pile, there were no city statutes to adhere to.  Here, it is different.  But, as we went through a period of drought last year, we were not able to burn as it was too risky living on a property full of trees and in a house made of wood.  So we had a lot of paperwork that we had to bring with us to dispose of.

Hence, the shredding station came into being.

I purchased a shredder , I already had the bins. Shredding to do on the left and shredded bits on the right.

I find shredding very therapeutic and when I have a pile of things to shred I sit out in the sunroom and shred away, usually with a cup of coffee to hand.  The table to the right is my jigsaw table.  I have a new one ready to start on. That room is our space to chill.  No TV in there just the views through the many windows.  We have a lot of squirrels who love to play in the trees and run around the yard and I have set up the bird feeder out there too.  The birds took a little while to find it but now they are turning up to eat.  I can also watch them from my office/sewing room.  It is a squirrel proof feeder and so far so good, they have left it alone.  I hung it on the washing line post.

Each year, for Valentine's day, my husband buys me a teddy bear and I buy him a plush dog.  We had to go to small ones as we had quite the haul of them over 21 years.  This is this year's cutie and some prior years ones.  I have a hammock to put up for some that are still bagged up, just need to find a good handyman who can put it up.

We have several jobs that need doing that we can no longer tackle ourselves so that is a priority of mine to find a good local handyman.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Decision to be made!

For those who have followed my blog for years, you know I have had both knees replaced.  (2021 and 2022). The surgeries went well but the recovery period was quite painful and stressful.  But I am grateful and happy that I had them done and my quality of life has improved enormously. Prior to those surgeries I had 2 disks replaced in my neck and again the recovery was painful but the overall benefits made it worth it.

I have had left shoulder problems for years too but have lived with it.  But the pain, discomfort and loss of movement, in the past year or so, prompted me to see what solutions were available.

I saw an orthopedic PA today who has referred me to a surgeon to check out a shoulder replacement.  I have an appointment with him next week.  My shoulder is bad enough that surgery is recommended.

Do I want to go through another surgery and recovery?  Absolutely not! But will the benefits outweigh the pain and stress?  Who can tell?  So I will have to make a decision if the surgery is offered.  At the rate this has progressed I will not have much time before I have to decide.  I had X-rays last week, saw the Orthopedic PA today and see the surgeon next week.  Yikes!  No complaints about the healthcare system here, that's for sure.

Hope all is good in your worlds!

Tree removal, snow and a very nice neighbor

Along with a lot of the US we got quite a lot of snow!  The day before it started we had 5 trees taken down in our back yard and some others trimmed.

I love trees and it was a tough decision, both financially and mentally. A very large split tulip tree was vey close to the house and if it fell it would have destroyed our home.  Likewise a large pin oak tree that was leaning toward the house would have destroyed the end of the house if it fell.  Now we have had experience of trees falling down on our previous property.  Fortunately, they were not close to the house there. But we know it can happen, and didn't want to take the risk.  Two smaller trees were dead and we would have cut them down ourselves in the spring. Finally, a split oak tree along our fence-line was leaning over the neighbor's property behind us and was dead.  If it had fallen it would have destroyed the back end of their house.

It was a hive of activity.  Two large cranes, two Caterpillar bob cats, a large trailer for the logs and a very large wood chipper for the branches plus 15 men. They had to take down the new fence on one side to get the equipment into the back yard.  

The very tall pin oak leaning towards our house

The dead split oak tree back left, leaning over the property behind and the two spindly dead ones in the centre

The very tall and large split tulip tree which was very close to the middle of the house

We were devastated to have to have them removed but safety has to be our main concern.  Last year, prior to us buying this house, some very bad storms came through this area and took down a lot of trees and a lot of homes were badly damaged.  They cleared away all the mess they made and put the fence back up.  Very little damage was done.  There are a couple of dents in the back lawn we will need to fill up with dirt when the snow goes away.  They were caused by the crane's stabilisers. And one pop up cover for the excess drainage was broken.  Must see where I can buy a replacement for that!

Last night our very kind neighbor from across the street cleared our driveway for us.  This is the first direct contact we have had with any of our neighbors.  Hopefully, this has opened up the channel of communication with her.  Have to find a way to repay her kindness.

We finally got to see my husband's new Primary Care Doctor at the VA clinic here in town.  That is a relief. He was still covered by the VA but his PCP was 100+ miles away until we could get the transfer finalised.  Now all of his providers are either at the local VA clinic or the nearby hospital.

I get to see a nephrologist next week here in town who will take over my kidney disease care.  I think it is stable and as long as I continue to remain stable, all is good.

We have to go outside this afternoon to blow and sweep the snow off of the vehicle. The sun is out even though it is below freezing so some snow is melting slowly.

Hope all is well with you all and you are keeping warm and safe...

Making life a little easier

Our new home, now we are mostly sorted, is much easier to keep clean and tidy.  It doesn't get as dusty and dirty as our country home did and I was finding it difficult to keep on top of things when we lived there.

My daughter and her family usually club together and send me some cash for Christmas, which I really appreciate.

On a visit to our favourite fish and chips restaurant before Christmas I noticed that the person cleaning the tables was using what looked to be a motorised carpet sweeper to clean the floors. It was made by Shark and he said it was rechargeable,  It was doing a great job of picking up the bits from the floor.

I googled it when we got home.  It is what it looks like, basically, a motorised carpet sweeper and it claimed it was great for pet hair.

Maggie our white American bulldog, who we have had since she was 5 weeks old and is now in her 11th year, sheds little short white hairs all the time.

I took the plunge and purchased one from Walmart which had them on sale for $49.99.  The regular price is supposedly $69.99. I used some of the Christmas gift money from my family.  We put the rest toward a new hard drive for my husbands MAC mini which freed up his old one so I could use it in my MAC.

I have to say this thing is amazing.  It is lightweight, has a long handle, picks up all the bits and dog hairs and I can do the whole house on one charge.  I am not being paid for this review, just wanted to let other folks know how good it is. And, no cords to trip over.  It is a pleasure to use. Much nicer than using the vacuum cleaner.

On other fronts, we had our furnace/cooling system extended into the sunroom yesterday.  The furnace people came and put another ducting run under the floor into the sunroom.  During the daytime we leave the door into the sunroom open and the heat from the house and also the heat from the sun coming through the windows keeps it nice and warm but in the summer it isn't enough to keep the sunroom cool.  Also we close and lock the door into it at night, for added security, so it gets very cold in there overnight this time of year.  Hopefully, this will be the answer and nothing else needs to be done.  We had discussed putting a mini split ac/heating unit in there but that is a lot more expensive.  Fingers crossed this will be the solution.

Finally got caught up with all my chores and washing so planning a reasonably easy weekend and will watch some play off games.

Hope all is good in your worlds.

Not tempting fate!

 Every year I pick up something from the Christmas stuff on sale, at much reduced prices, ready for the following year.  This year, I had gone through all my Christmas stuff and downsized it because of lack of storage space in our new home.  So I really didn't need any more!

I was discussing this with my husband, when I thought, 'Am I tempting fate by not sticking to tradition?'  We both agreed it was better not to do that, so I dropped what I was doing and hi-tailed it to Walmart.  I got a nice haul of wrapping paper and some nice sparkly bells to hang on our walls.  Now I had bought a set of these bells before Christmas for nearly $7 and was happy with that price as they are really nice and sparkly, and I love sparkly! They were now $1.75 a set, so 3 more sets jumped into my shopping cart.

The wrapping paper fit into my wrapping paper container so no more space needed but the extra sets of bells needed a tote of their own.  But my Christmas stuff is now really nicely organised and I hope the totes will all fit nicely back into the shed. And I kept up with my tradition, so all is good.

The house is back to normal. I miss the colourfulness of Christmas though!  Only another 10 3/4 months and I can get it all back out!

Take care everyone!

What will 2026 bring?

2025 was a year of big changes for us.  We sold our wonderful country property and moved to the city. After 20 years of living in the middle of nowhere, with no traffic coming past our home, we moved to quite a busy road with lots of traffic.

It has taken a lot of getting used to I can tell you! But there are lots of advantages too.  In the early hours of Christmas morning, my husband went into another neuro crisis.  I had to call the ambulance as he couldn't move or talk and was having myoclonic shaking.  They arrived quickly and took him to the hospital ER which is just a mile or so away.  They stabilised him and had him under observation for several hours. When they were satisfied he was responsive and able to move and talk, they released him.  A five minute drive and we were home.

We went to bed and slept until the late afternoon so Christmas dinner and gift unwrapping were put off until the next day and we spent the rest of the day not doing much.

I have spent the 'twixmas' period transitioning to a new to me Mac mini 2020. My husband had upgraded to a newer and bigger capacity Mac Mini 2024 as he needed it for his writing and publishing.  My old PC was so old it wouldn't upgrade to Windows 11 and was no longer supported and was beginning to do weird things like just shut down in the middle of doing something.  I didn't want to go to Mac but it made sense to do so.  I got an nice new bluetooth wavekeys keyboard and bluetooth mouse for Christmas and now I am all set up on the Mac.  I did some re-organising in my office/sewing room and now I have more room on my desk to work.

The old PC is set up on my other desk which I want to use for crafting but I am still copying files off of it onto an external hard drive so I can access them on this new one.  I have to get another external drive to go in the caddy as the Mac doesn't have as big a drive as my old PC.  When I have all the files I need I will clear the other desk and will be free to use it for card making etc.

We are slowly getting settled into our new home and life. 

The house is lovely, it is much more practical for us as it is just one level.  Albeit smaller, we have made adjustments with furniture and belongings, and it is no longer cluttered.

We each have our own room.  My husband uses his as his office/studio for his writing and as stated above, mine is my office/sewing room.  We only have three bedrooms so no spare bedroom.  We could put a blow up mattress in the sunroom if needed.

So 2025 bought new home, new computers, new to us furniture, and disposal of a lot of clutter.

Someone said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.  So I don't have plans, just preferences.

I prefer that our life settles down now and there will be minimal changes in the year to come.  That's it!

So my blogging friends, I wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year and look out for more comments from me as I can comment now on Blogger on this Mac! That makes me so happy. I always felt like a stalker when I read your blogs every day but never commented.