Sunday, December 28, 2008
First Port of Call - Rome, Italy
After the Pantheon and the Trevey Fountain, our driver, Gilberto, took us to a typical family restaurant for lunch. We skipped the octopus and a few of the other odd looking dishes but we did enjoy most of the others that the owner/operator had on display. All in all it was very good!
The afternoon was spent touring The Vatican with our own guide who communicated with us via a headset that each of us wore and the microphone that she wore. Without her we would have been lost. But as it was we had a very good afternoon. A treasure of the world, The Vatican houses many statues, paintings, tapestries, and mosaics. The barrel-shaped ceilings of the exhibit halls is absolutely awe-inspiring and I was very glad that we had such a great guide for the tour.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My Grandmother
Nannie particularly likes the dogs and thinks they are very smart. Of course, they are! And she was most impressed with them going and getting in their kennel whenever I said we had to go and that I wanted them to go get in their bed! They are always very much in favor of going to bed (because they get to have a treat!).
Next we drove over to Wyndell (my uncle, Nannie's youngest son)'s house to see if he could fix the phone. He couldn't do it either. After a short visit with Frieda (my aunt, Nannie's daughter-in-law, we left and stopped by the phone store to get it fixed and sure enough when I took it in the girl I asked just punched a couple of buttons and oila! it was fixed!
So then before I took her back to her home, we stopped in Minyards to get some table salt, and some biscuits that she needed to make the dressing that she's planning to bring to my house next week for Thanksgiving. She was able to really move quickly as long as she had the walker in front of her. As we checked out she managed to get them to try to guess how old she is and when they found out she was 105 they could not believe it! Of course then they have the usual question: "what have you done to keep yourself looking so good?"
Her answer is that she has worked hard all of her life. She enjoyed the attention that they gave her and then we left again and went back to her apartment. I thought she did pretty well considering that she wasn't really planning to leave for the day. Hopefully she didn't get too tired from all of that getting up and going out anf about.
I think that we may do it again sometime soon. We'll see!
Closer and closer...
While I'm very excited about our trip the most important thing right now is that my mom is having out-patient surgery on Wednesday of this week. I will be her care giver or as I think of it her "watcher outer" and will be staying over at her house at least until the weekend and until she can move around better on her own. She will have the carcinoma that they found from the spot on her right leg (between her knee and her ankle) removed and a small skin graft will be made over it. So she will then be sent home with instructions to not move that leg and it will be in a splint in order to remind her of that!
I'm planning to take our dogs, Buffy and Willow over to her house with me because Jim will be in Washington, DC, during that time. Rather than make James be responsible for the dogs all that time we're gone plus this week and, because I know that Mother will enjoy the two of them sitting in her lap, etc., they are going with me. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday (just a check up to make sure my stimulators are doing what they should be and will be for the rest of the year while I'm off on the other side of the world).
My brother, Scott, lives with my mom, but works odd hours--from about 3:30 in the am until 2:00 or so in the afternoon. So he's really not a lot of help when it comes to her getting some help. My brother Clay will be there at the hospital too so he can help a little bit that day as much as he can because he, just as Scott does, has to go to work. So, it fell to the "retired" family member (that would be me) to be there the most.
That reminds me of my grandmother with whom I spent the day yesterday. But that's another story...:)
Keep us on your prayer list, please!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Just 26 days until we depart for the Mediterranean!
We've never even been inside a room with a balcony so as you can imagine...we are looking forward to it! They had tried to upgrade us earlier last month but said they couldn't give us the same room for both cruises --our 21 day cruise is actually two cruises---the first is a 12 day trip to the eastern Mediterranean. Jim is probably most excited about this part of the trip...When we land in Alexandria, Egypt, we will be there for two days--so we'll be taking a private small group tour (12 couples) from there to Cairo with an overnight in a 4star hotel in Cairo. We can't wait to see those great pyramids and the sphinx!
Monday, October 13, 2008
A New Vehicle for us!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Fire Alarms at 1 a.m. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A Very Busy Day
Then at 11:30 I am meeting two retired friends and one other friend who continues to teach for lunch at BRAVO in the Highlands. After lunch I have a doctor's appt. with the doctor who will be taking care of my colonoscopy. (this is the appt to schedule it...)
On Thursday morning I have an appt with the nurse practioner at my gp's office. She's checking my ears for me to see if we need to flush them out.
Then I need to get with Janet W. in order to let her use some of my storaoge type stuff for toting her scrapbooking supplies to Weatherford with us this weekend.
James is meeting with his store manager and one of the regional big bosses--he has been working all night to straighten the store up for the guy so I hope he's impressed!
I've also got to start packing up my stuff for this weekend. We'll be off to the Covered Bridge Inn in Weatherford ( actually not in weatherford but in the country to the south of Weatherford.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
scrapbook layouts for CTMH
Just a few words and a bunch of pics
Second word: love -- the very feeling I keep coming back with, not only for James but for Jim and Patrick who I feel so proud of and so much love for both!
Third word: distress -- I really am concerned about Jim and his feelings about the loss of his mom. It could have been so much better if he and his brother were on better terms..(aside to that--how can I help my two sons maintain a healthy relationship with each other)
Change of subject: Here are those pictures that I've done most recently after we did the fi rst scrapbook using Close to my Heart materials and supplies...As you can see, I got started on some pages of pictures of my childhood and I really have enjoyed working with these pictures.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Having Fun Looking Through Old Pictures
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Random Thoughts Re: our lives
I just spent the afternoon with my grandmother. Even though I'm retired I tend to just stay home most of the day unless I have something like lunch to go out for or the tutoring that I'm doing at my old school each week -- 2 half days and 1 full day. My grandmother fell over her walker one night two weeks ago and is recovering from that. She said today that she is very sore and thinks she broke a couple of ribs. Amazing, considering that she is 104 and will be 105 next month.
One more story about my grandmother...she is a democrat through and through and even though she had fallen two weeks ago and was very uncomfortable, she managed to GO TO THE POLLING PLACE (!) and vote last week! She told me that the people at the school where she went to vote were really hopping trying to make sure that she was ok once she got through the door. Bobby, her friend ala Driving Miss Daisy, is one of the most unbelieveable saint-like people. He takes care of her by taking her places like SAM"S and the doctor's appointments that she has occasionally. She insists that he drive her car, and he does similar things for others who live in the apartment (Sr. active living) complex where she lives alone. Ah, but , I digress..more about Bobby another time... back to the election ... I was sharing a joke that Patrick made with my grandmother = Last Tuesday night, Patrick and I met Jim at a restaurant and then Jim left in his car to go vote and Patrick and I came back to the house. At 7:00, Patrick and I walked over to the rec.center in the park that attaches to our neighborhood. The center had served as a polling place for 4 precincts and the place was very crowded. We were directed to the gym and found people standing around a person who served as a signpost by holding a paper with the precinct number on it. We found our number and stood with our group. I looked around and didn't see anyone that I knew! Usually I always see someone having lived here and taught in this area of town for over 26 years! But...no one! When I voiced that to Patrick he came back at me with a funny observation: "Well, Mom, all your friends are REPUBLICANS!" Ha! That must be true of the neighborhoods nearby for sure (even though when we left after staying an hour amid the confusion, I saw two friends from church and three friends who live next door...) but I can report that I was a part of TX history this year after that primary election. Jim has always teased my grandmother about being a democrat with three children who vote republican but I don't think that she realized that Jim and I lean to the left most of the time...so she was a little surprised at the funny from Patrick.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
New Computer!
We had talked a little bit earlier about getting this setup so that we could share the laptop (after we take it in to be fixed before it's warranty runs out...So, now I'm in the process of learning an updated version of the Windows Vista.
I set most of it up myself having more than a little bit of trouble with the wireless adapter to hook me up to the internet. Other than that, it was not a difficult thing to do and I was successfully making changes to the setup of the current programs.
I'm hoping to be able to use this c omputer to access the Heritage Makers site and making a few books . This week I should have lots of time to do that and Ihope to be able t0 finish some other projects. Jim is off to Minnesota and Iowa for the week. It will be a long week for both of us!
I'll add more to this tomorrow...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Latest News
She managed to get me back to the way I was before I went in there and maybe, just maybe, I'm a little bit better. It's difficult to tell...
My friends at school are in the process of choosing another new principal for next year. I most likely will not tutor again next year. The extra little bit of money is great but next year, I'm not sure exactly who will be there. One of my old team members is moving to Waco and the other two (who've been longer there than the 17 years that I was there are sure to retire as soon as they can...)
Right now I'm watching the OSCARS always one of my favorite things to do. I feel like it's much earlier than usual...It's still February!
More later...
Friday, February 15, 2008
New Movement Disorder Specialist
It was strange because after we talked a few minutes she took out her remote device that she uses to program the neurostimlators and after checking the side that controls my right side she was just getting to my left side when the phone rang and she had to go take the call. She was gone about ten minutes and then when she returned she said that the remote registered that I was already turned "off" when she tried to check it.. She even showed me the screen where it said zero voltage...
Anyway, then she "set it at a "low" setting and I began to have an obvious tremor. She suggested we should wait in the waiting room a few minutes and she would check me again. During that time I took my meds and Jim and I watched as the tremor became more and more prounounced on the left side.
When we had arrived earlier I was surprised to see that my friend, Lark, was there...she had the appointment right before mine. In all the waiting that we were doing we decided that Jim would go back to work since he had an appointment at 1 pm, and that Lark would drive me back by JIm's office when we finished getting me "tweaked." The plan was to go eat lunch and then return once more to check with the dr,. one more time. We did that and then she set the settings at the place where they were last set..(on July 31, 2007). We decided not to wait anymore (especially since Jim had parked my car on the street downtown and was feeding the meter until I could get back to it. ) Dr. Thomas told me to call if I needed to and I should return to her office next week if my settings were not right.
Well, now I'm waiting for her assistant to call me and put me on the schedule for next week. And the left side of me is shaking at the end of each dosage of medicine. Curling toes, too! and a little bit of numbness in my feet and arms.
So, even though we didn't exactly communicate the best I did like the new doctor--- (I can reember thinking at times that Dr. Stewart was not hearing me (figuratively not literally!) and that I couldn't figure out how to tell him what he needed to know Sometimes it 's difficult to come up with the words to describe how I feel .
I'll have to come up with something though --- this tremor bit is a lot too m
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Prayer Requests...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Squeaky Clean Cell Phone :o(
I'm actually hoping that my new clean one that still has water in it will dry out and begin working again! Keep your fingers crossed!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Scrapbooking Retreat
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Scrappin' Weekend Ahead
Part of the reason that I enjoy it so much is the chance to see so many other people's ideas for their scrapbooks and the pages that they come up with. I have learned all I know about the "how-to" of scrapbooking from watching others chronicle their life in this way.
This weekend my plan is to begin putting together the book for the latest cruise that we took to the Southern Caribbean and if I tire of that and want to try something different I'm also taking the pictures and other memorabilia from our trip to California in 2001.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Losing a Friend
How exciting to get a phone call from him later on inviting me to be interviewed for part of his new film, “It Ain’t Television, It’s Brain Surgery.” Such a unique man and he was just as you’ve all described…easily making all of us feel at ease while he sort of “primed the pump” and got us talking about our life since our surgeries. I must be on camera for less than 60 seconds but Ray always made me feel like an important contributor to the film.
The next summer I was in Washington, DC, with my husband and Ray came to the hotel where we were staying to meet my husband and visit for a short while. When he came bounding in with a huge smile on his face and a large box in hand, he loudly greeted us and said, “Here’s something for you and your first grade students! “ It was a game similar to the old game of OPERATION but this game was called BRAIN SURGEON. It’s a game for small children with a rather silly looking character that speaks electronically. He pushed on the lighted red nose of the clown and it began yelling out “encouragements" and “gently ribbing” the players of the game. I loved it! I think Ray said he had two games like it (given to him by clever friends) and so he thought I would enjoy sharing it with my kids at school. He was right and that game was a big favorite for the next three years in my classroom on rainy or cold days. I retired from teaching last year with 25 years behind me--the last four years possible only because I can proudly claim to be “a DBSer.” That wheelchair that I was often teaching from, pre-DBS, was rolled into the attic and I haven’t needed it since that life-changing operation. I’m happy to be a member of the hole-in-the-head gang and enjoy singing the praises of my doctors ,just as Ray enjoyed sharing his experiences with prospective patients and others who just can’t seem to get past that idea of having a couple of holes drilled in their head.
I enjoyed Ray’s sense of humor and his love of life. I hope that I can be a great “encourager” and “demonstrator” for other PWP just as Ray was to so many people. I will always remember Ray’s enthusiasm and his positive attitude. I was blessed by my encounters with Ray. May I be for others what Ray was for many…a positive, enthusiastic well wisher!
Now that I think about it, it probably seems a little bit unusual to be able to refer to someone as a friend that I've only actually seen and talked with about 4 times but that's just the way Ray was...he made you feel as if you were HIS friend and he was...you can read more about him and even look at some of his films online at http://www.offcentertv.com
To all old friends...thanks for being there when you are needed!
Friday, January 4, 2008
New Chairs!
The store that we went to was in Irving (north of DFW airport). The name of it is THE DUMP. They are only open on Friday-Sunday and today was extra crowded because they were having a clearance sale. EVERYTHING MUST GO!
We couldn't find any matching chairs there so we grabbed the rug and paid for it (that was the major problem there ...we must have stood in line for an hour--and we were at the head of the line !)
Lunch at Schlotsky's and we stopped at Stacy's in Grapevine. You know the place where "if you're not shopping at Stacy's then you're burning money!" Nice store--we narrowed our choice down to three different recliners (smaller than the humongous version that I was expecting). Then we compared to the rug that we had out in the car and actually found one in the store--taking pictures and running across the store to compare to the chairs...Jim was reluctant to give up his first choice but it really didn't go with the rug. Our mind was made up by the salesman when he looked up the list from the warehouse and told us that they didn't have one of the chairs but they did have two of the other one. So, that's the one we have and tomorrow Patrick's truck will be put to use driving out to Grapevine and picking up the two chairs.
Remember the rug pictured above and just imagine Jim's favorite chair on it...ready? Here's the chair:
The colors match but the patterns are much too busy! He agreed that it was too much and so here is the picture of the chairs we are picking up tomorrow...