Chloe's Home...

She's not feeling real pert but at least she is home and not in a cage. She's in pretty rough shape but is on 2 types of antibiotics, a steroid, an anti- diarrhea med, an anti-nausea med and one for pain if needed. In other words they don't know what went wrong with my girl. They figure if you throw enough meds at it whatever it is, it will go away. I don't know how it will end with this round and expecting it could go either way but it gives mom a chance to get her mind ready for what ever is to come.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Our little family gets together for snacks... Rotel cheese dip, little smokies, and sandwich stuff for snacking and visiting. Then presents are opened. Until my Carol and I started living together Christmas Day was always the gift day but she had traditions she had already started with Jeff and so we do gifts on Christmas Eve. There would be Santa gifts on Christmas Day but since he is 38 now we don't do that anymore.

This year Carol is going to cook beef for Christmas Day instead of just repeating the Thanksgiving menu. I'll let you all know what will be cooking for Christmas Day as soon as I know what is on the menu.

In the meantime you all get your preparations for Christmas done so you can be sure to have time for hugs and to tell your families that you love each and every one, including the 4 legged babies because we never know for sure how long we are going to be of this world...

Update...

First off, the liver enzymes are playing wreak havoc again. Not as bad as they were, but they have gone back up somewhat from last month. The good news is, that while the doc didn't take me off the steroids, he did increase the Imuran, the med that I'll be taking from now on I guess. I wasn't surprised that the blood test wasn't as good as last month because of how I'd been feeling. I guess I am learning to listen to my body at least a little bit.

My Chloe, my oldest girl, is at the vet's and has been since Tuesday. I'm very worried about her. She ran fever and refused to eat Monday evening and when she refused her breakfast Tuesday I decided that it was time to take her to the doctor. Her white blood count was up which could be an infection of some sort or it could be cancer. They took x-rays and didn't see any obvious mass anywhere but it could be hiding behind her organs. I talked with them yesterday about ultra sound and when the doc brought it up I asked what it would cost... about $300. Told them no, I couldn't afford that and if they did find anything I couldn't afford to have them do surgery or chemo. She will be 12 on the 1st of January and she has had a good life and what I needed them to do was try and get her re hydrated and feeling better if possible but if not then God needed a good pup in heaven. So needless to say I've been in bad shape about her. I'll let you know the outcome with Chloe.

Thanks for checking up on me. I'm going to close now for this post. Say a little prayer for my girl, if you would.

Thanks.

I'm Not Dead...

I'm just aggravated. A couple of days after my last post (back in the dark ages) I sat down to write about whatever had crossed my mind at the time and set my hands over the keyboard to start typing and my hands, especially my left hand, were shaking like I was palsied. It was so bad that I had to grab it with my right hand and slap it around and fuss at it. I went ahead and tried to type with it and the words were coming out like sasalleee[op (sleep) or ggoeoffyy (goofy). Needless to say, I got p.o.'d and said to heck with it and hadn't written anything longer than replies to e-mails and only when necessary at that. I know that the tremblies are medicine related and I also know now that they are worse when I've done stuff with my arms and hands like painting the walls of the kitchen, which I did, and the muscles are tired. To me, at the time however, it was one more sign of "aging" and you all know that I refuse to even think about aging or my body betraying me by getting more "feeble". I'm too young for feeble to even enter the equation.

Other than the above I can't fuss about too much. I did get the kitchen repainted, including the woodwork, in time for Thanksgiving, and after Thanksgiving lunch at our house I drove to Ft. Worth to my brother and s.i.l.'s and visited with them and had Thanksgiving again on Sunday evening and came home on Monday. Last Sunday I drove to my nephew's home, about two hours from where I live, to stay with him for a few days after his knee replacement surgery. His wife just started her new job at a college about 3 months ago and with the jobs and economy the way it has been she didn't want to take a chance with her job because she really loves it so I went on Sunday and helped him out with keeping him supplied with liquids and lunch and whatever else he needed and then came home on Thursday evening. Tuesday and Wednesday we had thunderstorms, yes Virginia, thunderstorms in December, and when you live in the country and have to depend on satellite for your t.v. and internet you know if it rains you are going to be without t.v. and internet. I found I need to load some games to play that don't require me being on the internet. Usually I pack a book or two and a couple of magazines when I go anywhere for overnight but for some reason I failed to do that this trip so I was looking for things to do when I got bored with the games that come on the computer.

Next up is Christmas. Carol has been cooking already. She loves Christmas and loves baking for Christmas. I love Christmas, too, and I love eating most all of what she bakes. So far she has made pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, eggnog bread and apple cake with cinnamon icing. Fudge and baked fudge, butterscotch haystacks, Hidden Valley oyster crackers and Texas Trash or ChexMix to some folks. For her sister's birthday tomorrow she is making cowboy caviar, Christmas layered jello, green chili cheese grits, grilled chicken and talapia, asparagus and mushroom casserole, green chili spoon bread and bread pudding. Later she will be making peanut brittle, peanut butter fudge and chocolate covered pretzels. Dang, I'm gaining weight just typing all this.

So that's what's on the near horizon around here. I imagine there will be some cookies made and anything else that catches Carol's eye as she is going through her recipes. So if I go anywhere between now and Christmas they will probably have to roll me out of the house on a dolly. Just call me Porky.

I go Monday for blood work and then see my GI on Tuesday to find out where we are on my journey with my liver. I'm not even going to speculate on it, just think positive that I can finally get off the damn steroids. I will let you know. I won't leave you all hanging on this... if I can waddle to the computer after eating everything this weekend.

Have a great weekend and get all your Christmas shopping done so you can start on your Christmas cooking. I'll catch you all later.

Whoa! What's Going On???

Two posts in three days? Dang... something has awakened an interest in life at least for the moment. I think I will share it with you all. Some background...Carol and I bought 4 okra plants last spring rather than planting from seed. Three died and one survived. Needless to say I knew I wouldn't get to pick enough for even a mess of okra for Carol and I so I just let it grow and watched it throughout the summer. I kept watching for the blooms because they are really beautiful, creamy white and look like a hibiscus. Okra likes to bloom early... I like to sleep late. I knew there were flowers that had to be making because they close up and that's where the babies start but my timing has just been off this summer because I haven't spent much time outside. Today I got a wild hair and went out to run the weed eater around the dog fence. I got about 2/3rds done before I had to take a break and I got to looking around at what I need to do for fall put away and clean up and happened to check out my okra to decide if I could make myself pull it up yet. I DO like watching things grow... I DON'T like pulling stuff up at the end of the season because things look so barren.

But I digress... not only was there an open flower on the okra plant, there were also buds, a couple of ready to pick okra and okra pods that were starting to break open and showing the b-b sized okra seeds. I got a couple of pictures to share with you all... Enjoy!

Family And Flowers...

You all know how I feel about family. We always have such fun and special times when we get together. We laugh, cry, tease and have been known to tell off on each other but always with love.

Left to right... Mary Catherine, the oldest daughter of my oldest brother... my sweet niece that I spent lots of summers with when she was little even before her sibs started coming along. Sometime I'll post up some photos of those times. Nancy Lu is the youngest and only daughter of my sis who passed away when she was 23. Nancy Lu was just shy of 2 years old. She was the first granddaughter after her mom and dad had had two ornery boys. She is also a Leap Year birthday girl. Then there's yours truly, leaning on my sweet Nancy Lu as I have often done in my life. My sis sent me this photo in a note and I just had to share it with you all. It was taken at Nancy Lu's home in Bethany, OK, Labor Day weekend. Mary Catherine and her youngest son (bless her heart she has four boys) drove my big brother up from Ft. Worth for a visit. My sister and one of her boys (she also, bless her heart, has four boys) also drove up from Weatherford, TX, for a visit. My middle brother, Walter, and my cousin Carol drove in from Meeker to join with us and have a mini family reunion for the day. Anyway I love the picture and wanted to share a bit of the fun with you all.


In my life, here in Oklahoma, fall and mums go together. My Carol's birthday is in September and I would imagine there hasn't been a birthday for the last 20 + years that she has not gotten at least one mum and usually several. For her 70th birthday last year she requested no gifts from friends that came to share that milestone. When they persisted her sister and I said just bring her a mum. They did just that. This one is one I brought home for her this year. There is a grasshopper hanging around on the right hand post of the flower pot.


This is one of the 70th birthday mums that we managed to keep alive through the heat of the summer.

What a payback for our efforts to keep it alive. It is a beautiful, clear yellow and has been full of blooms. Carol always has me trim off buds until the 4th of July and then one time after that she has me just pick off the buds, not cut them. Then we let 'em rip. I don't know where she got her info on doing the mums that way but it has sure worked all these years.


This is another of the birthday mums we managed to keep alive. This red isn't as densely packed as the yellow but it has really been strutting it's stuff and putting on a show for us.

We lost a couple of the other mums and several shrubs as well as our tomato and pepper plants but we are thankful for the ones we managed to keep with us until the heat wave finally broke and we started getting more normal temperatures.





I want to show you something new that is new to us...

The seeds were gifted to me by the young man that does my hair. Besides giving the best haircut I've ever had, Dude loves to grow flowers as much as I do.

I think I've told you about the quote that I've carried with me for probably 40 years...

"Not By Bread Alone: After Hippocrates", by James Terry White (1907) that reads:

"If thou of fortune be bereft

And in thy store there be but left

Two loaves, sell one and with the dole

Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul."


Dude said these are called hyacinth vines or some people call them Hawaiian bean vines.

The blooms look a bit like sweet peas or even kinda similar to little orchids.

After the blooms the vine puts on a purple seed pod and since this vine won't winter over in our Oklahoma zone 5-6 so I'll be collecting the pods to be able to grow some more next year. I'll have a lot of them so if any of you want to try these out e-mail me with your address and I'll send you some seed.

I had 8 or 10 seeds that I basically just put at the northeast corner of the trailer thinking it's already June and I don't know if these will make or not... If I had known then what I know now I would have also put a trellis with them. They are climbers and have gone all over. It's been great. Even in the heat the vines flourished. They were in the same bed as the mums so they did get watered but I was totally astounded at how well and how fast they grew. They new leaves are light green with purple veining.


These are the purple seed pods and there are a bunch of them. I would be interested if some of you that live further north would be able to grow this vine as it seemed to sprout from the seeds quickly and grew fast as a weed and all over the place. I didn't mind that because I like the looks of a wilder garden but next year I'll put a trellis for them to climb. I have an idea for one I'd like to make myself that I think would show off this little beauty. I'll keep you posted on that little project.


Well I've sure been way longer winded with this post than I have been in a long time and you know what? It feels pretty good! Maybe the meds are getting me back to somewhat my old self.

Let's hope so... and let me know if you want to try out some of these hyacinth vine seeds.

More Spreckles, Anyone?

I had such fun with my last post that I decided to post up my second choice photos...

Spreckles is such a cutie that I figure you all won't mind some photos that aren't quite as good as the first batch I posted. Not that they were great, just maybe a little sharper and such.

My silly girls were barking and Jenny was checking to see who was making all that racket. Spreckles was still eye-balling that tall thing with the black box in front of her face.








Here's one I snapped as Jenny was walking up to check for treats and the baby was paying close attention.

Are you sure it's okay, Mom? I want to meet this new person...














Mom says, dang, no treats I'm back to the grass but Spreckles had more studying she wanted to do.

She was really concentrating and taking me in so I was really careful to not make any sudden moves and just talked to her quiet-like telling her she was as sweet as her little momma.







We've had several inches of rain the last two days so I expect when I go out next week there will be some green grass in the photos. I was going to take pictures of the ponds out behind the house but they were down so low it was depressing so I chose to do the happy baby post instead.

Friday while I was there they had a semi load of hay delivered and that's the first time in a long time they've had to buy hay but the heat and drought of the summer is one of those things that the farmers and ranchers have all had to deal with this summer. So if you see beef prices increasing you all know their expenses went up---- a lot this year.






So you all enjoy the 'seconds' of Spreckles and Jenny out on a beautiful fall day and I'll get more pictures when I go out in a week or ten days again.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Spreckles...

Remember when I wrote about the new surprise baby? Way back in July... the 9th and how I had to get out to the country to take some photos to share of the little cutie patootie?

October 6th and I finally got out here for a visit. Took my camera out this afternoon and, just for you all because you are all so special to me, I took a bunch of pictures and she is even cuter in person. Or donkeydom or real life or whatever.



Here's the cutest 3 month old I think I've ever seen. Donkey or human. But then I tend to be prejudice towards four-legged critters because I don't have to worry about changing poopie diapers if I'm stuck alone with them for any stretch of time. Babies know, like cats, when people aren't comfortable with them or their poopie diapers, babies not cats. I wouldn't change diapers on a cat either but I digress...

We are talking about this little cutie.

Spreckles.




Check out these wonderful ears, the fuzzy forehead and the cute little nose... a baby's curiosity.























I love how she and her momma would act like they were grazing, all the while checking out that 2-legged critter with a funny black thing in front of her face...


I love how the little fuzzy butt stayed real close to mom while checking me out. I squatted down to be less imposing to the little girl and I talked to sweet Jenny who remembered my voice and ambled over to see if I had brought her treats like I did when I was living out here. I didn't have any but by mom coming to me Spreckles was way more comfortable for her photo shoot.




Okay, Ms. Gardner... I'm ready for my picture to be taken...

While this is not the best photo of her I had to put this shot in because I was telling Cuz and Walter how the way her fur was growing on her face made her look like she has 'mutton chops' growing down her little cheeklets.

Anyway, my girls and I are enjoying a couple of days of unfettered (unleashed) walks, the girls are smelling every leaf and blade of grass and are enjoying their strolls with Spud and sometimes Lucky, my cousin Carol's Jack Russell indoor dog and the found Lucky with the gimpy paw who watches over things on the outside.

It's been too long since we've been out to visit in the country but with the extraordinary heat of the summer and me feeling so lousy for so long... well, it has been too long away. After watching the girls run and buck with Spud I won't be staying away this long again. I will need to get treats for Jenny and Spreckles and start the spoiling again. It's too much fun to scratch their long ears.

Finally!!! Some Good News!

Maybe the GI does have a clue... I got my blood drawn yesterday and made my appointment this morning with my doctor and he came in with a small smile on his face! The highest out of range function is dropping and the two that were lesser out of range have dropped into high normal range. Yahoo!!!

The best part is I can go from 40 mgs. a day of the steroids to 30 mgs. a day for the next two weeks then drop back to 20 mgs. for 2 weeks until my next blood work and appointment. Thank you Lord... Those steroids wreak havoc with me, especially my rest and if I don't get my rest I'm a grumpy, growly lump that just wants to be left alone by all except my girls and sometimes even SueSue gets on my last nerve. Chloe is always sweet and wonderful and as content to lay around as long as mom wants to...

Reporting on the melatonin the shrink wanted me to try... I think it is helping me to rest better. I seem to be going to sleep easier and feeling more rested. I do seem to have more drowsiness to deal with when I do get up but once that passes I am feeling pretty good. I even started painting the kitchen. Will wonders never cease...

Anyway, let me say that I appreciate you all putting up with all this medical boring stuff simply to support my struggle with dealing with scary health things. More than I can say I am thankful for each and every one of you holding me up and being there when I needed to yell and vent and cry and know it's okay to let my guard down. More than words can say.

I've Been Too Long At The Fair...

I wish. Of all things I enjoy doing one of the top things on my list is going to the State Fair. It is one of those things that Carol and I both enjoy. We don't care about the rides but we love to go through all the buildings... Seeing all things from quilts, woodcarvings, photographs, butter sculpture, all sorts of crafts and foods... pies, cakes, cookies, canned goods, on to cut flowers, veggies of all sorts entered and hoping for best of show ribbons and recognition from their peers.

We like to look at all the things the school kids make, create, draw, paint and, again, cook and enter for perusal and judgement feeling their excitement emanating from their works or perhaps that's just my over-active imagination and recall from back in the olden days when I would enter poster drawing contests in grade school and be so excited, especially when news would come back that I'd won a ribbon... recognition for my creative abilities.

We also enjoy sampling a variety of "fair foods"... We both have our favorites and what we usually do is buy something, share it, wander and look some more, buy another food, share it and wander on to the next thing... for sure we always end up with a funnel cake, usually taking it to the car as we leave to munch on as we drive home.

This year none of the above happened. We would like for it to have happened, I mean we aren't getting any younger you know, but due to financial problems (van troubles that needed repair) and my feeling lousy and having doctor bills to pay... We didn't go to the fair.

But I digress... I've been too long from my blog. As I had shared with you all I have been having a hard time dealing with depression. I went to my GI on Sept. 13th for my appointment. My liver enzymes were still off, including another one that hadn't been up before. I've really got my doc scratching his head now. I told him that I really was not trying to be his difficult patient and he said if this keeps up I'm going to end up at the Liver Center at Mercy or Baptist Hospital. Geez. And as if I wasn't sleeping poorly enough, he jacked my Prednisone, a steroid, to 40 mg. a day and put me on Imuran, the long term med he had said he was going to prescribe after that first month of steroids got my ducts settled down which they didn't but he started me on the Imuran anyhow. It takes a while for the Imuran to build up in my system and he will start reducing the steroids a bit at a time. If any of you have been on an extended steroid regimen you know how it can mess with you. The news of possibly having to go to the hospital for tests was not exactly the news I was hoping for when I went to my appointment and I came home angry, frustrated and even more depressed. Am I ever going to feel human again?!

I called and made an appointment with a psychiatrist. I went to see him today. He upped my Cymbalta and also had me get some homeopathic stuff. Melatonin to try to help me rest and B-50 to help do something else, fish oil for something else and a prescription for folic acid to help with the liver. Don't misunderstand me... I'm more than willing to try this regimen for the next month and will try to document if it helps and at my next appointment we will determine if there has been any improvement in the depression. If so I will continue taking the vitamins along with the antidepressant and if not we will take the next step whatever that may be.

So I bit the bullet and took your all's advice and, better late than never, made the call for help. I hope that I will be able to soon report that the black cloud has lifted and is finally under some form of control. Better living through chemistry, don't 'cha know... Seriously I knew I needed some help to break the cycle but just kept putting it off thinking I could pull myself up by my bootstraps like I had in times before but I just didn't have the reserves this time. I think the extraordinary heat of the summer, along with the physical ailments that I've been dealing with the last 8 months just wore me down so I want to thank you all for standing behind me, encouraging me to get some help to deal with all this... You probably should have been kicking me in the butt to get me to move on it a little quicker but at least I'm in the works now and will follow through until at least my mind is better...

My next blood work and GI appointment is scheduled for the 27th of this month. I'll keep you posted on what is determined at that appointment. But I will post something between now and then so you all will know I'm still alive!

I will try to not stay quiet for this long again. Thanks to each and every one of you for checking on me and encouraging me. And I really, really mean it.

Another Ringy Dingy...Flower And Veggies...

My hens and chicks and other succulents came out strong and happy to show their colors, oh joy, oh joy. Spring is coming.

Let's burst out with all our blooms to celebrate!












Let's throw out beautiful color to welcome spring...











Fifty one days later. I've never lost hens and chicks to heat and am praying that these are not truly gone but will come back next spring.


















They look like someone tried to blowtorch them... and I guess in a sense that was true.












Sunflower turning it's face up toward the sun, celebrating...















Now... they can't even hold their heads up...















Ah, beautiful lantana. So bright and vibrant in it's color.
















This plant has thrived! It has at least doubled in size and has been blooming it's branches off.














The yellow and white lantana and the beautiful blue plumbago that so delighted me with the colors looking so good together...











These also have loved the heat. I wasn't too surprised about the lantana but the plumbago did surprise me. It looks so delicate but it must be tough as iron to have survived the heat.

I'll be getting more of both those plants next year just in case we have another hot one... but I'm praying that we don't have to go through another summer like this one in my lifetime.

I've shared with you now some of the good, the bad and the ugly. I hope your summer wasn't as tough on your garden as it was on ours. The weather forecasters think we here in Oklahoma will hit the 50 days over 100 degrees F. by Saturday, but having had a break with several rounds of storms will make the rest of the summer bearable.

Ask Not For Whom The Bells Toll...

Just be glad it's not for you or me... July, 2011, saw records being broken for heat all over the country and Oklahoma won with the hottest average for the month EVER recorded in the United States. It is a record that I just as soon would not have been smack dab in the middle of and watching my garden being roasted. My good day cucumbers that started out so well are DED dead...

Before... I was having fun hunting the little baby cukes getting their start towards growing to make my day, my salads day. At about the 2oth straight 100 degree F. day Norman was put on water rationing and we were cut to even day watering and the soaker hoses and sprinklers could only be run on our day before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. so I did a lot of evening watering.





This picture I took today... just 51 days later. The good day cucumbers, besides trying to survive the heat, were defeated by a cut in the hose that I didn't find for four days. I had been fussed at to stay in out of the heat with all the medical crap that I had going on. I would go turn on the water to the soaker hose that I had run under some hedges, the sunflowers and the good day and bad day cucumbers. When things started looking not so good I got out and investigated and found the leak in the hose. Very little water made it to the plants for six days.


The bad day cucumbers getting their start. I have had a lot of fun doing the planting by the signs that Tipper over at Blind Pig And The Acorn started three years ago. I've always worked hard trying to insure that both groups got the same treatment, both in watering and keeping weeds and grass from taking nutrients from the plants so between the heat and me not checking the plants closer and not finding the hose problem really made me feel bad because both groups didn't get the same fair shake.


This picture I took today. These plants have survived, but barely. The break in the hose was further away and so these plants got their fair share of water. I found two cucumbers when I was looking at the plants today when I was out taking photos. I will probably say something on down the line about the cucumbers but this will be my last 'official' farm report because of the demise of the good day plants.

I was going to show you the flowers and how they are doing but I think I will make that my next post. I want to do some comparison photos for them also so I will work on that because I really do want to share with you all and help you see how decimating the heat was not only on the veggies but on the flowers. These posts will be somewhat depressing but I'm also trying to explore the optimism that all who love to garden must find to keep on keeping on with what we love to do when weather extremes mess with us...

Does that sound grandiose???

It's Not The "C" Word...

I'm not sure what it is but it's not cancer. The name of the diagnosis of the liver biopsy is as follows:

LIVER BIOPSIES: Changes suspicious for autoimmune cholangitis

Big words for a little lady... I've asked for the medico types in my family to share with me what the hell this is in layman's terms and when I get it I will share with you. Best I could understand from my doctor was that it is somewhat rare and is inflammation of the bile ducts. The doctor doesn't know what causes the change in the liver or if it can ever be cured or just managed but for the next 30 days I will be on 20mgs. of Prednisone and then he will put me on a prescription that he indicated I would probably have to take until Jesus comes home... And you all know just how much I love to take drugs with no ending. However if it makes me feel more like my old self I will gladly take it.

My hip is still doing good after the last injection and now I know my liver hasn't rotted away and is something I can live with maybe the medicine I'll be taking will help get me back somewhere in the vicinity of feeling human again.

Pardon me while I wipe my brow and say"Phew! Thank you, Lord!" Now maybe I can shed the stress that has had me tied in knots, making me hurt and only want to sleep.

I've got to get out and take photos for the final farm report so I'll be back in a day or two. If I get my layman's interpretation of autoimmune cholangitis I'll share it with you.

The Debate Continues...

Whoda thunk that grannie panties and Daisy Dukes would get such a discussion going? The reason for me breaking down and buying grannies is that when you get older and have a tendency to, well, ummm, how do I say this graciously... to leak a bit if you laugh, sneeze, cough and various other reasons... I just couldn't get myself to go commando. My bikinis that I have worn for years rode my hip in just the wrong place and were aggravating my aching hip. I fought it as long as I could stand but finally had to bite the bullet and buy the grannies. I can tell you that if you hurt bad enough you will do what is necessary to ease the pain.

It is true that I didn't have panty lines when I wore my DDs however... DDs tend to ride low on one's hips and unless you wear a t-shirt or blouse over them... the grannies show above the waist band of the DDs making me feel that I looked more like Erkel than just an aging Daisy Duke wannabe. Of course the t-shirts also cover the, ahem, muffin top around the top of the waist band or the love handles that also hang over the sides. I have never had to worry about my gams... I got someone else's legs. My brother has called them chicken bird legs among other things. Just being raised in a climate where shorts are more of a necessity as opposed to a luxury in the summertime I have all my life worn shorts and never paid much attention to how I looked in them until the GPs (Grannie pants so I don't have to keep spelling it out) problem. And to be real honest with y'all I mostly wore my DDs around the house and in the garden... not like going to the Golden Corral for the all you can eat buffet, although I have worn them to Lowe's to pick up paint or to visit the garden center and maybe to run to the WalMart for something I needed for right then, not for the whole food shopping thing. I didn't want to be in WallyWorld too long in case someone had the camera out looking for another one of our much loved WalMart shopper photos. And I must say even in my DDs I was dressed better than a lot of folks I saw doing their shopping... just sayin'.

I'll try to do some further clarification on this subject in another post. Just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying all the chatter on this DD and GP subject. Goodnight and sleep tight... in grannies or whatever...

DumDumDaDumDumDaDaDumDumDaDum...

This is a post that hurts my heart to write... It is an end of an era. It is an admission that I never thought I would have to make. As we grow older we have these revelations smack us upside the head, things we never thought would be revealed to us in our lifetimes. The layers of innocence that have been peeled away from me over the years have not prepared me for this last layer of innocence to be ripped from my very innards.

All my life I have been a people watcher. I've learned many valuable lessons from watching people and the most valuable lesson that I learned was that I didn't plan or wish to get old like a lot of the people I knew... I would see them in their old people clothes and make sure that I didn't shop in the matron areas of different department stores... I wouldn't be caught dead in those areas. I didn't feel old so therefore I refuse to dress old.





Now comes the end of an era... at least part of an era...








R.
I.
P.

M
y

D
a
i
s
e
y


D
u
k
e
s





They don't look like much laid out here on the bed but when I slipped them on and rolled up the frayed bottom into cuff, an attitude just automatically came over my body.

I was ready for anything and I was sassy enough to get whatever I put them on to do was gonna get done with FLAIR, baby. With pizazz!!!

There was just something for me about my Dukes. For one thing, not many people my age had the confidence, the balls to wear them. I thought nothing about it. I had my projects that I like to wear them for mostly as you can tell for painting jobs around the house.

Then the revelation... and realization. Somehow for me...Daisey Dukes and granny panties just don't jive. It is a totally incongruous juxtaposition in my mind, a total oxymoron and I just can't get my mind past it.

So it is with deep sadness that I'm putting my Dukes away... I can't just pitch them yet. They will go deep in the drawer to R.I.P. until I can either get rid of them or use them in some sort of craft thing or maybe just to stay there until I go up in the sky and they will be someone else's problem...

Damn It's Hot!

Y'all are probably real tired of this heat song and dance... We were cooler today than yesterday however, 103 as opposed to 107 yesterday. All temps you read here are Fahrenheit because I was a generation late to learn Celsius as well as Fahrenheit and too damn lazy to remember the conversion ratio. All I know is the heat is wiping out our garden.

We are on water rationing and can only water every other day except on Wednesday and Thursday then no one is to water on those days. We can run the sprinklers on our day until 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. We can hand water on any day if you can stand to stay out and water long enough to do some good. I got up yesterday at 7 a.m. to let the girls out and stayed up and watered and even did some weed eating around the fence and the trailer. I just am about to get on my own last nerve with being cooped up between the heat and the feeling lousy so I just said to heck with it and way overdid yesterday. I am paying for it today but the good news is that I think they finally got the injection in the right spot in my hip as I've been able to get up without the quick hitch of pain and trying to get straightened up to walk without looking like Grandpa McCoy... It is so nice to move without pain grabbing me.

So this is my basic report for today. It is also nice to WANT to sit down and drop you all a note so that is a good sign. Of what I'm not sure other than it is nice to want to do something.

Oh yes, I wanted to tell you that the cucumber that had hidden from me long enough to take on the reddish hue, for those of you that wanted to know, it had taken on a bit of a bitter, strong taste so it didn't make it into a salad.

You all try to stay cool... or stay warm for you all that are down under. Catch you next post!

Good News, Bad News...

Today was the day I went to see the orthopedist for the results of my MRI. The good news is that there is NOT a tear in the cartilage like the nurse told me. I have a cyst. I was surprised by that and didn't think to ask how big the cyst was and was it in the cartilage. I have to assume that it was not at all big because he didn't say we need to get it out of there. He said we could try another injection or he could order an abdominal/pelvic cat scan to try to get a different look at the area to see if there was something else he wasn't seeing. I told him that they had done that test when they were first trying to figure out what caused the liver readings to go up. Since it was done at Norman Regional Hospital he said he could get those and go over them.

I told him that my GI had ordered a liver biopsy because, while two of the enzymes or whatever they are called had headed back down, the one the GI was concerned the most about had gone up some more. I told him that the GI had said this particular enzyme could be elevated by a problem in either the liver or bone and he said the name right off the bat. And naturally since I didn't write it down I can't remember what he called it but he is going to look at the lab results also. What we decided to do was inject me again because they obviously missed the hot spot the first time and I'm to call him after I get the liver biopsy results to remind him to pull those up and see if they might give him a clue as to whether or not it might be bone/hip related.

I told him that we needed to figure out something because I had to go buy me some granny panties because where my bikinis like I prefer to wear rode in the area of the hot spot and would often make the pain worse and I was too young to be having to wear granny panties. He and his PA that was in the room getting the shot drawn up both cracked up and she allowed as how she hadn't heard that term in a long time. You know me, when I'm fretting about something I have to pop a funny.

So not having a tear is good news but the bad news is I don't have a tear and don't know yet what is causing the pain so it is more hurry up and wait for the liver test results. So that is what we are gonna do. I told Carol that I've about had it with all this crap. I've been very cautious about how I walk, not carrying heavier stuff, not digging in the garden and I'm about to say screw it. If I'm hurting I might as well carry on with my life and do some of the things I haven't been doing but have been wanting to do. If I hurt, I hurt. If I hurt too bad I'll take pain drugs but I hate feeling useless and not making my keep around here.

So I'm putting all this on the back burner of my mind and all I'm going to worry about now is whether or not I'm gonna get my social security check next month. In fact I think, just for the hell of it, I'll blame all this crap on the politicians. After all they are the ones stressing me out now...

I'll keep you posted on it all.

Dag Nab It All...

These are cucumbers that I picked a couple of days ago. The one on the left that is reddish looking had been hiding real good. I'm curious to see if it tastes 'woody' like okra that is too big. I'll let you know.

What I was dag nabbin' it all about was my GI. I called yesterday to make an appointment to find out the results of the biopsy and she made the appointment on Aug. 11th... I asked why so long because at the hospital they said the doctor would get the results in two to three days. The girl said 'oh they have to do several different stains for the tests the doctor ordered'. Well, bull pucky. I figure he's gone on his vacation and they didn't want to say that the doctor would be out of the office when they know they have a worried old crotchety woman on the other end of the phone. So no results until that time. My sister Sue, who is a pediatric nurse practitioner, said he must not be thinking it's the big C word or they would have expedited all of the tests so maybe no news is good news. That is how I've got to look at it to stay somewhat sane and not become a total blithering idiot.

Monday I go see my orthopede to find out options for the torn ligament in my hip so at least I can get something settled in my head about that and barring any other idiocies that my body decides to pull on me it will then be hurry up and wait for biopsy results.

It's hotter than the dickens here in Oklahoma... I know it's a good excuse to stay in but I'm getting cabin fever. I think today is the 29th day of +100 F. heat here in Oklahoma. Unfortunately the heat cap over Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, etc. is moving slowly, and I mean slowly to the east. Am I the only person that thinks our weather has gotten really wacky in the last 20 years? Used to be you'd pretty much know when spring, summer, fall and winter was going to come around. Now it seems like it's a crap shoot like this year we seemed to go from winter to summer with the early heat.

I'll try to come up with something other than medical ails and how hot it is on my next post. I swear I do have other things to talk about that are way more interesting. Thank you for hanging in there with me...

Done!!!

My liver biopsy is done, done, done and it turned out to be much less of a deal than what I had imagined in my imaginative mind. I got to the hospital early for my 9 a.m. appointment. They got me registered, identity bracelet and paperwork done then sent me to the lab because there were lab tests they needed done before the procedure could be done. Okay, I didn't expect that but blood draws had never particularly bothered me... until today.

I don't know if I drew a newbie phlebotomist, a young man, but it seemed my veins decided to duck and cover. He first tried on my right arm. No blood. So he tried moving the needle around in my arm, not a pleasant thing. He gave up finally on that attempt and I told him it wouldn't bother me if he wanted to try the veins in my hands. I'm one of those folks who have veiny hands and feet, so he tried on my hand. Nope, no dice. So a lady that I assumed was his supervisor came in and she tried my left arm. By this time I think every vein in my body was practicing the stop, droop and roll method generally used if your clothing catches on fire. No luck. She finally switched to the smaller needle called a butterfly that has a tiny plastic hose from the needle to the port where the put the tubes in to collect what they need. She went back to the back of my right hand and hit pay dirt or blood as it were...

I walked out of the lab to the waiting room with my right arm looking like a cotton freak had decorated it. It was kind of interesting seeing the looks of other patients waiting to be called in for their draws. Then the lady who would be my nurse for the procedure called me back to do her paperwork. We did all the questions, signings and all that stuff and she went on the computer to get the results of the blood work. It wasn't there. The last entry was back in March so she got on the phone and then ended up having to go to the lab to track my blood down. I just groaned. No way did I want to go through that again today. She found the blood and the results that she needed to continue the process. So away we went.

We went down to the lower level of the hospital, the nuclear medicine area, where they have the cat scans and MRI equipment, got me all set up for the cat scan including getting the medicine port in my arm on the first try, thank you Lord, and they got the cat scan photos they needed for the doctor to see where he wanted to go and get his samples. Then it was wait on the doctor while laying on that narrow table... about 15 minutes. Went right along with the rest of my morning. He was kinda cute though when he did get there... I asked him if he had a good lunch and he said actually he hadn't eaten yet but that oddly enough he usually has had his lunch by 11 a.m. because his day starts early but he had a couple of procedures before mine that took longer than expected. I forgave him... like I said he was kinda cute and not pretentious at all.

So I got my little shot of kickapoo joy juice, the doctor deadened an area on my side where he was going in for the samples, I drifted a bit and it was all done. I was carted to recovery where I finally got something to drink and then about an hour later they brought me lunch, a burger and fries and apple pie. I don't know if it was as good as I thought it was but after no food or drinks from midnight the night before, it tasted pretty dang good. They kept me in recovery longer than with most procedures, checking my blood pressure and other vitals every 15 minutes and checking the bandage that was on the area where the doctor went in for the biopsy to make sure there was no excessive bleeding. Finally they cut me loose about 3:30 p.m. It was a long day. I came home with instructions to do no lifting or straining for the next 24 hours which is obviously no problem for me. I'm to call my GI in the morning to make an appointment to get the results of the biopsy which should be to him by Friday at the latest so we have more waiting but at least I'm through the procedure.

Don't 'cha just love blow by blow medical procedure descriptions? I can guarantee it was more fun for you all than it was for me, until the blood draws were finished anyway. The rest was kind of interesting. Thank you for your good wishes, prayers and sending me the light. It went a lot easier than I thought it was going to go. As soon as I get the results I will share those as well.

Farm Report, Obit And Happy Flowers...

Things are looking bleak for my 'good day' cucumbers. We are on our 27th day of + 100 F. heat and most days there has been at least a 5 to 10 m.p.h. wind to further dry things out. I tried to make sure that I was getting both the 'good day and bad day' plants the same amount of water but the way the 'good day' plants have faded I must have miscalculated. I'm still gonna pour the water to the 'good day' to see if I can bring it back because the first cuke that Carol found was very good flavor, not at all bitter and Carol is the connoisseur of cucumbers in this house. I enjoy them in salads but I don't have the discernment of flavors like Carol.
This poor brown twig is my wigelia. It couldn't withstand the heat. It is a first year plant, it even flowered for me but it was one the tail end of where our sprinkler range was and it got even less water than the good day cucumber, and this was the result of me being down or having doctor's appointments and not checking every day. Needless to say I repaired the cut hose and now can get water to the far end of the back yard but I'm afraid I'm too late for this youngster.





Now here are the 'bad day' plants. There are two of them that came up as opposed to three 'good day' plants and these are going nuts. They got more water due to the hose being okay where they were but I'm amazed at how many blooms and babies cukes are loaded on these two plants. So, Tipper, while my experiment with planting by the signs was flawed this year due to my health problems but hopefully if you do another experiment next year you will keep me in mind... after all, you got me back to blogging and I can't thank you enough for that.


The flowers on one of the bad day plants. The leaves are mostly looking good. There are a few burned up leaves but for the most part it is holding up good.

Be sure to drop by Tipper's blog, Blind Pig And The Acorn, to explore how other intrepid gardeners have done with their experiment. There's always good stories, good music and recipes.







The white cone flowers are loving the heat.













As are the pink cone flowers...
















The plumbago and the yellow and white lantana are enjoying the heat.


















I love the blue with the yellow and white...














And, of course, the sunflowers are loving the sun and the heat.

You know I'm not loving the heat. I have trouble dealing with it so I stay in most of the day. I go out and move the sprinkler around and go back in the house. Then later in the evening I do hand watering if it's needed. Carol gets up way earlier than I do and she goes out and waters early in the morning so that is probably why we've managed to keep the things alive that we've kept alive so we are a pretty good tag team when it comes to gardening. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this Sunday stroll. Come back and visit anytime.

Update And Update...

The first cucumber... and I didn't find it. Carol was out in the yard and she checked out the vines and found this fat little guy. Being the size queen that I am you know I have to put something in the photo for you to be able to get an idea of the size hence the cellphone. Carol is cutting it up for salad so I will be able to give you a report on it's tastiness. This came off the 'bad day' vine which is probably triple the size of the good day vines now. I tried to make sure they were both getting the same amount of water but the only thing I can figure is I misfigured on that facet of their growing. We had 21 consecutive days of 100 F. heat or higher, only getting broken yesterday when we, thank God, got about 2 inches of rain. It has been hard getting water to everything on a daily basis. I have felt so punk that Carol has had to do the major portion of the yard with the exception of the garden and I have managed to go out and set the sprinkler and move it periodically. I've done some of the weeding and grass pulling but Carol has done a whole lot more and from her wheelchair... makes me feel pretty useless some days.

My liver biopsy has been scheduled. I'll go in on the 19th for the biopsy. I don't know how long it will be before I get results but I don't imagine more than a day or two. It's amazing what the medical people are capable of doing nowadays and I So know my GI is as anxious as I am to get this resolved. I don't think it's because I asked him where my kiss was before my colonoscopy... He told his nurse that was her job. You should have seen the look on her face before I cracked up. I just told him when I was there for my blood test results that I was ready to find out what was going on and he said, "So am I", so I know he's concerned and wants to get to the bottom of this liver business.

So you all know as much as I know now and it's all just a matter of hurry up and wait... but that's okay because I know you all are supporting me and standing with me. I can't tell you how much that means to me, nor can I thank you enough.