SOME BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS

AMBER AND DYLAN'S MONTANA HOUSE

I decided not to show the bedrooms, they have 3. You can see the door to one of them, then there is one to the right, a bathroom to the left and some storage closets. 

This is their beautiful kitchen. I am so in love with it. 

Close up of her collections.....

The eating area....

Laundry room and the door out to their 3 car garage. Down the hall from here is a beautiful master bedroom with a beautiful huge bathtub. 

The large family room across from the kitchen. There are doors out to the patio/yard from behind the couch. 

They have plantation shutters throughout the house and this is their backyard which is finally being finished with sprinklers and grass. 

Dylan, Amber, Debby and Mark

Amber and Dylan

WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT'S GOING ON....

We celebrated Gabby's birthday on Monday night. Her birthday was on Valentine's Day. We went out and had a lovey dinner in the town of Orange where they live. Then, back at the house, we played Bunko with James. It was so much fun. 

Amber and Dylan's dog Finley taking a nap in my favorite chair at their house. They rent now but they are in the process of buying their very first home. They live in Great Falls, MT. It is very exciting for them. Hopefully in the next few months they will be able to move in. They are actually painting the walls now. 

However, I have been worried about Dylan. For a very long time now he has been working 6 days a week to pay off some debts they have. He is an RN and those are 12 hour shifts. He works nights and sleeps all day. They have very little time together but they will reach their goal and things should be better after they move into the house. 

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So what's been going on with me lately? Lots of phone calls and lots of anxiety to say the least. My ankle does hurt but I've been able to live with it. If I spend a day doing a lot of housework it really hurts the next day. I am trying to exercise each day, which is not easy but has to happen. 

I can't be sitting on my butt all day. Sadly I can't do my treadmill. This ankle started back in November of last year. Had the x-ray December 4th. Getting appointments is the worst thing of all. I see a podiatrist on March 17th. I did however see one doctor before this one but he doesn't do this type of surgery. 

I am having cataract surgery. My first eye is being done on March 11th with a follow up the next day. The second eye is being done on April 3rd with a follow up the next day. I'm definitely nervous about it. 

Then on March 14th I am getting shots in my back and spine. Then I talk to a doctor from pain management following the shots. They also sent me for an MRI. Did I tell you how nice it is to be in an MRI machine with open sides.

This particular issue has been going on since early last year and I had an x-ray done. I have osteoarthritis. The typical steroid shots worked the first time from my rheumatologist but then months later, the second time didn't take. (Similar to what's happening now with my ankle)

Because of a missed phone call, which I never got a message for, this is the new date. This should have been done this month. This is through a Pain Management doctor that I went to because those other shots didn't work. 

I'm not sure what they are using but there are three sheets of things you can't take for 7 days before the shots and I have to be off my blood thinner for a few day, not to mention that Mark also has to drive me. I'm a bit concerned about all of this. 

Anyway, I'm  praying that these things will all go well and I can get back to a somewhat normal life again. It's been to long of a wait. Certainly plays with my anxiety. 

The one thing that I am concerned with is that the ankle doctor would want to do surgery on my ankle right away. I've waited almost 4 months, however I need another 3 months before that happens. I realize that may sound crazy to you guys but I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, we could do something else that will help for now and get surgery in July. 

Here's the deal....

1. A family wedding August 29th in Georgia. We would be seeing our Florida family who we haven't seen since before the pandemic. Also, Adam, Gabby and James might be going too so the family could meet him and Gabby. This is my sister's oldest grandchild, Amanda, and I really want to go. 

2. Next up is visiting Amber and Dylan in Montana, hopefully in May because they should be moved into the new home. 

3. Mark goes fishing every year with his brother. They generally go in June for about 10 days to Canada. A dear friend of his brother has a house on a little island and they have a wonderful time fishing. They drive there from Chicago. 

I know this is long, but this is what is going on for me at this time. So technically the ankle is the big issue here and yes, I am in pain, but I can deal with it for these special moments in our life. 

I also realize that I have to be thankful in everything, because things could always be worse.

Praise God

FYI: I was not feeling well at all on Thursday so I didn't read email comments and I didn't read any posts. Praying I feel better on Friday(today) so we can go to Adam, Gabby's and James for dinner and maybe some Bunko with James. 

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #576

Thank you Joyce.

To join in click HERE

1. What is one good thing you often take for granted? 

The fact that we have a lovely home and are able to put food on the table. 

2. What's the boldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe? 

I don't think I have one anymore. I recently got rid of 3 bags of clothes. 

3. Do you think common interests or common values are the key to people getting along? Elaborate. 

I'm going to say common interests but common values are important too!

4. November 6 is National Nacho Day...do you like nachos? How do you like yours? Do you make them at home or only order out? 

Yes, I like nachos but I don't have them very often. We like chips, cheese and salsa. If we have avocados then that would be great too. We would make them at home.

5. Have you spent any time in Washington D.C.?  If so what did you think? If not, is that a place you'd like to visit? What do you think about politics as a career choice? 

No, it is the one place I have always wanted to visit. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

As far as I know, this is the only picture taken of James on Halloween! He is with his best friend from daycare. Her and James have been together in daycare for six years now. James was a spider but it's hard to tell with his arms behind him. They are hiding the legs of the spider.  

I'm guessing they might have been using their scooters since they have helmets on. 

This is the pumpkin they carved. Adam said that James was only interested for a short time.

We are seeing them this Friday and I can't wait.

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE

I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned the issues I am having with my back. This started earlier this year and I had x-rays taken of my back. I have mild osteoarthritis of the bilateral hip and sacroiliac joints. The pain I feel is only on my right side. 

I had talked to my rheumatologist about it and I got a few shots on my right side. Well those shots only last about 3 to 4 months so the pain has come back. I did go to physical therapy for 10 weeks and I currently do the exercises at home. 

I had 2 doctors appointments yesterday. One being my primary doctor and one with my rheumatologist for my second gel injection in my right knee. I have one more next week. Anyway, my primary doctor wants me to see a pain management doctor and my other doctor mentioned that on one of my visits recently. 

On one hand I don't want to keep getting injections because because I worry about the effect over time. My primary doctor yesterday assured me that if I did that 3 times a year it would be safe. 

So I talked to my rheumatologist too about it yesterday. I asked him why he thought I should see the pain management doctor. He said because he can't do one for the spine which he thinks could work even better. The other shot worked for several months so why not stick with that one.

Sorry to go on and on but there is a point to this. So according to the nurse who processed the referral, she said to call right away because they are currently booked out for a few months. I don't want to wait a few months. 

I will still make the appointment and go talk to the person and then set up an appointment a few months later to do the shot in the spine after the other one wears off. So hopefully this will all work out. 

On Wednesday I woke up feeling horrible. Muscle and bone pain everywhere. I had to call off on my first day of bowling for the season. Then on Thursday I felt even worse and Mark ended up driving me to those two above mentioned appointments. 

I love bowling. I have been bowling for 34 years now. It started when we moved into our new house in Fontana, CA and I met someone through PTA who asked me to join her. It was wonderful. The bowling alley was about 20 minutes from our house. About 2 or 3 years ago the league fizzled out. A few of the teams, including mine, moved to another bowling alley about 30 minutes from the house. 

However, 17 years ago we moved to the house we currently live in which has been a 45 minute drive to the bowling alley. I have to leave an hour before bowling starts because of the traffic. The drive has been wearing on me. It was nice to be off this summer. However, having social interactions is also good for me.

So yesterday I mention to my primary doctor that I had missed bowling on Wednesday because of the body aches I was having. He said "You can't bowl anymore!" It's my right side that is affected and continuing would just make it worse. What am I supposed to do? This is breaking my heart. 

{P.S. Yesterday my primary doctor prescribed a pill for me to take one hour before bed for a week. Then if I'm still in a lot of pain I could take 1 twice a day. I've also had issues with sleeping because of my back and this should also help me sleep. I woke up this morning feeling a lot better. What to do! What if all I would need are these pills and not injections?} 

Thank you for listening. Have a great weekend. 

Also, I am so far behind in reading blogs because of feeling so sick that I may not get around to everyone who does Wednesday's Hodgepodge.

COMING ATTRACTIONS . . . .

Montana Trip: Pictures have been downloaded to my computer so that's progress for a post to be written. Here's one to enjoy.....

Baby Shower: It was wonderful and the pictures have been downloaded to my computer. Here's one for you to enjoy....

Gabby and Adam

Due October 6th

Their House: I haven't done a post about their house yet. The roof is going to be done this week so when I get a picture of the outside the next time I go there I will try to write a post with all that was done. Here's one to enjoy....

At The Movies: I have 4 movies to write reviews about. I do love going to the show. We go on Tuesday which is half price popcorn. Our local show is $5. all day everyday for seniors. So we get our tickets, the bucket of popcorn and a large water for under $20. 

I swear to God the days are just going by so fast. I barely have time to breathe let along get stuff done. Sure I get the normal laundry done, kitchen stuff, dusting and vacuuming done. 

I'm working on our tile grout in the house. We have so much tile and I can only do so many sections a day. I don't do it everyday but when I do, I do a few sections of maybe 8 tiles. They are 12 x 12. So it will take me at least six weeks to get it all done. 

Mark has started painting the hallways. He already did the baseboards about six weeks ago. Then he will paint room by room. So there is stuff going one! 

We go to the show on Tuesday's, I start bowling on Wednesday's and Mark goes shooting on Thursday's. Of course grocery shopping needs to be done too! But what about the deep cleaning that needs to be done, the cabinets, drawers and closets! When does that get done????

So with all of this being said, the posts will come eventually! Hope everyone is doing well. 

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE ....

After the sunset last week I was able to get this awesome shot of the sky with the clouds and the city lights. 

I had a medical update post ready to go but decided to delete it. Haven't we had enough? I know I have! In just about six week it will be a year since my first x-ray on my left knee. One step forward and two steps back has been going on for far too long.

If all goes as planned and the hospital approves everything we actually have a date on my calendar. I am not giving it out but it is in the next few weeks. So keep me in your prayers. I am nervous and scared but I must trust in God's plan for me.

Actually that has been something that I have wondered about recently. Have all the roadblocks been set up by God telling me not to do it or is it just the way of the systems today?? I have several medical issues that make this surgery a bit of a risk but on the other hand the daily pain is a lot for me to bear. 

We had Adam and Gabby over for dinner on Saturday. We had a great time and we also got to Skype with Amber and Dylan. I made my Provolone Chicken casserole which was a hit, along with tater tots because Mark love them and we had sweet/sour cucumbers too. 

I made a few snacks before hand. One was onion dip so we could try the wavy Jay's potato chips and a Lemon Cream Pie Cheesecake Dip which was served with mini Nilla Wafers. Then for dessert I tried a new recipe called Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins which were so delicious. 

One day last week I made Vegan Stuffed Zucchini and I have to say they were delicious. I didn't make the vegan cheese sauce because I knew Mark wouldn't like it so I sprinkled some regular cheese on top to melt just before they were done. The stuffing is basically Mexican style. 

I am in week eleven of physical therapy. I certainly hope it helps with my recovery, that is the plan. I went to see Spiderman Homecoming on Tuesday and hope to see a movie today. I know I won't be going anytime soon after my surgery so I am going to push myself to see a few more. 

I think I am finally done with doctor's appointments for a few week. I had a steroid shot in my right knee and ankle and a chest x-ray on Monday. 

I looked back and I'm not sure I shared this with you but here it is: Arthroben for people who have osteoarthritis. I'm going to give it a try. It is safe for me with my other chronic illnesses.  The reviews I have read sound promising. It helps to build cartilage and collagen. 

Also July was ornament premiere at Hallmark. I missed having Amber there to help me look at each one to make sure they were perfect and of course Mark didn't want to join me. Here is the Dreambook if you are interested in seeing what they have this year. 

Believe it or not I did some major cutbacks this year in my purchasing. 

I also have a cut and color today after physical therapy which is very much needed.  This Saturday I am going with Gabby to a dress fitting for the wedding. Mark and Adam are going to hang out while we are gone and then we will all be going out for a late lunch. Something to look forward too!!

Last minute addition and yes it is about my medical stuff. Every way I turn I hit a roadblock. Got a call on Tuesday about a knee surgery class at the hospital that happens on Wednesday's from 10 to noon. Since the woman was leaving on vacation I needed to attend this class. I wasn't sure about going because I had an appointment there this Friday and it is a 45 minute ride and I was already there on Monday!! 

Anyway she informed me that I could do the stuff scheduled for Friday on Wednesday so I went to the meeting and I am so glad I did that. It was a great class with a lot of wonderful information. However when I went to do the paperwork for admission there were two more roadblocks which were taken care of but I think this will be the end of it except for one more blood test and a nasal test 72 hours before the surgery date.

Another issue that just happened yesterday is that we had an appointment for Skye at the vet because she has been unusually itchy since her haircut. We thought it was her allergies acting up. 

Mark ended up taking her because I had the last minute class and appointments to take care of. Turns out she got a bacterial infection from the new groomers tools. She is not going back to her! So she is on steroids for a month and antibiotics along with a special shampoo to be used twice a week until she is better. 

CHAOS

As you know we are having company for Adam and Gabby's couples shower. So much to be done and Mark has been traveling like crazy. He just got home Sunday from 7 days in Amsterdam and he took off again on Friday for 10 days of fishing in Canada. So I've been rather stressed because when he gets home we only have 3 days before they arrive. 

I am praying for good health during this time because I have things that need to be done. Hopefully when you are reading this the floors have all been washed. (NOT, DIDN'T HAPPEN YET) We have a lot of tile in this house! 

There are a number of things you can't do until the last minute like shop for groceries, dust, and vacuum. So I'm currently working on everything else like dusting the blinds, cleaning the showers, cleaning the patio furniture and some of the windows. (NO WINDOWS YET)

So Mark had an early appointment in San Diego so he came home around noon on Monday. So we headed out with a plan. We had already been to Home Depot and Lowe's looking at carpet for those two front bedroom but their process takes almost three weeks. So we decided to try a factory carpet store and we were beyond happy with their service and help. 

The man was out within an hour to measure the rooms and we decided on the exact color of a carpet we had picked out. As you read this the carpet may already be installed and if not they will be here on Saturday June 3rd to put it in. (NOT INSTALLED YET)

Now while the man was here Mark wanted him to measure our family room for hardwood flooring. He has been wanting to put in new flooring for several years now. I have refused because it involves so much moving of furniture and more for me to clean up. I hate stuff like that. Well guess what a new laminated flooring was installed on Thursday. 

I was not going along with this plan. I have enough on my plate right now, no thank you!!! So I agreed with one exception, Mark must be home. Even though he has taken a ton of vacation already this year he promised he would be here. 

So the bedrooms are all painted, empty and ready to have the carpet installed. I have bedding coming from Bed, Bath and Beyond for the one room that didn't have a bed. We bought a full size bed on Monday when we were out. That is being delivered soon, we just needed to wait for the carpet to be installed. Also a rattan headboard was ordered which just arrived on Thursday.

We have new patio cushions being delivered this week. (HERE) We have needed new ones since last summer but I didn't come across any that I like and then it just kind of slipped by. Well I found something online at J.C. Penney's that I hope will work. We got our love seat cushion and six chair cushions for $137. which was a steal. It normally costs a minimum of $300. to replace them. (SO MARK ENDED UP SLICING INTO ONE WHEN HE OPENED THE BOX. NO MORE ARE AVAILABLE)

So flooring has been installed and it is lovely. However I lost a whole day because of it. I actually had physical therapy that morning and shopped so I was gone for several hours. So of course the clean up is not easy and Mark took off to Canada! Everything in the family room now needs deep cleaning because of the dust from the cutting of the wood.  They did that in the yard but walking in and out along with having the door open all day didn't really help much. 

So I thought that yesterday after taking Mark to the airport I would do all those clean ups in the family room. (NOT) Half way home from the airport Mark called and told me to come back and get him. His connection flight in San Francisco was never going to leave. So I picked him up, we came home and I showered before having to take him to an Orange County airport. 

Half the day was shot so I just decided to run some more errands that were on my list. So today is the day. Dust the blinds, clean the leather sofas and chair, dust all the furniture. Wash the floors nearby, like the kitchen and hallway which now have extra dust on them. Then I can clean the new floor in the family room. 

So technically I lost two days of other things I wanted to be cleaning because of the new floor in the family room. Also, Skye is afraid of the floor. She is now walking on it but she has this habit of looking out the sliding glass doors in our bedroom and then doing this crazy run from there, thru the hallway and flying through the family room to the sliding glass door in the kitchen when she sees a bird, rabbit or lizard. Well she has lost her footing and slid already. Poor girl....she doesn't like change either! 

I will post pictures in a few weeks with all of the new stuff that has been done. Here is a sneak peek of the family room floor. 

Tomorrow I get to go to a brunch with Adam and Gabby to celebrate one of her sister's birthdays and I look forward to that! 

MAYBE.....

I did not want to leave the house last week. I very much wanted to go to the show but could not get my act together. I honestly did nothing for several days last week. Probably one the laziest weeks I've had in a long time. Each day I had plans but never did them, putting them off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow came and I put them off until the next day.

Finally by Thursday I went out. Why? Because I had bowling and I never want to let my league down so I made myself go. Then since I was dressed for the day I convinced Mark to go to the show that night. 

No more pajama days for me! (okay, technically I am always in my PJ's until sometime after lunch except on Thursday's) What I mean is no more days where I shower and put on clean pajamas in the middle of the day. 

Friday I attended a funeral for my boss from Hallmark where I worked for seven years for her and her husband who owned the store. She passed away in her sleep. Her husband passed away last May. I couldn't stop thinking about their three daughter and how hard it has to be to lose both parents so close together. 

When you see the video of pictures of a persons life it really makes you think how quickly our lives go by. Let's make the most of it while we are still here! She was my buddy on Facebook and we emailed each other often. I will miss her.....

After that I ran to our local Von's grocery store to pick up a few things for Saturday. Adam was coming over. I picked up vegetables and berries. I knew we were going out to eat for his birthday dinner that we didn't do the week before and I wanted to have something to munch on if we got hungry.  

I'm just so tired of the bad snacking that the holiday parties bring on. We are back on track...well at least until Super Bowl Sunday! 

We had a wonderful lunch at the Wood Ranch, went for a walk around a pond next to the restaurant and then we came back home and played a game. It was really a perfect day. Adam flew back to Pittsburgh yesterday. Mark took off to Georgia this morning and I plan on keeping busy this week. Hopefully I will see a few movies. 

We are expecting storms today....

My plan is to go see  Whiplash tonight 

but I'm not holding my breath on that one ....

LOW CLOUDS AND FOG

Earlier this week we had a morning of very low clouds and fog. Thought I would share it with you. I actually went out to the show about 3 hours after these photos were taken and I had to drive through a very thick fog.

 Then it moved in closer.....

 Looking down past the fence....

Fog that I drove through. (phone photo)

 Today's view is nice and clear! 

 01-16-15

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!