Blog Archives

Dumb questions

 

     If you don’t want to hear my smartass answer, don’t ask me a dumb question.

     When I took Gavin and Patty for their walks today, a neighbor asked me, “Are you going for a walk?”

     “No, I’m tap dancing and the dogs are going along with it.”

     I staggered from the car to the house with a forty pound bag of dog food slung over my shoulder and someone asked, “Is that heavy?”

     “Nope, I always walk like this.”

     I dragged a few dozen flats of flowers out of car and had them next to the gate ready to take them into the yard when another neighbor asked, “Gonna plant some flowers?”

     “Nah uh, I’m going to toss out the plants and use the dirt for decoration.”

     After watching me spend the day running up and down two flights of stairs doing laundry Monday, tonight Dear Hubby asked me, “Do I have any clean underwear?” 

     “No, I was just carting those laundry baskets around all day on Monday for the fun of it.”

     I’m curled up in my chair, paperback book opened, and I’m very, very quiet.  Dear Hubby asks, “Are you reading?”

     “No, I’m counting pages.”

 

A little bit of this a little bit of that…

 

     Wow, my hits passed the 30,000 mark…Thank you dear readers.

     It almost felt as though winter was tapping us on the shoulder again yesterday.  Today was a bit warmer and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer yet.  At least I should be able to get out to do a little yard work. 

     I took the pups for walks today they both enjoyed meeting and greeting some of the neighbors who happened to be out.  Gavin was shyly sucking up for neck scratches and showed off his paw shaking skills for cookies.  It’s a good thing I’d preloaded my pockets before we went for his walk.  Then I took Patty out.  Gavin will mosey along while Patty wants to keep up a fast pace, places to go, people to see, smells to smell—let’s move it, Mom.  She is more on the boisterous side when it comes to meeting and greeting people.  They love her enthusiasm when she does ‘stick ‘m up’ for them…or rather for the cookies.  Yes, I did fill my pockets again.

     Dear Hubby is so tired.  I do hope they release his mother from the Rehab hospital before I leave for my writers’ conference in mid May.  If not, he’ll probably have to get some help with her dog during the time I’m gone so he doesn’t have to run over there twice a day.  Our two dogs can be enough of a handful for him when he’s not tired.

Where does the time go?

 

      It’s hard to believe that the end of March is almost here.  At the beginning of this month, the days seemed to drag but now they are rushing by.  There’s so many things that I’d wanted to finish before the first of April but it looks as though I won’t succeed.  So much for giving myself a deadline.

     Best laid plans and all that….  Time certainly gets away from me.  I’ve found that there’s no way I can keep to a schedule because every time I try, something jumps up to bite me.  I have to have my computer and Dear Hubby’s cell phone set up with reminders for everything from appointments to when certain bills are due. 

     A reminder popped up while I was writing this seems Patty has a vet appointment in 2 weeks for her rabies shot.  This should be fun since she enjoys going there unlike Gavin.

Adventures in DIY Land…EEKS!!!

 

     Before his MS caught up to him, Dear Hubby had many home improvement projects in the works.  Now he’s unable to do them so we’re stuck with a few unfinished DIY ventures.  Then there’s all the stuff around the house that needs repair work done.  It’s enough to send me screaming off into the wilderness.

     Although I am capable of doing many things, lifting dry wall isn’t one of them, and we have two rooms that need it.  The last time I tried to lift some dry wall panels, I managed to get one about a foot off the ground before my back chimed in, “Are you stupid?  You sat in front of a computer for years and now you want me to help you lift that?  I’ll show you!” 

     OUCH!  I spent the next several days with a heating pad as my best friend.  My second best friend was the muscle relaxant my doctor prescribed. 

     Soon I’ll be climbing a ladder to do all the painting I need to do.  It’s not that easy when you have a fear of heights.  I get halfway up the ladder and my brain hits me with, “You’re going to fall.  Can’t you feel the ladder shaking?  Tell you what.  How about I hit your adrenals get them pumping and start your heart racing a little?”  There’s nothing quite like some cardio work and an adrenalin rush to brighten your day.

I need to get out the camera and the rake

 

     I was out puttering in the garden by the pond today.  The crocus are so gorgeous I should get some pictures of them.  I might wait until the daffodils begin to bloom they are loaded with buds right now.  However, with my luck the crocus will be finished blooming by then. 

     I need to drag out the rake and clear the leaves from all the gardens.  The rhubarb is starting to peek out of the ground so I did clear the leaves away from the plants.  I can’t wait until it is ready to pick, rhubarb custard pie here I come!  All the blueberry bushes are loaded with buds.  I’m relieved I was worried that the bitter cold we had this winter might have killed them.  The yard is greening up and it looks nice. 

     Gavin and Patty have been kicking up their heels in this weather.  The pups have been looking for the squirrels and rabbits to chase but I think the critters wised up and when they hear the back door open, they dash out of the yard.  I had to re-home a small garter snake yesterday.  The snake was heading for the pond, Gavin stepped on it and he didn’t even notice it.  The snake no longer resides in our yard.

     On another note Dear Hubby took the basket I made into his mother today.  She was delighted with it.

MS doesn’t belong on the back burner

 

     Today I received an Email from a former co-worker of my husband’s.  She told me a friend of hers was just diagnosed with MS and she asked if it was okay with me if she passed my E-mail address along to her.  I told her she certainly could and that I would, to the best of my ability, answer any questions she wanted to fire my way. 

     Many years ago, when Dear Hubby was first diagnosed, we had no one available to us who we could go and ask questions.  DH’s neurologist was a very poor one who no longer practices today.  He was bad enough that DH quit going.  He essentially put the whole MS thing on the back burner. 

     Our family physician tried to answer questions but soon ran out of answers.  He wasn’t a neurologist and DH wasn’t ready to find another one after the quack he’d been going to did absolutely nothing for him except charge and exorbitant fee for about five minutes of his time.

     We didn’t have a computer at the time where I could do research.  There were very few books available and of those that were, most weren’t helpful.  No one offered us much in the way of answers.  We had no support groups available and so we muddled along on our own. 

     In another post I talked about how that due to a problem I had, I went to a different neurologist for tests and took DH with me.  DH found a new doctor there.  Suddenly available to him were medications and support that the former (quack) Doctor had never bothered to mention or offer.  This doctor answered questions and most important of all, he cared.

MIL update 3/19

 

     Dear Hubby didn’t get out to see his mother today since we were busy taking both hers and our paperwork to HR Block to get the taxes done.  (If you’re reading this Patti, hi!)  Patti is great she’s been doing our taxes for several years now.  I know if it was hubby or me doing them, it’d take forever.  She has both ours and the MIL’s done in no time.

     Yesterday they took another X-ray of MIL’s femur and tomorrow DH should hear what the results were.  I made up a basket with silk flowers, a get well card, and a bunch of wrapped chocolates for her that he’ll take over on Saturday.  She’s stuck in her room with no PT on Saturdays and Sunday so she should enjoy her basket.  I would’ve added books if she was a reader but she’s not.

Memed…gee, thanks. I think.

Thanks Granny Anne (http://grannysramblings.wordpress.com/).  I was struggling for a topic tonight anyway.   I wasn’t going to post about my birthday–too boring.

My favorite recordings are, in no particular order…

Mozart, The Complete Piano Sonatas, Philippe Entremont  — I often listen to them while I’m writing.

Mick Maloney and Eugene O’Donnell –for some toe tapping Irish fun

Sean Nua– for the same

Joe and Antoinette McKenna–easy listening Irish music

Celtic Reflections …again while I write and when I’m not in the mood for Mozart

Queen and Meatloaf, when I’m cleaning… for the energy

Saffire, the Uppity Blues Women–any time!

Dixie chicks…and various other country/western singers.

Top O’ the marnin’ to ye

 

     Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone!

     Every year, my friends send me Irish jokes.  I wear green.  I cook corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.  My house bounces to the rhythms of Irish/Celtic music all day long.  Dear Hubby is a true sweetheart and puts up with the second of two days a year where I kick up my heels at home.

     To top everything off we’re supposed to have lovely weather for the day.  The next day is supposed to be even better which couldn’t please me more since it’s my birthday.

     (On a private note, Happy Birthday Cuz! )

Tax Season

 

     Dang, it’s here again isn’t it?  This year we’ll take the MIL’s papers along with us when we get ours done and have hers done too.  We did it last year because she was ill and now this year she’s in the hospital recovering from her nasty fall.  Speaking of nasty falls, I do hope VP Biden’s mother recovers quickly from hers.

     My neighbor already has her tax return.  Normally we have ours by this time too but with all the running about we’ve been doing we’re running late.  Dear Hubby made an appointment for us to get ours done so at least that much is out of the way.  We need only show up with our paperwork and the woman who does our taxes is finished and has them filed electronically in fifteen minutes.  No wonder we keep going back to her.

     It’s a shame that there are no deductions for pets and their veterinary bills.  Gavin’s surgery for the aural hematoma costs us a pretty penny.

Bed bouncing Bull Terrier

 

     I’d taken Gavin outside and left Patty to her own devices for a little while, mistake number one.  I’d left my bedroom door opened, mistake number two.  I’d trusted Patty to wait at the kitchen door for her turn to go out, mistake number three.

     I think she’d already decided to make a beeline for my bedroom as soon as the porch door closed.  I wasn’t outside with Gavin for very long, just long enough for her to get into a little mischief.  When we came inside, I expected her to be waiting by the door for her turn to go out.  She wasn’t there but I heard the unmistakable thunder of Bull Terrier feet flying down the hall and then the steps.  Poof, the naughty girl was in front of me trying to look innocent.

     I took her out.  When we came back inside, I went upstairs to inspect my room—the other two rooms had their doors closed.  I was prepared for damage but was pleasantly surprised to find none–really, she hadn’t destroyed anything.  However, the evidence was clear.  She’d been jumping on my bed.  Or, as we call it in this house, she’d been Bully Bed Bouncing.  How did I know this?  My nicely made bed was not so nicely made and my pillows were on the floor.  SHE had been busy.

What would someone find in your couch?

    

      In Spokane Washington, a woman bought a used couch for $27.00 and found she had a stow-away inside it.  A CAT.  Which brings to mind what someone might discover in mine later.

     Knowing my dogs as I do there will probably be a Nylabone or three stashed away in my couch’s depths.  There might even be some spare change.  There’s a good possibility that a dust bunny or two may have stowed-away.  It could be that the sock monster has used it as a place to stash his prizes.  Maybe there’s a dog cookie or two but I doubt that because these two never let a snack pass them by, ever.  You might even find some beads that pulled a mass escape when I was working on some jewelry.

     That’s my couch.  Now, it’s up to you.  What would someone find in your couch?