Hi everyone,
My sister, Cindy, and her hubby Tom, came in tonight, but they are heading to see my sister, Deb, in Springfield, Missouri. I’ll have to go on the next trip, hopefully.
Several of you have asked so, I thought I’d let you know my hubby is somewhat better and his numbers for his kidney functions are going down. It’s a good thing. Today was his first day out… he had to have more blood labs drawn to compare them to when he left the hospital. Then we go see a doctor tomorrow to give us more details on his numbers and what lies ahead.
My pictures I’m sharing with you today are from last Thursday when he was so sick. He was determined to get the grass mowed, but it took him several times of mowing, then coming in to rest and mowing some more and returning inside. He finally decided to go the doctor because he couldn’t take it anymore. He was so nauseous and that was something new for him. It turns out his kidney’s were failing but we had no idea. All these surgeries have been related to his bladder cancer. One thing affects something else and it just keeps going.
Anyway, I’ll skip lots of details, but he was in very serious condition. Thankfully, the doctor did surgery the next day; added him on as the last patient of the day.
The Nephrostomy tubes placed in his back are helping drain the urine/blood from his kidneys, but it’s still not back to normal yet. We are waiting on a call for when the next surgery will be done. They are redoing some of his inside “plumbing.” I actually did a little sewing today to make him some “carrying pouches” for his tubes/bags. They turned out wonderful, and I don’t think anyone could tell what was under his shirt. :o)
Anyway, that’s a quick update and here are the pictures of our yard finished with lots of love from my hubby! I don’t know how he could do it when he felt so sick. I think tomorrow I’ll be doing the mowing by myself this time.
Here are his tomato plants and one cucumber plant. He’s now been told tomatoes aren’t that great for kidney patients… oh dear!
…and, of course, the hens wanted to have their picture taken too!
Well, maybe you can find something to talk about from these few pictures.
I’ll see you Monday.
Blessings, Jeanne
Hello all, here I am again!! I will try to do a little catching up on the last 2-3 days for you, but first of all, Jeanne, thanks for the update. I wondered if those surgeries were related to George’s previous battle with bladder cancer. I’m very sorry to hear that they were, and he’s been dealing with kidney failure now, too. Not a fun thing to contemplate although, of course, if it had to happen, NOW is better than 50 years ago, when current surgeries and and easy access to dialysis (if needed) were dreams!
The yard looks beautiful, and it was, indeed, a labor of love on George’s part to do it when he was so Very ill!!
So, on to my updates: New computer. Yes, some of you were right, my computers (old and new) had to spend overnight at Best Buy while the stuff from Old was put onto New. At least it was only one night they had to spend there, although Old will now be recycled and only New came home with me. Old was 10-1/2 years old, and had served my very well, but it was big and heavy (over 8 pounds, I think) so not really great for a “laptop” when your lap isn’t terribly big or young/strong! This one is much easier to hold and stays charged up a Lot longer than the old one did!!
I have read thru all the comments of the last three days, and I think there are some things I want to comment on, in a moment, but first, I did add a comment after Rosemary’s remark about “clutter piles”!!
I do need to have my hearing tested again–years ago it was tested, and at that time I had some fairly significant loss in my left ear; it’s worse now, I’m sure, and my right ear isn’t as good either. Further, my ears ring constantly and have for about 50 years now. I understand that there are special hearing aids for people like me with tinnitus, so I need to check that out.
My girlfriend Judy was born with (or soon after birth it showed up) fairly profound hearing loss–when I first met her in 9th grade, she was at about 50% hearing, and it gradually worsened. Finally, some years back, she did have a cochlear implant placed in one ear, and it worked very well for her. She had to have a lot of training to use it, including speech therapy, as she was pronouncing (and even spelling, when she wrote) words as she heard them! She said she’d never worked at something so hard in her life. Sadly, a few years later, her body rejected the implant, and she went back to a hearing aid in the other ear (the implant replaces the natural workings of your ear) and reading lips (she excelled at that). We lost her a few years ago to cancer.
Georgina, I will be praying for complete recovery for your husband. My late mother-in-law had open heart surgery when she was in her early 70s, and did very well. She followed the doctor’s instructions exactly, and lived another 20 years!
Linda, thank you for sharing the recipe. I love chicken, but I don’t cook with wine, so I will pass. I do have another chicken recipe I can share sometime, though, that is quite good also. It was from my Aunt Ruth, my dad’s sister, when we stayed with her the summer before she died. (She was 96.) I think of her whenever I make it.
Sissy, I’m glad to hear that both you and Peyton are feeling better. He must have been very worried about you, though, when you didn’t hear/answer the phone! How nice you have such caring neighbors. We have good neighbors, too–shoveling snow when needed in the winter, helping with garbage totes, even offered to come and mow when my son was unavailable recently.
Barbara, I’m so sorry about your pain issues. I rather understand, as I have recurring chronic back pain issues (to say nothing of a really bad knee and hip!), and deal with pain to varying degrees from time to time. I so hope the PT will bring a lasting effect, as your muscles relearn how to be strong and supportive again.
I am almost finished with Nolan’s t-shirt–poor guy has been SO patient! But I tried it on him tonight and the neckline is a little too wide, as are the sleeves. So I think I will order and print that “football jersey” (I think it’s called) t-shirt and make that up for him. At least we are still only at the point of getting a hot day every now and then, so he’s not complaining too much yet!
Good to hear from you, Charlotte, and so glad you are happy with your new computer. I know how hard it is to hear and talk to people when you have to rely on hearing aides. My hearing keeps getting worse. Sorry about Nolan’s shirt, but I know you will get it done.
Glad that your new computer is a-okay and ready to roll. And looking forward to seeing the shirt you’re working on for Nolan. Maybe you can take in the neck/sleeves to save it? Hope so. 🙂
I think my problem is that I’m impatient to get back to normal. I realize it took me quite a while to create the situation and most of my pain when I have it comes from the fact that I’ve compensated so things like tendons and ligaments aren’t exactly where they should be. But mostly what frustrates me is the stiffness and I think muscle relaxants could help some with that but so far no one has mentioned them. All I got was a prescription for Celebrex which it looks like only works if you take it twice a day every day but then you risk damage to your kidneys which would be worse than what I’m dealing with now.
Getting a new computer can be a bit of a pain, but it’s great to have someone like the Geek Squad to get things moved from the old to the new and get everything set up for you. I really wouldn’t want to do that myself.
Barbara, I think the reason no one has mentioned muscle relaxants to you is that you (like several of us on this list!) are of “a certain age” when they are simply NOT a good idea! They can cause severe constipation and other delightful problems. When I fell that time about 6 years ago, the ER doc put my on muscle relaxants, and my own doc didn’t see why she had done that, because of that very thing. So, in theory, they are a great idea, but in reality, we are in that age group where it’s really Not such a good idea!
Oh Jeanne, your yard looks just beautiful! I wish you were our neighbor so that I could see it all the time! And maybe you could “share” some eggs with me too! George has such perseverance to be able to take care of that while feeling so sick. My prayers and wishes are for him to get and feel better.
So Charlotte, there you are! I saw your comment last night, so knew you would be back this morning, a d figured it was your computer for the reason you weren’t here yesterday. I understand your no wine policy, but the cooking does away with the alcohol, and I really do not taste the wine, to tell you the truth, but yes, you would have to go out and buy a bottle of wine for just a fourth cup of it for the recipe. Too much left over!
We keep seeing deer in our backyard, and the lilies are now producing stems with buds on them, which the deer find so tasty! I think they prefer the buds over the actual flowers, so I have been busy with spraying Liquid Fence on the buds. Today is the grocery store, since we have a funeral tomorrow, my usual grocery shopping day. I was planning on washing the siding on our front porch, and windows too, for today, but funerals happen and this was a very dear friend, so the siding and windows can wait.
Praying for you both…
Merci Charlotte et aussi Linda . Mon mari va ,maintenant très bien. c’était une opération,pour scléroser certains vaisseaux qui avaient des spasmes. Avec une anestésie générale ,ils passent une sonde, par l’artère fémorale,pour cautériser des vaisseaux dans le coeur. C’est toujours des moments difficiles à vivre et je suis de tout coeur avec Jeanne et son mari. Belle journée pour vous toutes, même si vous êtes loin ; nous nous ressemblons tellement…
“même si vous êtes loin ; nous nous ressemblons tellement…”
so very true Georgina. I hope your husband is doing better.
Mon mari a aussi subi une opération à cœur ouvert. C’était pendant le Covid ; ils voulaient le faire sortir de l’hôpital, mais son rétablissement était très lent. C’était évidemment parce que je n’avais pas le droit d’aller le voir !
“Even if you are far away, we are so much alike…” ❤️🥰
Je suis toujours très heureuse d’avoir de vos nouvelles.
My husband had open heart surgery too. It was during covid and they wanted to get him out of the hospital but his recovery was so slow. It was of course because I was not allowed to see him!
I am always so happy to hear from you, Georgina.
I had the same problem with the COVID restrictions when David had his heart surgery. i could wait in the waiting room and say hi and bye when it was over and then not see him again until they released him. I almost cried when he said I’ll be in a regular room tomorrow and you can come and see me then. He thought I was restricted because he was in the recovery room. Fortunately they released him just a couple days later so I could bring him home. But it could have been worse. My dear friend passed away during that time and only her husband could be at her bedside. None of her other family members could say good-bye. She had had double lung transplants and was doing great and suddenly her body rejected the transplants and she was gone leaving sad memories for her family.
My husband had triple bypass surgery back in January of 2021 and he is doing great. Prayers for your husband to do the same. By the way my church friend and her husband just got back from three weeks in Paris for their 50th wedding anniversary. They had a wonderful time.
I hope today is another day of recovery and progress for George. I know he is glad to be home, I hope he is comfortable. They have many good pain pills now that do not have horrible side effects or turn you into a constipated zombie.
Oh George 🥰 get better soon.
Jeanne and George, I absolutely know you have so many lovely friends coming to help. I hope you can find a local teen to just do the basics. I am sure George is picky about the mowing, though. We have a mowing company in our neighborhood and when I hear them on Fridays, like right Now! I step out the front door and kindly ask them to use the smaller mower. My next door neighbor and I are picky about the edges and tidiness of the mowing. So far, they have been okay.
Well, I went to the eye doctor yesterday to get my a quick eye examination to upgrade my glasses. I see a retina specialist about every 4 months… because I have a macular pucker in both of my eyes!
Anyway, my vision has changed and I am getting new glasses and new lenses.
The glasses will be kind of cute, maybe sorta. I must wear them while driving as I finally have the requirement on my drivers license.
So, I have been puttering, doing chores and watering the gardens, and just looking at the clutter piles. My incentive is to straighten up the down stairs so I can move a little machine down here, my cute Featherweight.
I have a very light weight White brand machine, but perhaps I should exercise my Featherweight.
We have all 4 bank boxes of daddy’s paperwork out because of the surprise tax bill! I think I told all of you what that was about. He filed 2022 state and federal with H & R block and only filed the federal, because the tax software wanted extra $$ to file the state and my dad (I am guessing here) thought that was sneaky and put the taxes aside. He was 99 years old and only a few months later the angels wrapped their wings around him, so gently, and took him to Heaven. The accountant has the signed permissions now from my sister and myself so he can pursue the matter.
I decided to pick out this heavy bank box and open it and inside was a small photo album of the last days of my dear oldest sister, Dorothy – we called her Dolley. She went to Heaven at 48 years old. I looked through this little album and it made me reallllllly sad. She was so beautiful.
Today I am going to go out in the hot weather and run to Walmart.
Then I am going to come home and hopefully go to Tai-chi again. I must develop some good habits.
Jeanne, your property is so beautiful. Really like your own paradise plot.
Both of you have created a lovely garden and lawn!
Do you have ticks?
We have so many ticks!
I love all of you dear ones. I hope this day is filled with happy moments and a little silly laughing too. “just keep swimming” 🐠🎏🐟🐠
Yes, Rosemary, the ticks are the worst I have ever known them. I got one yesterday just walking to water 2 pots and walking back. I wish I could find a bunch of possums to put in the yard, they eat ticks.
I hope everything will work out soon about your dads taxes.
Yes, the ticks are terrible!! I was so very happy to see an opossum on our porch twice in the past few nights. I hope he will have his fill of the ticks.
I saw your reply to my comment from yesterday about my son’s’ sofa. I told my son today that I couldn’t come visit again unless he got a new sofa. Considering that the sofa has never been favorable to them even before they got their dog who has literally shredded it, I think he’d love to do that but is waiting till the dog gets out of puppyhood. My dog wasn’t allowed on the living room furniture. She took over the settee on the breezeway and we were okay with that. But I think it’s too late now to teach their dog to keep her paws on the floor. I guess next time I go I will take my folding chair with me.
We don’t have ticks but I looked up some safe ways to get rid of them. Also it mentioned that they don’t like sunlight so keeping grass short and bushes trimmed helps. The only time we had a problem with them was when a neighbor got some wood for their fireplace and they were in the wood. We sprayed our yard and then before we moved we had our dog dipped and had no problems thereafter.
Cedar oil spray: Mix 60 drops of cedarwood essential oil with 1 ounce of grain alcohol in water and spray around the yard
pestdude.com
pestdude.com
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Neem or eucalyptus oil: These oils can be applied similarly to deter ticks naturally
pestdude.com
pestdude.com
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Plant tick-repelling herbs and flowers: Lavender, rosemary, mint, marigolds, and chrysanthemums can reduce tick presence while beautifying your yard
Prayers…
Praying for Jeanne and George to get through this difficult time.
Hi Jeanne,
I’m so very sorry to hear about hubby’s health issues. As I’ve been MIA for quite a while and sadly have had a hard time keeping up with everything, I wasn’t aware and feel awful reading about George’s issues! I’m adding you both to my prayer list and trusting the Lord will see you through as he always does. Blessings to you both!
I’ve been busy finishing up with my parents’ estate. Their finally resting place was next to my brother. The stone had 40 years of dirt and yuck so desperately needed to be acid washed. That was recently done and the engraving is now completed.
Their home was refreshed, every room painted, new carpet installed throughout, all new lighting in every room and then I had it professionally cleaned. It looked/looks beautiful! I listed it and the following day it was shown. A very generous offer came in the same day. No contingencies, no inspection, 41k over asking. My parents would have been over the moon! We should be closing soon.
July 18th will be mom and dad’s celebration of life. It’s two days after what would have been my dad’s 86th birthday. They both loved summertime so much and would have loved visiting with everyone! I myself am not looking forward to what feels like the finally goodbye. Sooo chin up! Big girl pants on! My Lord and Savior in my heart and by my side! All is and will be good!
Hugs
Ingrid
Ohhh almost forgot… Happy Friday!
Very glad to hear that the house sale went so well. That is great! Now, on to July, and the celebration of life. One step at a time. You will get through it all. Be thinking of you, and I’m very happy to hear from you.
Ingrid. thank you for sharing your latest struggles, and grief.
I know that all too well. I am going to keep you in my prayers.
It is not always easy to be brave. Just know you have so many friends to help you.
So happy to hear from you, Ingrid! I’m very sorry about your parents, but glad to hear the house sold for a great price. Prayers and be thinking of you!
Quelque soit notre âge,il est toujours difficile de perdre ses parents. Et la succession est aussi,un moment difficile. heureusement,le temps passe et le chagrin s’ atténue…
Great to hear from you. What good fortune in selling your parents’ home but you did a lot to make that happen. Sounds lovely. Prayers for you to stay strong during such a trying time. I know you will do fine.
Ingrid, I’m so happy to hear from you! I knew you were quite involved with all the things to do with your parents’ estates. Congratulations on the successful sale of their home. It’s a bittersweet thing, though–been there, done that.
In a way, I was rather dreading my parents’ funerals (they died two years apart), but they both turned out to be wonderful times of reunion with old friends during the social hour following the services. We saw or at least heard from people we hadn’t seen in many years, and there was joy in that, at least.
I hope that, once all the busy-ness is done, you will take some time for yourself, so you can just relax and do whatever you wish! Hugs to you, my friend.
Jeanne,
So sorry to hear about George. My FIL also had bladder cancer (along with a couple of other types). He survived a long time after his initial diagnosis. My hubby has been trying to grow a garden – but we live in the dessert, and it’s not going that well 🙁 His dad ALSO had a garden – he lived in Indiana and was so proud of his garden. Hubby has been getting SO discouraged with his. I’m originally from Wisconsin, and my mom had a HUGE garden (which all us kids helped to weed, etc.) and I never gave it that much thought about it being difficult to achieve, but I’ve learned that it IS! especially in the dessert! Of course his is a container garden, and I’m surprised that George’s is also. I’m pretty sure you have “good” dirt in Illinois. It’s mostly sand and clay here, so we have buy all of the dirt.
George is in my prayers.
I’d love to see some pics of the desert garden. We buy dirt here occasionally too. Ours is rock hard adobe. 🙂
Only George, would be out there trying to mow when his numbers were in the danger level. So glad that he is recovering and hope that he doesn’t give up on the tomatoes, which look wonderful, I might add.
I had to check it out, but it looks like tomatoes in moderation may be possible, with doctor’s permission of course.
Safe Portion Ideas: If your healthcare team has advised a low-potassium diet, you can still enjoy small amounts of fresh tomatoes:1 thick tomato slice (approx. \(64\) mg potassium)1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato (approx. \(107\) mg potassium)3 cherry tomatoes (approx. \(120\) mg potassium)
Tips for Enjoying Tomatoes: Consult your team. Always review your laboratory results with a renal dietitian to understand your individual potassium limits. Watch frequency: Limit tomato portions to just one small serving per day or a few times per week. Swap other foods: If you want a larger portion of cooked tomatoes, ask your dietitian if you can trade out another high-potassium food (like potatoes) to make room for it. I also saw that canned tomatoes/sauce have more potassium than fresh, so fresh is the best.
Yesterday, it was warm here again, so I watered the backyard and my sprouting seeds, and then we went to pick up some lunch. When we returned, I said to other person, what’s that brown stuff across the lawn by the oleanders? He said that it looked like cardboard. Probably, some that had blown down from neighbor Becky’s attempt at weed suppression in the windstorm. So, we walked up the steps and then, discovered that the cardboard was actually a deer flaked out in the shade. Bad eyes here. Anyway, later, I went out to water in front. The noise disturbed the deer who got up and had her twins with her. We had seen her and one fawn recently around the corner, but didn’t know about the other. Those fawns were adorable. So tiny and with the spots. Anyway, they moved on to the yard next door to munch. Then, I noticed that they had also lunched on my agapanthus. I don’t know how they know, but every year at the exact time that they are due to bloom, nip, nip and we are left with just stalks. I really don’t mind since she is teaching the babies to forage. Their cuteness makes it all worthwhile.
When I was watering the tomatoes here in the raised beds yesterday, I noticed that all of the new tomato cages were leaning south in a row. Then, I remembered the high winds that we had. Every cage was at the same off angle. I told other person he needed to level them which didn’t set right with him. So, I’ll be out with the rubber mallet today and a level to see what I can do. 🙂 I sent Jeanne some pics of other person’s handiwork, twenty wooden pieces in each cage, but not sure if she got them or not. Probably not worth seeing anyway.
Hope that everyone has a great weekend and that George feels stronger and Jeanne can get some rest. Thinking of you guys.
I’ll take fawns over flowers any time, Joy. There were always deer in the field behind the houses one street over. They began building there last fall after 38 years. Makes me so very sad. Luckily, if you drive another 2 miles out you hit the country again.
That is sad about the development. Here, a lot of the deer cover in big yards has been removed due to the fire danger and insurance people requiring clearing. You know, clear cut and nothing near homes. So, we’ve seen the herd at the other house diminish as well. Neighbors have always said about plants, if it is growing, the deer don’t eat it. 🙂 Glad that you are close to the country area though.
Jeanne, I sure hope George will be feeling better day by day. It sure has been rough for him. and you have been steadfast in helping him all along. I’m thinking of you both.
Jeannie, I tried to contact you through your blog, but for some reason my note to you, disappeared, so when I try again, it would not let me send it. Maybe I wrote too long of a letter.
I’ll try again another time.
Prayers for George on his road to recovery. Joy already covered it, but yes, it’s the potassium that you have to be careful to avoid too much. As Joy also said, a dietitian . I know that from humans as well as kitties as my one had CKD. Your yard looks lovely.
Jeanne, yard to my English mind means a small, paved area big enough to hang out washing and not much else. What you have is a lovely garden, I am envious. George is a typical male, working till he drops before he will go to the doctor. I really pray he keeps improving.
Georgina, a friend had open heart surgery last year, he has recovered well after a rough period after the surgery. In his case he had 5 valves that needed to be replaced.
Laura and Rosmary, I am so glad we don’t have ticks in NZ. We do have deer, possums and rabbits (all introduced), but they don’t venture into the city.
It is Saturday here and our quilt guild meeting today. I had hoped to finish the quilt I was making but when I put it on the bed it wasn’t wide enough, ugh. I realise I am going have to add another row to the sides but will have to use another method to attach it. Very frustrating when you think you have nearly finished. I used up all of my 2 1/2 inch squares so have to make all of those as well, each block has 48 so going to need to cut 288.
We finally had some rain. not the heavy stuff that they have had elsewhere in the country but at least we had some.
Joy, to answer your comment about where to put a dryer, we only have a kind of cupboard for the laundry, big enough for the washing machine (a large top loader) and a tub. I had a wall cupboard put in to hold all the bits and pieces that collect in these areas so no room in there for a dryer. The only other place is the garage but currently it is full of Sam’s stuff most of which she hasn’t used and which she has been going to sort out for the last four years! She would make room there if I buy one but I said I wouldn’t because if I was on my own I wouldn’t need one. I don’t think she was happy. I am also concerned that if we had a dryer it would get used even when the weather is fine enough to dry it outside. Much easier to shove it in the dryer and forget about it than to hang it out. I also have memories of my son years ago, when I had one. He would wait until the day before a game to wash his soccer gear then push it all in the dryer and overload it. They are also VERY expensive to run and the sun is free.
Anyway, enough moaning, I hope George has a good day and gets well soon. have a great day everyone
Okay, after this, I’ll stop harping on your being without a dryer. If it were my space, I would take out the tub. Is it a bathtub or deep sink? Oh, maybe it has a shower above? Maybe there would still be room for a shower as well as a dryer? I guess I’m wondering why a bathtub would be in the laundry area? Then, I’d put the dryer in next to your full size washer. It would be much more convenient than the garage. We have drawers below both the washer and dryer, which are front loading large capacity, to hold soap/ dryer sheets etc. They hold everything needed for laundry and are so easy to reach straight in and pull out the laundry without trying to bend over the top of a standard washer I’m 5ft 4in. If I ever need to spot anything, I use the kitchen sink which works fine for that. Just another thought. Do you have solar panels? That should bring down the cost of a dryer, I would think. Both our appliances are energy efficient. We missed the boat and didn’t have solar installed when there were rebates. I do wish that we had them and an hybrid car as well. I can dream… Okay, that’s it. Promise, no more. 🙂
Just happened to be back reading the comments, Joy. I’m sure Anne means a stationary tub – the tub next to your washer that the water from the washer drains into and you use for washing hand laundry.
We have the drawer under the front loading washer as well and it is convenient. U’m just a smidgen taller than you at 5 ft 4 1/2 inches.
I’m, not U’m, good grief.
No worries, for whatever reason, my typing changes to what “they” think it should be. 🙂
What a beautiful yard. It’s like living in a lovely park – complete with a gazebo. I always wanted a gazebo but now that we are reducing the size of our property with the housing I don’t think I’ll have room for one. I guess I’ll just settle for my cute little storage room with its porch.
George has got to stop thinking he is the Energizer Bunny and take good care of himself. When he gets back on his feet again he can return to mowing. Until then he has to take it one step at a time. That’s the advice I keep giving myself. I hope he takes it better than I am. This not being able to get things done is really wearing on me.