In the Books

I have spent a good part of my day "in the books," literally. This morning I processed through a box of newly bought books for the church library doing the preliminary things that librarians do to get ready to put books into circulation. After lunch, I headed off to church to work with Donna in the library for a couple of hours. We got a good amount of work done and have several stacks of books getting closer to being ready to be circulated. Woody is currently at the church for Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting...finally those in the group who have been sick are better and also the weather is better and a bit warmer so it looked like the group would be back together tonight. I got Woody's treatment ready shortly after he left. He waits to eat till he gets back so I will be making his nightly protein shake once he is back ensconsed in his recliner. Our day is about done, as is the month of January! It doesn't seem possible that the first month of the year is coming to a close. Tomorrow we will welcome February and know that we are getting closer to Spring! I messaged with Woody's Vanderbilt surgeon and we will be going to see him to set up a time to have the melanoma tumor on his arm surgically removed. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Saturday Doings

I worked in the kitchen this morning...mainly doing a little cleaning. The main accomplishment was mopping the floor. I continue to be so pleased with my floor choice for the kitchen...Luxury vinyl plank. It is very easy to care for. Nathan dropped by just as I was getting underway with the floor so that got put on hold for a bit. He swept the snow off the ramp (not much this time and it was dry snow) and then figured out what to do with some tarps that he got for us to attempt to be able to cover the ramp when snow/ice is predicted. We'll see if this idea works...not out much money nor much effort if it doesn't! Did you miss me? I just went down to get Woody's dialysis treatment started for tonight. We needed it to start a little earlier tonight so it will be sure to be finished in the morning in time for us to head off to church early. We are both teaching our respective Sunday School classes tomorrow. I worked on finalizing my lesson a good part of the afternoon. I got it finished and then tried to print it out and our black ink is out on the printer...not a good thing...I knew that it was getting low, but thought we still had some left. I ended up printing my lesson with purple letters rather than black...at least there was a way to get around the "no-more-black ink" problem! I ordered ink right away so we hopefully won't be out for very long. When I went back downstairs, I mentioned to Woody that he might have to work his crossword puzzles on his computer tomorrow. He said that he couldn't as his computer had shut down. I got to checking and he was getting a major error message telling hin not to shut down and to call a certain number. Something seemed fishy...even though the page that was showing this message looked just like a Microsoft page. I went back upstairs and got my iPad and checked and sure enough it was a pop-up add that could give you a problem if you did what it said to do. It took a bit to figure out how to shut it down, but we managed it and all is well with his computer once again...just beware of these pop-up ads...they really do look legit! This voice keeps telling that whatever you do, don't shut down your computer and to immediately call the number to Microsoft that they provide. All's well that ends well! About the time I started setting up Woody's dialysis treatment s for tonight, I realized that my eyes were doing weire things...and, I realized that I waw probably getting a migraine...these days I get one rarely...mine start out with sort of a blind spot and then that spot grows bigger and becomes sort of whirly. If I take Tylenol fairly soon ane close my eyes for a while it usually passes pretty soon and without too bad of a headache. Of course, tonight I needed to get Woody's treatment going...and, by the time I was finished setting him up my eyes had settled down. I took a couple of extra-strength Tylenol and so far so good...at least I can see to type this! But ready to not look at the screen much longer. Probably my plans to stitch tonight will be put on hold till tomorrow! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

When What to my Wondering Eyes…A Surprise Outside

I just decided to look out the window and got a big surprise. I had closed all the curtains when it got dark so didn't have a clue what was happening outside...not the best picture...but I just took this picture with my iPad out our guest room window. I knew we were expecting flurries, but didn't think accumulation! I'll have to show Woody the picture when I go downstairs to get his dialysis started for the night. We have had a pretty quiet day...EXCEPT for some telemarketer who has been calling steadily all day. Yesterday we had another number do this to us. The same number called our landline 25 times between 9:15 this morning until 5:45 this evening. Irritating to say the least! Melany and Wade had brought us some of their home-grown sweet potatoes a while back and I decided to bake half of them this morning and then make our favorite sweet potato casserole out of them. Even Woody said they tasted good. Shortly after lunch I found out that our barn crew driver had tested positive for Covid. I guess it is a good thing that we didn't take that barn trip on Tuesday! I did sit next to her on Sunday. We have no idea if she was contageous that day or not. I was wearing a mask...guess we'll see if it was effective or not, if she was contageous! She was so surprised to test positive as she says she feels just like she does when she has a bad sinus infection. Woody has done a little reading, a little TV watching, and a lot of trying to keep warm today. He is all bundled up. I'm hoping to do a little cross stitching when I get back upstairs...after I do a little more clean up in the kitchen. Guess I had better go downstairs and get Woody's dialysis going. Be safe! Be well!!! Be cautious! I have heard it said that it's to the point with this strain of Covid that it is not "if" but "when" we get it! Hoping and praying that that isn't true!!

An Anniversary…Of Sorts!

Woody asked me to marry him 54 years ago tonight. Where have those years gone? AND, would we ever have imagined what would be going on in our lives 54 years from January 27, 1968! Tonight's photo shows my cooking efforts of the day...Cream of Chicken Florentine. A good soup for a ladies' luncheon...reason I got out the cream soup bowl and saucer from our "good" china for me to enjoy my lunch! This china was my Aunt Lois'. The set has some very pretty serving pieces. These cream soup bowls with the double handles are my favorites of the place setting pieces. I tried to call to order dialysis supplies this morning, but the message said that I was still "in line." So I decided I wouldn't walk around with the phone to my ear and would just let them call me. I got the call almost exactly 24 hours from when I placed my call to them yesterday! Better late than never?!? At least the order is placed. I had trouble convincing him that I needed more gloves than they had been sending me. I "think" that we ended the conversationn with him going to call our nurse to get more ordered. I don't know where only sending four boxes came from...three or so orders ago they sent a whole case of gloves. Guess it depends on who you talk to when ordering. I think that the women are more cooperative with the orders than the men...maybe I am prejudiced?!? I opened the last box that they sent me last and that box will probably only last five days. I have already ordered another box when I made a medical supply order through Amazon...but guess I should have ordered two as it's two weeks till delivery and I figure that I only have enough for about five days. And, I am changing gloves at the times that our nurses told me to in training. If Woody was setting up his own dialysis, he wouldn't have to wear gloves since it is his own germ field...so some such that they told us! But I have to change gloves everytime I turn around...or so it seems. The other day I decided to find out just how many so each time I changed gloves I put them on the ground so I could count them at the end of setting up, connecting him, disconnecting him, and doung the manual drain...which is what one dialysis treatment consists of...the number of gloves on the floor? 20...so a box of 100 lasts me 5 days. We'll see if I end up getting more than four boxes for a month. I know that our nurses will approve it if the orderer does call them. Well, it is time to go get Woody's treatment going for tonight! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Busy, Busy Wednesday

It seems like there has been something going on from getting up to now as we are trying to settle into the night. I decided that I would take advantage of delivery from Kroger as they cut their delivery fee down to $1...good time to try it. There have been several items that I could not get with a pick-up order that I could get with a delivery order. It went quite well. It was on my front porch 1-1/2 hours after I ordered and I asked it to be delivered in a two-hour window. One of the things that I got was a whole hen so decided that I would roast it right away as I need some chicken for a soup that I want to make...it's a soup that Woody doesn't care for and since he rejects anything that has chicken in it, I decided that I would make it just for me. The chicken managed to be finished cooking before it was time to take Woody to his oncology appointment to see the doctor and to get his next Keytruda treatment. While I was waiting for the chicken to cook, I got the order together for Woody's dialysis supplies. I planned to make the call to order them when I got home from taking Woody for his appointment...hoping that I would be through with the order in a two-hour time span...no such luck. I was on hold for 1-1/2 hours and finally punched the number to have them call me back, when I got the call that Woody was ready to head home. My call never got returned. This is the first time since Woody started home dialysis that I haven't been able to make the order on the day that was assigned to me. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day and I don't plan to wait for them to call, but will call once I have Woody disconnected and have fed him breakfast. While I waited on hold, I helped a friend in Michigan try to figure out a problem with her machine embroidery. Then I took apart the first neck warmer that I attempted to make yesterday...sewed the seams in the wrong order...oops! So I seam ripped out all the serged seams and then went to the serger and serged the seams in the correct order...so undid and redid...all while waiting on hold. I still have a small seam to sew by hand and Woody will have another neck warmer...he seems to like wearing them...makes him warmer...even in the house! Woody's oncologist wants Woody to see the surgeon about the melanoma tumor on his arm...as it continues to grow. Removing it surgically won't be a cure...but will help Woody as it is getting very large and always getting bumped. I have trouble covering it with a bandage it is so large now. While I waited for the dialysis order folk to return my call, I cut the chicken from the bone and got it put in the refrigerator so I can make soup tomorrow. By that time it was time to fix Woody's supper shake and find something for me to eat. This evening I have again messaged with my sewing friend in Michigan. She is still having problems. As soon as I blog and get Woody's dialysis I will see if she has messaged me any more. Hard to help from so far away...and, we don't have the same machine so that doesn't help either. Hers is the same brand as mine and the model before mine...so not all that removed, but still! I hope to put in a few stitches on my cross stitch tonight. This week I am alternating days stitching a sampler and stitching a Christmas ornament. Tonight I will work a little on the ornament. I am ready to sink into my recliner tonight! I have heard of several more people that I know who have tested positive for Covid and at least one who plans to get tested tomorrow. We did order our four free Covid tests as soon as it was possible to order them...at least we will have them if and when we need to! Hoping that they just sit on the shelf! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Plans Changed

I have posted a barn photo, but not one taken today. We postponed our barn trip because Marie wasn't feeling well. I could have really gotten in a lot of sewing and stitching, but I didn't do a lot of either. I did manage to make another neck warmer for Woody. That means that the scraps from one of the fabrics that were on the table can now be moved off to make room for the next sewing project. We didn't go anywhere today...a stay-at-home day. I like that kind of day better and better these days! The only reason I went outside today was to get the mail and to take the garbage can to the road and to take our trash and recycle out. The rest of the time we have stayed in trying to keep warm. Our temperatures are on a downward swing once again. It's supposed to be quite cold by early morning and then they aren't supposed to rise very much during the day. We do have to get out tomorrow, as Woody has his appointment at TN Oncology here in Tullahoma to get his next Keytruda infusion. We usually like morning appointments, but we may be very glad for an afternoon one tomorrow since it is supposed to be so cold. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Too Many Things Going on at Once!

Trying to get Woody's dialysis started a bit earlier tonight, making breakfast sausage, planning another barn trip...all have run together and put the blog off in time a bit tonight. Hopefully better late than never?!? Tonight's photo shows my efforts of this afternoon...cleaned off all the ornament finishing items to get ready to use it for its intended purpose...cutting fabric out. I have several projects in mind...but first I want to make another neck warmer for Woody and then the project bag for the girls' punch needle supplies. But it looks like I won't be sewing tomorrow...as a spur of the moment barn trip has come up. Not complaining! Will gladly pull my photography things together for a photo taking trip! I will do that after my sausage making is complete. I had planned to put the sausage mixture together tonight and then refrigerate it over night and then cook it in the morning when I am fixing Woody's breakfast...but don't think that I will have time so will cook them tonight and get the most of them into the freezer...leaving tomorrow morning's in the refrigerator ready to warm up when I cook his eggs. Woody gladly got ready for his treatment a little early tonight. He was anxious to get under his covers as he said that he had been cold all day. Once again this moning we just went on and did his manual drain right away since so much solution had been left in. If it proves a problem in his next lab work then we will let them figure out a solution! At the moment this is our solution...if he has excess soluotion then we will just go on and drain him. My only venture out today was to run the paper work to Fresenius (kidney) clinic. This time I was able to get them to answer the phone...one of our nurses even came out to the car to get the papers from me. The rest of my outside activities consisted of walking to the mail box and out to the compost pile. Woody did some online searching for the next birthday coming up...we have a few weeks, but still...trying to stay on top of all the birthdays is quite a task...especially in the first two months of the year. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Joseph Celebrates Being 8!

Joseph and his family stopped by our house after they had lunch at Zaxby's (Joseph got to choose where they had lunch.). We had our gift to him all ready for him to stop by. I think he was pretty happy with his remote control stunt car that rolls over and changes shape with the push of a button. It could get stuck under our counter, but if Joseph pushed one button it would usually free itself. We found out that they don't all fit on the family room couch any more. The interest on the TV was the Auburn basketball game. They stayed till the game was over. As you can see the room is pretty full of medical "stuff" so hard to fit a large group into the room! But the kitchen became the race track for experimenting with the new vehicle...most were interested in trying it out. They left to go home to bathe a puppy as someone was coming to consider giving him a home. Kathy was very hopeful and wanted him to be as sweet smelling as possible! After they headed home, I headed to the library to turn in a stack of books and to find some more to keep Woody occupied. He is already well into one of them. I will end with a BIG happy birthday to Joseph...lookin' good for 8! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Busy Friday

The day started out busy...needing to get Woody disconnected from his dialysis cycler and then we decided to go on and do the manual drain as the overnight treatment had left a large amount of solution inside him along with the extra fill. I decided that we would just arbitrarily drain him immediately after finishing his treatment, if he has overly excessive fluid left in him, so he can have room for breakfast! I was also trying to make his slaw for his lunch and get his breakfast. All that before I left the house to work in the church library...well, I got him finished with his treatment plus the drain and changed dressing on his drain site and fed him breakfast. I also got the dressing made for the slaw. That dressing needed to cool so at least I knew it would ge cooled by the time I got home! At that point, I needed to get myself ready to head to church. I was only a "little" late! Donna and I haven't had library work days in a loooooong time. It was good to get back at it! We did maintenance and then got to work trying to fill some memorials which turned into a book order, too. We managed that and it was time to close shop for this work session. On my way home I tried to drop off some paper work that Fresenius needed, but they didn't answer the phone so I drove on home. I figured that the nurses were busy with patients and couldn't answer the phone. I was calling from their parking lot. I got home and it was time for lunch...but I had to put the slaw together before I could put Woody's lunch in front of him. I managed that and ate some lunch myself. It is a really cold day and I decided that it was a good day to clean my oven...to add that extra heat to the kitchen and hopefully add a little more to Woody's room...he was buried under throws! I haven't used the oven cleaning feature too many times...but I will say it does a good job. A few minites ago I felt a little like the witch in Hansel and Gretel as I had my head in the oven! It has cooled enough so I could wipe the oven out. I still have to move to the other side of the oven door and finish on that side. It would be easier if I took the oven door off...which I have been shown how to do by the repairman...but I am just afraid that I might not be able to get it back on and I wasn't feeling very adventurous at this time of night! We are waiting for the solution to warm up for Woody's dialysis for tonight. He has moved over to his bed. So in a little while I will get his treatment started for the night. When it gets to this point in our day things are about to settle down...Woody will either go to sleep or watch a little more TV and I'll get the dishwasher going and finish wiping out the oven and then head up to my recliner and either read or stitch till I fall asleep...day is about done and busyness is about to quiet down...a peaceful time of day! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Tonight's photo subject caught Marie's and my eyes because of the old "red" truck in the yard. Little did we realize what else we were getting in the photo...take note in front of the house on the left side (as you are facing the pic) that there are several buzzards! Sort of creepy so near the house! Then if you look closely just over the cab of the truck that there is another on the trunk of the tree. We did not notice them when we were taking the pictures...I found them when after I downloaded (or is uploaded?) the pictures to my iPad and was playing around with their exposure that I found the buzzards and pointed them out to Marie. We did notice these in a tree close to the house.

And.this tree not too far away:

As tonight's title indicates it was quite cold today. It never got out of the 20s and the wind was blowing most of the day so that meant the "feels-like" temperature was even colder...as in the teens. We had to go out into this unfortunately! I realized that there was a pretty good chance that the ramp would be icy after all the rain and sleet that we got last night...and, I was right...again, unfortunately! One of our last icy days, Nathan had salted and used up a box of old pickling salt, but I dug around and found a container of salt hidden way in the back of the cupboard. I carefully threw some out the back door and then waited a while for it to help in the melting and then swept away the ice on the flat part of our ramp. Then I carefully salted the slanted part and later went out and swept the entire length of the ramp and reswept the part I had already swept. By a little after 11 when we needed to leave, it was not slick any more and we were able to negotiate it just fine. The ramp definitely is an example of what happens to a bridge! Our ramp is on the north side of the house which doesn't help! But we made it to and from the kidney center. We saw the nurse, the nutritionist, the social worker, and Dr. O. We found out that his potassium level is fine...he had a high reading earlier in the month and the nurse had it checked again when he came to the house to draw blood for the hemoglobin test that wasn't able to be completed due to the sample being too old when the lab got around to testing it on one of the snowy days. The doctor and nurse agreed with us that they reason that Woody is being sick after breakfast is due to Woody having extra fluid in him at times when not all drains out during the regular part of the nightly dialysis. It was obvious yesterday morning. He had an extra large amount of fluid that didn't drain out along with the last fill that happens at the end of the treatment that we are then draining before he eats lunch. Well, yesterday he had eaten most of his breakfast and all of a sudden it all came back up. I started to say something to Woody about perhpas having a smaller breakfast due to the amount that had been left in. But I also hate to suggest that he not eat when he wants to eat! But that time I probably should have said something...whether he would have gone along with my suggestion is another thing all together! Anyway, according to all the powers that be all is going along well with Woody's treatments. We did find out something of interest...both Woody's nurse and all his family had had Covid after the first of the year. And, also Dr. O and his family had Covid back in October. Dr. O told us that they had also had a bad virus after the first of the y ear and that that had been a lot worse than their bout with Covid. I keep learning of more and more that I know who have had Covid. So we are still trying to stay "sort of" isolated. Before we left this morning for the appointment I got a pot of Boston Baked Beans ready for the oven to do their slow cooking all day long. I just got them out before coming up here to blog...and tried a small amount..onc again, they are very good and remind me of Mother's (which they should since I use the recipe that she hand wrote out for me!). Woody told me that what sounded best to him was baked beans and slaw...so baked beans are done and I will get up in the morning and make the slaw. They could tell that Woody was eating better, as his protein level and hemoglobin were both in the range that they are aiming for them to be. Another sign that he is eating better is that his phosphorus level is up a bit more than they like it to be so they want him to be sure to take a phosphorus binder (pill) prior to eating each meal. Unfortuneately these are quite large...not his favorite to have to take! Most of the resst of the day we have rested after our active morning. I sat down to stitch and was just too tired to pick up the needle and/or count to the next place I needed to be on the chart! Maybe before I go to sleep I will be able to get a few stitches in. I am working on an ornament for Melany...the one that I wanted to make for her for this past Christmas, but ran out of time. Hopefully I will be able to get it stitched since I am startng it in January this year! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

What Was I Thinking?

I decided that today was the day to do some grocery shopping...mainly because Woody was out of pineapple juice. For some reason the stores seem to have low to none on their shelves. But when I checked Kroger's site, they had frozen concentrated pineapple juice...the way I used to buy orange juice. We decided that surely it would be better than having none. I added other items that we needed and arranged to pick up my groceries around 2pm...hoping that the rain would hold off. I had something planned to cook for tonight, but by the time I got the groceries ordered, picked up, amd put away (all done with no rain) I was too tired to do any cooking. But when I came down to make Woody's supper high-protein shake, I decided that I did want to go on and make the baked pork chop recipe. They are baking happily in the oven as I type this. BUT the "what was I thinking?" title for tonight's blog is that I now, at this time of night, have a BIG mess in the kitchen! I'll go get Woody's dialysis treatment set up and then attack the kitchen...oh, boy...Woody has done fairly well today...after he got sick after breakfast...no fun for either of us! Another unplanned load of wash this morning which I need to get out of the dryer in a little while. Tomorrow is an appointment at Fresenius Kidney Center here in Tullahoma with his doctor and the rest of his kidney team. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Tuesday

It's been a pretty ho-hum day...not a lot to say! i knocked down a lot of boxes to get them ready for recycle pick up tomorrow...wasn't that a fun thing to do!?! We had an extra amount since we had made those Amazon orders for over-the-counter meds, which came today. That order arriving means that we are back in his nightly high-protein shake routine. I did find out that I hadn't forgotten how to make them. When I changed the dressing in his melanoma tumor, I found out that we were about out of the one kind of dressing that doesn't stick so came upstairs and made another order...also ordered gooves as I'm pretty sure that I will run out before the next order arrives. I don't think that the person I ordered from figured correctly. We had a bit of a problem with Woody's tumor bleeding...so I ended up having to do a load of wash that i hadn't anticipated. We both woke up early this morning. Woody wasn't feeling good, but that passed fairly soon...but neither of us got back to sleep. I did some cross stitch before it was time to disconnect Woody, but any other time that I sat down to stitch later in the day I fell asleep! Woody did some dozing off and on during the day, too. We're just the life of the party! Oh, I did make a fun order, too. Alex amd Brooke gave me a gift certificate to JoAnn's and since I am avoiding going into stores, I decided to do my shopping at JoAnns online. When I was watching a cross stitching video yesterday an item was mentioned that I had been wanting...a rotating cutting board...so checked out JoAnns site and found one to order and one other item that I had been wanting to try plus some elastic for some sweatpants that I am planning to mmake...got that order made. Thanks, Alex and Brooke, for a fun shopping excursion. Also Melany texted and our garage door that they are giving us is ordered...3 months out till it will be installed...but ordered. Woody has done his crosswords, a little reading, and TV watching...routine for him! As I type this, I realize that at least a little more happened today than I thought when I first started writing this! We're waiting on Woody's dialysis solution to warm up so I can get his treatment started for tonight. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Black-And-White World…Again

This photo was taken out our kitchen window just before dark yesterday. We didn't get the predicted amount of snow, but did get some. They cancelled church due to the prediction of when it was supposed to be arriving...during our arrival at church and throughout the time we would have been there. It did start yesterday between 7 and 8am, but for us it never got much beyond freezing rain and the temperatures remained high enough that we mainly had a lot of rain. we would have definitely been snowed in if all that rain had been snow! The roads cleared off pretty quickly today...but yards and shady areas still have snow on/in thrm tonight. Our ramp is covered with an inch or more of snow and/or ice...I didn't go out to see which! We have stayed in all day...not even opening the door...no mail...so no reason to go out! Woody and his prayer group texted each other this afternoon and chose not to go tonight...a good thing since Woody holds the key to get them in at the church and we are considering the back of our house (the ramp) has, at least, him snowed/iced in! I can get out the front door or garage door, but his access in and out is blocked till the temperatures rise a bit...or the sun shines hotly on the back of our house. But that isn't a problem as he has no appointments till late in the week. The order I made for over-the-counter meds is to arrive tomorrow, as are his high protein shakes...we are out of them. I got notifiication that something is coming UPS tomorrow, I'm thinking that it is the renal high protein shakes that we are supposed to get monthly that didn't arrive last month...if that is the case we should have plenty after the mail arrives tomorrow! I enjoyed the quiet and not going anywhere yesterday and today and have stitched quite a bit. Today I finished another ornament and this one is "tree ready!" Stitching on a cold wintry day is something that I really like to do! Yesterday I also finished stitching the sampler that I have been working on. So I am coming right along with my cross stitch...so far this year I have completed three things...2 ornaments and 1 sampler. Well, time to get Woody's dialysis treatment set up. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! Here's the sampler: Town Square:

Winter Weather Warning

Tonight's photo is still from Marie's and my barn trip on New Year's Eve day, but I chose it for tonight's blog photo because the sky looks like a snowy sky. A little while ago the weather service changed our winter weather watch to a warning...meaning that they are more sure that we will be getting snow and/or ice. Now, at the moment, you would never think that snow was even in the forecast. It is raining and 40°...all this moisture and falling trmperatures over night are supposed to be leading to a wet and heavy snow. I think that in this instance, seeing is believing!! When it comes to snow, it is a weatherman's nightmare in our neck of the world...rather hard to predict and we are often on the edge of these storms...a few miles one way or the other makes a vast difference in the outcome...as does when the temperature drops. Tullahoma is right on the edge of yes/no snow this time! We had a nice visit with Melany. She left right after breakfast since she wanted to get ahead of the rain...which she really didn't as it was drizzling a little as she left. But she got home safely and I'm sure they are getting ready for snow as they are in the area of "pretty sure to get" snow. And, we are only 45 minutes away from each other. I have taken it easy this afternoon and have been stitching on my sampler...getting very close to finishing. I would like to get it finished tonight, but not sure that is possible. I'm stitching on the last house...just needs windows, a door and a roof...then there is a flag pole, two trees, and some bushes. It just depends on how willing my eyes are to stay open! Woody and I ran a quick errand this afternoon with one stop at Arby's. Woody hadn't had a classic roast beef in a while since we aren't going to Nashville these days. When we came home, he put the car in the garage. So I guess we are ready for whatever weather comes our way...praying that the power stays on...wet, heavy snow can be rough on power lines! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

We Have a "Guest"

i guess that Melany can't literally be called a guest since she is our daughter. But it has been some time since she has spent the night. Because of the predicted winter weather she decided to come up after school today and leave in the morning. She had a goal in mind...to get a garage door ordered...our Christmas gift from them. Well, according to the young man who attempted to help us we are a rural area and that they don't "do" garage doors here. ???? So they will have to go to their Lowes in Murfreesboro to order it. Not what we expected...guess people in Tullahoma and surrounding areas don't buy garage doors!?! We have had a nice visit though it wasn't as productive as Melany and Wade had hoped. We are once again in a winter storm watch with snow expected. Melany said that we always get snow on Martin Luther King weekend...a long weekend anyway and that it will be melted by Tuesday and they won't get a snow day...teacher's way of thinking! So we will see where this prediction goes...lots of snow...or none! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Thursday

We were given a lot of fresh pineapple so I went looking for a recipe using fresh pineapple. I found one for Fresh Pineapple Upside Down Cake. We both enjoyed a piece this afternoon. I also got my hair cut this afternoon. I had planned a WalMart run after my haircut, but changed my mind and ended up ordering the things that I was going to get from Amazon...trying to avoid stores at the moment since there is so much Covid out there. We'll see how that order goes. I ordered Woody's Boost drinks that are the base of his high protein shakes. It is recommended that we get the ones for diabetics, as they have less additives in them. The glucose control Boosts aren't always easy to find. Of course, we are supposed to get a box of renal boost-type drinks each month, but something happened and we never got our shipment last month. We'll address that when we go next week for his appointment with the dialysis doctor and team which includes the nutritionist. Normally we only have to supplement with the Boost a few days out of the month. But this time he has been drinking them for several weeks and our supply has dwindled. I have Woody's dialysis all set up for tonight's treatment so will head down and see if he is ready for it to begin when I finish publishing this. I hope to get to stitch tonight, but I don't know...I'm pretty tired...I might fall asleep putting the stitches in...sometimes that motion can be sort of hypnotizing. My mother used to fall asleep while doing needlepoint and would continue to put in stitches for a while and then have to take out those stitches when she woke up! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Putting Things in Perspective

The eggs in the first photo may not show their real size as well as the second photo. These are quail eggs from the quail that Esther and the rest of the crew hatched a while back. I have been enjoying them scrambled for breakfast. Nathan recommends hard cooking them...maybe we will have teeny tiny deviled eggs! Nathan, Esther, and Isaac stopped by today to check on a tire that was registering low on our Fusion and also put our new TN license plate on our Fusion. They took the car to air up the tire and also get gas for us...in the meanwhile they took it home and several of the grandkids washed it for us! Hope they managed to do that without getting too wet on this January afternoon...mild...but not all that mild! It really is a white car...not a speckled grayish color! Isaac has finished the first book in the Boxcar Children series. Sounds like he liked it and hopes to add to his collection. The collection included a list of all the titles in the series...149 titles! Our delivery of dislysis supplies arrived around 9:15 this morning. Before the delivery got here, I got a call from Woody's Fresenius nurse saying that they needed to redo part of the labs that were done last week. It sounded like the weather caused a delay in running some of the tests and by the time they got to run the one to check his hemoglobin, the sample was too old to do it. So about an hour after the delivery, Woody's nurse showed up to draw blood. Busy kidney/dialysis morning! I still haven't gotten all the boxes put where they go...there is always tomorrow! Putting a few of them where they go means moving several other boxes and I decided that I would rather do that when I am rested in the morning. I made Shrimp Creole for my supper tonight...pretty good if I do say so myself! I had an extra coupon for the shrimp that was already on "sale" (if anything these days can be considered a good sale)..but needing no more than I did it made it fairly reasonable...for these days and times. And, it was good to have something that I don't have very often. Woody still doesn't want tomato based recipes. Well, it is time to get his dialysis treatment ready for tonight...seems like I just said that to you! But I keep thinking about Woody who has to be attached to the machine for so many hours...not fun...especially if he can't sleep. I don't think he slept the best last night, but he made up for the sleep loss this afternoon...he was sound asleep for quite a while...he even missed Family Feud...almost unheard of in his daily routine! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! Try to make what I heard the other day not come true...I heard that it is not about "if" you get Covid, but "when" you get it! I pray that isn't true for you who are reading this!

Does He Look Ten?

Isaac told me that he felt ten but he didn't know if he looked ten or not! Isaac's gift from us arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon so Isaac and his dad stopped by this morning to get it. Nathan said that Isaac was chomping at the bit to get it. I told Nathan that I hoped that Isaac wasn't disappointed! But Nathan said reason he was so anxious was because he wanted to spend his birthday money and he had to wait to spend it till after he got his gift from us!! So the real reason that he couldn't wait was because he had some money burning a hole in his pocket! I think that he was pleased with the first twelve books in the Boxcar Children series. He loves to read and they have trouble keeping him "in books." Maybe these will keep him occupied for a little while at least. I finally made the move to get what little Christmas I had out put away. Well, away as put in the upstairs hall...ready to be put back in the closet...when I get the energy to do that! I also vacuumed and dusted the living room and dining room. Enough "doing" for one day! Woody continues to do crossword puzzle after crossword puzzle from the array of crossword books that he got for Christmas. Keeps him occupied! We got a call today to tell us that Woody's dialysis supplies will be delivered sometime tomorrow between 7 and 11am. That is one reason that I vacuumed today...I wanted the place where the new boxes will be placed to be vacuumed before boxes get placed there for the next month. I do not move these boxes to vacuum under them! It's bad enough to have to move the bags individually that are in them! Speaking of which, it is about time for me to move two of those bags into the family room to ger Woody's dialysis set up for tonight! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! Kathy just sent me this picture of Isaac that I will end the blog with.

Guess Who Became Two Handfuls Today!

Isaac is ten! We only have one of our nine grandchildren whose age isn't written with double digits. While they get bigger and older, we are mainly getting older, and, hopefully not much bigger than we are! I made our grocery order online last night and picked the groceries up this morning. As soon as I got them all put away, I attacked making Woody's slaw to go with my baked beans! And, it sounded like he approved of my efforts, as I got the first "delicious," after he ate lunch, that I have heard in ages! Glad to find something to cook that he actually approves of! I have gotten the kitchen cleaned up from that mess Why is slaw so nessy to make?!?)and have the dishwasher going so I will have the blender parts clean to make his supper shake. I came upstairs to sit for a few minutes and decided that I would put in a few stitches on my sampler, but decided to blog first...be early posting for a change! I will end by wishing Isaac a BIG happy tenth birthday! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Busy Couple of Days

I am so glad to be finally sitting in my recliner...not a lot of time today to sit...or at least I didn't find much time to sit. Yesterday and today were cooking days for me. It had gotten to the point that I needed to spend time in the kitchen rather than just passing through and warming up things for us. Yesterday I made Boston Baked Beans...an all day process...though not a lot of work once they are ready to pop in the oven...then it is just a long time cooking at a slow temperature. I also made macaroni and cheese. I thawed some of the pulled pork that I made a while back (nice to have parts of meals in the freezer!)...so we can have a barbecue type meal. When I mentioned the baked beans to Woody, he wasn't interested unless we had some slaw...well, making slaw will have to wait till after some grocery shopping is done. I will plan to fill my cart online tomorrow and pick up our groceries Monday morning. It was also time, once again, to make Woody's breakfast sausage...so I did that this morning...two pounds of sausage patties minus the one he ate for breakfast are now stored in the freezer. Lots of dishes came with all the cooking...the dishwasher has run several times over the last two days. A little while ago, I loaded the dishwasher one more time and then washed by hand the dishes that aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher and got counters cleared once again! Kitchen is definitely closed for the night! Kathy had been given a LOT of food and she stopped by so I could shop from her car. She and Abigail came in to visit for a few minutes. Woody's dialysis is already going tonight because we have to leave fairly early in the morning for Sunday School. I'm wondering if you are hearing about friends and family having Covid...seems like I hear daily of someone else (some days more than one) that we know who now has Covid. I heard the other day that it is getting to the point of "not if, but when" we will get Covid. We are still trying to keep away from it! I hope you are, too! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Blog Anniversary: Tonight Marks the Beginning of the 14th year

I would have never dreamed that I would complete 13 years of blogging and actually be starting my 14th year! I started it to keep folk up to date on Woody's initial treatments at Vanderbilt...an easier way to keep family and friends in the know and not have to make individual calls or send individual emails while he was in the hospital. The biggest miracle in writing this 4,349th post tonight is that I still have Woody to write about! From the initial diagnosis of 4th-stage melanoma, the prognosis wasn't very good and most medical professionals gave him less than a year to live. I will say that his diagnosis was at the cusp of lots of new melanoma treatments...and the fact that Woody was willing to play guinea pig, he was able to ride the wave through till he could be treated with the more effective ones. Many of the treatments that he went through are no longer given...which is a good thing for those facing a melanoma diagnosis/treatments today! IL-2 was the worst of the worst and he went through that three different times...twice at Vanderbilt and once at The National Institutes of Health (The NIH). The reason that he got to go to The NIH is that IL-2 didn't work for him at Vandy. The NIH had a study for those it had failed on to try IL-2 in combination with using their own TIL cells. That did work for Woody for a while...but when it stopped working and the melanoma showed back up, he was sent back to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt at that point had something else for him to try, plus had something in the wings to try if that failed. What was in the wings was Keytruda. That put him in remission up until a year ago when a melanoma place popped up on his arm. That place was removed surgically, but poped up again close to where it was surgically removed. And, that is the latest that he is dealing with 14 years after being initially treated at Vanderbilt. The story really goes back much farther...but I will just deal tonight with his story for the length of my blogging time! The second or third blog goes into more detail, if you want to look back. At a point...I think that it was when things were calmer for a time, I started posting my photos with each blog...I got my first interchangeable lens camera a few months into Woody starting at Vanderbilt...so my photography story parallels his melanoma story...guess you could say they go hand in hand! I stand in amazement that some of you have been reading this since the beginning and have hung in there with me/us all this time! And, as long as we continue on this melanoma highway, I will continue to journal that ride here...as long as I am able and can find the words! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

More Reality

We got a slow start to the day...just not moving very fast in this cold wintry day. We were watching to see if it was going to be safe to go to Woody's appointment with his nurse at the kidney center. We started out the day with freezing rain...not snow...would have preferred snow...it's prettier! Melany started sending me pictures...45 minutes away and they started out with snow. About 9:30 Woody's nurse called and said that if we wanted to we could come in early. So we got ourselves in gear and headed their way. Our main problem was our ramp which had about a half inch of slush on it...Woody swept with the broom as I rolled him down the ramp...praying all the while that my feet would stay under me! We made it to the car and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing...just wet roads, His nurse got him in and out quickly as we were his last patient and they were told to go on home as soon as they got through with their patients. When we got home, I left Woody in the car and I swept the ramp getting rid of the thin layer of slushy ice that was left. Whether I will be able to move tomorrow is the question we are left with! I did take a nice nap this afternoon after my ramp clearing efforts. I have also done a little stitching and am fast approaching my first finish of 2022...an ornament. I am hoping to have it finished this evening. Woody continues to work on his new crossword puzzle books...doing many more than his goal of two crosswords a day! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Back to Reality?

Well, our 2+ weeks off from doctor appointments is over. Today Woody had his appointments at TN Oncology and got his next Keytruda infusion, I got him into the office and then left him...the appointment is around 2 hours long and there is really no need for me to be there. Another good reason for me not to stay is that there were absolutely no parking places...so I pulled in behind cars..."hopped" out and got his wheelchair out of the trunk, he got in his chair and I wheeled him in to the office, and then I left as he signed in for hus appointment. I came home and did some needed cleaning while he was gone. A little before noon, one of the office ladies called to tell me he was ready and I headed off to get him. Woody continues to work in his multiple corssword books that his children and grandchildren gave him for Christmas. He also finished another book. He has just about finished the bagful of books that I got him three weeks ago. Snow is predicted again for tomorrow...wonder if we will be able to get to his appointment with his Fresenius nurse at the kidney center that is scheduoed in the morning...is appointment is late morning...but snow is to continue on into the day...time will tell if we will be able to navigate the ramp and/or the roads. Woody parked the car in the garage when we got home from his appointment today so at least we won't have to scrape a car...or call on Nathan to help us with the task! i'm not against being snowed in tomorrow! I am well underway with the Christmas ornament that I'm working on so a snowy day wouod ve perfect to be able to stitch and maybe finish it! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

First Tuesday in 2022

Today has been a fairly quiet day...not a lot happening...a good thing. Woody continues to pour through his new crossword books. Nathan stopped by today and hung a picture for us and visited for a while. The snow has just about left us. It warmed up nicely this afternoon. This morning it would have been dangerous to walk out in the yard as the snow was fallin out of the trees in clumps. When i went out to the mailbox, it was as if it was raining...at that point the trees were just dripping. Tomorrow we go back to reality...Woody has appointments at TN Oncology here in Tullahoma. He will have labs, see the doctor and have his next Keytruda infusion. I've got tonight's dialysis treatment set up and the solution warming so we can start just a little earlier than usual so we will be sure that it is finished in time to head out for his appointment. It has been nice not to have to ve concerned as to when his treatment finishes during the two weeks that he hasn't had any appointments! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Black and White World!

Look what we woke up to this morning! We have had quite a weather-weekend...warm (70-75°)enough on Saturday for Isaac to wear shorts to our Christmas/New Year celebration at Melany and Wade's. We knew Saturday was going to be very windy all day with storms blowing in later in the day. We had a lot of fun and we enjoyed being together. After we were all gathered (except Alex...he was working), we had lunch...a wonderful Mexican feast. After lunch came the gifts. We opened some gifts and then waited on Alex to get there after work for the rest. After the gifts, (and, what gifts!), we had dessert...Melany made our traditional (1)coconut and (2)strawberry cakes. It did start raining while we were opening presents, but the rain stopped and we were able to get our cars loaded without getting wet. We didn't linger long after cake, hoping to get home before the main storm hit. We did get part way before the torential rain hit us on the interstate. It was so bad that most vehicles were in the right lane with flashers on...trucks included. Woody said he couldn't remember driving in rain that bad. We were so glad to get off the interstate! As we drove toward Tullahoma the rain lessened until it didn't even look like it had rained here. I unloaded the car and it wasn't long till our storm got here...nor was it long till we got a tornado warning...which didn't last long...but still! We woke up to 55° yesterday...the predicted high for the day with temperatures expected to fall during the day...AND we has been issued a winter advisory from 3pm that day till 3am today...AND...the weather folk were definitely right this time. It started snowing heavily yesterday evening and didn't ket up till the wee hours in the night. Everything was coated with white...just beautiful! The one good thing...the roads cleared fairly quickly. We have been warned to be careful of black ice tonight and in the morning...we have been warned and don't plan to budge. Nathan did come and clear off our ramp and scrape off the car windows in case we need to get out. Woody's prayer group chose to pray at home tonight as they didnt know the condition of roads nor the conditions outside the building they meet in at church. We have stayed in and stayed warm. Woody has plenty of different types of crossword puzzles thanks to Christmas...so he is happily occupied! I began some of next year's Christmas ornaments over the weekend...so getting ahead of the game...or at least trying! I sat down to stitch several times today...got some done, but think I did more dozing than stitching! i'm still amazed in our weather changes over the weekend...warm to rain to more rain to tornado warning to temperature drop to snow...in 48 hours...that's TN for you! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Be safe in 2022! Be well in 2022! Be cautious in 2022!

Happy New Year from the Dorrells and Proctors