Saturday

And, another Saturday rolls around.  I will say that this day has seemed really long to me.  I got up early and when it was only 9 or 10 it already seemed like afternoon to me.  I have sewn most of the day.  My top is coming right along.  I think, though that I have had about enough sewing for the day and that I will set it aside before I make a mistake and mess up what has been done!  I am, much to my dismay, coughing, coughing, coughing.  I have had more than enough coughing this past month and a half or so. Woody did our Kroger grocery shopping today and ran an errand or two.  Definitely his errand days have gotten muddled about due to our trip.  The children, especially the boys have been in and out several times today.  They have a cousin visiting...a girl cousin...so the boys decided to make themselves scarce and came over here to build with K'nex, etc.  This afternoon Nathan and Graham watched a Star Wars DVD over here.  Woody just got back from a four mile walk.  He is watching a library DVD at the moment.  I plan to go read after I finish blogging...that is unless I doze off! Good bye to May...when next we "meet" it will be June.

Back to "Routine"

Guess that we are settling back into routine...whatever that is!  Woody went for a walk this morning with Elijah to the pond looking for a toad or frog.  They came home with a baby snapping turtle!  Elijah was happy even though they didn't find what he was looking for.  They have gotten out their aquarium and have made a home for the turtle.  We found a number to make an appointment with Dr. Sosman and accomplished that.  So I guess you can say that we are back in the Vanderbilt loop. He will be going the week after next.  After calling and getting the appointment, Woody headed off to the library and to get us a few groceries.  Our cupboard was pretty bare since we had pretty much emptied out our fridge prior to our NIH trip.  For our supper I made a main dish salad to eat with the yummy tomatoes that Woody got at the fruit and vegetable market this morning.  I have been working in my sewing room today getting it ready to do some sewing.  I am ready to vacuum the floor...lots of threads to vacuum up!  Woody went for another walk later in the day so adding this walk in with his walk with Elijah, he walked four miles today.  I am once again coughing...something got to me in the last hotel room that we stayed in..not feathers this time...must have been something in the air/air conditioning or some cleaning product.  I feel just like I did at the start of the last allergy "mess" that I just got finished with...I am not a happy camper.  I'm just hoping that it doesn't progress like it did the last time!  And, I was doing so well...oh, well, such is life with allergies!

There's No Place Like Home!

We left our hotel in Radford/Christiansburg, VA around 6:20am Central time and got to Tullahoma at 1pm.  It was pretty much an uneventful trip...just a little rain after we left the interstate to go the back roads back to Tullahoma.  We drove 381 miles today.  It was good to pull back into our driveway. I don't know about Woody but I am feeling really tired.  I did go this afternoon on a trek to Janie's and JoAnn's to buy some thread that I am going to need to make the top that I cut out before we left.  It is a rather strange color and wasn't easy to find a match for thread.  I found serger thread at Janie's to match and then found the sewing thread to match at JoAnne's.  I hadn't realized that this today was the start of JoAnn's grand opening...good point on that I got my thread for 1/2 price.  Woody is off on a walk.  I know that he misses his walks when we are away and there just isn't time to get a walk in.  I started cleaning up my sewing room so I can start working on my top, but my energy ran out so I will work more on getting things ready tomorrow.  I think that "my" recliner is calling my name along with a book...that is if I can keep my eyes open long enough to read some in the book.

NIH = Not In a Hurry!

We hadn't heard what some folks say that the letters "NIH" stand for till the doctor told us today...but it was very true today.  We got to NIH by 9:15am this morning.  We turned in the travel voucher info and then headed to the car to put the suitcase, etc. in the trunk.  Then we found a spot to read, work crossword puzzles and sudokos, etc.  At 11am we headed off to get something to eat.  Then we headed back to the voucher office to pick up the check.  Then we headed upstairs for Woody to sign in for the clinic.  They took his blood pressure and weighed him pretty quickly after we got there and then it was play the waiting game.  The office emptied out several times of patients while we sat there.  They did come out and say that Woody's fellow had surgery scheduled and that it was to begin at 1pm (our appt. time) and that it would be at least an hour...well at 3pm we finally got called back. Woody's fellow didn't come in for a while but an attending physician did come in and started talking to us.  I think that we are still processing what he told us and not sure if we understand exactly.  He said that the PET scan showed some very small places on his back that they have to assume are melanoma due to his history.  At this point they think that it is time to go back to Vanderbilt and Dr. Sosman and see what new there is too offer since it has been five years.  These spots are subcutaneous...not in bones or organs...and very, very small...cannot be felt when the doctor mashes where he thinks these places are.  They are going to send updates to Vanderbilt along with the latest CT and PET scans.  Anyway, it looks like our trips to NIH are ending and we will be making the shorter trip to Nashville. Now to figure out how to get back in touch with Dr. Sosman...something to do on another day! We've got to get home first!

We have stopped for the night in Radford, VA.  We stopped pretty soon after the sun went down.  We have had several downpours during our trip today.  We didn't get away from NIH till 4:40 eastern time and stopped around 8 eastern.  We traveled around 250 miles.

The good Lord willin' I'll be blogging from Tullahoma tomorrow night.

Typical NIH Day!

We spent a good portion of our day sitting in waiting rooms at NIH.  We got up early and are breakfast at the hotel.  Woody had to eat before 7am as he had to not eat or drink anything for 6 hours prior to his PET scan.  We then loaded up the car and headed Bethesda way.  Just because we got off after 7am the traffic pattern was LOTS different...very congested.  We got to NIH before 8 and then had to wait longer than usual to get in as Woody had lost his ID the last time we were here.  But the security guard was very nice and got him a temporary one using Woody's license and cleared us to go on through without inspection.  We found a good parking place in the parking garage and we headed in for him to get his lab work done.  Then we went back to get him issued a new ID.  Then we sat and sat and sat till 12:30pm when we headed to the nuclear medicine area for his PET scan.  He filled out his paper work and was called back at 1:30 and he came out a little before 3:30.  Then we headed across the hall for his CT scan.  That didn't take long as his lab work creatinine level didn't allow him to have the dyes.  So he had the CT scan just without the dyes.  At least they didn't make the mistake that they made one time when they gave him the dyes when his creatinine level was high and he landed in the hospital.  I'm sure that his creatinine level was up to dehydration due to not drinking much at all today and then he never drinks as much as usual when we are traveling.  Anyway we left the CT waiting room around 4:15 and headed to the car to get our suitcase and then headed to catch the shuttle to the hotel.  We got to the transportation waiting room and our shuttle was due in five minutes...talk about perfect timing!  So we hopped on the shuttle and were whisked away to our hotel.  Our feather free room was waiting on us and we headed up and now Woody is trying to guzzle water and get contrasts, etc. washed out of his system and get himself rehydrated.  I am in the lobby blogging and then heading upstairs to relax for the evening.  Tomorrow we will head to NIH and turn in hotel vouchers and then wait for clinic.  Woody was told that he was the only one they are seeing in clinic tomorrow so if that is the case we should be on the road early afternoon...the good Lord willin' and I'll be blogging somewhere between Bethesda and Tullahoma tomorrow night.

A Traveling Memorial Day

It has been a good day to travel.  We headed out a little before 5am central time and got to Fairfax right at 5pm eastern time...so right around 11 hours of traveling. We traveled 625 miles.  We had a little of all types of weather...a little rain...very little...then we were in fog for a while...rather thick at times.  I don't think that Woody ever got our fog lamps turned on...still don't know how to do several things in this car!  The car got very good gas mileage...all in all a very comfortable/enjoyable ride.  And, I don't think that Memorial Day added much to the normal amount that we get into.  As a matter of fact during the early morning, there was less traffic due to most places not having school and a lot of businesses being closed.  We saw lots of flags flying at half-mast...some overpasses had flags on them.  And on one overpass there was a large group of boys waving flags and waving at the cars going under them.  There was one huge flag flying from a cherry picker-type truck.  Lots of remembering those who have lost their lives fighting for our freedom and thinking about and praying for those who currently protect us by serving in the armed services.  Woody is currently quite happy as he has found the St. Louis Cardinal baseball game on TV.  Before he found this I found HGTV...so that made me happy.  Now I will read.  It is good to be settled in for the night.  We will get up and probably enjoy breakfast here at the hotel as Woody's tests are late enough that he will be able to eat if we get down as it opens.  If he doesn't eat then he won't be eating till supper time as his tests run from 1pm till after 5pm.  We will be staying in Bethesda,MD tomorrow night just around the corner from NIH so will be blogging from Pooks Hill the good Lord willin'!

Remembering!

Well, this is supposed to be a weekend of memories...remembering those who have fought for our freedom...first and foremost.  But for us this weekend holds another memory as 23 years ago tomorrow's date (May 25, 1991) Melany and Wade were married.  My reminders this week are the fact that our light pink rhododendron is blooming and also as I drove through town I noticed that the magnolias are in full bloom.  We used both these blooms along with others in their "Butterfly Garden" themed wedding. Happy 23rd wedding anniversary tomorrow, Melany and Wade!

Well, I have spent today doing a little of this and a little of that in preparation for our trip to Bethesda, MD for Woody's next scans at NIH.  I have just finished putting a load of wash away and setting a few things aside to put in the suitcase and have put my last load in the drier.  So I guess we are on the way to getting ready to leave Monday morning dark and early.  Woody walked six miles early this morning.  Then later in the morning he went to WalMart to pick up some snack food for our trip.  I guess this afternoon I cooked the last that I will cook till we come home.  Now we will finish up eating what is in the refrigerator. I did manage to cut out my top, but that is as far as I have gotten.  My get-up-and-go got up and went this afternoon and I decided that I needed a nap more than I needed to sew!

I guess that my next blog post will be from Fairfax, VA...the good Lord willin'.  

Ventured Out

Not so unusual for Woody to venture out...but lately for me I have stayed pretty close to home.  Woody ended up taking two walks today for a total of eight miles.  I told him that he is trying to make up for the 48 hours that he isn't supposed to exercise prior to his PET scan.  He will have to walk early on Sunday morning if he is going to get in his walk for the day.  And, I guess he will let the car do his miles for him on Monday.  I managed to get the hotel reservation in Bethesda this morning so we are good to go and have a place to lay our heads for two of the nights.  I also communicated with NIH about a couple of things that we still needed to know and heard back from them.  I have several piles of dirty clothes sorted and ready for the wash so we can have clean clothes for the trip.  But my big venture of the day was when I finally made it to our new JoAnn's.  The fact that I hadn't been there yet shows that I really hadn't been feeling well!  I had fun as you could get Simplicity patterns for 5 for $5...I have so missed being able to just get in the car and head to Hancock's (they have been closed for years now) to take advantage of their $1 pattern sales.  So I was very glad to see that JoAnn's had such a sale when I was there today.  I am going to attempt to make myself a top with a new pattern that I bought today...not sure how far I will get before I need to do other things to get ready for the trip.  Woody pulled the car out today and decided to clean it.  I went out and helped him vacuum it out...so another venture for me today.  One of my friends stopped by and we stood out in the front yard and talked...so I have had quite a bit of fresh air today.  I will say that TN mosquitoes are out in full force...one of things that I discovered with venturing out...those I could do without!   Woody is reading to Isaac and Joy and Graham are playing in the living room.  I guess I will press my pattern pieces and see if I can get the pattern pieces at least pinned to the fabric this evening. Isaac is looking for me...he is on his way up. He wants to play train on my iPad!

School's Out!

 Look what followed Woody home from his four mile walk this morning.  He was quite a topic of interest for the time that he stuck around.  The girls even gave him a bath!  I'm not much of a dog person...but I did go out long enough to take a couple of pictures.  Well, today was our last day of Grammy School for this school year...and what did Grammy do?  Overslept!  I had a rough night last night...something was making me itch and I was miserable for most of the night so when I did get to sleep I really went to sleep and slept through a good part of Isaac and Elijah's time.  Elijah didn't mind.  I'll get him to read another day!  Isaac did come over and we did the sounds together.  The summer projects have begun and then seem to involve Grammy's sewing machine.  Graham finally got his camping badge to stitch out correctly.  He just finished making four of them...for the four children in his family who have slept in a tent overnight in the last couple of days.  Esther and Elijah joined Graham and Joy in that club!  Now he and Joy plan to make sashes to put these badges on.  The next badge Graham was planning in his mind when he left a few minutes ago...it will be a bird badge...the ones who see five different birds and take pictures of both the male and female bird will get this particular badge!  Sounds like a fun summer ahead of them with lots of things being planned.  I found the instructions on how to make a sash and I'm going to leave it to Joy and Graham to follow those instructions.  I was laughing when Kathy came over a few minutes ago.  I was looking at how many children can be crammed into my sewing room at one time.  We had Graham sewing, Joy and Esther watching what Graham was sewing, also the three of them were checking out the sewing simulator on my laptop that shows designs being sewn out on the screen.  Then Elijah came over and asked for my iPad and he settled in on the floor in the midst of the other four to play a game or two.  Then Kathy joined us with Joseph in her arms and then in comes Isaac with his blankie...he settled on my lap.  And, we are talking about a very small space where we were all gathered!  Family togetherness!  Abigail and Nathan and Woody were the only ones missing from this family time in the sewing room.  Nathan came over a little while ago and changed the light bulbs in our stairway light fixture...not an easy procedure.  We have a special ladder that folds in many different directions to make certain jobs easier(I bought this especially for Woody one Christmas to make the dangerous job of changing these lights less dangerous)...but the trick is to remember how to get the ladder folded the way it needs to go for this job!  Woody has a card that shows how we set it up to change the stairs' lights...but...of course we couldn't find said card.  Well, Nathan finally found a way to fold the ladder that worked and we once again have lights on our stairs...I feel much safer when ascending and descending the stairs at night! I do think that I am getting better. Hardly coughing at all any more...thank goodness! I will finish my antibiotic this evening and hopefully that has done the trick.  Now to get over being so tired!  I took another nap this afternoon.

Today is Joseph's four month birthday.  I went next door to take care of Isaac and Joseph while Kathy ran an errand till Nathan and the older children came back from swimming at a neighbor's.  I wasn't there very long...but long enough to have a quick birthday photo session with Joseph.  His picture should be tonight's blog photo instead of a puppy...but I haven't gotten them off the camera yet...so maybe tomorrow you will get to see our little one who is growing up too quickly!

Wednesday

Another busy day.  Woody got up early and walked four miles.  He had an early appointment and then ran an errand and did our Wednesday Krogering.  I had school with the children...just one more day of "official Grammy" school.  We are busily finishing up projects and starting ones they want to do during summer break.  Joy just about finished Isaac's placemat.  We just have to take a picture of  her holding it and I think that is one more sewing project finished for this school year.  Graham is still trying to make a camping badge.  The latest stitchout "almost" worked.  I worked in the library this afternoon.  This was the first time that I ventured away from the house in the car since I got to feeling so badly.  I think that I am definitely on the mend.  But I do still get tired easily.  I had to make a quick stop at WalMart to pick up my over-the-counter allergy medicine and it was all I could do to get in and out and head home as quickly as possible.  I attempted to make supper tonight, but was too tired to make one of the items.  I have since sat in my recliner recouping. A few minutes ago I made one of our hotel reservations for the coming week's trip to NIH.  I dislike making the reservations because I have to call and talk in person with someone from the actual hotel in order for them to give us a receipt...won't give a receipt if you make the reservations online.  I always dread calling to make the reservations because I never know if I will be able to understand the person on the other end of the line!  The next reservation that I have to make I have to call the 800# and once again talk to someone...as that is the only way that I can get the NIH patient rate with our Bethesda hotel. The closer I wait till the time that we need the reservation, the more likely we are to get the NIH patient rate...they don't like to give up full-rate rooms too soon for the lower rate.  Time will tell if I will be able to get the patient rate this time.  Guess it is about time to wash clothes and start putting things to pack on the guest bed.  About time to be "on the road again!"

Busy Day!

It has been such a busy day that I almost forgot to blog!  We had a normal Tuesday school day.  This is the last week of school for our homeschooling bunch so today was the last day to do art.  I decided that I would let them paint.  They really enjoyed it.  Some painted what they wanted to do this summer and some just painted what they wanted to paint.  After lunch Elijah came over and he had his painting time.  He enjoyed mixing colors.  Woody did a lot more mowing than he had planned to.  The front yard, the neighbor's front yard (though they ended up finishing what he started) and the side yard look really good!  I sat on the front porch for a short time with Woody when he was resting between mowing bouts.  There was a really nice breeze.  I'm almost afraid to spend much time outside due to my allergies, but it was good to be out for at least a little while.  Graham spent the evening with me.  He came over with a plan to make some badges for a camping club he is making plans to form.  Trying to get the badge digitized with the software I have isn't an easy thing.  He has worked diligently on it.  He has made several attempts to get it to sew out...so far without a lot of luck.  He went home and we decided that I would go on and finish the stitch out that he had started before he left.  Not sure that it will be done to his liking when he comes over tomorrow...I think that it will be back in his hands for more revisions.  If at first you don't succeed!  Woody walked to and from the church prayer room this evening.

Look Whose Birthday It Is!

This has been another day to celebrate next door!  They have had quite the day as only seven children can have when it is their daddy's birthday!  Before the school day started Goosey (Woody) and I joined them for birthday present time.  Their mommy knew that if they waited for presents that she wouldn't get any school work out of them!  After presents, Isaac and I headed back to our house and we had his school time.  Then Elijah came over and had his time.  It took me a bit to get back up to speed after not having school for over a week since I hadn't been feeling well.  Esther, Joy and Graham came over and read to me.  Woody went for a walk while they were reading.  It has been a very pretty day...once again the temperatures have risen to where they should be at this time of the year.  I rested this afternoon.  Woody tried out a new recipe for baked onion rings over the weekend and liked them well enough to make them again today.  We just came home from having Nathan's birthday cake celebration.  Woody bought the children a pup tent for their daddy's birthday.  They have had a great time stuffing seven children into a two-man pup tent!  Graham climbed up into their attic and found another tent so they have had great fun playing in the tents this afternoon and evening.  Isaac especially loved it as this is his first experience in a tent.  He enjoyed zipping and unzipping the door flaps.  I still don't feel the greatest, but will say that I definitely feel better today than I did 42 years ago.  I had a bad kidney infection when Nathan was born and my fever was going up and down...often as high as 105!  I will say that I got to feeling better quickly after he decided to be born very quickly in the middle of the night...so glad that the doctor put me in the hospital on the 18th.  Once Nathan decided that it was too hot in the oven, he came very quickly...before either the doctor or Woody could get to the hospital...and they were only 10 minutes away from the hospital.  Another doctor I had never seen before caught Nathan and then Nathan was whisked away from me.  He was considered immature rather than premature (3 weeks early).  But due to my infection they took extra precautions.  Neither Woody nor I got to touch him till he was six days old...all we could do was look at him through the nursery ICU window.  I got dismissed before he did.  So we made the trip to look at him once a day till they let him come home.  Things are definitely handled differently these days.  We would have been right there with him talking to him and at least patting him, etc. And, we were in California...much more progressive than TN at that time.  They were even going to let Woody come into the delivery room...that is if he had gotten there in time!  A dad in the delivery room wasn't even considered when we had Melany two years earlier in Tullahoma.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!  You've grown "just a little" from your birth weight of  5# 12oz. and length of 18"!  Thanks for sharing your day with us!

Smile For the Day!

Here's a picture of Isaac (2) several weeks ago.  He called me on the phone that day and asked me to come over.  He wanted to show me his new slippers (Stompers...I believe)!  He also had a "new" hat.  I haven't seen this little fellow or most of the rest of the neighbor crew due to me not feeling well for several days now.  Today it is very quiet in our household...just me here.  Woody was gone when I woke up this morning.  He is next door taking care of six of our seven neighbor grandchildren. I'll bet it isn't as quiet over there as it is over here! Nathan, Kathy, and Joseph have gone to a homeschooling event in Nashville.  I am staying home trying to continue to feel better.  I am getting better, but still not much good for anything.  So far today I have fixed myself a lite breakfast, warmed up some chili for lunch and made myself a grilled cheese for supper.  I also put dishes into the dishwasher and ran it.  And, that is about all I have done other than sit in my chair and read and do some needlework.  I decided that I would come in and blog as I could tell that I was starting to get sleepy and figured that if I did fall asleep I might not wake up till well after "blog time!"  We have had a rainy and chilly day here in Middle TN today.

Friday to the Finish

Well, time has slipped up on me.  I just told myself that it must be about six and I looked and it was already after seven.  Time flies...sometimes.  These last few days time has seemed to pass rather slowly...so maybe the fact that it was later than it seemed to me means that I am getting better.  Woody keeps saying that I am getting better...of course he wasn't in the room for my last coughing spell either!  But I do think that those coughing spells are getting farther and farther between.  I did get up and go downstairs and fixed my own breakfast.  And, then later in the morning I made chili (mainly because something spicy sounded good to me).  Elijah happened to be in the kitchen when I was making preparations and I let him do the heavy work...as in pushing the onions through the onion chopper!  He was a very good helper.  The chili did taste good for lunch.  Woody decided that he would go to the library and WalMart today as he will be otherwise occupied tomorrow on his usual day to do those errands.  He walked four miles this afternoon.  It has once again been a rather chilly day...a good reason to make chili! I have been working on a needlework piece that takes quite a bit of concentration...another indication that I must be feeling better as I haven't felt like concentrating on anything very long this past week.  So maybe slowly but surely I am getting better...guess time will tell.  I have only taken antibiotics for three days and still have a week to go taking them...surely by the time I am finished with them I will be VERY much better!

Thursday?

Here's one of the rescued baby robins...now old enough to have left the nest.  I "borrowed" this photo from Kathy as I haven't been out and about in the last few days to take any pictures.  I guess this fella and two of his siblings were entertainment for our grandchildren at various times yesterday. At that time there was only one left in the nest.

Woody walked four miles today and found that it was quite a bit chillier today after several rain storms during the night.  I couldn't tell you if it is chillier or not, I have stayed put upstairs all day today...not even ventured downstairs once.  Woody has done a good job of waiting on me.  I'm still not over what ails me.  I had a really bad night...hardly slept at all...coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose, etc. I have dozed several times during the day and have dreams that I remember (not often can I tell you a dream...just that I have dreamed).  I had really bad foot/leg cramps this morning...no fun at all. So Woody's been bringing me bananas and banana muffins trying to get my potassium back up.  I'm about to declare myself a total mess.  I'm just ready to feel better and I'm not sure that I can say that I feel much better at all yet. I guess I'll just try to be a patient patient!

Wednesday...Really?

I'm out of routine so it didn't seem like Wednesday!  Can it really be Wednesday since I didn't have school in the morning or go to the church library to work this afternoon?  Woody went about his Wednesday routine...he did his Wednesday Krogering.  He also walked four miles today and he has worked in the garden. Woody did the job that I fell down on this week...making our extra ripe bananas into muffins...a tasty mid afternoon snack.  I guess I  have worked at feeling better which included doing next to nothing.  I do think that I am on the mend.  I haven't run a fever today and I seem to be coughing less and not using a box of Kleenex at the rate of a large box a day...but the coughing still hasn't totally subsided nor the nose blowing completely stopped.  I'm taking my medicine and resting...hopefully just what the doctor ordered.

A Thumping, Pounding Kind of Day

We got the luck of the draw today and our sewer lines got worked on.  The trucks have pounded, thumped, dug, etc. all day long.  As a matter of fact they are still at it as I type. They did our yard, Nathan and Kathy's yard, and a couple of the across the street neighbors' yards.  I have had a headache most of the day so I could have done with a bit less of the thudding...but such is life.

Woody had a doctor's appointment this morning.  After his appointment, he stopped at the pharmacy and picked up my antibiotic and another of my prescriptions.  In the end I didn't have to go to the doctor, she phoned in the prescription to the pharmacy.  I'm thankful that I didn't have to make that trip over to McMinnville and back.  I have taken it easy the whole day and still don't feel all that great.  The first dose of antibiotic wasn't a cure-all!  Of course, I didn't expect it to be.  Woody headed out to walk this afternoon and turned around and came back as it was too hot to walk.

And, now I will post a picture of how the workers shrunk in size as the heat of the day got to them!
The children have had a great time watching all the construction work going on.  They had to go and get a closer look once the workers were done with our yard...at least as done as they are going to get today.  And, as I typed that last sentence, I realized that it has gotten quieter on our street.  I think that the workers have finished for the day.  I'm so out of it that I didn't realize that Woody was gone until the door opened a couple of seconds ago.  He had walked to and from the prayer room at church.  I guess I'm not clued in even to what day it is!

Throwing in the Towel

I have decided that I will go to the doctor tomorrow.  I did really well for most to the day.  I felt that I was on the downward swing with whatever ails me.  But late this afternoon my temperature started going up...making me all achy once again.  I had gone all day yesterday without one.  So I have decided that it is time to cry "uncle."  Woody walked six miles today.  He also realized that NIH hadn't included enough of him in the PET scan.  So he emailed the doctor and she got back to him pretty quickly that his lower extremities were supposed to be included. So they had to reschedule for the next week.  I'm not thrilled that we will be traveling on Memorial Day.  I'm glad that he read closer than I did! No picture tonight as I don't feel like going into the next room!  We'll see what the doctor has to say after my visit tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Mother's Day Tomorrow

How perfect...the rose bush that three of my friends gave me in memory of Mother started blooming this week!  Woody and I are both feeling rather puny today.  Woody didn't get any sleep last night and I started running a low grade fever last night and it has continued today.  I have been dozing off and on all day.  I'm not sure if Woody has ever fallen asleep or not.  When I went downstairs a few minutes ago, he had the door to the family room shut.  Hopefully he is resting.  I can't remember whether or not  he walked today...but I think that he did.  He also made a quick trip to Walmart, but didn't go to the library today.  We had plans to go to a fish fry with friends this afternoon, but we both ended up not going.  Nathan and family went and they just brought us food from the event.  Well, I'm ready to go collapse in my chair once again.  I haven't strayed too far from it today.  I did go outside once to direct the planting of the plant that Nathan gave me for Mother's Day.  Graham planted it for me after I chose the spot.

Cloudy With a Chance of...

It has sort of "thought" about raining all day...but we have only gotten a little...perhaps more to come over night and tomorrow?  This is my day off from school so I have done various and sundry things around the house.  I mainly got several loads of wash done and some of it put away.  The last load is in the drier and the middle load is partially folded and put away.  What hasn't been folded is in my chair in the family room...either I fold them or I don't sit there till they are!  Goosey (Woody) took Elijah and Esther to the can man today to turn in aluminum cans that have been collected by us and others in the church over the last few months.  The money that they got for them goes to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for International Missions.  Elijah spent some time with me in the late morning.  He wanted to know what he could do..."and, not Dick and Jane!" We ended up "making up" a car using K'nex.  I was challenged by him to make it work with a motor...he came up with how he wanted it to look.  It did take a few trials, but we were successful.  We raced it between us on the kitchen floor. Woody walked six miles today.  I am still coughing away...at times...and at others I think that it is about over.  At the days end, I haven't made up my mind which it is! I talked with my sister for a while this afternoon.  After we talked, I went downstairs and made marinara sauce that we had over whole wheat spaghetti.

Successful Rescue!

Today there was quite a bit of excitement over at the neighbors (Nathan & Kathy and family), when I was walking Esther back from her school time.  The children had discovered that the bird nest had fallen down (not sure how...someone "thought" the mother bird had knocked it down and someone "thought" Elijah...jury is still out!).  Anyway, upon closer inspection, Nathan could tell that the baby birds were still alive. So Graham suggested that they try to put the nest back and then put the babies back in.  We explained that the mama might not come back if she could tell that humans had touched her babies.  Well, Graham pointed out that his daddy was wearing a glove and had only touched them with his gloved hand.  So Nathan got a ladder and put the nest up and then put all four of the babies in a box and climbed up and one by one put the babies back in their nest.  Then everyone left the area so they wouldn't scare the mama away and the wait was on to see if the mama would come back.  Every so often one in the family would check from the other corner of their house.  And, sure enough the mama was spotted going to and from the nest.  I went over a few minutes ago and took a couple of pictures from the far corner of their house.  The mama spotted me and is looking at me in this picture.  We're happy that the rescue worked!

Woody walked five miles today.  And, he did the last portion of our yard...so he now can say that he has mowed our yard once this year.  I checked and sure enough the portion where he started is already in need of the next mowing...one of the many Golden Gate Bridge projects around here!  This afternoon we had a Hasty baby Frosty delivery.  Linda also brought ideas for kitchen renovations.  Graham came bounding in asking me to come out to see something.  I told him that I could look for a minute but that Linda was on her way...well, that put a big grin on his face...and, when I opened door, there Linda was...much to Graham's delight.  Linda tried to convince him that there weren't any Frosties today...but the Wendy's bag was a dead give away.  After I retrieved two Frosties for Woody and me, Graham and Abigail happily headed home with the Wendy's bag.  Nice treat on a quite warm afternoon.  I rested for a while this afternoon and then cleaned out another drawer in the kitchen.  The plumber we "hired" (Nathan and  Graham) fixed a problem that we had been having with one of our toilets.  Now, of course, I will no longer be able to remember how it is supposed to be flushed as it is a water saver one.  Awful hard to teach an old dog new tricks!!!! I'm still coughing...but think that I am getting better...that is...until the next coughing spasm comes along as one just a couple of minutes ago.

Oh, we did get an email from NIH today and Woody's appointments for PET and CT scans are set up for May 21.  And, then on the 22nd he will see some of the doctors on his team during their clinic time.  So an NIH trip back on the radar.

Wednesday

Another busy day...just the norm around here!  Woody walked early this morning...four miles.  He left before school started and was back about the time that Isaac was finished with his part.  Elijah came over next.  Today he wanted to hurry up so he could go back outdoors and play so he only read one Dick and Jane story.  He likes that they are short...he can read a couple or fly the coup quickly like he did today.  Graham came over to read next.  Today we read about ants.  Abigail then read a story out of her reading book.  Then it was time for Joy to join me.  She read and then she got back to work on the placemat that she is making for Isaac.  It is coming right along.  It is complete and now she is ready to do some machine embroidery on it.  She chose to do the embroidery last as it will then be reversible.  If he gets it dirty on one side then he can flip it over and the same picture will be on the back...probably good planning on her part.  I know that Isaac doesn't like messes...but at the moment he still isn't the neatest of eaters...according to Joy.  After Joy headed home I quickly made lunch and then Woody and I headed out to get gas in both of the cars.  Then I headed on to the church library.  Donna and I worked for a couple of hours and once again got quite a lot done without too much confusion!  I came home and pretty much crashed.  I am still sleep deprived, though, I did sleep better last night.  At times I think that my coughing is about over and then another "attack" of coughing comes upon me.  I will be glad when "it" (the cough) packs its bags and leaves...I will say good riddance! Woody has worked out in the yard quite a bit today.  The neighbors have three new "pets"...three little toads.  They were having a wonderful time with them this afternoon.  Woody found the third one while he was gardening.  I'm not sure who was responsible in finding the other two...I just know that they were found on their and our properties...no long walk to find these! Reading, cross stitch...not sure what the evening has in store for me...the main thing that I am hoping for is less coughing and a good night's sleep.

Tuesday

Another busy/full day.  Esther and then Joy came over and read with me this morning.  Then Graham, Abigail, Joy, and Esther came over for art.  We had a good time creating many different things.  Each had their own idea this morning and then went with it.  Abigail stayed after art and we went to work on her sewing project.  She completed it.  But I won't tell about it as it is a birthday present for one of her siblings. While Abigail and I were sewing Woody headed out the door for a walk.  He walked six miles.  Before he got back, I was heading out the door to get my hair cut.  I was afraid for my hair cut today...since I am coughing so much I was afraid that I would come away with a bald place...but I managed to warn her each time that I was going to cough!  I guess you can tell by the prior sentences that I haven' t gotten rid of my cough yet...I'm ready for it to leave.  It is now making me lose sleep.  Just sitting here at the computer I am having to prod myself to stay awake even though I am typing away! When I got home from my hair cut Joy was over here working on a science experiment that she got Goosey (Woody) to help her with. Elijah came over to read after I got back from my hair cut. He is so excited about starting the Dick and Jane books! Woody has just returned from walking to and from the church prayer room.  So he can say that he walked about eight miles total today...makes me tired just thinking about exerting that effort! Well, I'll head back to my recliner so I won't fall off this office chair!  We still haven't heard from NIH about Woody's appointments.  I did contact his Fellow and she said that she would check and have them call with the dates.  That was supposed to happen today, but so far...nada...maybe tomorrow!?!

And, Another Monday Rolls Around

Yesterday during the second service the children's choir sang.  We have three munchkins in this choir.  Abigail was a drummer for the first song.  They all did a good job. Today Woody walked six miles and mowed the front yard.  He has also done quite a bit of reading.  On Saturday when he went to the library he found a good book by one of his favorite authors.  I had school with the children between coughs.  I ended up cancelling my dentist appointment for my six month cleaning due to my coughing and difficulty breathing (without someone having their hands in my mouth!).  Of course, I wasn't too broken hearted about postponing that appointment!  I finished two cross stitch projects over the weekend...these were projects that had been started long ago and put aside...well, they are finally done.  I have been trying to decide what incomplete project I will work on next. I'm also almost finished with one of the books that I picked up last week from the public library.  Graham finished the next book, and I think last in a series of books that he had been reading, during his school time with me.  Now to decide what we'll read together next!  He wants a Star Wars book...and Grammy thinks not if she is going to read it with him!  I told him that Star Wars books he could read by himself or with his daddy!  If I'm reading with him, I want to enjoy the book that we're reading and understand what is going on!!!!! We have had supper and the dishes are in the dish washer and the blog is about complete and it's Monday...so must be about time to go dancing with the stars...it wasn't on last week due to the storms and the weather men having to warn us whether we were in the path of a tornado.  Glad that things are calmer this Monday.  Well, off to put on my dancing shoes!

First Saturday in May

Woody did our Saturday errands/grocery shopping this morning as well as making a stop at the library.  I met friends at Chick-fil-A for lunch...good food...but best of all good friends getting together.  I ordered the spicy chicken sandwich to see if it would cure what ails me!  I have found over the years when I am having sinus/allergy problems that spicy foods seem to help...at least for a while.  And, it was spicy and it did seem to help.  I came home and rested.  Then I made us chicken noodle soup for supper...again...hopefully good for whatever ails me!  Woody has spent a lot of time working in the yard today. He was out mowing when I got home from lunch.

Friday

Woody and Graham walked to and from Graham's orthodontist appointment this morning.  Then Woody spent quite a bit of time outside working in the yard.  He said that he did "a tad of mowing."  I have stayed in away from outside pollen as much as possible.  I'm just hoarse...so far haven't lost my voice.  I'm still coughing at times...but I don't think as much as yesterday...hopefully a good sign!  My "major" accomplishments of the day, other than resting a lot, were to clean/organize two more drawers in the kitchen (that job continues on!) and I did a couple of loads of wash.  I have put clothes away and ironed a couple of things.  I have been thinking about switching out my closet from winter to spring...but each time I start to it turns cold again. It has felt chilly most of the day to me.  Off to do a lot of nothing for the rest of the evening!

Slow Boat to China!

I'm giving up on our laptop for the moment and going to blog from the iPad...maybe later I'll be able to add a picture.  I have been waiting on "things" on the other computer for about thirty minutes now...won't let me open and/or keeps getting hung when trying to open my photo software and doesn't want to let me open the blog...so there is more than one way to skin a cat!  My patience has run out!  I'm not feeling all that great...sinuses/allergies have gotten the best of me, I guess.  At one point I thought that I would title the blog tonight: "Going South."  That title would have referenced by cough and my voice...both are getting deeper!  Sort of typical for me at this time of the year...I am always hopeful that I will avoid a season of allergies, but am rarely so lucky!  Woody may become one of the luckiest husbands in town (what our now retired physician would say when one of his patient's lost her voice!).

We had school per usual this morning...at that point I didn't feel like I do at the moment...a good thing!  Woody has worked in the gardens quite a bit today...he and most of Nathan and Kathy's family were working out there at one point this afternoon.  Other than school my main accomplishment was stewing some chicken and making broth.  Woody has spent some time next door this evening while Nathan and Kathy had a date night.  He walked four miles this afternoon.  Now we are both in for the evening.  The recliner and the Kleenex box is calling my name!  I'm going to attempt to add pictures of the baby apples and cherries that are growing on the neighbor Dorrell's trees.

                                                             Happy May Day 2014