Last Day of April

Where has the month of April gone? It seems to have blown away like the many seeds of a dandelion! Took a deep breath and it is gone! Woody did our usual Saturday shopping at WalMart. After that he headed off to the library. I pretty much stayed in today. I finished a book and then decided to update my book list with the books that I read last year and so far this year. I went through the list and tried to get the books in a better order. I have my book list in spreadsheet form...but within the individual authors it sometimes doesn't get in the best order...so I worked on that before I printed out the list. After I hit print, I realized that I forgot to tell the printer to print on both sides of the paper...oh, well...next time. I will go through this list and if there very many errors then I will reprint it, but if not I will just wait till I update the list at another time to print on both sides. Double the pages just takes up a lot more room in my "books read" notebook. Last I checked Woody was snoozing on the couch...hope that he can sleep tonight! But it is good for him to get some good rest no matter the time as lately with his leg hurting he has missed some much needed sleep.

Daily Walks Once Again

Woody got back to taking daily walks today. He was given permission by his surgeon and therapist to start taking daily walks again...no more than a mile walk to begin with. He chose to walk to and from our pharmacy today. I know that he is glad to have his "no taking daily walks" restriction lifted. Woody did some planting today, also. He enlisted Graham's help and between the two of them got quite a few different kinds of seeds planted. I even got out and weeded a little in the part of the bed where our basil grows. I did as far into the raised bed as I could reach from one side. I'm not much of a gardener so that was quite a bit of gardening for me! I also got into my sewing room today and did some machine embroidery...embroidered a design on a flour sack towel. We just returned from the ball park. According to the weather predictions it should have been a rain-out, but that prediction was wrong. The game got played with only a drop or two of rain right at the end of the game. Elijah's team played another good game.

More Good Reports

Woody went for another therapy session for his knee and also saw his knee surgeon today. He is going in the right direction for his recovery from the injury and surgery. Some exercises were taken away and a couple more added. They also gave him permission to walk up to a mile...he was very glad to hear that. He has missed his walks. I had a usual Thursday school morning. Elijah and I worked on bringing his sewing notebook up to date. Today we printed pictures of the various things that he has done. This was the first time that I had printed pictures using the new printer. I am very happy with the results...Elijah was too. Woody worked outside in the gardens some this afternoon. I have had another lazy afternoon...not enough energy to accomplish much of anything so decided to read for part of the afternoon. Woody made Italian Cauliflower to go with our supper. And,now, we are settled in for another quiet evening.

Wednesday Rolls Around Again

Just about at the time for me to come in to blog, we had a strong thunder storm roll through. I'll bet that the water isn't as still on the Duck River as it was yesterday. This is a picture taken from the one-way bridge as we came home yesterday on back roads. I finally got my pictures from yesterday to download. I realized after I finally got the blog to post last night that our anti-virus program was running a scan...something that it just does on its own at times and I didn't realize that it was doing it last night. I'm so glad to have things going along at a faster pace tonight! Woody headed off to do our Wednesday Krogering before I got underway with school this morning. Joseph came tapping at the front door a little before it was time for school. He came in and watched me eat my English muffin. Then we headed upstairs and he watched me brush my teeth and THEN we got underway with school. The rest of the morning went on as usual...Isaac (for his preschool time), Elijah to read out loud to me (He finished another first grade reader today.), Esther to read out loud (She is about to finish The Little House on the Prairie), Joy decided to do her Social Studies reading during her reading time(we read about Norway and Vikings and Norse gods, etc.), then Abigail came and started another zipper bag (We also planned another sewing project. She is ready to take a little break from her bags and wants to make a skirt using a pair of jeans as the basis. We did a little planning for that by looking at some skirts online.). While waiting for the storm to blow through I looked at some fabric online that might work as supplemental fabric. After school, I ate lunch and then went to work in the church library for a couple of hours. I came home and just sat for a while! Woody did a little work in the yard/gardens today. He was pretty happy when I told him yesterday that Graham was mowing the lawn for us. He said that he had been telling himself that he needed to mow, but just didn't think that he should with his leg still hurting. He goes to therapy again tomorrow. Since I was struggling with the computer last night I didn't say a couple of things about our visit with Dr. Sosman. Woody asked him how many survivors of 8 or more years that Dr. Sosman had had as patients. He said not a lot...that he did have some still alive who had responded to IL-2 but he never said how many he had from other treatments. Woody felt that he was one of the few who had lived that long. Dr. Sosman indicated that Woody being in such good health to start with made a big difference in how Woody has responded over the years to treatment. The way things are going in melanoma treatment, I think that there will be more and more success stories in survival. Dr. Sosman told Woody that he would still be a resource for him if Woody ever has questions or needs recommendations. The doctor has left a list of ways to get in touch with him in the letter he sent out. He wished Woody good luck and we wished him well as he goes off on this new venture in the medical field. He said that he has a friend at Northwestern and that they will be doing research together. He is moving closer to family when he goes to the Chicago area.

REMISSION...Still!

We had a good LAST visit with Dr. Sosman. He continues to believe that Woody is in remission. The only "hot spots" on the PET scan could be explained by Woody's recent knee surgery. The Fellow who came in prior to Dr. Sosman was very relieved when Woody told him about the surgery which explained the "hot spot" that he was seeing. Dr. Sosman was fairly sure that it was just the surgery since there wasn't any other place on the scan that indicated the return of the melanoma. Woody will have follow-up scans in twelve weeks. Woody's new doctor will be Dr. Kenneth Wyman. Our morning was pretty much taken up with travel and appointments. We got home in time for lunch and the rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet...until it was time for Elijah's basemall game. His team had another great game...really good offense...not quite as good defense as some of the games in the past. But all that good hitting got another win under their belts. Woody brought me home and then he drove to the prayer room at church. I am having problems with a VERY slow computer tonight. I was about to do the blog on the iPad, but had trouble with it when I made a mistake and tried to correct and the cursor jumped to the middle of what I had written and I couldn't get it to move from that spot. I never did get my software to open up to download today's pictures so found a flower picture in my "archives." This is a pincushion flower...note the bud before it opens...looks just like a pincushion with lots of pins pushed into it. Melany and Wade found this flower to add to our perrenials...perfect flower for my love of sewing!

Meet Glory

Glory the Goat is the latest addition to one of our flower gardens. Woody found her and thought that she would be a good decorative/coversation piece for the garden. I had school on our usual Monday schedule. Esther got underway with machine embroidering for a doll dress. She is very pleased with the colors she chose. She embroidered the front bodice today and still has the sleeves and skirt to embroider before we start to sew the pieces together to make a dress for her doll, Noel. Woody headed out while I was reading with one of the children. He went to Life Care to have Bible study with Jeff and also visit several friends who reside there. He continues to have discomfort in his leg now due to sciatica pain. I took a short nap in the early afternoon. That gave me enough energy to do a couple of loads of wash and get them put away. And I also decided that the porch needed a bit of cleaning before it would be very inviting to sit down. I vacuumed off the pillows and wiped down the chairs and tables. They look much better. Now perhaps I will settle out there with a cup of tea and a camera and attempt to get some pictures of our bird visitors. I also filled the bird feeder today so that should invite some birds to come visiting. I saw the red-bellied woodpecker up in a tree when I was working on the porch, but he didn't come down to the feeder...at least while I was out there. Tomorrow is our day to pay Vanderbilt another visit. This time Woody will have labs and see Dr. Sosman. This will be the last time that he will see Dr. Sosman. Not having Dr. Sosman will seem strange after having him see Woody through so many treatments for so many years...since December of 2008. Of course there were several years that we didn't see him when Woody was being treated by The National Institutes of Health. I wonder who will be Woody's new Melanoma doctor. We will be up with the birds again tomorrow...really early appointments again this week. I'll report in tomorrow night about the results of Woody's PET scan.

Rather Warm Day at the Ol' Ball Park!

I think that we are all glad that most of Elijah's games are in the evening. It was quite hot with the sun beating down on us. It was another good game for the Marlins. The top photo shows the final score with Elijah under the sign out in left field. The Mariners were the home team today. The bottom photo shows the teams filing out after the game to tell the players on the other team "good game." Today's game was much closer than some of the games have been which meant for a shorter game time under the sun. They finished the game (6 innings)in just about an hour...most other games have taken 1 1/2 hours or a little more. This morning saw Woody going about Saturday in his usual fashion. He went to both Kroger and WalMart to do our grocery shopping, went to the library and made a hospital visit to a church member. While he was away, I did some cleaning...ran the vacuum in the family room, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and vacuumed and mopped the kitchen floor. I meant to do a little more but my energy spurt had run out! After he got home I put away the groceries and then I headed off to ran an errand before lunch. We had lunch and then it wasn't long till it was game time. I guess being out in the sun got to me as I didn't feel all that great after we got back home...I was aching all over. Not sure if I was dehydrated or it was my Transverse Myelitis objecting to the rather warm temperature. I really never felt extra hot while watching the game so who knows! But I drank a lot after getting home and then fell asleep for a while and when I woke up I felt better. Woody went to church to hear a special speaker: a gentleman who was a former Islamic terrorist. He will speak during our church services tomorrow also. We are now both settled in for the evening. We've had a pretty busy day and are ready to for our usually dull evening...good books in hand along with perhaps a TV show or a DVD for Woody.

Back to the Ball Park

Tonight Elijah's ball game was played on the field that his daddy played on when he played in Little League. Elijah's league is coach-pitch. The top picture shows the coach pitching to Elijah. Even though the coaches pitch, there is still a player who fields in the position of the pitcher. And, tonight, Elijah got to play that position for the last part of the game for the first time. The player who plays in the pitcher position has to wear a helmet. Woody went next door shortly after we got home. Nathan and Kathy are having a date night. They have gone to see the play, "Twelve Angry Men" put on by our Community Playhouse. Woody made his vegetarian chili this morning...a major production of cutting, chopping, slicing, etc. many veggies. I have had one of those days that I just didn't have much energy to do anything. I did work some in the sewing room putting thread, etc. away. The room looks a "little" less cluttered.

More April Showers

Late this afternoon I happened to look out the window and saw the above picture...umbrellas around the neighbor's (Nathan and Kathy's) firepit. At that point it had just begun to rain, but Graham told me later that his siblings had been out there for a while with umbrellas trying to keep the smoke off themselves. Once it started raining harder...fire went out and umbrellas went inside. Today started much too early for me. I woke up way too early. When Woody came upstairs to run off today's crossword puzzles, I decided that I might as well start my day and went downstairs to work in the kitchen. I unloaded the dishwasher and then decided that I might as well do the cooking that I planned to do today...Cream of Reubin Soup. So before it was time for school to start I had the soup made and cooling and Rye bread cubes becoming croutons in the oven. I was a bit sleepy during several of the school sessions...especially when we were reading out loud, but made it through the morning. After lunch, Joy came over to have her Grammy long time for this week as she had missed her time on Tuesday when we were at Vanderbilt. She was completing a project today...making a clay pot like we had read about in a book about Pocahontas. She worked on her clay pot for more than half the time and then the rest we finished up reading the story that we had started this morning during her reading time. Well, I just thought that I had had trouble staying awake while reading in the morning with her...now that it was after lunch I really had trouble keeping awake. But we made it (finally) through the story. I thought about taking a nap after she left, but I had told Elijah that we could continue his long time this afternoon as we didn't get very far this morning. Abigail had been trying to get a zippered bag done to give her cousin, who was visiting, so she worked on it during her reading time and on into Elijah's long time. And, I had to help her get through a couple of problems so Elijah and I didn't get quite as far as he would have liked. He was machine embroidering a dog onto a t-shirt. We got all the preliminary things done and were ready to do the embroidery when it was time for him to go home for lunch so I told him that if he got a chance he could come back this afternoon. Back he came and we did get his shirt completed. He was quite pleased with it when he was able to take it back home...a project done in one day! Woody has been having problems with sciatic pain in his right leg (especially in the foot area)...the leg that he had surgery done on his knee. He thinks that perhaps somehow that the exercises that he has been doing diligently for his knee have inadvertantly made this sciatic problem flare up. If it isn't one thing then it is another! I know that he is ready not to hurt for whatever reason! I was a bit late blogging as I took a nap not long after I finished my supper (once I sat down and got quiet I was asleep!) plus everything about this computer tonight has been slow from downloading pictures to getting the blog to even open. I will now go down and check on Woody...it's pretty quiet downstairs...I'm thinking that he might be asleep already.

Pretty Typical Wednesday

I went outside a little while ago to take pictures of some of the flowers in our garden that are blooming and this fella caught my attention up in one of our dogwood trees. This is a red-bellied woodpecker...according to one of our bird books...doesn't look very red-bellied to me...more red-headed...but we have another bird visitor that matches the picture and description for a red-headed woodpecker. The other one is much more red-headed than this one. Today has pretty much been a typical Wednesday for both of us...school for me...Wednesday Krogering for Woody. This afternoon I headed off to work in the church library for a couple of hours and during that time Woody headed next door to take care of the seven neighbor grandchildren for a couple of hours. Woody came home a little after I got home. Abigail came back over to work on her sewing project...her latest zippered bag. It was her long Grammy time today and she wanted to work some more on her latest bag as she had someone in mind to give it to. We had leftovers for supper and we are now settling in for a quiet evening. When I was downstairs Woody was faithfully working on the exercises that his physical therapist gave him. Just a little while ago we received a friendly automated call from Vanderbilt reminding us of Woody's appointments next week for labs and to see Dr. Sosman. I've come back in to add a post script...I was reminded of something when I saw the date after I blogged. Thirteen years ago today was when I was "struck" with Transverse Myelitis. The date sticks because it was Easter Sunday and Nathan and Kathy and Graham had come for a visit...they were living in the Atlanta area at that time. I know how many years by subtracting one year from Graham's age as he was just a little over one that visit. By God's grace most of the symptoms have reversed themselves and the nerves have settled down over the years (according to my neurologist). I still tire easily, have some weird sensations throughout my body at times, my right arm still feels like it is asleep (that is where the symptoms started and traveled up my arm and across my body and down my left side into my left leg/foot...and reversed themselves from left back through my body to my right side. A really strange disease/injury to my spinal cord...something attacked my spinal cord...perhaps a virus...or it could be autoimmune problem...docs really don't know. I just know that I am glad to be at this end of the thirteen years...thirteen years ago there were quite a few frightening days ahead for me as the symptoms continued to increase...in 24 hours I had just about every symptom of MS. Glad I'm sitting here today with as few problems as I have...God's grace!

Game Ball!

Way to go, Elijah! Each night after the ball game Elijah's coach awards a "game ball" to the player who contributed the most to that game...like a Most Valuable Player in the Major Leagues. Elijah earned the honor of being presented with the game ball tonight. He got three hits for four at bats...one of those hits was a stand up double. He had two RBI's and he crossed the plate to score a run. So he REALLY had a good baseball game...and, I don't think that he had any idea that he would get the game ball. He had the sweetest smile when the coach handed him the ball. Woody dropped me off at the house after the ball game and went to the prayer room at church...another routine thing that he has added back into his weekly schedule since his surgery. We started off the day bright and early...well really dark and early. We had only one slight traffic slow down on the whole trip...so got there quite early for the appointment. He registered as soon as we got there and the registration process went super smoothly and we were back in the PET scan waiting room about 40 minutes before he had been asked to be there. They came out for him immediately. And, we were heading out to the car by 8:15...very efficient and quick day at Vandy. Since we got out so quickly and were in Nashville, Woody decided to head to the Nashville Farmer's Market. We got several different herb plants and also some eggplant plants. After that we wended our way out of Nashville and headed home. Woody got the new plants planted. I got our supper cooked...and then it was ball game time. I did get the capes all hemmed last night so they are ready for our little super heroes (one of which is Elijah...hmmmm hero at the game and will be a super hero on the children's musical...quite the little hero!).

A More "Normal" Monday

Today we had more of a routine Monday than we have had since Woody had his knee surgery three weeks ago tomorrow. I had a usual Monday school day with the neighbor grandchildren. Woody headed off to run errands which included a stop at the Credit Union, the Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff, and he added in a therapy session for his knee/leg. The therapist said that Woody is heading in the right direction...that he had gained flexibility since last week's therapy session. Woody came home with added exercises. He also spent time in the kitchen making the veggie concoction for his veggie burritos. I have spent the afternoon working on costumes for the upcoming children's musical at church. We have three super heroes for grandchildren...and their capes need to be shorter. I have two shortened...so just one to go. Maybe I will feel like doing it after I post the blog and then that job will be done. Tomorrow we will be getting up with the birds to head to Vanderbilt for Woody to have a PET scan. This will be the first time in twelve weeks for us to head to Vanderbilt. Hope we haven't forgotten the way! Tomorrow he will only have the scan and then next week he will have labs and see Dr. Sosman. Tomorrow "shouldn't" be a long Vanderbilt day...but only time will tell!

Photo Op of the Day...MISSED!

And, the reason that it was missed was that I was in the missed photo oportunity. And, there's no telling when an opportunity for getting a pic of me doing what I was doing would happen again! Goosey (Woody) invited Elijah to run errands with him this morning, but Elijah decided to stay home. And, I think that the reason that he stayed home was because he wanted to practice playing ball...and guess who he talked into playing ball with him. Those of you who know me well...don't laugh too hard! Well, I donned Woody's baseball glove and we headed out to the front yard (above picture) and started throwing the ball back and forth. I think that I surprised Elijah that the second ball he threw me...I caught! He said that I didn't do too badly for someone who hadn't played ball in such a long time! (I did play on a girl's softball team...many, many, many, many moons ago!) Tonight I am feeling the fact that I hadn't done something like this in a long time! Wonder if I will be moving in the morning! I think that Elijah had a pretty good time with us for this little over 24 hour stay. His parents and rest of his family drove back into their driveway a little after six. Elijah was pretty happy to see them driving down the road towards their house. Today has been a stock/broth making day for me. I have made chicken and vegetable broth. Chicken broth is in the fridge and I just took the vegetable broth off the stove. It is cooling a bit before I put it in the fridge. We are ready to settle in for a quiet evening.

Galavanting & Baseball

I headed off late this morning with two friends and was gone most of the afternoon...came back just in time to get supper on the table before we headed off to the baseball field for another of Elijah's games. Elijah is staying with us because his family had a gig out of town tonight. Goosey (Woody) and Elijah had a good time together this afternoon...or so it seems. Sounds like Elijah and Goosey walked around the block. Tonight Woody navigated going to the ball field without his walker...so I guess he is doing better! He does say that the shin area of his leg is hurting a bit less. Well, off to read a story or two to our little ball player.

Therapy Thursday

Our morning went pretty much as usual...I had school with the neighbor grandchildren. Woody did empty the dishwasher and washed a few dishes by hand this morning. Not long after lunch Woody headed off to therapy. I think that this should really help him. The therapist showed him how he should be walking...that should take care of the sore lower leg. He got his knee massaged to help with the fluid that causes swelling and he got a new exercise to do at home. We just figured out how to use the stretchy band...at least found an object to attach it to when he is doing the exercise. He has done that exercise and said that it wasn't a hard exercise at all. The exercises that are really hard for Woody to do are those that require him to sit on the floor. The hard parts = getting down and then back up. He goes back for another therapy session on Monday. It will be good for him to be shown exactly how he is to do exercises, etc. and to have an explanation as to "why" or "why not" to do certain things. This afternoon I rested for a little while after lunch as I didn't get the best rest last night due to my allergies acting up...as in sneezing over and over and over and then blowing and blowing and blowing my nose...in the wee hours of the morning. Mid afternoon Esther and Isaac came in with a package that had been delivered to our house and helped me open it. Then we went downstairs for me to make New England Clam Chowder...mmmm mmmm good! Esther had to go home and finish her school work, but Isaac stayed and played on the kitchen floor with the farm animals till it was time for his supper. I had clam chowder for supper and Woody had vegetarian chili. The dishwasher has already run and I have finished up washing a few things by hand...the kitchen is closed for the evening! I am in the process of getting the guest room bed remade after Erin's visit and have the guest bathroom towels in the dryer...another guest is going to be staying with us tomorrow night. I'm not sure which room he will decide to sleep in...but this way either will be ready. So I'm off to make a bed and then hang up the towels when they are dry and then I am going to read and relax for the rest of the evening...hoping for a better night's sleep tonight. Woody has the TV going and a book and/or a crossword puzzle in his lap. And, that about wraps up another day in our household.

Lots Going On

The two of us have had a pretty active day...at least for us! I had school this morning with the neighbor grandchildren. While I was having school, Woody headed off to the grocery store. That is one of the activities that his doctor told him to do...go to the grocery store. The children helped him bring the groceries in. After lunch, I headed off to work in the church library. On the way there I made a stop at the public library to return some of their materials that we had and also to get another book in a series that I am reading. I worked in the library by myself today. One of the library workers is traveling and the other had a death in her family. I did general maintenance and then I unpacked an order of library supplies that had arrived. While I was at the library, Woody got underway with making his vegetarian chili. He pretty much had all the veggies cut up by the time that I got home. He had started sauteing some of the veggies and then I took over getting the rest of them into the pot at the proper time. Our joint cooking effort tasted pretty good for supper. I got the kitchen cleaned up...Woody had planned to clean it up, but I thought that he had probably done enough in the kitchen for the day. Just a little while ago, the phone rang and it was the friendly animated call from Vanderbilt confirming Woody's appointment for a PET scan next week. We hadn't gotten one of those calls in 12 weeks! We are all settled in for the evening after our busy day. These tulips were blooming in the little garden outside the public library and were just begging to have their pictures taken...I obliged!

Out in Right Field

Another win for Elijah's team this evening...they continue to be undefeated. Our Tuesday school day was almost a normal school day for the children and me...all came at their usual times except for one and she had some work to catch up on. Woody made his veggie concoction for his Veggie Burritos for our lunch. I ran errands after lunch. I needed some sewing supplies and we each had a prescription to pick up at the pharmacy. I read for a while and before I knew it, it was time to head to the ball field. It was an early game so we waited to eat supper till after the game. Tonight was an easy supper fix = last night's leftovers. The dishwasher is running and I just have a few dishes to wash by hand and then I will be through in the kitchen for today. I have a load of clothes in the dryer that I will bring back upstairs to put away after I finish in the kitchen...and will transfer a load from the washer into the dryer. I emptied waste baskets and got the big trash can out to the road (usually Woody's task). So when I get back upstairs and get the clothes put away I will be ready to settle into my recliner for the rest of the evening. Woody is settled into his chair and icing his leg and has the TV going and a book in front of him. Another "exciting" night in this Dorrell household! (NOT!) Pretty ho-hum around here!

April Showers

Another cool spring day that was rainy at times...April showers. I had a usual Monday school day with the neighbor grandchildren. Isaac got to paint. He had fun mixing colors and found out that adding white makes the color lighter. (That reminds me that I still need to finish putting away the paints...must remember that after I blog!) Esther completed her cross stitch project today by making it into an ornament. Next project for her is to make a dress for her 18" doll. I read and rested after lunch. Then mid afternoon I got started on making our supper...Creamy Baked Pork Chops. This is a VERY tried and true recipe...one that dates back to the early years of our marriage. The original recipe was on a Campbell's Soup can. I have since adapted it several times...but the main adaption is that I now make the condensed mushroom soup from scratch...Sorry Campbell's! The original used cream of celery and now sometimes I use celery...but today decided that I would do mushroom since I had the mushrooms. Isaac played with play dough while I cooked. He was also my helper when I needed things down in the low cabinets. I have the dishwasher loaded and ready to run except for adding a couple of mugs that have found their way upstairs. Then...I need to wash the dishes that need to be washed by hand. I came upstairs to rest and blog before tackling that job. Before coming back upstairs I need to bring up a load of clothes from the dryer and put more into the dryer. I keep thinking of things that need to be done! Woody continues to do the exercises that they have given him. I think that he is a bit discouraged that he isn't making more progress. He received a call from the hospital today to see how he is doing. The surgery was two weeks ago tomorrow. He will start physical therapy on Thursday. Mmmmmm Kathy just knocked on the door and brought a treat for us...homemade ice cream sandwiches. Yum! Pretty good eating around here today!

Chilly April Saturday

We continue to have a dip in the temperatures...the norm for our area at this time of the year...one day temperatures are quite warm and then down they go again. It has been breezy today and that makes it feel even chillier. Woody and I both went to the library this morning...his outing exercise for the day. When we got home I started making preparations for tonight's supper. It was a new recipe. I received a vegetable spiralizer for Christmas and today I was going to use it with carrots for the new recipe: Spicy Seafood and Chorizo Paella. This wasn't a traditional paella...with rice...instead the carrots were to be the rice. After spiralizing the carrots, I put them in the food processor and chopped until the carrots were the size of rice pieces. I wasn't sure how this would turn out...it had both shrimp and cod in it. It actually was quite delicious...thus the recipe will be a "keeper" = one that I will make again. I forgot to mention yesterday that Woody got a call from Vanderbilt yesterday changing his next appointment with Dr. Sosman. This change means that he will go to Vanderbilt a week from this coming Tuesday for a PET scan (it has been 12 weeks) and the following Tuesday will have lab work and see Dr. Sosman. That will be Dr. Sosman's last week to see patients at Vanderbilt. When I heard that they were changing his appointment I wondered if it would mean that he wouldn't be seeing Dr. Sosman again before he leaves for Chicago. Sounds like Dr. Sosman is squeezing lots of patients into that day as Woody has an appointment for labs a little after 7am and then sees Dr. Sosman an hour later...at least with an early appointment Dr. Sosman "shouldn't be" too far behind in the day's schedule! Time will tell.

Dogwood Winter?

We are having another cold snap...perhaps this is dogwood winter in Middle Tennessee? The clue that I have is that the dogwoods are in full bloom. I have done pretty much as little as possible today...resting up after a very busy week. Woody continues to work on resting his leg and doing the exercises that he has been assigned. He did his walk to the mail box that he was told to do each day. I worked on sorting some of my pictures today. I hadn't done that job for a while and don't want many more to stack up before getting back to doing that job. Woody needed me to run an errand today at Walmart so I ended up picking up the few food items that we needed so that part of Saturday errands is done. When I got home it was time to make our supper. We had Ham Stuffed Potatoes tonight...a recipe that I have made for years and is one of our family favorites for leftover ham. My last "job" of the day is to go down as soon as I finish blogging and finish cleaning up the kitchen. I am missing my kitchen helpers...both Erin and Woody! I will end by wishing our daughter Melany a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I will be nice an not share her age...though I will say that I was 22 when I had her...sooooooooooo if you happen to know how old I am...then you can figure out her age!

Fun for Young and "Old"

Today has been a full day. Woody headed off to the doctor a little before the neighbor grandchildren and I got underway with school. Woody got the stitches out of his knee today and everything is fine according to the doctor. He will start going to physical therapy next week. We had our usual Thursday schedule for school. Shortly after lunch Joseph came over while the rest of his family went to do a school program at a local elementary school. He had the best time with the Fisher Price barn that we gave Melany, our daughter, for Christmas when she was two. That barn has been enjoyed by so many children! Note that we gave "oats" to the animals. And, Joseph was very happy that the animals were willing to share their "oats" with him. I was just glad that I could give "oats" to the animals and let them share with Joseph...Joseph is very allergic to milk products and eggs...I was happy that I had something that Joseph could snack on! When his family returned several of the children came over to spend some time with Erin before she left. I had to cut into their time as I needed Erin to help make the surprise birthday supper that we planned for her mom. Melany's birthday is tomorrow. Nathan got the idea to make cupcakes and they brought one over with a BLACK candle in it and sang happy birthday to her. Melany headed Tullahoma way after her elementary teaching day ended. We had supper and then sat around and talked. She and Erin left just a little while ago. I decided to come up and blog before I clean up the dishes/cooking mess. Guess I need to head that way! Woody is watching a library DVD and icing his leg. Pretty quiet around here. I am looking forward to my recliner once I get finished in the kitchen.

Busy Wednesday

Woody continues to attempt to rest his leg as much as possible when he isn't doing the exercises that he has been given. He is still having a lot of pain in the area below the knee. He goes back to the surgeon tomorrow to have the stitches out. I had a usual day of school with the neighbor grandchildren. Abigail finished up two more zipper bags today. Abigail is such a giving person. When she finished today she decided that she wanted to give one to Erin. Erin put it right to use. After lunch, I finished up the grocery list and then Erin and I did our Wednesday Krogering...a new experience for me. Erin really helped me locate items in the store. Woody was surprised when we got back home as soon as we did. We rested a bit and then got underway with our supper. Tonight's fare included Meat Loaf Roll-Up...pretty good...there is shaved ham and grated cheese rolled up in the middle. We had that along with steamed asparagus, thinly sliced potatoes done in my air fryer, and Woody and Erin had a salad. I haven't quite gotten the kitchen cleaned up as a storm blew through and I decided that perhaps I didn't need to have my hands in dishwater while the storm was right upon us. I will go down and finish them after I publish this and once again...fill ALL the ice cube trays. The thunderstorm seems to have passed at least for the moment and it is only raining. Woody is watching TV and icing his leg and perhaps reading. Erin is in the guest room writing on her laptop. And, I plan to relax in my recliner once I am finished in the kitchen. And, that about sums up our busy day and now we will each unwind for the rest of the day.

Batter Up!

Can you tell where we have been this evening?!? I think that this will be a common place to find us this Little League season. Erin joined us tonight in rooting Elijah and his team on to another victory. The game was early enough that we had to change our cooking plans and opted to drive through Arby's and pick up our supper there...less work for the cooks! I am tired today. I didn't get much sleep last night as I didn't feel well in the middle of the night...but felt okay today. We followed the usual Tuesday school schedule. It was Joy's turn to have her long time with me. She cooked today. She found a recipe that she wanted to try in a book we recently read about Pocohontis. It was for Indian Pumpkin Pudding. It had a long cooking time so she surprised her family with a mid-afternoon treat. Woody continues to take it easy. We learned Saturday about the logistics of the ball park parking and got a better place to park today. That way Woody was able to use his walker to keep himself a bit safer. Again, he sat on the lower row of the bleachers. I sat up higher and about froze. I think that the rest were a bit chilled too. I was pretty glad to get back in the car. We are having a good visit with Erin.

Spring View

Tonight's photo show the view out of one of our back sun porch windows. When I walked back there today I noticed how pretty the pink and white dogwood tree is at the side of our neighbor's side yard. The dogwoods are really getting at their peak this week...so very pretty! Woody woke up way too early this morning and he ended up waking me up way too early too. I could tell that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep so I decided to work on a supply order for the church library. Woody printed out his daily crossword puzzles at that hour. Woody continues to take it easy trying to rest his leg as much as possible...of course he is also doing exercises that the doctor gave him. He continues to hurt, but it seems that most of the time Tylenol can at least take the edge off the pain. Melany, Wade, and Erin visited us yesterday and Erin stayed. She is paying us a visit for a few days this week. She woke up pretty early for her this morning. Her blood sugar level was rather low...but not dangerously. She got up and ate breakfast and it went back to a good level pretty quickly. I had a usual day of school with the neighbor grandchildren. After school, we had lunch. Over the rest of the afternoon one or another of Erin's cousins have come over to visit with her. I managed to take a short nap after lunch. Erin and Abigail played a couple of board games with Isaac's "help." Then they did various and sundry things over the rest of the afternoon. Isaac stayed a good part of the afternoon chatting with Erin and me. Erin fixed the major part of our supper...I was her helper for this meal. After supper several of the neighbor grands came over here to have their screen time with Erin. They have just gone home. I know that Erin has had a more active day than she usually does and also got up earlier than usual. I'll bet tonight she will be ready to "hit the hay" earlier than she usually does. She is one who often gets her days and nights mixed up. I always try to get her on a "more normal" schedule when she is here. Woody was dozing after supper. Between the dishwasher and me the dishes are just about done. I still have some to put away some that I left on the counter to get completely dry and also some in the dish drainer...and of course will need to empty the dishwasher when it is finished. My other job when I finish the blog is to go finish filling ice cube trays. We really go through the ice when Erin is here...and we have never had the refrigerator ice maker connected...it is times like these that I wish that it was! Well, for the moment all is quiet on the western front...guess I had better go finish my kitchen tasks so I can SIT the rest of the evening. My recliner is sounding VERY good about now!

Play Ball!

Tonight's photos show Woody's "only" time to leave the house today. And, note that he did choose to sit on the bottom bleacher. I, on the other hand, braved to "almost" the top of the bleachers trying to get above the fence for at least some of the pictures that I attempted to take of Elijah. Floods of memories came back of Nathan's Little League games. For such little guys they really did a good job of hitting and fielding. Elijah had one of the RBI's. I think that he would have rather have actually scored the run himself, but his hit knocked in the fifth run of that inning for his team and at that point they stop that half of the inning and let the other team come up. The Marlins won so Elijah had his first taste of baseball victory! Woody did let me run the Saturday errands today. I dropped some books off at the library, went to the Credit Union and to WalMart...quite a lot of errands for me to run at one time! I got home in time to eat some lunch and start getting ready to head to the ball field. Woody is still having quite a bit of pain...more than he was having prior to the surgery. The physician's assistant who saw Woody earlier in the week said that he could be having some "gait pain." Pain due to him changing the way he walks due to the injury/surgery. I hope that is all that it is. The area that is hurting is below the surgery site...Woody says like shin splints. The only thing that makes me sort of cringe is that this area is where he had radiation and that area of bone could be weaker. I guess we will see what the surgeon or his assistant says when Woody goes back in a few days. On our way home, I guess Woody and I celebrated Elijah's victory by getting Blizzards...we go by the Dairy Queen on our way home from the ball field...convenient! I came in and got busy on finalizing tomorrow's Sunday School lesson. I haven't quite got it ready as I guess my day caught up with me and I dozed for a little while. After I blog, I need to go check on the guest room condition as we have a guest joining us tomorrow afternoon. Our oldest grandchild, Erin, is going to come for a few days visit. It was quite cool and breezy this afternoon at the ball park...supposed to get down close to freezing tonight. I wonder what middle Tennessee winter it is this time...I haven't kept track of what is blooming this year...too many other things going on. I was amazed today at how the trees are filling out just in the few days since I last ventured out in the car. Spring colors the world with such lovely shades of green and other spring-like colors.

April Fool's Day

Friday is a "no school" day for me so I sort of dibbled and dabbled around doing various things. Started out doing a couple loads of laundry. Woody got his day underway with some of the exercises for his knee that he was given yesterday. I think that his knee hurt a little bit more today probably because of the exercises and just because it is the third day out from surgery. He has gone up and down the stairs a couple of times today and went out to get the mail. I decided to work a bit more on organizing my recipes so I can find them when I want them. I also worked on the Sunday School lesson for Sunday. Late afternoon I headed next door to take care of six of our seven neighbor grandchildren. I took care of them while Kathy took Elijah to his baseball practice. Tomorrow is opening ceremony for Tullahoma's Little League season and Elijah's first game. He is on a coach pitch team. I'm looking forward to seeing him play. Tonight when I was watching the children, they were outside shooting baskets and they "invited" me to try to make a basket. Well...I will probably be sorry tomorrow! But I did manage to make one basket out of about seven that I attempted. Once I made one, I called it quits! And, now my recliner is calling my name! (And, no one tried to pull an April Fool's joke on me so I didn't attempt to pull one on you, my blog readers.)