BOO!!!

Tonight's photo is from our last barn trip...thought it was a good one for tonight's spooky evening! We've been to prayer meeting and are safely home. We got through, perhaps, the last dialysis done through his access that we have been using. Today went well up until the end and when we were ready for the rinse back, we got alarms...never figured out what was causing them...the rinse back happened while we dealt with the alarms...I did call the nurse on this one and we finally got to the point of being able to shut the machine off! The numbing cream and the special needles that we need arrived by FedEx today so I guess we are set for tomorrow. The nurse will arrive at 8am and I am to have him to the point of getting connected prior to her arrival. Then we will begin the next learning curve. We returned a little while ago from Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting. Woody had a light supper and now is getting settled in for the night. We will get going a bit earlier than usual so I guess we both need to settle in a little earlier tonight. Update tomorrow night on how well his graft works! At least have our own nurse on hand tomorrow for any alarm or whatever help we might need. The nurse did tell me today that we won't be doing labs for a few days because we are starting with small needles and a lower flow rate. I will play follow the leader tomorrow. I expect to watch this first time. Be safe! Be well! Be cautous!

Saturday's Path

There's really not a reason for tonight's blog title...except that it seemed to go with tonight's photo! Sometimes the day just doesn't bring a title to mind...other than the name of the day! Everything went well for today's dialysis. It was another day to give iron during the treatment. Once again, the hardest part was drawing up the iron into the syringe. I fought with it for about an hour and then just said that was enough and that he would get whatever was in the syringe at that point and hopefully there wouldn't be too much air in with it! He survived...so guess it was okay. I had very close to the 5ml by that time. I am so ready to be finished with giving it three times a week. I wish that we could get on top of his iron deficiency...but guess that is one of the side effects of being on dialysis...at least for some patients. I think we still have five vials...so three next week and two the next...and, then they will probably order more! (insert eye roll!) Next week and the next I will have a nurse here showing us the ropes of using Woody's graft. So she will probably get to do at least one of the iron infusions since I won't know how to do that. Just think...a lot of the procedures that I have learned how to do over the last three months will be done differently and I will have to learn something new...don't they know that they are dealing with an old brain!?! I am due to do labs on the first...so...that day I will rely on our nurse! I will probably watch...the only problem with that is...it is the first day of doing the graft so I will be watching so many new things on day one...will I remember next month how the labs were done!? Oh, well...I'm guessing that the iron will be done the same way as that access is through the tubing that is used both with the access and the graft. But the labs were done through his access...so those will be done differently. I'll just go along for the "ride!" Nothing else that I can do! I left Woody downstairs watching the World Series. He's back to doing his crossword puzzles. The last two mornings he had to skip doing them as the printer was out of ink. But FedEx came through with both medical supplies and printer ink yesterday. I got the ink changed and got his puzzles printed yesterday before I left for the grocery store. And, printing them was back in my morning schedule today. I'm ready to work on some cross stitching, between a little cooking and some washing, drying, and folding a load of clothes and medical things, I haven't had any time today to stitch. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Friday…All Day!

Today, we started a little earlier than we usually do since I had grocery shopping planned for after lunch. His treatment went well today. We again had an alarm at the start about low arterial pressure. I checked the lines that are connected to him and made sure that they were positioned correctly and made sure that clamps were unclamped and then started the pump again...and...no more alarms...thank goodness. The rest of the treatment went smoothly. I made out our grocery list during his treatment. I also returned a call to one of our nurses. I had missed her call yesterday and she asked me to call her after ten this morning. Her call was in reference to what I was afraid it was...setting up the start of our traning to learn how to use his graft. She wanted to start Monday, but then we realized that we didn't have some of the supplies that are needed...mainly the numbing cream...and, Woody wasn't too anxious to try it without! That cream is scheduled to be delivered by Monday evening so we will start the training on Tuesday morning. I am to have everything done up to the point of connecting Woody before the nurse gets here at 8am. So...the time has come...oh, boy! I got the groceries this afternoon...we were out of a lot of things and boy did I see a big change in some prices from 2-1/2 weeks ago. But I got that deed done and came home and squirreled everything away. I now have a choice as to what I can cook in the coming weeke. I had gotten low on basics. I was going to make potato soup amd realized that I didn't have carrots or celery. I had all the ingredients for Sweet and Sour Pork except for pineapple...and that was the story for several of our favorite recipes...recipes that sound good to Woody...so now I have those ingredients so I can make them when the mood strikes for that particular recipe! I am going to dona bit of meal planning for next week as I will have a nurse here with us during the treatment so won't be cooking during that time. I've already cleaned up the kitchen tonight and Woody has settled in and wanted the lights out in the family room. So I have come up to relax in my chair and stitch after I publish this. I hope that I accomplish more than I did last night. I just couldn't keep my eyes open so I gave in and fell asleep earlier than usual. I woke up earlier than usual, too. I ended up stitching at 5am this morning, sincr Woody wasn't awake yet. We'll see what tonight holds for my stitching! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Dialysis and Visiting Kind of Day!

A good dialysis day in the morning and then some good visiting in the afternoon and evening. The only problem with dialysis today was drawing up the iron into the syringe. It is just about impossible to do and messy to boot!! I made the biggest mess that I have made to date. It's a teeny tiny vial and it is impossible to follow the instructions of pulling in 5ml of air into the syringe and then pushing that air into the vial and then withdrawing 5mls of iron infusion liquid. That teeny tiny bottle won't hold that much added air. Anyway, I have yet to conquer this nursing task! Maybe his anemia will get better and I won't have to do it so often! If wishes were horses...then beggars would ride...as my mother used to say! But this three times a week, at least 48 hours apart, is not getting any easier! This afternoon began the fun part of my day. I had a visitor. Linda H. was in town for an eye appointment so we had made prior arrangements for her to come here till her eyes were less dilated. Well, they didn't dilate her eyes, but she came anyway! We had a nice visit...chased many rabbits as we ususally do when we talk and/or text! Then I got to do more visiting this evening over the phone with my moved-away-from-Tullahoma-now-Alabama friend, Connie. we talked stitching and sewing...and window washing (she not me!) and, also chased a lot of rabbits. Woody has made his move from recliner to couch so I guess he is planning on settling in for the night. I just have to check to see if I have a mug and/or glass upstairs to add to the dishwasher and then get it started washing. I did do some cooking during dialysis today. I made ham-stuffed potatoes and also a baked hominy casserole. Once I check to see if Woody needs anything else and start the dishwasher, I plan to come upstairs and do some stitching and maybe a little reading and then call it a day. It has been a really pretty day today...sun was out, leaves have been falling, but there are still enough left to send shimmering glimmers of color as we look all around us. I will say that I think we are getting closer to switching the way we connect Woody to the dialysis machine. I have received texts from the nurses about whether we have needles and about other supplies...guess they are getting us ready. We got a call today about our Christmas present from Melany and Wade last year...a garage door...we keep getting told that this or that is being shipped and it should be soon...yeah, right!?! Melany was told earlier this week that the garage door had been shipped and was where it's supposed to be, but they were waiting on some parts. Today I got a call saying that they were waiting on the panels...now to me the panels make up most of the door! When they said they were waiting on parts I thought of hardware, etc, Oh, well, it will get here when it gets here. This time they said that this could delay the installation till December! I told her that we had waited all these months...guess another month...or two...or...wouldn't be a lot different, She said that since we had already waited so long that she was encouraging them to expedite this and get to us sooner...so if you go by someone's house with no panels on their garage door, you just might have found our house or someone else who is going through the same thing! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Day Off Doings

We've stayed busy today. Our main accomplishment of the day was that we both got haircuts. I dropped Woody for his and then headed for mine. When I was finished, I headed back to pick him up. I guess you can say that we killed two birds with one stone! I decided that I was going to spend time upstairs today working on sewing things...well, sort of. I decided that I was going to put away things and get ready to sew or work on cross stitch finishing. When I started putting some things away that had once again landed on my sewing cutting table, I found the little fall cross stitch that I had done...so that stopped me from straightening up and got me headed in the direction of making another mess! But I did get the little cross stitch small finished and it is now displayed in amongst the pumpkins, etc. on our dining room table. The cross stitch world calls little pillows and other sit-arounds "smalls." That is a new terminology since my early years of cross stitch. I am pleased with this little piece and now it is back to Christmas ornaments. Speaking of putting things away...all the mess from that project is all cleaned up and put away. Last night I chose the next ornaments that I will work on...got out the graphs, floss, and linen. After I got the floss for the new ones "pulled," I put away all that I had out for the last two ornaments that I stitched. I have all my floss in a section of a DMC cabinet that I purchased when one of my favorite cross stitch shops closed. I have sort of outgrown that cabinet section...so have higher numbers in some special boxes. All the floss is arranged numerically...so when I start A new project, I do what I call pulling my floss from their respective sections/boxes. I did get started on my next ornament last night. I'm working on grandsons' ornaments now...I have all granddaughter's finished and have two grandsons' stitched...so, I think, that means that I have three to go...for grandchildren! There are still others that I "want" to stitch for, but...time is running out! If I counted right, I have twelve stitched...seems like it should be more! I have been stitching them since December 31st. I did get bogged down in my stitching when we first started hemodialysis so lost out in several weeks...really close to two months of stitching. I have enjoyed the day just doing a little of this and a little of that. I have put cameras and lenses away, too. I hadn't done that after my last barn trip. I have batteries charging, etc. so I will be ready to head out again! The sewing cutting table is once again ready to do some cutting out on...but will I find the time before it gets covered with various and sundry things...again?!? That is the big question. My sewing machie hadn't forgotten how to sew, as I used it to make the little Fall scene small/pillow. That pattern was called "Harvest Moon." I got the kitchen all cleaned up and the dishwasher going before I came upstairs to write the blog. Woody was sleepy after his day of going to get his hair cut, so he had retired at least for a bit. He said that he might wake up for a while after a bit of resting his eyes. We'll see! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious.

Tuesday Doings

This is a picture of our Tulip Poplar tree. The Tulip Poplar is Tennessee's state tree. This one has an interesting story. Some years back the Hasty's gave us a Tulip Poplar sapling. It was growing, but still had a way to go to be a majestic tree! We had a bad hail storm after a year or two after we planted the tree. The hail storm damaged the siding and roof on our house. While the people we hired put on a new roof and put on new siding, a worker backed over our tree. The company said they would replace it. Replace it they did, but with a young tree much larger than our original tree. This tree is what has grown from that replacement. They grow pretty rapidly. i'm not sure how many years it has been since the hail storm. I just know that we were away and drove through that storm and got home after the damage had been done. Nathan, Kathy and family still lived next door and took movies of the very big hail and it banging against our siding. It knocked very large holes in the siding in several places. It happened not all that long aftrr we had gotten new siding, but we were able to purchase the same siding and it was repaired so no one would be the wiser today...unless I tell! We got a new roof out of that storm, too. I'm trying to remember if we were coming home from NIH or if it was when Woody presented a paper in Knoxville for his work at a conference. If I go back through my pictures I can find out the date, but at the moment, I will just share the memory and not the exact number of years ago! Today has gone fairly well. We did start off with a red alarm about low arterial pressure in the line...instructions on iPad said to check the arterial line and make sure that the clamps were open. I adjusted the line a little and checked about the clamps, which were open. Then started the machine again. And, it kept going...a good thing. Not long after that we got a yellos warning about low pressure in the blue veinous line...again checked and that warning stopped on its own and we were off and running. So I solved the alarm and warning on my own this time. Our nurse messaged me later in the day and I told her what had happened and she said that I had done what I should...I figured that since Woody is still alive!!!! The red alarms for artereal problems automatically stop the pump on the machine and you don't want the pump to be off long as his blood could clot in the lines. During the yellow warnings, the pump continues to go so not as scary!! The nurse messaged that she had ordered a numbing cream that was being sent to us. This is for when we start to stick Woody's graft. The graft lies under the skin so we have to poke two needles in his arm each treatment and they have this cream to help it not hurt. These needles that se will be sticking him with are not the tiny needles that one gets a shot or vaccine with...these needles are quite large. She did say that they still didn't have a date to start using his graft, but was ordering this cream so we would have it when the time comes! Oh, boy! Today was also the first time since we have been doing dialysis on our own that I had to give him a saline bolus due to his blood pressure being low. I don't know if all the low pressures had anything to do with each other or not. There is line that is connected to a saline bag that I can open clamps to allow a designated amount of saline to go in and then clamp them off again. After the saline has been in him for about 10 minites, then we retake his blood pressure to see if it has come up. If it hasn't, then I would bolus again. Today it was back up. That is one thing that we do constantly during dialysis...take his blood pressure. Every thirty minutes...during the 3 hours plus once prior and once after. He leaves the cuff on for the whole treatment. He is very happy to get it off his arm once the last one is taken after treatment. That last one has to be taken before we totally disconnect him from the treatment so I can give more saline solution if needed. Once we know it is okay, I can continue to discomnect him from all the lines of tubing! Interesting process! The part I find most interesting is the "rinse back." Before the end of the treatment, I connect the arterial line under the saline bag and open the clamps and push the add fluid key and saline is washed through the lines sending all the blood that is in those lines back into his body. The tubes are just about totally clear of any blood after that process. They don't want him losing any more blood than necessary. Well, enough about dialysis. We got through today's and tomorrow is another day off! Sounds good to both of us. The winds picked up this afternoon and blew a storm in...but we had only a couple claps of thunder, but did get a nice rain. We are thankful that the possible tornadoes didn't develop! I sat in my recliner and read and stitched while I listened to the rain on the roof. Good to get some much needed rain! I actually finished another ornament. It's just two months from Christmas...got to get the stitching done so I can get them made into ornaments! Time is running out and I still have many more that I "want" to stitch for gifts. But what I want might not happen...will have to depend on the speed of my machine for some. I can't compete with 600 stitches per minute! The kitchen calls....not much to do down there since I didn't cook today except to warm up...but still have a few to put in the dishwasher. Woody has settled in for the night. I'm going to get started on my next ornament and read some. I will recommend a book: The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. I read that some time ago. And, am now reading The Bookwoman's Daughter. I haven't finished, but recommend it, too...but read The Bookwoman first! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Butterscotch?

The book that I'm reading right now described the color of the leaves as butterscotch...I think that is a pretty good descriptive word for the color of the leaves on out hickory tree right outside the back door. Even the leaves on the ground have a butterscotch color...at least in this picture. The leaves are drying up pretty quickly after they fall and most are drab brown...so it is nice to see the butterscotch/golden colors of some. Today has been a stay-at-home day...so far...dialysis and then trying to rest this afternoon so we/I have the energy to head out in the next hour for Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting. After I swept the leaves off the ramp and took a couple of pictures, I decided that I would go on and blog early. As we were getting set up for dialysis today, my doctor's office called with my lab report. (I had already read it online.) The doctor was pleased that several things checked had improved since the last check. So I get to continue on as I have been and if I need to up one of my meds, she said that I could. Im going to try to leave things well enough alone just so I can keep on keeping on...same ol', same 'ol! This morning during dialysis, I decided to make a blueberry-peach cobbler...pretty good! I usually make crisps, but decided to change things up this time. I still prefer a crunchy top over the biscuit topping, but for a change this tasted pretty good. And, Woody didn't complain! wrll, time for us to head to prayer meeting. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Saturday Doings

We had another good day of dialysis. One thing made it better than the last two...we were back on our morning schedule! I was expecially glad to be back in our morning routine and I think that Woody was too. The time seemed shorter...but then today was another iron infuson so that takes some extra planning and time out of the three hours. He is to get three iron infusions a week at least 48 hours apart until the vials are gone..so three out of five days I have to get that worked in at the best time while he is in treatment. Things went smoothly and we can cross off another week of hemodialysis treatments. Tomorrow is a day off from dialysis...we like those days off! This morning during dialysis, Abigail texted me and asked if she could bring her boyfriend by this afternoon to introduce us. We had no objections! They stopped by and visited for about an hour...nice young man! They met at a Bible study for college age young people that Abigail's daddy started! I told Nathan that he probably didn't realize what he had started! And, the young man has already met Abigail's parents without having to go to her house! Sometimes that meeting can be a bit intimidating. I guess, since he didn't have to meet them in the usual way, Abigail decided to have him go through at least one such meeting...and, brought him over to meet us! He seemed very much at ease and we didn't grill him too much! I'm glad that Abigail wanted us to meet him. Oh, and, Abigail smiled a whole lot during our visit! We sat in the living room to talk with them...it was Woody's suggestion for me to wheel him out to living room in his wheelchair. I imagine he enjoyed the change in scenery! He is back in his chair and watching football. We've had supper and are settling in for the evening. We'll be off fairly early in the morning for Sunday School and then come home to watch our service online. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Another Long One!

I'm so glad that we don't do his dialysis in the aftrrnoons very often! Doing that seems to drag thr dialysis out for hours longer. Plus my naptime falls into those hours so I get very sleepy and I can't sleep since I have to keep an eye on things in general during dialysis. I left the house a little before 8 and returned a little before 11. Since I had fasting bloodwork done, I was hungry so this time fed both Woody and me before I got underway with today's dialysis. All went well with the dialysis and another day is behind us for this week...one day to go for this werk and then it is a day off on Sunday. I decided that I would read this aftrrnoon while Woody's treatment was going, but I got so sleepy that I had to come up with something to do to keep awake. I decided that a pot of soup could be made today instead of tomorrow...and that kept me awake and it was ready by the end of the treatment so Woody had some for supper. We will be back on our morning schedule tomorrow...thank goodness. I like to be well rested and not ready for a nap when we do dialysis! We're a lively "bunch" tonight. Woody has already drifted off to sleep and I could at any minute. I hope that I can keep my eyes open to stitch for a while this evening, but I'm not sure that will be possible. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious. Very few were wearing masks at my doctor's office today. Two who were wearing masks were the doctor and I. She told me the reason that she was wearing one was because she had just gotten over Covid. This was the first time she had had it since the onset She said hers was like a case of the flu.

A Loooooong Dialysis Day!

Well, the dialysis day probably wasn't any longer than it usually is...but adding in a doctor visit in the morning and not bring able to start the treatment till after a late lunch for Woody (and, even later for me), it just seems like it has taken up the whole day. I literally just got the last task finished a little before 7pm. Today had lots of tasks to do prior and during and after. I don't know how the nurses arranged the appointments with Dr. O, but whatever they did worked! We got there a little before our appoitment time and I don't think it was much more than five minutes till they called us in. And, seeing everyone we see during this monthly appointment went very smoothly too. We were back in our car just 30 minites after our appointment time...a record for PD appointments and HD appointments. They needed to do an extra blood draw and the nurse drew it from his graft...the first time it was used. It worked to get blood from at least! Everyone we saw pretty much said the same thing..."Keep on doing what we are doing." They are VERY pleased with how well his blood is being cleaned. On whatever scale they have, they want his blood cleansing to between the 2 and the 3 and Woody's is at the 3. The nurses still didn't tell us when we will be trained to use the graft...but indicated it wouldn't be long. The nurse is planning to order the numbing cream for us so we will have it when the time comes. Today's stick was with a small needle, but the one used for dialysis is NOT small! So I guess the time is coming ehen I will have to learn how to do the needle sticks. It will eliminate a lot of steps that we go through with the access that we are using now. I think that it will take a lot less syringes, too. We'll see when the time comes. Before we went to the kidney clinic, we made a stop at the Credit Union and after the appointment, we made a stop to get gas. Once home, I made Woody's lunch and then I got underway with the dialysis set up. The dialysis got underway A little after 2pm and was finished a little before 5:30pm...I don't understand dialysis time...It always says that the treatment took a little over 3 hours, but by our clock, it is usually closer to 3 hours and 20 minutes. I think it has to do with pressure checks during the treatment when the machine slows down. I guess the machine doesn't count the slow downs...but we do! During treatment today, I had to give him his iron infusion during treatment. Then after he weighed, when he is still in his wheelchair, so I could get to the back of his arm, I gave him his anemia shot. He gave me a high passing grade for administration of today's shot. I have tear down after all is over, the filling out and submitting of the flowsheets, and, today I had to make a dialysage batch. All is done...and so is our day! I have eaten my supper while I have typed this. I have to go fix the quilt on Woody"s couch as it has fallen off the back of the couch. Then I will finish putting supper dishes in the dishwasher and close down the kitchen for the day. I have to be up and out of the house in the morning before 8 as I have a doctor appointment tomorrow in McMinnville. So once again, we won't get started till after lunch. Saturday we can go back to doing dialysis in the morning. I like starting early and getting it over with! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Day Off

There's a story to go with this barn. I didn't actually take it...but my camera did take it. Marie noticed that she could see this barn in her sideview mirror so we handed our cameras to her and she took its picture for us. This was the first barn that we came to on our latest barn trip, which was mainly a fall foliage trip...not as many barns on this trip. I had forgotten about Marie taking this photo for me until I noticed that the street sign's letters were backwards and I got to wondering how that happened as I hadn't flipped my photo or anything...then I remembered! About tonight's title...it is two-fold...looking back to our excursion seeking barns and leaves this past Sunday...that was a day off from dialysis and today has been our other day off this week. Sunday's day off was more fun! Today was pretty much a regular ol' day...just without dialysis...which is always nice to not have to do for both of us. Woody did his crossword puzzles and read some. I did what I often do during morning dialysis...cooked...it was time to make Woody another meatloaf. I got the kitchen cleaned up and about that time it was time for lunch. We both just lazed around this afternoon. And, then it was time for supper. I do have a load of clothes washing and a load drying. So, I guess, I have the job of putting those away this evening. Tomorrow Woody has an appointment with Dr. O. Supposedly the nurses have done something to try to make the appointments move more smoothly. Time will tell on that! We have a late morning appointment so dialysis won't get underway till after we get home and Woody has lunch. I don't know if I have ever mentioned in the blog, that Woody is not supposed to eat during dialysis as eating can elevate blood pressure...I think that is what we were told...anyway, it has something to do with his blood pressure. That's the reason I fix his breakfast and then set up. He can eat while I do the preliminary set up and after he finishes, he is ready for his part...to be connected. And, I eat my breakfast after we get his treatment going...I CAN eat during dialysis! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Tuesday

I will start sharing photos from the leaf/barn trip tonight. When I look through the pictures, I realize I concentrated on the leaves...it was such a pretty day. But here's one with a barn in it. And, there is no way that I captured the true beauty of the leaf colors...but maybe you can get a bit of an idea. As predicted, today has been quite chilly...a very brisk day. I stayed in except for taking the garbage to the road and getting the mail...two jobs that I combined to keep from being out in the cold too long! My big job of the day was making enchiladas. I slid them into the oven just in time to be able to take them out shortly after Woody's dialysis treatment was finished for the day. When I told Woody what I was making, he perked up and asked it they were for lunch. It's nice to see him interested in food. He enjoyed them for lunch...I did too! The only thing that I don't like about them is the mess that they make...well, I make...in the kitchen. I have it mostly cleaned up...what can go in he dishwasher is in...still have dishes that have to be washed by hand and the countertops and stove top to be wiped off. I was so tired after cooking that I had to take a couple breaks as I cleaned up...last ditch effort after I finish writing and publishing tonight's blog! It has been a good day...dialysis went well and we are looking at a day off tomorrow...then appointments on Thursday and Friday are going to have us doing dialysis in the afternoon. It is nice to be able to be a bit flexible...as long as we get five treatments in a week. I got Woody some more books at the library yesterday. He finished the short one yesterday and started on one of the others today. We received his anemia shots and his iron infusion meds by UPS today...so something to look forward to?!? I'm back to stitching on Christmas ornaments. I finished stitching my little Fall piece. I need to find the time to get that completely finished so I can put it out before I put my Fall decorations away! Maybe I'll find a little time to sew it up...my sewing machine and I are virtual strangers these days! Well, back to KP duty! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Look Who's Nineteen!

Seems like we just had a birthday...oh, wait...we did...Joy's five days ago! it's birthdays, birthdays around here! I didn't get a picture of Abigail on her birthday. We gave her her present last week when she stopped by and I didn't think to snap a picture that day. So I "borrowed" this one from Kathy's Facebook posts. We've had a good day...dialysis went well. I went to the public library and to the church library this afternoon. I had books to return to both. While I was at church, I checked in, carded (almost forgot that step...been too long since I have done library duty!), and shelved them. i checked out books at both libraries. Woody and I went to prayer meeting at church this evening. We are home ane inside hoping to keep warm air inside...it's going to get cold tonight...we have a freeze warning out for tonight and the next couple of nights. Supposed tonget into the 20s tonight! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! We had a good barn/leaf trip yesterday. The weather was nice and the leaves were absolutely beautiful! I will be posting some of the pictures I took in the blogs to come. I will end tonight wishing Abigail a BIG happy 19th birthday...may all your wishes come true, Abigail, and, enjoy your last year as a teen! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Another Week of Dialysis Behind Us!

So we made it through another week of dialysis and this week went fairly smoothly. Tomorrow is a real day off...no dialysis duties at all tomorrow. And, on top of that if th weathrr cooperates our barn crew are going on a barn trip. So if it isn't stormy maybe I will have new barn photos to post. Tomorrow should be a good day for barns and leaves! I'm running late tonight...have talked on the phone with a friend and to my sister this evening. I will need to check batteries for cameras so they can be charging, if necessary. Today during dialysis I made Blueberry Buckle...a coffee cake. Woody enjoyed it warmed with some ice cream on it. He said that it sounded good so decided give him a little variety from his cranapple crisp that I have been making. I made a quicker than usual trip to the grocery store this afternoon...just picked up items we were put of or needed for a recipe. Woody has watched football on TV today. So all in all, I think we have both had a pretty good day. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Surrounded By Fall Beauty!

Tonight's photos were all taken standing in our front yard or on the driveway shooting into the back yard. It's amazing at this time of year what a difference a day can make in the color of a tree! The next photo also shows what happens at this time of the year when a storm blows through. This tree is in the yard next to the one that is full of color...both caddy-corner from our house. "Just" a couple of big limbs down. It could have been a lot worse, but still a problem getting it taken care of.

We've had a fairly good day...dialysis went well and we got finished in plenty of time for Woody to have lunch and get to his appointment on time. After I dropped Woody off for his on on oncology/Keytruda appointment, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up two of my prescriptions and get a couple of birthday cards. After I got home, I had just enough time to vacuum "Woody's room" and straighten up some tangled cords before it was time to go pick him up. When I got him home and back in his recliner, I straightened out his couch/bed and folded up his throws...so he will have a comfy sleep tonight...hopefully. My one task in the kitchen during dialysis today was to grind up the leftover ham. Woody said that Ham-Stuffed Potatoes sounded good to him for a meal sometime...so I now have ham ground and in the freezer for such a time as I have all ingredients and the inclination to fix them! Woody took a book to his appointment and he actually read this time and said that he had gotten into the book. He came home and went back to reading it. It's always good to see him reading. I am getting close to finishing the little fall cross stitch that I am doing. It's a good thing as I really need to get back to my Christmas stitching. Can you believe that we are almost half way through October?!? Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

And, the Leaves are Falling

As I look across into the neighbor's yard the last couple of days, it looks like it is raining leaves. And, last night's rain brought even more down. And, once again we are reminded of ALL the leaves that will be falling over the next months. Each day the leaves get brighter. Here's what I saw out my kitchen window this morning.

The colors became prettier after the clouds went away and the sky became that brilliant Fall-blue sky. Everything outside had a fresher look after being bathed by the rain overnight. It's such a pretty time of the year. My shutter finger is getting itchy to take some pictures around the area. I actually got out one of my "big" cameras to take some pictures today...needed to dust it off and wake it up! Dialysis went fairly well today. We had a slow-down at the start when I was testing the dialysate...but question answered quickly and I was able to get on with the set-up after a call (or two) to the tech folk. The rest of the dialysis set up and treatment time went smoothly. We have to start a little earlier than usual tomorrow as Woody has his oncology appointment for Keytruda after lunch. That appointment is just ten minutes down the road so we should be fine as long as we don't have many slow downs in set up or treatment! Today was a day of doing a little of this and a little of that around the house...not a lot accomplished but some...which is better than none! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

How Can It Be?!? Joy's 17!!!

Joy and part of the crew from her house stopped by so we could see the birthday girl and give her her gift. When I was trying to get a birthday photo of her, we had several photo bombers so they came up with the idea for tonight's picture. Rabbit ears could add up to 17! And, if you look closely even in amongst the shadows, you will find enough rabbit ear pairs plus one lone one to make 17. Happy birthday to our sweet Joy! So that visit brought 5 grandchildren and 1 child into the house. Later in the day Abigail stopped by and we decided to go on and give her birthday present to her while she was here. I just realized I should have taken her picture! Her birthday is five days away. She will be 19...again, how can that be!?! So of the Dorrell grandchildren Graham is the only one we didn't see today. We were contacted early this morning to see if we would be okay changing the time of our kidney nurse appointment to mid morning instead of right after lunch...not a problem! The appointment at the kidney center with the nurse went well. She went over a couple of procedures that we do during set up...checking up on us (really me!). Woody signed a lot of papers. And, we were on our way home. And, nothing was said about learning how to do his dialysis using his graft. I guess we have a little while longer doing it the way we have been. After lunch, I got the dialysate bactch set up to make...and, put dialysis behind us. We did get some rain over night and then have had more this evening along with some lightning and thunder. There's supposed to be another line of storms come through later. It has been good to hear rhe rain in the roof! A sound we hadn't heard for a while. I have been doing some picking up and putting away around here...trying to once again find my way to the top of the sewing table. I still really want to sew, but just haven't found the time or if I find the time, I have run out of energy! One of these daysI will return to my sewing room! After I got things cleared away, I sat down and did some stitching for a while.Be safe! Be well! Be cautious

Another Day Done…Almost

Another day done and next to nothing done...except for dialysis! It was another smooth dialysis day. Tomorrow we have a day off from dialysis...except for...having to make a dialysate batch and go to Woody's nurse appointment at the Fresenius Dialysis Center. So no hooking up to a machine, but still have to do dialysis "things." Today we received a couple of boxes of supplies. We were running out of two kinds of syringes. I hated to have them order them since we are closing in on having to switch over to using Woody's graft. I have a feeling that we will be given a date for our training in learning how to do that. A nurse will come here to train us in using the graft access...oh, boy! I'm hoping that they are still too busy and that we will still have weeks doing it the way we are. I hate having to change routine/pattern of the way we are doing it now...just as it starts to make sense they will change the method on us. There are a lot less steps for setting up when we switch over and we won't be using a all the carious sizes of syringes like we are now. But I dread having to stick him with those BIG needles every time we do it...two needles oer treatment. They will be prescribing a numbing cream to apply to the area that I will be sticking so supposedly it won't hurt! The cream will be applied x amount of time prior to each treatment. Supposed to wrap that area with plastic wrap till it's numb and I can then stick him. Lots of eye rolls inserted in here! I can be thankful for full nurses' schedules that we have been able to continue on the way we have for this length of time...our time is running out...I'll bet. I did manage to finish a book during his dialysis time today and he finished his four crossword puzzles. After my afternoon nap, I gathered all the wastebaskets and got them emptied and into the outside garbage can. I had to knock down several boxes that we had emptied of supplies in the last few days and took them out to the curb for recycle pick up tomorrow morning. As you can see from toniht's photo that leaves are beginning to change in our neighborhood. I tried to capture the golden light tonight, but to hope to do a better job another day...though tomorrow may be cloudy and HOPEFULLY rainy,,,it is sooooooo dry here. It was a beautiful day temperature wise today and nice sunshine coming in the windows. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Monday…Again

Sometimes it isn't a cow centered in the barndoor! One never knows what will be found in barns in TN! We've had a pretty good day...as days go these days. At this point, a day with no alarms is a good day! Everything went smoothly for his dialysis treatment today. We just whiled away the afternoon hours...reading, TV watching, finishing puzzles, reading...and I know for me...napping some of it away. I think Woody may have done a little dozing, too. We went to Monday night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting. Woody was ready to turn in as soon as we got home. So I straightened out the quilt on his couch and he went straight to the couch from his wheelchair. I have him all tucked in and he is probably already snoozing. I still have a load of clothes to get out of the drier and then put away. I am close to finishing a book so plan to finish it tonight and maybe even put in a stitch or two on a Fall cross stitch projeect that I picked out to do the other day. I decided to put Christmas stiching aside for a few days. But I need to get back to Christmas stitching pretty soon or I won't get all stitched that I want to complete before Christmas. I was looking at the stack of things that I have already stitched today and realize that I need to set aside some time to get those made into ornaments...that will take some time, too. And, Christmas is just a blink away! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Patchwork

Tonight's photo shows some "creative" patching of a barn = a patchwork barn! We both woke up early and got underway with dialysis a little earlier so actually finished before noon. The routine of the morning is: When I wake up, I print off that day's crossword puzzles for Woody. i now print off four to hopefully keep him occupied during his three hours of dialysis. The puzzles of choice currently are The LA Times, USA Today, The Boston Herald, and The Plain Dealer. Some days they take longer than others. Woody says that a couple are harder on Friday. Lately I work The Plain Dealer online...sometimes while I am waking up and sometimes after I have dialysis up and running. Before I get the puzzles from the printer, I gather up the iPad, the cell phone, and the landline. I need to have those with me to be able to communicate in case of an emergency and they orovide entertainment for me at times during treatment...cell phone and iPad have the current books I'm reading. The landline has caller ID so I know if I need to answer that line during treatment. There is a phone in the kitchen but it is a corded phone and has no caller ID. I place those three items on a table in the family room so I have access to them during treatment. Once I am downstairs, I fix Woody's breakfast. While he is eating, I begin the set-up for dialysis. From when I start that till everything, including Woody, is ready and treatment can start, it takes about 1-1/2 hours. Some time will be cut out when we start accessing through his graft...but I don't even want to think about that. That is when I will be sticking him with two needles for every treatment using the graft that was put in his upper left arm. That hasn't been mentioned by the nurses lately, but I know that the time to do that is approaching all too quickly! Our reprieve is the fact that the nurses are too busy to fi us into their training schedule yet. Once his treatment is started, Woody does crosswords or watches TV or dozes. I have to monitor the treatment on the iPad that belongs to dialysis. The iPad keeps us on our toes by reminding us when to take Woody's blood pressure...before treatment, at least every 1/2 hour during treatment, and post treatment. I have data to record pretreament, during treatment, and post treatment...called a flow sheet. I submit that daily after the treatment is over. So the nurses have access to exactly what happens daily...alarms, blood pressures, pre and post weight, when meds are given, etc.,etc., etc! After Woody is disconnected I still have to "tear down" the machine and wipe equipment off with antiseptic wipes. Usuallly before I wipe off equipment I fix Woody's lunch and then complete the rest of the routine. That gives you a little peek into a dialysis day's routine. Today I made soup while I monitored pressures and recorded blood pressure. We have just enjoyed a bowl of it for supper. Woody chose this one to change up his same ol' same ol' soup routine. He said that Ham and Barley Soup sounded good to him. This soup has a lot of veggies so I did a lot of peeling and chopping of vegetables. It has a longer cooking time so it wasn't ready for lunch. We had Arby's sandwiches again today as Melany brought extras yesterday. It is supposed to frost overnight tonight so beefore it got dark, I cut a lot of basik and brought it inside. I'm going to freeze some chopped in ice cubes. I have some special freezer containers to do this. Guess that is on the agenda for this evening. I covered the basil plant with a pillowcase. We'll see if it makes it through the night or not. But at least I got some in to use. I will freeze some and let some dry. My basil has done so well this year. I hate to have the season to pick fresh pass us by. I still have a pretty messy kitchen from my soup making so that is ahead of me this evening, too. I put that job off as I was ready for an afternoon nap because of my early rising hour. I believe that Woody snuck in a snooze or two this afternoon, too. Looking forward to a day off from dialysis tomorrow. Well, off for basil and KP duty! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! (I keep thinking that I will stop my little Covid slogan at the end of each blog, but as soon a I think about stopping, I hear of another case or two or...amongst my friends and their families es.)

Pleasant Friday

Today has been a pretty pleasant day both weather wise and a day to do a little visiting. We had a smooth dialysis day again today. Nathan stopped by to try to fix the TV antenna so we could get a better picture. That was only partially successful...it may be time to try a different antenna. Then after we got finished with dialysis, Melany and Erin came to spend the afternoon with us. They brought Arby's sandwiches. Woody discovered that thr Cardinal wild card game was on TV so we visited and watched the game. I talked Melany and Erin into accompanying me to Walmart. We made a quick run there. Got back in time to see the Philadelphia defeat the Cardinals...not the outcome hoped for in our household! I popped the ham that I bought into the oven as Woody has chosen the soup he wants next and it needs a meaty ham bone. There were no bone-in hams at Kroger the other day so I was glad to find a small one at WalMart. I hadn't cooked a ham in ages. I have cut the main part of the meat away from the bone and will make the soup in the morning. I'm going at this backwards...usually we eat the ham and then use the leftover bone for soup! But this way wil work too. I plan to put a good part of the ham in the freezer in various forms to pull out when I need it for a recipe. I enjoyed a couple of tastes while I was cutting it off the bone and putting it away for tonight. I will decide how I want to freeze it after it has gotten cold. That was a job that I hadn't planned for for today. Melany and Erin left after the game was over and have arrived home safely. We had a nice visit. It had been quite a few months since we had seen them. We have both settled in for the night. Woody was already dozing before I headed upstairs. I had a barn picture that I wanted to use for tonight's photo, but it was one taken last year so jt is pretty far down the scrolling that I have to do to get to the pictures to post here...I never did get back to it so gave up...maybe I will find it to post another evening! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Glad This Day is Behind Us!

Well, we made it through this day of collecting samples and labs and getting them ready to be picked up by FedEx. All was accomplished, but not with the greatest of ease. I finally got my last dialysis duty done around 2:30 and finally got to sit down and have lunch. I believe that the dialysate batch is still making...at least it can do that on its own once I get the SAK loaded and connected and correct buttons pushed. The two packages for FedEx were picked up in a very timely manner. I got supplies that we were low on reported to the nurse. Our nurse was very helpful in guiding me through the confusing end of treatment when I had to change the usual way of doing things and do an additional step or two or three or...in order to do a post treatment blood draw before his blood is rinsed back! More than you probably want to hear about! I am thankful to only have to do that once a month...but when I "only" do something once a month it is hard to change from the normal routine and fit something in the middle of what I usually do and then pick up with the usual once that is done...at least for this 74-year-old brain. I also ordered one of Woody's meds that Fresenius supplies and cancelled an appointment with his dermatologist next week. His dermatologist has moved and he is going to get a new one, so we have decided that we want to go to their Manchester office...that would be one less trip to Murfreesboro...20 minutes down the road instead of an hour or more away. I was hoping that the appointment could be made when I cancelled, but have to call the Manchester office...another day! I did take a nap not long after finally getting lunch. Woody has moved over to his couch for the night. I've gotten the dishwasher going and I have headed gratefully to my recliner and heating pad. I still have a load of wash that I have to get when it is finished drying. I'm going to work a little more on Sunday's Sunday School lesson and then I am going to either stitch or read. Not enough energy left to do anything else! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

No Alarms…But..

Well, it was a better day, except that I overslept so I put off the extras that were supposed to be done. So now WILL do them tomorrow. I have spent over an hour getting everything together for what has to be done and read instructions over and over again for both the dialysate sample and the blood draw PLUS got out all the FedEx packaging and got that spread out on the dining room table and the kitchen counter...and read and reread those instructions. I've given Woody his instructions so he can sleep on them...ha! He has to hold the blood test tubes and invert them slowly 5-10 times...then put them in our little test tube holder. Two of the pre treatment go in the refrigerator shortly after drawn and inverted...one has to sit out and clot for 30 minutes to an hour, but no more than an hour. Then that test tube is spun in the centrifuge...then it is refrigerated with the others till I am ready to pack them up. There is labeling involved and a certain order to put things in the box. As I type this...I am wanting to do lots of eye rolls! The dialysate sample is another story...it HAS to be refrigerated two hours before packing. I can't get the blood labs packed till after Woody's treatment is finished as we have to draw blood post treatment. The main problem in all this is coordinating with FedEx. I can call at any time and tell them a time WHEN the packages will be ready to pick up...the question..will guess correctly as to when we will be finished!?! The dialysis machine says that it takes 3 hours...but it ALWAYS takes longer...I think that it's timing is different than ours. All through the treatment there are times when the pump is slowed down for the machine to do various checks...and, I don't think that the time includes those slow downs...or something...that is my way to rationalize the extra time that is always added onto the three hours...FedEx doesn't come right at the time that I say...they give a window of time that it will be picked up in...but sometimes it is at the front of the window and sometimes at the end. I just know that I need to have it out there when I say I will. Too much figuring for this old mind! We did have one mess today. Woody has discovered that his hand hurts less if he soaks it in warm water. He decided that he wanted to do this during dialysis. I didn't think it was a good idea, but...I guess he tipped it not realizing it and ended up soaking up the water with his clothes.,,so by the end of the treatment he was soaked...the cushions he sits on were soaked...the recliner was soaked (it is faux leather...but it definitely is taking some time to dry out...I have a towel absorbing it and keep changing it and the towel has been at least damp every time). More eye rolling! We're both ready for this day to be over! One nice moment of the day...a friend dropped off some produce she had gotten this morning at the Farmers' Market...delicious tomatoes and sweet potatoes...a taste of the last of Summer and of Fall. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

An Unplanned Day Off

Unplanned days off when it comes to dialysis generally mean trouble/problems. Let's just say it wasn't an enjoyable day off...spent most of with something or other to do with dialysis. About as soon as I got the machine going...which means that his blood is being pumped through the machine...we got an alarm saying that air was detected in the arterial line. I checked the lines and couldn't see any bubbles...so called our nurse. She was at another patient's home, but talked me through what to do. I did what she said and machine got back underway to just start alarming again. After alarms kept happening, the nurse said to just end the treatment and call this a day off and do a treatment tomorrow. I wanted to say "no fair," but didn't! I also have to draw blood work tomorrow and also take a sample of the dialysate to send off for testing. That sample is taken every three months. The other thing that had to be done before tomorrow's treatment was to change the PAK...this is a filter in the PureFlow machine that has to be changed about every three months. This box sits next to the tub where the dialysate bag resides and this box is heavy...the one you pull out is extra heavy as it is full of water...weighs around 35 lbs. It has to be pulled out and up and over the edge of the place it sits in. This is the first time that I had done this maintenance task so nurse said she would stop by and help me. And, she did just that. This new PAK had to prime for 2-1/2 hours before I could make the dialysate batch...which takes six hours to make. It is making as I type this. I hope it doesn't bother Woody. I find it pretty noisy as it pumps water into the sack. Anyway, today's day off equaled a major headache or two for me! The test I have to do for the dialysate has to be put in a special bag and we discovered that I don't have any of those, so the nurse is going to drop one off in the morning before she heads to her other patient's house. We really can't get very far with our treatment as getting that sample is one of the first things to be done. And, then will come the dreaded blood draw...both pre treatment and post. Though, the blood draw isn't all that hard once I gather all the things together...have to draw the tubes in a certain order but the draw is through his access line and the tubes work with a vacuum so each tube "knows" how much to draw up. Woody has to rock the tubes back and forth...then some go in the refrigerator and one gets spun after thirty minutes and then it goes in the refrigerator. I lnly draw one at the end and it just goes in the refrigerator. I have to label all the tibes and the little dialysate bag and get them put in their proper boxes with an ice pack and get the boxes ready for an express Fed Ex pickup. What a day tomorrow will be. Please no alarms added to the fray!!! Woody has mainly sat and listened to alarms and to me not being a happy camper...and done his crosswords, dozed, watched TV and tried to keep warm...it's starting to be that time of year that he will be cold most of the time. Tonight it is supposed to get down close to 40°. Now that is a it chilly! Be safe! Be well! Be caitious!

Delivery Day!

About the when it was time to take Woody his dialysis machine this morning, we started hearing sounds in the garage. At first I thought, it might just be construction noises next door, but it seemed closer. So I peeked out the door window into the garage and saw a big stack of boxes. I hurried to our front door and caught the UPS guy before he drove away and asked him to please out them in the front porch. I'm not sure he was pleased with my request, but I didn't stick around as I had to get back in and shut machines down and disconnect tubes, etc. When I looked out the door again, they were as they are in the photo. I am glad that hemodialysis doesn't require quite as many supplies that come in boxes...lots less than peritoneal dualysis. About the hemodialysis delivery, Fresenius has it set up that UPS is supposed to bring them into the house. But that only happened the first time. At least none of these are tremendously heavy. The smaller of the box sizes are the heaviest. But manageable for me. So far I have only put one of the types of boxes where they go, as I needed to get our lunch and then head out to the grocery store. I did go to Kroger and bought groceries...our cupboards were a bit bare as it had been about 2-1/2 weeks since I went to Kroger. I got home and talked to Cheryl on the phone while I brought groceries in and out some of them away. It wasn't long after I got home that we headed out the door for Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer Meeting. We are home from that and are settling in for the night. It has been a pretty busy day! We are both feeling a bit tired. Woody has headed to his couch. I still have a couple of things to do before I head upstairs for the night. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Welcome, October!

It has been a busy day, but then I look back on the day and wonder just exactly what we have done! I did change the page on the calendar. We did do dialysis...fifth treatment this week = means we are done for this week and tomorrow is a day off. Several football games have passed across the TV screen and watched by Woody and several crossword puzzles were worked by Woody. Liquid gold aka chicken stock has had a long simmering time. Several chapters have been read by me. The microwave was cleaned, dishes were washed both by hand and dishwasher. A load of clothes was dried an put away. Gardens got a refreshing drink of water. But best of all is that feeling of Fall in the air and the start of leaves changing color. Woody has settled onto his couch for the night. I've made it upstairs to my recliner. One more glance at tomorrow's Sunday School lesson and I will either read or stitch...or fall asleep. Tiredness from our day has come over both of us on this first day of October and we're both hoping for a good night's sleep...wishing the same for our readers! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!