Saturday Doings

Last night while Isaac and Joseph were here I managed to interpret Woody's handwritten Christmas/New Year letter and get it typed into my iPad and start editing it and making it fit on one side of a piece of paper. I printed it out today and edited it...did that several times till I was as satisfied as I was going to be! Then I took on the task of printing them and stuffing them into envelopes. Woody had addressed the envelopes and I had to check those as his beautiful writing of yesteryear is no longer as legible as it once was! I had to make sure that addresses were correct and attempted to make them more legible...we'll see now how many get returned, as I DID get them stamped and out to the mailbox this aftefnoon. As a matter of fact, I got to the end of our driveway as the mail carrier drove up and we exchanged letters...I gave her 41 and she gave me two! I called Woody to let him know that the Christmas 2022 letters are on their way to family and friends. He shared that he had called the kitchen number this morning and managed to get what he wanted for breakfast. During the week he can't do that as dialysis happens during breakfast time...but today he took advantage of it being Saturday and ordered what he wanted. So it sounds like he ate a very good breakfast today. I am thinking that he is finally feeling hungry once again. The other day when he missed breakfast, he got into his tin of snacks and finished up what was in there. I am making a list of snack items to take him, when I go to see him next. I am happy to have our Christmas letters off in the mail...one more thing to mark off the Christmas to-do list! I took a nap this afternoon. I'm hoping that I can get back to working on the last of the Christmas ornaments...down to one for Melany's family, three for Nathan's family, and one for a friend...so add those up and there are STILL 5 ornaments to go. I have the next one all ready to cut out and then sew up and stuff. I'm still struggling to decide the best way to finish up the ones for Nathan's family...reason that they are the last...probably! I do still have one for a friend but won't see her till the end of the month. But I want them ALL done. Last night I did do a little stitching at the end of the evening. I stitched just a little on two of the new things that I started recently. I stitched a length of thread on the border of the tiny sampler and stitched the "A." I stitched a length of thread on the Christmas piece. So I didn't do a lot, but made a small amount of progress on both of those. Well, I guess I will go see if I can finish Erin's ornament tonight. It's funny...I have left all our grandaughter's ornaments till last this year...though, they were some of the first that I finished cross stitching at the first of last year. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

At Last!

The garage door installation happened today...our 2021 Christmas present from Wade and Melany. It is just about one year from the day Melany ordered it. The installer said that it was because of the color...guess they only keep white in stock?!? oh, well...it is here and fit in the space AND opens when a button is pushed. It's a "smart" door BUT you have to do some things to the ooener that is up overhead...and I am going to have to depend on Nathan or Graham for that. I don't think I shoukd be up on that ladder! But remote buttons work so we can open it...we'll work on the smart way another time! We're all locked in from garage entrance into the house and it should keep the family room/Woody's room much warmer to have the door down! It may be smart, but still not smart enough to help me park the car in the garage! The car can supposedly parallel park... ut they didn't teach it to make the sharp turn to get it lined up to park in the garage! I will rely on others to do that for me. I can back it out of the garage! The garage door installation took most of the morning and a part of the afternoon...8:30am till a little after 1:00pm. I managed to make a pot of ham and potato soup during that time period and get a load of dishes washing. Woody was pleased to hear that the garage door was installed and that it opens and closes. Melany figured that it was already warmer in Woody's room, the family room. At the moment I have visitors. Both Nathan and Kathy were going to be away for a little while this evening and the two oldest were out of pocket and the next three down the line were going to a youth retreat this weekend so that left the two youngest, Isaac and Joseph without supervision for a few hours this evening...so I have company until Nathan comes to get them. I am going to try to insert a photo, but iPad isn't being cooperative here in the middle of the blog post. Will try again:

It allowed me to take a photo but not use one I had already taken...the first one showed their oretty smiles...this one looks like they are praying! I can explain...they are taking advantage of extra screen time because they are at Grammy's! The boys helped me with an undecorating task first...they put away the Fisher Price Nativity...sorted all the pieces and got them into their proper boxes. One table emptied of Christmas items! Many to go...and Woody really doesn't want me to undecorate till he is home...To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! Oh, Woody said that a PT person worked with him strengthening his right arm and trying to increase the movement outward of his left arm, the one that has a partially frozen shoulder.

Home…Again!

I took off a little before 7am from Melany's, after checking the radar, thinking that I had a window to get home with next to no rain...and, it worked! I got all the way to Tullahoma before I got a light sprinkle on the windshield. By the time I got home, it was still sprinkling, but I hardly got wet getting in the house. It wasn't too long after I got home that the bottom dropped out. We have had off and on rain/storms all day. But I have been high and dry! I got a call from the garage door installer that they would be here in the morning...still not holding my breath since it has been right at a year since Melany and Wade ordered it. I do think that it may actually happen tomorrow and we will have our 2021 Christmas gift from them! During one lag in rain, I moved the car and parked it out in front of the house so the driveway is clear for the workers. I talked to Woody for a little while after I got home. He had had dialysis and at that point his day was going well. He was happy with his breakfast today...scrambled eggs and sausage...his favorite! I napped for a while this morning. Then I felt a little revived so have worked some more on ornaments...the never ending 2022 Christmas task! I am about to finish another one...so ones to finish are lessening...thank goodness! I want to just stitch on what I want to stitch! I will confess that the other day I started a new tiny sampler, a small all red sampler, and a new Christmas stitch...just wanted to! So I'm anxious to get all these ornaments finished so I won't feel guilty stitching on what I want to stitch! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Quite a Day!

We got up and we all had breakfast together. Then Melany and I took off for Nashville a little after seven. What is is usually an hour drive took us 1-1/2 hours. Woody was at dialysis and as it neared his appointment time we had his nurse check on him and came back saying that they were taking him off early. He got back to the room just a little before the appointment time...or what we planned to be the appointment time. We kept being told that it wasn't time to check in. I finally called a number to check on what was going on. They checked and said that we were in the virtual waiting room. So we waited a long while more and then called a different number that I found that said to call it if we had waited more than ten minutes! At that point it had been around two hours! That person said that he would check and took my number so someone could call. Well, a call never happened. So at the almost three hour wait, I called the last number I had called and she said that I was no longer in the waiting room...that I must have logged off. I assured her that I hadn't...that I was watching to stay on and also watching my power on my iPad wane! She said that she would make amother appointment another day or later today. We opted for the later time today, though, not happily on my part! But in that time we waited we saw lots of Woody's care team, a good thing! The wound care team came in...this time with a physician who specializes in wounds.They are really working with the two pressure wounds and his one place on his leg that he went to the hospital for almost five weeks ago and ended up having gall bladder surgery. Guess we have come full circle and are back to wound on the leg! Very impressed with the wound care team. While waiting for 3:30 to arrive, we also saw two from his PT team. They insist that he can put no weight on his right leg...so I made up my mind to contact Dr. Holt to see if she would lift that as it is holding him back for regaining strength. On our way home Dr. Holt's office called and I explained circumstances...that his leg is no worse than it was a year or more ago and that he has adapted his gait using the walker to very carefully use that leg as little as possible. She will check with Dr. Holt and see what she is willing to do with her orders of non-weight-bearing. She has to fax any orders to the rehabilation place. Also they are supposed to call me. He went to PT for a very short time and got back shortly before his telemed appt. But while he was out of the room, we finally got the social worker, a head nurse, discharge person to come in to talk to us. it was funny how they finally ALL coverged on Melany and me. We had tried several times today tried to get someone to come in to talk and give us a progress report...at that point unsuccessfully! But when we told the PT people that Woody thought he was going home today...PT texted some if the powers that be and just like that, they were in our room. They thought that I, also, thought he was going home today! Best misunderstood statement of the day! They were so relieved when they found out that I knew he wasn't ready! Melany told them that I had told Woody that he was delusional if he thought he was ready to come home! They all laughed with relief at that statement. Anyway, I learned more about length of time allowed for rehab by Medicare (100 days). I now know phone numbers to call, if I have questions. But they said that he isn't ready...both for rehab and wound healing reasons. They say they evaluate weekly and make decisions about treatment and progression. I will say, we saw progression today. He sat up on the side of the bed, by himself, to eat lunch. He pretty much transferred from wheel chair to bed...care partner allowed him to...though probably shouldn't have! But Woody was happy to do it! When we finally got his telemed appt, it was very cut and dry...not much to it. He is through with his surgeons unless he has a problem. The late appointment made us get back to Melany's when dark was closing in so they have an overnight guest again tonight. Another problem...it looks like I will be traveling home in the rain tomorrow...that doesn't make me very happy! Oh, well! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

The Birthday Perks of Having a Cousin Who Works at Disney!

Nathan, Kathy, Isaac (birthday boy today) and Joseph (birthday boy on the 22nd) and their mommy are in Florida for a ministry conference. Today, Isaac's birthday, Isaac and Joseph got to go to Magic Kingdom with their mommy (birthday girl soon) as the guests of their cousin/niece. Fun way to celebrate birthdays. Isaac is in the Cardinal t-shirt. Happy birthday, to our laughing grandson, Isaac (his name means laughter...fits him to a "T."). One of Woody's wishes as he has been recovering was to talk to one his coworkers. I managed to get the phone number and managed tongrt in touch with him and gave him Woody's lhone number at rehab. Woody was so happy to report to me today that Tommie had called him...made his day. I left this afternoon and headed Murfreesboro way and got here a little before Melany got home. We have had a nice evening visiting. We had a corned beef and cabbage dinner...very good! Melany and I will leave bright and early to meld into rush hour traffic in Murfreesboro and Nashville...not an easy commute to Woody at that time, We need to be there around 9am...hopefully we will make it for checking in for a telemed visit by 9:15 for a 9:30 appointment with his surgery team who did his gall bladder surgery. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

We Love Our Barn Trips!

We love barn trips so much that we actually found a barn with a heart on it! We came upon this barn just when the sun was casting shadows with the two silos so it looked like a heart had been painted on the roof. It was a beautiful day for a barn trip...especially after yesterday's rain...today, pretty blue sky and clouds every now and again. I took LOTS of pictures of barns, farm animals...quite a few baby animals today, and even a few bird pictures. I have only downloaded one camera worth of photos...and, haven't even really had a chance to get a good look at those. When we discovered the heart barn, that was the one all three of us voted to be tonight's blog photo. It is just fun to be with Marie and Carolyn for several hours, even if we hadn't found any barns we would have had fun! But barns were in abundance today so there is new fodder for the blog for many days to come! I did talk to Woody for a few minutes while we were on the barn trip. He was back from dialysis. Today, he had managed to have someone find the numbing cream and he took it upon himself to put the cream on the area where they stick him and then wrap his arm with plastic wrap. He said that he was at least partially successful. The first stick hurt some, but the second one he didn't feel...probably the cream had had time to numb that spot before he got stuck. He had made an attempt to figure out with the dialysis nurse how a telemed appointment was going to work when it was scheduled during dialysis time. She said that they would get him early and then stop his dialysis a bit early that day. Woody just had the days mixed up. He told her tomorrow and the appointment is Wednesday. Guess they can trial run it tomorrow! I am blogging early tonight because I will be at prayer meeting when I usually blog. I continue to plug along with finishing my Christmas stitches into ornaments. Slowly but surely...getting done. I have three more ready for the next step...I think I will do at least the next step on those three, after I publish this...that will be three more closer to completion! The stack of unfinished is getting smaller...but just not small enough...that will happen when there are no stitched pieces in that stack! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

And, the Walls Didn't Fall Down!

This morning I went to Sunday School and to the worship service. This was the first time that I had been inside the sanctuary for a worship service since the doors closed due to Covid back in March of 2020! Woody and I have attended the service regularly during that period online, but haven't been in person since Covid. It was good to be a part of the congregation once again. I really appreciate the way our church worked with the Covid shut down. For a long period of time they had an outside service in the park across the street and also livestreamed them online and then when they went back inside they continued to livestream them, also. It made it great for us since we really never missed a service...whether at home or away. We "attended" during these last weeks in the hospital, too. I talked to Woody this afternoon. He said that he was hoping to take nap this afternoon, as he hadn't slept well the night before. He had watched Charles Stanley on TV for his church service today. He tried to get ours on his laptop, but didn't and when he saw Charles Stanley on his TV he decided to stop trying! I think that you could say he has a love/hate relationship with his laptop...mostly hate! I filled out online forms this afternoon getting ready for Woody's telemed appointment on Wednesday. I am continuing to complete Christmas ornaments...the seemingly never ending task! I did stitch a LOT of ornaments this year! After I blog, I will stuff one that I just sewed up on the sewing machine. If all goes as planned, I may have some new barn photos tomorrow night...camera batteries are charging for a barn trip! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!