A New Plan

At the primary care doctor appt this week I got a new Rx for baclofen, an anti-spaz medicine that should help my back spasms go away. And a referral to P.T again for therapy to lessen chance of sciatic pain attacks. A new plan is better than just trying to cover up pain with pain pills at night while trying to get thru day without any Rx. So, we will hope for the best outcome now. I am still off work, and hope to get another month of disability to fix current problems. I await word from surgeon on that issue. To return to work in pain again would make me want to shoot meself.
It is blistering hot here this week; it was 108 degrees on our patio... in the shade... at 2 PM. The night didn't cool off too well like California nights usually do here. Seems we get 2 weeks of extreme heat every summer like this. I hope it doesn't last longer. So far, we have kept electricity flowing to run AC. Last summer we had 2 days without it and the night was terribly hot. We are so thankful for our comfortable life here; we're spoiled for sure when one hot night brings such miserable memories.
Mom-in-law was diagnosed with walking pneumonia last night when she went to urgent care for a swallowing problem; a hiatial hernia was found today in baruim swallow study and xrays. So she will discuss her options with her dr tomorrow but she's already refused surgery as an option! We'll see. A great fear of many people about going to the doctor are these "incidental" finds... many ailments are found during exams for non-related problems. Thankfully her incidental find is curable. Funny how we will put up with very annoying symptoms because we don't want to hear bad news. Of course, to me, BAD news is "you have to live with this symptom and do the best you can" while GOOD news would be "This is gonna kill ya". Heaven here I come!

Slow healing

It sure seems to me that I should be A-OK by now but that is not yet the case. Several times I have found myself in situations where my weak left leg just won't effectively help me to step up, or rise up from a chair, and I have to use the operated-on right leg to step up or lift up... and then I seem to tax it too much and get a strain that hurts for a few days, or else the prosthesis (which takes 6 months to grow bone around it) slightly moves and causes burning pain for a few days. That's how I imagine it anyway. Then I have a few days setback while the "new" pain gets under control. My back is spasming more, driving or walking unaided bring the back spasms on. Man, are they painful at times. So, I am using the walker more in the house, and trying to not walk much unaided because it is so much of an effort. I started Weight Watchers a month ago, hopefully by this time next year I will not be lugging so much blubber around. That might help a bit, but the weak muscles affected by old polio nerves can't be helped much. Maybe I need to accept that my walking days are history without help of a walker or canes. Time will tell. I see my primary care Dr tomorrow about the back pain. No feedback on the "gait evaluation" in P.T. yet. I suspect the report simply states: "She walks crooked. Needs help".
I've been enjoying a book about President Bush the 41st written by his daughter Doro. Very entertaining. I like the guy a lot. And his son too. If you don't... well, just shut up! this is MY blog!
Later!

Catch a falling star...

The news has been encouraging us to view the meteor shower with best viewing time Monday before dawn. But who wants to get up by dawn if you do not HAVE to get up? As it was, I had a night where sleep didn't come easy, so at 5 am I was outside in the front yard with a cup of coffee to try to see shooting stars. And of course, singing to meself the old Perry Como tune "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away... for when your troubles start in multiplying, and they just might, it's easy to forget them without trying, with just a pocket full of starlight...". All you under 60 won't remember that song probably, but that's ok. You're too young to know anything yet.
Anyways, daughter Kim was awake as well to get ready for work. When I told her I was going outside to see the falling stars, I told her not to tell anyone because I don't want anyone to know I am nuts. She said, "IT'S TOO LATE, MOM. EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS YOU ARE NUTS." So, there ya go. I knew you knew, I just haven't wanted to acknowledge it. I saw 3 shooting stars from the front yard, then when the back yard sprinklers went off, I sat in the back yard and saw 2 more. Then I decided that was enough thrill for me, so I went back to bed. And how many did YOU see????

Attitude is everything

This was forwarded to me by friend Syl; I just had to post it here; If The Lord can help me to change one thing... it is my attitude in the midst of trials: to still have joy about life instead of bitching about it. We should all remember this one:

There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her
head.
Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."
So she did and she had a wonderful day.


The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror
and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
"H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle
today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there
wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed,
"I don't have to fix my hair today!"



Attitude is everything.


Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,



Care deeply,



Speak kindly.......



Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...



It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Little crazy birds

I have always liked seeing hummingbirds around a yard. They are so small and fast and entertaining to watch. For several years I have had a hummingbird feeder hanging from the patio cover so I can watch the birds from the kitchen. This year I put another feeder on the north side of the cover. It is interesting to see how the birds react and feed. There is usually a bird guarding the south feeder; he scares away other hummers who try to feed at HIS feeder. He will sit on the wire of the string of lights near his feeder then dive bomb other hummers who approach his feeder. The north feeder gets hummers who seem to get along most of the time and will feed 2 to 4 at a time. Each feeder has room for 4 hummers to feed at a time. I had seen 3 at a time before but this week I FINALLY saw 4 feeding at the same time. (Little things in life bring such joy, don't they?) A few evenings ago I was sitting still out on the patio watching the hummers; there were at least 8 of them in the air around the north feeder. I think the babies must be loose now to feed on their own. Or else the word has gotten out to the hummer community about the abundance of food at Gramma Jayne's patio. I refill the north feeder every 2 or 3 days now with 16 oz of sugar water! They are hungry little buggers. The south feeder that is guarded by "Goliath" as I call him, gets refilled less often because Goliath won't share! When family or friends come over and are on the patio, some of them get scared when the hummers dive-bomb each other. The noise they make is so loud! The hummers will get near us and dive over our heads or around us, but they never touch us .... yet. Maybe one day one of us will end up in ER with puncture wounds from a pissed off hummingbird attack. I just hope they don't hit me in the right hip area. That'd hurt, and then the Kelly hummingbird dining room would slam shut forever!