Good Morning Company Girls!

It has been awhile since I have blogged...life keeps getting in the way!

We are coming into the Christmas season and I will admit to having somewhat of a panic developing since I've hardly boughten anything ....there are no decorations up...the tree has yet to be cut down and transported home....in other words , pretty well absolutely no preparations have been made and less than a month to go!

In looking back over the last few weeks, the schedule has been slightly overwhelming to the point that at the beginning of last week I declared that I was running away from home on Friday ( that was last Friday) ....people laughed but I was truly serious! Hubby had an appointment with the surgeon that had been set up when he left the hospital in October on the Thursday, so that's why I had to wait for the Friday.....the surgeon was supposed to give him all the details of the upcoming surgery , which we really needed to hear to fill in the blanks and answer all the questions we had......this was not to be, we had the appointment but not the answers.

Son Ben, started a special bus transportation class that runs every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon til the middle of December...this is a class where they teach developmentally delayed adults to take public transportation in the city. Ben does have some experience locally but not city wide so it was thot that this would be beneficial for him......unfortunately this interferes with my quilting group which meets for the day, every Tuesday....so Ben comes with me and I leave group early to take him to his class...then I find something to do for two hours until he's done...unfortunately it's located in the part of the city where there isn't any shopping, so I'm no further ahead in Christmas prep!

Back to the surgeon visit last Thursday.....when we arrived the surgeon took one look at Don and said ' you look great'.....and he did, he'd gained back some weight, his colour looked good, he had energy....so the surgeon said...'since you're doing so well, we'll just set you up with a cat scan and see how things look'.....kind of like putting things in a holding pattern.....good grief.....what a way to spend your life...not that we want surgery...but to put off the inevitable was kind of disappointing....he did an exam, and even though hubby said the area where the Crohn's was tender and a little thick feeling the last couple of days, the doctor said it was probably just the Crohn's ....he would put in the requisition for the cat scan...which usually takes a number of weeks to happen.

That was last Thursday....Friday....my running away day, was also hubby's alternate Friday off....so, I asked him if he'd like to join me in running away...he said sure...right after he got his Twinrix vaccination and also a needle for pneumonia ....not that he has these but they're part of the preparation for the drug therapy they want him on after the surgery....whenever that is.....so,.....we ran away late in the morning.....went down to our favourite place ...Niagara On The Lake......had a lovely lunch and went to a few shops.....by later in the afternoon I was quite weary of running away so we headed home....good thing.

When we arrived home hubby started not feeling well....chills, nausea, fatigue...he thot it was the vaccination reacting .....the Crohn's area was becoming more swollen...the rest of the evening, he just dozed on and off...not wanting to eat.

The next day Saturday, I was supposed to go to a craft show with eldest daughter.....but hubby didn't look well at all.....he insisted that I should go, and if needed we could go to the hospital when I returned....I had him show me the Crohn's area and when I saw one side if his abdomen twice the size of the other side, I put my foot down and said we were going to the hospital now.

We arrived at the hospital and they looked after us right away...blood work and ultrasound revealed that the abscess had returned and would need to be drained...he was admitted...again....they started him on two very strong antibiotics right away...

The next day, Sunday, we were surprised when a porter showed up at his bed saying he was there to take him to intervention...that's where they put the drain tube in...we were quite surprised...and so were the doctors later on...they never put drains in on Sundays....turns out the doctor that did it was called in for another emergency procedure and decided to do hubby as well....this was great as hubby was still feeling nauseous and lethargic from all the infection in his body....

Two days later we were back home...the doctors telling him that since the abscess came back so quickly that surgery would have to be done...now it's a case of waiting til the infection clears up and going back to the surgeon on the 13th of December...the drain tube will stay in til that time.

The previous week had been rather intense because Emma...daughter that left home just over a year ago, has found herself pregnant...for real this time....she wasn't getting herself to the doctor so I offered to go with her....she gladly accepted....now this was a pretty big deal , on my part because Emma lives in the Toronto area.....I've never driven the major highways around Toronto, on my own...I google mapped her location...(I don't have a GPS)...then I wrote each highway/ exit I had to take on individual post it notes....put them across my dash and set out!....hubby laughed when he heard this but multilane highways around major cities intimidate me!.....about an hour later I arrived.....poor Emma has got herself in quite the dilemma....she's one of these pregnant woman that has morning sickness ALL morning....some people might say it serves her right but I'm her mom and I feel bad for anyone that is constantly vomiting....I, myself hate that, so don't wish it on anyone. We saw the doctor...he needed blood work to confirm....we went to the lab, got that done...in between runs to the bathroom...then I took her to the drug store...got a script for nausea, went to the grocery store...bought ginger ale and soda crackers....and took her back home....that took all morning....the blood test did confirm the pregnancy but for some reason Emma's been out of communication for almost a week now, so I'm not sure what's happening there.

One if my older sons, was in a motorcycle accident a number of years ago and is just getting a financial settlement now....not that he deserves it, but that's the way the system goes I'm afraid.....he was just as much responsible for what happened to him as the guy that was driving, but the lawyers see it otherwise....so now he's come into quite a bit of money...unfortunately the guy will probably spend it unwisely...you see his birth mom drank alcohol while pregnant and now he has Fetal Alcohol syndrome...very bad....he does not make good decisions and acts impulsively....but he's 29 years old...not too much we can do....trouble is...all the guy really wants is what a lot of people take for granted...a home and a family....he just wants to be like everyone else.....

So, all these things...plus day to day living with 3 developmentally delayed young adults...has put me way behind in Christmas prep....and also made me want to run away.

Do you ever want to run away? How do you handle it...where would you go?

Location:Are you ready for Christmas?

Joy

Good Morning Company Girls!

Although it is still dull and dreary out at this time of the morning.....we must keep pushing on....a lot of people post that fall/autumn is their most favourite time of the year...I, myself find it depressing....I hate to see everything dying off and everything so barren....but that all seems so insignificant in light of the week that some people have endured. My goodness, some of those pictures on the television of what some people went thru with the big storm, ...well, it just made you really thankful. We experienced the wind and the rain, but fortunately we didn't lose power. I was really afraid of that....we have a sump pump to take away the excess water off our property....no hydro means the water doesn't get taken away and means my basement gets flooded. Eight weeks ago, before I broke my arm, I was on a schedule...a mission to clean my basement and purge all unnecessary paraphernalia taking up residence there...it was supposed to be done by Thanksgiving! I was on a roll...it was getting done...I was very organized about it...dividing the basement into sections, doing a bit at a time....unfortunately the broken arm kind of bunged that up, and the mess is still down there...I was alarmed that if our power went out, all that stuff would be a soggy mess....wet stuff is much harder to move than dry, that's for sure! I was so thankful that our power remained on! Hopefully, I can get back to the huge clean up very soon...the arm and hand are making progress....I can move the fingers although they still swell and I can't wear my wedding rings yet...very disappointing....I can't lift any weight without experiencing pain....I am trying to use it as normally as possible...well, lets put it this way....as normally as possible for me!.....there's never been nothing normal about my arms since I was born without fifty per cent of the muscles in them!

Moving on....hubby had another doctor's appointment yesterday.....he still has the drain in his abdomen to drain the abscess ...fortunately the nurse practitioner has taken charge and before we left he was given an appointment for this Saturday to have an ultrasound and hopefully the drain tube removed. So back to the hospital we go and hopefully that will be done. I joked that we should have gotten a monthly hospital parking pass since we've been there so much! I also have to return to same said hospital next Tuesday to have another exray of the arm done! Parking at hospitals is very expensive! It's like adding insult to injury...geesh! Then, in a few weeks, on the 22nd, hubby has an appointment at the hospital, with a surgeon, to discuss cutting out the section of Crohn's disease that's taken over his bowel..well, a part of his bowel.....this getting old is for the birds..really...

My older sister and her husband are retired...which is a good thing because, being the eldest and a take charge kind of person, she has pretty well taken over the care of our mother. Mom is in a retirement home, so yes ,the day to day needs are met but sister is there almost daily making sure those needs are met...plus she takes her to all medical, dental and financial appointments. Twice a year sister and her hubby trek down to Florida for a few weeks for a holiday. It is much needed since she does so much for our mother...I will admit that that quite often I feel guilty that with the constraints of having a large family that it usually doesn't leave a lot of time to help my mom. I'm grateful that sister and her hubby have that time....so, myself and my one brother are on tap to take care of mom for the next three weeks because sister and her hubby left for Florida this past week. I have all my instructions and hopefully all goes well .

Emma called me last night and apparently her and her boyfriend got kicked out of their place yesterday....so, she's come full circle and is back at a shelter..she called yesterday, from the shelter...next week is her nineteenth birthday. This shelter is 66 kilometers away from our house, it's the other side of Toronto...I hate Toronto traffic and hubby isn't able to go with me, I'm not sure what I can do to help her....sounds kind of lame I know, but it's more complicated than that...really. I have to keep reminding myself that this is what Emma wanted when she left our home a year ago.....to be on her own, to live her life the way she wanted, without rules....but...my mother's heart is sad.

Praying this week and this weekend for fellow Company Girl , Star Walker Neely....her and her hubby are in Uganda to hopefully bring back their new daughter! Cant wait to see pictures...they have to stay there a very long time ...away from their four kids at home....must be soooo difficult...

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend....hopefully hubby gets the drain tube out, hopefully Emma finds a place to live and she doesn't have to stay at the shelter very long....hopefully I can stay on top of things with my mom and nothing goes wrong....hopefully youngest daughter Megan doesn't drive me totally around the bend....hopefully, daughter Maya, who starts her drivers Ed course tomorrow does well in the classes...( class work is not her strong suit)...that's a lot of hope.

I read Sally Clarkson's blog today and the last few lines caught my attention......
Joy comes through exercising faith right on the path that God has led. Faith catalyzes joy as we worship by choosing to see God right in our midst at this place, in this step of life.

I'm going to try and dwell on this thot this weekend.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's Pouring.

Have you ever heard that expression....when it rains , it pours......well, life is really pouring right now.

Last April, hubby started to feel quite poorly. On and off for the last year, he's had a problem with his digestive system. It's been all out of whack, not working properly since July of 2011. There have been times when he's been quite incapacitated by it, but he's kept motoring on. He went to the doctor many times....the doctor kept saying...well, try this medication, or go off this medication...that may be causing your trouble. They said he was anemic, so they determined he needed extra iron in his system. This continued on til this past April when it hit him hard. I was scared, really scared......I've known this man for 42 years....never have I seen him this poorly...he lost weight ( 10 pounds less than a month), he was constantly exhausted, his colour was extremely pale......hubby went from a man that was always on the go, doing everything....to someone who sat there, listlessly, unable to move.

Back to the Internist that he saw three years ago.....more tests.....finally a diagnosis...Crohn's Disease.....thank God it wasn't cancer.....he was put on a steroid that would fix him up....and seemingly it did.....24 hours after starting the meds, he was back to his old self...we were all SO relieved....okay, we could learn to live with this...watch his diet, take his meds...life was good....that was six weeks ago, this Thursday.

Five weeks ago, last Sunday, I very stupidly, fell outside, in the dark, and broke my wrist....the same wrist that the doctors fused together in a bone fusion operation, fifty years ago. The doctors said that between all the arthritis and fragile bone and swelling in there that they'd put a splint on for a week...come back after that...we did...than they put the cast on. They said it was for three weeks...I was pleased...when they did the bone fusion it was on for three months! Three weeks I could do...but, I guess when your fifty years older, three weeks seems like three months! Then everyone said that....oh no, this will be just an exray and check at three weeks...they'll probably put another cast on....I wasn't impressed.

So hubby and I went along for the three weeks.....him looking after me, the broken wrist was useless, the fingers so swollen that I could barely move them. He had to help me with virtually everything....bathing ,dressing, I could feed myself but I could prepare very little. People would say...good thing you have the three kids at home....but they are so delayed that they are of very little help.

The Thursday before thanksgiving, hubby started to feel unwell again...the area where his Crohn's is located...where the small bowel empties into the large, seemed to have something going on...it was swelling and painful to touch.....

Thanksgiving came and went...family dinner at eldest daughters' home....Emma showed up with her boyfriend..she said she was sick and spent the whole time in bed....it was really a combo of drugs, lack of sleep and anxiety...I wasn't impressed....the boyfriend tried to hitch hike back home....couldn't blame him...all of a sudden, thrust into a family celebration with 18 people he'd never meant before..but really..hitch hike? He didn't even know where the Pete he was, never mind how the heck to get back home...daughter lives 'in the boonies'.....a couple of hours from where Emma and boyfriend live.....anyways, that day was finally over....

Two days later I had to go for the cast removal...hubby still wasn't well and tried to get into see the internist at the same time (they were all at the same hospital) ...they couldn't see him that day, but said...come back on Thursday..two days later.

They removed the cast...said it was still healing...that slow and steady would be the course for it and put a removable splint on it.....said...'come back in a month, we'll check it again'.....

Two days later, hubby went to his appointment...by himself, as I had to take Ben and Megan to the dentist for their check ups. When I returned home, hubby sent a text....the clinic thot he had an abscess that would have to be drained...but they couldn't do it at that hospital...they recently changed the in patient status of that hospital to 'only children'....so hubby said can you meet me at another hospital....so I did, ....we naively thot...okay, they'll look at it, drain it, and then we'll be home.

We are sooooooo naive......this hospital admitted him...he would need another cat scan so they could confirm the abscess....but the scan couldn't be done til the next day.....

The next day, they did the scan...after he went all day without food.....at about 4 pm.

On the third day (the next day)...they confirmed, yes, it's an abscess, that has to be drained. That turns out to be a little more complicated then we realize...again....this requires a radiologist, intervention they called it....being taken into this room with huge machines all around...very intimidating...but he had to wait til the fourth day for them to have a spot open.

So, on the fourth day...this past Sunday, they finally drained the abscess....
The drain is still in, it has to stay in for 48 hours after no drainage....

Yesterday, the fifth day...the doctors...many doctors came in total, in the morning....all pretty well saying the same thing.....get the infection cleared up and look at surgery....nobody could exactly say when the surgery...one doctor finally said, in the next few months....they'll cut out the Crohn's...but it'll grow back, they assured us...they'll be subsequent surgeries down the road...good thing we have many feet of bowel! He wanted to come home today...the sixth day...the doctors said that would be pushing it.....they did do an echocardiogram on him yesterday...when questioned the nurse said she didn't know why it was ordered...nice....hubby was upgraded from clear fluid to full fluid diet...he's thrilled....

So, we will see what today brings.....everyday, I go to the hospital in the morning and stay all day til it's dark....sometimes I take my own food to eat...hospital food is very expensive....the parking is very expensive.....the hospital is a half hour drive away.....hubby and I have had lots of time to talk...which is nice...but sometimes he's too tired and needs to sleep...so then I read.....it's a long day....the kids are on their own...which isn't a good thing but there isn't anything I can do about it...it is what it is, hubby says...that is so true.


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Thanksgiving Weekend

Good Morning Company Girls!

This is a holiday weekend in Canada...Thanksgiving.....other than we always have our holiday on a Monday instead of a Thursday...and ours is in October instead of November.....a Canadian Thanksgiving isn't any different than the American one.

Turkey tops the list as the protein of choice.....plus the usual accompaniments.....mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls(buns), cranberry...various veggies....carrots, peas, or corn....or even broccoli..for the last number of years eldest son has made a lovely sweet potato casserole...all smooth and whipped and calorie laden.....dessert is always pie....pumpkin, for sure...with whipped cream....and an apple and some kind of berry....I usually have some kind of dessert for one of my kids that doesn't care for pie....

This year, because of my broken wrist eldest daughter is hosting the family meal,.....hubby and I still plan on cooking the turkey and then taking it to her house for son-in-law to carve.....
If everyone comes....there might be as many as twenty.....one son and his girlfriend, are doing thanksgiving with her family and Christmas with ours this year and that is fine...that's what happens when they grow up and get connected with other families. Emma says she's coming but I'll truly believe it when I see her walk in the front door....not sure about Corey...it would be nice if he did since he hasn't come to one in a few years.....this year we hope to take my mom with us....it might be confusing for her, her dementia is slowly advancing....but I don't want to leave her at the retirement home, so we'll give it a try.

The plan is to celebrate on Sunday.....that is the day that works best....which is kind of nice cause then you have the holiday on Monday to recover....

I'm actually looking forward to a quiet, relaxing weekend....well, Sunday will be far from quiet but the other days, so far look good....

For the last three weeks I've been looking forward to getting my cast off on Tuesday...but, it would seem...as many people have suggested...that this wont be the case...people have said that this is just a 'check', apparently they remove the cast, take an exray and decide if the cast needs to be reapplied...well, a new one put on....I've been discouraged all week about this but I think they're probably correct...the arm and fingers are still swelling regularly and sometimes I still have some pretty significant pain from it. :-(. I think I'll probably be having another cast put on. Very frustrating since I had great plans for getting my house in order before winter this year....I was purging and organizing...I even had a written out schedule...the basement was supposed to be done for this weekend....not happening, and hubby has warned me that even when I finally have no cast that I'll probably have to take it easy with the arm for awhile.....sigh...you know what they say about the best laid plans.....

On Tuesday, I also have to go for an appointment with a social worker that apparently gives employment support ...Ben is having some significant difficulties with his job at Shoppers Drug Mart...it would seem that he's not doing as well as everyone hoped...then, in a conversation with a worker about something else, this subject came up and she said that there was this employment services that could go into his workplace and help him work out the trouble spots with Ben and his employer....good thing! I hope it works cause I would hate to see him lose his job!

This whole world of intellectually delayed kids in the adult world is a difficult journey to travel and wade thru....they should really give you a manual!

So, that's my world right now....still a little unsettled but that seems to be the new norm.....no quilting yet, which is a bummer.....but I still go to class and have fellowship with the ladies so that's nice.....

Take care everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

It's Been Awhile......

Good Morning Company Girls......

As the title infers...it's been awhile since I posted...the last few weeks have been painful, frustrating and annoying.....you see...I did this....


I fell, outside, in the dark....and fractured my wrist. My left wrist......which yes, was a good thing because I could still feed myself (since I am right handed) so that was a good thing.....but....because both of my hands have been, shall we say compromised for all my life...they depend on each other, to help each other. Simple things, like getting dressed, opening containers, putting deodorant on, having a bath, wringing out a facecloth so I can wash my face,.....all require someone else to help.....a week ago they removed the splint they put on in emerg and now I have a cast on.....


Purple! ....they give you a choice of colour....it's suppose to be on til the day after Thanksgiving....the fingers are finally starting to show the signs of the swelling going down...it's been three weeks and that's been difficult...I don't bruise easily but the discoloration is still there. The pain is finally starting to let up...at first they put me on Morphine...effective but negative side effects are annoying.....so, now it's copious amounts of Tylenol and Advil.

I've learned how to drive one handed....not sure whether I'd get in trouble for that but I rationalized that there are probably lots of people that drive without the use of various limbs so I figured I could too....although turning sharp corners is tricky...a lot of short wheel turns while using your left knee to hold the wheel in place so it doesn't retract back....I don't take chances when I pull out into traffic, leaving longer spaces in between vehicles before I do, and I don't think I'll master tight parking spaces...I look for the ones with spaces on either side....it's either that..or stay home...which is boring when you can't do anything...daytime television is extremely boring and repetitive !!!

So that is my whining.....are you tired of it? Yes, so am I....

On to other things....good news.....hubby's test results came back....it's not cancer as I feared but Crohn's Disease.....within 24 hours of being on a steroid to take down the inflammation he was back to feeling like his old self.....what a relief.....he's yet to gain back any weight, but his appetite is good, much better then it was.....

Plans are being made for thanksgiving....in Canada that's in two weeks....it was to be at our house but the older kids decided that doing a thanksgiving dinner for twenty with one hand is a little tricky so the plan is to have it at eldest daughter's home.....hubby and I will still cook the turkey...By the time it's cooked, put in the back of the van...driven to daughter's...it will have had proper resting time and will be ready to carve....sounds like a plan!

So, I hope you've all been well and I look forward to reading your blogs and catching up....have a wonderful weekend!

I'm not sure whether Rachel is doing Company Girls today.....but I thought I'd post anyways.

A few weekends ago, hubby and I left home on a Friday morning and started driving. We had been planning this trip since last January! A few years back, we went to Bermuda for our thirty-fifth anniversary.....there is a place there, called Willowbank ,which has since closed... :-(

Willowbank wasn't one of those resorts that had the big night life or anything, in fact it was very quiet, which is what hubby and I enjoy....we're not really the night life people.....well, in the room next to us was a younger couple, very nice...they were from Boston.....we found out as the week wore on that they were special guests of Willowbank, and that there would be a concert mid week that they would present. Turns out the fellow was the bass trombone player for the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. It was a lovely concert and as we got to know the couple. Throughout the week, we struck up an acquaintance that we have enjoyed since then.

So, in the last year we found out that the fellow, name of Doug Yeo ,was going to retire this year, and I said to hubby...'wouldn't it be nice if we could see Doug play in person before he retires?' .......so we started to investigate what concert we'd like to attend...well, the symphony becomes the Pops, in the summer and they play at a place called Tanglewood, which is close to Boston, really on the outskirts of a town called Lennox in Massachusetts... We looked over the concert selections carefully and noticed a celebration of John Williams' birthday for August 19.... And the clincher was that YoYo Ma was a guest.....I was over the moon...I love the works of Williams and YoYo Ma is my favourite cellist...we waited impatiently for the ticket office to open, and on the appointed day, hubby got us two tickets! Now, the downside to this story was that we ASSUMED that Doug would play the whole Tanglewood season...unfortunately, he didn't ...he officially retired in July, we were disappointed at not seeing our friends again but we were still excited to be going to Tanglewood.

So.....back to the trip....we set off on the Friday morning and made a stop over the border, to tell you the truth I'm not sure whether it was Niagara Falls or Buffalo, New York (they're right beside each other, kind of blending) and had new tires put in my van...I've needed them forever, and hubby found the best deal there, ...once that was done we continued on as far as Albany, New York.....hubby had booked us into a hotel there (using airmail points) for two nights....that is where we would stay to go to the concert about 45 minutes away....anything closer was just too expensive....on the Saturday we had a relaxing day....hubby was whipped after the day of driving, so I just let him rest...he hasn't been well since April, but still wanted to do the trip....later in the afternoon, we drove to Tanglewood...what an experience! People arrive 3-4 hours before concert to get the best spot sitting on the grassy area around the actual concert area...called the Shed.....we had purchased tickets for the Shed and everyone told us..'oh no, you should take a picnic and be on the grassy area'.....and it did look marvelous....some people really went all out....they'd bring chairs, tables, crystal stemware, wine and pâté, shrimp rings, bread, crackers, fruit....candles, flower arrangements.....they really went to town....it was great to walk around and people watch, but I was glad that we were sitting on reserved chairs in the Shed because once the sun went down it became quite damp and chilly!

Anyways, the concert started at 8:30pm and it was fabulous...I can't even describe it all well enough to do it justice....the musicians playing were just thrilling...the special guests, some in person and some by video, giving John Williams there birthday wishes...he was there, ( but we were a little disappointed that he didn't conduct)...we were surprised when one guest walked on the stage and it was Steven Spielberg! It was a fabulous evening, one to remember for a very long time. The concert didn't finish til 11 pm! It was a long day but well worth it!

The next day we travelled to Providence, Rhode Island. Hubby is a history buff and was looking forward to seeing all the historical stuff...me, not so much, but I go along...:-). While we were staying there we visited the state capital building, a magnificent structure...by this time it was Sunday evening so we had the place pretty well to ourselves...the building was closed but we could still look in the glass doors and hubby took pictures...it was very impressive! The next day we drove to Newport,....went over two extremely scary bridges, I really don't do tall narrow bridges very well...have I ever mentioned that I have an extreme fear of heights! Anyways, we had a lovely lunch in Newport and then drove back, stopping at an old mansion and arboretum called Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol, RI, absolutely gorgeous...and once again, closed...it was Monday, their day off...but we had the place to ourselves....it was so nice to sit and gaze out over the water and imagine what it was like a hundred years ago....and it was sooooooo quiet....we loved it, although it would have been neat to see inside the mansion, nevertheless it was lovely.

The next day, we travelled on to Quincy, Mass., home of John Adams, and his son John Quincy Adams...father and son president dual, just like the Bush's ....we saw burial places and birth homes, and the home where they stayed afterwards and where John Adams died....a wonderful library on the home's grounds, filled with many historical artifacts. we went to all these places on a trolley ride...I thought to myself,'well now I really feel like I'm a senior....I finally went in a bus trip!'. And do you know that the Quincy people don't pronounce the 'c' as a c but rather as a 'z'.,..no, well we were surprised too! I'm not quite sure why, and you didn't want to offend by asking!

From there we went back to Albany, starting our trip back on the homeward leg....then the next day, which was the Wednesday...we came back home... :-(.

It was a lovely trip, the weather couldn't have been better and hubby, although very tired withstood the rigors of it all fairly well. On the hubby note,...after much testing and scoping, we finally found out just yesterday that he has Crohn's Disease....first order of treatment is a steroid to take down the inflammation, and then we find out from there...I'm thinking some kind of maintenance dosage, we'll see. crohn's isn't the greatest but at least we have a diagnosis and at least it's not cancer! For that I'm very much relieved and thankful to God for.

Now ,..hopefully I can post some pictures of our trip!

This is The Shed...


Beautiful Tanglewood grounds....


Hubby in front of one of the many musical sculptures..


Me...waiting for the concert to start..good thing I brought a book.....it was a long wait....


At the end of the concert, the guest and John Williams were on the stage while everyone sang Happy Birthday....


State Capitol building at Providence
...


Lunch in Newport....


Blithewold Mansion



Enjoying the serenity and the view in the next pic....


Lovely...


The Adams house after presidency, where he died....


The library on the property...


Me...all historied out....


Hubby...enjoying every minute....


It was a great trip....we enjoyed ourselves immensely.


Hope you enjoyed the readers digest version!

Have a great weekend!

Location:Weekend Getaway.....

Abide with Me..

I haven't posted in awhile...life has gotten in the way....I was going to do a post about the wonderful trip hubby and I took down to the Albany, N.Y. / Providence R.I., area , and i still will do that....it was a lovely time....but since we came home I've been kind of stressed to the max and for my own sanity I've been trying to focus on this...... It hangs on the wall, outside my bedroom door.....I had hubby hang it there on purpose.....so that every time I walk out my bedroom door, it reminds me...and these days I need that reminder often....





It's been an interesting journey just how I got this wall hanging.....since April, hubby and I have been going thru a trial...well, actually it started in July, 2011....that's when my normally healthy, full of energy husband first became I'll...he thot it was food poisoning.....he was unwell with digestive issues or about a month....then slowly got better...but throughout the rest of the year it seemed to be an underlying situation with him...some days worse than others.....then this past April it became very serious. It sent him back to the doctor, the doctor sent him to a specialist...the specialist sent him for tests....we weren't suppose to get the results til October but now, they just called yesterday to say his followup appointment was moved to next Thursday....

So, back to this wall hanging...a few months ago I was listening to the classical radio station....I find it enjoyable to listen to for the most part.....unless they go off on an opera tangent.....so, of course, most of the music originates in the classics...you know those guys, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky ....but one day a sacred piece was played....Abide with Me...you don't hear this hymn in church very often...well, maybe at someone's funeral, but not normally sung on a Sunday morning...it played over and over in my mind throughout the day....it finally prompted me to look up the words, to investigate the author of the lyrics...

Henry F Lyte, was a pastor who did not have an easy life, physically he was ill a lot of the time, and wrote these words as a result of it....now, I'm in no way comparing this to my hubby's illness, not at all.....but this is what I've been drawing from it.....the past year has been extremely difficult, with hubby's illness, the whole scenario with daughter Emma, living with three developmentally delayed young adults, watching some of our children go through unbelievable financial distress and realizing that you are physically (financially) powerless to help them, watching some of our children making choices that go completely against what we had taught them all their lives....yes, hubby and I do realize and accept that they are adults and their choices and consequences from these decisions are their own and not ours,....but it still puts a weight on your shoulders,...in your heart...

I have found it pleasantly delightful that these lyrics kept reminding me that there is a strength greater than ours...
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Friends, relatives can only help and do so much...this piece of music kept cropping up....on the radio....a few different times....the church bells that ring in our little village would all of a sudden peal forth with the tune....then I received an email...I get those notices from Dayspring cards and home decor...and there was this wall hanging...bonus...it was even on sale...and I knew, I just knew that I needed this physical reminder...so, I ordered it...

Did you notice that it was even sung during the opening ceremonies at the Olympics this year...I heard that some Americans didn't hear it...that it was replaced by an interview with Mark Phelps...it was a shame because Emeli Sande sang a haunting rendition of it to an interpretive dance in remembrance of the Olympians who died a number of years ago in a terrorist attack.....I will admit to taking it personally, when I heard her start to sing it...I felt that it was another reminder, just for me....do you know that it is sung at the beginning of every rugby challenge cup in Scotland?

In the last few days my youngest has absolutely been driving me around the bend and back again....yesterday, I thought, no I knew that my blood pressure was through the roof,,,,I felt a little weird, a little off balance when I tried to walk....the tune of abide with me came to mind...I kept humming it internally, over and over again....

I think of my dad often...I think of being with him, of seeing him again....No, I AM NOT Suicidal.....just weary...

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

The grave has no victory over me seeing my dad again....I will see him and it will be glorious....

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, Abide with me.

My sister has started the daunting task of writing her memoirs....why, you say....does she have some racey or mysterious things in her past to reveal. No, I don't believe that would be the reason.....I believe it's because of our mother....and our dad, who is gone, and his sister...who was the family historian...who knew everything about every family member, is also gone..before we realized that she was the last, taking all those details, all that history, all that knowledge that validated who we are and just how we came into this family....how did we fit into the puzzle?

So, I'm assuming that she wants to leave this to her family, her children, her grandchildren....so that one day , when they ask, and perhaps sister is no longer there to answer, they will find the answer in her memoirs.....fancy name isn't it....a name to describe our life, our own personal history.

With this in mind, sister asked me about my remembrances in regards to an adventure I had as a child.

Those of you that regularly read this blog....all ten of you...know that I was born with a physical disability....a nice phrase that covers up the one they used when I was born...crippled...it is interesting to follow the evolution of the phrases used for different things over the years....in this case...crippled, to handicapped to physical disability...I'm sure there were others. All very politically correct....but I digress.

My parents had no fore knowledge that I was to be born with any problems...no ultra sounds in those days...and after a difficult, concerning labour I was born with the muscles missing from the upper parts of my arms, ...the biceps completely missing and the deltoid muscles across my shoulders were also lacking...they were there, but not all there....anyways, you can understand why this would have distressed my parents....the lack of biceps meant that I couldn't bend my arms, try it sometimes.....a little tricky to accomplish things....

When I was about three years old, which meant that sister was round six, my mother and father took me on a very long trip....just the three of us....sister went and stayed with our grandparents. We went all the way to Detroit.....it would be about a four hour drive...doesn't seem long now but in the early 1950's it seemed far. They were taking me to a healing crusade....an Oral Roberts healing crusade. I don't have a lot of recollections of this time but I have some....some that sister wanted to know....so, it got me thinking.....a lot of my childhood memories that involved my arms, I try not to dwell on....I guess it's how I got thru the four surgeries, the countless physical therapies, the doctors, and more doctors....

So, I've spent some time these days just thinking on it all....maybe this is good...maybe, somebody will want to know when I'm gone...maybe, maybe not.

I remember that we stayed in a hotel....I remember not having much to do and my mom giving me the hotel stationary,...yes, they actually had stationary back then....telling me to write a letter to my sister, back home...so, I did...as any three year old might....if you saw it today, it would look like a lot of wavy lines but to me they were my words....I knew exactly what that letter said.

I remember a huge tent that apparently Oral Roberts used, it held 3000 people.....I don't know how long we were there but it must have been over a weekend, for a few days. That's why we had to stay in the hotel. I know my mom and dad and I stood in a long line, waiting for Oral Roberts to come down the line to see us. I remember my dad holding me in his arms...I remember him coming, I remember he had a loud voice, I remember him putting his hands on my forehead....praying...saying that I was healed....but I wasn't.

The last few days have caused me to think about my mom and dad....they were pretty young...in their late twenties....they didn't have much money...my dad worked as a welder for a factory....it was called the coke ovens...not the coke the kids are so fond of...to drink or sniff...in fact, about four years earlier my dad had fallen off a bridge at work, thirty feet and broke his back in three places, my mom and dad were hard workers, money was always tight...never enough to go around....so, for them to take me to Detroit, hoping I'd be healed was a big deal...no, it was huge! They willing sacrificed.

My mom and dad wanted their little girl to be healed,....they were looking for a miracle......it would be interesting to know what their feelings were on that long ride home....they must have been disappointed....they must have been sad....did they watch me carefully the next few days...hoping that it had worked? I don't know....my dad is gone...cant ask him, my mom, probably can't remember...although maybe I'll try asking her....they certainly weren't bitter, they didn't walk away from God....

The apostle Paul asked many times for his affliction to be removed but it never was.....did he walk away from God...no, he accepted that God had different plans....I think my mom and dad did too...oh, they didn't stop looking for help for me....like I said , four surgeries.....the first two didn't work either...the second two were just to fuse my wrist bones to stop the hands from turning under....

My parents were pretty special people, people of faith....strong faith....and I think that's a pretty good heritage...pretty good thing to remember...hope my kids remember it too.


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Location:The Healer

Many things.....

Hello Company Girls!

Sooooo many things have been going on but I'll try to give the hilites....

First of all, youngest son, Ben graduated high school...so very proud of him....and he even landed himself a part time job at a local drugstore.....





The bottom pic is daughter Lauren, Sara, Paul's girlfriend, Paul, Ben, myself and hubby , Don.

Then while we were on holiday, son Paul got a new puppy...an 8 week old yellow lab...ever so cute.....


Chevy

And I thot I'd show you some pics of the trailer....all fixed up....we've been enjoying the changes for the last two weeks....





This is the deck...lots of comfy chairs and lounges to relax in....


This is the the dressing room tent....where all the girls have kept all their girl stuff....when you have a little trailer there isn't room for all their paraphernalia!


The new fire pit....beside the old one that my dad built 30 years ago....didn't get to use either one cause it's been so hot and dry, there was a fire ban!


As you walk in the door of our trailer, you face the chesterfield...it folds down into a 'not very comfortable bed'....it's an old trailer!


The one casual chair with the white stool that we can use as a side table when it's not used as a sitting stool for the dining table....


The dining table....with the one bench that we saved.....


Ooops...this slipped in out of order....Megan made these in craft class...the first day she came home with the yellow container, filled with muddy water....she said she had planted a seed...needless to say, we had to dump it out and start over...she's very thrilled that it grew!....I think it's a bean plant...have absolutely no idea what we'll do with it!


The wee kitchen area...to the left, out of camera range is a fridge...then the stove, above the pic, out of camera shot is a microwave....a little double sink...


Our bedroom....very compact....


A shot of the new wall covering that son Ryan put up, and I put a white wash on at the start of the holiday...


The table can be turned the other way to accommodate more people....we still have to figure out some seating adjustments for the area under the window....

So....there were more pics but you get the general idea....not the biggest trailer and when there are more than three people in it, it could seem crowded...but it's served our purpose for about fifteen years , and now with the changes, hopefully a few more...til we retire at least.

So, I'm real late in posting this blog...but I hope some of you drop by! Have a good weekend!

Little bit of this and that....

Well, it is that time again....the last day of school ...in our house....although I am just talking about regular school....Maya will be going to her community college course all summer. Today is Ben's last day of high school....now that only leaves Megan...the last of the nine, to be at high school....after fourteen years of having kids at this particular high school, I'm finally down to one...Megan will attend for another four years...when you are delayed you are allowed to stay in school til you're 21 years old. Next week I'll have to post some pics of Ben's grad, which is scheduled for next Thursday evening. Ben had some very good news last week...he's been doing a co-op job two afternoons a week at a local drug store...now they have offered him a job! Just three afternoons a week...but it's a job and he got it all by himself...no worker helping him or anything! For a delayed kid, that is huge! We are very proud of him...

...another son had some accomplishments this week also....Paul, our army guy, decided to spice things up a bit and volunteered to take a three week paratroopers' course...last week he stopped in and his shoulders were covered in huge bruises from jumping out of high towers...this week he jumped out of a plane...five times!....and he passed....so, now ,as well as being qualified in infantry and artillery, he's also a paratrooper!

Tomorrow, hubby and I are suppose to return to our trailer, up north, and put the trim and quarter round down, put together the table and chairs and all round just get everything ready for the following weekend when we have our scheduled two week holiday up there. I will be glad when it's all done and we can finally relax...hubby needs the break!

Today is hubby's alternate Friday off...yes, his boss decided they could have them back..for a while...til she decides to rescind it again....so, this morning we have to take the dogs to the vet for their check ups and needles....such a joy, Reilly, the male, gets so anxious that he usually tries to bite the vet...where is the dog whisperer when you need him?....then I have a massage booked...then we have to go into the city and get my passport renewed....then...I have to pick up Megan at school and take her for a needle at the doctor's office....then.....we finally get to come home and relax...wait...we have to gather up everything for the trailer so it's all ready to go in the morning....then we can relax....so much for a day off!

Next week will be a week of change....Ben will be learning all about getting to and from his job, on the bus.....he's used to the bus, with his class, but he's never gone from our house, on his own....something new...Megan will be home, driving me nuts about packing EVERYTHING to go to the trailer...she usually wants to bring her whole room....it's only a little trailer , so she's limited....she doesn't seem to get that though....Maya will continue on with school and work...although I have to meet her at the police station on Monday to walk her thru the process of getting her police check done...( required by the school for working in the long term care facilities), and take her to the doctor's the next day to get , yet another form filled out.......,one day I'll have the grandgirls so that their mom can attend a school trip with their brother, my grandson....quilting class will cease for the summer....Ben's grad on Thursday evening, packing for our holiday, taking the dogs to the kennel for our long wknd, next wknd.....and, probably throwing in some house cleaning to leave the house decent to come home to....although Ben and Maya will be here while we're away.....and ya, so far...I think that's about it....at least I hope it is....it would be nice if the drama ceased for the summer...well, at least for next week anyways...

Have a wonderful weekend ladies!




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Me and my guy...

Good Morning Company Girls! This is a very special post.....on Saturday, June 16, this very special man and I are celebrating 39 years of marriage!

Let me tell you about him....we met the summer that he was 16 years old. Yes, we've been together that long....42 years this August...we met at a Salvation Army camp for underprivileged kids. We were both counselors. We were both kind of shy...it took us the whole month before we finally got together, before we experienced our very first kiss, down on the beach...the very last night before camp ended! Unheard of these days,..these days people barely know each other before 'hopping in the sack'....never mind a first kiss!



Donald is a pretty good guy.....when we first met, obviously he was still in high school. He had plans though...he wanted to work in a bank. So, before he even graduated he had been hired for a job as a teller in a local trust company..which is just like a bank. Before we got married, he bought his first car...unfortunately, a few months before we married he was in a car accident and totaled it...but he soon got another.

After we married, we decided that we didn't want to wait too long before we started our family....6 months later we were expecting our first. Nine months later we had our first daughter and named her Leslie. It was after this that Don decided that he wanted to pursue his CGA designation. CGA stands for certified general accountant. It was a very long road...taking one course at a time....eleven years later he finally graduated! Along the way he left the trust company, first working in the office of a food manufacturing place, then in a company that manufactured things out of iron. When that place closed down he got the job he has now....a pricing analyst with a company that makes landing gear for the big airplanes....

At home, we had our daughter and two years later our son, Ryan....three years after that I miscarried our third child at eighteen weeks...an extremely difficult time for the both of us. It was a few years after all this that we decided to become foster parents. We never went into fostering with the idea of adopting....and although about twenty five went through our home in the 19 years that we fostered...we ended up being allowed to keep and adopt seven. We became a family of eleven! When we married 39 years ago it never entered our minds how many children we would have...I don't think it was quite that many...but God had different plans. He decided that our family would be made up of both birth and adopted children. The first two, a boy named Corey and then a girl , named Lauren, came in the same year...the boy was two and the girl, who came three months later was a new born. Some more children passed through our doors and then our next son , Paul came and stayed...actually he stayed for a couple of months...went and lived with a quasi family member for a few months and when that didn't work out came back to us...meanwhile this little guy's younger sister ,Maya was born and came to stay...plus his younger brother, Ben almost a year later. Ben had been living with his birth father for awhile but then came for a visit and stayed. Though Ben and Maya were only 13 months apart ,he was delayed so it was like having twins! When Maya was about eight, we adopted again...this time a seven year old girl, named Emma. A few years later, after we had stopped fostering, we were called about taking a 10 year old girl, named Megan


..half sibling to three of our other children.....and that is how our family grew. Through it all, Don and I have had a really good marriage. I could not have asked for a better helpmate, if I had written up the requirements myself. He has loved me through thick and thin, and after all these years I still feel a joy in my heart when he comes through the door...we enjoy spending time together and even though the kids get upset when we want to go on trips by ourselves, we feel it's necessary....after all, when the kids are (hopefully) all moved out, Lord willing, we will still have each other...to love and to cherish,...til death do us part.


Happy Anniversary to my best friend....I doubt will have 39 more....but I'll take as many as I can...

I'm posting this tonight cause the grand kids are coming tomorrow..and staying overnite...cause it's their parents Anniversay...the day before ours...yes,..June is a popular month!

Trailer Reno 2012

Putting the new flooring down....











Starting to put the 'tin' wall covering to cover up the damage from when they took the benches out..





Almost done....











The last piece of flooring...


The bedroom floor...








Covering the wheel box...





Close up of the tin covering....


The one bench put back in....we threw out the other bench...








Next time we go up...put together the new table and chairs....

A lot of work....!