Monday, August 3, 2009

What happened to all the middle aged casual clothes?

My friend and I went to a couple of stores that historically have womens' casual pants, with comfortable elastic waists that can expand when we visit the buffet ;-)
We were planning to get some of the deep discount clearance items-can't argue with 70% off. I was able to get some things for my daughter, but nothing for us. The dryer has shrunk all of our clothes and we both have to pick up some things that fit, We went to the next large discount place, the superstore...surely there had to be a good selection and a lot of things on clearance, right???
Nope, the only clothing in our size was full price, dressy blouses and slacks and a few tiered skirts with glittery something across the front of a black tiered skirt. The majority of the clothes were geared toward young girls, and some rather immodest girls, skirts 6-8 inches in length and thong underwear in preteen sizes EWWWWWW!
We still were in need of clothes, but I did get a couple of 6 packs of Boost so not a total loss =)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

shopping can be a drag...

My Dad claims to be suffering with cabin fever, so I asked him if he wanted to go pick out some comfortable slacks, or I could bring some home and let him try them on. He was anxious to "get out of the house".
We took the short drive to the closest mall, parked outside the door that led to the men's departments. I found 4 pairs of khakis, my poor Dad was worn out after trying them on. He has been sleeping in the recliner since we got home. It takes a lot of energy to go anywhere, thank goodness he rests well in his recliner.
But, we experienced shopping success - J. C. Penney has men's slacks on sale ;-)

Saturday, July 25, 2009

My daughter is here!!

I am so happy to see my daughter who lives in Texas. She came in for an all too brief visit and it is wonderful having her home. Can't wait till she is back home for good.

We went to lunch at Quarter View ~ seafood gumbo and oyster po-boys, with sweet tea of course...best food evah!! My Dad enjoyed getting out a little, I think, but it tires him out.

We sat and looked at recent photos, now she is sleeping on the sofa with my littlest Boston, Libby. My Dad fell asleep in his recliner watching King Kong, so i am sitting on the front porch, waiting for the rain.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Hooray...the a/c man is on his way

just got the call...
off to meet him and get some cool air circulating and get all my pups home again =)

Waiting on the air conditioner man













this is Turbeaux!





this is Joey!




Here I sit, hoping that my central a/c will be working this evening. 2 of my pups are still at the vets, boarding, as they can not tolerate heat. One is spending sleepover time with his friend Joey, I hear that each of them are teaching the other all sorts of neat stuff. Turbeaux has instructed Joey on the technique of BT "bitey face". Now Joey knows how to play like this, let's hope that he uses this only when playing with others who speak bitey face, but they both are enjoying this camp time, according to the head of 'Camp Joey's House'.

Joey has introduced Turbeaux to the fun of barking at everyone who walks near the front yard. lotsa fun!!

I have a good friend, Joey's "mama" who helps out any time help is needed. We have traded the role of caregiver a few times now, she even rescued me when I called her a few months ago with "I've fallen and I can't get up" Thanks Maddie!

I think I have figured out how to stay here and take care of my dad. I will let my daughter live in my house instead of looking for an apartment that allows large dogs. My house is definitely dog-friendly =) This will enable me to stay here. She also will take care of aat least one of my pups, which is a great relief for me. It is very difficult to have four dogs at my dad's house. I could make some improvements and it would then be safe for all pups, he has a short chainlink fence and the house has open space under the house. if I put a 6' wood fence and locking tall gates and closed in the crawl spaces under his raised house, it would then be safe to let them out freely to potty/play in the yard. I will table this till later, no decision needs to be made now.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

it's late and i can't think of a title

Today, Dad's eyes are no longer red-rimmed. He looks better, still is coughing and the incision is sore, but he is trying to move around more. his labwork came back and he is still very anemic, though improved from the previous H/H before the transfusion. The home health RN is going to call the hematologist for any orders, they might want to order procrit. If they do, he will go to the clinic to get his injection.
Just a few days till his appointment with the surgeon. Dad has not mentioned any more about the possibility of cancer. Guess we will deal with it as it comes.
Tthe words that kept coming to me as I prayed this evening were. "I am the Author of hope" and I felt an embrace of peace which quieted my racing thoughts.
Thank You Lord for Your love and mercy, and Your peace which surpasses all understanding.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Today was a special day for my friend, Maddie, and for me too! She was received into the third order of lay Carmelites today, on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Wow! What a blessing to be able to share this with her.

My brother will be leaving to go back home on Monday, so he can get ready to teach this next semester.
Our next appointment is next Wednesday, so we probably will learn then, so really just a few days away...part of me wants to know right away, the other wants to just hide, like those little toys-Furbies. they would close their eyes, saying "Hide!", then they would appear to be asleep until the "danger" was passed. I want to be a furbie at times, but then the Lord holds out His hand and I receive the strength and courage that I need. He does this in all situations, the problem is that I keep my eyes shut tightly and don't see Him reaching out to me. Lord, please encourage me to open my eyes and face the obstacles with the knowledge that You will always be at my side, in every situation.

My daughter sent me a message saying that she will be coming into town next weekend to surprise Dad, her Bampa. He is going to be so thrilled to see her as she has lived out of town since Katrina and has been unable to visit more than once a year. He misses her and so do I!

Good news, my air conditioning should be fixed this weekend, it will be so nice to have a cool house again, and I know the pups will appreciate the cooler temperatures.

Oh, almost forgot-the photo of the statue.
statue

Just a note, a reminder that my photos are my work my art, they are copyrighted, so please don't copy them without permission to do so. Thanks so much & God bless.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

There's no place like Home

Dad was discharged Sunday after a very tiring day, had somewhat of a rough night Sunday and Monday night with getting up nearly all night long coughing.
Yesterday he seemed to be feeling a little better so he was able to shower, the drainage had almost stopped, praise God! He was very tired after the shower, so went to his favorite recliner for a little nap...
At 1:30pm, my brother and I decided he should be hungry, and had to wake him up to eat lunch. He was very tired again and went right back to his recliner.
He is able to sleep much better in the recliner with less coughing to disturb his rest, so I guess he just needs to catch up on sleep.
I have a claymaking class at 3 so my brother was left in charge so i do not worry as Dad is in good hands and my cell phone is always with me these days in case he needs something.
He slept after dinner with his shows that he had marked to watch, waking every now and then to catch brief glimpses of talented americans on stage, then woke up at 10:30 and came into the kitchen to ask if it is 10:30 in the morning or night?
So he woke up just to get to bed, after his inhaler, tylenol and cough syrup, he slept better last night than he has in a long time. ..only once to cough. YES! i told him we are going to use that combo at bedtime until he stops the cough at night and is able to rest.
Today is a better day with less coughing...thank you, Lord!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

home now- brief note

My Dad is home, very tired, coughing quite a bit, which is painful & frustrating. Home care nurse is coming twice a week. My brother is here till this weekend, and I stay with him too. Maddie- thank you so much for help with the pups!
thank you for the visits, bringing Jesus, the shoulders and the hugs too.
thank you for all the prayers ~ please keep them going.
We are waiting on Mayo clinic pathology report.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Carpentry is not the same as medicine

Went to get my brother and return to the hospital. We were gone maybe 35 minutes, 40 at the most.
We came in to find my Dad working diligently to d/c(take out) his IV from his arm, which seems to be one of patients' favorite pastimes when they are bored. It took his nurse, my brother and I to convince him that it is not his job to remove things inserted by nursing or medical staff.
Then we find out the resident would like to send him home today with his chest tube.
Uh - I don't think so...


to be continued....

wow, that was fast- thank you Lord

I just love when God answers prayers...thank you Maddie for listening :-)

rough night...

Dad was very restless all night, kept calling out and punching at something in his dreams, then later, a couple of stealthy predawn strolls in the room. Thank goodness for grippy socks! oh and thank goodness for recliners to catch a few winks this afternoon - both of us.

Tomorrow is Monday, good menu day, he agreed with all of the choices. Big favorites like red beans & rice for lunch and spaghetti & meat sauce for supper. Even the cantaloupe choice was well received as he said, "they can't mess up cantaloupe." I think he is getting his appetite back, Praise God!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

i HATE cancer ...update on my Dad

I think I need to start a blog, but don't know the first thing about it...just this helps to put things down on "paper"..really laptop.


so here goes...

I could not do much yesterday except try to keep a smile on my face and run out to the other floor lobby to get coffee. I had my share of meltdowns & tears. I am better today.
I don't know if I have told anyone other than the people I work with at the church and good friends in Boston because I could not get the words out with each phone call. In fact I asked my good friend and manager to call the rest of the staff for me.

The preliminary biopsy results from this hospital pathologist are "suspicious for mesothelioma". They have been sent to the Mayo clinic for the second and final diagnosis, but the surgeon is pretty definite that it is a formality, and the diagram that he drew for my brother looked a lot like the diagram on the internet site that i visited. i'm a nurse, but not oncology RN, so I have to read up when faced with something new, and I decided to be cautious and go to the patient family education sheet rather than the journal articles.
My Dad worked for a local shipbuilder after the war as most returning GI's to NOLA did. hired every GI that applied to make sure these guys had jobs and could support their families. My Dad is a master carpenter and cabinet maker, so he was a ship's carpenter for them and a cold storage that built refrigerated cargo holds. Insulation used at that time was asbestos, and of course they all breathed it in when it was swirling around the room, blown by fans to keep them cooler in the hot summer. Then all of the ceiling tiles removed when he worked on remodeling school cafeterias in the 50's and 60's.
I said on my facebook: I HATE Cancer!


I don't know if he has grasped this bu i am not going to go there until we know for sure and treat it like a child asking about the birds and the bees, only what he wants and needs to know. I don't want to see him just be sick with treatment if it won't eradicate the cancer or make his life better. His surgeon agrees with this as does the oncologist team on the case. Their aim is to manage his symptoms, make him feel as good as he can so he can live his life as comfortably and as active as he can be.

He might get the chest tube out on Monday, he is better today after the blood transfusion last night, is sitting up in the chair, dozing mostly, but that's okay.
thank you for all the prayers. :-)

I'll update as able
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