Deck Chairs, Death, & Surgery

From the title you can tell it's been another busy week.

First I tackled the job of replacing the fabric on the deck chairs that were given to us by Wilma's sister Connie. She had replace the fabric once before and didn't want to do it again.

Now I'm no seamstress by a long shot. Never even plugged in the sewing machine. First off I had to get out the instruction booklet to familiarize myself with this machine. Then how to install the thread, load the bobbin, install the bobbin, yada yada yada... This process took 2 hours alone!
OK, I think I understand how to make that needle go up and down.

Now comes the scary part. Measure the piece of fabric and cut it into 4 pieces, 2 different sizes. Can't make a mistake here, this fabric was mega expensive, even on sale!

Measure twice, cut once is the old saying.

My way, measure about 6 times, questioning myself after each measurement, and YIKES...cut once. I did it! And to almost my surprise, it came out the exact size I wanted. (Now it was time to wipe the sweat beads off the ol fore head).

Let the sewing begin! More sweat beads, damn near bit off my tongue!

Ok, the stiches aren't pretty, and you wouldn't want me to make any type of clothing to wear. But after all, it's just for a deck chair, and it looked pretty darn good if I say so myself!

What ya think?

This is the "Before" deck chair.

This is the "After" deck chair.

As last Sunday the temps got up to 84 outside, Wilma just had to try one of them out. She gave it her approval. Job well done.

Today, Tuesday the 28th. my brother Ken went into the hospital to have a hip replacement. He is 4 years younger than I am, and in better shape weight wise. He doesn't know why he has been having such problems with his hip, but the pain got pretty bad so the Dr. scheduled him for the surgery. Hopefully as I write this he is resting comfortably in the hospital bed. He is expected to be released from the hospital this Friday.

Margie, Ken's wife received word today, while at the hospital with Ken, that her father had passed away. It was expected as his health was failing rapidly in the convalescent home. Hospice was called it to take care of him last Saturday. God rest his soul, as he has suffered many years with his health.

So....until next time, be safe and God Bless you.

Back Home

We are back home from our "Week-end" get-a-way. We decided to cut it short by a day for two reasons. One, the weather....just too much snow and cold! Two, Mom goes into the hospital today for surgery.

So....here is what our weekend was like...

Friday, Jan. 16th.
We had Dakota and Savannah sleep over last night, the phone woke me up around 6am. Angel calling to let us know that school has been canceled because of the cold. So that means that I won't have to drive Dakota to school this morning, and he gets to sleep in!

I decided to get up and let Wilma sleep in. Got the coffee going and proceeded to get my "stuff" together that I'm going to take on our weekend trip. With the temperature hovering around 5 above 0, I wasn't in any hurry to get the car loaded with "our stuff".

Everyone was awake and ready for the day by 10am, so I took Dakota and Savannah over to Angels home and dropped them off. Angel was watching them until Tina gets home from her job.

By 10:30am we had the trunk packed and were ready to leave on our week-end get a way. We weren't in any hurry as we weren't supposed to check into our cabin until 3pm. I assured Wilma that as the Park isn't busy they would let us check in early, whenever we get there.

As it turned out we arrived around 1:30pm. No problem checking in, as the "office" was closed and the security guard checked us in, giving me the key to Cabin #1. We drove over to the cabin only to find out that the water lines were frozen. Drove back to security letting them know; he told us that the manager would meet us at the cabin. The manager checked the "heat tape" making sure it had power, which it had, and then checked Cabin #2. He apologized for the inconvenience, and asked if we would mind moving to Cabin #2. Not at all we assured him, and he left as we moved our "stuff" to Cabin #2.

The first thing we noticed different, was the heat! WOW was it ever warm in the cabin, I'd guess around 80. Wilma made a comment about it being way too hot to sleep in that heat and we would have to turn off the heat, which was a combination air conditioner/heater built into the wall. I saw this was going to be a problem if I had to keep getting up during the night to turn it on and off as needed.

The second thing we noticed is that this cabin was a little larger. That was a good thing, seeing as the cabin was a total of about 8 foot by 14 foot max.!

After getting all our stuff moved in, I commenced to see what was wrong with the heater, while Wilma made the bed.

I noticed how cold the frame was, and the control knobs were next to the outside frame. Could the cold be radiating to the controls making the heat stay on longer? So I proceeded to remove the front grill and filter, then pulling off the 2 control knobs I was able to remove the face plate by the controls, then put the knobs back on so I could turn them for adjustments. Within a few minutes the heat turned off. GREAT, now lets hope that turning up the heat knob will cycle the heat with the temperature of the cabin. Yep it worked! So I was now confident we at least could control the heat in our cabin if I left the front grill and filter off. Just a lucky hunch I had, and I guess Karma was on our side for this one.

As we forgot some food left in the fridge at home, we decided to make a trip into town and get a few groceries and stop at a restaurant for supper. We did that and returned to the cabin for an evening of watching one of the three TV stations available before turning out the lights.

Saturday, Jan. 17th.
Woke up and noticed we forgot Coffee filters! Improvise...Wilma handed me a napkin which worked just fine. Turned on the TV for the local weather, more cold and snow for today and tomorrow. Brrrrr. It was 0 degrees outside, and 72 degrees inside. Another 3 inches of snow fell since we arrived on the already foot of snow on the ground.

Our plan for today was to go to the Casino and donate to the local tribe. But after seeing that the weather was going to go from bad to worse tomorrow, we decided to switch our plan with tomorrows plan. So we will go to the Casino tomorrow, if we aren't snowed in!

So today we are going to head further North.....more cold and snow.....about 47 miles to visit Denny and Kathy.

The ride there on I-75 was pretty bad.

It was 11 am and the plows had not completly cleared all lanes of the expressway. Plus the wind was blowing and snow falling adding more to the snow that we got last night.

We arrived at Denny and Kathy's home around 12:30pm safe and sound in the blowing snow. They have a beautiful home to be very proud of. Their fireplace insert wood stove kept their home very confortable, and Denny said as long as its on, the furnace doesn't come on. A great savings in his fuel bill.
We went out to a restaurant for lunch and returned to their home. Denny then showed us his Pole barn that he and his son built. Wow is that ever nice! He has all the room he needs, and we could tell he was very proud of it. I know I sure would be! Looking how high it was I made a comment to him about how I wouldn't be able to put shingles on the roof because of the height, he said it was pretty high as he fell off of it once putting on the shingles. I'm glad for his sake he wasn't hurt as it looked about 12 foot high to the edge of the roof!

Back inside their home, they taught us a new game. Mexican Train.

Wow did we have fun. We laughed and joked with each other while playing, and Denny told us that the game can be bought at Walmart for around $10.00. Guess where we will be heading in a few days? Angel phoned us while we were at Denny's asking how the weather was. We told her the weather we were having, she said they were having a blizzard with expected 3 to 5 inches of more snow expected. Booo Hooo. More snow to shovel when we get home.

We kept an eye on the snow falling as we played Mexican Train, and around 5pm we decided that we should leave for the trip back to our Cabin. Wilma and I had a wonderful time with Denny & Kathy, and we know we will see them again in the future, as they have invited us back out in the summer.

Our trip back to the Cabin was slow because of the wind and snow covered roads, but we made it without incident. Kybee sure was excited to see us when we opened the Cabin door, as we were glad to see him also. The temperature now around 2 above outside and a confortable 72 inside the cabin. As we were still not hungry for a large meal, Wilma and I decided to eat a sandwich and watch a little TV, (because all we could get on the small 13" TV is 3 channels!) before turning in for the night.

Sunday, Jan. 18th.
Sunday morning drinking our coffee, looking outside and noticed another 5 inches of snow fell. But the sky was clear and blue and the sun was starting to come up.

Wow....haven't seen the sun in quite a while!

Kinda cheered us both up at how pretty the sun glizzened on the fresh snow....at least for me as long as I was in a warm cabin. :>)

Watching the morning weather forecast, it was saying it was now 5 above 0. Brrrr...
We talked about going home this afternoon instead of waiting for Monday morning. Both of us agreed we would be more comfortable sleeping in our bed at home, and the weather could turn from bad to worse Sunday night. So we packed all our stuff and got it ready to be put in the car.

We wanted to make our donation to the Casino, so off we went for a little fun and to see if it was time for our dream of "hitting it big" was going to happen.

Sorry to report....our dream did not happen. But we both had an enjoyable time and will return in the future. Leaving the Casino, we stopped at what Denny called "the really big store". He gave directions to us when we visited him yesterday. And Denny was right, it is a "really big store" with everything you could think of. And great prices too. When we come back to this area in the future, I'm sure we will stop back in this store also. We left the store and stopped at a restaurant for lunch, as it was around 1pm and we knew it was at least a 3 hour drive back home. After lunch we went back to the cabin, loaded up the car and headed home. The roads were pretty clear, I-75 had been plowed and were only a little snow covered. We made good time getting home, arriving around 4pm.

Walking into our home, where we set the heat down to 50, was quite chilly to say the least! It took the furnace an hour and a half steady running to get the temps back up around 70. I even lit the oven and left the door open to help heat the house. Wilma and I donned sweatshirts to help keep warm until the house warmed up, Kybee found the heat vent in the bathroom as the perfect place to keep warm. It feels great to be back home! The neighbors even snow blowed my sidewalk and drive! So there was little snow removal for me to do.

Monday, Jan. 19th.
Today is a paid holiday for me! So I'm planning on going to St. Johns Hospital this morning to be with Dad as Mom has surgery planned. She has blocked arteries in both legs, and the surgeon said it should take about 4 hours for the surgery to place stints in the arteries. She is scared about the surgery, but talking to her on the phone yesterday, I assured her this would be "a piece of cake" compared to her 5 stints put in around her heart a couple years ago. Hopefully it would relieve her anxiety a little, even though I realize any surgery like this is risky. She is scheduled to stay in the Hospital for 2 days, so she should be back home on Tuesday morning.

Monday, Jan. 19th. update:
Mom made it out of surgery ok. She said it was pretty bad pain wise, not where the surgery was but with her back. (She has a very bad back and has had 5 surgeries on her back alone, nothing else can be done to help her with her back.)

The surgeon spoke to Dad and I after the surgery, telling us that her right leg now has 2 stints in the main artery. One by her hip the other a little lower just above her knee. The rest of the artery looked good. Her left leg artery is also 80% blocked, but there was no hurry to repair that artery for at least 6 to 8 weeks.

So if all goes well through the evening, she should be released from the Hospital tomorrow morning.

Until our next Adventure, be safe and God Bless.

Surgery Update

Went to see the Surgeon this afternoon. He said I was healing on time and when would I like to go back to work.
I said I feel that in 2 weeks I should be ready to go back. So he scheduled me to return to work October 13th.

I'm really beginning to like being home every day. I guess this is what retirement is like??? Must mean that I'm getting close to the big retirement date.

Tomorrow, Wilma and I are going to get the Coach ready for an out of town trip this weekend. Going to Shipshawanna, Indiana. Arriving Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday late morning. We will be stopping on the way there to pick up our new "Tow Dolly". Now that I don't have the Saturn, we will need to take one of our other cars along when we use the coach. We are going to take the Buick along with us, as I feel the brand new Chevy Malibu is just too nice to pull behind a Coach. As the Buick cannot be towed with all the wheels down, we are in need of a Tow Dolly. You drive the Buick up on it and strap the front tires to it. The rear tires of the Buick stay on the road. It should work out just fine.

Another adventure, another day. Come back again, be safe and God Bless.

Post Op. Doctor Visit

Yesterday at 1:30pm I had my first check up following my surgery. The Dr. seems to think I'm progressing well and I am to schedule another appointment in two weeks. I was given the green light to do things around the house, but nothing too streanous. So today I cut my grass. Thank God I have a self propelled mower or I would not have been able to do it.

Talking with other men who have undergone this type of surgery, I'm told most of them were off work for 6 weeks. Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks from the date of the surgery. I'm kinda enjoying my time off from work. Now if the Workmens Comp checks start arriving on Friday, I'll be all set.

Sold the Saturn today! The first guy that came out to look at it was the one that got it. I say that because he first looked at it last Friday. He seemed interested but you never know until you have the money in hand. Anyway he called yesterday evening and told me he would be over this morning to pay for it and pick it up. I had to tell him that I have 5 other potential buyers interested, so he has until 4pm. If I don't have the money in hand by then, I will go ahead and notify the others to come look at the car and the first one with a deposit will be the buyer. He assured me that he would be here to pick up the car by noon. Which is just what happened. At 11:30am he along with his parents drove up, paid for, and drove away with the car.
I kinda hated to see the Saturn go, it was a great car and we all have many memories of the places it has taken us. But time goes by and things change, so away it goes.

Today I'm also waiting for parts I ordered for the Motor Home. For some reason the air compressor that pumps up the rear air bags quit working. As soon as the new parts come in I'm planning on installing them and hopefully the compressor will operate normally. Until it does the Coach cannot be driven over 25 miles an hour. I still have to get the drivers side windshield replaced, and damage to the rear corner that has already been approved by the insurance company. Wilma and I would like to go visit the Omish in Indiana next month, so I really need to get my Coach running again.

That's about it, so until next time, be safe and God Bless.

Surgery is DONE!

Wow what an experience I don't want to do again for the rest of my life.

It started last Thursday morning. Checked into the Hospital around 6am for pre-surgery exams. Meaning just an EKG. I guess I passed that with flying colors as the tech said all the squiggly lines were in the right places.

Next came the surgery prep. Of course having to get a hernia repaired a shave was in order. Now I'm going to tell you that I'm no different from any other guy, AND GUYS DON'T LIKE TO BE SHAVED IN THAT AREA BY ANYONE! But I endured, holding back my embarrassment. But I'd give a dollar for the thoughts that went through the head of the tech that did my prep. :>)

Next came the Dr. that would give me my anesthesia. Nice lady, very informative. And from some remarks by the floor nurse she was the best Dr. on staff for giving the anesthesia. My surgeon, Dr. Hanks, didn't show but his assistant, who's name I can't remember, did and he explained what to expect during recovery.

Several drugs were administered via the IV and when I was wheeled out of my prep room I only remember the gal pushing me that it was early in the morning and forgive her if her driving was a little reckless if she bumps the wall. I remember telling her that I wasn't in any shape to help her as I was getting a little dizzy. Boom...that was all folks! Don't remember anything until I was brought back to meet Wilma about 4 and a half hours later.

The surgeon told Wilma that it was more difficult that what he first expected, and that was why it was a 1 and a half hour surgery instead of 45 minutes. Also he had to make an incision, (which is about 7 inches long....ouch!) instead of just the 3 or so small holes from laproscopic surgery.

Home now, Thursday afternoon....really sore, moving with pain and moving very slowly. Especially when trying to sit up in bed, which took the help of Wilma. Friday afternoon comes, still in pain so continue taking the pain meds. Saturday morning still in pain! WOW! Taking pain meds and can't get all the "plumbing" to start working. By Saturday evening around 7:30pm, I tell Wilma that she should take me back to the hospital. Of course she was telling me all day Saturday I should return to the hospital, but I just put it off.

Now...Saturday evening 7:30pm in the emergency room. Time ticking, waiting, waiting. Seeing allot of "Residents" which in my book means STUDENTS! What a bunch of dumb questions were asked. By midnight I told Wilma to go home and go to bed and I'll call her when I'm ready, oops, when they will release me. Well after a long night, I was finally released around 3pm Sunday!

Now, today, Monday afternoon, I'm still not fully sure everything will work perfectly. But I'm armed with the right drugs to give it a jump start if needed. I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE HOSPITAL TO FIX ANY PLUMBING PROBLEMS AGAIN! I'll do it at home myself thank you very much....

So another great adventure in our family shared with you. Aren't you happy to know all this? ;>)

Until next time, be safe and God Bless.

Getting ready for a Vacation

It's been awhile since I added anything, so I guess I'll let you all know what's been going on.

I seem to have a hernia. Yep it happened at work, so the company Dr. recommended a surgen. Last week I had an appointment to get examined by him and get his prognosis. So he examined me and determined that I have a small hernia on the left side. It not being a severe one, he mentioned that there would be no hurry to get the surgery. I was relieved of that as we have a vacation planned starting on August 10th. Another one for the Labor day weekend. He approved if I wanted to wait until after Labor day as long as I don't pick up anything over 10 pounds, push or pull anything, and no going up & down verticle ladders. The only rule I'm actually violating is picking my lard A _ _ out of bed in the morning! :>)
I'm still working under the restrictions with no problems. Then on September 4th I am scheduled to go into the Hospital and have this problem fixed. The Dr. says I'll be out of work for about a month. While I'm off work I will be receiving Workmans Comp., which will help out.

Been getting the Motor Home ready for our next vacation up north. Had to replace a running light on the right rear near the roof. I guess I must have hit a low branch as the whole lens was gone. Then I had to replace the circuit board on the hot water tank. Wow...that is costly at $100.00! But at least it's better than not having any hot water. I'm not a fan of a cold water shower!.... ;>)
The screen door needed the latch repaired. It was made out of plastic and broke awhile ago. I made another one out of a piece of aluminum angle. Works perfectly! Another job well done.

In my spare time I've been putting together our Disney Pictures from last March. Both daughters let me copy their pictures and add them to mine.
Using two MS programs, Photo Story and Movie Maker, I was able to assemble the first two days onto a DVD. The pictures actually move with special effects and music is added in the background. So much better than watching a plain boring slide show!
Last Sunday we (the entire family) assembled in front of our big screen and I showed them the first completed DVD. What a time we all had! Everyone just loved it! I believe everyone wants to go back to Disney again.
I'm thinking it will take me another week at least, working a couple hours each evening to finish assembling the remaining pictures, adding the special effects and music. But I figure they each will have their own copy to watch anytime they wish in the future, bring back great memories. In my heart it makes me feel it's all worth it. I'm glad I am able to do it.
I will have them posted on our Picasa web site as soon as I finish arranging them all. Probably just after I complete the movies.

Not much else going on so...check in again later for more of our Adventures.

Until then, be safe and God Bless.

Happy Birthday Wilma !

Today is Wilma's Birthday. Happy Birthday my hon!

Both daughters came over for a visit with her this morning. She said she really enjoyed talking to them.

I had planned on taking her out to a restaurant of her choice for dinner, but on arriving home from work she was wore out from house work and didn't feel like going out. So she decided on Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner at home was what she wanted.

Her wish was my command so off I went to fetch dinner.

I did get her a nice card and flowers, to help brighten up her day. It also has the 4th of July theme being Red, White & Blue.

Following dinner she did tell me what she wanted for her birthday. I got a little excited thinking...oh boy I will be able to get her something she really wants. Then she told me she wanted small stones to place in the old flower bed behind the swing. Oh, shattered excitement on my part, thinking that that wasn't such a good present. Talking about what type she wants, she decided on PEA GRAVEL. Ok...another wish is my command...so tomorrow I will go get some pea gravel and fix up the area around the swing.

The phone just rang and it's Eddie her brother calling to wish her a happy birthday. Way to go Eddie! You sure know how to brighten her up. Had her laughing within a couple minutes. She is back to her 'ol self! Maybe the rest of the week end she will be feeling better.

Really she is kinda down in the dumps because her sugar is higher than the Dr. wants. He has put her on a diet cutting out alot of Carbs. And guess what her favorite food is. Yep...anything with alot of CARBS! Good ol Potato Chips, Wendys Chocolate Shakes, Ice Cream, just about everything that is good to eat. She is monitoring her sugar levels every 4 hours. And because the readings aren't going down as fast as she expected she is getting a little down in the dumps about it.

Now some news about me.

Yesterday at work I kinda over did it a little. Suspecting I might have gotten a hernia, I turned in a report to my boss. In turn he sent me to the Company Dr. who examined me. Yep she confirmed I have a slight hernia on the left side. PLUS I have hyatial hernia. That's one in the stomach area, it really shows when I try to do a sit up. Dang I wasn't expecting that! She said that they both need to be repaired, giving me a referral to, in her opinion, a great surgeon who operates in the Hospital just a quarter mile from our home.

So when I got back to work I called the Dr. to make an appointment. Seems I can't get in to see him until July 22nd. He will then examine me and determine the best plan of attack. Kinda getting a little close to our planned vacation in August which starts on the 10th. of August. I'm getting the feeling that I won't be in any shape to go on vacation in August, darn it anyway! Plus Wilma and I are planning on going back to her home town for Labor day weekend.

So the past several days have had a few more Adventures in our lives.

I'm sure we will have more, so check back again soon. Until then, be safe and God Bless.