Thanks for the news about Joan..... so hard to get over something the older we get.  Please thank Joe for the messages, for sure this is a bad time for all of them.  Prayers and good wishes continue for all of them.

I caught another "bug".... this time can't eat & had dry heaves every hour all night long.  So far today I got down half of a hard boiled egg & took me from noon until dark to get down an orange.  Got a bottle of water in every room. 

This heat doesn't help!  Don't know what it got up to today but son was over & took AC cover off.  It was 90 degrees yesterday.... lucky for me the house has dark tinted storm windows so stays cool inside.  I am heading for bed already & been sleeping off & on all day.  Had sprinkler guy over & son came to watch what he did.... I was disappointed they didn't bring the equipment I told them would be needed (they don't like to be told how to do their jobs).... but more or less wasted the hour you pay for coming out~~ Haven't heard when they will be back to finish the job, he was here more than an hour.  Gloria, I'm already starting my gripes about heat!

Carol, Cas had so many procedures in 10 years, almost one a year.  You are taking good care of Don, at one time I think he & Cas were having much the same problems.  I hope the one Don had today works & gives him relief. 

Phyllis, I do love that graphic.... the colors just sing "spring"! 

Jeanne Lee, glad you got the blower replaced & all's well.  Thanks for keeping this place going. 

I need to get to bed... making so many typing mistakes, transposing letters..... frustrating.  God Bless All~

June, I'm so pleased with the care you get and the choices you make.... you are one strong lady!

Jenny Dear, thank you so very, very much for the report on our beloved Bis/Joan. I wish it could have been better news,my heart goes out to the family. I saw my brother on a ventilator,and it is not a pleasant thing to witness. God knows how much we miss our girl, and how difficult it is for her children. May God give them all strength and renewed health for our dear Bis.

Tisie, my poor dear one. I am SO sorry that you are now nursing a new bug. You are barely over the last one. I am glad those bottles of water are available. Soda crackers are a good settler ad sometimes we need that extra salt in our diet when we are consuming more water.  I not only take four salt tablets a day, but now on a new regimen that is supposed to suppress the loss of salt in the urine. Life get more interesting as the years add on

I pray you all have a peaceful night and a much, much happier and healthier tomorrow. I am still so thankful for Jeanne Lee's good Church.  There is always some good news to counteract the bad, and our God is still in Charge, so be brave and hopeful kids. Hugs, Love and prayers.

The news was not good about our Joanie, God Bless Her. 

I am off to bed.  Good nite, sweet dreams and God Bless each and everyone of you.

good Morning everyone!
Hal I agree with you certainly not the news I want to here about Joan.
the best we can do is pray and leave it in God's hands. my prayer is he see's
fit to leave her with us for a while longer and heal her. everyone Have a great day.
My grandson is to be here at 8 AM and help me put a seal in the track tightener
On the bulldozer. so off i go to do the vitals and document them for VA.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone...

Thank you Jenny for the news on Joan, must admit I had hoped for more encouraging news. Prayers for her and her family...let's hope when they drain the fluid that it will be the turnig point for her and she will be on the mend.

Shirley,prayers for you also..have you tried some Gatorade? What ever you do keep hydrated..

Jeanne Lee, what a blessing that the church did that for you!

Gloria ,hope your eye appointment went well.

We are off to the city,hubby has two appointments today. We were lucky that they could do both of these on one day and not have to go in again!!

Light rain here over night but still a foot of snow to contend with.

Better get ready.

Enjoy your day everyone..

Lloyd, good morning...enjoy your time with your grandson and have a great day..

Good Morning Amy Have a great day.I think we are all in the same boat hold of the same oar for Joan.

Lloyd

I wished so hard that the news of Joan could have been better.  I'm praying that once they remove the fluid around the lungs that she will do better.

Where's Jane?  Worried about her, too. Not like her to not let us know that she is OK.  I hope she can post something today.

Take extra care, Shirley.  And don't delay about seeing a doctor if you don't start to feel better soon.  Putting it off only makes it worse.

Please be well and stay well, everyone.

Good morning everyone, Looks like I have to continue with the eye drops for another couple of months.  Eye doc says my eyes are looking not as dry but to continue for 2 more months.

LLOYD  glad you are enjoying your juicer. I still rather eat  the fruit and vegetables and get all the goodness from them. I never cared for drinking juice.

PHYLLIS  just heard on the news that the freeze in S. Carolina killed 85% of the peach crop. That I did not like hearing. East coast peaches are always better than the California ones, but maybe this year with the rain there they will be a little better.

LARRY  yes both RI teams lost the other team lost early but that last game with URI was close in score at least.  Yes just like the ones building at the shore, a hurricane comes up and wipes them out and they rebuild again in the same place. Really stupid IMO.

JEANNE LEE  like you it was warmer here yesterday, no winter coat when I went out, a lighter one felt good, today more os the same, into the low 50's so light jacket for this afternoon's appointment. How wonderful your church is helping in the cost of the blower for your furnace.

CAROL  my daughter and SIL have found a church they like in Arizona now and are happy with it.

JUNE  I know you enjoyed finally getting a nice shower. That is something I enjoy but at times I would love to get in a tub and just soak up laying in nice warm water. No tubs here though and I do not think I could get up out of one anymore. My daughter is planning a garden and my SIL is working on the area, will have to make some raised beds and get some good soil to fill them with. They both keep busy  and she finally found time to start another painting. I have been staying away from the computer and limit my reading, too. I have trouble getting those drops in my eyes and keep blinking. He has trouble with me blinking when he puts drops in my eyes.

JENNY  thank you for the latest on JOAN. She has been in my thoughts and prayers  and will be till she is back with us again. We all love and miss her so much.

SHIRLEY  hope you are feeling better today. I will be griping about heat the first day it hits 80°. I hope today finds you feeling better. Seems like your lack of sleep is catching up with you so if you are sleep  lay down and sleep. As June often says sleep in the best medicine.

HAL  that is how I feel about the latest update on JOAN.

AMY  I was hoping I could stop the eye drops but have to continue with them a couple more months. Good luck on your trip into the city today.  I see my doctor this afternoon, just a regular visit.

Hi everyone.  I am fine but am running late and I want to go and see if I can find a new easy chair.  If I wait I won't have the energy later today.  I will be back.

We sat up late again - star-gazing.  It is just wonderful to behold and a good time to give thanks.

Yesterday was smooth going - Don has wonderful care from the VA.  There are younger ones in the waiting room and women as well. 

Gloria:  Nice that your daughter has settled - having a good church or synagogue is priority and grounds a person in the community. 

Sad news about the freeze on the peach crop.  Remember feeding Gerber's peaches to the babies - they loved peaches.

Shirley:  thank you for your note on Don.  I am smiling at your trying to give any advice to the workers - they think they know everything. 

No sleeping-in here as neighbors had yard workers before 6 this morning - the buzzing sound woke me and that is alright.  Our oldest son and wife were in Sedona going over rocks on dune buggies - what a chore.  We just like to walk in peace. 

Thinking of JOAN. 

Alright - I will say this - a "new norm" began yesterday and it did throw me for a loop.  Coming to terms with it today - what else can a person do? 

Good Morning.  Murky old morning.  No rain just dark, dark clouds.  Which doesn't help anyone's mood.

Larry hope you find a nice easy chair.  One that meets all your and Pats requirements.

Mary Ann, have you seen this about Uber?  Seems they have problems in the head office.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/business/jeff-jones-leaves-uber-ride-sharing-president.html

Good Morning All, from a cloudy, damp, Stanton, CA. Several things I would like to make the body attend today. Jeff Davis has returned from Uganda and is going to talk about his experiences there, at 10 a.m. and I hope to get back to my balance and mobility class at 2:45 this afternoon. We shall see if the body agrees.

Amy, have a good trip and fortunate to take care of two appts. in one day. How far is "the city" from where you are located ?

Lloyd, work slowly and carefully today. I have to tell myself the same thing, so I know it is difficult not to pick up like we did one year ago, it is just not worth the risk.

Phyllis, I agree…it is not like our Janie to be gone from each day. I pray all is well with her.

Gloria, how much acreage does your daughter and her husband have ? Is she planning a big garden that will require canning, etc.  I always had a very small one with just enough to use and give away…no canning for this lazy one. I miss it still. I use eye drops quite frequently…no prescription..just that I read so much I know my eyes find relief with the drops. Have you tried holding down the lower lid when you put in the drops ?

Larry, you are wise to try out the chair before buying. We are all build differently. My son purchased my recliner, and I would have chosen one a little larger when opened. My legs are long, but I manage to find the needed comfort by adding a folded blanket where my ankles and feet are. Like you, if I don't get things done in the first part of the day, they don't get done. After lunch I need myZZZZZZZ's.

Carol, no sleeping in for me either. Six a.m. sharp there is a knock on my door. A sweet young lady comes in and takes my blood pressure, put a nitro patch on my shoulder and gives me that first pill for thyroid. Then I do all my arm and leg and foot massage, to hopefully help the blood on it's way to do it's job. By then the coffee is ready for that first yummy cuppa'.

Hal, just a glimpse of early sun here, then clouds and few drops of liquid stuff. I'm due to be downstairs for a program in an hour, so I had better wrap this up and get ready.

Have a great day dear hearts. We will keep our Bis/Joanie close in prayer as we go about our day, with high hopes that healing is taking place in her dear body.
I love you all.

This was a nice morning to get out to shop and this afternoon it is going to get into the 80's again.  My shopping trip was successful and after sitting in probably 20 different recliners I found the one that fit my neck just right.  A week from tomorrow it will be delivered.  It is leather and has the motorized recline feature rather than the lever.  We are giving the chair I am replacing to our granddaughter's boyfriend who just purchased a home and has little furniture.  Our granddaughter is coming out this evening to fix dinner for us and it is much appreciated. 

Pat was able to tolerate the MRI yesterday afternoon but said she know has a good idea of what a sausage feels like being in that MRI tube with no room left over.  We did eat out afterwards and went to Pizza Hut and got a visit a few minutes with our son as they were not very busy.  Looking forward to a restful rest of the day.

Jeanne, glad you can now use your furnace and it sounds like you have a fine bunch of folks in your church.  God does provide. 

Carol, our church does the summer program of working on homes badly in need of repair as well as sponsoring a week summer camp for youth that has the mission of similar work.  We have one man who has built several wheelchair ramps for people as a volunteer.  There are so many good people but it is usually the bad ones that get the attention. 

June, I guess we would have to say that yesterday was cleaning day for you in more ways than one. 

Jenny, thanks for the update on Joan.  I don't envy her the procedure to remove the fluid as it is a painful one.

Shirley, hope today finds you feeling better and staying cooler. 

Amy, how far are you from the city you have to go to for your husbands appointments? 

Gloria, I read an article yesterday that the freeze here in South Carolina is estimated to cost the farmers 60 million dollars.  I hadn't seen the numbers on the extent of the peach crop but saddened for all concerned as well as the consumers as the peaches are great and many are grown around this area. 

Carol, glad that Don gets good care from the VA.  That should be the situation for all of our veterans to whom we owe our freedom. 

June, I wouldn't buy a chair or try to buy one for someone else without trying them.  I came down to two chairs and I selected the one that fit my neck the best. 

Hal, when I clicked on the Uber link, it showed I was e-mailing it.  I think I did read about some trouble with Uber, but it wasn't here.  I'd hate for them to have problems because it provides welcome, additional income for Tom.

I posted this in Norm's B&T, but yesterday a friend of Tom's was shot and killed by her son.  Both Dot and I knew the woman, not well, but we did know her.  They may never know the motive since both the woman and her son are dead.  The son shot himself after shooting his mother and died at the hospital.  She was 59 and he was 34.  Tom has gone to lunch with another friend and I know what the topic of conversation will be.

It's a lovely day here today with the temperature around 50 degrees.  The sun is shining and I have the front door open so the sun comes in.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann I corrected it.

Mary Ann, I am so very sorry to hear about Tom's friend being killed by her son, and then the son's suicide. It is heartbreaking to think of a family being that disturbed.

Larry, I am glad you shopped so well for you new chair. May it give you many hours of pleasurable comfort.

It was a good program on Uganda. And I was delighted to learn that the majority of the children at the Church sponsored school do speak English. Wild animals roaming the countryside, but modern teaching in the school. Beautiful countryside, but marred by termite hills as tall as a man...eeek.

Thank you all for the sympathy, I really was in the middle of a "pity-party" & ready to cry.  Not used to catching everything offered germ wise! 

June, glad you mentioned the soda crackers, it really helped.  Ate a few before going to bed &  know it soothed the demons in the tummy.  Woke up ready to eat my usual egg sandwich, toast & coffee.  Thank you.

Amy, I don't have Gatorade in the house but will try it next time.  I did crave/eat an orange & that is unusual for me.  Have so much acid in my body I have to be careful or get sores on my tongue.  Thanks for the reminder.

Larry, glad you found the perfect chair.  Cas had such long legs his feet would hang over the foot rest when extended.  Finally convinced him to go to the LazyBoy showroom & sit until he found what fit.  I don't fit in any of the chairs he had (Lazy Boys & Lane), gave one to youngest son for his daughter, practically new, black leather.  Kids don't sit in them, lay across.  Still have 2 in the sitting room of the master bedroom, right now piled with clothes I am going through to get rid of.  If it hasn't been worn out the door in the last year it goes out for the last time.  Sandy has me inspired!

Gloria, we had 90 day before & yesterday broke a record with 89 degrees.... can only imagine how miserable the summer will be starting out like this.  Dry as a bone.   Had to laugh, yesterday my son took the cover off the AC & got the house cooled down.  He turned off the humidifier on the furnace 'cause I told him I could handle 40s at night.  This morning when Tom came in & Tiger came up from where she was sleeping in the basement, they both ran to a furnace vent to warm up.  They kept waiting & looking at me like "where's the heat?"  Tell Regina (if she doesn't know already) Dick Blick art supplies online works for me.... now that she isn't close to a store.  Glad she is getting back to painting. 

Phyllis, I do hate the freeze got the peach crop.  Probably any orchards left around here got hurt, too.  We used to have lots of apple & peach orchards in south Wichita but most are gone to "developers".   

Carol, what makes me mad is I told both office women AND the older man that understood what I was talking about that "there is no need to come if they don't have that one piece of equipment"..... he said they did.  But he wasn't the one that came & the young kid was apologizing that he wasn't told,  but it wasn't his fault!   My son does know the wiring end of things.  When he built a new house he wanted to do the wiring on the well they put in for sprinkler system but the company said "he couldn't because he didn't have a city license". So he called the city & went down & took their test, passed & did his own wiring.  Nice to have him around, but I do insist on paying.  When I get the bill for this job I will pay him the same labor I pay the company, going to choke on parts they put in, but son has been here the whole time & is "keeping them honest".  Sadly, I'm finding people do get greedy when doing jobs for "dumb little old ladies".   Now what is the "new norm".... care to talk about it?

Well, I'm talking too much again.  Oh, Gloria, I called Doris the other night, to see if the redbud & dogwood was starting to bloom.  She has a brother that lives not far from the campground I go to & said he & wife take Sunday drives so would call him next day.  When she called back we talked for an hour & half... she hasn't been on the computer much but said she would peek in.  I tried to give her a quick run down on everybody, she really misses the old Missouri crowd with Whimzy & Bunnie & so many more that we haven't seen in here. 

Hal, I read the article & hope Uber survives, it sounds like a good idea to me.  I don't know if it is here in Wichita, but when I quit driving I'd like to find a driver I could call for & get the same one each time.  Don't know if it works that way, but sounds good to me. 

Mary Ann, so sorry to hear about Tom's friend & lady you knew.  Sad that we never know when someone needs help mentally.  My sister had a long time friend that killed herself, her younger sister & husband lived here & I saw them often at church.  I offered my sympathy when I heard about it and she looked so sad when she told me that she had taken her own life.  I did not know that.  My comment was "that is the worst kind of illness because there's no symptom or blood test to diagnose".    Sad part is the family always grieves more, wondering if they should have known.   My nephew took his own life & I know it did shorten his parents life with their grieving.  Give Tom my sympathy.

I think I said enough, huh? 

I'm so sorry that the news of Joan wasn't better.  It's so good that her son Joe is doing a great job sharing the news. 

I will keep praying that the next time we hear news, it will be so much better.

Pat...

Just wanted to share the latest report from Joe.  I do hope Our Bis
is on the way to recovery.  Jenny

Update on Mom (Joan Lavelle)

They drained 1 Liter of fluid from Mom's chest today via a procedure that they performed in her room after strong requests from me because she gets really anxious when they have to wheel her away from the room.

The doctors said that she is already breathing better after the procedure and that they will try again to wean her off the ventilator tomorrow.

Mom was really agitated and restless today.  She was moving around and yanking her tubes out regularly.  All the staff in the ICU was busy with the man next door that was coding. That's when it hit me that I should hold her hand and sing to her like I used to sing to Finlay to settle him down at bedtime.  Within minutes of me singing old Catholic Hymns, Mom settled right down and was clearly at peace.  After, I exhausted the 4-5 songs that I knew most of the words to, I pulled up YouTube and played her more songs. She faded off to sleep.

Thanks to all for sending thoughts and 🙏🏻prayers🙏🏻!

#WeanOffTheVent

Jenny, Thank you my dear good friend, for sharing Joes' message with us. My tears are falling, reading of Joe singing his mother to calmness. We just never know how much gets through to those who seem so out of it. May God be with all her children and give them strength to get through this bad time.

God Bless and keep you, Dear Joan!

My tears are also welling over with Joe knowing what his mother needed.  I am sure his thoughtfullness was the best medicine possible.  Prayers continue. 

Thanks for being a part of all of our lives, Joe, by letting your mother share Finlay's early years with us.  She appreciated your sharing and understood when he thought he was too old. 

Thank you, Jenny, for bringing the update.  Hugs to you.

Good Night everyone! It is time to bid you all sweet dreams.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone..

Back to being cold again..+3° F here this morning and they are calling for snow and or rain Thur Fri and Sat.Getting high winds at the moment.

Appointments went well ,cardiologist increased  one pill and rheumatologist coasting  as the other two take precedence. We stopped for Chinese buffet and I couldn't help but ask if they had a new cook. A couple of times the shrimp had been overcooked but this time everything was delicious .

Jenny, thank you for keeping us updated on Joan,pray that this is the break through she needs and thankful that Joe knew just what to do to calm his Mom. Not all medicine comes in a bottle......this one came from the heart.

Larry, we are about 70 miles from the city. A nice drive on a good day, one has to watch out for deer in a few places but once you know your ok.

Gloria, at least the drops are helping you and I hope after two months you may not need them. My friends wife has to go for a needle in the eye and that just makes me shudder..

Shirley, I had no idea of how good Gatorade was until we helped out when a tornado went through north of us. We were ready to go home and stopped at the Red Cross station and all I wanted was a ginger ale but the lady insisted I take Gatorade. To make a long story short she said take the Gatorade, drink it first then drink the ginger ale which I did. I didn't need the ginger ale, the Gatorade not only quenched my thirst but made me feel a lot better.. Now it is a staple in the house.

Carol, like you I enjoy the peace and quiet,you get to see more animals about when your not on snowmoblies, dune buggies or four wheelers.

I am going to get my haircut this morning, last time was Sept so it is a tad long but not for long

Enjoy your day everyone..



 

Good Morning Everyone from the soon to get colder,  windier and wetter,  rocky coast of Maine.   

Oh vey !     In a couple more days,  "They Say"  that  warmer,  dryer weather will finally be coming to stay....
(Well,  you know how that is  ..  I  won't hole my breath) 

I hope that Joan is feeling better this morning ..  My thoughts are with her ... 

Have a good day,  Everyone.
Sandy

It is another beautiful morning but will only get into the low 70's this afternoon.  We had a severe thunderstorm last night but we needed the rain.  I was pretty useless yesterday and guess buying the recliner was as much excitement as I could take.  I spent most of the rest of the day laying down.  Our granddaughter did fix a delicious chicken dish for us along with a vegetable and salad.  Today Pat is going to attend her craft group at Church and while she is there I will go on down for coffee at the cafe.  She did get the report on her MRI and I could understand enough of it to know that her back is not in good shape.

June, I am looking forward to my new chair and being able to do away with the two cushions I have used for quite awhile in my old chair, which is 14 years old.  It has served me well.

Shirley, the recliners we have replaced were both LazyBoy chairs.  I sat in quite a few chairs yesterday and could tell immediately if they were right for me or not and could move on.  I finally came down to two and so repeated the test and chose the less expensive chair as it fit me better.  I guess you sent your hot weather over our way as it got up to 86 degrees yesterday afternoon.

Jenny, once again thanks for being the conduit to news about Joan.  She surely will begin to feel better getting that fluid removed.  Glad the singing and the music help calm her yesterday.  Sure hope she can get rid of the ventilator today. 

Amy, glad the Chinese buffet was to your taste.  Glad the appointments went well.  You have quite a drive to get to the city. 

Sandy, we can always hope that the winter weather is over.  It has been a real shock down here that after such a mild winter we had three night in a row that froze and destroyed 85 to 90 percent of the State's peach crop.  Fortunately, at least locally the big strawberry farm was able to save their crop by spraying the plants all night with water from the irrigation system and prevented them from freezing.  Our local strawberry stand is now open although we haven't gotten any yet. 

Good Morning Everyone!

Still dark out and cant really tell what the day will be like, weather wise.  Warm I am am sure.  Yesterday turn out to be a beautiful spring day.

Amy back when I lived in Ottawa I swear there was a Chinese restaurant in every block, like we have Mexican.  I loved their egg rolls, which were much smaller and in squares.  The Chinese (Asian) restaurants here their rolls are round.  We have a Viet Nam friend and she makes what she calls a spring roll and serves them with different sauces and I could make a meal of them alone.  Her sister and brother in law had a restaurant and their food was excellent.  You were speaking of being 70 miles from the city, my daughters live in Del Rio and they are 150 miles from San Antonio, the closest city and think nothing of driving up here to see a doctor, which one did yesterday.

Larry I'll bet you were give out, I know I would be.  Shopping is a real chore anymore.
Wish we could get some of your rain.  Maybe in a few days, low out in the Pacific they say headed our way.  Stranger we get most of our bad weather from the West and the Gulf is just down the road.

Hope our Joanie is feeling better today and can come off the ventilator.  Joe you are a good man.  I know it isn;t needed, but bless you for the comfort you gave your Mom.

Coffee is ready, who wants some?

Good morning everyone, glad I was out yesterday, colder and windy today. Waited more than an hour for my ride home and was exhausted when I got home. Goi8ng out for appointments 2 days in a row is something I will never do again. I just want to lay on the couch to watch TV today.

LARRY  hope you got that new chair yesterday.

CAROL  it takes awhile to find a church you are comfortable with when moving to a new state. There is only a few peach orchards here, think we are not warm enough or something.  Sure can tell a native peach, fuzzy skin and so juicy.

HAL  did you have to send the dreary sky here for today? Temperature I just heard will be dropping and we will have snow squalls at time, Welcome spring or winter?

JUNE my daughter and SIL have 50 acres, they had to string some barbed wire around the house area to keep cows out.  The cows will eat anything even started chewing up the housing they out in around their pump. It was a huge ranch that was broken up in 40 acre lots but they still have cows that wander around. She thinks this year her garden will be experimenting to see what she can grow there. She loves canning. No matter how I try putting those drops in my eyes I get them all over my face. I found if I lay on the couch to do them it is easier.

LARRY  the laying on that table and not moving and the noise in the MRI tube is no fun. Glad you found the right chair.

MARY ANN  how horrible,  we hear on the news at times about a son killing a parent and then himself but is hoard to think of that much hate.

SHIRLEY  glad you are feeling somewhat better. I copied the name of the art supplies and will send it to her. There is an online place that she ordered supplies from before but have no idea the name. Some of the orchards here are now houses, including the few peach ones we had. My younger son can do wiring and plumbing as well as construction but is not licensed for them. Like Doris the old Missouri crowd and Bis' Busy Nest were both fun groups with lots of laughs every day. Martex with all those “trips”.

PAT  we are all praying and waiting for good news about Joan.

JENNY  thank you so much for sharing Joe's FB posts. Bless Joe and his singing to Joan.

AMY  wish Canada would keep this current blast of cold air we now have   and send it north to the pole. I have a SIL who goes for shots in her eyes because of Macular degeneration. Working so far and it has been going on more than 5 years.

HAL  it was warm and sunny here yesterday, I spent an hour outside sitting on my rollator waiting for my ride. Very tiresome.