R stayed up most of the night with Benji and morning, I awoke briefly to ask him if he was still up, think around 4.am, then I went back to sleep...I slept  to 5.45 am....Benji too was up and about, came towards me, still very much recognises me, tail wagging, even later I got some kisses but, he is no different to yesterday,re, his walking.....body and legs giving way, wobbling sideways, back end collapsing....I know his quality of life is now not good, we have a morning vet appointment but I am still hoping Benji comes back home with us, I just don't want this vet to do it....

Good Saturday morning, Everyfriend.   There's cranberry coffee cake to accompany your coffee or tea. I wish everyone a good day!!






YOU KNOW YOU ARE GETTING OLDER WHEN.....

1. You and your teeth don't sleep together.

2. You try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.

3. At the breakfast table you hear snap, crackle, pop and you're not eating cereal.

4. Your back goes out but you stay home.

5. It takes two tries to get up from the couch.

6. Your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.

7. You say something to your kids that your mother said to you, and you always hated it.

8. All you want for your birthday is to not be reminded of your age.

9. You step off a curb and look down one more time to make sure the street is still there.

10. Your idea of weight lifting is standing up.

11. Your address book has mostly names that start with Dr.

12. The pharmacist has become your new best friend.

13. It takes twice as long -- to look half as good.

14. You have more hair in your ears and nose than on your head.

15. Everything either dries up or leaks.



Priceless
(Author Unknown)

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $100 bill.

In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $100 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $100 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $100. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened, how unclean, crumpled or creased, you are still priceless to God."



The beautiful thing about new beginnings in Christ is that we're one confession away from being able to say, "That's the old me."

- Beth Moore

Joan, Everyfriends, in 40 minutes time we are leaving for the vets, our normal surgery, not their sister surgery as yesterday although the only vet to be in today is the same Lithuanian vet from yesterday, I had already phoned to enquire, who else would be in...I honestly cant tell you whether we will be returning with or without our Benji, this vet is not the one I want to end his life....Benji in the end did eat his food, but only from our hand feeding...Yes it is now very obvious Benji has suffered a stroke....R is now out giving our Toby a short walk before we leave...

Good morning everyone..

We had a lovely rain last evening, the garden will surely come good now.There are flowers on the tomato plants,beans but nothing yet on the squash plants.

We too are off to the vet,Babe needs her needles brought up to date.My vet is so good to our animals, she doesn't make them get up on a table ,she gets down on the floor with them. Babe for some reason gets nervous as soon as we walk in and once I sit on the chair she is up on my knees. This is a 70lb dog,so not much knee left!

I did hear fireworks going off in the distance ,nothing close by to worry the dogs thankfully.I think the rain put a damper on most.The temp is 48°F this morning so I would think those camping in a tent if not prepared would be a tad chilly this morning.

Gloria, I miss the good ol cow cream ,I put that on everything porridge,berries ,made whipping cream ,buscuits and butter from it.

Shirley, hugs, today will be a difficult day but dwell on the happy memories.

June, the most strenuous work I did yesterday was iron so a very relaxing day for me.

Jackie, you and R are in my thoughts for the time ahead..

Jane, how is Ms Anne this morning?

Joan, thank you for Breakfast.

Enjoy your day everyone.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  Both dogs were restless last night but I don't think Annie was scratching as much and that was only after one pill.  The vet said they've had very good results from this med and no unwanted side effects.  I hope that's true with Annie.  She also confirmed that she did not have fleas and that it was most likely an allergy.  I knew it wasn't fleas because Mickie is not itching or scratching at all.  I guess we'll just have to expect allergies in the Springs.   Thank you for asking about her Amy.

Shirley, did I forget to turn out the light again?  Thanks for doing that for me.  I hope June and Jenny and Jackie weren't stumbling around in the dark.

Jackie, please be sure that all of our thoughts and best wishes are with you and Benji today.  God's plan for him will be carried out. 

I hope Everyfriend has the best possible day today!

Good morning/afternoon Vanilla-Jackie.  I will be saying extra prayers for you all as you make the trip to see the vet.

Amy--Good morning.  We had LOUD thunder and lots of lightning last night, but not a drop of rain.  It was so fierce at one point that it knocked out my TVs, my computer and my phones.  I imagine the fireworks will be going off in earnest starting tonight.

Good morning, Janie.  Glad that Annie isn't itching quite so much.  Hopefully with a few more doses of medicine, she will be relieved. 

We are back, so is Benji.....Vet said his temperature has gone down, not in pain but he is suffering, his eye movements from left to right are faster.....He couldn't give him his second injection as its not been 12 hours or more yet but, is on tablet form medication and another medication, the other medication told, he would be on that for the rest of his life...We have a reprieve if only till Sunday or Monday...The surgery is open for tomorrow Sunday for a couple of hours lunchtime, I am assuming by appointment, On Monday between certain times Vet Jeremy is in, we have made Benji's next appointment for him, mid morning.....In the surgery this morning a lovely couple, the fine dressed young lady stroked Benji in the empty waiting room, I told her this might be his last stroke...After she left reception, paid her bill or booked her appointment, on leaving as she reached the door, she gave me such a comforting hug and told me I will know when its time to do the best for him, I cried and thanked her saying.... " I really needed that..." When we reached home R lifted Benji out of the car, Benji started pulling and sniffing, got excited, so I said to R lets try walking down the slope a little, see how he does, well I was quite surprised how well he managed it, we got to the bottom, turned to the left, walked on the grass, Benji looked in his element, he was enjoying himself.....These are the moments to treasure and remember...
.....................................
Oh and when we reached indoors the post had arrived...I have my urinary bleed scan appointment come through for the 13th July,.... its to be at our more local Dorchester Hospital...We had to laugh, or rather I shouldn't....the instructions are telling me to come with a full bladder an hour before my appointment, I must drink one litre of water.... don't they know I have MS.... that is an impossibility with my bladder functions....Plus I am to also have the Transvaginal internal scan, with this one I am told to empty my full bladder, I wont be able to hold my bladder for that long...another impossibility.....Of course they give a phone number if any questions, only that number keeps saying the person on the other end has hung up, so no means of querying....

Vanilla-Jackie--Since Benji couldn't have another shot yet, at least you were given some oral medication for him.  Nice you were able to take him for a walk--good memories.  How sweet of that lady in the vet's office was so caring.  Glad your other appointment came by mail.

Good Morning Everyone!

Coffee is on and brewing and read over most of the post. 

Jackie, not much to add to what others have said.  It is a decision that maybe you wont have to make.  Just love and pamper him.  R seems to be giving you lots of support, which is good.

Tisie, bless you lady.  Time will temper things, as it always does.  It has gone by so fast.

Joanie, that is the way it was here the other night.  And no rain.  None in the forecast now for the next week or so.  It will be unusual for us to get any now for awhile.

Janie, my old German Shepard used to suffer from allergies and we had to give him steroids, which I think eventually killed him.

I haven't stuck my head out, so don't know how it is, but suspect that it is hot and humid, my old a/c is going full blast.

Anyhow, coffee should be done, if anyone wants a cup, follow me into the kitchen and then we will head to the patio if it isn't to humid.

Everyone have a good day.

Good morning everyone, well we did have some loud boomers last night and must have had some windy rain. When I pulled up the shades my windows were still wet. I did sleep god last night. No worries about this PC last night. Now it is sunny and 68°.

MARY ANN  I cooked so much fish when my sons were younger and loved fishing. I never cared much for it and still don't. Always looking for bones.

SHIRLEY  when it started getting hard for me to walk I asked the doctor I had then about a handicap tag and was told I would need to cross a politicians palm with green.  Then I asked the orthopedic doctor about it, he is the one who did the carpal tunnel surgery. He told me to go online and print out the form, fill it out and he would sign it. I did that, mailed it in to the registry of motor vehicles and had it in about 2 weeks. Now every 2 years I get a form to fill out in the mail, fill it out and mail it back. The I get a sticker to put on the original tag. When I go out with anyone I use the tag when we go anywhere. Oh I will have to replace many of the filters for PSP, some no longer work.

JACKIE  you do not want Benji to suffer either.

JOAN  cranberry coffee cake looks tasty. Last fall I was cleaning fresh cranberries before cooking them and at times would pop a raw one into my mouth. My CNA just looked at me surprised that I would eat them that way. I told her to try it and at first she made a face but then liked the different in the taste. Chuckles is just that this morning, #6 fits me. Priceless is so true. Thank you for all today's goodies.

AMY  dogs do seem to know a visit to the vet means needles or something frightening. When my oldest son was young he would not drink the milk that had the cardboard top on the glass bottles that would pop up when it started freezing  before I had a chance to bring them inside. He always said it was sour. No more milkmen around these days and milk is is plastic bottles or cardboard containers and are in the grocery stores.

JANE  hope that pill does help Annie. You have a good day, too.

JOAN  on local news this morning other places were really hit with the lightening and one person was struck. With my shades down I saw no lightening but sure heard the thunder, some sounded right over this building. First storm really since I moved here 2 years ago.

HAL I'll take you up on a cup of coffee even though I had 2 cups of it already. My AC ran all night and I shut it of this morning, nice and cool inside.

Hi everyone on this Saturday morning.  We are in for more hot and humid weather today with little to no chance of rain.  I have a quiet day planned with nothing that I really need to do although will probably make a quick trip to Aldi's to get some fresh fruits and vegetables.  I still need to do my outside chores but after working in the kitchen and getting ready for the day I needed to sit down and rest so decided to eat my breakfast and write on the discussions.

I called Scott yesterday afternoon about 5 pm to see if he would join us for a good steak dinner.  He thought that was a good idea and came out later.  He was very down when he got here but seemed to be in much better spirits when he left.  He told us that good memories with his wife are beginning to push out some of the not so good memories of when she was so sick for so long.  Hopefully this will be a much brighter year for him.

Hal, enjoy your quiet weekend.  We live within about 2 miles of 2 very large firework stores that operate all year as far as I know.  However, I won't be visiting them.  It wasn't too bad noise wise here last year and I hope it is the same this year.  Apparently there is a big fireworks display over the Savannah River downtown but we won't be getting into any crowds to watch it. 

Gloria, do a quick Google search on "screen timeout in windows 7" and you will find numerous descriptions of what to do to change the situation.  The information for Windows 10 can also be found this same way.  Your mention of Pat bringing us back together after the mess with SeniorNet reminds me that she can use some help with the costs of the website (it isn't free) and it has been quite awhile since I made any contribution. 

Joan, the charge to fix your bumper sounds very reasonable. 

Jackie, I can't think of anything to say that will help your sadness at this moment.  However, know you are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Mary Ann, that sounds like a nice sized refrigerator and hope it gives you years of service.  When they install the refrigerator they should be able to move the door to the other side.  At least that is what happened to us.  They had to remove the door anyway to get it in the house when it was delivered. 

June, I agree with you about Hospice.  They were so good in taking care of Stacey the last 48 hours of her life and making things as easy as they could for us like providing blankets and pillows for us. 

Shirley, it is very thoughtful of you to bring up the grandchildren's grandfather to let them know it is fine to talk about and remember him. 

Joan, funny stuff this morning and such a nice Food for Thought.  None of us are worthless as God doesn't make junk and he loves each of us.

Larry, I hope this refrigerator outlasts me.  After I am gone, Tom hopes to buy my condo so it will be a good fit for him.  I remember the first electric refrigerator I bought was 7 cu ft.  It had a drawer on the bottom, but was not refrigerated.

Gloria, when my dad caught fish and deboned them, I always worried about the bones, too.  They do a better job commercially and I don't worry about them.

I've had a few dogs in my life and I miss them as they were good companions, however, I can't have a dog here and Annie's cat tries to fill the empty space. 

Mary Ann

Glad to see you are all up and about.  I'll have a cup of coffee, too, Hal.  Don't get up.  I'll pour my own and join you on the patio.

I have 9 half pints of black raspberry jam cooling on the kitchen counter and enough leftover in the fridge for a piece of toast tomorrow morning.  Well I do have to test it, don't I?

My eyes really hurt this morning and so does my back so I'm going to go do the back exercises and probably end up sawing a log or two when I'm finished.  Enjoy your morning Everyfriend.

Good morning, halkel.  All around us they got rain, but none here.  I'll join you for coffee.

Gloria--Good morning.  You were told to cross a politicians hand with green to get a handicap tag?  What a lot of malarky. I don't like cranberries cooked or uncooked.  A middle age woman was standing at the edge of the beach and ocean here and got struck by lightning--which killed her.  Strange because there was no sign of any storm.

Good morning, Larry.  Glad Scott's visit and meal with you and Pat lifted his spirits.  Those days are hard.  I thought the cost to fix my car was reasonable.

Mary Ann--Good morning.  I really don't worry about bones in fish--just use a little caution.

Janie--Of course you have to test the jam.

 Jane Maybe you should put some liquid tears in your eyes, and if you do not get the food stamps worked out.sell the house and get a tent and a milk goat. or sell it and Nancy could rent the lower level of our house cheep to you. have a great day it is raining here. I worked until 10:00 PM last night and gave up for the day,leaving the skid steer tied on the fence between us and a neighbor to hold it up temporary.

Lloyd

bis you can come visit us for a while and see rain.

Lloyd

Cranberries are good in any form.  And my wife makes a cranberry cake that I could eat every speck of it if I let myself.  I always have to cut the berries up that she uses in it.  She buys fresh cranberries and freezes them to make the cake when the berries are out of season.

Joanie, a storm doesn't have to be in the area: "Positive lightning is particularly dangerous, because it frequently strikes away from the rain core, either ahead or behind the thunderstorm. It can strike as far as 5 or 10 miles (8 or 16 kilometers) from the storm, in areas that most people do not consider to be a lightning-risk area."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0623_040623_lightningfacts_2.html

Lloyd--Thanks for the invitation to see rain, but my traveling days are over.

halkel--Thanks for the link about lightning.  That's apparently what happened to that woman.

Good Morning dear friends, we have a fairly deep overcast this morning, which I find very pleasant. Nice and cool with some feeling of moisture in the air. In Hemet they will be in the nineties all week. I am so glad I moved to Stanton, even tho I really miss my friends.

Jackie, all of us who have had beloved pets can understand what a terrible time you and R. are going through. You are both dog lovers, that is easy to see. I recall handfeeding my Petey, little bits of white meat chicken when he quit eating. I carried him up to our Vet to have him put down when he could no longer walk. Fortunately our Vet was just blocks away. I didn't cry, until the shots took hold and Petey died. Walking away and leaving him was the hard part...I just sobbed.

Larry, your daughter was a real soldier through her long illness as were you and your wife. I remember Stacey taking her wheel chair off to shop nearby. She faced life fully on. And now your son is having a time of grief too. Life is not always fun and games, but we can't let sorrow beat us down either. We are no good to anyone if that happens, and we can do a lot of harm to ourselves.

Amy, I left my iron behind when I moved to Rowntree, and I am not sorry. So if some of my slacks aren't real sleek anymore, no one else cares, so why should I. Most everything else is of a fabric that does not require ironing.

I'm trying to convince myself to make use of the rest of the morning..there is a stack of snail mail that needs answering....mostly from friends back in Hemet, and I have a long order to send to Von's Market, so hopefully some of that will be done.

June--Still hot and humid here and no rain.  If I step outside I can smell the smoke coming from the brush fires.  We desperately need rain.  I, too, left my iron behind when I moved here from Arkansas.  If it needs ironing, it doesn't belong in this house.

I love the attitude of no ironing.  Unfortunately, I have some clothes that, without ironing, would look like I slept in them...for a week...outside...in the rain!  I'm not ready for that look, June, more for me than for anyone else. 

My daughter stopped by and we had a nice chat.  She always does her errands on Saturday and I'm right in the middle of them.  I guess I'm one of her errands but she seems to enjoy these visits as much as I do.  She had a bit of lunch and some raspberries while she was here.  So it was a good stop in more ways than one.

The kitchen is all cleaned up but I'm going back out and start to dirty it again.  I'm going to make something new for supper.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Lloyd, thanks for the offer of a cheap place to live but your smack in the middle between my kids and they're not getting any younger either so I might never see them again.  Although I'm sure it would be nice to be near you and Nancy, I'd surely miss my family. 

Larry, it's so good that you moved nearer Scott and he can have some time with you instead of having to bear the difficult days alone.  It sounds like it was a good deal for all of you.  Families are good to have around whether you NEED them or just WANT them. 

I hope Everyfriend is having a nice, relaxing day!

Good Afternoon,  Everyone!

Well,  I did it again!   I walk down the street and
bought me a quart of chocolate and a quart of
butter pecan icecream,  two jars of skippy peanut butter
and some natural graham crackers.     

I brought it home and had a little bit of
everything.....   and of course,  I felt
very guilty.   

Erin has gone away for the fourth and
I am here with all of these calories
that I don't need,  and that I can not
stop eating.     

So I packed it all up and headed to throw it
away down the trash,  but instead I stopped
at one of my neighbors apartment,
knock on their door and asked  them if
they would like it.    Thank goodness
they did take it all!!

I am weak, weak, weak...   so I had to
dispose of it or I would eat it all in a
couple of days.   

I removed the temptation and I feel better
already!

Am I the only one who gives into
temptation,  and then has to give
things away?
 
Have a happy fourth of July,
everyone!

Sandy

Oh yes, SANDY, I do give into the temptation but sadly, I do not give it away! 😪ðŸ˜,. I bought a strawberry/rhubarb pie yesterday and can not wait to have some....shoot it is a holiday, gotta do something special, ya know? 

Trip to the vet was uneventful. I am so blessed to have such a caring vet and her staff. Babe was a nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs. Once everything was done and Babe had been needled and checked from stem to stern was she happy to go back in the van..with the treat the vet gave her .
On the way home we saw a doe and her spotted fawn,the doe was trying to cross the road and it was bumper to bumper traffic. I sure hope she changed her mind!

Laundry done line dried and now folded and put away. Time to relax 

Amy, the first time I ever heard that "nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs", I was on my lunch break from my first real grown up job and watching Tennessee Ernie Ford Show while eating.  He said it and I never forgot it and I've used it so many times since.  I bet that was 60 years ago. 

I know that look of the dogs wanting to leave.  When I had Annie there this week, the vet opened the door to the hall and Annie bolted!  Vet said "She's gonna show you the way out". 

Good morning from another cloudy, Interior day!  Jackie, I am so sorry about Benji. It wasn't that long ago that I lost Sarah after a week of illness. We can only love them and remember to let them go with love when it is time.

I know that with my pets, they've always associated vets with pain and wanted no part of it or them!

Amy, I remember one time that a bull moose had come up the paved bicycle path from the river and actually waited at the crosswalk for the light to change before walking across. What a law abiding moose that was! 

We had a very nice potluck yesterday in the courtyard for the 4th. I am also one who wonders why we keep switching dates? Anyway, along with the grilled chicken, hotdogs, and hamburgers, we had a treat of minted watermelon popsicles that one of our residents brought. They were so good and gone far too fast!

I was planning on something fancy but as usual, real life intervened and I only made a white cake and instead of frosting, covered it with a mixture of frozen berries and a sugar syrup. We have so many native berries here, along with both high and low bush cranberries. I used to pick them but now purchase them at one of the farmers markets.

Just freeze them separately on cookie sheets and then place in bags either with their own type or with a group together. They are so good!

On some days Farrah is skittish, remaining in the bedroom, and on others, she remains out and plays with her toys. Yesterday she actually spent time sleeping on the end of my bed with me in it, that was a surprise!

Janie--I really don't have any clothes that need ironing.  I get things right out of the dryer and hang them and a few things I take to the dry cleaner.  Nice that your daughter can stop by when she's doing errands.  Let us know what "new" you fixed for supper.

Sandy--Nice of you to give your "temptation" to neighbors.  I don't have calorie problems--I need pounds.

Amy--Glad all went well at the vet.  I've never heard the saying "nervous as etc." but see Janie has.

Angelface--Great you had a nice potluck.  Minted watermelon popsicles sound good.

Well if I ever say anything about my life being dull or boring, bring out the whip 

First of all, on Thursday night while watching Perry Mason (mostly through my eyelids) I accidently set off my medical alert button.  At just about midnight the phone rang, scaring the dickens out of me, i ignored the ID 800 number thinking someone was playing games.  Then about 10 minutes later the front windows lit up bright so I went (in my flimsy summer nightgown  ) to the front door.  Two huge spotlights mounted on a large rescue vehicle were shining on the front of my house.  I man was walking across the lawn and asked if I was OK and was I alone.  Then he explained that the 800 number phone call was the medical alert company checking and when I didn't answer they immediately sent the rescue team.  I felt about 1/2 inch tall, ashamed at calling the crew out, especially at that hour, but after apologizing and thanking, I told them I was glad in a way, because now I can be sure what a great job of responding they would do if really needed.

Ok, that took care of that incident.

Then on Friday I tried to order a refill of a prescription using my new health providers number, only to have the pharmacy call back and tell me it wasn't covered.  So a call to the insurance company and they informed me that although they had cancelled by previous Part D coverage, the policy I have been issued did not cover Part D.  So, after a lot of time negotiating I was assured that as of August 1 my prescriptions would be covered but I would be required to have a checkup with my regular doctor - which I set up for that afternoon.  There had been a change of staff at the satellite clinic in town, so I had to hook jp with a new doctor or PA, which  was no problem.  Of course that meant that I still had no prescription coverage. 

In taking the normal blood pressure, breathing, pulse, etc. tests the PA that was taking me on decided thing were dangerously out of kilter and arranged for me to be taken by ambulance to the hospital for more testing and treatment.  Turns out the first tests the hospital ER ran gave me BP readings that were through the roof and I was not getting anywhere enough oxygen with my breathing.  So I was admitted and I'm still here.

I found out I would have no trouble getting online with the hospital's free internet access.  So I had my dear friend Carol, the one who takes me food shopping, get my Kindle Fire and my Mac laptop.  And here I am.  I may be going home tomorrow - or not yet.  The doctor handling my case here wants to see the reactions to meds- both oral and IV after tonight.   Also,  things have been set up for a visiting nurse to check on me about twice  a week after I get home.  And they are supplying a month's supply of the refill I need and are adding two new meds which they are ordering from Walmart (Janie, I'll look for your smiling face) at $4 each.  Carol will take me there to pick them up and then home to hopefully get over all this recent trauma.

Like I said, don't ever let me say again that my life is dull or boring!

And now I'll go back and see what I've missed here in the SS.

After all these 90 deg days for 3 weeks. it sure cool today. Even getting cold in the house. Will have to put on a heavy robe tonight if I want to sit and be comfy.
Hope things dont get rained out for the town over the 4th. That happened last year.

I have Lawrance Welk on at the moment. Could get up and dance around.

Jeanne Lee, I'm sorry to hear of your emergencies.  I hope all will be settled and you can rest for a few days.

Mary Ann