Goodbye 2011

I have had worse years but this one ranks up near the top of bad years. We were so looking forward to retirement and we did finally get to Florida but it was for the most part not a happy year. I stopped blogging back in August right about the time that I learned I'd have to have more surgery on my foot. After that I simply got out of the habit of blogging and found myself updating my life on Facebook. If you only follow me here you missed out on whiny posts about pain, leaky roofs, ceiling repairs and weeks of painting.

Yesterday was my 6th blogiversary but having neglected all of my blogs in 2011 I didn't feel much like celebrating. I'm hoping with a new year will come a new direction for this blog and more consistency for the others.

Here's hoping for a happy and productive 2012!

Monthly Update

Somehow I've gotten out of the habit of blogging. So here is a brief update and hopefully I'll follow up with some more detailed posts.

In my last post I mentioned that I fell and hurt my foot. The most recent x-rays confirmed that it is indeed broken. The surgery repaired the first and second bones, the break is on the fourth bone. I can walk on it as long as I'm wearing the ugly black shoe but to go shopping or walk any distance I still need to use the crutches or wheelchair. The good news is that I seem to be healed from the surgery and I have almost no pain, even when walking. The doctor isn't sure that I'll be able to go back to work when school starts in September but being out of sick days I really need to be cleared to work then.

We went to Florida for a couple of weeks and finally got to see our new house. We John cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. The place is in much better shape than I was expecting. There are some repairs to be made and we probably have to have a new roof sooner rather than later but over all I'm am very pleased with it. It is two miles in from the front of the park and therefore quiet and the few neighbors we met seemed quite nice.

My garden is a huge mess and it's only been in the last week that I've done anything outside and that wasn't much. Despite the weeds and the flower stalks that need to be cut back the garden still delights me. I can sit on the end of the bed and watch the hummingbirds just outside the window. The smell of oriental lilies wafts through the house. John planted just a few vegetables and we're enjoying the first cucumbers of the season and hopefully we'll have tomatoes before too long.

Mom celebrated her 85th birthday last month! She's been doing well. She goes to PACE every Friday and some weeks she enjoys more than others. She spent the weekend at my sister's and we had her party there. We've haven't been able to get down to her house as often as we should but I do try and call her every day or two.

It's been quiet here. The boys have been here two or three days a week and I've worked on my genealogy. Not much else going on........

Good, Bad and Mixed News

Mom's first day at the senior day center went very well! Sis took her and she saw her new doctor and really liked him. He's working on changing at least one of her medications so that she won't have to use the nebulizer so much. She met a woman that was not only familiar with the housing tract that Mom lives in but knows the people that developed it. She rode home on the bus and that went well too.

Yesterday we went up to Sandy Pond and I managed to fall and land hard on my foot. Yeah - that foot. I knew right off that I had hurt it. The pain was on the other side, away from where I had surgery but I was still very worried that I had injured the surgery site.

I already had an appointment with the doctor for this morning. He poked and prodded at it and then took xrays. Then he took more xrays. I finally grew bone!! Yeah! I can now start walking - except - I hurt it yesterday. He does not see a break on the xray but a stress fracture wouldn't show up this quickly. Hopefully it's only bruised, I should know over the next week or so. Meanwhile I'm still on the crutches :(

Only I could hurt myself the day before the OK to start walking again.

Despite the crutches we're still planning on heading out later this week to see our new place in Florida. Hopefully that will go well. I'm dreading the drive but looking forward to seeing what we've got and what we'll need to do.

Irish Eyes

Things continue to plod along here and I continue to feel sorry for myself. I managed to quit smoking for a week and then had a melt down and started again. Gov. Patterson has insured that I will quit with the new tax passed yesterday.

We have jumped through several more hoops on the path to getting Mom accepted into PACE. Sis has had to do most of it. I did the funeral preplanning and ordered the headstone. Both were much harder than I thought they'd be, through the whole process I felt like I have been wishing Mom dead which is certainly not the case.

The school year is winding down. Twig had his moving up ceremony at preschool last week and Sprout had her preschool graduation later the same day. The other four are now on half days. The boys will finish on Wednesday and the girls on Friday. We had just Alex yesterday and took him out to lunch. It was nice having one to one time with him. Today we have the girls and they are a bit anxious about riding the bus out here. In the past they always just rode with me and I brought home with me after work. Unless something comes up we'll take them out to lunch today. It was sad for me to pick up all of my things from my bus yesterday.

It's been 10 weeks since my surgery now. The friend that lent me the wheelchair needed it back. I had an appointment with the doctor this Friday but they called and canceled it. With babysitting and other commitments it looks like I'll be going on July 6th. That will be twelve weeks and I have to believe that I'll have grown bone by then! I'm not going to bet everything on that though, so I'll be borrowing another chair from the VFW. Depending on how things go at the doctor and with Mom we hope to get down and see the new place in Florida next month even if I'm still on crutches.

I am getting out into the yard more and even puttering in the garden a little. I still can't manage the stairs on the crutches and have given up and go in and out on my butt instead. Embarrassing, but with the fear of falling gone I do feel like it gives me a little more freedom.

A Pretty Good Day

Twig had his adenoids out yesterday and is doing fine. We enjoyed having Sprout here for a night but she is quite happy to be back home.

My eight week appointment was this morning and it didn't go well but I didn't expect it to. The xray is still not showing new bone growth, maybe in another couple of weeks. I have tried to quit smoking and I'll continue to try. One bit of good news was that I can start walking with the crutches. I can still only put weight on the heel and not my full weight but this may allow me to get to sections of the garden that I haven't been able to.

We stopped down to Mom's after my appointment and her ramp is almost done. I was quite happy to try it out because I'm still having trouble with steps. She had someone else coming from the program we're hoping to get her into. It has been a long drawn out process but hopefully by the end of the month she'll be in and all set.

Some of the things we've had to do have been tough and it's good that my sister and I are splitting the chores and have each other to lean on. The ramp is done, she met with a lawyer and I've taken care of preplanning Mom's final arrangements. That was harder than I thought it would be and hard to talk to her about. There are still several things that need to be done before the end of the month but we are checking them off, the toughest one's are done and the end is in sight.

On the way home I got John to stop at a big box store and push me around. I have new respect for people that are always in wheel chairs. We'd get to the end of an aisle and have to turn around and go back because the way was blocked, there were aisles I couldn't get down at all because there were hoses all over. John was able to maneuver me over to a markdown rack where I picked up a new daylily. I picked up a couple of other things too. They were a great price - because they were unmarked so it will be interesting to see what they are next year!

Because I am still struggling with stairs I don't go outside as much as I should so when we got home today I stayed out for awhile. John picked up some vegetable plants and put them in yesterday and while I was looking them over one of the little snakes that are about came by.

Everything is so early this year! John has a bumper crop of strawberries and my flowers are all 2 to 4 weeks early. The lupine are about done but the penstemons and jupiters beard are pretty. This section of the garden was full of butterflies and dragonflies but they all seemed to be camera shy.

These delphiniums are right outside my bedroom window and a favorite of the hummingbirds. The delphiniums on this side are 5-6' tall but the ones on the other side of the walk are less than 2' and I have no idea why! The one that looks bright blue is actually a rich purple.

This gas plant really got big this year and I love the dainty flowers.

Most of my blanket flower is yellow with some red so I was pleased with this one. The ox-eyed daisies are just about done already! In another week or so they'll be replaced by shastas. I hope they last until the red beebalm gets going.

Right now I'm planning to get outside in the morning and get some weeds pulled and my new plants in the ground!

Update and Flowers

I haven't been posting because things have not been going well. Mom spent last weekend in the hospital but she's home now and doing ok. I'm still on crutches with no end in sight. I need to grow new bone at the fusion site and so far that is just not happening. The doctor claims it is because I smoke and I'm sure that is a contributing factor but I think that being so sick a week after the surgery and all of the stress I've had have set me back as well. I am trying to quit, obviously not successfully yet. Adding to my stress - my youngest grandchild has been having hearing problems and will be having his adenoids out this week. Not a big deal but I'll be relieved when it is over.

I'm still not great at going up and down the steps but I'm forcing myself to do it more often. I went out and took some pictures in the garden yesterday and even pulled some weeds and if was wonderful to get my hands in the dirt. I really thought I'd be able to work out there by now. I did a good job weeding and cleaning it up before surgery but the weeds are starting to creep in and there are many volunteers that need to be given away or moved. I'll keep working a little at a time on what I can reach from the edge and the rest will just have to wait.

Busy Week

I have never been wiped out by surgery like this before. After my last doctors appointment I was very sick and weak for a week. I've never been squeamish before but every time I see the foot I get queasy. I've been improving steadily since then but it was only a couple of days ago that I really started to feel good. I'm still weak but I've been living on the couch for three weeks. Hopefully now that I'm feeling better I'll be able to do more each day and regain my strength. I'm certainly tired of lying here and watching movies!

Both Nikki and Twig are now a year older! I was unable to attend Nikki's party but John went and took pictures for me. She had a beautiful day and everyone had a great time.

While John was at the party my brother, who was visiting from Texas, came out to see me and we had a very nice visit. It's probably been 15 years or more since we visited, just the two of us.

Kids night resumed this week but the girls were unable to make it. The other four played outside with the neighbors and then invited them over for birthday cake. Twig loved being the center of attention.

On Thursday both Sprout's and Twig's schools had Mother's Day parties and since Bean could not be in two places at once, I got to go to Twig's. I was exhausted just getting to the car. This was the first time I tried the wheel chair that we borrowed and I was relieved we had it. The kids sang to us and then we all played Bingo. Here is Twig with the gift that he made for his Mom.

The woman who is covering my route and her husband are also friends and they stopped over after work yesterday. It was so nice to have company! She had made up a little booklet and passed it around the bus for all the kids to write their get well wishes to me. It is so sweet! I really miss the kids. I won't share any of the inside pages for their privacy but the things they wrote and pictures they drew really brightened my day.

I don't see the doctor again for another week. The only pain I'm having in the foot is from the blister so I'm hoping that I'll be able to start walking in the boot some then but I'm trying not to count on it. I was getting up from the couch wrong and managed to strain my shoulder and that is finally feeling better. I've had trouble with my other hip for years and that has been bothering me some but is also seems to be better today. I expected the swelling to be bad this morning after all I did yesterday but it really isn't too bad at all.

So all in all things are looking up!

Apple Whine

From the title you've been warned that I'm a bit miserable. Feel free to click away now.

I went to the doctor yesterday, expecting him to put me in a cast. I knew the foot was a little swollen but was shocked when the bandage and split were removed to reveal I had grown a football on the end of my leg. Because of all the swelling I had also developed a post-op blister that popped as the bandaging was removed. Because of the swelling some of the stitches were very hard (and painful) to remove.

I really have no one to blame but myself, this is after-all my third foot surgery. I know that I need to keep it elevated above my heart and I did - but not nearly enough. I can't sleep in the bed with it propped up on a tower of pillows. I tried reading but lying on my back I can't get my bifocals to focus. And then there is the lure of my computer. It's a great little lap top but over heats when placed on my belly. It is very frustrating to have to ask John to bring me anything I want or me, I'd much rather get up an do it myself.

The cam walker is heavy and uncomfortable but at least I can take it off to wash and tighten the bandage. Since the doctor appointment yesterday I have been in as much or more pain than I was in right after the surgery. I can't figure out why the foot hurts much less when I'm sitting up with it stretched out next to me than when I'm lying down with it up on a stack of pillows. Most of the time when I get up on the crutches I break out in a sweat and often feel nauseous. I slept on the couch last night so it would be properly elevated. At least John was able to sleep better and it did stay elevated all night.

I guess I've used up my sitting up time for this morning. For the next week I'll be watching a lot of movies and reading any large print books I have or can get from Mom.

Doing OK

Surgery went well today and I was home by noon. I haven't had any real pain and this being my third foot surgery, I'm doing well with the crutches. I'm not sure why but the doctor said he'd rather put me in a cast than the boot this time. I'll find out more on Friday when I see him. I won't be able to put any weight on it this time for at least four weeks, maybe six. A friend at work is lending me a wheel chair to make it easier for me to get out and visit Mom.

Mom is doing much better! She thinks she is ready to go home now. I don't think she is quite there yet but she is starting to do more for herself - and ignoring the rules to do so :-) (Mom is not normally a rule breaker.) She and my sister have a meeting tomorrow with the social worker and staff to start planning her return home. Mom's thoughts on the support she needs when she gets home are miles apart from mine. In reality I guess I'm the one that needs for her to have more people looking after her. I'm still feeling very guilty that I didn't get her medical help days sooner. We'll work it out for both of us I hope....

Catching Up

I was spoiled by the guys at work last week, they started my bus for me three days in a row. The temperatures never did get as cold as they were calling for but it was still plenty cold! I'm hoping we don't see temperatures that cold again for the rest of the winter.

They were calling for us to get 1-2' of snow Thursday into Friday but it stayed north of us. Starting just 5 short miles to the north they got hammered. The dentist had rescheduled my appointment from Wednesday to Friday. I started for Oswego after work, got about half way there and turned around and rescheduled again! I'm not a winter driving wimp but when the truck in front of me and the car behind me both disappeared I figured it a wise decision.

Friday turned out to be my lucky day! I won the raffle for this throw. If you look carefully you can see how far the snow is piled outside the window - we don't need anymore but there are two more months to go. (A lot of what you see is what has been raked off of the roof.)



We've decided to try and get to Mom's on Monday's and Friday's but with the dentist appt. (that I didn't get to!) we ended up going on Saturday. We got her take out from an Italian restaurant she likes. She was a bit more relaxed and seemed more "herself" than she had the last few weeks. We didn't get there today because of the holiday so we will go tomorrow. This is what the deer have done to her shrub.


Because there was no school we had the kids in the afternoon today. The idea is that they have a chance to play together. John's been working on fixing up some old computers so he had one for each of them and they were thrilled. Maybe we'll play a board game next week.


I was beat at the end of last week but the foot is finally not hurting much at all. I pulled a chest muscle on Sunday but it is a lot better today. How do you pull a chest muscle!? I have no idea what I did. Hopefully there won't be much snow to clear in the morning.

Busy Again

I got out of the habit of writing here because for weeks the only thing happening was me sitting around working on my genealogy or transcribing letters. The weather did not cooperate and while I was on crutches or walking with the boot I was hesitant to venture out much. I've been back in sneakers for a little over a week and it's great to be mobile again.

The tree is up and the boys helped me decorate it. Alex likes to group them all on just a couple of branches.

A week ago today we went to Mike's band and chorus concert. I forgot the camera and Angie still hadn't sent me any pictures but the kids were great. I wasn't crazy about the program selection, especially for the chorus. Mike is still in the percusiion section so during the band portion we didn't get to see much of him. The band as a group as come a long way since the spring concert! The choral selections seemed to be yelled more than sung but the kids were enthusiastic in their presentation.

On Wednesday we went to Alex's holiday musical, called Moosical.

He had a speaking part and was tickled to run over to the microphone every time it was his turn.

It was a cute production and the kids had fun with it. Afterward we had to go down to his classroom so traffic backed up behind me as I had to take the steps one at a time. He came right out and back up the stairs we went. If I'd known I would have just gone to the cafeteria and waited for them. I did get a nice little workout and the foot was fine.

I finished Christmas shopping and now I just have a few gifts to wrap and I'll be all set!

Bootless

It was great to see my brother and his family at Thanksgiving. Dallas caught me on video as I came in on crutches and hopefully that section of video has been erased! That was the last day that I used the crutches.

The day before Thanksgiving I ended up with a toothache. It was some better by the time we left for County Girls and I was able to visit and eat but between that and my foot I certainly wasn't at my best. B and the boys didn't end up being able to make it because they're heater broke down and B spent the day trying to fix it. After we got home he came over and borrow our electric heaters. The boys went to their other grandmother's for the day.

Bean and her family came. Twig was playing with some of Ron's toy tractors. I don't know how he knew it was almost time for them to leave but all of a sudden he started dropping the tractors down the front of his shirt. It was hilarious! He was none too happy when he realized that the tractors would not being going home with him.

John and I both had dentist appointments on Tuesday. I have an abscess so a root canal is in my near future. I get to take antibiotics until then. It really hasn't hurt too much since then.

Wednesday we had great weather so we were able to go to Mom's for the morning. While John did her shopping I got a much need haircut! The weather had really been keeping me from getting out so it was great to be out two days in a row.

Friday I went back to the doctor. My foot is not healing as fast as should; there is still more bruising than there should be. But I am done with the walking boot and back into sneakers!!! I went shopping with Bean that evening and had to wear the boot because I'd be standing so long but I drove the car for the first time in a month and that was very liberating.

Today the boys were here and they (mostly Alex) helped to decorate the tree. John brought it in the day after Thanksgiving but I just didn't feel like decorating it. Country Girl brought Mom's ornaments over and we divided them up and I will add some of them to the tree later.

I've been doing lot's of online shopping but that's about all. Now that I'm mobile again I hope to haul myself out of this funk that I've been in the last few weeks.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I went for my first post-surgery check up today and was ready to get up and dance a jig when he took the splint off. If I didn't keep the foot in just the right position the split caused pressure and discomfort - especially at night. Poor John has only had one or two good nights sleep all week because I kept tossing and turning. Without the splint I'd be able to get around much easier and sleep better!

The doctor took new x-rays and things are starting to heal but the toe is not quite straight. That means that I may be looking at another bunion down the road. *sigh* At least I hope to have a few pain free years. He did tell me that he may still be able to fix the right foot later but I can't make any decisions about more surgery right now.

After he bandaged me all back up I thought I was set and then he told me he was going to give me a boot to wear. I got a size medium for my tiny little foot. I had been doing very well on the crutches - not any more! It weighs a ton. The boot comes up to the middle of my knee so it is hard to bend it. If I bend it so the foot is behind me the toe tends to drag on the floor. If I hold it out in front of me I loose my balance. Just after surgery I had no problem with the steps; today John had to help keep me from falling. I guess I'll figure it out in a day or two. Maybe it won't be as uncomfortable as the splint at night but somehow I doubt it. Next week, if all goes well, I should be able to start putting some weight on the heal.

With lots of time spent just sitting on the couch I've had lots of time to transcribe letters and have started a new series of them at Apple's Tree. Enough Apple Whine, John made steak for dinner and I intend to enjoy it!

Big Foot

Surgery went well (I hope!) We had to be in Syracuse at 6:30 and I was home about 10:30. I have very little pain, except just after I've been up on the crutches so my plan is not to get up any more often than I have to. When I had the other foot done John was working but since he's home now he's been a very good sport about waiting on me ;-)

Wednesday was a very tough day. It is going to take three people to cover my two routes. One of the regular drivers will pick up my secondary kids and another will cover my elementary both morning and afternoon and I think they are both looking forward to the overtime but they will be putting in very long days. My secondary kids will be taken home by whom ever is available each day. My elementary kids had a melt down on Wednesday. I ended up staying late writing discipline reports. It's rare for me to take any time off at all so to be out six weeks or more will be very frustrating and full or worry for me.

Wednesday evening our house was rocked by a small explosion and this wasn't the first time. My neighbors bring home the rubbish from their business, pile it up in their back yard and burn it. They must use a lot of gasoline to get the fire going and that is what we hear and feel. You may not be able to tell from this picture (taken from my back steps) but the fire is huge and the flames were higher than their house; it is still burning 36 hours later. I would certainly never have this large a fire so close to mine! (OK, I would not be burning rubbish in my backyard to begin with!!!! Lots of folks around here have burn barrels in their yards and I have no problem with that.) The building you can see at the far left is my garage.


In trying to get everything done I never got this picture posted. These were our only Trick or Treater's again. They had already been out in Angie's mom's neighborhood and were tired by the time they got here. I hear they still have lots of candy left. They were here yesterday and quite unimpressed by my bandage.