WAITING....

The days crawl by as I await the professional visit April 8th with the Electrophysiologist (Cardiologist Specialty) wh0 will then set the date for the procedure described in the link.

I try to keep busy by getting certain affairs in order or up-to- date such as our financials and the computer and external hard drive returns.

The computer is ready: I am awaiting the prepaid box from HP. They have a 7-9 day turnaround. I wouldn't mind longer if I could be assured it was truly fixed. Rush jobs are not always the best route in repairs on computers, cars, and lots of complicated items.

'Silence is golden,' my Mother once said, but she never heard of blogging. Despite my absence from writing, I have been reading all of my wonderful bloggers' adventures.


Punxsutawney Phil's
Spring Hail Revenge - 2011

Remember, I publicly defamed Punxsutawney Phil, that fat ole rodent, predictor of spring, as being a liar. In retaliation he dumped a measurable amount of hail on me this past week, along with a wicked sounding couple of thunderstorms.

Never mess with a ground hog with a name of more than three letters.

If Luckie could read my Bible she would swear the days of fire and brimstone had arrived. The sound of hail on our metal roofing is a ferocious sound, much like good sized stones. She becomes extremely nervous of thunderstorms, trembling all over.

Luckie went berserk between the thunder and the hail on our metal roof. I was afraid she might have seizure breakthrough as she was really trembling, so I gave her an oral Valium. She has her own Rx. She weathered the storm laying by my liftchair with my hand on her throughout.


Luckie grabbed the
large bottle off my
nightstand Sunday a.m.
 It was lying on the Living
Room carpet in her
favorite spot to chew and
devour her treasures.

  If she doesn't stop stealing the bread off the table, and Sunday, my TUMS bottle (which she did not manage to open), she may see fire and brimstone from an earthly source.

After 11 years of co-habitation with her, I have lost complete meat loafs, bread loaves, Russell Stover chocolate coated diet candy, Tums--nothing is safe.  We scavenger hunt the house before we both leave for a few hours, and somehow she finds something.

 I am waiting for the day she opens the cabinet doors. I have seen her watching how I do it. There are no crumbs on the floor. She routinely checks out all our eating areas.

When I drop personal medication the floor, I spend much time finding it; I fear she might eat it, especially after the TUMS episode.

And despite all the harm that could come from her behavior, she has never suffered, but she is a rescue dog, so I guess she knows survival methods.

The last few days have been in the low 30s, so I stand by my defamation of PHIL , although later in the week we may climb into the 60s. I read PHIL's prediction accuracy is 38%.

In the meantime I'm been busy--like getting income tax done--Thanks to AARP Tax Aide for free. Oh yes, you do not have to be an AARP member, or age 55, to avail yourself of their services.

I have had two housekeepers. One retired due to several disabilities making it too painful to continue that occupation. She runs an area volunteer spay and neuter clinic, free gratis for her untiring labor-KUDOS.

The new housekeeper is just as efficient; which relieves me of dust allergies, and other labor which stirs up my heart rate. I still do wash, cook (not my favorite chore), keep the family finances in some kind of order.

I hope to find a local lawn service that will rejuvenate my flower beds. My husband still wants to mow. I have a name to check out this week.  I also have pest control coming this week, if it stops raining.

Interestingly enough, it took my nurse practitioner and myself to analyze my drug list and find an offending drug that was keeping the drug for A-Fib from working to the max. It was a stomach medication call Nexium which deters rapid absorption of anything passing through the stomach.

I find it amusing neither of us has M.D./D.O. after our names, but solved the problem. I have not had the awful palpitations in two weeks. A record for me.

However, I am still going to have the procedure as I want off this dangerous drug.

We discontinued the Nexium and am trying to get by on TUMS. However, the variety I chose has SORBITOL  in it which stirs up my lower digestive tract, so got to go back and read labels more carefully.

Most of you know I object to harmful additives like sorbitol and olestra, because whatever effects happen to an adult would be twice as bad or even disastrous, for a child or infant. ALLI and any number of other former prescription drugs I question safety as  OTC, especially in careless hands.

TeleCare
Updated
Flyer

However, my central attention the last few weeks has been my personal favorite public service, my TeleCare group. We have changed phone provider where we have no long distance charges, but not a cell phone. I guess we can now call  everywhere in continental US, but we are concentrating on Baxter and Marion Counties.

We have already signed on 4 new clients.

We have new fliers so I am mailing to groups which may have contacts with persons for which the service is designed: persons of any age with some insecurity or fear of living alone. Should you be reading this blog and live near me, I will be glad to send you literature, if you are interested in organizing a similar service, I'll do my best to help you.

Along with a co-chairman (we have 3) I appeared on a local TV station and have a radio appearance sometime in May if I am not in some medical state. We have backup in case I cannot keep this appointment.

Meanwhile I am also distributing fliers to pharmacies, medical offices, home care businesses and churches--any business or facility with access to persons living alone.

Mushroom? Mold?



Finally, at the home of a member of our church Life Group, I spotted this strange, colorful mushroom or mold formation on a dead tree limb. It looks almost calcified. Can any of you identify it?

I started out to write a short ditty, but it surely has grown to epistle!

[All photos - my work. The Tums composition is one of my first attempts using a light box. Still have a lot to learn.



Below is a SOOC (Straight out of the Camera) shot of the weird mold.]