Just need to talk to my friends (191)

Mint

Hi Iris. Nice to hear you on the porch.

Beth your garden is beautiful as usual.

Glad you got a little rain this morning Lorita. Think Judith is right. Know your feelings though deal with some of that too.

Take care everyone

Iris L.

Lorita, I had posted long responses to members on the patient boards, and they wore my brain out, so it was hard for me to follow all the posts on this thread and I couldn't keep up.

Iris

Lorita

Thank you, Judith, you've always been a good and helpful friend to my family. I don't know of anything you can do to help right now - I think Todd is going to have to take over and get help for her. You're right, I can't do anything except make phone calls and that doesn't seem to help because she doesn't follow through. I guess she's just too ill to try. I haven't been able to get in touch with her today - she was supposed to call Russell Murray Hospice to get into their program which will take a whileand, of course, she didn't do that. I can't help but try when there's something I think I might be able to do. I'm afraid some day Todd will come in and she'll be gone - in her sleep, just like Scarlet. For someone in such pain with no real future in sight, that might be a relief for her. I hate to write that - there's just no good quality of life for her.

I just got back in from checking the barn and the girls. It's so nice out - mid 80s but not humid. Mom had her new baby away from the others but close enough. Baby was sort of bucking and trying to run. Amazing how they keep their new ones away from the others a day or so to let them bond.

News said that yesterday and today the average world temperature was higher than it's ever been - 60+ degrees Scary thing in store for us, I'm afraid. I don't want to be around when it gets much hotter.They were talking about something called "ghost forrests" along the Atlantic coast where the salt water has gotten to the trees and they're dying. I'm afraid we're going to lose more trees, too - from the drough. But, we've had droughts before and that didn't happen. It's all over this part of the State.

News Also said the jackpot is now over 500 million dollars. Guess I can't even think about winning it since I've never bought a ticket.

Barbara, I've been thinking about you the last few days and am wondering how you are by now. I know you were having some health problems the last time we heard from you. Please let us know how you are. Any more books in the offing? Still have to finish reading your last one but I have such dry eyes it makes it sort of hard to read - but I was really enjoying it. I'll stop for now and listen to the world news.

Ron, hope today has been a good day for you and Lou. Heard something on the news about a shooting that happened in Shreveport. Did you get rain this morning? I thought we were going to get a good rain but somehow instead of going north of us, it went south and dropped a lot of water.

harshedbuzz

@ronald71111 how frustrating to be referred out to yet another doctor with all you have on your mind. I do hope something comes along soon.

@BethL your pictures look like something out of a garden catalog.

@Lorita I am sure you must worry about dear Sarah; I have 2 motherless nieces about whom I worry as much as I do my son. Sometimes more to be honest. She seems to be her own worst enemy at times.

Speaking of worry, my bestie's DH is still in the hospital with some sort of chest infection and fluid around his chest. He's not typically a model patient and she trends towards anxiety, but this time he's developed hospital psychosis and she's struggling to meet him where he is thinking she can snap him back to reality. Last night she was escorted to her car by a nurse manager and security which is never good. We've been talking and texting all day. I'm wrung out and can only imagine what she's feeling right now.

In the middle of all this, DS announced that he's meeting a girl from a dating app at a local sports bar after dinner. He's old enough to date but with his autism I worry about him getting hurt more than I would a young adult who is neurologically typical. LOL, my husband is more anxious about this than I am. I hope it goes well. All I know is that she's 26 and her name's Alison. He's texting me cat videos, so I guess she's not there yet.

HB

BethL

Lorita, we don't have irrigation. We water as needed. More so watering the flowers and vegetables than the lawn. The lawn can go dormant in drought, but flowers could die. We enjoy our yard a great deal.

Zetta, you asked about the shed. We have garden tools, lawnmower, etc in it. I do like the shutters on the window with the window box, and the weather vane on the shed.

Eagle, your puppy is adorable!!! Thanks for sharing pictures.

Hugs to all. Beth

Lorita

Hi again, Ron, you probably looked at a lot of cars before you bought your new one. Remind me what kind you bought, please. I'm looking at the new Dodge Hornet. Not even sure the dealer close to me has them in stock - I'll find out tomorrow - if I'm in the mood.

Did talk with Sarah and she said she talked with Hospice so I'll assume she did. I'll try to get all of that off my mind.

Night is about to fall and it's 77 degrees. Beth, we've had 18" of rain so far this year which is a few inches below average. We do have chances for the next three days, especially in the morning so hope it materializes and doesn't go north or south of us. There's hardly any grass in our yard so it looks strange. I drove down in the NE pasture and there's pretty good grass in parts of it - others not so much. The rain we had this morning, half an inch, was nice and slow so it soaked in. Bartlesville, in northern Oklahoma, north of Tulsa, is on water restriction - only can water outside one day a week. Their water capacity is only 57% and if they don't get good rains they'll have to restrict any outside watering. Most of our lakes are okay except Hula, Copan and one other in northern Oklahoma. Sorry, didn't mean to get into all of that - I know it's not of interest to you all, just started typing and thinking.

Got part of my WM order today - guess the rest will come tomorrow - and he brought it to the front porch.

Wish you all could have seen the less than a day old baby bucking and running - he is so cute. Zetta, you would have wanted to hug him for sure. Hope all of you can sleep well tonight. See you tomorrow.

littleme

Hello Lorita, thanks for thinking of me. Yes I have been busy. Interstate daughter son-in-law and teenage grandson have been here for the last week, which has been wonderful! They left this morning for a 2-day drive home. Fingers crossed no dramas on the way. They hired a house [BnB] as grandson has ADHD and would bounce off the walls in my small house.

I did have a flare up of arthritis, especially in my hands, which is both painful and frustrating. With docs approval, I had a short increase of prednisolone for 5 days, then tapered down for another 5 days. That worked beautifully, as it has done in the past. So I am back to my 'normal' prednisolone dose, and normal pain levels , which I can cope with OK.

Yes, I am still writing books, and have another due out on Amazon on the 16th of this month. I don't think I shared with you, that I now write short romance novels -- classed as 'clean and wholesome' as there is NO sex. They are set in various places around Australia, that I have gotten to know over my long life. The upcoming one is actually set around my home town, and there is quite a lot of my childhood and young years in the heroine's story, as well. If anyone is interested, just search for my name [Barbara Randell] in the Kindle Book store. There are 5 or 6 titles there now.

In my spare time .. ie in front of the TV at night, I have begun to make crochet toys and clothes, which are donated to a charity, and then given away to people in need. Lots of people are finding life difficult, as the bank interest rates on home mortgages have risen so much, and we are in the middle of a cold winter. I can't do much to help, but hope even my little contribution makes someone happier.

the photo is of some of the toys I make, and also some little clothes and a lady's scarf. Lots of people are giving me small balls of wool, when they finish a major project, so I only have to buy the stuffing.

.

ronald71111

Good morning front porch friends!

I'm still having visible blood in my urine and feeling more and more depressed about not having answers for the nodule at the GOj. So will keep my post short!

I posted this a few weeks ago, but am making it today for a church function this evening.

Banana pudding:

Vanilla wafers

3 bananas

1 large pig (6oz serving size) vanilla instant pudding

2 cups milk

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 carton (9oz size) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Line bottom and side of a 9x13 inch glass dish with vanilla wafers (you can butter sides to make wafers stick). Cover wafers completely with sliced bananas (use 4 if you really like bananas). Prepare pudding according to package directions except using only two cups of milk and fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate for several hours. Serves 8 to 20. I use a little lime juice on bananas to keep from turning brown.

Ron

harshedbuzz

My son got stood up. I feel badly for him.

ladyzetta

Good Morning All.

Barbara. I love all those sweet little things you make and being so thoughtful donating them to charity. Those faces on the puppies and kitties are precious. Iam sorry you're having to deal with arthritis while doing something you love to do. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

HB. I know how bad you feel for your son, just tell him this was not the right person and she showed him that by not showing up. My son met a few online that were fine. I also have a friend who met her husband online and they have been married for 20 years. He was a winner.

Ron. Sorry you're still not getting the answers you need. Thanks for the banana pudding recipe. It looks really good. Have fun at the church function. I hope Lou, is not a handful and you both enjoy the evening.

Lorita. You are so right I want to hug that baby. On my phone my daughter put something called "Neighbors" so I get sweet pictures daily of things people want to share. This morning I got a picture saying, "Its a Boy" and there was a sweet picture of a black and white baby calf he was only a few hours old. If I knew how to send pictures I would have sent that one. I will see if I can save it and have my son show me how to send it. I think this picture was from Texas.

Iam sending you all wishes for a good day. Iam getting ready to go do my job. ☺️

Hugs Zetta

Lorita

Hi,

Thanks, Ron, for that recipe. It does sound delicious. I'd have to cut it in half and may get the ingredients and make it anyway. Hope you enjoy this evening. How is Lou doing?

Barbara, so glad you posted. So sorry about the arthritis in your hands and am glad the Prednisone worked. I'm knee deep in Prednisone but for cats and the GPs - also works for them. I also have arthritis in my hands - they look so knotty. I attribute some of that to years of typing and speedwriting. My doctor's hands are almost as bad as mine. He looked at mine a while back and said "your poor hands". They don't hurt so in that I'm lucky. I can't put my hands flat on a table because my ring finger, left hand won't bend to straighten out. A friend once told me your hands hurt while arthritis is beginning but after it's in there, it doesn't hurt. Guess she's right.

The things you're making are so nice. Anyone would be so happy to get any of them. Nice that you can do things like that and enjoy it. Your short stories sound really good - you have a good imagination partly taken from your life. Are you having a really cold winter? I saw on the news that the average temp for the earth is higher than it's ever been, even with the cold winters included. Nice that you had company and enjoyed having them with you for a while. Also hope their trip home is uneventful. Do you all have snow where you live?

Zetta, I wish I could take pictures of the new babies but my camera quit working and I don't want to buy another one - only take pictures of cats, GPs and calves and I have oodles of those. The baby was so cute trying out his little legs. I had promised Stormy to take him for a ride this morning to see the girls but I got up late and didn't do it - maybe this evening. I think they'll probably in the barn now.

HB, sorry the girls didn't show up but Zetta's right in what she said. But, for younger people, that's hard to understand.

Nothing going on here this morning - just gave the GPs their Prednisone and food. I hate to watch Stormy or he'll eat Sheena's - and he did this morning. I thought we'd have some rain this morning but it all went south of his - again. Still have chances tomorrow and Sunday. If we don't get rain, it's going to be a long, hot summer without much hay or grass for the girls. Fedex just delivered a couple of small boxes from WM. Sort of aggravates me that when I order, they break it into two or three deliveries. I know all I ordered didn't come yesterday and today. Guess I shouldn't fuss about it though.

I'll be back later.

ronald71111

Not going to the mens supper tonight! I'm so flustered I'm about ready to start pulling my hair out. Called the VA community care to see if they would expedite the referral and found out the dr they had sent me to Wednesday hadn't sent them the paperwork and they cant do anything till they receive it. Called the Drs office and they are closed till Monday. Called the office they wanted to send me to, hoping they had sent them something. They hadnt@ Lou's sitter cant make it so I called one of the guys and asked them to stop by and pick up the pudding. I didnt feel like going anyway!! They were having rattlesnake, brisket and ribs.

On a positive note received a call from my brother and SIL has recieved the ok from her dr to travel, so they are coming to visit. Maybe they can calm my nerves!

Ron

Mint

Barb it is nice that you still have things that keep you active. My nephew that helps me a lot has ADHD. Your crocheted items look nice.

HB sorry about what happened to your son. Know that anything that hurts him hurts you too.

Ron wish you could find a little peace. Know you are having it tough right now.

jfkoc

Ron...I am so sorry, I understand how "difficult" it is to have no control! Sometime the thought occurs to me "this is when people drink". I have a bottle of Blue Saphire in the freezer. Just knowing it is there is oft times calming...lol

Lorita

Hi again.

Judith, what's Blue Sapphire? Anything, though, to help our thoughts and give us security when we need it.

Ron, I don't know what to say. I'm finding that the private sector and sometimes the VA is slow to get things done. VA used to not be that way - everything was done at the VA Hospitals. Things have changed. Maybe if you can just try to put it out of your mind it might be better but when we worry about something that's so hard to do. I'm glad your brother and SIL will be able to come and be with you. That will help for sure.

Have you ever eaten rattlesnake? I haven't and have no plans to even think about it. I've heard it tastes like chicken - but, they say that about everything.

It's 89 and humid but not too bad. Yesterday I didn't take Stormy with me when I checked the girls and felt bad about it. He seemed to be pouting. So, I took him this evening. We drove way down in the NE pasture and around all the girls. There's another new baby - not very old at all, maybe an hour or so. He was up and looking for the place where he could get some milk. I have the hardest time not trying to help them and always have but I didn't. We stopped there for a while, then on down to check out the other new baby - he was laying down but got up when we got close. There were several little ones laying in that area with a couple of moms closeby. Then on up to see the others - they were grazing and believe it or not - the grass in part of that pasture is good. There are still areas where there isn't any. I was told it would rebound after the weeds were gone and the fertilizer was down and with a little bit of rain.Charles and I overseeded a part of that pasture where the grass wasn't good but I guess that's gone by now.

We drove all among the girls and passed by Mr. Samson. He started away from us but I talked to him and he stopped. He's doing his job for sure. Also saw Billy the Bull and talked with him. I counted the tiny ones and there's 13 or 14 of them and as many as that who are 3-4 months old. Funny how the tiny ones stay together - also the others.

It was an enjoyable drive and I know Stormy liked it. We got back to the house and he's laying down in front of the floor fan. They're not used to being outside. Does me good to get out among them - I miss fooling with them like I used to but with an Angus bull it seems calving is easier. When we had Brangus bulls the calves were big and sometimes calving was hard. I mentioned this to Mike and he said with all of his new calves he has only had to pull one. Of course there may have been others who needed it or didn't survive. The calves look a little different - not as big and with a little different attitude and their ears are different - they stand out and look round - Brangus calves' ears are a little floppier and don't stand out as much. But, I like Brangus cattle - they're big and strong. Remember Jasper weighed `2200 lbs. and his dad was as big as he. Still need to read that book Bridget sent to me that Dr. Pol wrote "Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow" - don't know if that's true but if you're around them and talk to them I don't think it would apply. Enough of that stuff you all aren't interested in.

Ron, talking about brisket - Charles and his brother, Jerry could smoke or cook the best brisket. When I was growing up we had our own beef but never had brisket - my parents had them cut it a different way.

Talked a bit with Sarah this afternoon - she's been taking care of business today - making phone calls and being put on hold. I hate being put on hold but it really happens a lot. There's rain north of Tulsa but it won't make it here. By the middle to end of next week temps will be back in the hundreds. Hate that - Oklahoma summers are not fun. Saw, again this evening, that this is the 4th day the earth has been hotter than eve

Hope you all have a good evening and a better weekend. May be all feel better and get rid of our aches and pains. Seems like there's more of them as we mature. Maybe we can hear something from Jo in a few days to see how she and Bill are. See you all tomorrow.

ronald71111

I needed a little humor today and found this!

Ron

Hillbilly Moms Letter

Dear Son, I'm writing this slow 'cause I know you can't read fast.

We don't live where we did when you left.

Your dad read in the paper that most accidents happen within twenty miles of home, so we moved.

Won't be able to send you the address as the last Arkansas family that lived here took the numbers with them for their house, so they wouldn't have to change their address.

This place has a washing machine. The first day I put four shirts in it, pulled the chain and haven't seen 'em since.

It only rained twice this week, three days the first time and four days the second time.

The coat you wanted me to send to you, Aunt Sue said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with them heavy buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

We got a bill from the funeral home, and it said if we didn't make the final payment on Grandma's funeral bill, up she comes.

About your sister, she had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether if it is a boy or girls so dont know if you are an Aunt or Uncle???

Your Uncle John fell in the whiskey vat. Some men tried to get him out, but he fought them off playfully, so he drowned.

We cremated him and he burned for three days.

Three of your friends went off the bridge in a pickup.

One was driving and the other two were in the back. The driver got out. He rolled down the window and swam to safety.

The other 2 drowned. They couldn't get the tailgate down.

Not much more news this time.

Nothing much happened. If you don't get this letter, please let me know and I will send another one.

Love, Mom

P.S. - I was going to send you some spending money, but I had already sealed the envelope and mailed it.

Lorita

Ron, those are some of the funniest things I've ever read. Love that. I needed some humor, too. Thanks for posting. I should write this down so I can read it when I'm down.

Lorita

eaglemom

Ron, thanks for sharing. I'm so sorry that you are so frustrated. You've not asked them to do much, just their jobs!!! I seriously have used the "if this were someone you loved, you'd hurry it through the process. Could you please help me out and do that for me? I'd really appreciate it." Sometimes it works, other times not so much. Your banana pudding did sound good.

Hot and windy here. When I open the door to take the dogs out its like walking into a blast furnace, yuck. I used to like the heat and was able to tolerate it well. I've found the older I get the less I can handle the heat.

Since we've not heard from Jo I think I'll reach out to her tomorrow. Just want to check on both she and Bill. I knew she'd not be on the boards, but I'd hoped by now she would have checked in. Of course I'll report back what I find out.

Think we're going to watch a movie. Not sure what movie, but something. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be feeling better and things will turn around.

eagle

Jo C.

Hello Dear Ones. Thank you everyone for your support, your prayers and good wishes, it is deeply, deeply appreciated; you are all wonderful. Ron, thank you for the chuckles, it really hit a much needed spot. Lorita, Blue Sapphire is gin - like for making tee many martoonies. Joan, I have been thinking of you and hoping your back is easing up for you.

Bill's procedure with laminectomies and fusion surgically went well. Legs working well again which is amazing. Four hospital days and is now home. His recovery is not easy; (tremendous understatement), the pain is terribly significant as expected and his ability to stand, move and sit is highly compromised and fraught with much pain at this point. He is home a day and a half, and there are many difficult challenges on a 24 hour basis. Has not been able to sleep in bed much at all; stays in the recliner chair most of the time, but that too is highly uncomfortable despite all attempts to ease. Thank goodness for down pillows! Home Health came and did intake assessment today. They start PT on Monday and will have two RN visits to assess his condition.

In all of this, the day before his surgery, I managed to twist, turn and bend at the same time to catch a falling item when I should have been smarter, and have hurt my back. It will heal, but it takes awhile. Combined with bad, bad knees it make things shall we say, "interesting." Much more has happened, but it is not about me.

DHs pain meds have to be taken every four hours and if he does not do it in a timely manner, it is pretty awful for him and his trying to get up is over the moon dreadful. On both pain pill every four hours with muscle relaxant given twice a day and let me tell you, when both pills are on board, he flies in an alternate very strange universe. Oh my! But it does leave him being very sweet and a bit loosely goofy. Even with pain pill on board, the standing and sitting is quite difficult and highly painful.

Daughter came in from out of state for a couple of weeks and has been working non-stop on house items. Son comes in and that is good as DH really connects with him which is helpful with Mr. Stubborn. SO glad we got the recliner lift chair - that lift is priceless at this point. It is up in the bedroom. Multiple problem issues are in play and some quite challenging to say the least, will hope it will settle in tincture of time. Still having to deal with so many different contacts and issues, and am glad that I am good at doing that. I had written a very detailed Health History for DH and it has been golden for the Healthcare workers, the anesthesiologist was in giddy delight; had to grin. Also wrote a detailed HIPAA Waiver and a set of Advance Directives with detailed choices for different possibilities. Glad I did, it has saved a lot of time and frustration for one and all including us.

Feels helpless not to be able to relieve DH of the pain and give him ease and increased ability to move and walk with his walker; a new experience for him. However; was able to give him Miralax which may be easing and moving.

Lorita, Judith is correct; no way to make sense of what is actually happening with Sarah. She was never admitted to Hospice which explains why they are not there. NOTE: In ALL Hospices, there does not need to be a doctor's order to go to the home and assess the patient for service; a patient or a patient's LO can make a call and request services. The Hospice nurse assessment is then usually done within 24 hours or the same day if the need is great once they are contacted. If the patient meets Hospice criteria, the RN calls the doctor and gets an order to start service on the same day. If Sarah has Hospice, she does not go to the hospital; she is cared for at home for end of life care which is what Hospice is. If she goes to the hospital, Hospice stops service and must be re-started once the patient is home again. Only exception is for end of life Hospice services Hospice cannot provide or intractable pain Hospice cannot quell, so that does not appear to be a dynamic. Something is not connecting with what is being communicated; I do understand how unsettled and concerning this is for you. Sarah is blessed to have you.

Beth has once again created a small corner of heaven on her property. Beautiful! Ron; I am sorry for all that is happening and especially not happening with the VA. I hope your brother and SIL can make the trip soonest; you sure can use the relief of support and a bit of assistance. I can only imagine how exhausted and burned out you must feel. We are so glad that you are with us; we get it.

HB; as a mother with sons, I can understand how your heart aches for your son. That person is not a worthy individual, best to not get involved with such a shallow and uncaring person. She could have contacted to say she could not make it, but didn't. Close call on that one. Still, it must be hurtful for him. Does he have any social connection with other groups of young adults with autism? There is one not far from us and it is all about socialization and connections;I understand it is highly positive and fun.

All the doggies are lovely. We have had MIss Olive here each day son comes; she is a love and wants to love everyone. Truly a sweetheart and smart. Well behaved thank goodness. Had to put a gate at the bottom of the stairwell so she would not bound upstairs and jump on DH who she loves. She stands at the gate and looks morose. Obviously needs a cookie!

Lawdy; DH persisted in wearing sweat pants that he bought new for post-op, (three pair)< and they are too snug around the waist. They have interfered with his surgical dressing tape which came undone due to the pants friction which is also not good for an incision. Reinforced the tape. Son will get larger pants. Told Mr. Stubborn to try them on before surgery, but ah well . . . three pair of uh-ohs but he persists in putting them on. Geeze. He said they were large size, but he evidently does not understand a garment is not always what it is marked as and that the darned things can shrink. So; hopefully tomorrow we will get him out of them as he won't wear anything else.

Weather here is beautiful. In the 60's at night and in the mid 70's in the daytime. Lovely. BUT weatherman said that the Texas heat mess will move to Arizona soon and by next week, it will be here. Ugh! Daughter must have brought it with her from Texas; she can take it back when she flies home again.

I did read a bit here while in the midst of our muddle, but no time to Post. Once again, I am really and truly deeply touched by your kindness, messages and loving caring. Heartfelt thank you's going out to all off you. Time to go, DH settling for the night and I will go and get me ready. Am very tired, did not sleep past 1:30 last night and the stress is winding down. Funny, can be so tired, but by the time I wash my face and brush my teeth I am wide awake again. That is why Kindles were invented!

Big hugs and love being sent to one and all,

J.

ronald71111

Jo C., it's good to hear from you and am glad you and Bill are now home. I'm glad your daughter was able to come and take the housework off of your shoulders. Hopefully Bill's recovery will improve with time. I know how hard it must be, I remember when I hurt my back. I drove home from work, when I got out of the car could not stand and hit the ground. I had to crawl in the house, slept on the floor that night and my dad came over and took me to the dr.

Brother and S.I.L. are here so I'm hoping my depression improves with their visit. Still hurting and dont feel well and been up since 2:30. In the old days I would be reaching for my bottle of Wild Turkey.

Ron

harshedbuzz

@Jo C. I'm glad the hospital is behind you and Bill now and that your kids are there for you, but yikes it does sounds like a rough recovery going forward. He's fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable and caring as you are a care partner.

You said: "Does he have any social connection with other groups of young adults with autism? There is one not far from us and it is all about socialization and connections ;I understand it is highly positive and fun."

There is a great local support group for parents of adult children with developmental disabilities near me which does a lot of social programming. My son has always been the individual on spectrum who has always lived in the mainstream world. The young people in the groups near me tend to be more impacted socially and intellectually by their autism. DS is in a different spot on the continuum; he was in regular classes in school, did activities like marching band and boy scouts (attained Eagle) without accommodations, graduated from a large state university, is competitively (under)employed in a public-facing job where he is valued and has friends (young men and women) from work. He and a couple of the guys are headed to a model train convention this afternoon. As a younger kid, he needed a lot of social skills instruction and scaffolding, but today he just seems quirky and immature.

HB

loveskitties

Jo, so glad to hear from you. Hope Bill and you have swift recovery...at the very least lessening of pain.

It is a blessing to have children who are willing and able to help out in these situations.

Take the best care you can of your DH and yourself.

Lorita

Morning, How nice to open the laptop and see the post from you, Jo. So happy the surgery went well for Bill and he is now in recovery mode but sorry he's in such pain. Maybe each day the pain will be a little less. How awful that you hurt your back - we do things we could normally do without thinking and then pay the penalty for it. Hope you recover soon - take it as easy as you can. Glad your daughter and son can be there to help. So glad it's over and both of you are on the road to recovery.

We had a little over a quarter inch of rain last night - in fact, there's puddles around. Stormy and I just got back from checking out the new baby. He/she was nursing so all is well. I remembered I hadn't seen Gray Lady in a while so went back for a minute but decided I'd wait and do that in the PU - don't want to use the gas in the Gator because I can't lift the gas can into the PU bed now. Mike had filled it up a week or so ago.

Glad you ladies in California are having nice weather. I saw on the weather that somewhere in California the temp is way over 100 - which we'll have by the middle to end of next week. This has been a good break for us but really wish we'd had more rain. Seems like the storms split when they get close to us and go north and south. Really irritates me that the news and weather people on TV are saying things like "hopefully, the rain is over for now" or" will be glad when this moves out". They don't think about the fact that lots of rain is needed to grow the grass for the cows to eat to make their milk and meat (can't believe I said that) and to grow the vegetables they get from the store without getting their hands dirty growing it.

Ron, glad your brother and SIL are there. I'm sure that will help with the way you feel. Sometimes a caregiver just gets overwhelmed - easy thing to happen. Rest and let them take over for a while - take a nap in the afternoon - whatever you want to do that you normally can't do.

Max slept with me last night - he likes to lay next to me and when I woke up this morning I extended my left arm and he put his foot in it. I thought that was so sweet. He's a good boy - about 9-10 years old. He's not as active as the other two and is pretty quiet most of the time. Wish I could say that for Sammy. Just heard one of the girls bawl so they may come up to the barn today.

I don't know what to think about Sarah's situation. We had a nice visit last night and she seemed in a better mood. I talked with the on-call nurse a couple of nights ago and gave her the names of Sarah's doctors which she said she'd give to the person in charge the next day so they could contact him. She said they also have to get Sarah's medical records. Sarah told me they did come out to the house a while back but don't really know. I told her what the woman said about her hanging up when told she couldn't get her meds right away. She said she thought they hung up on her. I think she's not thinking clearly when she's taking her medication. Just hope this works out this time - I can't do anything more from this end that I know of.

Hope everyone else is well this morning. I'll be back later today.

eaglemom

Doesn't it feel good that Jo has checked in? Both Bill & she have quite an uphill battle of healing, but being home has to help. Hopefully they'll get a routine and that will help somewhat. I'm thrilled their daughter is there to help for a bit.

Last night must have been the night to be awake. I was wandering around about 3:15, ugh.

eagle

Iris L.

Jo C, it's good to hear from you. Both of you, get well soon!

Iris

Mint

JoC glad you were able to check in. Hope things start smoothing out for both of you soon.

HB sounds like you DS is a lot like my dear nephew even though they have two different disabilities. The hospital where I worked employed several people with autism. I always tried to be friendly with everyone I worked with. Everyone there had an important job to keep things safe and running smoothly and I appreciated that. Some of them I didn’t realize they had autism til one of their coworkers mentioned it. Now one of them would never talk with me or be friendly and I tried hard to be nice. Didn’t take it personally since I knew something was wrong. Felt bad for him. He didn’t work in housekeeping, he actually delivered supplies to the floors and had done so for several years, so must have been doing ok.

Ron hope having family around is helping some.

The guy I work with where I volunteer called me today. He is now in hospital at Ohio State and needs an ablation probably and a pacemaker/defibrillator. He is in a wheelchair so will go to rehab when he gets out. Had planned on going back July 18th, but told them I would come back this Tuesday. Told them I will decide about each Thursday as it comes. Don’t want to feel rushed, do much better when I don’t feel rushed.

Lorita I would dread those temperatures too. Don’t think I remember a day that hot here in Ohio. Remember visiting my uncle and aunt when they lived in Houston and it was over a hundred when we went to bed at night.

I have several little tomatoes setting on now. We will see what I get.

hope each and everyone gets a peaceful night of sleep

Lorita

Sara, just be careful when you go back to work - take each day at a time. Hope your little tomatoes go ahead and make. Here, when it's so hot in the summer, the vines will bloom but not set fruit so we have to keep them going until it gets cool in the fall.

Haven't done anything today - did see the girls this morning, checked the barn late this evening and went to the mail box. Saw the new baby with his mom and another cow a little away from the others. The herd was divided - some in the NE pasture and some in the south. It got warm this afternoon -88 right now.

When Stormy and I checked the girls this morning I looked at those trees in the pasture. Something is eating the insides of the leaves on those trees. The skeleton of the leaf is there but that's why those trees were looking so sparse. This happened with some Chinese Elms we had at the MH many years ago. Some kind of bugs - we sprayed them and got rid of them. Seems like there's always something waiting to eat something else. Wish something would get rid of the grasshoppers.

Just took a fresh loaf of bread out of the machine - looks good. I'll let it cool five minutes or so before I spread butter on it to keep the crust from getting so hard. I had part of a loaf left but it molded on one side so cut that off and cut up the rest to give to the birds or Rusty. Don't know if squirrels eat bread or not.

I think we got .7" of rain today. I had .5" in the gauge but I think I emptied it. This morning there was just over .2" and when I emptied it when I went to the barn it had .7". That makes a total of 18.7" this year - if I did empty it. Guess I did because I told Mike it showed just over .2". You do things so often it becomes a routine and sometimes it's hard to remember if you really did it. Maybe that comes from getting more mature.

Jo, hope today was good for both you and Bill - glad you'll have some help for a while. Post when you feel like it - always like to hear from you.

Rest well tonight - see you tomorrow.

Lorita

We finally have gotten our rain1 I woke up during the night and it was raining, woke up a couple of hours later and it was still raining. When I did get up I hurried out to see how much was in the rain gauge and was so surprised that it had 3.4" of rain in it. It's still raining softly. I guess if you wait long enough, whatever you're waiting for will come to you - at least it did in this case. Mike called to see how much we'd gotten. They got 1.5" at the Clinic which is about ten miles from here, maybe not that far and east of town it was a little more. So, guess we lucked out and got underneath the right cloud. It's in the mid 70s now - laptop says 87 but that's not right.

Seems like I'm having a lot of trouble getting on the forum and other sites when I first turn on the laptop. I think part of it may be the internet service I'm using. I need to change to our electric company one so guess I'll do that. I unplug it from the wall, wait about 30 seconds, plug it back in and it works. I'll call them tomorrow and tell them what's happening.

Time for breakfast - will be back later today. Hope everyone's okay this morning.

Mint

Glad you got rain Lorita. We got some yesterday too. One place said 1/4inch another said almost 1 inch. From what I observed outside this evening think we probably got closer to one.

Cool breezy day but lots of Japenese beetles, even found quite a few on tomato plants. Don’t remember them getting on tomatoes before, maybe I just forgot. See my one little lonely volunteer cucumber has a few blooms. We will see what happens. Am seeing quite a few bees this year which I haven’t in the past. They are really attracted to echinaceas. Going to try and get some started in backyard too, we’ll see if I hound the energy.

Thinking of each and every one