It's a Beautiful Day in Alabama

Good morning.  It’s a lovely day.  Other than my usual morning chores I have filled the birdfeeders and added water to the birdbaths.  I can only do a little at a time because of the dizziness.  Eventually I will get caught up. 

Today I have started doing more research on my genealogy.  Right now I am trying to finalize a few details for the Leipnitz tree.  I hope to put all those classes to good use.  In fact, I am thinking about starting a blog about my ancestors.  We shall see. 

Went to supper with Kevin and Renea at Red Lobster.  Love that place.  I always have a tendency to overeat when I go there, but it sure was good.  Stephanie has started moving out of the house her and her friends have been renting.  She is storing her “stuff” in K & R’s garage until the girls move into their apartment.  Watched a little television this evening, and have almost finished the book I am reading.

It’s Saturday and Kevin and Renea have left for Cancun.  I am dog sitting today for Lola and Copper.  They are such neat dogs, and are always glad to see me.  I will be going back and forth several times today.  I am also doing some research on my Leipnitz family.  And, in between, I am watching the Xfinity race.

I spent some time at K & R’s with the dogs, both in the afternoon and after supper.  Today was actually a strange kind of day.  Steph texted me that she heard from Renea and they had arrived in Cancun just fine.  A couple of pictures were posted on facebook.

Sunday morning I fed the dogs their breakfast.  I actually set the alarm so I wouldn’t sleep too late.  Stephanie came home a little later and took care of the dogs the rest of the day.  She came over to visit with me a couple of times.  I think she was checking on me.  I watched the Indy 500 and then NASCAR Sprint race.  Sat outside on the deck for a while.  Stephanie and I watered Kevin’s garden and trees.

I also worked on my genealogy.  I am finding a lot of information because of the classes I took.  However, some of the things I want to find I may have to pay.  I have decided I will never be completely finished with my research.  Every time I find one answer it leaves with me more questions.  Oh well, it gives me something to do besides weed my garden (which I am so far behind doing I may never get caught up).  I am putting a book together for each branch of the family tree.  Right now I am working on the Leipnitz/Nessler branch and Althoefer branch. 

It's Monday and there still has been no rain.  I guess we will just keep watering the garden.  It’s getting really dry around here.  I’m not complaining because I sure don’t want the floods that other areas are getting.  Today I have been doing my normal chores around the house.  Yes, I am still having problems with being dizzy.  Several people (including Jana) have suggested that it’s my blood pressure medicine which it may well be. 

Of course, I may have a heart attack before anyone decides what the problem is, and it will be Miss Penny’s fault!  This morning she was running around jumping from chair to couch to table to top of each of the book shelves, etc. just like she does every day.  Well, between two of the high book shelves there is about a three inch space.  And, guess what, she missed the shelf and fell head first between them.  What a bunch of scrambling.  I had to push her up.  She then sat on top of the shelves and would not come down.  She wouldn’t let me get her down either.  Sure did scare her, but it probably won’t stop her from jumping up there again.  Love my girl!

After supper I decided to pull some weeds since shade had moved to the front yard (deck area).  I actually pulled weeds, deadheaded flowers, and watered the flowers in three areas.  Tomorrow morning I will spray roundup in the areas. 

Good Morning.  It’s another hot sunny day in Alabama.  I have started the laundry.  Sprayed roundup where I wanted.  And now I am working on my genealogy. 

Laundry is finished and after supper I worked on pulling weeds from another section in front of the deck.  Now it needs some roundup which I will do either tomorrow or Thursday.  I also watered all of the new trees.  There are still two of the Franklin trees that have no leaves.  Don’t think they are going to make it.  The blooms on the Chaste tree are starting to open.  I will take a picture when they are in full bloom.

That’s it.  Done for the day.

Doctors, Doctors and More Doctors

Finally, they are making some decisions.  Two weeks ago I went to see my primary doctor (Dr. Miller).  He added hydrochlorothiazide to my blood pressure meds.  What a difference!  My blood pressure has leveled out and it seems we are on the right track with that.

He then added prednisone and an albuterol inhaler.  He is leaning toward the possibility of onset asthma.  No can seem to get the shortness of breath under control.  The inhaler is helping somewhat.  I do two puffs every four hours.  There is immediate relief but not long term.  I assume that is because albuterol is an emergency inhaler.  I remember that from when Jim used it.

Yesterday I had another PFT (pulmonary function test).  There wasn’t much change since the last one.  The gal that did the test also had to give me a breathing treatment of liquid albuterol and oxygen before I left.  I had a pretty rough time with the test.  I was absolutely worn out when I got home and had to take a nap. 

Today I had an appointment with my cardiologist (Dr. Bennett).  She went over all my test results that she had ordered and said everything was fine.  She also gave me the results of the PFT.  The tech did an EKG which hasn’t changed since my last one.  I have a left bundle branch blockage which I will have forever. 

I had a long talk with Dr. Bennett.  She was asking me about my headaches and dizziness.  I am also having trouble with my balance.  She decided to schedule me with a neurologist.  On the way home I received a call from his office and my appointment is for tomorrow morning at 9:30. 

Again, by the time I arrived home I was tired, and took a short nap. 

This evening I did water my plants and trees in the front yard.  One of these days I will get some weeding done.  I just have a problem with dizziness when I bend over, and I can’t kneel because it hurts my knees.

Spent several hours with the neurologist.  His name is Dr. Verson and I really like him.  From my research it seems he is one of the best around here.  It seems like I have a few problems, and he is going to have some further tests run.  He has told me that he will know something by the end of June.  All my tests are scheduled for June.  Since a big part of my problems is being dizzy and off balance he has scheduled a vertigo test and balance test. I don’t think it is vertigo.  I have had that before (many years ago) and this is different. He is also doing bloodwork, an MRI of my brain and an EEG of my brain.  He is also concerned about my blood pressure.  When they took my bp while I was laying down, it was normal.  When I stood up and they took it my bp dropped almost thirty points.  He is concerned that there may be a medicine reaction.  I feel really good about what he is doing.  He is very thorough.  I also failed the smell test and word test.  That concerns me.  I will be having these tests over the next three weeks (two a week) and then I have an appointment with Dr. Verson to get the results.

I rested a little after arriving home. 

Birds, Plants and Other Stuff

I haven’t seen “that” bird yet today, but I am still watching.  Also, I haven’t mentioned my three new tulip poplar trees that I bought last year.  All three made it thru the winter and are looking really good.  All this rain the last couple of days has really helped everything grow.  Trees, flowers, and garden all looking great.

Had another shower this afternoon.  So far we have had almost an inch of rain today.  I updated KARSAKERFARM blog today.  I have three more updates I am working on.  Kevin was working in the garden tonight so I talked to him for a while.  Kevin and Renea are taking her parents to the airport in the morning.  They have been here for a week and are now heading home. 

I am so excited about the one hydrangea bush this year.  It looks better than ever and has quite a few blooms.  There are also a lot of “buds” so I should have even more blooms.

Also, the lantanas are doing great.  They are bigger for this time of year than ever. 

Even the hummingbird bush has blooms.

Finished all of my genealogy classes.  However, I signed up for several more.  I really enjoy them and I am learning a lot.  I have also found a lot of information about my ancestors because of these classes.

The “bird” is still hanging around.  Every time I go to get my camera though he flies away.  I also saw my first hummingbird today.  And a second one.

 

Went outside to transplant some flowers that are not doing well and, of course, it started to rain.  Came in and now the sun is out.  Go figure.  I will go back out shortly.  I want to get them planted today.

Frustration – I bought a package of brand new batteries, and now that I need them I cannot find them.  I will keep looking.  I will probably buy another package.

I did get back outside.  Transplanted the flowers.  The only thing I didn’t get done was planting a few marigolds I had purchased.  They should last for another day.  Came back inside and ate supper and took a shower.  I planned to watch the All Star NASCAR race this evening.  However, it started so late I only saw the first fifty laps.  I just couldn’t stay awake any longer so Penny and I went to bed.  She is so used to me going to bed at a certain time that she was pestering me.  So, I gave her a treat and we went to bed.

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day.  I ended up mowing all the grass in my front yard while Kevin mowed the back yard.  Now I am worn out.  I have had my shower and will be joining Kevin and Renea for supper.

By the way, I never did find my batteries so I borrowed some from Renea.

Birds,Trees and Other Stuff

I am sitting here working on my blog and watching two very pretty Eastern Bluebirds sitting on top of my backyard birdfeeder.

Today is Sunday and it is a quiet day.  Kevin took Bruce, Jennifer and Bethany to the Atlanta airport so they could head for home.  While they were here they found a house that they liked and would probably be buying.  They will be moving from Colorado this summer.

I basically took the day off.  Didn’t do much of anything.  I did watch the NASCAR race this afternoon.  Had supper with Kevin, Renea, and Renea’s parents.  They will be here until Friday.  Wasn’t anything good on television so I did some reading and went to bed early.

This morning I woke to a pretty, sunny day.  The temperature is supposed to be around 80 degrees.  I went outside and watered my plants and new trees.  Sure hope we get the rain they are forecasting for this week.  We really need it.  Some of my plants are looking really sad even though I am watering them. 

Watched DWTS tonight.  It was sad to see those two couple leave.  It had reached a point where everyone was really good and well liked.  Have no idea who will win next week. 

This was kind of a sad day.  Jana returned her dog to the SPCA.  Paddy had just become too much for her to handle.  Even though she loved her there were problems.  She had reached a point where she would not listen.  Jana would have to go out to get her when it was time to come in, and several times she caused Jana to almost fall.  She barked non-stop.  However, the final problem came when she started jumping the fence.  Luckily she went into the yard next door to Jana which was also fenced, but Jana was afraid she would jump the fence on the other side and run away.  She also worried that she would get hit by a car.  I think she made the right decision and so does she.  Jana said she will eventually get another dog, but it will be smaller and not have any hound mix. 

Tuesday morning I woke up to rain.  I decided to go to the store anyway.  When I left here it was raining really hard.  By the time I arrived at Lowe’s it was not raining at all.  So I was able to get my potting soil and a few new plants without getting wet.  I then went to Kroger and when I got out of the car there was another downpour.  Upon leaving the rain had stopped.  By the time I arrived home it was raining again.  I won’t complain because we really need it.  I took out the items to go in the refrigerator and freezer and left everything else in the car.  I waited for the rain to stop then got the rest of the items out.

I plan on transplanting some of the plants that look sad in hopes that I can save them.  I also bought some new ones that I hope will grow okay in the cement planters.  Hopefully I will get lucky and be able to do some of this tonight or tomorrow.

Since I have started taking the prednisone and using the inhaler I have been feeling better.  I am getting a little bit of ambition back.  I sure hope these medications do the trick. 

Wednesday is being kind of a rough day.  I guess it’s because of the weather.  I am short of breath and not feeling my best.  However, when I took the mail to the mailbox I did check my new trees since we have had this rain.  Of course, I had to include Jim's tree.

Jim’s tree, the Dawn Redwood, has grown quite a bit.  It sure looks great.

The Hardy Pansy Redbud also looks healthy.

The Chaste tree has a lot of flower buds on it.  I am really excited about when it blooms.  I will definitely post pictures. 

Four of the six Franklin trees also look really good.  The leaves on two of them not so good.  Hopefully, the rain will revive them.  This is just one of the trees.

The golden rain tree looks really good.

I just looked out my front window and saw a bird that I have no idea what it is.  It was sitting on top of the hook with my hummingbird feeder.  By the time I got my camera it was gone.  I just finished going thru three bird books that I have.  I think it is an Eastern Kingbird which is from the flycatcher family. 

I finished the first half of my next genealogy class.  Making progress.

That bird was back after supper.  Sitting in the same place.  Still no picture.  Maybe tomorrow.  I will be watching.

Stephanie Graduates And I Go To The Doctor

Had a really nice Mother’s Day.  Brian called this morning and I received messages on facebook from Samantha, Steven and Brianna.  Kevin came over and visited this morning.  Renea, Stephanie and Ryan came over this afternoon.  Later in the afternoon I had supper with Kevin, Renea and grandkids.  They also had a friend over who is stationed at Ft. Benning for a class.  Ryan and Stephanie were friends with him in New York.  We had a great meal.  I was then given a gift card for Barnes and Noble.  It was from Brian and family and Kevin and family.  I also received cards from Penny, Stephanie, and Brian and Tracy.  It was a good day.

 

Monday was laundry and get stuff done around the house kind of day.  Also watched DWTS.  Now it is down to those I like.  It will be interesting to see who wins.

 

Miss Penny gave me a bit of a scare tonight.  I had just about fallen asleep when I heard this awful noise.  I got out of bed, turned on the light, and Penny was hiding under the table.  I knew she had done something.  What she did was flip one of the living room blinds so that it went up and rolled around the roller.  The little plastic handle went flying across the room.  She does keep me on my toes (so to speak).

 

Tuesday was grocery day and just being lazy.  Bruce, Jennifer and their youngest daughter, Bethany, flew in from Colorado for Stephanie’s graduation.  They will also be house hunting as they plan to move here this summer.  Bruce has taken a job on Ft. Benning.  It was good to see them.

 

Wednesday was doctor day.  The shortness of breath has been getting worse.  Dr. Miller has decided to do another breathing test before sending me to a pulmonologist.  He is also putting me on a water pill for my high blood pressure (it was 160 over 100 when I went to see him this morning), an inhaler and prednisone.  I am waiting for Walgreens to call and say my prescriptions are ready.  I sure hope this helps.

 

Thursday I checked on my prescriptions and was told that there was a problem with one of them.  Seems the insurance company would not approve the inhaler.  So, I drove to Walgreens and picked up the other three prescriptions, and talked to the druggist about the inhaler.  Apparently, Dr. Miller prescribed one that the insurance company would not pay for.  The druggist called the doctor’s office, and, of course, a message had to be left for the nurse who would then have to check with Dr. Miller.  Still no inhaler. 

 

In between all of this I have been working on family genealogy.  I have been finding all types of information, and printing copies.  I have decided this is going to be an ongoing project which I probably will never finish.  That’s okay.  I enjoy working on it.

 

Today Renea’s mom and dad came into town for Stephanie’s graduation.  This time they flew into Atlanta rather than drive.  Kevin picked them up from the airport.  They will be here for a week.

 

It is now Friday.  This morning I started on my new blood pressure pill (water pill) and the prednisone.  I still don’t have the inhaler.  I called the doctor’s office and was told that Dr. Miller was out of the office until Monday.  The nurse cannot change the prescription.  Therefore, I will have to wait until Monday for the inhaler.  Meanwhile, I am still short of breath!

 

While sitting here working on the computer (I have been working on my blog, Kevin’s blog and genealogy) I noticed the birds carrying on something fierce.  They were flying away from the purple martin houses, bird feeders, and trees.  They were making a very loud commotion.  Well, lo and behold, here comes the big beautiful hawk that lives in the woods behind our houses.  The birds were protecting their young.  He flew around and then went into the woods.  He is absolutely beautiful.  I wish I knew what kind of hawk he is, but I have only seen him in flight.

 

Today is Saturday, and it is an absolutely beautiful day.  I received a phone call late yesterday and was told that one of the other doctors called in a new prescription for an inhaler. So first thing this morning I drove in to pick it up.  I used it the first time today.  I immediately had a headache and felt jittery.  I have been told that is normal.  We will see how it goes.

 

Stephanie graduated from college today.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree.  It is in Exercise Science.  We are all so proud of her.  After graduation everyone came back to Kevin and Renea’s for a party.  Many of her friends also attended.  We all had a really nice time.  Of course, I didn’t make it through the whole party.  I finally fizzled out about 9:30.  It was a long day for me.

Windy Weather and Allergies

Today was a busy day.  First on the agenda was going to the lab to have blood drawn.  I have a doctor appointment next Wednesday.  I then headed to Barnes and Noble and bought a couple of books that I have been waiting for.  Then on to Walmart to get a few necessities.  Next was home for lunch.  Boy, was I hungry since I didn’t have breakfast.  Lab work was fasting.

After lunch I started mowing the third section (as you know I mow grass in sections since my yard is so big) and when I was about half finished I ran out of gas.  Of course, the mower was in the front of the yard.  Kevin has these really big gas cans and I cannot lift them, so the mower had to sit where it was until Kevin got home.  He filled the mower for me, and I finished all of my grass.  He is mowing the backyard.

That’s it for tonight.  I am pooped!

Another windy day.  Both yesterday and today we have been under a wind advisory.  It can stop now.  It is so miserable I don’t even want to go outside.  However, I did go out in the back yard and take some pictures of the garden and orchard.  The garden is doing great and so is the orchard.  In fact, we have apples, peaches and lemons on the trees in the orchard.  The garden is producing all kinds of veggies.  If you check karsakerfarm.com you will see some pictures.  Our pecan trees are not doing well.  One has leaves, two have buds and the other three have nothing. 

I have spent the rest of the day doing inside fun work – dishes, etc.  I did make a couple of phone calls.  I have been researching a few genealogy classes that I am interested in taking.  There are four that I will probably take this month. 

Good Morning!  The wind is blowing again.  I have had enough of this.  I have a lot of work to do in the yard, but I can’t breathe with the wind blowing like it is.  However, I did water my plants and new trees in the front yard this morning.  Everything is looking good except the one potted plant on my deck.  I have moved it so it is out of the wind and I hope it will recover.

It was mostly an indoor kind of day which means I did my laundry.  I also did some reading and basically took it easy.  This evening I started watching the truck race.  I like that race because it is usually exciting.  They were racing in Kansas City so they started later than normal.  I lasted until about 10:15. By that time they still had over a hundred laps to go because of seven cautions.  I decided to go to bed since I was lucky to keep my eyes open.

Another warm and sunny day.  The wind is not blowing as hard so I decided to do some weeding after I did my morning chores.  I finished one area and then decided to call it quits for a while.  Kevin is out back weeding his garden.  Renea is shopping with Stephanie.  I plan on watching the Kentucky Derby later this afternoon.  I don’t know a thing about any of the horses, I just like watching them run.  Tonight I will watch the Sprint race.  Hopefully, I will be able to stay awake.

Made it to the end of the race!

A Bit of a Shock!

Thursday I went to the bank, stopped at Companion Animal Hospital with Penny’s stool (received a call that everything was okay), and then on to Walgreen’s to pick up my prescriptions.  One of the prescriptions was a shocker.  Before OPERS changed insurance I was paying $75 for a 90 day supply.  Now with the new insurance it is $350 for a 90 day supply.  That was a shocker as I said before.  The gal at Walgreens tried to get it lower, but no such luck and there is no generic.  I paid it, but I will be checking with my doctor to see if he can put me on something else.

 

Visited with Kevin and Renea for a while in the afternoon.  Talked to Jana. And just did some odds and ends.  I did receive the bedspread and pillow shams I had ordered.  I will put them on the bed tomorrow.

 

It has been a really busy day today.  I started house cleaning.  Since it is going to be around 90 degrees today and tomorrow I thought this would be a good time.  I have finished the living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry area.  Tomorrow I plan to do the bathroom and bedroom.

I took the other set of curtains and curtain rod down in the living room.  Penny was starting to reach for them and I was concerned that she might try to jump on them like she did the others.  I will be doing some research to find something for those windows.  Right now I just have plain white shades.  Looks kind of weird.  Besides Penny has figured out how to pull on them so they go all the way up.  Apparently she doesn’t like them even half way down.  Thinking back, Jim and I didn’t kid proof our house when the boys were growing up, but I sure am cat proofing my house now.  We didn’t even cat proof it when we had Rodney.  Miss Penny just thinks everything is hers, and she is in charge.  I think she is in charge also. 

 

I tried to train her using a squirt bottle of water, but she thinks that is a game.  She wants to play with the water.  She tries catching it.  Oh well, life is short so why worry.  She is special to me.

 

Finished my house cleaning today.  I am doing several loads of laundry; the curtains I took down, bedclothes, towels, etc.  I put the new bedspread and pillow shams on the bed.  I am really happy with them.  They brighten up the room. 

When I took the trash out I noticed that I have a dark purple iris blooming.  It is in the same pot as the yellow ones.  I need to figure out when to separate the bulbs.  They are getting pretty tight.

Also, my star jasmine is blooming.  The flowers are really small but pretty.

It’s been threatening to rain the past few days so I haven’t been out to mow the grass.  So, this I finally decided to mow the grass this afternoon since the rain never arrived.  And guess what, it’s raining.  I even watered my plants this morning.  That’s probably why it is raining.  Guess I will read for a while J
 

Ok, that was just a quick shower.  So, after supper I mowed the grass (circle and north side), watered two of the new trees, filled the birdfeeders and hung the hummingbird feeder.  That’s it for tonight!

A quick check of my new trees.  This is the golden raintree.  It is doing quite well.  Looks healthy.

This is the Forest Pansy Redbud.  Sure is different, but is doing well. 

I love the leaves.  They are so unique.

You can hardly see the Chase tree.  It blends with the grass.  Looks like a bush now, but they call it a tree.  It looks like it is getting buds at the tips of each branch.  Supposed to have purple flowers.  Good for the bees.