Getting Old is for Sissies!

Good Morning!


I have been out of commission for the past couple of days because of the UTI.  I am not completely better but I am back in business.  Now the pain is arthritis and fibromyalgia.  The drought is on it’s way to being over.  We had an inch of rain two days ago.  Today we are having rain and wind from the tropical storm Nestor.  And, the temperature has dropped into the 50’s.  Fall has arrived.  Of course, tomorrow is supposed to be 80 and sunny.  Then by Monday night into Tuesday we could have severe weather.  The weather folks are watching it.  Back to Alabama normal.


Yesterday I spent most of the day researching stabilizers for embroidery machines on You Tube.  I learn more on You Tube than I do anywhere else.  I won’t go into all that I found out, but let me say, I think I may have solved my problem.  Now I just need to get down to the Shack and give my new found knowledge a try.  I am also going to go on Amazon and order the stabilizers that I need.


Other than that I didn’t do much yesterday except take my meds and take it easy.  I am doing laundry today.  Probably won’t do much else.  Sure glad my washer and drier are on the same level as the rest of my house. Not sure I could handle steps today.


NOTE:  Finished my laundry!  I also ordered the stabilizers.  Did not go to Mass because of the heavy rain and flash flooding.  Besides, I still didn’t feel good.


Jana and I have decided to find some books of biographies of Saints to read.  I found a website called The Catholic Company.  We found many books there and have ordered four.  She bought two and I bought two.  We have four more picked out if we decide the first four are worth it.


Sunday we celebrated my birthday at Kevin and Renea’s.  Ryan, Stephanie and Ray were there also.  We had a great time.  Kevin grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.  Renea baked a pineapple upside down cake for me.  It sure did taste good.  I found out that Kevin doesn’t like pineapple upside down cake.  We all found out that Ray doesn’t like it either.  Oh well, the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it.  I even brought some home with me.


I spent part of Monday at the Shack.  I finished four Christmas presents, and I really like the way they turned out.  I was not happy with the way the instructions told me to make them, so I did it a different way.  I also worked on Kevin’s logo to see if I solved the problem I was having.  The answer is yes and no. 


Didn’t do much this evening.  I did watch DWTS.  I was surprised at who was cut.  Even after all the changes they made to the voting, the judges still can’t get rid of who they want to get rid of.  They were more than a little pissed last night that they had to send one of their favorites home.


This morning I headed out early and went to Tigertown.  First stop was Office Depot for ink.  Of course, I bought a few other items I couldn’t do without.  Next stop was Hobby Lobby to buy material that I can run through my ink jet printer.  I have a few projects I plan to do and I need to experiment first.  Then it was on to Kroger.  Then home for lunch and to do some catchup around the house.  I found a couple of projects I want to do for Christmas presents.  I made some notes and now I am going to type them up so I can save them.  I am looking forward to giving them a try.  After Christmas I will post some pictures of some of the presents I made.

Happy Birthday Marilyn

Time to get caught up.  Friday I spent some time in the She Shack working on some projects for me. I also had to get Penny to pee in her empty litter box so I could “collect” it and take it to the vet.  It was part of her checkup.  It was interesting because she would go up to the box, look at it, smell it and walk away.  I knew she had to go, but wasn’t sure what to do.  So, I picked her up, and put her in the litter box and told her it was okay to pee.  (Yes, I talk to Penny)  Anyway, a little later I saw her in the box, checked and found she peed.  I suctioned up the pee with this apparatus the vet gave me, and put it in the container the vet also gave me.  I put it in a non-see thru bag because I had to keep it in the refrigerator until I could get it to the vet.  I immediately put litter in the box.   


Saturday and Sunday were not good days.  I got hit with a headache and a bout of vertigo.  Needless to say, I didn’t do much.  I didn’t even make it to Mass on Saturday.  I just didn’t think I should be driving when my head was spinning.  I took a few naps and watched a little bit of television.


Monday was a busy day.  My first trip was to take Penny’s urine to the vet.  After that I went to Walmart.  I only had a few things to buy, but, as usual, I bought more than I planned.  I then headed for home.  After lunch I went down to the Shack and tried to work on my Thanksgiving t-towels to hang.  Apparently, something is wrong with my embroidery machine because it keeps eating the thread and clogging up.  I need to check a few things, and if that doesn’t fix it I will take it to Opelika Sewing and have it repaired.  So, I worked on a few other projects.


Tuesday I worked on some Christmas presents that did not need to be embroidered.


Wednesday I spent the whole day in the Shack from about 9:15 to 4:15.  I worked on my embroidery machine and I think I have it fixed.  At least I hope so.  I also worked on the other Christmas presents.  I followed the pattern instructions and did not like the way they were turning out so I changed them.  I like this better. 


About 3:00 I was having really bad pains in my lower back, around to my stomach and down one leg.  I had a few twinges earlier but this was bad.  So at 4:15 I closed up the Shack and headed to home.  I called Renea, she was on her way home and arrived a few minutes after I called.  I had decided I had either kidney stones, appendicitis or diverticulosis.  Renea didn’t think it was any of that.  She thought it was arthritis, which I bad in my back, or I aggravated a nerve or muscle by sitting all day.  So, off we went to Urgent Care.  After several tests and a checkup they found that I had a Urinary Tract Infection.  I have never had a UTI so I can no idea that could have been my problem.  I received two prescriptions which we had filled at Walgreens right away.  I took both of them before I went to bed.


Today I am feeling a little better.  Took my pills again, and they helped.  It will probably take another couple of days before all of the pain is gone.  I am definitely not walking well.  I am walking bent over.  Less pain that way. 


Happy Birthday Marilyn 😊


P.S.  I hope this isn’t a sign for the year to come!

Just another week

The start of another week.  This past weekend I did pretty much nothing.  I was really tired from all I did last week.  However, today is the start of another busy week.  I have been trying to call Companion Animal Hospital since I received a card telling me that Penny is due for her annual checkup.  Also, she has been doing a lot of licking and she has “almost” bald spots on different parts of her body.  Not sure what the problem is, but I sure would like to find out.  I can’t get through to Companion.  Every time I call they tell me all circuits are busy.  Try again.

NOTE:  This afternoon I finally got through and Penny has an appointment for tomorrow afternoon at 3:00.

Apparently, it is my phone and I can’t make any calls this morning.  In fact, when I tried getting on the internet I kept getting kicked off.  Seems there must be a problem somewhere.

I am waiting for the brick guys to come this morning.  They left an absolute mess in my front yard consisting of broken bricks, cement and junk.  Kevin took some pictures yesterday and sent them to the guys.  He told them they did a great job with the wall and steps, but sure left a mess.  For what we paid them, he was very disappointed.  They wrote back and said they would be here first thing in the morning to clean up.  They have not arrived.  Oops! My bad.  They just pulled in.  However, it is now 9:30 a.m.  I guess that’s first thing for them.

NOTE:  They apologized and have done a great job cleaning up. 

This morning I just finished a few things around the house.  Then after lunch I spent the afternoon at the She Shack.  I didn’t actually do any sewing, but I did get quite a few items ready to quilt and embroider.  Can’t say what because they are Christmas gifts.

After supper I watched DWTS which I think is stupid this year.  They have it all set up so they can be sure that THEIR favorite wins.

Penny had her appointment with the vet today.  She got four shots; one for rabies, one for distemper, one for leukemia, and the other one was a steroid.  Now that she is five this will be the last one for leukemia.  The steroid is to help stop the urge to grooming herself so often.  She has created bald spots from licking herself so much.  She doesn’t have hardly any hair on her tail, back hips and back legs.  She doesn’t have fleas and no allergies.  They think it is anxiety.  Since I was gone so long when I had my knee surgery that every time I leave she thinks I will not be coming back.  This should ease up in time; hopefully.  Since she has been throwing up hairballs every night they gave me some gel to put on the top of her paws (where she will lick it off).  They are concerned that the hair will clump and cause more problems. 

Other than that I had a rather uneventful day.  Right now she is exhausted and taking a nap. 

Today is Wednesday and it was errand day.  I went to Walgreen’s to pick up my prescriptions and found out that my Losartin was not on recall.  I also went to Walmart for a few items and then dropped off four trash bags full of goodies at Goodwill. 

After lunch I went down to the She Shack and worked on a few Christmas items and a Thanksgiving tea towel for me.  I had ordered ten DVDs from this quilting club I belong to.  I found out they would not play in my portable player in the house.  So, I took them to the Shack and tried them in my built-in DVD player in my computer there.  They worked.  I brought that computer up to the house to watch them here.

I put some of the gel on Penny’s foot like the vet told me.  So far she has refused to lick it off.  This is getting interesting.  However, she doesn’t seem to be licking her body as much.  Hopefully, they shot is helping.

It’s Thursday.  Another busy day.  Started out with a phone call from Brian.  We usually talk on Sunday morning.  However, he surprised me with a call today.  It was good hearing from him. 

After talking with him, I headed for Kroger.  I bought plenty of groceries and filled the gas tank on the car.  The worse part of all this is unloading the car and bringing the food into the house.  Of course, then I have to put it all away.  By the time I am finished I am tired and my legs and back hurt.  I put the cold items away right away.  I sometimes leave the other items until evening.  I need a little rest.  So, after lunch I went down to the Shack and worked on some Christmas presents.  I can sit down doing that and it helps.  After supper I started watching my videos to help me with my quilting.  I am learning a lot!

This has gone on long enough.  I will stop here and then start another one 😊 Aren’t you lucky?

Accomplished this week's goal!

I am finished!  My goal this week was to clean my house thoroughly.  That hadn’t been done since before my knee surgery.  Needless to say, I am exhausted.  Both my knee and hip are hurting like crazy.  Time to sit down with some ice.

I also became a plumber while cleaning.  My toilet wasn’t flushing like it should.  I talked to Kevin and Renea, and they made a few suggestions.  I came home tried what they told me, and AHA it worked.  My toilet is flushing like it should.  Y’all really needed to know that didn’t you. 😊

In between cleaning I have been going down to the She Shack.  By the way, I also cleaned that room thoroughly.  I am in the process of finishing Christmas presents.  I have also been sewing, not embroidering, a few things that I have needed/wanted.  Now that the house is clean I plan to spend more time at the She Shack.  I have more projects than I know what to do with.  I will probably be dead before I’m finished.  And….I keep buying more.

I am so far behind on my phone calls.  Next week is phone calls and shopping.  I have two lists which are very long.  I also have three bags of stuff to take to Goodwill.  Apparently, I will be busy next week also.

The brick/step guys are here today.  They built the wall along the side of my patio.  They are now building the steps out of both front doors.  I cannot use those doors/steps for 24 hours.  It’s a good thing I have a back door.

This is going to be filled with river rock.  Not sure what else I will put there.  I keep changing my mind.

My front door.  These steps will get a railing which Kevin will install.  Just have to decide what kind of railing.

This is the door to my living room which I have been using through all this construction.  There will not be a railing for just this one step.

Now that the steps and wall are finished, the next two big projects are finishing the front of the patio (that is being discussed) and cleaning up the front yard.  Contractors sure are messy!  I also need to weed my azaleas and clean up the mess in that area.


I bought a program to convert pictures and other items to PES files so I can embroider them on my machine.  I did a lot of research and picked the one that said it was easy to use, etc. etc. etc.  Well, I have been trying to convert a file, and am having no luck.  I have been working on it every evening following their instructions/directions.  I am getting very frustrated.  Apparently, I am not as computer savvy as I used to be.  I guess that happens when you haven’t worked on computers for almost twenty years.  Now it is just email, blogs, facebook and that kind of stuff.


I have been taking some quilting classes on the internet, and I am learning a lot.  I am also enjoying myself.  I have a lot of ideas and plan to be busy quilting this winter.  I would like to find some classes for my embroidery machine.  There are several things I would like to understand better.  I am having a couple of problems and don’t know how to solve them.  I asked the folks where I bought my machine, they made a few suggestions, I tried them, and they didn’t work like I wanted.  If I take classes at the place where I bought my embroidery machine I have to take my machine with me.  That would be okay except it is so heavy I can’t lift it into the car.  Kevin isn’t always around when I need it done, so I just don’t sign up for the classes.

A Few Pictures

Thought I would send a few pictures.  The first are of my new patio.  I met with the guys who will be adding my steps and wall at the end of the patio yesterday.  They will be back next week.  They are in the process of finishing up another job and should be done by the end of this week.

These next pictures are of the first embroidery project I did.  They are tea towels and are hanging on a rod above my kitchen stove.

I have also been embroidering bait towels for Kevin which he gives with each fishing rod he sells.  The colors match the rods.  This picture is just one of many.  I put a buttonhole in the corner so he can add a clip so they can be hooked onto a belt loop.

I have also been making Christmas presents so I won’t be showing those.



However, I have started working on tea towels to hang above the stove both for fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I will take a few pictures and post those.  I created a new wall hanging for autumn and new placemats.



As a side note Penny turned five years old this July.  She is still my buddy.  She follows me everywhere around the house.  If I leave she waits by the door and greets me when I return.  She is definitely a sweetheart.  If I sit in my recliner to put ice on my knee or watch television she sits on my lap.  These two pictures are of her sitting on my lap.

I try to go to the She Shack every afternoon for a couple of hours.  My stamina is not quite what it used to be, and I have to limit myself with what I do.  I am taking a few days to clean and rearrange things in the She Shack.  This is a big job because most of the items are heavy.  If I ever get caught up I will take a few pictures.  Mornings I usually do my errands and chores in the house.

If it ever cools down I will weed my azaleas.  And, they are a mess.  They are the only plants we didn't move because I wanted them to stay where they are.  We also need to get a load of dirt to finish the front of the patio.  Kevin plans on doing that.  We also have a load of  "stuff" to take to the dump. 

Meanwhile I have been cleaning out draws and cupboards.  I have three bags of items to take to Goodwill so far.

Good Morning

I have been debating whether or not to continue writing my blog.  I decided I will do so, but if there is no interest I will discontinue.



First of all, my knee is healing up just fine.  I have a nice little scar.  The surgeon says everything is going just fine.  I go back the end of October.  It still swells and hurts at times, but I was told that is normal and could continue for at least a year.  I continue to put ice on it three times a day.  I am no longer going to physical therapy.  I have stopped using the walker and, for the most part, the cane.  When I am in a crowd or have to walk a pretty good distance I use the cane.  That’s it for the knee.  I have some other health problems, but I am working through them.



Right now my front yard is a mess.  Kevin took down the deck because the wood was rotting.  Of course, he fell through while working on the destruction and messed up his knee.  I then hired a couple of guys who put concrete blocks under the mobile home across the front since there were none, and I didn’t want it wide open.  Too many critters could live under there.  After they finished I hired a company to come and pour a concrete patio and “stamp” it to look like slate.  It is really nice.  I have hired the same guys who installed the concrete blocks to build steps to my front door and my living room door.  This has not been done yet.



Kevin and Renea transplanted several of my bushes that were in front of the deck in other parts of the yard.  Of course, it is the wrong time of the year, we are in a drought, and even though it is almost the end of September we are having unusually hot weather – in the upper nineties.  Not sure any of the bushes will survive.



I have been busy down at the She Shack doing a lot of embroidery, sewing and quilting. 



Jana will be coming down for the holidays again this year.  She is hoping to come down the end of October so we can go to Christmas Made in the South.  That’s always a fun time.  I am hoping to go to Ohio next year; late spring or early summer.  It will be great to see everyone again.



I know this is short.  Trying to get back into the swing of things.  Taking it step-by-step.

Total Knee Replacement Surgery

I decided it was time to update you on my surgery.  For those of you who don’t know, it was rough!

After several cancellations I finally had the surgery on June 11^th.  Apparently, from what I have been told, my knee was worse than anticipated.  When I was given the pain medicine I was overdosed and came this close to dying.  They could not give me Narcan because it would have taken all meds out of my system.  So, they just “worked” on me. 

I was scheduled to be in the hospital two days.  Instead I was there seven days.  I do not remember the first four days.  The next three are a bit of a blur.  All I remember is they tried to get me up to walk.  On the seventh day they decided I needed to go to a rehab facility.

That turned out to be a bit of a problem.  Glad I had Renea there.  She called almost every facility in Alabama and Georgia.  Ones that were close to us.  As soon as she told them it was rehab for complete knee replacement therapy she was told they only took patients for stroke and heart attack.  She finally found one in Alabama.  In fact, it was Canteberry where her mother lives and where Jim was for his final days.  I was there for ten days.

When they took me to Canteberry Kevin called Jana and asked her if she could come down and stay to help.  Of course, she said yes.  Brian brought her down right away.  After all that happened, Brian wanted to see me anyway.  Jana and Brian brought me food every day.  I just could not eat the food at Canteberry. 

I was really sick the first few days, but eventually got better.  I received therapy twice a day.  The Occupational Therapist came every morning.  She helped me bath or shower, wash my hair, even brush my teeth.  She also helped me with my upper body strength.  The Physical Therapist came once a day; sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon.  He really worked me hard.  I was usually in tears by the time he was finished.  The biggest problem we had to overcome was that scar tissue had already started to form and it had to be broken so I could bend my knee.  It was rough, but by the end of the ten days I was improving.

It was now time to visit with my surgeon.  He was very pleased with the progress I was making.  The staples were taken out of my knee and sterri strips were put on.  I asked him how long I had to stay at Canteberry.  He said since Jana was staying with me, and I was doing good, I could go home that day.  Yea!   I also had to start outpatient physical therapy.  When I stopped to set up my appointment I asked if I could have the same therapists that I had for my hip.  They said yes.

By this time Brian had gone home.  He had to get back to work.

I am going to physical therapy three times a week.  Jana is driving, of course.  I am not permitted to do so.  I also have five exercises I do at home twice a day.  I am improving daily. I also put ice on my knee several times a day.  I know that I will be going to pt three times a week through August 2^nd.  Then I will be re-evaluated.  We are hoping I will be allowed to drive after this, and Jana can go home. 

I am using a walker.  Hopefully, I will graduate to a cane soon.  The pain is slowly becoming less.  I will be glad when it is gone!