Fall Blooming Crocus

Just as spring blooming crocus heralds oncoming warm weather, fall blooming crocus announces that cooler weather is on the way. Last week, fall crocus began breaking the ground along the edge of our driveway, and today, the delicate lavender flowers are in full bloom.

Dull Saturday, Exciting Game

Since we had nothing special planned for today, Hubbie and I slept in until around 8:30. After breakfast, I got on the treadmill.

Mother came over around 10 a.m., and we went through recipes looking for dishes we might want to fix this week. It always takes quite a bit of time planning a heart-healthy week's menu and making a grocery list.

I also finished gathering triglyceride information and recipes for Daughter-in-Law, but I still need to write a letter to go with the packet, so it'll be Monday before it goes out.

This afternoon, Hubbie washed the outside of the camper, while Mother and I took inventory of one of the freezers, where there were lots of quart-size freezer bags of grapes. They've been in there since last summer's grape festival. Someone told us that frozen grapes make a good treat, but we don't care for them. So we decided to put them in a Dutch oven with a little water and simmer them to make juice. The juice will go into the freezer for jelly making later.

After that, Hubbie and I made a trip to the WDCS for groceries to satisfy the week's menu. When we got back home, Hubbie discovered to his consternation that a hose he'd bought wasn't in the van, which meant he had to return to the store.

We weren't in the mood to do much else for the rest if the afternoon, so we settled in to watch a couple of "Monk" episodes I'd recorded on DVR.

Following a supper of leftover split pea soup and turkey-bacon, tomato, and Vidalia onion sandwiches on toast, we turned on the radio and listened as our favorite state team played another nail-biter, down-to-the-wire-win football game.

Nothing Important Today

The antibiotic prescribed for me yesterday has made me very drowsy. I took the first dose after supper last night, and snoozed through TV the rest of the evening. And then I drifted right off after I went to bed, sleeping until about 8:30 this morning.

I didn't go to water aerobics, naturally, but I did do a session on the treadmill, albeit at a reduced walking pace. By the time I got ready for the day, the medication I took after breakfast hit me, and I could hardly hold my eyes open.

After lunch, I roused enough to call Branson to make reservations for shows we'll attend while we are there the last week in October. It took a while to make arrangements for four shows, particularly since one of the folks I talked with was new and had to get help from her supervisor and then start all over entering my reservations into her computer. What threw her was that I have two complementary tickets and wanted to buy two to go with them.

Just as I hung up from the Branson call, Daughter-in-Law called, frustrated that information she'd received in the mail from Son's doctor regarding lowering his triglycerides was so vague. Since her computer is down, she asked that I do some research on the Internet. So I shook the fog out of my head and set to work. I found lots of information, including recipes that I thought might be useful. I'll package the info tomorrow and send it to Daughter-in-Law.

Since I spent all afternoon at this task, I accomplished nothing else. While I did this, Mother continued working on her jigsaw puzzle, which is now complete. Hubbie engaged in various activities related to sprucing both the yard and the camper.

After a supper of tuna and egg salad sandwiches, served with macaroni and cheese, we settled in to watch TV, which I dozed through after taking another dose of antibiotic.

Tuna salad: add chopped boiled egg whites, diced apple, diced onion, chopped walnuts, Craisins, a sprinkle of dried dill weed, and toss with a small amount of light salad dressing.

Egg Salad: chopped boiled egg whites, no salt seasoning, paprika, pepper, tossed with a small amount of light salad dressing.

Macaroni and cheese: instead of flour and butter thickened cream sauce, we used a mixture of skim milk and low sodium chicken broth, and thickened this with a slurry of flour mixed with water (1 tablespoon of flour whisked with 2 tablespoons of water for each cup of liquid in the sauce). Puree' some low fat cottage cheese and stir it in with other cheeses to add extra creaminess. We used baby Swiss cheese, but Monterey Jack would be fine, as would any other preferred cheese.

Another Visit to the Doctor

An infection prevented me from attending Cardiac Rehab this morning. I probably should have visited the doctor yesterday, when the malady came on, but my day was fully occupied with taking Mother for her colonoscopy, and then tending to her after she got home. So I treated myself as best I could by drinking lots of water.

First thing this morning, I called Cardiac Rehab to let them know I wouldn't be in, and then made an appointment with my doctor for 2:45 p.m.

After that, Hubbie and I ran errands. We found that we needed several grocery items, including spaghetti sauce for tonight's supper, so we went to the WDCS. Before we went there, I picked up my jacket from a seamstress who had altered it for me. I felt the price of the alteration was reasonable for saving a rather expensive jacket (a gift from Hubbie) that I only got to wear one time before losing 40 lbs. I'm going to love wearing this attractive jacket to holiday events during the fall and winter.

We didn't accomplish much after lunch on this rainy day. Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I wrote a letter to a friend, and a note to Granddaughter, and included photos in both to go out in the mail tomorrow.

Hubbie picked up limbs that had blown down in Gustav's winds, and in the process of wandering around outdoors, discovered that a calico mama cat and her five kittens have taken up residence behind some plywood panels on the back porch. The kittens appear to be weaning size. Hubbie is feeding the lot of them, since nothing is allowed to go hungry around our house. But we hope the mama cat (who has taken up temporary residence here before) will decide to move her babies somewhere else soon, like she did with a batch in the spring.

I met my doctor's appointment at 2:45, but it was about 3:15 before I was taken to an exam room, and then another twenty minutes before the doctor saw me. I went straight to the pharmacy from the doctor's office, where my prescription was filled pretty quickly, and got back home around 4 p.m.

After talking with a friend on the phone last night, I feel lucky that I didn't have to wait longer at the doctor's office...she said she accompanied a mutual friend of ours to her eye doctor yesterday afternoon, and was kept waiting for three hours before being seen.

I haven't slept well for the past two nights. I had trouble falling asleep Tuesday night, and then got up at 5 p.m. to take Mother to the outpatient clinic. Because of the discomfort of an infection, I also didn't rest well on the couch last night, where I stayed to help Mother in the night if she needed me. She slept in the guest bedroom. I hope I can catch up on my sleep tonight. Because of the infection, I won't be going to water aerobics tomorrow, so nothing should keep me from sleeping late in the morning.

Mother's Colonoscopy

I had hoped that if I went to bed early last night, I'd get seven or eight hours of sleep. But no. Even though I was in bed by 10:30 p.m., I lay awake until around midnight. So I was pretty draggy at 5 a.m. on this rainy morning.

At 6:30 a.m., still dark outside, Mother and I went to the ambulatory surgery clinic. We were the first to arrive at the clinic, and in only a few minutes, we were ushered to the back, where a nurse completed paperwork. Then I helped Mother get into a hospital gown. A few minutes later, the nurse came back and prepared Mother's hand for an IV drip.

Just before 8 a.m., the nurse wheeled Mother to the surgery room, and I went to the waiting room, which was by now full of people. I brought along a couple of new magazines to read, but I only had time to read about half of one magazine before the nurse came out to get me.

The procedure went very well, and the colonoscopy showed that Mother has no problems beyond a couple of pockets of diverticulosis, which the doctor said might never bother her. He said that diverticulosis occurs in some ten percent of people over age 40, and in about half of people over age 60. In some cases, diverticulosis can turn into diverticulitis, causing pain and fever, but most folks are never bothered by it. He suggested that Mother eat more bran cereal and fruits and vegetables to help prevent diverticulitis.

Mother was of course groggy after the procedure, but I encouraged her to stay awake so we could come home. In a few minutes, she was able to sit up and let me help her get dressed. I brought the car around, and a nurse wheeled her out in a wheelchair. Mother was wobbly, but with the nurse's and my assistance, she was able to get into the van. I was actually more concerned about her being able to get in and out of the van after the procedure than I was about the procedure itself, so I breathed a sigh of relief when she negotiated this without falling.

At home, she was also wobbly getting out of the van and into the house...staggering a little like a drunk person...but we got her seated on the couch safely. Yesterday, she was sure that after going without solid food all day, she'd be ready for a big meal when she came home this morning, but all she wanted was coffee and toast.

She was hungrier by lunch time, though, and asked for a baked potato. So I used Sis's tip about wrapping a potato in two layers of plastic wrap and microwaving it. It turned out just fine, and is a more economical method than buying those pricey microwave potatoes at the store.

Mother dozed on and off until around 2 p.m., when she decided to continue working on her jigsaw puzzle. Hubbie took Shih Tzu and ran errands around town, and I gathered ingredients for making spicy muffins filled with fruits and vegetables, like pineapple, applesauce, raisins, and carrots (recipe in a previous blog), which were very good served with chicken noodle soup. There's nothing more satisfying than soup on a dismal day.


Off and on throughout the day, Gustav dumped rain on us, with more expected tomorrow. We in the northern part of the state, though, are fortunate not to be affected by the power outages that our neighbors to the south are experiencing.

By this evening, Mother was fully alert, but she will stay overnight with us so I can help her if she needs anything in the night.

Gloomy Weather

Tuesday...back to Cardiac Rehab. For the first time, I really didn't feel like going this morning. When I arrived, others complained that they, too, were not in the mood to face a workout. We all decided that the weather...maybe barometric pressure from hurricane Gustav...was affecting us. Even so, we hit the treadmills, steppers, and stationary bikes, if not with as much enthusiasm as usual.



One of the men, a farmer, said he fervently hopes that we won't get the predicted rain this week, because it will affect his corn crop, which is within a few days of harvest. One of the women commented that her son gave his father a cap that says: "I inherited a million dollars, and I'm going to farm until I lose it all," which humorously states what a gamble farming can be.



While I was at Cardiac Rehab, Hubbie finished his project of cutting the irises back, and Mother started a pot of chicken stewing for soup tomorrow. Then she continued working on her jigsaw puzzle. I did this and that...nothing important.



Mother couldn't have anything to eat after midnight last night, and today she was on a diet of liquids, chicken broth, Jell-o, Popsicles, etc., until 3 p.m., when she began her cleansing prep. Her colonoscopy procedure is scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. We need to be at the ambulatory surgery clinic at 7 a.m.



Around 2 p.m., Hubbie decided to clean the top of the camper, but he wasn't into the project very long before it started raining. I don't think our part of the state will get a lot of rain from Gustav, but we'll probably get enough to keep us indoors. I just hope no tornado threats crop up.

Granddaughter e-mailed today to say Great-Grandson, born last June, is smiling and rolling over now, but he still has colic, and he has developed a clogged tear duct (I wonder if that's caused by his crying so much?)

Shih Tzu was a pill all day. Despite being almost deaf and blind, she still knows when the weather is bad, and she hates bad weather. She whines, complains, follows us around, and asks to go outside frequently. She just won't rest, or let us rest.

She also doesn't like flies, and in this sticky, humid weather, a couple of them found their way into the house today. It's a mystery to me how she knows when there are flies in the house, but she's antsy until we kill them. She doesn't like mice, either, and even though the exterminator recently did his routine treatment, I saw one of the critters skitter down the hall between rooms a couple of nights ago. So anytime, Shih Tzu is in the hall, she sniffs the carpet, then sniffs the air and whines.

We'll need to get to bed early tonight, since I want to get up around 5 a.m. to be ready to take Mother for her procedure by 6:30.

Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, we displayed the flag outdoors each day of this three-day weekend. According to Wikipedia, Labor Day became a holiday in 1882, when the Central Labor Union wanted to create a day off for the "working man." Today, it mainly symbolizes the end of summer...a day for picnics and barbecues, for a last swim at the swimming pool before it closes for the season, or maybe for a road trip. With the price of gasoline, though, lots of folks, like us, enjoyed the day at home, I'm sure.

I started the day with a session on my home treadmill. While I was exercising Hubbie told me Son had called, so I returned his call at the end of my workout. Son, like me, is having to change his eating habits in an effort to lower his extremely high triglycerides after a recent scare with pains in his left arm and chest. In 46-year-old Son's words, "I need to change my evil ways."

As I was talking with Son on the cell phone, Hubbie's daughter called on the land line. She said she and her husband would like to drive the couple of hours over here to visit, if we weren't going to be busy. We had nothing planned for the day, so we were delighted that they could come.

I finished my conversation with Son, showered and got ready for the day, and then Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to get deli meats, cheese, and bread for lunch. Just as we arrived back home, Daughter and Husband drove up. They toured the yard while I finished putting lunch on the table...besides sandwich makings, we had low-fat cottage cheese, chips for those who wanted them, and grape tomatoes. Dessert was a mix of fresh fruits, topped with fat-free Cool Whip, chopped walnuts, and chocolate chips.

Daughter and Husband stayed until around 3 p.m. After they left, Hubbie went into the yard to continue his project of cutting the iris plants back. Mother worked on a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, and I played on the computer.

Our Labor Day supper was fried chicken (using non-stick spray in place of oil), mashed potatoes, sans salt, white gravy, and canned collard greens.

Now, for the next few days, we will track hurricane Gustav, as it makes it's presence known in our state with thunderstorms, as well as flooding rains and possible tornadoes.