Foot Care Part 2

Trials and tribulations.
Allergic to betadine. Notice the blisters and redness.

Food poisoning. 24 hours of misery....with a foot/crutches that made the dash to the bathroom very hard.

Because I was so inactive....my back flipped out. I still have to twist and snap it back into place. Bending is tricky. Back and knees.

I now have a list of about 10 different movements and stretches to do for physical therapy. I sure can't seem to move those toes, BUT I can wear real shoes now and not use crutches.

To quote Mom, "This getting old is not what it's cracked up to be!"
Yeah, it is what it's cracked up to be. :-(

Gypsy...R.I.P July 9, 2007

Gypsy's health continued to decline. This week-end she stopped eating and couldn't drink. I wasn't able to pry her teeth apart to get the little pill in. It's like they were frozen shut.

Sunday night I used the syringe and got water between her teeth and it seemed to revive her a little. We decided to take her to the vet's this morning as she was so feeble and pathetic.

She died in the carrier on the way to vet's office this morning. The ride was too stressful for her. She was with us for 14 years and we will miss her active and inquisitive ways.

My Foot....ITCHES!!

Friday my foot started itching like mad. I could scratch the toe tops and in-between the toes, but that was not near enough.

Tonight, I unwrapped the whole thing. My skin has permanent indentations from the gauze and residual sticky from the wet cast-like bandage they put on the first time them changed the dressing.

The toes are still bruised and plump little sausages, but the foot is not that swollen. You can see where my skin is pinkish amid the betadine stained skin. It's raw and seeping from the binding. It feels so good just to have it uncovered. It's probably a 'sin', but I go in Monday to have the stitches removed and I can't stand it anymore.

I hope I can find something else to put over this so I can sleep.

Gypsy-Part 2

After we took me in to re-dress my foot, we took Gypsy to the vet. She is listless, has a dilated left eye, and clearly is not the bundle of energy that defines her.

She has lost a pound and weights about 8 pounds. They suggested blood work and urine sample to find out what might be out of balance.

Today we got a phone call from the vet. Her blood levels are just fine. So it's not her liver, kidneys, or thyroid. The doctor suggested it may be a brain tumor and there's not much to do about it unless we want to get into mega $$$.

We will try steroid pills. It may shrink 'it' if it is a tumor. We will pop 1/4 of a pill every 12 hours for 3 days, then once a day till they are gone. Poor kitty.

Cats don't show pain, but we certainly don't want her to suffer. She's been active her 14 years with us. Poor kitty.

Gypsy

We think Gypsy is on her way out. She seems to be weak, her eye is dilated, and she sleeps a lot. With my self being out of commission, it's impossible to take her to the vet.

I read in a magazine that pine cleaners are bad for cats. That it is bad for their liver. Blaine uses Pine-Sol.

She doesn't seem to be in any pain. I know the vet will rack up $$$$$, but it seems to be terrible not to do anything for her. I can barely take care of myself let alone helping her.

OMG! What Have I DONE!?!

What have I done?!?

Scott didn't stop me.

Blaine was certainly not stopping me.

It looked soooo good.

Yup! A Ritz!

There are a couple of items that need to be fixed......this is NOT suppose to be a bidet.

The micro-wave needs some screws to keep it in.

It will get an attached awning, a roof rack, and a 101 point inspection of items to be repaired.

Meet you at the RITZ!

View the VIDEO

Bits of Drama

1. The Pepto-Bismol MAX commercial with giants (Godzilla, 50ft women, a big robot ) with 'nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea'. Now, THAT's a lot of diarrhea. Yuck.

2. Rosa, the new custodian for the media center threw away more than the books labeled 'discard' and we had to go dumpster diving to retrieve them.

3. The pumber or cable guy doesn't have a corner on the problem of crack. While eating at Firehouse subs tonight there was a young woman who had on very low cut jeans. When standing, they were just low with a big belt. When she sat down, she exposed her whole butt. I now know she doesn't wear underwear...not even a thong. She has a butterfly tatoo next to her crack, but it isn't colored in yet. We could see 2-3 inches of her butt crack and several times her bare butt would touch the chair cushion. Not a pretty sight when eating.

4. I don't like muscovy ducks and doves. They hog the birdfeeder. The windchime rings and it's like a dinner bell for them.....the ducks come waddeling over in hopes the clumsy doves will nock down seeds.

My Two Yuck Feet

I went to the podiatrist today. After several years of not being able to bend my toes, I reached a critical stage when I wasn't able to walk in my shoes and had to buy $75 sandals at a resort boutique in order to survive.

The doctor took x-rays. You can see the bad big-toe joint with bone chips. The surprising thing was that I have a needle/pin buried in my left foot. I thought he was joking, but he showed me. I then recalled that when I was little I stepped on a pin. I remember Dad and Mom putting my foot in cold water then warm water and then Dad being the Tokheim guy, brought out this HUGE round magnet. It must have been the size of a saucer and about2-3 inches thick. Who knows why he would have it, but he tried to use it to see if it would pull out the pin/needle. It must have been so deep that they probably wondered if I even stepped on anything.

I remembered that evening we walked over to the street fair on Warren street. I didn't want to have a 'bad' foot then. Steve, my brother was little and was being pushed in a baby buggy rather then a stroller. He could sit up, but I guess they didn't have a stroller yet. On the way home my foot hurt and they let me ride in the buggy from about Jefferson St home. That would make me about 6-7 years old.

I also told him about my jumping off the couch onto the coffee can and cutting my foot to the bone. I guess I wasn't too good about wearing shoes and it's getting even now.

I was given shots of cortisone in both feet for the Morton's neuroma. OUCH!!! That is very painful. We also spoke of surgery to clean up the joints and using 'osteocure' rather than bio-pro. I have decisions and of course Dr. Kauffman is helping me with my research.

Mom used to say, "this getting old isn't what it's cracked up to be!"
AMEN!

It's here and already decorated.

BEFORE.......










AFTER!









The delivery window was 9-11 and the guy called about 9:25 and said he'd be there in 5 min. I rushed to remove the food, but he was already at the door.

They had to remove the new refrigerator's doors to get it through the kitchen, but they went right to work and hooked everything up and away they went.

The hardest part was figuring where to put everything. It's a new configuration. It's like when they remodel the a store and you can't find anything thing. I'm sure we'll be moving things around some more.

Then to 'decorate' it. I have to have the calendar, mirrors (so I can watch TV) and various magnets. I know it seems like a sacrilege to cover up a pure surface, but this personalizes it and 'makes it our own'.

Already Blaine has reached for the old door handle.

Welcome to the Family

We have a new family member arriving Thursday.


After 25+ years we are getting a new refrigerator.

Ultra Satin Kenmore 21.8 cu. ft. Side-By-Side Refrigerator with PuR® Ultimate II Water Filtration

Yesterday was a tense fact finding day. Our space is not big enough for most of the the units out there. We had to take very precise measurements and look at the heights with/with-out hinge.

This will allow me to see most of our food without having to sit down on a chair because of my crummy knees and our milk, veggies, and OJ won't be frozen anymore.

This one has ice & water dispenser and OMG......it's new.

He's no Robert

I have been spoiled. I took my first cruise with Star Princess and loved it all. Robert was our dining guru and fussed over us and treated us like royalty. Replacing silverware, refilling glasses, and anticipating our needs.

Last night we went to Olive Garden because we enjoyed the last time, we were celebrating Spring Break, and we both had Fettuccine Alfredo on the brain.

We had probably the worst server in the world. Others were waited on who sat down after us. They had their drinks and bread. Billy finally brought our drinks and bread, but not the plate to put the bread on. There wasn't any butter either. We requested the butter when eventually he breezed by, but it was a LONG time before it got there. I had to ask for straws for our drinks too.

Our meal arrived. Other tables were being asked it they wanted Parmesan cheese on their food. Not us and we had fettuccine and spaghetti. We sat not even touching our food. Blaine was going to go get the little grater himself, but I made him sit back down. When Billy popped back 5 min later I requested the cheese. Oh, no problem and off he blew. Well, 5 min later he came back with the Styrofoam containers, a bag to put them in and a little bowl of grated cheese. I took the containers. Big mistake. When I looked up for the cheese, he had left. We never did get the cheese!

At this point we plopped our food in the containers and prepared to leave. With a minimum tip, were were out of there.

Robert......I miss you and your fanning menus.

T.P.

Grandpa would shop at Aldies for bargain food when he had to take over the buying when Grandma couldn't. He would buy brands of food I never heard of, but they where cheap. I DO like my brands.

Well, Blaine fell into that mode when he decided we were using too much toilet paper and my Charmin Ultra was too expensive. He bought a 12 pack of Store brand TP for a good price and they were big rolls.

Well, they needed to be big rolls because you have to use so much of it. If it gets wet, it falls apart. Think about all of the ramifications of that. He finally admitted he was having to fold and fold and fold a huge amount and well, yes, he didn't like it either. He actually threw away all 12 rolls and went out to get the Charmin. Not much 'saved' in money, but a lot gained in experience.

Smell

I wish you could stop and smell the roses. So ofter roses are bred for being pretty, but the trade-off is that they don't have any smell.

My birthday roses smell great. They are opening up and look lush and old fashioned.

Uh-huh...It's My Birthday....Yeah

It's my Birthday! Oh My! I received 2 bouquets of flowers. ........AT SCHOOL!

Birthday wishes from Brain Age Guy, too.

Here are my flowers and my big present.

Thanks everyone. Big Smile.

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Saturday was an eclipse of the moon. We ate at Cracker Barrel then headed over to Deerfield Beach. Seems everyone else had the same idea about going to the beach.Traffic was bumper-to-bumper at 2 mph scoping for parking. We bit the bullet and paid for a parking lot. Well spent money. Right there on the strip.


Families, dates, oldies were camped on the beach, on beach chairs, and blankets waiting. It was slightly cloudy.





We paid the $1 to go out on the Deerfield Beach pier. Worth it too. I never realized that so much fishing took place at night. It was fun. When the moon finally popped out from behind the clouds, the moon was already heading out of the eclipse.

Volunteer

I feed the birds and fill the birdfeeder with a seed mix that has fruits, nuts, and sunflower seeds. Some of the birds shove the seeds around to get whatever is their favorite seed. The seeds that fall to the ground get eaten by a faithful crew of Muscovy ducks. They waddle over and check to see what's been discarded and eye the feeder and hope the others will fling more seeds down on them. Well, they didn't get them all because I've discovered a sunflower growing in the planter. It's a cute little thing and if I had TRIED to grow sunflowers it wouldn't work. Most of the other plants we've planted are lame-looking or dead. I have 1 poinsettia that's still red. The rest are dead. The christmas cactus have been eaten by snails and the orchid on the patio is brown. Sigh.

The bird bath still gets used as a watering hole....by a cat. TC (we call it TC because it used to be Tammy's cat before she moved and abandoned it) She/he will come by and drink. It drives Gypsy crazy to have it right THERE in front of HER window.

Bone Night

Garbage pick up is on Thursdays and Mondays. Bone-night is Wednesdays and Sundays. We will eat well on those nights because our bones and leftovers that don't go down the disposer go out in the trash the next day.

Friday Night in the Big City

OK, I got home late from school. I was pulling books that needed AR labels. I have a program that identifies which books I have and have tests for. It's easy to work when it is quiet and no one interrupts.It was closer to six.

We eat out on Friday nights, so other than a quick turn-around we were off to eat. Traffic is thick on Friday nights at 6:00 and Blaine was headed for Steak-And-Shake. He turned off for it in the wrong block and then had to turn left and then a u-turn to head south on University again. Because traffic was streaming by in a steady stream, it took several minutes to finally get across to the restaurant.

We were seat next to a group of children (boys) that had pushed several tables together to accommodate their group. They seemed to think they owned the whole place. Loud talking. Yelling to the help in the kitchen and the kitchen help not discouraging it. Not for me on a Friday. We got up and left.

He headed next for Cheeburger-Cheeburger and we were seated clear in the back next to the wall in the corner at a table for two. When he looked over the menu there wasn't enough 'choices'.......and we again we got up and left the restaurant.

Again heading north on University he decided on Panero's. When he turned into the shopping center, he was in the wrong lane and had people flash their headlights at him. Oh MY!

After our meal we headed for Pet Supermarket because I wanted to get the fish tank up and running again. I let him pick out the plastic water plants while I got tubing, an aerator, and pondered over charcoal filters.

They had hamsters running madly about in their container, parakeets twirling on a wheel, and a cat that looked like Gypsy's sister. It was busy with people, pets, and customer's who have to shop WITH their dogs.

FINALLY got home and was so tired I just went to bed. By Friday night there is no way I can stay up and it's probably the best night to stay up.

Does it mean.....

We get advertisments and flyers stuck on our front door knob and in the yard. This morning on the way out to get the paper there was one wadded up and stuck through the door handle. It was an ad for painting the house. I tossed it. Tonight when I came home from school there was another ad in a plastic bag that they had weighted with 2 very white rocks so they could toss them out the car as they drove by. Guess what it was for. House painting.

Does it look like we NEED our house painted? or is this a general thing. I'm starting to feel picked on.

The Dog House

This weekend we experienced a dog day afternoon. Blaine went off to buy some groceries and when he returned and came into the garage, 2 pit bulls followed him right to the door! He couldn't shut the door because they were still in the garage. He knew where they lived as they bark at him from their backyard on his daily walks.

He sneaked out to his car and went down to the neighbors house to ask if their dogs were home. They thought they were, but the fence gate was open. Blaine drove the guy back to our house where the guy proceeded to get the brutes on leases.

Next thing I know as I'm sitting at my computer, another dog comes up and inspects my bird bath and another dog right behind him. Seems this pair belongs to IB. Blaine went over to knock on their door, while I tracked them down in our back yard to keep them from bolting. Jasmine barked at me like crazy, but I was able to sweet talk Syd into coming with me. Poor thing limps with arthritis. Mrs. IB told Blaine IB forgets to shut the gate. DUH! And she know when Blaine knocks on the doors, it's because of the dogs.