More episodes

or spells, or whatever you want to call them. Mother had another little episode today. It's her right side & her hand & foot goes numb. And she just gets weak.

Then a breathing spell. I had spent the afternoon with her. We watched a movie from Netflix. A Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "Homecoming" with Anne Bancroft. The movie is based on the novel "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt. One of my favorite books.

I went to the grocery store & did some shopping for her, went back, fixed supper & she ate that. I left & I only got a couple of blocks. The wind was gusting & the dust was bad, lightning was flashing. I decided to go back & roll up the window's on Nan's Am (Don-Mike's 1980 Trans Am) & help Mother with her open windows. I got back, rolled up the windows on the car, went in the house & couldn't find Mother. She was in Don-Mike's room struggling with the windows. She could barely breathe.

Puttering she was not. She was downright working. I had put Don-Mike's work uniforms in the washer & told her they were there. She had got the clothes out of the dryer, hung them up, & put the uniforms in the dryer when the wind came up. So she was hurrying around, closing the windows & was ready to collapse. I sat with her, helped her with her inhaler & she finally caught her breath. She'd been too long without oxygen, too.

OMG, I need a book blog

I found another reading blog AND another challenge. As if I need another one. I added it on "Other Blogs I Like To Read." At least I think that's what the name of the list is, LOL. The new blog is She Read a Book. It requires 250 points.

Mother needs more practice puttering

Today was a production day for the weekly newspaper I work for. Production days are hard. Some harder than others. One of the things I enjoy about my job is flexibility. What is it about Monday & Tuesday that brings on personal crises? The days I really can't be flexible.

Today was a typical Monday with not one crisis, not 2, but 3! Mail at our house tends to get buried. Is it any wonder we're always living on the edge financially? I picked up a stack of towels on the arm of a chair & found a final notice of a final Qwest bill! What???? Of course, it couldn't be taken care of over the weekend. And I couldn't get online. So, this morning I clocked out & went out & sat in the car to call. Forty-five minutes later I returned to work.

The second crisis came at 4:17. Don-Mike called to tell me Mother was having an episode. He was on his way back to work. I called Luana & asked her to check on Mother. She suggested I call Dr. Beckstead & see what he said. I really enjoy having Mother's doctor right here in town. I called, talked to his nurse, she said she'd talk to Dr. B & call me back. She did. He didn't seem too concerned, but said to watch her. He was on call tonight at the hospital if we needed to come in.

I decided Mother was having caffeine withdrawal. Don called while I was talking to Luana. So, I called Don back & asked him to go get Mother some Mt. Dew. I also asked him to bring me a refill of ... you guessed it ... Mt. Dew. Don brought my refill & while he was there, Nick called, angry & frustrated. He hung up on Don. Don jumped right up & tore out of the office like he was being pursued. Next, I received a phone call from Nick, which was incoherent & he hung up on ME. So, I took off. I did have the presence of mind to grab my street glasses, bag, clock out & lock the door after me. It was after 6 & I was there alone.

Don, knowing Nick was working on a car, was afraid the car had fallen on him. I, not knowing what he was doing, thought maybe he, or one of the cats, was hurt & bleeding. He was okay. Just frustrated & jumped to the conclusion that his dad would take forever.

At 8 o'clock, I decided to call it a day. Besides I've promised Kelly (publisher) & Rod (editor) that I will not stay later than 8.

I went directly over to Mother's. Luana was there. Mother had red all over her shirt. That gave me a jump start. I thought it was blood! No, she'd missed her mouth when she was eating some red jello that Luana had brought her. That concerns me. She missed her mouth.

The washer was going. I had heard her say something about washing Levis when I was talking to Luana earlier in the afternoon. I thought we'd talked her out of doing the laundry. I didn't want her up when she was weak on one side. Luana had started the washer. I love having Mother right next door to Luana.

Tomorrow is another day. Dr. Beckstead wants to see Mother in the morning.

The fine art of puttering

Mother had a checkup with her new primary care physician, Dr. Beckstead. He again reviewed her meds with her. He reviewed why she was in the hospital, congestive heart failure. He wants her to continue to take the 80 mg of lasix & not to work, but to putter. So, I asked him to define puttering, LOL.

He said puttering is a fine art. You have to work at it. He doesn't want her working. She's worked hard all her life, now it's time to putter. She can get up & walk out into the kitchen & get herself a Pepsi. Then he laughed & said maybe he shouldn't have said Pepsi. I said it was ok, Mt. Dew is Mother's drink of choice. OK, she can get up & go get her a Mt. Dew. She can walk around out side & sit in the swing for 15 minutes. But while she is wandering around outside, she is not to grab that hose she sees laying there & drag it around. If she sees the vacuum sitting out because someone forgot to put it away. Leave it there. That is a job for the boys.

He doesn't want her to do anything to make her breathe hard. Just putter. He was pleased that her ankles are down. They are not as swollen as they have been. He wants her to continue taking the 80 mg of lasix & see him in a month.

Disappointing response to article

Well, at this rate, there is no earthly way any one of our Franklin County charities is going to make it into the top 200. What is so hard about voting?? People can play Farmville & all the other games, yet they can't take a few minutes to figure out how to vote on Chase Community Giving.

We had 12 votes on the Oneida Stake Academy when the paper hit the news stand. We now have 27!!! Only 27 measly votes. West Side School District has 6, 4 when we started. I am so disappointed.

Necia Seamons called me a cheerleader on a discussion of the Oneida Stake Academy's Facebook page. I'm jumping around making a fool of myself & no one gets motivated.

25 years ago today

Today is Don-Mike's 25th birthday. I told him we were both feeling better today than we did 25 years ago. Don told Don-Mike he wasn't eating steak that day. Neither was I, for that matter. I was one sick woman. And my baby wasn't doing too good either. But 25 years later we were sitting on the patio at Deer Cliff Inn celebrating Dm's birthday. It was a little chilly, but I did see a mosquito. One lonely little mosquito.

I don't have any current pictures, but this is a good one that was taken at Glacier National Park in July of 2008.

Happy Birthday, Don-Mike.

What 7 charities?

Ok, I should have previewed before I clicked "Publish Post." What 7 charities do I endorse? All but the NCVTG, of course, the Wyatt Foundation, United States Bowling Congress and whatever the Habitit is. Yes, it is actually entered as Habitit. Vicki wouldn't let me leave it misspelled in the paper, LOL.