Friday Five ~ Birthday Memories!

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This week sped by and so here goes all the details.

  1. The first snow of the season fell. It was about three inches, and now, on Friday, most of the snow is gone. But it is still cold and feels like winter.
  2. Our roofers have been here each day, but on Wednesday when it was raining/snowing.
  3. My birthday started with a Doe and her two Fawns presenting themselves just before dawn.  They simply stood silhouetted in the early morning light. I was there watching them, watching me and it was such a peaceful moment. I don’t have a camera that could have done justice to that picture, so it is stored in my memory.
  4. Lili and Heidi are bothered by all the noise. I’ve been cuddling with Heidi today after she had sort of a doggy nervous breakdown. She had two accidents and just couldn’t settle down. Today Lili is quite the worse for wear as the loud noises overhead scare her so much. I had them out and a stack of shingles hit the roof and Lili started to bolt. Thankfully I called her and she stopped, turned, and came back.
  5. For my birthday dinner, we went to George’s Seafood. We both had the fried Whole Belly Clams.

    316126384_10160560209356499_413668426005259974_nMy dinner.

    They were so good! My only problem is driving at night and we also had snow flurries. But we made it home. Turning 64 wasn’t so bad after all.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, here I am. Today is my 64th Birthday. I recall various family members reaching this grand old age, and here I am not feeling all that old!

Oma's birthdayMy family.

The next generation! Mandy, Matt, Savannah, Quinn, Lili, and Heidi!

I’m happily a Mom, an Oma, and a wife, and I am owned by a little bit of a doggy named Heidi and a big doggy named Lili.

So how does it feel to be 64? Funny actually. I have things figured out, mostly, I know what I like and what I don’t, and naptime is so welcome.

I stop and watch with wonder all the animals and birds that fill my yard. How lucky I am to see them eating apples, catching a field mouse, or munching leaves.

Life sure has been interesting over the last 64 years! I could write volumes where I recount each moment, but suffice it to say, it has never been boring.

Here is a short video I made a few years back.  I watched it and thought about how much I still enjoy it.

Here’s to number 64. Let’s see what we can do to get to number 65!

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The Question Is…

The last week has been a bit stressful. And as hard as I might try to enact the don’t worry, be happy motto, I find I am still feeling sort of stressed.

I went in for my physical a while back and they found that my heart doesn’t go tick, tick, tick…but rather shows several irregularities.

The 2-week test begins on Thursday where they have me hooked up to a monitor 24 hours a day for 14 days. After that, I will see the Cardiologist.

I’ve noticed a few things since recovering from Covid for the second time. I chalked it up to Post Covid Syndrom and tried not to think about it

I have been sleeping a lot. Each day I am napping for at least one hour. I’ve also been losing my appetite. I think that all of this is due to stress, but who knows? It’s all a waiting game, isn’t it?

Happy Wednesday.

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Update: On Me

Yesterday was a day that seemed to fly by. I spent most of it sleeping in my recliner with Heidi in my lap.

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I think it is what the body needs when one is sick with anything. Sleep, move around a bit, drink and then sleep some more.

I love streaming TV. How great it is to go on a streaming service and watch movies or old TV shows. Currently, I am watching ER and I am on Season 7 out of 12 seasons.

Yesterday I even ate a little. I keep trying to eat so that my stomach doesn’t get too nauseated. That’s difficult because I don’t feel like eating and nothing really tastes good.

So that’s the latest I hope that today I will be able to sleep, walk, eat, and repeat!

The sun is out and the humidity is gone, and I choose to believe that although I  feel sick, the sun is shining in my life. You know, the light at the end of the tunnel!

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Sick

So life has been tricky the last few days. I have not felt well, and my home Covid test showed a faintly positive result. I wrote down everything wrong with my body, and I  called my Nurse Practitioner.

I spoke to the Triage Nurse and she suggested I go to the closest walk-in clinic.

So I woke Jack, got in the car, and headed down to the clinic. I didn’t have to wait long.

They reran the test which showed that I do indeed have Covid. They also chose to run the three-day test as well. I was sent off with my inhaler, these wicked good cough pearls that work great at relieving my cough.

I’m to isolate for the next 5-10 days (until I test negative) and drink copious amounts of water.

I’m also to stay in my jammies and sleep as much as I need to, but also get up and walk around to keep myself from getting any sicker.

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Heidi is the sweetest. She just lays there in my lap making me feel loved and taken care of.

Here’s the thing. I was recently mask-shamed at the Post Office. I always wear a mask, and I am very careful in public. But somehow this darn virus got me.

Be careful my friends. I’ve been vaxxed, and yet here I am. Oh well, at least I have plenty of movies and tennis to watch right now.

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My Life Lately

I will admit, in the last few months, I have not written too much. Of course, starting in January, I was sleeping with my boots on, so I could streak out with Heidi for potty breaks. I have also been working around the home/family, as Jack is able to do less.

The Pandemic has been hard for everyone. For me, it has caused a kind of isolation that I have never experienced before.

Because I am worried about leaving Jack, I have not seen my grandchildren very much. My heart aches about all of that.

I shop twice a week at the local market. I can zip through that store in 40 minutes and then high tail it back home.

Heidi and Lili are my refuge. They cuddle me, they give me a reason to get up, go for walks, and play little doggy games. I am not sure I could make it through the days without them.

281485327_327092876190998_1155184130551750264_nMy darling companions!

I’ve never really understood non-pet people. How can they live their day-to-day lives with no furry companions? For me, my fur kids have helped me to get through this time.

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The Friday Five ~ April 29th

Friday Five
This was literally a crazy week. And here we are on Friday and although much was accomplished I ended up having to take some much-needed downtime. Let me explain.

  1. On Tuesday I made up a grocery list and headed to our local store. I needed everything from Avocados to Ziploc Bags. So, I shopped and was helped by a new teenage bagger, who filled each grocery bag to maximum capacity.
  2. When I got home I started to carry the bags up the stairs from the basement garage to the kitchen. Heavy sacks and I carried far too many of them at once.
  3. Just as I finished the groceries, Chewy arrived and I went down to bring up a few dog food things. Nothing heavy, but as I hit the third step, my lower back went out. Each step, each movement, brought on excruciating pain! Once I finished putting things away, and with tears streaming down my cheeks, I sat down on my recliner.
  4. I have worn my back brace some and used my heating pad, but the best relief I get is when I am reclined in my recliner.
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    Heidi makes a great Nurse.

    So, I have decided that I need to get a reclining bed. Once I am mobile enough, I will start shopping.

  5. Today our snowplow people came to repair the grassy area next to the driveway, where his plow truck skidded off. So far it looks good.

So that was the week that was. I managed to get through it and my back is slightly better. I’ve been walking and doing gentle stretches. I hate being laid up and want to be enjoying the sunshine. So, MYBACK, get better fast!

278925926_1697064820646134_7390489941568587447_nMy love, Heidi.

Help!

There are certain times in one’s life when you have an incident occur that reminds you that you are no longer a young and nubile woman.

And so it was on Monday morning.

I was sitting here looking out of my slipping glass doors when I noted the winter grime on them. I figured I would get the bucket out, mix up some cleaner and wash down the windows on the outside. The sliders went well, but when I came to the back door I stepped up onto the door frame and was reaching for the nut to slide over to keep the screen door from closing when I lost my balance.

It happened so fast. One minute I was reaching up, and the next minute I was on the cement patio block ground!

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I landed on the right hip, shoulder, elbow, and knee. Both hands seem to have gotten road rash as I tried to break my fall.

After landing, not very gracefully, I lay there for a moment. I mentally checked my mind to see if anything hurt in a crazy bad way.

I attempted to get up on my right side, but that wasn’t happening. I wondered if I was going to end up like the lady in the commercial. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

So I rolled to my left and very slowly got to my feet. Both palms were bleeding and things were starting to hurt.

It’s now a couple of hours later and things are starting to hurt a wee bit more.

What hurts the most is the fact that I am not as steady on my feet as I once was. It makes me feel old.

So that’s my tale of woe. I’m actually lucky. It could have been a lot worse.

Hurry Up & Wait!

On Thursday, with concern that Monday would bring heavy snow, I decided to venture out to our walk-in clinic and get tested for Covid.

I’ve been feeling unwell for a few days, and I’d convinced myself that I’d be just fine and I didn’t need to go. But when I started having breathing problems, I felt that I was just being silly and I could handle the Q-tip up the nose and just know for sure.

Usually, you walk in, get seen quickly, and then off you go. Yesterday was not like that at all. With the surge of the Covid variant, Omicron, the place was a Zoo and I was given a waiting time of 2 hours (to be spent in my car). Wanting nothing more than to drive away, I gritted my teeth and went back to the car to wait.

After close to two hours, I went inside to check on my status on the list. I was told it may actually be another two hours! I was asked to go home. I told them I couldn’t do that as I live ten miles away. The secretary was sympathetic and told me to wait in the mall area. A few minutes later, she came and got me.

I was tested for Covis, Strep Throat, and The Flu. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life. But the Nurse Practitioner came back and told me no Covid, No Strep, but it was the Flu!!!!

In all my 63 years I have never been so happy to be told I have the Flu! I felt so light as if I could dance right there!

I went to get my prescriptions, and my pharmacy is conveniently in a grocery store, so I picked up food that is easy to cook, and a few other things as we are due for that storm.

Then, with worry in my heart, I came home to see if Heidi had behaved for her Daddy. She had done well, and the house had remained in one piece.

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So I am taking it easy, which is a bit hard right now as we have -10 below zero for our morning wake-up weather, with a stiff wind. Heavy snow is due on Monday with totals of 8+ inches.

But I can be lazy and sleepy and take care of this Flu. And hopefully, get over it quickly.

Sometimes it is better to know what’s going on than to be left in the dark imagining the worst.

Finding New Talents

Last night Heidi and I made it in bed, a real bed, from 11 o’clock until 5 AM! Oh, it felt so good to be in my own bed curled up with this little beauty. She does snore, but then, so do I, so we make a good pair.

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She loves to snuggle and every once in a while she does this cute puppy sigh that makes me smile. I am so lucky.

I came out to walk her at 5 o’clock and it was all of 8 degrees. I got my heavy winter coat on, a hat, and gloves. I got out Heidi’s fleece cape and hooked on her leash and off we went.

She did her thing and we came in and I turned on the coffee, and off we went so I could change my clothes and put on some long underwear.

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I was completely naked and barefoot when Heidi came in, stood on Lili’s bed, and gave me that look. Oh, no! She needed to poop!

I raced over and grabbed her and then stood for a moment thinking what should I do?

I can now tell you I have a new talent. I can completely dress, with one hand, while holding an 11-week old puppy! I mean, completely from socks, underwear, to leggings and a turtleneck!

Then I zipped on my boots, ran to the kitchen, put on my coat and hat and gloves, put Heidi’s cape on, and leash, and raced her outside!

If you’re guessing that she would not go, you would be totally wrong! She went out in the snow, and did her Poop! This is big!

We came in and she got a little treat and all sorts of praise! I mean, if a little girl like her goes out in the snow when it is 8 degrees and does her thing, well, God bless her.

She is doing well, and so am I.

20220108_140838And she is also so darn cute!