Category: Friday Five

Tis the season to be jolly!

Here we are, December 23 and Christmas is just around the corner. My shopping is done, wrapping will commence tomorrow as well as my yearly watching of It’s a Wonderful Life! But this week’s Friday Five finds me looking back over the year and being very thankful for a few very important things.

1. Our darling grandson, Quinn tops the chart. I cannot tell you how thankful we are that Quinn is happy, healthy and beautiful.  At nine months old he is already quite the character. The boy is walking!

He also will eat anything put in front of him. He is happy and loving and adores his big sister and family. Yes, Quinn brought so much joy into our lives with his arrival.

2. Miss Savannah continues to grow and become more and more dear in the process. At four years old, she is smart and determined, and she loves with her whole heart.

She is such a beauty too, with long light auburn hair and hazel eyes, like her Mommy. She is a kind child and seems to watch over other kids, especially her baby brother.

  3. My daughter Amanda. She is amazing! I stayed with her and the family for a few weeks after my surgery to recover, and I witnessed her working at her job, from home. I listened to her in a conference call and I was so proud of the way she spoke. Not so much what she was saying, but the sound of her voice, her ability to answer questions quickly and efficiently and her manners are impeccable.

She is also the best Mom ever. As I watched her juggle motherhood, job and a sick mother, Me,  I felt honored to be the mother of such a remarkable woman.

   

4. My cousin, Janet. She was there for me during my recovery. Helping me with broken cell phones, shopping for clothes I could wear that didn’t hurt my incision, and bringing me to her home for Thanksgiving, where we did everything from eat, watch wonderful movies and play Cards Against Humanity!

   

She comforted me and made me feel so very loved.

5. My sister. Always my sister. For she loves me no matter what, warts and all. And I love her. One thing I love about my sister is that her heart is really very pure. She adores her family and all her grandchildren, and always works hard to make each one feel special.

Melodie on the left and me on the right.

Someone once said to her that ‘Not everyone will like you’, which confused my sister. She really loves people, even if she is treated unkindly in return. Her heart is big and full of love. It’s sad when people don’t understand that if you are lucky enough to be loved by my sister, you will have a devoted friend, and helper for the rest of your life!

There is, of course Hubby and there are so many other women and men alike who have been here for me this year. How lucky I am to have these wonderful people in my life. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, despite being laid up with a bad neck. I never realized what a tough job it had holding up an 8-12 pound bowling ball known as a head! However, here is what’s going on in my life on a day to day basis.

1. I don’t sleep much. It’s hard to get comfortable in the recliner or in bed. So, I watch a lot of TV, and a lot of movies. I find that TV is the best sleeping pill ever. Seems to put me right to sleep!
2. Each day we go out for 20-30 minutes and I walk around, inside stores. There is now snow and ice outside, so being inside is the best.  I also tend to see people I know, and it is good for both my body and morale. When I am done with the walking I just get back in the car and we go home.
3. Whoever invented a Cervical Spine heating pad should be hugged and kissed. It is amazing how this cape of warmth helps me.
4. I am psyched about the appointment in Boston. I want someone to look at my neck, x-rays and MRI and figure out exactly what is going on and what we can do to fix it.
5. Most of you don’t know that I had a really bad reaction to the pain medication they gave me, so unless I absolutely need pain meds, I’ve chosen not to take anything more than Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I think in some ways this is good. It keeps me from doing too much that would aggravate my neck and when I have my next surgery, they can hopefully use medications that will not make me so ill.

It’s the end of the first week of November! Can you believe that? I feel like I have come full circle and here is why.

1. I have been having Cervical Spine problems again. Very painful, and no matter what I tried, it just didn’t make it better.
2. Pain medication is no way to live.
3. I went back to my Neurosurgeon, and he agreed that surgery was the way to go.
4. I’m trying to figure it all out in my head. And then the phone rang.
5. Surgery, scheduled for Monday morning.

And that’s the story. I should be recovered enough for my birthday in a couple of weeks. One thing is for sure, chocolate cake with butter cream frosting will be a part of it!

Many things have been going on this week, things that are both marvelously good, and tremendously sad. There is nothing I can do about the sadness, but I can revel and enjoy the happy things. So here we go.

• I am absolutely having a blast crocheting. My hands are doing well, and when I look at what I am doing, and see my progress, I am delighted.
• Mandy sent me a picture of the two children playing. There is my darling Savannah teaching her brother. Isn’t this picture cute?

• I am enjoying the group, “The Knotty Knitters”. The ladies all gather and work on their projects and chat. What fun!
• I am going down to help out with the two grandchildren on Saturday. I can hardly wait to see my darlings!
• Saying goodbye is never easy. Someone I know, and I have loved for a long time is living their last days. Although I am terribly sad about this, I have amazingly wonderful memories! That is special!

I’ve been amazed at the beauty around me this week. Our Autumn colors are at their peak, and it is simply breathtaking. As I was out snapping pictures I was thinking how much fun it would be if our trees were this color all of the time! Imagine living in a place with red, orange, yellow and coral leaves, all of the time!

Then I started to wonder if we’d start taking this spectacular beauty for granted? Somehow, waiting for the leaves to turn, seeing how vivid they are each year and then the annual leaf fall and clean-up is part of the fabric of life.

On to this weeks Friday Five.

1. The last Foliage train went through on Sunday. This amazed me, but also made me a bit sad, as it means that winter is on it’s way!
2. I went to Weight Watchers again this week, and although I am holding my own, I am not really losing weight. It’s all okay, as I am enjoying fresh cider and apple pies. Diets are for another day!
3. Yesterday I joined a new group. The Knotty Knitters! It is held at our Library in a common room, and we all bring our current projects and as we sit knitting or crocheting we chat like magpies! It is actually fun! Currently my hat for Savannah is just about done and I started Quinn’s hat yesterday!
4. Hubby had his biopsy on Tuesday to see if the lesion on his face is cancerous. It was quite a large area and I am trying to play doctor and keep it neatly cleaned and dressed.
5. I renewed my license this week, and was that ever an exercise in patience! Here is the thing. You walk in and take your eye test and they go over your paperwork. Good, right? Wrong, they give you a number, send you down the hall, and then you sit in a large room with other people renewing (That would be fine, as there were only about 10 of us), but you are also in a room with people who are trying to get their license back. Either they had drunk driving charges, and needed to present their rehab documents, or they had anger issues (one woman laughed, talking about how she had decked a cop) she had a document showing she had attended an anger management class, and then there were people who had work permits (from other countries), and were getting their licenses. I sat there for one hour and 30 minutes waiting to get my picture taken. My biggest gripe there was that I was an easy renew. Eye test, picture, pay, gone. But because we are all lumped together and the three women who only do eye tests just sat there, the 5 women trying to handle the difficult licenses were overwhelmed. I feel that easy renewals should be in an express lane.

So that is the week that was. Now I am onward and into another week! Have a good one, everyone!

The week flew by for me and it seemed each day when I got out of bed, the colors on my trees were a bit more vivid than the day before. It is not the best foliage that we have ever had, due to the drought, but the oranges, browns, yellows and an occasional coral can be found near our home. Also the fruit trees are shedding their leaves.

Here are this weeks Friday Five, and I hope that your Autumn is going along swimmingly.

1. Both Hubby and I are finally at the tail ends of our colds! This one lasted for close to three weeks. And just seemed to hang on. It is so nice to get out of bed and actually feel well and rested and ready to start the day!

2. I made my first Apple Pie of the season and although it tasted okay, it literally fell apart when sliced and served. After researching this problem, I have read that one must make their own crust from scratch, as a store bought crust, will not cook the apple as they should be cooked. I will test this out next week and report in.

3. I have started a hat for my darling Savannah. I have not crocheted in many years, but I really want to crochet hats for my grandchildren. So I am working on them now. I was going to wait until Christmas, but Hubby says he thinks I should show Savi how I am making them. I think this is a good idea. Next time I go down I will bring it along and finish Savannah’s hat for her and give it to her then. Quinn’s hat will come next.

4. My sister’s dear, sweet, kitty, Sammie, passed away.

He was about 15 years old. He was a faithful boy, and a good companion for my sister. Sammie was a Siamese, and had not been well off and on for a while. He did, what I hope all our pets could do. He went to sleep and did not wake up. Rest in peace, dear boy. You will be missed.  
5. My cousin, Janet is back from Japan. Many years ago she lived there and grew to love the country. I’ve listened to her talk about going back, and she finally did! She had an amazing time, and she took so many wonderful pictures! My favorite is the statue to honor the Akita, Hachiko, in Shibuya Station, Japan. There were so many other beautiful pictures, and I felt myself falling in love with Japan as well.
Photo courtesy of Wikki

Now I want to go with her when she returns to Japan to see this beautiful country myself!

 

 

Another week went by us, and it was pretty low key for me. I still have my cold, and I have been housebound most of the time. But as the week has gone on, here are the things I have been thinking about.

1. I had hoped to be well enough to babysit my grandchildren, but alas, I am not. I really hate that. I live for those babysitting times!
2. Savannah has grown up so much, and in many ways she almost looks like she is ready for elementary school!



3. Quinn, is a man on the move! He is so strong, and is crawling like crazy, and pulling himself up. I know that very soon, he will be walking.



4. Hubby also has this cold. Poor guy. I feel so bad when I hear him hacking, sneezing and looking miserable!
5. Hurricane Matthew. It’s about all that is on the TV right now. I’ve been pretty lucky to have missed major hurricanes in my life. I managed to escape Miami just before Hurricane Andrew hit. Had we not gotten out the afternoon before it hit, we would have been stuck there for a while. Hurricane Charlie hit Punta Gorda, FL just a few years after we left. There was a “No-Name” storm that hit Punta Gorda when I lived there, but it was a strong Tropical Storm, and mostly it flooded everywhere. I will admit to being quite scared, when the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in sheets and sideways. I hope all in Florida will be well.

So that’s the five for this week. I hope everyone has a good, safe, and dry weekend. I’m praying for all my friends and family in Florida!

It is not just the end of another week, but for me it’s the end of a fortnight. Two weeks ago I was recalled after my yearly mammogram, and this is what’s been going on.

1. I went back for a second mammogram, and they also did a CAT Scan of the right breast. I met with the Radiologist, and he wanted me to see a breast expert.
2. Since I use Dartmouth Hitchcock, I asked for a referral there, and left thinking it would only be a matter of a few days.
3. In fact, it took almost two weeks before I got in. I have literally gone crazy with worry during this time. Talk about freaking out. My mother had breast cancer, my brother died from Lymphoma, and of course I have had cancer myself, so I am afraid there was no stopping me from worrying.
4. I started to feel sick on Monday, but when they called on Tuesday and was asked if I could be there for an exam at 3 PM, I raced to change my clothes and get in the car and drive for an hour to take care of this!
5. I did make the appointment, and after an hour and 20 minutes of scans and exams it was diagnosed as a deep breast bruise! Who knew you could even get such a thing? Apparently Arnie must have jumped on me and cause the deep bruise. The doctor told me that had the mammogram been done a month later, there wouldn’t have been anything to see!

So after 2 weeks of really suffering with worry, I can now go forward and feel confident that all is well. I still got the silly cold that I was trying so hard to fight off, but I seem to be recovering quickly from that!

Have a great weekend!

Another week has come and gone and so here we are with September almost over! 2016 is flying by and before long Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. Then it will be 2017!

So here we go, five things happening in my world this week!

1. We watched the new season of NCIS on Tuesday and really enjoyed the addition of Jennifer Esposito at Alexandra Quinn, a new member of the NCIS team. Jennifer was on Blue Bloods a couple of years ago, playing Jackie, and I loved her acting. I am so happy to see her as a series regular again.
2. You will never guess who has become my constant companion during the days? Lili! She follows me everywhere, and sits all snuggled up to me. She is slowly calming down and becoming a real sweetie. Not that she wasn’t sweet before, but oh my goodness, this dog was on the go, non-stop!
3. I made Lamb Paprikash for Hubby’s dinner last night. They had boneless leg of lamb on sale for $2.99 a pound, so what the heck! We both love lamb and haven’t had this in a long time.
4. We literally have almost no color here at all. I saw a flash of red the other day, but most of our early leaf turners are still green. They have said that the drought and heat of this past summer is the cause.
5. I plan to go to see my daughter, granddaughter and grandson this weekend. Savannah starts her ballet, and I want to go to the Apple Store to buy my very first Apple product. An Apple Nano.

Have a great weekend!

Another Friday is upon us, and this week was a pretty busy one for me. Besides the usual, here are the five highlights of my week.

1. My grandson, Quinn, is like, super baby! This six month old baby, is sitting up, crawling, and pulling himself to his feet! It will not be long until he is walking!

2. The finger I sliced last week has healed up very well. I love ‎Bacitracin. That and keeping it clean and dry, and the slice healed beautifully.
3. I made one last batch of tomato sauce. It came out well, and since I wanted to use part of it right up, I got a spaghetti squash to have as my “noodles”. Hubby had pasta.
4. Poor Hubby has been suffering with bursitis in his shoulder. He goes on Monday for an injection. I hope it will help him feel better.
5. I woke to 38 degrees this morning! When I went out to walk the dogs I could see my breath. Coldest morning this fall.

I hope your weekend is great and that you are planning something fun to do. Autumn is my favorite time of year, due to the crisp air and the slightly shorter days. I know that sounds funny, but the dogs seem to sleep better, thus I actually get some sleep too!