Red Lights Flashing

As I left my Doctors office, 30th visit, I continued on my errands. Go to visit Gwena, Darlene and then to my family doctor to get needles for my shots.
I had a rather nice morning, although I should have been home working.
Visiting is a lot more fun.
As I drove down Hartnell, I spotted a red and blue light in my rear view.
Instant thought, "Is he flashing me? Does he want someone else? (No I am the only car on the road right now) Was I speeding, ( I don't think so) Oh gosh, I may have been daydreaming and how long has he been there?
You know the usual stuff when you see a Policeman.
I pulled over.
He casually strolled up to my car, (Red Mustang) and said.

"Your driving is OK but do you have a current registration for this car?"

Whew!!!!!!!!

I told him "I just bought it on Aug 10th and I called the dealer yesterday to inquire".
He then noticed the temporary tags on my window.
He apologized and said, "That is the DMV for you, always slow".
Wished me a good day and left.
Now, I want you all to know I do not speed just because I have a hot car. If fact I don't speed.
I think I am more aware of limits now that the car stands out.


So now on to my work after eating a hearty breakfast of coffee and cereal.

I trimmed my runner but had entertainment while doing so.
The Blue Angels are having a show in Redding on Saturday and Sunday.

Love those Navy guys, or guys in uniform. ( I dated three sailors and married one, my personal favorite sailor.)

They were very interesting to watch. (Blue Angels I mean) I had to stop over a dozen times and just stare in awe. At times they were low enough to see the stars on the cockpit.
I saw the missing man formation, several acrobatics and lots of just flying fast.
Loved it.
On Sunday my Sis and and Davids Bro will be here. I called her last night and asked if they had plans for that day.
She said none planned.
So I suggested we Bar-B-Que steaks and watch the blue angels, while sitting by the pool, we can hop in the hot tub or pool when we get too warm, (from the sun) and sleep when we want.
Sleep in the shade or sun.
Just total relaxation. Sounds so good.

Something I may just do in a few minutes.

He bowed

Last weekend, I told David I am fixing that faucet this weekend. I AM.
The faucet in the kitchen had worked loose, and was moving around on the sink.
He said he never noticed. I guess you would have to be daft or blind to not see it but then he is usually in a rush so he just does not notice.
On the other hand, things bother me if they are not right.

So when I pulled out the faucet paperwork he just looked at me and said, "Steve (plumber) should have to fix that".
Possibly so but some things are just home maintenance.

David can not get on the floor on his back, on his knees or anyway down, and he has a difficult time getting up. His arms have lost strength for pulling and his legs are getting weaker.
I take all that into consideration plus the cost of a plumber, so I try to fix things.

So on Sunday I began, He asked if he could help. NOT!!
I did have him hand me wrenches.
I would look at the lines under the sink, go read the literature on that line or bolt of whatever.
I would try to rationalize how it worked.
Finally I was ready. I pulled the water line from the sink. (after turning the water off).
I opened my new faucet,(one I Have stored for future use, Hey it was free).
Took out the adjustment wrench, a wrench that fits EXACTLY, fits the nut holding the faucet to the sink.
I began to tighten.
IT WORKED!!!
David stood above me and checked the faucet for tightness, then said, "That is good, it is now tight"
Yea!!! I did it.
As I emerged from under the sink, I said, "You may bow now and worship me".
He laughed.

Last weekend I was mowing around the orchard and the transmission belt came off the tractor.
Again I knew how to fix it, I was just too tired that day to continue.
So I took a three day break.
Last evening, I told him it had to be fixed. Again he can not get down to do that and he can not feel with his left hand. Things just fall out of his grasp.
I put on my old greasy shorts and top and grabbed the tool box.
He and I rolled the tractor onto the driveway so I could lay down and work on it. I had all my 120 lbs pulling on a handle of sorts, and removing a cotter pin. He is standing there watching the sweat roll into my eyes.
"Can I help you honey?" He says.
"Yes" I said. "Do you have a hankie?" He looked at me as if to say, What???
"Wipe the sweat off my forehead it is burning my eyes".
He took out his hankie and daintily wiped my brow, I snapped. "I am not going to break, I am working like a man, wipe my face like a man".
LOL He was trying not to rub too hard.
When I finished, I started up the tractor, drove it off the driveway and shouted, YEE HAW.
As I walked back up to him he was bent at the waist. I thought he was sick or something.
No not at all.
He was bowing. LOL LOL

Make Do or Do Without

I was so tired of my old Lamps, Like 15 years old. These lamps are in my spare bedroom, they

were ivory colored ball (the rounded part above) with a bright gold base.

So I did a logical thing. I can not afford new ones, so I thought of my Moms old saying,

"Make do or Do Without".

So I am making do.

I began a couple of weeks ago refinishing my dining table. That moved to my night stands, (42 years old) then on to the night stands in the guest room. Those night stands were bought at different times, one from a yard sale, one from an oak warehouse.

They are the little refrigerator copies. Wooden ones. I will take a photo, they look amazing too.

One was light oak one was dark oak. Go figure, they were mismatched. I am surprised they did not bug me before now.

Well actually they did bug me but I was unsure of my refinishing abilities, I learned I can do it from my daughter. (bless her heart she teaches me so much).

So I finished all the above projects while leaving bed unmade, sewing was still worked on at night, Fabric is being separated and I am putting together a box of UFO's (unfinished projects).

I have a black and white quilt unfinished, a sampler quilt, a pink quilt, and lots of pillowcases (some to make, some waiting lace, Maybe by Christmas for gifts.)

I guess it can be called fall cleaning.

I have the cabinet full of products to make batches of cookies to put in the freezer and take to my grandchildren when I go to YC. (chocolate chip, snicker doodles, ginger and oatmeal, perhaps cranberry white choc chip also. According to how much I actually accomplish.

In addition Nancy wants me over to make bread for her and Paul. She is going to a birthday bash in sSacramento and is in charge of the bread. That we will do on Friday. After therapy.

I always worry when I help someone else that it wont turn out, but I just have to follow my recipe, so far it has not failed me.

So on to story, what did I do about the lamps, cream colored ceramic on bright gold base?

I painted them. If you can see it I also painted a gold M on each lamp. Pretty interesting.

I bought a can of Hammered bronze spray and they look amazing. Now I have to think about the shades. They are too feminine for that room. My guest room is done in Oil rubbed bronze. Headboard, foot board, now the end table match and the lamps are not so stark.

What do you think? What do I do with the shades?

Now I think I will take the side table out to refinish in dark oak.

Good idea Sue, Get er done.

Oh I also have to bring home, my sons garage sale dresser I bought for 25 and refinish it, Wonder how long it will set in my garage? Hummm like four years.

Maybe I can put it in storage with the piano.

Sorry son, Your piano and Sheri's Lemon chicken, must bring it up.

I am sure Charles has something I can bug him about. Will think of it.

I love you all so much.

Mommy

Why sick on weekends?

I have been pretty sick the last few days or maybe the last week.
I hung in there. On Tuesday I called and skipped my heart therapy. Reason, I just did not feel like it, my back hurt, my head hurt, I hurt all over.
I went in on Wednesday, (still feeling bad, but I covered it pretty good). The RN had a hard time getting my heart leads to work properly. She said perhaps muscle spasms inside.
On Thursday, I went in and endured more pain, The wrap they had on my stomach was very difficult to deal with, my stomach still hurt as did my back. However my leads set OK.
I came home yesterday and took a Vicoden. I hate vicoden but when you are in that much pain you need something to relieve the pressure. (it really did not work but I slept). As David came home I took 1 1/2 more. I took them all night. Every four hours.
My tummy looked like I was four months pregnant. It was so distended.
I had an appointment with my doctor today and cancelled my heart therapy. Too sick to have the band on my tummy.
Dr. Sheila, checked my kidneys, They seemed fine, (Thank You God), she is sure it is diverticulitis, Again. It has been a long time since it flared up this bad.
I sit and moan out when the pain hits. Yeah wimpy me.
She gave me another prescription for vicoden and told me to be careful. Watch for temps, bloating, excess pain, I know the drill.

Hey at least now I know why I have felt so horrible this last week.

I had 18 inches of colon removed about 24 years ago, I know what to look for.
Now if the pain would settle down, I could rest a little.
So to my disappointment I can not go to my DIL baby shower this weekend.
I hate to disappoint her, I know she depends on me and I adore her and would go out of my way to be there, but my body says otherwise.
But, But we are going down on the 25th for a ballet recital. (Little Kiara is dancing)
We were there last weekend, and it is a busy month.
Plus I am going down when the baby is born on the 11th. Yes Kris hold it in there until I can be there.
We are so looking forward to our guest this month, (my sister and BIL.) A real fun pair.
I plan on having cookies and breads baked in the freezer for quick snacks.

So my weekend plans are changed. Again.

Wifey Wednesday

My daughter at www.Theshadesofpinkblogspot.com posted about her Love for her spouse.
I have to interject some things I heard many many years ago.
From a wise older woman, A woman who was only blessed with the love of her life for 19 years.
My Mama!!

"Sometimes the woman has to be the aggressor".
"It is OK to be aggressive in that way."(her words not mine).
"Work beside your husband not against him."
"Always fix yourself up before he comes home from work, comb your hair, put on a clean dress, Etc."
(she always wore dresses and she got pretty dirty from cooking (with no modern conviences)
cleaning, (again with a broom and mop, no vacuums or wet jets.)
Dishes were washed at the kitchen table, in a dishpan.
Laundry, (done on a washboard and hung on 100 feet of clothesline)

Many many more.

So with that I interject this. A few years ago I was listening to KSHA, a local radio station. Don was the early morning DJ.
As he and his co host talked, they talked of long marriages and how to make it. They listed ten ways to keep the marriage young.
As they read the list I found myself saying, "We do that".
Or "We did that when the kids were young."
So I called the station and told them how right they were. My thoughts were recorded and played several times that day.

What was it?

Laugh a lot, (My husband is a jester, he keeps me laughing but now I keep him laughing with my antics) He says I make him feel young with my teasing, When it seems I pick on him, it is just me making him happy.

Wrestle, (We used to wrestle a lot, Every Saturday morning our kids joined us in the big king size bed and we had a "kick daddy out of bed" game.) We spent lots of evenings on the living room floor giving piggy back rides, riding the babies on our feet and legs, playing tickle, whatever just to get the laughter going.

Give piggy back rides, (my sister has a video of David carrying me up the hill at Flyshecker Zoo in San Francisco, in the early 60s.

Have a secret wink to a joke that you both know. (now that one is a secret, but one word can send up into fits of laughter.)
Hold hands or loop arms when you walk. (one thing we do is touch, Touch is so important to a human. A warm touch can turn any smile on.

Always say, Good morning, or Good night, and Always greet warmly hello or goodbye
(one thing we try to practice but often in our older years are letting down some, mostly because I am asleep when he leaves)
Say "I Love You" it may be your last chance.
Have a warm smile, (no matter how bad the day is) Smile first then fill them in on your day.

Laugh lots, often and loud. We made a vow to keep our home free of stress and yelling and heartache.
No child should go home to fighting parents, children are more important than that.
We did argue, we did disagree and admittedly we broke our word on that a few times, but as a rule, life in our household was pretty even keeled.


So a good marriage takes work, easy work but work, A commitment to make it last.
I can say this because we have 46 years invested.

Even though the teeth are falling out, the hair is silver, you find a new wrinkle every day, the belly wont go flat any longer, the legs and feet ache. Heck the entire body aches.
You can still rejoice in the knowledge that he or she is yours, your investment in a happy future.

Woodleaf

We just spent the weekend at a Christian Retreat. It is actually "Young life ministry's camp.

We stayed at a lodge with the rest of the wedding family.

We are always invited to the Colosio's family functions, We think of them as family and they us. I told Donna, We are the honorary Uncle and Aunt.

And we are, we celebrate the births of grandchildren and weddings in each of our families.



If you read the last post you see I was pretty busy all week. So I did NO driving this weekend. That I am sure is a big surprise to my family. We drove down in the Mustang and I told David he better be ready to do ALL the driving. I am too tired and sick.



On Sunday morning, Dave and I got up to a field of wild turkeys. They were beautiful, but of course I did not have my camera with me.



I walked into the common kitchen area and decided I should eat a little something. Ron had made coffee, Not Decaf, So I ate a danish, (big mistake) and drank a cup of caffeine. Within thirty minutes my heart was racing, my sugar dropped and I was a mess.

I could barely sit up. I looked for juice. None to be found. I was unsure what to do to get my body back in rhythm. John C, ran to his cabin and brought me a bottle of Sunny D, (it was his baby's juice) I drank half of it and within 30 minutes I was Back.

Darlene and I then made breakfast for the crowd.

I did pretty good after that, until 130 when we started to Y C to see our kids, After visiting the kids I again could not hold my eyes open.

I took my sugar and again it was really low, in the 50's. We stopped to eat and I woke up.

Wow,what a horrible weekend I had physically but what a Great weekend I had emotionally.



I am attaching a photo taken on the deck by our room.


Thank God for good friends and family.

Busy Hectic Days

As you all know I am going to Cardiac rehab, five days a week, for seven weeks.
We know I just love this. NOT
I am exhausted.
So my dear friend, Gwena was preparing for a yard sale, I volunteered to help her and Memaw out, Memaw is 87 years old and G did need help with the sale.

I love a new chore. (After all I just sanded and refinished a dining table, and 46 year old console stereo.) Next chore is refinishing a dresser we picked up for Ken and Kris. Those boys need clothing space. (only way to stay organized).

So on Thursday we began emptying boxed and pulling furniture around. (Bruce, Her son in law,
was there most of the day to help also."
I let for home around 330 PM. (after spending an hour at 7 o'clock in rehab.)
I began the day exactly the same on Friday. UP by five and out the door by 630.
By the time I arrived G had the sale well under way and I was not needed. I stayed and visited with the ladies then planned to come home and clean my own house.
I sat down a while, and the day flew by, I accomplished nothing.
Finally I picked up David at 230, came home showered and left for dinner at Clay and Marie's house.
Get the picture? I never stopped ALL day.
We laughed and visited there until about 10 PM then home to begin my cleaning I had planned that day.
I mopped floors, folded laundry, David cleaned the kitchen and helped me move the refinished dining table in. I tidied up the living area as well as dusted all the furniture.
At 11 I sent David to bed , Suddenly I felt pretty bad, (my sugar was dropping).
So I drank a glass of OJ and half a muffin. I felt better.
I guess I dozed off, Actually I did doze off and I was awaken by,
You probably wont believe it, but it was Dave.
He passed away in February. How could he be sitting in my office.?
I looked across the desk and he said, "Sue you should go to bed, You do too much".
Funny thing I remember smiling at him and saying "I know, I will pretty soon,"
My eyes were open. No dream here.
He was sitting on the edge of the chair, slightly looking over his glasses, with a tone on tone plaid shirt on, very light colored. He looked as he did when he was feeling good.

I then dozed off again, and awoke again with him telling me, "Sue you really need to go to bed."
That time I listened and said, "OK OK I am going now."
Funny I can recall the smile I gave him, like an old friend I had not seen in a long time.
I had 0, None, Nil, not one iota of fear. It was a sweet visit.

He had several people with him but he was the only one I vividly recall. How I wish I could recall or know the others with him.

Again I remember smiling at him and almost giggling as I did when he was alive and told me the same thing.
Dave often told me I probably did too much. For example, one day he saw me cross the field with E or G on my back. He immediately told me "Sue you should not do that."
It did not bother me to give my grandson a piggy back ride.

I am not sure why I dreamed about him telling me that,. Perhaps because I had worked with Gwena (his wife) to set up her sale.
Perhaps we do have spirits that can come to us and guide us.