Don Update

We got up at five thirty and traveled to Pittsburgh this morning to see an eye specialist. Have you ever met anyone who had the personality of a wooden popsicle stick? Well, I have now. The doctor walked into the room, put the folder on the desk, faced away from us and started to mumble. I asked him to talk louder (I couldn’t hear and I know Don couldn’t).  Well, after an eye exam and him reading the thick packet of test results that our dear Dr. Lang had prepared his conclusion was that…yes, it was a swollen optic nerve caused by a stroke. The nerve will go down all on its own and there is nothing you can do. He thinks the second loss of vision was a second stroke. Don probably won’t regain vision in that eye. And if he does he will never be able to read with that eye. That was That! No smile, no words of encouragement, no personality. Was he just having a bad day or is that how he is with all his patients…I wonder. He wants to see us back in 3 months for new pictures and tests.  Ain’t gonna happen. We will stick with our local optometrist who is excellent.

  Back home now and resting after being gone for nine and a half hours. This will be something that Don will have to adjust to. He can drive but driving with no vision on the right will make night driving, and expressway and heavy traffic driving unadvisable (so say I) . And he won’t be able to look through a scope to shoot a gun either. It’s hard for the man to take.  

 

  Thank you all for your well wishes.

CURRENTLY

Currently.....

Thinking....I wish all these medical issues will be resolved and thing will get back to normal

Enjoying....a lovely supper that we had with Don's sister and family.

Feeling...like like is in a tailspin

Wearing...the last of Summer's outfits

needing...a hug

Wanting...to have my family around.

Listening...to the Happier podcast.

Making...goulash for dinner. So hot to cook when the kitchen is eighty.

Eating...anything quick...especially things I don't have to cook.

Drinking....ice tea and leamonade, together.

 

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Update on Don and Sadie

For those of you who are concerned about what is going on in my life right now I thank you. I know you must be wondering what is happening with Don’s eye. He had lost the vision in the upper half of his right eye due to a stroke in his eye. They checked it in a week and it had gotten so much worse that he needed to see a neuro ophthalmologist. We spent all last week trying to get an appointment in Pittsburgh. My eye doctor made many calls and requests to Pittsburgh and Buffalo she but got no where no matter where she tried. That is the disadvantage of living in a small town. Doctors weren’t returning her calls even though she faxed all the pertinent information to them to review. Today Don told me that his vision was much worse and we went scurrying to the doctor’s office. After tests it was as we had feared. He has lost all the vision in the right eye. Our doctor recommended that we go to Pittsburgh and show up at the emergency room and we would have to be seen by a neuro ophthalmologist.  Meanwhile she called the emergency room down there to tell them that she was sending us. She finally got hold of a doctor who was a friend of a local ophthalmologist and we got an appointment at his office instead. We are so grateful that he will finally be seen by someone. We have an appointment on Wednesday morning.

  Meanwhile Sadie is still doing poorly. She is down much of the day and only goes outside if she is forced to. We want to have surgery but are waiting to see about Don first.

  This is a harrowing time. Keep us in your prayers.

Grim or Grand

“We can see the world as grim or grand. It’s up to each of us to decide”

 

 

 

Are you tired of all the political chatter? Trump, Clinton…constantly in the news. Yes, it’s sometimes fascinating to watch in disbelief what is going on but sometimes doesn’t it just drive you crazy? No matter which side you are on this year…and it seems they are polar opposites…you are passionate about your candidate. I certainly don’t want to get into politics on this blog. I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. But I do want to use the above quote as an example. We hear so much bad news.  All the time. Floods, hurricanes, fires,and in winter snow storms…devastation. People losing their lives and their homes. War, bombings, killings… suffering. All over the world which makes you cry for humanity. We see so much. We hear so much. Inside we wonder what is happening to our world. Global warming, extinction of animals, rain forest deforestation….our planet in danger. It is hard to be positive. But here I sit. In my own little happy world. I don’t have to wonder where my next meal is coming from. I don’t have to worry about a bomb going off nearby. My world is happy. Because of circumstances and because I choose it. When I hear a candidate telling me how bad United States is, how the people are suffering, how we need to exclude people it makes me wonder how grateful he is that we are living in the best country in the world. We are so fortunate. Our country is strong. Our country is mighty. Our standard of living is high even for those on welfare who have access to a Walmart or grocery store. We need to see the world as grand while having compassion for our fellow men.

Random Sunday Musings

There is nothing more refreshing than a walk in the cool morning hours. A winding paved path of three miles winds its way along the West Branch of the Tunagawant ..Tuna..creek behind the University of Pittsburgh.

 

The lion fountain is surrounded by two new Emerald Green Arborvitae. I've wanted this French look forever.

My flowers seem to be having a second summer thanks to Becky's advice...water, water, water and feed.

 

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OUTLANDER

I’m probably late to the party but I am just discovering Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  Actually I’m not reading the book. I’m not a historical fiction gal but I started it a while ago since it was a best seller and I kept seeing it on the reading lists. But I just couldn’t get into it.  You know how it is. Life is too short to read books you don’t like. But then I rented the tv series from our library. Oh my! Not only am I binge watching it  my husband had to catch up when I watched an episode this morning without him.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A STARZ ORIGINAL SERIES
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages.
OUTLANDER

Scottish Highlands, 1945. Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743.
Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of a world that threatens her life, and may shatter her heart. Marooned amid danger, passion, and violence, Claire learns her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. What begins in compulsion becomes urgent need, and Claire finds herself torn between two very different men, in two irreconcilable lives.

 

It’s a romance, it’s adventure….and I can’t wait for the next episode!

 

Changes on the bank

 

Today the landscapers came to redo our area around the pond. The weeds had just overwhelmed me so I starting over. It looks so sparse now with very little plants. I have to have faith that they will grow and spread.

 

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Another week in the eighties

You have to live in Bradford to know that this is an unusually hot summer. The forecast for the week ahead is all in the eighties. In the normal summers we have some days in the eighties but mostly in the seventies which is a delightful summer temperature. There have been so many weeks in the eighties that I can’t count. Every time I go outside to do some gardening I get overwhelmed with the heat. I am in the process of cleaning up the gardens. Thank you Becky for your wonderful article on caring for summer flowers. Becky is a Master Gardener and writes for the Warren paper. Her gardens are gorgeous and she is my go to gal for all things plant related.

  Yesterday I trimmed the bushes out front with an electric trimmer. Even though I had the help of electricity this morning I awoke with a stiff neck from holding it and trimming. I was even so tired last night I was sleeping a little after nine. And I slept for ten hours…a record for me.

   I know I should be enjoying these last few weeks of summer. It was 54 this morning and so cool and cooler days will be ahead.

OMG....it's Tuesday

 

It's Tuesday night and Sadie and I are sitting outside enjoying the cooler weather that has blown in. As I sit on the swing with my iPad browsing through Facebook I realized that I forgot to blog yesterday and today. Ain't it funny how time slips away?

We are still waiting for a call from the eye specialist in Pittsburgh. Time moves slow when you want it to hurry.

Bees have invaded the hummingbird feeder and are quite contrary when I am out watering the flowers. So I got out the wasp spray and they scadaddled. Is that a word?

I had great news this weekend. My son Ryan from Tennessee has some vacation time and is coming up in September. The kids will be in school and Jenny is teaching but it will be great to see him. He said to make a list and he will help us get things done. Joy, joy!today I took some pots to a nursery and they will plant some Emerald Green Arborvitae in them. When they bring them back they will sit on each side of the lion fountain. I also got a boy holly. I have a girl and she needs a boy in order to have red berries. We had a boy several years ago but it seemed to be a favorite of the deer that bad winter and they ate it down to the roots..pricier you leaves and all. We will wrap this one in burlap in the fall.

It is so peaceful out here tonight. It's one of those evenings when all is calm. What a blessing.

 

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Sunday Musings

 

 

 

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Class Reunion

Last night was the first night of Don’s 55th class reunion which was held at the Bradford Club in town. I had a haircut that afternoon and it was really, really short.

Friends of ours from out of town were coming but I was afraid that I wouldn’t know too many of Don’s classmates.

But I discovered that I really remembered quite a few. We sat at with a tableful of fantastic people…an old neighbor of mine, a former boyfriend, and friends of Don’s from high school.

My old boyfriend Cyril is on the left and our good friend Bob on the right. Cyril has a phenomenal memory and we reminisced about our old dates and fun times. My most vivid memory is when he let me drive his car (I wasn’t legal yet) up on an old back road. The road dead ended and you had to make a sharp left turn. Being a complete novice I didn’t know that and started to go straight down a dirt road. He grabbed the wheel and told me to put on the brakes pronto. So fun laughing and thinking about dating in high school. 

But I met Don and we broke up. Never been sorry for that decision.

There was a band playing oldies and we were singing along and playing name that tune. Dancing was even involved. What a great night and a fun time after the harrowing week we had been through.

Dog Days

Sadie is camped out in her favorite spot..relaxing by the living room sofa. She seems to be doing a little better these days. We are only giving her one pain pill for arthritis (similar to taking Advil).. Her joints don’t seem as swollen as before. I’m also trying her on a new joint drug EXTEND which has gotten rave reviews. I will try anything to improve her condition. She has only been on it for a few days. I will let you know the results.

Look who was in my back yard. Her momma and sister were close by too.

You can see how low are creeks are. I remember as a kid having the best time with a paper cup and a little stream. I wonder if kids still find that thrill. I took this picture of a mom and her child and wondered how much she was missing out by having her head in her phone. How could what she was looking at be more precious than that little darling?

This mom was more engaged.

I took these pictures at Callahan Park right near the Bradford High School.

Update on Don. We saw the eye doctor today. His hemorrhaging in his eye is getting worse and so is the swelling. She recommended that we see a neuro-optimologist in Pittsburgh. We are waiting for an appointment. She believes that he will not regain his vision in the top half of his eye.

With age comes wisdom

Do you find that you've mellowed with age? I now seem to know what is important in life and what to not waste my energy on. I'm living in a positive light as much as possible and trying not to let the problems of life get me down.

 

 

 

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Gracie

 

Meet Gracie, my little boarder. I'm watching her for my friend who is on the hospital.

 

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Hydrangeas

One of my favorite summer flowers is the hydrangea. I often see gardens on the web which have mature hydrangeas blooming but I haven’t had much luck with the one that I bought. It is still very small in its second year and I don’t see any blooms on it at all. Maybe I should try fertilizer? I admit that gardening isn’t my forte. If I could afford it I would have a full time gardener who actually knows what to plant and where. My planting is hit and miss…mostly miss. These hydrangeas are faux unfortunately. They sit in my living room .

Do you listen to podcasts?

A world opened up for me when I discovered podcasts. With my ipad or phone I can listen to any podcast I want whenever I want. When I’m laying down at night resting my eyes I can listen. Just recently I discovered how to listen to podcasts in my car. I still am discovering different ones so if you have any recommendations please let me know. I am listening to Gretchen Rubin, one of my favorites, and Million dollar Decorating and a few TED talks.