Quiet Weekend, Still Raining

This is being posted because I liked it.

Stay safe and God Bless America.  Life is great!

Happy Anniversary, Jacquie and Chris!

 Love you! XOXO

More Blooms!

The sun is out, the birds are singing, the pollen is at a "12" on the scale of one to ten, and life remains good.

My mood is improving daily.  My pain is pretty much the same.  I am adjusting and doing things in fifteen to twenty minute increments and then need to sit and rest until the next bit of time to be up and doing things.  The first available surgery date isn't until May 2nd.  If I don't take that date the next choice isn't until the 16th of May.  And I told my doctor that I WAS GOING to go on vacation the end of May. So the 2nd it is!  And all the medical folks are in agreement that the Tylenol Arthritis is the only thing I can take.  So, harrumph.

After having to cut errand trips short and not getting things done, I finally had to admit that I could not do the grocery shopping.  Les did a great job getting that done.

Yesterday he worked in the yard and got a first mowing done.  It was really tall in some spots and he plans to mow again and finish the trimming and edging.  Today he is playing golf.

We have our first azalea bloom of the year!  I figure this one is the scout to check things out before the many other buds open.  But there it is all by itself.

And then there is this tiny azalea "bush" coming up.  It's an offshoot from a larger plant.

On the way to one of my appointments I noticed one of the neighbors has a large patch of blooming tulips; so pretty!

So life remains great, even with bumps in the road.  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Neighbor's Tree

Our neighbor has told us she plans to have some trees taken down in her yard.  This does not surprise us since the original owners of that home planted many, many trees.  I think maybe he wanted to rebuild the forest.  (And I'm pretty sure he didn't go through the ARB application process.)  Anyway, some are already gone, but she is having some others taken out.  I'm not sure exactly which ones are leaving, but I think the huge pine tree will be leaving.  That will be a plus for us.  We don't have any pine trees in our yard but our neighbors on both sides have huge ones and we get the cones all over our yard.

One of her trees is always beautiful in the Spring.  The poor thing has just one large branch left, and it hangs completely over our fence and our yard and shows us beautiful purple blooms every Spring.  And they match our little tree from the previous post!

Life continues to be great, even when challenging!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Calendar Filling Up

First of all, let me say we just had a great visit with Pam and family.  They had gone up to D.C. for the kids' Spring break.  First time for the kids to see D.C. and there was lots of sightseeing and education and history.  Then they came to our house for a couple days and now they are back home and back to work and school.

Our weather is pretty good right now, sunny and warm, and the pollen is getting serious.  Supposed to get to 80 today!  Les is playing golf. 

Les and I have had several appointments recently.  He had his annual eye exam and finally the doctor says it is time to do his cataract surgeries.  Those will be happening in June.  We are glad it is getting done.  He has the pre-surgery testing to measure for the lens implants tomorrow.

I have been dealing with varying intensity of pain for about three months now.  My doctor ordered two MRIs to check out the area of my back where my previous surgeries were.  Also checked my right hip where the pain is focused.  The MRIs didn't show anything we did not suspect or already know.  We know I have the RA and OA.  The problem is some major bursitis that is pressing on nerves in my hip causing the pain down my leg.  The steroids, the PT, and the Cortisone injection have not helped it.  So I will be having an outpatient surgery in the near future to work on that and relieve the pressure and pain.  I really don't want more surgery, but I also don't want this pain to continue, so there we are.  I have accepted it and am getting ready.  I need to see our GP doc tomorrow for some pre-surgery things and paperwork and then my ortho doc's office will call me to get scheduled.

I am also scheduled to see a gastroenterologist because one of my lab results from my annual check-up came back positive.  And because of that, I have been told to not take my NSAID medication that actually helps some with the bursitis pain.  The Tylenol Arthritis just doesn't cut it.

And then we have things on the calendar like the AC/HVAC Spring check, the sprinkler system check and turn on, and also my mammogram is on the calendar.  And there we are.  Like I said, my pain varies from day to day and I can't tell why or what causes an increase.  So some days I am productive and others I feel like a slug.

But, life is great!  (really)  (if you see the sun come up it's a good day, folks)  Stay safe and God Bless America!

And here is our little blooming tree in the backyard.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Have a great day! Love, XO

Some Quotes and Smiles

My Mom and Grama always said, "age is just a number".  Lately with things that are going on it's felt like a big number.  But I'm trying to keep my sense of humor and have a good attitude.

So, to quote the best Terminator ever, "I'm old, not obsolete".

And in the words of Capt. Christopher Pike from Discovery, "Be bold, be brave, be courageous!"  This is usually followed by the order to go to "Condition Black" in a crisis;  but the advice is good.

And finally, this was in the Pickles comic strip recently.  It struck a nerve and made me smile.

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!  And remember to smile!