Yes Jeri it is a fact that a head injury can forever change a person. I think I mentioned that my first cousin had two concussions very close in time. After the car wreck and the second concussion he was never the same person. His judgement was not always good and was never reliable. He was never that way before the concussions. I'm glad you were able to forgive him. We are all human.
July: time for the red, white and blue!!
Jeri, I saw the post on FB that Chris tagged you in about life being too short.
When we are hurting so bad it is sometimes hard to believe Romans 8:28. Sometimes we never know any kind of good that came out of our losses, but God is faithful and I can see that it has already affected Chris in a "good" way. You may never know until you get to Heaven exactly how many of Cameron's friends came to know Jesus because of his death. Even the way you acted at the funeral could have made people question how you could stand it and someone told them you were a Christian and leaning on Jesus.
I don't know much about head injury, but I do know that all of you did everything possible to try to help Cameron from the first moment of his injury, until his life on earth ended. You left no stone unturned and sometimes turned them over the second and third time. I know small strokes can change a person. We have a neighbor a few miles from us that used to own a service station in town, was well known and well liked, even ran for sheriff once and didn't win, but dis get a lot of votes. He had a stroke and now he is so mean they can't even hire anyone to help take care of him. The rehab turned him out as quickly as possible because he was so mean to them, he is like a completely different person.
Forgot to answer about Terrye, last time I talked with her, she was trying to settle all of her dad's estate. She had a problem the whole time he was sick with her other siblings wanting her to be"in charge" and that doesn't seem to have changed since he passed. She also said she had been having flare-ups more frequently lately.
I can definitely say that a head injury can change the way a person thinks and acts. Buddy had a bad head injury in 1997 from a wreck in his race car. He was fortunate to survive that wreck. He had a right frontal lobe sub-dural hematoma with a midline shift. The first thing the doctor said to me the morning after Buddy's wreck was, "I want to know who has been praying for this man because I have never seen an injury like this go down this fast!" I gave him a little smile and said "I have" but there were people praying for him besides me--people I didn't even know. Anyway, Buddy had swelling of the brain and when they did a scan of his head about 2 in the morning, it was quite bad but when they did another scan the next morning it had gone down considerably. He spent a week in the hospital and it took him six months before he was able to go back to work. He continued to work until the end of 2005 and then he had to retire and sell his business equipment, etc. because he just couldn't cope with running a business anymore. (I was doing all the bookwork, paying the bills, doing the payroll, the quarterly tax reports, etc., etc.) Then, too, he began to be more and more "out there" about spiritual/religious matters. A lot of people thought he was crazy because all he wanted to talk about was spiritual things. That in itself was not all that bad but he started talking about raising the dead and believing that he could do it. He prayed for more than one person that died in the hopes they would be raised from the dead but it never happened. He became more and more anti-social and wouldn't go to church or mingle with people anymore. If we did happen to be around people, he would start talking about spiritual things that a lot of people didn't understand and it turned them off. He had to sell his truck because he was blind in one eye and the other eye was getting really bad and he had also started having "episodes" every few weeks where he didn't know where he was. He called me from his cell phone one day and he was crying because he didn't know how to get home. I talked him home and after that he did make the decision to sell his truck and not drive anymore because that had really scared him. That was about six months before he died. He became more and more childlike. When we went to the grocery store I had to watch him like a hawk or he would wander off and I couldn't find him. I had to call him on his cell phone and have him tell me where he was. He didn't understand why we couldn't buy whatever he saw that he wanted. I had to handle all the money matters. I am convinced to this day all of those changes took place because of that head injury and he just got worse and worse over time.
It's a sad, sad thing to see someone you love not be able to cope with reality or to watch as their personality changes.
Marilyn, did that wreck also hurt his back ? Itis good to know that he is also healed now.
I'm sure Terrye is under too much stress, between juggling her already overloaded schedule and then adding the stress with just the loss of her dad and then having to try to settle his estate and please everyone all at the same time. Doesn't stress cause flare ups with arthritis?
I've read studies of head injuries where alzheimer occurs with these patients more frequently than patients without head injuries. They don't understand why yet but it's documented. When Cameron fell Terrie and I had just gotten to my house and she went to pick him up at the hospital after they checked him out. None of us understood the severity of what had happened until he didn't leave the hospital for 1 1/2 weeks and he was using a walker, his jr. year in high school.
I didn't realize it had been that long ago Jeri, I think most of you know Richard has Alzheimer's. After he was diagnosed over a year ago I could look back and see signs of it years ago. At the time I just blamed it on other things. He was helping a friend do something with the roof of a out building. Somehow a ladder fell over and hit him on the back of the head and neck. It actually knocked him out briefly. He didn't go get it checked out right then but did a few days later. I've always felt that blow did something. A few years after that he started getting lost while he was driving. One tme he had been driving all afternoon trying to figure out how to get home and somehow ended up in Arkadelpia an hour away. The lady in the service station where he stopped had to tell me where he was-he didn't know. That kind of thing started happening fairly frequently and I would have to get him to read some landmarks or street signs and try to figure out where he was and drive to him and let him follow me home. Finally he started just driving to a few things a very short distance from our house.
At the time he was taking some pain pills for his back and I attributed the confusion to them. I even told his doctor about it and he thought the same thing and cut his dosage back. Finally he had a very minor accident leaving the parking lot of our grocery store and they ended up taking his license away and I didn't have to deal with it.
Trouble with numbers is one of the first signs of Alzheimer's. Now he can't pay a restuarant bill or anything like that with cash. He can't totally figure it out. I have to be careful when I leave the tip because he will sometime get upset thinking I'm giving them too big of a tip. I just give a very normal tip. Looking back the first sign I saw of this was when he just quit balancing his checkbook (we have always had separate accounts). That was very unusual as his major was in accounting and he balanced it literally to the penny every month. I think it just became too difficult for him. They forget how to reason things through. He used to love to work puzzles and would work 1000 piece puzzles. He would also do cross word puzzles every day. He mentioned something about a puzzle the other day. So I thought I would find a very simple puzzle to work while I was gone yesterday. I bought a child's 60 piece puzzle. He only go 4 pieces together. He couldn't remember how to find all rhe edge pieces first.
I'm not saying the ladder falling on him caused the Alzheimer's. I don't think it did. But I do feel it could have helped bring it on when it did. He does have some family history of Alzheimer's .
Our brain is a very delicate thing.
Sandra, Buddy had back surgery way back in the early 70's, I think it was. He had back problems ever since that time. He was in the stucco and plastering business and he had to tote 50 lb. buckets of material on a daily basis. I'm sure all that heavy lifting on a regular basis did not help his back. In his later years, they never could pin point the cause of his pain, He wasn't a complainer but I could tell when he was having an especially bad day because of the look on his face. I am quite sure that wreck he had in 1997 aggravated the situation. He had broken ribs and a pin point hole in one of his lungs in addition to the head injury. He also had problems with his windpipe where the part of his safety helmet that came around to the front of his throat had pushed against his windpipe. He had trouble swallowing certain foods like crackers or cornbread and he would have coughing fits if he ate anything like that.
Charlotte, I can certainly relate to you having to talk Richard home when he would get confused. It is certainly a scary situation! Buddy was never diagnosed with Alzheimer's but he was diagnosed with a mild form of dementia about a year before he died. You are correct in saying that our brain is a very delicate thing! You certainly have my prayers!
Charlotte, NO! I didn't know Richard has Alzheimers! I know you have had said several times how you drive him places and go home to fix him something to eat but I didn't know of his problems. I'm so sorry.
We've been out of town this weekend and I've been checking the thread and reading y'all's stories but haven't had time to respond.
Jeri, I do remember you talking about Cameron and how heartbreaking it was for you to deal with the trust issue with him. Have they ever figured out anything about his head injury? I know you are at a peaceful place now with things, and I do hope his friends have learned some lessons, although they are learned the hard way. Jeri, I hope the girls have a great senior year! We will have 2 grand-kids in HS this year. One a sophmore and one a freshman. I can't believe it!
Marilyn, I also remember you talking about Buddy and the problems he had too. It must have been very hard to see someone you love go through that. My prayers and deepest respect go out to all of you.
The brain is both amazing and delicate too. I worry about our grandkids and the sports they play and how something could happen to them in a second on the field, either with a permanent injury of some type or something that could affect them in the future, and I just pray they stay safe.
Sandra, so sorry you and Jerry didn't get to go out this weekend, but hope things will go your way this weekend.
We went to Montgomery to visit my brother and SIL this weekend. It was planned a good bit ago. He bought tickets to 'Mary Poppins' at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival theater for the Sat matinee. It was just wonderful. I think I've mentioned that my brother is a wonderful chef and he had a fabulous meal for us Friday night. Then we ended up eating a late breakfast (eggs, bacon, grits, homemade biscuits, fresh peaches we had brought from Clanton) before we went to the play. We really stuffed outselves. He knows a chef at one of the restaurants downtown so we took them out Saturday night. They brought 3 appetizers (complementary) to our table, so needless to say we ate very well. Montgomery has revitalized a good portion of their downtown area. This particular area is an 'alley' which used to be warehouses and now is mostly restaurants and a few galleries near the stadium and the riverfront parks. Very nice and we had good time visiting with them. We stopped on the way home in Birmingham and saw our son Chris and his family. The grandkids have VBS this week. Then most of the kids here start school around Aug 6th. Hard to believe they are starting that early!
I agree with hard to believe, seems like they just got out ! This is Amanda's last week off, she goes in Monday and the girls go the 6th. Right now we plant to spend Wed together, I am going to meet them Wed for school shopping. If everything holds together this week--LOL !
Sandra, right now I'm planning to take off Wed afternoon and go school shopping with Meredith and Mackenzie too. Mack asked if we could have a 'girls afternoon' so I was more than happy to oblige. She and I love to go together.
Elaine sounds like you all had a really nice weekend!
I'm like you I've worried about my grandkids and the sports they do. They all were really into skate boarding and doing the pipes and all that when they were younger but thank goodness they have outgrown that. But as soon as I typed that I just remembered Jake uses a skate board to get around campus. Past doing tricks etc. But he was just slowly riding along and somehow he fell sometime around spring break this year. It really startled him and scared him as he said he hasn't fallen on his skate board in several years. It sort of knocked him out and Kristi went down and took him to ER. Everything was fine. Clint has always scared me on his unicyle. He doesn't just ride it he does all kinds of tricks and jumping up on things and over things, etc. I hope he's about outgrown that! When they ski it appears they are airborne much of the time. They have all broken bones from various things they were doing along that line.
I did get all the woodworking equipment sold (that is what I wanted to sell I'm keeping the hand tools - saws, sanders, etc.). I had sold the table saw last week and he came yesterday to pick it up and brought 2 really nice young men with him (brothers). One of them brought the joiner and mortiser. The guy that bought the table saw ended up getting the large shop vac also. I was glad to see them get it. They were all really nice young men in their late 20's or early 30's doing woodworking as a hobby. So now I have lots of space . I need to find time to get out there and clean the place out and totally rearrange everything. I plan to move some of my hobby stuff I have in the garage out their to give me more room to paint in the garage. I prefer to paint in the garage as I can just back my truck up to it to load and unload furniture. It would be way too hard to get it around back. Things are such a mess in the garage I can't get to my jewelry making supplies and equipment. I'm going to take all that to the workshop and set up a studio. I have a kiln, torch (for making beads). I even have a large shrink wrap machine I can never get to for all the junk. I made gift baskets years ago and kept the machine. It's really useful for lots of things.
We did a cross post. School does start back really early now.
Jeri so sorry I did not know Cameron was having such problems,
Marilyn I enjoyed Buddy but I am sure dealing with all of it everyday was a trial and a heavy burden to bear.
Charlotte you know I tell you all the time I am amazed at how you cope with it all and still go on with your life.
Sandra I am so sorry you and Jerry did not get to have some down time together. I know the heat is killing him. I have been working in my building without air because it runs our bill up. Last week it was unbearable..
I've got grandkids this week and Josh and his wife are celebrating 10 yrs in Jamaica .
I think they all start to school next week sometime. Luke left for 4 h camp this morn. This is his first over night camp. I think he will be gone all week. Sat afternoon Josh asked me to go out on the river with his family. I had such a great time watching them ride the tube. Audrey the four year old has no fear. The two older ones would ask to go slower but no her. I took some photos . They are a bit blurry because I had to crop them so much. The picture of the buildings down town is our River Market . I have never been because I forget it is going on. One phot is Audrey surfing on the tube with her mom the other is Ella an John Paul after they went under the bridges. One had a train going over it. Also a photo of my house from the river.
I really enjoyed my morn with Charlotte she toured my chaos where I work. It always looks like a bomb went off out there. I clean up but the next piece I turn it upside down again. Specially when I work on several pieces at once.
This message was edited Jul 28, 2014 4:00 PM
Wrong photo of my house
What great photos, Cindy! Grandkids are the best, aren't they? I love the one of you and Charlotte--two pretty ladies! The view of your house from the river is so nice. Buddy really enjoyed visiting with you when we were at Sandra's and then at the RU at Terrye's just a month before his death. I think he bent your ear a lot and it was very sweet of you to listen to him and to give him so much of your time that week-end. (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Cindy))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Charlotte, knowing you, you will have that garage just the way you want it in no time at all, now that you have the extra space. :D
Elaine, what a nice weekend for you and Earl and the others! :)
It was cooler here today--only in the 80's and lower humidity rather than in the 90's and high humidity. Al and I took advantage of the weather to get some work done outside. I transferred my big corn plant that I have had for years into a much bigger pot and spray painted a big decorative cross which I bought at Hobby Lobby. The cross was a turquoise blue and I wanted a blue blue to go with the other accessories in my kitchen so I spray painted it. I will hang it on a wall in the kitchen. I got the cross for half price so I didn't feel so bad about having to paint a brand new item. LOL I puttered around the yard and watered some of the flower beds, too. It has been a good day but I have to go see about supper. Ribs and sweet potato fries are in the oven and squash is in the steamer. You ladies have a good evening!
Cindy I could sit at home and be woe is me or go on with my life. I figure being woe is me isn't going to help either one of us. I need to keep my sanity and health. Sometimes you just have to take what life gives you and do the best you can with it.
I thought the picture of us turned out really good. That was a cute cute store. I was very tempted to buy a top in there but I didn't!
Audrey is going to be something else! You all are going to have a hard time keeping up with her!
I think it's supposed to get cooler here later in the week I believe. I had to turn the sprinkler on Sun. I left it on automatic because with the heat things dry out faster and I'm not sure when it's supposed to rain again.
Charlotte and Cindy, you both look so good in the picture, I am glad you got to spend some time together.
I decided to go a few miles from here to check out a "tomatoes for sale" sign one of my friends had told me about. I was in the truck of course because Jerry drives the car to work. I got there and went to the door, no one answered. I walked back to where the tomatoes were laid out on a long table and saw they had an honor box and instructions how to weigh them-1.00 a pound. They had a box with bags in it so I picked out some and weighed them and went to open the door and get my money out to pay---truck was locked, my purse, keys and phone laying on the console of the truck. There was a lawn chair in the sun and I just drug it to the shade and sat down. I guess about 15 minutes passed and I saw a lady walking toward a mailbox and I waved at her and asked if she had a phone I could use. I called Pat with her phone and asked her to come get me. The lady was the Mother of the lady who was selling the tomatoes, she said she had heard me pull in, she was working outside, and it dawned on her I hadn't pulled back out. Pat finds me and we start to my house to get the other truck key and her car went dead driving down the road. She got it pulled over and it cranked right up. Then it died again--three times in about 6 miles. We laughed and talked the evening away after I called a mechanic who said it would be late before he could come see about it, until Jerry got home. We went after the truck and when we came back I took Pat home, looked at her new quilt she has started and came straight back home, then Jerry and I took Pat's car to the shop. It didn't die one time on him driving it to the shop. She stopped and got gas coming after me, he will check it out tomorrow. And that dear friends is how I spent our wedding anniversary which is actually today!
Life happens to us all and changes our plans, I told Cayla that could have all happened so Pat wouldn't be alone when her car tore up. I never lock the truck unless I am out shopping and have stuff inside it, I guess I hit the lock button getting out somehow. Thank The Lord that the kind lady let me use her phone !
Tomorrow is the A1C test, I surely hope it has gone down. I have been working very hard to get it down.
What a day Sandra! I do lock my car every time I get out!! You have to remember I live in LR. I haven't locked my keys in my car recently but I've done it plenty times in the past! The SUV I have now want let you lock the car with the keys inside and it also makes a terrible noise if you try to do it. I discovered that when I thought I had lost my keys somewhere and came home and got my extra set. When I tried to lock it all kind of noise started going off! I discovered my keys had actually fallen out of my purse in the back of the car. Worst experience locking my keys in the car was in Mt Home several hours from Little Rock. I was calling on a bank and I didn't want to take my purse in. I had and still have a snap apart key ring. I snapped it apart and threw (I thought) my house keys on the floor board. As the door was shutting I realized I had actually thrown my car keys on the floor board and had my house keys in my hand! That one I had to call a lock smith to get open! The police tried to get it open for me but they couldn't do it. I have many more stories! Don't know why I was so bad about locking my keys in the car for a while.
Thought I would show a few pictures of some things blooming. I have hydrangeas that bloom in different times during the summer. The pee gees are just now in full bloom. I took this picture a little before peak but never got around to posting it. My containers have done well this year.
Yall we made it home around 8:30 PM and Mary & I had the best day. We started our adventure around 8:30 this morning and drove straight to Biloxi where we ate lunch at our favorite restaurant next to the big shark head on Hwy 90. It use to be this old blue shack but I swear they had the best raw oysters ever. Of course it's July so we didn't enjoy that today. We really enjoyed our visit and Mary is really evil and has started calling me Jeril Lynn like my aunt and cousins still insist on doing. But Yall the entire trip was worth it when I got ready to leave, I bent and kissed my sweet, sweet uncle goodbye and I told him that I loved him and he looked me square in the eye and told me he loves me too, Jeri Lynn. That was priceless and I will treasure that the rest of my life.
Charlotte and Cindy, Yall both look great!!! I know Yall didn't have nearly enough time to visit, when an entire weekend for the RU's didn't seem to be enough for all of us. How I wish we weren't all falling to pieces so we could do that again. LOL!!!
Cindy it would never do for your little dare devils, meet mine, and they become friends. Lord, this world surely would not survive the 4 of them together. Brooklyn & Peyton went to Destin last week with Mawmaw Peggy & Pawpaw Leon. They started each day playing golf so now they both want to play golf for a living.
Happy Anniversary, Sandra!! TG!! Yall got home and how many tomatoes did you buy? Prayers for good results tomorrow. Will you get the results then or have to wait 3 days.
I've got to get to bed b/c I'm meeting Ashley at her gastrologist(sp). for 8:15 across town.
Oh, my, Sandra--what a day! LOL Ya'll will look back on it and laugh about your adventures! :D
Happy Anniversary to you and Jerry!
Charlotte, beautiful blooms and container plants! I don't have much luck with container plants. I think I don't water them enough. ??? My car won't let me lock my keys inside if the keys are left in the ignition but even if the keys are somewhere else in the car, it wouldn't matter because I have keyless entry on my car. You just push a code into the numbers on the car door and voila! the door opens right up! It's a great feature!
Jeri: you and Mary had a fun day, too! What precious memories you made with your uncle!
We are enjoying beautiful autumn weather right here at the end of July! Unseasonably cool with a high today in the upper 70's or low 80's and low, low humidity. It's wonderful! We will be working outside today, too. I have two big hydrangeas I need to get into the ground. I've been waiting for the guttering people to come and put up the gutters on the porch addition before I planted these hydrangeas. However, the guttering people are taking their sweet time about getting here so I am going to go ahead and put the plants in the ground this morning while it is cool. Al will help me and then he will get busy on the weed-eating. I have weeding to do in the shade bed on the north side of our house and some other clean-up work to do in the flower beds.
Here's another photo of our big volunteer sunflower plant. Most of the buds have opened up now. The blooms themselves are not those great big sunflower blooms but I still think they are pretty. We have had to tie that plant up in two different places because it was getting top heavy.
The 2nd photo is of a leaf on one of my hibiscus plants. Do any of you know what causes this and what can be done about it?
Cindy and Charlotte, that is a wonderful picture of you two. Y'all have so much in common with your interests and I'll bet you had a great time comparing notes! Someday I'd love to visit both of your booths but I'd better leave my checkbook and wallet in my car, lol! Cindy, your home is just lovely up on the hill by the water and your grandkids must have a ball. I totally understand - we've got 6 daredevils in our clan. Not much I haven't seen them try.
Charlotte, I guess I always thought you painted in your garage, but having everything cleaned out will surely give you a lot more space to go to town with your projects. You are so right that you need to keep going with your life and do what you can that's best for both of you right now and to keep yourself healthy, both mentally and physically.
Jeri, so glad you and Mary had a good day together. Worth the day of driving for sure.
For Sandra and Ashley, I hope everyone's tests and Dr's appts turn out well. Sandra, didn't you just put up a bunch of tomatoes? I'm glad all was well with you and Pat and the car trouble. I would have been a maniac trying to get something figured out. You're so calm!
Marilyn I believe you have leaf miner. Not postive. Here's a link to is.
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/pests/insects-diseases-weeds/stop-leafminers/
Elaine I do paint in my garage and plan to continue to paint in there. I am going to move some things that are not related to painting out to the workshop and set up a jewelry making studio out there. I already have my soap making in the workshop. I can also use the workshop to paint small projects - picture frames, small tables, etc. I might even think about putting my sewing machine in the workshop.
I don't have a "key" for my SUV at all. All I have is a little remote control. I just push a button to start it. I just walk up to the door with the remote on me and reach toward the door handle and it unlocks. I think that's how they are making most cars now. I usually just put the remote in my pocket and leave it all day.
Marilyn I think one of the secrets to container planting is to plant the pot really full. They will not grow to fill up the pot like perennials do. I actually planted a lot of perennials in pots this year. They do need lots of water.
This message was edited Jul 29, 2014 7:59 AM
Happy Anniversary Sandra! I forgot to say that earlier.
And my car is a 'proximity key entry' also. It took some getting used to. I just always have the 'key' (which is really the remote control) in my purse. You just have to touch the door handle and it opens or locks. Same with the trunk if you have your hands full, you can just kick your foot under the bumper and it opens or closes. You can open/close it manually or with the button if preferred.
I had pretty good luck with my pots this year but they sure are thirsty this time of year. I try to put them so they get water from the irrigation system but it's never enough. I did plant a couple of new things in the spring but 1-2 of them didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Half the time i'm experimenting with my pots just like I do in the garden. I planted a couple of different tomatoes that I didn't care for this year either and they are already gone. I harvested a few green tomatoes for fried green tomatoes and threw the rest away. Not worth my time. One was Mr. Stripey which I had heard people rave about. My SIL in Montgomery said she grew one too and she didn't like it either and pulled hers up.
I was going to guess at Marilyn's problem being either slugs or a leaf miner. Slugs have really been bad around my plants this year, but I haven't really had time to try to control them either.
Elaine it took me a while to get used to my remote system too. I couldn't tell you the number of times I've turned off the motor and then didn't think I hadn't turned it off and turned it back on and then had to turn it off again. It operates so quiet I can't tell when it's on or off. I seldom ever actually use the button on the remote. I let it do all the work for me! I like that the running lights (probably not what they are actually called but lights that are right under the doors) even come on automatically when you walk up to the car with the remote on you.
I planted one of the striper tomatoes also. I didn't care for mine either. But the fungus took care of mine! My pots are all where the irrigation system hits them but when it's really hot I also have to hand water.
LOL, Charlotte. I work in a huge Government building. The building admin people are great about sending out e-mails to 'all' if someone has a flat tire, left their lights on, etc. I only had my new car a week, maybe less, when I get an e-mail one morning that there was a white car, blah, blah tag number that was still running in the parking lot! Yep, left the dang thing running. It is so quiet, and you have to push the button twice pretty much every time to make sure the music system is off. I guess I had put my foot back on the brake and turned the car back on and didn't realize it. First time for everything!!
Sandra what an adventure glad someone came to your rescue. At least you got to visit with Pat.
I have locked my keys in my car twice in the last year picking up furniture. I always pick up my phone so I drilled a hole in my phone case and hooked a key to it.
I don't have fancy keys since my vehicle is 12 yrs old. It actually has a cassette player in it. My grandson ask me if it was a place to put your iPhone in to play your music. They have never heard of or seen a cassette .
Charlotte every thing looks so lush and beautiful.
Thank you Elaine for the compliment .
Jeri so glad you got some laugh time . It really heals the mind and body
Hope everyone's test are good.
My new resolution is to not get out of the vehicle without my phone! At least I can call for help!
My doctor visit didn't go exactly as I had hoped. My A1C was down at 6.6 but he didn't reduce my meds back down so still on 2000 mg metformin which is the maximum dosage and continue the Tradjenta too.
I go back in 5 months which is normal.
I now have 53 quarts of tomatoes and 10 pints of salsa and I am finished because I am out of jars. If I stumble on any more they will have to be frozen, yes, Elaine, we love our tomatoes here.
Wow, Sandra! We love ours too but I don't think I've ever put up that many! I need to buy some more quart jars. I seem to have almost run out. I guess I've given away so much stuff I can't find any. I may have a box in the attic but I seem to have plenty of pints, just no quarts!
BTW, did y'all read the DG hortiscope today? I got a chuckle out of it.
thanks for that link, Charlotte. I was in error when I said that was a hibiscus leaf--it is a hollyhock. :D
I'm not going to worry about the leaf miner. It has probably already matured. I don't have any of them on any of our veggies so, really, nothing to worry about.
Al and I got the hydrangeas in the ground and I was able to do some weeding before I had to come in out of the sun. I take a blood pressure med that makes me sun sensitive (Lisinopril) so I have to be careful about how long I am in the sun.
That's funny about the new cars with the automatic start-up, etc. That would take some getting used to. LOL
Well,, it's time to get supper out of the oven. You ladies have a nice evening! :)
Yes things have changed a lot in the electronic world in the last 10 or so years. My car has a DVD player in the back which I will probably never use. I did check to see that it works. A friend was with me one day and wanted to load a cd for me to listen to. We were already driving and I told her I hadn't been able to find anyway to load a cd except in the back! I had looked all over the front and couldn't find an opening to put a cd in. There are a lot of things on my car that doesn't operate when you're driving (safety feature). I figured that must be one of them. Several months later a decided to push a button on the front and all of a sudden my navigation screen popped out and flipped sideways! There was the opening to load cd's!! Scared me to death. I just listen to Sirius so it wasn't a big deal to load it. I even have a regular 110 outlet in the back.
Sorry your doctor wasn't able to lower your meds Sandra! Maybe next time.
That's a lot of tomatoes!!!
I'm going down to Arkadelphia tomorrow for a few hours to help my friend try to get some of her furniture ready to sell. She is planning to move to Nashville to be near her daughter. Actually she's moving into a house on a farm in Franklin right outside Nashville. She's been overwhelmed at all she needs to do. She needs to have an estate. Actually she will probably do 2 or 3. She's going to keep some things but will need to get rid of a lot as she lives in a bed and breakfast. I'm going to help her do some touch up on some pieces and help some with the pricing.
Ha, Charlotte, that is funny about the cd player. Al has a 2011 GMC Terrain. Ever since he and I got married, I have thought it was strange that there was no way to unlock the car doors with a button. You have to pull on the door handle twice to get out of the car--or so we thought. Well, one day recently Al punched a button up on the control panel on the dashboard and Voila! the door locks unlocked! LOL I suppose it would help if we would read the instruction booklet! ROFL!!!
I can relate to your friend having to get rid of most of her "stuff". I had to do the same thing when I moved from Cabot to Harrison. Even though it was traumatic and emotional at the time, still it was a big relief once it was all over. It is amazing how we let "stuff" own us, instead of the other way around. Your friend is fortunate to have you to help her out.
Sandra, I forgot to say that I'm sorry about your meds not being lowered. Al takes metformin but his dosage is 500 mg. twice daily (=1000 mg daily) plus he takes Glipazide (sp?). Congrats on the 53 quarts of tomatoes and the 10 pints of salsa! That should last a while! :D
Our high today will be in the upper 70's or low 80's with low humidity. We are enjoying this beautiful weather while it lasts. Hopefully, we will get some rain showers later today lasting into the night if the weather folk are correct.
Elaine, I haven't read the DG hortiscope. I normally just come right to this thread and don't do any searching on other threads. I'll have to see if I can find it. :D
This message was edited Jul 30, 2014 7:34 AM
My friend would do the same for me. We've been good friends since our early 30's. She has all the bedroom furniture to get rid of in the B&B. She has also operated a catering business and a tea room in her B &B. She just felt it was time to close all that down and move closer to her daughter while she is still in good health. She doesn't want her daughter to have to disrupt her life if she were to get sick. Part of the downstairs of the B&B is set up with lots of tables and chairs for the tea room. She has all kind of catering equipment she needs to get rid of. She just lives in a couple of rooms of the B&B. So all the rest of the stuff she needs to get rid of. She also owns a nice brick home in the country that she hasn't actually spent the night in in probably 5 years. For some reason she just doesn't seem to want to sell it. It's filled with stuff too. She says she's just going to leave it for her son and daughter to deal with after she's gone!!
This has been the nicest summer in a long long time!!! Best that I can remember. It's only going to be around 80 for the high today. Think it's going to be like that the rest of the week.
Charlotte, you'll have to come visit your friend in Franklin when she gets moved. It's only a couple of hours from me and it's a great place. We love it. Lots of country stars have farms in Franklin and the countryside around Nashville, but it's a really cute little community with some great shops and restaurants. Too bad she can't bring a bunch of stuff with her to sell there because it would probably bring some great prices. You and she could open up a shop and do really well with her antique and old stuff, lol!
It's been beautiful here too. Record low of 57 last night! YooHoo I love it!
Well, Sandra, at least your meds weren't changed or upped in dosage, so I guess that's a blessing. Sorry your readings didn't get better but maybe that's something to work on for the next 5 months if it's something you CAN work on. The hortiscope is on the lower right of the page when I load DG and it was cute yesterday. Something about what goes on at the garden store staying at the garden store. Reminded me of us and our stories about buying stuff we don't really think we need until we get there.
Elaine I've been to Franklin with her. Her daughter lives in Brentwood and they own a farm outside Franklin. They recently bought the farm next to their farm. There is a house on that farm and that is where my friend plans to move. It's in the valley below their farm house. You can see it when you are sitting on the porch of her daughters farm house. I went up with her to visit her daughter a few years ago. We stayed out at the farm. They call it a farm but it's a beautiful home on the top of a big hill. It has a wonderful view. We spent some time at her daughters house (I know her really well also) but most of the time we were at the farm or exploring. We went all over Franklin, through the Amish country. She know all the backroads. My friend goes up about every 6 weeks. I'm always welcome to go (she tries to get me to go with her all the time) but she stays longer than I need to be gone. After she moves I'll go up to visit her. I have to pick and choose what I do.
Got back from my friends just a little while ago. We made some progress. I glued a few pieces for her. It didn't take me but a few minutes as I had all the right tools. we did a lot of talking about pricing, etc. Did some rearranging of her small stuff.
What a great friend you are to her Charlotte, I know she really was thankful you came to help her.
Boy oh boy Amanda and girls wore me out today ! The reason we went today is because one of the small towns close to where Amanda lives had a Salvation Army store that sells all the clothes for half price on Wed. Amanda has lost 98 pounds now and she was naked--LOL-- she has nothing to go back to school in next week. She still has those hips, so first she went through all the pants and skirts she thought she might wear. She tried every one on, then The ones that did fit well she had Faith help her match tops to ! She is very small up top now, so . They went through all the tops and Amanda went and tried them all on together. We were in that one store for 4 hours-- I walked around and looked the first 3 hours and finally paid for my stuff and sat down on a couch they had for sale for the last hour. We had a bite to eat after that, then went to a place called Plato's Closet, or something like that. It is a high end store that resells brand name stuff. Mostly for kids so Charity and Faith did some shopping there. Blue Jeans that cost 100 bucks in the stores are 18-25 there. She is almost 2 hours from me so add 4 hours driving to all that shopping and I am TIRED !
Marilyn, my metformin is 2-1,000 a day. That is the maximum dosage on it. I used to take glipizide, but he changed that to Tradjenta, to take at night.
Elaine, I did get my numbers down. My last A1C in April was over 7. Yesterday's was 6.6
My doc says anything under 7 is ok with him, but the ADS has said now we should keep it under 6.5
Time to rest now--good nite all
That is a lot of weight for Amanda to lose!!! She has done a great job!
I know you were worn out Sandra. Four hours in one store would more than wear me out! Especially when you are not looking for something for yourself.
We got another good rain here late yesterday evening and last night. I'm certainly not complaining but it just doesn't feel like the last day of July. More like a fall day. So nice and cool. When I was at Judy's yesterday it was so nice and cool. It's a big old house built in the mid 1800's and it's hard to cool and heat. I don't think she even had the air on yesterday and it was very comfortable. We sat out on her screened in porch and ate lunch and the weather was just perfect!
We were talking about making cobbler a while back. I had some fresh peaches I finally got around to making into a cobbler this morning. I looked up my old recipe. It is very quick and easy if you do it my way and use refrigerated pie crust dough! I cut up 8 cups of peaches (of course I always use just a little more) and put 2 cups of sugar, 4 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg over that and cook for about 10 minutes until it comes to a boil. Then add 1 stick butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. When butter melts pour half of that mixture into a 8" square pan. Then cut a piece of crust that will fit over the peach mixture. Bake at 475 degrees until the crust is lightly brown. It said 12 minutes but only took 10 for me. Then take out of oven and spoon rest of peach mixture over that crust. Then use the rest of the pie crust dough to make a lattice on top of the last peach mixture. Bake at 475 for another 15 minutes. It didn't take 15 minutes for my crust to get brown. I think you could turn the oven down to around 400 for the second time. Turned out delicious!!!
This message was edited Jul 31, 2014 10:33 AM
Sounds delicious, Sandra. The crust-within-the-crust is what I remember my Mother making. She would cut hers up into the peaches is about the only difference. Then put the 2nd crust on top and finish baking. It was always so good with all that flaky crust inside and out. I always use more than '8 cups' too. And I add some cinnamon just because I love it.
Have any of you ever made any grilled peaches? I made some and had them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream the other night. They were scrumptious. Just melted some butter and brown sugar and added a splash of brandy. Brushed that over the peaches and put them on the grill until heated on each side. Not too long. Then sprinkled cinnamon on the peach half and the ice cream to serve. You can skip the brandy or add amaretto or a half tsp vanilla or nothing.
Yes, great job, Amanda!! We have a Plato's Closet here but I've never gone in there. My DGD has been in there a couple of times.
I did go to lunch and shopped with my daughter and grand-daughter yesterday afternoon. They had been to orientation at the high school. There is a new Freshman Academy at the high school this year so they got to tour that and then it was just the usual freshman orientation. This is a new concept here that separates the freshmen from the rest of the high school population. I think it's great. They do have common areas (Band, Sports, Home Ec) that can't really be combined but everything else class-wise is separate. We shopped for Mack some tops for school. She's quite the shopper, doesn't go in for most high-dollar stuff, and knows what will likely work for her and her body type so she's pretty easy to shop with. We didn't even go to the mall or the trendy 'Bridge Street' shops at all, just went to some small shops where the prices aren't awful. It's nice to spend time with them, but Sandra I understand why you were sitting on the couch!
Yum on that cobbler, Charlotte! I used to make blackberry cobblers a lot when Buddy and I lived on a farm in White County, AR back in the 90's. (We had 200 acres and Buddy had 150 head of cattle to take care of in addition to his construction business.) The neighbor up the road had those big hybrid blackberry bushes in their garden. The birds, thankfully, planted some of them along the fences on our property so we had plenty of blackberries, too. :D The cobblers I made from those blackberries were scrumptious!
Sounds like a good day with your daughter and granddaughter, Elaine! and the grilled peaches also sound yummy!
You, too, Sandra with Amanda and the girls! Congrats to Amanda for the weight loss--she is to be commended and I am sure it has made a big difference in her health and her energy level.
Well, it's time for a new thread--August is upon us so I will be back in a few minutes with the link to our new thread! :)