KarenK

I believe I got the smallpox vac when I was a baby. Had a scar on the back of my arm. Polio vacs were in grade school, 2 or 3 of them(one a liquid). I remember the horrid iron lungs too. My oldest aunt had polio and walked with a limp and a brace. Great strides in medicine for sure, but still so many things that outrun it. Need to go to the dentist. Of my few remaining teeth, the one that anchors my top denture has broken off in the back and another has lost it's filling. Don't even know if he's open. He's older than I am. Not in pain for now, so will hold off as long as I can. Just don't want the anchor tooth to break off completely. This is a drop in the bucket, of course. Just something to rant about. Still no TP readily available here. Will need some next week. Maybe.......... Pain in the butt for Robert to have to shop several places and still not get everything. He found 1 roast in Albertsons. It was $50. Still there unless some fool bought it. No pork chops, only chicken and hamburger. Being on food stamps, we try to be economical. Ain't happening for now!

Gwen, my heart just breaks for you as you have so much hanging over your head at once. What does the surgery entail and what is the recovery time? Is it safe for you with breathing problems? Will it eliminate your pain? What will eventually happen if you don't have it? What level of home care will you require? You must weigh the pros and cons. Unfortunately, the decision is yours alone. Disliking hospitals and doctors, I can't honestly say what I would do. Some hospitals will write off part of a balance. It may be based on your income. You might check into that. Same with property taxes for widows in some states. I know these things take time and effort, but might save you a few dollars. Perhaps your accountant could help. I'm sending you a hug. I wish I could tell you everything will be alright, but I can't. I can only hope for better days ahead for you. Love ya

Kay, be wary of the medicine. Chloroquine has been used to treat malaria since the 1940's under a doctor's supervision. Evidently, the President was in error when he stated it was approved for the virus. Some have died taking it. It's also an ingredient in other products. A couple here took Chloroquine Phosphate thinking it was safe. They mixed it in liquid. They were actually drinking aquarium cleaner. Couldn't they read the bottle?! He died and she managed to throw hers up and is hospitalized.

Medical results are the worst to interpret. I'm glad your appt. Is soon so you can hear it in English. You and I seem to be the only crazy ones awake in the middle of the night. Either I can't shut my brain off or I have have weird scary nightmares that wake me up. I have to be falling down exhausted to stay asleep. I usually sleep in the daytime. The governor has the National Guard stocking the grocery stores now. Hopefully we'll be able to get some of the basics this week. As long as I'm not sick, I won't mess with the testing. I don't leave the house anyway so should be safe. I wonder how long this virus lives on things. How long before it will be safe to touch things. Maybe no one knows, so we can live in fear for the rest of our lives.

Marg, where Ron's folks lived in W. Va., the roads are mountainous and very narrow with a lot of blind curves, cliff on one side and river on the other. He would honk every time we went around a curve to alert oncoming traffic. A whole new concept for me. He said if you met a huge coal truck, you would back down looking for a wide spot to get out of it's way. Fortunately didn't happen when I visited.

Gwen, you are not a misfit nor a criminal! I don't understand her thinking you would be a danger to others if you don't have the virus. Your dogs would surely be affected if you got sick just as they were last time. I have read both yes and no that dogs can catch this, so don't know the truth on that, but with Ally being elderly and ill, it's possible she would be hard to rehome even in the best of times. There are still people out there with compassion, I would hope. Do you leave the house to be in the vicinity of humans or just to get away from the reminders and dark thoughts? When I gambled away my life, it was both. I couldn't stand looking at the space where Ron died. I didn't necessarily want to talk to anyone, just be in a different atmosphere. The dark thoughts will always be with me. You can't run away from yourself. I remember my mom taking various trips after my dad died. I guess that her way of trying to escape. If you are just trying to get away, there are probably multiple beautiful places you can drive to and never get out of the car. If it's a need for people, I wouldn't know exactly what to do. I would be wary. It's a bit different for me. Although we don't interact much, the guys are always here in the house. My biggest fear for you is that you may interact with someone who is infected. I'm sorry I don't have better suggestions.

Kieron, simply beautiful and so perfect. You obviously have steady hands and a great deal of patience, neither of which I possess. I have seen Batik on cloth(as Dee mentioned) at craft shows, but nothing like this. I used to do embroidery kits until my old eyes and unsteady hands said "No more"! I switched to setting loose faceted gemstones in silver which became tedious and expensive. Now I make gemstone bead jewelry(nothing intricate or fancy). Easier to handle and I love making different color combinations. Being OCD, I have enough beads around here to dress up the world. Ron was the one who always encouraged me to try new things. I'm sure Mark is smiling down on you as you create new pieces.

Gwen, I guess your new "friend" showed her true colors. I'm sorry the friendship did not turn out as you expected. I have run into that more times than I can count. I kind of gave up on expecting friendship. I've been stabbed one too many times and tend to be more cautious around people. I feel I have better friends here than I've ever known in person. Tatum was confined to the living room(Robert's bedroom now) for 3 mo. following her last knee surgery. We put non slip rugs around the kitchen as she still has trouble getting up. Not particularly attractive, but then my whole house has been in disarray since the guys moved in. Another thing that was hard for me to adjust to as I was an immaculate housekeeper. I gave up on that. The vet said she will probably never fully recover due to her size, age, and arthritis setting in. She's back on anti-inflammatory meds for a while. She has good days and bad, but I wouldn't dream of putting her down because she's an inconvenience. One day I'll probably turn over in my grave and say "Wish I hadn't smoked", but it is what it is.I Hope your phone appointment goes well.

Dee, it doesn't appear to be my blood pressure. I take 1 BP pill in the morning and a different one at night. Used to take 3 but over time became dizzy because BP went too low. Have been taking these for 18 years. I find that I have to stand up slowly not to get dizzy and any exertion more than just walking gets me out of breath. This from someone who used to climb boulders and wilderness hike. What a letdown! I am attributing this to my COPD which is probably getting worse and the crazy Aspergillus that I will always carry. Of course, I attribute this to me as I'm the one who doesn't want to stop smoking. Have to keep one of my vices😄 I should drink more water. The most I drink is in the form of coffee.

Gwen, so glad to hear that Ally is doing better. Is there a diagnosis for what caused this? I don't remember what kind of dog she is. I could never pick up either of our dogs. Heck, I can barely lift a ten lb. bag of potatoes. I can identify with useless. I always fix dinner for us and for several months now about halfway thru I start sweating and get dizzy. Have to ask for help to finish. It's not because the kitchen is hot or the fact that I don't really like cooking. Not sure what causes it, but it makes me mad that I can't do a simple thing. Enough about me! Hope you are able to get your girl home soon and that she remains well.

Gwen, just saw your post. I'm so very sorry about Ally. I hope the vet can figure this out and that she will be home with you again soon. Keeping you in my thoughts.

Gwen, somewhere along the way I have accepted the fact that Ron and Debbie are gone, never to return. I have already survived the two worst events of my life. I have died twice. What's happening now is nothing more than a major inconvenience to me(for now anyway). A favorite saying of one of my co-workers was "And this too shall pass". I hope that's true. Not sure I can get any more nuts than I already am. The trick is to hide it😁

May not help at all, but I'd be buying orange juice(if there was any) and vitamin c. That's the first thing I grab when I'm sick. Fortunately, I had just bought TP before all this.

Gwen, I don't watch the news, but do read a bit on the Internet. Before all this nonsense, never a day went by without a murder or two staring at you. Now it's a different kind of murder, that of our common sense. The general public has become like lemmings following others as they blindly jump off the cliff. The food hoarding situation scares me the most. When Ron was here, he always bought in bulk when we were flush money to cover the times when we were short. Growing up, he went hungry a lot. I have never been hungry so just buy what we need for the week. I have a large freezer that used to be packed full, now very little. I watch a lot of those crazy apocalyptic type movies. Who ever thought we might be approaching the land of Mad Max? I know you can't stand staying in the house, but the Mother Hen in me worries for you being out in public a lot. Please don't be mad at me for saying that. Just be extra careful!

We are becoming more in lockdown every day. Schools, restaurants, small businesses, all events, casinos( glad I gave that up), and today the library(makes sense for picking up a virus). Being at home doesn't bother me too much. I quit going places a long time ago. Can't afford the gas. It was a huge change after Ron left. We were always on the road. Sure am glad I have the Kindle to get books from the library.

Marg, you crack me up😂 I have heard of people accidentally grabbing the Bengay instead of Preparation H(ouch!) or brushing their teeth with Brylcreem(yuk!), but the tub cleaner for talcum powder is a new one. When I first married Ron, he was trying to explain the living conditions where he was from in W. Va. I was a bit worried to visit there when he said his folks had an outhouse, but not to worry as they had indoor plumbing for 5 yrs. now. This was in 1972. I thought "Good grief, who are these people?" The coal mining area and atmosphere was a real eye opener to me.

Marg, wondering how your trip to the grocery store went. Robert ran the grocery gauntlet for us so we won't starve for now. Had to substitute items we normally get with more expensive as so many aisles are completely bare. Had to go to a different store for hamburger, milk, and bread. Even though we have tons of grocery stores in this area, we also have about 4 million people using them. Just crazy!

It's no wonder..... Robert watches YouTube a lot, especially this fellow that hikes around the world showing various cities and scenery. This from Canada.....He's sitting on a park bench and a woman(non Caucasian) comes up, blows her nose in a tissue, and proceeds to wipe down the top and front of the back rest with the tissue. No apparent reason. She doesn't sit down, just walks away. The world is sick in more ways than one!

This has gotten absolutely insane. Wish people would quit acting so asinine. Was going to go grocery shopping with my son but he convinced me to stay home for safety. He went, but gave up as there was no milk, bread, hamburger, frozen foods, eggs, nothing of the basics. Going hungry certainly scares me more than possibly getting sick, although either would kill me......... Still, this is ridiculous. Some stores are opening from 5-6 AM for senior shoppers. Why bother? There's no food!

Festus(Ken Curtis) would be a good choice. I believe you said you used to be a singer as he was. He sang with the Sons Of The Pioneers for a few years. Beautiful voice.I It has been raining steadily for 2 days here, pretty hard at times. Will probably be done sometime tomorrow. Already flash flood warnings out and invariably some fool will probably try and cross a flooded wash and need rescued. Happens every time we get substantial rain. I would be hostile too. Nothing ticks me off more than stupidity and you've certainly run into enough of that.

Gwen, you are on my heart as you face this tough decision. Is there any possibility that your New Mexico cousin could come and stay with you during recovery if you decide to have the surgery?I Dee, I'm sorry this holiday has such horrible memories for you. Cinco De Mayo is that way for me as Ron died that day. St. Patrick's used to bring wonderful corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes that he would fix and wearing green to avoid being pinched(during working days). Just an ordinary day now one day before my uneventful, lonely birthday.

I also swear like a sailor, Gwen. I have all my life, which is funny because I was not raised that way at all. But then, I wasn't raised to be a rebel or a tomboy either. I preferred Hopalong Cassidy to Barbie. Still do😊

Water heater is working again. Repairman came out an hour after I called. Evidently there is a thermal button that pops out and shuts heater off when water gets too hot due to temperature change, which we've had in the last few days. It's located behind a metal plate which has to be removed for access. Never happened before. There's a first for everything. Hot showers ahead!

Fortunately, it's covered under my home maintenance agreement that I pay $850 a year for. Some years the cost is worth it, others not but in the long run, it's worth it. It's just the inconvenience. Can't remember the last time I had to heat water to wash greasy pans. lol No cussing, but a really fast shower. Got my first estimate to repair my carport ceiling. It was $1500 and they wanted to replace the whole ceiling. Can't afford that. Have another company coming on Fri. I really just want the missing piece replaced. And life goes on.....

Blast it! My hot water heater died yesterday. Less than 3 yrs. old. Took a tepid shower yesterday and knew there was a problem. Will call repair tomorrow.😂