kayc Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Lisa, Glad you got the garage door opener taken care of, but even more importantly that you learned your son wasn't being excluded because of race. Perhaps the parent meant the children couldn't play right then because of some reason or another and that part of it was lost in the communication. It's good you learned the truth. I can imagine how "on your own" you're feeling in raising the kids, things have a way of working themselves out though, esp. if we remember to breathe and take one day at a time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted January 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Dear friends, I've been out with the snowblower twice since I posted this morning. We have 19-20 inches on the ground and expect maybe another 3-5 inches. The good news is the snow is very light and easy to move. We have a travel ban in effect for the Eastern part of the state--it was statewide until noon, when they lifted it for the Western sections. It's about 17F with a windchill around 12F. The wind has let up significantly. We had gusts in the 50 mph range over night and earlier this morning. The island of Nantucket had 75 mph winds last night. The entire island is without power. High tide there this morning was awful--5-7 ft of flooding in some places. 17,000 people live on the island and are without power. But here is nothing like that. The birds have eaten about 10 pounds of food so far this morning. Normally, that's about half a week but with gardens and wild seed sources under two feet of snow, feeders are about all they have to work with. The squirrels seem to have decided this is a good day to stay in the nest. Butch, I hope things have let up where you are by now. Stay warm. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 We have snow in Leeds (yorkshire) and I shall have to take the little ones to school and nursery on the bus as getting the car out in a city in snow isn't something I feel confident about. Our daughter lives in the suburbs and if we get two inche's we all go mental! With excitement. The girls will be so happy when they see the snow. You folks in the States would be so amused at how English people react to snow, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 What I wouldn't give for a snowblower! This year I haven't needed it yet...am wondering if we're going to get hammered in February...this is just highly unusual! Jan, So glad your grandkids will get to enjoy the snow, that will be a great treat for them! My kids grew up having snow and loved it! Lots of sledding and hot chocolate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Dear friends, I appear to have survived the blizzard. Now if i can just survive the cold of the next 10 days--two days next week aren't supposed to get out of the mid-teens. Ouch. And only one day is above freezing--and it is supposed to rain. I woke up this morning to discover a cold house. The thermocouple on the furnace died sometime during the night, less than 10 months after it was replaced. We supposedly got down to 5F last night. The house was 54 when I got up at 6:30. The furnace guy was here by 9:30 a.m. and the furnace hasn't stopped since he left. I figure sometime tonight I'll get the house warmed up fully--just in time to go to bed. My brain doesn't work well in the cold, so lots of things I'd like to get done today are not happening. My mind and body both seem to have gone on vacation the last week or so. I have no ambition. And I have a presentation to do tomorrow late afternoon. Sigh. Just no energy in the system. So I've been curling up with books and just taking it easy. The good news is everything for the presentation is pretty much done--I just have to box it all up and print a couple of things. Good gravy, but it's cold. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Harry, I hope the house warms up rapidly. And today is probably not a great day to trudge out to find a warm coffee house where you can relax and read one of your books. Having no ambition may mean that your mind and body want some time off. I am glad you are paying attention . New weather is supposed to arrive her tomorrow afternoon. Snow and cold through Monday. I plan to go into town early and get all my errands done and be home before the snow arrives. I send warm thoughts. *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm sorry, Harry, you're getting the weather we got last year when all my pipes decided to freeze and break! It got down to 15 once this year, but other than that we've had an unseasonably warm winter...we'll pay for it come summer when there's no water. I'm so glad you were able to get someone out so fast about your furnace! Last year when it was so cold my neighbor was without heat for two weeks, the furnace guy was stretched super thin! I hope you have long johns while you're waiting for your house to heat up! The plan about curling up with some books sounds good to me...that and some hot chocolate! I'm glad you have most of your presentation ready, maybe the house will heat up in a few hours and you can get it finished. I've had my house down to 50 and it seems to take quite a while to heat up to 70 because all of the surfaces need warmed up as well as the air. My sister is painting her deck today, unreal for Oregon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Seventy degrees here at the 4500+ elevation level in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (12 to 17 air miles to entrance of Yosemite National Park) is unusual for us also. We are used to the blizzards that both Butch and Harry have been experiencing. Kay is right in saying that we will be hurting for water this summer. The forest here is already suffering worse than we've ever witnessed. Had our temperature not beckoned me to the yard Sunday afternoon, I would not have taken my unplanned ski trip down a slope using pine needles rather than snow. I've "skied" down our sloped yard and terraced areas too many times to count over the 33 years we've lived here, but have always managed to stay on my feet, either standing or squatting, but not this past Sunday. I didn't see this one coming. I was raking backward. I was down on my bottom so fast that I had no time to ride it out as always before. I remember thinking as I landed, "I almost fell. No, I DID fall!" This time, I skied no farther than two feet before hitting the ground flat and solid. On my way down, I hit a concrete decorative wall with my back (2 inches to the right of my right SI joint), and moved the two-inch thick lid of the wall over a few inches. Jerry said that the lid is not easily moved. I would have thought I could not have taken such a fall without breaking my back (broken before) or a hip, because I was born with (minor) spina bifida, a double curvature of my spine, and about a decade ago, I was diagnosed with "severe and advanced spinal arthritis," which has progressed with age. God is good. Although as some of my Southern relatives might say, I am "all stove up," I can still walk and take care of Jerry. Amberly and I believe I have a fracture, but I will heal. I have some solid muscle spasms over a good portion of my spine. I know the treatments, and will do them. After this last diagnosis, I went to see two highly-recommended surgeons. Both told me that I need a total spine replacement, and that they can't do such. My long-time gynecologist showed me from one of his medical books that it is possible that my SI joints can be "ground" in such a way that might help. I don't know if he's right, and as bad as that sounds, it gives me hope. I'll take it. My primary doctor tells me to walk on flat ground only. That can't happen unless we move away, for once we get off any deck of the house, we will either walk uphill or downhill. I'll just be more careful. I will get to my gardens for as long as God allows, and as long as I can wriggle off the decks. My garden is my church (one of them), so I must get there so long as is possible. We used to have an American Indian friend/neighbor lady, who in her latter years (lived to be 105), worked in her yard while sitting and scooting along the ground. She is my inspiration. If Grandma Annie could do so well, I need to try as hard as I am able. My positive is that I did not break my back or my hip, and that I can still walk and do my work (no other option since Jerry and I are here alone all day). I acknowledge pain. I downright whimpered and felt quite sorry for myself the first and second nights; nights are always worse, whether the pain is physical or emotional, as we all know. By evening, my SI joints, and other parts of my back, including thoracic and cervical, tell me, "No more for today." I will be fine soon, I'm quite sure, for I must. I ask God's blessings for all of you today. Carrie Sent from my iPad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oh Carrie, I am so sorry that you have been met with an accident while skiing. Thank goodness you did not break anything. I have never heard of pine needle skiing before. Please be careful. Leave it to you to find a positive out of all of this. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oh Carrie! Please tell me you saw a doctor and got x-rays after this incident! My friends Anne, fae, and Marty would chew me out royally if I did something like that and didn't seek medical evaluation. Trust me, you don't want to get on their bad side! Will alternating ice and heat help? I hate the ice part, as much as it's sometimes needed to help inflammation and swelling, but the heat part sure feels soothing. Will a wrap or brace help? I know some injuries you can't do anything about, like ribs, but still, I'd think if anything would help, you'd want to try it. I also understand about keeping going for I have had no choice but to do so here too, there is no one else to do the work or look after me. I'm glad you're pacing yourself and know when enough is enough for the day. Your friend sounds like a lovely lady to look up to! My husband, George, was Native American, I truly love and admire them for all their knowledge. So were you being facetious when you said you were pine needle skiing? I wasn't sure if that was some sport we haven't heard of or if that was your way of saying you went flying down the hill on your keester! I wish I loved to garden but I don't know the first thing about it and I seem to have my hands full just keeping up with what I must do around here without adding to it. That plus summers are short here so gardens tend to not do real well...what the deer and birds don't take first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Dear Anne, Pine needle skiing is never a planned event, but the stances are quite similar. Once you see that you WILL be going down the hill, if you can keep your wits about you, you likely won't fall if you pretend you're on snow. Come to think about it, my "ski" trip was more like suddenly hitting black ice. Considering where you live, I'm not sure you're familiar with black ice. It's definitely something you don't want. I have been thinking of you, and all you're going through. You are having such difficulties, and with such a good attitude. You are certainly an inspiration to me (to us all). Thank you for being you. I am practicing just "being," as you said. When I was working underneath these 150 ft. pine trees Sunday, I was thinking that the peace I found there may be just being; if so, then I'm at least partially successful. Although I can slow the motion of my body (unless I'm on a pine needle-covered hill!), I'm having difficulty slowing my mind. Thoughts fly through my mind so fast that sometimes I can't remember what the thought I had a second prior was. When someone says to me, "Hold that thought," I'm never sure I can. That's due to my age, and my concerns, I'm sure. Unfortunately, these thoughts come often during the wee hours of the morning (you know, the "What do I do if . . .?" kind of thoughts). Blessings, Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Dear Kay, I gave going to ER the second day a serious thought. At first, I didn't think I was really hurt, as is often the case. A few hours later, I had no doubt I am hurt. An X-ray would confirm what Amberly and I suspect, but in truth, nothing except the things you mentioned will help. If I could stay off my feet, that would help (that can't happen). The second night, my spina bifida was excruciating for a while. I have Tylenol 3 (codeine) for when it gets that bad (feels like someone is pushing hard and constantly on the coccyx until it's about to break; no exaggeration). I'm sure the fall got it going. I'm just SO thankful it didn't break; not just for my sake, but Jerry needs my help. Amberly and I are certified massage therapists (pain institute certified). You are absolutely right in all your advised treatments. Amberly works as RN at ER this weekend. If they're not so busy, and if she can triage me in fairly quickly, I might still go in. I can't be away from Jerry long. She is nurse supervisor for the MeWuk Indian Clinic at Sonora five days a week, and works every other weekend at the hospital. She works for the tribe. Amberly and I had several Indian clients in our practice. Many prefer Complementary Medicine, so came to us. For some things, we strongly recommended the doctor who had the next office to ours (Amberly was his nurse and office manager, as well as my business partner). We are good friends with a medicine woman, Nara White Owl, and her husband, Two Walks (half Cherokee and half White). What tribe was George? I grew up being told that my father was part Choctaw, but when I did our family history, I found no proof of this. I have noticed that Anne, Marty, and Fae give you the "what for" when you misbehave, so I was a little hesitant to say that I have not gone to ER. Then I decided that they are just getting to know me, so I might be safe (giggle). As for gardening, I've had to cut way back. I used to tend to roses on two lots (150 + of them). I had help back then. I'm not even sure I can handle the yard work and take care of Jerry, 2 Doxies, do Quick Books, and take care of the house. My arthritis of my spine has been causing bending to hurt a lot for some time. I'm fine. Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyT Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 You're "fine" Carrie??? Doesn't sound like that to me. I hope you will take advantage of your daughter's "in" at her clinic. Do not mistake your relative "newness" on our site to be a reason for my not paying attention to your posts. You are one of us now, and I am watching you, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAP Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Dear friends, You would think that after 34 years of teaching I would have no anxiety about a series of five minute presentations to high school students about Walking with Jane. ButI didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m. last night. It went well and we have a few nibbles from Student Councils to do some fundraising for the Marathon Walk--and some other kids who may be interested in joining our Relay for Life team. Of course the podcast is still hanging fire, but it will just have to keep until later. I'm pretty well bushed. I think this is likely to be an early night. I was thinking Wednesday that if I put a curtain across the door to the basement it might cut down on the draft that sneaks under the door. I bough a cheap curtain rod yesterday and put that in place. Things seem a bit warmer in that stairwell tonight than they had. I thought about doing something similar with the front door, but couldn't find a long enough rod in the hardware store I was in. I have to go out a bit tomorrow and will be going past a place with better selection, so I'll likely see what I can find then. The weather next week is supposed to be brutally cold--and they are forecasting another heavy storm here for Sunday night into Monday. I need to do all I can to keep the heat in. Carrie, falls of the kind you describe are always serious enough to have checked out. Part of the reason my father is no longer with us is he kept taking serious falls and kept refusing to seek medical attention. Those falls damaged the inside of his head as well as his back--but the head traumas caused no pain, so he thought he was fine. He wasn't. Get to the ER and let them do the tests to make sure you haven't done more than add to the damage in your back. I got my hair cut yesterday. My barber, who is 70 and semi-retired--he works three mornings a week because he likes cutting hair and talking to people--said he'd just come back from a cruise to St. Croix. He said it was a beautiful place and not filled with tourists the way St. Thomas is. He wants to move there and tried selling me on the idea as well. It's a shame I like weather too much to live in Paradise. And housing would be prohibitively expensive in any event. But lying on a tropical beach this week does have its temptations. My intern tells me I need to get Walking with Jane an Instagram account in the next couple of weeks. I haven't figured out Pinterest yet. She also tells me young people have largely abandoned Facebook in favor of Twitter and Google+. At least I've already sort of figured those two out--sort of. Sigh. Stay warm and stay safe out there. Peace, Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Oh good, Harry, I'm so glad it went well! I just got my hair cut today, it'd been 11 1/2 weeks and was more than overdue! Carrie, I strongly urge you to get checked out for peace of mine...both yours AND ours! And as Marty said, we're ALL watching you! No newness off the hook excuses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalady Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Harry, I am glad the presentations went well. I've had to do a few in the past before I retired, I must admit, I didn't care for it. I hope you are recovering well from your surgery. I heard about the next storm, don't know if I could do that anymore. I have a home in the mountains up there in the northeast and it is in a snow belt. I stay down here in the south. Sadly, I will be selling the house. Its quite expensive to keep up. I have thought of moving back but it is quite isolated and I don't know if I could take care of everything. Bob and I lived there over twenty years. Bob passed away down here so I haven't been back to our home yet. I expect it will be traumatic. I hope things warm up in the house. Do you have a fire going? That's always nice. Peace and comfort. Carrie, I am so sorry about your fall. It sounded just awful. I hope you have gone and gotten checked over by now. Please let us know what you find out. I understand the need to keep going but sometimes we have to listen to our body and do what we need to do for ourselves. Good luck. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Shalady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 shalady, I am sorry you will have to sell your home. I live in the country up in the mountains, alone, for the nearly ten years my George has been gone. I'm sure when I'm older I will have to leave here but I'd like to stay here while I can...I love it here, and so many memories are here, this is where George and I lived. Yes, Carrie, we're waiting for a medical report... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalady Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Kay, I've often thought of keeping it and living there but I'm not sure how I would manage in the winter. Its too expensive to keep if I am not there, but would be okay if that was all I did. What do you do if the electric goes out? Will the pipes freeze? Who plows the driveway and cuts the grass? I am really not able to do those kinds of things. The driveway is 400 feet long. Its on six acres, about at least one third of that needs mowing. its a lot to think about and consider. The most important consideration is the fact we lived there so long, we loved it and it holds so many memories. Big decision. Shalady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I keep the home fires burning, so to speak, so the pipes don't freeze...where it comes out of the building with the water tank and pump tec, I wrap the pipes. My neighbor cuts the grass and I shovel out the driveway. If the elec. goes out I use my woodstove anyway and cook on the barbeque or campstove. I guess if I had 400 ft. I'd get a tractor to do it with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Dear, dear friends, I really, really appreciate your care for me. Truly, I'm touched by it (more so than you understand perhaps). I talked with Amberly last night about my getting to ER today, and she said that she would get me in. She and I were hoping Jerry could drive today, but he can't. He drives rarely now, and only for short distances, due to the unexplained dizzy episodes (another aneurysm? Please, dear God, NOoooo). Because I don't drive (Menieres), we are pretty much isolated on this hill. Most neighbors work. There are a some retired people who live in our rural subdivision, and many homes are vacation homes. When either Jerry or I need to get to an appointment, Amberly must put in for time off from work to take us. Because I don't want her to do that too often, I usually see my primary doctor every two to three months, and try to not need more appointments for myself. Jerry must keep several appointments. Jerry sees our primary at the same time I do to save one trip. Amberly takes time off from work to take him to all of his appointments in Modesto also. Amberly is as good as gold to us. Although her job seems secure, I don't want to cause her a problem job-wise. We live in a small community, and good jobs are few (most jobs are few). I realize that the right and intelligent thing for me to do is to go get X-rays; even though, almost with certainty, I would be given the list of treatments Kay gave to me, given Norco, and told to see my primary physician, who has already sent me to see the surgeon, who tells me the I need a total spine replacement. I went for a second opinion, and was told the same thing. Surely, they can do something if I break. If one of my clients came to me with this scenario, I would have strongly advised the same as each of you has been sweet enough to advise me (some clients, I would have hauled off to the hospital myself, and hopefully, with their cooperation!). I have had two rounds of physical therapy, and they did help. The physical therapist, a friend from church, told me that because of my own career training, I know these exercises, and that I can do them at home just as well. He's somewhat right, but physical therapists do things a bit differently. I do not have his training. He called me his poster child. I guess that means I pleased him. I had the electrostimulation treatments, but not the massage. He left that to Amberly (poor kid). I also have a TENS unit. It's a great device, and it's helpful, unless you have pain in multiple places at one time . Jerry is not well today. He was awake and groaning, even after OxyContin, almost the entire night. He finally dosed off at 3:15, and was awake again at 4:45, and was hurting for the remainder of the night. Prayerfully, he will be better tomorrow, and can be up again. He is up most days, and can walk short distances. Today, I'm walking him to the bathroom, because he's weaving dangerously due to the medication he took early last night, and to a lack of sleep. He has not been in pain today, which is a great blessing. He is sleeping now, so I can write. I've explained our situation in hopes you'll understand that I don't know how to do differently at this time. I'm really not trying to be stubborn, or to be foolish. Amberly has begun to think of buying another house in Sonora for our safety's sake, but this would really strap her financially, I think. Her present house is what would be about a block away from us (our livings rooms face each other, but we can't see each other's houses for the trees). She almost has her house paid for. She bought an acre of land when she was nineteen. I think she's considering using it to buy another house. It's another matter for prayer. Our house is her childhood home, so she's asking us to keep it, if we can. She had rather sell her home and her acre in order to keep ours. Don't things get muddled? Were I able to get to ER today, Amberly might have needed to explain that her mother doesn't usually have confusion, but is behaving this way due to sleep deprivation. I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. This is my positive today: I feel loved. Blessings and warm hugs to each, Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Harry, Thank you so much for responding. I've read many of your posts, and I feel like I am beginning to know you. I am so sorry for your loss of your Jane. I look forward to your posts, for I have begun to want to know how you are, and what you are doing. I'm glad you are managing during your blizzard. Poor Butch! You are completely right in all that you said to me, and I thank you for caring enough to write to me. Please see my letter above, for it is meant for you also. You've suffered a lot of loss. I'm sorry. Blessings, Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Dear Shalady, Thank you for your care. I am very sorry that you may need to sell your home. That has to hurt badly, and things will likely be traumatic for you when you return, especially at first. It would be for me, so I have concern for you. At this time of our lives, we are a little uneasy about being able to keep home also, but since Amberly wants to keep it, perhaps we can work it out somehow. Getting to medical care is our big problem. We live in snow country. It's the black ice that is so dangerous. The decks might look clear, but not be. Obviously, pine needles can be sneaky also . Please see the letter I wrote, for it was written for you also. Hugs, Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Dear Kay, Please see the letter I wrote earlier. Jerry is awake now, so I'm free to move off the bed to go feed Callie and Beauregard, and to change their potty boxes. Thank you so much for caring about me.❤️ Hugs, Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyCarrie Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Dear Marty, I love you already. You make me laugh aloud, and cry with gratitude for the understanding I've found here. Thank you. Blessings and hugs, ❤️ Carrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 My dear Carrie, I just want you to know that I send love and concern to you as you continue to give loving care to your Jerry and take care of yourself. Your Amberly sounds like a beautiful, loving daughter. Bless her. We do what we can and that is all we can do. Do you have a hospice group where you live? They can provide such needed help and even can help with driving to doctors or other appointments. I know how hard it is when one struggles to do everything themselves. Know that I have you, Jerry and Amberly in my prayers. I wish life was easier for you right now. Sending warm hugs your way. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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