[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! It is a crappy weather day in my corner of the world! It has rained all day long. Today was really a drag at school; no one was ready to come back and get into the routine again. The kids were all walking zombies -- kind of funny. I got up ok but it seemed like it was a long day. We have 8 weeks of classes and then 3 days of final exams -- on May 29th @ 3:27 I am going to celebrate!

"Gma" -- Bob has been watching the basketball games right along. He never really has a favorite team in any sport; he just likes to watch a good game. I'm glad that your team made it to the final four! Our vet has always said that our animals have had good lives with us and that we have given them the best care possible. It's never easy to let them go that's for sure. But like a human, when you know they can't get any better you have to believe that letting them go is what is best for them. I hope you can find the yarn you are looking for. I had to laugh at Susan's comment about you going in the yarn department!

Susan -- How do you get a real estate tax exemption? Our taxes are going up each year and I have a feeling that it's not going to get any better. I'm glad that Stan felt like eating his breakfast again. It's hard to eat when you don't have an appetite -- I don't very often have that problem. I hope your blue fingers are ok.

Not much else is newsy from here. Hope you all had a good day, a relaxing evening, and have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow.

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning one and all. Still gloomy though warm here. It has been raining off and on for the third or fourth day straight. I am tired of it and want some sun, but looks like Indiana is going to be rainy the whole time we are up there. I will just have to be happy with Jackson's sunny face I guess.

My girlfriend invited us to stay with her (she is getting divorced and her home has 4 bedrooms with no kids anymore) so we took her up on it. It will save us $400 in hotel costs! lol She has a beautiful home and we come and go as we please.

I have to get over to the hospital tomorrow and get my ekg and blood tests done. I have to keep the car so we can go pick up the rental tomorrow afternoon so I might as well get it over with tomorrow. I have been having pain in my shoulder yesterday and today so didn't want to try and go today with it hurting. Putting the good ole heating pad on it for awhile. I am sure tired of having to sleep on my back and will be glad when I can once again sleep whatever way I want!

I decided to avoid the situation Susan proposed, and possibly jail time... I just ordered some yarn online and had it shipped 2 day to my son's so it should be there the end of the week I hope. I would hate to have it held up and then it not come, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Of course, the things I could teach the jailers and prisoners about knitting!

Susan: Hope Stan gets to feeling up to eating again. I know he can't spare the weight loss that is for sure. Like Jean said, it must be tough not feeling like eating. I too, rarely have that malady. Sounds like you had a good time with friends. I am looking forward to spending a bit of time with each of my best friends while in Indiana. I know no one down here except my dd, sil, grandson and sil's parents and sister so it does get lonely sometimes, but all in all I enjoy the solitude. I have my pesky little doggy to always keep me company and a ball of yarn always close by.

I guess I better get on the stick as my mom used to say as I have a downstairs to clean today. Have a great Tuesday!
Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning from rainy but warm (66 degrees already) VA.

Insurance finally gave in and okayed the doctor's second choice for an appetite stimulant and I can pick it after 5 today. Doc said it might be a month for it to be fully effective. He took the last dose of Flagyl last night so that should help. That stuff makes an awful metallic taste in your mouth.

Jean, York County gives anyone over 65 or disabled a real estate tax exemption. Once I fully retire, we won't have to pay anything unless the change the law. It is based on income for the previous year. Unless you have a retirement (social security is excluded) of more than $150,000 it's on a sliding scale. It's a huge help because they keep upping the value of our house. We paid $75,000 for it in 1988 and now it's up to $196,800 and it's a townhouse! I don't know that there is anyone who would pay that because there are a lot for sale right now.

Faye, hope the yarn makes it and you have a great trip.

Had my annual mammogram this morning before work. What a way to start the day.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! We got up to a blanket of snow this morning. It didn't last very long so that is good. This afternoon was a "no jacket" kind of afternoon. The house inspector came this afternoon; the assessor is having all of the houses inspected for tax purposes. Anyhow, the guy turned out to be someone we knew years ago that had moved away. Told him to look around at his own risk. He had some stories to tell about what people have in their houses! I gave blood this afternoon and feel like I am ready for bed after a nap in front of the TV tonight. "Mom" came home this afternoon . . . in a jar. The vet told Bob to let him know when we are ready for another cat.

"Gma" -- I hope the shoulder pain is better by now! Maybe you have been cleaning too vigorously! I will keep my fingers crossed that your yarn arrives in IN ok. It's nice of your friend to invite you to stay with her.

Susan -- I'll have to ask but I don't think Iowa has any real estate tax exemption. I know that we get a military credit but it isn't much. We paid $60,000 for our house in 1984 and it's being taxed at $175,000 now. We have a huge lot. Prices are going up on everything! I hope the new med will work for Stan.

I'm going to head towards bed, but I need to figure out what I am wearing tomorrow first. I figure they will be turning the heat off one of these days so I try to dress in layers that I can take off if I need to. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, a nippy 51 degrees this morning but the sun is shining - and cars are covered with yellow pollen...achoo!

Jean, you could probably go online and check out you local governments website. Other communities near us don't have rebates for seniors or they are very small. But anything is a help. I think all threats of snow are gone for us - got up to 79 yesterday.

Faye, hope the tests came out okay.

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! It is sunny and warming up as I type this morning. It is nice after days of rain to have a bit of sun.

I went and got my pre-op stuff done so I am now all set. I just have to do the purge on the day before, an enema the morning of then show up at the hospital at 7 am. The blood tests took awhile because I have really deep veins and they couldn't tap into one. The EKG took less than 5 minutes.

Susan: Hope the appetite stimulant will help Stan get back to where he needs to be. I know it is stressful knowing he is still losing weight and not feeling like eating. I had to call Express Scripts our online prescription place this morning because Jack's new Zocor prescription had a different shaped pill in it. Before he took it I wanted to check, then felt like a dope when the lady told me that somewhere on the bottle was a description of the pill. Sure enough, there it was with the lettering and numbers that were on the pills along with the shape. I told her I felt it was better to be safe than sorry and she said she wished all people were as cautious about their drugs. I just never knew the pill description is on the bottle! lol

Jean: We lived in a housing depressed area so our home hasn't really gone up much in value. Since we don't plan on moving until they move us out in a casket, it isn't all that important that it has appreciated. At least our property taxes are fairly low. You were talking about Mom coming home in a jar, Jack and I were watching some sports program a couple weeks ago and there is a company that sells really beautiful urns with professional baseball logos on them. They are really nice and have a digital front that gives information about the deceased, etc. For someone who is a sports nut and plans on being cremated, I think it is kind of nice. One city overseas has a cemetary next to their soccer field and devout soccer fans of this team can be buried right behind the field! I guess some people think it is sacreligious, but my thought is, hey, you're dead so what does it matter! The religious part is done. No matter what you believe about the afterlife, it has nothing to do with how you choose to be buried.

Well, Jack decided to take half day off today so I have to go pick him up in a few. He wants to go out to the mall and get a couple pair of new pants to take with us.

I shall talk to you when I get back, probably next Tuesday morning!

Have a great weekend when it gets here.
Faye

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! We had a late bell choir practice because one of the gals works on taxes after school and whined because practicing at 6 didn't give her time to get anything done. The rest of us looked at each other wondering why she couldn't go back to work after we practiced. Oh well, one more practice and we are done for the season. Today was another "ho hum" day in paradise at school. We did find out that a former teacher (guessing his age at 55-60) had a stroke yesterday. He is a Type A personality and goes 90 miles an hour from the time he gets up until he goes to bed. We got an update tonight and he is doing well except for putting his thoughts together and making sense part of the time. Scary!

Susan -- I would love to have a 70 degree day! I wear my winter jacket to school in the morning and come home without wearing it. Today we had a 32 degree spread from 6 AM to 6 PM. No wonder everyone is catching cold or having allergy issues.

"Gma" -- Have a wonderful time on your trip! I just know you will! I'm not sure if we will bury "Mom" or put her in the cat jar I bought in Maui. It's a bit larger than the small jam/jelly jar but will work I think. We were talking at school and one of the teachers told me that a former school psychologist (she is definitely eccentric!) has her own mother sitting on top of the TV! Now I don't know if I could do that or not.

I need to do some ironing for tomorrow. Have a terrific Thursday!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies. Cold and raining tonight.

Stan is back in the hospital. They took him yesterday at noon from dialysis hemmoraging again. He is still bleeding. He has been given 3 bags of packed red cells and his blood pressure has come up a little. The surgeon came to talk to me this afternoon. He said that if the bleed continues he'll have to remove his entire colon and they will do an ileostomy (sp?). They are going to do all they can to avoid the surgery because of all his other problems he is not a good candidate for surgery but they will do it if he has to have 6 bags of blood (ie 3 more) or if the bleeding increases. The surgeon wanted to speak with all his doctors and review the scans and x-rays some more and then he'll talk with me again. My dear friends are taking shifts again to sit with me. They made us leave at 9 so I am going to go to bed and hopefully sleep.

[Jean]

Susan, I am so sorry to hear about Stan. My thoughts and prayers are with you! I wish I could take a turn to sit with you; I know how hard it is to wait.

Jean

[Jean]

Just bringing the thread back to the top.

Susan, I hope that things are going ok for Stan and that "no news is good news."

Jean -- from Iowa!

[QuilterInVA]

Jean, thanks for your prayers, they are needed. Stan is still in the ICU. They can't get his blood pressure up where they want it. It goes up for a while, then back down. It's the systolic number they are most concerned about, it'll be 97/52, 125/63,78/45. They did an extra dialysis treatment yesterday to make up for what he missed this week and to get more water off. They took 10 liters - about 22 pounds off in 2 days. Neph said no more IVs for anything unless he is contacted first. Today was a bad day - he only ate a few bites and slept most of the day. The bleeding appears to have stopped so hopefully they will be able to get him a little real food in a day or two. All he gets is cream of chicken soup, vanilla pudding, cranberry juice, iced tea and milk 3 times a day. Who would feel like eating that over and over?

I'm pretty tired so I'll be going to bed early. I'm going into work tomorrow morning since Stan has dialysis.

Have a good day at school tomorrow. Oh, did you hear about the children who planned to punish or kill their teacher - special ed in 3rd grade. Had handcuffs, broken steak knife, and other things and a plan including cleaning up afterwards! What is the world coming to?

[Jean]

Susan, it's good to see your post tonight. I have been thinking about you all weekend and wondering how things were going for both you and Stan. His menu doesn't sound very appetizing that's for sure. I hope that his blood pressure stabilizes, and he will get his strength back more each day.

I did read the article about the 3rd graders out to get their teacher. That is scary! It makes you wonder what kind of a homelife the "ringleader" girl has. Her plan was thought out and very detailed. A lot of the kids (mostly boys) that I work with are bigger than I am. I'm glad I'm on good terms with most of them.

Take care and have a good day tomorrow. Faye should be home tomorrow; I know she will hate to leave Jackson.

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good evening gals! I am back home, tired, but we had such a great time.

Jack and Jay got sunburned on only one side of their bodie's going to the Cubs game and my son looked like a raccoon from the type of sun glasses he wore. Their bellies got on tv though! lol The CUBS do a fan cam thing where they pretty much scan the crowd for pretty women and Jay and Jack were sitting right behind 5 of them. You can see all the women but only Jack and Jay's tummies! lol Oh and my goofy son was teasing the women whenever they would try and take a pic of their group, Jay would stick his head in the pic. I guess one of the gals who was getting her pic took, turned around and said, "I saw that!" Jack piped up and said fairly loudly I guess, "Hey, it wasn't me, I have been married 35 years..." My son said he kept saying that and a guy up about 2 rows who was drunk screamed down at him, "Well d***, congratulations!"( Jack knows on which side his bread is buttered, didn't want Jay telling his mom he was misbehaving!)

My baby is growing up. He is pretty close to walking all by himself. Here he is with just a bit of help from mama. He is such a sweet, sweet baby. I also am including a pic of him with this Japanese head wrap. The Chicago Cubs have a new player from Japan, Kasuke Fukadome, and this is his name in Japanese on the headband. His granddad bought it for him. I love this picture. As you can see, he is short one shoe! lol

Susan: Oh, Susan, I hope things can turn around for Stan. I will pray for him and you too. That poor man doesn't ever seem to get a break. I know you have to be beside yourself. Please know how very sorry I am that he had a relapse.

Jean: Hope school is going ok. I blubbered leaving him this morning. She had just gotten him up because both she and Jay have a busy workday today. He was all warm and cuddly trying to keep from opening his eyes. His dad kept calling his name and pretty soon he kind of opened his eyes and looked blearily at his dad then at us like, "What's going on?" He is just so sweet and very funny. His favorite thing is for he and nonny to lay our heads together and suck our thumbs! lol

Haven't heard a word from the doctor's so I guess my EKG came out ok and everything is going to go forward.

Well, gals, I am really tired. Sleeping was horrible so I didn't get much and am pretty exhausted. I did give out my birthday sweaters to my friends and they looked great on them both and they loved them thank goodness.

Talk to you sometime tomorrow. Busy day trying to play catch up and pick up the dog and meet Jack when he takes the car back tomorrow afternoon (Boy do I have a story about what happened to us with the car!)
Faye

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! It's been a chilly day in my corner of the world. It was windy and 30 degrees when I left for school this morning. We had no heat until around noon; the custodian shut the boilers down over the weekend and one had a leak so couldn't get it started. Several people were wearing jackets to keep warm. I fell asleep in front of the TV this evening and now am ready to head off to bed.

"Gma" -- I am glad you are home safe and sound. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us! Jackson is a cutie! Zowie had the same little push toy that Jackson has and that's how she took off walking on her own one day. They grow up much too quickly! I'm glad you had a good time; I knew you would!

Susan -- You and Stan are in my thoughts and prayers!

I need to write the tax checks out and make out deposit slips for the bank. Bob got paid today and I forgot all about it. I always feel like I'm ahead until tax time rolls around.

Have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! I did absolutely nothing last night so I have it all to do today and I have to go and get the dog this morning.

We started out badly on our trip. We got up at midnight and left on Wednesday. We got about an hour out of Memphis in a driving and I mean horrendous rain storm and our left rear tire blew. We never ran over or hit anything, it just went. Well, we pulled over in the middle of no where in the pitch black and Jack called Alamo. He got the roadside recovery and they said we didn't take their option so it would cost us $48 to have someone come out and change the tire. Jack said fine because he didn't want to get wet and we didn't even have a flashlight anyway so we couldn't see. The guy put Jack on hold for FORTY minutes and came back and said that all the companies they have contracts with about this refused to come out in the rain!!! So he said he was sorry and we would have to find a solution ourselves! That was number 1, then Jack called 911 and said we were having car trouble at mile marker 62 and needed assistance. The cop was sent the wrong way by the dispatcher and by the time he found us, we had been sitting there 2 hours, this was #2! By this time it had stopped raining, the police officer was a doll and agreed to stay with his lights focused on the car so Jack could change it and he even helped. I sat in his car and was amazed how claustrophobic it is in a police car's front seat with all the computer and camera stuff they have and then the bullet proof glass that runs right across your neck in the back. I sat and watched them on his camera! lol Well, #3 was the tire was under the suv and it was a devil to get it out and a devil to get their jack up and going. The tire was shredded. It was totally defective as it peeled away from the rim all the way around. So we were on our way 2 1/2 hours later than we thought. #4 began when Jack then tried to get Alamo to either get us a new tire someplace or trade out the car so we would be safe. They would do neither. They said the tires were only 7000 miles old so they couldn't have just blown and we were responsible to replace the tire and if we didn't they would charge our credit card for a new one when it was returned, can you believe that??? They also had no corporate Alamos on the way so no one would trade out the car and we drove without a spare 500 more miles to Indiana. On Friday, Jack tried again to see if the South Bend Alamo, which was a franchise, would give us a car. Nope, he was on the phone for an hour trying to get that and then he got really mad and said he wanted the tire replaced as it wasn't safe to drive home without a spare. Again he got the "you have to pay" tire speech but made enough headway that she said she would talk to her manager and call back. In the meantime, Jay was on his cell phone calling and talking to the rental people telling them, "My ELDERLY parents this and my ELDERLY parents that and how his dad had heart problems and had bypass surgery and his mom was going in for intestinal surgery in two weeks and he didn't want his ELDERLY parents going home without a spare tire. (we seemed to get older the longer he talked! ) He almost had them convinced to get him a car some way when Jack got a call back and the woman said she was connecting him with the general manager of the Memphis Alamo. This guy was really nice and said that it is written policy that renters have to pay for any tires that go flat or whatever, but he will make an exception if we go and get the exact tire the suv had on it, bring back the bad tire with us and the receipt and he will credit our credit card for the amount paid and an amount for inconvenience. Jack got his name and we are returning the car this afternoon so I hope that is true because we had to pay $245 for that tire!

The baby shower was ok, nothing to write home about, though I won a prize for knowing the most baby animal names, ie a baby swan is a cygnet. I got 26 out of 30, but there were a couple I had never heard of, the baby alligator has an odd one, as does an eel and a couple others. Some of the ones that were hard had enough that you could guess, like a tiger is a whelp.

I guess I better get going as I have tons to do to get back to normal today.

Have a good one and see you tomorrow.
Faye