G'day all,

Another week, boy the time flies now that I am home

Ann and Karen I hope 'Dennis' will pass you by.

'hello' to everyone, I have a whole list of things to do this week, I am making a start this morning.

Will call in a bit later.....

Cheers
Maria

The weekend was supposed to be quiet. I ended up with Makenzie from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. She is a doll, but has not stayed overnight with us in OUR house. So, I was up and rocked once in the night and putting her to sleep, she said, "I NEED my mama!" But I distracted. Anyway, it wasn't the quiet weekend I looked forward to.

Maria, you and Matilda's other grandma are certainly doing hard duty. I hope your DIL does weaken. And you are so right. It was hard when we were younger, but omigosh! now it is so much harder to get up, to go back to sleep, and to recover for the next day. God knew what he was doing, giving them to young people.

I hope everyone is doing great. Ann, I am happy for you. You did so well to have stayed the same. These are the hard times--when staying the same or barely losing or gaining. That is when I always give up.

I am glad for Lily too. I hope we hear a lot from you soon.
Glenda

G'day all,

Amazing when you make a list of things to do and then to actually get on with it, it really is not that bad.
I am more than half way through my list but the worst part is to come to try and organise my tax and get it ready for the tax accountant

It is a cold rainy day here, perfect to get on with those neccesary chores.

Glenda she sounds so cute Makenzie but that is quite a long time to keep a little one amused especially in your case when you work full time as well.
I really admire those grandparents that for whatever reason end up having to bring up their grandchildren. It certainly is a huge job and I nver really saw it like that when I had my own.

This is what DOES amuse me though....ds is not playing football this weekend. The parents in law have offered to look after Matilda for the weekend so that ds and his wife 'can get away' for a weekend!!!!!! I said to him would it not be nicer to stay in your own place, own bed etc. but he replied that they just need a weekend of some luxury and some pampering!

DH and I NEVER had a weekend away on our own after the children were born, we had a few holidays.... but WITH the kids.
We never felt we were hard done by, that was just the way it was and it never occurred to us that we HAD to get away from it all
Funny how this generation thinks and lucky for them that they are in a position to pay for a luxury, pampering weekend.
I can remember many a times being without any money a few days before payday.
It amuses me when people say the young ones today do it tough

On that note I will love and leave you for another day,

Cheers
Maria

Hi Everybody
I feel like it's been a very long time since I was here but I sure enjoyed reading all your posts.........so much going on with all of you.
Last week DH, son, and I went to the hospital for the Information Session, on "Stem Cell Transplants" and what to expect when DH is in hospital. The doctor's are thinking that DH will go in around the end of August or early September. I am continuing to give DH his neuprogen injections at home to encourage his stem cells but at the same time they do cause temporary bone pain. On Sunday when we went to the hospital for his blood test, they said his hemoglobin was low and we would have to come back on Monday for him to have a blood transfusion. We went back and they give him 2 bags of blood (but I forgot to ask how much that was) and it took 5 hours. It was a very long day for both of us. This morning we were back at the hospital yet again for a blood test and when we got home there was a message on our machine that DH's platelet count is way down so tomorrow he is going to have a platelet transfusion and the "stem cell harvest" that had been planned for tomorrow is now postponed for awhile, until the "counts" are just right. The waiting is difficult.
We learned at the information session that our grandchildren (provided they are well) will be able to visit DH in the hospital. They also encourage family to bring him photos of his family, his favorite blanket, pillow, clothes etc to the hospital to make it more comfortable for him. I was pleased when we heard that and the grandchildren were thrilled.
Lily hi there, happy to see you and it's nice that we may seeing "more of you" in the future. Gloria I took a look at the Haviland china......very nice, and you certainly got a good deal. I inherited a very large set of dinnerware from my DH Mother. It is Royal Crown Derby, and the pattern is "Blue Mikado". I think it is from the 1920's. I love it, but I know some people think it is too "busy". It looks lovely on a white tablecloth or a blue one. Let's see, I know that Maria made out ok with her little Matty....... Ann with her music and I think Glenda did some more babysitting. My granddaughter and her fellow dancers were dancing this morning on an early morning TV Breakfast Show......which I taped and will show it to Trudy just in case she missed it. My dil also spoke a bit about the young dancers going to Florida on the 19th and how excited they were.
I forget what else was going on with you all, but I will try to keep up. Bye for now. and thank you for your emails, good wishes and prayers.

G'day all,

Nice to 'see' you Slavika. It sounds a bit like 2 steps forward, 1 step backwards with your dh's treatment . It must be very difficult for you both. Good news that your grandchildren can visit, that has to be a big boost for you both but especially for your dh.
Eventhough the news just recently was fantastic, I guess no-one said that the road ahead was going to be easy
I saw a documentary on someone with the same diagnosis, he was a little different to your dh, he was a mad scientist who had been married 5 times
He was diagnosed some 5 years ago, has had the bone marrow transplant and is keeping the disease at bay. As a scientist it was interesting to hear what he had to say and how he has coped.....certainly some days better than others.

I am still trying to straighten out my computer room, unbelievable how much 'junk' I have
I decided to print a panoramic photograph that I had merged using 4 photographs. I have a roll attachment to my printer. The photographic paper roll is quite pricey so it is not something you do just willy nilly.
I knew it would take a long time to print so thought I would get it to print whilst I did other things.....4 hours later it was finally printed....it looks great but as usual with computers...it was NOT easy to attach the rollers, the paper and get it going.
So my computer room still has not been straightened out, will get on with it again today and hopefully by the end of the week everything will have found a 'home' and I will be able to find things.

Have a great day all,

Cheers
Maria

Hi,

It has been a while since I was here. Just was not feeling real good for a while. Nothing serious. I would get hot and then cold and then fall asleep. Now I have a slight cough.

Slavika you never know what each day is going to bring. I am sorry to hear about all the troubles lately. I hope the blood work gets straightened out. It is nice that the grankids can visit in the hospital. It is nicer to have loved ones around. Is the Princess getting excited about the Disney dancing trip?

Maria you are always learning and doing something new and creative. Good for you. Wow-4 hours to print. That is a long time. How is Matty doing?

Gloria I have to go back and read about your Haviland China. Sounds like a story there. I love old china pieces. My china was my mom's.

Glenda see you have been busy babysitting. A few hours wear me out-I can't imagine an overnight yet.

My little grandson turned 3 mos on the 8th. He is getting to the cute stage of laughing and cooing.

We are getting some needed rain from Dennis. Everything is so dry. I am forever watering my flowers. Supposed to go to a restaurant on the river tomorrow night with friends. We might be rained out.

I have to go back and read the old thread.

Good Evening All!

It was the most perfect weather day....too bad they can't all be like this.
It was sunny, warm, with a light breeze.
We had teeth cleaning appointments this AM and then headed for the Air Base for a quick Commissary trip. It was crowded but I didn't need to get too much. Because of the earlier appointments we were later getting there than usual and later getting home. Got back to town and DH said he wanted to drive by the barber shop and check on an opening. Of course they took him right then so it was "Hon, take the car and I will walk home" Of course I unpacked the car & put everything away and then he got home. I will admit he did say to wait til he got back and he would help but by then it was too late.

Slavika: Your DH's progress has had it's ups and downs but with perserverance you will overcome. Good news about the grandkids being able to get to see him and visa versa. I also looked at your Blue Mikado and loved the color. It's the color of my dining room rug.

Glenda: It's is tough on us older folks when caring for the young ones. It gets better when they sleep throught the night. I remember the first time we watched my youngest daughters oldest son. He cried from the time she left till she came home....4 hours. It was the first time he had been away from her....2 at the time. He has improved with age.

Maria: You certainly are talented with the computer. I never knew you could do such a thing as panorama pictures. Your computer room will come together eventually and it is more fun to play.

Gloria

Ann good job in the weight dept.

Karen welcome back home. Now I hope both you and Ann have been bypassed by Dennis. Glad to hear that Sprout is a good little traveler.

We are dogsitting for my niece's dog. They are somewhere in Florida on the Gulf coast. Indian Rocks I think. I was hoping they weren't in the way and were getting some nice weather. It would make for a long week with kids.

Freda welcome to the group. I see you are in Michigan. I am in Ohio. I am 64. We celebrated our 41st anniversary Monday.

Gloria I love yard sales. I go every Sat morning. You never know what kind of treasures you will find and it looks like you found a good one in the china. I am always looking for books at them.

That is all I can remember.
Lily how great to "see" you again. Miss you when you are not here.

Peggy I think I misled you a bit, it took me 4 hours to set it all up but it took about 20 minutes to print.

Gloria I have attached, a very small version , of the merged panorama that I printed. The challenge is to merge all 4 photos to a flawless panorama.
The final print measured 30" (75cm) x 12" (30cm) hence it took some time to print.

Cheers
Maria

Hi all again

I just had to come back and tell you that my dil dropped off my grandson here for a couple of hours (waiting for his Dad to pick him up after work while she and the Princess go to dance practice).
Last year out at the lake there were a couple of girls staying a camp that met up with my grandson and his friend. Now keep in mind my grandson was only 10 last year. We found out that one of girls ........13 years old had kissed him. My son found out, and had a little "talk" with our grandson. He said, "Dad, you said we should be nice to the girls". Well I knew from my son that those girls were at the lake again last week, so I said to my grandson, "I hear that those girls you met last summer were back out at the lake". He said, "yes they were Baba, and my friend and I were getting tired of them always hanging around. He said, "you know Baba, first there was only two and THEN they started to multiply so that by the end of week we had to hide from all 6 of them. hee hee

It certainly is nice reading all your posts. Slavika, I know how disappointing it is to wait on the blood cells to cooperate. I never had to delay chemo because of low blood count but many people do. The nice thing about it is that there is just no guesswork involved so he will have the best chance possible. And remember, it will happen. And another, a year from now you won't remember the waiting because it will all just be in the past. I know you are ready to get through this and we are all praying for you. I know you are all excited about the princess and her team's trip on the 19th. I bet they are good.

I think we have over-extended ourselves a little lately with the babysitting. The next two weekends are going to be quiet and just for us. Makenzie was fun and very, very good. She was almost apologetic when she said she NEEDED her mom. She is our angel. Peggy, I hope you enjoyed the dinner on the restaurant. That sounds so peaceful. And garage sales. I used to enjoy them so much but was such a sucker for other people's junk. And Gloria, I think you have a smart husband to just happen to come in after everything is put away.

I think we all were on the same wave-length when we raised our kids. We had a yearly (1) family vacation. It was usually one-two weeks and the kids were always included. In fact, they were our highest priority. That is why we ate at MacDonald's for the finger puppets and swam and went to places where they could play. We ate from food we brought and ate out once a day. It was always a vacation on a dime and we didn't stay at the best places, just make sure they had pools. We weren't there much anyway. But my children. This year both the ones with families have gone to Jamaica. Then they have weekends or short trip with the kids. I think it is just a different time. Personally, I think it is the Yuppie Mind-Set: Where did you go this year? We are going there next! It is like one-upmanship. Am I being clear or doing another Glenda Ramble?

Maria, that was a stupendous picture!
Glenda

Maria

Maria loved that picture. It looks so peaceful. I want to be there.

Slavika cute story about the Prince and the girls. I bet they will be hunting him down again.

Glenda I usually only buy yard sale things that I can redo and sell. I like those old enamel pans that I paint laundry stuff on. They are hard to find for a cheap price. My friend is taking her 3 dd's and 5 grandkids to Disney. She belongs to some Disney point club thing. Airfair is over $2000 and she called yesterday about some dining card thingy. It would cost over $2000 for 2 days for all of them. Yikes, I thing I would pass on that and let them eat McD's. Going to see The Mouse is not worth all that to me.

Thought I'd take a minute and post to the board. Been busy opening Email and i think our regular mail will start back up today. That will be a 2 week job of going through it.

Have another busy day. But first I need to get Sprout into the groomers. He looks like a shaggy dog. I call Him a scruffy mutt. Hope they can take him today or tomorrow for sure.

It looks like we may have excaped Emily. The storm looks like it is going for Mexico. But won't know for sure until it does. As we know hurricane's can turn and go where they want!

We are glad to be home. That was one of my first thoughts after the accident is i wish i was home. Even Sprout was glad to be home. You can see it in his eyes.

Guess I'll go for now but will check back later.

Karen

Good to see you 'home' Karen but what is this 'my first thoughts after the accident is i wish i was home'

Did I miss something, whatever glad you are home safe and sound.

Call in later....

Cheers
Maria