Steel Magnolias -- #4
 

Good morning ladies. I am sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about our car. I got all ready and headed out to Walmart to order my contacts and then to the commissary yesterday. The light turned green arrow and I crossed the street about halfway down the first drive, I heard sort of a popping, like a lunch bag run over and looked behind me but nothing. The engine then started making this vroom, putt,putt, putt sound. I pulled into a parking space and called Jack. He ended up calling Kelly and Tom to come get him and bring him to Walmart's. She had her serious grump on and was pretty rude to us, but Tom was really nice about it and wanted to be some help. We called a tow truck and had it towed to Firestone. They took me home and Jack waited for the tow truck (they of course weren't about to wait through all this and take their dad and I both home) so Jack had to call a cab from the mechanics. The mechanic thinks it is a popped out spark plug but that it hasn't stripped the insides of where the plug goes. That would be bad. He didn't know anything by 4 yesterday afternoon so we shall see. I obviously didn't get a thing done and now sit here all worried about how serious and expensive it is. Weird thing to happen that is for sure.

Jean: I have to say that Thomas wasn't allowed to wander all over with food, but I have a feeling the baby will be, we shall see. I am like you, though you love your grandkids, it is irritating when they are allowed to misbehave over and over. She may be setting up a pattern that won't go away after babyhood and she will then be sorry she didn't nip it in the bud. It was cool here yesterday and windy, but sunny. Looks like in the 50's here today, but it is below freezing right now.

I have just the sleeves to sew in and I am done with the sweater. I have started the little hat to go with it from the leftover yarn. I ordered a couple more skeins, but am trying to cancel them since I think I pretty much have enough to make a hat that may not match exactly, but will have the green bottom, cream base and then a combo pompom on top.

I guess I will get started on downstairs housework to keep me busy this morning. It is time for that anyway and there isn't anything else I can do. This is probably the only time I wish we had a second car. I don't want to have to rent one unless I have to. We would need to use Enterprise so they could come and pick us up and they are pretty expensive, especially if it were for just a day or so. Jack just went ahead and had to burn another vacation day. Poor guy, we keep having catastrophes and he is using his vacation for nothing. It may mean no trip to Indiana in April and then with the surgery, I won't be able to go until fall, which is a bummer. I will miss Jackson's first birthday.

You ladies have a nice day.
Faye

Good morning, ladies! It's cold for Tidewater - 31 degrees at noon.

Had a touch of the flu myself so I pretty much stayed in bed Saturday between taking care of Stan. I felt better yesterday and he is finally better too - ate a 16-oz. T-Bone last night...but he needs the protein.

My friend called me and asked me to go to WW with her so we went Friday. I need to lose 11.4 pounds to get back to my goal weight. I'm really disgusted with myself. Anyhow, it always is easier when you have a friend to be accountable to. I got the monthly pass so I get E-Tools which I really like a lot.

Faye, I hope your car won't take long to fix. They sure can eat up the money quickly when they repair something. I'm surprised you haven't gotten yourself and your son and daughter webcams so you can see the grandchildren every day.

Jean, do you get next Monday off for President's Day?

Good morning to everyone. I haven't stuck my nose outside this morning, but I sure can hear the wind whip up. It says it is 42 and we are supposed to get rain today.

Jack took a cab and went and got the car yesterday It cost us nearly $700. They had to drill out the spark plug hole and put in a heli coil and a new plug plus when the plug came out it cracked the ignition coil and it had to be replaced. This is, this isn't a permanent fix. Sooner or later this will come out then it will have to be completely taken out and replaced and that is a 2-3 thousand dollar job. We asked the mechanic why this happened and he said it wasn't anything we did, that it is just a freak thing that happens sometimes. We sat and talked about it and decided since it is paid off in July, we will just take the car payment and save it up for several months then go in and buy a new car and Jack can use the grand marquis just for work until it poops out. I was looking forward to not having a car payment come August to save it up for vacation and such, but that's the way it goes. It did kabosh our trip though because I had to use part of the money I had saved to go to Indiana.

Jay called last night to say Jackson loved his little doggy and other presents and was sorry to hear we couldn't come up. We are going to try maybe 4th of July if I feel well enough by then to travel. They are having bitter cold weather and snow and ice up there. Glad I don't live up there anymore.

Susan: I wondered if we hadn't heard from you because you got the flu too. Glad both of you are up and around. I got my flu shot and pneumonia shot while in the hospital in October and Jack got a flu and pneumonia at a dr appt. The thing is, I rarely see anyone to get sick. Jack usually has to bring it home and be sick then pass it on to me. The situation at my dd's is such that webcams wouldn't work. It is an idea for the baby though. I am so bummed about not being able to go now.

Jean: Hope your weather situation doesn't get bad and keep you from getting out the end of the week for your vacation. You have to be looking forward to getting into warm sun. You are such a sweety to think of me, but it is awful when you have a child that is like she is. Her dh treats us better than she does.

Well, a dirty house calls to me. Jack wore his docksiders to go get the car yesterday and tracked icky footprints all over the crummy linoleum in this kitchen so I have to get to that. I wasn't feeling well from being stressed out about the car so I didn't do anything but knit, but I did get the sweater done. I will post a pick when I have the hat and maybe the little pants done. I am going to have to mail them now and don't get to see her reaction whether she likes them or not.

Have a great Tuesday!
Faye

Good morning, ladies! A little warmer but overcast today.

We have primary elections today. I live in a predominately Republican area. When I went to vote, I asked for a democratic ballot. That made me 126 on the list. Being curious I asked how many were on the republican list - 53! I just don't like McCain.

Faye, it has always been amazing to me (an only child) how siblings can turn out so different in the way they treat their parents. But you sure aren't alone. It is sad. Sorry about the huge repair bill. Seems like anything for a car costs hundreds.

Jean, I am so glad we ended up here - no more snow and frigid weather, but we still have all the seasons. I came across my snow boots in the closet - I've worn then on one occasion since I've been here - when I went to Canada for work. Guess I'll throw them out because they are about 25 years old and have higher heels than I'd now wear.

Have a great day - I have Quilt Guild tonight so that will be fun.

Good morning to you all! I hope your day has started out well. I did get my downstairs cleaned yesterday so will try and tackle upstairs today I guess.

I got the little sweater and hat finished. The bad thing was that the sweater pilled when I washed it. I hope that maybe it won't do that from now on. The little hat was a breeze to do and now I have started on the little khaki pants to go with it then I am done with the shower gifts. My next project is a little more ambitious. It is a lace patterned short sleeved sweater for my girlfriend for her birthday. I had some of that pretty deep purple/bluish color leftover from Kelly's sweater I made her for her birthday and so I just ordered enough to make this sweater. The yarn is a silk blend and really soft and lovely so it should make a nice sweater.

I am barreling towards my barium test on Monday. At this point, I just wish it would get here so I could get it over with.

Susan: My two kids are night and day from each other. The funny thing is, the one that says she got ignored growing up, got the most attention! She actually was a pretty sweet little girl, went to college and came back a shrew. My son was always the one that did things that got him into trouble, not serious, just boy stuff. He graduated high school and took off to see the world. Came back all hippy and stayed that way for about 5 years. I remember he cut his hair from shoulder length to chin length for his sister's wedding and I walked right past him as I didn't recognize him from the back! He now keeps his hair very short, almost shaved and is the big responsible shirt and tie executive! He still has enough bad boy in him to party though once in a while. I have three siblings and they are all very different from myself. They are very me, me,me and one is worse than the other two. Since I have one sibling that is between 9-12 years older than us, she thinks she is matriarch and sometimes that gets old fast. I like having siblings, but on the other hand they can be a pain sometimes. :)

Jean: I know you have to be so anxious to get out of Iowa for the week. We are thinking about maybe taking a cruise next year instead of Vegas. I would go to Vegas a billion times a year, but I know Jack would like to take a cruise and take me to St Thomas, which he loves. We will just have to see how things work out. We would be going in the winter months though not during the summer.

Well, better get some chores done. The trash has to be taken out and the gate unlocked. Jack's valentine's present comes today.

Have a great day today and stay warm and dry!
Faye

Good morning ladies - 61 degrees and raining today. We can smell the moke from the fires in North Carolina now. It started last night. They are saying the rain and wind will push it out to sea by this afternoon. I hope so, wood smoke sets my asthma off.

Went to Quilt Guild last night and had fun with my friends for a few hours.

Looks like we all have something going on - Faye with her test, Jean to Hawaii and me to the Quilt Show.

Faye, as always your sweater is so cute.

Jean, our primaries are like a regular election - we get a partisian ballot however. One person, one vote. O'Bama won VA 65% to 35% for Clinton, and McCain took the Republician.

Afternoon ladies. Just wanted to post a small one as I may not get in here in the morning and didn't want you to think I forgot about you.

Susan: This election is going to be icky. I have never seen one where I disliked the front runners so much! I wanted Fred Thompson as I think I said. I really liked him when he was our senator. How is Stan coming along? Hope his latest surgery is healing up as it should. If I miss you before you go to your quilt show, good luck if you have something you are showing. Have a great time!

Jean: I know you leave either tomorrow or the day after, right? Well, if I don't get to "see you off" so to speak you have a wonderful time and make sure you take lots of pictures to remember the good time. Don't get sunburned, use your block and not too much luau pig or poi!

I did get my upstairs cleaned so I am now free as a bird for a couple days to knit and read!

Have a good one tomorrow and I will talk to you later!
Faye

Happy Valentine's Day! Nice sunny day now, but we got up to a dusting of snow this morning - maybe 1/4". It's melting rapidly. The roads were only wet.

I have 2 of my quilting friends who will be undergoing mastectomies today. With the same doctor, back to back. I know so many who have gone through this. I know statistics say 1 in 8, but it must be greater as you get older.

Jean, I am very fair and freckled - red hair - and have never had any tan in my life. I burn from the beginning to the end of summer. If all my freckles got together, I could have a great tan!

Taking Stan to the Nephrologist this afternoon, then we are are going to dinner at a little German restaurant. I have my doctor's appointment in the morning. We sure support the medical community.

Good morning to all. I know it is going to be a lonesome weekend here with everyone gone somewhere.

Susan: I too hope Stan got a really good report. Hope you had some yummy food. I am German and grew up eating homemade sauerkraut, sauerbraten, german potato salad, knockwurst, stuff like that. We went to a german restaurant in Las Vegas and I was totally disappointed. The food was awful. They said it is owned and run by Germans, but I don't where they learned to cook. We had a german restaurant in South Bend that I am not sure is open any longer, but they had spectacular food so I think it really was the food they made in that restaurant and not the fact my grandmother cooked hers differently. They lean heavily on their beer drinkers and you know drunks have no idea what they are eating! They do have an appetizer that was spot on. It was this huge dinner plate sized soft pretzel that had different german mustards. It was terrific. When I was a little girl, my mom used to put sugar on the sauerkraut like you would cereal to get us to eat it. I think I am really the only one that still likes it. I like sweet and sour cabbage too, which is more polish. South Bend has a large middle European population of Hungarians, Polish, Germans, and such so you go to a wedding and they have these polish wedding feasts which are yummo. It is sweet and sour cabbage, sausages, mashed potatoes, green beans, a type of swiss steak, homemade egg noodles, homemade rolls. Have a wonderful time on your quilt trip. I know you will. I will say a prayer for your friends.

Jean: Have loads of fun on your trip. I am so fair skinned I burn in the shade. I think that is one of the reasons we don't walk a whole lot outside in Las Vegas when we go. The casinos are so spread out that you walk quite a distance between in the sun. I know if we take the cruise next year it is going to be globs of high numbered sunscreen for me all the time.

Everyone have a great weekend, nice trips and lots of fun!
Faye

Good evening, ladies! Nice day today - 60 degrees and sunshine.

Didn't do anything exciting - pharmacy, to the grocery to pick up Strawberries - buy one get one free. Yum! Then the bank. Take Stan to dialysis and pick him up. Usual stuff.

Dr. was happy I'd lost weight since Christmas. Took a CBC because I've been having cramps in my legs every night. May be low in magnesium. Been through that one before. Got a sample of some new allery medication so I'm ready for trees and grass to grow.

Dr. was pleased with Stan. Raised his dry weight since he has gained some. His wound is almost closed but still draining.

Faye, I cook German and Polish dishes, now for special occasions rather than often. I make Haulpki, Periogies, and sauerbrauten more than anything. Good hardy food I grew up on but it sure has a lot of calories!

Jean, just take it as an opportunity to get some new things after you get there! Enjoy the sunshine!

Good morning everyone! I finished the cutest pair of little mary jane style booties to go with the sweater and hat yesterday. They think she is going to have a girl and I didn't want her to get the idea I was making boy clothes so I whipped them up. I ordered these teeny little heart buttons to put on them and will post the picture after they come and I can sew them on. I may just have the pants done by then and can take a picture of the whole outfit. I got the yarn yesterday for the sweater I am making for one of my friend's for her birthday in August so that is my next project. It will be tedious as it is a lace pattern throughout.

Susan: Hope you have fun at your quilt show. I know you have to be happy with Stan's good doctor report. I will be happy when the summer season gets here to get good fresh fruit locally and tomatos. I love fresh ripe tomatos.

Jean: Hope you are all ready to fly to Maui today and have a great time!

Time to get chores done and do some knitting.
Faye

I know everyone is out of town and such except maybe Gloria, but I wanted to keep us on the front page.

I decided to get the clean out done and did the go lightly at 8:30. Oh my gosh, how nasty is that stuff. I got all of it down but the last half glass and gave up. I had to drink a half gallon of the nasty stuff. I sat with a black trash bag with my ostomy bag inside it! :^: It seems to be all done now, but I am starving and get nothing until tomorrow. I drank some chicken broth and hot tea and some water. Jack may have to go and get me some jello! lol

Hope everyone is having fun on their trips. Back to knitting for me.

Faye

Yes Faye, I am here. I do have to respond to your 'fun' day today. I have done that so many times and my turn will be again on April 1 as I have a colonoscopy scheduled for April 2. I only wish you the very best tomorrow and remember the worst is over. I have colon cancer in my family so I have been going through this for the last 15 years. The first time they found a couple of polops and were able to take them with no problem. After that I have had a 'clean' report each time. With the history I still need to be on top of this...I am now on a once in 5 years schedule which isn't too bad.

I know that Jean is in the nice warm air of Hawaii and hope that she is really enjoying herself...she deserves it.

Susan: Happy to hear that DH is making progress. I am sure you are very happy to have lost weight since Christmas...keep up the good work.

A week ago yesterday I picked up my new glasses and had to take them back on Friday. The right lens was falling out. Just what one would expect after paying $428. They will have to examine them to see why that is happening and it will be another two weeks before I get them back. Thank goodness I had my old glasses with me.

We hare having a bit of rain which is supposed to be heavy tomorrow. It will be warm..which is good as it would be snow if it were colder.

Faye: I hope you have an easy day tomorrow.

Gloria

Good afternoon, ladies!

Faye, I hope the miserable test is over and you can put it behind you! You are always thinking of more things to knit. The booties must be really cute.

Gloria, good to hear from you. Isn't it awful what you have to pay for glasses these days. I generally wait for Pearl Vision or Sears Optical to have a good sale.

It was rainy and nasty this morning, but sunny ad 67 degrees now.

I'm working extra today thru Wednesday and then taking the rest of the week off so I can go to the quilt show with a clear conscious.

Having "Faye's Stuff" for dinner at hubbie's request.

Good morning to you all! I hope your day is starting out well. Except for a sore tushy area and a kind of bruised feeling stoma from the tubing, I am fine. He did say there is several diverticulum on my intestines, but I am not sure that wasn't there when I had to have surgery. It isn't something the doctor would have messed with I don't think. I think he was more concerned getting the poison cleaned out and the bad part of my colon removed. I think you can control the inflammation with diet and medication if needed. I had no symptoms I was in trouble until the day it happened, but I am going to try and really up my fiber to a level that will make it lots less likely for them even to become inflammed and since I drink water, I don't have to worry about that. I do plan on talking to the doctor at my next appt to find out what kinds of fiber are needed for this as I guess there is soluble and insoluble???
As far as the test, everything went fine until the very end. They did my stoma first, which was a snap and not painful or even uncomfortable. When they did the other, I knew what to expect so at least I was prepared. The junior tech forgot to clamp off the balloon that keeps it all in though and after the dr did his thing with the machine, she was taking still xrays and was down to the last one. She had me roll to my left side and the balloon deflated and the whole thing came out. There wasn't much I could do about that as I was holding it in as best I could. She called the senior tech and told her it all came out and they discussed whether the balloon would show up in the last shot, she said no to go ahead then said, "You didn't clamp it and that's why it came out." I wasn't embarrassed, just told her I was sorry that it just fell out on it's own. That was that, I cleaned up, luckily I didn't have it all over me, put on a new bag, put on new gowns then went back in for one picture to make sure the stuff was all out then I dressed and left. I was pretty shaky afterward and tired all day. I had some breakfast on the way home and later some lunch, then fell asleep in the recliner and slept for 3 hours solid! We were having cornish hens and I slept right through putting them through my spice mix and into the oven. We had to have sandwiches for dinner!

Susan: I thought you left for quilt show last weekend. Well, I hope you can get all your work done and get off to have some fun. Who is staying with Stan?

Gloria: Jack's glasses cost nearly that with vision insurance. We actually have better insurance since the city changed, which shocked me as they go for the cheapest they can get. I wear contacts and the exam was only a $15 copay, then $150 credit for contacts, $30 of which came off for the fitting so was left with $120. You have another $15 copay, but if you order more than the $120 credit +$15 you just pay that. For example, I ordered 6 boxes, 5 were covered so I had to pay the other $24. I am going to my regular internet site to the order the rest as they are almost $10 a box cheaper.

Everyone have a great day today. I am off to do some chores, then finish up a little pair of khaki bell bottoms to go with the sweater, hat and shoes.

Faye

Good morning gals! Hope everyone is having a good day. I am sure Jean is having a fabulous time in sunny Maui.

Not much to talk about. Just want to keep us up on the front page.


Susan: Hope the "Faye's Stuff" turned out ok. I think it is a pretty easy recipe and one that adapts to a lot of diets, especially since it came from the American Heart Association. I sure like it as does Jack. Hope you can get your work all done today then have fun at the quilt show.

My brother wants to move my mom's grave so we have been disccussing that. She is currently buried in a tiny cemetary near her former home, but also next to my abusive stepfather who just passed away a few months ago. Everything about the area is only bad memories and my brother wants her moved up to where the rest of the family plots are. He is willing to pay for the whole thing so I told him he has my blessing if he wishes to do it. It certainly would make it easier to visit her grave if she is nearer and it would be easier to put that part of our lives behind us forever too. We shall see what happens.

Guess I better kick in and get some housework done. I had some cramping most likely from leftover barium yesterday so didn't do much except sit and drink water. I feel loads better this morning so no excuses not to get to work.

Have a great Wednesday!
Faye

Good morning! I did a quick post yesterday but it must have ended up in cyberspace.

Quilt Show starts tomorrow. It's not far from where I live so I will be at home at night. Stan's aide will be putting in more hours and coming on Saturday and Sunday so I can go. I have 100 respite hours a quarter and hardly ever use them.

Took him to the doctor yesterday - bad news, more surgery to clean out a deep pocket of junk that is still draining but the incision is almost healed. It'll probably be next Thursday. Poor guy is feeling worse again and hardly eating.

More later!