Doctor Compliment

My GP doctor is a short plump motherly sort of woman who advises eating cabbage and using honey and lemon juice for a cough.  I like her.

She said they got me in today because she knows I don’t call about little nothings.  That’s a nice thing to say.

I got a prescription for azithromycin.  She implied it was a pretty big hammer.  The script said for bronchitis.  I take 2 tonight and then 1 each day for four days.  Hope it works.  I’m going to assume it will.

Got another estimate on painting the house.  He was here when I got back from the Dr’s appointment.  One questions I forgot to ask – are his workers legal citizens?    I’ll call him….

later….

Time to Fix Things

Silly was at the vet yesterday and is doing better.  While I was gone for a while on Tuesday she got a loaf of rye bread off the counter and all I found when I got home was the empty wrapper on the floor.  I can picture her having a wonderful time shaking the slices out and sharing them with Teddy.  Of course, Silly cannot understand how I know it was her, the long legged dog, who got something off the counter. 

Then there is me to be fixed.  This afternoon I am going to the GP doctor about the constant coughing and the low grade fever.  I think it started with pollen allergies but has progressed to something else.  If I take one kind of decongestant I don’t sleep, if I take another I can’t stay awake. 

There are more people coming to give estimates on the work I need done.  I hate making decisions.  Maybe I’ll just stick the estimates up on the wall and throw a dart. 

Someone on the radio said that Ohio’s state flower is the “orange barrel”.  Very funny. That is true for a lot of states.

Later….

Softball Parade

Sirens moving slowly at 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday means there is a parade

The first truck was prepared for the drizzle with umbrellas.

One very fit coach walked beside the pickup carrying his team.

It’s always nice to advertise the business that is sponsoring the team and straw makes a nice seat.

You don’t need a pickup or a trailer, an SUV works.

No truck?  A cart makes a good vehicle to pull a trailer full of baseball players.

A good old pickup works the best.

You can always jazz it up with signs and balloons.  And of course there is candy thrown along the way.  The rain makes that nice in the lawn.  I stay on the porch but they still throw it. 

The whole thing took about 15 minutes to pass and is a nice touch in a small village.  But there was no band.  Next time I want a band.

Silly’s mouth has stopped bleeding and she seems to feel better.  The pain pills make her a bit dopey so I have tried breaking them in half.  The antibiotic pills are big and she cries if I try to open her mouth to give them to her.  So I wrap them in cheese or stuff them in a piece of cooked carrot.  I found one that she detected and rejected but I didn’t push it.  Two large pills morning and night is a bit much but she a big dog, weighs about 60 lbs.

This afternoon I attended a birthday celebration for a dear friend of mine.  She wore a tiara and was serenaded with a trumpet solo.  The celebration was at the Butter Street Barn which even had some customers today.  I helped wrap a set of chess pieces for a customer. 

The drizzle has turned to a light rain.  Hope the major storm misses us.  It may stay south of us.  Don’t need any tornadoes here.

Later….

Museum and Stuff

Had a comment about the museum, wondering if there was a video or pictures of it.  Here is a link to their website.  Just click on that and you can get all the information about their hours and location.

 http://veteransmuseumgermantown.org/ 

There are some pictures on the website but no videos.  That would be a good idea but there is nothing like seeing it for yourself.

Waiting for the second estimate on painting the house. 

The Sears repairman came and the washer is working.  Actually it worked for him.  Kind of like his magic touch.  So I bought a timer from him for the next time it stops working.  I tried it several times before calling and it didn’t work.  I give up.

Then this morning Silly’s mouth was bleeding.  She had surgery a year ago for a tumor on her mouth.  She has been having trouble getting around lately so I was giving her aspirin. 

So that involved a trip to the vet this afternoon.  I am to stop the aspirin and give her some antibiotics and 2 other kinds of pills.  She will be 11 years old next July, that’s really old for a big dog.  She doesn’t seem to mind.  It’s all about quality of life now.  She was walking around in circles lapping up the blood drips this morning.  Poor thing. 

It’s almost always more than one thing.

Later….

Museum in Germantown and Porch Roof

My memory isn’t what it used to be.  I forgot to tell about where we went last Saturday.  While riding around looking at paint colors on houses, Lory and I stopped by the museum in Germantown. http://veteransmuseumgermantown.org/

It is in an old building with an interesting history, once was a tobacco barn, then a Masonic building.  Now it houses everything from dresses made from parachute material to models of military equipment.  It is a work in progress.  The first floor is mostly WWII.  Upstairs is going to be Korea and Vietnam. 

It is a great place for school trips and for young people to learn about what other generations have done for our freedom.

Several veterans are working on it and doing a great job. 

Yesterday I called a man who had been suggested to me to fix up my front porch roof.  It needs a lot of repair.  He told me to measure it and call him with the numbers and he could give me a quote over the phone.  Then he said he was cheap because his workers were from Ecuador and probably didn’t have green cards.

Do I want to support these illegal workers?  No, not really.  I don’t mind doing business “under the table”.  That is paying them so they don’t have to report it on their income tax. 

So I have called around and have received a quote on painting the house.  I didn’t gulp too hard at the quote.  He says he knows people who can fix the porch roof also.   Will those people be citizens of our great country?  I hope so.

Later….

New Fireplace and Everything Happens at Once

Yesterday that Silly poodle of mine decided to “fix” the couch.  Doesn’t she look comfy with all the cushions on the floor?  At least the cushions aren’t torn open with stuffing strewn all around.  I came home to that with the Great Dane one time.

Actually it is an old fireplace made useful again.  It was the only fireplace left open in this old house. 

I had the chimney’s checked soon after moving here in 2002 and they were not useable.  I had them capped so animals couldn’t get in them. 

The house next door has a colony of bats living in their chimney.  I watch them emerge at dusk on summer evenings.  I like bats as they eat those pesky mosquitoes but I don’t want to live with them. 

I grew up in a very old house and my bed was next to an abandoned chimney where birds nested.  They were a wake-up call every spring morning.

Two fireplace installing companies were called to give estimates on this job.

One put me on a waiting list for a call to arrange a visit.  When they finally came out they offered to take out that old cast iron thingy and sell me a nice brick front fireplace.  Otherwise it wouldn’t be possible to install a gas log. 

I checked what that old iron fireplace front was worth.  They are on ebay from $300.00 to $500.00.  So I guess I’ll keep it. 

The other company said they could do it.  Today they did it.

First the before picture….

and then the after picture.  I even have a remote control for it.

While working in the basement to install the gas lines they noticed water.  It was coming from the water line that goes outside. 

Of course, I’ve been watering the newly planted grass seed every morning.  So a plumber was called and he just left.  My outside faucet had frozen and burst.  All better now except for the large puddle of water in the cellar.  Of course, the lowest part of the cellar floor is not where the sump pump is.

To top off the week the washing machine stopped working on Saturday.  That repairman is scheduled for Thursday.  It’s a Kenmore that I got at a garage sale.  Of course, Sears tried to sell me a contract and several other options when I scheduled the repair.  I ended up hanging up on them.  What is there about “NO THANK YOU” that some people don’t understand.

And it’s Monday so that is trash day again.  Let’s not even go there.

There’s always something.

Blooming Wisteria!!!

Several years ago I brought seeds from my sister’s wisteria vine in California and just tossed them among some rocks in the back yard.  They grew and survived because I tend to let everything grow until I know what it is.  I find some amazing weeds that way.  The vine has been thriving for a while but never bloomed until this year.  It has consumed a couple of bird houses but that’s okay with me.

This is the front yard where the water line went in last summer.  It is finally seeded and will need to be watered every day for a while.  It was supposed to rain today.  At 4:00 when it hadn’t rained I watered the newly seeded ground.  Then at 4:30 it rained.  I now know how to make it rain.

Somehow a bowling ball ended up on top of the old well pipe.  Even the bad patches near that and beside the driveway got seeded.  The whole yard got mowed for the first time also, thanks to Lory and John. 

My new fireplace gas logs will be installed on Monday.  I’m getting there, bit by bit. 

A quick trip to the barn and the grocery store filled up the day. 

Later….

Another trip to the Dr.

Time just flies - - - - -.  Gave them some blood, they gave me some meds, and it’s back home.  Next month I will see the oncologist.  They gave me a copy of the results of my blood work, like I can figure that out.  I may just try.  Some numbers went up and some went down, not by much either way. 

I’m still trying to figure out what I can eat and what upsets my stomach.  I’ve always had a picky digestive system so this is nothing new but it seems the rules have changed.

All my new windows are now in and trimmed up on the outside.  The first caulk was supposed to match the “evergreen” colored trim.  It turned out to be a lime green and looked a bit like puke.  So the installer went back and found the right color.   It now looks great.  Now for the curtains and the house painter. 

I got two cards of painters from the local hardware store.  There will need to be a few repairs of soffits before the paint job is done.  Also realized the front porch roof didn’t get included in the roofing job a couple of years ago.  The wood under that will need some work. 

Also the natural gas fireplace people left a message that they are ready to install my tiny fireplace logs,  16 inch.  That’s a special order small size.  Even that will have to sit out on the hearth a bit.  I can’t imagine what was there originally. 

The front yard is now leveled out from when I got the city water line installed last summer.  Now it needs to be seeded and watered every day for a while.

The pollen has left me choking and coughing.  The news said this is the pollen capital of the world.  I believe it. 

I still love to see the trees get green and the redbud start blooming,  everything is growing.  My lawn needs mowing.  

It’s always something.  That’s what life is about.

Later….

Feeling Better

Since I said I was sick yesterday I have to get back on here and say that I feel much better today.  Maybe the sulfa is working.

Now comes the dilemma – do I still go to the doctor tomorrow and say “I was sick a couple of days ago” or do I just hope I keep feeling better?

Since I have an appointment with the oncologist on Wednesday maybe I’ll just wait for that.

When the kids were little that always seemed to happen.  They would be fine until Friday afternoon or evening. 

Then you feel like you have to wait till Monday to call the doctor. 

You call anyway and get an appointment for Monday.

Then you are faced with the very unparentlike  feeling that you hope they stay sick until you get them there.

Once one of them had a very bad case of pink eye.  We had to wait so long in the waiting room that the discharge had dried on his face.  The doctor explained to me that I should wipe that off.  DUH

At least that doctor had separate waiting room for sick kids and well kids who were just coming for shots etc.

He came through in a pinch.  If your child was really sick – or had taken a whole bottle of children’s aspirin – he was very patient and talked me through the crises. 

Even to calling the drug store so they would have a bottle of ipecac ready for me when I ran in.

During a long illness he arranged for me to call him at 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and he would answer the phone himself.  I wonder if there are doctors like that anymore.

People who don’t have children don’t realize they are getting older.  They don’t have any teenagers telling them about it.

How’s that for a ramble?

Later….

New Windows and a Fever

All 16 windows got installed yesterday!  Amazing.  They arrived at 8:00 a.m. and went to work.  They cleaned up as they went.  If I had these guys around this house would stay clean.   These men are either retired or semi-retired.  One of them turned out to be Lory’s ex-husband’s uncle.  It is a small town.

They are back today to work on the outside.  The outside trim is going to be green.  The trim they are putting around the outside will match the paint trim – when I find a painter.  The window on the left is almost all done, on the right is a new window but with old trim.

Last night I started shivering, knowing myself pretty well, I took my temperature.  Sure nuff, I had a slight fever.  So I popped some pills. 

Why does something like this always happen on Friday evening?  Looks like a visit to the doctor down the street on Monday – if I can get in.

I’m guilty!  I had some antibiotics left over from the trouble in Florida, good old sulfa.  I am allergic to all the ‘mycins.  So I am taking those for the week-end until I can get something from the doctor.

Those pills were prescribed before any test results came back.  They really shouldn’t do that.  When the test results came back negative for infection, I stopped taking the pills. 

We are having a cold spell, slight frost.  But my backyard is full of violets.  They are like tiny orchids.

Of course, there are other flowers in my yard.  I used to make dandelion wine but haven’t done that in years.  It is an acquired taste but you can do it with simple items you have around the house.

Later….

New Windows! (and a scratchy throat)

A friend recommended a friend and he came over and measured and chatted about features, gave me a brochure.  He came back a week later with color choices for the outside trim. 

We agreed verbally, no money changed hands, no paper changed hands.  This is the old fashioned way of doing business.  Your word is as good as your bond. 

My new windows will be installed Friday with finishing touches on Sat.

I think the sore throat is due to pollen.  That doesn’t make it feel any better.  It is in the sinuses and ears and the drippy nose.  Of course, having 80 degree weather one day and 50 the next doesn’t help.  I gargle warm salt water and blow air into my inner ears while holding my nose, and cough and snort.  Guess I’ll survive.

Later….

New Home for Smokey

This is probably the last post about Smokey the African Grey Parrot.  I hope you don’t find it boring.  We’ve been having such beautiful weather that I have been working outside part of each day.  Maybe I’ll actually take a picture soon.

The place I worked went to a 4 day week, 10 hour days.  Then my family obligations increased.  Most days I was gone 12 hours.

Poor Smokey had a bare neck from picking himself.  I had no time to give him.  So the best solution was to find him a better home. 

I had him surgically sexed and found our assumption that he was a “he” had been correct all along.  There is no other way to tell for sure what sex an African Grey is.  I think they now do hormone tests on fecal matter. 

The vet was one I had found by asking around.  Vets don’t usually specialize but they kind of do and this vet was good with birds.  He had a baby scale modified with a perch so he could weigh the little buggers.

I watched for ads for someone who might want him for breeding.  They bond very strongly with their person and I was worried about that.  I figured maybe a girl African Grey parrot could replace me.

I finally found an ad for a White Capped Pionus parrot that said they would trade.  We met at their apartment. 

Smokey took a flyer off my shoulder and landed on a cage much like his at home.  We spent a long time discussing all his tricks and the words he knew.  I was impressed that they wrote down what I said as we talked.

Of course, the Pionus bit me when I picked him up.  We had an off again, on again relationship.  He never talked for me, they don’t talk much.  But he wasn’t as temperamental about the time I spent with him. 

We ended up trading for a while to see if it worked.  A couple of weeks later they called to say a friend of theirs had visited and when Smokey heard her voice in the next room he started talking a blue streak.  This woman kept foster children and raised birds.  So they gave him to her.  What a perfect solution.

Several weeks later we visited him.  He came to me right away, rolled onto his back along my forearm and made the puffing sound.  He wanted me to blow on his tummy.  I did. 

He was well feathered, no more bare neck.  He had the run of the house, ate off their plates for dinner.  He was spoiled rotten, still.  I never visited him again.  I didn’t want to disturb the bond he had made with his new family. 

Later….

Easter

When I was growing up, Easter was always a solemn holiday for me.  When we were children we were never allowed to wear new clothes on Easter.  That would have been trivializing the day with vanity.  If we had a new outfit for spring we could wear it the next Sunday. 

As an adult I have a little different slant on it. 

Actually it should be as big, if not bigger, a celebration than Christmas.  It’s all about what didn’t happen when they went to the tomb. 

They didn’t find a body. 

Crucifixion was not a big deal at that time. 

A disappearing body was a big deal. 

And we know exactly when it happened – Passover. 

December 25  is very much in doubt as the date that Jesus was born. 

So celebrate Easter with flowers and baby chicks and bunnies, colored eggs, and symbols of birth and rebirth and even new clothes, if you like.  It’s the best holiday of the year.

Right now….