A Great Grandmother with dogs who is fighting breast cancer. This blog is to keep friends and family up on the latest happenings in my life.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Dr’s Appointment

I’m really going to miss all those political ads and phone calls.  One of the joys of living in a state where people can’t make up their minds. They even came to my door yesterday and I had them put a sign in my front yard.  Now when the phone rings and it’s not someone I know I grab it up, yell “I already voted” and slam it down hang it up.

It doesn’t seem like it has been a month since I saw my oncologist.  My next appointment is two months away.  I am to call if there is a major change.  She upped my pain meds from twice a day to three times a day.  That’s harder to figure out and I know I won’t always make it come out even at eight hours apart.

Oh well, nobody is perfect. 

I did some laundry and started digging a hole for some bulbs.  It’s time to take my last pills and go to bed.

later….

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall Foliage

Running errands today I planned to take some pictures of the colorful fall foliage.  I found that the wind and rain we have had this week left the trees with bare tops with a few leaves at the bottom.  Must have been a high wind. 

So I came home and took a picture of my color by my front porch.

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People have told me this is Sumac.  I don’t remember it turning orange last year.

It was very cold and windy today.  I needed gas ($3.28/gal.) and needed to mail my homeowners insurance bill, that went up by $50. this year.

I guess it’s time to get out the long johns and turtle necks, except that the next couple days should be nicer.  This time of year it can switch back and forth very fast.

I wanted to show you my solution to the touchpad on my new computer.

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The light grey patch is the styrofoam that I taped over the touchpad.

My Nook is acting up again.  I’ll bet I have turned it off and back on fifty times.  When I can get to a screen with something on it the only place I can go is Barnes & Noble to shop.  Can’t get to the library books that are on it.  I find that very suspicious.   If I take it back to the store a third time I will not be responsible for what I will do or where I might put my Nook.

later….

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Shows and Movies and Potato Crop

I’ve worn my old self out acting like a kid. 

Sunday a group of my friends and I went out to lunch at UNO’s and then we went to see “Menopause the Musical”.  Okay, my funny bone isn’t completely broken but it is badly bent.  Very funny show.

Monday I went to Walmart and filled the basket.  Some of it is still in the car.  They had a deal if you bought four ginger ale 2 liters you got a fifth one free.  Couldn’t pass that up.  Ginger ale still helps settle my stomach and I’ve learned to like it.

Tuesday my friend and I went to see “Atlas Shrugged II”.  I missed the first one last year but have bought a DVD of it.  I haven’t watched it yet but plan to tonight.

Wednesday I have done nothing!  Well, you can’t really count napping.  I may even need another day to rest up. 

I’ve been trying to get a photo program to work on this computer.  Have had no luck so far.  I wanted to try to fool everyone into thinking my potatoes that grew in a bucket were nice big potatoes.

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I was going to crop the first picture until only the potatoes showed.  Then I was going to be honest and show you the real size with the second picture.

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So have a chuckle at my venture into planting potatoes from the grocery store.

The dogs haven’t taken all my running around well but I think it helps them bond to each other.  They touch noses now and then but won’t cuddle up together.  I have found that Rascal only looks green when I am bent over petting her.  She puts herself in my path, belly up, and whimpers.  POOOOR puppy.

I have solved the problem of the touchpad that I can’t seem to turn off.  I taped a piece of styrofoam over it.  HAHA GOTCHA.    There I fixed it.

I’ve been trying to figure out the comments part of blogger as I find people have left comments that didn’t show up. It shouldn’t be so hard to do. 

I’ll try to keep things up-to-date better.

Later….

 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Naps and Dogs

Naps have become a competition between dogs.  When I lay lengthwise on the couch there is only room for one dog to be by my head and that spot, by tradition, belongs to Teddy. The only other option is by my feet.

I am trying to create an opportunity for equality between the two dogs.  I fixed a spot in the middle of the couch where I can be comfortable and have a side for each dog.

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The white cushion goes behind my back, the lawn chair, when turned around, makes a foot rest, and the blue circle makes a good headrest.

The decorating scheme in my house is “whatever works” or “thrift store” or “scratch and dent”.

Teddy is usually the one who decides it is time to wake up and he is usually right. The other day Rascal decided he was wrong so she climbed into my lap and barked at him.  Then she noticed from that vantage point she could see the tops of semi trucks go by.  So she began barking at them.  That really helped with my continuing to nap.

I enjoy a nap just about every day.  Between plenty of rest and my pain meds I am doing well, even have some fuzz growing on my head.

All my plants either got inside or adopted by Lory and John.  It’s a bit early for the frost in this area but nothing has been normal this year. The last mosquito in the state, county, village got into MY house and bit me.  Sure hope he really was the last one.  Once this past summer I found a bite right on a vein.  I would have liked to see him explode.

later….

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Plants

New morning, new insight.  I managed to  get the old data into the new Family Tree program.

Still haven’t figured out how to turn off the touchpad.  That will take some more study,  I took out the program that runs it and it went straight to the internet and got it back. None of the advice on the help menu seems to work.

I managed to follow the dogs around and get fecal samples at the crack of dawn. The samples are at the vets now.  While I was there I picked up pills for the tape worms for both of them. I cut up pieces of hotdog, make a slit in them and put the pills inside.  Works every time.

We may get a frost tonight so I have to get busy with the outdoor plants.  I keep them in the mudroom which stays cooler than the house. Before I bring them inside I have to pull out the weeds that have grown in them this summer. Before all that I have to make room for them. Nature hates an empty space and their space gets filled up in the summer. 

Better get busy.

later….

Friday, October 5, 2012

Groomed dogs

It worked!

About all I have left to work on is Family Tree Maker.  I bought a new version (2012) since I couldn’t find my discs.  The  new version arrived today and I installed it.  Now I need to tell it where to look for the data I had already entered in the old version. I think it should just go find it for it’s self.  I’ve had enough for today.

The dogs came back from the groomer looking great. Susan happened to be coming over so she picked them up for me.  It is raining so they don’t want to go out.  The groomer says that Rascal has worms so I get to go pick up poop and take it to the Vet.

My General Practioner says my problem with colors could be nerves not always connecting right.  Since the chemo treatments have made my feet numb and have started to make my fingertips numb it might be messing with nerves in my eyes.

I got my flu shot and it made my arm really sore.  I don’t remember it doing that before.

Think I’ll go to bed and sleep on the non-flu shot side.

later….

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Figuring Out New Computer

OK I got Windows Live Writer downloaded and I am using it to write this.  I can only figure out so much per day.

I also got some of the software that I need to download books from the library.  Carbonite keeps your DATA not your programs.  So if you have added any program to your computer it will not be added to your new one.  Plus the next time you download the program it is probably a later version that you have to figure out. Plus it isn’t always easy to get the data that goes with that program to connect with it.

I haven’t yet figured out how to turn off the mouse pad and now and then my thumbs drag across it – moving the cursor way off somewhere.  They assured me it could be turned off.

Even though I have most recent evidence that I have a brain I’m not sure it is still true.  My brain wants a very comfortable spot to rest, put up it’s feet and take a nap.

Tomorrow the dogs go to the groomer.  I spent some time explaining that Rascal is really not a biter, just a snarling grumpy dog. 

I stopped at the post office today and received my absentee ballot.  I have voted and sealed it all up and it is ready to send back.  YEAH!  I also watched the debate and look forward to watching the rest of them.  I guess maybe I’m a political junky. It’s a great spectator sport but a bit too serious this election.

Gonna upload this now – hope it works.

Later….                        

Monday, October 1, 2012

New Computer - Negative MRI

I am writing this directly into blogspot since I haven't been able to download "windows live writer" onto this new computer.  Last week, right after my last blog the old computer just snapped off and is now telling me that it has no "system 32" or something to that effect.  It always got hot and all my efforts at keeping it cool did not work.
It took me till yesterday to get a new computer.  I ended up at Staples where they are having a sale.  It includes the next version of software after windows 7.
The call came this morning that I DO have a brain and it is OK.  So I will take the eye doctors advice and enjoy the visual hallucinations.  Red, white, and blue starburts on the moon are very nice. Just wish I could show it to others.
Lory set up at the outdoor sale behind the barn on Saturday. Did just ok, not great.  Need to take more/different stuff  next time.  I went over for a while, took my fancy walker that has a built in chair.  The ground behind the barn is very bumpy.
She was trying to sell cactus plants and planters.  They had lots of cactus left over so they planted some beside my house.
It is raining.  I still like to hear the rain after the draught we had this summer. I knew exactly when it started this evening as two very frantic dogs started leaping on the back door - small dogs melt, you know.
I am enjoying the freedom from weekly appointments since I have suspended chemo.

later....