Post Weekend, Post Surgery

The weekend in Lenox was eventful....and maybe I'll leave it at that. We had pot luck Friday night and laughed a lot. Saturday AM Harriet and I made breakfast for everyone, yum. Then a bunch of us went to the Shaker Village, which I enjoyed a LOT more than I thought I would. It was so very very interesting and the guides were excellent.

Saturday night we all went out to a great Italian restaurant, Frankie's. I had the linguine with clam sauce...the clams were tiny and so sweet. Sunday AM Harriet and I made breakfast again and then we all loaded up our cars and headed home.

In between there were moments of hilarity, drama and discovery. Overall I had a good time. We are planning to return in the spring. The house was very old and very nicely decorated and furnished. We did "tours" just checking out the artwork and then another tour to check out the different carpets! It is called the "Winter Palace" and was part of an estate that was landscaped by the same woman who did the landscape design for the Harkness Mansion...so we all felt a connection.

Robin and I rode together and we actually got lost on the way up....we ended up in NY! This was despite the fact that we had two GPS systems talking to us and we had handwritten directions! I think we were so engrossed in our conversation we missed the women telling us to leave the highway.

And on top of that, I got stuck in the wrong lane, went through the Speed Pass lane, when I don't have a speed pass! I immediately exited at the toll office and tried to pay the toll...they told me that I would get the ticket in the mail. Nice.

Oh and another expense from the weekend...my iPhone somehow got damp. I don't know how...it was working fine one minute and the next minute it was having problems...the screen was getting darker and darker. Then it was turning itself on right after I had shut it off...then it stayed on permanently, then the view finder was all cloudy and when I took the rubber protective cover off, there was a tiny bit of moisture inside. I don't know if it was from the radiator or steam from my bath...dunno, but the end result is that I had to buy a new one today.

Thursday I got a call that I needed to get a chest x-ray, lab work and an EKG done. HELLO! They wait to the last damn minute to tell me...so instead of being able to rest up Friday AM for my drive to MA in the afternoon, I'm having to fly down to New Haven for 9am.

I must have passed all the tests because there I was bright and early...5:30AM....Monday, going to the surgical center. The surgery went well and I was out of Recovery earlier than Sandy thought I would be. He said it was a HUGE hernia, he had to use two of the largest size mesh pieces. I also have seven laproscopic holes in me...four on my right side and three on my left, where he went in to tighten things up for me.

I was up and walking before 4pm...much to the nurse's surprise...but they don't know me. I'm the walker when I'm in the hospital. I had the room to myself, it was very quiet in my hallway, only one other person there. I dozed in 20 and 40 minute intervals, as I always do in the hospital...all day and all night. I got up to pee every 20-40 minutes all night, so I got plenty of practice in getting out of bed....OUCH!

I had a student nurse working with me yesterday and I taught her some things. We had nice talks and she is going to do all right for herself. Sandy came down around 11 with Truman and Rocky in the car. They had been to their PT appts and they came right from there. We hurried the discharge procedure along and we know how to do and I was out of there around noon.

So good to be in my own bed, but now I need the pillow to protect my stomach from loving dogs. I'm using Bubbie's big pillow from her car kennel. It was just washed because she had puked on it and it is bigger than the pillow Linda made for me (the one I usually use)...this one is big enough to cover the open area as well as the laproscopic holes. And, by the way, they are all glued shut! COOL. No staples...I have stitches and big gobs of glue on the wound sites.

Well...it's almost time for me to take my pain pill and climb the stairs to bed. I love my own bed, but it would be so much easier for me if it had side rails to grab onto and pull myself around. I can't use my abdominal muscles yet. It's a bitch to get out of bed when you have nothing to grab onto.

I think today will be the worst of it...tomorrow should be 100% better. That's what I'm counting on anyway.

Nighty night!

Sitting at the agility trial in Rhode Island at the indoor sports facility. It's awesome here. Nice bathrooms, little snack bar, pizza place across the parking lot....it's warm in here....what a nice change from the usual heat, cold, rain, wind, porta potties, etc.

Today Rocky and Truman are running. So far they have done well...but no Qs...we'll see how they do in the last event. Bubbles is along for the ride and is sleeping in her kennel, seemingly immune to the barking going on around her.

Yesterday Joyce and I went to Putnam. We have been planning this for months and little did we realize that the day we picked was also the Pumpkin Festival day in Putnam! They had craft booths set up all around by the train station, the "Bud Cars" were there, bringing people from Worcester and dropping them off in Putnam and a whole bunch of Putnam area folks rode the train to New London, to spend the day there.

It was cool seeing the old train that we used to ride on to Worcester when we went to see Gramma and Grampa Leavstrom. We used to love to take that ride. My grandmother would always tell the conductor that it was my birthday so he would let me ride free. It wasn't really my birthday, but it was close enough (within a week). It was smart of her...and she would make us scrunch down so we would look shorter, so she could say we were "child" riders...and get a cheaper rate.

Anyway, we roamed around town, seeing Bob and Wini along the way. We had lunch in the Congregational Church basement--chili and sandwich and apple crisp...YUM! We ran into Peter Auclair at the church...he told us that the Class of 66 and our class are going to have a joint reunion, planned for July 2nd at Point Breeze. Liz Franklin is organizing it. Thank Goodness for Liz...she told me this idea a few years back and it didn't happen then and we didn't have any reunion at all! We haven't had one since 1997!

So, now we will have a reunion and I can't wait. It will be so much fun. I wrote to Fran and told her about it...I hope she comes up for it. I have to let Mark Russell know also. They technically didn't graduate with us, but c'mon! They were in school with us for so long, they deserve to attend...Donnie Johnston too.

I got some more scarves...I'm addicted to scarves. Got some beautiful ones on sale. I also got a pin made from a pottery shard that I bought from Wini's daughter-in-law....the shard is almost in the shape of the State of CT. it's kind of cool looking.

Saw Romeo...dressed as the Town Crier...what the hell, he has the voice for it! And Kim Mitchell, who was recently reunited with her birth mother...she showed me pictures of her mother and her new siblings. I think that is so neat. She was adopted from Germany and found her mother living in Leominster MA! How strange is that...and yet you keep hearing about such things happening. I'm happy for her...her mother is thrilled and so is Kim.

i was looking for Rachel, but couldn't find her.

We went over to the St. Mary's cemetery. I could hardly find Mummy's tombstone, the grass was so grown over it. That's what happens when you have a flat stone. I finally found it and scratched the dirt and grass away. I have to go back there with a little spade and maybe something to kill the grass around it to keep it at bay for awhile.

We went to Joyce's Dad's stone and her grandparents. We wandered around the cemetery for awhile, amazed at how many of the names there were people we know and several of them were people we went to school with. Some great memories were stirred up in that visit...and in the whole trip to Putnam.

We came home around 2:30....we had arrived around 11:30. That was enough for two chemo kids. We were proud of ourselves, for how much we walked around and how long we stayed on our feet. We also vowed to do it again next Spring and this time maybe we'll invite some of our old classmates to join us.

Putnam had on it's best dress yesterday and I was very proud of my hometown. They pulled off a very classy, nice event. People from all over were roaming the streets with their little maps, looking for bargains and finding them.

It was a great day.

Another busy week of med appointments and meetings coming up. I go see the gastroenterologist on Wednesday, the Allergist on Tuesday. I'm pleased with the results of my non-allergy meds--the two nose sprays he had me use...but the asthma stuff didn't seem to do anything...I guess I don't have asthma!

I'm hoping Dr. Sansone, my butt doctor, can figure out for once and for all what is wrong with me. I'm soooooooo tired of getting up all night long. I know that grinders aggravate it...I think it's the lettuce. So that's one thing I have to avoid...not all lettuce, but iceberg lettuce for sure. I did have trouble with it right after my gastric bypass surgery, so it makes sense that it's affecting me now too...but that's just one thing. It's not the whole answer to my problems.

Dr. Sansone is very bright, she'll figure it out.

GO PATS!!!

Later!

Been busy this week and it feels GREAT! Tuesday I went to the Main Street Grill in Niantic to attend the Seaside Retirees semi annual lunch. Saw "Dr. Bob" Schneider there, first time I've seen him in ages!

Bob told me that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year and a half ago. He couldn't sign his name, couldn't walk, etc and I believe he said he ended up at Bridebrook for rehab. But then he did a little dance to show me that he is cured! He attributes it to the medicine and the healing services he attended at church. I attribute it to doctor diagnostic error.

Whatever, he is back up and out and it was fun to see him.

Ellen had arranged for a lady to come speak to us about a variety of issues effecting seniors and once again, I felt like an outsider...there to support "those old people." Later, when Mary Ann noted that my hair is grey I told her to "shut the fuck up!'

You get the picture.

Afterwards I snuck down to Bridebrook to visit Flo Robinson, who broke her foot and is in there for rehab. She's being tube fed because they also noted her difficulty with swallowing. She's going to go somewhere in Hartford and they are going to give her a botox treatment to stretch that area, so she can eat again. Hmmmmmm....wonder if this is something they know about in Tennessee???

Flo looked good considering and we had a nice visit. She has a set of Sennheiser wireless headphones for listening to her TV with her hearing aids. She had me try it and I loved it! GREAT SOUND! We have been looking for good wireless headphones for Sandy to use when she watches the shows that have all the beeps and high pitched noises (like CSI) because Bubbles freaks out when she hears those noises.

I'm going to see if I can find that online to get for Sandy for Christmas.

Today is Sandy's birthday...she is now 47. A mere child. I hope she gets to retire in a few years, so we can travel around and enjoy retirement together. When we first got together I thought about that, but didn't realize just how much of a difference it makes to have both partners retired at the same time. Now I am home to help do the house stuff, so she can focus on work and the dogs. But I am looking forward to when we are both free to travel, have fun and do things together.

Yesterday I got to work outside most of the day, helping "the Js," Janet, Jess and Jeremy put up their new shed. Poor things, they had been laboring over this for days, putting in the floor and then assembling the shed. I helped them get over the hump....they were getting tired of the whole thing.

They got the shed from Sears and of course the directions and diagrams are horribly cryptic or missing. They never include enough screws, washers, etc.

We got the roof on yesterday and I had to leave to feed the dogs. They finished the job after I left.

It felt great to take a nice hot shower, get changed into comfy clothes and relax, after working all day.

I'm looking forward to more and more of those kind of days.

Still waiting for someone, anyone, to call me back about repairing our roof. I called one guy who's name I got from Angie's list and still haven't heard back from him. I'm going to go down the list and call them all....and hope that someone has pity and calls us...and then actually shows up here at the house!

Today I went over to Uncas for the Mortality Review meeting...saw some folks and visited a brief time. I'm supposed to go to Wallingford next week but Russ is coming in the AM to teach me how to use the new Apple MacBook I got. So, I don't think I'll be going to Wally World. I gave my feedback about that meeting to Betty today when I saw her...so I'm off the hook.

I did my cleaning downstairs today for Sandy's birthday. Unfortunately, she has to work until 7:30 tonight...again. This has been happening a lot yesterday and I'm going to have to put my foot down soon. She is getting tired. I try to help--feed the dogs and do the work around here so she doesn't have to, but I'm getting worried about her. She is a delicate flower and when she gets rundown, she gets ill.

I think we'll get Chinese for supper tonight, her favorite.

Later!

Still cautiously optimistic that my big purge the other day cured my bm problems. Last night I didn't get up until 5:30 this morning! YAY! I was so shocked when I checked the time.

Finally broke down and joined "Angie's List" online...for help in getting names of reputable and reliable home improvement guys. We are having the trouble with the roof leaking when we have heavy rain. It did it last year too, but now we want to try again to do something about it. Last year we called someone who said he'd come out the next day and we never heard from him again.

Well, I called a guy the other day...I should have been tipped off when he answered his business phone with "hello?" I had to ask, "is this Wickhams?" He offered to come out the next day and I got all excited. Of course, he was a no show-no call. I called him back and asked him to at least give us a call....nope!

So, Angie's List it is. I have the names of three companies that have gotten good reviews. Let's hope we get lucky.

Yesterday I finally finished the job of cleaning the kitchen floor tile grout. It looks great. Now I keep it up and look for something that will put a good seal on it. And to think I almost hired someone to come do this job for me...now thanks to Google (finding the right solution for me) I have done it myself and saved the $$.

This week is a busy one..."off" Monday, Tuesday is lunch with the Seaside Retirees at Main St. Grill in Niantic; Wednesday I go back to Dr. Ber, the allergist; Thursday I have Mortality Review at Uncas and Friday I'm off again. Saturday Joyce and I are going to Putnam...they are having the Great Pumpkin Festival up there, with lots of crafters booths and pumpkins I guess. We've been talking about going up there for a long time...it's finally going to happen.

Thursday is Sandy's birthday. Thank goodness I already bought her present when I was in Sweden, I'm almost out of $$ and I still have two weeks before the eagle flies again. Cutting it close! HA ha!

I also have just two weeks and one day before this damned hernia gets fixed and I get my tummy tucked. Right now the other hernia is bulging next to it...getting bigger and bigger too. My abdomen looks like I have babies heads in there....one big head and one smaller one next to it. I have to wear oversized tops to hide it...otherwise I look grotesque. A good look for Halloween...too bad I'm not going to be here to use it.

Now...back to the Patriots as they try to win this tie game.

Later!

Made it through the colonoscopy with flying colors! I woke up in the middle of the procedure and got to watch the finish on the big screen TV they have set up for the doctor.

She found a little polyp and she put a clip on it because it was bleeding for some reason. She also did biopsies of various places and I'll get the results at the end of the month. She said she had no problem at all getting the probe through my system, so Dr. McCourt's concerns were unwarranted. There was no scarring, adhesions, etc.

Came home and putzed around for a bit, eating all kinds of junk, just because I could eat and then I took a nap with the Russells...we sacked out for an hour and a half. It felt so good.

I'm knocking wood as I type this next bit, but last night I only got up three times and that was only to pee (the hernia puts pressure on my bladder, making me go frequently) and I blew out a few clouds of gas. No diarrhea, no frequent BMs, no overwhelming sensation that I had to take a dump.

I had one BM today, this AM and I'm hoping that the purge of my system straightened out whatever was wrong with my bowels. Maybe I can finally get a decent night's sleep. I was thinking about it yesterday...I've been waking up to go to the bathroom all night for about a year and a half now.

So you can understand why I'm hoping that tonight brings some peace in the toidy department.

This morning I drove up to Middletown to hand over Lily's kennel to an organization we donated it to. They rescue "high risk dogs" like Pit bulls, Dobies, Rotties, etc. They are in need of kennels like Lil's, escape proof, but they can't afford the price (we paid $1,000), so they were overjoyed to get the donation. I met the guy at the Harbor Restaurant in Middletown, we made the transfer and then I headed home.

It was so pretty along Rte 9, the trees are fabulous and the light was perfect. We're getting rain and high winds tonight, so the leaves might not be there after this weekend. So, i was happy I made that drive.

Now I'm taking a break from house cleaning. Sandy is home early to take Rocky and Truman to their PT appointments and then she will go to Waterford to pick up Lily's ashes.

I think I'll make eggs and home fries for supper. It will probably be raining and that will be a great meal for the weather. We like to have breakfast for supper every once in awhile.

Oh, I was finally able to burn a DVD with my Sweden pictures on it. I'm figuring out this computer little by little. One problem that I'm going to have to call them about...I try to play the installed instructional videos and they keep pausing. Not good.

Okay, break time is over, time to take Bubbles for a walk while the other two are off on their roadtrip.

My new LL Bean Double L jeans (the lined ones....I got fleece lining) should be arriving this afternoon. YAY! Looks like I'm going to be needing them soon! It's getting colder and colder.

Later!

Murphy killed a mouse last night. I heard him crying but I was watching Mad Men and didn't pay attention to what was going on. Thankfully!

I saw the dead thing by my chair when I got up to shut down the house for the night. Yuck!

We have no idea how they are getting in here. We were hopeful that the path had been discovered and closed off when Sandy and Jean pulled all of the ivy out of the siding on the garage....it had grown crazy in there! We figured maybe that's where the mice were coming in...the ivy had bored right through the wall and was growing in the garage. I guess we were wrong.

Of course I don't blame the mice for wanting to get in. The house is a very nice abode after all...and when it gets cold out there, it's understandable that they would seek warmer conditions. Maybe I can organize a bus trip for them to Florida.

In the meantime, we can expect to have to rely on Murph and Bubbles, the mice killers, to take care of matters for us. I'll try not to step on any carcasses when I make my way upstairs at night.

Today is our 26th anniversary and I'm spending the day on the throne. I have been spending most of my nights on the throne for the past year and a half, but today I get to sit there during the day as well. It's colonoscopy prep day and it's a moving experience.

I'm hoping that the doctor's theory of "bacterial overload" is correct and I get rid of my poop problems for once and for all by doing this colon cleanse that you have to do before a colonoscopy. It would be wonderful to be able to sleep a few hours in a row at night. I don't think that's asking too much. And I would be very appreciative.

Took Maria home yesterday. We ate a huge potato pancake, stuffed with ham, cheese and onions and topped with a fried egg--well...we split that dish and neither one of us finished our portion. This was at the Cafe Polonia...I love that place.

What beautiful weather we have been having. It continues....it rained last night--good, we need rain--and then the sun is out and all bright and shiny today. The dogs love it....they stay out in the yard for hours, especially Rocky.

Bubble and Rocky have been playing more since Lily passed away. Rocky used to play with Lily and attempt to play with Bub, but she would freak out after a minute or so and he would stop. The other night they played "dodge and feint" for about five minutes on my lap in the recliner. Sandy and I watched and were very happy for both of them.

Today I spotted them playing a bit on the deck. I really hope Bub gives Rocky a chance...I think it would be so good for her and for him.

Rocky is doing better and better on the weave poles out in the back yard. Sandy worked with him a bit on Sunday out there and is very pleased with how he's doing. He may be our best agility dog yet.

Ugh...this chicken broth reminds me of when I had to be on the special diet for my gastric bypass...to prove to them I could stick to a diet...I could only eat chicken/beef broth for a week.....I got so sick of that stuff I haven't had it since. And now that's all I can have today.....bad memories coming back....

Oh well, tomorrow I get the good drugs and then it's all over. And maybe....maybe....the doctor will have an answer for all my nightly excursions to the toilet...now THAT makes all this worth the aggravation!

Later!

Where to begin? Busy week.

Monday I went to the gastroenterologist. She moved up my colonoscopy....wants to find out what the hell is making me crap my brains out for so long. I was supposed to go Dec 1st, she moved it up this coming Wednesday. She was asking about my diet and fiber intake. I told her I eat a banana a day. She said, "bananas don't have much fiber." I said, "but I eat the peel." She looks at me and says, "you don't eat the peel! What are you, a monkey?" Then she says, "even monkeys don't eat the peels." Ha ha....a sense of humor.

Kathleen also put me back on Lexapro...which I was hoping for. I did really good on Lexapro before...it smoothed things out for me and I actually started laughing again. I worry about the fact that I don't laugh anymore....haven't for a few years. Things are funny and I should be laughing, but I rarely do. Just being honest.

So, I'm hoping the Lexapro deals with the level of depression I always seem to be experiencing and helps me do better, as it did before.

Went to see Kathleen, my nurse practitioner, on Tuesday. She said that my hernia is the biggest one she's ever seen, and "I've seen a lot of hernias." I told her, bah humbug...I'm sure she exaggerates. Anyway, it gets fixed in a couple of weeks.

After the Kathleen appointment I went up to Farmington for work. Easy gig, just had to sit there and answer questions about my "social history." Did that job again on Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday morning it was up and out early to Colchester to get the mirror fixed. It cost $300 damned dollars for that damned mirror. I could have punched the steering wheel again I was so disgusted. I still don't understand why I had to order the mirror myself and why I had to go all the way up there to pay for it before they would schedule me to get it installed. When I asked about having to pay for the part first the guy said it was because they don't ordinarily carry that part and "sometimes people order them and then don't come in for the repair."

So, I said, "so charge their credit card then. And why did I have to come all the way up here to sign for the purchase? Why can't they take my info over the phone like other places do?" He told me that was a policy of the parts dept. Of course the Parts Dept hadn't been able to shed any light on it when I had complained to them. So I guess I wait for the survey that they send every time I bring the car up there. Interesting, they haven't sent it to me yet...usually they are calling, etc., the next day!

Thursday I worked in the afternoon and went to Trader Joe's on the way home. Picked up some great meats and cheeses for Bob's birthday picnic...and some great bread. I love Trader Joe's. I wish we had one around here...I'd be there all the time. Came home and my new MacBook Pro had arrived. It's BEAUTIFUL!

Friday morning I got up early again and called into WINY and the "Remember When" show that Steve Bousquet and Gary O do. I had written to Gary and told him I wanted to call in and talk about Bob Miller. Gary announced that it was Bob's 90th birthday and the fun began. I talked about Bob and the scouts and being selectman, town historian, etc. Then several folks called in, recalling when he was their Boy Scout leader and telling stories.

Friday night I downloaded my Sweden pictures and tried to make a slide show and burn it to DVD....I did it about three times and couldn't figure it out. I think I need Russ here to show me how to use it.

It was fun and we went over time...but they didn't seem to mind. Afterwards I called Bob, who had been listening and was thrilled.

Gary spilled the beans that we were having a picnic for Bob on Sunday, something we had hoped to keep small. He actually encouraged people to drop by the park to say hi to Bob, which I was praying they wouldn't, because it can throw Bob for a tizz.

Saturday I drove up to Worcester to get Maria at the train station. We snuck over to Coney Island and had "the works"...delicious. Saturday night Roxie came over and we cooked steaks and had a wonderful supper and visit. I showed them my Sweden pictures, still on the DVD from Cooper's...not the stripped down, enhanced, cropped photos that I will finally have on a DVD once I get Russ here, or I figure out how to do it myself.

Roxie stayed over and left early Sunday morning to get to work on time. Maria and I had breakfast and then packed up the picnic basket and cooler and headed to Putnam. We stopped at Stop and Shop up there en route to Bob's house and picked up a few more items.

Bob and Wini were all ready to picnic, so we loaded them into the car and went down to Miller park. We sat on the bench and made sandwiches with pickles and a cup of coffee. The weather was gorgeous. So sunny and warm! The air was crisp and clear. Soon we were removing our jackets and sweaters and just enjoying the sun. Phil came down on his motorcycle later and we all took a short walk down the river trail. On the way back we stopped in the shade at the Button Shop, sat on the picnic benches and rested. Maria and I ran across the street and got coffees and donuts for Bob and ourselves.

Then Bob, Wini, Maria and I headed out for a foliage ride. Took them to a lot of "old memory" places...the shop where Bob worked his whole life; down where Bob used to keep his boat; Roseland Park; North Woodstock; St Mary's camp and then down to buy apples; mums and other goodies at the orchard store. Then we took the happy birthday boy and his bride home.

It was a great day. I hope Bob remembers some of it. I really do. He doesn't remember much. Like today in church people who heard the show on Friday and who had heard Gary O announcing Bob's birthday, came up to Bob after mass to wish him happy birthday...Wini said Bob was thrilled...but by the time we saw him a few hours later, he didn't remember it.

Oh well...such is life. We know we had a great day with our Dad and we know he loved it while it was happening. That's all that matters.

Tomorrow I take Maria back up to Boston. Maybe we'll get to roam around a bit. Maybe go to the Cafe Polonia.....maybe....


Nighty night!