Falls

                           There are five of us girls that hang out together here at the apartments. 
                                                        Here I am with three of them.

The housekeeper came to clean and found S. lying on her kitchen floor. 

She had been there about 12 hours.  

She couldn't get up and the emergency pull cords are in the bedroom and bath. 

Well, that doesn't help if you fall in the kitchen.

So, we girls are rethinking our commitment to each other. 

We are thinking about each sending a quick text

to our group text

each morning upon arising and before we go to bed.

That way we all will know we all are alright!! 

Growing old has it's ups and downs. Frequent falls is one such down. 

Thankful for MRIs. I think.

Have you ever had an MRI? It's so scary. And, mine was of my head .... which meant that I was totally encased in that sausage casing thingofamajig machine. I am so Thankful that it over!! So, yes, it is the Little Things, like just hearing that noise stop and the narrow plank you're lying on starts slipping out of that tube.

By the way... when I was finished, I saw the images on the screen . I do have a brain!! Amazing!!

The parking lot was about full when I got there so my car was parked on the back row. After the procedure, as I neared my car, my nose was filled with the aroma of southern magnolia. I just thanked God that there are such sweet things to enjoy in this life.

I had to take a picture of this blossom.

A Crick In The Neck

Saturday night I must have slept wrong for I got up Sunday morning with a 'crick' in my neck, couldn't turn my head.. hurt like crazy. Guess these old joints aren't what they used to be! 

And, here it is Tuesday morning and it still hurts. Any ideas folks? I've done the tylenol and heat. Anything else? 

Fall Leaves and Knee surgery

                                                            Yep, it's Friday, alright. 

                                                 And, time for Tanya's Willy Nilly Friday

1. What a week!! And, it isn't over yet. On Monday daughter Shirley and I went to Farmville, Va. for a lunch/see the fall leaves kind of trip. And, we were not disappointed one iota. Farmville (I'd never been) was a charming town. And, they were busy putting their Christmas decor up on the lamp post. 

We were there for the Fall leaves, folks.

2. We went to Charley's for lunch, just around the corner from the picture above. Delightful place to eat. It's in the Old Warehouse building.

3. We sat at the window where we could see the babbling brook.

4. We shopped at the Farmer's Daughter's just outside of Farmville. A favorite place of ours to find special little items.  I found this for the upcoming Christmas season.

5. Trip over... Tuesday I had a squasmo cell (I think I am spelling that correctly) cancer taken off the side of my knee. I thought 'oh it will take a day or two and I will be ready for anything'. NOT. It's taking more time to heal than I thought. But, the upside. It's gone. They got it all. 

This and That

Well, do I have five goodies for you today. Linking with Willy Nilly Friday and Five on Friday

1. Got some hearing aids this week. They are temporary until I get my permanent ones but I am hearing things I haven't heard in a very long time. So, yippee and hurrah.

2. I am also having physical therapy to help with my balance. Never thought about it but they say that my lack of hearing could also affect my balance. Who knew?

3. I may be a completely new person once all that work is over. Well, sort of new. I will always be me no matter what. But, isn't it lovely that we get to change ourselves inside and out - to some degree?

4. Speaking of lovely/pretty things... when I went to get my hair done this week, my hairdresser just had to show me this gorgeous hibiscus that she had blooming. I love hibiscus, they remind me of Hawaii and California, two places I've had the priviledge to live in for periods of time..

5. I started work on my 2016 picture scrapbook a couple days ago. I am always a year behind getting those things done!!  I have 22 scrapbooks completed already. Here is one page I designed. It's of our trip to the beach.

Medical Journal

                                            I have kept a medical journal since 1987 

I am finding it a very valuable resource when my brain won't remember facts from past illnesses. You know how the dr. makes you fill out all those forms when you go see him!!

Well, the little notebook got full. So, I went to the store. Bought a thicker notebook and sat down to copy all that info into the new book.

Lordy mercy. It's just amazing to see what you've lived through when it is there in black and white. 

Take 2002 for instance. My entries started out that year with doing pre-op to get a knee replacement. 

Seems I had lost 50% of my red blood cells. Now how does a person do that and not know it?

And, how does your doctor not know?

                                           So the search started to find the cause. 

I won't go into all the gross details but they found colon cancer. They cut out 2 feet of my colon and 15 lymph nodes. 

So, today, for Thankful Thursday I'm just baring my soul and sharing my medical journal with all of you. I am so thankful that my knee needed replaced......

                        or I might have died with something I didn't know I had. 

Sad Times

I've been distracted lately and with good reason. But, let me start at the beginning...

I was married for 60 years to a wonderful man. I miss him every single day.

After he was gone, I met a man who filled a spot in my heart, that spot being a lonely spot, the need for companionship. We have been together 5 1/2 years. He's a good man, loving, kind and quite the gentleman.

He had pneumonia last August and just never seemed to recover, kept going downhill. But, the blow came this past week. They found lung cancer cells in an enlarged lymph node in his right side. A PET scan is due next week.

I see him every day, not able really to move out of his chair, no longer interested in reading his newspaper or watching tv, eating very little, drinking almost nothing. It just makes me very sad and I am so concerned.

So, I am asking for prayers... please.

Thanks.

I'm Whining...

It's been a disturbing week. Let me tell you all about it. Oh geez, you say, just what I need.. someone else's problems. Sorry, just need a shoulder to cry on. And, I think the folks over at Willy Nilly Friday and Five On Friday have that shoulder!! Come over and visit them. They'd love it.

1. Nothing is worse than an aching tooth. Well, not that I can think of right now. And, that's what I have.

2. I had a good dentist and he up and retired on me. How could he do such a thing?

3. I thought the lively young lady who took over his practice would work out fine. Boy, was I mistaken.

4. Tuesday I had a crown removed and a temporary one put on so I can prepare for a tooth pulling. It wasn't hurting until she put that temporary one on. And, now my lip is all 'chewed' up and hurting like crazy. It was swollen but has gone down now. She kept me in the chair twice as long as needed. She had me confused about the upcoming tooth pulling. The assistant jammed the suction tube against my gum so hard I could feel it cutting (and believe me, the jaw was NUMB) and so much more. I was upset.

5. Children to the rescue. Shirley (she's the middle daughter) and Michael (my only son) put their heads together and made plans. Shirley got me in to see her dentist the next day!! Imagine that. I'd waited 2 1/2 months on the other one to see me. And, I now have a new dentist. 

               Now, I've gotten that off my chest. Aren't you glad I am through whining? 

                                 Okay, I am all ears now... You can unload on me. I will listen.

Growing Old Healthy (and gracefully, too)

I have, in the past, posted about Growing Old Gracefully and then I sort of stopped. Not that I have given up the idea of getting the most out of what life I will have allotted me. But, I recently realized that growing old gracefully isn't gonna mean a whole hill of beans if we aren't healthy. 

Now, I admit I have had health issues over the years (cancer, knee replacements, high cholesterol and now some blood pressure issues but hey, I am  coming up on my 83rd birthday (Jan. 6th) so I am not doing too badly. 

But, I decided that I need to grow old as healthy as I could be. So, I have adopted a healthy eating plan which includes consuming lots of green leafy vegetables,  colorful veggies, fruit and lots of beans of all kinds. Oh, and nuts, too. I'm either going to turn into a rabbit or a squirrel, not sure which. But, I do feel better, am more energetic and have lost a bit of weight. 

I don't miss my meat, sugar, sweet tea, white bread or dessert. The world may come to an end!! Me, without sweet tea? 

Just thought I'd give you a little update on where I am in my growing old stage! I am hoping to have my daughter Marie from It's a Colorful World blog join me in our quest to feel better. 

                   How about you? What's your favorite way to be healthier? I'd love to hear about it. 

It's Friday

         I slept late this morning. When I opened my eyes I jumped up, thinking...

                                             'I gotta get my Friday post up'

It is Friday and time to join in Willy Nilly Friday, Five on Friday and Fun Friday Favorites.

1. I slept late 'cause I stayed up late!!! It was the American Idol finale's fault. I wasn't going to miss that and I was not disappointed. I loved LaPorcha but I really wanted Trent to win it. And, he did!!
He was so emotional when he found out he won. I love that about a guy. He had worked hard and he was so appreciative.

2. Tomato season is coming up. And, I do love me some 'mater and mayo sandwiches, generously salted, of course. No lettuce! But, yesterday my doctor put me on a low-salt diet. Now, how am I supposed to eat tomatoes, potatoes and eggs without a ton of salt on them? HUH? You tell me. I am p***ed.

3. The pollen count is still very high here - oak, elm and something else (I can't remember what). So, I am staying in unless I have to go out for something. I wish that pollen would just go away.

4. Several years ago my s-i-l made a magnificent entertainment center. Well, times and technology change. Tv's got bigger, cassette tapes no longer used. So, he built another one. What to do with one of the old end units? They gave it to me for my office. I am thrilled. It made a huge difference and I am so much more organized now.

5. I am counting down the days... this time next month this is what I will be doing!

Pot Likker

                   Have you ever had any pot liquor (or pot likker, like they say it down South)? 

                                         You don't know what it is, you say? 

Here's the definition I found on Wikipedia: Collard liquor, also known as pot liquor, sometimes spelled potlikker^[1] or pot likker^[2] is the liquid that is left behind after boiling greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnipgreens); it is sometimes seasoned with salt and pepper, smoked pork or smoked turkey. Pot liquor contains essential vitamins and minerals including iron and vitamin C. Especially important is that it contains a lot of vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting.

photo from internet

Now, you know. We've been told all our lives that eating green vegetables is good for us. And, I know that to be a fact.

                                            I was a scrawny little kid (back in the early '40s). 

                                Mama took me to the doctor. He said, 'Give that girl some pot likker'.

So, Mama got out this old black iron pot, washed some turnip greens and put them and some water in that pot, and it cooked and it cooked and it cooked some more.


Guess what I got for supper that night. Turnip greens - in a bowl swimming in pot likker. It must have worked, too, for it wasn't long until my appetite picked up and I started growing outta my scrawny stage. 

Lord knows, I wish I had some of that 'scrawny' back!!!!
                                                                                                                 

Good Friday Links.

Today is Good Friday. I feel so blessed today. 

1. This is what has kept me mostly in bed this week. Yes.... pollen. I always get sick from it. A trip to the doctor, a z-pac and I am feeling some better. I am thankful for that. I stuck my head out the door to get this picture of the yellow mess that the rain has washed into the pond. Pollen... be gone!!!

2. My schedule was full this week. Guess what. I didn't make a single event. But, that's okay. Maybe next year the pollen season and Easter won't fall at the same time.

3. I am enjoying Google+. Finally figured out how to make it work for me. I may have to do a post about that one of these days. 

4. While I was lying in bed, feeling miserable, I entertained myself with thoughts of an upcoming 'mystery' trip. I've never taken a trip where I didn't know where I was going.
                                                            Have any of you? 
I think the fun of finally knowing where that tour bus is headed will be exciting. And, you know me, the camera is always at hand!! Lots of pictures I bet. 

5. Since I am linking to Willy Nilly Friday  today, I will take this opportunity to say what I think every single day... I am so blessed to have my fellow bloggers as my friends. I want to wish you a blessed Easter. 
                                                                         Enjoy life, have fun, keep in touch.
                                                                                                               

Friday Happenings

First of all, just let me say how thankful I am that we were missed by the tornadoes racing through Virginia Wednesday. And, so sad that a town I am familiar with (and used to live near) was badly hit. Three died in that town.

photo from WTVR online

Second....Did you know that 350 million pictures are uploaded to Facebook every single day? I get information like that through a trivia email thingy. I just wonder how many pictures are uploaded to Blogger every day? I do my share. hehe.

Third....I hate it when I have a day I don't feel well. But, I feel so blessed to be in a position that I can just go to bed until I feel better. A lot of people don't have that option.

I did another pastel the other day. It was ok, not good. But, practice makes perfect they say.

I couldn't resist taking a picture, through a window, of this cardinal sitting on a crepe myrtle branch. I'll be glad when I can get back out on my balcony!! But, brrr.... it's cold out there.

I am linking to Willy Nilly Friday and Five On Friday

My Weekly Five

The week is over. 

I wonder where it went! 

Do you ever forget which day it is? It really is easy for me because I have no set schedule, no work to go to, no kids to get off to school. So, Monday's pretty same as Friday and I would have forgotten that it is Willy Nilly Friday and Five On Friday if I had not seen that my daughter did her post for those memes. 

#1. Do you remember me wishing I'd get a letter from someone ever once in awhile? Well, just look what I got in the mail the other day!! The prettiest card (handmade) with the sweetest note inside from Debbie in NJ. I was so thrilled. Thanks, Debbie.

#2. They have been power-washing our 132 apartment sized building where I live. Hoses strung everywhere, men on ladders, water dripping. But, the outside looks absolutely brand new it is so clean. Now, if the men would just come inside my apartment and power-wash it!! hehe.

#3. I was so bad Wednesday. My friend, Leslie, invited me to see "Big Stone Gap" at the movie theatre only it was not playing so to drown our sorrow we went to a local restaurant and ordered their "to die for" bread sticks (dripping with butter and herbs) and a salad. Well, we did just have a salad but I bet there was 1,000 calories in each bread stick and we each had two!! 

#4. Early one morning I noticed a line extending from the top of the TALL cell tower all the way to the ground. And, there was a man working on the first level. At least he is tethered to something so if he falls, he won't fall far. You can see the osprey's nest on the top level, sitting empty, waiting for the return of Mr. and Mrs. Osprey in the spring.

#5. I had an appt. with a plastic surgeon on Monday. Have to have two cysts removed, one from my cheek and one from my neck. No big deal but there's a funny story here. My GP made an appt. with a surgeon at the hospital two blocks from my house. There were no instructions, and besides, I was curious about this person who would be cutting on my face. So, I did what curious people do.... I looked him up on the internet. There he was.... Dr. ******, rectal and colon surgeon.  A call to my GP got that straightened out. Wrong end, folks. 
                                                                                                          Have a great weekend.
                                                                                                                 

Hurricane Season

So, how's your week been? Mine? WET. 

Friday means it's time for Willy Nilly Friday and Five On Friday. So, let's all join in these girls memes and have some fun.

1. Last night the weatherman upgraded the hurricane news for us. I was getting ready to hunker down in my apartment for a Category 4 hurricane but now they are saying it will stay out to sea. Let's have a hip-hip hoorah for that news. 

2. Can anyone tell me what this plant is? It's rather large, growing in a pot outside the side door of the church I attend. But, so far I haven't been able to find out what it is. It looks like it has tiny little pumpkins on it!! Just in time for Halloween.

3. Doesn't this praying mantis look just like what it's called? 

A walking stick! 

4. Four of us here at the Commons hang out together and we have a lot of fun. Monday night we spent HOURS just chatting. Tuesday three of us went to see "The Intern" at the movie theatre. It was a good movie and I laughed and laughed. That's hard to do since movies nowadays are usually filled with violence and bad language. But, not this one! So cute, so entertaining.

5. It's allergy season again. Got up this morning with one eye all swollen and itchy. Last night the sinus pressure was so bad in one cheek that I thought I had a very bad tooth ache. With the changing of the seasons come pain for me and a lot of other 'hayfever' sufferers. POOH.

See you next Friday for five more 'interesting' facts about my week. 

New Finds and Trips to Take

It's time for two of my favorite memes. Willy Nilly and Five On Friday. Tanya at Willy Nilly is not available this week but she should be back next Friday so look for her then. Also I'd like to join in this week at Orange You Glad It's Friday

1. Late this afternoon I went out on the balcony to water my pepper plant. And, there were the geese. I had not seen them since early spring. I counted them.... 11 in all. I was so excited to see them but they swam a few minutes, came on land to nibble in the grass and were gone. They'll be back, I just don't know when.

2. After 2 weeks of having some pain under my shoulder blade in back, the pain moved around to my front. Okay, what was going on? So, I made a trip to see my doctor. It was shingles. And, I had the shingles shot, too. This is not fun.

3. I am counting the days until I go to New York to see my youngest daughter and her family. We had so much planned. Wonder how much the shingles will hamper my sightseeing and visiting. She said we could go to Whole Foods. I don't live near one in Va. This is a picture of oranges I took when I was up there before. Don't they look like healthy eating? 

4. And these are some of her beautiful roses.

5. I was very interested to hear that there has been a new discovery at Jamestown. Seems that the Catholics weren't welcome in that English settlement but they found a grave with a tiny silver box which had been sitting on top of a casket. Inside was some fragments of human bones and some holy water. If you want to read more about this important historical find click HERE.
                                                                                                                   

Awake Early

The tulip poplar blooming at The Commons

I am joining Trees n Bushes a new meme (for me anyway) Come on over and let's check them out.

I've been 'out of pocket' so to speak for a few days. Nothing like sleeping your life away!! And, it was totally unwanted. Now, if I had wanted to sleep for days on end, that would be another thing. But, I did not ask for this.

Okay, you ask, what's going on? Just having a tooth pulled should not be such a big production, right? So, I am a big baby.. had to have that tooth out and I asked to be put to sleep. I had one out last year, was put to sleep, but by the 3rd day I was out shopping, going to Panera Bread for lunch. This time was vastly different.

It seems I was over-sedated. Did you know that could happen? I am sensitive to anethesia and do not wake up readily. This time, I did not want to wake up for days. Have no recollection of the first two days after that ole doc got ahold of me. You know something? That is scary!

So, I am gonna have to grow up and quit dreading the dentist. No more being put to sleep. It just 'ain't worth it'. 

On to other things....

Did you see the moon setting this morning? It was such a pretty sight. There's something about the quiet of an early morning, with the moon hanging over the tree tops, that just puts your heart at peace. You've made it through another night of rest. You are ready to tackle another day. What adventures await you? What blessings will you encounter? It's a special time to reflect and be thankful.

Friday Randoms

          " Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day."

                                               song I am thinking of this morning.

1. Yesterday wasn't so beautiful. I opted to be put to sleep during a jaw tooth extraction so I was pretty miserable all day. Not from absence of tooth but more from what he put me to sleep with.

I was unbalanced all day, both on my feet and in my head. Felt nauseous off and on. Slept a whole lot. But... it's Friday, the day after. Jaw not hurting, I can walk and think much better. 

I say "it's a beautiful morning, it's a beautiful day". And that awful old tooth is gone!! Yippee.

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.  Earlier in the week I took a stroll around our apartment building. Residents who want them can have garden plots. And, even though it's early in the season every spot is filled with veggie and flower plants. One plot was from last year and is already filled with blooms and nice, large plants.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.
             

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3. I was thrilled to finally get my book 'Springtime in Magnolia' onto ebooks on Amazon this week for those of you who have Kindles. 

Springtime in Magnolia

Nov 7, 2014

 by Willie Latane Barton

Paperback

$11.44$13.95

Get it by Monday, May 4

More Buying Choices

$11.44used & new(10 offers)

---

Kindle Edition

$4.99

Auto-delivered wirelessly

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4. I am getting a few hummingbirds at my feeder now. Camera never seems to be close enough when they appear for me to get a picture but, rest assured, I will

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5. I have to say that I have the upmost respect and admiration for the Mom who waded into a group of protestors (in Baltimore) to pull her teen age son out, smacking him and giving him a 'piece of her tongue'. I just wish that more Moms (of any color) would do the same. 

Friday is fun day because

1. I am linking to Tanya's Willy Nilly

2. I am linking to Friday Fragments

3. I am linking to Amy's Five on Friday