My Weblog

Coffee klatch.......

So, come on in. Let's have a cup (or two) of coffee together. Mine is flavored with chocolate mint syrup. I don't love it, but I have these bottles of flavored syrups.......... I bought them over a period of months when I first decided that flavored and powdered coffee creamers could no longer be a part of my life because of the hydrogenated fats and other stuff I couldn't pronounce contained therein. I knew along the way some of them would not top my list of faves. Chocolate mint does not. But, I WILL use it up and I'll learn to at least like it. 

Tax: I have a return to print and assemble and another to get delivered. Delivered two yesterday. I guess I should explain that I am not actually "delivering" them. Rather my fabulous clients are picking them up. Most of them would have picked them up anyway, but some are going out of their way to accommodate me which I REALLY appreciate. I still do not want to try to drive across town with that big heavy oxygen tank and I would still be very unsure of myself trying to make the trip without it. Lord, bless these understanding clients and grant me favor with them.........

Design: I have been toiling away on a kit for Earth Day. I really like what I've come up with, though I admit I'd like to add a bit more to it. I've actually done about everything I can think of to inspire myself to choose another element or two and it hasn't worked. It's not that it NEEDS more. All the basics are there. And, I'm not the kind of person who will add a safety pin and a bunch of staples just to increase the element count. Somehow, whatever gets added would have to look like it belongs. So far, I seem to have already added about everything I can think of........ So, maybe it's time to work on alphas.

House: Woe is me, today is trash day and my can is NOT out by the curb. I don't really have any containers in the house that are overflowing, but it just seems wrong to let a trash day roll by without getting rid of some stuff. 

I keep chipping away at the mess I created. Yeah, most of it is my fault. Trying to survive in this house for weeks while I was too sick to do anything about it or even care. Well, I care now, but I am still not strong enough to make a lot of progress.

The kitchen is improving. I'm down to cleaning corners and trying to put away things that are difficult to put away when you're that sick. 

I cleared the dining room table yesterday. It was way past time. Unfortunately, there are still items in the dining room I haven't quite decided what to do with. But, having an uncluttered table beats doing nothing at all. 

My replacement EHD arrived. I was silly and only ordered one. I really should have ordered 2--one as my working drive and one for backup. The one I WAS using for backup (which will now be my working drive for a little while) is pretty darn full. The new backup drive is 5TB. It will take me a while to fill that one up. In the meantime, I am working to see what I can delete off the "working" drive. Let's face it, I am NEVER going to use all those freebie Quick Pages I collected years ago.........

The desk is not looking good, but I hope to improve it some today. Filing, putting stuff away. Of course, it is all a-jumble because I had the computer worked on last week. Every pile of papers I'd sorted out, some current bills to pay, some paid bills to file, some current mail, etc. has now been shoved together again. I look at it and it's hard for me not to despair, but I just have to keep at it. I had it looking good before the end of the year with continual daily work and I can do it again........

I might actually decide to dust in the living room today. It needs it and that is not too physically demanding. I should be able to manage it. Maybe, if I do just a little bit at a time, I can get the carpet vacuumed too. 

I have kind of decided to walk into each room today and figure out something to do in there that will make a difference. There is no shortage of stuff to do; just a shortage of focus on my part.........

With regard to my health........ I have no clue as to where I stand with my lungs, other than to report that they've been prayed over and, by the word of God, they were healed 2000 years ago at the cross. Still dealing with swollen feet, though yesterday was kinda funny. I kept losing my right slipper. I've been wearing these slippers since I came home from the hospital. They've been tight, but less tight than other stuff I tried to make work. Yet, all of a sudden, I kept losing that right slipper. I was getting pretty frustrated with that phenomenon until I finally realized that if the darned slipper weren't a bit loose, there is no way it could have fallen off. At that point, my frustration turned to celebration as I realized that, at least, the right foot is becoming more "normal". Well, I've never known Jesus to do things by halves. He's not going to make my right foot "normal" and leave me with a swollen left foot. And He's not going to take away all sounds of fluid in my left lung and leave me with new sounds of fluid in my right lung. That's not the way He works. So, celebration time.

While I was clearing junk off the dining room table yesterday, I ran across a medical receipt. Would you be interested to know that my first trip to Urgent Care was on 2/9/15, almost 2 full months ago. And I'd been fighting it for several weeks by then........ Well, I've been told that "faith" and "patience" are the power twins; guess we're testing that theory this time! 

So, that's about it for now. I picked out a bright tablecloth to put on the dining room table and I'm going to go get that taken care of. And, after I laid down last night, I was blessed with an idea of where one thing that has been lurking on the table REALLY belongs, so I can put that away too. While I'm doing all this stuff, YOU be BLESSED today!

Narrow Escape.......

I've been feeling kinda weird all day. I actually went back to bed and slept til noon. I don't ordinarily like to do stuff like that, but I've slept so little of late, it seemed reasonable. When I got up I took my blood pressure and it was just a bit high, something I expected as I had not had any morning meds. Took a pill and just a few minutes later, my blood pressure crashed. LOW. Very low. I immediately started doing everything I could think of..........I smoked a cigarette; I drank a cup of coffee; and I started researching "low blood pressure". When I saw the word "dehydration" I knew I had the answer. So, pouring on the water....... Took a potassium pill and skipped the lacix. So far I've skipped the antibiotics too but I think I'll have to do something about that shortly. 

So, treating pneumonia is on the back burner til later. No later than tomorrow, but later. In the meantime, I have to drink enough water to make my eyes float......

Another one........

Here I am, wide awake. I've been to bed and managed an hour of sleep. And now I can't get back to sleep. I really do not like this! I have some pills I could take and I'm pretty sure they would knock me out. But, I just feel my poor body has been through the mill these last weeks/months and I hate the idea of putting one more chemical into it. So, for now, I'll try to amuse myself. 

At the moment, I'm doing my "cold" thing. It's at least 76 degrees in here, but I'm cold. I think it's probably because there is no "meat" on my bones any more. I have had weeks of lousy appetite which I blame on the antibiotics. I just hate the way EVERYTHING tastes right now. I will be SO grateful when I get to stop taking antibiotics and can finally (I hope) wash that taste out of my mouth. I counted and decided I've been on antibiotics pretty much for 33 days now........ Ugh! With all the medication, I am looking kind of shriveled up. My skin appears thin and wrinkled. Not my idea of a glamorous look. Who needs glamorous? I'd settle for healthy! I have no idea how much weight I've lost, but I'd bet I could give my high school graduate self a run for her money. I DO know that my shorts with drawstring waists are all requiring considerable cinching up to keep them from slipping down around my hips or worse. 

I've been meaning to tell you about another of God's special little blessings. My hedges are trimmed! I had been hoping my yard guys would get the job done. However, they are in and out of here so fast that that sure didn't happen. However, I have a sweet client who is in his 80's and who loves to garden. He and his wife showed up here a few days ago with some manual hedge clippers. He clipped and she picked up the clippings and bagged them. They easily donated a good 1-2 hours to the job. And it looks so much better. The hedges were so overgrown that you kind of felt like you needed to come up the walkway sideways. But no more! Is that cool or what? I sure appreciate it! How do you adequately thank people for that kind of thoughtfulness? 

So, my meeting with my client today went well. This lady has been my buddy/friend/client for a lot of years. For many years, she had a key to my house and came and went as she pleased. But, she stays very busy so these days, I don't get to see her often. Do you remember that I figured out that I could quit worrying about needing to replace my Toyota van? She is driving a 19-year-old Toyota and it has 260,000 miles on it. So, I think I'm on the right track, not being too worried about replacing my 8 year old van with just 64,000 miles, LOL.

My new EHD arrived today. The last "new" one I had crashed the other night and it was just 9 months old. It is dead and won't even show up on "My Computer" when plugged in. In the meantime, I am taking stock of what I have backups for. I'm not in bad shape except for the work I've done in February and March. I guess if you're really sick and doctors are telling you you might die, it's okay not to run backups. Of course, I really DO mind losing completed kits and kits that just need a bit more to be done, but I've decided to give myself some grace on the subject.

Okay, I think I am going to go fix myself a cup of hot coffee. It's counter-productive with regard to going back to sleep, but maybe it will warm me up.........

 

A different kind of 'good Friday'.............

Well, today the blood oxygen % was at 92 or 93 all day except for one brief moment when I saw 95% on the meter. The visiting nurse was here with her stethoscope. She said she heard some wheezing from the right lung but no "crackles" or wheezing from the left (the one we prayed for.....). My chest is a little tight tonight, but that might be because I had the doors open til well after dark. If it reads steady at 95% I will start reducing the concentration of oxygen back down to where it was supposed to be.

I spent most of the day on design. Making good progress. I now have the full # of papers and the # of elements is increasing. Good to make progress.

I tried an experiment today. I took the potassium supplement and a lacix. I held off on the antibiotic (the sulfa compound). Sure enough, the nausea faded. Then I took a sulfa pill and the nausea returned. I did a baked potato in the microwave and couldn't eat but half of it before I was ready to grab the trash can for emergency use......... I discovered I still had some leviquin left and thought I might substitute those for the sulfa compound. However, in the meantime, I ran into an article which gives some grave warnings about things like renal damage and neurological problems as side effects of leviquin. So, I guess I'll stay nauseated for a few more days. 

In the meantime, the visiting nurse is going to call the doc and try to get the scripts refilled. We'll see how that goes. I talked with her with regard to some of my doubts with regard to the treatment I received. It makes no more sense to her than it does to me. I thought perhaps she could shed some light on my questions, but she's as mystified as I.

So, this is about 12 hours later.  Hours of not being able to sleep, and then, finally getting enough sleep to "make do". I have a client at 11AM. Thankfully, she is as much an old friend as a client so it will be a relaxed session. I have a couple of clients who have called with additional information I needed, so those returns can be printed out and assembled. I have just finished uploading the kit of the week to the store at ACOT. So, I'm on a roll for the day.

Now I will have to stop the presses and prepare for another "search and destroy" mission. Seems these weeks and weeks and weeks of antibiotics have resulted in their usual effect and I need some medication now to take care of that! Will it ever end? Yes, of course it will! Just not today, LOL. 

 

Bread crumbs..........

When God is in the mix, odd things happen. So, yesterday was a tough day. I kept having to push the concentration of oxygen up in order to keep my blood oxygen level where I wanted it. I wasn't looking for perfection, but I needed it at a certain level minimum. And that was a real challenge. However, sign from God............ woke up this morning (the 3rd day) and the reading without adjustment for the night was at 90. Now, that's too low by medical standards, but that's higher than anything I saw yesterday. And, just now, briefly, I saw 95 which is most docs minimum target........

The respiration level is good and my blood pressure seems to be a bit on the low side! I haven't had LOW blood pressure for at least 15 years.......... 

What is this miracle God has wrought? I dunno but, so far, I admit I like it. I am not saying it's back to normal, but a big turnaround this morning. May it continue.........

3rd time's the charm?

So before multiple computer catastrophes, I had this really cool kit going. A handful of elements and 14 papers. And before that, I had done some of this stuff in a different color palette. Then, I decided I didn't like the original color palette so I redid a bunch of stuff in a different, second palette. Now, I will try to re do, from memory, what was robbed yesterday. Disheartening? You bet. I just hope that each version is better than the last...........

Shortly, I will pull up my big girl panties and plug in my back up drive and see what I have left. I know, as far as design goes, there WILL be some stuff left. I also know I will lose some. Just so grateful for whatever backup I have. I know I had a food/kitchen kit in process and a "money" kit both of which will be gone now. The "money" kit was basically finished but it no longer exists. Last night I kept thinking of the thousands and thousands of dollars worth of CU stuff which lived on the EHD that got killed. It was a tough pill to swallow.

I don't know what else I'll get done today. It is at times like this that I tend to hyper-focus. I will have to do something with this desk as it has been turned all topsy turvy whilst the computer was being worked on. I hate that. Starting the desk sort all over again...... But, I have no choice so it's time to just button my lip and put my head down and do it. I am sure I'll be visiting a few websites, trying to download stuff again.......... I had a tax return all printed out and ready to assemble, but only the good Lord knows where in this mess that might be now. Let's just hope I don't have to waste time, paper, and ink reprinting it.........

Today is a keynote day in my recovery. A prophecy was given that "In 3 days, it will be gone and you will be well". Well, today is the 3rd day. The last two days have been difficult but fighting the good fight of faith usually works that way. So, I am anxious to see what today brings. I will tell you that at this moment in time, my blood oxygen level is the best I've seen in days. I'd say that bodes well and is a definite faith builder. 

Well, if this post is somehow subdued, you'll understand, right? I have mucho work to do. YOU be BLESSED today.

Just when you think it can't get any worse............

rest assured Satan has something up his sleeve. I was trying to save some stuff from Photoshop onto my EHD. I got it all saved and my next step was to reboot the machine. However, somehow in the reboot, the computer lost the ability to read the EHD. However, I was able to see files by going in through the File command in other programs. Then Mr. Fixit got involved. He talked me into taking the hard drive out of its case and mounting it in the computer as an internal. And he absolutely guaranteed me nothing would happen to my data in the process. Well, guess what? It appears now that the only way the data is recoverable is through some computer geek somewhere with fancy equipment. 

Next he started messing with my secondary internal hard drive and managed to reformat it. All data on there is lost as well. 

It really hasn't been quite the kind of day I had hoped for. The best I can say is that I managed to keep my mouth shut after both catastrophes. I think if I had uttered a single solitary sound, it would have unleashed some pretty upset/nasty stuff......... Glad that didn''t happen. I don't want to be an embarrassment to my Daddy in heaven........

Provision..........

First, I confess to being cranky and judgmental. Remember the visiting nurse who was so upset that I wasn't wearing the oxygen while I was cooking dinner on a gas stove. I admit, I am now ever so grateful that I kept my mouth shut and kept my temper under control. Those two things together are not necessarily easy when you feel like you've been run over by a truck. 

Let me tell you now that that lady is a spirit-filled, born again, faith talkin', faith walkin' Christian. Now what could I need more in my life than that right now (other than a couple hundred thousand dollars)? And, God provided her before I knew why I needed her, LOL.

The process of overcoming this mess that's on me continues. My feet and legs still swell, but they are less swollen than they were. And, in general, the "rash" is no longer visible. Wherever you are, you will undoubtedly hear me shouting when the swelling is completely gone. 

I bought an inexpensive pulse-oxi meter. I am carefully monitoring the oxygen level in my blood stream as well as keeping an eye on my blood pressure. The doc (really a PA) who showed up here Monday doubled the potassium and the Lacix. So, it's not real easy to get anything done unless it's something I can accomplish at breakneck speed on the way to the restroom. 

I am still trying to get some sleep and it is still not working very well. They offered to take me off the sulfa drugs and put me back on Leviquen, but the price of the Leviquen is a deterrent. I'm going to try to hang with the sulfa stuff til this prescription is used up. I've used half; 5 days worth to go (including today's doses). So, I sleep an hour here and an hour there as best I can. Maybe doing that will also help control the swelling???? I hope so. 

So, I think I am going to have to resort to having food (groceries) delivered. I am still not in a position to go marching through a grocery store. But the 'quick and easy' food supply is dwindling. On my last "search and destroy mission to Walgreen's, I grabbed some milk, and I intended to grab a couple of other things, but decided I needed to beat feet out of there in order to make it home safely. I don't wear the oxygen on these "missions" and the oxygen level is still not what it ought to be.......... I thought I might have to get some advice on how to get that done, but I started researching web sites for the grocery stores that we have around here and discovered Vons delivers. I even found an online coupon to get my first delivery free! 

I have lost an EHD. That is a literal statement, not a figurative one (I hope). I was in the kitchen heating up some soup when I heard the little tone that Windows makes when you attach or detach a piece of equipment to/from the machine. Then I heard frantic skittering of doggy paws. I have a notion someone got tangled in the cord......... Would probably be Punkin as under the desk is pretty much unexplored territory for Parker. Anyway, the EHD cord is still plugged into the computer but I don't see the EHD anywhere. I hope I don't have to get down and crawl around on the floor, but I'm betting I will indeed have to do just that to find my "lost" EHD. 

I started a new kit. The theme is one I don't know a whole lot about but I guess I'll learn as I research, right? Learning is good. Anyway, I have just a handful of elements right now and I still need 2 papers. The problem being, everything is saved on the "lost" EHD. That might slow me down a little, LOL.....

I've been working hard on tax returns and am nearly caught up. I have two to assemble and then I am up to date through Monday. Monday I had another dropped off........ I really need to be able to go to the bank but I think the only way I can do that is with that darned "portable" oxygen tank that weighs a lot to be lifting it into and out of the van. Don't have this particular mystery figured out but something will come to me........... 

Well, that's it for now. Hope and pray you are having a BLESSED DAY.

 

For those of you who like to worry,

I'm here, not there. I am being intentionally quiet right now. Just hang with me, okay? In the meantime, continued prayers are much appreciated.

Free maybe?

Well, the yard guys are here. And have been greeted with the news that there are 2 leaks in the system. They found one of them all by themselves. And with the amount of water that one is using, that one should have been found weeks and weeks ago. And each time I tried to tell them about the other, they wanted to tell me someone was working on it now. Well, it's in plain sight and no one is working on it; they just wanted to talk over me...........

Anyway, the guy who owns the company usually takes the position that stuff like this has to be his fault since his guys are the only ones who bump into sprinkler heads/pipes, etc. I'm thinking I may not get away with that today as both problems involve valves..........I'm at the point where I don't care because I am already out a lot of money for wasted water........

I'm torqued about the leak in the front. They must have sloshed through the water to mow, but never did anything about it. I am most likely the poor guy's least profitable customer, but he still has a responsibility to fix this stuff and not shine it on. And, had he done what he should have done, it sure would have saved me a lot of money..........

I went to bed with an ax to grind last night. An ax about not being able to sleep. I actually slept about 2 hours in the bed. Then I ended up waking up, but I sat in a chair, with my feet up on the coffee table and snoozed for about 4 more hours. I guess we can call that sleep........ Not the best quality sleep, but something beats nothing. Anyway, that is how it happened that I was here, "lying in wait" for the yard guys when they got here! 

There is no way 6 hours of sleep of any quality last night could make up for 3 nights of about an hour each. However, it sure beats another hour! So, perhaps I will be a bit more active today. I sure hope so.

Just finished up a return and got it properly filed. I have more printed, waiting to be reviewed and assembled. And more not printed but complete. Besides answering doorbells and phones, getting everything ready will be my priority for today. I get weird when there's a backlog. So, I'll headquarter out here today and see what I can get done, maybe interspersing some work in other rooms as I go.

The tree trunks are still with me. Apparently 6 hours of being off my feet with them propped up at least at body level wasn't enough to accomplish anything significant. Sooner or later this mess is going to give and I'll have overcome it. In the meantime, I'm going to try to just roll with it.

YOU be BLESSED today.