Thursday!

The week goes by much faster when it starts out with a day off! I saw Dr. Furey Monday about my foot, and he ordered an xray, but said he doesn't really think there's a fracture. By the time I saw him, the foot was feeling much better, and only painful to the touch in one small area. I ended up waiting til Tuesday and having the xray on my way home from work.

After seeing the doc, we went to Applebee's- Monday is broccoli cheese soup day! Then I went into Target for the first time since I got my new knee. I did fine walking around the store. 

Last night was Camden County School Nurses Assn. We had dinner courtesy of one of the drug companies, and an inservice on Glycemic Control. It was mainly boring, but it was good for 1.5 CEU's. I was home right before 9 pm.

Manda and Ben get in tomorrow night around 7.30. Ralph is going to the Amish Market to get dinner for them. Tonight I have to put sheets on the bed. I already raked off the kitchen table. There was about 2 weeks of mail that has to be sorted, so I put it in a bag and I'll go thru it while I watch TV. 

Saturday we leave for W. Va. for David and Juliette's wedding! Manda and Ben will ride down with Steph and Dan, and back with us. Heather and Ed will come down on Sunday, so that Ed and Jeanne will only have the kids for one night. 

I stopped at Saladworks and got us salads, which we had for dinner and we each had enough left for lunch tomorrow.

It's been getting so cold at night! We have the windows closed, the heat set at 68, and the electric blanket is on the bed. Every morning Cliffie runs to the porch door. We let her out, she goes on the porch and realizes that it's cold out there, and comes back in. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Brrr!

All of a sudden it's Fall! We knew today was going to be in the 50's and dreary, so we closed all but the bedroom window last night, and that got closed in the middle of the night. We turned on the heat for the first time today, and I put the electric blanket on the bed. As Ralph says, Cliffie will never get out of bed now!

Somehow I hurt my left foot. It's swollen so much that I had to buy different shoes- my slides won't go on my foot! I've left a message for my doc asking for a referral for an xray. I'll get that done tomorrow, since we're off for Columbus Day. It also hurts to walk on it. 

I need to find out what's up with the foot, because next weekend we go away! David and Juliette's wedding is next Sunday. Manda and Ben get in on Friday evening, and Saturday they'll ride down to W. Va. with Steph and Dan, and Ralph and I will go by ourselves. We're all staying at the same hotel. Heather and Ed will come down on Sunday. We're all coming back up on Monday, and Manda and Ben fly out Monday evening. We all took personal days for Monday. 

My new knee is doing great! I've cut the tylenol way back, to one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and that's mainly for the old knee. I also use the cane for the old knee, although right now I'm using it for the sore foot, also. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

It's October!

September sure whizzed by! The weather has been gloriously cool and clear, til yesterday. It started raining, and got humid, and foggy. all of which make my new knee stiff. This morning I limped into work, following the aid that had major foot surgery this summer and is in a boot. A teacher limped in after us. Even getting out of the car I have to twist more than usual. 

October has Mom Florence's actual 90th birthday, Charlotte's birthday, and Justin's birthday. 

When I saw the cardiologist who did my ablation, he cut my beta blocker dose in half, and the last week in October I can discontinue it altogether. I can't believe how much better I feel with the dose cut! A beta blocker makes you tired all the time- everything is an effort. 

In September I read 13 books- 2 from the library and 11 on the Kindle or Nook. I also continued crocheting baby blankets for various babies who will be arriving soon, or have recently arrived. 

This weekend is a three day weekend, for Columbus Day. I'm looking forward to sleeping in. 

And so it goes! 
Holly

Weekend!

It's been such a nice day- fall feeling. It's going to get chilly tonight. Toast is visiting for the evening. Steph and Dan are having a party, and Toast gets anxious around a lot of people. Whiskey is very sociable, and goes to everyone. She's better off here, curled up with Ralph. 

I'm getting back into the work routine. Other than the part about getting up at 6.30, in the dark, I like it. We're getting in a bunch of new kids. At the end of the week, Health Services was notified that we all had to enter the doc's order dates on the med kids onto the website where we document meds. And it of course had to happen within two days. Since I was one of the few who knew how to do it, Health Services had anyone having issues call me to walk them thru it. It was easy enough to help, and it earned me some brownie points! 

I just finished another baby afghan. It seems like there's a bunch of pregnancies this year! I've been using various colors of varigated yarn, and making big granny squares, so they work up fast and look cute. And they require no concentration. 

Ralph and I still each have a cough, but are feeling much better this week.

I read a "real" book from the library, and it felt so strange after reading on the Kindle and Nook all summer. The new TV season has started. I've only DVR'd two new shows- nothing else looks like I want to be bothered with it. 

When I was at the cardiologist a couple weeks ago, he cut down the beta blocker by half. In six weeks, I can stop it altogether. It's absolutely amazing how much better I feel! The beta blocker made me tired all the time, and everything felt like it was such an effort. I'll be so glad to stop it altogether, and I haven't had any palpitations or episodes of afib since the ablation. Mom was at the cardiologist, and the EKG lady told her that they have so many people with afib now! 

Two milestones- I can come up the steps one foot per step, after years of putting two feet on a step. I have to hold the railing and the cane to do it, but it feels good. And the shower chair has been put in the basement- I took a standing up shower for the first time since my knee surgery. That felt so good! 

And it's time to change the laundry!
Holly

Another Sunday morning

Good grief, I can't believe I've gone so long without posting! School has started, and I'm back into the work routine. Getting up at 6.30 is the hardest part of the day. The kids at school are wonderful, and I really enjoy them. The staff is pleasant, our teacher in charge is an angel, and the physical plant is very nice. 

Last Monday I started feeling lousy, and coughing and congested. I called out from work Tuesday, and made a doctor appt. I already had a routine ortho followup visit scheduled. I was so short of breath that I asked Ralph to drive me! Ortho was concerned about a PE, and was glad I was on the way to medicine. He was happy with my knee progress. 

Dr. Furey didn't see any signs of a PE, and diagnosed me with viral bronchitis. He ordered robitussin DM, fluids, and rest, and stay home. Tuesday night and Wednesday passed in a blur of sleeping and not eating. By Thursday night, my friend Barbara could here me wheeze on the phone, and ordered me to call the doc. I did, and he sent me for a chest xray, which was negative. He had me take a hit of Ralph's inhaler, which helped the wheeze. 

By mid afternoon Friday I was feeling like I might live after all. By Saturday morning I felt human, tho still tired. I hate that I used up 4 sick days on being sick, but I was so down for the count that I had no choice. 
I'm still tired today, but I know I'll make it to work tomorrow. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Week One Survived

Our first week of school is done! Staff went in on Tuesday, and the kids came in yesterday. It was so humid all week that I felt like my head was going to explode, and walking made me want to cry. Toast and I were hobbling around like we were 100 years old. Today was the first day that it's almost decent out. 

I had PT after work Wednesday, and the therapist said that all the patients said the same thing about being especially achey. I almost cancelled, and was glad I didn't- I felt a lot better after the session. Monday I have a re-eval. It's been 10 weeks and a couple days since the surgery. 

Today is Steph and Dan's last full day in Portland. They'll be home tomorrow, which means they'll take their dogs home! Yay! I love the dogs, but 8 days is a lot. They're still afraid of my cane, which gets old real fast. 

Amazon announced yesterday that they have added a bunch of new kinds of Kindles. One is a tablet, to give Apple some competition. There's also a faster Fire, and a new lighted ereader. All nice things, but I'm not ready to order any. My Fire is less than a year old, my baby kindle is only 3 months old, and I love my iPad. 

One week from today Manda and Ben will be home for the weekend! They'll be here for Mom Florence's 90th birthday brunch party. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Good Grief, it's September!

It's so humid out that it's like walking thru soup. I think we're supposed to get some rain, courtesy of Tropical Storm Isaac. The dogs are here, while Steph and Dan visit Manda and Ben. They've been really good so far. Ralph fenced off a big play area for them, so we don't have to take them on the leashes, they can just wander. Whiskey loves to just lay in the grass in the sun, and Toast wanders like a tourist. 

My pedicure left me with a little infection of my toe- I remember her saying there was an area that was ingrown, and she clipped it. I saw my family doc on Friday, and because of the new knee, he put me on an antibiotic for 5 days. It's looking a lot better today. 

August was a reading month- I read 23 books, all on the Nook or Kindle! I haven't read a physical book since June. 

September has birthdays! Linda G is the 3rd, her sister Pat is the 15, Eddie will be 9 on the 23, and Ralph is the 21st. Roseanne is the 6th, and Barbara and Sharon are on the 9th. Mikey is the 13th.

Heather, Ed and the kids brought Honey Rose up to meet her cousins yesterday. We were laughing trying to take pix, because no one stood still for two seconds! We took them outside to play. Toast didn't want to be bothered, so Ralph held her. Honey was jump on Whiskey, then take off running, with him chasing her. There was some wrestling, and a lot of falling down. Then she was trying to stand in the water dish. After a half hour, all the dogs were exhausted. 

We had dinner at the home of our friends Barbara and John last night. Their PC is at death's door, and they got a laptop, so Ralph hooked up a wireless router for them, and they fed us. A great bargain for all concerned! Their yellow lab, Chloe looks the way Honey will in a couple of months. We had a nice visit and sympathized with each other about having to return to work on Tuesday. 

We skyped with Manda and Steph last night, while they were waiting for Dan and Ben to get back from the PAX con, where they were geeking out. Steph wanted to see the dogs, and she confused Whiskey- he kept looking around for her. 

I went thru a huge stack of catalogs and magazines, and pulled out a few patterns. Heather took the cooking magazines, which she'll read and then take to work. I took the quilting magazines to Barbara, and the catalogs can be recycled. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly