Good bye and good riddance

2016 cannot end fast enough. Just about 5 hours left, and that's too much.

In addition to all the horrid things that have occurred, yesterday topped them all.

G was getting ready to go out hunting when a stranger appeared at our door.  He introduced himself as one of my SIL's hunters.  He said he thought something was wrong at her house, so he went in.
He found her on the floor in the hall and she was unresponsive.

She was dead.  And it appeared she had been dead for a couple of days.  Since she lives alone - out here at the end of the earth, no one knew.

We spent the afternoon/ evening there.  We had EMS, the sheriff, the Justice of the Peace, and the mortuary there.

We tried to find her good for nothing drug head son.  We located his father who knew where he was.  They came up about 10pm.  We had left, but G went back just before they got there.  And I wanted to tell one of the hunters something, and G didn't answer his phone.  So I was there also when they arrived.

We both left again about 11.  The hunters had built a fire and were around it.  They said the drug head came out of the house waving a piece of paper that was the will and dancing around.  Later he yelled this is mine, all mine.  He didn't care that his mother had just died.

They ransacked the house and grabbed anything that they could take to be pawned.  They were totally drunk - Drug head and his girlfriend each had a gallon of vodka they were carrying around with them,  DH looked at one of the hunters and said "this is f***ing over, and you are f***out of here.

Those hunters treated SIL like she was their mother.  They did so much for her.  The one guy was absolutely traumatized by his discovery.  Another had said he was going to take the dog and the two cats.  Druggie managed to get the dog away and sped off (drunk and drugged up) into the night with SIL's truck packed to the maximum.  The hunter asked about the cats and he replied
"F**k them, leave the door open and let the coyotes get them"

I was reeling from just the discovery, but when I learned of Druggie's behavior this morning, I was physically ill.

This year needs to end.  NOW.  I just had to vent.  I cannot believe anyone would act like this.  Guess I was really wrong.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

To all, Happy Holidays.  To so many that greeting is not correct, but I grew up in a neighborhood that had a large Jewish population.  So we celebrated the Christian as well as the Jewish holidays!  Now the country is more diverse, and there are other holidays.  I saw it well put when someone says they say "Happy Holy-Days."  I like that!

Many things have transpired around here.  All the running around shopping and the like. One of the greatest was being able to get together with two old/new friends.  We met and became close when we all attended our previous church.  When you add our girls and their kids, there were 13 of us for a lunch meeting.  It was a grand time.

When my labs came back from my physical, all were really good - with one exception.  My TSH was out of limits, but the T3 and T4 were good.  While not critical, there is something causing that number to be wonky, so I had an ultrasound done on my thyroid.  With the holidays, I don't really know when to expect the results, but I am curious about those!

Hope your holidays are wonderful.  We, as usual, will be headed off again for the SSB.  Am I thrilled - no. But ...

See you next year.

Blown away

First - let me apologize for the red highlight in yesterday's post.  I don't know how it got there, and I surely didn't know how to get rid of it!  So you had to read through it.  I am so sorry.

Last night was wonderful.  Once a band mom - always a band mom, even if you are a grandmom!

I am trying to find a picture of the whole beginning band, but I would bet there are close to 100 kiddos in that band.  I showed my son (who was band from 6th to 12th grades) the picture.  He was also amazed at the pure number of kids.  He went to the same schools by the way.

We got there a little early, and the director was working with the band.  They had only had one rehearsal as a full band prior to last night's concert.  So he was running through some spots with the band.  They sounded so good.  Now there were a few blip notes - a trombone and a trumpet that I could pick out, but overall they were absolutely great!

It made me so happy to see that the music (band really - haven't seen the choir) program is doing so well.  I urged Reagan to stay with it, and he said he would because he liked it!  Great news.  I really hope he stays like this.

Other than that, all is about the same.  With the arrival of one package, which is really a birthday present for my daughter on the 18th my shopping is done.

G is going to be able to go back to the SSB with our son.  He is going to be able to do some hunting again.  He hasn't had any venison in a couple of years.  To those who don't like hunting, we do not trophy hunt at all.  In fact, we call our son the "mercy killer."  Almost every deer he has ever killed is one who had a serious injury.  We have so many deer on our place, and it is a semi-arid climate which means forage is often (too often) scarce.  We have more deer die from malnutrition and/or old age than are ever taken.  And all the meat us used.  Nothing goes to waste.

So it will be a fun weekend for them, and a QUIET one for me.  Yea!

Big Night! (Relatively speaking)

My eldest grandson is in sixth grade.  This is where they can qualify for band.

So why is this a big deal?  Well, apparently my grandmother was quite a piano player.  She learned "by ear" and though I never heard her, I will take my dad's word for it.  I began piano at six, continuing until I was sixteen.  At that point,  I switched to the organ.  I was the assistant organist, moving into the position of organist two years later.  I have been an organist off an on since then.
My dad began his passion for music in his 80's.  He took up organ lessons and became pretty good!  Especially when he began showing signs of dementia.  My son began band in the sixth grade, playing the trumpet.  He ended with a partial college scholarship with that.  He now has his own band, and plays at the Houston BBQ cook-off and other venues.  
Now we have another musician!!!


I bring this up because his band concert tonight.  Sunday night at Family Dinner,he asked me if I would be coming.  He had such pride in his invitation!!  He was just glowing.

I will move heaven and earth to make that concert. I want to support him with everything I have because I know he doesn't get much support on his music.  His dad is completely gung-ho sports.  He was honestly upset when Reagan went into band.  I won't go much more into detail with this.  I just think there are a lot of more important things in life that being a jock.  I am not sure the boy really likes sports.  Even though his father thinks he is the greatest athlete that ever walked the face of the earth - he doesn't like to run!   He is his happiest playing video games.  And that's why my daughter has him playing water polo.  No running, but physical activity is there.

So I will be there cheering him on.  Hoping that since he will have had a tooth filled this afternoon - his mouth isn't numb because he plays the euphonium, and those lips are sooooo important!!

TRAFFIC!!

The little local med center where I have most of my doctors can be a mess!!  It consists of a fairly small hospital, and two medical buildings.  There.  Is.  Not.  Sufficient. Parking!!!

I had to go for my mammogram today.  This is a follow-up because seven months ago, the doctor at the office was comparing my mammograms to find a small calcification.  That is a huge red flag for a breast cancer survivor.  So I had to go back.

Now that visit was supposed to be a six months.  When I called Dr.  Poison's office, I never got a return.  That is a large practice with several offices around the Greater Houston area.  So you go to the main switchboard to leave a message for the nurse.  You never know if that message got there.  And apparently. mine didn't.

It was just before Thanksgiving, and, gee, everyone KNOWS that time is so plentiful around Thanksgiving.  I got another letter reminding me about making an appointment after Thanksgiving.  Now I don't know why I needed a referral from Dr. Poison - he didn't think the calcification was a big deal in the first place, and it was the radiologist there that did the recall, but I called again - rather incensed about not getting a call back the first time.  To cut to the chase - I got the referral sent by fax.

And that brings us to today.  At one time, I fought to get the first available appointments of the day.  Parking, I thought, was easier.  Well, when I had to take some appointments around noon, I found that THAT's the time to schedule.  This one today was at 2:30, and I hoped my luck would hold.  Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.  There wasn't a parking place to be had.  We were circling the incredibly small parking lots like vultures.  I was really incensed by the independent ambulances who were parked in the handicapped spaces.  Their patients were not going to be walking to the ambulance.  It would move to the curb to pick them up.

Tempers (yes, mine included) were flaring.  I called G because I didn't take my appointment book with the phone for the clinic.  I was going to tell them there was no way I could get there because I couldn't park!  Suddenly a truck was leaving.  I told him if the car that appeared from the other direction was going to try to take that space I would hit them!  He said he would stay on the line to see if I got shot!

But I got there.  Got the mammogram done.  All is well - at least for at least six months (but hopefully a year since this one was good!

Now my PCP has the results of my blood work.  And I need to see her.  Surprise.  I can tell you what she is going to say, and I am not going to like it.  Not one bit!

Orthropedist

I really thought it was too good to be true.  When I called last week and got an appointment for today, I really thought that was just too good to be true.  And apparently, is was!

When I got there and signed in, I was told she has someone in the 10:10 spot.  As she checked - I wasn't on ANY date.  This really hit me hard.  Today is a bad one for most of us here.  It is rainy (with street flooding - not usual) and cold.  I was thinking I trekked all that way in this miserable weather...

She then said she would try to work me in, handing me the book into which I was to write my autobiography.  These booklets we produce often leave me  wondering.  As I was diligently entering all of the vital information, she said they could only check out one shoulder - not both.  One IS better than nothing.  My right shoulder was hurting so much last night, I thought I wold have to sleep in my blouse, bra, and camisole.  I couldn't lift my arm above the breast line much less over my head.

I got called back, and to my surprise, none of the nurses proceeded to ask me any of
the million questions I had just given in my booklet!  Things moved along quite handily.  I was whisked back to -ray where things went along quite well until the seated x-ray.  I simply was too stiff to handily get my head out of the picture!

When the doctor came in, he rotated both shoulders.  The left having no x-rays to look at seems to be basically "frozen."  I got exercises for that.  The right has a combination of arthritis (geesh t is hard to get old!) and a small tear in the rotator cuff.  I had already made up my mind there would be no surgery on the arm, but he said I wasn't a candidate anyway.

I left the office with a pamphlet and an injection of cortisone in my right shoulder.  After the holidays, I think I will see if we can't get the poor old left one treated also.

This is the week of visiting doctors.  Tomorrow is the eye injection.  Nothing makes your week like having a needle stuck in your eye!  Thursday is a "physical" with this new primary.  I think I like him, but I am so accustomed to my other doctors, I am a little worried.  They are all aware of how crazily my body works.  This cortisone injection will have to be noted when the blood work is analyzed.  It will raise my blood sugar.  My blood sugar is JUST out of normal range, but it as stayed the same for over 10 years.  With the spike that will show - I don't know what this new one is going to try to do.  I don't want any new meds.

Since my oncologist FINALLY called in the orders for the new mammogram since the regular one showed a small calcification, I probably can work that in this week also.  So more poking, prodding, and smashing are in my future.  And there is my week!  Four out of five days will be in a physician's office!

And so on

Today was a nice day.  Pedicures, then haircuts.  Love it  Afterward we went to the grocery store.  That used to be a real trial.  Walking through the store was so hard on my back.  They have the wonderful new service.  You go on-line, order what you want, set the time you want to pick it up, then arrive at the store.  You call the number telling them the space you are in, how you are paying, and they BRING YOU YOUR GROCERIES!!!!  I am so in love with that service!  AND it keeps me from impulse buying.  My grocery bill is going down, down, down.  You get three "free" trips like this, and then it is $4.99.  That is such a good price for what I am getting for the bucks!

I know I am aging into pretty much an old grump about a lot of things, but people on social media are worse than I.  There is an on-line social site called Next Door.  It is pretty much nationwide so you may have heard of it.  They are neighborhood specific and meant to be a place where local happenings are posted.  In the last two days, I have seen such hatred there.  Actually the same goes for Facebook.  This is a really sad time.  I am making a bigger effort to be more positive now.  I don't want to be the old woman who is always mean.

I am awaiting the avalanche of packages as I have ordered all gifts on-line ... again!  Am  I becoming a recluse? Sure seems like it.

Next week are doctor's appointments again.  I got into an ortho doc that I had been to with my knees.  He referred me to his partner for surgery.  The ortho surgeon is the one who had a heart attack and died shortly after my last knee.  I think both shoulders have impingement issues and cause a lot of pain, but after reading more about impingements I don't think there is anything that can be done about it.

I need exercise, but with the deteriorating back problems I can't walk far, and with the impingements, I can't really swim.  Swimming is one of the things that causes the problem in the first place.  I discovered this summer that swimming really hurts.  This is a bummer!!!

And with the Debbie Downer stuff at the end - I wish you a great weekend!