Never a Dull Moment

Andy has struggled practically all his adult life with chronic prostatitis. Nearly 6 years ago he had a surgical procedure that took care of the problem. What a blessing it has been for him to be in good health, able to exercise, and just feel good! But in the last couple of months, he has had 3-4 infections and gone on antibiotics to take care of the problem. He finished up a round of antibiotics about a week ago. Then on Thursday, he started feeling nauseous and weak and dizzy. He hesitated calling the doctor because he had an appointment with a specialist on Friday, but as the day wore on, he kept feeling sicker and sicker. So he called our primary physician and was told there was an opening. I drove him there because he didn't think he could drive himself in his condition. The doctor told him he should have gone to the hospital, but he would prescribe more antibiotics.

The next day he was no better, and I took off work to go with him to the specialist. I sat in on the visit because I wanted to know what was going on and because in Andy's condition, I was afraid he wouldn't be able to comprehend all the doctor told him. We were told that the surgery he had 6 years ago usually was good for about 5 years. Oh, so that explains it. He's due for another surgery. He has another appointment on Wednesday and hopefully, we'll get more information then.

Meanwhile, it was a rough couple of days for him. Fortunately, his foot is progressing nicely and he is getting around a little better each day. But he spent most of the day on Saturday resting and trying to gain his strength back. On Sunday we had scheduled a picnic in the park with our older singles group (singles in their 30's, 40's and 50's) from church. We weren't too sure if we should cancel or not, considering Andy's health, but he took a nap in the afternoon, and we decided to go for it. It was a lovely evening and a nice time to be in the park. We went to Long Bridge Park in Hainesport. There were about 10 others (not counting Andy and me), with everyone bringing either a salad or dessert. There was a lot of good food and fellowship. I didn't make that dessert, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. It was tasty, too!
After eating, we took a hike down one of the trails to the Rancocas River.

Christy's last blog with all those beautiful pictures of flowers and butterflies inspired me to get my camera and walk around my gardens. So here we go with potted flowers:

and greenery...these ferns are looking really good this year.
white yarrow, from my sister Toot's garden:The beauty berry bushes are blooming...a red lily I got from my mother...Something ate my roses this spring. I didn't notice until the leaves were chewed to bits. But then I got some spray and soaked those bushes. I was happy to note there is new growth on them and hopefully, they'll bounce back and bloom again. I will keep a close eye on them and keep them sprayed until those bugs stay away for good.
I love color and right now, there's lots of it to be seen.

I don't have a lot to say but I just have to update this blog because I get a little sick every time I have to look at the picture of Andy's foot!

There has not been much call for yard work because of a lack of rain. However, I'm expecting that to change since we've had showers the last 3-4 evenings. We were not home yesterday so I was so excited to discover that we'd had a half inch of rain while we were gone! I'm sure that will encourage the grass to grow again (which will then need to be mowed) as well as the weeds (which will then need to be pulled).

Andy's foot is improving and he is finally able to wear a sock. He is also getting around without crutches, being able to put weight on the heel of his right foot. And he is once more driving himself on short little excursions. Fortunately, it's only 1 mile to and from church. So progress is being made. I think he's getting eager to start working around the house again. The kitchen window project is so visible to us - a constant reminder that it is waiting to be completed.

In light of the fact that he still can't do a lot physically, we decided to use our day off to visit Amy & family. We left after our lunch time and arrived early afternoon. Amy was hoping to make strawberry freezer jam and had already started. But Katy was wanting to be held, so I stepped in and helped her with that project. I would have gladly held Katy but she seemed to want Mommy, so Amy was making jam with a baby on her hip. With the 2 of us working on it, we got a lot done - a whole flat of strawberries. I'm sure Amy will be posting pictures.

It was such a nice day, Andy and Chase were able to spend a lot of time outside. I didn't get any pictures of them because of working on the jam, but they played whiffle ball and another game Chase made up of throwing a ball into the empty strawberry flat from the top step of the porch. It's amazing how creative kids can be!

We didn't see much of Joanna because she spent the afternoon and evening in bed due to a discipline issue. But it was one of those instances of several factors working together to create the situation. And it brought back memories of our own parenting and how hard it is sometimes - a good reminder to be faithful in praying for our children as they raise their children.

Amy made a delicious dinner: chicken breasts stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. I made a salad. I used spring mix as the base and added diced apples and craisins. The other day I was looking in my cupboards and found some barley. I have a very good soup recipe that calls for barley but now that it's summer time, I'm not going to be making soup for a while. So I decided to cook up some barley and add that to the salad, too. I cooked it in chicken broth and it turned out to be quite tasty.

By the end of the evening, Katy was warming up to me and smiled for the camera. Of course, we were across the table from each other, maybe she felt safe!

I took 2 pictures the whole time we were at Amy's and I'm not happy with either of them. I'm afraid I'm not very good at seizing Kodak moments. So this is a picture-less blog this time.

I guess I had more to say than I thought as this turned out to be somewhat wordy.

Surgery, Dawn & Kira, Naomi & Drought

Andy went to the doctor today, 3 weeks after his foot surgery. Progress is being made, the pins were removed today from his 2 toes. So what exactly did the surgery entail? Several things: a bunion was removed from the big toe and 3 screws put in. We're not sure why screws were needed but it was a long and ugly incision to implant them. Those screws will remain permanently. Another part of the surgery corrected 2 toes that were bent. The one toe was a result of being broken years before and it was affecting the toe next to it and making it crooked, too. So the toe that was broken was re-broken with a pin inserted to hold it in the proper position. The toe next to that one was twisted to the proper position, then a pin inserted in that one, too, to keep it straight.

So the prognosis today was: he can get the foot wet now. He can also put some pressure on the heel of the foot. But he will need to continue using the crutches for a little longer. I know he's getting tired of sitting around, but it's all for a good cause. Hopefully, when the healing is complete, he'll be able to walk without pain.

Over the weekend, I got a call from Dawn who told me that Tommy would be away Monday through Wednesday for work. She then asked if she could join us for dinner any night. Of course, we wanted her. So Monday evening she came over and I fixed her favorite dinner: spaghetti. It was like old times except that Kira was with us, too. She adds a lot of interest to dinner time!

Naomi's birthday was Tuesday, so I went grocery shopping in the morning to pick up a few items for things I was going to bring along to their house later. I made turkey burgers, brought rolls, and made a Caesar's salad. We left around 1:00 to drive up to C & C's. We enjoyed an evening picnic on their "new" patio. Fortunately, the heat wave hadn't hit yet, so it was a very pleasant evening outside. Naomi is a joy to give to because she is so dramatic when she opens her presents. Each present is the best she's ever gotten or exactly what she wanted!

On Wednesday, I thought it would be fun to go to Chipotle's with Dawn and Kira, since Tommy was still away, and Andy was also occupied. (He had a dinner appointment.) Well, I didn't do a very good job of taking into account Kira's inability to sit still for very long. That girl is a ball of energy! So it was an interesting dinner. It really was an "eat and run" affair! I looked at the clock as we left the restaurant and it was 5:42 pm. We hadn't even left the house till after 5:00 and it takes 10-15 minutes to get there. We certainly weren't there very long. Dawn was prepared with food and books and toys for Kira, and they worked for a little while, maybe 2 seconds! Then she wanted out of her restraints. Well, after eating we went back to our house and played a little with the toys and dress up clothes.

Wow! Is it ever hot! I was happy to get most of my gardening done before the heat wave hit us. It's looking good in my gardens - weed-less and the bushes are now trimmed to a less shaggy look. But the lawn is so brown...we desperately need rain. I am careful to faithfully water the flowers but our property is so huge, it would be impossible to keep all the lawn watered. It seems early in the season for it to be so dry. Hopefully, we'll get rain soon.

The latest

Several weeks ago, I went to a friend’s house with a number of other women where we received some instruction on making green smoothies, growing our own sprouts and making kiefer. I was inspired and bought the Green Smoothie Revolution book. I found some recipes that appealed to me and have been experimenting. They don’t look appetizing unless you like the color green, but I have to tell you: they are delicious. What an ingenious way to get greens inside you: blend them into bits and add an apple, pear, banana or other fruit to give it sweetness. Very tasty!

Since coming home from vacation, I have been making them every night and refrigerating them for our breakfast. Andy is drinking them, too. We each have a quart every day. So we are now incredibly healthy! They are really delicious, even with such greens added as kale, chard, dandelion greens, beet greens and Romaine.

I have also been growing our own sprouts to add to our salads. I also add them to my sandwich wrap for lunch. I ordered a sample kit of seeds and have enough sprout seeds to last for years, I think.

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend. I had 4 whole days off work and all in a row. I drove up to get my Mother on Saturday morning, then brought her back to our house for a couple of days. We were able to visit and play some games in the afternoon. At 4:00 pm, Tommy and Dawn came over to help us prepare for the picnic we were hosting for the church choir. It was so good of them to help us since Andy is a bit incapacitated on his crutches. So Tommy started the grill and ran over to church to get more chairs and tables to set up in the yard.

At 5:00 people started arriving for the picnic. It turned out to be a nice evening after all. The threatening rain never developed into more than a minute or two of sprinkles. We ended up with plenty of food that people brought. It was a happy evening with about 35 people present.

On Sunday, we went to church, then had our usual Sunday brunch of omelettes and waffles. Mother and I played some more games, then went over to Tommy and Dawn’s so Mother could see their house. They’ve been in nearly a year and Mother still hadn’t been to see it. Kira woke up and we stayed a little longer to play with and enjoy her. She is very entertaining right now.

Andy went with us to drive Mother home on Monday morning. We had a good weekend together, but now it’s back to realty. Monday afternoon was spent cleaning house, I did my usual Tuesday chores one day early this week. I also did some grocery shopping and again, Andy went with me. You know he must be bored if he goes shopping with me!

I'm glad I got all my cleaning and shopping done on Monday, because Tuesday I spent the morning with 3 other women cleaning out the women's ministry shed at church. It was supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far, but we started at 9:00 in the morning and it wasn't too bad. We worked hard for 2 solid hours and got it all organized and cleaned. We can actually walk around in there now. It was a great feeling of accomplishment to get that done. We finished just as the sun was getting high in the sky and we were running out of shade.

I spent almost 2 hours outside tonight after dinner in my gardens. They were getting quite weedy and I had been putting off being out there because of the heat. But it was a very pleasant evening and I got a lot done. Yeah!