I think this recipe sounds fantastic. I can't wait to try it.
"Whole chicken pieces and potatoes baked with a zesty sauce of thousand island salad dressing and fruit preserves. See if you can detect the secret ingredient! The end result is a beautifully golden brown presentation that's easy to throw together any night of the week and can be ready in about an hour."
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup thousand island salad dressing
1 cup pineapple-apricot preserves
1/4 cup grated onion
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces,
washed and patted dry
4 large potatoes - peeled and halved
lengthwise
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, stir together the thousand island salad dressing, pineapple-apricot preserves, grated onion, dry onion soup mix, and cinnamon until well blended. Place chicken in a large, oiled baking dish. Arrange potato halves around the edges of the pan, fitting chicken and potatoes tightly together in a single layer. Brush sauce over chicken, coating completely. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and remove foil. Continue baking 15 minutes more, or until potatoes are fork-tender and chicken is no longer pink in center. Both should have a beautiful golden brown glaze.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A little Different
It got dark quickly as we drove down to Atlanta. Before long we ran into rain too.
I can't hardly believe we were in Tennessee this morning then to North Carolina through South Carolina into Georgia for a pickup and the whole way to Detroit by tomorrow. We sure have been traveling. But I don't mind.
When we got to our pickup it was late and raining really hard! Pops got out to open the doors and go inside to find out in which dock they wanted us. He was wringing wet after that. I worried about him getting sick so after we had the load on, before he started the drive, he changed clothes.
I went to bed.
When I woke up we were at a scenic rest stop on top of Rarity Mountain. This is a very beautiful area on the northern border of Tennessee just before entering Kentucky.
I have always wanted to stop here and take pictures but we never did and now it is still too dark and foggy. Oh well there will be other opportunities.
I started driving now and drove the rest of the way. It took all day to go through Kentucky and Ohio and then into Michigan. We reached our destination about 5pm.
As soon as we got the load off we were sent to Ann Arbor for layover.
We found a church to attend through a friend that we had met while in Seattle. Her son is a pilot and lives in this area and the church is only 9 miles from the truckstop.
Boy, is it cold here. I don't know why we can't manage to go and stay south for awhile.
During the night Pops woke up not feeling well and it was chilly in the truck so he started the truck and it shut off, he repeated this for 3 tries. The truck would not stay running for even 10 seconds. Oh brother, now what?
So we burrowed under the covers until morning. Of course we couldn't attend church because of this o we had our own services and studies and communion.
It turns out that our problem was really simple. It had something to do with the sensor in the coolant, but thank goodness it was minor.
So we enjoyed sitting still for this day anyway. We watched a good movie, The Help. We both liked it a lot.
We got to sleep the whole night through Sunday into Monday too.
On Monday we got a load. But we had to drive the whole way to Dover AFB in Delaware to pick up. We had to get there by Tuesday morning early.
So away we went. I started the drive but I wasn't feeling well for some reason. I was sick in my stomach and oh, so tired. So after a little while, somewhere in Ohio Pops started to drive.
He drove the whole night through and we got to Dover just on time.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to get our load on and get going. We are going to Mount Pocono.
It was a 2 1/2 hour drive but we encountered a problem. The turnpike was shut down, totally. There was a vehicle fire. So we lost over a half hour. I tried desperately to make up some time and we got there 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. But, we had 3 separate deliveries at this base and the last place would not accept their shipment. They told us that we would have to come back in the morning.
I could not believe it. We were already predispatched on another load too. We lost the predispatch.
We were angry.
We left the base and drove over to Walmart in town. We had to have a prescription faxed there for Bill. He is doing good peeing now but still gets the spasms so bad. After we left Walmart we drove back over to the base and parked for the night.
The next morning security woke up all the truck drivers and sent them one by one over to the main gate. We were already up and had had our coffee and breakfast.
Our truck was covered in thick ice. It had rained and frozen all night. When I got out to take the dogs out and shut the door, it broke loose the ice from the roof and it all came sliding down the windshield onto the hood of the truck.
We got unloaded quickly and then drove to Wilkes-Barre for layover. We did not even quite make it before we got a good load. It is picking up near Boston and going to Florida. Oh, yes!
So here we sit in about 50 miles outside Boston waiting until early morning to go in. We are picking up near Harvard.
We are scheduled to deliver in Florida on Friday at 1:30 in the afternoon. Maybe we will have to spend the weekend there. Wow, I wonder how I'll stand it?
I can't hardly believe we were in Tennessee this morning then to North Carolina through South Carolina into Georgia for a pickup and the whole way to Detroit by tomorrow. We sure have been traveling. But I don't mind.
When we got to our pickup it was late and raining really hard! Pops got out to open the doors and go inside to find out in which dock they wanted us. He was wringing wet after that. I worried about him getting sick so after we had the load on, before he started the drive, he changed clothes.
I went to bed.
When I woke up we were at a scenic rest stop on top of Rarity Mountain. This is a very beautiful area on the northern border of Tennessee just before entering Kentucky.
I have always wanted to stop here and take pictures but we never did and now it is still too dark and foggy. Oh well there will be other opportunities.
I started driving now and drove the rest of the way. It took all day to go through Kentucky and Ohio and then into Michigan. We reached our destination about 5pm.
As soon as we got the load off we were sent to Ann Arbor for layover.
We found a church to attend through a friend that we had met while in Seattle. Her son is a pilot and lives in this area and the church is only 9 miles from the truckstop.
Boy, is it cold here. I don't know why we can't manage to go and stay south for awhile.
During the night Pops woke up not feeling well and it was chilly in the truck so he started the truck and it shut off, he repeated this for 3 tries. The truck would not stay running for even 10 seconds. Oh brother, now what?
So we burrowed under the covers until morning. Of course we couldn't attend church because of this o we had our own services and studies and communion.
It turns out that our problem was really simple. It had something to do with the sensor in the coolant, but thank goodness it was minor.
So we enjoyed sitting still for this day anyway. We watched a good movie, The Help. We both liked it a lot.
We got to sleep the whole night through Sunday into Monday too.
On Monday we got a load. But we had to drive the whole way to Dover AFB in Delaware to pick up. We had to get there by Tuesday morning early.
So away we went. I started the drive but I wasn't feeling well for some reason. I was sick in my stomach and oh, so tired. So after a little while, somewhere in Ohio Pops started to drive.
He drove the whole night through and we got to Dover just on time.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to get our load on and get going. We are going to Mount Pocono.
It was a 2 1/2 hour drive but we encountered a problem. The turnpike was shut down, totally. There was a vehicle fire. So we lost over a half hour. I tried desperately to make up some time and we got there 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. But, we had 3 separate deliveries at this base and the last place would not accept their shipment. They told us that we would have to come back in the morning.
I could not believe it. We were already predispatched on another load too. We lost the predispatch.
We were angry.
We left the base and drove over to Walmart in town. We had to have a prescription faxed there for Bill. He is doing good peeing now but still gets the spasms so bad. After we left Walmart we drove back over to the base and parked for the night.
The next morning security woke up all the truck drivers and sent them one by one over to the main gate. We were already up and had had our coffee and breakfast.
Our truck was covered in thick ice. It had rained and frozen all night. When I got out to take the dogs out and shut the door, it broke loose the ice from the roof and it all came sliding down the windshield onto the hood of the truck.
We got unloaded quickly and then drove to Wilkes-Barre for layover. We did not even quite make it before we got a good load. It is picking up near Boston and going to Florida. Oh, yes!
So here we sit in about 50 miles outside Boston waiting until early morning to go in. We are picking up near Harvard.
We are scheduled to deliver in Florida on Friday at 1:30 in the afternoon. Maybe we will have to spend the weekend there. Wow, I wonder how I'll stand it?
Necco wafers
Pops and I are in Cambridge, Massachusetts today. Cambridge is the home of Necco.
Below are some neat facts about Necco.
in 1847, Oliver Chase invented a machine to cut candy wafers, and the "hub wafer" was born.
NECCO stands for New England Confectionary Company. It's the oldest candy company in the U.S.
The original 8 flavors are lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice, and chocolate.
They were made in Chicago for a while in the 1800s, but the factory burned in the great Chicago Fire.
Union soldiers carried "hub wafers" during the Civil War.
Admiral Richard Byrd took 2 tons of NECCO wafers on his polar expedition in the '30s. During WWII, the factory manufactures war materials and NECCO wafers are part of soldiers' rations.
The Cambridge, MA factory used to have this awesome painted water tower.
If you mix NECCO wafers and Pepsi, it'll light on fire.
NECCO also makes those conversation candy hearts...And Mary Janes...
Below are some neat facts about Necco.
in 1847, Oliver Chase invented a machine to cut candy wafers, and the "hub wafer" was born.
NECCO stands for New England Confectionary Company. It's the oldest candy company in the U.S.
The original 8 flavors are lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice, and chocolate.
They were made in Chicago for a while in the 1800s, but the factory burned in the great Chicago Fire.
Union soldiers carried "hub wafers" during the Civil War.
Admiral Richard Byrd took 2 tons of NECCO wafers on his polar expedition in the '30s. During WWII, the factory manufactures war materials and NECCO wafers are part of soldiers' rations.
The Cambridge, MA factory used to have this awesome painted water tower.
If you mix NECCO wafers and Pepsi, it'll light on fire.
NECCO also makes those conversation candy hearts...And Mary Janes...
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
My post on WHEW this morning
I know its hard to read. I sure hope that you can. Please lift me up in prayer for this.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Over 5000 miles
We left home on Monday. We were picking up in Shippensburg and going to Chicago. This was going to be the start of our new normal.
Some people have left us know that I am too open about what is going on with Pops. I guess they think it's too personal to publish in a blog, but yet they don't seem to have any issue continuing to read our blog which is nothing more than our personal journal.
When I started the blog it was mostly just as a journal for ourselves, as a record of where we have been and what all we have seen. We shared the website with our kids and friends as a way to feel connected with everyone back home.
I like it that people read it. It is a diary of sorts.
Anyway, our trip to Chicago went fairly ordinary.
Pops is peeing a little more each time and is catheterizing less and less. And I smile and clap each time like the mother of a potty training 2 year old. But this really is a big deal to us.
It sure was cold and windy in Chicago. We crossed our fingers and hoped for a load south. But within an hour of unloading we had another load picking up in another area of Chicago and going to Connecticut.
Now we had decided not to take trips to New England anymore because it is hard to get back out of there and truckstops are few and far between. But this one paid well, enough to pay us to deadhead out if we needed to.
I sure wasn't crazy with the wind and cold and the lake effect snowstorms but it sure felt good to be working again. So by Wednesday morning we had 2 good runs behind us. And better yet we got a predispatch load waiting for us to pick up as soon as we are empty going to Madison, Wisconsin.
We just can't seem to get south!
We were running good, hardly having any sit time. Pops was doing better each day. The weather was cold but not too much snow, so we were feeling good about all of it.
I have started posting travel trivia about the places we visit on our Nonipops page on Facebook. And besides that I am also posting local recipes from those places too and pictures when I get them. I try real hard to keep after the Facebook page every day because more people look at it. And it is fun to do. Check it out if you haven't yet. Just type Nonipops into your Facebook search bar.
I was looking forward to getting some cheese curds while in Wisconsin, but it didn't happen because we immediately got another load picking up in Milwaukee going to Eastern Tennessee.
Pops used the catheter this morning in Indiana when we were on our way to Wisconsin, but he didn't get much out, I guess because he is doing pretty well on his own. He is still getting the bladder spasms though. They must be horrible because sometimes it looks like he had been crying.
We are beyond baby steps now I think. I just wish I knew how to make his pains go away.
I was so happy to be going south. I felt like I was about to burst with excitement. Yay, sunshine and warmth, we are on our way!
Last time we were in Alabama there were daffodils blooming alongside the road. Oh boy, I can't wait to see them again and tulips and my favorite, hyacinths. Woo Hoo.
We picked up in Milwaukee around supper time on Thursday evening and started to go south. Pops started to drive right before we reached Chicago and we no sooner got to Gary, Indiana and it started to storm. It was snowing, raining, sleeting and so windy too. It was awful and we had to get there. This was a super hot load which means that it was badly needed. So Pops drove only stopping briefly because other trucks would throw slush onto our windshield and to clear the wipers. We saw too many wrecks, especially trucks.
I was scared so I went to bed. Pops has really good nerves and really good driving skills. I am almost never afraid of his driving but you just don't know what other people are going to do.
When I woke up we were already in Tennessee. I started to drive at 5:30am. We got to our delivery with our "hot load" and no one seemed in any great hurry to get it off.
It was a gorgeous sunny morning. The temperature was already 57 degrees at 10:00am.
This was our fourth good load this week. It was Friday morning and I was ready for a nice layover in lovely Tennessee.
But our layover options were Greenville, SC or Asheville, NC. We chose Asheville and headed out.
We would have to cross the bigs mountains to get there and I could look up and see snow on the top and fog! Oh no, was it going to be ugly on the other side?
It was foggy on top and there was some snow only in the woods at the top. But it was gloomy and drizzly on the North Carolina side. Oh, we'll. it was still 43 degrees.
So we found the truckstop and got settled in.
I transferred our earnings into our checking accounts and got busy writing some checks to pay bills. We are behind from not working but I am hoping that by the end of March to be caught up with our regular payments. However we have not yet begun to receive any of the medical bills. We don't have insurance just a discount plan that isn't very good and not accepted at some places at all. But I refuse to worry about that. We had to pay for Pops prostate procedure in cash, upfront and there went our meager savings account.
I felt pretty good being able to pay what I did though.
Pops had just fallen asleep and we got another load offer. We would have to drive down to Atlanta, GA and pick it up and take it the whole way to Detroit by tomorrow. Wow, and I thought it was time to catch up on rest. But like they say, No rest for the weary.
Even before doing this load we have run almost 4000 miles, it will be over 5000 after this. That's a busy week.
Some people have left us know that I am too open about what is going on with Pops. I guess they think it's too personal to publish in a blog, but yet they don't seem to have any issue continuing to read our blog which is nothing more than our personal journal.
When I started the blog it was mostly just as a journal for ourselves, as a record of where we have been and what all we have seen. We shared the website with our kids and friends as a way to feel connected with everyone back home.
I like it that people read it. It is a diary of sorts.
Anyway, our trip to Chicago went fairly ordinary.
Pops is peeing a little more each time and is catheterizing less and less. And I smile and clap each time like the mother of a potty training 2 year old. But this really is a big deal to us.
It sure was cold and windy in Chicago. We crossed our fingers and hoped for a load south. But within an hour of unloading we had another load picking up in another area of Chicago and going to Connecticut.
Now we had decided not to take trips to New England anymore because it is hard to get back out of there and truckstops are few and far between. But this one paid well, enough to pay us to deadhead out if we needed to.
I sure wasn't crazy with the wind and cold and the lake effect snowstorms but it sure felt good to be working again. So by Wednesday morning we had 2 good runs behind us. And better yet we got a predispatch load waiting for us to pick up as soon as we are empty going to Madison, Wisconsin.
We just can't seem to get south!
We were running good, hardly having any sit time. Pops was doing better each day. The weather was cold but not too much snow, so we were feeling good about all of it.
I have started posting travel trivia about the places we visit on our Nonipops page on Facebook. And besides that I am also posting local recipes from those places too and pictures when I get them. I try real hard to keep after the Facebook page every day because more people look at it. And it is fun to do. Check it out if you haven't yet. Just type Nonipops into your Facebook search bar.
I was looking forward to getting some cheese curds while in Wisconsin, but it didn't happen because we immediately got another load picking up in Milwaukee going to Eastern Tennessee.
Pops used the catheter this morning in Indiana when we were on our way to Wisconsin, but he didn't get much out, I guess because he is doing pretty well on his own. He is still getting the bladder spasms though. They must be horrible because sometimes it looks like he had been crying.
We are beyond baby steps now I think. I just wish I knew how to make his pains go away.
I was so happy to be going south. I felt like I was about to burst with excitement. Yay, sunshine and warmth, we are on our way!
Last time we were in Alabama there were daffodils blooming alongside the road. Oh boy, I can't wait to see them again and tulips and my favorite, hyacinths. Woo Hoo.
We picked up in Milwaukee around supper time on Thursday evening and started to go south. Pops started to drive right before we reached Chicago and we no sooner got to Gary, Indiana and it started to storm. It was snowing, raining, sleeting and so windy too. It was awful and we had to get there. This was a super hot load which means that it was badly needed. So Pops drove only stopping briefly because other trucks would throw slush onto our windshield and to clear the wipers. We saw too many wrecks, especially trucks.
I was scared so I went to bed. Pops has really good nerves and really good driving skills. I am almost never afraid of his driving but you just don't know what other people are going to do.
When I woke up we were already in Tennessee. I started to drive at 5:30am. We got to our delivery with our "hot load" and no one seemed in any great hurry to get it off.
It was a gorgeous sunny morning. The temperature was already 57 degrees at 10:00am.
This was our fourth good load this week. It was Friday morning and I was ready for a nice layover in lovely Tennessee.
But our layover options were Greenville, SC or Asheville, NC. We chose Asheville and headed out.
We would have to cross the bigs mountains to get there and I could look up and see snow on the top and fog! Oh no, was it going to be ugly on the other side?
It was foggy on top and there was some snow only in the woods at the top. But it was gloomy and drizzly on the North Carolina side. Oh, we'll. it was still 43 degrees.
So we found the truckstop and got settled in.
I transferred our earnings into our checking accounts and got busy writing some checks to pay bills. We are behind from not working but I am hoping that by the end of March to be caught up with our regular payments. However we have not yet begun to receive any of the medical bills. We don't have insurance just a discount plan that isn't very good and not accepted at some places at all. But I refuse to worry about that. We had to pay for Pops prostate procedure in cash, upfront and there went our meager savings account.
I felt pretty good being able to pay what I did though.
Pops had just fallen asleep and we got another load offer. We would have to drive down to Atlanta, GA and pick it up and take it the whole way to Detroit by tomorrow. Wow, and I thought it was time to catch up on rest. But like they say, No rest for the weary.
Even before doing this load we have run almost 4000 miles, it will be over 5000 after this. That's a busy week.
I woke up this morning at this stop on Rarity Mountain.
I have always wanted to stop here. It is fantastically beautiful. We have never stopped before. And this morning I scrambled out of bed and got dressed and rushed outside before Pops was ready to take off. But it was still too dark and foggy to get pictures of the mountains all around.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Sunday
We got to worship at our home church, Wills Mountain Church of Christ, this past Sunday. Our preacher, Chad, wasn't there because he was in the hospital with a bad infection. So our Sunday School Class was taught by Melvin.
Starla and I had gotten there at the last minute so I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone. So the minute class was over my good friend, Jane was right beside me offering me hugs.
Once we went to the auditorium for worship, I saw that Donna had her 1 year old grandson, Dexter, right behind me. I held out my hands in a gesture letting him know that I wanted to hold him and he came to me.
I was surprised that he did because usually little ones won't.
Dexter always seems to me to be so outgoing and pleasant. So he left me hold him and rock him. Then he laid the side of his face against my cheek. This stirred an odd feeling inside of me, and I wanted to hug him tight. It reminded me of the times when my babies were little and I had just fed them and everything was quiet and satisfied and we would just stare into each other's eyes.
Little ones are so precious.
I was only 17 when my first child was born. It was all new to me because I had never really spent much time around little kids of any sort. I wanted to be a good mother, but babies don't come with instruction manuals. I depended a lot on my mother for help and guidance.
I remember calling her once when my baby would not stop fussing. I told mom that I had fed her and changed her and she still was fussy.
My mom told me that the first thing I needed to do was calm myself down because babies can tell when you're not comfortable with them and then they can't be comfortable either. Then mom told me to get a blanket and wrap her up tight. "Little babies like to be tight like they are still in your belly." She told me. "Call me back when she goes to sleep."
I did exactly what my mom told me to do and it worked. Many times I called my mom when my kids were little, she always seemed to know what to do.
So I held Dexter for most of the beginning of service. It was nice.
We went home directly after the service. Pops needs to feel calm and private when he is trying to go to the bathroom.
But we will come back tonight.
I sure miss everyone here.
Starla and I had gotten there at the last minute so I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone. So the minute class was over my good friend, Jane was right beside me offering me hugs.
Once we went to the auditorium for worship, I saw that Donna had her 1 year old grandson, Dexter, right behind me. I held out my hands in a gesture letting him know that I wanted to hold him and he came to me.
I was surprised that he did because usually little ones won't.
Dexter always seems to me to be so outgoing and pleasant. So he left me hold him and rock him. Then he laid the side of his face against my cheek. This stirred an odd feeling inside of me, and I wanted to hug him tight. It reminded me of the times when my babies were little and I had just fed them and everything was quiet and satisfied and we would just stare into each other's eyes.
Little ones are so precious.
I was only 17 when my first child was born. It was all new to me because I had never really spent much time around little kids of any sort. I wanted to be a good mother, but babies don't come with instruction manuals. I depended a lot on my mother for help and guidance.
I remember calling her once when my baby would not stop fussing. I told mom that I had fed her and changed her and she still was fussy.
My mom told me that the first thing I needed to do was calm myself down because babies can tell when you're not comfortable with them and then they can't be comfortable either. Then mom told me to get a blanket and wrap her up tight. "Little babies like to be tight like they are still in your belly." She told me. "Call me back when she goes to sleep."
I did exactly what my mom told me to do and it worked. Many times I called my mom when my kids were little, she always seemed to know what to do.
So I held Dexter for most of the beginning of service. It was nice.
We went home directly after the service. Pops needs to feel calm and private when he is trying to go to the bathroom.
But we will come back tonight.
I sure miss everyone here.
This is our other granddaughter, Allison.
She just told me it was ok to show her picture. Isn't she pretty. And Bradley is just too cute too.
Breakfast
The rest of the evening on Thursday was kind of somber. Pops spent a lot of time in the bedroom. It was hard to know what to say to try to make him feel better so nobody said much at all.
And I think Pops and I were both afraid to get too hopeful, after the ups and downs we have been through over the past 10 weeks. He did manage to squeeze out a few drops on his own but had to use the straight catheter at least 2 times.
Friday was just more of the same. Again he stayed upstairs a lot. Starla and I just sat around watching TV and being quiet.
When Bill got off work that evening he had Hunter with him. The girls would be coming later on in the evening. It was a little more going on now that Hunter was here. We got all caught up with him and his sports and friends and school.
The girls came then around 9:30. So we spent some time talking with them before everyone went to bed.
Starla and I got up early Saturday morning. We were meeting some of our good friends for breakfast. Our usual place to meet is Missy's Restaurant in Meyersdale, PA. When we got there Carol and Ruth and Ruth's sister, Ann were already there. Margo hadn't arrived yet, but she was coming straight from her night shift job as a registered nurse.
We didn't get our usual table and it felt a little strange to not be at a round table, but it would do.
Carol had Valentine gifts and cards for each of us. She is always so thoughtful and caring.
We had such a good visit just chatting and catching up with each other. This was the first time that Ann joined us and it was so nice getting to know her a little better too. I sure hope she becomes a regular when we meet.
Carol's husband, Ron, had passed away recently. She is now going through all the tedious tasks of taking care of closing accounts or changing information on accounts and so on and so forth. I'm sure it is quite overwhelming and trying to do all that while you are grieving has to be an awful distraction. We listened to hear talk about Ronnie and how the dog, Hunter, is adjusting to having her as his master. We listened as she talked about Ronnie's last days in the hospital and some of what her and the her boys and family endured. My heart goes out to her and the family. We love you, Carol and we know that although you will never stop missing him, we know that you will be able to talk and share fond memories and those memories will bring you comfort instead of pain.
Ruth told us about her job search. She has a job in mind that sounds like one thing that I think she would be so good at doing.
I loved when Ruth and I worked together in the past. We seemed to work so well together and we had such a good system that unless something unforeseen happened we could work like a well oiled machine and be done in enough time to be able to sit with our end of the day paperwork with a cup of tea and a bowl of cheese curls.
We talked to Ann about some food preferences that she picked up during the time she and Ruth worked in the state of Arkansas. I love Arkansas and I love talking about food.
Starla filled the women in on what is going on with her health issues.
And of course I had a few travel stories to share.
Margo never did show and I could tell that all of us were more than a little bit worried wondering why.
We finished eating but was in no big hurry to leave. We lingered over more coffee and tea and then when we were quite satisfied that we were all caught up, we hugged each other, paid our bills and then went our separate ways.
These ladies mean the world to me. If we were in a group of 20-25 women and someone said, "pick out the 5 best friends" I really doubt that anyone would even match up 2 of us. To look at us you would probably wonder what any of us have in common, but I love these women with a love so deep and thick that it feels alive. And I know without a doubt that each of them feel the same way. It is a true, rich love. The kind that is spoke about in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. There is nothing fake, phony or superficial about our feelings for each other.
It is always sad for the first few minutes after I drive away from them.
The rest of Saturday was slow and quiet.
Bill, Starla and the kids went away. Pops and I just enjoyed the quiet time being at home.
Later that evening we feasted on a roaster full of ham, green beans and potatoes. And then we watched a movie until bedtime.
Pops had had only a little success today as well. Baby steps!
And I think Pops and I were both afraid to get too hopeful, after the ups and downs we have been through over the past 10 weeks. He did manage to squeeze out a few drops on his own but had to use the straight catheter at least 2 times.
Friday was just more of the same. Again he stayed upstairs a lot. Starla and I just sat around watching TV and being quiet.
When Bill got off work that evening he had Hunter with him. The girls would be coming later on in the evening. It was a little more going on now that Hunter was here. We got all caught up with him and his sports and friends and school.
The girls came then around 9:30. So we spent some time talking with them before everyone went to bed.
Starla and I got up early Saturday morning. We were meeting some of our good friends for breakfast. Our usual place to meet is Missy's Restaurant in Meyersdale, PA. When we got there Carol and Ruth and Ruth's sister, Ann were already there. Margo hadn't arrived yet, but she was coming straight from her night shift job as a registered nurse.
We didn't get our usual table and it felt a little strange to not be at a round table, but it would do.
Carol had Valentine gifts and cards for each of us. She is always so thoughtful and caring.
We had such a good visit just chatting and catching up with each other. This was the first time that Ann joined us and it was so nice getting to know her a little better too. I sure hope she becomes a regular when we meet.
Carol's husband, Ron, had passed away recently. She is now going through all the tedious tasks of taking care of closing accounts or changing information on accounts and so on and so forth. I'm sure it is quite overwhelming and trying to do all that while you are grieving has to be an awful distraction. We listened to hear talk about Ronnie and how the dog, Hunter, is adjusting to having her as his master. We listened as she talked about Ronnie's last days in the hospital and some of what her and the her boys and family endured. My heart goes out to her and the family. We love you, Carol and we know that although you will never stop missing him, we know that you will be able to talk and share fond memories and those memories will bring you comfort instead of pain.
Ruth told us about her job search. She has a job in mind that sounds like one thing that I think she would be so good at doing.
I loved when Ruth and I worked together in the past. We seemed to work so well together and we had such a good system that unless something unforeseen happened we could work like a well oiled machine and be done in enough time to be able to sit with our end of the day paperwork with a cup of tea and a bowl of cheese curls.
We talked to Ann about some food preferences that she picked up during the time she and Ruth worked in the state of Arkansas. I love Arkansas and I love talking about food.
Starla filled the women in on what is going on with her health issues.
And of course I had a few travel stories to share.
Margo never did show and I could tell that all of us were more than a little bit worried wondering why.
We finished eating but was in no big hurry to leave. We lingered over more coffee and tea and then when we were quite satisfied that we were all caught up, we hugged each other, paid our bills and then went our separate ways.
These ladies mean the world to me. If we were in a group of 20-25 women and someone said, "pick out the 5 best friends" I really doubt that anyone would even match up 2 of us. To look at us you would probably wonder what any of us have in common, but I love these women with a love so deep and thick that it feels alive. And I know without a doubt that each of them feel the same way. It is a true, rich love. The kind that is spoke about in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. There is nothing fake, phony or superficial about our feelings for each other.
It is always sad for the first few minutes after I drive away from them.
The rest of Saturday was slow and quiet.
Bill, Starla and the kids went away. Pops and I just enjoyed the quiet time being at home.
Later that evening we feasted on a roaster full of ham, green beans and potatoes. And then we watched a movie until bedtime.
Pops had had only a little success today as well. Baby steps!
The Dr Appointment
We got up early the next day but Bill P. had already left for work. We carried over what we thought we would need while at home along with all our dirty clothes and the bag of sheets and blanket that I hoped would come clean from the blood.
I started working on laundry right away.
Pops' appointment was not until 3pm so we just tried to relax and not worry. Around 1pm we removed his catheter so that we could see what would happen and save some time at the Dr. Nothing happened. I tried so hard to hide my disappointment. I really want him to be able to go on his own and I want him healed.
When we got to the Dr, we told everything that had happened to Pops in Dallas while they typed everything into their computer. We showed them all the pictures of the blood and gore too.
They explained what we knew they were going to say, the same thing we had been told in Dallas, that it is not a common occurrence, but not all that unusual either. Somehow, his wound had begun to bleed and it just slowly built up inside of him until it couldn't any longer.
So now he was told that we are back to square one. He has lost all progress that he had made with his bladder before the bleeding. He would need to once again begin to re train his bladder to contract and pee and relax and retain in between. And we were told to pray for patience. Ha, I thought to myself, I thought that is what Doctors did. Lol
And another thing, we were only to expect baby steps!
I don't want baby steps! I want leaps and bounds. I will try to be patient but I hope I don't have to be for long. And why is a bladder such a dumb Body part? I mean, come on! Enough already.
I really tried to keep my frustration and disappointment from showing but after 34 years of marriage he could see and feel it and I could see that he was feeling the same way.
And to make matters worse, Pops was told to stop the spasm medication in 2 days.
I started working on laundry right away.
Pops' appointment was not until 3pm so we just tried to relax and not worry. Around 1pm we removed his catheter so that we could see what would happen and save some time at the Dr. Nothing happened. I tried so hard to hide my disappointment. I really want him to be able to go on his own and I want him healed.
When we got to the Dr, we told everything that had happened to Pops in Dallas while they typed everything into their computer. We showed them all the pictures of the blood and gore too.
They explained what we knew they were going to say, the same thing we had been told in Dallas, that it is not a common occurrence, but not all that unusual either. Somehow, his wound had begun to bleed and it just slowly built up inside of him until it couldn't any longer.
So now he was told that we are back to square one. He has lost all progress that he had made with his bladder before the bleeding. He would need to once again begin to re train his bladder to contract and pee and relax and retain in between. And we were told to pray for patience. Ha, I thought to myself, I thought that is what Doctors did. Lol
And another thing, we were only to expect baby steps!
I don't want baby steps! I want leaps and bounds. I will try to be patient but I hope I don't have to be for long. And why is a bladder such a dumb Body part? I mean, come on! Enough already.
I really tried to keep my frustration and disappointment from showing but after 34 years of marriage he could see and feel it and I could see that he was feeling the same way.
And to make matters worse, Pops was told to stop the spasm medication in 2 days.
Headed East
On Monday we got a load that was picking up in Southeastern PA and going to New Jersey. It picked up in the evening so I drove us there while Pops tried to get some sleep.
We knew we were picking up glass and we guessed that it was windshields that we were hauling. But once we got there I noticed a really peculiar smell in the air. And when Pops came back out he informed me that we were hauling a load of bulletproof glass.
The load had labels all over it warning us that it was "fragile." We just wondered how good the quality of fragile bulletproof glass was. Lol
Then we were on our way. Pops was driving and I went to bed.
Our delivery was easy and we wondered if we should go home from here or try for another load. We were offered a load of explosives that paid pretty well and still delivered in New Jersey for the next day. We figured we wouldn't be any further away than we were right now and we would have a little money in the bank to pay bills, so we took the load.
We drove to our pickup location and had the rest of the day and all night to relax. Our pickup was scheduled for morning.
We rested well.
The next morning because of the nature of our load we had 3 checkpoints to get through before we were finally led to our pickup location. We got our load on and then I drove us to our delivery.
It was a little less complicated to get the load off and then we headed to Allentown for our layover. We hung out there for a couple of hours until our company harassed us to go out of service because we were declining loads, so we did. And then we drove home.
We got home around midnight and rather than go into the house and disturb Bill and Starla, we slept in the truck that night.
I felt so good and much more relaxed now.
We knew we were picking up glass and we guessed that it was windshields that we were hauling. But once we got there I noticed a really peculiar smell in the air. And when Pops came back out he informed me that we were hauling a load of bulletproof glass.
The load had labels all over it warning us that it was "fragile." We just wondered how good the quality of fragile bulletproof glass was. Lol
Then we were on our way. Pops was driving and I went to bed.
Our delivery was easy and we wondered if we should go home from here or try for another load. We were offered a load of explosives that paid pretty well and still delivered in New Jersey for the next day. We figured we wouldn't be any further away than we were right now and we would have a little money in the bank to pay bills, so we took the load.
We drove to our pickup location and had the rest of the day and all night to relax. Our pickup was scheduled for morning.
We rested well.
The next morning because of the nature of our load we had 3 checkpoints to get through before we were finally led to our pickup location. We got our load on and then I drove us to our delivery.
It was a little less complicated to get the load off and then we headed to Allentown for our layover. We hung out there for a couple of hours until our company harassed us to go out of service because we were declining loads, so we did. And then we drove home.
We got home around midnight and rather than go into the house and disturb Bill and Starla, we slept in the truck that night.
I felt so good and much more relaxed now.
Our granddaughter, Katie and her boyfriend, Austin
Another of our granddaughters had a dance over the past weekend too, but I do not have permission to post her name or picture.
Sorry, sure wish I could because she is beautiful too.
Sorry, sure wish I could because she is beautiful too.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
National Lost Penny Day
Today is February 12th. It is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. It is also National Lost Penny Day. You are supposed to take all those found pennies and cash them in today and buy yourself something.
Well, all of you who are faithful readers, know just how important our found pennies are. We don't have an over abundance of them. But I have absolutely NO intention of cashing them in to buy myself something.
No Sir, these pennies came to Pops and I straight from Heaven so if and when we ever cash them in, they will go right back to Him.
You do what you want with yours. Happy Birthday, Abe. Although in my opinion a penny is too small a token for the best president ever.
Well, all of you who are faithful readers, know just how important our found pennies are. We don't have an over abundance of them. But I have absolutely NO intention of cashing them in to buy myself something.
No Sir, these pennies came to Pops and I straight from Heaven so if and when we ever cash them in, they will go right back to Him.
You do what you want with yours. Happy Birthday, Abe. Although in my opinion a penny is too small a token for the best president ever.
Toledo
Our load actually picked up in Sugarland, TX which is just southwest of Houston. It took me about 4 hours to drive there from Dallas. Pops tried to sleep and I think he did manage to get a little. I enjoyed the rural scenery as I drove along.
It has been real hard for me to relax and be at peace lately. It seems that every time I begin to then something crops up to steal that peace away. It is fair to say that both of us have been living with our nerve endings just tingling away. But I put it all out of my mind as much as I could.
About 35 miles outside of Houston the traffic got real thick. Travel was slow and at times even down to a crawl. It was dark now too and I hate driving in the dark. So I was starting to lose my patience.
Pops woke up and talked to me as we drove right through downtown Houston and then finally out the other side. Finally we reached Sugarland. Right away I noticed a huge sugar refinery and guessed that is why this was Sugarland. But it may be a coincidence.
We were going to a chemical company and hauling a hazmat load. There was a lot of security and then we were allowed to enter the premises.
It took about 1/2 hour to get the load on and then a few additional minutes to placard our truck and then we were on our way.
We would drive on a diagonal up to Texarkana and then on to Memphis and then north toward St. Louis but then diagonally again through Illinois and Indiana and then north to Toledo. It was now Friday evening and we didn't have to be there until Sunday morning so we didn't have to rush.
Pops started the drive and he drove us to Texarkana and then slept for awhile. I started to drive there the next day and drove us into Illinois. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was a nice quiet drive while Pops tried to get some rest. He did get some, however no one can rest while driving Route 440 around Little Rock, AR because that road is the bumpiest road in the entire country as far as I'm concerned. So Pops sat in the front seat for awhile there and then just before Memphis he went to lay down again.
When we switched off later it wasn't long before I went to bed. When I woke up we were at our delivery site waiting at the gate until our appointment time. Security then moved us to a secluded parking lot on the other side of the plant and we were told to wait there.
And then they came and unloaded us right there on the spot. We didn't have to back into a dock or anything.
Then we drove over to a truckstop for layover.
It was Sunday but too late to go to church anywhere so Pops and I had our own service. We had our communion and then did several studies together throughout the day.
I was freezing. We had been in the south for about 2 weeks, wearing shorts and flip flops. It was cold and windy and misty and spitting some snow here. Yuck. I want to go back to Texas.
Since beginning to drive truck, I really have come to loathe snow and ice and I also have begun to hate mountain driving as well. I am now a warm loving flat-lander. Truly.
We spent Sunday night at the truckstop and then during the day on Monday we got a load that was picking up in Butler, PA and going to New Jersey just south of Philadelphia.
I spent the afternoon and early evening driving us across Ohio and into PA. We made our pickup. We were hauling bullet proof glass. And it was labeled with many "fragile" stickers. I wondered how good bullet proof glass could be if it was so delicate. Oh well.
Once we were loaded Pops took over the driving and drove us close to our location. And then he slept.
We got up early and navigated the Philly traffic to our destination. And got unloaded.
We already have a predispatch. It is a military load that picks up in PA and comes back to New Jersey so we headed toward that pickup although that trip isn't until tomorrow, Wednesday.
So once here we had the entire day to rest, relax, catch up on paperwork that is never ending, and just being still. I think the being still is what is good for Pops. So it was a nice day.
I have been listening to an audiobook and I am enjoying it. I promised myself that I would keep it only for when I am driving, but I sure would like to sit and listen. Oh well I'll keep my promise.
I got out the checkbook and wrote some checks to pay bills. That part made a funny feeling in my stomach because it seems like we have been having too much month at the end of the money lately and I am sure that is the way it is going to be for quite some time. But I can't dwell on that. We will manage.
We made an appointment for Pops to see the Dr. on Thursday so we will work our way by then. Just making that appointment has deflated both our moods. I don't know why. I guess we both want answers, but we want favorable answers and we aren't guaranteed that. Again, I can't dwell on that.
I try really hard to keep negative thoughts captive, but then when I sleep, I have bad dreams.
Will we ever go back to normal? It sure seems like a destination that I have been seeking but just can't seem to find.
Please, keep Pops' health and well being in your prayers. Please, keep my fragile nerves in your prayers too.
It has been real hard for me to relax and be at peace lately. It seems that every time I begin to then something crops up to steal that peace away. It is fair to say that both of us have been living with our nerve endings just tingling away. But I put it all out of my mind as much as I could.
About 35 miles outside of Houston the traffic got real thick. Travel was slow and at times even down to a crawl. It was dark now too and I hate driving in the dark. So I was starting to lose my patience.
Pops woke up and talked to me as we drove right through downtown Houston and then finally out the other side. Finally we reached Sugarland. Right away I noticed a huge sugar refinery and guessed that is why this was Sugarland. But it may be a coincidence.
We were going to a chemical company and hauling a hazmat load. There was a lot of security and then we were allowed to enter the premises.
It took about 1/2 hour to get the load on and then a few additional minutes to placard our truck and then we were on our way.
We would drive on a diagonal up to Texarkana and then on to Memphis and then north toward St. Louis but then diagonally again through Illinois and Indiana and then north to Toledo. It was now Friday evening and we didn't have to be there until Sunday morning so we didn't have to rush.
Pops started the drive and he drove us to Texarkana and then slept for awhile. I started to drive there the next day and drove us into Illinois. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was a nice quiet drive while Pops tried to get some rest. He did get some, however no one can rest while driving Route 440 around Little Rock, AR because that road is the bumpiest road in the entire country as far as I'm concerned. So Pops sat in the front seat for awhile there and then just before Memphis he went to lay down again.
When we switched off later it wasn't long before I went to bed. When I woke up we were at our delivery site waiting at the gate until our appointment time. Security then moved us to a secluded parking lot on the other side of the plant and we were told to wait there.
And then they came and unloaded us right there on the spot. We didn't have to back into a dock or anything.
Then we drove over to a truckstop for layover.
It was Sunday but too late to go to church anywhere so Pops and I had our own service. We had our communion and then did several studies together throughout the day.
I was freezing. We had been in the south for about 2 weeks, wearing shorts and flip flops. It was cold and windy and misty and spitting some snow here. Yuck. I want to go back to Texas.
Since beginning to drive truck, I really have come to loathe snow and ice and I also have begun to hate mountain driving as well. I am now a warm loving flat-lander. Truly.
We spent Sunday night at the truckstop and then during the day on Monday we got a load that was picking up in Butler, PA and going to New Jersey just south of Philadelphia.
I spent the afternoon and early evening driving us across Ohio and into PA. We made our pickup. We were hauling bullet proof glass. And it was labeled with many "fragile" stickers. I wondered how good bullet proof glass could be if it was so delicate. Oh well.
Once we were loaded Pops took over the driving and drove us close to our location. And then he slept.
We got up early and navigated the Philly traffic to our destination. And got unloaded.
We already have a predispatch. It is a military load that picks up in PA and comes back to New Jersey so we headed toward that pickup although that trip isn't until tomorrow, Wednesday.
So once here we had the entire day to rest, relax, catch up on paperwork that is never ending, and just being still. I think the being still is what is good for Pops. So it was a nice day.
I have been listening to an audiobook and I am enjoying it. I promised myself that I would keep it only for when I am driving, but I sure would like to sit and listen. Oh well I'll keep my promise.
I got out the checkbook and wrote some checks to pay bills. That part made a funny feeling in my stomach because it seems like we have been having too much month at the end of the money lately and I am sure that is the way it is going to be for quite some time. But I can't dwell on that. We will manage.
We made an appointment for Pops to see the Dr. on Thursday so we will work our way by then. Just making that appointment has deflated both our moods. I don't know why. I guess we both want answers, but we want favorable answers and we aren't guaranteed that. Again, I can't dwell on that.
I try really hard to keep negative thoughts captive, but then when I sleep, I have bad dreams.
Will we ever go back to normal? It sure seems like a destination that I have been seeking but just can't seem to find.
Please, keep Pops' health and well being in your prayers. Please, keep my fragile nerves in your prayers too.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Twisted our arm
We sat all day at the Walmart lot. We didn't get any load offers. I just couldn't understand that. Dallas is usually busy. So when we checked our status on the computer we saw that Fedex didn't put us back in service even after we had messaged them to do so.
I called Shirley and she called up there and had them put us into service. It was now 4pm. Wow, we missed all the days action.
After that we got a few load offers but they were short runs right around the Dallas area and didn't pay much so we declined. Then around 8 o'clock we got a load offer, it picked up in Valliant, OK and delivered at 5:30am in Mansfield, LA. Then we would have to come back to Dallas for layover. It didn't pay much. We declined. Then Pops' phone rang, it was Fedex. "What will you do that for? They wondered. Please, we need you to do it." So Pops and I talked it over and figured an amount, but before we called them back the trip came back to our computer for $100 more than what we were going to ask for. So ok. We will make some money and be to Dallas by 10am.
That trip went well. We didn't have any problems except neither of us got very good sleep so once we were back to Dallas we turned on the A/C and took a nap until someone running a lawnmower woke us up. I love Texas!
It's ok though, because not long after that more load offers came out. Pops had just taken one of his "good pills" so he was spacey. We had one load that would've paid us really well and taken us to New Jersey. The person who sent out the offer to us had the initials of RAD and Pops refused the load telling them that we don't do radioactive loads.
Then he went to work in the back of our truck.
I looked over the load offers to see what I missed and noticed we he had done, so I sent a message saying that we would do that load to New Jersey, but it was already given to another truck. When he came back inside the truck I told him that he read it wrong. He was so upset himself. I told him it was no big deal, that we would get the load we were supposed to get.
Pops decided that maybe he should try to get some more rest so he laid down on the bed. I was texting back and forth with our son, Tom.
Then a good load offer came that would land us in Toledo, OH on Sunday morning. I accepted it but told Tom that I doubted we would get it because there were still several trucks ahead of us. But we did get the load. Yay us!
So we would go to Houston to pickup then head to Toledo.
Other than Pops' goof up with that one load offer, he did pretty well today.
I called Shirley and she called up there and had them put us into service. It was now 4pm. Wow, we missed all the days action.
After that we got a few load offers but they were short runs right around the Dallas area and didn't pay much so we declined. Then around 8 o'clock we got a load offer, it picked up in Valliant, OK and delivered at 5:30am in Mansfield, LA. Then we would have to come back to Dallas for layover. It didn't pay much. We declined. Then Pops' phone rang, it was Fedex. "What will you do that for? They wondered. Please, we need you to do it." So Pops and I talked it over and figured an amount, but before we called them back the trip came back to our computer for $100 more than what we were going to ask for. So ok. We will make some money and be to Dallas by 10am.
That trip went well. We didn't have any problems except neither of us got very good sleep so once we were back to Dallas we turned on the A/C and took a nap until someone running a lawnmower woke us up. I love Texas!
It's ok though, because not long after that more load offers came out. Pops had just taken one of his "good pills" so he was spacey. We had one load that would've paid us really well and taken us to New Jersey. The person who sent out the offer to us had the initials of RAD and Pops refused the load telling them that we don't do radioactive loads.
Then he went to work in the back of our truck.
I looked over the load offers to see what I missed and noticed we he had done, so I sent a message saying that we would do that load to New Jersey, but it was already given to another truck. When he came back inside the truck I told him that he read it wrong. He was so upset himself. I told him it was no big deal, that we would get the load we were supposed to get.
Pops decided that maybe he should try to get some more rest so he laid down on the bed. I was texting back and forth with our son, Tom.
Then a good load offer came that would land us in Toledo, OH on Sunday morning. I accepted it but told Tom that I doubted we would get it because there were still several trucks ahead of us. But we did get the load. Yay us!
So we would go to Houston to pickup then head to Toledo.
Other than Pops' goof up with that one load offer, he did pretty well today.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Better again
I slept pretty well although I woke up once and saw lights flashing around in front of the windshield. I was groggy and reminded myself that there was a small airstrip directly in front of me. So I rationed that I was seeing lights from the airport. I wasn't thinking that I hadn't noticed airport lights before going to bed. But I ignored them and tried to sleep again. But then I heard a pounding on the door. I climbed out of bed and looked out the window. I saw a police officer. I put the window down part way and he asked me if I was ok. I told him that I was. Then I explained that Pops had been at that hospital then transferred but that I had been given permission to stay parked there. He said, "Okay, I was just making sure you were ok."
After he left I took the dogs out to pee and scolded them for not barking while he prowled around outside shining the light. They hadn't even barked nor gotten out of their beds when he pounded on the door. Some guard dogs they are!
In the morning I woke up and washed my hair and got dressed and drank my coffee while I waited for Tate and Shirley to come pick me up. I was so grateful for them being there.
They soon arrived and We moved the truck to a truckstop closer to the hospital. After letting the dogs out to pee, I locked them inside and we drove to the hospital. We parked in the parking garage and took the shuttle to the hospital.
When we got to Pops' room I could see that he had a look of discouragement on his face. We found out that even though his urine was clear and clean he wasn't able to pee on his own again. So they were going to release him but with a catheter once again.
So once all his instructions were given and prescriptions for 4 different medicines were obtained, he got a shower and then we were gone.
Once again the 4 of us caught the shuttle and then located the car from the garage.
It was rush hour so it was a slow trip back to the truckstop.
Tate and Shirley said goodbye and then left us. I was so glad to have company and someone I knew with me. I really appreciated them being there.
Pops and I tried to get settled but both of us were having a strange mix of feelings and thoughts so both of us were just kind of quiet. We had a quiet night, but he didn't rest very well.
We got up this morning and came straight to the pharmacy to get his prescriptions filled.
We have ourselves in service now hoping to work our way toward one so that Pops can see his own Dr.
Please continue to keep us and especially him in prayer. We just don't really know what to think.
But we are both still trusting in God. And we are forever grateful for such good friends that we have supporting us. All of you mean so very much to us.
After he left I took the dogs out to pee and scolded them for not barking while he prowled around outside shining the light. They hadn't even barked nor gotten out of their beds when he pounded on the door. Some guard dogs they are!
In the morning I woke up and washed my hair and got dressed and drank my coffee while I waited for Tate and Shirley to come pick me up. I was so grateful for them being there.
They soon arrived and We moved the truck to a truckstop closer to the hospital. After letting the dogs out to pee, I locked them inside and we drove to the hospital. We parked in the parking garage and took the shuttle to the hospital.
When we got to Pops' room I could see that he had a look of discouragement on his face. We found out that even though his urine was clear and clean he wasn't able to pee on his own again. So they were going to release him but with a catheter once again.
So once all his instructions were given and prescriptions for 4 different medicines were obtained, he got a shower and then we were gone.
Once again the 4 of us caught the shuttle and then located the car from the garage.
It was rush hour so it was a slow trip back to the truckstop.
Tate and Shirley said goodbye and then left us. I was so glad to have company and someone I knew with me. I really appreciated them being there.
Pops and I tried to get settled but both of us were having a strange mix of feelings and thoughts so both of us were just kind of quiet. We had a quiet night, but he didn't rest very well.
We got up this morning and came straight to the pharmacy to get his prescriptions filled.
We have ourselves in service now hoping to work our way toward one so that Pops can see his own Dr.
Please continue to keep us and especially him in prayer. We just don't really know what to think.
But we are both still trusting in God. And we are forever grateful for such good friends that we have supporting us. All of you mean so very much to us.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Pennies From Heaven
Let me just start this post with a brief reminder: I feel that when Pops or I find a penny on the ground that it is a physical reminder to us that God will provide for us. It is His way of telling us Have no Fear.
Monday night I went to bed as usual when it was Pops turn to drive. Everything seemed ok and normal.
He awakened me at 4am by calling my name in such a way that I knew instantly something was terribly wrong. I jumped up and he told me that he was bleeding and in pain. I could see blood all over the place. His clothing was soaked. The seat had blood and there was blood on the floor.
He wanted to try to Catherize himself to see if it might help. So I took the dogs out and quickly got dressed. After he used the catheter, he felt a small amount of relief although there was still blood coming out.
I began the drive to our delivery. We were 70 miles away from Dallas.
After just a few minutes he began crying out in pain and that quickly turned into screams of agony.
I pulled over and checked him and he was soaked from sweat and blood was all over the bed.
I wanted to take him to the hospital and even tried to make arrangements to do that but then he told me to keep driving.
I called Chad, our preacher. He answered right away. I know he prayed for us but honestly, I cannot remember a single word from that conversation.
I was crying and didn't know what to do. Pops just said keep going.
I finally made it to our destination and there was someone there to unload us. Usually this part falls under Pops' share of the job, but I knew there was no way possible he was going to be able to.
I didn't even know for sure what we had on other than it was a hazmat. I didn't know how it was secured, I wasn't sure about what paperwork o have signed or which parts were ours or theirs. Plus, I was a big mess from the stress.
I opened the doors. I backed the truck into the dock and got out a chalked the wheels and looked to see if I needed to dump the air from the airbags to get level with the dock, but that was ok. I grabbed the clipboard with the paperwork and headed to the dock.
It didn't have steps but a ladder to get up on the dock. And just as soon as I got up there, right there on the ground in front of me was a penny. God telling me, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."
So I picked that penny up and put it in my pocket.
I removed the load bars that were securing the load and the dockworker unloaded the three containers. He signed my paperwork and I gave him a copy of each, then I put the load bars back into the truck and pulled the truck forward to shut my doors. Then I removed all the hazardous placards from the truck and then the best part, drove back through Dallas to the truckstop without using any GPS, just my memory.
I was very proud of being able to do all of that with all that was going on.
Pops did not feel any better and things didn't look better for him either so I looked on the Internet and located a hospital. But Gypsy (our GPS) would not give me directions for the loosest one. So I decided on the second closest which was 19 miles away.
About half way there I called Starla to let her know what was going on. Pops was screaming in the background and that scared her. Then I called 911 to try to get help from them. I told the lady where I planned o go and that we were from Pennsylvania and didn't really know the area and that we were in a big FedEx truck. She located me through my phone's GPS and directed me step by step to the hospital and already had someone from there coming out with a wheelchair to get Pops. She was so comforting and helpful.
The hospital was Renaissance Hospital in Terrell, Texas which is a rural suburb of Dallas. It was a very, very small hospital.
They got a catheter into Pops to help relieve some of the pressure but weren't equipped to do much more for him because of their size. So they made arrangements to have him transferred by ambulance to another hospital.
They were very nice there and allowed me to leave our truck there and they made arrangements for me to be able to ride with Pops in the ambulance.
Sit was about a 45 minute ride in the ambulance but the young man that was driving was very kind and easy to talk to. I learned a lot about him during the ride.
We got to the emergency department of Parkland Hospital which is right downtown Dallas. Once through the doors we had to be stopped by a police officer and scanned for weapons, they even did that to Pops who was laying on the stretcher in a hospital gown. And then they scanned me and the emts and even went through my purse. Wow, that was security.
He was pushed back the hall to the emergency department and talk about. Bustle of activity. There were people everywhere. It looked like a lot of drug addicts and prisoners in prison garb with armed guards. And many others.it was busy.
There were no available trauma rooms so Pops was pushed up alongside the wall and there he stayed all day. Of course they did pull a privacy curtain around him when they treated him but there really wasn't too much privacy.
Tate and Shirley showed up to be with us. That was so very kind of them and brought me tremendous comfort.
Because seeing how much blood he was losing and all the sights I was seeing and being far from home and worrying about our insurance an about Pops and wondering how the dogs were, and taking phone calls and messages, and not having anything to eat or drink ALL day long and starting the day at 4am. I WAS OVERWHELMED! And I just lost it and began to cry. And the more I tried to stop crying, the more I did cry. At one point a nurse asked me if I was ok, she told me that I looked worse than Pops did. So I rooted through my purse and found the pills that I keep with me that I take only in my worst cases of anxiety and I took half of one.
It is not magic, but in just a little while I did calm down. I went into the bathroom and washed my face and put on some eyeliner. When I got back to the hallway, I was starting to feel a little better. So I leaned up against the wall and stuck my hands in my pockets and I felt the penny. Instantly I felt like God was telling me, "I'm still with you."
The morphine was working on Pops and he was a lot calmer now too.
Around 5pm a very young man came and introduced himself as a urologist. He was going to take care of Pops. So within 5 minutes Pops was taken into a real room with a door and the Dr explained that he was going to flush out his bladder. So he took the Foley catheter out and put in different one. With this one he could use a huge syringe to insert water into the bladder and then pulled back on the stopper and sucked fluid back out.he did this procedure over and over again until he used 3 liters of water. Pops was in excruciating pain the whole time. Gobs and gobs of blood clots were coming out of him. I could not believe how much there was and how big some of them were. At one point he even asked me to help him. I am not Squimish at all so I did. I asked him dozens of questions and he thoroughly answered each one. I really liked this young man. He did not stop flushing until he wasn't't getting anymore clots and the fluid was coming back out lost clear.
Then they set him up with a drip catheter which pushed fluid into and right back out of his bladder all night long, a constant flushing.
Once they had Pops comfortable again and found a room for him upstairs, I left the hospital with Tate and Shirley. They drove me back to the truck and they stayed at a hotel only 3 blocks away.
Once back at the truck I left the dogs out and then began to clean up all the mess from the morning. I found myself something to eat. And then the events all began to settle in on me and I started to cry and cry again.
I turned the radio on to the Christian music channel and they played the Kutless song, Even if the healing doesn't come. It seemed like it was meant for me. It was beautiful and it is my feelings exactly and it was perfect timing.
I returned some phone calls and texted with Drew for awhile and then, being exhausted decided to go to sleep. As I was climbing into bed Something on the floor caught my eye. It was the penny, it must have fallen out of my pocket when I changed clothes.
Thank You, Lord. I love You too.
Monday night I went to bed as usual when it was Pops turn to drive. Everything seemed ok and normal.
He awakened me at 4am by calling my name in such a way that I knew instantly something was terribly wrong. I jumped up and he told me that he was bleeding and in pain. I could see blood all over the place. His clothing was soaked. The seat had blood and there was blood on the floor.
He wanted to try to Catherize himself to see if it might help. So I took the dogs out and quickly got dressed. After he used the catheter, he felt a small amount of relief although there was still blood coming out.
I began the drive to our delivery. We were 70 miles away from Dallas.
After just a few minutes he began crying out in pain and that quickly turned into screams of agony.
I pulled over and checked him and he was soaked from sweat and blood was all over the bed.
I wanted to take him to the hospital and even tried to make arrangements to do that but then he told me to keep driving.
I called Chad, our preacher. He answered right away. I know he prayed for us but honestly, I cannot remember a single word from that conversation.
I was crying and didn't know what to do. Pops just said keep going.
I finally made it to our destination and there was someone there to unload us. Usually this part falls under Pops' share of the job, but I knew there was no way possible he was going to be able to.
I didn't even know for sure what we had on other than it was a hazmat. I didn't know how it was secured, I wasn't sure about what paperwork o have signed or which parts were ours or theirs. Plus, I was a big mess from the stress.
I opened the doors. I backed the truck into the dock and got out a chalked the wheels and looked to see if I needed to dump the air from the airbags to get level with the dock, but that was ok. I grabbed the clipboard with the paperwork and headed to the dock.
It didn't have steps but a ladder to get up on the dock. And just as soon as I got up there, right there on the ground in front of me was a penny. God telling me, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."
So I picked that penny up and put it in my pocket.
I removed the load bars that were securing the load and the dockworker unloaded the three containers. He signed my paperwork and I gave him a copy of each, then I put the load bars back into the truck and pulled the truck forward to shut my doors. Then I removed all the hazardous placards from the truck and then the best part, drove back through Dallas to the truckstop without using any GPS, just my memory.
I was very proud of being able to do all of that with all that was going on.
Pops did not feel any better and things didn't look better for him either so I looked on the Internet and located a hospital. But Gypsy (our GPS) would not give me directions for the loosest one. So I decided on the second closest which was 19 miles away.
About half way there I called Starla to let her know what was going on. Pops was screaming in the background and that scared her. Then I called 911 to try to get help from them. I told the lady where I planned o go and that we were from Pennsylvania and didn't really know the area and that we were in a big FedEx truck. She located me through my phone's GPS and directed me step by step to the hospital and already had someone from there coming out with a wheelchair to get Pops. She was so comforting and helpful.
The hospital was Renaissance Hospital in Terrell, Texas which is a rural suburb of Dallas. It was a very, very small hospital.
They got a catheter into Pops to help relieve some of the pressure but weren't equipped to do much more for him because of their size. So they made arrangements to have him transferred by ambulance to another hospital.
They were very nice there and allowed me to leave our truck there and they made arrangements for me to be able to ride with Pops in the ambulance.
Sit was about a 45 minute ride in the ambulance but the young man that was driving was very kind and easy to talk to. I learned a lot about him during the ride.
We got to the emergency department of Parkland Hospital which is right downtown Dallas. Once through the doors we had to be stopped by a police officer and scanned for weapons, they even did that to Pops who was laying on the stretcher in a hospital gown. And then they scanned me and the emts and even went through my purse. Wow, that was security.
He was pushed back the hall to the emergency department and talk about. Bustle of activity. There were people everywhere. It looked like a lot of drug addicts and prisoners in prison garb with armed guards. And many others.it was busy.
There were no available trauma rooms so Pops was pushed up alongside the wall and there he stayed all day. Of course they did pull a privacy curtain around him when they treated him but there really wasn't too much privacy.
Tate and Shirley showed up to be with us. That was so very kind of them and brought me tremendous comfort.
Because seeing how much blood he was losing and all the sights I was seeing and being far from home and worrying about our insurance an about Pops and wondering how the dogs were, and taking phone calls and messages, and not having anything to eat or drink ALL day long and starting the day at 4am. I WAS OVERWHELMED! And I just lost it and began to cry. And the more I tried to stop crying, the more I did cry. At one point a nurse asked me if I was ok, she told me that I looked worse than Pops did. So I rooted through my purse and found the pills that I keep with me that I take only in my worst cases of anxiety and I took half of one.
It is not magic, but in just a little while I did calm down. I went into the bathroom and washed my face and put on some eyeliner. When I got back to the hallway, I was starting to feel a little better. So I leaned up against the wall and stuck my hands in my pockets and I felt the penny. Instantly I felt like God was telling me, "I'm still with you."
The morphine was working on Pops and he was a lot calmer now too.
Around 5pm a very young man came and introduced himself as a urologist. He was going to take care of Pops. So within 5 minutes Pops was taken into a real room with a door and the Dr explained that he was going to flush out his bladder. So he took the Foley catheter out and put in different one. With this one he could use a huge syringe to insert water into the bladder and then pulled back on the stopper and sucked fluid back out.he did this procedure over and over again until he used 3 liters of water. Pops was in excruciating pain the whole time. Gobs and gobs of blood clots were coming out of him. I could not believe how much there was and how big some of them were. At one point he even asked me to help him. I am not Squimish at all so I did. I asked him dozens of questions and he thoroughly answered each one. I really liked this young man. He did not stop flushing until he wasn't't getting anymore clots and the fluid was coming back out lost clear.
Then they set him up with a drip catheter which pushed fluid into and right back out of his bladder all night long, a constant flushing.
Once they had Pops comfortable again and found a room for him upstairs, I left the hospital with Tate and Shirley. They drove me back to the truck and they stayed at a hotel only 3 blocks away.
Once back at the truck I left the dogs out and then began to clean up all the mess from the morning. I found myself something to eat. And then the events all began to settle in on me and I started to cry and cry again.
I turned the radio on to the Christian music channel and they played the Kutless song, Even if the healing doesn't come. It seemed like it was meant for me. It was beautiful and it is my feelings exactly and it was perfect timing.
I returned some phone calls and texted with Drew for awhile and then, being exhausted decided to go to sleep. As I was climbing into bed Something on the floor caught my eye. It was the penny, it must have fallen out of my pocket when I changed clothes.
Thank You, Lord. I love You too.
Pops is back in the Hospital
I have a whole story to write about this but in the meantime here is some interesting facts about the hospital where he is.
JFK assassination
Parkland is best known as the hospital where three individuals associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy died: John F. Kennedy himself, his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald.
After he was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was rushed to Parkland, where he was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. in Trauma Room 1. At the same time, Texas Governor John Connally, wounded in the same shooting, was being treated in Trauma Room 2.
Two days after the assassination, Oswald was rushed to Parkland after being shot in the abdomen by Ruby, and died in operating room #5 after over 90 minutes of surgery. Ruby died on January 3, 1967 in the same emergency room, from a pulmonary embolism associated with lung cancer.
Since Ruby's death in 1967, the emergency room has been remodeled and the area where Kennedy, Oswald, and Ruby died now serves as the hospital's emergency radiology department. A plaque commemorating their deaths has been placed in the room.
JFK assassination
Parkland is best known as the hospital where three individuals associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy died: John F. Kennedy himself, his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald.
After he was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was rushed to Parkland, where he was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. in Trauma Room 1. At the same time, Texas Governor John Connally, wounded in the same shooting, was being treated in Trauma Room 2.
Two days after the assassination, Oswald was rushed to Parkland after being shot in the abdomen by Ruby, and died in operating room #5 after over 90 minutes of surgery. Ruby died on January 3, 1967 in the same emergency room, from a pulmonary embolism associated with lung cancer.
Since Ruby's death in 1967, the emergency room has been remodeled and the area where Kennedy, Oswald, and Ruby died now serves as the hospital's emergency radiology department. A plaque commemorating their deaths has been placed in the room.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Lucy
Some of you have been asking about Lucy.
She had her surgery 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Her liver enzymes were still a little high, but I told them to go ahead with her surgery. We wanted her ready to go back on the road when we left.
When the Dr started her surgery he realized that what they thought was Cherry eye, an infection in the third eyelid and tear duct, was in fact a tumor over her eye. So they removed the tumor. He also removed some growths on her side that were non-cancerous. And also removed 5 of her teeth that were bad.
When I went to pick her up I expected that she would have a bandage on her eye and maybe a lampshade collar. I also expected that she would be groggy and have a sore mouth, but she had no bandages and she was spunky and excited to see us.
She has not had any trouble since.
She came back out with us when we left home and everything seems good as new with her.
She had her surgery 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Her liver enzymes were still a little high, but I told them to go ahead with her surgery. We wanted her ready to go back on the road when we left.
When the Dr started her surgery he realized that what they thought was Cherry eye, an infection in the third eyelid and tear duct, was in fact a tumor over her eye. So they removed the tumor. He also removed some growths on her side that were non-cancerous. And also removed 5 of her teeth that were bad.
When I went to pick her up I expected that she would have a bandage on her eye and maybe a lampshade collar. I also expected that she would be groggy and have a sore mouth, but she had no bandages and she was spunky and excited to see us.
She has not had any trouble since.
She came back out with us when we left home and everything seems good as new with her.
Weekend in Montgomery
Pops and I had a very good weekend layover in Montgomery, AL. We got here really late Friday night. When I woke up on Saturday morning we were parked at the TA truckstop.
We were tired and Pops wasn't feeling very well again so we just spent the day relaxing and resting.
I cleaned the truck, got caught up with bill paying, finished up all our paperwork and basically just took it easy. I looked in the directory and located a church. They had a website and a Facebook page so I looked them up and then called to see about parking. It wasn't long before I got a call back from Jay Thompson the preacher and so we made arrangements to attend church there.
After church on Sunday we went directly to the shop at the truckstop to get our lights worked on and get new wiper blades.
And then Pops and I went into the restaurant for dinner. Both of us ordered the chicken fried steak. They had cheddar broccoli soup on the salad bar and it was really good, it had potatoes in it.
We tried to get our tv to work after we ate. We never watch TV, but tonight was the Super Bowl and our favorite team was playing, so we wanted to watch. But we couldn't get it to work. But luckily for us, CBS was live streaming the game over the Internet. So we did get to watch. And guess what? Our team, the Baltimore Ravens won!
Monday morning I worked on gathering our tax stuff. What a chore that is. I was hoping to have it gathered by the time we go home.
We are supposed to be going home this week. Pops has a Dr appointment on Friday, so we need to think about soon heading that direction. So why then did we accept a load going to Texas? Well all of you that follow us know that Texas is our favorite place to go. We are to be there by tomorrow morning at 6:30. Hopefully we will get a load that will get us close to home after this.
Please keep Pops in your prayers. He is improving, but still has some ongoing problems.
I just absolutely adored my weekend in Alabama. I loved wearing my shorts and flip flops. The temps were in the high 60's all weekend and sunny. I hear they are getting some pretty heavy snow and power outages back home. No, thanks!
We were tired and Pops wasn't feeling very well again so we just spent the day relaxing and resting.
I cleaned the truck, got caught up with bill paying, finished up all our paperwork and basically just took it easy. I looked in the directory and located a church. They had a website and a Facebook page so I looked them up and then called to see about parking. It wasn't long before I got a call back from Jay Thompson the preacher and so we made arrangements to attend church there.
After church on Sunday we went directly to the shop at the truckstop to get our lights worked on and get new wiper blades.
And then Pops and I went into the restaurant for dinner. Both of us ordered the chicken fried steak. They had cheddar broccoli soup on the salad bar and it was really good, it had potatoes in it.
We tried to get our tv to work after we ate. We never watch TV, but tonight was the Super Bowl and our favorite team was playing, so we wanted to watch. But we couldn't get it to work. But luckily for us, CBS was live streaming the game over the Internet. So we did get to watch. And guess what? Our team, the Baltimore Ravens won!
Monday morning I worked on gathering our tax stuff. What a chore that is. I was hoping to have it gathered by the time we go home.
We are supposed to be going home this week. Pops has a Dr appointment on Friday, so we need to think about soon heading that direction. So why then did we accept a load going to Texas? Well all of you that follow us know that Texas is our favorite place to go. We are to be there by tomorrow morning at 6:30. Hopefully we will get a load that will get us close to home after this.
Please keep Pops in your prayers. He is improving, but still has some ongoing problems.
I just absolutely adored my weekend in Alabama. I loved wearing my shorts and flip flops. The temps were in the high 60's all weekend and sunny. I hear they are getting some pretty heavy snow and power outages back home. No, thanks!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Cornerstone Christian Church
This morning Pops and I got to worship with the Cornerstone Christian Church in Montgomery,AL.
We had a really good lesson for Sunday School, taught by Larry. It was on being Humble.
Then we went to the auditorium for worship. It was started with worship in song led by the praise team. I enjoyed their music a lot.
Then the preacher, Jay Thompson, gave a wonderful sermon on Making Room in your Heart. I hope he won't mind me borrowing that scripture for my Whew Group on Facebook.
It was a beautiful, Spirit filled service and it was good to be in the house of the Lord.i love meeting new people and making new friends and I am so very thankful that God leads us to good churches.
We had a really good lesson for Sunday School, taught by Larry. It was on being Humble.
Then we went to the auditorium for worship. It was started with worship in song led by the praise team. I enjoyed their music a lot.
Then the preacher, Jay Thompson, gave a wonderful sermon on Making Room in your Heart. I hope he won't mind me borrowing that scripture for my Whew Group on Facebook.
It was a beautiful, Spirit filled service and it was good to be in the house of the Lord.i love meeting new people and making new friends and I am so very thankful that God leads us to good churches.
Welcome Back, Derrick
Our grandson, Derrick just this day got back from Afghanistan. We are so proud of him, but so glad he is back.
This is Derrick with Melynie, his mom and our daughter in law.
This is Derrick with Melynie, his mom and our daughter in law.
Family Picture
This picture was taken recently. Pops was very sick in this picture, but he was a good sport anyway.
It is Pops, Me, Starla, Bill P., Hunter and then in front is Allison and Kailey.
It is Pops, Me, Starla, Bill P., Hunter and then in front is Allison and Kailey.
Some random pictures
Airplanes
A true Ravens fan, yay, Go Ravens!
The Corvette Hall of Fame near Bowling Green, Kentucky
Alligator water tower
A true Ravens fan, yay, Go Ravens!
The Corvette Hall of Fame near Bowling Green, Kentucky
Alligator water tower
Detained at the Border
The last time we went to Canada, we were held up at the border because our paperwork hadn't cleared.
A livestock truck hauling little pigs pulled along side of us.
They were just too cute. I wanted to let them out.
They kept sticking their little snouts out through the holes.
Lucy about went nuts when she noticed them and heard them grunting. She barked and barked. It was hilarious.
A livestock truck hauling little pigs pulled along side of us.
They were just too cute. I wanted to let them out.
They kept sticking their little snouts out through the holes.
Lucy about went nuts when she noticed them and heard them grunting. She barked and barked. It was hilarious.
Toughman Contest
Our youngest son, Drew recently entered and trained for a Toughman Contest.
Drew has lost and kept off over 100 pounds. He looks great. He is very diligent in his daily exercise and in watching what he eats. I am so proud of him.
When he announced to Pops and I that he was going to compete I was very worried. Drew has never been a fighter. I wouldn't consider him to be aggressive either.
But he was very adamant that this was something that he wanted to do. So he trained hard for it.
The competition was held in West Virginia at a High School. It was scheduled for 2 days.
Everyone would fight the first evening and if you won, you would move on to the next day. If you lost, you were eliminated.
Of course Pops and I was on the road at this time so I asked Shelbie, Drew's girlfriend, to please keep me updated. So 2 minutes before his first fight she sent me a text to let me know.
Oh my!
After about 7 minutes I got another text from her telling me that he had won and was moving on the next day.
Later that evening Drew texted me and was all excited. I still cannot believe he was doing this.
Again the next day Shelbie let me know when he was about to fight. After a few minutes she texted me back and told me that he thinks he broke his thumb during the fight but was going to fight the next round anyway. What?!?!
After a few minutes that seemed like a very long time, she let me know that he had won his second fight.
Now he was in the semi-finals.
There was a little time between his fights, I guess about an hour or so. Then she let me know he was about to fight his third fight.
How on earth is he going to fight with a broken thumb?
In a little while I got a text from Shelbie telling me that Drew had lost this fight by judges decision. He had fought the fight until the end, but was no declared the winner.
I was so glad that it was all over and that he didn't have his nose broken. Now I could stop worrying about his craziness. Yeah, that's what I thought.
But then my phone rang. It was Drew. He was so excited telling me all about his fights. And telling me how next year was going to win the whole thing!
Well, I guess that gives me a year to toughen up my nerves. A mom can't hardly take this kind of stuff.
PS While we were home this past time, Drew brought the video from his fights up to the house for us to watch. And I have to admit, he looked really good. I was impressed.
I am so very proud of that young man.
Drew has lost and kept off over 100 pounds. He looks great. He is very diligent in his daily exercise and in watching what he eats. I am so proud of him.
When he announced to Pops and I that he was going to compete I was very worried. Drew has never been a fighter. I wouldn't consider him to be aggressive either.
But he was very adamant that this was something that he wanted to do. So he trained hard for it.
The competition was held in West Virginia at a High School. It was scheduled for 2 days.
Everyone would fight the first evening and if you won, you would move on to the next day. If you lost, you were eliminated.
Of course Pops and I was on the road at this time so I asked Shelbie, Drew's girlfriend, to please keep me updated. So 2 minutes before his first fight she sent me a text to let me know.
Oh my!
After about 7 minutes I got another text from her telling me that he had won and was moving on the next day.
Later that evening Drew texted me and was all excited. I still cannot believe he was doing this.
Again the next day Shelbie let me know when he was about to fight. After a few minutes she texted me back and told me that he thinks he broke his thumb during the fight but was going to fight the next round anyway. What?!?!
After a few minutes that seemed like a very long time, she let me know that he had won his second fight.
Now he was in the semi-finals.
There was a little time between his fights, I guess about an hour or so. Then she let me know he was about to fight his third fight.
How on earth is he going to fight with a broken thumb?
In a little while I got a text from Shelbie telling me that Drew had lost this fight by judges decision. He had fought the fight until the end, but was no declared the winner.
I was so glad that it was all over and that he didn't have his nose broken. Now I could stop worrying about his craziness. Yeah, that's what I thought.
But then my phone rang. It was Drew. He was so excited telling me all about his fights. And telling me how next year was going to win the whole thing!
Well, I guess that gives me a year to toughen up my nerves. A mom can't hardly take this kind of stuff.
PS While we were home this past time, Drew brought the video from his fights up to the house for us to watch. And I have to admit, he looked really good. I was impressed.
I am so very proud of that young man.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Medicated again
As soon as we got to Walmart Pops and I went inside. I went straight to the Pharmacy and got Pops' meds. I thought that he would take them and go back to the truck, but he surprized me by wanting to walk around the store and help me shop for some groceries.
We needed quite a few things so I walked around picking up what was on our list.
I passed the frozen foods and noticed some chicken wings in different flavors. I thought I might get some because Sunday is the superbowl and we will be watching. So as I put the bag into the cart something caught my eye. It was a little lizard. It was in my cart.
I asked Pops to get it out. He tried to calm me by telling me that it wouldn't hurt me. I don't care if it will or not, get it out of my cart. I don't even want it touching me or my things.
He picked it up by the tail and put it on the floor and immediately it scampered into a potato chip display. okay.
We continued walking around the store until we had everything on our list. We paid and took our stuff to the truck.
It seems like we no sooner had it all put away when we got a load offer. It was picking up in Darlington, SC and going to Alabama. I was really enjoying being in the south. Charlotte was still chilly, but the sun is shining and surely Alabama will be warmer.
So Pops tried to rest while I drove us to our pickup. We drove right past the Darlington Speedway. That was cool. And I saw a water tower that said, Alligator water. I wanted to take a picture but I missed getting one and then on the other end of town was another water tower but this one said, Alligator rural water. I did get a picture of it.
My heart was happy to be in the sunshine. And it was getting warmer. I even saw some daffodils blooming.
We made our pickup and then headed south toward Montgomery, Alabama.
It was a really nice drive. But then we got to Atlanta around 7pm. Honestly this city always has the most traffic and everyone drives like they are on a speedway.
By nightfall we were in Alabama and getting close to our delivery.
The place we were going was about 70 miles of two lane rural roads so it was slow going. It seemed to take us forever but we finally got the load off and then we were heading back to Montgomery for our layover.
Pops is still feeling pretty bad. He is still getting the bladder spasms. I feel really badly for him. I wish there was something I could do to help him.
I slept really well, but he didn't. He barely slept at all.
The day here was fantastic. It was 71 degrees and sunny. We have a pretty good parking space and the dogs are enjoying their outside time too. It is good medicine for us. And Pops went for several laps around the parking lot.
We got a lot of stuff done today that has been put off. We got to relax. We did have a pretty busy week. We ran everyday since we left the house. So sitting still was nice.
I found a church in the directory and already spoke to the preacher. I am excited to be going to a new one for us tomorrow.
Please, keep Pops in your prayers. I know that he has to be terribly frustrated, but he is being really patient about all of it.
We needed quite a few things so I walked around picking up what was on our list.
I passed the frozen foods and noticed some chicken wings in different flavors. I thought I might get some because Sunday is the superbowl and we will be watching. So as I put the bag into the cart something caught my eye. It was a little lizard. It was in my cart.
I asked Pops to get it out. He tried to calm me by telling me that it wouldn't hurt me. I don't care if it will or not, get it out of my cart. I don't even want it touching me or my things.
He picked it up by the tail and put it on the floor and immediately it scampered into a potato chip display. okay.
We continued walking around the store until we had everything on our list. We paid and took our stuff to the truck.
It seems like we no sooner had it all put away when we got a load offer. It was picking up in Darlington, SC and going to Alabama. I was really enjoying being in the south. Charlotte was still chilly, but the sun is shining and surely Alabama will be warmer.
So Pops tried to rest while I drove us to our pickup. We drove right past the Darlington Speedway. That was cool. And I saw a water tower that said, Alligator water. I wanted to take a picture but I missed getting one and then on the other end of town was another water tower but this one said, Alligator rural water. I did get a picture of it.
My heart was happy to be in the sunshine. And it was getting warmer. I even saw some daffodils blooming.
We made our pickup and then headed south toward Montgomery, Alabama.
It was a really nice drive. But then we got to Atlanta around 7pm. Honestly this city always has the most traffic and everyone drives like they are on a speedway.
By nightfall we were in Alabama and getting close to our delivery.
The place we were going was about 70 miles of two lane rural roads so it was slow going. It seemed to take us forever but we finally got the load off and then we were heading back to Montgomery for our layover.
Pops is still feeling pretty bad. He is still getting the bladder spasms. I feel really badly for him. I wish there was something I could do to help him.
I slept really well, but he didn't. He barely slept at all.
The day here was fantastic. It was 71 degrees and sunny. We have a pretty good parking space and the dogs are enjoying their outside time too. It is good medicine for us. And Pops went for several laps around the parking lot.
We got a lot of stuff done today that has been put off. We got to relax. We did have a pretty busy week. We ran everyday since we left the house. So sitting still was nice.
I found a church in the directory and already spoke to the preacher. I am excited to be going to a new one for us tomorrow.
Please, keep Pops in your prayers. I know that he has to be terribly frustrated, but he is being really patient about all of it.
Surgery
Pops was really nervous about his surgery and so was I. We didn't really know what to expect. All we were told was that he would have his prostate shaved and would go home with a catheter and in two days they would take out the catheter and we could go to work on the 4th day, or the 5th in our case because the 4th was Sunday.
Starla and I drove Pops to the Dr's facility. Our good friends, Melvin and Ginny and our preacher, Chad and his wife, Diane were already there.
We went inside and checked in. In about 2 minutes they called us up to the desk and wanted a check for $1500. This was for the cost of using this facility and it had to be paid upfront. Well, at least they have their priorities right, I guess. Anyway...
We waited for a long time. Almost 2 hours past when we were scheduled they took him back for prep. I was able to go with him at this point. They put him into a reclining chair and started his IV and did some vital checks on him. The doctor came and talked to us and then it wasn't long after that they took him into surgery.
I went back to the waiting room. Talking with our friends helped pass the time although I was worried and didn't talk all that much.
After about an hour or so, they came and got me. The doctor told me that everything went well and that he didn't find any surprizes. Was he expecting to? Like what? Remember the little paper wrapped surprizes that always came in the Cracker Jacks? Was he looking for that? I don't know.
So after about another hour, Pops was awake and it was time to go home.
That evening and all the next day Pops felt really well. It seemed like this was our answer for sure.
On Friday morning we drove to the doctor. It was snowing really hard mixed with ice and sleet. Schools were closing and the roads were horrible.
We got to the doctors office and Pops' catheter was removed. We waited for him to pee. Nothing happened. We were told to go walk around the mall, get something to eat and relax. They said give it time, he will pee.
With the bad weather the doctor's office was closing at noon and since it was Friday they didn't want Pops to have an ER visit so we went back to the office and they reinserted the catheter and told us to come back on Monday.
So we had a normal weekend at home and got to go to our home church on Sunday and then to Roof Garden Christian Church on Sunday evening for a hymn sing. It was a good weekend.
Monday morning at 5am, Pops got up and together we removed the catheter. He was to relax at home and see if he could pee. Around noon he still hadn't peed so again we made our way to the doctor. This time though they showed him how to use a straight catheter and get the urine himself without having to leave the catheter in. We got a big supply of stuff and away we went.
Pops did really well by using these and even began to pee a little on his own.
So we put ourselves back into service hoping that everything was going to be ok.
All the next day Pops peed.
We got a load and left home. We were picking up in Emporium and going to the state of Indiana.
All the next day everything was good. Pops seemed to be doing really well. We had a good load and I felt like everything was back to normal. I was very optimistic and both of us were happy.
But the next day everything changed. We were having an ok morning but then Pops felt like he needed to use the catheter because he wasn't getting totally empty. So he did and immediately he got a horrible bladder spasm that made him scream in pain. It scared the dogs. It scared me. I didn't know what to do. He was hollering and crying. It was awful. After about a half hour it eased up enough for him to lay down. But now that had changed everything. He was in pain each time he urinated. And he wasn't going very much at all.
We were on another load at this time. It picked up in Michigan and was going to Pennsylvania. So we just toughed it out and made our delivery. From there we drove to a rest area and Pops slept. While he slept we got another load that was going to Charlotte, NC.
Pops had called the Dr's office and they called back in the evening. We questioned them and told them what was happening and they said they thought he had another infection. They wanted him on medication. I gave them information of a Walmart store in Charlotte, NC and they were going to fax the prescriptions there. We would have the medicine then right away in the morning.
We picked up our load and drove all through the night and was at our delivery by 6am the next morning. We had to wait until 8 for anyone to unload our truck but then we drove directly to Walmart to get Pops' medicine.
Oh, how I hope and pray it works for him. We need to get on the mend.
Starla and I drove Pops to the Dr's facility. Our good friends, Melvin and Ginny and our preacher, Chad and his wife, Diane were already there.
We went inside and checked in. In about 2 minutes they called us up to the desk and wanted a check for $1500. This was for the cost of using this facility and it had to be paid upfront. Well, at least they have their priorities right, I guess. Anyway...
We waited for a long time. Almost 2 hours past when we were scheduled they took him back for prep. I was able to go with him at this point. They put him into a reclining chair and started his IV and did some vital checks on him. The doctor came and talked to us and then it wasn't long after that they took him into surgery.
I went back to the waiting room. Talking with our friends helped pass the time although I was worried and didn't talk all that much.
After about an hour or so, they came and got me. The doctor told me that everything went well and that he didn't find any surprizes. Was he expecting to? Like what? Remember the little paper wrapped surprizes that always came in the Cracker Jacks? Was he looking for that? I don't know.
So after about another hour, Pops was awake and it was time to go home.
That evening and all the next day Pops felt really well. It seemed like this was our answer for sure.
On Friday morning we drove to the doctor. It was snowing really hard mixed with ice and sleet. Schools were closing and the roads were horrible.
We got to the doctors office and Pops' catheter was removed. We waited for him to pee. Nothing happened. We were told to go walk around the mall, get something to eat and relax. They said give it time, he will pee.
With the bad weather the doctor's office was closing at noon and since it was Friday they didn't want Pops to have an ER visit so we went back to the office and they reinserted the catheter and told us to come back on Monday.
So we had a normal weekend at home and got to go to our home church on Sunday and then to Roof Garden Christian Church on Sunday evening for a hymn sing. It was a good weekend.
Monday morning at 5am, Pops got up and together we removed the catheter. He was to relax at home and see if he could pee. Around noon he still hadn't peed so again we made our way to the doctor. This time though they showed him how to use a straight catheter and get the urine himself without having to leave the catheter in. We got a big supply of stuff and away we went.
Pops did really well by using these and even began to pee a little on his own.
So we put ourselves back into service hoping that everything was going to be ok.
All the next day Pops peed.
We got a load and left home. We were picking up in Emporium and going to the state of Indiana.
All the next day everything was good. Pops seemed to be doing really well. We had a good load and I felt like everything was back to normal. I was very optimistic and both of us were happy.
But the next day everything changed. We were having an ok morning but then Pops felt like he needed to use the catheter because he wasn't getting totally empty. So he did and immediately he got a horrible bladder spasm that made him scream in pain. It scared the dogs. It scared me. I didn't know what to do. He was hollering and crying. It was awful. After about a half hour it eased up enough for him to lay down. But now that had changed everything. He was in pain each time he urinated. And he wasn't going very much at all.
We were on another load at this time. It picked up in Michigan and was going to Pennsylvania. So we just toughed it out and made our delivery. From there we drove to a rest area and Pops slept. While he slept we got another load that was going to Charlotte, NC.
Pops had called the Dr's office and they called back in the evening. We questioned them and told them what was happening and they said they thought he had another infection. They wanted him on medication. I gave them information of a Walmart store in Charlotte, NC and they were going to fax the prescriptions there. We would have the medicine then right away in the morning.
We picked up our load and drove all through the night and was at our delivery by 6am the next morning. We had to wait until 8 for anyone to unload our truck but then we drove directly to Walmart to get Pops' medicine.
Oh, how I hope and pray it works for him. We need to get on the mend.
Week before surgery
When we decided to work up until Pops' surgery, we hoped to have a good week. Bills were beginning to pile up and we needed the income. But God had other plans for us, as He so often does.
We got a good load when we left the house. We had to drive the whole way to Kentucky to pick it up though.
The evening that we left the house I began to get a sore throat and by the time we got to Kentucky, it was turning into a raging cold. And to make matters worse, it was cold and raining hard and we kept having to get out of the truck and walk from place to place while waiting for our load.
It took ALL day to get that load onto our truck and by the time we were loaded and ready to go all the employees of the base were gone. When we drove up to the gate it was closed and locked with a pad lock. So we maneuvered our truck until we got turned around and drove back to the building were we got loaded hoping that someone was still there. There was another truck just getting ready to leave so we followed him. We reasoned that he probably knew where he was going. But he turned in the direction of the locked gate.
Now what to do? Well, maybe he knows something we don't know. Maybe there's a trick to it. But no, now both of us had to figure out what to do and we looked and felt quite stupid for doing it twice. So we once again drove back to the building where we started.
I called our dispatcher and told him what was happening. He told me that he would make some calls and call me back.
He called back in a few minutes and told us that it was shift change for the guards and someone would be at the gate in a few minutes. So one more time we drove back there. The other truck was still sitting there too.
After a few minutes the guards did show up and let us out. Wow!
So now, Pops laid down and I was driving. I could feel that I had a fever. I kept putting my hand on the cold window then touching it to my face. And I was bawly, like a little kid. I was feeling so sorry for myself. It was a rough drive. I was glad when Pops woke up and started to drive.
I doped myself up with Nyquil and rubbed Vicks cream all over and I went to bed. I did sleep really well too.
We made our trip and then went to the rest area in New Hampshire to wait our layover. I was so sick. I was constantly wiping germs with antibacterial wipes and washing my hands and covering my mouth. I was trying to be careful not to infect Pops. He sure didn't need to get this mess right before his surgery.
Chucky was being an angel. He is old and since Lucy stayed back home, he was the King of the Roost. But he mostly slept and since it was cold and rainy when we did go out, he took care of business and wanted right back in. Good boy!
We decided to drive down to a rest area in Connecticut in hopes of getting a load sooner, but we ended up spending the weekend there anyway. Oh well.
On Monday we got a load that picked up in Connecticut late that night and delivered in New Jersey on Tuesday.
It was a quick and easy load and after we delivered that we went out of service and headed home. Pops' surgery was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, and he is sneezing like crazy.
We got a good load when we left the house. We had to drive the whole way to Kentucky to pick it up though.
The evening that we left the house I began to get a sore throat and by the time we got to Kentucky, it was turning into a raging cold. And to make matters worse, it was cold and raining hard and we kept having to get out of the truck and walk from place to place while waiting for our load.
It took ALL day to get that load onto our truck and by the time we were loaded and ready to go all the employees of the base were gone. When we drove up to the gate it was closed and locked with a pad lock. So we maneuvered our truck until we got turned around and drove back to the building were we got loaded hoping that someone was still there. There was another truck just getting ready to leave so we followed him. We reasoned that he probably knew where he was going. But he turned in the direction of the locked gate.
Now what to do? Well, maybe he knows something we don't know. Maybe there's a trick to it. But no, now both of us had to figure out what to do and we looked and felt quite stupid for doing it twice. So we once again drove back to the building where we started.
I called our dispatcher and told him what was happening. He told me that he would make some calls and call me back.
He called back in a few minutes and told us that it was shift change for the guards and someone would be at the gate in a few minutes. So one more time we drove back there. The other truck was still sitting there too.
After a few minutes the guards did show up and let us out. Wow!
So now, Pops laid down and I was driving. I could feel that I had a fever. I kept putting my hand on the cold window then touching it to my face. And I was bawly, like a little kid. I was feeling so sorry for myself. It was a rough drive. I was glad when Pops woke up and started to drive.
I doped myself up with Nyquil and rubbed Vicks cream all over and I went to bed. I did sleep really well too.
We made our trip and then went to the rest area in New Hampshire to wait our layover. I was so sick. I was constantly wiping germs with antibacterial wipes and washing my hands and covering my mouth. I was trying to be careful not to infect Pops. He sure didn't need to get this mess right before his surgery.
Chucky was being an angel. He is old and since Lucy stayed back home, he was the King of the Roost. But he mostly slept and since it was cold and rainy when we did go out, he took care of business and wanted right back in. Good boy!
We decided to drive down to a rest area in Connecticut in hopes of getting a load sooner, but we ended up spending the weekend there anyway. Oh well.
On Monday we got a load that picked up in Connecticut late that night and delivered in New Jersey on Tuesday.
It was a quick and easy load and after we delivered that we went out of service and headed home. Pops' surgery was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, and he is sneezing like crazy.
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