A Cup of Special Tea with Friends



Tiny

Having a little slice of pound cake and a cup of special tea in my new favorite mug. Dare I show a picture here? It seems somehow sweetly familiar as if I've had this cup for a long time. I hold it easily and comfortably wrapped in my hands as the hot liquid warms my cold fingers.

The mug is new; a special gift, a reward for walking out in the cold this morning to take a picture of the sunrise.

Reaching into the spidery plastic mailbox, I was thrilled to spot a brown-paper wrapped package of sunshine peeking out. When I saw the return address my step quickened toward the house to reveal its mystery. I still had kitties to feed and had already stalled the 'inside critters' with stories that their canine breakfast would soon arrive.

Ms. Kitty and Tiny were the only ones that showed up for the buffet today and yesterday which is both good and bad. Jack has been missing meals for a couple of days now. He's a seasoned tom cat who knows his way around, but there are the local yokels who like to do burn outs on the back roads out here.



Ms. Kitty

Just another day in paradise here in the country. As the build next door continues slowly but ever pleasing in its beauty against the revised landscape of the setting sun.

Another one sinks into the watery lake and day is done.

PegCole's Test Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Cake

With the change to cooler weather the desire to start baking kicks in at my house.  I love a recipe that starts out with a yellow cake mix and adds pumpkin puree. The feed from Hub Pages this morning, showed this delicious recipe for Pumpkin Pie Cake or Pumpkin Smash.

After a quick comment to the author I headed straight into the kitchen and made this dessert following this well explained and beautiful recipe which combines two of my favorite things: cinnamon and eggs, into an aromatic pan of irresistible goodness. The recipe showed quality photos that illustrated special tips like what to look for when testing to see if it is done

Go ahead and enjoy it with absolutely NO calories (virtual version only). Yes, it is as good as it looks.

Here's the recipe link: The Best Pumpkin Pie Cake Recipe, Easy Pumpkin Smash by Natashalh on Hub Pages. I give it a Yum Rating of 5.


Here's how mine came out and my variations from the recipe:

The recipe calls for a 16 oz can of pumpkin puree but mine was just 15 ounces. The manufacturers must have changed the packaging quantity but the pumpkin pie cake turned out just fine all the same!

I had a glass baking dish that measured more like 16 x 9" (rather than the recommended 13 x 11" baking dish) which seemed to make very little difference.

Rather than use a medium sized mixing bowl to puree the pumpkin combination, I just used my immersion blender right in the saucepan in which I would bring the mixture to a boil.

 Then it went over medium heat where it slowly came to a boil.

And the rest is in the recipe. It was my first time to make a "dump cake" but it won't be my last. Easy and delicious. Pour the base into the greased glass baking pan.

Sprinkle the box cake mix over this base and

Then spread the melted butter over the dry mix and put it in to bake.

For 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Try to let it cool a bit before serving.

Just a bit, if you can.

Yum.

Coffee Talk on Saturday Morning

Stacy David of the TV show Gears is talking about installing brake lines in his superlite race car project while my head set has Ann Margret singing "How Lovely to Be a Woman" from Bye Bye Birdie. It is a movie we watch whenever it airs on cable; the old version with Paul Lynd.

This has been a week of activity starting at 3am Monday morning when J headed out to the airport and San Jose CA. After an entire day of interviews with various principals from the hiring company, he did a technical presentation of the company's product to the group. He tucked a few of the slides received late Sunday afternoon into the powerpoint presentation that he had already prepared when they thoughtfully sent 75 slides for his perusal.

Tuesday was travel day heading back to Dallas via Phoenix, arriving at home at nearly 7 pm. Wednesday was a day to recover from the exertion and stress associated with four one-on-one interviews, lunch with the prospective manager and the product presentation. Now he waits again for the next move as he's done so many times before. This one takes the cake when it comes to jumping through hoops.

Wednesday was Doctor Day with the girls. The three of us headed out around 7:15 am for the medical clinic in Richardson. Our primary care physician (pcp) says the new Obama Care regulations are requiring doctors to spend more time on paperwork and therefore less time on their patients. He sat there filling out three forms for each woman as he explained that he is already seeing the pressure of the new requirements. To renew and continue the medications Mom and her sister have been taking for years, like blood pressure medication and thyroid medicine, they must submit for blood work and physicals more often.

At eighty seven and ninety two, it takes a lot of energy to fast all morning and get into the doctor's office to have blood drawn before having a first cup of coffee. They've put the girls in separate rooms this time so I sit with Louise since she can't see and is wheelchair bound. They ask me to join the doctor when he goes into the room with Mom. She's already told him she's 86. I correct it for the record.

Back in the room with Louise, the assistant asks me, "How old is she?" and once again I turn to Louise and ask her to tell the lady how old she is.

"I'm, um, ninety one." She says and looks to me for confirmation.

"Well now, Auntie, you're ninety two now." I remind her. The nurse scribbles it down on the paper.

During the visit, they're told that they must get glaucoma tests done every two years too. Doctor notes on the page he's filling out that he's notified them.

"There's a disclaimer somewhere that says 'Medicare may or may not pay for these tests'", according to Dr. Hussey, for things that may be required like a "Venous Doppler" to continue prescribing the blood pressure medication. These tests run thousands of dollars. Not a very positive impression of the new health care for elderly patients like these women who are still trying to make it on their own after a lifetime of working and contributing to the system.

The rest of the week was a breeze until I read that my Hubber friend Dusty Tibbs 50 Caliber has passed. Here's one dedicated to you today, Dusty, from Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World. Missing you already.

New Neighbors on All Sides of the Fence

You know how things seem to go along as usual for a time and then all of a sudden, major things change. That seems to be a certainty of life. Like the Texas weather, stick around, it'll change.

Over the past two weeks at our homestead, things have changed dramatically when it comes to neighbors.



Crandall's

First of all, the major landmark on the corner known as Crandall's went up for sale after some of the usual hollering and fussing that goes with a tenant leaving having no desire to do so. Trucks came and left, taking out load after load of teetering piles of poorly packed belongings. A few days later, a yellow notice went on the front door.

There has been a for sale sign in the yard for a month now and the house sits empty. A Constable has been to the door at least twice looking for someone. Plus I think I've inherited their leftover cats.

Then, the folks who bought Troy and Edie's house behind us have some new people living in their garage apartment. Tony has enjoyed the exercise of running to the fence and looking for the lady's dog, whom he calls Brandy. She is the girlfriend of his imagination.

This past week folks came out and staked out a section of the pasture behind their house and fenced it in with horse fencing. The area is directly in the view from my back porch, which, other than when Edie's front yard caught on fire, hasn't changed much in twenty plus years.

Well, the Popcorn Tree has grown quite large in that time; "See the tree how big it's grown".

That afternoon they brought a beautiful horse into the pasture so naturally I began to worry: there are no trees, no shelter, no shade for the animal. Which reminds me that I must soon capture the kitties and get them to the vet. Fortunately the temperatures are mild at this time of the year.

These are the best two weeks to visit weather wise here in Texas. Then came that torrential rain a couple of nights ago. Poor horsie. I was much relieved to watch them build a feed stall for the horse this week. Another new impact on the landscape: A corrugated steel shed and the silhouette of a horse on that side now. Not too bad.

Back in May, the proud new owner of the neighboring ten acres closer toward the lake knocked on our door and introduced himself. He asked if we minded him trimming some of our trees that hung over the fence line. I thought that was really considerate and thoughtful of him. Over the past few months, he and his family have followed exactly what we did when we first bought our property. We camped out here on the weekends, mowing a patch of grass here and there on the huge chunk of land envisioning our future homestead. They have barbecued and laughed and planned their way toward their dream home which has broken ground this week after they finished building the perimeter fence.


Early Saturday morning, just after seven, I heard heavy machinery operating nearby. Now that is an unusual happening out here in the boonies; to hear the roar of a cement mixer rev up its engine and start to drop its load. We peered out of our second story window to view the work in progress. All week there had been workmen on the neighboring property who built the wood frame and tied in iron rod for the structural support of the foundation now being poured.

Before long our view will be permanently altered to include their residence now fully in progress. I'm grateful that they placed the base of the house far enough back where we still can enjoy the view from the front porch. That was a major concern while we freely enjoyed the unimpaired view of sunset for the past two decades.

Welcome to the neighborhood.

Wish You Were Here

Feeling in the mood for some tunes this morning. Thought I would share a couple of them here as I write. Pink Floyd sings it well.

The Beach
I hold on to many good memories of the time when I was considered family, shared meals, beachside barbecues, all of us reading The Mephisto Waltz, later treking to the movie theater in St. Petersburg to watch it together.

That was the summer the deck was built to connect the sandspur ridden path from the beach, winding between the sea oats abundant that year before arriving at the back of the cottage where the glass door led to the kitchen. A table with an umbrella called quietly for a long read of the Sunday Newspaper listening to the screach of sea gulls swarming over stale crusts of bread. 

London Broil was baking in the oven; the finest of dishes were eaten while wearing sandy swimsuits and flip flops and singing the tunes of the day playing on the radio. The pulsating shower head in the downstairs bath: drilling away the salt; stinging the fresh sunburn; washing clean all the cares of the world. And for that brief moment I belonged.

That was a beautiful summer; the Summer of '69.

Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue" 1968

The Creature Under the House

Some months back a large hole appeared under the stem wall at the base of our house. The dark tunnel that led to our crawl space beneath the house got the full attention of our dogs. Midnight barking raids became the norm as they often demanded access to the back yard.

We tried putting a big bag of river rocks in the entrance to the tunnel behind the air conditioning units outside. For a short time there were no signs of the animal's return. That changed a few nights ago when the dogs went crazy clawing and sniffing at the baseboard in the den. 
 

Before opening the door to let the dogs out for their morning business, I clicked and re-clicked the deadbolt trying to scare away any unwelcome guests. That day it turned out to be a young stray cat. For the past few days this youngster has been snooping around the dog's water dish and hanging out in their fenced yard. And I had begun setting out food for the poor hungry creature. But in the country you can't set out food unless you want to attract a lot of animals that enjoy it, like the 3 armadillos I saw behind my Mom's fence just a couple of days ago.

Naturally, the dogs shot off the porch heading for the garage, where the kitty was holding its ground.  "No! No! Come here," I screamed. The dogs are ignoring me and the neighbors likely aren't. Once in alert mode, the dogs worked as a team to flank the enemy and closed in on the intruder just as I came running out wearing one shoe, the other lost coming down the steps.

For the surprise of the week, I potted four giant furry caterpillars wriggling in unison along the garage wall. I grabbed the dog's collar and pulled his nose away dragging him backwards toward the door. Who knew if they were poisonous or not? Our ever-obedient elder dog gave a few interested sniffs then ran back inside with us.

The caterpillars turned out to be the upraised tails of three baby skunks whose mother had gone out for breakfast leaving them to crawl out of their cozy nest. A few minutes later they found their way back underground, returning to safety and comfort.









The Longest Days

Storm by PegCole17

Some days go quick as lightning and others drag on for an eternity. But when you get a combination of events that cause both occurences to happen at once, it can be difficult to weather the storm. When I hear the word 'difficult' I think of my mentor, the late Mr. Jim Rohn. I can almost hear him saying that life was filled with opportunity and difficulty. What we do with what we're given is how it will come out.

Just when you think that things are getting back to normal after a long period of a 'disturbance in the force', life is good for a few days, good health is finally starting to bloom, the walker has been put aside and then, well, then the corporation comes along to shake up the boat.

Later today "They" will come and pick up the company car, a brand new Chevy Malibu that served well for the corporate travels that are no longer deemed necessary. "The position has been eliminated". It's one of those euphemisms that corporate people like to use. Now that the particular technical product you supported is not part of their solution, you are no longer necessary either.  But it wasn't as heartless as some "separations from the company" have been. This time there was a grace period of two weeks given, well, less one holiday Monday in which to find another position within the company. Since a recent press leak has indicated an upcoming reduction in force (RIF) of 10% at said company, most departments are holding on to any open requisitions with a tight fist. No luck internally. Been there, done that. Now we're there again.

Each phone call becomes a ray of momentary hope as we wait for news on a position that was available last week with a different company. But with this new development, who knows? It seems easier to get a job when you already have one somehow. We will see as this turns along with the world around us.

After The Hospital

Forest Park Medical Center

It has been a long time since I wrote here on my Blogger account. The past three months in particular have passed by like straight line winds. Now the calm is finally settling in and things are returning to routine. How lovely it is to have a routine: Set the coffee pot the night before to brew automatically; get up and take a shower; get dressed and ready for work. All these things we take for granted when we are able to do them.

But after major surgery, the normal routine things that people do are now dependent on others for help. And life becomes a series of milestones that mark the progress of returning to the routine.

The hospital visit was like nothing I've ever experienced. There is a reason they have been rated as Extraordinary by D Magazine. I'll be writing a review of the experience and publishing it on HubPages soon.

The Big Chill Down in Texas

For the past sixty something days we've had 100 plus degree weather here in Texas. That's right. Since the time my friend visited on the 4th of July, the temperature has reached 100 or more at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport all but one day. Yes, one day it was down to 99 degrees so we broke out the blankets and flannel shirts.

Until yesterday when a north wind came blasting through the plains bringing glorious cool weather. With the wind came a blessed relief of 69 degrees this morning when I let the dogs out at 5:30am. It's like living on another planet; a much cooler one.

The worst drought in 50 years has created enormous cracks in our yard, exposing tree roots and blistering the already stressed leaves and killing many well established trees. We're still praying for rain desperately needed to combat the wildfires raging in our state.

Possum Kingdom Lake took the forefront last week as the top story in the news with 6200 acres aflame and out of control for days. The same area burned in April, dispelling the myth that lightening doesn't strike twice at the same place. Maybe not so true with fire. This morning another wildfire rages in south east Ennis area ravaging homes and property. Floods rage just to our east with Louisianna pelted with the aftermath of Tropical Storm Lee. Too much water there, not enough here.

With the cooler weather, despite the lack of rain, we'll celebrate the Labor Day holiday as usual doing what we enjoy best in our quiet country home.

Blistering Heat Continues in Texas

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful. . ." With temperatures in the 100s and higher for the past thirty something days, one day becomes much like the next here in north Texas.

Our last rainfall was too long ago for the thirsty and distressed trees to remember. Weather reporters and Meteorologists take a daily ration of despair with folks demanding a better forecast.

After temperatures inched into the 110 degree zone one day last week to break a record we're hoping this blistering heat streak will soon be gone.

Channel 5 forecasted these temps last night which give us little hope for a cool down.

Kyphoplasty on the Horizon

Today has been packed full of activity. You know how some days are bland and vanilla, while others have more energy stuffed into 24 hours than most people can handle? This was one of those days.

We've hit another milestone in Mom's health. She's been suffering since early April after lifting a potted plant and injuring her spine, again. No surprise. The last visit to the hospital, Dr. Neece took me aside after her Kyphoplasty procedure was over and said her bones are "like oatmeal". Now, I said, what does that mean? Well, the Kyphoplasty involves inserting a hollow needle into a collapsed vertebra and inflating a balloon to lift the bone to where it should be, then sending cement in the needle to fill the space. So when he did the last surgery in March 2009, he said he could push the needle into her bone with his fingers. That's what he meant by oatmeal. He let me know he thought she "should be in an assisted facility". He wasn't being unkind. In fact, he said his own mother was in one herself and it was very nice with progressive levels of care, etc..



Mom at Dr. Neece's Office in Frisco

 This time, Mom injured T-10 on her back. The next step is scheduling the "procedure". Since when do they call an operation a procedure? Long time now. But anyway. Possibility that it could happen on Thursday, but with her insurance having to approve things, could be next week.

And that's what's ahead on our agenda. The issue of getting someone to stay with Louise while Mom is out of commission is next. It's just not safe for her to be alone at this point. Her birthday last month, when she turned 91, reminded me of how great she is doing: taking care of Sugar, her cat and Fritz, her little dachscund-basset hound mix. He's finally passed her in years and is no spring chicken. But Louise continues to amaze me and inspire me. She still dressed in a matching outfit everyday, makes her bed, washes the dishes, makes lunch for both of them, takes showers on her own and washes her hair. All, things we take for granted, but how will we handle these tasks when we're in our 90s? Let's see.

For now, I'm off to fix my dinner after spending the morning shopping for groceries for Mom and Louise, then taking Mom to Frisco for her MRI which kept us out until around 7pm. Today's another day Scarlett, and we'll think about these things tomorrow, at Tara. Peace and may God Bless you today and always.

Ushering in Spring with Zest

Last week felt more like spring with temps in the mid 70s and warm breezes; a great time to start the spring cleaning. Took a trip to the grocery store on Monday with Mom tagging along- I did her shopping while she sipped a coffee at McDonald's, much safer for her and faster for me.

Tuesday I was determined to furnish the nearly-empty living room, vacant since building the family room addition two years ago and moving the furniture out there. To my own amazement, I found a new Simmons hide-a-bed couch (ahhh-memory foam), a wildly patterned armchair for the bedroom, a rolling lift-top coffee table and a solid wood bookcase in the Rooms for Less showroom that's closing soon. My good fortune was enhanced by the amazing news that the furniture could be delivered that afternoon - and to my delight, it was!

Wednesday I made an appointment for Louise's little Beagle-Dachshund who's needed a trip to the vet for months. Mom wanted to tag along to get out of the house, so the she, Louise, Fritz and I drove to Sachse and saw Dr. Pirkey for an update on Fritz's shots and a general exam. For a 13 year old dog, he's holding his own.

The morning was filled with the noise of professional tree trimmers who managed to turn my three big trees into a sculptured art form. Then we went across the road and they worked on trimming up the mulberry tree at Mom's house.
Tree Trimming Article with Pictures

But the day got even better when I stopped by to speak with the next-door neighbors, who having enjoyed the entertainment of the tree trimming event at Mom's, observed the workers looking under the hood of her old Crown Victoria and asked if I was selling the car. Yep. SOLD! Hooray. No more insurance premiums, inspections, license renewals and best of all, no more costly repairs to Mom's old car.

Thursday was relatively quiet. Hubby and I took a truckload of cardboard to the local recycling center then picked up groceries for our house. Returned home in time to write an article on HubPages - my tawdry escapism and current addiction.

Friday I took Mom to the Rooms for Less store where I'd seen a reclining chair that looked perfect for her. She wanted it, naturally, so we'll go back this week to pick it up. I don't look forward to dragging the thing out of the truck and wrestling it into her living room, but it wasn't worth the delivery fee for one item.

All in all it was a productive week. There's nothing like the warm winds of spring to get me motivated.

Spring is Sprung as March Marches in

Spring is making its presence known here in Texas with mild temperature in the 70s this week.  It's a blessing to see the new blossoms appear on the Bradford Pears and baby Sparrows happily feeding at the bird feeder.

Another welcome event was the sighting of three woodpeckers in the backyard but only one let me capture his image.

The crops in the pastures along Highway 78 are starting to wear their finest green color as St. Patrick's Day soon approaches.

Ah, spring - so delightful.

Below the woodpecker taps out his song to the beat of his own drum.

Our Quiet Neighborhood

I sat in the living room of my neighbor's home this morning enjoying the company of Mr. and Mrs. H. my neighbors down the street. We spoke of Mr. H's parents, whose picture was displayed on one of their bric-a-brac lined shelves. His dad was born in the early 1800s - his Mom died when he was 5. That was 82 years ago and he still thinks of her fondly. He said in sweet remembrance - "Oh, Daddy got remarried. She was a nice lady." Mr. H celebrated his 87th birthday last week.

The temperature in the room was sweltering with the help of a space heater placed near the couch. Mr. H sat in his auto-lift chair hooked up to his newly acquired oxygen machine. Over the past few weeks he's undergone surgery for a blocked artery in his neck. His wife "E" is confined to her recliner, yet over the past few weeks, she's taken back the task of meal preparation in their country home. They do have the luxury of a Home Health Aide who comes 5 days a week to help with the daily tasks of bathing and light cleaning of their home. But in times like last week's deep freeze, they're grateful for the neighbors who come to help. "Oh, we can always count on Rick who's there for us 24/7" Mr. H says, delighted to use his up-to-date lingo. "And we're so grateful to folks like your Mom who's such a good friend to us."

For two people who are homebound - they are the most positive, upbeat people I've run across in months. They attribute everything to "God's good grace" and are grateful for every day they have on this planet. Although their view of the world has now been reduced to the landscape they can see through the glass storm door on the front room where we sit, they thank God for all their blessings in this life.

We compared the ages of the folks in the room, my Auntie L taking the lead in years being about to turn 91 this April. Mr. H followed with a close second - but his long-time wife "E" will surpass him in a few weeks when she turns 88. The baby in the room is my Mother who, at 85, is the youngest, not counting me.

When the conversation lagged for a moment, I thought it was a good time to introduce them all to the new technology I carried in my purse, a Smart Phone.  Although I'm an amateur at using it, they were absolutely amazed when I pulled up a Google Map and it showed an arial view of our exact location, the curve of the street and the little brown house where we sat.  I used my index finger to scroll over a couple of streets to show them my house - the garage where our red truck could be seen and the white Blazer I recently traded in was visible in our driveway.

I'll never forget the emphatic "Amazing - absolutely Amazing" words he used to describe this new phenomenon - a 4G phone. They'd never seen anything like it. His ebulient smile and enthusiasm was absolutely Amazing to me. What a long way we've come in this world we live in.

Wintry Conditions in the Dallas Metroplex

Our venture out yesterday after being cooped up for five days of below freezing weather was a much needed change of view. Here's what the local grocery store looked like on the Saturday before SuperBowl XLV.

The WalMart in Wylie TX was not the usual landscape for Texas.

And our driveway. . . . (what driveway?)

And Love Field where Southwest Airlines completely closed down after 6" of snow fell on a thick sheet of ice that dropped in on Tuesday and hung around all week.

A picture from the TV NBCDFW Channel 5 broadcast last week.  Most of the schools were closed during the week due to hazardous road conditions.

It was pretty if you didn't have to drive in it.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the temperature has reached 46 degrees. Snow is beginning to disappear and the icicles are plummeting to the slushy ground. Finally . . . and just in time.

Workers' Comp - The Little Guy vs The Big Insurance Companies

Workers' Comp - The Little Guy vs The Big Insurance Companies

Put another log on the fire . . .

Record low temperatures that haven't been felt in fifteen years here in Texas have inspired me to fire up the old Englander Wood Burning Stove.  It served us well in the early years before we had central air conditioning and heat. This morning, our HVAC unit was set for 74 degrees but was struggling to keep the inside temp above 68. That's a wee bit chilly for these bones.

We're in the midst of a winter storm that shut down the schools and many of the businesses across the metroplex yesterday and today. The Arctic Blast has brought on power outages to homes and buildings. Streets have become a major hazzard to most Texans who are unprepared to drive on the ice. Even seasoned truckers lost it yesterday driving on roads that resembled glaciers from the Ice Age.


Dallas Texas - Hazardous road conditions

It was a great day to stay home and make a big cauldron of steaming hot Chicken and Barley soup a recipe that required only the basic ingredients I generally keep on hand. The soup turned out quite good for my first venture into the Barley food group. So we're having it for lunch again today. Soup really is good food.

We're grateful that our power remains on, unlike the thousands of folks who've lost power in the worst storm of the decade.

February whooshes in with another Arctic Blast

We could hear the tap tap tap of little ice granules when it began late last evening, ushering in the full force of another winter storm. By the time the alarm went off there was a visible layer of tiny white pebbles covering both the front and back porch. The dogs, who got up at 3am to make their rounds, were fascinated by their water dish which has frozen into a giant slushie.  It was just two days ago we were enjoying a brief sunny break in the winter temperatures with a pleasant 70 degrees. Today the mercury has remained fixed at 20 degrees.

Most of the Dallas Schools are closed along with countless businesses as the ice settled on many of the overpasses and streets faster than the sand trucks can keep up. At the last report, there were 15 tractor trailer rigs involved in a series of accidents after jack knifing and sliding into one another and any neighboring cars. It's a great day for reading, writing and enjoying a nice cup of tea.

Hubby has ventured out in the mess to keep an appointment with the Pain Management Doctor, another new one. This guy has actually prescribed something to reduce the muscle contractions that accompany pathology at four levels of the lower back. Thank goodness for the little things that keep him going.

Workers 'Comp -The Little Guy vs The Big Insurance Companies
Here is the latest in the continuing saga of his battle with Workers' Comp. We had the Contested Case Hearing last Friday and are waiting to hear what the Judge's decision will be.

Thursday, January 13

The Arctic blast continues here in Texas with temperatures hovering below freezing. Most of the snow has melted with the exception of the pile on the hood of my car. Yesterday was beautifully sunny, reflecting a blinding white across the stretches of snow remaining on the ground.

After it warms up some I'm headed to the neighborhood grocery store to pick up some much needed supplies.  When compared with the weather in the north east, we've got it made here. The streets are clear and dry and traffic moves in its normal sluggish fashion.

First Post of 2011 - Winter has come to Texas

Nearly 7 inches of snow fell Sunday-Monday in NE TX

Wednesday January 12, 2011. Still it's strange writing the year and saying twenty-eleven. Saying nineteen something seems such a short time ago, as does Y2K (year two thousand) which had everyone so freaked out. Time marches on.

Starting off the new year differently . . . on a caregiver level. Finally I've found a service that will come all the way out where we live (I called over a dozen companies) and provide housekeeping services for Mom and her sister! Hooray! So starting next week they will have a team of two persons who will clean their house on a bi-weekly basis. They'll mop floors, vacuum, scrub sinks and toilets, change the linens, dust from ceiling to baseboards. There will still be plenty to do keeping the ladies active, happy to be living in their own place with their own bathrooms and privacy. Quite a feat for 85 and 90 year olds.

Reflections on Events of 2010

During this time like so many others, I tend to reflect on the events of the previous 12 months. With each year, it gets more difficult to remember everything so I write notes on my wall calendar. Today I'll take it down and have a look back at the first 6 months of 2010.

The year started off with our celebration of 21 years of marriage, then Mom's fall and subsequent hospitalization, and back surgery, my sister's multiple plane trips to visit and help with the care and rehabilitation for Mom and cooking for Louise during Mom's recovery at the Skilled Nursing Facility.

February brought a record snowfall in 24 hours of 12 plus inches.  March would have been Dad's 86th year. April brought us a new puppy http://hubpages.com/_Blogspot2/hub/New-Puppy-Blues-A-Case-of-Intussusception , June - surgery for Tony and the rest of the year is a blur at this point.

Looks like my sister and I hang out at hospitals, doctor's offices and airports. To be continued . . .

Christmas Reflections Two Days to 2011

Tony Decorates the Tree His Favorite Way

A belated Merry Christmas to you and I hope that you and your families had a good season of feasting and celebration! Now comes the time of reflection and goes on every year after the shopping and planning is done, the gifts have been given and exchanged and the leftovers remain crowded into the fridge.

Today I started off trying to plan the New Year; always good to start off the year with a plan. The first change is to outsource the housekeeping for mom and auntie.  It's something I tried to handle myself for some time and doing a mediocre job at it. So to get a head start on finding housekeeping services in our area, after a commercial for Merry Maids (they all looked so happy) . . . . I called the 888 number advertised.

My call was routed to a central information desk and I was asked for my zip code. They gave me a phone number of the nearest location to me but their Street Atlas or Google Map must have been outdated because I reached a number in Mesquite which is a pretty far drive from us. The lady was friendly and helpful with answers to my questions - except when it came for maid service coverage in our area. She was emphatic - we were just too far out. Maybe Plano office could help me. So I wrote down their number and called.

It was the first lady I'd spoken to at the call center again. WHAT? Why had Mesquite given me this number? They don't service my area. Period.

So I Googled: Housekeeping Services in North Texas. All kinds of helpful numbers came up: The Maid Place (I got voice mail so I hung up); Just Cleaning (They won't go more than 50 miles from their base location in Dallas); The Maids ("Just TOO far out. They can't go."); Pop-ins Maid (Sorry); MaidBrigade (No luck) and finally, several phone calls later I was thrilled to find someone who said "Yes!" They COULD service our area. Yahoo!

So they want me to call them back on Monday after the New Year. Okeedokey. . . . .Whatever.

The Importance of Monitoring Blood Pressure

Yesterday was another example of the importance of monitoring Blood Pressure Readings for those folks taking blood pressure medication. I feel really lucky that Mom has only a couple of prescription medications to take regularly. For someone who is 85 plus years old, she's in an enviable position to most seniors whose daily pill regime is complex and confusing.

Mom takes 5 mg of Amlodipine (substituted for Norvasc) to help control her hypertension, or high blood pressure. It's only been in the past few years that she's needed this medication. But it comes with its own lengthy script on cautions, side effects and warnings. I've become to a small degree skilled in reading the "normal" ranges and what to worry about when the readings rise or fall.

http://hubpages.com/_PC2/hub/Measuring-Blood-Pressure-Between-Doctor-Visits

So when Mom called me at 8am last week and said she'd been monitoring her blood pressure since 5am and it was "high" my first question was "How high?" She told me it had been at 184/96 which is ALARMINGLY high when it's supposed to be controlled with the medication.  I went across the street and took my own wrist cuff monitor to be sure it wasn't a problem with the equipment or the batteries. A couple of hours later and about 10 repeated readings on all three of our monitors showed her readings to be nearly normal.

We went to our family doctor yesterday and the Nurse Assistant took the reading which I immediately repeated with Mom's wrist cuff device to compare the results. The nurse got 114/60 (which is good!) and I got 140/64 which is a tad bit high on the systolic (upper reading). Normal BP should fall in the 90-120 range. So I immediately thought that our machine was off. Not so.

When Doctor Hussey retook the reading moments later, the systolic was around 150 which is Not Good. He sent us home with some samples of a new prescription which combines Mom's previous Amlodipine with another added ingredient to help stabilize the pressure. In two weeks she needs to go back for a Potassium evaluation (draw blood) since this Rx sometimes affects Potassium negatively. Oh boy. So now, we wait and see how she does on the new meds.