HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY !!!!!!!!!! HERE IS A LOVE NOTE FROM GOD!!!!!!!!!!

ANOTHER SNOWED IN SATURDAY!!

Lazy morning this morning,it is really cold outside so it is a good day to catch up on some paperwork inside. Hubbie called to check on his dad and they said there was no change. I think he keeps hoping he will slip on out without having to go the Hospice route again. He did some work around the barn to occupy his time this morning. This snow was a sticky wet snow and was still stuck to many things as the afternoon started out with bright sunshine.
The temperature only got to 36 degrees but the sunshine did a good job of melting this afternoon,now we have plenty of mud where the pretty white snow used to be. Hubbie and I had to muscle one of the new larger hay rolls into a position to feed in the barn this afternoon,I took a picture looking back to the house from the barn of the muddy drive that goes up to the barn,the snow melted off the drive everywhere but in the shady spots. Maybe that will melt tomorrow before we get more snow tomorrow night and Monday!!
Brother-in-law called from the hospital and said f-i-l was worse and that he had set up a meeting for him and hubbie with Hospice tomorrow at 2 so I guess hubbie's not gonna get his wish. That's too bad ,Hospice is a wonderful service,but it is hard on the family,it has a finality to it when Hospice gets involved and the waiting is tortuous. I still can't believe we were in this exact place 1 year ago. I'll be afraid to see February come around next year!
The birdie dining tables stayed full all day today,I love it when everyone gets along and big and little can eat side by side. Later in the day when the melting was slowing down this little guy looks like he is in a perilous position.(Better look up little birdie bird!!) Uh oh I'm watching to many Wow Wow Wubbzy cartoons with g-son.
We had a big chili and cornbread supper and #2 son came in tired from fighting the snow and ice all day delivering mail,ate and went home to rest. #1 son's family came later and after we ate we played cards while g-son played with his play-dough.D-in-love had a four square game and she and I played that,I had never played and it was fun.This winter has been a good winter for game playing and we always have a laughing fun good time,so it's good medicine for those cabin fever blues.
Hopefully we can get to church in the morning without slipping and sliding too much.
Give your cares to the Lord and rejoice. Good Night and God Bless.

WHAT WOULD FRIDAY BE WITHOUT SNOW!!!!!

Strange morning began the day,made a phone call to fa-in-law's assisted living facility to see if they had done their evaluation. They had, but then it got interesting,he said the emergency room had just called there wanting a phone number for f-i-l's family,but they couldn't find number to give them,1st strange happening????? A call to the emergency room told us he had been transfered back to the hospital from the re-hab center,so hubbie left and went to see what was going on. He was told he now has a new doctor and he had determined because of his respiratory distress that he was in too bad of shape for the re-hab center. This very issue I had pointed out to his regular doctor yesterday,but was assured that was the place he needed to be,2nd strange happening?????? The new doctor said he is going to do more test and wait for 2-3 days before making any decisions. Fa-in-law was given morphine to make him rest,at least he is not in pain.
Daughter and her friend left to head to Myrtle Beach,S.C. to run her marathon she has been training for the last 6 months and it is suppose to snow down there.
I spent part of the morning baking cakes,then looked out as hubbie came home and saw it starting to snow,what???? not here they said!!!!!!,3rd strange happening????
As soon as I got all the cakes out of the ovens we headed to church to finish work up there and it just keeps snowing harder and harder.My snow flowers are blooming again!!! I snapped this picture of hubbie's truck when we came home from church and the snow was continuing to come down at the rate of about an inch an hour.
Oh well after all it is Friday and this is the 5th Friday since December 18th that we have watched the snow pile up. On the news I saw that today 49 of the 50 US states have snow on the ground today,the exception being Hawaii,how about that!!!!!
I'm sure the sentiments displayed here are shared by many tonight.
I decided not to ice the layers I baked this morning,but to save them and ice them for orders as they come in maybe if the snow gets off the roads pretty fast tomorrow I can fill some Valentine orders. This snow isn't going anywhere overnight as it is already 26 degrees at 10:30 but at least it has stopped snowing for the time being anyway.
As the snow fell this afternoon the bird feeders got super busy,I had to refill, there was so much activity.Before it started snowing I caught this pair of House Finches filling their stomachs in preparation for the cold weather. I also spotted a large Mockingbird and a Yellow eyed Grackle at the feeders today but couldn't get photos,I'm sure they will be back.
Daughter called very disappointed as the city of Myrtle Beach had canceled the marathon because they had no snow removal equipment and were expecting 6" of snow by the morning. At least she is staying for free at her friend's aunt's house. I feel for her because I have watched her dedication in her training for this 13K race. I'm sure it would have been treacherous for the runners in this slick snow.
There were many accidents this afternoon as it made the roads around here very very slick. Thankfully all my family made it home safely.
I don't know any of these people but this gives you an idea how bad the roads got at about 5 this evening when everyone was trying to get home.This made for another boring Friday evening in front of the TV,I think I'm getting lazy or spoiled from not working on Friday night anymore! Hubbie called the hospital tonight and they said no change in f-i-l.
Still puzzled at the complete change in plans.
I'm ready for a bath and bed although I'm not the least bit tired,I think I'm just bored! We get maybe tomorrow with sunshine then more snow Sunday,oh boy! I told hubbie tonight I'm glad I started this blog this year because this is going to be a winter to talk about for years.
We just have to remember God knows what He is doing and He has a reason for all this,we may never know it but He knows and that's all that counts! Good Night and God Bless.

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING????????

Up and busy this morning,the wind has stopped,thankfully we didn't loose our electric. The sun is shining but it is 19 degrees outside,it didn't take me long to do my outside chores!! After breakfast and exercise I bagged my Avon orders and stamped my books,packaged 1 order up to ship to Florida and another that has to be delivered today. Decided to eat lunch here before running errands in town. After I made all my stops and actually made 2 Avon deliveries,1 from last campaign that was still in the van,I got home around 4:30. While I was our the doctor called and said fa-in-law's condition is deteriorating quickly. He now is on oxygen,has full blown pneumonia,is back in renal failure, his white cell count is 20,000 even with an antibiotic,and he has become very uncooperative. He will be moved to the re-hab center as soon as a bed opens up,but he will be evaluated by Hospice tomorrow.
Shortly I received a call from the hospital saying they would be moving him around 6 this evening. He is in a semi-private room there,but I don't think he's aware he's even in a different place. No one can believe how fast his condition has deteriorated. The doctor said today when she said he would not cooperate that for any one to get better they had to be willing to try and at this point he just won't do it. I watched my father do this very thing,he had lung cancer,they operated but found it was in his lymph system and although he came through the surgery fine he decided he did not want to live with cancer. He lived about 2 weeks after the surgery,refused to eat or drink,or cooperate in any way with any thing anyone tried to do so we honored his unspoken wishes and let him pass,he was 81. This was especially hard for me as he died in June and his first grandson who is now my #1 son was born in October.
Hubbie and I worked for a while at church tonight and have a busy day tomorrow trying to tie up some loose ends and for the first time in a while the Market will be back open Saturday considering it doesn't snow tomorrow night,so that means some baking will need to be done tomorrow. This is the most disgusting thing I've seen in a while,she even has a crown of thorns on her head. What could she possibly be thinking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Forgive her dear Jesus for she knows not what she does!!!!!!!!!!!When I saw this on Yahoo as one of their headlines I could not believe my eyes. Some people will do any thing for publicity,I've never paid any attention to her any way and now for sure I would never want to have anything to do with anything of hers. One of the critics said this time she didn't even have to take her top off to stir up controversy. What kind of examples are these stars setting for the young impressionable girls in the world right now.

Thanking God for all the blessing He pours out for me daily. Good Night and God Bless.

STUMPED!

Waken by a phone call from fa-in-law's doctor with bad news. She said he was back in delirium this morning,and was getting pneumonia from aspirating even his saliva. She said the ultra-sound on his arteries was very bad because not only was his only open artery now 80+% blocked but it had an ulcer in it that was breaking up and throwing clots,soooooo,needless to say her prognosis wasn't good. He is being transfered to a re-hab facility so he will get more attention and then the rest will be up to him. She said his body was strong but his will at this time didn't match.
The sun is shining,it is blowing snow and the wind is howling this morning. G-son finally got to go back to pre-school today,#1 son is going to pick him up because has no work to do in this wind. It is almost lunch,I usually do all my blogging at night but this morning after chores,breakfast and exercise,I think I'll wait until after lunch to start any tax work,UHHHH!!!!!
G-son came after lunch and is in a super mood today. Saw 2 new birds at the feeders today. This iridescent feathered Starling I have seen before but can't remember getting a good picture of him. I first thought it was a crow until I saw the long yellow bill and the short tail feathers. But I am stumped on the identity of this brown bird,with his defined lines of color change,when I first saw it I thought it was a Robin but in all the pictures I see Robins have yellow bills and this fellow has a dark bill and no white striping around his eyes.I spent quite a lot of time searching on the net for his identity with no luck. So if any of you bird watchers out there have a clue or just a guess please chime right in. Thanks!
MYSTERY BIRD!!!!!!!
We are having a very windy day and trees are blowing down all around,I just keep praying we'll keep our electric. G-son really gets worn out at pre-school,he is sleeping so soundly this afternoon the dogs barking doesn't even make him wiggle.The afternoon sun even in his face didn't bother him today!
I payed bills while he slept and made some phone calls. The hospital didn't transfer fa-in-law today, that will be tomorrow if he makes it through the night. Hubbie and his brother went alone tonight to see him,my throat is a little scratchy and with the wind blowing as hard as it is someone needs to be here. When I went out to do the chores this evening I was surprised by hard the ground was already frozen and the remaining snow was very slick and frozen. The high temperature today has been 30 degrees with the chill factor in the single digits,brrrr!
Tonight the wind is really whipping harder than it has all day,trees are falling. I pray no one gets hurt in this wind storm.Some of the surrounding counties have blizzard warnings. But so far snow fall here has been very light,let's hope it stays that way!
I am watching the Carolina/Duke basketball game but decided I had better finish this post and publish it before we loose our power. Update on fa-in-law is not good,he can't even talk plainly tonight and is doing very poorly, hasn't eaten and had to have oxygen to ease his breathing struggles tonight.Doesn't look good at all.
Well it is 10:45.the lights are flickering,it is 24 degrees,chill factor near 0, so I'm going to publish this and hopefully finish the ballgame. God is in control!!!!! Good Night and God Bless.

HOSPITAL DA JA VUE , HOPING FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS

Wow,finally a good,undisturbed nights sleep. I do feel refreshed this morning and my eyes no longer are red and burning making me think I'm getting Pinkeye. After chores,breakfast and exercises I started laundry and housework for the day. The phone kept interrupting my work but it meant I was getting frequent breaks so that's not all bad! Several Avon orders came in and then I get a call from the assisted living facility where Fa-in-law was, the man calling was the same man I talked to Sunday.Funny thing today he didn't remember anything he told me Sunday,now he is saying they have to evaluate fa-in-law and then determine if they can re-hab him there. I told him his doctor had already said they could not give the care he now needed,but he was insistant on their re-hab center which I've seen and is equipped only with stationary bikes. They don't even have foot plates on their wheelchairs. You never say never and I had to bite my tongue,but I hope the doctor sticks by her guns and convinces them to discharge him. This is like a bad dream,it seems to keep coming up!!
I was just finishing the housework when hubbie came home. We did the chores and ate a hot dog for supper in order to get to the hospital a little early to surely catch the doctor on her rounds. Fa-in-law looked and responded better tonight and we were glad to see he was feeding himself tonight,he was making a huge mess but he was partially laying down,at least he has control of both his arms. Brother-in-law and sis-in-law came up there also.As we sat there looking at one another it occurred to me that it was 1 week short of a year exactly that we were here at this same hospital in this same situation with mother-in-law. What we went through with her was eerily similar. She also was sent home from the emergency room Sunday night with mild de-hydration,only to be sent back in an ambulance on Monday to be admitted,found to have had a stroke, she died 10 days later.Unlike fa-in-law she was in very poor health,had not been eating and had a compromising heart condition along with being almost completely crippled with arthritis all over her body.February is not going to have many pleasant memories for our family if something happens to fa-in-law also this month.
I still feel this is a strange coincidence that two years in a row here we are,the four of us sitting in a hospital room. We waited for over an hour, but no doctor.I went to the desk and they told me sometimes she does early morning rounds. However they did tell me that his renal failure looked better today but his potassium level was really low and would have to be attended to. The artery ultra-sound showed greater that 70% blockage in the only good artery he has,which isn't good,I'm sure that's what caused the stroke. He was not happy tonight, he knows he is in the hospital and he recognizes some of his troubles,especially the incontinence issue and is very troubled by that. He told hubbie he didn't think he would get any better. He has always been very independent so he may not deal well at all with the fact that he can't do certain things for himself any longer. But like I talked about last night,quality of life is an issue that each individual must deal with in their own way. At my age I would fight like crazy because I have hopefully a lot of years left after recovery,but at 84 I'm not sure how much fight would be left!! I've dealt with this personally with my dad and seen family and friends deal with elderly who just get tired and give up the fight,when this happens you have no choice but to honor their wishes. I hope fa-in-law hangs in there,he is physically very strong and healthy but his mental state has got to follow suit and we are just praying right now that it will.
As we drove home tonight the fog was getting very dense and we are supposed to get snow and very high winds tomorrow,winter is just not going to let up. The high temperature today was 39 and it was cloudy all day,at 10:30 tonight it is still 36 but feels much colder with the humidity and wind that is just now starting to blow. Hopefully the doctor will call in the morning and hopefully I'll get to talk to the analyst who will help us decide where to place fa-in-law for the care he needs,I'm really tired of wondering about that.
It's all in God's hands,He already knows what's going to happen and he will guide us through whatever is to come for we have to recognize ,His will,Will be done!!!!!
Good Night and God Bless.

MORE ICE PICTURES , A DAY OF WAITING FINALLY ENDS

Here are some more ice storm pictures from our area from last Friday's Ice Storm.Click on the pics to get a better view.Hopefully this ice won't hurt the apple trees,looks like it might help with the pruning! These pictures were made on Sugarloaf Mountain. Hubbie's parents were both raised on this mountain and when our kids were smaller we farmed his grandparents farm after his grandfather died. I have some wonderful memories from those days. I never knew my grandparents as my parents were older when they married and all their parents had passed away so it was fun to have a grandmother and I must say this special lady treated me as her granddaughter from the very beginning and for as long as she lived. Her place was magical in a lot of ways for me,it was mountainous,with poor soil and had creeks running all through it. A lot of it was pure undisturbed forest inhabited with wildlife and plants and flowers that are found no where else. I wish hubbie and I could have afforded to have bought it when granny died,but we couldn't. I know from experience that because of it's elevation,winters are more harsh as these pictures truly show. Granny died from natural causes as far as we know. When she got frail everyone wanted her to go get test done to find out what was wrong but she refused. One day she said to me "what good is it gonna do me to find out I have cancer or what ever it is,I'm 85 years old and I'm tired". This made a lot of sense to me and I stopped praying that she live on,I thought that was selfish,I just prayed for her to be pain free so she could enjoy the time she had left and that prayer was answered! Sometimes we want to keep people around so we won't have to suffer the hurt of loosing them,not considering what their quality of life may be.
Today has been a day of waiting,I got up early,put in my calls to the VA and rest homes and then waited for return calls. I sent in an Avon order,played with g-son and waited some more! After 4 hours the lady at the VA called back and said that long term care there was not an option, the rest home we were hoping for called back and I'm still smarting from their pricing, $3500-$4000 a month and they don't take medicare,medicaid or insurance. Wow,who can afford that??????
Haven't heard anything from the doctor so probably no news is good news in this case. We'll be going to the hospital when hubbie gets home from work,he is usually off Mondays but with the weather predictions and his already several weather related missed days he decided to work today. In the meantime I'll just wait!!
I thought I was going to get a nap with g-son this afternoon and I could have really used one today,but g-son got his second wind and he was doubly active for the rest of the day!
#1 son picked him up,we ate a light supper and headed up to the hospital,picked up brother-in-law on the way. Luckily the Doctor was still there when we got there and came in to talk to us. Father-in-law has had a pretty bad stroke,probably either Friday night or Saturday before he went to the emergency Saturday night. Why they did not find it at the Emergency room Saturday night is a mystery????? It is in the front right side of his brain,affecting his comprehension, thinking,and his fine motor skills,such as eating and drinking. He has no drooping and only slight loss of motion in his left arm,they have not tried to get him up to walk yet,he is still in a lot of pain in his back when they move him. He is still saying crazy things and answering questions with the wrong answers but that is going to be normal from now on. They are going to do some more test to check his arteries,one of which we already know is 100% blocked so we are praying the other one is still only mildly to moderately blocked. Then he will start re-hab to get an exact idea how much damage the stroke did. He looks fine and seems satisfied for now. He had a super male nurse tonight,he was so nice and efficient with him,got us coffee and extra chairs. Some people are just cut out for the patient care business and he was one of them.
We left ,dropped bro-in-law off and came home. I am so tired tonight,mentally and physically I just want to get a hot bath and lay my head on the pillow tonight.
Thanking God tonight for intervening in this situation,it had to be God's doing.If the boys hadn't turned over dealing with his nurses at the home to me yesterday and if I hadn't stood my ground and not did what they wanted us to do,forcing them to make arrangements to get him back into the hospital he would have died. I felt God's hand last night as I lay in bed normally I would have been second guessing myself all over the place because that's just me,but not last night,there was no doubt in my mind that I had done the correct thing,I was totally at peace. What a wonderful God we serve. Good Night and God Bless.