Early November

Bernie would not like this Cubs in the World Series business. He would be getting a lot of grief from his buddies at the bar. So much, in fact, that he would NOT even go to the bar. Chicago baseball in November wow. I admit I have been checking in on the game, game sevens are hard to resist no matter who is playing. But I'm not rooting for them. I am my father's daughter after all!

What has been going on around here. Hmmm. Still looking for a job here in town.  I really do not want to drive out of town, but I suppose it might come to that . . . eventually.  I've been picking up some hours at the courthouse processing mail-in ballots. I like working at the election. And I will be glad when it is over. I do not like talking politics with my friends. Some of their thoughts surprise the hell out of me.  Even shock me. And not in a good way. And how about the friend who told me "You are welcome!" for the health insurance? What does one make of that? Two words come to mind. Yes, those two. Sometimes thoughts are best kept in your head. Or shoved way far up your ass.

In other happenings Mom's 79th birthday is coming up. We found out at her last doctor's appointment that her arm is not healing. Doc said it could still turn out OK, the bones could form some sort of connection, and if it does not there are things that can be done. We go back in January to see how things are going. She finished up all her therapy and I have to wonder if all that therapy on a broken elbow was warranted.

Dad used to have a heated mattress pad and he loved it. I got mom one for her birthday and she loves it too. She likes to be toasty warm, and it feels good on her arm. We'll probably take a ride to John's for a birthday lunch for her (I guess I better tell him that!), but not this weekend. He has a big fundraiser for work, and I might just take a ride over. It's a fun one, Food for Thought, and the chili cook-off is hard to resist.

This balmy weather in November is crazy. Still ripping up the garden and pulling down morning glories and washing windows, all the fall stuff. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is nearly here.

I did  a new thing this week. I donated platelets. I have donated blood before, but not platelets. I didn't know much about it, but last time I was donating I asked about this man hooked up to this machine. The nurse told me it takes like two hours or more so a lot of people don't have (or take) the time. Well time I got and I had quite a high platelet count and they were able "to do a triple". I guess that is good.  I had a friend that I ran around with in grade school, then again in middle school, then again in high school. There wasn't a time when we weren't friends, but we didn't always run around together, and after she got married we didn't really talk much or see each other much, but were always friendly, you know how it goes. You don't forget childhood friends like that. I used to hang out at her house all the time, we had a lot of fun and good times and laughs, lots of them. Leukemia got her, only 54 years old. It was weird to go to the wake, because her siblings were so much older than she was, they didn't know me, and I don't know her husband that well, and the only ones who really knew how much fun we had was just us and her mom, and she is gone too. So now it is just me.  Last time we talked she was in remission but it must have come back in a very bad way. So I donated platelets and I have an appointment to do it again next month too.

I will end this cheery post with a couple of photos, and dang, the Cubs are up 3-1   . . .

Mom enjoying the nice fall weather. See that glove on her hand? She got that at therapy. Cost $238. Not covered by insurance. Crazy.

Midge supervising the fall cleaning. She is a real stickler.

It's like cat glamping . . . clamping?

Finn roughing it in his heated bed in the shed. Life is rough. He spent a fair amount of time in this bed last year too . . . in the house!

Late August Early September

I didn't know that your mid 50's brought certain things, like hair that won't lay down, and age spots coming out on my arms in constellation formations. Nobody warned me about the Big Dipper.

Forget what I said about Whitey, the white cat visitor being  a delightful, young caller. He is a moody little shit. I still like him though. But I cannot figure him out! He doesn't want affection or treats or a pat.  I really thought I understood cats. How weird is he? He comes in the door so quick I can't stop him and then tries to strike at me when I go to put him out. LOL  Usually he walks in the back door, strolls through, snoops around, and exits out the front door. Oftentimes he jumps the fence again, and is in the back yard again so quick I can't believe it. I guess our house is cat-trot style.

All done with my eye drops. I hope that never happens again, ouch!

No more Tony on NCIS, no more Shemar and Hotch gets canned on Criminal Minds! What the hell is going on in Kay's TV Land?

I saw SuperDawg on Check, Please! on PBS (twice) and then when I saw a Groupon deal for it I grabbed it. John (on vacation this week) and I used it this week while my car was in the shop getting some recall work done. It was fun, a very tasty SuperDawg for me, and a Whoopsie Burger for John.  And corn nuggets in the Superveggies, delish! We also hit Caputo's Cheese Market and many other places.  A fun outing. And ever so much better than cooling my heels at Toyota for hours. Thanks John!

Later in the week we headed out to Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa. It was terrific.

John was more intrepid than I! lol

It was a very pleasant trip, the weather was perfect, for hiking and caving and driving, and the people were pleasant and friendly. The views from the car were stunning up in Northern Illinois, and Illinois should have more scenic overlooks up that way. We stopped at Torkelson Cheese Co. in Lena, IL and picked up some cheese, including their award winning Meunster, my fave pizza cheese. Too early for apples, not quite ready yet.

Mother continues to to go to physical and occupational therapy and is doing very well, which bodes well for fall fun for Kay. Summer was kind of a bust this year what with John's shingles and mother's spill, but fall is shaping up to be more promising for some unemployed fun. LOL

Kay :)

Summer

Mexican sunflowers too.

Nothing fancy pants here about gardening. Just pretty.

This wee hummer likes to buzz my head when I am outside. He is mindful of my corneal abrasion, so I guess it is OK. My eye is doing much better! A few more days of eye drops. I don't have to go back to eye doc unless I have problems.

We saw mom's ortho yesterday. Her arm is healing, there is calcification at the break and the bones have not shifted. Or something like that. He ordered physical therapy and we are leaving for her first appointment in a few minutes. The only word I can think of to describe mom's mood about therapy is P-I-S-S-Y! lol 

Kay :)

Anybody want a cat?

Be warned, said cat may slip while jumping up on your bed and then, in an attempt to avoid falling like 8 inches (he started out on his little green footstool, which I got him because of his gimpy hip), oh boy, will lunge up and try to catch himself (claws out) and cause an abrasion to your cornea. OUCH. Nasty, painful business. Said abrasion will cause you to miss your annual family reunion, which is a lot of fun. Grrrr. No family fun, no beer for Kay! John came home and took the fam over. They didn't stay long, Mom was really tired out, but it was good for her to have an outing and NOT to the doctor. I called my eye doc Thursday night after it happened, and had an appointment Saturday. Got a bunch of drops, one of which thankfully helped the pain. I have to go get re-checked tomorrow. Ouch. Ouch.

Mom has a doc appointment on Wednesday to see how the elbow is healing.

Tomatoes galore! They were really small but I couldn't stand the thought of them going to waste, so I made some sauce. Next time I will just buy some, what a mess.

To add insult to injury I seem to have a bug, or eaten something that did not agree with me. Grrrrr. And ouch. Whine whine.

And of course I'm just joking, nobody can have my sweet Finn.

Grumpy Growly Kathleen

Cat Days of Summer

Milkweed for the the monarchs and my first sunflower. Oh, and Finnegan, the most handsome and sweetest cat in the land. Except when he brings home baby bunnies. And birds. And bats. And Barbie Dolls. Forget I said anything.

Cat days of summer, Finn has to cool off his tummy under the ceiling fan occasionally. I never thought a gray and brown cat could be so handsome! What a looker.

Mother saw the doctor today. He took an x-ray. Her arm is healing. He wants her to stop using the sling at home and keep doing her exercises. He will do another x-ray in 2 weeks and then decide about physical therapy. Right now it would be too painful and mom is doing pretty well on her own. Mom asked the doctor if she should use a cane when she walks and he said if she needed stability it would be a good idea. I asked the doctor to order her to NOT try to light cigarettes while walking. If mom had a cane in her hand when I said that, I think I would have gotten clocked. She really is doing well, thank goodness for the pain pills, and thank goodness she is sleeping well.

Mosquitoes are terrible! Can't even sit outside with my coffee and kitties in the mornings, bastards!

That's all.

Kay :)

It's as big as my head . . .