I Can't Believe it's been 10 Days

Time goes so fast. I've been so busy with Facebook that I haven't had a chance to write. I've been planting, laying mulch, chasing Dallas and knitting. Oh, and watching TV.
Last week we saw Duplicity at the movies and Sunday we saw the Uninvited. They were both pretty good. It's been cold here but it's warming up. Today was beautiful, especially for planting.

O'Ley

Very early this morning I came to a heart-rendering decision. I've been avoiding it but I guess the time just wasn't right. This morning I knew that it was time. O'Ley would never get better and he cried whenever I'd pick him up. In the last couple of days, he ate less and less. Although I loved him and would miss him, I had to do what was best for him. I called the veterinarian's office where his leg was amputated three years ago. They told me to bring him in. The doctor was very nice and we talked awhile. Uness you've had a pet that you really loved, you would not understand the feelings when you have to think of him instead of your feelings. I cried as I watched O'Ley fall asleep. It was peaceful. I'm feeling better now and I know that I made the right decision.

I still have Willow. He is 15 years old and weights over 25 lbs. I think he will live to be around 20 years old. I'll just give him love until the day comes that I have to make another decision. I think that he will be my last pet.

O'Ley

O'Ley is my cat. One of my cats, that is. I've written about him on this blog before. We adopted him after my tuxedo cat, Baby, died. We got him from Operation Kindness which is a no kill shelter in Carrolton TX, near Dallas. I fell in love with him when I first held him. He was 5 years old at the time. Cream colored with one brown ear and a brown tail. He and Willow got along fine. Willow is my huge gray cat, 16 years old now.
Anyway, we traveled to MI in the summers and O'Ley loved riding in the car. I had both cats in carriers but O'Ley somehow opened his door and came out. From then on, he'd sit on the divider of the front seat and watch out the window. The last time we went to Sandy Pines in Michigan for a couple of months the cats went with us as usual. When we got home, Denny noticed a bump on the back of his left rear leg. I took him to the vet and the vet said that it was cancer. She said that they could take the tumor off but it would probably grow back. We had the tumor removed and, yes, it did grow back. There was no option but to have his leg amputated. I found a real nice doctor that didn't charge as much and he amputated O'Ley's leg. He's been fine for 3 years now. But I'm afraid that the cancer may have come back. I found another lump on his front leg but it hasn't gotten any bigger. He's gotten thinner but it could be because he's 10 years old. He eats great. He follows me everywhere. Yesterday he was on his blanket and I took some pictures of him in his weird positions. One time he was sitting up with his head resting on the arm of the recliner. But he then sat up, hung his head and went back to sleep. He slept that way for a little while and then he laid down and covered his face. Here are the pictures of him that I took yesterday.

Facebook

Facebook is pretty neat. Today my son, Randy, became my friend...son and friend! Now I have to get Denny, my oldest son to sign on! I checked my graduating class today and found a lot of old (old as in 'past' because we aren't old yet!) friends. I tried the Classmate website for a year but found it to be boring. So this is something new to do now. Not that my blog, my chemocap blog and cap making, my Postcrossing, the senior center and our 2 1/2 old granddaughter didn't fill my time. Oh, and our new TV server, UVerse. I can watch 1000 movies on TV now. Denny is happy because he can get all the western movies he can watch now, not counting the sports shows he can watch. He actually watched the 2000 Winter Olympics yesterday!

Update on the 'stone'

Well y'all. It was a stone, for sure, that gave me the backache and the pains that I'd get once in awhile. I thought it was my gall bladder but it wasn't. I knew that nuts caused my 'gall bladder' pain so I'd try not to eat them. HA! But the doctor told me that nuts are really bad for some people who get stones. But I don't have to quit eating nuts...I have to drink water when I eat them. So I can still get my Turtle Blizzard from the Dairy Queen.

I'm Out of the Sandals Again!

It's soooo cold out. I'm freezing to death. I'm back into heavy socks and shoes! Brrrrrrr. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice. I hope so. I want to go to the flea market tomorrow morning!

Spring is beautiful but...

over the winter you don't realize how many weeds have grown during the winter until you start weeding them out. The work it takes to plant new flowers and plants is plentiful, but you love to do it! Seeds to plant, bulbs to plant, pots to fill. It's so nice when you can see some growth and beauty for all of your work, isn't it? The very worse thing about spring is finding, usually by bite, a new mound of fire ants. Ouch, ouch and itch! Those little buggers sure can make you uncomfortable.

The best ways to start new flowers and plants are when someone gives you bulbs. Donna Cross gave me some bulbs and I planted them. I hope I didn't plant too soon. I'm watching them for green. That's one way. Another way is to check out the discounted racks at the stores. Lowe's always has a big rack of plants. I buy most of my plants there. Today I bought another Holly bush from the rack for $2.00. I bought some last year and planted them along the side of my house. I had a space where one didn't make it last year. I hope this new one makes it. I also got 8 Enchantment Lilies for one dollar each. In Michigan we called them Enchantment Lilies but here, in Texas, they don't call them that.

If you have any ideas for me to get my plants cheap, email me at jgoble2166@sbcglobal.net. I'd sure appreciate any hints you can give me. Next week the flea market will be in McKinney so I'm hoping I can get the two Crepe Myrtle trees that I need for the side of my driveway. They're pretty reasonable and pretty trees.
Well, I guess that's all for gardening today. I have a bunch of envelopes of seeds that I bought today that I have to plant. Oh! Where did I get a bargain? At the Dollar Tree! Four envelopes for a dollar!

I'm Back in the Sandals Again! Yeehaa!

A Ride With Bob musical

Last night Denny and I went to the Eisemann Center in Richardson to see the musical starring Asleep At The Wheel. It was about the life of Bob Wills, the country swing star that changed country music. It was funny, great music and we sat in the very front row!

Old films and forgotten memories

Have you ever cleaned out your closet or places that you put things and forgot about? And when you look in the box, you find an old camera with film still in it? Or you find a roll of film that was never developed? There are memories in the camera or film that you would be so surprised and happy to find. Question is: Do they still develope those old rolls of film? And do you know that there's a websight where a man developed old films that he found and you can see them on his website? Pretty interesting. It's http://westfordcomp.com/updated/found.htm

Backache and stone

Last weekend I had the worse back pain. I figured it was because I was playing basketball (just dribbling) with Dallas in the kitchen. She loved the way I'd bounce the ball over her head. Anyway, I thought that is what caused my pain. Oh, not counting that I have to be her horsey. Did you ever see a 65 year old on all fours walking through the house with a 2 1/2 year old on her back? That's me! By Monday I couldn't even get out of a chair, it hurt so bad. I was already scheduled for a minor surgery on Wednesday. It was a cat scan but since I'm allergic to contrast dye, they had to give it to me internally. It was also a cystogram. They found a stone in my left kidney! No wonder it hurt so bad! I've had the same back ache before so maybe I've had stones before. I don't know anyone in my family that had kidney stones...except my son, Denny, had one recently. I forgot about that. Hmm. I must have inherited it from him! I'm getting better now, no back pain anymore. Have a nice weekend, y'all.

Jordan

Here are some pictures of Jordan that I got from his Facebook album.

Facebook

I signed on with Facebook yesterday. I already have people as friends that I am so glad to hear from. Colleen was my boss but also my friend at Meijer. I am so happy for her. She married someone that is really good for her. And her three kids all turned out so good. What a beautiful person she is. And, Lisa. She's been my friend for a long time. Gotta love her! I added Nancy C who shares a sister-in-law with me. Nancy's brother married Denny's sister. I worked with Nancy at Meijer. Bruce, my Allen buddy who seems to get me started on all of these things is my friend. You can check out his blog at cribbageflatsouthwest.blogspot.com. He is a great writer and you'd love his blog. I'm also a 'friend' with my grandson, Jordan! Now that's cool to be a friend on Facebook with your grandson, isn't it? Anyway, if you're in Facebook, add me as your friend.


Colleen and her family and Lisa Henry

Quiz: How Old Are You Really?

From the following list of 25 items, count all the ones that you remember -- not the ones you were told about! How to score yourself is at the end.

Blackjack chewing gum
Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar-water
Candy cigarettes
Soda-pop machines that dispensed bottles
Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
Party lines
Newsreels before the movie
P. F. Flyers
Butch wax
Telephone numbers with a word prefix (e.g., Olive - 6933)
Peashooters
Howdy Doody
45-RPM records ... and 78-RPM records
S&H Green Stamps
Hi-fi systems
Metal ice trays with lever
Mimeograph paper
Blue flashbulb
Packards
Rollerskate keys
Cork popguns
Drive-in theaters
Studebakers
Washtub wringers
If you remembered!
0 - 5 = You're still young
6 - 10 = You are getting older
11 - 15 = Don't tell your age
16 - 25 = You're older than you think!

Hard of Hearing

Morris, an 82-year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.
A few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, "You're really doing great, aren't you?" Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doctor, 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'" The doctor said, "I didn't say that. I said you got a heart mummer and be careful."

Stamps!

The price for a first-class mail stamp will increase 2 cents to 44 cents, starting May 11.

The Postal Service said the price increase was necessary because of rising production costs. Under law, the price of stamps is not allowed to rise faster than the U.S. consumer price index, which measures inflation.

According to a written release, the increase will cost the typical family about $3 a year.

I can remember when we paid 2¢ for a stamp. Yes, I was just a little girl! I think that the Post Office is feeling the pinch because of on-line payments and emails and even catalogs. I don't mail much except I send post cards with the Post Crossing that I belong to. I wonder if the price will go up for that too. It's 94¢ for a stamp to go overseas now! And last week two of my post cards were destroyed by the post office. Hmmmm. Didn't send me the money back! Anyway, I guess we'll just have to grin and pay for the increase. I wonder what the price will be for a stamp when I get old... That's correct! I'm not old yet! Older but not old. Funny that the correct sequence of old is 'old, older, oldest. But, with most of us seniors, the older comes first! I don't consider myself OLD. I'm just OLDER.

Flowers are 'springing' up!

I have little purple flowers growing in my front yard and some little red ones in the back. Eat your hearts out, Michigan gardeners! I love it that I'm seeing little buds all over my bushes and plants. And my honeysuckle vines have flowers on them too! I'll be planting some plants that Donna Cross gave me. I'll plant them next week. It should be safe to plant them without worry of a frost. I hope. I hope.
O'Ley is still doing good. I thought that I'd be losing him by now but he's hanging in there. He eats all the time. I should knock on wood.
Willow is getting fat! I think he must weigh 30 pounds now.
Denny is doing really well with his diabetic diet. I'm shocked that he's sticking to it. I guess he knows now that it's a serious disease.

Jordan is 21

I can't believe that Jordan is all grown up. It seemed like yesterday that we used to 'hang out' together when his mom and dad were working. Grandpa also worked nights, driving truck. Jordan was just a little tyke then. He still remembers some of the things we did. We'd watch Shaka Zulu almost every night. I recorded the series and he loved it. And we'd watch the movie "Willow". He never got tired of watching it. We'd eat garlic chip crackers. Oh, I can't forget that we'd watch Steve Erkel say "Did I do that?" Jordan did a good job of copying him. I had three lizards in an aquarium. We'd go to the pet store to get crickets to feed them. Sometimes we'd go to Mr Lee's Chicken Coop to get our supper or we'd go to Little Caesar's to get bread sticks. Jordan was around 5 when we did all of these things. One time we were on our way home from Litle Caesars and saw a bunch of police cars around a house. They were putting yellow tape around the yard. We found out that the man in the house killed his family and then killed himself. Jordan thought that it was quite something. Well, O.K. so did I. Not much excitement around the neighborhood. One night Jordan and I went to Meijers to get a few things. When we left the store, a real big storm had rolled in. The store had a big glassed in entrance and there were a lot of people watching the rain fall and the real high winds blow. I told Jordan that they were crazy to stand in a glassed in area. We ran for it. When we got to the car, we were soaked. It rained so hard that we had to pull off the road on the expressway and wait for the rain to slow down because it was pouring so hard that we couldn't see. We got home and sat by the window watching the lightening and listening to the thunder. One good thing about it was he was never afraid of storms.
Time sure went fast. Now he's in his third year of college. He grew up to be a very nice young man. Always polite and never fails to show us his gratitude for anything that we give him or doing things with him. We still go to a movie whenever we can. Which reminds me of one more thing. when he was around 4 years old, we went to a movie. A lady sitting a couple of rows ahead of us was talking during the movie. All of a sudden, Jordan blurted out. "IF YOU PEOPLE DON'T STOP TALKING, I'M GOING TO GO GET THE MANAGER"! Believe me! They shut right up.

Things could Be Better!

Our temperature is better after two days of ice. It's in the 70s today and we have that beautiful Texas sunshine today. That's good. What's bad is the economy. People are losing jobs left and right. And we checked on our investments yesterday. Ouch!! We've lost 1/3 of our investments. Things have to get better! Hey, anyone know of a good viaduct to sleep under? Just kiddin', of course. We have to keep our sense of humor at times like these!

Chinese New Year

Today is the Chinese New Year and I want to say Happy New Year to my Chinese friends and all Chinese people in the world. "Sun nien fai lok. Gung hay fat choy."
And the postcard I received today is from China. It's a beautiful card of Bailyun Mountain and the Yuntai Grand Garden.

My postcrossing

You can see the cards that I receive and info about the postcrossing on my other blog. But I just want to say how exciting it is to get cards from all over the world. If you like to get postcards, you should try it out. And I'm corresponding with one of the ladies that I sent a card to that lives in Austria. It's very interesting to read about their country. She lives in the town that Arnold Swartzenegger was born. I didn't know that they have a stadium named after him.
Check out my blog and see the cards that I've received. Cool.

New President

We have a new president. Barach Obama..as if you didn't know. I hope he does a good job as president. It will be a tough job for him but if the American people support him, he'll do O.K.

Dallas is growing up!

Dallas decided that she doesn't want to sit in her highchair any more. So she has her own chair now and loves it. She can get off and on by herself and sit at the table with the rest of us. So cute. She's really starting to talk now. And she can start her movies by herself. She wants to help me with everything so mopping, dusting and sweeping takes a little longer. She's learning her ABC's and can identify a lot of letters. She's still a little stinker! And she's an artist with her own eisel.

Denny and his health

Denny got a call from his heart doctor the other day. They set up an appointment for him. I guess the monitor that is on his dresser sent info to the place that monitors his defribulator and let them know that his heart acted abnormally for a few minutes during the night before the callfrom the doctor. His doctor was notified that the defribulator did it's job and corrected the problem with his heart. Dr Blatt said that Denny was lucky he had the defibrulator! So, the next day he had an appointment with his regular physician, Dr Anthony. And guess what! Denny has to start taking insulin for his diabetes. Now, he's finally going to start eating the way he should...so far that's what he says. But I think the doctore put the fear into him. Tonight when we go to Stringbean, he's going to eat soup and salad. Me? I'm probably going to have a salad too...but I'm going to have a piece of their delicious coconut cream pie. It's just delicious. When I told LB, my sister, she laughed because she was going to say the same thing. After all, it isn't our genes that are messed up! Denny, Randy and Jamie...you'd better be careful! You have the genes!

Michigan Weather

Oh, it's nice not to be in Michigan right now. They have -°. In December they only had 3% sunshine. I love the sunshine and we have plenty in TX. Today a friend of mine that lives on a lake in MI sent me this cute poem about Michigan weather. I thought I'd put it on my blog for anyone to see that used to live in Michigan and now lives in warmer places...or for those still living in Michigan. All I can do is quote Bob Barker "Come on down!"

It's winter here in Michigan
And the gentle breezes blow,
Seventy miles an hour,
At twenty five below.

Oh, how I love ole Michigan
When the snow's up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter
And your nose freezes shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave my Michigan
Cause I'm frozen to the ground.
      

The Golden Globe Awards

The Golden Globes were on TV Sunday evening. The best part is the 'red carpet' before the show. The show was boring in a way...the speeches were too long, as usual. I saw most of the movies that were up for awards. I didn't know which movie I'd want to win. I liked them all. Leonardo and Brad didn't get an award. I was disappointed that Leonardo didn't get it. He was fantastic in Revolutionary War. Great actor. I was glad to see Steven Spielberg win the Cecil B DeMille award.
What a bunch of great movies he's made over the years. He deserved it. I didn't see The Reader but I saw the rest of the movies that were up for best drama. I liked them all. I thought Sean Penn did a great job in Milk.

The movies, (not in catagories or winning awards) that I saw were:
In Bruges- I liked it
The Wrestler- I liked it.
Mamma Mia- Loved it
Burn After Reading- Loved it-bought the DVD (cheap on Ebay)
Vicky Cristina Barcellona- I liked it
Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Too long but I still liked it. Read the book.
Revolutionary War- Loved it
Frost/Nixon- I liked it
Milk- Liked it. Loved Sean Penn
Doubt- I liked it. Love the actors
Burn After Reading- Loved it
Slumdog Millionaire- Loved it
Tropic Thunder- Loved it
Dark Knight- Loved Heath Ledger
Wall-E- Didn't like it at all

I guess I need to watch more HBO. I only saw True Blood and I loved it.

That's it for the Golden Globe Awards. I wonder if any other movies will win the Academy Awards.

Knitters and Crocheters

I want to post this to find anyone that knits or crochets. If you've seen our blog, Joyceschemocaps.blogspot, you can see how we're doing with our project. It's interesting. But the infusion centers are calling us for more caps. It's getting where we can't keep up. If you live in our area or know someone who does and they knit or crochet, please have them check the blog to find out how to notify us. We'd sure like more help. Our project is really going well as far as making people happy receiving their free caps when they go for their chemo therapy.

Casino trip, Randy, Jobs

I went to Chactaw Tuesday. I brought $100.00 like I usually do. I bet you think I'm going to say that I won. Wrong. I lost $44.00. That's not bad. I didn't lose it all. And I had a real good time. That's what counts, folks. It's not what you lose in money, it's hanging out with friends that counts and enjoying yourself in retirement. Meanwhile, Randy is back to work. He went back Sunday. He's doing really good and he's even gained 6 pounds. Danielle went back to work too. She works with patients in dialysis. Randy works in security at Ft Bragg. He xrays the trucks that come on base.
So now we need more prayers for my son Denny. No, not medical. But with the economy the way it's going, he may lose his job. Things are getting tough all over. People losing their jobs everywhere. It's so sad. Fortunately, Texas is doing better than some states. Michigan, where we're from originally is not doing well at all in the job market. And to top it all off, not only are jobs scarce, so is the sunshine. That's what I like about Texas. The sun shines almost every day!

A favorite blog

I don't usually advertise other blogs but Content In A Cottage.blogspot.com has to be one of the nicest blogs I've seen. I like to look at other's blogs. This is one that I saved when I first started my blog. I haven't looked at it in awhile so thought I'd look at it tonight. It is just a beautiful blog. There's a picture of a real building in Kansas City that is so neat. If you look at the blog, be sure to scroll down to see it!

It's 2009

I can't believe this year is going so fast! It's already the 2nd of January! And it was 75° today. I just loved it!
Randy called me and told me to look at the video of a party they gave him the other day. You can see it on www.youtube.com. If you look at it, your welcome to leave a comment. What happened was that he and Danielle went to a little gathering at a friend's house. Danielle told Randy that they had to go to the kareoke bar that he used to sing at. So they left and Randy couldn't figure out why no one cared that they were leaving. They got to the bar and there were a lot of people there, and all people that he knows. He wasn't going to stay long. Then his friend Bert had a microphone and asked for everyone's attention. He talked about Randy and the accident. Everyone was cheering and clapping for Randy. There was a big box in the corner and they presented it to Randy. All of his friends took up a collection and had his motorcycle fixed for him! The motorcycle was actually in the bar. He even started it up! He cried. He just couldn't believe it. When Denny watched the video he cried too! Now, I know what you're saying "Oh no! I hope he isn't going to ride again!" That was and still is my fear! He may just ride it one time to see how it feels to be back on. I don't know. I think it is so nice of his friends to think of him like that. He sure has a bunch of nice people around him. He's like a bee that attracts flowers. (backwards but I don't want to call him a flower!) So, if you have extra time and want to see the video, go to www.youtube.com and put Randy's motorcycle surprise in the search. It will be sideways for a little while but will straighten out. It's around 6 minutes long.