Denny is in Michigan

Denny is in Michigan. He got there last Wednesday. Today is Monday. Their weather is good right now and he's enjoying it. But it'll only be in the 60s this week there. That is just too cold for me. I hope it's warm when we go there in August.

Dallas keeps telling me that she wants to go on the plane NOW! I told her that she has to wait. I hope her finger is healed so she can go in the water. She went in the pool with Steve the other day. We had a plastic bag on her hand. It didn't work! She got her hand wet. But I changed the dressing on it and it's ok. Then yesterday she put her hand in the birdbath! So I had to change it again. Tomorrow she goes for her second followup with the doctor. Maybe she'll be able to get rid of the big dressing but I kind of doubt it because it still looks pretty raw.

Father's Day Just Wasn't Dallas' Day!

Father's Day started out good. We went to eat with Denny, Jordan and Sue. (Denny, Jamie, Dallas, and I).

We went to Saltgrass Steak House. Delicious food and a good time. When we were getting ready to leave, Denny had to go to the restroom so we were waiting for him. Jamie had to go after Dallas because she headed toward the front door. She caught her and they went outside to sit and wait for us. They each sat in a folding chair. Dally's chair folded on her and caught her fingers! She started to scream! Jamie got her hand out and freaked out! There was blood all over her hand. As soon as I looked at it I knew that part of her pinky finger wasn't there! The manager came out after calling 911. At first I thought it was dumb to call 911 but after seeing the blood that wasn't stopping, I changed my mind. We all looked for the nail and tip of her finger but never found it. The paramedics worked with her and then took us to the hospital. To make a long story short, after taking xrays, they found that the bone wasn't affected but the finger was cut off to the bone. You could see the bone. A big chunk was gone and there was no nail! They numbed her finger and worked on it. She cried but was a tough little stinker. Between sobs and screams, she sang her ABCs to the doctors. Everyone was so nice there. They said that we'd have to see if her nail would grow back. It might and it might not. So we took her home. The doctor said that it would run and bleed and we'd have to change the dressing last night and she would be in a great deal of pain. Jamie got a RX for pain medicine. Well, Dallas slept all night, didn't fuss or cry and never had to use the drugs. And, her dressing didn't get messy and we didn't have to change it. Today Bruce came over and helped us change the dressing. She goes to the doctor Thursday for a followup.

What Do These Words Have in Common?

Blowball, Cankerwort, Clock Flower, Dumble-dor, Fairy Clock, Fortune Teller, Hokouei-Kon, Irish Daisy, Lion's Teeth, Lion's Tooth, Milk Gowan, Mok's Head, Pee in the Bed, Pissenlit, Piss-in-bed, Potassium, Pries' Crown, Priest's Crown, Puffball, Swine Snout, Witch Gowan, Witches' Milk, and Yellow Flower Earth Nail These are all synonyms of our common dandelion!

And can you believe the dandelion is actually cultivated in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom for commercial use?

Hey, maybe we should be selling the pesty little yellow 'weed' that we pull from our grass.

And why are we spending so much money on prescriptions and going to the 'donut hole' on Medicare? Check the uses for the dandelion.

Dandelion was commonly used in Native American medicine. The Iroquois, Ojibwe, and Rappahannock prepared the root and herb to treat kidney disease, upset stomach, and heartburn. In traditional Arabian medicine, dandelion has been used to treat liver and spleen ailments. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), dandelion is combined with other herbs to treat liver disease, to enhance immune response to upper respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, or pneumonia, and as a compress for mastitis (breast inflammation).
Dandelion root and leaf are used widely in Europe for gastrointestinal ailments. The European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) recommends dandelion root for the restoration of liver function, to treat upset stomach, and to treat loss of appetite. The German Commission E authorizes the use of combination products containing dandelion root and herb for similar illnesses. Some modern naturopathic physicians assert that dandelion can detoxify the liver and gallbladder, reduce side effects of medications metabolized (processed) by the liver, and relieve symptoms associated with liver disease.
Dandelion is generally regarded as safe with rare side effects including contact dermatitis, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal upset.
Dandelion is used as a salad ingredient, and the roasted root and its extracts are sometimes used as a coffee substitute.

I'll never look at a Dandelion with disrespect again!

To read more about the dandelion, check out:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-dandelion.html

New friend in Finland

I received a card from Finland yesterday. The girl that sent it is in facebook. She's now my friend on Facebook. I think it's so neat to correspond with someone from another country. She lives in Helsinki. I'll have to read up on the country and city.

Congratulations to Donna and Bruce

Bruce and Donna became grandparents today to twin girls! Connor has two sisters, Finley & Emersyn. What a blessing.

I Can Wear Eye Makeup again!

I went to the eye doctor for the last followup. My eye is great! And I can wear eye makeup again! That's the best part. Aside from the fact that I don't have to get a new RX for glasses. My glasses are 2 years old and I still have 20/20 vision with them. Whew, that'll save some money!
I'm going to our Drive and Dine in a little while. Some of us 'seniors' that aren't 'allowed' to go to the lunch trips because we don't want to (or can't) ride the bus meet once a month at different Allen restaurants for lunch. It's always a good time.

Planning a Trip to MI

Jamie, Dallas and I were supposed to go to MI this summer for a week. We didn't want to go because we don't want to drive that far. We would break Denny's heart if he knew we didn't want to go. Then, Lindsey, Sue's niece told Sue that there are real cheap tickets right now. So this morning, I went online and found cheap tickets. Jamie, Dallas and I will be flying to Sandy Pines in MI on August 6 and we'll be there until August 17! Long time to be there but Dallas will love it. She'll be spoiled by a lot of people, will be able to play at the new waterpark at Sandy Pines and will be riding all over in our golf cart. It'll be nice seeing everyone again. It'll be hot, muggy and a ton of mosquitos in MI but it'll be reeeeaaalll hot in Texas in August. Now I have to start my list of what we need to take with us. Grrr.

Picture that Denny II Painted

Denny was just a little boy when he painted this picture on a grocery bag. It's been in my Bible for years. Dallas got into my Bible and took it out. I'm going to give it to Sue. Here is the 'painting'.

French Holly Hocks

I have this beautiful plant growing in my back yard. It's showing at the top of my blog. I planted it two years ago but didn't remember what it was. I showed a picture to people and got a lot of good guesses. I looked on line. I went to all of the places that I've boughten plants. The first place is out of business. I was surprised because I think they've been in business for years. The only place that I didn't go was the McKinney flea market. They won't be open until next weekend. I finally got my answer. One of the ladies that works at Calloways identified it. They don't sell it there but she had the plant in her yard one time. When she told me that it was a hollyhock, I explained that it can't be. I've had hollyhocks in our yard at home in Grand Rapids when I was a kid. They grew wild in the alley across the street from us. We used to pick the flowers and make dolls out of them. No way could you make a doll out of the little flowers on my plant. So the lady looked it up in a book and there it was, under Hollyhocks! It's an 'old' hollyhock that they don't sell anymore. I looked it up on the internet and it says that it's a great plant for an old fashioned garden. That's the kind of garden I want! So I got a start! There is no smell to the flower but it is just beautiful. I hope it returns next year and I'm going to collect the seeds from it, just in case! Next year I plan to have more of the 'old' French Hollyhock plants.

Sport Jocks!

A little known fact...The first testicular guard (Cup) was used in baseball in 1874. The first helmet was used in 1934. ~~ It took 60 years for men to realize that the brain is also important

The Wooly Alder Aphid

A few years ago I saw a bug that I had never seen before in my whole life! These cute tiny white fuzzy looking insects were floating through the air at Sandy Pines in Michigan. We would catch them in our hands. I looked through a magnifing glass at one and saw how beautiful it was. It's wings looked like little fairy wings and looked like it was wearing a little angora coat. At that time, I looked through the internet trying to find out what it was called. There were a lot of notes from people stating that they had never seen them before all over the United States. One person actually thought that we had a plague in the United States. How funny is that.

Anyway, we had some little cottonlike seeds in the yard today and it reminded me of those cute little bugs. They don't bother anyone. They suck the sap from trees. And bugs don't like to eat them because they have a sticky bad taste to them. No, I didn't test it!

Well, what I thought was very interesting is the following:

Almost every aphid you see is female. They reproduce parthenogenetically, without the need for males to fertilize them. Only under stressful conditions, such as the approach of winter, are males produced and reproduction takes place by mating between the sexes. The aphids born with wings are both males and females, and this last generation can reproduce sexually. The advantage to sexual reproduction is that it leads to genetic mixing, producing new combinations of genes that might be naturally selected for by the changing environmental conditions. This is the stuff of evolution. Under stable conditions, the parthenogenetic clones are already best adapted to their environment and need not bother with genetic mixing, for a large percentage of the offspring produced by mating will be poorly adapted to the environment and will die.

It just goes to show you that the female sex can do very well on their own. I know, I know! We're talking bugs and humans. Here's a picture of the cute little fairy bug, as I call it.

May Flowers and Butterfly

Please check out the pictures on the side board. There is a picture of a butterfly that I took this week in my garden. And all of the flowers that are in bloom at this time. More pictures as they bloom. And O'Ley's Garden is in with the pictures. It's my beautiful O'Ley's garden that I planted for him.

Surgery on my eye

Tuesday I had a cataract removed from my left eye. Amazing! I can't believe how I wasn't seeing things in good color before. My right eye doesn't qualify for surgery yet. I wish it did. What a difference! When I look at things with my right eye, it's like I'm looking at an old photo where they get kind of yellow. And with my left eye, things are so white and bright. I made a comparison but I wasn't able to copy it into my post. Anyway, the colors are fantastic.
I had no pain with the surgery and my eye is doing great. In three weeks I have to have it checked and will probably have to get new glasses because a lens was placed in my eye. Funny this is that this morning I read the paper without my glasses! I've never been able to do that!

Memorial Day and Anniversary

A few things to remember tomorrow. It is our 46th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Wow! Long time.
And Memorial Day. Time to remember all the men and women who served for our country in all of the wars. And, let's not forget the unpopular war in Viet Nam when our soldiers came home to be greeted by protesters. It must have been terrible to fight in a war that they didn't volunteer and to come home to jeered, mocked and called names. God Bless America and God Bless all of our enforcements, Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guards and the Reserves.
God Bless all of the families of those that died. God Bless all of the troups that returned with injuries, not only to their bodies but to their minds. It's a hard life for them to live. But, ask one of them and they'll tell you it was worth it. Again, God Bless America!

Denny and Jordan and Dallas

My Flowers From Danielle, Randy and Ashley

Danielle and her Mother's Day Gift From Ashley

Dallas Goes to the Dentist!

Dallas had a few cavities! She went to the dentist for a checkup. She bit the dentist's hand. Ouch! Today she went back to get her teeth filled! Everything went great. Watching her after they gave her an injection to be sure she was settled down before they gave her the anesthesia gave me the willies! She reminded me of O'Ley when they put him down! Her eyes were open and glazed. But she won't remember anything. They gave her an amnesia medicine. She won't even remember going to the dentist today! No more candy or goodies but more toothpaste!

Eyes and cataracts

I went to the eye doctor today. I knew I had cataracts because the moon, stars, headlights, streetlights and even our nightlights have halos around them! I don't dare drive at night. So I went today to the dr. They dilated my eyes at 9:30 this morning, it's now 4:13 and I still can't go outside in the sun! I went to the mailbox and thought I was going to go blind! I'm having the cataract removed from my left eye on the 26th of May. The day after our 46th wedding anniversary! OK, don't tell me that I should have had the surgery 46 years ago...two days earlier! No, I should have had my head examined. Just kidding.

We're getting ready for our garage sale Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I hope it doesn't rain but it wouldn't be bad to have it a little cloudy.

How Can We Pray For an Evil Person?

Today I'm in a serious and thoughtful mood. My thoughts are on how we're supposed to pray for someone who we know is bad. When someone is truly evil, how can we 'hate the sin but not the sinner"? I've heard that my whole life but never understood it. Today while I was on my way to my sister's house to clean, I was listening to a great story that I got from the library. In the story, a woman was teaching the children that she took care of that when we hate someone, the devil is happy. My thoughts have been on Denny's boss the last few days. The man is really an evil person. He was brought to the U.S. from India by Denny's boss to be the CEO of the company. The company hasn't been doing good and the business has gotten worse since this man came into the company. He is mean, belittling, uses foul language when he talks to them and had made all of the workers hate their jobs. He know they can't quit because of the economy. He's made pay cuts and took all of their accumulated vacation time away, cut their health care. He questions the workers to find out things about the other workers and what they think of him.

One day this week, he asked a worker how the people feel about him. The man told him that they all hate him. He asked for an example of who hates him. The man told him that he and his wife hate him. He asked who else. He wanted names. The man told him that everyone in the whole company that works under him hates him. He smiled as though the thought of everyone hating him is what he wants.

A woman was upset and talked to my daughter-in-law. She said that the job was her life. She had no family and she was so afraid that when she lost the job, she would not know what to do to keep her apartment. She cried. Sue tried to comfort her. The lady told Sue that her heart was beating so fast now and she is under so much stress. She said that the CEO has made her life miserable. When they walked out of the building, Sue had her arm around her and tried to make her feel better. The next morning, the poor lady was found in the bathroom, at work, lying on the floor. She had a heart attack and died. Everyone was so upset at work. The 'evil' man never came to the building and said that if anyone left work, they would lose a day's vacation.

This is only an example of the things this man is putting the workers through.

My point is: How can we pray for this man with all the hurt he has done to others?
This I don't understand.

My Latest Friend on Facebook! And Birds

Adam Lambert, the great singer on American Idol is my friend on Facebook. He has almost 800 friends so I'm sure he won't answer my notes to him. Now I'm being pressured by Bruce (just kiddin' Bruce) to check out Twitter. After Dallas wakes up, I'm taking her to McDonald's to play. She loves it there. I'll bring my knitting with me.

I put out some bird feeders last week. There are birds in my yard for the first time since our house was built. Cardinals are feeding. I was told to put sunflower seeds in the feeders to keep out the crap birds. That doesn't work. I had sparrows today and a couple of the big black birds. Oh, and a rabbit was in the yard again today. Dallas chased him all over the yard until the rabbit found the only spot to get in or out. He made it! I bet his little heart was beating fast when he got out! Dallas is so fast and she was keeping up with him!

Today, May 5, 2009

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone! The celebration in Dallas was postponed because of the flu. A lot of people took the day off from work for it!

It's a wet day today. I took my friend Mary to have her eyes operated on. We went to McKinney. I dropped her off. She would call me after the surgery. They postponed her surgery until next week. Two postponements.

Facebook

Facebook is amazing! I have the three girls that were friends of my oldest son, Denny when he was in high school. The three girls, Caroline, Beth and Cheryl would come to our house and visit us, whether Denny was home or not. I just loved those girls! Now I'm friends with them after all these years! And they're still looking good! And I have Dawn as my friend on Facebook. I worked with her at Meijer and forgot about her over the years! She's a sweet girl and I'm so glad to be friends with her again! Go, Facebook!

Health Fair

Friday, May 1, 2009 we will have Joyce's Chemo Cap Project on display at the Health Fair at the Allen Senior Recreation Center. I think it will be a lot of fun. We're going to show our scrapebook, our caps, patterns and answer any questions asked to us. Hope to see y'all there!

I Sorted My Postcards Last Night

Whew! It was a job. I sorted the cards according to countries that I received them from. Then I put them all in a binder. I still have to make cover sheets for each country. You can see the cards on my Postcrossing blog. It's fun to send and receive cards from other countries. I think I'll be getting some today. It makes getting mail more interesting!

LB and I saved a family today!

This is a true story of what happened to my sister, Laurie, and me today.

We were on our way home from the movie and were almost to Laurie's house. She lives a few blocks from Richland College. As we turned off from Walnut (I think it was Walnut), she noticed something on the next corner, stopped and backed up. There walking down the street was a mother duck and 7 tiny little baby ducklings. I got out of the car and yelled to her as she was getting out of her car "They're heading to the college pond." I followed behind them and she watched traffic as we approached Walnut. It's a very busy street! They would never make it! Laurie stopped a car that was coming down the street toward Walnut as I corralled them away from the middle of the side street. I ran out to stop traffic going west. The lady in the car said that she'd pull her car out to keep the traffic from going. I had to sidetrack them a couple of times so they wouldn't get off track. Laurie ran to the cars going east, put out her arms and stopped traffic. All three lanes stopped and waited. There were several cars in line by that time. I continued to corral the family across the street. They got to the curb and jumped up. The last little duck had a hard time so I quickly put my hands under him and boasted him up. I didn't want to keep my hand there too long so the mother wouldn't reject him if he smelled my scent. Then the family all waddled to a brush that was going to the pond. They were far enough away from the street and heading in the right direction so we knew they were safe.

American Idol-2009

This year's American Idol is really full of talent. I have my favorite! It amazing how this man can sing. I'm pulling for him to win. Yes, I make my calls after the Tuesday night show. There are so many good singers but I have to say that Adam Lamberts can not only sing great, he can sing anything and is such a showman. Go, Adam! Even if he doesn't win, I'm betting he'll be a star!

Jordan in the No Cell Phone Zone

Facebook

Facebook is so much fun. Keeping in touch with old friends, classmates and family (not 'old' family because I'm the oldest!) Anyway, I was looking at Jamie's classmates and I saw a picture of her friend, Con. I emailed her to be sure it was her. She was so happy to hear from me. She had been trying to get in touch with Jamie. To make a long story short, they are now communicating via phone. I always liked Con.

Chemocaps

These are my latest caps that I made over the last couple of weeks. I'll probably change patterns now. These are good to make.