Jamie and I walking to the Rock House from Laura (Ingalls Wilder) and Almanzo's house at Rocky Ridge in Mansfield, Missouri
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
I knew it...
I knew this was going to happen.
I had an appointment on Monday with my primary care doctor. My three month check after my pneumonia. I knew that he was going to do bloodwork. My mother has diabetes and my brother was recently diagnosed. My father's mother had it too. This doctor has been keeping a close eye on it. He was also concerned about my potassium which was quite low when I was in the hospital. And, since my hair is still falling out, he thought I might have a vitamin deficiency (could be D, B12 or iron).
I had to make a follow-up to go back in two weeks, which I did. They said they would call if I needed to come in sooner, which they didn't.
They did, however, just call to tell me that the doctor wants me to be certain to keep the next appointment to go over that bloodwork.
Obviously, that means there's something. Not something urgent, but something.
I just hope it's something that can be cured with an extra vitamin. But that diabetes thing weighs heavy on me...
You know...that age thing just keeps creeping in on us. Jim needs oral surgery next week. He started having tooth pain yesterday which only got worse today. A tooth he had a root canal on years ago is infected.
Okay, I'm not going to count these maladies that we've been experiencing lately, but for Pete's sake enough is enough!
I had an appointment on Monday with my primary care doctor. My three month check after my pneumonia. I knew that he was going to do bloodwork. My mother has diabetes and my brother was recently diagnosed. My father's mother had it too. This doctor has been keeping a close eye on it. He was also concerned about my potassium which was quite low when I was in the hospital. And, since my hair is still falling out, he thought I might have a vitamin deficiency (could be D, B12 or iron).
I had to make a follow-up to go back in two weeks, which I did. They said they would call if I needed to come in sooner, which they didn't.
They did, however, just call to tell me that the doctor wants me to be certain to keep the next appointment to go over that bloodwork.
Obviously, that means there's something. Not something urgent, but something.
I just hope it's something that can be cured with an extra vitamin. But that diabetes thing weighs heavy on me...
You know...that age thing just keeps creeping in on us. Jim needs oral surgery next week. He started having tooth pain yesterday which only got worse today. A tooth he had a root canal on years ago is infected.
Okay, I'm not going to count these maladies that we've been experiencing lately, but for Pete's sake enough is enough!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Lab (mix) lingo 101
I administered a quiz yesterday. What words were most recognizable to these two, very different from each other Lab mixes, I wondered.
You might think that I haven't much of a life. And you might be right.
So, in no particular order and, surprisingly, eliciting an equal response from both:
Out
Cookie
Car
Eat
Mama
Daddy
Treat
Blue ball
Chevy (another Lab mix friend)
Ride
and, sadly, McDonald's
Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday adventures
* I told of this little adventure on my myspace (back when I did myspace) blog a over a year ago. I had to drive "Big Red" quite a distance today and was thinking of this story. Decided to move it here...
Jim had an emergency well to drill for a store that had no water. So, first thing I had to run a well permit up to the health department. He had to get permission to drill right away, but we still had to file the permit before he could start. So, then we had to move the rig to the jobsite, which was a little party store where he is set up in their parking lot. He has to drill next to the existing well because there's no other place to drill without having to tear up the parking lot to hook the well up. He had to use cutting torches to cut the pipe off the old well and get rid of the cement post that kept people from hitting the well (with their cars) before he could set up the drill rig. Okay so we're set up and we can come back so he can drive back out with the water truck. I can start my to-do list...
So, I get a few things done, including my grocery shopping and I'm home unloading groceries when Jim calls wanting me to bring the pick-up out. I hate driving the pick-up. It's got an extended cab and an eight foot bed. It's big and I just don't like driving it. He knows that and offers to call a friend who may be off work by then, but, you know, I'm all he's got. We have no one working for us right now and I feel like I have to do things even if I don't like to. Believe me, Jim does a ton of things he doesn't like to do! So, I drive "Big Red" (that's what we call this truck) out there and it's been a while since I've had to drive it, but it was so hard to steer all the way there. When I pulled in Jim wanted me to back into place because he needed to shovel mud into the back and I told him it was hard to steer. Well, he looked at the tires and one front tire was almost flat. That's a big DUH on my part! He put air in the tire and moved it where it needed to be. Usually when Jim drills, he's in a field or yard, not in a parking lot so he needed to haul the mud away. The temps were dropping fast and he needed to get it out of there before it froze solid. I'm telling you that this mud is so much heavier than "regular mud"! Others who have had to shovel it would agree. Jim had only one shovel on the truck so I couldn't even help (what little help I could give would be better than none). By the time he was done the back of the truck was pretty much full of mud. We could leave now. It was 7pm, dark and very cold. I started off and found that I couldn't steer! I called Jim who was a little ahead of me, driving the water truck and he said, "Yeah, you have a heavy load. It'll be like trying to steer a boat." Well, I've never steered a boat but at least I knew that there wasn't a mechanical problem and I just couldn't go over 30 mph or else I couldn't steer at all. It was a looooong drive home! Luckily most of the heavy traffic was done by then, but of course, people don't like to follow you when you're only going 30. I hate people riding my rear! Jim and I try to move our trucks during off peak hours because we always have to travel a little slower. People have no patience! I mean, really, just hold off and your time to pass will come. I can't go any faster even with you right on my rear.
Okay, so we get to within 5 or so miles of home and there are a couple of cars pulled onto the shoulder with their flashers on. I went to go around them and I spot a dog on the other side of the road lying there, but still moving. I love dogs. I love animals. I started crying. I cried the rest of the way home. When I pulled in and Jim came to my side of the truck because the yard was freezing up and slippery so he came to walk with me to the house (yes, he is a sweet guy), I was sobbing and telling him, "Those people hit a dog and it was still alive and just laying there!" He hadn't seen the dog when he went by. He must have thought I was losing it! He's a good guy, he just listens to me...
Well, I was freezing, crying and now it's hitting 8pm and I didn't get supper made.
He took Duke (the dog) and me to McDonald's and we sat by the river and had dinner. That usually helps cure everything...
And, yes, Duke gets a burger too and eats most of my fries and Jim like to get pies sometimes too. So, to avoid me giving Duke most of my pie, he now orders Duke his own pie. Yes, our pup is spoiled and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
And, think of this, if that mud was so heavy as to weigh the back of the truck down so much so that I had a hard time steering then imagine how much mud my husband lifted into that truck! These are the times I really have a renewed appreciation for how hard he works. A well driller is one of the most physically demanding jobs, plus it's not just physical there's a lot of "mind work" involved. My husband is quite a guy! And, the perfectionist that he is, the well makes water, but he feels he can do better and he's working on it today trying to see if he can get a better volume for these people. Hopefully it warms up past the 16 degrees it is now...
Jim had an emergency well to drill for a store that had no water. So, first thing I had to run a well permit up to the health department. He had to get permission to drill right away, but we still had to file the permit before he could start. So, then we had to move the rig to the jobsite, which was a little party store where he is set up in their parking lot. He has to drill next to the existing well because there's no other place to drill without having to tear up the parking lot to hook the well up. He had to use cutting torches to cut the pipe off the old well and get rid of the cement post that kept people from hitting the well (with their cars) before he could set up the drill rig. Okay so we're set up and we can come back so he can drive back out with the water truck. I can start my to-do list...
So, I get a few things done, including my grocery shopping and I'm home unloading groceries when Jim calls wanting me to bring the pick-up out. I hate driving the pick-up. It's got an extended cab and an eight foot bed. It's big and I just don't like driving it. He knows that and offers to call a friend who may be off work by then, but, you know, I'm all he's got. We have no one working for us right now and I feel like I have to do things even if I don't like to. Believe me, Jim does a ton of things he doesn't like to do! So, I drive "Big Red" (that's what we call this truck) out there and it's been a while since I've had to drive it, but it was so hard to steer all the way there. When I pulled in Jim wanted me to back into place because he needed to shovel mud into the back and I told him it was hard to steer. Well, he looked at the tires and one front tire was almost flat. That's a big DUH on my part! He put air in the tire and moved it where it needed to be. Usually when Jim drills, he's in a field or yard, not in a parking lot so he needed to haul the mud away. The temps were dropping fast and he needed to get it out of there before it froze solid. I'm telling you that this mud is so much heavier than "regular mud"! Others who have had to shovel it would agree. Jim had only one shovel on the truck so I couldn't even help (what little help I could give would be better than none). By the time he was done the back of the truck was pretty much full of mud. We could leave now. It was 7pm, dark and very cold. I started off and found that I couldn't steer! I called Jim who was a little ahead of me, driving the water truck and he said, "Yeah, you have a heavy load. It'll be like trying to steer a boat." Well, I've never steered a boat but at least I knew that there wasn't a mechanical problem and I just couldn't go over 30 mph or else I couldn't steer at all. It was a looooong drive home! Luckily most of the heavy traffic was done by then, but of course, people don't like to follow you when you're only going 30. I hate people riding my rear! Jim and I try to move our trucks during off peak hours because we always have to travel a little slower. People have no patience! I mean, really, just hold off and your time to pass will come. I can't go any faster even with you right on my rear.
Okay, so we get to within 5 or so miles of home and there are a couple of cars pulled onto the shoulder with their flashers on. I went to go around them and I spot a dog on the other side of the road lying there, but still moving. I love dogs. I love animals. I started crying. I cried the rest of the way home. When I pulled in and Jim came to my side of the truck because the yard was freezing up and slippery so he came to walk with me to the house (yes, he is a sweet guy), I was sobbing and telling him, "Those people hit a dog and it was still alive and just laying there!" He hadn't seen the dog when he went by. He must have thought I was losing it! He's a good guy, he just listens to me...
Well, I was freezing, crying and now it's hitting 8pm and I didn't get supper made.
He took Duke (the dog) and me to McDonald's and we sat by the river and had dinner. That usually helps cure everything...
And, yes, Duke gets a burger too and eats most of my fries and Jim like to get pies sometimes too. So, to avoid me giving Duke most of my pie, he now orders Duke his own pie. Yes, our pup is spoiled and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
And, think of this, if that mud was so heavy as to weigh the back of the truck down so much so that I had a hard time steering then imagine how much mud my husband lifted into that truck! These are the times I really have a renewed appreciation for how hard he works. A well driller is one of the most physically demanding jobs, plus it's not just physical there's a lot of "mind work" involved. My husband is quite a guy! And, the perfectionist that he is, the well makes water, but he feels he can do better and he's working on it today trying to see if he can get a better volume for these people. Hopefully it warms up past the 16 degrees it is now...
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
He's missing this...
For awhile, Jim would complain that whenever Jon came home from work he seemed to sneak past the shop so Jim wouldn't even know he was home. I thought it was because Jon thought he'd be "stuck" helping Dad with some job. It happens to me when I go out to the shop. :) I don't mind and it's part of being a business partner. Jon's young, he minds. Someday, he'll wish he'd have helped his Dad as much as his Dad helps him. I think that it has started to sink in and shortly before Jon moved to his own house, he wasn't avoiding Dad so much.
I think that they both miss this...
Jon had been working lots of overtime lately, so it was rare for him to get home while it was still daylight.
And Jim happened to be working right outside the shop.
Look at Duke and Sosha hanging around. They're always happy to see Jon too!
They're chatting, mostly Jon is telling Jim about his day. Maybe he's venting. He once told me that it's easier to talk to his Dad about work because it would be like me listening to him speak Japanese. I just don't understand. He's right. And I don't mind at all. Jim doesn't either.
Oops! Jim spotted me taking pictures from our bedroom window. Busted!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
On my mind...
I read this article this morning. It's ongoing news in our area, but the details... The details just sicken me. I've been thinking about it all day. This baby. This poor baby should have been loved and cared for....
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
I blame myself...
My husband's job is physically demanding, even dangerous at times.
I worry constantly that he will be injured, or that something will happen to him while on the job. He's had many close calls. Mostly he will downplay them or not tell me at all.
There was a time, a few years ago, that both my husband and my son were drilling a well together. They came home that evening and, before heading downstairs to shower, my son stops and tells me, "Dad almost got his finger cut off today!" Jim had already headed down without mentioning a word of this to me. Turns out that his wedding band caught on a tooling. He had to cut the band off. It was bent out of shape, into a narrow oval. It scared me and he hasn't worn a wedding band since. Most well drillers don't, on the job. It's too dangerous.
Anyhow, all my worrying for all these years, and who would have thought that a simple slip and fall on the ice would cause such pain for him? He wasn't working, he was helping me. I had gone out to fill my birdfeeders, but had stopped in his woodshop to talk to him and see the progress on a table that he is making for Jon. I haven't been very diligent about filling those feeders this winter and he teased me about it. I teased him back telling him that he had promised to clean my big feeder out but hadn't yet. I'm perfectly capable of cleaning the feeder and he had told me that he would do it back when I was still recovering from pneumonia. Jim being Jim, he stopped what he was doing to go clean the feeder.
I stopped to fill my bucket with birdseed and get some thistle when I heard him yell out. When I looked up, he was just trying to get back up where he had fallen on some ice in our driveway. I ran out to see if he was okay and, of course, he downplayed the whole incident and went about his business, albeit a little more slowly.
He was busy for the next several hours and I could tell he was in some pain, but he assured me that he was fine. In the evening we went to his mother's house for our Sunday evening visit. In the summer, we can go outside and walk or do yardwork there, but in the winter there's not much to do so we usually sit and visit with her. Jim chose to sit in her rocking chair. I knew it was because it was so he would have an easier time getting up. As time went on, I could tell that he was becoming more and more uncomfortable. After about two hours he decided that it was time to head home.
That's when everything went downhill...
When he stood up he started having back spasms. He put on a good show, but I could tell that it was bad. Especially when he stepped down the one step to go out the back door and went down on his knees. Luckily he got back up before his mother would see him. We managed to get home (he drove because he didn't want to walk all the way around the car!) and into the house, but the pain just got worse with each step. I had to help him get ready for bed and, with great difficulty, he managed to get into bed and finally into a position where he might rest a bit. I settled on the sofa so that I wouldn't disturb him. Of course, there was not much sleep for either of us.
Early in the morning, he told me to call the doctor as soon as they were in and make him an appointment, but started thinking that something had to be broken to feel such intense pain. He actually yelled out in pain many times. Something he has never never done. We decided to go straight to the hospital. It took close to an hour to get him out of bed and out to the car. I really wanted to call an ambulance...
Once he was up and walking, although the pain was still intense, it wasn't as bad as it had been. We arrived at the ER and they took him right back. Within an hour his information and vitals were taken, he was taken to x-ray and the doctor came in to tell him that nothing was broken (thankfully). He was badly bruised and the bleeding in the muscle was causing pressure which caused the pain. Prescribed Vicodin and sent us on our way.
When we got home, Jim settled into the living room and willingly took a Vicodin (the man has never taken anything strong than a Motrin in his life). A friend stopped by and stayed for a great deal of the day (he's laid off much of the winter) and Jim's mom stopped to see how he was so by later in the afternoon we were both ready for a nap! Jim fell asleep on the sofa and I took a little nap in bed. When I got up a little bit later, he was still snoozing. I thought for sure he'd be feeling so much better after that, but I was so very wrong about that...
He found that when he sits in anything other than a kitchen or office chair, he has a very painful time getting back up. Yesterday, he actually almost passed out. Scary...
He took another Vicodin before bed last night and seemed to sleep fairly well, but was afraid to move all night. I woke up every time he moved or made a sound and was afraid to move so as not to disturb him. I think he slept better than I did!
We were both sure that he would be feeling minimal pain this morning but, again, we were very wrong. It took 45 minutes for him to get up and go into the bathroom (which is right next to our bedroom). He almost passed out again and decided to stop, sit on the bed and take another pain pill before he attempted any more walking. Finally, once he was up and going he seemed to work the kinks out and the pain evened out. I'm not saying he's feeling 100%, far from it. He has been asking for his pain pill (even before it's time) and he is moving much more slowly. He had a job to work on today, but was lucky enough to have a friend to help.
I tell my long tale of woe because so many things have run through my head over the last two days. First and foremost, I hate to see him in pain. He is a strong man. He never, and I mean never, complains even though his work is so physically demanding and I know he suffers aches and pains. Next, this scared me. It really scared me. To see him so vulnerable is frightening. Even after his hernia repair almost exactly a year ago, he did not suffer like this. To see him suddenly go pale and know that he is close to passing out. To hear him yell out in pain. These are things I (or he, for that matter) have not experienced in the 27 years that I have known him. The "what-if's" really scared me. Plain and simple. Another scare...we own our own business and Jim does all of the physical work. If he were to suffer an injury or illness - that's it - we have nothing coming in. Even if it were job-related, because of the nature of his job we can't even afford disability insurance. I was wondering how I would find a job in our area, in this economy that could pay the bills.
Lastly, I feel guilty. I blame myself. I made one little comment about him not cleaning the birdfeeder. I knew I could do it myself and I should know by now that he would stop what he was doing and go do it. I just should have left him doing what he enjoys best, working in his woodshop, and gone about my business without saying a word. It was such a freak accident and now he is suffering. And the funny thing is that he always offers me his arm because he's afraid that I will fall. Today I went out to help him measure a water level on a well he had drilled. It's been snowing all day and there is some ice under the snow. Walking back to the car, he stopped to offer me his arm to walk over the ice...
I worry constantly that he will be injured, or that something will happen to him while on the job. He's had many close calls. Mostly he will downplay them or not tell me at all.
There was a time, a few years ago, that both my husband and my son were drilling a well together. They came home that evening and, before heading downstairs to shower, my son stops and tells me, "Dad almost got his finger cut off today!" Jim had already headed down without mentioning a word of this to me. Turns out that his wedding band caught on a tooling. He had to cut the band off. It was bent out of shape, into a narrow oval. It scared me and he hasn't worn a wedding band since. Most well drillers don't, on the job. It's too dangerous.
Anyhow, all my worrying for all these years, and who would have thought that a simple slip and fall on the ice would cause such pain for him? He wasn't working, he was helping me. I had gone out to fill my birdfeeders, but had stopped in his woodshop to talk to him and see the progress on a table that he is making for Jon. I haven't been very diligent about filling those feeders this winter and he teased me about it. I teased him back telling him that he had promised to clean my big feeder out but hadn't yet. I'm perfectly capable of cleaning the feeder and he had told me that he would do it back when I was still recovering from pneumonia. Jim being Jim, he stopped what he was doing to go clean the feeder.
I stopped to fill my bucket with birdseed and get some thistle when I heard him yell out. When I looked up, he was just trying to get back up where he had fallen on some ice in our driveway. I ran out to see if he was okay and, of course, he downplayed the whole incident and went about his business, albeit a little more slowly.
He was busy for the next several hours and I could tell he was in some pain, but he assured me that he was fine. In the evening we went to his mother's house for our Sunday evening visit. In the summer, we can go outside and walk or do yardwork there, but in the winter there's not much to do so we usually sit and visit with her. Jim chose to sit in her rocking chair. I knew it was because it was so he would have an easier time getting up. As time went on, I could tell that he was becoming more and more uncomfortable. After about two hours he decided that it was time to head home.
That's when everything went downhill...
When he stood up he started having back spasms. He put on a good show, but I could tell that it was bad. Especially when he stepped down the one step to go out the back door and went down on his knees. Luckily he got back up before his mother would see him. We managed to get home (he drove because he didn't want to walk all the way around the car!) and into the house, but the pain just got worse with each step. I had to help him get ready for bed and, with great difficulty, he managed to get into bed and finally into a position where he might rest a bit. I settled on the sofa so that I wouldn't disturb him. Of course, there was not much sleep for either of us.
Early in the morning, he told me to call the doctor as soon as they were in and make him an appointment, but started thinking that something had to be broken to feel such intense pain. He actually yelled out in pain many times. Something he has never never done. We decided to go straight to the hospital. It took close to an hour to get him out of bed and out to the car. I really wanted to call an ambulance...
Once he was up and walking, although the pain was still intense, it wasn't as bad as it had been. We arrived at the ER and they took him right back. Within an hour his information and vitals were taken, he was taken to x-ray and the doctor came in to tell him that nothing was broken (thankfully). He was badly bruised and the bleeding in the muscle was causing pressure which caused the pain. Prescribed Vicodin and sent us on our way.
When we got home, Jim settled into the living room and willingly took a Vicodin (the man has never taken anything strong than a Motrin in his life). A friend stopped by and stayed for a great deal of the day (he's laid off much of the winter) and Jim's mom stopped to see how he was so by later in the afternoon we were both ready for a nap! Jim fell asleep on the sofa and I took a little nap in bed. When I got up a little bit later, he was still snoozing. I thought for sure he'd be feeling so much better after that, but I was so very wrong about that...
He found that when he sits in anything other than a kitchen or office chair, he has a very painful time getting back up. Yesterday, he actually almost passed out. Scary...
He took another Vicodin before bed last night and seemed to sleep fairly well, but was afraid to move all night. I woke up every time he moved or made a sound and was afraid to move so as not to disturb him. I think he slept better than I did!
We were both sure that he would be feeling minimal pain this morning but, again, we were very wrong. It took 45 minutes for him to get up and go into the bathroom (which is right next to our bedroom). He almost passed out again and decided to stop, sit on the bed and take another pain pill before he attempted any more walking. Finally, once he was up and going he seemed to work the kinks out and the pain evened out. I'm not saying he's feeling 100%, far from it. He has been asking for his pain pill (even before it's time) and he is moving much more slowly. He had a job to work on today, but was lucky enough to have a friend to help.
I tell my long tale of woe because so many things have run through my head over the last two days. First and foremost, I hate to see him in pain. He is a strong man. He never, and I mean never, complains even though his work is so physically demanding and I know he suffers aches and pains. Next, this scared me. It really scared me. To see him so vulnerable is frightening. Even after his hernia repair almost exactly a year ago, he did not suffer like this. To see him suddenly go pale and know that he is close to passing out. To hear him yell out in pain. These are things I (or he, for that matter) have not experienced in the 27 years that I have known him. The "what-if's" really scared me. Plain and simple. Another scare...we own our own business and Jim does all of the physical work. If he were to suffer an injury or illness - that's it - we have nothing coming in. Even if it were job-related, because of the nature of his job we can't even afford disability insurance. I was wondering how I would find a job in our area, in this economy that could pay the bills.
Lastly, I feel guilty. I blame myself. I made one little comment about him not cleaning the birdfeeder. I knew I could do it myself and I should know by now that he would stop what he was doing and go do it. I just should have left him doing what he enjoys best, working in his woodshop, and gone about my business without saying a word. It was such a freak accident and now he is suffering. And the funny thing is that he always offers me his arm because he's afraid that I will fall. Today I went out to help him measure a water level on a well he had drilled. It's been snowing all day and there is some ice under the snow. Walking back to the car, he stopped to offer me his arm to walk over the ice...
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