Lee and I have endured many types of "roller coaster" experiences related to his illness and lung transplant, and now we can add to that, one about the weather.
Hard to believe that yesterday topped 75 degrees, and the day before, 65 degrees. Yesterday was not one to be enjoyed because of all the tornado watches around us. Seems like when the weather is drastic such as last evening, I spend a lot of time on the phone checking on our families and making sure all are home and O.K. Guess that will always be the Mom in me. When I called my daughter in Morganton, I could detect a tone of worry in her voice. Her older daughter was in Raleigh and would be returning with a bus filled with high-school juniors and seniors. They were to see a play and leave Raleigh around 9:00 p.m. After her Dad called to check with the chaperones, he was reasssured that they would not leave until the storm passed. Fortunately, they would be traveling in the opposite direction of the storm. I have not heard from them today, but am sure all is fine.
Windy, sunshiny and cold today, but that does not stop Lee! He has been on the go all day! As I type this, he is busy in his workshop working on the many projects he has going. Further investigation from my kitchen window tells me he is not alone. His buddy, Hewitt is there too.
It is so good to look out at the shop on most days of the week and see an array of trucks belonging to the many farmers in our neighborhood. Once again, as Lee has become able to work there, his friends will stop and visit for a couple of hours. This was a ritual that was well-established prior to his illness. All of these farmers were accustomed to helping each other with different tasks throughout the year. During the Spring and Fall, they would work with taking up hay. In the Summer, the gardens would involve lots of work and again in the Fall, more hay. The Winter months usually involved cutting trees and splitting wood. Lee cannot be involved in those activities, so it is especially good to see them continuing to gather around him in his workshop.
There are still some farming chores that Lee can do, and these involve gardening. He can do that as long as he is loyal to wearing his industrial mask. Now that he is much stronger, he is working more and more independently............so wonderful to see his strength returning.
We will be returning to Duke for a one-year bronchoscopy on February 20! Hard to believe that he has not had a bronch in a whole year! All of 2011, he had one each month!
So...........life is good! The Sun is shinning, the days are getting longer, and we are enjoying each day to the fullest!
More Later..............................................
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Winter and Ice
First round of Wintry weather is over and surprise! Tomorrow and Wednesday look like a small dose of Spring. Nothing like living in the South.......lots of variety in weather.
The big Colonoscopy is past and the report was very good....even to note another one is not necessary for another 10 years! How good is that?! Nothing unusual to report except that the doctor agreed that I probably had a bout of diverticulitis after Thanksgiving (I do have some diverticulosis, which is not uncommon for my age). Need to be more aware of my dietary habits.
Lee has been spending some of his time on these cold, Wintry days working in his shop behind the house. Now that he has upgraded his heating system from a wood-burning stove ( no wood smoke now ) to an electrical heat, he feels comfortable working on those unfinished projects left behind these past few years. One of his projects is to get his antique car up and running. I am looking forward to another ride through the country in his 1931 A Model Roadster with the Ugga horn and the rumble seat on the back. We have been know to ride to our neighbor's house, put the top down, put them in the rumble seat and continue on our excursion throughout the countryside. We try to stay in the country since the speed is usually around 35 miles per hour.
He has lots of projects that are ongoing. He is committed to all the birds in our yard and makes sure there are lots of bird houses available for their mating in the Spring. In addition, the honeybee hives are contantly in need of cleaning and repair. He has even taken to doing some woodworking for some other needed repairs. The bird feeder outside the kitchen window was in such a state of disrepair that I was prepared to discard and look for a new one. Lee surprised me before Christmas with not only a repaired bird feeder, but one with a new paint job. Looks as good as new!
As the weather warms, he plans to work on pruning fruit trees, blueberry bushes, blackberry vines and cultivating the garden. He has already pruned the muscadine and grape vines to ready them for full production in the late Summer. There are so many edible foods to look forward to this Summer because of Lee!
Today he is busy with all the work that has to be done in regards to taxes. He is gathering all the information that is necessary to take to the CPA. Personally, I think his CPA has it made.....Lee does all the work here and the CPA just puts it on the correct forms and we sign..........
Seems today I finally broke my "writer's block". I have been struggling with desire to write and to create something useful. There are many mornings or times during the night when I awaken with a profound thought about something I would like to write only to fall asleep and forget it by morning. I am going to try and get up and write if that happens again!
I finally finished the very long book "No Ordinary Time", by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Enjoyed learning all about FDR, Eleanor, Churchill, and World War II. This book filled in a lot of blanks from my early childhood.
I would recommend this book to any and all history buffs and to all "baby boomers". What an amazing time in our history!
More Later.................................Brenda
The big Colonoscopy is past and the report was very good....even to note another one is not necessary for another 10 years! How good is that?! Nothing unusual to report except that the doctor agreed that I probably had a bout of diverticulitis after Thanksgiving (I do have some diverticulosis, which is not uncommon for my age). Need to be more aware of my dietary habits.
Lee has been spending some of his time on these cold, Wintry days working in his shop behind the house. Now that he has upgraded his heating system from a wood-burning stove ( no wood smoke now ) to an electrical heat, he feels comfortable working on those unfinished projects left behind these past few years. One of his projects is to get his antique car up and running. I am looking forward to another ride through the country in his 1931 A Model Roadster with the Ugga horn and the rumble seat on the back. We have been know to ride to our neighbor's house, put the top down, put them in the rumble seat and continue on our excursion throughout the countryside. We try to stay in the country since the speed is usually around 35 miles per hour.
He has lots of projects that are ongoing. He is committed to all the birds in our yard and makes sure there are lots of bird houses available for their mating in the Spring. In addition, the honeybee hives are contantly in need of cleaning and repair. He has even taken to doing some woodworking for some other needed repairs. The bird feeder outside the kitchen window was in such a state of disrepair that I was prepared to discard and look for a new one. Lee surprised me before Christmas with not only a repaired bird feeder, but one with a new paint job. Looks as good as new!
As the weather warms, he plans to work on pruning fruit trees, blueberry bushes, blackberry vines and cultivating the garden. He has already pruned the muscadine and grape vines to ready them for full production in the late Summer. There are so many edible foods to look forward to this Summer because of Lee!
Today he is busy with all the work that has to be done in regards to taxes. He is gathering all the information that is necessary to take to the CPA. Personally, I think his CPA has it made.....Lee does all the work here and the CPA just puts it on the correct forms and we sign..........
Seems today I finally broke my "writer's block". I have been struggling with desire to write and to create something useful. There are many mornings or times during the night when I awaken with a profound thought about something I would like to write only to fall asleep and forget it by morning. I am going to try and get up and write if that happens again!
I finally finished the very long book "No Ordinary Time", by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Enjoyed learning all about FDR, Eleanor, Churchill, and World War II. This book filled in a lot of blanks from my early childhood.
I would recommend this book to any and all history buffs and to all "baby boomers". What an amazing time in our history!
More Later.................................Brenda
Sunday, January 20, 2013
New Year / New Look!
Now that I have had a long rest post Holiday Bustle, thought I would try and bring you up to date on our beginnings of the new year.
We have stayed close to home because Lee has had a close relationship with his dermatologist in 2013! Unfortunately, the strong anti-rejection medication continues to feed all his precancerous lesions on his face, head and upper torso, changing them into nasty cancerous lesions. This, of course, requires many appointments to hopefully catch those in the pre-cancerous stages. To date, he has had approximately fifty pre-cancerouse lesions eradicated with liquid nitrogen, and six cancers removed surgically. We are fortunate that all could be done locally.
Duke had requested that he have another big C (colonoscopy procedure) prior to his scheduled appointment in February. That was done ten days ago and all reports were favorable! My turn tomorrow! Ugh! Lee has been persistant in my seeing the doctor, so this is just to make sure that all is o.k. (which I feel it is ). Think maybe we have shared so much these past three years that it has come to this?! Colonoscopies together?! So far, have been on clear liquids (yum!) past 28 hours.....starving. Already planning my meal tomorrow....thinking Olive Garden! I get to drink the big guns starting @ 5:00, followed by the nuclear blast at 9:00 pm. I remember when Lee hit that stage, he just carried all his "juice" to the bathroom, turned on the T.V. in the bedroom and disappeared from view for about 2-3 hours! I plan to do the same.............
Oh Well, back to a better topic: I get to have food in approximately twenty-four hours!
We have not been back to the beach since we were that for a fast week-end after Thanksgiving. Our plans are to return in February, March, April and May. A week at a time, hopefully. We need to check on the property and get ready for the busy Summer months. Lee is already talking "fishing" with his buddy, Ted.
I suppose we have had a slowing-down time since the holidays.....much needed. We were both exhausted and I awoke Christmas morning feeling as though I had been beaten over every muscle in my body! I ran a fever for about 24 hours and then it was gone.....lucky me. For a while I was afraid I had the flu. It was a close cousin!
On this day, we are enjoying some lovely 60 degree, sunny January weather. We have been told it will change in two or three days and be very cold. So we will enjoy the sunshine and warmth and get ready to "hunker down". That means: warm electric blankets and throws, good books for me and great football for Lee! Enjoy!
More Later..................................Brenda
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