Health. The Intelligence of Youth. Weather. (And a Little Bit of Luck).

   Baby Birds- (one headless?)! hehehe
On the Wires in the yard-

Better grab a cup of coffee or tea- I got a little long-winded here

Good Morning All;
Oy! It seems to have been a long time since I have played ketchup.  hehehe
Hopefully this morning I will not be as rudely interrupted by Mother Nature as I was yesterday when I tried to post a blog.

William did call last night- His wife recovering from yesterdays surgery, and his Mom having brought Lawrence in for his tests. The specialist that saw Lawrence did some measurements- then stated that he 'highly doubted' that our Lawrence has Marfans; but to be sure they did send out DNA tests to check for a familial (genetic) tie to this syndrome.
Lawrence's cardiologist will also be on that, and we will then all know for sure.
While they do not know exactly why Lawrence's heart might be a problem, save for the mitral valve problem, William has also firmly stated that he will not be a part of making Lawrence live in a bubble, so to speak, either. A kid DOES have to be a kid. William is correct about that.

Speaking to Lawrence the other day, (oh, he is just brilliant!). He is a science geek, watching Discovery and all the History and learning channels. He likes the show "Monsters Inside Me"- And not to laugh at, as many 10 year old boys are wont to do-  Lawrence can repeat the medical terminology, and genus' of the bugs that invade -etc etc etc...
He asked when Casey, Valerie, and I, were coming down? (He is right, it has been a long time).
He also said that he thinks of Miss Valerie as his sister! (Very cool that), and hey maybe after all this time, perhaps Zoé will be kind enough to allow me to take Valerie again- and when Casey is up to this trek as well.

Speaking of kids...
My own youngest has a few problems of her own. (Ya think)?! hehehe
Her blood tests from last week not showing the "up" in her iron that was expected. But we were told that maybe this still will rise with time. (It has been 3+ weeks since her 6th infusion, am wondering just how long a body needs for this to show up?!).
Or is someone pulling our leg? Sadly, I do not know.

Casey came out late on Saturday afternoon and spent the night here, as Greg had game in Sheboygan that night. She would have gone, but feeling as poorly as she did, she did not want to be taking chances either.

She has tons of pain still, with no explanations for that- (yet?).
AND, her thyroid test now came back as hyperthyroid! I am hypothyroid, (which is exactly the opposite).
As her levels are not so low as to be treated (yet), they are another warning, another strike, to her already badly compromised system.
Hyperthyroid would account and explain her inability to sleep well, and the fact that her innards are always working overtime.

As Saturday slowly turned to Sunday, she didn't sleep at all. Not one wink!
I would wake from my own little 'naps' and find her working on her logic problems; or writing from her books, saving words that caught her attention for one reason or the other. She has many papers that she has saved- My mom would do this also.

Later on Sunday afternoon, I found her like this...



FINALLY!!!
I hardly had the heart to wake her around 7 to have her go home to be able to spend a little time with Greg before the new work week kicked in once again.
Please keep these kids in your thoughts-

Back to our storms.
We have had plenty for the past few weeks- More in the forecasts also

Remember this from yesterday afternoon?


This "futurecast" picture that they showed was WRONG!
(Thank God for little miracles).

While we did get plenty of rumbles and a bit of rain, it was NOTHING compared to what they thought we would get, or what less fortunate did get-


These pics, after the storms had decided to move on a more acceptable southerly track.












But there was damage too-


hehehe

AND, I lost a flower!



Darn sad that.  hehehe



Down at Kelli's a few days ago, they already had a bit of a washout-


Their back porch...


That's just not right!?!


Then, there's the camper that decided to go for a ride last night...



OK. It is not Kelli and Tim's. hehehe  But Good God, how lucky we all were to have not had the ferocity of the storm here.

They had put in a silt retaining wall so their topsoil would not wash into the pond-


(The black fencing in front of the pond is for the silt to catch on).

But the sand has a decorative quality of its own after all this rain-




Not so decorative here though...




Yeah, those are my basement steps!!!! YIKES!



Please send a few tubes of silicone!  hehehe

As most of you know, I was raised in this house. I have never seen sand come through a concrete step! Guess that tells you how much rain we have had, and how fast and furious it has come down.
I will get them caulked today.  If I can.

Speaking of "luck" (was too), Kelli has NO idea how lucky she was NOT to have gotten my phone call about 9 last night.
I could not move. My back has been worse, again, for the last week or so.
My back was 'stuck' -rendered wholly inflexible by this pain, and I damn near called her to take me in.
I knew they were probably asleep by then- Tim goes in really early, and Kelli goes in early enough as well. I didn't want to be a bother. Nor did I want to call Casey and have her come all the way out here to drive me in. Besides, there is NO way Casey would even have had the strength to move me!

All that was going through my head as I lay there- until I realized that I couldn't even reach the damned phone! I had set it on the charger after William had called...
I figured that was a sign.   - A mean one, but a sign nonetheless...

I did fall asleep for a while, and when I woke, I could at least get to the little ladies room and to take my pain pills- (I even took my Kadian 6 hours early).
Darn fine thing that Punk and I have stable (and apparently large enough) bladders. hehehe

Life goes on. I might call in today, depending upon when Casey gets in touch with me- She will either call me, or just text my email, when she wakes up. Sometimes she sleeps quite late, depending upon when she finally is able to fall to sleep in the 1st place.

I'd better close for now- I must go in search of some decent caulking, maybe.
Am hoping all is well in your little corner of the world.
My love to all.

XOXO
Me

Mother Alone/Woman Alone...

Good Morning Everyone!

Yes, my hand is still the size of a small pineapple... And yes, I went and bought some benedryl; taking it for the first time in my life. (And going "nightie~night" very shortly thereafter too)!

Now if any of you know what I am trying to say here, or how maybe to say it better; PLEASE leave me a comment. This blog really does NOT only pertain to mothers; but to anyone else that might have seemingly not been given a wee bit of credit for WHO they really are... inside...

Very recently one of my children said to me that she believes me NOT to be the person I portray myself to be within my pages here... And that has gotten me to thinking.

I have "thought" myself only to one obvious, and simple, conclusion.

She is wrong as "wrong" can be.

She is a woman in every sense of the word. Bright. Capable. Strong. (Just as I raised her to be). Entering her 4th decade of life as it is.

And yet, she has only given me credit for being a mother. Perhaps it is only because she is my child? And I am thinking that there are too MANY children in this world that, unfortunately have only/will only see their mother as a mother.

I assure you this is not the case.

Our mothers, and YOURS, were women first. Born daughters of someone else who gave birth to them. When your mother was young, she never believed that her mama ever would "do" such a thing to create new life. And if she did, it was once, (and only once), to bring forth life. Mmmm~Hmmmm

"When I was a child I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child..."

And yet, your own mother grew to know all the love, the glory, the resounding successes (and the heartbreaking failures) that came to her even before you did. She knew freedom. She knew life. She loved all animals. (She hates spiders).

She had/has many many friends that have shared almost every experience she has ever known.

Then came her children.

"...When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways" (1 Cor. 13:11).

Since I recently have entered my own fourth decade of being a mother, I can assure you that once that heartstring has been pulled that nothing else will ever be that important to me. And so with that very first delivery, I put aside most of those dreams I may have had. I did this freely and without any coercion, (save for those tiny fingers that clasped my own).

And those tiny fingers quickly grew to a woman.

You have accused me now of being less than honest.

As I have said you are quite wrong.

You have known me only to be a mother. (More specifically YOUR mother).

There was a different 'life' before you came along.

And there is a different life now that you have gone on...

This is the 'woman' I always was, and always will be. I promise you that my friends, and even my elders, will all attest to this; almost as well as my own heart can. For they knew me then, and they know me now.

These are the people that have given me the strengths, (or even the escapes) that I needed many times.

The people who knew, (and know, and respect, and love), the woman inside my skin. The people for whom the song was written, whether they were friend, lover, employer, or employee.

And yes, they have seen me 'become' my own mother in so very many ways; as you yourself will "become" one day.

I am always to be your mother. Good. Bad. And yes, every degree conceivable inbetween.

I have never lied to you. And I have not chosen this moment in time to begin to do so.

I am the same person, the same spirit, with the very same soul, that I always was.

I am determined.

I am strong. With credit due my own many experiences in life, and my own understanding of human nature, that simply makes me stronger than you. But just because I am stronger does not mean that I want to be so, it is simply the way it is.

And this is not only to be applied with respect to my lifetime, or my mothers; it is for all time.

Mother? Yes.

Invincible? Hardly.

Woman? Always.

"Yeah, it's kinda like that"

XOXO
Anne

for more on Anna's Family, click here...

*****of course if you were already on my friends list when I wrote that blog, you might NOT want to revisit it. .... hehehe

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Counters

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She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes.
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies.
And she only reveals what she wants you to see.
She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me.

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She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you.
She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you.
And she'll take what you'll give her as long as it's free.
Yeah, she steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me.

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Oooh, she takes care of herself.
She can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time.
Oooooh, and she never gives out, and she never gives in,
she just changes her mind.

.

And she'll promise you more than the Garden of Eden.
And she'll carelesly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding.
But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be.
Blame it all on yourself, cause she's always a woman to me.

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Oooh, she takes care of herself.
She can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time.
Oooooh, and she never gives out, and she never gives in,
she just changes her mind.

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She is frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel.
But she can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool.
And she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree.
And the most she will do is throw shadows at you,
but she's always a woman to me.

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Billy Joel

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April 22, 2006

Entry for April 22, 2006

 

Good Morning!

   For those of you that are counting the puppys in the photo, yes there are still 10 of them- They all weren't eating at the same time is all.

   I cut the lawns west of the old garage yesterday- It was so nice and sunny- threw on an old pair of cut-offs, and a cut off t-shirt too-  As soon as I got outside of course the sun went behind the clouds- so I threw on my old Shell jacket. Warmer- especially with those breezes. ("Breezes" may be an inadequate word here- Lemme think...   Yup, sure was windy)!   This is the first time I cut behind there this year, and always find more than I bargained for in that area. It is where the stone to the barn is buried, and you never know what has moved throughout the winter either.  Guess I found out the hard way, (and will be replacing the blades on the rider very soon)!  I don't think the grass will look very good if I just beat it up all year! Casey got home from college, and said how nice it looked- Kinda makes it all worthwhile!  

   I was SO smug about my gopher/chipmunk/mole murdering frenzy last fall-  Had put all the poison down their holes- and calmly planted more of my spring bulbs. I am happy to report that almost all of those bulbs came up this spring!  BUT, while I mowed back by the little orchard, my blades started making this weird noise...

   After a few seconds of confounded listening, I realized it was not my blades... Looking up, there was a gopher squeaking at me, about 3 feet away! (Brave little bugger)-

...Up on his hind legs with a "na-na-na-na-boo-boo" LQQK on his face.

The little varmint! 

I missed one- (and have come to realize that if I missed one, there are only about 175 left). 

Will put the "tasty" magic corn out later today- (and will try to remember where the rocks are)!  Wish I had something to level off that ground besides my back- Filled some holes in with the mulch/compost- and hope we get a bunch of steady rains to pack it down for me. While I do not appreciate thunder and lightening, I will be thankful for any rains that fall too!

  

   Many of you have asked about my squashed puppy. I am more than happy to report she is not recognizable as a pup with any injury at all anymore!  I did put the pups in the paper-  They will be available mid-May. This will give me the time necessary to do the background and veterinary checks on any potential buyers.

   Even though Casey is out of the hospital, she will need to go to Froedtert in Milwaukee for surgery- She has a birth anomaly called Pancreatic Divisum. Guess there aren't any doctors up here to do it. Kinda scary stuff for us all;  (I can only imagine how Casey feels about it all).

   Guess I was so happy they didn't say "cancer" that almost anything else is preferable. It took so long to know.

   She called yesterday from UWGB while I was out mowing the back lawns- Left me a message to have her go in next week to her regular doctor- I made that appointment-

She will go in on Tuesday- I cannot keep her from her classes at UWGB either- She is so 'gung-ho' about going in. (Which IS a good thing)... but she is constantly in so much pain. I don't know how she does it.

   My girlfriend dropped off some soy dog food- (Am kind of leery to begin using it as I clean up dog-poo by the bushel about every 4 hours already). I will use it sparingly at first to get her used to it- Don't know if I should be giving it to her now if it's soy- With all the natural estrogens in soy, and her nursing... Better wait til the pups go. But any kind of food like that always helps out.

   I have been having dreams about my hand working normally again- And I wake up only to realize they are only some stupid wishful dreams. But maybe it means that it will come back soon too. Hope so. (So much for pole-vaulting in the backyard)!!!

   I haven't even hardly begun to think about my garden yet- Too much else going on... Have so many seeds that I'd harvested from my flowers from last year- Want to plant them, but it was way too windy to even try yesterday. We shall see what today brings...

   Again, I had better close for today- Much to do, and think Zoe and Eric might be coming to check on his puppy too! Yay!!!

   Have a great weekend- (Have one for me too)!

   XOXO
Anne

Saturday April 22, 2006 - 04:34am (CDT)