HeWho Is Stubborn, Part Two

Finally on the road, zipping along I-70, west bound with medium traffic, it started raining. First a drizzle, then intermittent showers had me slowing down. But, still, I was not so far behind that darkness would fall with me still on the road.

The rain subsided and it was overcast until I was approaching I-35. I fueled up my vehicle and continued my journey until my bladder complained. Since I had stopped to take care of business, I called home to report my progress.

HeWho never sleeps past 10 am was still in bed! Said he was not feeling well, more indigestion. No, he had not eaten, he had not felt like leaving the bed. I told him he had to at least go to clinic to get his BP taken and see the nurse practitioner. He promised he would. I didn't believe him.

I almost turned around and went back home. I called Kevin (aka my wife) and told him to use his key to the store and go in to our bedroom and be a bully and make my husband get out of the bed and dress and go see about this indigestion. He did just that. The clinic had a long line of potential sick people, so they drove to the ER. When I say "they" drove, I mean that HeWho drove himself to the ER with Kevin riding shotgun.

That "indigestion" and shoulder pain I spoke of earlier was a major heart attack. Upon my arrival to my destination, I called. He nonchalantly told me that he was being admitted, that he had had a heart attack. I told him I was coming back and he said, "Why, the heart attack was last night, it's over now." He encouraged me to stay and enjoy myself, that he would call me when he knew more!

Enjoy myself, indeed. Kevin had told the nurse that he was the brother of HeWho and that he would be staying with him. I suppose telling them that he was my honorary wife would only have confused the situation! Kevin is our good friend and lives here in the kampground, along with a lot of other good friends. Kevin was up-dating me as things progressed until he was picked up and came home.

I was tired from the trip and worried, knowing that they were whisking my husband in for an angiogram and possibly some stents to open any blockages that were blocking his blood flow. I had already decided that I would drive home the next morning as I went off to bed.

The Cardiologist called me around 10:30 and spoke to me about my husband. He explained that the angiogram was over and that he was not a candidate for stents. There was "too much damage, too  many blockages. You need to understand that he is a very sick man" I almost quipped that he did not know the half of it! I tend to say inappropriate things when I am terrified.

The cardiologist was concerned about his oxygen blood level. He said it was dangerously low and that they had installed a "balloon" pump to literally blow his blood through his heart in an effort to help oxygenate the blood. He told me that if his oxygen level did not rise he would be put on a ventilator.

I contemplated leaving that moment to get to the hospital. I woke my daughter and she crawled into bed with me and we cried together and called her siblings. It was a long night. I dozed on and off after she returned to her bed, leaving her little dog Max to comfort me. Max loves his Gramma, he knows that I am the one who snatched him from the cardboard box of puppies that were shelter bound. Animals know animal lovers.

After gulping coffee and saying goodbye to my kid and her kid, I was once again on the road. Google Maps claimed a quicker way home, promising to shave an hour off the time and I was game. 

This is just beginning, stay tuned.

HeWho Is Stubborn

I was scheduled to head north, to Minnesota early Monday morning. We all know what happens to the best laid plans.

I loaded the car, laid out my clothes, had already stocked the freezer with healthier options than fast food for HeWho loves nothing more than food that is bad for him.

Went to bed early, hoping for a good night's sleep before my marathon drive. I wanted to be sure to get to my destination before dark. I am not a good night driver, especially in heavy traffic on roads I don't regularly navigate.

HeWho is the love of my life, joined me and the dogs for an early sleep. I was just about to succumb to slumber when he sat up in bed rubbing his shoulder. I woke and looked over at him. He was grimacing and when I interrogated asked him what was wrong, he said he must have hurt his shoulder and that he had indigestion. I told him where the Tums were located and he left to take advantage of the relief he was looking for.

I snuggled down in my covers with my loyal canine companions, prepared to resume my quest for sleep. He returned and continued to bounce around in the bed as he rubbed his sternum. I suggested a trip to the ER and was met with much resistance. He claimed it was "just" indigestion.

This went on for quite some time. He could not lay still and would not let me take him to the ER. He was downright mean about it. That annoyed me and caused me to worry. I slept a bit, but woke at 6:30 minutes before the alarm was set to start my day. I let the dogs out, started coffee and jumped in the shower. After dressing I went to let the dogs in ….

...and the day went down the drain from there on. I did not realize that the storm overnight had blown the gate wide open. All three dogs were on the lam, having successfully breached their perimeter. I was exceedingly annoyed until I heard the big diesel trucks of the workers in our parks start up, the fear gripped my heart. My little dogs are so sheltered form the perils of the world. I could just see them crushed under big wheels. I launched a search and found Toni Louise patiently waiting at the front door.

She did not respond when asked where he partners in crime were. I called out their names, adding "TREAT" to encourage their return. I left the gate open in case they had planned to nonchalantly saunter back in and approach the back door as if they had been there all along.

After 15 minutes, I woke the sleeping man who had kept me awake with his "indigestion". He went out with the truck and flashlight and I went the other direction. We finally found them, heading toward the open gate and I gathered up Cujo while HeWho scooped Eddie up. 

I interrogated asked the man with "indigestion" how he was feeling. He assured me that he was fine, just wanted to sleep a bit longer. Not that unusual. It was just beginning to get light. The thought of more sleep was appealing to me, too.
I finished tucking the last of my stuff into my car and came back in and lifted the dogs into the bed to prevent the howling that occurs when I leave them.

I kissed the scruffy cheek of my beloved and asked, once again, if he was okay. He insisted that he was and told me to enjoy my time away with our children. I left, still a bit worried.

I made it out of the driveway and not very far down the road when I realized I had no phone. I turned around, annoyed at myself and went back to find my phone.  

I finally left, an hour later than I had planned for. 

To be continued ...

Oatmeal ..... Who Knew?

You all know Toni Louise. Our sweet girl is an adventurer. She is always looking for an opportunity to escape and explore. This has gotten her into some bad situations in the past. As a young girl she was hit by a dump truck and underwent emergency surgery to repair her hip.

She has calmed down a lot as she has matured. She is the alpha dog of my small pack and does not take crap from anyone. Except, maybe me.

Eddie, the charmer likes to be in her good graces. The only thing he is opposed to is Toni in my lap. This happens occasionally. Here is Eddie trying to make nice with her.

She rebuffed his efforts today. She has had a stressful day.

That face says it all. She is telling her master all her woes. I gave her quite a hair trim. I actually buzzed it off. She usually sports a long coat and sheds like crazy. I did not cut her hair because she is shedding.

She has some "hot spots" on her back near her tail. She was miserable and I couldn't get to the problem with all that fur in the way. I looked up some remedies and learned that oatmeal brings instant relief. I ground it in the coffee mill and made a paste.

I decided she would need a nice soothing bath before I slathered it on. While I was getting everything ready, I applied it and she stopped scratching immediately. She did lick it off … and eat it.

Toni is not a fan of the bath. She will leap from the tub and shake at every opportunity. Today, the phone rang three times during the bath time adventures. It was not fun for me either.

The only good thing was that she was a lot easier to dry without all that fur. The oatmeal paste has provided much relief for her today.

The doxies were jealous and are giving me the cold shoulder. They love a good bath, but after bathing Toni Louise my back was killing me. The store got busy as I finished and I yanked off the wet shirt and replace it with another. I looked at myself awhile ago and I bet everyone is wondering if HeWho dressed me. My attire does not match in any way.

Thinking about the "hot spots" that plague my sweet girl, I think it is my fault. I used a new dog shampoo last time I bathed her. I was in a hurry to be done and I probably failed to get all the shampoo out of her fur when I rinsed her. Easy to do, but I still feel bad about it. She was thoroughly rinsed today and I used the conditioner, as well. She smells wonderful and her short fur is super soft now. Except for the hair around the hot spots, it is stiff with oatmeal.

I noticed Cujo nibbled some of the oatmeal from Toni's back while she slept. Not only is she the leader of the pack, she provides snacks, too!

99.9 % Of The Time

I don't often make mistakes, but when I do, I like to brag about them. 

Today is Columbus Day, I think. This is one of those holidays that are just inconvenient. The mail does not run and the banks are not open. School is out, but that does not really bother me, as I have no intention of venturing out into the world. I would be willing to bet that most people under 30 have no idea who Columbus is and why he deserves a day of recognition.

Anyhoo, the phone woke me. It was McDonalds. They need change. I always have an abundance of quarters and ones, so I don't mind selling them. But, as we all should know by now, I am not pleasant until I have had some coffee and a few minutes of quiet to start the day. I don't paper roll my coins, since the bank prefers that you don't. This created a conundrum for them, as they wanted 10 rolls of quarters. When I told her they were not rolled, she said she would get rolls.

In an effort to help me and shield the world from my morning crabbiness, HeWho frequents McDonalds, was counting out the quarters. That was fine and he was being helpful. But his solution was to grab 10 of my quart ziplock bags and proceed to count out $10 per bag. "What are you doing?" asks the crabby wife. "Why are you using up all my bags?" Why, indeed! 

First of all, why use the quart size when there are smaller bags (snack size) in the same cabinet right next to the box he pulled them from? I suppose I should just be happy he didn't use the gallon size. When I asked why he was using 10 bags, he was making it easier for her to put them in rolls. Such a nice guy, that one. I suggested he put all the quarters in ONE bag and not give away all my bags, lest I need them for my own use, She will be counting them anyway.

So, you might be wondering what mistake I referred to making that I seemed to be so happy to share … I am getting there, just wanted to share my morning annoyance. Yesterday I was charting out the parking arrangements for the last two weekends of this month. Things were going smoothly until I noticed a reservation with no name!!

All the required information was there, credit card info, electric requirements and even the phone number, just no name. I did it, it was my handwriting. HeWho is not allowed to answer the phone or make reservations cannot be blamed. It was me. So, I made a note to myself to call the number I carefully recorded. No, that is wrong, the entire entry was scribbled. Means I was distracted by something at the time.

Before I could call the number, the number called me! She was just verifying her reservation. Of course I could not find her name, so I asked what kind of site she would need and put her name down. Since I had obviously made a mistake, I did not ask for her credit card info again, just her phone number.

I started laughing and shared with her what had happened. It should make all of you happy to know that I am not always right. Just 99.9% of the time.

Spooky!

Just a little dose of Charming Eddie. Who could not love that sweet little face? Sometimes I am just overwhelmed with love for my little Eddie.

Most of my Halloween décor withstood the storms and wind. I half expected it all to have blown away. The wind was wicked.

I captured a sweet moment between father and child. I am in charge of props here at the park. This, my friend, is mild compared to what I have going on for the ride through Spooky Trail.

HeWho likes to spend money goes for the big stuff. Like this lonely display that is dwarfed by the huge field in front of the pool. Now I will have to decorate the fence behind him. As soon as the men collect my hay bales and corn stalks I will be building some substantial scarecrows.

In the meantime, I will continue with my cheap jack-o-lanterns from the Dollar Tree. They can be painted. They can be carved, as well. You can also split them in half and mount them on a board, making twice as many scary faces to display.

I have built my burning coals and charred bones, my construction guy with his body sawed in half and guts looping out. We have a chainsaw to go with that display .... and lots of blood!

A scary clown jack in the box is under construction and there will be some dead bodies involved. Body bags and body parts. A witch stirring her cauldron and scary sounds filling the air that will be foggy. More pictures after I scare some folks!

A Piece Of Quiet

Must be something in the air, but I have awakened every day this week with a dull headache. The headache subsides after I take my Zyrtec and squeeze Flonase up my nose.

The Flonase tastes nasty and I don't like to ruin my morning coffee. Rituals, we all have them. I like peace and quiet in the morning. This is why I let sleeping dogs sleep. Yes, I am referring to HeWho normally sleeps longer than I do. He is loud. He stomps around getting dressed and will tend to follow me into whatever room I end up in. He sniffs and snorts and bangs things around as he readies for the trip to McDonalds and the tow shop. He spends his mornings eating and gossiping with his cronies. 

Why he has to bang things around and make so much noise is a mystery to me. The noise is intensified because my head is hurting. The sound of the ice hitting his stainless steel cup and then the glugging sound of the ever present Diet Coke filling the cup makes me want to scream. 

If I ask him to be quiet ….. it just gets worse. He either doesn't hear me, or is so accustomed to saying "what" and I have to repeat myself (sometimes twice). He will then exclaim that I am in a bad mood or ask what is wrong with me. He claims not to be making any unusual noise. You know, like closing doors without considering that they will bang shut. Or … dragging what appears to be $40 in change across the top of the wood stove to shove into his pocket. It never makes it to the pocket without some falling to the floor, resulting in loud grunts as he bends to pick it up.

The ring tone on his phone can be heard throughout the park and when he answers, he has the volume so high that I can hear both sides of the conversation. When he is finally making his exit, he always asks if I want anything from McDonalds. Sometimes I do. If it is a hot day and I know I will be mowing, an iced coffee is great. But I usually want nothing from McDonalds. Like when my head is about to explode. Like today.

He has left the building and peace and quiet reign supreme in my tiny dwelling. The dogs know when my head hurts. They are sleeping peacefully at my side. Martha, the boy cat has removed himself to my bed to sleep the day away after a night of roaming. The Flonase is working and I will be able to withstand the noise of the day. Thinking about the days when children inhabited my every moment. My baby girl would raise her voice above those of her siblings and tell them all to "SHUT UP! Mommy needs a piece of quiet!!" 

I Mind ....

After venting yesterday, I searched endlessly for a comparable witch dress and found none that were not at least twice as expensive. The company wanting to expedite things did not answer my reply, if they even read it.

I will just claw my way through all the stuff that gets stowed away in my sewing room and make something. I really don't want to, but we don't always get what we want, now, do we?

During my stroll through numerous sites, I answered many phone calls. My "last chance" to have my student loans taken care of has apparently slipped by once again. And three other calls from hotels telling me that I am to be considered one of their premium customers and they would like to reward me with a free vacation. And customers calling to make reservations. We are unusually busy for this time of year.

My favorite calls for reservations are those people who know what they are doing. They give me the specifics and I check to see if I can accommodate them and they are ready with a credit card to complete the transaction. Then there are those who want to ask me a dozen questions and then when I tell them I can give them what they want, they tell me they have to check with the rest of the people coming and get back to me. These calls will gobble up a big portion of my day. All of the questions can usually be answered from the web site and leave me in a somewhat foul mood, having been interrupted for up to 30 minutes sometimes. No, I am not kidding.

Let's not forget those who want to make a reservation and then want me to get a calendar so they can decide the dates they want. They seem to want to include me and my recommendations about their outing, acting like my opinion matters. When the time finally arrives to put the event on paper, so to speak, they have to go hunt down a credit card. Maybe I need to take advantage of my premium status at the Marriot and have a vacation my self.

But, there are times when I get a call that is unique and note worthy. That honor goes to the man who called me yesterday. He knew what he wanted and gave me the date and his particulars with no prompting. When I told him I needed a credit card, he told me it would take a second to get it out of his wallet BECAUSE HE WAS DRIVING. I suggested that he call me back when he reached a stopping point, that I would be okay to wait for that information. "Oh, it's okay, I don't mind," says the driver, "I do this all the time."

Before I could harness my tongue, I said, "Well, perhaps you should reconsider this habit, as I am sure the other drivers on the road might mind." He thought this was funny. I can be funny. I wasn't being funny. He could have an accident and even kill someone because he thinks it is cool to handle phone business while driving. I mind.