I seem to be infatuated with socks. Easter is coming. I made a few Easter bunnies out of socks. I saw them on Pinterest and had to give it a try. I like the floppy eared bunny, but the straight ears are cute, too.
I have an enormous stash of socks. I am always on the lookout for socks on sale. I made 5 more this afternoon and changed some things. Blogger refuses to download those pictures tonight. I sculpted the little faces. It gives them personalities, I think.
It is good to keep busy as the insurance seems to be moving at a snail's pace. Now that I have provided the necessary information to my clinic, the insurance will not approve the MRI until I have an x-ray ......... and physical therapy.
So much for getting all this taken care of before the season starts. What was I thinking? I am not opposed to the x-ray or the physical therapy, but history has shown that this particular injury is most often resolved with surgery. I just want to be done with this.
The weather has been like a roller coaster ride. The snow melts and the ground gets soggy, then freezes. The sun teases me with it's shine. I stand between the shade and the window on the east side of the house and drink in the warmth. I look out at my lawn and want to get started on waking my flower beds. Then I layer on some clothes, top it off with a coat and gloves and gather firewood. Carefully, with one arm.
I have taken to wearing those velour pantsuits. You know the ones, favored by old ladies everywhere. I find that I can get myself dressed easily in the elastic waist pants, a t-shirt, and top it off with the matching zippered jacket. Zip the jacket halfway up and tuck my left hand in. Like a sling, it takes all the weight of my arm from my shoulder. It is my new "uniform". Good thing I have a ready supply.
I have insurance! MRI is being scheduled as I write. That was the best news ever ........ or so I thought.
I indulged in some pain meds and was sitting here, staring stupidly at the TV, playing solitaire, snug as a bug in rug, surrounded by love of the canine variety. Counting my blessings, I was, when the phone rang.
After muting the TV, I answered and heard my daughter's voice. This one rarely calls me, I usually call her. This one, the mother of Layla, my lovely granddaughter I can't see enough of. "Hi Mom" she says full of cheer. She asks how I am doing and I tell her the good insurance news and then she tells me even better news.
She is coming to see me. Just her and the lovely Layla, for a long weekend. I am so excited. It has been 6 years since they were here! What with baseball and ballet, they have been tied to home every summer. Now that Gage, the baseball player is all grown up and on his own, we only have ballet to work around.
I had trouble getting to sleep last night. I was planning meals in my head of all her favorite foods and then my mind went on to list all the things I want to get ready for the visit. She wants to come soon after my surgery, so we still have to wait until I get all those dates to plan around. Se was going to surprise me, but she knows her dad too well. He would have told me ....... and I would have had to remind him to get them from the airport and to not let it slip that he ruined the surprise.
Toni Louise pondering an escapade as she sits with He Who is smitten with her sweet face.
No pain pills today. Not yet anyway. I am counting them and anticipating not having a supply on hand should I have a truly bad day. Instead of pain maintenance until I can get the MRI and some real action, I will only take them if I absolutely have to. I have to admit, I rather like being fully aware and lucid. This morning I discovered that He Who got up and about before me has been using MY TOOTHBRUSH. I put new ones in the holder about a month ago and went over the two colors with him. "This one is predominately green, it is yours. Mine is predominately pink and is mine." I said, while holding each one out to give the man a visual display to work with. Some things are not meant to be shared. Your toothbrush is one. His excuse? My predominately pink handled toothbrush handle had a spot of blue on it and he clearly remembers me telling him that his was blue.
I have a SILVER handled toothbrush now and he has a pink one and a green one.
Yesterday afternoon was spent trying to obtain our insurance ID#. He Who is in charge of this task called the same number he called Wednesday. That was the call that said the card should be here, it was mailed out on Friday. He calmly explained to the person (yes, a real live person!) the history of our attempt to obtain insurance. This person told him that yes, he did find the application and the payment that has already been processed but that there was something amiss with our application and he would need to call another number. He gave the number and then instructions to enter his social security number followed by another 4 digit number.
He was annoyed at this point, but determined. He punched in all the required numbers and was told that he was caller 52. No longer patient, he hung up and called again. On his cell phone. He got a person and then got a call. He put this live person ON HOLD, saying, "I am going to put you on hold." I left the room at this point to go laugh in the kitchen so he wouldn't see me. When I came back he was getting the store handset and making another call. "Oh, did they hang up?" I asked sweetly.
He was indignant. I mean, really, they put him on hold ...... He finally gets another person. This person finds the application and the payment that has been processed. After some hemming and hawing, this one tells him that one of the social security numbers is not valid. He is told he will have to call a number in Atlanta. He does and the recording warns the callers in queue that this office will be closing promptly at 3:15. It is almost 2:00 here (3:00 there) and he gives up on that call, too.
Now, He Who is a patient man (he is, after all, married to me). He has to be pushed to assert himself. He is not very nice at this point, but he calls again. He gives all the info again and this person says he sees that everything is in order and that payment has been made. "Your card will be there in 2 to 5 business days." I can feel the explosion coming as he tightly tells the nice man in India that the card had supposedly been sent last Friday and that I need to make an appointment.
The man in India tells him to "go ahead, make the appointment and pay for everything" and as soon as we get the card we can apply for reimbursement. This is when he shouts at the man on the phone to get his supervisor, that he is not going to hang up until he gets his ID#. The man tries to explain that the supervisor will tell him the same thing. He repeats that he will not hang up until he gets what he wants .........
The man in India was smart enough to put him on hold before disconnecting. He Who Tows got a call and left. Not before telling me that this is not over!
Pick me up, pick me up! I have to do this ever so carefully, using my right hand and arm. I am rewarded with such sweet affection, it is worth it!
No, the insurance card did not come. They assured me it was mailed last Friday. Should have been here Wednesday. I know they have outsourced many jobs, is my card coming from India? He Who is greatly annoyed is calling them as I write.
Let him vent some frustration. I feel the first tingling of the pain pill coursing it's way through my bloodstream. Mellow.
Okay, the fence did fall a third time yesterday under the influence of the mighty winds. We left it in the ground, waiting for the wind to stop. Last night we had to harness up the four leggers and tramp out into the cold. I chose the doxies. When they see me grab the leashes they stand patiently waiting to be hooked up. Wall-E hides and Toni Louise becomes hysterical, running in circles and leaping in the air. I left those two to He Who has two shoulders working properly.
I calmly walked my two out the door on the leads, behaving nicely. Wall-E escaped without a lead and Toni Louise took her master on a wild walk. My dogs proceeded to take care of business in a timely fashion, as did Wall-E. I managed to get my two along with Wall-E back inside while He Who was in charge of just the one dog lost his. She came to me when I called her and all was well. I am the dog master in this house.
The fence is back up today and I can now focus on ice cube trays. Yes, ice cube trays. My refrigerator has an ice maker, but it is not hooked up. My water is very hard, exceptionally hard. My fridge is an older model and does not have a water filter, so it is not hooked up. The apparatus takes up valuable freezer space, but I am a little scared to suggest removing it. But that is another story.
I use ice trays. Plastic ones. Cheap ones from the Dollar Tree. Now, we all know how to remove the ice, don't we? You flip the tray over and gently twist. The cubes fall out. He Who carries a huge Bubba Mug of Diet Coke everywhere he goes uses lots of ice. While I know it is insane of me to expect him to refill the trays with water and put them back in the freezer on the designated shelf, I did not expect to have to keep replacing them. He twists them with such force that he breaks them.
Since He Who was chauffeuring me while under the influence of pain killers a couple of days ago, we checked out the display of ice trays in WalMart. Hard to find, on the bottom shelf and somewhat dusty. Only two brands to choose from. The store brand was in a 2 pack and 97 cents. Rubbermade was packaged in singles and $1.97. Throwing budget to the wind I bought 2 of the Rubbermade trays. He Who loves his ice suggested 3 or 4, but the voice of reason triumphed and we only got 2. If they can hold up to the twisting of the Diet Coke maniac I will then purchase more.
The weather has been playing cat and mouse games lately! And, no, I do not have another cat. That is for my kids. They think I have too many pets.
One day can be like this. Dogs frolicking in the dog park, happy to be in the great outdoors. That is my old guy Oscar with the ball in his mouth. The white fluffy guy is Barkley. He is kamper Martha's grand-dog. Yes, he does bark a lot.
The next day can be like this. All this melted in just two days. I can see the grass. There are tiny buds on my peach trees. It was balmy this morning. The wind is blowing hard, though. The fence was down when I woke to take the dogs out. I did the collar/harness and lead bit while He Who is strong put the two fence panels upright.
Coffee and news. Weather forecast warns that a cold front is coming this afternoon. I decided it would be a great idea to gather some wood to the front porch to keep it dry for the wood stove. I notice the fence is down again .......
I pulled wagons full of wood while the fence was being secured for the second time in a matter of hours. The wind is strong and I can feel a hint of the cold to come. I hear rumors of more snow from those pesky weather forecasters when I come back in to remove my soggy shoes and pants. Took my pain meds, showered, and settled in here with more coffee.
I am warm and cozy now as I listen to the wind as it rattles against the stove pipe. I hear the faint sound of my chimes on the front porch and I think a little cat nap is in order .......
Rumor has it that my long awaited insurance card will be in the mailbox tomorrow. I am skeptical, but hopeful. Today I need to drive 25 miles to the pharmacy and 25 miles back to retrieve prescription drugs for He Who knows not what he takes.
I moved very carefully all morning, hoping to delay the pain meds until I return from my jaunt. The pills won't be ready until after lunch. I am thinking I should not drive while drugged. For my safety and the safety of the other cars on the road with me. I realize this is not how most people think. I am funny like that.
My shoulder is screaming and my head is hurting. The muscles in my neck are knotting and to top everything off I am awash with nausea. I sip my coffee ever so carefully and sit with my head cradled in a pillow and my eyes closed, waiting for it to pass. My sweet little Cujo is nestled close, providing warmth to my thigh.
As I start to feel a wee bit better and think that I can make it until after the trip to the pharmacy, disaster strikes. Toni Louise decided she was being left out and needed some affection. My eyes were closed, so I did not see her approach and leap up. She stood there with her hind legs on the arm of the chair and her front feet digging into my sick shoulder. Her nose sniffing away at my eyelids.
I admit that I did not receive her affection kindly. I lifted her offending front paws off my shoulder and shoved her to the floor. She is hard to offend, my Toni Louise. She took this as an invitation to play and started running small circles and attempting to jump into my lap. Wall-E, who can easily read my moods, immediately hid under the table and Cujo simply clung closer to me.
I succumbed to the pain and took my meds, then called He Who Tows and told him to pick up his own meds. Now that I am feeling less pain I am disappointed that I cannot drive. I need to do a big grocery run and I want to do it alone. If I let He Who loves junk food take me, the bill will be twice as much and last half as long.
To top everything off, my old guy, Oscar, has been whiny. He got me up twice last night to lap up copious amounts of water. He walks around and whines for food and treats. I feed him and it shows. He is heavy. I need to take him to the vet, I suppose. I know what she will say, though. Stop feeding him every time he cries. But she doesn't have to listen to his pitiful whining. He equates treats with love. He is not content with my scratching his belly and kissing his head. He is old and I just want him to be happy. I know, I know, he is too fat.
Thank goodness I can blog while medicated.
I was kidnapped Saturday by two of my kampers. They whisked me away for a lunch with another kamper. The four of us talked and laughed and had a great time. We were so involved with catching up ..... I think we may have annoyed our server!
We could not bear to part and ended up at the Apple Wagon to wander up and down each and every aisle, lest we miss a bargain. I love this place. They have booths for vendors selling their wares and they have garden items from Mexico. Their prices are reasonable, too. I fell in love with the frog. I thought the price was too high, but they took 20% off for me and I got him! He is a big guy and won't be swallowed up when my gardens burst in blooms. I also got a cane fishing pole for 3 bucks. No, I am not a fisher person, but I liked it.
It was a wonderful excursion with my best buddies. I didn't realize how much I needed to get away. Thanks Barb, Nan and Martha!
It was/is supposed to warm up today. Really, they said so on the TV. Of course they said that about the weekend, too and that did not happen. My dogs are tired of the snow. It is even worse today. It rained this morning and the snow now has a sheet of ice atop it. I never knew a dog with such short legs could lose his bearings, but Cujo slid across the ice this morning. I don't know if I will be able to get him out the door again!
I have now mastered the art of editing and downloading photos on Windows 8! Actually I figured it out quite by accident!
