Home again

 I sprung Far Guy from the hospital about noon yesterday.  The Doctor said that the course of IV's were completed and he could recoup here at home.   Now he has to rest, take his meds and listen to me.  HA!

So we continue on.  We made one small change and moved his computer downstairs to the Game Room so he could have everything he needs in one area.  ( Bedroom, Bathroom, Computer, Exercise Area and Movie Theater) Jen and Andy help me run stuff up and down the stairs. ( I took down his supper while he spoke to his sister and Jen brought the dishes upstairs)  They even set him up with a coffee maker  (important stuff)!  

Little Elvis is just thrilled that he is back home and attended the afternoon nap session. 

It is cold and windy here.  Far Guy's Infusion is today.  I warm up the car before we leave and drop him at the door to the hospital/Infusion Center and he calls me when he is done and is picked up at the door again.   I am not sure what else I can do to make that transition warmer for him. 

We finished this puzzle a few days ago. 

Far Side

Just "be"

 I have decided that my word for 2022 is be...just plain old be.  Be happy, be sad, be in the moment what ever that may be.  Be kind and patient if you can be, if not be bitchy... above all else be a good advocate. 

Far Guy is a bit better, I spent the afternoon with him until I fell asleep in a chair and he sent me home.  He is still getting IV antibiotics and steroids. 

We are having a blizzard but the roads were good in town.

Proof of life

He has a very large private room in the farthest part of the hospital.  It took me longer to walk from his room to my vehicle than it took me to drive home.  Hopefully we can get him home one day soon. 

Far Side

In for repair

 Far Guy got really sick ( coughing non stop and breathing was difficult) in the early morning hours of Monday.  After a two hour wait in the Emergency Room waiting area he was finally seen by a Doctor.   They ran every test you can imagine, he does not have Covid, the flu or RSV and he does not have a Pulmonary Embolism. 

 He does have fluid in his lungs so they admitted him to the hospital, he will be there a few days...they are giving him IV antibiotics which should work pretty fast.   I left before he had an actual room, the fellow in the bay next to him had been waiting eight hours for a room....so he could be in the ER area a long time waiting for someone to be discharged or a death.  The hospital is full.  The Nurses are not good at IVs there either...ten tries...he feels like a pin cushion. 

He was breathing better when I left late Monday afternoon. 

Far Side

Cards and Ornaments

 It warmed up to -35 F Sunday morning.  That is 2 degrees warmer than Saturday morning!  Improvements are improvements! Think positive not negative. 

Far Guy is about the same, he is not worse so we are thankful for that.  His cough is miserable and makes my chest hurt. 

Cards we got on Friday! Representing Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio and California. 

Two cards were identical but from Iowa and California. The cards on both ends of the bottom are original artwork. 

New Christmas ornaments this year.

The cross stitch Log Cabin Christmas is from Sam, Christmas Blessings is from Sarah a crafty friend of Jen's and the Turtle Dove is a stitched felt ornament from Jen.  ( Last year we got the Partridge and the Pear)

I am still thinking about what my word for 2022 is...my one or two word intention instead of a resolution. 

Far Side

Puppy Dog Eyes

 Do not let these sad puppy dog eyes fool you, underneath this exterior is a saber toothed monster.  She will bite anyone or anything at anytime.  It is her mission as a puppy!

She is not biting me here because I put her inside the toy basket. 

So she started to bite the toy basket. 

She bites Little Elvis and Phoebe...bits of hair in her mouth do not bother her at all.  She admires Phoebes ability to jump out of reach...I expect that will change soon....she can almost jump up on the couch. 

She is great entertainment!  Potty training is going quite well, she goes to the patio door most of the time to be let out.  She  is a work in progress. 

Far Guy is a tiny bit better today, he had a long nap and irritated me during supper...pushed my corn into my rice on my plate.  He knows I don't like my food touching!  Andy cooked last night ...Burrito bowls...pulled pork, black beans, rice, corn, cheese all in the same bowl with chips. 

We had a quiet New Years Day.  It was -37 F or -38 C eh in the morning New Years Day....what a way to start the year!

Far Side

Happy New Year!

 We begin again, the year begins with a clean slate and as long as we do the best we can with each day...that must be enough. 

Far Guy is ill, he has been seen by a Doctor and I will make sure he goes to the ER if he gets worse.  He does not have Covid and he does not have the Flu, the tests were all negative.  It began with a sore throat, headache and body aches and has progressed to a cough and shortness of breath.  Of course he says that it is just his normal holiday cold that he gets every year about this time.   More often than not we have ER visits this time of year.

One day at a time.  Happy New Year!  It is -40 something windchill so we are in the deep freeze.

Far Side

2021 Year End Recap

 I usually write a year end blog post...so here we go.

Our oldest daughter Trica is finally divorced, she still struggles with issues that we cannot help her with.  We saw her once this year back in October. 

Savannah is very busy with her eyelash extension business and school, she will graduate in 2021 with a degree in Business.   She has two dogs, Chewy and Kalila and Luna her kitty.

Maddie will be starting a new job soon, she is a Dental Assistant, the new job will have great benefits.  She is a very busy Mom to Hey Mikey and Cee Cee.  She and Brenton have a dog named Koda and a couple of cats....Raina and Loki.

Paige is in Dental Hygienist school, she works part time as a bartender and takes care of her very elderly cat Bailey. 

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Youngest daughter Jen and her husband Andy bought a second house and fixed it up,  it is an Air  B & B rental called Home & Away.   It has a great location just one block from The Ralph (a huge arena).  They are both Instructors at Northland Community and Technical College. They have Little Elvis a Sheltie who is 12 years old and the new puppy Sadie a Golden Retriever. 

Noah has a job with benefits and he is now in a Supervisory position.  He moved into the Air B & B and has a room  he can lock when it is rented.  He couch surfs with friends or goes home to his parents when the Air B & B is rented.  He has a dog named Aurora. 

Adam is going to school, he is not quite sure what he wants to be when he grows up.   He works part time and has a cat named Phoebe that he adopted a year ago. 

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Great Grandchildren!

Hey Mikey was four this year and will be five years old in 2022. 

Cee Cee will be two years old in 2022. 

They grow so fast.

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Deaths: 

 My cousin Dean died of a heart attack he was 62 years old.

My cousin's wife Mary Ann died she was 76 years old.

Far Guy's Godmother Marge died she was 89 years old.

Long time friend Brian died of Pancreatic Cancer he was 64 years old.

Long time blog friend Mildred died of Pancreatic Cancer she was in her 60's.

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Jen's Sheltie Miss Miney died last January, she was 15 years old.  We miss her very much. 

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Far Guy had four valves placed in his lungs at the University of Minnesota, they were supposed to improve his breathing...they did not work...he had a miserable summer until the valves were removed in August.  He still gets the infusions once a week to help protect his lungs.  He struggles to breathe, some days are better and some are worse.   He wood carves when he feels up to it.   All of his Doctors are now in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 

We moved in with Jen and Andy in November to be closer to Far Guy's Doctors for the winter.  Jen and Andy have a very large home, we have an office for our computers, a bedroom and a bathroom.  There is a very large kitchen, living room, craft room, game room and a movie theater!  We will move back to the woods when the weather improves.  We are very thankful for Andy and Jen making the winter easier for us! 

I am busy, I have many crafts to occupy my time and this year I learned how to do Mosaic Crochet. 

We took Far Guy's old car to several car shows last summer...a 1959 Desoto Firesweep.  It has an appointment at a body shop for some work and a new paint job this winter!   So next summer we are looking forward to a few more car shows. 

We were married 52 years just a few days ago. 

December 1969

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Far Side

I missed my blog anniversary the other day...14 years...uffda. 

Cards and Sadie

 Three more cards yesterday.  Minnesota and Washington!

Sadie grew 1 1/4 inches taller in the last week and has stretched out longer too.  We measure her on the old grow board that we used to measure the grandboys on. 

Sadie is getting there with being let out the patio door...sometimes she runs the length of the deck down the steps, pees in the snow and runs full out back to the door to be let in.  Sometimes she just has to potty on the deck...it is a work in progress.  She is 10 weeks old now.  She walks quite nicely on a lead and will kennel up if I use a treat and the target stick to show her what I want.  We keep the sessions short...her attention span is very short but she is food motivated so that helps.  We worked on sit... not great success...and Sadie come needs work too.  She is a happy little dog...determined sometimes.  Her teeth are driving her nuts...she has a variety of things to chew on.  When she is tired her switch turns off just like that and she is sound asleep.

I bought her a blankie...it has dogs on it.  She has all kinds of toys, but likes shoes and boots the best...she drags them all over.  She is friends (of sorts) with Phoebe the cat as Sadie drags her across the kitchen floor by her collar.  Sadie and Little Elvis are getting to be play friends...Little Elvis is finally feeling better after his bout with pancreatitis. 

Far Side

Cards keep coming

 Cards from Missouri, Minnesota, Arkansas, Colorado, Wisconsin,  Kentucky and Indiana. 13 all together including the Christmas letters.

I will have to call the Post Office back home, I got a message from one of my cousins that her Christmas card came back undeliverable...probably that old woman with half a brain at work again. 

 We have been puzzling.

It was one very difficult puzzle...harder than any puzzle I have ever worked on. 

It snowed again...another four plus inches added to what fell on Sunday/Monday....about 13 inches total in just a couple of days.  Now we are headed for a deep freeze...brrrrr...probably be too cold to snow. 

Far Side

A doll

 Cee Cee is a doll....at least we think so. 

I ordered a hat for Cee Cee from Melba over at Henny Penny Lane, one of my favorite bloggers!

I also ordered a small doll. 

I made a blankie for the doll and a small purse to carry the doll in.  Homemade things make the best gifts. 

We had a blizzard Sunday night into Monday, we got about 8 inches of snow here, back in the woods we heard they got 14 inches and at my parents 5 inches ..so snow totals were all over the place and it is supposed to snow again soon.

Far Side

The Two and the Five

 We celebrated Christmas yesterday here with all of our Grands and Great Grands!

The two Great Grands took turns putting the star on the tree with a little help from Uncle Andy. 

Cee Cee

Hey Mikey

The five grandchildren we are blessed to have in our lives. 

 

Shortest to tallest or oldest to youngest from the left to the right. 

Far Side

Silent night

 

Shouldn't every tree have a fence so puppies don't chew up all the gifts? 

Far Side

Merry Christmas 2021!

This was our Christmas card this year.

I chose the verse inside first, because I felt it was very relevant this year. 

A baby's hand in Bethlehem were small & softly curled but held within his dimpled grasp the Hope for all the World. 

Happy Christmas! 

Far Side

Cards, Packages, Infusion and Puppy Sitting

 Another banner day for Christmas cards yesterday! Nine!  Minnesota, North Dakota, Indiana and Arkansas! 

The last of the packages were wrapped.

Puppy was watched, as Sadie slept in my slipper.   It is a dirty job but someone has to watch her sleep.   After the photos I picked her up and put her in her kennel so she could get a good nap and I could leave the room...when she woke up she whined and we made a trip outside.  

She kinda woke up for a photo.

She is growing when she sleeps. 

We put a hot pack on Far Guy's arm for the Infusion gals...it still took them two tries.  We have decided that we will try a bunch of different eateries for lupper ( lunch and supper) on Thursday after the Infusion appointment...yesterday was Arby's drive through we hadn't had roast beef piled high in years...it was very good.  Last week we went to Perkins...that was excellent also.  We are calling it our Foodie Adventure!

Today I make Pumpkin Bread.  Happy Christmas Eve!

Far Side

Special Ornaments

 Last summer during my Mom and Dad's garage sale, my Mom had a bunch of old Christmas ornaments for sale.   I took two ornaments...Far Guy's Mom made them during her Cross Stitch days and gave them to my Mom as gifts. 

I in turn gave them to Jen. 

Far Guy's Mom liked to cross stitch and did it until her eyes couldn't do the fine work anymore.   It was a good hobby for her.  I believe these ornaments were made in the early 1980's so they are about 40 years old.

Far Side

Slowing down

 The Christmas Cards are slowing down a bit.  Yesterday we had two cards and a letter, Indiana and Minnesota folks. 

Little Elvis has been sick...pancreatitis...so he is on the rice/hamburger diet.  He is a trooper putting with Sadie Shenanigans.  ( Sadie bites his tail)

View from my desk. 

Another view...

Sadie likes my socks and my pant leg.  She is smart as a whip and is getting the potty training down...she goes outside and then runs for the patio door to be let in.   I am watching for a sign when she goes to the door to be let out...she went to the door one time today but just wanted out to eat snow. 

Far Side

Cards and the yard

 Yesterday was a banner day for cards! 

Cards from Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin and Florida. 

Photo cards from Minnesota and North Dakota.

We made a quick trip back to our home in the woods, just to check on things, pick up mail that the Post Office missed forwarding, visit with my baby brother and his bride and to pet Baxter, also got to see my other baby brother and she who sees robins first (from a far because he had ben ill with the flu), and a visit with my parents.  We spent the night and decided that we need a new bed there as our new bed here is much more comfortable. 

It was a couple of nice days for travel, only one bad stretch of road and we went a different way on the way back.   There is much more snow there than here. 

We had a nice anniversary, we went thru the A & W drive through for lunch! 

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes! 

Far Side

52 years

 Happy Anniversary to us!  

Hard to believe that it is 52 years.  

Far Side

Cards and Jaws

 It was a three card and one letter day yesterday. 

Cards from Wyoming, Minnesota and Iowa!  The Christmas letter was from Wyoming.

Sadie AKA Jaws

Especially adorable when she is asleep!  She seems happy when she is awake and ready to chew on anything including Far Guys nose and Little Elvis tail.  She can go up and down steps and met more people and another dog today...she especially liked the teen girls!  The first meeting with Aurora (Noah's dog) was a little tense...but it went better than Noah expected.  She is being well socialized. 

Far Side

Card and a Puppy

 Todays Christmas Card was hand delivered....no postage needed. 

We only got one card yesterday.

Andy, Jen, Noah and Adam

There has been an empty spot in the household since Miss Miney died last January.  Little Elvis has been an only dog....and he is getting older.   A new puppy would not replace Miss Miney because that would be impossible.  Little Elvis would have a companion and show the puppy the ropes...and there is enough love for animals in the household to share with a new puppy. 

Preparations were made. 

Meet Sadie the Golden Retriever.  Sadie is eight weeks old.  I am certain you will hear more about her as time goes on. 

Jen and Sadie

Sadie was the runt of the litter, she seems to be well adjusted to people, dogs and cats.   Jen said that Sadie wagged her tail and started to chew on her shoes when they met for the first time...so it was meant to be. 

Far Side