Tuesday morning we all slept late - except Louis Dean!
He had an 8:00 appointment with his primary care doctor. He has new insurance and was instructed to bring his new cards and info. He had that foremost in his mind. I decided he could handle an 8:00 appointment all by himself. I was wrong. He FORGOT his wallet and thankfully the doctor's office staff allowed me to give them the new info by phone. Bless his heart! He had his doctor visit, did blood work and arrived home all before he even woke up!
We all had breakfast together in the den!
Cheese toast, fresh strawberries, hard boiled eggs and slices of rotisserie chicken.
I was pretty happy until I read the summary of his visit.
One of his 'ongoing conditions' was CKD - Chronic Kidney Disease.....stage 3.
This was a total mistake and I put a frantic call in to his doctor to have that taken off his record.
No one had ever said anything about Chronic Kidney Disease and when I looked it up on the Internet, I could not get past the word 'Dialysis.' I left a message and they said they would call me back.
Since I totally thought this was an error of the staff taking records, I went on with my Tuesday plans.
I left robust salads for Louis Dean and Summer's lunch before
Ruth Ann and I headed out in search of treasures and we found a few!
We hit up the Union Gospel Mission on Story Road first.
My left knee has been bothering me so I found a comfy chair and decided to rest and take in the ambiance of our surroundings!
Ruth Ann did the same and we had a nice little chat while we rested!
While we were out, the nurse finally called me back and 'assured' me that Louis Dean had been diagnosed with CKD back in 2012!
I just couldn't wrap my head around why this was the first I had heard of it!
This was my haul!!!
The Texas on the lower left is a lamp with a shell casing as the pull string for the light!
The mat is made of woven wood.
I hung this wine plaque in the dining room.
Rugs cover a multitude of Louis Dean spilling things sins around here!
I love them!! This one 'lives' in the opening between the dining room and living room.
Okay!! This wreath all but jumped into my buggy!!
The sunflowers have sparkles in the center and I am counting the months until I can hang it on the front door!!!
Want to know the routine of my Tuesdays?
Ruth Ann and I shop, take in a movie and/or lunch and after I drop her off, I go home and unload all my treasures. The thrift store treasures go on the front porch bench for a photo shoot. The Aldi purchases are carried to the kitchen. After I take the photos, I put everything in place. The sunflower wreath was bagged and put in the storage building to await August when I will start the sunflower decorating. The doll was put away in the toy bin for when the quads come.
Not displayed but the chicken dishes are now on the kitchen table along with the new Chicken Lamp!
The green checked Pottery Barn fabric gives a fresh look to the deck glider.
I will show you the Texas lamp in all its glory later this week.
It will live in the gazebo!
By the time I dealt with all of this and prepared a meal for Louis Dean and Summer -
it was time for art class!
We started a new canvas of a summer house in Maine.
The art book is a Dorothy Dent and we had such a good time painting!
Ruth Ann and I paint while Sherry stitches!
We did the sky and the background trees.... it was a good start!
Ruth Ann did some research between our outing and art class and helped me better understand what that 'CKD' thing. It has something to do with him being diabetic and having high blood pressure.
The good thing is that it is being controlled with no medication at this time.
His blood sugar was down at his appointment so he is still NOT on medication for diabetes.
He will have another checkup in exactly 3 months.
I felt better about it all!
I took this photo early on and by the end of the evening, Sherry had just about finished it!
She finds her designs on line or in coloring books - as this one.
She does AMAZING work!! Sherry is a true artist with a needle! AND a brush!
I guess she is one of the MOST creative people I know!
Speaking of creative people - look what I found!
One of Amber's original art pieces!
She painted this mixed media canvas in 1992.
I think it is really good!! She was only 7 years old when she did it!
The white cat is Snowball who lived all through her childhood and moved with her to college as well as to her home after she married Mike. Snowball survived the year she was away from Amber and Mike when they lived abroad in Scotland and lived until the ripe old age of 20+ years!
I TOLD you I keep everything!!!
Louis Dean and I ended our Tuesday watching Season 1 - Episode 1 of Downton Abbey.
This is courtesy of Dean and Sherry!
They gave us the first 5 seasons and we are on the lookout for Season 6!
Louis Dean has been sleeping in the guest room and Summer and I are in the master bedroom.
While Summer is doing absolutely everything she is supposed to be doing, there are still melt down moments when it gets to be too much in between pain meds and such. She is a champion and does her best to roll with it. That means a change of place from time to time and she usually starts out in the bedroom but in the wee hours of the morning, she feels more comfortable in the den recliner.
Whatever works is my motto!
Late last night I made a 'Fluffy Salad' that is diabetic friendly.
Low fat Cool Whip, cottage cheese, sugar free Jello, crushed pineapple, chopped pecans and - in this case - sliced fresh strawberries and chopped apricots. Served up with a shortbread cookie - that passed as breakfast around here.
*** Summer had a low fat Greek yogurt before taking her morning meds.****
Amber arrived with all sorts of goodies from Sprite O for Summer to a coconut candle for me to popcorn and chips for our movie date!
This was our lunch!
Soup is such a comfort food and easy peasy as well!
Amber and Summer had not seen this movie before! While Louis Dean and I had seen it before but it deserved a second watching!
Excellent movie!!!
During a break, we paused the movie and Amber went to the bathroom.
Little did she know that earlier today, I had spied one of those 'ugly' lizards in our bedroom.
I called out to Amber to tell Louis Dean to come in there. He did. I pointed to the lizard's tale that was sticking out from behind a basket. I THOUGHT he would man up and grab it and take it outside.
NO! He was NOT touching it! Never mind he killed a rat with a hammer just last week!
He said he didn't TOUCH the rat! He held on to it with a pair of pliers!
By this time, the critter had gone behind my chest of drawers, so I figured if he knew the way in - he could find his way out!
Back to Amber. She went in the bathroom and spied that lizard slinking around the bathtub!
It was Mama to the rescue!!!
I grabbed him up in a towel and - SURPRISE!!!
A second lizard fell to the floor!
I had no idea that there were TWO of them and that they were MATING behind our wicker clothes hamper in the main bathroom!
I took the first one I caught out to the front yard and then went back for the second one!
While Louis Dean and I love the cute green geckos we call 'Insurance Salesmen'.....
these big ugly ones look like miniature dinosauers!!
Critters!!!
They are safely outside and hopefully enjoying more privacy than they had in our bathroom!
Amber left after the movie to go pick up the quads from school.
We did not have Quad Monday this week and we are missing them and I think they are missing us!!
Hey, MeeMAW!!!
It's been a good day.
Summer continues to eat healthy, take her meds and wear her magnetic belt for 4 hours each day.
Step by step - she is growing stronger each and every day!
17 comments:
There is never a dull moment in the Chapman household! You are the best nurse, and your meals look delicious! when I saw you sitting in that blue chair, I thought you had bought it! I love the rooster plates and lamp!! Next favorite is the chef plates! I have chef decals all over my kitchen. As do you! what a bad scare you had about Louis Dean! You gave me a scare too. Amber takes after her mom, a very good artist! Your glider looks gorgeous and summery. You are a very brave lizard catcher!! I could NEVER!
glad you caught the lizards in the act and got them outside before you wake up with little lizards in your bed. I can't believe he was diagnosed in 2012 and you just found out. scares me about bob. glad he is holding his own without meds. praying now tht summer will have more ups than downs each day in the pain dept.
So glad you got all that medical stuff cleared up. If LD is not on meds for any of those ailments I question stage 3 diagnosis but I am just a nurse!! You are taking great care of Summer but I have to say, she might be home alone if there was a big lizard loose in the house. I cannot stand those things. You Texans are brave!!:)
So glad there are no lizards around here. Yuck! You are so brave!!! Good news on the medical front there. Joe also controls his diabetes with diet and not drugs. Much better in my opinion. Hard to believe that no one in the medical field would tell you that diagnosis from 2012 before. Glad you have a new doctor. Sounds like this one is on top of things. Hope Summer continues to improve each day.
Linda, Get the hammer....is there ever a dull moment at your house ? LOL I am tell you guys all were having a good laugh about the lizards. Poor sweet Summer. I am praying she recovers and does not have to take meds for pain...even though meds help us, they rob of clarity in our thoughts most times. Isn't it precious how Amber little children share so much love. Blessings to all of you,love you, xoxo, Susie
Is the soup recipe from a book? I have a recipe from you that is similar and I just love it and would love to have more.
No wonder your knee hurts ~ cooking constantly, thrifting, chasing lizards, etc.! :) I would not be able to stay in the house with lizards running amok! The kidney issue is pretty common with diabetics but I'm shocked that you just found out! Seems this Dr is very thorough and I'm glad you found him.
I hope Summer continues to improve each day! She's definitely being cared for in 1st class style. Did you receive my email??
xo
Pat
P.S. I'm going to try and copy the soup recipe!
Now, about LD. Far be it from me to compare things I know nothing about so I'll only say what I know about Old Husband and his kidneys. Every doctor I take him to questions us to be sure we are aware of his bad kidney numbers. Yes we are, I say and he's seeing a urologist. The urologist warned us this would happen and told us to just roll with it because he was the doctor in charge of kidneys. He said the numbers were not good but more alarming to others than to him. He looks at more than numbers. Considers other things going on in the body, plus the fact he is 85 years old! Old Husband is on no medication for his kidneys. We try to make sure none of the medications he takes are hard on the kidneys. That's it, we just roll with it.
Oops, I forgot my lizard story. As a child in Texas our church was not air conditioned. I remember catching sight of a big rusty lizard playing in and out under the piano one Sunday morning while the young preacher's wife was playing the piano. She was not a country girl. I quickly lost any attention I might have had on the content of the service, and began to imagine what would happen if that thing hooked its feet in her nylons and scampered up her leg. Thankfully it did not.
I have never had strawberries and eggs together. Can't quite wrap my head around it. Good to see Summer on the mend. Cheers from Carole's Chatter
A very busy and productive Tuesday. Wow, that would be a scare on that kidney diagnosis. Glad it's under control. While my dearest was having lunch with a friend, I did my ZOOM through the house cleaning. I do love the smell of Pinesol. A clean house for the weekend. My daughter is taking me shopping Sat for some new pillows and a new rug to dress of my living room for Spring. Can't wait.
That would be frightening to learn about the diagnosis back in 2012. Glad that it is not a cause for alarm. Is there anything that you can do more? Maybe The Lord didn't want you to be worried for the past five years. I suppose that Louis Dean is taking it all in stride. So glad that Summer is improving day by day. Excellent news! Another good week for shopping, though I did think that you would be arriving home with a chair.
Oh my! I'm so glad LD is alright! Good to hear he is not having to take meds for diabetes, and that this condition is under control!
You had a good haul, and I know you are giving good care to Summer. She's looking very good.
In 2002 I got sick and became very dehydrated. I was in the hospital for several days on an IV. My doctor mentioned kidney failure and sent me to a kidney specialist. The specialist told me not to ever let anyone draw blood from my left arm, since we would need it for dialysis. In June of 2008, my daughter in law got me starting drinking apple cider vinegar 3 X a day. I saw my kidney specialist that next August. He is from the middle east, so he's very low key. He looked at my test results and said, "WOW!" "This is Great!" I was curious, and he finally said, "I don't need to see you anymore. Your kidneys are perfect!" I had been seeing him regularly for 6 years. You need to buy BRAGG ORGANIC RAW UNFILTERED APPLE CIDER VINEGAR WITH THE "MOTHER." I buy it at Walmart and Tom Thumb. The bottle is clear, with a yellow and red label, with some black writing. You will see "sediment" on the bottom of the bottle. Be sure to shake it each time you use it. Take 2 teaspoons in 8 oz (I only use 4 oz) of water, with a teaspoon of honey. Stir the honey well. Drink 3 times a day. I use Stevia in my mix, because the honey did not seem to "cut" the "tang" of the apple cider vinegar enough. My doctor asked me what I had done to improve my kidneys, then told me to keep it up. Please talk Lewis Dean into trying it! I had tremendous change in less than 2 months. There are many beneficial uses for it. It might even be great for Summer.
Thank you so much! I'm at the store right now buying some!!!
I see you all are trying the Bragg vinegar. Be sure to let us know how it works out. Also, have you all looked into the Keto diet? We are having so many wonderful dishes, it is hard to believe it helps. Have to cook though and use Swerve.
Summer looks really good, you are taking such good care of her! (and LD) Your cooking looks delicious. And I haven't been junkin' lately so it was good to see your adventure.
Oh my goodness. Not good news re. LD's diagnosis all those years ago. Glad he seems to be coping just fine! Lots' of good things in your post today...including the yummy soup recipe. I plan to try it. Take care!
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