Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Back in the Country! Monday and Tuesday!

I was up at 6:30 Monday morning - in time to wake up good before my 9:30 pre op appointment with Dr. Abraham. I arrived right on time but could not find a decent parking place so I parked over in the hospital parking lot and walked over to the medical building and went up to the 5th floor - which was alarmingly quiet! I found the office empty and went back downstairs to call them. After going through all the prompts on the voice recording - I finally talked to someone and found they had moved a year ago. I must have known that because I saw Dr. Abraham in April. So I walked another block to the new office.  Everything checked out fine! Exam, blood pressure, EKG, chest x-rays, and blood work. (I heard back from the lab within hours!) I am cleared for surgery!

 It was pretty painful walking the few blocks back to my car!
I tried to call Louis Dean to ask him if he would pick me up and drop me off at the right parking lot - but his phone was turned off!

I moved slow after getting home but we managed to pack up and load the truck and we were on the road by 12:30....heading for the COUNTRY!!


My knight in shining armor did the driving and I propped my leg up on the dashboard.
The damaged nerves don't hurt as much when my knee is straight. 


We stopped at our favorite restaurant in Hillsboro for a late lunch and my traditional margarita!


I have lost 8 pounds since my last visit to the doctor. Don't know how that happened!
I usually eat a healthy diet - except for the fried okra at this meal.


Louis Dean not so much but lately I have been cooking more and he hasn't had much choice but to eat healthy. Unless I'm not at home and he cooks.


Even he couldn't eat it all so we both had enough for lunch the next day!


It was the Golden Hour when we turned down the gravel road and headed for the ranch.


This is where we turn left and go to the dead end and turn right.


Then we drive to the dead end and turn right.....go past Jackson's place......


and we are HERE!!!
The Golden Hour doesn't last but a few minutes now!

It was wonderful to be back!
Dean and Sherry came down shortly after we settled in and we had such a nice visit....
Father and son out in the front room and Sherry and I inside the camper with the heater on.

We went to bed early Monday night and slept like babies!



I woke up this morning before Louis Dean and slipped out to the front room.
This was truly my 'quiet time.'
It had rained in the night and continued to rain all morning.
This makes good hibernating weather and that's exactly what Louis Dean did!
He didn't get up until after 11:00.


Once he was awake, I came back inside as my fingers were getting cold.
This is the view from the couch outside our window.


I love quilts and decorating with them.
I took the red denim off the poor dilapidated sofa with sagging broken springs and memory foam on top to make it more comfortable - and replaced it with the Dutch Doll quilt I made back in the 1970's.
This was my first ever quilt I made.
When I purged the closet in the den - I briefly thought about sending this to Goodwill.
I'm glad I didn't. I covered the couch with it and will enjoy looking at it again for awhile.


The little blue chair came with the camper when Louis Dean bought it new back in 1999.
It's still a good chair but I like the cover I use on it better than the faded blue upholstery.
I made this quilt for my 65th birthday using some of my old denim dresses and vintage lace trims.


Niece Leah made this small quilt and I use it to cover the TV when it's not wrapped around my legs.
Another one she made is on the girl bunk.


Last one here at the camper is the Four Season quilt we made when we were homeschooling in the 1990's. Amber and Benjamin helped design, cut, and sew it.

I have been addressing Christmas Cards and hope to finish them all up tomorrow.
Louis Dean has been working on a light in the bathroom - one that you can flip a switch and turn it on. He's had one that you can plug up but it's too high for me to reach. I may have lost 8 pounds but I also shrank another half inch making me now just 5 feet tall.

With all the rain today, I was wondering if we could get out to go to the bee meeting this evening.
Dean took a test run and made it up to the gate.
Louis Dean had decided to stay here so Sherry came down to pick me up.


On her tractor! I pulled on my red mud boots and climbed aboard.


We put our food and things we were taking in the bucket on the front.
This is where I asked Louis Dean to take our picture.
He took one and said, "I don't think it's taking it!"
Then he tried again and I posted these to Facebook.
Win! WIN!!! Or so I thought.
Turned out he had taken 204 pictures!
It showed only 8 pics on my phone.....but there really were 204!
This journal entry would have been published over an hour ago but that's how long it took me to delete all those pics from my computer. I'm certain there is an easier way to do it - but I did it the only way I knew and it took a long time!
I'm going to think twice about asking him to take pictures from now on.


It was a fun ride across the pasture!


And a beautiful night in the country!
It was getting cold but that just makes it prettier.
It was another tractor ride from the gate to get home tonight.
I love how we do things down here!!

I didn't get any painting done today but I did get the art table set up.
That's what I'll be doing tomorrow while Louis Dean finishes up some of his small projects.

I hope we sleep as well tonight as we did last night.




15 comments:

Jackie said...

Laugh and sleep, Those are the two things I do best
Best of luck with your surgery. In no time at all,you will be running races.

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Wonderful light in the the sky on your trip down. Sleep well.
Hugs.
Joy

Stacy said...

Such lovely pictures of life in the country! I can't help but chuckle over Louis Dean and the 204 photos on your phone. My son can be a bit of a prankster and several years ago he went through a "thing" where any time he'd see my phone sitting around he'd pick it up and photo bomb it like that with something goofy like 100+ pics of his foot or something. He's a bit of a tech wiz so he got a kick out of challenging my limited abilities. He has, thankfully, grown out of that one!

Good to hear you've been cleared for surgery. I hope relief and more comfortable days are coming soon!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love the photos of the golden hour and of course of how cozy your home in the country is. And the proverb is perfect! Hope you don't have as much pain today. Holiday hugs!

Changes in the wind said...

Ah back in the country and sleeping so good. That will in the ticket to feeling better. Special time the "golden hour".

Chatty Crone said...

I love the freedom you and Dean have and the ability to go!
Love the golden sunsets.
And good luck on your surgery -glad you passed the tests.
sandie

Latane Barton said...

There's nothing like country life to sleeping well and being at peace. And, you and Louis Dean have that down pat. Good luck on your surgery. Enjoy your stay at the ranch.

Deanna Rabe said...

I love the photos of you and Sherry on the tractor with your red coat on and red boots! Looking great!

Glad you're all cleared for your surgery. It'll be a blessing to have that done!

Enjoy your time, glad your able to just relax on this trip.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

OH my on all the walking you had to do just to get to the doctor. You're lucky you had energy enough tome it to the ranch. Rainy days are good to hibernate . You are blessed to have that tractor there to get out of the mud. One thing you don't need is to be slipping around in it. Glad you made it safely there to your meeting and back home again. At least your art work can be done sitting down and you can enjoy it. I'm off to the post office and then home to finish up my painting, thankfully I'm almost done!

Vee said...

Good sleep is such a blessing! Hope that the bee meeting went well...probably hear about that the next time. My phone camera goes nuts sometimes and takes gazillion photos. It can’t all be Louis Dean’s fault. 😉 Enjoyed seeing your quilt creations and the way that you are using them. You’re another one who can create home wherever it may be. So glad that your doctor’s appt went well and sorry about all that walking on tired knees. Good grief! My bp would have been through the roof so you did well. Happy trails back home from the ranch...

Ginny Hartzler said...

Oh, all that hospital walking you had to do! Even with my knee nerves killed, I would not be able to do that! I can imagine how much it hurt. Congrats on the good checkup! You look so pretty in the restaurant picture! And your quilts are wonderful! You have both beauty AND talent! The golden sky picture is stunning! And I love the tree & silo. I imagine the bees stay in the boxes and don't fly in the winter, I think I remember you giving them some extra honey because of that..

MadSnapper said...

I can barely get bob to take one photo. I would have a fit at that many but that will not happen for him. he doesn't like taking or being the subject of photos. just like Big boy, he runs from the camera. glad all is well and surgery is a go... you will feel better in 2020... doesn't that year just blow your mind? we are now in the future. I don't know how you managed to walk to the doc office and back and then ride so far. glad you got some rest when you got there. LOVE that big red tractors. the golden country sky welcomed you home

photowannabe said...

Oh my goodness, guess what came in the mail yesterday?
Your Christmas card.
THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU...
I will cherish it.
I'm so glad you are approved for surgery. You will be so happy when that is all done.
Enjoy your time in the country and happy painting.
You made me laugh about all the photos LD took. I did the same thing "helping" my son take a photo of he and his wife.
His shutter is so fast and my finger was a bit heavy...bing, bing, bing I took a gazillion shots before my finger released. His fancy camera is just too sensitive for me..(:0)
Sue

Carole said...

Linda = lovely golden hour. This morning I happened to be up jusst before 5 and what did I see but a glorious pink full moon hanging just above the horizon - wish I'd been awake enough to get a pic! Made my day. Cheers

Carol said...

Such nice photos, even of the mud. I know how much you truly love being at the ranch and I am thankful you were able to go again. I am sure you will enjoy your time there.