Another Day...Another Doctor...and Other Adventures......

It's been a busy week here at the Chapman home...

Wednesday afternoon we went for pedicures and when Louis Dean took his socks off they took one look at him and said we needed to get him to the doctor. Last week I had noticed blood on the floor in his music room... he as no feeling in his left foot and had an open ulcer on the bottom of his big toe. The toe was red and swollen so I cleaned and  put antibiotic cream and a bandage on it. In a few days the swelling was donwn a little and it wasn't quite as red. 

Alas, I was so concerned with keeping up with his new eye drops regime that I totally forgot to keep checking on his toe.....

Thank the Lord for our pedicure day!

The more experience lady did Louis Dean's - minus the big toe.

I immediately called his primary care doctor and we went right in as soon as we left the salon.

Dr. Maddox examined him and determined it was infected, cleaned and bandaged it and directed us to Dr. Garcia, the podiatrist right down the hall.

 

We arrived just as they were about to close the office but they were kind enough to let us make an appointment for Thusday morning.

Dr. Garcia found that Louis Dean was wearing leather shoes and he leans forward when he walks so the leather is stronger than his skin so it had caused an ulcer. I have a list of shoes that will be appropriate for diabetics but for now he is wearing a boot on that foot until we go back to the doctor next Friday.

Looking handsome!!

We celebrated by having breakfast at IHOP and then ran a few errands before getting home around 3:00. I started the washing machine and loaded the dishwasher and that's when the power went out!

That stopped everything so we went out on the driveway and stayed there until it was dark.

Candles lit and it's still dark in the house!

We spent the next three hours in the gazebo.

The neighbors behind us have allowed trash trees to grow up and the repair team could not get to the transformer  - so they sent out a tree cutting crew around midnight and then the repair crew came back and by 1:30 we had power again!!

This was our make-do dinner!

It's always an adventure around here!

Stephanie brought over a nifty lantern plus two phone charger packs!

 

It's good to have power!

Louis Dean rebuilt a bird house and ended up with Gorilla Glue all over his hands.

It took him hours to get them cleaned up!

My bulb are blooming!

Son Dean sent me flower photos from our yard at the ranch.

So pretty!!

I had cut the rose garden back when we were there - better late than never.

We leave in the morning for Galveston and our bags are packed and loaded in the car.

I am so excited!

 

Catching up - Again

 I don't know how time gets away from me and I fall behind in my journal entries!

Hang on because I have six days to 'catch up on!'

Louis Dean and I have been working on the backyard and I'm loving the open look of the gazebo by taking down the netting and rain curtains.

In the past I've tried to cover up the views from where Sanford and Son used to live.

I love this view from our gazebo to the kitchen deck.

Lights in my herb garden.....

Our view from the bedroom patio....

View from the gazebo....

I do so love my fairy lights....

Saturday movie and dinner night with Ilene.

Our movie was an excellent choice!

Thank you, Ilene, for recommending this one.

Sunday was a good day!

Fellowship Church online and working and walking in our gardens.....

Summer gifted me this miniature rose bush and it is thriving.

I used to kill plants but maybe I have figured out how to keep them alive.

Monday morning's breakfast - served in the afternoon.

We tend to sleep late so it's our norm to have two meals and a happy hour.

This was something I saw on Facebook.....sliced tomatoes and I added onion with fresh herbs and eggs - and I added cheese. Cooked on the stove and then inverted it onto a plate and slid it back in the skillet to finish the other side. Topped with sour cream and chopped avocado  and served with buttered sourdough bread - delicious!

Louis Dean had an eye appointment with his retina specialist Monday afternoon.

I forgot to take our traditional selfie in the doctor's waiting room.

Maybe because this is our least favorite doctor visit and we both see her so that makes the visits more often.

I guess I was not paying enough attention because I thought it was a followup appointment but instead it was for the laser surgery on Louis Dean's left eye.

It went well and within an hour and forty five minutes we were on our way to the pharmacy to get his new eye drops. He now needs three different eye drops with two of them three times a day but at least five minutes between. Then his normal eye drops for glocoma at night.

Medicine is complicated!

I prepared what I thought would be a good meal that night.

You can't go wrong with roasted veggies......

and Louis Dean cut up the cucumbers, onions and bell peppers for the salad.

I made the dressing from sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, seasonings and dill weed.

So GOOD! So far so good......

I thawed out what I thought was chicken breasts 

and used a recipe from my step son's karate cookbook.

Alas, it was not chicken breast but what I thought were chicken tender pieces.

So I proceeded to fry them up - only to discover they were actually chicken skins and parts I'd saved for the possums.

My bad!!!

I fed them all to the critters!

I had nor seen Samantha all day on Monday and feared she had got out and perhaps someone had taken her since she's so pretty.

I wanted to take my mind off of what could have happened to Samantha so I watche the Stars game on Monday night. It was extra exciting in that the Bells were there!

I stayed up late to watch and they won!!!

This morning (Tuesday) I looked up to the sky and prayed for Samantha's return....

I had been praying but when I walked down the hall right after my prayer, Samanthat strolled out of our bedroom! No clue if she had been in the house the whole time or if she had come in through an open door. I had put Tabitha in the guest room during this time not wanting to lose both of them.

Between keeping up with these two cats and Louis Dean I stay busy!

We are loving the camera bird feeder Amber and Mike gave Louis Dean for Christmas!

We are up to 24 species that have visited our feeder.

I didn't get up until nearly noon today.....and with the extra attention I needed to give Louis Dean with his medication schedule....I told Brenda I couldn't do our normal Tuesday Treasures.

I truly misss my time with my best friend but life changes do change things.

It was late in the afternoon when Louis Dean and I left for our thriting adventure.

My best treasure was this beautiful lace - what? cloak? No matter what it is - I love it!

The details are amazing....

alas...it is a bit small for me so I can't button it closed.

No problem.....I am going to remove the fasteners and use it anyway!

Another good find was this pair of ladies overalls.

It has spandex and now Louis Dean and I can be twinkies!

Amber gifted me a great key chain that can easily be found in a purse.

Now I have FOUR to choose from plus the one Amber gave me.

I probably love sunflowers more than anyone I know.

This beautiful cobalt blue pitcher with the bright yellow flowers look perfect on my sewing table.

I scored on three Tuscany candles - all brand new and never been lit!!

All the candles I thrifted today were brand new.

Infused with CBD oil???

I love GooseCreek candles....

We are going to Galveston on Sunay the 26th.

Louis Dean and Ilene and I. 

If I had stayed married to Jesse - this would have been our 63rd anniversary.

I am so ever grateful that Louis Dean and I will be married 21 years on June 26th.

It's just like God to put things in place for us.....

I needed a new swimming suit and I found one!

Actually I found TWO!!

Ilene hasn't been to Galveston in over 20 years and she will be so amazed at how much it has changed since Hurricane Ike happened in 2008.

It has rebuilt and is a more tropical experience than ever!

I bought us two leis to wear when we walk the beach.

I had thrifted three of these napkins and today I found the fourth one!

I love signage!

$5 each...plus the sunflower wreath for another $5!

Louis Dean is my Knight in Shining Overalls.

If  I ask him to do something - he is Johnny on the spot!

He said, "Linda, if I don't do it now, I'll forget."

Be still, my heart.

No matter what - I know how much he loves me and he knows how much I love him.

God is good and I am so grateful for these years of being married to Louis Dean.

Tuesday Treasures and Wednesday Lunch....

It's good to be back home as much as I loved my time in the country.

I'm blessed to have the best of both worlds and appreciate Dean and Sherry's hospitality.

When we met them for lunch on Sunday afternooon, Amber thanked them for keeping an eye on us and taking such good care of us when we are down there.

Even when we are at home in the city, they call regularly to check in and see how we are doing and if we need anything.

It was good to get Tabitha back home and Monday I worked for hours in the sewing room getting rid of the cat pee smell under the library table and rehanging the curtains.

Then I went back to my decorating in there and noticed that all but one of my lamps had warm light bulbs so I took the bright one out and pulled out the storage bag I had all my extra bulbs in.

I noticed it was wet on top - the bag was vinyl and had a drawstring closing.

Maybe I sprayed it with the Odorban solution?

I dug down and all the bulbs were wet as was the cardboard some of them were in.

AND the smell!

Tabitha had peed all over it!!!

Doggone it!!!

I was beyond upset but set about cleaning all that up and having to wash dozens of different sized lightbulbs and setting them out to dry and then clean the bag she peed on!

I don't think she has a UTI but if this continues I'll let Amber know as she said she would take her to the vet that has taken care of all of our kitties since we got them.

I decided that if - for whatever reason - Tabitha wants to pee under the library table - then I would put a regular litter box there. So I did and when I woke up the next morning I was thrilled to see she had indeed used it!!

Perhaps she was tramatized by the tapped in a basket experience - and I can understand that.

So I continue to check on the situation and am on high watch duty until I can be assured that she won't keep peeing where she shouldn't.

Monday night's dinner was a salad using up all our fresh veggies and hard boiled eggs.

We are all out of fresh things and milk and bread and more.....

Tuesday I met Brenda for a little thrifting before whe and Billy went to pick up their beloved Charlie's ashes.

No dog was loved more than sweet Charlie....

WE shopped one store together and then I went to one more.

I could NOT pass this up!!! $6

Brenda arrived at the thrift store before I did and snatched up two sunflower garlands - one for her and one for me! That's a good friend for you!

I spied this bouquet while it was still on the cart to be put out.

It never reached the shelf!

I plopped it down in my red watering can on the front porch!

I pulled out a bunch of faux lavender and plunked it down in the middle of an arrangement I already had on the porch - from a past thrifting find.

I spent just a few cents over $20 for all I bought.

Four yellow placemats, a new sunflower pillow from Hobby Lobby and a bath towel wrap.

I was unusally tired and didn't feel like going to Aldi for groceries.

I did go to Whataburger and after I ate I found myself just sitting and looking out the window.

Depression can sneak up on you and it did me then.

Louis Dean and I still have a good quality of life and ever so much to be grateful for......

but every now and again....I grieve a bit. His stories are getting jumbled up and there are other subtle changes. I'm thankful that Louis Dean is still Louis Dean. His personality remains as does his love and devotion to me and love for all his children andgrandchildren.

He will be 90 in November and I plan on doing an Open House to celebrate.

If any of you, my dear blogging friends, are local, I would love for you to join us.

Instead of buying groceries, I came home and went to bed for a few hours.

Win! WIN!!

We seem to start and finish our days outside.

The back decks in the morning and the driveway at night.

We do our gardening and such and today I cut back the roses along the back fence while Louis Dean removed debris from the bedroom patio.

We decided to eat lunch at Spring Creek BBQ before buying groceries.

Instead of shopping Aldi and the Dollar store - we did a one stop shop at Walmart!

Another Win! WIN!!

I'm nearly done with the sewing room transformation from Christmas to spring and summer...and I am loving it!!

I hope to feature it tomorrow and I am looking forward to doing some sewing amd mending!

My next project is the dining room which I am going to put in order and intend to start up my Thursday Art Days again with my friend, Shirley.

God has a way of working eveything out....