Grandson Owen's Page

Hello Family, Friends and Guest,

I have decided to dedicate a page to each of my grandchildren as I know them at this point in their life.  I will start with Owen the oldest and work down.  Each will be a separate blog.  Papa watched Owen when he was a baby, from about 8 weeks to 16 months.
Owen is 13 years old and in the 8th grade at Forsythe Middle School.  He has a most beautiful smile and a great head of hair.  Owen is very kind and kind hearted to others.  He is especially gentle to his two little cousin's 3 years old and 9 months old.  He has new friendships and long standing friendships.
He loves working on the computer playing Video games. Yep Owen sure does LOVE video games.  He has been using the computer since he was about 18 months old.  I have a picture of him somewhere on his knees with a pacifier in his mouth at about that age on the computer.  He has even taught himself to play the keyboard and piano from the Internet.  He plays video Music and shows other how on You Tube.  He also plays Trombone in the school band for 4 years now.  He is very good and I love to watch and hear him play.  You can listen if you like here http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBlacKoopa
Owen tries to explain a game to me, but for me it is like the adults in Charlie Brown, WA,WA,WA,WA,WA.  Still I try to follow along.

Speaking of school, it comes pretty easy to Owen so he really doesn't have to work REAL hard to get good grades.  He likes school and as we all know that is have the battle.  One subject he likes a lot is physical science you know with Bunson Burners etc.  Of course another is Band.

Owen likes a lot of different foods and the good thing is, he is willing to at least try new things.  His favorite TV show at this time is Lost and he knows it in and out. He can be witty and he is just starting to take an interest in clothes.

Owen has many nicknames (damn southern in fluents) ODog, Owie, OlieConolie, Onun, Otis & Oak Tree.

Owen is still willing to talk to his parents about anything.  We are very proud of him and the direction he is heading.  Keep Up the Good Work.  We Love you, Bon (Papa too)

XRay, med adjustment , words to song.

Hello Family, Friends & Guest,

My back was so bad yesterday I called the doctor.  They had me come in for an Xray.  Everything looks fine and no more fractures so they adjusted my pain meds and I have been great all day.  I know the pain meds is just masking, but I'll take it.  Thank you Jesus.

The link is to my Playlist.com account where you will find my newest list of song, My favorite Hymns.  This is the only way I know how to do it until I can figure out how to get the player back on the blog and working.  I have tonight email the developers for help.  I want to provide you with the Lyrics to the Hymn "God Be With You Tell We Me Again" because they are so beautiful.

God be with you till we meet again;
by his counsels guide, uphold you,
With his sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

Refrain
Till we meet, Till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus' feet;
Till we meet, Till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

God be with you till we meet again;
neath his wings securely hide you,
daily manna still provide you;
God be with you till we meet again.
(refrain)

God be with you till we meet again;
when life's perils thick confound you,
put his arms unfailing round you;
God be with you till we meet again.
(refrain)


I am in hopes of getting the playlist up and running soon, but in the mean time, maybe you can go to the playlist to here the melody and then back here for the words. http://pl.st/p/22410267403   We will see.

Have a lovely evening.  God be with you till we meet again.
Be Well.

PS this was the Hymn that we sang in Sunday School every Sunday at the end of class. 

Dreary Days, Pity Potty, Hospital Bed

Hello Family, Friends & Guest,

As you all know by now, I had back surgery on the 22nd of August.  On the 25 I felt the best I had felt in a long, long time and it has been downhill ever since.  On Friday before Labor Day, I was sure I was done with the Hospital bed so I had Med Equip come and pick it up.  As it turned out I was a little Hasty in that decision and had them bring it back the Tuesday after Labor Day.

If I do nothing but lay in this hospital bed, I am convinced I am not sick.  Nothing hurts, but the minute I get up I know I am sick and always will be.  I am trying to be Grateful, but some days it is terribly difficult.  Some days it can be terribly difficult for many days.  I hate that feeling.

It has been cold and raining here for 3 days.  It is barely lighter than dusk all day long and the rain in cold.  High in the low 60's.  I have never done this before but I am seriously thinking of turning the furnace on and it's only the 8th of Sept.  I never turn it on till late October, but maybe.

OK the above was written early afternoon, It is now 8:00 pm and I am feeling very different.  I have had time to think about my visit with Rev Beth.  A couple of my Face book Friends have commented on comments I put there and Cousin Leah has been to visit. With all that I am out of my funk and I think I am in the process of turning the corner to acceptance.  I don't want to accept and I am going to call the doctor tomorrow and ask a few questions. That is 8 days out from surgery and too long to wait for the return visit on the 21st.   Just in case, they want to check now to see if I did something or if there is something I should be doing.  Maybe I should be trying to walk more, I don't know, but at least I can ask a few questions.

I worked a lot to get a music player to work.  The one I had I deleted cause I couldn't change the play list and the one playlist.com has now will not load in right for me.  I found this U Tube one and I got Art Garfield on it, but alas I cannot get it to load the song Grateful.  I can find it on the Internet and the lyrics too, but it will not load on this player.  I will just have to keep  working on it, but no more today.

I did bake a loaf of Blueberry Bread this morning.  Ray got out all the ingredients last night for me so it was just a matter of measuring out the ingredients and mixing it together.  It was made with Bisquick and Oatmeal.  It took Ray and I together to beat this quick bread 30 seconds, but we got her done.  It is tasty, but not sweet.  I think in a pinch, I would bake it again, but only in a pinch,

This is it for this time, I am emotionally worn out, besides that I am tired so.....

God be with you tell we meet again, Be Well

P.s. we turned the furnace on when Ray got home from work.  I had to get the dampness out of here.  Much better now.  :^)

Random Thoughts & General Crabbiness

Hello Family, Friends & Guest,


Oh what a difference a day makes.  Saturday it was 95 here with a heat index of over 100degrees.  Today the high temp was 61 with an overnight low in the 50ies.  House is cold, had to use the portable heater in the bathroom before I could shower.  Suppose to be cool all week but Friday the high should be back in the 80ies.  Weather is year makes no sense at all.


Just when I think I should call this surgery a failure, I look at my arms that are still bruised all to heck from the blood draws and IV's.  Took 3 times before the IV worked.  I guess if the outside bruises are not healed I should not expect the inside to be.  It's just that day 2 after surgery I felt wonderful and now it is a little better, but certainly not what I was hoping for.  I will try to be patience for a little longer, but I got to say even with all their warnings I am somewhat disappointed.  Oh yeah, I sent the hospital bed back to soon too. Hope to get that back tomorrow.


My neuropathy left over from Cancer treatments is brothering me lots.  Middle (Long Landy), Ring (Betty Hopkins)and Little (Little Jackie Dantoe) fingers of my left hand are numb and tingle.  Bothering lots today as I hemmed a pair of PJ's.   My left foot in the same area is numb and tingles especially when the floors are cold, such as today. 


I seem to be getting winded faster.  I was just short distances and gasp for air.  Not sure what is up with that.  Also been coughing a little this passed week.  This coughing seems to come and go so I am not going to start worring about it now.   I said I was not going to ask Why me, but dang, Why me for everything.  I truly am so disappointed about my back.  I really had put all my toys in one basket and truly believed the surgery would work beautifully. 


One last thing about Sally.  She will take her ball to the den and play by herself.  She looses the ball under the chair and cannot get it out.  She will bark quitely one time and run out to dad.  She will run back to the den and wait.  If he does not come to help right away, she will run back again to get him.  It is a joy to watch.  Ray knowns right away when he hears that bark what's up.


On a happy note, I met a Facebook friend in person Friday.  She brought Ray and I lunch and visisted for a couple of hours.  It was like we had known each other forever.  Turns out her daughter is married to a long time friend of ours among many other things in common.  We had a great time and we are looking forward to seeing Mary and her husband real soon.  Stay tuned.


We had the best time with the kids yesterday.  We had BBQ Chicken, Grilled/Baked Potatoes, Cole Slaw, Corn, Brownies & Ice Cream and good good company.  Later in the day Sophie decided to be the teacher/librarian/conductor.   She had us all following her command.  She told one of us to "sit down or leave the room"  That is just one comment of a few hundred, I just can't remember them.  She also had us singing many song and making motions.  It was a great day.

God be with you till we meet again.  Be Well.

3 days out.

Hello Family, Friends & Guest,

3 days out from surgery and my back has hurt all day.  I am in hopes that I slept on it wrong or something.  I have been very careful and I truly don't think I over did it yesterday, but alas it has hurt all day long.

Despite this minor set back I did have Med Equip pick up the hospital bed today.  I am just as comfortable on the couch again and I can save all that real estate.  I did confirm that if I was hasty in my decision I can get it back.

A couple more things about Sally I forgot to mention.  She gives true hugs.  If she really wants something she will dig in deep to for the hug.  They are truly wonderful.   Also with her ball obsession she will stop fetching when you tell her last time or All Done.  She will not eat if we are not home and even the snacks we give her when we leave, she eats when we return.

They say if it ain't broken don't fix it.  Well I tried to change my play list and in the process I deleted the old player.  The new player is different and does not work the same sooooo for at least now no more music.

Wishing everyone a safe and fun holiday weekend.

God be with you till we meet again.  Be Well

Post Op Update, Sally Dog

http://www.playlist.com/MeTigger2

Good Morning Family, Friends & Guest,

I am feeling quite good 2 days post op.  The incision spot itches a tad.  The three blown veins are healing and it is 8:30 am and I am dressed with my hair washed and styled etc.  Feeling pretty good about myself.

I want to talk today about our other miracle from God which is Sally Boggs our dog.  She came to us on a 3 day trial 2 years ago.  She loves us both with unconditional love.  Like all our dogs have been she is quirky.  We share a pop tart each morning for breakfast.   She will patiently wait for the pop tart to toast and cool.  You can set the plate near her and walk away while it cools and she will not touch it.

Her favorite toy is a ball.  One specific ball and she will fetch it and bring it back as long as you will throw it.  She will also stop when you tell her all done.  She will also play with it by herself.  She uses a pink slipper to send the ball, than looks around for it, fetches it and starts again.  She sends it by holding the slipper in her mouth and shaking the heck out of it.  She gives great Hugs upon request or if she is wanting something.

She will not eat if we are not home and now we both must be home.  Use to be she would eat so long as one of  us was home.  She will not go to bed without at least one of us.  At bedtime she watches for me (I swear she can tell time) as she must have a tiny bite of Vaseline to eat before she crawls under the covers.  She also has to flip over for a belly rub from Ray before going under cover.  She sleeps under the covers for about 15 minutes then walks to the head of the bed and just flops between us with her nose nuzzled under my pillow.  She does this several times during the night and in the morning she is always under the covers.

She loves me do.

In the 2 years she has been here she has never had an accident, nor has she torn  anything up.
She is afraid of lawn mowers and storms.  She sits real close to me for the mowers, she hides in the closet from the storms.


Speaking of mowers they are out there now.  Poor thing, she is hiding under my bed.

The best part of Sally is that she loves us both equally.  I am so glad as my original plan and the reason I wanted to get a dog was so that when I am gone Ray will have something to greet him when he comes home.  A silent house is a sad house.  Sally will help to fill that silent.

Thanks for listening.  Have a great day till we meet again.
Be Well

Update, Update, back surgery done

Good Morning Family, Friends & Guest,

Back surgery is done.  Thank the Lord.  Yesterday was so very hard on me.  I felt the hand of God on my shoulder and I could see it in my mines I, but I still couldn't shake the fear.  Jose the preacher was here delivering my oxygen and prayed with me and he said.  "If you are going to Pray why worry and if you are going to Worry why Pray!"  Makes perfect sense, but so very hard to do.

I am early calling the surgery a success, I feel like I have been run over by a truck, not to mention the exhastion, but the pain is in a new place and localized to the left side, so I am calling it surgery pain,  I slept most of the night, but did get up at 5:00 for pain medicine and could not return to sleep even with the ativan.  At 6:30 I took my morning meds and Sally and I shared our usual Pop Tart breakfast.  Sadly I have to give her my favorite part (edges) to try to keep the sugar she gets down.  We only like the brown sugar cinnimon Pop Tarts.  Did you know a serving size is 1 pop tart, yet they package them in 2s -tricky.

I have the best husband/care giver in the whole world.  He is patient and kind.  He has chosen to stay home today with me and truly, I am glad to have him.   I had thought of asking him, but didn't.  I can't lift more than 2 lbs and walking is still a real chore.  I am going to ask him to bake the preacher cake as he seems a little bored.  I love him ever so much.

My plan for the day is to rest.  Research Skype and how it works and research a place to stay at Sleeping Bear Dunes at the end of the month.,

Same, Same only Different

Good Morning Family, Friends & Guest,

Everything is different, but the same. I am still waiting for the hospital to call for a time for surgery on Tuesday. If they do not call soon I will try to call them as time is running out me thinks. Especially when they say they want another physical and history before the fusion.

Funny, until I was in my forties I always took baths, then I discovered that showers were much quicker. Now I am back to baths as I can't stand long enough to shower. Ray helps me in and out of the tub. Good thing he is home 4 days a week. Hospice would send someone, but I am not ready for that yet.

The picture is of my new back brace which I am to wear when sitting or standing. So mostly I just stay in bed.

New play list to enjoy. Time to go, I will keep you posted. I am nervous as Ray does not feel well and his gout is in his hand. Nurse should be here soon.

God be with you and Be Well till we meet again.

More back info, tough time breathing

Good Evening Family, Friends & Guest,

This is what I know at this point.

I will have the T12 vertebrae fused on Tuesday next.  They might, just might determine while I am there to do 2 more, but it is really not likely.  I am not sure how much relief this will give me, but I am willing to try just so long and they do local anesthetic only.  The physicians assistant talked on putting me under and that is not going to happen.  I will stay just as I am Thank you.
That will leave me with 13 broken vertebrae that have already solidified.  Thanks Prednisone

Between now and Tuesday they also want to do another physical and history.  What,  I have had 2 physicals, 4 x rays and an MRI,  what more can they possibly need.  I am going to try to get out of the physical.

I am having a much harder time breathing after walking just a short distance.  10 to 15 ft, but I do recover my air quicker I think.  Yet when the nurse listens 2xs per week nothing is different.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for each day, but in 7 short months my entire life has changed, my marriage has completely flipped and I have to put myself in the care of my husband.  This is a difficult journey we are learning together, but at times it is very difficult.
I try so hard not to complain, but I tell you it is not easy.

That is all for this time.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  Fingers crossed for Tuesday.

Be Well and God be with you till we meet again.

New Back Info

Good afternoon Family, Friends & Guest,

It looks like I will see the Doctor Monday 22nd and have the actual surgery on the 25th.   10 more days.  I can do this.  Yes I can.  Dr. Gieger will do the surgery, I assume he will do 1 more MRI before or durning surgery.   Fingers crossed please for a good outcome.   Thanks.   Nap time now.

God be with you and Be Well till we meet again.
My Love