Same Heart -- New Pacemaker

Well, back to the health issues for Greg!  It seems to just never end.   We knew this was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier.  We were told back in July that he would need to have his pacemaker/defibrillator replaced before the end of the year.  Apparently, the battery was dying.  A pacemaker is allegedly supposed to last six years, but it's only been four for Greg (more on that later).  As this is not something that can really be put off, he had to have it done, and yesterday was the day! 

We didn't have to be at the hospital until 11:45 a.m., so I got up and started working at 5 a.m.  I logged off at 10:30 so I could get ready to go.  I could have taken a vacation day, but we are on mandatory overtime, so I would have had to work 8 hours at straight pay before time and a half, and I didn't want to do that, so I got up and went to work.  For those that may not know, I telecommute, so "going to work" means getting up, putting on my sweats and walking down 16 steps to my office in the lower level of our house.  I am the first to admit it's pretty rough!  HA!   

We got to the hospital and they took Greg to get him set up.  Prior to taking him, I advised the person that I did not want the nurse to attempt his IV.  His veins are shot from being chemo'd and radiated like crazy, so no matter how good you "think" you are, you are not going to be able to get it in.  And let's face it.  Needles hurt, but IVs hurt more!  I advised that I did not want anyone but an anesthesiologist putting in his IV.  I was assured that that information would be passed along.  

When they finally let me in back, guess what?  I was informed that the nurse insisted on trying to do the IV and COULD NOT DO IT!  I was PISSED!   She told me that "they insist we try before calling anesthesia."  I advised her that I specifically requested an anesthesiologist because I knew she would not be able to do it.  Nothing against her or her abilities, but we've been down this road too many times.   When I told her that I was going to contact Administration, she was definitely nervous and stated that she'd put a note in his chart, etc., etc., etc.  And then went on to state that the "anesthesiologists don't do anything special that they don't do." I DON'T CARE.  I AM going to contact Administration because that's just unacceptable.  All she had to do was listen to Greg tell her all he had been through this year alone and she should have known that we were not kidding about his veins.  I'm getting upset again just typing this!  So, let's move on.   Oh, an anesthesiologist did come and was able to get both IVs in on the first try!  Yes, I feel vindicated.    So, enough about that.  I'll let you know what Administration has to say after I speak with them. 

Greg was finally taken to the OR at 2:15 p.m.  We weren't sure how long the surgery would last, but I was told that they would call me (they had my cell number) every two hours to update me.  At 4:30 I still had not heard anything, and the receptionist was about to leave for the day.  She was kind enough to call the OR and have a nurse call me.   Everything was going OK and they had just finished replacing one of the leads.  They still had to work on the pacemaker.  

Another two hours later and I was called again and told that they were done and that Greg was resting comfortably.  Shortly thereafter, the surgeon came out to talk to me.  Apparently, the old lead was doing something it shouldn't have been doing, so was draining the battery and that is why it died 2 years sooner than it should have.  They had a bit of an issue with scar tissue that they had to cut away, but they were able to get it all done.    That was at about 6:15 p.m. or so.   The next step was to have Greg stay in bed and not stand up for 3 hours, and after that he had to have a chest x-ray.  Once the x-ray was read (apparently by some radiologists in Australia!), then we could go home. 

The new pacemaker/defibrillator is pretty awesome.  We have a special box that connects to our Wi-Fi that will send reports every three months to his cardiologist.  In addition, if the defibrillator shocks him, it will send a report to the cardiologist.  How cool is that?!   Technology is pretty amazing.  I did tell him that he better toe the line or I might have to figure out how to hack into it and give him a shock!  HA!  (I'm kidding, people!  Calm down.)  

Instead of him staying in the cardiology day surgery area, he was moved to the regular cardiac area of the hospital.  

He was able to order some food, seeing as he hadn't been able to eat prior to the surgery and actually felt like eating it.  I must say, no matter what he's had done, whether is radiation, chemo, surgery or extensive dental work, he has never wanted to not eat!  

Oh, yea, he managed to spill his V8.  The nurses got a little scared at first, when they saw all the red stuff on his blanket!  LOL.  He was bummed, because he really wanted that V8 juice!  Oh, notice the new glasses?  Be sure to tell him how nice they look!  

We finally got to leave the hospital around 10:15 p.m., so didn't get home until 10:45 p.m.   By the time I helped to get him situated and took care of the dogs (with Abby's help), I didn't get to bed myself until almost midnight.  I've been starting work at 5 a.m. because of the mandatory OT, but there was no way that was going to happen Tuesday morning.  I gave myself an extra hour of sleep and didn't start until 5:45 a.m.  I worked until 4:45, so still had a very long day and was fairly well exhausted all day and was grateful that I didn't have to get up early to shower and make myself look presentable to go into the office! 

Following doctor's instructions, we changed his dressing today.   That "hole" just about in the center of his stomach is where he had the feeding tube.  You can't see it here, but below that is a scar that's about 8 inches long where they cut him open the very first time he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma 25 years ago.  This is definitely the body of a warrior!!!!!!!  

And, because we always like to post pictures of the gross stuff, just for fun, here's what his incision looks like!   There's a total of 12 staples there, in case you were wondering!  

So, that's pretty much the latest health news on Greg.   If you have time for some extra prayers for him, I would sure appreciate it.  He made a comment to me the other day that really hit me hard.  He stated that he didn't even know what it felt like to feel "normal" anymore.   How sad is that?  


Love, peace and prayers to all! 

Julie 

New Couch -- New Couch Cover!

So, we got this "new to us" couch a couple weeks ago, and with three dogs and four cats, we needed to do something to keep it looking nice. It's an Ethan Allen couch and super heavy and quite frankly, the nicest couch we've ever had. Best of all, it's only two years old and was FREE! Can't beat that!!!

I had bought some covers in the past for our old couch (wowsers, they are expensive!) only to have them ripped by the animals' toenails and in the garbage after six months. I didn't want to do that again, and in the spirit of frugality, I decided to MAKE a couch cover. Well, at least a cover for the cushions. The cushions on the back are attached, so I would have to make something with elastic around it, and that would be a pain in the butt. I thought I'd just use an old sheet, but none of the older ones we had were big enough, and they were too thin, so would probably tear fairly easily. Sooooooooo, while we were shopping on Saturday, we stopped at Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite stores!) and I found some material that was not only inexpensive, but on sale, too! I was looking for something that would fit with my color scheme (reds and blues), and would not show the pet hair. Not an easy task, with a tan dog, a brown dog and a black dog, and cats of the same colors! This fabric fits the bill, though! It looks a little funky with the rest of the couch, but since when has "funky" ever bothered me? LOL! Basically, I made a giant pillowcase for the cushions. I added five buttons on the side -- I was amazed that I actually found five large matching buttons in my button jar! My sewing machine has the most awesome button-hole foot that makes it super simple to make button holes! So, even though the cover is a bit large and has to be tucked in, it's a big case and buttoned on the side, so it's not going to come off! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Here's the before. That's George (one of the cats) on the right.

And the after! Sophie jumped up the instant I stepped away after putting the cover on and wasn't about to move! Sophie is our latest rescue. She is almost a year old and weighs 95 pounds so far! She is a Newfoundland/ St. Bernard mix and is the absolute sweetest dog! She has some issues we're dealing with, but that's for another post!!
Like I said, it's a little funky, compared to the couch material, but it is what it is and it works just fine!

Without having all kinds of medical appointments to head off to, I've had some time to get some stuff done around the house! It's that time of year, and I'm feeling crafty (hence the reason I made the couch cover -- oh, and it only took about 1-1/2 hours to make!), I've been working on some Christmas decorations! Abby cut some branches off our pine trees for me and I made this basket. I save my summer hanging baskets and use them for my Christmas baskets. I leave the dirt in them and because it gets dried up, after I make the basket, I water it so when it's outside, it freezes and makes the basket heavier and less likely to blow away in a storm. Pretty awesome to not have to pay anything for such a pretty basket!

I cut some more branches and twigs and made this out of one of my summer planters.

Sophie totally lives up to the Newfoundland nickname of "gentle giant." We babysat for Bernie and Ezra on Friday, and neither of the boys had met Sophie yet. They were a little intimidated at first, because she is a very large dog (and let's face it, when you're 3 feet tall and have three dogs wanting to greet you, it can be a little intimidating!), but they soon became good friends! Ezra was nose to nose with her and I couldn't resist snapping a pic!







Of course, when they predicted an inch or so of snow for us, we got FIVE inches! It was very wet, heavy snow, so it clung to everything. We had to be in Wausau early this morning, and a normal 30 minute drive took 60 minutes in 4 wheel drive. We counted four vehicles in the ditch on Highway 29 in a 15 mile stretch. Not surprising, to be sure! People are stooooopid when it comes to driving in the snow, even in Wisconsin! On the way home, I counted the fresh tracks into the ditch -- TEN in total! Idiots!







This was Sophie's first "big" snow and she was loving every minute of it! I can't wait to see how she acts when we get more and have giant snow piles in the yard!!

And I'm working on some Christmas decorations inside the house, too. I saw this idea on Pinterest. As you can see, this is a regular spot for the cats. They're doing really well, though and haven't been messing with them! Right now they have been more interested in the sparrows at the feeder outside the window. It does help that the shade covers them at night. Out of sight, out of mind, right?! We shall see how long that lasts!

So, that's all for now. Things are going well. It's gotten to the busy time of year for me and mandatory overtime starts next week. I'm allowed 15 hours between last week and this week and am putting in every minute of those 15 hours!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love, peace and prayers,

Julie

Don't try this at home, a/k/a I can't Believe I did that!

Every so often we all do something incredibly stupid.  Apparently, it was my turn!  Whole chickens were on sale at the local grocery store for just $3.95 each (not per pound), and they weren't even expired or nearing their expiration date!  (I won't buy chicken past it's date at this particular store because one time when we did, the pad underneath that soaks up all the raw juices had mold on it -- YUCK!)  I wanted to make a chicken pot pie for dinner, so this was perfect.  I try to save my canned chicken for weeknights, or when we're in a time crunch, so I didn't want to use that.  They had three chickens left, so I bought all three, figuring I would roast them all at once and could use one for the pot pie and de-bone and shred the two others and freeze it.   

I decided to use the beer can chicken roasters that we have as one holds two chickens and one holds one chicken so I could cook all three at once.  I oiled them up with olive oil and then put some magic spices on them (each chicken a little different flavor profile) and put them in the oven to roast.   About 20 minutes into cooking, smoke was coming out the top of the oven, so I turned the fan on and checked on the chickens.  Well, silly me, I forgot to put any water in the bottom of the pans (you can see where this is going, can't you?!).  

The pan that held two chickens was metal, so no big deal, I poured hot tap water into that pan.  I was about to pour some into the other pan, which was a glass 13x9 pan.  I stopped, realizing that I'd shatter the pan if I did that, so I put my 4 cup measuring cup in the microwave and boiled the water.   When it was done, I started to pour it into the pan and you guessed it, it when KABLOOM!!!!   Oh, CRAP!  CRAP, CRAP!!!!    

I just stood there for a couple seconds, because I couldn't believe that actually happened!  I mean, I BOILED the freakin' water!!  

Cleaning the oven was NOT what I had planned on doing on a Sunday afternoon, but, you know the saying about the best laid plans!   

After taking the chickens out and cleaning up some of the glass that made it onto the floor, I ended up with this this lovely little pile of glass in the bottom of the oven.  

When I looked into the vents on the left side of the stove, I saw that there was glass in there, as well.  My instruction book didn't have any information in it about taking the bottom off, as I'm sure they don't want people messing around with the heating element, or whatever it's called down there, as this is a gas oven.  BUT, as I was cleaning, I saw that there were two little screws in the back that seemed to be the only thing holding that pan on there.  So, off with them!   Of course, I had to remove the door, first, so we could get back there.  Good thing there's instructions for removing the door in the manual!    Greg's removing those two screws for me here.  

I'm glad I saw the glass in there, because it was not just a little bit!  YIKES!   So, I got that all cleaned up, put the bottom pan back on and screwed it in and put the door back on and thought I was all done.  Until I looked in the sink, and realized I forgot to put a gasket back on.  UGH!  

So, back off with the door.  Scrubbed the gasket and put it on and put the door back on again, and it was all done.   It took about two hours to go from exploding pan to all cleaned up!   And yes, I still need to clean my oven, which I will do after this weekend!  

For those that are wondering, the pan was like the safety glass on your vehicle, and it was pretty much all in bigger chunks that were rounded, rather than any actual shards of glass.  When it exploded, it didn't actually "blow up" it rather just all "dropped," so after very carefully taking a lot of time inspecting the chicken, yes, we are living dangerously as we decided we were too cheap (OK, maybe too stupid), to throw away $12 worth of chicken!  So, if I suddenly post from the hospital with internal bleeding, you know why!  LOL  I know, I know, it's not funny, but hey, after everything we've been through with Greg's health, it would be rather ironic that we end up in the hospital because of MY cooking!  

So, a word to the wise.  Even BOILING water will cause a pan to shatter when it's hot!  Learn from my stupid mistake.  And don't worry, I won't use this chicken for any church or other potlucks!  Ha, Ha, Ha!  

Hope everyone had a great Sunday!  Oh, and my pot pie turned out excellent!  

Julie 

Stomach Tube is OUT!

Today was just a bit of a crazy day!  It actually started last night, when we got a call at 4:30 p.m. that the surgeon's office did not have an authorization or referral for Greg's PEG tube removal.  Now, we made this appointment a week ago.  The PCP's office knows everything things referrals.  I've gone over this time and time and time again with them over the last months since this has been going on.  I even spoke with their office on Friday and was told that an authorization was not necesary, but the referral has been completed.   

Yesterday, we got a call from the surgeon's office that they did not have a referral.   The woman told me that they would have to send us the bill if they don't have the referral.  Uhm, we have half a million dollars in medical bills paid this year.  United HealthCare will pay for the procedure.  If they don't, Medicare is secondary, so they will pay.  One way or another, we are not going to have to pay the bill and the referral will be taken care of.  Don't worry about it and do not, under any circumstances, cancel our appointment!  

I received a call from the PCP's office this morning that everything was all set.  The referral was put through at 9:40 this morning.  At 11 a.m., the surgeon's office called and said they still do not have a referral and do we still want to keep the appointment?  Seriously?  What did I tell you yesterday about this appointment?  Then, she goes on AGAIN about the stupid bill!   As far as I knew, the referral had gone through, so there was nothing to worry about.  We drove to the surgeon's office and when we checked in, the woman again goes off about the referral!  OMG!  Seriously, people, we took care of all of this!  UGH!  

  

So, we finally got all that done and we're waiting for the doctor.  The procedure to remove the tube is not a surgical procedure at all and it's done in the doctor's office.    Here's one final picture of Greg's feeding tube while it's still attached!  





And here's the surgeon removing the tube!  Don't worry, it's not as gruesome as one might think -- there's really nothing gory about it at all, and it's very quick.  All it takes is a good yank!!!

And here's what it looks like!     

The white plastic part on the left that looks kind of like a flower (in the picture on the left) is what was on the outside of Greg's stomach.  The brownish looking part on the right (in both pictures) is what was inside his stomach.  When he would "feed" himself, he would put the liquid in the tube, and it would go through this little hole, directly into his stomach.  


  



And the final picture -- 

This is what his stomach looks like now, without the tube!  The hole will close up all by itself very quickly.  By morning, it should be closed completely, with no need for stitches or anything! Isn't that incredible?!  

The only advice the doctor gave us was that Greg probably shouldn't go out and get a Big Gulp!  You guessed it, it would most likely come spewing out!  Ha!  


After this was done, we decided to head over to Pick 'n Save (a local grocery store), because we don't get into Wausau very often, and it's nice to go to different grocery stores.  As we're in the area between the doors, where the carts are located, I was getting a cart and Greg was looking at the bread display.  Suddenly, some woman behind him throws her keys up in the air and screams about him not paying attention!  I couldn't believe it!  I looked at her and said that he just had a feeding tube removed and to cut him some slack.  The woman responded that the feeding tube has NOTHING to do with him being completely oblivious!  What a WITCH!   I must say, I let her get to me and gave her some choice words!   I then located her in the store and told her that this was the third time he had cancer and had beaten it and that I hope she never has to deal with anything like that.  She went off on me, and I ended up telling her she was a NASTY woman!  I just couldn't help myself.   

Our next stop was Hobby Lobby, and then it was on to Walmart and then Menard's for the rest of the stuff we needed.  When we were ready to leave Menard's, I got a text from our electric company telling me that our power was most likely out.  That was a first!  We got another text a short time later that our electricity would most likely be back on in about an hour.   When we were about a mile from home, I realized we might have a problem.  We always use our electric garage door opener to get into the house.  The side garage door is locked, and the front and patio doors are locked.  I had switched up key rings recently, and did not have a house key with me!  Sure enough, we got home and the garage door wouldn't open.  We checked every door, just in case we left one unlocked.  No such luck.  The poor dogs were going crazy, not understanding why we weren't coming into the house!  About ten minutes after we got home, I tried the garage door opener again, and it opened!  YAY!    I made sure to add house keys to my key ring, first thing, so that won't happen again!   

All in all, a very interesting day, with a few mishaps, but hey, it could have been worse!  We are so happy that the feeding tube is gone and Greg will have time to heal before Aaon and Rachel's wedding!   God is indeed GREAT!!!! 

Love, Peace and Prayers to all!  

Julie

The Birds and the Bees!

The other day, I was in the kitchen and I heard a "tap, tap, tap."  "Tap, tap." "TapTapTapTapTapTapTapTap."   So, I walk to where I hear the "tapping" sound, and what do I find, but a freakin' WOODPECKER pecking on the trim outside the bathroom window!  Well, isn't that cool, I thought to myself.  Then, in the back of my mind, I remembered my friend Lisa having woodpecker problems that cost a lot of money to repair.  Hmmm, this could be bad. 

It's not the best picture, because I had to take it from inside and there was a screen on the window, so, well, it is what it is!  Cute little bugger, for sure!

Today, I again heard the "tap, tap, tap."  "Tap, tap."   Obviously, I knew what it was.  The woodpecker wasn't hanging on the house, like the previous one, but I'm pretty sure that was because it was still looking for a place to land.

After hearing it again today, I remember it and told Greg about it.  So, we went outside to see what the little bugger was doing to the house.  Turns out he has started to make a nice little hole!  Obviously, he had been working this for a while and we didn't hear the noise of the "tap, tap, tap."   NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT!

We're going to fill the holl in and paint it and I'll put some suet outside to deter them from pecking at the house.  Hopefully that will work.  Otherwise, we will have to take some more drastic measures!

Yesterday, Greg noticed that there were a bunch of bees flying around in back of the house.  Upon closer inspection, they are flying in and out of a hole that appears to have been made at some point in time for some sort of cable for something.  At least that's what I'm assuming.    It can't have been there very long, or we would have noticed the bees sooner.  Obviously, we have to do something about it.  I have some wasp spray that I'm thinking of using, but if anyone has any alternatives, please let me know!

So, that's all that's happening around here right now.  Tuesday Greg gets his feeding tube removed, so look for a post and pictures from that soon!

Peace and Prayers to all!

Julie

PET Scan Results! More FABULOUS News!

On Wednesday, we saw the oncologist for the results of Greg's PET scan.   We were not expecting anything different than the EGD and biopsy results, so it seemed like just a formality.  We were not disappointed!   Greg's PET scan showed absolutely no signs of any cancer!    We are SO happy!  This is such an aggressive cancer, and with Greg not being a candidate for surgery, we really had no idea what to expect.   We have been so blessed with how Greg has responded to his treatment.   It's really been incredible.  The doctors could not believe that he actually drove himself the 30 miles (one way) for every one of his radiation treatments, and that he was able to do the same for each of his four chemo treatments.  At his age, and with the amount of chemo and radiation his body has endured over the last 25 years, it's simply unheard of!     

As the results were everything we were hoping for, we were able to have Greg's PICC line removed!  Fortunately, that's not a surgical procedure, so we were able to have it done in one of the "clean" chemotherapy rooms.  Of course, I need to share some pictures!  Don't worry, they're not very graphic!  

And here's some video!  It was like pulling out a tapeworm!  LOL    

The best news of all is that he is getting his PEG tube (stomach tube) removed on Tuesday!  That means we don't have to worry about it accidentally "popping open" when he's in his tux at our son's wedding!  YAY!  And it's an office procedure, so that makes it even easier!   For once, all the paperwork was completed and approved by the insurance company without a fight, so we're good to go!  

All the praise for this belongs to the Ultimate Physician!  God is the only one that could have given us such an incredible outcome for such a horrific disease!  All the praise and glory is His!   Once again, our Father has healed Greg!  He must have some amazing things planned for him on this earth to continually heal him!   

Thank you to everyone for your prayers.  It is obvious to us that they were heard!  

EGD Today for Greg -- GREAT Results!

I'd like to start off by apologizing for not getting this out sooner as I know that many of my Facebook friends have been waiting to hear the results.  My work day was a bit messed up and I had to finish working once we got back from the hospital, and then well, other issues in life got in the way.   

Let me start by saying GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME,  AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!   That should give you a bit of a clue about how the Esophagogastroduodenoscopy went!  HA!  Decided to use the "big" word!  LOL  I'm sorry, I'm just a bit giddy about all this!   

So, here you go!  The doctor told us that if he had not known Greg's history, he would have given him a clean bill of health!   There was no narrowing of the esophagus and absolutely NO SIGN OF CANCER!   He was completely amazed at how awesome everything looked!  

Of course, we need to hold on a minute and can't start rejoicing just yet, as there is always the possibility that there is cancer underneath what can be seen on the outside.  So he took some biopsies and we should have the results from those in a few days.  We also have a PET scan scheduled for Friday, which will show us if there is cancer in any other parts of his body, including anything that may still be in his esophagus.  The previous PET scan did not show any metastases (spreading), so we need to continue our prayers that nothing shows up on the PET scan.

As we don't know the rest of the results, we cannot even begin to hazard a guess as to what might be next.  Assuming there is no cancer and no more treatment, then he will be able to have his PICC line  and removal of the PEG  (stomach) tube!  I know he will be incredibly happy to have that stupid tube gone!   And, it is my goal to have that all gone before Aaron's wedding on October 7th!  I know it sounds a little selfish, but I know Greg wants it all gone as soon as possible, too.  

Please continue to keep Greg in your prayers, as they are most certainly working!   Per James 5:14, (Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.) this past Sunday at Church, we had the Church elders and the rest of the Church body pray over Greg as they have done time and again and our prayers are being answered.  THANK YOU, FATHER GOD!  

Love Letters from Dad to Mom

This past weekend, we went to Milwaukee for the wedding of our dear friends' daughter.   We didn't have a lot of time, because we had the Ted Nugent concert at the Wausau Fair on Friday (more on that in another post) and then left early Saturday morning, got to mom's, got changed and went to the wedding in Racine.  We didn't get back until 10 p.m. and then had to get up and leave mom's by noon on Sunday, so we would have some time to visit Aunt Gladys before driving home.  So, we're sorry if anyone's upset that we didn't visit, but their just was absolutely no time at all.  We promise next time we come down we'll visit with folks!  

While at mom's house, she showed me some letters that my father wrote.  He was always a prolific letter writer.  He LOVED to write!  Must be where I get it from!  It always makes me sad that he passed away the morning Aaron left for basic training.  I know dad would have written tons of letters to him.   

Anyway, I took pictures of the letters so I could remember them, and I knew I wanted to share them with all of you.   Mom and dad eloped to Dubuque, Iowa to get married on June 29, 1957.  They were both just 22 year old.  Back then, in Wisconsin, you had to wait between the time applying for a marriage license and actually getting the license.   In Iowa you didn't have to wait.  I believe it was actually fairly common for couples from Wisconsin (and probably other states) to elope to Iowa.  

In August, 1957, mom and dad were planning on moving to Chicago.  Dad went first so he could find work with Chicago Bridge & Iron.  Mom stayed with dad's parents up here in Wausau, Wisconsin while dad was in Chicago. Mom said that dad was there by himself for about a week before she joined him.  

Here's the first letter: 

                                                                                                      August 16, 1957 
                                                                                                      Chi-Town

Hello Darling, 

Well I never was one to say I told you so, but I did it.  I got the job with the Chicago Bridge but I won't start until the 20th.  The reason for that is I can't take my physical until then and then it will be night work for awhile but that don't bother me too much.  I will just have to get used to it.   The bad part of it is the starting pay is only $2.05 per hour.  I am going to look around at some of the tunnel jobs to see if they have any openings before I take this job.  

I think I would really like the work though.  They want to start me out operating an overhead crane.  It isn't a hard job and it could lead to something a lot better.  I will see what they have to say on the tunnel jobs first.  

The personal office at the plant sent me to a place where I could get a room and I almost fell over when I saw the place.  It's in a real ritzy neighborhood in a beautiful house owned by a crackpot dentist and his wife.  They are an elderly couple but they are really trying to be nice.  The old gal must be lonely because she is talking my head off.   

I have a room of my own with a bath and shower right next to it.  She said I could watch T.V. any time I wanted to and if I get hungry I should go down and brew myself some coffee.  She isn't charging too much either.  It's costing me $10 a week.  For the place I got it is worth it.   

Tomorrow I am going to a couple filling stations in the neighborhood to try for a part time job.  I'm quite sure I will get one.   

Gee honey I sure do miss you.  I couldn't even get to sleep last night thinking about you.  I kept reaching over to touch you and you weren't there.  I almost felt like crying I was so lonely.  The only thing I have to console myself with is my ring and the fact that our next meeting is two days closer.  Please write as soon as you get this letter.  I'm dying to hear from you.  And don't forget, write air mail.  Bye for now Little Darling.  I love you. 

                                                                                 Johnny 


If that doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you just don't have a heart.     Here's the next letter: 


                                                                                                  August 17, 1957 
                                                                                                  Chi-Town 

Hello Darling, 

Well I wasn't able to get much done today being that it was Saturday and I suppose tomorrow will be the same way.  I slept late this morning, later than what I wanted to in fact, so that helped to hamper things. 

I did get the names of a bunch of contractors out of the phone book but was unable to get a hold of them.  It seems no one works around here on a Saturday.  

I located a Catholic church not to far from here and a halfway decent restaurant.  The only trouble is they can't seem to get it through their heads that I can eat a lot more than they want to serve.  On three meals a day a person can starve to death around here.  Honey I swear I will never complain about your cooking no matter how bad it may be so long as there is enough of it.  I will even let you quote me on that, and I bet you will too.  Don't take me too serious now.  I may just have to eat those words yet.  

You know I can say with a straight face that I have not had a beer since I left Wausau except for two I had this afternoon.  I wouldn't have had them except that I got lost and had to stop and ask directions so I cooled my temper in a bar.  By the way you can tell ma I got a chance to visit with Val Stankiewicz, Roman and John's brother.  I got there about five and stayed to almost nine so I was able to get a free meal out of it anyway.  Everyone there is well and send their regards. 

I sure wish you were here with me, then I wouldn't have to write these damn letters.  Don't get me wrong now I love you very much and wish you could be with me all the time no matter what happens.  It's taken me an hour to write this much.  Think of all the enjoyment we could have had together in this hour. 

I think I will close for now honey.  I'm going to hit the sack and dream of you.  Bye until tomorrow Little Darling.  I love you and miss you very much.  

                                                                                All my love, 

                                                                                 Johnny     xxx


Just the sweetest letters!  I guess I never knew this side of my parents!   Here is dad's last letter: 

                                                                                                 August 18, 1957 
                                                                                                 Chi-Town 

As far as I can see this started off to be just one more Sunday in a million except for one thing and that was you were here with me much as I would have liked to have had you.   

I am going to get right down to business right away because it is late and I am dead tired. 

I met this old army buddie of mine today and him and his wife have been giving me quite a few pointers on finding a decent apartment, such as neighborhood and the like.   

They have a real nice place themselves but they have all their own furniture and it is still costing them over $60 a month so I don't really know what to expect just yet but don't worry, the kid has a few angles left yet.  They are going to ask around and see if they can find a nice place for us.  He gets around quite a bit and she works at the N.Y.C.railroad so they might be able to find something.  I am going to check a few places that were advertised in the paper and see what they have to offer.  Wish me luck honey I may need it.  

Like I said before it is late and I am bushed so bye for now and remember, I love you. 

                                                                                       Johnny 

I'm sorry to say that's the last  letter.  I really would have loved to read more letters, but I'm pretty sure mom went to meet him shortly after this letter and that's why there's not more.  I'll have to check with mom. 

There's not much more to write, as things are going well around here right now, so that's a good thing!  

Blessings to all! 

Julie 

Officially Empty Nesters! Oh, and Turkeys are Jerks!

I am not old enough to have my baby turning 20 years old tomorow!   I'm not old enough to have a 26 year old, either!  And before I get hollered at for not mentioning my poor, neglected, misunderstood middle child, I'm not old enough for her to be 23!  So, there you go!   I'd like to think of it as my amazing children growing up, rather than me growing old.  Ha!   So, Abby made plans, I think in late June or early July, to be moving out.  I think she thought we weren't going to "let her."  But as she's over 18, we didn't have much of a choice.  She had all the plans with her friends made and seemed to have thought of just about everything.  What could we do but advise her and help as best we could.  She has a great head on her shoulders and has always been very good with money, so I don't think we have much to worry about.   Now that Abby has moved out, though, we are officially empty nesters!   First time in 26 years that we are all alone in our house on a daily basis!  While it's odd to not have any of the kids around, it's also kind of nice!   At least for now, Greg and I are enjoying being all alone and not having to worry about closing doors or being quiet!  Ha, ha, ha!  

On another note, Greg had his last chemo this past week!  YIPPEEE!!!!  His "travel pack" of chemo emptied for the last time on Saturday.  I must say, he really hated that thing!  I can't even imagne.  I hated it and it wasn't even connected to me!   Just imagine having to have a "fanny pack" attached to you 24/7 via a long tube connected to your arm.  You certainly don't want to accidentally get it caught on something, or that's going to rip right out of your arm.  It makes my stomach tumble just to think about it.    His oncologist gave him the option of having his PICC line removed, but he decided it was better to keep it a while yet, as there's still going to be blood tests and scans, etc., and it's much easier to use the PICC line than to have to have an IV stuck in his ("very tough") skin, and veins that are probably in even worse shape with more chemo and radiation over the last three months.   It's not too big of a deal to have the PICC line, as there's nothing we need to do for it, except wrap his arm in plastic wrap (and vet wrap) when he takes a shower.  Not a big deal at all in the scheme of things.  

He's had a hard time with chemo during this most recent cancer attack, but he's still handling it better than I ever would!  He tries to do as much as he can around the house, but after 15 minutes of mild exertion, he needs to sit and rest for a bit.  He just doesn't have the energy or stamina he's had in the past, which is completely understandable.  The other issue he has with this chemo is mouth sores.  They've reared their ugly head again.  He has his "magic mouthwash" but it doesn't completely cure the issue.   I feel bad for him, because he really wants to be able to do more, and it really bothers him to see me working full-time and then doing so much around the house.  Most of the time I don't mind it, but like every other human on this planet, I occasionally have my melt-downs.  It happens.   

One of the things that normally helps to keep me calm are the chickens (and geese and ducks).   A couple months ago, when we added four chicks to our flock, we also added two turkeys!   I don't recall the breed, but they look like wild turkeys.  

They're very cool looking and are fairly friendly.  The only problem is that they don't want to go into their coop at night!  For about 1-1/2 weeks I've had to grab them off a low tree branch and put them into the coop when we go to close them up at night (usually around 9 p.m.).  That wasn't so bad, except when our neighbor had to do it for me when I had to take Greg to the ER!  Poor Jessica!   She wasn't exactly thrilled about having to do that!

If that wasn't bad enough, the last two nights, the stupid things have flown up on top of the chicken coop when it was time for bed!  Seriously?  What's up with THAT?  The first night, (Saturday), I was able to grab one and then had to get up on a ladder and literally push the other off the coop with a push broom!   So, we got them safely in bed Saturday night.  

Wouldn't you know it, once again, last night, the stupid things were on top of the coop again!  I happened to be watching out the patio door and saw how they did it.  They jumped onto the little coop, onto the window sill (the window was open), and then up onto the coop!  Oh, geeze!  So, last night, I was again able to grab one, who managed to scratch my arm pretty good with his claws.   It started to welt right away like I do when the cats scratch me, and was bleeding slightly.  But I had more important things to do than worry about the scratch, and that was to get the other stupid turkey off the roof of the coop!  Greg came out to help me.  I was on the ground this time, with the push broom, trying to get the stupid thing to fly off the roof.  He finally did, and we were able to coax him into the big coop.  This was the first time that everyone was in the big coop overnight!  I was a little concerned, but they needed to figure out their "pecking order" and who sleeps where at some point.  

I let them out early this morning, because I was concerned about how they fared overnight.  The baby chicks are getting bigger, but they're still quite a bit smaller than the full grown chickens, so I was more worried about them than anything.  Everyone was just fine this morning, so I'm really hoping that the turkeys will just go into the big coop without me having to chase them off any roofs!  If this keeps happening, we are going to have to clip their wings sooner than we anticipated.    As for my scratch, I washed it well when we were done, but it still itched (again, the way it does when a cat scratches me), and it was still welted.  I slathered it with some triple antibiotic ointment and that seemed to help.  It was a little red this morning, but it hardly hurts at all now.  So all is well.    If anyone has suggestions for names for these two jerks, I'm all ears!  We don't know if they're male or female, and they look so much alike that we'll probably never know who is who, but still, they need names!     

Just for fun, here's a few more pics of our flock.  These are our Guineas.  The bigger one in the back is the male we got two years ago.  He had four mates, but they became casualty's of the highway (Guineas like to roam, and aren't quite smart enough to look for traffic).  The one in front we got when we got the turkeys and chicks.  We didn't know if she was female or not, but took a chance.  We got lucky (and so does the guinea! ha, ha) in that she's a hen, and he's not as much of a jerk as he was when he was all alone.   They are always together.   Oh, the Guineas need names, too!   Any thoughts on that are welcome, too!

The geese and ducks and a couple of the chickens just hanging out.   

And one more of George (our Naked Neck Rooster) and a couple of hens wandering about the yard.  

Hoping bedtime goes smoothly tonight!  

Blessings to all!