Welcoming family.

This last week has been interesting and nice. Carol went for his appointment and they decided that he could not have chemo because of the shingles. The Doctor changed the pain medicine because the 1st one made him sick. Carol went to get his MRI Friday afternoon and decided that he didn't like it one bit. His face was just an inch below the ceiling. Very noisy and warm. It took 45 min. for the procedure and 4 people to help him up. Monday he will have another catscan. Thurs. he has another Dr.'s appointment. We will have to see then if he will get chemo. The shingles have almost cleared up, they have formed scabs and no more have popped up.

We were blessed with a visit from my nephew from California. He was only going to stay over night then going back to Cal. We had to leave him while we went to get the MRI, but he knew that and used the time for laundry and reading. We had a nice supper, and a great visit. He is a super collector of O.T.Frasch postcards that Sarah, Adam and I also collect. O. T. Frasch was my grandfather and we all are trying to make sure we keep them in the family if possible.

David has been asked to write a book about him, and may, if he has the time.

David had his copies on his laptop and I made a huge list of further cards I would like to have eventually. Bless his heart, he also put my cards in order!

Saturday I made a Texas BBQ for lunch. Carol and Becky were invited to come too. However, they had forgotten! They had a big breakfast just and hour earlier. They still sat down and did justice to the food and Becky did the dishes for me. She redeemed them from punishment......lol.

David had to leave just about 2 pm and I really hated to see him go. He resembles my Brother so much and it was a treat to see him again. He had visited over 10 years ago.

Today we are being lazy...........

Oh NO not another one!!!!

Well, we have a new disease to talk about!!! This weekend Hubby got a slight rash,which really was painful. It started off with just small raised bumps, to blisters. Over the weekend it became worse, and spread to the chest, the original was in the back. So, back to the VA. Glad we went since the Dr. recognized it right away as Shingles. I thought that it was like a poison Ivy or oak. Which really wasn't possible because Hubby has been pretty well contained to the house because of his back. So we have something else to worry about. Congrats to Hubby for finding out something else...................He was given some anti viral meds to help control it and pain pills.
Best part is, since we were already out and about, we stopped to visit Taryn and the new baby, Lily. First time I had held her and me without a camera! She is so beautiful, and obviously growing. Already at 7# 8oz. Lots of hair too. Hannah was home due to a stomach ache that happened Saturday. Her Grandma had taken her to the foot ball game Friday, and probably had too much concession stand food. I got to see her report cards, which were outstanding.

Home bound hubby chit chat..................

The last two weeks we have been blessed by wonderful kids that have gone out of their way to be of help to us.
Last week, Adam drove down from Ft. Worth to take some things back to Sarah. Well, it turned out that he needn't have done it. Sarah has a washer and dryer here that had been given to her. It was taking up a huge space in the garage, I didn't tell her that Adam was coming down, and when she found out, Told Adam, please don't bring them right now. So it wound up being a nice visit, but all he took back was a table and chairs for him. I fed him good though, fried rainbow trout and the goodies to go with it.
Last night, Carol and Becky came over to offer lawn mowing services. Bless his heart, he was still feeling the effects of the crud but was more than willing to help. (Hubby is still hobbling around with a cane) Sarah and Cipriano had already planned to come down to they were going to do the lawns and the trimming. They got here a little bit before 10AM and by 11:30 were finished! Cipriano even did some badly needed edging in the back flower beds. Poor hubby had a nervous breakdown! He just isn't comfortable watching some one doing his job, but he got over it. I think I know what he was going through, I would just hate having to watch some one clean my house.lol
I made some beans, BBQ'd spare ribs, deviled eggs, guacamole and chips. This meal ( if i can brag a little) was most excellent! We had 2 cakes for the birthday girl. A tres leches cake, and a cherry cheese cake.
Happy birthday to my little girl!! She will be 27 next week. She even took a part time job starting this week, working for Linen's and Things. It will be about 20 hours a week, and she is looking forward to it. With her full time job and Cipriano's job they do nicely but they have dreams of more so she is working to help fulfill that dream. More power to her!
My daughter-in- law Joan called to let us know that her eldest daughter Kelly is officially engaged to her long time boyfriend. I wish both of them well. No long term plans as yet, both are attending college. Kelly is so pretty, Blake just wanted to make is mark........lol Congrats.!
We had a very scary day or two about our brave Gr. Grandson Jerrett. He was in a lot of pain and it took exploritory surgery to rule out appendix, but the Dr.s felt it was probably a viral problem. He is home now and many Prayers were with him guiding back home.

More Hubby update

OK, we went to the ortho Dr. Who sent us down for more x-rays. Up and down the hallway! The xray's were negative, I am very glad to say. She said his pain was from the back, not the hip. Totally different area, the back can cause a radial pain easily.She asked about a walker or a cane, we decided a cane would help and she talked to the Oncology Dr. who wanted a lab done and to see the Dr. after the labs were done. So, more hallways and 2 elevators later we were at the Oncology clinic. They cancelled next weeks chemo but ordered an MRI and a catscan. The MRI is supposed to be next week or 2. Took him off one of the new meds, and ordered another month of the other. All labs were good tho. Went to the basement to get the cane and of course it was already closed, but we have an appt. to get one tomorrow. Another trip. The Dr. didn't listen and ordered a walker so that will be interesting.....any thing to get him back to walking comfortably is fine. All sounds confusing but the Dr's are very good and want to make sure that all is going fine for him. It's a hassle but I do like the attention they give to all the in's and outs of hubby's health.

Hubby update

Yesterday was hubby's regular Oncology Dr. appt. Sunday he woke up with a pain deep in his hip. It traveled down to the ankle. It was so bad that he could barely walk, enough to go to the bathroom and thats all. By Tuesday he was in great pain. We got a wheelchair at the hospital and cancelled the reg. Oncology appt. and went to the walk in clinic. He got an x-ray which showed no damage and several prescriptions for inflamation and pain. Neither helped. Today we got a call from the Orthopedic Dr. to come in this afternoon to see if they can help. Hubby said YES, (an ususual statement from him) so we will go back at 1PM to see if they can do anything. The walk-in Dr. had called about an ortho consult so they had his name. She did get him an appt. with his regular Dr. next week. But, fortunatly, the Ortho people decided that they would see him after all. At least perhaps he can get a cane to support him. I will let you know later what happened.

New(for me) product review

Last week or two ago I tried for the 1st time the Ziplock steamer bags for the microwave. They are fantastic. Since I usually cook for just 2, any thing that cuts down on the pots and pans is my hero. Corn on the cob is my most favorite. 4 minutes, along with a pat or two of butter and it's perfection. So I went for even more. New red potatoes were next. 7 min. and done! No 30 min. cooking for me. So after going to the grocery store for more goodies to try, I cooked all the meal in the microwave, corn on the cob, broccoli, and cajun style tilapia. All easy to do and NO pans to clean. The tilapia was coated with a quick spray of olive oil and sprinkled with blackened spice. 3 min. and absolutly delicious. Broccoli the same, a shake of salt, a pat of butter and voila! If you haven't tried the ziplock bags, I urge you to. I just found the glad steamer bags and will try them the next time. One thing, the ziplock has a big variety of times to steam, the glad has pictures and french names...............I shall have to figure this one out. Both have recipes but zip lock has quite a bit more. The ziplock bags lay flat while in the microwave while the glad bags are designed to stand up right. I will definatly use these bags often, especially during the hot summer months. Please let me know if you have tried either one and how you feel about them