Thursday, December 31, 2009

Waiting on the New Year!

We are taking it pretty low-key around these parts for New Years Eve. We both don't like getting out on the roads when it's snowy and icy... and tonite, there is both snow and ice falling from the sky! Life in our little town takes on quite a flavor at this time of year... we really don't need to do much more than step out the door to enjoy fireworks, and we can hear the music from the live band playing at the mexican restaurant down on the corner of Main Street.

We both have reflected on how 2009 has gone... it's been a stress-filled year... but also a year with a lot of joy and fun. Going to the Amish Markets and yard sales has been a blast, enjoying the simple things in life as much as time allows! It's been a challenge as well, with health issues and my knee replacement. We still love where we live, and in spite of the snow and cold... I can't wait for Spring to arrive so that I can get all my flower pots filled and start living outside on the patio again!

We do have a few goals for 2010... (not resolutions... we don't do those!) We want to focus on getting my knee rehabbed so that I can walk and ride bikes. We are planning on buying a new bed...a bigger one for when I have my other knee done! We also want to take a little time off and maybe go on a trip somewhere... NC maybe? And of course... I want my HWM (hard-working man) to go fishing... with the new reel that I got him for Christmas. We also need to get Nolli to the vet and address his health as well. And... maybe... just maybe... I'd like to go back to work.

I guess what's most important about all of this is... that we continue to focus on what God wants for our lives and being willing to listen and follow his will. We want to continue to focus on being a family and loving each other each day, inspite of all the silly things that can drive us crazy... (like leaving lights on or my forgetting to do something!) We both love the Simple Things In Life... and we are Grateful and Happy that we have what we have!

Happy 2010 to you and yours... May God richly bless you... and Thanks for reading!
~Suzanne

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Winding Down

This Christmas weekend is finally over... we've been in wind-down mode for 2 days now. We've been busy with housekeeping, and doing some winterization while the temps are still good. My Dear HWM (hard working man) has been busy getting plastic up over the windows... in between hanging a new light fixture in the dining room... and working on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle in that room! Having light to see in that area is more than wonderful!

We also had a little field trip to Lowes yesterday morning... to get all the things HWM would need to get that light fixture put up. We took Pumpkin with us... as we are trying to socialize her a little more. Every trip she takes... she shivers and trembles so badly... until she realizes that she's safe and will be going home with us. She was quite a show-stopper at the store yesterday. It would crack me up when we would walk by men who were there getting supplies and they would turn into big softies with huge smiles when they would spot Punky! She did really well at the end when she got to get into her Daddy's arms while Mommy signed the credit card screen. She was the same color of the work shirt he was wearing... all you could see was 2 eyes and a shiny shoe button nose! I'll be taking Nolli dog on a field trip there soon... he loves going to Lowes... and has since he was a puppy and Mommy worked there.

We went to church today... we greeted by our friends with warm hugs and kisses and sat with them during the service. Church service was a short reprise of the Christmas Eve-Eve service... so it was actually a quite short service today. We ran up the hill to Wendy's for lunch. After... we came home and got started on the "never-ending" laundry pile and actually got a lot of that done... or shall I say HWM did. I still cannot go down to the basement... it's just too much for me.
But I did get a lot of folding done! That's what we've been up to for the last 2 days... just hanging around the house, getting things done and put back in order!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

Thursday, December 24, 2009

I am Finished and Ready!

We are all ready for the holiday... I've baked a little, made some candy, have all the items ready for our holiday dinner and all the gifts are wrapped. We've gone to the church Christmas program and we've even done a little visiting already. Nolli and Punky went with me to see Miss Alice at the flower shop and bring her some homemade goodies.

We have plans to meet up with 2 other couples tomorrow for dinner... we're going to the diner down in town! I went to the bank already to get cash so we can leave a nice holiday tip for our server. We're suppose to have some snow and freezing rain tomorrow and I am hoping that it passes before we have to leave for the diner!

I went to physical therapy today... and took Punky with me... she got to go in! She was really very good and sat on my chest while I worked on my knee. I hear that I will more than likely graduate next week... which really means that I will have to continue to work out at home. I am seriously thinking that I will have to "push back" my other surgery date. I don't think I am going to be ready... it's just barely 8 weeks away.

What I really wanted to post is... I wish you all a Wonderful and Warm Holiday! Merry Christmas... Thank you for reading my little blog! I hope you have rich blessings in the coming New Year as well!

~Suzanne

Monday, December 21, 2009

His Eye Had It!

The past few days here have been more than a little chaotic. It doesn't involve Christmas shopping, because I managed to get that out of the way along with getting the cards and packages mailed.

Let's start with... DH having to work down in Philly all of last week. Which means early mornings and long days. We made it through the first 3 days with overtime hours thrown in to the mix as well. Last Friday, DH was suppose to bring me something "special" for dinner, but it didn't happen due to overtime and having to be at the office for an extended amount of time, that he didn't get home until 9pm. That brings me back to Thursday of this past week. DH was going to be getting home at a "reasonable time" and I asked that he stop at "that special place" and pick up dinner. He was more than happy to do so!

So... he stops... he gets that "special take-out" for our dinner. Then he has to stop for gas... and goes inside to wash his face and clean up a little bit. He often does this as his job requires him to get quite dirty. He gets home, we have dinner... he shares with me that he feels as tho something is in his eye. I suggest that we use the Opthalmic eye wash solution... he uses it... I also flush his eye while he lies down. He tells me that it's burning and it hurts. I tell him that we are going to the ER.

So... off to the ER we go... and we are seen quite quickly. But... the ER doctor only puts stain in his eye and tells us that it's an abrasion. I looked... it went from one side to the other, just below the center of the eye. OOOOOOWWWWWWW! With that... the doctor does nothing more, doesn't give DH any eye drops, nothing for pain, no antibiotics. Tell us to give it 24 hours. So we do.

That night, DH was in a lot of pain... he took 3 excedrin, 2 tylenol, I gave him a tramadol and also a vicoden. And I even gave him an Ambien to help him sleep. It was a long night for all of us. (I didn't take my Ambien... I was awake all night long.) DH went to work on Friday... and worked a very long day. He had to stop twice on the way home and rest his eyes... he said it felt like something was still in there. We called our family care doctor, who told us to go to the ER if it doesn't let up or get any better. I also called our eye doctor (whom DH saw back in August for his migraines) who was very concerned that the ER doctor hadn't given him any drops or hadn't really done anything for him. We were instructed to go and get Refresh Optiv to help and then see him on Monday.

By Saturday morning, DH said he could feel something in his eye still... so I fixed a quick breakfast and off to the ER we went again. The same ER clerk from Thursday night was there, and so we were seen fairly quickly. We had a different doctor... who listened intently... and actually did a thorough exam using a specific eye scope and told us that DH had a piece of metal in his eye that had rusted in. It was located in his iris. He didn't feel that he could take it out and that we would need to see an eye specialist. Luckily, I had that phone number in my cell phone and the doctor called him. We had a 3 o'clock appointment with him in his office in Wilkes-Barre. So... off to Wilkes-Barre we went. We had about 3 hours to wait. So we had lunch at Red Robin. We shopped a little bit... and then we went to the office and waited.

At 2:45, the office manager showed up and let us in. At about 3:10, the eye surgeon showed up... took DH back to a room and things got started. It was very quick, but very thorough. He got the metal out... checked and went back in to get the rest of the rust out of his eye. I was in there while the eye surgeon checked his vision... and it seems that there should be no issues with that! Needless to say... we are very grateful that he came to help DH.

In the midst of all of this... it's been snowing... and I have to do all the driving. It was exhausting for me to keep going and going... doing all the calls, and then driving and running around and then driving home in the snow storm. We came home to a few inches in the driveway and then a few more added on top after that. DH woke up on Sunday, feeling much better.

I, on the other hand... often have a delayed stress reaction. And I did... I felt pretty much like I had been through the wringer. In between all of this going on, I had been doing all the grocery shopping... and I'm talking a major grocery shopping, both on Thursday and again on Friday. And to top it off... because I was so tired, both on Friday and Saturday, I forgot to also take any of my medications. I learned the hard way that I cannot skip taking medications anymore. (I used to get away with that all the time!) I started to put myself into congestive heart failure... that wonderful drowning feeling, with a constant cough and fatigue. I took my medicine around 11:30pm on Saturday night, sitting up to breathe and let it start to work. I took my dose for Sunday at around 6pm and today I will take it around noon. Then tomorrow I will be back on schedule. I am starting to feel much better this morning... but I am still gonna lay low today.

Oh... and in the midst of all the snow clean up yesterday... we called our landlord 3 times about not having our driveway plowed. The crew finally showed up at 3 o'clock (good thing I wasn't going to go to church!) and proceeded to start clearing the driveway, only to go too far off the pavement and get stuck in our yard! They ended up leaving a huge 12 inch ditch in two places after having to be towed out! It's small town living at it's finest!

There you have it... the scoop on what's going on! Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I'm actually READY!

For the first time in years and years... I am ready for Christmas! I did cut out a lot of stuff on my list of things to do... and it feels great! We decided to only give gifts to a certain few this year not only as a cost cutting measure, but also because the gifts are never acknowledged nor reciprocated.
Also because of my knee... this year I've kept the decorating to a minimum this year. It was great fun last year when it was our first Christmas together and DH was working more locally and home more. I didn't want to burden him with anything extra right now while he's traveling so much and working such long hours. We did a new small 3 ft tree this year, and love how it turned out. As far as adding any decorations to the rest of the house... I only got out a few snowmen and placed them around the living room and office area. Not going to bother with doing up the whole place, laying out greens, changing all the linens... too much work!

I went out today to the post office... and mailed out packages and our Christmas cards. It was great to get them sent... and much less expensive than last year! Last year I sent things via UPS and it was $45 just to send one package and it still got there late. So... I was determined not to do that again. The post office was much less money! I do have a couple of things I still want to get for DH... but as a whole, I'm done with the shopping! As far as for the dogs... I can't really think of anything to get Nolli this year... he has a huge basket of toys he doesn't really play with anymore. Punky, on the other hand... I've found so much for her but have only spent a little bit so I don't go overboard. (After all... Punky really has nothing compared to my spoiled dog, Nolli!)

I've also decided that I'm not going to do a huge ham for dinner this year, but get something small so we don't get "hammed out"! We are going out for lunch on Christmas Day anyway... so I don't need to do very much. ( again!) We have a regional Christmas Party on Saturday... and if it doesn't snow too much, we will go. I'm not really dressing up, but I did purchase a dark red top to wear with my favorite plaid jacket... so I will be comfortable!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Feeling A Bit Better...

After my last post... which was a HUGE Rant! I woke up grumpy... and made myself go to Wilkes-Barre early this morning. DH decided that he would go with me... it really made my errands much easier having him do the driving. And... I finally relaxed and quit busting his chops about his job situation. (It's not like he did what he did on purpose... I'm just tired of being neglected on Friday nights!)

We even had breakfast out while we were there... our usual stand-by of Cracker Barrel. We proceeded to check out a "new" (opened in September) Lord and Taylor Clearance Outlet. It was fun... it was a little freaky to see some of the prices on things... like $400 for a lined bubble vest???? But after looking through the racks, I found a great printed cardigan and a couple of summer tanks... and we spent $21! How fun is that?

We also went to Dundee Gardens, a great nursery in Hanover Township. I wish I had remembered my camera as the Poinsettias were just beautiful in the greenhouse. We looked at all of their trees, both decorated and fresh, and even the fake ones. I managed to find my one snowman of the year. (I have a collection and I limit myself to one a year so I don't go too overboard.) This time I ended up getting a 'snowlady" with a red velvet hat and fur coat. She's very charming and I'm excited to own her! After all the errands and shopping, I am quite tired this afternoon. We came home and we crashed in front of the tv for a little bit and now we are starting laundry and maybe even baking some cookies. (Cookies always make me feel better!)

Thanks for reading... (Sorry about my "rant" post!) ~be blessed!
~Suzanne

Monday, December 7, 2009

Missing Him...

My Wonderful DH has gone out of town again. I think this has been his 3rd or 4th week of travel. It was only suppose to be for 3 days. He called me around 10 am and said he'd been extended 1 extra day. It's only the first day on the road for him... I miss him so much! (We had so much fun this weekend!)

I also had physical therapy today... I hit a real milestone! I actually had weights on my ankle today... that is huge progress for my knee and my issue with my knee cap and muscle groups trying to heal. It was a little tough... but I am excited to go back on Thursday to see if I can add more weight! I am almost off of pain meds all together... I only have to use a small dose of Tramadol at night if I have "overdone it" again... (Not that I have a tendency to do that!... smirk!) My endurance is slowly returning... I did take a short nap today for 25 minutes... not the usual 1 1/2 hours! I just have to learn how to pace myself!

Did I tell you that we have been extended an invitation for Christmas Day from friends at church? They are getting together with a few other couples for lunch... we are excited about that, and it's an answer to prayer for me. God does want us here, for a reason... altho I'm still not certain of what that reason is yet.

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sweet Sunday Love...

We have had a very hard week here at Sugarloaf Cottage... Punky has still had issues with her tummy and digestive track. I've had a couple of days where she was still sick in her cage. I've had to give additional Imodium AD and the laundry pile was stacking up! (Don't worry... everything got rinsed really good.)

DH returned home to us on Friday evening. We were overjoyed to say the least to have him back home. We have busy the entire time he's been home. I managed to give him 3 home cooked dinners this weekend... but we did go out for breakfast once and had lunch out today after church. (Things ran late due to a Congregational Meeting after service.)

We have been busy getting a small tree decorated... I waited for him to come home so we could do it together. We shopped and did errands... and now we are busy packing for him to go out of town again. We won't know until tomorrow sometime if his trip is going to be 3 days or 5 days.

So... for now... we are snuggled inside, waiting for the spaghetti sauce to finish. (I am being very tolerant of DH watching Sponge Bob... he doesn't get Nickelodeon at his hotel.) We are enjoying the last hours before he has to leave again... I've already cried twice this afternoon about it! That's the latest here... I am due at physical therapy in the morning. Oh... and we got snow... it was suppose to be 2 1/2- 3 inches... but we got more than 5! That was so fun to stay inside together and watch it dump snow for hours and hours!

Thanks for reading... Be blessed!
~Suzanne

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Real Great Day... Not!

I woke up today thinking I would be taking Nolli-dog to the vet... but can't get an appointment until Thursday evening. (That is sorta ok, as he's feeling better today, and DH could go with me.)
Remember the last part of that last sentence.

We had a lazy morning, because p/t kicked my butt again yesterday. I was at it for 1 1/2 hours... with a taped knee! (My knee cap is not tracking, and is up and off center. Taping will help the muscles get stronger to help it track properly.) I had Punky up on the bed with me... and not once but twice caught her doing the "twirl and find your spot dance". The first time, I stopped her at the start of the dance... the second time, she had done her dance and was about to drop a load... on our bed! I gave her a loud "Ah-ah" and off we ran downstairs. We made it in plenty of time.

When I brought the dogs back up, I put her in her crate for safe keeping. I later discovered that it was a very good thing... as she has "tossed the entire contents" of her tummy... at least 3 times. And her little butt... has been a regular stink factory. I finally gave up... and put her crate in the bathroom to clean... and I put her in the bathtub for the time being... easier clean-up.

On top of that... DH called me in the midst of all this mess... he's been re-routed and will be on his way home shortly. He has been put on another "planned maintenance job" down in Bristol... he has to be at the office at 6am and will be gone until Friday! I wasn't prepared to have my husband gone again so soon!

There you have it... the glory and grace of Sugarloaf Cottage at it's finest! I just hope DH has time to run down to the basement for me and get the load of dog bedding and towels washed for me! (I know... I want the moon!)

Thanks for reading... be blessed. (Pray for my little Punky-dog!)
~Suzanne
PS... Punky is still not doing good... I just gave her 1/4 of an imodium ad tablet. I hope it works... she's still camped in the bathtub. (I think DH has the better deal... getting to go out of town!)