life changes

It has been an interesting week. I have all the equipment that I shall need when my chf advances to end stage. I'm not sure, but it is probably already at that point. I have my oxygen and it has helped me sleep much better, which surprised me since it is only at 2 liters. My hospital bed is taking some getting use to as I have had a queen-sized bed to myself for 20 years, and now I have cute little motorchair, a "jazzy" which I also must adjust to; it has a lot of power and wants to run "fast". Also, I have ordered an overbed table to keep the things I need close by.

I don't want my room to look like a "sick room", and I don't think that it does. I could use a larger screen tv, but nobody has everything.

Our weather has been perfect, highs in the low 80s or near 80. lows in the mid to lower 40s. No rain in sight! Really nice breezes and if our leaves had turned, they would be blowing everywhere; but, they are still nice and green and clinging to the trees.

I talked to my son today, and he is coming to visit me for my birthday, which is November 6th. I will be 76 years, lol. Don't know where all those years went, that's for sure. He plans to stay in Tucson with his new family over the holidays and that is fine with me, it is where he needs to be. We are going to keep our holidays as usual with less decorating for Christmas. I enjoy the holiday spirit but we don't need all the work.

We have our three dogs and now two kitties, so we really do have a family here. They all depend on me and floyd making a home for them, and we do so gladly.:) Time for bed, wishing everyone a happy Fall :)

Geography

One of the things I love about living in the SW Desert, is the fact that you can see for miles. Also, the very land you walk on has remained the same for thousands of years. The Apaches lived here and made very small footprints on the land, living in those little wicciups that they made out of desert scrap. They hunted for their food and ate cactus as a vegetable and for medicine. When you walk across this desert, you can easily imagine the Apaches walking in the same places, nothing has changed. The Desert is living history.

Iknow the advantages of living in the midwest, south and west. I have never lived east of east texas so I only know about how that looked to me when on vacation. The far west has the best weather over-all, but it is not nearly perfect. Some people think our weather is perfect. I probably would agree with this if I was younger and had better circulation. For now, the winter nights are just so cold to me. The south is great if you can handle the humidity and the bugs, especially the mosquitos and the giant roaches! The midwest has long cold winters, hot humid summers, and not for me. The best thing about the midwest, is the four distinct seasons.

I am glad that we settled in this part of the country. Deming is nice little town, good for old retired folks since this town has many opportunities and facilities for senior citizens. Deming is not a vacation destination. Most of our families live on the west coast and the 680 mile drive appears very difficult for them. Before we made the move from San Bernardino, Ca., we would drive to Deming approx. 4 times a year. We would have breakfast at Dennys in San Bernardino, drive all day, stopping for lunch and potty breaks for our little doggies, and arriving at dinner time. Slow, easy drive. Our families seem to find this a very difficult drive and to us, it was just an adventure.:)

Lovely Weather

Fall is definitely in the air, even though the temps don't truly reflect this. It is 85 today but partly cloudy with breeze gusts so when one is in the shade, the temp feels just wonderful. Our kitties love being on our front porch which is screened in. They watch the birds and anything else that moves.

I've been trying to call our fiend David's home for a week now, with no answers. He must be either in a hospital or staying with family. Nobody answers the phone at his house. We hope that he is comfortable. I am so glad that I have been lucky enough to have the time to plan out my end of life. I am slowly but surely arranging my life so that I will be comfortable without being too much of a burden on family. I am getting a power wheelchair so that I can navigate from room to room without someone hanging on to me, lol. I am going to order a hospital bed so that it will help me position myself for comfort when I need it and I guess I will get oxygen delivered next week after a pulmonary eval. I have a tv within reach of my bed and next thing I am going to do is clean out my closet and get rid of a lot of old clothes that I never wear and stock up on some comfort clothes suitable for in home and resting. David's illness hit him so fast, that he didn't have time to think of anything. I may be around for a couple of years, but I feel the need to take care of business. I feel lucky to have most of my wits about me,and I want to take care of stuff while I am able.

About my funeral, well, the family and the mortuary can figure it out, nothing religious for sure but since I don't really believe in funerals, they can all just keep it simple as possible.

Fall weather

Today and tomorrow we are to have thunderstorms. There are high clouds over our area now but still sunshine. Only a few more days until Fall is here officially. I think most of our nation enjoys the seasons of Spring and Fall the best. I am happy that we don't change our time back until November, keeps the days from being soooo short. After Fall, we need to go to Australia to begin the cycle all over again and skip winter entirely. The truth of the matter is; time goes so quickly for us that it really doesn't make any difference. Last Christmas Floyd said to me "why take everything down and put it away, before we know it, it will be Christmas again?" It sure seems like that. I lose track of time and what seems like a couple of years ago always turns out to be more like 8 or 9 years ago. Time is elusive for old folks.

Actually, I have no complaints. I finally did the P.T. eval. Found out that my arms, hips and back are "weak". Oh well. After my birthday in November, I won't be that far from 80 and how strong are most 80 year olds anyway?? We went to see our long time friend David a couple of weeks ago and it is heartbreaking to see how he has deteriorated. He has lost so much weight although he is still alert. We haven't gone back because he has some family staying with him and he is so heavily medicated, that he drifts in and out. I could see it took all of his energy to try to maintain a conversation. I just wanted him to know that we had not forgotten him. We keep losing our friends, which is a problem with oldsters.

Nothing new happening here, which is the good news, lol. Talk with you all later.

Lazy, crazy, days of summer!

Peppers and Garlic, lol. Those of you who remember my recipe blog will remember this little graphic. Summertme down here is pretty well represented by peppers, garlic, onions, etc.

We have been fortunate to have had guests from California. We love all the kids, but you know, the mindset of our California kids is very different from ours being Senior Citizens living in the Desert. For one thing, when we go out to eat, they TIP more. They call waiters and waitresses SERVERS, and they think nothing of TATS, that is INK in Calfornia talk.LOL Oh well, that doesn't really matter, just things that we noted. When Phyl was here, we took her to Adobe Deli for a Sunday lunch. We were very disappointed in that place. I think it was dirty, but it was too dark to really tell. There was one waitress (server), who did a great job, but she really needed help. The bar was not open and no background music, plus I thought children were not allowed when a full menu was served, but there were some there. We never see kids in "sit-down" restaurants, they generally go to the local "fast-food" places. The food was ok, limited menu but large portions. We do not plan to go back.

Floyd's daughter Deborah, her daugher and her daughter came to visit fo three days. We enjoyed their company and I enjoyed having the girls to talk with. Floyd went to Rockhound Park with them and found some more rocks. We have a rock collection and I don't mean music. It has been nine years since we last saw these folk, and their lives have really changed a great deal. Ours have been pretty much the same except for us getting older, I think they were a little taken back by that. Well, time marches on.

I will say that Facebook gives us a way to keep in touch so that we are aware of what is going on in the family without actually being there. With technology being what it is, I think more and more families will visit electronically. Take the new Cisco Technology for instance, I think this is great and wonder when it will be available for individuals.

At any rate, the kids all seem to be well and taking care of business as they should. My son Stewart will be here on Sept. 3rd over Labor Day and he visits often enough that we know what is happening there. All appears good for him and that is great. He has had a tough couple of years. Anyway, I am so looking forward to visiting with him. We understand each other very well, lol so it is a comfortable visit. No divided loyalties with him. This coming weekend is the GADR and Deming does a great job with the Duck Races. This 4 day celebration had evolved in a very fun and happy happening here in town. Lots of vendors, entertainment, food, rodeo,carnival and everyting you would expect from a true celebration..and, don't forget the Parade! :)

Comings and Goings

My daughter Phyllis came from California for a visit. It was great to be able to talk with her. She has a very busy life and works very hard. It is tiring just thinking about it. She bought me a new camera which I needed.:-)Now Floyd's daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter are coming for a few days. Four generations right there, gotta get a photo!:) It has been a long time since Floyd has seen his oldest daughter, like 9 years!

I use to do a lot of cooking for guests, but nowadays, I just do a minimal amount of cooking. I am making a blueberry cheesecake and a large pan of green chile enchiladas (chicken), then I can fix some hot wings and potato salad for another meal. That's about it, ...then we go out to eat, lol. I actually enjoy cooking, but my health precludes me from spending much time on my feet.

I just can't believe that school begins this month and that next month is September...FALL, yikes! Seems as if summer just arrived. I mean this getting old stuff is getting old!

Guest all gone :(

Daughter Phyllis left this morning for home. We really enjoyed her visit. She bought me a super nice camera. I am all thumbs with new technology, but I promise to figure it out and post some pictures of Kitty. I never had learning problems before, but my brain just doesn't work right these days. Too many times when it was deprived of oxygen:( This week Carlos is supposed to come over and measure me for a scooter. My gait is just unsteady and who knows why! I turn in the paperwork tomorrow, pick up my meds and then we are going by David's house to see how he is doing. He was expecting news about possible back surgery when the doc told him that he has terminal lung cancer. I feel so badly for him. He went from taking zero pills to the realization that he is dying. Well, like I told him, "we are all terminal from the day we are born". I need to take him something tasty to eat because he has no appetite and is losing weight rapidly. Be grateful for your good health.