Valentine's Day
Who all had a lovely Valentine's Day??? All in all, Ed and I had a nice evening. I know all you snowbirds from the Great White North are used to really, really bone-chilling cold weather, but anything that requires me to wear more clothes than shorts/jeans/leggings and a T-shirt/long-sleeve T/shirt @ MOST is TOO DAMN cold to live through. IMHO. So, after doing our impressions of sloths for the entire day, if sloths hibernated for winter under mounds of bed-covers, Ed crawled out to go scavenge, or rather see about rounding up some dinner for us. Hibernating requires a great deal of fatty calories, you know. Turns out, since it was my Mom's 92nd birthday today (Dad's 92nd was on 02/08/10) , Dad had gone out and gotten bar-b-que for us all for dinner.
And sure, I need to learn to be more grateful; but to ME, BBQ is beef. Maybe pork. Who the heck eats BBQ chicken? Dad picked up a mess of BBQ chicken, plus BBQ ribs. Which put Mom and Ed in HOG Heaven. So, I ate my piece of BBQ chicken, cole slaw, and the meager portion of BBQ beans allotted me. (Dad & Mom with their elderly little tummies forget that there are people in the house with real-sized, adult human appetites that eat real sized food portions (OK, we're pigs, but really? Who really believes a family of 4 can serve everybody out of a meager pint of BBQ beans??? I coulda inhaled that pint all on my own!)) But, at least, there were other goodies to be had. Ed had bought a chocolate cake a few days before, which was yummy; yellow cake w/milk choc. icing and shaved marbled choc on top of it! Yummmmmm! So, there was some of that. Dad had bought Mom some yummy Valentines cookies, and since she eats so little, they were up for grabs too.
But that was only the beginning. OMG, I am SOOOO sugared out! Ed got me this goodie bag for a Valentines Day present. It was packed in a nice little red gift bag with red roses pictured on it; and he got me a lovely card: it was Heart-shaped, and had written on it words like "Always; Still" etc etc... and when opened, it played that song "I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I swear... I'll be there..." so that was sweet! He'd gotten me 3 pairs of these little footies/warm, soft ankle socks that I like to sleep in, and never seem to have enough of. They just pull on (sometimes they have little rubber tread on the bottom) but the best ones, like these he got me yesterday, are softest cotton chenille-like yarn, sometimes almost like thick fluffy terry toweling or something, and are doubled--- the fluffiness on the inside AND the outside...they are soft, and warm, toasty, and are like comfort food, or a blankie for your feet. He got me a black pair, a dark burgandy pair w/black toes & heels, and a very cute pair that were black, with red toes and heels, and sweet little Valentines hearts embroidered on the ankles in red, pink, & white.
In this rose-patterned gift bag he also packed every candy imaginable, including most of my yummy favorite comfort food sins and movie-watching favorites. There were strawberry Twizzlers, cherry "peel-able" Twizzlers (non-blk licorice); candy hearts, chewable Sprees, Skittles, Hershey's milk-chocolate Bliss', a humongous Hershey bar with Almonds (my current top comfort & sin-food fave), Strawberry-Creme red heart-shaped PEEPS (!!! OMFG, I Luvs Peeps, usually seen as li'l marshmallow chickens or bunnies @ Easter-time), and I can't remember what else. Plus he got me the traditional box of chocolate candy (which when offering a piece to mom, she chose THE best piece, right smack-dab outta the middle of the box!!! Of course!)
Ooooh, OWWWW, OMFG do I ever have a belly-ache this a.m.! I think I stupidly tried to eat my way thru it all last night, a valiant effort, but was unsuccessful. I DID however, eat enough to just about make me sick. I don't think I could look at another sweet thing today!
Plus he had actually made an effort to actually pick up most everything off my recent Walmart shopping list, rather than ignore me or "forget" things (ie, 'zone out' after more than three items on a list when he goes to the store). He remembered the white cheddar cheeze nips crackers, the new goose-neck desk lamp I wanted, baby wipes (thicker brand-name, not the generic Walmart brand), hair clips & ponytail scrunchies, eyedrops, several prescriptions to pick up, drink-mix singles, my fave soup (comfort food in a can!), sunflower seeds and raw peanuts (in the shell) to shut up and occupy my loud-mouthed parrots...yep, he actually made an effort this time around.
And, we watched "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" on the laptop while eating & cleaning up last nite in the kitchen. Granted he got a little whiny, at one point, 'cos my laptop kept crashing, or rather firefox did, as it often does, when trying to watch DivX movies. Once I got it playing (actually had to use IE, which I've kinda sorta not been using, cos I've really been liking using the ad-blocker pgns "NoScripts" and "Ad-blocker Plus". They just don't work with IE, It iS nice without all the blinking ads all over your page, taking up memory & using scripts.
So we actually watched a movie together, which was fun, and talked & laughed, shared some goodies... tho' with his diabetes, he limited himself, and *I* limited him to very little. Was more like old times. Mom and Dad for the most part stayed clear of the kitchen, staying in their den loudly watching some religious show on the tube. And he only started whining about going to play in his Warcrack "raid" about 1 a.m... how gracious that these zealots allow us ladies til after midnite or so on Valentine's Day with our guys! But, guess I shouldn't quibble--- he did skip his routine all-day-Sunday's D&D game yesterday; tho' somehow I'd bet that had more to do with Stacy & Dennis wanting some adult-time...tho' Ed did say Stacy felt like she had the flu and didn't wanna make Ed sick.
So, a nice nite. For us boring old folks! I'd thought about asking to borrow the car, but neither of us being keen on being out in the butt-freezing weather (heck, I don't OWN a coat, and have no clue where anything other than a thin unlined jean's blazer is, as jacket s go!), staying in this time worked for the both of us.
Mom had a nice 92nd birthday. Dad got her big red Tulips. He thought they were roses! She was in a pleasant mood (ie, wasn't dripping vitriol with every word) last nite. She keeps the house SO VERY HOT downstairs, I rarely go down there. OMFG, I think she'll break Dad cos of the electric bill! She's running every heater in the house! On high! Several electric heaters, plus the 25,000 BTU window a/c & heat wall/window unit that will warm the whole downstairs half of the house! I can't even BREATHE when down there! Just to stay last night I had to toss open the kitchen window and drink iced tea all night! And still had @ least 4 bouts of hot flashes! But, those alas, come with age, which is finally catching up with me whether I like it or not.
Speaking of: I'm going on the final week or so before THE birthday. On the 24th I turn the Big-5-0. Fifty! I can't comprehend it! I still like to dress out of Torrid! I drool over goth clothes and read "Gothic Beauty" magazine (really!) I read fan-fic, listen to Euro/Symponic Heavy Metal music, wear embroidered jeans, usually have longish hair (tho' did cut it for the first time in 30 yrs this past year!), wear Doc Martins Mary Janes, like cute socks, read comic books (mostly Buffy titles)... I'm not ready too be OLD!!! I don't FEEL FIFTY inside my head!!! Wahhhhh!!!! I guess the next few days will be the deathmarch on the old downhill slide to 50!!!
Gah!
Today, Ed is off to the Hospital & clinic again, probably for most of the day. He had several diagnostic tests scheduled, plus had to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy there for the month. The docs are testing him for things like how good his circulation is in his legs, his 24 hr creatinine levels (for kidney function), and other stuff. I think he was having a CT scan of something, whether it was his legs or his heart, not sure
This is all in prep to see if he will qualify to get on the list for a heart transplant. His doc, apparently, is pushing it. He told Ed he gave him approximately three (3) yrs to live, or rather said he would guesstimate that if he were anyone other than the stubborn POS that he is. This is after a previous doc about seven or eight yrs ago gave him five yrs to live. Ed laughed @ him then, and @ Dr. Chapman (who I like much more) now. Doc C. laughed as well, 'cos he realizes Ed is too stubborn to lay down and die. Ed's failing is that he can't grasp the "Eat to Live" not "Live to Eat" concept. Cos, he does--- live to eat, that is. He loves food. But that AND his genes (yep, seriously, seriously genetically disposed to heart serious disease) and his lack of willpower re: food have got him where he is today.
So, am waiting on hearing from him today to see how those tests turn out, and where it will go from there. Doubt it will be a speedy thing, this transplant thing; and frankly, I'm in doubt that he will be approved as a candidate due to his history and his non-existant willpower. But, hoping for the best, we shall see. Maybe he WILL get a new heart. Maybe he WILL get another lease on life and get better. Maybe we will get a second wind, second "youth", being so much of it has been tied to his health issues for the past 18-19 yrs. (He started getting sick right after we started dating, and it has been a medical roller-coaster ride ever since!)
That's it so far, today kiddies. So much for my semi-annual LJ posting, LOL! And, no, I can't just write a few lines. I guess it IS a red-letter day when a day goes nice, smooth and sweet around here!
Oh, and I missed the biggest re-enacting event of the year around these parts, this weekend, the Battle of Olustee (some of it was filmed in the movie "Glory" with Matthew Broderick, which we were both extras in, back in '89). I mixed up the dates, thought it was next weekend. BUMMER. I love to shop the "period goods" and "Victoriana" for sale there from the "suttlers" (merchants/sellers). Every frill and furbelow, plus any uniform, accoutrement, period weapon, etc, imaginable can be found there, once a year. Of course, just with my own accrued stuff, I could open my own stall if I wanted to put it up for sale. One of my prized possessions is an antique solid copper cauldron, about 6 qts? maybe more. It's not the cheap import-store thin-hammered or pressed-Pakistani-made-4-tourists crap. We are talking SOLID, heavy twisted copper bail (handle). It has hung over many a cook-fire and more. (Wandering down an aisle of sellers, I spied it w/old hand-tools in it, under a table..."Say", I casually meander up, "how much ya want for that ole pot there?" I ask, holding my breath. Guy replies "$20", and I slap it in his hand, & run! Was one of my laughing all the way to the car tales. Goes with my $25 cast-iron cauldrons stories.
So, hoping everybody out there in LJ land & beyond had a wonderful, lovely, sweet St. Valentines Day holiday, and spent it with someone special, if possible. If you did, tell me about it! *Mwah* to alla you!
~~Kara
And sure, I need to learn to be more grateful; but to ME, BBQ is beef. Maybe pork. Who the heck eats BBQ chicken? Dad picked up a mess of BBQ chicken, plus BBQ ribs. Which put Mom and Ed in HOG Heaven. So, I ate my piece of BBQ chicken, cole slaw, and the meager portion of BBQ beans allotted me. (Dad & Mom with their elderly little tummies forget that there are people in the house with real-sized, adult human appetites that eat real sized food portions (OK, we're pigs, but really? Who really believes a family of 4 can serve everybody out of a meager pint of BBQ beans??? I coulda inhaled that pint all on my own!)) But, at least, there were other goodies to be had. Ed had bought a chocolate cake a few days before, which was yummy; yellow cake w/milk choc. icing and shaved marbled choc on top of it! Yummmmmm! So, there was some of that. Dad had bought Mom some yummy Valentines cookies, and since she eats so little, they were up for grabs too.
But that was only the beginning. OMG, I am SOOOO sugared out! Ed got me this goodie bag for a Valentines Day present. It was packed in a nice little red gift bag with red roses pictured on it; and he got me a lovely card: it was Heart-shaped, and had written on it words like "Always; Still" etc etc... and when opened, it played that song "I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I swear... I'll be there..." so that was sweet! He'd gotten me 3 pairs of these little footies/warm, soft ankle socks that I like to sleep in, and never seem to have enough of. They just pull on (sometimes they have little rubber tread on the bottom) but the best ones, like these he got me yesterday, are softest cotton chenille-like yarn, sometimes almost like thick fluffy terry toweling or something, and are doubled--- the fluffiness on the inside AND the outside...they are soft, and warm, toasty, and are like comfort food, or a blankie for your feet. He got me a black pair, a dark burgandy pair w/black toes & heels, and a very cute pair that were black, with red toes and heels, and sweet little Valentines hearts embroidered on the ankles in red, pink, & white.
In this rose-patterned gift bag he also packed every candy imaginable, including most of my yummy favorite comfort food sins and movie-watching favorites. There were strawberry Twizzlers, cherry "peel-able" Twizzlers (non-blk licorice); candy hearts, chewable Sprees, Skittles, Hershey's milk-chocolate Bliss', a humongous Hershey bar with Almonds (my current top comfort & sin-food fave), Strawberry-Creme red heart-shaped PEEPS (!!! OMFG, I Luvs Peeps, usually seen as li'l marshmallow chickens or bunnies @ Easter-time), and I can't remember what else. Plus he got me the traditional box of chocolate candy (which when offering a piece to mom, she chose THE best piece, right smack-dab outta the middle of the box!!! Of course!)
Ooooh, OWWWW, OMFG do I ever have a belly-ache this a.m.! I think I stupidly tried to eat my way thru it all last night, a valiant effort, but was unsuccessful. I DID however, eat enough to just about make me sick. I don't think I could look at another sweet thing today!
Plus he had actually made an effort to actually pick up most everything off my recent Walmart shopping list, rather than ignore me or "forget" things (ie, 'zone out' after more than three items on a list when he goes to the store). He remembered the white cheddar cheeze nips crackers, the new goose-neck desk lamp I wanted, baby wipes (thicker brand-name, not the generic Walmart brand), hair clips & ponytail scrunchies, eyedrops, several prescriptions to pick up, drink-mix singles, my fave soup (comfort food in a can!), sunflower seeds and raw peanuts (in the shell) to shut up and occupy my loud-mouthed parrots...yep, he actually made an effort this time around.
And, we watched "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" on the laptop while eating & cleaning up last nite in the kitchen. Granted he got a little whiny, at one point, 'cos my laptop kept crashing, or rather firefox did, as it often does, when trying to watch DivX movies. Once I got it playing (actually had to use IE, which I've kinda sorta not been using, cos I've really been liking using the ad-blocker pgns "NoScripts" and "Ad-blocker Plus". They just don't work with IE, It iS nice without all the blinking ads all over your page, taking up memory & using scripts.
So we actually watched a movie together, which was fun, and talked & laughed, shared some goodies... tho' with his diabetes, he limited himself, and *I* limited him to very little. Was more like old times. Mom and Dad for the most part stayed clear of the kitchen, staying in their den loudly watching some religious show on the tube. And he only started whining about going to play in his Warcrack "raid" about 1 a.m... how gracious that these zealots allow us ladies til after midnite or so on Valentine's Day with our guys! But, guess I shouldn't quibble--- he did skip his routine all-day-Sunday's D&D game yesterday; tho' somehow I'd bet that had more to do with Stacy & Dennis wanting some adult-time...tho' Ed did say Stacy felt like she had the flu and didn't wanna make Ed sick.
So, a nice nite. For us boring old folks! I'd thought about asking to borrow the car, but neither of us being keen on being out in the butt-freezing weather (heck, I don't OWN a coat, and have no clue where anything other than a thin unlined jean's blazer is, as jacket s go!), staying in this time worked for the both of us.
Mom had a nice 92nd birthday. Dad got her big red Tulips. He thought they were roses! She was in a pleasant mood (ie, wasn't dripping vitriol with every word) last nite. She keeps the house SO VERY HOT downstairs, I rarely go down there. OMFG, I think she'll break Dad cos of the electric bill! She's running every heater in the house! On high! Several electric heaters, plus the 25,000 BTU window a/c & heat wall/window unit that will warm the whole downstairs half of the house! I can't even BREATHE when down there! Just to stay last night I had to toss open the kitchen window and drink iced tea all night! And still had @ least 4 bouts of hot flashes! But, those alas, come with age, which is finally catching up with me whether I like it or not.
Speaking of: I'm going on the final week or so before THE birthday. On the 24th I turn the Big-5-0. Fifty! I can't comprehend it! I still like to dress out of Torrid! I drool over goth clothes and read "Gothic Beauty" magazine (really!) I read fan-fic, listen to Euro/Symponic Heavy Metal music, wear embroidered jeans, usually have longish hair (tho' did cut it for the first time in 30 yrs this past year!), wear Doc Martins Mary Janes, like cute socks, read comic books (mostly Buffy titles)... I'm not ready too be OLD!!! I don't FEEL FIFTY inside my head!!! Wahhhhh!!!! I guess the next few days will be the deathmarch on the old downhill slide to 50!!!
Gah!
Today, Ed is off to the Hospital & clinic again, probably for most of the day. He had several diagnostic tests scheduled, plus had to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy there for the month. The docs are testing him for things like how good his circulation is in his legs, his 24 hr creatinine levels (for kidney function), and other stuff. I think he was having a CT scan of something, whether it was his legs or his heart, not sure
This is all in prep to see if he will qualify to get on the list for a heart transplant. His doc, apparently, is pushing it. He told Ed he gave him approximately three (3) yrs to live, or rather said he would guesstimate that if he were anyone other than the stubborn POS that he is. This is after a previous doc about seven or eight yrs ago gave him five yrs to live. Ed laughed @ him then, and @ Dr. Chapman (who I like much more) now. Doc C. laughed as well, 'cos he realizes Ed is too stubborn to lay down and die. Ed's failing is that he can't grasp the "Eat to Live" not "Live to Eat" concept. Cos, he does--- live to eat, that is. He loves food. But that AND his genes (yep, seriously, seriously genetically disposed to heart serious disease) and his lack of willpower re: food have got him where he is today.
So, am waiting on hearing from him today to see how those tests turn out, and where it will go from there. Doubt it will be a speedy thing, this transplant thing; and frankly, I'm in doubt that he will be approved as a candidate due to his history and his non-existant willpower. But, hoping for the best, we shall see. Maybe he WILL get a new heart. Maybe he WILL get another lease on life and get better. Maybe we will get a second wind, second "youth", being so much of it has been tied to his health issues for the past 18-19 yrs. (He started getting sick right after we started dating, and it has been a medical roller-coaster ride ever since!)
That's it so far, today kiddies. So much for my semi-annual LJ posting, LOL! And, no, I can't just write a few lines. I guess it IS a red-letter day when a day goes nice, smooth and sweet around here!
Oh, and I missed the biggest re-enacting event of the year around these parts, this weekend, the Battle of Olustee (some of it was filmed in the movie "Glory" with Matthew Broderick, which we were both extras in, back in '89). I mixed up the dates, thought it was next weekend. BUMMER. I love to shop the "period goods" and "Victoriana" for sale there from the "suttlers" (merchants/sellers). Every frill and furbelow, plus any uniform, accoutrement, period weapon, etc, imaginable can be found there, once a year. Of course, just with my own accrued stuff, I could open my own stall if I wanted to put it up for sale. One of my prized possessions is an antique solid copper cauldron, about 6 qts? maybe more. It's not the cheap import-store thin-hammered or pressed-Pakistani-made-4-tourists crap. We are talking SOLID, heavy twisted copper bail (handle). It has hung over many a cook-fire and more. (Wandering down an aisle of sellers, I spied it w/old hand-tools in it, under a table..."Say", I casually meander up, "how much ya want for that ole pot there?" I ask, holding my breath. Guy replies "$20", and I slap it in his hand, & run! Was one of my laughing all the way to the car tales. Goes with my $25 cast-iron cauldrons stories.
So, hoping everybody out there in LJ land & beyond had a wonderful, lovely, sweet St. Valentines Day holiday, and spent it with someone special, if possible. If you did, tell me about it! *Mwah* to alla you!
~~Kara