Long Days and Scary Times

I think I have mentioned before, when you work in tourism the summer months, especially July and August, are crazy busy. I know my days are about to be very busy. Coming home late and barely getting to bed before I have to get up and do it all again, is going to be the norm for a couple of weeks. Ahhh retirement is starting to look so delicious.

My husband and I spent a few days last week at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Vanderbilt is where we had the kidney transplant. I say we because it is my kidney that he now has. If you are new to this blog and would like to read that story you can read it here and here.

The kidney transplant took place fourteen years ago. We have been trucking along just fine with great creatinine levels for hubs. We make a trip to Nashville three times a year for his checkup. The last year or so the creatinine levels have started to creep up. The creatinine level is what determines how well waste is being filtered out of your body. Finally in May after several blood tests the doctor ordered a kidney biopsy. If the kidney was in rejection we needed to know.

We checked in on Wednesday morning last week. The biopsy was to take place at 10:30 that morning and we would spend the night and be back home by Thursday afternoon. It didn’t quite work out that way. The biopsy did take place at 10:30 that Wednesday morning and hubby had to stay in bed for eight hours so that the possibility of bleeding was reduced. We were supposed to get the biopsy results by Thursday morning. The lab was running behind and we didn’t get the results until late Thursday evening. The kidney is not rejecting. The age of the kidney and the hit it has taken from anti rejection meds has made the kidney show some usual wear and tear, figuratively speaking . So it is not uncommon for those levels to rise. There may be some adjustments to his meds but nothing serious at this time.

Whew!!! We were so relieved!!! We had been holding our breath for a day and a half, heck who am I kidding? It was more like weeks, waiting to hear the results. This was the best possible news we could have gotten.

Because we got discharged from the hospital so late we decided it was not a good idea to try to make the almost four hour drive home. We were both exhausted. I had gotten little sleep in the pull out chair-bed in the hospital room the night before, and I would have to do all the driving. Mark wasn’t allowed to drive for a few days. He still can’t lift over ten pounds, sorry Gus, and he is very limited to daily activities for two weeks. We spent the night at the nearby hotel where we always stay when we have appointments. We treated ourselves to room service and got a great night’s sleep.

We got home on Friday afternoon I started laundry and did some work around the house. All of the babies were so glad to see us. They were so needy for a few days, especially Gus. We had to leave Bunnie outside while we were gone. I hated that, but she has shelter and my nephew came over every day to check on her and make sure she had plenty of water and food. He always checks on the kitties for us while we are away. He is a gem. I don’t know what we would do without him.

I went to work on Saturday to take care of a report that was due. I did a grocery pick up after work. I also returned to the Farm Market and bought okra and squash and a lot of other goodies. I was off on Sunday and I caught up on laundry and baked sourdough bread for the week. We had a feast for dinner from the vegetables I had gotten on Saturday.

***The sourdough bread was yummy. I’m starting to get the hang of folding and stretching the dough.*** ***If you know you know.***

***I got quite a bit of this shawl finished while we were in Nashville. I try to do a few rows every day so I was able to do quite a lot while we had some down time.***

It was back to work for me yesterday. A lot of long days ahead. You know, when you or a loved one has a health issue it very much rules your life. No matter how much you try not to worry or give it all over to God, it’s still there to some degree. I told my husband that we would get through this and continue to forge ahead. That is really all you can do. And no matter how many hours I have to work this week it is better than being in a hospital waiting for test results.

Have a great week

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Hello Monday

Last week was a quiet yet busy week for me. I was off work all week. We decided not to go on a trip and just hang out at the house. I loved every minute of it. I think it was a great preview for retirement.

We are so enjoying our new girl, Bunnie, if you missed my post about our newest family member you can check it out here. The kitties are adjusting. So far Gus has been the least friendly and he has been so territorial. We are trying to introduce Bunnie to them slowly. it is taking some time.

I finally finished the afghan I was working on for my niece. I couldn’t show it before I finished because it was a surprise for her for her Birthday which was last week.

***Not the best picture but you can get an idea of what it looks like. She loved it.***

My hubby and I decided to take a little road trip last Thursday. We went into the mountains to look at a local waterfall, Bald River Falls. The road leading to the falls has been closed for over a year so that a viewing bridge could be built. The road opened back up last month and the new bridge was opened. We went to check it out. It was just beautiful. Because of all the rain we have had, the waterfall was flowing fast and hard.

***We decided to get a Frappuccino to start the trip into the mountains. It was*** ***delicious***.

We stopped and had lunch in Tellico Plains at Ironworks Grill, and then stopped at the local Mennonite Market.

***Beautiful vegetables. We will go back on Saturday and stock up for the week.***

***This was our haul from the Market. Mark wanted some local honey. I love the oatmeal raisin cookies.***

I had to take my sister in law and her daughter and granddaughter to the airport on Friday and then we helped another niece move into a new apartment on Saturday. So a busy and fun filled week. It’s back to work for me today and the usual summer crowds.

I leave you with a picture of Bunnie enjoying a walk with us and a picture of Gus who has claimed Bunnie’s new bed.

***This is the bed I bought for Bunnie but both Gus and Kitty Kitty have claimed it***.

Have a wonderful week and always remember

Love your day your way.

Dogwood Winter, Orchids and Sourdough Bread

Hello friends, How was your weekend? Easter is always a special family time for us. We went to my sister’s house for a cook-out. I made baked beans and some cookie bars. How did you spend your Easter Sunday?

***My cookie bars just before baking them.***

I have been sitting in the early mornings listening to the whippoorwills while I drink my coffee. Whippoorwill winter will be here soon. All last week we were experiencing Dogwood winter. The Dogwood trees are now fully bloomed out and the temps have turned quite warm again. Dogwood winter was very nice while it lasted. Cool mornings and warm afternoons.

***I think the Dogwood is one of the most beautiful trees.***

I mentioned last week that I had visited Harmony Lane Farms in Smithville Tennessee. If you missed that post check it out Here. I took a sample of their sour doughbread starter. I didn’t have time to make the sourdough bread when I brought the starter home. I kept the starter in the refrigerator and took it out last Friday to feed it and get it to room temperature to get it ready to make bread. Just like my yeast bread it is a two day process. If you are unsure of making sourdough bread check out some of the YouTube or Instagram videos out there. There’s so many good ones. I think I’ve watched about a million trying to get different ideas of how people do theirs.

I fed the bread on Friday morning around 5:00 AM and marked my jar to be able to see if the starter was active and rising. I came home Friday night and ran to the kitchen to check the starter and it was rising. It had almost doubled in size. I fed it again that night and the next morning I started the bread.

There is a lot of stretching and folding when you are dealing with sourdough bread. It took most of the day, off and on. I finished it in the afternoon and decided to let the dough sit in the refrigerator overnight. I had read that this makes for a more flavorful bread. On a side note I made more bread a couple of days later and didn’t do all of the stretching and folding and I didn’t leave it in the fridge as long. I couldn’t tell a bit of difference. I did stretch and fold a few times and let it rest and rise for a few hours.

***This is the proofing basket. I used to put the dough in after I had folded it and seamed the bottom.***

I baked the bread on Sunday morning. I was very happy with the way it turned out. It is very different from my yeast bread and the artisan bread that I make.

***I love the color and the texture of this bread.***

I celebrated my birthday this week and my 35th wedding anniversary. I don’t know if I told you but I got married on my Birthday. So we have a double celebration. I asked for an ice cream maker for my Birthday. The electric kind not the one you churn by hand. No thank you on the hand crank job I remember those from my childhood. Hubs and I took the day and did a little shopping and went out to eat. Very low key.

***My morning view a couple of times last week.***

I had read that if your cat has a box to play and sleep in it makes them more sociably comfortable and happy. I fixed a box for the kitties. They were very interested. Gus was the first one in it.

And then Kitty Kitty got in after Gus had finished inspecting it.

As soon as Gus saw Kitty Kitty in “his” box he ran straight into it and pushed Kitty Kitty out. The fight was on. I went down to the basement and got a second box and fixed it up for them. And wouldn’t you know it, neither one would have anything to do with the second box. Now they have lost interest in both boxes. Oh well it was an experiment.

***Several of my orchids are blooming and I am just loving all the different colors.***

That is what has been going on around here how is your week going?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

It’s Tuesday Let’s Catch Up

Hello friends. I have been a little quiet on the blog lately. My life has been busy but good. I really have no excuse except I have been so tired every evening I usually don’t do much after I get home. So here is a little bit about what has been happening in my neck of the woods.

My sister and I visited the cutest farm on Saturday. We have been planning this for a while. The farm produces tulips every year. For about four weeks out of the year you can go there and pick tulips and take pictures and just enjoy the atmosphere and scenic beauty of the farm. It is really quite lovely. We had put off going for more than a week because the owners had reported a very small crop of tulips this year because of the rain and wind. We finally went Saturday, even though the tulips were a little less than what they will be in a week or two, and we had a great time. The weather was warm and so nice. We picked a few tulips. Most of them hadn’t bloomed out. I put them in a small glass dish and they are really starting to open up. We also had lunch and did a little shopping. I ran into a dear friend I hadn’t seen in a while. She recently lost her husband and she and I have been planning to do lunch forever. I made sure I had her number and we will definitely go in a week or two.

I had to do some work on my orchids on Sunday. I repotted two of them. My orchid Oliver is blooming after almost two years. His leaves were always green and strong but he didn’t bloom. I am so excited that he is finally blooming again. I don’t know why some of my orchids are male and some are female but I just see them that way.

Last week I met up with two of my best friends Lorie and Emily at one of our favorite restaurants in Tellico Plains. It was Lorie’s Birthday and we had dinner and Emily brought a cake. This restaurant has some of the best truffle fries I have ever eaten.

So lots of things going on. I have been working on a crocheted egg for Easter. I will share that with you soon. I’m not sure how crazy I am about them and they are so time consuming.

I leave you with a picture of two of my babies Kitty Kitty and Gus. It looks as though they are on guard, protecting us I guess.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!