Living In Grace

I. Hate. Moving.

... I'm just sayin'.

Hope y'all are having a much better day of it today :)

In fact, why don't you share one funny, happy or special moment from today with me in comments! That would brighten me up tremendously.

Greetings from the pile, or stacks, or ... whatever

Hola peeps!

Guess what WE'RE doing?

Come on.

Just take a guess.

First two don't count.

Wait for it .... wait for it ... wait for it ....

We're Moooooving.

Again.

Cause the one we did 30 days ago, just wasn't enough.

No sir.

As I speak (or type), the house is empty except for two beds, the computer stuff and a few odds and ends. We take possession of the house tomorrow at 11am PT with a full truck in tow.

Praise the Living God.

We are settling in.

Hallelujah!

It's been a hoot of a move with Physcal Therapy appointments (did I mention I Have a shiny candy apple red walker?! Thanks to the physical therapist for letting me borrow it while mine is on order), doctor's appts, dialysis changes and appts, venofer infusions and EPO injections for the anemia and ...... registering my two babies for High School.

High School.

Lawsie have mercy! I can't believe I sat in those same chairs getting my schedule over 25 years ago. (stop doing the math in your head. I'm .... old).

The school is huge, and it took the kids about an hour or more to find their lockers (which won't open, of course) and all their classes.

Sob. Sniffle. Sigh.

I'm not ready for them to leave, not just yet.

Anywho, just wanted to check in and say Howdy. I hope to be online tomorrow at hte new house wiht lots of pictures to share!

Til then, stay cool.

(ok. I told you High School was a long, long time ago for me).

Must Read.

Melanie has written the best post I have ever, ever read.

You must go here to read it.

Be blessed.

Monday

FOR TODAY Monday, August 18
...

Outside My Window... the sky is dark with rain clouds. The mist os hanging on the forest of pine trees all around us.

I am thinking... I'd really like to go back to bed, and snuggle into the covers.

I am thankful for... the rain. It's been way, too hot here lately.

From the kitchen... I can see the deck, the boards wet from overnight rain.

I am wearing... my jammies.

I am creating... a list of things to be finished before the move next Wednesday. Sigh. I'm tired of moving.

I am going... to get everyone else up here in a bit. Once I've enjoyed the heck out of the peace and quiet of the morning.

I am reading... blogs, and catching up on friends emails.

I am hoping... that things stay infection free until surgery in a few weeks.

I am hearing... the soft roar of an airplane somewhere high, high above us.

Around the house...is a total mess. Boxes everywhere.

One of my favorite things... rain. In August. On the trees.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Doctors appts, Physical Therapy assessments and getting the kids ready for school to start.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...sorry, everything is stored offline on my flash drive. Which seems to be packed again.

When It All Comes Tumbling Down.

Where to start.

We've been treating the low crit / anemia with infusions of venofer and a new regimen of Epogen. When I had infusion Thursday, we ran a quick crit level in the office and found out we're making progress. Woot!
Although I'm still bruising, it's up from 7 to 8.4. Our goal is 11.

While I was there, Dr. Feldman came in to take a look at my exit site (where the catheter is embedded into my tummy). over the last two and a half years, there has been enough pulling to expose the top of the cuff that was internal. Not good.

Because of this, we run a huge risk of tunnel infection leading to peritonitis. Should that happen, I would not only have to have surgery to remove the catheter, I'd have to get a permcath and do hemo for 3-4 months. With another case of peritonitis, I also run the risk of losing the modality to even do peritoneal dialysis.

The other option is to electively go in and remove the old catheter, while inserting a new one.

Guess which one we chose ....

Yep. A week or two after we move, I'll be in surgery.

Again.

Not a happy camper.

My biggest  issue is the time coming out of anesthesia. This leads to intense panic attacks for me, so we will have to have some serious discussions with the anesthesiologist.

Then today, John and I went shopping. On the way into the store, my legs were feeling abit weak but improved as I walked around the store.

Then we left.

No sooner did we start down the ramp to the lot that both legs gave out. At the same time.

Leaving me clutching the cart handle on my knees.

Not good.

While several people stared and wandered by, John attempted ot help e up. The issue is that when this happens, my legs won't support me, and my feet won't go under me.

It took three tries, but we finally got me on my feet.

My legs have been useless since then.

I'm seriously hoping that it's a change in the meds that is causing this. Of course. by the time we got home evewryone was gone so I will talk to the Dr on Monday. I have a physical therapy appt o Tuesday for an assessment, so hopefully things get better.

Right now, I'm still in shock over the whole last two days.

Up is down, down is up.

Down the rabbit hole we go.

Chicken ala Madge. (A Must Read)

Ingredients:

1 whole fryer chicken (sorry, Big mama, but it just got to be that way)
Season Salt
Olive Oil

Have one of those days.

Take a nap to get over it being one of those days.

Wake up to everyone demanding food. Of course.

Grab a  glass dish from the sink of dishes the kids haven't washed yet, and wash it.

Rinse well and pat dry.

Now, rinse the chicken under running water well and pay dry.

For your own amusement, sit the chicken on the edge of the counter and flap it's wings in a chicken dance.

laugh.

Abit too much.

Rub the chicken down with olive oil and sprinkle with season salt.

Put in the glass baking dish and cover with foil.

Shove it in a preheated oven of 450 degrees and set the time for an hour.

Walk. away.

Remove from oven after an hour. and put on carving board for husband to carve.

Take glass dish and squirt some dish soap in to it, add water and set aside so it's easier to clean after dinner.

Be so stinkin' tired, that you make the kids set the table.

Serve the chicken, sides and enjoy.

Take flack from everyone at the table about how much the chicken tastes like dish soap.

Insist you rinsed the glass dish thoroughly, thankyouverymuch.

Get through dinner without killing anyone.

Barely.

Insist kids clear the table and do the dishes right then and there.

At the moment, realize that your husband has the glass baking dish next to him on the table.

THAT glass dish.

Realize in a moment of pure, unadulterated glory that SOMEONE WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS carved the chicken and put it back. in. the. glass dish. that. was. full. of. dish. soap. and brought it to the table.

Scenes from my Life

They say a picture is worth a thousand words .... after running all day to get everyone's everything done? I saved about 6, 0000 words for y'all ...

Enjoy.

The Move
(AZ or OR, take your pick. It's all the same at this point. Rinse, Repeat.)

The Bite (after three days, antibiotics, 2 ER visits and an IV)

Kati is into "Project Runway" and wants to be a fashion designer professionally.

This was a men's t-shirt (yes, mom, those are skulls wearing headphones) that she
"reconstructed" into ....

THIS!

(Note the black fabric is a 'pleather' material. And yes, that is a "cowl" neck. Lawsie, the 70's are comin' back)

It's actually well made, and looks amazing on her!

Another hobby she's taking up .....

And because we truly believe that there is no such thing as "too much stress" ....

Meet Laci, our new baby. She's a lab/retriever rescue.

She came home today :)

Her story?

She was rather popular, since she was so sweet and gentle. While our application was being processed, they could adopt her out to anyone else that got approved first.

So.

Kati and I spent 8 hours at the shelter, in a "Get Acquainted" room, basically hiding out with her so no one else could see her.

At the end of the day, the staff made an exception (due to our dedication) and put a 24 hour hold one her til the paperwork could be completed.

Mission accomplished.

Must See. Absolutely.

Click here.

Finally- let's talk about the move! Part 1

The Plan.

Empty the house into the garage by Sunday night, move into a hotel.

Pack the truck Monday.

Finish the cleaning Tuesday.

Drive off, waving AZ in the read view mirror Wednesday.

Arrive Oregon on Friday.

*That* was The Plan.

The Reality.

Go around and around with spouse who shall remain nameless, about best route to take from AZ to OR.

Change hotel reservations 4 or 5 times based on routeofthemoment.

Decide that moving everything into the garage just to reload into the truck is a big, fat waste of time.

Beg UHaul man to rent truck a day early. An hour before he closes.

Go to pickup said truck, only to find the Uhaul man knows nothing about computers, or typing and has to hunt/peck about 25 screens of information to do the rental.

After he gets through said 25 screens, discover he did not give you the agreed upon $450.00 discount (to match Budget's rate). Watch him hit "cancel" before you can stop him.

Rinse, repeat.

Get through said 24 screens for the second time, only to see he applied the discount at the wrong place so total is STILL wrong.

Suggest, sweetly (although sweetly is not what you want to be) that he hit "back" and just go back a few screens to correct.

Save him the trouble of reentering all the information, again, and score an extra 2 days for free for your trouble. (Note to self that sweetly works).

Finally, get the keys and make for the hills.

Monday:

Watch family load truck.

Feel useless.

Make 420 trips to WalMart for things needed.

Spend way too much.

Tuesday:

Rinse, Repeat.

In the middle of everything, daughter gets bit by cat- a bad, bad bite.

Go to Er.

Have them talk seriously about admitting her for 3 days.

(Practically) cry and explain your on schedule and do to the leave the state in the morning.

Convince ER staff you're responsible and will come back at the earliest sign of trouble with the daughter's hand.

Go home, explain to husband it's now just he and the son to load up the truck.

Realize you ain't leaving Wednesday.

Wednesday:

Rinse, repeat.

Daughter's hand is now swollen, return to ER.

Again explain you're leaving the state, get daughter and IV and promise to get it checked in 24 hours at an ER on the road.

Change route again to be near and ER next day.

Change hotel reservations.

Again.

Realize the Choice Hotel reservations agent are the most patient and caring people in the world.

Thursday:

After much deliberation, rent a trailer to tow behind my car due to too much stuff, too little space.

Watch husband teach mother in law how to drive SUV With a trailer behind it.

Finally, lock the door, turn in the keys and beat out of Dodge.

Spend first hour or five on road trying to find a hotel for the night.

Fail.

Succeed - only to arrive and find out that they have a different definition of "truck and RV parking" than you do.

Want to cry.

Really bad.

End up at Denney's, eating too late, thumbing through the yellow pages.

Call hotel across the street, lots of parking, make reservation.

Have waitress then tell you it's a drug hangout.

Want to cry.

Start talking about options "down the road" - another 2-3 hours away. And it's 10pm.

Grab the phone book one last time, and make one last phone call.

Get rooms.

Right up the street.

With real good parking!

Score.

Sleep.

One for the Record Books.

Arthur Schopenhauer:        

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.

And with that, I announce:

WE ARE MOVING. AGAIN.

(I'll wait for you to either get up off the floor, or stop laughing).

(Are you done yet?)

ok.

So, you know we made the decision to move back to Oregon for medical care.

And in June, I flew up to find a house.

And I did.

And the deck, it was beautiful.

We arrived, barely alive, and began to setup house.

Now, we had some trepidation about the owner before we signed, but pushed it aside  becasue we really needed a place to land, and no wiggle room to look. We had a deadline to get  up here, and so things had to move.

Do you get where this is going?

Hurricane Owner hit soon after we arrived. Made landfall.

Who knew there were hurricanes in Oregon.

At this point, we were  relieved that this had been just a month to month contract!

So, we switched gears, and got looking for something else. It took some doing but God directed us to the perfect house abit south of here.

It's an on acre of g.r.a.s.s., in the woods, on a cul de sac of vacation homes. There are only two other fulltimers on the street. one of whom has kids that will be going to the same school as ours.

The owners are super people, and even held up under their own attack from Hurricane Owner.  Somehow, she felt it was their fault we were  moving and had no issue in letting them know that. Amazing :)

Thank goodness we hadn't really gotten too much unpacked.

Bottom line? In another 3 weeks we will be loading up the moving truck, again, and heading out. This time, though, it's only 13 miles and not 1300.

Whew!

If you're in the area, feel free to come by and grab a box!

Pizza's on us.