I am excited. . .!

I had the most exciting news this morning and I just have to share it with everyone!

I decided just for the heck of it yesterday to put my firstand maiden name into Facebook - and came up with about five people that have the exact same name! Everything was spelled exactly the same! The very top one had a lady about my age, with grey hair, on a motorcycle! Now, that in itself was a conversation starter. So. . .She seemed like she would be an interesting person to get to know, so I contacted her.

She lives in SC, and her family grew up in Minnesota, where her ancestors settled after coming from Germany. That is her maiden name also. She said she was on the motorcycle for a fund raiser-that bicycles were more her speed.
What a neat, neat thing. Can you tell I'm excited? Since my first name is spelled so differently from other people, it was a surprise.

Yesterday I went to lunch with my friends from school, Billie and Rosemarie, at the new hotel in Watkins. I had been there before, but not for lunch. They had me make the reservation which I did for 12:30. However, it slipped my mind - and I geared myself up to being there at noon, and I was berating myself for being late - I left the house at 11:45. What a pleasant surprise to arrive there early and was able to sit in the lobby and "people-watch." It was still rainy yesterday - lots of wetness outside. Too bad we couldn't sit outside and view the lake. But we had a nice table by the window and sat and talked for quite some time. It was a good visit.

Tonight is Gracie's third session with her obedience training. I must say, she's doing quite well with LLW (loose-leash walking). I took her out last night, and she stayed right by my side as we walked. But, as Paul said - she pulls on the way home. And I agree, as he also said, that when she's in class with other dogs, and walking around the store, her attention span is nil. Good experience though for her to be in that circumstance. I wonder if the Great Dane will be there for the first time, or if he'll be a no-show. I'd love to see her along side such a big dog. I think she may weigh between 4 and 5 pounds now.

Got a message from Jil responding to my vile medicine - he says it's iodine. Well, I should have thought of that. . .I thought it was an iodine compound. Maybe it is, but sometimes my brain gets "addled" LOL. It tastes fine in milk, when I can't taste it at all. So, it's not a hardship to take it. Thanks, Jil for letting me know.

So - that's all the news from this end of the world. What's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

Three Cheers for Rain . . .

Let's give three cheers for rainy Sundays! Well, kind of.
We needed the rain. This month we were supposed to have 3" and have just had .90" (these numbers are perhaps inaccurate, but close to the correct amount. ) We were supposed to have another inch which included last night's rainfall also.

Had a walk through memory lane today. Paul and I drove to Bath this morning. I played two songs at my old church, for their 10:00 service, and had a chance to see some very old friends. (well. . .not old, but good friends. They're the same age as me.) It is hard to believe that it's been three years since I was a "working" member of that church, and yet it feels like yesterday that I was there. Because of the rain, some friends couldn't make it. BUT I tell you, it did my heart good to be there. I did okay and even though the congregation was sparse, lots of people were happy to hear me play. Good. That's what I like to hear . . . that I gave them pleasure. Indeed.

Afterwards ten of us went to The Chat for breakfast. We almost had to split up because it was really crowded, but three ladies, also from church, (bless them) moved elsewhere, so we could push two tables. We were crowded, but that was okay. June, Marybeth, Carolyn, John, Peg, Ken, and two others, of whom I can remember their last name, but not their first! (lovely people) My Dear One is so good. I appreciate all he does - driving, listening, conversing with everyone. People he's gradually gotten to know.

I have started my pre-surgery medication schedule. I am off Mobic (a blood thinner), but have added three drops of a vile tasting dark red liquid to my meals three times a day. But I must admit, I can't taste it because they advised I put it in orange juice or milk. I hope it works to shrink my thyroid before my operation on Thursday. I really can't taste it, but it smells awful - undiluted from the medicine bottle.

Have had many well wishes. Can I say it again? It did my heart good.

We left Gracie alone today for a longer time than we usually do - and was she glad to see us when we came back! You'd think we'd been gone a week. I don't know why she doesn't turn inside out with all the wiggles her back end does. And the "kisses" we get. She sure is a pleasure to have here. She was pretty good. Just one item left in the walk-in closet because we forgot to close one of the two doors into our bedroom. As I said before, it was a long time for her to be alone and not walked. She never destroys anything. Not even a kleenex this time.

So - I need to go to the store to get some milk. Earlier, we wanted to get home asap for Gracie but it soon will be suppertime. Not too hungry, I must admit. But I need to take my evil medicine on a full stomach. Paul is upstairs nailing up sheetrock. He's so happy doing that. Good!

So - that's all the news from the Woods Edge. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

The Weekend is coming. . .

Not sure what the weather will be like, but it's sure beautiful out this morning. Bright, clear, a cool temp. (Just like September . . . believe it or not.)

We have Ida and Charlie here for the day. It's been a while since they've been visiting. Sharon works today and they were tired of being home, or at the office with her. Lee has football practice. Dave is one of the coaches, so Dave will be with Lee for practices. They've been running around outside and upstairs and have settled down to watching the Disney Channel right now.

Gracie is enjoying their company, and it gives her great practice in not jumping up on their laps whenever she wants. The kids are being taught not to allow this, but to make her sit, (ask) and then allow her up. It works. Sometimes. We can see an improvement with Gracie since we started the obedience class lessons. Even two of them seem to make her more intent on listening and doing what's right. She certainly enjoys their company - wiggles more than usual.

Ida is still waiting to be taller than me. She's tall for her age. . . going into second grade. Her hand doesn't go straight across yet - it's still on a big diagonal. Ida, Listen up. It will still be a while! But when it does happen, Vincent and his new sister (to be born late September or early October) will be the only grandchildren shorter than me. Oh, well.
There are worse things that could happen! Lots. All this measuring is all done in good fun. Each of the grandkids has done it. It's like a milestone in their lives.

Sharon said that Gunnar, their eight year old dog, is having problems. The valve in his throat is partly paralyzed and he's having trouble breathing and eating. The vet is going to consult with them and see what they can do for him. Possibly operate. Sharon said he'd been panting a lot, but she figured it was because of the hot weather.

We had lunch with Lue and her sister, Sharon, yesterday.
Afterwards, we traveled down the street to go in the drugstore and noticed that a podium, red, white and blue banners, lots of folding chairs, were set up in front of the Montour House, the new renovated apartment/business building. We also noticed then, they'd also roped off the whole street, just allowing cars out, not in. A photographer was setting up his camera. In the drugstore, I noticed a man in a dark suit, with dark hair roaming the aisles. Very out of place. You could tell he was a stranger. Never saw his face.

If we were smart, we would have realized that this was no ordinary county politician running for a county job. The papers this morning said it was Andrew Cuomo, democratic candidate for governor right there in Paul's little hometown! I would have liked to have listened to his speech, but . . . we never did. We must be more aware of what's goin' on! Not sure if I'd vote for him, but it was neat to see him in person. Actually, I've read that he does have some good ideas.
He had his three teenage daughters there and, according to the paper, one of them introduced him. Their next stop was Ithaca.

This weekend starts my count down for my thyroid operation - I have to stop some pills, and begin taking some horrible tasting medicine to help shrink my thyroid. To make it palatable, they say I should put three drops in orange juice with each meal for five days. Good Heavens.

Okay. That's all the news for now. What's goin' on in your neck o' the woods???

Mid-week Already

Where is the time going? Doesn't seem possible that it's the middle of the week already. They say that as you get older, the time flies. BUT - I'm not getting older, so what's goin' on?

I did manage to get to Curves on Monday during their mid-afternoon spot, which is usually the 1-3:00 time that they close. It's been a pleasant surprise to find that this Curves has such wonderful hours - like that, and their Saturday time also - that goes on to 2:00 instead of their 10-11:00 closing.

As most of you know, I'm scheduled to have my thyroid taken out up at Strong Hospital up in Rochester, next Thursday.
So - I decided I needed a new night gown. I went to Macy's at our local shopping center yesterday morning and found a suitable light blue one. I looked for a robe in that style and color, but they didn't have my size. So - after reading in the dressing room- "Haven't found what you want? Have our sales lady check, and if we have it, we'll order it sent to your house free of charge."
So - I did just that. The sales lady looked it up on the computer, and lo and behold - it didn't come in my size. Okay. The tag on the nightgown said - "Look for a robe to match me." So - she called a manager. He looked it up on the computer - and lo and behold - it still said the same thing. Alright. They wrote the info down for me and suggested I contact Macy's.com.

I left the blue gown there, and decided to see if I could find anything at The Bonton, another department store close by. And lo and behold - there was my nightgown, same color and size, and a robe - same color and size. Macy's would have given me a 30% discount. Bonton offered a 25% discount. I talked with the manager there, and asked them if I could do better there than at Macy's. Sure - I got a 15% discount coupon added onto the 25% discount.

Now - I thought to myself - there's something wrong with Macy's. They should know that the robe comes in my size. That it's available in department stores. I spent a good 15 minutes of my valuable time with them looking all this up on the computer. So - I went back to Macy's with the information. The sales lady couldn't have been less happy to see me. It's obviously a job to her and not a calling. I was a little annoyed with them . . . But happy to have my nitegown and robe set. And cheaper.

Next Sunday we are going back to my old church in Bath. I've been asked to play the piano for summer music. I decided to play the same songs I did for the Methodist church - FUMC. However, I am playing a different arrangement of one of the songs. A little more difficult. (Nothing like putting pressure on myself.) I didn't want it to be exactly the same music. I really look forward to seeing all my old friends. And there are quite a few there.
An aside: Do you have reading materials in your bathrooms? We do. (I'm sure a lot of you do.) I'm always taking a magazine in and leaving it there. Well, here's what happened: I found the photo-member, address book taken in 2008 of this church and left it in the guest bathroom. When my friend Marcia was here with her husband Hal, last week, she enjoyed looking through it and finding old friends and acquaintances. Marcia was a 50-year member several years ago. I was a member since 1976.

Gracie had her second dog-obedience class last night at Petsmart. I brought my camera along because a St. Bernard puppy was supposed to join the chocolate lab puppy and Gracie, and I thought it would be a cute picture - the different sizes. However, the St. Bernard puppy didn't show up. I'm wondering if he'll be a "no-show." We'll see. Last night we practiced loose-leash-walking. (LLW)
An aside: Last week, the dog trainer suggested that we replace our extendable leash with a 6' leash, so yesterday I also went to Petsmart and got her a 5/8" X 5' leash to use. It's very pretty - pink with white bones and flowers on it. Kinda matches her collar, but not quite. I was surprised that it didn't bother her much. She's enjoying it. As a matter of fact, she's doing the LLW - as long as you have a treat at hand. We practiced it going around the store. They have two wide aisles, and the dogtrainer went between the other dog and Gracie.
She also learned - Down, and Wait-Release. The trainer does not use words, but hand signals. She says older dogs sometimes will go deaf, and because of that, its a good thing to have the training done silently with hand signals.

Cousin Alice has a piano in her dining room. She's piano-sitting for a friend who has to be away for a few months. I'll have to ask her why. I've never heard of someone piano-sitting. Anyway: Alice took piano lessons as a child and was pleased to find a book on it entitled something like"Piano for Adult Beginners." Exciting times. She knows I was a piano teacher for many years, so I'd be interested in that. Have fun, Alice!
Also - she'd engaged in war with a HUGE palmetto bug on her lanaii that didn't want to die. I wrote her back that I was surely glad I didn't have a home in Florida, as I wouldn't want to have to deal with something like that. She said it was big enough "to have a saddle." That idea is kind of revolting, isn't it. I've been told a million times not to exaggerate. Sure hope she is!

Guess that's all the news fit to print. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

Saturday

Here we are . . . the pictures promised of the bathroom . . .

The picture of the work-room reminds me of that children's book where you have to look for a certain subject in a very cluttered picture. I think it was called: I Spy. My title is: "Where's Gracie?" It kinda shows her size. We forget how small she is, until she almost gets lost in all the items in the work room.

I've gone to Curves three times this week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It really makes me feel better, and I'd planned on going today, Saturday. Lots of wash to do, and I did want to write, so not sure I'll get there today or not. Some Curves facilities close at 11:00 on Saturdays, some at 10:00 - this one closes at 2:00. . .a good sign that perhaps I'll get there after all. But we'll see.

Marcia and Hal stayed with us overnight, Thursday night, on their way to the Adirondacks to visit with their good friends from NC, Doug and Andy. Their "camp" is a two-story house. They stayed in our downstairs guest room. The bathroom looks pretty good, and is useable. But you can see from the pictures, there's a lot left to do in the middle room. We took them to our favorite restaurant in Horseheads, Tanino's. This is where we celebrated Paul's birthday, last October. Bob came up from Florida for it. He's planning to come for a visit this year too, with his good friend, Marian, and Martini, his little six-year old papillon. Some time this Fall. It'll be good to see them.

Wednesday, I got a phone call from the ENT doctor's office in Corning. Could I come in at 11:15 this Friday morning, instead of later on this month? Sure! Everything turned out okay, there. No problem with my voice box. Great news! I didn't particularly care for the ENT doctor. He didn't have much of a personality and had the nerve to ask me why I was going up to Rochester for this operation. I said because it was a good hospital. I was a little annoyed at this question. This was my choice. He didn't have much more to say. The procedure to look at my larynx was rather unpleasant, but I managed to not barf on him. Not that I wanted to. Much.

I did get to Curves this afternoon. I was the only one there at 1:00, but someone else appeared before I left. It's nice to be able to go on Saturday afternoon.

So . . . it didn't seem like we had much news here today. . .but I am wondering . . . how things are goin' in your neck o' the woods!

Appointments: a Cause for Celebrating. . .

So far, this has been an interesting August. Why? Cause we haven't been able to plan anything other than a few days ahead, because of the doctors' appointments needed to be scheduled before my operation, which needed to be scheduled before my pre-operative appointments. I guess that makes sense if you read it a couple of times. My last appointment has been made with the ENT doctor - on August 23rd! So in regard to scheduling:

Got a phone call from my NC friend, Marcia. She and her husband, Hal, are planning to come to stay with us for a day, or a few days, this week on their way to the Adirondacks. They'll be able to beat the heat of their summer near the North Carolina outerbanks for a couple of weeks. I've been there in the summer and I swear that it's hotter there than Florida in the summer season. And my inner thermostat is usually quite honest, and can protest very well at that heat. I'm very happy to be here in the north, with a/c ing, thank you. How we love the Southlands in the winter, but in the summer it's a different story. I'm open to comments from all you southerners!

As of now, and it's probably written in stone - but you never know. . .we're scheduled to go to Chicago to see Nancy and her family over Labor Day Weekend. Gracie will go with us. Vincent hasn't met her yet, and I'm eager to see his reaction to her wiggles and kisses. Should be cute. Four-year old meets four (?) pounder! Should be worth some pictures for my blog.

Wow. Right now we're having rain overload. It's coming down quite heavily and is stopping just about as quickly as it started. It keeps the grass green, I guess.

Tonight is Gracie's first obedience class. We are due at Petsmart at 7:00 for an hour's lesson. There are a total of 8 classes in the series. Lue and Greta are more than half-way through her scheduled classes. It will be interesting to see how Gracie does.

Paul, I and The Little One went to Lowe's this morning to look for bathroom materials: towel hooks, toilet bar, shower rod, shower curtain. She got oo'd and ah'd at. We got some more wood flooring that matches the guest room floor. This will be added in the little hall outside the guestroom door.

Back home, I had my camera in hand to take pictures of the bathroom, but Paul said "Not yet." I said, "Isn't it a work in progress?" He agreed, but still "Not yet." How did I get so lucky to get such a wonderful husband? I look at the work he does and marvel. And thank my lucky stars.

So - that's all the news from this Woods' Edge. How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

It's the start of something. . .

. . .it's beginning to feel like the very start of Fall coming soon. To a theater near you. The humidity is gone. The air was crisp this early morning when I got up with Gracie. Sweater weather. Still a lot of dew to get the sneakers wet. The sun is bright. The air is fresh. Neat. But, it's early 'cause Fall is 45 days away. We're due for some more humid summer weather before Fall descends completely .

Gracie has discovered she likes to eat dead worms. Paul and I both found this out, as we've both been trying to pry her mouth open and reach our fingers in to get them out before she swallows them. Yuck. Paul says they're probably good for her diet. (?!)

Well. . . it's been since Thursday since I wrote. Friday I had my meeting with the pulmonologist in Sayre. We left Gracie at home because we thought we'd only be gone 2 hours at the most. (1/2 hour there, 1 hour appointment, 1/2 hour home) Wrong.

The doctor: I liked him. He was amusing. (He said the surgeon in Rochester was C.Y.A.)He and his very nice intern met with me. His intern: a lovely lady from India whom I had trouble understanding, but as I said, really nice. I was asked question after question. Then the doctor decided I needed to go to the pulmonary lab and be tested there, and then go to X Ray and have an X Ray of my chest. His office was on the 5th floor, and from there I went to the Pulmonary Lab on the 9th floor, where I waited my turn to blow into a blowing contraption, first quickly, then slowly, then completely, then puffing, then. . .you get the picture. The doctor there said it would be about a half hour. That all came out okay LOL. They printed out the results and I took them with me down to the X Ray department on the 2nd floor, where I had to wait for a dressing room. Then after that back up to the 5th floor to talk with the doctor and intern about the results from the tests.

There was one small section (two red numbers) from the breathing tests results' papers. The X Rays seemed to tell why. My esophagus (windpipe) is slightly misplaced by the enlarged thyroid. The doctor said it was a good thing I'm having my thyroid taken out.

When we got home, we didn't go out for our usual Friday night dinner. We figured Gracie had been alone long enough, and we were both tired too.

Not sure if I mentioned this or not, but my operation has been scheduled for Thursday, August 26th at Strong Hospital in Rochester. We'll find out what time the day before, but I will be staying overnight irregardless.

We had dinner guests last night: Lue, her 12 year old grandson Ryan from Connecticut, Lue's sister, Sharon and her husband Mike. Paul cooked his famous Cornell chicken. Delicious. I made a lo-cal, low fat chocolate pudding pie for dessert. Ryan is here til Thursday for Grandma's Annual Summer Camp. Lue is taking next week off from work, and they're going to do things together. For ex. One thing they're gonna do - Ryan wants to go to Corning Glass and make a Christmas ornament.

August 7th is my son, Jil's, birthday. He says he's 28, but we know better.

Since he's 12 hours ahead of us, I called him Friday night, around 10 PM, which was Saturday morning 10 AM in the Philippines. He was busy working when I called, and continued on after we hung up. He's a medical transcriptionist for a company here in the states. We talked for quite some time. He was very interested in hearing all the family news. . .mine, Paul's, Nancy's. Epril was getting him a birthday cake. She was out with a group of wives, from the service club Jil belongs to. The ladies have been busy helping out an orphans' group in Cagayan de Oro. This is a small city near Jasaan, the small town where they live. Nancy and I know CDO and Jasaan. (Cagayan De Oro is where we flew into for their wedding two years ago. )

We got a lovely letter from Bonnie, Paul's oldest sister. When she writes, she'll write one letter of all her news, and make copies for her other siblings. She mails them out. She doesn't have a computer, but her daughter-in-law, Barbara, reads my blog and prints it out for Bonnie to read. Bonnie wrote how much she enjoys reading it and hearing all the "exciting" news from Paul's family. Thanks, Bonnie! And thank you, Barbara!

I think it's neat how many different groups of people read about The Woods Edge Crew. Jil, at one time, wrote me how to tell how many read it, but I've forgotten. Jil could you tell me again?

Okay. I guess that's all the news from this end of the woods. What's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

A Nice Visit from Old Friends. . .

Oh, darn - this picture is dark! When I viewed it, it was lovely. Guess I'll have to use a flash almost each time, not to trust the camera or my eyes to anything but. . . From L to R: Lucy, me, Carol H., Carol O., Meredith, and Cindy.

The view from the restaurant is quite pretty, but doesn't show of course in this picture! We're all facing the view of the lake.

So. . .Yesterday I met with my friends that I call the Curves Crew from Bath at our favorite restaurant in my neck o the woods. On the end of our Seneca lake here. Beautiful spot. I miss those ladies a lot, and going to Curves there and our coffee klatches afterwards each day.

Incidentally, I found out that the 10 miles I have to now travel is nothing compared to Carol and Lucy - who drive 18 each way to Curves from their homes on Keuka Lake to Bath. Three or four times each week.

There were six of us altogether, and we got a long table outside on the covered deck overlooking the boats on the lake. There was a nice breeze too. Good thing. On the way home, one of the outdoor thermometers read 90 degrees. We've had such a hot summer for this area! Last year the temperatures reached 90 only once. This year, it's been numerous times, and lengthy periods too! Carol O. also accompanies them which made me very happy.

Doctors' appointments, dog walkers, Fall clothingcirculars

What a mixed bag this post is!

How come it's so hard to get a medical appointment for a quick "lookover" when it's really really important?

I was on the phone yesterday with the girls (ladies) in my GP's office. They were to fax my surgeon "a note" saying they acknowledged the thyroid surgery needed.

And most importantly, find a pulmonary doctor who would give me a short most common physical. It shouldn't take long, I'd think. Then the anesthesiologist would be happy to "put me into the gentle sleep needed to keep me comfortable during the surgery." (Those are my quotation marks). They called two offices - the one, located in the complex that my GP is in, could see me in October. The other one - in Sayre, Pa. (1/2 hour away) could see me on Sept 10th. That was awful. . .since I wanted this operation within a week or so.

So - the GP ladies gave me the phone number of the Sayre Pa office so I could call them and plead my case. I called them and after talking with a lady at the office, she switched me to another lady - I think higher on the ladder - and she said since they didn't realize it was for a pre-operative procedure, she'd try her best to get me in earlier with a cancellation. Which is what the other said too, but I felt that perhaps chances with her were better because she was "higher up the ladder" (again, my quotes) . So - low and behold - at 5:00 the phone rang, and she had an appointment set for me this Friday at 1:00. I thanked her and thanked her.

Paul had an early morning (8:00) appointment at the car dealership for some recalls taken care of. Gracie is asleep (?) on the futon behind me. Whenever I turn around, she opens her eyes. She follows us everywhere. When we're both home, it's hard for her to decide where to be. She's been known to lie down at the top of the stairs where Paul is working behind closed doors waiting to spend time with him up there in this most interesting of places. He's found she will pull out small bits of insulation upstairs, so she's not allowed up there very often. Also - last night at bedtime, I facetiously asked Paul if he'd rolled out the toilet paper roll, since it was very neatly stacked on the floor. Of course, Gracie didn't acknowledge doing it, and I knew I hadn't. So. . .I wonder who. . .

I took her for her second walk of the morning to the doggie circle - Paul took her out first earlier. She's getting to be like the big dogs - she likes to walk in the middle of the street. Actually she prances on her extended leash. Kathy, our inveterate walker, greeted her, as always. She does 6 times around our road - 3 miles. Gracie strains when she sees anyone - a person or another dog. For ex: Chloey is the next smallest dog on the block. And she's about 20 pounds, part beagle. She lives next door. This morning they saw each other and both were straining to play. Chloey's mistress, Ann, is a couple of years younger than I. Ann says Chloey is strong and she has to be really careful in the winter of the ice, that she doesn't pull her and make her slip. Well, I'm glad we don't have that problem. Because we go to Florida, it makes it a short season for that. And Gracie's size makes it almost impossible.

Brenda just called. Emma's school started Monday, and she was taking her to school, and Brenda's starts next week. No wonder the newspapers are printing store circulars with school clothes in them. We forget that not everyone has the same school schedules as NYS and surrounding states. California and Florida start much earlier. Thus the August circulars print Fall clothes for them. I used to lament the early end to summer in the stores, but just recently I realized the reason.

So - I expect to go to Curves this morning, so I am going to close. It's 10 AM. Reminds me of - "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are? "(10 PM channel 5 NYC station every night would ask this.) Interesting times we live in.

So - that's all the news from here - What's happenin' in your neck o' the woods???

A Different Kind of Afternoon

Yesterday Paul and I dropped Gracie off at Sharon and Dave's office, so they could puppysit her while we drove up to Strong Hospital up in Rochester to see the surgeon, to start the ball rolling for my thyroid operation. It takes almost two hours to get there, and my appointment was for 2:15, so we left Sharon's office around noontime.

Everything went like clockwork. There wasn't any wait-time when we got there, so my kindle stayed in my purse the whole time.

The surgeon said that my thyroid had more than doubled in size - from 3 cm to 7 cm. and I definitely should have it removed not just operated on. No date was set for the surgery because it will be scheduled after I see a pulmonalogist. The anesthesiologist requested that because I use a cpap machine. I also needed a letter from my GP stating that he acknowledged the procedure. I guess that's the correct terminology. So I called my GP, gave his nurse the information, and asked them to set me up with the pulmonalogist at their complex in Horseheads. I also had an EKG and a lot of bloodwork done while we were there at the hospital. I'm hoping all the pre-surgery work gets done quickly and all this is completed soon.
It's been a couple of years that I've been dealing with this. . .so . . .let's get it over with! I would imagine within a week or two.

On our way home, after 4:00, we called Sharon to say we were going to go out to eat before we returned to pick up Gracie. We did - at the Canandaiguq Casino - which was right on our way home. We had our dinner at the buffet there, and spent our usual $20 each for fun and games. We almost spent it all. . .we came home with a combined amount of $.05 cents. We had fun!

Gracie did fine with Sharon. We picked her up at 7:30. Sharon said Gracie followed her everywhere at the office up and down the stairs her officeupstairs, to the downstairs. They went to the bank, where she got a half a puppybiscuit, and the pharmacy. She even went to the waterfront park for lunch (she watched, as she doesn't do lunch.) She got a lot of attention, as she usually does. She was glad to see us come home, though. Sharon said she whined when we left, for about 10 minutes, and then started to whine a little bit before we got there to pick her up - as if to say - okay, it's long enough. Come home now. So we did!

Guess that's all the news from around this neck o'the woods. What's happenin'in yours?

Special Times

Am trying to think of a catchy title for this blog. Perhaps as I write, it will appear in my mind. It did.

Here it is Sunday afternoon, and I finally (yes. . .finally. . .) have some time to write. Seems like Paul's and my time has been taken up with lots of little, and big, events. They each seem to stretch into each other.

I did manage to go to Curves twice last week. This I mentioned before. I had hoped for three times, but it didn't happen.

We've been either having hot weather, or wet weather, but nothing worth writing home about. . .except for the fact that Paul and I used our hottub - during the day on Friday! Now, I know you're all thinking hottub? in the hot weathcr? Well, we have it down to 94 degrees, which is less than body temperature, and when you get in and out, it's quite comfortable. We left the umbrella in its sleep mode and actually got some of the sun's rays to cooperate. Well, Paul did. When I finally got my bathing suit on, the sun went in! Oh, well. That's the way it goes. Reminded me of Florida - in the afternoon when we'd go to the pool, the clouds would come and gradually cover most of the sky - Not enough blue left to make a pair of jeans. Or something like that. The fresh air is good though.

Wednesday - I went to Bath to visit with my friends Ruth and Carol. Not sure if I wrote about that in my last blog or not, but I did enjoy their company at the Chat for breakfast, and met Carol there, after my hair appointment, for lunch. I managed to stop at one of my most favorite food stores - Wegman's in Corning - on the way home. Lots of people feel intimidated by the size of this gargantuan food store, but I, having worked in Corning for so many years, would often go there to do my food shopping. I would go in the morning before school started and do a "power shop" of canned, non-perishable foods. I'd spend 15 minutes in there and get so many things. I knew where everything was. On weekends, I'd even go back and windowshop there, and get perishables. Their meats are fantabulous. I'm sure there aren't many foods stores you may feel like just spending time there.

Yesterday, Paul and I took Gracie to The Windmill Farms, out in the country, near Penn Yan.

The Windmill is a shopping area that is located out in Amish country. It is a popular place to visit in the summertime. But they're open from April through mid-December. There are six or more large buildings with booths that are rented out to vendors. And outdoor area with many more booths, and individual shed/stores. They are open only on Saturdays. Visitors, locals, anyone wanting to spend time outdoors, windowshopping, looking for bargains. There's food, picnic areas to sit at. Gracie was a perfect little angel the whole time. Paul ended up holding her a lot of the time because it was really crowded: I would say - almost a thousand people. Parking was at a premium, but we managed to find a parking spot not too far away from all the action.

We were glad to see all the dogs, all sizes, there, leashed, or held, (or both) and quite well-mannered. Only one big dog decided to bark. Not at Gracie, but at another big dog. Gracie could have cared less. She received her share of people noticing her. The usual. . Is it a he or a she? What is she? Is she a long-haired chihuahau? Will she grow into her ears? How old is she? Only one person I heard say - Look - there's a papillon! They're not a well-known breed.



The reason we wanted to go to The Windmill was that we broke one of our Corningware platters, and they have a big area devoted to old Corning dishes and serving trays. Really lots and lots of patterns. I had seen my pattern before, but not this time. We couldn't find my pattern, but we did get a nice plain white serving platter, and I also added onto my small plain beige bowls - so now I have 12 rather than 6. They're a little pricy, but I didn't mind paying for these, as they'll be put to good use! We even used the platter last night for corn on the cob.

This morning I played two songs on the piano in church: the first: for the Prelude, (O How He Loves You and Me) and the second: Special Music. (It is Well with my Soul) To me, it was a time of enjoyment, at a beautiful piano, in a beautiful sanctuary. The congregation really were very kind. I even got an applause after the second piece. Lots of people came up and spoke with Paul and me, and the lady who does the monthly newsletter even "interviewed" me! I know I'd mentioned before that its taken a while for us to get to know these people, but I'm beginning to feel like it could be our "church home."

Tomorrow Paul and I will leave Gracie at Sharon's for the day and travel up to Strong Hospital in Rochester to have a meeting with the surgeon who will be doing my thyroid operation. Our meeting is at 2:15, and it takes about two hours more or less to get up there. That should give us a time and date schedule - finally. August will prove an interesting month. There's nothing really put down on our calendar. . .it's vacant. . . but we'll take care of that tomorrow!

Paul's out mowing the lawn right now. It needs to be done at least twice a week, and he's very good about doing it. Each day I can see changes to the upstairs bathroom. He's worked quite hard on it. He's at the point now, that things (walls?)need to "dry" in order to continue. . .More pictures next week.

Nancy, Dan and Vincent spent the past four-five days in Washington D.C. visiting with old college friends. One pair live and teach in Ireland, and they were glad to be able to visit with another good friend who works in the Washington D.C. area. They all have young kids now around the same age. Six grown-ups, numerous little ones. I imagine our Capital was hot. It is a twelve hour trip from Chicago - so they stayed overnight each way. I would certainly hope so!

Jil has left some beautiful pictures of his hometown, his friends and a nice gathering for a celebration of birthdays and a debutante party at the same time on his blog. Both my kids are happy. Good. I miss them, but am glad they have such full and interesting lives.

Well, that's all the news from this neighborhood - what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?