August 31, 2005

A mid-week break is in store for Glenda is today. I'm taking her to the treatment then picking up three friends and driving us all to Boonville. Glenda's weeks monotony will be broken for sure leaving the best that I can hope for is we don't go any broker. Heck, maybe we'll win on this trip.

To break even would require at least $15.26 winnings to pay for the gas to get there and back. Based on the allowance we were offered the car has no wear and tear left so that won't be a consideration. If we should decide to eat somewhere along the way it would complicate the computation somewhat but you only live once as far as we know.

If one would get to come back later I hope you're given you a choice. Right now I'm not sure that I would want to come back. Maybe coming back younger would bring me enough extra energy that the thoughts of doing it all over again wouldn't be so bad. I'm just tired this morning I guess. The prospects of driving to Boonville and the possibility of throwing some money away could be causing part of the problem. I don't know.

Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.~William Safire

August 30, 2005

Put your finger on a key and push it down just a little bit then go to another key and repeat the procedure. Keep it up long enough and you can have a short message typed out despite having nothing to say. At least it seemed to work for me.

Glenda didn't go to the boat yesterday but they were gone a little over four hours so she enjoyed the trip somewhat more that she would have had I taken her. Ruthie is picking her up this morning and they are meeting some friends afterwards for lunch at the Panera Bread Restaurant. Meanwhile, for lunch I'll put a hot dog in the micro wave then wrap a piece of lettuce around it and enjoy myself.

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.~Bertrand Russell

August 29, 2005

We tried to take the tritoon out yesterday but it didn't run right so we put it back up on the lift. It could be we need to run it every once in awhile to keep it in the swing of things. I suppose we need to call the repair man. Last time he put in a new fuel filter. It could be what is needed this time too but we haven't run the thing more than a couple hours since the last filter. Gas is too high to be burning it in a boat motor anyway!

Unless something changes, Evelyn Basinger is coming to take Glenda to her treatment today. It sure does Glenda good to get out with the girls every so often. Who knows, they may go to the boat after the treatment tho it hasn't been mentioned that I know of. She just needs a little something different now and then.

It is only 68 degrees outside but the humidity is so thick that one can hardly perspire because of all the moisture laden air lays against your skin so heavy that it shuts almost all of the pores. It is pretty uncomfortable!

I'm positive that I need to be doing something else. Guess I'll go see what it might be.

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.~Franklin P. Adams

August 28, 2005

The back ground is pretty well what we're looking at here and looking up is the proper way to look when you've got all of these weekenders trying to get a last day in before going home. Actually it isn't too bad right now but based on yesterdays experience it will be shortly. I also need to say a lot of the people don't seem to be weekenders and may be vacationers because the crap goes on all week long. On the positive side it is really good to be here and able to see!

Speaking of which, Glenda has been bent over looking at all the negatives and needs to be straightened up. I can't seem to bring her out of it anymore. If you have a few magic words that might help please send them on! I doubt the words would need to be magic. Just send her a few words. Yes, we still use the same email address. What is hers is hers and what is mine is still hers too.

We have some friends that have different email addresses and we've never been able to figure out why. I don't think they read each others emails either. There are a lot of married folks that each have their own checking accounts too. I guess in this day and age it probably makes a lot of sense but it looks to me to be a total lack of commitment.

Commited to sending a message every day I still am, but it is getting to become somewhat of a problem. The content I know, usually leaves quite a bit to be desired. Desire creates wants and wants create action so this could be a really good thing!


Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.Henry George

August 27, 2005

The big old sun in full view with only a few white clouds cluttering some of the horizon to the north leads me to believe the rain may be over here for awhile. For the month of August 2005 it is the wettest ever on record and there are a few days left yet. The Columbia airport recorded 9.92 inches while we've received just about 13 inches down here in the last couple of weeks but I don't know what we've received for the month. Maybe that's it?

If I should choose to, I think I will be able to beat down some weeds along the edge of the mud. We have grass in the mud but it needs a lot of settling before we'll be able to walk on it. You sink down an easy 2 inches anywhere you step where the ditches have been filled in. All the grass seed I put down may be for naught if I have got to bring in topsoil next spring.

I'm sure all of the above has been interesting and as I sit here thinking about what to type next I'm feeling that it would probably be equally as exciting so I think I'll cut our losses and give'er up for the day! .................... You're welcome!

"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -Ben Franklin

August 26, 2005

I got up this morning in a pretty good mood. I felt so good that after my shower I decided to shave with a regular razor instead of the electric one. My mood dips a little when I look into the mirror now, seeing the six tiny white pieces of toilet paper cover the six new cuts. It should have made me happier because hope begets happy and the shaving gave me another hope. I'm hoping I don't bleed to death.

We are the proud recipients of another three inches of rain Wednesday night and yesterday. The grass is loving it and reaching higher and higher in search of a little sun.

I decided to do a little weed eating and mowing today after we get back from the hospital so I put on long pants. The dawning was nice then the sun came over the hill creating a nice orange hue in the east. I was lovin it!

I made a tiny mistake and looked down at the keyboard to type a few words. That gave that tricky mother nature time to pull in a sky full of clouds hiding the sun and start up a mist. "Red in the mornin sailors take warnin", I must have been mistaken about the color of the hue earlier.

Now here I sit in the hot humidity in long pants. The sun is gone, now rain is the look. I'm going to change my pants and go read my book.

Glenda is feeling pretty good tho she won't let me check that fact out for myself. She is beginning to tire of the life we're living right now but usually on reflection she ends up pretty thankful.

Nothing ventured nothing gained....................As you can plainly read a venture doesn't guarantee a gain. I must be crazy!

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results~.Albert Einstein

August 25, 2005

Okay we're getting a little more rain here. I think someone slipped Mother Nature a diuretic somehow. Anyway she has been dumping on us for many a day now. This morning I measured right at two inches in the bucket and it's still pouring. Fortunately we have not nor have we in the past several days planned a parade.

I'm thinking that we have never planned a parade. We had 23 inches of snow one time and couldn't get out for three days and the electricity went out for several hours. During that time, with nothing else to do, I did parade around Glenda naked as she sat warming in front of the fireplace. That turned out to be pretty much a waste of time and I liked to froze my butt off. I think the very cold weather may have contributed somewhat to the disinterest. Lets see if I've got that right, heat expands and cold contracts..........Yep, I believe that the cold was the problem.

Mary Jo took Glenda for her 15th treatment yesterday and Ruthie is going to take her for her 16th treatment today. Yep, after today she will be half finished with the treatments. I'm thinking that we are in between happy times. The treatments aren't too bad in the begining then they start to burn the area and tire her leg. The good or better times should be back but it may take as many as six weeks or three weeks after the last treatment before we see them.

"Life lives, life dies. Life laughs, life cries. Life gives up and life tries. But life looks different through everyone's eyes." -- Unknown

August 24, 2005

Toward the east the sun is standing high but to the north it looks like it is raining. In Missouri we don't need to wait a day or even an hour for different weather. All we need to do is turn our heads.

My bucket only has nine inches in it but I'm told by a reliable source that we've received close to ten inches in the last eleven days and there is still more in the forecast for the rest of the week. I would say my bucket isn't a very accurate gauge sitting near the eve of the house. I believe our reliable source.

I don't know where the weathermen get their readings for the Lake of the Ozarks but it ain't from around here! The amount of rain, the amount of snow not even the temperature is ever correct for here and by George we're on the Lake of the Ozarks! This morning I might go along with them on the temperature. They say it's 66 here and I say it's 65. I'd call that a push.

Pushing on, Glenda is beginning to show a few effects from the radiation treatments. She is experiencing some pain around the knee area and the wound that was nearly well has turned pretty nasty looking. It isn't anything that wasn't expected by the doctor but we weren't aware of it. He gave Glenda a prescription for some salve to apply in the wound area. The salve is for severe burns. The doctor told her that the wound would regenerate another new layer of skin. No one told us that it would be easy but it hasn't been all that hard so far. I suppose that is about to change now. It's possible that the smile you'll probably still see on Glenda's face could have a little grimace and mixed in with it.

Never rely on the glory of the morning nor the smiles of your mother-in-law.~Japanese Proverb

August 23, 2005

"Fun fun fun 'til her daddy takes the T-Bird away." A lot of what you see and hear is it's all about having fun. The race car drivers biggest topic is on how much fun they're having and how much fun the crew have doing the racing thing. The monthly magazine that we get from our ex-employer mentions fun many times. Oh, it is just so much fun!

Life is or can be fun and even trying to win a race or sell a product things can still be fun at times. Just don't tell me when you're in a race whether it be in a car or on the job selling that it is always so much fun! Do you think you can be having fun knowing that if you don't get the deal you may not be able to pay the months bills? The pay in a race depends on how close to the front you finish but in selling you've got to be the winner to get any pay at all. Fun my ass! It is only fun after you've hit the finish line before anyone else and you can quit looking over your shoulder. A man has got to pay his bills! I did really enjoy my job but fun was only a very tiny aspect of the overall conditions. The fun derived from three successes can be greatly diminished by only one loss is the way my memory goes. I guess I'm feeling a little cheated reading and hearing about all the fun that jobs are now.

The only losing that can be fun to some folks may be when they stick money into a slot machine and don't get a return. At least Glenda told me that she had a lot of fun yesterday and yes.........................she lost!

I enjoy mowing the grass and all the other chores that I have to do around here but am I having fun...... I don't care that fun is partly defined as "a source of enjoyment". I just can't bring myself to categorize but very few of my joyful moments as fun.

So much for your waste of time this morning.....................

Love and life, if you don't take then seriously, it's no fun, if you do, they can break your heart."-Louise Suggs(edt)

August 22, 2005

Another week is in it's second day and Glenda will soon be in her 13th treatment and will have only 19 to go. Her leg is beginning to show a few reactions to the treatments but none of them have slowed her much so far. It could be that she has been on it too much because she has some pain in and around her knee area. I think that is mostly when she is up and about moving it around which is what the doctor asked her to do. So we'll not worry. She will talk to the doctor about it today anyway.

Ruthie is going to take her for this mornings treatment and instead of coming home afterwards they are heading for the boat once again. "Whatever floats your boat" takes on a new meaning when you realize, like in this case, the outing may create some happiness for a short time but it's the gambling boat you're helping to keep afloat. I just hope these outings don't "sink our ship!"

I didn't sleep worth a hoot last night! Me and the owls I guess. Glenda said she didn't sleep very well either. That would make it us and the owls tho neither of us heard nor saw one. Wait! I might be mixed up some. I think I may have had a flash of a hooter in one of my dreams.

Here I am in another one of those coffee doesn't help mornings sitting here trying to bluff something through. No need for that, you've suffered enough.

You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering.~Henri-Frédéric Amiel

August 21, 2005

Cloudy here but no rain in the forecast. It's going to be another real hot and humid day we're told. I'm pretty positive that no one could give a rat's behind less about our weather but I put this line in here because I know how much folks like to hear about other's suffering. Well, we don't plan on suffering today...........It's a NASCAR race day and we'll watch it from our recliners in an air-conditioned room. I may read a little too.

Suffer I did at the boat yesterday. I was the only one out of the three that accumulated enough points to get a free buffet. That free buffet ended up costing me $35.00 plus the gas to get us there. By the way that casino buffets really leave a person wishing! It was about 2:30 when we went in to eat and the biggest fare was scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and a few more choices of breakfast items. Brunch! Who in the heck wants brunch at 2:30 pm on a Saturday. There were a few dinner items but from what I've already typed I think you can imagine.

Glenda and Mary Jo seemed to enjoy themselves so I harbor only a few ill feelings. When I first walked in I sat at a quarter slot machine and put a five dollar bill in. I ended up cashing out $125.00. Now if I could have been able to talk the other two in leaving at that point but they thought we ought to stay longer than 45 minutes. We ended up staying around three hours. Hey, how much does a round of golf cost anyway? Maybe it wasn't so bad.

Glenda's leg is doing well tho it is starting to show a little wear and tear from the radiation treatments. Only twenty more to go. She is staying sassy and positive! She is a real deal!!

Go? Now that can be a nice word when used in the right place. I gotta go. I may have waited a little too long to use it but is still looks pretty nice there doesn't it?

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.~Wilson Mizner

August 20, 2005

That sly little wounded bird that I'm married to has slipped around and someway got me into asking her if she would like for me to take her to the gambling boat for an hour or two today. Of course she had the answer ready for a long time before her con on me to ask worked. I don't know how she does these things.

We're going to let those wild weekenders have the lake for a few hours then come back and try to pick up the pieces. The trip will be better than sitting here watching the grass grow which by the way is almost possible. That stuff is coming up like weeds....................Whoa! I'm pretty sure it's grass but what is grass but some kind of small weed anyway. Whichever, it is turning the brown muddy stuff that holds all the rocks together green so the rain didn't wash every seed to the seawall. A few places will probably need some attention before it is all said and done but I think I can find the time when it cools down some.

I thought the national weather showed us being right in the path of some big weather but so far a few white clouds and a big old sun are all I have seen.

Oh, and I did see my way to the bottom of this note.

People who reach the top of the tree are only those who haven't got the qualifications to detain them at the bottom.Peter Ustinov

August 19, 2005

Three cups of coffee hasn't helped the poor mind come up with a thing worth typing but I feel I must go on. Quitters never win and winners never quit. I just checked our lottery tickets and have just about decided that we must be quitters or at least about to become such. This $3.00 a week spending could be saved and used for a gallon of gasoline in the very near future. How can you hear your momma callin when you're hitchin a ride in the rain. (From a Claude King song). Our rain finally quit but the need to hitch a ride is still a strong possibility. I'm going to trim my fingernails so my thumb won't look so nasty.

I understand that Mary Jo will probably take Glenda for her treatment today. Another eat out day for Glenda. Yesterday Ruthie picked her up around 9:45 and didn't get her home till almost two. My worry sensor had been activated for almost an hour. That is the dumbest thing!

I'll have just one more cup of coffee then I'll go. Oh, I already had it.

NOT! Coffee plunges into the stomach...the mind is aroused, and ideas pour forth like the battalions of the Grand Army on the field of battle....~Honore de Balzac

August 18, 2005

The nieces got here yesterday around 2:30. We visited, had a bite to eat and they left for home around 8:30 last evening. It was a very enjoyable time!

I understand Ruthie is going to take Glenda for her treatment again today. This will be the eleventh one leaving only 21 to go. We noticed yesterday that the skin is beginning to turn pretty red around the wound but we believe this to be what we were told would happen. Glenda is going to ask today to make sure. Other than that she is doing swell tho she was a mite tired last night. She played the ladder game with us and was on the leg quite a bit yesterday. I think she'll rest it more today.

It really rained and thundered last night. That was all accompanied with mucho lightning causing me to run downstairs and unplug this thing around 3:45 this morning. Another good but short shower just whizzed thru a little bit ago but the sun keeps poking out. Very hot and humid is in our store for this day.

I stuck a tape measure into our rain gauge, (the bucket), awhile ago and the liquid in it measured 7.25 inches. As humid as it's been some of that might have just settled there from the surrounding air. I don't think we need anymore rain for a few days but you had better believe we'll take whatever we get.

I began a list of the books that I read on November 19, 2004 and there are 106 listed there now. I have plenty of room to add to it if the rain should continue.

I think most will agree, even as queer as it may sound, me with nothing to say makes everyone gay!

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.~Alexander Pope

August 17, 2005

A lot of days just whiz by! I did drink a lot of water yesterday and that may have contributed to it but whatever the reason it sure went quick.

Mary Jo took Glenda to her treatment and chest x-ray so I could wait for the nieces. They called after Glenda got home to tell us they wouldn't make it yesterday but would be here today. The next call was from the hospital to tell Glenda that the chest x-ray showed no problems what-so-ever. The next call was to remind me of a 10:00 dental appointment at Jeff City today.

So it's off to Jeff for me this morning. Ruthie is going to take Glenda for her treatment and the girls, if they get here when we're not, will need to sit around, enjoying the rainy view, and wait for us to get home. It is possible the view won't be too rainy but I wouldn't put much stock in that hope.

It has been a bumpy eight weeks but it seems to be smoothing out. Glenda is healing well and even sleeping better now. I may even get to move back into our bed in a few days. Along with the TV on most of the night or the reading light on most of the night I didn't want to take a chance on accidentally damaging the wound but things are looking up now. The bed I've been using was okay for a little while but a second choice bed can't be all that good and this one is becoming somewhat of a pain. Mostly in my back but quite a bit in my head too.

Gotta go.......................Hurry and wait. Hurry and wait.

The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.Fran Lebowitz

August 16, 2005

69 and misting some moisture of sorts. I don't know how much rain we received but we had an empty bucket outside that now has a good six inches in it.

Let me tell you a little stuff here. All that rain probably washed most of the sown grass seed down to the seawall, the TV in the living room went out, ants invaded the kitchen, the dishwasher started leaking at the door and we have two nieces coming, one bringing her boyfriend, for two nights and three days. Under our present circumstances we really didn't want any overnight guests. Now everyone knows that out of all bad comes good if you can find it.

The TV was bought used in 1984 and has served us faithfully. Unfortunately it didn't have cable compatibility so we were forced to go into another room to watch most of everything we watch. After the failure we brought a seldom used TV in from one of the bedrooms and can now watch every channel from our living room. Yippee! And of course the broken TV makes a good TV stand too.

Glenda discovered a lot of the ants were in the dishwasher and thankfully with our new septic drain field she was able to run it and now and I don't need to wash the dishes by hand anymore. The ants are gone, the dishwasher leak seems to be minor, and I think I can repair it. The timely leak also made mopping the kitchen floor a lot easier than pushing a bucket of water around while on your hands and knees. Also if the repair isn't too soon we'll have one of the cleanest kitchen floors around. (The tiny leak isn't all that bad.)

Lots of times we don't think we will appreciate something and dread it until you're forced into the middle of it only to discover the dread and worry was all wasted and you're having a good time. That's how I suspect the nieces visit will turn out. They are a couple of sweet kids and we love them but haven't had a chance to socialize with them much for quite a few years.

Glenda is doing great but there is a plan for a chest x-ray this morning. She has this little persistent cough that has been worrying her and the doctor thought an x-ray would give them all some worry relief tho he doesn't think there is anything wrong.

Ruthie took her yesterday and Mary Jo is taking her this morning. I think the looking forward to being out with the girls kind of lessens the dread for her. Why sure they've got to stop at a store or two.

I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.~Tammy Faye Bakker

August 15, 2005

It is still raining here and is supposed to continue off and on thru Thursday. Dale, down the street, had 2.3 inches in his rain gauge early Sunday morning and it's pretty much rained ever since.

Raindrops keep falling on my head but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red. Crying's not for me cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining. Because I'm free. Nothing's worrying me.

I've heard a lot of folks over the years crying because it's dry then next thing you know they're crying because it's too wet. Crying because it's cold and then crying because it's so hot. I'm telling you we've always appreciated a new day and yet we may have been guilty crying around about the weather a time of two in the past. But the happenings during the last couple of months has certainly stopped our bawling around about the weather for ever. We're as pleased as punch to be able to participate in another day no matter what the weather! Sometimes it just takes an extra hard kick in the butt to make one appreciate the extra fat that is normally hanging there.

So many blessings come so fast that some of us don't take the time to count them. Why, we may even begin to take them for granted. It shouldn't happen but I'm afraid it does. Rain or shine, healthy or sick, a person should always find the time to thank the lord for all the blessings received.

Huh? I never noticed this soapbox here before.

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent.~Epictetus

August 14, 2005

Rain, rain, rain! We have had it off and on all night and it is raining now. It is a great and much anticipated happening. I only hope it doesn't wash all the grass seed down to the seawall. I did get it sowed before the rain set in and just a little after the first shower. I ended up dragging a couple 24x24 wire baskets tied together with some weight inside them instead of raking. Hope we get some grass growing!............And may it all be in the yard. Another of my worries is the cost of the seed. Dale and Mary Jo brought it in but no one has told me our cost. If you're living you have worries!

Glenda had a good nights sleep last night. She has been worrying about a problem with-in her upper chest that keeps her coughing. She says that she may have a cold but I think it is a mental thing. Nervous and worry is the real cause I believe. She did well last night but she got on to me for bringing the subject up when I asked her about it this morning. Still, I don't think she is coughing this morning, maybe it was a cold.

Mikey needed to go out this morning at 2:47 then at 4:34 the motion detector set off the chimes that started him barking. I looked out the window to see what was and saw that a Black Lab looking dog had caused the motion detector wired garage lights to come on too. He took a pee on Glenda's flowers then went on up the street.

I don't need to pee right now but I think now would be a good time for me to go on up the street too............or the other room.....Bye.

I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.~Carl Sandburg

August 13, 2005

Yesterday Dale and Mary Jo took Glenda to the hospital for her treatment and I rode along. After a quick zip in and out of the treatment we stopped at a Chinese buffet place for lunch. A pretty good place to eat! All you can eat of so many dishes and the cost was only $5.95 each less a 10% senior discount. We may eat there again some time.

Coming back Dale drove us amongst forty three thousand other drivers and for about six miles the speedometer needle never got off the zero miles per hour mark tho we were moving.................somewhat. We pealed off for a visit to the Lowes store. That was a nice break. More of the same when we got back on the road but we was soon out of the thick of it. Got home in time for happy hour on the new dock of Dale and Mary Jo's.

Turned out to be just the kind of day that Glenda really likes and for that matter I enjoyed it pretty much too. Good friends can play an important part in experiencing joy. Don't forget it!

It rained a little last night so today may be a little cooler than it has been. I may even sow some oats. Nah, Glenda very quickly put the hammer to that idea so I'll try to keep my sowing to the grass seeds that Mary Jo hauled down here from their home area. After I get them sowed I'll lightly rake them in. I don't think it will take long for that rake in my hand to remove any remaining oat thoughts that may be still be hanging around in my mind.

I don't think it will take long to end this note either.

He who only waits for a chance may wait for a long time.~Nigerian Proverb

August 12, 2005

Too many emails this morning that were interesting. By the time I got them read I'm too tired sitting here to type. That indicates a short nothing note to me. Wait! That is about all it is everyday so forget it.

Things went fair yesterday. I got the raking mostly finished with only a little touch up needed in a few areas. Next it's time for the grass sowing and I guess I'll rake around a little after that gets done. I put down a some fertilizer yesterday too. Had a little left over and that's what makes the most of this note content possible.

Oh well, I could go on........................By golly I think I will!

All of us learn to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things.Bobby Knight

August 11, 2005

I made a mistake on yesterdays note and I'm sorry. THE RADIATION MACHINE IS ON 30 SECONDS on the top AND 30 SECONDS on the bottom, not the two and two that I typed yesterday. Anyhow, we left home yesterday and was there in thirty minutes. They took her back pronto and we were back home only one hour and twenty minutes after leaving. A half hour to get there and a half hour to get home leaves only twenty minutes for the walk-in, treatment and the walk-out.......And .....and ....Glenda is still feeling no ill effects. That is other than being cooped up in the house, but Ruthie did pick her up yesterday morning for a quick trip to Eldon and arranged to pick her up to take her for the treatment today. Glenda is smiling.

Making the slash across her face even wider is her knowledge that Mary Jo plans on taking her Friday. What in the world could a person do without friends. I'm typing about good friends here that is born out by all the prayers, cards, phone calls, visits, e-mails and the giving of time and resources that just keep coming. All of these in one way or another help keep Glenda on the positive track that is so important in this kind of situation. THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS!

I suppose I'll work in the 102 degree weather on the lawn with a rake and shovel. I did that for a little while yesterday but the perspiration running into my eyes caused temporary blindness and that created a large lump on my forehead. I had put the rake down........WRONG and was using the shovel. You know the story, during one of the times that my eyes started burning and I couldn't see, I stepped on the rake tines causing the handle to swing up and hit me in the head. Knocked some sense into me I might add. I knew right away I should be in the house reading and that is where I ended up about three minutes later. I sat there and first tried to tend to the blister that one of the tools put on my hand then busted. I quickly determined that there is nothing you can do for a busted blister. One more tiny sad note.....the book I was trying to read wasn't worth a hoot! What a day it was.

From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.~Groucho Marx

August 10, 2005

It didn't work out so now I'm living with a grump! Ruthie had plans for yesterday and has plans for today so I'm still driving Daisy. We did stop at Wally World but Glenda doesn't like having me around. She says I hurry her and complain too much about the dumb parents and their undisciplined children screaming, bawling and wreaking havoc in every isle. That and the thoughtless or self-centered idiots that think they're the only ones in the store so it isn't necessary to leave a path thru any of the isles.

Glenda really isn't a grump but if I'm going to continue typing a daily note I need to put a little bit more than happy into it. Just look at the news that comes out every day. To sell the station or newspapers the reporters dig around for the worst possible stories they can find to report. Killings, sadness, all kinds of strife and destruction is what it seems most folks want to read or hear about. It is very seldom you read or hear a happy story. I wonder why that is.........

Anyway another trip today is on my list. It only took twenty minutes for the treatment yesterday. Well, Glenda says the treatment is only two seconds on the top side then two seconds on the bottom and it's over. The time it takes to undo the bandage and re-do it is what takes so long. It was speedier yesterday because Glenda did both those tasks. Any quicker and I can just let her out at the door and wait in the car.

We have all been taught wrongly to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic.~Susan Jeffers (Edt)

August 9, 2005

Glenda is about to kick me off the 'driving Daisy' job now. At least for one day. She thinks she can ride to the treatment in Ruthie's car. When I sort of objected she got real serious and said, "I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE FOR AWHILE!". With the tone she used I quickly agreed. She and Ruthie will do a little shopping during the outing and believe me after her little outburst, I for a fact, am greatly aware of just how bad she really needs that. Now if Ruthie isn't too busy, I know she'll go for it.

Me? I'll do what I can around here in the heat that we're told could possibly get into the three digit area on the thermometers. Along with the humidity, it could work to help me lose a couple of pounds. That is unless I opt to sit in the recliner and read. Hey, I've carried this weight for many years so what would one more day or a few more days amount to? I think that the latter would be cool!....Ah........the coolest.

I'm thinking now, in an attempt to prevent burnout, I should stop here.....................Or should I? Okay, okay, I know what the consensus would be.

I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by a dryrot. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.~Jack London

August 8, 2005

A new day to do with what we want...............Just great isn't it? Well we do need to go to Osage Beach and we've been given a time to be there but other than that we get to pick and choose. The weather sounds like it might be a tad stifling but we'll take more days anyway they want to come.

Things here are still on the upside of the roller coaster. We're loving it and believe it will be that way for years to come.

I imagine Glenda will take another shower this morning and again prepare some breakfast for us both. I didn't realize until recently how set she is in her ways and I can't quite get it done her way. So..........She has bumped me out of the kitchen. Yee Ha! No, I really didn't mind it at all.

I've become bored again with this message typing everyday so I think now I'll bump me from the computer and as an excuse, I'm saying it is to show I can be a bumper too.............

If you don't get a kick out of the job you are doing you'd better hunt another one.~Samuel Vauclain

August 7, 2005

Lazed around all day yesterday. I kind of liked it. I'm doubting that today will be much different except we can watch a NASCAR race this afternoon.

Glenda got up yesterday, took a shower and re-bandaged the area all by herself. She also fixed her own breakfast. She is getting a little bit better everyday. We were a little concerned about a large lump in the area where the lymph node was removed but the doctor said it was only a normal collection of liquid. The doctor allowed her to remove the brace that kept her knee straight. The graft is doing real well and now after keeping the knee straight for so long the radiation doctor wants her to exercise it. Something like trying to keep the skin pliable.

Glenda doesn't need to see the doctor again till September the 20th unless something comes up. She has an appointment with two doctors after the x-rays and CT scans are over that day. One is the chemo doctor and I can't remember why we're supposed to see him again. Hopefully his services won't be needed.

Monday through Friday her radiation treatments are at 1:45 at the hospital in Osage Beach which is a 44 mile round trip. Then next week they are changed to 10:45. I can barely type it, no way could I explain it. We just do what they tell us and pray.

Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.~Robert Heinlein

August 5, 2005

Glenda had her first radiation treatment yesterday. It went well. From the waiting room she left to visit the bathroom and when she came back she had already had the treatment. She was gone for a good while and I worried some but it all worked out. The bathroom is around the corner and up a hall from the waiting room and the doctor ushered her to the treatment place as soon as she walked out of the bathroom.

She has the second treatment scheduled for this morning at 8:45 then we have got to rush to Columbia in hopes of making it on time for the Doctor Dale appointment at 10:50. It's going to be pretty tight but I think we can do it.

According to Glenda the treatment isn't anything that she was even aware of except they told her it was happening. We're also told that it could be down the road after maybe 14 treatments the skin will probably react some to the radiation. More like a sunburn than anything else tho in the end the skin there could be like a rhinoceros....... thick skinned. They also told her to forget eating healthy now. Eat fats, drink whole milk and eat a lot. That is all to help the killed things grow back or something like that. At the same time they tell her that her appetite may be diminished because of the treatments. What a world we live in now!

I gotta get her out there in it................bye.

All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.~Sean O'Casey

August 4, 2005

Well shoot! The radiation treatment was put off yesterday because the programmer didn't realize Glenda's length or how low the wound was, anyway they couldn't do it as programmed. They have got to program putting Glenda in the other end of the machine. That put us off till today at 2:15. We did not appreciate the delay one damn bit. We're told by all we read and by the doctors that sooner is better but all we get is hurry and wait, hurry and wait. I do believe that prayers and faith are necessities but the hospitals and their staffs are sure messing around with our faith in their end of it!

From the get-go we've had problems that shouldn't be. There should always be two people in the interviews and to listen what is next because the next place you stop they don't know or haven't received the information needed. We have had to orchestrate the next process several times. When you've handed your life to another this is a hard obstacle to fluff off! Even with that our hopes are still high that with their help and all of the prayers we shall overcome. The screw ups just don't make it as easy as it could be! They are as unbelievable as well as the doubt they cause!

We're sure, because of the vast amount of people they care for, it is almost impossible not to have problems which brings us back to the worry about the necessary time being spent on our problem and the need to hope that our's isn't confused with someone else's. If you had been with us unbelievable would be your word too.

So now that I have vented.......................I think I'm too tired to say any more!

Sometimes the mind, for reasons we don't necessarily understand, just decides to go to the store for a quart of milk.~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure

August 3, 2005

We're going for the first radiation treatment today. Supposed to be there at 11:00 for a fifteen minute treatment but they want us at that time, being this is the first treatment, in case there is a problem. That way they can work through their lunch and not disrupt their schedule. That kind of gives me a pang of some kind but I can't figure out why.

Later this afternoon I think three of Glenda's female school chums plan to come visit her. She is looking forward to that.

I'm looking for a quite place in the house to recluse myself. Number one; four women talking and you know it will be more than one at a time. Number two; the talk will be about a lot of people and many things that I've never heard of and really have no desire to hear it now. Number three; I'm just past half way in a very good book and it's really getting better. I know several more reasons but I'm thinking three is enough. As far as that goes the first one would be enough for most men, especially me.

Yesterday we got our car then went to vote. We went out of our way to vote and both votes were wasted. Voter 201 and voter 202 didn't change the outcome and wouldn't have been necessary as the school tax thing passed by at least 100 votes. It did fail in Morgan Count but Miller County humped us over the top. It doesn't seem right that the weekend home owners will probably bare the brunt of the increased real estate tax burden yet they didn't get to vote. I guess it was a result of poor turnout overall. I suspect the poor and the renters with four or five kids were mostly the ones that turned out!

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.~Bill Vaughan

August 2, 2005

If you think 98 degrees with about 70% humidity factor would feel almost too hot then don't come to Missouri till after maybe Thursday. A cooler front is supposed to come thru late that day. It isn't so bad when you've been here all your life as Glenda and I have. We just don't know any better. It takes all the announcers on TV and radio telling us how terrible it is before we begin to realize it. If we wouldn't turn either on it would just be another pleasant day for us.

Everything else around here is going just fine. Oh, there are a few things that could be considered negatives but we're just so happy to be, that they don't really cause us very much anguish. Things like the car repair costing $369.28 and after hitch-hiking with a neighbor to pick it up, it didn't work. I started to pull out of their drive and it steered so hard that I came back in the other drive. After checking things out it was discovered that the new alternator wasn't working. I think the lack of amps caused the power steering to mal-function. At least that is my hope. They brought me home. When they call, hopefully this morning to tell us it is ready again and since Glenda can't drive yet, I'll need to hitch another ride with someone.

We need that car because we don't think Glenda can get in and out of the pick-up. She wanted to go to town today after we do our important duty of voting NO on a school tax increase. We will need to read it carefully because as you know sometimes no might mean yes and vice-versa.

I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck.~Graffito

August 1, 2005

Wow, it's going to be another scorcher today with forecasted temp in the upper 90's. Outside we see the haze hanging around making things seem even hotter. Well after all it is August in Missouri so what would one expect?

The boats and wave runners were really bad again this weekend. I remember we used to get a few breaks from all the traffic some weekends but that is a thing of the past now I suppose. Nothing is constant but change.

Glenda got down a little mentally yesterday but a few fine visitors and she came right out of it. When you can't find the right words to help someone lighten their load, it sure creates a huge feeling of helplessness. Life is just a roller coaster ride anyway but with health problems you can go into deeper dips, higher highs and a lot faster too. I'm positive that we'll manage to get past this stuff and get back on the regular roller coaster.

I've got to take our $2200 car to the garage this morning. The alternator has a bearing going out we're told. So we'll have that changed out and while he is at it we'll have him put a new belt on too.

Yep, the old car runs just fine but with 122,000 miles on it we considered trading up a year or two. We looked at a 2001, test drove it and asked about a deal. $2200 allowance for our car was the figure. I just sttod up and asked him for my keys then left. That sounds like throwing it away and we know we can get a lot more than $2200 worth of use out of it yet. Looks like we'll be driving it for another couple of years unless we can find someone not paying attention somewhere. I wasn't paying too much attention when we left because I walked out with his keys in my pocket. We dropped them off at the other dealrship in Jeff City.

Each day of health is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. -E.P. Powell (edt)