Oh Our Aching Backs!

Mom wanted to get in bed by 8 pm so she could watch the two episodes of "The Closer". At around 9:30pm I heard her call me.  So I go to the room.  She is on the floor in front of her bedroom door, sitting on her fanny.  She said she had gotten up and then sat on the edge of her bed and down she went.

I have asked her a million times not to sit on the edge of the bed.  

Anyway, I had her scoot herself over to the bed - and she did it moaning and bitching the entire way.

Amy was at puppy kindergarten part 2 and was not at home.

I can't pick her up by myself.  Luckily Amy gets home to save the day.

Mom would rather do anything than listen to me - and it was a comedy of horrors trying to get her into bed.  But, we finally got her in. 

I just sent a note to her doctor asking for a referral for a physical therapist to come over to the house to suggest some ideas for adaptive equipment that Mom can use to help her get into bed safely.  And I asked if the therapist could come over and do exercises with Mom. She does not do anything - no matter if it comes from Lori or Amy.  

I am persona non grata. And probably deservedly so.  

Love, Leslie

PS ~ Mom's doctor is arranging for a physical therapist to come out and do a home safety evaluation and make some recommendations.

Finally Finished ~ A Bit Late

Here it is, the end of June and I finally finished the back bed.  This year I got a soaker hose in, planted perennials and 7 tomato plants.  With the soaker hose on a timer, I won't have to water the plants and they will get 3 gallons of water starting at 6am.  

I also got 5 bags of mulch on top.  Plus I dug out ALOT of clay and put in 5 bags of good dirt.  Hopefully, the plants will catch up.  At least it will be pretty at the end of the summer and a good start on a decent perennial bed.

What did I plant?  Bee balm, balloon flowers, shasta daisy's, coneflowers and autumn sage. 

You can see the soaker hose ~ 50 feet of it.

And, voila, the finished bed.

Tomorrow, I will stake up the tomatoes and some of the taller plants.  

It is beer time.
Love, Leslie

Brilliant

Amy came home from the barn yesterday and in passing mentioned she had cut her finger. I asked her what she did and she told me "I cut myself in my room."  I, of course being concerned asked her what she cut herself on.  Her response:  "I cut it on something sharp."

Total Amy.

See what I live with ~ total joy.

Now, time to work in the yard.

Love,
Leslie

Happy 50th Birthday to CAROLE!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday 

These are two of my favorite pictures of Carole ~

This one from the front page of the Statesboro Herald caused much drama ~ Carole wanted me to cut it out before Dad saw it.  He had forbidden (isn't that a cool word?  I never use it in any type of discussion.)  Anyway, Dad told her he better not catch her chewing gum ever again and there she was on the front page.  Classic.

I asked Carole for a new family picture and she sent one.  But, as you can see, she took the picture.

This is Tony, Jane and Emma and Millie the dog at Yosemite.

I hope your next 50 years are terrific!

Love, Leslie

Mom Update

Today we went to Infectious Disease's at Duke.  We had a 10am appointment.  And, it went fine.   Mom was her usual self - wanting to talk to the doctor about what kind of soap to use on her face, that she had issues with seeing, what kind of exercises she should do.  

But, I managed to keep her on track.

This is the issue ~ her arm is better.  The doctor said that the problem with this "bug" is that treating it with antibiotics takes 3 to 6 months to heal and leaving it alone and treating it with heat takes 3 to 6 months.  If Mom could take the antibiotics, she would take the Zpack and another one - but she would have to quit taking her anti-depressant.  And, she would have to take several courses of the antibiotics ~ which she is allergic to. 

We chose to go the heat route, and I have ordered an XL heating pad that will cover her entire arm.  

Mom then asked the doctor what should she do if the blisters spread to her other side or her feet.  The doctor assured Mom that this does not spread.

The doctor was very pleased with how things are going, and was very sympathetic that it would take some time.  Mom said "Does this mean I don't have cancer?"

I am not sure WHERE she gets these ideas. 

This is what her arm currently looks like.  Please know that it looks bad, but it is 100 X better than it was! 

Now it is time to go to the hair dresser.  
Love to all!
~Leslie

Happy Summer Solstice

I have been working in my back bed ~ my tomatoes are going to be late, but they will go in tomorrow.  Today, I dug it out, took out a bunch of red clay, edged it and put the soaker hose in.  I got the timer on the hose so.....at 5 am every day, it will water for 45 minutes!  Genius!!!

Drat.  The hose isn't working all the way.  So, Amazon will deliver a new one.  Oh well.  At least I ordered the staples to help curve the hose and keep it in one place.  :)

The timer.

My greatest helper ~ I love this wagon!

The view from the right side of the hammock.

The whiskey barrels ~ I am going to get a climbing vine that will endure the winters ~ it will go behind the lemon grass.

Time to go out and check out the full moon.
Love, Leslie

Happy Father's Day!

I think I am pretty lucky.  I am surrounded by really cool fathers ~ and have been for a long time.  Our grandfathers and fathers were always around ~ to play, to chat, to teach us the wonders of a Snickers bar, to laugh.

Oh, sorry ~ this is Amy as Dad on Halloween.

So, enjoy your day with your Dad!

Love, Leslie

Happy Birthday to the US Army!!!

And, Happy Flag Day!

I have the flags out in the planters in the front.  I am still trying how to get a flag on the front of the house with a solar spotlight.  It may have to go on the garage.  I will figure it out.

I have plants waiting to go in the back bed and morning glory and moonflower seeds in the water to hurry up the germination.  They will go on the back fence by the bird feeders.  I have started planting in the whiskey barrels ~ I am going to a Niche Gardens in Chapel Hill on Saturday to get two native flowering vines to also go into the whiskey barrels, so they can twine up to the deck.

I also had to get the sweet potato vines out of the front planters (the deer ate them) and I moved them into the whiskey barrels.  

And, if you did not see the Tony Awards, you missed a terrific show.  I have replayed Lin-Manuel Miranda's words in my head a zillion times.  They are so moving and so right:

"We chase the melodies that seem to find us until they're finished songs and start to play when senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day. This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall, and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer and love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside. As sacred as a symphony Eliza tells her story. Now fill the world with music, love and pride. "

A Beautiful Hot Early Summer Day

Amy got me a new hammock and we dragged it out and put it together.  It was EASY and it is gorgeous!!!!

I am going to plant in the whiskey barrels tomorrow.  I am going to a local nursery to look for a climbing honeysuckle or jasmine that will survive the winters.  The hammock is huge!

I also potted some cactus plants - always trying to get the porch to look good.

And, we moved the blue Addarondack chairs from the sun to the shade, a per Lori's request.  I have to admit, it is nicer. The dogs liked it, too.

And, here is my birthday present from Carole: I love John Feinstein's writing.  I have followed him as a sports writer for the Washington Post and loved hearing his stories when he would be on Tony Kornheiser's radio show.  This book is full of great stories and is funny.
So, a big Thank You to Carole!!!!!!1

Love, Leslie

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Happy Birthday, Leslie!!!!!

What a glorious day!  Presents, cards, phone calls, flowers, messages ~ it gets no better than that!

Amy's decorations

This is a "stealth" Warriors shirt ~ Go Golden State!

Amy putting together my wagon with Loki supervising.

But, Loki kept picking up screws and other stuff he could not have and running with it in his mouth, so he lost his privileges and had to come inside. 

Now, just waiting for Amy.  A lonely vigil.

Amy is a genius!  She put together my wagon, but I need an extra wrench to finish.  I only have one wrench, so it is off to Home Depot tomorrow!

So, many thanks to everyone!
Love, Leslie

PS ~ this year, all us Thomas girls will be in our 50th year ~ some more than others.

Technology and the Onslaught of Windows 10

I am trying to avoid Windows 10.  I LOVED XP, but Microsoft decided I needed to change. So far, I am not changing to 10.

Mom, however, did get swallowed up and somehow now has Windows 10 on her computer and Lori has it on her work computer.

Lori I don't worry about.  But Mom has questions.  So, at the pubic library I thought I would see what was out there.

It is a miracle!!!!!! And, I have read and studied the Windows 10 Simplified (I have my doubts) and I will start the facebook one.  I have to put stuff on Mom's facebook page for her.  I know, I am hopelessly behind.

On the Mom front, her Infectious Disease appointment for tomorrow was canceled by the doctor because they haven't gotten the results from the coulture yet.  Hmmmmm.  CSI they are not.  But, her arm is better than it was.  Now if I can just get her to keep her arm raised up a bit.  

Much love to all,
~Leslie

For All of You on Vacation..........,

For all of you on vacation and you "think" you might miss Mom...............................

Why would a woman who has tissue paper skin and has issues with bleeding due to being on a blood thinner utilize toe nail scissors to pry off the tabs on the top to mouthwash to open the bottle RATHER than just tell Amy or I to take it off?

Why does she turn her TV volume WAY UP rather than just come out of her room to tell me she is up?  She told me that she knew it would bring me to her room.  Crafty but annoying.

And, Amy installed these temporary curtains over the front door - to prevent the dogs from barking all the time and annoying here - only while I am working for Lori.

Love, Leslie

We Did It! A Quick Drive and Surprise to See Zoe Graduate

Jesse and I had decided that we would drive up to see Zoe graduate from high school.  We had a lot of nay sayers.  Too hard to do in one day.  You should go up Friday and spend the night.  HA!
Jesse came over and spent the night and we got up and left the house at 5 am.  Roadtrip!  
We were at Zoe's high school by 10am.  The ceremony started at 11am - and Nancy had scored at an auction, front row tickets for any event.  So, we had front row, center stage!  

Zoe and Jesse

Oh, and yes ~ here they are:

Fancy Nancy's shoes

Drew, Mo (Drew's Dad), Nancy and Jesse

Zoe had no idea we were coming ~ I can't believe we all managed to keep it a secret. 

The program ran about an hour and a half ~ Nancy was recognized as a member of the Board of Trustees and Zoe was mentioned twice as a Maryland Scholarship winner and the fact that she and one other member of the class had written Honor's Thesis ~ and she had multiple colors of tassels around her neck for her academic achievements!!!!!

But, the big surprise was the display of Zoe's artwork ~ we all knew she was terrific, and the school agreed.
This piece, which was to depict Zoe's school experience, was selected to hang FOREVER in the school: (the dates are the years of the school)

The figures are Zoe on the far right and her four best friends.

It is a big piece and completely fabulous.

More of Zoe's art ~ her favorites are the two big examples of her digital art.

This is her signature way she signs her work - this caricature was all over the school and no one knew it was Zoe until she did this piece to end her anonymity during her senior year.

The school held a lovely reception and I especially appreciated the fact that Indian Creek is a Green School and they used products that were easily recycled and compostable.  Cups, plates and all.  

Then we went to lunch at Zoe's favorite place, California Pizza Kitchen and then to Nancy's house to visit.

Trying to get a good picture

Finally ~ the good picture

Everyone looked fantastic and it was a great time!!!!!

Jesse and I left at 4pm, got hung up in Upper Marlboro and Waldorf, and were back home at 9pm ~ which WE wanted, and no one believed we could do.  But we made great time through Richmond and finally on 85.

Jesse, Lori and Maren left this morning (Sunday) for Hilton Head and Zoe and her 4 crew members plus Nancy and Drew flew out this morning for Disney.  I am going to work on my tomato garden in the back.  

Love, Leslie