Right now I'm with my mom in a waiting area while they do a heart and lung catheterization. We'll see what that shows. I hate waiting in hospitals....there's been a lot of it in my life over the last 10 years.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Hospital waiting rooms....(updated)
My dad had another life threatening health event yesterday. He's been in the hospital three times in the past month. Yesterday his heart rate was way, way out of control (180 beats per minute) and after 3 injections failed to slow it down, they had to resort to electric shock to his heart to restore a normal rhythm. Then they transported him here to Florence from the little community hospital ER he was at.
Right now I'm with my mom in a waiting area while they do a heart and lung catheterization. We'll see what that shows. I hate waiting in hospitals....there's been a lot of it in my life over the last 10 years.
Right now I'm with my mom in a waiting area while they do a heart and lung catheterization. We'll see what that shows. I hate waiting in hospitals....there's been a lot of it in my life over the last 10 years.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Unrepentant
I want to tell you about Marco's latest shenanigans. Yesterday morning there was an empty wine glass from the night before sitting on an end table in the den. Marco flew over there, marched up to the glass, and knocked it over before I could stop him. The glass cracked. And when I yelled at him, you know what he yelled back?
"GEORGIE!"
"No, that wasn't George, that was you, Marco..."
"GEORGIE!"
That crazy bird has now taken to blaming the dogs for his misbehavior! There was nothing to be done for the glass. It was one of a set my friend Marla had given me one year for my birthday, and it had my initials on it. I hated to lose it. Of course, Marco didn't give a damn.
"GEORGIE!"
"No, that wasn't George, that was you, Marco..."
"GEORGIE!"
That crazy bird has now taken to blaming the dogs for his misbehavior! There was nothing to be done for the glass. It was one of a set my friend Marla had given me one year for my birthday, and it had my initials on it. I hated to lose it. Of course, Marco didn't give a damn.
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| Unrepentant |
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Wednesday photo
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This is the little potted pomegranate my husband's friend sent to me. Beside it is the fig cutting I've been growing out. I hope to plant both outside later this spring (or maybe in the fall).
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Sunday, February 16, 2020
Sunday morning this and that
Friday morning at work I buzzed in a delivery person who had two Valentine's Day arrangements of roses. One of them was for me! I assumed at first that they were from my husband (this particular florist has the nicest roses in town and he always uses them when he sends me flowers) but I was wrong. They were from my dad! How sweet was that?!
Since I'm an only child, my dad always got both me and my mom presents on Valentine's Day--we're "his girls". Usually when I was growing up it was candy, a similar (but smaller) box to what he would buy for mom. These days, I'd much rather have the flowers. Thanks, dad!
I wanted to cook a special dinner for Gregg for Valentine's Day but didn't feel like it on Friday night after a long day at work. So I did it last night instead. Homemade spinach lasagna, a nice loaf of Italian bread, salad, and a cherry-topped cheesecake for dessert was what I came up with. It was all delicious!
One of Gregg's oldest friendships is with a Vietnamese guy named Thanh. He invited Gregg over this weekend to see his greenhouse and to give him a couple of items to give to me (he knows how much I like flowers and gardens). The first is a small potted pomegranate that has two tiny fruits on it. According to Tranh, these fruits are strictly ornamental and too bitter to eat, but he grows the plants because they're so pretty. He also gave us a large concrete planter--he had salvaged 6 of them from a business that was getting rid of them--and something up to the size of a small tree could easily fit inside. It's attractive but it weighs a ton, and so far I have no idea what to use it for. I'm glad to have it, though! I'm sure I'll figure something out.
I'm participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by Cornell University this weekend. What I seem to be seeing the most of at the feeders right now are tiny little song sparrows. There's a flock hanging around this weekend gorging themselves on the good quality seed we buy. The pair of Carolina Wrens I keep seeing at the suet feeders are still around and starting to grow plump! All that rich suet and mild winter weather, I guess. I'm hoping they have a nest nearby. Speaking of which, the Red Bellied Woodpecker that visits those same suet feeders has turned out to be two separate birds--a male and a female. (I learned how to identify the sexes recently.) I really hope they're getting ready to raise a brood of baby woodpeckers close by this spring. I'll bet they'd be adorable when they started to fledge and follow their parents to the feeders! We shall see.
It's another long weekend (President's Day! yay!) and I don't have to go to work tomorrow. My friend Marian has invited me and a couple of other friends over tonight for wine, food, and the premiere of the new season of Outlander. I'm looking forward to it! I'm making a nice batch of guacamole this afternoon to take along. I think Gregg's planning to invite his friend Ben over tonight while I'm away. They'll have a good time talking about aquariums--Ben's a fish nerd, too. I like it when Gregg has time with his friends, which doesn't happen nearly often enough.
What's going on with you this weekend? I hope you're all having a good one!
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I wanted to cook a special dinner for Gregg for Valentine's Day but didn't feel like it on Friday night after a long day at work. So I did it last night instead. Homemade spinach lasagna, a nice loaf of Italian bread, salad, and a cherry-topped cheesecake for dessert was what I came up with. It was all delicious!
One of Gregg's oldest friendships is with a Vietnamese guy named Thanh. He invited Gregg over this weekend to see his greenhouse and to give him a couple of items to give to me (he knows how much I like flowers and gardens). The first is a small potted pomegranate that has two tiny fruits on it. According to Tranh, these fruits are strictly ornamental and too bitter to eat, but he grows the plants because they're so pretty. He also gave us a large concrete planter--he had salvaged 6 of them from a business that was getting rid of them--and something up to the size of a small tree could easily fit inside. It's attractive but it weighs a ton, and so far I have no idea what to use it for. I'm glad to have it, though! I'm sure I'll figure something out.
I'm participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by Cornell University this weekend. What I seem to be seeing the most of at the feeders right now are tiny little song sparrows. There's a flock hanging around this weekend gorging themselves on the good quality seed we buy. The pair of Carolina Wrens I keep seeing at the suet feeders are still around and starting to grow plump! All that rich suet and mild winter weather, I guess. I'm hoping they have a nest nearby. Speaking of which, the Red Bellied Woodpecker that visits those same suet feeders has turned out to be two separate birds--a male and a female. (I learned how to identify the sexes recently.) I really hope they're getting ready to raise a brood of baby woodpeckers close by this spring. I'll bet they'd be adorable when they started to fledge and follow their parents to the feeders! We shall see.
It's another long weekend (President's Day! yay!) and I don't have to go to work tomorrow. My friend Marian has invited me and a couple of other friends over tonight for wine, food, and the premiere of the new season of Outlander. I'm looking forward to it! I'm making a nice batch of guacamole this afternoon to take along. I think Gregg's planning to invite his friend Ben over tonight while I'm away. They'll have a good time talking about aquariums--Ben's a fish nerd, too. I like it when Gregg has time with his friends, which doesn't happen nearly often enough.
What's going on with you this weekend? I hope you're all having a good one!
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Good news
Yesterday was a good day.
It started off with me spotting the first Goldfinch of the season on one of the feeders. I took that as a good sign.
Mid morning I sent my husband a text, asking how his bi-annual check up with his oncologist had gone. He still gets nervous before his appointments even though it's been 8 years now. His response was:
"All good. You're stuck with me for awhile. Less than 1% chance of lung cancer recurrence at this point. 10 to 15% chance of other cancers, statistically. So says Smith" (Dr. Smith is his oncologist).
What great news, huh?! He's been so lucky. The overwhelming majority of stage 3 lung cancer patients aren't even around 8 years later. So far he's defied the odds and I'm so grateful. So very grateful.
It started off with me spotting the first Goldfinch of the season on one of the feeders. I took that as a good sign.
Mid morning I sent my husband a text, asking how his bi-annual check up with his oncologist had gone. He still gets nervous before his appointments even though it's been 8 years now. His response was:
"All good. You're stuck with me for awhile. Less than 1% chance of lung cancer recurrence at this point. 10 to 15% chance of other cancers, statistically. So says Smith" (Dr. Smith is his oncologist).
What great news, huh?! He's been so lucky. The overwhelming majority of stage 3 lung cancer patients aren't even around 8 years later. So far he's defied the odds and I'm so grateful. So very grateful.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Weekend joys
Waking up in our new house is always pleasant in one way or another. Right now, the neighbor's tree is especially beautiful first thing in the morning with the sun rising behind it. This is a view of it just outside my front door.
A sweet pair of Carolina Wrens have started visiting the bird feeders hanging in the Crepe Myrtle tree outside our bathroom window. They're our state bird here in South Carolina. I hope they have a nest started somewhere close by.
This house has proven to be a great spot for birds. The feeders are always busy with lots of different species. With all the bird calls and singing, our yard reminds us of a campsite sometimes. The screened in back porch is one of my favorite places to spend time during the weekends.
Last summer I made a new friend, Norma, the mother of a student at the school where I work. Norma and her family are from Mexico, and while she's working on learning English, I'm trying to improve my Spanish. We met up for coffee a couple of times and did our best to have conversations (sometimes we both have to use Google translate on our phones to get more complex ideas across!). Well, last weekend Norma invited me to her house and she and her husband cooked for me!
Everything was delicious, including the Ceviche I tried for the first time. I didn't get a photo of that, but I did sneak one of the next dish.
Time with friends, wild birds, beautiful weather, it doesn't get much better than that. I hope you've had a good weekend, too, friends.
A sweet pair of Carolina Wrens have started visiting the bird feeders hanging in the Crepe Myrtle tree outside our bathroom window. They're our state bird here in South Carolina. I hope they have a nest started somewhere close by.
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This house has proven to be a great spot for birds. The feeders are always busy with lots of different species. With all the bird calls and singing, our yard reminds us of a campsite sometimes. The screened in back porch is one of my favorite places to spend time during the weekends.
Last summer I made a new friend, Norma, the mother of a student at the school where I work. Norma and her family are from Mexico, and while she's working on learning English, I'm trying to improve my Spanish. We met up for coffee a couple of times and did our best to have conversations (sometimes we both have to use Google translate on our phones to get more complex ideas across!). Well, last weekend Norma invited me to her house and she and her husband cooked for me!
Everything was delicious, including the Ceviche I tried for the first time. I didn't get a photo of that, but I did sneak one of the next dish.
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| Small beef quesadillas covered in salad.....so delicious! |
Time with friends, wild birds, beautiful weather, it doesn't get much better than that. I hope you've had a good weekend, too, friends.
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Early dismissal
I got to leave work 2 hours early today! Woo hoo!
We had early dismissal due to a line of very heavy storms moving into the area. The forecast is calling for 60mph winds starting around 3pm, which is too dangerous for school buses to be driving around in. I'm sure we'll get some downed trees as well, especially since we're to have flooding rains, too. This is crazy weather for February.
I feel much better than yesterday. Work felt rewarding again this morning, albeit in a small way. My favorite guidance counselor told me that one of our Hispanic students and his mother were in her office and didn't know they were eligible for free lunches. The student had racked up over $100 in lunch debt that will be erased if they apply for and are approved for free lunch. The mom doesn't speak any English, and the family doesn't have a computer at home to apply online for the lunch program. Ms. Long (the counselor) said, "Mrs. Barlow, can you help them?" and I told her I sure could! While Ms. Long covered the phones and door buzzer for me, I went online and filled out the application for the mother for both of her kids, the one at our school and his little brother in the fifth grade. Between my mediocre Spanish skills, and the son to help with translating (plus a couple of phone calls to get the little brother's student ID number from his school) we managed pretty well and got the application submitted. The mom was so grateful for my help and it made me feel good to make a small difference for that family.
Then we got to leave early, which was a surprise. I do hope the storms aren't bad and no one has any property damage, but when we get to leave school early, I feel a little bit like a kid again myself! I wish we'd have a snow day off, too, but I'm losing hope that we'll see any snow this year. It is supposed to be back down to freezing tomorrow night, which will wreak havoc with the trees blooming so early around here:
We had early dismissal due to a line of very heavy storms moving into the area. The forecast is calling for 60mph winds starting around 3pm, which is too dangerous for school buses to be driving around in. I'm sure we'll get some downed trees as well, especially since we're to have flooding rains, too. This is crazy weather for February.
I feel much better than yesterday. Work felt rewarding again this morning, albeit in a small way. My favorite guidance counselor told me that one of our Hispanic students and his mother were in her office and didn't know they were eligible for free lunches. The student had racked up over $100 in lunch debt that will be erased if they apply for and are approved for free lunch. The mom doesn't speak any English, and the family doesn't have a computer at home to apply online for the lunch program. Ms. Long (the counselor) said, "Mrs. Barlow, can you help them?" and I told her I sure could! While Ms. Long covered the phones and door buzzer for me, I went online and filled out the application for the mother for both of her kids, the one at our school and his little brother in the fifth grade. Between my mediocre Spanish skills, and the son to help with translating (plus a couple of phone calls to get the little brother's student ID number from his school) we managed pretty well and got the application submitted. The mom was so grateful for my help and it made me feel good to make a small difference for that family.
Then we got to leave early, which was a surprise. I do hope the storms aren't bad and no one has any property damage, but when we get to leave school early, I feel a little bit like a kid again myself! I wish we'd have a snow day off, too, but I'm losing hope that we'll see any snow this year. It is supposed to be back down to freezing tomorrow night, which will wreak havoc with the trees blooming so early around here:
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Not the best photo, but it's the only one I have of our next-door neighbor's beautiful tree.
It's dripping with gorgeous pink flowers right now! That's our house behind it (photo was taken from my car).
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Wednesday, February 5, 2020
In a mood......(edited)
What a week it's been. I've left work annoyed every day so far. First it was listening to the gossipers in the office speculating about how some of our office staff may be moved to other schools because of changes going on district-wide. The last thing I want to do is be forced to change schools, but if it were that versus losing my job, well, I guess I'd have to make a change and try to accept it with good grace. Hopefully that's just gossip and rumors. (I think that's likely). Next, I found out about some changes at my school that have already happened and no one bothered to tell me. It's nothing major, but it was annoying and I felt slighted. I left work every day this week feeling underappreciated, overworked, and just generally annoyed.
Then there's the sham impeachment trial that I knew, just knew, would end exactly how it has....but it still feels like a punch in the gut. To add insult to injury, Rush F*cking Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by our POSPOTUS last night. What a sick, despicable joke that is.
I don't care that Rush was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer; as a commentator somewhere else noted, if any person had told him that THEY had advanced lung cancer and no health insurance, his immediate response would have been "tough shit". He's a horrible, horrible human being, and while I wouldn't have wished cancer on him or anyone else, I have trouble summoning any sympathy for such a vile man. He said nasty, horrible things about John McCain when he was dying of brain cancer, he's a raging racist, he claimed Michael J. Fox was faking his Parkinson's disease symptoms (and proceeded to mock him) and he advanced the whole Sandy Hook conspiracy theories that all those little children hadn't really died, that it was a left-wing hoax to take away peoples' guns. I could go on and on and on. He's caused (maybe) irreparable harm to our country and has gotten wealthy from it. There are thousands upon thousands of other people suffering from cancer (many of whom can't afford treatment so will just have to die) who are much more deserving of our empathy. To hell with him. *****
But yeah.....that whole Trump giving him that medal really burned me up and I've been feeling pissy all day about it. There was a 100 year old Tuskegee Airman at the SOTU speech...why not him? Oh, yeah, because Donald Trump is just as despicable as Rush Limbaugh.
ARRRHHH!!!!! Some days I feel like my head will explode.
Sorry to dump all that on a blog post. Hope you didn't pop in here for cute Marco doings or food photos or "beautiful moments in an ordinary life". What can I say? Some moments fall far short of beautiful.
*****Before anyone says it, I am not gleeful or happy about Limbaugh's diagnosis. He's a human being and still deserves the dignity he never afforded many others. But I'd be lying if I said my heart bleeds for him.
Then there's the sham impeachment trial that I knew, just knew, would end exactly how it has....but it still feels like a punch in the gut. To add insult to injury, Rush F*cking Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by our POSPOTUS last night. What a sick, despicable joke that is.
I don't care that Rush was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer; as a commentator somewhere else noted, if any person had told him that THEY had advanced lung cancer and no health insurance, his immediate response would have been "tough shit". He's a horrible, horrible human being, and while I wouldn't have wished cancer on him or anyone else, I have trouble summoning any sympathy for such a vile man. He said nasty, horrible things about John McCain when he was dying of brain cancer, he's a raging racist, he claimed Michael J. Fox was faking his Parkinson's disease symptoms (and proceeded to mock him) and he advanced the whole Sandy Hook conspiracy theories that all those little children hadn't really died, that it was a left-wing hoax to take away peoples' guns. I could go on and on and on. He's caused (maybe) irreparable harm to our country and has gotten wealthy from it. There are thousands upon thousands of other people suffering from cancer (many of whom can't afford treatment so will just have to die) who are much more deserving of our empathy. To hell with him. *****
But yeah.....that whole Trump giving him that medal really burned me up and I've been feeling pissy all day about it. There was a 100 year old Tuskegee Airman at the SOTU speech...why not him? Oh, yeah, because Donald Trump is just as despicable as Rush Limbaugh.
ARRRHHH!!!!! Some days I feel like my head will explode.
Sorry to dump all that on a blog post. Hope you didn't pop in here for cute Marco doings or food photos or "beautiful moments in an ordinary life". What can I say? Some moments fall far short of beautiful.
*****Before anyone says it, I am not gleeful or happy about Limbaugh's diagnosis. He's a human being and still deserves the dignity he never afforded many others. But I'd be lying if I said my heart bleeds for him.
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