Mystery Solved

Yesterday we made our trip south to put flowers on the graves, visit my aunt and buy hot dog sauce. As we were packing up the car I noticed a smell inside, a very bad one to say the least. We looked all over and couldn't determine where it was coming from so we headed out, thinking it would dissipate somehow. Well, it didn't and I considered every possibility as to where it was coming from. Every time we stopped the car I lifted things up and checked out numerous possibilities. My husband even checked under the hood after getting gas thinking maybe something had crawled inside. I decided that as soon as we got home I would take everything out of the car that I could and see if the smell was still there. I knew that smell to be sure and commented that it was dairy gone bad or something dead. I took everything out and the car smelled fine so I thought maybe they used some manure in the plants. We came home with 2 geraniums in a cardboard carton and as I smelled them I noticed one had a faint odor, then I looked down in the box. There he was, dead as a doornail - a mouse! That was our passenger yesterday and how ironic as we put flowers on all the graves.

More harm than good

That's how I feel about the medicine I was taking for my cough. I was on that for 10 days and didn't see much of any improvement during that time. It did seem to relax me enough to get some sleep without coughing all night but during the day it was coughing mania. Then about a week into the medicine I developed a rash on my feet that spread up my legs and even on the inside of my wrists. I was perplexed as to what was causing this but couldn't think of anything different that I was doing, eating or using that would have caused it. It didn't itch but after a couple days it seem to get warm to the touch and swell just a tad. Believe it or not once I finished that medication it started to fade, along with my cough. At this point I'm feeling much better and am almost recovered from my cough, no thanks to the medicine. I realize I put my doctor in a tough position. I went in there in a panic with shortness of breath and he did what anyone would do - appease me with an antibiotic! I usually wait about a week before going to the doctor with symptoms like these but I didn't feel that confident coming off open-heart surgery. Now it's time to make up for lost time and start exercising again.

Flowers on the Graves

That's what my husband and I did this weekend - put flowers on the graves. This is something my mother did faithfully. Every Memorial Day she went out and bought red geraniums, only red. Back then it was just a few graves, mainly her parents and a couple siblings. The rest of the graves were handled by other family members. The important thing was to get everyone covered on this day. Back when my husband and I first got married I still let her do it as I wasn't living in the area anyway. My husband's parents left it up to a relative in DuBois so I figured that was taken care of too. Now that both sets of parents and aunts are gone, the duty falls on me, or so I've taken it on. Every year it seems to be more and not just because of people dying but we're realizing that there are others that no one is putting flowers on their graves. The other day we put flowers on the Rices and then started looking for some Markievichs. We gave up after a while and will ask other family members where exactly the graves are. Tomorrow we'll do my side of the family plus a visit with my last surviving aunt and then hit the hot dog shops. Sounds crazy, I know, but this is when we buy our sauce to get us through the grilling season. This year my daughter asked us to bring her back some. She says no one in Cleveland has ever had a Greek dog so she's going to save the city. So that's how my weekend is working out to be and as long as I'm able I'll keep doing it. I think my mom would be proud!

Beautiful Weekend

It really was a beautiful weekend here in NW PA and even though I know the rain is coming, it certainly feels like summer. Here's some things I'm loving today and this past weekend.

1. I love that smell of fresh cut grass. I know cutting it is not the most fun thing to do on a nice day but it has such a great smell. Of course, everyone was waiting for this first dry day to do it so the sound of mowers was about all you could hear.


2. I went out shopping for a couple of hours on Sat. and I was amazed at how empty the stores were. Of course, I went to fabric stores which probably don't get a huge amount of traffic but it was nice not fighting the lines on a Sat.


3. I got such a kick out of turning on the air conditioner for the first time since we got the new furnace in Dec. I know most people are opening the doors and windows for that nice fresh air, but when you've got a split-entry with the sun blasting through the west-side at suppertime, all you can do is flip on the AC. And it worked!


4. I'm loving the bird's nest with 3 babies in it along side our garage. We have such fun watching them and seeing how much they've grown so quickly. My husband first saw them as eggs and watched them hatch. Now you see 3 of them squeezed in that little nest with their beaks wide open stretching out for food. Both parents are out looking to keep those kids happy.


5. The last thing I'm loving is the pool water sparkling as I look out the kitchen window. We've never had the pool open this early and it's too cold to go in but it looks so inviting. That's how I want to spend the rest of my summer - relaxing in that water.

Problem Solver

I think I'm somewhat of a problem solver in that I try and think through things and come up with a solution or different ways to attack an issue. The same seems to be true of this cold I've come down with. My husband and I both have it but there have been striking differences in how it's progressed. Mine still has not taken that turn for the better that I've been hoping for. Yesterday while we were out shopping I mentioned to him how my legs have been aching really bad. He said his have been too even to the point of leg cramps. I thought that was an odd symptom of a cold. I was trying to wean myself off that cough syrup yesterday so I had just taken my pills. When I got back home I decided to take some cough medicine (around suppertime) and voila - no more leg pain. I certainly didn't expect that. I took more before going to bed but this morning I had the worst leg cramp in my right leg that I've ever had. So far this morning my legs are feeling pretty good but overall this cold has drained the life out of me. I feel like it's set me back about a month and I can't wait to be over it. I find myself analyzing every move I make to see what's working and what isn't hence that problem solving character trait.

Feeling Under the Weather

I really didn't see this coming, what with the flu and pneumonia vaccines I got this spring. My experience in the past has been very good once I received the shots. I had a slight headache yesterday that I couldn't seem to shake, even after a little nap in the afternoon. I thought I was just hungry but after supper I could feel it in my throat. By the time I went to bed I knew it had progressed to my chest. Even with a Tylenol I couldn't get to sleep and eventually got up to lay on the couch where I could get to the bathroom quicker. All I did there was cough so I know today will not be good. I'm hoping this doesn't last long and I'll be feeling better soon.

Quilting Material

• I've found a wonderful place to buy my quilting material - Wal-Mart in Clearfield! If you haven't noticed, Wal-Mart has been eliminating their fabric line in the stores. We used to have bolts of fabric in Edinboro before the renovation but not any more. The new store on Peach St. only has precut material in their craft department. But this store in Clearfield has bolts of fabric, a nice selection and reasonable prices, in fact dirt cheap in my book. It is especially important down there to find someplace to buy material or any craft supplies since they only have JoAnn's, no Michaels or A.C.Moore and their JoAnn's is under renovation at this time. I also stopped at a quilting store in Knox but their material was about $9.00 a yard and it is difficult to maneuver in those kind of places. So when I found fabric in colors and prints that I love for $2.47 a yard, I was thrilled. I've often said that area down there is different in what I can find and prices and now I think I know why. We found out from another Wal-Mart employee that it is considered a depressed area and are permitted to sell merchandise at lower prices. I works for me!

Rag Quilt

Well, I finally finished one of my projects that I started this winter. It was basically done but I had to run it through a washer and dryer to complete the process. It just took me awhile to get in the mood and spend some time at a Laundromat. I went to a different one that I was very impressed with. The only downside was the fact that a homeless couple frequents that one to read magazines so there's no way I could ever leave anything there for fear of having it taken. Anyway, I was a little disappointed in how my quilt turned out. I was expecting more fraying and got little more than some curling in spots. It still looks country and that's what I was going for. I did decide that this would be the only rag quilt I do but now I have a ton of denim squares that are the so called orphans. So yesterday I made a pillow sham to go with the quilt. I like the idea of having a complete bed set - quilt, sham and afghan for each bed. At least I won't have to go anywhere to launder the sham.

I Just Knew

I'm not one to freak out too bad over getting poked with a needle. I don't watch them do it because I know what's going on down there but I still don't like it. Now that I'm giving my blood just about every week, I'm resigned to it. Yesterday, though, was not the ideal experience for me. A different girl than I've had the last few times did my blood and she was very nice but did things her way. It didn't even hurt when she put the needle in but I could tell she pushed it a little further than usual. Then she gently touched my elbow to straighten my arm and then I knew things were not going as planned. Of course at this point any words from this girl's mouth short of "what about this weather" would trigger a negative response from me so when she said "Ooh" and "Huh" I just knew something had gone awry. Then I could feel her move the needle around in there trying to get some blood out. It was just a second or two and she said "there it comes" and she was done. But I was not happy. She was in a pretty big hurry to get out of there and didn't even hold pressure on the gauze - just taped and said goodbye. Thank goodness my level was good and the doctor doesn't need me back in for 2 weeks.

Working up a Sweat

As I progress into week #7 of my recovery, I thought it was time to start exercising again. It will be a slow process though. This week it will consist of my Yoga Athletic Stretch for Women's Health. The first day I used the dvd but it moved kind of fast and I missed some of it. The next day I did it myself since I knew it by heart. It was more of a workout the second day because I held each stretch for a count of 15 and I did it all. The whole workout gives a great stretch for the upper body, even when you're doing lower body stretches. I was breathing heavy when I was done but not to the point of exhaustion. I'm trying to push things a little anyway as I recover pretty quick and this is the only way I can build up any strength. I'll do a couple more days of this and then I want to move onto my Pilates stretch with the resistance band. This is a great workout and you feel wonderful afterwards. I have a Denise Austin Hot Body Yoga coming from Netflix this week and even though I'm not really interested in the hot body part of it, the yoga might be just what the doctor ordered. By the way, my blood pressure is back up, just like the doctor said it would be so I'm right on track with the exercise.