TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I have to admit that our cooler nights (sometimes they feel damn cold) are fantastic for sleeping, even if it means I have to turn on the electric blanket.  I've learned to gauge the correct number for my comfort, depending on how cold it is outside (and it gets cold in the house, too).  The big problem is how it affects the arthritis in my hands.

It feels like I have icicles for bones and it becomes extremely painful.  It takes a long time for the pain to stop.  When I type, hitting the keys is painful, especially my little finger on my left hand.  When I go to bed, the pain has been there for some time and I keep my hands under my electric blanket so they don't hurt much by morning.  The Beast thinks I am nuts because I will go into my computer room and turn on the small space heater.  I told him that it's very obvious he doesn't have arthritis in his hands like I do.  He does have it in his thumb...correction....mainly because he kept hitting it with a hammer for years whenever he went to nail something together.  I've never heard him talk about it feeling cold so I don't know exactly what it feels like for him when it acts up but I don't think it's cold that affects it like it does me.  I have low blood pressure most of the time so that might have something to do with it.  He keeps saying I have no blood and that's why. 

The Beast has been working on cleaning the mildew off the siding of the house the last couple days.  He has his own system.  First, with his spray pump, he sprays a mixture of soap, bleach and water and lets it sit (this is after pre-wetting it, of course) for about 5 minutes or so.  Then he sprays it with siding cleaner and lets that sit however long the instructions say.  Then he pressure cleans it with plain water.  I have to tell you that it really works fantastic because not only does the dirt and mildew disappear but it also sparkles with how clean and white it looks.  Just like brand new.  But what would be a four hour job takes him 2-3 days because it's tough on him physically.  He's just not a young man but he pushes himself harder than he probably should.  He also puts off doing it longer than he should.  I think he's waited about 3 years to do this.  I told him it might just look so white because the house had both mildew and several layers of dirt! 

Now he's working on the barn and the shed.  I'm calling it the shed because that's what it's really looking like nowadays.  It truly IS becoming a storage area.  I was a bit surprised when I took a look inside.  I was going to go out and just check to see how the strawberries were doing but should have brought something with me to carry them back with me.  We have quite a few ready to be picked.    Anyway, I took a look in the shed on my way back to the house and was really surprised at all he had moved in there.  He says he's going to put up shelves when all the paneling is up to take more of the *stuff* out of the garage that could/should be in there.  It will leave me more room for my canned fruits and veggies (if we get any real measure of fruit this year).  I told him we could put a freezer in the shed now and he agreed with me.  He knows we could really use one but didn't want to think about trying to fit another thing out in the garage.  It's been just jammed with all kinds of things out there.  We really didn't have room for one and we sure don't have room here in the house.  Not without looking like one of those *hoarders* on TV. 

My niece, Tara, wanted to get the papers for our taxes this year since we did have some things to claim.  I keep a folder that says *Tax papers for Tara* on it and, as the things come in, I put them in the folder.  Well, I knew where I last remember it being but can't find it.  I've been tearing my room apart and also doing some clearing up of things that I had stacked underneath the table in here.  I know I am a procrastinator but I think I might have an excuse (almost) this time for what I found.  I found a box that should have been sent to my son, Marcus Aurelius, and his family with their presents from Christmas.  I just didn't expect to end up in the hospital right after New Year's.  And, unfortunately, I forgot it hadn't been sent.  I am sooooo ashamed.  I have to figure out how to get it sent off now.  The Beast becomes a real bear if I ask him to go out of his way to stand in line at the Post Office or at UPS.  I have two things that need to be returned to the manufacturer's so we can get our money back on them besides that.  I hate to ask the Princess or Tara to do that because they both are such busy people.  I may have to get the Beast to take me and *I* will have to stand in line so that, perhaps, he will get the idea that I am not doing this frivolously.  I'll figure it out because I MUST get it done and soon.

Lovey is really showing her personality and poor Baron isn't really sure what to make of her.  He was laying in the recliner and Lovey jumped up, curled up and laid her head on his and went to sleep.  Baron didn't move and the two of them were in the chair, asleep.  Not for long, unfortunately or the Beast would have taken a picture of it.  As soon as Baron heard a noise outside, he woke up, jerked, and barked so the cat woke up and jumped down.  They both are funny when the Beast puts their food down for them.  Baron has to go over to the cat's food first and give it a smell before he goes over to his food and vice versa for the cat.  Makes me wonder if they are checking it out to make sure they are getting the *good* stuff or if they might prefer the others food.

Time to work on my room a bit more before I think about bedtime.  Love you all and I hope you had a good start to your week.  If not, screw it!  Tomorrow is a new day. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I was feeling good today so I actually did quite a bit of cooking.  I made a ham and onion omelet for us for breakfast; cooked up some chicken noodle soup for our lunch (the packaged kind with the really thin noodles like toothpicks) and then made a meat loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy plus some corn for dinner.  The Beast kept busy out in the yard and is making plans to get the cottage/shed painted.  He doesn't want it to start mildewing and have to pressure clean it.  He's got to pressure clean the deck because that, too, is going to get painted this year.  He's let that go about two years too long.

I told him that I bet he's sorry he gave away our spray painter (it was very expensive, of course.  He only bought the best!)  He just shot me a look because I had told him he would regret it when he did it.  He HATES when I am right.  I just grinned.  I told him I would paint the fence and railing on the deck only because I can do that sitting down and take my time.  It's not all that big an area.  I can use a roller for most of it.

Tara brought over some of her leftover food.  We now have some roast beef, some very tasty gravy, mashed potatoes and some kind of noodles.  It will make some good lunches at the very least.

Love you all.  Hope you had a Happy Easter or at the least, a nice Sunday.  Be good in the week ahead and be careful. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I haven't mentioned this mainly because I didn't want to think a family could be so cruel as to drop off an animal around us again after what seemed to be a happy reunion.  But a few days after that cat and family reunion I told you about, a grey cat showed up at our door.  It looked very similar to one of the grey cats that had been haunting our house for a few days.  We knew they had been another unfortunate event that ended up on the side of our roads out here in the boondocks.  Then I realized yesterday when I finally sat down to pet it that it was a light and dark grey tiger.  The other two cats weren't and had a lot of white on them.  Not that I was glad another pet had been dropped off but I was happy that it wasn't one of the same cats.

The biggest difference between this cat and the orange tiger that sometimes haunts our deck is that it's not afraid of Baron.  That startled Baron so much you would have laughed.  In fact, he was so startled by how the cat wanted to rub nuzzles that Baron started being afraid to go out in the yard if the cat was there.  BUT....he finally settled down and has come to accept the cat (Chewlee loves it and will always run outside to hold it when she's here).

The Beast started feeding her because it only took a day or two before he realized she was homeless AND wasn't afraid of Baron nor aggressive and threatening.  The Beast started letting the cat inside the past couple of days....not for long but letting her sniff around and getting to know the house.  I knew what he had in mind although he just kept saying he felt sorry for her.  So far he hasn't suggested a name for her but I think *Lovey* would work.  She is the most loveable, relaxed cat....especially for a cat.  She's taken to laying at my feet when I am at my computer but she just jumped up into my lap.  She just wanted to look around so I guess she's totally female and nosy.    Ahh, she's back, laying down at my feet.  Baron doesn't mind when I pick her up or she jumps up on me but you should see how jealous he gets when she does that to the Beast.  He is SO jealous.  I just laugh and tell the Beast that HE did that to himself by making Baron his combo son/best friend and taking him everywhere.  I'm sure Baron is feeling a bit insecure since the Beast stopped taking him everywhere with him a few weeks ago.

As a dog, even one as intelligent as he is, he doesn't realize that sometimes it's the weather (too cold or too hot) that determines that.  Sometimes it's because of the amount of time Baron might have to be alone in the car.  It all just depends but I guess it just makes Baron feel he's been deserted or lost his position in the Beast's life.  That, of course, couldn't happen.  The Beast has only had one other dog he's cared for as much as he does Baron.  Her name was Tante Domina, another Doberman.  We all called her Domina.  In truth, she was MY dog and I loved and trusted her more than any other dog we've owned.  She was 18 months old when I found her and I knew immediately that she was MY dog.  The Beast had to go through complete retraining of her in order for her to accept him as a *pack leader*.  Once that happened, he was totally in love with her.  She wasn't his best friend but she was the greatest guard dog we ever had yet gentler than anyone who watched her when she was guarding the kids (and that included neighbor kids) ever believed.  I miss her and she's gone many years now.  But a great dog is a great dog.

Today Baron showed us how much he has come to accept Lovey.  He laid down next to the Beast's recliner and Lovey laid down, facing him, at his head.  That's when Baron got up, walked into the guest bedroom and came out with his squeaky toy.  He put it down near the cat and laid back down.  Then he pushed the toy towards Lovey to let her play with it.  The Beast was stunned.  That was only the second time we've ever seen Baron do something like that.  The first time was to Tara's puppy two or three years ago.  Trust me, that's no small thing for any dog to do, let alone a very possessive dog like Baron.

Chewlee only spent half a day here since her mother only worked one shift.  She wasn't even scheduled for that but volunteered I believe so someone else didn't have to work it since she wasn't going to Tennessee as planned.  In fact, I found out that she is spending the day with Tara tomorrow.  If she hadn't planned on going to Tennessee, I would have had a family dinner here but I like the idea that they are spending tomorrow together.  Chewlee will love spending the time with Chance and she's good company for him, too, I think.  They play together well and seem to enjoy each other's company.

One of Tara's clients is a bakery and she is always bringing us some of their goodies, usually ones packed with calories (and sugar).  Thankfully, as long as it's not cheesecake, I can just take a taste and then let the Beast finish it up.  She brought over some more of those yummies today and the Beast liked them so much, he kept asking me when I was going to eat my cupcake.  He knew full well that I was probably only going to eat a half at the most.  He just wanted more than he'd already had. 

We have ripe, red and nice size strawberries already.  I kid you not.  The Beast picked the ones that were ready and we ate them.  They were incredibly sweet and needed nothing on them.  The strawberry plants from last year are just full of little green strawberries.  We'll get a bunch off the plants this year.  Enough for some jam this time.  One of the blueberry bushes looks like it's not going to do anything this year but the other two we are hopeful will do well.  They aren't budding fruit yet but we knew they wouldn't be doing that for another couple weeks.  We are still keeping our fingers crossed over the other fruits (peaches, plums,cherries, pears and apples).  We have no idea how bad the fungus will be but we are praying for it not to take all the fruit this year like it did last year.

It never got really warm today but it was sunny and there was almost no wind so it wasn't bad.  The Beast was outside, putting fresh oil in the compressor for the pressure cleaner.  Chewlee wanted to ride her bike around here and, would you believe it?  She actually forgot how to do it?  She came in and asked the Beast to fix her bike because the wheels were broken and wouldn't turn for her.  He tried it out and it was fine.  When she got on, he discovered what was wrong.  She was trying to ride it backward.  Well, she was turning the pedals backward.  When he showed her the way she should have been pedaling, she got this surprised look on her face, said *Oh!* and then took off down the driveway.  It was just too funny.

Gotta go.  Love you all.  Hope you have a Happy Easter and the Easter bunny is good to you. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I think I mentioned before...a while back...that I had selected the HH agency that was affiliated with the hospital when they asked me if I had a choice.  It just made sense to me since they should be familiar with the doctors and vice versa.  That's not necessarily true that they know each other personally but they know the procedures AND reputations.  I have been very pleased with the way they operate.  Today my HH nurse told me how much she loves working with the Wound Center and with HH wound care.  This particular nurse is the resident expert on the V.A.C. wound system and she was so proud that their particular agency is rated #1 in the country for the V.A.C. system and it's percentage of successful healing usage.

I didn't know that the Wound Center wasn't all that old here.  In fact, my nurse said that she was so happy when they started it a few years ago.  She used to work on wounds on patients in extended or long term care facilities and she hated it.  Why?  Because, at the time, there was almost no in-house carry-through and the wounds were awful and sometimes got so bad, they led to serious complications.  That's until AL changed the laws for those facilities and got much stricter.  Now, if they even get a bed sore, there are serious consequences and they can even shut down a home for that.

My HH nurse always checks to see what the fresh orders are for my wound care and will call me to find out if I need anything as far as supplies.  I have this big boot box that I try to keep all of it in and I know I will be healed long before it's all used up.  If so, I will have a nice first aid kit available for any wound. 

The Beast was in a good mood all day today.  He went and took the dog out for two runs.  He did some grocery shopping.  He did a load of hanging clothes that he had waited to do because we needed more hangers in the house.    Then he made some sloppy joe that finally turned out right because he stopped trying to add new things to it.  The last time he made it, he added garlic....and I mean he added GARLIC!!  It was awful.  This time I had to compliment him for getting it right.  He got a huge grin on his face.  I ate two sandwiches.  I wasn't even that hungry but it was THAT good.

My heel was painful for some reason.  Not the wound area but the back of my ankle for some reason.  The pain came and went but it was sharp and lasted a few minutes.  I finally broke down and took a pain pill when it kept up over a period of half an hour.  I'll have to ask the doctor why THAT started.

Poor Chewlee was really tired today when her mother dropped her off.  She stayed overnight at a friends and was up very early but played quietly until the rest of the house woke up, I gathered.  She actually fell asleep in my recliner, suddenly, and even the idea of her taking a bath couldn't wake her up.  She'll want to take one tomorrow in order to take the little toys that were in her basket in with her.  She loves toys to play with in her bath.  I will have to make sure she gets in early because she is going to want to play like it's a pool.  I'll have a tough time getting her out. 

Going to bed early tonight since Chewlee will be here early in the morning since they aren't going to TN until early Sunday.  The Princess doesn't want to stay overnight so she will go up there, spend half the day or so and then come home to sleep in her own bed.  Can't blame her there.  Your own bed is always the most comfortable even if it's just familiarity and your own pillows.

Love you all and have a great Saturday.  I wish you good weather and the company of friends. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

After the good news that I posted earlier, it seems like nothing else was required to have the day be a good one for us all.  And, truly, it didn't.  Other than some expected phone calls to hear the news, our day was quiet.  The Beast had stopped to pick up a sandwich on his way home (a Reuben) so he took a nap.

Afterward, we did our wash/fold thing for a small load of odds and ends, mostly towels and rags.  Then the Beast took his shower to get ready for his special Bible study.  The Princess, Chewlee and Tara went with him since it was the equivalent of their Easter celebration.  The Princess has always been kind of open about her worship of God but her experience has been mostly Lutheran with some Methodist thrown in for a few years.  Tara has a lot of experience with trying various forms of worship but she is such a believer in God that she can make you remember the wonder of when you first realized there truly IS a God in our universe.  She believes that any form of worship to acknowledge love of God is a good thing and who can say she's wrong.  But believing in a PROPHET over belief in God isn't even sensible.  Especially a prophet who believes that killing someone who doesn't believe like YOU is acceptable.  That just seems especially evil and not something that God would endorse.  At least, not the God that I know and love.

The Princess looked lovely with her nice tan (her days at the beach a couple weeks ago was not wasted....and then she spent a little time in a tanning booth.  The tan she has now will last her the whole summer.  She had on a really nice yellow, silky texture dress and some cute platform shoes.  Chewlee refused to wear a dress so she had on her favorite embroidered jeans and a cute, long sleeved peasant-type top with her favorite sandals.  Tara looked nice with a cute black and white top and some dressy slacks.  The Beast looked a bit like a *made man* for the Mafia.  He had on a black dress shirt with a white tie.  He had white slacks on and his shiny material black suit jacket.  The jacket looks like sharkskin and it was really similar to some of the Mafioso that I used to see in Chicago.  They always dressed so slick.

When you lived in a neighborhood like I did as a kid, every kid knew who the local *collectors* were and the enforcers.  The information was passed from kid to kid even though the parents used to try to shield us from that stuff.  We were smarter than they thought, though, and had our own opinions about them.  Some we were rather fond of but others scared the hell out of us.    I even remember the guys who aspired to be wise guys and I think about some of them once in a while.  I wonder if they made it, even if it was on the fringe.  And I feel sorry for the kind of life they would have ended up living.  But, such is life.  You never know. 

I would never have believed that a kid like me or the Beast would have ended up living the life we have had.  It's been a strange but interesting life.  We've actually owned the last four homes we've lived in and we own a home we rent out.  We were selling it on contract to Tara but she won't be able to get a regular mortgage for it due to her starting her business.  She will need a stronger base before she could qualify.  She also can't make the payments outlined so we are going to let her rent and, hopefully, she may be able to pick up the contract down the line.  She's been a good tenant, if you choose to call her that, and we think of the house as hers.  We will work with her on that and just hope her business grows well in the next few years.

The Beast was hungry when he got home so he fried up some bacon to make BLT's and he's also baking a pumpkin pie.  When he gets hungry, you just never know what he's going to come up with. 

It rained here tonight.  The storm sounded a lot worse when it was coming towards us than it was when it got here.  I guess it weakened or broke up because it didn't rain all that long or hard.  I was afraid we would lose both our TV and the Internet.  But, we didn't lose a thing and the storm passed quickly.  It stopped long enough for everyone to get in the house and didn't start raining again until Tara had left to head home.

Time to get this posted.  Love you all.  Tomorrow is no school for Chewlee so she is staying overnight with a friend of the Princess who has kids Chewlee's age (and she plays with them often).  The Princess has decided she isn't going to Tennessee tomorrow night.  I think she may still go up for her friend's birthday (on Easter) and to celebrate the fact that her friend is pregnant (newly).  I don't think we got that far in our discussion since Chewlee was always interrupting us. 

Have a great Good Friday and that's why there's no school for the kids (or for the Princess but she does have work during the day).  I hope it's a good day for everyone, everywhere. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today was find out what the doctor found and where we went from here.  The one thing that wasn't mentioned was the fact that besides taking the biopsy of the prostate, the doctor removed part of the prostate that was putting pressure on the bladder and causing him to get up several times during the night.  On doing the sections of the part removed to relieve the pressure, the lab found that he had actually removed all the cancer that was *active*...ALL of it.  The frozen sections are done in increments and the ends were both clear of any cancer.  Also, no free cancer cells were found in his bloodstream.  It was a special test that I heard about and even took years ago.  I told the Beast if we end up having to pay for it (some insurance companies don't), it would be worth it.  Mine cost us over $800 but it sure relieved my mind at the time since my doctor suspected I had a tumor at the time.  (It turned out to be a nerve pinched in my thoracic area that was causing a muscle to bunch up and it was very painful).

Anyway, we are so very grateful for everyone's prayers and good wishes.  For now, the Beast is fine although there is still the possibility that more tumors may show up in the bladder.  He will be checking that out every three months.  He's promised not to miss that although the doctor believes that part of the prostate contributed to that.  All we can do now is be vigilant and pray. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today was my appointment with my doctor at the Wound Center.  I said he had changed my treatment plan to a daily change of bandages after he had already changed part of the *layering* to a drying type (using calcium alginate as the primary layer on each wound).  Today he added another layer...first is the alginate, second is something they call *transfer*, then it's gauze and then the tape.  The *transfer* looks a bit like a thin layer of some kind of spongy/felted material which will pull the drainage away from the alginate so it will help dry the area up more quickly.  Then it's some folded gauze and, finally, the tape to cover it all.  I made sure I had the layering correct since I am not sure if the nurse is going to show up tomorrow or not.  I wasn't sure if I had any of the transfer stuff but it looks like I do have one small package of it.  The nurse may come just because I wasn't sure if I had any so that I could do my own re-bandaging tomorrow or not.  The Wound Center always faxes changes in treatment plans or bandaging formula and the nurse more than likely told them to be sure to bring extra transfer for me.

When I was done, the Beast and Chewlee were out in the waiting room waiting for me to be done.  That was kind of a surprise but the Beast had picked her up from school and just came down to the Wound Center since I was done so quickly the last time.  Since all we are working on now are the two foot wounds, it goes much quicker than when we also had to deal with the abdomen, too.

Chewlee has been telling me about her dreams lately.  She has some funny dreams at times.  She also has some scary ones (to her) because she still believes in monsters.  She doesn't quite believe I don't have a monster in the closet or one under the bed.  I find her checking out the closet from time-to-time...just to see if I didn't tell her the truth, I guess.  It always makes me laugh because she will try to act so casual when I catch her but I know why she's doing it.  She's always very cautious when she opens each door (we have double door closets in my computer room and *her* room. 

She has decided that Godzilla is a *good* monster and protects people.  He just breaks buildings and stuff because he's so big and clumsy.  But she told me she wishes Godzilla could sleep with her to protect her OR that she could sleep with ME.  I make her feel safe.

I know she sleeps with her mother sometimes and I asked her if she felt safe when she sleeps with her mother, the Princess and she told me yes but mommy doesn't like her to sleep in her bed too much.  Knowing her, she probably would like to sleep with her all the time but that's a bad habit for a child to get into.  I'm sure her mother gives her some loving and then puts her back in her own bed.  She doesn't sleep here all that often so, when she tip toes into my room and wants to get into bed with me, I just pick up the covers and put her between me and the Beast so there's no chance she will fall off the bed.  Then we both go to sleep happy.  I love how she cuddles up to me and pulls my arm over her and puts her arm over mine.  She will fit her head under my chin and on my shoulder in a comfy position for us both.  It's just precious.

She doesn't worry about any monster under the bed because Baron sleeps on the floor on my side of the bed.  She knows Baron would chew up any monster under there and that keeps her calm and confident that she is protected.  I have no idea just how she got the idea of monsters in the closet or under the bed in the first place.  But it's sure taking a long time to convince her that WE don't have them.

They've been advertising this new stuffed animal on TV recently.  It has a big button on it's back that you press and it lights up the ceiling with stars and moons so it helps comfort a kid who might be afraid of the dark.  I was seriously thinking about getting that for her because I think it just might help her.  I have only seen the commercial once but I will write down the website the next time it shows up and check out what the price is on it.  She has a birthday in May and that might be one nice gift for her.  They have a variety of animals to choose from, too, and I would like to be able to check them out on the website along with how big they are and what kind of batteries they use.  I think they said they shut off automatically after 20 minutes which is a nice feature so you don't have to install new batteries every day. 

Chewlee was half asleep tonight when the Princess was ready to head home.  I told her I don't think she took her nap at school because she was a lot less active today than normal.  She whined a little bit because she said she wanted to stay here.  I'm not sure if her mother heard her say that but I had told Chewlee she had to go home because she has school in the morning.  She acted surprised.  It made me wonder why she would have thought she didn't.  She almost had fallen asleep when Baron banged into my door and opened it because Chewlee hadn't quite shut it then came over and licked her face.  She yelled at him and was cranky as she pulled him out the door and shut it tightly.  Then she laid down on her blankey on my recliner until her mother got there to take her home.

Love you all and have a great day.  It's stopped raining now so I have a solid internet connection to get this posted.  Be good, smile at everyone today and watch the smiles spread.  It's a small thing to do but has some huge results at times. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Early today, the HH nurse called to tell me the doctor had changed my treatment plan on the foot wounds to a change of bandages every day.  She had to come over, not just to change my bandages but also to make sure I knew how to re-do them.  I told her I knew how to do that much but had a need for the calcium alginate so she came and brought me enough so that I could do it the four days that they (or the doctor) didn't change them.  I said I would do that because I don't want Medicare to stop the HH visits for over usage.  I know they can do that regardless of what the doctors order.  They can be much like an HMO at times.

So, she showed up here around noon and I did the cleansing and cutting of the alginate plus putting most of the bandaging on them.  She sure did bring me enough supplies, I'll say that.  Not just more of the sterile water for the cleansing but also more sterile 4x4 gauze plus a big pack of regular 4x4 to use for cleaning the wounds.  She also left me a couple large sheets of the good adhesive to cover the wounds.  It's the silk stuff that allows the whole thing to breathe but is sturdier than the paper tape.  I still love that paper tape because it's so easy to either cut or tear and it does hold well.  Unless, of course, you don't have it covered and you rub your feet on the sheets while you sleep.    It's why I keep socks on my feet all the time since I discovered that.

Oh, I forgot to mention just WHY the doctor changed my treatment plan.  It's because I had told him I am on my feet more than I had been.  After thinking about it, he decided it would be a good thing AND help the healing process (since the alginate helps dry up the wounds) to change the bandages every day.  The alginate helps the wounds drain away all the crud (dead white cells, I think he meant) after he spoke with the HH nurse and found out how much they had done with a two day change.  On Mondays, after 3 days without a change, it was kind of nasty looking although the wounds look good.  In fact, today I noticed that the toe is damn near healed.  **Grin**

I also started being more responsible about keeping my BS diary (that's BS for Blood Sugar, not what you might be thinking....LOL).  I've found it CAN help me spot trends when I *cheat*.

The Beast rented the movie *War Horse* today so we watched it this afternoon.  Not a bad movie at all.  Not quite what I expected and I DID cry.  It could have been a little better if they had chosen to expand on it a bit but it didn't keep me from enjoying it.  There are some very exciting scenes in it and some amazing ones, too.  If you see it, you'll know what I mean.  I'm not fond of war movies but this one was different because it centered around the horse, not the carnage.  

The Beast agreed with me when I said war had to be created my men because there is no way that any woman would have allowed it.  But it started wayyyyyy back when women didn't have any control.  We would not have wasted our husbands or children in that senseless way.  Nowadays we are all so vulnerable to the fact that men are in control of those things and it's possible to have an enemy far away strike us with bombs, there just isn't much we can do except respond in a like manner.  Sad but true.

I'm hoping to be healed enough soon to get to a store or two to buy Chewlee some birthday gifts that I have in mind.  I also need some birthday gift paper and need to talk to the Princess about her plans for a party for Chewlee.  I am wondering if we should celebrate it a few days beforehand so the paternal grandfather can join us (over that weekend).  He loves Chewlee and he could give us a chance to get this house ready for a kind of surprise for her.  I'd like to get some helium balloons to put out on the porch, the deck and in the house.  I know that would tickle her.  I would also like to see if the pool is anywhere in the barn or garage since Chewlee has specifically asked if she could swim on her birthday.  If not, I may see if Tara still has hers and borrow it from her.  One that blows up is what we need and I'm not anxious for a deep one.  Just one that's going to do more than cover Chewlee's butt when it's filled.

We should be getting another thunderstorm in a few hours, which is why I am doing this early.  I made us up some English muffin pizzas for dinner.  We hadn't had those in quite a while so I really enjoyed them.  So did the Beast who made me glad I made up more than normal.    I'm going to enjoy a nice apple and maybe an orange for my snack a little later.  I also picked out a movie to watch later if I lose my television like we often do in a bad storm.  There's nothing exciting on later anyway so I might watch the DVD even if I DON'T lose the satellite. 

Love you all and I wish you a great *Hump Day*.  The week is half over (Yay!). 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The HH agency forgot to put me on the schedule today.  However, I called around noon after I didn't hear from the nurse by then.  It seems the office manager/nurse took some time off and, after coming back, she was trying to deal with a bit of a mess.  She put me down for Tuesday, which is dumb since I see my doctor on Wednesday.  I told her the foot bandages are supposed to be replaced every other day and the weekend left me overdue.  It took about a half hour for the nurse to show up. 

What's funny is I get one of two nurses that comes here.  The one that usually shows up on Monday said she had asked why my name wasn't on her list and was told the OTHER nurse must have gotten it.  Mornings are hectic for them at times so she just accepted that and went on her way.  They didn't look bad to me so I think there will only be a little debridment on Wednesday.

The Beast has been getting nose bleeds the last four or five days....that I know about.  I kept asking him about whether he had checked his BP and he mostly evaded answering me.  I finally figured out that he was being a typical man and was *toughing it out*.  Today he finally broke down and told me he's been taking his BP medicine every day but his BP had been on the high side regardless.  His lowest was in the 153/80 range but has been as high as 200+.  He decided that it might be because of the water softener salt.  It's not just on the hot water tank, it's filtering ALL our water.  It's in our coffee, the ice cubes (although we DO have a separate filter on the fridge and I'm not sure if it filters out the salt or not).  So, his idea about solving the problem was to go out and buy us one of those water coolers.  This one even has a hot water side.  He bought several of the 5 gal. bottles of water for it so we are set for a while.  I will report on whether that seems to solve the problem or not.  I might even lose some of this fluid in my legs if it actually IS the water softener affecting us.

I made my cabbage soup today.  I ate two very large bowls of it.  One reason I like it is it actually uses up more calories digesting it than it adds to your system.  Kind of like eating celery.  It's a diet soup.  Very filling but it doesn't kick my blood sugar up by much.  It does, however, kick your metabolism up and I like that part.

I've also had a taste for my aunt's beef borscht.  I hope to get the recipe from her oldest daughter and make some for the Beast, the Princess and Tara.  It was always something I would go out of my way to get to her house when she made it.  She knew I loved it.  Back then,however, the Beast was not the least bit adventurous when it came to food.  If it wasn't something his dad or mother made when he was growing up, he didn't eat it.  It's different now (although he still loves greasy food) and he will crave things I introduced into his diet, little-by-little.  He had never had potato pancakes like I made them and, heaven forbid!  Who ever heard of using sour cream on them?    He only used butter and his mother made hers so that they were on the mushy side.  Don't ask!  I swear she actually used pancake mix to make them.  I found them inedible but I am spoiled.  I like mine to be a bit more on the hash brown side and crusty.  Lots of onions.  Yum!

If I eat something good that someone else has made, I will ask for the recipe (if they don't mind sharing) and use it.  I will share my recipes, too.  I love passing them along.  I've shared my recipe for pecan nut cups; cottage cheese/fruit/jello salad; strawberry pie; strawberry/rhubarb pie; chocolate cheesecake swirl cake (made in a bundt pan) and my big cheesecake recipe that requires six large cream cheese bars, 7-8 eggs and I also make a cream cheese base crust for it in my springform pan.

Love you all.  Hope you have a wonderful day.  I will share this one last item with all of Bratfink's friends.  She will NOT need surgery for her shoulder.  She has to wear the wedge/cast for at least another 10 days and then will get a regular sling and a splint for her thumb.  I was so happy to hear that.  I knew you would want to know. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I've spoken about the *Golden Child* that was lost to us all by her drug use.  She rejected every offer of help and her siblings tried even after I was finally convinced to stop *enabling* her.  She was my firstborn.  She was beautiful and naturally photogenic.  She was talented.  She was also a talented liar and a thief.  I tried and tried to believe her stories and I bailed her out of bad situations.  We even went to get her admitted to a drug program that didn't require her *wanting* it....for juveniles.  We would have mortgaged our life to save her but she would run to the drugs and disappear into that culture to the point that even some police friends of ours told us to give it up.  They said, *You have three other children that need your attention.*   One police friend gave me a copy of the book, *Tough Love* and I read it.  I knew it was right.  But it was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life.  It still hurts my heart.

This golden child had a child herself.  A lovely, smart and beautiful daughter.  Most of her life, she lived with us and I was happy to have her and protect her.  We finally got custody of her and later on, with our other childrens blessing, we adopted her.  That is the Princess.  Her daughter had been a joy in our life, mainly because we have had so much time to spend with her since we live close.

But, today, April 1st, is the Golden Child's birthday.  It never comes by that I don't think of her and still cry about all she has lost.  Her daughter will never have anything to do with her although she did try to insinuate herself in the Princess's life several years back (when the Princess was pregnant).  The Princess told her then that she would never, ever see her child or have any part in her life.  Her mother was still into drugs and all that implies in order to feed her habit.  I have to remind myself of that when I go through our older albums and see the pictures. 

She has missed out on many things.  My son, Marcus Aurelius (Maurelius, for short) posted this today: http://maurelius.xanga.com/760791629/happy-birthday/  and I know that my son, Mustachio and my daughter, Buttmunch, feel the same way.  Occasionally, she and I will speak of her and cry together.  Your life may go on but there remains a hole in your heart forever.  But, I still hope she has some joy in her life and wish WE meant as much to her as she does to us even after all this time.

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It was cute last night that, when I went to check on Chewlee before I went to my own bed, I found her uncovered.  I covered her up and kissed her forehead.  As I got up, she opened her eyes and said, *You smell like lemonade, Grandma*.  She's not fond of lemonade, as you might suspect.  Then she told me she wanted me to sleep with her.  I told her I had to sleep in my own bed but....if she wanted to, she could always come and sleep with me.

It wasn't more than 5 minutes after I got comfy that I felt her little hand tap my shoulder.  I lifted up the blanket and put her between me and the Beast.  She cuddled up next to me and put my arm across her middle then her arm was on my arm.  She fell back to sleep quickly.

The Beast was a bit noisy getting ready for his trip to Birmingham for the last day of the special Bible study weekend and I was afraid he would wake her but she never batted an eye.  After the Beast left, at some point, Baron climbed on the bed on the other side of Chewlee.  I only noticed when he heard the Princess pull up in the driveway (I hadn't heard a thing) and he jumped off the bed, barking.  Chewlee was still asleep and her mother just scooped her up and left for home.  She told me she hadn't been  to sleep yet because, in chatting with a classmate on Saturday night, they asked her if she had finished up the special project due this week.  That was a surprise to her and she stayed up all night getting that done.  I hope she got SOME sleep today.  I know how wearing Chewlee could be since she is so active if she decided to be annoying her mother when she was trying to rest.  I hope Johnnycakes didn't have to work today to help out.

It was very warm today.  In the 80's.  Even with the fan on, I was sweating at the nape of my neck.  I love the warmth but there wasn't really enough air movement in the house.  Not unless you sat right underneath one of the overhead fans.  I suppose I should have made the fan in my room blow inward instead of out.  I'll do that tomorrow.

Love you all.  Hope you had a good weekend and an even better week.  Drive carefully and be health conscious, ya hear?