"I'm leaving on a jet plane"....NO...make that a red jeep

I've been working on the second bedroom tearing up the carpet and pad and cleaning the hardwood floor underneath. It looks really really good. Hubby put in some of the shoe molding so I could get my dresser and chest back into place. Then I laid my beautiful oriental-type area rug down. The colors are mainly burgandy/red and cream. I got all my furniture back into place. So that room is basically DONE!....that's two rooms done.

I'm taking a break and driving up to Caseville for a week. Then I'll start on the smaller 3rd room when I get back. I'm taking two of the dogs, but Lucky is staying home. He is on his meds and I don't want the drive up there upsetting his stomach and getting things going again.

My husband will finish putting down the rest of the molding while I'm gone. He's feeling somewhat better and eating. He has an appointment Thursday with our doctor for a checkup.
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When I was in this parking lot I saw something that really cracked me up....

There was this van sitting there with advertising on both sides and across the back. It said somthing like "Joe and Ray's painting....", but in blue paint there was a big "X" across Ray's name....on all three sides....this big ole X across his name. There was a guy sitting in the driver's seat by himself. I should have rolled down my window and yelled..."So what happened to Ray???"...LOL

Mini Sue's Photo Shoot....

I first took Mini to the Walgreen's where my son's ex-girlfriend works. She was there with her two chihuahuas. They had a Halloween setting set-up outside with pumpkins and scary graveyard things. There were several other dogs there too and I think all the dogs were distracted by each other. Mini is dressed up as a pink princess girl. I had the guy take a couple pictures but neither one really showed off her costume. On my way home, I stopped at the Walgreen's near my house and tried again. They had a couple pumpkins set up and a hay bale....which was good cause then she could sit on it and pose better. I like that picture better.....

So here is picture number 1......






....and here is picture number 2:








And this is my favorite! (Well, it's as good as I'm gonna get)

Friday night.....

Lucky is doing good on his meds. Husband is doing better...not spending quite as much time in the bathroom. Although now he has hemmorroids and is walking a bit slower when he does have to go to the bathroom! LOL

I know I shouldn't laugh...

When I took Lucky to the vet she decided to shave his butt cause he was all matted up cause of the diarhreaa (how the hell to you spell diaharreaa????)...and now when he walks away from you, his butthole is staring at you.

And he doesn't have any hemmorroids from what I can see....

Lucky...back to square one...

I woke up this morning and went downstairs only to discover dog diahrrea all over my rug and carpet in the living room...just as I was dreading would happen. Lucky is sick again. Luckily, I had a vet appointment today for his checkup so I told the vet about his relapse. She put him back on the anitbiotic for 14 days and also this powdery antibiotic which works mainly in the intestines. This powdery antibiotic he will continue even after the 14 day one is done. She is hoping that it will help keep him from getting sick everytime he goes off the regular antibiotic. She said that if the powdery stuff works, then he will probably be on it indefinitely. I sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon in his food. He is also to stay on the Prednisone. She said that there is another anitbiotic we could use....Flagyl!! That's the one my husband is on....haha

I swear that there is some kind of connection with Lucky and his diahrrea/fevers and my husband's....hmmmmmmmm

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Isn't Cloris Leachman a hoot on "Dancing with the Stars"????

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I'm taking Mini Sue to Walgreen's Saturday to have her Halloween picture taken. I bought her a "Princess" costume. It's all pink and a tutu type dress with a pink heart on it (Perfect for breast-cancer awareness month), and I bought her one of those tall cone-shaped princess hats with sheer fabric hanging off the tip like in the princess stories. She is so damn cute!

My son's ex-girlfriend works at the Walgreen's that we are taking our dogs. She also has TWO chihuahua's....Pippy and Charlie Brown. Pippy is going as an angel with wings; and Charlie is going as a bumblebee. She was over last Sunday with the dogs and all three of them were playing. She took pictures so I'll probably get a copy when I see her Saturday.

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I was at K-mart today and saw Christmas trees and aisles of Xmas stuff....good grief, is it almost Christmas already?? I better get shoppin'!! I must have looked pretty silly shopping in the Xmas aisles in my shorts and sandals cause it was freakin' 78 degrees out today.....Christmas! Bah-humbug.....

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Husband is eating some and using the bathroom a lot. Maybe I should sneak some of Lucky's powdery medicine in his coffee....hahaha

FINALLY!....

They finally discharged my husband today!! They gave him that yucky potassium stuff around midnight again last night. So this morning his potassium level was up where it should be and they could safely send him home. They gave him a prescription for potassium for him to take for 7 days, and he has to continue taking Flagyl for another 5 days. Then he has to see our regular doctor in a week. He is also seeing the surgeon again Friday to get the stitches out from the surgery.

He has swelling in his legs still and his belly is swelled from all the IV fluids. I assume all that will go down in a few days. I thought with all the diahrrea and not eating that his pants would be falling off him, but instead he couldn't even get them buttoned because of all the fluid in his stomach area. He looks like he's pregnate...haha

The doctor told him today that this happens frequently. I guess that is why they had him sign about 3 documents before the surgery stating that he is aware that there is a risk of infection following surgery.

But he's home and eating some now.
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I'm taking Lucky in for his checkup tomorrow. I know he has been off his antibiotic meds for 2 weeks now...and as before everytime he goes off the meds he starts getting the diahrrea back. I have been checking his stools and they are looking mushy and loose to me, not firm like they were while he was on the antibiotics. So is he heading for another diahrrea/fever/sick episode?? I hope and pray not...

This has been going on since May....diahrrea, meds, better....diahrrea, meds, better.....etc, etc, etc....He is taking his Prednisone everyday and I am keeping him on a 1/2 bland diet (hamburger and rice mixed some with his regular wet food which is already a gastro-type food with rice).

Ciao....

Another hospital update....

My husband is still in the hospital. Now he has swelling in his legs, but the doctor says that is normal because of all the IV drips going in him. I worry cause usually swelling means kidney problems, but what do I know...

Now they are concerned about his potassium level because it has dropped below normal because of all the diahrrea he is having and still having. It was low and they gave him pills and some yucky stuff to drink and it went up. But then it was low again. This morning it was 2.6 and later 2.8 but it should be up to at least 3.5. I had taken him some clean underwear a couple days ago and it was a good thing, cause he said that after he drank that yucky stuff and he went to stand up, it was like his butt exploded and it was all over the place!...LOLOL...I know I shouldn't laugh, but I thought it was funny when he told me. That yucky stuff must be really potent!!! So today I took a few more pairs over for him just in case...

He still isn't eating very much and they are concerned about that. They are giving him something to help increase his appetite. But he says he isn't hungry cause he feels like his stomach is upset all the time and with the diahrrea who the hell would feel like eating anyway??

The doctor came in while I was there this afternoon and he said that he will check his potassium level tomorrow and if it is up where it should be then he can be discharged and can come home....so maybe he will be coming home tomorrow.

This doctor is an idiot...or he thinks that I'M an idiot. He was trying to make this out like a simple case of colitis and said that a lot of people get it and that it is a matter of balancing his system with good/bad bacteria. He actually compared it to a yeast infection that women sometimes get from the use of antibiotics. I understand his comparison of the antibiotic use, but this is also like comparing apples with oranges. First of all, yeast is suppose to be there....C Diff bacterial is NOT!! I said to him.."Isn't this C Diff?" and he said "Yes"....so doesn't he know the difference between C Diff and a yeast infection???? I think that doctors can no longer bullshit people with their inane half-ass deceitful explanations cause we have computers now and we have GOOGLE!! We probably know more than they do. When I started to ask him about the spores that can develop and stay with you and cause relapses, he just kinda looked at me like he had no clue what I was talking about and his assistants had a blank look on their faces as well. He then just changed the subject and I shut my mouth cause I didn't want to get my husband upset.

There are great websites out there about C Diff... (Thanks Roy for giving me one that has a more personal side to it...real people's stories and experiences with C Diff). It is on the same par as MRSE as one website stated....it is a very bad nasty infection that can be controlled but sometimes not totally eradicated as the spores can stay in your system forever and cause relapses.

I've been printing out all the articles from the websites I've found and my husband can read them for himself.
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Anyway, I went to the dentist yesterday and got that tooth repaired. And lo and behold, we had a large credit on our account so I only had to pay $20!! A bit of good luck for a change...

My husband is still in the hospital. He's doing much better, and I'm hoping he will be home in the next couple days. His potassium is down so they are trying to build it back up. Apparently, he has what is referred to as "C Diff"...short for something I can't pronounce or spell. It basically is a hospital-acquired infection that is very similar to a staph infection. It invades the colon and that is why he has very bad diahrrea. They have him in a private room because it can be transferred very easily to other patients or visitors. They have a sign by his door suggesting that you put on a gown and wear gloves before entering the room. I sometimes put gloves on. He's eating a little bit but because of nausea and upset stomach he doesn't eat much.

I know he got this from the surgery he had on Monday....I've been reading articles about this infection and patients get it in hospitals and nursing homes, etc. I guess this bacteria resists a lot of anti-biotics and can live on a surface for months. It is very difficult to get rid of. Some people have died form it. So I'm glad that I got my husband to the emergency room as soon as I knew something was wrong. I think he is on the road to recovery but it may be awhile before he is completely well.

So now on top of everything else, I just broke a back tooth tonight...and I have no dental insurance now. What else can go wrong?????

I'm stressed............

Hospital update

Well, they are going to keep my husband for another night. They are running more tests and want to do another chest x-ray tomorrow morning.

The doctor was there when I was there this morning. He said that sometimes when a patient is under anesthesia they can sometimes inhale some saliva into their lungs and an infection can take place. He thinks that is what is going on. The chest x-ray they did last night didn't show anything...so they want to do another one. Sometimes it takes a while for it to show up on x-ray. They did more blood work to try and determine what strain infection it is so they can give him the proper antibiotics. Right now he is being given a strong antibiotic in the meantime. He now also has diahrrea...but probably from all the meds they are giving him. He has no appetite. His temp is down to 100 so that's under some control.

I guess I will really be spending my anniversary in the hospital with him. Tonight I will go down to the cafeteria and take some dinner up to his room and we can eat there.

My anniversary present is for him to get well!!

Emergency Room Woes....

Well my husband is back in the hospital. He started feeling sick this afternoon and by evening he had a 102 degree temperature. They said that if he develops a fever then we are to either call the doctor or go to the emergency room. Since the doctor wasn't in at the time, I took him to the emergency room. We got there around 8:00 and I just finally got home after 1:00 a.m.

His temp went up to 103 while he was there so they gave him something to bring the fever down and something for his nausea. They also gave him a strong antibiotic intravaneously. They did blood work and found that he developed a bacterial infection probably from the surgery. So they admitted him and are keeping him overnight.

His temp was down to 100.5 when I left and he is feeling much better. I'm sure he will be home by tomorrow.

Also TODAY...Sept 18....is our anniversary!! I asked hubby where he will be taking me out for dinner..LOL...and he said probably the hospital cafeteria!!

Gettin' caught up....

My short 5 day trip to Caseville went good. I got back last Friday. I went up to the Eagles Tuesday night for a meeting and then partied afterwards. Then Wednesday I helped work the kitchen at Bingo with my friend. I got the grass cut, weedwacked and edged. I went to my other friend's house in Pigeon a couple times. She looked at the antique cedar chest I had bought and really loved it. She said that it is at least 75-80 years old and once I get it refinished it should be worth at least $150. She also has a cedar chest to refinish, so I think we are going to do them together next summer. Mainly she told me to just clean it with Murphy's Oil Soap, lightly sand it and then go over it with tung oil.

So I got home Friday and it was raining and it rained all freakin' weekend. I wanted to go to the Northville Victorian Festival but it rained cats and dogs Saturday. Sunday I went with my son to this auction in Lapeer. It rained off and on all day and poured like crazy for awhile. I wore a denim jacket and it was totally soaked through, my shirt was soaked, my jeans were soaked and even my panties were bleepin' soaked! I got there around 9:00 a.m. (YES, I actually got up at 5:30 in the morning, cause I had to leave by 7:00 or so cause it took me an hour an a half to get there!) We stayed there until 6:00. Part of it was held indoors or under tents outside, but the grounds were soaked with rain and mud. I had a brimmed hat on and an umbrella, but we still got soaked from standing around for 9 hours in the rain. I was so chilled to the bone I left a couple times to just sit in my car with the heat on. I peeled my jacket off and tried to get it a little dry in front of the car vents. My makeup was gone...my hair was flattened and plastered to my head. I looked like something the cat dragged in...like a wet rat!

After we left, we decided to stop at McDonalds in Lapeer and I know I looked a fright!! But I didn't give a royal s**t by then cause I was hungry!...and wet...They had food at the auction and I got a cup of chili but it isn't much fun eating a hot dog in the rain....soggy bun and all...

Got home after 8:00....it was a long day....

Then yesterday my husband had his surgery. We had to BE at the hospital by 5:30, so I was up at 4:00 A.M.! The surgery was a little delayed but not bad. We were back home by 10:30. Everything went okay. The doctor did some more scraping of about 5 other places on his back. I hope he doesn't have to have another surgery.

Anyway, my husband had put my computer desk together while I was in Caseville and it looks great! My monitor is the old fashioned kind with the huge big back sticking out, and it's been acting weird for a long time anyway...(pink screen and wavy lines, etc), so I decided to buy a new flat panel monitor. I got a good deal at Office Depot. I just have to remember to send the rebate thing in. I had unplugged my computer and moved everything into my new awesome computer room and just got it all hooked up today.

Today I took my car into the dealership to have my brakes done. I should have had them done a month ago, but I waited too long. Yesterday I could hear them start to grind which is a bad sign. So now of course I need new rotors and it's now costing me twice as much. Whatever....And I'm getting a tune-up, and I have a nail in one of my tires that they will repair. I should get my car back by tomorrow.

Thursday I'll take Lucky in for a check-up and the doctor will determine if she needs to adjust his meds. So far he is doing really really well. Back to his old self....100% All the thoughts and prayers helped!!!

I'm tired and I need to get to bed. I went to bed early last night, but I'm still dragging from those two days I had to get up so early.

Ciao.....

A short trip to Caseville....

I'm off to Caseville tomorrow for the week. I'm sure the grass is in dire need of cutting by now. My neighbors up there called today to see how Lucky is doing. I wasn't home, but hus talked to her and also told her that I will be up there tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to the Plymouth Fall Festival. There was this chiropractor there that was doing this free 'thermo scan' thing. He runs this thing across your neck and the condition of your nervous system of your spine that controls everything in your body shows up on this computer screen. Red is not good. I had a few red lines which indicated problems with my eyes and sinuses and also lungs and heart....sheeesh! I know I have sinus problems, I need an eye exam cause my right eye keeps blurring up on me at times. I think it may be a cataract; and with my high blood pressure, I'm sure it's affecting my heart. So I guess the test was right. Now he wants me to come in for a free evaluation in hopes of getting me for a client and make lots of money off me, while making me a much healthier person. I told him I'd think about it.

Today I went to the flea market at Greenmead. I bought a few things, but as usual I don't go prepared. I didn't take that much cash and I forgot my checkbook. Or maybe hubby hid it on me! So I didn't buy a lot of things I wanted to. My youngest son collects gas station stuff which he resells and makes money. This guy was selling a restored air meter, so I called my son and he told me to buy it. Yeah, I had about 5 bucks in my purse. So I had to drive to an ATM. So I bought it and now he owes me.

My office/computer room is done. Hubby put the shoe molding in today. We laid the area rug down and I started putting the stuff back into the room. I'm putting most of it in drawers and in the closet so it doesn't look cluttered like before. I had this tacky table that I would put crap on and I had boxes of more crap sitting on the floor underneath. Well, hubby said that the tacky table ain't goin' back in. I guess I'll have to find a less-tacky one....good, something for me to look for and buy! He is going to put my desk together while I'm gone. I can't wait to see it. Luckily there is a picture of it on the box, cause I have totally forgotten what it even looks like. I hope I still like it when he gets it together. I know I liked it when I bought it 5 years ago.

Also at one of the estate sales I went to over the weekend, I bought this real old cedar chest. The whole chest is made of cedar. And there are these copper things on all four corners and in the middle with a keyhole. It has intricate feet on it in the front but one is a little broken, and one of the back legs is missing. So hubby will have to replace the back legs. Anyway, I'm taking it to Caseville with me cause I have no place to store it right now while I'm working on these rooms. #1...I want to refinish it and #2...I want my girlfriend who is the antique expert to look at it and give me advice as to the best way to refinish the wood and copper. She does that sort of thing all the time. And maybe she can give me an idea of how old it might be and what she thinks it will be worth once I get it done.

So I'm packed up and ready to leave tomorrow. I'll be back by Friday. Next weekend is the Victorian Festival in Northville and hubby is having his surgery on Monday. When I get back, I'll start tearing up the carpet in another room. I can't wait to get my whole upstairs done. I would take pictures but my freakin' digital camera broke on me. The last time I used it was when I was able to see the kids for awhile at my DIL's sister's house and I took some pictures. I'll have to post some of them when I get back.

Have fun....I will.....

Lucky Update....and floors....

Lucky is so lucky! The vet says he is still not "out of the woods" yet but he's getting there hopefully. Last Tuesday I decided to skip his meds for a day cause for one thing I thought maybe he might be starting his Prednizone and wasn't sure if I should give him his other two meds until I talked to the vet. Also, I wanted to see if he would be more alert and less zombie-like if he wasn't on the meds. So first I went to the vet but his doctor wasn't in and wasn't coming in until Thursday. So I left her a note asking if we are still going to be starting him on Prednizone and I told her about that he's eating and drinking but just isn't his old self. By Tuesday night (after no meds)I could tell that he was more alert and even barking for his food! I gave him one of his pills Tuesday night and then proceeded Wednesday with his meds as usual. Then I could see how he was sleeping more and less active once on the meds again. But there is a definite improvement as each day goes by. Today he is almost 100% his old self....still a little weak and not running around like he usually does; but he goes up stairs, jumps up on the couch and barks, etc.

Thursday the vet called and told me to stop in and pick up his Prednizone and start giving it to him. I got a 2 month supply of pills. He takes the antibiotics another 4 days then it's just the Prednizone. So we'll see how he is once he is off the antibiotics. Since May he has been sick on and off...he gets meds but once he's off the meds he gets sick again...then back to the vet, more meds, he's better, then off the meds, then sick again. So we'll see how he is once he is off the antibiotics again. Hopefully, with the Prednizone treatment he will be okay this time.
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Okay....on to other things.

I decided to get rid of all my carpet upstairs and go with my hardwood floors. The carpet up there is over 20 years old and smells like dog!....so it's out of here...Actually we couldn't even remember what was under the carpets. I knew we had hardwood floors downstairs but wasn't sure about the upstairs, so I was surprised and ecstatic when I pulled the carpet up and saw the hardwood floor underneath!

Last week I started ripping out the carpet in the office/computer room. It's the room that use to be my middle son's bedroom years ago. We moved my computer out of the room about a year ago into the room I'm in now so my husband could paint....then Brinks moved in and was using the room. So now I'm working on the room and I'll be moving my computer back into it once it's done.

So anyway, I ripped out the carpet and pad...pulled up all the strips and tacks and cleaned it with Murphy Oil soap and this wood shine stuff and it looks really great now. Originally, we thought we would have all the floors sanded and restained. Our neighbor does that so we had him over to give us an estimate. It was going to cost us an average of $300 a room (3 rooms and a hall) plus another $300 for him to handsand the stairs. I figured it was going to cost us $1500...and since I am planning on putting in large area rugs I figured why spend all that money to sand the floors if I'm just going to cover most of it with an area rug anyway! So I decided to redo them myself the best I can and so far the one room I did looks really really good. So I bought 3 big (8'x10') area rugs for the 3 bedrooms. I'm not sure what I am going to do with the hall and stairs. I might decide to have them recarpeted.

Anyway, the one room is done and my husband now has to put the shoe molding down. Then he can finally put my computer desk together. It's been sitting in two boxes for the last 5 years, and my computer has been sitting on a card table since I bought the damn thing back in 2000! I can't wait to get my computer room the way I want it. I have all this TV/Movie/Music memorabilia that I am going to put on the walls. Yesterday I just bought this clock that is made from an old 45 record.

I'm going to Caseville next week and when I get back I am going to start on the other bedroom. It may take me awhile to get the whole upstairs done but it will be worth it.

And I am very proud of myself cause the floor looks so good and I did it ALLLLLL by myself. So far hubby has done nothing except tie the old carpet pieces up and put everything out in the trash. So his job is to do the molding at least. Maybe I can get him to kinda help me out a little with the other rooms so we can get it done faster.
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Labor Day....

Lucky is holding his own over the weekend. He has responded well to that steroid shot he got and is now eating, drinking and taking his meds. But he is far from being back 100% healthy. There is still something not right. I don't know. Maybe it's the medication he's taking. But he's not like he usually is. When he has been sick before and he starts getting shots and medication, he bounces right back after a couple of days and he's back to being his old self. Not this time. He is still very weak and almost like in a zombie-state. He walks slowly with his tail down. He won't bark. He eats and drinks water and goes outside but most of the time he just wants to lay down on his side and either sleep or just stare. He is not doing the things he normally does.

When my other dog, Mini Sue, thinks she hears or sees something outside, she runs out the back door yipping and barking her head off and Lucky is usually right behind her barking even louder. Now when she does that, he just lays there. He doesn't even raise his head....no response at all. There is no personality. No spark in his eyes. When he was outside today and was walking to come back into the house, he stopped at the door and just laid there. Kinda like he wasn't sure if he could make the one step up. When he did come in, he stumbled on the one step.

But then a weird thing happened. I slept on the couch last night watching the MDA Telethon. We have a two-piece sectional corner couch. I was laying on one side and when I woke up during the night Lucky was laying next to me on the other part of the couch. I assumed that my husband put him there. So I asked him about it in the morning and he said he didn't put Lucky on the couch. Which means that Lucky must have jumped up on the couch by himself. First of all, Lucky NEVER or at least rarely sleeps on the family room couch....and he is weak and can barely step up one step to get into the house...so how could he have jumped up on the couch? I'm glad if he did...which means he's not as weak as he seems to be though.

Anyway, he is doing better but just not his old self at all. Tomorrow I'll talk to the vet and ask if maybe it's the meds doing that. And I'll find out if she still wants to put him on Prednizone. I need to find out if he is going to get 100% better or if this is the way he may always be for now on. It's almost like he might have had a stroke or something when he had that high fever. He's just acting really strange....but at least he's alive!!
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I got this recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Burgers and I cooked a couple of them on the grill and they were really good. Basically, you use lean ground beef, chopped up pepperoni, chopped up olives, italian bread crumbs, egg and pizza sauce. Then you grill them, put the buns on the grill, put some pizza sauce on the buns and top the burger with Provolone cheese. Yummmmmmmy!