HELLO DEAR FRIENDS...

               C O R O N A  V I R U S   I S    H E R E .... 
  

                                 THIS IMAGE FROM THE CDC shows what it looks like under microscope.

   I  am blogging from my apartment..self distanced from the population.
There are 8 apartments in my building. They have steam cleaned the  hallway carpets and twice weekly they come in and clean the doors and surfaces. We talk to each other from across the hall or outside away from each other. I don't allow anyone in my apartment. I hope nothing needs fixing until this passes.  I spray my door way and door knobs outside so that I know I try to keep things away. Am I paranoid? NO.. just careful. 

One hyphenated word that has changed our whole world. Like 9-11..one day we were fine living our daily lives and the next a whole new way of living was upon us. Words like quarantine, self distancing, and Pandemic are now the norm. Daily briefings, school and business closures updated hourly. All countries involved world wide. What I thought would happen has happened. My fear level went from 3 or 4 to 10.
I mean..going outside into the world of people and germs. We know not where it is .. it is different from any other virus we have been in touch with. I wear a mask when I go outside and carry a wipe in my hand at all times. After 10 days I am still coughing from the cold I caught. Neighbors asking me questions. NO I DO NOT HAVE IT! My lungs are just weak and when I get a cold it hangs on and goes into my chest. 
WHAT chance do I have against a virus that ATTACKS the lungs that requires people of health risk to be on a ventilator? NOT much. So it seems I will be here for a long time into the summer. I just cannot imagine it but I guess it will happen. WE WILL GET THROUGH IT. 

I feel that when this gets a vaccine that works and they can make enough to help us all.. life may go back to a sort of normal. I say sort of.. because we all will be changed because of it.    I spray my MAIL.. when it is delivered.. I have no idea how many people have touched it, breathed on it.  
I use gloves to touch it. EXTREME.. not in my mind. When I go out it is an ordeal. I only stay in stores a short amount of time as possible. I like others have been stockpiling all the items I think I need. So far so good. I am used to NOT FINDING things in the stores when I go. When I get home I spray my coat and leave it near the open door. I wash myself all over and change my clothes. YES I DO.. it makes me feel better to know I am doing my best to help myself. YES life has changed.. We had a family member pass away and NO services will be held. The family has to distance itself because the elderly. Just life changing. We will have a service later.. but who knows when that will be. 

So that is what I am doing.. things to help myself get through these times. I listen to what DR FAUCI says and he tells it like it is. When he or the experts tell us it is time to relax a little.. I will..until then I remain
on guard. 

PLEASE dear blogging friends. I wish you well and hope you and your family stay away from this horrible virus. 

CORONAVIRUS....

          
               HELLO AGAIN....

       So lets address the elephant in the room.. CORONAVIRUS.. In my opinion only.. I think it will get a lot worse for the whole world before it gets better. When the CDC came out and said “NOT IF but WHEN we get it bad”, WELL that put me into being prepared MODE. Living in a small town and having little access to a vehicle I have to make plans to buy supplies. When you get most of your cheaper goods from a country that is NOW in lock down it will be hard on the stores to replenish themselves here. It won’t be all of the sudden..it will be a slow process but it WILL happen. I guess we AMERICANS have depended so long on imports that it will be a shock to some. BUY AMERICAN.. Yes they cost more but at least we are helping our economy and our citizens with jobs. Do I buy  only American products.. NO I don’t, so I am not perfect. I spend plenty in the dollar stores because my budget makes me. Most of the products there are imports.

  There is a lot to this virus that the country of origin is NOT telling us. A  L O T. I am scared of the regular flu much less one that is even worse. I get my shots every year and take an OCD approach to trying to keep clear of illness. Having asthma my whole life, when I get sick, I really get sick. I pray the USA gets more prepared and keeps its citizens safe as they can. Seeing the reports of CHINESE cities all but empty..scary. People made to stay in place, schools and businesses shut down for MONTHS not weeks or days. I dread that to happen in our cities here. F E A R is a terrible thing to live under. 
Enough of my ranting.. I do hope we all stay as well as we can and get through this whole virus situation and see an end to it.  UNTIL THEN…. 


                          

WINTER FINALLY APPEARS!

                                                                                          
Sooo Winter finally made it to our little city. We have seen green grass most of the
whole month of November, and December. I know folks are happy that love the cold and snow but me.. I prefer it to come and then GO not stick around. After the polar vortex last year, this is welcomed.

I made sure all my doctor appointments were BEFORE flu season hit hard. Good thing seems everyone is down with something or another. My reports are excellent. My glaucoma is under control with very good numbers and no return visits until Spring. My cardiologist visit went the same. That dreaded AFIB did not return after 2 separate 2 week monitors. Praise the Lord.. I am soooo blessed. NSR or normal sinus rhythm is a wonderful thing. So 2020 started on a good note. My sister moved into my building in August last year as she prepares to sell her home. She is not all that happy living in a small place after a big house and that is to be expected. She is closer now to her daughter and grandkids and me so that is a good thing. Hope it will get better in time when things settle more.   Life moves on in my world.

I wish you all happiness and good health in the new year.   Happy Winter..


                               

                       

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY 2020

                             

             TWENTY years ago.. were we even thinking about getting to 2020? I mean it seemed so far away and now we are almost there. I was not even blogging in 2000.. Hard to believe but I had just been introduced to the computer at the local library and was learning the ins and outs one hour each day as they would allow. I made some nice friends there. Sue Lehman visited Michigan for a class reunion and was with me at the library as I sat up my first e mail account at Yahoo. It would be awhile before I would get a computer from another friend so I could use it at home. Oh how far I have come and how many wonderful people have come into my life. 

There have been so many changes. I have lived in so many places, met people, experienced life and death and learned to cope with what life throws at me and adapt along the way. As we go into another decade..can we even begin to imagine what changes there will be then? We can only hope and pray we all have wonderful lives with good health and much prosperity. 

             MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!! 

                                     

NOVEMBER 2019

                                             

WHAT??? Something happened to FALL here in Michigan.. we got blasted with snow and some trees were still full of leaves. Coldest temps on RECORDS.. another polar vortex? Not sure what is happening, but we are used to winter, just not used to it so early and not much fall at all. What we had was beautiful to see. Ours was late this year, lots of trees had green leaves even at Halloween. The above photo is the Brooks fountain the middle of our town. A round about was built around it and it is lit up and water flows until October. Many gather there for photos and just to rest and hear the fountain. The link will take you to a little video of what we see in the summertime. Everyone loves it. 

ANYWAY...Thanksgiving is coming and shoppers are making choices already for Christmas. Today I heard that our little town has the LAST KMART in the state of MICHIGAN. WOW..we are sure glad. It gets lots of use and the nearest shopping stores are 20 min away. Those of us who have no transportation other than the local bus are grateful. We know eventually it will close. Just hope something comes in to take it's place. Only so much is sold in the dollar stores. 

On the health update.. the cardiologist ordered another 2 week ZIO monitor to make sure my AFIB episode was just one time. Waiting to see what it says..not too worried as I monitor things pretty well. The glaucoma is under control also. All is well..😃

Hope you all are doing well also..

                                

OCTOBER 2019

                                

October is almost a memory.. It went pretty slow around here. The leaves refused to turn until about ten days ago. Several storms and a couple of nights of 30's temps and WHAM we are into the great release. Leaves everywhere. The crew was mowing lawn last week and the grass was high, at this rate they may mow into November.

This month Sis still making trips to her home and moving things over. Hard to believe it but the clock is ticking and it all needs to be done before the snow flies and the time change takes place. Slowly her place is beginning to take shape. The house getting emptied. The cat was taken to the vet..that is just heart breaking, she misses her every day. She is trying to get used to apartment life,the people, the noises and the HEAT..We have free heat here and when it is on ...it is ON..no matter how warm it might get outside. I told her so, but she had to learn for herself that she would no longer need sweatshirts and heavy blankets living here. It's a wonderful warmth all winter long. She will love it , you just dress warm when you leave home.
                                           

Thirty plus years of helping seniors, I learned a whole lot. One thing I heard over and over again was ....." Never get old..it's awful."  In the past few years I have begun to see what they were talking about. All of the sudden, I have glaucoma, AFIB, and aches and pains I never had before. My skin is thinning, my love of baking and cooking has vanished and I am making changes in diet and lifestyle. I got rid of things I will or never use, cleaned up my closets and shelves. I think 2020 will be a way more simple life for me.  A sort of brand new start. I am looking forward to it.

I am sending many prayers to those in the fires in California. Terrible loss there and afraid more is to come. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

SEPTEMBER 2019

OH MYyyy time just flies by...so much has happened. Grateful that the AFIB has not returned. Done everything I can to keep it that way. Visited my GP and that went well also. I won't have to return for awhile unless something else comes up. News that an apartment in my building was available, so my sister decided to move to my town.
That was a shock.. she had been thinking about it awhile.. her home just way too big..and all the relatives are living here in my town. So we spent most of August moving her over here and going through nearly 40 years of stuff. You just cannot take it with you, so a sale will be coming. She is hoping her home will sell before winter time. 
Worst part is she is having to leave her cat. Cannot take it here and it is too old to bring anyway. Rules here they have to be declawed and have papers from Dr. in order to keep it. The cat is too old to go through declawing etc. Feel bad, hope she finds someone who can take it.

 Looking forward to late Fall so it will cool off and my allergies will slow down a lot. Leaves are just beginning to turn here, sorry to see the days grow shorter though..makes the winter seem so much longer. Saw the first woolly worm and boy 
it was more black than brown. Scary..he is usually pretty accurate around these parts. The squirrels are active gathering nuts too. Guess we wait and see what we get..after the Polar Vortex last year.. I am hoping it will not be as bad..

Well where ever you are ..hope you are healthy, happy and your fall season is a good one. 
                                       

HEART UPDATE

                                                 

The Zio lasted until JULY the 4th. At 3 AM I figured the day had come why wait all day long and I took it off. The two weeks were up and it was time to mail it back to the company. I copied the shipping numbers and prayed it got to them. In the meantime another trip to the cardiologist lined up more testing. It included a chemical stress test with a nuclear scan. Way better than a cat scan, and ultrasound of the heart. It took about 4 hours. I saw the cardiologist the next day. A very healthy heart..All tests were great.. including the blood tests and the chest x-ray.  WHAT A RELIEF...😃 

Why the AFIB started who knows. I have heard it is very tricky and will just pop up whenever it wants to. I prefer to think maybe NEVER again. I have not had any symptoms since that day in the hospital. I will learn what the ZIO recorded in a report this week. It takes quite awhile to get results back. I am not worried since everything else was good. So July became a whole month of testing and doctor appointments. 
Glad they are almost over. 

When my friends got here this is the sign they saw when I opened my door..

                                                    

I found this in the Goodwill three years ago. I bought it and was holding on to it just in case I got a visit. It was in the garden center, so I think it was to go outside but on the wall was a much better place for it.  Until later..Have a great August. 😃

JULY UPDATE....

                                             

 We finally made it to June. It seemed like May would go on forever. It was cold and then hot and then frosty. Typical for Spring in Michigan. I had my laser surgery and to say it was nothing.. that would be false. I was a nervous wreck, I had nurses holding me and telling me to breathe. Somehow I thought that if I held my breath and did not shake or anything it would go faster. God bless my Dr. she talked soothingly to me and encouraged me. I have to say it did hurt some..even with the gel that numbs you, I did feel it. I went back to a waiting room and shook for at least 10
min. 
They came and checked on me, and then she had to check the pressure in each eye AGAIN..I hate that part.. I wanted to see if any problems would come up and gather what questions I might have when the next appt comes.  By the time I got home I was exhausted.. all I wanted to do was eat and take a nap. A very long 24 hours.  I had my second surgery and much better than the first. The numbers were lower. That made me happy. Now I just have check ups to see the pressure levels. 

JULY came in and with it  something called AFIB..it is also called TACHYCARDIA..
Sue Lehman came to visit me along with my other lifelong friend Anita.I had not seen Sue in at least 10 years.  We sat and talked and boy did my heart race. I did not feel well before they came and pushed myself to join them in at least a dinner out. Guess that was not a good idea. The next day I spent 5 to 6 hours in the ER with a heart that just was beating all over the place. I could not take my pulse at all. 
Talk about scary. They tested me upside down and every way possible in that 5 hours. I felt bad as my friends sat and waited with me for results. There is nothing worse than just sitting waiting in a hospital. They would not let me go home unless my heart rate was lower than 100 and with meds it did go down. So I went home
much to the disagreement of the gals. I slept well and was feeling soo much better the next day. Heart rate back to normal and just a little weak. By that time Sue left and my visit with her was over. I felt and still feel cheated. I am dealing with it and trying to move on. 
I went to the cardiologist, who promptly put something called a ZIO on me.. a two week heart monitor. I must say it was not intrusive at all and I would not have any problem doing it again. I sure hope I don't have to though. Anxious to know what the results of that are. I am still going to have other testing done to check out the heart further. The unknown is scary sometimes but I guess it is my time to now...deal with it.   
MORE LATER>>

MAY THOUGHTS....

                                             

What's going on?? Well.. hmm I finally got my eyes tested again and low and behold that old word GLAUCOMA is back. I am on the border. Readers here might remember that a few years back a dr. told me that I had glaucoma already and gave me drops. I was so upset I got a second opinion and that dr. said NO glaucoma. So my numbers dropped low enough to not need anything. 

 Anyway a procedure is needed to laser zap my ducts so that fluid will not build up and cause more pressure there. Never heard of this but my doctor is a specialist/ surgeon  so I am guessing she knows what she is talking about. So I had the procedure and it was NOT fun for me at all. I hate anyone messing with my eyes. Talk about nervous for days before. So now I have to have the second eye done. I love how the dr. says "oh it will only take 30 seconds".. yep.. maybe for her. It felt like 30 min.  I was so tense about moving I practically held my breath. The nurse kept saying BREATHE..When it was over I was so dizzy and relieved. They put some drops in and let me sit in a room for at least 15 min. I still was not too steady leaving the office but I did not have to drive so that was GREAT.  I will know next time what to think but I still am leery of anything EYE related. I will be glad when this whole thing is over. 

SPRING is finally here in my neck of the woods. We have had some decent wonderful temperatures and rain, but now the first 80 degree days are soon to come. About time I have waited for a long time. The winter was very cold and LONG.. 
Hope things are well with you all.. Have a great SPRING..