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Picture taken by my friend Cyndi Leos....thank you Cyndi.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Clarity...



"Clarity is the counterbalance of profound thoughts."


Luc de Clapiers

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Magpie 132: The Last of the True Romantics...


Big Room 1948, by Andrew Wyeth

Poetry Challenge by Magpie Tales 
Photo presented by Tess Kincaid

  
The Last of the True Romantics
by dkb

she wandered through
the room
aware of him
despite his absence...
they both always had
such wonderful light...

memories flashed
as she gazed
into the stoned fireplace
and the chime clock
on its mantle

they shared passion
for one another
as well as classical music

closing her eyes
images flickered in her mind
like a quick fire projector

she smiled
 remembering
how they always said,
"we are the last
of the true romantics..."

her fingers drifted
softly over the smooth
pair of bright red
  ceramic apples...

 symbolic of their
first  meeting
he kept them in
the wooden bowl
they bought at the street fair
upon the table he built
for her...

she was always
happiest there
entertainingly
engrossed in one another

the dark wooden planks
creaked beneath her bare feet
as she slowly twirled
to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata...
it was always in her head
when she thought of him...

Monday, August 27, 2012

Choosing to be Happy and Grateful....

**image from Pinterest***


Monday morning...
enjoying a cup of coffee
as I peruse my "to do" list for today...
I treated myself 
to a facial last Friday
and realized how much
I enjoy being pampered
so I scheduled another
in October.
We enjoyed time, conversation
and a great meal with friends
(which is one of my most favorite
things to do...)
A relaxing weekend indeed!
Good results
from my mammo
and bone density tests...
Still waiting for the MRI results
on my right arm...,
Made all my phone calls...
Gotta go...
lots of errands to do.



Saturday, August 18, 2012

Poppies, Weight Loss and Six Word Saturday...

from Google images....

Poppies are such happy little flowers...
I've been googling images
hoping it will distract
the spasms in my back...

I need to exercise....but I don't want to.  Otherwise I would do more of it...maybe it is the heat?  No, it is an intense dislike for exercise....unless it involves dancing I'm not interested.  We are hibernating inside the house to stay cool. 

While eating lunch the other day, I was playing a game on my iPad.  I decided every time I got a 15 free spin bonus, I would stand and do the Twist to the zippy music...Fortunately, or unfortunately, the free spins kept coming and I kept Twisting, until it was easier to just stop playing the game.

Yesterday I woke up sore from my ribs down to my waist...and my back, right side ribs are spasming...
The numbers on my scale this morning indicate my anti exercise attitude needs to change.

Looking back, I remember myself saying, "Oh my Lord....there is NO WAY I'm going to weigh...." and then not only do I pass that weight, but continue to gain even more.  I have said it before, but I far surpassed the weight I was when I was pregnant with my both my girls more than 33 years ago...
I NEVER thought I would ever weigh what I do...and I have only myself to blame.

I scheduled my MRI with and without contrast for next Tuesday.  Despite my claustrophobia, I have had to change my attitude.  I can be brave and endure for 45 minutes.  I will take the sedation meds and focus on the faces of my three grand sons...their faces will get me through...

I want to be a happy, cheerful little Poppy, so I have to change my attitude and thinking... 
I don't want to, but I am going up to our gym, with my bathing suit and walking the pool.  Every day I vow to move for at least one hour in some form of exercise.  I want to live.  I want to lose weight, therefore I must move.  I confess this to the world to be accountable for my actions.



Living in denial, stunts my life.

~dkb~

Thursday, August 2, 2012

An Explanation...

A lot has been going on over here at our house....now that the flooring project is put to bed and most of the stuff we are keeping is back in the house and the rest will eventually be donated...

We had our son (my step-son) graduate from Marine Boot Camp July 20th so we were down in San Diego for that.  OH WHAT A TRANSFORMATION in him!  Not only the 20 pounds of muscle he gained, but so much more affectionate, outgoing, un-filtered and talkative...  We could not be more proud!  We had a huge group of 28 eating lunch afterward, all the young Marines in their dress blues made quite a positive commotion!  The way they conduct themselves while in uniform and just the way they stand at rest...so impressive!

We also went to a family BBQ on Saturday at another of my husband's son's home in Irvine and spent the night visiting, catching up, eating and swimming...very nice.  Sunday we went to an Angel/Ranger game with the Irvine family and another son's family from Nevada.

Last Wednesday, our Marine and his sister came to visit to bring us pictures and spend the night going out on the town....VEGAS STYLE...after a big breakfast, they drove back to CA on Thursday as the Marine had uniform inspection on Friday.

He left the 31st for Combat training at Pendleton for a month, then has a ten minute ceremony and gets on the bus to the airport and flies to Virginia.  He is still under background check, but he suppose to be assigned to Intel.

In between all of that, I have this lump, this hitch hiker on my right elbow.  To give you the short version of this saga, I chose not to have the MRI and have elected to have the surgeon aspirate the lump today in his office at 2:40pm to see if he can determine if it is benign...either a ganglion cyst or a fat filled cyst....so keep your fingers crossed and keep saying those prayers!

Just before we left for CA, our big, huge picture window in our great room suddenly cracked during two days of thunder storms.  Had to replace that when we returned... to the tune of $467....

My Dad is 92, a Marine veteran from the battle of Tarawa and he is in a nursing home with Alzheimer's/Dementia.  I am his advocate and keep track of his medication and medical issues and communicate it to my family.  Lately, he has really slowed down and has circulation issues in his legs which is causing problems with his left foot, complicated by an infection around skin cancer on his baby toe.  His doctor has talked of amputation but putting such a patient under general anesthesia is usually not recommended.

Seven years ago, my Mother in law was heavily sedated for a CT SCAN because she also had Alzheimer's and could not hold still for the test.  They needed to determine why she kept falling, other than the falling, she was perfectly healthy.  She was a total zombie after waking from the sedation.  She never recovered, went down hill and died two months later.

Lately, Dad's doctor and I have been communicated via email and we have been discussing Hospice for Dad.  I spoke with the hospice expert this morning and sent out an email to my family.  Having a brief experience with hospice with my mother in law, I see them as Angels on earth...both my husband and I wished we had called them much sooner.  Their support was so meaningful and valuable.

If anyone out there does not know, hospice does not mean impending death or that the patient is expected to die in 6 months.  Often that is the main criteria for most hospice patients, but many stay on hospice for 18 months to two years and some even come off hospice they are doing so well...often with Alzheimer's patients!  Hospice is all about dignity, comfort, and support for the patient.  I highly recommend a hospice team to increase visitation and positive relationships for your loved ones.

We will be discussing hospice as a family, but my vote is to bring in hospice for Dad...he deserves only the best...

When I can stay awake and home, I am tuned into the Olympics.... Isn't it incredible???  I am rooting for Michael Phelps.  Hurray for the Fab Five! We are neck and neck with China...

Anyway, that has what I have been doing and why I have not been blogging as often...I've had a lot on my plate.  I have also been feeling highly emotional and cry at the drop of a hat....which turns out is very exhausting because I keep finding myself awaking stiff necked from falling asleep in my rose recliner....