Report Card

As I look out my window in my new office (formerly known as just the Dining Room), I see all the neighborhood children enjoying their release from school for Summer Vacation.  Hope they all had great report cards!  Makes me think about how things are going here.

First things first...the Drool Gang Report:  an Elmo update!  Well, as you can see from that photo (left), he's feeling great stress these days...NOT!  Stinker-puppy that he is, he's sleeping on my pillow...and doesn't even look a bit bothered by the fact that I will have to change the pillow case and quite possibly the zippered liner...eewww, dog drool! 

Seriously, he's adjusted to his blindness better than we ever imagined.  Nothing seems to hinder him...with the exception of my moving the furniture around, slowing him down a tad.  He knows where his food bowl is...hasn't missed a meal.  He heads out the Doggie Door on his own, or rings the bell on the other back door for Service when it suits him. He's still eager for the nightly w-a-l-k with Daddy and the other Droolers...still takes the lead, being the mush-mush dog.  He's still timid with strangers...but he always has been...so, no harm, no foul.  But, if you saw him sitting in his favorite spot on the deck, "looking" out over the yard, you'd swear he was staring at the squirrels or the birds.  You just have to look closely to see that he is sniffing, not staring.  Nose at work, instead of eyes.  Such a sweetie pie. This report gets an A+, since Gus and Duchess are both doing well, too.

OK...next item:  Doctor Report.

Back from our second doctor visit this week, plus second trip to the lab for bloodwork.  Whew...I'm worn out from it all...and I'm just driving Miss Edith.  Still, shouldn't complain.  Good, quality knitting time for me while we are in the waiting room(s)...and a pair of socks on the needles makes the perfect "doctor visit" project.  Am calling these "Chasing Cables," but won't say anymore about them, as they are to be a gift for a friend.

Anyway...back to the dox...

Monday's visit was to our Family physician, the same one we saw when we lived in HPNC before.  Great guy.  Super doctor.  Takes all the time you need to make sure he provides the proper care.  Talks a mile a minute.  I chiefly serve as the simultaneous translator:  Doc-talk to N/M/E-talk; N/M/E-speak to Doc-speak.  Such a fun day.  See why I knit? 

Mind you, I continually have to say "now, remember...I'm not medical."  I do my best to use the correct terminology, but usually fall far short of perfection.  (I know, I know.  "Perfection is NOT the goal...excellence is.")  For instance, I'm trying to get the Doc to "write" a prescription (there's no "writing" prescriptions anymore...all done on computer...showing my age...:) for the size needles I need for N/M/E's B12 injection.  He's talking CC's ('cause that's Doc-speak), and I'm responding ML's ('cause that's what's written on the wrapping).  Plus, I keep calling them "needles" ('cause that's the part I'm terrified of), and he keeps correcting me with "syringes" ('cause that's the correct medical terminology).

Yeah.

Did you catch that?  I'm terrified of needles...the business end of the syringe.  And, yet I'm giving N/M/E her B12 injection.  Something's wrong with that picture.  Only because our last Family Doc in MO insisted that I could do this.  Made me learn how.  Well, sure...I suppose you could train almost anyone to administer an injection...but you can never, ever make me like it.

But, I digress...seriously...

So, Family Doc pretty much gave N/M/E the definitive diagnosis of what's wrong with her (fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches and pains, etc.):  she's 90.  Yep.  If he said that once, he said it 4-5 times.  "Well, remember...you are 90."  He did make a couple of changes to her meds and order a couple of additional blood tests to "rule out" some other issues, since I'm guessing you can't really "rule out" being 90.  Let's give this one a B+.  Stay tuned.

Doc #2 (today) was the Foot Doctor, who's been treating N/M/E's torn ligament/heel spur issue during our bi-weekly visits over the past 2 months.  Thinks the 3 cortisone injections he's administered have done the trick, as she's almost pain-free in the left foot.  Hopefully, we can remove him from our regular rounds for a while.  Oh yeah, an A+ for this one.

We try to make these Doctor Days a bit more fun by heading out to eat (either breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of the appointment).  Today we went to McAlister's Deli, a favorite that reminds me of Memphis and Atlanta.  Of course, I used to get the Sweet Tea (elixir of the Gods...:), with lots of lemon (which they will give you with a smile).  Now, I'm limited to the Unsweet Tea, lots of lemon and 3 packets of the Yellow Stuff or 2 of the Pink Stuff (never, ever the Blue Stuff); ah, still tasty.  We had the Reuben sandwiches and fruit cup.  Definitely an A+ for the Lunch Bunch Report.

And, back at home, the Garden Report is mixed.  I spotted a Dad's Best White daylily in full bloom in the holding garden (photo to right), and also one down in the new Mailbox bed.  Both look healthy and happy in their new surroundings.  We've had some of the Happy Trails to bloom this year (yeah!), as well as some of the Roadside Orange ones (double yeah!!).  Holding my breath for blooms on both the Wayside Royal (purple) ones and the South Seas (coral) ones...at least I hope that's what those are. Still, I'm thrilled that so many made the move from MO.  Definitely an A, with opportunities to go a bit higher when those others bloom.

The Black Beauty zucchini are blooming (photo, left) as are the crookneck squash and the cucumbers!  Hooray!  Fingers crossed on pollination, as this all depends on the bees at this point.  I've tried to populate the garden space with enough flowers to capture the bees' attention, but we'll see.  An A for the bloom; an I (incomplete) for the fruit-set.

And, the "mixed" part?  Well, I dosed all the new purple hull peas, pole beans (KY Wonder), bush beans (Blue Lake), corn, tomatoes, and peppers, as well as the blooming squash and cukes, with fish emulsion yesterday.  Nasty, stinky stuff...I don't care how much the label says they've "neutralized" the smell.  Anyway, on this morning's Coffee Walk (where I take my cup of French Roast out into the garden to see how things look in the morning light), I noticed that the newest leaves on the Purple Hull Pink-eyes were all crinkled and curled...almost like they had been singed.  Hmmmm.  A look in my gardening books pointed me to the possible culprit:  me!  Apparently, one should apply fish emulsion (or any fertilizer spray) in the late afternoon/early evening, not in the morning sun like I did...so you don't BURN new leaves.  Lesson learned.  E for effort...F for execution.

I'll do better next time.  Promise.