Mumsy Says!

Just got back from Erie, PA and running a 5K for the Neighborhood Art House.  So much fun – whole families, little kids, pregnant women, miscellaneous adults with baby strollers, nuns (sisters) from the monastery, walkers, runners, joggers, run/walkers, old, young – complete range.

Found out that there are many, many walkers that walk considerably faster than I “jog”.  In fact, I could probably walk as fast as I was jogging based on my time as I went through the finish line – 3-4 hills which was not expected and 100% humidity and 68 degrees (which is incredibly hot feeling and hard on asthma).  Fun was had by all.

Good to see the sisters – had not seen them in almost a year.  One of the previous prioresses died this weekend, a friend of my aunt who was a sister and died there in 1997. 

I was able to spend some time with Sr. Mary Margaret before she died and she knew who I was, and looked at me the whole time I talked though she could not talk – she tried, but couldn’t get the words out.  She was in hospice.  I left yesterday afternoon, a few hours before her death.

Sister Mary Margaret and I shared a love of gardening and friendship with my aunt.  I have a calla lily in my front garden she gave me 3-4 years ago that comes up every year (though it is weak).  I hope it comes up this year.  Also we both have evening primroses, which very few gardeners have.

We shared many a story about flowers, and Sr. Josephine, and life in general. 

There is a lot of construction along the road from Grand Ledge to Erie and back again, and I sat at one point for 90 minutes – right as I was getting to Erie – so I came home on a Sunday to avoid getting stuck in Monday traffic (my kids love it when I talk about traffic, the cost of gas, or the weather). 

Came home to 36 degrees – unbelievable.  But with all the rain my basement didn’t flood so this is very good and made the 12 hours of driving total safely with not even a close call.  God is good.

This week I am hoping for the contractor to come and do the work on the back of my house and have to finish up a couple of classes and go to Turkeyville (you heard that right) for a play.  Then I will have, I hope, an easier week next week.

Retirement is not for the lazy.  Have I told you this before? 

Mumsy

When I watch NCIS (it’s on cable tv so not sure of the station) there are advertisements for shows on the station that show ridiculous situations and people, and the ad will end with “characters welcome here”.  Well, that is Portland, Oregon in a nutshell.

I think it is very interesting that my son Michael spent a summer in Boston, a few weeks in Kissimmee (sp) Florida, and then disappeared to Portland, Oregon for fully 3 years, absolutely no on in the family knowing where he was.  And Rachel, though never living in Florida, has lived in both places – Boston and Lowell, MA for some time (long enough to meet her awesome husband and start a very successful business), and now has moved to Portland, perhaps (or not) permanently.

Ali rides his bicycle to work and home every day and long rides at other times.  They own a tiny little VW Golf with 130,000 miles on it, and they live in a tiny little cottage with 349 sq feet that was fully furnished when they moved in.  And they have more than half paid off their large college debts in a few months.  And they lack for nothing.  Ali and Rachel know how to live life simply and fully.  They have everything in their uncluttered, happy life.

They have a wonderful church which meets in a ballroom and they have the outdoors playground of Portland for entertainment.

In Portland, chains like Target and McDonald’s are not allowed, so the quaint little shops and businesses are everywhere to delight every taste.  Look shortly on Facebook (or webshots) to see some of the pictures. 

Rachel turns 32 today.  So many memories of her birth.  I was her age when I had her.  It seemed so old!  She had long fingers and toes (just like now) and seemed to never sleep (no more than 10 hours a day as a newborn and she didn’t take naps) and she cried constantly.  The only thing that worked to shut her up was to take her outside under a tree and let her watch the leaves move.  She is somewhat still that way today – and delights in new things, bored with the familiar and old.  As a result, one never knows what to expect when visiting her and Ali, but it is always a delight. 

We have gone to scrap stores and waterfalls, rose gardens (with no roses yet so we had a good laugh about that) and mountain roads that had me white knuckled and screeching as she stopped in the middle of the road after a sharp turn to take pictures calmly and slowly, while I screamed and watched the rearview mirror.  Then she told me I couldn’t have those pictures.  She’s like that.  But she let me have them anyway.

This is life with Rachel and Ali – always an adventure!

Tonight I travel home to my boring life again, in my cluttered huge house with a renewed energy to work on the “junk” rooms………happy spring everyone – I hope it has come to Michigan by now – it isn’t quite here in Oregon yet – the trees are blooming but it rains several times a day and the temps are mostly in the 40′s and maybe 50′s. 

Miss my Valkyrie and my bed!

Sunday February 13 was the 4th anniversary of Michael’s death. It was easier this year but not easy. When there is a hole in the family circle left by the death or alienation of a loved one, no one can ever fill that hole.

I was doing my devotions on Valentine’s Day and felt like God was speaking to me about Michael in this verse:

“The Servant……will free captives from prison and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:7 b-c

I see that Christ, the Servant, freed Michael from the darkness of his life – the prison of his mental illness (his addictions were just result of trying to self-medicate for his illness) – gently and with great love He carried Michael in his arms to heaven (for Michael was a strong believer) where there are no more tears and sorrow; no mental illness – only joy and peace and the presence of God forever.

Knowing this intellectually and feeling it in my heart are two different things. This year I feel it in my heart. Knowing that Michael is in this place finally makes it okay that he is gone for he is in a better place and some day I will see him again and be with him forever. And he is happy now. What mother would not want this for her child, especially after watching him suffer for almost 30 years?

Well it appears the Vet was right on target – the painkillers are making it easier for Valkyrie to get up and down and her digestive system is somewhat, though not completely, back to normal. And her appetite has picked up. She is quite fond of scrambled eggs and chicken, which are high protein, so I have been indulging her which gives her something to look forward to and protein to heal. She no longer fights my putting her booties on the back feet (prevents more quick being exposed from dragging hind feet which she doesn’t seem to be doing much any more wahoo!) or the coat. It has been sub-zero wind chills and single digit temps and her hair has really thinned out but warmer weather is on the way. Now maybe I can focus on something besides Valkyrie!

Sun is shining today and I have a meeting (and birthday party) with my BFF in Inthaca so life is great! I guess I better do some organizing so I will be prepared for this meeting.

Hope your day is falling in pleasant places – whoever you are reading this – if anyone is!

Success! Valkyrie doing MUCH better. Now that she is on pain control she is even wagging her tail! She has been able to go to the bathroom better today and is on fiber 3 times a day. I had to get a different one as she was on to my tricks with Metamucil which she could smell and taste and would refuse it. She really is a very smart puppy. So I got one with no taste or smell and that worked. Expensive but it works. I am guardedly optimistic that we have bought some time with Valkyrie, though it is likely she will have to be on pain control the rest of her short life left. Thank you everyone for your cards, words of concern, and prayers. They worked! She is happily resting now and I am sighing in relief that she seems to be doing better.

Turns out Valkyrie’s problem is unrelated to Cushings. Many of the vertebrae on her back are fusing – common in large dogs. There are some places in the middle that are not fused, but near her tail is fused (causing this particular problem) and in her neck. It will only get worse. Additionally, Cushings usually kills a dog – treated or untreated in 2 years – 3 years tops. Valkyrie has had it for 6 years. So her time with me is very limited. Still, the Vet did not recommend putting her down, but instead wants to try to treat the pain to see if this will help her to eat and also be able to go to the bathroom. And fiber is recommended. This is day 2 of pain meds and fiber, and no luck on the bathroom, but she is eating a little bit late in the day. Made her some scrambled eggs to mix with food this morning and chicken tonight. That appealed to her! She seems to be sleeping more – either it’s all those walks I keep taking her on in the hopes that she will take care of business (so far futile) or the meds are working and her pain is more manageable and she can sleep.

Tomorrow I go to my best friend’s father-in-law’s funeral. Her husband just lost his brother in May too. Not a good year for this family. Friday night gathering and Saturday team selection meeting, so my life just got very busy. Spent over 2 hours in vet yesterday as they were suddenly busy (I DID have an appointment) and then the Vet and I talked a long time, got an x-ray, etc.

Guess that’s it for now – more stuff that isn’t particularly interesting to others, but rocks my world and not in a good way………

Appointment with Vet tomorrow and not a minute too soon. Valkyrie fell in the street when she was trying to go to the bathroom and she couldn’t get up. She has no muscle strength. Do I need to get one of those things for around her neck for her to push when she can’t get up? Seriously, it is really sad her deterioration the last 2-3 weeks. It was gradual and then all of a sudden around last Friday I realized whatever was going on with her wasn’t temporary and it was getting worse fast. She is more upset about it than I am and confused about what is going on. I’m not sure if meds will help her, but I surely do hope so. I’m not ready to lose her and she’s not ready to go………………Emmaus board meeting tonight and breakfast with one friend and dinner with another.

My best friend’s father-in-law died of a heart attack. Her brother-in-law had just died this summer too. This has not been a good day.

Ok we have moved from days to weeks to months now. I haven’t written for a while because there was really nothing out of the ordinary to write about. We did get about 12.2 or more inches of snow – that is what Lansing got and I never heard what GL got – we probably got more. That was on top of probably a foot of accumulated snow over the previous 2-3 weeks, all piling up on the side of the road. Add to that the sub-zero wind chills and the single digit temps, and this girl hasn’t run in a couple of weeks – thank goodness for Jazzercise.

The big news this week is that Valkyrie’s Cushing’s Disease has progressed very fast in the last 10 days. I am trying to get an appointment with the vet to get her on meds because if something doesn’t happen soon, I am going to have to put her down. She has very little muscle strength which affects everything from getting up from the floor, climbing the stairs, going to the bathroom, her heart beat, and even eating (and swallowing food without choking).

Requests to join groups, lead ministry, go to dinners and lunches, and do extra work in existing ministries continue to pour in. Several people told me that I would have to learn to say no and they are absolutely right. So much to do, so little time! All good uses of time – but not the best use of time.

Our trip to Egypt got cancelled because of the uprising, but so far the Israeli trip is still on. Considering Egypt was tacked onto the end of the trip as an optional “extra”, I should be okay with it, but the more I thought about going to Egypt, the more excited I got.

On a more mundane note, does ANYONE know how to fix a leaky faucet without hiring a plumber, and if you do, do you think I could do it myself? It’s not that I couldn’t pay a plumber, but I’ve yet to have a plumber come (I keep trying new ones in the hope of finding a reasonable one) that didn’t charge at least $200 and that seems obscene for a leaky faucet.

Michigan plumbing came out and charged me over $300 to install a disposal and it wasn’t even a plumber – it was a tech! Even I knew that was outrageous, but in their defense, it was clearly a better quality disposal (I looked it up). My contractor, in addition to putting in sub par dishwasher (lasted 3 years) and microwave (lasted 3 months and that one was a $300 microwave – not worth bringing out a “certified” inspector to get free work at $185 a trip), the disposal was sub par too – though it did last a great deal longer than the others (8.5 years). I have heard that disposal need to be replaced every 7-10 years anyway but I rarely use the disposal since I compost almost everything. I wouldn’t replace it except need it for the dishwasher cycle. Also, if it breaks, supposedly they will repair or replace it absolutely free. Yeah, right. I do have it in writing though.

My furnace is going on 36 years old, and though it may not be as efficient as some of the newer ones (which I have heard last an average of 14 years), my heating bill has been in the 100′s in the middle of the winter for years. And my windows are very leaky and have practically no insulation (house built in 75). Of course, I keep the temp at 62 most of the time – 57 when I am not home, but I do keep the fan on at all times for allergies. Have had one major repair and several minor ones and the thermalcouple gave me fits for a couple of years until they figured out something else had to replaced, rather than just the thermalcouple (the pilot light kept blowing out and I got quite good at laying on the dusty floor and getting the furnace started again). My old “boss” used to call it the joys of home ownership. Still think it is worth buying over renting – especially tax wise, but home ownership is one thing breaking after another even in the newer homes.

Being at the house far more than I ever have been in my life, thinking that I am noticing things a lot more – one has to stay put more than 2 seconds to notice things, after all. So that is my boring story this week….