Snake Training -- recheck

Tucson

First and foremost, we are proud to announce the arrival of great granddaughter #5---Molly Faye on April 21, weighting in at 7 lbs 14 oz (just the same as her grandmother weighted).  Proud parents are David and Tiffany. 

Tiffany with Sophie Denise (2), Ada JoEllen (1) and Molly Faye (new)

Okay, so exactly one year from the day I initially took the dogs to snake avoidance training (still boggles my mind that I really did this to begin with) I took them back for their yearly re=check.  Yup, the snakes are still "leashed" and alive and rattling like crazy.  Up first was Schuster, who bounded out of the car to go play with the other dogs, took about 3 steps, stopped and sniffed, and RACED back to the car...hell no, I won't go!!!  GOOD BOY!  Then I leash Beau and he takes off for the other dogs and thinking there might be a ball around, all of a sudden he stops, sniffs and runs back (dragging me behind him ) to the car.  Yes, both of the dogs are still afraid of snakes....YES!  My Mom and I did a good job!  :-)  For those of you who don't remember, my mom made my little brother and I so afraid of snakes when we were kids in Oregon and we still carry that fear!

This creepy snake showed up at our house earlier this month.  The Fire department came and captured it so they could release it in the "wild".  I found out the  "wild" was right across the street in the wash!  Next snake we find won't be so lucky!!!

In other un-news; we are still playing "how many doctor appointments can we squeeze into one week?"  The answer is more than I care to think about.  And we added a new doctor to our list, and not an "olgist" this time but and orthopedist!  Al's shoulder is giving him a hard time so we went to see what that was all about.  Worn rotator cuff is the culprit; doc gave him a shot in the shoulder (I didn't watch) and then sent him off to see a physical therapist.  That starts next week...in the midst of all this I am still going to hand therapy.  I don't know if there will be enough hours in the day to fit in all of this "therapy" AND doctor appointments.  AND we are both sneezing ---  hmmm, it's spring and the dreaded mesquite trees are in full bloom and so are our sinuses.  ACHOOOO

Billie and Dan were here for a very short visit earlier this month.  They brought all 4 of our grand dogs with them...Kiki, yellow lab, very old; Cleo, heinz 47 mix; Mocha, poodle mix and young and the newest, Bailey, poodle mix as well.  Our dogs were very happy to see them...they all played.  The cats on the other hand weren't so very happy!

Mike and Bev arrived next, and Mike spent last Wed to Sun here, then he had to go back to work (work???) in St. Louis.  Bev is staying for an additional week and I tell you Tucson will never be the same.  We have shopped and hit every quilt shop in town...I may be able to start quilting again soon.  We had Al's birthday party here last Friday night and had a house full.  I had planned to have it out on the deck, however, weather didn't cooperate and we wound up in the house.  Speaking of weather, last week we had some very cold, January type days...then over the weekend it warmed up and today it was 94.  Tomorrow (weekend coming) it is suppose to cool down and be cold again!!!!  Not normal for Tucson for this time of the year.

Well, that's about all the news from this end for now. I will post a new blog when we finish the doctor rounds next week so I can tell you about what the plan is for dialysis for Al.  I am sure none of this is going to be fun!

Really? A Month???

Tucson
Has it really been a month since I posted a blog?  What's wrong with me?  Where have I been? 

The what's wrong with me answer is "Too much on my plate and not enough time!"  The Where have I been answer would be, doctors office. physical therapy, doctors office, physical therapy, repeat over and over.  It seems as if I haven't had a doctors appointment, Al has; and I have been spending time at the physical therapist office trying to get my right hand to work again!

Progress has been slow with my hand it seems, or, knowing me, I am just impatient!  I want my hand to work NOW!!  I do have most of the use back most of the time, however, having said that I am still typing with only one finger on the right hand most of the time -- sure has slowed my typing speed WAY down.  My thumb and pinky have most of the feeling back, the other three fingers are still numb most of the time, but I am working hard on getting the feeling back in them.  I get so frustrated with the lack of strength in my hand and that doesn't help my disposition any either!

The news on Al isn't the best.  He has seen so many doctors in the last month I have lost count, and can only say I am so glad I have a calendar that I  keep up to date or we would be lost!  His kidney function is way down, we are talking only 20% function.  So now we are probably looking at dialysis, or so the Nephrologist says.  A couple more tests are in the works for Al before we start the dialysis; and I can only say this won't be fun at all.  Al isn't eating very much (which isn't AL) and really doesn't have the energy to do anything.  Between the kidneys, diabetes and alzheimers, life just isn't fun for him.  Plus I watch him like a hawk; sometimes too much, but I am scared not to.  Plus he has  trouble walking; so I am always aware of where he is, sure don't want him to fall.

A bright spot in our life is that we have had company; good friends Kathy and Rowland Brasch were here for a week.  We really enjoyed them; even got out to go to Tombstone and Bisbee one day and Al enjoyed the ride.  He couldn't walk very far; but enjoyed being out. 

Now we are waiting for daughter Bille and son in law Dan to arrive on Monday for a short visit; then later this month son Mike and wife Bev will be here -- can't wait!  Next month son Ric and wife Janet will be here, which we are looking forward to as well.

Weather here has been fairly good, had some cold, cloudy days, but I think those are over for a long while as we are now starting to heat up for the summer months.  Speaking of which, we won't be going north this summer unless Al improves dramatically.  So we will spend our very first FULL summer here in Tucson -- which I don't mind in the least.  I keep telling myself it can't be as hot as it was when we were in Riyadh! 

Friends Denise and Gordon are still here as well; and I can't say how glad we are that they are here.  They are living in their 5th wheel and it is parked on our lower lot, which we had an RV pad built last year.  They are really a huge help for us and do a lot to help my well being.  What great friends they are!

Until next time, we hope all is well with all of you!