Will try to play catch up with this!!!

Can never catch this up completely so will have to hit the highlights!!
Mom is holding her own. As expected, she is still slowly going down hill mentally. Physically; she is walking less and as long as she does not have the urinary tract infections, she is fine. With the infections; she gets a little wierd. Like trying to barricade herself in her room at the nursing home. They got the door open and the furniture back in place but she was pissed.

Bob is doing great!!! He is working with Jim again hauling metal and getting back physically after the long sabitical of no work before and after his surgery for the prostate cancer. He is back to making the fire calls and medical calls, but not going into the fires.

Ellen is still waiting to hear about a job she really wants. If she gets it, she will be moving to Austin for the next 3 to 5 years. The job will be back with Club Corp again, but not in the corporate office. Kenny will stay in Grapevine and hopefully find a full time job in DFW area. He has been doing temp jobs at dealerships since February, but every job they offer him, is less than he wants, so he turns them down. Eventually he will run out of offers and unemployment, and he will really be in a world of hurt, as the jobs will be taken by then. Ellen has repainted the kitchen cabinets, and haul at her house and re-finished the game room table top. All looks totally professional. If she gets the job in Austin; she will set up an apartment there with stuff from the house here plus whatever she has to buy to complete the furnishings.

Leeman and Leah are doing well. They have been playing a lot of golf, but the heat has gotten to the point that they are cutting back from every day to once or twice a week. Leeman broke a rib so that pretty much puts paid to the golf for a while

I have been on a roll. Life is really good. Was sick last week for the only time in ages. Had not had a urninary tract infection for over 40 years. But when I got one I got a goooood one. The meds they gave me for that and the ones for the hives caused by the virus I carry, lost me a total week. Yuck!!!

Fire house stuff is the same as usual. Lots of personnel inside griping between 25 members. The Fire House as had a lot of changes the last couple of months with a new chief and president, but things smooth out for a while and then get back to the grumbeling and back stabbing. Yuck!!!

Finished a new correl for the donkey Moms and 2 new babies. We decided to seperate the herd in half with one jack for each herd. The dominate Jack didnt like it one bit, but the less dominate one appreciated it. No fighting now. We want to tame down the two babies and so the correl will be their home for at least a month. Then out into the pasture for a while. We will change the herds out every couple of months from east to west and back and keep one pasture not used for a while. Rotation, rotation!!

The vege garden did great this year. We have a few pumpkins, and got a lot of tomatoes, which are still coming, but the heat has pretty much killed them back. The black eyed peas a going good, and even the green beans are coming again. Yeah yeah. No peaches from the peach orchard though. We have two trees here by the house that will give us enough for a few jars of peaches I hope.

We now have power to the motor home thanks to an electrician friend of ours. Found the two water leaks and will get the parts for those this week. Then I can finish cleaning the bath room and shower and fridge. I got to drive it the other day around the yard moving it to the dump station we have installed, but still cant travel as still looking for the two new windshields that wont cost us an arm and a leg.

Bob and Ellen refinished the his bathroom floor and we installed a new potty. But have a leak in the shower someplace. So even after recalking still have it, and will have to watch to see where the water is coming from when he showers next.

Next repair job will be a new toilet in my bathroom and maybe new floor tile there too, and then the floor in the game room with new subflooring and carpet.

Now that we are getting our first real rain in about 2 1/2 months, we will be able to put in the St Augestine runners where the old hot tub was that we removed. It never worked from the time this guy gave it to Bob in lue of payment for a job he did. Damn old fart was a thief from day one.

Ellen and I are going to see Mom this morning and then to Gainesville for some shopping at the outlet mall. Then maybe to the Casino in Oklahoma for a bit or even to OK City if we feel like it. Bob and Jim are hauling to the metal yard today, so he will be gone all day.

Ahhhh more thunder and rain, thank the Good Lord!!!!!!! Prayers are answered. More grass will grow for the animals and we wont have to use so many round bales.

Well time to play my Mafia Wars and Mobsters and Pirates and Mob Wars, etc. :)

Nice get together with Bob's Family

We had a great get together with Bob's oldest, Robbie's family for Fathers Day yesterday. Today we go to Ellen's for Fathers day with a little swimming. Been a rather warm busy week this week. A few calls but with the heat building I hope people have better since than to start a brush fire to burn off stuff and let it get out of control. Vegetable garden is doing wonderfully. Need to pick this morning before it gets cool. Leeman gave me a new wildland gear hat. PINK!!! Bob has put my number etc on it so will take it to the fire dept when Kevin and Rainer are there and really tweek their feathers !!!!!

Long time no blog

It has been 5 weeks since the last blog and seems like it was just a week ago. We have been incredibly busy. Just the usual but more of it. Which is ok, keeps the brain active. Bob has been thru a series of tests over the last 5 weeks, and the results are in. The brain scan for seizures has found the brain in a small corner of the skull. The lack of mass :) indicates the typical male mentality. That test came back normal - what is normal for the untypical male, such as in Bob's case. On to the next test - the scan of the neck arteries - blood flow excellent - but slow as in OLD MEN. Again normal. Heart scan - not normal - they found a BIG heart - working away loving his wife - uhhhh to mushy there, and loving hauling metal again, and doing fire stuff.
I have been working 4 + hours a day on department secretary and treasurery books and keeping us out of debt and out of the red. Not an easy task there, as 24 Firemen not counting me, seem to think that the department pockets are deep. We are trying to build another new brush truck, satisfy two grants given by the Texas Forest Service and apply for a grant from FEMA for a new fire house building that has been needed for the last 3 years+. Anyone want to donate? Send it to CVFD, P O Box 1987, Boyd TX 76023. We are a 501c4 non profit and we will send a letter for your taxes. Alms for the poor, alms for the poor!!!!
We have a wonderful garden this year with all the rain. Tomatoes, Squash, Pumpkins, Green Beans, Blackeyed Peas, and Peppers. We will have to get out and pick tomatoes etc this morning and since it supposed to be another 110 heat index today, we are going to get that done early and get a shade covering over the outside a/c unit for the south side of the house to give the unit a little less work load we hope and of course keep the house cooler.
Hershey, the Brittney Spaniel, tore a hole in the screen on the sun room door to get in yesterday morning while we were gone. So closed the glass on that and opened another window. Keeps the plants and the dove from getting too hot. It's not like he doesnt have shade!!! A nice dog pin, shade covering, dog house, carpet on the ground to lay on, large water bucket he likes to lay in and shade all afternoon from the house. Spoiled Dog here!!!
We are still looking for 2 windshields for the 1985 Executive motor home that Rodney and Sheena GAVE us. 35' of real beauty. We sure want to go fishing with it/in it/drive it, anyway we are so ready to go but cant get it inspected until we get new windshiels. One guy said he could get us two and install them for $4500. I DONT THINK SO!!!!!! So we continue to look and ask.
Leeman turned 40 with a great Birthday Party put on by Leah and Ellen and Kenny. They found all his best buddies from scouts and they came and oh my gosh, the stories they told. Would raise your hair and at scouts too. :)
Derek Graduated from high school, and our nephew Cody Graduated also. My oh my - time just flies. Hope to get to Colorado soon so we can see Paul and family and then see Alan for a while. But time will tell. Have to check our lottery ticket and see how much we won so we will know how long we have that we can travel. :)
Keeping my fingers and toes crossed it will be a nice long vacation!!!!!
Hoping to hear from Dean and Debbie, and a wedding date to make it official that Debbie is part of the family. She is already in our hearts for sure and she makes Dean so happy!!!
Got the floor mopped this morning in the kitchen and dinning room, and vacuumed the game room and the utility room. Going to shampoo the carpets in these two rooms as Callulah had a potty accident yesterday and I just shampooed them 2 weeks ago. Yuck. Then to the grocery store as I dont have breakfast stuff unless I can talk Bob into buying breakfast at IHOP. Then the garden and a/c and then to Springtown to get Ellen's mower, and then to Grapevine with that and the carpet shampooer for her to use the shampooer for their cats upchucks spots in the den. Then back home and rest, I HOPE!!!
Been to the DR this week and have lost a total of 11 lbs the last 2 months. Have to loose 3 to 5 this month so better get on the stick. Gained back 25 of what I had lost 3 years ago, so on with the better eating habits.

Bob's hospital visit and tests

Last Wed Bob had a seizure that may have been caused by a low blood sugar count of 51. He had a MRI brain scan and then a 12 hour glucose test where he didn't eat for 24 hours. That showed he was a pretty constant mid 80's. So tomorrow we get the results from the DR.
Weekend was busy selling tickets in front of Walmart for the FD raffle and getting donations.
Still have not gotten the motor home power washed as it has rained every day. So try again tomorrow.
We have a new baby donkey. Her name is Bambi. A beautiful spotted donkey. And I think we are going to have another one soon. This makes 10 we have. Woopeeee!!!!

6 weeks since the last blog

I dont think I can remember all the happenings for the last 6 weeks. Maybe if I list then I can fill in? Hmmmm well its worth a try.
Not necessarily in order:
Bob's Prostate Surgery - cryogenics is the only way to go. Cancer is all gone and yes there was pain and sometimes still has a little, but no cancer and he didnt have to have the kemo/radiation.
Water leak in my bathroom found and fixed and hopefully the water bill will go back down within reason.
Debbie is moved into her mobile home in our orchard. She hired Ross to fix the fence back up and put in a gate and we went 1/2 and 1/2 on the cost. So that is fixed. She has finished moving out of the broken in 1/2 trailer so Bob and Jim can start taring it down maybe next week and getting it out of in front of the one she is in now. She still has some remodeling to do, but Bob got her new elect water heater in and she still has the guest bath to remodel and get the central a/c hooked up.
Dramatics still going on at the cafe everyday, but maybe that got stopped with an outsider letting the owner know that the waitress was causing alot of the trouble with her dirty mouth.
Elections for new positions at the fire house were earlier this month. New chief, new asst chief, new president, and vice president, and got rid of the secretary and I was voted back in as treasurer and also secretary with a change in the By laws initiated that night. Oh that caused the new chief and president a real pain in the ass with with old secretary calling them 3 and 4 times a day bitching and accusing me and others of wrong doing. I volunteered my books for audit and the new chief and president did the audit with me and all was perfect. We did initiate some new procedures for viewing the books once a month on line at the fire house computer. Of course the old secretary - butter wouldnt melt, but I acted like I didnt know she accused me of theft. She is taking a course paid for by the fire dept along with 2 others to be certified EMT's and yesterday she couldnt take a blood prssure as she had the ste/scope turned up side down.
Mom is doing very well. Holding her own.
Donkeys are doing well, the jacks have been having fights to see who was going to be the head of the herd. No babies yet but who knows we might yet.
Planted 18 tomato plants, 4 japaleno plants, one raised bed in black eyed peas, one raised bed in blue lake green beans, and one bed in pumpkins and winter squash. Then another bed in okra. So hope we have good crops to can, and looks like the tomato plans are going to be the best in several years. The peaches are really making but we lost 10 trees this last summer and fall to the drought and fire ants, even though we were watering.
Bob had a seisure caused by low blood sugar yesterday and had to call the ambulance to the fire house where we were to take him to the emergency room. They got his sugar leveled again, did blood work and ekg and all came back ok. He is tired today as he worried all night about his sugar levels. He is hipo/glysemic, which is low blood sugar. he hasnt been this bad since we were in Ft Worth. He has been drinking everynight with Dean - he introduced us to Wild Turkey with honey and oh my gosh - we killed 2 - 5's of that, a pint of Wild turkey and 1/2 - 5th of Crown while they were here.
He is sore from the thrashing around but his sugar level is good today.. He is napping and still says he will be going fishing tonight with Corkey doing the Thursday Tourniment tour.
Ready for some fishing etc now but found another leak under the sink in the front bathroom and the inside of the toilet in Bob's bathroom broke so we have to have a new toilet in there. Not that it isnt about time; its over 20 years old.
The motor home is still coming along. We had to get a new tire, but that was only one of 8 and the others look good. We have to have two more of the 5 sky lights replaced as we hoped we didnt have to replace them but one broke in the wind day before yesterday. We hope to get it moved forward so we can hook into the drop we put in years ago for dumping camper or motor home for visitors, and sure enough we will be the first to use it. Then I can finish cleaning the bathroom and stove, but we have to see where a leak is under the sink. Our friends told us there was one but didnt tell us where.

Couldnt Sleep

Went to bed at 10:30. Woke up at 12:05 and couldnt go back to sleep. Last looked at the clock at 1:05am. Bob woke me up at 1:30am and needed a potty trip, so up and worked the valve on his bladder tube while he held the cup to measure the output. He was able to pee naturally first!!! This is the second time since his surgery and then finished with the tube. We were both awake and could not go back to sleep so back up at 1:50am and I swept and mopped the dining room and the kitchen and swept the utility room and our bedroom and started on the game room. We took out the 50 gal fish tank and put it on the kitchen deck to clean and put in storage as well as the stand. Then scooted the pinball game where the fish tank was and moved the curio cabinet someone gave us, into the spot where the pinball machine had been. Now we have to level the cabinet when we get back from the cafe from breakfast.
I got most of my tackle box emptied and put into the individual trays we bought yesterday. Each tray will be for a certain kind of fishing. We paid for 4 each and only got home with 7, so have to go back to Walmart and get the other one we didnt get. Will probably get a larger tray for the lures. Bob starts tournament fishing next Thursday night with Corkey, so he has to have his trays in order and the reels ready to go. Will work on those later today after we get the cabinet leveled etc.
Will work at the Cottontop this evening as have not been there in two weeks, what with Bob's surgery last week and Mom in the hospital the week before.
We are going to put new batteries in the yard lights also today so that they will work again.
I got 28 - 24"x24" stepping stones pulled up over at Ellen's that Mom put down in the back yard, then loaded in the truck, and moved over and put down in the front yard making us a nice walk way that will keep us from mashing down the St Augistene grass wearing a path. Got it fertilized yesterday and the 7 bushes planted, in the front of the house. Used Lantana as they draw butterflies and hummingbirds. Still have a pine tree and a blueberry bush to plant when I make up my mind where I want it. Also got the tack room cleaned up yesterday and everything put back this morning. Got the kitchen deck shed cleaned out yesterday and finished putting stuff in there today. Got another pile of metal for Jim to pick up; put together yesterday and took two car batteries over to Jim's this morning. Got two loads of trash out of the sheds to the dump this morning also, and the garbage for the week taken yesterday. Have a pile of wood to burn as soon as the wind lays long enough to get it done.
Tomorrow we are going to try to go to Bowie with Jim to sell raffle tickets for the fire department. Bob's Dr said he could go but if he got tired to just come home.
Sunday we will not go as JIm and Corkey will do the sales then.
Well it is 4:28 so guess will try to rest until 6 and then take Bob to the cafe for coffee.

Bob cant sleep and the dogs are loud

Bob cant sleep - worried about his Dr visit tomorrow. He still is having to use the bladder tube and valve all the time. They warned him from day one that he would have this bleeding and need to use the tube because of swelling in the urinary track. I talked to the Dr on Monday and he said that Bob would have more bleeding than some as they had to work in that base area of the prostate to get the cancer. The Dr warned us that Bob would have to have the tube longer as he wasn't able to pee naturally. The prostate was so large that they could only freeze the bottom 1/2 of the prostate. If the psa goes up markedly over a 6 months period, then they will go back in and freeze the other 1/2.
Mom is doing better. She is eating two full meals a day, walking to the meeting room for meals. This after not eating for over a week, in the hospital for 3 days for lack of fluids and not eating. Then back to the nursing home and she got the stomach flu with vomiting. Meds for that and now getting back to good condition.
Debbie moved out completely tonight. She slept in her new home the first time last night and now again tonight. She has cold water only until she gets a new electric water heater as the one in the house is gas and she is not going to have gas except for the central heat, and maybe not even then as she wants an electric heater.
I cleaned out two of our storage sheds - ie the tack room and the kitchen shed. Seems some stuff had gravitated in there that didn't belong. So cleaned and straightened and now we know where everything is located and can get in the shed again. Got the 5 white aluminum windows with fan tops we were given for the house, moved to an area of the garage that will allow me to park back in the garage again. We have 3 windows that need replacing; 2 in the bedroom and 1 in the library. Jim came over and took off some of the metal I had piled up. He will come back for the rest soon so the yard will look more open instead of cluttered. Will go over to Ellen's next door and get the deck cleaned up of all her camping stuff and get it stored with ours and bring the lawn tools of Mother's over here and put them away with ours. Gave Debbie Mom's rocker from the deck as she wanted it for her living room. Got Ellen's microwave today and moved it to our storage building in case ours goes out.
Today when we get home, if Bob is feeling ok, will go out and transplant 8 bushes to the front yard. Have 5 mulit colored Lantana, will move and 2 sage. They should look very good against the front of the house. Will fertilize the StAugestine and then water really well. Will put out pre emergent on the lower yard for burrs, and then water. The top of the yard will get liquid fertilizer from the spray rig so the grass will come up thick. Next time out will do the pastures with the spray rig.
Bob starts his fishing turminents with Corkey next Thursday, and I think he is worried that he wont be ready to go. Personally I think he will be good to go.
We are doing Bowie days this weekend for ticket sales. Bob wants to try going on Saturday, but only time will tell. Jim has help for Sunday sales so told Bob we might try it if he has no swelling by then. At least for a couple of hours if he doesn't get tired. He can lay down coming back if he wants to in the back seat.
Got a curio cabinet this week. A lady was having her house bulldozed to build a new one, and she gave Debbie and I each a cabinet. Mine needs glass in the door and one glass shelf replaced, but otherwise is in good condition. Have it temporary in the game room but want it on another wall. Hopefully will get it moved this weekend as have to have some one to help me move the fish tank and the curio cabinet and the pin ball machine, so I can put the cabinet where I want it. Then I can unpack some of the stuff I got from Mom's things and put them in there.