Friends

Friends are like windows through which you see out into the world and back into yourself ~~Merle Shain

Friends - Coworkers and Family

Grant me still a friend in my retreat, Whom I may whisper, Solitude is sweet - william cowper

How is it that I am the luckiest of women? I am so blessed and the universe sends me the tings and puts me in the places I need to be. Even in the confinement I have had to endure ( and endure some more) my Co-workers sent me the most lovley of bouquets - My family has been at my beck and call and My friends Have come from all over to lend support in everyway that is possible...... I am ever so grateful for all that I have and hold dear.

I am back at work for partial days probably until the holidays are done. the cellulitus is still not resolved fully and according to doctors may take months before I am well Enough!!

the good, the bad and the ugly

Yesterday I went to see the Infectious disease doc and the to follow up with a work comp doc. The news was mixed.

The good- The PICC line comes out tomorrow morning after a 10 day run on the Vancomycyn yes I am very happy about that this leads to the ugly truth but hang on a moment for that I will get there too. So that is a good thing in my book.

The bad- More antibiotics - What you say? yes I need to continue treatment another mixed bag of drugs for another 10 days this time a combination of two good antibiotics - but I can take them orally. but I need to remain off the leg still so feet elevated as much as I can and try to fight this off and get well. So I am going to try visualizing fighting white knight in my leg ( white good cells) and they will win and next week I hope to be fit for work !! it still a wait and see as of yesterday.

The ugly- the truth is I can't wait for the PICC line to come out so I can shower on a daily basis LOL with the way it is stuck in my arm a shower was less than desirable or manageable more than a couple of times. my routine was highly disturbed. Yes I will be resuming my daily ( or most daily) habit commencing tomorrow afternoon.

Bed head, hat hair, hospital hair .. yikes

the picc line is in the photo above and the bruise is better but the cellulitus still comes and goes bummer

I am alive and still being fiesty as much as I can from bed and chair.

Thank you to all my friends and family who keep up with me here I am ok and getting better everyday thanks to the power prayers who support and bouy my spirits !! I hope i can return to work next week sometime. ( read it is boring at home) lots of good thoughts and prayers still welcome and needed for contiued healling and improvement -

all my love to you QT

home again home again

Yay - after 6 days at Avista I am home. I spent my first day today " homebound" I am not to drive or do anything to strenuous.



I arrived home in the afternoon yesterday and then I received supplies and a visit from a home health care agency. I will be giving myself Iv anti biotics until I am released to return to duty ( that could be 7-10 days) . I have a "power PICC " and it has seals that have vacuum to them. So I had to learn how to administer my drug and clean up and flush my own lines. All good I am a quick learner and fast study though there were a few moments when I had a pain pill an was not 100% certain I was following the procedure.



We ended up going to purchase a recliner - we bought a Lane, and moved our love seat in the downstairs office to the bedroom. so the recliner is there near the TV. it is awesome and allows me to rest with my feet up. S hooked me up to the 52 inch screen with my computer !! so I can read e-mail surf the net and generally have a great time home alone.



I will see an infectious disease person tomorrow afternoon., and a home health nurse will be here tomorrow for the Blood draw to measure the amount of my antibiotic call a trough? she changed my dressing too.

I didn't post this on tueday when I wrote it - posting today

still here- alive and kicking

so still kicking- and trying to get this cellulitis under control.... after much agonizing about this the doc installed a PICC line see above. it is in my upper arm and it goes to the breast bone. and i will be getting vencomyicin iv for at least another 10 days. one more night in hospital and hopefully home tomorrow with drugs.

more Avista

what a nice facility to have to be at if you need care! all the nurse staff have been so nice to me here even the hard job of being here overnight. two nights now. Carole,Crystal, Catelyn, Maria,Jodi,Jackie,Emilly, Tiffany and Dr.Fanestil his aide Donna and I am sure i have missed someone-Deb in the ER and Trish too. I am on dose number 7 of iv antibiotics, i am getting motrin 600's for pain as needed... it does seem to help for a while but today the pain is more intense than it had been yesterday. i have elevated my legs even more with pillows but still i am a bit perplexed by the intensity of this thing in my legs

Avista with a view

the day did not turn out as ecpected yesterday- my work comp doctor visit turned into a trip to the ER at Avista hospital in Superior. My ER visit turned into a stay ( one night so far-with one more at least coming up)



What you say?- well this is what at the moment a cell infection called cellulitis- this is what web md says about it. It can be very serious and cause complications so the best thing is what is being done for me now anyway!! Iv antiboitics and off my feet rest for a few days while my body tries to heal and get well.

And to think all this from falling down on a rug!

Well I was so looking forward to thanksgiving - I have lots of food and we invited our friends K and A and their family to join us for a meal and fun- so now i am stuck in a hospital bed I know i will at least be here one more night - life gives you things you make the best with them.

I am super thankful this year for a wonderful Husband in S. I love my children Hh and J so much... finnally settling with J into a more adult conversation. thankful for the fun we have as a family. my Setep sons D1 and D2.I am thankful for my in laws,outlaws and exteneded family it has been a wonderful year with visits with our family. I am thankful for my friends,K8 , her mom and daughter..My friend Karen ( who is making dinner at my house) her famliy, grateful they were able to oull through a major crisiswith health and life work. My newest friend Jean wonderful sence of humor and likes me for me. I am happy to say I love my job at the university and thankful to still have it and benefits.

jiggity Jog

well I am not Joggin anywhere and instead need to go back to see a doc, in the photo below you can see where I have some redness toward the shin and ankles - well it is way worse this morning and so off again to see workers comp doc. maybe there will be some explaination or help I can get..... keep you all posted.

Knees and toes

Wishing sunshine and love

I wish you sunshine on your path and storms to season your journey. I wish you peace--in the world in which you live and in the smallest corner of the heart where truth is kept. I wish you faith-- to help define your living and your life. More I cannot wish you--except perhaps love--to make all the rest worthwhile.

~~Robert A Ward

Knees- Black and blue

I had a mishaps on Wed - last week - I will post some photos of the actual ( ugly knee) I went to google images of black and blue knee and the funny thing is sox were the most prevalent return on my search LOL

Well I did not have any socks on - and I fell down - I was at work and it was later in the day. I tripped going into Bldg 500 ( old fitzsimmons) on a wipe your feet rubber and cloth type mat ... there were actually quite a few people who saw me do it and one lady even commented that I was " not the first one today" to have fallen!!! WTF why didn't some one do something sooner if that was the case. . . I had a big case of embarrassment and a kind man wanted to help me up ... I wanted nothing more than to be invisible. but I did get up at the time, went on my way took care of my end of day business there and rode home on the bus ( all the while i could feel the pressure and increased heat and size of my knee)

I went to work the next day- Thursday but did report this incident as work comp /safety related. so they sent me off to the Doctors where they proceeded to take a series of x-rays to be sure I had not broken anything. well I had not ( thanks God - what a blessing) My fat knees saved me again. I think I was so shocked to have fallen i didn't do anything to break my fall there by saving me from anything broken.

The bad news it there is severe arthritis on the knee itself---- just like the right now the left has been told it should be hurting ----- (click to see entry about other fall on knees) ----on those days when the weather turns colder.... the swelling has gone down some ( but still not done) I have pins and needles and burning on my leg!! it sucks and it hurts but I am still in the land of the living getting up and going best I can. will keep you posted to the progress hahaha

SIGMA

say what? I am a sigma ( linfield college mcminnville, or) along with lots of other things. Today as I was looking at e-mail I came across one that i recieved a few days ago. It came from a current sigma ;-) , which led me to go back to visit thier website in progress ..... then to take a tour of some others .... maybe someday mine will be linked there too.

In that process I found this little wordpress blog - http://averagefantastic.wordpress.com/
Average Fantastic to young women who are getting it right, learning what make them indvidual and special and fantastic.

I took me a long time to get there ... but I am getting happy where I am. Thank you ladies for reminding me of the joy and youth and inspiring me with your photos and words.

traveling

We are all travelers in... the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend. She is a fortunate voyager who finds many. We travel indeed to find them. They are the end and the reward of life. They keep us worthy of ourselves ; and when we are alone, we are only nearer to the absent. ~~Robert Louis Stevenson

passages - enough

Your Heavenly Father knows your needs. He will always give you all you need from day to day. Luke 12:30 tlb

So our house for thanksgiving? - yes we will be at home this year to celebrate with family and friends. we will be deep frying turkeys and we will have stuffing and sides and desserts it will be a feast for the season. A thanksgiving for having all that we need. Joy in our life and Friends and family.

we had a pre-cursor to our meal on saturday night with J and Hh, SSD2 and S and I his mama and her partner PJ all for Dinner and fun around my table making memories. We had large rib eye steaks and potatos and asperagus yumo all finished with a red velvet cake for S's birthday Celebration. Happy birthday Babe I hope we spend many more to come.

words and spaces

So in the post below I explain we took paneling ( who knows how old) off the dining room wall. In its place we finished the dryway primed and painted the whole room White - so when we were finished Hh and I had already framed family photos we took in May - we did this several months ago. She and I decided we would put them up where we could enjoy them. we also wanted "something else" to fillout this blank white canvas.

So we went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a sentiment ( wall words) and now I will reveal the product of our work.

apples, weather, weekend, -more....

So tonight is the softball banquet for Hh and the teams _ I of course have contributed the 200 + softball photos I took (lol) - this has nothing to do with the elk pictured above I just wanted to give you something to look at !!



over the past weekend we did a load of apples - from our tree in the front yard this was the best crop ever- all the neighbors wanted some all got some, we made apple sauce and it is quite yummy

we spent sunday on a project that needed to be finished, we too paneling off the dining room wall- if anyone has been at our house they know that has been there forever. we we finally finish - painted and adorned the wall with words.

we had 70 degrees plus until tuesday night- now we have very chilly weather. waiting for a predicted 3-4 inches overnight.

My Friend K8

I have shared many things over the years about my Friend K8 who lives in NE and is the sweetest girlfriend evvvvvaaaaa

well here she posted to her blog " let kate drive" a post about us from 10 years ago-
http://letkatedrive.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/

Kathryn- it does not ever get old. I was blessed to get to know you and your lovely family. I have been blessesd to recieve the wonderful notes and handwritten and made cards for 10 years. You my friend are so dear to me. !! I haven't been staying up with your blog, cause you had been a busy chick ( my bad) ;-)

Love you girlfiend

3rd annual chili cookoff a success

We had 6 different kinds of chili - and friendly competion for highly coveted golden Spoon Award. The 1st prize went to a co-worker's wife who made green chili !! The silver spoon went to another co-worker who chilli was outstanding and flavorful.

The third prize went to a co-worker who brought " drangon's breath" chili and knocked everyones sox off with it's flavor and spicy bite.

I sadly did not even win a prize this year, though technically I came in 4th... LOL but the competion was fierce - I have to say I already won a prize and recognition from my peers with a "JOLLY" award.

Spirit of PBS – a.k.a. “The JOLLY” (Not a cash award)
An enjoyable work environment helps to lift the spirits of the PBS staff. This award is intended to recognize the “little things” that people do that make PBS unique and a better place to work. Candidates for this award help to make the challenges of each day easier by demonstrating:

Appropriate use of humor to lighten difficult situations;
Positive outlook regardless of the challenge;
Cheerful disposition with an infectious smile or laugh;
Other unique examples experienced at PBS that helps lift the spirits of PBS staff.


JOLLY = Jovial Outlook, Loves Laughter, & Yummies!

Coins

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can detirmine how it will be spent. ~~ carl sandburg

so over sunday I spent time at my parents home. spending my coins was a topic that came up. I have done alot of soul searching and learning about myself with thearpy over the years ( my friends know to be true) suffice it to say I don't see eye to eye with my mom- what's new there? She sees my life and spending one way ,I see it another. I am more selfish with my time these days - but importntly that makes me a harder person. It has been harder to choose to not communicate the negative.... I still find myself there sometimes. It has been harder to be colder to those around me... for so many years my kindness is taken for granted. It is harder to be less free with my time ... my volunteer spirit has dampened a bit. This was a telling quote for me to consider.

Extravagant

How extravagant, diverting, and decadent the simplest of pleasures be. ~~Bradford Humbert

Homecoming

Love the sky in these photos - it was about 4:00 pm in the afternoon

Hh had a great freshman homecoming, thrusday evening Pomona beat legacy and that is always a good thing for homecoming.

friday night we hung out and ate pizza
Saturday was jam packed, we did nailes ( hers blue) mine (red) we went and did hair, we re-pierced ear-holes that had closed off, we came home got her dressed taken for pictures and even to the resaurant on time. we had to take her to the dance and I went to deliver softball photo to the coach- yikes that was on the pre-dance, then we came home wanting icecream, there was none to be found and vanilla

I will get some photos up in the next few days stay -tuned
QT

Happy Halloween

Uber Super hero HH - she was great !!

A little Devil in Me

S aka Slash - chaneling his inner Rocker !!

Difficulty

The difficulty of the journey sometimes turns out to be its blessing ~ Marianne Williamson

slide home

Amazing slide home yeah you go girl

we had tournament play for the last two days, sadly levelIII girls did not do well lost 4 games, but they learned alot.

more games to come for sure.

a few more

The veiw is the GORE Range from a vantage pull out on Trail Ridge road- beautiful Colorado blue sky

Craggy peaks taken from Fall river dirt road nearing summit and Trail Ridge.

the Little Soul that could made it up hills and down in the valleies just fine thank you very much a fun but dusty drive

Early fall leaves- aspens and cool nights - there were only a very few spots where the change was occuring and visible just a couple more weeks and it will be gold allover.

Here it is Colorado shivering golden fall.

reprise

The north faces still have a few visible snow spots- and we saw lots of preparation for the snow season, road markers were up everywhere and all the paving on the park roads was just about done, the last little bit was on the summit at trail ridge road. It was quite chilly at the summit about 55 degrees and windy but the sun was shining. It was a grand day for an adventure in the park with great company.

fire and Ice, smoke and snow

A friend and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park for a little R & R yesterday, while there we took some photos into the canyon below fall river road near the summit and you can see the smoke from the boulder canyon fire

- it was strange and looked like fog, a stranger stopped with us on the pull out and asked if it was fog or mist and we told them about the fire burning below.

There is so much damage everywhere from the pine beetle that the forests are like tinder boxes ready to go in a moment. The fire has not caused us to shut down at work but there is so much haze everywhere.

lets play ball and more

girls doing a group cheer against the oposing team - near the end tonight 9-4 in the W

how much gear for the girls? twice what we need?

Practice last saturday morning. we love this time to practice, but the sprinklers prevent us from much fielding

Skip to my loo?? it is a pretty cute warm up but the they are learning too.

we have played 3 games in the last week and we have a total of 3 wins and 5 games. so this softball is cramping my social life LOL

1st game day pictures

last batting photo- resulted in an arm injury ( remember J? from football ) intersting, not career ending may be a little shy of the batters next time though.

so tonight was a double header and we lost one 7-4 and we won one 11-8 so there you have it.