Hello!
I
have been trying to write a newsletter since last month, but here we are in
August already so I'll have to combine two months again. So sorry.
The
bright colorful lilies that are so gorgeous have bloomed and gone as well as
most of the roses. Right now my double pale pink and rose- along with the
single white and lavender- rose of sharon are blooming in my hedges along with
bee balm. In the garden zinnias, tall
yellow sunflowers, and orange/red Mexican sunflowers are blooming amidst the
corn and beans. So far this summer has been quite humid and damp with rain
every week so my tall phlox and bachelor buttons didn't do well this year,
which has also affected the beans. You know it is a wet year when you have wild
mushrooms growing in the garden. Even the tomatoes are rotting before they get
completely ripe so I am picking them earlier than usual. The blackberries
didn't last long either. Thankfully most of the tomato vines are still healthy.
I've pulled my pea vines out as they are over.
Each
week has found me picking beans, corn, tomatoes, blackberries, and dried peas
for seed along with trying to keep the weeds- that no matter the weather thrive
and flourish- out of the garden so the veggies have room to grow. There is
nothing like eating fresh green beans, tomatoes, and corn from the garden.
Besides
my garden veggies, I did up a bushel of peaches and green beans, and have
canned some tomatoes. I trimmed my
formal garden hedge, cherry bushes, and have gotten half of the long front
hedge trimmed so far. I can't work out in the heat like I used too- not to
mention I am slower- so it takes longer to accomplish the many tasks needing
done. I always keep water/Gatorade with me to stay hydrated. I'm just thankful
I am back up on my feet and able to go.
I'm
also very thankful to have the Durango back once more to drive, although in
switching vehicles I did the dumbest thing. I had just gotten back from taking
Dana on a Friday on one of his many doctor visits to Cookeville and it had been
a long day when I went to get the Durango. I so was thrilled to have it back
that I didn't bother checking the gas gauge. It sat parked in the driveway
until Sunday morning when I am backing it out to go to church and I looked at
the gas gauge and it was down on empty. I couldn't believe my eyes. I pulled
back in figuring first thing when I went to town I'd get some gas. In my
defense, I have always had a fear of being stranded while out on the road- that
had happened recently on a Sunday morning- so I’ve always put gas in whenever
it gets down to one fourth of a tank. The guys had the Durango for two weeks,
driven it around several times while trying to figure out what was going on,
and the day I picked it up they had let the Durango run for half of the day to
make sure it wouldn’t suddenly stop again. So I didn’t have a clue of how much
gas was in the tank. When Dwight got up later he checked it out and said that
there was half a tank of gas. I felt horrible because if I had known I would
have gone on to church no matter what the gauge said. Dwight figured that maybe
the gauge was going bad. Monday morning I get in the Durango to head to town
and checked the gauge and once more it showed empty. I turned it off and on
again and the gauge didn’t move so I went and got Dwight to prove I wasn’t
seeing things. Dwight gets in, turns the Durango on, and says, “Mom it shows
half a tank.” He gets out; I get in, and point to the gauge that still shows
empty. Dwight grins and tells me that I’m looking at the temperature gauge
instead of the gas. Did I ever feel stupid! On the truck the gas gauge was on
the opposite side of the Durango so I had gotten used to looking there. Why
these vehicle manufactures don’t keep things on the same side is beyond my
comprehension. It’s enough to drive one completely batty when one’s brain cells
are already overloaded. Needless to say
I got teased about that one quite a bit.
I’ve
had to drive Dana long distance every week- sometimes twice- lately as his
cardiologist took him of the lasix that was no longer working- Dana was
retaining a bunch of fluid and put him on two others meds, which put his kidney
function blood work off. They halved the dosage; his fluid retention came back,
put the dosage up again and keep doing blood work to keep an eye on it.
Unfortunately, the blood work can’t be done local. We had a wonderful answer to
prayer a couple days before I was going to have to admit Dana to the hospital
due to running out of his psych meds as I couldn’t get any refills. When
calling the hospital I discovered that his previous psychologist had just
decided to take a couple of patients again. I was able to get a hold of her and
she agreed to refill his meds until we could get an appointment to see her.
Dana’s dementia has gotten worse. He now no longer remembers to brush his
teeth, comb his hair, shave, can’t retain what he reads, drops stuff more, sometimes
is up at night, and is stuttering more often when trying to speak so needs more
care . We saw the psychologist this week and although she added another med,
wasn’t very optimistic about anything helping Dana’s dementia that they have tried
to slow down. Instead she discussed with me about putting Dana in a nursing
home which at this point I’m not considering. Physical therapy has also come
again trying to help keep Dana on his feet as he is weaker physically.
Dwight’s
burns have all healed; he had a bout of intestinal flu that lasted almost three
weeks so lost weight- at times I felt like I was running a hospital between him
and Dana. Dwight is gaining back his strength, down at his shop each day, and I
am trying to fatten him up again.
I
do need to hush up, but I want to thank all of you who support us in prayer
daily. At times I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted trying to
keep up with everything. Thanks so much! It is what often keeps us going.
Meanwhile take care on your end!
Dorcas
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