"Catching Up On The Past Few Weeks!"

The past past few weeks have been pretty busy for me, with more activity than I'm used to. It's hard for me to get around and go out because of the pain that I'm in, but each of these trips were necessary and thank the Lord, I'm still alive to tell about it all. (LOL!)

Let's start with my monthly trip to the pain clinic with my sister, Carol. On Wednesday, 25 November 2009, Carol picked me up and we went to Groton to see Dr. Ortiz. The next day was Thanksgiving, so the waiting room was packed that day because they had over-booked appointments. We had quite a long wait and both of us were in a lot of pain to begin with, so it didn't go over big with us, but we always handle it well because we usually have a good time together.

I had what I call a "cruise control" appointment, which just means that everything was pretty much the same as it was the last time that I saw him, so there was no need to change anything. Carol did have some problems, so they worked on them and then we left.

After that, we went to Shur-Save for our groceries, went to the Post Office, then headed over to Mom's for our monthly get-together with Sande. We usually have such a nice time, but this time, it was a little strained because Carol said something to Mom about how Dion and I wouldn't be coming for Thanksgiving, and as usual, the whole thing got blamed on me.

I couldn't wait for Carol to take me home because I was in so much pain.

The next day was Thanksgiving and I needed to go home to rest up if I were to have any hope of being able to go to dinner—anywhere.

When Dion got home from work that night, he put away all the groceries that I brought home with me, plus he helped me get undressed and he put me to bed. I was in so much agony that I was in bed for the night by 6:30 p.m. and he took care of me like no nurse you have ever known. He was loving and tender, plus he even read to me. He is so wonderful to me—I love him so much!



Thursday, 26 November 2009...Thanksgiving Day. Dion and I definitely decided that we would go to his mother's for dinner and that we were not going to go over to my mother's and join them afterwards because they complain and say that it's just not good enough that we show up later anyway, so why spoil a perfectly good day?

We had a wonderful time at Dion's mom's. The dinner was delicious and as always, his mother was as adorable as can be. She is always so sweet to me and she makes me feel loved. It's so peaceful and calm over there—totally different from the chaos that has become the norm at my mother's now.

Besides Dion's mom, Dion and me, the following were present for dinner: Daren, Cheryl and Dara; and Donna, Bob and Matthew. I looked around the table and immediately wished that Duane had been there—I miss him so much. After that, I wistfully thought how nice it would have been if Drew, Vikki, Dana, and Katie would have popped in and joined us. I don't know about the rest of them, but I miss them a lot.

When dinner was done, Dion and I went home, sunggled together and watched some DVD movies. All in all, it was a great day. There was no arguing or back-biting and it was a day to be thankful for.



Monday, 30 November 2009...Dion took the day off from work today so that he could take me back to Dr. Ortiz's for my third in a series of "trigger point injection treatments" on my left shoulder. The first two times I received a series of twelve shots in each visit and this time I received somewhere between 8 to 10 shots, but they were big ones, and they hurt really bad! (I have to remember to tell Dr. O. that after he left the room, the pain went all the way up the left side of my face and my ear, plus it hurt my left arm and the top of my left hand.)

Dion and I stopped at the Phoenix Bookstore on the way home, but I didn't go in—I just didn't feel good after receiving all those shots. Then we went to Penny's for lunch. It was really nice, but we had to wait for quite a long time, which Dion can't seem to tolerate very well. Once he got food in his tummy he was in better spirits, though.

Then we went to get my prescriptions, which they promptly messed up at Rite Aid. Ever since Josie, the long-time pharmacist they had, left for medical reasons, that place has made mistakes and messed up my prescriptions every month. And to top it all of, they're rude!

When we finally got home, I called Audra and wished her a "Happy Birthday" because thirty years ago today, I went with Carol and the doctor into the delivery room and helped deliver her into this world. I was the first one to see her! She was "my little baby." I'll never forget it—it was wondrous to behold.

We ended the day much like any other—in each other's arms. There is nothing better for me than to fall asleep being held by the man I love, with my ear to his chest, listening to his heart beating steadily, as he strokes my hair and tells me that he cherishes me. Heaven is here on earth, sometimes.



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Our Eight-Year Wedding Anniversary!"

Dion and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary on Tuesday, 17 November 09. We didn't do much to celebrate—we just stayed home, snuggled, and watched movies. But you're never going to believe the movies we watched! Dion bought two DVD's for me that I've been wanting so much and I know it was a sacrifice for him to sit through both of them and watch them with me, but he did it because he loves me.






The movies that he bought for me were:



"The TinkerBell Movie"

and...



"TinkerBell and The Lost Treasure"

They were both amazing movies and nothing else he could have done for me would have topped that! I was completely surprised and happy with what he got for me. He's the best husband in the whole world!




Until next time...stay safe,stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Happy 18th Birthday, Jonathan!"

Today, 10 November 2009, was our son, Jonathan's (we just call him "Jon") 18th birthday! It's so hard to believe that he's 18 already. It seems like it was only yesterday when he had to hold on to my hand when we went to the antique car shows with his brother, Joshua, his dad, and me. He would look to me for protection and security, and he used to be so little. But now...oh my goodness, just look at him now! He must be at least six foot three or four inches tall!

We're very proud of the man that he is becoming. He is a sensitive, caring, young man. For the most part, he is very good to his father and me--much more so than most young men his age. He has been a blessing to us for most of his life. He has been agreeable and helpful, and hasn't given us too much trouble when we've asked him to do things for us or even when we've asked him to just wait for something that he really had been wanting for a long time. He has always been wonderful about doing chores for his dad, like mowing the lawn or helping him clean out the gutters, and when we all got together to clean out and organize the attic and the dining room, he was right there, all ready to pitch in. And when we actually did the work, he was fast, efficient, and he gave me some great ideas to speed up the process that really helped! (In the photo above: That's my husband, Dion...Jon's dad...with Jon, the "birthday boy" himself, today, right on his birthday. I love my handsome boys!)




There are so many memories throughout the years, but I think my favorites are when I'm listening to the laughter of he and his dad as they watched movies/DVD's in the livingroom while I was in the bedroom, surfing the web on my laptop or reading, staying out of the way (they never put it that way—it's just a cute way of stating it) so that the guys could have some special "alone" time—I thought they needed it because they don't get much time together, really, and once the time is gone, you can never get it back.




So, Happy Birthday to you, Jon, and remember that we love you very much and always will.




Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde

Please check out my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Happy Six-Month Birthday, Little Noah!"

You may have guessed by the title of this post that our adorable little grandson has just recently turned six months old. The second of November was the big day for little Noah and, as always, it was marked with laughter and smiles, all the way around. I don't think that his Grandpa (my husband, Dion) or I have ever seen him cry, since the day he way born. He is such a happy, well-adjusted little boy. He exudes joy and he makes people want to smile just by looking at him--I've never seen anything quite like it.



Noah's giggle is quite infectious, too. His tummy seems to rumble with the joy of it. And somehow, he can't seem to stop after he has started. He is just too precious for words! Quite honestly, I'm sure that I would still love him, even if he weren't my grandson. But the fact that he is my grandson fills me with such pride that I could burst to overflowing. To think that Dion and I are that little treasure's "Grandma and Grandpa" makes me ecstactic beyond words. By the way: did you notice that Noah is sitting up all by himself? Isn't he amazing?




The Lord has really blessed us this time. Praise the Lord big time!



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Birthdays and Other Stuff..."

Boy, it sure has been an eventful couple of weeks these past few weeks! On Tuesday, the 29th of September, my sister, Carol Lee, took me to my monthly trip to the pain clinic in Groton, NY (she has to go to the same doctor as I do, so we ride together and make our appointments together every month). It just so happens that this day it was also Carol Lee's birthday.

"Happy Birthday, Carol Lee!"


The only photo that I have of Carol Lee at the moment is the one that was taken about six years ago (see above) for a "four-generation" photo. It has from left to right in the top row, Carol Lee's daughter, Audra; then Carol Lee on the right; then on the bottom row it has Carol Lee's mother, Mary Ellen, with Carol Lee's granddaughter (Audra's daughter), Olivia, in her lap. Carol Lee looks basically the same now as she did then; if anything, she has only gotten prettier.




After our appointment, we did the usual and picked us a few groceries at Shur-Save in Trumansburg, then went to Mom's to spend time with Mom and Sande there. We look forward to the gab-fest that we have there together every month. It's the only time that the four of us can get together; and this time we had an extra special, surprise treat: Audra was able to join us, too!

I brought along a bunch of pictures of Noah (my grandson) for everybody, and they all picked out their favorites so that they'd have some to show off to the rest of their family and friends—even Livvie picked one out for herself. It was so adorable.

Then, on Thursday, the 1st of October, Dion reinjured his back at work again. He really did a number on it this time—he can hardly stand up straight at all. He was bent over so bad that he couldn't even stand up straight. It was just pitiful and it totally broke my heart. It is so unusual to see Dion down for the count like that and it really scares me. It also makes me wonder: if something happens to him, then who is going to take care of us? Because right now, Dion takes care of both of us. I'll just have to trust in the Lord, that's all. So...all of you out there reading this, would you please pray for my husband. I can't bear to see him in pain. I love him so much.





The next thing that happened was on Friday, the 2nd of October. Our grandson, Noah turned exactly five months old on that date. Isn't that amazing? And, as you already know by the photos that I have been posting, he is an adorable little guy. I'll post a couple again, just for a reminder. Here's Noah:















The final thing that has happened is with my nephew, Carol Lee's son, Bret. He had to go to court today to find out what his sentence would be after something that he did in March 2009 that he regrets very much.

Bret got a DWI; and then when the police went to arrest him, he took off, so they had to chase him, so he was cited for resisting arrest and fleeing the scene. I can't remember what else. Anyway, the Judge, who happened to be the same judge that denied me my right to get my pistol registration, was the one he had to go before.

The purpose of this court date today was for sentencing from when he went before and was found guilty. Carol knew that there was a chance that Bret might go to jail, but for some reason, she didn't think that he should have to go. I feel really bad that he did have to go, but we do have to face the consequences of our actions, and the only thing that I can figure is that the Lord must have thought that Bret must have needed to go. I am sure that the Lord is watching out for Bret, and not matter what happens, He is in control. I believe this with all of my heart—I have to—because if I didn't, then I would just break down and cry.

It breaks my heart to think of the possibility that Bret may be scared or claustrophobic, but Carol Lee hasn't mentioned it, so it must not be a problem. I've been praying for him and plan to write to him several times while he's in jail. I just hope he'll read my letters this time.



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"More Photos Of My Adorable Grandson!"

On the 1st of September, Dion went over to visit Josh and Noah and he had a great time. Noah was still taking his nap when he got there, so he talked to Josh for a while, and patiently waited for Noah to wake up.


Every time we go to Josh and Chrissy's place, we take our camera along so that we can take picture. Lately, Chrissy isn't there anymore because she's at her job at the bank and we're usually just stopping by after a physical therapy appointment for me or a doctor's appointment for Dion and it's a couple hours before Josh has to drop Noah off at Chrissy's mom and dad's house so they can watch him while Josh and Chrissy are both at work. Then Chrissy goes over there after work and stays until Josh gets home, or at least until it's Noah's bedtime.


I wish that Josh had normal, daytime hours for his job, but he makes good money and it's a good job with lots of responsibility, plus he's excellent at it and the main point is that he loves it. The fact that he loves his job is worth his weight in gold!


Anyway, after a little while, Noah did wake up and these are the pictures that Dion took of him. He sure is adorable, isn't he? He has been gorgeous since the moment he was born. But the best part of him is his sweet little spirit. He is so filled with joy and love that it just oozes out of him. You can tell that Josh and Chrissy shower him with love—and so do the rest of us! We can't help it—we love him so much!





Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Ahhh...The Memories!"

This past Saturday, (08 August 2009) Dion was outside walking around our property, and guess who was keeping an eye on him? Yep, our kitty, Capote. Dion got a shot of him on a tree stump just behind our yard, right in front of the gully. We have a really deep gully running the whole length of our property, behind our home, and when it rains, the stream runs so wild that you would swear there was a train traveling full speed behind our place. Some nights, though, the sound of the wind combined with the roaring stream is so soothing, that it lulls us to sleep.

Also...back in the 70's, one of our favorite places to go was a little place on Rte. 96, just outside of Ovid, called Argus's Drive-In. They had a little Restaurant with regular tables and a bar to eat at inside the place, plus outdoor tables for when the weather was good, a really nice Gift Shop for the locals and the many tourists visiting our area, and a really nice spot for Miniature Golf.

The proprietors of the establishment, Walt and Jean Argus, were friends of Mom and Dad's and they always bought their cars from Dad. Dion's father used to own a gas station in the early 60's called R & R Texaco on the corner of Rte. 96 and County Rd. 139 in Ovid, which was just up the road from Argus's, so he knew Walt Argus pretty well. The Argus' son and daughter, Rick and Cathy (?), used to come over to our house and play with us when we were little--that was a long, long time ago, but they were very happy memories.

Argus's has been closed since 2001 or thereabouts, so Dion took our "new" car over there and snapped a few pictures of the place, just so we'd have them for our memories. The place hasn't really changed at all (except that it's all run down now) since when it opened up originally (in the 50's, I think). It was such a popular place, and it was so cute in there, too. It had a real homey feel to it, and everyone was very friendly. It kinda reminded me of "Happy Days" in a way, with the comaradarie and all of that--I wish that restaurants were still like that. Every once in a while you can find one that is, but not very often. When we do, those are the places that we keep going back to...so we can hold on to that feeling of "the good ol' days".

Dana's birthday was yesterday. He would have been 57.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Happy Birthday, Josh!"

Dion had the day off on Monday (03 August 2009) so he took me to my early morning appointment with Dr. Alexander regarding my Worker's Compensation injury of my left shoulder. I've been dealing with this since 1992, and then I reinjured it in 1993, so it's been a long time that it's been hurting. When I hurt it again really bad in December of 2007, I thought it would never get better, and since then, I have had to go to court to have things approved. I wonder if they'll still give me a hard time or not because I took so long to go to the Drs. after then. Who knows?

Anyways...after that, we stopped at Empire Vision to see if they could fix my sunglasses, but they weren't open yet. So, we went over to Penny's Restaurant to have breakfast. That has fast become "our place" to have breakfast and lunch whenever we go out, which isn't very much, really, but has been more than normal lately, I'm happy to report. I go stir-crazy being cooped up at home all the time—I feel like life is passing me by and it scares me. I'm in pain a lot, but I can't let that totally stop me from living, can I? I have to do something to get out of this rut!

We had a nice breakfast and we laughed, talked and really enjoyed ourselves at Penny's. Then we went over to the drug store to pick a birthday card out for Josh while we checked on my prescription (which wasn't ready, of course!). We found the perfect card for Josh, and since they also would not make the copies we wanted made there, our next stop was "The Copy Shop."

We parked quite a ways down the street from "The Copy Shop" because it was such a beautiful day, we wanted to get some fresh air and exercise. When we opened the door to the shop, there was quite a heated discussion going on between two customers (an elderly man and his wife) and the proprietor of the shop. The proprietor was trying to convince the customers that "Obamacare" (The forced Healthcare package that Obama is trying to "sell" to the country) would be beneficial to all of us, and they just weren't having it. I thought I might need to jump in and assist the customers, but they were definitely holding their own while at the same time maintaining an air of dignity and decorum. They knew exactly what they were talking about! Of course, the proprietor kept waffling back and forth when the customer had an answer for everything she tried to point out (all of it false, naturally) and she was faltering, so she had to give up so she woundn't totally lose face in front of us (too late!). It was great to see that not all Americans have fallen for the propaganda that "Obamacare" is the next best thing since sliced bread.

After they left, we got our copies made in relative silence (which we were thankful for) and headed over to Josh's apartment. You know, I really love Josh and Chrissy's apartment. It's so bright, clean and airy. It's in a nice location and it has a great big yard—I really think they'll be quite happy there.

When we got there, I felt terrible because Josh had been sleeping—he said Noah was up late, so he looked exhausted. But Josh is always so happy to see us. He's such a sweet boy—he's a man, of course, but I can't help referring to him as a boy because he's my boy.

Anyway, we gave him his card, because his birthday is tomorrow—he'll be 22 yrs. old—it's hard to believe, but true. We went to the livingroom to talk for a while and catch up, plus we wanted to try out a DVD that we had brought with us because it would not play on our DVD player. It ended up not playing on his either, so Josh suggested that I try playing it on my computer—which I did later, and that didn't work, either. Oh well...the DVD must be defective.















I wrote a note to Chrissy and explained that she could go ahead and exchange the things that I had brought for Noah (I brought some adorable printed t-shirts for him) if they didn't fit or she didn't like them, but Josh said they would be fine.

We were just getting ready to leave (Noah had been taking his nap this whole time, but Dion wanted to leave because he didn't like being there when his "ex" was there. She acts like he doesn't have a right to be there!) when all of the sudden we heard Noah moving in his little crib. We all went into his bedroom, Josh picked him up, and he was scowling at us—he was trying to focus and wake up. I know that a couple of the pictures that I'm going to post aren't all that clear, but I have to post them anyway—they are just too cute not to. My camera doesn't click when a picture is done, so we don't know when we can click again, and the pictures sometimes turn out blurry. Time for a new camera, I guess.

When Noah heard our voices and finally focused, he was all smiles for his grandma (that's me!) and grandpa (that's Dion!). You can't imagine how that made me feel—I lit up like a Christmas tree inside. We love that little guy so very much that it's unbelievable. We are so blessed, aren't we?

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde
Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!