Seems I always think of adding a post at the beginning of the year and go back and read my entries for last 2 or 3 years. Same old stuff, getting older, elderly husband hanging in there, wanting to get rid of stuff, and on and on. Well this year I really am getting rid of stuff. We have a great place to donate to that supports our no kill animal shelter, and another that supports a homeless shelter. The plan is to add something every day to my donation box, maybe several things. Just pick an area of the house and start sorting.
Also this has been another year of lots of ups and ending with a really downer.
Lets see, my trips. The end of May I took 2 weeks, spent first week with my old best friend in Iowa, then up to Wisconsin to spend a week with my 2 nieces, back to Iowa for a lay over then on home. I had a nurse friend from Reno fly out and stay with us. She looked after Al while I was gone. Lots of driving, listening to my audiobook and following my GPS. I love the country of northern Iowa and into Wisconsin. It was a bitter sweet trip as I helped my good friend, Betty with some of her medical trips the week I was there, she had been sick all winter. Here was a lady that hated doctors so hadn't been to one for herself since her last baby over 50 years ago. Long story short she had pretty advanced cancer. When I stopped by on my way back from Wi. we said our goodbyes and shed some tears as we knew we would never see each other again in this life time. She passed away in Sept while I was in NC on another trip. It breaks my heart as she was my Iowa anchor that always got me to come back home. Now I feel I have no real reason to return.
In Sept I did a tour bus half trip. We have a local tour company who travels by bus all over the US. So they had one going to the Outer Banks of NC. I stayed with them for 6 days. Was great fun to stay 4 nites in hotel right on the Atlantic ocean and got to tour up and down the outer banks, to museums, light houses and even up in the sand dunes to find the wild horses. My niece drove down from Richmond Va and picked me us as the big red bus traveled on to Myrtle Beach and into Georgia before going home. My niece took me to my brothers home in more central NC and I spent 4 days with him, celebrated his birthday and got to see many nieces and nephews and their families. Sad spot was that the older brother I visited while I was there 2 years ago had passed away this last spring. His ashes were spread into the surf near Cape Hatteras where I had just been. Anyway, I rented a car and drove home from Ron's. Most exciting point was driving thru Nashville at 6 am doing 70 mile per hour in 5 to 6 lanes of traffic. Guess there is never a slow time there. But I made it home. Another local friend stayed with hubby this time.
Lets see Al had been on hospice most of the year but with minimal change we canceled it in Sept when I got home. A year ago in Dec he had a really bad spell and was in hosp. Brain sort of scrambled. He was having alot of TIAs We have him with VA for his medical care and they encouraged us to try Eloquis and get him off the coumadin. It seemed to make a difference and his TIAs really slowed down. Some days he still wants to just get this all over with and to not be here. But we take it one day at a time.
So this is getting long and it brings me up to Nov when I was the one with the major medical emergency, but this is enough for today. Ill see if I can find a great picture to attach here.
