One Month Anniversary!

Yesterday was ONE MONTH.

And he was where he was supposed to be.

Sabrina, you can hardly see, but he's
wearing his NEW TIE! He loves it!
(Me too!)

You aren't supposed to take pictures

in the chapel, so this is a sneaky pic.

I know, he looks a little grumpy...
that's his "resting" face.
(Plus his turtle shell is UNCOMFORTABLE!)

But I was so happy to see him,

sitting on the stand,

serving the Ward,

like he loves to.

It was a good day.

He ended it by ordaining 3 young men,

2 are new teachers and 1 new deacon.

It was hard on his back,

but again he was happy to serve.

And then we came home for a nap

and I made us some hamburgers.

And now, I need to get class started.

Friday!!!!

 We had a nice, quiet day today.

It has been lightly snowing on and off all day.

Not a TON of snow...

but enough that the roads are a little slick.

And it's cold out there....

It never got out of the 30's.

It won't last, tomorrow is going to be 50.

And everyday for the next week will be

50-60... so it was just a fun little taste.

But we didn't run into Home Depot to get the

tool Kyle needs to do the siding.

Cuz... ugh. Slippery roads.

We'll probably go tomorrow.

However, somehow I managed to pull

a muscle in my low back, so now Rod and

I are BOTH hobbling around.

Makes me more empathetic to what he

is dealing with.

Except he gets better drugs than I do...

But mine will get better faster.

(I hope...)

Anyhow.

Just finished teaching.

My first week back after 3 weeks off...

Nearly fell asleep.

Hahaha.

Have a great weekend!

I'll update if anything exciting happens.

But it likely won't.

We're just old, retired, hobbling people

these days...

Busy Thursday & Clove Bud Extract

 It's been a busy, fun day!

(mostly)

It started with a good night's sleep.

And once I woke up a little 

before 9:00 (I know, right?)

Soni called and we had a great visit.

Once I actually got out of bed,

I needed to do something with the

chicken stock I made overnight.

Last  week Kyle and I went to Hays 

and I found a rotisserie chicken on

clearance for $2.00.

I don't normally buy those, but for

that price..... lol.

I stuck it in the fridge and forgot it!

Oops....

I cut it up, used the dark meat in

some chicken alfredo spaghetti,

put the white meat in the freezer

for another meal someday,

and then last night before I started

class, I put all the carcass, bones,

skin, etc into the pressure cooker.

Cooked it for 2 hours and then it

went to "keep warm" while I finished

up my 4-hour class.

Once I was all done, I was tired and

didn't feel like doing anything with

it, so I set the cooker for 12 hours

and went to bed.

So... once I was up, I washed up 6

new pint jars and filled them up with

the chicken stock. 

It smelled amazing!

Those went into the pressure canner.

After a 20 minute process and an hour

cool down, they are on the counter.

Don't they look pretty?

It's really dark and rich.

Meanwhile, I put the stuff for a batch of

clove bud water into my pressure cooker.

It needs to be under pressure for 10 minutes,

then an hour coming down, then unplug and

leave it be for overnight. (or 8-10 hours

since I started it in the morning...)

I don't have fancy bottles.

Well, I do... but they are in the storage building.

This is the list of all the things it is good for...

And the instructions.

The most important thing is to NOT open the lid.

So by doing it in the pressure cooker the lid just

stays sealed and there's no temptation.

Some extra information...

Kyle has been drinking it at night for a couple of months

(when I remember to make it...)

I'm planning to start taking it every day as well.

Anyhow........

somewhere in the middle of all that, I

whipped up some blueberry pancakes for

Rod for his breakfast.

(I had a butter croissant with honey...)

 And then, the Sister Sisters came

over to visit for a minute.

And then I ran down to our little grocery store

to pick up some ground beef.

They are running their annual 3-day sale

and I picked up 10 pounds for $2.99/lb!!!

Once I got home, I called Nancy and we

chatted while I measured the beef out into

one pound baggies for the freezer and she

worked on taking down her Christmas decorations.

Then I headed out to the freezer in the

garage and put the beef out there, along

with some other stuff I picked up.

(Butter, and more ice cream sandwiches

to put in the freeze dryer...)

Unfortunately, I left the door into the house

open, and when I let the dogs out of their

crates, Luna (the rottweiler) ran straight

through Beau's little doggie door into the house.

Tearing it up.

Again.

Sigh.

Rod and I got it all fixed again.

Phew.

Unfortunately, in the middle of all that,

I TOTALLY forgot about our Thursday

RS Pres meeting.

Nobody except the President logged on

for the zoom meeting.

I was on the phone with Nanc.

Glenda (secty) was watching her roofers.

(It's a cold, rainy day, a TERRIBLE day to

be a roofer!)

And Lyndsey, the other counselor is on

a cruise with her family in Jamaica.

Now, I'm bushed.

I'm sitting in the living room with Rod.

He's having a little nap.

In a bit, I'll head to the kitchen and use

1 of those pounds of burger and make

a big ol' pot of chili.

And then, I don't have to teach tonight,

so I'll probably just read a book.

(Oh, and I need to do some laundry...

we need to change the sheets on the bed.)

Guess I'd better get on that.

Anyhow,

that's my Thursday!

OH!!!!!!

And today is the FOUR WEEK ANNIVERSARY!

Rod was up and walking around the house

without even using his stick!

We are now into the "messy middle".

He's done most of the amazing "firsts"

so now he just has to be patient and

be gentle with himself while he heals.

It's kind of good that its winter.

The time of year when there isn't that 

much to do anyway.

*Except work on the house and he's

not allowed to do that....

HVAC

 This morning Rod and I got up

"early" (for us) and headed to the farm.

We had an appointment with the

AC company that replaced our

WaKeeney unit last summer.

They don't normally service that

far north, but because we are

current customers they made an

exception.

He was a really nice man 

(turns out he is an owner...)

and he took a bunch of measurements,

gave us a bunch of options to 

consider and will email me a quote

once he has a chance to run the numbers.

We headed home after that.

Rod used his "stick" and that was a lot

of walking for him.

I bought some new rubber feet for his stick

and he swapped them out for the tennis

balls which worked in the house, but

are not very sturdy/stable.

Until he got those, I insisted he use the

walker when he's not on a solid surface.

Speaking of getting up early,

we had a GREAT night last night!

Rod took his night pills about 9:30

and didn't wake again until 5:20!!!

A first!!!

(The previous night he was up 4 times.)

I gave him his 5 am pills and we both

went back to bed until about 7:30.

(I had a really bad night the previous

night, took a "healthy" energy drink to

stay awake on the drive home from

Wichita and was still WIDE AWAKE

reading a book at 3 am... ugh.)

Yesterday Kyle and I did the Hays Day 

thing... Home Depot first to get a part

he needs for his water system.

And then WalMart to pick up the

weekly groceries.

I also picked up a sleep mask to wear

at night - Rod needs light at night

and I need it to be really dark.

I wore it for the first time, and except

for dreaming there was something on my

face / head all night, it worked well!

I felt much more rested when I woke

up this morning! 

YEA for the little things!

Rod stayed home and while we were

gone he made himself a grilled

cheese sandwich!

(All good, except he's not supposed

to bend, and the pan he uses is in

the drawer under the oven...)

I'll move it so it is easier for him

to get to.

We don't have anything else planned

for today. He is watching YouTube

University to learn more about the

difference between a regular traditional

propane water heater (what we have now)

and a propane powered tankless water heater.

I cleaned the kitchen and refilled all our

daily vitamins bottles.

I've saved all my thyroid pill bottles

and we each have 7, one for each day.

That way it's already divvied up

and when they are all empty, I just

fill them up again.

(Also easy to tell if somebody missed

their pills one day...)

We didn't have ANY of our pills with

us in Wichita. I got a refill of my

thyroid pills at WalMart, but we didn't

take any of our vitamins.

So its time to get back to it.

There are a few side effects from taking

the gabapenten he is on 3x daily.

One is damage to your liver.

So he's back on milk thistle to clean and

power up his liver.

He is also taking D3, K2, Magnesium

to help keep building those bones.

And both Moringa and Beetroot for

additional minerals we can't get from

the little tiny bit of food he is eating.

Last night for dinner we had steak fajita.

We bought a bag of already cooked

and frozen - Kyle tried it last week and

said it was really good!

There are 3 servings in the bag.

I cooked up 1 serving and we shared it

along with some tortilla chips and a 

small green salad.

It was yummy, but not nearly the amount

of food he used to eat.

Over all, he is doing REALLY well.

We are both so pleased with his progress

and daily prayers are now more 

thanksgiving than pleading for help.

It's a good transition.

Monday

 It's late and I'm tired...

but I wanted to do a quick update.

Rod and I got up and headed back

down to Wichita for a follow-up

appointment with the Trauma team.

They were very happy with his progress.

He continues to work with his little

blowing machine thingies....

(very technical terms...)

The one on the left you inhale and try to

raise the green thing as high as you can.

In the hospital he was lucky to get it past

the first line (500)

Now he is consistently hitting 2500

(where the green marker thing is...)

The one on the right you blow into 10

times, and make a little wheel flutter.

They were happy he was still doing it

and getting better.

They were also happy to see him using

a cane instead of a walker.

Told him he was looking at about 6 months

before his ribs would really be healed.

Every time you take a deep breath,

you kind of re-crack those ribs since

they are expanding - so it takes a LONG

time for them to fully heal.

But that's better than the 18 months

the spine doc said it would take for his

vertebrae to be totally healed.

In the meantime, he is supposed to keep

on walking daily. The best exercise

for him!

We are anxiously awaiting the delivery

of the new walking pad.

(January 12..... sheesh.)

And they worked with me with his

medicine schedules.

He can up his Tylenol.

He can lower his Gabapentin.

(or not... depends on his pain levels...)

I feel better knowing some of the

parameters and things to watch for.

Also suggested TWO Gas-X pills 

at every meal to help with the 

bubbles in his belly.

And... no need to see them again!

So, all-in-all a good visit.

After which, we ran over to the WalMart

and I bought some new rubber tips for

his cane. (They are too big, so will require

some finesse, but the guys are good at that.)

And... who knew... there's a Braums 

(our favorite burger joint) 

right across the street from WalMart!

If I had known that while we were living

at the hospital, I would have gotten

him a daily milkshake!!!

(Probably better I didn't know... lol.)

We grabbed a burger and shake to go

and hit the highway in order to be home

in time for me to start my class.

Back in the saddle.

And now?

I'm beat.

I'm going to go watch a little TV 

and then head off to bed.

HAPPY MONDAY!

Saturday Catch Up...

Yesterday was Sondra's birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Soni!

We had a great visit on the phone

and then Kyle came by and we

headed into Hays.

(Made a dump run first, but they

were closed... grrr.)

Anyhow.

Into Hays to Bomgaars to get a

bag of spent coffee grounds.

He puts them in the pig barn

to keep the smell down.

Then to Walmart for a bunch of

really random things like a biscuit

cutter for me and egg rings for Kyle.

A boot scraper for Kyle I had intended

to give him for Christmas.

A replacement TV remote,

and, most important, a new cushion

for Rod to sit on.

He's getting pretty uncomfortable

sitting in the recliner all day.

Home for a bowl of tomato soup

and watch a little

TV and then off to bed.

 Woke up this morning to a cold

morning, about 20 degrees and

a good layer of frost.

Rod slept until about 6:15 this

morning, which is always good.

But then once he got into his chair

he wasn't very comfortable.

I think his tailbone is sore from all

the sitting. We tried multiple 

combinations of pillow and pads

and other pillows....

eventually he had me put him back

to bed and lay him on his right side

with a wedge pillow behind him and

a pillow between his knees.

He was ok for about 20 minutes 

while I ran downtown for a second.

Got him back up and into his chair

and finally gave up and gave him

some extra pain meds.

And then I headed up to the farm.

It ended up being an absolutely 

GLORIOUS day!

65, sunny and only a tiny breeze.

The goal today was to get the

sliding glass door installed.

The door is a left hand slider (they all are)

so first we had to lay it down and

remove the sliding door part so we can

flip it upside down and make the door open

from the right hand instead.

(Kyle watched a video and said it was easy...)

We got it loaded onto the skidsteer because

even without the 2nd piece of glass,

it was HEAVY.

I was a little nervous but we had lots

of cardboard padding and it did ok.

Kyle got it all lined up and then

I got in the drivers seat and drove

it up to the hole so he could man-handle

it into its spot.

We were both a little worried, but then

all of a sudden it just kind of popped in.

(Prayer helps!)

He got all the top nails in and then I drove

the skid back over to the shop

(I figure if I drive it more often I will

be less nervous when he needs me to drive...)

He finished getting it all secured.

Needed to ladder to do the top sides...

Back over to the shop to get the door

part, it was just as easy to carry it,

and then he changed all the hardware

and we popped it right in.

Ta Da!

We have a sliding glass door!!!

Look how it opens everything up!

I love it!

It won't always let in that much light,

since we are putting a deck with a roof

there, so it will be a little more shaded,

but still. Light is light!

Then back home to get Rod.

It was such a perfect day, we suited him

all up and took him for a short walk.

We went down to the corner and back again.

TWICE.

That was plenty of exercise for today.

We'll do more everyday (weather permitting...)

I also ordered an inexpensive treadmill/walking

pad for those days when he can't get out.

But it won't get here until about the 14th.

And now... we are eating a breakfast

burrito for a LATE lunch and he'll

probably take a nap.

I might too!

Then I'm going to give him a haircut

and he's going to take a shower

so we can go to church tomorrow.

Happy Saturday!!!!

House Update & Scripture Plus

We decided to take a field trip

and get out of the house today.

So we hopped in the car (well,

not "hopped" exactly.....)

and headed out to the farm.

As usual, Kyle has been underplaying

what he has been accomplishing.

We were expecting to see a beautiful

roof, and there is one.

But also windows and a door!

It looks fantastic!!!

Returning to the scene of the crime.

The new mudroom door.

Looking into the house from the 

mudroom door.

Office on the left.

Prep room on the right.

Half bath directly ahead.

The office.

(closet to the right)

The prep room.

Looking from the sliding glass doors.

Living room and then kitchen.

Living room and sliding glass doors.

(to be installed soon...)

Kitchen.

He laid it all out on the floor.

Master bedroom

Rod is standing in the bathroom.

The master bathroom,

looking through into the office closet

and then the office.

He's done so much work and it looks

so awesome!

We sat around in the living room

and decided things like where all

the electrical outlets are going to go.

And also which kind of heating/AC

we are going to go with.

Tomorrow Kyle is coming into town to

pick up the pig and chicken feed

and then we will head back out to the

farm so we can put the sliding doors

in and I'm going to go around the farm

and pick up all the trash.

Construction is a dirty business... lol.

*********************************

Meanwhile,

I told Mom about the app I've been

using for about 3 or 4 years to do

my daily Come Follow Me study.

It's an app called Scripture Plus.

This what it looks like on my phone

You pick the Old Testament Sunday School

Come Follow Me reading plan

under the Explore Plans tab.

Then each day you have a section

of scripture and some commentary,

maybe some quotes or even a 

video to watch to help with greater

understanding.