Is Anything Cuter Than a Bee Butt?

Yep!  It's a cutie alright.

I saw this little round bee butt sticking our of my hosta.

Pretty soon here it comes, covered in pollen and all happy.

Read below to see why I was a bit worried today.

I had a scary moment today.

I had to drive THE TRUCK and not only the TRUCK

but also pulling the BOAT TRAILER!!!

And, I had to pull it out of the water,

no boat on it though.  I had to pull it out while

my husband, Tom, and graddaughter, Taylor,

were holding the boat on shore as they prepared to leave.

I still can't get wet yet so out of caution I stayed home.

What did I do with the truck and trailer once I left?

Ahhhh, here was the tricky thing.

I can maybe drive it on the road IF I don't have to back up.

You can't see out the back so you have only the side mirrors

and while I can back my car up OK, not the truck with 

a trailer on it.  So, I left it parked out front until I can

get my brother in law to back it down the curved driveway for me.

I would have pulled in but then I'd have to back out.

No, No, No.

Someday I'll learn to do back it up.  Just not today.

Tiny Frog

This tiny frog was resting on the rocks I stacked up in our

fountain for a landing pad for our bees to get a drink.

This cutie is smaller than the nail of my little finger.

He is so pretty and perfect that he must be brand new.

You can see all the tadpoles in the water with him,

there must be thousands of them!  

Reunions

It was our 40th High School Reunion!

Wow, we are OLD.

Now we didn't go to the "real" reunion but attended

the pre-parties arranged by fellow classmates.

Thursday was a nice dinner with friends from elementary school-

yes, elementary school.  We still keep in touch!

Friday was a group meeting at a little pub near our old school.

It was nice to see old friends and guess who was who.

They carried it on to another bar but we left by then to 

pick up our granddaughter since she was staying with us 

for the weekend.  We stopped by the Elks lodge and had 

a drink or two (me iced tea) with my daughter and her

boyfriend.  I think we are going to join.  It's a nice place

to sit where you don't have the public coming.

I don't care for bars, you just don't know who will 

come in or what might happen.  This is 

a small town and people are known.

My college roommate was in town Saturday and I 

wanted to spend some time with her, which is why

we didn't attend the "real" reunion.   We drove

up to St Charles, MO and spent the day walking up and 

down the cobblestone streets shopping and having 

some lunch.  I found some little miniatures, which I love.

I purchased a Hurdy Gurdy and selected The Battle Hymn of

the Republic from the various tunes they had.  Additionally,

I got a little raccoon and opossum.

Coincidentally (wink, wink) there was a Quilt Shop!!!

Quilt shops across the US, Canada and Europe are having their

Row by Row Experience event where they offer either a 

free pattern or a kit to make a single row.  You can collect

and sew these rows into a quilt with rows from your state,

from various locations using a theme, etc. 

The rules are that you have to go into the store, it's a promo.

Then there are contests for who completes one the first for

each store, a junior row by row with a contest and of course

shopping while you are in the store.  No on-line sales until

after the event which ends in the Fall.

I see the surgeon tomorrow in order to schedule my next

surgery which will include a week in the hospital again.

This should be the last one!!

I'll be glad to get this over with.

Row by Row Here I Go

It is time for Row by Row!

Quilters will visit shops between now and fall to collect

either free patterns or kits designed by the shop.  This 

introduces them to new shops, lets them visit old favorites

and offers skill building as we try different techniques.

Some quilters will combine their rows into full 

quilts, others will continue on to the contest.

Me, I'm just having fun.

I just completed these two.

One is of the Mississippi River with boats and the 

other is from last season where I visited 

Quilts and Quilts in Branson MO.

I thought this would be hard, but it was so much fun!

You cut out all the little strips that you can see inside the 

US map, sew them together and bond a cut out

of the country on top of them.  The entire area underneath

still has the various fabric strips.

Then you add the letters using a bonding material but

you have to sew around everything to keep it in place

for a long time.

The top two are from last year too

(they have been tucked away in a drawer so need ironing)

The middle two are this year and I have already

discussed HOME.

I hope to visit a couple more shops in St Louis this weekend

and pick up a couple more patterns or kits.

My real quest is to build a Kathy's Life quilt but

the logistics are in the way.  I just can't get to some 

of the places I need to get the kits.  I'd start 

out from when I was born and add rows to get

where I am now.  You actually have to be there,

no ordering on line.

Kansas City, MO  Born there but 4 hours away

Aurora, MO  4-5 hours away

Various ones from St Louis I can do.

Hot Springs, AR where I visit my mom. 

Who knows, maybe they will have a kit left over after

the collecting period is over and I can get one mailed to me.

I tried with Aurora last year but she was out of kits.

The Missouri Row by Row provides a map, printable list of shops

 (Travel List) and images of the rows (Pictures) submitted by shops for 2017,

they also have a Facebook site.

It should be fun!

It's Been Awhile

Gosh, I sure hope this doesn't set the tone for the post!

No, no worries, it's all OK.

While I have had my issues we were able to take off

a day (that was not in a hospital) and drive down to 

Branson, taking my granddaughter to Silver Dollar City.

She's 12 and good company on roller coasters.

Not that I ride them but my husband does so they took the

death defying rides together while I roamed around the shops.

This is at the fish hatchery at Table Rock lake.  I got a kick

out of the buzzards that perched above the tanks hoping to grab a bite or two.

We had a day at Silver Dollar City, played mini-golf, stopped at

Bass Pro in Springfield on the way home and made 

another stop at an outlet place on our way back home.

Since my last post I thought I was out of the woods but ended up with another

 bout of C-Diff that was diagnosed after two ER visits missed it.

I was down to 109 lbs and the doctor had to scope me to figure

it out.  It seems that you don't normally get it in your small 

intestine so it was missed. In a couple weeks I was feeling

much better after the antibiotics took care of it.

I was ordered to gain weight or I wasn't getting my final operation.

Since I have met all my out of pocket expenses I'm not going to miss

that one.  I wish I would have had the order in writing because I would

have framed it!  It was the first time a doctor ever told me to GAIN weight!

So, next operation is on the house in addition to all prescriptions!

I received a text from CVS pharmacy asking me if I wanted to refill

my prescription that started with (they give the first 3 letters).  

I wasn't sure what it was but had a good guess.

"Why yes!  I do indeed want you to fill any and all prescriptions!"

Remember- it's all at no out of pocket expense now.

I'll take anything they want to give me!

Turns out it was my EpiPen that I keep just in case due to the bees.

It's another year with a crappy garden since I have been so sick; 

however, I'm posting some photos of some of my gardens.

Blackberries, cone flowers and elderberry flowers.

I have cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatillos,

zucchini, tomato, peppers and herbs planted.

The bees are still alive but I don't know what the honey yield will be. 

It would nice to get some this year.  Last year we had to leave it all

for them to eat over the winter.

Elderberry flower

I had my 58th birthday on June 19th, another reason

we spent the weekend in Branson.  The 19th was Monday

so I took off work and did some shopping plus

my annual breakfast at Denny's.  This year I had to drive into

town because the Denny's in the closest town, Eureka, burned

and it's not rebuilt yet.  I really like their breakfast!

I'm still limited in my diet but adding new things all the time, 

hoping I don't run into a blockage- my biggest fear with this

ostomy.  That and any leaks that could happen, based on 

what my Facebook group tells me can and eventually will happen.

I love a nice mimosa!

So, I have another operation in August/Sept and that should be it!!

I have been terrible at the internet too.  I seem to get a couple of

comments posted on FB but that's about it.  I'm hoping to start

getting some vegetables and canning/dehydrating or freezing them.

I need to get back to those bucket list activities that I had planned

and learn some new skills but it might have to wait since the next

recovery period will be 3-8 weeks depending on how extensive the 

surgery needs to be.  I sure have missed a lot of work but they

have been very supportive!  I'm pretty lucky.

I hope you all are doing well and will try to catch up on things. 

New Developments

I spent a week in the hospital and left without a colon.

Yes, it got bad enough that I was literally on my last legs.

I couldn't drive to work or do much more than sit in my chair

and watch TV.  The pain from my colitis was so bad that I 

couldn't wait for my surgery.

I was amazed at the cards, balloons, gifts and flowers I received.

I had no idea that so many people would be thinking about

me.  Some friends went above and beyond!  

I owe them big time.

I could barely eat and when I did it was so painful that

you didn't want to eat anything.  I got very weak since

Christmas.  My poor husband had to do everything the past few months.

I've lost 100 lbs and was very dehydrated, so much so that they 

thought I was not creating enough urine.  It turns out that I 

was so dehydrated I was absorbing almost all the fluids they

were pumping into me.

The day after they removed my colon I felt great,

comparatively so.  No gut pain, no cramping.  I had

a pain block shot before surgery that would last a day

so I would not be in too much pain when I woke up.

I was exhausted from the surgery that was around

5 hours long.  I had a pain medicine pump which I

used the first day or two but minimally.  I did use it just

before physical therapy, they recommended it so my

session would be productive; however, I stopped using it

early and they were surprised- even though they sent me

home with a prescription for a VERY strong pain medication

which I never took.  

I was on clear liquids for a couple days and then 

progressed to full liquids (add cream of wheat, 

milk and ice creams, puddings, etc.)

Then they had me on soft, low residue foods to see

 how I tolerated it before they could release me.

When they remove your colon they give you an

ileostomy.  This is a  stoma

which you cover with a pouch to collect your stool.

It's your small intestine that is brought to the surface of 

your skin and sewn on, sort of inside out.  You empty the 

pouch a few times a day and every few days change the adhesive

wafer that holds it on your stomach.

Now I need to determine if I keep this system 

or go for reconstruction,  I am leaning to keeping 

this.  It is inconvenient, the drawback is that you have a

bag attached to you that needs emptying and runs the

risk of leaking at some time, almost all do at one

time or another.  The biggest drawback is if I lose

my job or insurance, how will I pay for these very

expensive pouches?  With insurance I pay $13 a month,

without it would be $270 and that is without any of

the paste or other accessories you need to maintain them.

Reconstruction has its risks.  The Doctor says it works well for younger

people.  Older people, I'm 57, especially with auto immune issues

do not do as well, run the risk of infection, urgency and control

issues plus pain and burning.  The output would be liquid since

the drying takes place in the large intestine which I no longer have.

The liquid is caustic and can cause sores if your wafer leaks or

when you are getting used to your reconstructed J pouch

(again your small intestine that is used to create a pouch and

attached to your rectum/anus).  It can take a couple of years

to work through the issues and I just don't think I can go 

through that after the last couple years of problems.

I'm on medical leave right now.  Home Health was

coming in twice a week to watch me clean the stoma

and change my pouch.  I passed with flying colors by the way.

I couldn't do much.  Rest, eat soft foods, watch how

new foods affect me, no exercise other than walking,

no driving, no lifting.  So I embroidered the squares for 

my Bee Creative quilt along.  I'm doing the sashing now.

I will return to work Monday but on a work from home basis

for the next two weeks. I physically return in April when I can

make the hour drive and be able to lift my laptop bag in and 

out of the car.

I can eat again!  Nothing spicy or fibrous yet but I will be working

my way there after a few months.  You still have to be careful.

You can get a blockage in the stoma which is bad so avoid

nuts, popcorn, celery, seeds, etc.   

This is my gastroenterologist.  He was just named a Fellow of the AGA.

He took care of my until he referred me to my surgeon then sent 

me a nice note the other day to say he heard from my surgeon that I was doing

 much better.  I sent back a congratulations note on his fellowship.

That explains where I have been.  I don't have much to post but 

my husband has been taking good care of our granddaughter, Taylor who is 12, when

she visits on the weekends.  They are learning to read maps, use compasses,

hiking and geocaching.  We have picked up some things at REI that will be helpful.

She is learning to shoot various firearms.  She is showing interest in youth 

competition which  is available through our Conservation Department.

Finding the geocach

Without realizing it she is getting survival training.

I hope she won't have to be our next John Conner 

I don't know how often I will post but as I get

stronger and start doing more things I'm sure I'll

get back into the swing of things!