Crazy Economic Times!

I watch the news each day for signs that the economy is returning to it's former days . Of course who do you believe on the news anymore? Every reporting or news cast is biased in some way. MSNBC makes no bones that it is leaning left. Fox News is leaning right. The others tend to be left leaning. Okay, so my original question, "who do I trust or believe when they report the news?"
There was a a guy named Peter Schiff who pretty much called it and yet the experts laughed at him and yet he was one of the few who got it right. Now, however there is talk of a turn around in the economy and yet there are some who predict a double dip recession especially in the commercial markets. Gold is up to nearly $1400 an ounce and Silver is up as well. Some of this rise in prices is due they say to demand for precious and rare earth metals. Perhaps, so what do we do now?
1st Get out of debt like so many have told us. (We have been warned!)
2nd have money set aside for a rainy day (Savings/Buy Gold/Silver whatever you can do)
3rd Have a years supply of food available if possible. Start small grow large.
4th Produce whatever you can to supplement your diet. (gardens/Rabbits/Honey etc.)
5th Stay out of debt, live frugally. It won't hurt you to do that for a few years.

Remember grocery stores don't always have food, look what happens at Walmarts on payday weekends. The store shevles are picked pretty clean. Now take that payday weekend add in a bad weekend for food prices (They go up for some unseen reason) and or add in a natural disaster (Like that never happens). People can get awfully hungry where there is no food to eat. Perhaps I should say food they are used to eating. How many can cook from scratch any more.

All I'm saying is be ready and do what you can. Stop eating out so much. See one less movie!

Caring for Mom

Since Grandma returned to Heavenly Father, mom moved in with us. It's great having her here. She adds another element that can be a challenge at times. Yet we love having her with us. When she is happy and feeling well, she adds alot of laughter to what we are doing. We fixed up a room for her, our cousin who always wanted to come out this way brought her bed, etc out to her. She is all settled in, new doctors selected, insurance (Medicare) finally resolved etc. Now the every day things.

We have to watch her medicine intake like a hawk. Last month she took more med's from her pill dispenser that she was supposed to. Of course she denies it and says she doesn't remember doing anything like that. So I took to setting out her evening med's so she knows which ones to take and then setting out her morning med's on her night stand so she could take those when she woke up each day. Last week she went out on a Girls Night out with our daughters and my sweetheart. They got back from the movie at 11:30 and I was already asleep (Go figure). Next morning (Saturday) Mom comes out of her room and says to me, "There's no medicine to take." I explained "I put it on your nightstand like I have been doing." She says it's not there. I ask "Mom, you didn't take your morning med's last night did you?" She replies "Well! I noticed there were more pills last night than I normally take!" "My stomach was upset all night too!!" Really! "Mom you took a double dose of pills! No wonder you don't feel good right now."

So begins a more diligent exercise of ensuring she has the right pills each day. We talked of adopting an older child at one point, but I see now what we just didn't do it. I think taking care of mom may turn into a bit of a job. Not sure how that will work when I start traveling again. She has been dizzy for and nearly fallen several times over the last two weeks. She has an appoint today to have a MRI done on her and she has an appointment for Wednesday for a neurologist. I hope we can find out why is is so unsteady on her feet at times. More to follow.

Passing of a Legacy!

Today, Mary Josephine Vanausdall Farris died!

A part of my heart is gone! With her passing I believe a legacy has ended. Grandma was the glue that binded our family together for so many of us that were her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many more! She was the center pole in our family tent that stretched over many years. Grandma to me was everything I knew that was good about Indiana. For so many years she lived with grandpa Farris in that small house that seemed alive with love and memories. Then one day grandpa died and she was alone. But then uncle Jimmy had his car accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Grandma without question cared for Jim until he finally died many years later. She also took care of Nanny in her last years. To this day I think of that small bedroom and Nanny old room. Grandma has seen the loss of two children, Jimmy and her oldest daughter Edna. She out lived a beloved granddaughter Kathy. She stayed in that little house until her health finally prevented her from being able to properly care even for herself.

As a boy I remember staying at grandma's house as my mom and dad were no longer together. Apparently I was a handful, like the time I cut off several of her flower bulbs around the house because I saw ants or bugs on them. There was a junk yard behind grandma's house that I used to go into. It was there I must have developed my love of cars. It was grandma's house that I learned to eat Rhubarb with salt. We would just pick a stalk and cut the ends off and eat it right in her yard. It was at grandma's house that I learned to eat some great food. Her dumplings and beans were great. I loved to eat the small pieces of dough as she prepared those homemade dumplings. She never cared. She made the best homemade hamburgers. Whenever a lot of us were over at the house she was always quick to make her hamburgers. One of my favorite memories was as a kid and she would make her homemade hot chocolate for breakfast. We would then take a slice of bread and butter it and sprinkle sugar on the butter. Fold the slice in half and carefully dip the bread into the cup of hot chocolate and eat it. Many years later I commented to her about that hot chocolate and the bread we would have for breakfast. She laughed her sweet laugh and shook head as she explained "Oh that wasn't fancy it was just a Poor Man's Breakfast, it was all we had to feed you kids in those days!" When my mom and I lived down the street when I was a small boy, I became mad at mom one day. So I told her I was leaving and was going to Grandma's house. So I took a couple of things and my wagon and headed to Grandma's house. That is until I saw the neighborhood bully and got sacred so I turned around a went home.

Many times as my family drove back to Indiana to visit we would stay up and play cards or other games or many times just sit around that small kitchen table and talk about our family. I was always amazed how many people we could squeeze around that table in that small kitchen. It was said many times if only that table could talk, oh the stories it could tell! Oh the laughter and fun we had so many times. Those years when Jimmy was in the back part of the house in his bed and we would sit and talk or watch TV with Jimmy while others sat at that old kitchen table. Then there was her front porch. It was old and small but many an hour was spent sitting outside and visiting as we waited for someone else from the family to show up so we could visit and talk.

I will miss her, I will miss how we all came together as a family at her house. I will miss seeing her standing at that small kitchen stove preparing yet another meal for her family. Mary Farris has served her family all her life! She sacrificed so much of herself into caring for her kids and grandkids. She truly led a Christ like life as she fulfilled her role in life. She was and is still a great mother and grandmother to all of us that loved her.

Goodbye Grandma, I love you! Until we meet again on the other side of the veil!

Catching up to June

We had the whole family for the holiday. It was wonderful. We had Micah sacrifice several days of pay to come to Utah and be here. Roger Jr., Alyssa and the kids came as well. It was a huge sacrifice from them to be here as well. All I can say is we really enjoyed having our family. These times will be harder to come by in the future. Our family is amazing. For all of the issues the kids had with each other as they were growing up, they sure enjoy being around each other now as adults. I told one of my uncles many years ago how jealous I was of them all being in the same town and having family close by. He told me to not be jealous because of the small family squabbles that happen at times. He explained that I was seeing the how everyone was coming together just to see us when we came home. He said I should be glad we were the reason many of our family came together.

Well that maybe true in some cases but I want to believe my kids really like being together and would get along quite well. As they get older they realize how important family is and they work to make it a happy place to be.

Well I now know I have to be careful even when playing at slow paced games. Yesterday Sara and Triniti talked me into going bowling with them. Now let me say I've bowled for many years and even though I'm not a great bowler, I get a few strikes and can pickup spares when I play most games. Well, we got there and after watching Triniti and Sara take their turns I picked up my ball and walked down the lane and did the one thing I had just told Triniti to be careful of. Don't cross the last line because it's very slippery. Some how when I planted my left foot it barely crossed the line. Yep, I biffed it, big time. I went down. Both feet went out from me and I hit the lane on my back and my head snapped back and hit the floor. I hit so hard my glasses bounced off my head and flew into the gutter. Sara and Triniti rushed to help me and I quickly got up. Slightly embarrassed I put my glasses back on and walked back to shake off the cobwebs. I quickly realized I still had to bowl my second attempt. I was still a bit unsteady but I bowled the rest of the game. I think I now realize something about myself. I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to my well being. I refused to stop and collect my wits and make sure I was okay. I now know I need to watch myself. I'm still sore today. My neck muscles are a bit sore. My head is okay.

Well that enough for now. It's late and I need to get to bed.

Remember to be nice! I'm still trying to be better at that.

Changes

Just a quick update. Grammy has given her two weeks resignation from Wally World. She is very frustrated with the lack of support she and the other CSM's get from management. What do I mean? When you tell a cashier to do something which you know is the right thing to do and the cashier disagrees with you, you would expect that a discussion should take place and the employee learns what the supervisor wants them to do. SO they do it! Right? Not there! Every time they are told to do something the cashier goes behind the CSM's and complains to upper management. So they have to bring in the CSM and ask "her side of the story". Of course Grammy is right and they tell her that, so does management tell the cashier they better listen to the supervisor. NO! They may tell the cashier to do it but why would they continue to allow empolyees to do this going around the supervisor. Oh I know, "Open door policy!" But that undercuts the supervisors authority and creates more work for the manager if they are constantly trying to fix supervisor - employee issues. I do believe in Open Door policy but managers MUST trust thier supervisors to do the right thing or else why have them at all. If the supervisor screws up you hold them accountable for a bad decision. Stop the insanity! Ok enough of my ranting.

The weather has been nice with some rain occasionally but now it's rainy and getting cooler. I'm very ready for warm weather. We are slowly getting the garden planted. Next I will work on the gazebo and do a face lift on it. Never a dull moment.

Results

Well, I had the sleep test and apparently I have sleep apnea about 5 % of the time but only when I'm on my back. So if I lose some weight perhaps that will fix that. The stress test was interesting. They gave me the radiological marker through a IV and after 45 minutes they had me lay on a table to x-ray or some such machine to look at my heart. Then off to the stress test which was not as bad as I thought it would be. They used some kind of drug that opened up my arteries and allowed them to get what they wanted without making me work real hard on the machine. Then more x-rays or whatever. The PA that did the test said it look good and I should hear something from him or the cardiologist within a few days or so. So the PA called and said they found nothing really wrong with me but I can call the cardiologist in a day or so. I haven't! If there was something there I figured he would have called me. So I plan on exercising as much as I can. I've been walking at lunch time during work and I will do extra exercise on the weekends. Eating? I'm slowing down and trying to watch what I eat but it's hard sometimes. I like food. So I may not die this year, which is making Grammy and the kids happy. I think I will stick around a while longer.

Monday nights

Mondays for us are special! Besides being our Family Home Evening, Grammy has taken to having a family dinner but not just any dinner. It has to be FUN and with a Theme. So, she has pulled off some really fun things so far. There was Cowboy night where we ate and dressed up (the grandkids) like Cowboys! There was camping under the table. So she put blankets over the table and the kids got to eat under the table. Problem is we couldn't see what Lee was doing! Like eating someone else's food! We had a picnic in the livingroom on the floor! Then there was St. Patricks day! All of the food had to be GREEN! The grandkids wore something green as well! So you get the picture. The kids love it and it's building great memories for everyone.

It's Springtime in the Garden

Well, it's slowly being more like spring and of course the outside projects have started. Grammy wanted a Strawberry box built but it needed to be tiered so we needed to be creative. First it would be in one spot then that changed to next to the shed. Okay how many tiers did you want? So finally I got it done. See picture below. Then we filled it with topsoil and peat. Finally Grammy put the strawberries in. So what do you think? Not to bad.

So what does Grammy tell me yesterday? You should have made it bigger so we could have one more tier! Really? Of course we want more strawberries. Perhaps next year.

Cardiologist visit

Well I saw a cardiologist today. I won't bore you with details but the plan is to put me on some new med's. I have to do a stress test first. That will be in about two weeks. He also wants me to be checked for sleep apnea. Not excited about that. If the new med's work great. If not, then a possible oblation is the next best option. However he also said that a more invasive procedure is to have surgery where the Doctor cuts two eight inch slots on each side of my chest and they do a thing to the outside of my heart. Humm? Let me think on this! Nope, I think the other options are better. Other wise I'm fine. The doc did say if these episodes continue and get more frequent over time I would be more at risk for a possible stroke. Well, I need to lose weight and exercise more so I will plan on more walking and or a trip once in a while to the Gym.

Papa's Heart

Well after getting on a Beta blocker and meds for my Thyroid, I figured I was going to get past this rapid heart rate thing. I had a few episodes of elevated heart rate but it was barely noticeable. Rate around 120 or less. Well, about a week and a half ago I was woke up around midnight with my heart racing again. Yep, woke me up! I had bought a watch that allows me to check my heart rate by pressing a button. Mt rate was around 152. It was a fitful night and I kept checking my rate which at one point it was as high as 167. I really wore me out. I just wanted to stay in bed. Luckily I had taken the day off so I didn't have to go to work. Well, Grammy and I talked and agreed I should make an appointment with my Doctor again and see what to do.

I stayed busy and would get to it when I had time. Well last night, I was awakened again with my heart racing. I didn't wake up Grammy, I just lived with it and when 4am came around I got up and went to work. It was hard, I was exhausted but I had a lot to do at work and I knew it should quit fairly soon. I picked up my coworker and we headed to work. Well it slowed down just as we pulled in to work. I called my doctor and got in to see him around 3:45 today. He told me to double up my Beta blocker and go see a Cardiologist. He recommended one and now I have an appointment for Thursday. So, at least I will see a specialist and hopefully get this fixed. I'll let you know.

Hard to be upbeat!

I've had a few issues at work lately. Some of you know about it. Well, last night was the Annual Awards Ceremony for us and our team was put in for a Team Award, which I think is a great idea, since everyone has worked so hard at getting our goals met that HQ hands down each year. Of course without our Supervisor John steering things it would not have been a success as a team. So I debated whether to go or not but felt this is a team thing so why not. Support the team. Martha decided she wanted to go along since Grammy was working. Martha met me in town at the train station and we went to dinner. Nice to have a Daddy-Daughter time together. Then we went to the ceremony. Everyone but three of team came. One was off on a vacation with family the other two don't normally do these things. So, the ceremony is about to start and Martha and I sit down with everyone else. I pick up the program and what do I see? I'm getting an "Unsung Hero Award" Are you kidding me? I turn around and said to John "What's this?" He just smiles and shrugs. I don't care for individual awards. Never have, never will! I don't do my work for an award. I do it to care for my family and if anything made me feel good it woulf be the occasional thanks for helping me, kind of thing or when a Stakeholder finally see the purpose of why I'm there and they willingly do what we asked them to do! Really! These awards are so biased and they always leave out someone who works just as hard as me and I feel bad they didn't get something as well. So for me this is was just bad timing. With everything that has been going on at work. Unexpected sure, but not needed.

Then last night I was awakened several times as my heart was doing it's high speed thing again. Not sure how long it lasted but it didn't stop until approx. 0915 this morning. At one point the rate was as high as 167 beats a minute. Mostly around 120 to 145. Grammy thinks I need to go see my doctor again go get my beta blocker dosage upped. Eventually I may have to go see a cardiologist in the future. I've been beat all day. I took a bit of a nap at Heathers house today since I had taken the day off from work.

So hard to be upbeat! But, I know I have many blessings in my life, my sweetie, my kids and grandkids! I have been thinking a lot about retiring lately. But, until Grammy and I get out of debt that won't happen anytime soon!

Busy - Crazy times

It's March and I've not been very good at keeping this up to date. Sorry! It's been very busy around here and after everything that happened in January I was grateful to just be home and take it easy. Grammy has two more days to go before she is finally done with college. I'm so proud of her. She is a amazing example to her children and grandchildren. She walks on May 28th.

Micah came to visit last weekend and it was great seeing him. He had dates with two girls while he was here. I don't think either one will go anywhere but at least he had some fun while he was here. I was going to go to a Jazz game with him but he took a girl instead. Okay I'll give him up for a girl. So I took Nate to the game and we were able to watch from the nose bleed section. It was fun even if the view was so high. Good times.

Happy January is over!

This month I have had a string of health issues. It started in December with my heart doing the fast Atrial Fibrillation which means the top half of your heart beats (quivers) faster that the rest of the heart. My heart rate would go up around 148 and down to 130 beats per minute. I went into the ER and they gave me medicine to slow the heart down and as long as the heart doesn't keep doing this for more that 24 hours then in came the Gen. Practice Doctor and he prescribed a beta blocker and a thyroid medicine and released me back to work. He said that if it keeps on happening after this then they would explore other options. Now fast forward to January and I needed to have my 5 year colonoscopy done. So in one week I was diagnosed with the A-Fib heart and the scope confirms that I have Ulcerative Colitis. It's only a 5 cm portion but the Gastro Doctor explained that it would be best if I took medicine for the rest of my life. So this confirms what the military doctor tried to tell me about 3 years before I retired. Of course Micah has UC full blown but I had a Sig done while we were living in Casper. That doctor didn't see anything so I must have not been flaring up at that time. Ok, I have it, it just means I believe the doc's now and Micah and I have more in common. Then I've had this persistent head cold going on for over 5 weeks. I've tried various meds but it keeps staying with me. Well, then last Sunday I was up waiting to go to church when all of a sudden I get hit with what felt like a muscle spasm or strain in my back right side lower area. I chalked it up to the normal I wake up and somethings hurts for some unknown reason. At church it hurt so bad I felt like crying a few times. Then Sunday night I could not sleep more that 2 hours because of the pain. I tried various positions, chairs and beds. No luck. I went to work where I somehow made it through the day and again Monday night was tough, only 2 or so hours of sleep. Lari got me an appointment with a doctor who said that I'm now passing a Kidney Stone. Very painful for those of you that have not experienced this before. The doctor told me that I would just have to wait it out. He gave me pain killers and something to help it pass. So a week goes by and I'm peeing into a strainer and hating every moment. I was having a really hard time sleeping and even with the pain killers I was in constant pain. Finally on the next Monday I go into the doctor again except the Dr I saw is not in so I get my regular doctor to see me. He agrees that I need to see a Urologist and get this over. He gets me right in and the Urologist takes a look at my Cat Scan and pronounces that I'm not passing any kidney stones. Really! So what is going on. He says perhaps a pulled muscle or rib. Okay no more peeing in the strainer. Whew! So, at this point I'm headed to a Chiropractor. I head to one the next day and he agrees that I'm out of kilter (I admit what else is he going to say! New patient! Yea!) So he adjusts me and after a second adjustment I'm sleeping better. By the following Monday I'm pretty much pain free.

Now a point on painkillers. I hate them! Since I was taking one quite regularly I had a few episodes of upset stomach due to the medicine. Three times losing whatever was in my belly in the process. How in the world do these people get hooked on them I have no idea. I mean really? The way they made me feel was no picnic. I many times preferred the pain vs the way the pills made me feel.

Finally a point on my sweetheart! She was great taking care of me! Isn't it awesome when someone loves you and will take care of in the middle of the night. I'm a very lucky man.