The End of the Road (Almost)

LadyBug had her final reconstructive surgery on Thursday, and was released on Friday. The surgeon told me to expect a 2-4 hour procedure, and the nurses said, and that would be AFTER 30 minutes of prep! So I went to lunch. Granted, it was a long lunch, but even so, I figured I was getting back to the hospital with PLENTY of time!

   

When I got back, I asked the nurses at the desk where I should wait to talk to the doctor. They told me he had already left and LadyBug was in recovery! The surgery lasted only 1 1/2 hours, MUCH shorter than expected! The doctor called me while LadyBug was still in recovery and said things went much better than expected, and he felt she would have a speedy recovery.

  

One of the nurses showed LadyBug her scars before she left the hospital, and told her they were the cleanest scars she had ever seen! We feel very blessed through all of this, and greatly appreciate all your prayers on our behalf!

   

Compared to other operations, LadyBug has felt very good. She even went with me yesterday to a town to the south of us to buy some needed things. It has been a long road, and we aren't quite at the end, but we can see it from here.

Not Much More to Say

Before/After. And the first isn't even me at my heaviest! All I need to say!

The Next Step

Thought I'd post a pic of my handlebars. Wrapped them myself. Which, of course, means I may have to re-wrap them some other time until I get them done well! But I was still proud of myself for even doing this much! Plus, their kinda cool, dontcha think?

LONG Overdue!

I have been thinking lately about things that need to be done YESTERDAY. It's an interesting phenomenon. We went to our mechanic the other day for a full oil change / lube service, and when done, he commented that we needed new brakes. I asked when we needed to get them. He replied, "Yesterday." Needless to say, since we just had our inspection earlier in the month, this came as a surprise. We left our van at his shop and picked it up the next day.

In late Spring, when our daughter Kissa came home from college, she brought my truck back with her with tags that had expired MONTHS previously. Our son StarGazer was the one who noticed this fact. We took it in, and had it inspected, then registered it. Last night, our youngest child ZeldaPrincess was  pulled over in her car (previously belonging to Kissa) because we had failed to notice that IT'S tags had expired months ago!!! She now has about a $40 fine to pay! THEN she still has to get it inspected and registered.

This made me think about all the things that should have been done "yesterday." Our roof still needs to be replaced. We got a bid on it, which we turned in to our insurance agent. A $6,000.00 bid. Our insurance will cover all but $1,000 of that, but we don't know if they will cut a $5,000 check to the person who placed the bid, or made to us, so we can buy the supplies ourselves and save labor costs. We just know that it needed to be done before today....

My "lawn" also sits ready for me. We have been on the go lately with different family occasions, doctor appointments and the craziness of getting everything set up for school to begin, so i haven't been able to mow my "lawn" for a couple for weeks. I use the term "lawn" loosely because there is very little actual grass anywhere in sight. It is a former alfalfa farm / cornfield / barnyard, so it hasn't been the kindest place for delicate little blades of grass. We get some very pretty colors in the spring, though, with all the various weeds and other plants that pop up. As soon as I have both time and money for gasoline, I will mow it. It will take me a bit of time, though, because I need to have my mower tuned up.

LadyBug is also waiting for approval for her Disability application. Several months ago she called to see when she could expect a decision. They told her they needed some info, so it would be a couple of weeks. She has called several times since then, including last week. They told her it would be a couple of weeks. This was a process which, by law I believe, is supposed to take no more than 120 days. We passed that deadline quite some time ago. She will call again either today or sometime next week. I expect one typical answer: It will be a couple of weeks. If they approve it, it will pay retro-actively all the way back to November of last year. If they deny it, we can appeal, re-appeal, and re-re-appeal, etc. No big deal. I'm sure that will only take a couple of weeks.

We now find ourselves in the place where we are needing to get the truck inspected again. Before that can happen, I have to replace a tail-light assembly. I hope I know how to do that, but we bought one on eBay at 25% of the cost at the local Automotive Supply store. It should hopefully be here before next week is out, or ZeldaPrincess will be walking everywhere. Kissa already is. StarGazer and SkiTl, our two sons, are living and working in a town in the northern part of our state. SkiTl has been waiting for his taxes to be finished for months now. We just got them the other day (the accountant had filed for an extension). Now he hopes he can get that money so he can pay what he still owes from the previous year's "Return."

I also just started the school year, and have been scrambling to find enough students to continue eating and driving and such. This is always a bit of a struggle, but this year we reached a point where if I couldn't find at least three or more students at both the high school and the college, I would not be able to afford to continue teaching! So I have been doing some recruiting this week that would have been much simpler if it could have been done BEFORE the school year started. Unfortunately, for the college that is not possible. For next year at the high school, I will make sure to do some more advertising for the class that always has enrollment issues!

I have been meaning as well to go see a massage therapist. The tension in my neck and shoulders has reached the point where it is affecting my VOICE! I had never thought about it before, but I am sure that this tension is at least one of the main contributing factors to my voice problems. I even have a couple of former students that are licensed massage therapists, but that has to wait until some of the other things get done yesterday. Like getting a haircut. I also have some former students who have licenses for that, but there is just never enough time to get it done!

And. of course, I need to rewrite my book, finish rebuilding my bike, and get back to losing the last five pounds I need to reach my goal. But those things are all on back burners until other things get done. Like cleaning up around the house, doing dishes, cooking dinner, sorting and changing laundry, getting rid of SkiTl's dog, or even THINKING about installing bookshelves in my room, Shampooing the carpet, replacing the carpet, painting the walls, scrubbing the shower door, replacing the kitchen faucet, ripping out the deck and putting in a stone patio, and painting the shed.

And none of that takes into consideration the poems I still want to write, the music I still need to finish, or any of the other things that I have planned for years but never completed.

It all reminds me of a poem I wrote as a senior in high school, titled,
"Skydive."

When troubles build and threaten
To collapse upon my chest,
When all the worries of the world
Are trite cliches, at best,
When hoping counts for nothing,
And wishing follows suit,
In find that I can never have
A working parachute!

Whew! I tell you, it's a good thing time doesn't move in reverse! Because if Yesterday came after today, with all the things that need to be done Yesterday, when Yesterday comes, Tomorrow would be SO busy!

Death in Wyoming by Choral Responses

A post of a poem from my brother Twist reminded me of this poem I wrote in 2008:
   

When I die, let me die in Wyoming,

'Cause from there, there's no way to go but up!

Yes, when I die let me die in Wyoming,

But please don't bury me face-up.

Y'see in winter, the blizzards will freeze you,

And the summers will bake you bone-dry.

Y' say you don't want to die in Wyoming?

Well, on second thought, neither do I!

No, don't let me die in Wyoming!

And it's not that I hate heat or snow,

But when I die if I make it to Heaven,

There'll be such an awfully long, long way to go!

The End of Summer

So it's finally here: the end of Summer Vacation. Finally. I never thought I'd say those words, but this year they are all TOO true! I will always be thankful for the job I had this summer, and how it helped us through what would have been more-than-thin months, but I am SO ready to get back to school.

  

I have been scrambling to find a few students to fill spots that will be vacated by others who cannot take a class, or are moving, so next week will be a full week for me, especially since the teachers start their contract year on Wednesday, but I am very excited to get moving. 

    

We have a new choir next year that is going to be the closest thing we have ever had to a show choir. And no, I am not a fan of Glee, and have actually been quoted in professional publications on my views on shows like that. But we will sing, we will dance, and we will have a blast!

   

What really has me excited, however, is our plans to produce (with whatever help we can wrangle) the quite wonderful and famous Songs of Sanctuary by Karl Jenkins. If you have ever heard it, you know it is very cool, and if not, then you should listen to it as soon as possible! It sounds like it is in another language, but it is all nonsense syllables that the composer made up and threw together to sound good! It has a very World-Music sound that I am excited to teach, and the local college director has the DIGITAL ORCHESTRAL ACCOMPANIMENT on a Click-Track that he is going to loan to me! Plus, my daughter Kissa is going to choreograph the whole thing and we are going to turn this into a HUGE production (I hope!)!

   

Everything else this year is just going to be getting LadyBug back to herself. Of course, that also means that I will be teaching as many private students as I can handle at the college, but the director there is really looking out for me. We are down one (possibly two) other instructors, and he has told me he will make sure to get me enough students. It amazes me how much the Lord blesses us through others!

   

Well, it is almost 1:00 a.m., so I guess I should probably go to bed. Of course, now that my job is done, I plan to sleep in tomorrow!

V

(Preface: No, this is not completely about LadyBug, so don't get scared!)

She Is        by Choral Responses

emerging from eternity,

grasping for life,

breathing the new world,

unfamiliar with strife,

her name is Baby,

and she is Loved.

shining in shadow,

dancing through years,

smiling the sunshine,

defiant of fears,

her name is Daughter,

and she is Loved.

standing with strength,

living her life,

giving herself,

becoming a wife,

her name is Woman,

and she is Loved.

Bearing her children,

acquainted with tears,

nurturing the future,

banishing fears, 

her name is Mother,

and she is Loved.

discovering an ailment,

seeking a balm,

receiving harsh answers,

finding her calm,

her name is Patience,

and she is Loved.

enduring the treatments,

receiving support,

living for tomorrow,

calling on the Lord,

her name is Survivor,

and she is Loved.

returning to eternity,

receiving new life,

escaping this world's bonds,

released from all strife,

her name is Beloved,

and she is Home.

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

We have a thunderous downpour happening right now, so it isn't helping, but here are pics from our swollen river earlier today....

A Few of My (Least) Favorite Things....

Living here for 16 years, I have acquired a healthy DIS-LIKE for several residents. They are annoying and revolting, and I would be perfectly fine if they would just LEAVE our town and go someplace else! And every one of them can be found in my back yard! Here they are:

If you don't know what these critters are, consider yourself LUCKY! They are three of the things I consider Banes of My Existence! And there are very few ways to get rid of them!

An Early 4th

In our town, we celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks on whatever day is Friday. Then we have our parade on Saturday. Always. Every year. Even if it means we're celebrating the 4th on the 1st or the 5th or whatever. It works, though some here complain about it not being "true" 4th of July celebrations!

  

One of the best things about this is the fact that every year on Saturday, the civic library has a book sale. I always pick up between 1 and 10 books for around 25 cents each. I am already excited about tomorrow's sale (even more than the parade!)! The second is that they do the fireworks in the field BEHIND OUR HOUSE! We get to sit on lawn chairs on the back porch and just look almost straight up! Here are some pics I took tonight:

Also, on my way home from work today, I snapped some shots of the river as it is flooding nearby fields:

This last is outside a house down the street from us. They have been pumping water out of their basements there for WEEKS!

I will post more as it happens!