FRIDAY VIEW

First off is a question I keep forgetting to ask.  Does anyone besides me see the Christmas countdown ticker at the top of my blog?  I can see it at home, but at work it doesn't show up.  Just curious if I should try to reinstall it.

Work was steady, but not overwhelming today.  I had time to breathe between customers.  Everyone was friendly and it was rather nice.  Fridays at the Fishtown Branch are calm compared to the rest of the week.

Tonight Joe wanted to take me out to dinner, so we went to the Country Club.
 
Joe got grouper and I got fried chicken.  Yum.  They make the best fried chicken.  I love it, but can't make it for anything.  Theirs is honey dipped.  So good.

We just came home and I thought I would post this Friday view while it is still Friday.  Time has a way of getting away from me.

Two weeks ago we had to go downtown for a doctor's appointment for Joe.  To get to the office we had to drive through Chinatown.  I love Chinatown.  I guess a lot of cities have one.  What makes ours different, though, is we have a Chinese Gate called the Friendship Gate.  This is the most popular and famous attraction in Chinatown. It is a multi-colored arch with fire-breathing dragons and Oriental lettering.  It was a joint project between Philadelphia and her Chinese sister city Tianjin. Chinese artisans completed the Friendship Gate in 1984 with materials brought from Tianjin. I got Joe to take a picture of it through the front window.  His hands were shaking, so it's a little blurry, but you can still see how beautiful it is.  You can click on the picture to make it bigger.

  
This was taken with my phone, so the color is not all that good.  It is vibrant and beautiful.  Hopefully when the weather gets warmer we will get down there and I will get a better picture of it and also pictures of the Chinese garden in the next block.

Here is another picture I got of it from Google.  The color is better here.

 
Gotta run for now.  I am going to do a few things and then get myself in bed at a decent hour.  Goodnight, folks.  

A DAY AT THE HOSPITAL

Good morning, everyone!  I will give you my Friday view later today (it's a good one), but just a quick post about how my day went yesterday.

I started out going to the Cancer Center to see Dr. Bryansmith and get my Zometa infusion.  After you've been there awhile, like I have, you get to know all the techs, nurses, doctors, even the staff people.  They become almost like extended family.  And since I now go only every 6 months it is nice to see them and catch up with them.  I think you have to be a very special person to work with cancer patients. 

Very good news from the doctor.  All my blood counts are good.  No sign of anemia, no sign of cancer and less than a 0.5% chance the cancer will ever come back because of the type it was, it was caught so early and was treated so agressively.  Yeah!  Woo hoo!!  He thinks a lot of the symptoms I've been having are because I am not getting enough sleep and am under a lot of stress.  So I am definitely going to work on that.  But he also suggested I get an upper GI to make sure all is well with the stomach surgery.  It was two years ago yesterday that I had the surgery that I didn't think I would live through.  When I started this blog I was literally dying.  What a difference time makes.  God has really blessed my life.
 
While I was getting my infusion I met two very nice ladies and we had a great conversation going on.  One was named Terry and the other Jeannie.  So nice and makes the time go really fast to have someone to talk to.

Afterwards I went over to Radiology to get my shoulder and neck x-rayed.  The tech was fantastic.  I get such good care at that place.  She said to call my doctor on Monday or Tuesday for the results.  I have a feeling it is arthritis and I'm going to have to live with it.


The Zometa usually makes me feel sick.  So the nurse gave me an anti-nausea pill and I felt great.  That is until I got home and ate lunch.  Then I wanted to puke.  I was going to go into work, but I felt so bad that I called out  sick.   I laid down and slept the whole afternoon.  Literally.  When I laid down it was bright sunshine and when I woke up the house was dark because the sun had already set.  But I felt SO much better. 

I had a good sleep last night too and am feeling better today so maybe not getting enough sleep does have something to do with it.  There's just so much to do all the time that I stay up way late to try to get things done.  I've got to stop it and just realize I need to take care of me first.  If I don't get all my Christmas decorations up, it's not the end of the world.

Today I have a cough and the beginnings of a sore throat.  'Tis the season for getting sick.  I'm going to try to nip this in the bud so that this is as far as it goes.  But I'm back at work, so that's a good thing.

Thanks for reading and check in later tonight to see my Friday view for this week.

A WEDNESDAY AT WORK

I overslept today and was 15 minutes late for work.  Oops.  I guess that's because I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep, and ended up getting up to finish a scarf I was knitting.  When I finally fell back to sleep, that's what happened.  Oh well.

Bob had a vacation day today and it was Marquita's day off so it was just me and Diane manning the front desk.  I thought it would be a hard day, but it really wasn't.  The worst was being on and off every hour.  It's hard to get things done when you have only an hour to do it.  But there weren't any problems, things went smoothly, and before I knew it, it was time to go home.

I didn't have time to pack a lunch, so I went to Shop Rite at lunch time to buy myself a salad.  I love their salad bar.  While I was there I decided to get a few things that I needed.  I ended up seeing things I needed on sale and spent $32!  How does it end up costing so much so fast?  But I did get some good buys.  It was so cold that I just left them in the trunk of the car and they were fine when I went home 4 hours later.  It was just like being in the fridge.  I have some water in the trunk and when I pull a bottle out it is icy cold.

Coming home I saw the moon and it was orange and HUGE!  A real harvest moon.  I tried to get a picture of it, but my camera just wasn't good enough.  I am saving up to get a better camera sometime next year.  I love my sport camera.  It is a real workhorse.  I can drop it, take it to the beach, etc. and it just keeps on taking beautiful pictures.  But I would like something with a really good telescopic lens for sky shots.

I have to go see my oncologist tomorrow.  He is also a hematologist and has literally saved my life with good diagnosis three times.  Dr. Bryansmith is one of the smartest people I have ever met.  And he listens.  That's important to me.  So I am going to tell him all my ailments and see what he comes up with.  It is my day to have a Zometa infusion.  I always get sick with them, but somehow I make it through.  I also have to have an x-ray of my shoulder to see why I have so much pain in it.  My family doctor thinks it is either a torn muscle or arthritis.  I think I'd rather have a torn muscle that will heal.  After all of this I will go to work and be there until 8 p.m.  I guess you can figure out that I am having an easy dinner tomorrow.  It's going to be a busy day.

On to hanging up the wash, doing dishes and cleaning the living room.  I have to get everything cleaned because we are getting a new sofa in a few days.  I'm so excited.

So that's it for now.  Hope everyone has a nice night.    

IT'S COLD AND RAINY...CAN WINTER BE FAR BEHIND?

What a miserable day weather-wise.  So cloudy, cold and rainy.  Last night I stopped at the supermarket on the way home from work and I'm so glad I did.  This is not a night I'd want to be doing that.

Bible study was empty today.  A lot of people didn't show up.  In fact, only Dottie showed up.  I had gotten up early to bake a pumpkin dump cake for our snack.  We all got to have seconds.  Well, all that is except for Joe.  Being diabetic he got only a sliver.

It was a good study though.  The topic was James 3:13-18 on being a peacemaker.  Boy, can't we all learn from that lesson.  Sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut and walk away from a situation.  Last week we were talking about the tongue and how it can get us into trouble.  It all sort of tied in.  Joe is a good study leader and even though there were just three of us, he taught as if he had a whole church full.

My friend Debbie wasn't able to make it today, but on the way into work I stopped at her house and dropped off a couple of pieces of dump cake for her and her husband.  Hope they like it.  It's like eating a pumpkin pie in cake form.  So very good.

I went to Rite Aid at dinner.  I love driving around the neighborhoods and looking at all the Christmas lights and decorations.  When I was a little girl I called them "Happy Birthday, Jesus" lights.  I still feel that way.  After seeing all the decorations at the store and the lights on the houses I started feeling Christmasy.  Is that a word?  Well, you know what I mean.

And if you know me, you know I had to get something at Rite Aid.  I got a red cross with holly that says "Peace."  It's so different and pretty,  I put it on the inside of the front door.

  
The outside of the door has my jingle bell wreath.

  
And my front window went from looking like this:

To looking like this:

  
I had an angel that I have put in the front window for the last 8 years or so.  I hung it up, plugged it in, and it wouldn't light.  **Sigh**  Last year Joe bought four of these window lights for me to use.  I put two of them in the kitchen, but had never used this candy cane.  So I put that in the front window and I think it looks really good!

So it's coming along.  Still so much to do, but it's getting there.

It is cold in this house.  I think I will turn on my space heater fire stove and get a few more things done before I go to bed.  Thanks for visiting.   

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Just a quick post before I go to work.  This weekend has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to write anything.

I went to work on Saturday and found I was the first one there and had to open up the building.  I hate doing that because I am always afraid I will not have the right code for the alarm and end up having the sirens going off and the police showing up.  Believe me, it's happened to me before.  But everything went OK.  I wasn't feeling all that great and did a lot of "little" but time consuming jobs where I could just sit at my desk.  So I know I have a lot of shelving to do when I get in today.

I think I've just not been getting enough sleep.  But last night I just conked out so I think I'll be better today.

The sunrise yesterday was fantastic.  I seldom see one so colorful.

  
I didn't get to church because Joe wasn't feeling good.  He was very dizzy and thought he might fall so asked me to stay with him.

In the afternoon I started my Christmas cookie baking.  I try to make at least six different kinds each year.  Then I package them up and take a dozen bags to church with me the Sunday before Christmas.  The first 12 families I see get the cookies.  Yesterday I made pumpkin spice.  You know I had to try the broken ones (quality assurance you understand).  They were good!

 
I got my front window and door decorated for Christmas and put out my musical snowmen.  It looks funny half Thanksgiving, half Christmas, but that will change as I go along.  

I wanted to show you more pictures, but I can't find my camera!  It's got to be here somewhere.  I'm always losing stuff and I hate that.

Well off to another lovely day at work.  And this week I'm working five days straight for the first time since the middle of October.  It's going to be a long week.

THANKSGIVING

I was so extremely tired last night that I didn't post anything.  But wanted to let you know how my Thanksgiving went.  It was a beautiful day -- very sunny and warm.  It felt more like spring than autumn.

 
Jenny decided that laying in the sun on Mommy's side of the bed was the thing to do.  I couldn't get her to move for anything.

The two hour ride to my sister's house turned into three.  There were two accidents along the way that stopped traffic.  Between the two of them we spent about 45 minutes just sitting on the road.  There were a lot of downed trees, broken branches stacked along the side of the road, tarps over damaged roofs, etc.  You could tell that Hurricane Sandy had had a devastating effect on these people's lives.  It looked like a war zone.

We called my sister, Elaine, from the car and told her to start dinner without us because we didn't know how late we were going to be.  So she did.  We weren't that late because they were all still eating when I got there.  We were very happy to see her welcoming front door when we arrived.  It was a harrowing drive up there.

There were nine of us there.  My brother Larry came with his wife Kim and Kim's mom, Marilyn.  My sister's friend Frank was there and our friends Marion and Rich.  Everyone except Frank had driven up from the Philly area.  We had a great dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, and cranberry sauce.

Larry, Frank, Rich

Larry

Joe and Marilyn

Marilyn, Elaine, Larry

Joe, Marilyn, Elaine

Frank and Cody

 Elaine's decorations are always so pretty.

It is Rich's birthday on Saturday.  So along with the pumpkin and pecan pies we had birthday cake.

Frank and Rich

"I want the big candle," says Rich.

Joe, Marilyn, Kim and Larry

We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Rich.

Larry, Frank, and Marion watch Rich blow out the candle.

Cody likes to be in the kitchen when people are cleaning up.  He's always hoping he'll get lucky and something will fall on the floor.

 Everyone had their cameras and were taking pictures after dinner.

Me and my beautiful sister.

And a really good picture of Joe and I.

Fortunately the drive home was uneventful.  We made it with no problems in two hours and got home around 9 p.m.  But that drive takes a lot out of me.  I have been out of it all day.  I'm so glad I didn't have to go to work today.  Thank you, Bob, for trading with me.  He is working for me today and I have his day on Saturday.

Now on to the Christmas season.  I am taking down my Thanksgiving decorations today and starting to put up Christmas.  The way time moves it will be here before we know it.  

GETTING READY FOR THANKSGIVING

Some of you were having trouble seeing the pictures on my last post, so I reposted them.  I had used pictures off of my cell phone and just used the view item instead of downloading them.  It worked for me and for the computer at work too, but I guess not all computers are equal, so try again.

It was busier at work than I thought it would be the day before a holiday.  Looking back at last year's post I saw that it was really quiet and thought it would be that way today too.  But a lot of people were in getting their videos for the weekend.  I swear people take out more videos than books.  I think sometimes we aren't as much Richmond Library as Richmond Video Store.  But to each their own.  At least they are using the library.

My friend Donna and I went to lunch today.  We took a chance  going to Chick-Fil-A.  I wasn't sure if we could make it there and back and get served in less than an hour, but we did.  I guess because my lunch is 1 p.m. a lot of people had already eaten.  It was good and we had a nice time talking.

I bought one of their calendars too while I was there.  It is too cute for words.  Every month has a cow from history on it like "Moorie Antloinette" and "Napoloin Bovinepart".  So funny.  And it comes with a gift card so that each month you can get a free item like a diet Coke or a cheeseburger.  Great!
   
We had a nice surprise today when the mayor decided to close city offices at 3 p.m.  We got two hours off and got paid for it too.  Whoo hoo!

I came home with all good intentions of getting things done, but ended up taking a nap instead.  I am so very tired all the time.  I am glad I am seeing my hematologist/oncologist next week.  Last time I felt this bad my iron count was way down.  I will have my blood tested and see if that is the problem.  I almost don't want to go to my sister's house tomorrow.  I just want to sleep.

When I did get up and get going I made a sugar-free pumpkin pie so diabetic Joe can indulge in dessert along with everyone else.  I had some extra filling so put it in a custard cup and baked it up for him to taste-test it.  He said it was good.  Last year I didn't know that you measure Splenda differently than regular sugar when baking.  I ended up with a pie so sweet no one could eat it.  This year was much better.  I had a pie carrier left over from Pie and Praise on Sunday so I just slipped the pie right in there to transport it tomorrow.

Then I made the green bean casserole.  It is all done except for the onions on top which I will put on before I reheat it tomorrow at my sister's house.

So now I am sipping on a cup of tea and then it is bedtime for me.  It's already after midnight.  I can't believe it.  Morning will come all too quickly.

Here is my Thanksgiving Cherished Teddy.  It says it all.

 Family and friends are always there

To share blessings of love and care.

So at this special time of year,

We bear thanks for those so dear.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Yesterday my friend Debbie and I went on our annual Christmas shopping trip.  Well, let's just say we tried to.  Life got in the way, so we did half of a trip and we are going to go again on Black Friday.

I NEVER shop on Black Friday.  But Debbie's husband wants her out of the house so he can decorate and surprise her.  And I didn't get anything for my brother, sister-in-law, husband, sister, etc. so I really have to shop.  Christmas is coming!

The first place we went was Marburn Curtains.  Debbie bought me apple curtains for my kitchen as an early Christmas gift.  They are so cute and I will take a picture of them when I put them up after the holidays.  Thank you so much, Deb.

Then we headed over to Target.  I didn't mean to spend a lot, but I kept seeing so many things in the dollar store section that were perfect stocking stuffers.  And of course I had to buy some stuff for myself.  I got the cutest hat to go with my black coat.  It looks like a British nanny's hat.  You will get a picture of that later this week also.  

I also got a cool pink sequined Santa hat.  I did get a picture of that, but it turned out blurry.  Too bad.  But I'm sure you will see that also during the holiday season.

However, I do have a couple of pictures to show you.  Debbie and I were trying on all different hats.  That's when I got the pink Santa hat.  But here's the one Debbie was trying on.  So funny!

    

An elf hat headband.  Who would have thought it.

We had fun looking at all the ornaments.

This tree was an advertisement for all their different ornament packages, but it was pretty with all the various colors.

 

 Every year I do my tree in a different color, so I am trying to decide how to do it this year.  Hmm....

Back to work tomorrow.  At least it is a short week.  Thanksgiving is coming too quickly! 

2012 PIE AND PRAISE

Tonight was our fourth annual Thanksgiving Pie and Praise service.  It began with a time of singing of praise songs and hymns.  Pastor Justin played the guitar and our friend Charlie Schupak played the piano for us.  Charlie is a very talented musician and we were so happy to have him join us as a guest tonight.

We had three people read from the book of Psalms -- Joe, Carol, and Irene.

Then it was time for testimonies.  Just about everyone there had something to say praising God for His leading and protection in their lives.  It was great.

After the singing of some more hymns, we had the closing prayer and then went to Fellowship Hall for the eating of pies.

There were so many pies.  Just about any kind of pie you would want was there,  Pumpkin, apple, blueberry, cherry, lemon meringue, coconut custard....  I even brought a sugar free cherry pie for Joe and Charlie who are both diabetic.  Everything was very good.  Most people had more than one piece and more than one kind of pie.

Cherie, Pastor Justin, Pat

Juliette, Kate, Natalie and Connnor

Charlie and Carol

Shawn, Connor, Pastor Justin

Cherie (in the background), Carol, Pat and Joe

 It was a really nice evening with really nice people.  Can't ask for more than that.