I had a long talk with Ed last night. We went to a marriage retreat several weeks ago and he's been worse since then. I finally figured out (and we laughed together), after discussing it with him, he thought it would've waved a magic wand over us and we'd be honeymooners. It strikes me how naive he can be sometimes. I'm better. He's better. And it's not my imagination because he said "I feel like we're on the same page." without prompting. Yea! We leave tonight for Pigeon Forge to answer the call of the native American hot tub and ancient ritual of swimming in a pool. Hopefully, that will get my muscles and joints relaxed enough to hike a bit on Saturday. We're staying at a condo, so there will be my cooking, must go make menu. I just spent my overtime bonus from the national meeting; I worked on the weekend in addition to the week (I'm an 8-5/M-F, spoiled rotten desk job person), on plants! Hurray! Campanulas, Echinacea tennesseensis, Anthemis, tiger Lilies 'Sweet Surrender' (a white speckled with burgundy) and my ever favorite, Betony (Stachys macrantha "Superba"). Mom took away from the hospice meeting, they're making her more comfortable due to her congestive heart failure, rather than, they're making her more comfortable until she dies within months (I know what a hospice's role is). Glad she doesn't have to know what I know.

Yesterday was bad but today, well, let's just say I had to take drugs. Yesterday Katrina had to start getting her legs wrapped again. Not since the UNA boots have we had to deal with this. I was up early because sis was having a procedure, bladder sling at the surgery center. Sassi had to be taken to the groomer and then Katrina had to go to the wound clinic. I had someone coming to cut the back out of a new cabinet I bought for a big TV a friend had given Neil. I went to the surgery center to see sis before surgery. I had had a bad feeling about this and had urged sis not to do it. Never had this feeling before. I dropped Sassi off with the groomer and then hurried home to fix breakfast for Neil and Katrina. I then get a call saying that the doctor had perforated the bladder and sis was being taken across to the hospital because there might emergency surgery to repair bladder. Neil and I went to check on sis. Those of you that have been here so long know a lot of Katrina's health history and it isn't easy nor is any of it good. We went through the wound care, leg wrapping thing for the better part of a year so this isn't our first Rodeo if you know what I mean. We tried to explain some of the things that didn't work before and it didn't fly with them. We got this " we've been doing this for years and we know what we're doing." Well, Katrina has had health problems since she was born so she knows her body better than anyone with the exception of myself. The doctor asked what surgeries she had had and when she started telling him, she lost him after the first 5. We then had to explain each one and go into depth why the surgery was done. Lord luv a duck, I was exhausted when it was over and was very glad Neil wasn't there. The appointment took 3 hours and by the time I got home and got supper taken care of, picking up Sassi, I just wanted to go to bed but still had to beat the closing time at Kmart to buy those long bath runners so I could make a path from Katrina's bedroom to her bathroom so she could navigate without falling. Her legs are weeping fluids and it runs off by the buckets onto the floors, which are hardwood. Since she has to walk with crutches she slips on wet floors. Sis, spent hours waiting to be taken down for tests to find out if she had to have surgery and ended up having to wait til today because the doctor had left the hospital for the day. This morning I got up early for the utility company to relocate my computer connection. Sis was taken down to have tests, the gutter people came and repaired the gutter. Katrina couldn't wear any of her shoes, I made a hasty trip to shoe stores and brought home a few possibilities for her. While I was out I got a frantic call from my other sis and she said our sis was taken straight from the tests to the operating room. The surgery would be 3 hours. I'm afraid at that point I lost it. By the time I got home, I was in tears, had called my grandson to come to stay with Neil. I took Katrina back to the wound clinic to get her legs wrapped again, and this time the nurse actually listened and tried a new way to wrap. I had taken a calming medication by then and had stopped crying. When I got home, I had found out that sis had made it through the surgery. The sling had to be removed, the bladder and tubes repaired and the surgeon is keeping her til next tuesday and will be sending her home with a cath. My grandson had put the big TV in the new cabinet in the living room and had connected my computer back up. (Every cloud has a silver lining) Katrina treated us to supper and in a few minutes, I'll go to the hospital and check on sis. I'm just plain worn out!

Suzy, the most important part of it... she's gonna be what she once was and then some. At some point, someone closed in the porch and made a utility room. At some point someone added a closet in the front bedroom. At some point, someone ripped up the carpets and made the hardwood pretty. That closed in porch will now be part of a good sized master bedroom. And have a sitting porch added on the back (later, like in May, screened-in over a deck). The hardwood floors will flow from one end of the house to the other. Since the kitchen doesn't have them, but the master bedroom needs it ripped it out, it's getting moved. The other closet is a nice size, but it's ugly. We'll finish it on the inside so that it's more than just "there", it'll be useful. The house keeps telling me, she's waited so long to be efficient and beautiful. Jan, it's a great conversation starter! Better than, "Do you see that pile of mess? When is he ever gonna cut his grass?!" None of those around us, thank goodness. How are your sis and Katrina doing?

Rob, if you'd had any inkling of how your day was going to be, you'd have crawled back into bed and pulled up the covers!! At least, I would have. But good for you; you handled it all. I think you're a kind of "Super Woman".