Heard from the surgeon's office regarding the MRI results - and you know you are in trouble when the gal says, "I can list what's RIGHT with you shoulder quicker than what is WRONG!" She proceeded to tell me that it looks like two separate surgeries will be required. The first to correct a 'laundry list' of problems with the rotator cuff and ligaments, plus remove a piece of bone that is 'floating' around. The second will be to actually replace the shoulder 'joint' - ball & socket. Not sure about the time span between the surgeries, but she set me up for Dec. 11th - unless they can reschedule someone and can get me in sooner. Thankfully it will be 'outpatient', but will be a very long day for the first surgery will be a 3 1/2 surgery. I am so ready for my arm to work 'right' again! This will be surgery # 6 and #7 for me since I turned the big 50! Please tell me the 60's will be better!
On other subjects - our house, for one - we are making real progress! Randy put in 3 evenings with us and, WOW, what a difference! Seems we always work best with a 'deadline' and the company called with our kitchen counter tops, scheduling installation this Wednesday, Nov. 28th. So the 'push' was on to get the kitchen drywall finished. Today (Saturday) is painting day so we can start laying the wood floor and be ready to go for the counter tops! I can hardly wait.
Took time out for Thanksgiving. It was GREAT to have our entire family together. Roger's folks provided the gathering place- and we (the kids and grandkids) provided the grub. Russ and Randy took over the chore of cooking the turkeys - deep frying them! They turned out delicious - so, of course, they are now permanently assigned that task. I'm the official provider of noodles and Judy (Roger's sister) made a 'boat-load' of 'cush' (dressing). The cold weather kept the little ones inside and underfoot most of the time, but a good time was had by all.
No Thanksgiving (for me, anyway) is complete without a 'crisis' of some type. Thought I had my routine with my hot rolls down pat. I 'cheat', using Rhodes frozen dough; put them in the pans before I went to bed Wednesday evening, then up at 5:00 a.m. to bake them. It worked good the previous Saturday for the Peninger reunion, so that was the plan for the Hughes get-together. ONLY THIS TIME I put a turkey breast in the lower oven and set it to come on at 5:00 a.m. (The tureky breast was a 'safety net' in case the boys deep-fried turkey didn't work out.) When I got up at 5:00, I found that when the lower oven came on to pre-heat, the added warmth made my rising dough accelerate! My 'hot rolls' were nothing but a huge 'blob' that was out of control!
What to do?!? I tried 'pinching' off the edges that were hanging down through the oven racks, but realized that wasn't working. SO, I decided to just dump the entire 'mess' into a bowl and punch it down - and start over. I figured I had 7 hours till lunch, so just maybe I could salvage the mess. THANKFULLY it worked beautifully - and the rolls came out even better than the week before! At the same time I had pulled out two more bags of frozen dough and put them out as a back up. So I ended up having to run back home after lunch and bake them, so I wouldn't 'lose' them! Ended up sending them with Russ and DeAnna to DeAnna's family get-together that night.
Another 'memory' - like the year I forgot to thaw out the turkey! . . . but that's another story - for another day!
Although I swore I wasn't going to do it again, Shelly 'enticed' me to set the alarm clock and we hit the streets at 4:30 a.m. to 'catch' the bargains on Black Friday! That is challenging when you are feeling good! So I decided I would be the designated one to 'stand in line' and let Shelly do the running after items. We conquered WalMart with no problem - that store did it right! Target was another story, but we came away with some really good buys. But by the time we got to the mall, I was running out of steam. Shelly dropped me by home and then went to pick up her boys and went out again! Oh, to be young again! I spent the rest of Friday 'sleeping it off' in my recliner.
However, it was a 'toss up' who was the most 'insane' yesterday! Us girls and our early morning shopping - or Roger and Randy as they hit the golf course in 30 degree weather!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
A Busy Weekend
Lots of distractions the last few days, and our house took a bit of a 'back seat'. Wednesday Roger and his dad spent the day 'playing in the dirt' in the back yard. In reality they were locating our septic tank and in the process found a line that was beginning to collapse. The result: one 'found' septic tank, one 'repaired' line, one very messed up back yard and a massive blister on the palm of Roger's hand, which brought all other work to a halt. So it goes.
Got a bit of painting done on Thursday, but spent most of the day removing the final bit of wall paper out of the master bath. What a chore!
The evening was taken up with providing taxi service for the grandkids - and finally an MRI for me for my shoulder. Now that was an experience I don't want to repeat! It was an open MRI - which is good - but being stuck with a needle 5 (count 'em - five!) times is not so good. It seems new federal law requires they take blood before they start the MRI if they are going to do a 'contrast' injection. Then they have to put a 'brace' (it's a cousin to a torture device) on my arm to hold the shoulder in the correct position. He starts telling me to position my arm this way and that - and I remind him that's the reason I'm here in the first place . . . my arm/shoulder doesn't move like it should! So he says, "Oh, they should have told you to take pain meds before you came!" Then after I laid there over 30 minutes while they did 9 scans - without moving a finger - the guy comes in to do the contrast injection. After three attempts to hit a vein in my left arm, he gave up and called the tech in. The tech said "Why don't you just use the site where I took blood?"
When it was over, I must have had the look of a 'wounded animal' - for a lady in the waiting area asked if they had 'put me under'. At that point, I just wanted gone! I shared with Roger that all I had been thinking of during the last scan was how good a Braum's 'mix' would taste! Since we had a bit of time to 'kill' before picking up Wes, we found a Braum's and that mix tasted every bit as good as I thought it would!
Hope to have the results by the first of the week and will know what lies ahead for me.
Friday was 'baking day' in preparation for the Peninger Family Reunion near Enid, Oklahoma. Trying to fill my mom's shoes, I decided to take hot rolls, noodles and a German chocolate cake. I make the cake from scratch - and had it baked in no time. I 'cheated' a bit on the hot rolls, and used the Rhodes frozen kind. Put them out to rise all day and popped them in the oven about 3:00. My boys must have smelled them baking for both Russ and Randy rolled in just about the time they came out of the oven. In true Peninger/Phillips tradition, out came the butter and we feasted on hot from the oven bread and butter. There's nothing better!
And knowing how much Shelly and the boys like bread, I bagged up some for Randy to take home for their supper. So now I had to either go buy rolls for the reunion - or make some more. Decided to put out another batch before going to bed and let them rise overnight.
That evening, while making the frosting for the cake, Roger 'caught' me 'sampling' it. He reminded me that if I didn't quit 'sampling' there wouldn't be enough for the cake! I always get nervous when I do this cake, but it always ends up looking just like Aunt Juanita's (but it never tastes the quite the same!), so I guess I do it right.
Up at 5:30 Saturday morning to bake the rolls and make the noodles. By the time we left the house about 9:30, I had put in a full days work. Had made a few too many noodles to fit in the crock pot, so we all had a breakfast of noodles before loading up and heading north.
Ended up giving away my 'secret' recipe for my hot rolls to my cousin, Fontaine. She was lamenting that she couldn't 'knead' bread - and I said "I don't either! I just buy Rhodes frozen dough!" (I think the 'secret' is using Mom's old muffin tins!) Talking to cousin, Barb, and she said, "You know, when the grandkids want my recipes, it's going to be a list of the 'brand names' I buy!" Must be our generation, for my sis (Sandy) always has said, "It's not knowing how to cook, but which box to open!" Which reminds me of the time I called Aunt Juanita to ask for her 'recipe' for her German Chocolate cake. What a surprise, when she told me it was right inside the 'box' of the German chocolate! And sure enough, it is!
Later that afternoon, as everyone scattered, we headed east to Bixby with Russ & family to catch the 2nd round of high school playoffs. Our team has been ranked high all season and we had hopes for winning the state title again, but it wasn't to be. As our other favorite (the Oklahoma Sooners) was losing to Texas Tech in Texas, our Titans also lost. A disappointment - and it made for a long drive back home - but there is always next year. With both of our teams, win or lose, they are always fun to watch! Pulled in to home close to 1:00 a.m. and think we were all in bed within about 15 minutes!
Chose to forgo breakfast and sleep in an extra hour before making it to church. Opted to have
brunch' at our usual breakfast spot after church - and then headed home to spend the afternoon watching football - and for me, a long nap. When I 'rejoined' the world, Roger shared that some friends (KOA owners, of course) from New Hampshire had called - and were headed our way.
What a treat to have them stop. We gave them a quick tour of our 'home in progress' and then took them up the hill to meet our kids, grandkids, and grandpuppies. Then we headed out for a late supper and sat talking until they began to sweep the floors and stack the chairs.
Came home to find a call from Randy that he has 'scheduled' us in for this evening to do some drywall and tile work on our house- so it's back to work for us this morning. He gave us 'marching orders' for what to have done by the time he gets here. Just maybe we will be in by Christmas!
Got a bit of painting done on Thursday, but spent most of the day removing the final bit of wall paper out of the master bath. What a chore!
The evening was taken up with providing taxi service for the grandkids - and finally an MRI for me for my shoulder. Now that was an experience I don't want to repeat! It was an open MRI - which is good - but being stuck with a needle 5 (count 'em - five!) times is not so good. It seems new federal law requires they take blood before they start the MRI if they are going to do a 'contrast' injection. Then they have to put a 'brace' (it's a cousin to a torture device) on my arm to hold the shoulder in the correct position. He starts telling me to position my arm this way and that - and I remind him that's the reason I'm here in the first place . . . my arm/shoulder doesn't move like it should! So he says, "Oh, they should have told you to take pain meds before you came!" Then after I laid there over 30 minutes while they did 9 scans - without moving a finger - the guy comes in to do the contrast injection. After three attempts to hit a vein in my left arm, he gave up and called the tech in. The tech said "Why don't you just use the site where I took blood?"
When it was over, I must have had the look of a 'wounded animal' - for a lady in the waiting area asked if they had 'put me under'. At that point, I just wanted gone! I shared with Roger that all I had been thinking of during the last scan was how good a Braum's 'mix' would taste! Since we had a bit of time to 'kill' before picking up Wes, we found a Braum's and that mix tasted every bit as good as I thought it would!
Hope to have the results by the first of the week and will know what lies ahead for me.
Friday was 'baking day' in preparation for the Peninger Family Reunion near Enid, Oklahoma. Trying to fill my mom's shoes, I decided to take hot rolls, noodles and a German chocolate cake. I make the cake from scratch - and had it baked in no time. I 'cheated' a bit on the hot rolls, and used the Rhodes frozen kind. Put them out to rise all day and popped them in the oven about 3:00. My boys must have smelled them baking for both Russ and Randy rolled in just about the time they came out of the oven. In true Peninger/Phillips tradition, out came the butter and we feasted on hot from the oven bread and butter. There's nothing better!
And knowing how much Shelly and the boys like bread, I bagged up some for Randy to take home for their supper. So now I had to either go buy rolls for the reunion - or make some more. Decided to put out another batch before going to bed and let them rise overnight.
That evening, while making the frosting for the cake, Roger 'caught' me 'sampling' it. He reminded me that if I didn't quit 'sampling' there wouldn't be enough for the cake! I always get nervous when I do this cake, but it always ends up looking just like Aunt Juanita's (but it never tastes the quite the same!), so I guess I do it right.
Up at 5:30 Saturday morning to bake the rolls and make the noodles. By the time we left the house about 9:30, I had put in a full days work. Had made a few too many noodles to fit in the crock pot, so we all had a breakfast of noodles before loading up and heading north.
Ended up giving away my 'secret' recipe for my hot rolls to my cousin, Fontaine. She was lamenting that she couldn't 'knead' bread - and I said "I don't either! I just buy Rhodes frozen dough!" (I think the 'secret' is using Mom's old muffin tins!) Talking to cousin, Barb, and she said, "You know, when the grandkids want my recipes, it's going to be a list of the 'brand names' I buy!" Must be our generation, for my sis (Sandy) always has said, "It's not knowing how to cook, but which box to open!" Which reminds me of the time I called Aunt Juanita to ask for her 'recipe' for her German Chocolate cake. What a surprise, when she told me it was right inside the 'box' of the German chocolate! And sure enough, it is!
Later that afternoon, as everyone scattered, we headed east to Bixby with Russ & family to catch the 2nd round of high school playoffs. Our team has been ranked high all season and we had hopes for winning the state title again, but it wasn't to be. As our other favorite (the Oklahoma Sooners) was losing to Texas Tech in Texas, our Titans also lost. A disappointment - and it made for a long drive back home - but there is always next year. With both of our teams, win or lose, they are always fun to watch! Pulled in to home close to 1:00 a.m. and think we were all in bed within about 15 minutes!
Chose to forgo breakfast and sleep in an extra hour before making it to church. Opted to have
brunch' at our usual breakfast spot after church - and then headed home to spend the afternoon watching football - and for me, a long nap. When I 'rejoined' the world, Roger shared that some friends (KOA owners, of course) from New Hampshire had called - and were headed our way.
What a treat to have them stop. We gave them a quick tour of our 'home in progress' and then took them up the hill to meet our kids, grandkids, and grandpuppies. Then we headed out for a late supper and sat talking until they began to sweep the floors and stack the chairs.
Came home to find a call from Randy that he has 'scheduled' us in for this evening to do some drywall and tile work on our house- so it's back to work for us this morning. He gave us 'marching orders' for what to have done by the time he gets here. Just maybe we will be in by Christmas!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Back to Work . . . on the House
We rolled into our driveway Friday afternoon, glad to be home again, with no plans to travel again - at least until February. I managed to bring home a 'souvenir' from convention - a cold. Oh, joy!
Before starting to work on our place, Roger took time Friday afternoon and Saturday to work with Randy on doing some repair work on the exterior of the home place. Some siding to replace and then to paint. Still the back side and the trim to finish up, but the most of it is done.
Friday evening we took in a high school football game, and Sunday afternoon we enjoyed catching up with family at a birthday party for Ryan (a grand-nephew). So Monday morning, it was back to work on our never-ending renovation project - or so it seems. Our focus was on getting at least one room completed, and so we focused on the office/sewing room. A second coat of paint, then we (or I should say Roger) began the task of laying the wood floor. I'm the 'gofer' - which I guess every job needs one. Got it about half done and decided to let it set up overnight before tackling it again. So we switched our efforts to finishing the 'deconstruction' of the master bathroom, before calling it a day.
Russ called with some free tickets to the OU men's basketball, so off we went. Great seats, practically on the floor level. Turns out we were just a stone's throw away from Toby Keith, who is also a big OU fan.
Tuesday found us finishing up the floor and replacing all the trim, so we have now 'officially' finished one room! We are so pleased with the way it turned out, it just makes us more anxious to get it all done.
After supper last night I looked at Roger and said, "Now, what room are 'we' tackling tomorrow? :>) The other rooms that are getting wood flooring are not ready, so guess we'll take a break from floor work and perhaps do some texturing and painting, giving Roger's knees a break.
Before starting to work on our place, Roger took time Friday afternoon and Saturday to work with Randy on doing some repair work on the exterior of the home place. Some siding to replace and then to paint. Still the back side and the trim to finish up, but the most of it is done.
Friday evening we took in a high school football game, and Sunday afternoon we enjoyed catching up with family at a birthday party for Ryan (a grand-nephew). So Monday morning, it was back to work on our never-ending renovation project - or so it seems. Our focus was on getting at least one room completed, and so we focused on the office/sewing room. A second coat of paint, then we (or I should say Roger) began the task of laying the wood floor. I'm the 'gofer' - which I guess every job needs one. Got it about half done and decided to let it set up overnight before tackling it again. So we switched our efforts to finishing the 'deconstruction' of the master bathroom, before calling it a day.
Russ called with some free tickets to the OU men's basketball, so off we went. Great seats, practically on the floor level. Turns out we were just a stone's throw away from Toby Keith, who is also a big OU fan.
Tuesday found us finishing up the floor and replacing all the trim, so we have now 'officially' finished one room! We are so pleased with the way it turned out, it just makes us more anxious to get it all done.
After supper last night I looked at Roger and said, "Now, what room are 'we' tackling tomorrow? :>) The other rooms that are getting wood flooring are not ready, so guess we'll take a break from floor work and perhaps do some texturing and painting, giving Roger's knees a break.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Over - With a Bang!
Convention is history for another year! As always, it is pure enjoyment to reconnect with our franchisees and company managers one more time before calling it quits for the winter. This year it was a joint convention with the National Association of RV Parks right in downtown Phoenix.
We landed in Phoenix on Friday, Nov. 2nd about 9:30 a.m. and couldn't get into our rooms until afternoon. So we became 'lounge lizards', along with some of the other teams, exchanging tales of our seasons. Connected with some old friends (former KOA owners) and they met us for lunch about 2:00 here at the hotel. Great food for a hotel restaurant.
That evening we walked over to "The Big Fat Greek Restaurant" (that is really the name) and enjoyed an evening of good food and great company, with all the Field Services Teams together. Our bodies are out of whack for it is a 2 hour time difference, and we were ready for bed long before bed time. As always, the days are full of meetings, workshops - and eating, of course. Our convention planner really outdid herself this year with menu selections. Every meal (other than the box lunches) was superb.
At the Care Camps auction evening I successfully bid on a couple of sets of Tervis insulated glasses. For those of you not familiar with the Tervis brand, they are based out of Florida and have a lifetime replacement guarantee. These are 'pure Floridian', complete with pink flamingos! Oh, well, I can lounge on my new back porch and pretend. And they fit in my suitcase for the flight home. Roger had his eye on a KOA yellow electrical pedestal for our 'personal RV site' at our house, but the CEO of the company outbid him. Not sure just how we would have gotten it home!
The merchandise expo day is always one of our favorites - but not nearly as fun since we don't have a campground. But we gathered lots of information to take back to our parks next year - and ended up ordering an electrical pedestal - and yes, it is KOA yellow! (Thankfully, they are shipping it.) I commented that maybe next year we can pick up a KOA fire ring to complete our own little one site RV park!
The grand finale tonight was great! A very fine dinner began the evening and then we were entertained by three rock and roll groups from the past: The Drifters, The Coasters and The Platters! What fun! A few songs were a bit before our time, but we throughly enjoyed every minute. It's always sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we're ready to get home and finish up the house and get my shoulder surgery scheduled.
It's time to hit the sack for tonight. We'll land in Dallas tomorrow and catch our breath before driving home on Friday.
We landed in Phoenix on Friday, Nov. 2nd about 9:30 a.m. and couldn't get into our rooms until afternoon. So we became 'lounge lizards', along with some of the other teams, exchanging tales of our seasons. Connected with some old friends (former KOA owners) and they met us for lunch about 2:00 here at the hotel. Great food for a hotel restaurant.
That evening we walked over to "The Big Fat Greek Restaurant" (that is really the name) and enjoyed an evening of good food and great company, with all the Field Services Teams together. Our bodies are out of whack for it is a 2 hour time difference, and we were ready for bed long before bed time. As always, the days are full of meetings, workshops - and eating, of course. Our convention planner really outdid herself this year with menu selections. Every meal (other than the box lunches) was superb.
At the Care Camps auction evening I successfully bid on a couple of sets of Tervis insulated glasses. For those of you not familiar with the Tervis brand, they are based out of Florida and have a lifetime replacement guarantee. These are 'pure Floridian', complete with pink flamingos! Oh, well, I can lounge on my new back porch and pretend. And they fit in my suitcase for the flight home. Roger had his eye on a KOA yellow electrical pedestal for our 'personal RV site' at our house, but the CEO of the company outbid him. Not sure just how we would have gotten it home!
The merchandise expo day is always one of our favorites - but not nearly as fun since we don't have a campground. But we gathered lots of information to take back to our parks next year - and ended up ordering an electrical pedestal - and yes, it is KOA yellow! (Thankfully, they are shipping it.) I commented that maybe next year we can pick up a KOA fire ring to complete our own little one site RV park!
The grand finale tonight was great! A very fine dinner began the evening and then we were entertained by three rock and roll groups from the past: The Drifters, The Coasters and The Platters! What fun! A few songs were a bit before our time, but we throughly enjoyed every minute. It's always sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we're ready to get home and finish up the house and get my shoulder surgery scheduled.
It's time to hit the sack for tonight. We'll land in Dallas tomorrow and catch our breath before driving home on Friday.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Power Shopping 101
Well, I have proven that I haven't lost my knack for shopping! Irene and I headed back to San Marcos to the Prime Outlet Mall about 11:00. Made a couple of 'finds' at the Pottery Barn Outlet, but the rest of the stores there were a bit 'upscale' for us. No bargains to be found. There was a Neiman Marcus "Last Call" Clearance shop that we decided to wander through, but found that even at 75% percent off, it was too rich for our blood.
BUT, we had spotted a Marshall's and a Ross For Less as we drove to the malls, so we decided to leave the outlet malls and head over there. Found their Halloween decor marked 75% off and we had a ball! Irene spent just a bit over $5 and I spent all of $12 - and you would have thought we struck gold! Made us late for meeting the guys for lunch, but we were so 'hyped' we drug the guys back so we could do more shopping to make sure we hadn't missed anything!
Even though they were tired from their golf game, I think the guys rather enjoyed meandering through Marshall's. Roger and I have been looking for a bedspread - and just not finding a thing. Most everything these days are comforters and bed skirts - and that just isn't us. As I was wondering down the 'decorator pillow aisle', I spotted a pillow that 'spoke' to me. Irene (the decorating 'guru') overheard us talking. By the time we left the store, I had purchased two pillows (still no bedspread) but now I have my 'color scheme' - and a good idea of just what we are looking for now! All of this for a room that still has only one wall painted - and no carpet as of yet! But I can sure picture it in my head. Thanks, Irene!
Headed back to the condo, stopping by the trailer on the way to 'unload' our finds. Real Italian pizza for supper and we finally loaded up our stuff and said our goodbyes about 9:00. Spent last night in the trailer so we can get an early start this morning. Headed to Dallas to park our trailer and we'll be at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport by 7:00 a.m. Friday morning. We always enjoy the convention, but this year we almost wish we were back in OKC working on our house.
BUT, we had spotted a Marshall's and a Ross For Less as we drove to the malls, so we decided to leave the outlet malls and head over there. Found their Halloween decor marked 75% off and we had a ball! Irene spent just a bit over $5 and I spent all of $12 - and you would have thought we struck gold! Made us late for meeting the guys for lunch, but we were so 'hyped' we drug the guys back so we could do more shopping to make sure we hadn't missed anything!
Even though they were tired from their golf game, I think the guys rather enjoyed meandering through Marshall's. Roger and I have been looking for a bedspread - and just not finding a thing. Most everything these days are comforters and bed skirts - and that just isn't us. As I was wondering down the 'decorator pillow aisle', I spotted a pillow that 'spoke' to me. Irene (the decorating 'guru') overheard us talking. By the time we left the store, I had purchased two pillows (still no bedspread) but now I have my 'color scheme' - and a good idea of just what we are looking for now! All of this for a room that still has only one wall painted - and no carpet as of yet! But I can sure picture it in my head. Thanks, Irene!
Headed back to the condo, stopping by the trailer on the way to 'unload' our finds. Real Italian pizza for supper and we finally loaded up our stuff and said our goodbyes about 9:00. Spent last night in the trailer so we can get an early start this morning. Headed to Dallas to park our trailer and we'll be at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport by 7:00 a.m. Friday morning. We always enjoy the convention, but this year we almost wish we were back in OKC working on our house.