Life in West Overshoe, Kansas

Yes, it's true folks. Delilah Dreggs has risen off her lazy duff.

Catching up since December will require some serious memory retrieval, but since it's long(er) term that remembering what I had for breakfast, I'm confident all will be recollected just fine.

January of this year was chaotic. David's Dad, Hugh, went downhill fast, health-wise. By mid-January, he was in St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, having been admitted following a routine trip for a medical appointment. He had a "spell" in the hospital van that had picked him up at his residence to transport him to his appointment. The spell was soon diagnosed as a heart attack. He spent a week in the hospital, during which time he was pumped full of Lasix, a drug that lessens edema, til they could pump no higher dose within acceptable health limits.

When we visited TN in December, Hugh's legs were immense, Alley-Oop-like, and he couldn't walk 10 steps with a walker without pausing to catch his breath and to ease the pain of walking on them. I understand from kin that, while in the hospital, his stomach, arms and hands ballooned, and Imazo, my mother-in-law, removed his wedding ring to ensure that it wouldn't have to be excised from his finger down the road.

Hugh was in the hospital about 5 days when the doctor's released him to return home to "hospice" care, an indication of the gravity of his condition. He returned home to a hospital bed with a window view on Wednesday, and within 24 hours on Thursday, he passed away from a fatal heart attack. My brother-in-law Jeff attempted resuscitation, but was unsuccessful. We pray that all his suffering vanished with the ascension of his soul.

Fortunately, before Hugh died, I had secured a flight for David (Vern) to Knoxville that Saturday. I had to scurry to find flights for myself and Steven to attend the funeral. Steven flew out of Phoenix, and we flew from Tucson. Initially, Vern's trip was to be a visit with his dying Dad, and it was to last from Saturday to Saturday. Instead, it became a much sadder excursion, but it did allow him time to spend with Imazo, pre- and post-funeral.

Steven and the rest of Hugh's grandsons (there are no granddaughters) were pall bearers. It was cold and rainy (what else is new?) in Knoxville, fit weather for such a sad occasion.

Although I was barely in Knoxville for 2.5 days, David and I managed to drive to Cade's Cove in the Smoky Mtns. to enjoy the albeit soggy scenery and foraging wildlife. It was surreal as we rode around the 11-mile cove loop. More grazing deer than we'd ever, in all our years in TN, enjoyed on our trips to the mountains. A 6-point buck jumped a fence on the right side of the road, stood to the left of our car and grazed a bit on some tasty grass on the edge of the road, then jumped the left fence to continue his supper in that pasture. Wow! Our kingdom for a camera!!

I returned to AZ on Tuesday while Vern stayed on. Steven flew home Monday, because school had just commenced at ASU. He had a great flight with a whole seat to himself to lie down and rest.

I had a rain delay and was packed like a sardine into a window seat, where I had to hold my water for 4.5 hours while a German lady in the middle seat snoozed on her tray table. I didn't want to piss her off by awakening her. I squirmed a lot (no leg room) and read a new non-fiction book I'd bought in Knoxville, "The Well-Dressed Ape". It relates the similarities/disimilarities between the human species and the rest of the animal kingdom. While it's a great book, it could not succeed in tricking my brain to forget about my bladder. When we arrived in Tucson, I pushed and shoved and scratched and bit til I reached relief on the porcelain throne.

Back in Tucson, I basked in the sunny glow of Arizona winter, enjoying the 80-degree weather and ragging on Vern every time we talked.

Unfortunately, Bozhe eavesdropped on my braggadocio, promptly reminding me to be humble by bestowing a nasty cold on me. I hadn't had a sore throat in 10 years out West, but this one was a doozy. With a head full of snot and lungs corroded with something similar, I was out of work for a week. Took well into February til I felt any relief.

February was relatively uneventful. We purchased some trees and potting posies, which are now gracing the patio as added color. Vern planted two fig trees among the flagstone beyond the pool deck. We also bought a windmill palm that he put in at the other end of the pool. After we traveled to San Diego at the end of February to see my endocrinologist at Scripps, we stopped in Yuma and dug up some volunteer palms along the farm roads. He planted them next to the small koi pond (minus koi) and fountain we have to the left of the patio. Then, he planted a honeysuckle and jasmine to climb up the patio trellis and two crepe myrtles next to the pool fence in front of the patio. Fingers crossed, all will endure and prosper.

On our return from San Diego, we made a side trip to Algodones, a small village in Mexico 6 miles west of Yuma. There, we procured a bunch of very low cost medicine for a total of $30. Bless his heart, Vern waited in line to go thru customs for an hour, on foot. The place was rampant with snowbirds, stocking up for their Winnebago trips back to WA, ID, MT, OR, and Canada. We ate at a favorite haunt in Yuma, Ronnie's Pizza, before returning to Tucson. Ronnie is from Philly and makes me homesick with his thin-crust monster pies! YUMMM-O!

We're into March now, and with it has come more illness. Vern's mom became ill last weekend and Jeff took her to St. Mary's emergency room, where they diagnosed a gall bladder bloated with 81 years worth of assorted stones. They immediately scheduled her for surgery the next day, and she underwent a laproscopic excision of the nasty bladder. She remained in the hospital until this past Friday (almost a week), and though she is at home now, she says she feels quite weak and not very hungry.

When she and I spoke, she said she'd never felt pain like that in her life. I commiserated with her. I had serious 3 a.m. gall bladder attacks for years until the day mine was removed via emergency surgery in 1984. Unluckily for me, they hadn't invented the laproscope back then. Thus, they sliced a big incision down my right side. OOOOOGLY thing, a forever reminder of what it took to get rid of that awful pain. For me, the aftermath of surgery was peace, and a strong desire to ingest every fatty food I could get my hands on to 'test the waters'.

We talked with Imazo last evening, and we are praying that she takes care of herself and that her family and friends continue to look out for her. We'd love for her to come to AZ to stay awhile and recuperate.

Moving to a totally different topic, I am moving to an office TWICE the size of my present one, which I've occupied since arriving at the Coronado National Forest in August 03. Vern and I packed up my papers/stuff yesterday; the movers are coming Monday. The Forest is moving several folks around to better align staff with others in their same department and to reduce our human footprint in the Federal building that we occupy. This cuts down on the payments we make to GSA, who manages the building.

Today, Vern had to work a 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. shift to cover vacationing staff on graveyards. At the moment, he should be having the oil changed in his truck, after which he'll be home to enter dreamland for a few hours.

This week was Spring Break for Steven, but he spent it working at the restaurant, getting in some additional time to help pay the bills. I did our taxes and his, and he will be getting almost $8000 returned, since he qualified for a $7500 "first-time homebuyer credit", which is a no interest loan from the Fed treasury. He has to pay it back annually for 15 years with his Fed'l tax return. Just his luck, right after he bought the home, a new program was emplaced to provide first time homebuyers with an $8000 tax credit, no repayment needed. Suxxx, huh.

Steven is on schedule to complete all his credits for a B. A. in Design Studies this semester. If all goes well, he'll graduate on May 16. He says he's glad to have a break in college, but has not ruled out returning for a master's degree. We are keeping our eyes on opportunities with the Fed'l gov't in the PHX area. Because his GPA is over 3.0, he qualifies for entry-level jobs with the Fed'l gov't as an outstanding scholar. Let's hope and pray for an opportunity to bless him.

My fingers are now tired from all the typing. So glad I don't maintain this blog daily. On a final note, today i'm making Liver and Onions for supper, baking some cranberry-nut bread, doing neverending housework.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. What a drag...........

Love and peace to all my peeps,
a