Wednesday, April 29...HELLO, HELLO!!

To our loyal following, we apologize for the delay in updating the blog … it’s been a busy couple of weeks! I am still trying to get settled into my home office and establish a routine so I can get my work done while caring for George. I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to work from home, I certainly don’t want to screw it up; there certainly aren’t many jobs out there, and no employer could possibly be as understanding and as flexible as mine has been! I also just returned from a long weekend trip to Chicago with my bunko group. We had soooo much fun visiting that beautiful city and it felt soo good to be with my wonderful friends for 4 glorious days without having a care in the world. George’s brother, sister, and a family friend came and stayed with George so I could get away for a much needed break. I can’t thank them enough for letting me escape and taking such good care of George while I was gone!

Guess what? Our hall bathroom is completely finished and is now 100% handicap accessible! Brian Lewis w/Klare Plumbing came last week and changed out the sleeves on the exposed pipe underneath the sink, and it looks soo good! George tells everyone what an excellent plumber Brian is, and I have to agree … we haven’t had one drip or leak!! We just have to say THANK YOU one more time to Marvin Klare for making the purchase, Brian for the installation, and Tommy G w/Moore Supply for taking the time to do the special orders and making sure everything matched. You are all wonderful!! Okay, so below are some before and after pictures of the bathroom. Let me know what you think!

George is definitely enjoying the bathroom remodel. He has still not quite mastered getting up out of the wheelchair and onto the toilet yet by himself, but he can now brush his own teeth (even unscrewing the cap off the toothpaste with his affected right hand!), wash his face, comb his hair, etc. without needing my assistance! And, I don’t think I’ve told you, but Darrell (his occupational therapist) has taught him how to put on his own socks and shoes too. It’s not easy for him, but you know what they say … practice makes perfect!! Monday was the 5-month anniversary of George’s stroke, and he sure has come a long way even though he still has a way to go. Since there are 6 more months until hunting season, I’m hoping for big improvements between now and then so he can go to the lease. However, his hunting buddies and partners-in-crime are kind of down and out now themselves, so we are sending our get-well wishes and prayers out to both of them as well. Let’s hope there are many more memories to be made in Gonzales!!

Thursday, April 16...The New Dream Team

Hello everyone. I hope each of you had a wonderful Easter holiday; we certainly did! Lindsay & Dave hosted this year’s gathering and did a great job with the crawfish boil, and then the rest of us brought traditional dishes such as ham, potato casserole, green bean casserole, a relish tray, and the best part of the meal … desserts!! I made my annual “bunny cake” that I have made ever since Lindsay was a toddler, and both my sister-in-law and Lindsay’s mother-in-law made “ME” their delicious hand-rolled sugar cookies with icing! Barb even cut out hers in the shape of a bunny, which made them taste even better (ha!).

As you know, George has been going to out-patient therapy now for about three weeks. He is back at Katy Rehab Hospital, which has recently been purchased by the Memorial Hermann Hospital system. In fact, George is somewhat of a celebrity … Clutch, the Houston Rockets’ mascot, was making an appearance for Memorial Hermann and he took a picture with George and supposedly it is going to be in their upcoming newsletter. As soon as I get a copy of it, we’ll be sure to put it on the blog! In the meantime, here is a picture of George holding the autographed book that Clutch gave him. George’s new “dream team” of therapists pictured above include Paige, his physical therapist, Darrell, his occupational therapist, and Jerry, a therapy assistant. Paige is concentrating on improving George’s balance to get him walking, and Darrell is working with George to become more independent in regard to his personal care/needs, as well as getting that right hand working better. I must say that I have seen a big improvement in this area (the death grip is fading away!), and as Darrell tells George, your right hand now works, you just have to remember to use it! This morning, George actually folded towels for me that came out of the dryer, and when I saw what a great job he did there, I also dumped the white load of laundry beside him on the couch and he matched his socks and folded his underwear! I wonder if I could pay Darrell on the side to teach George how to run the vacuum and mop the floor from his wheelchair?!? This guy is GOOD!

P.S. I am very close to posting before and after pictures of the remodeled hallway bathroom. I just need to get a few minor touch-ups done in there, and we are still waiting for a bronze sleeve for the exposed pipe underneath the sink, and then we’ll be ready for the reveal, so stay posted

Monday, April 6...Garage Sale Mania!!

What a great day we had on Saturday! The bunko babes outdid themselves with a very successful event raising over $2000 in merchandise sales for George's stroke recovery fund. I know a lot of hours of preparation went into this garage sale, and George & I can't thank this amazing group of ladies (and many of their hubbies) enough for all of their time and effort! Of course, we also want to thank everyone that contributed items to sell, those that made monetary donations in advance of the sale, and also all of our shoppers ... as well as Penny & Danny Thomason for providing the perfect location to hold the event. I know that George and I will never forget everyone's generosity and labor of love ... it was truly a memory maker! Oh, and George & I even found a few "treasures" in the garage sale that came home with us, so if you are ever in need of a great red hat or feather boa, you know who to call! I have many more pictures of this beautiful, fun day, so if you are interested in seeing them, just let me know!

On Friday morning, the day before the garage sale, we had some very special visitors. As many of you know, George worked for Har-Con Corporation for 25+ years so his employer (Harry Conley) and co-workers were just like family to him. Doug Reo was one of those co-workers, and he and his wife, Betty, along with Judy Conley Herrera (Harry's daughter) came out to see us. Doug and Betty arrived in an SUV full of goodies for us to sell, and Judy arrived with a beautiful pink calla lily plant and a bag full of cake donuts because she knew that her dad always bought them for the office and took them along whenever he visited anyone. Harry Conley was a very generous and kind man, and his family certainly follows in his footsteps! Judy went on a "virtual shopping trip" and presented George with a check on behalf of the Conley family since they were not going to be able to participate on Saturday. Again, George & I are just overwhelmed by our friends and family who shower us with soo much love and support. We could not have made it through this most challenging time of our lives without each and every one of you!! God bless ...

Sunday, March 29...Garage Sale Preparations

What a beautiful day we had today, and a group of us were out in the sunshine nearly all afternoon preparing for the garage sale next Saturday. Joanne and Mike Ligon arrived at our house around noon, and Mike went right to work loading tables and boxes of treasures into George's pick-up truck that I had backed into the garage to make it easier to load. However, I didn't take into account that Mike is tall, so the first time he hopped up into the bed of the truck to move things around, he hit his head! He's such a good sport though, he just kept on smiling and kept on loading! When we arrived at the Thomason's storage units, Penny was busy with her drill putting together clothing racks. For those of you who don't know Penny, she can do it all ... repairs, remodels, crafts, etc. I'm sure all of our husbands wish we were as handy around the house as she is! Nancy, our resident nurse of the bunko group who has lovingly cared for all of us at one time or another and is always willing to listen to symptoms and offer advice on our newest ailments, welcomed George to "garage sale central" and then gave George some advice as well ... keep working hard, don't let yourself get discouraged, and listen to your wife (I just love her!). Nancy's brother-in-law had a massive stroke several years ago, so she has first hand knowledge of the struggles that he and her sister dealt with, however, she also relayed the happy ending to their story ... her brother-in-law is walking and driving and living a normal life today, so we hope and pray that our story ends the same way! While George supervised, Mike unloaded the vehicles and we girls started pricing the merchandise. Not all of it has been delivered yet, but we have a little bit of everything. Purses by Gucci, Nine West and Coldwater Creek, appliances, tools, and decorations for every season! We also have our own animal farm and a collection of stuffed animals for the little ones. We've also got home decor, clothes, shoes, books and so much more! Danny Thomason arrived in time to help Mike put all of the tables back into the storage unit after the merchandise was priced. Penny has had him working hard in cleaning out abandoned units (as well as their house and garage) to make sure we have lots of items to sell! George and I really appreciate all of our friends' efforts and contributions (thanks, Margaret & Jack Creel, for the one by mail!). Hopefully Saturday's weather will be as pretty as this weekend's, but rain or shine, come shop with us!! We'll be starting at 8 a.m., so come early for the best selections. The address is 17625 Keith Harrow (between Barker Cypess & Hwy. 6).

Saturday, March 28 - YIPPEE!

Thanks to Tommy G. w/Moore Supply and Brian Lewis w/Klare Plumbing, George's new sink was installed on Saturday. Tommy made an early morning delivery to bring the correct "P.O. plug" and then Brian came a few hours later and got everything hooked up. We are still missing one bronze "sleeve" (I think that is what Brian called it) for the exposed pipe, and I need to get the new light fixture hung, toilet paper holder up, etc., so the big "reveal" can't happen yet, but soon, very soon!! George also had visitors on Saturday afternoon, Jose Benavides, a former employee of George's that he thinks the world of, and Ishmael, an "operator" in the plumbing industry. The guys stayed for over an hour and reminisced about deer lease trips that Jose accompanied George on, and also talked about future ones that they want to take this coming fall. And, believe me, that sounds good to me too! George and I have had a little too much together time lately, so I'm hoping that come November he his ready to head to Gonzales! After all of the guys left, George and I headed to Randall's to grocery shop. I sure wish I had my camera with me because it turned out to be quite a trip! I've been wanting to see how George would do on one of those electric scooters, and I got my wish! As I pulled into the handicap parking, a scooter was parked right on the curb. So instead of getting the wheelchair out, I got out, got on the scooter and rode it to the passenger side of the car. I have to admit, it took me a minute to maneuver the thing to where I needed it, so I started to wonder if this was such a good idea. However, it was too late to change my mind; George was motioning me to come on and bring it closer to the car. As you know, it's much heavier and larger than a wheelchair, so we couldn't get it nearly as close as his wheelchair, so that meant that he needed to take several steps to the scooter. Again, my heart was beating a little faster as I tried to now maneuver George toward the scooter. A few minutes later, he was safely on the seat and taking off up the ramp without me! I prayed that no one would get in his way as he approached the double doors. I took a few galloping steps to catch up to him before he reached the girl scouts and their cookie table and told him to slow down. He didn't really listen to me and whizzed through the next set of double doors taking THREE donut boxes with him. Good thing they were only display boxes or I would have been picking up (and buying) dozens of glazed donuts! That little episode was enough to slow him down, so we made it through the bakery department without any casualties. We stopped and bought some produce and then hit the seafood department (literally, not physically!). George did pretty well for the rest of our shopping trip but we also had to go to Customer Service to buy the new registration tags for his truck. That proved to be a little tricky because there wasn't much room to back up and turn, so he ended up making a U-turn through the magazine area and through the Easter candy display to be heading the right direction again. I was holding my breath the whole time; can you just imagine him hitting one of the shelves that held the M&M candies and those bags busting on impact?!? I am laughing again as I type this; I know if there was a video tape of this excursion, we could have won on the Funniest Home Videos show. I think George enjoyed that little scooter way too much ... never again will I be able to go to the grocery store alone!!

Friday, March 27 - Carol Calling!

... and I'll take her over Avon any day!! My friend, Carol Humphrey, came calling on Friday. She arrived at my office with homemade Italian Cream cupcakes in hand. Joe Orr, one of my co-workers, taste tested them for me while Carol took me out to lunch, and when I got back, he warned me that I better not eat them because they weren't any good. As soon as he said that, his nose grew about an inch, so I knew he was fibbing, and that was definitely confirmed when he walked out the door with another one in hand "for his wife!" I'm betting that it was eaten on the trip home instead of it getting to poor Sue! Carol also brought a couple of boxes of goodies for the upcoming garage sale, including her bread machine. She said that she tested it out the night before to make sure it still worked, and after she gave her husband a piece of hot homemade bread with butter, he tried to talk her into keeping it! Jimmy, just remember, she is looking out for your best interest ... but we'll be happy to sell it back to you on Saturday, so come early or it may be gone!!

Sunday, March 22 - So dusty you can write your name on it...

... and that is exactly what I did!! This is how my entire house looked on Saturday after the sanding of the new bathroom walls started. It is amazing how that little hall bath could contribute to such a big mess! As you know, George's son-in-law, Paul, started the remodel last weekend, and this weekend, I hired a contractor to finish it up. "Bubba" came Saturday morning and sanded, primed and painted the walls, baseboards, new door, and door frame. By the end of the day the bathroom looked great, but my furniture was covered with this fine white dust. I put George to work on the coffee table and my mom came over and helped me clean up the main rooms, but there are still a few more rooms to go. I have a maid that comes once-a-month to do my heavy cleaning, so Bonnie is going to have her work cut out for her when she arrives on Wednesday. The timing on this was perfect (for me!). Hopefully, the new ADA sink will be installed sometime this week, and then I'll just have a few finishing touches to take care of, like install a door knob and a new light fixture ... oh, and try to figure out what is going on with the toilet since it is now leaking around the base. It always seems to be something these days, but I think this project will be finished soon and then George can hopefully gain some independence!

After lunch today, George & I went to Lowes to buy the door knob and some a/c filters so that dust won't keep circulating in the house. We also met with a lawn service guy that is going to come tomorrow and clean up our yard. The yard has been neglected since hunting season, and of course right as that was ending, George had his stroke. I have been so busy over the last few months with George, I didn't water or weed the flower beds, so basically we now just have weeds, leaves, and pollen grain everywhere! I know it's killing George to see his yard looking the way it does; he has always had a green thumb and one of the prettiest yards on the block. Hopefully this guy will do a good job in getting it cleaned up and then maybe George will be up to planting some flowers in the next few months. This evening, Joanne & Mike Ligon came by and took us to dinner at Chili's. It was a real treat for George & I, but I'm not sure the Ligon's feel the same way! After dinner, as George was hoisting himself up into their vehicle to head home, his shorts fell down around his ankles! Good thing the three of us were all gathered around him, or he would have given everyone in the parking lot a free show. We were all laughing so hard, it probably took longer than it should have to pull them back up. We were mad that I didn't have my camera on me to capture the moment for Funniest Home Videos, so when we got back to our house, we just had to re-create it ... sort of!! Thanks, Mike & Joanne, for a very fun and memorable evening; I promise to buy George some smaller shorts by the time we do dinner again!!