Health Problems

(This photo is from the Internet.)

Since July 1, I have been experiencing some health problems. It started with a kidney infection which I thought I could self-treat with cranberry juice. This occurred when I arrived in Seattle. While I was there, I had a fever, chills and shivering. Heidi offered to take me to the doctor, but I declined, thinking it would just go away. I flew home on July 8, but still ignored my symptoms.

July 17 my sister, cousin and I drove to Branson, Missouri. I was still dealing with the infection, getting up during the night every hour to use the bathroom. As you can imagine, I was getting more tired. My symptoms were increasing.

Very early Sunday morning, July 26, I woke up shivering. I got up and took my temperature. It was 101 degrees (my well-temperature is 97). I took a couple of Tylenol, covered up, and went back to sleep until my alarm for church went off. I went to church and sang in the choir, after which some of my dear friends took me to eat a brunch for my birthday. When the brunch was nearly over, I began to shiver and my teeth were chattering. I went directly home, put on some warm pajamas, took some Tylenol, and hopped into bed. I fell asleep, but woke up around 3, burning up. I took my temperature and it was 103 degrees. I knew I had to bite the bullet and go to Urgent Care. I prayed all the way there for protection against running into someone.

When I arrived at Urgent Care, the receptionist informed me there was only one person ahead of me. That was good news, as I was shivering and shivering. Other people arrived after I did, and the lobby was getting full. They called the little boy who was ahead of me, and then called a woman who had come in after I did. I went to the desk to inquire, and was told her symptoms were worse than mine. Before returning to my seat, I asked if they had any blankets for me to cover myself. She brought 2. I was called in next.

The receiving nurse had me to go the restroom to provide a urine sample and then returned me to a room, where I again covered with the blankets. It wasn't long before the doctor came in. She informed me I had a severe kidney infection. Did I want to take an ambulance to the hospital, or was there someone who could drive me? I chose to call Peder. Bless his heart, he came to get me and we took off for the Emergency Room in  my hospital where they were already waiting for me.

We spent about 3 hours in the ER where I was hooked up to a heart monitor and other testing equipment, all the while being interviewed, and even scolded by a doctor for not having seen my doctor before my situation got so serious. I informed her I didn't like my new doctor, to which she retorted I should have sought out someone else. Around 7:30 pm I was wheeled to a room. I spent 5 days in the hospital (July 26 - July 30), because my kidney infection escalated to my blood stream on about day 2. By the 5th day, the infection had cleared the bloodstream and I was sent home with 10 days of antibiotic. I was also instructed to have an appointment with my doctor within the next 14 days. I made that appointment, and when I saw her, she said "You were really sick. Why didn't you come to see me?" I told her my reasons, and we had a "Come to Jesus" meeting. Since then our relationship has been good. I wanted to write all of this down so I can remember the lessons I learned.

Fast forward to August 12 or 13. While watching TV in the evening, my upper left leg began to ache and the top of my left foot tingled. I thought it was a fluke – stood up and tried to shake it off. It continued. This was the beginning of a pattern I was familiar with—1988, left arm, which led to neck surgery. August 20, I phoned my doctor's office to see if I could get an appointment. Bingo! They had an opening that afternoon.

After examining me, Dr. W. said she was ordering an MRI. She gave me the scheduling number so that I didn't have to wait for someone to call me. Again I scored! The hospital had 2 openings the next day (August 21), so I took one.

I got the MRI results August 28. I was diagnosed with multi-level degenerative disc disease, with a small herniated disc between L3 and L4, and a large herniated disc between L4 and L5. Also, I have a very pinched nerve between L5 and S1. They also reported a 1 centimeter spot on my left kidney. Oh, oh. This was not good news, and of course I began to worry about it. My doctor told me a concierge would be calling me to set up an appointment with a spine specialist and an ultrasound to look at the kidney.

September 10 I had the ultrasound. This was a totally new experience for me. I had to fast (nothing to eat or drink—not even water) 4 hours prior to the test. The technician searched and searched for the spot, but could not locate it. She brought another technician in to locate it. She didn't find it either. I told them I had been praying for God to remove it. Perhaps He did! They paged the radiologist to come in to have a look, but he was unavailable and instructed them to send me home and that another test could be given to me. However, after he had seen the test results, he concluded the spot had been residual from the kidney infection I had had. Good news!

September 15 I saw the spine specialist, a very nice doctor. He went over my MRI pictures with me and told me his plan of attack. I was to have an EMG September 17, and an epidural yesterday, September 25. This test, by the way, went very well, for which I am grateful. I had fear going in, but prayed to God to help me through it, and He did. Already today the ache in my leg has gone away. We won't know for sure if it was successful for 7 - 10 days. Also scheduled are appointments for physical therapy—both traction and stretching. My first appointment is Monday, October 5.

This has been a lot, but I'm grateful to be on the mend. During the night I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. For the first time ever, about 3:30 am today, I stepped out onto my porch and sat in a lawn chair to look at the sky. I live in the city, so it never gets really dark, but as my eyes got used to the lighting, I could see stars – about 11 or 12 bright ones. This is party due to trees and buildings in my view. Nels and I stayed out there about a half hour. It was a wonderful time of communing with our Lord.

Cousins' Weekend 2015

Yesterday my Cousin Linda, my sister, and I met at my Cousin Pat and Cousin Pudge's home. Linda had driven up from Chicago the day before and stayed overnight with my brother and sister. It was so nice to see her again.

Pat and Pudge had set the table and living room and dining room for a Minnesota dinner, complete with pine trees, pine cones, a kerosene lamp, the sounds of loons, crickets, and tree frogs, plus a delicious dinner of fried walleye and northern pike that Pudge had caught. Filling out our dinner we had cheesy hash brown potatoes, vegetable salad, hot rolls and homemade apple dumplings. Everything was delicious!

L to R: Linda, Janet, Pudge, and Pat

L to R: yours truly, Linda, and Janet





 

These apple dumplings were wonderful!

After dinner we had a lovely evening of visiting and looking at some of my Aunt Liz and her mother and grandmother's sewing.  Linda is shown here holding up some of the hand crocheted lace. Neighbor Denny came over to Pat's to visit for awhile. He has been a welcome guest/friend for many, many years. 

After a nice breakfast this morning, we checked out Pat's gardens and then boarded the Patty Wagon (Pat's golf cart) to take in some garage sales. Each of us scored a few things. We also took time to tour one of the Parade of Homes in the area – a beautiful model home, complete with a half basketball court, with a price tag of $975k. The realtor was impressed that we had arrived on a golf cart! 

This is a garden in Pat's yard dedicated to my Aunt Liz. Double click photo to enlarge.

This is a close-up of Aunt Liz's garden

Sail boats on White Bear Lake

For lunch we ate at a local restaurant and then headed back to Pat and Pudge's. I gathered up my things and started for home. The other gals headed off for Duluth to take a boat tour of the harbor on Lake Superior tomorrow. I know they'll have a good time. These times spent together are precious.

Harvesting My Pineapple

About six or seven years ago I bought a pineapple at a local market and after cutting it up, decided to plant the top (crown) of it. I had read up about it and learned that is the way to grow one. It took root and eventually got too big for my pot. My boss had a big, empty pot in his office—an office with windows—and he invited me to transplant the pineapple into that pot. Over time, it got bigger and bigger, and its leaves stretched out to over 6 feet.

Fast forward to February of this year: on the 23rd of the month, the first day back in the office after my trip to Japan, I was in Paul's office and in the course of conversation, he said perhaps it was time to do away with this giant plant which was taking up most of the counter. I thought about it and said I would look around the office to see if there was another spot where I could put it to still get natural light.

The next day, while watering it, I happened to look down inside the plant and saw what looked like a small pine cone. What? What is this? I called Paul over to look. "I think it's growing a pineapple!" And from that point on, Paul was all in favor of keeping the plant in his office.

Looking down into the pineapple plant

A few weeks later

About the third week of March, the pineapple had sprung up on a stem about the size of my index finger and little purple flowers appeared on what would become the "eyes," starting at the base of the fruit and progressing upwards. The flowers each bloomed about one day and then closed up. From that point—according to the Internet—the fruit would ripen in six months. As it turns out, mine ripened in five months and one week.

About a month later, checking it every day, the most change was in the expanding diameter of the fruit and the growing crown. The stem was reaching higher, too.

By mid August, the pineapple fruit was getting bigger and the crown was also growing. The fruit had gotten so heavy, one day I found it leaning over about 90 degrees, so I attached the venetian blind cord to it and staked it up.

 

 A week or so later, the pineapple showed definite signs of ripening. Ten days after that, when I came into the office, it was totally yellow and ready for harvest. Another sign was how sweet it smelled.

 

Totally ripe pineapple, ready to be cut from the stem

LaVonne, severing the pineapple from its stem

 

Yours truly posing with the long-awaited pineapple

 

Once the pineapple was totally cut by LaVonne, I portioned it out for some of the people who had come along side me in the journey. We all exclaimed how delicious it was—the best we had ever had. Too bad it took so long to grow.

 

Minutes after it was eaten, I planted the crown (seen on the table) in a smaller pot to start all over.

 

 

Happy Birthday to Me!

This title sounds selfish, but it is not meant to be. You see, I don't usually buy expensive things for myself, but when I got the opportunity to buy something I have wanted for many years, I justified it by thinking of it as a birthday gift for me.

It all started in sixth grade when our teacher assigned us to pick a foreign country to follow in current events during that school year. I chose The Netherlands. Consequently, my eyes—even to this day—stop to read whenever I see it in print. Then in 1968 I got to go to Holland, Michigan, with my Aunt Liz and some cousins, for their annual Tulip Festival. I fell in love with every aspect of this unique little town.

We went to the parade at which the mayor of the town declared the streets were dirty and ordered them to be cleaned. About 500 high school students, some dressed as milkmaids in traditional Dutch clothing, poured water from the buckets held on their shoulders by yokes. Others brushed the water to the edges of the street with big brooms. Then the klompen dancing began—wooden shoe dancing. It was so much fun.

Dutch Village in Holland, Michigan, really spoke to me. It has a working, authentic Dutch windmill—the last one permitted to leave The Netherlands. There are canals, lift bridges, and Dutch stores. It was at one of the stores I purchased my first piece of Delft, this large plate.

Around this time a franchise of Dutch restaurants called Pannekoeken opened in Minnesota, They served the famous Pannekoeken (Dutch apple pancake) and were decorated with Dutch Delft chandeliers, and I fell in love with them. They also sold Delft vases and other Delft knick knacks. Over the years, I have returned to Holland, Michigan, and have also been privileged to visit The Netherlands on several occasions. It still draws me.

This past December I hosted a few of my co-workers for supper. One of them, after seeing my Delft collection, mentioned her grandmother was selling her home and had a Delft chandelier. Wow! This piqued my interest. I asked her what it looked like and she described it. Could this be like the ones the Pannekoeken restaurants had? Would her grandmother be willing to sell it? She had her father take pictures of the chandelier, and I agreed to purchase it. Today it was hung in my dining room. I love it!

When is it time to part with things?

A couple of weeks ago when Heidi and her kids were visiting me, I told her I was ready to part with a bunch of the vases and glassware that collected dust above my kitchen cabinets. These were things I hadn't used in a very long time, and there was so much gathered there that it was no longer attractive.

As Heidi handed them down to me, I loaded them into the dishwasher. After three dishwasher loads, we packed them up and took them to my office where I set up a table to sell each for a small dollar amount. Of the pieces pictured, I think I probably sold half. The remaining items were taken to a local charity. These are things I probably will not miss.

Do I have more stuff to clear out of my home? Of course, I do. I have been collecting many things for a very long time. Some still bring me happiness; others I have not looked at in so long I do not remember having them. It will be a process, but I hope to keep on purging.

On the other hand, I have some items that still give me pleasure, and those things I will hang onto for awhile.

Four Delft stitchery done by yours truly. Each flower container is Delft, or has Delft handles. (Double click photo to enlarge.)

My cranberry glass collection: each piece has a memory. The round ornament on the top right was blown by me in Alaska in 2008. 

Heidi and her family came for a visit



Early this month, Heidi and her family came to Minnesota and Wisconsin. On my birthday, August 3, they came to my office with lunch and spent a little time playing with the stuffed toys and balloons decorating my office. Corinne had fun with balloons and taking books from the shelves. Marshall loved the stuffed animals—especially Spunky, the puppy.

On Wednesday, August 5, Heidi and the kids came to my house and spent the next couple of days. We went to my pool on Thursday, and that was really fun. Marshall has had some swimming lessons, so he was alright to move around the perimeter of the pool. We had our eyes on him, however. For awhile Corinne was content to sit on my lap on the second step of the pool. But eventually she wanted her face in the water and Heidi took her and played with her in the pool.

Later that day we went for dinner at Broadway Pizza. Marshall and Corinne loved the electric train that traveled along on the railing just under the ceiling. This pizza shop has train memorabilia all over, and their pizza is delicious!

Friday we went to Peder and Sarah's and the kids played together for awhile. This was really fun for the cousins! They rarely get to see one another. For lunch, we went to the International Bazaar, not far from Peder's home. They have a food court with restaurants from around the world. And the following weekend I picked up Heidi and Corinne in Hudson and they came to spend the weekend with me. Saturday we drove to Rochester to attend the wedding of my great-nephew, Chad.

I loved having them at my house! Here are more photos of our time together.

Corinne at the International Bazaar food court.

Grandma D with L to R: Leo, Aurelia, Marshall, and Corinne. Felix didn't want to be in the picture.

Aurelia sporting a Viking's helmet.

Felix, standing between Sarah and Peder

Isn't this a great picture of Peder and Heidi?!

Marshall and Aurelia



Heidi holding Corinne and Marshall at the Eden Prairie Mall

Corinne sitting in her cousin's car and wearing his "shades." My nephew Keith is in the background.

Corinne had a lot of fun playing in my cottage.

Here she is playing peek-a-boo with Heidi who is on the other side of the screen door.

Corinne and my cat Nels had fun trying to catch the bubbles I was blowing.

July 2015, Good-bye!

This is one July I hope fades quickly into the past. Oh, there were some good times including two trips, a prebirthday brunch, and a live production of "The Music Man," but during the past 31 days I have been dealing with a bladder infection that escalated into a severe kidney infection, passing into the bloodstream.

July 1 I landed at the Seattle airport and announced to my daughter I thought I was experiencing a bladder infection. I requested stopping at a grocery store where I could buy some cranberry juice. Each morning I drank a glass of the juice. July 4 should have been a fun day, including a picnic on Heidi's beautiful patio. Instead, I lay in the guestroom bed, shivering and with teeth chattering. The next day when Heidi and I had an appointment at a glass-blowing studio, I felt poorly, and after a few puffs into the glass-blowing tube for the piece I was making, I turned it over to her. On the way home she asked me if I wanted to be taken to see a doctor, and I declined. I thought I would be fine.

I flew home on the 8th, and 8 days later I left for Branson with my cousin Pat and sister. It was a long car ride, and I was fatigued when we finally arrived at our destination – my friends, Jim and Lil's. I had a bathroom next to my bedroom, which was great because my new pattern had become getting up about every hour during the night. We stayed at my friends' until early Monday morning when we started the long drive back to Minnesota.

The nightly trips to the bathroom continued, and consequently, I was quickly running out of steam. I struggled to stay awake at work. I took naps on Saturday and Sunday, which is very rare for me. I just couldn't get enough sleep. I knew I should have seen a doctor earlier in the month, but I kept putting it off because I am not a fan of my new doctor. [She is new to me due to the retirement of my former doctor in April of 2014. He was my doctor at least 16 years.] I was getting worse, and yet I fought my common sense.

Everything came to a climax last Sunday. At 3:30 am, I awoke shivering and teeth clicking together. I got up and found a thermometer. The reading was 101 degrees. I took two Tylenol, grabbed another blanket, and was able to go back to sleep until the alarm went off. I got up, got ready for church, sang in the choir, and sat through the sermon, followed by joining my friends at a nice restaurant for an early birthday celebration. When we nearly done with our brunch, I began shivering again. As soon as I got home, I changed into warm pj's and covered up with a couple of blankets, and fell asleep. When I awoke a couple of hours later, I felt terrible. I took my temperature and it was 102 degrees. I had to bite the bullet and get myself to Urgent Care to get some medical attention.

I prayed all the way to the clinic – about 5 miles away – praying I would stay alert so I wouldn't cause a car crash. I made it there and went inside. On the form I filled out, I wrote I thought the reason for my visit was a possible kidney infection. My back hurt like crazy, and I was shivering. The receptionist informed me there was one patient ahead of me. Whew! My hopes raised. Well, that didn't turn out to be true. Before calling my name, they called in a woman who had arrived well after I. Disappointed! FINALLY, it was my turn. The doctor took my temperature and again it was 102. She had me provide a urine sample. After a little time passed, she came back to the room and told me I had a severe kidney infection and would I like to go to the hospital in an ambulance? Or was there someone who could take me? I called my son, Peder, and he came to my rescue.

The ER at the hospital had been alerted I was coming so I was shown directly to an ER suite. After a doctor asked me a few questions and did some vitals, I was admitted to a room. The next day the doctor came to my room and informed my my white blood cell count was 22. Over the course of the next four days, I had lots of blood draws and received many bags of IVs of saline solution and antibiotic medication. I can't say my stay was pleasant, but that was because I was so sick. While in the hospital, the infection escalated from my kidneys to my bloodstream. This was very serious, and I was scared when I got the news. I prayed and prayed that God would lead these medical experts into finding the best medicine to turn my situation around. Yesterday (Thursday) around lunch time, I got the report my bloodstream was cleared and I would be permitted to go home.

Over the course of those 5 days, I met so many really nice people. The doctors and hospital staff were awesome! It made my stay easier. I still have the kidney infection, but am on medicine for the next 10 days. I will see my doctor this coming Wednesday to be tested for improvement levels. So you can see, I'll be glad to turn the calendar to a new month tomorrow morning.

Trip to Branson

Last Thursday, my cousin, sister and I set out for Branson, Missouri, where we would spend the next few days with my dear, dear friends, Lillian and Jim.

I have known Lil since March 8, 1988. Here's some history:

Lil and Jim lived in Waseca and owned a furniture store, but in late 1987 and 1988, they were driving to Austin on weekends to help start an Evangelical Free Church. Early in 1988, my kids and I were church "shopping." I told them (just Peder and Heidi then) that we would visit each church twice before making any decisions. One Sunday we happened into the church where Jim was preaching because we were too late for the one we had planned on attending. It was a small group of people (only 19 counting us), but they were very friendly. We went back the second Sunday, and Lillian met me at the door and invited us to stay for the pot luck dinner. I tried to decline since we hadn't brought anything, but she insisted we stay. That day was the beginning of a WONDERFUL friendship. About 15 years ago, they sold their furniture store, their home, and their cabin in Lutsen and built a beautiful house overlooking Table Rock Lake, just south of Branson. It comfortably sleeps 12, and they love having company. I don't make it down there as often anymore, but they come up here and we always get together. Neat, neat people!

We pulled into their place around 7 on Thursday evening. It didn't take long for us to move to the deck where we visited and visited, and eventually watched the first planet appear—then a second one—and then stars, thousands of stars. This was a treat for me since I live in a highly populated area where there are many, many lights. One forgets all of those stars are out there!

View from Lil's deck – Table Rock Lake in the distance.

Friday we headed north and east to Mansfield, Missouri, to the Rocky Ridge Farm, the final home of famous author Laura Ingalls Wilder. There we toured the museum and her two homes. The museum houses many of the personal items of Laura's, including Pa's fiddle. There is also a section of memorabilia of their daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Touring the Rocky Ridge Farm house was really interesting. Laura's husband, Almanzo, built it room by room. He also made some of the furniture. Everything in the house belonged to the Wilder's. Later on in their lives, Rose had a more modern house built for her parents on an adjacent piece of property. She called it Stone House and paid for it with money she had made from the royalties she received for books she had written. Her parents lived in it for seven years, but then moved back to their original farm house. Both houses are now museums. This trip made me interested in reading the Little House Books once again.

Lil and Pat outside the home at the Rocky Ridge Farm

Stone House

After touring the Wilder homes and museum, we had lunch at a local spot and then made our way to the next community where we found an Amish general store on an Amish farm. All of us enjoyed looking around in there and bought a few items.

Saturday afternoon we went to the Sights and Sounds Theater to see Jonah. If you have never been there, or to the identical one in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, you should put it on your list of places to visit. In the past we have gone to this theater to see Joseph, and Noah. In the evening we went to the production of The Duttons. They are a husband and wife team who raised 7 natural children and adopted 7 more. They taught all of the kids to play several musical instruments. Talk about a talented family! We really enjoyed this show.

Sunday morning we went to church with Jim and Lil and went home to a delicious home-cooked meal. Lil is a fabulous cook! Oh, my. She fed us so many good things while we were visiting. Later in the afternoon we went to another show—a variety show. That was fun, too. Sunday evening was spent watching a movie and working a bit on a jigsaw puzzle. Monday morning we headed for home.

Traveling is really nice, but there's no place like home! I'm so glad to be back in my own home, with my own bed and pillow, with my cat Nels, and back to my job.

Summer trip to Seattle

Last Wednesday I flew to Seattle to spend a week with my daughter, Heidi, and her family.

We have been having a very nice time, doing a lot of things indoors since it has been so very hot—high 80s and low 90s. One day Marshall and I went to see the movie Inside Out, after which we went to eat at Panera—a favorite of Marshall's and mine.

On Saturday, a picnic on their patio was planned for dinner. Unfortunately I didn't join in because I was feeling under the weather. I had the chills most of the day. Later, a bit after Heidi, Marshall and a friend of Heidi's went down to the shore to watch the local fireworks, I got up and together with Chad, Corinne, and Brian, we sat in a bedroom where we had an excellent view of the local fireworks—in air conditioning. I'm not sure what the deal was with the way I felt, but am blaming it on the heat.

This is Corinne at the water park. She loved it!

Sunday Heidi and I went to Seattle to a glass blowing shop where each of us made a glass object. Heidi has done it many times now, so she felt comfortable helping with many of the steps. I wasn't feeling 100%, so I only blew a bit of my art work and Heidi finished it off for me. She made a blue/white votive and I made a deep purple fluted bowl. Our pieces take several days (inside a kiln) to cool down, so she'll pick her up this weekend and mine is being shipped home.

 

 

Yesterday we drove to Mount Rainier, thinking it would be cooler up there. It was not. Heidi had never seen the creeks with so little water running, and there was less snow on the mountain than she has seen. Rainy Seattle has had no measurable rain since April—very odd. It's normally dry in July and August. There were lots of wildflowers blooming on the mountain, however. It was nice to see them. We saw a deer at the visitor center that had the visitors all shooting pictures.

 

It has been fun being with this part of my family again. Corinne is growing up so much, and to my surprise, Marshall is reading and reading. I guess I missed hearing about that during his school year. This morning we stopped at the library so he could choose a supply of books.