I got my official diagnosis from the hematologist yesterday. It is as he suspected --
CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, STAGE 0
He called it Stage 0 because I am asymptomatic and there is nothing to treat. He did order one more blood test and a baseline CT scan, but I don't have to come back for three months.
This disease is one that is just observed, which is good. It's just there, doing nothing.
Until there are symptoms, or until one of these tests comes up either positive or shows something, there is nothing to treat, so I shall continue to live my life as I have been. That's all I can do.
I am so very mixed up in my brain as to how to feel about this. I really don't want to have it, but to have it is better than to have anything else, except chronic fatigue.
I feel that it is an unnecessary burden to Ron that I have cancer. The cost - right now, minimal - of this down the road boggles my mind, and he has NO idea. He doesn't deal with finances. There will be so many problems, money-wise, way more than what we have now, and we are already in a pretty deep hole. I've got us in a good place - on a ledge, as it were - in this deep hole, but until I get my disability settled and coming in, it's not what it should be. There is a tiny light shining at the top, though, and we'll keep focused on it!
But.....there it is.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
The End Begins....continued, as promised
March 31st
I went to my scheduled appointment with Dr. Ward. I had figured that he was going to order more blood tests and start trying to figure what kind of infection I may have.
Instead, he really threw me a curve ball and told me that because my lymphocytes were what was high (part of the white blood count), he was going to send me to a hematologist! Not just a hematologist, either, but a oncologist hematologist. And I don't know about you, but I certainly know what the word "oncologist" means! He and I also talked quite a while about the many things it could be - Epstein-Barr, Chronic Fatigue, Lymphoma, Lymphatic Leukemia, just to name a few - which is why he was not comfortable doing any more testing himself, and so it's off to the specialist.
As soon as I got out to the car, I called and made an appointment. Since I wanted to go over by Clermont Mercy Hospital, the first open appointment was April 18th. They wanted to get me in within a week, but I assured them that urgency wasn't necessary. This is more exploratory at this point, to try to figure things out, and a 2-week wait was okay with me.
Now, during this 2-week period, I did plenty of research. I researched high white blood count, and all of the 'diseases' that Doc had mentioned, and then I researched any others that came up while doing this research, including Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(s), so I felt that I was pretty well informed when the time for the appointment came. I also asked my friend Bert to come to the appointment with me, just for an extra set of ears and eyes, as well as a brain, to digest the information and possibly come up with questions.
April 18th
I felt ready for anything the hematologist would tell me. I knew what I thought would be the best thing to have - Chronic Fatigue - and that if it was anything worse than that, I would have to deal with what it was and deal with it then. I just needed a diagnosis to start from.
The day came, and the appointment went about as I expected. They first drew blood to compare my blood count with the one from March 25th. It was almost exactly the same, which, I suppose, was a good thing. As the doctor came in, I was surprised to see how young he was (I guessed early 40s - ye gods, I'm getting old!), but that's neither here nor there. We did the pleasantries, then got right down to business. He explained things very well, and he also said a lot of the things that I had read in my research, so it wasn't new to me. As the visit went on, he had me get up on the table so he could listen to my heart and all that, as usual. I told him about the lumps on my back that I thought were sebaceous cysts, but Ron, Doc, and Dr. Shiff couldn't feel them, and he tried to feel them, too, and could not. He also pressed up and down on my spine and I couldn't help reacting when he got down at the degenerated disc. I had told myself not to move, not to move, but it didn't matter - my body just jumped. Then I had to explain about the fall, the broken back and the degenerated disc, arthritis and all that. That part was frustrating!
We continued talking about all the what-it-could-bes and he said that he was pretty positive that it was asymptomatic Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, after listening to my answers to his questions and looking at my history and my blood counts and all. He will have to do a couple more blood tests to be positive, but that is what he is thinking. That was my second 'guess,' so I was rather relieved to hear him say that instead of anything else. It would have been nice if he had said Chronic Fatigue instead, but - not to be.
He ordered his blood tests, and they took my blood, and this visit is over. I will come back in 2 weeks to get the results, and, hopefully, my final diagnosis.
We go out to the car. I let my close family and friends know the news (the second best of the worst news!), and Bert and I go to lunch.
We went to Longhorn and I was good - I had one of my almost-perfect salads!
Now
Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. They used to call it "Smoldering Leukemia," because there is nothing to do but watch it. You, the patient, are asymptomatic, and they can only treat symptoms. As long as there are no symptoms, you are "fine." They will just keep an eye on you. If the white blood cells overwhelm the red cells, they will give you a transfusion of red blood cells. That's it.
TO BE CONTINUED...when there is something to tell!
I went to my scheduled appointment with Dr. Ward. I had figured that he was going to order more blood tests and start trying to figure what kind of infection I may have.
Instead, he really threw me a curve ball and told me that because my lymphocytes were what was high (part of the white blood count), he was going to send me to a hematologist! Not just a hematologist, either, but a oncologist hematologist. And I don't know about you, but I certainly know what the word "oncologist" means! He and I also talked quite a while about the many things it could be - Epstein-Barr, Chronic Fatigue, Lymphoma, Lymphatic Leukemia, just to name a few - which is why he was not comfortable doing any more testing himself, and so it's off to the specialist.
As soon as I got out to the car, I called and made an appointment. Since I wanted to go over by Clermont Mercy Hospital, the first open appointment was April 18th. They wanted to get me in within a week, but I assured them that urgency wasn't necessary. This is more exploratory at this point, to try to figure things out, and a 2-week wait was okay with me.
Now, during this 2-week period, I did plenty of research. I researched high white blood count, and all of the 'diseases' that Doc had mentioned, and then I researched any others that came up while doing this research, including Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(s), so I felt that I was pretty well informed when the time for the appointment came. I also asked my friend Bert to come to the appointment with me, just for an extra set of ears and eyes, as well as a brain, to digest the information and possibly come up with questions.
April 18th
I felt ready for anything the hematologist would tell me. I knew what I thought would be the best thing to have - Chronic Fatigue - and that if it was anything worse than that, I would have to deal with what it was and deal with it then. I just needed a diagnosis to start from.
The day came, and the appointment went about as I expected. They first drew blood to compare my blood count with the one from March 25th. It was almost exactly the same, which, I suppose, was a good thing. As the doctor came in, I was surprised to see how young he was (I guessed early 40s - ye gods, I'm getting old!), but that's neither here nor there. We did the pleasantries, then got right down to business. He explained things very well, and he also said a lot of the things that I had read in my research, so it wasn't new to me. As the visit went on, he had me get up on the table so he could listen to my heart and all that, as usual. I told him about the lumps on my back that I thought were sebaceous cysts, but Ron, Doc, and Dr. Shiff couldn't feel them, and he tried to feel them, too, and could not. He also pressed up and down on my spine and I couldn't help reacting when he got down at the degenerated disc. I had told myself not to move, not to move, but it didn't matter - my body just jumped. Then I had to explain about the fall, the broken back and the degenerated disc, arthritis and all that. That part was frustrating!
We continued talking about all the what-it-could-bes and he said that he was pretty positive that it was asymptomatic Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, after listening to my answers to his questions and looking at my history and my blood counts and all. He will have to do a couple more blood tests to be positive, but that is what he is thinking. That was my second 'guess,' so I was rather relieved to hear him say that instead of anything else. It would have been nice if he had said Chronic Fatigue instead, but - not to be.
He ordered his blood tests, and they took my blood, and this visit is over. I will come back in 2 weeks to get the results, and, hopefully, my final diagnosis.
We go out to the car. I let my close family and friends know the news (the second best of the worst news!), and Bert and I go to lunch.
We went to Longhorn and I was good - I had one of my almost-perfect salads!
Now
Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. They used to call it "Smoldering Leukemia," because there is nothing to do but watch it. You, the patient, are asymptomatic, and they can only treat symptoms. As long as there are no symptoms, you are "fine." They will just keep an eye on you. If the white blood cells overwhelm the red cells, they will give you a transfusion of red blood cells. That's it.
TO BE CONTINUED...when there is something to tell!
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
The End Begins? Or is it my brain?
I had a cardiologist appointment on March 21, 2016. It had been eight months since I had been to see him, so I was not really concerned with anything, but I was anxious to see what he would say to me because I don't really push myself about doing things and all.
The visit started with my weight, which was up because I had eaten lunch before going to this 2:00 appointment and my blood pressure being taken, as always happens. My blood pressure today is 90/50. Good grief!
When the doctor comes in, he does all his listening to my pulse points - ankles (where he sees a bruise), neck, belly (where he sees more bruises), and he blurts out, "Where do you get all these bruises?" and I told him that I don't know, they just show up. It's a happy day when I whack myself and I know where that bruise is gonna come from - the nurse chuckled at that. He tsked over that and kinda looked over my lower legs for more bruises while trying to keep it from me that he was doing so, but I had showed him the ones on my arms and I knew he had seen the ones on my belly, so it was no big deal to me.
We talked about the bruising and my different meds, and he finally decided to let me stop taking the baby aspirin every day. He wanted me to stay on the Plavix because of the stents - he didn't want to take the chance of anything interfering with them - so I am cheering inside "Yay! 1 less pill!" then we went on to discussing other things and up came my low blood pressure, and my history of low blood pressure. 100/50 here, 98/69 there, now 90/50 - he thought he should do something about that, too. One of the meds I am taking because of diabetes is to prevent high blood pressure and I'm going to assume it's doing its job very well, because he decided to take me off of that one, too. Trust me, inside I am now doing such a happy dance! Off 2 meds!! Hip, hip, hooray!
Going way over my allotted "15 minutes," we continued talking about this and that, and he decided to order a CBC (Complete Blood Count) just to make sure there wasn't something weird going on with my bruising. I didn't think so, but I deferred to his decision - what can it hurt to find out for sure? So he wrote it up and the nurse gave me the papers.
I left, and happy danced all the way out to my car!
The CBC is a fasting test, so I have to figure out which day is going to be the best day for me to drive somewhere and get this done. I know where I'm going - the lab in Milford, right beside Dr. Ward's office. I prefer this over either of the hospitals, with their endless paperwork and waiting. I finally choose to go on Friday, even though it's Good Friday and my lunch choices will be limited.
I get to the lab right at 12:30, just as I planned, figuring it would be less crowded during the lunch hour, and there's a big sign OUT TO LUNCH TODAY FROM 12:00 TO 1:00. Well, great. I was going to go to Meijer in Eastgate after my lunch, so I decided to go to the Meijer up on 28 to kill this half hour instead. I did so, then went back and let the vampires do their thing, then went to find myself some lunch. By this time, I was pretty hungry! After my lunch, I drove back up to Amelia and did my grocery shopping as planned. All in all, it was a pretty long day.
Late in the afternoon on Monday, March 28th, I got a phone call from the cardiologist. Actually, I got a message on the machine - I wasn't able to get to the phone. He said that my white blood count was very high and I needed to follow up with Dr. Ward as soon as I could.
Well, I already have an appointment in May, I thought. I wonder if that will do?
Not even ten minutes later, one of his assistants was calling. I was able to answer the phone that time, and I talked to her. She urged me to make an appointment with Dr. Ward, and I told her that I had one in May. She said that my white blood count was almost double what it should be, so my body was fighting some infection and do not wait until May. I told her that Dr. Gupta had said that he would be calling Dr. Ward, too, so I would wait to see if they called me because I didn't want to be crossing things up. She said that if I didn't hear from them to call that next afternoon and let them know Dr. Gupta wanted me seen. Wowza!
Luckily, Dr. Ward's office did call me on Tuesday, the 29th and now I have an appointment to go over and see him on Thursday the 31th. At 9:15. 9:15!! Yipes! I will have to get my lazy ass up out of bed and leave my house by 8:30....ai yi yi!
To Be Continued
The visit started with my weight, which was up because I had eaten lunch before going to this 2:00 appointment and my blood pressure being taken, as always happens. My blood pressure today is 90/50. Good grief!
When the doctor comes in, he does all his listening to my pulse points - ankles (where he sees a bruise), neck, belly (where he sees more bruises), and he blurts out, "Where do you get all these bruises?" and I told him that I don't know, they just show up. It's a happy day when I whack myself and I know where that bruise is gonna come from - the nurse chuckled at that. He tsked over that and kinda looked over my lower legs for more bruises while trying to keep it from me that he was doing so, but I had showed him the ones on my arms and I knew he had seen the ones on my belly, so it was no big deal to me.
We talked about the bruising and my different meds, and he finally decided to let me stop taking the baby aspirin every day. He wanted me to stay on the Plavix because of the stents - he didn't want to take the chance of anything interfering with them - so I am cheering inside "Yay! 1 less pill!" then we went on to discussing other things and up came my low blood pressure, and my history of low blood pressure. 100/50 here, 98/69 there, now 90/50 - he thought he should do something about that, too. One of the meds I am taking because of diabetes is to prevent high blood pressure and I'm going to assume it's doing its job very well, because he decided to take me off of that one, too. Trust me, inside I am now doing such a happy dance! Off 2 meds!! Hip, hip, hooray!
Going way over my allotted "15 minutes," we continued talking about this and that, and he decided to order a CBC (Complete Blood Count) just to make sure there wasn't something weird going on with my bruising. I didn't think so, but I deferred to his decision - what can it hurt to find out for sure? So he wrote it up and the nurse gave me the papers.
I left, and happy danced all the way out to my car!
The CBC is a fasting test, so I have to figure out which day is going to be the best day for me to drive somewhere and get this done. I know where I'm going - the lab in Milford, right beside Dr. Ward's office. I prefer this over either of the hospitals, with their endless paperwork and waiting. I finally choose to go on Friday, even though it's Good Friday and my lunch choices will be limited.
I get to the lab right at 12:30, just as I planned, figuring it would be less crowded during the lunch hour, and there's a big sign OUT TO LUNCH TODAY FROM 12:00 TO 1:00. Well, great. I was going to go to Meijer in Eastgate after my lunch, so I decided to go to the Meijer up on 28 to kill this half hour instead. I did so, then went back and let the vampires do their thing, then went to find myself some lunch. By this time, I was pretty hungry! After my lunch, I drove back up to Amelia and did my grocery shopping as planned. All in all, it was a pretty long day.
Late in the afternoon on Monday, March 28th, I got a phone call from the cardiologist. Actually, I got a message on the machine - I wasn't able to get to the phone. He said that my white blood count was very high and I needed to follow up with Dr. Ward as soon as I could.
Well, I already have an appointment in May, I thought. I wonder if that will do?
Not even ten minutes later, one of his assistants was calling. I was able to answer the phone that time, and I talked to her. She urged me to make an appointment with Dr. Ward, and I told her that I had one in May. She said that my white blood count was almost double what it should be, so my body was fighting some infection and do not wait until May. I told her that Dr. Gupta had said that he would be calling Dr. Ward, too, so I would wait to see if they called me because I didn't want to be crossing things up. She said that if I didn't hear from them to call that next afternoon and let them know Dr. Gupta wanted me seen. Wowza!
Luckily, Dr. Ward's office did call me on Tuesday, the 29th and now I have an appointment to go over and see him on Thursday the 31th. At 9:15. 9:15!! Yipes! I will have to get my lazy ass up out of bed and leave my house by 8:30....ai yi yi!
To Be Continued
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Siblings Vacation
I recently went on vacation with some of my siblings - not what we wanted, we wanted Ron to come on vacation with us, too, but he couldn't get the time off from work (the assholes), so it ended up being two of my sisters and me going up to New York to see one of our brothers.
For those of you who don't know, there are eight siblings altogether - four boys and four girls - so this would be half of the siblings getting together for a weekend. Since said brother lives in Niagara Falls, New York, this was gonna be a great get-away! We had never been up there, and had wanted to go, but never had the chance and everything just came together this time - except for Ron coming with us - and we were so ready!
I, of course, did all the planning and plotting, which was no big deal. That's what I do!
After the Bengals' schedule had come out and I knew that they would be in Buffalo in October instead of freezing late-season November or December, it was ON!
We planned for Friday to drive up, with lots of stops because of my back and all the "old lady" bladders, as well as one stop for a meal. Saturday would be our Tourist Day, giving us the whole day to see Niagara Falls and all the touristy things around the area, and Sunday would be Chip and I going to the football game to see the Bengals play while Ruth and Jean would, hopefully, have some friends meet them at our hotel to pass the day. Monday would be like Friday in reverse.
We saved all summer long. We planned all summer long. We anticipated all summer long!
Finally, October is here. We had a flurry of Instant Messages between the four of us, getting all the last-minute thises and thats taken care of. Chip reserved our hotel, because it wouldn't take long for the hotel to fill up because of the football weekend. I bought snacks and entertainment (puzzle books) for the weekend. I packed early; Ruth and Jean waited til practically the last day. (I must admit - I do have more clothes than they do!) and, eventually, time to go was upon us.
Early in October, I hit a deer with my car and knocked it out of commission. So, the should-we-rent-a-car question became a definite we-are-going-to-rent-a-car, which was a bit more expense than expected, but since we had already talked about it, not entirely a surprise.
Jean came up on Thursday - getting a whole extra day of vacation! - so we could drive down and get the rental car, come home and pack it, and be ready to take off early on Friday morning. Well, renting the car took a bit more than expected. The first place we went to only had one car on the lot and wanted to charge me three times the rate!! I told him, "I'm not doing this." and walked out. We then had to drive over to Eastgate and go through the whole rigamarole all over again. But, in the end, I left in a Hyundai Elantra and Jean followed in her truck.
We finally went to eat some lunch, then it was back home and the day went on as planned.
Friday went as it was supposed to. We got up and got on the road, stopping to pick Ruth up. This didn't take as long as I expected - I thought her grandchildren would be more clingy and crying - but everyone was cool, and off we went.
It was a beautiful drive! Such gorgeous Fall colors...absolutely gorgeous. Ruth had one of cameras and took all kinds of pictures for all of us. As we were close to Erie, PA, we even got to see Lake Erie, too! Our route had bypassed Cleveland, so that was our only chance to see the lake. We couldn't even tell it was the lake until Jean saw a boat moving on it! We thought it was just the horizon/sky....silly country girls we are!
We got to New York and let Chip know that we were close, and he set a meeting place for us. We got there, met up with him, and he led us to our hotel. We got checked in and moved in, then went to Chip's Ponderosa (he's an assistant manager) for our supper, which took us a while because Chip had gone to get Ruth's daughter so we could see her while we were there, too. After our meal, and after making arrangements for 'tomorrow,' we went back to the hotel and crashed.
Saturday was wonderful!! It was a little bit colder than we expected - we had only brought jackets with us, not coats, and Saturday ended up being only in the mid-40s for the high temperature! Ai yi yi! We bought what is called a Discovery Pass, which gave us admission to five attractions for a very reasonable price - a savings of 36%! - and a pass to ride the trolley all day. We saw a movie about the Falls, then went to the Falls themself since the sun was shining.
I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MAGNIFICENT THE NIAGARA FALLS ARE. Really. There are not good enough words to describe them. Awesome. Powerful. Mighty. None of these words do the Falls justice....they are simply amazing.
Just walking out onto the Overlook, then onto the Observation Deck to see them - to feel and hear them - was stunning. Then we got to go out on the Maid of the Mist, which is the boat that goes right to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls after going past the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. It is so awe-inspiring! The power of the water coming over each of these is amazing - again, to see, hear, and feel the mist is like nothing else!! I took a bazillion pictures, of course.
When you go on the Maid of the Mist, they give you a blue poncho to wear. We were all laughing that we were Smurfs - but at least we were dry Smurfs. All but our legs, anyway.
After the boat ride was over, we went to walk the Cave of the Winds, which goes right up to Bridal Veil Falls. Right. Up. To.
They give you yellow ponchos, so now you are a lemon! They also give you skid-free (skid-proof?) sandals because they don't want anyone slipping while walking up there. Trust me, you get soaked doing this - soaked! Up to the knees and up to the elbows, especially if you keep raising your arms to take pictures, like I did.
Eventually, you get to what they call the "hurricane deck" which is where the water is coming over the Falls directly onto you - and it is r.o.u.g.h.!! I couldn't do it - I tried, but I couldn't even take two steps, so had to skirt around the edges.
Also, while I was doing this walk, I was using my indestructible camera, not my good camera - just in case - and (guess what?) I even took pictures right on that hurricane deck! That is one wicked little camera!
By the time I was done, none of my siblings were to be found. (Surprise!) So, I ventured to the exit and there they all were, waiting for me and my cameras. Ha! After I finally got my real shoes back on, we went on the trolley and on to the next attraction.
The only thing we didn't do was the Aquarium, but we are spoiled by the one here, so we were okay with that.
We were exhausted after this exhilarating day, but we stopped for our supper at Denny's, then back to the hotel and it was an early night for us again.
On Sunday morning, Chip came to pick me up for our trip to the football game. We both dressed as warm as we could, because not only is it supposed to be mid-40s again - now snow is in the forecast! We left Ruth and Jean at the hotel and started out. It was a pretty drive, skirting Buffalo and going to Orchard Park, NY to the stadium. We parked very close to the stadium, which cost us dearly, but it was worth it according to my back. We walked in, seeing a LOT of other Bengals fans. As we walked into the stadium, true to the forecast, it did start to snow. Big hard flakes that you could hear hitting you! We found our seats - up in the nosebleeds, of course - and once we got there, we stayed there. We were only an hour early, and the wind let us know that 'it's football weather, man!' as the wind froze our noses and the snow came and went. I just sat there and took pictures as the stadium filled. Once the game started, I quit taking pictures and just watched the game (and missed my recliner, my huge TV, and instant replay with close-ups) and enjoyed watching my Bengals beat the crap outta those Bills! It was great!
Chip and I stopped at a Buffalo Wild Wings for our supper on the way home. I texted Ruth and Jean to find out if they needed supper brought to them. Jean - no. Ruth - yes. We did that and went back to the hotel. Chip came in to say his good-byes and that was that. Another early evening for us.
Monday morning, we got up and got back on the road, getting home around 4:30 after a stop for lunch along the way. I swear, all three of us were pushing on the floorboards of the car, trying to get us home that much faster! (It didn't work...)
We dropped Ruth and her stuff off. Jean and I got back here, and she lost no time in getting her stuff in her truck and heading for her own home.
We had a wonderful time, and we're so glad we went, but oh! how we were so glad to be home!
If you don't already, please put Niagara Falls on your list of things you want to see one day - you will not be sorry. It's only 7 or 8 hours away, and very much worth it.
For those of you who don't know, there are eight siblings altogether - four boys and four girls - so this would be half of the siblings getting together for a weekend. Since said brother lives in Niagara Falls, New York, this was gonna be a great get-away! We had never been up there, and had wanted to go, but never had the chance and everything just came together this time - except for Ron coming with us - and we were so ready!
I, of course, did all the planning and plotting, which was no big deal. That's what I do!
After the Bengals' schedule had come out and I knew that they would be in Buffalo in October instead of freezing late-season November or December, it was ON!
We planned for Friday to drive up, with lots of stops because of my back and all the "old lady" bladders, as well as one stop for a meal. Saturday would be our Tourist Day, giving us the whole day to see Niagara Falls and all the touristy things around the area, and Sunday would be Chip and I going to the football game to see the Bengals play while Ruth and Jean would, hopefully, have some friends meet them at our hotel to pass the day. Monday would be like Friday in reverse.
We saved all summer long. We planned all summer long. We anticipated all summer long!
Finally, October is here. We had a flurry of Instant Messages between the four of us, getting all the last-minute thises and thats taken care of. Chip reserved our hotel, because it wouldn't take long for the hotel to fill up because of the football weekend. I bought snacks and entertainment (puzzle books) for the weekend. I packed early; Ruth and Jean waited til practically the last day. (I must admit - I do have more clothes than they do!) and, eventually, time to go was upon us.
Early in October, I hit a deer with my car and knocked it out of commission. So, the should-we-rent-a-car question became a definite we-are-going-to-rent-a-car, which was a bit more expense than expected, but since we had already talked about it, not entirely a surprise.
Jean came up on Thursday - getting a whole extra day of vacation! - so we could drive down and get the rental car, come home and pack it, and be ready to take off early on Friday morning. Well, renting the car took a bit more than expected. The first place we went to only had one car on the lot and wanted to charge me three times the rate!! I told him, "I'm not doing this." and walked out. We then had to drive over to Eastgate and go through the whole rigamarole all over again. But, in the end, I left in a Hyundai Elantra and Jean followed in her truck.
We finally went to eat some lunch, then it was back home and the day went on as planned.
Friday went as it was supposed to. We got up and got on the road, stopping to pick Ruth up. This didn't take as long as I expected - I thought her grandchildren would be more clingy and crying - but everyone was cool, and off we went.
It was a beautiful drive! Such gorgeous Fall colors...absolutely gorgeous. Ruth had one of cameras and took all kinds of pictures for all of us. As we were close to Erie, PA, we even got to see Lake Erie, too! Our route had bypassed Cleveland, so that was our only chance to see the lake. We couldn't even tell it was the lake until Jean saw a boat moving on it! We thought it was just the horizon/sky....silly country girls we are!
We got to New York and let Chip know that we were close, and he set a meeting place for us. We got there, met up with him, and he led us to our hotel. We got checked in and moved in, then went to Chip's Ponderosa (he's an assistant manager) for our supper, which took us a while because Chip had gone to get Ruth's daughter so we could see her while we were there, too. After our meal, and after making arrangements for 'tomorrow,' we went back to the hotel and crashed.
Saturday was wonderful!! It was a little bit colder than we expected - we had only brought jackets with us, not coats, and Saturday ended up being only in the mid-40s for the high temperature! Ai yi yi! We bought what is called a Discovery Pass, which gave us admission to five attractions for a very reasonable price - a savings of 36%! - and a pass to ride the trolley all day. We saw a movie about the Falls, then went to the Falls themself since the sun was shining.
I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MAGNIFICENT THE NIAGARA FALLS ARE. Really. There are not good enough words to describe them. Awesome. Powerful. Mighty. None of these words do the Falls justice....they are simply amazing.
Just walking out onto the Overlook, then onto the Observation Deck to see them - to feel and hear them - was stunning. Then we got to go out on the Maid of the Mist, which is the boat that goes right to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls after going past the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. It is so awe-inspiring! The power of the water coming over each of these is amazing - again, to see, hear, and feel the mist is like nothing else!! I took a bazillion pictures, of course.
When you go on the Maid of the Mist, they give you a blue poncho to wear. We were all laughing that we were Smurfs - but at least we were dry Smurfs. All but our legs, anyway.
After the boat ride was over, we went to walk the Cave of the Winds, which goes right up to Bridal Veil Falls. Right. Up. To.
They give you yellow ponchos, so now you are a lemon! They also give you skid-free (skid-proof?) sandals because they don't want anyone slipping while walking up there. Trust me, you get soaked doing this - soaked! Up to the knees and up to the elbows, especially if you keep raising your arms to take pictures, like I did.
Eventually, you get to what they call the "hurricane deck" which is where the water is coming over the Falls directly onto you - and it is r.o.u.g.h.!! I couldn't do it - I tried, but I couldn't even take two steps, so had to skirt around the edges.
Also, while I was doing this walk, I was using my indestructible camera, not my good camera - just in case - and (guess what?) I even took pictures right on that hurricane deck! That is one wicked little camera!
By the time I was done, none of my siblings were to be found. (Surprise!) So, I ventured to the exit and there they all were, waiting for me and my cameras. Ha! After I finally got my real shoes back on, we went on the trolley and on to the next attraction.
The only thing we didn't do was the Aquarium, but we are spoiled by the one here, so we were okay with that.
We were exhausted after this exhilarating day, but we stopped for our supper at Denny's, then back to the hotel and it was an early night for us again.
On Sunday morning, Chip came to pick me up for our trip to the football game. We both dressed as warm as we could, because not only is it supposed to be mid-40s again - now snow is in the forecast! We left Ruth and Jean at the hotel and started out. It was a pretty drive, skirting Buffalo and going to Orchard Park, NY to the stadium. We parked very close to the stadium, which cost us dearly, but it was worth it according to my back. We walked in, seeing a LOT of other Bengals fans. As we walked into the stadium, true to the forecast, it did start to snow. Big hard flakes that you could hear hitting you! We found our seats - up in the nosebleeds, of course - and once we got there, we stayed there. We were only an hour early, and the wind let us know that 'it's football weather, man!' as the wind froze our noses and the snow came and went. I just sat there and took pictures as the stadium filled. Once the game started, I quit taking pictures and just watched the game (and missed my recliner, my huge TV, and instant replay with close-ups) and enjoyed watching my Bengals beat the crap outta those Bills! It was great!
Chip and I stopped at a Buffalo Wild Wings for our supper on the way home. I texted Ruth and Jean to find out if they needed supper brought to them. Jean - no. Ruth - yes. We did that and went back to the hotel. Chip came in to say his good-byes and that was that. Another early evening for us.
Monday morning, we got up and got back on the road, getting home around 4:30 after a stop for lunch along the way. I swear, all three of us were pushing on the floorboards of the car, trying to get us home that much faster! (It didn't work...)
We dropped Ruth and her stuff off. Jean and I got back here, and she lost no time in getting her stuff in her truck and heading for her own home.
We had a wonderful time, and we're so glad we went, but oh! how we were so glad to be home!
If you don't already, please put Niagara Falls on your list of things you want to see one day - you will not be sorry. It's only 7 or 8 hours away, and very much worth it.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Life without internet...
July 14, 2015
Well, I hope y'all have missed me, because I have certainly missed y'all!
On Monday, June 29th, my internet here at home went out. Just - poof - it was gone. I had been on my pute earlier that day, and was on my tablet while sitting in the recliner, when it told me that I was no longer connected. I just thought, "Huh, that's kinda weird," and kept on playing my games (that don't really need internet) and, later, when I got back on the pute, I tried all the tricks I knew to hook my internet back up but nothing worked. I spent the next couple of days trying and re-trying these same tricks, but no go. I finally called Verizon on July 1st, and the fun began.
I called them back on the 7th because I still didn't have internet. "Oh, there's no record...." and I broke in and told them the date, time, and who I spoke to, was transferred to, and what I was told. "OH! Here it is. Hmmm, that ticket was never submitted." Wonderful. After I disconnected the call while trying to do what he was suggesting, I had to call back (because they didn't) and, of course, got a different batch of people. (I HATE THAT!) After going through the whole spiel again, this guy finally declared that my little Mifi thingy piece is dead (ya think?) and he must submit a ticket so I can get a new one (yeah, he was a winner...). So...the ticket was submitted. I should have what I need day after tomorrow.
I called them back on the evening of the 9th because I still hadn't received anything from FedEx that day. "There's nothing in the records..." I broke in with all the dates, times, and names, and - voila! - she found the whole story! "Oh, it looks like the order survey wasn't done at the end to process the order." I informed her that it was done, because I have the confirmation number, but she insists that the computer says it wasn't. Sigh. So, she goes to that survey with me, and listens to me doing it (again) and getting my confirmation number (again) and she says now the computer says it has been done. So I'll get my piece by FedEx day after tomorrow. She did offer to see if she could get a manager to possibly overnight it, but I declined, saying that this has already taken long enough, I didn't want to throw a monkey wrench into the works on purpose. She laughed (chuckled), saying she understood how I felt, and that she'd probably feel the same way or worse.
Well, guess what happened on Saturday the 11th?? Not a damn thing. I just took a LOT of deep breaths and told myself to wait until Monday, because I knew it was a weekend, and I am me and I wasn't surprised, was I?
Monday the 13th, a little after 12 - FINALLY - the FedEx truck pulled into the driveway and I got my new piece. Hip, hip, hooray!!
Don't you know, though, I had company and couldn't mess with it at that time. Then the thunderstorm from hell happened and the electric went out for over four hours and I sure didn't feel like messing with it after that. I told myself that Tuesday, all day Tuesday, was going to be good enough for messing with it. I did figure out how to put in the SIM card and get it plugged in and charged, so it would be ready to go in the morning.
Tuesday the 14th. THE day. It's gonna happen, right??
Well, not right away. My daughter-in-law texted me first thing this morning and needs me to go down to the Verizon store with her, my sister, and my grandson (that's a long story, trust me) to get my sister a new phone because hers is slowly dying. So....off I go, and, yes, we stopped and ate lunch at the Mexican place by Kroger, then we had to stop at WalMart on the way home, too. We didn't get home until oh, 2:30, 3:00.
Jean and I were looking at this new piece and trying to figure out how to set it up, since that part didn't come with instructions. "Oh, it'll be right on the computer screen," I was told over and over. Hahahahahahahahaha. They don't know ME.
I finally had to call Verizon again, and they all left and here I am on the phone again for a couple of hours. It was determined that my pute found the new thingie but Windows would not allow the connection, so we had to come up with different passwords for pute and tablet and reset everything and a huge thunderstorm blows in and poof goes the electricity again. shitshitshit
After the electricity comes back on, and I finally decide I am ready to deal with this again, I go back to the pute. AND. IT. WORKED. IT WORKED!!!!
Whatever we (me and the Verizon lady) had done before the electricity went out was just enough so that when the electricity came back on (also known as restarting the pute), it worked correctly!!!
OMG!! <happy dance>
15 days without internet at home is 14 days too long in this day and age.
Well, I hope y'all have missed me, because I have certainly missed y'all!
On Monday, June 29th, my internet here at home went out. Just - poof - it was gone. I had been on my pute earlier that day, and was on my tablet while sitting in the recliner, when it told me that I was no longer connected. I just thought, "Huh, that's kinda weird," and kept on playing my games (that don't really need internet) and, later, when I got back on the pute, I tried all the tricks I knew to hook my internet back up but nothing worked. I spent the next couple of days trying and re-trying these same tricks, but no go. I finally called Verizon on July 1st, and the fun began.
I called them back on the 7th because I still didn't have internet. "Oh, there's no record...." and I broke in and told them the date, time, and who I spoke to, was transferred to, and what I was told. "OH! Here it is. Hmmm, that ticket was never submitted." Wonderful. After I disconnected the call while trying to do what he was suggesting, I had to call back (because they didn't) and, of course, got a different batch of people. (I HATE THAT!) After going through the whole spiel again, this guy finally declared that my little Mifi thingy piece is dead (ya think?) and he must submit a ticket so I can get a new one (yeah, he was a winner...). So...the ticket was submitted. I should have what I need day after tomorrow.
I called them back on the evening of the 9th because I still hadn't received anything from FedEx that day. "There's nothing in the records..." I broke in with all the dates, times, and names, and - voila! - she found the whole story! "Oh, it looks like the order survey wasn't done at the end to process the order." I informed her that it was done, because I have the confirmation number, but she insists that the computer says it wasn't. Sigh. So, she goes to that survey with me, and listens to me doing it (again) and getting my confirmation number (again) and she says now the computer says it has been done. So I'll get my piece by FedEx day after tomorrow. She did offer to see if she could get a manager to possibly overnight it, but I declined, saying that this has already taken long enough, I didn't want to throw a monkey wrench into the works on purpose. She laughed (chuckled), saying she understood how I felt, and that she'd probably feel the same way or worse.
Well, guess what happened on Saturday the 11th?? Not a damn thing. I just took a LOT of deep breaths and told myself to wait until Monday, because I knew it was a weekend, and I am me and I wasn't surprised, was I?
Monday the 13th, a little after 12 - FINALLY - the FedEx truck pulled into the driveway and I got my new piece. Hip, hip, hooray!!
Don't you know, though, I had company and couldn't mess with it at that time. Then the thunderstorm from hell happened and the electric went out for over four hours and I sure didn't feel like messing with it after that. I told myself that Tuesday, all day Tuesday, was going to be good enough for messing with it. I did figure out how to put in the SIM card and get it plugged in and charged, so it would be ready to go in the morning.
Tuesday the 14th. THE day. It's gonna happen, right??
Well, not right away. My daughter-in-law texted me first thing this morning and needs me to go down to the Verizon store with her, my sister, and my grandson (that's a long story, trust me) to get my sister a new phone because hers is slowly dying. So....off I go, and, yes, we stopped and ate lunch at the Mexican place by Kroger, then we had to stop at WalMart on the way home, too. We didn't get home until oh, 2:30, 3:00.
Jean and I were looking at this new piece and trying to figure out how to set it up, since that part didn't come with instructions. "Oh, it'll be right on the computer screen," I was told over and over. Hahahahahahahahaha. They don't know ME.
I finally had to call Verizon again, and they all left and here I am on the phone again for a couple of hours. It was determined that my pute found the new thingie but Windows would not allow the connection, so we had to come up with different passwords for pute and tablet and reset everything and a huge thunderstorm blows in and poof goes the electricity again. shitshitshit
After the electricity comes back on, and I finally decide I am ready to deal with this again, I go back to the pute. AND. IT. WORKED. IT WORKED!!!!
Whatever we (me and the Verizon lady) had done before the electricity went out was just enough so that when the electricity came back on (also known as restarting the pute), it worked correctly!!!
OMG!! <happy dance>
15 days without internet at home is 14 days too long in this day and age.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Turning left (or right) around the world
I had to drive down to WalMart this morning. Now, this, in and of itself, is not a big deal. But I got stuck behind someone who had their blinker on. And never turned. Ever. Evidently, they had switched lanes somewhere and not turned it off. We usually look at each other and say, "Looks like they are turning left (or right, whichever) around the world." And the other person just chuckles and agrees, and the conversation goes back to whatever it was. But, oh, how this bugs the living crap out of me! My blinkers in my last three cars blinked so loud that there was no doubt that they were blinking.
The blinkers are there as a warning system, or symbol, and to leave it on, or to turn it on blocks early, is not a "warning." By the time you get to where you are turning, the people behind you have given up on you turning! I say - if it blinks more than 10 - 15 times, that's too much!!
I try not to turn my blinker on until where my turn is, is the next turn. I don't turn my blinker on and then pass 2 roads and 6 driveways before I turn into my driveway, I turn on the blinker as I pass the driveway 2 doors down (coming from town), or Hoover Road (coming from Felicity). Plenty of warning for vehicles behind me, seeing that I am also slowing down!
We live in a small town with regular blocks. As you come into town, people who are turning at 133/Main Street light turn on their blinkers BEFORE they pass the intersection before this intersection. Yes, driving two whole blocks before they get to where they are turning! Like this: <<blinker on>> Then pass an auto parts store, an antique store/A/C dude combo, an old hotel (no drive - it's on the side street), an intersection, a funeral home driveway, the funeral home parking lot, the parking lot for the dime store, THEN the 133/Main Street intersection where they are turning, and their blinkers have been on this whole time! The first block mentioned is also only one lane, yet everyone pulls to the right, because as you get the main section of town, it splits into two lanes and no one can seem to wait that long. Me? I hang in the center until I have to choose which lane I need and make people mad! LOL They either go around me, going over the double yellow into oncoming traffic, or just wait. Makes my day. It's only one lane, people!! And turn your freaking blinker off!!
The blinkers are there as a warning system, or symbol, and to leave it on, or to turn it on blocks early, is not a "warning." By the time you get to where you are turning, the people behind you have given up on you turning! I say - if it blinks more than 10 - 15 times, that's too much!!
I try not to turn my blinker on until where my turn is, is the next turn. I don't turn my blinker on and then pass 2 roads and 6 driveways before I turn into my driveway, I turn on the blinker as I pass the driveway 2 doors down (coming from town), or Hoover Road (coming from Felicity). Plenty of warning for vehicles behind me, seeing that I am also slowing down!
We live in a small town with regular blocks. As you come into town, people who are turning at 133/Main Street light turn on their blinkers BEFORE they pass the intersection before this intersection. Yes, driving two whole blocks before they get to where they are turning! Like this: <<blinker on>> Then pass an auto parts store, an antique store/A/C dude combo, an old hotel (no drive - it's on the side street), an intersection, a funeral home driveway, the funeral home parking lot, the parking lot for the dime store, THEN the 133/Main Street intersection where they are turning, and their blinkers have been on this whole time! The first block mentioned is also only one lane, yet everyone pulls to the right, because as you get the main section of town, it splits into two lanes and no one can seem to wait that long. Me? I hang in the center until I have to choose which lane I need and make people mad! LOL They either go around me, going over the double yellow into oncoming traffic, or just wait. Makes my day. It's only one lane, people!! And turn your freaking blinker off!!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Public restroom TP dispensers....
I am convinced that MAN designed public restrooms, especially women's, and then designed the toilet paper dispensers to place in them, as well as where to place them.
First of all, they are in the most inconvenient of places. They are either up so high only a person at least 7 foot tall, with appropriate length arms is able to reach the roll, or down so low that a person must do contortions to reach the roll. Then, also, they are so big and bulky (the bigger the better!), and so close to the toilet that a woman can't do the things she needs to do without coming away with bumps, scrapes, and bruises, especially certain times of a month.
Now, some of this is the business's fault - they are the ones who choose what to put in there, but, c'mon. Why, even in a huge store like WalMart or Kroger, do you need a roll of toilet paper as big around as a tractor tire? I understand that you don't want people to steal single rolls of toilet paper, and I understand that you (a business) can't trust anyone any more, but is the cost of these tractor-tire toilet paper wheels really worth it? When a person using the toilet has to use three times the amount of toilet paper because the toilet paper is so thin and so ~~ugh, papery~~that to make it anyway near soft enough, we must pull and pull and pull (and it break and break and break) to make a "soft" enough pad to wipe with? The restrooms are NEVER clean, are NEVER well-stocked, even those with those handy-dandy little checklists on the backs of the doors. They might have the little checkmarks on them, but someone is lying. Checking should not be that bad of a job that no one wants to do it. Why can it not be up to a MANAGER to make sure it is done? The cleaning is a whole nother story, of course, but the checking...
Now, about the toilet paper hanging of the end of the roll...
Ladies, how many of you have gone into a public restroom and sat there and cussed because you can't find the end of the toilet paper? <Looking around for hands raised.>
Okay, we're all done with what we've came to do. How many just rip the toilet paper quickly at the roll when it needed, and how many tear it so there is a bit left hanging, and how many have checked to make sure there is a little bit of toilet paper hanging for the next person? Hmmmmmm?
First of all, they are in the most inconvenient of places. They are either up so high only a person at least 7 foot tall, with appropriate length arms is able to reach the roll, or down so low that a person must do contortions to reach the roll. Then, also, they are so big and bulky (the bigger the better!), and so close to the toilet that a woman can't do the things she needs to do without coming away with bumps, scrapes, and bruises, especially certain times of a month.
Now, some of this is the business's fault - they are the ones who choose what to put in there, but, c'mon. Why, even in a huge store like WalMart or Kroger, do you need a roll of toilet paper as big around as a tractor tire? I understand that you don't want people to steal single rolls of toilet paper, and I understand that you (a business) can't trust anyone any more, but is the cost of these tractor-tire toilet paper wheels really worth it? When a person using the toilet has to use three times the amount of toilet paper because the toilet paper is so thin and so ~~ugh, papery~~that to make it anyway near soft enough, we must pull and pull and pull (and it break and break and break) to make a "soft" enough pad to wipe with? The restrooms are NEVER clean, are NEVER well-stocked, even those with those handy-dandy little checklists on the backs of the doors. They might have the little checkmarks on them, but someone is lying. Checking should not be that bad of a job that no one wants to do it. Why can it not be up to a MANAGER to make sure it is done? The cleaning is a whole nother story, of course, but the checking...
Now, about the toilet paper hanging of the end of the roll...
Ladies, how many of you have gone into a public restroom and sat there and cussed because you can't find the end of the toilet paper? <Looking around for hands raised.>
Okay, we're all done with what we've came to do. How many just rip the toilet paper quickly at the roll when it needed, and how many tear it so there is a bit left hanging, and how many have checked to make sure there is a little bit of toilet paper hanging for the next person? Hmmmmmm?
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