July 2016

OK... on to July! The first week in July Scott was off as it was Plant shut down week and we spent the week in Cayce working on the house. It was miserably hot with the heat index as high as 114*F.

I got the shed completely painted and then later in the month we discovered the gal that mixed our paint had given us Interior instead of Exterior paint. We were devastated and went back to Home Depot with the issue and long story short they met us about half way after a call to Corporate and refunded us the cost of 4 gallons of paint. Since we are planning to sell the house in the New Year we have decided to press forward and not repaint the shed as it was a LOT of work. Hopefully it will last the new owners a good while anyway and in all likely hood they will repaint as soon as they move in.

I am still dealing with an Insurance issue for the so called FREE Pair of Diabetic shoes. On July 11th I called and talked with "ASIA" at the Insurance company and told her that Advance Prosthetics had called the Insurance company before preparing my shoes and they were told the shoes and inserts were covered and this was way back in April. After some time away from me on that phone call Asia came back and said that they would pay the remaining $200 as they had misquoted when Advance Prosthetics had called them. Guess what I just got another call from Advance Prosthetics saying they had not been paid. UGH! I have all ready paid them $236 out of my pocket and had hoped the Insurance Company would follow through. SO... next week I will be calling the Insurance AGAIN in the hopes they will resolve this as I really don't want to pay another $200 for "FREE" shoes. And next year I am going to tell my Doctor forget about it when she mentions FREE shoes again. I can buy several pairs of Nike's for that price. This whole situation is ridiculous! Hopefully it will work out soon or I will have to pay the balance so our credit rating isn't affected by it all.

I went back to  the Doctor on the 14th for blood work and things are looking a LOT better. My A1C is down to normal at 6.0. I am hoping when I go back on October I will be able to come off some of the medications I am on at the moment. I am currently taking:

Levothyroxine 50 MCG - 1 tablet a day

Metformin 1000 MG - 1 tablet twice a day

Ranitidine (Zantac) 150 MG - 1 tablet twice a day

Losartan 25 MG - 1 tablet a day

A multivitamin - COMPLETE Senior

AND

If I over use my neck I have a prescription for Baclofen 10 MG that I can take up to 3 tablets a day do reduce spasms. The doctor also believes I may have Arthritis in my neck. 

She and I have also discussed the possibility of pinched nerves in my neck and shoulders and she is thinking I may need to have EMG run later in the year. I am going back to her in October for a PAP Smear and blood work and we will discuss the nerve issues some more then I am sure. Ah getting older is GREAT!... at least I am still mobile and alert... and I hope I stay that way for at least another 30 years.

AH Scott's car! Well the problems just got worse and worse and yep... we bought out second transmission this year. Now we are hoping nothing else goes wrong with it until after it is paid for... we still owe over $14,000 on it and did not expect this to happen at all as my Buick went for years needing nothing done but oil changes. So now both cars have rebuilt transmissions and we are so thankful to JD Walker Transmission for taking such good care of our cars.

On July 24th we listed our 10 acres in Winnsboro, South Carolina for sale with Betty McGinnis. We just decided that we needed to just let go that dream as it is no longer in the cards and we need the cash to buy land up here in the Upstate. So far no offers have come in but we are hoping it will sell soon so we can start making plans for the rest of our lives up here. We are hoping to find 3 to 5 Acres to have a Deltec home put up. I love the idea of living in a round home. My Favorite plan is  the Chesapeake floorpan B .  I ADORE that wonderful Pantry closet and how they other 2 bedrooms are on the opposite side of the house. It's not a huge house and that is perfect for Scott and I.

On July 30th Scott and I took a day to hike on Paris Mountain... it was a GORGEOUS day to hike. 

Being the silly goofs that we are we ended the day on the highest level of difficulty with the most difficult trail on the mountain at a 9 out of 10. When we rounded a bend and I looked up to see this wall of steps I thought we would die and the hike was up all the way... straight up! To say we were sore the next couple of days would be putting it mildly. I was so thankfully for the picnic back pack Scott's work gave to him as we carried water and snacks and were so thankful to have them. We  need to do hikes like this more often as it was exhausting but SOOOO worth it! 

As soon as Scott gets home from work we will be driving down to our house in Cayce to work on it some and hopefully get ahead on the painting. So much to do before the weather turns cold. I would love to be done with all the outside painting before October so we can get the new roof put on and then get to work on the rooms indoors. Baby steps... each weekend is a baby step. 

Have a GREAT weekend everyone.

JUNE

OK... lets do a condensed version of June. THe car and home owners Insurance came due... ugh about $4000. UGH! I will have to remember this for next year so I can have the total saved up.

We went to Bocca Pure Italian for Scott's Birthday.
 It was DELICIOUS!

June 3rd my Sweetheart (aka Scott) turned 57 and then on  the 4th of June we drove to Atlanta to get Scott's Uncles' old truck from Scott's sisters' as she needed it out of her driveway and we really needed something we could get things from Home Depot in as our old Ford now belongs to Greg (son). Plus Scott's car started acting strangely and on and off throughout June it was in the shop but no one could figure out what was wrong with it. More to come on  that in July.

On June 6th I had a Mammogram and thankfully it was all clear. No signs of cancer at all.


On June 7th this little turtle came for a visit...

This little fellow comes for a visit nearly every time it rains.
He is so friendly and loves to hear me talk to him.

We've been treating the dogs for fleas and heartworms so they don't get them again. Heartworms are horrendous to get rid of and SO EXPENSIVE. SO far both dogs are clear and healthy.... just getting old.

I created a few things during  the month of June....

A tiny tote from a placemat.

We pulled the old mailbox out of  the gully and I hand painted a flower garden with a few bunnies and a fox hanging out amongst the flowers.

On June 18th we decided we HAD TO HAVE some Iannucci's so we made the hour long drive up there for dinner. They have THE BEST Sour Dough Sesame rolls EVER!!!!

Are you sensing a theme for June as far as Eateries goes? 

On the last weekend in June I started getting  the lawn into shape. The front bushes are all now neat and trimmed. I still need to mulch around all of them to make it look nice and clean before we list the house and there is still a lot of painting to do as well as a new roof to be put on by someone other than us.

This was the "before" shot

And this was me "after"

I guess this about catches you all up on June. July will have to wait until tomorrow morning.

WOW! From Spring to Fall

Well here it is nearly September already and I have been away for such a long time. We are still living between two Cities and we are both growing weary of it and a LOT has happened since May. I don't have my Calendar with me at the moment so I will save the past few months for another post or two so I won't bore you all to tears all at once.

 I also need to catch up with all my Blogger Friends as well. BUTTONS HOW ARE YOU? I am so sorry I have been away so long but will be popping over to your Blog shortly to try and catch up.

I definitely need to make my Blog my first task of everyday once again now that I am a fulltime homemaker once again... thats right no more crazy work hours and lots more time for gardening, home care as well as crafting. Well eventually... as right now my time is spent keeping the cottage that Scott's wonderful sister is letting us use neat and tidy and on the road back to this house in Cayce keeping it clean and making repairs.  Our plan is to list this place at the beginning of the New Year.

I came down here yesterday as I had made an appointment for the Heating and cooling system to be checked out and to get a new whole house filter installed. The Technician called saying he was going to be running a little late as the warehouse gave him the wrong filter for our system... UGH! I was hoping to be back in Greenville by Noon.

I know this will sound crazy but Scott and I will be back down here tomorrow night for  the weekend to do some painting and yard work. We are down here nearly every weekend as we have SO much work to get done down here. It all takes so much time and we are staying exhausted for the most part. We do however take a weekend off of repairs and do something fun or drive around looking at property in the Greenville area about once a month. It may be March before we have this place ready now instead of January first but we will get there.

We have already listed our 10 acres for sale in Winnsboro and we are hoping it will sell soon so we can have that money to buy a piece of land to build on in the Upstate of SC. Here is the listing... https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/sc/winnsboro/0-douglas-road/pid_13598615/

Well there will be more to come tomorrow morning!

Beginning Of May

I made a few more cards to send out in mail. I made the flowers on these cards as well and really love how they turned out.

 On May 3rd I had a Colonoscopy and everything checked out perfectly - no signs of Cancer or Polyps so I won't have to have another one until I am 62 years old - 10 YEARS! I am thrilled about that to be sure.

On May 6th we drove down to our house in Cayce in hopes of getting a LOT done toward preparing the house for the new roof so we can get it closer to a good selling point. There is so much that needs to be done down there before the end of the year. Of course our Grandkitty - Piper was as thrilled to see us as we were to see her. Lots of LOVIN~ all around. She is getting so big compared to the tiny little thing I brought home to  Greg at Christmas.

She always tries to hold Scott down in the recliner as I truly believe she thinks Scott "takes me away" from her.

On Mothers Day I got up early and made this card for my Mother-in-law to go along with the shawl I crocheted for her to wear at Church when she gets to feeling chilly. She loved them both.

Wednesday May 11th was our 31rst Wedding Anniversary and we spent the day just exploring together and could not resist taking photos of this old store. 

On May 12th I had an Umbilical Hernia Repaired and am now recovering from that; recovery time is 4 to 6 weeks. NO HEAVY lifting makes me glad I am not working Retail anymore. Here are some before pictures of the Hernia...

You can see how far it portruded and how the "roof" of my belly button had caved in. It was quite large and they had to use surgical mesh to make the repair  hold everything they freed up back inside my muscle wall. I am hoping and praying I never get another one. Here are  a few pictures from Friday - the day after surgery; quite swollen and has a green tinge because of what they used to clean my belly to make it a sterail environment to ward off infection. I had a full bag of antibiotics before they began the surgery and no signs of infection as of today.

AND YES I know I need to loose 40 to 50 pounds... just so you know I KNOW. I go back to the surgeon on the 26th and am so glad this step is nearly all behind me and we are both so thankful to have a team of Dr's that seem to really care about our health.

Scott got a chance to see the bunny in the yard while he was home with me and he took a slew of pictures of it...

 I guess that gets you all about caught up now. Sorry I've been away so long.

The Rest of April

The plants in the planters at the Cottage in Greenville are always a welcoming sight when we return.

A Birthday Card for a You Tube Friend.

 I went to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens with Greg one day when we were in Cayce. We got there late so had to rush through and nearly missed the "train" back up to the parking area by the gardens. Greg had not been in quite awhile so he was amazed by all the changes and said he barely recognized it as the zoo he went to as a little boy. We had fun toget.her and thats what was important.

I love all the meatl sculptures throughout the Zoo and Gardens.

The Aquarium is always my favorite place... so claming and relaxing.

He's a BIG BOY now!

A Delicious Paleo Vegetable Soup!!!

Making the flowers for the bow card below.

Another Birthday Card for a little Crafter.

My "Handy Hubby" got the Air Conditioner in the window so I would be comfortable during my recovery (more info coming in a future post)... little did we know that we would be turning the HEAT on the very next week.

HANDY HUBBY... AKA Scott