Hot

Yesterday the mercury hovered near 100 degrees. The weather channel said Minneapolis hadn't seen 100 degrees in 11 years. The dew point was 76 degrees, making the air temperature feel like 113.

Tim and I holed up and watched DVDs. We watched Luther, the Thrivent production made in 2003. It was well done and made me appreciate again this amazing man and his strong desire to give the people the word of God in their own language.

Then we watched Bonhoeffer, a documentary. Another fantastic theologian. I didn't realize Dietrich Bonhoeffer had his doctorate by age 21. He was a man of strong conviction and courage, living in Nazi Germany as part of the resistance movement. He was imprisoned towards the end of World War II for participating in plot to assassinate Hitler, and was executed just a couple of weeks before the Allied forces liberated concentration camps. He was only about 35 years old.

Last night we watched Coach Carter--a story of another man of incredible conviction. He was (and maybe still is) a coach of a basketball team in a school where less than 50 percent of the students even graduated. He instilled a sense of self-worth in his players and turned their losing season into a winning one. He helped the students believe in themselves and five of his players ended up getting athletic scholarships.

Today I have a job interview--this time for a part-time, one-year position. I hope I can have even a small percentage of the confidence that these men in the movies showed. But if I realize my confidence comes from my faith and not my own abilities, then que sera sera--what will be will be.

So today it's about staying cool and confident and trusting in the one who is controls the weather, my circumstances, and my future.

Pill counting

Since it's so hot outside today, I'm resorting to fun indoor activities.

Number one on the list: pill counting.

Actually, I have to record all my medications for the anesthesiologist to have before my surgery. This includes vitamins. So, here is my list:

Metformin (for diabetes)
Lisinopril (for hypertension)
Simvastatin (used to be zocor--I think this is a generic version) for cholesterol
Ferrous (iron)
Mineral complex with calcium (supplement)
multivitamin
aspirin--81 mg
humolog insulin--basal rate (all day drip) and bolus (right before meals) via my insulin pump

I have to fast before my surgery so I think the only meds I'll take in the morning will be lisinopril. I need to stop the aspirin a few days before to make sure I'll have good clotting during surgery. And I think I can put my pump port in my side so it won't be in the way of the surgery.

Okay, now that I've made a list of my meds, what's next on the indoor agenda? I know--I'll organize Raven's meds--vitamin to help with itching and help to shine up his coat, meds for his allergies, sentinel for heart worm...

Till next time,


Suzi

Tired and hot, but not broken

It's in the 90s and still climbing. Humidity is high--not sure what the dew point is today. So when Tim asked me to help him clean up a job in a house where the air-conditioning had gone out, I said, "Sure!"

I didn't know that he was leaving the job shortly after I arrived. Luke, Mark and Tim all had another job to get to. I was left to finish vacuuming, sweeping and wiping up three rooms plus parts of two other rooms.

I tried to protest when Tim left, but decided I would stick it out. How long could it take to do a little sweeping?

Three hours later, hungry, thirsty and hot (the A/C fortunately was working, but it was still hot in the rooms which had many windows on this sunny day), I finished. Or at least I hope I finished. It seems whenever you clean up after a drywall job it is hard to know when it is good enough, or how picky the homeowner will be. I wiped off ledges and shelves, scraped floors and brushed the carpet as well as vacuumed. I could feel my blood sugar dropping and felt that my hemoglobin was not fully up there either.

But I finished. Things could be worse. It could be rainin' (from Young Frankenstein--but actually we could use rain around here). After I loaded up the shop vac, the push broom and my kitchen broom with handled dust bin, the garbage, the brush, sanding block, scraping knife, my cooler and my mega-purse, I sat in my car and turned on the a/c full blast. Ahhhhhhh. I sipped my cold water (I had put some in the cooler with ice) and relaxed.

Yes, it could be worse. I could have a broken hand, as TWO of my fellow bloggers have. Yesterday my sister fell in the library and broke her hand. Read about it here. My friend Rick had his hand punched as he was holding a dummy at football practice. Rick chronicles this episode here.

My back and shoulders are a little sore from stooping and hauling garbage, but as soon as I post this I'm going to jump in the shower. My hands are working fine so I can easily type this blog.

I am grateful for two dedicated bloggers who blog on despite these traumatic injuries. And I'll remember that things could always be worse.

Today I'm also grateful to air conditioning and healthy bones.

Life is good.

Till next time,


Suzi

An unusual occurrence

It was 5:30 am this morning. The radio was on (it comes on at 5 so we are used to ignoring it--I don't know why we don't change it...). I heard some noises in the kitchen, so I assumed Tim was up early. I vaguely sensed he was still in bed, but was too tired to make anything of all this.

At 5:50, Christina popped into our room. "Good morning!" said our cheerful teenager who is never awake at this time of day unless Mom or Dad drags her from bed. "I'm going for a jog with Pete and then we're going out for breakfast."

I was still too groggy to respond, so Tim grunted, "Okay" and rolled over.

At 8:35 Christina called. Apparently she and Pete went to pick up a friend from out of town (about an hour or so) who is moving back to the Twin Cities. They did do the morning jog and breakfast, however. But I knew there had to be another incentive for the early morning arise time. The early morning trip confirmed that.

It's still the middle of summer, for goodness sake.

Till next time,


Suzi

Bible study with transformed folks

Terry has invited us, and Tim and I have talked about it many times. Last night, Tim's regular Tuesday night study was cancelled, so we decided to go to the Serenity Village Bible Study.

Serenity Village is a group of homes for people who are coming out of a life of addiction. So far there are five homes for men, but a sixth one for women is in the works. Terry has been part of Serenity Village for several months now.

The topic was on blessings and curses. The blessing of God on the life of so many of those in attendance was evident. They have turned from a life of drug, alcohol, or gambling addiction and put their faith in God. They attend these weekly studies in addition to other meetings and participate in acts of service in the community to demonstrate the love of God to others.

Although I have never been in prison for illegal drug use or drunk driving, I know that I can live in a different sort of prison--selfishness, pride, self-pity, etc. etc. I often think about how the sin of pride is probably one of the worst sins--and one I struggle with all the time. Those who have been rescued from a life of addiction know that God saved them from a living hell, and come to him in humility. I may look at them and wonder how they could have ever let their lives get so messed up.

But instead, I will seek to give up my pride daily, knowing but for the grace of God, there go I. (Perhaps many people look at me and say the same thing!) We are all in need of God's grace and I am glad he loves us in spite of our short comings.

I will live today under his blessing, and seek to live a life free from the curses that befall those who stray from his Word.

Till next time,


Suzi

Belated recap on the weekend

I guess I was so excited to report on my doctor's visit yesterday that I forgot to recap the weekend's events. (I'm sure many of you were disappointed.) As we were busy getting ready Saturday, ("why do I have to clean my room--nobody's going in it!") our friend Lis dropped by. Lis is the kind of friend who can come unannounced any time and doesn't care what state of disarray or array my house is in. I immediately dropped whatever I was doing (dusting that high shelf in the bathroom that I never see) and sat down for a chat.

I had actually called Lis earlier in the week to invite her to our little get-together. She and her husband had been out biking and she got a flat tire near our house. So, she stopped by early, waiting for Doug to come back with the car. I immediately set to hydrating her and then spent some time catching up.

Doug stopped in for a bit, but then they had to leave to pick up their daughter. I went back to dusting high shelves, but the sense of urgency had vanished.

People arrived, friendships were renewed, old memories re-lived and stories told. Lis came back for a little while. We celebrated her 50th birthday (which was Friday). We also celebrated the first anniversary of friend Paul's open heart bi-pass surgery.

A little five-year old girl who stopped over spent the day with Raven. She tried to play catch with him (he isn't interested in toys) and tried to feed him whatever was on the table ( I told her several times, in a gentle but firm manner, that Raven would puke all over the place if she gave him everything she wanted to.)

Three o'clock was the start time, but I didn't think anyone would want to eat that early. Guess I was wrong. I had Tim quickly grill some hamburgers and brats so some of our guests could eat before they needed to leave at 4.

About 20 people came--not a massive crowd, but a manageable, fun one. I was tired by the end of the day, but the good kind of tired--when you know you've worked hard and can see the results and have enjoyed good company.

I hope it isn't two years before I see some of these friends again.

Till next time,


Suzi

The pre-op visit

Today I went to my gynecologist to discuss my upcoming surgery. It was nice to go for a chat instead of an exam (they did check my blood pressure--130/80).

I started firing away, asking questions. Only once did the doctor say, "now, you're getting ahead of me..." I guess I didn't realize till near the end of our conversation when he said "well, I think we've covered just about everything by answering your questions..." I suppose if I had been a patient listener I would have had my questions answered without needing to ask them. It's just that in my experience with doctors I've found you had better start talking/asking questions when they enter the room or they may get away from you. It's not that they mind answering questions, it's just that they are busy and always thinking of the next patient or report or whatever it is they do when they're not answering my questions.

Next Wednesday (Aug. 2) I see my regular doc for my pre-operative physical. Then Aug. 9 is the big day! When Christina found out I wouldn't be having my monthly time any more, she asked if she could have this surgery, too. She also asked if this meant I wouldn't be crabby anymore. Sorry, Christina--ovaries will be left intact so hormones will continue. Then when they stop working, I'll be facing a whole 'nother set of challenges--but maybe it won't be too bad.
I'll probably just have to keep the thermostat set at 65 degrees.

On my way home from the doctor's office, I heard the radio announcer say that there are 12 million Americans that do a certain thing, and that number is growing every day. What is this thing? Answer: blogging! He wondered why anyone would journal on the web for the whole wide world to read.

He might wonder even more why anyone would detail surgical procedures, particularly reproductive ones, in such a public forum.

I'll have to think about that...

Till next time,


Suzi

Robbinsdale reunion

Folks are comin' over today. Tim and I have disagreements about priorities in getting ready. What needs to get done will get done (and is really already done) and we will end up enjoying our company whether the yard gets fertilized or every scrap of paper in the house is dealt with.

More later.

Till next time,


Suzi

(PS Tim approved this blog.)

Gettin' older

Last night European Vacation (with Chevy Chase) was on TV. Tim and I caught most of it, between dusting in the living room (I did that) and trimming bushes (Tim's job) we laughed and reminisced--especially funny were the appearances of Eric Idle of Monty Python fame (Sir Robin, also peasant who cried out "bring out your dead," shrubbery man, etc.

One of the wonderful features of Tivo (besides being able to tape, fast forward and rewind, skip commercials, etc) is that you can simply press a button and read the name and date of the movie/TV show. (This is especially helpful on the AMC channel because they never announce the names of the classic movies they show.) European Vacation was released in 1985. That was the year Luke was born. That was 21 years ago.

It seems like just yesterday Chevy Chase was tripping and goofing his way through Saturday Night Live scripts doing his impression of Jerry Ford. (But that was back when Jerry Ford was president--umm--in the early 70s!)

I guess classic movies are now movies I can recall from my young (?) adulthood. I've always thought of classics as movies with John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart or Clark Gable. But Chevy Chase?

Well, I guess just because a movie still airs on TV and is a couple of decades old doesn't necessarily make it a classic I guess. Tim and I have different opinions of the classicness of Caddyshack, after all...

Till next time,


Suzi

A little gathering

The other day my friend Kari called. Turns out our friends Gil and Kathy are home for a month from their missionary service in Russia. So we're planning a little reunion of friends from our former church.

We decided to have it here, since we're pretty centrally located and fairly laid back. The house is still in fairly good order from Mark's party and last week Cheri helped me clean/straighten up. (It helped that I found the vacuum attachment that helps get up dog fur.) Also, Christina had a new friend over last night, so she was scurrying around picking up things in an effort to make a good impression.

I actually got the bins from the family room put away. (Okay, I didn't sort through all of them, but I did get one emptied.) It was a good feeling.

Today I will dust in the living room and tomorrow I'll go food shopping (we're providing buns, burgers & beverages).

It will be fun to see old friends. We haven't seen Gil and Kathy in two years, and it may have been longer for some of the others. I love reunions.

Till next time,


Suzi

Rain, rain, come today...

With all the heat and sunshine around here, the lawns are looking pretty parched. Our Linden tree is looking very sad--I've pretty much given up hope that it will green up this summer--hoping next summer things will be back to normal with the return of our leafy green tree with its sweet smelling blossoms.

We got back from our walk just in time. I thought the weather report said it wasn't going to rain till noon, but I guess it was the rain should be finished by noon. Raven stopped in his tracks a couple of times during our walk--I think he sensed the upcoming storm. Now he's following me all over the house. He really hates thunder.

I, however, am welcoming the rain to our parched yard--and glad I don't have to be out driving in it. Fortunately, we are not really experiencing severe weather. (tornados, hail, flash flooding, etc.) So I'll watch the rain from indoors and be thankful for opportunities to be home in dry comfort.

Till next time,


Suzi

Late night rescuer

At midnight Christina came barreling into our room.

"Dad, Dale's on the phone!" (Tim had turned the phone off in our room due to too many phone calls from our kids' friends. Of course, now they have their cell phones...)

Earlier in the day Tim had called Dale to see how he was doing finding new housing. He offered him a ride back home if he needed one. (Dale doesn't have a vehicle right now.)

At midnight Dale called from the hospital. Beckie was in for pneumonia, but they were getting ready to leave.

It took longer than they thought, so Tim parked in front of the hospital downtown (no charge for parking after 10 pm) and went inside to wait for them. Beckie is now armed with antibiotics and should be doing much better.

Dale himself just got out of the hospital with pneumonia.

Please pray for Dale, Beckie and Carl, three friends who are in desperate need of housing. Their current housing could be part of the problem with their respiratory difficulties.

Tim got home at 2 am. I didn't even hear him.

He got up this morning as usual to go to work with Mark. I am very blessed to have a home, a hard-working husband, and hopefully soon I will have a job too and restored health.

My biopsy results were negative, so we're planning on my surgery for August 9 and then I should be good as new!

I'm very grateful for life, health, home and a family who loves me.

Till next time,


Suzi

Summer birthday parties & meeting Omar

Omar Rodriguez, now solo performer, formerly vocalist/guitarist/bassist with
At The Drive-In.

The first Omar (that I know of). He was Barbra Streisand's co-star in Funny Girl and Funny Lady. Way back in the day he was Dr. Zhivago. More recently he was a sheikh in the movie Hildago. Did you know he is of Egyptian and Palestinian descent?

It's not easy to get the Nelson crew together in the summer. Planning around summer vacations, baseball games, kids activities, etc. makes it tough.

So, when I planned Luke's birthday party (kind of last minute--his real birthday on July 7 happened while we were at Cornerstone) I set it for a Sunday, thinking that would be best for everyone. Luke was working at night (delivering pizzas) so I scheduled it for 1 pm, after church.

Turns out Tim's brother Jeff and family were leaving town Sunday morning. His other brother Greg was prepping for a major kitchen remodel which was to take place today. Maybe a couple of Luke's cousins could make it.

Then the morning service went long on Sunday. And, ironically, after church there was a birthday party for another boy who was turning 21. I had to drag Tim away from cake at church at 12:40 when I needed to get home to prepare a salad, set Mark to grillin', and have Tim pick up the DQ birthday cake for his son.

We made it home before 1. I coaxed Christina into helping me assemble the chicken cashew salad. Mark set to flipping burgers. 1:15 came, and nobody had arrived. I guess I was grateful, because we needed the time, but I was a little nervous too. Had everyone forgotten?

Well, Tim did come home with the cake, and then Grandma and Grandpa Nelson arrived. Our friend Judd came, and Luke arrived with his girlfriend Katie. Cousin Terry came on the scene a bit later.

It was a nice gathering--Luke also brought his new cat Omar. Of course, all the adults thought he was named after the famous actor Omar Sharif (see picture above), but I guess there's a well-known (?) guitar player named Omar Rodriguez (photo also above). Anyway, we had to put Raven in the office--Omar & Raven's first meeting didn't go to well. (Omar hissed from under the table and Raven barked like crazy). Finally we let Raven out while Katie held onto Omar. They seemed to have arrived at a sort of truce. (This after Raven checked out--I won't go into more detail than that--Omar's litter box that Luke had brought along.)

Everyone was able to fit into the living room and we had enough food--not too many burgers or brats, but enough. There was a little bit of cake left, but since we have a new freezer, it fit nicely inside it.

Our next summer birthday party is this Sunday--niece Nicole will be ten! Nephew Alex and Tim have August birthdays, and then we get ready for the fall lineup of parties.

I'm glad we're still making the effort to get together even though the kids are getting older and schedules more crazy. Even the animals are making an effort. I wonder what Greg & Kari's dog Avery (a toy poodle) would think of Omar--they are, at least, closer in size...

Till next time,


Suzi

It's hot

Raven and I should have gone out to walk earlier, but I didn't make it out the door till almost 8 am.
It is hot.

The dew point is in the upper sixties, and the forecast high is 100 degrees. Hot.

I am watering the front yard before the 11 am ban time (our city doesn't allow watering between 11 am and 6 pm). When Cheri was here she pruned all but the green parts of my sad looking hanging plant--New Guinea impatiens. I will be watering them at least once today.

Fortunately Tim has been working on remodeling this week in air conditioned comfort. Last night we enjoyed the air conditioned theater and saw The Devil Wears Prada. Quite a different Meryl Streep character than the one portrayed in A Prairie Home Companion. It was a good lesson (The Prada movie) on priorities--and how easy it can be for work to become all consuming and cause us to forget who and what is really important in life.

Right now, I'm focusing on keeping my family cool. There are plenty of indoor projects to do and I hope I can make some headway in them.

If you're in the USA, you're probably dealing with unbearable heat today. You know the drill--apply sun screen, drink lots of water--or stay indoors in a cool place.

That's what I'll be doing. Maybe we'll rent Pirates of the Caribbean 1 to whet Tim's appetite so he'll take me to see #2--Christina went last night (she is infatuated with Johnny Depp--it doesn't seem to phase her that he is almost as old as I am).

Aarrgh matey....let's swab some decks and hunt for treasures in boxes that need to be gone through. Then later we can have some fun. Savvy?

Till next time,


Suzi

Fun times with my sister

My sister Cheri is here to visit, and sadly, it is almost time for her to go back home. I'm posting two pictures today--as I type this I'm not sure how they are going to appear on the page as I'm having a bit of a problem with photos today. One is of our niece Emily, sleeping after a day of sun and soccer (she was a spectator) at Cornerstone. The other is of Cheri, hard at work--either cleaning up or preparing a meal for our group of 17 at our campsite.

Cheri and I always have fun together--just sitting talking, walking around the mall (we didn't buy anything or even really look) or boiling eggs together (did you know that you can boil an egg for three minutes (after it's been heating up in the pot of water) with the lid on and it will not come out runny? I learned this today from my sister.

It's been great spending so much time with her lately--and in a little over a month she'll be back as her son Daniel heads off to college. As for now, I'm going to ride out with her to pick him up from a hot week of soccer camp. Cheri will drop me off on the way back--she says it's not too far out of the way, and will give us some more gab time.

While I'm blogging, she's enamored with an old songbook we found--she's singing and playing beautifully at the piano. This song book has gospel tunes, folk tunes, and everything in between--everything from "El Shaddai" to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." Tim said it was a book he used as a song book for Wednesday night meetings or something like that.

We'll have to resort to singing along with the radio in the car. Cheri is fairly low tech and doesn't have an ipod, but I think she might have a CD player. Or we could just turn the radio off and talk some more.

Till next time,


Suzi

Tim's blog and Suzi's surgery

Well, Tim finally blogged about the Lord's amazing provision for him in dire circumstances. You can read all about it here. It's quite the story.

Back at home, I continue to deal with post-anemia stuff. Yesterday I visited my gynecologist, and we decided to go ahead and schedule surgery. To be exact, I'm having a laporoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH). This is same day surgery, believe it or not, and the recovery period is less than two weeks. Woo hoo! Not only will this take care of my anemia, it will obviously take care of other things.

So, I've scheduled several doctor's appointments. I go back to my gynecologist for a pre-op appointment as well as my family doc for a pre-op physical. Then there's the actual surgery (August 9) and post op visit with my gynecologist two weeks later. A few days after that's all over, I'm scheduled to see my endocronologist (diabetes doctor). By summer's end, I should be good as new!

I had taken a little break from the job search, but now I can begin to plan again. And besides, I'm finding that by the time I apply online for a job and the time I interview and hear back, at least a month's time has gone by.

So, I'll keep plugging away and look forward to this new phase of life.

Meanwhile, my sister is coming today--she'll be picking up my nephew at college soccer camp tomorrow. I should try to get ready for her arrival!

Till next time,


Suzi

I must remain silent

I wanted to blog about another Cornerstone happening that was resolved in an unusual way, but Tim insisted I allow him to do it.

So, we will wait to read Tim's thoughts at his blog. Meanwhile, I can tell you of other events that unfolded in amazing ways.

First of all, I am grateful that we arrived at Cornerstone safely and in a fairly timely manner. There were some interesting turns in Iowa that, had we missed them, we could have ended up way off course. I was able to pick up a new Iowa map that had big print (so I didn't even need my reading glasses) and I could navigate as Mark drove.

I thought getting to Cornerstone itself would be a breeze. We got to the town of Bushnell without any trouble, but the small signs pointing to Cornerstone were hard to make out in the dark. I was going mostly on memory and the Yahoo map we had printed out earlier was not much help at all.

Finally we found our way to the back gate, only to read a sign that said we must check in at the front gate since it was after midnight. We did, however, find a young man (about 20 I'd guess) at the back gate (who was traveling alone from Michigan and pulling a trailer. He had no clue how to find his way, so I told him to follow us (I didn't tell him we didn't have much of a clue, either).

Anyway, we were able to get around to the front gate with Marty (I think that was his name) following. Perhaps we made the wrong initial turn to the back gate so we could help Marty--who sailed through the ticket entrance while we dealt with our missing ticket situation.

Another incident that happened later in the week was when my brother Roger got a flat tire, only a short distance from where he had parked at the festival. Fortunately, we were all going out to meet my sister Lori (though sister Cheri & I had gone ahead) in town, and Roger was able to take a second vehicle they had brought and change the tire later.

So, you can read about Tim's amazing incident when he decides to blog next. When will this be? Tim(e) will tell...

Till next time,


Suzi

PS This afternoon at 2:30 is my endometrial biopsy. When I get the results of this, I'll better know how to plan out my next few weeks and my job search!

Resolutions to challenges

As I get older, I aim to get a little bit wiser and gain more patience. As challenges come along in life, I hope I am waiting to see how God's hand will work through difficulty instead of spending time moaning and complaining.

Every year there are challenges as we prepare for Cornerstone. You can't make a 500-mile (one way) journey with two vehicles, six people, and a camper and spend a week camping with 17 people on one site without interesting events.

The first, of course, was the issue of my low hemoglobin. My doctor really was not all that comfortable with me leaving for remote camping for a week, miles from a hospital and living in an environment where I'd be walking and spending time in dusty or muddy heat. So, the two units of blood I received on the day we left really boosted me.

Today I found out how boosted I was--my hemoglobin was up to 11.3! (My bleeding stopped about a week ago, so that really helped, too.) This was up from the low level of 6.4 two weeks ago. So this challenge was resolved by the gift of blood--thanks to all how donate this life saving treasure!

But because it was taking me so long at the hospital on the day of our departure, Tim and Luke decided to leave early last Monday with the camper, so they could set up before dark. Tim came to the hospital to get their portion of the tickets. I was not thrilled that we wouldn't all be traveling together, but decided that Mark, Christina and I and friend Jackie would make out all right together.

However, when I was almost done receiving my second transfusion, I realized that I didn't have my tickets any longer. When Tim picked up his tickets, I kept my portion in my lap, in a white envelope which was covered by warm white hospital blankets. One time when I got up to use the bathroom (my IV had to be unplugged from the electrical outlet and I dragged it with me to the ladies' room) the nurse took away the old blankets and I had left the envelope with them (I was pretty sleepy at that point).

So, just before I left the hospital, I was scouring around my room for the tickets. My nurse went through the laundry, but it had already been sent out.

Before we left town, I called the Cornerstone Festival office. They assured me that they had record of my ticket purchase and I'd just have to show ID at the gate when we arrived. This proved to be true, and we all received our wristbands to wear throughout the festival. Crisis averted.

There were more challenges and resolutions, but I'll save them for another day. If you are facing a difficulty today, take a breath, count to ten, ask God for patience and wisdom. Do what you can to resolve things, but trust God for the rest. And enjoy the suspense of waiting to see how he will work things out.

Till next time,


Suzi

Home sweet home and happy birthday Luke

It is good to be home, but it was fun to be away. So much has happened in this past week. I'll try to summarize a bit here.

Before the trip I got 2 more units of blood, spending Monday in the hospital till 3 pm or so. Tim and Luke left around noon to go ahead to set up the campsite before it got too dark. The rest of us pulled in about 1:30 am.

Cheri, Roger and crew arrived Tuesday afternoon. We squeezed their three tents behind our camper in a shaded area. Seventeen of us enjoyed our small space. 18-month-old niece Emily was the hit of the campsite, entertaining us with her cute sounds, ventures in and out of camping chairs and around the campsite, and her love for the music surrounding us (she would sit in her stroller and listen to a band, leaning forward, tapping her hand on her knee and applauding when the music was over).

Three (or four?) runs to Walmart provided enough nourishment for our group for 5 days or so. We even had a cake to celebrate Luke's 21st birthday on July 7. (Happy birthday Luke!) It's hard to believe he's really all grown up now. We will probably have a Nelson celebration this next weekend, but we enjoyed celebrating with my side of the family on his actual b-day.

It was good to be together as siblings and with our nieces and nephews. The cousins seemed to enjoy each other and the friends they brought along. Tim hit many seminars and films this year--I got to two concerts and mostly enjoyed family and the change of pace.

This morning I got nephew Daniel off to soccer camp (pick up time is noon on Friday, Cheri), so now I will begin to focus more on cleaning up and unpacking.

This was our 12th year in a row of Cornerstone. Will we do it again? That is the perennial question...

Till next time,


Suzi

PS I have now been blogging for three years! Hard to believe!

We are home!

We are back from Cornerstone! It was a great week with my sister and brother and their families. We also got in a visit with our other sister who came out to DQ and a park in the town where the festival is held.

There is much to say but I will wait till I've had a bit more sleep. We arrived home this morning at 7 am after driving all night.

Till next time,


Suzi

I snuck in another visit

Well, I talked to my doctor yesterday, and we decided to get another hemoglobin reading. So, I had to go back to the hospital for that. Darrin, the nice lab man with tattoos, earrings and a gentle manner, was not happy with my bruised arms. He carefully found a vein and didn't leave a mark. It did pinch a little, but not bad.

Anyway, my hemoglobin was only down 1/10th of a point, so that was good news. Today I think my bleeding has slowed down and is perhaps ready to quit (I sure hope!).

I may sneak back to the out patient clinic for two more units of blood tomorrow (Monday) morning, just so I'm all pumped up for the week at Cornerstone. Then I should be in really terrific shape!

We enjoyed a nice afternoon yesterday on Tim's Uncle Danny's boat. We went out on the Old Mississippi and toured the river sights. It was a very nice, peaceful day.

Today I need to finish packing. I am going to pace myself and just do bits at a time. We will make it! :)

Till next time,


Suzi

A Day Away From the Hospital

No pictures of arms or hands today. The bandages are off, replaced by lovely shades of purple where needles vacated their life-giving entry points. I've been slowly trying to get ready for our trip, but haven't yet made much headway.

Last night Tim's cousin Terry stopped by. It was good to see him--he's been so busy on his new landscaping job that we haven't been able to spend much time with him. He'll be staying at our house looking after things while we're away. Tim's dad and Christina's boyfriend Pete will be looking in on Raven during the day.

I'm waiting for my primary doctor to call me back this morning--she wanted me to check in with her before we leave town, and she was off yesterday but is on call today. I'll see her and my gynecologist after I get back from C-stone.

Man, last time I was at Cornerstone with both my sister and brother I was in a bad way too. I had climbed my childhood tree in our old suburban Chicagoland neighborhood, and had fallen out onto our son Luke's friend David (he's a wrestler sort, so he was a good person to catch me). My ankle took the brunt of the fall, and I spent the next two weeks (and all of the Cornerstone festival) on crutches. Now I'm going as a slightly anemic but hopefully not too crabby middle aged woman. Well, our camping neighbor will be bringing his golf cart so I may see if I can bum a few rides to different activities. If not, I'll bring lots of books and rest and play in the camper with our board games. I should also be up to cooking and cleaning in the comfort of the air conditioned hybrid pop-up.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to blog on Monday or not--maybe I can blog at Cornerstone. If not, have a wonderful holiday week and I'll give a report when I get back!

Till next time,


Suzi