Park, Milo, Holidays, and Anniversary

November 11th - Kelly, Milo, and I went to the park.

 Milo had a lot of fun running around.

 

 

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November 15th - Milo had to have an ultrasound at a specialty vets office. They saw that his liver is significantly smaller than it should be, nodular, and mottled. They think it could be cancer or copper storage. He will have to have surgery so they can do a biopsy. Surgery will probably be in January or February. For now, he's on special food and acts totally fine - loves to eat, playful, energetic.

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November 25th - Thanksgiving. Mom, Sean, and Ashley came over. We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, black eyed peas, stuffing, crescent rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies.

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Speaking of Sean and Ashley, they moved out of my mom's place and into their own place 2-3 weeks before Christmas. Right down the street from my mom. Ashley's dad moved in with them. They also bought a new washer and dryer and a new stove.

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December 17th - Charlie and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. We went out to eat before our anniversary and then on our anniversary we went out again and had Kelly with us because we also had to do some Christmas shopping.

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December 25th - Christmas. Mom, Sean, Ashley, and Del came over. (Del came over after the others had left. He had been to our mom's house earlier.) We got my mom a blanket with a Christmas pattern and thick, purple house socks. (She loves thick house socks.) We got Sean and Ashley a knife set and a cutting board. We got Del a gray and black flannel shirt and a black thermal shirt.

Sean and Ashley gave me a black Loki T-shirt (it just says "Loki" on it with each letter being a different style; the O is gold, the other letters are different shades of green) and two books from my Amazon wish list - Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and All the Little Hopes by Leah Weiss. They got Kelly a lantern wax burner, a pack of French toast scented wax, and a pink blanket. (Kelly loves blankets.) They got Charlie golf balls.

 

Mom gave us money.

We got Kelly a Wanda/Scarlet Witch Funko Pop, a stuffed Grogu/Baby Yoda, a Slytherin pillow with stuffed snake, a video game, a pink blanket, and a bat T-shirt. (Kelly loves bats and Batman. Sean's nickname for her is "Bats".) I got Charlie two golf shirts (Izod and some kind of Pro Golf/PGA brand) and a pack of dress socks (which he really needed).

I got a Hawkeye T-shirt, a Loki T-shirt, a Hawkeye Funko Pop, a forest green wool coat with removable hood, and a throw blanket with Christmas cats on it.

For Christmas dinner, we had lasagna. Dessert was Oreo pie, pumpkin pie, and butterball cookies.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Mountain Day Trip

As I said in my last entry, Kelly, Rene, and I went to the mountains on October 21st. We did our usual trip - west to Winston-Salem, north to Fancy Gap, VA (with a stop in Mt. Airy for lunch from Chick-fil-A, which we ate in the car), south to Boone (where we had supper at Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant) on the Parkway, and then east to get back home. We also stopped at the Northwest Trading Post as we usually do, but they didn't have any of their awesome pumpkin bread. :-(

It was a mostly beautiful day. A little rainy (sprinkles) for a bit when we were in northern NC, but sunny or partly cloudy most of the time. Sometimes we'd stop at an overlook and it would feel chilly. Then we'd travel to the next overlook or the one after that and it would be almost warm.

 

Here are some of the pictures I took.

 

Stone Mountain overlook.

 

Across the road from Mahogany Rock overlook. You can't see anything at the actual overlook anymore because the trees are too tall.

 

 

Possibly Air Bellows overlook.

Brinegar Cabin.

At Alligator Back overlook.

 

At Alligator Back overlook.

Alligator Back overlook.

At Basin Cove overlook.

Rene and Kelly at Basin Cove overlook.

At The Lump overlook.

 

 

 

 

 

At The Lump overlook. Taken from the top of the big hill. 

 

 

Down the road a bit from Mt. Jefferson overlook. The trees are too tall at the overlook to see anything.

Same spot as the above picture.

 

Don't know the name of this overlook. There was no sign. I called it Big Valley overlook. :-D

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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This and That

I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible. I've gotten behind and to post all the details would make this entry way too long.

Milo had a vet appointment on October 6th. I don't remember what all they did, but they decided to give him a shot once a week for the pain in one of his front legs. He had been limping (no injury) and would sometimes hold his leg out in front of him in the air, as if he couldn't move it. I can't remember if they gave him the first shot on the 6th or not. He had appointments on the 14th and 22nd to get the shot.

On November 3rd, he had another appointment for blood work (to check his liver) and another shot. They didn't like how his liver is looking (it was quite a bit higher than the last time they did blood work; more than would normally be expected) and in case it's because of the shots, they decided not to give him a shot that day. They said they'll give him the shot once a month instead of once a week and hope that doesn't hurt his liver. I had also been giving him pain medication every day and they said to stop giving him that in case it's the medication in addition to or instead of the shots.

I have to make an appointment with a vet specialist to have an ultrasound done. They want to look at this liver and his gall bladder (they think there may be sediment built up) and then decide what to do from there. The vet has to send a referral to the specialist before I can make an appointment, but they haven't done that yet. I'm going to call today and hopefully that will be taken care of.

 

We've known for a couple years that his liver values aren't what they should be, but the vet only recently called it liver disease. That was kind of a shock to us. Liver disease is what killed Sam. I'm hoping and praying they don't find anything too bad on the ultrasound and that medication will be enough to keep him with us and healthy for a few more years.

 

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Charlie had a doctor's appointment on October 8th. His lungs are almost completely clear now, but the doctor could still hear a little bit of raspiness. Charlie has an appointment this Friday for some kind of therapy. He doesn't know what that will be.

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Sean and Ashley took a trip to the Outer Banks October 2-9. They sent me pictures nearly every day. I'm glad they had a good time and came home safely.

 

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Ancestry.com had a DNA update about a month or so ago. Here are my results now:

Charlie's:

Mom's:

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On October 21st, my aunt Melonie (my mom's brother Dusty's ex-wife) had surgery for a brain aneurysm. Thankfully, surgery went well. She's been home for a couple weeks now. (She lives in Arkansas.) They removed her staples yesterday. She said it was extremely painful.

The day before her surgery, her daughter Kasey was shot twice in the head by her drug dealer and left by the road. Someone happened to see her lying there and called 911. I haven't seen any updates in about a week or so, but the last one I saw, she was awake and sitting up in bed. We're praying she fully recovers and gets off of drugs.

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In my last entry, I mentioned a few pairs of boots I had recently gotten. (For pretty good prices.) Here are pictures of two of those pairs of boots. I haven't taken pictures of the black Bare Traps boots for some reason.

 

L.L. Bean Park Ridge, olive green.

 

 

The  North Face Bridgeton.

 

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On Thursday, October 21st, Kelly, Rene, and I went to the mountains. We had thought about going the previous Friday, but I can't remember why that didn't work out. Then we were going to go on Monday the 18th, but I didn't sleep well at all the night before. On Tuesday, Rene had a class. I didn't sleep well that night (or Monday night), so we couldn't go on Wednesday. Finally, on Wednesday night, I slept enough for us to be able to go on that Thursday. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our trip. I'll post some of the pictures I took in another entry.

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I haven't posted about songs purchased for my iPod since July 22, 2020. Here are the songs I've bought since then.

Obviously, I love Fred Hammond's music. Especially his older stuff.

Well, that's it for now. Unless something comes up, my next entry should be about our trip to the mountains.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Ultrasound Results, Milo, Boots, and Corona

I had an ultrasound done on September 16th at my gynecologist's office. The technician (nice lady) started off with the internal ultrasound (I really hate those), but it was very uncomfortable so she decided to stop and do the external instead. "I don't want to torture you." Those are also uncomfortable (I'm very sensitive in my lower abdomen because of my two C-sections), but not as bad as the internal ultrasound.

After she was done, I was brought to an exam room to talk with my gynecologist. The ultrasound showed one cyst on my left ovary (which would explain my more painful than normal ovulation this last time) and two fibroids in my uterus. The cyst and the fibroids were not concerning in their size, but they want to do an ultrasound every year to keep an eye on things.

I have PCOS and at one time had many cysts in my ovaries. So one cyst isn't bad.

I still need to schedule an appointment with a regular doctor and an appointment for a mammogram. Mammograms also hurt, so I'm dreading that.

 

Oh, and I found two gold stars on the floor of the bathroom I changed in and brought them home to Kelly.

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September 18th was our dog Milo's birthday. He's 11 now.

 

Speaking of Milo, he has an appointment on Wednesday so they can do blood work. They have to check to see how his lyme disease is looking and if the medicine he was taking for it has helped him.

 

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I've really been into boots lately. I've bought five pairs over the past couple months. Four from sellers on thrift sites. Cheaper than they would cost brand new, but in good shape. One pair I ordered from DSW. Cute red boots - Remonte Erin sweater boots. I've been wanting red boots for a long time.

I only have pictures of two of the pairs of boots - a brown Timberland Savin Hill pair I bought from someone on Poshmark and the red pair of Remonte from DSW. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other boots are a black pair of Bare Traps Shimmer (they don't actually shimmer lol) boots I bought from someone at Mercari (for less than $27 after shipping and tax), an olive green pair of L. L. Bean Park Ridge ones that I bought from someone also at Mercari (less than $46 after shipping and tax), and a black pair of North Face Bridgeton lace-up ones, also from someone on Mercari ($51 and change after shipping and tax). The latter should arrive today or tomorrow.

I'll usually check Mercari or eBay if I see something I like on Poshmark because I can usually find an item cheaper at those two sites (if it's there) and sometimes with cheaper shipping.

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I've been reading a zombie series lately. The Surviving the Evacuation series by Frank Tayell. I'm on book 3 - Family. It's an 18 book series, but each book is pretty short - around 200 pages. As I finish them, I give them to Ashley. She said she's going to read them when she's finished with the series she's reading now - Throne of Glass , I think it's called.

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I haven't posted covid numbers in awhile. Basically, because I got sick of hearing about it a long time ago. lol Looking through my blog, the last time I posted numbers was August 24th of last year. North Carolina's active cases at that time was 27,364. Currently hospitalized was 898. My county had 6,377 positive cases (I think in total from March to August of 2020) and 163 deaths total.

I couldn't find current active cases in NC, but new cases as of September 29th was 4,789. Currently hospitalized - 3,010 as of the 28th. Daily percent positive is 9.7%. 

 

My county (population over 500,000) has had 615 cases over the past two weeks, 47 new cases on the 28th.

North Carolina has 100 counties. Of those counties, the ones with the most cases right now per 100,000 people (hot spots) are Cherokee (82), Graham (85), Macon (84), McDowell (93), Burke (82), Cleveland (90), Lincoln (89), Gaston (88), Alleghany (82), Stanly (85), Lenoir (79), Chowan (90), and Pasquotank (77). 

 

Orange (21) and Durham (25) counties have the lowest number of cases per 100,000. 

 

My county (50) is among the 31 counties doing a little worse than Orange and Durham. That leaves 54 counties doing a little worse than those 31, but better than the hot spot counties.

 

Total number of cases in North Carolina since the start of the pandemic is 1,390,489, out of a population of almost 10,500,000. 

 

Total number of deaths is 16,444 - a little less than 1.2%.

 

Recovered - 1,297,563.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Birthdays, Milo, OB/GYN, Fall Shopping

July 21st was Ashley's birthday. When I asked Sean what I should give her, he told me that she said she's loved every book I've gotten her in the past and to just get her more books. I was going to give her something other than books since that's what I got her for Christmas and her last birthday, but if books are what she wants, books are what she gets. lol I love buying books. I got her Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

 

July 22nd through July 25th, Sean took Ashley to the coast for her birthday. They stayed in New Bern (I think he said it was because the hotels in and around Morehead City were too expensive) and spent time at Cape Lookout (one of my top 3 favorite places in NC) and Atlantic Beach.

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My mom's birthday was July 25th. She's 70 years old now. We got her two rose plants - one red and one pink.

 

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Milo had a vet appointment on August 10th. Since covid started, I always had to wait in the car while they examined our pets. So I was surprised when they told me I could come in to the exam room. As long as I wore a mask, of course. 

 

They called with his lab results on the 12th. He had tested positive for lyme disease a few years ago, so I was kind of surprised when they told us this again. As if they didn't know before? Or maybe they just meant it's gotten worse. At any rate, he's on a medication for that now. On top of the two liver medications he's on and heartworm medication once a month. 

 

They also gave him medicine for pain (he's been limping more and licking his front feet and legs more), but he can only take that for a week or two at a time. He has one more dose left. I hate to see him go back to limping and licking. I'm hoping the lyme disease medication will help with that. I had read that lyme disease causes (joint?) pain. 

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I went to the gynecologist on August 12th. Yay. (Said with sarcasm.) I hate going. Though thankfully it wasn't as uncomfortable (painful) as it has been in the past. I got my lab results on the 16th. No cancer. No diabetes. Everything pretty much looks good. My bad cholesterol is high though (as it has been for a number of years), but my good cholesterol and triglycerides are normal. I have to make an appointment with a regular doctor to deal with that. I also need to make a mammogram appointment. Ugh. Those really hurt.

I go back to the gynecologist next month for an ultrasound because I have PCOS and they want to check my ovaries.

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My brother Del's birthday was yesterday. He's 47 now. I haven't seen him yet to give him his card. I think Mom took him out to eat. Oh, and he and Rebecca broke up. I don't know what happened there.

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I had mentioned a few entries ago that I've been doing most, if not all, of my clothes shopping online - Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, ThredUp. It's been great to find more of what I'm looking for to suit my size and style than what I can find in stores most of the time.

 

Fall isn't far away, so I've been looking at fall/winter clothes and boots. Actually, what started the fall shopping was I was trying to find a certain spring/summer L.L. Bean dress (which I haven't been able to find in my size) and somehow came across a website about preppy fashion. I used to have quite a bit of preppy style clothes (blazers, plaid, cute flats, etc.) and then several years back I started getting more inspired by the military/post-apocalyptic look. (Without looking like something out of a show or movie or like I'm doing cosplay.) I was probably heavily influenced by my love of post-apocalyptic shows and books. I also love all the pockets in utility jackets and vests. Though maybe I'm kind of a blend of military/post-apocalyptic/preppy lol. Though my church style never crossed over into military/post-apocalyptic. lol

Anyway, the preppy fashion website brought my love of prep roaring back. lol I'm on the hunt for the right blazers, plaid skirts, striped tops, less militaristic-style vests lol, cute boots (though I'm still loving the military/biker style of boots), etc., and I'm falling in love with corduroy again - skirts and blazers. 

 

I've only bought a few things because I'm trying to keep my purchases to 2-4 items a week at most. All cheap prices. It's still funny to me how I gasp at the prices of clothes and shoes at actual stores compared to what I pay at the online thrift stores. I used to barely bat an eye at the prices of things that I now cannot bring myself to pay.

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Speaking of fall, I'm looking forward to this fall. Not because I hate summer (I actually like it a lot), but because I can't wait to go hiking at places like Pilot Mountain, Hanging Rock, Stone Mountain, etc. I just hope those plans aren't ruined by rain. I don't hike in the rain. Or the heat, which is why I'm waiting for fall.

Plus, fall means wearing the cute fall clothes I'm getting. :-)

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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This and That

Update on Sean's car situation: His car was totaled. The insurance of the woman who hit him and Ashley sent him a check. On June 30th, he bought a new car. (New to them.)

2013 Honda Civic.

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Some time between the 9th and the 11th of July, Charlie finished putting down the new flooring in the office/library. I'll take pictures once I get the boxes out of the room. Two are empty, but the third is too heavy for me to lift.

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A couple months ago, I bought a purse for Mother's Day that I had been wanting since March. I ordered it from DSW.

Brand: Kelly and Katie.

 

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On July 13th, I called and made an appointment with my gynecologist for August 12th. I haven't been in about 11 years. I was surprised they still have me in their system. The doctor I used to see has since retired or has gone somewhere else (as has every other doctor who used to work there), so I'll be seeing someone new. Actually, I'll be seeing the nurse practitioner. 

 

I'm dreading it because everything they do to me hurts. Pap smear, pelvic exam, internal or external ultrasound (I have PCOS), taking several vials of blood. Ugh. I hate it. I'm sure they'll also want me to get a mammogram. I had one when I was about 35 and it tore the skin under one of my breasts, so I'm dreading that also.

Not to mention that there's nothing they can do for my PCOS. So 11 years ago, it felt like a waste of time.

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Also on July 13th, we met Del's new girlfriend Rebecca. (He and Jennifer finally divorced a couple months ago.) She lives in Tennessee. She seems nice. I think Del and Rebecca like each other a lot. I mean, obviously, I guess, since she came here to see him and meet us. lol I think he will be going to Tennessee this week or next to spend some time with her and meet her family.

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We paid to watch Black Widow on Disney+ a few days ago. We really liked it! Great action, really funny moments, a sad and dark back story, really good acting (Florence Pugh/Yelena stole the movie). We watched it again yesterday. Well, I fell asleep about halfway through because it was Sunday and I can't make it through a Sunday without a nap. I'll finish watching it later.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Car Accident and Covid

Seems like it's one thing after another for our family over the past several months. Charlie had a rupture in his intestines in September because of diverticulitis and ended up in the hospital for 6 days. Then he had surgery in April to remove a little bit of his intestines. He's had no issues with diverticulitis since then.

 

On May 29th, Sean and Ashley got rear-ended while sitting at a red light. They weren't hurt badly (soreness in their backs and necks, headache), but the car had about $4000 worth of damage. The insurance of the woman who hit them sent Sean a check for less than $3000 before finding out from Honda (who looked at Sean's car) how much it would cost to fix. He had sent them pictures of his car, as they requested and his attorney approved, and they based the cost on what they saw in the pictures. Which, of course, isn't the same as doing an actual in-person inspection of the vehicle. Charlie told him not to cash or deposit the check and to call his insurance. (For some reason, Sean's attorney said that they're only taking care of any injuries Sean and Ashley had and not the car.) I don't know yet if Sean's talked to his insurance or what more has been done. Sean really likes his car and doesn't want to have to get a new one, but more than that it's just frustrating what that woman's insurance did.

Charlie started feeling sick on June 4th. Very mild symptoms. He went to work every day, but he doesn't have a lot of contact with the few guys who also work there. He spends a lot of his time in his office. And when they are around each other, they wear masks.

Around the 7th or 8th, he felt a little worse and I told him he should stay home and rest so that his body can heal. But he kept going to work and kept feeling worse. I think it was around the 8th or 9th I started telling him that he should get tested for covid. By that Friday (the 11th), he really started feeling bad. His cough was getting worse and he just felt awful. He went into work just long enough to take care of a couple things and then came home. I started hounding him more to get tested.

Finally, on Monday the 14th, he called CVS to make an appointment to get tested. He went Tuesday morning and tested negative, but his blood oxygen was 88 and they told him he needed to go to the ER. I dropped him off and waited at home. (I couldn't go in with him and hospitals are slow, so I wasn't going to wait in the parking lot.) I don't remember how long it took or at what time he told me that he tested positive at the hospital and they were admitting him. He also had double pneumonia.

They of course put him on oxygen and started treatments. Remdesivir, steroids, and I don't know what else. He was very weak and tired. I can't remember if it was that Wednesday (16th) or Thursday (17th) that his oxygen level dropped into the 70s at one point. (I heard that normal is 95. The doctor told Charlie that they like for covid patients to be at 88 or higher.) That scared me. Anytime he'd have a coughing fit, his oxygen would drop into the low to mid 80s. 

 

He was able to eat the next day. He'd eaten almost nothing for the 4 or 5 days before he got tested. He also never got so bad that he needed to be on a vent. I'm really happy about that. He didn't get much sleep between the nurses coming in to check things and his breathing being difficult.

I think it was that Friday that the doctor told Charlie that his numbers were getting better every day and that he might be able to go home that weekend. I had prayed that he would.

On Saturday the 19th, the doctor told Charlie that 2 or 3 covid patients had died that week and that Charlie was one of the "lucky" ones. He told him that if he had waited a little longer to get tested and go to the hospital, he probably would've been another statistic. He was that bad off. I can't help but think that if he'd listened to me and gotten tested a week earlier when I first told him to, he could've gotten treatment earlier and maybe not gotten as sick as he did.

They checked his numbers one last time early Sunday morning (they would usually check between 4:00 and 5:00 AM) and said that he could go home. The doctor said that Kelly and I have to stay 10 feet away from him for 21 days (!) and wear a mask around him. Though it seems weird since he already has covid and masks are only supposed to keep you from giving it, not getting it. So I'm not sure why we have to wear a mask.

Anyway, so I can't sit or stand near, hug, sleep with or anything else with my husband until July 6th. :-/ But I'm glad he's home and he's glad to be home and eating my cooking again. He said the hospital food was awful (it was better when he was there in April) and he really wanted my food. 

 

He also really wants to hug me and sleep in the same bed with me. He's been sleeping in a recliner in the living room because it's easier to breathe that way. They sent him home with an oxygen tank and another one was delivered to our house yesterday, but he hasn't had to use it. He also has a couple prescriptions he has to take. Some kind of pills and an inhaler.

He was coughing a bit more a few hours ago (coughing stuff up; I'm sure being in a recliner rather than lying flat helps), but that seems to have calmed down.

Kelly and I have of course been quarantined. On Friday, someone came to our door a few times wanting to sell us something. I didn't answer the door. (I saw a man in a polo shirt and khakis going door-to-door.) After that third time, I put a note on our door that says, "COVID" and below that "Quarantine!!" That put a stop to that. lol Being an introvert, maybe I'll leave it up longer than necessary. lol

Oh, Kelly and I have been fine. My mom has covid though (we actually don't see her a lot, so we're not sure where she got it), but she says she feels fine. The doctor she saw said that she has mild symptoms. Sean and Ashley are fine.

I think Charlie will see his regular doctor tomorrow. He said they want to do x-rays to see how his lungs are doing and I assume they'll do other checks like taking blood.

I hate that this happened, but I'm thankful that he only had to be in the hospital for less than a week instead of the weeks and months that some other people have had to do. Charlie said that we did pretty good avoiding this for over a year. He's worked every day (except most weekends) that he wasn't in the hospital (September and April) and home recovering, and the week's vacation he spent at home last year. We've worn masks everywhere and tried to keep our distance from people. But they did say early on that everyone will get covid eventually. I guess it was Charlie's turn.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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New Flooring, DH, and Mother's Day

April 15 - new vinyl plank flooring bought. First choice was High Point Chestnut by TrafficMaster (Home Depot). Second choice was Ginger Wood by Home Decorators Collection (Home Depot). The guy at Home Depot said that they sometimes have people come in saying that these floors got scratched easier than they expected. He recommended the brand LifeProof. We chose the style/finish Heirloom Pine.

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April 28 - Charlie had a follow up appointment with his doctor. They removed the staples, said everything looks good, and told him that he could eat whatever he wanted. I can only imagine how happy that made him. lol He's been eating many things he couldn't eat because of diverticulitis and the rupture/infection. Including my homemade spaghetti, fried chicken, sausage, etc. This week he wants my chili. :-)

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May 9 - Mother's Day. And what a beautiful day it was! Perfect weather (sunshine, temps in the 70s), wonderful church service, cards, flowers from Sean and Ashley, flowers from Charlie, money from my mom and from Charlie. I used the money Charlie gave me to buy clothes, shoes, a couple purses, and a few sweaters. All from eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, and Thredup. Which meant I could get lots of things at great prices. Much of what I buy still has tags on it. :-)

 

I'm quite short and one of the things I love about buying clothes this way is I can usually see or find out the measurements of things and find shirts and other things that aren't ridiculously long on me. Even shirts in the petite sections of department stores are usually too long. I've managed to buy a few shirts that are the right length. In the past, I've said I could just take things to a seamstress, but I never do.

The day before Mother's Day, Kelly and I went to Cugino Forno (THE best pizza!) before vacuuming the church. :-)

 

 

From Sean and Ashley.

From Charlie.

 

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Sometime this past week, the governor of North Carolina lifted the mask mandate for vaccinated people. Though I can't help but wonder why vaccinated people should be afraid of being around unvaccinated people without a mask. Doesn't the shot mean that if you do get covid it will be a milder case? That on top of the fact that around 96%-99% of people who get it survive?

 

Despite what the governor has said, stores can still demand people wear masks. :-/ A declaration by the government should be for wherever we go. Other than medical facilities, of course.

 

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Charlie finally started laying the new flooring this past Saturday. He had begun ripping out the carpet in the living room and hallway before that. The living room flooring is almost done. (Still have to do quarter round molding, and the reducer molding between the new flooring and the tile in the dining room and kitchen.) The hallway is not quite halfway done. He'll be doing Kelly's room after finishing the living room and hallway, then my office/library, and then our bedroom.

I can't wait until it's done. It feels like it's taking forever. lol

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Easter, Surgery, Special Days for Sean

Sean and Ashley celebrated their first wedding anniversary on March 21st. They left for Southport on Friday, March 19th, and came back on Tuesday, March 23rd. It was a little cool (60s) and rained or drizzled a few times, but they enjoyed their time away. I'm glad they did, but I'm more glad that they were safe. As a mother, I always worry.

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Easter was April 4th. Possibly my favorite holiday. I feel like the older I get, the more I love it. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous. Temperatures in the low to mid 70s and clear, Carolina blue skies. I went to church (as did my mom, Sean, and Ashley), but Charlie stayed home to avoid the possibility of being exposed to covid (which would delay his surgery) and Kelly stayed home with him. I was sad not to have them with me. Easter would've been perfect if they had been.

As for what I wore, this was probably the cheapest Easter ever. lol (Except for the year when I didn't buy anything.) I paid $17, before shipping and tax, for an Anne Klein dress off of eBay, around $20, give or take before shipping and tax, for a pair of heels from Amazon, and about $20 before tax for a straw purse from TJ Maxx. The purse I wanted was about $40 at DSW, but they were sold out. :-/ I wore an ivory/beige Calvin Klein shrug that I've had for about 10 years or so. So I spent probably less than $75 total. That's less than what I've paid for just a dress. lol Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari have made me kind of cheap now when it comes to what I pay for clothes and shoes. lol

 

I love this dress!

 

 

 

This ended up being too small. I struggled to fit the absolute necessities in it - driver's license, debit card, a little cash, my little iPod, a bottle of medicine, Tic Tacs, a pen, my cell phone, and my keys.

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Charlie went to Wesley Long on Monday, April 5th, for his covid test. Which was negative. Then his surgery was on Thursday, April 8th, at Moses Cone. It was supposed to start at 2:00 and take 3 hours, but they didn't start until almost 3:00 and were done between 4:30 and 4:45. 

 

I was in the waiting area on the 2nd floor/main entrance floor from about noon (we arrived shortly before that) until around 4:00. It was a noisy waiting room. It's open to the main hall/concourse that goes from the main entrance to several rooms, elevators, stairways, and branches/hallways. So there was a lot of foot traffic and some people were pushing carts and things. Plus, every couple minutes someone's cell phone would go off. (I had my phone on silent.) And a few people in the waiting area were having conversations. I felt like my brain was being assaulted.

 

I had passed the time reading a book (Days of Danger by Jack Hunt), getting on Facebook on my phone, dozing off, and just looking around. When my stomach started growling around 4:00, I went down to the first floor to get something from Panera. I ordered a pepperoni flatbread pizza (it was alright) and a bottle of water.

That area of the hospital was much quieter. I sat at a table near the windows across from Panera and enjoyed this more peaceful area. I was about halfway through eating my food when I got a text (they had been keeping me informed this way throughout the day) after 4:30 telling me that Charlie was out of surgery and was being taken to recovery. The doctor called shortly after that and left a message saying that everything went really well. He removed the bad part of Charlie's intestines and the rest looked great.

A few minutes later, I went back up to the waiting area where I had been. They said they were going to move him to a room in about an hour, but that didn't happen. I may have dozed off a time or two while I waited. 

 

Sometime after 6:00, they said that they should be moving Charlie to a room soon and that I could go to the waiting area on the 6th floor. I was there for about an hour when they texted me again and said that he didn't have a room yet, but that I could come to recovery to see him since visiting hours would be over in less than an hour. So, back to the second floor I went.

A nurse named Mackenzie (don't know how she spelled her name) met me outside the doors near the bigger waiting area where I'd spent most of the day and walked me to recovery to see Charlie. I spent less than 30 minutes with him before I had to leave.

Charlie was in the hospital until this past Sunday. Of course, I went to see him every day. He was in quite a bit of pain (he said an 8 out of 10) and had some periods of nausea every day. Sean came to see him once or twice and our pastor spent a few minutes with him.

The day Charlie came home, he had texted me late that morning saying he expected to get out some time after 1:00. I got in the shower shortly after that text and while I was in the shower he texted again saying he could leave right then. He then texted Sean (since I didn't respond) in a group text with me and Sean went to get him. I had just stepped out of the shower when I saw that Sean was leaving to get him.

Charlie has been sleeping in a recliner in the living room since getting home. He tried to sleep in our bed his first night home, but it was too painful to lie flat. He wasn't in the bed a minute before I had to help him up so he could sleep in a recliner. He tried again tonight/last night, but it's still a bit too painful. I told him it hasn't even been a week yet since his surgery and not to rush things.

He can go back to work in 2 weeks as long as he doesn't do any heavy lifting. 

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Sean's 24th birthday was April 9th. I hate that we couldn't spend the day with him since Charlie was in the hospital and of course I was with Charlie. Charlie had taken Sean to play golf a couple times before his surgery, so I guess that was Sean's birthday gift from us. I gave him a birthday card from us. Actually, Sean came to the hospital on his birthday for a few minutes, so I sang "happy birthday" to him in Charlie's hospital room. I'm pretty sure Ashley made him a cake.

 

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On Monday, Charlie wanted to go with me to get groceries so that he could do some walking. I also had to go to Petsmart to get filters for Loki's cat fountain. (The one on Wendover didn't have it and neither did Petco on Wendover. I found it at the Petsmart on Lawndale.) I told him that if it got to be too much that he should go sit in the car. He did fine though. We went to the pet supply stores first and then to Cugino Forno for pizza (we were the only ones there) before getting groceries at Food Lion and Walmart.

He wants to go tomorrow to buy new flooring for the house from Home Depot. We had decided on which one we wanted before his surgery, but they were sold out. I filled in my email address on the website and they emailed me a few days later saying that it's back in stock. Hopefully it still will be when we go tomorrow.

We also have to go to the vet to get one of Milo's medicines and the pet pharmacy to get his other medicine.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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