From my last post until June 17, I was busy getting ready for a bridal shower for my soon-to-be DIL. By the time the shower happened, I was so fried mentally and physically, I didn't even think to take pictures!! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know, I NEVER forget to take pictures!! I am so mad at myself for forgetting the pictures!
My mom came down from the U.P. to help me with the shower, and I know I couldn't have pulled it off without her!! She came on Wednesday afternoon and stayed until the shower was over. We were on the go constantly! Running to this store and that getting all of the supplies, as well as getting a couple of new outfits. I think we spent at least 12 hours per day Wednesday through Friday on our feet. Me in flip flops (dumb), and not in my stable Nikes with my orthodic inserts.
When I woke up Saturday morning for the shower, I could barely walk! My right hip was screaming out in protest. It was all I could do to get a shower and get dressed. I was seriously close to tears from the pain, Ibuprofen was not even touching it. I sent out an urgent prayer request to my cousins and by the time the shower started, I didn't have any pain! As soon as it was over and I was unloading my car, it hit full force again- but I was so thankful that I had that time pain free!
My friend Janet came to the shower, straight from work. She worked all night long with a Hospice patient and then came and kicked me out of the kitchen! She took over and served the food when it was time, and then she cleaned it all up so I didn't have a single thing to do other than pack it in my car! I know my soon to be DIL was mightily blessed by the love of the people who showed up and showered here with attention and gifts, but I think I was blessed more by the love of my family and friend that day!
In the days leading up to the shower, on top of all of the planning, and shopping, I had several doctor appointments. One was for shoulder pain that started at my second to last volleyball game back in April. I thought the pain would go away with rest, so I didn't go to the Dr. immediately. When a month passed and it wasn't any better, (and my cousin was nagging me every day to go see the doctor), I decided to go in.
That ended up leading to an ultrasound of my shoulder, elbow, forearm and wrist. Since the whole arm was hurting, they decided to see what was going on throughout. The technician told me she found a small tear in my rotator cuff, as well as severe tendinitis in my elbow/forearm area and thankfully, she said do carpal tunnel in my wrist. She said I'd have to wait to hear from my doctor for sure, but that is what she saw.
A few days later, the message from my doctor confirmed the technician's findings. That started me on a course of physical therapy twice a week. I've also been running for other appointments here and there, and one day around Memorial Day, I found a strange bruise on my leg. I was showering and as I washed my leg, I felt a tender spot. Upon closer inspection, I noticed there was a ring shaped bruise that was about a half-circle around a puncture mark.
I assumed I had been bitten by a spider, and thought if it was anything deadly, I'd probably already be dead, so I didn't go to the doctor right away. I watched it and waited. The puncture mark in the middle went away, but the bruise grew. It swelled up and was raised from my leg, and it also turned into a complete circle, still in a ring shape with a clear center.
After talking to a couple of ladies at work, I decided to have my doctor take a look at it. Just in case it was a tick bite, I wanted to be checked out to make sure i didn't develop Lyme disease. My doctor was booked for over a week and they suggested I go to urgent care. So, I went. I got chewed out by the Dr (who was not even a Dr, but a PA) for not coming in sooner. He said he had no proof that I didn't get hit by a baseball or something...he wouldn't take my word for it.
Since I didn't get anywhere with him about the bruise/bite, I mentioned my hip/back and immediately his demeanor changed! He has issues with sciatica so he could understand my pain. Between the hip/back pain and the shoulder pain, I hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while and with all of the extra work at work (trying to get two youth group trips finalized and ready to go, learning a new software system and trying to work ahead so things would go smoothly while I was on vacation), and all the extra running to appointments I was getting crabby!!
He gave me a prescription for muscle relaxers and some narcotic pain killers. I was elated to think I was finally going to sleep!! That night, I only took the muscle relaxers, thinking if I could only get the muscles to relax, that it would all be good...a few hours later, when I still wasn't sleeping, I decided to take the pain pill too. It worked, for about 3 hours...then I was right back where I was before with the miserable pain.
Since then, I've only used them one other time, and it too wasn't successful. I've been working on stretching out my hip and shoulders and doing the shoulder exercises that the PT gave me, and I am finally getting about 5 uninterrupted hours of sleep in one stretch now. The other night I got 7, so it is getting better. I'm not sure where I stand as far as volleyball for the fall though. I contacted the ladies from my Wednesday league and told them if they find someone over the summer who wants to play, to take them, and I would move to the sub list. It makes me sad, to think I might not be playing, but I know I need to take the time to let it heal.
The Thursday after the shower, I got some very scary news about a very close family member. The kind of news that makes you fall on your knees and pray that what you heard wasn't true! Since then, they have gone for a second opinion and found out that yes, it is true, but it is in the very early stages, and it is a very non-aggressive disease, so they are going to run a couple more tests, watch things and hold off on treatment until it becomes more active. It's kind of like a reprieve, but also kind of like a ticking time bomb-waiting for it to take off, so they can do something about it.
The following Monday, after the girls were done at the groomer, we went north to "God's Country" (the U.P.) to spend some time with my parents and to just veg out! Our guys got a few days off and they were able to join us, along with our soon-to-be DIL. The three guys went to Iron Mountain on Friday and did some white water rafting (if you could call it that-they weren't really impressed, especially since it was 3.5 hours away!), and us three girls went to the Soo to wander around a craft show and some souvenir shops. We saw one ship in the locks and what seemed like a million people milling around for Engineer's Day.
I don't know if my DIL to be will remember her first trip to the Soo with fond memories or not, it was kind of a whirlwind trip and it was made all the more weird with trying to avoid the crowds. We had a very nice lunch at Karl's, but then we've always had great food there!
The rest of the week was spent being L A Z Y! I read several books, went on a few pontoon rides and sat at a few campfires, visited my fav antiques shop in Pellston, and the second to last day, my mom and I joined Mr and my youngest for a float down the Carp River in our kayaks. They had gone the day before and had a blast and talked us into going.
It was very tricky getting into the kayaks, but once we were in, the smooth current scooted us right along. It was a beautiful trek and we didn't have to do much work to follow the twists and turns. It was wonderful, until we came to some rapids!!! It was kind of scary, but we made it through, they weren't very big and the stretch wasn't very long. We came across one more section and the guys were telling us we were in the clear...until I came around a curve and heard the water roaring again!!! The third set of rapids was much faster and about 4-5 times as long as the first two!
I got swept into them really fast and it was all I could do to concentrate on not bumping into rocks or flipping over! I heard my mom screech a little bit, but there was no way I could turn around without dumping myself. I knew my guys were back there with her, so I just trusted that they'd take care of her if she needed it. I got through the rapids and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and turned around and there was NO ONE behind me!!!
I sat and watched, and waited for what seemed like forever, and finally, my mom came spitting out-WHEW!!! Then my son, then Mr. Whew!! Everyone was safe!!! Although, mom got turned around in one of the dips and almost flipped! As we came around the last bend we paddled right up to a couple of fishing boats and they laughed when they heard we had just been through the rapids. Then the best sight of the day was just ahead...my Dad, standing on the shore waving! He was our ride home! He dropped us off, ran a couple of errands and met us at the pick-up spot.
I was the driest one of the four of us. Mom was totally soaked!! We laughed and recounted our stories to dad as he drove us home. What a FUN day!! I would totally do it again-especially now that I know what to expect! The guys said our little 2 hour trip was a lot more fun than the actual white water rafting trip that they had taken just a few days before!
We came home a couple of days early because my cousin's son is getting married tomorrow! I really love his bride-to-be. We've hit it off this past year and I've really enjoyed getting to know her more. Today was a stressful day for her, she was texting me, and I was doing my best to peel her off the ceiling, and reminding her to breath. I am excited to be able to be there to watch them say their vows tomorrow!
This morning, I took off for the south and some treasure hunting! It's been a long time since I've been to Jeffrey's and to the Maumee Antique Mall, so since I had the time, I took off on an adventure! As I was getting closer to Jeffrey's I was seeing lightening shooting straight down to the ground off in the distance. I could see the dark clouds and was wondering if I was going to get caught in a downpour. luckily, only the last three miles were rainy, and by the time I pulled in the parking lot, it had all but stopped.
I held the door for a dealer couple coming in with a big cart full of stuff to restock their booth. She asked me what I was looking for, and I told her that I collect Pyrex and Fiesta, she said to stop by her booth (she told me where to look) and she'd give me a good deal on Pyrex, she was just bringing some in. I went the opposite way of them, to give them time to unload and me some time to wander, and when I finally found my way to their booth, they were still unloading and fluffing things up. She didn't have any Pyrex that I was looking for, but she did have a nice tablecloth that ended up coming home with me!
After that, I went to Great Finds in Maumee and then on to the Maumee Antique Mall. I found some things at both places, and then headed home. I almost always stop in Dundee at the Swan Creek Candle Outlet when I'm coming home from Maumee and Jeffrey's, and since I hadn't been for a while, I made sure to stop today. I found two awesome tablecloths right away in their basement antique shop and then wandered to the second floor antique shop to see what treasures I could find there!
I found a three tiered tidbit tray that was super cheap and as I was holding it and looking for other treasures, an elderly gentleman came up to me and offered to take it down to the cashier station for me. He kept thanking me for buying it from him. I finally got to meet the dealer in the upstairs booth!! He was super nice and friendly. I should have told him how many things I've bought of his over the years!!
As I was leaving, he was coming back in with boxes filled with more treasures, and he thanked me again for buying the tidbit tray. What a nice man!!
I got on the expressway and got going toward home when I got the ding, of traffic ahead. What I didn't know right away was that there was an accident and the whole expressway was shut down!! I ended up creeping along for a few miles until it came to a complete stop. I was in the fast lane and there was no way I could get over to try to get off at the exit. After about an hour, a big truck next to me was able to swing over to the right, and drove through a ditch to the exit ramp. That opened things up for me to follow, and since my car was so small compared to his semi, I didn't need to go into the ditch at all.
I kind of winged it since the road at the end of the ramp was closed in the direction I was planning to go, and eventually I ended up skirting around and back on the expressway. The trip home took an extra hour and a half. It was still worth it! I really enjoyed my day! I picked up way too many tablecloths!! But I think you'll agree, they are all pretty awesome!! They are all very different and not the run of the mill tablecloths that you see everywhere. Now I think I need to impose a ban on purchasing any more tablecloths-at least for the rest of the summer! I don't even want to guess how many I have now! Good thing I sold so much at my garage sale, to make room for my new finds!!
I forgot to mention about the garage sale...It was fun, hot, sweaty and interesting...all rolled into one big, "I'm not doing that again for a VERRRRY LONG TIME!" kind of thing. I met some local fellow collectors from some Facebook groups, who came and shopped my sale, and possibly a blog reader, who when he was leaving said "Happy Hunting", but never indicated that he was a blog reader when he was here, so I am not entirely sure if he just happened to say that out of the blue, or if he was giving me a clue that he figured out who I was.
I tried giving some things away on a local freecycle group, and I was blown away by how nasty some of those ladies got...over FREE stuff! I was rocked to my core! It was pretty devastating how mean and nasty they were, and here I was only trying to get rid of some things, and hopefully help someone else out as well. I won't ever use that site again. I only encountered one person who was kind, and thankful...the rest were rude, nasty and very mean. I felt like I was being attacked. I quickly pulled all of my ads and stopped the craziness of it all.
Mr had some luck on a local woodworking buy/sell group, he sold his lathe to a guy who drove up from south of Chicago!! We got rid of a ton of stuff so far this summer!
Since we've been home, our youngest son's chickens and turkeys have kept us entertained. The lone rooster is learning how to crow, and it is the funniest sound you ever did hear!!! I can't even describe it. He is a very mellow rooster. He follows the turkeys around the yard all day, I think he thinks he is a turkey! He isn't aggressive at all. We are trying to figure out why most of his tail feathers are gone, they were all there when we left, We got a surprise tonight...we found three eggs!!! The girls are laying about 12 days earlier than we expected!! It will be nice to have fresh eggs again!!
How about you?? What have you been up to this past month?? I hope you have had some time to stop and smell the roses! I am planning to be more intentional about slowing down!! I do have a few things planned for the rest of the summer, and a few things I have to do (PT, and a couple of Dr appointments), but other than that, I am sticking close to home and just hanging out!!
Sunday I am planning a trip to Shed 5 at Eastern Market, and then it's back to work on Monday! That will be the end of my 17 days off!!! I can't believe it is over already! There were a lot more things that happened, in those days off, just little things, but they sure filled up the days and made them go by fast! I am hoping things will be calmer at work and less stressful when I go back. I didn't like how frazzled I felt at the end of each day prior to my vacation.
Here are some pics of what's been going on in my world since my last post...I make a separate post with my treasures from treasure hunting!
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