November 30, 2022. The Worker Bee.

 Today was a beautiful day full of sunshine and breezes.  Abe is enjoying the weather here in Mississippi so he wanders around outside, just looking.  Both yesterday and today Anna and Abe went for a long walk, which means he is getting better.  But he is still not supposed to begin any real work.  But you can not hold him back.

This afternoon I saw him fiddling with my front door.  In order to close it properly, you had to close the door with a bit of a band.  If you just close the door quietly, the door opens by itself.  So Abe fixed it.  Now no matter how you close the door, it stays closed.  I asked him about working and he assured me that he did not stretch or strain.  "Now it is fixed," he said.

Then later in the afternoon I could hear a machine from outside.  I asked Anna what Abe was doing.  But she did not know.  Eventually he came inside and I asked him about the machine outside.  He laughed and told me to listen carefully for the man blowing his leaves next door.   Then he admitted that he had blown the leaves on my property.  So he fixed it even though he knows he is not supposed to be working.  Clearly he is doing well.  His recuperation in Mississippi has been a success.

Anna has been my helper in Nova Scotia the past four years.  Abe is her husband.  I knew he was a worker bee but I have never seen anyone quite like him.  Now I wonder what he would do to fix my house if he was well?

November 30, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. My Beer Steins.

In my house in Mississippi are three chairs I sit in every day.  One chair is in the corner of the living room, beside the window.  I sit in that chair every morning for breakfast.  And I read.  Opposite that chair is a couch.  I sit at the far end and read e mails.  Right beside me on the couch I keep my ipad plus chargers.  Then in the little TV room is my chair where I eat meals when I am alone.  All chairs are comfortable.  Beside each chair can be found a beer stein, full of water.

Beside the breakfast chair is a beer stein I bought just outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania.  It looks old, because it was made in the style of the first settlers.  The stein is brown with black flecks.  When fired, charcoal was placed inside which gave the black marking to the pottery.  I bought it at an antique store, when I was at a RE meeting in Hershey.  The store owner was quick to tell me that the pottery was not old, but was made in the old style.  I like it.

Beside my email couch is a Blue Mountain Pottery stein, which is made in Ontario.  I bought that stein for $1. in Galveston in 1964, at a yard sale.  The owner had no clue where the stein was made.  Bit I did.  I have enjoyed it ever since. 

Beside my TV chair is a blue pottery stein from Austria.  I brought that stein home with me one year when we were skiing.  It is heavy.  It has pretty markings which I like.  So every day my helper Portia fills my three steins.  Sometimes the TV stein needs refilling.  These three steins bring me pleasure.  Memory is a wonderful thing.

November 29, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Tasks.

Abe is visiting me here in Mississippi specifically to recover from his hernia surgery, which he had done in Indiana..  So he is supposed to be resting most of the time.  But truth be told, he just can not help himself  from being helpful and fining tasks needing of fixing.  

The first thing Anna and Abe did was to fix the arm of my computer chair.  It was wiggling.  She Abe found the correct screwdriver, while anna actually did the work.  Now both my arms are steady.  Next was my toilet seat.  My seat had gotten off kilter and Anna fixed it so now it is straight.  The first time they went out to the back deck they struggled to get the door open.  It was stuck.  So with Abe telling Anna what to do my door now opens easily.  "If I was well, I would fix them both properly", said Abe.  But that must wait for another visit.

I have a dimmer switch in the dining room.  Both Anna and Abe were pouring over my Atlas to mark their routes during they time in the US.  They use the GPS which does not tell them what is around them.  So they had the light up bright.  When Abe went to turn off the switch, he discovered that the switch was hot. So he asked Portia to get another switch, and promptly replaced the switch.  Actually, the problem was the grounding.  Now that switch does not get warm, let alone hot.

So Abe is resting and recuperating.  But he also has completed many tasks.  For that, I am grateful.

November 28, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Our Sunday Brunch.

We were not sure that Abe would be able to go out for a restaurant, so today Christina brought brunch to us.  She brought food from an Asian restaurant so brought Japanese for the girls, Chinese for Abe and Anna and Thai food for me and herself.  Our food was delicious.  We sat around in the living room as is my habit.  Sitting in a wooden dining chair is excruciating for me so I eat my food sitting in a comfortable chair.  I kind of tell if the chemo is working by the level of pain in my back.  This summer I knew the Ibrance was not working because of my back .  So we sat around the living room enjoying our food snd each other.  And we had a good visit too.

After Christina and the girls left, Abe and I took a nap while Anna went for a long walk in the neighborhood.   Anna and Abe have never experienced this temperature so they are enjoying the weather.  They go out on the back deck every day and Anna has taken to run up and down to the dock, which is not an easy feat.  While I drank my orange drink, we watched football.  Then after supper, we read the psalms.  And started to listen some clips about Dolly Parton on Abes phone.  We listened to some interviews and we heard several songs.  We had fun.  Our Sunday brunch was lovely as well as the whole day.  I feel fortunate to have Anna and Abe living in my home.

November 27, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. A Rain Day.

 Anna and Abe are enjoying the temperature and the sunshine in Mississippi.  Of course, if they were not here they would be in Pennsylvania, where it is already cold.  Up until today, the weather has been perfect.  But today was different.  It rained all  day.  I mean all day.  Anna could not even go for a walk.  But it was a perfect day for napping.  Abe is recovering so takes a nap both morning and evening.  He is doing well.

We had a good day at home.  Anna makes sure I soak my foot three times each day and she prepares our meals.  Rain all day made everyone pleased because they know how dry Mississippi still is.  We are short of water.  The Mississippi is still short of water.  One thing we have been doing since their arrival is to read the Psalms from the King James Bible.  After dinner, Anna and Abe take turns reading a psalm or two.  I love the language of the King James Bible so I am enjoying hearing them out loud.  So far we have read 10 psalms.

We watched an hour of Gospel music on the Rural station.  All three of us enjoys gospel songs.  So we had fun.  Later we listened to Reba McIntyre during a fund raiser for PBS.  So our day of rain passed.  And we were happy.

November 26, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Thanksgiving Feast.

Three years ago, Christina and the girls celebrated with me for Thanksgiving.  We were to be all by ourselves.  So Christina and I were discussing our feast.  Suggest that I would order the turkey and trimmings from Primos, a place I had used in past years.  Christina admitted that she does not really enjoy eating turkey so we quickly changed our plans.  And we developed our new custom.

For the past three years, we have eaten steak for our Thanksgiving.  Our feast never varies.  We eat good steaks, cheesy potatoes and green beans along with orange rolls and dessert.  I order the steaks from Allen Brothers, the best steak house in the country.  And Christina does everything else.  The dinners were delicious and the clean up is minimal.  We all agree that we we enjoy our new tradition of steak for Thanksgiving.  Delicious and time saving.  What could be better.   

November 25, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Chris and Mexico.

I have not been at my best since returning to Mississippi.  My Pet scan was not good.  I developed a cough and I had a pneumonia.  In addition, my foot started hurting again.  And it was red and swollen.   I have asked my helper, Portia to work every day because I really was not able to look after myself.  So I was worried about traveling to Mexico by myself.

First I asked Portia if she could accompany me and stay for a few days of vacation.  She does have a passport but the timing was bad as it was too close to Christmas.  I mentioned my problem to my Lyft driver and he told me that he also had a Passport.  Further more, he was willing to travel just before Christmas.  I asked him if he would be willing to help me and look after me until Wendy and Ken arChristmas.  rive.  And he agreed.  In addition, he will stay with us in our Villa for a bit of a vacation.  He was reluctant to bother us  but I assured him that the accommodation was big enough for all.

So that is what will happen.  We leave on December 18 and Wendy and Ken, Alana and Nick will arrive on the 19th, at 6:00 pm.  Then for the rest of the week he will enjoy a little vacation in Nuevo Vallarta.  He is thrilled.  And so am I. 

November 24, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Anna and Abe.

 This summer, I invited Anna and Abe to come to Mississippi so Abe could recover  from hernia surgery.  It seemed like an impossible dream.  But it has happened, just as we dreamed.  Abe had his surgery in Indiana on Monday.  The doctors told them that there would be no problem for Abe to travel right after surgery.  So they drove four and a half hours before stopping for the night.  Anna drove while Abe rested while recling in the front seat.

The next day they drove the five and a half hours to my home in Mississippi.  They arrived at 4:30.  We were all so pleased with their arrival.  What seemed like a pipe dream has become reality.  Abe is a worker bee and I know if they returned to their family in Pennsylvania Abe would be tempted to begin working.  But here he has nothing to do except rest.  He is doing well, taking a nap both morning and afternoon.

Anna is looking after Abe, changing his dressing once a day along with everything else.  In addition, Anna is looking after me, which she was not expecting to be a part of the visit.  But she is a good soul so she has taken on the task.  I am back to soaking my foot, except now I must soak three times a day plus take an antibiotic.  And she is doing all the cooking.  I bought frozen meat from Omaha Steaks so the freezer if full of chops, steaks etc. 

Before they arrived Anna wanted to know how they could contribute to the food.  I told her not to worry.  I will provide the food if you will cook and clean up.  And she is doing a good job.  Our meals have been delicious.  Tonight we ate chicken, carrots and potatoes along with gravy.  Home cooked hot meals can not be beat.  Now they are settled into the house.  And I am enjoying their company.  It is a treat having them live in my house.

November 22, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Cleaning the Vents.

Irene and I thought it as a good idea to clean out my air vents.  We have never had them done and I feel sure the former owners never did.  So Monday, my ac and heating contractor came to do the job.  They have a power scrubber that gets all the dust off the walls of the vents.  Then they suck out all the junk using a powerful vacuum.  He thought it would take two days.  But he was finished in one long day.  I do not have a lot of furniture to move so the job went quicker.  And he reduced the price.  He carried out multiple bags of dust and he assured me that I would notice a difference.  

Today I was amazed at the difference.  I have a ceiling fan in the living room, which I never use.  I am not a fan of fans.  But this morning, my fan was running very slowly.  I thought that the cleaning lady must have turned on a switch so had Portia check all the switches.  Nothing  .  And then the fan slowly stopped. The next time the heat went on, Portia noticed the fam moving.  We realized that the increase in air flow from the clean vents was making the fan runs.  I was amazed with the difference.  All of a sudden, my air flow was dramatically stronger.  My contractor was correct.  Clean vents made a big difference in my home.  

November 21, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Christmas Decorations.

My house is decorated for Christmas.  The outside lights have been installed and look beautiful and festive.  My wreath is hanging on the front door, Made by Patty who loves in Vermont.  I have been ordering wreaths from Patty for over 30 years.  The boughs are fresh, gathered from the woods behind her house.  The final touch are two poinsettias, given to me by Eleanor and Jim when they visited last week.  As I will be gone before Christmas, I have left my decorations in the boxes, to be used another year.  My house now looks like Christmas.

Several years ago, Christina decided to put up their Christmas decorations prior to Thanksgiving.  The family wee going to busy every weekend prior to Christmas, so she decided to decorate at a time that gave them time to put everything up, including the tree.  Christina and the girls discovered that they all enjoy the extra time to enjoy the Christmas look.  So ever since that time, Christina and the girls decorate prior to Thanksgiving.  Christina finds that the lack of a busy schedule is pleasant.  No rush is always a good thing.  Their outside lights have also been installed, but she never turns them on until Thanksgiving day.

This year, Christina and the girls will join Kate in Greenville for Christmas.  This year the tree was not decorated.  No sense decorating a tree if there will be no gifts underneath the tree.  So the Dickie family are set for Christmas.  Clever Christina gets laughed at for decorating so early but she just laughs.  The early decoration works for her.

November 20, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Winter.

My Wonderful Wendy drive to Indiana to spend time with her daughter Katey and the new baby while Bock, the daddy attended a conference.  The weather was perfect during the drive south.  And she was expecting to drive home to Ontario, leaving on Saturday.  But then winter set in so she waited for the roads became better.  Tomorrow she will head north and she hopes that the interstate highways will all be clear.  Indiana got only a small amount of snow.

At Dave and Irene's home in Ancaster, winter has arrived in full force.   They have had lots of snow so the whole area would be pretty.  There is nothing better to see than the first snow of the season.  And it has been cold too.  So winter really has arrived in the north.

Here in Mississippi, the temperatures have been low too.    Daytime temperatures have been in the low 50s while at night the temperatures have been 30.  People here comment that the winter has arrived in Mississippi.  But it does not seem like winter to me.  If you could see the people  you would think it really was winter.  Lots of scarves and coats seen by everyone.  I must say I enjoy the Mississippi winter.  But I love to remember the snow!!

November 19, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Mississippi Friends.

I do not have many friends in Mississippi.  But the ones I have are stellar.  

Friday, Greta Barbour and John brought lunch at 12:30.  They picked up food at the Alladin, a Meditarean restaurant in the Fondren area of Jackso, very close to their home.  I enjoyed their visit thoroughly but what I enjoyed most was the conversation.  I was staring seeing my friend.  For the first two weeks I had appointments with doctors.  Then I got too sick to visit with anyone so I cancelled all the engagements I had set up for lunches and coffee.  But after resting, this week I arranged for friends to visit.  And so we had lunch at my house.

I had not seen Greta Barbour and John since I left in Mid May so we had a lot of things to discuss.  I needed to be kept up to date with the lives of their children.  And John's father has been fighting cancer and is getting worn down by the chemo.  John makes a winter garden at their home and he is busily harvesting different types of squash.  Our conversation was wide ranging.  They both their full meal but I was more interested in them than their food.

I ate after they left at 2:30 and I ate a second meal today.  I still have more food for tomorrow too.  I am grateful for my friends in Mississippi.

November 18, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Doctors.

 Portia, my new and excellent helper, commented  to me that she was looking forward  to my appointment with my Oncologist on Wednesday.  I laughed and asked her what she expects will happen when we meet with Dr. Sheehan.  Portia said that she expected the doctor will find out what was the matter.  She clearly has an elevated opinion about doctors.  I urged her to lower her expectations.  And suggested that the good doctor will have no clue why I was feeling so miserable.

So we met with Dr. Sheehan who had no clue as to what was the matter with me.  But she ordered a Ct scan  that day and she wanted more blood  to obtain different tests  So Portia and I went out to lunch then returned for the scan.  So I had twice taken blood and now the nurses needed to insert the dye into my veins, which they struggled to accomplish.  After thirty minutes of beating on my arms I decided that at some point in the neat future,  I was going to stop gelling all those high tech tests.

Turns out that the scan showed a pneumonia so the doctor prescribed an antibiotic which my neighbor picked up that afternoon.  So I was wrong and Portia was right.  Now I just need to get better.

November 17, , 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Sunday Night Football.

 I enjoy watching Sunday Night Football although I do not watch much football all day.  I stopped watching football several years ago when the NFL handled the ontroversity with the taking the knee for the anthem.  And there were too many flags.  So I quit watching football.

But I like the song.  It was the first time I ever hears Carrie Underwood.  She looks great.  And she had a wonderful voice so I would look up the game just to see the beginning.  Sometimes I also watched the game.

The second reason I like Sunday Night Football is one of the announcer.  Christ Collingsworth is by far the best commentator on any channel.  And you could only listen to him on Sunday evening.    I always learn something from Chris but his comments are never complicated.  Neat trick.

So I always turn on Sunday Night Football even though I do not often watch for long.  But I enjoy.

November 16, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Mississippi x Two.

Another aspect I enjoy about living in Mississippi is the time zone.  All my favorite programs come on at 7:00 here.  In Nova Scotia, I am on Atlantic time  which means try favorites begin at 9 and end at 11, which means I am too late going upstairs.  So I just skip evening television.  Here In Mississippi in the Central Time Zone I love it.

The second thing I enjoy in Mississippi is the gospel music on the television.   I live in the south, in the Bible Belt so am able to watch good gospel music all week.  Just an hour here and a half an hour there keeps me happy.  I was brought up on gospel music but in Nova Scotia I was never able to see any on TV. But not here.  Great fun for me.

November 15, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. An Excursion.

Two weeks ago, Christ and I had planned  on an  excursion to Natchez.  And we were taking lunch at the Magnolia Grill.  But I was sick so had to cancel.  We rescheduled for two weeks.  So today was the day.  When yesterday came along, I knew I could not manage a drive to Natchez so I suggested that we drive on the Natchez Trace along the Reservoir.  So that was the plan.

I am still not really up to snuff so I almost cancelled.  But Portia urged me to go  as I have been in the house for three weeks.  So I went.  I am still coughing a lot, especially when talking.  But we had a good day.  No rain but overcast so perfect for a drive in the country.  There were almost no cars on the Trace.  Then after another 15 minutes on the Trace, we turned east, then south and enjoyed highway 25 as we wended our way back to Jackson.

We decided I was up for lunch so we went to a Thai restaurant in Madison.  We left at 10:30 and returned home at 1:30.  And I did well.   Then I slept for 2 hours. 

November 14, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Christmas Lights.

Ken loved to put out the outside Christmas lights.  Every year in after Christmas sales, Ken would buy more outside Christmas lights.  He hung so many light that the house was a bit garish.  But we did not mind.  Ken was so proud of his handiwork that we all cheered him on.  He even decorated the farm with outside lights that our neighbors loved.  People came from far and wide to see the farm decorations.

But when we moved to Mississippi, Ken had Parkinson's Disease and installing the outside lights was dangerous, so we stopped doing them.  This made Ken especially sad and mad.  The second year we were here, Bradley , looked after our exterior lights which were a mess.  No lights worked although there were fixtures and cords running everywhere.  But Bradley got it all together and we were happy with the exterior lighting.

Then I casually asked him if he ever installed Christmas lights.  He just laughed and told me that he has a separate company just to install Christmas lights.  So we hired him.  And Ken was happy.

Today, Bradley installed my Christmas lights.  He uses his lights.  Installs them.  And then takes them down to store until next year.  No fuss nor muss.   I also do the same for Christmas lights for Christina and Suzanne, but of course a different company in San Antonio.  The lights are lovely.  And I am happy.

Novermer 13, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Allergies.

 Tomorrow morning, the ac and heating man is coming to measure my ducks.  On Friday morning, Irene wondered if there is something in the house causing me trouble.  Interesting enough, in the middle of the night, I wondered the same.  The only thing we could figure out to do was to vacuum out all the air ducks. So I will figure out if it is affordable.  If I agree with his price, he will complete the work this week.

We have lived here since April 2015 and we have never had the ducks cleaned out.  I feel sure that the former  owner never did it either.  So we will see if it helps.  I am not prone to allergies and I keep the ac and heat running all the time.  There is no criteria in the attic.  The exterminator was here two weeks ago and all was well.  So we will see if cleaning out the ducks will help.  I hope so.

November 12, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Mississippi.

I never dreamed that I would ever live in Mississippi.  But I like it here.

I like my house, which overlooks the reservoir.  And the house is not grand but I have everything I need on the main level.  Downstairs I have a guest room with a full bath, Ken's office with another full bath.  Ken also enjoyed the solarian overlooking the water where he could watch and hear the fishermen.  There is also a small television room plus a furnace room.  I never venture down.  It makes me feel sad.

I also like the neighborhood which is quiet and safe.  My across the street neighbor is wonderful and helps me in many ways.

The people who live in Mississippi are gracious and friendly.  And literate.  You can discuss books with anyone.  Musicians, writers and artists are everywhere.  And I have enough good friends to keep me happy. From my standpoint, I see no racial tensions.  So I also like the people in Mississippi.

I can not attend right now, but there is a theater, a symphony, and two ballet schools who put on shows.  And touring musicals come to town too.  So there is plenty to do if you live here.

I am surprised that I like living in Mississippi.  Of course, I am never here in the summer or winter.  At some point, when I can no longer gallivant around, I will be living in Mississippi full time.  Then perhaps I will not enjoy the weather.  But at the moment, all is well with me and Mississippi. 

November 11, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. The Weather.

All this week we have had warm weather.  The furnace has not run for 10 days.  But in the middle of the night, the furnace came on in the bedroom.  I knew the weather was about to change.  Today we had a high of 75.  But in the middle of the night, it was 50.  Now it is raining pretty hard so I knew a front was coming.

All week, we will have chilly weather.  During the night, it will be 35 and tomorrow it will be 59.  And the forecast gets cooler.  During the night on Sunday it will be 29.  During the day it will be 53.  It will be the same all week.  Night temperature in the low 30s and day time not over 50.  So it will be time to get out warmer clothes.

Mississippi natives love these cold spells.  And they are disappointed if the temperature begins to get back to the 70s.  But it looks as if the cool weather will last 10 days or so.  My friends will be happy.  And we certainly are pleased with the rain.  The barges are still having difficulty getting up and down the Mississippi, especially with a full cargo of goods.    We should get rain all night.  And next Thursday, the forecast is for more rain.  It seems just like the Texas churches who all have signs Pray For Rain.  The churches in Mississippi need to do the same.   In the meantime, we will all enjoy our cool weather.

November 10, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Coughing.

 I have never understood coughing.  For instance, when a person coughs, they take drink of water.  And it seems to help the coughing, even though the cough comes from the lungs up a tube and the water goes into a separate tube into the stomach.  Even Ken had no idea why it worked.  There are a lot of things about coughing that I do not understand.

Ken had a life long cough.  I always knew where Ken was in the house because I could hear him cough.  Sometimes he would go to bed and go to sleep.  Other times, when he went to bed, he could not stop coughing.  Great hacking cough which did not stop.  So Ken was required to get up, walk around, drink water, read, then try again to go to bed.  I asked him once if he could tell ahead when the coughing would begin.  And he said no.  He had no clue but it was certainly difficult for him.

After a cold or flu, I have always been left with a cough.  This has happened all my life.  Sometimes the coughing lasted for weeks.  Several times over the years, Ken has admonished me to just stop coughing.  My lungs were clear as was my head, yet I kept coughing.  He suggested that I had just gotten into the habit and urged me to control my coughing.  I was actually able to control the coughing  for a period of time.  Then I would begin coughing again.

Ken told me a trick to stop coughing.  He would take very deep breaths and let them go.  And repeat it.  Keep repeating it.  Much to my surprise, sometimes it works.  He had no idea how it works but he often used the technique when he was in a situation when coughing was difficult. Recently,  I have been using this drill.  But so far I am still coughing.

November 9, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Social Life.

Ken and I always kept up an active social life.  We entertained and we were in turn entertained.  And we always attended plates and concerts.  But as we got old, our social life decreased.  We still entertained a lot in Nova Scotia but not much anywhere else.  But since my immune system  became low, we stopped attending big parties.  We still had friends for dinner but never with big groups.  And we attended dinner parties at friends homes when we knew who would be coming.  

Since I am alone, my social life is limited to lunch with friends, which I enjoy.  I do not have many friends in Mississippi, but I have good friends and they keep my amused and happy.  But  since I have been coughing, my social life has come to a screeching halt.  Since the past 10 days, I have been cancelling events.  Just today, friend Lisa was coming for coffee at my house but last evening I cancelled.  I was just not up to company.  I am still taking two naps a day.  Christina has urged me to take more rest inorder to get better.  Portia says the same.   But so far it has not worked.

So my paltry social life in Mississippi has been reduced to zero.  And of course, my walking program is non existent.  I just walk to get around the house.  But I am counting on a better week.  Cancelling a date is not my favorite activity.

November 8, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Election Day.

Watching the results from an election is similar to watching a football game.  If your team is winning, you continue watching, at least according to friend Carolyn.  Some years Ken and I have watched the results late in the evening and other years we paid no attention.  I have no idea why we were interested and other years we paid no attention.  But it had nothing to do with who we thought would win.  But this year is different.  I live by myself.  And I was hearing that the Republican wave was coming.  So I watched all evening.  And it is not over yet.

The Republicans will take over the House but control of the Senate is still in doubt.  It might take days for all the ballots are counted.  So at the moment, there is no Republican red wave overtaking the Democrats.  Florida was a big win for both the Governor and Senator but many races that the pundits would counting a win for the Republicans ended up going to the Democrats.  It appears that many Republicans will be sad.

The whole process of elections I find fascinating.  When you lose the governors race, you must move out of the governors mansion and turn it over to the next person.  No fuss or muss.  Then when a person wins a Senate seat for the first time, the winning candidate must move to Washington, DC which is never easy.  I love the whole routine.  But it must feel terrible when you lose the election.  You have spent a year working to get elected.  And the voters say no.  What then?  But that is democracy in action.  And it is impressive.

November 7, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Getting Better.

How do you know if you are getting better?  Years ago, I had the flu and I stayed home in bed.  One day, Ken came home from work and asked me how I was doing.  So I told him that I was still resting in bed.  He asked me is I had a fever and I said no.  So he told me that I had been sick long enough to have recovered.  So he urged me to get out of bed and start regular activities.  Much to my surprise, he was right.  I was fine.  But Ken is not here to tell me anything.  So I must figure it out on my own.

Portia, my helper told me today that my cough is still the same as Friday.  Not good.  I am still blowing my nose especially after a bout of coughing.  I still have no fever.  My legs continue to be weak and shaky.  I am taking two naps a day.  I struggle to get any walking done in the day.  Last week, I cancelled all my engagements which did not please me.  On Wednesday, friend Lisa will come for coffee so I will see how I manage.  

So I have no idea what is the matter with me.  And I have no idea when I will get better.  Where is Ken when I need him? 

November 6, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Rain.

There is nothing better than hearing rain falling in the middle of the night.  I don't mean heavy rain.  I mean lightly falling rain.  I do not enjoy storms with thunder and lightning with pouring rain.  Those storms in the middle of the night make me fearful.  But just the pitter patter of the rain  in the middle of the night brings pleasure.

The same is true doing an afternoon nap.   No better nap than when it is raining.  This week I have had both.  The other night it rained during the night and yesterday it rained in the afternoon.  Our problem here is that the rain did not last very long.  We are dry.  Normally, Mississippi gets 52 inches of rain each year.  I had never lived with that much rain.  But the rain here comes in torrents.  And then it stops.  But not this year.  The Mississippi River is so low that the barges can not navigate.  Since we lived here, he River has flooded three times.  But this is the first time that the River was too lacking in water.

Next week, Chris and I will drive to Natchez to see the River when the flow is low.  So I especially love to hear the rain at night because I know we need the rain.  But we need more.  In Texas, at church, they pray for rain.  Normally that is not necessary here.  But perhaps the churches will begin to ask people to pray for rain in Mississippi.  .  We need it.

November 5, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. A Champion Again.

The Houston Astros won the World Series tonight in the 6th game of the series.  They won 4 to 1.  All the action took place in the 6th inning.  The bullpen has been perfect the whole playoffs so they put down the last 9 batters in record time.  And once again, the Astros had won the World Series.  They last won in 2017.  Only 6 of the same players had been on the roster for 2022 so the team has changed including the manager and the director of operations.

Everyone was happy for Dusty Baker to win the series.  In all his years as a successful manager, he had never won the World Series.  But now he has.  And all the players are delighted.  This team has been a good team.  I had watched them several times this season and my observation was that the team has no glaring deficiencies.  Every part of that team was excellent so it was a pleasure to watch them win.

I always enjoy watching grown men bouncing around with glee as if they were 8 year old boys.  They are like pin balls, bouncing up and down.  I worried that the players bounced around Dusty so strenuously that I was afraid he might fall over.  After all, he is 74.  But now the party begins.  These players worked very hard this season.  Now they have won the World Series.  Congratulations to the Houston Astros players and coaches.  Champions Again.

November 4, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Taking a Rest.

 When Ken was recovering at home in Mississippi, after his illness in Mexico, he commented that getting better seems the same as watching paint dry.  You know it is happening but it is difficult to notice.  This week, Christina mentioned that I could try to get more rest.  I am not in love with resting but I decided to give it a try.  On Thursday  morning, while I was still eating breakfast, I fell asleep while reading so I decided to go to the recliner and put up my feet.  I slept for 2 hours.  Then I returned to finish my breakfast.

By then, it was time to have a real nap so once again, at 3:30, I took to the recliner.  And I slept for another 2 hours.  Next up I drank my orange drink, meta mucil.  And I watched baseball and ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup later in the evening.  I only walked to get around the house.  I did no exercises or sustained walking.  In other words, I took a rest most of the day.  Today I felt the same as yesterday so again I did nothing strenuous.  And I cancelled all appointments this week.  Christina will also bring brunch to my house so I can continue to rest.  But by Monday, I will stop this resting business.

The rain has just started to fall and tomorrow we are supposed to rain all day.  The oncologist thinks  I have a bad case of allergies so perhaps the rains will send all the allergic things away.  I have stopped taking the meds given to me by the neurologist because it made my legs shaky.  I am still not recovered.  But with the rain coming, the air will be clean.  Perhaps I will stop coughing.  I have had just about all the rest that I can tolerate.

November 3, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. A Close Game.

 This was a great baseball game.  The score was close the whole game.   My friend SaraLou turned off her light and went to sleep in the bottom of the 8th inning when it seemed as if the Phillies were mounting a rally.  She wanted the Astros to win and hated to watch the Phillies go on to win the game.  But the Astros won the game with a score of 3 to 2.  Wonderful defense by the Astros in the 8th and 9th inning which allowed them to win the game.

This game had everything.  Good pitching.  Timely hitting.  Good defense by both teams.  Just a wonderful game to watch.  And of course, the series returns to Houston for game number 6 with the Astros ahead 3 games to 2.  I will be here watching.

November 2, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. The Doctor Appointment.

This morning I had an appointment with Dr.Sheehan, my oncologist.  Two weeks ago, I started on a new chemotherapy plus a new hormone.  Neither of my old ones were working.  Unfortunately, I had come down with a bad cold so I got checked over.  Fortunately, I had no Covid.  Also no flu.  And my chest X-ray was clear.  I have no fever.   So that was good.  My sugar numbers were high.  And of course, my white cells are low, 2.1 today so I must continue to be careful around lots of people.

I have no idea how I caught a cold.  I have not seen anyone since I arrived in Mississippi.  And I have never been around people.  But I am coughing and sneezing so I cancelled my activities this week.  I had a busy week ahead of me too.  I have seen Christina and the girls on Sunday at brunch.  And I see Portia on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  But they are all healthy.  And when I went to my doctor appointments I wear a mask.  Who knows how I caught a cold?  With my immune system, the nurse suggested that my cold may take awhile to recover.  Today I felt miserable.

But I am counting on feeling better tomorrow.  After all, it is a week since I first had symptoms.  My doctor appointment went well  although I have lesions in my mouth from the chemo.  My observation has always been to get another appointment from the one today.  First I had my nose swabbed to check for Covid and the flu.  And I had to have a chest X-ray.  My appointment was for 8:50.  We got home at 1:00. So my  question is this: if everything checked out negative, why do I feel so miserable?  The good doctor had no answers.

November 1, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Winning & Losing.

 I have never understood why you feel bad when your favorite team does not win.  Or why you are elated when your favorite team wins.  After all, nothing happens to you whether or not your team wins or loses.  I do not bet so I have no reason to care.  But we do.

I talked with my friend Carolyn last week.  She attended college at LSU and she was born and raised in Baton Rouge.  So I asked her if she follows LSU football.  And she does.  She watched their games unless they are losing.  Then she switches channels.  She loves to watch them win but refuses to watch if they are not winning.  

This Saturday was a bonanza of winning.  Baylor won.  Ol Miss won.  Jackson State won.  Houston Astros baseball team won.  Everyone I knew was happy.  It did not make a dimes difference whether these teams won or lost but we all feel happier when our teams win.  It makes no sense.  But who cares.