Berries, Berries and More Berries!!!!

Can you guess what I picked tonight??? We decided that we were just going to wash them and wait till tomorrow when we can get some really good vanilla ice cream!!! I really didn't expect rasberries this year, but there are actually quite a few. It would be cool if we can get enough for a batch of jam!!! We now know how to do jam sugar-free. It's good too!!!

I guess I am going to have to get out there and pick the weeds. They are almost as tall as I am!!! Of course if you asked Norm, he would say, "well, that's not very tall!!!" Creep!!!!

Norm had his appointment with the Rehab doctor today. I never realized why he needed to go to a rehab doctor and his own primary physician. The way it was explained to me today was that the rehab guy is who is there to follow up on Norms actual rehab and if he thinks we need to continue with any of the therapies or whatever. So, we went to see Dr. Lininger. He is pretty nice and asked Norm a bunch of questions. He seemed happy with the answers and said that he thought we didn't need to come and visit with him anymore...."there is nothing more I can do here" so, he wants us to communicate with him by phone if we have any questions or concerns. I thought that was pretty cool!!! Soon, we will be cut loose from almost everyone. Oddly enough, it is a little scary!!! Kinda like when we first came home....I didn't know what do to without the nurses, doctors and all of the therapists. Now, cardiac rehab is about the last thing. We still have a few more visits to Speech, but I think Jim said that would possibly end the end of this month. It is going to feel weird. I am going to miss some of those people too. They love what they do and are thrilled when people get to the point where they don't need them anymore!!!!

Anyway, as far as Norm goes, things are going very well. He has driven by himself a couple of times now. I must say that it makes me really scared, but I know it has to happen some day. I think back a lot about when he had his second cardiac arrest and was without enough oxygen for 12 minutes...none of us knew if he would even be able to come home again and look at him now. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can say there is no such thing as a miracle. He certainly is one, many times over!!!! Everyday brings improvement. The rehab doctor said that maybe he could think about going back to the temple in the fall. That would be awesome.

Here lies our 2 year old Troy-Built riding lawn mower!!!!!

After Norm got done mowing the other day, he shut it off for a moment and went to start it again and it was dead. Didn't even make a noise when he tried to start it!!! No more warranty either, so, he has been working on it for a couple of days now. It has been really good for him tho. He has spent a lot of time on it and hasn't thought much about all of the things he isn't able to do right now. Secretly I am praying he can remember how to get it back together!!!! He got some of it together tonight and said that he came out with and extra bolt!!!! Oh good!!! Now you have a spare!!!! NOT! But, he did say that he found out where it went, so has to take some of it apart again. Soooo, we shall see!!!

This is my best buddy, Clancy. He is the coolest dog ever!!!! My daughter hates him but I don't care. I totally admit that I am just no good when it comes to him, cause I love him to pieces!!!! He has been a wonderful friend for nearly 10 years now and I wouldn't trade him for the world. As you can see, he has only one eye. It is because of a syndrome that is prevalent in Jack Russell's where some of the muscles in the eye just deteriorate. So, because he only has one eye, we have to be really careful with him....and, he is in trouble now. For a couple of days now, his eye has been watering and has been pretty painful. I took him up to Salt Lake to the Eye Care for Animals place where he has gone since the whole eye thing started, and it seems he has an ulcer on his eyeball. So, they sent me home with some antibiotic eye drops, but, as of Monday it had not gotten any better....so, back up to Salt Lake I went!!!! Now, I have to go up there again tomorrow because his eye is still weeping and sore. He may have to have a very expensive procedure done that requires that they scrape the eyeball to encourage the ulcer to heal. Can you believe that??? Not me!!! Anyway, it is so terrifically expensive that I don't know if we can do it. I guess we will have to, but it is going to be really hard. They told me today that it is possible that they can do it without putting him out, but if they have to do it with anesthetic, we are in deep doo-doo!!! The whole thing only takes about 20 minutes, but man o man, the price is amazing! He is worth it, but there will be no steaks in our budget for a couple of years!!!!!

I have to have him up there at 9:45 in the morning so be thinking of me!!! I don't want to eat hamburger the rest of my life!!!! I hope they can do it with him awake. Much cheaper and much easier for him and everyone else. Pray for us!!!!!!!!

Dogs are miracles with paws.

~Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy