Back to Blogger...just great.

Not too much going on around here lately..My Doctor sent me to the vampires for more blood..and I had to give them a 24 hour urine test..I know, TMI....It was no fun for me, either. Of course now that we are forced to be reunited with Blogger, my profanity level has hit an all time high...
I did manage to do some gardening, and I encountered some terrorizing little bugs in our soil..called Buffalo Gnats. They have no resemblance to a buffalo, no beard, no smell, and no grunting...But when they decide to attack, they bite with a vengeance...leaving a little blood spot so you can see where they GOT  you.. I got most of my work done before I was ambushed..then I stayed inside the house applying After Bite and taking Benadryl for the swelling and itching...Here is my hard work..

I have to tell ya..I am NOT liking this Blogger stuff so far... Oh well, adjust and overcome.
Our town of Sandwich, IL was established in 1855..and through the years our streets have changed and grown in number...They originally were dirt, then brick, then blacktop...Our street we live on, Center Street, is about to be repaved.  We have potholes the size of sinkholes..OK, maybe not quite that big, but the good part is that you can see the old brick street in those holes!

Yep, there are some of the original bricks that paved our streets back in the day....Along Center Street the sidewalks are going to be fixed also...and you can even see the bricks that were used for the sidewalks..

I kind of hate to see them replaced, but our little town is in a financial pinch, so trying to save them is not an option...You all know I love history.  Well on my walk this AM, I passed an old abandoned farm on the edge of town. When I was in high school, some folks named Marcelus owned it. But then they closed down the railroad crossing near that house and the road isn't used anymore...The house is abandoned, but I'm not sure if someone uses the barns to store stuff in...

In this last photo, you an see the old pony post (where the fire number is leaning)..and I think the other two posts may have been used also...This is a neat old farm...
Oh...one slightly exciting, yet unnerving thing did occur while I was absent from the blogoshere...I got another year older...I have outlived my Mother's age when I hit 65..and now I am exactly the age my Dad was when he passed..67. I will be glad to get this year under my belt too...!!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!! Wasting away in Margaritaville!! WOOT!WOOT!

THAT WOULD BE ME...AT AGE 90...I HOPE!

Remembering Memorial Day..and Tweeking the Hiker slide

Our 2007 HitchHiker SL fiver is showing her age..(some of us age faster than others, right?).First of all , the graphics on the front are peeling off, which really gets aggravating when trying to wash her face..similar to us ladies when we “exfoliate”…Her bedroom slide had an issue with a rubber seal not wanting to come all the way out when putting it OUT..Den adjusted this last year, but it seems to  have slipped out of sinc again..(much like my eyelids have slipped into creases). I remember having to work on this same problem and was NOT looking forward to it again..However..

After completely emptying out the storage under our bed, Dennis climbed his big ol’ self under there and took a look.  He finally figured out that the whole bed slides out, so he could get up in front of it to do the adjustment…Of course I helped here and there…mostly there..He still wasn’t really satisfied…It seems the whole slide is off center, and after much thought about how what he could do to adjust THAT, he made a good decision..He decided that this was a bigger project than he could tackle and just let it be..(WHEW! I was a tad concerned about him trying to wrestle that big slide from underneath it!). He did get the slide so that the rubber seal did come all the way out though…Of course he did, he’s MacGyver!

We have been doing some yard work while the weather is was warm.  I have a lovely Rose of Sharon bush/tree in a flower garden by my bird bath..I have been busy weeding around it and planting some Lavender..Everything was looking just fine until a few days ago….I went outside to this..

WTH???? Something…some beastie…had made shredded wheat out of the base of my Rose of Sharon bush..I kid you not, the whole base and bark was totally shredded!! Rabbits don’t do this …do they?? We have had some Woodchucks, but they never have touched any of our bushes or trees..Beavers??? nope, no water except a puddle or two..Deer?…I think not..Something that had a rotorooter for teeth..or very sharp talons…I’m thinking a Sasquatch…Yep, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it…And, by the way, this killed the darn bush and I dug it up today, which was NO easy task…SHEESH!!

Other than out of kilter slides and a mysterious bush terrorizer, not much is going on here. Our weather has turned pretty chilly for a couple days, but looks warmer for the weekend. Memorial Day is early this year, May 25th..We have no big plans for a picnic …I’m pretty sure Ter and Tim will be opening their pool (YAY!) I am on deck for an appointment with my Endocrinologist tomorrow.  I am losing faith and have begun to think I just have to live with this stuff…We shall see. I have been doing some research and found a place in Tampa Florida (yes, I did say Florida) that does nothing but parathyroid surgeries..They have the whole top floor of the Tampa Hospital …It is called Norman Parathyroid Center…Hey, it’s food for thought.

OK, it is almost cocktail hour and I am very much ready for a Cuba Libre…Everyone have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend…and let’s not forget why we celebrate it…

This beautiful mural is at Soldier Field (Chicago Bears football stadium)…and it says it all…

A Gut Check…I Have NO Worries!!

Mother’s Day, Dennis and I went for breakfast..Well…we drove through McDonalds (Mickey D’s) for a couple breakfast burritos and some hash browns..We had our thermo pot of coffee with us. When we travel with the Hiker we always take our travel coffee mugs and our thermo pot for refills.  Even though we didn’t have the Hiker lashed on, we did have a bit of a “road trip” in mind that morning.

Some of you might have heard of the Northern Illinois tornado (an F-4) that hit a small town called Fairdale…That town is about 50 miles North of where we live. Right after it happened, the town was off limits to the public ..a few reporters were allowed in.  Later, quite a few people took the drive to see the destruction. We waited almost a month to go…giving the people a little time to begin the healing process ( 2 people were killed) . Here is a map of Fairdale, IL, population in 2010 was 150 people.

Yes, it has about 7 streets total..

We were about the only car driving through. Most of the debris and demolished homes had been cleaned up..Let me say this..Dennis and I didn’t go there to be gawkers or to poke our noses into their misery. We never got out of the GMC, drove slowly through the streets and left quietly..There were very few homes still standing and the orange fence was marking the foundations to keep people from wandering through…I will let the photos speak to you about the spirit of the families that call Fairdale home ..

 

As I said, it was almost totally void of homes..all that remained was foundations to mark where the homes had been.

Someone put this statue in what’s left of a large tree, right, notice the chair and vase of flowers in front of this foundation..

 

 

Cars thrown like toys…and huge trees ripped by their roots from the ground…

A lone dresser sits on this one…..   and a green grill sits in front of this foundation on the right…

Just a few homes remained…I love this last one..The American Flag and a heart…This speaks volumes of Fairdale people and their spirit!

And this is what I meant by “gut check”…Compared to these brave survivors, I have NO problems…and no words .

Medical Merry Go Round

Short blog…I am YET AGAIN having more ultrasounds of my neck…Not sure why everybody is so concerned about my Thyroid…I was told my Parathyroid was the “big problem”…Plus, I needed a Bone Density Scan…and when you are on Medicare, you can only have one every 2 years and you must have a diagnosis (I have 3)…I cannot get one of those until August 1st…sheesh…I am so ready to tell them all, “just give me a Happy Pill and leave me alone!”

On a good note, our son-in-law who is a Detective in Glenview IL PD was just promoted to Sergeant! WOOT!WOOT! Terrie and their 3 kids went to watch their Dad get his star pinned on…

…and guess WHO got that honor?? Terrie said he was a little nervous, being that she had a sharp object in her hand…

Taylor and Sergeant Heiser……..             Peyton and Sergeant Heiser……              Campbell and Sergeant Heiser……….

Sergeant and Mrs Sergeant Heiser……              The whole darn Heiser clan with the Glenview IL Police Chief…..

Not much else going on here…We have had a couple days of rain, but are starting to get some flowers planted..Our Aunt Jeanette will turn 100 years old this September..and yes, she and her 92 year old husband (Uncle Junior), are still living at  home..though I’m not sure that is the best for them…They won’t discuss at home care or anymore assisted living…Sometimes ya just gotta shut up and let them do what they want…As for my medical mess, I will keep you posted if anything new comes up…As for now, I’m in limbo…

Makes my back hurt just to look at this!!