knee blizzard blues...

another pretty snow blankets our house

Well, I spoke a little soon about how well I was doing with my knee surgery recovery. That implanted pain reliever the anesthesiologist put it my knee has now worn off, darn it.  I may have to pick up the crutches again until I can get it all back under control. I’m having trouble straightening my leg, feels like the tendons are shortening already. So, I am spending a lot of time standing still, trying to straighten the bugger out, so it doesn’t cause problems later.

Sherry came over this morning, despite the fact that it was snowing buckets and she lives outside town. She brought me chicken soup and flowers and even brought lunch for Rob.  Sherry says she was expecting me to be all groggy and thought she’d be reading a book instead of us talking and laughing as we ended up doing. It was really nice that she took time out of her busy schedule to come sit with me for 4 hours.  It is difficult for me to tend to Miss Thistle in this condition. She left at noon when Rob got home and I made her promise to call me and let me know she got back home safe.  It took her about twice the time to get there and she had to shovel about a foot of snow from in front of her door just to get in her house!

Friend Ginnie also popped in for about half an hour in the afternoon and was gracious enough to take Thistle out. I was really surprised she showed up as she has issues with driving in the snow. I was grateful for the short time she spared me out of her busy, busy life.

Speaking of snow, we got a major dump yesterday.  It started snowing about 3 am and never quit! As of right now, my ruler on the back deck says 15 inches.  I can’t be sure of the accuracy as we had quite a stiff wind at times, too. It sure is pretty but I have some rancher friends who aren’t real happy about this snowstorm in the middle of their calving and lambing season. There’s so much for them to do outdoors this time of year and this is really late for such a bitterly cold snowstorm. I just looked and my thermometer says it’s 7 degrees outside…brrr!  That’s the temperature here in town, out on the prairie, where the wind has nothing to stop it, I’ll bet it’s more like 15 below! That’s dangerous for new little lambs and calves. While ranchers try to keep an eye on who’s ready to birth and get them in or near the barns, there’s always a few uncooperative cow and sheep ladies out there you have to go track down. Keep those hard working folks in your prayers, they are the ones that put food on your table.

So, today we have the State of the County address at the Chamber luncheon. We’ll be finding out what all’s going on with the new Justice Center they are building and other big projects in town. Buffalo seems to be growing kind of fast right now and I’m not sure how comfortable I am with that.  I’m all for tourists coming here in the summer months and enjoying our amenities but I’m not real sure I want the town to grow much more. Five years ago, I could walk down the street and know pretty much everyone I passed, even if it was only face recognition but these days there’s more strangers than not that I pass. I know progress is inevitable, I was just hoping it would be a little slower than it’s appearing lately.

I heard a great saying when we first moved here that has sort of stuck with me…”When the population exceeds the elevation, it’s time to move on”  Well, we’re at 4,957 ft and we just went over 5,000 people with the latest census! 

We aren’t ever going anywhere, though.  This town and this house is our “forever” home.  We may buy something down in AZ as a second home getaway someday but Buffalo will always be home. With all the many, many moves I’ve done in my lifetime, I told Rob I’m never doing it again and if for some reason I have to, I’m calling  Brannian Auction and we’re just gonna sell everything right where it sits because I’m not packing boxes again!

Well, time to try to stretch my knee tendons again and hobble into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. We made it to hump day again! Is it my imagination or are the days going faster lately?  I am on my own for the rest of this odyssey with my knee, I guess. I seem to have worn out my friends pretty quick on the helping and I sure can’t expect them to risk life and limb and car dents in this weather just to come sit and stare at my silly face!

Onward, campers!  Have a fantastic day and remember I’m here cheering you on to be the best you can be.

crutches? I don't need no stinking crutches!

Arriving at Sheridan Hospital for surgery

Don’t tell Dr. Quinn, Medicine Boy that he’s a major miracle worker, or it will go to his head. Yesterday’s surgery went wonderful except for the wait to get into the OR.  I was scheduled for 1 p.m. and we got a call as we were already driving to Sheridan that they had bumped me to 2 p.m.  So, we found a few things to do like picking up my car graphic panels for our photo business and of course, stopping in to see the elk.

Thistle in the back with her  toy, snoozing, waiting for Mommy

We arrived right on time at the hospital, checked in and went back to my temporary home for the afternoon. They must have really run into some complications on the patient before me because they didn’t come for me until almost 3 p.m. Rob and I watched a repeat of Criminal Minds and dozed intermittently while waiting. They had given me some wonderful, warmed blankies and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. When Dr Quinn finally came in around 3, he looked like he’d been put through the wringer! I made him blush when we were talking about Thistle’s surgery, he’s so cute.  Well, darn it, he asked me what procedure she had and I just blurted out “Vulva reconstruction”. I don’t think that’s what he was expecting.  At least I got some color back in his face after a long day, right? I was his last surgery of the day and as a nurse, that is always a little unnerving.

He did his usual magic, however, and after my groggy return from anesthesia, I already felt better than before we went into surgery!  The nurse gave me some crackers and juice to pad my stomach and then a nice pain pill.  Within ½  an hour, she had me walking around and putting weight on my knee.  It was amazing because that’s the first time since the beginning of February that it didn’t hurt ridiculously to do so!  My RN was quite impressed with my quick return to sanity and we were out of the hospital by 5 pm!

my little "world" for the moment!

I have a really nice set-up by my recliner and now I’m not sure I really need all of it!  Dr. Quinn says it’s going to hurt more later today though, as the anesthetist injected pain meds right into my surgical site. It’s supposed to wear off sometime soon.  I’ve been keeping to a strict schedule on my pain meds, though, and hope it will be an easy transition.

My bandaged knee, can't remove it for lookies til Wed. evening

I always tell people not to be afraid to take their pain medications after a surgery. It truly helps speed the healing process if your body is not fighting pain and stress in addition to the incisional repair going on.  You can’t get addicted if it is being used properly. It’s only when you continue to take things after you don’t really need them anymore that you run into problems. I usually have a 2 day rule on pain meds, myself.  After that, I try to switch over to something like ibuprofen to avoid the pitfalls of getting dependent.  Of course, I hate that fuzzy feeling I get anyway, so …I think I commented before that this stuff makes my hearing really acute and it sounds like everyone is yelling at me, yuck!

Sherry is coming over as Rob leaves for work this morning.  That will be a lot of fun. She’ll stay until Rob comes home for lunch.  She has to get her butt back home and take a nap this afternoon as she works night shift at the Senior Center here (6 pm-2am). No snickering that someone who works at the “senior” center is helping me out, I ain’t THAT old yet. I’m so glad she’s coming as she’s just awesome with Thistle.  She has an adolescent dog of her own, Kola, an awesome male Chocolate Lab, so she’s fresh off dealing with perky puppies! I’ve had a dog toy for him I picked up and need to give it to her.  Sherry lives out south of town toward Kaycee and I just love going to her place.  She has an amazing view of the mountain range from her backyard and a panoramic view of the plains in front. Add to that all her neighbors horses who hang out by her fence line and you know I’m always happy to go out to her house!  At this rate of recovery, I might get out there pretty quick!

I have a stream of other girlfriends coming by in the afternoon and at the rate I’m going and the way I’m feeling, I see no problem making the State of the County address by the Commissioners tomorrow at Colonel Bozeman’s at lunchtime!

Well, all in all, not a bad deal!  Hope your day and week turn out to pleasantly surprise you, too! I’m going to go back to my recliner and try to catch another nap now.  I’m hoping all the sleeping I get done will re-set my inner sleep clock.  I’m a little tired of waking up every morning between 3-4 a.m. and hopefully, this will jog it back to my normal 6 a.m. waking! Fingers crossed!

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.
~Hubert H. Humphrey

D-day, Knee day....

Professional loungers

I sure woke up early this morning, let me tell ya! I can’t quite figure out why that happened. I had a really super busy day and was dog tired last night.  I swear I only fell asleep for a few minutes during CSI Miami, so I can’t blame the early rising on that. I must be more nervous about my surgery today than I think.

We are expecting a dump of snow later today. Luckily, it’s not supposed to start until I’m already over in Sheridan getting my surgery.  We’re taking Miss Thistle with us today, just to be on the safe side in case we can’t make it back to Buffalo. As I’ve said, she loves riding in the truck and is quite good at just hanging out.  Thistle will give Rob something to do so he’s not just ruminating over what’s going on with me.

Yesterday, we had Rob’s new Co-planner, Jim and his wife and his brother, over for breakfast since they are moving into their new home. Jim seems to have “hollow leg syndrome” like Rob! That man can put away some food!  I just love guys who eat well since I love to cook so much. I made a bunch of stuffed French toast (ham & swiss) and added a big pound of thick sliced bacon as a side.  The five of us pretty much polished it all off. Well, the guys polished it off. Breean and I could only eat a half a sandwich and our other halves went down the gullets of the guys. There was lots of lively discussion around the breakfast table.  Jim is all raring to go and Rob is so happy to have him!

I also made them dinner which I took over yesterday afternoon.  Jim had to go back to Basin to finish out his last half week with Big Horn County. He’ll be back on the first of March to start work with Rob.  Breean’s mother, whom I met yesterday afternoon, is staying here to help Breean unpack and watch the kids until Wednesday.  So, I made a simple hamburger/green bean casserole for the kids and as a special treat, I made lobster ravioli with a garlic/olive oil sauce for Breean and her mom. They were very grateful.  Having moved a lot when I was younger, I so understand what it’s like to not want to cook those first few days! I have a real problem with fast food, though and will do anything to help others avoid that pitfall! You may as well eat a box of plastic and chemicals as eat Mickey D’s.

They had already made awesome unpacking progress by the time I got over there yesterday afternoon.  The place was really starting to look like a home! As I said before, they are renting the old Clear Creek Bed & Breakfast, which used to be owned by my friend, Sue.  It’s so nice to see it alive and lived in again! It’s a beautiful old 1898, 5 bedroom home and has a big front porch and a swing.  Breean and I even sat out on it and enjoyed the view from up there, even though the wind was blowing crazy.  It will be awesome in summertime!

Her children, Wylie and Wyatt, are loving the house, too.  When I got there, I barely got my coat off before they were dragging me all over to show me where they’d set up their playroom and their bedrooms.  They were having a blast running up and down the massive mahogany stairs. I bet the house is pleased to have children’s feet pattering around again. Because it’s such an old house, it has lots of little hidden closets and doorways, perfect for children’s imagination! We’re going to have a lot of fun, I can tell.

Other than that, my day was pretty boring.  I spent most of it trying to line up girlfriends to come sit with me during the first couple of days after surgery. Rob is so busy at work and can’t take off to stay home and take care of Thistle.  I’ve got bestie, Sherry, coming over Tuesday morning until Rob comes home for lunch. That’ll be a hoot!  Sherry is one of my longest friends here and we can zoom through hours of conversation like it was a minute! I’m still waiting to hear from a couple of girls about Tuesday afternoon but I’m not the least concerned.  I think by Wednesday, I’ll probably be okay.  I have one of those “cryocuff” water delivery systems all ready for my knee.  They are amazing for after surgery! I used it when I had my shoulder reconstruction and I healed very fast and needed little painkillers.  It runs icy, cold water through a pump and keeps the swollen area comfortable. I’m just a little concerned about Thistle chewing on all the tubing!

So, I’m all prepared!  You probably won’t be hearing from me tomorrow, but… who knows? I’m so darn ADD that I have real trouble staying down for long. It’s my understanding that I’ll be starting physical therapy just 3 days post-op.  We have a great little physical therapy office right down the street and it will be fun to go in and chat with everyone there. They have all kinds of great torture equipment!

SO, my bag is packed, my jewelry’s off, I have a big tub of books, my laptop set up next to my recliner….lots of yummy goodies in the fridge, I think I’m ready to rock this extravaganza, folks!

I’ll see ya on the flip side and we’ll go dancing, what do ya say?

I learned a long time ago that minor surgery is when they do the operation on someone else, not you.  ~Bill Walton

Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen?  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

please fix my @%*@*^ knee!

Melody playing... Crystal, her sister, smiles for me

Okay folks, it’s Sunday again! Tomorrow is the big day for my surgery and honest to goodness, I thought I’d never say this but I can’t wait for it!  I called Friday to get my surgery time and they told me it’s at 1 p.m.  I can’t have anything to eat or drink after midnight tonight.  I’m not sure how I’m going to survive that, to tell you the truth. I have a serious coffee addiction and since I usually rise around 4 a.m., I have a long time to wait! I asked the nurse if I could have anything when I wake up tomorrow since I have to wait so long to come in and she told me I could have “a sip of water!” Please, lady, do you know how many medications I’m on that cause dry mouth? Luckily, being an RN myself, I know they are just covering their butts in case I aspirate under anesthesia so I plan on having a cup of coffee or two when I arise at the dreaded 4 a.m.

You see, if I had been scheduled for an 8 a.m. surgery, like I was before they rescheduled me, and followed their directions of having nothing after midnight, that would mean I could have stuff 8 hours before surgery.  Since I’m going in at 1 p.m., I figure I can sneak in some liquid, at least until 5 a.m., right? I don’t need a lot, just something to wet my whistle and get a little of that wonderful caffeine in me.

We are taking Miss Thistle along to Sheridan with us tomorrow, too.  The weather gurus are calling for a pretty big snowstorm to hit sometime tomorrow afternoon and we don’t want to get caught not being able to get back to the dear baby girl.  This way, if we get stuck over there, at least we have the whole family together. It will give Rob something to do while I’m in surgery, too. Thistle has become quite the traveler in our truck and prefers to be sitting in the backseat waiting on us any day instead of home locked up in her kennel. We got one of those pet seat covers for the back seat that comes up into a sling so she supposedly can’t get in the front. It’s very comfy for her and she has toys and rawhide back there. Unfortunately, she’s getting so large, we are investing in one of those wire barriers to keep her from coming over the sling, which right now she just likes to hang over, like a back seat driver talking in your ear.

Yesterday was really fun.  We went to Sheridan for a Dragon Wall buffet cure after Rob’s big party.  Nothing like unlimited Chinese food to cure a hangover! I’m pretty boring in my selection there, I really like super spicy stuff so I go for the veggies and the Jalapeno chicken (um, don’t think that’s even really Chinese) mostly.  Rob piles on just about everything! 

Rob at his surprise party I threw for him

When we returned to Buffalo, we stopped down at the Moose Lodge to hear our friend, Melody, serenade everyone with her beautiful voice and guitar.  She does an amazing rendition of Janis Joplin, if I do say so.  There was quite a crowd gathered for a Saturday afternoon to listen to her. It was the first time she had played in public since her Mom fell ill. Melody's mom did not win her battle with cancer and left us just a couple of months ago.There's a hole in the sunshine in Johnson County because Taffy Garro no longer graces our lives. Melody said it felt good to be back and I know we were all very glad she graced us with her talent!

While we were at the Moose, I got a text message from Breean, the new Planner’s wife, saying they finally made it over the mountain with their moving van.  They battled 30-50 mph winds coming over in the biggest moving van you can drive yourself. She said it was wicked nasty with blowing snow and the moving van was whipping all over the place.  We went over and Rob helped them get the last of the boxes and furniture out.  I made Breean stop and we went & got the standard subs & beer. Funny how people forget to eat when they are so busy moving! The color returned to her face after we got some calories in her.

Rob and I are both excited about Jim and Breean being here. Rob is happy because he will have someone to share the burden of the Planning Office with. Jim has done amazing things with his GIS skills in Big Horn Co., where he came from. We are looking forward to him getting everything mapped and such here so the zoning maps can be completed. Right now, all zoning progress is at a standstill until the maps are correct.  Eventually, when zoning is in place, I think Rob is going to be the Zoning Administrator and Jim will take over Rob’s duties.  Rob is also hoping to have Jim take over for him completely if we ever get to retire. You have to hand it to my husband….not many people would actively seek out their own replacement for the good of the community.  Rob is like that, though.  Everything he does for the County, he does with the best interest of the community in mind and not himself.  He just wants to make sure Johnson County doesn’t end up like the mess we left back east. I wish more government employees followed his example of community first.

I’m happy about Breean being here, myself.  She and I hit it off instantly, as we have many of the same philosophies about life.  I already feel like I’ve known her forever! I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time together.  I also just adore their children. They have a 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son. I’m thinking that they will quench my ache for grandkids that I’ll never get from my own daughter as she doesn’t want kids. I very much respect my daughter’s decision but there’s still that emptiness of not having little ones to interact with and watch grow. Having worked with children most of my working life, this is going to be a treat! I’m one of those women who really never got out of the make believe world of children, I just love being around to see the world through their amazed and fresh eyes. I also really like playing with toys! I even have my own here in the house, including Legos and a Lil Tyke guitar I rock out with on occasion.

One of my other girlfriends, Rebecca C., also has little kids. She has three boys and one little daughter, Ashley, who is 3.  Ashley has been my little princess since they moved into our neighborhood. I really enjoy knocking around with the boys, too. They walk by every morning on their way to the bus stop and I’m usually out with Thistle and we have grand, exotic conversations! I just love hitting the toy aisles, looking for some of my favorite old toys to share with the kids.

All this talk of children is really making me miss my old nursing days. It was almost like I was "mom" to 15-25 kids at a time. You can really get hooked on that, let me tell you. I always tried to make them as comfortable as they could be, considering they were hospitalized, some of them for life.  I always dressed up in funny, colorful outfits and had tiny stuffed animals attached to my stethoscope. I also was always very honest with them about when something was going to hurt or taste bad. I tasted any medication I gave the kids so I could tell them exactly what they were in for.  There’s no better way to lose a child’s trust than to tell them that something’s not going to hurt and then hurt them. It’s better to tell them it will be a quick “ouch” and over with and gain their trust. I never could get that concept through some other nurse’s heads! I used to devise all kinds of games to distract them.  Like I said, I really miss those days!

Breean has a lot of work ahead of her unpacking into a 5 bedroom 1898 home!

Well, time to find out what Sunday has in store for the Yinglings. We’re having Jim and Breean and Jim’s brother (who is from Laurel, MT & here helping with the move) over for a nice big breakfast of my famous stuffed French toast. I’m topping it off with my homemade Chokecherry syrup that comes from right here on our property.  It is wicked good! I couldn’t see them running out for breakfast or trying to rummage through their boxes on their first morning in their new home! The wind is howling something fierce out there right now. I could have sworn I just saw a flying cow go by or maybe it was just a big piece of tumbleweed?  I think the weather gurus may have goofed once again & that storm may hit today instead of tomorrow.  With our mountains, you can never tell what the weather is going to decide to do.  Being the spontaneous person that I am, that’s one of the things I just love about Wyoming.

Have a fabulous Sunday!  Rest up and arm yourself for an even better week.  Don’t let the nasty news of the nation and world bring you down, we’re all going to be just fine, especially if we start tolerating each other a little better and realizing that we all have hopes and dreams.  Instead of looking at what’s wrong with your life, look at what’s right with it.  I think you’ll be amazed if you actually sit down and start counting your blessings instead of your lack!

honoring my Veteran...

Darling husband, Rob

I can finally breathe again! I just pulled off a major caper, folks! I managed to get half the town to keep a secret from Rob and throw a big 60th birthday/Navy retirement surprise party for him at the Moose last night. I have been working on it since January and on several occasions almost spilled the beans myself.

I didn't invite people until the end of last week in order to try to keep leaks down to a minimum. I was sweating bullets at the Chamber coffee yesterday morning because everyone there was invited and I was sure there'd be a stumbled hint to Rob. On that note, I'd like to thank all those that came!  Rob really appreciated it. As a matter of fact, I think he was a little speechless there for a while last night. So many folks stopped in to wish him well, even his racquetball partner, who rarely steps foot in a bar due to the smoke.

Mostly, I concentrated on his Navy service for the party. I hired Aimee Shreve to make a beautiful cake with his Navy Chief's arm patch insignia on it.  Thanks, Aimee, it was as delicious as it was gorgeous! We pulled off the meetings about the cake for over a month because her mom, Madonna, used to be my next door neighbor and when Rob came home in the middle of us discussing it, we pretended Madonna and Ashlee (Aimee's sister) were just stopping by to meet Thistle. I never had any actual contact with Aimee during the process just to be on the safe side.

I also dug around in the nasty basement and found boxes of Rob's old Navy stuff... his medals, pictures of his ships, pins, awards, etc., and redid the shadowbox his Unit had presented him with in 1993 when he left the Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit in Baltimore. They had only put a couple of things in there and Rob had been rather dissappointed about its appearance and kept it on his dresser upstairs. Now it has a picture of him when he first joined in 1970 as well as something from most of his ships, his sharpshooter and other medals, his Honorable discharge pin and a bunch of other important milestones. It is now going to be prominently displayed in our library, which is the room you enter when coming into our home. I want everyone who enters my house to know they are at the home of a veteran.

I also found Rob's original Navy peacoat and hung that at the party, along with his Chief's hat. The best part, though, was actually the cheapest to get.  I found a website that sells little flashing lights in any color combination you want and ordered red and blue flashing pins.  Everyone at the party got one or two and after putting them on, the whole Lodge was ablaze with blinking patriotism!  I don't think the pictures capture it well but we all thought it was awesome. I had asked the guests to please wear something patriotic to the party and they did not disappoint me!  Again, people of Buffalo, you rock! Unfortunately, our regular computer is in for repair so I can't put up pictures but will do so as soon as I can.

One of Rob's closest friends, Ray, surprised him with an 1858 Remington Black Powder .44 Navy pistol as a gift. It shoots real bullets and it has a super long barrel. It's an Italian replica that he got through Cabela's. Wasn't that awesome? I think Rob's ready to brave the icy winds just to go check that sucker out at the firing range outside town as soon as possible.

After the party, Rob told me that it really meant a lot that I put such emphasis on his military service. Coming from a family of military service myself, I know the sacrifices and I think we should thank every veteran we see on a daily basis.  In my family, the only people, women or men, who have not served, are those of us with bad eyes and we all tried to get in. I myself almost made it into the Coast Guard but was rejected because of my 20/400 vision. My mom was ROTC Queen of Alabama in the 50's, all of my aunts and uncles served in the Army & Navy and my father was in the Air Force. We take our lives here pretty much for granted but if it weren't for men and women serving in our armed forces, our lives might be very different. 

Any time Rob gets into a political argument with an uber liberal about what's going on in our country, he tells them that he has fought for their right to say what they want in this country without fear of having their tongue cut out for voicing their opinion. I wonder how many Americans actually think about that? We live in one of the few countries in the world where you can voice an opinion against the goverment without fear of bodily harm or prison for your views. That's freedom and that's thanks to the men and women who have laid down their lives for the US. I have a friend in Serbia that I talk with frequently through e-mail who does not have that privilege. As a matter of fact, she has few rights at all. It is only by the grace of God that we were born Americans and I for one, do not take that grace lightly.

Rob is upstairs snoring off his multiple encounters with Mr. Glenlivet and Mr. Coors last night, dreaming of his adventures from the Navy, no doubt. Thistle got to sleep with her cone of idiocy off for the first time since her surgery and I'm sitting here in front of a roaring woodstove, expressing my views to the world without fear of reprisal. Life just doesn't get much better! Sure, I have surgery coming up Monday but that's a minor inconvenience compared to what's happening in some households in other parts of the world.

Rob and Thistle

It was a lot of work to pull off Rob's surprise party but it was nothing compared to the work he did for you and me behind the scenes to keep us safe for 23 years......

Happy Birthday, my darling and thank you for your service to our nation!

limping into Friday.....

Yesterday's snowstorm!

It’s everybody’s favorite day of the week again! Okay, well, it’s Rob and mine’s, anyway.  We made it to another Friday! Boy, what a week this has been.

Miss Thistle is doing so much better after her little surgery.  We were able to leave off her cone of idiocy almost all day yesterday. She’s back to her old playful self and doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to her stitches. Of course, I’ve been distracting her with everything I can think of to keep her occupied.  One of my friends, Michelle, owner of the famous golden, Abby, brought Thistle over a lovely Kong yesterday. It’s one of those that you stuff with peanut butter and treats so Thistle was quite content to try to lick out all the yummy goodness for hours before she got it all. Michelle also brought her over a couple of pigs ears. 

Thistle is going to be pretty spoiled by the time this is all over, I think.  I also picked Thistle up a pair of toddler training pants (in pink) to cover her stitches, so she wouldn’t scoot.  She didn’t like that so much.  For the first hour she just sat there, not moving and looking at me like I was some kind of torture queen.  After an hour and some coaxing, she finally started walking around in them.  They work really well but I have to take them off of her when I take her outside to do her business, of course.  I must say that I have been laughing quite a lot through this ordeal.  Her stitches look awesome, though and that’s what counts.

Thistle in her "training pants" and Kong Cloud

I’m back to preparing the house for my upcoming surgery again. I sure hope they don’t postpone it another time.  I’m not sure I can wait much longer.  I have really damaged my knee even further running around after Miss Thistle.  The strain of the whole thing has all the muscles in both legs screaming now.  I’m supposed to call after lunch to get my surgery time for Monday.  I sure hope they give me a morning slot because I’m not very good in the morning without coffee and I’m such an early riser these days.  We’ve been watching the weather, too, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to get to Sheridan for this.

We had one of those wonderful wild snowstorms yesterday. I just love the way we get snow around here. It started as rain (very unusual) on Wednesday night and quickly turned to snow while we were having Rob’s birthday dinner at Winnie’s.  By the time we got home that evening, it was a slushy winter wonderland.  Thursday morning, we got up to a near whiteout and all the roads leading out of Buffalo were shut down due to blowing and drifting snow.  Then, poof….the sun came out about 9:30 a.m., the winds died down and we were left with a beautiful landscape and a bright, sunny, calm day! I don’t think they even closed the schools.  I went out to run some errands in town around 10 and everyone was digging out and the roads were already looking just fine.  Everyone kept looking at the mountain, though, because it was still pretty menacing looking up there but it never did anything more except a few flurries.

Chamber Coffee

We have our monthly Chamber of Commerce Coffee this morning.  That’s one of my favorite things to do.  A bunch of the business people gather for coffee and we discuss all the things going on in Buffalo. It’s a free for all, no agenda or anything, and we talk about everything from what new businesses have come to town to the latest news from the city council and commissioners.  Some of the best ideas come from those coffees! I’m sure today’s conversation will center around the upcoming RMI convention we have coming up in a month.  Buffalo will be hosting tour operators from around the world, vying for their tourists to bring here on vacation.

I’m just looking forward to Happy Hour myself.  Like I said, it’s been a long week! Rob’s looking forward to it, too.  He really didn’t celebrate his birthday in true fashion (drink) and has already told me that he plans on having a shot or two of Glenlivet, his liquor of choice, along with his usual beer this evening.  I used to love scotch myself, until I woke up in a snowbank, face down, in my late 20’s, after over-inbibing in a bottle of single malt Laphroig Scotch.  Now I can’t stand the smell of the stuff. I even had to stop using the lipstick I was wearing at the time of the face plant! Every time I use L-oreal  lipstick now, it smells like scotch to me, isn’t that weird?  Funny what our mind does to us.  I did retry some Laphroig a couple of years ago when we were vacationing up in Cooke City, MT and I must admit I still like the stuff.  A lot of people call it “smoke in a glass”.  It’s very earthy tasting, not like any other scotch, if you ask me.  Rob hates it, much prefers the Glens (Glenlivet, Glenfiddich).

I’m not much of a drinker anymore.  Luckily, we only go out once a week. It doesn’t like me much these days.  I get one rocks glass full of my Captain Morgan and I’m good for the evening. I’m mostly at happy hour for the conversation.  I usually go through 2-3 glasses of iced tea or pop while I’m sipping on my Captain.  Funny thing is that I still manage to have a hangover the next day! Must be all the stupid medication I’m on.  I’d make a lousy alcoholic, that’s for sure.  I’ve never been able to drink enough to have it be a problem.  We have a big bar in our great room that is fully stocked and stays that way unless someone comes over and we offer them a drink or unless we have a party.  We just aren’t home imbibers, we are social drinkers.  Oh sure, every once in while Rob gets a coughing fit and has a shot of the Glen, but that’s about it.  I think right now I have about 12 bottles of wine and there’s probably two cases of beer in the beverage cooler, along with all the booze in the bar.  It will stay there until the next party, no doubt.

Okay, enough booze talk!  I guess it’s time to get my fanny in gear and go wake up the kids (Rob and Thistle) as we have that early morning coffee at the Chamber and I do have to get some breakfast into us beforehand. 

I hope that your Friday is as much fun as ours is going to be.  No matter what’s going on in your life, you need to set it all aside sometimes and just let your hair down.  Your problems will be waiting for you afterwards, no need to bring them along to happy hour.  Life is too short to worry all the time.  One thing I’ve learned in this crazy life of mine is that things can change in the blink of an eye, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, but they will change.  That’s the nature of life.  There’s no sense in sitting around ruminating about what’s around the bend, it will take care of itself. Oh sure, plan for things but always have the contingency and the fortitude to look Mr Life in the eye and laugh if he gives you a loop or two. 

“Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory”~ Alan Alda

boarding school memories...

Good morning everyone!  Hope you are all having a fantastic week!  Rob and I had a fabulous time last night celebrating his birthday with our friends, Zach and Carol Ann, at dinner. Well, we always have fun when we go out with them, anyway! It’s funny how you can meet some couples and feel like you’ve known them forever. Z and C are just that sort of couple.

We have a lot in common because both the guys are planners so they speak a common language all their own.  Carol Ann and I are both sappy life lovers so we get along grandly, also. That’s uncommon in couples.  It usually happens that you just tolerate the spouse that comes along with someone you like.  My sides are still hurting from all the laughing I did last night.  The guys don’t talk about work, either. When we get together, it’s a full out witty festival of talk about everything under the sun. We never seem to run out of goofy stuff to talk about. 

Zach and I actually went to private school across the street from each other in El Paso, TX, too! Now, how small is the world, anyway?  You see, when I was in 4^th grade, my mother thought I would just love going to boarding school and she really wanted to travel with her husband at the time who worked for Sony out of Japan so she enrolled me in Radford School for Girls.  It has since gone co-ed and dropped the “for Girls” part.  I was the youngest boarder by several years. It was not a great time in my life.  There were a bunch of girls who were seniors, though, who looked after me and made it a little better.  They were only allowed to date and have dances with the guys who went to the Military Academy across the way.  That’s where Zack went!  We discovered this in one of our first dinners together and that we knew some of the same people!  I mean, who forgets a name like Ronbo Flounder? Well, his name’s Ron, but everyone called him Ronbo.  Gives me chills how many coincidences there are in my life with people I know now!

I still keep in touch with some of the “girls” I went to boarding school with.  Did you know that school has put out some of the finest female minds in America?  Sandra Day O’Connor, the Supreme Court Justice, went there.  The school just had its 100^th anniversary celebration this past year in 2011. When I was there, it was a creepy place to me, though.  The Dean, Ms Templeton, had a penchant for World War II memorabilia and it was all over the school. We had mannequins of soldiers and airmen in their uniforms in the great hall. It was really spooky for a 4^th grader, walking around there at night! We also had Pancho Villa’s death mask in a case (complete with hair in it) and the world’s smallest Bible under a microscope.  The school was surrounded in front with anti-aircraft guns Dean Templeton had collected.  As a matter of fact, while I was there, my roomie, Jane, fell off one of the guns and sliced her leg wide open, requiring a lot of stitches.

I credit Radford with a lot of my education, despite the fact that I hated being there.  I was actually bored for the rest of my time in the public education system after that.  I really didn’t learn much else after, it was just a repetition of what I learned there.  That’s probably why I got into so much trouble later in high school.  The classes at Radford were only 5-7 students in my grade so I got completely individualized attention.  Add to that the fact that we completed Algebra, Spanish and French in 4^th grade and you’ll see why I was insufferably bored in public school.  I used to really anger the teachers in high school because I cut more classes than I went to and then I would stroll in and ace their tests on exam day.  I’m not really much smarter than anyone else, I just learned earlier.

When I went to Radford, it was the late 60’s.  I was there in 1967 and 1968, to be exact.  The older girls were my idols! They all took me under their wing while I was there, I think they felt sorry for me. Any time we went outside the school, we had to dress in school uniforms of green jackets and our plaid skirts and white gloves.  Can you imagine that in El Paso, TX now?  Oh and Radford is where I learned to ski!  We went on a big trip to Ruidoso, NM to go skiing and I learned to ski after going up in a big gondola all the way to the top of this huge mountain. I had started taking lessons but my roomie, who was several years older, convinced me lessons were for sissies and talked me into the ride.  I tell you, by the time I got to the bottom, which was about an hour later, I was a pretty darn good skier, out of fear for my life! I ended up being a skier for life after that. 

Radford is also where I learned to be a “lady”. We all ate meals in the grand hall, complete with linens and a million forks and plates and ketchup in bowls.  My roomie had a lot of fun always putting me up to sit at the Dean’s table to watch me squirm.  I am forever grateful, however, for all the etiquette I learned while there. I learned the proper way to walk and carry on polite conversation and what all those forks are for. You can’t intimidate me in a formal setting, that’s for sure.

Wow, I really got off track from dinner last night, didn’t I? Funny how your mind wanders at 4:30 in the morning! Anyway, Zack, Carol Ann , Rob and I always have fun when we get together. Unfortunately, they have teenagers so we don’t get together real often but we try to have dinner together at least twice a month to catch up and we lunch together often.  Just a couple more years and they will be free to join us more often when the kids have gone off to college.

Thistle is doing much better today.  She’s just getting really itchy from her stitches now.  I’ve been spending a lot of time scratching the area around her stitches for her while she has her e-collar on.  I try to think of what it must be like for her and act accordingly.  She seems pretty darn grateful and calms down when I help her out.  She’s back to playing with her toys and running around like nothing’s bothering her much (except those itchy stitches).  I think she’ll be in pretty good shape by the time I get my surgery on Monday.  We’re still trying to figure out how that’s all going to work.  Rob is really busy with subdivision regulations at work and can’t take off to help me after surgery so I may be calling on some girlfriends to come let Thistle out those first few days post-op. I have to call tomorrow to find out what time my surgery is on Monday. I sure hope it’s an early one because I am not a happy camper without my morning coffee!

Well, have a fabulous Thursday, everyone. I hit a milestone here on my blog yesterday! 10,000 people have stopped in to read my silly words from 16 countries!  Who’d a thunk it?  That’s no pressure………….ack!

“Of all cursed places under the sun, where the hungriest soul can hardly pick up a few grains of knowledge, a girls boarding school is the worst. They are called finishing schools, and the name tells accurately what they are. They finish everything. They are nicely adapted machines for experimenting on the question ‘Into how little space a human being can be crushed?’ I have seen some souls so compressed that they would have fitted into a small thimble, and found room to move there-wide room. A woman who has been for many years at one of those places carries the mark of the beast on her till she dies” ~Olive Schreiner

post war hump day...

Thistle is doing much better today and so am I.  I have a slight shiner on my cheekbone, which I think adds to my character quite nicely!  We managed to make it through last night , in bed, without incident.  Dear Rob let me sleep yesterday evening in my lounger while he watched the puppy, so I’m feeling pretty chipper this morning!

I know this adventure is far from over but I feel better prepared to face it with a little more sleep. Thistle is handling everything like a trouper. She’s still playing and running around with a bone in her mouth despite having to fit it inside her E-collar.  She’s going to have to wear that collar until she gets her stitches out in another 8 days. Well, she doesn’t have to wear it all the time, just when I can’t watch her closely.

I had to pull a lot of old knowledge from when I was a vet tech out for this experience! Amazing the stuff you have stuck in the back of your mind but are able to pull out when you need it! I just remembered this morning that we used to use a piece of cloth wrapped around the mid section of the bigger dogs  as a sling to hold their rear ends up to keep them from dragging their butts while they are outside doing their business. I’ve already found the perfect piece of cloth.  Now maybe I won’t bung my knee up so bad bending over and chasing her at the same time!

Poor Rob didn’t have a very exciting birthday.  I did manage to make him a nice Italian dinner while Thistle had one of her naps yesterday afternoon.  He really didn’t want to make a big deal out of turning 60.  He’s more excited about the fact that we’ll be getting his military retirement pay.  Poor guy thought he’d never see the day he would finally get that. He’s been saying that he’d never live to receive it since the day he left the service back in 1993.  I made him finally retire back then right after the first Desert Storm. 

He was part of a reserve unit back then that had no active duty counterpart, the Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit.  It was his unit’s job to place buoys out in water that monitor sea traffic, right down to the little fishes, and he would monitor them from land. Rob is also the only one out of any of them that has put the equipment on a oil derrick and they were talking about taking him along to do that. The Navy was talking about putting these buoys out in the water around the bays in the Middle East and on the derricks and was starting to call up the reserve units that do that work. Every week, they’d have a telephone tag call, where they’d make sure they could reach the unit members.  It got so that every time the phone would ring, I’d go into panic mode, fearing it was the Navy calling him to go overseas. I think Rob was secretly hoping he’d go. It was bad enough when he did his two week deployments ever year to Puerto Rico with them.  They were doing drug interdiction out there with those buoys, calling in the Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement when they detected unusual activity off the coast.  Once a whole group of drug smugglers walked right through Rob’s camouflaged camp with big guns, not even knowing they were surrounded by armed Navy guys. See why I made him retire?

For those of you who don’t come from military families, you may not know that just because you have left active service, doesn’t mean you can’t still be called up until the date of your “official” retirement.  So I was celebrating yesterday, for sure.

Just went and checked on Rob and Thistle sleeping.  They look just adorable.  Thistle is sleeping in the bed with Rob, all sprawled out on her back, in her E-collar (so her face looks like a flower inside) and Rob is sprawled out next to her.  I was surprised she did so well sleeping all night with that collar on.  I think it’s all going to be just fine now.

 

We’re going out to dinner tonight to really celebrate Rob’s birthday with some friends tonight.  Our biggest restaurant in town, Winchester’s, sends its regular clients birthday cards every year that include a coupon for a free dinner so Rob’s dinner is on the house.  Our daughter had sent us a really nice gift certificate to Winnie’s for Christmas that I still haven’t used up so we may end up not paying anything but the tip tonight!  It was so funny when she got us that gift certificate.  She called from Chicago and said she wanted to send us one and as soon as she said Rob’s name, they knew who he was and where we lived.  I think it shocked her a little since she lives in a big city where no one is familiar with one another. Being the only Yinglings in the entire County, it doesn’t shock us, though.

That reminds me of a funny story when we first moved here that will show you how small Wyoming really is.  It may be one of the largest land masses in the country but the people population makes it like a small town.  We had only been here about a month when I got a phone call from a sweet little old lady in Casper, WY.  She said her name was also Yingling and she’d been talking to a Buffalo girlfriend who told her that a couple had moved here with her last name.  Well, she was curious if we were related to her late husband and just had to call! I ended up having lunch with her in Casper on one of my doctor runs down there and we had a grand old time.  All Yinglings are related.  The first one, Jacob, moved here back in the early 1800’s from Germany and had 19 sons. Back then the name was spelled Juengling.  It was later changed to Yuengling, which is America’s oldest brewery and some darn good beer if you ever get a chance to try it. We are related to them but not close enough to get any of the money or free beer.  Lastly, it was basterdized down to Yingling, which is how we spell it.  Anyway, if you think about all the family tree that descended from 19 sons, it can be mind boggling!

Some people think Yingling is Chinese.  Ying is Chinese and Ling is Chinese but Yingling in German, folks.  I can’t tell you how many people are surprised when they meet us that we are not Asian!  And my favorite is the nicknames we get!  I have a friend here that calls me Ying Yang, I just love that.  I’m not as happy about the ones that call me Dingaling, although it probably fits better. Back in Maryland and Pennsylvania, where Rob is from, Yingling is like Smith…they are everywhere.  It’s kinda fun that we are the only ones around here.

Well, today is gonna be a great day.  I have made it over the post surgical hump with the puppy and I think we’ll be okay now.  Of course, I’m still awaiting my own surgery next Monday but that will be a breeze after this one!! Hope your week is working out wonderful.  It’s hump day, we’ve made it halfway through the week!!

surgery and the sexgenarian

Thistle after first arriving home from surgery

This has been a wild night, that’s for sure.  Poor Thistle, my Golden Retriever, had corrective surgery yesterday for a recessed vulva. Now, believe it or not, this is a pretty common occurrence in puppies.  The problem is that they get endless urinary tract infections if it’s not corrected.

We picked her up after surgery about 3 p.m. yesterday and boy, was she groggy! The vet gave us pain pills for her, along with antibiotics and some muscle relaxers to help with the recovery.  For the last 14 hours, I’ve been by her side, trying to keep her comfortable.

I feel so bad for dogs when something like this happens. They really don’t have a clue what’s happened to them and they are so confused by the sudden pain!  We’ve been laying on the floor, on the couch, in her kennel (I have one that’s portable that opens on top) in her regular kennel, with the Elizabethan collar on, without the collar on, with a cold pack on her bum, without one.. Right now, Rob is holding her on his lap while I write, bless his heart.

That’s the other big news! Today is Rob’s 60^th birthday! Poor guy, he’s been up with Thistle since 4 am and has a full agenda at work today.  I think he has two sessions with the Commissioners this morning and then he has a Planning and Zoning Commission work session that starts at 4 pm. It’s gonna be a long birthday, that’s for sure!

Rob, the birthday boy!

We’re going celebrate it right tomorrow night with some friends, though.  Going to take the birthday boy out for dinner!

We just need to get through these next few days with Miss Thistle right now. I need to have her well on the way to healing by next Monday when I have my own surgery.  She’s a trouper, though, and certainly hasn’t lost her appetite!  She’s been treated like a queen, of course, and has quite enjoyed the ricotta cheese mixed in with her regular food. She’s been getting lots of snacky treats as well.

Well, my head is swimming with visions of puppy and lack of serious sleep right now so this is going to be short today.  Wish us luck!  Miss Thistle is in good hands, no worries, as I used to do this for a living before I was a “people nurse”! Knew that vet training was gonna come in handy again someday!

Thistle in her portable carrier beside my chair, looking a little brighter

lazy is good, real good!

Well, I had a lazy Sunday, that’s for sure!  Can’t say I got much more done than the laundry, but that’s what Sundays are about, right? Yesterday was the day of the big sleep!  It started off by sleeping a little late (6 a.m.) and waking to a chilly, dreary day.  I almost felt like I’d woken up back on the east coast!  One of the things I love about Wyoming is that the winters may be long but they tend to be bright and sunny, even with lots of snow on the ground.  Yesterday was the exception, however, with gray skies and spitting snow most of the day.  It was the kind of day you want to stay in a nice hot soaky bath all day because you can’t get that dampness out of yourself.

I did manage to have a skype conference with one of my old high school buddies, Keith.  That was a lot of fun.  I’ve been talking back and forth with Keith on Facebook for some time now. He has a brother who lives in Lander and he’s planning on stopping in to see Rob and I while he’s out this summer visiting.  I was even able to see his little adorable dog, Biscuit, laying on the bed behind him. I just sent Biscuit a doggie care package last week of my homemade dog cookies and threw in a couple of touristy things for Keith. I’m still flabbergasted at the technology of skype, I tell ya!  I tried to show Keith the mountains but there was too much glare from the sun at the moment when we were talking.  We’ll have a great time showing him around when he comes this summer, though!

While I was talking to Keith, Rob was entertaining a new client for a website, another outfitter. Man, I wish we were younger and healthier because both Rob and I would have loved to be outfitters! Imagine being able to spend your working hours out in nature, guiding hunters around the mountain….sweet! I think I told you when we first moved out here many years ago, we were outriders for a wagon train company, Spiritriders, that took tourists on 3-6 day wagon train trips through the Hole In the Wall country down by Kaycee.  Outriders make sure that the wagons stay on the trail, gently guiding the draft horses at all times. It amazes me that this part of the country ever got populated after spending time reliving the wagon train experience.

A wagon train can only do about 11 miles a day. That means it would take 3 ½ days just to get to Sheridan back in the day! Now, I thought our experiences were rough when we were doing it! We had no ice after the first day (except the cook), no place to bathe except cow creeks full of mud and flies, endless dust and heat and of course,  you have to break down camp every day and then stop early enough to set up again each evening.  With our modern conveniences, though, we had water and food for the trip. Can you imagine coming across the prairie not knowing where your next water was?  Those were some brave folks who settled this area back in the 1800’s, let me tell you.  I highly recommend taking a wagon train adventure if you want to see what it was really like.  I really miss outriding but I don’t miss the red dust between my teeth!

Sweet Draft horses!

Anyway, we went and hit the Chinese restaurant for lunch and it seems everyone else in town had the same idea.  The place was packed! I’m so glad to see Tommy, the owner, getting so much business.  He has great food and has even introduced a small menu of Thai food that I tend to order from.  I like my food spicy and he is very good at that! After that, I fell asleep for at least two hours. It was just so comfy in front of the woodstove, I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

It was just a really lazy day for both Rob and I and they don’t come along too often.  I did manage to get all the laundry done but it’s still sitting in the living room with accusatory eyes, waiting to be folded…

This is a big week coming up.  Rob turns the big 6-0 tomorrow!  He’s been looking forward to this birthday for a lot of years.  No, he doesn’t particularly want to be 60, who does?  He was in the Navy for 23 years, 11 active duty and 12 reserve.  Because it was not all active duty, he was unable to get his military retirement until he turns 60.  So, tomorrow, he is officially retired from the Navy!  I swear, the government and the military in particular can make you crazy! We’ve been waiting to see how much he gets and as of right now, we still don’t know! All kinds of paperwork has been passed back and forth, including direct deposit stuff but nowhere have they told us exactly what’s coming!  Guess we’ll find out when it hits the bank account.  We are hoping to start working toward real retirement with this.  We’re gonna start paying off the mortgage and the vehicles and hopefully, by the time Rob’s ready to retire from the County here in a few years, we’ll be able to swing full retirement and start having a little fun. Of course, the way the economy is going, who knows….

Personally I don’t see Rob ever retiring.  He’s a bit of a workaholic but he swears it’s out of necessity. We’ll see soon, won’t we?

Well, today’s a big day for my puppy, Thistle.  She’s getting some corrective surgery at the Vet’s today. She was born with a recessed vulva and it has caused constant infections in her little crotch since we’ve had her.  She’ll be staying overnight and we’re both stressing as we’ve never had her away from us.  Wish her luck and a pain free recovery!  Poor thing has been on antibiotics since she was 8 weeks old because of all this. That can’t be good for her little immune system and it sure hasn’t been good for my pocketbook. For the last two months she’s been on Augmentin,  which has been costing $85 every two weeks.  The drugstore laughed at me when I tried to declare her as a dependent on my insurance. Can’t blame a girl for trying, right?

Get out there and have a great day.  Hopefully, you are like Rob and have President’s Day off.  If not, enjoy your day anyway! Every day above ground is a good one, I say!

"There is no condition that you cannot modify into something more, any more than there is any painting that you cannot repaint. There are many limiting thoughts in the human environment that can make it seem that these so-called incurable illnesses or unchangeable conditions cannot not be changed. But we say that they are only "unchangeable" because you believe they are. Someone asked us recently, 'Is there any limitation to the body's ability to heal?" And we said, None, other than the belief that you hold. And he asked, "Then why aren't people growing new limbs?' And we said, Because no one believes they can." ~Abraham Hicks