Good times and not so good times...

     Hey! Did ya'll miss me? I sure have missed ya'll! Thank you so much for thinking of us during this time with my Dad! He's home now, but he's weak and emotional. My niece is in the hospital and almost died Monday, so he got upset when he heard about that. That's natural, but we're going to have to be more selective with what we share with him. We learned the hard way. I spent the day with him yesterday, and will do so again tomorrow. I spent today with my niece, and driving her husband home to get some clean clothes and pick up some food he can eat while there with her. He's on disability and doesn't drive at this time. She is better now and the baby seems to be doing OK. Yea, she's six months pregnant! She's had all kind of tests run on her because they didn't know what was wrong with her. She was on medication for bronchitis, but was not getting any better. In fact, she got worse! She was wheezing so bad! I've never heard anything like that before! They thought she might have a blood clot, so they checked her legs and lungs and heart, but thankfully, no blood clot. The lung doctor finally diagnosed her with severe asthma, the worst he'd ever seen. He said that she had it since childhood, but was never diagnosed with it. Her lungs were burned from it. They treated her in the hospital last week for it. She got bad over the weekend, and on Monday, the nurses at the doctors office referred her immediately to the hospital, as the doctor couldn't be there. When she got to the hospital, they told her her lungs were closed and if she had been a few minutes later, she would have died! I didn't even know this was going on until after the fact! Her Mom wasn't there either! I don't know why my family is being attacked like this! It really brings into perspective things that you don't normally have to think about. She will not be released until the doctor hears no more wheezing in her lungs. I feel sorry for my Dad, crying about this! He's not a crier! I would appreciate your continued prayers for my family!


      That was all the bad. We had a great time on vacation last week. Well, almost. I couldn't help but think about my Dad and my niece. Skylar had a bad wreck on his bicycle, but thankfully, no stitches! The purple flag was up a few days, so we didn't go to the beach on those days. That means dangerous wildlife. We found out it was jelly-fish. They sting! The surf got up, so they put up the red flag. We only spent two days at the actual beach, but that was fine with me! I don't get into sunbathing like I did when I was younger. I'm happy with my farmers tan! I forgot to take my camera to the beach, so I only have pictures made on a boat looking at the beach where we sat. I don't know how blogging is going to be over the next few weeks. I hope to write at least twice a week, but we'll see how things go. I've got blackberry juice in the refrigerator to make jelly and our nectarines tree is overloaded with fruit! They will soon be ready. Would someone like to come and help? I really miss reading about ya'lls gardens and such, and hopefully things will settle down so I can read more! Ya'll take care in this treacherous heat wave and drought we're having! Stay inside where it's cool! Blessings from Bama!

Our campsite at Panama City Beach, Florida. St. Andrews State Park.

We got to see the boats go in and out of the bay everyday.

Would you ride the Vomatron? It goes around and turns you upside down, then back the other way! I would not!

They love riding go-carts!

Hubs is in front, this round.

A nice carpet golf place.

Our view of our camper from the Sea Screamer. Ours is the one with the blue awning.

The point at the park where the hubs liked to fish. That's not him.

These are Cannon-ball jelly fish. I wonder if these are what warranted the purple flag? They do not sting. The water was full of them.

The dolphins love to come around the Sea Screamer.

Looks like he's waiting for a snack.

One of the deck hands pretending to have a fish. Legally, they are not supposed to feed the dolphins. 

Enjoying his trip!

These folks got to swim with the dolphins!

The Sea Dragon is a wonderful cruise for the kiddos! They stay in the bay, not out in the se 

Look at those beautiful condos on the beach!

We happened on a parasailer in distress. Somehow, it became detached from the boat.

A trained diver on a jet ski to the  rescue. He pulls a banana boat, so he's trained for such as this.

Have you ever heard of Pineapple Willie's? Here it is!

This is the beach where we went.

The surf was so hard, it made a cliff here.

A much larger cliff.

The new captain.

The older captain (his Dad).

I enjoyed watching this squirrel eat his peanut butter cracker he robbed from the hubs fishing sack. 

He is really stretched out!

We're at Pier Park, a very nice shopping area with unique shops. I have a chub from all that seafood! I'm working it off now, though.

We went on a dinner cruise on the Lady Anderson.

The son is leading this lap.

He wanted to eat at Margaritaville. (Skylar)

Another limb collapsed while we were gone! I'm glad it didn't break!

  

Green beans and potatoes harvested from our garden. They sure were delicious! 

My Dad is so Much better!

      Thank ya'll so much for praying for my Dad! He's doing so much better now! They moved him into a regular room on the heart floor yesterday. They are even talking about letting him go home tomorrow, if his tests come back clear! Wow! God is so good! It just wasn't my Dad's time to go yet! I am glad! My Mom has her plate full, though. My brother is coming in this week, about the time my Dad will get to go home. That will be a huge help to my Mom! God's timing is so right on! 


       So, with all that said, we are enjoying our time at the beach, at last! That may sound selfish of us, but we already had this trip planned a year ago. And since my Dad has improved so much, we decided it was alright. I probably won't be able to load photos, because we are on a limited wifi. I may try at a later time. I will continue to write and let ya'll know how my Dad is doing. Stay cool in this hot weather! Blessings from Bama!


      

I appreciate your concern for my Dad!

      Thank you so much for taking time out to read and leave comments about my Dad! I appreciate that more than you'll ever know! We had a rough couple of days lately, that's why I haven't had a chance to post. His breathing was rough, to say the least. The doctor came in and told the nurse to call me and my Mom back in on Friday afternoon, so he could tell us about another procedure he'd have to perform. We had just left the hospital and was on our way to get a bite to eat. We had to turn around and go back and wait on the doctor for an hour an a half before he came in. We would have had time to get a quick bite, if we'd known that! Anyway, the doctor wanted to insert a needle into Dad's lung to draw off fluid. He drew off 500cc's, which looks like about a quart or so. Afterwards, they were able to take off the breathing machine, and just put a small oxygen thing into his nose. He could breathe and talk so much better! It was almost an instant change! He's doing so much better today, sitting in the bed and eating a little! They even got him up and walked him down the hall! If he continues to improve, tomorrow he'll get to go into a regular room! He will also have to start physical therapy. That will be a huge part of his recovery. We are all so glad and relieved to see this! I just wanted ya'll to know what's been going on so you wouldn't worry! I'll get back with you in a couple of days and give you more updates. Have a great weekend! Blessings from Bama!

Happy Anniversary Baby!

        Got you on my, mind! Remember that song? Today is hubby and my twenty-first anniversary! Wow! Doesn't even seem like that long ago! A lot sure has transpired over the last twenty-one years! But it's been mostly all good! It helps when the hubs has a good attitude about everything! I've learned so much from him when it comes to attitude! Of course, reading my Bible and listening to Joyce Meyer helps too! Lol! We will celebrate when we go out of town next week. I won't be in much to blog next week, but I'll try to keep ya'll updated on my Dad.


      It's really hard to talk about my Dad. I would rather talk about anything else, as if nothing was going on. But the reality of it is, he's not doing so good today. Yesterday, I couldn't believe it when I walked in and saw him sitting up in a chair! Wow! He's getting well quick, I thought! His blood pressure began to go down, so they administered some meds. to regulate it. He was in bed last night when I saw him, but was awake and talking some. This morning, they were giving him a little oxygen, and watching his heart rate. It was quite elevated. After lunch, I walked in and had to walk past a heart shock machine waiting to be hooked up to him, and him on a breathing machine! He was very swollen too, from the amount of fluids they are giving him. It brought back scary memories from when my Grandmother had open heart surgery. She didn't survive. That was twenty-one years ago as well. He didn't look good at all, to say the least! We were told by the doctor that this was not unusual, in fact, to expect it. We left the room for them to give him the strong meds. and administer the shock, so the heart could get back into rhythm. When we came back, the nurse told us that the medicine got the heart back into rhythm without the shock. I believe the Lord did that! We were sure glad to hear that! Now, we're just waiting to see how he's done this afternoon and hopefully, not had to receive one of those shocks. But if he does, he does. We're trusting God and the doctors. The third day after surgery is usually the toughest one, at least in this case! We were hoping he would be moved out of SICU by tomorrow, but that doesn't look like it will happen at this point. Thank you so much for reading and your concern for my Dad! 


      I'm having a hard time posting my blog! It won't let me preview or post. Since I've been waiting, I talked to Mom and she said they took the shock cart out of Dad's room and his pressure and heart rate is regulating more. That's good news! He ate a few bites, then had to get back on the breathing machine. I hope I can publish this tonight! The comments have been very encouraging! I hope to get back into my regular routine, but that might be awhile as we already had a trip planned for next week. I will try to keep you updated so as not to worry! Ya'll are such a blessing to me! Wish you were here! Blessings from Bama!

Son trying to get the snake.

Now it's on this side!

OK Dad, your turn!

Here it comes!

Off with its head! The chickens fought over its head! He should have thrown the rest of the body in there with them!

Clanton Al. peaches. Delicious!

The tomato plants and basil are growing nicely! Lots of tomatoes there you can't see.

The tomato plants are getting so tall!

The nectarine tree is so full, the hubs thought it needed a prop so it won't split and fall to the ground.

Blackberries in with a beauty berry bush.

Roo Mama decided to lay her egg here.

This tree is loaded with nectarines!

The zucchini plant is producing more zucchini than I can eat!

Raspberry plants. Wonder what happened to the raspberries?

You should hear the buzz they're making trying to cool the hive!

We may get some honey in a few weeks!

Update on my Dad and another snake!

      Thank ya'll so much for your nice comments and prayers concerning my Dad! He did great through the surgery and is now in ICU. I am in between visiting hours so I wanted to give ya'll this news. He looked so pitiful lying there with countless wires and bags hanging everywhere! He has a nurse by his side during this time, of which I am so grateful! God is so good! He has heard and answered our prayers! Thank you all so much for your concern! It's nice to come home from such an ordeal and read what you've written!


      I went out to gather the eggs, and yep, you guessed it, another snake! It was smaller and brown, where the other one was black. I thought it might be a copperhead, but upon further examination, I think it's just another chicken snake.  I made more of a fuss the other day when I saw a tomato horn worm! I don't know why, but those tomato horn worms freak me out! I can hardly stand to see them devour my tomato plants! And they really put up a fight when you're trying to get them off! The chickens sure did like it when I gave it to them!


      Sorry I don't have much time to view ya'lls blogs and leave comments at this time! I really miss reading them, and hope to get to again soon! I will blog when I can and share updates with you! Thank you so much for being here, since you can't be there! I'll leave you with some photos of the garden. Blessings from Bama!

Such a lovely rose!

I was so thankful to discover that I still had some of these double day lilies!

I like this yellow one too!

Another sunflower!

I absolutely love these day lilies!

These really showed off last week!

Another shot of this beautiful rose!

The dirt finally got spread and now hubs is putting out some parts to the pool. We have more up than this, now.

Aren't these raspberries beautiful? They sure were delicious!

What kind of snake is this? It has a white spot on its head.

I don't think it's poisonous. Is it?