The Trial Is Nearing The End

Sorry for not posting more than I have been, but the Casey Anthony trial has me so mesmerized that I cannot tear myself away from it.

I turn the TV on, after making sure I get up early enough, around 8:30 or 9:00, depending on when Judge Perry tells us court will start the next day.

And then I watch all day long, and I hate it when they take little recesses, and I especially hate it when they take an hour and a half for lunch. Usually they go till 5:00 but some days they go longer. And when they finish long before 5, I really get irritated.

It is winding down now, the defense rested their case earlier today. I can only say at this point that after watching this trial from day one, I would not want any of those lawyers on the defense team to represent me. Ever.

So bear with me folks because as long as this trial is ongoing, I will be of no use to anyone.

And I would like to add that I tried to post this after midnight but Blogger was being a royal pain in the butt and no one could access their blogs to post.

Marco Finally Wins One

I have been following Marco's career since he started racing, and last night for the second time in his career I was able to see him win. He won his first race as a rookie back in 2006 at a road course in Sonoma, California.

Saturday he won the Iowa Corn Indy 250 which is an oval course. The last time an Andretti won on an oval course was when his father, Michael, won in 2000 at Motegi in Japan.

It's been a long time since I've been able to see him win, and race after race all I could do was hope.  Saturday made it real.  Finally. 

The Andretti clan resides in the Lehigh Valley and that makes us neighbors so to speak since I live in the Lehigh Valley also. 

Congratulations Marco!  Now, give us some more wins this year.

DoraTheExplorer

Her real name is Dakota-Sioux. I call her Dora every time a new empty box appears in our house. Dakota is always the first one to find it. And of course, just finding it doesn't do the trick. No, the trick is to crawl into it and make it hers so no one else can get in. And God forbid anyone tries to get in because she will bat them into next week.

She's not a fighter...she just doesn't want to share her new found space. I remember when this box arrived in the house. It came in the mail and inside it was my breadbox. I put the empty box up fairly high and before I knew it there was Dakota making it her own. She is, after all, our little princess and the two boys just don't stand a chance with her around.

Sillipuss

With nothing much to write about these boring days, I was scrolling through my older photos when I came upon this one of our Junior.

This is the soft-side carrier I use to take the cats to the vet. When we bring the cat home (whichever one was the luckier of the two that visit the vet), I usually just let the carrier on the floor somewhere until I have time to put it away out of their sight.

Both Punkin' and Dakota cannot be shown that carrier on a day one of them is going to the vet. They would hide themselves so deep under the furniture I wouldn't find either one for days. And on the ride to that famous place, they both howl like it's a full moon.   I have to keep the carrier out of their sight until it is time to leave, carry either one into the bedroom where the carrier is on the bed, and pop them in.  And sometimes that's not even easy to do. 

Needless to say, Junior has never been to the vet since he got his you-know-whats cut off.   So he has no idea what that carrier is or what it's used for because if he did he would not want to crawl in it and wait to be taken away.

Nope...this particular day he just thought it was another place to crash.  He's a big boy, so he took up the entire space inside. And it makes me giggle every time I look at this photo.

Pulling My Hair Out

I rely heavily on my Favorites list. Today I wiped it out. I don't know why or how it happened. I was deleting my daily cache inquiries and I guess I went a tad too far.

I thought a system restore would do the job but every time I have tried that since purchasing this computer I have not been successful. I used to do that all the time on the other computer and it always worked when I got myself into a stupid jam. I probably could have retrieved what I tossed from the recycle bin but that was emptied before I realized what happened.

So I spent a good portion of today trying to remember what I had in my Favorites list. Not an easy task. I am sure a lot will come to me as I skip down the merry lane of stupidity.

I can live with what I did to my list but what really has me scratching my head is not being able to do a system restore on this computer. It's only a little over a year old. Does anyone out there know what it could be? I have Windows 7.

There was a boring race on TV Sunday at the Pocono Race Track. The driver who has been holding on to first place in the points with a healthy lead got bit in the butt today and had to drop out of the race. The drivers under him made major advances because of his stumble. With this new points system it doesn't take much to scramble the drivers after any given race. As a result of Carl Edwards' mishap Sunday, Dale Jr. is still in 3rd place but is now only 10 points out of first place, and 4 points out of 2nd place.  Before yesterday's race, he was 41 points out of first place, so by finishing 6th in the race he gained 31 points.   Good deal.

One of these days he is going to win a race and all hell will break loose. I will party till the cows come home, even though there are no cows within miles of here. Suffice it to say, that will be a long party.

Back To Square One

We hit 97 degrees today and Thursday will be hotter yet. The only good thing is that by Friday the heat won't be quite as bad. They say a cold front is moving in and we will drop to the mid-eighties. Cold front? The only time I get a cold front is when I stand with the refrigerator doors (they're French) open.

I spent the entire day watching (or at least listening) to the Casey Anthony trial. They started the day off with the second cadaver dog and then went into the computer inquiries. Now THAT was very interesting. Especially some of the things that were looked up on her computer when her parents weren't home. Yet they still cannot prove it was her that used the computer those two days back in March...yeah, three months before her baby went missing. Pre-meditated?

NASCAR will be racing at Pocono this weekend. Once again it will be hot for the drivers. It seems the heat follows them. Last weekend they were in Kansas and it was hotter 'n Hades there, too. Speaking of NASCAR...someone finally took a shot at that vile Kyle (CRYle) Busch and tried to put him in his place. The only trouble is, it was a car owner and he was fined $150,000.00 and put on probation until December 31st. But he said it was worth it. He got tired of Busch beating and banging and wrecking his equipment. Richard Childress is my latest hero. He walked up to the kid in the garage, handed his watch to his grandson, put Busch in a headlock and commenced to bounce his fist off his face. No shiner though. Too bad on that account. Busch told him he hits like an old man. Well, Mr. Childress is 65, what did he expect?

Another Close One Sunday

By that, I mean Dale Jr. almost won the race. Last week he was leading and on the fourth turn just before the finish line he ran out of gas but was able to finish seventh. And this Sunday he was in second place just hoping what they were saying about the leader was true: that he would run out of gas and Junior would win the race. Didn't happen, folks. And so we wait another week. Next Sunday the race will be north of me at Pocono Raceway. I've been there a few times and two years ago I was lucky to see Dale Jr.

Now for the weather: more heat and humidity is on the way. We have air conditioning, but for some reason when it gets so dang hot outside it just seems more unbearable inside. Husband hasn't installed the new air conditioner in my computer room yet and I have been using a personal fan. It works fine on most days but when we get high humidity the poor little thing just doesn't cut it.

I will miss much of the Casey Anthony trial today because husband is having his annual stress test along with two other tests. We will be at the cardiologist's facility for almost four hours. I have my goody bag packed and ready to go. My current book and the newspaper will keep me occupied also. The best part will be when he is done and we go somewhere to eat dinner.

This is also husband's last week of physical therapy for his knee and then he sees his knee surgeon again next Monday. With all these appointments we will be out and about every day. I am getting too old for this.

The cats that had kittens finally took them elsewhere so they can teach them how to hunt and fear humans. One mother decided she would rather stay close to home so her three kittens are still up here by the house. She lets me pick them up without a fuss but I don't know how long that will last till she too decides to take them away. I've had a rough couple of weeks since most of them were born but things are a whole lot different now that I no longer have to worry about them 24/7. Finally.

Ahhhhhh...I Can Breathe Again

This cooler weather is much, much better than that 90's crap the past three days. When I stepped outside this morning I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. So much so that I actually hated to come back inside. There was such a nice breeze on the front porch, it was very tempting to just sit there and read the newspaper I retrieved from the end of the driveway. That was out of the question since a husband and three cats were waiting for breakfast.

I could live with this weather year round. But life is not nice and here I am in Podunk USA where the weather has many, many seasons.

I have been spending a lot of time watching the Casey Anthony trial on HLN and also live streaming on the computer. For those of you unaware of the case, little Caylee, a beautiful 2-1/2 year old toddler, went missing and her mother didn't report it for 31 days and then only because she was confronted about where her child really was. That was back in 2008 and now she is on trial for murder. Everyone knows she did it, and the state is pushing for the death penalty. I have never seen someone lie as well as Casey. And I think she believes her own lies. To say that she is a sociopath in every sense of the word is putting it mildly. Her defense lawyer is a real putz, he makes me want to reach out and slap him silly.

So for the next few weeks I will be glued to the trial and my housework will just have to wait. Like that really bothers me anyway.

HOT HOT HOT

I tried to post something last night and couldn't get in, so when I tried again tonight and still couldn't get in I became concerned. I fiddled around until I found a backdoor and entered and here I am. I just hope this is not going to be an issue with my not being able to access my blog to post.

It is now 11:45pm and the temperature outside is 80 degrees. Ho-ly hell. We were in the lower 90's today and they expect it to be that for the next couple of days. What did we do to be punished thusly? This country is going to hell in a hand basket in more ways than one. I don't like this weather. The cats and their kittens outside are not amused by it either.

To make matters worse, the weather people said there would be no rain overnight. Liars. At 5:25am I was awakened by thunder and lightning with a lot of that wet stuff pouring out of the sky. I was able to somehow get myself back to sleep so I have no idea how long it lasted. When I went out to take care of the animals the heat just smacked me in the face. All that rain...for nothing. And as much as I groused about all that rain day after day a week or so ago, I would welcome it now. So would the cats.

Today was a long day for me. It was just the two of us so it didn't seem like a holiday at all. We decided to go out to eat for dinner but we came right back home to our air conditioned home. Husband starts his third week of physical therapy tomorrow but only has two days this week. Next week will be his final week hopefully, and then it is off to see his surgeon again.

Going 128 MPH in a 45 MPH Zone

Yes, you read that correctly. That is exactly what NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was doing in Iredell County, North Carolina, yesterday.

It seems that Toyota gave him a 2012 Lexus to test drive and with his wife, Samantha, by his side he decided the best place to do that was on a two lane curvy road in North Carolina. When he was finally pulled over by police, it was in a church parking lot. He should have headed straight inside and gotten on his knees.

Just beyond where he was stopped they say there are two schools, both of which were ready to dismiss classes for the day.

Why am I writing about this? Certainly not because I am a fan of Kyle Busch, because I'm not. I wouldn't give him the time of day and I don't like giving him space on my blog either. What has me really pissed off about this whole situation is the fact that NASCAR said he didn't do anything wrong and they are staying out of it, saying it's a police matter.

Say what? The little jerk is already on probation from NASCAR for what he did at the track a few weeks ago when the race was over and he rammed Kevin Harvick's driver-less car and sent it into the wall on pit road.

It's an outrage how he is left go and is unpunished for his childish rants. I guess once he kills someone maybe then they will sit up and take notice. But by then, it will be too late.

Under The Weather

Just when I thought it was safe to go into the water we are getting more rain. That water quote is from the movie Jaws. I use it a lot.

Right now there is not much going on with me. I'm not exactly sick, per se, but I would consider myself under the weather a bit. I am in a sort of funk these days. I would say it was one main thing but really it's not...it's a combination of a lot of things.

I will deal with it myself and figure out a way to kick me in the butt and get me back to normal. That may take awhile. I'm a slow learner.

Going Crazy From All This Rain

The past few days have been nothing but rainy and dismal which is enough to depress even the happiest person. 

Husband started outpatient therapy on Monday and has appointment times set up for two more days this week. He also has his times set for the following three weeks before going back to see his surgeon.

This Friday it will be four weeks since his surgery and I can't believe how that time slipped by at such amazing speed. I'm surprised I don't have whiplash.

All the female cats decided to have their kittens in the greenhouse this year. Probably because the weather is so nasty. I have never seen so many kittens at one time. I have three boxes out there so the little ones don't get lost.  I have no idea which kittens belong to which mother.  It's like a hippie commune. 

There is one cute story about them. One of the mothers had her two kittens two weeks before the others started having theirs. At that time she and another female were playing musical kittens. It was put and take for many days. I sort of lost track of them, too. Now that mother keeps trying to steal one of the other kittens that doesn't belong to her. Twice I have seen her with it in her mouth trying to make a beeline for somewhere else and twice I have seen the mother of that kitten stop her and make her bring it back. It's really comical to watch.

A Successful Day

Friday the 13th started out with a trip to husband's surgeon. It was his first visit after having surgery on his knee. We  found out he only lost 7 lbs. during the entire three weeks. Let me tell you, his appetite still hasn't come back, so  I thought he would have lost at least 15 lbs.  That was kind of a shock to both of us.

His surgeon was very pleased with the way things have gone so far and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that they continue to go well. After having his knee cut open for the third time, we are kind of hoping it is the last time.  Neither of us want to go through this again.  But both of us said that last time, too.

There has been one nagging problem as a result of this recent operation, and that is husband's blood pressure. When the visiting nurse took his BP I would write it down because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was always very low. Too low for my comfort. He has always been in the range of 114/70 but when that bottom number was no better than 50 with some readings at 48 and the top number around 90-95, it was cause for me to be very concerned. I mentioned it to the surgeon's main nurse in his office and she agreed. She suggested we talk to his cardiologist and see if he would rearrange his meds.

When we came home I called his doctor and was able to get an afternoon appointment. The outcome of that meeting got some of his meds changed. He was told to stop taking one (his second most expensive one), cut another in half, plus they added a generic to take the place of the expensive name brand med. Since his blood pressure was so dangerously low, it was causing him to be lightheaded and dizzy and that in itself is very scary for me. I can't risk him falling and damaging his knee.

The other good news is he is now cleared to drive.  He drove to and from the cardiologist's office. I wasn't looking forward to that (I was going to drive) because it is quite some distance on a major thruway, so when he said he would drive I was quite relieved. I must say, my little Mustang sure has had a workout since this knee operation.

The major portion of this operation is behind us. Monday he starts out-patient physical therapy. The script says three times a week for four weeks. I thought I would have to drive him the first week at least but that's no longer the case.  Another relief.

Friday the 13th turned out to be a good day after all.

A Time For Celebration

The weather has finally turned gorgeous. Warm, soft breezes without the humidity. A beautiful day to be outside with more to come...until that nasty old rain shows its ugly head again come the weekend.

You would think my husband would want to go outside and at least sit on the front porch and take in the fresh air. Nope...he prefers to stay inside moving from bed to table to chair and back to bed again. In between there he reads the paper, eats, uses the bathroom, and does little else. Sometimes I just don't understand him. He hasn't been outside since he came home two weeks ago.

But he will be going out Friday when he has an appointment to see his surgeon. 

Meanwhile, the physical therapist was here yesterday and was so pleased with my husband's progression. He is much farther along than anyone expected him to be at this stage of the game. His measurement numbers and angles of knee bends are off the charts so at least he has that going for him.

The knee wound has butterfly bandages on, and once they drop off it means another chapter over and done with. The physical therapist returns Thursday and will discharge him then. He is currently using the walker but PT hopes to have him using a cane to go to the doctor.

Next week is the start of outpatient physical therapy. The place we chose is a little over two miles from the house. The health network wanted him to go to their place which is ten miles one way. With the price of gas these days we chose to stay closer to home.

So things are kind of looking up and soon this will be behind us. I truly hope this is the last of these operations. The first replacement he had inserted in 2005 has since been recalled and this second one (inserted in 2008) is the star of some major lawsuits that are currently cooking with several law firms. They chose to move ahead without waiting for the FDA to recall this one.

So you see how lucky my husband is? Of all the knee replacement companies out there (and there are a lot), both of his are on the no-no list now. We always tell people that both of us have a bulls-eye on our backs and it is forever being shot at...and hit.

The Staples Are Out!

And it's just one more step in the right direction in this play we call life. It has only been two weeks since his operation but believe me, it seems more like two months. And I told the nurse that today as she was extracting those dastardly staples. She was amused.   I'm slowly getting there.

It will be another week of in-home physical therapy and then next Friday (the 13th no less) it's off to see the surgeon. He will then put our lives back in order to some extent.  Husband will be able to start taking the two pills he had to stop taking and at the same time stop taking the two they added into his regime.

He is still using a walker but I am hoping he can convert to a cane (or crutches at least) before he goes back to the surgeon. People are still marveling at how well he is doing and how far ahead of the game he always was.

Yep, he's my little soldier.

Catching Up

I missed the Royal Wedding but caught bits and pieces on the news.  Loved her dress...simple, yet elegant.

Husband is coming along quite well.  His incision (36 staples) had a little drainage the first day home but has been dry ever since.  He gets physical therapy three times a week at home and is doing well.  This Friday the staples will be taken out by the nurse that visits twice a week.  It seems like an eternity and it's only twelve days since the operation.  I feel like I have been put through many wash machine wringers.  Remember those?

Ding Dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch is dead.  Thank you U.S. Navy Seals...my new heroes.  You did well.

Yesterday I found three kittens in the box in the greenhouse.  A large one, a medium one, and a teeny tiny one that was just born the day before.  All three are from different litters.  I think they are trying to confuse me.  It's working.

Updates: The Other Half And The Kittens

Husband had his first physical therapy session today away from the hospital. It went well. The therapist was quite amazed at how well it went. You see, my husband did not want the pain pills he was getting in the hospital. You know the ones...they are loaded with narcotics. If there is one thing he absolutely detests, it is narcotics. Yes, he tolerated them the first two knee operations, but this time he put his foot down. So to speak.

He was sent home with two prescriptions: one for the Oxy and one for the Perco (I have cut them short for obvious reasons).  Needless to say I did not have them filled. Instead, the visiting nurse called a prescription in to our pharmacy for the non-narcotic pain pill, tramadol. He discovered that medication for pain three years ago with the second knee operation after they had started him on the narcotics. I couldn't pick the pills up yesterday because it was too late, so this morning off I went in a terrible thunderstorm rife with tornado warnings. Someone had to do it, and since I was the only one available I got elected. That's my job now till he can drive. Nerts.

The physical therapist was amazed how well he was tolerating any pain he may have. I told the man that he has been in pain for so long he doesn't know the difference now that there is a different type of pain in that area. Mr. PT just shook his head. He was also amazed that husband has not used ice and that his knee has hardly any swelling, but he did advise to start icing 20 minutes per hour.

And the biggest amazement? how well husband did after being put through the paces of the initial exercises. He surprised both of us, as we stood with mouths agape. That's my little soldier, and besides what else would one expect out of a person that is half German and half Russian?  Nothing less than what he delivered.

***************

When I went out to feed the cats this morning I was surprised to see that two of the kittens were back. And not in the same box they were in when they left. The older red one and the younger black and white one were still there tonight when I fed again. Missing in action is the older calico and the younger red and white one. And, of course, the older black one that the mother took in a different direction. Thank goodness there is such a difference in their sizes so that I can keep tabs on who belongs to who (whom?), although that doesn't seem to matter either. It looks like the cat that had the younger ones is also taking care of the older ones. Time will tell whether all of them made it through these terrible storms we are having.

Witnessing Cats' Behavior

Three weeks ago one of the cats outside gave birth to three beautiful kittens.  A red, a black, and a calico.  She chose to have them in our greenhouse.   Two weeks later, another female decided she would use the box I supplied in the greenhouse to have her two kittens. The first cat never did get the hint when I put the box out there the day after she gave birth.   Until she saw what it was really for.

It didn't take long before all five kittens were in the box and I never did figure out how feeding time was done. I have no idea if one cat fed them all or if they took turns or what.   I just felt that nature would take its course.

The weather has turned to hot. Like 80 degrees hot. And that makes for a very uncomfortable greenhouse, even with the door open and the roof vented. When I went to feed yesterday morning I saw that all five kittens were panting heavily so I put the box outside in the shade.

Before long, the mother of the two youngest kittens removed them one by one to a place that was cooler. She then came back for two of the other cats' kittens and left the black one in the box. This is where I interfered. I went outside and took the box with the black kitten and placed it by its mother in the shade. She took her kitten out of the box and trotted off with it in the opposite direction of where the first cat took the other four, including two of hers.

At that point I was so confused at what I had just witnessed that I didn't even try to justify what happened. I was just so glad that the responsibility of those kittens was taken from me and placed where it belongs: with the mothers.

End of story.

He's Getting Sprung

The good news is, my husband will probably be coming home today. He was supposed to come home Monday but I sort of kind of manipulated another day out of them since I didn't think he was ready to leave the safe cocoon of the hospital. And here's my reasoning for that: knee operations as he had usually are done on a Thursday or Friday (the same day they are admitted) and the patient is released three days later. That is the standard most insurance companies have set. If the surgeon feels the patient is not ready to be released, he may ask for an extension. As far as I know that was not done for my husband.

Since his hospital stay included Easter and the hospital staff was reduced tremendously, I felt he needed that extra day. I spent a lot of time in the hospital on Easter and it was like being in the twilight zone...very few nurses or associates. Doctors weren't anywhere to be found although my husband's surgeon had been in to see him Easter morning.

My husband called me yesterday morning telling me they were discussing his release. I told him I felt he was not ready to be released so he mentioned something to the caseworker that was there when he called me, and I guess that kind of threw a monkey wrench into their plans. I had other plans. After all, it would be my problem once he was home and if anything happened, what would I do? I am helpless in that department. I've been a secretary all my life, not a nurse or aide for that matter.

On Monday I decided I would go in later than usual (past the normal release time) and when I arrived he was sleeping (of course...he's good at that) and no one was around. When he woke up I asked him what the deal was and he said they would let him know later. Finally around 4-ish someone arrived with a male associate and she was telling him everything she knew about my husband. She interjected at one point that he was going to rehab but she did not have a bed for him. I waited till she was done with her litany and told her that technically he could go home. She said, yes he could. That is when I said he would be doing that on Tuesday (today). I told her there was a misunderstanding about him going to rehab. He had told me he didn't want to go in the first place.  We did that the first time he had his knee operated on and the parking is horrendous.  It's at another hospital in town and they have one postage stamp lot for parking.  Right across the street from the hospital is the fair grounds.  But you can't park there.  That's strictly for staff.  Try parking there and you risk getting a ticket.  I've never had a ticket in my life and I don't want one now.

So I will probably be bringing him home later today. The fun part is just beginning. The pain pills, the dressing, the staples being removed after 13-14 days, and the rehab visits. Oh, I just love those. What a pain. Three times a week, three co-pays. The last time he had this knee done he went to his surgeon's rehab but that is 9.5 miles from the house one way and with the price of gas these days, we must be more conservative so we are going to go to a rehab center closer to home. I think it's only three or four miles one way.  The shoe is on the other foot:  I am now the chauffer.

Wish me luck.

Today Is Our Anniversary

And how are we celebrating our anniversary you ask? Well, there are three cemeteries we have to visit so that we can place flowers on them for Easter. Then we are going to Sam's to do some shopping. I haven't been there this year yet...that I can remember.

Knowing my husband, though, he may throw in a few surprises, I will be taking it one hour at a time.

Friday the 22nd is our daughter's birthday. It is also the day my husband will have his knee operated on for the third time. And that means he will be in the hospital for Easter, too. That is part of the reason why I haven't been blogging much lately. We have had to do things every day for quite some time and there just weren't enough hours in our days.

So here we are, the day before the big day, which is the day I did not want to face. It sure got here in a rush. I was hoping it would take a bit longer. It means spending my nights alone...something that doesn't sit too well with me. But I've done it before and I can do it again. I always like to say that I will soldier on.