My Mother's surgery...

Photos taken just before surgery...
Mom in the surgery prep area with a great attitude!
L-R: William, Mom, me, Trish, Joe

Mom made it through a rather complicated surgery on Monday. After the surgery, they told us that they wanted to send her home the next day with the catheter! WHAT?! That kind of surgery used to keep people in the hospital for weeks! It's all about the $MONEY$ now, it seems. Even the hospitals are run by huge, evil, greedy corporations...Universities, too (something I learned about when my daughter entered college four years ago).

Anyway, she IS still in the hospital, still unable to stand without becoming VERY sick to her stomach, and still in a great deal of pain and still with a catheter. So, they will keep her until at least Thursday afternoon, maybe even Friday. I will go and stay with her to take care of her for a while. My sister, Theresa is coming from Ireland on Sunday to help for a couple of weeks, and my baby sister, Trish, of course is ALWAYS there helping. My brother, Joe, too. I'm sure that she WILL rest much better in her own bed and that will probably help her to heal faster. Having her home sooner wouldn't be as much of an issue to us, I think, if she hadn't already been rushed to the hospital with a minor heart attack a few weeks ago. All just another part of life that we all must deal with at some point. We (the four of us siblings and our children) have told Mom that her house will be a "party house" while she is recuperating. Her face lit up with a big smile because she knows that that means she will have all of her children and most of her grandchildren around her, hanging out and visiting with her, doting on her, cooking together, watching movies with her, etc. We will of course be very, very quiet much of the time so she can rest and sleep. :-)

Trish in the family waiting area working on the arrangements for her TRIPLETS high school graduation party. (yes, I said triplets! Jessica, Jack and Elizabeth, 17 1/2 years old now, great kids, and very cool people, and I love them very, very much!)

Photos taken just outside of the family waiting area
(early morning)...














"Butthead"...see the face?

A blog everyone should check out: click link below...

"If these "pro troops" groups really wanted to help wounded warriors, they would come see them, ask what they need, and provide it. Instead, all they do is hold up signs outside Walter Reed on Friday nights. Silly. And a waste of time and effort."

Check out this blog and you'll know why I'm suggesting it to you:
http://www.CirclingTheMoon.blogspot.com

Garden fairies? ;-)

Spring really HAS sprung, hasn't it!? A nice surprise...crocuses in the back yard (they were NOT there last year, or ever for that matter)....the garden fairies must have missed us while we were gone, heh? :-)

Friday travels - Mac laptop?, Verizon, Flying J Truck Stop, 1100 miles in two days...

Had my Verizon internet "tethering" hooked up again yesterday (Thurs)...until we get back home in Michigan, but, tonight is the first chance I've had to use it. Since my computer crashed in December...it HAS to be plugged into an electrical outlet in order to do anything at all. This battery was purchased around September 2009 ($174.00! HAS to be a DELL) because the other one wouldn't hold a charge any more and it HAS to have a battery in it in order to work at all (even if plugged in....stupid, heh?). This battery is supposed to last for at least 6 hours (yeah, right!) but, it NEVER, not even brand new, lasted for more than 1 hour and fifteen minutes, tops! I will NEVER buy anything from DELL, ever again! AND their "service" SUCKS!

A few friends have been strongly suggesting that I consider a Mac laptop next time around. A few days ago I had the chance to briefly use a friend's Mac (thank you Johnny Nicholas! ...GOOGLE the Hill Top Cafe in Texas)...and another friend, JD in Arizona has been telling me about Macs for over a year....well, I do believe that that's very likely what I will do sometime soon. This Dell laptop (XPS M1710) is definitely on it's last legs (again). I'm really hoping that it lasts at least long enough for me to download all my photos onto back-up cd's when I get home, before it konks out for good. (fingers crossed!) What do YOU all think? Advice and suggestions are welcome at this point in time.

Anyway, here I sit at a table in a Flying J Truck Stop not too far from Nashville, plugged into the outlet right at my table. It's late and I'm tired. William and I had a late dinner here (same table) and he went back to the trailer to sleep. We have put 1100 miles behind us in two days...I know, that's pushing it, but well...we just plain felt like it...and we're anxious to get back home. Don't know if I'll have the opportunity to get online again before we get home, so Happy Easter to everyone (no matter what denomination you are or aren't)!

Lots of photos coming, soon as I can get to editing and posting.

P.S.- Has anyone tried the new Cricket mobile phone/internet service? If so, what do you think of it? I heard that you get much more for much less. Is that true and how good is the coverage?