Critters and Flowers

It’s become a bit of a zoo around my house lately.

As many of you know hubby and I have three cats, Rocky, Truman and Baby.

The two boys, Rocky in the front and Truman on the back, have Dad trained pretty good when it comes time to nap on the couch. We lovingly tell Dan he has become the old cat man. And of course all the in house critters know Dad is good for a tidbit or two (or three) when he is sitting on the couch eating.

 

  Our third cat is Baby, the white one on the left. Her and Truman are enjoying some sun. Baby doesn’t give up her sun spot to any of the other cats.

Ok, so those are OUR critters.

 

I don’t have a picture of her because it’s hard to get a good one of her through the aquarium glass, but we also have a resident ball python snake. Her name is Samantha, Sam for short. She’s about 7-8 feet long and as big around as my lower arm. I really don’t mind Sam. She is in a 50 gallon aquarium with a very well secured top on it. She is around 20 years old and actually belongs to my stepson. When he was going through a divorce about 5 years ago, she came along with him when he came to stay with us for awhile. He isn’t here anymore but somehow we still have Samantha. That’s ok though. She doesn’t bother anyone. I don’t mess with her other than to make sure she has fresh water. When it’s time to feed her that’s up to her dad to do, not me.

  Then we have Isabella, Bella for short. My step daughter is going through a divorce now and is staying with us for awhile. Bella came along with her, plus her black lab / pit mix dog. I don’t have a picture of the  dog yet. Her name is Abby who is around 10 years old and she is the sweetest gentlest dog.

Bella the skunk has the run of the house but she’s actually pretty shy and pretty much stays in the bedroom. She’s de scented. When I was up late the other night I heard her trying to sneak down the hallway. Kinda hard to be quiet  when you have such long nails and are walking on tile. Anyway, I heard her head into the bathroom to snoop around and was able to grab my camera to take a picture of her as she was coming out of the bathroom. When she feels you are invading “her” space, she raises her tail and stomps her front feet at you. The cats weren’t too thrilled with her at first but they have come to tolerate having her here.

So there you have it, 3 cats, a snake, a skunk and a dog.

  Then the other day when I walked out to the mailbox I saw this in the front yard. Hubby says it’s a deer track (which I thought it was) and it’s probably from a big old buck as big as it was. We live in the middle of a good sized suburban city but it’s not unusual for us to see deer, especially late at night and early in the morning.

 

Now for some pretties.

  My irises blooming in the flower bed in the front yard.

 

 

 

 

One of the lilacs from one of the two bushes my kids got me for Mother’s day three years ago. Being the third year for them, I finally had quite a few blooms this year. I love the smell of lilacs.

 

 

 

 

  And finally, our neighbor brought me over an assortment of peonies from his bushes. Every year when they bloom he either brings over a nice bunch, or comes and tells me the peonies are ready and “come pick all you want”. Which I usually do.

We have such nice neighbors.

 

On the health front: Still coping with my depression and anxiety. Probably will be a life long battle. We adjusted up my dosage on the Effexor. I have to say the depression is pretty much gone. Now if I could just get rid of the anxiety too. It’s better, but still frequently there. I have been getting out more, even going places by myself, which in itself is a big improvement.

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted, just hasn’t been a lot to write about. Keeping busy crocheting for the babies for God’s Tiny Angels. I should have a post about my newest donations in a few days as I have a box of items just about ready to ship.

Until next time, take care and hug your loved ones.

Check In Easter Sunday 3-31-13

Yesterday and today were pretty good days.

We didn’t have a traditional Easter dinner because today was also my grand son Landon’s 10th birthday. We were invited to my stepson’s and his girlfriend’s home to celebrate.

Landon wanted spaghetti and garlic bread so that’s what we had. My stepson’s lady Melissa made this totally awesome birthday cake for Landon. Isn’t it cool??!!

It’s a cookie dough flavor cake with cookie dough frosting between the layers. The bunny butt and carrots are fondant and the grass is colored coconut with a ring of Kit Kats around the outside of the cake. It was so moist! I knew I shouldn’t but I had a half a slice of a thin sliver of it. It was so good! And since I took my diabetes medicine, even with all the carbs and sugar I ate today, my blood sugar was only 112 three hours later, so it was all good.

Saturday I went shopping for about 3 hours with my daughter. We went grocery shopping and I went to JoAnn’s to get some buttons and bigger safety pins. I have been working on crocheting burial kimonos and crocheted diapers for angel babies for our group God's Tiny Angels . I didn’t get a picture taken yet but will post it soon. They work up pretty fast and the need is great. I got the pattern for the diaper and kimono here Love You More Than The Bus Blog. The pattern has been approved by Teeny Tears for use for charity donations.

All the buttons at JoAnn’s were on sale for 50% off which sure helps. It’s amazing how expensive buttons are any more.

So, two days in a row out of the house. It’s been a very long time since that has happened. My daughter drove yesterday and my husband today. I’m still having just a bit of dizziness off and on so still just a little leery about driving yet. But, the weather was so nice the last 2 days and it sure was nice to get out in it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still having some bad days, more like bad hours than full days though. I’m still needing to sleep more than I would like, so an afternoon nap is pretty much a given daily at this time. The anxiety still comes and goes, sometimes for no reason at all. I know I felt shaky and nervous when I needed to leave home the last two days, but I’ve found a fourth of a Xanax seems to take the edge off and once I’m out of the house I seem to be ok for at least 3 or 4 hours. My mood is definitely better. I do seems to have some more energy than I did, actually getting some housework done that’s been needing to get caught up. I actually have more interest in doing things and wanting to get out of the house than I’ve had for quite awhile. I’m still not anywhere near 100% there yet, maybe 40% at this time. But things are for sure getting better. I know it’s going to take time but I really feel the Effexor is taking me in the right direction. I’m starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Until next time….take care of yourself.

Check In 3-20-13

Today was better than yesterday. I’m still wanting to sleep a lot. Wasted a good part of this morning and some of this afternoon. Guess my body and brain are still adjusting. But I did get ambitious this afternoon and evening. Got the dishes done, swept all the floors, got the garbage and litter boxes ready to go out since tomorrow is garbage day. Went out and got the mail. Even got some more crocheting done. Almost finished with an off white and lavender baby blanket. Just need to finish the shell edging. If I get it done soon I will post a picture. Thinking about making a matching hat to go with it.

Until tomorrow!

Check In 3-18-13

Another day where I’m feeling pretty good. Got up early but ended up needing a nap. All of a sudden about 11:00 a.m. I could barely keep my eyes open, so off to bed I went. So I pissed away my afternoon sleeping. I suppose my body is still adjusting to the Effexor since it’s only been 3 days that I’ve been on it.

I must say I’m not feeling the “fogginess” that I experienced with Paxil. Also when I was taking the Paxil, after the first hour or so, I would get a feeling like I had a tight hat band around my head. Don’t quite know how else to describe that feeling. It was pretty weird, and I always got it, every day. It lasted for a few hours too. Just a weird side effect that I sure didn't like.

My energy level has certainly gone up. My motivation isn't what I would like it to be yet, still hard to get motivated, but at least I am WANTING to do stuff. That’s a big improvement for me.

I’ve been crocheting up a storm, which is something I’ve always enjoyed doing anyway, but I seem to enjoy it even more now, which I didn’t think was possible.

Wanted to go do something today, just to get out of the house, but it’s really stinking cold today. Went out to get the mail and about got blown away. The wind is really bad which makes it feel a lot colder than it actually is. My hands and feet get cold easy because of my peripheral neuropathy and my circulation isn’t what it should be, so I have to be a bit careful about going out when it’s cold.

Just a short post for today.

Depression and Anxiety 3-17-13

I never know where to start with my posts each day. Guess I will just post what comes to mind and if it gets too long, I’ll just stop for the day.

Slept in for a bit this morning. I’m working on getting my days and nights turned back around to the right way. Still found myself needing a nap around noon, so I took one.

Got the energy up to get my shower taken late afternoon so we could go to my stepson’s for supper. Don’t know if I had some underlying anxiety going on, or if it was just the exertion of taking a shower, but when I got done my hands were pretty shaky and I felt a bit weak so I ended up taking 1/4 of a Xanax. That small of a dose takes the edge off but doesn’t make me sleepy. I really didn’t feel bad otherwise.

We ended up not going over for supper. My stepson called shortly after I got done with my shower and told us he was pretty sick so they had to cancel the dinner. I told him we understood, no problem. If you are sick you are sick.

There I was, all clean and dressed in real clothes (doesn’t happen for me every day), and nowhere to go. I had myself all primed up to leave the house which I hadn’t done for over a month. I was determined I was going to do SOMETHING.

I couldn’t waste the desire to get out of the house. It’s been so rare lately. So I asked my husband if he would go to the grocery store with me. He knew that was a biggy request for me so he said sure, let’s go. Anything else you want to go do?

I’m still having off and on dizziness so I wanted him with me just in case I didn’t feel comfortable driving. I did just fine though. We stopped to put gas in my car and then went to the grocery store. Both places are just a few blocks from home and I’m really comfortable driving it, so it seemed like a good idea to start out close to home.

Once I am FINALLY out of the house, I’m pretty much ok. It’s just the going out part that is so hard. I don’t know what makes me so anxious about going out. Also, once I’m out I’m better if I go with someone, hence another reason to have hubby go with me.

It had been so long since I went to the grocery store that I ended up going up and down just about every aisle. Hubby has been wonderful about doing the grocery shopping, long as I make a list for him. I really needed new batteries for my blood glucose meter so that was a big reason I wanted to go myself. It was great just to be there and see things I knew I needed or wanted and never remembered to put on the grocery list.

The new meds must already be doing some good for me, even after only 2 days, because this was the first time in a long long time that I actually wanted to go somewhere, anywhere. Let’s hope this trend continues!

Don’t get me wrong, the anxiety still comes and goes, but that’s what the Xanax is for. And it really does help me. The Effexor seems to be giving me a bit more motivation every day. Plus I have other health issues, mainly diabetes and emphysema, which I’m sure contributes to the depression and anxiety.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day, and was better than many days have been lately.

Signing off for the night. Take care of yourself, and keep up the fight!

Depression and Anxiety 3-16-13

The first day of meds wasn't too bad. I didn't know what to expect for side effects, which was the part scaring me the most.
I am experiencing dizziness off and on, but I had that with the Paxil. It doesn't seem as bad with the Effexor.
I also have had some shakiness but it just seems to come and go.
I've been lucky in not really getting any nausea, but am taking the advice people have given me to make sure to eat something when I take the med.
I can say that I don't feel so much like I'm in a fog with the Effexor. I seem better able to concentrate and feel more alert. I do seem to have more energy when I am awake, but still find myself wanting to take naps. Hopefully that will pass as more of the drug builds up in my system.
We are going to my stepson's and his lady's home tomorrow to enjoy corned beef and cabbage with them and I'm actually looking forward to it. Haven't really been out of the house for over a month. I always enjoy going to their home and feel very comfortable there so it should be a good "first excursion" for me on the  new medication.
I am finding my appetite seems to be returning. Seems like all I want to do is graze :) But that's ok because I need to put some weight back on.
Will stop for tonight but wanted to check in with you all to let you know how things are going