Monday, February 23, 2015

My husband is not disabled.

It has been 5 months and a week since Hubby had is below the knee amputation or BKA. He has been doing so well and I am super proud of him. He gets around better than he did before his surgery and he has been busy, busy, busy doing stuff around our apartment to get it perfect.

He put up shelves in the outsides storage closet. I snapped a pic. Don't tell him I posted it as  I imagine  he would prefer a fully clothed pic, but it's my blog, right?
He got shelves put up and closet all organized. I guess that was a couple of weeks ago. Then later that week, he had contacted the firewood guy to deliver a load of wood, since we found out we could use our fireplace again.

The wood guy was supposed to show up one morning and never did,. After Hubby called a few times and never getting a return call for a couple of days, he went to Kroger and bought firewood there. He got a lot more wood for the price than he had from the wood guy. Of course, Hubby had to haul it to our patio himself. He just used his wheelchair as a carrier. LOL! He is so clever.

He has spent a lot of time getting the inside of our apartment "perfect." It might not be my style of decorating, but you know what...he is happy and I can live with it. Here is the entertainment center. If it is too busy for you, just look away. LOL!
Our entire apartment is still a work in progress and Hubby is having a grand time.

He informally finished outpatient rehab. I say informally as he he has not gone back for a final evaluation. The last time he went in, he had a small blister caused by his prosthetic leg and was told to stay off of it and come back when it heals. WELL, he he has not been staying off of it, but the blister is slowly bus surely healing. It just takes a while with him and we understand it. In the meantime, he had graduated himself from walking with a cane to walking without one. He just walks around like he owns the place.

And the reason for my title? I was reading some amputee support pages on Facebook this weekend and suddenly realized that I had not once considered that Hubby is now "disabled." In my opinion he is more abled than he was for years.

Monday, February 16, 2015

My cat has asthma!

Did you even know cats could get asthma? I only recently read about it.

I took our almost ten-year-old cat, Max, to the vet on Saturday as he seemed to be breathing “hard”. He didn’t act sick, has been eating and drinking fine and escaping outside every chance he gets to be Adventure Kitty. But his breathing bothered me.

So I took him to the vet and he thought something was really wrong and recommended an X-ray. Of course, I said yes. Afterward the vet said he did not find what he expected…a hernia or enlarged heart, but that Max’s lungs seemed to be hyper-inflated and his heart looked like it was over to one side. (Weird) So he asked if I wanted him to send the X-rays to be reviewed by a radiologist. I said of course. I really like that this vet tells you what each step costs so you can decide whether to proceed instead of you getting hit with a big bill at the end. I ended up spending $277 on Saturday, but wanted to find out what is wrong with Max.

So, I have been thinking the worst since Saturday, preparing myself to have to put Max down as I did not see heart surgery or a lung transplant in his future. (They probably don’t do ether for kitties, but you know what I mean.)

I got the call today and Max has asthma and a slight case of pneumonia. Whew! So he is going in the morning for a shot of antibiotics and something for the asthma. Pneumonia can be cleared up and the asthma can be treated. I am very happy that is all it was. So Max can continue to be Adventure Kitty for a long time to come.

The rest of my Valentine’s Day was better. Hubby started romancing me early. I got a card and flowers for Valentine’s Day Eve Eve. 
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Then I got a card and Lindor Truffles for Valentine’s Day Eve. No pic as we already ate those truffles and they were delish!

On Valentine’s Day, I got a card, travel size Beautiful perfume…my favorite. But best of all, Hubby wrote me an incredibly heart-felt letter thanking me for all my support and telling me he could not be doing as well as he is if not for me. I got a little choked up.

I felt a little lame as all I did for Hubby was bring him donuts for breakfast on VDay…some with pink frosting and made him some Black Forest mini bundt cakes. Both were delish. Some of the cakes are in the freezer so we don’t have to eat them all.



Happy Monday, everyone!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Champagne taste on a beer budget.

That is what Hubby has. Oh, sure he can be frugal, but right now he is thinking we are rich.

Last Fall, he contracted "car fever". I was fine with it as when it comes to car purchases, I get to decide when. I try not to "handle the purse strings" all  the time, but when it comes to BIG purchases, I do.

I told Hubby that he could shop to his heart's content and we would buy him a "new" car in the March or April. The reason? Well, I wanted time to save some more money in our "car fund" and I will get my bonus in March or April. I would like to pay as much cash toward the car as possible, though I will not dip into our "big" savings account. (Unless, I only need a couple of thousand or less.)

When we paid off my CRV, I left the direct deposit amount into the credit union the same, so we were saving a car payment a month toward a new vehicle. So the car fund has been growing. I would love to let it grow another year or two, but Hubby wants something new. And his 2000 Honda Accord, though in excellent condition and only 109,000 miles on it IS 15 years old. So he as been shopping.

What does he want? This:
A Honda Crosstour. Yes, a luxury Honda SUB. It IS beautiful and a good size, but my word...I was hoping for a $15,000 to $18,000 vehicle. Not a $30,000 one!

Hubby IS shopping for a used one, though, so it will be less than $30,000 but I imagine we will be spending around $20,000. I know, I know. Lots of people buy $20,000. But I think you can find perfectly acceptable cars for less. Of course, we DO drive our cars a lot time. We are on year 11 with Hubby's Accord. And I have driven my CRV for 7 years so far and the vehicle before I drove for 11 year. So, I guess it will average out to be a reasonably priced vehicle.

But I told Hubby he has champagne taste on a beer budget.

In other news, our new mattress is wonderful! It is a firm one and we have been sleeping so well on it. I want to stay in bed all the time.

Hubby is doing well learning to walk on his prosthetic leg. He gets around better than I do sometimes. He has been hanging plants and though I don't love the totally covered wall effect that he does, he is happy, so I am happy. This last weekend, he put up shelves in the outside storage closet and started organizing his plants

He is a busy boy!

Happy Wednesday!