SISTER JEANETTE FALLS AGAIN, DEAF WOES & CATS GOOD EXTERMINATOR

By OLIVENE GODFREY

My late husband, Ralph, used to say that my sister, Jeanette, must know how the Biblical Job felt as she had to face so much personal tragedy in her life. She has been caregiver for her handicapped husband over 20 years and has had ten major surgeries in her adult life. Awhile back she fell on her carport concrete floor and broke her nose and had bruises. Then a few days ago, she fell on the carport floor again and had a nasty gash on her head which required six stitches. She often says her great-grandchildren are her salvation and bring her much joy. One older great-grandson, Brandon, is especially helpful to her. She is a strong person and always bounces back after her tough times.

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I've written often of my hearing problem and I hope to have it checked soon. I have appointments for doctors in October and afterwards will make an appointment to have the hearing test and evaluation. Meanwhile, Barry bought a small hearing amplifier that is worn in the ear for me to wear when I need to communicate with doctors and other people. It looks weird
sticking out of my ear but it really does amplify sounds, especially people's speech. Not being able to hear people talking to me is often embarrassing and frustrating and I feel like some people are aggravated when I have to ask them to repeat words. I can usually understand persons who speak clearly and distinctively. But, so many people I come into contact with speak softly and some have slurred speech. Son Barry has excellent hearing and he says some people really do talk softly and he has trouble hearing them, too, so, it isn't just my hearing problem.

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A number of years ago I knew a woman who had built a nice house in a clearing in a forest and had a problem with field mice.
After having an exterminator come out several times with no luck in getting rid of the rodents, he told the lady to get a cat. He said people who live in wooded areas will usually have some field mice. When we had too many cats about 15 years ago and a woman came out several times with a humane trap and took them away, we had a few mice in the garage but the worse thing was the large family of squirrels moved in the yard causing all kinds of trouble. And then we had new neighbors about a year or two ago who have two large well cared for cats who visit our yard often. And, the squirrels and mice have disappeared,
So, the cats are indeed great exterminators.

See you next time.

ENJOYING A GOOD OUTING ON A LATE SUMMER DAY

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Son Barry and I planned an outing several days in advance of last Friday when he didn't have to work. I did my Friday chores on Thursday. And on Friday morning I was up early and noted the weather was cooperating with our plans as it was a sunny pleasant late summer day. Even my old body seemed to be cooperating...well, sort of. Nevermind! I was determined to have a good outing and we took my wheelchair to be certain of that.

Barry drove us to Dalton's Walnut Square Mall and we parked near the mall's rear entrance. We observed that the construction of a huge, splendid theater was coming along nicely. Then Barry pushed me in the wheelchair to the mall entrance and we stopped at the Chic-Fil-A and had a delicious early lunch. Afterwards,
we went to the MasterCuts and my favorite stylist was working and she gave me a good, short haircut. All of the stylists are good but my favorite one gives me an extra good one.

We window shopped a little and then returned to Barry's car to drive a short distance to my main destination,
Hobby Lobby Creative Center which specializes in arts and crafts and a wide array of home accents and the most artificial flower displays that I have ever seen. With my wheelchair, Barry was able to give me a tour of the large building which was formally a Wal Mart store. (Dalton has two Wal-Mart super stores now.)
Barry discovered the Hobby Lobby store awhile back as he was looking for a patriotic bouquet to place on his late dad's grave. He found what he wanted and has returned for more flowers.

Barry told me I would enjoy visiting the store but the time never did seem right. And then I needed an artificial fern arrangement for one of the hanging baskets in our sunken den where hanging baskets are suspended on exposed beams at the high points of the slanted ceiling. And, last Friday, I found what I was looking for at Hobby Lobby. When we returned home and Barry had hung the fern basket, I asked him to do some research on the Hobby Lobby store.

I found out that all store locations are closed on Sunday out of respect of the founder's Christian belief. Since my outings are on Sundays that was one reason I hadn't visited the store before. Hobby Lobby is a privately held retail chain of arts and crafts store based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Founded by David Green on August 3, 1972 with a $600 loan from the bank
the chain has grown from one 700 foot store to over 386 stores in 29 states as of August, 2007 with projections to have over
450 stores by the end of 2009. The company has projected sales of close to $2 billion in 2008.
The research says that founder Green donates extensively to his church and many other non-profit Christian based organizations

Wow! What a success story!

See you next time.

DOCTOR VISIT REPORT & LUNCH AT EDNA'S & RAGWEED TIME & COFFEE BENEFITS

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I told you last week that I had an upcoming appointment with my family doctor. I saw her last week and we discussed my difficulty in swallowing which has bothered me for some time.
Some of you may recall that about a year ago, I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy in Dalton. Afterward, the GI doctor told son Barry that my hiatal hernia I had forgotten and my esophagus had caused some trouble as acid-reflux in my upper stomach.
So, the GI doctor stretched my esophagus and then prescribed a medicine that can remove difficulty in swallowing, persistent cough, heartburn and trouble sleeping. Recently, I had experienced some difficulty swallowing which is scary as I am afraid I may choke. My doctor made me an appointment with the GI doctor in about six weeks to check to see if I need my esophagus stretched again. Also, my doctor told me not to take Aleve or Actonel (bone medicine) until the GI doctor gives an opinion on the drugs as they may cause difficulty in swallowing.
I will keep you posted on what happens next.

I looked forward all last week to eat lunch at Edna's, the popular Chatsworth restaurant which is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Barry had the day off and we ate lunch at Edna's as planned. We arrived early at the restaurant and the food was fresh and hot and delicious as always. I was having one of my IBS bad days but enjoyed the food despite my pain.

I didn't sleep much a couple of nights last week and have been having a hard time getting started in the mornings. Barry suggested that I should try putting a little caffeine back in my diet. I started drinking caffeine free coffee and tea some time ago as I thought it might be causing my insomnia. Oddly, Barry and I prefer caffeine free tea. Anyway, I started drinking regular coffee a couple of days ago. It seemed to give me a lift in the mornings. I may try it a few more days and see what happens.

It's allergy time again here in northwest Georgia when pollen counts are extremely high. Barry and I are allergic to the dreaded ragweed plant which grows in profusion all around us. When I saw my doctor last week, she changed my nasal spray to another one which seems to help. I also take a prescription allergy drug that helps some, too. I can't take really strong allergy medicines because of my high blood pressure. The allergy season will last until the first hard frost this fall.

See you next time.