Thoughts on a hot summer afternoon in northwest Georgia.

By Olivene Godfrey,

When I wrote my last blog, I neglected to give son Barry credit for making and posting the pretty pictures in this space. He takes tender loving care of all the plants outside and in the house. He is a talented photographer, too.

I have been having so many blood tests because of a blood disorder called Myelodysplastic syndrome. There are two types of it and I have the less dangerous one. There is no cure for it but booster shots help treat it. You can research it on the web. Barry printed me out a report by the Mayo Clinic.

Barry has his car AC working good and has been doing more maintenance on the car so he can continue to drive it for a while. He saved a bundle of money by installing the AC system himself.
I had a nightmarish trip to town in the car before the new AC was installed. When I got home Barry gave me a small bottle of the miracle drink, Gatorade, and I was feeling better almost immediately. I had a dental appointment and should have canceled it since the weather is so hot during this heat wave. But I had canceled it before and didn't want to again. I haven't been out of the house since as the air quality is hard on the elderly, especially when you have COPD.

I watched an interesting short feature on TV recently about new research on identical twins. I had twin sisters, Jeanette in Dalton, and Joan, who passed away a few years ago. According to the research, it seems that baby identical twins have a language of their own. And, I remember when our twins were babies they would make nonsensical sounds and their body language indicated they were communicating. I look forward to more of the identical twin research releases.

We are still so glad to have our helper, Tam. who does so much for me, and for Barry, who appreciates the housework she does.

See you next time.

Stop the world and let me get off!

By Olivene Godfrey

When I recently said that son Barry and I felt like we were in a rut and wanted some changes,I didn't expect so many would occur in a short period, for Goodness sakes. I won't tell you all that happened today but later.

To start these changes immediately, Barry's air conditioning in his car went out during this oppressive heat wave. For a few days, Barry looked at new cars and used cars. He then decided he would buy the parts and install the new AC in his car himself. He has done this job in the past and knows what he is doing.
His truck AC went out a while back. So I can't get out in this heat to ride anywhere until the AC in car starts working.

A good change is that my doctor and Barry and I believe that most of my problems are caused by my balance. I had an appointment with the doctor yesterday. She will make me an appointment with a clinic in Dalton that uses health professionals to give patients treatments to determine if the cause is vertigo and inner ear problems. The treatments may be done at home with a helper.

And speaking of helpers, Barry and I believe we wouldn't have been able to survive this past two weeks without our helper, Tam, short for Tambra, who does the housework and takes good care of me, including fixing my lunch.

See you next time.

Beginning new chapter in life.

By Olivene Godfrey

As I look back over my long life, I realize that each decade brings a new chapter for me. And it has been nine years since my husband died and recently son Barry and I admitted that we were in a rut and it was time for a change for both of us.

My new chapter opens with a wonderful caring person named Tam
taking care of me week days and also doing housework that Barry had been doing for years. She is a jewel and our house has never been so clean. I pray she will be with us a long time. Barry has had to do everything here since I have no longer been able to do housework and cooking. He also worked long hours at his job and he really appreciated Tam for taking over the cleaning, etc....

We owe a lot to our neighbor-friend, Genevelyn,who has done so much for us and who prayed that our lives would get better.

And, to my sister, Jeanette, who lives in Dalton and highly recommended Tam to us, we owe a huge thank you.

Barry recently made a huge change for a better life in his future. After working for the same company for 16 years, he decided to accept an attractive offer for a new job. It has been a rather traumatic experience but he will be working fewer hours at a better job. He is on a two week vacation now to unwind and rest before starting to work on the new job.
Barry is happier now than he has been in years and that makes me happy,too.

See you next time.