July 8 - “Red Flags Box”

Guess what? It is hot outside. That’s a personal observation, by the way. The weather app said 87 with a wind chill of 90. My body app said about 190. 

How do I have such a reliable thermometer? We did some yardwork. Chris watered her plants in the backyard and filled up the bird bath. I attacked the out of control wisteria on the back fence. That meant chopping unmercifully to bring it back to a more manageable state. Then had to pick up all the clippings (Chris tried to help me. I warned her away with thoughts of passing out and emergency rooms and heart caths and redoing certain recent surgeries).

I was going to trim up the boogervilla next. I actually heard the little voice in my head saying, “It’s just a little more. I can get that done.” Fortunately, however, I have isolated that very thought and placed it into the red flags box inside my head. That used to be a true statement. There was a time when I could have pushed through and got it done. But no more. Those warnings apply to me now, too. Well, minus the recent surgery one. So I quit. Awesome to have the blessing of the boss NOT to work. 

I did have my usual residuals from working in the heat. Spent the next few hours with heartburn, Tums, and a lot of belching. I downed an iced tea sno-cone and tried a few Cheetos crumbs (my favorite part).  The tea did fine. The Cheetos inspired some stomach-ular talk back, so I stopped with just a few. Decided to save lunch for later. 

After our showers we resumed what has become our preferred position … watching the World Cup. This game was amazingly exciting. Well, at least for the last few minutes. Argentina came from a 2-0 deficit to win in extra time 3-2. That’s Messi’s team. I cheered for him because he’s the old guy. We gotta stick together. 

Chris had yet another appointment in the afternoon. Her doctor ordered an ultrasound of her carotid arteries to make sure there is no blockage there. The whole thing only took about ten minutes. I got to watch, but I have no idea what I was looking at, other than the pretty red and blue images that occasionally popped up on the screen. Actually the best part of the whole session came when she turned off the lights and flicked on a machine that projected a starry night sky and then added the Northern Lights. Really pretty. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ says, But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Father, thank you that this test seemed to have gone really well. And the lights projector was a nice touch. Can’t wait to see the real thing.  Amen. 

July 7 - “A total basket case?”

Time again for a workout. Well, for Chris anyway. She had another physical therapy appointment. Still just once a week until she sees the surgeon. That can’t happen soon enough. 

Not that she is a total basket case in the sling. She’s done remarkably well on that front. I just want to see him face to face, because he said when the shoulder business is behind us, he will deal with the knee. Well, that knee has become quite the little problem child. We “k-need” to get it taken care of before she falls again. 

On the way home we stopped at Walmart. Banana Run. Also chocolate milk. As a bonus, we ran into another Seasider. Larry just stopped in for a loaf of bread. He was better at sticking to his list than we were. 

We watched some more soccer. Ronaldo’s last game (probably). Spain beat Portugal. Last night the U.S. went against Belgium. The Astros started playing about an hour before that game, so I had a decision to make. Then I saw the Astros starting lineup. More AAA guys for some reason. Made it a little easier to change the channel. They did make it a respectable game. Lost 12-11. 

Back to the U.S. soccer game. Not a pretty sight there. In spite of all the Waldo shirts in the crowd (red and white stripes), the good guys just couldn’t make up the difference. They lost  4-1. That means they are out of the tournament. But hey. Way to go, guys. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ says, Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will give a reward to the lender.

Father, please keep Chris “balanced” until we can get that knee fixed up. Amen. 

July 6 - “Pondering the possibilities”

I met a guy from Indiana at church yesterday. He was down here for a visit with family. He said they had been “deep sea fishing,” but mentioned that the only fish they caught were catfish, ladyfish, and one speckled trout. I didn’t tell him that it didn’t sound like he was deep sea fishing. More likely in the Bay somewhere. But he had fun. That’s what counts. He really liked the church, too. 

We spent the afternoon with soccer and baseball. The Netherlands won their soccer match. Love their rowing/grunting celebration that involves the whole fan world. And the Astros’ victory was certainly celebrated by the fan world in this household. 

After some supper we sat out on the back porch for a while, pondering the possibilities of Chris’ upcoming ultrasound of her carotid arteries (tomorrow). She is more concerned about her knee right now. It has locked up several times, and she has almost fallen. Fortunately, the instability has for the most part been confined to the house, where she has plenty of counters and furniture to grab hold of. 

We closed out the evening with … more soccer. The Mexico versus England game got postponed until 8 p.m. due to bad weather, so it was another late night. England  won that one.  U.S.A. is back in action tonight. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ says, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.

Father, be with Mark and his family as they travel back to Indiana. Amen. 

July 5 - “Speaking of cows …”

Chris has been doing some more research. This time she regaled me with everything you ever wanted to know about bovine Achilles tendon implants. Fascinating stuff, those cows. 

Speaking of cows … we celebrated our Fourth of July lunch by grilling some burgers. Yep. Just the two of us. Burgers and Fritos and French onion dip. We followed it up later in the afternoon with an ice cold slice of watermelon. And topped it off last night with a cup of Blue Bell ice cream. Happy Birthday, ‘Murca!  

We did watch some World Cup games again. Morocco defeated Canada 3-0. Honestly, not a very exciting game. We also watched some of the France versus Paraguay game. France finally pulled that one out. 

The icing on the sports cake came later. The Astros played the Rays. Things didn’t look so good early on, but they gamely gave it their best and fought through to victory on a walk-off home run. 

Josh and his family called. They were riding in the car, so a captive audience. They just wanted to wish us a happy Fourth of July. Always fun talking to that crew. 

And of course, last night brought out the fireworks. Freddy was oh, so excited to welcome them. Read here, Freddy pretty much freaked out from the time they started until we managed to calm her enough to go to sleep. 

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ says, For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.

Father, thanks for our relatively quiet holiday. Amen. 

July 4 - “Don’t have a cow”

Happy birthday, ‘Merica!

We started yesterday off with arm exercises. Chris did her rehab ones. I started on the PT ones she’s was doing before surgery. 

Why? Well, remember back about six weeks or so ago when I helped (read here, “did it myself”) carry those two big ol’ heavy plant pots up the stairs to the deck landing? (I know Diane or Lauren are probably the only ones who might actually remember). Well I did something to my shoulder that day. Didn’t really feel it at the time - adrenaline and all. 

But now it is pretty consistently aching. I’m convinced it’s just sympathy pains, but Chris wants me to tell my orthopedic PA when I see her next week for my thumbs. Maybe it will be all better by then …

“I didn’t know they used a Bovine Achilles tendon.” How often do you hear that in pleasant conversation? Chris just printed out the itemized charges for her surgery. And yes, she received a bovine Achilles tendon. Guess now when she gets worked up about something, I can’t say to her, “Don’t have a cow.” Too late. She already has one! 

Kel and his family braved the traffic and stopped by here on their way to see the big Battleship Texas/ U.S. 250th birthday celebration. We watched some soccer with them and had some sub sandwiches. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭14‬ says, Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord.

Father, we have a new appreciation for those cows of yours. Thank you. Amen. 

July 3 - “A kid nonetheless”

We had some more visitors yesterday. Jachin and Micah came on their way to work. Well, sort of. Jachin had to be in an hour before Micah, so Micah hung out with us until time for him to depart. They both had time to grab a bite to eat here, too. 

Since Jachin left early, I was up to drive Micah. We chatted about school and his ice cream making job and his future in general. Good kid. As of July first, a 20-year old kid, but a kid nonetheless. 

When I got home, Chris and I spent some time on the back porch. We enjoyed the breeze, especially when it suddenly got cooler. Then we listened to the rain and watched for our resident bluejays to continue making use of the bird bath. Nice. 

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬ says, Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!

Father, thanks for those bluejays of yours. Beautiful. Amen. 

July 2 - “The next step”

We kept our morning activity level relatively mellow. Well, aside from Chris watering the plants in the backyard. And doing her exercises. And working through a shower (yes, that is kind of chore still).  Hey. We had to save energy for her PCP appointment. 

And that one went pretty well. The doc went over all the stuff that has happened, now focusing on the passing out, since the surgery is behind us. Apparently Chris has some kind of wild hybrid of POTS and vasovagal issues. But to make sure it’s not something else, they scheduled an ultrasound of her carotid arteries (neck) as the next step. Hey. We were just lamenting the lack of activities on the schedule for next week. 

Oh. The report finally came in on the CT scan of her chest. Aside from the well-known issues around her heart, they noticed quite a few of those tiny nodules (the x-ray just noted one). At this point, though, the doc assured us it was not time to take any kind of action there, oncological or otherwise. She will repeat the scan in a year unless Chris develops further symptoms. So good news, I guess. At least for now. 

We heard from our fishin’ family. Kel’s crew got to go out in a charter boat for the day. They reported a great catch. Even hooked into some sharks. I know the kids enjoyed that. Micah even mentioned a fish fry in the future. And that future arrived faster than we anticipated. They all came over last night, since their kitchen was “constructionally unavailable.” Good stuff. Fried fish tacos with all the fixin’s. 

Of course with all the activity and doctor-type stress, Chris overdid it. She was royally whooped. Even had me get her an ice bag while everyone was still here. When they all went home and things were back in order, she took some Tylenol and crashed. Well-earned. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬ says, Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

Father, thanks for the relatively good news from the doc. And thanks for the great catch on the boat. Amen.