Update on Pulmonologist appointment... and a few ramblings

Thinking that I should post about my first Pulmonologist visit. DH and I went this morning. I liked him. He is older than I expected, but definitely younger than me. Seemed very thorough... went through and showed me CD pics of my lungs on his computer. Asked me questions. Showed me how the 'nodules' in my lungs have changed... sometimes larger, sometimes smaller over the years. That in itself seems to be the indication that it isn't cancer (hurray!).

But they could be due to a lung infection, inflammation, or even aspiration, etc. He is running some tests. I have coughed for over 20 years and was told it was probably a radiation cough (meaning the radiation I was given for my BC likely causes some irritation or scarring in my lungs). I've never been too worried about it... just accepted it as another 'inconvenience'. But lately it has gotten a bit worse as I can't talk too long (especially on the phone) without having a coughing fit. I use Luden's cough drops by the bags. They work.

So that's where we are. Said the tests may take some time. Some bacterial cultures are very slow growing. And he's also having me take a home sleep apnea test. I took one at a facility years ago, and was told that I was fine. But I still get episodes (not every night, but often enough) and my smart watch tells me almost every night that I have mild to moderate hypopnea. So, we'll see.

Now back to my currently piddling/trivial ramblings...

Feral kittens playing on back porch and in high grass. Silly squirrel trying his best to get the seeds out of the bagged finch feeder. Crows cawing for their peanuts! And now we have ducks walking across our front lawn!  That's our life and we do enjoy it. 

(Do remember to click on arrow, then small square at bottom to enlarge, then esc to get back to blog.)

We did walk at the Senior Center on Monday. Walked and stopped in the cafeteria for coffee. It has been a while since we were there. I need to either volunteer to work in the cafeteria or the plant area and/or take a watercolor doodling class offered this summer. My problem is that since the pandemic and being home so much, I'm afraid I've become a bit commitment-phobic.

Also a funny thing happened last week (twice actually). DH and I were walking out of Central Market when this woman said something to me. I didn't catch it (didn't have my ears in), so I said, "Pardon?" She then said, "Cute Couple.... are you newlyweds?" DH and I laughed and he said, "57 years". She said, "How wonderful". Well, 'that was odd', we both said when we got into the car.

Then the very next day we were checking out at Walmart's (where they check your cart and receipt) and since we use 2 baskets, I always go first and hand them the receipt and say, "we're together" as we go out. This time the checker said, "Really... how long?" And again DH said, "57 years". Then she said, "Don't see that much anymore". Again when we got into the car we looked at each other and I said, "...must be notice old folks week?"

That's about it. Will close with some memes or sayings that I like. If I've posted them before, forgive me... 

this actually works...

very true!

and...

always works for me!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Back from family get-together...

 

Easter Fireplace at daughter's  (love the bunnies!)

Hope everyone had a good Easter...

We drove down to our daughter's place in the Hill Country to have a private family get-together and memorial for our 17 year old grandson who died recently in an accident in California. It was wonderful having us all together despite the sad circumstances. We had a delicious Easter Brunch at daughter's house and spent the weekend talking and reminiscing. First time in a long time that all of us were together in one place.

Took numerous pics and videos... too numerous to show here. Some are pretty funny trying to get everyone to pose in certain spots and set the camera to take it while daughter ran in to get into picture... or dog ran off and then ran back.  Apparently you can take a video and then stop it to make a fixed photo from the video (who knew?).

Anyway, I will post one taken outside. We took several group shots, inside kitchen, by pond,  and this one. 

DH and I are in the middle with youngest son and granddaughter in front of me. Then on the right is our daughter, SIL, and oldest granddaughter. And on the left is oldest son, DIL, and his older son (his younger son is the one who passed recently).

As I said, we took lots of pics as who knows when we will all be together again.  One of the silly pics we took was of me on their tractor. They have 8-10 acres with horses, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, and land turtles. And SIL grows veggies, trees, and other things - which he hopes to turn into a business one day (after retirement).

And no, I didn't drive it (tho I could have). Daughter drives it all the time.

Easter Monday everyone headed home, but me. I jumped in the car with my oldest son, his wife, and 2 dogs and we headed to his place in Mission, TX for a few days. It's a really lovely area, with palm trees and a state park... close to the Mexican border... great birding area!  I spent most of my time laying out in his backyard by the pool, bird watching, and playing with his 2 Golden Doodles, but we did visit Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and birded with other birders. 

My slippers and pj's of course... in son's backyard.

Flew home from Mission on Southwest Airlines this past Saturday. Haven't flown since before the pandemic (did wear my mask). And it was fine. Truth be known, I love to fly... just not very fond of airports (too loud and crowded).

Home the feral cats and kittens are loving the Easter grass in our backyard. We will have to mow it soon as it's getting really high... but they love playing around in it... so we've put off cutting it till this coming weekend. Here's a pic:

and that's about it.... 

If you're still with me, I'm going to post a few memes that I like:

(I already do all these things... but need to work on the hair)

I like this...

and 

Oh, and I took some pics and a rain video from my daughter's porch Easter Sunday. I love the view sitting on her porch drinking my coffee... and listening to it rain. 

And rain video:

I could fall asleep to the sound of this rain video...

(remember to enlarge it to get a better view by clicking on the arrow and then the small square)

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

* Adding on here May 1, 2025 Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

Happy Easter! ... a little early

 Happy Easter Everyone!

Just a few funnies to make you smile:

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Monday thoughts...

Isn't this the sweetest thing?

Every once in a while I see a picture (usually a water-color pic) that I just love. Sometimes I try to sketch it myself - not sure why - maybe to make it my own?  Anyhow, I love this pic and thought I'd share it.

Also thought I'd let you know that our 2 young bobcats returned. They seem to like the high grass in our backyard. DH actually seeds it with winter grass so that it's high and green for Easter. The feral cats love it! They hide and play in it - and I put out giant colored plastic Easter eggs in it - which they toss around.

I just love seeing everything green again. When it's green and overgrown, our back looks like Jurassic Park. 

I know I've posted these before, but just thought a reminder wouldn't hurt...

Oh, and we saw a strange thing this morning. Our 2 crows (we call Tom and Jerry) were eating on our front lawn... when out of the sky 2 other crows came down and dive bombed them - scaring them off. It was odd as although we've seen some birds attack hawks, etc. we'd never seen crows attacking crows. 

Going to add a few memes that I find a bit uplifting:

and

We'll be having a private family memorial for our 17 year old grandson in the next few weeks.

I read this somewhere and thought it was exactly how I feel about all this...

You had so much life left to live…

So many sunrises to wake up to,

So many more memories to make,

So much more love to receive…

It will forever break my heart

That you didn’t get that time.

The world's problems take a back seat at times like this. Not sure they should, but they do... 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

 

just a few simple things...

I think this is true...

It's Saturday morning here and raining. We had thunderstorms all night and now warnings of flash flooding. Generally this doesn't affect our area, and since there's no warnings of tornados, we're good.

We don't have a large porch here.
But love to do this at my daughter's in the hill country

I really don't have much to post about. But thought I'd post a few pics and memes. We did have 2 bobcats in the yard the other night.  I have videos, but they're not too good as we have to chase them out quickly before they find any feral cats or kittens. But if you look carefully, you will see one in the yard in the first video and one on the fence in the second... and DH chasing the one out on the fence in the third.

*Remember to hit the small square to enlarge video, 

then the arrow to play... 

and 'esc' to get back to blog*

We get lots of wildlife in our backyard due to the creek and greenback behind us. We have seen bobcats before... but not often. We see more coyotes, raccoons, possums, box turtles, frogs, and snakes... and of course feral cats.  We welcome all but the coyotes and bobcats for as beautiful as they are, they are a danger to the smaller wildlife.

The next pic is one I took of our neighbor's peacock sculpture. Their tree died and they had someone do this:

and lastly just a meme that I thought worth mentioning (especially in today's world):

and...

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

April 1, 2025 Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

"I'm scared..."

"me too..."

"not looking..."

I had to laugh when I saw these white rabbits and thought they would be perfect for this 

April 1st Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit! Day -

as they all look a bit confused and wary...

 a perfect April Fool's 

for 2025. 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

an interesting Hallmark movie... and more

I know that many (mostly men, but some women) don't care for Hallmark movies (where there's almost always a happy ending - and generally end with a kiss). Personally I love them. So very tired of the shootem' up, blood and guts, killing, and crime stuff. 

I do like a good mystery, some quirky detective shows (Elsbeth and High Potential), a little time travel (if it's not too out there), but generally prefer things like "All creatures Great and Small" (one of my favorites) and "Heartland".

But... recently we've been watching a Hallmark Time Travel series (yep!). It's called "The Way Home" and a little different from the almost always predictable story lines for Hallmark. You might try it and see what you think. 

Nothing much else to say except my inside plants seem to be happy and doing well. Here are a few pics: (wish they were better pics, but  the glare from the sun is too bright this morning).

Mandrake, Ollie, Cat, and Sonny

Monty and Fiddle

I added that small white orchid (on the top pic) that was on sale at the grocery for $6. So far so good. I don't know much about orchids, so if there's something someone knows that will help me keep her alive and happy, please tell me. My others seem to be happy. I talk to them, name them, give them light and water, and play them music box tunes. They seem to like it...

The feral cats have brought home a few friends lately. The large grey one that we call Shadow brought home a big long-haired black that is now eating with us fairly often. And 2 black and whites showed up for dinner the other night.  

Tom and Jerry (the 2 crows that frequent our front yard and occasionally bring friends) are becoming regulars... and are a bit pushy. They now fly over or sit in the tree and "Caw! Caw!" at us to bring out more peanuts. But we don't mind, and I actually caw back at them.

Oh, and a strange thing happened in the parking lot of the grocery the other day. DH and I were putting groceries in the car and there was a grackle (not a crow... longer, thinner) perched on a sign close to us. He was making all kinds of noise to other birds in the area... reminded me of a traffic controller. Anyway, as we were putting things in the car, I was 'talking' to him. He would stop, listen, and then continue his squawking. Then - right before we got into our car, he zoomed overhead and almost hit me in the head. I was amazed... like 'what was that for?' (weird)

Guess that's my news. Working on my next sketch. It's a rowboat on a sandy beach. Will get down to water-coloring all of them sooner or later (probably later). 

Oh, and I guess some of you would like to hear our recent good medical news. After viewing my latest cat scan, the Oncologist told us that the nodules in my lungs have gotten smaller. This is a good sign. So he is recommending another cat scan in 4 months, but no lung biopsy now.  However, he is sending me to a Pulmonary specialist to see if these things in my lungs are inflammation or infection. Actually I'd like to know. Perhaps the mystery of my chronic cough will finally be found...

Closing with a few pics that I like: 

someone's pet frog

This one reminded me of my youngest granddaughter's pet frog (Suki). We caught her outside my house one day and she's doing really well. I almost caught Suki a friend the other day... but the little booger got away from me.

This is how we feel these days...

And no reason for this one... I just like chickens!

Have a wonderful weekend... make yourself or someone else smile!

Hugs (virtual), 

Rian

Do what you can...

 

This is where I'm at today... always told myself, "just tiny steps", or "just one step at a time".  Slow, perhaps, but still gets you there... eventually.

So far this morning I made DH and I pancakes for breakfast, cleaned the breakfast dishes, washed a load,  checked blogs, swept the kitchen floor, and mopped 'half' of it... will go back and finish in a minute. Needed a short break.

I've taken out a pork loin roast for supper... and will put it in the oven as soon as it defrosts. Still have a little of the chicken, broccoli, and bacon quiche I made for supper last night... but probably not enough.

To keep my mind off 'things' (recent death and my Oncologist appointment tomorrow), I started sketching again.  Finished 2 and started a third. Once this 3rd one is finished, I will do my best to water-color them - not my best skill (but I do love that translucent look of water-color). 

Here's what the first 2 look like: 

The sea gull sketch is mostly water-coloring the sky, water, and sand... so not much to see. Sketching, water-coloring, or writing takes me into another zone... time passes and worried thoughts don't enter (for a period of time).

Also we had the tree that had fallen across our back fence and yard during the last storm - cut up, taken away, and the fence repaired. 

Pics here:

huge tree fell across fence and covered most of yard

tree removed and fence repaired

And that's about it. I'd better get back to mopping the other half of the kitchen floor. 

Thanks for reading this far. Saw this funny little duck meme and wanted to share it. 

Sure would like a brand new (better) ending to this year's fiasco...

Hugs (virtual), 

Rian

In the blink of an eye...

 

Last Thursday afternoon (March 13, 2025), my oldest son received a phone call from the Police Department in California telling him that his 17 year old son died in January.

At first he thought it was some kind of sick joke. But as the conversation continued, began to realize that it wasn't. His son's death was confirmed by the coroner's office, but no details were given. 

After calling us with this news, we spent the rest of the day and night trying to understand how and why we were not told before now.

We are devastated... and confused. 

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news. World news is sad enough right now, but this is heart rending. 

Just thought those of you who follow me here might want to know.

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

another strange week...

Storm came through here in North Texas Tuesday morning. We were awakened at 4 am by a tornado warning alert and sirens! Actual high winds and rain hit the area about 5 or 5:30. Our area lost power, but we have a generator... so we were fine. But power stayed out in the area till about 7 pm Tuesday night. Granddaughter's school was closed due to the power outage - as well as some businesses. 

this is where the tree fell from the creek area across our fence

this is where the middle part lies across our yard

and this is the very top of the tree that's almost in our driveway

But outside of branches and trees down (huge one by the creek and behind our neighbor's house fell and came down across our fence and back yard.) Really huge tree - maybe 30-40 ft... and 20 ft is laying in our yard! I've been calling the city as the tree is part of the greenback by the creek that I'm guessing belongs to the city? Anyway, we just need the city to come cut it up... and it's laying across our whole yard almost into our drive-way. 

We will take care of the fence, but think the city should remove the tree.  However, I've been calling city services and haven't gotten a call back yet. We are also calling our insurance company to see what they think.

OK... another thing. Those of you who have been following my medical tests know also that other things have been going on. So recently my PCP ran another series of tests pertaining to my thyroid. The reason for this was because the pet scan showed 'inflammatory thyroid changes'. I found this curious as even though my thyroid tests have always been normal, my daughter has Hashimoto (a chronic auto-immune condition where antibodies attack her thyroid gland). It's an immune system malfunction. Well, the nurse practitioner called me Monday to say that this particular test shows me positive for Hashimoto too. This is a new development.

Now that's how this week has started. 

Then of course there was the President's state of the union speech last night. We didn't listen to it although we usually listen to these. I always enjoyed listening to Obama speak. But I can't listen to this President speak... it un-nerves me, makes me feel uneasy, and anxious. 

So, here I sit on a Wednesday afternoon trying to find calm on a beautiful cool sunny day. Life is good... for now... so, I'm trying hard to appreciate each day as it comes. But it's difficult not to worry about what may come in the days ahead under this administration. There are so many things being done under the 'guise of good'... that  are hurting so many. How can anything that hurts people be for the good?

Think I'll stop here today and have an afternoon tea/coffee break with DH. Will continue tomorrow. 

Now it's Thursday and I just got back from my Mammogram... ugh! Really dislike those since I have a lot of scar tissue that make them painful. Anyway, done and done! 

Now we're heading out to City Hall to see if they can do anything about this giant tree in our yard...  

Found out that the city doesn't own that land. The Chinese Bible Church that sits on the other side of the creek does. City Hall sent us over there. We talked to the manager there and he took the info and pics and said that they would get back to us. He was very nice. Hope they do follow up.

Oh.. I did pick up a new plant for the front room over the weekend. It's a Monstera. Isn't it gorgeous? DH was looking for mulch and I was looking at plants and this little beauty said, "Look at me! Take me home, please!"... and I did! 

I call him Monty... (all my plants have names).

OK... time to close. Leaving you with this little gem of a meme:

Hugs (virtual),

Rian