Ain't they grand?!?!?!

The grands all came during Thanksgiving and the weekend before Christmas...a "grand" time was had by all....Tripp and Garner loved playing together (especially in the pantry), strolling, and digging in the toy basket . Holder and Sims loved opening presents and wrestling...she may have a future...

Red Ribbon Week/We're off to see the Wizard....

Since Red Ribbon Week and Halloween were so close together, my 2nd grade team decided we would dress as the Wizard of Oz characters ...it was hero or celebrity day so we gave it a shot. We planned it at about 3:15 on Wed. afternoon and this is how we turned out on Thursday morning....the kids loved it (and so did the rest of the staff). I had already made Ashley a skirt a few days earlier so I just used her scraps on Thurs. morning to make me one....got the red shoes and wig at walmart on wed. after school.

sick days - part 4 - re check in Tupelo

On sat. morning i trucked on over to dr. mothershed's office to see dr. meyer and his staff...they come to tupelo every so often on a saturday so i didn't have to travel to memphis for the re-check of my bad eye...got there about 11:00 and the place was packed...after i signed in and picked a seat i asked the nice folks beside me just what happens in tupelo...the man had some detached retina issues and was a fishing guide from pickwick/corinth...he says it is the same in memphis and tupelo...lots of drops, tests and waiting , waiting, and more waiting. he was exactly right...the first girl, michelle, called me back after about an hour and a half to check my pressure...eye pressure..not blood pressure because i can assure anyone that my blood pressure was high...i hate sitting and waiting...i read one magazine before i went in to see michelle, but after the numbing drops and dialation drops i could only imagine what was in the magazine. she numbed my eyes and put her magic wand straight onto my eyeball...the bad eye took the test the first time...my good eye took 5-6 tries before it would take...if you haven't had this particular test it doesn't hurt but you can see a tiny tip headed straight for your eyeball and then see some wavy lines through all the drops...she said the pressure was great so just sit outside and wait...i waited in the dark room until i almost fell asleep...i moved to the front, bright room and flipped through some magazines and looked at the pictures the best i could...2 or three people came in with eye injuries...both got patched up and were lucky not to have any laser surgery...some young man finally called my name and all he did was check my pupils...yes they were dialated...and i waited some more...finally around 1:45 or so you could see some people coming out and you knew the doctor was working...the fishing guide had a 10:30 appointment so when he was called in i hoped i would be next...that is exactly how it worked...there was another woman across the hall that got a shot in her eyeball...i don't know exactly what was wrong but she was in some kind of pain and kept being called back and forth. i heard the doctor say "be still and i will let you know when there will be a little pain...i am a good shot giver"...i couldn't watch any more of that so i just laid back and listened...she didn't moan or cry and the doctor said she didn't even blink. she left with a patch on her eye...i then heard him talking to the fishing guide....he got a good report and then some fishing stories were told...something about an 8 year old boy catching an 8 pound crappie...then the doctor came in looked at my eye with his magnifier and said the leak was sealed and the tear was repaired...great job...i was so glad to hear that...next appt. dec . 4 in tupelo...left the office a little before three...starving again and ready to get home...and another round of drops to use 2 times a day for another week.

went back to school today....the morning was fine but i got a little tired after lunch.

Cake

A lady from our church called me back several months ago and asked if i could make a 60th birthday cake for her sister...I agreed to do it and couldn't believe i hurt my eye one week before the date. I guess it worked out that i was home and able to cook a layer at a time and started icing it on saturday after my re-check visit. it turned out really nice.

sick days - part 3- Dr. Meyers visit

On Tuesday morning we took off to memphis to visit the meyer (meyer) clinic... that is what their signs says...We arrived for the 11:00 appt. at about 10:30 or so...filled out the forms, gave them the insurance card and drivers license and only had to wait a few minutes until a nice guy, Eric, called me back...he was very funny and charasmatic...i later learned he was a minister...well, in this room he checked my vision on two different machines. the next machine checked my peripheral vision. it was a white concave machine that had some small dots in the center. he gave me a mouse-like clicker and said each time i saw a flash i needed to click. he said some flashes were bright and some were dim and some were farther out than others. it took 3-5 minutes until the timer went off and the tunnel went dark. on my left (bad ) eye it was just the same but by then my eyes were tired and my a.d.d. kicked in...i sort of drifted off during that test but he said I did fine. and by the way he added 3 different kinds of drops to my eyes. then i had to sit outside this room in the hall and waited until a woman called my name...i went into her room and all she wanted was more information about the accident and to check all of my information that was on her screen. Granted nothing had changed since i gave it to the first lady...then she said just wait in the hall...i was beginning to get hungry since i have lunch at 11:40 everyday...i was too scared from the warning about not eating after 7:00. Dennis was hungry too, so he bought some snack mix and i had one tiinnnny bite...a good while later another man (stanley) called me to yet another room. He did some tests that looked like nuclear symbols and signs twirling all around...i didn't do anything but just stare at them...then they took some more x-ray kind of pictures of my eye...they added two kinds of drops and made me look up, down, left, right, and every direction in between. They couldn't find the tear so I was hoping that my prayers had worked and it had healed itself over night...the girl told stanley that he was going to get called in if the doctor found a tear...so they did a sonogram of my eye...this time it was a closed eyelid sonogram. still not very pleasant since they covered my bad eyelid with slimy, cold goop and then decided their machine was not plugged in correctly...after a few adjustments she got a good view of the tear. she helped wipe off the goop and sent me back to the hallway....this wait was longer than the rest. I was getting more hungry, tired and scared...there were people everywhere...the lights were very dim and not one person was headed back to see the doctor....at a little after 1:00 a woman came out and called 5-6 of us back. We were placed in little cubicles side by side and were instructed to lay down when the doctor came in...I could finally hear his voice next door and he told that woman her ailment had improved so he didn't have to do surgery...i was still hopeful at this point. he came in and looked at stanley's x rays and called him back just like the girl said. He told him the photos were beautiful but not one picture of the tear. He got out his magnifying glass and turned on his miners hat light and found the tear in no time flat...he then proceeded to talk into his tape machine and was sending dr. mothershed a message about my eye...he thanked him for his wonderful diagnosis. he then said that the tear was somewhat larger than was reported and he hoped he could get the laser to fix the tear. if not, he said, we will put in an air bubble and have her back next week for surgery. I was just hearing this by eavesdropping and it made me nervous again. He said just go around the corner and they'll get you ready for the laser...so off to another room...they had an elderly lady that was being set up in the head gear for the laser...the nurse said that she felt like the dr. would put me before the 3 other lasers but that you never know...all of a sudden another nurse popped in and said...put the retinal tear in front. i was glad because i was hungry and ready to go...
the procedure involved a funnel like plastic thing placed under the eyelid to hold my bad eye open ...it had some salt stuff on it that kept the eye from moving around...my head was against a metal bar and my chin on a ledge and the nurse pushed the back of my head to keep me from pulling back. all the time he is aiming and shooting the laser all around my eye saying "this is great, this is perfect...great job"...i had to keep my good eye straight, my head still and my mouth shut...i let out a small moan when he put in the funnel (my eyeball is bruised) and another small moan when he lasered close to the places that were bruised....sort of like having a filling in a tooth and it not being deadened all the way. Not real pain but not real good either...i forgot to mention that she put in at least 3 sets of drops for numbing and dialation...

it probably took 15 minutes to get it set up until it was over....i had a grip on the handlebars that were manly...my shoulders were arched up and so tight...the nurse even said...just loosen up a bit..."easier said then done" ...when that ended and they pulled out the funnel, all i could see was purple goo. the nurse used some eye wash and got most of it out but had to lead me by the arm back to stanley for more pictures...and you know you can't take pictures without....DROPS...to get good pictures this time the girl pulled my eyelid from the corner and stanley pushed my nose and then placed the camera right where he needed it and he got some great shots...all the while i had my bad eye looking up as high as possible to the left...

we went to the last station, check out, and the girl made my re check appt. for 11:00 sat. in tupelo...she gave me a tiny bottle of DROPS to use twice a day for inflammation.
Couldn't wait to get some food... i really think i could have eaten a sandwich while he did the procedure...

i didn't check my spelling or grammar...just trying to get it typed

part two - sick days-dr. mothershed

I went straight to dr. mothershed's office, filled out the paperwork, and waited for just a little while. I had asked my friends at school "how will they be able to see the floaters inside my eye". I haven't been to an eye doctor in a very, very, very long time. (each very stands for 10 years)...So needless to say they have all types of machines for your eyes...they tested my vision in the first room, put in some drops,took some x-ray type pictures of the inside of the eye, (they looked just like a mammogram),put in more drops to dialate my eyes, took some more pictures, looked at the eye with bright lights and then moved me to another room and took a sonogram of my eyeballs... they put in numbing drops, used a little wand and stuck it straight to the eyeball and rubbed it around...all the while i had to be still and move my eye to certain directions...up down and all around...each person said that "that was great" and moved me to another room. Finally dr mothershed came in and looked at all the information on a screen and made me do some more letter tests on a screen across the room. they tested my pressure, it was fine...no cataracts...20/20 vision and i thought all was going just fine. He returned to the room after they added more drops and put a magnifying glass and the brightest light known to man straight on my eyeball. I could feel the heat building up. I once again had to look up, to the left, to the right, and straight down with my bad eye. we did this more than once when he finally said "yep, i see a horseshoe retinal tear. Still thinking that some cream and a patch on the eye would take care of this ....i was very taken aback when he said call the retinal clinic...dr. meyer in memphis...get her in as quickly as possible...she has to have surgery on this now....they made the call, sent some paperwork, and instructed me to go home and not look down, don't pick up anything heavy and sleep with your head propped up...this is serious....they gave me two kinds of drops (by now you know i don't like drops) one for infection and the other for who knows what...drops 4 times a day....i have had more drops in the last few days than i have had in my entire life. So I paid my bill and got in the car and headed home. Things were a little blurry but I made it home fine...Called the school secretary, got a sub and laid down (after I put in my drops) Got to dr mothershed's office at 2:30 and left there a little after 5:00...the people there are super nice but hope i don't have to visit again soon.


part - 3...dr meyer

Sick days

I have accumulated almost 90 sick days since i began teaching. Today I actually had to use a sick day for sickness...boy does that stink. I took a lick to my left eye on saturday while picking up limbs. It must have been folded back like a whip because it slapped my eyeball so hard and so fast that I never saw it coming. I cried worse than a baby...more like a baby calf that has lost its mother. I could hear myself crying and I couldn't stop it...sobbing, sobbing, sobbing...sitting in the dark garage in a rocking chair crying.....I think 30 minutes or so went by and I finally stopped the sobbing and then just softly moaned and cried...still thinking i was blind ...i felt the moisture and looked to see and it wasn't blood. I finally got up the courage to barely, and I mean barely, lift my eyelid...i could see some light so i assumed i wasn't completely blind...but the pain was still there. I said at last 100 (1000) times that "my eye is killing me". No matter what I did the eye hurt...if i kept it shut...it hurt. if i opened it...it hurt....and whatever my right eye did the left eye did too...it just hurt. we had lunch, cut down more bushes, moved in a kitchen table and headed home from fulton. I looked like Mike Tyson when I woke up on sunday morning...my eye was puffed and glued shut. after i loosened it and looked at the redness i was a little scared again. only when i kept brushing away a gnat in my sewing room did I realize that there were some black floaters in my eye...I knew a gnat should not be in the sewing room....my eyeball felt much better on sunday afternoon...very little pain but still floaters everywhere...I still didn't realize the seriousness of this injury and went back to Fulton to make sure we locked up and cleaned up everything on saturday. one thing led to another and I sprayed the dock, pier ,gazebo with some weather proofer and did the upper decks with some stain and a roller. Slept good Sunday night, eye not as glued together on monday but still red as blood and still having floaters... After a hectic day at school with a conference on an unruly child, TST on a child that is repeating and just the stuff that goes on at school on a monday, i finally got to call the doctor...they worked me in at 2:40...The other part of that story is...the lady that helps with my class had a death in her family and was off so there was no one to watch the kiddos. worked out that another lady could come in and keep the kids for my conference, tst meeting and stayed through dismissal.


and just so you know...dennis said he has never seen or heard me cry like that in 33 years. I am thinking 52 years...

part two - visit to mothershed

Chairs

We bought a few of these director's chairs that can be personalized with names, initials, fraternity/sorority letters, mascots, slogans, etc. They fold up and can go in a closet or under a bed for storage. Perfect for dorm rooms, cabins, covered porches. They would make great Christmas gifts or even graduation gifts for next year. $35.00....

what's a girl to do!!!???

With school fast approaching (and I am not wearing my glasses and my fingernails are really long so excuse my typing) I can't decide exactly what to do with my few remaining hours of freedom. I really , really, really enjoy relaxing but I feel the need to get some unfinished business behind me....but then again there is always tomorrow as Scarlet would say. SO today since G-baby has gone home , dennis is out of town for the day, and no calls from anybody needing anything ...I have decided to do a little of both. I sanded, stained and sealed the front door, did some laundry, made Tripp a shirt, weeded the flower beds, and organized and straigtened my sewing room.(which will be to do over as soon as I start another project)...oh, i forgot to mention that I did repair a HUGE hole in a pair of hunting overalls...I guess they were trash for some young man but they are now repaired and ready for some deer hunting . If you aren't a teacher you probably don't know this feeling of depression/anxiety that creeps up on us...Most people think we have it made but it takes 8 weeks to re-charge our batteries. I think most teachers are anxious to get back to work but it seems like just yesterday that we were getting those end of the year checklists completed. Monday at 8:00 am I will hear the things from our administration that they think will pump us up and make us better teachers...Tuesday is open house and Wed. the kiddos will be there...Their batteries will be completely charged and will not lose power until May of next year. Can't wait to meet them and have some FUN!!! So back to the pool now for the last few hours of sun and fun...they are priceless....

Garner and Tripp

G baby is here for a few days since the rest of his family are at the Hottest Place on Earth...the Neshoba County Fair. We picked him up on Sunday afternoon and brought him back to civilization. The big kids enjoy the dirt and sweat but not Garner...he is just a sweet bundle of baby...There is only about 6 weeks difference in Garner and Tripp but they are about as different as they can be. Tripp will tolerate some Baby Einstein but Garner seems to really enjoy it...Garner loves to be held and rocked and cuddled...all of the things that Tripp will try his best to avoid. But both boys love to get their blankie and get into the baby bed for nap time and bed time. Garner is watching Baby Einstein and Tripp is taking a cat nap ...

Something fishy

I read in the paper about a fish painting workshop in Fulton...$2.00....so I gave my retired friend a call and she jumped at the chance to be an artist for the day. We really didn't know what to expect...we started our adventure having lunch at Bishop's Gifts and Flowers...It is a nice little area that serves sandwiches, burgers (grilled on Friday), salads, breakfast and plate lunch specials...We opted for the plate lunch since we were on a tight schedule and had to be at our art class at 12:00...It was a very good lunch and Alice treated since it was my birthday a couple of days later...She is just toooo sweet....We headed on over to the MSU extension service Itawamba branch...We made connections with a couple of the women that were there and everybody was friendly and helpful...lots of laughing and fun. The two gals that taught the class have been around...i mean literally...they lived in japan for 20 + years and one lives in california now and the other lives in Fulton...she might have some type of culture shock but you would never know it...We ended up with some nice prints and I even printed on a t shirt...I think it will be a great craft to do with my kids at school...or maybe just the grands....We had a great time and can't wait to find us another adventure...

whoops

Who would ever believe that sweet Simzy girl would ever cause destruction??? She came from the back bedroom with a little apprehension and some crocodile tears. Her story was "dada and Holder were throwing the ball and I tried to hide"...sounds very innocent ...but she failed to reveal that she hid in the curtains and then got a little tangled and yanked the entire rod down ...both brackets were pulled loose and the finial on one end was shattered...Not sure how she avoided the rod hitting her head but other than some paint, spackle and reattaching of the brackets nothing major came from the ordeal. She has also had a little incident with some of my little sewing scissors and a tassle on a pillow. Boy can she tell some stories about how things happen...

Smores

100 hundred degrees and Dennis decided to build us a fire and the little kids brought the fixins for Smores. Den Den picked up some coconut covered marshmallows and they were the best smores I have ever eaten. We finished up the night with a game of keep away with a giant beach ball. Amazingly no one fell down or got really mad about being in the middle. All in all it was a great time spent with the kids and grand kids.

Dance party

Betsy and her 3 kiddos came for a visit this morning. the little girls decided to have a dance party and were really getting down when I peeped out to check on them. Ree and Sims both love dancing, fashion and girly things...can't wait to see them in about 10 years...watch out for them...they are double trouble.

Elvis Festival

Dennis and I went to the Elvis Festival and somehow I thought I lost this picture to prove it...it suddenly appeared on my computer...oh well, we had a good time but had to leave before Paul Thorn came on...too much set up time between the bands so it pushed Paul Thorn way past his time of 9:30...we stayed until 10:45 and finally gave up...

Baby Blue

Baby dedication will be at our church on Sunday...Tripp has been growing like a weed and can barely squeeze into a lot of his clothes...I decided to make a little sample to see what size he needs in the world of homemade clothing. I made a size 2 in a very tailored john john. I think it will be perfect...if not for this Sunday maybe another SUnday...he looks very cute in blue. He has a shirt to wear underneath...Can't wait to see how he looks in it.

A +

I try to donate blood every so often to keep them from calling me everyday. While I was running errands I decided to stop by and give a little of my A positive blood. This type is very common but I guess when they need it they need it....It only took about 45 minutes and they checked my blood pressure,gave out water and cookies, and will have my cholesterol numbers in a few days...they also threw in a free bumpers burger and a t shirt...

DONE

Finally finished with the clorox/mildew battle...Dennis has been on top of the house like a spider monkey. He doesn't know how dangerous this is or maybe he just doesn't care...who knows...He did say this was his last time to do this chore....

3 out of 4

Got my closet organized...3 bags of stuff to give away...
Got my ironing done...
The columns are sanded and painted...

Tackling the mildew after lunch and some sunning...


Can't wait to see if we can get everything done in one day...it is a marathon of chores.....

The not so lazy days of summer!!!

As most people know, the Buse family is not much on relaxing on holidays...so it doesn't come as a surprise that we were up today by 5:30 making a list of things to get done...or should I say Dennis was making a list of things for "us" to get done. HOpefully "we" can get these few little jobs finished and the summer holiday will officially begin.
1. finish ironing...(haven't done it in a while)
2. clean mildew off of house with clorox
3. sand and paint columns on front of house (the martins have once again roosted on the top of one of the columns and now have a few babies.) This may have to wait until they leave the nest.
4. clean out my closet....it is out of control....

Can't wait for summer!!!!

20 days of school and summer vacation will arrive....this year has flown by but as always i am ready for some rest and relaxation...Put in some new palm trees (hope they live) and re-did the pool pump fence.

New backsplash

I haven't updated in a while but we put up a backsplash earlier this year. It turned out exactly the way we planned. Not too very hard...just time consuming and messy.

crawfish

Our neighbors had a crawfish boil last night...so glad we were invited....I love crawfish better every year.His son brought the mud bugs (red bugs) up from somewhere down south...and boy can he cook...potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, corn,sausage...and it was all HOT...and really, really good.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday...

Simsy Girl is 4 today....I have a shirt ready but didn't get to go to jackson this weekend....her party is in a couple of weeks and she and holder will be having a joint skating party....