Doctor Visits and Such

Even though doctor visits wear Mz. Virginia out, she enjoys seeing her cute doctors anyway. She claims that both doctors enjoy seeing her "entourage"--Rebecca and I--"two good looking girls" (I'm quoting HER there) just as much as they enjoy her witty self. She always makes them laugh by the way. We have to admit, both doctors do perk up considerably when our trio enters the office, Mz. Virginia riding on her walker with one of us pushing and the other walking beside. We call ourselves "her ladies in waiting." Though most of the time, doctors are in a hurry, these doctors suddenly seem to have a wealth of time to spend chatting with the three of us. The cardioligist, for instance, spent ten minutes telling us of his younger days, including how he worked at Arby's. He even showed us a photo of himself at eighteen, curly long hair and all.

We now have an image to protect, and Mz. Virginia likes us all to look our best when we visit the doctors. She even made Rebecca go back to the car and put on her high heels one day. It is always loads of fun to see the gleam in Mz. Virginia's eye when she visits with her physicians. They are always pleasantly surprised at her knowledge, that comes of course, from all her years as a nurse. And she certainly will not tolerate them talking down to her or patronizing her. After all, she was tending to patients when they were still in diapers.

"I had one or two of those doctors I worked with convinced when I left there (Kansas)," Mz. Virginia says. "They'd often ask me about the condition of their patient."

Not ready for the grave...

Last week, Rebecca and I were taking Mz. Virginia to the cardiologist. I arrived at the house first to find Mz. V had already dressed and was ready to go. I remarked on how nice she looked and she just grinned and said, "I gotta look as good as I can. I don't want them to bury me any sooner than they have to."

Summer is in full swing here, but we had some nice cool breezes last evening. Mz. Virginia said there was an earthquake reported about 40 miles south of here last night. We haven't had as many thunderstorms as usual, so there have been no trips to the cellar. But Rick still has his emergency bag by the door just in case.

Mz. Virginia enjoyed hearing all the stories about Girls' Weekend. She wishes she had been there. I wonder if we could have gotten her to take a trip down the slip-and-slide. "Getting down wouldn't be my problem," she says. "It would be the getting back up."

Updates and Such

We haven't written in a while because Mz. Virginia took her wonderful trip to see family,
which she thoroughly enjoyed. However, she was glad to get home to her regular environment and has spent the last week recuperating.

We have plunged back into our reading of Marley and Me and, as often happens, it has inspired Mz. Virginia's memory of pets from long ago. This pet belonged to a woman named Pope, who was the ward clerk on a floor Mz. Viriginia worked in her days as a nurse. Pope had a sweet, loving and friendly Pit Bull Terrier whom everyone loved. One day, Mz. Virginia commented that it was unusual to find such a nice Pit Bull, since they were known for being mean.

Pope grinned and said, "He has his moments. Watch this."

And she turned to the dog and said, "You're a democrat!"

At these words, the dog threw himself into the floor and had a fit, snapping and snarling and carrying on like a mad dog. The other women that were with the group screamed at this sudden outburst and jumped into their chairs. Pope simply petted the dog and calmed him right down and soon everyone was laughing.

But nobody called that dog a democrat, that was for darn sure.

Happy birthday, Chenel

We were happy to note on the news this morning that the world's oldest dog, Chenel, celebrated her 21st birthday today. Mz. Virginia's one dog of hers, Nell-dog, a Boston Bull Terrier, who lived in her late teens. But she doesn't believe she had one live quite as long as Chenel.

Amazingly, the dog who held the title previously was a lab named Bella, who lived to be 29~you heard us, 29!!~but who passed away, leaving the title to Chenel.

Happy birthday, Chenel!

Countdown to Lawrence

Yesterday marked the two week countdown for Mz. Virginia's trip to Lawrence. She wants everyone to know how much she is looking forward to seeing them. Of course, she is as always, a bit apprehensive about the journey, as trips take her out of her routine and are a bit tough physically. Also she will miss her cat. But all in all, she is happily looking forward to the visit and to seeing that new great-great grandson.

She has been troubled by the news about Bob and Kristy, but she also displays the same deep spiritual calm I have always seen in her. Her prayers are definitely rising to heaven for her family.

Rebecca and I took Mz. Virginia to the cardioligist on Thursday, and as usual, we had quite a jolly visit. The doctor has warmed up to us all considerably since Mz. Virginia told him a few visits ago, "I think you could find another medicine that could kill me" when he took one medicine away (that had proved harmful to her) and wanted to replace it with another. For some reason, this seemed to greatly improve his bedside manner. This time, he even talked to us about his recent 50th birthday, told us how he was prom king in high school and showed us his big 70's hair picture. I could almost see him with one of those big combs boys used to carry around in their back pockets.

It is always entertaining to take Mz. Virginia into the public realm.

Birthday Whirlwind

The last two weeks have been a birthday whirlwind on Country Road in Skiatook. First Rebecca had her birthday week, which ended with a birthday bash and the aforementioned surprise visit from Jenn. Then Rick's birthday came along, and there are some nice new plants around the front of his house to commemorate it. Mz. Virginia had wanted to buy him a cake, but we found out that he likes pie just as much as she does, so there were birthday pies for both him and her. Rebecca bought a lemon and a chocolate pie, and Barb and Denny bought an apple crumb pie when they visited on her birthday. Barb also bought a nice outfit for Mz. V and a pretty flower plant for Rick's front porch.

The weather is stormy here, but there hasn't actually been a lot of rain. The sky just teased us all weekend, huffing and puffing and blowing around til finally on Sunday night it quit taunting us and dropped some rain. It is back to teasing mode this morning. We wonder how long it will make us wait this time...

A Wonderful Surprise

Saturday evening, Mz. Virginia was treated with a wonderful surprise...a visit from Jenn! It was perfect in every way except for one thing. "It was just too short," Mz. Virginia says with a wistful smile.

Not much other news to report except that Mz. Virginia is anticipating Rick's birthday on Wednesday, which is the day before hers. I (LWJ) will be dispatched with the task of buying two big pots of plants/flowers for his front porch area...a job which I will find very pleasurable, since I love to garden. I'm sure a cake might find its way back to the Petty house as well...

Mz. Virginia is tired today, but when she perks up, she looks forward to sharing some more family stories with you. She is also looking forward to her trip to visit everyone in May.

Mz. Virginia's Price is Rightism's

Funny things Mz. Virginia says during The Price Is Right.

1. "Well, there's another fatty."

2. "Quit your flopping around on the floor."

3. Well, look at her...she'd better not gain one more pound."

4. An obese woman wins a culinary trip through the South, Mz. Virginia said, "Well, that's the last thing she needs."

5. After several episodes of women hugging and squeezing Drew Carey, "I worry about his back."

6. "I just love to see a man win a car. It just means so much more to them than if a woman wins a car."

7. "God, look at the tits on her. She's about to flop out of that shirt."

8. "I hate that hairy beard. I would never kiss him."

9. "The men on this show are about as fat as the women."

10. "Oh gawd, she makes Drew look thin."

Just a Nice Morning

The last week has been relaxed and quiet and we are ending up the week with a nice Friday. Rebecca came over this morning and had coffee with us and we talked about everything from my (LWJ) daughter's speeding ticket to Mz. Virginia's big car wreck in the eighties to Rebecca's upcoming birthday. Just a nice morning with girl talk.

Mz. Virginia weathered the weekend snowstorm quite well, though it seemed to make her a little tired. This is normal when any kind of weather front comes into play. Saturday felt like Christmas with four to six inches of snow on the ground...March came in like a lamb and went out like a lion this time.

Mz. V says to tell everyone she is alive and thriving.

A Nice Weekend Visit

Mz. Virginia was happy to receive two special visitors this weekend, Carol Lee and Alan. She was especially appreciative because it is a four hour trip each way, "A lot to make in one day." As always, she was so glad to see them and visit with them and reports that the cat stayed right at her side the whole time, eyeing the visitors warily. She looks forward to seeing them again in May when she travels to Kansas to see the baby.

Physically she is feeling as well as can be expected. She managed to dodge a bladder infection that tried to take hold last week and is glad to see spring is coming. "One more week and spring ought to be here," she says. Of course, spring in Oklahoma likes to make a grand entrance, with tornadoes often threatening. But Rick had a storm cellar installed a couple of years ago and has a survival kit~complete with flashlight, radio, first aid kit, etc.~ always ready to go should threatening weather approach. Sometimes when I come in the morning after a stormy night, I will find Rick's survival kit sitting by the back door at the ready.

Grandma tries to stay ready during stormy weather as well, keeping her clothes on at bedtime rather than dressing in her gown, and keeping her medicine and purse ready to go. "I won't take the cat down if we have to go though," she reports. "Becky's dogs would be down there." She knows the cat would be more likely to survive on her own, as it would take an act of Congress to get the creature to go down into that hole in the ground.

A Virginiaism

Mz. Virginia is a very witty person and is always making us laugh with some unexpected, dryly humorous comment. We are calling these Virginiaisms.

Mz. Virginia watches a local news show every morning. About once a week, they drag in local talent to showcase for area viewers and most of that talent is dubious at best. I commented on that fact this morning as Mz. Virginia sat having her morning muffin and green tea and wondered aloud why they would think these acts were good enough to put on television.

She swallowed her bite of muffin and said, "Well, I think when they were all drunk enough, they probably appreciated it."

Goodbye, Grandfather!

Mz. Virginia has often shared a funny story about her granddaughters, Rebecca and Kim.

When Mz. Virginia had either Rebecca or Kim by themselves, she had absolutely no trouble with either girl. But when the two got together, it was quite a trying combination, according to Mz. Virginia.

One time, when the girls were around nine or ten years old, Mz. Virginia had invited them to come spend the day with her. She had all kinds of plans to entertain them; she planned a big outing to town, where they would shop and eat out and perhaps even see a movie before she brought them home for a sleepover.

It wasn't to be.

From the beginning, it was obvious that things were heading downhill fast. As soon as the girls got together, they became loud and boisterous, tearing a path through the house, giggling and screaming and acting "nuttier than fruitcakes." They were into the cupboards in every room, leaving towels and dishes and books and magazines--in fact, everything they touched--lying around on the furniture and the floor. "Looked like a herd of cattle had gone through there," Mz. Virginia recalled.

Mz. Virginia thought perhaps if she sent them outside, they would burn off some of their excess energy while she got ready for the trip to town~which she was beginning to dread. This only served to make things worse, as the girls ran in and out, in and out, tracking in dirt as they came and went and making even more noise and messes. They seemed to feed off each other~"what one didn't think of, the other one did...there wasn't a thing in that house they didn't touch and move," Mz. Virginia says, waving her hand at the memory. "In and out and up and down~oh!"

After about two hours, Mz. Virginia had had enough. She called Carol Lee and said, "Come get these brats! I can't stand them."

The girls were stunned and deflated. "They had cheated themselves out of a movie and all the money I usually spent on them," Mz. Virginia recalls. "They were not happy about it at all."

Kim's mother, Carol Lee, came to pick the girls up. They both drew their shoulders back and threw their noses into the air with a completely injured air. Ignoring Mz. Virginia, the girls stalked to their grandpa's chair. "Goodbye, Grandfather," they each said primly and flounced from the house.

Glen thought this was delightful and cackled openly. Mz. Virginia admits she couldn't help but laugh as well.

Two Budding Artists

Once long ago, when Mz. Virginia's girls were around 2 and 3 years old (Myrna Sue and Carol Lee were only 12 months apart), Glen decided to paint the screen door green. When he finished, he placed his leftover paint in the bedroom/bathroom closet where Mz. Virginia hung all the family's clothes. He had placed the lid on the paint and laid the brush across the top, but somehow the girls still managed to get the lid off the can. As Mz. Virginia hung out clothes to dry, the girls were busy painting the closet, clothes and all. When Mz. Virginia came into the house, she smelled the paint immediately. She followed her nose to the closet to find two paint smeared little girls in a completely paint smeared closet. The little girls had missed nothing~they had painted the walls, the clothes, the shoes, and of course, each other.

Mz. Virginia wanted to throw it all away~clothes, kids and all~she was so aggravated. But being the good mother and moral soul that she was, she set to cleaning the children up. When Glen arrived home, however, he heard all about it...and was expected to help clean up the mess, too.

It was, after all, his paint.

Sweet Story

Today we reached the chapter in Marley and Me where John Grogan's wife experiences a miscarriage and the usually hyper Marley is a completely calm comfort to her. This caused Mz. Virginia to recall a very sweet story about her two dogs, Shadow and Lady.

Mz. Virginia had to underog a right inguinal hernia operation and appendix removal. The surgery only required her to stay one night in the hospital and she was allowed to return home with bed rest. She instructed her husband Glen to have the fold out couch ready for her, and she rode home with him, a pillow held tightly to her abdomen to protect her stitches.

When they arrived home, she went straight to the sofa bed. As she laid down, the dogs approached, but not in their usual bounding manner. Both Lady and Shadow seemed to sense her sickness and came toward her, climbing gently onto the bed and belly crawling toward her. One dog placed her head on one shoulder and the other on the opposite shoulder. When Glen came into the room, he saw them lying quietly there and started to insist that they get off the bed so as not to disturb the patient.

But Mz. Virginia said, "Leave them alone...they know what's going on."

Cat

We were going to write some more about Mz. Virginia's past pets today, but she has received a phone call, so I believe I will write about her present pet, a cat named Sassy~who we call Cat.

Right now, Cat is curled up in the chair with her bottom pressed firmly against Mz. Virginia. She is staring at me from half closed blue eyes. Mz. Virginia says she watches every morning for either mine or Rebecca's appearance. If we are a wee bit late, she seems to know it. As a matter of fact, Cat seems to know exactly what the schedule in this house. When Rick gets up in the morning, she insists that Mz. Virginia wake up, too, making her desires known by butting her head up against her mistress as if to say, "Get up! Get up!" She loves to be with Mz. Virginia all of the time and will even jump on her walker and ride to the bathroom or the bedroom when a trip is necessary.

Cat definitely has a queenly air about her, but she is a good and benevolent queen. She rarely grows angry with me...but she does not like it when I drag out the vacuum cleaner or a broom. When she sees either of these, she darts off into the bedroom, and I am liable to find her peeking out at me from behind Rick's bed, her clear eyes narrowed at me as if to say, How DARE you!

Cat isn't very demanding, but she does like the food in her cat bowl to be mounded up just so, and she especially likes Rebecca to do this task for her. But if Rebecca has been gone for a couple of days, she will deign to consult me, switching her tail, rubbing up against my legs, and letting out a plaintive meow. Just having food in the bowl is not enough. It MUST be mounded so that she can take her paw and scrape it onto the floor before she eats it.

Cat has very few vices, but one is that she likes to eat plastic. Plastic does not like her however ,and we will often find a mess. We won't gross you out with the details, we will let your imagination do that work for us.

I believe Cat and I would be very good friends if I weren't allergic to cats. Since this house has mostly hard floors, I don't have much of a problem here, except for when I dust or sweep. But no matter how temptingly soft Cat's fur looks, I cannot pet her or my hands will swell up and God help me if I touch my eye after touching her. Cat seems to understand though, and so we just admire one another from afar.

Mz. Virginia says that Denny's son, David, gave Sassy to her, and Mz. Virginia says, "I don't ever need another gift...it's my Christmas, Fourth of July, birthday and everything." After spending time with this lovely animal, I can certainly see why she would feel this way.

We fixed it...

Some family members have reported that they have had trouble commenting or have been unable to comment. We are happy to report that we have fixed the problem...or at least, we think we have. Please let us know if you have any further difficulties and we will take it "back to the drawing board."

A Dog Named Lady

As aforementioned, Mz. Virginia and I (LWJ) have been reading Marley and Me by John Grogan. This often puts Mz. Virginia in mind of her own beloved pets, which have been numerous over the years.

One particular dog often comes to Mz. Virginia's mind...Lady. Lady was a shepherd and collie mix and was one of most intelligent animals Mz. V ever had. Lady was always aware of what was going on and had an excellent memory. Once during a tornado alert, Mz. V took Lady into the tub with her, since this is one of the safest places inside a house during a tornado if one cannot reach a cellar or basement. From then on, every time there was even a hint of thunder, Lady headed straight for the tub. "You would walk in the bathroom," Mz. V relates, "and there she'd be!"

Lady also loved to be photographed. At first no one realized, but as time went on, it became obvious that Lady was a camera ham...she would show up in every photograph. "She even got to where she would pose," Mz. V remembers, "and would all but smile. She would turn and look at the camera like 'here I am!'"

Once Mz. V had to leave Lady at a newly opened kennel while they went on a trip. When Mz. V returned, Lady climbed right in the car and began to fuss and carry on as if she had been horribly traumatized and mistreated. Since she had stayed at other places and never complained, Mz. V knew not to leave her there ever again.

Lady lived a good long life with Mz. Virginia before she finally succumbed to arthritis and could no longer get up and down steps... "like big dogs do." Mz. Virginia will always remember Lady though and how she used to wait on the shore of the lake while they went out on the boat. A neighbor's dog had drowned in the lake, so Lady was not allowed to follow the boat. She always went back when told, even though she would have loved to tag along, but Mz. V would look back and see her peeking around a tree just in case someone wasn't watching...

"Oh we just laughed our heads off," Mz. Virgina says. And she still chuckles at the story today.

Life Rolls Peacefully On...

Mz. Virginia has been tired this week, however, she is in good spirits and seems to have beaten her bladder infection for now. Rebecca has been on her trip with The Surviving Parents' Coalition, and although Mz. Virginia is missing her greatly, she anticipates hearing about all the wonderful things that have been accomplished upon Rebecca's return.

There has been talk of a five generation photo, and Mz. Virginia is very excited at this prospect. At present, she has full intention of traveling to Lawrence in May to be a part of this family event. This is significant because she generally balks at any mention of travel, as her health makes travel an arduous affair. But she feels that this is so very important and truly looks forward to seeing and spending time with all her loved ones.

Update

Well...Grandma is on a tear today. I think she is feeling pretty good, she's just in a hell of a mood. I think she may be mad at me because I (Rebecca) have been working a lot at the funeral home. We have had a lot of deaths and Lorrie has been over here a lot. Don't get me wrong, she loves Lorrie, but to put it in her words, "You're my kid, Becki." She wants me here 24/7 and I can't be here all the time because I have a job and will be traveling a little bit in the upcoming months. I am trying my best to be a good grandaughter and Lorrie is trying her best to be really patient and kind. Honestly, sometimes when Grandma is on a tear we feel a little helpless and just keep our mouths shut and hope that one day we hope we have a couple of nice girls who will take care of us when we are elderly. I am really learning a lot about loving a person in spite of what mood they are in. :/

On a positive note, we are going to the hair and nail salon tomorrow. I think she needs to get out of this house. I think she has cabin fever. We might have to pry her from her chair.

Sandy is on the way to help her bathe and maybe that will put her in a better mood.

God help us...lol.

Things are looking up...

Things are definitely looking up today! Mz. Virginia is feeling much better~she was up early and is dressed and ready for the day. We have every machine in the house going, washing machine, dishwasher, and even the oven, as we are preparing tonight's dinner early: chicken and cheesy broccoli rice. Hopefully Mz. Virginia will enjoy it. Since she hasn't had much of an appetite lately, I am trying to tempt her taste buds with something she hasn't had in a little while. My kids love this dish, so I thought she might, too.

I have to observe that Mz. Virginia follows the healthiest diet of any person I have ever seen from her age group...or from any age group, for that matter. She craves fruits and vegetables, eats very little processed flour or animal fat, and keeps sugar to a minimum. She always credits her mother with teaching her these habits. Even though she was on a tight budget and was raising children during the depression era, Irma Hazen Lee made sure her family ate healthy and understood the value of nutrition. Judging by Mz. Virginia's eating habits today, Irma left her legacy solidly in place.

Feeling Better

In her own words, "I am feeling better today, but I hurt. I think a front is coming in." But, her color looks tons better and she is not so grouchy. We have discovered when she feels badly it comes out in her usually chipper personality. Today she is all smiles.

The lady who helps her bathe is coming today. She really likes Sandy, they seem to get along very well. The nurse is supposed to come on Thursday to check on her and fill her medications. Overall, we have been very blessed with the people who have been helping us with the past year and a half.

I am laughing right now because everytime The Price Is Right comes on she always talks about obesity in America. "Look at how fat all these people are," she says. You really can't help but chuckle.

The Battle Continues...

We wish we had better news to report today, but the battle with the bladder infection continues. Mz. Virginia is slowly feeling better however; this particular antibiotic works well against such infections, but is known to have very unpleasant side effects for the patient, like extreme fatigue and weakness. Mz. Virginia says she is surely thankful for her walker, which is always a great help and comfort to her.

We hope to have more pleasant things to share with you as the days go on, and we hope also to get back to reading Marley & Me by John Grogan...the perfect story for a woman who not only devoured every book she could get her hands on but who also has always had a great love for animals.

Welcome

We created this blog to keep everyone updated on Mz Virginia. Today she is not feeling too well. She's fighting a bladder infection, but is on the mend. When the weather warms up we are planning an outing to the hair and nail salon.

We plan on making regular weekday posts here so stay tuned...