38th Anniversary Week

 It's hard to believe that it's been 38 years since Mark and I got married. 3rd August 1985, Bury St. Edmunds Registry Office, with my best friend, Olga, and our friend, Daniel Beddow ("Filo"), as our best people, and a group of our friends in attendance. My mate Trudy hosted our reception at her bungalow in Beck Row. 4 days later, on the 7th, he flew back to the  States and I stayed in England and began the fun process of getting a visa for me and my kids to come over.

So, our celebrations started on Tuesday, and we treated ourselves to an indulgent lunch at Volcano Korean Barbecue and Hot Pot on Woodruff Road. I LOVE that place but it's a "special only" place for us as it's really a bit more than we like to spend.

Wednesday, we had a beautiful ride out to Dillsboro NC and the Best Western River Escape Inn, and I fell in love from the get go. A portent of things to come, just as we pulled into the parking lot, one of the diesels from the GSMR came through on the line at the front of the hotel. I was thrilled!

Marissa, the receptionist was awesome. Unfortunately the handicapped access seat in the pool had needed a new battery, and when it came, it did not fit.  She apologised profusely. They'd called around other hotels to try to get one, but hadn't been able to find one so they gave us a discount to make up for the inconvenience. Excellent customer service (unlike my last Holiday Inn stay that was messed up from start to finish, and it was like "oh well, tough").

Our room had a balcony overlooking the river, and we set my elliptical bike out there, so that I could pedal and read whilst listening to the flow of the water rushing over the rocks. It was absolutely beautiful, perfect for me in every way.

We drove through to Bryson City to check the drive time, and pick up our tickets for Thursday's steam train ride on the Great  Smoky Mountains Railroad. We had dinner at the Box Car Cafe - hubby had a club sandwich (and they didn't skimp on the fillings at all!) and I had an awesome Chef Salad, and - because I'm weird and like them together - fries with no salt. Excellent food at a decent price.

Thursday, we drove to Bryson City and took our steam train ride on the Nantahala Gorge excursion. Everyone was so helpful, and the conductor Charlie got me loaded with this narrow wheelchair that they use to seat passengers like me (the aisles are too small for my walker or ridearound). He was cheerful and friendly and did a great job manouvering me through one carriage to get to the next one where our assigned seating was.

The trip was absolutely smashing, the countryside was amazing, and I loved going alongside the river and across Lake Fontaine on a trestle bridge. Our carriage steward, a lovely young man named Chavez, was excellent. He not only kept everyone topped up with snacks and soft drinks, but gave us a commentary every now and then on the history of the railroad, the train itself, and local areas of interest.

During the ride, a wandering minstrel came through the carriage, singing Country and Western songs as he accompanied himself on a guitar. He had a very nice voice. I believe his name was Tommy.

A photographer was on board for those who wanted to have a pictorial memento of the trip, to go with our souvenir lidded cups.

After our ride ended we headed into the museum and gift shop to check out the layouts, and we picked up a nice souvenir knife for Mark, engraved with his name.

For dinner, we asked Chavez for a recommendation for a Chinese restaurant, and he told us that Iron Wok was the best in Bryson City. We called ahead and grabbed take-out to take back to the hotel. Hubby had the Honey Coconut Chicken with fried rice, and I had Mongolian Beef with steamed rice. I loved the delicate flavour of the Mongolian Beef, and hubby thoroughly enjoyed his as well. The portion sizes were good so we froze leftovers in the top of the hotel fridge and brought them home with us yesterday!

We thoroughly enjoyed our mini-vacation, and will definitely be heading back again as soon as we can. We want to take the train excursion the other way, next time, and we will definitely be trying to get the same room again at the Best Western!

 

My Benefits From Alternate Therapies

I am an oddity, and I know this. There are over the counter meds that I cannot use because my body reacts badly to them, and 2 drugs that I do take, that other people have serious issues with (because they are nasty drugs with evil side effects) that I have - thus far - been able to utilize to help my medical conditions.

For years though, my main self-care has been through natural means wherever possible. I cannot have surgeries, having had complications from 15 minute ones when I was young and healthy, and was warned then "you are the sort who dies on the operating table, unless it is a matter of life or death, you should never have another surgery". I listened!

I learned about the interactions of the foods that I eat with the drugs that I am on, with each other, and with my body. That has enabled me to stay somewhat stable in the areas of my blood pressure and A-Fib. Finding out that cherry juice is a natural anti-inflammatory has helped me have less pain from my arthritis, although when there is any severe storm coming in, my bones are the first to let me know, followed by my blood pressure, as soon as the bariometrics start to change. The reasoning is explained here. 

Likewise, I have used a blend of essential oils for pain relief when needed, and was surprised the other day to realise that I had not had to use any in a while! For this, I am very thankful! God is good! 

My mobility has been an issue for many years now, due to both of my hips and both of my knees all needing replacing since 2006 - which is obviously not going to happen since these would require surgeries. Since they are not life-threatening, but simply life-affecting, that is not an option.

Over the years, I have had excellent chiropractic care, which has enabled me to maintain the mobility that I do have, and even improve it somewhat. My go-to-chiropractor at the moment is Dr Cody at 100% Chiropractic in Magnolia Park in Greenville. I love his office, I go weekly and it's like visiting family;  he and his staff are absolutely brilliant. 

One of my other long term self-care treatments has been massage and reflexology, and for the past few years, my go-to-therapist has been Roger at Studio Rejuvenate in Greer. He has worked with me through many issues including back pain, and our current focus has been the lymph drainage which began affecting my legs a couple of years ago. My monthly visits now include a lymph drainage massage and a foot reflexology session, and I come out after my visit feeling relaxed, my legs are not aching and my feet feel AWESOME!

I cannot say enough about Dr Cody and his team, or Roger and the others at Studio Rejuvenate. I recommend people all the time. Make sure to tell them Rose sent you, that way they know how much I appreciate them! And I do! Between the both of them, and their natural healing processes, I am pain-free probably 95% of the time now, and managing my BP and A-Fib much better than before.

I advise anyone with health issues to learn everything you can about them, and then look into any drugs that you are taking for those issues, check for any interactions, and also for food interactions with those drugs AND - big AND this - take note of how YOUR BODY reacts to the foods that you eat.

Final note on Prescription Drugs ... many are not supposed to be taken together, some need gaps of 204 hours between them and another drug, also some need to be taken with food whereas others are to be taken on an empty stomach. Nobody tells us how much these things affect our bodies, it is up to us to find out for ourselves and learn how to make choices for our bodies that help them heal and stay healthier.

#essentialoils #arthritis #alternatetherapies #massagetherapy #studiorejuvenate #100%chiropracticmagnoliapark #DrCody #reflexology #chiropracticcare #footmassage #selfhealing

Small Steps to Success, and Other Stuff

 Well, life has been hectic of late, albeit in a somewhat slow sense. Let's face it, everything I do now is slow ... fast is not in my vocabulary any more. But that's ok, I plod along and do my best, in dribs and drabs, and measure my achievements, no matter how small.

Brunel's new training class got underway this past weekend. The whole goal of the intermediate one is to get them focused on you when there are multiple distractions around. This is one of our problems, and Brunel (although now a year old) is still a very large and playful puppy. Working with him at home, he responds well to all my commands, but as soon as there's a distraction - off he goes doing his own thing. We are also having to keep working on the "no jumping up on people" as he gets so excited and loves everybody, but (me, particularly being scared of dogs so I understand others may be also) I do not want him doing that, I want him remaining calm when other people are around, and so that training is also continuing.

Having a puppy in the house, particularly a large one that can reach up to get things, meant that my model making took a hiatus, with his crate blocking access to my work table. Finally, yesterday, I took some time to get back to it, and completed the fire station. I'll be packing up the rest of my supplies and kits though, as I am trying to declutter and empty the kitchen, in preparation for remodelling in a couple of months time. As said previously, my only speed now is slow, so I am trying to do something every day, and it IS noticeable. The 2 racks of wire shelving that I've used for pots, pans, storage containers and other kitchen necessities, once emptied, will be going out to hubby's shed for his goodies to be stacked on, as when we redo the kitchen there will be lower level cabinets in their place. Goodwill and Miracle Hill love me, as the more I clear out, the ore donations they get!

With my AVON business sadly slowing down (Covid and the economy have done a number on it for me, and I probably earn less than half what I did 2 years ago, now) I have been contemplating going into publishing as a business. I am currently looking at a program however all the editing is done in Canva and I seem to be having difficulty figuring it out. Yesterday, my grandson published a journal and dream log, and in speaking with him, he used Canva to edit it and said he'll walk me through it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I have a poem "The Storybook Witch" which I have long wanted to publish for my great-grandchildren (and others) as a picture book, but have had problems finding someone to illustrate it for me. Although that isn't going to be the focus of the first book that I want to publish, I intend using that poem in it. I am thinking, a double page spread with an illustration on one side and the poem on the other, and then 2 double page spreads of colouring pages with things pertaining to each poem. I am going through my poetry to find al my children's poems, so that this would be a poetry/colouring book. My friend, Steph, had offered to help me learn Canva, over the phone, but now that Dylan has used it for his editing and can actually sit with me and show me, I think I may finally be able to learn it. We shall see.

Hubby finally received a 20% disability rating from the VA for his diabetes, since chemicals he used in the military to clean off other stuff (and some has been banned in the decades since) have been found to be a cause. Had we known this, he could have claimed when he was first diagnosed 10-12 years ago. Well, you live and learn. Likewise, the same chemicals are now known to be carcinogenic, and so they acknowledge his CLL, but he has a zero rating on that while he is just in the "watch and wait" stage ... but if he ends up needing treatment, that will go to 100%. 

He has an upcoming appointment with our regular doctor next week, and will be discussing his Long Covid with her. The heatwave we are in, right now, is causing him a lot of difficulty with his breathing, and - although his cancer doc said his breathing/lungs are good - he says it fees like someone has whacked him in the chest, and hurts like when he had the pneumonia during his Covid bout. Talking with a workmate, who also had a bad case of Covid, and was hospitalized for weeks like Mark was, they apparently both share this symptom, along with the brain fog/forgetfulness and the lack of energy constantly. I hate seeing him suffer, and next May cannot come quick enough, in a way, so that he can retire and allow his body to dictate what it can and will do, rather than a work schedule deciding that. I don't want him dropping dead from his body being physically and mentally exhausted.

Tonight, my granddaughter has offered to come over with a friend, and concrete me a pathway from the house across to the driveway, so that I have a level surface for my walker as recently it has become much more difficult for me to get across.

Having finally completed fire station model that I began a year ago, tomorrow I will be packing up my other model kits and all the accessories (glue, scissors, paints etc) so that We can take the fold up table out ready for our kitchen redo. Slowly but surely, I am getting stuff done.

All in all, I am quite satisfied with the way I am decluttering and packing, and am actually quite pleased with myself. God is good and is def helping me do this because I'm staying pain-free and without that, I'd never be able to do this.

Another Busy, Very Good Day

 It feels like a Saturday, but is actually a Friday;  the sun is out and it is HOT out there!

The great-grandpuppy, Rover, went home today, so - since the great- grandkids are out of school - we met up at Pizza Inn for lunch (and I did have more than I should, unfortunately, but I guess everyone's entitled to splurge sometimes) and then came home to pack all his things up and for him to leave with his mama and human siblings.

We treated Daniel and Sami, each, to a tin with Pokemon cards in since they are both Pokemon fans. It was nice seeing them, and making them happy.

After they had all left, we were watching tv and I dozed off, but then awoke with some mojo, so I cleared the one chest of drawers in the bedroom, that I've been wanting to for MONTHS, emptied the drawers, decided what was "to keep" and what would also be getting donated to Goodwill, and have a huge bag of various linens for them, along with the chest.

Brunel missed Rover as soon as he had left, so we let him snuggle with us for some loving, he has such beautiful eyes, and went nose to nose with me on the pillow.

My new walker arrived yesterday, and hubby has it  put together for me, so now I will be able to leave one in my car all the while again. The other will be the "house" one, but will also end up being the one that goes with me when I'm with Mark, in the truck.

In the night, I got a text from paypal giving me a code to access my account. Well, I'd been asleep, so it was obviously not me trying to get into my account, so I got on the computer and put all my accounts to 2-step verification, just in case some hacker was trying to mess with my banking. I don't need the hassles of trying to change accounts and cards again, we had to do that a few years ago, and it was a pain!

We took the drawers and linens to  Goodwill and had a look around Miracle Hill. As much as I am decluttering, I am also browsing now for stuff for my "new" bathroom later this year. I have one accessory so far, a pink washbasin and jug made for me many years ago, by a friend who did ceramics, in  Sembach, Germany. Now that I've decided on the colour scheme (palest pink walls, white paintwork and porcelain, and a light grey cabinet) I need other accessories that will fit in with it all. I didn't find any accessories but did find another walker, for $20, so I now have the 3 - 1 for each vehicle and one for the house. 

Yes, it has been a good day!

Unexpected Money - Oh how easily I spent it!

Yesterday gave us a pleasant surprise, some extra money in the bank account as my husband's disability through the VA was approved for his service-related issues from dealing with bad chemicals in the late 80s that are now banned, but were used back then to "clean" everything - including arms and hands!

I am a cheapskate. I batch cook and divvy stuff out to make it go farther, I use up leftovers, and I am a queen of B1G1Fs and store loyalty cards, but yesterday and today I blew money like it was going out of style ... and now our bank account is depleted once again.

As much as I hate spending money, it seems I do it soooo well. 

I paid ahead on utilities (the bills for this month were already paid;

made hubby's truck payment (ahead on that too now until the end of August because I pay something every week to keep it ahead);

bought an ink cartridge for the printer, 2 dog beds and treats (now that we have our great grand puppy, Kassel's, old crate for Brunel, he needed a new bed for it and we are using his old one for when Rover comes to stay, so we needed a bed for that too. It means that we don't have to bring his crate with him every time, making it easier on my granddaughter, and us);

a new fob for Mark's truck as the current one is sometimes not wanting to lock/unlock doors or start the vehicle and yet other times does ok;  

2 tires for my car and had them check the sensor issue;

another rollator walker for me as I'm down to one and it was handy just leaving one in each vehicle and having one in the house, 

and despite feeling bad that I blew so much, I think I did well and it was mainly things I've been needing and haven't been able to juggle the paycheck to afford.

While we were at Lowe's getting the 2 screen doors (which hubby is putting on as I type this) we looked at things for our bathroom and kitchen remodelling that's going to be happening later this year and early next.  I found a nice grey bathroom cabinet that will look nice in the grey/pink/white colour scheme that I'm planning. 

I'm a white porcelain, white paintwork/trim kind of girl so the sink will be white and I'm thinking a grey marble look top. Walls will be pale pink, and I have a pink ceramic jug and washbowl that a friend made for me in Sembach, many many moons ago, that will have pride of place. The toilet we have is still great, so we'll reuse it, and when it's disconnected I will scrub it all nicely so's it looks as good as new.

I am having issues trying to find a plain walk in tub that's just a seated bath basically, no jets or anything because I am freaky about electric and water, and even though  I KNOW the wiring isn't near the water, with my BP and heart issues, I can't deal with trying to not think about it. I want my tub to be a relaxing experience, not a stressful one, saith she.

My kitchen planning is going well, in that I've made some decisions on what I want, and utilizing what is already there. We have a red-brick wall at one end of the kitchen that goes 2/3 up the wall and has a mantel shelf on it, and then the 1/3 above is just blank. We are going to leave the brickwork as is, and add decorative tile above it.

At the opposite end where my stove is, we will mimic that end by surrounding the stove with fake red-brick veneer over plyboard and above it, thus hiding the hood behind what looks like real brickwork. We'll match the tiling to the same decorative tile used on the far wall.

I've picked my stove, and - for someone who doesn't like spending money - it is expensive but a lot cheaper than my first choice (by about $18,000!). I've rediscovered a love of cooking and also, this being freestanding means my feet can fit under it while I am sitting and cooking ... trying to cook sideways these past few years has been very painful, but I had to do what I had to do.

I am feeling quite accomplished in having used the money wisely, and in getting a few more ideas kind of set in concrete for what I want. There's still lots of planning to do, and am thinking the bathroom project will be the first as it is smaller and should be able to be completed in less time, maybe a week or two, between the reflooring, ripping out the wall, rearranging the fittings and such.

So, that's been life in the Dempsey household the last couple of days.  Plus, I filled out 2 surveys, 1 each from NTB and Lowe's, to give kudos to all the people who helped us today. Theyd esreved a pat on the back.

Have a great day everyone!

#whoisrosedempsey 

Oh what a lovely time we had in Helen!

This year, for my birthday, we took a day trip to Helen, GA, and 2 of our grandkids met us there for the day.  I managed to persuade them to have their picture taken ... don't they look good?

We had an awesome lunch at the Troll Tavern, we sat outside right by the river so I could listen to it bubbling over the rocks, and watch it just rolling along.  Waterways like that calm me and are an added health bonus for me, with my high blood pressure.  A natural remedy! The food was excellent, hubby and Dylan both had a Reuben, Nicolette had fish and chips (the fish was the length of the plate, and some!) and I had a Chef Salad without some of the usual components, so as to keep within my sodium limits. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal and plan on eating there the next time we are in Helen.

I'd wanted to watch the 3 of them tubing, but - unfortunately - the places that did tubing didn't open for the season until the next day, so that idea went down in flames.

Next choice was for them to go ziplining ... but we got there too late.  It was 4pm but they said they weren't doing any more tours that day. It's on the "to do list" for the next time there.

Third choice was a treat, they went on the Georgia Mountain Coaster and had a blast.  Their only complaint was that they wished it had been longer.

We did a nice little walkabout (with me on my trusty electric mobility scooter) and hit up 2 of my other  favourite places there. 

One is the Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchen and it seems I'm not the only one who loves that place! Here's a video from another chocolate lover from her visit to the candy kitchen. We made our own assortment of truffles ... raspberry, orange, lemon, mint ... and I treated myself to a red candy apple.  It's been a long time since I'd had one of those and I savoured every mouthful.

The second is Betty's Country Store, where I always pick up my German pickled cabbage with apples, and this time, a jar of German pickled carrots, since I love that too! It's the only grocery store in Helen, so is perfect for those who are camping, or staying in a cabin, and wanting to prepare their own food and have staples on hand to make sandwiches or cereal for the kids.

We love Helen, it's one of my "peaceful places". Just sit me by he water and I am happy.  When we've stayed before, we have picked hotels with balconies overlooking the water and I've taken my elliptical cycle with me, and had hubby set it up on the balcony so I can pedal while listening to, and watching the water, and the people tubing on it.

I'd definitely recommend it as a place to go.  There are a lot of fun things to do for families, including a water park and putt putt golf.

My one word of warning would be the sloping streets - if you have mobility issues and use a stick or a walker, some places will be difficult to get to. I tried to walk it before, and it was too much, hence the mobility scooter this time.

#ontheroadwithroseandmark #whoisrosedempsey #HelenGA #visitingHelen #daytrip #familyfun #asliceofGermany #tubing #ziplining #handmadechocolates #GeorgiaMountainCoaster #theTrollTavern #beautifuldayout #childfriendly

April, 30 Minutes A Day Reading Challenge for St Jude's

I read.  More than that, I love to read. I learned early, and became a bookworm as soon as I had mastered the art. My childhood was riddled with The Secret Garden, The Narnia Chronicles, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Lorna Doone, and all the Dickens volumes ... and, back in those days there were no paraphrases.  I was 7 or 8 and reading original unabridged versions ... if I didn't understand a word, that was what a dictionary was for.

I now read when I'm pedalling my elliptical bike, or the Intellistride machine at the gym.  I get lost in the story and time just flies by.

This past week, I finished another Kristin Hannah book, Magic Hour.  I honestly think this is my favourite of hers, although I've enjoyed all of the ones I've delved into so far. I also finished another Thomas Perry, The Burglar, and that kept me on my toes, as always, trying to feel where he was taking me and not wanting to cheat and check out the end to see if my ideas were correct.

They are 2 authors that I have been binge reading the past few weeks, 2 totally different genres and styles of writing, and yet both weave tales that I find myself caught up in and unwilling to put their stories down.

I am still needing sponsors for the St Jude's challenge.  Even if you could only spare $1, if I had 100 people simply donate $1 that would give me $100 towards my goal.  It's such a worthy cause, they do so much and there's never  a charge for patient care ... something that many of the parents would not be able to afford anywhere else.

Please share my blog post and share the challenge website (on Facebook )for me, donate if you can, it truly is a worthwhile cause.

Thanks for reading!