Restaurant Review: Our Place

Once a week Ray and I will look for some place we have never been to before and eat dinner. I had asked to go to another restaurant but  by the time i could remember the name we had already passed by it and were in the middle of a construction zone on the highway.

He had seen this place and got off the highway and did a u-turn under the highway to the access road on the other side.

At first I thought he was pulling into Zongos...at least I think that was the name of it...he drove around the parking lot and pulled into "Our Place". Located in North Richland Hills, Texas off of Highway NE Loop 820.

Okay cute name, if I was to create a diner I would call it that.

Parking lot was clean and handicap areas were fully accessible.

As we opened the double doors were were greeted by two things at once...the aroma of home cooked foods and a very friendly staff member (I think it was one of the cooks) who was sitting on a stool just inside the doors by the counter with a very Texas hospitality hello..."Howdy, how are you all this evening?" My husband and the gentleman bantered back and forth for a few moments while our hostess gathered up menus and showed us to a table. Once she noticed I was on forearm crutches she made sure we didn't have to walk very far to a table.

The restaurant was very clean and well kept. There were diner style signs and Texas style stars embellished on a few walls but not overpowering in it's design. Very tastefully done. The almost natural wooden beams, tables, chairs, and ceiling were clean and neat, as was the ceiling. The restrooms were also very clean and well kept.

We were seated and she immediately asked us what we would like to drink...we asked her if she had any Lemonade, she said they were out...not a bad sign but not entirely a good one either. To give them credit it was after 7 PM at night on a Saturday and she said they had just run out of it. Which to me means that it's a high selling item on their menu and people like it. They had a good selection of drinks to offer. She told us she would brew us a fresh pot of coffee...using a Bunn coffee maker...ours at home brews a fresh pot in 2 minutes 30 seconds. Ice waters, coffee and a very large chocolate milk for my son were brought to the table within 3 minutes.

The staff was very friendly and very courteous. I would remark though that the dark blue t-shirts are not a good idea for a wait staff choice in a diner environment. They may want to rethink their color choices for staff wear. Dark colors tend to show more stains quickly than a medium color. Maybe a country style apron with their logo on it as well.

We ordered our meals and were quickly brought a bread basket filled with homemade dinner rolls, cornbread muffins and 3 small containers of sweet honey butter.

The bread was warm and the real butter was a delightful creamy consistency with a slight taste of honey. The corn bread was just a little dry, a side of honey would go nicely with it. Keep in mind folks it was late in the evening and they may have been fresh but sitting in a toaster oven. No where did I see a heat lamp.

Our salads arrived with our dressings in small containers on the same plate. The greens were fresh and crisp, the tomatoes had a good firmness to them and the dressing was light and tasty.

My husband had ordered one of their two soups available...Creamy Potato Soup. It had a nice creaminess to it and a strong hint of cheese and bits of what I am fairly certain was chicken.

Our meals arrived about 5 minutes later on large oval ceramic plates. I had ordered Chopped Steak with a baked sweet potato and cucumber salad. Ray had ordered Fried Breaded Catfish with cucumber salad and pinto beans. Our son had ordered the Blackened Catfish with cucumber salad and corn.

The Chopped steak was exactly how I asked for it to be cooked, it was at least half an inch thick, slightly rare with just the right amount of pink in the middle. It was covered in butter seared large white onion pieces. There was no gravy for the chopped steak.

The cucumber salad was nicely chilled and a hearty mix of quartered slices of cucumbers, tomatoes and purple onions with good mixture of vinegar and oil.

The baked sweet potato was not hot but warm, the butter had a hard time melting in it. It was cooked all the way through but I am assuming that it was reheated possibly in a toaster oven. It did not have the rubbery taste of a potato reheated in a microwave. It was not over burdened with cinnamon like most restaurants tend to do.

The fried breaded catfish pretty much tasted the way most breaded fried catfish tastes. Maybe by adding just a bit more seasoning into the cornbread mix will help with that.

The pinto beans were cooked all the way through  and tasted as they should.

The blackened catfish my son had ordered was light and tastefully seasoned, it practically melted in my mouth. The corn on the other hand was canned and boiled. Maybe buying frozen and steaming it would be a better suit for this dish.

The coffee was a bit weak for us but I am sure a normal coffee for most. I tend to drink mine a bit stronger than most people.

The tables, chairs, cups, plates, and flatware were all clean and in good condition.

For 2 adults and 1 child (who ordered an adult meal) the price was around $40.00 for all three of us. All around not a bad price at all.

The food was very filling I ended up taking half of my meal home.

On a scale of 1 to 10...10 being the highest I give "Our Place" a 7. We will be returning again to sample their breakfast and lunch menus.

Our Place: 

7630 NE Loop 820

 · North Richland Hills

 · (817) 485-5454

Just inside the front doors

The Menu

Chopped Steak, Baked Sweet Potato and Cucumber Salad

Fried Breaded Catfish, Hush Puppies, Cucumber Salad, and Pinto Beans

Blackened Catfish, Hush Puppies, Cucumber Salad, and Corn

Sweet Whipped Butter With Honey

Our Place To Go Box

So that's tonight's blog. Thanks for stopping by...

See you next time for more coffee & conversation!

Feels Like Summer & Is anybody there?

Last night I made one of the best gravy's I have ever made! I'm serious! It was so good I wanted to sit and eat with a spoon!


I had purchased some Johnsonville Brats and put them in a frying pan with about 2 cups of water...I put the heat on of about 5 (electric stove) I let them cook til almost all the water was gone, then added another 2 cups of water, slowly and carefully so the water and grease from the sausages didn't splatter up on me. I cooked sweet peas with honey, and 3 flavored noodles with homemade chicken sauce and some seasonings. I then took 2 table spoons of butter and melted them in the microwave, and then added 2 tablespoons of flour to the butter and then added that to the rue in the frying pan with all the bits and pieces from the cooked sausage that stuck to the pan. Added about 4 to 5 shakes of salt to it and tasted it...oh my! wow! That's good! Dinner was wonderful!


I took the left over gravy and added it to brown rice tonight and boiled some left over chicken pieces in chicken stock. Cut the chicken into small bite size pieces, made a chicken gravy with the now very hot chicken stock. Dinner was good.


After dinner we decided to watch a movie instead of having a game night. We watched Jacob The Liar with Robin Williams. A good movie. It's sad and sometimes a little funny, and always heartbreaking. I always cry at the end of it.


I took that cute little juicer of mine today and cut up 6 lemons and juiced them with it. It kept popping the circuit breaker for the kitchen. I have those outlets with the little button that you can just push to reset it. I had to do that 4 times. I think it was because i had the coffee pot on at the same time. The lemons plus water, plus sugar made a gallon of lemonade! Yummy! It went perfect with the very unseasonably warm weather we had today. It felt like summer. It was 80 outside at the tail end of February. Not complaining, I enjoyed the nice day.


Ray came home early from work, he wanted to go ride his bike. I loved being able to do that with him. My back doesn't let me anymore. I never understood the attraction of it before until I got to ride with him. He drove carefully but freely. It was exhilarating, electrical and slightly sexual.


Still cannot get my Photoshop to open in Linux, it's one of those times I truly miss using a Windows machine. So what does Ray do, he has put this really shitty old version from 1995 on here. God how I hate being patronized! He hates Windows so I have to suffer for it, because I ended up getting viruses on my computer, so now he has this "I know more am better than you attitude" I love him dearly but hate that about him.


I asked the question on Facebook..."I guess people now a days would rather read a few words on a cute or outrageous picture posted on Facebook then read a blog...am I wasting my time writing my daily blog and posting the link here? I only have 9 followers and no one ever leaves a comment...I must really suck at it!"
Half the people responded said they didn't know I had a blog, even though I post the link nightly...that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Most people would rather read a picture with 3 or 4 words on it then read a blog, news article or God forbid a real book! Sad state of affairs. Makes you wonder about the state of books and their future in our Facebook and Twitter society where games and pictures rule. 


To me a comment here is a statement saying..."hey I know how you feel, or wow I had that happen to me to, here's how I solved that problem, or wow that sounds like fun think i'll try it, or that recipe sounds delicious" 
Just a line ot two to say hey we're here!
it's a matter of feeling that I matter to someone and that I am not all alone out here in the universe just talking to myself. 


So now I have to ask the question...


Is anybody listening?


See you next time for more coffee & conversation.

Juice, Anger Issues, & God

Ray bought me this really cute little electric juicer so I can make homemade lemonade. Why am I making homemade lemonade? Because he read on the internet that it supposed to help with kidney stones. I like lemonade, but I have been craving sweet orange juice for almost 2 weeks now. No I am NOT pregnant! I just like orange juice.

Some day when I am rich...hahaha yeah like that's ever gonna happen...I'm gonna be poor and called trailer trash for the rest of my life! Anyway someday when I am rich I will not have to worry about my freezing feet, my aching back, and little juicer machines...I'll order my groceries online and pay the delivery guy and extra twenty or 30 bucks for having to bring them to me.

I'm in a bitchy mood tonight...it has taken me weeks and some temper tantrums before finally bitching enough outloud for Ray to have to explain some techincal things to me about udp, wlan, lan, and thcp...ugh. But finally got one of my tricky programs to work, was excited, when it finished what it was doing I went in search of the program it was doing, when I realized I had accidentally deleted it into cyberspace oblivien never to be seen or heard from again! Oh how I wanted to scream! So here I was sitting right here in front of my laptop swearing every few seconds trying not to be loud enough to wake my son but loud enough to make me more angry by the passing seconds, and to get Ray's help again! Once again Ray came to my rescue! I am so glad I married a genius! I know some tech stuff and can help friends view chat clear their browser chat and some other stuff, but when it comes to the hard core stuff, he's my "computer geek guru"! Now I have to remember to not delete the program I want before testing it!

Oh the juicer...wanna see it...I think it's a cute little thing.

After posting last nights blog...I had someone comment on how much of a bitch that I am. Of course I hadn't read it last night because i had gone to bed, it was just after midnight when I finished writing it. She didn't like the way I had stated my opinion on Julie Powell. I may not be eloquent with my stole or prose but I am honest. I will not make things up to get attention, money or fame like she did. It's just a fact, not a statement, she even says so in the first page of her book that she "just made stuff up" on some parts of her book.

I think my reader set my mood for the entire day. I was upset that someone thought that of me. Me, who takes in stray pups, feeds the neighborhood kids, has them over to play board games or video games, lends food or money to friends that need it more than me (if I have it to give at the time), I am the first person to write to a friend on line on Facebook and ask them if they are okay if they post something that makes me think they need to talk....I am not a mean person by any stretch...to call me a bitch and tell me that they will never read another word I write, well that hurts and it just set my mood for bad attitude for most of the day.

I am doing my best to not take it out on Ray...he is way to good to me! He puts up with so much from me...no seriously he does...I was told by a relative..."you complain to much about your pain". I was stunned to say the least. So I asked Ray..."Do I whine, moan, and complain to much about being in pain to you"? he said sometimes. I thought "well hell ain't that i fine how do you do"! Here I am with rods and screws in my spine, and a failed spinal fusion, permanent nerve damage in both legs and feet, constantly pain in my lower back, butt, legs, and feet, when my feet get cold it hurts like hell from the nerve damage, I can't walk without crutches because I cannot feel most of my left foot and I complain to much? I felt like I had been kicked in the rods and screws. So since then I have decided to just try not to say anything at all...well that didn't work...because now I have been accused of "faking it". I just cannot win. I asked him this morning..."Don't you get tired of having to help me all the time"? He said "no, never". Made me smile and made my heart hurt a little. He misses the old me, the one that could play and rough house with him, the one that could dance up a two step streak with him. I don't blame him...I miss me too.

I keep wondering if life will ever get any easier for us. God I sure hope so! So God if your up there listening...we could use a little help down here...we need a miracle!

I always watch these shows where the poor guy has someone rich help him out, buys him a new house car, clothes, gives him an awesome job, sets him up for the rest of his life, or the lady who finds a dollar bill and wins a nice lottery and even after paying the taxes on the amount won she has enough to get a complete new makeover and starts her love anew, the guy who adds a paypal donate button to his web site and all of the sudden has twenty thousand hits to his page and people are sending him him 20 dollars a hit or the couple who won the lottery not once, not twice, but three times! Sigh...I just don't have that kind of luck. Please God even if it's a tiny miracle...we need you!

Well that's it for tonight, I'm to tired to fight any more this day, so until next time, see you next time for more coffee & conversation!

Potato Soup, Potato Chips, Julie Powell and Practical Jokes

Once a month I love to make a homemade soup of of some kind, this month I made two. A few days ago I looked into the fridge and saw a good deal of salt ham left over...i didn't want it to go to waste. I started scrounging around in my cabinets trying to figure out what to make with it. Yams? Canned Peas? Black Eyed peas? None sounded appetizing at all. I have a whole bottom shelf in one cabinet with nothing but dried beans. I have several packets of black beans, black eyes peas, 15 bean soup mix, and there is was in the very back...1 lonely package of split peas! Yes what goes better with salt ham in a soup then split peas! My dad would be proud! As a kid I hated peas, I mean literally abhorred them! I would hide them, spit them out, refuse to eat them, try to give them to the dog...anything to not eat them at all. While one of my older sisters would sit down with an opened can of them and spoon feed herself the entire can!

I cut the ham up in chunks and had made a lovely split pea soup. It was decidedly delicious to all three of us. I even mentioned it on my Facebook page and tagged my younger brother in it hoping he would show it to my father. Haven't heard about it yet so I guess not...lol.

Yesterday I set about making Julia Child's Potage Parmentier Potato...in English Potato Leek Soup. After gathering most of the ingredients needed, to my horror I realized I had no Leeks. I had to ask Ray exactly what the difference between Leeks and Green Onions were. So I decided to modify it and make it my own.

Potato Masher
Slotted Spoon
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
8 Qt Cooking Pot with Lid

10 Large Baking Potatoes
8 Cups water
2 Sticks REAL Butter
1/2 Cup Minced Onions ( I chopped mine very fine...I used Yellow Onion)
1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
1/4 Minced Chives (once again very finely chopped)
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper


Scrub and wash the potatoes, leave the skin on the potatoes. Make sure they have no buds on them. Cut into 1/2 thick slices, then cut into chunks.

Add 10 cups room temp or cold water to your pot.

Add potatoes and turn heat up to high to bring water and potatoes to a boil. Once they begin to boil let them boil at high for about 5 minutes, then turn heat down to medium while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut butter into 1 teaspoon chunks (unwrap butter and lay wrapper face up under the butter on cutting board and just follow the markings on the wrapper for measuring your cuts)

Mince your onion into very fine pieces and set aside

Mince you chives into very fine pieces and set aside

Once your potatoes have boiled enough to feel soft enough to squish between thumb and fingers (please let the piece cool down before doing this! You will burn your fingers if you don't!) start using a potato masher to mash them into the water they were boiled in. Try not to make it too soupy, leave some chunks.

Measure out your cream and milk. Add Cream, Milk, and Butter to your potato mixture. use a slotted spoon for this. It keeps you from breaking any chunks into fine pieces. Once mixed in add your Salt, Pepper, Onions and Chives. You may add more or less Salt & Pepper, use to your liking. Stirring slowly to mix everything together.

Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes to absorb all the ingredients.

While the soup is simmering you can make easy crescents, or dinner rolls in a toaster oven to go with the soup.

Serve hot! My version makes about 15 cups maybe less maybe more. I always make a large pot of it. It makes a great meal in the middle of winter.

*******************************************************************

I finally went and bought the book Julie & Julia....I am about halfway done with it after 2 days. What do I think of the book? I think "in my opinion" that Julie Powell has a dirty mouth, she is selfish, self centered, arrogant, rude, childish, greedy, insensitive...all she talks about in the book for the most part is how she hates Republicans, drinking, sex, drinking, her friends, sex, drinking, cooking, drinking, her problems being married, her cats, drinking, sex, and how much the relatives of the September 11th attacks are whiners. That about covers it so far...not so sure I want to finish the book. "In my opinion" if I were a person who lost someone on that horrible day in September, I would find Julie and slap her for her insensitive remarks about the survivors. 

I have been doing some research on Julie since seeing the movie and now reading the book...apparently she is nothing like the sweet character portrayed in the movie by Amy Adams. She decided after her J&J Project that made her famous to cheat on her husband, become a butcher, become a writer, wrote another book about cheating on her husband and becoming a butcher, then quitting being a butcher. She now self proclaims herself as a pajama writer. A person who stays home and writes while wearing pajamas. Her poor mistreated husband stayed with her. I am not sure if I think him brave or just plain pity him. What do I mean by mistreated? In her J&J book she writes how he is sick and throwing up and how she has to go to the grocer to get the items she needs for that nights dinner from the cookbook and swears and yells at him for not helping her while he is in bed sick as hell. She whines about everything, including her friends, her family, her job, her cooking, republicans, people on the subways, people at her job....ugh. Not sure I want to finish this book at all. To think I just gave her more money to write more crap like that by buying her book! I had an "OMG I'm an idiot" moment the second I bought that book. 

 *******************************************************************

This morning I was feeling a bit better than I have in weeks. I was cuddling with Ray on the couch this morning. He wasn't feeling to well. He called in sick...we went back to bed for another 2 hours. I took him to IHOP for breakfast...well he took me I can't drive because of my spine and legs. He was expecting to pay...apparently the bank screwed up his card...glad I had cash in my purse! We came back home and spent the day pretty much just lounging around the house.

I tried making homemade potato chips today. I am getting good at slicing potatoes thin. :). I used corn oil in a frying pan...not to bright...it's the old way...my house was filled with smoke about an hour later. I think in part because I couldn't stand up all that time, I had to keep sitting down to rest my back and legs. The chips came out okay, some where to soft while others were over fried. Will try again soon, but next time will bake them!

*******************************************************************

Ray went to the store tonight to get bread so our son can have sandwiches for his school lunches this week. I didn't make another fresh loaf from scratch today like I said I was going to. When he came back he handed me an electric fruit juicer (for lemons, oranges and the likes). I was tickled. He also handed me a bag full of lemons. I was going about trying it out for the first time. I LOVE it! I have a hand one that works just as good but this one is electric and is better. lol. I went to add sugar to my now fresh squeezed glass of lemonade...the sugar was having a hard time coming out...I held up the pouring container and looked inside the side of it (it's a clear plastic container with a spout lid like in restaurants) I thought "wow, that's a big sugar chunk". I moved the container around a bit, looked again, then realized my husband had played a practical joke on me...when I was not in the kitchen at some point this week, he had placed a giant marshmallow in the sugar container. Once I realized what it was I cracked up laughing! The keys to a successful marriage for us is we...talk to each other, laugh with each other, play together, snuggle together, read to each other, hold hands, make time for each other and most of all we "LISTEN" to each other! 

Well that's it for tonight, my coffee cup is empty and my eyes are heavy. Until then, see you next time for more coffee and conversation!

Long Time No See

Sorry for the delay in returning to the blog. With all the new medical issues that popped up it made it very difficult to do much at all.


You just never know what side effects some meds can do to you...I guess the Vicadon is taking it's toll on my liver and my scalp! Yuck...I never had this much trouble with my scalp before, it either itches or (mostly) burns and now has this scaly crap on it that I have to scrub off. Time to contact a dermatologist now. sigh. Just what I need more medical bills. The liver? It's enlarged...sigh. 


Got an adorable animated Giraffe plush toy that plays music and it's neck goes up and down for Valentines day. I hope everyone had a good Valentines day.


The whole world is abuzz with the news of Whitney Houston's death. They want to fly the flags at half mast for her. Really? It's not right. The half mast should be reserved for hero's not drug addicts that relay a bad message to our nations youth. I liked her music, her sound and some of her movies...but she is not worthy of a half mast flag. The soldiers returning home from war get boo'd, harassed, and nagged about killing women and children. They fought to keep this country free! They deserve the half mast! 


Okay I'm done ranting...for now.

I finally got my new crutches. They are called "Smart Crutch" They are a bit odd looking, but very adjustable. Still cannot go up and down stairs on them. 

Mine are just the plain gray ones, it costs extra to get the color ones with the stickers on them...lol.


Was just web surfin this morning and found this site...

Collectible Android Figures


I thought they were very cute. They need Star Wars and Star Trek versions now. 


Got our taxes done...man I swear Ray makes it so stressful on himself every year. Surprised he isn't the one with kidney stones and stomach issues! We got it done and are getting a small refund back. Seems to get smaller every year. 


Not enough to get my teeth fixed...sigh. Why do docs charge so much! 350 bucks to pull one tooth! That's insane! Total cost for teeth extractions, new top dentures and bottom implants...$6,350.00. Yeah like I have that in my pocket! Why do I need all that done? The meds I have been on for the last 2 years have ruined my teeth, harmed my kidneys, and now my liver too. I need a miracle!


Spartacus Vengeance is finally airing on Starz channel. Lucy Lawless rocks! Loved her as Xena and now as Lucretia. I am hoping to find a way to go to the final convention for Xena Con next year in California. I probably won't go. There is no way I can raise enough for the convention tickets, the hotel, the meals, the transportation.  :(


Yeah I know my blog is all over the place this morning...I have been gone for two weeks or more...now trying to catch every one up on what's going on makes for a messy blog...lol.


Lets see what else is going on...a few family emergencies that scared the hell out of me, but those are private and everyone is okay now. 


Got my drivers license renewed, they messed it up again and forgot to put I wanted to register to vote...again...grrrr. 


Went and seen the movie "Red Tails" about the Tuskegee Airmen. Was a very good movie. If you haven't seen it yet, you should! The visuals alone are intense and well filmed. The story was well told. Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Leslie Odom Jr., Kevin Phillips, Method Man, Lee Tergesen, Daniele Ruah, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Marcus T. Paulk, Andre Royo, all gave outstanding performances. There are a couple of short scenes with veteran actor Gerald McRaney.


Made homemade scones with chocolate chips, split pea soup (with chunks of salt ham) and home made bread both from scratch this week.....Julia Child's would be proud! :)

All three came out good, but next time I make bread going to split the dough into two bread pans instead of one...it came out tight. No I don't mean "tight" as in the stupid slang word, which is well just stupid. I mean the bread dough was too compact and compressed not enough air in it to spring back up when pushed down slightly. 


Well I guess that's about it for now. Time for me to get another cup of coffee and sit and relax for a bit. So see you next time for more coffee and conversation!

My Pain & Rain

Was a quiet day here today. I spent it desperately trying to get caught up on the laundry. No such luck there! I have a preteen boy who thinks he's a teenage girl! He changes clothes more than most girls I knew growing up. The combinations! Makes you want to ask him and his friends "who dresses you in the mornings!". I bet if you put them all in a gymnasium and asked that all the moms would shake their heads and collectively say..hmm hmm "Not me honey...I know better than that!". He doesn't wear those drastically low pants that the kids these days seem to be doing...still. I told him if I ever caught him wearing them that way I would pull them and his underwear all the way to his ankles and make him walk around the block with a sign saying..."I don't know how to pull my pants up". He does however wear his clothes in layers...3 or 4 layers, then has to change from school clothes to play clothes after school.

Ray is the same way with shirts...a t-shirt, a shirt, and a sweater. that's 15 shirts in 5 days just for 1 person then throw in my sons and it's 30 to 45 shirts, plus 5 from me, maybe 7 if I wear sweaters over a shirt on cold days. then throw in the jeans, socks, under garments...that's a shit load of laundry for just three people!

Storms rolled in from the south and the temps dropped with it. If you have arthritis, had major surgery, rods, screws, any muscle disease, and so on you know with the oncoming rain the pain comes with it. Today was bad pain day. So much so I grabbed my pillow in between laundry loads and just laid on the couch.

Ray came home early because he was feeling under the weather today. So I made dinner very early tonight. Ham & Cheese rolled up inside crescent rolls, and home made tomato & basil soup. I was wanting some to combat the dreary weather outside. I got the recipe here:

Creamy Tomato Soup

After dinner I got the dinner dishes done as quickly as I could, made coffee, then went into our bedroom and turned on the mattress heater and laid on my back. Hoping to get rid of a monster of a headache, the aches in my spine, and the pain in my right leg today. It helped some, but I missed putting my son to bed and that tears me apart more than the pain does.

I once tried describing my pain to someone...I shall try again.

When I walk: it feels like someone is taking a very thick sharp needle and stabbing it fairly hard at the base of my spine on both the left and right side of my bones.

In my legs it feels like the ache you get in your legs when you run/walk as fast as you can and you get that burning feeling in your muscles for hours. Mine is almost constant.

In my big toes and tops of my feet...it's like some taking a hot poker out of a fire and running it across my feet and toes. It doesn't last very long...maybe a minute or two. When it comes, if I am sitting my leg will shoot out from where it is and stay out in front of me. Sometimes I can curl my toes, most times not...I involuntarily take a deep breath in. It can't be helped. I wait out the pain. Sometimes I will try rubbing my foot back and forth on a cloth surface...the carpet the side of the couch, the bed...I think it's psychological to try and get it to stop.

Behind my knees...sometimes behind my knees will cramp up. To the point where I cannot bend my legs at all. That usually last for a half hour or more.

Leg cramps and twitching...I will just be sitting or laying down and all of the sudden the muscles will start twitching, some times mild sometimes so strong it shakes all of me. A good twitch will send my leg straight out, waking me from sleep sometimes. Not so good when in a small place (like a car). Leg cramps are a constant. It very disconcerting to watch the muscle in my calves sink in and stay there. The pain is mind bending! Thigh cramps make me want to scream. They are God awful things to deal with.

My hips feel like they are grinding glass sometimes. When walking or just sitting.

When I lay on my back..it has to be a completely flat surface. We had to buy a whole bed after I had my surgery, even then it wasn't quite right. Ray had to cut plywood and put it under our mattress.

When I roll onto my sides the pain changes...if I lay on my left side it tries to pull the spine downward towards my left hip. It's kind of like the feeling you get when you carry a heavy toddler on your left hip for awhile up a hill, then put the child down and straighten back up. The pain you feel in your hip and back right then and there is close but...now double the pain.

When I roll onto my right side the pain is much worse than it is on my left. So needless to say I don't do it for very long.

When I lay on my side...my feet have to be perfectly matched up with each other. No laying one foot out in front of the other on the bed. It pulls to much on my hips and spine.

Cold on my feet...I live in a trailer home so the floor has nothing but air under it. In the winter months the floor can get very very cold. With the cold comes the pain. Serious pain. Ray has bought me super thick socks that help some. I will end up wearing shoes.

Wearing shoes...any type of shoe hurts and irritates my feet to no end. Even though my left foot is 90% numb it still irritates the side that isn't. How to describe the irritation...it's kind of like a mild sunburn feeling, mixed with a nerve wracking tingling, like when you foot goes to sleep. That's as close as I can get to it.

Sitting in a chair...I cannot sit in any type of soft chair. It has to be a solid seat with a ram rod straight back.I have to constantly shift positions in the chair to get comfortable.

Riding in a vehicle...it's like someone taking a baseball bat to me, I feel every tiny bump in the road, and curves make me want to faint. Ray tries so hard to take curves (clover leaf style ones) so very slowly, pisses other drivers off. Speed bumps make me cry. You know how on a road it will feel like a roller coaster ride...where it literally lifts you off the seat and makes the kids in the back seat laugh and yell weeeee....those are maddening for me. Breaking...that lurching you have to do in major cities when some idiot doesn't use his blinker or the light changes just as you are approaching it. Almost the same pain as i get when I lay on my right side.

Getting in and out of a vehicle...I have to use a step stool. I stand on it with my right foot because I can still feel most of it. I have to grab onto Ray with both my hands and he holds me under my arms. I push upwards with my right leg as best as I can, while Ray lifts under my arms. 9 times out of 10 I have to stop to catch my breath and hold on to Ray until the sudden sharp pain in my back from the push off dies down. Then he gently helps me sit down in the seat. Now we have to turn me to face forward, sometimes having to grab my left leg by my pants and lifting it up and over...it's half numb. Then the matter of reaching back to get the seat belt to put around me. Not an easy task because it hurts to twist my back at any hard angle.

Making love...what's that? No really we have tried...there is no comfortable way, no way that doesn't cause me pain. You may think well why does he stay, how do you know he hasn't gotten it on the side? Because he is home every night, he even comes home early, calls me every day from work to check on me. Besides there are other ways to make love to your husband than having sex. I trust my husband and he trusts me.

Too personal for you? Well some people have asked...I have also been accused of "faking it" (my pain and injuries) to get attention...really? Why would anyone fake rods and screws?

Hugging....I have to have Ray or my son hug me as they would a frail elderly person. I want so much to be able to bear hug my son. He is having to grow up to fast for my liking because of this. He has started helping me to cook, and clean the house. At 9 years old it doesn't seem fair.

Doing chores...I have to do very small loads of laundry. Putting them in the washer from the laundry basket is no easy task. Be cause I have to bend to do both. Putting them into the dryer from the washer...if the get stuck under the agitator I have to work it lose very gently. I do NOT tuck on it at all. I tried once...will NEVER do it again. Pain shot down from my spine and into my legs then back up to my rods and screws. I screamed and clung to the washing machine for dear life. Getting clothes out of the dryer to hang up and fold. A little harder to do. I have an old washer and dryer. I have to open the door on the dryer sideways...bend and reach in...well that won't work! So I find other ways to get it done. Squatting in front of the dryer...A rolling cart helps. Sit on the floor put the clothes into a hamper on the rolling cart. It has to be a low cart. The get up and just roll the cart to where I am folding the clothes at. My laundry toom is tiny, just enough room to stand in front of the washer and dryer.

Sweeping the floors...I only have three floors that need sweeping...kitchen, and 2 bathrooms, all fairly small areas. Ever tried sweeping while on crutches? My son is still no good at it. I lol at him, it's very funny to watch. I do the best I can, rest for a half hour then do it again to make sure it's clean.

Vacuuming...Ray bought me a self propelled vacuum. I have to do maybe a 2 foot by 2 foot, rest, do another, rest do another, rest, and so on. My son learned how to use the vacuum last week. That he did very well. I do not want him doing all the chores. He is young and so needs to be a boy and have fun.

Dusting...that I can still do if it's just above eye level to the floor...I can sit on the floor and dust.

Doing the dishes...my son helps me with that too. I will rinse them he will put them in the dishwasher. I still wash my pots, pans, and glass bowls by hand. I will lean forward against the sink to do this.

Dancing...how my husband and I met. I so miss it. I cannot dance not even a slow dance. It hurts to much.

Going up and down steps...I use 1 crutch and hold onto the railing with the other hand and I go at a very slow pace. It takes me almost a minute to go down 5 steps. Almost 2 minutes to come back up.

Elevators...they have always caused me vertigo. Now along with that it pulls at me. Like being stretched. Kind of painful. Just glad when the ride is over.

Getting dressed...how long do you take to get dressed? The average male takes about 5 minutes, the average (I said average people) takes about 9 minutes. It takes me nearly thirty minutes to get dressed (just clothes). From putting on a pair of underwear, then trying to get the bra on without pulling my arms to far back behind me (I learned how to put it on backwards then turn it around). Then putting on jeans...so not any easy task. One of the harder things to do. I have to sit on the end of the bed, put one leg up on the bed with my foot nearly touching the knee of my other leg. Put the jeans on that foot, pull them up to the knee, lower the foot back down and lean backwards to get the other foot up on the bed. Then do the same thing...now stand up without falling down. Using my crutches I stand myself up. I pull the jeans up slowly so I don't jerk my spine in any direction. Now time to get my shirt/blouse on. If it's button I have to very carefully put each arms in, ever notice that you twist your back to put one of those on? Next time you get dressed pay careful attention to every detail. Pull overs/t-shirts are little easier to do. Now for the socks and shoes. I have to once again sit on the bed the same way I did with the jeans. This time putting on socks. I have come to use "toe" socks now. Less rubbing of one toe against the others. When your feet are numb you can't feel if the toe nails are digging into the other toes. Now the shoes. Sitting once again the same way as the jeans and socks. If I'm having a very bad morning Ray will help me put them on. I always cry. I so do NOT want to be a burden to anyone. When was the last time someone helped you get dressed?

As with any injury you try to compensate in other ways. A new way to walk, sit, stand, lay. You retrain your body to do every day things in a brand new way. Sometimes your body fights back or reacts in a manner that causes a whole new pain somewhere else.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and supporting husband and son. I thank God for them with every breath that I take. 

So now you know just a little bit more about me. Any questions? Comments?

See you next time for more coffee and conversation.

Family Emergencies

There is nothing in the world like that gut wrenching feeling you get when the phone rings or you get a text message whether by phone or on a social network or an email saying call me something terrible has happened.

Your heart races, you feel like your lungs have shrunk to the size of marbles, and you can't seem to make your hands work to dial the phone.

As you wait for the answer on the other end you mind conjures up all kinds of terrible and vile scenarios. Car accidents, drunken bar fight, airplane crash, boat sunk, drowning, vicious dog bites, motorcycle accident, heart attack, seizure, stroke, it's always something horrific that makes you want to faint and throw up at the same time.

This time it was coronary heart failure, mixed with diabetic shock. My second oldest sister P.J. She had already had two heart surgeries in the past. Her life style is hectic to say the least and always dramatic and traumatic. 

Since we were kids she was always the life of the party, charged full steam ahead in everything that she did, never one to back down in a fight. She should have been a boy. She has a wicked funny sense of humor and I miss her dearly on days when my pain gets the best of me.

So now you know why there was no blog yesterday. I was miserable! I woke up in so much pain, felt like I had been utilizing a rowing machine in my sleep! Every muscle hurt and my rods and screws were screaming bloody murder at me. I got up, got slowly dressed and wondered into the kitchen to the lovely aroma of coffee. My husband had already had coffee made so I grabbed a cup and my pain pills, sat at my laptop and jumped on facebook.

There it was...in my messages and on my facebook wall. My niece sent me a message saying she was taking her mom to the hospital. No hospital name, no hospital number...just my niece's cell phone number. I desperately looked around for my cell phone. Where did I leave it now! I got up and slowly, God so slowly...made my way into our bedroom to see it across the room on the charger. It looked a mile away! Always does when your in pain doesn't it.

I brought it into the living room only to realize it wasn't charged! I didn't plug it in all the way! I started to cry. I quickly plugged it in and started sending messages on facebook. Where was she, how was she, what did the docs say, and so on. My husband God bless him!, brought my phone to me, plugged it in, next to the table where I sat. He had me move over a seat closer to where it was plugged in, said "see it's still charging you can still talk while it's charging babe". My calm in the storm. Why didn't I think of that? I knew that fact. I have done it before.

I called my older sister and one of my other aunts while chatting with another niece online. I called my dad, left a message on his phone. Back and forth it all went for almost 3 hours before everyone in the family had been reached. It's amazing how wonderful my family can be in a time of crisis. No matter what has happened in the past it all goes away and we all pull together.

I was a wreck. I was still in serious pain. I wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep. After sending messages back and forth for almost another two hours on facebook. I finally decided I needed to just rest. Which I did. I distracted myself with stupid things so I wouldn't have to think much. It didn't help.

By 5 PM I was pretty much exhausted. Ray took us out to Joe's Pizza, Pasta, and Subs. I ate most of a salad and was ready to go home and sleep.

Nope that didn't happen! We needed to make a grocery run. Our son needed school lunch supplies. Thankfully it was in the same strip mall. I walked to clear my head. Bad day to walk. The wind was gusting at almost 20 miles per hour, and it brought dirt and dust with it from west Texas. The sun had set and it was dark out and temps had dropped along with the sun. By the time I got most of the way around the square to the grocery store, Ray had parked the truck and was walking towards me. We got inside and did our shopping. We ended up spending more than we expected. Got everything our son needed and more. lol. I was done for the day. My legs were now screaming at me. Nerve pain is an awful thing to experience!

We headed home. By the time we got home. I could barely move from the pain. My husband put me in an arm chair and told me "don't move from that spot!". he and my son put away the groceries. My son brought me a cup of "mud" over cooked coffee. I took half a vicadon. Within 20 minutes. I was ready to fall asleep sitting there. I went to the couch and curled up and napped for almost an hour before finally going to bed for the night.

I was finally able to reach P.J. at the hospital this afternoon. First thing I said to her when she answered was "See this is what happens when you don't call your little sister more often, your heart breaks!" She laughed, A huge amount of relief filled me. I knew she was going to be okay. She told me everything the docs said and did. She was signing the paperwork to be released already. She was going to go home and get some rest.

I am grateful to the docs and nurses that took care of her and I'm glad she is okay. If you have a loved one who has been or is being taken care of by doctors and nurses, please let them know that you are grateful too. Tell them thank you, send them a letter or a card to place at the nurses station. They deserve it.

Now I can get back to healing me, and get my butt in gear and work some more on my book.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to me rant and rave again.

See you next time for more coffee and conversation!