Fall Break 2008

It is Fall Break from school. I was planning many delightful events for my extra two days off this week. Just not the events I am currently doing. Other than updating my blog, I am really not doing anything fun.

Yesterday, I went to see a new doctor - I'm trying to figure out the reason for all the additional lower back pain I have been experiencing. Well ..... long story, short. Hopefully I can make it short. You know how women are when they start to ramble and since there isn't anyone here at the moment to tell me I am rambling, I'll try to stay 'Focused' on short! I should know what that word means - focus - I probably say that at least 100 times a week in my favorite teachers class to various students each week. "Focus, pay attention!" Okay, I am aware now that I am rambling.

Remember that broken foot I had in March? I guess repairing that caused my lower spine to do crazy stuff. The latest MRI shows that I have a vertebrae 'out' on the right side now in addition to the one on the left side 'out' from last summer. I think 'out' must be a doctor definition of misplaced, geared for non-medical people to understand. That is my interpretation of this doctor's explanation of the MRI results. I have a friend who is a Physicians' Assistant-he probably understands that 'out' stuff better than most of us non-medical people.

Guess the moral of that part of this story is - don't break your foot. But, if you do, don't wear a cast boot for 5 months with old bones. The uneven walking was not a good thing for this old back of mine. Cured the fracture in the foot, caused a misplaced vertebrae in the lower back, L4-5 for you medical people.

So....I am spending my extra two days off rotating from flat on my back with the heating pad in bed, to carefully sitting in my blue recliner in the house. Boy if that isn't exciting, I really don't know what is. I tried to find a picture of a brown heating pad and a blue recliner when I googled them. Even that wasn't very easy. It seems to be my life at the moment. Not easy.

I have heard that all's well that ends well. Next Wednesday I will be getting a nerve root injection on both L & R. I thought - well that is getting two for the price of one. Except when I get the bill, it probably will cause it all to start hurting again, cause it probably won't be two for one with the price. I am only hoping and praying for good results. I am somewhat tired of hurting and causing all my friends and family to hurt by having to listen to me complain about my aching back!

And that is the story of "Fall Break at 3216 in Greenfield!

1951 ??? Yeah, 1951 - 57 years ago!

I rode the school bus today. The last time I rode a school bus was when I was in the 5th grade, 57 years ago. At that time I attended a Christian Day School, Temple Accademy in Royal Oak, Michigan and I rode the bus.

So today the third grade went to the Riley House in Greenfield. It is the house in which James Whitcomb Riley, the poet, was born and is now a museum of things from his childhood. They were originally suppose to walk, but the weather being somewhat cool, it was decided they would ride. That made me happy, since walking isn't one of the things I do very well these days. So I rode the school bus with 26 noisy third graders and their teacher.

It was a fun day!

This week at 3216! - Part 2

I'm back for part 2 of This week!

We had company at 3216 one day & night this week. An old friend of ours, John Copeland visited with us. John recently lost his wife Mary. She had suffered for a long time, but that doesn't make her passing any easier. But John is doing a great job of acceptance for what has happened.

We went to Bible School with John and Mary and were friends when out first children were born, our Brett on Nov. 18th and their Sharon on Nov. 23rd. Mary was excited because her baby was due two weeks before mine was and then it turned out, my Brett was born 3 weeks early. That made me happy and Mary not so glad, until it was all over and we had two healthy babies. That was almost 45 years ago, so John is a an old friend of ours. It was wonderful to spend those hours he was here with him.

With John came his little friend, Alabama. I tried to tell John that was too big a name for a little dog and I called her Ally. She responded more quickly to John's "Alabama" and Lee's "whistle", but I continued to call her Ally. I told Lee. If I ever have a dog again, I will only be happy if I have one as well behaved as little Miss Alabama. Check her out as she is sleeping in her bed.


Lee says we have to mow this 2 1/2 acres one more time, well 2 1/2 except where the house and the shop are, but a lot of area to mow when the wind is blowing and the temperature is hovering around that cold 40 - 50 degrees. Since my back has been hurting, Lee has been a sweetheart and has mowed some of the regular part that we always considered Bette's mowing. Maybe it won't be too bad. By the time I get home from school, it is usually 3PM and that is close to the warmest part of the day. We can only hope that will happen when he says it is the day to mow.

So there you have it folks, another boring 7 days at 3216!

This week at 3216!

As usual it has been a busy week at the Towle House. It is Saturday and my list is long of "Things to Do" - I haven't checked to see what is on Lee's list. He currently is sitting eating a piece of toast and reading a Tool Catalog. His lighted magnifying glass comes in very handy for reading for the blind man. Occasionally if I am sitting here at my computer, he will pass the catalog over to me and ask me to read the 'fine print' of various items that catch his eye.


I went to see the Neuro-Surgeon on Thursday afternoon. I learned news that I would rather have not heard. He says I need back surgery. I told him that really is not an option that will work at this time. So we came up with another possibility. He is sending me to another Physician who will inject "something" into my back to take away the pain. You medical people out there probably know what is is they inject. Dr. Hall says only 43% of patients respond positively to this....and I am trusting I will be among that fortunate 43%. For now that is the plan. I will see this other doc, he will hopefully inject my back and God willing I will be somewhat pain free in my lower back. I wonder.......would Yoga help....what about acupuncture??? Right now I am about ready to try anything. I just thought of something strange. Isn't it odd how if you Google back pain and go to Images, the only people experiencing back pain appear to be males. I guess that is why they want to just jump right to surgery - I am a woman and they figure they can get money out of me for this problem I am experiencing. Maybe being male physicians they figure - this woman needs to be able to cook, clean, do the laundry and perform various other jobs to take care of her man - We have to get this woman fixed as quickly as possible.


I'll be back for part two of this week at 3216. I am going to go work on that list of mine for a little while - my back is not hurting as bad at that moment. Later.......

Bette's Irises

Many years ago, (probably about 8), I had the most beautiful bed of purple irises and I absolutely loved spring knowing my irises would soon be blooming. You can see how beautiful they were. Key word here - WERE.

My loving husband, AKA Lee, decided he wanted to redo the front yard and my irises had to go. I sort of threw a little fit - I wanted to keep my beautiful flowers, so Lee consulted with one of my sons. They decided to move them to the back of the garden. Lee promised me they would find a new home the next spring. So sighing a lot, I agreed.

The next spring I had gone to the store one afternoon and when I came home Lee and the neighbor were plowing the garden. I yelled "Oh, NO - my flowers". Yeah, they were plowed under never to be seen again.

The years rolled by and I missed my Irises more each year. Finally I decided it had been long enough. My beautiful granddaughter, Paige, was selling items for a school fund raiser and there they were - a package of Irises. I immediately bought them and informed my aforementioned husband he better find a place to plant them. Here he is planting them.

The place he decided to plant them may not be the most perfect place, but I will once again enjoy my irises again in the spring.

I am now looking forward to the spring of 2009 and seeing beautiful irises.

One Cute 3rd Grade Boy!

I was in my usual place in the Gym at 7am. One of the boys in my class came running up and the following exchange took place between Hunter & Mrs. Towle.

Hunter: "Mrs. Towle, does my shirt look dork?"

Mrs. Towle: "Does your shirt look what?"

Hunter: Mrs. Towle. you know, dork!

Mrs. Towle: No, it looks great, I really like that shirt."

Hunter: "Good. My Mom made me wear it and I thought it looks dork"

All's well that ends well and Hunter made it through the day with a shirt that didn't look dork. So all you Mom's out there, make sure you don't make your son wear a shirt that looks dork!

This Week at 3216!

It has been a busy week at our house - as usual.

Third grade has kept me moving - not as fast as usual (I'll explain that later) - but I'm still moving. My mornings are not started very well until I get hugs from Kaylee, Elizabeth and Haley. Then I am ready for the day. The little ones and their hugs do make me feel good.

We have done some fun things this week in third grade. We played the Rounding Game two mornings - the kids and "Mrs. Towle" like that game. It still sounds strange to me to hear "Mrs. Towle, come here, please". Or as one of my teachers says -and he says it a lot- "Mrs. Towle is going to come around and check to see if you have ..... whatever it is at that moment he wants them to have in front of them.

You see this picture of my children's "Third Grade Mother" in 1949 when I actually was a third grader. Times have changed since that picture. I am now an old looking third grader, the picture of which I really don't want to share.

One girl transferred from our school to another one in the Greenfield-Central School system this week and on her last day, she gave me a hug and said, "I'm going to miss you Mrs. Towle". That made her teacher feel a little sad - she didn't give him a hug. I tried to encourage him by reminding him that he looks young and doesn't have an 'old grandmotherly looking face'. So you see - I really do look different than I did when I was in third grade in 1949. But I think the kids like this old Grandma looking woman.

Lee is keeping busy while I am away at school. This week he was able to get a lot of the fall yard work completed. We mowed today (Lee did most of that, I only helped) and then he finished cutting down all that decorative grass we have.

One last thing from this week. I had to go to see my family doctor on Wednesday morning. He thinks I have a pinched nerve in my lower back. Well now isn't that exciting. Unfortunately I am not moving as fast as I would like. Anyway, I am scheduled for a MRI on Monday afternoon to see if he is right. Until we can FIX it, I am relying on Motrin for pain relief - but somehow it isn't working as well as I would like it to. Therefore I am doing a lot of short praying throughout each day "Help me Lord through this day". And He is helping and I am grateful.

Hope you all have a good week ahead.

Happpy Birthday, Jennifer!

Jennifer became a part of our lives permanently July 7, 2007, easy for a Grandmother to remember ~ 07-07-07!

But today is her birthday and Lee and I want to wish her the happiest of days this year on her very own special day, October 2, 2008. Here is a picture of Jenny at our house this past June at the Towle Family Reunion.

For a very Special Girl!
A greeting on your birthday
For a very happy day
And then a year
That brings the best
Of everything your way

Enjoy your special day,

Jennifer

Love, Lee and Bette