Raisins and wreckage

Thursday I got so much done! I picked grapes, then prepped them for drying. It's best to steam them a couple minutes and poke the skins, so the moisture can escape. I dried some a few years ago without blanching them, and they had no flavor at all. Anyhow, once I had the grapes in the dryer I froze a few peaches, just a quart. The figs were finished drying, so I put them in jars. I don't have many, but at least I have a few to use for later.

After I finished with the fruits, I was feeling pretty tired, but I seem to just keep moving, even when I know it's time to stop. I finally laid down, but felt a lot of pressure in my chest. I couldn't get comfortable, and found myself in tears. Reluctantly I called the doctor-after the 2 heart surgeries last summer I figured I should be more careful. They wanted me to come in, but not drive myself, so I had to call David to come home. We went to the doctor, by then I could barely stay awake, or conscious, I'm not sure which. He sent us to the Emergency room.

The doctor there ordered an ECG, which looked fine, and also some blood tests, also fine. I was struggling to stay conscious, but made it through the intake and tried to answer the Dr.s questions, but frankly, I wasn't feeling too good. About 5:30 I felt like someone was sitting on my chest for a couple minutes, and a stabbing pain in my back. It happened again about 10 minutes later, and then I woke up. I still had some pain, but suddenly I was conscious again- it was really weird.

All the tests came back fine, but my blood pressure was pretty eratic, so they kept me over night and did an echocardiogram today, which was also fine. Since I've had a lot of problems with my gut, the doctor suggested it was that, but I know it wasn't. Maybe it's scar tissue, since it's pretty sore under the ribs where they took my pericardium off. Either that or I just needed a little extra attention??! You know how I love hanging out at hospitals.....

The cardialogist came in this morning, and I told him I should still be under warranty, since it's been barely over a year since the last problem. He told me he was sticking to the 'crazy lady' theory-huh, could he be talking about me? They don't know what happened, and I know it's not just heartburn, but I'm home now and recuperating. Guess the trip to San Diego is out for now, though. I really want to go with Mom to see her brother and his family, but I'll have to wait until things settle down.

Weekend adventures

Well, we've had more company this week! Our good friends Sharry and Gina Barton came down from Utah for the long weekend, and darned if we didn't lose Gina and Nic on Saturday. He said he wasn't lost, he just got bad directions. Umm, guess who gave the directions? He wanted to take her for a drive and get lost, so I just did my part to help. I told them about the drive to Cherry, a little wide spot in the road in the mountains near here. Problem is, I told them to take the old Cherry road, and Nic heard take the Old Cherry Road. The difference is one is paved, one is kind of a cattle trail, and Nic drives a Jetta VW. He followed directions, turned off on Old Cherry Road, and when it passed the last house it becomes a 4-wheel drive road. He pushed forward, looking for the paved part of the road; dropped into a washed-out creekbed and moved carefully to the other side. As he was driving up the washed-over road up the hill, he steered around a big rock only to have another one smash up into the oil pan.

Luckily his cell phone worked, and he called David. "Dad, can you bring some duct tape and a case of oil?" We loaded up the truck with tools, oil, water and yes, duct tape. When we got there we realized the rock had cracked the whole oil plug out of the pan, so a little duct tape and JB Weld wasn't going to fix the problem. We brought the kids home Saturday, and will have to rent a car dolly to haul the Jetta home.

They thanked me profusely for giving such good directions and allowing them such a pleasant afternoon! ha ha. I'll never hear the end of this one, I tell ya. Today when Sharry and Gina were getting ready to leave, Sharry asked for directions to the interstate. Gina and Nic just looked at me, like- DON'T SAY A WORD! So, I had David give the directions.

It's been raining hard here the last couple days, so Nic took the old pickup out today, looking for a mud slick to play in. Before they left, I told them "Now look, I am not recommending this road, and if you get lost or stuck, It's Not My Fault!"