February 25, 2015

600th Blog Posting

February 25, 2015

It was nice to see the sunshine in the yard this morning.

It is hard to believe that this is my 600th posting on this blog.  When I started, I was deaf, and waiting for word on if I would qualify for a Cochlear Implant.  I didn't know if I would end up spending the rest of my life deaf, or if I would be able to get the surgery and then if the surgery would be a success.  Not all Cochlear Implants are successful.  The vast majority of them help tremendously, but some do not.  During that time, God gave me peace as I waited.

There is a lot of work to get the most possible out of a Cochlear implant.  That involves wearing the Cochlear Sound Processor most of the waking hours.  I will say that it is not real comfortable.  They have improved them over time, they get smaller and lighter in weight, but it is still not great.  Don't get me wrong - it is worth that to not be deaf, but it will be better as they continue to improve them in years to come.  Cochlear continues to come up with new innovations to make the hearing experience as close to natural as possible.

Part of the adapting involves several visits with an audiologist trained in dealing with Cochlear Implants.  Many suggestions are offered for each problem the recipient is dealing with on a daily basis.  The ladies at the Houston Ear Research Foundation have been kind, patient, and helpful.  They are always only a phone call away, and of course, those are phone calls Ron must make for me. 

With all the rain we have had this winter, the ivy is growing rapidly.

There are times I don't think about my implant and the sound processor as I go through my day, but I very often think about how wonderful it is to not be deaf.  Yesterday I stopped by our son's home to pick something up and to see the grandchildren for a few minutes.  I could hear!  They can talk non-stop!  What a noisy setting for me!  Chatter, chatter, chatter.  They were as happy to see me as I was to see them.  They all had things to tell me or ask me.  The youngest grandson always has the same question: "Did you bring me candy?"

The flowers in the yard still had the rain drops from a little earlier, clinging to them. 

Sometimes at home, I take the processor off and enjoy the peace and quiet.  Other times, like this morning, I put it on rather early before I go out into the yard to fill the bird feeders.  I want to hear the birds.  They were rather quiet this morning until I got the feeders filled.  Then the chatter started.

The phone continues to be a challenge.  I had to answer it at the office once this morning while Ron was busy with a customer.  I could not hear or understand the customer, so I had to ask the customer on the phone to hold while I got someone to help her.  That frustrates me, but for now, I just can't manage the phone.

Sunflowers come up volunteer under the bird feeders, from dropped seeds.

 

This morning I asked Ron if he had any jobs promised.  He said he had promised one, that he would be working on in the shop all day.  I asked if I could wait until noon to come in.  That was fine with him.  I stayed at the house and did two loads of laundry and filled and ran the dishwasher and then made 6 quilt squares for the current "in progress" project.  I am enjoying it and hope to get some more done tonight, but in the evenings, I just seem to be too tired to sew lately.

It is growing.  There are now 48 blocks.

During the afternoon at the office, I waited on customers as often as possible so that Ron could work on the job he was doing.  In between customers, I cut out some quilt squares for another "in progress" project.  I will be busy with office work in a couple of days as the end of February comes.  We will be closed some over the next couple of days since Charro Days' parades form at the corner by our business.  We just can't function as a business during those days.  There is a parade Thursday afternoon and they try to encourage us to lock up and leave by 11:00.  Friday, the parade is in the evening, so we will probably close about 3:00.  We are no longer open on Saturdays, so that parade will not bother us.

Around 4:30 I left the office to go to the drug store and pick up a prescription.  I was able to do that quickly, so I had time to go by and check on my mom.  She has been feeling so much better!  She was resting when I got there and we talked for about 20 minutes.  She is so delighted with her progress and of course, the rest of us are also.

Next stop was at Luby's Cafeteria to meet our friends for supper.  We decided tonight would be the best time to get together since the traffic the next two nights will be terrible with the parades creating traffic jams all over town.  We had a good supper and a good visit.  My friend Pat is such an encourager.  She is a blessing in my life.  We talked about our trip last weekend to Dallas and about a few things we missed here last Sunday including what we have heard was an excellent sermon.

Following supper I came home and Ron returned to the shop to try to finish the job he had been working on today.  I am getting some more laundry from our trip done and some of the new fabric I bought is in the dryer right now, soon to be ready for me to use.