SUMMER IS HERE

Hello DS friends 

My goodness, it has been a very long time since I was on here last.  So much has happened since I last had an entry on here.

First off--John's health has improved so much.  He was finally diagnosed with AlphaGal syndrome and since he has been on the special diet for that disease. He is able to eat and to have it agree with him as long as he sticks to the diet.  It has been as adjustment for us as far as planning the menu for the day but I love a challenge.  It is amazing how many ways there are to fix chicken!!!  For those of you who don't know, Alpha Gal syndrome is caused by a bite from the Texas tict.  It is becoming more prevelant in the northern United States.  John is one of the first people in western Pennsylvania to be diagnosed.  Also with the change in diet, his kidney function has also improved.  So we are grateful that he has finally after a year been diagnosed and is doing amazing.

Second -- my health has improved as well.  My kidney function has improved dramatically and I also attribute it to the change in out diet.  We are eatting much healthier and also have stopped drinking most caffiene drinks such as Pepsi, Coke, and anything that is caramel colored.  We mostly drink sparkling water if we want something carbonated. I am allowed to have one cup of coffee a day and I usually have it at breakfast to get my day started.  

John and I decided not to go camping this summer.  It has gotten so expensive that it is almost impossible for folks like us on a fixed income to afford to go, especially with gas and grocery prices as high as they are.  We joined Amazon and Sam's Club and that has helped with the grocery expenses.  We have been buying in bulk and then repackaging it in smaller packages for two people.  We will miss our week away but we are taking trips to places that are close by and doing just day trips.  The prices for most cabins went up to $150 a night and that is just to much for us.  The cabin we normally get went up to $185 a night.  As nice as that cabin is, it is not worth that price.  

We celebrated our 50th anniversary this year.  My sister got us rocking chairs for on our deck as a gift.  We sure do enjoy them.  They are so comfortable and it is great to sit and rock.  Must be getting old!!!

We went to my sister's in Philadelphia for Easter.  It was a fun trip but the traffic down and back was horrendous.  The truck traffic on the way down on Interstate 80 was unbelievable.  We ended up getting off the Interstate an taking Route 322 to the PA Turnpike to get away from all the traffic.  We went down on Friday and came home on Monday.  It was great to spend the holiday with her kids.  We don't get to spend much time with them since they are 5 hours away.  We are hoping to plan another trip down in the fall after the leaves change.  Also we are planning a trip next summer with my brother, sister, and John and I.  We are looking at the Pocanos as a place to stay.  With three of us sharing the expenses, the cost shouldn't be to bad.

We still have lots of animals that visit us daily.  We have the hummingbirds that attack us as we sit on the deck.  They are so cute.  We just got some oriale feeders and we are got some grape jelly and are putting them up this afternoon.  The bear is still around and last night once again upset the dumpster and has garbage scattered all through the woods.  We will have to go up later this afternoon and clean up the mess he caused.  I hope he leaves my oriale feeders alone. John is hanging them up pretty high in the tree so hopefully he won't be able to reach them.  The little chipmunks scamper around and the rabbits are still eatting clover in the yard in the evenings.  The two little gray squirrels and two black squirrels are busy gathering nuts back in the picnic grove.  I love the little gray squirrels.  Their tails are so bushy.  We stilll have deer that come into the yard almost every evening.  The mama doe brought her two fawns in to show us last week.  They are so precious.  I was so happy to see that she made it through doe season without getting killed.  He little fawns were playing in the yard.

Today we are having a picnic.  We are doing hotdogs on the grill and I am making potatoe salad to go with them.  I have to run to the store to get peppers for in the salad.  I am also doing broccoli with cheese.  I am also baking an angel food cake and serving it with strawberries and whipped cream.  I hope the hotdogs don't upset John's stomach.  So far they haven't had been a problem but we only had them a couple of times since he was diagnosed.  We cleaned the grill up a couple weeks ago.  We will probably have a cookout on the 4th and invite my cousin and her son.  We are waiting to see what the weather is for that day before we make any plans.  We got the hotdogs at a meat market we visited and anxious to try them.  They make them there at the meat market.

Next week it is supposed to be the 90's all week.  I told John to be ready to grill all week.  I don't want to heat up the house cooking in the house.  We have a propane stove as well that I can cook on outside.  We don't have air conditioning in our house, only ceiling fans so it gets really warm in our house when I have stove on in the kitchen.  On top of being warm, it is also supposed to be humid.  We are supposed to get rain and storms overnight today and into tomorrow morning.  We can use the rain.  We have been getting small showers but not a good soaking rain.  

I have been busy crocheting for charity.  I have 20 hats made for Samaritan's Purse and am currently working on a prayer shawl for a lady who lost her son to suicide.  I feel so badly for her.  Her son was 26 and had a drug problem.  He overdosed a couple weeks ago.  Our craft group makes prayer shawls for all women we know of who lose a child to death for whatever reason.  It is a good feeling to help someone whether it is with a warm hat or a prayer shawl.  I love doing it and it keeps me busy.

Well that is about all I have for now. Hope all of you are going great.  Take care and enjoy the summer.