Hip Hip Hooray?????

You just are not going to believe this....well, actually, you probably will. So here goes. A couple of weeks ago, I told Dr. Gedeon that I would like to have my hips x-rayed to at least rule out that there is anything wrong with them because I do have alot of hip pain. My family doctor, Dr. Gedeon and a couple of other doctors have all agreed that my hip pain was almost assuredly due to my back problems. Wellllll.......not so. After getting my hips examined and scanned and then going to a surgeon who does only hip and knee replacements, I find out that my hips are shot. To put it bluntly. Full of arthritis, bone on bone, a mess. Dr. Kaufman, the surgeon, (young enough to be my son...*smile*) said, "Mrs. Cavinee, I don't know how you have been walking. Aren't you in pain?" Well, yeah. But I press on and deal with it. AND I have my trusty walker to help me. He just seemed genuinely amazed that I was sitting there in the examining room acting fairly normal....*little grin* I mean, it was as though he thought I should be writhing in pain. I am in constant pain but amazingly enough, you get used to it after a while....three years......and learn to live as normally as possible in spite of the debilitating effect it tries to have on you. And some days are better than others.
Anywayyy.....both of my hips need to be replaced. One at a time of course. *feeble grin* And this will be done before my back is dealt with any further. So, I have an appointment to see Dr. Berrend at the New Albany Surgery Center on September 16. He does a new, less invasive hip replacement procedure which is what I told Dr. Kaufman that I wanted. (I have been researching.) Dr. Kaufman still does the old procedure where a large incision is made, muscle is cut and so on. The new involves one, possibly two small....two to three inch.....incisions. The muscle tissue is separated, not cut. The recovery time is much shorter as compared to the old procedure. Dr. Kaufman did tell me that I would have to be approved for the new procedure, meaning if I was a good candidate for it. *fingers crossed* *hands folded in prayer* *In Jesus' Name*
Now.....I have only one request......none of this can interfere with our date to see Lion King on September 20!!! After that, I'm a go!!! *smile* AND Donnie, Charity and the kids are going to the matinee on that same day, too!!! I'll be easy to find: Ed and I will be in the handicap accessible seats!! I am so excited! My two girlfriends and I first saw Lion King in NYC in 2000, I believe it was. It was so unbelieveably wonderful! I just had to see it again and since we haven't taken a vacay this summer, I asked Ed if we could please go see the Lion King. If you ever get the opportunity to do so, go!!! (Did I tell you I am super excited about going?!?!)
So, getting back to things of a more serious nature.....I've never had major surgery in my life, so I am a bit ......oh, I don't really know what to call it.....not really scared....perhaps really apprehensive about it all. But I will just do what I have been doing: I will take it one day at a time and put my trust in the Lord, knowing that He is by my side, walking each step of the way with me. I just don't know what I would do without the Lord, as the song says;
"If it wasn't for the Lord, where would I be,
My life was nothing until He set me free,
He walks with me and talks with me, telling me I am His own,
He calms all my fears telling me I am not alone.
He made the difference, He made the difference in my life!"
What a precious Friend and Father He is to me........
"And He walks with me and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known."

Ladies' Day Out

On Thursday morning, several of us ladies from church hopped into the church van and headed out to go yard-saling. I was the designated driver. *grin* Now, you might think that because of my physical condition that I would not be able to drive the van, but I have no difficulty driving it at all, once I get in it. That's the trick, but we have a very stable step stool and the ladies are so good to help me in and out. And I truly don't see that my physical responses and reactions have been affected, as far as driving is concerned either. AND I can't really explain this, but I LOOOOVE driving the van. It is just so comfortable and enjoyable.
Anywayyyyy.....we went to 4 or 5 yard sales and then stopped at a shop that sells used/antique furniture and accessories. They had some beautiful old chairs and lamps and other charming things. I bought a lovely pillow there to put with the other pillows on my bed:

At the first yard sale, I bought this pretty votive cup and Yankee votive candle for $1!

I also purchased these two autumn gift bags, made of velour and appliqued. They are like new and cost a grand total of 25 cents each! I'm going to use them to put some small gifts in for a couple of special friends:
And I also found this lovely candle holder that costs a whopping 75cents! I had the candle already at home, just waiting for the holder!
We went to Dairy Queen for lunch and by this time my body was giving me fits, so two or three of the ladies brought the step stool and my walker around to the driver's side and were helping me get out.....slowly. Well, I looked up and noticed a young couple that was sitting by the window looking out at us and kind of smiling and laughing. I couldnt' tell if they were someone that I knew or not. So when we finally got inside DQ, they were getting ready to leave and I went over and introduced myself (being the introverted person that I am) and asked if we were acquainted to which the very nice young man replied "no". I told him that I noticed him and his friend smiling at us and he said, "We just thought you all looked so cute getting out of the van. Are you out on a day trip?" I told him the church we were from and that we were yard-saling and stopped here for lunch. They were from Cambridge, Ohio and had come to the Hocking Hills to go see the Caves. Oh, and I said he was no doubt wondering what in the world they were doing letting this crippled woman drive them around in the church van and we just laughed!! *grin* I do see people looking at me sometimes when I get out of the car and I know they must be questioning my ability to drive safely but I honestly don't feel that my driving ability is impaired. I've asked Ed to be honest with me in his opinion and he says he will tell me truthfully when he feels I should no longer be driving.
Anywayyyyy.....after lunch, we went to the Glassware Outlet and browsed and found some more lovely things to drool over. *grin* I bought two green crystal goblets for Ed and me and a porcelain tissue holder which only cost me 59cents!!! The goblets were $1.99 each! And since we were in the area, we went right next door to the Hocking Hills Craft Mall and looked and looked and made lists of things we wanted to get later. *smile* They have a very nice sitting area in this craft mall....a leather sofa, two leather chairs, a TV, table and chairs and a beverage and snack machines. I noticed a dad and his two sons sitting there as I went over to get a Diet Pepsi. I couldn't resist.....I said to them: "I can't believe you guys are sitting here watching the Olympics when you could be looking at all of the lovely things for sale here." The dad replied, "Yes, I know it's hard to believe but we just didn't want to cramp the women's style...you know, by constantly asking....Are you done yet?.....Can we go already?......" It was a pleasant exchange. They were from Mansfield, Ohio and were down staying in the area for a few days. Isn't it amazing how we women can just look and browse and have so much fun doing so, even if we don't buy anything? Now, I don't like to do this very often, but once in a great while, I just love it!!
I finally got home at around five o'clock, and while I was totally worn out, it was a wonderful kind of tired. We ladies had such a great time, "shopping" and chatting and eating. It was great therapy!
AND the next day.....Friday.....I thought I would be down for the count, physically speaking, but I wasn't any worse for the wear! Thank the Lord. *smile*
Well, I am going to be on my way as Ed and I are going to go grocery shopping and eat lunch out somewhere. I hope you are having wonderful weekend with your families. God Bless!

ANOTHER Conglomeration!

Last night....Friday.... turned out to be very interesting AND enjoyable. Daniel stopped by after work as he, his brother-in-law Brian and Ed were going to the inaugral football game at Logan's NEW football stadium! We are talking SO new that they just finished the parking lot paving and sealing yesterday afternoon at three o'clock AND the marking of parking spaces at five o'clock!!! Here is the architect's rendering of it, though Ed says it doesn't do it justice. Oh yes, and Logan beat Lancaster 27-3!!! (But....what does a state-of-the-art football stadium have to do with getting a quality education? That's another post for another time....)

Soooooo, I invited Erin up to spend the evening with me. Then I called my dear friend, Sis. Pam, to join us AND Erin asked if I minded if Sis. Debbie brought her son Joey down at around 7pm so she could give him a haircut and I said that would be fine. Soo00, Sis. Pam came bearing homemade bread, corn-on-the-cob and fresh tomatoes, while I had fried some yummy boneless chicken breasts and made chicken rice-a-roni with broccoli and we had us a scrumptious supper, which Erin joined us in enjoying!! It was so nice to sit around the table with the girls enjoying good food and friendship and conversation. Now, I am not able to wait on everyone and all, but Erin Maree and Pam are so good about just coming in and making themselves at home and all. I just love that! *smile* We all sat out on the back porch and watched and chatted while Erin cut Joey's hair. He is 9 years old and wants to be like Daniel. *grin* He's worn his hair kind of longish, down on his forehead for a long time but he asked Erin to cut it short like Daniel's.
************************************
Later in the evening, we retired to the den and Erin commenced to showing me and Sis. Pam the things that she and Daniel and gotten for little Jaylin so far. Talk about some cute clothes!! And Erin's mom was so kind to buy the bedding and all for the baby's room and Erin brought that up,too. The design is called Mod Turtle. It is soooo adorable! Oh, and the little guy does have THE most important, must-have outfit for any little guy born in Ohio, the BUCKEYE state, as show below:
And as I was taking the above picture I just noticed that even Ellie's kitty toy matches the OSU theme in the den! See?.........

A conglomeration of things!

Hi everyone! I can't stay on here long because we need the phone line to be open. We have been endeavoring to secure someone to move Daniel and Erin's mobile home in next door and have not been very successful. There are only a handful of people that do it and they are soooo busy at this time of the year! BUT I have to believe it will get moved and set up when the Lord means for it to!
***************************************
Bro. Jim Phillips preached at church both services this past Sunday and the presence of the Lord was just awesome! Especially Sunday night as many people were blessed and renewed and ministered to so wonderfully. We also had a new young lady come to the altar and get a beautiful touch from the Lord. God is still moving in Logan, Ohio!
***************************************
I was coming out of the prayer room Sunday evening before service and I felt a hand on my shoulder and this deep voice say, "Hey Moms". It was my son! Daniel! He and Erin had come up to be in service with us that evening! I was soooo excited! Yes, we talk to them often and see them often but to have them in service with us, worshipping the Lord and Daniel playing the drums....well, it is just an extra-special time and blessing. Daniel and Ihave such a connection when we play together. He makes me sound better than I am and can he play those drums.! I never cease to be amazed at his talent. We just click and the Lord annoints and it is so awesome! And he and Erin are such beautiful worshippers. Truly, I am thankful that my children walk in truth, so thankful that they love the Lord.
****************************************
I was kind of in a cleaning mood Monday......well, I just saw that there was quite a gathering of dust in my bedroom, sooooo I commenced to taking down curtains, cleaning windows and blinds, dusting walls. I also cleaned the living room windows and curtains. In all, that's four windows. Ed helped with putting the curtains back up the next day, but other than that, I did most of it myself. I was in pain most of the time, but I managed with my trusty walker by my side. Everything smelled so fresh and clean when I got done. Needless to say, the pain level has really spiked these past two days, but I can't just sit around and let things go and, all in all, I guess it is just the price I pay for doing things that I like and want to do.
*****************************************
Yesterday, I tried a new recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork. It was pretty delish! Today, I am making Creamy Cucumbers and Onions and grilling some burgers. I have several cookbooks that I checked out at the local library. I love to browse through cookbooks. I've been trying some new recipes out but most often when I find a new recipe, it has ingredients that I don't have on hand, so it has been a bit of a slow process but fun!
*****************************************
One of my fond childhood memories was sitting at the table with my mother's one and only cookbook, looking at the pictures. I loved doing this and for some reason, I particularly remember a picture of the most delicious-looking baked beans. I even remember that they were in a brown crock of some sort. Isn't it odd the things that we remember? *smile*

IT'S A BOY!!

Hi Everyone! Daniel and Erin found out Tuesday that they are having a little baby boy! At least for the time being, they are planning to name him Jaylin Daniel. I am not sure if that is the correct spelling, but you get the idea! We are so excited! Last Saturday, Daniel put his hands on Erin's belly, leaned down and started singing the Ohio State fight song softly to the little guy.....

Drive, Drive on down the field,

Men of the scarlet and gray;

Don't let them through that line,

We've got to win this game today,

COME ON OHIO!

Smash through to victory,

We cheer you as you go!

Our honor defend,

We will fight to the end,

For OHIO!

to little Jaylin. He said he hoped that when he is born that he will come out doing the O-H-I-O hand signals, for heaven's sake! LOL I said I was hoping for something a little more spiritual...*SIGH* *smile* It is so much fun to think of having a little grandson!!! We are stoked!! Erin would like to do the baby's room in a contemporary blue/green/tan or blue/brown/tan motif and they are both adorable. Of course, Daniel wants to go Ohio State all the way. We'll see! *smile* I've already started an OSU baby afghan for him! Oh, it's so exciting!!

Can you believe it?

Sooooo.....first, I must remind you that I have dial-up, okay? Well, I was endeavoring to access the Olympics TV schedule website and it kept loading and loading and loading....taking forever.....soooo, while waiting, I tabbed my adopted son's blog and it loaded almost instantly! I couldn't believe it! To think that the Olympics page would take longer to load than Donnie's......well, they just haven't visited his blog apparently! (I love you, Donnie..*grin*) The reason I say this is because I just couldn't believe that there were THAT many people wanting to access the Olympics page, causing it to be so sluggish. BUT then I remembered that there were, no doubt, millions of people trying to access that webpage! But.......isn't it easy to forget sometimes that there are millions and billions of people in this world in which we live and, in actuality, we make up such a small portion of it? I mean, we each live in our own little part of the world AND if you don't travel much....which I don't and haven't.......it is even easier to become insulated from the "reality" of our world. While I try so to stay informed and aware, to truly comprehend the vastness of this earth, it is a bit mind-boggling at times. On the flipside of this is the fact that, while this earth seems so huge to us in one sense, when compared to the universe, we are so miniscule. It causes me truly to think......
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Oh, but I am so thankful that He is mindful of me and cares so much for me! There is an old song that says it so well:
"I can't even walk without You holding my hand,
The mountain's too high and the valley's too wide,
Down on my knees, that's where I learned to stand,
And I can't even walk without you holding my hand."
*****************************************************
And just so you know..........the Olympics may be going on, but your blog (Take Two) is the first one I visit each day. (And don't be telling me to get a life either!)

American Meat Loaf

I was looking for a crockpot meatloaf recipe online and found this one and it is delicious, so I thought I would share it with you! Here it is:

American Meatloaf

2 lbs. of ground beef
1 onion chopped
1/2 can of tomato soup
1 tbsp. of worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg

Sauce:

1/2 can tomato soup
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of water
2 tsp. mustard
2 tbsp. brown sugar

Make two long strips of aluminum foil, long enough to fit in the crockpot
and overhang the sides. When the meatloaf is done, you will use this to to
remove it from the crockpot.
Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together....use those hands! :-)
Place meatloaf in crockpot. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour
over the meatloaf. Seal aluminum foil and cook for 8-9 hours on low or 4-6
hours on high.
Absolutely delicious!

Free????

My friend, Pam, and I went to Lancaster Tuesday. She had a doctor's appt. and we did some shopping and had lunch afterwards. I knew that Catherine's was having a great sale but I didn't know how great. My friend, Stacy, had worn a beautiful blouse to camp last week that she had gotten at Catherine's and I wanted one. They had ONE left and it was my size! Soooo, I took it to the register. All clearance items were 50% and then the clerk told me that if I opened a charge account I would get the blouse free, so of course I did. I got my blouse FREE!! I could hardly believe it! This great sale is taking place online at their website, too, so you may want to go there and have a look! And I also purchased a matching t-shirt at C.J. Banks for 1/2 price....$10.00! Here are my bargains:

Oh, and a few weeks ago, Daniel and Erin's church had a yard sale and I got a brand new Liz Claiborne purse for $1.00!!!! I love Liz Claiborne purses because they are so organized inside. I usually am able to get one at Value City in Lancaster for half-price or more but I was REALLY happy to get this one!!!

Keeping up with the times

Would you believe that we...Ed and I....having finally joined the ranks of online banking customers and billpayers?? And I love it! It all started when we got a check in the mail for something or other and Ed was kind of pondering what to do with it or where to put it and I suggested opening an acount to do bill-paying with. We had talked about it a few times and, alas! We finally did it! And I can hardly believe how convenient it is! Unbelievable!! AND we COULD actually sign up for direct deposits on all of our income and NEVER see our money!
Okay, now I know that some of you may already do this and so it is no big deal but I am a bit slow when it comes to some of these modern things, okay?
Actually, I believe Daniel and Erin may already do this sort of thing. They have their paychecks direct-deposited, use debit cards, and online bill pay for everything. They seldom, if ever, use cash.
My goodness, they even take debit cards and credit cards at church camp now because the other night Bro. Dillingham was taking up the offering and said not to worry if we didn't have cash because they now accepted both! Well, I knew that PPH took credit cards and perhaps the DVD/CD booth does, too, but now you can do offerings the same way.
Anywayyyyy....I love the online bill pay! Do you do this? Let me know and tell me what you like or dislike about it?
Also, I have been doing more and more shopping online, as far as my clothing and few other things goes. You see, to shop for clothes, I have to drive to Lancaster or Athens and even further sometimes and with gas prices the way they are, it is sometimes less expensive (cheaper!) to just shop online. I have found a couple of places where the sizes are consistent and also, you can get sale prices and seasonal bargains online just the same as in the stores! Sometimes better!
One of the online stores I love is CJ Banks. AND QVC! AND AMAZON BOOKS! Okay, that is threeeee!
Well, I must be about my day! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to a good week! God bless!