My Topsy Turvy World

There was a heavy frost when we got up this morning. It's April and almost Easter and we shouldn't be having winter weather! I'm glad we still have the heat on. The sun came up and it would have been a nice day except for the cold wind that blew all day. 


Work is progressing on our new bathroom addition. The plumber came today and added the faucets, installed the "high rise" commode (all old people need one of these) and started working on installing the glass sides and glass door of the corner walk-in shower. He'll be back tomorrow.


The builder worked on putting up tile around the whirlpool jacuzzi yesterday and had to stop to try to find some bull nose tile for the edge. He tiled the area for the plumber to install the roman bath faucets on top of the short wall.


We left at 1 p.m. to go to nearby town of Opp to get our teeth cleaned at our friend Chuck Burgess' dental office. He has 2 dental hygienists now and the new one cleaned my teeth and almost pulled them out while working on them. When she started lowering the chair and putting me in a "lying down" position, I explained to her that I get dizzy in that position. Being as she isn't very tall, she said she had to do that so she could see inside my mouth better. Well I tolerated this for the time she was working on my mouth and when she had finished and Chuck's son Walter (recently graduated and joined his dad's practice) came to check for cavities, etc., I was beginning to feel dizzy to the point of almost being nauseated.


She let my chair back up and I noticed I couldn't read the print on a poster on the wall - everything was blurred, even with my glasses on. I told her I needed to sit there for a few minutes. I walked back to the receptionist's desk and had difficulty writing a check (also shocked at the amount of cleaning for two people; they seem to raise their prices every 6 mo. when we go back). I was finished before Jim so I sat in the waiting room and felt sicker and sicker. When he came into the waiting room, I held to his arm and we walked outside. I had difficulty walking to the car.


We went to a nearby grocery store for a few items, and I was unable to stand up to go to the store. Instead, we went about a block to our Doctor's office, and went inside and told them what was happening and they took me to a room immediately and checked for signs of a stroke (I've had two mini-strokes but they were different). We decided that this was due to some fluid that was backed up behind my ear drum and I have been using a steroid nasal spray for almost a week to clear that up. My blood pressure was high but it always is when I go to the Dr. They told me to come home and rest and that's what I have done for the last 6 hours - wasted an entire evening!


I'm glad I'm over the dizziness and will be able to go to Dothan in the morning for a 6-month check up with my cardiologist. I almost had to have a pace maker last September but that all worked out and my heart rate is close to normal. Maybe walking on the treadmill and getting my heart rate up for about 30 minutes several times a week has helped get me back on track.


I'm very positive that tomorrow I will not be dizzy and will have a "normal" day and can be more productive.
Now you know why I titled this post "Topsy Turvy World".

Building a new bathroom

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, the day of our son James' gall bladder surgery, the construction crew were at our house removing bricks from the wall of our back master bedroom to make way for adding a large room to include a new bathroom and two large walk-in closets.

A large plastic cloth was attached to the bare wall where the bricks were removed. Work was suspended the following week due to our son's death on Monday, Feb. 2. The following week they were back. First they had to get an area ready to pour the cement foundation. Then once that dried, the walls began to go up. Next the roof was tied into the existing roof.

Then the soffits were built to match our 1950s home. Windows from our bedroom wall were used for the new room, on two walls.
Then the workers put the whirlpool tub and shower base inside before framing up the room.Things really began to get dusty when the sheet rock was nailed to the walls.

While we were on a trip to SC, the workers did the finishing work to the seams of the sheet rock and sprayed
 the ceiling. This week they have been putting up the trim around the windows and crown molding. Double folding doors were added to the two closets.

As of today, April 1, they have put a final coat of dreamy yellow Valspar eggshell paint over the primer coat of paint on the walls. Next they will glue the vinyl 16" tiles to the floor. This will be done tomorrow.

What's left to do? Install the commode, put walls and door on corner shower, place ceramic tile over the whirlpool tub for about 2 ft above the tub, install the vanity, mirror, faucets, lights, and shelving in closets. I can hardly wait to have my own closet again, and a big one at that.

Since there were windows removed from the back wall of the bedroom, the opening was covered and paneling put over the holes. The bedroom walls will be painted and new, wider brown molding put in the bedroom.

I'm projecting the project will be completed and we will have the room furnished, etc by April 15th. Maybe we'll plan a "Bathroom Reception or Tour" when this project is completed!

March came in like a lion and went out like a lion!

I've been so busy the past few weeks that I haven't had time to write. This photo of Jim and me was taken yesterday, right after church.

We were so happy to see the sun shining after two days of really bad weather. Two mornings in a row we woke up to sirens sounding off, warning us of approaching tornados coming toward our town. We had company, Jim's brother Larry and his wife Suzi, were visiting us from Virginia Beach, VA. They were unable to come when our son died on Feb. 2nd and wanted to come for a visit. We had planned a trip to Mobile to the flowers festival and to tour Bellingrath Gardens. With the approaching bad weather, we decided to stay in Elba over the week-end and that was a good decision.

We had lots of time to visit and reflect about the lives of Jim's and Larry's mom, who died in September and our son's death in February. There were so many memories of their lives that we recalled. We took a trip to the cemetery for them to see the monument for our plot.

They went to church with us on Sunday, and on Saturday when the rain stopped for a spell, they went to Lowe's with us to pick out some things for our new bathroom.

We have been gone (SC) or had company for the past 2 weeks and have let things "pile up". But it's so nice to sometimes to just let things go and move along. That's what we have been doing.

Tomorrow we will get back on track. The carpenters, brick mason and painter will be back to continue to work on our new room we are adding to our house. We told them not to come while we had company - and now they've gone home. Back to the old grind...........

Jim's Social Security arrived yesterday!

Yesterday Jim received a "paper check" from Social Security after they made several attempts to send it to our bank, and having it returned by the bank. The bank said they never received the checks. So... who's at fault?  We were amazed at the reply from the Social Security representative when we asked if they could send a paper check until the bank problem was resolved.  She said they aren't set up to mail checks and it could take 7-10 days!


Anyway, we will take the check for two months' payment to the bank today. We are trying to work out a plan to have the monthly check sent to another bank in Elba where we have a special account, and then transfer funds to our checking account. We'll see if this works out.


Now maybe he will be back on Medicare and our prescription plan will be back in effect, etc. When his social security stopped, it trickled down to other programs being cut out!


Please rejoice with us that once again we now have enough income to buy groceries and pay bills. And even take a short trip next week to Charleston, SC to spend a couple of days with our son Bill and 2 daughters. We will meet them there to check out the College of Charleston with Katie. She was also accepted by the Univ. of SC and will visit there soon.

Getting ready for the State DAR Annual Meeting

First of all, an update for the last blog. Jim has not received Feb. or March Social Security checks as of this date! They have attempted to do direct deposit but Wachovia Bank keeps bouncing the checks back to SS.

Last week the Social Security representative in Andalusia said they would mail paper checks and we should get them in 7-10 days. He suggested we use another bank to see the checks would go to a new account. We also bank at Troy Bank (local) and will try having our checks sent there in April.

Now for the DAR news... I am a member of the John Coffee DAR Chapter and 3 of us "daughters" are going to Auburn on March 11-12 to attend the Alabama DAR annual meeting. Our District is responsible for all the arrangements this year, which includes table arrangements for luncheons and banquet Wed. night. Our chapter will assist with the Regent's Banquet. We will be assisting a chapter in Montgomery. They asked if we would provide 25 "favors" for the officers and guests at the head tables. We will have 9 out-of-state guests at the first tier head table. We tried to come up with something for them to take back home as a remembrance of their trip to the Ala. conference.

One of our members does beautiful china painting and I knew she had been painting little tea bag caddies for her craft show in May at Ole Alabama Town in Montgomery. I thought those would make beautiful gifts for our ladies and asked if she would sell me 25 @$3 each. I picked them up on Friday and have enjoyed looking at them. Here you see a photo of the caddies.

I wrapped the little dishes in tissue paper, included some green tea bags as well as some other assorted tea bags, and then wrapped the package in white toole. Added some shamrock decorations and green ribbons for the bows. I printed out little gift tags with a note about the artist and our club's name. I can't wait for the ladies to unwrap their gifts. I'll take my camera and get  some photos.

Jim is going to the the state meeting with me. He will attend the National Defense luncheon on Wed.with 

me, along with my friend Jane and her husband. He and Jim can keep each other company while we are attending the meetings.

We have 53 members in our DAR chapter, but many live away from this area. It's a shame that only 3 members are attending the state meeting. I go every year and enjoy all the events and seeing old friends.

I usually get an award from the NSDAR Genealogy Preservation Committee for over 100 volunteer hours each year, copying old applications onto the DAR computer website. This year I am a state winner in the American Heritage Division for the rag rug I crocheted. It was entered in the fiber arts category. They sent the application on to the National level. It would be neat to win there.

The conference is being held at the Auburn University Inn and Dixon Conference Center on the Auburn University campus.. We got our reservations in late so we are having to stay 3 miles away from the conference center.

The conference meals are all very expensive, I think. The luncheon is $25 each, the banquet is $39, and breakfast is about $20 I think. I'm only eating the luncheon meal. Wednesday night we plan to go out to eat with Jane and Jess, and get back for the 8 pm general meeting. A reception follows that so it will be a long day. We have to help host the reception and tonight I made cookies to add to the table of goodies. I hope the ladies don't linger at the reception so we can go to our rooms before midnight!

We plan to skip the breakfast event and eat the hotel continental food and go to the closing session at 9 am on Thurs., and vote for new officers, who serve for 3 years. We have to check out by 12 on Thurs. and will start back home after that.

The meeting is always held in March and I like to see what the new fashion is for spring every year. Then I'll go shopping for a new Easter outfit when I get back home.

My sister Christine is a DAR member in Maryland. She joined before I did and I used her papers to join. Apart form the revolutionary ancestor we joined under, we each have 9 other revolutionary ancestors we have researched and they are listed as supplementals on our record. My sister did all of the research and I just tagged along..... Thanks Chris!!

Update on Jim's Social Security Status

We thought Jim's social security check had been reinstated, or at least we were told that it was and that Feb and March checks were being deposited in our bank account last Thursday, Feb. 26.


Well, it didn't happen!! We checked our bank account online several times and when my check was deposited on Tuesday, March 3, we called the local social security office to see what happened.


You can't tall and talk to a person directly. You must leave a message and a day or two later they will call you back. Very frustrating! Tuesday Jim talked to the same person he has been talking to and she was so surprised that the checks had not been deposited and promised to check on it. She called back on Wed. and said the checks were returned by Wachovia bank! So Jim called a friend at Wachovia and he checked with the Direct Deposit people and they said they never received the checks.


So, where do you go from here? He called the lady back at the social security office and left a message yesterday that the checks were never sent to his account, and were not received by Wachovia.


Stay tuned for the next episode. In the meantime we had to take some cash from our savings account and put in our checking account so we could pay bills. Hopefully our main source of income will soon start back.

This all happened when someone made an error at the social security office in reporting our son's death and didn't notice that he and his dad have the same name, James Emory Gilmer, but one is Jr and one is Sr. They didn't use the right social security number. The canceled both checks instead of just one. Jim had to go to the SS office and declare that he was still living and they used photo ID's etc.


Hope you're never reported deceased until you really are!! It's almost as if you aren't around to correct the problem......

Hair styles of the past

You know how one thing reminds you of another. Today I learned that a childhood friend passed away in a nearby town. She was about 4 years older than I but when I was a teen, she seemed so much older! Her family lived near us when we lived in the country. On Saturday, I would wash my hair and walk about 1/2 mile to her house and she would "roll" my hair so I would have curls on Sunday morning when we went to church. My hair was naturally curly and really didn't need any more curls, but I wanted to be in style and have lots and lots of kinky curls. I was a pre-teen and it was so important to be "dressed up", especially on Sunday. I'm shown in this photo with a 1950's hairstyle. I was 17 when this photo was made, in the summer. I rolled my hair on curlers similar to those in the photo below to get this look. I used to cut my own hair back then.


I have thought about these particular curlers many times during my life time and probably not many people ever heard of them. The men of that time smoked Prince Albert tobacco, rolling their own cigarettes (another story someday), and they would give us the empty cans to store things in.


I never liked the smell of the tobacco and would try to rid the odor by putting sweet-smelling things in the can for awhile. We would take a pair of pliars and open the Prince Albert can at the side seam. Then we would use a pair of old scissors and cut narrow strips which we in turned covered with brown paper. Then we would small sections of hair around the curler and bend the ends to the center to keep the curler from falling off or uncurling. Those rollers never wore out. Next is a box containing a permanent wave. I tried one of these once and my fine, curly hair was matted like a cornsilk on the end of an ear of corn. Also shown are some examples of more modern day curlers - in the 60's and 70's.


These days I just wash my hair, several times a week, and let it air dry and it is covered with curls once more. It's so easy to wear this type hair style. I just have to remember to get it cut often.