Happy Birthday...

... To Me :-)

Thank y'all for your kind words, good wishes and prayers. I still have the headache. It is less severe if I forgo the computer. So I still am not able to visit each of your blogs.

My mother tells me it was extremely hot when I was born. The hospital was but a house made into a hospital. There was no air conditioning.... just a metal fan blowing the hot air around. Mama's kidneys failed. At one time my Daddy was told that Mama and I were dead. I often wonder how that mix-up happened. Somehow Mama and me survived. I became number four of 5 Zs :-)

August's flower is the gladiola.



The gladiola is one of those rare plants that is most commonly referred to by a variant of its botanical/Latin name gladiolus.

The common names for the gladiola are glad, corn-flag, corn iris, and sword-lily. The term corn-flag and corn iris refer to the fact that they are unwelcome pests in corn and grain fields. The name sword-lily is a reference to their Latin name.

The Latin term gladiolus is rich in meaning. The Roman sword was a gladius and a diminutive sword was a gladiolus. Linnaeus is attributed with naming the gladiolus and it is suggested that he borrowed from Pliny’s writings which referred to the plant’s sword-shaped leaves. The same word is the root for the word gladiator who was a soldier who “lived or died by the sword.” It seems natural that a plant that shares its name with warriors would be a symbol for ‘strength of character.’

Like many flowers that figure in Greek mythology, the gladiola is said to have sprung up from the blood of a person who died violently. When Hyacinthus was killed by Apollo’s reckless discus toss, Ovid said that the flowers that sprang up from his body were hyacinths. However, some argue that Ovid was wrong and that the blossoms were actually gladiolas.

The gladiola represents strength of character, sincerity, and generosity.

Thanks to Mildred at Nalley Valley I will have more glads next year.

I plan on having a nice quiet birthday at home.... doing laundry. A nice chicken soup is for dinner. I have such a great sweetheart.

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Hi Everyone!

I've made it through most of the emails and comments on my last post. I thank everyone for the good wishes and prayers... they were very much appreciated.

I came home from the hospital Friday of last week feeling pretty good. I had been walking up and down the long hallway of the hospital with my walker. I was a bit tired when I got home, so I went to bed for a couple of hours. I took some Darvocet at about 5 pm and felt good enough to get a bath. During my bath my stomach started churning and I really didn't feel well. Being I'm suppose to have back support when I can, I thought it best to get back to my chair in the living room as soon as possible. I made it about half way and started feeling faint. I managed to give Frank enough notice for him to get a chair underneath me. He said it seemed like forever before I came to. Then I threw up... eww! Somehow we managed to get me to my chair and I rested a while. I kept throwing up though. Then I made it to my bed and still continued to throw up. Saturday morning Frank called my surgeon and got a prescription for Phenergan. That stuff usually works quickly, but this time it didn't work at all. So Frank called an ambulance to get me to the hospital (I was too weak to walk to the car). I spent Saturday and Sunday night back in the hospital and came home Monday morning. Basically... the Darvocet is was what made me sick. I haven't taken any more of it... sticking with extra strength Tylenol.

I'm feeling much better... my energy level is slowly coming back. Today I'm walking pretty steady without my cane. Coffee is tasting like coffee again. It does seem to irritate my stomach a bit though, so I'm limiting it :-)

I'm hoping this afternoon I can walk outside for a bit. I think the high today is suppose to be 67 degrees, which is much warmer than the past couple of days. Fresh air would be nice. I hope in the next few days to start catching up on your blogs and with my friends at Flickr.

The plant in the picture is an OUTDOOR SATUSUKI AZALEA that my sister sent to me. My sister has a few beautiful items for sale at eBay . Check it out... you might find that Special Christmas Gift :-)
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If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give. -- George MacDonald
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