In spite of my shingles, the weekend went off without a hitch. We had 28 for the Friday night spaghetti feed which was followed by the traditional dice game. A number of us elected to be the peanut gallery as it's not so much fun with more than eight players. Yolanda (in the red) won the game and chalked it up to beginners luck. This is her first year. She's Ian's ex-wife, mother of his four children. She and her boyfriend of some 20 years came and camped with us this year.
My oldest grandson John flew out from Massachu-
setts with his girlfriend Shannon. The kids had the scare of their life. Their plane was struck by lightning after their layover in Chicago and on the assent. John said it struck the nose of the plane, the cabin filled with bright white light and the plane shuddered frighteningly. The pilot turned the craft around sharply and landed, deplaning all the passengers because the plane was broken. It's Shannon's first time out of the state - how scary!
John and his Uncle Matt had an instant rapport last year and spent a lot of time together again this year. All weekend long someone would comment on how they couldn't get over their strong resemblance and that they act so much alike. If you're unfamiliar with John's story, I blogged about it here.
Lexie spent all weekend working on double hoola hoops until she finally got it. Someone drove over the smaller one but she made it work anyway.
We had thirteen children on Sunday and where you have boys and dirt and trucks, you get this. If you can't tell, our high energy dogs are exhausted. The boys spent a considerable while sliding down the bank on their seats. That attraction is timeless!
Petie brought his banjo again this year. He follows bluegrass festivals throughout the summer months, including Rockygrass and Telluride but has given up the Strawberry Festival, also this weekend, to spend it with us. He and Ian went to community college together! He comes early to help us set up and stays late to help us clean up. He worried that he had overstayed his welcome and I told him that wasn't going to happen!
This is the picture that my stepdaughter Margi was staging to catch all seven step-sibs and their partners. I jumped in it and looking at my Prednisone bloated body, certainly wish I had rethought. No one wanted to pose and there was a lot of grumbling, but I wish we could have gone further and brought in the grandchildren. John and Shannon had already flown out by this time. Next year we'll plan pictures in advance and use a tripod.
The doctor blasted my shingles with Prednisone at nine tablets a day. I'm down to two twice a day today and one a day starting tomorrow. I couldn't sleep all weekend and everything was so funny. I kept wondering if I was having a nervous breakdown. You dropped your plate in the dirt? HaHaHa. The dog ate your burger? HaHaHa. After everyone left, I looked Prednisone on my favorite medical advice website which represents The National Library of Medicine and NIH to mention a few. The first two side effects of Prednisone are "inability to fall asleep and stay asleep" and the second was "inappropriate happy moods." Phew - they were side effects. I am NOT having a nervous breakdown.
As for the extent of the shingles, I am fortunate that it was my C5 nerve affected, so the lesions are limited to my right neck and shoulder area. As the lesions have started to scab finally, I notice that they form a scab platelet and I wonder if it's this appearance that have given the syndrome it's name. A couple of FYIs I've since learned - you can't catch shingles from shingles, but if you've never had chicken pox, you can catch those from shingles. And, a very cool bit of information, if you are over 60, there's a shingles shot available so you don't catch them at all. The doc says that the stress of worrying over Ian's illness made me vulnerable. They're not fun, wherever you get them, but it could have been so much worse! Thanks for your expressed concerns and well wishes. I'm mostly reading and knitting these days. Wait! How is that a bad thing???
10 comments:
It looks like you ALL had a great time! Isn't it wonderful when family can get together! And, as for the shingles....you were indeed lucky! I know some people who had a rough time. I wish they would give the vaccine before 60!!!!
Looks like a fun, exhausting weekend! What a lovely family!
You had the better reaction to prednisone. I was on it once for a severe skin allergic reaction. When the dr. asked me how it was working out, I told him that they should have told my family to remove all the sharp knives from the house. I'm not one to experience rage...but prednisone will do it for me.
I love family get-togethers and you must have a wonderful family!
"Inappropriate happy moods"? At least you had an appropriate venue to have them in! Looks like a great gathering.
Cool beans! Looks like a good time was had by all, except for th heath issue raising its ugly head. Sorry about that. (I can not handle steroids of any kind so I'll just stay away...) ;)
Hmm, prednisone is sounding kinda fun! It was so good to talk to you, and I'm thankful it was a great time for all. I think if my husband had an ex, that would be weird for me, but I know a lot of people handle it well.
That's a huge group of guests but it looks like they all had a great time. I remember when my grandmother had to take Prednisone. She was very shakey and looked kind of spaced out all the time.
What a wonderful weekend Sharon! Glad you're on the mend too!
Looks like a fabulous time with friends and family.
I think they recommend you get the vaccine even if you have had the shingles now.
Shingles are SO painful! Funny about the steroids. I've just heard people say they feel like they could kill someone! Edgy and irritable. Sounds like you managed to enjoy the fun and a good time was had by all. Love the many pictures!
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