Did you ever have one of those weekends?

This past weekend has been a bitch as far as I am concerned.

It all started Friday evening when I get a call about 4:30.  I find out that my grandfather had fallen out of his bed the night before and had been on the floor for at least 12 hours and possibly 18 hours.  My cousin asks me if I can help so I fly out the door.  Problem is that in St. George, it takes 20-30 minutes just to go 5 miles so by the time I make it there, my uncle had him picked up off the floor. 

Not long after that, my parents so up and decide to stay there the weekend to see how he is doing because he looks really ragged.

I find out on Sunday that my parents took him to the emergency room and that the X-rays show a "Compression Fracture of the Spine".  They tell me it is like broken ribs.  There is not much you can do for them but treat the pain. 

My Mom asked me if I could stay with them Sunday night to make sure everything is OK because she is a teacher and needs to get to Mesquite to get her classroom arranged.  I wasn't thrilled and plenty scared but there is no way I can say "No" to my mom.  I get there and the evening wasn't bad at all.

I help him get into bed they settle down for the night.  About 1:00 in the morning, my grandma calls me because grandpa needs to go to the bathroom and he can't move.  I try to swing the legs over the each of the bed but he starts howling in pain.  Right then and there I know I am in over my head and there is no help from anywhere.  It is so incredibly scary to realize that you are the only one and someone else in pain is depending on you.  After 30 minutes, I finally get him out of bed and get him taken care of.  I was able to get him back into bed but after that, I can't sleep.  Hearing him scream in such pain really got to me.

I had to do the same thing at 4:00 then again at 6:30.  Each time was as hard as the last.  That screaming doesn't get any easier.  I have come to label it "Heartless Compassion." 

I went home but called in sick.  I was to tired and my nerves were frazzled for me to concentrate on anything so I went back to bed.

I get a call about noon from an aunt saying they hadn't gotten out of bed yet so they needed me to help more.  By the time I got there they were out of bed but hungry.  I stayed there in the afternoon meanwhile trying to call insurance company to see what can be done about home care because the way things were going, they couldn't be left alone and everyone in the family had jobs.  While I am trying to learn as I go with insurance, my aunt is falling apart and the rest of the family seemed to be eating itself apart with all the tensions.  My parents decided to stay last night with my grandparents and took them to the doctor.  They have solved some of the problems and tomorrow, grandpa goes in to get an MRI.

Even today, I am having difficulty trying to cope with what happened yesterday and hearing someone howl in such pain.

I guess it comes down to this, growing old SUCKS!!!! 

Finally a break away from St. George

I was finally able to get out of town for a bit.  My friend did a show up in Beaver on Friday night.  I went up to help him set up and take everything down.  It was a beautiful night and I was actually able to enjoy a nice evening breeze. 

The crowd was fun but on the wild side.  I love small towns where they sale beer on site.  They get to drinking and all sorts of fun ensues.  There are times I should have a "Security" t-shirt on cause the locals were getting all over him.  It did make me laugh.  He even signed a girls backside.  It was a shapely backside.  I will say that.

After we finished up backing the band up, we took off up the mountains to hang at the condo.  It was a warm night but so relaxing.

On Saturday, we went down to Three Creek Reservoir to check the area out.  It had been about 20 years since I had been in that area and could remember it.  It was awesome. 

We tried some stream fishing but didn't have much luck.  I gave up and did some hiking around.  The scenery is memerable to say the least.  Here some pictures from the area.

 

From here we went down about 20 miles south to my friends ranch to stay Saturday night.  We went spotting deer and had some good luck there.  We crashed at the cabin then headed back down on Sunday.  It was a wonderful way to recharge the batteries.

Quick music review.

I have been in a mood for '80s rock.  Not the same old songs from the bands but something new from those old bands.  I got my wish.

I downloaded "Lightening Strikes Again" from Dokken.  There are a couple of songs that really struck me.  I like the first track: Standing on the Outside.  It was a fast paced song and the guitar licks reminded my of the original guitarist, George Lynch.  The album as a whole is very well done.  It sounds polished and they are on their game.

I always like Dokken.  They seemed like sheep when it came to their image but their songs went a lot deeper and their musical abilities were among the best in the genre in my opinion. 

If you are in a mood for some good '80s style rock, check this album out.

Some old school Rock.

Today's update.

Today I:

 

I ate at In-n-Out Burger.  It was the grand opening of the joint here in town and the first in the state of confusion...ER...Utah. I had a double-double and it hit the spot.  As far as what it took to get the burger?  Just a 30 minute wait in line at the drive thru.  Talk about putting up with a lot just to get a burger.  It was well worth it but now I think I will let the crowds die down before doing that again.

 

Happy Birthday Dad.

I had a special treat this week.  My dad came down on his annual trip to the south land.  He and his wife, Karen, crashed here Tuesday and Wednesday.  We had a good visit last night catching up and seeing how everything was.  He even tried my left-handed strung guitar.  It isn't as easy as it looks folks.

Anyway it is his 60th birthday and we went up to Zion's National Park.  He wanted to go up Observation Point on the East Rim trail.  If you know Zion's, it is a really steep and long climb.  We found a back way in by going above the park and hiking back into the park.  It was about a 7 mile round trip hike but not hard at all.  It was very windy but not really that cold.  It made for a fun day.

I am happy he made it here and that we were able to spend the day together.

 

Above is a picture of Angel's landing from observation.  It is an awesome sight.

Added security

I had to tighten up the security since some idiot decided to start spamming my blog. Got ahead and post replies if you want and I will approve them. Just not from spamming idiots.

The Miracle of Life

About a week ago, my friend's yellow lab had pups.  It was amazing to see these little guys.  It was the mother's first litter and we figured/knew there was going to be complications.  The amazing part?  No complications what so ever and even know it is her first litter, she has taken to the part like she was an old hand.  She was caring for each pup and so far, all are healthy and being watched over by a doting mother.  I need to get over there to see how they are doing and how they are growing.  It is just amazing to see.  My goal is to get a picture with a whole litter of pups jumping all over me.

 

Not to be out done, my fish decided to commit parenthood also.  The funny part is that I had no idea about this till a week ago when I saw this little guy some swimming out of the this wooded alcove that the fish built up.  I haven't seen any other besides this one so I am quite thrilled and a tad bit confused.  I thought the fish I had weren't compatible for breeding.  I was wrong.  Last set of fish I had were convicts and when they breed.  There is a BUNCH and it looks like a little cloud in the tank.  It was fun watching them grow but it put the other fish under a lot a stress and the convicts are a VERY protective species when it comes to their young.  Just to give you a frame of reference the rocks you see in this picture are no larger that little pebbles you would find in a creek.  He is about 1/4 of an inch long.  He is getting braver and will swim out of the alcove but not to far.  He is smart enough to stay close by so he doesn't get eaten.  Sad part is even my fish are having a better time than I am. 

Quick update from last post.

I had my first lesson tonight. The teacher is a coworker of mine and he is gonna challenge me. I am excited. I didn't realize that how much my left hand knew about the guitar and chords that my right hand will have to learn. I will have to start basically from scratch. I am up for the challenge.

He will even teach me music theory for possibly *gulp* writing songs. Now THAT will be a challenge.

For me, it is kind of a big deal.

I have been thinking about doing this for a while now.  What you may ask?  Well, you make ask.  :P

 

Anyway before I let you know about I decided to do, let me lay down a little bit of history.  I like music.  Eh, let me say that I freaking LOVE music.  It touches my soul and helps me through tough times and also helps me through the good times. 

I had always wanted to learn how to play the guitar and I did take lessons for a while and got to were I could play and people actually could recognize the songs I was playing.  It gave me great happiness.  I would practice and get down the lessons my teacher prepared and felt like I was growing. 

Then something bad happened, I got engaged, then broke up and right after that?  I broke my left wrist.  It was a nasty break.  It took me over a year to recuperate and even then, I hadn't picked my guitar back up to play.  It would sit in a corner and I would look at it.  I would pull it out to play.  It felt good but since I was using my left wrist for the chords, it caused me a lot of pain if I played for any amount of time.  It still feels like there is a hole in my soul and something that needs to be filled.

Here is the funny thing, I am left handed.  I learned out to play right handed.  Go figure.  I decided a while back to restring my guitar to be a left handed guitar but never moved on it.  Just a couple of days ago, I learned that one of my coworkers is a guitar teacher and he agreed to take me on.  We start tomorrow.

It is going to be a challenge but I am excited to start to fill up a gap that has been in me for the longest time.

Wish me luck.

Easter Weekend

So how is your weekend?  Mine has been interesting.  I found out on Friday that my grandmother, the one that had broken her hip, decided to check out of the rehab center and go home.  That has cause a lot of stress in the family.  We are now scrambling to make sure the house is accessible to her so that she can get around in comfort.  There is still more work to be done.

Now to jump back a day.  I went with a friend, Erin to the Nashville tribute to the Prophet.  It was a blast and VERY uplifting.  I have to say that the music was excellent and the singing was awesome.  Thanks Erin for showing me the light.  I just need to get the sound track.

Now to jump forward, after the trying morning with my grandparents, I needed to get out so I went with some friends.  The original plan was to go out the Gunlock reservoir and check out the area.  We didn't make it all the way out but turned off on a road and found a hiking trail that led us to some hieroglyphs.  It was a blast.  There is something about looking at the writings from another time.  I wish had the learning to know what they were writing.

I want to take a moment and express my gratitude for out Savior and the sacrifice He made for all of us and the fact that he has risen from the grave to give us a chance to return.  I know I have fallen short but I still appreciate what He has done.

I hope you all have a happy Easter and I hope you have success.

I must come from a tough family.

About a month a ago my grandmother fell and broke her hip. It was scary and sad at the same time. They took her in a couple of days later to operate on the hip and put a clamp on the hip. It was a success.
She is doing well. She is at the rehab center now. My grandfather spends the day over there to be with her. He has held up well with all of this. I feel bad for him but he loves her so much.
Today, she did take about 50 steps with the help of a walker. I am so happy to hear that. I have been told that for someone over 80, a breakage in the hip is something major. I just keep my finger crossed and pray a lot.
I just hope I can be a strong as she.