Hi Ladies!  Well, after many years of not wanting to do Facebook, some of my family and friends are on and have coaxed me into it kicking and screaming...lol...it is probably better for me as I can stay in touch with them much easier.

Please look for me on there under Mary Wilson Atkinson and add me as a friend...would love to chat with you all there too.

Hello my dear friends!

I have been in a very bad state for the past two months now.  I have been battling a chronic sinus infection that is resisting treatment.  I have been on antibiotics (for the initial infection), can’t take decongestants as it raises my blood pressure and heart rate, take anti-inflammatory (may have to switch to a stronger one), three medrol prednisolone packs (which helped considerably and then you are yanked off of them)...I have done saline sprays, nasal steroid spray, warm compresses, warm water salt gargle, take extra Vitamin C and a multi-vite to increase immune system.  I have seen my ENT twice, he did a hearing test and a tympanogram which measures the pressure in your ear and to see if there is fluid behind the eardrum....no fluid showed, but slight negative pressure in right ear.  I have something called  

              eustation tube dysfunction, so it takes a long time for my ears to pop when swollen.

I am physically exhausted as this takes a huge toll on a person, so now I will be scheduled for CAT scans.

I pray something is done as I cannot continue this way or at least one of the doctors use some urgency on this.  I am hoping to get into seeing my GP by tomorrow.  I will be able to address everything with her about some other avenues take....allergy testing (again), rheumatology (again), thyroid scanning as I constantly have a swelling in my lymph gland.

So if you don’t see me here too much, then you will know why.
Wishing you all the best!

xxoo

Good Morning!

To those of you who are located on the East Coast and experiencing this blizzard, please stay safe, inside your home if possible.  If you need help, ask for it.  I am located in SE Pennsylvania and I woke up to something I have not seen in many years...currently, it is heavy snow with high winds and treacherous outside.  It will change over to sleet/rain at some point and with everything freezing, it could be beyond dangerous.

I pray you keep your power as many places have lost theirs, the South is experiencing some of the worst weather ever, and my parents live in North Carolina.

I know many parts of the United States have encountered terrible weather this season, and I pray for everyone that they stay safe, use proper precautions and reach out if they need help.

Please share your weather conditions here.

I have always felt it was important to be a good neighbor, one never knows when a neighbor’s help is needed and appreciated.

I will begin by saying that I live on a street whereby the homes are single, but fairly close together.  There are some homes that only have a minimal amount of space between neighbor driveways and mine is one of those.

For the past ten years, hub and I have been doing what we can to improve our home and essentially all the area around us.  The neighbors to the right of us (if you are facing the street) are lovely people and so generous..they had the wonderful Halloween party.

The neighbors to the left of us are hideous people.  We learned that as the years went by.  They have FOUR HUGE trees in their yard which not only is disastrous this time of year with leaves falling, but the trees are so old and decaying, that limbs fall all the time in our yard...thank God we have not been injured.

I know we can’t pick our neighbors, but hub through the years has offered his help to the man on many occasions..and his response has always been..“hmm..something to think about.“...of which he does not nothing then.

Last Wednesday, I was mowing my front lawn and the small area that is near the curb + street (think it is called an easement), there was so much debris from the storm the night before and so I thought to be helpful, I would just zip across the area near the street and mow the neighbor’s easement, therefore picking up a lot of debris that normally ends up all over my property because when he mows he allows all the debris to blow all over my side.

When I was finished, he came roaring out of the house and said, “Mary, did you mow that strip of grass?”  I said, yes, to be helpful to both of us.  He then proceeded to scream at me and told me to stay off of his 2 by 4 strip of grass and off of his property, of which I NEVER go in his filthy yard.

We got into words, and I said that hub and I have put up with enough for ten years...and believe me, Ladies, that is no lie.

I then called him “an indecent neighbor” and he ran in the house and called the police.

The officer came to my home, interrogated me and realized that I wasn’t really the problem.  He told me my home is well kept and not in any violation and hub had put up a beautiful four foot high fence years ago to be a considerate neighbor.  The man’s home is in violation of some codes...not sure what will happen now.

NEWS FLASH!!  Hub went to the town ship and filled out paperwork for a six foot fence on one side, down the walkway and a four foot high fence down the driveway.  He has started construction on the yard and will be done in a few weeks, meanwhile the fence going down the walkway and the driveway will be completed in the spring.

The gall of that man to be hateful and mean, when I was just trying to be helpful.

So you see, in some cases, being nice is not always the best policy and as God is my witness, I will never set even a pinky toe, walk on the sidewalk (which is public), or do anything remotely nice for that indecent human being.

This is just a warning for all to be cautious of others.

This was a local news item this morning, nice to know there are many wonderful children in this world who want to help and make a difference.

BOYS DONATE LEMONADE STAND MONEY TO ZOO

The Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington says two boys have donated the proceeds of their lemonade stand to help repair the zoo’s Monkey House, which was damaged by a tree.

Radio station WDEL-AM reports 7-year-old Jared DeStafney and 10-year-old Ryder Hickey stopped by the zoo Friday afternoon to donate $300 in cash and change they collected at a lemonade stand earlier this week.

The zoo’s director says officials are in the process of assessing the damage after a tree crashed into the zoo’s Monkey House building.

For now, some animals have gone to live at two zoos in Pennsylvania.

The zoo still has another 14 to 16 monkeys and is working on a way to put them back on display.

This past Saturday night a dear friend of mine who loves the original ABBA band and myself ventured to our local theater, a very quaint theater located in a small district called Keswick Village.  The architecture in this theater is so old, but really has some amazing charm, think back to the early 1900’s is what it makes me think of.  The staff is trying to gradually renovate it, making it a bit more cheery and less dreary..very old dark wood, very hard seats and acoustics not so great.

The tribute band itself was phenomenal and we had seats six rows from the stage, so viewing was perfect.  The audience members consisted of various ages...young kids to elderly folks.  They always have a bar area set up, so we enjoyed a glass of wine before the show.  The great thing is my son dropped us off and picked us up and we thanked him with a small money gift...remember the days when you would drive your kids every where?..LOL..now the tides have turned.

My favorite song from ABBA is Fernando, but of course, Dancing Queen was the big hit.  All in all, a very nice evening with good music and great company.

Next on our list is June 7 at the same venue and hub and I are seeing the B-52’s...woohoo!!..remember Rock Lobster, My Own Private Idaho and of course, Love Shack..can’t wait!