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Monday, August 7, 2017

Weird summer winding down...

I mean weird mostly in a good way!  Such big developments there have been in my family, between our son's wedding, and the re-launch of daughter to a new academic endeavor.  All this must seem impossible to those with little persons; but it wasn't that long ago that mine were little and funny and adorable.  And so on.

There is still a fair amount of leftover stuff around the house.  I'm working on more donations.  Found a good home with a school reading specialist, for this enormous collection of Babysitter Club books!  Am also placing a beautiful annotated Alice with a former member of this blog, so the "vultures" at the free book exchange don't knock one another over trying to snatch it right out of my hands.  (They're awful!)  The trash and recycle bins will be full, as I'm dumping a lot of "product" that was left behind, or is past prime, or that nobody here will ever use again. 

I'll be flying to visit daughter on Friday.  We still don't know when her boxes and the furniture she shipped will arrive, so I might need to receive those after she starts orientation.  We'll see!

What's new with you?  It seems on the early side for back to school, but surely that is on the minds of several Pixies.  Any vacation plans?  Big summer projects proceeding apace?  Bring us your whines, your antiwhines, the rants about the whatever.

47 comments:

Sue said...

I'm glad the daughter re-launch is proceeding as well as it can...it's tricky territory no matter when it happens. It will be good to get to her new place and help her settle in a bit more.

W: My dad is in hospital. He only lives here for three months out of the year, but he always seems to end up in hospital. He has another kidney infection, caused by a massive staghorn calculus in his left kidney that was first diagnosed in 2015. Yup. Two years ago. And he still hasn't done anything about it. I was there today when the urologist came in and gave him serious sh*t about the risks of putting off the procedure any longer.

It's a simple, fairly non-invasive procedure that involves a small incision and a laser that blasts the stone to bits.

My dad is a retired physician and therefore SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to let these things hang around. My local sisters were under the impression he had dealt with this monster stone a long time ago.

AW: My sisters, step sister, and stepmother are a force to be reckoned with right now - he will be having this thing done sooner rather than later.

Argh.

kathy a. said...

Sue! Well, it sure sounds like the forces have united, and this procedure will be done. Good on the urologist, for giving dad a well-deserved lecture! And great that it's not that big a deal to take care of, anyway.

esperanza said...

Yikes, Sue. I've heard that doctors make the worst patients.

W: Meeting all day today, with colleagues behaving non-admirably.

kathy a. said...

Shall we employ the posse, Esperanza? I'm already a yes vote.

esperanza said...

Itching for a fight, are you? Not really a posse situation. She wasn't horrible, just let her own best interest get ahead of the church's best interest and threw some people under the bus in the process. Kind of a double no-no. The under-bus people were gracious about it, and I think things will get resolved satisfactorily. It was messy for a few minutes, though. (I see I wasn't clear: the non-admirable part was only for a few minutes, not all day).

kathy a. said...

Under the bus action does not sound so friendly, but glad it got resolved.

An unbloggable concern of mine got resolved, too. yay

Queen of West Procrastination said...

It does seem like a few mild cluesticks might be in order, esperanza. I'm glad that it seems like it'll resolve satisfactorily.

I'm so sorry that your dad is in the hospital, Sue. I hope he deals with this issue promptly, this time.

AW: my girl is home! She was gone for two days, camping with her grandparents. They had a great time. And she came home seeming older, somehow. Even taller?

W: I had TWO mornings without a kid, but my body would not allow me to sleep in. I woke up at 6am today! And now I'm wiped.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm glad your unbloggable concern was resolved, Kathy! And that re-launching your daughter went so well. What a summer!

Sue said...

Sorry about your under the bus colleague, esperanza - Ugh.

Yay for the resolved unbloggable kathy. yay!!

QWP, not being able to sleep in when you have the opportunity is rough. Sounds like E had a great camping adventure!

Well, dad reacted to the antibiotic and is in icu. On my way there now. :(

esperanza said...

Oh no, Sue! Hoping things can resolve quickly.

kathy a. said...

OH, Sue -- I'm so sorry. xoxo

Sue said...

So, dad is in septic shock from the infection and is in acute renal failure. He's on a respirator and is sedated. Doc suggested our sister from out of town should fly in asap. Crap.

The infection is very resistant to treatment which makes everything else more difficult.

Sigh.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh no, Sue. I'm praying.

kathy a. said...

((((( Sue )))))) I'm so sorry. Sending love and thoughts. xoxoxoxo

esperanza said...

Oh no, Sue! Praying here, too.

Liz said...

Praying, Sue. Sending love and supportive thoughts to you and your family.

Anonymous said...

((((((((Sue))))))) Keeping you in my thoughts! Praying for you and your family!
--Neighbor lady

Sue said...

Thanks everyone for all your kind thoughts and prayers. No changes during the night. My sister from away has arrived and we are going to the hospital for the day.

kathy a. said...

((( Sue and family ))) xoxo

Anonymous said...

Sending more love and prayers, Sue.

Skin cancer now removed. Ice pack applied. I get to take out the stitches on Monday, because vacation.

Esperanza on phone

kathy a. said...

Oh, Esperanza. xoxo

esperanza said...

It was as easy as it could have been: just one layer (?) of removal yielded clean margins. At my request, the doctor gave me permission to remove my own stitches so I wouldn't have to come back from vacation. The worst parts were the sterile sheet covering my face and giving me claustrophobia, and my eye being numb from the local anesthetic. I couldn't blink without using my fingers for about half an hour! I'm glad to have it done.

Liz said...

Glad it's done and they got it all, Esperanza!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm so glad that there were clear margins, and that it's over with, esperanza. Xoxo

Continued hugs and prayers for Sue and family.

Sue said...

I'm glad your procedure is over esperanza and that the margins were clear. xoxox

My dad is holding steady for the most part. Today they discovered he also has C diff, which is not good at all. We're waiting on a nephrology consult, and he's still on the respirator.

Sue said...

Late breaking Anti-Whine:: our son and his partner are engaged!!!! We're so happy for them.

esperanza said...

Goodness, that's a lot going on in one body, Sue. Continued prayers. Thanks for the updates.

AW: Either I have a high pain tolerance, or this procedure just really doesn't hurt that much. It hurt for a couple of hours, maybe. Then decreasing pain. I haven't had any Tyl3nol for 9 hours. The doctor called a little while ago and seemed surprised. Told me, as doctors do, not to wait too long to take something.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Congratulations on the happy news, Sue! And I'm glad that your dad is holding steady, at least, but dear goodness. So much.

Esperanza, I'm really glad to hear that you aren't really in pain.

W: I bumped my head on a fence board again, and now I have a headache and dizziness. Recurrence of concussion symptoms are the worst, and it's so annoying how little it sometimes takes.

kathy a. said...

WOOT! Congratulations all around on the happy engagement! xoxoxo

Sue, glad your dad is holding steady; fingers remain firmly crossed.

Esperanza, wow! Sounds like you're doing great, but do take something before bed.

You, too, QWP. Good the fence is coming along, but please rest your noggin.

AW: a point of family tension seems to have gotten less tense-ish.

esperanza said...

hooray, Sue! The picture is adorable, too.

Glad for reduction of tension levels, kathy.

Sue said...

Ouch, QWP! Do rest your sore head today and watch for symptoms of concussion.

Yay for reduced family tension, kathy!!

Anonymous said...

((Sue)) Still sending prayers and love for your father!!! Congratulations on the engagement of your son and his partner!!! So nice to have wonderful news like that!!

esperanza, glad the pain is tolerable.
Hope you feel better soon, QWP!

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Sending more love, Sue. xoxox

Score!! Got my boarding pass, and it is TSA pre-check, so do not have to remove shoes, do the "let me see you naked" scanner. AND, the movers are coming tomorrow afternoon, so we'll have the weekend to mess around, lay in supplies. I'll still be there for the first 2 days of school, but will find something to do. Unpacking, possibly....

Anonymous said...

Kathy, have a great trip and a terrific visit!!
--NL

esperanza said...

A small brag on each of the Baboos:
Mini's first sentence this morning was to ask how my nose felt.

And Sweet is turning into the accessibility sleuth. We were in a public restroom in an old building today, and she said, "How would a person in a wheelchair use this potty?" She was right. They couldn't have squeezed into the space, or certainly not turned around. I hadn't noticed, but she did.

kathy a. said...

Oh, I'm long-distance proud of Sweet! And Mini, whose question was a lovely way to start the day!

NL, how are things?

kathy a. said...

Think everything's done except packing not-dry clothes, my laptop, and bathroom miscellany. But bleah, hope the headache goes away.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I hope your headache goes away quickly, and the trip goes smoothly, Kathy.

You have great kids, esperanza.

We've decided to hold off on going camping for a day (we were supposed to leave tomorrow and sleep in a tent for two nights). I'm really happy to have one more day to rest up, and Mr. Q is happy to have an extra day to finish the never-ending fence project. (It's beautiful! It's almost done! But it's eaten up an entire extra week of our summer!)

esperanza said...

Nose report: a little bit of swelling, on that side of my cheek, putting pressure on my sinus cavity. It's an odd feeling to have a sinus ache with no accompanying snot. Ice is helping. I think I see the beginnings of the black eye, too. The bandage is super itchy, but it can come off at noon tomorrow, and I'm counting the hours. I have "sensitive skin" bandaids to use now.

Have a great trip, kathy a! And happy camping, QWP!

Sue said...

I hope the headache eases and the travel is uneventful. How great that the movers will arrive while you're there! Unpacking is so much more fun than packing, at least in my experience.

The Baboos are so awesome, esperanza. Sorry about the itchy bandage and swelling, but hoping that will pass quickly.

QWP, a day of rest sounds like a really good plan. The fence project has been pretty intense, so perhaps sitting in the yard admiring it would be a good activity for the weekend!

On my way up to the hospital - today they are going to try to extubate dad and see how he does breathing on his own. The docs are confident he can manage with a bit of oxygen now. He will also be getting short term dialysis to take off some fluids while we wait for his kidneys to function. Still a long road ahead...

Sue said...

Dad is doing well off the respirator! He's getting oxygen and the dialysis is underway. Kidneys still not functioning but one step at a time. Yay!

esperanza said...

Hooray for forward progress, Sue!

Nose update: itchy bandage off. My stitches are blue! Sensitive skin bandaid back on, and it seems much less itchy.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm so glad to hear about your dad's progress, Sue. What stressful ordeal!

And what relief to graduate from the itchy bandage, esperanza. I hope your nose heals quickly.

kathy a. said...

Good news, Sue! Fingers crossed. xoxoxo

I made it to daughter's town, and now we are engaged in the really fun diversion of sitting in a nearly empty apartment, waiting on movers again.

kathy a. said...

OK, this is weird. Out of the blue, I remembered today was my parents' wedding anniversary. They divorced over 30 years back, and both died years ago. Who says my memory's no good?

Also, I just remembered how thin the walls are in student-style apartments. Daughter's neighbor is musically inclined, really likes the drums and bass line. Fortunately, her bedroom is on the quieter side.

Cat report: This building has a no-pet policy, but one tenant has a cat who enjoys a climbing structure by the courtyard window. It must have been grand-cattered in. And across the street is a huge fluffy orange cat who enjoys the yard. That is all.

Daughter is resting up before the movers, so I started a shopping list. Because, Mom.

Oh, I had a work-related reason to call one of my favorite people -- someone I miss, who moved all the way across the country! It was so good to hear her voice.

esperanza said...

W: Charlottesville. And a thousand other places the same thing could have happened.

AW: I got such hope from last night--I spent until the wee hours planning a youth retreat. The teenagers initiated a discussion about how we could make sure transgender youth would feel welcome.

kathy a. said...

Esperanza -- so good about planning the youth retreat!

Just speechless about the other thing. This is not who we are. Not a matter of negotiation or compromise, either. Hate is hate, and unacceptable. Period.