I'm not particularly fond of big to-do's about birthdays, being well past 21 -- so my wish for today is that I not have to cook. And I'm assurred that will happen! Filling the dishwasher is probably still on me. But my theory is also that a little random indulgence during the birthday week is not amiss.
Today, some good professional news of a not-bloggable nature -- yay! And, progress on the albatross. Lovely, perfect weather.
Saturday, my town has its annual July 4 celebration and international music festival, and games, and booths from all causes, and arts and crafts, and food from everyplace. This is one reason I seriously love our little town.
What's happening up your way?
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137 comments:
Happy Happy Birthday kathy!!!!!!
Happy Birthday to kathy!
W: As I first predicted (seriously, who needs medical school), Mini has strep. She feels worse than she ever has with it--sleeping a lot, not eating, and now vomiting. Two friends who were with her Saturday evening also are throwing up, so maybe she has a tummy bug on top of the strep. That seems unjust.
AW: she vomited into an appropriate receptacle, rather than in the middle of her bed, as she did the last time she got sick.
W: I am now hyperaware of the state of my own throat.
OY, Esperanza! That does sound like a double-whammy. With luck the tum bug will settle itself right down, and the antibiotics will work their miracle. Here's to a better tomorrow. xoxo
The good (?) news is that she hasn't eaten much of anything since Saturday at lunch. So the throwing up was minimal. No fever so far today, but she just got up from another marathon nap and still isn't hungry. She's willing to drink water, so we're going with that for now.
Just received in the mail my second federal jury questionnaire (precursor to a summons) within the past two years, I think. If I remember correctly, they put me in a pool which was eligible to be called for a month's time, but I was never called. This had never happened to me until a couple years ago. What are the odds?
Happy happy birthday kathy!!!!!!!
:)
Poor mini, and hugs to esperanza too! ugh. hope everyone feels better quick!
--Neighbor Lady
Esperanza, the jury calls just come around randomly. I'm pretty sure that full-time caretaker for young children all summer puts you out of the running, should you so choose.
That wasn't on this questionnaire. I think it's on the next one, but it wasn't an automatic excuse, if I remember. It's federal court, so I suspect they have different rules than county courts.
Poor Mini! Poor Mama! I hope things resolve soon.
She's eating a hearty supper, for the first time since Saturday's lunch. I think the hated shot is going to work.
Yay for the shot! (Know firsthand that kids do not feel that way at the time, because as a kid I had "tonsillitis" a lot, which was probably strep, and always got the shot. And my kids always got the 10 days of oral meds, which meant 10 days of fighting it and/or Dr. Mama forgetting a dose, sometimes.)
Happy, happy, happy birthday to Kathy!
Esperanza, I sure hope that the shot is working well, and that nobody else catches her strep. (And an early Mullet nomination for "I am now hyperaware of the state of my own throat." I knew that feeling a little too well.)
W: wildfires in the north are out of control, and now the wind is coming from the north. We're several hours away from the fires, and so our city isn't covered in ash (as everything is, up in Middle Earth Canada), but since lunchtime, the smoke has been so bad that we're not really supposed to go outside. I peeked my head outside a few minutes ago, and now my throat is burning.
AW: summer vacation. We spent the morning at the museum (and got home just before the smoke rolled in).
Oh, QWP, we've been in the smoke plume for a nearby wildfire a couple of years ago. Not good. Stay inside as much as you can.
W: Holy moley, the mosquitoes are thick out there.
QWP, I saw that on the weather network this morning. That's a lot of smoke! I'm glad you had a trip to the museum - yay for indoor summer fun!
QWP, hope those fires settle down. Saw some news about this huge plume of smoke being blown hundreds of miles -- don't know if that's what's affecting you, but must be some pretty big fires. With our drought, we're always worried about fires around here.
Had a nice, low-key birthday. My sweetie and daughter got flowers, made seafood pasta with a delish red sauce and fresh green beans. And champagne.
Holy wow, y'all. I don't even know what to say. OUR county, right here in Red State, has issued a marriage license to a same sex couple. Of 37 comments on the facebook post from the newspaper, 36 are positive. Here's the story: http://www.gonzalesinquirer.com/news/article_e518f964-1f3e-11e5-a7ca-23ed16f00baf.html#.VZK9geeL458.facebook
I guess I didn't really believe it was real until it happened here.
Woot woot woot! Esperanza, that is wonderful!!!
I was worried, what with certain folks in your state bellowing about defying scotus. But love wins.
Be careful what you wish for edition: I just obtained a poop sample for Spot (the cat who is starving but bone-thin). Because he was the only one who could have produced that disgustingly stinky number on the mat by the box. Wow, I really hate poop.
Ew. My day is going quite well, because I have not had to obtain a poop sample for any creature.
WooHoo esperanza!! Love wins!!
Sorry about the out-of-box poop. Ew. Hopefully it will help the vet figure out the problem with skinny kitteh.
Yay esperanza!!
AW huge variety: Just finalized sale of our old house-- down to just the mortgage on the new one!!! Yay!!!
--Neighbor Lady
wow, that IS huge, NL. Yippee!
Yay, NL! How's the unpacking and summer going?
blech. Don't go read the comments on that marriage license post anymore. Not only are one or two people obnoxious, but they can't spell or write a decent sentence. It's embarrassing.
Great news NL!!!!!
I just spent 6 hours calling people to ask them for money. Six. Hours. I talked to maybe 10 people max. The rest were answering machines.
My ear is sore.
But what with some checks that came in and a lot of last minute love, we overshot our goal for the quarter by over $5000.
And we still have 2 weeks to collect straggling checks that were written by today.
I am grateful. And tired.
Just 126 more days to the election.
YAY NL!!
YAY Esperanza!!! Love WINS!!
GO LIZ!!!
Hooray, Liz! Good work. I can. not. imagine. talking on the phone for 6 hours. No way. You're amazing.
P.S. County Next Door actually issued a license on Friday afternoon late. I cannot emphasize how mind boggling this is.
Yay, county next door!
Maybe a lot of people have found that caring about one's neighbors matters; also doing one's job; and besides, the supreme court says AOK.
Yay Liz!!!! You are remarkable. I'm with esperanza. I cannot imagine 6 hours on the phone.
Yay for your neighbouring county esperanza!
It's Canada Day, so hubby and I are spending the day discussing whether or not it is a good idea to bbq our supper. There is a good possibility of rain - it will begin immediately following our decision to indeed bbq. 'Twas ever thus. Happy Canada Day!
The cuties begged me to buy lemons yesterday so we could make real lemonade. I did. We did. They hate it. I like it, so no loss there. I also bought limes, because I prefer limeade. It will be next.
Happy Canada Day! Our holiday has been a mixed bag of whines and anti-whines, so far: too early of a wakeup (5:15am, with the reason of "You gave me a full-sized comforter instead of my baby quilt last night, and now I can't find Blankie. Also, a power outage shut off my fan at some point in the night, and silence is weird."). We then had ANOTHER power outage, for an hour, and were driven to open the windows for the first time since our city filled with smoke. But that's how we found out that the smoke levels have gone from EXTREME to moderate, and so we can leave the windows open. This also means that we can go to the Legislature for face painting and fun this afternoon, so long as E has an early nap. (We had cancelled all our fun plans, since experts were warning people to keep kids and pets inside. But now it's just like camping outside, instead of being like the inside of a campfire.)
Oh, Canada! (I'm humming, but pretty sure the Canadian pixies can hear me.) Happy Canada Day!
We shall not speak or even think of bbq, for then the rain will happen.
Esperanza -- add sugar and also water (or bubbly water), and maybe the lemonade will be more to Baboo taste? Or, try popsicle form?
What IS it with all those power outages, QWP? But great news on the smoke plume moderating.
I hope the smoke clears up soon QWP.
We had a few sprinkles of rain but are proceeding with bbq as planned. Yay!!!!
Vet saga: Spottie's poop sample is all totally normal. Like his bloodwork a few weeks ago. And he's still acting starved, scarfing everything, bony as heck, and pooping outside the box when the spirit moves him. What the heck does that mean? Think we've ruled out the main suspects, anyway. hmph. On a related note, the puppy pads arrived!
Oh, there was plenty of sugar.
Yay for BBQ!
Well, cat mystery continues. Hmm.
Ugh. Mr. E was supposed to return late tonight from an overseas trip. Due to some kind of immigration delay, he missed a connection and doesn't arrive until midnight. He'll spend the night in a hotel in airport city. All this means the 1000 times Sweet asked "are you SURE Daddy will be home when we wake up?" and I answered "yes" were big fat lies. That's the way she'll see it, anyway.
Daddy just had a little surprise. He'd better bring airport presents.
(((Esperanza)))
Ugh. Agreed re: airport presents. A reminder text about said presents might be in order.
Why are airport presents the most magical thing ever? I still have a keychain that my dad brought me from Montreal in 1986.
I hope that Mr. E has gotten home in a timely fashion.
AW: the smoke dissipated late yesterday afternoon, just in time for all the festivities. By the time we got home, we were able to open all the windows, and even watched the sunset from the deck. I'm so relieved, because the smoke made me feel so sick all the time.
I just realised I haven't yet said: hooray for NL's house selling!!
Yay for the smoke going away!
Hope Mr. E made it home, and that everybody is catching up.
My dad used to bring little gifts after he was away, and I did that, too -- had to travel quite a bit when the kids were kids. Takes a little sting out of the parental guilt, and the angst of wanting a parent home right now.
Sweet was distracted by her sore throat that "ha[d] something stuck in it." No fever. Thursday before a 3 day weekend. Sister with strep on Monday. Yep, to the doctor. Nurse was skeptical. Mama was right. Shot for Sweet.
Then we took off to get Daddy. We got a lunch at our favorite restaurant out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad. He's more or less well, which is good. (He spent a week in Haiti).
Sorry I'm late to the party! Happy Birthday, Kathy! Hope your day was as amazing as you are!
Happy Canada Day to our Extremely Northern Pixies! (My husband says he found a wad full of foreign currency on the sidewalk to work the other day, and among the bills are a Canadian $5 and a $20. That's about as close to Canada as we are likely to get! )
Sorry to hear about QWP's smoke problem, but glad that it seems to be dissipating. We occasionally get that here, but we aren't under drought conditions anymore, though we were for several summers. It seems like we've had an inordinate amount of summer rain, complete with heavy thunder and lightning recently. Several small power outages have happened, but they race to get the power back on because people start dying due to the extreme heat. As I was telling Kathy yesterday -- 100+ degrees with 100% humidity. Yay! Not.
My Mom is back in the hospital, having another episode of low blood pressure/dehydration. Seems on Tuesday that she was very lethargic and listless and my stepdad couldn't rouse her enough to get her down the stairs to take her to the ER, so he had to call for an ambulance. She was taken to the ER, and admitted. She had to have two units of blood and one of platelets, and several bags of saline. We thought she might go home today, but they want to keep her for at least two more days until her white blood cell count goes back up. So, in all of this comes the kicker: Mom's last radiation was Monday, the 22nd of June, and she was supposed to stop taking her chemo after that last treatment. But -- here's the thing -- HER ONCOLOGIST DIDN'T TELL HER THAT! She took chemo for 8 days longer than she needed to because he didn't bother to tell her to stop! And, as a matter of fact, her prescription ran out during that time and they had to call his office for a refill, WHICH HE GAVE HER! Then, when she's in the ER on Tuesday, it somehow comes out that she's supposed to be "on a break" for three weeks, which neither she or my stepfather knew anything about! So, while she's in the ER, the nurses try to give her her hemp, but she has enough sense to tell them, no, I'm not supposed to take that now, and we find out its still not marked in her chart. They try to give her chemo again Wednesday morning AND bring her a full refill! This shits cost $14K for each set! No wonder her insurance is freaking the hell out! My stepdad calls me today to tell me that she's not being discharged and is staying another 2 days and tells me they tried to give her her chemo again this morning! I'm so blisteringly mad at her oncologist right now that I can't see straight! Mom says he's an ass and has no bedside manner at all. Mom said he came to her room at 6am on Wednesday morning while she was asleep and was in and out before she really woke up good, and she had a bunch of questions she wanted to ask him! I'm about to cluestick this jerk into oblivion. If you see the headline, "Bald Woman Arrested For Performing Unauthorized Prostate Surgery", you all know what happened and might want to start a GoFundMe for bail money and lawyer's fees.
That that should be her chemo, not hemp. Heck, the way she feels right now, she wouldn't turn hemp down!
((( KLee ))) and (((( KLee's Mom ))))
Jeepers, your mom cannot catch a break. Un-fireplacing-believable that she wasn't given the right instructions, AND MORE SO that things are messed up at the hospital as well. What a mess. Sending much love. Hospitals have ombudsmen; go find the relevant person and complain loudly. That doctor -- you get to lead the posse, but I'm right behind you with a cattle prod. xxoxo
Umma gonna shove a clue stick so far up his butt,you can see it when he yawns
Am I remembering right that this isn't the first time there's been a mixup on her chemo? Grr. kathy's ombudsman suggestion is good; as well, I'd start insisting on getting instructions in writing. And what the heck ask for hemp too!
Grrrr..... I'm so sorry this is happening KLee. Find the hospital patient advocate/ombudsman and begin the official cluesticking. We'll take care of the one Liz so aptly described.
W: Mouse. In my house. Eating my nectarines. Avoiding sticky traps around said nectarines. Choosing to believe "mouse" rather than something that rhymes with "bat."
Further W: Mini, upon learning we had a mouse and would be trying to trap it: "Well, hey! Sweet and me have been wanting a pet forever!"
Pretty funny about the "pet" mouse.
My husband is taking today off. Daughter was off Monday and Tuesday, so I got a grand total of 2 quiet work days this week. Sigh.
(I know a lot of people have today off because of the 4th. But he told me before that he was taking Monday. Pull out that leetle tiny violin...)
Yesterday, I ended up behind carnival rides headed for the park, for the festival tomorrow. Today, they'll be putting up these long thin colorful flags on tall poles -- they look spectacular waving in the breeze. There will be a stage with live music; between sets, the HS radio station director will DJ international tunes; we can expect dancers, drummers, magic shows. The artists get an entire street block by the park. Food venders at one end, and in the theater parking lot. Every civic group you can imagine will have a booth. Crafts, clothing, henna painting, chair massages, pet rescue and adoption folks, police and firefighters, defenders of wilderness and nearby creeks, native plants. Games like beanbag toss. Friends of the library book sale. Etc.
Ew, mouse. Lol for Mini's problem-solving though!
Sorry about the short work week kathy, but wow, that sounds like a great festival!
I'm rounding up the posse on behalf of KLee and her mom. That is entirely terrible that they've messed up your mom's chemo so badly, KLee.
Petty whine: the smoke has returned. At least we had a good Canada Day. This is an incredibly petty whine, since we are far away from the forest fires, and thousands in the province have been evacuated from their homes, so many so that a lot of them are staying all the way down here.
Wildfires are so scary and destructive. And no, you weren't burned out or evacuated; but even the smoke, even so far away, is no good.
Fireworks are totally illegal around here, except safe municipal displays that tend to be over water. (None in my town!) We're 4 years into the drought, and people have been noticing all the booming of illegal fireworks at night, for a week. Love my town's festival; but kind of hate the evening, when people go really crazy and all the pets cower.
My devious plan to stop problems outside the (cat)box are underway. Puppy pads by the box with leading problems! Changed all the litter out, using an unscented brand that was previously successful. Am adding baby rice cereal to Spot's frequent feedings, to firm things up. So far so good. ;)
Apparently, my brother, heretofore a fairly unflappable individual, was so pissed with the state of my Mom's care (or lack thereof)by her oncologist, he wrote a nice but extremely FORCEFUL email to the Powers That Be at the hospital. But, since he lives out of town, he called the main switchboard to request email addresses of the pertinent people to send it to, and wound up alarming SOMEONE enough that Mom had FIVE hospital administrators in her room this morning. So, he whacked the hornet's nest pretty good, apparently.
The upshot of it all is -- first, it's a holiday weekend, and we can't get anyone to come do anything quickly. Second, we made enough noise that she's now getting a blood cell booster, which she should have been having from the get-go. Said booster (Neup0gen)will be given daily, and I hope this is the thing that will get her on the road to feeling human again. Thirdly, I, personally, would like for her to tell her oncologist the hell out and switch doctors, but if we do that right now while she's in the hospital, it's like we'll be starting over from square one. Let's let her get through this crisis, have her home safely, and THEN talk about that. And, yes - Esperanza, you are correct in remembering that this is NOT the first time there has been a miscommunication from her oncologist about her chemo.
So, we're having a lot of stress and worry, but the hospital is where she needs to be until she's out of the woods.
My brother still plans to send a strongly worded letter to the hospital admins, and I told him I'm with him all the way.
Sorry that the smoke has returned QWP, and yick! on the mouse in the house, Esperanza. I am sort of with the kidlets on the "catch it" front, only because I'd rather not deal with dead mouse. Totally not in my game plan right now.
I'm going to go plop my big butt down in my bed, and hopefully not worry about anything else tonight. Got to get up early to head back to the hospital.
YAY KLee's brother!!!
AW: Wonderful weekend at my mom's house. Laughing and eating and laughing some more. I got all my thank yous done.
yes, KLee, see if you can relax tonight. Glad someone got moving at the hospital. (Aside: holiday weekends are the worst in hospitals. Blerg).
Go, KLee's brother! Yes, holiday weekends in the infirmary are not so great. xoxo
Liz -- glad you are having that great weekend. And I woulda told her, but she can see in person that she raised you right re thank you's. ;)
It seems unlikely that formal awards will happen, but best to all, may the pets not be too freaked out, and keep going if so moved.
Yay KLee's brother!! I'm so glad the admin is aware of your Mom's horrible treatment and can begin to set things right asap.
I'm glad you're having a great weekend Liz!
I hope the kitteh plan goes well over the weekend.
QWP, I stepped outside late last evening and smelled smoke. When I mentioned it to hubby, he said he had heard on the local news that it was smoke from the fires out west. Makes sense, as there are none in our area at the moment. That is a HUGE fire to be sending smoke this far. I'm glad you had a good Canada Day at least.
Happy 4th of July to all the US pixies!!!!
Mouse is no longer with us. Let's all fervently hope that he/she was a loner-type.
W: They give me the willies. Give me a scorpion, anyday.
Happy 4th!
Bye bye mousie. Ew, scorpions give me the willies!
Canadian friends -- jeepers, what a lot of smoke.
KLee, I had forgotten about the blood cell booster, even though both nephew and my dad needed it at times during chemo. They both needed transfusions and became dehydrated at times, too, but less so when they got the blood med. Guess what I'm saying is that these problems are not uncommon, and the oncologist should be taking precautions and keeping a closer eye. (And being clear about instructions.) Fireplacing cancer...
Scorpions creep me out too. But they don't eat my food. There they are on the floor, I whack them with a shoe, throw them in the toilet, and it's all over with.
Ahem. Thank you for sharing your technique, in case one ever has a need. Ewwww. There were centipedes when we lived in Japan, and once I even found one in the CRIB. My method was a hefty squirt of lys0l, which kind of stunned them, then a run to the toilet saying ew ew ew ewww. Therefore, obviously, the toilet is a beloved worldwide for disposal of small poisonous critters.
I'm all squirmy from this creepy-crawly talk! I'm glad the mouse is no more, esperanza, and now I hope that's it.
And a happy fourth to the American pixies!
Sue: I'm not surprised that the smoke has made it your way, even though our country is so big. I hear that you guys also has a healthy dose of it a little more than a month ago (my friend that lives in your city was pretty grumpy that it was blocking the sun). It's not bad right now, and I hear that it's actually better further north of here, in the middle of the province (where we're headed, tomorrow). Somehow, whether systems are making it so that we're getting smoke all the way from the NWT, down here, while you guys are getting the stuff from us.
Nervous: I'm packing to leave for a week of camp tomorrow. We'll be staying in the dorms again, and my only hope is that E will remember our room from Easter, and not have a hard time settling in. She's already tired, after a busy first week of vacation this week, and so we're going up a day late so that we all rest, in the hope that we don't break her. (Oh, and while we're gone, the unreliable contractor is allegedly finishing the whole house. We'll see, but we've made sure our tenant insurance is up to date, because I don't trust them to be responsible.)
Have a wonderful time at camp, QWP! There will be other kidlets and families, no? E may not specifically remember -- or may not be able to say she does -- but it should be familiar enough. ;)
Oh, she completely remembers! As soon as I told her that we were going to the camp with the dorm, the play room, and the dining hall, she got excited about seeing her friends! This is the good part about her being two and a half.
Mom seems in better fettle today -- not quite as sleepy and lethargic. The boosters usually take about 48 hours to kick in, but they're already seeing band formation, which means new blood cells are trying to form, but it's too early yet to see full cells. They came and took her off the IV drip as she was no longer dehydrated. She certainly seems happier, though she's a mass of bruising on her arms, and a little uncomfortable because of it. She got another unit of platelets as well.
The nurse manager moved Mom to a bigger room after I left yesterday -- among our other difficulties, my brother complained that the room she was in was "old as fu€k" (though he didn't say THAT to the nurse, just to me) and had one smal small heating/air vent, and an 80's motel-style air conditioning unit, so I guess they wanted to be seen to be actively DOING something while they were waiting for the doctors to get their thumbs out of their collective asses, so this was what they came up with. This room is technically a two-person room, but they told us they won't be putting anyone in with her. It's cooler, as it does not face directly into the morning sun the way the first room did, and seems to stay cooler throughout the day.
My brother left to head back home today around 1:30, and we're hoping that he wouldn't be too held up by traffic on the way home. He was heading north, and we think the bulk of the traffic would be headed south.
Yay! for mouselessness, weeks at camp with Cool Stuff and Friends, and here's hoping the contractor gets everything done and done well! Boo to smoke, and hoping everyone is having a good weekend. Sorry to our Canadian and English friends for that whole silly "revolution" thing. It wasn't you...it was us. Maybe one day, we can be friends. :)
Oh, we ended up leaving the English, too! We just hung around long enough that England was all "Hey, Canada? You know, all your other brothers and sisters have moved out long ago, and I'd really like to use your bedroom as a home office..."
KLee, I'm glad that the hospital is starting to do something for your mom, and that the drugs are working. It's good that your brother complained, but so terrible that they didn't take care of her properly in the first place!
The mouse does not appear to have any friends or family, but I'm still looking. This morning, I am playing a game called "Mouse Poop or Brownie Crumbs?" It is not a fun game, in case you are wondering.
KLee, your family knows how to kick some butt. Glad your mom's doing better, and the hospital is finally getting around to providing decency. The Posse is proud, and still wants a turn at delivering justice.
If your host was up for awards, QWP's description of Canada's relationship with England would definitely be Elevated Risk of Mullet material. Best on the big adventure at camp!
Esperana's mouse poop vs. brownie crumbs adventure is definitely Old Skool, and probably funnier to those of us who are not on scene in our hazmat suits.
We went to a small lake nearby for a little ramble, and the ducklings are well past the little yellow fuzzball stage -- they are almost adult size, but still follow mama in a line and beg for food when she finds some. Just like human teenagers!
W: MIL is in the hospital with the same issue she had last July 4th weekend, only worse.
W: MS says he's "fine". Yelled at MM about ABSOLUTELY NOTHING using horrible words this morning. Got huffy that MM then said he no longer felt like doing something nice for DH.
W: I'm on MM's side, but told MM I thought MM should give MS a bit of a break, considering. MM pointed out that if MS were just a friend, and had talked to him like that, they'd no longer be friends. Ever. Ergo, he WAS giving him a break. Put like that, I agreed.
Gah.
MIL may or may not live out the week. Yesterday afternoon, they were giving her 24 hours if she didn't have surgery. Last night they said she was improving and now they were going to wait to do the surgery since she seemed to be getting stronger.
She's tenacious, and stubborn, and has a will of iron. I think she's going to make it.
AW: I had an awesome lunch with her, just the two of us, on Thursday. She seemed perfectly healthy (for her), happy (for her), and was fully enjoying our afternoon out.
((( Liz ))) I'm so sorry about your MIL, and about the household stress and yuckies. Unfortunately, my beloved also sometimes reacts similarly to bad things going on. (And he is also "fine." hmph.)
Hope she continues to do better.
xoxo
Well, I'm just going to keep this thread open for this week, too.
W: A crown fell out last night. No discomfort; and the old gal lasted a very long time. Fixit later in the week.
AW: Son's new job started this morning! He and his lovely girlfriend are coming up on 10 years together. (My beloved is not allowed to mention "grandchildren," but he really wants to.) The kids came by because they both needed to use my printer; son also cleaned his truck so as to look sharp at the new job.
What is happening with you?
(((Liz))))
kathy a., glad the crown isn't giving you pain, but ugh anyway.
Yay for your son and his girlfriend, and his new job!
:)
Neighbor lady
Yay for son's new job! And 10 years is impressive!
W/AW: Swimming lessons today. Sweet has been fretting for over a week, because she's scared to jump off the diving board, and that's a big part of swimming lessons. So I told her to just tell the teachers she didn't want to, and they wouldn't make her. Apparently that's even scarier. (She is perfectly capable of swimming well enough to jump off the board). So I'm proud of her for standing up for herself and saying she didn't want to jump off the board, but exasperated with her for being unnecessarily timid about it. (Proud of myself, too, for letting her handle it herself, even though she didn't want to).
(((Liz))) So sorry to hear about your MIL. Sending warm wishes for all of your family, and hoping she's feeling better soon.
QWP - that sums up Canadian history perfectly! Lol!
kathy - sorry about the crown. :( Yay for your son's new job though!! And a 10 year anniversary sounds like a reason for a celebration!
esperanza, that's such a tough call... but good for you for letting her work it out. I was one of those timid kids who took forever to jump off the diving board. That was a long time ago and teachers put tons of pressure on kids to make that jump. Without it, you couldn't go up to the next level in swimming awards. I eventually jumped. Sweet will to, no doubt. :)
Eventually. She's pretty stubborn about it. She'll not even jump in off the side without holding a finger. I've gotten her down to just holding my pinkie finger, which is useless, but it is clearly her security blanket. For the next couple of weeks, it's swimming teachers' issue to tackle, anyway.
Great solution, Esperanza! She does need to handle that kind of thing herself. And, she will one day be brave enough to do that and a lot more! I was a shy small kid, not athletic with anything land-based -- but it turned out that in the pool, a person who works at it can do anything.
Geek alert: by the time I was 12, I had run through all the red cross swimming courses, and got to take a junior lifesaving course. That was actually wonderful -- a combo plate of survival skills, first aid and CPR, self-defense and talking people down (for when the person who is drowning gets worked up and tries to take you down, too), and of course a lot of swimming. (So long ago; I don't know what they offer now.)
Oh, Liz... So sorry about MIL. Juggling Freak does not deal well with stressors like sick family members and family strife. I wish there was something I could say to help or make it better. MM sounds like he's growing up into a fine young man, and you should be proud. Everyone can make mistakes, but it takes a long time for the hurt of harsh words to fade.
My Mom was released from the hospital late yesterday, thank goodness, but I think I've picked up a virus from the hospital somewhere. I spent most of today in bed, feeling like something I scraped off of my shoe. Those of you who remember Mt.Washeteria? It erupted, spewing folded laundry all over my side of the bed during the night, making my passage to the bathroom hazardous at the least, and an obstacle course at best. I had intended on making chicken soup for dinner, but it turned into chicken stew with very little broth, and the bottom burned. I want a do-over for today.
KLee, so glad your mom got out! Fingers firmly crossed for Mom. But it really sucks that you feel icky, and also about the household chores gone wild.
Esperanza, yes! It is so good, these other adults that come into our kids' lives and help with the bits and pieces. Help them let go some, learn their own strengths.
Pixies, I have a date to go to an adult dinner out and a play next weekend! With a friend I've known since elementary school, who was a next-door neighbor in college, and -- an actual play! We get together now and again to catch up, usually for breakfast, but this will do nicely. (Since I'm never organized enough to make plans like this.)
The puppy pads are like the universe's answer to diapers for recalcitrant cats. Even though I feel like a jerk for adding to landfills. But I promise this is saving both water and sanity in the household, and to do some good deeds.
(((KLee))) Continued hugs and love. Sorry you feel so awful.
kathy, a play sounds like a lovely outing!! I'm glad the puppy pads are working too.
(((KLee)))
I live by a big open space with lots of highly flammable eucalyptus trees. We are in a drought. Last night, a grass fire started on an electrical right of way that connects to the open space. That area had been mowed and they put the fire out quickly -- but it was very close, right on the other side of our next door neighbor's yard. We could easily see the flames. A bunch of fire crews showed up.
Right after the fire was extinguished, some genius up the hill set off illegal fireworks. Again. (The fireworks have been bad this year.)
Oh my goodness kathy, that is too close for comfort! Cluestick posse is riding toward the idiots with fireworks. Sheesh.
The city just sent somebody up to remove flammable debris from behind my other neighbor's house. (On city property, dropped from a city tree. I talked to a fire department guy a couple weeks ago about how dangerous this big tree back there is.)
In the tiny violin division, I did not leave the house all day because F3d-3x was going to bring a package requiring an adult's signature, something my beloved was looking forward to. And just about 6 p.m., I heard the dog barking, ran up the hall, heard the truck pulling away -- and found the "attempted delivery, nobody home" stickie on my screen door. The screen door at my front door, which was OPEN, indicating that somebody was home. I am sorry to say that when I found a live person, she got an earful (which I apologized for, not her fault). Also, they have no way to communicate with the truck! And the office that dispatched the truck was closed for the day!
Really shoulda run my errands anyway, but I was so sure that the second I left, the truck would show up, you know?
KLee, hope your mom is OK -- and Liz, sending love about your MIL and hoping things are better. xoxoxo
Aaarrrrgh...kathy, that is SO FRUSTRATING!!!! Big violins... and a cluestick posse for the delivery person.
This has happened to us so often that we now leave a note for the delivery person, "Yes! We are at home waiting for this delivery! PLEASE RING THE BELL!" with an arrow pointing to the bell. Seriously.
MIL update: the doctors keep saying different things about what surgery they expect to do on her and what it will do for her. Last I heard, they were going to do a laproscopic surgery to insert a feeding tube which will not be used for feeding. No! It will, instead, encourage scar tissue to grow to anchor her stomach down into her abdominal cavity so that her stomach will no longer have the ability to wander up through her hernia into her chest cavity.
This was supposed to happen yesterday (as an add-on to the surgical schedule), but is currently scheduled for 4:30 today.
Meanwhile, they are keeping her heavily sedated so that they don't have to retube her for the surgery.
Quite frankly, I think the reason they keep saying different things is that they don't REALLY know what they're going to see when they are inside her. She had TB when she was 19, and her lungs are shot (radiologists are always surprised that they're looking at the xrays of a living person). She's got advanced scoliosis, so none of her organs are really where they should be. And so on.
But they feel pretty confident that she's going to survive this procedure and that it will make things somewhat better, and hopefully they can do another procedure later to fix the hernia.
Why 2 procedures??? A friend recently had that kind of hernia repair, and has been doing well after -- but I think she is probably much younger than your MIL.
Sending much love. xoxox
Got impressions for the new crown and a temp, so the dental horror is pretty much over. The dentist is near my old office, and I had a huge hankering for a baby chicken burrito at this mexican place. Almost made the ordeal worthwhile!
("Baby" refers to the size of the torlilla...)
I don't know why 2 procedures. I'd've thought that they could do the hernia surgery laproscopically, too, and get them both done at the same time. But apparently not.
Sometimes they can do the hernia laproscopically -- but sometimes they get in there and find the problem requires more (according to my friend). It's possible they don't think she is strong enough now for a more extensive procedure? But there should be clear communication about that.
xoxo
Liz, hope your MiL weathers the procedure well. It sounds like she must be miserable.
AW: Baboos got into the day camp for which they were on the waitlist
W: Logistical issues swirling through my head.
AW: I think they're excited about it
AW: lots of improvement from both Baboos at swimming lessons.
W: Sweet is exhausted. She slept 11 hours last night, fell asleep mid morning in the car, then fell asleep again in the car after lunch. I'm not sure if it's swimming lessons or accumulated sleep deficit.
AW: My parents are coming to help next week while Mr E and I are both busy with Vacation Bible School at his church. It's from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. Sweet usually goes to sleep no later than 7:30. You see the issue.
W: it's very draining for me to have them here for an extended time. And we leave on Saturday to go to their house anyway, to stay with them while Sweet has an appointment in the Big D for her feet. So it's going to be about 10 days all together. All. Together.
((( Esperanza ))) Surely at some points -- preferably daily! -- you can find some escape time. Not that your parents aren't wonderful, but the kids can get by for a while on 2-3 parental/grandparental units while you have important re-charging to do. I'm sure there are lots of errands in the big city, for example. And at home, while the trusty grandparents are there! xoxo
Thinking of your MIL Liz, and the procedures. xoxoxo
I'm glad you cleared up that baby chicken thing kathy. ;)
(((esperanza))) The letters V, B, and S strike terror in my heart. I've only done one and that was early on in my ministry. We don't do one at our church because we just don't have enough volunteers this time of year - everyone is enjoying the ever-so-brief summer.
MIL came through the surgery well. Will be taken off of ventilator and most sedatives tomorrow. Thanking all the powers that be.
Pixies, I just got started on the n3tfl1x series Grace and Frankie -- with Lily T and Jane F -- and it is really cheering me up. A lot!
YAY for MIL! What a hard time she has had. xoxo
Yes, I was confused about the baby chicken burrito thing also. Glad you could indulge your craving and redeem the dentist visit.
Thankful for good news about MIL, Liz.
Sue, I'm pondering a rant about said VBS letters. I think its time has come and gone, even given the 30 year lag behind the rest of the culture here in LittleTownVille. It still attracts a LOT of kids. But I've never been one to measure success in numbers (usually that's low numbers, but if I'm going to be consistent, it has to be high numbers too). And it takes a LOT LOT LOT of energy by a LOT LOT LOT of adults to make it happen. It's a lot of "entertain the kids" without many other benefits that I can see. I could go on. But I'm tired, from preparing for VBS. Sigh.
Liz, I'm so glad to hear your MIL came through the surgery well.
kathy, we are enjoying Gracie and Frankie as well. I love seeing women of a certain age on my tv screen, and those two are especially delightful.
esperanza, I agree re: the dreaded VBS. The churches who hold those programs around here have trouble getting volunteers to return after a few seasons. They complain of feeling more like babysitters than program leaders.
AW: It's been a quiet week at work and I've caught up on a bunch of things that have waiting for my attention since Jesus was a boy.
That flag is history in South Carolina! The debate in the house lasted 13 hours (until 1 a.m.), but the vote was solid.
Yaay kathy - great news!!!
OK. So there was this little oopsie where the can of cat food hit the floor and splattered everywhere. And the cats were all, "OMG! Manna from heaven! It's a miracle! Ceiling Cat lurves us!!!!!" And I'm like, "EW! On my leg, on my sandal, on my dress, ick ick ick." Good day in the feline world. The end.
Poor Sweet. She can just not keep up with Mini. After exactly the same activity levels today (and a good night's sleep last night), Sweet has been asleep for an hour and a half. Mini is running laps around the living room. Literally. And talking. My heavens, the talking. They will wake up at about the same time in the morning, I predict.
Tomorrow's schedule is full: playground, train ride, pizza, swimming. Maybe, just maybe, that will tire Mini out. Not to mention me.
((((esperanza)))) Our boys were mismatched re: energy as well. D1 was bigger and stronger, but D2 was/is a pure extrovert. A day filled with Fun! People! So Many People! - well, D2 was just getting started by day's end. D1 would be snoring.
kathy - the cats are off somewhere continuing to give thanks to Ceiling Cat for this precious gift. Lol!
My #1 was very active and needed a good solid sleep, too. #2 was Ms. Perky Energetic -- go go go, sleep is for wimps.
(This worked out OK; #1 required a lot of supervision, so it was nice to get a little one-on-one with #2 once he collapsed. Right up until that moment when #1 realized how "unfair" it was for #2 to go to bed later...)
Esperanza, hope you have a great day with the Baboos! That all sounds fun.
Sue, D1=Sweet and D2=Mini. You have described the situation perfectly.
kathy, Sweet is so wiped out by the end of the day that she just doesn't care that Mini is staying up. She knows (we managed to keep it secret for quite a few months), but it doesn't seem to bother her. She'd rather sleep.
We had a good morning. Playground was not near as fun as train and putting our feet in the (cold! spring fed!) river. Resting now before swimming (and waiting for the pool to get shady so we can avoid sunscreening).
MIL is not doing well. They will remove the ventilator again on Sunday. MS and my SIL are agreed that whatever happens, she won't be going back on it.
It's just so unfair.
((( Liz ))) ((( MS and SIL ))) ((( MIL )))
Sending so much love. xoxoxo
Oh, Liz. I'm sorry. I believe this is a good decision by MS and his sister. But, that doesn't mean it's an easy one. Hugs for everyone.
(((Liz and family)))
What Esperanza said, too.
My MIL's name is Teddy. Please keep her in your thoughts.
Today is the eighth anniversary of WW at this location! Happy anniversary everyone!
8 years!!
Indeed. It was while I was pregnant with Sweet, and she will be 8 in October.
however, I don't know how Liz keeps up with these things!
Happy anniversary! I don't know what I'd do without you!
Yes, happy anniversary! This group has been wonderful, all these years. (and the ones before the new home here.)
xoxox
Once again, I'm breaking the tradition of prizes - but promise to try harder next time.
((((Liz))) Thinking good thoughts...
and Happy Anniversary, and thank you for this beautiful space
--Neighbor Lady
It's in my calendar.
Liz -- thinking of you. There is far too much loss in our collective lives lately....
My grandmother, aged 95, died on Tuesday. They think she passed sometime between bedtime and when her home hospice worker came in to get her ready for the day. My dad called me at 6:24 am to give me the news. At 11:00 am, my stepdad called to say Mama was "not doing well" and had been transported back to the ER with seizures in her left arm and they discovered her white blood cell count was EVEN LOWER after being let out of the hospital last week and with 3 booster shots. She was in the ER for around 50 hours (which was not the best, but at least she had a room! There were people all in the hallway...) and got moved to a room late last night (I think.) She'd asked me to head out to her house today, and take care of some housekeeping stuff that she couldn't handle, and I did, so I haven't seen her today.
My stepdad says she's feeling better, but she was just in tears yesterday. Saying she's tired of being in pain and sick. she just wants to be well again, which I can certainly understand. But, the says all the fighting gets tiring, and sometimes you want to give up. That scares me. That's not her talking -- that's the disease, eating her positivity and fighting spirit down. I hope she's turned the corner, because I don't like seeing her hurting. It's a hard thing to hold your bald mother's head on your breast while she just sobs her heart out. It's not supposed to happen like this. I want to be angry, and I want that cancer out of her. I want her to be free again, and I'm so scared that it won't happen for her. I try to keep my spirits up, and never show her the fear, but it's there, lurking in the background. I don't mean to be maudlin, but WW is a safe place -- it always has been. I know I can spill out all the ugly stuff and then close the door on it.
Kathy a. has been an angel for the last couple of weeks, messaging me for updates, with words of encouragement, and tips and tricks. It's been such a blessing to have such good people looking out for me and caring. We will probably never meet, but that's okay. Knowing that someone out there is in my corner is very soothing.
Just saying thank you, to Kathy, and to all of you, will never be enough, but I say it anyway.
(((KLee))) you are in my thoughts everyday. I'm so sorry about your loss, and your mother's ordeal, and am sending you love
I'm peeking in, from the last night at Camp. So many hugs for both KLee and Liz. What a week.
I'm hot and tired (but we were unexpectedly too cold for the first couple of nights), and E has had more bad nights than good. She's had more tantrums than usual here (and louder ones than everyone else), and has regressed into being a kid that needs milk at bedtime, wakes frequently at night, and won't use the potty. But we've made it through the week. We're skipping the Sunday service, so that we can just get home. And also so that we can clean up and put our furniture back because...
AW: our home is allegedly finished, at last! The crew showed up on all the days that promised, and did their job in the promised amount of time. (Our landlord stayed home from most of camp, to make sure of it.)
Old Skool: I leaned my head against a cot that was folded up in the hallway of our dorm, and the mattress smelled strongly of pee. My nose has regrets.
Oh KLee. Much love to you, and to your mom. You've had way too much on your plate. Come to WW anytime, and say anything you need to. That's what we're here for.
QWP: sorry Lil E (and therefore you) have had a rough week. And sorry about the pee smell. That's hard to get out of your nose. I'm happy about your AW, but had to chuckle at "allegedly."
W: Mini and I went to the outdoor birthday party today. It was hot. But worse that hot, it was awkward. We were the only guests there for about the first 45 minutes. They didn't want anyone to go in their house, but I really really had to pee, so they let me. It was dirty. And messy. And there wasn't soap in the bathroom. I tried not to look around much. And I think the dogs had fleas. And then they were smoking. And talking about their friends coming over later with guns (this is not that unusual in these parts, but usually not at childrens' parties). And then the little brother pooped in the kiddie pool. And then there were no napkins with the cake. And then, thank goodness, she opened her presents and we'd been there a respectable amount of time, and we got to leave. And then we took a shower as soon as we got home.
AW: Mr E was at home, and Sweet stayed with him. I'm quite positive everyone involved was happier with this arrangement than if I had taken her with us. (It was Mini's friend from school, who Sweet didn't know).
(((Esperanza))) eww about the lack of soap. And I'm sorry about the poop in the pool. And yikes! About the guns.
((( KLee ))) Hope things continue to improve for your beloved mom.
QWP, yuck on the pee cot. But yay -- despite the sleep disruptions and age-appropriate tantrums, it sounds like overall a wonderful camp!
Esperanza, if there were awards, "worst party evah" would be all yours.
W: I'm part of this online support group for families dealing with SIL's degenerative incurable neurological disorder, and -- this disease sucks. Badly. But the group is really supportive and helpful, and you get to know people's stories.
So yesterday this new person posted a whole rant about "dear god, you people stay in these miserable situations, and why don't you sign up for medicare and find a nursing home, and stop being miserable?" Etc. And there are so many things wrong and offensive about her assumptions. Every person there is struggling with all the things that come up in their own situation; some really good people are committed to keeping their loved ones at home as long as possible. The obstacles to getting a diagnosis, getting help, finding an appropriate placement that will take people with this condition, the finances, the legal stuff, are ENDLESS. There have been extensive and helpful discussions about everybody's own circumstances. The bottom line is that we support and suggest; we don't attack and criticize. And this B**** just doubles down! Gah.
Gah, indeed
8th anniversary!! Lovely!
(((KLee)))
QWP - I hope all the work is completed for you - that will be so great!
esperanza - just ew, on the whole party/no soap/guns afternoon. Just ew.
kathy, I'm so sorry about the B-word in your support group. Is there a moderator who can school her, or block her if need be?
I will host this week - I'll post early tomorrow.
SUE, thanks about hosting!
Liz, thinking a lot of your family. You, too, KLee.
There is this whole thing going on at/around the support group, and I have to say that the posters are mostly being Charlestonian in their generosity. And most of the rest of us are just waiting for our blood pressure to go down. (Or at least, that's my reading of the tea leaves.) Pretty much everyone has given this person a dose of reality plus kindness. We'll see. (But we are never being BFF's.)
(((((Klee))))) ((((Klee's mom)))) sending virtual hugs and strength
((QWP)) sorry about the rough nights--that's so hard. and the pee smell---ugh
((esperanza)) that party makes me shudder....ugh
Kathy a.--- we are sending a cluestick posse stat!!!!
((Liz)) keeping your family in my thoughts
W/AW: Neighbor Boy is going to a sleepaway camp for almost two weeks starting tomorrow. He alternates between excited and not wanting to go, which I get, since it is his first time at sleepaway camp and he doesn't know anyone going. I think he signed up purely out of interest in the topic (it is a J3w1sh camp with a science and technology theme, and he is all about the science and technology--well, that and nature but I'm not sure how much nature there will be, as it is in the dorms of a boarding school). Anyway, he was really brave to sign up as he is kind of shy. But he has been coming out of his shell this year at school. But now, I fear the bravery has worn off.
I hope that when he makes it through (and hopefully loves it!) he will be even more confident than before.
AW: We had a lovely walk (W: though it was HOT yesterday) yesterday through a wetland area, and we saw tons of wildlife: a great blue heron, a huge snapping turtle, lots of frogs, water snakes (one eating a fish), red-winged blackbirds, geese, etc. Neighbor Boy was beyond thrilled. Upon seeing the snake (the first animal we saw), he announced, "OK, that made my day!"
Hugs to all!!!
--Neighbor Lady
MS is currently on the phone with the hospital. From the one sentence he said, I'm guessing she had a stroke overnight.
Fireplace.
((( Liz ))) xoxoxo
NL, hope NB enjoys the camp! It is brave.
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