Just need to talk to my friends (202)

harshedbuzz · February 14

Jerilynn— She's giving "Flopsy".

I managed to hit Costco and the dairy store before heading over to the hospital. I also picked up the cat's cremated remains. I need to remember they're in my trunk.

I brought mom some pretty tulips and had a quick visit. She's doing better mentally and physically. Nothing has been said yet, but I would anticipate discharge over the weekend and a switch to oral steroids. I hope so for her sake. Her roommate situation is a very unhappy one; a woman who appears to be at end-stage of something and has a massive bedsore and a pair of daughters who are actively fighting over next steps. One thinks mom should be allowed to pass while the other accuses her just wanting mom's money and spends all day trying to cajole her mom into eating. Evidently there was shoving and shouting last night. Not what my mom, or their mom needs at the moment. The nurses had security come so that was exciting.

HB

JeriLynn66 · February 14

Oh HB, that's just awful for your Mom and her poor roommate!

I like "Bunny". We already have a Flopsy, and a Flopsy Too.

Got my hair "did". The hairdresser wouldn't cut it as short as I wanted (she's never seen me with really short hair) so we compromised at a bob at the ear lobe and a shaved neck. I like the cut and the color. DH likes it.

Got chili on the stove and corn muffins made. DH is entertaining the great grand. So off I go again.

ladyzetta · February 14

O! My, HB. You're mom should not be in a room like that. Can't they move her or her roommate out to another room? How is your mom going to get rested up enough to be able to go home.

JeriLynn. When you get the barn all set up for your little sick ones, you may also want to put a bed out there for you. You never know when you will want to spend the night. 🙂

Carl. Border Collies, are beautiful and very smart dogs. When I was doing a lot of pet sitting, there was one I took care of, she was so sweet.

Mint. The AL/MC facilitys always welcome volunteers, you would be loved by so many, of the lonely residents. You would have to adopt a few of them. When I was helping in the kitchen, in MC where Dan, was, a few of the residents knew when I was going to walk in the door and were waiting for their hugs. I miss them.

David. I'm glad to hear your starting to feel better. Hopefully your by a sunny window. The sun does wonders.

Take care all. Hugs Zetta

Lorita · February 15

Warmed up some this afternoon but the wind Is really strong now.

JeriLynn, Bunny is a cutie pie. . Hope.you can get your barn fixed so you can treat your animals when needed.

HB, how awful for your mother to have to put up with all of that. She needs rest and quiet to recuperate.

Good.night, everyone.

GothicGremlin · February 15

Hey everyone -

I'm feeling for all of us who are having to deal with this cold weather. I'm so over it at this point. Bring me some sun (and warmth)! it's been in the low 20s at night, and mid 30s during the day. Snow is still on the ground. 😒 I've been wearing my fleece tights underneath my clothes - they've helped.

JeriLynn - What a cute baby! I can't believe how adorable baby goats are. And me, a goat grandmother. And here I always thought I'd just be the eccentric aunt.

I got my hair done as well. It's also kind of a bob, but mine is purple. Well, some of my hair is its natural silvery white color, with the purple woven in.

David - I'm glad you're feeling better.

HB - I hope you're mom gets to come home this weekend. It's just been such an ordeal.

Iris - I hope you're doing okay in the aftermath of the fires. I've been tracking all of it because I still have a lot of friends and family in southern California. Everyone is okay… For awhile I kept close tabs on my sister's friend, D, who was a core member of "Team Peggy". She was in an evacuation zone for awhile, but ended up being able to stay in her home.

Mint · February 15

good morning

HB hoping your mom continues to improve. It’s very challenging for everyone bring in their personal problems and try to make it yours.

JeriLynn give those daffodils credit, they will probably survive unless they get a really heavy coating of ice. Hope they don’t. They are so beautiful when they bloom and cheerful.

I am longing for warmth also. I wear fleece leggings underneath my clothes and they definitely help.

Ron and David hope each of you have a little more strength today.

harshedbuzz · February 15

Good morning Porch People.

We're having snow turning to rain this afternoon and then continuing until about dinnertime tomorrow. Yuck. DS is working in this mess today as the railroad is open and doing Presidents Weekend and Valentine's excursions. It's not my idea of romance but DS says they're quite popular.

David— I hope you continue to feel better each day until you are back to your winning ways at BINGO.

Ron— I hope the new teeth are getting easier for you to handle.

Eagle— The weather headed your way sounds awful. Staying put sounds prudent.

Gothic G— Your hair color sounds amazing. I understand the intense colors need very special handling to avoid fade. Back in the olden days, when dad owner a salon with his brother and mom was a double process blond channeling Marge Simpson's beehive she used to dabble in holiday themed rinses. They were pastels and meant to be washed out. I distinctly recall a pretty pink and mint green for St. Patrick's Day.

Jerilynn— I do now recall tales of Flopsy and Mopsy. Bunny it is then. Perhaps one day, Gothic's grandgoat will have a "sister" named Peggy. Or do you avoid people-names? I'm glad you're happy with your hair. Your do sounds a bit like mom's. She has a short bob that ends near her earlobes that is subtly stacked in the back. This is why she's so fussy about monthly trims to keep it just so. She's missed an appointment because she's sick and I hear about the need for a haircut daily because priorities.

Zetta— I wish mom could have her own room, too. She's had a string of challenging roomies of late. She's no picnic either with her violent coughing TBH. There was the one who was in for observation after a fall who spent her entire time loudly ordering people around on Zoom. She was the chair of several committees at her CCRC and Meetinghouse. Last time she had a woman who was transitioning to hospice who had a large loud family who either visited en masse. I don't see the need for anyone to have a dozen people coughing in a patients room. But when they left, the woman would bang her phone to the tray table endlessly. Her first roommate this time died the night mom was admitted. These 2 sisters are next-level. Mom says that the bossy caregiver sister unwrapped the dressing after her mom had had the wound treated in the procedure room and was trying to clean it with a towel. Yikes.

Right now, the unit she's in is almost at capacity. The few rooms that are singles have "Contagious Warnings" on them— probably flu, RSV or COVID.

Mint— I think the daffodils will likely be OK if they haven't flowered, too. They're freakishly hardy. I've had buds coated in ice that bloomed well.

__________________________________________________________________________________

DH has come down with the URI I had 2 weeks ago. He's feeling pretty miserable. My friend returned from her safari, but I don't think we'll get to catch up until midweek when DH will presumably be feeling better.

HB

ladyzetta · February 15

GothicG. I bet your purple hair is pretty. My hair is also white, and I have streks of purple and blues running through it. I also tried the bob but I got tired of trying to keep up with the cutting. I go in Saturday, for a touch up.

Ron. How's things going? Are you getting used to your teeth. Your in my prayers 🙏

HB. How's your mom doing, will she be coming home soon? I think I would also be a bad roommate, when I m watching my TV shows I want quite. So I would be yelling at people.

As far as the weather goes, I'm getting a little bit of both. In the mornings I ware a bed jacket. In the afternoon and evenings it's a t shirt. I'm glad I'm not having to deal with the snow I left behind in Oregon.

Hugs , Zetta

Lorita · February 15

Morning, cloudy and very humid but in low 59s. Front hasn't gotten here yet. Groceries were delivered shortly after 8. Cannot express how much that is appreciated. Now if they could put them away. When I was ordering groceries for my sister in OKC Jeremiah the young man who delivered them would bring them inside and help her. But, I am happy with what they do.

Carl,you can help me understand something about tariffs; the importing Country pays the tariff they impose so how does that adversely affect the exporting Country? Getting a Couple of loads of laundry done before the cold, bad weather this week.

About the daffodils, we have had them blooming in the snow and they were okay. I have them all over the yard and outside the yard about 6" tall. Can hardly wait for them to bloom.

harshedbuzz · February 15

@Lorita said:

Carl,you can help me understand something about tariffs; the importing Country pays the tariff they impose so how does that adversely affect the exporting Country?

I'm not Carl, but I'll take a stab at this question.

Historically, high tariffs hurt both parties. Tariffs were instituted early during the Depression and made the situation worse.

https://www.history.com/news/trade-war-great-depression-trump-smoot-hawley

The importing country doesn't pay the tariff— the cost in factored into the price paid by the various buyers in the production chain. For something like steel, a tariff increases the cost of materials to make a car or appliance, and that increase in materials is passed on to wholesalers and finally onto consumers.

Often, the exporting country will impose their own reciprocal tariffs on what they import from a less-favored trading party. Another unintended consequence could be boycotts of goods or travel to countries that impose tariffs.

There can also be impacts to specific segments of the economy if an importing country is unable to obtain materials from other sources or produce them domestically.

HB

eaglemom · February 15

Good afternoon all. I'm trying to be outside before the bottom drops. DH isn't one to like being out, but he's trying to come outside some. That's probably not a true statement, he likes being outside, he doesn't enjoy nor do any outdoor chores. He never has in our 48 yrs. of marriage. Now he'll plant, tend to and love on a tomato plant like the best farmer around. Weeding around the tomato plant just won't happen. We all have our thing I guess.

Who watches Nassar? DH used to love it, now he likes it. They've made the cars so similar its not really a 'race' until 15 laps from the end. Or so he says. We've been to quite a few races, but none in the last 3 years. Funniest time we've ever had at a race was on Halloween evening!! There were some character's there for sure.

I'm heading back outside. Back later to check on everyone. I'm hoping when I check back in HB's mom is on her way home. Let's be safe everyone.

littleme · February 16

Hi cobbers from Australia

Just to let you know I've had the operation on my tongue 2 weeks ago. The Surgeon says there was no cancer this time, and doesn't need to see me for 6 months, so I guess he's happy. I am almost back to eating a full regular diet, but the tongue is still tender and uncomfortable It seems he removed quite a bit if tissue from the lower left side.

I have been watching your temperatures with interest. Last week, we hit 110 degrees plus for a couple of days, here in the city. Very ununual. I was so glad to have airconditioning. Oficially summer ends in 2 weeks, but we often have hot weather in March. Just hope it doesn't reach 110 again!.

Best wishes to everyone. Barbara

Lorita · February 16

So happy the surgery went well and it wasn't cancer Barbara. Sorry for your hot weather- we'll be having those temps in three or four months. Take care of yourself. Glad you let us know the good news.

Thanks, HB, if there are more tariffs I bet our prices will go up.

I think I may try that electric "blanket" this coming week. Not really a blanket by maybe it will heat.

Everyone stay warm and safe. See you tomorrow.

Carl46 · February 16

HB, that is exactly right. Tariffs hurt the exporting country because they cause it to lose business. They hurt the importing country because they force consumers to pay higher prices. This lowers the standard of living in both countries. You are correct, Lorita, tariffs are inflationary. They are also recessionary, because other countries will impose retaliatory tariffs and reduce our ability to export. Higher prices, fewer jobs, more children living in tents. Tariffs were America's primary source of government revenue 200 years ago, but we have learned since then. Most of us, anyway.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said: "Fight inflation, eat mo' possum."

I feel for you who are having dental and tongue surgery and having to live on soft food. I have been there, and I didn't like it.

50 degrees and mist Saturday, 24 and snowing at 1:00 AM. Welcome to the Midwest roller coaster. We are expecting deep snow Tuesday and sub-zero temps for days thereafter, so it won't melt even if I salt it. Shoveling in really cold weather is a bad idea for a man whose son is eligible for AARP membership, so I think I'll go to the grocery Monday and prepare to stay home for a while. This might be a good week to sort some old vacation pictures.

Mint · February 16

good morning

Barbara that is hot. Hope your tongue heals well for you.

Hope everyone doing ok. It is still winter here🙂

Lorita · February 16

Morning, we had enough snow before MN to cover the ground and still hasn't completely melted. It is 24 and windy. Saw some of the girls and Billy come out of the barn a while ago.

Stormy and Sheena are having lots of trouble with allergies. Called Mike to see if he might be in this area today to give them shots. He had been earlier but was back in town to go to Church. Said he would be in a day or so checking for new babies to try to save. He has been very ill for two or three weeks, unable to control his body temp being very hot, then chilling. Still working but no large animal calls. Said all of the girls and his wife have had a form of it I don't recall him ever being sick but is better today.

They are trying to make wind breaks for cows who might calve. If a cow calves and it is so cold the baby won't survive if he is in the wind. So glad we have the barn for ours - if a cow doesn't calve too far away.

So no one doesn't do well with tariffs. It seems it is just a threat to the exporter to export less and raises prices for the importing country. No one wins.

At least the sun is shining and it will be a little warmer tomorrow before the bottom falls out.

I hope everyone is well this morning. I heard there are more flu cases than we have had in 15 years. Wear your masks!!

Lorita · February 16

Where is everyone? It has risen to 35 but still kind of windy and cold. Most of the snow is gone except in shaded places. Guess it's waiting for more later this week. Trimmed Stormy's nails but Sheena would have nothing of it.

I watched a really good show this afternoon on Freezee about Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. It showed how it was made and the people who carved the faces. I plan to watch more things on Freezee.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

BethL · February 16

Hi, I'm here and I'm reading. Nothing to write about today…slow (and COLD) Sunday afternoon.

David1946 · February 16

Well I'm feeling better and turned 79 today

ladyzetta · February 16

Hello, I'm here, just having a lazy day. We are now enjoying a big order of Chinese food we had delivered.

David. Happy Birthday 🎂 I'm glad to hear your feeling better.

Barbara. It's so nice as always hearing from you. I hope you're tongue heals fast, without any discomfort. Good news about having no cancer.

Carl. I'm glad your not shoveling snow, none of us older people should be. Your so right, being on a soft food diet, is not fun. It's been good for me in one way, I have lost 20 lbs, I'm only 10 lbs away from a target weight, I've had for years. And I still have 30 days to go.

Hugs to all my porch friends. Zetta

Mint · February 17

good evening

Happy Birthday David🎂

There was no snow on the ground when I got up at 5 o’clock. I think it started snowing around seven give or take. I left to pick my sister up for church around 8:30. On the way to church we saw one accident. I had no trouble getting to the church, which is out in the country and on top of a hill. By the time we got out of church about 11 it pretty much had stopped snowing and we got about 3-4 inches. So I came home and ate my lunch and then I went out and snow blowed. The temperature has fallen all day so it was starting to get fairly cold and windy so I decided to not go see my mom today. I thought Sara that’s why you put her in there so you didn’t have to worry when these kinds of things occurred.

Hope each one gets a good nights rest

Lorita · February 17

Happy Birthday David. Hope you had a good one and have many more.

Good for you Zetta. I bet you teach your goal. I have six pounds to get to mine. I'm back into clothes I had planned to donate.

Cold here too, Beth but it is really going to be super cold Tuesday through Thursday, then into the 60s by next weekend. I'm ready for that.

Sleep well tonight.

Carl46 · February 17

Happy Birthday, David. Glad to hear you're feeling better.

Zetta, I bought a pack of a diet candy called Ayds many years ago. (Try selling something with that name now!) It was like a 3/4" caramel cube with little shreds of carrot in it. The idea was to eat one with a hot drink before mealtime and it would suppress your hunger. It worked, just as a hot drink before meals would without the Ayds. Anyway, it pulled a large filling out of a molar and I had to have a root canal. I lost several pounds and threw the candy away.

It was slick this morning but froze dry by noon. The weather guessers are predicting a foot of snow Tuesday, blown sideways by a 40 MPH wind, about as close to a blizzard as we ever get in SW MO. I am planning a very quiet week. We don't expect a lot of ice or powerline damage, so maybe my TV will work. It will be really cold after the snow, with subzero wind chills and even subzero temps at night. The County will eventually plow the street, creating a 3' berm of ice across my driveway, so I may have to shovel a little just to pick up my prescriptions next week. Maybe I can pay someone to do it. The young men who mow my lawn won't be busy mowing lawns.

Sleep well, friends.

GothicGremlin · February 17

I was around today, but pretty quiet. Played a board game - Terraforming Mars. If you're looking for something to play with grandchildren, this is your game. It's a strategy game - the goal is to "terraform Mars" - make it habitable for humans. You do this by raising the temperature and the oxygen (by planting forests). You also place ocean tiles. It's good with two players, even better with four to five players. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but after that, it's really fun.

It wasn't as cold here today, just a lot of rain, which is no big deal.

David — Happy Birthday!!!

Carl - I think I remember my mom eating those Ayds candies. She ditched 'em too, although I don't remember why. It's all a little dim in my memory.

Zetta - Yum! Chinese food! I haven't had that in awhile ….

Lorita - I never go anywhere in public without a mask. If I'm outside I don't wear one, but in any enclosed space, I'm masked. I even wear one when I'm at the gym. If I'm someplace especially enclosed, like an airport, I always wear an N95. If I'm just inside a building that's not too crowded, I really like vog masks. They're close to N95s (but not quite), and really comfortable. I wore vog masks to memory care all the time. I like that I can wash them and reuse them.

Speaking of memory care, one of Peggy's close friends gave me a call today. I hadn't talked to her since last Thanksgiving. She was thinking of Peggy today, so gave me a call. I'm glad she did. She's just this really warm person, and she was great with Peggy. When we moved Peggy into memory care, she was the one who sat with her outside going over the Italy scrapbook while a few of us moved all of Peggy's stuff into her new room and got it all set up.

So yeah, quiet day, but nice.

Hope you're all having a good night.

Stay warm!

harshedbuzz · February 17

Good morning.

I attempted to post yesterday morning, but poof the post disappeared. It was overly long and gossipy so maybe for the best?

Happy Birthday David.

Weather here was odd yesterday. Unseasonably warm and damp early. It was 54 and the sun was just peeking out when I got to the hospital at 3:30. When I left at 5:00, the temperature had dropped 15 degrees and the wind was blowing with gusts around 50mph. On Sundays, the garage entrance and valet parking are closed, so I had to use the outdoor lot. The wind was so strong I could barely close the car door. I'm only 4 miles from the hospital but the drive was like an obstacle course with downed limbs. There was a utility pole down a couple hundred yards from the house, so I had to snake through the park and elementary school lot and through another neighborhood to get home. DS had a 10-mile drive home along wooded country road in a convertible with low clearance— I was very happy to see him home safely. We lost power briefly twice; I hope we get through the day as the winds are with us until dinnertime.

Today is supposed to be discharge day for mom. They started to switch to oral meds yesterday which means a drop in dosage from 80mg/day to 40mg. She sounded a little breathier but was maintaining her O2 on 3l. They're tapering on a 3-day schedule which is typical. The consulting pulmo suggests a visit with her regular pulmo asap in addition to the usual PCP appointment. Ugh. The pulmo will see her all pumped up on steroids. I think it would be more useful if he saw her once she's off them to get a sense of her unmedicated baseline.

I think this hospitalization scared her. She seems to be accepting the oxygen concentrator as part of her life going forward. Her roommate had no visitors yesterday which was nice for us. The one daughter who camped out there 24/7 was pretty inconsiderate. When she wasn't cajoling her mother— loudly— to eat, she was on the phone— on speaker— shouting at people. She also commandeered all 3 chairs to store her belongings and kept blocking mom's access to the bathroom. The nurses were over her after she unbandaged her mom's wound "to give it air" after she came back from a procedure to treat it. Mom says the night security came the daughters were disagreeing over care. The doctors and one sister were team hospice and the other wanted mom to have all the treatments so she could get better. One sister accused the other of "just wanting mom's money" and the other countered with "you're a parasite". Being an only child does have its perks I guess.

My hunch that this lady has dementia were correct— she is being treated for aspiration. She was dozing while I was there and looked angelic. It seems odd that the one daughter was there 24/7 since Wednesday and not at all since Saturday.

DH still has whatever crud I had 2 weeks ago. Like Mike, he is alternately freezing cold or too warm. He slept most of the day Saturday and Sunday. I saw him for about an hour last night before he bailed and went to bed at 7:30pm. I hope he feels better today although if he's like DS and me, today will be the start of the coughing.

HB

Mint · February 17

Good morning

There was more falling weather during night. Dark so hard to tell how much but looks like drive will need some attention.

HB hope moms discharge goes well.

Lorita going to be a cold week here too.

JeriLynn66 · February 17

Morning. Cold morning. Still below freezing and DH is out hauling cattle panels up to the Huntland place. ugh. Supposed to be cold all week with lows in the teens. The babies are warm and dry. It's dressing change day for Speck the chicken.

HB, hope the discharge goes well today and that DH feels better soon too.

Happy birthday David!

We're still dog-sitting until later today so my Monday cleaning routine will be off schedule. No need to do floors while the dog is still here.

I'm gonna go put a pot of beans on the stove. Cut some cabbage, sausage and onions for the frying pan. Already made some cornbread. Have a good day everyone. I'll BBL.

JeriLynn66 · February 17

Thought I’d share a picture of Buddy. He’s a rescue and you can see he was badly burned by some awful person. He’s very sweet and loving. And spoiled by Nana as well as the 6 year old great granddaughter ❤️

eaglemom · February 17

Good morning.

I will just start with, whom ever burned poor Buddy had better hope I don't find them. Absolutely no flippin excuse to abuse anyone or any animal. I'm not violent, but abuse is something that - will it just sends me into a different person. He looks cute. Love on him and he'll be fine over time. Spoil that baby.

HB I'm hoping mom can be easily discharged today. Will you receive a survey from the hospital about care? I'd let them know how awful this last 'roommate's' family truly was. Seems like there antics would have cause me more stress than simply being in the hospital.

Ya all talking about Chinese food has be hungry for some. I wonder if DH would like lunch out before we're stuck in for several days because of weather? I know that answer will be yes.

Happy belated birthday David.

Lorita I hope your place is buttoned up for the upcoming weather. ERCOT, our energy provider says they have enough fuel to carry everyone through this artic blast. I don't know though. We were ones that had no power for 79 hours when it was in the low teens. I do NOT want to do that again. I knew if I panicked DH would so I kept it together but I'm not sure I could do that again. We had on so many clothes we moved stiff legged! The inside temp of the house got to 36, Nope, don't want to do that again. Bu, in hind site, we did alright. I heated what I could up by the fireplace or we ate peanut butter sandwiches.

I don't want to ramble on here. I'm going to see if DH is up for Chinese for lunch! Let's be safe everyone.

Lorita · February 17

Carl, I saw on the WM website that they will deliver meds now just like they do with groceries. I don't use their pharmacy but could in a pinch. Looks like you may get quite a bit of snow and ice. We will get rain, then freezing rain and finally snow. Won't be much but it doesn't take much. It's sunny today but the south wind is really cold.

JeriLynn, why in the world would someone do that to a helpless animal. I'm with Eagle, anyone who would do that to a helpless anmal had better watch out for me, too. We had a Shih Tzu and Buddy's big eyes and teeth remind me of Barclee.

HB, hope your mothers discharge goes well today.

Eagle, in the past we have been out of power for over two weeks several times. We were total electric except for one propane heater. We scrambled eggs over that and they were awful but we ate them. We had a generator put in just at the time I lost Charles. Wish we had done that years ago.

Enjoy the Chinese food.. Charles got me acquainted with that years ago and I loved it. We made it at home many times but I don't anymore. I should make soup today but not in the mood to prep vegetables so may make potato soup tomorrow.

I really dread the cold weather, mostly for people who have to be out in it and for the animals. Lots of warming stations open in Tulsa. Last week they found a man frozen to death in Tulsa.