Just need to talk to my friends (203)

GothicGremlin

Thanks, Carl!

We had a lot of thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, but no tornadoes, thankfully. And we kept power. Things are pretty quiet now.

ronald71111

Good morning

Mint

good morning

Glad things worked out for you at Walmart’s Lorita.

Carl let us know about your wife when you get things figured out. Sorry you are having to deal with this.

harshedbuzz

Good morning.

Gothic G— I am glad you made it through the storm OK. Thanks for the early update. We had a tornado at our old house once— DH and the cat were spooked by it, but I slept through it. I was kind of disappointed to be honest.

Carl— Good luck at the doctor's appointment. There's a condition sometimes seen in dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases called Pisa (like the leaning tower) Syndrome. I wonder if that's what you're seeing. The falls are hard as a caregiver as no matter how attuned and attentive, no human is faster than gravity.

LOL, it's possible to get a glass of wine at the salon; the owner offers a PA wine grown by a friend on-the-house but it's not something I would enjoy. Niece and I usually go to a cute wine bar in a part of town called the Gayborhood (rather like GG's Castro) for interesting wines, artisanal cheeses and catching up. She's mom's successor agent (aka my Plan B), so keeping her up to speed is always a part of that.

Lorita— How frustrating about the lamps. It's hard to judge how something is going to look in your space unless you've seen it in person. Having to assemble beyond adding a harp is ridiculous but I wonder if the generations raised on Lego and IKEA not only expect this but rather enjoy the challenge.

Beth— Happy (belated) Birthday. I hope it was pleasant.

Amazon DSP stand for demand-side platform. It has something to do with specific targeted advertising.

Mint— I am sorry for the trouble you're having with the new pharmacy. I hate when insurance changes and you lose access (or pay a premium) to use the place that works best for you. I have a love-hate relationship with my local CVS— the pharmacist used to be great but now she's busier than ever and can get a little snappy. Mom's local Rite Aid is worse. When she first moved to the area, they filled prescriptions from some random dead guy (same name and DOB) in Sacramento along with the ones his new doctor prescribed. Mom didn't notice so he missed somethings and was doubled up on others which nearly led to a geripsych admission. Aside from that, the clerk routinely doesn't give me the entire order when I stop in about half the time since she takes so many meds and they don't have them synched. I'm not a huge fan of mom's infusion pharmacy either; Mark-the-pharmacist is my new BFF but they don't always send all the supplies she's supposed to have. Her specialty pharmacy (for her eye injection meds) is great and I realize as I type this that it is kind of extra to have 3 different pharmacies.

Jerilynn— Have a wonderful trip. I hope the new RV is everything you hope it'll be.

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I'm trying to catch up on laundry. I am down to a single clean bath towel. The boys will be raiding the beach towels if I don't get it together this morning. I'm alone at the moment— DS is at class and DH is having a blood draw. I haven't been alone in the house is months so the quiet is kind of a treat.

Mom's ID doctor appointment went well. The doctor is older and kind of looks like Professor Irwin Corey. He was very old school— he gave me paper prescriptions for blood tests and her PICC removal— and very thorough. She liked him which is good. The appointment ran late, but there's a lot in mom's medical history to mull over at this point. She'll be starting on Keflex going forward and seeing him 4 times a year. After, I scheduled her dentist and derm check. Over lunch she told me she doesn't see that many doctors. My head may have exploded.

I got downtown and walked the 1/2 mile to the salon. Given the uneven sidewalks and my awful left knee, I was kind of surprised it was doable. I wonder if the Carl-recommended turmeric had something to do with that. I saw my bestie for a bit as she was randomly having her hair cut as well. She brought me cookies. My niece took a nap and missed her appointment, so I ended up taking an earlier train home and having cookies for dinner. The olive oil lemon-pistachio were lovely.

I hope you all have a pleasant day.

HB

Lorita

Happy belated birthday, Beth. You're just a youngste. Carl, Hope it is something that can be treated with your wife. Let us know. Sarah was like a daughter to Charles and I. We helped raise her. Dhe was our grest niece.

Not a good day going here. Down in the dumps, sort of. When they replaced part of the bedroom floor they also replaced about 10 ft. Of drywall that was cracking, most of which is behind a sort of chiffarobe and they didn't paint it. Decided I would do that but can only move the chest a bit. What a mess behind it, clumps of that stuff you put on drywall cracks and paint. So that is my project today, or tomorrow. Those guys did some good work but should have come back to finish up. Was never able to get in touch with them. Hate being more mature, as Jo would say, and.not able to do what I used to do.

Looks like a beautiful day on tap but kind.of windy. Maybe the girls will come back up so I can be out with them and get in a better mood. Hope everyone is well today.

jfkoc

GG…decide where best to go and then watch your TV

Carl…please let us know how the appt went

Iris L.

Happy Birthday Beth! Your dinner out sounds nice.

Lorita, Sarah struggled with so much. I hadn't realized that you and Charles raised her.

I have some peeling paint behind my toilet. This was due to a pipe repair in the wall behind the toilet years ago. I'm not in a hurry to repaint it.

HB, I never heard of Pisa Syndrome. Perhaps that is what Carl's DW has.

GG, it's great that you came through without a tornado.

Judith, will your hearing aids be cleaned while you wait? I wonder how would you hear if you had to leave them overnight?

HB, you are always so busy. It's nice that you got a few moments of alone time.

Iris

jfkoc

Iris…yes. About 12 minutes and the hearing aids are like new. I need to remember to change the filters once a month and to get to the Dr every three months to get my ears cleaned out. I seem to be a champion ear wax producer…lol.

HB…quiet is wonderful.

BethL

Thanks for the BD wishes! It was a good one.

We've been watching a something swimming in the pond behind the house today. Not sure what it is; it doesn't get close enough for a good look. We did look with binoculars; my best guess is beaver, otter, mink or muskrat.

We went thrifting this a.m. They had bag day; they provide a garbage sized bag and you can put as many garments in it as you can stuff in for $10. We got maybe 11 or so garments.

Tonight we are going to a food truck for sushi. I only do the cooked, or the vegetarian. DH will do anything.

HB, glad your mother is doing better and that your knee allowed you to walk where you needed to go. The wine and cheese with your niece sounded great.

Lorita, you are busy as always. You take such good care of your dogs, cats and the girls. They are lucky to have you.

GG, glad you did not get a tornado. We have been through one in April 2024. Two houses within a block as the crow flies were destroyed. We had colonial style porch pillars fall down, siding damage, window screens with holes, gutter damage, 2 rain barrels destroyed, cupola on the garden shed blown off, 4 trees down, potting bench destroyed and some other things I don't remember offhand. One of the trees was a 25' tall spruce and it was totally uprooted. Those storms can be very powerful.

Stay safe, enjoy your day, Beth

Lorita

That's a lot of damage, Beth. Glad it wasn't worse and that you all were okay. The last I heard Oklahoma has had eight or nine so far this year.. Spring can be scary in the southern plains.

Mint

GG glad you had a calm storm.

Belated Happy Birthday Beth.

Lorita hope you felt better as day went along.

Lorita

Thanks for caring Mint. . I did ferl.better and am okay now. Guess the day just started out the wrong way. Hope you have a good. night. Good night, everyone.

Carl46

We pretty much spent the day at the clinic, with an exam by NP Angie, a wheelchair ride to the lab for blood and urine samples, and x-rays of hip, pelvis, and lumbar spine. We're going back Tuesday for a head CT to rule out microvascular bleeding etc. DW is walking straighter today, so the list was probably just a response to back pain from falling on the hardwoods three times in 24 hours. She still has unsteady gait, a slow shuffle in which neither heel ever gets in front of the toes of the opposite foot.

Angie is suggesting to the PCP internist that DW quit taking blood thinners, which she has been on ever since a pulmonary embolism with collapsed lung that required pure oxygen in ICU and resulted in the onset of her memory loss back in the '90s. If she is going to fall frequently, blood thinners are a hazard.

Angie also asked me how I am doing and suggested it is time to place DW in MC before I am completely worn down. I guess I didn't look too good. It's hard to look good when you're a white-haired old man pushing a wheelchair.

At the end of the day, DW apologized for being so much trouble, thanked me for taking care of her, and said she had enjoyed spending the day with me. As if I didn't already feel guilty for making plans to place her at some fairly near future time. Just another day in the life of a caregiver.

Carl46

On the other hand, it was a lovely sunny day today. The daffodils, forsythia, and dandelions combined to set off my yard with sprays of yellow, and all the redbud, apple, cherry, and tulip trees around town are in bloom. Everyone was real nice, except the guy who almost ran over me in the parking lot because we were walking so slow. Everyone at the clinic, except NP Angie, wished me a "wonderful rest of the day" as I wheeled DW from one lab to another. Maybe all that pollen is why my eyes water sometimes.

I did enjoy the ice cream cone I ate on the way home. Black walnut for me, strawberry for DW. The sign company across the street from the dairy store has an electric sign they use to display how nice their signs can be, and they are publishing some awful puns from Dad-a-Base. I remember some of them, but I'll spare you.

Good night, friends. Have a wonderful rest of your day. 😕

GothicGremlin

I'm starting to slow down for the night. I finally managed to download the music I got from the Death Guild anniversary (a nice part of the package), so I'm listening to that right now.

Also, I got a new pair of gym shoes today, and then tested them out at the gym. They're perfect. And since I was so good, I decided that I could have some chocolate.

JeriLynn - I hope you guys have a wonderful maiden voyage!

Belated happy birthday, Beth! I'm glad you had a good one. But yikes about your tornado experience. Honestly, they just freak me out.

HB - disappointed in the tornado? That's how I occasionally am about earthquakes. 😄 It's got to be at least a 5.2 otherwise I can't be bothered.

Lorita - I'm sorry you're kind of down. I hope you have a better day tomorrow.

Iris — Thanks! And you know what, Peggy had Pisa Syndrome. I remember M1 telling me that medications can sometimes cause it. Peggy's doctor told me the same, and that also just the progression of the dementia can cause it. It's strange to see because (at least in Peggy's case), her back was rigid, and she just kept leaning back farther and farther. When we couldn't keep her upright, we had to move her to a wheelchair.

Carl - I'm so sorry. Ice cream and flowers are nice, but I know very well how you feel when you said your DW apologized to you for being so much trouble. My sister always did that too, and the guilt I felt …… Just know that you're doing an amazing job.

Carl46

Thanks, GG. I'm kind of down today. It has been a hard week.

Mint

good morning

Lorita, glad you got to feeling better. Thank you, I did get a good nights rest and I hope you did too.

Carl, you have a lot on your plate. I know your heart tells you to feel guilty, but I believe your brain is telling you otherwise from what I hear you say. Know it is different maybe between a spouse and a parent . For me it’s a parent and I don’t feel guilty at all in fact, even friends have noticed how much more relaxed I am now. They said something to me so I know it shows. I still go in and visit my mom, I take care of her nails, I comb her hair, I keep her with dry underwear and clothes. When her delusions get out of hand, I now am free to step back and take a break. I’m just saying these things to hopefully help you see that you will truly be taking care of her, yourself and your son. You could really use some help with the load. This way also if something happens to you, your Plan B is already in place. I don’t know if you have someone to put Plan B in place if something happens to you or not.

hope to go see my mother today. My sister went Wednesday and she said my mom‘s was doing much better delusion wise. Hope that is how I find her today so I’m able to stay a little while.

harshedbuzz

Good morning.

It's beautiful here this morning. Very sunny and merely breezy. I may get some daffodils in bloom today. The clump near my door has been blooming at least a week, but all the others are running slow; they must be a different variety. My neighbors' magnolias are blooming— mine is a later-blooming cultivar so I'll avoid the frost that invariably turns the display into a brown slimy mess. The forsythia in the back aren't blooming; they've never done well here which seems odd. I should probably have them torn out and replace them with something.

My little town has its first confirmed case of measles; Philadelphia's Amtrak station had a confirmed case last week along with the children's hospital. There was a small outbreak about 15 years ago when a French exchange student arrived and infected the host-family's unvaccinated children. PA allows a "philosophical exemption" on vaccines in public schools, so quite a few kids got sick. The bigger uproar was that unvaccinated kids were put on remote learning and banned from sports and activities. The prom-moms were livid.

HB

JeriLynn66

We’re having a wonderful and relaxing time away. The RV learning curve has been easy to manage. I need more baskets in the kitchen area. And a small food prep table; I already found one on Amazon.

HB, I’m sure you know this already but still wanted to mention about possible issues with prolonged antibiotics therapy: yeast infection (excuse me gentlemen). Usually the mouth and lady parts.

Thinking of each of you and holding you up in my prayers.

eaglemom

Good morning all. I've missed being able to be present here. Sometimes life takes over and all the business. We have the last appointment of the week at 11:00 this morning. My hope is to be able to catch up on everyone's lives this afternoon.

Let's be safe everyone.

jfkoc

Carl….there is Plan A.1…..outside help, sandwiches, crockpot and Netflix.

BethL

Good morning.

Thinking of you, Carl. Sorry things are so rough.

Lorita

Morning, Carl, sorry things are so rough for you now. I remember we applied to several of the State Veterans Homes for Charles, just in case. All of them had waiting lists but within a month or so we received phone calls telling us there was a vacancy. Each time I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. We didn't accept any of the vacancies. Placement became a reality. I kind of know how you feel. Also we had to place both mother and daddy in nursing homes at different times.. It is really hard. I hope your day gets better.

We're having showers and awful winds. At the first sprinkle the girls came to the lot so they could get out of the rain. They stood around but went inside when it rained a little. So cute -' one cow and her baby cane down, baby by mom's side until they got close, then he kicked up his heels and ran toward the lot. Maybe he saw one of his playmates. They're all inside now.

Jeri?Lynn, glad you all are enjoying your get away and the new RV. Needless to say I bet you have checked on those babies. There is something relaxing about bottle feeding little calves or goats, too.

I was thinking this morning that we haven't heard from CaroLynn in a whike. Hope all is well. Same goes for Marie and Sandy and our friends down under. Let us know how you all are. Ron, that includes you and David.

Need to catch up on donating today. Don't want to paint while it's rainy. Is that a goid excuse, or what? Back later.

Iris L.

Good morning.

Iris

ladyzetta

Good morning.

Lorita. I hope your having a better day today. Please be careful moving and getting behind things. Make sure you have your protective guardian on. Remember you can so sit with the girls when you're having a bad day.

Beth. Happy belated birthday. Did you ever figure out what was swimming in your pond ? I was checking my neighbor postings, in Oregon, yesterday, someone posted a picture of a big straggly cat up a tree, looking for the owner, funny thing was it was a porcupine.

JeriLynn. Sounds like your enjoying your trip in the the RV. I bet you miss your babies, and look forward to being with them again.

Iris. I have never been to a Aldi's, I don't think I have ever heard of one. My cat Sammy, eats a lot. He has hard food down all day, the soup is a morning snack. If he had his way, he would love to have the soup down all day.

HB. Alone time is precious. I miss alone time. Before I moved from Oregon, to Arizona, to be with my daughter I had a lot of alone time. Now, very little, she works from home and while she's working I have 3 cats and 2 dogs to tend too. They keep me pretty busy. Only alone time I get, is when her and her DH, go someplace. They are going to be gone for 3 weeks next month, I'm looking forward to that.

Carl. You sound so sad, your in my prayers. You have gotten your self so woren out, it's time for you to take better care of yourself. The time will come you will be placing her, hopefully you will still be well enough to oversee her care. You have been so good to her, she loves you and wants the best for you. Mint, told you a lot of good things, things that are so true. When I had to place my DH, it was hard, but his doctor, for many years, told me it was time, he saw how tired I was. It was the best thing I did for both of us. I'm praying 🙏 that you have a better week, get as much rest as you can.

I've had my upper teeth for a week now, they are a perfect fit, very comfortable to ware, and it took no time to get used to them. In three weeks I will get my lower ones.

Hugs to all, Zetta

Lorita

Zetta, of course we don't have an Aldis but my sister in OKC used to shop at one. Guess it was close to her house. She seemed to like it.

I'm fine today. Sometimes that feeling just creeps up and jumps on me. Probably think about things too much. We had a little rain, not enough to help but we are supposed to get more plus severe weather this weekend. I just finished a lot of charity work that had accumulated and I'm with out. I used to do paperwork all day but that was 30 years ago Scary to see that in print Jus heard Texas now has ,400 cases of measles. Scary stuff going on. Shirley ,

a girl who delivered my groceries last week was driving a beautiful white car. Asked what it was and she said it was a Chrysler 300. I think that is what your car is. Do you still like it? How are you liking the new plantation house? Does it have columns?

I boiled most of the dozen eggs I got last month and gave one to each Pyrenees. Sheena ate hers but had to break Stormy's in half and he would only eat the yolk. Sheena finished it. I like the yolk better, too.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Carl46

Thank you for the good advice and kind words. I didn't have a problem placing my mother because she went to NH straight from hospital and would have died in a week in my home without professional care. My son left home at 18, eagerly, and placement in RCF for him in his 20's was out of my hands, so no guilt there either. My wife is a different story. I'll have to do it, but I don't like it and she won't either, at least at first.

Plan A1 is what I have now. Day care, housekeeper, easy meals, reading and TV when DW is asleep. She has slipped though, even since November. Actually, she has slipped more in the past few weeks. Her doctor thinks it's time, and mine thinks my health is affected by my situation, so my brain tells me I need to start setting it up. My heart gives me disturbing dreams about it, but that will pass as time goes by.

DW is better and back in day care. She hurts all over from falling, but nothing is broken. I took DS to get his glasses repaired and order a new pair today, and we stopped at Burger King. Zetta, they have a new sandwich, the Texas Steakhouse Bacon Whopper with A-1 sauce and crispy onions that is pretty good. If you still want a Whopper when you get your teeth the way you want them, I recommend it.

jfkoc

Carl…placement is often times a happy thing for our loved ones and if it does not work out it is not permanent.

Lorita

I'm tired tonight, mentally and physically.. Already gone to bed to watch tv a while. Hope all of you sleep well tonight. Good night

harshedbuzz

Good morning. We had a gorgeous sunrise. I'm glad I was up to see it.

Mint— Your mom sounds a bit like my dad. His behaviors were all over the place. Part of that clearly was his personality/mental health. He was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's and WKS, but his neurologist thought there was likely some VD.

Zetta— I'm glad the uppers are an improvement.

Judith— It's funny how people from different climates parse different temperatures. In my mom's old FL retirement community, which was largely transplants, a 65F day would have a range of sartorial choices with native Floridians wearing mittens and former Michiganders sporting shorts and flip-flops. Mom spent her summers in Maine and thought nothing of swimming outdoors in such conditions.

Gothic— Your flowers sound amazing.

Shirley— Your puppy is adorable. Thanks for sharing the picture.

Carl— I'm glad you had a nice day taking it easy. Prowling around a Barnes and Noble is a favorite activity for DH as well. He can spend hours there especially in the one in Princeton.

Jerilynn— Enjoy your camping trip. Where to this time?

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I have a lazy day today aside from the 1pm infusion swap and meeting friends for Thai for dinner at 5:30. DS is at work, so it's nice and quiet.

Next week is busier. DH has an echo on Monday and blood draw on Thursday. Wednesday mom sees her new infectious disease specialist and then I go to the city for a haircut. She is supposed to have her dressing changed which is a time conflict with the time we were assigned for the dressing change. I called on Wednesday as soon as I realized and again on Friday to reschedule and no one has returned my call. I am pretty salty about that. DS doesn't have school and could drive her later that afternoon or I could do the day before or after. When they send the appointment confirmation, I'll cancel otherwise I'll need to drive there which is a PITA. I'm this close to asking them to do a home visit which is the bigger PITA for them.

I have a couple deliveries coming today I'll need to watch for. Mom's meds are being delivered. They tend to come before noon when it's a Saturday. I asked them to include a dressing change kit as last week they didn't and the ones the infusion suite nurse had was not to mom's liking. She's grumbled about it all week. She's also grumbling that the medication seems to be triggering hair loss. Dr. Google tells me this can be a side effect of some antibiotics when used longer term. It's not noticeable to me, but she's describing clumps falling out in the shower. She's got 12 more doses before she switches to Keflex by mouth.

I have a pair of crib mattresses coming for my goddaughter's shower in mid-May. Her registry was getting bought up quickly and there wasn't much on it to begin with. Cute baby things have been jumping into my cart online and IRL.

HB