Just need to talk to my friends (211)

54 and feels like 50 with brisk winds and rain today thru tomorrow.

It's "go to the doctor day for follow up" for all my sick folks today. Aunt is some better but I still insist on supervision. The cousins are still taking turns with DIL staying both day and night. I went down to make lunch between her appointments and have spaghetti simmering on the stove for everyone's supper. Uncle was better, then tripped on untied shoestrings and broke three ribs!!! 🙄He gets spaghetti for supper too. The customers in my Aunt's former beauty shop used to joke that I should build an extra wing on my house to take care of all of them when I retired. I'm thinking that might not have been such a bad idea. I would hire help, where all my folks are reluctant to do so.

It's also cook and deliver food to Scottsboro week so we have been in the kitchen off and on all morning. Oh well, it's raining and I still have time to vacuum and mop before delivering supper this evening.

Mint, I am with you on the dresses. It's hard to find things that are stylish and will hold up. I have dresses that I have had for years and they still look new.

Iris, Jake is NOT neutered. But I haven't had time this week to call to get him scheduled. He seems to have settled down the past 2 days but as soon as one of the neighbor's dogs are back in heat, I'm afraid we'll be in the same situation. The electric fence gizmo is supposed to arrive today so next week we'll get that installed while I try to schedule an appointment for him.

Judith, it was your million-dollar smile that saved you, I'm sure of it.

HB, you and I should meet in the middle - we both need a break. Sorry for your dental issues. Glad you're happy with the paint!

Ron and Carl, it's nice that you two can get together. Our nearest senior center doesn't offer anything in the way of classes. It's for lunch mostly. I could drive further into town, but, nah.

Great pictures Beth.

The sun just peeked out so I got a picture of the back pasture for you. We're about to start moving babies up to the front pasture and put Black Star, the newest billy goat out with the herd. It's his first season and he is raring to go. That means we'll be having babies in April or May.

Beth…no. I went, aged 16, with my older sister and parents. We rented a care and spent 3 months in Europe and England. The thought of doing it with Dick has me remembering how dashing he was with his white hair and double-breasted tux. Sigh…Small tear……

HB - thanks for that (premedication). It makes sense to do that.

I read a really interesting article the other day about "paradoxical insomnia". I'd never heard of it before. It's probably got nothing to do with your mother, but I thought it was interesting. You were asleep but swear you weren't: what is paradoxical insomnia?

Beth - I love your sparkly dress. It's so pretty, and goes well with your hair. Do you play piano?

Thank you (about Peggy). She was just one of those bona fide nice people you occasionally run into. Not a mean bone in her body.

I have such mixed feelings about San Jose. I have no sense of direction to speak of (never have), and San Jose seems so random to me. At least San Francisco is grid-like. San Jose feels like it's all over the place. I spend a lot of time being lost there. 😄 Some areas of San Jose are very pretty though.

Our leaves have all peaked now. They've been so gorgeous this last week. Now they're starting to all be on the ground.

JeriLynn - I'm like you - I don't like buying dresses these days because they don't hold up. I've got things from the later '90s that I can still wear and look practically new. I'll wear those. I tend toward timeless designs, so it's often hard to "date" me, and I'm not hard on my things. I will say that I love the dress I got for my reunion. We're going to Charleston, SC fairly soon to see my s.o.'s mom, and I'm bringing it with me!

Your property looks so serene! I love it.

Judith - I'm ready for three months in Europe — right now. Some place warm.

Iris - I'm glad your power came back. It's stressful when it goes out.

Thank you about the blog. My biggest goal is to show readers what dementia looks like (one person, one experience), so that those new to caregiving have some idea about what it's going to be like. It's kind of the thing I wish I had when Peggy first got her diagnosis. I was freaking out and didn't know where to start.

I haven't run into many famous people in my life, although I did walk right into Stephen King in a bookstore once. Dark Carnival in Berkeley had so many nooks and crannies it was almost impossible to see around the corners of the book shelves. He was there for a book signing, and I was there to get my copy of The Stand signed (it had just come out). That man is tall!! I apologized and we had a good laugh when he signed my book.

Not much going on in my neck of the woods - mostly gym and writing. Although - our 33rd wedding anniversary is coming up on Halloween, so that'll be good. 🙂 Hard to believe (but in a good way).

I learned of a new category of dance music - "monumental dance". I'd never heard of it. The way it came up was that we were listening to Death Guild the other night and this German song came on "MItternacht" by E Nomine. English lyrics here. It's so over the top (they sing in German and Latin), and we're all kind of amused with it. Idly curious, I went to E Nomine's wikipedia page and they're described as "monumental dance". Sure, why not? 😄

Good morning.

Good morning. I'm off on a day trip. See you later.

Iris

Good afternoon. I'm waiting on the HVAC tech to come service my system ahead of the heating season. I have the noon-4:00 window but need to run to the store as well. I need to run to the store at some point as I have nothing for dinner. I've been so busy the last couple days we've either grabbed something out or done takeout. It's rainy and damp and I kinda don't want to.

Jerilynn— Is the uncle with the broken ribs married to the aunt with dementia? Maybe you should add on to the house and run it as a care community. Think of the gas you'd save.

Mint— Finding well-made clothing that fits is a challenge. Quality has tanked in recent years. Dresses are particularly tricky. They're formal guest-of-the-wedding or NYE appropriate in the revealing 20-something genre or grandmom. There's nothing in between for the rest of us or to wear.

The fit model used for different brands and how they scale up/down from a Misses 8 can make it hard, too.

Judith— It was always sad to see the once grand S. S. United States docked in South Philadelphia next to the IKEA parking lot. DS had great hopes they'd convert her into some sort of hotel/entertainment venue. Alas, it was not meant to be. Her library was removed and installed in NCLA's Pride of America which is pretty cool.

Iris— Guidelines around antibiotic prophylaxis have changed. DS used to have to do it because his has a heart murmur caused by a bicuspid aortic valve. When I first got my right knee replaced, I had to bring a letter from my surgeon saying I didn't need premedication to the dentist before he'd agree to see me. <Insert eye-roll from the ortho> I don't even need dental clearance this time.

Ron— I hope the throat feels better soon. It's thoughtful of you to avoid spreading it to those at the Senior Center.

I hope you all have a pleasant day.

HB