Just need to talk to my friends (220)

GG, I do the exercises set by the trainers on M, W, F and add in some of my own (my list) - not all of them each time. I really like squats and do goblet squats with 20-30 lbs, or back squats. With squats I do 30-45 reps - I realize this means I could use more weight and less reps. Farmer's carry - 200-300 steps carrying 20-30 lbs. Overhead press - 25-30 reps with 20 lbs. Bridge and bird dogs - 10 reps as I don't really enjoy doing those. Most others I do 20 reps. With box jumps, it varies as I sometimes have pain in my foot so I don't push it too much.

We plan to stop at a roadside stand after church and get some sweet corn today.

Beth

Good morning. The weather has broken here. We'll be in the 80's for the next 10 days with a chance of rain each day. We had a hellacious storm roll through around 8:30 last night which took out the power. DS was pretty miserable, so he decided to go to mom's and sleep there. Power was back around 12:30 so I need to reset the appliance clocks and tidy up the living room where we slept.

DS is headed to see the Big Boy at the Navy Yard. I don't know that he'll stick around to see it leave. Watching it "parked" doesn't seem worth a trip— he's already seen one of its brother-engines. I don't know if anyone saw it on the news, but there was a mass casualty event in Jim Thorpe because of the extreme heat. For some reason the average railfan is either old or overweight.

Carl— I'm glad you enjoyed a get-together with your friends. A taco bar sounds perfect.

I wish mom would do better with the oxygen, too. Her unit sounds like the one your fellow senior center guy uses. Size is relative here; she's 4'11" and frail with scoliosis and stenosis. She has both a cross-body shoulder carrier and a cute polka dot backpack carrier. She's bothered by both and rarely uses them as intended. The unit weighs about 5-7 lbs which gets heavy when hand carried, plus it means she's short a hand to do things. At home she could use her big POC with up to 50' of tubing which would be one option. She could also put the unit in her rollator— she bristles when I suggest it. In the past, she's used supplemental O2 during recovery from COPD exacerbations and pneumonia and been able to safely wean off. She doesn't seem to believe this is no longer possible because it's her heart that is driving the bus now.

Lorita— Homemade ice cream is the best. My niece has a Cuisinart Ice Cream machine that makes about a pint at a time. The finished product is amazing. My BFF has a Ninja Creamy that makes something more like a soft-serve ice cream which see loves and uses all the time. Maybe you need something like that.

Iris— There's a high school in Indianapolis named for Crispus Attacks. They offer dual college enrollments, a strong STEM program and med tech classes. They're also a powerhouse in basketball which is a big deal in Indiana.

I'm told drone shows are the fireworks of the future which is a good thing for pets and those with PTSD.

Gothic G— again with the Dick Van DELETED.
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Aside from a quick, hopefully, visit/BP check with mom I only have to figure out dinner. She's sucked me into a vortex yesterday. For starters I was alarmed to find her in jammies at 1pm. She's normally showered and dressed by 10.

She was fretful because a neighbor told her she saw mice running in and out of her A/C compressor. She was sort of angry because she'd hired someone to have her house treated. I explained bug stuff wouldn't work on critters and suggested she call the people I used when I lived in her town and had squirrel issues. She wanted to call "her guys" but couldn't recall the name. I asked if she paid by check- no. So, I asked if she paid by card which led to me digging through her statements. I found the company, but she wasn't sure, so I found their website and asked if the truck looked the same. It did. So, I wrote the number and told her to call or offered to do traps.

While I was down the rabbit hole, I noticed a $10.59 recurring charge for "Amazon Grocery Delivery". A few months ago she was being charged for Uber One. It took an hour out of my life to make that go away. She says she never signed up for such a thing; TBH she doesn't have the tech-savviness to do it. She swears she didn't let anyone else sign her up. But when I went to the amazon site, I was able to log in with her phone number and change the password which confirmed no active subscription. I asked for her card so I could call Citi and start a fraud claim. She couldn't find the card. Ugh. We tore apart her handbag and wallet. I was able to get the card cancelled using the last 4 digits and turn off the automatic update for expired/replaced cards for recurring charges. While digging through the wallet, I didn't find her PNC Mastercard. She rarely uses it and only got it to increase the yield on her savings account. So, I move onto the closet to check pockets and found the one I'd just cancelled but not the other one.

Fun times. I hope we get some answers or a plan to improve things tomorrow, but I fear it's just going to be more tests ordered. I'd carved out Aug 4th- until the start of classes to potentially visit DH's brother, whose health is not great, but I fear it's not happening. He and DS could go without me, but DH won't. He'd rather split driving with me than DS. He keeps referring to it as vacation. I don't know why he assumes I think a visit to his family is any kind of vacation any more than a visit to mom's is. Just saying.

HB

Good afternoon.

Fireworks went on here until 1 am. The news showed video from their helicopter of fireworks going off all over LA County. What a sight!

Today the air is clear and fresh, with a mild wind.

There is a replica of the Liberty Bell in La Verne, CA. It was cast in the same foundry in London, Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1752 as the original bell. The original bell cracked, so it was recast in Philadelphia the next year. It now is housed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

As part of the Bicentennial celebration in 1976, one hundred duplicates were made and two were allotted to each state.

HB, you say staying in jammies until 1 pm like it's a bad thing. It's after 2 and I'm still in mine 😄. But I think it's more a factor of living alone and not having anywhere to go, so why get dressed?

I do get dressed to take the trash out. Although my much older neighbor used to take her trash out in her robe. I'm not there yet.

GG, what would a Crispus Attucks Day look like for your trainer?

Iris

Good morning,

I went to the ER yesterday since primary care told me if I had any changes to go. Wasn’t any better and starting to hurt with standing and walking. ER Dr did not believe it was cullelitist and said it look more like an allergy. He gave me more medicine and said not to stop the antibiotics in case he was wrong. I sent my primary care a note with the ER comments.
Just more confused now!

Ron

Good afternoon. It's warm and rainy here today again.

Gothic G— Turning off the auto-renews and subscriptions is a nightmare. Both my parents have been troublesome in this regard. The funniest two were the monthly insurance charge for a flip phone they bought in 2005 and mom's Crepe Erase. I found a dozen unopened boxes when I moved her to her current house. If the stuff actually worked, she'd have disappeared already.

Lorita— Do the wild apricots bear fruit? It's seems interesting they're flowering this late.

Carl— Good luck with the ants. They're so annoying.

Ron— I'm glad you got the second opinion. Rashes can be tricky to figure out.

Eaglemom— There are some great videos of the Big Boy under steam. DS said the whistle made the ground shake.

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Got up extra early to get ready to take mom to see her new doctor. I was about to walk out the door when I got a text telling me the doctor is out today and to call to reschedule. I'm so glad I changed the primary contact to my cell as mom would not have noticed. The next available appointment isn't until Aug 18. He's only at this office once a month. This hospital system will not allow me to me to schedule her with this doctor at one of his other locations which is just ludicrous. I wasted an hour of my life with this nonsense.

I circled back to the cardiac RN. We discussed mom's continued at-home low BP readings. LOL, she has a little white-coat hypertension; it's specific to males and high-stakes appointments. We landed on halving her spironolactone for now and touching base in a week. I have to run over for my daily BP check and to open up this week's medication blisters so I can cut the pills. After that I'm seeing my PCP; I'm sure my BP will be off-the-charts.

HB

Good morning.

Ron, did you get a blood test? A CBC ( complete blood count) can help distinguish between infection vs allergy.

Iris

Good morning,

Rash isn’t improving and primary Dr wants to see me this morning.

Ron

good morning…

GG…you will see the world as fresh and bright when you get rid of the cataracts.