Saturday, May 7, 2022

Only 3 more sleeps here! Yesterday was a good reminder of why we are going north for a few months. It was 95 and steamy during the day and still 90 when we ate dinner at 7. Today will be muggy and probably thunderstorms at some point.

The wonder of modern antibiotics! I know they used to say they were sometimes overprescribed but it is amazing how much better Mike is this morning. Not 100% but closer to that than what he was describing as 60%. Yesterday morning he just looked bedraggled and now he is his usual cheery morning self. The doctor gave him a shot of something and 2 different antibiotics. And they are clearly working. What a relief with our long drive starting in 3 days. Since I am still not feeling sick I am hoping I missed whatever the main illness was.

Today is probably a good day to start organizing what needs to be packed. Though I leave some stuff here I always end up transporting a LOT.

Have a safe and healthy Saturday!

Being sick in the Covid age is confounding. My friend who teaches across the hall from me started to feel poorly on Thursday. I felt bad, did I give her my cold? Friday she tested positive for Covid. Similar symptoms. I tested Friday night for the 3rd time, negative. At this point, even if I did have Covid, I should no longer be contagious.

Yesterday our first 70 degree day. I lizarded to make some vitamin D, and bake the crud out of me. It was glorious.

Right now I'm drinking tea, but need to get going, as I am on my way to a bridal shower for my youngest niece. She is 22, recent college graduate. Back in my day, lots of my friends were married or getting married at this age, but it seems so young to me now. She and her fiance seem a good match and very good friends too. She will be happy with him.

Liz its good to hear the antibiotics are working their magic. May Mike continue to have a speedy recovery.

Greetings all

I am here earlier than usual. We actually have plans later in the afternoon to take a chair to the studio and to help our director pick out a new iPad furnished by the studio. DH will come along as pack animal and electronics consultant.

Yikes, I just heard DH in the bathroom with sounds of power tools! I had to intervene to make sure he was not putting up some unauthorized ugly shelving! Turns out he is giving himself a haircut with a flow-bee - those old things that vacuum your hair up so you can cut it. The thing is he has very little hair and I could cut it out on the deck much more easily and without need of electronic devices. Oh well, it amuses him. He seems to be taking a very long time for someone with so little hair. ..

It poured rain earlier but its clear for now. Does not bode well for the gallery or the studio which is having a big pottery sale right now. Still its amazing what people will buy. We have the reputation for being a cheap place to buy pottery and its kind of true.

Liz, glad Mike is doing better. No fun to be on a long drive either sniffling or being with a sniffler. I cant imagine how you would pack for a change of venue lasting months. But then again i wear the same sweats and stretch pants over and over.

We just found out a good friend has cancer in guts and it has spread to his chest. We saw him at Easter and it was clear something was wrong. Even sadder is that his wife has dementia and he has been trying to care for her and now they both need a lot of help. They are well off but wife is uncooperative about care givers so another friend has been helping but she just finished her own years of caring for a disabled and selfish spouse. End of life is not pretty. Makes me think I should do some more planning on this but not sure what. At least we did the bathroom.

DD enjoy a tea drinking/lizard day. Nothing beats the sun for toasting a cold.

More avocado toast today. I am getting addicted. It keeps me full for quite awhile. I should check the nutrition stats. And more pot roast tonight. Maybe I will make it into soup.

We watched the new star trek last night. Strange new worlds or something. Its pretty good. More like the original. Fewer explosions.

Not much else. We sure have a lot of laundry for people who are totally without any fashion sense.

Diane S

People respond to needing care so differently. One of my dear Aunties reached the point when she needed to move to assisted living. Her childhood and life long bestie lived there already, I thought well, the two come full circle, kind of lovely. Except my auntie said , I'll never go to assisted living. She died the first night she lived there. Her bestie told me at the funeral, she always was so stubborn.

My parents are struggling so much, it just breaks my heart when I leave their house. They make crazy decisions, they won't spend money that they have in abundance to fix things, and everything is in disrepair There's some hoarding going on and the house isn't clean. This is not how I grew up, our home was always nicely decorated and tidy. I don't know how to help them or sort everything out. They have no plans, even though my mother grows more disabled, and my Dad has had 2 small strokes.

My other Auntie on the east coast is downsizing, her husband has Parkinson's. They are carefully and thoughtfully planning a move to an independent living facility that can provide increased care when my Uncle will need it. It's sad, she and I have cried on the phone, but she is resolved and reframes it, I am so fortunate that I have so many beautiful things to bless others with, as she packs up things and thoughtfully sends them to lucky recipients. They have no children, so they have talked with me about creating a trust so that there is money for me to fly back and forth if they need more help coordinating their care. I so appreciate the planning, I know what to expect. I would help take care of them regardless, but they make it so much easier by making reasonable plans and sharing them with me.

DD So sorry your parents are struggling. My mom was also a hoarder and her house sat uninhabited and full of junk for 10 years after she moved to retirement apartments. I used to wish someone would rob it to clean it out. But at least she did move (with considerable pushing) and there was money to take care of things. I don't know why some people are able to plan for what's ahead and others are completely blinded by the thought. Its a kind of procrastination. I so feel for you seeing all the mess and feeling helpless.

My mother stubbornly refused to place her mother in nursing care even though she desperately needed it. When it finally happened my granmother died after four hours. Talk about procrastination! I have told my DH to put me into a nursing home if needed. No fair to burden another older person. There are very nice continuity of care places these days. Something for all of us to consider. diane s

I agree. At dinner the other night we were talking about an older friend who finally relented and went into an assisted living facility. She has memory issues and terrible balance. She never married and has no children. Anyway, her friends who are not much younger, but in far better shape were very worried she wouldn't pass the requirements to get in to the nice place in town. Once you're in, you can stay. My aunt was another who almost didn't make it in to the place they wanted for her. Moral of the story, don't wait too long or you'll bypass assisted living all together and go straight to a nursing home, which are grim.