VSG Maintenance Group
Winter Solstice, Thursday, December 21, 2023
Thank you to VSG in keeping me from overeating too much when we go out. During this time home we are either out or DS is cooking like a chef when we are home. Lots of leftovers.
We spent the day at DH's home yesterday so he could rake leaves. I hung out inside. It so does NOT feel like my home. I am going to have to make changes once I sell my Cape home and end up spending more time there. Flipping out a lot of the really old furniture would help. I spent a lot of time decorating my home but his has every old relative's hand me downs. He says it was good enough for his family. Luckily he doesn't seem opposed to me changing out some of the furniture with my stuff after I sell my house.
We ended up doing Christmas with SIL and BIL last night. For the first time they aren't coming on Christmas Day because they feel the extra 90 minutes driving after being with their daughter /granddaughters in the morning is too much now. I completely understand but it is so sad that the celebration of Christmas is changing so fast. Soon maybe we won't come back from Florida for the holiday? The other surprise is that they put their home into an irrevocable trust for their daughters. I guess they don't plan to ever move which somewhat surprises me as it isn't an ideal home to age in (stairs to get into the front door and then inside to get to the living space).
Today I have 2 doctor appointments and a real estate agent who is a friend is stopping by in the early afternoon. We are going to walk through the house to talk about how to prepare to put it on the market next summer. I don't really want to do it but it makes sense financially as I am rarely here and it is a lot of house to take care of now (also not good for aging in with the main bedrooms up a flight of stairs).
Have a thoughtful Thursday!
CC, hope you are feeling better today!
Liz, my dad's voice has gotten higher in pitch, too. I think of it as more childlike.
Looks like we will be rain free until after Christmas. YAY! I like when things can dry out a little in between weather fronts.
Traffic was so lovely today - very few cars on the road. Many people must already be on break from work or school to prepare for Christmas. Sure made my morning relaxing. I rarely get to school EARLY!
Some days I still do seem to have a little VSG restriction. Other days not so much. Yesterday was a decent restriction day. I do love it when it happens.
I am feeling lucky to have my puppies and my big dogs right now. I do believe the daily interaction with them is what is keeping me from falling into a true funk.
"A goal without a plan is just a wish," has been rolling around in my brain for a few days. I am without a plan.
Christmas plans have been solidified. It will be VERY different, but at least I know what to expect. I probably wouldn't mind one bit if my dad were his normal self. But knowing that this could be his last Christmas (dementia aside, the dude is 94 and a high stroke risk!), I feel like my brother is "abandoning" my dad and me. I can admit that the feeling is adolescent in origin at best, but it is what it is.
Not much else. Here's to keeping the sugary treats to a minimum!
on 12/21/23 10:20 am
My fever is gone. So weird. Nothing else but that! We are supposed to get rain tomorrow and Saturday. Up to 1.5 inches. Yay! We need the rain.
Puppy school today, but that's all. It's very sunny today and should get to 60.
Not much else to report...
Peps, I feel a little similar about my dad. He's doing great, but I always wonder if whatever holiday might be our last.
Liz, funny how men and women can view their surroundings so differently and have different expectations for how it should look!
Greetings all
Today started sunny and beautiful but the fog is rolling in. So far I having been doing little except getting an enormous amount of laundry folded and put away. I think of the story of this one law school classmate of mine. His roommates told me he did his laundry and carried it home in a styrofoam cooler and then just picked stuff out of it as he needed it. So a basket of laundry laying around always makes me think of Dana and the cooler and prompts me to be more civilized.
Tomorrow we go to lunch at the Chinese buffet and then I will hit the Dollar store next door for wrappings. I have not been in that place since before covid and if it's packed I maybe won't go in. Guess I have a bit of agoraphobia or whatever it is to fear crowded stores.
Peps its understandable you are experiencing a variety of emotions during holidays and your dad and brother. No advice other than minimize your tasks.
DH is supposed to go over to his friend's house tomorrow afternoon to help him get rid of an old TV and take it to E waste. I reminded him we have a large amount of E waste in the garage and suggested they swing by and pick up ours as they head to the disposal place which is nearby. DH always said he would take that stuff apart and pull out useful parts but ain't gonna happen. At least that space could then take some of his other junk. Thats what I asked for for Christmas - that he get all the plastic storage tubs of tools out of our bedroom.
Yeah Liz, thinking about stairs is important. Most of my friends are now having issues with stairs (me too). There is a larger house down the street that was for sale. I would like more space but it's a two story so no thanks. Looks like it sold. My friend who was widowed last winter lives in a house that has no way in without a long flight of stairs. She really can't leave because of a reverse mortgage on it. Nice house but needs an elevator. And I can relate to SIL not wanting to travel. Holidays should not be spent in the car.
CC glad you are feeling better. Enjoy your guests.
Yes I too also get significant restriction from my VSG. No telling how heavy I would have become if I had not done it. Fourteen years last month.
More enchiladas tonight. My favorite recipe: reheat in microwave.
Diane S
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I am convinced without sleeve restriction I would weigh what I did before I had surgery. If I managed to lose weight, I never kept it off longer than 2.5 years.
Liz, of course you must re do redecorate "DHs house" so that it becomes a home for both of you. And no doubt family will really enjoy coming to visit once you've worked your magic. Will your "houseguest" finally get a place of her own, or maybe she already has.
I understand the Christmas reckonings that come with older parents and what will happen next. My parent's situation concerns me so much, they are careening towards their last years in a broken down truck, dripping oil, with bald tires and no map or plan of any kind (metaphorically). Something catastrophic is going to happen...
In the meantime, they've dealt with their stairs by installing a stair lift. It actually works pretty well. My great nephews love it, and are allowed to ride it up and down once per visit :)
Diane I certainly hope some of the treasures in your garage went to recycling center. I try to appeal to DH, why don't we release these things so someone who could really use it can have it? Sometimes that works, because he remembers when we needed things we couldn't afford to buy new. Glad to hear the tools are in plastic bins at least! Better than laundry baskets and beat up cardboard boxes. Ask me how I know that? Haha.
CC thank goodness the your fever left. People are dropping all around me at work, students and staff. Who wants to be sick at Christmas.
Speaking of, I'm feeling peaked today, so I'm already in my jammies, tucked into bed. Have I mentioned how relieved I am not to be hosting Christmas Eve? I have?
We just binged The Last Thing He Told Me on Apple TV. 7 episodes over 2 nights. I read the book a few years ago. The series is one of those adaptations that doesn't disappoint. Whether you read the book or not (DH had not), I would recommend it.
You should absolutely be patting yourself on the back about not hosting Christmas Eve!
DH's ex (aka "houseguest") seems to be permanently gone except she is still getting mail there which seems weird. I get mail there too LOL. She reconnected with her former boyfriend when she moved out of DH's house a year ago and is living with him. I met him at the family Christmas- nice guy. They are going on a cruise together over the next week as he is mourning the loss of a son this year and wanted to be away over the actual holiday.
