Friday December 22 2023

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 22, 2023

Good morning!

Joe, hope you have a good day.

I agree, it was rude, especially if she didn't know who gave it to her and it would get back to them she hated. But like I said, after some thought she understood and backtracked, but the damage was done. The adult thing would have been to just gracefully accepted the gift even if you didn't like it. Oh well, I'm an adult too and can handle it.

I'm off today and Sunday. Nothing much going on. Going to get a haircut and pick up the cookies I ordered for my niece.

Temps going up to the upper 60s, so mild.

Best friend wants to take a trip to either Morocco and Italy and I picked Italy, which he said was his choice and let him book it for fall 2024. He said there was a good discount by booking now. Later I looked at the reservation and about fell out of my chair and saw that it was more than $5,000 apiece for a two week (2 travel days) stay. Yikes. I'll really have to stick to a budget and even then I don't think I'll have the money by September. Best friend has a good cash reserve from a $100K inheritance from his aunt and will pay for it and let me pay him back. Wish I had a rich relative to bequest me some funds. But as my mom says, you only live once and you can't take it with you.

No Stars In My Eyes · Dec 22, 2023

Woke up at 8 AM, craving coffee So I had the coffee and then I started feeling awake enough to tackle some more of the things I need to do to clear out the rest of hubby's stuff, that is loosely organized in to piles. I have boxes from the ABC store in which to store his stuff until I get time to go through it at my leisure. Handy to have a SiL who works at the ABC stores; they have heavier cardboard and are large enough to handle what I need to pack away for the time being. I also need to vacuum half of the room where the bed and bedside table, and a couple of book cases and the file cabinet will go, whenever we get around to moving them in.

I feel like I've already said all this before, and if so, I am sorry, but leaving emails to several people catching them up on my labors, makes me confused about what I said to whom. It helps me keep track of and remind myself of what to do next---

Busy, busy, but I like it because every task clears the way for me to move into that bigger room with a dresser and a closet twice as large as the one I was using.

Nannie's done with her breakfast and I am hoping she will doze off into her usual afternoon nap, so I can go back upstairs and putter around some more.

More later, I'm sure.

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 22, 2023

Hello all!

Tweety, just GO (I know you will). Your mom is right, you can't take it with you. You have had such enriching experiences from your travels, plus they rejuvenate you. Well, that's my vote, anyway. And I agree, your co-worker was rude. I think the two books were well-chosen, for someone you don't know well. Not a fail on YOUR part, at all. I hope, on reflection, she will be more gracious from now on, in similar situations.

Joe, hope work settled down, that sounds complicated! What project is the environmental group planning?

Hello No Stars! Keep on keepin' on! Hope Nannie takes a nice nap and you can get that room ready for you.

Well, dh has a cold. He tested negative for Covid. He was able to sleep with some cough meds on board. We'll see how he does in the next few days, we may have to reschedule our Christmas dinner with oldest ds.

It rained most of the night, but there is some sunshine out this morning, along with clouds. It will likely rain today too. I'm not complaining!

Have a good day!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Dec 22, 2023

Yeah, that was not the most gracious way to handle receiving a gift. And I think it sounds like a fun gift anyway. Plus, it benefited the animal sanctuary, so a win, not a fail.

Hubs got a big soft fleecy blanket in the gift exchange at last night's party. We have a LOT of blankets but this one is new and soft so OK... will be donating some older ones to the animal shelter in the coming weeks.

I received an ornament, a Starbucks gift card, and a bookmark. Since there was supposed to be a $15 limit, I'm sure the amount on the Starbucks card is small but I'll be glad to use it. When I really want coffee, my preference is black coffee, nothing fancy, although I do like a simple flavor, like the cinnamon dolce I buy. But I do like a sweet iced coffee on occasion and figure that's what I'll get from Starbucks.

The latest forecast shows a cold front moving in Sunday night so the high Monday will be in the mid-40s and the low that night about 28.

No Stars In My Eyes · Dec 22, 2023

Got some more stuff done --- Brought all the paper for shredding out to the car; I decided I'd rather pay to have it shredded and GONE, than take all the time it would take to shred it all myself. I love a good EXECUTIVE decision! I don't care what it costs, it will save me time and effort.

I moved the double bed frame over to another wall so I could vacuum where my platform bed will be placed; also vacuumed all along the baseboards, and dusted a tall wicker book shelf (probably wouldn't hurt to vacuum it with the brush attachment as well.) Got the dust off of the never used bedside table that was shoved in a corner. Not sure what we are going to do with the double bed frame for now; store it someplace, I reckon. It's a set with the dresser, and maybe eventually we will sell them. I'd have to get another dresser first, though.

For my one window, I had to use needle-nose pliers to convince the curtain rod to go on the thingies that hold it up. I don't know where the curtain rod that was on that window with hubby's curtains hanging there, disappeared to, but at least I am creative enough to convince another rod that did not want to fit there, to decide to fit after all. It doesn't look pretty, what I did, but it is hidden by the curtains. Actually the curtains are just floor-length sheers, and there is a cute little slatted window shutter to cover the lower part of the window. It's on the second floor, so no one can peek in, and if I want it opened for more light in the daytime it just folds to the sides. Hubby's curtains were the ones Nannie had chosen for that room when it was a guest room, frilly + floor length, with her usual obsession with lace, a bow with long tails, which you could use to pull back the curtains and keep them set just-so. OY and UGH! Glad to have them down.

Have various trash bags labeled to go to be donated, go to recycling, or whatever. I just found a bag of my shirts/blouses that I used to wear in the Summer, before I out-grew them (weight-wise)....I will have to try them on to see if they fit me well now; they probably will. I always hoped I'd be able to wear them again one day; I thought they were too pretty to get rid of, so I kept 'em. Next I hope to rake off the surfaces of the drop-front desk and the file cabinet into a couple of boxes so the furniture will be ready to just have the drawers removed for the short trip over to my 'new' bedroom.

Here's something peculiar --- went to 3 different store hunting underpads for Nannie's bed, and for use as Momo's indoors TWALETTE. Well, NONE of those stores had ANY underpads! Why is there suddenly a 'shortage'? I did find a package elsewhere of an off-brand that are long enough, but not wide enough for Nannie's buttocks to rest upon, in a centered way. I will keep searching for the 36 x 34" size.

It is dark out, so I'm going to draw the drapes in the den and turn on the little Christmas tree lights (brought over and set up by SiL). Then it'll be time to think about supper and get Nannie waking up so she can eat. It is ALWAYS suppertime that comes around so often isn't it? AND it is also time to fill the %)(*&#$%^ BLESS'ED medisets!

Okay, enough jabbering, and onward to the kitchen....

nursej22, MSN, RN · Dec 23, 2023

Hi. Mostly rainy day here, punctuated by a hail shower this evening. Now it is clearing off, so it will likely freeze tonight. I finally wrapped some gifts, then met sis at the ENT for a consult about her dizziness and sudden losses of balance. They also did a hearing test, but I'm not sure why. She's had one in the past, got hearing aides and didn't like them. I don't think anyone even asked her if she would wear them if she got them again. Anyway, the ENT doesn't think this is an inner ear problem, thinks it's her heart. I told him 2 cardiologists from UW insisted it's not, but he disagrees. But he ordered yet another test, which will be at the local university that has an audiology center. And she sees the neurologist for a followup next week. I didn't get a chance to ask if he thought her chronically low sodium could contribute. Sigh. I feel like she could be one of the Medical Mysteries that I read about in the New York Times magazine. I felt like he was being patronizing by saying it must be frustrating not to get an answer. I was thinking it more that I'm don't want to see her lying in a hospital bed with a comminuted fracture that can't be fixed for 2 days.

ugh, that's enough venting.

Stars, you have been busy, busy! I don't think I would like frilly, lacy stuff either.

Tweety, that nurse was very rude, IMO. It sounds you handled it with grace.

Dianah, is your kitty better?

Joe, that sounds like a crazy busy day. And now you have a three day weekend, right?

Annie, I like plain coffee too. In fact, when I go to Starbucks, I usually get an Americano, with cream. Sometimes in the afternoon, I'll get a London Fog.

Happy Solstice, all. TMB, in a few weeks, you'll see the sun again, right?

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 23, 2023

Hello nursej22,

Toby is doing better, seems more his old self. I hope the C&S show that the Abx he received is appropriate for the organism, cuz I would not like to have to give him oral meds twice a day! Thanks for asking!

Did your sister ever have a tilt table test? Interesting she has chronic low Na+... hopefully the MDs have taken that into consideration when doing their differential diagnosis. Here's an interesting bit from Johns Hopkins: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/tilt-table-testing

If we had a positive tilt table test, our electrophysiologist mainly prescribed increasing oral sodium (or, not limiting sodium in the diet), and wearing support stockings. I hope your sister's MDs can pinpoint what is going on, and formulate an effective plan for her.

I went out to get a few things from the grocery store that I'd forgotten yesterday, and got to see a beautiful partial rainbow! I read some this afternoon, a new murder mystery series set in a small village in France. So far it's good!

Have a good afternoon/evening!